TO you all Professors and People a Word of Exhortati­on, that you turn in your Minds to the Light of Jesus Christ within, in your Consciences, that with it you may see where you are, and find the true Way to Everlasting Life, and do not call that natural in Opposition to the Light and Spi­rit of Christ, which revealeth to Man his Thoughts, and lets him see the Intents of his Heart, whether they be good or evil, and all that ever he doth; for no other Way can any Man come to the Knowledge of God, or of himself, but by this Means; neither did ever any Man know God, but by this Way, Christ, the Way, Truth and Life, who enlightneth every Man that co­meth into the World; this was the Word of Faith in Adam's Heart, whereby he knew what God required of him in his Pa­radical State, it was the Word of his Understanding and Be­lief, and in this there was Power to have preserved him, if he had trusted, and staid his Mind in it, and in it he had known no Evil, but in the Eternal Sence of the Love, Power and Wis­dom of the Creator he had been preserved, but going from this he fell into Sin and Transgression of the Mind of the Lord, and was ashamed, because that which he fell from, and turned from [Page 4] the Counsel of, revealed unto him his Sin and his Nakedness, and then he would have hid himself to have escaped Shame and Condemnation; so that here was his Condemnation, the Light, and is the Condemnation of all in him, and with this Light all the Sons of the disobedient old Adam are found out, whether they be Professors or Prophane; and it is in vain for any to hide themselves under any Pretence or Profession of Religion what­soever; for they will be found out, condemned, and be made ashamed, and their Nakedness will appear.

Oh all ye Professors and Prophane, consider and hearken to the Counsel of God in the Light, be wise-hearted, and learn in it first to know your Estate and Inward Condition, and also to know the Lord, the Seed of the Woman to bruise the Scrpent's Head; for by this Principle he doth, and ever did speak to Mankind in general, even to their Hearts and Consciences; and it was the true Word of Faith in their Hearts, when God spake to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and the holy Pro­phets, who spoak forth the Scriptures as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; and in this Principle, the Light or Word of Faith, they received the holy Doctrine of God by this Infalli­ble Spirit and Guide, raised up to open their Understandings, by which they knew the Lord, and the Revelation of his Mind, what they were to speak or reveal to any People; it was the same in that Day, the Light of God, or Christ, the Word of true Faith; and if any would nicely distinguish, and say, it was the Light of God the Father or Creator, but not of Christ the Saviour and Redeemer; I answer, the Lord God made the World by the same Word that was in the Beginning with God, and was God, which Word became Flesh, in whom was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men; and so God made all Things by him, and without him was nothing made that was made, and all Power in Heaven and Earth is given to him, Mat. 28. 18. And all Judgment, Joh. 5. 22. Neither can there be Eternal Judgment without him, in the Hearts and Consciences of Men; therefore it is absurd to say, It is not the spiritual saving Light of Jesus Christ, the Word or Son of God; for if it be a Light that either judges or condemns for Sin within, or saves from it, then it is the Light of Christ, and no other, and therefore spi­ritual [Page 5] and saving, and powerful in the working, and a Manife­station of it to all that believe, because it is a Measure of and from the living God and his Eternal Powerful Word and Wis­dom, and is piercing and searching within to discover unto Man his Sin, though never so secr [...]t, and with it and in it God tryes Mens Hearts and Reins, and God's Eternal Judgment is set up in it.

