An answer to George Keith's Narrative of his proceedings at Turners-Hall, on the 11th of the month called June, 1696 wherein his charges against divers of the people called Quakers (both in that, and in another book of his, called, Gross error & hypocrosie detected) are fairly considered, examined, and refuted / by Thomas Ellwood. Ellwood, Thomas, 1639-1713. 1696 Approx. 506 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 118 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A39298 Wing E613 ESTC R8140 12816043 ocm 12816043 94157 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A39298) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 94157) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 981:4) An answer to George Keith's Narrative of his proceedings at Turners-Hall, on the 11th of the month called June, 1696 wherein his charges against divers of the people called Quakers (both in that, and in another book of his, called, Gross error & hypocrosie detected) are fairly considered, examined, and refuted / by Thomas Ellwood. Ellwood, Thomas, 1639-1713. 232 p. Printed and sold by T. Sowle ..., London : 1696. Reproduction of original in Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. Advertisement: p. 232. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. 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Society of Friends -- Great Britain. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Rina Kor Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Rina Kor Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion ANSWER TO George Keith's NARRATIVE OF HIS Proceedings at Turners-Hall , On the 11th of the Month called Iune , 1696. WHEREIN His CHARGES against divers of the People called QUAKERS ( Both in that , and in another Book of his , CALLED , Gross Error & Hypocrisie Detected ) Are fairly Considered , Examined , and Refuted . By THOMAS ELLWOOD . London : Printed and Sold by T. Sowle near , the Meeting-House in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-street 1696. AN ANSVVER TO George Keith's NARRATIVE , &c. IT is not surely , without good Reason , that the Church of Christ , here on Earth , is called the Church Militant : For ( besides the inward and spiritual Enemies , which her several Members have to encounter with , in their Pilgrimage through this troublesome World ) such hath been , and is , her Lot and Portion , that she hath rarely been free from outward Enemies of one kind or other ; her great Adversary , Satan , continually raising up some evil Instruments or other , to fall upon her , all aiming at her Ruine , though after divers Ways and Manners . Sometimes the Civil Powers , under which she hath lived , have been stirred up to proclaim as it were , open War against her ; and to inflict severe and heavy Penalties upon her , for her faithful adherence to her Lord and Master , Christ Jesus . When , through Faith and Patience , she hath overcome , and the Wrath and Fury of Men hath been asswaged , so that she hath had some respit from those outward Sufferings : Then hath her old Adversary ( the common Enemy of Mankind ) bestirr'd himself in another way , to raise up Persecution against her of another kind , by instigating some or other ( either such as were always avowed Enemies to her , or such as for some time appeared to be of her , but by the sweep of his Tail had been struck off from her ) to speak or write against her , falsly to accuse her , and load her with the foulest Reproaches , and most infamous Slanders and Scandals ; that by so misrepresenting her , they might hinder others from joyning to , or favouring her , and stir up the Civil Magistrate again , to persecute her afresh . This hath been the Lot , this the Condition of the little Flock of Christ , in former Ages , as Ecclesiastical Histories declare . As for the present Age , and with respect to the People called Quakers ( whom God by an Invisible Arm of Power hath raised up , and held up , and made a peculiar People to himself ) Experience gives sufficient Proof , the matter being yet fresh in Memory . For ( not to look back so far as that which was called the Commonwealth's Time , wherein many of the leading Men , in most Professions , put forth their utmost Strength against us , both in Preaching and Printing , raising those false Reports concerning us , and chargeing many false Accusations upon us , with respect both to Doctrine and Practice , which others of our Adversaries , that followed after , have taken up upon Trust from them ) no sooner was that great Persecution a little abated ( which soon after the Restoration of K. Charles the Second , through the fault of some Dissenters , fell upon ▪ All , but most heavily upon Vs ) and that a little Calm and Quiet ensued ; but out came several Books against us , written by some of those Professors , who either in some Measure did suffer , or ( if they had been faithful to their own Principle ) should have suffered in the same storm with us . By that Time the Dust , which those Books had raised , was laid by our Answers thereunto , a fresh Persecution from the Government arose , upon the Informing Act , the main weight of which , it is well known , fell upon us ; they who before , and afterwards , assaulted us in Print , finding Ways then to hide , and save themselves from Suffering . But when that Storm was a little over out they came again , and in divers Books , written by Faldo , Hicks , and others , heaped up many wrong Charges , Defamations , Slanders and false Accusations against us ; all which were refuted , and wiped off in our Books , Printed in Answer thereunto : Nor have those of other Professions been so forward to attaque us since . But now , that Liberty of Conscience , in the free Exercise of Religious Worship , is by Authority granted , and thereby outward Sufferings in a great measure abated ; our old Enemy , envying us so great a Benefit ( though but in common with others ) hath contrived ways and means to raise a new War against us ; by stirring up some , who have formerly walked with us , and for sometime professed to be of us ( but upon some peevish Discontent or other , have turned aside and left us ) to turn now against us , and oppose us , and to pour forth Floods of Reproach , slander and false Accusations upon us . His chief Agent , at present , in this Work , is George Keith , a Scotchman , whose ambitious Aims not being answered , nor his absurd and fantastical Notions received ; by and amongst the People called Quakers , he is now become , of a seeming Friend , a real Enemy . He having published many Books against us , and in defence of those Books wrangled with us for a while in Print , till he found himself too closely pinched , to be able to give an Answer fit to be seen in Print , hath at length bethought himself of a Wile to excuse himself from answering , which was , to set up a kind of Iudicial Court , of this own Head , and by his own Authority , in a Place at his own Command , on a Day of his own Appointing , there to Charge and Try divers of us who are called Quakers , whether present or absent , concerning matters of Faith and Doctrine ; and that the rude Multitude might not be wanting to his Assistance there , he gave publick notice of it sometime before , by an Advertisement in Print , and therein a sort of Summons to some of us by Name , to others by Designation , to be present . This Arbitrary Proceeding , and Vsurped Authority , as we judged it unreasonable in him to impose , so we did not think fit to submit to , or own ; and therefore forbore to appear at the Time and Place by him appointed . Yet lest any whom he should draw thither , might mistake the Cause of our not appearing , the Reasons thereof , drawn up in short Heads , were sent thither to be read , and given among the People , which they were . However , according to his before declared . Intention , to proceed whether any of us were there or no ▪ he , being Iudge in his own Court , over-ruled our Reasons , and went on to Arraign , and Convict us Absent . The Pageantry of which days Work , as acted there by himself , he hath since Published , with his Name to it , under the Title of An exact Narrative of the Proceedings at Turners - Hall , &c. Together with the Disputes and Speeches there between G. Keith and other Quakers , differing from him in some Religious Principles . How idle is this in him , to pretend in his Title to give an Account of Disputes and Speeches between him and other Quakers , whenas his Narrative it self gives no account of any Dispute there , nor any thing like it , and of that little that was said by any of those few Quakers , that were present , most was to the People ( tending to shew them the unreasonableness of his undertaking , and desiring them to reserve one Ear for the other side ) very little of it to him . Before the Narrative , he hath Reprinted his former Advertisement , by which he gave Notice of his inteded Meeting . Now in as much as he hath done so , why did he not also Print with it the Reasons given for our not Meeting him then and there , that the Reader might have judged of the sufficiency of them ? In this G. Keith hath not been just either to the Reader ▪ or to us . He that pr●tends to give an exact Narrative of a thing , ought to do so , as well as say so . And whatsoever was in that Meeting communicated to the Hearer , ought to be in like manner communicated to the Reader , if a Narrative of the Proceedings thereof be made , otherwise such Narrative is not●exact . Now he acknowledges that such Reasons were ostered , and Read ; for he says , p. 13. At the opening of the Meeting , when G. Keith stood up to make some Introductory Speech , to give an Account of the occasion of the Meeting , H. Goldney , with some other Quakers of W. Penn 's Party , came with a Printed Paper , giving some Reasons why W. Penn and G. Whitehead did not appear , which he desired might be Read. Then adds , It was readily granted , and the Reasons why W. Penn and G. Whitehead did not appear , were Read by G. Keith . This made those Reasons part of the Proceedings of that Meeting , and therefore they ought to have been Published in the Narrative , that where-ever that had been read , they might have been read with it . The blame for this falls upon him , in as much as he acknowledges , in his Title Page , the wh●le to have been Published and Revised ( instead of Revised and then Published ) by him . And this shews his partial Dealing , and how willing he was to keep his Reader in the dark as to any thing that made against him . However , that I may give my Reader that Information and Satisfaction , which he hath with-held from his , I here insert those Reasons , as followeth . REASONS , why those of the People called Quakers , challenged by George Keith , to meet him at Turners Hall the Eleventh of this Month called June , 1696. refuse their Appearance at his Peremptory Summons . WHereas G. Keith hath , after his wonted irregular and unruly Manner , Challeng'd divers of us to defend our selves against such Charges as he has to exhibite against us at Turners Hall : These are to Certifie all whom it may Concern , That the Reasons why we decline any such Meeting , are as follow . 1. Because the said G. Keith has given us such frequent Proofs of his very Passionate and Abusive Behaviour , at the many more Select Meetings we have had with him , in all Manner of Sweetness , long Suffering and Patience , on our side , to satisfie , and preserve him from these Extreams : That we cannot assure our selves now of any better Entertainment , or that the Meeting can have any desirable Success , for a through Information . 2. We decline to Meet , because it is not an agreed Meeting on both sides , which it ought to have been ; and where that is not , or cannot be adjusted ; the Press is the next fair Way and Expedient , which he has began with , and now seems to decline ; nor hath he sent us a Copy of his Charge or Indictment against us , which also he ought to have done . 3. That he has two of our Books which lie hard at his Door ; in Vindication of us and our Doctrines from his Exceptions , and which he has not yet answered ; so that he is not upon equal Terms with us ; and therefore we think his Challenge , Appointment and Summons unfair ; and that all that are not partial will be of the same Min● with us . 4. Such publick and unlimitted Meetings are too often attended with Heats , Levity and Confusion , and answer not the End desired by sober and enquiring Men. Besides , that it lets up a Practise that Authority may Judge to be an Abuse to our Liberty , and so draw that under Reflection , as no Friend to the Civil Peace . 5. We know not what Religion or Perswasion this Wavering Man is of , or what Church or People he adheres to , or will receive him , with his vain Speculations , that have led him to desert us ; nor who are accountable to us for him and his Irregularities and Abuses ; the generality of such Assemblies usually making ill Auditors , worse Judges , and no good Security for our Satisfaction . And we must therefore take leave to say , it seems to us an indirect way of disquieting and invading our present Liberty , that so Irreligious a Meeting should be held , whose End is to abuse other Men for their Religion . If this should be imitated by all the several sorts of different Perswasions in this City , what Heaps and Confusions must necessarily ensue ! 6. Wherefore Lastly , Be it known unto all , That for the sake of Religion , the Liber●y granted us , and the Civil Peace , we decline to Meet him ; and not from any apprehensions we have of his Abilities , or our own consciousness of Error , or Injustice to the said G. Keith , whose weak and unbridled Temper we know is such , that what Learning and Parts he hath , have not been able to ballance and support him on less occasions , so that we may say they are in ill hands ; and if he proceeds as he begins , they will be employed to an ill End , which his ( poor Man ! ) cannot but be , unless he change his Course ; which we heartily pray for , that a place of Repentance he may find ; and thro' a true Contrition , the Remission of his great Sin of Envy , and evilly Intreating the Lords People and Way ▪ which we profess , and which he the said G. Keith hath long and lately both professed , and zealously vindicated , as such . What weight there is in these Reasons , I leave the Reader to Judge . G. Keith , in his Pref. says , p. 7. They are so Frivolous and Weak , that they are scarce worth noting . And in Nar. p. 13. The Reasons are so slender , that I hope every Iudicious Person here can answer them , and he pretends ( Pref. p. 7. ) that he did answer the Chiefest of them on the Place , and refers to the Narrative for it . How Slender , Weak , and Frivolous , his Answers were , appears by the Narrative , in which he says little to the Reasons ; and that little , as little to the purpose . To the First he sa●s , Nar. p. 13. If I am such an angry Person as they represent me , I shall lay my Self the more Open , and they shall have the greater advantage ; you know well enough , says he , that they would be ●lad of any advantage against me . How could those Auditors know this , when it is false in it self ? We would not be glad of any Advantage against him , especially not of such an advantage as should arise from his Intemperate Tongue , and r●de ●ehaviour : We have had too much of that kind of advantage against him already , at other Meetings we have had with him , when there was more Reason to have expected Sobriety and Temper from him , than there is now . Had he as publickly Renounced the profession and name of Quaker , as he hath plainly departed from the Spirit and Life of Jesus , in which the People called Quakers Live and Walk ( and in some measure of which he once Walked with them we might have been the sooner induced to have m●t him , as an Open and Professed Adversary to us , our Principles and Profession . But since , to do us the ●●eater despite , tho' he be gone from us in Spirit and Mind , and hath Openly separated from us in Worship , and hath been also disowned by us , he chooses yet to retain the same name , and make a pretence to the same Profession with us , ( both the Title of his Narrative pretending to relate Disputes between G. Keith , and other Quakers , implying himself to be one , and he expresly saying , p. 31. l. 15. I am a Quaker still : ) We were not willing , nor are , to give , or admit an occasion for him to expose our Profession ( how unjustly soever ) to the Censure and Contempt of the Inconsiderate and Undiscerning Multitude , by his unruly Passions and Rudeness , which we had reason from our frequ●n● experience of him , to expect would break forth , if we were there to oppose him . Nor do we think that any Advantage which c●uld have been made for it , could have m●de amends for the disadvantage that might have ensued , if he thereby should have raised an Hurly Burly , or Tumult among the People . To the Fourth , ( for he seldom keeps method ) which had respect to Civil Authority and the Publick Peace , he only says , he had the Lord Mayor's Leave , who sent his Marshal to preserve the Peace , and therefore there can be nothing in that . But , besides that he gave no notice in his Advertisement , that he had the Mayors Leave , ( which renders it suspected that he had not askt the Mayor's Leave , till after he had Published his Advertisement ) not only we , but others ( as judicious perhaps as himself , & more immediately concerned in the Security of the publick Peace ) Considering the present state of things , the Kings absence , and the great discontent which many , especially of the Lower Rank of People , are under , by reason of want of Trade ( occasion'd by the present Scarcity of Currant Money ) did think there might be more of danger in that , than was fit to be hazarded on so needless an Occasion . For if , upon the Invitation given a Month before ; but a few Thousands of Discontented ( and some , perhaps , not very well affected ) Persons , should have got together and taken head , they might soon have Increased to greater numbers and strength , than the City Marshal ( how sufficient soever to his Office ) might have been able to disperse . The number of Reasons in our Paper is Six . He has given these Slender Weak and Frivolous Answers to two of them ; and says , This is enough at present to answer this Paper , Nar. P. 13. Yet four lines after , in the same page , bethinking himself further of it , he adds , They say , I did not exhibit to them a Copy of my Charge against them ( an Indictment they call it , they would represent me as a man setting up a Spiritual Court ) but my Printed Paper says , W. Penn , and G. Whitehead , are justly desired to be present . This , says he , is no Indictment nor Summons , as they falsely call i● . 'T is true , the word [ Summons ] is not used , but the nature of a Summons is implied . He did not indeed expresly say , They are required to be present , but used the word [ Desired ] But it is a desire Sub poena ( as I may say ) for he backs it with a Declaration of his full Intention , to proceed against them , if they shall not be present ; so that if they stay away , be it at their Peril , of being Calumniated and Traduced behind their backs . Whether he will call his Meeting a Spiritual Court , or a Temporal , let him choose : Certain it is , that a Iurisdiction he usurped , not belonging to him , over such as he had no Power over . And after what manner he intended to have received and treated us , if we had been there , may well be gathered from what his Narrative says he spake about the close of that Meeting , and what he hath added in his Preface since . That in the Nar. is in p. 50. where he thus says , I am perswaded the Reasons given in the Paper , read at the beginning , were no just reason for their not appearing . But though some Comparisons are Odious , yet give me leave to make a Comparison . May a Malefactor make this excuse , You shall not call me before a Iustice without my consent ? If a Man Robb me , I may Complain of him as a Robber , and without his consent call him to account . But here is a strange thing , Injuring Men may not be called to account without their consent , it will trespass against the Law , and intrenches upon Liberty of Conscience : Judge now , Reader , by the Comparison he hath made , Whether we have done him any wrong in calling his Advertisement a Summons , his Charge an Indictment . He compares us to Malefactors ; But Malefactors do not use to be desired to appear , but Summoned , Required , Commanded at least , if not Compelled ; and Indicted when they do appear . Had not we been finely holpen up ( as they say ) if we had been there , only to have stood there as Malefactors , to have Pleaded our Cause before Iudge Keith and his Associates , the Mobb , and I know not whom else ? Tho' he spake not so plain in his Advertisement , as he hath done since , yet there was enough in that to give us to understand what entertainment we were to expect there . There was nothing like Equality proposed in it , nothing of Indifferency ; no liberty reserved to us , to charge him , if we saw meet , as well as he us . No , no , the Scene was laid only for us to hear our selves Charged and proved Guilty ( for that we should be proved Guilty , was , it seemes , determined before-hand ) And to what end then was it o●fered , that we should be freely heard , to answer to our several Charges ? This was worse dealing than is used towards Malefactors . For when they are Summoned to hear themselves Charged , they have full Liberty given them , not only to Answer for themselves , but to Object ( if they have cause ) against their Accuser , against his Witnesses , Yea , and against the Iury too . But they are not called to hear themselves proved Guilty ; ( as it seemes we were ) whether they shall be proved Guilty or not Guilty , is left upon the Issue of their Tryal : But in our Case , it was resolved before hand ; We were called thither to hear our selves Charged , and proved Guilty . Now though G. Keith 's Malefactory Comparison shews his both Envy and Folly in making it , yet it answers not his case . For although a Malefactor may not say , You shall not call me before a Iustice without my consent : Yet I fancy a Malefactor might say , You shall not make your Self a Iustice , and then call me before your self , without my consent . Neither shall you call me , without my consent , before any Man else ; that is no otherwise a Justice , than of your making , till I better understand your Power for making Justices . No wonder this little Man speaks so Bigg , if he hath entertained a Notion , that he hath Power not only to convene Persons , at his pleasure , before himself ; but also to confer Iusticiary Authority on such others as shall assemble on his Advertisement . He threatens , if he be not humoured , to repeat his Advertisement . If he should do so , such as are ambitious of such an Imployment , may hasten to Turners-Hall , if they would be made Iustices by G. Keith . He pursues his Comparison further , saying , ib. If a man Rob me , I may complain of him as a Robber , and without his consent , call him to an Account . He may so , but he must complain then , coram competenti Iudice , Before one that hath a just Authority over him : For if he complain coram non Iudice , Before one that hath nothing to do with it , he may go as he came , without Redress . In his Pref. p. 8. he saith , And as Insignificant is their Excuse of declining to meet , because it was not an agreed Meeting on both sides : As if Guilty Persons are not to be tried without their Consent and Agreement . Observe here , he reputes us Guilty first , and talks of Trying us afterwards . What else is this , but to condemn first , and try after ? As if ( says he ) Guilty persons are not to be tried without their consent . When Persons are pronounced Guilty , it is to be supposed , they have had Trial : For it is from a Trial and Conviction that they are Denominated Guilty . The Law calls no Man Guilty , until upon due Trial , he be proved and found Gui●y . Till then the Law supposes him Innocent . If a man be justly suspected of any Crime , he may and ought be fairly tried , in a due and right Method , that it may appear whether he be Guilty or Innocent . But none I hope , except G. Keith , is so weak to think , that any one who hath a mind to it , may take upon him to try such a man , and pass Sentence on him . He adds there , Their upbraiding me by Insinuating my assuming a Spiritual Iurisdiction over them , and Summoning them to appear before me , is Idle and Vain . The Injurer is Debtor to the Injured , and Accountable to him . Tho' his representing us to be the Injurers , and himself the Injured , is but precarious , and a begging of the Question , which we deny : Yet his urging , that the Injurer is Debtor to the Injured , and accountable to him , in Justification of his appointing a Meeting for us to appear at , doth imply he assumed a Iurisdiction over us , & thought he might Summon us to appear , which was Idle and Vain in him to think , much more to do . What should induce him to think so highly of himself , and take so much upon him , I know not , unless he hath some little Ecclesiastical Preferment in the Wind ; which if he has , perhaps it may never rise higher than an Apparitor , or some such small Officer . But he says , ib. Let them tell me what Spiritual Iurisdiction they had over me , to call me several times to them at their Yearly-Meeting , 1694. more than I had over them , to call them to our Meeting at Turners-Hall , 1696 , unless they will fly to their common Pretence , common to them with the Church of Rome , their Infallibility ? First let me tell him , His Contempt of , and Scoff at Infallibility ( asserted and maintained by himself in his Book of Immediate Revelation not ceased , p. 36 , 37 , 38. Second Edition , 1676. ) is an Infallible Proof of his Apostacy . Next I 'll tell him ( seeing he asks it ) what Power we had then , to call him , more than he hath now , to call us . Every Religious Society or Body , hath a certain Power within it self over the particular Members that make up , or pretend to be of , that Society or Body ; by vertue of which , such Society or Body may call to account , deal with , and ( if they see cause ) deny any such Member as shall walk disorderly , contrary to the Rules , and against the Safety or Honour of the Society . Now G. Keith , knows full well , that at the time he mentions , in 1694. he pretended to be a Member of our Society , and thrust himself amongst us , and upon us , which gave us Right to deal with him as we did . But since the the time he was disowned by us , as one gone out from us , we never pretended to fellowship with him , or to be Members of , or any way related to , that Society he is of ( if indeed he be of any . ) And therefore he has not the like ground to call us to his Meeting ( which we were never of , but against ) as we then had to call him to our Meeting , which he then pretended , and professed to be of . He asks , p. 7. Why should Disputes viva voce , be more offensive to civil Peace , than Disputes in Print . I believe ( says he ) they can give no Reason . I believe I have given a Reason already , and that Demonstrative too . He might as well ask , Why should the gathering together of many Hundreds , or thousands , of Men ▪ in a time of Faction and great Discontents , be more offensive to civil Peace , than People's Reading Books , privately in their Houses or Closets ? I believe if he cannot , ( because he will not ) every body else can see the Reason . From our not answering him , viva voce , he is willing to infer that we should not answer him in Print neither . For he says , ib. If I be not worthy , nor fit to be answered by word , nor am I to be answered by writ . It is not his worthiness that Inclines us to Answer him at all ; but the defence and clearing of our Principles , and our selves , from his Calumnies and false Accusations . In doing which we think not our selves obliged to follow his Direction , or to alter our Course , as oft as he is driven to alter his . When he was in Pensilvania , where he was answered viva voce , ( and indeed could not well be answered otherwise , the only Press in those Parts being then at his command ) he voided Books , against his Opponents there , thick and threefold , ( as the saying is . ) He complained not then of lack , either of Time to Write , or outward Ability to Print , but conceived and brought forth Book upon Book , as fast , in a manner , as the Press could deliver him . When he came first over hither , if any one displeased him , his ordinary Threat was , I 'll put thee in Print . And it was not long before he fell to Printing here , and ran on for some time , as if he would have driven down all before him . But having undertaken an Evil Cause , he quickly found himself unable to maintain it , or defend himself ; and that hath made him weary of Printing , because indeed he cannot answer what lies upon him already in Print . And because he is not willing to own that , nor would be thought to be driven out of the Press , he now pretends want of Time and Money to Print with ; and in his Advertisement gave that as his Reason why he declined Printing , and appointed a Meeting to talk out his matter by word of Mouth . But that that was but a false pretence , is evident ; for it appears by his Narrative , that he intended , after he had got such a Meeting , to fall to Printing again : For he says , p. 24. If I wrong the Quotation , it will appear in Print , for we intend that the Quotations shall be Printed . This shews his design was not so much to shun Printing , as to shun Answering our former Books , by shifting the Controversie into another Course . For as soon as that Meeting of his was over , he ( or some body for him ) could find Time and Money too , to publish a Narrative of what he pretends to have delivered then , with large Additions to it , a Book of 12 d. price , and the biggest , I think that he hath Printed , since he came last to England , and yet hath left our Books unanswered . Whereas , had he been able to have answered at all to the purpose , and to have cleared himself of what is therein charged upon him , a l●ss Book , and of less Price , than the Narrative he has now published , might have done his business . But it is evident he did not want Time , so much as he wanted Truth on his side ; And that he did not so much want outward Ability to Print , as inward Ability to Defend himself , and the Cause he had undertaken . And indeed , as to his pretence of want of outward Ability to Print , seeing he sold his own Books , one might reasonably think , he should rather be inabled than disabled by that . But if it be true , that he says in his Narrative , p. 50. That he hath weakened his Estate by Printing , it is the Effect of his own Folly and Wickedness , in Printing false and frivolous matters : For he might probably have rather encreas'd his Estate by Printing , selling his Books as he has done , had he written matter worth the Reading . But if want of Time and Money , for Writing and Printing , had been the real Cause of his not Answering our Books , how comes he to be so flush of Both now ; that , since the publishing his Narrative , he could find both Time to write , and Money to Print another pretty large Book against us , leaving my two former Books yet unanswered ? Has he sprung a Mine at Turners-Hall ? Or have some of his Auditors made a Gathering for him , to put him in stock , to go on with his Work of fighting against God and his People ? To our Objection , That he did not exhibit to us a Copy of his Charge ( or Indictment ) against us , he says , Nar. p 14. And for the Particulars I in●end to prove against them , they were expresly mentioned in my Advertisement , containing four Foundamental Doctrines of Christianity by them opposed . This is not true , as will appear by consulting the Advertisement . In the first head of it , relating to W. Penn , Nar. p 9. he saith , I charge him to be guilty of false Accusation and De●amation , and offer to prove him to be so ; As also I offer to prove him guilty out of his printed Books , ( but names no Book ) of most Erroneous and Hurtful Principles , contrary to the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith and Religion , &c. ( but names no particular Principle ) and also that he is guilty of gross contradiction to himself . ( But says not wherein . ) In his second Head , relating to me , He charges me to be guilty of false Accusations , Perversions and Forgeries , contained in sundry defamatory Books printed against him . ( But shews not wherein . ) As also of most Erroneous and Hurtful Principles . ( But names no particular Principle . ) In his third Head , relating to G. Whitehead , he offers to prove G. Whitehead , out of some of his printed Books ( but names no Book ) guilty of most Erroneous and Hurtful Principles , &c. but names no particular Principle . This is all in general , both as to Books and Principles ; no one Principle , nor any one Book , particularly mentioned . Yet in his Narrative , he says , The Particulars I intend to prove against them , were expresly mention'd in my printed Paper called An Advertisement , containing four Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity by them opposed . After he had dated , signed , and thereby closed his Advertisement , he added an account of the Cause of his intimating such a Meeting . In that he says , I appeal to all moderate Persons , whether this my Intimation of such a Meeting , in the Defence of the Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity , as the necessity of Faith in Christ , as he outwardly suffered , &c. Iustification and Sanctification , by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed , The Resurrection of the Body that dieth , and Christs coming without us , &c. All which I offer to prove have been Opposed and Contradicted by Some of them , be not justifiable , &c. If this be the passage he refers to , wherein he says the Particulars he inteded to prove against them , were expresly mentioned , yet here is nothing but Vncertainty still : For here he only offers to prove that those Fundamental Doctrines have been Opposed and Contradicted by Some of them , not by them All. He had summoned and charged Four Persons by Name , and a whole Meeting besides . He offers to prove that certain Fundamental Doctrines had been opposed by Some of them , but names not by which of them . How should they , or any of them , know by this , which of them he intended to fix it on ? How should they severally be prepared to make Defence , when they did not know which of them in particular should be charged , what in particular should be charged on each , and out of what particular Books the Charge would be drawn ? No considerate Person , I suppose , could think , that Men in their right Wits , would appear on such a Summons , or discourse on such uneven Terms . If the Trumpet give an uncertain sound , who shall prepare himself to the Battel ? If a Dispute had been intended , no Man , that understands the Rules of Disputation , would have engaged on such unequal , unfair , uncertain , blind terms . Even in Duelling , he that gives the Challenge , doth withal give notice what Weapon he intends to use , and of what length ; The Reason of which is obvious . He says , Pref. p. 8. They think such a Meeting at Turners-Hall , is but in a Corner , and not in the face of the Nation ( and so I suppose will every one think , in comparison with the Press . ) But ( adds he ) they are like to find it hath been so much in the face of the Nation , that many in the Nation will notice it . Like enough , but not without Printing . For the Advertisement that gave the first publick Notice of it , and was to beget the Expectation of it , and to draw People to it , was Printed : ( as when a New Play is to be acted , printed Papers to give Notice of it , are spread abroad some time before . ) And now since it is over , the Narrative of it is Printed , without which little Notice would have been taken of it . So that after all , he is fain to come to Printing again , where we told him before-hand he must come , and where we knew we should have a time to meet with him , and talk with him with less danger of Disturbance , in a more sedate and quiet manner , and before more comp●tent Judges , than the shouting Mobb at Turners-Hall . ( For twice in one page , viz. p. 45. he says the A●ditory shouted , and no wonder , considering what an Auditory it was , and how he acted the Terraesilius or Prevaricator ( not to say Merry-Andrew ) to stir them ●p thereto . What a sort of Auditory he had got , how sit for his purpose , and how disposed to his service some of them were , may be gathered from the Account himself has given of them and their Behaviour , in his Narrative . For at the very opening of the Meeting , when the Paper giving some Reasons for our not being there , was read , and G. Keith had said , I offer to answer to every one of the Reasons , if you desire it ; his easie Auditory immediately replied , No , it is ne●dless , Nar. p. 13. When a Friend of ours proposed a most just and reasonable thing , viz. That the Scriptures urged against us by G. Keith , should be read , and introduced his Proposal in such soft and modest terms , as , I beg a Favour , G. Keith had an Auditory ( or rather perhaps some ready prepared and disposed in his Auditory ) which he makes to answer , There is no need , go on . Nar. p. 27. When G. Keith had told a strange and improbable story against three Persons whom he called Quakers , concerning words which he said they spake in the year 1678 , ( about 18 years ago ) on purpose to defame both them and us , and did not name them , and thereupon a Friend of ours prest earnestly on him to name them , he had an Auditor ready to help him off , by saying , He has done enough , Nar. p. 39. Nay , when G. Keith had read a passage out of a Book of G. Wh●tehead's , and a Friend of ours , desiring to know when that Book was writ , did thus modestly say , If I might , I desire to have liberty to speak ; When was the date of the Book ? He was immediately thus taken up by the Auditors , If you will undertake their Cause , you may speak , otherwise not . Nar. p. 15. Yet in p. 45. he had an Auditor at hand , who seeing him at a loss , says , G. Keith , I see you are almost spent , I will answer for you . From these few instances the indifferent Reader may see , how far from being indifferent that Auditory was . And from the whole , I doubt not but it will appear , That G. Keith had no Reason to appoint that Meeting , and summon us to appear at it ; That we had good Reason not to come there , and that he was very unfair and unjust to traduce and defame us there , behind our Backs ; when he knew we did not shun him in the most open way of Trial , but provoked him to it . It is very idle therefore in him to insinuate ( as in his Pref. p. 7. ) that W. Penn has shown great Cowardice ; and his Party charged , by not appearing at all ; Since as it is no sign of want of Courage , in a Man that uses the outward Sword , to refuse Scuffling with his Antagonist in a Chamber , while he boldly offers to meet him in the open Field : So it can never be judged , by considerate Men , a token of Cowardice or Diffidence in us , to refuse to meet a Brawling Adversary in a By-Place , ( especially upon unfair terms ) while we most readily offer to meet and engage him in the most open , free , and clear way of deciding Religious Controversies , the Press , where he first began , as himself says , Nar. p. 38. What ( says he ) is the last Remedy against Oppression ? Why Printing : Therefore I began . And seeing G. Keith himself first opened the Press to this Controversie , by ●alling upon us in Print , we needed not have given any other Answer to him , than he formerly gave to his and our Opponent , Rob. Gordon , in the like case , viz. Seeing thou camest forth in Print against us , ( though under a Cover ) what ground hadst thou to expect another way of Answering , than by Print ? See his Postscript to a Book called , The Nature of Christianity , in the true Light , Asserted , p. 60. This was his Answer to Gordon , and this might have been sufficient from us to him . But because we were willing to inform and satisfie others , we published the fore-going Reasons , which I doubt not have given , and will give satisfaction to all dis-interessed and impartial Persons . Now as to the Errors or false Doctrines , which he hath charged upon any of us , and which he pretended to prove against us , at his irregular Meeting at Turners-Hall , they being mostly such as not only he himself hath formerly held , maintained and defended , ( while he was amongst us ) but hath since his departing from us charged before in Print upon some of us , and his Charge hath been already Answered and Refuted in Print , particularly in a Book of mine published the last year , called Truth Defended , which he hath never yet Replied to , ( though he once made as if he would : ) Although we might , with reason excuse our selves , from giving any new Answer , until our former Answers , already given had been enervated ( at least replied to ) by him , and only refer thereunto ; yet for the sake of others , whom he endeavours , be false Accusations , to prejudice and harden against the holy Truth and Principles which we hold and profess : ( Partly also , because he hath added , in his Narrative , some few passages to his former Charge , to make i● seem not wholly the same ) I am content to follow him through his Narrative also ( which comprehends another Book of his , called Gross Errors and Hypocrisie Detected ) and hope to manifest both that we are sound in the Faith in those very Particulars wherein he charges us to be unsound ; and that he is unjust , envious and wicked , in his falsely accusing us . Yet do I not intend hereby to acquit or discharge him from answering in Print , what Books already written lie at his door unanswered ; but rather to engage him the more to answer both the former and this also . The Doctrines he sets down , ( Nar. p. 14. ) as denied by us , or some of us , are these four , 1. Faith in Christ , as be outwardly suffered at Ierusalem to our Salvation . 2. Iustification and Sanctification by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed . 3. The Resurrection of the Body that dieth . 4. Christs coming without us , in his glorified Body , to judge the Quick and the Dead . The first Head of G. Keith's Charge , ( viz. That we deny Faith in Christ , as he outwardly suffered at Ierusalem to our Salvation ) Considered . The denial of this he charges directly on G. Whitehead ; on W. Penn but by consequence , for approving G. Whitehead's Books . After he had made his Enumeration of Doctrines , he says , Now , if you please , I shall proceed to my Proofs . Most of my Business is , to Read my Proofs out of their Books . Who from these words would have expected any other , than that he would have read some Sentence out of some Book of G. Whitehead's , wherein he had denied Faith in Christ , as he outwardly suffered at Ierusalem ; because he said , Most of my business is , to read my Proofs out of their Books ? But instead of that , he attempts to prove it Logically : Thus he begins : That this is opposed by them , I prove thus , says he , The Object of Faith is opposed by them , and therefore the Faith it self must needs be opposed : I hope , says he , the Consequence is clear enough , it needs no Proof . Let us see then how he proves his Premise : The Object of Christian Faith , says he , is Christ , both God and Man , and yet but one Christ. Here he hath shifted the Terms of his Proposition already . First he spake of Faith in Christ , as he outwardly suffered at Ierusalem . By the words [ outwardly suffered at Ierusalem ] I take him to mean ( as is thereby generally understood ) his suffering Death upon the Cross. Now he says , The Object of Christian Faith is Christ , both God and Man. But did he outwardly suffer at Ierusalem as God ? Was the Godhead crucified and put to Death ? He will not say it sure . If then the Object of Christian Faith be Christ , both God and Man , why did he before place it only in Christ , as he outwardly suffered for us at Ierusalem ? I only touch this transiently , and that not to deliver my own sense , but to shew how he blundered at the very entrance of his Work , and that he is not an exact and clean Disputant . However , he goes on thus , I offer to prove that G. Whitehead has denied Christ both to be God and Man. ( To the same purpose he spoke in his Gross Error , p. 14. ) How ! Deny'd him both to be God and Man ! What does he own him to be then , if no● her God nor Man ? There have been some , who have denied Christ to be God , acknowledging him to be Man ; there have been others , who have denied Christ to be Man , acknowledging him to be God. ( Both Condemnable . ) But who ever heard of any before , that denied Christ both to be God and Man ? Yet this he charges on G. Whitehead . And first offers to prove that G. Whitehead , in a Book of his , called The Light and Life of Christ within , has denied Christ to be God. It were strange , one would think , that G. Whitehead should deny Christ to be God , and yet , about the same time too , write a Book of above 20 sheets , to assert and prove the Divinity of Christ , calling his Book , The Divinity of Christ , and Vnity of the Three that bear R●cord in Heaven , with the blessed End and Effects of Christs Appearance , coming in the Flesh , Suffering and Sacrifice for Sinners , Confessed and Vindicated by his Followers , called Quakers . Which Book G. Keith cannot pretend Ignorance of , for he picks somewhat out of it , ( though , as his manner is , perversly ) in this very Narrative of his . The proof he now offers against G. Whitehead , is out of a Book of his called The Light and Life of Christ within , p. 47. in Answer to VV. Burnet , a Baptist Preacher , who writing of Christ , said , As he was God , he was Co-Creator with the Father , and so was before Abraham , and had glory with God before the world was , and in this sence came down from Heaven . To which G. Whitehead replied , What Nonsense and Vnscripture-like Language is this , to tell of God being Co-Creator with the Father ? Or that God had glory with God ? Does not this imply two Gods , and that God had a Father ? Let the Reader judge . In these words G. Whitehead blamed not the matter expressed , but the manner of expressing it : He did not deny Christ to be God , nor that as God he was Creator , and before Abraham , &c. But he excepted against the word Co-Creator , as unscripture-like Language , and implying two Gods. For since [ Co ] contracted from the Prepositive Particle [ Con ] signifies ( Cum , or Simul ) with , or together with , he that says God ( or Christ , as God ) was Co-Creator , must intend he was Creator with himself , or Creator with another . To say God was C●eator with , or together with , himself , is that which G. Whitehead call'd Nonsense . To say God was Creator with , or together with , Another , is to imply two Gods , two Creators , which is that G. Whitehead called Vnscripture like Language . For as God is a pure , simple , undivided Essence or Being , so the Language of Scripture concerning God , is , that God is One , Gal. 3.20 . Mark 12.29 , 32. And although , in some respect this One is said to be Three , 1 John 5.7 . yet in this respect of Essence , Being , and Godhead , those Three are there said to be One : Not only ( as of the Three that bear witness in Earth , vers . 8. ) to agree in One , but to be One. And Christ himself ( with respect to his Godhead ) says , I and my Father are One , John 10 30 G. Keith adds another Passage of G. Whitehead's , or rather the same Passage in another place of the same Book , wherein he says , p. 15 G. VVhitehead denies the Divinity of Christ , and that he deceives the Nation and the Parliament , by telling them , They own Christ to be both God and Man , and believe all that is Recorded of him in the Holy Scripture . In this G. VVhitehead hath not deceived either the Parliament , or the Nation , or any one in it . For certain it is , that the People called Quakers do own Christ to be both God and Man , and do believe all that is Recorded of him in the Holy Scriptures . But G. Keith did endeavour then to deceive his Hearers , and since to deceive his Readers , by suggesting to them that G. VVhitehead , or any of the Quakers , did ever deny the Divinity of Christ , or not own Christ to be both God and Man. The other Passage which G. Keith now brings , Nar. p. 15. taken out of p. 24. of G. Whitehead's forementioned Book called , The Light and Life of Christ within , whereupon the Baptist's calling God the Word , Co-Creator with the Father , G. Whitehead answer'd , To tell of the Word God , Co-Creator with the Father , is all one as to tell of God being Co-Creator with God , if the Father be God ; and this is to make two Gods , two Creators , &c. For God , Co-Creator with the Father , plainly implies two . This , as I noted , is one and the same Passage in Sense , and almost in Words , with the former , and the same Answer serves to his Cavil against both . It is plain , to any considerate and unbyassed Reader , that G. Whitehead did not by these Words deny the Divinity of Christ , or disown Christ to be God ; but rather that he did own Christ to be G●d , and both the Father and He to be one God , and one Creator , not two : And therefore blamed the Baptist for using such Expressions [ God Co-Creator with the Father , ] as implyed two Gods , two Creators . But that G. Whitehead did then ( as well as now ) own Christ to be God , is plain from several passages in that very Book ( though that Book not treating so directly of that Subject , hath not so many Instances in it , as are in other Books of his . ) In that very Page ( 47. ) out of which he takes his first Quotation against G. Whitehead upon Iohn 17.5 . And now , O Father , glorifie me with thine own self , with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was ; G. Whitehead says , Was not he the true Christ , the Son of God , that so prayed unto the Father ? And in the same Page ( just after the Words G. Keith carps at ) upon the Baptist's saying , Which Word was God , yet he was not a Saviour as he was the Word or Creator of the World , &c. G. Whitehead replies , How then doth He say , I am God , a Saviour , &c. And in Page 48. upon the Baptist's saying , He was not a Saviour , as the Root and Creator of Man , but as he was to be the Offspring of Man , &c. G. Whitehead Answer'd , Do but mark the Confusion and Darkness of this Man , who hath denyed that God , the Word or Creator of Man , is a Saviour ; and Christ , as he was the Root and Creator of Man , and as He was the Eternal Son of God , from the Days of Eternity , he hath denied to be a Saviour , but as he was the Off-spring of Man. Do but Eye the tendency of this Doctrine ; thus to deny the Son of God to be a Saviour ; — whereas it is through the Son of God , that Eternal Life is received , Iohn 3.16 . And God's Love was manifest , in sending his only begotten Son into the World ; — So here the Efficacy of the Son of God , and the Eternal Word , is proved against the Baptist's false and unscripture like Distinction . It was in the Year 1668. that this Book was Printed . In the Year 1669. G. Whitehead writ another Book ( which I mentioned before ) called , The Divinity of Christ , and Vnity of the Three that bear Record in Heaven ; with the blessed End and Effects of Christ's Appearance , coming in the Flesh , Suffering and Sacrifice for Sinners , Confess●d and Vindicated by his Followers , called Qu●kers . In that Book , between the Epistle and the first Chapter , giving a brief Account of what we own , touch●ng the Divinity and Godhead of Christ , he says , That there are Three that bear Record in Heaven , the Father , the Word and the Spirit , and that these Three are one both in Divinity , Divine Substance and Essence ; not three Gods , nor separate Beings . That they are called by several Names in Scripture , — yet they are Eternally One in Nature and Being ; One Infinite Wisdom , one Power , one Love , one Light and Life , &c. Then adds , We never denied the Divinity of Christ , as most injuriously we have been accused by some prejudiced Spirits , who prejudicially in their perverse Contests have sought occasion against us ; as chiefly because ( when some of us were in Dispute with some Presbyterians ) we could not own their unscriptural Distinction and Terms . — The Father's begetting the Son , and the Spirit 's being sent , we witness to , and own . — Yea , the Son of God is the brightness of his Glory , and the express Image of his Substance . — So the Manifestation of the Father , of the Son , and Holy Spirit , we confess to , &c. — And that Iesus Christ being in the Form of God , thought it no robbery to be equal with God , and yet as a Son , was sent of the Father , &c. — So that the Deity or Divinity of Christ , in his Eternal , Infinite , Glorious State , we really confess and own . In the Book it self , p. 18. He says , He ( Christ ) was equal with God in Glory , before the World was . Again , p. 19. It was never any Design , or Plot of ours , to endeavour to prejudice the Minds of any against the Deity of Christ , and the Holy Ghost , as falsly and blasphemously we are accused by this our prejudiced Opposer . Again , p. 22. We never disowned the Deity of Christ , or Holy Ghost , as falsly and injuriously is insinuated against us . Again , p. 26. Charging us with designing to blast and overthrow the Deity of Christ , and the Holy Ghost ; upon which , Blasphemers , and Blasphemy , and damnable Speeches , are hideously cast upon us , but most unjustly and falsly . For no such design ever had we , as either to blast or overthrow the Deity of Christ , or Holy Spirit , we having openly professed and declared the contrary , both in Words and Writings . Again p. 32. That the Divine Essence , or Godhead , can be but one , and this in each of the Three , we never denied . Again , p. 38. I have heard of some , beyond the Sea , who were accused with denying the Divinity of Christ ; but I know of none here , that either deny the Divinity of Christ , or him to be of one Substance with the Father . Again , p. 41. Christ being the Brightness of the Glory of God , and the express Image of his Divine Substance , as also truly called the Son of his Love , &c. Second Part of the same Book , p. 3. We never denied the Deity or Divinity of either Father , Word , or Holy Ghost . Again , p. 39. His Opponent T. Danson , having charged the Quakers with denying Christ to be God , G. Whitehead Answers , This is an apparent slander cast upon us , as our Books and Writings do shew , that we never denied Christ to be God , or his Divinity , &c. Again , p. 54. As to Socinianism , as he calls it , we are neither discipled in it , nor baptized into Socinus his Name , neither do we own him for our Author or Pattern in those things which we believe and testifie ; nor yet do we own several Principles , which I. O. relates , as from Socinus , and principally that of Christ's being ( God , but ) not the most High God. It was never our Principle ; for tho' we do confess to his Condescension , Humility and Suffering in the Days of his Flesh , wherein he appeared in the form of a Servant , being made in Fashion as a Man : Yet his being in the Form of God , and being glorified with the same Glory he had with the Father before the World began , and his being God over all , blessed for ever ; These things we professed and believed in the beginning , and do the same still , it never being in our Hearts , in the least , to oppose or desert them . Again , p. 58. As to a great part of his ( I. O's ) Book , wherein he goes about to prove the Divinity or Deity of Christ , &c. We are unconcerned therein , having never denied Christ's Divinity . Here one would think , were Instances enough , of G. Whitehead's ( and ours ) owning and confessing Christ to be God , to make G. Keith blush for charging him with denying it . But because I know G. Keith hath too far , and too long , abandoned Modesty and Vertue , to be easily drawn to blush , I will add some more , out of another Book , written by G. Whitehead , and Printed the same Year 1669. called ▪ Christ ascended above the Clouds , &c. in Answer to one Iohn Newman , a Baptist ; who having it seems , asserted that , The Word was in the beginning , but Christ was in time , not till he had taken Nature upon him , and became in the likeness of sinful Man , being born of the Virgin Mary , &c. G. Whitehead Answer'd , p. 12. This Assertion opposeth the Deity and Divinity of Iesus Christ , and contradicts the faithful Testimonies of the Holy Men of God in the Scriptures of Truth . Again , p. 14. Though Jesus signifies a Saviour , and Christ Anointed ; yet to co●sine those Names only to the Manhood , still agrees with the erroneous Doctrine before , that Christ was not the Word from the beginning ; whereas he took upon