The Snake in the Grass Further Discovered, Part 1 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
The Quakers affirm the Scriptures to be no means whereby to reſiſt temptation; and that they are dangerous to be read.
I Join theſe into one Argument, the latter beingS…CT. I. a high inſtance for the proof of the former; and both together engage againſt the life of the Scriptures with a ſtrong hand. What ſhall we ſay of thoſe mens owning the Scripture, who turn this ſtanding Table of the Lord into a ſnare, and render them not only no Weapens to reſiſt Satan and Luſt our grand Enemies; but to be as Gunpowder to blow up our ſelves: yea, as if God himſelf who is the Father of mercies, and who in his abundant goodneſs hath afforded us this Armour of light, did thereby rather ſet a trap for our ſouls, than a means to deliver us from the ſnare of the Devil; who leads the blind and unarmed captive at his will.
I ſhall not go about to give demonſtrations, that § 2 ſo to affirm is to deny the Scriptures: when I have proved that they are criminal according to this Charge; I know not what impartial perſon will judge them guiltleſs of denying the Scriptures. And therefore I ſhall attend to it, as carrying the queſtion.
'Tis not your flying to the Scripture that can ſave Martin Maſon loving invitation. p. 4.you from the fire of his wrath—nor overcome the leaſt corruption for you; no verily, nothing then but a Chriſt within you, &c. and the next ſentence is, come thou then, O come with boldneſs to Gods faithful Witneſs within you! If he had ſaid the Scriptures without the knowledg of them, or the notion of them without the power, or without the Spirits concurrence; he had ſpoken truth. But, to beat theſe Weapons out of their hands, to cry out with a vehemency to throw down thoſe Arms as uſeleſs, and run away to that ſecond Antichriſt the light within; this is horrid. The true Chriſt is not ſo far from the Scriptures, nor ſo diſagreeing with them, but he can dwell in one heart with them; and arms all his Souldiers with the weapons of the truths therein contained: but Chriſt Jeſus the Chriſt of God and Redeemer of his people, and the Quakers Chriſt are nothing of kin.
But one would think this ſhould be but a ſlip of § 3 his Pen, let us ſee if he ſpeak not more favourably of the holy Scriptures in his following diſcourſe: but alas! the darkneſs within hath ſo bewitched him, that nothing but the Quakers Idol is good for any thing. The Scriptures nor any other outward things Pag. 11.are able to grapple with him [the Devil] you muſt put on the armour of light [light within] and with that reſiſt him, or be taken captive by him. What a rapture of zeal is here for the thing within! though the Scriptures alone can do little, yet ſure if God Almighty undertake the combat, either with or without the Scriptures, he will be too hard for all the Devils, or he had not kept his Throne from being uſurped by them: and if God be not without the Quakers, or any other creature, as well as within them; he is not infinite as we have taken him to be by the light of Reaſon, and more by the light of Scripture. But what blaſphemy will not men run into, who have changed their God for that which is no God, and have turned their backs on the Lord Jeſus, and taken ſo groſs a deluſion in the room of him.
Again he goes on to the ſame purpoſe, leaſt youPag. 11. ſhould not underſtand him. If you uſe any other Weapons [than the light within] in this ſpiritual war, y…u cannot proſper nor prevail againſt him. I have lighted on a proof of the latter part of my Charge before I was aware, viz. for then it is dangerous to read the Scriptures leſt you ſhould be tempted to try ſome of thoſe inviting Arms, which that Magazine is ſtored with, and ſo ſpoil all your proſperity and prevalence in your ſpiritual Warfare.
However this ſhall not prevent the producing my SECT. II intended proofs of the danger (as the Quakers ſay) that attend reading the Scriptures. But ſeeing (as the Quakers ſay) we muſt try the Spirits by the Spirit; let us try William Smith's ſpirit by Iſaac Pennington's who ſpeaking of knowledge gained by thePennington's quest. &c. P. 12. Letter of the Scriptures, ſpeaks thus; Making him wiſe and able there [in his head] to oppoſe truth, and ſo bringing him into a ſtate of condemnation, wrath, and miſery, beyond the Heathen: and making him harder to be wrought upon by the light and power of truth than the very Heathen. By oppoſing truth, we muſt needs underſtand it of the Quakers truth; and if reading the Scriptures, and getting knowledge from or by them; puts us in to a bad condition both (as rendring converſion difficult, and our miſery and condemnation great) beyond the Heathen; I ſcarce know what is more dangerous than reading the Scriptures. But the comfort is, it doth but render us harder to be wrought on to entertain the pernicious Guide and Saviour, the Quakers light within; and therefore is exceeding ſafe and neceſſary.
It follows in the ſame Author, My upright deſire to the Lord for you is, that he would ſtrip you of all your knowledge [or wiſdom] of the Scriptures after the fleſh. Their meaning of [after the fleſh] is, that which comes not by immediate inſpiration. For thoſe only are the Children of God, who are led by the Spirit of Naylors love to the loſt▪ p. 53.God; to whom they, who were led by the Letter, were ever enemies. So Naylor doth as certainly ſay, 'tis dangerous to read the Scriptures to be led by them; as it is truly dangerous and evil to be Enemies to the Children of God.
