in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.' Isa. xl. 11. 'And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not, and I will lead them into paths that they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.' Isa. xlii. 16.

And Christ said, he is the good shepherd that lays down his life for his sheep; and he calleth his sheep by name, and leadeth them, and goes before them; and his sheep follow him, for they know his voice. John x.

And Christ said, he would send his believers the comforter, the spirit of truth, which should proceed from the Father, which should guide them, and lead them into all truth. John xv. and xvi. chap. So this was, and is the ministers, and teachers, and disciples, and believers in Christ, their leader and guider into all truth. For the apostle saith, that no prophecy of scripture came by the will of man, neither is it of any private interpretation; but holy men of God spake forth the scripture, as they were moved by the holy ghost. And so it is the holy ghost, the comforter, the spirit of truth, that leads Christ's believers into all truth, and into all the truth of the scriptures. 2 Pet. i. 21.

And John saith, He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them, and they shall hunger and thirst no more. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; they are before the throne of God, and serve him night and day in his temple.' Rev. vi. 9 to the end.

That which gave the church of Christ knowledge in the apostles' days, gives us, the church of Christ, knowledge in our days. The apostle saith, 'God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, (mark, in our hearts,) to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ; and we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.' So here we have this light from God and Christ, and it shines in our hearts by God's command, to give us the knowledge of his glory in the face of Christ his son; and God hath the glory and honour of this light, which gives us the knowledge of Christ our saviour, who is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge; which light of God and Christ, gives us the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ, (as before,) and without this light we have not the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ; as in 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7.

XII. Now concerning the antiquity of our teacher in the new cove

nant.

Christ saith, Is it not written in the prophets, ye shall be all taught of God? Every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me; and no man cometh unto me, except the Father which hath sent me, draw him.' John vi. 44, 45. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children, in righteousness shall they be established,' &c. Isa. liv. 13.

And the Lord said in Jeremiah xxxi. 31, 32, 33, 34, Behold the day is coming, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of Judah; not according to the old covenant, that I made with their fathers: but this is the covenant, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man bis brother, saying, know the Lord; for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. So the old covenant and its priests, whose lips were to preserve people's knowledge, they cease, and there is no need of them in the new covenant; for all shall know God, by the law he puts in their minds, and writes in their hearts. Hebrews vii. 8 to the end.

And this new covenant is an everlasting covenant, and lasts for ever in all ages. And all God's people know God and Christ, by the law he puts in their minds, and writes in their hearts, that they need not give priests tithes and maintainance, to teach people to know the Lord.

The apostle saith to the church of Christ, the Thessalonians, 1 Thess. iv. 9. As touching brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.' And John in his General Epistle to the church of Christ, directs them to their teacher, the anointing within them; and saith, Let that therefore abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning; if that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. And these things have I written unto you, concerning them that seduce you; but ye have an anointing that you have received from him, that abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie; and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.' This John wrote to the church of Christ, that had received the truth, and were established in it.

Now this anointing in them, which they have received of God, was the teacher of his people then, and it is the teacher of God's people. the church of Christ now. And the priests or teachers, that would seduce from this anointing's teaching within, they would seduce them from continuing in the Father, and in the son, and so from the promise of eternal life, as in 1 John ii. 21. 24, 25, 26, 27.

And the apostle saith to Titus, "The grace of God, which brings salvation, hath appeared unto all men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.' Tit. ii. 11, 12.

Here you may see what was the church of Christ's teacher, the law in the heart, the anointing within, the grace of God in the heart, which brings salvation; it hath appeared unto all men, to teach them, and bring their salvation, if they do not walk despitefully against the spirit of grace, and turn it into wantonness. And the Lord said unto Paul, My grace is sufficient, my strength is made perfect in weakness.' 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10.

And here is the antiquity of our teacher, which was set up above sixteen hundred years ago; by which we know God, and continue in the Father and in the son, and have eternal life; which grace is sufficient to establish our hearts, and bring our salvation. So that we have no need to give the priests and hirelings tithes and money to teach us; for we are come to the waters of life, without money and without price, which satisfies our thirsty souls. Isa. lv. 1, 2. and John vii. 37. So that we do praise God, and sing hallelujah, through Jesus Christ. XIII. Concerning the antiquity of our mediator.

The apostle saith, 'The law served, which was added because of transgression, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was made.' Gal. iii. 19.

And the apostle said, God would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; and Christ gave himself a ransom for all to be testified of in due time. And there is one God, and one mediator betwixt God and man, even the man Christ Jesus.' 1 Tim. ii. 4, 5, 6.

Now this is the one mediator, which we own betwixt God and man ; God having poured his spirit upon all flesh, men and women, that with the spirit of God they might know Christ, the one mediator betwixt them and God.

So here you may see, the apostle did not set up many mediators between God and man, but one mediator, Christ Jesus the son of God.