And therefore this is to check the Absurdity of that base Re­flection cast upon it by many who profess to teach others the Way of God, who say, It is a Natural Light, in Opposition to the Spiritual Light of Christ; and herein they manifestly con­tradict their own Doctrine, who in Word preach for Doctrine and say, Christ is all in all, and confess, That all Judgment is delivered to the Son, and yet deny it again; and yet most of them confess that to be true Judgment set up in the Hearts of Men and Women by this Light within; and hereby they confess People may read their Condemnation, and that it judges People for their inward Thoughts, Words and Deeds, and yet they call this Natural, and cry down the Spirituality of it, as from Christ Jesus, and so derogate from their own Doctrine and Christ's Authority, who imagine another Judgment set up in the Heart and Conscience before Christ come by a Natural Light, and if so, then all Power and Judgment is not committed to the Son, neither is Christ as to Mans Salvation or Condemnation all in all; and therefore they are in the Dark, groping for the Light at Noon day, and put Natural for Spiritual; for the Light must needs be spiritual, which judgeth the spiritual Matters of a Man's Heart and Conscience, his secretest Thoughts of his Heart that ever he thought, his Affections and his Inteutions, which are all Spiritual, or from a Man's Spirit, to be judged or discerned by no Natural Man or Natural Thing.

All will grant, That no Man knows the particular Thoughts and Intents of another Man's Heart, as relating to Good or Evil, but by the Revelation of Gods Spirit; therefore it must needs be the Revelation of God's Spirit and Light within, that makes manifest to a Man his own inward Thoughts and spiritual Co­gitations, that he may discern whether they be good or evil.

So this Light and Manifestation of the Spirit of God was al­wayes [Page 6] the same in its Nature, it never changed nor ever will, but stood and stands a Witness for God in all Ages and Genera­tions, to witness against the Evil in all Ages and Generations, and for the Good; and to every Dispensation and Ministrarion of God, that in whatsoever Time they lived, they might know how to chuse the Good, and refuse the Evil; and through this Inward Light Abraham knew the Voice of God that spake to him, and that it was the Voice of God, and that it was not a Delusion, when he was called out of his own Country, he had Power, waiting upon God in this Principle, to try the Spirits, and to discern the Voice and Teaching of the true Spirit of God; he had no other Teacher but the Lord in this Light; and God commanded him to offer up his Son Isaac, and he obeyed, and had Power so to do in this Light, so that the Word of his Faith was nigh him, even in his Heart and Mouth to obey the Precepts and Commands of God in it; so that Christ was then his Teach­er, whom he believed in and obeyed, and was the Shepherd and Bishop of his Soul, whose Day in the Light he saw, and rejoy­ced; for God's Manifestations and Heavenly Operations were all then in and through Christ, and Salvation then was in him, and in no other, for God never revealed or wrought any Work without him; and the holy Men of God then were made holy by no other Power, but the Power of Christ revealed in the Light, so that by this Light and the Manifestation of the Spirit within, they knew how to distinguish betwixt the true and false Righteousness in all Ages, and the true and false Spirit, and what they both led and moved unto; and so the Holy Men reproved the Wicked in all Ages, and were God's faithful Witnesses, for they feared him, and waited upon him, and he poured forth of his Spirit upon them, and they received the Gift of it in all Ages, so far as God was pleased to make it manifest, and they were impowred with it to do the Lord's Will, and they were a spiritual People, and led by the Manifestation of the Spirit of God in their Wayes and Works, and there were spiritual Jews in measure, which worshipped God in the Spirit, and their Con­fidence was in God, and not in the Flesh, or in the Arm of it: Da­vid in measure knew God's Spirit and Power in that Dispensati­on, and it was the Lord that guided him and conducted him [Page 7] in his going out in his Name against Goliah without Sword or Spear; for he went out in the Faith and Strength of God, and prevailed, and he knew the Lord was with him, by the Word of his Faith, wherein God shewed him his great Authority and Power which he should stand in, and overcome that Goliah; and the Spirit of God came upon many, and they did and suffer­ed many wonderful Things, by the Help and Assistance of God in the Light, so that they were Witnesses of the living God, and Power of Eternal Salvation, or of that Eternal Word that became Flesh; so that in those ancient Dayes what God re­vealed to his People or Prophets, it was in the Light within, and Principle we now direct People to; and never was there any Revelation or Dispensation of God, or Operation of his Power, but it was in his own Light, both before the Law, un­der the Law, and in this Day of his more spiritual Appearance; and in Christ was the Acceptation in all Ages, as People feared God, and wrought Righteousness; so that they in their Day that worshipped God in the Spirit, so far as God was pleased to reveal himself, and strictly require of them, were accepted, and the disobedient rejected; and the true Worshippers among the Jews had their Acceptation in Christ, whereby they were impowered with a Measure of his Spirit, to offer their Hearts to God; and when at any Time they offered the Offerings re­quired under that Dispensation with a perfect and true Heart, in the Fear and Love of God, they were accepted, because they rightly and honestly obeyed the Lord in such his Requirings, and such grew into further inward Discoveries of the Substance, whenas on the contrary, they that were sinful and hypocritical, though in the Letter and Form of that Worship, they might offer, and do the same Thing in Shew and Appearance, yet it was abominable, they not being the true People of God, but only made a Shew then of being so, & were then the hypocritical and false-hearted Jews, their Offering and Service not proceed­ing from a pure, but a polluted Mind and Heart, rejecting the Counsel of God in the Light or Word of Faith in their Hearts, which convinced them of Sin, and in which the Lord set before them Life and Death, which Counsel they rejected, and lived then in the bare Form of Godliness, but not in the Power; so [Page 8] in that sinful Nature living, though in the Dayes of Christ the Pharisees flourished exceedingly in the Profession of that Dis­pensation of Moses, according to the Letter or Form of it, that when Christ the Substance came, they opposed him, and so were made manifest to be of the Devil, because they loved their Evil Deeds, and hated the Light; and in that Mind and State of sinful inward Hypocrisie, they did as naturally op­pose the Lord Jesus in his Appearance in that Body at Jerusa­lem, as they did that Manifestation of his Appearance in their own Consciences, which convinced them of Sin, and called them out of it.

