by Voice of Words I judge it not, but leave it to the Lord. I am exceeding weak, I fear and tremble every Time I Preach; I rather think that my Mouth may be stopp'd, than that I should hold out Preaching: My Ears and my Heart are open to Rebukes. But this I may fay, I Charge my Miniftry more strongly and deeply than you do, and yet it ftands staggering for ought I know; if you can knock it down, you will do me a Kindness,

W. S.

The

The Prophet's Answer to Mr. Sedgwick's Replies.

SIR,

T

IS confeft, that fubtil Serpents accuftom themselves to propound, carnal, curious Queries, to enfnare the Innocent: But it doth not therefore follow, that fober Queries of the highest Moment fhould offend that Man which hath any true Light in him. Why? Because all fuch Queries are fent forth by the Spirit of Chrift, either for the Trial of Mens Faith and Love to the Truth, or for a Witness against them, when the Secrets of all Hearts fhall be opened, for their Ministerial Meddling with Divine Mysteries, without an infallible Light of an immediate Commiffion from the Lord.

1. In your firft Reply, you write, you may fay you do believe what I there exprefs, but it may be no in my Senfe. To this I answer, what I there exprefs is none of your Faith, unless you believe it in my Senfe; for there is but one fpiritual Sense to every Truth that is declared; and what I there exactly wrote in the Letter, is my very Faith in the Spirit, (to wit) That there is no other fpiritual God, Creator, or Father, but only within the Bleffed Body of Chrift Jefus, glorified. For in him dwelleth all the Fulness of the God-bead Bodily. His invincible Spirit is the everlafting Father; his visible glorious Body refiding in the Heavens, above the Stars, is the eternal Son; his Heavenly Enlightenings in his New-born People is the Holy Ghost. If this be not your Understanding concerning God, as yet my Faith is not your Faith, neither is my God your God. In the latter Part of your Reply, your Words are these : But you choose rather to fay, you defire your Faith may not ftand in a Form of Words, but in the Power of God. To this I answer, 'tis the Power of God only that enables a Man to speak or write a Form of wholfome Words concerning himself, and the Mysteries of his everlafting Kingdom: But the Reifon of Mens Words being fo full of Confufion or formless Contradiction about spiritual Things, is because the true Understand

ing

ing of his Divine Power is hid from them. For that Man who enjoys a real Comprehenfion of the Divine Power, being moved to treat of Salvation and Condemnation to his Brethren, is not guided by the Falibility of Suppofings or Imagination, but by and infallible Affurance of the Truth of what he speaks or writes in his own Soul; neither doth this Man want a Manifeftation of the Power of them in his Life and Conversation.

2. In your fecond Reply, you fay, You know none that do demonftrate, who or what God is perfectly, and with Power: But in Weakness, and in Part, you fay many do fhew who and what he is. To this I answer, though at prefent it be hid from your Eyes, yet we truly and boldly affirm, without any Doubt or Fear of after Shame, that God hath manifefted himself with as much Perfection or Power upon fome Spirits, by his Truth spoken through our Mouths, as ever he did by any true Prophet or Apoftle, fince the World began: But to name or present the Particulars to you as Witneffes to this Truth, it will be of no Value until you fee it, or feel it, in your own Soul. I mean a glorious Manifeftation of Salvation, through a powerful believing our Declarations, and an unmoveable Seal of everlasting Damnation, upon thofe that defpife them, both in Life and Death. If you mean God doth manifeft himself in Mens weak Bodies through natural Infirmities, that is common to all Mortals But if you mean he doth manifeft himself through the Weakness or Uncertainty of the Mind, that's utterly denyed by us. For we affirm, that fuch Men were neither fent nor moved by the true Spirit, to demonftrate who or what God is, neither in Part nor Perfection, in Power nor in Weakness. For no Man is meet to speak or write concerning Things which are eternal, without an infallible Teftimony of the Truth of them, dwelling in is own Soul. Moreover you fay, If I mean a filencing or convincing Gain-fayers, it is not yet done by me, nor any other that you know. To this I anfwer, that Ministery, that neither filenceth nor convinceth Gain-fayers, is not of God; but that Gain-fayers have been both filenced and convinced by our Miniftry, not only God, but feveral Spirits in other Nations do bear Witnefs to it at this Day; wherefore if it neither filence, nor convince you, the Great-Day fhall make it manifeft. And further you fay, The Commiffion of the Spirit, which I would

