wanting unto those, who through Jesus Christ in faith and humility, do seek the same.

"I attribute nothing to my own merits, which are none; but ascribe every good thought, word, and deed, unto the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

"I acknowledge no saviour, no mediator, or advocate, but Jesus Christ, nor any propitiation for my sins, and the sins of the whole world, but him, who is the way, the truth, the light, and the life, neither is there salvation in any other: nor is there any other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts, iv. 12. For he is the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, John, i. 9. And they that believe in the light and walk in it, are made the children of the light, and true disciples of Christ, and shall never come into condemnation, but shall pass from death unto life, John, v. 24. Because he is in them a well of water, springing up into everlasting life, John, iv. 14.

"As often as I err, slip, or offend, I am reproved, judged, condemned, and, through the Spirit of God exciting and enabling me, do seriously repent; whence I receive remission of sins, by the free grace of God through Jesus Christ; and forgiveness of the sins of my past life being freely granted, and confirmed in my heart by the testimony of the Holy Spirit; I earnestly pray unto God, that I may watch always, and by the grace and power of God, through faith, may be preserved, that I fall not again into sin. I also most fervently pray, that I may abstain from every appearance of evil; and that God would sanctify me wholly, and that my whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thess. v. 22, 23, and that I may be perfect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matt, v. 48."

We shall next insert four manuscripts penned about this time, namely,

1. An answer to one that had charged the Quakers with denying priests, preaching, and ordinances. 2. An answer to a letter about tithes.

3. An exhortation to a faithful obedience to the light of Christ.

4. The duty of children toward their parents.

"An Answer to one that had charged the Quakers with denying priests, preaching, and ordinances."

"The testimony of truth is not simply and indefinitely against all priests, preaching, and ordinances; for, first, we believe in him who is a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.' Heb. vii. 21, the apostle and high-priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.' Heb iii. 1. And we also own all such priests as are made by him, spoken of in Rev. i. 6, and v. 10. Priests of God all that have received the holy unction; all who are anointed and consecrated unto God. Those lively stones, that are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ: a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, who show forth the praises 1 of him that hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9. But we cannot own those priests who are neither called of God, nor do derive their authority immediately from him; but being called and ordained by men who derive their succession through the papal line, do go forth and preach by virtue of a mere human call, power, and authority, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and making merchandize of their own imaginations, divining for money, and preparing war against those that cannot put into their mouths. These are the priests, which we do not, nor cannot own, because the Lord owns them not, neither have they any ground for their order and function in the writings of the New Testament.

"Dr. Whitaker, Regius Professor at Cambridge, in his answer to Campian the Jesuit, says, that this name [priest] is nowhere in the New Testament properly accommodated to the ministers of the gospel. And that Christ left a ministry, not a new priesthood to them.—Respons. ad Rat. 9. p. 210. And in his reply to Duræus the Jesuit, p. 808, he asserts, that seeing the gospel gives the name of priest to none but Christ in its proper signification, but by a common use of that name, calls all Christians priests; the Papists do absurdly, and very wickedly, in claiming that peculiarly to themselves, which is equally granted to all Christians.

1 Or, virtues, that is, his miraculous power, divine actions, and words together, as Dr. Hammond expounds it in his Annotations on 2 Pet. i. 3.

“Dr. Fulke saith, speaking of the word, priest, (see his Defence of the English Translations of the Bible, in answer to Gregory Martin, c. 6. p. 160,) It is commonly taken to signify a sacrificer, such as 'Iepeùg is in Greek, and Sacerdos in Latin, by which names the ministers of the gospel are never called by the Holy Ghost. After this common acceptation and use of this word, priest, we call the sacrificers of the Old Testament and of the Gentiles also; because the Scripture calleth them by one name, Cohanim or 'Iɛpeic, we thought it necessary to observe that distinction, which we see the Holy Ghost so precisely hath observed. Therefore where the Scripture calleth them ρtoburέpov, we call them, according to the etymology, elders, and not priests: which word is taken up by common usurpation, to signify sacrificers of Jews, Gentiles, or Papists; or else, all Christians, in respect of spiritual sacrifices. And although Augustine, and others of the ancient Fathers, call the ministers of the New Testament by the name of Sacerdotes and 'Iɛpes, which signify the ministers of the Old Testament; yet the authority of the Holy Ghost, making a perfect distinction between those two appellations and functions, ought to be of more estimation with us.'

"Christ alone remains a priest for ever; and that we may not derogate from him, we give the name of priest to none of our ministers,' saith the Helvetic confession.

