those (in all times) that were sanctified; 'who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."" Rom. viii. 1.

"In short, justification consists in two parts, or hath a two-fold consideration: viz. justification from the guilt of sin, and justification from the power and pollution of sin.”—“The first part of justification, we do reverently and humbly acknowledge, is only for the sake of the death and sufferings of Christ; nothing we can do, though by the operation of the Holy Spirit, being able to cancel old debts, or wipe out old scores. It is the power and efficacy of that Propitiatory Offering, upon faith and repentance, that justifies us from the sins of the past: and it is the power of Christ's Spirit in our hearts, that purifies and makes us acceptable before God."

In a paper presented to Parliament, in the year 1693, signed by thirty-one [or more, see T. Evans, p. 220.] of our primitive Friends, among whom was George Whitehead, it is declared :

"1. That Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of the Virgin Mary, is the true Messiah, the very Christ, the Son of the Living God, to whom all the prophets gave witness: and that we do highly value his death, sufferings, works, offices, and merits, for the Redemption of mankind, together with his laws, doctrines, and ministry.

"2. That this very Christ of God, who is 'the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world,' was slain, was dead, and is alive, and lives for ever in his Divine glory, dominion, and power with the Father.

"And we know of no other doctrine or principle, preached, maintained, or ever received among or by us, since we were a people, contrary to these aforesaid." (Sewel's Hist. fol. ed. p. 620.)

Robert Barclay expresses himself thus; "We do not hereby intend any way to lessen or derogate from the atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ; but on the contrary, do magnify and exalt it. For, as we believe all those things have been certainly transacted, which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures concerning the birth, life, miracles, sufferings, resurrection, and ascension of Christ; so we do also believe, that it is the duty of every one to believe it, to whom it pleases God to reveal the same, and to bring to them the knowledge of it.......As we firmly believe it was necessary, that Christ should come, that by his death and sufferings He might offer Himself up a Sacrifice to God for our sins, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree; so we believe, that the remission of sins, which any partake of, is only in and by virtue of that most satisfactory Sacrifice, and no otherwise." (Apol. Prop. 5-6, § 15.)

About the year 1699, George Keith, having left the Society of Friends, and become an inveterate opposer, wrote a book which he called, "The Deism of William Penn and his brethren." William Penn being then in America, Thomas Ellwood commenced a reply to this book. But B. Coole publishing an answer to Keith, Ellwood's was never finished; and we have only some extracts from it in his Journal, pp. 405–414. In that reply he says: "The book of William Penn, called 'A Discourse of the General Rule of Faith and Life,' to which George Keith's 'Deism' is an answer, was first printed in the year 1673, as an Appendix to William Penn's part of the 'Christian Quaker', (a folio book in two parts, the former written by William Penn, the latter by George Whitehead.) In that former part of the

'Christian Quaker', written by William Penn, though the tendency of it is to assert and defend the Divinity of Christ, and his spiritual appearance, by his Divine Light, in the hearts of men, yet there is enough said concerning his Manhood, his outward appearance and sufferings in the flesh, to free William Penn from the imputation or suspicion of deism. William Penn, p. 102, says; 'His righteous life, with respect to its appearance in that body, was grieved by sin: and the weight of the iniquity of the whole world, with the concernment of its eternal wellbeing, lay hard upon him ; nor was his Manhood insensible to it under the load of this did He travail; alone He trod the wine-press, &c. Not that we should irreverently rob the holy body, of whatsoever acknowledgment is justly due, nor yet separate what God hath joined.' chap. 21, p. 104: A confession in particular, to Christ's redemption, remission, justification, and salvation-which was actually to the salvation of some, and intentionally of the whole world. As there was a necessity that one should die for the people, so whoever then or since believed in Him, had, and have, a seal or confirmation of the remission of their sins in his blood. This grand assurance of remission do all receive in the ratifying blood of Christ, who, repenting of their sins, believe and obey the Holy Light, with which He hath illuminated them.' p. 107: But there is yet a further benefit that accrueth by the blood of Christ, viz. that Christ is a Propitiation and Redemption to such as have faith in Him. For though I still place the stress of particular benefit upon the Light, Life, and Spirit, revealed and witnessed in every particular; yet in that general appearance there was a general benefit, justly to

be attributed to the blood of that very body of Christ: to wit, that it did propitiate. For however it might draw stupendous judgments upon the heads of those who were the authors of that dismal tragedy, and died impenitent, yet doubtless it thus far turned to very great account, in that it was a most precious offering in the sight of the Lord, and drew God's love the more eminently to mankind; at least such as should believe in his Name.' p. 108: Doubtless it did greatly influence to some singular tenderness and peculiar regard, unto all such as should believe in his Name, among other his weighty performances; for the sake of that last ana greatest of all his external acts, the resisting unto blood, for the spiritual good of the world, thereby offering his life upon the cross, through the power of the Eternal Spirit, that remission of sin, God's bounty to the world, might be preached in his Name, and in his very blood too, as that which was most ratifying of all his bodily sufferings. And indeed, therefore, might it seem meet to the Holy Ghost, that Redemption, Propitiation, and Remission, should be declared and held forth in the blood of Christ, unto all that have a right faith therein, as saith the apostle to the Romans, iii. 22. ; because it implies a firm belief that Christ was come in the flesh, and that none could then have Him as their Propitiation and Redemption, who withstood the acknowledgment of, and belief in, his visible appearance.' p. 110: Faith in his blood was requisite, that they might confess Him, whose body and blood it was, to be Christ. To conclude, we confess; He who then appeared, was and is the Propitiation, &c. And in Him was Redemption obtained, by all those who had such true faith in his blood.""

After taking the above extracts, with considerably more to the same purpose, Thomas Ellwood says; "Thus much (and more which I have omitted) against Deism in that very treatise of William Penn, to which the book out of which George Keith, by his art of counterfeit chemistry, would extract deism, was an appendix : and yet this was not the direct subject of that treatise, but only touched on occasionally, or by the by. Should I gather up all quotations on this argument, out of our other books, such especially as have more directly handled this subject, I might therewith fill a large volume."

And after quoting a large number of texts, in support of this doctrine, he adds; "These things George Keith certainly knows have been constantly held, believed, professed, and owned by William Penn, and his brethren the Quakers in general, both privately and publicly, in word and writing. These things are so often testified of in our meetings, and have been so fully and plainly asserted and held forth in our books, that we might call in almost as many witnesses thereof, as have frequented our meetings, or attentively read our books."

To these testimonies from the writings of our primitive Friends, I will add a few from the Society in its collective capacity. The Epistles from the Yearly Meeting in London, to the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings of Friends, in Great Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, contain the following advices:

1723. "This Meeting, considering that some in the present age do endeavour, as well by certain books, as a licentious conversation, to lessen and decry the true faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, even that