him the Manhood in Time ; in which , tho' we own him as the anointed of God ; yet he was also Gods anointed , as he was his only begotten and Delight ( and so the Son from his Eternal Being or Substance ) before the Mountains and Hills were settled . And in p. 15. he expresly calls that Opinion Heretical , that denies the Divinity of Christ. Again , p. 16. To say Christ cannot dwell in Man , doth not only oppose his Spirituality , Deity and Omnipotency , bar , &c. — And if He be perfect God , he can dwell in his People , as he hath promised . Again , p. 18. It still strictly limits , or tyes up the Name Jesus Christ to a Body of Flesh and Blood , and so cover●ly denies his Being , before he took on him that visible Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , and so opposeth his Divinity as before . Again , p. 68. What a gross Error is it to affirm , that Christ was not from the beginning ( or that he was not the Word in the beginning ) and what a denyal of his Divinity , like the old Hereticks ? Again , ib. Much more might be said on the behalf of the Divinity of the Son of God , or Christ , who was the Word in the beginning , and with the Father in his Glory before the World began . In another Book also of G. Whitehead's , called , The Nature of Christianity , &c. Printed in the Year 1671. ( to which G. Keith himself writ a Postscript ) in the Epistle , p. 3. G. Whitehead speaking concerning the true Saviour , or the Man Christ Jesus , says , Whom we have frequently Confest , both as to his Divinity , and as to his taking upon him the Body , prepared for him to do the Will of God in , according to the Scriptures of Truth ; yea , both his outward and inward Appearance , his suffering Nature and glorified State , and his Divinity ; in both we have always truly Believed and Confessed , even his Dignity , Spiritual outgoing from of old , from Everlasting , as also his outward Birth , &c. And in the Book , p. 36. G. Whitehead replies upon his Opponent , What is this , but to deny the Divinity of Christ , & c. ? Again , p. 40. That the Holy Prophets , Apostles and Ministers both pointed and testified unto Jesus Christ , both as Man born of the Virgin ( or to his coming in the Flesh ) and unto his Divinity ; and Manifestation in Spirit , this is owned . Again , p. 41. I perceive he is ignorant of Christ , both as the Son of God , and as the Son of Man : For according to the Spirit , he was the Son of God , &c. Again , p. 52. says he to his Opponent R. Gordon , Thou having confest , that his ( Christ's ) out-goings were from Everlasting , hast thereby granted to what I said , that the Son of God and his Light are not under a Limitation as to Time and Place , especially if thou wilt own his Divinity , or that he ever was the Son of God before he took a Body in the Womb of the Virgin ; but if thou dost not own that the Son of God was before then , than thou dost not own his Divinity , nor him no more than a Finite Creature . I choose to confront G. Keith out of these Books , rather than others , because these are some of the Books he hath cited ; and out of which he hath pretended to make good his Charges against us , and therefore he may not be supposed to have been ignorant , that these Passages were in them . But how horribly unjust and wicked he must be in charging G. Whitehead with denying the Divinity of Christ , or that Christ is God , who hath so fully and frequently asserted and maintained his Divinity against others , and that at the same time wherein he is charged to have denied it , I leave to the Reader 's Judgment . The next part of his Charge against G. Whitehead is , That he has denied Christ to be Man , Nar. p. 16. For proof of which he cites that Book of G. Whitehead's which I lately mentioned , called , The Divinity of Christ , &c. p. 18. ( but the Reader must take Notice , It is in the Second Part of that Book , for the Book is by its Pages , divided into two parts . ) The Words G. Keith cites first , are these , If the Body and Soul of the Son of God were both Created , doth not this render him a Fourth Person , &c. There G. Keith breaks off with an &c. But it follows in G. Whitehead's Book thus ; For Creation was in Time , which contradicts their Doctrine of three Distinct , Increated , Co-Eternal , Co-Essential Persons in the Deity , seeing that which was Created was not so . This shews the occasion of those Words , and that they we●●● ad hominem , to shew his Opponent ( T. Danson ) the absurdity of his Assertions about the Personalities of the Deity . But this Passage , though G. Keith mentioned it , to make the greater noise and flourish , he leans not on : For without Commenting on it , he says , But the stress I lay is in the Words following , which he gives thus . But herein , whether doth not his and their ignorance of the only begotten of the Father plainly appear . ( There he leaves out these Words [ And their denyal of Christs Divinity ] which he knew would make against him , and then goes on thus ) Where doth the Scripture say , That his Soul was Created ? For was not he the brightness of the Fathers Glory , and the express Image of his Divine Substance ? But supposing the Soul of Christ was ( with the Body ) created in Time , &c. There G. Keith breaks off again with an &c. But in G. Whiteheads Book it follows thus ; I ask , if from Eternity he was a Person distinct from God and his Holy Spirit , without either Soul or Body ? And where doth the Scripture speak of any Person without either Soul or Body ? Let 's have plain Scripture . This further shews , that this whole Passage related to Danson's strange Notions of the Personalities of the Deity , to shew his Confusion therein , and also to bring him back to the Scripture , which he , with the rest , ( for there were several other Priests concerned also at that time in the Controversie ) had set up for the only Rule in Religion , but would not keep to . Therefore did G. Whitehead put it upon them , Where doth the Scripture say ? Let 's have plain Scripture : But G. Keith perverts the whole Passage , and abuses G. Whitehead , for he tells his Auditors , Here ye see , He will not own that Christ had a Created Soul. Th. Danson , being a Presbyterian Minister , ( says he ) did plead , That Christ as Man had a Created Soul. Nay hold there , Tho. Danson spake of the Son of God. And to those Terms , G. VVhitehead answered , To this , I say , if the Body and Soul of the Son of God were both Created , doth not this render him a fourth Person ? For Creation was in time , which contradicts their Doctrine of three Distinct , Increated , Co-Eternal , Co-Essential Persons in the Deity , seeing that which was Created was not so . Plain it is from hence , that in this whole Answer , G. VVhitehead did not so much express his own Sense , as expose Danson's , and the other Priests , their Confusion , and Contradiction to themselves and one another . Therefore he asks Danson , If from Eternity , He ( the Son of God ) was a Person distinct from God and his Holy Spirit , without either Soul or Body ? And where says he , doth the Scripture speak of any Person without either Soul or Body ? And because you Priests contend so hotly , that the Scripture is the only Rule of Faith and Life ( for that was part of that Controversie , p. 45 , &c. ) Let 's have plain Scripture ? Where doth the Scripture say , that the Son of God , the only begotten of the Father , one of the Three Distinct , Increated , Co-Eternal , Co-Essential Persons in the Deity ( as ye call him ) that his Soul was Created ? Thus G. VVhitehead hampered his Adversaries , by putting the Questions , which shew'd the a●surdity and inconsistency of their Notions and Assertions ; a way of dealing with G. Keith hath sometimes used towards an unfair Adversary himself . And though he says , such a way of questioning plainly imp●rts a Denial , now that he writes against Truth , and the Friends of it ; yet when ●ormerly he wrot in Truth 's Defence ( a Book under that Title , Printed in 1682. in Answer to his Countreyman Iohn Alexander of Leith ) he told him , p. 59. I. Alexander ought to know , that to query a thing , will not conclude that the Questionist doth positively affirm or deny what is Queried . But it is common to him to forget himself , as oft as he has a Mind not to remember . However , I think those Words ( where doth the Scripture say that his Soul was Created ? ) which G. Keith would have taken notice of , and which he says he laies the stress in , will not bear the stress he lays , if right notice ( with respect to the occasion , drift and manner of Speech ) be taken of them . But that G. VVhitehead hath fully and frequently owned the Holy Manhood of Christ , with respect both to Soul and Body shall be shewed , by more Instances than one . At present let me shew G. Keith what he hath written concerning the Soul of Christ , in his VVay cast up , p. 104. And therefore , says he , let all the Scriptures be searched , and it shall not be found that Christ became Man ▪ and took to himself the Soul of Man , at his Conception in the Womb of the Virgin Mary ; but only that he took Flesh , and was the Son of Mary , of David , and of Abraham . And in p. 103. Yet before this , even from the beginning , he was the Heavenly Man , and had his Soul and heavenly Flesh and Blood , &c. Here G. Keith is positive , that Christ the heavenly Man , had his Soul from the beginning , before he did partake of our Flesh and Blood by his outward Birth . And he is as positive that Christ did n●t take to himself the Soul of Man , nay that he did not become Man , at his Conception in the Womb of the Virgin Mary . How will he scape now from falling into Appollinarius his Error , or contradicting himself to escape it . G. Keith brings another Passage out of another Book of G. VVhitehead's , in order to prove that G. VVhitehead has denied Christ to be Man. He brings it in thus . Next I prove ( says he , p. 16. ) that G. Whitehead says , He ( speaking of Christ ) has not the Body of a Man. See his Nature of Christianity , p. 29 , 41. This were an home Proof , if he could make it good . But , being conscious to himself of the falseness of this Charge , and how easily it may be disproved out of G. VVhitehead's Book , he staggers in his undertaking , and before he recites G. VVhitehead's Words , makes his own excuse thus . If he has said otherwise in any of his late Printed Books , I am glad of it . But let him retract these , for these have done much mischief . Now , says he , when I said he was Orthodox , I mean no● as he was Heterodox : For there is a G. Whitehead Orthodox , and a G. Whitehead not Orthodox . I did not know G. Whitehead not Orthodox till lately , I do not say there are two Persons in G. Whitehead , he is but one and the same Person ( in this and some other things ) Orthodox and not Orthodox . — I own it , that I have cited divers Passages out of his later Books that are Orthodox to prove him sound , &c. This plainly shews , that G. Keith knew G. VVhiteheads Judgement to be otherwise than he has represented him . But is it not a most horrible Wickedness , for one Man designedly and wilfully to represent another Man's Judgment quite contrary to what he knows it to be ? Now let us return to G. Keith's Charge and Proof . His Charge is , that G. VVhitehead says , He ( Christ ) has not the Body of a Man. His Proof is from the Book last mentioned , p. 29 , 41. thus . Or dost thou look for Christ , as the Son of Mary , to appear outwardly in a bodily Existence to save thee , according to thy VVords , p. 30. If thou dost , thou mayst look until thy Eyes drop out , before thou wilt see such an Appearance of him . Is this a Proof that G. VVhitehead says , Christ has not the Body of a Man ? I expected , when G. Keith said , I prove that G. VVhitehead says , He ( Christ ) has not the Body of a Man ; he would have pretended , at least , to have produced some place , wherein G. VVhitehead had exprest those very VVords . But instead of that , he brings a place , that hath neither those VVords , nor any thing like them . There is not in these Words of G. VVhitehead's a Denial , either that Christ hath a bodily Existence , or that he will appear in that Bodily Existence : But from them may be gathered , that th●t Appearance of Christ shall not be to save , but to judge the World at the last Day , and that that Day was not so near at hand , as R. Gordon seem'd to expect or think ! For the Words are , or dost thou look for Christ , as the Son of Mary to appear outwardly in a bodily Existence to save thee , according to thy Words , p. 30. If thou dost , thou mayst look until thy Eyes drop out , before thou wilt see such an Appearance of him , to wit , only as the Son of Mary and to save thee ? The Word [ Such ] may respect the End of his Appearance , as well as the Manner of it . The End , viz. to save thee ; as if Man should not be saved until the Day of general Judgment . The manner , viz. As the Son of Mary , as if Christ should come in no higher , powerful and more glorious Appearance than as he was the Son of Mary . And as to the Time of it ( if R. Gordon be dead ) his Eyes may be already dropt out , without seeing it , and yet the Appearance of Christ in a bodily Existence to judge the World at the last Day , be yet to come , and owned to be so . These things I mention , to shew the feeble grounds G. Keith hath for his Cavils . But from the Book it self , out of which G. Keith took these Words , it is manifest that G. Whitehead used these Words only to manifest his Opponent ( Gordon's ) Confusion and Contradiction , for they were not treating then concerning the Existence or Body of Christ , but concerning Justification , Redemption , Salvation by Christ , which R. Gordon ( it seems ) had asserted was wrought and compleated by the Sacrifice of Christ's Crucified Body upon the Cross , and yet would put off Believers from being made Partakers of that Salvation , till after their bodily Death , that they should be raised from the Grave ; yet granted , that it must be done by Christ's Appearance in Believers , through Faith by his Spirit : Whereupon says G. Whitehead to him ( Nature of Christian . p. 29. ) See thy manifest Contradiction , viz. A perfect Justification and Redemption ( of Sinners ) without them , when no good is wrought in them . But ( in Contradiction ) now it must be done by Christs Appearance in Believers , through Faith by his Spirit . As also thou grantest , that his appearing the second time is without Sin to Salvation : But when thinkest thou , that must be ? Is it in this Life , or hereafter ? Thou sayst , that after the bodily Death , you , shall be raised out of the Grave , and made partakers of that Salvation , p. 13. T is strange the Salvation of Sinners , yea , of the whole World , as thy Word is , should be compleated at once , above 1600. Years since , — and yet to be so long after Death lookt for , how long , is not known to thee ; or ( dost thou pretend to know , or think thou know'st , and thereupon ) dost thou look for Christ , as the Son of Mary , to appear outwardly , in a bodily Existence to save thee , according to thy Words , p. 30. If thou dost , thou mayst look till thy Eyes drop out , before Thou wilt see such an Appearance of him . This says G. Keith , is but one place , that is , that Christ will not so appear : But why , adds he , will he not so appear , but because he has no bodily Existence without us . G. Whitehead said not so . That 's only G. Keith's wrong Inference . And That , says he , p. 16. I come now to prove . So then what he has hitherto said is no proof of it , for it seems he is but now coming to prove it . For which purpose , Nar. p. 17. he cites another Passage of G. Whitehead's in p. 4● . thus . And that he existeth outwardly , bodily , without us , at God's right Hand : What Scripture-Proof hath he for these Words ? And then what , and where , is God's right Hand ? Is it Visible , or Invisible ? Within us , or without us only ? And is Christ the Saviour , as an outward bodily Existence or Person without us , distinct from God , and on that consideration to be worshipped as God , Yea or Nay ? And where doth the Scripture say , he is outwardly and bodily glorified at God's right Hand ? Do these Terms express the Glory that he had with the Father before the World began , in which he is now glorified ? These last Words , from Where doth the Scripture say ? Is , he says , the thing that Rivets . But if , by Rivetting , he means Fastening a Proof upon G. VVhitehead , that he denies Christ to have a bodily Existence without us , G. Keith himself has cut off the Head of his Rivet , and made it uncapable to hold , by saying ( which I shewed before , from his Answer to his Countryman , Iohn Alexander ) He ought to know , that to Query a thing , will not conclude that the Questionist doth positively affirm or deny what is Queried . Truths Defence , p. 59. Especially , when it is only used in a Socratical way of Disputing or Arguing against an Adversary ( as it is used here ) and which he observes to be G. VVhitehead's way of Writing . And indeed from the whole Answer ( which fills near two Pages ) out of which G. Keith hath cropt his Quotation , it appears that G. VVhitehead's drift was to shew the Absurdity and Inconsistency of his Opponent's Assertion ; which was ( as in p. 40. ) that Christs Apostles , and all his Ministers in all Ages — pointed to Jesus the Son of Mary , this Son of Man , with an Hosannah to this Son of David , and to none before him , or to any ever since . These Words [ The Son of Mary , this Son of Man , this Son of David , and to none before him ] had a tendency to deny the Divinity or Godhead of Christ , and to set up the Body , that was born of the Virgin , for the only , whole , intire Christ and Saviour . And therefore , to this G. VVhitehead answered , That the Holy Prophets , Apostles and Ministers , hath pointed and testified unto Iesus Christ , both as Man born of the Virgin ( or to his coming in the Flesh ) and unto his Divinity , and Manifestation in Spirit , this is owned . ●ut that they all cried Hosanna to the Son of David , is a mistake : For it was the Multitudes that went before and that followed ( when Christ rid to Jerusalem ) that cryed Hosannah to the Son of David , Mat. 21.9 . Adding , Many 〈…〉 cry Hosannah , who never knew his Salvation within , nor believed in his Power ; but rather spiritually crucifie him . And the Scribes and Pharisees could talk of Christs being the Son of David , — when they neither truly believed nor owned him ( that was the true Christ ) either as the Root or Offspring of David . But Christ asked these Pharisees and Scribes ( who said Christ is the Son of David ) this Question , VVhat think ye of Christ ? VVhose Son is he ? They said unto him , The Son of David . He said unto them , How then doth David in Spirit call him Lord ? — If David then call him Lord , how is he his Son , & c ? Now says G. VVhitehead there , VVas not this the true Christ , whom David in Spirit called Lord , before he took upon him Flesh , or came of his Seed ? There 's another Question put to his Opponent , who had asserted , That all the Apostles and Ministers of Christ in all Ages , — pointed to Jesus the Son of Mary , this Son of Man , with an Hosannah to this Son of David , and to none before him . Was not this the true Christ , whom David in Spirit called Lord , says G. VVhitehead ? What then ? Did this Question imply , that G. VVhitehead denied Christ according to the Flesh ( or as he was born of Mary ) to be the Son or Offspring of David ? Nothing less : For he says , he took upon him Flesh , and came of David's Seed , and is owned , as pointed at , and testified unto by the Holy Prophets , Apostles , &c. as Man born of the Virgin. No more doth his asking his Opponent ▪ for it is not a general Question , but particular , to his Opponent , grounded upon the particular Terms his Opponent had exprest himself in ) thus , Whereupon I ask him ● seeing he would restrain all to the fleshly Appearance , and make all the Apostles , &c. to have pointed to Jesus the Son of Mary , this Son of Man , with an Hosannah to this Son of David , and to none before him ) If he hath so considered him to be God the Saviour , or the Son from the Substance of the Father , as some of his Brethren have confessed the Son is ? And what Scripture-Proof hath he ( who pretends so highly to Scripture , and blames us though falsly ; for not holding to it ? ) for these VVords , He existeth outwardly bodily without us , at God's right Hand ? And where doth the Scripture say , He is outwardly and bodily glorified at God's right Hand ? Do these Terms express the Glory that he had with the Father before the VVorld began , in which he is now glorified ? The Exception here is not against the thing , but the Terms by which it is exprest . The Thing that Christ hath a bodily Existence without us , and is therein glorified , and that at God's right hand , is so far from being denied , that it was never doubted . But that this should he exprest in such Terms as the Holy Scripture doth not afford , and which would limit Christ to any certain place , or exclude him ( by the Word outward ) from being in his Saints , is justly excepted against , as contrary both to the Nature of Christ , and Scope of the Scriptures . And therefore G. VVhitehead asks his Opponent , what Scripture-Proof hath he ? VVhere doth the Scripture say so ? And the more to lay open his Opponents absurdity in this Case , goes on questioning him , in the same place , p. 41. thus . And then , VVhat and where is Gods right Hand ? Is it visible , or invisible ? within us , or without us only ? Now G. Keith might as well from hence infer and charge G. VVhitehead with denying that God has a right Hand , as he doth from the other Questions , That Christ hath no bodily Existence without us ; and both a like absurdly and falsly . For he himself says in another place also of his Book called , Truth 's Defence , p. 165. When his Opponent would have drawn a Conclusion , and inferred a Charge , from a Query , What is proposed in the Query is not positively concluded one way or another , as the Nature of a Query doth plainly demonstrate . And blaming his then Opponent , for urging Matters of Doctrine in unscriptural Terms , he says , in Truth 's Defence , p. 169. Why is it , that the Scriptures are so full and large in their Testimony to the Doctrines and Principles of Religion , but to let us understand , that all the Principles and Doctrines of the Christian Faith , which God requireth in common of all Christians , are expresly there Delivered and Recorded ? And therefore , says he , for my part , what I cannot find expresly delivered in Scripture , I see no Reason why I should receive or believe it as any common Article or Principle of the Christian Faith or Life : And p. 170. he adds , Now if this were but received among those called Christians , that nothing should be required by one sort from another , as an Article of Faith , or Doctrine , or Principle of the Christian Religion in common to be believed , but what is expresly delivered in the Scripture , in plain express Scripture Terms , of how great an Advantage might it be to bring a true Reconcilement among them , and beget true Christian Unity , Peace , Love and Concord ? Yet G. Keith himself ( who but in the Year 1682. wrote thus ) doth now ( which shews his inconsistency with himself , and Injustice to G. Whitehead ) charge G. Whitehead with denying the thing it self , because he did but ask his Opponent for a Scripture-Proof , of a thing laid down not in Scripture Terms . So industrious is he now to seek an Advantage ( instead of furthering a Reconcilement among them called Christians ) to hinder any such Reconcilement , and cause a greater distance between them ; and instead of begetting true Christian Unity , Peace , Love and Concord , to break and destroy ( as much as in him lies ) that Love and Peace that hath been , and ( but for him , and such other Incendiaries ) might be , and increase among them . But though G. Whitehead did reject the Baptists unscriptural Terms ; yet that he owned the Manhood of Christ , as well as his Divinity , may be seen in another Book also of his called , The Quakers Plainness detecting Fallacy ( a Book not written t'other Day ▪ but in 1674. two and twenty Years ago ) where p. 18. answering an Objection , that we own nothing but the Divine Nature to be Christ , he answers , Where proves he these words to be ours ? Have we not plainly and often confest also , that the Divine Nature or Word , Cloathed with the most holy Manhood , and as having taken Flesh of the Seed of Abraham , was and is the Christ. Before I pass to G. Keith's next Proof , I must here take notice of a Marginal note which G. Keith , makes in his seventeenth p. relating to the Book he last cited , of G. Whitehead's , called The Nature of Christianity . The Reader may take notice , that in p. 15. when it was Objected to him , that the Book which he then mentioned was written An●●e●tly , and that he had written in Vindication of our Principles since ; He there , to turn off the Objection , says , I do say , If it were my last Word● , I know no● that I over Read a line of this Book , till I came last to England . But here , quoting another Book of G. Whitehead's , which he could not pretend Ignorance of , in as much as he himself , was not only concerned with G. Whitehead , in the controversy on which that Book was written , but had also a part in the same Book against his Country-man Rob. Gordon , ( whom he , Principally , had undertaken to Answer in another Book , called The Light of Truth Triumphing , Published but the Year before ) Now to secure himself ( if he could ) from the like Objection , he adds here , his Marginal note thus , Note , There is an Additional Postscript by me G. Keith , put to this Book of G. Whitehead , Nature of Christianity , the which Postscript I left in a Manuscript at London , and with the Quakers : Printed with this of G. Whitehead . I acknowledge ( says he ) my want of due Consideration , that I did not better consider G. Whitehead's , words in that Book , having many Years ago Read it , but too overly , and not having seen it since , for many Years , till of late . Does this sound likely ? Does it savour of Sincerity and plainness ? Or does it not rather look like a silly shifting Excuse , for his Condemning that now , which he owned then , and yet pretending to be the same in Judgment , that he was then ? He goes on in his note thus , But I am sure , I did really then believe ( as I now do ) that Christ as man , did outwardly and bodily exist without us ; for proof of which see my words in that Additional Postscript , p. 73. where at N. 11. I blame R. Gordon , for saying , That the now present , Glorified Existence of that Body ( or man Christ ) that suffered at Jerusalem , is denied by some Teachers among us . And to be sure , he did then really believe ( and had good cause so to do ) that G. Whitehead , and all the Quakers , did so believe as well as himself ( which he had no cause since to disbelieve ) and therefore he did than Vindicate them all , as well as himself , charging Gordon , with a Lye , and false Accusation , for saying the contrary . And yet , whatever pretence he may make of his Ignorance , what was in other Books of G. Whitehead's , written but a little before , he may not be supposed Ignorant of what was in that Book ( which he himself had a share in ) out of which , yet he now makes his greatest Cavil , on this Head , against , G. Whitehead . He adds in his note , I confess I happened to find Divers Passages in G. Whitehead's , and other Quakers Books , that seemed to me unsound ; but in an excess of Charity , I did construe them to be better meant than worded , and that they had rather unwarily slipped from them , than that they were the expressions of their unsound mind , &c. How long it is since this Accident befel him , that ( as he words it ) he happened to find those divers passages which seemed to him unsound , he does not tell . But the tenour of his words import it to have been long ago : For ( if ever he did ) to be sure he has not exceeded in Charity towards the Quakers , of late Years . But whenever he had found any passages , either in G. Whitehead's , or other Quakers Books , that had seemed to him unsound , had he been really sound himself , and soundly ( tho' not excessively ) Charitable , he would have Charitably , and Friendly , in a private manner , have opened such passages to the respective Authors of such Books , and have understood from themselves , their Sense and Meaning therein , that thereby he might have both inform'd and reform'd their Minds and Judgments , in the passages , if they had been really unsound ; or they have rectified his mistaking understanding , by manifesting to him the soundness , both of their minds and words . And this Friendly Office , he might more easily and inoffensively have undertaken , if ( as he says ) he construed those Passages , which to him seem'd unsound , to be better meant than worded , and that they had rather unwarily slipt from them , than that they were the expressions of an unsound Mind . But tho' he has not told us when , that excessive Charity of his began , yet he pretty plainly intimates when it ended , and why , by saying , I construed those passages , better meant than worded , — until that of late , I had found them to Iustify the same , and the like unsound words , in my Adversaries in Pensilvania , and to hate and excommunicate me for telling them of them . Ay , there 's the Hing of the business ! their Excommunicating him , as he calls it ( that is , their declaring him to be gone out from them , and their Communion , and to be no longer one of them ) From that time forward , ( and some time before ) his excess of Charity turned to an excess of Enmity , and then he saw the same things , and Persons to be far worse than he saw them before , because he saw them with a far worse Eye . But to go on to his Charge and Proofs . The next Proof he brings , that G. Whitehead has denied the Existence of Christ in a body without us , is out of a Book of G. Whitehead's , called Christ ascended above the Clouds , Printed in 1669. in answer to Io. Newman , a Baptist. The Quotation begins thus , p. 17. Io. Newman , his Opponent's words were from Rev. 1.7 . Those that pierced him in his Body of Flesh , shall see that Body Visibly come again , p. 21 , 22. G. Whitehead , answereth , These are not the words of Scripture , but a●●ed , altho' to add or diminish be forbidden under a Penalty , Rev. 22.18 , 19. Yet this Mans presumption leads him to incur that ; There G. Keith , breaks off with a dash , thus , — thereby leaving out what follows next , in G. Whitehead , which is thus , See also for answer to him , Rev. 1.8 . and 13 , 14.16 . In none of which is Iesus Christ either called ( or represented as ) a Body of Flesh , Blood , and Bones , visibly to come again . The leaving out these words , was not fair in G. Keith , because they shew upon what ground G. Whitehead , opposed the Baptists , and what sort of Body it was they disputed about , viz. a Body of Flesh , Blood , and Bones . Certain it is indeed , that that Body which was pierced on the Cross , was a Body of Flesh , Blood , and Bones . And the Baptists , from Rev. 1.7 . said , Those that pierced him in his Body of Flesh , shall see that Body visibly come again , not so much as mentioning any change in it . G. Keith , thereupon , Nar. p. 17. says , Is there any thing here offensive ? Nothing ( adds he ) but what is the declared Opinion of the Church of Rome , the Church of England , the Presbyterians , Independents , Baptists , and mine all along . He had forgot it seemes ( tho' I lately put him in mind of it ) that in his Book called The way cast up ( Printed 1677. long after the Book he carps at ) he said , That Body that was crucified on the Cross at Ierusalem , and is now ascended and glorified in Heaven — is no more a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , but a pure , Ethereal , or Heavenly Body , p. 131. And although ( to shew his own Confusion ) he there says , That Body , notwithstanding its being changed from being a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , to be no more a Body of Flesh Blood and Bones , but a pure Ethereal , or Heavenly Body , re-mains the same in substance , that it was on Earth , making the change ( from being a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , to be no more a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones ) to be a change not in subs●●●ce , but in mode and manner only of its being : Yet he had no reason to cavil with , or blame G. Whitehead , for opposing the Baptists notion of a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , now in Heaven , since he himself declares , it is no more a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , but a pure , Ethereal Body , which the Baptists , I am confident never dreamt of , and which , I suppose , none of the Churches or People , he has named , will agree with him in , if he will now agree with himself . But he would have found less cause , or colour to quarrel with G. Whitehead , about that description of Christ , in Rev. 1. if he had considered what himself hath writ , further upon that Subject , in his said Way cast up , p. 141 , 142. N. 6. Where treating of Christ the Heavenly Man , he says , And as Iohn , Rev. 1. describeth him , he is a wonderfully great Man , even that Son of Man , whom Iohn saw , after his Ascension , in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks , even he that liveth and was dead , ver . 18. to shew that it was the Man Christ , and he had in his right Hand seven Stars , which are expounded to be the Seven Angels or Pastors of the Seven Churches . Now mark . This sheweth ( saith he ) it is not his external Person , or outward Body that is here described , for it is impossible to conceive , how he can hold a number of Men , in the right Hand of his external Person . Therefore by his right Hand is signified his Power , as he is the great Heavenly Man , which can well hold all the Men that ever were in the World. So also in the same p. 142. N. 7. upon the words of Christ , Iohn . 1.51 . Verily , verily , I say vnto you , Hereafter ye shall see Heaven Opened , and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man ; he says , This cannot be the external Person of Christ. ) But if it was not the external Person or outward Body ( as he says ) of Christ that Iohn spake of , in Rev. 1. much less was it a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones ; and least of all doth G. Whitehead's opposing the Baptists carnal notion of Christ's having a Body now in Heaven , of Flesh Blood and Bones , and his being to come Visibly again in that Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , deny Christs existence in his Glorified Body without us . G. Keith , says , Io. Newman , here only uses the word Body , to his coming again , and G. Whitehead , finds fault with that . But in that G. Keith , slips , for I. N. used not only the word Body , but the words [ that Body ] to shew he meant a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones . And it is well known , that many of the Baptists ( as well as others of other Professions ) do hold the Body of Christ now in Heaven , to be as really and materially , a Body of Flesh Blood and Bones , as it was , when upon the Cross ; which G. Whitehead might as well find fault with then , as G. Keith , did afterwards . He quarrels also with G. Whitehead , for citing the words of Christ , Iohn . 14.19 . Yet a little while , and the World seeth me no more . Upon this , he carps at the Translation of that Scripture , and says , It may be better Translated [ as yet ] But I think it were better for him to let the Translation alone as it is , which he cannot mend ; for though he hath declared himself to be one in Opinion , with the Church of Rome , the Church of England , the Presbyterians , Independents , and Baptists , Yet I scarce think he will find any among them , to be one with him , in altering the Translation of that Scripture , at least as he would alter it . Yet upon his confident altering the Text from [ no more ] to [ not as yet ] he says , Does this prove that Christ has no Body at all ? This is very bad reasoning , says he . Ay sure , so it is . But who reasoned so , besides himself ? Can he see no difference between Christs not having a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , and having no Body at all ; he has a very bad sight then . When he formerly held , that the Body that was Crucified on the Cross at Ierusalem , is no more a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , did he urge that , to prove that Christ has no Body at all ? If not , why will he infer so upon another , without cause ? He alledges that G. Whitehead brings that Scripture for a Proof , that those that Pierced Christ in his Body , shall not see that Body Visibly come again : And thereupon he cries out , Here is a Proof that Christ was Evanished . But it must be again remembred , that that Body which the Baptist there contended for , and which G. Whitehead opposed him about , was a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones . And therefore doth it not fall unavoidably upon G. Keith , that herein he holds that Body only of Flesh , Blood and Bones , which suffered death upon the Cross , to be the whole entire Christ ; seeing he infers , that if that Body ( of Flesh , Blood and Bones ) which suffered death upon the Cross , be not now in Heaven , and to be seen come Visibly again , a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , then Christ is evanished ? But it appears from G. Whitehead's following words , that he did not believe Christ was evanished , but that he believed his existence in a Spiritual glorified Body , and that he should so come again , and be seen of all , though not in a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , or after a carnal manner . For he says ( in the next words after , Iohn , 14.19 . ) But his second coming and appearance without Sin to Salvation , I own , and witness ; and that he is therein to be seen Spiritually in his Kingdom , and Fathers Glory , ( which is an Invisible Glory , not seen Carnally ) Mark that . Howbeit his appeaance shall be universally seen , both to the joy of the Righteous , and universal Conviction , and Condemnation of the Wicked , who have rejected his Light within , and his saving appearance thereby made manifest . Yea , every Eye shall see him ( both of good and bad ) both those that have waited for his second coming without Sin to Salvation ; and they also which have Pierced or Crucified him ; which all those in general are chargeable with , ( as really as his Persecutors that Pierced him outwardly ) who profess his name , and yet Crucifie to themselves his Life or Spiritual Appearance . He was Spiritually Pierced and Crucified in Spiritual Sodom and Egypt , Rev 11.8 . The same Jesus , as he was seen ascend ( when a Cloud received him out of their sight , who stood gazing , Acts. 1.9 , 10 , 11. ) it is said , shall so come in like manner , &c. Which tho' every like manner is not the very same , nor all Clouds the same , yet the same Jesus certainly cometh , and in like manner , his coming being in the Clouds . This same Objecton G. Keith , had made against G , Whitehead , in his Gross Error , p. 3. and again p. 6. In which latter place , reciting the foregoing words of the Baptist , viz. That those that pierced Christ in his Body of Flesh , shall see that Body visibly come again , and part of G. Whitehead's answer to it , he taxes G. Whitehead , with having blamed the Baptist for useing the word [ Visibly ] with respect to Christ's comming again , and yet that G. Whitehead , in his late answer to some Queries , had used the word [ Visibly ] with respect to Christ's Ascension . Upon which G. Keith , there says , Now I am sure there is the same ground in Scripture for his Visible appearance and coming again , as there is for his Visible ascending . But let me ask G. Keith , ( as sure as he says he is ) whether he then considered the great and wonderful change , which himself elsewhere hath often said , was made in the Body of Christ , after it was taken up into glory ; and then , Whether there is the same ground , either in Scripture or Reason , for the same manner of Visibility of his appearance and coming again in his glorified Body , as was of his ascending before his Body was so glorified . The Body of Christ in which he suffered , ( being an outward Fleshly substance ) was at the time of his Ascension , as well as before , conspicuous and visible to the outward carnal Eyes , of outward carnal Men. But will it be in like manner Visible to outward carnal Eyes , when he shall come again , now that it is so transcendently glorified , that it is become a pure , Heavenly , Spiritual , Glorious Body ? Is there , according to G. Keith's , Philosophy , no difference , in point of visibility , and with respect to the Opticks , and Organs of sight , between a Body of Flesh not glorified , and the most glorious of glorified Bodies ? Is the one , with him , as perceptible by the Natural Eye , as the other ? If not : Why was he so inconsiderately bold to say , I am sure there is the same ground in Scripture for his visible appearance and coming again , as there is for his visible ascending ? If he understand the same manner of visibility in his coming again , as was in his ascending , he then makes no difference in point of visibility between an unglorified and glorified Body . If he understand not the same manner of visibility in each appearance , he does but trifle , quibble , & play the sophister . G. Keith cites two passages more , p. 18. out of the same Book of G. Whitehead , ( Christ ascended p. 24. and p. 69. ) that in p. 24. he gives thus , First , the Baptists words , By denying any Personal being of Christ , without all men , at the right Hand of God , but only a fained Christ within , then remission of Sins must die , and ●aith also , for want of the Object , Christ. This G. Keith says , he looks on to be good Doctrine , tho' he cannot but know , that by a feigned ▪ Christ within , the Baptist meant that Light within , which G. Keith , confesses ●o be Divine . G. Whitehead's answer he gives thus , This manner of excluding God's right Hand , and Christ to a limitation out of his People in a Personal being ( which are no Scripture Terms ) still implies him to be a Personal God or Christ , like the Anthropomorphite , and Muggletonians conceits of him : ( This he caviled also at in his Gross Error , p. 10. ) to all which I answer ; The word Person , or Personal , with respect to God , or the God-head , G. Keith , knows the Quakers always excepted against , as unscriptural , and tending to beget or keep up gross and carnal Conceits in People's minds , concerning God and Christ , as if they were like Men , having the shape and appearance of Men , and so were Circumscribed and Limited to place , as Men are . And that it was against such a gross Notion as this , that G. Whitehead there contended , is manifest from his answer it self . For he says , This manner of excluding God's right Hand , and Christ to a limitation out of his People in a personal Being ( which are no Scripture Terms ) still implies him to be a personal God , or Christ , like the Anthropomorphites and Muggletonians conceits of him . The Anthropomorphites were therefore so called , because they held God to have the shape of Man. Which extravagant notion Muggleton resumed . And tho' G. Keith says , There is no Church of England Man , Presbyterian , or Baptist , &c. That holds that notion , That the God-head has the shape of a Man : Yet he is too slight to make a Voucher for all of those Communions , tho' his Et Cetera , had been left out . Nay , he himself seems doubtful what to determine in that case for himself , saying , What shape Christs Body has now , that I leave , Nar. p. 18. However , it is plain from G. Whitehead's Book , both there and elswhere , that it was this notion , and the asserting such a Personal existence of God and Christ , and in unscriptural Terms , has tended to confirm that Notion , which G. Whitehead opposed both here , in p. 24. and in that other place , p. 69. cited also by G. Keith , where G. Whitehead , having exposed his Opponents , Self-cont●adictions ( as one while saying , Christ was remote from them , Christ doth not dwell in any Man , Christ in Person remote at the right Hand of God , &c. And yet otherwhiles speaking of the Indwellings of Christ by his Word and Truth , being of the same nature with him , and that Christ is setting forth himself to be the Vine , and his People the Branches , and adviseth them , — to abide in me , and I in you , &c. ) He makes this Animadversion thereupon , If the Indwelling of God and Christ be such in his People , and the Saints in such near Vnion and Conjunction with Christ , as the Branches with the Vine , and Members with the Body , then 't is false , and a lying Imagination , to Imagine either Christ , God , and his right Hand so remote , as not to dwell in any Man , no , not in their own People ; [ and these words Christ in Person , remo●e in his Body of Flesh , &c. And not in any Man ] are not Scripture , but added : What strange Conceits and Limitations would J. Newman put upon the unlimitted God ( like the Old Here●ical Monks of Egypt , called Anthropomorphites ) contrary to his own confession . This shews it was not Christ's Spiritual existence or being , in a Spiritual glorified Body without us , That G. Whitehead opposed ; but such a carnal Notion of a Personal being or existence of Christ , at the right Hand of God , as confined both Christ and God , to a remoteness from his People , and excluded them from being in his People . And therefore G. Keith , abused G. Whitehead , in telling his Auditors , that by these words of G. Whitehead , All Papists , Church of England Men , Presbyterians , Independents , Baptists , who believe that the Man Christ has any Bodily existence in Heaven , as he thinks , are Anthropomorphites and Muggletonians : For there is a wide difference between holding that Christ has any Bodily existence in Heaven , and that he has such a carnal Bodily existence in Heaven , as excludes him out of his People , and confines and lim●s both him , and God's right Hand , at which he is , to a remot●ness from them . Which gross and carnal Notion , G , Keith , not many Years since , seemed sensible of the hurt of , and writ against in his Book , called , Asreious Appeal , Printed at Philadelphia , in 1692. ( since he began to quarrel with the Quakers . ) In which he says , p. 11. We cannot approve of the too carnal Conceptions of many carnal and ignorant Professors , that have too carnal Imaginations of Christ , and confine him altogether to such a Remoteness , that they will not allow any measure of him to dwell in Believers , plain contrary to the Scripture . And in p. 24. he says to the New-England Professors , How can ye Build on him , when ye have no belief , that Christ is nearer unto you , than in some remote place beyond the Skies ? And yet now , in his Enmity against G. Whitehead , he charges him with denying Christ , for but opposing those too carnal Conceptions , which some carnal and ignorant Professors , in their too carnal Imaginations , had of Christ , whereby they would limit him to a remoteness from his People . This limiting Christ , by such a carnal Notion of a Bodily existence , as excludes him out of his People , and confines him to a Remoteness from them , if it be not now , was once an uncomfortable Doctrine to G. Keith , when he said , Surely it is no less a Comfortable , than it is a true Doctrine , that we have the Man Jesus Christ so near unto us , in vertue of his Divine Life and Soul , in his Divine Seed and Body extended into us : And thus he is the incarnate Word , or Word made Flesh , dwelling in our Flesh , &c. VVay cast up , p. 133. And G. Keith , in his answer to the Rector of Arrow , said , I put thee to prove , by any one place in all the Scripture , that Christ hath now any other Flesh or Body , but that which is Spiritual , Rector Corrected , p. 24. and again , p. 54. As concerning the Body of Christ , that was Crucified , was it not again raised up to be made a living Body ? And after he arose and ascended , was it not a Spiritual Body ? Why then ( says G. Keith to the Rector ) sayst thou , shew a syllable , that intimates a spiritual Body ? Is not Christ's Body a spiritual Body , which he hath now in the Heavens ? — Shew a Syllable , that Christ hath any other Body , but that which is spiri●ual . And p. 55 he says , What is that Body of Christ , mentioned by the Apostle , Col. 2.17 . which puts an end unto the outward Observation of Meats , and Drinks , new Moons and Sabbath-days ? Is that only the outward Body that was Crucified ? If thou sayst yea , then thou dividest Christ , whereas Christ is not divided . And p. 44. he says , That there is no such a distance betwixt Christ , that is gone into the Holiest , and his Saints upon Earth , as thou imaginest , see but ver . 19 , 20 , 21 , 22. of Heb. 10. And in p. 23. speaking of the Power and Vertue of the Body of Christ that rose and ascended a spiritual and glorious Body , he says , But this vertue is not any visible thing , nor is the glorified Body of Christ visible Flesh ; and therefore ( says he to the Rector ) thou dost grosly erre , to say , as thou dost , the Son of Man is visible Flesh : For seeing the Body of Christ is glorified , and wholly spiritual ( as the Body of every true Believer shall be at the Resurrection ) how can it be visible Flesh ? And ( adds he ) Christ , the second Adam is called in Scripture the quickning Spirit , but not visible Flesh. Therefore ( says he ) in this ( see how he banters him ) thou ' dost grosly erre , and needest Correction . None of these Passages hath ever yet been retracted by G. Keith ( that I have seen or heard of ) and therefore he is the more to be blamed for blaming G. Whitehead for asserting Christ's Body to be a glorified spiritual Body , not a gross , carnal visible Body of Flesh , which he himself says it is not . He hath one Cavil more upon this Head against G. Whitehead , and a m●●r Cavil it seems to be : He grounds it on a passage he takes out of a Book of G. Whitehead's , called , The He goats Horn broken , written about 36 years ago , in answer to two Books written by three Opposers , whereof one was named Io. Horn ; and G. Keith seems to fancy that this Book of G. Whitehead's had that Title , as alluding to the Name of Iohn Horn , and he took occasion from thence to make himself and his Auditors some Sport about it , Nar. p. 19. But unless he had be●ter ground to go upon than bare likeness in ●ound of words , he may be mistaken for all that . For I could shew him a Book , written some years before that , by R. Hubberthorn , called The Horn of the He-goat broken , in Answer to a Book published by one Tho. Winterton , betwixt which Name and Title there is not the least likeness of sound . That which G. Keith objects to G. Whitehead here , is , That he contradicts a passage in his Opponents Book , which G. Keith says , if he understands any thing of true Divinity or Theology , is a sound Passage , viz. That our Nature , Kind , or Being , as in us , not in Christ , is corrupt and filthy in it self , yet Christ took upon him our Nature , not as it is filthy in us by sin in it , &c. How sound this Passage is , I will not here dispute , because I would not dilate Controversie to feed a carping Mind in a peevish Adversary , neither will I presume to question G. Keith's understanding any thing of true Divinity , lost I should be thought as ignorant as he is arrogant . But yet I think it may be worthy of consideration , how far that Passage is sound , which says , Our Nature , Kind , or Being is corrupt and filthy in it self , ( not only as in us , by sin in it , but in it self . ) And how suitable it was for Christ to take upon him a Nature that was corrupt and filthy in it self . That Christ took on him the Nature of Man , ( though it be not in Scripture exprest in those terms , that I remember ) may in a right sense ( for the word Nature is taken in divers Acceptations ) be admitted : The Scripture says , he took upon him the form of a Servant , and was made in the likeness of Men , Phil. 2.7 . And that , Forasmuch as the Children are Partakers of Flesh and Blood , he also himself likewise took part of the same , Heb. 2.14 . And in verse 16. it is said , He took on him the Seed of Abraham : But the Margin expresses it ( more agreeably to the Greek , as G. Keith knows ) thus , He taketh not hold of Angels , but of the Seed of Abraham he taketh hold . Now I do not find by G. Whitehead's Answer , that he denies that Christ took Mans Nature ; but that he taxes his Opponents with Confusion , in two respects● one , for that they excepted against his former wording of their Assertion , thus , That their Nature is restored in Christ ; and yet that their Nature is a filthy Nature , and Christ took upon him their Nature . The other , that , to free themselves from the imputation of Confusion in the former , they say , He might as well have taxed the Apostle with Confusion , for saying , Men by Nature do the things contained in the Law , Rom. 2.14 . And yet by Nature Children of wrath , Ephes. 2.3 . In which two places , G. Keith , I presume , will not deny the word Nature to be used very differently . Now to this ▪ G. Whitehead's Answer was , We may justly tax th●se Men with Confusion indeed , but not the Apostle ; for here they cannot discern between the sinful Nature , and the pure Nature ; for the Nature of Christ is pure , so that it 's not their Nature , for their Nature is filthy , and therefore it is not in Christ ( that is , as it is filthy . ) Then he goes on to shew their Confusion in the other part ; And their bringing that of Rom. 2.14 . & Ephes. 