"The preaching we plead for, is from the immediate openings of the Spirit of truth, according to the Holy Scriptures; and therefore we wait upon the Lord in silence, with our minds gathered and retired to the manifestation of his Spirit in our hearts, from our own wills, wisdom, reasonings, and studies, that we may receive from him, before we open our mouths in testimony or declaration unto others. This is pure, primitive apostolical preaching; and the contrary thereunto we disown, in all whoever they are, and with whatsoever arts and devices they endeavour to set themselves off, and to palliate their usurped, and consequently unwarrantable and fruitless ministry.

"The ordinances we contend against, are only the traditions and inventions of men, in things pertaining to God, his worship and service. For, this is that which we ought to have special regard unto in all articles of faith to be believed, and in all acts of worship to be performed, namely, that they are of God and of him only. For if there is any thing of human mixture in faith

and worship, neither that faith nor worship are truly divine. They must be of God, or cannot be justly entitled to that appellation. By human mixture, I mean the figments and devices of men, in their adding to, or taking from, or blending with the institutions and appointments of Christ. As for instance, prayer is an ordinance or institution of Christ, but if men shall undertake to pray, either by a precomposed form of their own, or of others, or by the extemporary help of mere memory, or any other natural or acquired abilities, they offend in one or other, if not all the forementioned particulars. The like may be said of preaching, singing, and any act of worship whatsoever, wherein man's carnal will is the chief spring, and his natural wisdom the principal director of the motion.

"If it be asked how we may pray, preach, sing, &c. that our prayers may be heard, and our preaching and singing may be acceptable to the Lord? I answer, when we perform these actions, by the immediate inspiration and assistance of his Holy Spirit, who thereby taught and enabled his people, in all ages and generations past, and is nigh and ready to teach and enable us now so to do, as we in faith and humility wait upon him. And blessed for ever be his holy name, a remnant have had a large experience of his divine power and presence in that respect; and can give in their testimonies, that immediate revelation was not confined to the apostolic age; but that God, who changes not, is the same that ever he was, according to the measure of his divine gift, to all that truly believe and humbly wait for his spiritual appearance."

"An Answer to a Letter about Tithes."

"Friend,

"The case thou desirest my judgment in, as stated by thee, supposes three things;-First, That the motives inducing our Friends to suffer for not paying of tithes are insufficient ;-Secondly, That we suffer upon a mistake, that is, we take that to be the cause or reason of our sufferings, which is not: for, thou sayst, we suffer not for bearing a testimony against tithes, strictly speaking, but as detainers of that which the law has disposed of to other uses;-Thirdly, That the law disposing of the tithes to those uses, obliges us to the payment of them.

"First, then, as to the motives inducing our Friends to suffer for not paying of tithes, thy stating of the case supposes them

insufficient: but, thou dost not tell us what those motives are: thou shouldst, if thou hadst known what they are, have set them down; but because thou hast not, I will give thee a few hints, and leave them to thy consideration, whether they are sufficient or not.

"Motive 1. The Levitical priesthood, which received tithes, being changed, and a change also of that law which required the payment of them necessarily ensuing thereupon, tithes themselves, considered as the minister's maintenance, consequently ceased with that change: and there being no law of Christ, (who is a priest, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchisedec) nor of the holy apostles, who had the Spirit of Christ, that commandeth the payment of tithes, the disciples of Christ are freed from all obligation thereunto.

"Motive 2. The present ministers that lay claim to tithes, as they have no precept or commandment of Christ or his apostles for tithes, so neither have they any precedent or example of theirs for them. And therefore tithes are now a mere human institution, and those ministers that claim them, have no right by virtue of gospel precept or precedent to them.

"Motive 3. All those things which were of a nature purely ceremonial and typical under the Levitical law, are wholly abrogated and at an end under the gospel dispensation. Now of such a nature were tithes under the Levitical law, and therefore are wholly abrogated, and at an end under the gospel dispensation.

"That tithes were merely ceremonial, appears manifestly from their being an heave-offering. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave-offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit, Num. xviii. 24. Now if any thing under the Levitical law were purely ceremonial, heave-offerings undoubtedly were; and tithes being of the nature of heave-offerings, they were purely ceremonial also.

"If it should be asked, what tithes were typical of, for all the heave-offerings of the Levitical law typified something or other under the gospel dispensation? I answer, tithes being an heave-offering unto the Lord, were typical, as all the other heave-offerings were, of Christ, who is the great heave-offering. They were the shadows, he the substance; they the types or figures, he the anti-type or thing figured. In three things they specially typified or prefigured Christ.

“1. In his crucifixion; for as the types were heaved or lifted