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Principles to make them feem the fame with other Christians. Pag. 247. for he tells us, • It is one

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of the most dangerous Things to allow Men to interpret their own Words as they themselves pleafe,contrary to their true Import and Meaning; for then none could be found guilty of any erroneus Affertion, Herefy or Blafphemy, when they have a Mind to cloak and disguise it.' As much as if he had faid, if Men be allowed a full Liberty of interpreting their own Words, the Trade of making Hereticks and Blafphemers will be taken out of OUR Hands, and People will evade the Imputation of those black Characters, by difpenfing which at Pleafure we [Priefts] us'd to keep them in Awe. That this is his true Meaning, his following Words affure us, Let the Quakers, fays he, plainly tell us in express < Words, which are to be understood according to the common Acceptation of them, what ⚫ their Doctrine truly is in these Points wherein WE judge them to be erroneous; and that it is the fame with what we hold to be found and < Orthodox; and cenfure and condemn whatever there is in their Writings contradictory thereto, and we will no more charge them therewith. Pag, 248.

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By the Word WE, tis natural to understand himself and his Party; the next Business should properly be, to make us fenfible, how THEIR Opinion comes to be the Standard of Orthodoxy? Till then, the Quakers will be fo rude as to imagine their ownOpinions may be asOrthodox as his. And that they may with as much Authority from Scripture, require of him to fhew, what his Doctrine truly is in thofe Points wherein they judge him to be erroneous, and that it is the fame with

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what they hold to be found and Orthodox. Would he fubmit to their Judgment? Neither do they to his Nor to his Dr. Lancaster's neither, who, he fays, fent Queries to their General Yearly Affembly at London in 1695. and they were defired to give their plain Yea or Nay thereto, but, fays he, they could by no Means be brought to it. Nor was it reasonable they fhould, fince thofe Queries might be form'd in fuch complex Terms, as might make either a plain Yea or Nay a very improper Anfwer, without firft diftinguishing between the Scripture Terms, and thofe of Men's inventing the mixing of which, is a Piece of Craft many honeft Men have been enfnar'd by; and if the Quakers did put off thofe Queries with a general Answer, 'twas prudently done of them, for furely in vain the Net is fpread in the Sight of any Bird. Prov. i. 17. Nor has the Vicar's faying, we cannot but conclude them to be erroneous therein, any more weight, than an angry Fowler's curfing the Bird he cannot catch.

BUT that the Vicar is determin'd not to be fatisfied with the Quakers Declarations, though never fo Orthodox, is manifeft, when he fays, p. 249. It is not enough to express themselves in Matters of Faith, in Scripture Words, for then he will not admit that they use them in the Scripture Senfe. But who fhall judge of Scripture Sense? Every Man for himself? Or the Priests for them all? If the former, all is well, and the Quakers will reft contented with fuch Share of common Sense as God hath been pleas'd to give them. But if the latter, they, as well as the reft of Mankind, can have no Scripture Senfe, but of the Priests imparting; who if they arethe Key-keepers, will have as much Power to lock it up, as to open it,

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and upon that Suppofition, let any Man tell us, what the Laity are the better for the Scriptures?

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HE Queries p. 249. Are not the Quakers unjustly charged with the Allegorizing away • Chrift's outward Birth, Death and Sufferings, • Atonement and Reconciliation made for them, and his Resurrection and Afcenfion and Glorification as without them, according to the Scripture, as if only tranfacted within them.' To which he answers, They are not charged ⚫ with the denying that the Man Jefus Christ was outwardly born, died and Rofe again accordto the Scripture.' Now if they deny not that the Man Chrift Jefus was outwardly born, died, and Rofe again according to the Scripture, it muft neceffarily follow that they do not Allegorize away his outward Birth, Death and Refurrection. The Vicar's own Inftance of Hagar and Sarah, who were two real Women, yet were declared by the Apostle Paul to be an Allegory of the two Covenants, fhews that an Allegorical Signification may be fairly drawn from that which is not allegorized away; unlefs he will fuppofe that the Apoftle did not believe Hagar and Sarah to have been two real Women. So that the Inftances he brings out of the Quakers Writings p. 250. fuppofing they had been fairly cited, (which yet that (b) feveral of them are not we havebefore fhewn) importing that whatChrift did

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(b)Particularly FobnWhitehouse, whom he quotes Dorine of Perfection p. 19. faying, That when they come to know this, (to wit, the Operation of Chrift in them,) they will cease to Remember his Death at Ferusalem,,

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and fuffered without us, had a Mysterious and Allegorical Meaning and Interpretation as well as a Literal, plainly evince that they own the Literal Senfe as well asthe Allegorical, and are therefore unjustly charged with Allegorizing it away. William Penn, is exceeding plain upon this Head, (c) Left any fhould fay we are Equivocal in our Expreffions, and Allegorize away Christ's Appearance in the Flefh, meaning only thereby our own Flesh, and that as often as we mention him, we mean only a Myftery or a Mystical Senfe of him, be it as to his coming, birth, Miracles, Sufferings, Death Refurrection, Afcenfion, Mediation and Judg•ment; I would yet add, to preferve the well difpofed from being staggered by fuch fuggestions and to reform and reclaim fuch as are under ⚫ the Power and Prejudice of them, That, we do, • we blefs God, religioufly believe and confefs to the Glory of God the Father, and the Honour of his dear and beloved Son, that Jefus

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Chrift

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But had he done that Writer Juftice, he must have obferved, that he was then writing an Answer to an Ob jection concerning Chrift's Righteousness without them, being imputed to Men yet continuing wicked: And what he intends by the Words cited is plainly declared but a few Lines after by himself in thefe Words, this verily I fay unto you, except you know his Crucifixion, and Refurrection nearer you than Ferufalem, even in you, and a rifing with him out of the Grave of Sin and Death, and a living to God in a Spirit of Holiness which fets free from Sin, all your Talking of his dying for your Sin, and arifing for your Juftification, while you have lived in finning againft his Light in your Confciences, • will never Profit you any Thing.

(c) W. P's Works vol. 2. p. 869.

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Christ took our Nature upon him, and was like < unto us in all Things, Sin excepted; That he was • born of the Virgin Mary, fuffered under Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governour, was crucified • dead, and buried, in the Sepulchre of Jofeph of • Arimathea; Rofe again the third Day and afcend•ed into Heaven, and fits on the Right Hand of God, in the Power and Majefty of his Father, • who will one Day Judge the World by him, even • that bleffed Man Chrift Jefus, according to their <Works.'

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THIS is one of those plain and express Testimonies, (abundance of which are to be met with in the Quakers Writings) to their real belief of the Outward Birth, Sufferings, Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Refurrection, Afcenfion and Glorification of Christ, and of his coming to Judge the World, expreft in the most plain Terms, the Senfe of which is fo very evident as to need no Interpretation, feeing an unprejudiced Perfon can have no doubt of their true Import and Meaning.

If then the Writings of the Quakers do (d) abundantly manifeft their firm belief of the Man Chrift Jefus, and of his Outward Birth, Paffion, Bloodfbed, Refurrection and Afcenfion, Atonement and Reconciliation for us, without us, and his Glorification without us, in the plain Literal Senfe of the Scripture, then are they unjustly charged with allegorizing them away. Will not the Vicar himself admit, that Christ's Outward Mira

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(d) See a Collection of Teftimonies entituled a Cloud of Witnesses, lately publifh'd on Occafion of the Reflections of the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry.

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