relation to eternal salvation: It is a true testimony concerning God and his mighty works, and of truth and righteousness; and it is a testimony also of the devil, and what he is, and of his deceits and errors, and unrighteousness: So the Scriptures are words given forth by the Spirit, but Christ is the Word, that was before the Scriptures were, for in the beginning was the Word of God, and the world was made by it, and the Word shall endure forever, and Christ's name is called the Word of God: And though the Scriptures are profitable, and were given forth to be read, and to be fulfilled, yet they are not the rule and guide of faith and life unto the Saints, but the Spirit of God, that gave forth the Scriptures, that is the rule and guide, the teacher and leader into all truth; and them that are led by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God; and if you walk in the spirit, saith the apostle, you shall live, and as many as walk according to this (to wit, of the spirit) peace is upon them; and so the Spirit of God is the rule of the saint's faith and life; and the spirit leads them to walk in the fulfilling of the Scriptures, and according to them."-Page 514-1659.

In "A declaration to all the world of our faith, and what we believe who are called Quakers," published in 1658, we find the following"Again, concerning Christ we believe, that he is one with the Father, and was with him before the world was; and what the Father worketh it is by the Son, for he is the Arm of God's salvation and the very power and wisdom of the Creator, and was, is, and is to come, without beginning or end.

And, we believe, That all the prophets gave testimony of him, and that he was made manifest, in Judea and Jerusalem, and did the work of the Father, and was persecuted of the Jews, and was crucified by his enemies, and that he was buried, and rose again, according to the Scriptures.

"And we believe, He is now ascended on high, and exalted at the right hand of the Father for evermore; and that he is glorified with the same glory, that he had before the world was, and that even the same that came down from heaven is ascended up to heaven, and the same that descended is he that ascended.

And we believe, even that He that was dead, is alive, and lives for evermore, and that he cometh, and shall come again, to judge the whole world with righteousness, and all people with equity, and shall give to every man according to his deeds, at the day of judgment, when all shall arise to condemnation or justification; he that hath done good shall receive life, and he that hath done evil, everlasting condemnation.

"And we believe, He is to be waited for in spirit, to be known after the spirit, as he was before the world was, and that is the knowledge unto eternal life, which all that believe in him do receive, he subdues death, and destroys him that hath the power of it, and and restoreth from death to life, and quickeneth by his Spirit, all that the Father hath given him: And we believe such he justifieth and sanctifieth, and such are taught of him; but he condemns all that believe not, but continue in unbelief, and are not taught of him. And this we faithfully believe.-Page 440.

FRANCIS HOWGILL.

IN an Essay entitled "The Heart of New England hardened," replying to one who had misrepresented the Society of Friends, he says

First, Concerning the Trinity, thou sayest they confess the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and yet they deny the Trinity, and those to be three distinct persons;' for confutation of this, thou bringest Heb. i. & iii. He is the express image of his Father's person.

"Thy Trinity is an old popish term, and we love to keep to sound words; but by Trinity, I suppose thou meanest three, and thy own words shall confute thee. Thou confessest we say, there is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and yet but one God, or one eternal being or substance, in which they all subsist; but thy word 'distinct' is thy own, and not the Spirit's, yet, to distinguish betwixt Father, Son, and Spirit, we deny not; and as for Heb. i. it is in another translation rendered, the express image of his substance; for person is too gross a word, as to express an eternal and Divine Being in; and if thou dost hold three distinct substances, thou errest in thy judgment, for that were to make three Gods." Secondly, They deny Christ to be God and man in one person, and Christ to be a distinct person from the Father, and they acknowledge such a Christ, as unch.ists Christ; and when they say, Christ manifest in the flesh, they mean not as the scripture, but fallaciously."