So they that fear'd God in the Dayes of Moses were led with­in to the Substance of all those Types and Shadows and outward Representations whatsoever; and by the Interpretation and Teaching of the Word of Faith in their Hearts, they were instruct­ed in the Mystery of Salvation it self, the better Hope, the Pow­er of God, and came to see what those outward Shadows signified under the Law, and whereunto they served; as Christ said to his Disciples, after he had spoken forth Parables to the People, they inquiring the Meaning of the Parables, To you (saith he) it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom, but to others in Parables: So to them under the Law, who feared God, and attended to the Word of Faith within, to them it was given to know the true Meaning of those Types; and what they signified and served unto, and their true and right Ʋse; and they were his true People then, serving the Lord according to the Reve­lation of his Will under that Dispensation, and they were in­wardly made Holy by the inward Power of Christ, and were ac­cepted there in their Holy and Evangelical Faith and Living, so far as the Lord was pleased to open that great Mystery in them, and to them; for without Faith in Christ then, the Substance, who was to come in that bodily Appearance at Jerusalem, it was as impossible to please God as now; and by that Faith they were sav'd and accepted, for the bare Observance of the Letter of the Law made nothing Persect.

Now this is the Sum of what I have to say in this Matter, in all Ages and Generations the Lord hath afforded the Means of Salvation, even in the Dayes of the greatest Ignorance that [Page 9] ever was in the World, which he is said to wink at, yea, amongst the Gentiles, that which might be known of God was manifest in them, for he shewed it unto them, Rom. 1. 19. even the Light of his Son Christ Jesus, that true Light which lighteth every Man that cometh into the World, which was the Cause of the Revelati­on of the Wrath of God from Heaven against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men, who held the Truth in Unrighte­ousness, Rom. 1. 18. For the very Gentiles were l [...]st without Excuse, because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, &c. Ver. 21. Here therefore is the Means to all Man­kind in general, the Word of Faith in their Hearts that they may believe and understand what God requires of them in their Day and Time; and they in all Ages that have feared God, and eschewed Evil, so far as they were convinced in their Hearts by this Principle of God's absolute Requirings, and joyned their Hearts to this Principle, trusting in it, and refusing the Evil, though they did not know the Name of it in such Clear­ness, as we do in this Day, yet in Measure they were Believers and Partakers of the Vertue of it, by Means whereof they re­ceived Strength, and were kept from Evil, and were God's Witnesses, and reproved the Wickedness of the Times they lived in, and in that they knew not so much of God as after-Generations had revealed unto them, yet they wore accepted in their faithful Obedience to what they knew in their Day, and was necessarily required of them.

