An Epistle Unto Two Daughters of Warwick, Response to letter · Response 1 – Excerpt from letter 3
H. A.
OUr saviour Christ / the ‡1 Cor. 1. 24.wisdome of the Father / hath warned vsus to beware|Math. 7. 15. of false prophets / which come vntounto vsus in sheeps clothing / but inwardly are ravening wolves. The Apostles / through the love of Christ in the power of the holy Ghost, have foretold vsus / that|Tim. 4. 1. in the latter times / some should depart from the faith / and give heed vntounto spirits of error and doctrines of Divils, speaking lies through hypocrisie / and having their consciences burned-with-a-hot-yron; and therfore counselled vsus / †1 Ioh. 4. 1.not to beleev everie spirit / but to trie the spirits whither they ar of God / because many false prophets / were even then gone out into the world. The evil that they should enterprise / is*2 Pet. 2. 1. privilie to bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that hath bought them: the maner of their cariage should be to vse|vers. 3. feighned words, ‡Rom. 16. 18fayr, flattering and good speech, *2 Pet. 2. 18.swelling words of vanity |vers. 19.promises of liberty, and the like. The effect of their doctrine should be / †Rom. 16. 18.deceiving of the harts of the simple, even of|Mat. 24, 5. many / yea / if it were possible / of†vers. 24. the verie elect; and by those many that follow their damnable wayes / †1 Pet. 2. 2.the way of truth should be blasphemed. The end of al which (touching themselves) is / that because such reprobates / receive|2 Thess. 2. 10. 11. 12. not the love of the truth / that they mought be saved; therfore God sendeth them strong delusion / that they should beleeve lies / and they al may be damned / which beleeve not the truth / but hav pleasure in vnrighteousnes. These things considered / it standeth vsus vponupon / to look wel to our selves / least we be caried away with the error of the wicked. This author H. N. beginneth (as was foretold) not onelyonly with fayr and flattering speech / but also with swelling words of the second birth, out of the new life of the heavenly being, and sondry the like. He boasteth of the gift / of the godly life / which he beareth before al men / and here severally openeth vntounto two yong daughters: and of this he taketh God to witnesse: He telleth them / (in the 2. section folowing / ) that the Christ of God was not yet declared vntounto them according to the heavenly truth. Thus promiseth he great matters / and seemeth to be a setter forth of a new Christ / and consequently of a new God. Very needful therfore it is / to attend vntounto his doctrine / and if it be true / for to receive it; if false / for to abhorr it / and to hold the author therof accursed. And herevnto the Lord inable and guide vsus by his grace.
1. First where he vaunteth of the gift borne before al men / (in his other writings / ) opened to these daughters / (in this Epistle;) let vsus bring it to the trial / by the word of God, who (he saith) is his witnes. For we read of some / that have*Ezek. 16. 33 given gifts vntounto their lovers / that they might come vntounto them on every side for fornication: and whither this writing / and other pamphlets of H. N. be not gifts sent abroad for such evil purpose / let the godly reader judge. If his gift have wytnes of God / it hath witnes of his written word / as the prophet saith / †Isa. 8. 20.to the Law, and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is, because ther is no light in them. Is H. N. willing to come to this trial? it seemeth farr otherweise; for in al his writings he much inveigheth against scripture-learning; contrary to the true prophets and Apostles / who highly commended this / as being|2 Tim. 3. 15 16. able to make men wise vntounto salvation / and profitable to teach / to improve / to correct / to instruct in righteousnes: and never did any of them entwite the learning or knowledge of the scriptures; as the reader may see H. N. to doe in this Epistle and his other pamphlets. Our saviour Christ / willed al men / even his adversaries / to*Iob. 5. 39. serch the scriptures / for they testified of him. If they testified likewise of H. N. and his doctrine; doubtlesse he would not despise (as his manner is) the scripture-learning of others; especially whiles he wil seem to rely vponupon the testimonies of the same for himself. But if we may not learn the truth of religion / out of holy writt; how then may we attayn it? H. N. telleth vsus in his First exhortation to his children, thus|1 Exhort. chap. 6. sect. 7. My beloved children, like as the true Communiality of holy ones, and Elders of the house of Love, confesse, vnderunder the obedience of the Love, the beleef in Iesu Christ, and the Christian baptism; and like as I expresse the same here vntounto you, and confesse or acknowledge it before al men to be the true faith, and the vpright baptisme; even so ground with fast beleef, your harts likewise therin. So then the doctrine of H. N. and his folowers must be the groūd of our faith: as they confesse and beleev / so must we. And herein the Familists religion accordeth wel with the