"Answer. We say, according to the Scripture of Truth, and not according to thy fallacy, that in the man, Christ, did the fulness of the Godhead dwell, and God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, and he saith, I and my Father are one, and the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, subsist in one Eternal Power, Life and Glory, which thou with all thy stupid generation, are ignorant of, and that Christ we acknowledge, is such a Christ as is able to save to the utmost, them that come unto him, and receive him, and believe in him; and is such a Christ as is able to raise them that have been dead, and such a Christ giveth eternal life to them that believe; and so that Christ that we own, doth not unchrist Christ, but by your doctrine, who plead imperfection, and the continuation thereof, and a continuation in sin for term of life, as one of thy own said, Sin will dwell in the house, 'til the house be pulled down,' speaking of the natural body, which some other of thy own generation have called, the body of Sin; and so it is you that hold such a Christ as unchrists the true Christ, in thy own words; and when didst thou enter into our thoughts, and into our heart, or with what dost thou search, that thou sittest as judge over

the heart, who knowest not judgment in thyself, nor what spirit thou art of, and so thy lies and deceit are turned upon thee. When we say, Christ manifest in the flesh, we say that holy thing which was brought forth, and born of a virgin, and conceived of the Holy Ghost, in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells, in whom the eternal power of the Father was manifested, that he was the Christ which was manifested in the flesh and justified in the spirit, preached among the Gentiles, seen of angels, and received up into glory, and this is according to the Scripture of Truth, and thy judgment must be judged."-Page 303, 304. 1659.

In a treatise entitled "The True Rule, Judge, and Guide of the True Church Discovered," we find these observations, viz:

66

Thirdly, The Scriptures testify of Christ, and were written that they might be believed, and received, and read, that thereby every one that believed, might be made wise to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus, 2 Tim. iii, and instructed in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished with all good works; and whosoever doth teach any doctrines, contrary unto the holy men of God, who spake as they were moved by the Spirit of God, which dwelt in them; the scriptures are witnesses against such, that they have not the Spirit of God, but are led by another spirit, which brings forth contrary doctrine, and another faith, than was once delivered among the saints; and whosoever brings in, sets up other precepts, constitutions, orders, and practices, in point of worship in opposition and contrary unto those practices, which were held forth in the primitive times, and would set up other traditions than the apostles delivered, either by word or writing, such are manifest to have the spirit of error, and are innovators, and bringers in, of other things as necessary in point of worship among Christians, which the apostles and ministers of Christ, did not see necessary then, and yet they wanted no part of the counsel of God; for Paul said, he had declared the whole counsel of God; and furthermore they said, we have the mind of Christ, and Christ's mind is not variable.

"Fourthly, Though divers of the writings of the prophets and apostles be lost, doubtless, as is evident by divers places of scripture; yet blessed be God that there are those preserved which do bear witness of the one thing absolutely necessary unto salvation; and of the ministrations that were appointed of the Lord, for the church of God to observe, both in the first and second covenants; so that Christians of this last age are not left without example and precedent, which all ought to have an eye unto; and a diligent regard; and though there be divers copies of that which is called the original tongue, and divers translations, yet he unto whom the spirit of God is given, and waiteth in the measure of Christ's light, shall receive it; doth see, and shall see the mind and will of God in every age, and the mind and intent of the Spirit in them that spoke forth the Scripture, and can receive the matter therein contained, as though they had heard them speak that spoke it at the first; and though the translators were men, yet I have such an honourable esteem of their labour, that I believe they have not varied

wittingly and willingly from the best copies, that were extant in their age, neither that they were altogether void of the Spirit of God in such a good work, which conduced to the benefit of mankind, but were assisted by it for so good work; and there be many figures and tropes, improprieties of speech, mysteries and difficulties, yet all these come to be made easy and plain to them that are witnesses of the same spirit that gave them forth; and though there be diversity of judgments, and professions of religion, one clashing against another, thwarting and contradicting another, and all will seem to bring the scripture for their proof, which yet cannot maintain and prove every thing good, especially when their doctrines contradict one another; this is granted, it is only their private interpretation, and not the scripture; and for want of that spirit that gave it forth, for that alone, gives the true understanding of it; and they that are without this, are like to kill one another, about words and names, sounds, titles and iotas, but still want the key that opens, and gives an entrance into the knowledge of the things of God, which alone is the spirit of God that gave forth the scriptures."-Pages 636,

637. 1665.