2.3 . together , to prove their confusion , sheweth that they cannot discern between that Nature by which Men do the things contained in the Law , and that Nature by which Men break the Law , and are Children of wrath ; but make as if it were all one . Now I do not ●ind G. Keith is able to make any great advantage by his Cavil against G. Whitehead . He says indeed , Our blessed Lord might well take on him our Nature , and the Nature in us be sinful , and in him pure and holy . But will he say , that that Nature which our Lord took on him was sinful ( or corrupt and filthy ) in it self ? Which he knows w●re Io. Horn's terms . But I observe he takes occasion from hence to make Sport with G. Whitehead and W. Penn their Philosophy , even so far as to ridicule Divine Inspiration : For he says , he has oft told G. Whitehead , that he and W. Penn will needs embrace false Notions in Philosophy , they will needs seem to be Philosophers by Divine Inspiration , as well as Ministers and Preachers by 〈◊〉 Had not the Philosophy himself so much dotes on , and glories in , been ( as his own phrase was ) a Ditch , and a foul Ditch too , he would have been more cleanly in his Expression , and not have made Divine Inspiration the Subject of his Frothy Flout . But it is high time for him to tack about , and deny Divine Inspiration , if he aspire to Preferment in that Church , against which he has formerly said so much for it . Thus having answered all his Quotations against G. Whitehead concerning the holy Manhood , or Divine Existence and spiritual Being of Christ in Heaven , as he is the Heavenly Man , & shewed that G. Whitehead hath not denied it , I shall give a few Instances out of G. Whitehead's Books ( those especially which G. Keith has pickt his Cavils out of ) to manifest his owning the Holy Manhood or Bodily Existence of Christ in Heaven . In his Book called The Light and Life of Christ within , p. 9. refuting the slander of his Opponent , he says , False it is , That the Quakers Christ is not Gods Christ , or that they deny the Man Christ , or the Christ that is in the Heavens . In his Book called Christ ascended above the Clouds , p 16. when his Opponent had asserted that Christ cannot dwell in Man ; and given this as his Reason , For Christ is perfect Man , as well as perfect God : He does not deny that Christ is perfect Man , as well as perfect God , but denies the Consequence , that therefore Christ cannot dwell in Man. Mind his Answer , which is this : To say Christ cannot dwell in Man , doth not only oppose his Spirituality , Deity and Omnipotency ; but also is contrary to the Apostles plain Testimonies of Christs being in the Saints : And if he be perfect God , he can dwell in his People as he hath promised ; and surely his being perfect Man doth not put a Limitation upon him , as a Let or Hinderance to disable him from being in his People ; whilst he who was Christ , as come in the Flesh , was also truly Jesus Christ within , in his spiritual Appearance ; and we do not confine him under this or that particular Name . Again , p. 17. I grant that Christ arose with the same Body that was crucifi●d and put to Death , and that he ascended into glory , even the same glory which he had with the Father before the World begun . Many more Instances might be added ▪ But the Reader may take notice , that in my last Book called Truth Defended , ( written about a year ago , in Answer to two Books of G. Keith's , and which he hath not yet replied to ) I gave a dozen Instances out of those Books which G. Keith has carped at , to shew that G. Whitehead did own the Manhood of Christ ; one of which ( seeing he hath not taken notice of them ) I may repeat here , referring the Reader to p. 161. of that Book of mine for the rest . That which I now repeat , is out of a Book called The Christian Quaker , and his Divine Testimony , Vindicated , Part 2. p. 97. where G. Whitehead saith , To prevent these Mens scruples , concerning our owning the Man Christ , or the Son of Man in glory , I tell them seriously , That I do confess both to his miraculous Conception , by the Power of the holy Spirit over-shadowing the Virgin Mary ; and to his being born of her , according to the Flesh , and so that he took upon him a real Body ( and not a fantastical ) and that he was real Man , come of the Seed of Abraham ; and that he in the days of his Flesh preached Righteousness , ●rought Miracles , was Crucifi●d and put to Death by wicked hands ; that he was buried , and rose again the third Day , according to the Scriptures ; and after he arose he appeared diversly , or in divers forms and manners ; he really appeared to many Brethren , 1 Cor. 15. and afterwards ascended into Glory ; being translated according to the Wisdom and Power of the Heavenly Father , and is glorified with the same glory which he had with the Father before the World began , &c. Is it not strange , Reader , that G. Keith should have the face to charge G. Whitehead with denying the Manhood of Christ , who hath so often and so plainly confessed to it ? What else is this but to pin a wrong Belief upon a Man , to make him seem erroneous , whether he will or no ? But this is worst of all in G. Keith , who hath so often taken upon him to defend our Principles and Us against Opposers , in his former Books ; And even but lately , in his Serious Appeal , printed in America , 1692. in Answer to Cotton Mather of New-England , having justified G. Whitehead and W. Penn , in their Answer to Hicks and Faldo , says , p. 6. I do here solemnly charge Cotton Mather , to give us but one single Instance of any One Fundamental Article of Christian Faith denied by us , as a People , or by a●y One of our Writers or Preachers , generally owned and approved by us . And in p. 7. he adds , According to the best knowledge I have of the People called Quakers , and these most generally owned by them , as Preachers and Publishers of their Faith , of unquestioned Esteem amongst them , and worthy of double Honour , as many such there are , I know none that are guilty of any one of such Heresies and Blasphemies as he accuseth them . — And I think ( says he ) I should know , and do know these called Quakers , and their Principles , far better than C. M. or any or all his Brethren , having been conversant with them in Publick Meetings , as well as in private Discourses , with the most noted and esteemed among them , for about 28 years past , and that in many places of the World in Europe , and for these divers years in America . This more generally . But with respect more particularly to our owning the Man Christ , hear what he said in the Appendix to his Book of Immediate Revelation , 2d Edit . p. 133. And here ( says he ) I give the Reader an Advertisement , that although the Worlds Teachers and Professors of Christ in the Letter , accuse us as Deniers of Christ , at least as Man , and of the Benefits and Blessings we have by him ; yet that the Doctrine and Principles of the People called Quakers , as well as the People , do indeed more acknowledge the Man Christ Iesus , and do more impute all our Blessings and Mercies that are given us of God , as conveyed unto us through him , unto the Man Iesus , than any of them all . And he gives the Reason too . Inasmuch , says he , as we do believe and acknowledge that a measure of the same Life and Spirit of the Man Iesus , which dwelt in him in its Fulness , and had its Center in him which then came in the Flesh , &c. is communicated unto us , and doth extend it self into our very Hearts and Souls , and whole inward Man ; so that the Man Iesus , whom Simeon embraced with his Arms , according to the Flesh , is , according to the Spirit , our Light , and Life , and Glory . And ( in p. 246. ) thus I hope it may appear , how much more we own Christ Iesus , not only as God , but as Man , and that both inwardly and outwardly ; for through the Measure of the Life of Iesus Christ , as Man made manifest in us , we have immediate Fellowship and Union with the Man Christ Iesus also without us , who is ascended into the Heavens . He has done , he says , as to the Object of Faith , at least at present ; and so have I. Wherein I observe he charges not VV. Penn at all directly , nor otherwise than as having owned those Books of G. VVhitehead's , out of which G. Keith pretends to prove his Charge . But before I follow him to his next Head. I would Note to the Reader , that all he hath said , or can say , against G. Whitehead or W. Penn , concerning their denying Christ , the Object of Faith , either as God or Man , he himself hath plainly and fully overthrown , by a Story he tells in p. 38. of his Narrative , where he says , that in the Year ▪ 1678. three Persons ( whom he calls Quakers , but will not Name ) did blame him for saying , it was lawful to pray to Jesus Christ Crucified , and dared him ( he says ) to give an instance of one English Quaker that he ever heard pray to Christ. Whereupon ( says he ) W. Penn said , I am an English Man , and a Quaker , and I own I have oft prayed to Christ Jesus , even him that was Crucified . And he adds , that G. Whitehead to decide the Matter , took the Bible , and read , 1 Cor. 1.2 . To all that call upon the Lord Iesus Christ , both their Lord and ours . This , it seems G. Whitehead did to prove the lawfulness of praying to Christ Jesus , even him that was crucified . And this , ( whether the Story in all its Circumstances be true or no ) proves beyond gainsaying , against G. Keith , that G. VVhitehead and VV. Penn were then sound in the Faith , and of a sound Judgment concerning the Object of Faith , Christ Jesus , both as he was God and as he was Man. And that is enough to shew , both that the Charge itself , of their denying Christ , the Object of Faith , is false ; and that the Quotations G. Keith gives for Proofs thereof , out of Books of theirs ( written mostly about that time , or not long before ) are perverted and wrested by him to a Sence quite contrary to their Judgments , who writ them . And therefore ought not by a considerate and impartial Reader , to be regarded , or received against them . He now comes to that which he calls the Act of Faith , or the Vertue of Faith , which he would have People believe has been denied , or contradicted by VV. Penn , and for Proof refers ( Nar. p. 19. ) to a Book of VV. Penn's , called , Quakerism a new Nick-name for old Christianity , written in 1672. in Answer to Iohn Faldo , whom G. Keith himself , within these four Years , called , A most partial and envious Adversary ( serious Appeal , p. 60. ) and mentioned with Approbation W ▪ Penn's Answers to him , and in his Book , called , The Christian Faith , &c. p. 6. refers his Reader thereto for satisfaction . The Words he now carps at , he takes out of p. 12. of VV. Penn's said Book , where having set down Faldo's Charge , that Christianity was introduced by Preaching the promised Messiah , and pointing at his humane Person ; but Quakerism by Preaching a Light within ; G. Keith first tells us what he would have said , if he had this to Answer , viz. Any Quakerism ( says he ) I know of , that I learned , was introduced into my Heart both by believing in Christ without , and in Christ within , at once , and by one Faith. Here he makes a Transition from Preaching to Believing , and from a General , to a Particular . I. Faldo shews how ( in his Sence ) Christianity and Quakerism , so called ( which , though one , he sets in Opposition ) came into the World ; namely , both by Preaching : But that , by Preaching the Promised Messiah , and pointing at his humane Person ; this , by Preaching a Light within . If it be true , which G. Keith says , that what he knew , or had learnt of Quakerism , was introduced into his Heart by Believing in Christ without , and in Christ within at once , and by one Faith : Yet certainly he hath formerly delivered himself much otherwise . And therefore , that he would have given that Answer which he now doth , had he been then to Answer Faldo , is very unlikely , seeing in a Book of his , called , The Vnivers●l free Grace of the Gospel asserted , ( Printed but the Year before , viz. in 1671. ) he says , This is the true and only Method which should be used by Preachers , for the bringing People into the Faith and acknowledgment of the Christian Religion , First , to inform them of this Vniversal Principle , what it is , and turn them towards it , that they may observe its Operation in them , as it appeareth against the Lusts of this World , and for Righteousness and Temperance : And so as wise Builders , to lay this true Foundation in its Proper place ; and as wise Husband-men and Planters to place this Divine Seed , where it ought to be , in order to its growth , that it may spring up in them , and the Life , Power and Vertue of God in it may be felt ; And this will naturally bring People to own the Scriptures , &c. and to own Christ in the Flesh , his miraculous Birth , his Doctrine , Miracles , Sufferings , Death , Resurrection and Ascention , &c. p. 92. And thus , ( says he again , p 93. ) Men should be First turned towards this inward Principle , Light , Word and Seed of the Kingdom , which being in them , and they coming to feel it there , they may the more readily be perswaded to own and believe it . And as they come so to joyn to it , that it springs up in them in the Light and Glory thereof , they will see and feel the Scripture , and the things therein declared , to be of God , &c. — And this is good Method and Order in the preaching of the Gospel . So that it is evident , saith he , — that we have the Best and Only True Method in in our Words and Writings , First to turn People to the Light , that they may believe it , — and then to direct them to , and inform them of the Scriptures , and things therein declared ; which they cannot receive , believe , or understand , but in the Divine Light. And in his Book called The Way to the City of God , ( written in the year 1669 , though not printed till 1678 ) p. 3. speaking of Christs coming both Outwardly and Inwardly , he saith , The knowledge of this Inward coming is that which is the More Needful , and in the First place , as being that by which the true and comfortable use of his Outward Coming , is Alone sufficiently understood . And in p. 154. having said , That this is the Only True and effectual way of knowing the Vse and Work of his Coming , and Sufferings , and Death , in the Outward , by turning and having our Minds turned inward unto himself near and in our hearts , in the holy seed , to know by an inward Feeling and good Experience , his Doings and Sufferings in us , by being made conformable thereunto . He adds , p. 156. And therefore , This is the True Method and Order , which we have found greatly bl●ssed of God , which the Lord hath taught us to hold forth unto People , whereby they attain unto Holiness , to a being made conformable unto the holy Life of Jesus Christ , and come to know the true and great End and Use of his outward Coming , viz. In the First place , to point and turn their Minds unto the Light of Jesus Christ , who hath enlightened them and every one , and hath sown a Seed of his Light , Life and Spirit , in every one , unto which Seed they should give the most inward of their Hearts . The Reader may easily see the difference between G. Keith then , and G. Keith now . Now he says Quakerism was introduced into his heart , by believing in Christ without , and in Christ within , at once , and by one Faith. But then he told us , The True and Only Method , yea , not only the best , but the only true Method of Preaching , for the bringing People into the Faith and acknowledgment of the Christian Religion , is First ( which word he repeats over and over , again and again ) and in the First place to inform them of this Universal Principle ( the Light within ) so that they may believe it ; and not only so , but may also observe its operation in them . This he then made the Chief thing , the First thing , the First step , ( the Introduction ) in the right , the best , the true , the only true Method and Order of Preaching the Gospel . And then , viz. after this inward Principle , this Light within , is preached , received , believed , and its operation within observed , than to direct them to , and inform them of the Scriptures , and things therein declared , which , said he , they cannot receive , believe , or understand , but in the Divine Light. So that whatever he may now pretend he would have answered to Faldo's Charge , ( as he call ▪ it ) if he would have answered according to what he hath formerly writ , he must have acknowledged that Quakerism ( as it is called ) was introduced by Preaching the Light of Christ within , tho' not in opposition to Christs Appearance without , in that Body of Flesh wherein he suffered ; which W. Penn took particular care to express . Now let us again set down Faldo's Exception , and W. Penn's Answer to it , so far at least , as G. Keith cites it . I. Faldo said , Christanity was introduced by preaching the promised Messias , and pointing at his Humane Person ; but Quakerism , by preaching a Light within . To this , said VV. Penn , I answer , That this is nothing injurious to the Quakers at all , but highly on their side ; for had they preached a Christ now coming in the Flesh , they had denyed his True , and only Great Visible Appearance at Jerusalem , which all true Quakers own ( let that be marked by the way ) since then they believe that appearance , and therefore need not Preach what is not to be again ; and that the whole Christian World besides , have so long and lazily depended on it , without their Thirsting after his Inward Holy Appearance in the Conscience , &c. There G. Keith stops , and having made a false and envious Comment upon it , p. 20 , he says , But let me again read out the intire paragraph , yet reads no more but these few words ( being the imperfect part of a sentence he read before ) Since then they believe that Appearance , but therefore need not Preach what is not to be again : and there stops , saying , There it clinches . But with his leave , or without , I shall Transcribe more of W. Penn's Answer , as what , I think conduces much to the opening of his meaning in this ; for after he hath in many particulars , set forth the Effects and Benefit of Christ's Inward , Holy Appearance in the Conscience ; he adds , Since he has been so much talked of , and depended on , as to his then visible manifestation of himself , and so little , if at all , desired after , as to his spiritual and invisible coming into the hearts of Men , to finish Transgression , and bring in Everlasting Righteousness ; therefore God raised us up , and we are now gone forth into the World , to declare , That he is spiritually manifested , as then fully in that Body , so now measurably in the Conscience of all People , a Divine Light , reproving every unfruitful Work of Darkness : So that here is the Mischief , saith he , the Malice and Ignorance of our Enemies do us in this World , that because we speak so much of , and preach up and write for Christ's Inward and Spiritual Appearance , as a Light to Mankind , therefore they conclude with a mighty confidence , that we deny his outward Coming , Life , Death , Resurrection , and Ascension , and the Benefits thereof : O Darkness it self ! We have our Witness with the Lord of Heaven and Earth , that we own him to be the Saviour General of the whole World , as to that Appearance , and that he obtained precious Gifts for Men ; but we say , ( and our Adversaries have not wherewith reasonably to unsay it ) that First , the Divine Light , Life , or Power that shined through that blessed Manhood , was excellently the Saviour , and the Manhood but Instrumentally — And Secondly No Man or Woman in the World is savingly benefited by his then appearing as a Saviour , &c ▪ but as every such individual Person comes to experience his Internal manifestation , to convince , condemn , wound , heal , break , bind up , slay , make alive , in the Ne●ness of the Spirit . This is the state of Right Redemption and Salvation , and thus is he particularly a Saviour , and every such one is greatly benefited by him , as he was , in that former Appearance , the general Saviour of Mankind . Now mind how he concludes , Behold then , O ye that are Impartial ! how unworthily he hath injured us , to make People believe that we testifie to Christ's Inward Appearance , in Opposition to , and denial of his Outward ; which is far from our hearts , so much as to conceive . The like may well be said concerning G. Keith , B●hold , O ye that are Impartial ! how unworthily he hath injured W. Penn , to endeavour to make People believe that he would have Christs Birth , Death , Resurrection , Ascension , &c. thrown over the Shoul●er ( as hi● Phrase is ) given up , and buried in Oblivion from Posterity , which is the wicked Comment he makes upon , and false Consequence he draws from W. Penn's words , though far from W. Penn's heart , so much as to conceive ; and indeed far from his Practice too : For it is well known ( and G. Keith himself cannot be ignorant ) that W. Penn ( as well as other Ministers amongst the Quakers ) hath many times in Preaching commemorated the miraculous Birth , Holy Life , admirable Miracles , and most heavenly Doctrines of the Man Christ Iesus , while he was on Earth , and pathetically set forth his Sufferings , Death , Resurrection , and Ascension , with the blessed Effects , and great and manifold Benefits that arise and accrue therefrom , unto all them that rightly receive him , believe in him , and obey him . So that had W. Penn's Words been ambigu●us , and liable , without wresting , to such a construction : Yet since his Known Practice explained his meaning to be altogether contrary to what G. Keith would fasten on him , it was most injuriously and unworthily done of G. Keith , to suggest so false and so base a thing . But neither will W. Penn's Words rightly taken , bear or admit it . For it must be considered , that as I. Faldo's Objection against Quakerism ( a● he called it ) lay in the different way or manner of introducing Christianity of old , and Quakerism of later years : So likewise must W. Penn's Answer thereunto be understood to relate to the way or manner of introducing each . Now touching the Introduction of Christianity , Faldo said it was by Preaching the promised Messias , and pointing at his humane Person . This related to the very time wherein he came , or when he was but newly come , and it was the main Controversie of that time , and that whereon the Mind● of Men did hang in suspence , Whether he who was then come , was indeed the Messias that was promised ; and therefore it was more especially needful at the first Introduction of Christianity , to assert and demonstrate that he who was then come , and did suffer on the Cross , was indeed the promis●d Messias . But it is no prej●dice at all to Quakerism ( so called ) or to the Quakers , that , when the Belief of this had generally obtained , and was held throughout that part of the World which is called Christian , they were raised up , and brought forth with a Testimony , not so immediately and principally to the Outward Appearance of Christ ( the promised M●ssias ) in that Body of Flesh , at Ierusalem , ( the Belief whereof was still generally retained ) as to his inward and spiritual Appearance ( and that too as the promised Messiah ) by the inshining of his Divine Light in the Hearts of Men and Women , the belief and knowledge of which was well nigh lost in the World For it was as suitable and fit that Quakerism should be introduced ( or rather , that Christianity ) Nick named Quakerism , should be re-introduced ) into the World , by Preaching up that inward Appearance of Christ ; which was to give it a Re-introduction , as Christiani●y was at the first introduced by Preaching up that outward Appearance of Christ , which was then to give it its first Introduction . Upon this Consideration was W. Penn's Answer grounded : For Faldo endeavouring to unchristian Quakerism , because it was not introduced by Preaching the same Appearance of Christ , by which he said Christianity was introduced at first . To this I Answer ( said W. Penn ) that this is nothing injurious to the Quakers at all , but highly on their side : For had they preached a Christ now coming in the Flesh ( or then newly come , which was done at the first Introduction of Christianity ) they had denied his true and only great visible Appearance at Ierusalem , which all true Quakers own . They ha● not Christ to Preach as now coming , or newly come , in the Flesh , as the first Promulgators of the Gospel Dispensation had : But they had Christ to preach as now come , and coming in Spirit , by his Divine Light in the Hearts of People , which there was no need of his coming again in the Flesh , to re-introduce . Therefore said W. Penn since they ( the Quakers ) believe that Appearance ( of Christ in the Flesh at Ierusalem ) and the whole Christian World not only believe it , but depend ( though not rightly ) on it , and therefore they need not preach what is not to be again ( that is , they need not Preach that with respect to the Asserting , Evincing , Proving , Demonstra●ing , or Confirming the Doctrine or Message , which they bring , of the inward or spiritual Appearance of Christ. Not that it is not needful , that the Doctrine of Christ's Incarnation , Birth , Life , Sufferings , Death , Resurrection , Ascension , &c. should be still preached ( which is the unjust and malicious Inference , G. Keith would draw from W. Penn's Words ) But that as it was not the End of the Quakers being raised up as a People , that they should only inform the Christian World , that Christ , the promised Messiah , was come , and had suffered , in that Body at Ierusalem ( of which the Christian World ( so called ) hath through all Ages since , had at least an historical Knowledge and Belief : ) So since that was so generally believed , and was not to be transacted over again , in order to introduce his spiritual Appearance , there was no need on that Account ( that is , for the asserting , or proving his spiritual Appearance ) to preach again his outward Appearance ( which was believed already ) until his inward Appearance was preacht , received , believed in and subjected to ; and then ( which according to G. Keith himself , is the best and only true Method ) to direct them to , and inform them of the Scriptures , and the things therein declared , which he said well , they cannot receive , believe , or understand ( aright ) but in the Divine Light. And this , he says , will naturally bring People to own the Scriptures , and things therein contained , to own Moses and the Prophets , — and to own Christ in the Flesh , his Miraculous Birth , his Doctrine , Miracles , Sufferings , Death , Resurrection and Ascension , together with the wonderful End and Design of God therein , &c. Vniversal Grace , p. 92 , 93. Besides G. Keith might have read , p. 5. of W. Penn's Quakerism a new Nick-name , &c. that W. Penn says , The outward History of Christ's exceeding Love to Mankind , deserves all humble and reverent Credit , as a Godly Tradition , and it should for ever bind Men to receive , and fear , and worship him . This sufficiently shews VV. Penn was not for having the History of Christ's outward Appearance in the Flesh , and what he did and suffered therein for Mankind , thrown away , and buried in Oblivion from Posterity , but that it should be preached , and kept in remembrance through all Ages , that it might bind Men for ever to receive , and fear , and worship him . So that G. Keith is doubly unjust , not only in perverting VV. Penn's Words , but inferring that VV. Penn would have Christ's outward Coming , Death , &c. thrown over the Shoulder , given up and buried in Oblivion , when as not only VV. Penn's Words last cited imply the contrary , but even upon G. Keith's own Principle just before recited , the Preaching the inward Appearance of Christ ( which he also says , according to the only true Method , should be first preached ) will naturally bring People to own Christ in the Flesh , and the things declared of him in the Scriptures . But G. Keith is the more to be blamed for urging this against VV. Penn now , in as much as it is ( with respect to the Substance of it ) an Objection he hath formerly made , and to which I answered at large , in a Treatise of mine , called , An Epistle to Friends , Printed in 1694. from p. 51. to p. 56. And again in another Book of mine , called , A further Discovery , Printed the same Year , from p. 93. to p. 98. Which latter is one of those Books G. Keith hath not replied to . He taxes VV. Penn with uncharitable Dealing in saying above , The whole Christian VVorld has lazily depended on it . Is there none , says he , in the Christian VVorld but the Quakers , that thi●st after the Power of God in their Souls ? I was never so uncharitable to think so , cryes he . But had he had either Charity or Iustice , he would not have thought VV. Penn by saying the whole Christian World , intended every individual Person in the Christian World. When the Apostle Iohn said , The whole VVorld lieth in wickedness , 1 John 5.19 . Did he mean there was not one Person in the whole World , but what lay in Wickedness ? When Iohn said , All the VVorld wondred after the Beast , Rev. 13.3 . Did he mean every individual Person in the World ? No sure , the VVoman that fled into the Wilderness , Chap. 12.6 . did not wonder after the Beast , for she fled from the Beast . When Mathew says , The whole City came out to meet Jesus , Mat. 8.34 . Did he mean , that there was never a man nor woman left in the City ? G. Keith knows that that way of speaking is Figurative , used Syn●chdochically , the greater part being taken for the whole . And in his Serious Appeal , in Answer to Cot. Mather , p. 9. he could urge that by way of Defence , saying , The Denomination of a thing is taken chiefly from that which is the greatest part ; and he might have taken it so here , had not Enmity had too great a part in him : For in p. 7. of the same Book , W. Penn mentions Churches ( which is more extensive than particular Persons ) in these latter Ages , in whom there might once have been begotten some earnest , living Thirst after the inward Life of Righteousness . This G. Keith might well have observed , for he makes another Cavil out of the foregoing part of this very Sentence , which was this , p. 6 , 7. The Distinction betwixt Moral and Christian , the making Holy Life legal , and Faith in the History of Christ's outward Manifestation , Christianity ; ( so it should be read , the Words [ Christianity and Manifestation ] being transposed and misplaced in the Printing , as is obvious ) has been a d●adly Poyson these latter Ages have been infected with , to the Destruction of Godly Living , and Apostatizing of those Churches , in whom there might once have been begotten some earnest , living Thirst after the inward Life of Righteousness . This Passage depends upon the different Definitions of Christianity given by I. Faldo , and W. Penn. I. Faldo , it seems defining Christianity , said , By Christianity we are not to understand all those Matters of Faith and Practice , which Christianity doth oblige us unto . This W. Penn excepted against , as reckoning that All those Matters of Faith and Practice which Christianity doth oblige us unto , might well pass for Christianity . Yet Faldo having granted that Christianity takes in whatever is worthy in those Religions it hath super●ed●d ; yea , the very Heathens . From those Words VV. Penn inferred , This then does not make Christianity a distinct thing in kind , from what was worthy , as he calls it , that is Godly , among either Iews or Heathen : This is in p. 2 , 3. of VV. Penn's Book called , Quakerism a New Nick-name for Old Christianity ; and having argued upon it in p. 4 , 5 , and 6. and shewed the hurt and mischief that ensues upon rejecting Moral Vertues from being any part of Christianity , he there concludes , in the Words G. Keith carps at , viz , The Distinction betwixt Moral and Christian , the making Holy Life legal , and Faith in the History of Christ's outward Manifestation Christianity , has been a deadly Poyson these latter Ages have been infected with , to the Destruction of Godly Living , &c. As tending to perswade People ( too apt to be easily perswaded to looseness ) that a bare historical Belief of Christ's outward Appearance in the Flesh , is of more value and advantage to them , than a Vertuous , Pious , Godly Life . To this G. Keith tacks another Proof ( as he calls it ) against W. Penn , and then makes his Reflection on both together . That other Proof he takes out of W. Penn's Address to Protestants , p. 118 , 119. thus , For it seems a most unreasonable thing , that Faith in God and keeping his Commandments , should be no part of the Christian Religion : But if a part it be ( as upon serious Reflection who dare deny it ? ) then those before and since Christ's Time , who never had the external Law nor History , yet have done the things contained in the Law , their Consciences not accusing , nor Hearts condemning , but excusing them before God , are in some degree concerned in the Character of a true Christian. For Christ himself preached and kept his Father's Commandments ; he came to fulfil and not to destroy the Law , and that not only in his own Person , but that the Righteousness of the Law might be also fulfilled in us , Rom. 8.4 . Now , says G. Keith , comes the main thing : Let us but soberly consider , What Christ is , and we shall the better know , whethe● Moral Men are to be reckoned Christians . What is Christ , but Meekness , Iustice , Mercy , Patience , Charity and Virtue , in Perfection ? Can we then deny a meek Man to be a Christian ? A Iust , a Merciful , a Patient , a Charitable and a Virtuous Man , to be like Christ ? G. Keith says , In this way of arguing there is a Fallacy . These Moral Vertues , he says , are a part of a Christian , — and belong to the Genus of a Christian. But there are two things in the true Definition of a Man , the Genus and the Differentia : They have the Genus , says he , but not the Differentia . And , I pray , which is of most moment in this Case , the Genus , or the Differentia ? To have the Kind and Nature of a Christian , or to have only some outward Character , or discriminating Difference , to distinguish a Christian from a Child of God , as namely an historical Faith of Christ's outward Appearance in the Flesh at Ierusalem ? But since G. Keith allows these Moral Virtues to be a part of a Christian , he needed not on this score , have fallen so foul on W. Penn , for he might have observed in those Words himself has cited , that that which seemed to W. Penn so unreasonable a thing , was , That Faith in God , and keeping his Commandments , should be no part ( that is , should by some be accounted no part ) of the Christian Religion . And the Inference he made , from what he had offered to shew it was a part of the Christian Religion , was , that , If it be a part ( he does not say , If it be the whole ) Then those before and since Christ's time , who never had the external Law or History , yet have done the things contained in the Law , &c. are in some degree concern'd in the Character of a true Christian. But for that extravagant Inference G. Keith would draw from W. Penn's Words , that a Man may be owned to be a Christian , and yet disbelieve that Christ is either God or Man , it carries in its front , too evident Marks of Envy and Injustice , to be regarded by any who bear not the same Marks . For did W. Penn there treat of Iews , Mahometans , Pagans ? Or of such as have a general Faith of Christianity , but never adhered to any particular Party , as his express Words are in that 118. p. Nay , does he not there directly mention such as believe in God and Christ ? For setting forth the Partiality and Cruelty of those professed Christians , who would renounce a meer just Man their Society , and send him packing among the Heathen for Damnation , he thus expostulates the Case , And pray , What 's the Matter ? Then subsuming the Person of an Opponent , he answers , Why ! though this Person be a sober Liver , yet he is but a general Believer ; his Faith is at large : 'T is true , He believes in God ; but I hear little of his Faith in Christ : Then replies , Very well : Does he not therefore believe in Christ ? Or must he therefore be without the Pale of Salvation ? Is it possible that a Man can truly believe in God , and be damned ? But , adds he , As he that believes in Christ , believes in God , so he that believes in God , believes in Christ : For he that believes on him that raised up Iesus from the Dead , his Faith shall be imputed to him for Righteousness , Rom. 4.22 , &c. And in p. 119. having enumerated several Moral Vertues , and alluding to the saying of Wisdom , Prov. 8.15 . By me Kings Reign , and Princes decree Iustice ; so may I say here , says he , By Christ Men are Meek , Just , Merciful , Patient , Charitable and Virtuous . And , adds he , Christians ought to be distinguished , by their Likness to Christ , and not their Notions of Christ ; by his Holy Qualifications , rather than their own lofty Professions , and invented Formalities . Does not this plainly shew , he treated there of those that professed the Christian Religion , preferring such of them , as in their Lives shewed most of Moral Vertue , and true Goodness , to the highest Pretenders , and most flourishing Talkers without it ? But that which still falls heavy upon G. Keith is , that he should thus cavil at W. Penn , who himself ( in his former Books not yet retracted by him ) has so far out-gone W. Penn on this subject , and has also expresly extended Salvation by Christ to the Gentiles , or Heathens , that knew nothing of him outwardly . For instance , In his Book , called Vniversal Grace , p. 28. he says , There was such a Principle in them ( speaking of the Gentiles ) whereby they did the things contained in the Law. Therefore it was a Principle of the very saving Light and Life of Jesus Christ , which is that Divine Nature mentioned , 2 Pet. 1.4 . And in p. 29. he says , These Gentiles did the things contained in the Law , so that they were excused , yea and Iustified , and did receive the Reward of Glory , Honour , and Peace in so doing . Again in the same p. he says , In divers of these Gentiles the Seed was raised , which is that Divine Nature or Birth , by which they did the things contained in the Law , and so were Iustified by him who gave them Power to fulfil it . And in p. 30. Answering an adverse Argument , which was this , There can be no Justification without Faith in Christ ; but these Gentiles had not Faith in Christ , therefore , &c. He says , I deny the second Proposition ; for if they did cleave unto , and believe in the Light , they believed in Christ , for he is the Light ; nor is the outward Name that which saves , but the inward Nature , Virtue , and Power signified thereby , which was made manifest in them ; and thus is Christ even that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that which may or must be known of God , &c. I could multiply Instances of this kind , out of that and other Books of his , if it were needful ; but these at present may suffice . In p. 21. of his Narrat . he recommends to his Auditory the Book , called , The Christian Quaker , and so do I to every Body , but with different Ends : He out of ill-will , I out of good-will , to the Truth therein defended . He refers in particular to p. 125 , 126 , 127. which Pages he says are bestow'd to define what a Christian Quaker is ; and he Objects , that in all this large Definition , there is not one Word of the Man Christ ( who is God over all blessed for ever ) to be the Object , either of this Christian Quaker's Faith , Love or Homage . That which he calls a Definition of a Christian Quaker , is indeed an Answer to a Question put by Tho. Hicks , which was , Who he , or they are , that obey the Light ? &c. In answering which . W. Penn doth not so much meddle with Faith and Doctrine , as set forth the Life , Practice and Sufferings of such as truly obey the Light , especially in those things wherein they are acted diversly from , or contrary to other People : It is therefore no prejudice at all , ( nor ought to be objected ) either to VV. Penn or the Christian Quaker , that in that Answer to Hicks's Question , the Man Christ is not mentioned as the Object of Faith , &c. since the Object of Faith , &c. is not there treated of , but presupposed , and taken for granted . Yet G. Keith might have observed , that Christ Iesus was there mentioned , and that with respect to his Manhood : For in p. 125. The true Quaker , who obeys the Light , is represented to be one , That willingly drinks of the Cup of bitter Mockings , and yields to be baptized with the Baptism of deep Tryals Christ Iesus , his Lord , drank of , and was baptized with ; which Cup , and Baptism , our Lord Christ took , and was baptized with , as he was Man. And there is also , in p. 127. a Testimony born to the Blood of Jesus Christ , and the Vertue of it , in these Words , So is the Light the Just Man's Path , that in every Age still shined brighter and brighter , in which the cleansing Blood of Iesus Christ is felt to cleanse from all Sin. And in Quakerism a new Nick-name , p. 5 , and 6. Sect. 8. ( out of which G. Keith pickt a Cavil but lately answered ) he might have read these Words , Christianity then is not an Historical Belief of the Exteriour Acts , the true Christ did in that bodily Appearance ( which is but historical Christianity ) — But a firm Belief in him that so appeared , lived , died , rose and ascended , both as testified in the Scriptures of Truth , and more especially as he breaks in upon the Soul by his Divine Discoveries , as the true Light inlightning every Man. This ( said VV. Penn there ) I call Christianity . His next Cavil is concerning the Mystery of Christ , with respect to his coming outwardly in that Body , in which he suffered for Mankind at Ierusalem , and his coming inwardly in the Hearts of Men , working the Work of Regeneration in them . This he objected formerly , in his Book called , The true Copy , and I answered largely to it , in mine called Truth Defended , from p. 148. to p. 155. which he has not replied to . 'T is true , he doth not begin his Cavil now with the same Quotation he did then ; but ( for a blind ▪ ) brings it in now with a Quotation of the same Matter in Substance , taken out of another Peice , viz. A Preface to the Collection of R. Barclay 's Book ( which he supposes , and I deny not , was writ by VV. Penn ) and then claps his former Quotation ( out of VV. Penn's Rejoynd●r to Faldo ) behind it , to support it , taking no notice that I had answered it before . This in him was neither Ingenuous nor Fair. He should have answered my Book , before he had renewed the Charge therein answered . But instead of that , he conceals that it was already answered , and proposes it as a new thing , as if it had not been answered before . Now , seeing he hath dealt so unfairly , I shall take the less notice of what he now says in the Case , but ( that I may not actum agere ) shall refer the Reader to my former Answer , in the Book and Pages abovementioned ; yet not wholly pass by what he says here . First , I observe he quarrels with VV. Penn for saying ( upon 1 Tim. 3.16 . Great is the Mystery of Godliness , God manifest in the Flesh , &c. ) And if the Apostle said it of the Manifestation of the Son of God in the Flesh , if that be a Mystery ( and if a Mystery , it is not to be spelt out but by the Revelation of the Spirit ) how much more , &c. From hence G. Keith infers , VV. Penn doth not say it is a Mystery , but he puts three Ifs to it . This Objection is childish , in all but the Malice of it : For G. Keith knows VV. Penn hath always acknowledged that Manifestation of Christ in the outward Body of Flesh in which he suffered at Ierusalem , to be a very great and wonderful Mystery . And he , and every one else , that understands Words aright , knows , that the Particle If both divers Significations , sometimes it is Conditional , sometimes Dubitative , sometimes Concessive , or Granting . Of which there are plenty of Instances in Scripture , Rom. 11.6 . If by Grace , then no more of VVorks . The Apostle there cannot be supposed to doubt or question , much less to deny , that the Election is of Grace , for he positively affirm'd it in the verse before . So ver . 12. If the fall of them ( the Iews ) be the Riches of the World , &c. how much more their Fulness ? ver . 16. If the first Fruit , and if the Root be Holy , so the Lump , so the Branches . ver . 21. If God spared not the natural Branches , &c. 1 Pet. 4.17 , 18. If it ( Judgment ) first begin at us , — And if the Righteous scarcely be saved , &c. 2 Pet. 2.4 , 5. If God spared not the Angels that sinned , but cast them down to Hell , &c. And spared not the old World , but saved Noah , &c. Might not G. Keith as well have charged the Apostle with denying or doubting , that God spared not the Angels that sinned , and the old World ? Yet upon this , he asks , Pray was our blessed Lord a meer Shell ? Was he like the Shell of an Egg without the Meat of an Egg ? I answer no ; He was not a meer Shell , neither was he like the Shell of an Egg , either without the Meat , or with it : For he was full of Grace and Truth , John 1.14 . And in him dwelleth all the Fulness of the Godhead bodily , Col. 2.9 . For it pleased the Father that in him should all Fulness dwell , chap. 1.19 . Again He asks , Was there any Holiness ever in any Prophet or Apostle , but it is like a Drop to the Ocean to what was in our blessed Lord ? If it were or could be less than a Drop to the Ocean , that affects not us in this Case : For we draw no Comparison between the Holiness that was in him , and that which is , or ever hath been , in any of the Saints , with respect to the Degrees thereof . Grant it to be the same in Nature and Quality , and it suffices , which a Drop is with the Ocean . But G. Keith's Comparison in his Marginal Notes in this p. 21. run higher in Degree than a Drop to the Ocean . For he says , The same Seed and Life is in us which was in the Man Christ , and is in him in the Fulness , as Water in the Spring , and in us a● the Stream ; which is more than a Drop , and bears more proportion in quantity to the spring it flows from , than a Drop does to the Ocean . Again he says , As the natural Life is in all the Members , but more principally in the Head and Heart , without any Division ; so this spiritual Life and Nature is both in Christ our Head , and in us , by which he dwelleth in us , as the Spirit of Man doth in the Body . But is the disproportion as great , in the natural Body , between the Life in the Member , and in the Head & Heart , as between a Drop and the Ocean ? He suggests , that W. Penn compares the Work of Regeneration to the Incarnation of our Lord , so as to equal , yea , prefer it , with respect to Holiness , and thereupon says , Nar. p. 22. I Appeal to you ( the Auditors ) whether is it not a most abominable Error , and whether it doth not make every regenerate Man not only equal to the Man Christ , but greater ? for , says he , VVe truly value any Man as more Holy , according as the Manifestation of God is more in one Man than in another . Now this is a great abuse in him . For the Comparison ( if he will have it to be one ) was not originally W. Penn's , but his Adversaries ; and it lay not between the Incarnation of Christ , and the Work of Regeneration : But between the difficulty of Believing the one , and Experiencing the other . So W. Penn understood I. Faldo at first ; and thereupon said , Regeneration is a slight thing ( meaning with I. Faldo ) in Comparison of the Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh. ( Mark that ) He did not say , in Comparison of Christ after the Flesh : But in Comparison of the Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh. And thereupon he added , The History is made ( viz. by I. Faldo ) the greatest Mystery : And to believe the one , matter of greater difficulty , than to Experience the other . Rejoynder , p. 336. The Comparison here lay not between the Digni●y or Excellency of Christ's Incarnation in that Body which he took of the Virgin , and his spiritual Formation and Birth in his Saints ( which is intended in the Word [ Regeneration : ] But between the difficulty of Believing the one , and of Experiencing the other . Neither would the Comparison between the Incarnation of our Lord Christ , and the Work of Regeneration ( had such a Comparison been made ) have been with respect to the Degrees of Holiness in each : But with respect to the greatness of the Mystery in the one , and in the other , which depended not simply upon the Holiness in either . For though this Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ , be by way of Emphasis , or Excellency , to distinguish it from other Mysteries , called by the Apostle , The Mystery of Godliness , as being a great part of that great Mystery : Yet it is not properly called a Mystery from the Perfection of Holiness that was in him ; but from the wonderful and miraculous Manner of his Conception , &c. not easily to be apprehended by humane Understanding . In which sense also , and for which Reason , the spiritual Vnion betwixt Christ and his Church , is by the same Apostle called , A great Mystery , Eph. 5.32 . And in 1 Cor. 15.51 . The Apostle treating of the Resurrection , saith , Behold , I shew you a Mystery , we shall not all sleep , but we shall all be changed . The Mystery here lay not in the point of Holiness ; but in the strangeness of the thing , that whereas the general Change is made by Death , some should be changed without dying . We shall not all Sleep , ( that is , we shall not all Dye ; Sleep , in this Sense , being a Synonima of Death , Dan. 12.2 . John 11.11 . and 14. Acts 7.60 . and 13.36 . 1 Thess. 4.14 . ) but we shall all be changed . So that the plain import of W. Penn's Words is but this ; Seeing the Incarnation of Christ , which was his outward Appearance in the World , being outwardly born of , and brought forth by a Virgin , was called a Mystery , because of the extraordinary and supernatural Way and Manner of his Conception : Much more may the Work of Regeneration , Christ's being formed in the Saints , Gal. 4.19 . ( So that according to G. Keith himself , they are his Mother that bring him forth by a Spiritual and Divine Birth , Mat. 12.49 . Way cast up , p. 111. ) be called a Mystery , seeing it is wholly inward and spiritual in its Operation , and consequently more remote from outward Sense , and harder to be comprehended by humane Understanding . In which W. Penn would not in any respect , lessen that great and glorious Work of God in the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : But would exalt the glorious Work of Christ in his Saints . And as plain also it is , that the Scope and Drift of those Words of W. Penn both here , and in his Rejoynder to Faldo ( which I have Answered elsewhere ) was to perswade People not to rest barely in an historical Belief of Christ's Incarnation , and Manifestation in that Body of Flesh , wherein he suffered at Ierusalem , and obtained Redemption for all them that should lay hold on him by a living Faith : But to come to that living Faith , that thereby they might experimentally know , and witness the great Work of Regeneration , to be wrought in them , Christ to be spiritually formed in them , and to dwell in their Hearts by Faith ; without which , the most exact literal Knowledge of the History of Christ's Incarnation , Sufferings , Death , Resurrection and Ascension , will stand them in no stead , but add to their Condemnation . He taxes VV. Penn with thinking it is a matter of little or no difficulty to believe , that God sent Christ to die for Sinners , and to reconcile God to Men by his Death . How little of difficulty there is in barely and historically believing this , the Common Faith of all that part of the World called Christian shews , wherein all Professions , and the most profligate and prophane in any Profession , doth so believe it . And though G. Keith talks of a true saving Faith , and says , Nar. p. 23. None of all the Church of England Men , Independents , or Presbyterians , say , the meer Historical , Literal , Traditional , Faith of Christ , will save any : Yet I think it may , without breach of Charity , be doubted , that too many in some , at least , of those Professions , have no other ; and certain it is , W. Penn's words related chiefly to such : For he says , in the place quoted by G. Keith , At this rate the Lord , Lord-Crier is highly priviledged , alluding therein to the words of Christ Mat. 7.21 . Not every one that saith unto me , Lord , Lord , shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven : But he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven . From which , and his Answer in v. 23. Then will I profess unto them , I never knew you ; depart from me , ye that work Iniquity ; It is evident that these knew not him aright , nor had true Faith in him , notwithstanding their high pretences , of having Prophesied , cast out Devils , and done many wonderful things in his name , v. 22. Again , G. Keith , says , p. 23. The matter is , there is a saving Faith of Christ without us ; there he stops , as to saving Faith , but too short : For Faith of Christ without us , ( i. e. a Belief of all Christ did and suffered in that outward Body , which he took of the Virgin ) without Faith in Christ within ( i. e. a receiving Christ by Faith into the Heart , to cleanse the Heart , and by his precious Blood to purge the Conscience from dead works , to serve the living God ) will not prove a saving Faith. Then he goes on , saying , And Christ without us , as he is both God and Man , the Emanuel , as well as his inward Appearance in us , is the Object of saving Faith ; but these Men would not own it . If by these Men he means , either the Quakers in general , or any of those he has traduced by name , his Charge is false . We own Christ without , as he is both God and Man , joyntly and together with his inward appearance in the Heart , to be the Object of saving Faith to all those , to whom the knowledge of his outward Appearance hath come . But in asmuch as a great part of Mankind hath not the Knowledge of that outward Appearance of Christ , and what he therein did and suffered ; Christ without , with respect to his Manhood , and what he did and suffered in that prepared Body , cannot be the Object of Faith to such , until revealed to them . And therefore if G. Keith , will yet admit that such have been , or may be saved , ( and consequently that they had , or may have saving Faith , without which none can be saved , because , Without Faith it is impossible to please God , Heb. 11.6 . ) he must grant the Object of their Faith to be , not that outward Appearance of Christ in the Flesh , but his inward Appearance and Manifestation in and by his Divine Light , Life , Word , and Power , in their Hearts . I say , if he will yet admit it , because he has of late so turned and wheel'd about from his former Principles , that one knows not where to find him . In his Way to the City of God , p. 125. he said , Even at Man's Fall , the Seed of the Woman was given , not only to bruise the Serpents Head , but also to be a Lamb , or Sacrifice , to attone and pacifie the Wrath of God towards Men. And this is the Lamb , that was slain from the beginning of the World. And through the coming of Jesus Christ , thus in the inward , even before he was outwardly come , or manifest , many were saved , and attained unto perfect Peace and Reconciliation with God in their Souls , yet not in unholiness , but in departing therefrom , and becoming Holy and Sanctified unto God. In p. 152. of the same Book , in Answer to a Question , Whether the knowledge of the outward coming , sufferings and Death of Christ , is not of absolute necessity unto every one ? He says , Though express knowledge of his outward coming , sufferings and Death , is very profitable to beget Faith and Love in Men towards God , as aforesaid , and ought to be highly valued in its place . Nevertheless , this express knowledge , is not of absolute necessity unto Faith and Love , &c. And in p. 153. How many thousand have been saved before Christ's coming in the outward , who knew it not expresly ? And a little lower , Seeing then that some had Faith and Love to God , and were saved , without the express knowledge thereof ( to wit , of Christ's coming in the outward ) before he came outwardly , why not also after his coming , where his coming outwardly hath not been preached nor revealed ? — For now Christ is inwardly come in a Seed of Life and Light , in all , which is the Word of Reconciliation , by which men may be Reconciled with God , as they joyn and apply their Minds thereunto . Such passages as these abound in his former ( not yet retracted ) Book , which it would be tedious to transcribe . Yet inasmuch as he says here ( Nar. p. 23. ) that though Regeneration is no ●light thing , yet comparing Christ's Incarnation with the Work of Regeneration , I do affirm the Work of Regeneration is a light thing , tho' not light in it self ; I will shew him ( though it be some what beside the present Business ) how much he formerly prefer'd the inward Appearance , and Manifestation of Christ in Spirit , to his outward Appearance in the Flesh. In his Book called Immediate Revelation not ceased ( nor retracted ) p. 59. he says , — If his Bodily presence was not sufficient to the Church , his teaching them outwardly by word of Mouth , Face to Face ; but he said , It was expedient that he should go away from them , and he would send another Teacher , who would do greater things , and more Manifestly and Gloriously reveal unto them God , and the things of his Kingdom : If Christ's Bodily presence in the Flesh , was not sufficient of it self , to Minister , though he spake as never Man spake , yet I say , If this Ministration was not sufficient , but a more Glorious they were to expect ; and as they waited , they witnessed it fulfilled , and come unto them : Then far less is the outward Administration of any other Man , &c. — Seeing the knowledge of Christ after the Flesh was not sufficient , nor to be rested in ; but they were to look for a better , a more clear , and full manifestation in themselves , he appearing in a Spiritual , Glorious , Heavenly , Mysterious way in their Hearts &c. And in p. 120. having cited before many Scripture sayings out of the Old and New Testament , Concerning Christ , he says , All these Glorious things both he , in the Days of his Flesh , and the Prophets , before that his appearance in that Body of Flesh , declared , neither only nor principally , concerning his coming in the Flesh , ( namely , in that Vessel or Temple which appeared at Ierusalem ) but mainly and principally concerning his Spiritual Appearance in his Saints , after his being Crucified , Risen and Ascended ; for till then , the Son of Man was not Glorified . And though he was Bodily present with his Disciples , yet he told them , they were to see greater things . — And p. 121. He told them , It was expedient he should go away , that he might come again in a more Glorious and Comfortable Appearance , by the Revelation of his Glorious Power in their Hearts , for his Kingdom was not of this World , but an inward Kingdom , and he said , that it was within ; and pointed to this Spiritual Appearance , by his Light in their Hearts , under many Parables and Figures , &c. Again , p. 107. he says , The Iews and People of Israel who lived in Moses's time , and were saved , it was through Faith in this Word , in this Prophet , raised up in them , in their Hearts , not at a distance , but nigh ; the Word is nigh in thy Heart . And this is Christ in them , the hope of Glory , the Mystery hid from Ages and Generations , but was ever made manifest in his Saints , but in the latter Days more clearly : Christ in all that believe , the hope of Glory . Does he not here plainly make that Mystery which the Apostle ( and he from him ) calls the Mystery which hath been hid from Ages and from Generations , Col. 1.2.6 . to be the inward