Seen

feem to appropriate, is larger than I imagine. To this I answer, I am fo far from what you feem to accufe me, concerning appropriating to myself, that God, and his Light in me are my Witneffes, when it was put upon me, I would have given the whole World if I had it, to have been eased of its Burthen: As for the Largenefs of the Commiffion it is only known to him that gave it. But let me tell you without Offence, the Letter gives you, nor no Man elfe one Jot or Tittle of Right to the Commiffion of the Spirit. Indeed, a fpiritual Commiffion gives a Man a great Measure of infallible Knowledge of the Truth of the Letter; but a literal Commiffion, gives no Man a certain Understanding of the Truth of the Spirit in the leaft. For if it should, then all literal Accutants would be the only fpiritual Men in the World. Sir, I would gladly have you convinc'd of that general Deceit of pleading a minifterial Commiffion from the Scriptures to maintain your Preaching.

3. In your Third Reply, you fay, In the General, you grant it to be Treafon, only you except against the Word [immediate] being Jealous, that in it, and in our Miniftery, we do either deny or vail the Mediator 'twixt God and Man, for immediate, you fay, is without a Mediator. To this I anfwer, In your excepting against the Word [immediate] you except against the Teachings of the Spirit; for God in all Ages, ever taught his chofen Prophets and Apoftles, by an immediate Voice or invifible Movings of his Holy Spirit. Holy Men of Old, spake as they were moved by the Spirit; and the Spirit in all moving in them, was not mediate, but immediate; therefore their Records have Power over the Confciences to the End of the World, because they were immediate Words of Truth. Indeed the Teachings of Men are all mediate, but the Teachings of God are all immediate, efpecially to his commiffionated Prophets and Apostles, (to wit) that they might become the mediate true Teachers of all Salvation-Secrets to their elect Brethren that heard them, and Witneffes of Condemnation, in the Confciences of all Gain-faying, and defpifing Reprobates. If you mean we seem to deny or vail the Mediator 'twixt God and Man, because we own no other God at all, but our Lord Jefus Christ only: In that Sense we shall always feem to deny or vail the Mediator, to all those that ignorantly worship a divided God. For we

cannot own but only One undivided Perfonal Glorious God, and no more, even the Man Chrift Jefus, Bleffed for ever and ever, as aforefaid. But if you own another God besides him, before him, or diftinct from him; 'tis you that feem to deny or vail the Mediator, by giving that Glory which is only due to him, to an Idol of your own lying Imagination. He that bonoureth the Son bonoureth the Father; but he that giveth the Honour due unto the Son, to any God infinite Spirit or Father, but what is wholly abiding in his Perfon, that Man through his Ignorance denieth both the Father and the Son. That Man doth not truly Understand who or what God is, who worships him under the Notion of two or three diftinct Perfons or Spirits. But he that truly Understands that the Father and the Son are but one Divine Bofom, (to wit) that from all Eternity, they were but only one fpiritual Perfon in Form like a Man; that Man indeed, in a good Meafure knows the Lord, as he is known of him. In the latter Part of this Reply, you repeat the Scriptures, which were spoken by the Lord's immediate Commiffioners; and from thence you feem to maintain your prefent Ministry: But let me tell you, if I had not a more fure Witnefs, than the literal Sayings, of my Brethren, the Holy Prophets, and Apoftles; I were the moft miferable Man that ever appeared in the Name of the Lord. Moreover, though it be lawful for Saints to converfe one with another, about their Faith, or Experience, in fpiritual Things, for the provoking of each other to Love, and good Works; it doth not therefore follow, that it is lawful for the most eminent Saint in the World, to gather the People together, in a minifterial Way, to exercife Scripture Ordinances, without an immediate Commiffion from the Spirit of Christ, or a mediate Commiffion from an immediate Commiffioner, as the Saints had that preached in the Apoftles Time. Faith comes by bearing, and bearing by the Word of God preached, and bow fhall they preach, except they be fent? Because there is not a Man of you immediately or mediately fent by the Lord, how is it poffible therefore that you fhould preach the true Faith, concerning God, or Devil, Heaven, or Hell, or any of his Counfels, concerning the World to come? And though you feem to fear it is the Enemy, that would hinder you from exercifing your minifterial Gift; if my

God