Saint, one or more, for a Saint cannot make a true Prophet, nor true Minifter, but a Prophet may make a wicked Sinner a glorious Saint, as I have done feveral: As Chrift, he could make fimple, ignorant Men Apoftles, but Apoftles could not make him their Chrift, fo that no Prophet no Saint.

12. They may be elected Veffels, but not Saints, for no Man can poffibly be faid to be a Saint, except they come actually to believe in a true Prophet, true Apoftle, or true Minifter of Christ.

13. And further, I fay, whoever doth not ftand in Awe, and fear to offend that Law of Confcience, as if God himself did ftand by and take notice of all his Actions, fo he doth well, becaufe God's Eye is over him, elfe not: I fay all fuch a Man's doings is but Eye Service, and refpected of God no more than the cutting of a Dog's Neck, and that Man is in the depth of Darkness; but such a Man, if he doth evil, then he defires God to take no notice of that, but to blot it out of his Remembrance, as if God were beholding to Man to do well, when as there is a Blefling in well doing, and a Curfe in evil doing.

14. For this I fay, if there were no God to reward the good, nor punish the evil, yet could I do no otherways than I do; for I do well, not because I expect any reward from God, and I refrain from evil; not for fear God fhould fee me, or feeing me, will punish me, or that his Perfon doth take notice or mind me in it at all; but I do well, and refrain from evil, to please the Law written in my Heart, fo that I might not be accufed in my own Confcience, by that Law written in my Heart, as God hath placed for a Watchman, to tell me when I do well, and when I do ill.

15. So I being juftified by Faith in my own Confcience, and being not condemned by the Law written in my Heart, I have confidence to the Throne of Grace. Neither do I refrain from evil, for fear God feeing me, and fo to punish me; but I refrain from evi', becaufe the Law in my Heart feeth all my doings, and that Watchman God hath fet there to watch

me

me will tell God of all my doings, and that Law will be the only accufer of Confcience.

16. So that God needs no: to trouble himself to watch over every Man and Woman's Actions himself, but hath placed his Law a Watchman in every Heart, as abovesaid.

17. Thus in the Original, God taketh notice by his Law, not that I do own the Law written in Man's Heart to be the very God, as the Quakers do, but God is a distinct Perfon of himself, and diftinct from this Law, and no other ways doth God mind or take notice, now at this time, but by this Law.

18. And to that fecond Affertion, how the Saints are not to mind God at all, it is plain, and is Truth alfo, as by Scripture appears, how that he that receiveth a Prophet in God's Name, receiveth him that fent him. And feeing God doth not come to treat with Men himself, he fends his Prophet or Embaffador in his ftead, and he is impowered by him to make Peace between God and Man, upon fuch Articles as the Prophet and the People can agree on: And thus,

19. Whoever believes the Prophet's Report shall be saved, and he that doth not believe his Prophet's Report fhall be damned. Therefore it is faid by Jaiak, Who hath believed our Report, and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed; fo that God hath placed the whole Power in the Prophet, to determine upon Life and Salvation, as if God was prefent himself, and if the People do not agree with the Prophet while he is in the Way, how fhall a Man make his Peace with God.

20. For God will fay to fuch that fhall think to come to him, and defpife the Prophet; if you would not receive the Prophet whom I fent, you will not receive me, if I fhould come myself.

21. So that God doth not expect that you should come unto him, but unto the Prophet only; neither doth he own your coming unto him, for he will fay, you should have minded my Prophet, and have believed him, and have made your Peace with him, and then I would have accepted of you; for it will

be

be faid to you as it was unto Dives, They bave Mofes and the Prophets, &c.

22. So it will be faid to you, if you believe not my laft Prophet whom I fent; he hath fpoken unto you, and hath declared Life and Salvation unto you, and if you will not believe him on Earth, you will not believe it God himself fhould come from Heaven and fpeak unto you.

23. So that there is a neceffity that Men fhould believe the Prophet only. These things are common Practices with the Kings of the Earth, would a King be well pleafed with that Man that rejects his Embaffador? For doth not an Embaffador ftand in the King's Place? And what he doth, the King doth, &c.

24. Why should you that are Men think it ftrange to mind the Prophet only: Were not all thofe People bleffed that minded the Prophets only, as Moyes and Aaron, Esijab and Elifba, and thofe that did not mind the Prophets only, were they not curfed.

