and then heals. Afterwards he atones, mediates, and reinstates man, in the holy image he is fallen from by sin. Behold, this is the state of restitution! And this, in some measure, was witnessed by the holy patriarchs, prophets, and servants of God in old time; to whom Christ was substantially the same Saviour, and seed, bruising the serpent's head, that he is now to us, what difference soever there may be in point of manifestation."]

This is, indeed, a beautiful description of "salvation complete," or the work of regeneration, and restitution into that divine image which man lost by the fall; and which was, in some measure, witnessed by the holy patriarchs, and prophets; the same Christ or Word-God, bearing and atoning for the sins of repenting transgressors, in all ages; not a justification or atonement by any works of righteousness they could do, but a real putting on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; yet not to the exclusion of what he did for man without them, who has ever been, and continues to be, the Saviour of his people from their sins. For as we believe him, to have been with God from all eternity, and to be that divine and effective Word, by whom all things were made, so also, we believe, that so soon as man had fallen, he became the propitiation, mediator, redeemer, and sanctifier, that thus he might restore man into a state of purity, fitted for the enjoyment of the glory and harmony of Heaven.

Although William Penn wrote the chapter, from which we are quoting, with the express intention of unfolding the sufferings and operations of the light, or seed in man; yet, lest he should be thought thereby to slight or undervalue "Christ's bodily sufferings;" he stops in the midst of his discourse, to make the following clear and explicit declaration of his christian belief in their inestimable value and extent.

"But notwithstanding it was the same Light, and Life, with that which afterwards clothed itself with that outward body, which did in measure inwardly appear for the salvation of the souls of men ; yet, as I have often said, never did that divine life so eminently show forth itself as in that sanctified and prepared body. So that what he then suffered and did, in that transcendent manifestation, may by way of eminency, have the credit of the whole work unto itself, that he ever did before, or might do afterwards for man's salvation. For, doubtless, the very same light, life, and power, which dwelt in that fleshly tabernacle, eminently was the Convincer, Condemner, Saviour, and Redeemer: yet not only as confined to that blessed body, but also as revealed in the hearts of men; as he was in Paul, who, not consulting with flesh and blood, against the Lord of Glory; did willingly receive him in, to bind the strong man, spoil his goods and cast him out; that HE might reign, whose right it was. And that the divine life, light, spirit, nature or principle, which resided in that body, was the efficient cause of salvation, observe the title that is given him, from the great work he was to do, namely, to save his people from his sins; there is not one word of wrath, but consequentially. Now, since that sin, is in the heart and conscience of mankind, nothing but a divine light, spirit or power,

can reach and convey purity into those inward parts, and conse quenly that must be the Redeemer and Saviour from sin. But, indeed, those who have a mind to naturalize that strange figure, into the language of the holy truth; I mean, that to be saved, is only to be saved from wrath and not from sin, whose assured wages is wrath; may have some interest, though no reason, for their implacable enmity against an inherent holiness."

After the quotations made by the compilers, we think the omis sion of so important a declaration as the foregoing, was not doing justice to William Penn, inasmuch as he appears to have designed it to guard against the supposition that he meant, in any degree, to slight or undervalue the outward manifestation, and propitiatory death, of Jesus Christ in the flesh. To what Christ then did and suf fered, he attributes the credit of the whole work, that HE ever did before, or might, afterward, by his spirit do, toward the salvation of men; thus unequivocally acknowledging the transcendency of his sufferings over every thing that the most enlightened and redeemed Christian could ever possibly experience.

The following paragraph is the second quoted by the compilers, and commencing with the words, "But I further confess," would seem to refer to the one which they place immediately preceding; whereas in William Penn's work, they are separated by that which we last quoted, and which they have omitted entirely.

