and prejudice of fome incline them rather to think hardly of God, than favourably of the light. How ill doth it become thofe to object an impoffibility of the light's bearing their iniquities, who are daily wounding it with their rebellions?

But they object Some deny they have it; and < others, by their diffolute lives, fhew they are void of it.' To which I fay, it is not impoffible for a life of worldly care and pleafures, and downright debauchery, to darken and quite blind that eye which only fees the light of truth, and, being kept fingle, preferves the body full of light; but this makes no alteration in the LIGHT: if, through repentance and contrition, the fcales fall off, the light refufes not itfelf to the eye that can and will fee it; the light remains unaltered, it is man that changes. Would the running mad of fome men be a good argument to prove mankind irrational? Neither is it any demonftration against the univerfality of the light within, because some have, by the ftupefyings of fin, rendered themselves infenfible of it.

Nor doth ill living difprove the fufficiency of the light, though it prove difobedience to it. Is it good logick, that because a wicked man will not receive good advice, therefore he never had it?' And what better reason can it be to fay, Men disobey the light, therefore they never had it,' whilft that proves they had it, at least as a condemner? A man may be faid to be lighted, when he knows and does not his duty; but rather, I confefs, when he becomes a better man by fuch illumination. In the firft fenfe, all are illuminated; in the last, only such as follow to obey the light; for they will find their understandings illuminated, and their hearts mended, of which the disobedience of others deprives them. In fhort, all have light to reprove, unless they have quite put out their eyes; but only fuch have it beneficially, as their teacher and director, who receive it in the love of it,

Since then the confent of mankind, the goodness and justice of God, and the reafon of the thing itself,

E e 3

plead

plead fo ftrongly for the univerfality of this light, I need fay the lefs, and fhall defcend to confider its fufficiency.

Ć HA P. XXI.

The fufficiency of the LIGHT proved by reafon.

BE

ECAUSE as well the fufficiency, as univerfality of the light, is ftruck at by our adverfaries, it will not, I hope, feem amifs if I fay fomething briefly to it; though much of what I have faid about the other may be referred to this.

All

That the univerfal light is alfo fufficient, is a belief fo reasonable and neceffary, that the oppofite opinion must needs impeach the juftice of God. grant, that God has made man rational, capable, in fome measure, of the knowledge of his Creator; which his bare capacity would never have given him, unlefs God had pleased to have made fome difcovery of himself, fuitable to that created capacity in the creature. Certainly then, fince God defires not that the creature fhould receive a wrong impreffion of him, while he requires univerfal fear and reverence, he muft needs have given fome certain and fufficient difcovery and measure to the creature, in order to it, by those lively manifeftations, and moft fenfible touches of the light to and upon the foul, which cannot but be true, clear, and, if minded, efficacious; for that God fhould require men to ferve him, and not give them what is fufficient, is worfe than not to give at all; fince man's not obeying fuch discoveries, is not fo great an aggravation of his neglect, as the imperfection of them is, either of the infufficiency, or unwillingness of him that made them, do otherwise. What is this but to fay, that God expects homage from men, as their fovereign Lord, and that they live uprightly in the world, and yet he has not given them ability

ability to do it? He pronounces fuch miferable who conform not themselves to an holy life, but gives no power to avoid the curfe? In thort, though reason tells us he made none purposely to deftroy them, but rather that he might be glorified in their falvation, which he also is faid to invite men to; yet that he defigns nothing lefs, by leaving all mankind under the faintings of an impoffible fuccefs. But as such difimal confequences belong not to the truth, fo we are well affured, the light, of which we speak, has ever been fufficient to the end for which has been given, in every age, both to manifest evil, condemn for it, and redeem from the power and pollution of it, by the holy operation of its power, all those who are the diligent difciples of it. For it seems moft unreafonable that the spirit of darkness fhould be fufficient to draw into fin, and yet that the spirit and light of Chrift fhould not be fufficient to redeem and fave from it. Since therefore we cannot admit of any infufficiency in the light within, but at the fame time we must suppose, ift, That whilft God would be rightly worshipped, he has too darkly discovered the way how to do it aright; and 2dly, That his gift is impotent; and 3dly, That man is required to do what he has no power to perform; and 4thly, That whilft God requires man to ferve him, he hath not fo much as fhewn him what way he ought to do it (which are confequences moft unworthy of God); we rather chufe to fit down contented with this belief,

That

God, who made man, and has given him a foul capable of knowing and ferving his Maker, hath alfo endued him with divine knowledge, by a superadded light and power, and enabled him thereby to • live fubfervient to that knowledge: that God's gift is perfect and fufficient for that work; and that fuch as are led by it, muft needs be led to God; unto whom the divine light naturally tends, and attracts, as that from whom it came; which is certainly a ftate of bleffed immortality.'

In short, accept, reader, of these few arguments, comprehenfive of these two chapters, and indeed of most of what goes before.

1. God requires no man to do any thing he has not given him first light to know, and then power to do. But God requires every man to fear him, and work righteoufnefs: therefore he has given every man both a discovery of his will, and power to do it.

2. No man ought to worship the true God ignorantly: but every man is commanded to worship God; therefore he is to do it knowingly.

3. No man can know God, but God muft discover it to him, and that cannot be without light: therefore every man has light.

4. This light must be sufficient, or God's gifts are imperfect, and answer not the end for which they were given. But God's gifts are perfect, and can perform what they are defigned for: therefore fince the light is his gift, it must be sufficient.

The fum is this:

Every man ought to fear, worship, and obey God. No man can do it aright, that knows him not. No man can know him but by the discovery he makes of himself. No difcovery can be made without light. Nor can this light give that discovery, if imperfect or infufficient in nature: therefore all have a fufficient light to this great end and purpose, viz. to fear, worship, and obey God; and this light is Christ.

С НА Р.

CHAP. XXII.

The queftion, Who he is, or they are, that obey this divine light, &c. confidered and answered; being the character of a true Quaker.

I

AM now come to my last question, viz. Who this he is, or they are, that obey this light, and in obeying attain falvation?' Or, what are the qualifications of those that obey this light? Not what are their names; but what manner or kind of people are they? In short, What is it to obey the light?"

I think I have fo fully expreffed myself already in this matter, that, with an ingenuous reader, I might be faved the pains of farther confidering it; but that nothing may be thought to be fhunned as unanfwerable, which is fo eafy to be answered, I muft tell him and all men, and that not without fome experimental knowledge of what I fay, that fuch obey the light, who refrain from all that the light manifefts to be evil, and who incline to perform all that it requires to be done. For example: When the light fhews that it is inconfiftent with a man fearing God, to be wanton, paffionate, proud, covetous, backbiting, envious, wrathful, unmerciful, revengeful, prophane, drunken, voluptuous, unclean; which, with fuch-like, are called in fcripture" the fruits of the flesh, and the works "of darkness;" and perfons fo qualified, "the chil"dren of wrath, fuch as delight not to retain God in "their knowledge," &c. I fay, when the light difcovers these things to be inconfiftent with a man fearing God, he who truly obeys the light, denies and forfakes them, however cross it be to flesh and blood, and let it coft him never fo dear: though relations do both threaten and entreat, and the world mock, and that he is fure to become the fong of the drunkard, and a derifion to his ancient companions. No, he

Gal. v. Ephef. v. Rom. i.

dare