the dark, and wound fecretly: but no weapon, formed against the Ifrael of God fhall profper, either from this hand, or any other; and every tongue that rifeth up against them to judgment will God condemn. This is the heritage of the defpifed people and fervants of the living God in this our day; whose righteoufnefs is the righteousness of his Son bestowed upon them, wherewith he himself hath cloathed them, as the anointed feeth, and all eyes fhall one day fee, and tongues confefs, to the glory of God the Father. eye now VOL. II.. T THE THE HOLY TRUTH and PEOPLE H DEFENDE D. E excepteth against those words of mine to him in a former letter (of Jan 24. which I have not here by me), That when his eyes are opened by the Lord, he fhall then acknowledge that we oppose no truths of the Lord, but hold forth what we have received from him. To which he thus replieth, Is redemption by Christ's blood no truth of the Lord's? Which he chargeth one of us in particular, and many others in general, with denying. Anfw. We are gathered into that, and abide in that, in which no truth can be denied; and are in him that leadeth into all truth, and teacheth to deny no truth, that ever was held forth by the Spirit of the Lord. Some of us may not yet be grown up in understanding into the myfteries of the kingdom, which God hath revealed and made manifeft to others; but yet we do not deny, but own one another in our several measures of knowledge and sense of things, and in our feveral growths. And we own and acknowledge, in God's fight, the feveral difpenfations he hath brought forth, both before the law, and under the law and prophets, and in the time of Christ's appearance in the flesh; and after, when he fent his Spirit, and all the time the church was in the wilderness, and now she is coming forth again, in the brightness and glory of the Father, looking fair as the morning, clear as the fun, terrible as an army with banners. Nor do we difown any thing that is of God in the profeffors of this age; but only that which we know, and are required by him to teftify againft, as being not of him. Oh! that they could weigh our words and teftimony in a right Spirit! for they would not then be fo offended at, and speak fo against us, as now they do. And the Lord knoweth we would do any thing that lieth in us to remove the ftumbling-blocks that lie before them; but it cannot be done to that fpirit in them, before which God Almighty hath laid the ftumbling-block, that it might ftumble, and fall, and be snared, and broken, and taken. But if they could come into another Spirit, and feel unity with, and the birth of, another Spirit, the birth of that pure wisdom should find no ftumbling ftumbling-block or offence in this precious difpenfation of truth, wherewith God from on high hath vifited us. And as for denying redemption by the blood of Chrift, oh! how will he anfwer this charge to God, when none upon the earth (as the Lord God knoweth) are so taught, and do fo rightly and fully own redemption by the blood of Chrift, as the Lord hath taught us to do! for we own the blood of the Lord Jefus Chrift, both outwardly and inwardly; both as it was shed on the cross, and as it is fprinkled in our confciences; and know the cleanfing virtue thereof in the everlasting covenant, and in the light which is eternal; out of which light men have but a notion thereof, but do not truly know nor own it. And let him confider, before the time of antichrift, it was a great matter to know and own Chrift outwardly, as he appeared in that body; but fince the antichristian spirit hath got that, the diftinguishing knowledge and owning of Chrift is, to know and own him inwardly. The outward knowledge and confeffion now (as it is generally feparated from, and held forth in way of diftinction from the inward) is but the knowledge and confeffion of Babylon, and not the true living knowledge and confeffion of Chrift, in and by the Spirit of the Father, which is the knowledge and confeffion of all the children of the true and heavenly mother, which is the mother of all that are born of the Spirit. He repeateth those words of mine, That we do not make any finite thing our righteousness; but Chrift of God is made unto us righteousness. This, he faith, is well spoken, and wisbeth we may always abide in this confeffion. Anfw. These words arose in me from an inward feeling of him who giveth righteoufnefs, and of the righteoufnefs given; and the Lord preserving me in that life, I fhall feel fo for ever, and confefs fo for ever. And truly I can teftify of no other righteousness; for, bleffed be the name of my God, I feel the righteousness of his Son revealed in me daily, from faith to faith. In his name I have been gathered, in his name I live, and in him I feel righteousness; and indeed there is nothing but righteousness, holiness, truth, life, and falvation (and the like) in him. And he that is truly in him, is righteous and holy in him; there being in him a new creating of all that are there, and a renewing into the holy and heavenly image, which confifts in the righteousness and holiness of truth. He defireth me to give a plain anfwer to this question: Is Chrift of God made our righteousness by faith in his blood, or in his Spirit? Anfw. A pretended faith in Chrift's blood, without faith in his Spirit, is but dead and notional. Except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood (faith Chrift) ye bave no life in you. It is the Spirit that quickeneth: the flesh (faith he) profiteth nothing. Now the faith must be in that which quickeneth, and the faith in that which quickeneth is holy and righteous, and the man who is found in it is juftified, through that faith in the quickening power, in the fight of God. Thus Abraham was juftified in the fight of God; and thus are the children of Abraham to be justified, even through believing in that holy power and Spirit which requireth obedience, and justifieth the obedient, and condemneth the disobedient for ever, Rom. iv. 24. He faith, He fears a fnake in this green grass, when I fay, From his life, virtue, and power revealed in us, is our conformity to him. Anfw. It were better and fafer for him to fear at home; for the fnake is in his own grafs, and many notional, high, foaring expreffions, without true knowledge. But can there be any conformity to Chrift without his life, virtue, and power inwardly revealed? What elfe can conform unto, and bring forth in, the image and likeness of Chrift? He faith, He feareth left I make this life and virtue our righteousness, which is indeed the fruits of it. Anfw. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge, and runneth out from the truth into his own imaginations? What was Chrift's righteousness? Was it not the life, the virtue, the Spirit of the Father in him, he being one with it, in the faith of it, and in the obedience to it? And is not the righteousness of the head and the body the same, communicated from the head to the body? Are they not all of one, and the righteousness one and the fame in both? So much of Chrift's Spirit, fo much of his righteousness; and out of his Spirit, out of his righteoufnefs for evermore. For the righteousness of the Son is revealed, and communicated from faith to faith, in his Spirit; and fo Chrift is indeed made righteousnes to them that are found in his Spirit; and they are covered with the garment of righteoufnefs and falvation, who are covered with his Spirit. He faith, Our righteoufness is before this. Anfw. What! Is our righteousness before any of the life, virtue, and power of Chrift revealed in us? Is God a refpecter of perfons? Doth he justify any out of the holy covenant before he hath made a change in him? How doth this man, with his vain imaginations, turn the whole way and counsel of God upfide-down? He brings a fcripture to prove this, The Spirit is life for righteousness fake. Anfw. That fcripture (which is Rom. viii. 10.) fpeaks of thofe in whom Chrift is and dwells; and there indeed the body is dead because of fin, and the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This is plainly fpoken, and plainly felt and known as it is fpoken. Oh! that he had the true fenfe and understanding of it as it is in Jefus ! He faith, Righteousness is in order of nature before fanctification. Anfw. That which is holy is righteous; there is nothing righteous in the eyes of the pure God but that which is holy. The head was really holy and righteous, and they that are in him partake of his holiness and righteoufnefs, and are really holy and righteous in him; and faith, which purifies the the heart, and through which fanctification is, muft needs be in order of nature before the juftification which is by it; for God juftifieth no unbelievers, but believers only. Yea, the wicked must forfake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and turn unto the Lord; which cannot poffibly be without fome degree of fanctification, before the Lord will have mercy, and pardon the foul its fins, Ifa. lv. 7. and chap. i. 16, 17, 18. He faith, Juftification is an act of grace passed upon us by God freely, without respect to us as godly; nay, properly reflecting on us in that moment as ungodly. Anfw. I charge this in the fight of God for absolutely false doctrine, and contrary to the gofpel. For God juftifieth no man as ungodly; but calleth upon men to repent, and turn from their ungodlinefs, and he will have mercy upon them, juftify and fave them. Now men are not ungodly in turning from their ungodlinefs, but changed; and fo their ftate is in fome measure changed before juftified. If Abraham was ungodly when God called him; yet in forfaking his own country, and following the Lord, and offering up his Son, he was obedient, and not ungodly, and in that obedience he was juftified. A man may have notions of juftification in his mind, and accordingly take himself to be justified, when he is not; but there is no man juftified by the Lord till he be changed, translated into him in whom God juftifieth, out of the place of condemnation into the place of juftification. For till men are changed by the Spirit and power of the Lord, they are but darkness, and in the darkness, where no juftification is. It is the believing, the obedient, the children of light, that are juftified by the Lord. He faith, Were we godly before or at that time, it were no act of grace to pronounce us righteous. Anfw. He that witneffeth falvation in Christ Jefus, witneffeth it to be a continued act of grace. Grace appears to the foul, grace teacheth, grace enableth, grace maketh a change from the ungracioufnefs of the heart and state; and then grace (or God by his grace in and through Jesus Christ) forgiveth the fins that were committed before. For though the Lord visit me with life, quicken me thereby, make a change in my heart and state; yet it is his mercy to accept me, and to pafs by for his name's fake my former debts and trefpaffes against him. Alas! the new covenant is wholly a covenant of grace and mercy; and the giving of Chrift, drawing the mind to him, accepting and juftifying in him, are works of grace and mercy towards his. So the fpiritual Ifrael may well fing this fong in the land of holiness and redemption, O praife the Lord! for he is good, and his mercy endureth for ever. I can truly fet my feal to this thing; that the more holy and righteous the Lord maketh me in his Son, the more fenfible am I of his love, grace, and mercy, in juftifying of me; and it is precious to me to witness juftification and acceptance with him in and through his Son. He |