Appearance of Christ , the hope of Glory , in all that believe , and says , It was ever made manifest in his Saints . He pretends , Nar. p. 23. to have some other principal Proofs remaining about this Gross Error ( as he calls it ) of W. Penn : But he brings forth but one ( that I find ) and that the same which he charged formerly , in his Book called The True Copy , &c. And which I answered at large in my Book called Truth Defended , from p. 113. to p. 123. Of which he takes no notice . Had he been either fair or manly , he should first have refuted the former Answers , before he had renewed his Charge . Yet not only here , but in his Gross Error , p. 18 , 19. he repeats this same Charge , without so much as owning that it had been answered to before . So that , with respect to him , it is to little purpose to answer at all , since he has so little honesty , as to wink over the answer , and repeat his Charge a new , as if there had been nothing said to it . But for the undeceiving of them , whom he labours to deceive , and by false Accusations and Calumnies , to bring into a dislike of our Principles and us , I shall here wipe off some of his Abuses , and refer the Reader , for further satisfaction , to my former Book called Truth Defended . The Quotation he now gives , is out of a Book called The Christian Quaker , p. 97.98 . It is a Controversial Book , and the Controversy in that part of it is , Whether Christ , as Christ , was before he took Flesh of the Virgin , or no ? Which the Adversaries denied ; W. Penn affirmed , and gave many Arguments , from Scripture and Reason , to prove it , which the Reader may there see at large from p. 92. to p. 99. Amongst those many Arguments , one was drawn from the promised Seed , which all acknowledge to be Christ , and therefore , as a fit Medium was used by W. Penn , to prove that Christ , as Christ , was before he took that Body of Flesh upon him ; and therefore that that Body , simply considered as a Natural Body ( which was the Notion the Adversaries had of it , and from whence they Spake so much of Christ's Humane Nature ) was not properly the Christ , but he ( most properly ) who was the Heavenly Spiritual Man , who came down from Heaven , and took upon him that outward Body ; in as much as the Seed is a Spiritual Substance — Now to prove that the Seed is inward and Spiritual , he argued thus ( which is the passage G. Keith quotes . ) As Abraham outward and natural was the great Father of the Jews outward and natural , whose Seed God promised to Bless , with Earthly Blessings , &c. And that they were Figurative of the one Seed Christ , and such as he should beget unto a lively hope , &c. it will consequently follow that this Seed must be inward and Spiritual ; since one outward thing cannot be the proper Figure or Representation of another : Nor is it the way of holy Scripture so to teach us ; the outward Lamb shews forth the inward Lamb ; the Jew outward , the Jew inward , &c. — I have these two short Arguments to prove what I believe and assert , as to the Spirituality of the true Seed ; and a clearer overthrow it is to the Opinion of our Adversaries , to the true Christ. First , Every thing begets its like ; what is Simply Natural , produces not a Spiritual being , Material things , bring not forth things that are Immaterial . Now because the Nature , or Image , begotten in the Hearts of true Believers , is Spiritual , it will follow , that the Seed which so begets , and brings forth that Birth , must be the same in Nature , with that which is begotten , therefore Spiritual ; then Christs Body , or what he had from the Virgin , strictly considered as such , was not the Seed . Secondly , It is clear from hence ; The Serpent is a Spirit : Now nothing can bruise the Head of the Serpent , but something that is also Internal and Spiritual , as the Serpent is ; But if that Body of Christ were the Seed , then could he not bruise the Serpents Head in all , because the Body of Christ is not so much as in any one , and consequently the Seed of the Promise is an Holy and Spiritual Principle of Light , Life and Power , that being received into the Heart , bruiseth the Serpent's Head. And because the Seed , which cannot be that Body , is Christ , as testify the Scriptures , the Seed is one , and that Seed Christ , and Christ God over all , Blessed for ever ; we do conclude , and that most truly , that Christ was , and is the Divine Word of Light and Life , that was in the beginning with God , and was , and is God over all , blessed for ever . And that this may yet more evidently appear , let it but be seriously weigh'd , that before ever that visible . Appearance was , the Seed bruised , in good Measure , the Serpent's Head in the Holy Men and Women of all Generations , otherwise they had not been Holy but Serpentine and Wicked ; And if the Seed was before , and that Seed be Christ ; because there is but one Christ , as well as but one only Seed , it doth clearly follow , that Christ was Christ , before that outward Appearance . Which was the thing intended to be proved . Upon this G. Keith says , W. Penn will needs have this to be not Christ without , but Christ within . But W. Penn neither said so , nor meant so . He does not deny the Seed to be Christ without . He says , the Seed Christ is Spiritual and inward , that is , in Man ; which doth not hinder , but that it may be and is outward also , that is , out of Man , or elsewhere , besides in Man ; but that , whether inward or outward , it is a Spiritual Substance . Yet as it is a Seed bruising the Serpent's Head in Man , it is inward , working against the Serpent in the Heart , where the Serpent puts up his Head , to deceive and defile the Heart of Man , and draw him from his Duty and Obedience to God. And indeed , in that great and most Eminent Encounter between the two Seeds , when the Divine Seed had taken on it outward Flesh , and so was born of the Virgin , ( with respect to which he was Denominated , and was the Seed of the Woman , and so of Abraham , and David , ( of whose Seed she was ) though the Serpent could not assault him , from any thing in himself ( having nothing in him , John. 14.30 . ) Yet it was the Divine Word or Power which is called the Seed in Man ( the same which had bruised the Head of the Serpent , in Mary , David , Abraham , and all the Holy Men and Women before ) inwardly dwelling in that Immaculate Body , by which he repelled the assaults of the Tempter , broke the Power of the Prince of Darkness , vanquished and put him to flight , and Triumphed most Gloriously over him . Again , G. Keith says , p. 24. So the Paschal Lamb was no Figure of Christ without . And when John said , Behold the Lamb of God! It was meant of Christ within us , not of Christ without us , for our Passover is Slain for us . This G. Keith sets down , as if they were W. Penn's words , and accordingly they are Printed , with Coma's in the Margin , as the Quotations out of W. Penn's Books are . And then G. Keith says upon it , You see , according to W. Penn , that Passover that was slain for us , was slain in us , not without us : And so they throw away our Arguments against the Iews . But this is an Abuse in G. Keith . The words he gives before , as W. Penn's , are not W. Penn's , but G. Keith's unfair inference from W. Penn's words . W. Penn did not say the Paschal Lamb was no Figure of Christ without . He said the Outward Lamb shews forth the Inward Lamb ; the Jew Outward , the Jew Inward . And doth it not so ? And when Iohn said , Behold the Lamb of God , W. Penn doth not say , It was meant of Christ within us , not of Christ without us : For Christ within us , and Christ without us , is but one Christ , not two Christs , nor divided . But when Iohn said , Behold the Lamb of God , that taketh away the Sins of the World ! Did he mean the Body only , or Outward Manhood of Christ ? Or did he not mean more especially that Divine and Heavenly Manhood , which then dwelt and appeared in that Body , with respect to which he was called Christ , long before he took on him that Body , and is said to be the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World , Rev. 13.8 . It is not then according to W. Penn , that the Passover that was slain for us , was slain in us , not without us ; but it is according to G. Keith's perverse Inference : For the Passover that was slain for us , was slain without us ; but it was not only an Outward thing , or the Body only , which was taken of the Virgin , that is designed under that name of the Passover , but that Son of Man who came down from Heaven , and took upon him that Outward Body , and suffered in that Body , and so became a part , yea , a chief part of that Blessed Sacrifice , although it was the Outward Body , or Manhood only of Christ our Spiritual Passover ( as he is called , Wilson's Christian Dictionary , verbo Passover ) that in a strict and proper sense was said to be slain . Next he quarrels with W. Penn's Logick , in saying , Then Christ's Body , he had from the Virgin , strictly considered as such , was not the Seed . This is rare Logick , says G. Keith . Here 's a Fallacy , but I believe ( says he ) it proceeds not from any design , but from his weakness in Logick . ( But the Abuse he would put upon W. Penn , proceeds I fear , not so much from his weakness in Logick , as from an evil Design in him ) He adds , You know , there should be no Term , nor thing of Importance , in the Conclusion of any Syllogism or Argument , but what should be in the Premises ; but strictly considered is not in the Premises , therefore it should not be in the Conclusion . Had he minded the Premises better , he might have seen , that though those very Terms [ strictly Considered ] were not expresly in the Premises , yet equivalent Terms were ; namely , the Terms [ Material , and simply Natural , ] ( which last yet was used only ad hominem , upon the Adversary's Opinion ) therefore G. Keith might well have spared his Flurt at W. Penn's Logick , but that he had a mind to crack of his own Skill therein . He says , No Man says , The Body of Christ strictly considered without the Soul of Christ , is Christ , or that either the Soul and Body of Christ strictly considered , without the Godhead , is the Christ. But let him tell me what they say , or upon their own Principle ought to say , Who affirm that Christ , as Christ , was not in being , till he was born of the Virgin. He says , The Sense of W. Penn's Argument is , That Christ's Body was no part of him . Herein he doth not say the Truth ; but gives a wrong sense of W. Penn's words . Though Christ was Christ , before he took upon him that Body , yet after he had assumed that Body , it was a part of him , though but the Outward part . He goes on to pervert W. Penn's both sense and words , saying as from W. Penn. The one Seed cannot be an Outward thing ; and then says upon it , This ye see is universal and exclusive of any outward thing . W. Penn did not say , The one Seed cannot be an Outward thing . His words were , as a Deduction from his Premises , It will consequently follow , that this Seed must be Inward and Spiritual ; which doth not universally exclude it , from being in some respect an Outward thing also . But if VV. Penn had said , This Seed cannot be an Outward thing , intending thereby a thing simply , and wholly outward , so as to exclude its being Spiritual and at all Inward , Would G. Keith have consented to that ? I think not . It is evident W. Penn contended with such as would restrain the Divine Seed of Promise to the Body , which Christ took of the Virgin , not being Spiritually-Minded enough to apprehend any other Seed , than that which he then took of her ; whereas the Promised Seed , which was the Heavenly Man , Christ Jesus , was in being and did operate , in the Hearts of Men , and bruised the Serpent's Head there , many Ages before he took upon him , that Body of Flesh of the Seed of the Virgin. And during that time , even from the making of that Promise , until the time of his outward coming at Ierusalem , he was altogether Spiritual , working inwardly and Spiritually , against the Enemy in the ●eart , and could not properly be called an Outward thing , at least in the gross Notion wherein we commonly use and understand the word Outward . Not that he was so Inward , as to be no where , but in Man ( for he was in Heaven with his Father , Iohn . 3.13 . ) But when , in the fulness of time , he descended , and took on him the Seed of Abraham ( by taking on him that Body of Flesh from the Seed of the Virgin ) he was then , and in that respect , Outward as well as Inward . Yet even then , a●d since , his Operation as a Seed of Light , Life and Power , to bruise the Head of the Serpent in Men , has been Inwardly and Spiritually felt in the Heart , working against , and subduing the Enemy there , where the Serpent is , and where he works most to the hurt and disadvantage of Mankind . And therefore it was idly done of G. Keith to ask ( in a Marginal note ) Is not the Serp●nt or D●vil without Men , as well as within many Men ? Since his being without is not so Destructive , or dangerous to Man , as his being within : And therefore the Operation of the Holy Seed within , to bruise his Head , to break his Strength and Power there , and to cast him out , is the more advantageous and necessary . And whereas G. Keith would infer from W. Penn's saying , This Seed must be Inward and Spiritual , that he universally excludes any Outward thing , because he adds , since one outward thing cannot be the Proper Figure and Representation of another . He should have considered , that though it cannot be so properly , yet it may be so improperly , or in a less proper way of Speaking ; which is not unusual in Scripture : And that therefore to say , one Outward thing cannot be the proper Figure , and Representation of another , is not universally exclusive of any other thing . His charging W. Penn with a Sorites ( an imperfect or confused Argument ) in saying , Because the Seed is one , and that Seed Christ , and Christ God over all , blessed for ever , We do conclude , and that most truly , that Christ was , and is the Divine Word of Light and Life , that was in the beginning with God , and was and is God over all , blessed for ever ; I say his quarrelling at this is Idle , and shews he did not understand the Matter . But the Inference he makes is worse : For he says , Thus you see , he makes the promised Seed to be nothing , but an Inward Principle , God over all , &c. Why then , is God over all nothing but an Inward Principle , with G. Keith ? But W. Penn did not so confound things : For though ( with the Apostle , Gal. 3.16 . ) he said , The one Seed is Christ ; And ( with the same Apostle , Rom. 9.5 . ) Christ is over all , God blessed for ever : Yet he did not say , that Christ was God over all , as he was the Seed , nor that the Seed of God in Men , was God. So that G. Keith in his heat and haste , has overstruck himself , and lost his Blow . So also he shoots at random , when he says , But to say , Christ is only God , and not Man without us , as W. Penn's way of arguing imports , is most false Doctrine . For neither did W. Penn say so , nor doth his way of arguing import so . The plain import of all his arguments in that long Quotation given out of him ( which G. Keith cavils at ) is , that Christ , as Christ , was from the beginning , before he took that outward Body of Flesh , in which he suffered at Ierusalem ; which is so far from a denyal of his being Man as well as God , that it is a fair acknowledgment of it , inasmuch as he would not have been Christ , if he had not been Man , as well as God. As therefore he was Christ from the beginning , so was he also both God and Man , and that not only in his People , but out of , or without them also . And if he was truly Man then , before he appeared in that outward Body , which was nailed to the Cross , to be sure he is not less truly Man now , since that outward Manhood became ( as I may say ) a Cloathing to that Divine and Heavenly Manhood , which he had before , and is glorified with it . What he intimates of a pretended Contradiction between W. Penn and I. Whitehead , is very Idle in it self , and wicked in him , and the worse , for that he urged it formerly in his Book called The true Copy , &c. And I answered then , in mine called Truth Defended , p. 131. ( which he takes no notice of ; ) as I did also answer in that Book , much of what he hath now urged concerning Christ and his being the promised Seed , from p. 113. to p. 123. Where also I gave several Quotations out of G. Keith's Bôoks , shewing most plainly , that he hath maintained the very same things he now condemns in others , and yet will not condemn in himself , as particularly in his Book called The Way cast up , where , Sect. 8. p. 93. In answer to an Adversary's Charge , that we deny Jesus the Son of Mary , to be the alone true Christ. He first answers , This is a false Accusation ; We own no other Jesus Christ , but him , that was born of the Virgin Mary , who , as concerning the Flesh , is the Son of Mary , and the Son of David , and the Seed of Abraham . Then adds , p. 93. And yet he was the true Christ of God before he took Flesh , and before he was the Son of Mary , or David , or of Abraham : For his being Born of the Virgin Mary , made him not to be Christ , as if he had not been Christ before ; But he was Christ before , even from the beginning , as ( says he● I shall prove out of Scripture , &c. And having brought divers Scriptures and Arguments , from p. 93. to p. 99. to prove that Christ Jesus , as Man , was from the beginning , and had from the beginning an Heavenly Manhood , and Spiritual Flesh and Blood ; He there concludes thus , This is the promised Seed , which God promised to our Parents after the Fall , and actually gave unto them , even the Seed of the Woman , that should bruise the Head of the Serpent . And therefore , tho' the outward coming of the Man Christ was deferred , according to his outward Birth in the Flesh , for many Ages ; yet from the beginning this Heavenly man , the promised Seed , did inwardly come into the Hearts of those that believed in him , and bruised the Head of the Serpent , &c. Here G. Keith , not only asserts , that this Heavenly Man Christ , was the promised Seed ; and did from the beginning inwardly come into the Hearts of Believers , and bruised the Head of the Serpent ; but also calls him , the Seed of the Woman ; and says , God not only promised him , but actually gave him , even the Seed of the Woman ( that should bruise the Serpents Head ) unto our Parents after the Fall , many Ages before his outward Birth in the Flesh. Surely , he that writ this , had no cause to quarrel with W. Penn for saying , Christ's Body , strictly considered as such , was not the Seed of Promise . G. Keith had more need to have reconciled himself to himself ( if he could ) in these two opposite Expressions of his , viz. [ That God gave the promised Seed , even the Seed of the Woman , actually to our Parents after the Fall , many Ages before his outward Birth in the Flesh ; Way cast up , p. 99. ] And [ That Christ did not become the Seed of the Woman , according to the Sense of Gen. 3. Vntil the fulness of time , that he was made of a Woman , True Copy of a Paper , p. 20. ] And he should have done well , to have informed his Reader , how God did actually give unto our Parents after the Fall ( so many Ages before Christ's outward Birth in the Flesh ) the Seed he promised them , Gen. 3. Even the Seed of the Woman : And yet Christ , not be the Seed of the Woman , according to Gen. 3. until so many Ages after he was actually given , as the Seed of the Woman . This is part of what I said to him in my former Book , called Truth Defended , p. 117 , 118. which rather than Answer , he chose to cut himself out new work at Turners-Hall . He pretends he did not Answer my Books in Print , because he had not time to write , nor outward Ability to Print . I have shewed the Falshood of that pretence , in the fore part of this Book ; yet let me now ask , If that had been true , why did he not then , at his Meeting at Turners-Hall , Answer my Books viva voce , which then lay at his door unanswered , and both Refute them , if he could , and acquit himself from those many Clinching Quotations I had therein h●mpered him with , out of his own Books , by explaining , defending , or Retracting them ? This , I think , every considerate Person will judge had been more properly his Province , than wholly over-looking this , to spend his time in impeaching Others , by Renewing his old Baffled Charges , before he had cleared himself from being guilty of the same Errors ( as he calls them ) which he had charged others with . For if they whom he hath charged , were as bad as he endeavours to make them ; yet he of all men is not fit to charge them , till he has acquitted himself from the Imputation he lies under of being guilty of the same things . This is so plain a Case , that it may be hoped upon his next Indiction of such a Mock Meeting at Turners-Hall , or elsewhere , some of his Auditors ( when they are together ) will think fit to put him upon this just and necessary Work , and , I had like to have said , hold him to it , but that I consider he will be held to nothing . However , to furnish any such a little further , with matter of that kind to invite him to , I will not think much to transcribe another Quotation or two of his , which I gave him in my former Book , p. 119 , 120. The first is taken out of his Appendix to his Book of Immediate Revelation , p. 256. where speaking of the spiritual Generation and Birth of Christ in us , he says , Thus we become the Mother of Christ in a spiritual sense , or according to the Spirit , as the Virgin Mary was his Mother after the Flesh. And this Spiritual Mystery Christ himself did teach in the days of his Flesh , when he said , Whosoever shall do the Will of my Father which is in Heaven , the same is my Brother , and Sister , and Mother , Mat. 12.50 . And thus ( says G. Keith ) Christ , according to his spiritual Birth in the Saints , is the Seed of the Woman ; for that the Saints are the Woman that bring him forth after the Spirit , and are his Mother ; as Mary brought him forth after the Flesh , and after the Spirit also ; so that she was the Mother of Iesus in a double respect ; for as she brought him forth in her Body , so she brought him forth in her Soul , otherwise he could not have been her Saviour , &c. Here G. Keith calls Christ the Seed of the Woman , according to his spiritual Birth in the Saints ; and yet quarrels with W. Penn for saying , The Seed Christ must be inward and spiritual . Again , In the Way cast up , p. 102. he says , For indeed , seeing he [ Christ ] is called as really Man , before his ou●ward Birth in the Flesh , as afterwards , we have as good cause to believe him to be true and real Man , before his outward Birth in the Flesh , as after . For it is not the outward Flesh and Blood that is the Man , ( otherwise the Saints that have put off the outward Body , should cease to be Men ; and Christ should have ceased to be Man , betwixt his Death and his Resurrection ) but it is the Soul or inward Man that dwelleth in the Outward Flesh or Body , that is the Man most properly , such as Christ was even from the beginning . And therefore ( adds he , p. 104. ) Let all the Scriptures be searched , and it shall not be found that Christ became Man , and took to himself the Soul of Man , at his Conception in the Womb of the Virgin Mary ; but Only that he took Flesh , and was the Son of Mary , David and Abraham , according to the Flesh : But according to his Heavenly Nature , even as Man , he was the Son of God , and was the Father and Lord of all the Faithful in all Ages , &c. Thus far out of my former Book . Besides these , take the following out of his Way to the City of God , p. 125. And thus even from the beginning , yea , upon Mans Fall , God was in Christ , reconciling the World to himself , and Christ was manifest in the holy Seed inwardly , and so stood in the way to ward off the wrath , &c. For even at Man's Fall , the Seed of the Woman was given , not only to bruise the Serpents Head , but also to be a Lamb or Sacrifice , to attone and pacifie the wrath of God towards Men. And this is the Lamb , that was slain from the beginning of the World. Again , p. 154. And in this holy Seed , the Sufferings of Christ , and how he bore the Iniquities of the Soul , and makes Intercession or Attonement unto God , may be learned in some measure , with many other things concerning Christ , in relation to him , and his Doings and Sufferings in the outward , which was an outward and visible Testimony of his inward Doings and Sufferings in all Ages , in Men and Women in the holy Seed . And indeed we find that this is only the true and effectual way of knowing the Use and Work of his Coming , and Sufferings , and Death , in the outward , by turning , and having our Minds turned inwards , unto himself , near and in our hearts , in the holy Seed , to know by an inward feeling and good experience his Doings and Sufferings in us , by being made conformable thereunto . In which Holy Seed , as it ariseth in us , such a clear Light shineth forth in our Hearts , as giveth unto us the true knowledge of the use of his Inward Doings and Sufferings . In his Additional Postscript to G. Whitehead's Book , called The Nature of Christianity , ( which is one of the Books he cavils at in his Narrative , and which very Postscript he mentions there also , but does not retract any thing therein ) he says , p. 66. to his Opponent Gordon , Because Christ is called the one Offering , and that he once offered up his Body , &c. Thou wouldst exclude him , as in us , from being one Offering , but herein thy work is vain ; for Christ Jesus is the one Offering still ; and tho' he offered up his Body outwardly but once upon the Cross , yet he remains still an Offering for us within us , &c. Again , p. 67. That thou challenge it , that one said , Christ was never seen with any Carnal Eye ; thou hast no more ground than to challenge himself , who said ; He who hath seen me , hath seen the Father ; and yet he said to the Jews , who saw the outward Body of Iesus , You have neither seen him , nor known him . Thus G. Keith . And yet in his Gross Error , p. 14. he blames G. Whitehead for this Expression , and bringing Iohn 14. to defend it . Again , says he , We deny not but the Names Messiah , Iesus , Christ , &c. were given to him as Man , even as in the Flesh ; but they do More Eminently and More Originally belong to him , as he was before he took that Body on him ; yea , more immediately and more originally to the Word , the Light , the Seed , the Life , the quickning Spirit , that dwelt in that Body , which he called This Temple , and it was called The Body of Iesus . To give more Instances out of his Books would be redious , as to comment on these would be needless , they speak so plain the same things which he now calls gross and fundamental Errors in others . Wherefore leaving that to the Reader , as he now says he has done at present with his first Head , so have I also . In handling which , and Answering his many Cavils thereupon . I have been the larger , because I look upon this to be the greatest and most important part of his Charge : For if Christ were denied , both as God and Man , not only the Object of Faith , but the whole Christian Religion would fall . But as I have proved his Charge false and wrong in this part , so I shall endeavour to shew it is in the other parts also ; in which I will be more brief , if I can . The Second Head of G. Keith's Charge , ( viz. That we deny Iustification and Sanctification by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed ) Considered . The Second Head ( says G. Keith ) is Iustification and Sanctification by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed ; which he says , is opposed by W. Penn , G. Whitehead , a●d others . Now before I mention his pretended Proofs , I think fit to tell the Reader what this very Man has said of W. Penn concerning Iustification , within these four years , viz. in his Serious Appeal , p. 10. he says , Nor are W. Penn's words so to be understood concerning Justification , as if he excluded Christs Righteousness , which he fulfilled in his own Person ; but only he denieth that any can be justified by that alone , without Faith and Repentance , &c. Did he write thus by rote , without reading what W. Penn had written ? Or had he then read , and upon reading did then approve and justifie what W. Penn had writ of Justification ; and yet now condemn it ? The Proof he now pretends to bring , Nar. p. 24 , 25. is out of W. Penn's Book called Reason against Railing , p. 91. And forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors . Says W. Penn , Where nothing can be more obvious , than that which is forgiven , is not paid ; and if it is our duty to forgive without a Satisfaction received , and that God is to forgive us as we forgive them , then is a Satisfaction totally excluded . ( This also G. Keith objected in his Gross Error , p. 19. ) Upon this G. Keith says here , I confess I was surprized with this word totally excluded . Satisfaction ( adds he ) is not the strict solution of a Debt in all respects and circumstances . VVhen we consider the Dignity of our Lord , that was both God and Man ; his Sufferings ( suppose they were not the Thousand part of what the Damned suffer ) yet it was a true satisfaction : Therefore I was scandalized with these words , says he . But he needed not have been scandalized with those words , ( unless he be altogether run back to the most rigid Presbyterians , in the strictest Notion of Satisfaction , rejected by the Church of England , whose Hands he seems most desirous now to kiss , perhaps that he may lick some Advantage therefrom ) if he would have seen ( what was so obvious , that he must wink , to avoid seeing it ) that those words relate to , and are expresly spoken of that rigid or extream Satisfaction which those Presbyterians ( and some Baptists ) affirm God required and exacted of his Son. For thus VV. Penn introduced those words which G. Keith cavils at , in Reason against Railing , p. 90. I shall now , said he , be as good as my word , and that is , to produce an Argument or two against the common Doctrines of rigid Satisfaction and Justification , as they have been opposed by me in this short Discourse , and that out of my Book called The Sandy Foundation shaken , &c. Then out of that Book , he produced first an Argument drawn from Mic. 7.18 . p. 90. and in p. 91. from Mat. 6.12 . another Argument , in which are those words G. Keith takes offence at . What sort of Satisfaction W. Penn there opposed , appears from that Book called The Sandy Foundation shaken , out of which he transcribed those words . Now in the Title Page of that Book , that which is undertaken to be Refuted , on that Head of Satisfaction , is , The impossibility of Gods pardoning Sinners , without a Plenary Satisfaction . In the Epistle , p. 8. it is called God's Incapacity to forgive , without the Fullest Satisfaction paid him by another . In the Book it self , p. 16. the Doctrine oppugned is , That Man having transgressed the Righteous Law of God , and so exposed to the Penalty of Eternal Wrath , it is altogether impossible for God to remit or forgive without a Plenary Satisfaction ; and that there was no other way by which God could obtain Satisfaction , or save Men , than by inflicting the Penalty of Infinite Wrath and Uengeance on Jesus Christ , the Second Person of the Trinity , who for Sins past , present , and to come , hath wholly born and paid it to the offended infinite Justice of his Father . This shews plainly enough , what a sort of Satisfaction ( or rather Notion of Satisfaction ) W. Penn meant , which he said is totally excluded ; namely , a plenary ( or full ) Satisfaction , by inflicting the penalty of Infinite Wrath and Vengeance on Jesus Christ , without which it is altogether impossible for God to forgive ; and there was no other way by which God could obtain Satisfaction . Which too rigid Notion of Satisfaction G. Keith himself , whilst he stood in The way to the City of God , was as much against as W. Penn : For in his Book that bears that Title , p. 140. he saith , That he ( Christ ) did bear the wrath of God , either in that manner or measure which the Damned in Hell do , or we should have done , had not the Lord recovered us , I altogether deny ; for he could and did satisfie the Father well and acceptably , without bearing it in that way . But though the Word Satisfaction ( with respect to Christ ) be not a Scripture-term , nor was used by W. Penn's Opponents , in a Scripture-sense : Yet that W. Penn did not deny the Thing Satisfaction ( rightly understood ) appears in the same Book wherein he treated of it , Sandy Foundation shaken , p. 32. where he says , I can boldly challenge any Person to give me one Scripture-phrase which does approach the Doctrine of Satisfaction , ( much less the Name ) considering to what degree it is stretched ; not that we do deny , but really confess , that Jesus Christ , in Life , Doctrine and Death , fulfilled his Fathers Will , and offered up a most satisfactory Sacrifice . But G. Keith himself , to his own Condemnation and Shame has justified W. Penn ( yea and G. Whitehead too ) in that for which he now condemns them . For in his Postscript to the Nature of Christianity , p. 63. he tells Gordon ( who had charged him with something of this tendency ) Both G. Whitehead and I expresly affirmed , that Christ was a Sacrifice most acceptable and satisfactory ; so said G. Whitehead , yea and W. Penn in his Book , said as much , whom thou falsly hast accused ) and a Ransom , a Propitiation and Offering for the Sins of the whole World ; but not that Men should be justified while in their Sins , but in having forsaken them . G. Keith observes , that W. Penn , in the Book he Quoted , gives nine Arguments to prove that the Notion of Christ's Satisfaction for Sin brings with it nine irrational Consequences and Irreligious : But he says they are so weak and insignificant , that it were but loss of time to mention them here , or answer them . From whence I observe , that those Arguments were not against Christ's Satisfaction , but the Notion of it , that is , the Notion which his Opponents ( both Presbyterians and some Baptists ) had of it , which I have shew'd was , A Plenary , or Full , Satisfaction , by inflicting the Penalty of i●finite Wrath and Vengeance on Jesus Christ , without which , they held it was altogether impossible for God to remit or forgive ; and the nine Arguments he mentions ( how weak so ever he may repute them ) are levelled , he knows against that Notion ; which he himself seems not yet to be fully come up to : For he says , Satisfaction is not the strict Solution ( that is , Payment ) of a Debt in all respects and circumstances ; yet their Notion makes it a strict solution , and they say Christ hath wholly Born and Paid it . And G. Whitehead in his Book , called , The Divinity of Christ , &c. p. 45. ( of the first Part ) pressing T. Vincent to prove by Scripture , that Christ did suffer under infinite Wrath , saith , He should have produced his plain Scripture ; for Scripture we own , and Christ's Satisfaction as rightly Stated , and what a most acceptable Sacrifice he was to the Father for all : Yea , his Suffering as Man , or in the Flesh , without the Gates at Ierusalem , was all acceptable to God ; his Soul also was made an Offering for Sin , &c. Yet so unjust is G. Keith that though he knows it was that false Notion of Satisfaction which W. Penn opposed , yet he here Charges G. VVhitehead and VV. Penn ( as also he did in his Gross Error , p. 20. ) with having thrust out of Doors by their false Logick , Christ's Satisfaction without us ; and then , that they own that Christ in us offereth up himself a Sacrifice , to appease the VVrath of God. For which he cites , VV. Penn's Rejoynder , p. 284. and G. VVhitehead's Light and Life , p. 44. in both which Places , the Words he mentions are a Passage taken out of a Book , called , a New Catechism , written by VV. Smith Deceased , objected against by Burnet and Faldo , and explained and defended by G. VVhitehead and VV. Penn , But neither of them admits , that those Words of VV. Smith have any tendency to make void the Sufferings or Sacrifice of Christ without . But it appears , that the Words were in Answer to a Question , about Christs being a Mediator within , mediating with God , on behalf of any , of his People , that commit evil , and so appeasing the Wrath of God , by being a Propitiation for them , according to 1 Iohn 2.1 , 2. This , one would have thought , might have gone down with G. Keith , it being so agreeable to his own Doctrine . For in his VVay cast up ( a Book not yet retracted ) p. 157. he said , And thus Christ doth declare himself to be the Mediator betwixt God and Man , as he is in them , Thou in me and I in them ; here Christ is the Middle-man or Mediator , as being in the Saints : Which Confutes the gross and most comfortless Doctrine of the Presbyterians and others , who affirm that Christ as Mediator is only without us , in Heaven , and is not Mediator in us , whereas he himself in this place hath declared the contrary . And lest G : Keith should again Cavil at the Words [ offereth up himself , &c. ] I will remind him , that he himself ( in his Additional Postscript to G. VVhitehead's Book , called , The Nature of Christianity , p. 66. ) answered his Opponent Gordon thus , Because Christ is called the one Offering , and that he once offered up his Body , &c. Thou wouldst exclude him , as in us , from being one Offering , but herein thy VVork is vain ; for Christ Iesus is the one Offering still ; and though he offered up his Body outwardly but once upon the Cross , yet he remains still an Offering for us , within us : For he is a Priest for ever , and every Priest hath somewhat to offer ; and he is both the Offering and the Priest , who liveth for ever to make Intercession for us . This is too good Doctrine still in G. Keith to be retracted by him ( for though he has mentioned this very Postscript of his in his Narrative , yet ●e has not retracted any thing in it ) though he can condemn the same in others ; unjust Man as he is ! Before I leave this place , let me put G. Keith in Mind ( seeing he seem to have forgot it ) of a necessary Caution he gave in his VVay to the City of God , p. 127. thus , Therefore we are not too nicely to distinguish betwixt the Influences of his inward and outward Coming and the Effects thereof , but rather to take them conjunctly , as in a perfect Conjunction , having a perfect Influence upon all Mankind , for their Reconciliation and Renovation unto God , as obtaining that Measure of Light and Grace from God unto all and every one , whereby it is possible for them in a Day to be saved . And again , p. 139. thus , But as I said above , so I do again repeat it , that it may have the more weight , viz. that we are not too nicely to make a difference betwixt the Influence and Effects of his Outward and Inward Sufferings , but to understand them in a perfect Conjunction , &c. And so the People called Quakers do , say I. Having had a fling at VV. Penn , he says , Let me come to G. Whitehead again . And that he might stir up the People to Lightness , he tells them , You shall have here a rare Dish of Divinity ; and then to provide himself some Defence or Excuse , after he had done it , he adds , Not that I would provoke any to Lightness . What Hypocrisie is this ? Then to garnish his rare Dish , he says , I have read many Books in my Time , but I never read such a Book ( except the Ranters ) in my Life ; Popery is Orthodoxy to it ; no Popish Priest will argue as he has done . ( See how he Banters him , Nar. p. 22. ) The Book he quotes is called , The Light and Life of Christ within , &c. p. 8. where he says G. VVhitehead blames VV. Burnet for saying , The Blood shed upon the Cross sprinkles the Conscience , Sanctifies , Iustifies , Redeems us . And in p. 18. of his Gross Error , where he carps at the same Passage , and gives the Quotation more at large , but not truly ) he says , Note , Here it is plain that G. Whitehead doth altogether deny Iustification by that outward Blood , or that it was the meritorious Cause of Salvation . But this is a manifest Falshood , and Abuse put upon G. VV. For he did neither deny the outward Blood to be the meritorious Cause of Salvation , Nor did he there undertake to discuss , blame , or censure any of Burnet's Doctrines or Assertions . That was to be done , and ( with respect to some of them ) was done , in the after part of the Book , to which that former Part was but as an Introduction ; wherein Burnet's Contradictions were collected and exposed ; and therefore immediately after those Words of Burnets , p. 7. partly cited by G. Keith , viz. The Blood shed upon the Cross , the material Blood , meritorious to Salvation , sprinkles the Consciences , Sanctifies , Iustifies , Redeems us , &c. G. VVhitehead added thus , But in Contradiction , p. 40. That Blood shed is not in being ( says Burnet ) but he compares it to a price lost . Upon which G. VVhitehead made this Observation , p. 8. Observe , said he , here a twofold stress is laid upon that Blood. 1. Merit to Salvation ; 2. VVork to Sanctification ; and so he hath set it up above God : For God could not save , he saith , and yet it is not in being ( this G. Keith , in reciting G. VVhitehead's Words , left out ) gross Absurdity ! VVhereas Sanctification being a real VVork inward , that is certainly in being which Effects it . This plainly shews , that that which G. Whitehead blamed his Opponent for was his Self-contradiction , in saying that Blood shed , Sprinkles , Sanctifies , Justifies , Redeems ( which are all of the present Time ) and yet withal saying , that Blood shed is not in being . This part G. Keith ( as I noted ) concealed ; and then falls upon G. Whitehead ( as he had done before , Gross Error , p. 22. ) for wronging Burnet , in charging him with having said , God could not save . And he makes as if he would help Burnet out , but he quickly pulls in his Horns , saying , Nar. p. 25. But I wholly wave that Dispute ; I think it is above Mans capacity , Whether antecedently to God's purpose , he could have saved us without the Death of his own dear Son. Truly I doubted nothing had been above G. Keith's Presumption , because I have scarce seen him stick at any thing before , how much soever above his Capacity . But though he is willing to wave that Dispute , yet to help off the Baptist , and fall in with other Opposers , he says , But God having so ordained it , consequentially to his purpose , it ( viz. That God could not save ) may be as safely and truly said , as when the Scripture saith , God cannot lye . Is it any Reflection , says he , to say , God cannot lye , and that he cannot contradict his Purpose ? But I would know of him , whether to contradict ( or to al●er ) ones Purpose , be the same thing , as to Lye ? But it is probable G. Keith might borrow this Notion from Io. Owen , who in his Book against the Quakers , called A Declaration , &c. has a touch of this kind , if I mistake not , in p. 178. G. Keith gives another Proof against G. Whitehead , out of the same Book , called , Light and Life , p. 38. and having set down the Baptists Words thus , Now the Quakers would be so far from directing Men to go to the material Temple at Ierusalem , that they make it but a vain thing to look to Ierusalem , to the Antitype of that Temple , viz. to Jesus Christ , as he was there Crucified , or to that Blood that was there shed for Justification ; he says , now see the Answer , which he gives thus . The Quakers see no need of directing Men , to the Type for the Antitype , neither to the outward Temple , nor yet to Ierusalem , either to Jesus Christ , or his Blood , knowing that neither the Righteousness of Faith , nor the Word of it , doth so direct , Rom. 10. And is it the Baptists Doctrine to direct Men to the material Temple , and Ierusalem , the Type for the Antitype ? What Nonsense and Darkness is this ? And where do the Scriptures say , The Blood was there shed for Justification , and that Men must be directed to Ierusalem to it ? ( Whereas that Blood shed is not in being , said G. Whitehead , out of p. 40. of Burnets Book . ) This Charge G. Keith exhibited once before , in his Book called , The True Copy , p. 19. ( And in his Gross Error , p. 1 , 2. ) And I have answered it already in mine , called , Truth Defended , p. 108 , 109 , 110. Where , amongst other things , I shewed , that there is a Typographical Error in the Passage he carps at , and that whereas it is Printed thus , The Quakers see no need of directing Men to the Type for the Antitype , viz. neither to the outward Temple , nor yet to Ierusalem , either to Jesus Christ , or his Blood ; it should have been , either for Jesus Christ , or his Blood. This G. Keith could not well shun noting ( though he doth the rest of my Answer ) Therefore he says , Nar. p. 27. T. Ellwood , thinks to put a Trick on the Reader , and says it is wrong Printed , and that it should have been for , instead of to . ( And in the Postscript to his Gross Error , calls it , a dull and silly Juggle . ) But I not only said it should have been for instead of to , but proved it , and that I think very plainly . For I did not only say , I find it hath been so amended with a Pen in the Book which I have ( which , as having the least weight in it , G. Keith takes notice of , and says , I do not say G. Whitehead mended it ; which is a very idle Cavil : For though I do not know , but G. Whitehead might mend it ; yet if he did not , what then ? Could it be expected he should , with a Pen , mend a whole Impression ? ) But that which I gave as a more demonstrative Proof of the Place being misprinted , G. Keith takes no notice of ; which was this , viz. The former part of the Answer shews it should have been so ; for there it is , the Quakers see no need of directing Men to the Type for the Antitype ( mark , for the Antitype , not to the Antitype : ) And as it is so there ( to the Type for the Antitype ) so it must be here also , to the Temple , or to Ierusalem , for Jesus Christ , or his Blood. This plain Evidence G. Keith willingly shuns , and says nothing to it . But shuffles about , and says , G. Whitehead has it to , to , to , several Times , for which he quotes , p. 38 , 39. and 61. That in p. 38. is the place in Controversie . In p. 39. he uses the Word to , as referring directly to Burnet's Words , whose the Word to was , saying , Where do the Scriptures say , the Blood was there shed for Justification , and that Men must be directed to Ierusalem to it ( to that Blood that was shed there , were Burnets express Words , and therefore it was expedient G. Whitehead , repeating his Words , should use it . ) So likewise in that other instance , p. 61. where G. Whitehead setting forth the Confusion and Self-contradiction of his Adversary , keeps in expressing it , to his own Terms ; and therefore says , Mark how one while W. Burnet makes that Blood , and the shedding of it , his Justifier , Redeemer , &c. which he has confessed is not in being . Then ( which G. Keith quotes ) another while People must seek their Saviour above the Clouds and Firmament , contrary to the Righteousness of Faith , Rom. 10.6 . Another while they must look to Ierusalem for Justification , to the Blood that was there shed . The Word to , was expresly Burnets there ; therefore G. Whitehead kept to it . But in the very next Line , when he spake his own Words , he changed the Word to into for , saying , But if Men should look to Ierusalem for that Blood , it is not there to be found , for it 's not in being says VV. Burnet . Now as this , and what I have said before , manifests that it was a mistake in the Printing : So G. Keith's contending to have it wrong , rather than right , against the Author's Sense and Mind , rather than with it , shews him to be not only an unfair Adversary , but a Man of an evil and malicious Mind : For none else would have repeated a Charge of Error against another , and persisted to urge it , as G. Keith hath done this , from a Word denied to be the Authors , and so apparently proved to be a Typographical Error only , as this was before . In his Controversie formerly with R. Gordon , he blames him sharply for serving him so , and tells him , Thou abusest my VVords , taking occasion from a small Error in the Printing , which is a disingenuous way of dealing ; and had not thy prejudice blinded thee , thou might'st easily have Corrected it by the Sense . So might he this , had ●ot his prejudice ( not blinded him : For I suppose he saw it at first ; however I shewed him it a Year ago , but ) prevailed upon him to wrong G. Whitehead knowingly , which is worse than if he had been blinded . Yet so earnest is G. Keith in pursuit of his false Charge , that upon G. VVhitehead saying Burnet's directing Men to Ierusalem for Christ is contrary to Deut. 30.13 , 14. and Rom. 10. G. Keith cries out , Is not this abominable Perversion of Scripture , to confirm his Antichristian Doctrine ? But as forward as he was to Charge another , he was as backward to clear or defend himself . For in my former Answer to this Charge ( Truth Defended , p. 110. ) I shewed him that what he now calls in G. VVhitehead an abominable Perversion of Scripture , is not more than , if so much as , he himself had written ( thirty Years ago ) in his Book , called , Help in time of Need , ( not retracted by him ) p. 63. where he saith expresly thus , And now we need not say , Who will go down into the Grave , and bring up Christ to us ? or who will ascend to Heaven , to bring him down to us ? or who will go over the Seas , and bring us Tidings of him from Jerusalem where he suffered in the Flesh ? ( Herein he had direct Relation to the Words of Moses and Paul in Deut. 30. and Rom. 10. ) Him , says he , ( whose Name is the Word of God , Rev. 19. ) we of a Truth witness nigh us , even in our Hearts ; so that we need not either ascend , or descend , or go forth , &c. Upon which I then told him there , p. 111. By this he may see how far he is degenerated , and apostatized from his former Principles : Then he was not for ascending , descending , or sending to Jerusalem , to have Tydings of Christ brought from thence ; because he then witnessed him , Christ , the Word of God , nigh him , even in his Heart : But now , being gone from the Word in his Heart , and turned against it , he is ( it seems ) for having Men directed to the Type , for the Antitype , to the outward Temple , or to Ierusalem , for Jesu● Christ , and his Blood. Thus far in my former ; of which he takes no more notice , than if he had winked with both Eyes , and never seen it . His Cavil in p. 26. That they ( the Quakers ) in their Preachments ( a Word he uses in contempt and scorn , as other Prophane People do ) have used to stop at the eighth verse of Rom. 10. and go no farther ; is both idle and false : For they have not used to stop there , but have gone further , and from ver . 