So that the Word of Faith was testified unto by Moses in his Day, Deut. 30. 11, 12, 13, 14. And it was the same Word of Faith which the Apostles preached, Rom. 10. 6, 7, 8, &c. And therefore it was the same in the Day of Moses, the Word of their Faith, that they might believe and obey the Lord's Commands; and in all Times, Ministrations and Dispensa­tions it was the same, and it was God's spiritual Witness in the Apostles Dayes, when they preached their Spiritual, Power­ful and Heavenly Gospel, there was a Witness in Peoples Con­sciences, when they preached their Gospel (mark that) they had their Witness in every Man's Conscience, which evidenced and witnessed the Truth of the Apostles Doctrine, though they rejected it, and therefore with this Light they were condemned [Page 10] for their Unbelief, and the Apostle was clear of their Blood, and of the Blood of all Men, because they would not hear or regard the Gospel preaching, though they were capacitated by this Word of Faith to have believed and obeyed it, but they whose Hearts did not believe to Righteousness, were such as lo­ved their Evil Deeds, and hated the Light, and it was their Con­demnation.

O the malicious Sottishness of some professed Preachers of that they call Gospel, who are notorious Wicked against the Truth, and in my hearing have called this blessed Light of Je­sus, Flesh, and altogether Darkness; whither will not Malice transport People? so that what Blasphemy will they not utter, who hate the Lord's Christ, and his blessed Appearance?

Oh Rebellious Teachers, and Blind Leaders of the People, who drag the People into Mischief, instead of bringing them unto Christ, or turning them to his Light, that they may believe and be saved; the Hand of the Lord is against such vain Bab­lers and filthy Teachers, who deny the Lord that bought them, and tread his precious Blood under their wicked Feet, and will nei­ther enter themselves (into the Gospel-Faith) that they may be saved, nor suffer others to enter, whom they can hinder: I speak this of such wicked shameless Zealots as have sold them­selves to do wickedly, and are not ashamed in the Face of the whole World to oppose the Light within, in Malice and Hypo­crisie, whatever it costs them; yea, they are as wicked as the worst of Christ's Enemies ever were, who cryed, Away with him, Crucifie him, his Blood be upon us and our Children: with what Force have they endeavoured in like Manner to destroy the Truth▪ and quench the Spirit, Breath and Life of it.

And it may be some of those in former Times were by this very Principle they so perfectly oppose, convinced of Sin, and then had some Sence of the VVeight of their Iniquities upon them; and in that Day there might be some Tenderness wrought in them, and they might have Openings of Light and Truth, so far as to let them see there was a Necessity of separating from the Sin, of the Times they lived in, and from their VVayes and VVorships, and the Lord owned them as they feared him, and were an enquiring People after him then, and they had some of [Page 11] them Openings of further Discoveries at Hand, and glorious Times to come; and they would speak of the Teaching of the Spirit within, and a VVork within, and were a breathing Peo­ple, and there was some Greenness amongst them, and they were in Measure hated and persecuted, and all this; and if they had had a Thousand Times more Experience of God, it was by and through this Light, and pure VVord of Faith, as God opened to them in it; but departing from this Inward Light and Teach­ing, and sitting down in the Form of that, which in some De­gree they had had some Tast of, and not waiting in Tenderness, in that Light and Spirit which opened good Things unto them, and let them see that blessed Things were at Hand, to be revealed, and further Manifestations of God in Christ, they fell from their State, and departed from the Light and Spirit within, and lost their Strength to withstand the Enemy, and so he got Power over them, and in Heart they have backslided and in that State they have rebelled against the Lord and his Truth in their own Particulars, and found out a VVay to excuse themselves, by calling themselves Believers in a State of Sin, and Christ dyed for them, and they are the Elect of God, and the like, and God imputes Christ's Righteousness to them, and sees no Sin in them, but looks upon them in Christ, though the Enemy bears the Rule, and p [...]ss [...]ss [...]s the Heart; a meer Cheat; but if they had stood in God's Heavenly Light and Counsel, he would by his Eternal Almighty Power soon have subdued Sin under them, and they would have witnessed Christ in them, the Hope of Glory, great­er then he that is in the World, and have known the VVork of true Regeneration and Peace, and not have needed such vain Covets and Beggarly Shifts as now they are got into, and with the Pharise [...]s say, they see, and yet their Sin remains in their Hearts, spiritually persecuting the dear Lord Jesus; yea, if they had kept to their first Integrity, and waited in the Light, they would have been able to have read God's pure living Dis­pensations with his People in this the Day of his pure Power; but it is hid from the Eyes of such who are at present wilfully bent, and set to oppose the Light▪ Here is Law and Gospel to be revealed spiritually in the Light, the Promise witnessed the promised Seed, the Power of God to Salvation, made manifest [Page 12] the same, witnessed in this Light, that both kills and makes alive, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, that makes free from the Law of Sin and Death.