25. So likewife whoever mindeth the Prophet now alive only, shall have true Peace with God; and whoever doth not, shall never have true Peace with God, nor perfect Peace in his own Soul; for this is God's Way, and that Honour he hath put upon Prophets for all their Sufferings. Therefore it is faid, How beautiful are the Feet of Juch as bring glad Tydings of Peace and Salvation? And whoever receiveib a Propbet, shall receive a Prophet's Reward Which Reward is no lefs than the Bleffing of everlasting Life; and if fo, fure fuch a Prophet ought to be received while on Earth, to be minded only, feeing that he that receives him receives God; and in this fenfe People ought to mind the Prophet only, and no other ways.

26. And as to the third Affertion, my Anfwer is this, I say it is impoffible for any Man or Woman to have true Peace, except they do pin their Faith upon the Prophet's Sleeve. Why? why because the Prophet reprefents the place of God, nay God himself; and he that doth believe a Prophet's Report, he believeth in God; for fuch a one refteth his Soul only upon

the

the Prophet's Words. Now if a Prophet's Words be Truth, then a Man that believes, refts his Soul upon the Truth; and this is fetting the Seal that he is true.

27. And fo it may be faid, a Man pins his Faith upon the Prophet's Sleeve, that if he be true my Faith is true; if he be falfe, my Faith is falfe alfo; and if he be a falfe Prophet, then he fhall be damn'd, and he that believes him will be damn'd alfo.

28. For if a Man be faved by pining his Faith upon a true Prophet's Sleeve, fo by pining his Faith upon a falfe Prophet, a Man is damn'd; this muft and is ventured by fome: For this I fay, there is no Man upon Earth, that profeffes the Chriftian Religion, but he hath either a true Faith, or a falfe Faith, and he pins his Faith upon either a true Minister, or a false Minifter's Sleeve; and he loveth one Teacher better than another, and here he pins his Faith, and hath Peace fo long as his Faith holds there.

29. But when his Faith faileth, the pin looseneth and falleth quite out, fo their Faith and that Preacher is parted, and that Peace he had in that Faith is loft, and another Faith fought after; for no Man in the World can live but by a true Faith, or a falfe Faith, so that all Men in the World doth or must pin their Faith upon fome Man's Sleeve or other, or elfe there can be no Peace at all.

30. But when their Faith faileth, the Peace they had in that Faith is loft, and another Faith fought after, which Faith pitches upon the dead Letter of the Scriptures, which yields no Peace at all without an Interpreter.

31. Thus all Men in the World muft and do pin their Faith upon fome Man's Sleeve or other, elfe there can be no Peace at all to the Mind of Man; and in this fenfe the Saints must pin their Faith upon the Prophet's Sleeve, elfe they can have no true Peace at all.

CHAP.

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I.

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CHAP IX.

The Fourth, Fifib and Sixıb Assertions answered.

T%

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O this Fourth Affertion, I fay, Who made any of you Saints, but the Prophet only? For as I faid before, no Prophet, no Saint; for though Men and Women be elected in the Seed, in God's electing Power, and may be faved by Election, yet they cannot properly be called Saints, as afore faid, because he must first come actually to believe in a true Prophet, or true Minifter of Chrift; for a Saint cannot make a Prophet, but a Prophet can make a wicked Man a Saint, as I have done feveral.

2. Furthermore, who gave any Saint, in thefe our Days, power to give fentance upon any Man for Blafphemy; was it not the Prophet now alive?

3. God gave the Saints no fuch Power, neither did John Reeve give any fuch Power to any Saint all his Days of his Life, neither did any Saint give fentance upon any all his Days.

4. Now feeing the Saints receive their Power to give sentance for Blafphemy, from the Prophet now alive, and not from God; fure then there is a power in that Prophet to take off that fentance that any Saint fhall give, in cafe the Party fo fentanced comes unto the Prophet, and the Prophet difcerns him capable of true Sorrow for his rafh Speeches, the Prophet can take off that fentance that any Saint hath given, and fhall have perfect Peace of Mind, as if no fentance at all had been paffed upon him.

5. There hath been an example of this both in Jobs Reeve's time, and fince; for it came to pass that John Reeve had paffed the sentance upon a Man for writing blafphemous Words upon the Margin of the Commiffion Book, and when the Man read the fentance, he was exceedingly troubled all that Night,

fo