9 th . have opened and shewed what that Mouth Confession and Heart-belief there spoken of , should be , which is necessary and effectual to Salvation , which in the 10. ver . is called , a Believing unto Righteousness , the same that in the 6 th ver . is called , The Righteousness of Faith , which directs , not to say who shall ascend , or descend , to bring Christ down , or up ; but directs to the Word that is nigh thee , in thy Mouth , and in thy Heart ( which , says the Apostle , Is the VVord of Faith which we preach ) that if thou shalt confess with thy Mouth ( from this Word of Faith that is nigh thee , even in thy Mouth ) the Lord Iesus , and shalt believe in thine Heart ( from and by this Word of Faith that is nigh thee , even in thine Heart ) that God hath raised him from the Dead , thou shalt be Saved ; though thou go not to the Type ( the material Temple ) for the Antitype , nor look to Ierusalem ( the place where Christ suffered , whither the Baptist and G. Keith would send thee . ) to find him now there : For as it was said by the Angel a● the Sepulchre , after his Resurrection , Surrexit , non est hic , He is risen , He is not here , Mark 16.6 . much more may it be said , since his Ascension , ( with respect to those outward places where he was Crucified and Buried ) Ascendit , non est hic , He is ascended , He is not here . Now as the Apostle , by disswading Believers from saying , who shall ascend or descend , to bring Christ down or up , and directing them to him , as the Word nigh in the Mouth and Heart , did not reject nor undervalue the Death of Christ at Ierusalem , or the Vertue of his Blood shed there : So neither did G. Whitehead in blaming the Baptist for directing People now to go thither or look thither for it , as if it were now to be found there . This , in effect , I told G. Keith before , in Truth Defended , p. 109. Where I said , It was no Error in the Apostle Paul to direct ( according to the Righteousness of Faith ) to the Word nigh , in the Mouth , and in the Heart . Though he knew well enough , that Christ had suffered at Ierusalem , and that but a little before ; yet he did not direct Men to the outward Temple , or to Ierusalem ( though both then standing ) to find Christ , or his Blood there : For he knew , that Christ was not then to be found outwardly , either at the outward Temple , or at Ierusalem ; but they that came to the Word nigh in the Mouth , and in the Heart , would both find Christ , and feel the Virtue of his blood ( even of that Blood which he offered upon the Cross ) nearer home . So neither is it any Error in G. VVhitehead to say , The Quakers see no need to direct Men to the Type for the Antitype , viz. neither to the outward Temple , nor to Ierusalem , either for Jesus Christ , or his Blood : Nor in so saying doth he deny , or disesteem Jesus Christ , or his Blood ( for he directs , with the Apostle , where Men may both find Jesus Christ , and may feel the Virtue of his Blood ; ) but he rejects the Notion of his Opponent , who ( it seems ) would have Men directed to the Type for the Antitype . G. VVhite●ead therefore has not falsified the Scriptures , and made them to say what they say not , as G. Keith falsly Charges him . But G. Keith hath falsly accused G. Whitehead , and grosly perverted both his Meaning and his Words , and that not only here , but in his Gross Error , p. 15. also . The next thing h● offers is Solomon Eccles's Letter , a Copy of which he gives in p. 28. But before he read it , he said , p. 27. Next , you shall hear Solomon Eccles 's Letter , That the Blood of Christ is no more than the Blood of another Saint . This he did to prepossess his Auditors with an ill Opinion of it , before they heard it ; and he also wrong'd S. Eccles in those Words : For he delivers it as S. Eccles's , That the Blood of Christ , ( indefinitely , and without any Distinction ) is no more than the Blood of another Saint . Whereas it is evident by the Letter it self ( as he has given it ) that S. Eccles did distinguish between the Blood of Christ , which was offered up in the Eternal Spirit , Heb. 9.14 . and the Blood that was forced out of him by the Souldier , after he was Dead . The Blood that was offered up by Christ himself in the Eternal Spirit , Heb. 9.14 . he declares he did very highly esteem of , even to be more Excellent , and Living , and Holy , and Precious , than is able to be uttered by the Tongues of Men and Angels . But that Blood which he said was no more than the Blood of an other Saint , was the Blood that was forced out of him by the Souldier after he was Dead . So that , that upon which S. Eccles did ground the difference he put between the Blood of Christ in one respect , and in another , was , that in the one , it was a voluntary offering of Christ himself , in and by the Eternal Spirit , before his Death : In the other , it was the forcible Act of a Souldier , after he was Dead , and the Sacrifice compleated . This G. Keith ( had he been fair , even as an Adversary ) should have observed to his Auditors , how much so ever he had disliked S. Eccles's Expression ; which I know no Quaker did ever approve , much less undertook to Iustifie , or Defend ; I am sure I did not , nor G. VVhitehead neither , in his Answer to Burnet , out of which G. Keith Charges him with it : For he therein ( as I noted in my former ) both disclaimed those VVords , by saying , I do not make S. Eccles 's Expressions therein an Article of our Faith : and also for himself declared , that he did own the Blood shed to be more than the Blood of another Saint , Light and Life , p. 59. And I called those Words of S. Eccles's an unjustifiable Expression , Truth Defended , p. 112. Therefore G. Keith is unjust in reflecting upon us as he does in p. 30. for though he gave the Copy of the Letter in p. 28. yet ( for what Reason , I know not , whether to perplex the Cause , or that he himself was in Confusion and Disorder when he delivered it ) he interweaves another Matter , which takes up wholly his 29th Page , and then in p. 30. returns to the Letter , saying , Now as to the Letter , we go on , &c. But for what end soever he made that Irregular Transition from one thing to another , though I might justly step over what he has interposed , and follow the Thread of his Discourse upon the Letter ; yet that it may appear how willing I am to answer all his Cavils , I will suspend what is further to be said to his Exceptions about the Letter , and go back with him to p. 29. There he sets down Burnet's Words , and as a Sign he did not well know what he did , he sets them down twice over . They were these , All things under the Law , in the Type , was purged with Blood , and this Blood was material Blood , and not Mystical ; and that Blood that Christ shed , in order to the effecting the Salvation of Man , must need be Visible and Material Blood. To this G. Whitehead's Answer , was , ' Do but mark here what a sad Cons●quence he has drawn ; as if one should Reason , that because the Type was Material , Visible , and not Mystical ; therefore the Antitype or Substance must needs be Material , and not Mystical . By this all Mysteries , or Divine Things , are excluded from being either Spiritual , Antitype , or Substance ; whereas it was the heavenly things themselves that are in Christ , in which consists the Substance and End of Types and Shadows . But to say , that material Blood was a Type of that which was material ; this is to give the Substance no preheminence above the Type ( especially if neither of them be Mystical , nor in being ( which was the Baptist's Opinion ) or like as if one should say , one Type was 'a Type of another ; there G. Keith makes a full stop , leaving out about half a score Lines of G. Whitehead's Answer , without discovering that he did do so . I will put them in between two Crochets , that the Reader may observe which they were , thus , As to say , because Circumcision , which was a Type , was material or outward , therefore the Circumcision of the Spirit , which is the Antitype of it , must needs be outward too , and not Mystical ( which would be sad Doctrine : ) And thus he might as well Reason , touching all other Types and Shadows under the Law , and the heavenly or good things to come , prefigured or shadowed by them . That because the Priests under the Law ( at the outward Tabernacle and Temple ) were Ministers of outward , or temporal Things , carnal Ordinances , Shadows , &c. Therefore those good things to come , those heavenly things , which Christ was said to be the High-Priest of , must needs be Temporal , and not Mystical ; which were absur'd to assert ; ] Whereas both the heavenly and more perfect Tabernacle and Altar , with the heavenly Things , are all a Mystery , and Spiritual ; the Offering and Living Sacrifices are Spiritual ; the Passover Spiritual , the Seed Spiritual ; the Bread , the Fruit of the Vine , the Oyl , the Flesh and the Blood , ( which give Life to the Soul ) yea , the Water and Blood ( which washeth and sprinkleth the Conscience ) are all Spiritual and Mysterious , as the New Covenant it self is , which they belong to , and these things known in ; and this is the new and living Way which Christ set open , through the Vail of his Flesh , Heb. 10. Let them receive this who can , p. 59 , 60. I would not have transcribed this whole Answer , ( especially having given it at full length before in my former Book ) but that I observed G. Keith had slily dropt a considerable part of it , and I thought he might probably take advantage against me , if I should have omitted any of the rest . From the whole it appears , that G. Whitehead did not so much apply himself in his Answer to overthrow his Opponent's Argument in that one Particular , as to shew the general absurdity and mischief of the Consequence of that Argument , which reached alike from the other Types in the Old Covenant , to the other Antitypes in the New Covenant . This G. Keith observed , and to help the Baptist off , he says , VV. Burnet does not express it universally , but in this particular Case : And G. Whitehead extends it to an universal . He says right in the first part , VV. Burnet does not express it universally ; but the Consequence of his Argument has such an universal extent : Which G. VVhitehead observing , attackt him there ; not as G. Keith represents it ( who has the Art of Sophisticating ) as if all the Types of the Old Testament signified nothing internally and spiritually , ( upon which he says , But W. Burnet said no such thing ) But as if all the Antitypes in the New Testament must be altogether as external and void of Spiritual Mystery , as their respective Types in the Old Testament were ; which the Consequence of VV. Burnet's Argument says . G. Keith Notes that , by G. VVhitehead's Argument , as the New Covenant is spiritual and inward , and not outward , so the Blood of the New Covenant is Inward , and not outward , so the Passover is inward , which is Christ the Mediator , and not outward . Now take notice , that the Words [ and not outward ] in all these three places , are not G. Whitehead's , nor to be found in his Answer , but are added by G. Keith of his own Head. And from this Addition of his , he makes this Inference , This is a plain denyal of the Man Christ without us , to be our Mediator , our Passover , Offering , or his Flesh and Blood without us to be concerned in our Salvation , otherwise than as the Type . Now I do not think this proceeds either from his Ignorance , or Oversight ; but from his Injustice and Malice . For he knows , that when we speak of Christ , we do not put asunder what God hath joyned together , but we take his Divinity and Manhood conjointly and united , always acknowledging him to be without us , as well as within us . And as little Iustice as G. Keith shews to us , I have so much Charity for G. Keith , as to think , that when , in his VVay cast up , p. 157. he said , Thus Christ doth declare himself to be the Mediator betwixt God and Man , as he is in them ; he did not intend a plain denyal of the Man Christ without to be our Mediator . But he knows ( if he would , or by this Time could , be Iust ) that the great Reason of our so much asserting Christ's Inward Appearance and spiritual Manifestation as a Mediator , Sanctifier , Justifier and Saviour within , has been ( as to assert the Truth , so ) to counterpoise ( if I may so speak ) the contrary Doctrine and Assertion of those who deny him to be , with respect to these Offices , at all within , and shut him wholly out , making the Work of Mediation , Sanctification , Justification and Salvation , to be only and altogether outward ; whereas we acknowledge to the utmost whatever Christ hath done , or doth , without us , in order to our Salvation ; yet cannot exclude the inward Work. And I am perswaded , this Consideration which I have now mentioned , had some impression on G. Keith's Mind , when he writ those Words I last cited of his , out of his VVay cast up , p. 157. which made him ( after he had repeated , from those Words of Christ , Thou in me , and I in them , here Christ is the Middle-man , or Mediator , as being in the Saints ) add these Words , viz. Which confutes the gross and most comfortless Doctrine of the Presbyterians and others , who affirm that Christ , as Mediator , is only without us , in Heaven , and is not Mediator in us , whereas he himself in this Place hath declared the contrary . Let us go on to his Clinch : For he says , Now here I clinch the Matter ; and he attempts it thus . G. VVhitehead ( says he ) says , But to say material Blood was a Type of that which was material , this is to give the Substance no preheminence above the Type ( especially , if neither of them be Mystical , nor in being ) or as if one should say , one Type was a Type of another , ( so also , Gross Error , p. 18. ) Well , this explains it self , by those Words in the Parenthesis , ( especially , if neither of them be Mystical ; ) For those Words shew that he no otherwise opposes the Antitype's being Material , than his Adversaries Argument excludes it from being Mystical , or Spiritual . This also appears to be his Sence , from the very Entrance of his Answer , where he said , Do but mark here what a sad Consequence he has drawn ; as if one should Reason , that because the Type was Material , Visible , and not Mystical ( which was Burnet's Term ) therefore the Antitype , or Substance , must needs be Material , and not Mystical : By this all Mysteries or Divine things are excluded from being either Spiritual , Antitype , or Substance : And from hence it was that G. VVhitehead said , This is to give the Substance no preheminence above the Type , when the Substance or Antitype is denied to be Mystical , and made only Material , because the Type thereof was only Material , and not Mystical . As to the other part of G. VVhitehead's Words , which G. Keith takes into his Clinch , viz. [ Or like as if one should say , one Type was a Type of another : ] It appears from the Place in G. VVhitehead's Book , that he spake it of those Temporal and Carnal Ordinances , which he there mentions , and particularly of Circumcision , which in the very next Words he joyns to those former , thus , As to say , because Circumcision , which was a Type , was material or outward , therefore the Circumcision of the Spirit , which is the Antitype of it , must needs be outward too , and not Mystical . Wherein perhaps he might give a close Nip to those who hold Circumcision to have been a Type of VVater Baptism , and VVater Baptism to be a Type of the Spiritual Baptism ; thereby making one Type a Type of another . But I find G. Keith cannot clinch his Matter , until he has made an Argument for G. Whitehead , therefore he says , Now the Argument lies here , If the Sacrifices under the Law were Types of Christ's Blood , then that Blood must not be outward Blood , but inward . Nay , nay ; G. Whitehead said not so . He did not say it must not be outward , but it must not be only outward : It must not be so outward , as to destroy its being Inward . It is both Inward and outward , and hath always been so believed and owned by the Quakers in general , and G. Whitehead in particular . Whereas therefore G. Keith says , This is a false Consequence of G. Whitehead , and sheweth that he denie● Remission of Sin , and Iustification by the Blood of Chris● outwardly shed ; I say , That false Consequence is G. Keith's , and shews that he hath renounced honesty and shame . For G. Whitehead doth not deny , but owns Remission of Sin , and Justification so far , by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed ; but not that Justification ( in the right sense of the Word , as it imports a being made Iust or Righteous ) is wrought only by the shedding of the Blood outwardly , without feeling the living Vertue of the Blood inwardly , purging the Conscience from dead Works , to serve the living God. Thus G. Keith's Matter is left unclinched . Now let us return to what he says upon S. Eccles's Letter , in p. 30. where he begins thus : Now as to the Letter , says he , we go on to what T. Ellwood says . He ( says G. Keith ) is so unfair , he will have it , that G. Whitehead owns , that the material Blood of Christ is that by which we are justified . Of that I have newly spoken , and shewed how far , and in what Sence , that is , and ought to be owned . But alas ! Does he call me unfair for this ? I rather thought he would have called , at least have accounted , me fair in that . Would he therefore rather have G. Whitehead not own , than own it , only that he might have a spiteful blow at him ? What an evil Mind is that ! Yet in that evil Mind , he goes on thus ; But here , says he , is the Trick , G. Whitehead makes a Typical Offering of Christ , and an Antitypical ; the Typical was the Offering of Christ at Jerusalem , the Antitypical is the Offering of Christ within . This is a Trick indeed , an horrible false Trick of G. Keith's own devising . So again , a little below , he says , If Christ's Blood outwardly shed was a Type , as G. Whitehead affirms it was . ( Where does G. Whitehead affirm so ? I affirm I never saw that Affirmation yet ; but since he affirms that G. Whitehead has so affirmed , I put him to produce that Affirmation . ) See here then , says he , their Answer ; It was queried , whether they owned that 〈◊〉 are by the Blood of Christ outwardly shed , justified : Or that the Blood that was outwardly shed , did belong to the Sacrifice ? G. Whitehead has since of late answered , Yea : Here , says he , they have sought to blind all the VVorld ; Christ , adds he , as he outwardly suffered , was a Sacrifice , but a Typical Sacrifice . Therefore , says he , the next Question to be put , must be , VVhether he was the Antitypical Sacrifice ? Ay , so let it : And the Answer to it shall be , Yea , He was the Antitypical Sacrifice , of which the legal Sacrifices were a Type ; but that he was ever called a Typical Sacrifice , I never heard nor saw from any Quaker's Mouth or Pen. Such foul Falshoods , and gross Slanders as these , neither deserve nor need any other Refutation than a bare denyal . He is highly offended with G. Whitehead , about S. Eccles's Letter : He would have had him blamed , and censured it severely and sharply , as blasphemous . If G. Whitehead had been as hot-headed as G. Keith , perhaps he might : But Blasphemy is an high Charge , and they that understand it aright , are not so forward as G. Keith ( it seems ) would be , to brand Persons with it , for every unsound Expression . G. Keith is too hot and husty to see aright . He can find nothing at all in G. Whitehead's Answer to blame or censure the Letter : Yet in p. 31. his Narrative tells us , A Quaker did observe to him , That G. Whitehead did find fault with the Letter : G. VVhitehead's saying , He did not make S. Eccles's Expression an Article of our Faith , ( which is as much as to say , I don't believe what he says in that matter , or am one with him in it ) is not a disowning , with G. Keith . But if he reasons well , when he says , p. 31. He that doth not testifie against a thing , when he has just occasion for it , justifies it : May I not , with as good reason , say , He that doth not justifie a thing , when he is put upon it , disowns it . There is an implicit , as well as an explicit owning or disowning of a thing . But G. Keith is in and out . In one place he says , He can find nothing of blame or censure at all : A few lines lower he says , But I find not that he censured it all . It did not all deserve censure . Next ( says G. Keith ) G.W. tells you in what sence he owns it , ( understands by it not the Letter , but the Blood shed ) viz. That Blood had a peculiar signification ; I told him ( says G. Keith ) so had the Blood of Beasts a peculiar signification , for their Blood signified Remission of Sin , but was no satisfactory Offering for sin . But the signification which that Blood had , did peculiarly excel that of the Blood of Beasts : For the Blood shed was a satisfactory offering for sin , and did obtain Remission of Sin for all those that truly believe in , and faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ. But G. Keith did not fairly by G. Whitehead , in saying , He tells you in what sense he owns it , viz. That Blood had a peculiar signification ; and stops there , as if that were all G. Whitehead had said . For G. Whitehead went on , and shewed wherein he owned that Blood shed to be more than that of another Saint , in many particulars of great weight . He confesses that I say , G VVhitehead does own , That the Blood of Christ is more than the Blood of another Saint ; But what Blood , says G. Keith ? The Blood of Christ within , says he , and then says , There 's the Trick . He is full of his Tricks ; and it were well that he had not more Tricks than are good : But such Tricks as these he never learnt among the Quakers . Neither will his putting these Tricks upon us , hurt us , so much as himself : For the Just God , who knows our Innocency , and his Envy , will clear us , and give him , unless he unfeignedly Repent , the Reward due to him for his wicked and unjust Accusations . In the mean time , he himself shall Convict himself of Falshood in this foul Charge . Here he makes me to mean by the Blood of Christ , which G. VVhitehead said he owns is more than the Blood of another Saint , the Blood of Christ within . Yet in the same page , ( p. 30. ) had said before , He ( T. Ellwood ) is so unfair , he will have it , that G. VVhitehead own● , that the material Blood of Christ is that by which we are justified . How hangs this together , That I would have the Blood which G. Whitehead then treated of , and owned , to be the Material Blood of Christ : And yet at the same time I would have the same Blood to be ( not the Material Blood , but ) the Blood of Christ within ? Besides , G. Whitehead spake of that Blood mentioned in the Letter , which S. Eccles said was forced out by the Soldier , and expresly said , he owned the Blood shed was more than the Blood of another Saint . And will G. Keith call that the Blood of Christ within ? Do these things square ? Does not this manifest the Trick to be G. Keith's ? Yet upon this Trick of his , he cries out , Is not this enough to Cheat all the World ? Have not I more cause to say , Are not such false Trick as these enough to belie , abuse , defame , slander all the World ? What Man can be secure from such a Tricker as G. Keith is ! He goes on with his Trick further , They have , says he , a double meaning , as Arius had . They say they own the Blood of Christ , and every other thing said of him according to the Scripture ; so , ( adds he ) said the Arians and Macedonians , when at other times they discovered their meaning to be quite contrary to Scripture . Is not this Man past shame ? He says we have a double meaning , as Arius had . He must say this either from Supposition , or Knowledge . If from Supposition , what can be more horribly wicked , than to brand a People , or Persons with so great a Blemish , upon Supposition only ? If he will pretend to know , that we have a double meaning , he must pretend to have that Knowledge either from our Books , or our Mouths . From our Books he can know it no more than another Man , they being publick and common to all ; neither has he proved , nor can he prove it from our Books . If he will pretend to have had it from any of our Mouths , let him name the Person ; I provoke him to it . He says in his Solemn Appeal , p. 7. He thinks he should know , and doth know , these called Quakers , and their Principles , far better than Cotton Mather ( his then Opponent ) or any , or all his Brethren , having been conversant with them in publick Meetings , as well as in private Discourses , with the most noted and esteemed among them , for about 28 Years past , and that in many places of the World , both in Europe and America . Now if we had a double meaning , as he says we have , so as to say one thing , and mean another ; he who has had ( as he pretends ) so close and intimate a Conversation with us , for so many Years , must needs in that time have observed it , discovered it , known it , been privy to it , and consequently be able to make a plain , demonstrative , evidential Discovery and Proof thereof ; which I again provoke him to . Had he that Trick when he was among us ? He complains , ( in his Book called , The Christian Faith , &c. printed but in 1692. p. 3. ) of Christian Lodowick ( such another Apostate as himself ) that Whereas divers of us ( says he ) declared sincerely before many People their sincere Faith , as concerning the Lord Iesus Christ of Nazareth , and what the holy Scriptures testifie of him , yet he did continue to accuse them still , as denying the true Christ , alledging , They had another sense than the Scripture-words did bear : Appealing to their Consciences , whether it was not so : Thus making himself Judge ( says G. Keith , ) over our secret thoughts , as having a secret Sense in our thoughts of Scripture words , contrary to the true Sense of them , though we have not given him , or any other , occasion to judge so rashly and uncharitably of us ; and our Consciences bear us witness , in the sight of God , that we do sincerely believe and think as we speak : Thus G. Keith but four years ago , even after he had begun his quarrelling in Pensilvania ; yet the very same thing he then blamed C. Lodowick for doing towards him , he now does himself towards us : Would one not think he had learnt this Trickling Art from that Apostate ( as he represents him ) C. L ? He compares us to the Arrians and Macedonians , some of the worst of Hereticks , and in that for which they were more to be condemned , than for their Heresies , since these might possibly proceed from Ignorance and Mistake , that must flow from Hypocrisy and Design . I reject his comparison , and in plain and sober words , deny his Charge , as a most abominable Falsehood and Slander . In p. 31. he quarrels with G. Whitehead for saying , S. Eccles's intent in those words , No more than the Blood of another Saint , was as to Papists , and you , whose minds are Carnal , who oppose the Light within ; and also simply as to the Essence of the Blood , which you dare not say is still in being . To the first part of this Sentence he says , This never was my Quakerism . For my belief all along , was , that Papists , and Baptists , and all , have a benefit by Christ's Death . And so was G. Whitehead's too . Because his Death being a general Attonement for all that shall believe in , and receive him , all are thereby put into a Capacity , by receiving and believing in him , to attain unto Salvation . But if any , whether Papists , Baptists , or other , being carnally minded ( which is , or brings Death , Rom. 8.6 . ) do in their carnal mind , Oppose the Light within , and continue so to do , of what particular benefit , to the Salvation of the Soul , will the Blood of Christ be to them ? Therefore G. Keith in this , as in almost all places , deals unfairly with G. Whitehead , neither taking his right sense , nor giving his full words : For what G. Whitehead delivered ( as S. E's intent ) with respect to such Papists and Baptists whose minds are carnal , and who Oppose the Light within ; that G. Keith extends to Papists and Baptists Vniversally , and draws his Conclusion accordingly thus , Now it is come to this , says he , That the Blood of Christ is no more to Papists and Baptists , than the Blood of another Saint . As if all Papists and Baptists , quâ tales , must of necessity be carnally minded , and oppose the Light within . In like manner he deals with him , in the latter part of that Sentence , viz. And also simply as to the essence of the Blood , which you dare not say is still in being , &c. Which plainly appears to have been Spoken , ad hominem only , upon the Baptists Notion , that that Blood which was shed , was not in being . Yet upon this G. Keith descants , alledging what no Quaker , that I know of , ever denied , viz. That it was never defiled with Sin , and had a Miraculous Conception ; but wholly conceals those other words of G. Whitehead's , which in his Book immediately follow , [ But not as to the Spiritual Virtue and Testimony , which is still in being ] Which ( said G. Whitehead ) S. E. owned to be his Intention . And that plainly proves , that S. E. owned the Blood shed , was more than the Blood of another Saint , as to the Spiritual Virtue and Testimony of it . But says G. Keith , Let us consider these words of S. E. which G. Whitehead saith , might satisfy any Spiritual or unbyassed man , viz. I do very highly esteem of the Blood of Christ to be more excellent , &c. There G. Keith stops with an , &c. which he should not have done : For if he had a mind to save the Transcribing those other good Epithets ( Living , Holy , Precious , ) which S. E. added to the Blood , yet he should not have overppassed those explanatory Words of S. E's which follow , viz. I mean the Blood which was offered up in the Eternal Spirit , Heb. 9.14 . The words of that Scripture are , How much more shall the Blood of Christ , who through the Eternal Spirit , offered himself without Spot ( or fault ) to God , purge your Consciences ? &c. Hence it is evident , that by the Blood of Christ , which S. E. said , he so highly esteemed , he meant the Blood that was of and in that Body , which was offered up upon the Cross : For he refers expresly to this Scripture , which Speaks directly of that Offering . This G. Keith unfairly ( but like himself ) concealed ; and then cries out , Here 's S. E's Fallacy , and G. Whitehead's Fallacy also . But I think he will not be able to make it out , without the help of one of his former Tricks ; nor even with it . Thus he goes on , Now you know what Blood they mean , and see what Blood G. Whitehead means . The Blood is Spiritual and Inward , the other is a Type . If they know what we mean , it is a sign we mean as we speak and write ; for they could not know our meaning , but by our speaking or writing . But such as mean to know our meaning aright , will do well to take it from our selves , not from an unjust , and implacable Enemy . That the Blood is Spiritual , and that it is inward as well as outward , and outward as well as inward , I grant : But that the outward is a Type , is not the saying nor meaning of the Quakers ; but a meaning invented by G. Keith to put a Trick upon us . He quotes G. Whitehead's Book ( Light and Life , p. 56. ) both in his Gross Error , p. 17. and here , thus , It is confessed , that God by his own Blood Purchased to himself a Church , Acts , 20.28 . Now the Blood of God , or that Blood that relates to God , must needs be Spiritual , he being a Spirit ; and the Covenant of God is inward and Spiritual , and so is the Blood of it . Upon this , says G. Keith , Nar. p. 31. So you see he doth not allow the Blood outwardly shed , to relate to God , or to be the Blood of the New Covenant , or that God Purchased his Church with that Blood outwardly shed on the Cross. Why so , I pray ? G. Whitehead said nothing against the Blood outwardly shed on the Cross ; but , having to do with a Baptist , who would have the Blood to be only outward , and not Spiritual , and who ( as G. Whitehead cites him in that 56 p. ) confessed he was as Ignorant of any such Blood as may be , G. Whitehead asserted the Blood of God , by which he purchased to himself a Church and the Blood of the New Covenant , to be Spiritual ( not only outward , as the Type of it was ) And will G. Keith say , that the Blood of Christ which was outwardly shed , had no Spirituality in it , nor might in any sense , be called Spiritual , considering the Miraculous conception of the Body ( whereof the Blood was a Principal part ) through the overshadowing of the Power of the Highest . G. Keith might have remembred , that when he was in The way to the City of God ( which now he hath turned his Back upon ) he writ thus , p. 131. Even according to that Birth ( to wit , his outward Birth ) he was the Son of God , no less than the Son of Man , as having God for his Father , as he had the Virgin Mary for his Mother . Now the Child , we know , doth partake an Image , or Nature , from both Parents ; and thus did Christ , who did partake of the Nature and Image of Man , from the Seed of Mary , but did partake of a Nature and Image , much more excellent , than that of Man , in its greatest Glory , from God and his Seed , who did really sow a most Divine and Heavenly Seed in the Virgin 's Womb , which as it supplied the Males Seed , so it had much more in it , and brought forth a Birth , which as it had the true and whole Nature of Man , so I say , it had a perfection above it , and that not only in accidental Qualities ( as men will readily confess ) but even in Substance and Essence . But if he had forgotten this , yet he might have remembred , and ought to have considered , that Christ having offered up himself through the Eternal Spirit to God , the Blood that was outwardly shed , was included in that offering , as part thereof ; and will he not admit that Blood , after it was offered up to God through the Eternal Spirit , to be called Spiritual ? In p. 32. he tells his Auditors , You have had an account of them as to Iustification ( and a false account too , say I ; ) Now , says he , it is worth your while to see how these [ pretended ] infallible Men , contradict one another . What more frothy Flout could the most prophane Scoffer at Infallibility have used ? Is not this strange Language from one , that in the same Breath ( as it were , see p. 31. ) said , I am a Quaker still ? Truly if he were , I should think the worse of Quakerism ( as he calls it ) for his sake . The Contradiction he pretends to find , or rather make , is between W. Penn , and G. Whitehead both , in answer to Danson . He gives W. Penn's words out of Reason against Railing , p. 82. thus , Rewardableness is a work without which God will not bestow his Favour , and yet not the Meritorious Cause , for that there is no Proportion betwixt the work that is Fini●e and Temporary , and the Reward which is Infinite and Eternal , &c. G. Whitehead's words he gives out of a little Book called The Voice of VVisdome , p. 36. thus , The Righteousness which God effects in us , is not Finite , but Infinite , for Christ is God's Righteousness , and Christ is formed in us , Gal. 4.19 . and so that Righteousness which God works in us by his Spirit , is of the same kind and nature with that which worketh it , for the Saints are made Partakers of the Divine Nature , 2 Pet. 1.4 . G. Keith should have observed , first that these words of G. Whitehead 's ( for he approves and highly commends VV : Penn in this place : But his Hosannah has commonly a Crucify at the Tail of it ) were a Deduction or Inference from T. Danson's Affirmation , who had laid down , that the Righteousness whereof Christ is the Subject , and that whereof he is the Efficient , are of one Species or kind . From which G. Whitehead makes his Inference thus , Then say I , the Righteousness which God effects in us , is not Finite , but Infinite : For Christ is God's Righteousness , and Christ is formed in us , 2. Which takes away the Contradiction wholly , W. Penn , and G. Whitehead do not speak of one and the same thing . W. Penn speaks of the works which we perform : G. VVhitehead speaks of Christ , God's Righteousness , formed in us . So the pretended Contradiction being removed , G. Keith's envious notes thereupon fall with it , which only shew his captious nature and cavilling Spirit . He should have called to mind , that in his Serious Appeal , p. 24. he told Cot. Mather , That the nature of a Contradiction is difficult many times to understand , even in natural things , so that it is reckoned the Subtillest part of Logick or Metaphysicks , to understand throughly what are always Contradictions , and what not ; And therefore much more hard it is , to undertand in Spiritual things , that contain many seeming Contradictions . But this , now I think on 't , was to help himself off , when C. Mather charged him with Contradicting himself . In p. 33. he says , Now I would hasten to a Conclusion . And though he takes time to tell an untruth in the very entrance , saying , I have proved to you , that they have excluded the Blood of Christ , &c. Yet he makes so much haste , that going on to prove that we say , we are not sanctified by that Blood , he gives us three pages , but names no Book , out of which he takes them . I shall read to you , says he , G. Whitehead , p. 49 , 50 , 51. Here 's one Proof , says he , if ye think this is not enough , I will bring more . What ground they had to think that Proof enough , who heard it , I cannot tell . But I think no man by reading the Narrative can tell what to think of it : For he gives neither the Book , nor the words ; but only the Authors name , and three pages . He brings one more , and that is out of G. VVhitehead's Book called Light and Life , p. 59. The Baptists words he gives thus , Neither did I ever read that it was the Blood or Life of Christ in his People that we are Iustified by . See now the Treachery of this false Man , in setting down the Baptists words . The Baptist's words were , Neither did I ever read that it was the Blood or Life in Christ , or the Life of Christ in his People , that we are Justified by . He leaves out the words [ in Christ ] and makes it only the Blood or Life of Christ in his People . Whereas the Baptist's words import a denyal of Justification , not only by the Life of Christ in his People , but by the Blood or Life in Christ himself . For said the Baptist , Neither did I ever read that it was the Blood or Life in Christ , or the Life of Christ in his People , that we are Justified by . G. W's answer he gives thus ; The Spirit of Christ ( which is Life ) doth both Quicken , Sanctify and Justify , the true Believers , Iohn . 6.63 . 1 Cor. 6. And that Blood and Water that is said to cleanse ; is not of another kind , but agrees in one with the Spirit , all which is known within , and the effects thereof . Upon this G. Keith concludes thus , So you see he takes it away from the outward Blood , and gives it to the inward Blood. No such matter . He does not divide the outward Blood from the inward , with respect to the Virtue and Efficacy of it ; Neither indeed , did he mention outward Blood , or inward Blood either , in this place . But he said , The Spirit of Christ ( which is Life ) doth both quicken , sanctify and justify , the true Believers ( is not that true ? ) He said , That Blood and Water that 's said to cleanse , is not of another kind , but agrees in one with the Spirit ( is not that true ? ) And he said , All which is known within ' the Quickening , the Sanctifying , the Iustifying , the Cleansing , and the Effects thereof , is known within ( is not that true also ? ) Whatever the Efficient be , the work is wrought within , and both the work , and the effects there of , is known within . By this time his Auditors seem to be as weary of G. Keith , as he of the work . And therefore they bid him go to the next head ; but being loth to lose a Proof ( as he calls it ) he even thrusts it upon them . He intends this Proof against VV. Penn , but he names not the Book he takes it out of , as he did not before upon G. Whitehead , which shews he was in haste indeed . But giving the words , though not the Book ( which he did not in the other Case ) I have , from the Circumstances of the matter , found his Quotation , in that Book of W. Penn's called Quakerism a New Nickname for Old Christianity , p. 149. It is upon a Passage which I. Faldo had quarrelled with and perverted in a Book of Is. Penington's ; which G. K. having occasion to speak of , makes as if he were so chary of Isaac Penington , that he would be loth so much as to mention him ; and says , I charitably think this Passage dropt from him unawares . Then adds , I wish I could have that ground of Charity to others of them . It seems his Charity is very narrow , if it can extend to but one , and he not living neither . But they are in best case , that have no need of his Charity ( as the Quakers have not ) for it is as kind as the Crocodile's Tears . But to his Proof , he begins it thus , J. Faldo thinks that he has made Is. Penington his own . Can outward Blood wash the Conscience ? p. 29. A plain Denyal , says J. Faldo . Here is J. Faldo's Commentary on Is. Penington's words . Is this Intelligible ? 'T is a sign by his Confusion he had enough of his work . I must be fain to open the Passage and the occasion of it , to make sense of his words . Isaac Penington , amongst many other Questions to Professors ( who place all upon the outward ) put this Question , Can outward Blood cleanse the Conscience ? Can outward VVater wash the Soul cleàn ? This Io. Faldo ( whom G. Keith no longer ago , than in 1692. ) branded in Print for a most partial and envious Adversary , known well enough to be possessed with Prejudice against us , Serious Appeal p. 6. and p. 60. ) catch hold of , and made this false Comment upon it , A plain denyal of the Efficacy of the Blood of Christ shed on the Cross , to cleanse the Soul from the guilt of Sin , by its Satisfaction to the Iustice of God. What greater perversion could have been made ! G. Keith probably saw this , and that his Auditors might not hear it , nor his Reader see it , he huddled through it in that Confused manner , that rendred it not Intelligible . For he gave no more of Is. Penington's words , but Can outward Blood wash ( for cleanse ) the Conscience . And no more of I. Faldo's , but a plain Denyal ; without so much as saying what it was a denyal of . He gives W. Penn's Reply some what fuller , but not so fully as I think fit to give it . For W. Penn ( having shewed that Is. Penington did not speak of the outward Blood , with respect to the taking away the guilt of Sin past , but with respect to Purgation , and Sanctification of the Soul from the present Acts and Habits of Sin that lodge therein ) says , Is he ( I. Faldo ) so Sottish as to make no distinction betwixt being pardoned Sin past , and the ground of it ; and being Renewed and Regenerated in mind and Spirit , and the ground of that Conversion ? ( Now follow what G. Keith quotes ) Or else is he so impiously unjust , that because we do deny , that outward Blood can be brought into the Conscience , to perform that inward work ( which they themselves dare not , nay , do not hold ) therefore Is. Penington denies any Efficacy to be in that outward Offering and Blood towards Justification , as it respects meer Remission of former Sins and Iniquities ? There G. Keith stops : But W. Penn added , We also say , That Christ's Blood had an Influence into Justification , as he phraseth it . Thus far W. Penn. And note , that this was spoken plainly and directly of the outward Blood , or Blood of the outward Body . Now G. Keith having given the Quotation short , says , So in short , I take it thus : W. Penn answers , That Is. Penington's words are to be understood with reference to Sanctification , but not Iustification ( Yes : Justification in one sense , but not in every sense . ) Says he , Outward Blood cannot be brought into the Conscience to perform that work ( But even the outward Blood had an Influence to Justification , said W. Penn ) But says G. Keith , The way that Blood has been brought into my Conscience , is by the application of a living Faith in Christ , whose Blood it was , the Spirit of God working that Faith in me . But hath that Application ( he speaks of ) of Faith really brought that Blood into his Conscience , to perform the work of Sanctification there ? If not ( which to be sure it could not ) Why does he say , The way that Blood has been brought into my Conscience ; as if it had been really and materially brought in there ? He says , That Blood is not a Physical , but a Moral cause of our Cleansing . But did he never know , ( or pretend to know , and hold forth to others ) Christ's Blood as a Physical cause of our Cleansing ? He says , Christ Iesus , 1. by his Obedience and Suffering , procured the Pardon of my Sins , as well as he Sealed it by his Blood. And , 2. He procured the Spirit to Sanctifie me . So then it is the Spirit within , not the Blood without , to which he himself ascribes the work of Sanctification . Christ Jesus , by his Obedience and Suffering , procured the pardon of my Sins , says he , as well as he Sealed it by his Blood. And , 2. He procured the Spirit to Sanctifie me . Is it not plain from hence , that he makes the Obedience and Sufferings of Christ , the cause of the Pardon of Sin , and the Blood to be but as the Seal to that Pardon . But he attributes the work of Sanctification , to neither the one , nor the other ; but expresly to the Spirit , which Christ procur'd , to Sanctify him ? And I wish he had given way to it , that he might have been Sanctified by it ; and then we should not have had such unsanctified work , ( the Abuse , Wrong , and Injustice ) from him that we have . He says , I find none say , there must be a material Application of that Blood , but a Spiritual and Moral ; and , says he , we can give Instances that Moral Causes are many times more Effectual Causes , than Physical are : As , says he , the Money wherewith we buy the Medicine that cures the Body , is not the Physical Cause of Health , but a Moral ; and the Money that we buy Bread with , is not the Physical Cause of our Nourishment and Refreshment , but a Moral . But does he think the Money wherewith the Medicine and Bread is bought , is a more Effectual Cause of Health and Nourishment , than the Medicine and Bread that is bought therewith ? I am sure the Medicine and Bread are more proximate and immediate Causes of Health and Nourishment , than the Money ; and if he having Money , could have neither Medicine nor Bread for his Money , he might perhaps be in as bad a Case , as they that have no Money . I expect he will ( as he uses to do ) pay me off with Ignorance and Folly , for questioning any thing of his Philosophy ; But 't is no matter if he do . I learnt when I was a Boy , S●ultitiam Simulare loco Prudentia Summa est . That little Skill I have , I know when , where and how to use , and how to hide : It were well if he knew how to make better use , than he doth of his greater Stock . But Breaking off this short Digression , which I hope will be excused ( for though I cannot dress out Dishes , nor serve them up so elegantly as he ; yet I expect he should allow me , Interferre meis interdum gaudia curis . He sees I rather chuse to change the Verb , than break the Poet's Head , and thereby hazard the breaking of my own , if I had chnaged the Mood of Interpono ; ) I return to the matter again ; where I observe , that he makes the outward Blood , not at all the Efficient Cause ( I mean the worker ) of Sanctification in the Heart , but the Spirit , and the Blood no more the Cause of Sanctification , than Money is the Cause of Health and Nourishment to the Body , to wit , by procuring the Spirit to Sanctify , as Money procures Medicine and Bread to Cure and Nourish the Body . And in that sense perhaps , as he says , he agrees with all true Christians , we may agree with him ; provided he will , under the Name of Blood , take in the whole Offering of Christ , his Obedience and Sufferings both inwardly and outwardly , and not divide the Sacrifice . At the close of this page , he tells his Auditors , he has now done with the two first Heads ; and asks them , Shall I go on to prove the other two , or shall we adjourn to another Day ? And truly his Auditors seem'd to have had so fully enough of that Days work , that they would rather endure the Fatigue of one half Hour more , than be troubled with him another Day ; And bid him , if half an Hour would do , go on . So on he goes . The Third Head of G. Keith's Charge , ( viz. That We deny the Resurrection of the Body that dieth ) Considered . The Third Head ( says he , p. 34. ) to be proved , is , That the Body that dieth , riseth not again . First , says he , from W. Penn 's holding the Resurrection immediately after Death in his Rejoynder , p. 138. I think , adds he , this will be enough for W. Penn , if I give no more . It may be so indeed ; but I don't think it will be enough for G. Keith , if he intends to make a Proof against W. Penn about the Resurrection : For that place in that Book treats of the Scriptures ; but not a Word of the Resurrection . The poor Man in his over-eager haste , mistook his Books , and quoted Rejoynder instead of Reason against Railing ; in which latter I have found the place he quotes . I defend Truth , and therefore need not take advantage of Errors of the Press ( if this had been the Printers Error , as it is not , but his own fumbling mistake ) though he hath most unworthily done so against G. Whitehead , and that after it hath been proved unto him . Before I recite the Quotation ( which I find he cited also before in his Gross Error , p. 12. and perverted there as here ) I cannot but take notice of the Medium he uses to prove his Charge by , viz. That W. Penn holds the Resurrection immediately after Death . So that G. Keith to prove one Charge , makes another , which needs Proof as much as the former . Now let us see how he attempts it . T. Hicks , says he , argues thus for the Resurrection of the Body ; That if there be no Resurrection of the Body , the Ioys of Heaven should else be imperfect . Now here ( says G. Keith ) is W. Penn's Answer to it , I answer , Is the Joy of the Antients now in Glory imperfect ? Or are they in Heaven but by halves ? If it be so unequitable , that the Body which hath suffered , should not partake of the Joys Coelestial , is it not in measure unequal that the Soul should be rewarded so long before the Body ? This Principle brings to the Mortality of the Soul , ( held-by many Baptists ) on I am mistaken . But why must the Felicity of the Soul depend upon that of the Body ? Is it not to make the Soul a kind of Widow , and so in a state of Mourning and disconsolateness to be without its beloved Body ? Which state is but a better sort of Purgatory . Thus far he gives out of W. Penn , then adds , G. Whitehead argues the same way ; but does not tell where , naming neither Page nor Book . But he gives his words thus , If the deceased Saints in Heaven , or their Souls , have not all that they expect to all Eternity , all the Resurrection they look for , then they must be in Purgatory for the time : But if the latter be not , then not the former . Upon this G. K says , But this Contradicts many Scriptures , that especially in Act. 26. That Christ should suffer , and should be the first that should rise from the Dead . Now , says he , according to this Doctrine of W. Penn and G. Whitehead , Christs Resurrection was later than that of many Millions . Tho' he has much curtail'd W. Penn's Answer , and given no direction whereby to find G. Whitehead's , ( neither have I , upon diligent search , found it , and G. Whitehead deni●● the words above given as his , to be his ) yet from the words of each which he has given , I find that neither of those Quotations will answer the End for which he brings them . They both relate to one and the same Objection , That if there be not a Resurrection of the same Body , the Joys of Heaven should be imperfect . To shew the absurdity of that Objection , they both argued , That if the Joys of Heaven , to the Souls already in Heaven , depend upon the Resurrection of the same Bodies in which those Souls lived on Earth , then the Joys of Heaven , to the Saints already there , should have been imperfect hitherto , and must continue to be imperfect , until the same Bodies shall be raised . But this does not at all conclude that they held the Resurrection immediately after Death , but rather the contrary . For they did not argue , That the Souls of the deceased Saints have perfect Joy in heaven , because their Bodies in which they lived on Earth have had a Resurrection already , but because the Joys of Heaven do not depend upon the Resurrection of those Bodies . This then is no proof that they held the Resurrection immediately after Death , nor , consequently , that they contradicted that Scripture , Acts 26. That Christ should be the first that should rise from the dead ; which whether in a strict Sense he was , has been questioned by some , who have urged the Instance of Lazarus and some others before him . But it seems as if he did not intend those Words of G. Whitehead for a Proof ; because after he had passed his Sentence upon that , he says , Now if you will hear a Proof from G. Whitehead , you may ; and cites p. 353. of the Book , called , the Christian Quaker , &c. Where in Answer to T. Danson's , saying , The Happiness of the Soul is not perfect without the Body , its dear and beloved Companion , the Soul having a strong Desire and Inclination to a Re-union to the Body , as the Schools not without ground determine , vide Calvin . He gives a part of G. Whitehead's Answer ( as also he did in his Gross Error , p. 11. ) thus , Both Calvin , T. Danson , and the Schools , and divers Anabaptists , are mistaken in this very Matter , and see not with the Eye of true Faith , either that the Happiness of the Soul is not perfect without the Body , or that the Soul hath a strong Desire to a Re-union to the Body , while they intend the Terrestrial , Elementary Bodies : For this implies the Soul to be in a kind of Purgatory or Disquietness , till the supposed Resumption of the Body . This place ( as that of G. Whitehead , and of W. Penn cited before ) speaks not of Resurrection of the Body , but of the supposed Imperfection of the Souls Happiness without the Body , and the strong Desire they fancy it hath to a Re-union to the Body ; which the immediately following Part of G. Whitehead's Answer ( left wholly out by G. Keith here , and not fully given in his Gross Error , though he confidently says , Nar. p. 37. I have quoted full Periods at length ) plainly shews : For says G. Whitehead there ; And their Assertion and Determination therein , is contrary to what the Apostle saith , 2 Cor. 5. For we know , that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved , we have a building of God , an House not made with Hands , Eternal in the Heavens , ver . 1. For we that are in this Tabernacle , do groan , being burdened , &c. ver . 4. We are confident , I say , and willing rather to be absent from the Body , and to be present with the Lord , ver . 8. And said he ( the Apostle ) I am in a strait betwixt two , having a desire to depart , &c. Phil. 1.23 . It is manifest , I say , from hence , that G. Whitehead's Words ( cited by G. Keith ) related directly to that Notion of T. Danson and others , That the Happiness of the Soul is not perfect without the Body , and that the Soul hath a strong Desire to a Re-union to the Body , to which he opposed those Words of the Apostle before recited . Yet from hence G. Keith tells his Hearers ; You see , I hope , here is Proof enough , that G. Whitehead holds , that the deceased Saints look for no Resurrection of the Body . But in this he concludes unfairly : For the Words he gives for Proof , do not prove he held so . Here G. Keith was put in Mind , it seems , that G. Whitehead , said Elementary Bodies ( which he did and Terrestrial also ) to which G. Keith replies , What other Body could it be ? As much as to say , What other Body could the Soul desire to be re-united to , but a Terrestrial , Elementary Body ? For of such Bodies G. Whitehead spake , as the Soul was said to have a strong desire of re-union to , which was the Terrestrial , Elementary Body , which T. Danson said had been it's dear and beloved Companion . So that , it seems , according to G. Keith , it must be a Terrestrial , Elementary Body after it is re-united to the Soul in Heaven . What other Body could it be , says G. Keith ? But he is fain to step down into his Ditch , to fetch up a little of his Ditch-Philosophy to make it out by . I hope , says he , a little Philosophy will not offend you . The Objection , says he , they make , is the same against Christ's Body . Pray , says he , Was not Christ's Body Elementary ? Did he not Eat and Drink ? And was it not the same as we Eat and Drink ? And if we Eat and Drink of what are Elementary , then his Body did receive the same Elements , and they were converted into his Body . First , let me tell him , the Objection made against a Resurrection of Terrestrial , Elementary Bodies , is not the same against Christ's Body . For there was a difference between Christ's Body , and the Bodies of other Men. His was a more excellent Body , with respect to its Generation . G. Keith hath said it , Way to the City of God , p. 134. And thus he was both the Son of God , and the Son of Man , according to his very Birth in Mary : And therefore even according to that Birth , he hath a Divine Perfection and Vertue , and that Substantial , above all other Men that ever were , are , or shall be . And in p. 135. ' His body hath not only the Perfections of our Body , but also much more , because of its being generate , not only of a Seed of Mary , but of a Divine Seed . This made him contend against the Word Humane , as too mean a Title for the outward and visible Flesh which Christ took of the Virgin , Rector Corrected , p. 27 , &c. But now calls Christ's Body not only Elementary , but plainly Terrestrial . He says , G. Whitehead owns in his latter Writings , that Christ's Body that rose , is the same with his Body that suffered . Here he uses the Word [ Latter ] deceitfully and maliciously , to insinuate , as if G. Whitehead had not owned this till now of late ; whereas he could not but know , that in a Postscript to a Book , called , The Malice of the Independent Agent rebuked , written in the third Month , 1678. which is eighteen Years ago , G. Whitehead ( for to him G. Keith ascribes that Postscript ) said , Christ did rise in that Body wherein he suffered , and in the same ascended into the Heavens . I say G. Keith could not but know this , because in his Book called , The true Copy ( Printed but last Year ) p. 21. he quoted a Passage , as G. Whitehead's , out of that very Postscript . But says he in p. 35. his Pride will not suffer him to own his forme Error , either in that , or in other things . I may rather say of G. Keith , His Envy will not suffer him to be Iust or Honest. For he can no where find in any of G. Whitehead's Writings , that he did ever disown Christ's Body that rose , to be the same Body that suffered . But there is not an equal Comparison betwixt Christ's Body and Man's . His saw no Corruption . But Man's Body is subject to Corruption and Putrefaction . In p. 35. He says , And seeing W. Penn thinks it absurd that a Body can be transformed from an Earthly and Animal Body to an Heavenly Body , as ( says he ) he argueth , Reason against Railing , p. 134. He makes it not only as gross as Transubstantiation , but worse . But this ( says he ) is his gross Ignorance in true Philosophy , and his false Philosophy destroys his Faith. But what , I wonder , has destroyed G. Keith 's Honesty , except it be his gross Enmity ? For he has most grosly abused W. Penn in this Passage . Where doth W. Penn say , or hold , it is absurd that a Body can be transformed from an Earthly or Animal Body to an Heavenly Body ? There is no Word in the Place cited , nor any where that I know of , that either speaks so , or has a tendency that way . But that which W. Penn reputed absurd was , that a Body should be said to be changed from an Earthly or Animal Body to an Heavenly Body , and yet after such change continue to be the same Earthly or Animal Body that it was before . This is that of which W. Penn said , How is it possible , that it should be the same , and not the same ? And if a thing can yet be the same , and notwithstanding changed , for shame let us never much so make stir , against the Doctrine of Transubstantiation . And indeed , as easily may G. Keith defend the one as the other . And if , among those of the Protestant Parties he now Courts , he should miss of the End of his turning from the Quakers , it is not altogether unlikely , but that he may try what Earnings he can make among them that hold that Doctrine . He says , It is not Transubstantiation , if I say , a Saint's Body is the same at the Resurrection for Substance , as it was when it went into the Grave , leaving the faces or drossie Part of it behind . I say , that is beside the Question . But the Question is , Whether a Natural or Carnal Body ( that is , a Body consisting of Flesh , Blood and Bones ) can be raised out of the Grave without Flesh , Blood and Bones , and yet be properly and truely said to be the same natural or carnal Body , that it was while it consisted of Flesh , Blood and Bones ? For if he would argue from the Substance of a Body , he should first have defined what the Substance of a Natural or Carnal Body is , that it might have been agreed ; whether the Faces or drossy Part ( as he calls it , by which I understand him to mean the Flesh , Blood and Bones ) be the Substance , or any Part of the Substance , of a Natural or Carnal Body . He seems to hold that it is not : For he blames W. Penn for holding , that Carniety is essential to a Carnal Body ( that is , that Flesh is essential to a Body of Flesh ) and he says thereupon , see how contrary this is to common Sense and Vnderstanding . But sure I think every one that has but common Sense and Understanding , may have ground to Question , Whether he has not lost his . To manifest how contrary it is to common Sense and Understanding ( and withal to give his Auditors to understand , that he is not only a mickle Philosopher , but a little Piece of an Hen-Housewife too ) he says , There is no VVoman that sets an Hen to breed Chickens , but knows the contrary . You know , says he , the Substance of the Egg ( the VVhite and Yolk ) by the force and heat of the Hen sitting on the Egg , is changed into a Chicken . Is here , s●●s he , any Transubstantiation ? First , observe he grants the White and the Yolk to be the Substance of the Egg. Next , that this Substance of the Egg , the VVhite and the Yolk , is changed into a Chicken . Now unless he will affirm , that the Substance of a Chicken , after it comes to be a Chicken , is the VVhite and Yolk , I see not how he will avoid a Transubstantiation , that is , a changing of the Substance of the Egg , which was VVhite and Yolk , into the Substance of a Chicken , which of all the Chicken I have eaten of , I always took to be Flesh , Blood and Bones . If he thinks otherwise , and it should ever happen that he and I should be F●llow-Commoners at a Chicken , let him but let me have what I call the Substance of it , and I will readily resign all the rest to him , even the VVhite and the Yolk , if he can find it , and , in requital of his Courtesie , some part ( and the most solid ) of that which I call the Substance too , which will not be unsuitable to a Cynical Philosopher . But whereas he makes himself a little sport with VV. Penn's Philosophy , he might have considered , that what VV. Penn writ on that subject was not to entertain the Schools , but to inform common and vulgar Capacities ; and therefore he handled it Scripturally , not Philosophically , using the Terms he writ in , according to the ordinary Signification , and common Acceptation of them . What he says of a Chymical Operation , I take to be but a Chymical VVhimsie in his Head , or a Chimera , which he pleases , viz. That a gross Body of Herbs , or other Substance , can by Chymical Operation be made so subtile , volatile , and spiritual ( without any Transubstantiation , or Change of the Substance ) that a Glass can scarce confine , or hold it . I don't think many have that understanding , that he pretends to have of Chymical Operations . That a subtile , volatile , spirituous Substance may by Chymical Operation , be extracted from a gross Substance or Body of Herbs , is easily apprehensible . And that which is so extracted is usually called the Spirit of that Body out of which it is drawn , not the Body it self . But that the gross Body it self of Herbs , or other Substance , can be made so subtile and volatile , as scarce to be contained in a Glass , requires better Proof , to gain belief , than his bare saying it . Besides , if the gross Body be made so subtile and volatile , as he says , how is the Faeces or drossy part left behind , as he says . But that which must make his Chymical Conceit bear any right Parallel with that Notion of the Resurrection , which VV. Penn opposed , must be , that this gross Body of Herbs , which he says , may be made so subtile and volatile , must still remain the same gross Body of Herbs , that it was before , notwithstanding it s almost unconfinable subtility by Chymical Operation ; as they hold the Body that dies and is laid in the Grave , to be changed in the Resurrection , and yet to be the same Body after the Resurrection , as it was when it died , and was laid in the Grave . This is that which VV. Penn compared to the Absurdity of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation ; the Folly of which Doctrine , ( not to meddle here with the Impiety of it ) lies in this , that the Patrons of that Opinion affirm the very Substance of the Bread and VVine , ( after the Words of Consecration , as they call them , are spoken ) to be really changed into the very Substance of Christ's Body , and yet the Accidents of the Bread and Wine enforce the Senses to confess , that the Substance of the Bread and VVine , remains in them as before . I perceive he has done , and that quickly , with his Third Head , about the Resurrection . Which , as he has stated it , he needed not at all have attempted to prove our denial of . For it is a known thing , that as we have always asserted a Resurrection of Bodies , so we have always denied the Body which shall be raised to be the same Body that died , with respect to Grosness and Carniety ; and that , 1. From the Principles of our Opposers about it , who hold that it is wonderfully changed , and therefore it is a wonder it should be the very same 2. From the Reason and Nature of the thing , which will not admit a Natural , Carnal Body to be a suitable Habitation for a Glorified Soul in Heaven to dwell in , nor to be the same Body , that it was when it was a Natural and Carnal Body , if it cease to be a Natural and Carnal Body , and be made wholly Spiritual . 