Turks, whose great prophet Mahomet in his law or Alchoran / to draw disciples after him saith thus;|Alchoran. Azoar (or chapter) 18. They that worship God, let them if they be good, beleev his Messenger (Mahomet:) and again; O ye good men, be followers of God and of his messenger, & never wittingly depart from them. But may we not our selves / by the light and grace that God giveth vsus / make trial of H. N. his religion by the word of the Lord? No: for in his First exhortation he saith;|chap. 16. sect. 16. no man can rightly according to the truth of the holy scriptures nor according to the spiritual vnderstanding of the godly wisdome, deal in, or vse the true God-services, nor the services of the holy word, (it becometh not likewise, that any man should take in hand to busy himself therabout,) but onelyonly the illuminated Elders in the godlie wisdom, which walk in the house of Love. But what if H. N. with his coelders / be but deceivers of mens sowles / seduced themselves and seducing others? for be they not men as others are / and subject to error? He telleth vsus no / for‡ibidem. they have received the word of life, through the power of the most highest, out of his holy heaven, from the living God, and are even so through the same word, Godded with God. Therfore in an other place of that book / he saith men|chap. 13 sect. 11. ought to beware that they distrust not the Eldest in the Familie of Love, nor suspect any maner of evil or vnwisdom by him: nor yet also in anywise perswade themselves yt the exercises, documents & instructions which ar taught or set forth before them, by the Father of the Familie of Love, or oldest elder, are too slight, too childish, or too vnwise for them to follow after or to obey. But with perfect harts, humbly and single-mindedly, even as good willing children vntounto the Obedience; to receive the same instructions, proceeding out of the wisdom and counsel of the Eldest. And must we needs put out our own eyes / that H. N. may lead vsus? may we trust him that he himself is not a blind guide / and false prophet / such as Christ foretold should come in this last time? For this matter he hath given vsus his warrant thus / *First exhort. Cap. 11. sect. 1My loving children, and thou Familie of Love, give ear to me your Father, and live according to my doctrine, that it may goe wel with you: For the Lord wil have the Father honoured of the children, and what the mother biddeth or commandeth the children to doe, that wil he have kept. *Sect. 2.Take heed to my doctrine; and all what I out of Love, do set forth, teach, and exhort you vntounto, that print to a seal of life, or a witnes of the truth, in your harts. For it is your life. By this we may see what a good ground H. N. hath layd for himself and his cause: that men should receive his word and doctrines / for Oracles of God. He saw that his brother / the Antichrist of Rome / had much prevailed in the foolish world / by making men beleev / that he and his church could not err: he minded also (perhaps) the glorie that Mahomet hath among Turks / by perswading them / that the Alchoran (his law-book)|Azoar 20. is without all falshood; therfore H. N. wil sayl by that compas; and make that the foundation of his work. And coming as an enemy to warr against Christians / he is much more malicious then Nachash the Ammonite / who would have|1 Sam. 11. 2 thrust out but one ey of the Israelites / wheras this tyrann would thrust out both; and that not of the body / (as Nachash would) but of the mind and vnderstanding; that having bereft men of their wits / he might keep them prisoners vnderunder his heresies. For in his Crying voice, he hath proclaymed saying / ‡Crying voice chap. 3. sect. 11Let your selves now in all your Being, nature, mind, and disposition, become renued through the Love, in her service; and give al your vnderstanding captive, vnderunder the obedience of the Love. Thus H. N. wil be gaoler and keep in captivity the minds of al men; til they bow vntounto him and say / as he hath taught his children (or rather his s…laves) in his First exhortation, *chap. 13. sect. 2.O my father in the Love, I submit my self, and al myne vnderstanding, vnderunder the wisdome of thy doctrine. And when he hath gotten mens minds thys captived; he may lead them whither he lyst / though it be into the deepest dungeon of hel. We find in Christs Testament the Beraeans commended / that tried the Apostles doctrines by the scriptures dayly; Act. 17. 11. and other Christians also / that took heed to the most sure word of the Prophets / as to a light shining in a dark place; 2 Pet. 1, 19. Howsoever therfore H. N. would extinguish the seven lamps of the golden candlestick of Gods law / that men might see by the smoke of the fyre which he hath kindled: we mean not to trust his pretended light / but to bring to the trial both his spirit and his gift. For the serpent by his subtilty / brought Evah vntounto death / whiles he took away Gods playn word / and set his own in the place: like may be our end / if we submit our selves / and all our vnderstanding / vnderunder the foolishnes of this mans doctrine.