[“But, I further confess, that his righteous life, with respect "to its appearance in that holy body, was grieved by sin, and that "the weight of the iniquity of the whole world, with the concern"ment of its eternal well being, lay hard upon him, nor was his "manhood insensible of it: under the load of this did he travail; he "alone trode the wine-press; that is, all others were then insensible of "that eternal wrath which would be the portion of the impenitent persons, as well as that it was his great care and deep travail, that "the holy, yet oppressed seed, might arise over the pressures of ini"quity in the hearts of men, to bruise the serpent's head in all. And "as outwardly, he gave his outward life for the world, so he might "inwardly shed abroad in their souls, the blood of God; that is, the "holy, purifying life, and virtue which is in him, as the Word-God, "and as which, he is the Light and Life of the world."*

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*Note.—We have compared the extracts from the Christian Quaker, as inserted in the compilers' pamphlet, with the first edition of that work, published in 1674, with the Essay as inserted in the folio edition of his works; with the same, in his select works, in folio and octavo, and with a new edition of the Christian Quaker, lately published in Philadelphia, by the friends of Elias Hicks. In collating the other editions, with the Philadelphia, we find that a very unusual and unjustifiable liberty has been taken with the author's work, as it agrees with none of the editions previously published, but is a medley of the whole. Some expressions which are found in the first edition, and which were omitted in the subsequent corrected editions, are retained in this, and many others not in the first edition, but inserted in the corrected editions, are also found in this.

G

We have here a striking testimony to that great work which the Son of God came down from heaven to accomplish; to his offering

To make the matter clearer we may state, that in the year 1699, twenty-five years after the first edition was printed, and nineteen years before William Penn's death, a new edition of the first part of the Christian Quaker, written by him, was published: in 1726 the complete edition of his works, in folio, was printed, and in 1771, his select works were published. Now, as these latter editions are alike, and are considerably amended from the first, and as the second edition, in 1699, was published many years before the author's death, there cannot be a doubt but the alterations were made by himself, and therefore it must be considered and received as the author's second corrected edition. If the publisher of the new Philadelphia edition designed to print the first edition of 1674, which it would seem he did, by his inserting this date upon the title page, he should strictly have adhered to it. Instead of this, however, there are numerous discrepancies between the two. In the Philadelphia, the first three chapters of the first edition, are condensed into an introduction, commencing the body of the work with what formed the fourth chapter of the original: in this it agrees with no edition extant, that we can find. In the language too, there is much difference; we counted thirty-five discrepancies, more or less important, in the space of two pages; which, however, as they stand in his edition, correspond with the corrected editions. But on comparing the Philadelphia edition with the corrected ones, we find also numerous variations. The preface is inserted in it, which the others omit, and several expressions contained in the old edition, which were omitted or amended in the subsequent, are again replaced in the new, especially some which might be misconstrued to lessen the value of the propitiation of Christ, &c. Now a printer is certainly at liberty to publish any edition he pleases of an author's work, though courtesy should induce him to use that which the writer had endeavoured to make most perfect; but certainly no one can justify the amalgamation and confounding of two editions of a book, so as to make one different from all the preceding copies, and different too, from any one which the author ever wrote. To publish such a book to the world, with the name of William Penn affixed to it, is little less than a forgery, since, as the Philadelphia edition stands printed, it was never written by William Penn.

We think it right to state thus much, for the information of the public, that they may be on their guard, how they receive, as the genuine "writings of primitive Friends," books which have thus been manufactured in their names.

The compilers have used the Philadelphia edition in their extracts, and they have quoted correctly, with some small exceptions. The most material of these is in their third and last paragraph, where the article the, is substituted for the definitive adjective that, in the sentence where William Penn speaks of Christ's "living that most unblemished life." The most unblemished life, may allude to the holiest life that men usually live, whereas William Penn confines it to that most unblemished life which Christ, and he alone, lived.

up his precious life for the sins of the whole world, when the iniquity of all mankind lay hard upon him, and he alone was sensible of that eternal wrath which would be the portion of impenitent sinners, and under the agonizing weight of suffering, "trode the wine press alone." This is a different kind of belief from that of Elias Hicks; viz. that he did not come to offer up his life for sin; that God never sent him into the world for any such purpose; that his death was exactly parallel to that of every other martyr; that his sacrifice was not an atonement for any sins, but the legal sins of the Jews, and that it is cruel and unholy to believe that he suffered for the sins of others. For proof that such are the sentiments of Elias Hicks, we refer to our extracts from his letters, &c. inserted in the introduction to this work. How striking is the contrast between the two. William Penn reverently acknowledges all that Christ did for us in the flesh according to the scriptures. Elias Hicks anathematizes this very doctrine which Penn so devoutly believed, and says, "Surely is it possi ble that any rational being that has any right sense of justice or mercy, that would be willing to accept forgiveness of his sins on such terms! Would he not rather go forward, and offer himself wholly up, to suffer all the penalties due to his crimes, rather than the innocent should suffer!! Nay, was he so hardy as to acknowledge a willingness to be saved, through such a medium, would it not prove that he stood in direct opposition to every principle of justice and honesty, of mercy and love, and show himself a poor, selfish creature, and unworthy of notice." According to these sentiments, William Penn must have been destitute of any right sense of justice and mercy, and a poor, selfish creature, unworthy of notice.