3. From the uncontroulable Testimony of the Holy Apostle , who says , expresly , That Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdoms of God , 1 Cor. 15.50 . And by a Metaphor borrowed from Agriculture , says , That which thou sowest ( which is the Body that dies and is put into the Grave ) thou sowest not that Body that shall be , ver . 37. which is alike , as if he had said in so many Syllables , The Body that shall arise , is not the same Carnal Body that dies , and is put into the Grave . No , the Body that is put into the Grave ( or is sown ) is a Natural Body : But the Body that is raised is a Spiritual Body . It is sown a Natural Body , it is raised a spiritual Body , says the Apostle , ver . 44. And that none might think this spiritual Body was the same with the Natural Body , he adds , There is a Natural Body , and there is a spiritual Body . He does not say , the Natural is made a spiritual Body , or the Natural Body and the Spiritual Body is but one and the same Body . But he sets them in Opposition , as two distinct Bodies . There is a Natural Body , and there is a Spiritual Body . The Apostle illustrates this Difference between the Body that dies , ( or is sown ) and the Body that is raised , from the two Adams , the first and the last , saying , The first Man Adam was made a living Soul , the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit , ver . 45. Is this quickening Spirit the same with that living Soul ? Is the last Adam , and the first Adam , but one and the self same Adam ? The first Man is of the Earth Earthly , the second Man is the Lord from Heaven , ver . 47. Will G. Keith say , This second Man , which is the Lord from Heaven , is the same with the First Man , which is of the Earth Earthy ? As is the Earthy , such are they also that are Earthy ; and as is the Heavenly , such are they also that are Heavenly , ver . 48. Does not the Apostle here plainly shew , that as the second Man , the Lord from Heaven , is not the same with the first Man of the Earth Earthy : So the Heavenly Bodies which the Saints shall have , are not the same with the Earthy Bodies which they have had ? And , says he , as we have born the Image of the Earthy , we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly , ver . 49. This shews we shall bear the Image of another Body in Heaven , than that which we bore on the Earth , consequently not the Image of the same Body . But if by Heavenly Body were meant the same Body that was Earthy , then we should bear the Image of the same Body hereafter in Heaven , which we have born here on Earth , quite contrary to the Apostle's Doctrine ; who to clear the matter fully , that in all this Discourse of his about the Resurrection , he did not mean the same Body of Flesh and Blood that dies should be raised , concludes thus , ver . 50. Now this I say , Brethren , that 〈…〉 Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. But the 〈◊〉 that dies every one knows is a Body of Flesh and Blood , therefore , that Body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God ; but it must be a Body which is not of Flesh and Blood , and that cannot be the Body of Flesh and Blood that dies . This is so fully handled in those Books of W. Penn and G. Whitehead ( out of which G. Keith took his pretended Proofs ) as well as in other Books of theirs , that G. Keith needed not have fetched a Round to prove it , by alledging that they hold the Resurrection immediately after Death , but that he had a Mind to fix ( if he could ) that slander on them , which they no where say , nor do the Places he has quoted prove it : For they therein only argued against the absurd and gross Notion of their Opponents , which was , that the Body which is raised , is the same Carnal Body , that Died and was Buried : which he , if he have a Mind , may undertake the Proof of . But though we cannot subscribe to that gross and carnal Notion ; yet both the Quakers in general , and they in particular , do own , and always have owned , a Resurrection , and that of Bodies . So said W. Penn in the Book G. Keith quoted ( or should have quoted , if he had not mistaken , and quoted another , for it ) Reason against Railing , p. 133. We do acknowledge a Resurrection in order to Eternal Recompence , and that every Seed shall have its own Body ; and we rest contented with what Body it shall please God to give us . But as we are not such Fools , as curiously to enquire What ; So must we for ever deny the gross Conceits of T. Hicks and his Adherents ( of whom G. Keith is now become one ) concerning the Resurrection . And having refuted those gross Conceits he spa●● of , he concluded thus , in p. 140. For our parts , 〈…〉 we believe , and of Bodies too , unto 〈…〉 . What they shall not be , I have briefly said 〈…〉 roved ; what they shall be , we leave with God , 〈…〉 will give every one a Body as pleaseth him ; and 〈…〉 Fool , belongs to the unnecessary medler . G Keith himself , but a while ago , undertook W. Penn's Defence in this Point of the Resurrection , against Cotton M●ther , in his Serious Appeal , p. 9. where he says , As for his citing W. Penn's Words arguing against that same Numerical Body its rising at the Resurrection , it is clear that he understandeth the same exact Number of the small Particles or Dusts , nei●her more nor less than what is commonly buried ; and what hurt is there in that ? Said G. Keith then . If G. Keith has a Mind now to maintain and defend the contrary , and will undertake to prove that it is the same Numerical Body , with all its Numerical Particles , that rises , which was buried , let him do it Scripturally , not only Philosophically ( and that by false Notions of Philosophy ) lest he make People suspect he intends only a Resurrection of Philosophers , or at most but a Philosophical Resurrection . I advise him to keep to Scripture-Terms , because he hath so often recommended that to others , and blamed his Opponents formerly for going from it . And particularly in his Book , called , Truth 's Defence , p. 169. is Positive , That all the Principles and Doctrines of the Christian Faith , which God requireth in common of all Christians , are expresly delivered and recorded in the Scriptures ; and therefore , says he there , for my part , what I cannot find expresly delivered in Scripture , I see no Reason why I should receive or believe as any common Article or Principle of the Christian Faith or Life . The Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead , is a common Article of the Christian Faith , which we find expresly delivered in the Scriptures , and accordingly we sincerely believe it . But we do not find it expresly delivered in the Scriptures , that the Body that shall be raised is the very same Body that died ; but we find the quite contrary expresly delivered in Scripture [ Thou sowest not that Body that shall be , 1 Cor. 15.37 . ] And therefore we see no Reason ( any more than G. Keith formerly did ) to receive or believe it as a common Article or Principle of the Christian Faith , much less that we should be blamed for not so receiving it ; and least of all by him , who hath provided so good a Defence for himself , against being blamed for not receiving as an Article of the Christian Faith , what he cannot find expresly delivered in the Scripture . I could shew a great deal of Absurdity and Self-contradiction of G. Keith's in what he has delivered on this Subject of the Resurrection . But I am unwilling to spend time , or too much to enlarge the Bulk of these Sheets , which are already increast beyond my Expectation when I began , by my giving particular and full Answers to the foregoing Heads . I shall therefore in the Remainder , contract my Answers as much as well I may , and either pass wholly over the lighter parts of his Narrative , or touch but lightly on them . Towards the bottom of p. 35. having done with the Doctrine of the Resurrection , he takes an occasion to give another Flurt at Infallibility , though not relating to any of his four Heads or Charges ; which makes me think he did it to gratifie the more prophane and loose party of his Auditors , as knowing that such Persons use to scoff at Inspiration and Infallibility , to whom he was willing by that means to endear himself , and them to him . He takes his occasion from a Passage in a Book of G. Whitehead's , mentioned before ; called , The Voice of VVisdom , in Answer to T. Danson , where p. 33. to the Priest's saying , Our want of Infallibility is no valid Plea against our Ministry ; G. Whitehead answered , His falshood here appears plainly , for they that want Infallibility , and have not the Spirit of Christ , they are out of the Truth , and are fallible , and their Ministry is not of the Spirit , seeing they speak not from the Spirit , but from their own Hearts , which are deceitful , where they want Infallibility . The Inference G. Keith makes from hence is this , Now , I hope , says he , I have proved they want Infallibility , and therefore by their own Doctrine , they are no true Ministers of Christ. But his Consequence will not hold : For it depends not upon certainty , but hope , and false hope too . He hopes he has proved they want Infallibility : But his Hope is but the Hope of an Hypocrite , which will perish , as he also will , unless he repent . If Infallibility be so ludibrious a thing with him , how comes it to pass that he hath not yet openly renounced what he has formerly written in Defence of Divine Inspiration , Immediate Revelation , and Infallibility , who perhaps has writ more on those Subjects , than any Quaker has done ? In p. 36. I observe a Passage dropt from a Friend of ours , that happened to be present , thus , I do not know but you will find , when you have an Answer to what G. Keith has offered , that those he Charges and Paraphrases ●n , will agree with him in Principles . He that spake this , must be understood to mean , If G. Keith will agree with himself in Principles , that is , will own the same Principles now , which he owned , maintained and defended while he was a Quaker , which as G. Keith had not openly renounced ; so neither did that Friend of ours know whether he would or no. The Stranger therefore , that in p. 37. undertook to Answer in G. Keith's behalf , did somewhat mistake the Matter , when from those Words [ I do not know but you will find , they whom he Charges will agree with him in Principles ] he inferr'd [ You say that he differs not from you in Principles . ] Nor was he less out in concluding , that that was to clear him from the Charge of Apostasie : For It was aptly replied by another , There is an Apostasie from the Spirit of Christianity , as well as from the Principles . But that Stranger was strangely out , who in p. 45. said , For a Man to Apostatize , is to Apostatize from the whole Faith ; but for a Man to differ with respect to particular things , this is not Apostasie . He might have consider'd , that Apostasie is either General , or Special . Apostasie General , is that which he calls an Apostasie from the whole Faith , which I think cannot be properly said of any but such , as wholly renounce the Christian Religion , in all parts of its Profession , and turn Iews or Infidels . But if any who have profest the Protestant Religion , and held Communion with Protestants under any particular Denomination , should renounce Protestantism , and turn Papist , I presume any considerate Protestant would account such an one an Apostate ; and yet such an one could not be rightly said to have apostatized from the whole Christian Faith , inasmuch as the Church of Rome ( as Corrupt as she is ) doth hold divers Articles of the Christian Faith , in Common with all Protestants . But since Apostasie , in the common acceptance of the Word , and from the Etymon thereof , Signifies a departing , or Falling off , from that Religious Society , or Body of People , to which a man was before joyned , and it is evident G. Keith is fallen off and departed from the Society of the People called Quakers , to which he was once joyned ; he comes properly under the Denomination of an Apostate , and it is no Injury to him , to call him so . In p. 37. he repeats the Story which he formerly told , of the Man , that , he says , told him , he would rather Die , or lose his right Hand , than sign a Sentence ( as he calls it ) against him : And that man , he says , has since come to him , and told him , he did not joyn in the Judgment given against him . Whether this latter part be true I know not , nor much regard , knowing what a sort of unstable man that has been . But of the rest of that matter , so far as it did concern the Meeting , I have given so particular and full an account , in my former Book called Truth Defended , p. 64 , 65 , 66 , 67. as I doubt not will give Satisfaction to any unbyassed Reader , whether I refer such , that I may not spend time upon so impertinent a matter here , as I perceive some of his Auditors judged it : For after he had ended his relation of it , one of his Auditors , whom he calls a Stranger , said , All this is very Impertinent to the Business in Hand . Yet I find he ran on in a loose way of telling Stories against the Quakers , both the rest of that page , and p. 38. Towards the bottom of that page , he tells a Story of three Ministers of London that in the Year 1678. Rose up ( he says ) against him , and he opposed their Errors . Being asked by an Auditor , What Ministers they were ? He readily answered , They were Quakers . But being put upon it , and prest hard to tell their Names , he said , I will not do it , it is not convenient ; there is one of them a Citizen of very good repute , and therefore it will be better to conceal his name . Can there be any thing but Hypocrisy in this pretence ? For is not G. Whitehead a Citizen of very good repute also ? And yet so far has G. Keith been from concealing his name , that he has endeavoured to blemish his name as much as in him lies , and to load him with Infamy and Slander . Besides , being urged again to tell his name , He answers , I think it not convenient , we must use a little Policy as well as you . This more fully shews his Deceit , who before pretended Charity in concealing the Persons names , but now discovers the Ground thereof was Policy . But to be sure he shewed no Policy in that . I might justly enough reject this story wholly , and tell him , as he did his Countryman Iohn Alexander ( who charged a Misinterpretation of Scripture upon some of the Quakers , without naming whom ) Seeing he has produced no names , of any among us , understanding that , &c. We are not concern'd to answer him , Truth 's Defence , p. 67. And again , in p. 77. to a like Charge made by I. Alexander against some Quakers without naming them , He says , He ought to have produced their names , or we are not bound to believe him , that any have said so . May I not with as good reason , say so to G. Keith in this Case , especially seeing he refused to name them , tho' so earnestly pressed to it ? As he says , they were three Ministers , so he charges them with three great Errors . 1. That they said Christ's Body did never rise out of the Grave . 2. That they denied it was lawful to pray to Jesus Christ Crucified 3. That they could come to God without the Mediator , the Man Christ Jesus . These are so Contrary to our known Principles , that I cannot believe his Charge to be true , as he has given it . He says , he can appeal to W. Penn , and G. Whitehead . But is it not strange , he should pick out them two ( from amongst forty or fifty , that he says were present ) to appeal to , when he has made them the common Butts , to shoot the Arrows of his Envy at , through the greatest part of his Narrative ? Could he find none to appeal to , out of forty or fifty , but them ? Well , I have enquired of them both , Concerning it . W. Penn faith , he doth not Remember it . G. Whitehead doth Remember that some ( but not near so many as G. Keith mentions ) had some Discourse with him about that time , upon something that he had written ; but that any of them said , Christ's Body did never rise out of the Grave ; Or , that they could come to God , without the Mediator , the Man Christ Jesus ; Or , that Paul was Dark and Ignorant , ( which in Nar. p. 38 , 39. G. Keith Charges on them ) he says , He neither heard , nor doth believe . But that some Discourse did pass betwixt him , and them , Concerning praying to Christ , he doth Remember ; but believes it was not altogether as G. Keith hath related it . However it was , I observe , that in one part of that Story ( even as G. Keith hath given it ) he clears W. Penn and G. Whitehead , and represents them as taking part with him , against those others , who he says opposed him . For he here says , that ( upon their denying that it was lawful to Pray to Jesus Christ Crucified , and daring him to give an Instance of one English Quaker that he ever heard Pray to Christ ) W. Penn said , I am an English Man , and a Quaker , and I own I have oft Prayed to Jesus Christ , even him that was Crucified . And that G. Whitehead , to prove the lawfulness thereof , took the Bible . and Read 1 Cor. 1.2 . To all that call upon the Lord Jesus Christ , both their Lord , and ours . It is evident from hence , that both W. Penn and G. Whitehead did , in G. Keith's sence and defence , own Chrst , even him that was Crucified , to be the Object of Faith , and that not only now of late , ( as G. Keith would have it ) but so long ago as 1678. which is Eighteen Years past . This quite overthrows all he has said before , of their denying the Object of Faith , and may well pass , with all Ingenuous Readers , for a full Confutation of all his Clamours upon that Head against them . But though he has hereby acquitted them ; yet I see not how he will acquit himself . For this he says , was in 1678. which was Eighteen Years ago ; and yet in 1692. which was but four Years ago ; he told Cotton Mather in Print , That according to the best knowledge he had of the People called Quakers , and these most generally owned by them , as Preachers , and Publishers of their Faith , of unquestioned esteem among them , and worthy of double Honour , ( as many such there are ) he knew none that were guilty of any one of such Heresies and Blasphemies as he accuseth them , Serious Appeal p , 7. And to shew that he had ground for what he said , he added a little lower in the same page , And I think I should know , and do know , these called Quakers , better than C. Mather or any or all his Brethren , having been Conversant with them in Publick Meetings , as well as in private Discourses , with the most noted and esteemed among them , for about twenty-eight Years past , and that in many places in the World in Europe , and and for these divers Years in America . What must we think of this ? That he writ a Falsehood then , or spake a Falsehood now ? But be that as it will. The Fourth , and last Head of G. Keith's Charge , ( viz. That we deny Christ's Coming without us , in his Glorified Body , to Iudge the Quick and the Dead ) Considered . In p. 39. he says , I will cite a passage or two out of a Manuscript from Pensilvania , but instead of that says , See the Book called Light and Life , p. 41. See what is here said by G. Whitehead , That there is not an outward coming of Christ to Iudge the Quick and the Dead . What I prove from G. Whitehead , says he , is proved from W. Penn , for W. Penn has Authorized his Book . This he has hinted in several places of his Narrative , referring sometimes to p. 185 , 186. of Reason against Railing , where W. Penn mentioned divers Books , which he referr'd the Adversaries to , in defence of our Principles . I presume he will find no cause to be sorry for having mentioned any of those Books , unless it be such as G. Keith was either solely , or partly , the Author of . But if W. Penn's so mentioning those Books , doth so Intitle him to them , as to render him accountable for whatsover is in them ; I would know of G. Keith , why he should not , for the same reason , he accountable for whatsoever is in those Books , which G. Whitehead and W. Penn have written in Answer to T. Hicks and I. E●ldo , since he , with as much Approbation , has mentioned those Answers , in his Serious Appeal , p. 6. and 60. and yet those are some of the principal Books he picks his Cavils out of , against G. Whitehead and W. Penn. Now let us see how G. Keith deals with G. Whitehead in the Quotation he brings against him . Observe that first , he says , See what is here said by G. Whitehead , That there is not an outward Coming of Christ , to Iudge the Quick and Dead ; therefore look well to his Quotation , and mind to find those words in it . He begins the Quotation thus , Moreover , Christ said , the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels , &c. There G. Keith stops with an &c. Citing Mat. 1● . 27 , 28 , Luke 9.26 , 27. But leaves out the remaining words in those Scriptures , which in Matthew follow thus , [ And then he shall Reward every Man according to his Works . Verily I say unto you , There be some standing here , which shall not taste of Death , till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom ] Why G. Keith left out these words , I may shew anon . Now he goes on with G. Whitehead's words , thus , Now what is that Glory of the Father , in which his Coming is ? Is it Visible to the Carnal Eye ? And when was that coming to be ? Is it now to be looked for outwardly ? But farther we do acknowledge the several comings of Christ , according to the Scriptures , both that in the Flesh , and that in the Spirit , which is Manifest in several degrees , as there is a growing from Glory to Glory . But three Comings of Christ , [ not only that in the Flesh at Ierusalem , and that in the Spirit ; but also another coming in the Flesh , yet to be expected ] we do not Read of , but a Second Coming without Sin unto Salvation , which in the Apostles Days , was looked for , ( this latter Clause he cited before in his Gross Errror , p. 2. ) Now , Reader , observe , First , That those words G. Keith charges to be here said by G. Whitehead , viz That there is not an outward Coming of Christ to judge the Quick and the Dead , are not here : That 's but an Inference of G. Keith's own making , though he unfairly pretended G. VVhitehead said it . Next he left out those words in the Text ▪ Mat. 16.28 . Verily I say unto you , There are some standing here which shall not taste of Death , until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom . Upon which words those Questions of G. Whitehead were grounded , When was that coming to be ? Is it now to be looked for outwardly ? For that coming there spoken of by Christ , Mat. 16.27 . could not be meant of his coming at the end of the World , because it was to begin in that very Age , some then living and present with him , were to see it before they died : There are some standing here , which shall not taste of Death , until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom . By his Kingdom , saith Beza , is to be understood the Glory of his Ascension , and what followeth thereof , Ephes. 4.10 . or the Preaching of the Gospel . In the latter part of the Quotation , G. Whitehead had respect to the Baptists Notion of an Outward Personal Coming of Christ in a Fleshly Appearance , to reign on Earth a thousand years . And it is with relation to such a manner of coming in an outward Body of Flesh , to reign Personally on Earth , for a certain time , as an Outward King , that he there said ( after he had acknowledged the several Comings of Christ according to the Scriptures , both that in the Flesh , and that in the Spirit . ) But three Comings of Christ [ not only that in the Flesh at Ierusalem , and that in the Spirit ; but also another coming in the Flesh , yet to be expected ] we do not read of . And indeed , how should he , if G. Keith says true , Way cast up , p. 131. that That Body which was crucified on the Cross at Ierusalem , and is now ascended and glorified in Heaven — is no more a Body of Flesh , Blood , and Bones , but a pure , ethereal , or heavenly Body . But that G. Whitehead's words there , related to such a Coming of Christ in an outward Body of outward Flesh , visible to Carnal Eyes , therein to reign , as an outward King , after an outward manner , a thousand years on Earth , ( which some Baptists call the Personal Reign of Christ ) may be gather'd also from another Book of G. Whitehead's , called Christ Ascended , written near the same time , in Answer to Iohn Newman , a Baptist , where having in p. 22. treated of Christs coming , so as that his Appearance shall be universally seen , both to the Joy of the Righteous , and universal Conviction and Condemnation of the wicked , &c. he speaks , p. 23. of the disappointment of them , who are expecting that Christs second Coming , or Appearance to Salvation , will be a Personal Coming , and his Reign a Personal Reign , which word [ Personal ] they add to the Scripture ; and do they not herein shew their Carnal Expectations , said he ? G. Keith has another Cavil in this page , ( which also he had in p. 3. of his Gross Error ) against G. Whitehead about 1 Thes. 4.17 . which he says , G. Whitehead denies to be meant of his Personal Coming . G. Whitehead then , it seems , did not deny it to be meant of Christs Coming , and of his Coming to Iudgment ; but that which he excepted against , was such a Carnal sort of Personal Coming , as the Baptists expected him to come in , and as is mentioned before : To shew the Baptists the folly of which , he asks them , from those words of the Apostle , both in the 15th and 17th Verses [ We which are alive , and remain unto the coming of the Lord ] if they did live and remain to a Personal Coming of Christ in the Clouds , yea , or nay ? Which G. Keith sophistically calls a Sophism , to wrest it to his inward Coming ; Whereas G. Whitehead did not turn it to his inward Coming , nor did he use the word [ inward ] in that place at all . But he shewed by the Description Iohn gave of him , when he saw him in the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks , that such an outward Coming as the Baptists looked for him in , in such a Personal Appearance as should be visible to the carnal Eye , was not suitable to him . But whereas G. Keith says , ( both in his gross Error , p. 5. and here also ) The Apostle's using the word we , there , [ we that remain ] is an Enallage Personae , putting [ we ] for [ They ] like that of Iames , Therewith bless we God , and therewith curse we Men , Iames 3 9. Though he delivers it positively , and like a Dictator , yet I see not why he must needs be believed : Why might not the Apostle speak in the first Person , [ we ] as supposing that great and extraordinary Appearance and Coming of Christ ( the certain time of which no Man knew , Mat. 24.36 . ) was so near at hand , that it might probably fall out in his Life-time : For as the Apostles accounted the Times they lived in , the Last Days , or Last Times , and ordinarily called them so , ( Heb. 1.2 . and 9.26 . 1 Pet. 1.20 . 1 Iohn 2.18 . ) so they thought the End of the World was not far off . What else made Paul , when he had told the Corinthians , That the things he had related were written for our Admonition , add , Vpon whom the Ends of the Word are come ? 1 Cor. 10.11 . Why else did Peter say , The End of all things is at hand ? 1 Pet. 4.7 . G. Keith concludes this Page with a most horrible Falshood and Slander upon G. Whitehead , saying , He has Allegorized away Christs Birth , his Death , Resurrection and Ascension , and Coming to Iudgment . This I say is a most horrible Falsehood and Slander . For though there is none of these that may not be allegorized , ( and perhaps , none among the Quakers has allegorized them so frequently and so far , as G. Keith himself ) yet has not G. Whitehead so allegorized any of them , as to take away the Literal sence and meaning of them ; but has owned and asserted the Truth and Benefit of them according to the Letter of the Scriptures . In p. 40. He makes a Digression to entertain his Company , thus , I hope I have proved that I am not petulant , and that I have just cause to accuse them of these Errors . Then adds , I was presented by a Grand Iury at Philadelphia , and the Presentment would have been prosecuted , if the Government had not been changed ; and I had been accused for endeavouring to alter the Government , which is Capital by their Law ; and they would have found me guilty of Death , had they not been turned out of the Government , &c. Now though in this he does but deliver his own Conjectures , what would have been ( which how unlikely they are , may be gathered from what was , seeing when he was fined for some Evil Demeanor , the Fine was not exacted , though there was time enough to have done it , before the Government was Changed ) yet his telling his Hearers that he had just cause to accuse the Quakers of Error , and then immediately acquainting them with his having been Presented at Philadelphia , is a sufficient Indication , that the ground of his accusing the Quakers , is not Zeal for Religion , but Malice and Revenge . In the same page he pretends to give another Proof against G. Whitehead , but he does indeed but repeat one of the Proofs he gave before upon his first Head , in p. 16. where I answer'd it at large . He takes it out of p. 29. of that Book called The Nature of Christianity , to which himself writ the Additional Postscript : And he gives it thus : Says G. Whitehead to R. Gordon , Dost thou look for Christ's coming again to appear outwardly in a Bodily Existence ? If thou doest , thou mayst look until thy Eyes drop out , before thou wilt see such an Appearance of him . See now the Fraud and Falseness of this Man , who that he might make this Passage look towards the End for which he brought it , hath corrupted the place , by leaving out those words that he knew would defeat his purpose : For whereas he gives the words thus , Dost thou look for Christ's coming again , to appear outwardly in a bodily Existence ? If thou dost , &c. The words in G. Whitehead's Book , are thus , Doest thou look for Christ , as the Son of Mary , to appear outwardly in a bodily Existence , to save thee , according to thy words , p. 30 ? If thou dost , &c. It happened that one of the Auditors , being a Quaker , said , Let the passage be read out . G. Keith to have put it by , said , If we had not had these Oppositions , we might have saved an hour . Had he but now had an Auditor ready ( as he had in p. 39. ) to have said , He has done enough , it had passed , and he had gone off so : But no body offering to help him out , he was fain to read the passage right , and so it is set down at the top of his p. 41. He had put in the words [ coming again ] and left out the words [ as the Son of Mary ] and the words [ to save thee ] upon which the stress of the passage lay , that so he might make himself a proof . And yet in p. 41. upon his offering to read another Passage , out of a Manuscript Paper ; he said , I am glad that my Neighbour has such Charity for me , that he thinks I will not read wrong : ( for it seems the Person he called his Neighbour , not suspecting him guilty of so great Baseness , had said in another case , p. 24. I think he does not read false ) And to beget the like Charity now , he added , I shall forfeit the Name of an Honest Man , if I read one word different from the Original . How differently from the Original he read this passage in p. 40. will appear by comparing it with the same Passage , as he was fain at last to read it , in p. 41. How far he has forfeited the Name of an Honest Man , ( if he then had it to forfeit ) I leave the Reader to judge . Upon this Quotation , he says , p. 41. Ye see these are plain and express words against Christ's outward Coming . But in making this Inference , he is doubly to Blame . For first , Here are no plain or express words against Christs outward Coming , ; neither doth the passage relate to his outward Coming it self , but to the End of that coming , and to the manner , state and quality , in which he shall then come . For the End of his coming then is not to Save , as if Salvation were not to be obtained , or known till then ; neither will he come in that low state of Humiliation and form of a Servant , wherein he appeared as the Son of Mary ( tho' he was always more than barely the Son of Mary ) for he shall come in the glory of his Father , Mat. 16.27 . Or as Luke expresses it , In his own Glory , and in his Fathers , and of the Holy Angels , Luke 9.26 . But secondly , G. Keith is the more to be blamed , for saying , of those Words of G. Whitehead . Here are plain and express Words against Christ's outward Coming , seeing he confesses in p. 40. That in another Book , called The Real Quaker a Real Protestant , G. Whitehead hath declared He did not mean it of Christs coming to Iudgment ; but he meant it thus , Because R. Gordon would needs have it , that Salvation was delayed till Christs outward Coming . Who , but a Man of a m●st malicious Mind , would urge another Mans words against him , contrary to his own declared Sence and Meaning ? G. Keith says , He is apt to think G. Whitehead abuses R. Gordon : But every indifferent Reader will be apt to conclude , beyond thinking , that G. Keith has abused G. Whitehead , and that very grosly . In p. 41. he has a little Flurt at me , which shews he wanted either Matter or Wit , that he would entertain so great an Assembly with such a Trifle . He tells it that I had said , I had upward of six Manuscripts . What , says T. Ellwood , ( in his way of Quibbling ) six and an half ? His words were , I produced above six Manuscripts . I knowing he loved a loose way of expressing himself , and shunn'd plainness of Speech , in my Answer to the Matter for which he said he produced those Manuscripts , as a Nip for his conceited Folly , asked in a Parenthesis , What means he by above six ? Does he mean six and a half ? For if they had been seven or eight , he might as well have said so , as above six . This he calls my way of Quibbling ; which I think was suitable enough to his way of Scribbling . Why should such a conceited Philosopher play the Fool , and not be told of it ? He says , I tell him he is guilty of Forgery , in saying the Yearly Meeting censured any Expressions in his Manuscripts : But because he repeats this over and over in the following part of his Narrative , I say nothing to it here , intending to speak to it once for all , when he is got past his Manuscripts , which he now says are seven or eight ( it seems he does not yet know whether ; however it is more than six and an half , and not quite so uncertain as above six . ) Yet I find not that he produced any more than two , and those but private Letters from one Man , and out of them he read but a piece of each ; and how truly and fairly he read those Pieces , I know not , having no Copy to prove them thereby ; for when they were read at the Yearly Meeting he mentions , we could not obtain a Copy of them from him ; and we have seen but lately how unfair and unjust he was , in giving a Passage out of G. Whitehead's Book . The Letters he mentions go under the Name of one Iohn Humphreys , and the substance of that part he read out of the first Letter , is , 1. A blaming them that divide Christ , and put asunder what God hath joyned together , by making such a distinction between Christ within and Christ without , as divides Christs Body from his Spirit . 2. A censuring G. Keith 's Ten Articles of Faith , as relishing too much of Carnality . And then says , I am grieved to hear some say , They did expect to be justified by that Blood that was shed at Ierusalem . When G. Keith had read what he thought would serve his purpose , he gave over , and said , I have not read the whole Letter , but an intire Paragraph of it . And thereupon says , So farewel Christ without ; You divide Christ , if you mention Christ without . I think he wrongs the Man in the Inference , for I take his meaning to be , ( not that the bare mentioning Christ without , is a Dividing of Christ but ) that so to distinguish between Christ within and Christ without , as to make two distinct Christs of them , ( whereas Christ within and Christ without , is but one Christ ) this is to divide Christ ; and this I take to be that which Io. Humphreys did there blame . But I would fain know , why G. Keith did not read the whole Letter : For ( though I would not be over-confident upon my own Memory , of a thing I never heard read but once , and that more than two years ago , yet ) I am strongly perswaded there were other Passages in that Letter which was read in the Yearly Meeting , that did explain I. Humphreys his meaning in these . And I cannot think why G. Keith ( who is prolix enough at other times ) should pick out a piece of a Letter only , and conceal the rest , if he had not found something in the rest , that he thought would take off the edge of his Objection against that he took . As for those pieces of I. Humphreys Letters , which G. Keith hath exposed in his Narrative , ( though I do not hold my self ( nor the People called Quakers ) accountable for them , or for every thing that particular Persons may write in private Letters , yet ) I charitably hope ( though I know not the Man ) that wherein he hath erred , it hath rather been in the Expression of his Mind , than in his real Intent and Meaning . For in that passage of his first Letter , wherein he says , I am grieved to hear some say they did expect to be justified by that Blood that was shed at Ierusalem , I take these words to depend upon that complaint which he had made before , of Dividing Christ , by that kind of Distinction which some had made , between Christ within and Christ without , whereby they attributed ( at least he thought they did ) that to one part only , as distinct and divided from the other , which ought in a right sence to be ascribed to both joyntly . I am the rather induced to believe this was his meaning , from that Passage which G. Keith hath given out of his second Letter , ( which seems to have been written on this occasion ) wherein he says the word [ Only ] should have been put in , and that the leaving it out , was the Omission of his Pen. Now had that word been in , ( as it seems he intended it should have been ) the Sentence would have been thus , I am grieved to hear some say , They did expect to be justified by that Blood Only , tha● was shed at Ierusalem ; And then I suppose G. Keith would not have quarrelled with it . And though I. Humphreys , when he saw how his Meaning was wrested in his first Letter , did in his second Letter , ( after he had declared the word [ Only ] should have been in , and that that was his meaning ) in contempt of the deceitful and malicious workings of the Adversaries , seemed indifferent whether they put in the word [ only ] or no , saying , as G. Keith cites him , But however , Let Deceit and Malice have its full force and scope upon it , and that word ( only ) taken off the Conclusion of my Paper , &c. Yet it seems he did this , not as intending thereby to exclude the Blood shed at Ierusalem from having any share or part in our Justification ; but as believing from his before declared Sense , that Christ ( and consequently his Sacrifice ) ought not to be divided , but taken joyntly ; that it would appear his Words had the force and import of the Word [ only ] and that that was his Meaning , though the Word only was through inadvertency left out . And therefore he refers to the Words of Christ , Iohn 6.63 . Which saying , says he , of our Saviour himself , will clear me of your Aspersion . So that ( even from what G. Keith hath thought fit to give of his second Letter ) it appears , that their wresting the Words in his former Letter , and inferring therefrom that he wholly excluded the Blood shed at Jerusalem from being concerned in our Iustification , he took to be an Aspersion upon him , and so called it . Now the Words of our Saviour , which he referr'd to in Iohn 6.63 . are these , It is the Spirit that quickeneth , the Flesh profiteth nothing . In which Words it may not be supposed our Saviour meant that his Flesh or Body , as it was in Conjunction with his Spirit and Soul , and contained that Divine Life which dwelt in it , and was offered up together , a compleat Sacrifice to the Father , did profit nothing , did avail nothing , did contribute nothing to the Benefit and Advantage of Man : But that the Flesh or Body considered simply of it self and by it self , without that Divine Life , Soul and Spirit that was in it , profited nothing . So Wilson , in his Christian Dictionary ( Sixth Edition , Printed at London , 1655. ) expounds those Words , The Flesh profiteth nothing , that is to say , the Humane Nature of Christ is not profitable to us of it self , but as the Godhead dwelleth in it , giving Life to it , and quickning us by it . And thus , he says , Tindal and the Bible Note expound this Place . In like manner I understand Iohn Humphreys , both when he said in his first Letter , I am grieved to hear some say , they did expect to be justified by that Blood that was shed at Ierusalem ; and in his second Letter ( from those Words of Christ , it is the Spirit that quickneth , the Flesh profiteth nothing ) So he himself ascribed the Work of Man's Salvation , and Sanctification , not to the Flesh that suffered , but to the Spirit that quickned ; not to the Blood that was shed at Ierusalem , but unto the Flesh and Blood that is spiritual , &c. ) to intend and mean , not the outward Flesh and Blood of it self only , without or apart from the Divine Life , Spirit and Power that appeared in it , and gave Virtue to it , but both together . Nor Primarily or Principally the outward Flesh and Blood ; but the Divine Life , Spirit and Power that dwelt in that outward Body , and made it what it was ; if he meant otherwise , we cannot stand by him therein . But whereas G. Keith says of Iohn Humphreys , in Nar. p. 43. That some of his own Fraternity perswaded him to put in the Word , Only , and that would excuse the Matter ; he puts in the Word Only , and ( says G. Keith ) he thinks it was against his Conscience , and so bids put it out again . That some of his own Fraternity ( as G. Keith scoffingly speaks ) perswaded him to put in the Word , Only , doth not appear to be true ; but that , when he had put it in , he thought it was against his Conscience , appears to be false : And from thence it appears , that G. Keith did not think it was against his Conscience to belie him . Where did I. Humphreys declare that the putting in the Word , Only , was against his Conscience , and that therefore he bid put it out again ? The Words of his Letter ( as G. Keith has given them ) shew the contrary . His 43. p. is spent in a confused , rambling Discourse , in which he flits to and fro , from one thing to another , in a loose way , without sticking to any thing . But in the Close of it , he mentions a Testimony from W. Penn , to prove that Bodily Death did not come in by Man's Sin : Which in p. 44. he gives out of W. Penn's Book ( in Answer to Reeve and Muggleton , called , The New Witnesses proved Old Hereticks , p. 55. ) thus , If the Flesh of Beasts is capable of dying , rotting and going to dust , who never sinned , why should not Man have died , and gone to Dust , though he had never sinned ? He should have noted that W. Penn spake this upon an extravagant Notion of theirs , That , The Reason why Men's Bodies in Death , or after Death , do rot , or stink , in the Grave , and come to Dust , is , because there was Sin in their Bodies whilst they lived ; but on the contrary , if Men had no Sin in their Natures or Bodies , they might live and die , and naturally rise again , by their own Power , in their own Time. Upon this he thus observed , Why should Sin only cause the Body to rot , stink and go to Dust ? Does not the Scripure , and Reeve himself ( in his Book , p. 44. ) give another Reason , namely , That what came from Dust , is that which must go to Dust ? Then adds ( to shew their weakness in assigning Sin only for the cause of the Bodies rotting and going to Dust ) Besides , if the Flesh of Beasts is capable of Dying , Rotting and going to Dust , who never sinned , why should not Man have dyed , and gone to Dust , though he had never sinned ? And in p. 5 , 6. he attacks Reeve again , upon his own Assertion , saying , And it is further evident , That Sin is not the cause of Mens Bodies crumbling into Dust , from Reeves his own Words , &c. So that what W. Penn said , on that Subject , might be but Argumentum ad Hominem , which ought not to be turned upon himself , But if W. Penn had directly affirmed that Man's Natural Body , as it was formed of the Dust of the Ground , Gen. 2.7 . Should have returned to Dust , again , although he had not sinned , would that have been a gross and vile Error contrary to the Fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith ? Indeed , according to G. Keith's wild Notions of Adam's and Eve's Bodies ( both before the Fall , while they grew together back to back , before they were split asunder , as he Fables , and after the Fall too ) the Bodies which they had after the Fall , did derive from Sin , not only their Mortality , but their beginning , and the Cause of their Being made : For he Dreams that the Bodies in which they lived after the Fall , were not the same that they had before the Fall ; but were those Coats of Skins , which God is said , Gen. 3.21 . to have made for them , which he fancies to be their outward Bodies of Flesh , Blood and Bones , and that those were made to cover the nakedness of their former Bodies . Of which , and many more such Dotages , the Reader ( if he have any thing of a sober Brain ) may soon read himself Sick , in his Book , called , Truth Advanced , more especially from p. 16. to p. 32. In this 44. p. again He acknowledges G. Whitehead and W. Penn to be Orthodox , though he has charged them with being Heterodox , and for ought I see makes them Heterodox and Orthodox in the same things ; which is pretty . Before he got hither , he had pretty well tired his Auditors . He was fain , in p. 41. to say , I beg of you ; I shall be but short : And so drill'd them on the Contents of three Pages further . Now , says he , I beg your Patience for one or two Quotations more , before I have done . ( This was heavy , dull Work. ) It is , says he , out of Tho. Ellwood , to shew you that T. Ellwood Charges me with Forgery , because I said the Yearly Meeting did censure some of these Vnsound Papers . This he has been harping at divers times before , both in p. 41 , 42 , and 43. But I deferr'd my Answer to it , till I came hither . The ground of his Cavil here at me is this , He ( to support his tottering Credit among those few that seemed at first willing to listen a little to him ) had in his Book , called , A seasonable Information , &c. p. 26. affirmed , That the Paper , called , A true Account of the Proceedings of the Yearly Meeting in 1694. ( which his Agent R. Hannay publish't ) doth own them of the other side ( by whom , he meant , the Friends in America whom he had separated from ) to be guilty of unsound and erroneous Doctrines . I ( in my Book , called , A further Discovery , written in Answer to that of his ) said , p. 84. How false and unfair he is in this , the Words of that Paper shall shew , which are these , viz. And although it appears , that some few Persons have given Offence , either through erronious Doctrines , unsound Expressions , or Weakness , Forwardness , want of Wisdom and right Understanding , yet , &c. Upon this I then made this Observation ( which he now repeats in his Narrative , p. 44. ) Here ye see , Friends , that that Paper of the Yearly Meeting is so far from owning them of the other side , as he calls them ( that is , the Friends in America ) to be guilty of unsound and erronious Doctrines ( which G. Keith here expresly saith it doth ) that it doth not undertake to determine , whether the Offence ( said to be given by some few Persons ) was through erronious Doctrines , and unsound Expressions , or through Weakness , Forwardness , want of Wisdom and right Understanding . And yet this Man hath the Confidence and Falseness , to say positively , that Paper doth own them guilty of holding unsound and erronious Doctrines . This is that for which he says , I charged him with Forgery . And if I did , he well deserved it ; for I proved it so plain upon him , that he has not had the Confidence so much as to attempt to acquit himself of it : And that , with many more such gross things , which I fastened on him in that Book , were , I suppose , the reaon , why he has not hitherto replied to it , though it has been in Print well nigh these two Years . Now , not being able to shake off the Forgery , he turns Cat in Pan , and endeavours to make some Advantage against me , for having denied that the Yearly Meeting had owned those Friends in America to be guilty of erronious Doctrines , alledging that thereby I make both the Meeting and my self to approve and justifie them . But that is no fair Consequent . I hope there were some , at least , in his Auditory at Turners Hall , that were more just that to condemn us ( so much as in their own Thoughts ) whom he had Arraigned and so highly Charged behind our backs , ( though he pretended to Convict us from our own Books ) but would , like wise and upright Men , suspend their Judgment , till they should have heard or read our Defence ? And if any that were there , fell short of this impartial Iustice , we value their Judgement no more than it deserves . But if this is but right and reasonable in this Case ; how unright and unreasonable would it have been in the Yearly Meeting , to have given forth , judicially and authoritatively , as a Yearly Meeting , a Judgment against any particular Person or Persons , upon the Accusation of a declared Enemy , without due Proof , and without hearing the Parties Face to Face , or at all hearing the Defence of the Accused ; nay , when the Persons accused were not only not present , nor in the Nation , but some thousands ( perhaps ) of Miles distant , in another Quarter of the World ! This was the Case of that Yearly Meeting , in 1694. G. Keith made a Clamour then against some in America , for holding ( as he said ) gross and vile Errors , as he has since done against some here ; And he urged the reading of some Papers he had brought with him , relating to that Affair . Which though the Meeting was not obliged , in strict Justice , to admit ( the Accused not being present ) yet to stop his present , and to have prevented ( if it might have been ) his future Clamour , the Meeting condescended , and he read ( or caused to be read ) several Manuscripts . But when they were read ( besides that divers of them appeared to be rather the hasty Products of Heat and Contention , which he had raised and kindled there , than the well-weighed Sentiments of a sedate and deliberate Judgment ) of what Authority could they be to the Meeting to ground a Judicial Sentence upon ? Or who would be willing to have Judgment given against him , upon no Evidence but the bare reading of Letters ( supposed to be his own ) without having Liberty to make his own Defence , and to give his own Sence of any Expression laid to his Charge ? This is not new to G. Keith , for in my Book , called , A further Discovery , in Answer to his , called , A seasonable Information , I debated this Case fairly with him . In p. 59. With respect to my self , I told him ( which I had also told him before , in another Book called , An Epistle to Friends , p. 41. ) I observe he makes a great Noise and Ou●ery of gross and vile Errors held by some , and them upheld by others , which he gives for one Reason or Cause of the Separation . But inasmuch as this is only his Charge , without due Proof , and the Persons by him Charged with those vile Errors , are not here present , to make Answer to his Charge , and defend themselves , or to shew the Occasions that led to , and Circumstances that attended those Discourses , from which he pickt the Words he Charges them with , and to explain their meanings therein , I have not thought it fit , or becoming me , on no better Ground , to meddle with those Matters , being alike unwilling to justifie them , if in any thing they have done or said amiss , as to condemn them unheard , upon the report of another , and him their professed Adversary . In p. 65. ( With respect to the Meeting 's Words before cited ) which he would have strained to be a Judgment against the Friends in America , whom he had warred with ) I told him , What offence was given , might as well be through Weakness , Forwardness , want of Wisdom and right Understanding , as through erronious Doctrines , or unsound Expressions . Nay , if it were through unsound Expressions ( though they are not to be excused , yet ) that doth not prove a Man guilty of holding gross and vile Errors , &c. For a Man that is sound in Iudgment , and Doctrine , m●a chance to drop an unsound Expression , through weakness , as some perhaps in America , through G. Keith's catching Questions , may have been drawn to do , whose Weakness for him to expose in Print , in that aggravating manner as he has done , to the Reproach of the whole Profession , is very great Wickedness in him , and for which his Condemnation from God slumbers not . And in p. 66. with respect to his Manuscripts , ( which he would have had pass for sufficient Proofs ) I told him thus . He being a Party is not a competent Iudge what is sufficient Proof in this Case . That some Manuscripts were read in the Yearly Meeting by him , or on his part , I remember ; how many they they were , or whether signed by the Persons own Hands , I know not . But , supposing ( not granting ) those Manuscripts to be either Autographs , or Authentick Copies , I believe he himself would think much , to be concluded or condemned from Inferences , or Constructions made upon Manuscripts ( especially , if they be private Letters , as I think , some of those he had read , were ) without his being present , and having the Liberty to open and explain his Sense and Meaning in any Passage , Word or Sentence in them . Thus had I controverted this Point with him formerly , in that Book of mine , called , A further Discovery , which he has never replied to ; which might have been enough to have stopped him from telling that Story at Turners-Hall , if he had not wanted Matter . And this I suppose will be sufficient to satisfie any impartial Reader : That the Yearly Meeting had no sufficient Ground , from what G. Keith offered to them , to censure judicially those Persons in America , whom he exclaimed here against ; consequently that he has no just ground to Charge the Meeting ( or me for defending the Meeting against his unjust Charge ) with approving and justifying those things which he calls vile Errors in them . But he comes off most lamely in pretending that he was charitable to the Yearly Meeting , in construing the Disjunctive [ or ] in their Words , to be equivalent to the Copulative [ and ] as , says he , sometimes it is . Did he ever know or taken for and , in an Alternative Proposition ▪ or Sentence , as this was , by any that pretended to understand Words ? Let him blush at his Folly , and repent of his Hypocrisie , in calling that Charity , which was indeed but a deceitful Shift . And let him learn to be just , before he pretends to be Charitable . He thrust upon his Auditors , one Quotation more , out of a Book of mine , which he almost promised them , should be the last , at least of Printed ones . He tells them , That I blame him , for comparing the Books of Freinds , to the Books of the Greek and Latin Fathers . which in p. 45. he gives out of p. 99. of my Further Discovery , thus , In comparing the Books of Friends , to the Books of them called the Greek and Latin Fathers , he has not done as a Friend and Brother , but as an Enemy , in supposing Friends Books to have been written by no better Guidance , nor clearer sight , than theirs , who lived and writ in those Dark times . Upon this he said , You see how modest they are here ? And upon that he makes his Auditors give a shout , Signifying , says he , their dislike that the Quakers Books should be preferr'd so far to the Greek and Latin Fathers , next to the Days of the Apostles . One might wonder here , at the Cause of his Auditors shouting : For such of them , as could understand what was meant by Greek and Latin Fathers , one might expect should be men of greater Wisdom and Gravity , than to shout in such Assemblies ; And for the undiscerning Mob , it was a Subject so much above their Capacity and Pretences , that it cannot be supposed they should shout at that , if they had not been excited thereunto , by some little antick Gesticulation from him . But to the matter . They shouted , he says , Signifying their dislike , that the Quakers Books should be preferred so far to the Greek and Latin Fathers , next to the Days of the Apostles . Why next to the Days of the Apostles ? These were not my words . I did not refer to the times next to the Days of the Apostles . But my words were , — Who lived and writ in those Dark times . Must those Dark times , needs be next to the Days of the Apostles ? See what an Vnfair Stretch this was . Were not most , and the most noted , of them , in the fourth and fifth Centuries , three or four hundred Years or more , after the Apostles Days , as Athanasius , Basilius , the two Gregories ( Naziansen and Nysen , ) Cyril , Ambrose , Epiphanius , Chrysostom , Hieronimus , Augustin , Hilarius , and so on to Gregory the great , Pope of Rome . Nay , are not Oecumenius , Theophilact , and Bernard ( none of the worst ) reckoned amongst the Fathers , though the first of them lived above eight hundred Years , the second above a thousand , and the last above eleven hundred Years after Christ ? And why then must what I spake of those who lived and writ in those Dark times , be applied to them that lived next to the Days of the Apostles ? Could he find no other times to be accounted Dark , but the Days next to the Apostles ? He has shewed his good Will ; and that he is no Changling in this respect ( how great soever in another ) but is always for perverting , and taking words in the worst sense . That the times were Dark in the 4 th and 5 th Centuries , I suppose he will grant , when I shall have put him in mind , that much of the Superstition , and not a little of Corruption in Doctrine , now retained in the Church of Rome , crept in in those times ( of which , were this a suitable place , I could give plenty of Instances ) nor was the third Secle so clear , but that Tertullian ( who lived in the very beginning of it ) and Origen ( about the middle of it ) gave sufficient Occasion in their writings , for others to see , they were too much in the Dark . Perkins in his Problem of the Church of Rome , p. 12. tells us , that Hierom says , Tertullian was not a man of the Church , because he fell a way , to the Opinion of Montanus . Yea , that he was a chief Heretick . He gives a Catalogue of the Books , Tertullian wrote against the Orthodox , and says , Gelasius adjudged all his Books to be A●rcryphal . Origen , Perkins says , was Errorum plenus , Full of Errors ; And that Hierom called his Writings Venemous . Of Cyprian , he says , p. 13. While he too much admires Tertullian , he sometimes favours the Montanists . Alstedius in Lex . Theol , p. 11. Blames Hierom , Augustine Ambrose , Hillary and Origen , altogether , for their absurd Allegories ; Nay he taxes Ambrose and Hillary with soul Contradictions . And in p. 17. he says , St. Hierom is ridiculous in Allegories over and over . And Augustin , he says , does sometimes after the same manner . Jurieu a French Protestant , in his late Book called The Accomplishment of the Prophecies , Second Edit . Part , 1. and p. 217. says , St. Basil , St. Ambrose , and the two Gregories , are the most antient Authors , in whom we begin to find the Worship and Invocation of Creatures . And in Part , 2. p. 43 , he says , St. Basil in the East , and St. Ambrose in the West , are the most Antient Fathers , in whom we find the Footsteps of the Invocation and Intercession of the Saints . In Part 1. p. 270. he says , The Antients did Copy one another , almost without any Iudgment , and always without Consideration . And he concludes , Part , 1 p. 112. If the Authority of the Fathers , be not good in many Places , 't is good in none , 't is doubtful every where . I give but these few Touches Concerning those Fathers ( as they are called ) who lived ( not next to , yet ) not many Ages after the Apostles Days . They who have a mind to know more on this Subject , may find enough ( if not too much ) in the learned Dalleus . But that it may appear , I spake no● by rote , in calling those times Dark , wherein most of those called Fathers before mentioned lived , I think fit to let the Reader understand , from Perkins's Problem before ci●ed , That Praying for the Dead ( which is a peculiar Doctrine of Popery ) is as Old as Tertullians time , about the latter End of the Second , and beginning of the Third Century , p. 97. And the Conceit of Purgatory , must to be sure , be some what Older . Perkins makes the Montanists Authors of it , p. 99. And Tertullian and Origen the Chief , p. 175. The Honouring of the Relick of the Dead came in a little after the Year 300. p 81. Praying to Saints , about the Year 380. p. 90. The Caelibacy , or Single Life of Priests , between the Years 300. and 400. p 190 , 191 , 192. Monkery ▪ about t●e Year 260. p. 226. And for Superstitious Ceremo●i●s used in the Church of Rome , if Genebrard , Fas●iculus Temporum , Polidore , de invent Rerum , and other Writers may be believed , the greatest part of them were introduced before the Sixth Century , and not a few in the Third . In p. 46. he ob●rudes upon his Auditory , the Copy of a Paper , which he pretends to have Received from some of the Church-Party ( as he calls them ) by which I confess at the first sight , I thought he had meant some Episcopal Men , ●till Reading on , I found he described them to be some that go among the Quakers . Why he Denominates them , some of the Church-Party , ( or of a Party for the Church ) I know not , unless to distinguish them from himself , and such as he was in hopes to get to him , to make a Party against the Church . However , he says , They were such as favoured him ; and ( if he say true ) it appears they favoured him , more than Truth , otherwise they would not have gone out of the way of Truth , and common Iustice , to gratify him . For he says , They gave him a Meeting ( There were , he think● , Nine or Ten of them ; ) They took notice , he says , of some of Ellwood's Forgeries and Abuses ; And it seems they dr●w up a Paper against me , as a Censure and Judgment upon my Book , for he says , They said in their Paper , T. Ellwood had done him wrong . And yet all this ( if ever it was done ) was done in the Dark , and in Hugger Mugger ( as the saying is ) without ever convening me , or acquainting me with it , before or after ; nor did I ever hear of it , till now . He says , Some of them are Eminent , and that they are Generally in good Repute among us . If they were so , it would have added some Repute to his Cause , to have named them ; but that , I observe , he would not be drawn to , by all the Importunity that was used . His Narrative gives Account that H. G. said , Let us know their names , who they are ; which he refusing to tell , the other said , I dare thee to name their names , or else thou art a Lyar , an Impostor , a Cheat , adding , I dare say it is a Cheat. All this would not prevail with G. Keith to name a Man of them : And yet he says , Some of them have , I hope , that Courage , that I believe they would not be offended nor afraid , if I named them . This makes me the more suspect his Story to be false . And though I will not say positively , It is a Cheat ; yet I dare say , It looks as like a Cheat , as any thing can well look . And I think an Impartial and Iudicious Auditory would have required their names , and been better satisfied of the Authority of that Paper , before they would have lent him their Ears to the Hearing of it . But , as if he had been feeding Iackdaws , all went down ( for ought I find ) that he offered , without the least chewing , or Examination . Now if there be any thing of reality in the Story he has told ( of some Persons whom he will not name , that gave him that Paper , of which he read the Copy in his Meeting at Turner's-Hall ) and that it be not a meer Fiction of his own , to bring forth that as the work of others , which ( for the weakness of it , ) he might well have been ashamed to have brought forth as his own ; what ever might be their intent in doing it , ( as perhaps to still and quiet him , by making some little shew of blaming me , which supposing the Story true in Fact , is the most Charitable Construction I can put upon it . ) Yet I plainly see his design in publishing it is , to slip his Neck cut of the Collar , ( as they say ) and thereby excuse himself ( if he might ) from Answering that Book of mine ( called A further Discovery ) out of which the Cavils contained in the Paper he read , were pickt up . For he says , in a Marginal Note to p. 50. ( both of that Book , and the t'other called Truth Defended ) I think I have effectually answered them here , as to the main . Now I think it fit to give the Reader an Account , That that Book of mine , called A further Discovery , &c. and was an Answer to a Book of G. Keith's called A Seasonable Information , and Caveat , &c. ( the Epistle to which was Published first by it self , about a Month before the Book ) in which he charged me with Fifty False Accusations , Perversions and Forgeries ( which he pretended to have gathered up , out of a Former Treatise of mine , called An Epistle to Friends ) and undertook , in so Many distinct Sections , to prove against me . All which in my Further Discovery , I Answered , and fully too , and returned the Charge of False Accusations , Perversions and Forgeries upon him . This has lain upon him now near two Years , without so much as attempting to Answer it . Now he would sham me off with an Idle Story ( if not a meer Fable ) of what some few Persons ( that must not be named , that they may not be blamed and shamed ) have in a Blind and Indirect manner , signified to him , as their Judgment Concerning some few ( and little material ) Passages in that Book of mine . And this he would have pass for an Answer to that Book . Which that it may not , but that that Book ( as well as the other , called Truth Defended ) may still remain upon him , as unanswered ; I will go through the several particulars of it ( which he for want of weight in himself , calls weighty ) and shew both the emptiness and weakness of them , and the Folly and Falshood of his Comments upon them . The First Head is , that I blame G. Keith for mistating the Controversie ( about the sufficiency of the Light ) and cunningly sliding in the Word [ Within ] when he knew it was not in the Words charged , nor in the Words proved : To this it is opposed , in that Paper thus , A true Copy of the three Iudgments , p. 6. are those Words : All which are something else than the People called Quakers understand by the Light , ●o wit , the Light in every Man's Conscience , which G. Keith alledgeth , is Proof that G. Keith intended the Light within . To this I say , 1. What is meant by A true Copy of the three Iudgments , I know not . If it be a Book ( as , by quoting , p. 6. it seems to be ) I do not remember I have ever seen it ; nor is it much material , to this business ; whether I ever do or not . 2. Here 's a Relative without an Antecedent , all which are something else , &c. All which ? all what ? All nothing at all : For there is nothing mentioned , or recited out of that True Copy , to which the Relative Which may be referr'd . So that this is a Nonsensi●al Passage . And , to compleat the Folly of this weighty Particular , as he calls it , the Conclusion of it is thus , Which G. Keith alledgeth , is Proof that G. Keith intended the Ligh within . Here G. Keith's pretended Advocates , instead of shewing that the Word Within was in the Words charged , or in the Words proved ( which they should have done ; if they would have convicted me of mischarging him , in saying he had cunningly slid in the Word , Within ) come no nearer the Matter than to say , that something or other ( not naming what ) G. Keith alledgeth , is Proof that G. Keith intended the Light within . They don't adventure so far as to say , that that something ( or All which , whatever it was ) is a Proof , but that G. Keith alledgeth it is a Proof . And a Proof of what , I Pray ? Why , a Proof that G. Keith intended the Light within . But is not that a fair Proof , at least by Implication , that G. Keith did not express the Word Within ( whatever he intended ) and consequently , that I said true , in saying , He knew it was not in the Words charged , nor in the Words proved ( for how should it , when it was not in the Words spoken , as is here implicitely acknowledged ) but only in his Intention ? Was G. Keith so dull , he could not see , that this was so far from being a Defence for him , that it wholly makes against him , and for me ? To peice out this , there is added in his Paper , a Passage in one Ben. Chamber 's Letter : Another Passage in Iohn Delaval's Letter . And then is added , Iohn Humphrey's two Letters read , and both to the same Purpose . It may be so : And yet all to little or no purpose . For what were all these Letters , I pray ? Were they made publick in Print ? Or only private Letters lying in G. Keith's Pocket ? How then could it be expected I should know , or take notice , what was in them ? But I can assure G. Keith ( and his Advocates too , if he hath any ) that I went upon surer Ground than the Letters in his Pocket could be to me : For when I said , He knows the Word Within was not in the Words charged , nor in the Words proved , I had G. Keith himself for my Author ; and I thought I could not have a better , against himself , than himself . He , in his Seasonable Information ( to which I then answered ) speaking of T. Fitz-water's Charge against him , p. 12. said , His Charge was , That I denied the sufficiency of the Light. Here 's not the Word VVithin ; and therefore he knew ( if he knew what he writ ) that the Word VVithin was not in the Words Charged . Then three Lines lower , in the same Page , speaking of what the Witnesses proved , he says , They proved against me , That I did not believe the Light was sufficient without something else . Here 's not the Word VVithin ; and therefore he knew ( if he knew what he writ ) that the Word VVithin was not in the Words proved . This , I think were enough , on this Head , to clear me . But to manifest more fully , that I had good ground to say as I did , viz. that he knew the Word VVithin was not in the Words charged , I add , that in the same Book , p. 17. he says , I stand recorded on the Monthly Meeting Book at Philadelphia , by the Monthly Meetings Judgment given out against me , and clearing T. Fitz-water for his accusing me , that I denyed the sufficiency of the Light ; and the Evidence ( says he ) against me was , That I said , I did not believe the Light was sufficient without something else . Here he has set down the VVords charged , and the VVords proved , as they stand recorded ( if he may be believed ) on the Monthly Meeting Book at Philadelphia , and yet here is not the Word VVithin , either in the VVords charged , or in the VVords proved . And this both he , and his pretended Advocates , might have seen in my Further Discovery , p. 62. Yet further in his Book , called , Reasons and Causes , p. 8. where he gives this Matter as the first Cause of the Separation , he sets down T. Fitzwater's Charge against him thus . T — having openly in the Face of the Meeting accused G. Keith , for denying the sufficiency of the Light. Here is not the VVord VVithin . And lower in the same Page , telling what others witnessed for him , he says they said , They heard him both then and at all occasions , that he delivered his Mind on that subject , always bear Testimony to the sufficiency of the Light to Salvation . Here 's not the VVord VVithin . And this I noted formerly , in my Further Discovery , p. 63. whom would G. Keith have me to believe , if not himself ? Yet G. Keith has the Face , in his Comment upon this Head , Nar. p. 48. to say , The Question was not concerning the Light indefinitely ; but the Light within : And that I accuse him unjustly . The Second Head of that Paper is , That , in my Further Discovery , p. 101. are these Words , And this makes a Verbal Confession ; yea , a bare verbal Confession , sufficient to Yoak them , as he phrases it , together in Church-Fellowship . To this they oppose , Reasons and Causes of the Separation , p. 22. ad finem ; Tho. Ellwood leaves this out , viz. Touching these necessary and Fundamental Principles of Christian Doctrine , as well as that their Conversation is such as becomes the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ. They add also another Sentence out of Reasons and Causes , p. 36. But as this last Sentence relates not to those Words of mine , which were expresly restrained to the Quotation there given out of Reasons and Causes , p. 22. So they ( or he for them , for that it is his Work , whoever he got to Patronize it , I don't doubt ) leave out the former part of my Words , which explain the latter . The Dispute between him and me there , was not about Conversation , or how far , he either admitted , or required , that , as a Term of Communion with him ; but it was about a verbal Confession of Faith or Principles , as a Door of Admittance into Society or Fellowship , or Terms of Communion therein ; See my Epistle , p. 59 , 60 , and 61. In his Answer to which ( called A Seasonable Information ) p. 34. Sect. 37 , 38. He mentioned not a Word of Conversation ; but excepted against the Words Door of Admittance , and said , he made not a verbal Confession , the Terms at all of Church-Communion , when the Profession is but barely verbal ; but when the Confession or Profession , floweth from the living Faith of Christ , &c. To this I replying , in my Further Discovery , p. 101. shewed , that he had not guarded his Expression , about a verbal Confession , so before , in the Place I had quoted of his , which was that in Reasons and Causes , p. 22. Then reciting the Words again , viz. We are convinced and perswaded in our Consciences , that God calleth us to separate from such Vnbelievers , and not to be yoaked together in Church-Fellowship and Discipline with any that we have not proof of by Confession of the Mouth , that they are sound in Faith ; I thereupon made this twofold Inference , So that he makes a verbal Confession , a Proof of their being sound in the Faith , and this makes a Verbal Confession , yea , a bare verbal Confession , sufficient to yoak them ( as he phrases it ) together in Church-Fellowship . Now the leaving out the first Part of my Words , is injurious to the Sense of the Latter : For it makes as if the latter Part ( viz. That he makes abare verbal Confession sufficient to Yoak them together in Church-Fellowship ) had been an Assertion of mine ; whereas it is but an Inference from the former , and that former an Inference from his Words there quoted . For I did not affirm he makes a bare verbal Confession sufficient to Yoak them , &c. But from his saying , we are convinced , &c. that God calleth us to separate , &c. and not to be yoaked in Church-Fellowship , &c. with any that we have not proof of by Confession of the Mouth , that they are sound in Faith ; I inferr'd , 1. That he made a verbal Confession , a proof of their being sound in the Faith : And , 2. That his doing so ( his making a Verbal Confession a Proof of their being sound in the Faith ) makes a verbal Confession , yea , a bare verbal Confession , sufficient to yoak in Church-Fellowship . Now in this I do not apprehend , I did him any wrong at all , either in the Inferences , or in ending the Quotation where I did , and not giving the Words now added in the Paper [ Touching these necessary and fundamental Principles ( it should have been , Parts ) of Christian Doctrine , as well as that their Conversation is such as becomes the Gospel , &c. ] For the necessary Parts of Christian Doctrine are comprehended in the Words , sound in Faith ; and Conversation was not in the Terms of the Debate , and therefore not proper to have been there put in ▪ G. Keith's Clamour therefore , in Nar. p. 48. is groundless , where he says , Take notice how they ( the supposed Authors of his Paper ) notifie his Forgery , that he leaves out my Words . This may be rather c●lled his Forgery ; For the Paper he read , says nothing of Forgery ; but only mentions what Words I left out , without passing any Censure , or making any Observation upon it . The Third Head of that Paper is , That in Page 103. T. Ellwood accuseth G. Keith for giving of false Quotation , or forging Quotation ( this is the Scotch Dialect , by which I guess who framed it ) out of R. Barclay's Book . Then it sa●s , G. Keith's Quotation compared with R. Barclay 's agrees , as quoted , Reasons and Causes , &c. p. 16. For Substance of Doctrine , p. 24 , 25 , 26. in express VVords , and adds , p. 106. T. Ellwood admits of Substance . In the Margin is set , Let the Quotations be read out of R. Barclay's Anar , Now whereas G. Keith's pretended Advocates , or Compurgators , say here , that G. Keith's Quotation compared with R. Barclay's ag●ees as quoted , Reasons and Causes , p. 16. for Substance of Doctrine ; I deny it , and that upon good ground , having now again examined the one with the other . And I put both G. Keith and all his Advocates upon it , to make it appear , if they can . The mentioning the Quotations G. Keith gave in p. 24 , 25 , 26. of Reasons and Causes , out of R. Barclay is nothing to the purpose ( if they do agree ) because it was not in those Pages that I charged him with false quoting . But in my Epistle First , I taxed him with wronging R. Barclay in the Words he gave ; in his Causeless Ground , p. 8. as the express Doctrine and Testimony of R. Barclay in his Anarchy , p ▪ 48. and I shewed it , and plainly proved it by comparing the places together : And in p. 61 , 62. of that Epistle , I shewed a like abuse he had put upon R. Barclay and his Reader , in his Reasons and Causes , p. 16. in giving that Passage as R. Barclay's Doctrine in Anarchy , p. 32 , 33 , 48 , 49. which was neither his Words nor his Doctrine : And though he would have shuffled this off , in his Seasonable Information , p. 34 , 35. Yet I would not suffer him so to do ; but in my Further Discovery , p. 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106. drove him out of all his Holes and Subterfuges about it , and fixed it as a false Quotation on him ; which neither he has cleared himself , nor his Advocates have acqui●ted him of , nor can . Whereas they say T. Ellwood admits of Substance ; they speak not plainly . If they mean , that in p. 106. ( which they mention ) I admit G. Keith to have given the Substance of R. Barclay's Doctrine , in that Quotation , Reasons and Causes , p. 16. which I taxed him for , I deny it . I only say there , He hath not attempted to prove , that this is the Doctrine , or Substance of the Doctrine of R. Barclay in that Book , by producing now R. Barclay's own Words to manifest it . This is not admitting G. Keith's Quotation to be the Substance of R. Barclay's Doctrine there . But to remove this conceit wholly , I said in the Page but just before , viz. p. 105. Ye see now , G. Keith not only confesses they are not his VVords , but dares not adventure to say , they are plainly and directly his Doctrine ; but the Substance of his Doctrine . And yet ( said I ) even that I deny . I say they are neither R. Barclay's VVords , nor Doctrine , nor the Substance of his Doctrine . What now may we suppose to be meant by those Words in the Paper , T. Ellwood admits of Substance ? Why , if we may Credit G. Keith in his Commentary upon it , Nar. p. 48. He says , These Men take notice that T. Ellwood is unfair in taking that Liberty to himself , he will not allow to me : They ( adds he ) observe , he admits of Substance of Doctrine in his own Citations , but will not allow it to me . Whence will he pretend to have this ? The Paper he read , and has Printed , says nothing of it , nothing towards it , nothing like it . This therefore I charge upon him , as a plain downright Falshood and Forgery . The fourth Head of that Paper is , That in Further Discovery , p. 19. T. Ellwood accuses G. Keith , that he blames Friends , that they were gone too much from the Outward to the Inward . But G. Keith , p. 20. ( it should be p. 10. ) which T. Ellwood brings for Proof , says , That he blames some Persons , for not rightly and fully preaching Christ without . So that T. Ellwood's Consequences seems not fair , but strain'd . This is weakness , at least . I shewed in that page , that the word [ too much ] there , related to their going from the Outward , which I proved he blamed Friends for , by his own saying Seas . Inform. p. 10. I have blamed some Persons for not rightly and fully Preaching Christ without . Now if , according to him , they did not Preach Christ without , righ●ly nor fully , then , according to him they were gone too much from the Outward : And so my Consequence was not Strain'd , but fair . The fifth Head , says p. 22. T. Ellwood accuseth G. Keith , of a Fallacy , in declaring , he refused not to go forth at the Yearly Meeting : which Fallacy alledged , was , that G. Keith should refuse to go out some one Day of the Yearly Meeting . But that not appearing to us , by any Quotation , the supposed Fallacy appears not . Well , What then ! Whether it appear'd to them or not , the Fallacy is nevertheless certain ; And though I could not give a Quotation to prove it ( having only his Books to quote out of ) Yet I writ it not upon surmise , but upon Sufficient ●●ound , and G. Keith so well knows it to be true , that he has not had the boldness to deny it . There is another part of this Head , which says , And further , Whereas T. Ellwood alledges that he was led into this mistake by G. Keith's obscure way of writing ; for altho' in p. 14. nor 18. of the Book , Reasons and Causes , as T. Ellwood unduly Argueth , yet in p. 3. Plea of the Innocent , quoted by himself , p. 19. of his first Book called An Epistle , &c. We find G. Keith gives account , the Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia , was in the first week of the 7 th Month , 1691. This looks like G. Keith's work , both by the Imperfectness of the Sense , and the disposing of the words so , that the Fallacy I had charged him with , might pass for a Mistake of mine . Whereas the Fallacy I charged him with , was , His saying he did go out at the Yearly Meeting ( to contradict my saying , he refused to go out at the Yearly Meeting ) whereas ( there being several Meetings in that time of the Yearly Meeting , he did go out at some , or one , of them , but refused to go out at the rest . But the Mistake that I was led into , by his obscure way of writing , was , that the place of his Book which I then quoted , to prove he refused to go out of the Yearly Meeting ( which was p. 14. Of Reasons and Causes ) spake not of the Yearly Meeting , but another , ( as I remember , the Quarterly ) Meeting ( For that he did refuse to go out at two several Meetings , that Book of his confesses , p. 14. and p. 18 ) I complained , that I was led into that Mistake , by his obscure way of writing , in not setting down the times wherein those Meetings were held , and shewed that in those pages of that Book of his , wherein those Meetings were spoken of , there is neither Day , Month , nor Year set , wherein either the Quartely or Yearly Meeting was held . They blame me , for blaming him for his obscurity , and say , though it was not in p ▪ 14. nor 18. ( nor indeed any where ) of that Book , yet it was in p. 3. of another Book ; and so it may be in p. 13. of another Book beside that , for ought I know : But it was not at all , in that Book which I mentioned , where the Matter was treated of , and where it ought to have been . G. Keith upon this , Rants at an high rate , Nar. p. 49. and says , You see , he argues like a rare Logician . He says , I don't name the Year nor Day , nor is it in p. 14. nor p. 18. But what then ? I do it in another page , says he . Ay , so he did indeed : But that other page , was in another Book . This is rare Logick , says he . And this is rarer Iuggling , say I ; to set down his Matter in one Book , and the time of it in another Book , that he might hide himself , puzzle his Reader , and trepan his Opponent . How could he , or his Advocates either , expect that I should have recourse to his Plea of the Innocent , to find the date of a Meeting treated of in his Reasons and Causes ? Oh , says G. Keith , he has quoted that for another purpose . True , but as it was for another purpose , so it was in another Book , written at another time , not in that wherein I complained of his Omissions ; but in the Epistle written three Months before . The sixth Head is almost such another Cavil , depending upon the uncertain Dates of some of their Meetings in Pensilvania , wherein their Controversies had been handled . G. Keith had complained , that the Yearly Meeting there , had not given a right Judgment against W. Stockdale ; I shewed that they had . He thereupon asks , Why did they contradict the Sound Iudgment of a Monthly Meeting at Philadelphia , passing due Censure upon W. S. six Months thereafter ? I took ( and yet take ) the Monthly Meeting he speaks of , to have been held six Months after that Yearly Meeting ▪ and thereupon askt him , how the Judgment of the First could be said to contradict that of the Latter , seeing the Latter was not in being , when the First was given ? To this he says , Nar. p. 49. Pray , May not a Meeting held six Months after , Contradict a Meeting going before ? I am charged ( say he ) that I cannot Speak Sense : And why ? Because he ( T. Ellwood ) feigns that I said , a Meeting six Months before Contradicted a Meeting held six Months after it ; when there is no such thing ( says he ; ) But that a Meeting six Months after , Contradicts a Meeting six Months before . Thus G. Keith . But how falsly shall quickly be made appear , and that both by G. Keith himself , and his Advocates . I ask therefore , Which of the two Meetings , the Yearly or the Monthly , did Contradict the other ? Which of them was it , that was Contradicted by the other ? G. Keith resolves this plainly , in his Seasonable Information p. 11. by saying , Why did they , ( viz. the Yearly Meeting ) Contradict the sound Judgment of a Monthly Meeting at Philadelphia , passing due Censure upon W. Stockdale six Months thereafter ? This is enough to shew that , according to G. Keith , it was the Yearly Meeting that did Contradict , the Monthly that was Contradicted , and yet both he here acknowledges that that Monthly Meeting , was six Months after that Yearly Meeting , and his Advocates undertake to Demonstrate it , by giving the dates of Each , viz. That of the Yearly Meeting , the 1 st of the seventh Month 1691. That of the adjourned Meeting ( w●ich is the same that he calls the Monthly Meeting ) the 27 th of the 12 th Mo. 1691. And expresly say it was six Months after the Yearly Meeting . Now if it was the Yearly Meeting that did Contradict , and the Monthly Meeting that was Contradicted , and that Yearly Meeting was six Months before that Monthly Meeting , ( as from G. Keith's and his Advocates own words before cited , I have proved that it was ) then that which was six Months before , did ( according to G. Keith ) contradict that which came six Months after . Which how great Nonsense it is , G. Keith has already resolved : But he cannot acquit himself of it ; nor of a down right Falshood , with too great Boldness delivered , to have excused himself from being too apt , as Learned as he is , to write Nonsense . Of this I expect he should clear himself , or Confess himself Guilty of both Nonsense , and ( which is worse ) Falshood . In the seventh Head , p. 48. Having quoted several pages ( and recited some words ) out of my Further Discovery , as p. 35 , 36 , 37 , and 42 , and 43. Where I treated about the Separation made by G. Keith in America ; they say , Whereas T. Ellwood should have brought Matter of Fact , to prove G. Keith guilty of the Separation , instead thereof , he argues , as we think , unfairly by Logical Nicety . Thought , the Proverb says , is free ; and I cannot help it , if they would think so ? But I think ( and I have found others think ) that I have in that Book sufficiently fix'd the Guilt of the Separation upon G. Keith , and that by fair Reasoning , drawn from Matter of Fact , throughout twenty pages and more , from p. 36. to p. 59. And I am content to stand to the Readers Judgment in it . But if the Persons whom G. Keith pretends to have had this Paper from , did draw it up themselves , I wonder not at their thinking , as they say they do : For in the Close of the former Head , the Judgment of the Yearly Meeting , is called the Supposed Judgment of the Yearly Meeting ; which word doth so exactly resemble G. Keith's Style , that if any others brought it sorth ●or him , I cannot think but he begot it in them . Upon this Head , G. Keith makes a large Comment . But it is little else than a Repetition of the 10 th Section in p. 13 , 14. of his Seasonable Information , already answered in my Further Discovery , p. 42 , 43 , 44. Only I observe he here makes it a perversion of Philosophy to put the Cause before the Effect . Which perhaps may be as true , as it would be a Perversion in Husbandry , to set the Oxen before the Plow , which is their proper place . The Eighth Head being only about setting the Print●r's Name to Books , I think too trivial to take notice of here ; further than to observe , That it shews G. Keith , and they that he says favoured him , were hard put to it to pick up Matter out of my Book to Cavil at , when they were fain to stoop for such silly stuff as this . The Ninth and Last Head is , That T. Ellwood alledges , p. 91. He did not understand that the Doctrine of the Faith of Christ , as he died , being necessary to our Christianity and Salvation , &c. Was by him reputed a Doctrine in Controversie between G. Keith and others in America ; when in several Places of his Books it plainly appears it was the principal Doctrine in Controversie . See Reasons and Causes , p. 8 , and 21 , 22. with many others : They must excuse me in that . What appears very plain to some , does not always appear so to others . And I do assure them , that which they say appeared so plain to them , neither then did , nor yet does , appear plain to me . For I do not believe ( whatever he may pretend ) that there was any real Controversie between Friends there , and him , whether the Faith of Christ , as he died , is necessary to our Christianity and Salvation . But that the Qu●stion controverted was , Whether that Faith is absolutely and indispensibly necessary to all Mankind , throughout the Vniverse , so that none could be saved without it , though they had not the means , Opportunity , or Capacity to know or receive it . And that this was indeed , the state of the Controversy there , I have since Read in the state of the Case , p. 11. written by Samuel Iennings , while here in England . It was not that I thought there was any thing of worth or moment in this Paper , that made me bestow this little pains in answering it ; nor that the particular Passages therein ( though G. Keith , to set them off , calls them Weig●ty Particulārs ) ha●e any other weight in them , than what is likely to fall upon his Head , who brought them forth , whatever it may upon any others that assisted him therein . But the chief reason which induced me , at this time , to take any notice of them at all , was , that I might wholly take from him all pretence of having answered that Book of mine , out of which these Cavils were taken ; so that that Book called A Further Discovery , as well as my last , called Truth Defended , may still lie with their full weight on him , unanswered in any part . In p. 51. The Meeting being over , and Narrative ended , he adds this Note ; If any of my Adversaries object , That divers of these Proofs , here brought , were brought formerly in my Book against W. Penn and G. Whitehead , called A Short List of the Vile and Gross Errors , which T. Ellwood hath replied to in his Book , called Truth De●ended : I Answer ( says he ) I know not any one of them that he has sufficiently answered unto , to give the least satisfaction to any sound Christian ; his Answers being meerly Evasions and Perversions , as I should have shewn , if he had appeared . Alas , poor man , he might with the more ease have shewed it I not appearing to his Imperious Summons , if he could have shewed it at all . Why should he excuse himself by my not appearing ? Neither G. Whitehead nor W. Penn appeared any more than I ( they not owning his Vsurped Iurisdiction , any more than I ) and yet that hindred him not from repeating those broken Charges against them , which I had answered before in Print . If he would needs be doing , he should have proceeded methodically and fairly , and have first given his Auditors an account that he had formerly exhibited those Charges in Print ; and that I in Print had answered them . Then he should have read my Answers , and re●u●ed them , if he could ; and when he had done that , it had been time enough then for him to have renewed and reinforced his Charge . But he had rather answer my Book by repeating the Charge which my Book was an Answer to ; that he thought would be the easiest way . As for my former Answer , whether it is sufficient and satisfactory , or no , he must give me leave , or I will take it , to tell him ( notwithstanding he has set himself on the Bench , and called me and others to the Bar , to hear our selves charged and proved guilty ) that he and I are both too near a kin to the Cause , to be proper and competent Judges of the sufficiency of my Answer . His Book and mine are both abroad , the World has them , and the World will judge of them as they see cause , whether we will or no , and so let them with my good will. But withall let me tell him , that until he has answered them , they stand , and will stand , as sufficient against him . And , as such , I still leave them upon his Head , and expect his Answer to both them and this . And whereas he saith there are many new Proofs here brought , besides the former , it is not unlikely but some there may be ( though I think not many ; ) for that 's the way of Shuffling Writers , to add some New Scraps to an Old Book , and then set it out with a New Title , for a New Book . Yet very little , I think , there is , if any thing , in his Narrative , which was not published before , either in his former List of Vile and Gross Errors ( which I answered before ) or in his Book of Gross Error and Hypocrisie detected , now answered in this . And therefore , I think , I may justly call this Answer to his Narrative , an Answer to them all ; and as such I intend it . G. Keith's Appendix to his Narrative , and the several Charges contained therein , considered . TO his Narrative he tacks an Appendix , containing ( he says ) some considerable Proofs out of these Men● Books relating to the foregoing Heads , The first Passage be carps at , is in G. Whitehead's Book called The Divinity of Christ , p. 70. Where in Answer to I. Owen , who had ●aid The Sacrifice de●otes his ( Christ's Humane Nature , whence God i● said to purchase his Church with his own Blood , Acts 20.28 . For he offered himself through the eternal Spirit , there was the Matter of the Sacrifice , which was the Humane Nature of Christ's Soul and Body , &c. G. Whitehead answered , These Passages are but darkly and confusedly expressed ; As also we do not read in Scrip●ure , that the Blood of God , by which he purchased his ●hurch , is ever called the Blood of the Humane Nature : Nor that the Soul of Christ was the Humane Nature , or was put to death with the Body ( for the wicked could not kill the Soul , — for his Soul in his own being was immortal , and the Nature of God is Divine , and therefore that the Blood of God should be of Humane ( or Earthly ) Nature , appears intonsistent ; And where doth the Scripture call the Blood of God Humane , or Human Nature ? &c. It is plain enough from hence , That G. Whitehead's Exception lay against the word Human , which he explains by Earthly , to shew he took it in that signification wherein it is derived , ab●Humo , from the Ground or Earth ; in which sence it is not a fit or proper Term to express the Blood of God , or the Soul of Christ , nay , nor his outward Man by : For his outward Body , which was nailed to the Cross , was not of a Meer Earthly Extraction ; there was more of Divinity even in that Body than in the Bodies of other men , which rendred it too Heavenly to be called Humane or Earthly . But though G. Whitehead rejected the word Humane or Earthly , with respect to Christ's Manhood and Holy Nature , and to the Blood of God , wherewith he purchased his Church , and could not admit that his Soul was put to death ( though it , with the Body , was made an Offering for Sin , and so it is , in a figurative manner of speaking , said , that he poured it out to death ) yet he never denied the Manhood of Christ , nor the sufferings thereof , both inwardly and outwardly , nor the virtue , merit and efficacy of those sufferings ; Nor is there any thing in those words of his which G. Keith hath quoted , that imports he did . But in the progress of his Answer to I. Owen in the next page , mentioning both the Travel and Sufferings of Christ's Soul under the Burden of Man's Transgression , and the suffering of his Body , under the violence of the wicked hands , to death , and the shedding of his Blood , &c. he adds , We desire all may have as good an esteem of Christ , in his sufferings , as may be . Therefore G. Keith doth very unjustly , and like himself , in insinuating as if G. Whitehead had denied the Manhood of Christ. He takes some pains to excuse himself , for having formerly ( as he pretended to excuse others ) cited those words of Hilarius , Quid per Naturam Humani corpori● conceptu ex Spiritu Sancto Caro judicatur , i.e. Why is the Flesh conceived by the Holy Ghost , judged by the Nature of an Human Body . But , says he , neither Hilarius nor I judged that the Body , though conceived of the Holy Ghost , was any part of the substance of the Holy Ghost . No more , say I , do we : Yet being conceived by the Holy Ghost , through the overshadowing of the Power of the Most High , that Body was more Pure and Heavenly , than the Bodies of other Men , and above the Epithet Humane or Earthly . The Book he mentions , in which , he says , he cited those words of Hilarius , which he calls , The True Christ owned , I do not remember I have ever seen . But in another Book of his , called The Rector Corrected , Printed the next year after that , viz. in 1680. he gives the same sentence out of Hilarius , and tells us . p. 29. Hilarius saith , concerning the Body of Christ , that was born of the Virgin , Iesus Christ was not formed by the Nature of Humane Conception , and that the Original of his Body , is not of an Humane Conception . And as there he spake for Hilarius , so in p. 27. speaking for himself , he says , even the outward and visible Flesh , which he took of the Virgin , seeing it was not produced or formed by Humane Generation , but by a Divine Conception , through the Overshadowing of the Holy Ghost , and did far excel the Flesh of all other Men that ever were since ; inasmuch also , that after death , it was not subject to Corruption ; the name Humane [ Mark ] is but too mean a Title , whereby to express it ; far less should it be so called now , when it is glorified , and it is altogether Heavenly and Spiritual . Nor doth the Scripture any where give unto his Body such a name as Humane , said he then . And who would then have thought , that he would have come to plead for the word Humane , with respect to Christ's both Flesh and Soul , and condemn us for Hereticks for not using it ? But concerning the Excellency of Christ's Body , hear what he said , in the year 1678. in his Book called The way to the City of God , which now , poor man , he is quite beside , p. 131. Even according to that Birth he [ Christ ] was the Son of God , no les● than the Son of Man , as having God for his Father , as he had the Virgin Mary for his Mother . Now the Child , ( says he ) we know , doth partake an Image or Nature from both Parents ; And thus did Christ , who did partake of the Nature and Image of Man , from the Seed of Mary , but did partake of a Nature and Image much more excellent , than that of Man , in its greatest Glory , from God and his Seed , who did really sow a most divine and heavenly Seed in the Virgins Womb , which as it supplied the Males Seed , so it had much more in it , and brought forth a Birth , which as it had the true and whole Nature of Man , so , I say , it had a Perfection above it , and that not only in accidental qualities ( as men will readily confess ) but even in substance and Essence . And yet we must be now anathematized , and that by him , for denying that Body to be Humane or Earthly . He says , p. 53 , G. Whitehead 's Objection against the word Humane , as signifying Earthly , hath the same force against calling Christ Adam , coming from the Hebrew word Adamah , that signifieth Earth . From hence , first I must desire the Reader to observe , that G. Keith saw well enough where the ground of G. Whitehead's Objection lay , viz. ( as I have expressed it before ) upon the word Humane , as signifying Earthly . This shews that he is a meer Caviller , and seeks occasions to quarrel , and defame without cause . Next I must tell him , That Christ is not called Adam in a strict and proper sense , but in a figurative , with allusion to the First Man , who was of the Earth , Earthy , ( as being made of the dust of the ground ) and therefore was in a proper sense called Adam . But whereas he says , the Scripture calleth the Man Christ the Second Adam ; and that the Man Christ had not only that which was heavenly , but had even our earthly part , but without sin ; I must put him in mind , that in his Appendix to his Immediate Revelation ( for I shall be ever now and then trumping up some or other of his Old Doctrines in his way , till he will be so honest and plain , as openly to retract them ) he said , p. 226. This same Jesus , or Heavenly Man , or Second Adam , was before that Body of Flesh which he took upon him , yea from the very beginning . Look there now ; He was , it seems , the Second Adam before he took on him that Body of Flesh , yea , even from the beginning : But had he our Earthly part ? or any thing that might be called Earthly , or Humane , from the beginning ? Another of his Cavils against G. Whitehead is about Repentance ; that T. Danson having affi●med that there is a continual need of Faith and Repentance in this Life ; G. Whitehead answereth , That there is a continual need of Repentance , this I deny : for true Repentance , where it is wrought , and the fruits of it brought forth , this is unto Salvation never to be repented of , and is attended with a real forsaking of sin and transgression . These words of G. Whitehead's he says are in the same Answer to T. Danson's Synopsis . But ●e names no page : and there are about 100 pages , in that part of the Book . It was unfairly done of him ( if it was by design , and not through oversight that the Page was omitted , ) to give me the trouble , and waste of time , to turn over the Book to seek the place , which at length I have found in page 33 , 34. and find the words cited are an Answer to an Argument T. Danson brought to prove the necessity of a Continuance in Sin , or the imp●ssibility of being freed from Sin in this Life . And that G. Keith wrangles upon the Grammatical sense of the word Repentance , which he gives diversly . Whereas the place he quotes shews G. Whitehead's meaning was only , That there is no continual need of Repentance , from a necessity of continual sinning . For he says , where true Repentance is wrought , and the fruits of it brought forth , it is attended with a real forsaking of Sin and Transgression , and this is unto Salvation never to be repented of . In p. 54. Referring to his having said in the Narrative , That G. Whitehead hath allegorized away the Birth , Death , Resurrection and Coming again of Christ without us , to Judgment ; he offers some instances out of G. Whitehead's Books , which he calls Plain Proofs ; and so they are indeed , but not at all of those things for which he brings them , but of his own both Envy and Folly. First , He says , G. Whitehead allegorizes away his Birth , spoken of by Isaiah 9.6 . Vnto us a Child is born , a Son is given . This , he says , he expoundeth of Christ , born within ; He-Goats Horn , p. 51. To this I need but give him his own Answer , which he formerly gave to the Rector of Arrow in his Book called The Rector Corrected , p. 30. viz. But why may it not speak of both ( to wit , his being born outwardly , and his being born within ) the one without prejudice of the other ? Dost thou not know that Maxim , Subordinata non Pugnant ? Subordinates are not contrary . And although G. Whitehead in the place cited , from Rom. 8.29 . said , Christ was the First-born in many Brethren , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; And thereupon asked , Was not Isaiah one of these Brethren ? who had been as with Child , Isa. 26.17 . ( which place G. Keith may see how he rendred in his Immediate Revelation , Appendix p. 249. ) Yet G. Whitehead did not deny Christ's outward Birth ; but mentions his coming in the Flesh , and tells his Opponent he had belyed R. H. and him , in charging them with counting Christ's Coming in the Flesh to be but a Figure : for , says he , It was never so affirmed by us . His Second Instance is , That G. Whitehead allegorizes away Christ's Resurrection , expresly denying that Christ was bodily seen of Paul , and perverting that place in 1 Cor. 15.8 . to Christ within . For proof of this he cites only page 51. but names no Book ; which made me suppose ( and I think reasonably ) he referred to the Book he had quoted last before , which was the He-Goats Horn. But in that Book and Page , there is nothing of the matter , not so much as the name Paul , nor any Text out of his Epistle to the Corinthians . Neither know I where to seek the place . All therefore that I think fit to say to this Cavil at this time is , That if G. Whitehead had denied that Christ was bodily seen of Paul , that had not allegorized away Christ's Resurrection . I wish G. Keith don't allegorize away his own wits . Thirdly , He says , G. Whitehead allegorizeth away his Coming without us to Judgment , in these Scriptures , Mat. 16.27 , 28. 