H. N.
2. See my beloved in the Love of Christ, I must speak vntounto you even like as Paul spake vntounto the fleshly Israelites, where he saith, I bear Israel witnes that they stand fervently minded towards the lov of God, but not according to knowledg; for they seek to set up their own righteousnes. Rom. 10. So is now the witnes of God in our spirit with the holy Paul towards you, that yee likewise stand fervently minded towards the love of God, but not according to knowledge, because that the Christ of God is not yet declared vntounto you according to the heavenly truth, but wel according to mans wisdom or industrie, which to the literal scripture, add their own prudencie, and even so goe forth withal, or occupie their own righteousnes without the spirit of Christ, which is a miserable doctrine, being taught without the spirit of Christ.
H. A.
SOlomon warneth vsus of an heretik vnderunder the figure of a foolish woman / that calleth vntounto her / *Pro. 9. ver 13. 15.them that passe by the way: yea such as go right on their way / saying / ‡vers. 16.who so is simple let him come hither. And in this her cal / she counterfeiteth Wisdomes words / for even so had her maidens spokē:|vers. 4. before to the sons of men / that went astray. The Apostle Paul / found fault with the Israelites / that for want of knowledge did seek to set by their own righteousnes / by the works of the Law: neglecting the righteousnes of God / which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. H. N. here cometh / like the troblesom woman / and calleth these two daughters / which went right on their way / even in the true path beaten by Paul and the other Apostles. And the more to allure them / he vseth Pauls words / and pretends his affection: but his drift is to draw them quite awry / from the true way of righteousnes / which Paul did preach / vntounto a false righteousnes by the works of the law / a miserable doctrine which H. N. in his writings hath taught without the spirit of Christ. These two daughters of Warwick, did (as I have heard) so know and beleev in Christ and in God / and seek the true righteousnes / which is by faith; as other true Christians of our English nation have done and doo. But the Christ of God was not yet declared vntounto them, (as H. N. sayth) according to the heavenly truth. Wheras that which he meaneth by heavenly truth / wil be found indeed to be hellish error; he teaching such things of God, and of Christ, and of mans righteousnes; as the prophets and Apostles have every wher condemned: which anon will appear.
H. N.
3. Because that the same miserable doctrine and false wisdom of the flesh which gendreth her own righteousnes, mought be made known, and even so then to be forsaken, therfore hath God now in the same last day showed his grace & mercifulnes on vsus poor & wretched ones, and hath declared vntounto vsus through his holy spirit, his service of Love, for to declare vntounto al good willing ones through the self same service, which is the true way to the everlasting life. Therfore let everie one now through the same service of love be warned that he look wel hereto, that he boast not himself in any of the works of righteousnes, or take on the same to salvation neyther to condemnation, before that he in the spirit of Christ through the love of the Father be renewed in al righteousnes of life. Not that I mean in the elementish ceremonial righteousnes, which the man setteth forth or occupieth out of his owne prudencie, but I mean in that righteousnes which according to the heavenly truth is in the being of Christ, and is set forth through the spirit of God. For the Father is not honoured but through the Son, that is, no man may know, eyther serve God, but that he must be born out of the spirit of Christ, even like as ther standeth written; Ther availeth before God neyther circumcision nor vncircumcision, but onelyonly a new creature in Christ Iesus wrought through the Love, Gal. 6. Therfore shal Christ in the day of judgements, accuse and find faultie a flesh in their righteousnes, even like as he saith, I shal reprove or rebuke the world of their righteousnes. Ioh. 16. That this is al what the man out of his first birth, hath set vp for a righteousnes, which is an enimy vntounto God, even like as he sayth, Ioh. 10. They are al theeves and murtherers which are come before me: that is, whosover letteth himself think, that he is a Christian before the spirit of Christ be born in him, that same is a theef and a murderer. For whosoever hath not the spirit of Christ, the same belongeth not vntounto him. Rom. 8. Even like as Paul hath witnessed wher he saith, I durst not speak any word, vnlesse that Christ had spoken the same in me, or through me. Rom. 15. yea no man (sayth he in an other place) can name Iesus to be the Lord, but through the holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 12. A natural man (sayth he) testeth not the spirit of God. 1 Corinth. 2. My children (saith Paul to the Galathians) with whom I travel agayn in birth, vntil that Christ be fashioned in you. 1 Gal. 4. Here may we mark that without the Spirit of Christ, ther is no knowledge of God, And vvher God is not knovvn, ther can ther not any doctrine be occupied to the mans salvation. It is verie true.