Oh blessed are they that believe in this Light, that they may be the Children of it, through the true Judgment that is in it, they will come to know the Mystery of Eternal Salvation, and rest with the Lamb for everm [...]re.

But some perhaps will object and say, Why did Christ Jesus say to his Disciples, he would send them the Comforter, if he went away from them in that bodily Appearance, which should convince the World of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment, if the Manife­station of the Spirit was already in the World, to convince them of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment, and to comfort true Belie­vers: I answer, surely none will or can deny, who profess Christianity, but the Apostles in some Measure before Christ's outward Departure from them, had the Comfort of the holy Spirit in them, and were both Believers and obedient Children in their Measure, when he sent them forth in his Name before his Departure, and they returned rejoycing, because the De­vils were made subject, &c. to that living Authority they were sent forth in, and the World was also convinced of Sin, Righte­ousness and Judgment in Measure, before the Promise of this sending, and great pouring forth of the Spirit; but this was a fuller Ministration promised of Gospel-Glory, both for the further and fuller Convincement of the World, and also the fuller Revelation of this great Mystery to them, Christ within the Hope of Glory, for their exceeding great Satisfaction and Increase of that Comfort and Faith, which in some Measure they had before, and gifting and impowering them for that great Work whereunto they were appointed.

And therefore all the World may see, that are not wilfully blind, that it alwayes was, and is, and will be the same forever that reveals the Comfort of the Holy Ghost, to such as are true Believers in Christ Jesus, and also convinces the World of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment, the Principle is one, the Spirit of Truth, the Light, the VVord of Faith, the same forever, in all Ages and Generations, according to its Manifestation, that all through it believing, and by the Means of it, may know the [Page 13] Lord and his Sufficiency forever; for by what Means do Peo­ple come to see when they are tempted, or when Evil is presen­ted in their Hearts, and a Consent of Heart is pressed unto by the Enemy, doth not this Light of Christ in the Heart imme­diately give them VVarning? and by believing and hearkning to the Counsel of its Teaching, are they not preserved even in Heart from Consenting? and is not this an Act of true Faith, through the vertuous Blood of Jesus? and is not this the Pre­sence of God's Power in Christ, made manifest in the Light, that gives Ability to resist, and is greater in such to preserve out of Evil, then the Power of Darkness to prevail and lead into it. Oh that People would consider what belongs to their Peace, and know the great God near them with his Light within, the Ground both of their Sight and Strength, to let them see Evil in its first Appearance, and give them present Power and Help against it, and that all may be ashamed, who have lift up a Weapon against the Power and Sufficiency of its Teaching, and repent, is the true Desire of him, who is a Lover of true Righteousness,