The third and last paragraph quoted by the compilers, appears to be designed by the author, to point out the distinction between the manhood and the Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the latter he "chiefly appropriates the work of salvation," as to that which fitted the blessed manhood for its glorious mission, by which he wrought his mighty miracles, lived that most spotless life, and patiently endured that most ignominious death on the cross for our sakes, and afterwards raised up his body, as a most irrefragable proof that He was the only begotten of the Father, endued with omnipotent power, and filled with the spirit without measure. Such was William Penn's reverence for that transcendent manifestation in the flesh, that he declares, he "dare not by any means slight it," or rob it of whatever was its due, nor yet attempt to separate what God had joined together. He concludes the seventeenth chapter thus: "To be brief, that I may yet again express our reverent sense of Christ's manifes tation, so far as relates to that holy thing that should be born of Mary, take these few particulars in my next chapter."

"CHAPTER XVIII-A confession, in particular, to redemption, remission, justification and salvation by Christ.

"I. Though we believe the Eternal Power, Life and Light which inhabited that holy person, who was born at Bethlehem, was and is chiefly and eminently the Saviour, "for there is no Saviour besides me," saith God, yet we reverently confess the holy manhood was instrumentally a Saviour, as prepared and chosen for the work that

Christ, the Word-God, had then to do in it,

which was actually to the salvation of some, and intentionally of the whole world, then, and in ages to come; suitable to that scripture, Lo, in the volume of the book it is written, I come to do thy will, (O God,) a body hast thou prepared me," &c. Heb. x. 5. 7.

"II. That as there was a necessity that one should die for the people, so whoever then or since believed in him, had and have a seal, or confirmation of the remission of their sins in his blood; and that blood, alluding to the custom of the Jewish Sacrifices, shall be an utter blotting out of former iniquities, carrying them as into a land of forgetfulness. This great assurance of remission, from the wrath due upon the score of former offences, do all receive in the ratifying blood of Christ, who, repenting of their sins, believe and obey the holy Light with which he hath lighted them. For Paul's being turned from darkness to the light in his heart, was one and ths same with his believing in. the Son of God revealed in his heart.

"III. This more glorious appearance ended that less glorious service of the Jews; for the figures being completed, the shadows fell. He, in that body, preached and lived beyond those beggarly elements. He drew religion more inward, even into the secret of the heart, and made it to consist in an higher state of righteousness, called evangelical; and at once became both the author of a more heavenly dispensation, and therein an example to all, as well Jews as Gentiles: sealing such a common and general religion to both, with his blood, as would forever end the difference and slay the enmity, that they might be all one in Christ. Thus did he end the Jews' external services, and overturn the Gentiles' idolatries, by his one most pure and spiritual offering and worship.

"IV. It plainly preaches thus much to us, that as he, whose body the Jews outwardly slew, was by wicked works crucified in the streets of Sodom and Egypt spiritually so called, viz: our polluted hearts and consciences; so, unless we come to know the power and benefit of this inward life, answering to and expressed by that outward life he gave for the world, that will avail us little. For so it is, and very marvellous in our eyes, that the life of the crucified can only save those who may well be reputed the crucifiers. Oh mystery! And because those that did not actually slay him outwardly, have slain him inwardly, that is, by their evil spirits resisting and quenching his spiritual appearance to their souls, therefore must such really know that divine life inwardly raised and shed abroad for sanctification and redemption from sin. Oh, how great was his love to man! Truly larger than man's cruelty; who, whilst he died by wicked men, died for them; and when dead, they could not hinder him from rising to do them good, who had done their worst for his destruction, thereby showing mercy to those who showed they had no mercy for him nor themselves. "O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! how often would I have gathered thee, and thou wouldst not," &c. "V. That expression of his is greatly worth our notice, "I lay down my life for the world." All he did was for the good of the world, and particularly the laying down of his life, that he might both express his love and our duty. Had he not desired man's salvation,