XIV. Concerning the antiquity of overseers.

The apostle saith unto the elders, and to all the flock, over which the holy ghost hath made you overseers,' &c. Acts xx. 28.

Here you may see, the overseers of the church of Christ were not made by men; but the holy ghost made them overseers. So they had the spiritual eye to watch one over another.

And Christ when he sent forth his ministers, told them, that they should be brought before magistrates and powers.' And said unto them, 'Take ye no thought how or what things ye shall answer, or

what ye shall say; for the holy ghost shall teach you in the same hour, what ye ought to say;' as in Luke xxi. 14, 15.

So here they were to wait in the holy ghost, that led them into all truth, and not to take thought nor follow their own thoughts, but to trust to the holy ghost, their leader and comforter.

XV. Concerning the antiquity of the church of Christ's prayer, and in what.

6

The apostle saith, The spirit helps our infirmities; we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the heart, knows what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God.' Romans viii. 26, 27. And again the apostle saith, 'I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.' 1 Cor. xiv. 15. And again, the apostle Jude saith, Ye beloved, build up yourselves in the most holy faith, praying in the holy ghost.' Jude xx.

Here you may see it is the spirit that God poureth upon all flesh, and the holy ghost, that the church of Christ, and all people are to sing and pray in, and serve and worship God in, and not to grieve the spirit of God, nor vex it, nor quench it, nor rebel against it.

After that God had made man and woman in his own image and likeness, and blessed them, and put them in paradise; and gave them a command to eat of every tree, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil; for in the day they did eat, they should die. But the serpent, the lying spirit, told them they should not die, if they did eat; and so they followed the serpent's teaching, and disobeyed God's. And therefore God drove them out of paradise into the earth.

Here you may see how soon a lying false teacher arose, and sowed his evil seed. And Adam and Eve for disobeying God, were driven out of paradise, and lost the image of God, and their blessed state.

And the old world, which grieved the Lord and his spirit, and corrupted the earth, and filled it with violence; the Lord said, his spirit should not always strive with man.' So that God brought a flood upon the old ungodly world, and destroyed them; but saved Noah, and his family, a preacher of righteousness.

And after, in the new world, Nimrod got up and built Babel, but the Lord confounded him and his followers. And after, Sodom and Gomorrah run into ungodliness, and unlawful deeds; and God turned them into ashes. And after the Lord, by his mighty power, had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, how soon did the serpent sow his wicked seed in them? And God gave them his law, and his good spirit to instruct them, as in Nehem. ix. 20. but they rebelled against his

spirit, and turned their backs against his good law. And for their disobedience, how often did the Lord suffer them to be carried into captivity! And at last the ten tribes, for their disobedience, by Salmonazer, the king of Assyria, were carried away out of Samaria, and the land of Canaan, into captivity, for their disobeying and rebelling against the Lord. And after, the two tribes were carried away by the king of Babylon from Jerusalem, and the land of Canaan, which was called the glory of all lands. And when the Lord Jesus Christ came, the Jews stopped their ears, and closed their eyes to him and his doctrine; and cried, Away with him, crucify him, crucify him. And Christ told them, their city should be compassed with armies, and their temple thrown down, and they should be scattered over all nations; which came to pass by Titus the Roman, who destroyed Jerusalem, and the temple, and scattered the Jews, that they could never build Jerusalem nor the temple since. And thus they were driven out of their own land, for disobeying God, and forsaking his law and spirit, like Adam and Eve, who were driven out of paradise, for disobeying God, and following the serpent's teaching, and forsaking of God's.

And after Christ sent his disciples to preach the gospel of life and salvation unto all nations, and to every creature under heaven, the devil, he sowed his wicked seed and tares in the hearts of people when they slept, and grew careless of God's truth; and the devil begat many antichrists, false prophets, false teachers, false apostles, seducers, and deceivers, which got the form of godliness and the outward form of christianity, and led many after them, and so set up a false church, the whore, mystery Babylon, mother of harlots; who rid upon the beast in the dragon's power, and made the people, nations, and tongues like waters; and in this whore and false church, is found the blood of the prophets and martyrs of Jesus. For John saith, she was drunk with the blood of the prophets and martyrs of Jesus; that is, with heavenly Jerusalem's children's blood. For heavenly Jerusalem, the bride, the Lamb's wife, is the mother of all the true christians that believe in the light, and are children of the light, and receive Christ, who gives them power to become the sons of God. So this whore, or false church, went from the true mother, heavenly Jerusalem, and from Christ the true husband; and became the mother of harlots, the whore, that drank the blood of the martyrs, and got upon the persecuting beast in the dragon's power. But the judgment of the great whore is come, and the beast, dragon, and false prophet, John saw cast into the lake of fire, and the everlasting gospel preached again to all nations, tongues, and people, to settle them; and all that receive the everlasting gospel, the seed in which all nations are blessed, are heavenly Jerusalem's children, and children of the seed, and are children and heirs of the ever