1 Thes. 4.15 , 16 , 17 , 18. for which he cites Light and Life , p. 40 , 41. But besides that these very places are already instanced , and discussed in the Narrative . G. Keith in urging that Text , Mat. 16.28 . for Christ's Coming without us to Judgment , doth as flatly contradict himself , as ever man did . For in his Way Cast up ( which he is now Casting down ) p. 143 , 144. he said , Christ himself hath taught us , that his Spiritual Coming in his Saints , is as the Son of Man ; ( and quotes this very Text for it ) Mat. 16.28 . Verily , I say unto you , there are some standing here , that shall not taste of death , till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom . Now mark , This ( says he ) cannot be meant of his last Coming at the Day of Iudgment , else it would infer that some that heard him speak these words , have not as yet tasted of death , nor shall unto the last day , which is absurd ! Therefore this Coming of the Son of Man must be his Inward and Spiritual Coming into his Saints . Can one think it any thing but judicial Blindness from God upon this Man , that makes him thus break his own Head ! Fourthly , He says , Both he and R. H. allegorize away his Burial , for which he cites , Light and Life , p. 52. and He-Goat's Horn , p. 62. perverting that Scripture , Isa. 53. He made his Grave with the wicked : He adulterates ( says G. Keith ) the True Translation , and turns it , in the wicked , &c. In p 52. of Light and Life , there is no mention of Christ's Burial ; but only he is said to be a Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World , and made his Grave with the Wicked , and with the Rich in his Death : So here the Text is rendred with the Wicked not in the wicked . The other place , in He-Goats Horn , p. 62. is R. Hubberthorn's , distinct from G. Whitehead , and it neither mentions Isa. 53. nor treats of the General Resurrection , or the Resurrection of the Body ; but only answers some Cavilling Queries , put by I. Horn , about the two Seeds , and therefore is perversly applyed by G. Keith to the Resurrection of the Body . Lastly , He says , G. Whitehead allegorizeth away the Resurrection of the Saints Bodies by his perversion of Phil. 3.21 . to a Change of the Body that the Apostles and Saints witnessed before death . But he quotes no place , neither Page nor Book , for this . But he tells us that G. Whitehead in his Real Quaker a Real Protestant , p. 105. understands that very Place of a Change of the vile , or low and humble Body , like unto the glorious Body of Christ , as a thing to come . And by this I understand that G. Keith hath sufficiently disproved the proofless Proof he brought before against G. Whitehead , by bringing this for him ; so that I need say no more to it . That which I would observe to the Reader is , that G. Keith of all men is most unjust in charging G. Whitehead with allegorizing , who has indulged himself so far in that way of Writing , that scarce Origen himself has abounded more in Allegories . From Allegories he proceeds to give some of G. Whitehead's Contradictions , as he would have them to be taken ; of which he gives two or three Instances , how idle and improper , will easily be seen . The First he assigns is , That G. Whitehead in his Light and Life . p. 69. thinks him a very Blind and Ignorant Man , that reckons Bodies Celestial and Terrestrial to be all one in Matter and Substance ; and yet the same G. Whitehead in Malice of the Independent Agent , p. 17. owns that Christ's Body now in Heaven is the same in substance he had on Earth : So by his own words ( says G. Keith ) he hath declared himself to be a Blind and Ignorant Man , and yet Infallible , otherwise by his own word No True Minister . But hold a little : Did G. Whitehead ever call or own Christ's Body now in Heaven , or while it was on Earth , to be Terrestrial , or of the Earth ? If he did not , G. Keith is clearly out with his idle pretence of Contradiction . Hath he forgotten what he told Cotton Mather in his Serious Appeal , p. 23. That Contradictions lie not betwixt two Particulars , nor two Vniversals ; but one Particular , and another Vniversal : And that a Contradiction is not betwixt two Positives ; but the One Positive , the Other Negative . And that is not enough neither ; for in his Truth 's Defence , p. 191. he puts his Opponent I. A. in mind of a Rule in his School Logick , That Propositions are not contradictory , although the one be Affirmative , and the other Negative , unless they be in ordine ad idem , in order to the same , and in regard of the same Circumstances of Time , Place , Condition , &c. Now let him make out his Contradictions , if he can , according to these Maxims , who hath already blamed G. Whitehead ( and that but just now ) for denying Christ's Body to be Terrestrial , or Earthly , and therefore refusing to call it Humane . Another Contradiction he pretends to find in G. Whitehead is , that in a late Printed half Sheet , called , The Christian Faith , he owns Christ to be both God and Man , &c. and yet , says he , it is proved in the above Narrative , that he neither owneth him to be God or Man. Here G. Keith brings his own Narrative to prove that wha that Narrative says is true ; Is not that p●etty ? Whereas what he has charged G. Whitehead with in that Narrative , is denyed , and rejected as false ; and the Proofs he has pretended to bring out of G. Whitehead's Books , upon a due Examination , prove to be but G. Keith's Perversions and Misconstructions of G. VVhitehead's Words , as from the former Part of this Discourse , will I believe appear . The like Method he takes in the following Instance of Contradiction , referring to his Narrative for Proof . And in his Fourth and Last Instance , p. 55. ( which is of G. VVhitehead's signing among others ) a Treatise against Oaths , wherein it is said , We look upon it to be no less than a presumptuous tempting of God , to summon him as a Witness , not only to our Terrene , but Trivial business ; &c. and his now admitting it lawful to declare the Truth in the presence of God , &c. He seems to put no difference between summoning God as a VVitness , and speaking the Truth in the Presence of God , who is VVitness of the Truth spoken ; and yet he might have seen , in the place he cites , what was meant by summoning God as a VVitness , viz. That it is vain and insolent to think that a Man , when he pleaseth , can make the great God of Heaven a Witness , or a Judge , in any Matter , to appear by some signal Approbation or Judgment , to help or forsake him , as the Truth or Falseness of his Oath requires , when he saith , So help me God. If G. Keith will not see a difference betwixt speaking with Impre●ation , and without , others do ; and that that difference destroys his pretended Contradiction . In p. 55. He has an envious Fling at G. Fox , from whom he suggests G. Whitehead ( and many others ) did receive unchristian Doctrine , and he mentions a Paper of G. Fox's , directed to all People in Christendom , &c. Which , he says , hath very unsound and unchristian Doctrine concerning Christ's Flesh. This Paper I have not seen , nor heard of before , that I remember . How faithfully he recites out of it , I know not . But this I observe from what he cites , that whereas he says , by Christs Flesh G. Fox meaneth not his outward Flesh , the very first Words , he cites , are , Christ , according to the Flesh crucified : Was not that his outward Flesh that was Crucified ? 'T is true , G. Fox says there ( as G. Keith cites him ) It was never corrupted . But that doth not prove he did not mean the outward Flesh : For I hope G. Keith will not say ; That , that ever corrupted . But surely , G. Keith might have forborn falling thus foully on G. Fox , for unsound and unchristian Doctrine , now that he is gone to Rest , considering how highly he writ of him , while he was living . For in his Rector corrected , p. 211. he said , not only that the Lord had made G. Fox a worthy Instrument unto us , and among us , ( and he hoped , yet should , unto many more ) but , that he was safe in the hand of him that holdeth the seven Stars , and the seven golden Candlesticks in his right Hand ; And ( said he to the Rector ) All thy malicious Reviling and slanderous Defamation of him , cannot diminish any thing from that true Honour , wherewith the Lord hath honoured him , and other faithful Labourers with him , whom the Lord hath raised up in this Day of the Appearance of his great and mighty Power . Can G. Keith read this without Blushing , to see how he is repeating the Rector's malicious Reviling , and slanderous Defamation of G. Fox , and other faithful Labourers with him , that he might try if he could diminish that true Honour wherewith the Lord hath honoured G. Fox , which he told the Rector he could not ? I gather from G. Keith's Words , that this Paper of G. Fox's , which he charges with very unsound and unchristian Doctrine , is of older Date than his Book in Answer to the Rector . Is he not ashamed , so openly to contradict himself , as to charge a Man , that he was guilty of very unsound and unchristian Doctrine , at the same time that he had proclaimed him such a worthy Instrument of the Lord 's making , and had affirmed he was then safe in the Hand of him , that holdeth the seven Stars , and the seven golden Candlesticks in his right Hand ? In p. 56. Having done with G. Whitehead , he falls upon W. Penn again , first , For some Passages which he calls unsound and scandalous , and then for some Contradictions , as he would make them . The First Passage he brings against him is out of his Rejoynder to J. Faldo , p. 179 , 180. about the Excommunication of Robert Norwood by Sidrach Sympson , an eminent Preacher among the Independents . Where W. Penn ( not to defend Norwood , but to shew Fald● that he had dealt by the Quakers , somewhat like as Sympson had done by Norwood ) sets down Norwood's Opinion , and Sympsons Charge against him upon it . Norwood it seems denied the Locality of Heaven and Hell ; and believed the Soul to have been breathed from God , and therefore assigned to it , something more of Divinity than the usual opinion doth . Sympson stretched this , to be a denial of any Heaven and Hell at all ; and a rendring the Soul , God it self . W. Penn shewing how severely Norwood was dealt with only for Opinion , added ( in a Parenthesis ) and that not very offensive . This Expression G. Keith catches hold of , and deals by W. Penn , as Sympson did by Norwood , that is , he stretches it to the worst Construction he could make , and far beyond what it could bear . For , whereas by the Word Locality of Heaven and Hell , it is probable no more was intended than that Heaven and Hell were not certain particular Places , or parts of the World set out , bounded and limited to any certain and determinate Dimensions ( as the Heathen Poets described their Elysium to be ) G. Keith would represent W. Penn , as thinking it not very offensive to deny , that Christ's Body that was raised from the Dead , is in any Heaven , that is , an outward place , or without us . And then stretches out his Throat , with a loud Appeal to all sincere Christians , that this is really so offensive , that the denying of that one Truth ( of such a Locality I suppose he does not mean , but of Christ's Body not being in any Heaven without us ) is a plain denial of one of the greatest Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith , and so makes void the whole , to any that holds such a damnable Opinion ; which I am perswaded Rob. Norwood did not hold , and I am con●ident W. Penn never dreamt of . For though he said of Norwood's Opinion , it is not very offensive , as he understood it , and compared with what Sympson represented it : Yet his calling it not very offensive , shews he held it to be offensive , and was offended at it . His Cavil upon the other part of Norwood's Opinion , by which he would reflect upon W. Penn is , that the Soul of Man is a created Being , and hath nothing of Divinity essential to it , p. 57. Norwood's Opinion , as W. Penn mentioned it , has no such Word as essential in it : He only said , he believed the Soul to have been breathed from God , thereby assigning to it something more of Divinity than the usual Opinion doth . And G. Keith here acknowledges , That the Divine Power that made the Soul of Man , is in it , and operateth in it more manifestly , than in the inferiour Creatures . Therefore he might have spared all this Cavil . But he has not yet done with Norwood , because he is not yet willing to have done with VV. Penn , Norwood , in his Answer to Sympson's Excommunication , ( who had charged him with withdrawing himself from the People of God ) said , Are none the People of God , but your selves ? This VV. Penn said was Argumentum ad hominem to I. Faldo , who had represented the Quakers as worse than the Heathens and Mahometans . G. Keith catches at this too , and reckons ( though without his Host ) this is as good an Argument for him against VV. Penn , and the Yearly Meeting that denied him , because they call themselves the Church of Christ ; as if , says he , they were the only Church of Christ. He once thought them so , no doubt ; and if he does not think them so now , he must think some other Body of People to be it : For as Christ has a Church , so he has but one Church in the World. I speak not of particular Gatherings with respect to Place , but of all that are of one and the same Fellowship in all Places , throughout the whole World. Neither speak I with respect to particular Persons , but with respect to a gathered People , ( which is both the common , and the true Notion of a Church . ) That we , the People called Quakers , are the Church of Christ , is no Presumption in us to affirm , nor ought to be offensive to others to hear , since we therein claim no more to our selves , than every other Body of professed Christians challenge to themselves ; namely , that they and they only ( as a gathered People ) are the true Church of Christ. But for this , Protestantism had never been , neither Name nor Thing . Had the Protestants believed the Church of Rome to be the true Church of Christ , they would not have withdrawn from her Communion ; as neither would the several sorts of Protestants have successively separated from one another , had they believed those they separated from , to be the true Church of Christ. For who ( but G. Keith ) would be so Mad , to disjoyn himself from that People , which he believed to be the true Church of Christ ? Yet I do not think , that of the several sorts of Professors of Christianity , who have left those Religious Societies or Fellowships they were once of , any were so devoid of Charity , as to think there were no good Persons , none that feared God , none that sought and breathed after him , and sincerely desired the Knowledge of his Will , that they might do it , among those People whom they parted from . But that honesty , and those good desires , in such particular Persons , though it had and hath acceptance with the Lord , and was , and is answered by him with sweet and comfortable Discoveries of himself unto them ; yet it makes not those Gatherings , or Bodies of People , amongst which such particular Persons are , to be the Church of Christ. So we ( whom the World calls Quakers ) whom the Lord God hath raised up in this Age , and gathered by the invisible Arm of his Divine Power , to be a peculiar People to himself , though we dare not but own , and declare our selves to be the Church of Christ ; yet we have always acknowledged , and do , that as of old , in every Nation , He that feared God , and wrought Righteousness , was accepted with him , Acts 10.35 . So now , in every Profession of the Christian Religion , he or she that fears God and worketh Righteousness , that hungers and thirsts after the Lord , with desire to know more of his Will , that they may do it , and who walk faithfully with him , according to what they already know of him ; such are accepted with him , according to the Sincerity he finds in them , though clouded in their Understandings , through Education or Tradition . Such as these we do not deny to belong to Christ , and to be dear unto him , and taken care of by him : Yet that makes not any of those intire Bodies of People , amongst any of whom these are , to be the true Church of Christ G. Keith mentions also these Words , as out of a Paper of Solomon Eccles , The Quakers are in Truth , and none but they . I have not seen that Paper , that I remember , nor know how fairly he hath cited the Words ; but before G. Keith out of a pettish Spleen , forsook the Quakers , he ( I suppose ) would have said the same , The Quakers , so called , are in the Truth , no Body of People that we know of are so inwardly gathered to the Truth , as the People called Quakers are . He also flings at us a saying of E. Burrough's to the People called Quakers , thus , The Tabernacle of God is with you , and his dwelling Place is among you , and only among you is God known , p. 64. of his Works . E. Burrough's Words are , You who are called Quakers , who are so , not only in Word , nor in shew , but in Life and in Power , whom God hath called and chosen to Place his Name in , and to take up his Habitation among , above all the Families of the Earth ; the Tabernacle of God is with you , &c. This also is very true , if it be truly understood : For though the Lord is good and gracious to all , and doth answer the Breathings and good Desires of the honest hearted , and doth visit them in loving Kindness , and extend of his Mercies and Goodness unto them , in every Profession , and amongst every gathered People ; yet his Tabernacle and Dwelling Place is with and among his peculiar People , and he is not so known among any other People , as an imbodied People , in that full , inward , spiritual , living , sensible , experimental Manner and Degree , as he is known among us his Poor despised People called Quakers , whom G. Keith has taken all this Pains to wreak his Revenge and Malice upon , and to stir up and engage all other People against , if he could . But the Lord , who sees the Wickedness of his Heart , knows how ●oth to reward him , and to preserve us , in whom alone we trust . Out of the same Book of W. Penn , G. Keith picks another Passage , which he says , is either perfect Nonsense , or Antichristian Doctrine ; and because he cannot tell which , he concludes , or rather indeed both . It is a question whether perfect Nonsense may be properly called Doctrine either Christian , or Antichristian . But upon due Consideration , I think , he will find neither Nonsense , nor Antichristian Doctrine in it . It is in p. 310. of W. Penn's Rejoynder , to I. Faldo , and it is given as a Reason ( among many others ) why the Body of Christ , which was nailed to the Cross , simply considered by it self , and abstractly from that Divine Life and Power which dwelt in it , should not be called the Christ , viz. Because , that Flesh of Christ is called a Vail , but he himself is within the Vail , which is the Holy of Holies , whereinto Christ Jesus our High Priest hath entred , Heb. 10.20 , 21. And as he descended into , and passed through a Suffering State in his Fleshly Appearance , and returned into that State of Immortality and Eternal Life and Glory , from whence he humbled himself , which was and is the Holy of Holies ( then obscured or hid by his Flesh or Body , the Vail , while in the World : ) So must all know a Death to their Fleshly Ways and Religions , yea their Knowledge of Christ himself after the Flesh , or they stick in the Vail , and never enter into the Holy of Holies , nor come to know him in any spiritual Relation , as their High and Holy Priest that abides therein . First , Where 's the Nonsense here , the perfect Nonsense , this great Iudge of Sense complains of ? Why , if he cannot find it , he 'l make it , rather than not Cavil . For says he , His saying Christ hath entred into the Holy of Holies within the Vail , and that Vail is his Flesh , and that Holy of Holies is himself . What Nonsense is this ? says he , VVas not Christ always in himself ? But where did W. Penn say , That Holy of Holies is Christ himself ? Find me those Words in the whole Paragraph . Nay does he not plainly say otherwise . Does he not expresly call that State of Immortality . and Eternal Life and Glory , from whence Christ humbled himself , and into which he returned , the Holy of Holies ? Read the Words again . And as he descended into , and past through a Suffering State in his fleshly Appearance , and returned into that State of Immortality , and Eternal Life and Glory , from whence he humbled himself , which was and is the Holy of Holies : So , &c. Pray , what is the Antecedent here to the Relative VVhich , but the Word State , going before ? G. Keith is too well versed in Grammar , not to know and see this ; I would he were but half so well versed in Honesty : For this is a plain dishonest Perversion , for which he deserves , at least , the Contempt and Censure of every honest Reader , who by this Instance may see the ways G. Keith takes to make his Opponent speak Nonsense or Antichristian Doctrine . He goes on with the like Honesty in his second Note upon these Words of VV. Penn thus , His entring in within the Vail of his Flesh , is either perfect Nonsense , or it hath this Sense , That he hath put off his Body be had on Earth , and is s●parated from it . This is a plain Perversion also : For his entring in within the Va●l is clearly explained , by those Words of his returning into that State of Immortality , and Eternal Life and Glory ( called the Holy of Holies ) which he was in before he humbled himself to take on him that Flesh , which was called a Vail , because it vailed or hid from Men the Glory of his Godhead that dwelt in it . Both Vail and Holy of Holies , are Metaphorical Expressions , borrowed from the Legal Tabernacle : And as there , in the Type , they were used to set forth a difference of Places , wih respect to Degrees of Holiness : So here , in the Antitype , they are used to set forth a difference of States , with respect to Degrees of Glory . The State of Christ's Humiliation ; when he appeared in the form of a Servant , in that Body of Flesh which was called The Vail , was very glorious : But the State of his Exaltation into that Immortality , Eternal Life and Glory , which he had with his Father before the World began , which is called , The Holy of Holies , is a far more glorious State. Yet doth not his entring into this State imply , that he has put off his Body he had on Earth , and is separated from it : For that Body , being glorified , is in Heavenly Glory with him . But it is probable he raised this Cavil , as to defame VV. Penn , so also to introduce a Story , which hereupon he tells , of one R. Young in Pensilvania , who he says affirmed this . But that he did so , G. Keith gives no Proof , but his own Word , which is justly , in things of this kind , of no Credit with me , who have so often found and proved him false . He makes a Third note upon those words of W. Penn before cited , and that with as little Honesty as before . For from W. Penn's saying ; All must know a Death to their Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh , G. Keith says , It is plain from his words , that he hath this unsound sense of it , that they must know a Death to the Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh , as the Flesh signifieth the Flesh of Christ , as he came in the Flesh. But as this Comment is not very perfect sense ( and yet I will not call it perfect Nonsense ) so it is plain that he perverts W. Penn's words to a wrong sense , and therein Abuses him . For W. Penn's words are . All must know a Death to their Fleshly ways and Religions ( which word , [ Fleshly ways and Religions ] G. Keith left out , see his Abominable Falshood and Treachery ) Yea , their knowledge of Christ himself after the Flesh , &c. Which words , Fleshly ways and Religions , shew what sort of Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh , he meant all must know a Death to , viz. Their Fleshly Knowledge ( as Fleshly is opposed to Spiritual ) or that Knowledge which they in their Carnal Minds have comprehended , or gathered in , and in which too many rest , without pressing after the Divine and Spiritual Knowledg of the End of Christ's coming in the Flesh , and the Blessed effects thereof , and manifold Benefits that accrue thereby , to them that receive him in his Spiritual Appearance . But how malicious a mind must he have , who from those words would infer , that W. Penn would have all to Die to the Knowledge of Christ after the Flesh , so as not to know that he ever came in the Flesh. In p. 58. G. Keith cites a Passage out of a Book of W. Penn's , called Truth Exalted , and with all rents a Quotation he gave before in his Narrative , p. 21. out of a Book called The Christian Quaker , ( which the Reader may find answered before ) From both which he infers , that he and G. Whitehead , and many other Teachers among the Quakers , have no other Notion of Christ , but an Inward Principle . This is such a known Falshood , and Apparent Slander , Contradicted by almost all our Books , and so fully disproved in many places of this Book , that it neither deserves nor n●eds any other Answer here , than a bare Denyal . To his unjust Charge of unsound Passages , he adds two or three seeming Contradictions , which he would fasten upon W. Penn. The First is , That in A Treatise of Oaths ( mentioned before ) he is earnest against all Oaths under the Gospel , and yet in his Reason against Railing , p. 180. he useth ( saith G. Keith ) the greatest Oath that ever was used among the Jews . The Instance he gives is in these words , directed to T. Hicks . O that these heavy things might not be laid to thy Charge , for so sure as God liveth ( there 's his Catch ) great will be the wrath that shall follow ; Yea , God will visit for these unrighteous Dealings ; And I testify to thee from God's living Spirit , if thou desist not , and come not to deep Repentance , the Lord will make thee an example of his Fury , and thy Head shall not go down to the Grave in Peace , &c. This I take to be a meer Cavil , and a very weak one too . For first , That form of Speech [ as the Lord liveth ] though it was sometim●● used among the Jews of Old , as an Oath , yet it was not always so ; nor do I think G. Keith will take it to be intended for an Oath , in all those places where he Reads it in the Bible ; as particularly in 1 Sam. 25 , 26. Where Abigail used it to David Concerning his Enemies . See also Chap. 26.10 . and Chap. 29.6 . 1 Ki. 17.12 . and 18.10 . 2 Ki. 22.4.6 . and Chap. 4.30 . Iob. 27.2 . with many other places in the Books of Samuel and the Kings , where it is used sometimes singly [ as the Lord liveth , ] sometimes with this Addition , [ and as thy Soul liveth ; ] Yea , and sometimes , this latter Expression [ as thy Soul liveth ] is used without the former , as in 1 Sam. 1.26 . and 17.55 . 2 Sam. 11.11 , 14 , 19. Yet neither with it , nor without it , was intended for an Oath . Secondly , There is a difference between those two forms of Speech [ As the Lord liveth ] and [ so sure as God liveth ] for though the former was formerly used as an Oath , yet the latter never was so used or taken ; but is only a Persuasive Form of Speech , used to set forth the unquestionable Certainty of the thing delivered , from the acknowledged Certainty that God lives . In which sense , and no other , it is evident W. Penn there used it ; to express the Assurance he had of the Truth , and Certainty of the Testimony he then gave against , and to Tho. Hicks . But none , I think ( besides G. Keith ) would be so extravagant as to think , that in these words W. Penn intended to take his Oath , that the wrath of God , which should follow those unrighteous dealings of T. Hicks would be great . So to think were great Folly. How mean a Cavil then is this ? And how meer a Caviller hath G. Keith shewn himself therein ? The latter part of W. Penn's words before cited , G. Keith says , imply some Prophecy against T. Hicks , which he suggests was not fulfilled . But he should have observed that what was there spoken of T. Hicks was Conditional , if he desisted not , and came no● to Repentance . That he desisted is certain ; that he did not ●ome to Repentance , I suppose G. Keith will not adventure to say , that he did come to Repentance , I have heard , which that G. Keith also may do , I wish . His second Instance of Contradiction , he gives in p. 59. out of two Books of W. Penn's , One called Iudas and the Iews , p. 13. the other , An Address to Protestants , p. 152. in the second Edition ( p. 151. in the first Edition ) the Passage is concerning the Power of the Church , from those words of Christ , Mat. 18.17 . Go , tell the Church . This place in both those Books , W. Penn expounded of Private Offences , or Personal Injuries , between Brethren , which has no shew of Contradiction in it . 'T is true that in the former , he inferr'd from those words of Christ , That Christ gave his Church Power both to try and reject Spirits . In the other he denies that those words of Christ do Impower the Church to define and Impose upon all People , under Temporal and Eternal Punishment , Articles of Faith , &c. What Contradiction is in this ? He knows Propositions are not Contradictory , unless they be ad idem . But is it the same thing to try and reject Spirits , and to define and impose Articles of Faith under Temporal and Eternal Punishment ? His note upon this , shews his Falshood , his Malice and his Weakness . He says , Here you see he ( W. Penn ) makes the Church Power very low , as by Church he means the Church of England , or any other Church beside the Church of the Quakers . But , says he , When he means the Church of the Quakers , from the same Text , he Magnifies her Power as great as ever Bellarmine , or any other Iesuit , Magnified the Church of Rome . His Malice in the Comparison is obvious of it self , and his Weakness in the Cavil . His Falsness appears by this , That W. Penn in neither of those places named , either the Church of England , the Quakers Church ( as he calls it ) or the Church of any other sort of People : But the Church of Christ indefinitely , leaving the Application to the Reader . And the moderation that Book pleads for , is a sufficient Confutation of this Cavil . He adds a 3 d Instance of Contradiction , as lame as the former . He takes the first part of it out of the Address to Protestants , p 246. of the second Edition ( p. 242. of the first Edition ) where W. Penn said , them that are angry for God , passionate for Christ , that call names for Religion , and fling S●ones , and persecute for Faith , may tell us they are Christians , if they will , but no Body would know them to be such by their Fruits ; to be sure they are no Christians of Christs making . To this G. Keith opposes some expressions he has pickt up out of two of W. Penn's Books , which he thinks proceeded from Anger and Passion . But what if they did not , but from a Iust and Godly Zeal against Deceivers and Deceit , as it appears they did ? Does he think to prove Contradictions upon precarious Propositions ? Such weak Attempts need no Refutation . I am come at length to his Charge against me in particular , which in p. 60. he brings in under this Title , Some of Tho. Ellwood's vile and gross Errors , truly collected out of his Book , fasly called , Truth Defended . How truly collected we shall see anon . He premises that he shall pass by at present , my many Forg●ries , and Perversions , and Abuses against him , in that last Book of mine , and my two Former ; to the first , of which he says he has answered in Print . From hence I hope , he will give me leave to Infer , that he does not pretend to have answered my two last yet ; so that I may live in hopes of hearing from him once again , at least , if not oftner ; And the rather for that he has Collected , he says , out of my two last Abusive Books ( as he calls them ) above a hundred manifest Perversions , Forgeries and Falsities that I have heaped up against him which , ( says he ) I have in readiness to shew , and which I keep by me for a reserve , untill I find an Occasion to Publish them , either by Print , or otherwise . He 's a wary Warriour , one may see by this : He won't hazard all at ●●e Battel ; but keeps a reserve to Recruit his Forces , if he should happen to come by the worst , as it is more than ten to one he will. He mustered up fifty out of my First Book ( called An Epistle ) and sent them forth against me , in his Seasonable Information ; Them I beat back upon himself , in my second Book called A further Discovery ( which is the first of those two he has not replied to ) so that he had need re-inforce them , if he can , and make good his Old Charge , before he exhibites a New one . And when that is done with , then let us have the t'other hundred , and by that time perhaps he 'll have pickt some more out of this . The Errors he now charges me with , are in number Ten , and all pretended to be taken out of my last Book , called Truth Defended . The first he gives thus , The Blood that came out of Christ's side , its shedding , was not done to compleat the Offering , because before that , Christ said , Consummatum est , it is finished , p. 99. Note , says G. Keith , This is as much against his Death , for before his Death , he said , It is Finished . Now Reader , take my words : For these he has given are not mine , but his own ; by which I suppose , he would insinuate , that I hold the Offering or Sacrifice to have been compleated , before Christ's Death ? My words were these , This offering up himself ( and giving himself a Ransom for all ) included all his sufferings , both inward and outward , and made it a compleat and perfect Sacrifice ; in which his Blood was Comprehended , and concerned , as well as his Flesh , before his side was Pierced by the Spear . For he had pronounced that great word ( Consummatum est ) It is Finished , had bowed his Head , and given up the Ghost , before his side was Pierced by the Spear . Observe here now , I not only said he had pronounced that great word , It is Finished , but also expresly , that he had bowed his Head , and given up the Ghost , before his Side was Pierced . G. Keith pretending to repeat my words , leaves out that Clause [ he had bowed his Head and given up the Ghost ] and then infers that my making the offering to be compleated , upon his saying It is Finished , before his Side was pierced ( which was no done , and which I say was not done , till after he was Dead ) is a making the offering to be compleated before he was Dead . What shall I call this Dealing of his , a Forgery , Falsity , or Perversion ? A manifest Perversion to be sure it is , and that a gross and vile one . This is the way he takes to prove me guilty of vile and gross Errors . And at this rate , what Man living , can escape the lash of his false Tongue ! Is this man fit to charge me with Perversions , Forgeries and Falsities ( not by the Dozen , nor yet by the Score , but ) by the Half Hundred , and Hundred ! The second gross Error he charges on me , P. 61. is , That I Iustify G. Whitehead's Doctrine and words , denying that the Material Blood of the Beasts , were Types of Christ's Material Blood , and yet Fallaciously seem to own it , p. 106. How does this Charge hang together , that I deny it , and yet seem to own it ? If I own it , how am I guilty of a vile and gross Error ? If I seem to own it , so that he could not tell whether I own it or deny it , why would he be so forward to Charge me with vile and gross Error in denying it , before he was come to a certainty that I did deny it ? Does not this shew his Injustice , as well as his Folly ? But besides , both this and the Third ( viz. That I justify W. Penn's Doctrine , saying , the one Seed cannot be an outward thing ; for one outward thing cannot be the proper sign of another outward thing ) are already discussed in this Answer to his Narrative , where he hath repeated these Charges against W. Penn and G. Whitehead , and I ( as before ) have endeavoured to free them from his Perversions and Abuses . The Fourth Error he bestows on me is , That I deny that the Gift of the Divine Grace or Power within , is the real Purchase of Christ's Obedience unto Death ; arguing , that if so , that would not be the Free Gift of God , p. 121. Here are two notable Pieces of Art , he has shewed in the framing of this Error . First , He has changed my VVords from [ The Gift of the promised Seed ] to [ The Gift of the Divine Grace or Power within : ] Which quite alters the Sence of the Place . For whereas I inferred , from his Words , that the Gift of the promised Seed was not a free Gift , or did not proceed from the free Love of God to Man ( contrary to Iohn 3.16 . ) but was the real purchase of Christ's most holy and perfect Obedience unto Death , when he came ( which was the Error and Absurdity I drew upon him from his own Words ) He , to slip from under that , changes the Words , as I shewed before , from the Gift of the promised Seed , to the Gift of the Divine Grace and Power within , referring to Rom. 5.15 . Eph. 4.7 , 8. and Psalm 68.18 . which latter Places mention Christ's giving Gifts unto Men , when he ascended up on High , after his Death and Resurrection : So turning the Free Gift of God , in promising the Seed , and giving his only begotten Sun ; to the Gift of Divine Grace and Power within , which Christ the promised Seed gave , when he ascended up on high , and then charges me with Error , in denying this Gift , given by Christ , to be the real purchase of his Obedience unto Death ; whereas it was the Gift of Christ himself , as the promised Seed , that I spake of , which was the Effect of God's free Love , not the purchase of Christ's Death . The other piece of his Art is , in turning this upon me , saving , He denies : Whereas I neither denyed , nor affirmed , but shewed him the Absurdity and Error of his own Words . The Fifth Error he assigns me is , That I blame him for saying Christ's Body is the same in substance it was on Earth , p. 129. I desire the Reader to examine that Place in my Book , and he will see that I do not blame G. Keith for saying Christ's Body is the same in substance it was on Earth . But I expose his Confusion and Folly , in saying , it is the same in substance that it was on Earth , and yet saying , It is no more a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , but a pure , ethereal , or Heavenly Body , as if Christ's Body , when on Earth , had not been a Body of Flesh , Blood and Bones , but an Ethereal or Airy Body : Or , as if Flesh , Blood and Bones were not of the substance of an outward , visible , tangible Body , such as was that which was nailed to the Cross at Ierusalem . The Sixth Error he allots me is , That I deny that Christ came by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary , p. 136. In this , as in the rest , he is extreamly unjust . In this place also we treated of Christ , as he was the promised Seed . And he undertaking to prove ( in p. 22. of his Book called The True Copy , &c. ) from Mat. 1.1 . That the Seed of Promise came by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary , I pinched him up close with his own words in that same Book of his , p. 20. where he had said , It is neither the Body of Christ , strictly considered , nor the Soul of Christ , strictly considered , without the Godhead , nor the Godhead strictly considered , without the Soul and Body of the Manhood of Christ , that is the Seed of the Woman , or Seed of Abraham , but the Godhead and Manhood jointly considered , and most gloriously united . Hereupon I shewed him , that in urging Mat. 1.1 . to prove the Seed of Promise ( as he had defined it ) came by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary , he shewed himself to be of a corrupt Judgment , and contradicted his former Saying . I was so favourable before , as only to say , Should I not serve him right , if from hence I should conclude against him , that he holds the Seed of Promise , as consisting of Godhead and Manhood united , to have come by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary , since he blamed S. C. for denying it ? But I think I have just cause now to set it harder on him , and charge it home upon him , as a vile and gross Error , That he holds , that Christ ( who he says ( in the same place ) was the Son of God by an eternal Generation before the World began ) the promised Seed ( which , he says , is neither the Body of Christ , strictly considered , nor the Soul of Christ , strictly considered , without the Godhead , nor the Godhead strictly considered , without the Soul and Body of the Manhood of Christ , but the Godhead and Manhood join●ly considered , and most gloriously united ) that Christ , the promised Seed , or Seed of the Woman thus defined , did come by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary . And I hope he will think himself , or that others however will think him obliged , to clear himself of this Error , which is vile and gross enough , before he take upon him to arraign others . The Seventh Error he abuses me with is , That I pervert the Apostle's Creed , in that Clause , Conceived of the Holy Ghost , p. 138. by which I infer , that Christ came not by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary ; and in so doing , he says , I make the Holy Ghost to be the ma●erial Cause of that Generation ; as if that Holy Thing conceived , were of the substance of the Holy Ghost ; whereas the Holy Ghost was the Efficient Cause thereof , but not the Material Cause . Perversion is so natural to him , that he can do nothing ( at this sort of work ) without it . That he might fasten an Error upon me , he perverts , yea al●ers the words of that Creed . For the words of that Creed ( in that Clause ) are , Conceived by the Holy Ghost , ( and so I gave them in my Book ) he has changed the word by to of , and renders it , Conceived of the Holy Ghost . Whereas the word by imports the Holy Ghost to have been the Efficient Cause , that by vertue of which Mary conceived : But the word of , imports him to have been the Material Cause , as if the thing conceived had been taken of the Matter or substance of the Holy Ghost . To avoid which I , following the express words of that Creed , said , the common Creed , called , The Apostles , says , Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost , though born of the Virgin Mary . Now how shameless is this Man , to charge me with vile and gross Error in perverting the Apostle's Creed in that Clause , Conceived of the Holy Ghost : When it plainly appears from his own Book , that it is he himself that has altered , and thereby perverted , the words of that Creed ; and not I ! Besides , he is altogether unjust in raising this Cavil : for he knows that ( in this Place , as well as in the other , upon which he grounded his last pretended Error , where I defended S. Crisp against R. Cobbet and him ) I expresly spake of Christ , not only with respect to his Body , which was born of the Virgin , but as he was the Son of God by an Eternal Generation , as he was conceived by the Overshadowing of the Power of the Highest , as he was the Promised Seed , which G. Keith had confessed was not the Manhood only , but the Godhead and Manhood united : And in these respects it was that I argued , he was not produced by Coagulation ( which was one of Cobbet's Terms ) nor came by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary ( which was another of Cobbet's Terms . ) But before I part with G. Keith on this Head , let us see whether He , who is so forward to brand me with this Error , has not himself trod too near that , which he charges me with . For in his Book called , The way to the City of God , p. 131. He says , Even according to that Birth He ( Christ ) was the Son of God , no less than the Son of Man , having God for his Father , as he had the Virgin Mary fo● his Mother . ( But as he was the Son of God , having God for his Father , was he produce● by Coagulation . or did he come by Generation of and from the Properties of Man in Mary ? ) Now the Child , says he , we know , doth partake an Image or Nature from both Parents ; and thus did Christ , who did partake of the Nature and Image of Man , from the Seed of Mary , but did partake of a Nature and Image much more excellent , than that of Man , in its greatest glory , from God and his Seed , who did really sow a most divine and heavenly Seed ( is not that a Substance ? ) in the Virgins Womb , which as it supplied the Males Seed , so it had much more in it , and brought forth a Birth , which as it had the true and whole Nature of Man , so , I say , it had a Perfection above it , and that not only in accidental Qualities ( as men will readily confess ) but even in Substance and Essence . The Eighth Error he slanders me with , he calls , my false way of reasoning against the Man Christ's being created ; from his reasoning , if not created , therefore not Man ; by retorting , if created , therefore not God , p. 139. This is as meer a Cavil , as the former ; and both the one and the other arose from hence , that he would make the Manhood only to be Christ , without the Godhead , or else subject the Godhead to the same Condition of Generation , or Creation , with the Manhood ; either of which is an Error . This made me give him that retorting Answer , which has so much displeased him . Thus it was in my former Book . His Third Observation is That S. Crisp's denying that Jesus the Saviour was created , or calling for Scripture to prove it , doth sufficiently prove , that he understands Christ only to be God , and wholly excludes the Manhood of Christ , from being Christ , or any part of him . Doth it so , said I ? Then let G. Keith look to himself . For by retortion , I return upon him , That his holding that Iesus the Saviour was created ( which he doth by condemning S. C. for denying it ) doth sufficiently prove , that he understands Christ to be only Man , and wholly excludes the Godhead of Christ , from being Christ , or any part of him ; which to hold , is a gross and vile Error . Let him acquit himself as he can . He cannot acquit himself : therefore he is angry , and wrangles with me for retorting this on him . He says , I charge him to be deeply drenched into Socinianism . My words are , I confess , I did not think him so deeply drencht into Socinianism . He says , This is my Ignorance , — The Socinian Error is not , That Christ is a Creature , but that he is a meer Creature , viz. only Man , and not both God and Man. I was not ignorant of this ( nor am , of the folly of his Arguing , ) neither can he be ignorant , that my Answer , by retortion , implied him to hold , that Christ is not only a Creature , but a meer Creature ; only Man , wholly excluding the Godhead ; which is full Socinianism . And until he will leave Cavilling , and come down in his Stomach , and distinguish ( as he ought to do ) betwixt Christ , as he was the Son of God by Eternal Generation , the divine Word which was in the beginning with God , and which was God ; and that which he took of the Virgin ; he shall never be able to free himself from the Imputation of this Error : For so far as he makes Christ to be created , so far he makes him a meer Creature . The Ninth Error he ascribes to me , he calls , my blaming him , to make light ( so he expresses it ) of the work of Generation ( I take him to mean , Regeneration ) in comparison of Christ's Incarnation ; therefore according to him , says he , Regeneration is greater than Christ's Incarnation . Upon which he crys out , O great Blasphemy ! p. 155. In this he mistook me ( whether ignorantly , or designedly , I know not : ) for I did not intend ( nor now do ) to draw a Comparison between those two Appearances , or Manifestations of Christ , Outwardly in the Flesh at Ierusalem , and Inwardly in the Hearts of his People , so as to prefer the One to the Other ( for I have all along told him , I do not like to divide Christ. ) But the drift and scope of my words , which here he carps at , was to shew him that he had done so . As for the Charge it self , of making Regeneration greater than Christ's Incarnation , he had charged it before ( but falsly ) on W. Penn in his Narrative , p. 22. And I have Answered it already in p. 82. of his Book , to which I refer the Reader for satisfaction concerning it . His Tenth and Last Error he flings at me is , my saying that the Author of Regeneration is Christ , chiefly , as he is manifested inwardly in the heart , p. 152. My words ( which best shew my meaning ) were these . And very idle is he , in saying , Seeing the Work of Regeneration and Sanctification in the Saints , is a great Mystery , must we not own him who is the Author , and great Cause of it , to be greater ? For who ever questioned that ? We all own the Workman to be greater than the Work ; the Author and great Cause of Regeneration and Sanctification , to be greater than the Regeneration and Sanctification wrought . And this Author and great Cause of Regeneration and Sanctification , we say is Christ ; and that chiefly as he is manifested inwardly in the Heart : For he worketh it not in any , but those in whom he is so inwardly manifested . These words shew , that when I said Christ is the great Cause of Regeneration and Sanctification , chiefly as he is manifested inwardly in the Heart , it was with respect to him , as he is the nearest and most immediate Cause thereof , and as he actually works the work of Regeneration and Sanctification in the Heart , and brings it forth . And though G. Keith says , This is as absurd , as to say , The Beams of the Sun that descend on the Earth , are the chief Cause of the Earths Fruitfulness , and not the Sun it self that is in the Firmament ; yet both the Absurdity and Error will prove his own , in his comparing the Inward Appearance of Christ in the Heart ( whereby the work of Regeneration and Sanctification is wrought ) to the Beams of the Sun that is in the Firmament , by which the Earth is fructified ; as if Christ were no otherwise in the Saints , than the Sun is on the Earth , viz. by its Beams . Whereas the Travail of the Apostle was , That Christ might be formed in them he writ to , Gal. 4.19 . That he might dwell in their hearts by faith , Ephes. 3.17 . And G. Keith saith expresly , Way cast up , p. 134. The word Incarnate , or made Flesh , and called by Iames the Ingrafted Word , we do really see , for it dwelleth in us . And p. 124 , 125. It is impossible ( says G. Keith ) that he could hear us , and be sensible of our Prayers , and especially of our Thoughts , if he were not immediately present in us , and with us . And in p. 123. He says , The Man Christ Jesus is really present in , and among us . — I do not mean , says he , by his external or outward Person ( for that is ascended into Heaven ) but in vertue of his divine Life and Spirit , or Soul extended into us in his divine Seed and Body , which is his heavenly Flesh and Blood , wherewith he feedeth the Souls of them that believe in him . In p. 107. He brings many Scriptures , ( as Ioh. 6.56 . and 17.23 . Rom. 8.10 . Eph. 3.17 . Col. 1.27 . 1 Cor. 13.3 , and 5. ) to prove Christs Being and Dwelling in the Saints , and that as the Word made Flesh , according to Iohn 1.14 . And in p. 111. Speaking of Christ's dwelling in the hearts of the Saints by Faith , he says , He is formed in them . Gal. 4.19 . so that they are his Mother who bring him forth by a spiritual and divine Birth , Mat. 12.49 . Is this to be compared to the Beams of the Sun that descend on the Earth ? Or did it hold forth a more immediate , and substantial Indwelling of Christ in his People ? How unsuitable then is G. Keith's Comparison ( besides the Error it discovers in his Judgment ) of the Beams of the Sun descending on the Earth , and there causing Fruitfulness in it , to Christ's working Regeneration and Sanctification in his People ? As if Christ in his Spiritual Appearance and Working , were no nearer to his People , than the Sun in the Firmament is to the Earth . What remains of his Appendix to his Narrative , at the bottom of p. 61 , and 62. being little , and to as little purpose , I designedly wave , as supposing he may probably receive an Account of it from another hand . But I shall here fetch in a Passage in p. 60. which I purposely stept over there , with intention to bring it in here . It is this . In p. 60. He says , Now before I have quite done with W. Penn , let me put him in mind of his Promise , That he would answer me in the face of the Nation : For I think I have made good my Word , that I have put him to prove his Charge against me ( that I am an Apostate ) in the face of the Nation . What need W. Penn do that , and he too . Did W. Penn so oblige himself to do it , that he must needs do it over again , after G. Keith hath been so kind to him to save him that labour , by having done it him●elf again and again , and that indeed in the face of the Nation , in every Book he has published since ? It is probable W. Penn might have done it before now , if G. Keith had not taken the work out of his hand , and shewed himself so officious and forward to do it , that he has thereby rather confirmed the apprehension I formerly had of his Meaning , when in p. 32. of his Book called The True Copy , he said , I propose this just demand to W. Penn , that — he give me an Opportunity — to make good his Charge against me , &c. namely , That he wanted but opportunity to do it himself , and thereby free W. Penn from that small undertaking . I know not how ▪ I may speed for reminding him of this . For I remember he was very angry with me before , for but gently touching it ( and I think pretty modestly ) with a [ He seems to have bespoke a publick Meeting , that ●e might have done it himself there . ] Yet this soft touch put him into such a Heat , that I doubt whether he be Cool yet . For no longer ago than the Third Month last , when he publish● his intention of Holding his Court at Turner's Hall , he was in such a Fret about it , that ( in the Postscript to his Advertisement in p. 11. of his Narrative ) he calls it , a most impulent and notorious Perversion , a Cheat and Forgery ; Me , a gross and impudent Forgerer , Wres●er and Perverter ; offers to prove me to be not only guilty ●● Gross Forgeries , and Perversions , and Antichristian Principles ( o● which the Reader hath just now heard a long List , in Ten Heads ) and not only so , but ( says he ) grosly ignorant ( in that which he pretends to have knowledge ) of Humane Learning ( and of that I can assure him I never pretended to much ; and though I love Learning well , yet I had rather be as Ignorant as he takes me to be , than as Arrogant as I take him to be . ) Neither is this all , but I am also , he says , guilty of Pedantick Trifling and Quibling , from meer Errors of the Press , not so duly corrected , yet obvious to any intelligent Reader . I confess , I think , both his Book and Himself ( under correction be it spoken ) have need enough to be duly corrected ; and that I suppose is obvious to any intelligent Reader . Now if I did happen to mistake his Meaning , in that hobling Expression of his lame ▪ Demand , of an Opportunity for him ( as his words seemed to import ) to make good the Charge against himself , I think he has sufficiently paid me off , with his Billingsgate Rhetorick , and Scottish Complements . Yet were it not that I am loath to offend him again so soon , I could tell him , that the Explanation he gives doth not sufficiently clear the sense of that Cloudy Sentence , neither hath he shewed that it was the Error of the Press , but added another , viz. when I will , for where I will. But I have done with that , le●t he tax me with Quibling . I return to p. 60. of the Narrative , where G. Keith ( having put W. Penn in mind of his Promise to prove him an Apostate , &c. which G. Keith himself hath sufficiently done ) says , And let him not put off this Work , that belongs to himself , to any Deputy , or Busie Intruder , as T. Ellwood , or I. Penington , who have already sufficiently shewed their Folly in Print . But how if T. E. and I. P. should not think they have sufficiently shewed their Folly in Print ? Will he not give them leave to satisfie themselves in that Case a little further ? He might a little consider us by himself , who hath over-sufficiently shewed his Folly in Print long since , and yet cannot refra● Scribling , though at each time he discovers more Folly than befor● : And , but that I am doubtful it would put him into a new Fret before the old one is gone off , I could shew him there is something ( even in this last sentence ) which , if it had not come from su●● a wise man as he , might have been taken for a little piece of Folly ; As where he bids W. Penn not put off this Work ( which belongs to himself ) to any Deputy , or busie Intruder . Does he take the ●ords , [ Deputy , and Intruder ] to be Synonimons Terms , I wonder ? Is it proper to call him an Intruder , that is Deputed ? Or him a Deputy , that is but an Intruder ; and that a busie one too ? If not , what means he by bidding W. Penn not put off this Work to a busie Intrud●r Does not putting off a Work from ones self to another imply a D●putation ? But enough of this ; if not too much , for my store hereaf●er , when he shall let fly at me again . He also reminds W. Penn. of ●●me word● 〈◊〉 his Christian Quaker . p. 1. which , he says , were , I was not 〈…〉 any should answer for my Faults , if any there were ; and innocent , I esteemed my self both sufficient and obliged to my own Re●ief . To answer for faults , I confess , I think is most proper for him that commits them . And if W. Penn had Faults to answer for , ( though it were but before Judge Keith ) I know not whether , as well as I love him , I should be contented to take his place , or rather even wish him to answer for his Faults himself . But it is one thing to answer for Faults ; another , to answer to Faults objected , and shew that they are not Faults , but Cavils . That W. Penn is sufficient , now , as well as he was heretofore , to his own relief , is not to be questioned . But it does not follow , that he is always , and always alike , obliged to appear in his own defence ; or at all , when he sees no need of it , the Blow being not so strongly given , but that a weaker Arm may both bear it off , and beat it back . When an Abler Adversary rises , ( which G. Keith has petitioned the Clergy for ) it may be time enough for Abler Defendants to come forth . In the mean time , since he has accused many ( and me among the rest ) in his False Charge ; ( and that , according to the Maxim , Frustra sit per pl●ra , quod fieri po●est per pauciora , It is in vain to set many hands to that work , which few , or one , can do ; ) Since also it looks like an Effect of his Pride and Self-conceit , that like that Vncircumcised Champion of old ( to whom he is not more disproportionable in Person , than in haughtiness of Mind , and Stomach agreeable , ) despising me as too low a Match for him , he does , in effect , call for some choice Man to come out against him , as thinking me , ( if made his Captive ) too mean alas ! to adorn his Triumph : It is but a just ●etribution to him , for his ( perhaps not altogether deserved ) contempt of me , as well as it may serve to abate his Pride and Insolence ; that he is fain to receive an Answer to his ( in his own Opinion Unanswer●ble ) Narrative , from the hand of one , whom he has represented so grosly ignorant , as he has done me . Tho. Ellwood . Advertisement . THERE will shortly be made publick , a Book entituled Keith a●ainst Keith , or some more : of George Keith 's Contradictions and ●bs●rdities , Collected out of his own Books ( not yet retracted ) upon Review . Together with a Reply to G. Keith's late Book , entituled . The Antichrists and Sadducees Detected among a sort of 〈…〉 , &c. By John Penington .