That this abominable Tenet is the Quakers, I know SECT. III it ſufficiently: and that they look upon our adhering to the Scripture light, as the greateſt adverſary in the world to their adored light within. But I love not the Quakers way of demonſtration, viz. we witneſs this and that, but if you would know how they witneſs it, it is only their own experience, which is a dumb kind of witneſs: while they can make no proof or teſtimony of it to another, nor will ordinarily attempt it; and ſo their witneſs is to themſelves alone. But my witneſſing of what I here charge them with, ſhall have more light in it, that all that read it may be convinced of its truth. Therefore take one inſtance more out of their famous Author W. P. or William Pen.
But I will aſſure them, they ſhall yet grope in the dark, § 4 W. Pen's Spirit of truth▪ &c. p. 23.till they come into the daily obedience of the light, and there reſt contented to know only as they experience; and not from a ravening comprehending brain, that would in its unregenerated ſtate graſp at the clear myſteries of the Kingdom: into which fleſhly comprehenſions and notions can never enter: but all muſt be as unlearned from their firſt birth, education, and traditional read knowledge; as he is unmanned, that is again become a little Child, before the ſecrets of Gods Work come to be made known.
That W. P. (of all others) ſhould talk at this rate is moſt ridiculous. What! know only as they experience, know what God is no farther than they experience! Can we experience his Omnipotency? his infiniteneſs, which is not within the experience of all finite beings put together? What! know the death (by Spear and Nails of Iron or Steel, and Croſs of wood) of the man Chriſt Jeſus, which he ſuffered above 1600 years ſince, only by experience? What! know the life to come, the judging of all men (that are, ever were, or ſhall be) by the Lord Jeſus; only by experience? where is faith all the while? what credit hath God with W. P.? that he will know him, nor any thing he ſaith, no further than he ſees, feels in his experience. If none but Believers be Saints, ſuch as W. P. are profeſſedly none: if he know not that objects of faith and experience (as ſuch) are contradiſtinct things; he is very unfit to aſſure who they are that grope in the dark, and is very unlike to mend his confuſed ſcribling. I ſhall not comment on his ravening comprehending brain (a moſt affected phraſe amongſt the Quakers) nor his clear myſteries, as clear a contradiction as it is; nor fleſhly comprehenſions, as much untruth and nonſenſe as (according to their meaning of it) it▪ comprehends; nor his little Child unman'd (as good Philoſophy as it is) for I have not room to ſpread all his rubbiſh.
What is to my preſent purpoſe is in the laſt part of his ſaying, all muſt be as unlearned from their—traditional read knowledge, as he is unmanned &c. Sure the Scripture knowledge being read knowledge, or knowledge that comes by reading (as one means) is a moſt hateful thing to God, that he will impart none of his ſecrets to thoſe, that will underſtand any thing by his written Word. How came God to fall out (at ſuch an irreconcileable rate) with his own off-ſpring, his expreſſions of his mind contianed in the holy Scriptures? how can you have the face to call them holy Sciptures, and yet make knowledge attained by reading them ſo nauſeous to God, that they ſhall be none of his Children, that learn any knowledg by that Book, or forgo it not all? Did God write, and cauſe it to be written; and yet never intend we ſhould read it? or that reading it we ſhould not believe a word on't, nor underſtand, nor be the wiſer for it? Shall they be judged…. by the Law who lived under it, and yet the knowledge of God thereby be a ſin and hindrance to their ſalvation? To what a height of wickedneſs and folly do they quickly grow, who are poiſoned with that abomination of holding the light in every mans conſcience to be God, Father, Son, Spirit, Chriſt, Scripture, all?
But Mr. Pen what means your Latine and Greek, § 6 your foreign Authors, your attempted (though miſhapen) Logick, your quotations of ſo many Scriptures, though ſome of them in a pitifull manner, all to a bad end? Did you learn all thoſe things by immediate inſpiration? Had you them not by reading and tradition? Could you tell that foreign ſignifies light, rather than foreign which ſignifies thick darkneſs, but by tradition and reading? But I ſmell your deſign, you would have us throw away all the knowledge we have by reading or tradition, 'till we come to be regenerate, that is Quakers; and then you are out of its danger. But in the mean time youEph. 5, 13. would have us without the Armour of light (for whatſoever makes manifeſt is light) that we may notEph. 5. 13. be able to defend our ſelves againſt the moſt ignorant nonſenſe, that the meaneſt of your votaries can attempt us with. But the God above and the Scripture without hath taught us better things.
I am not unwilling (though I hope few need it) § 7 to quote a few Scriptures, that people may have them in a readineſs againſt theſe untruths of the Quakers.Rom. 13. 12. Put on the Armour of light, &c. the Scripture makes it day in the World (but eſpecially in and with the Saints) for it makes manifeſt abundantly. There is your defenſive Arms. The Word of God is quick Heb. 4. 12. Eph. 6. 16. 17.and powerful, ſharper than any two edged Sword, &c. There is an offenſive Weapon. Above all taking the ſhield of Faith, wherewith ye ſhall be able to quench, &c. 17.—and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. A Sword of the Spirits making, and is effectual when of the Spirits manageing. Obſerve faith in the 16. ver. is preferred above the Word of God in the 17. verſe, therefore it is not Chriſt the Word, but the Scripture the Word: for Faith is not above Chriſt.
Jeſus Chriſt who had leſs need of the Scriptures than any of us all, reſiſted Satans temptations by theMath. 4. Scriptures, it is written, it is written; and what was written, being oppoſed to Satans temptations, ſilenced and confounded him. But it ſeems, ſince then he hath gotten more confidence. Conſider that the Quakers will allow the man Chriſt to leave us a perfect example.