GEORGE FOX, THE YOUNGER,

In his works, page 51, says, " But further, in the fear and wisdom of God, for the satisfaction of the simple, I do declare, in plain word, that I do believe in the true Christ, the Lord of Life, who was glorified with the Father before the world began, and I do believe that he was in due time made manifest in that body of flesh, who was called Jesus, and that in him the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily, who was supposed to be the carpenter's son, whom the Jews crucified without the gates of Jerusalem; and I have remission of sins through his blood, who is the Lord of Life, and he was buried, but he is risen, and ascended and sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high; this is the Christ I own, who also was and is crucified in Sodom and Egypt, by the rebellious; yea, he is crucified afresh, and put to open shame now, by those that trample the blood of the covenant, the Light of Life, under their feet, and count it an unholy, or a natural thing, and such act despitefully against the spirit of grace; and such murder the seed which keeps the commands of God; and such will God, the Light, overthrow and burn to ashes, as he did Sodom and Gomorrah; but all that love and obey the true light, (which is the fire,) shall be saved and preserved by it, and shall remain unhurt; but all that hate and disobey the light in them, that is their condemnation, the Light."

From a piece entitled "A message of tender love unto such professors as have attained any true sincerity, simplicity, and zeal for God, in their professions," &c. we extract the following:

"Friends, the Eternal Being, which giveth being to all his crea

tures, hath largely manifested his love unto the world, in giving his Only Begotten to be the Light of the world, (who doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world, that all through him might believe,) and inasmuch as he, in the fulness of time, sent forth his Only Begotten, (full of grace and truth,) into the world, in a body which he hath prepared him, therein to do his will, which body the only begotten of the Father freely gave and offered up for a sacrifice for sin, and so, according to his grace, he tasted death for every man, and by his offering himself once for all, he hath put an end to all the sacrifices and offerings mentioned in the law, which could not make the comers thereunto perfect, (nor those that offered them,) as appertaining to the conscience: so Christ, the one offering, is become the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, who wrought eternal salvation for all them that obey him: and here is the one offering which perfects forever them that are sanctified. And he having accomplished the will of the Father, in that body which was prepared him of the Father, (in which he came into the world,) he again left the world, (he not being of the world,) and ascended unto the Father, (from whence he proceeded,) and sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, and is now glorified with the same glory that he had with the Father, before the world began; yea, the same that descended into the lower parts of the earth, is also the same that ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things: and being one with the Father, and in the Father, and the Father in him, his presence filleth heaven and earth; and being the Son in the Father, he hath pow er as the Father, to quicken whomsoever he will, that all men might honour the Son as the Father, by whom all things were made that were made, in whom we live, move, and have a being: and he hath a name given him above every name, (to which all things must bow,) which is called the Word of God, or Jesus, because he is a Saviour, and saveth his people from their sins. This is he that is given to be the Head of the body, which is the congregation of the righteous, the fulness of him that filleth all in all; that he, in all things, (in whom all fulness dwells,) might have the pre-eminence, being the express substance of the Father's glory, and the very virtue of his being, one with him in nature, and one in name: for as the Father is divine, so the Son is also divine; and as the Father is called the Light, so the Son is also called the Light; the Father is called the Mighty God, so is the Son also; yea, the Son's name is called (Wonderful) the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, (mark that,) the Prince of Peace, of whose government there shall be no end.

"Now in the Father there is Life, and in the Word, the Son, there is life, and this is one; and this life, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is that one Eternal Spirit, which is not to be limited: yea, God is a Spirit, and Christ is the Lord, that Spirit; yea, he is the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, the quickening Spirit, by whom the free gift is come upon all men, to justify them that believe in the Life: and he that believeth not, he is condemned by the Life, which is the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world: so the gift that is come upon the unbeliever, that condemns him, be