And the Presbyterian, he cries, Conform, conform to his image, the directory, or else he will hang them on his gallows, and cut off the ears, banish, whip, and spoil the goods of all such as will not conform; as witness the Presbyterian priests and magistrates in New England; and also in Old England they were bad enough, who cried, Conform, conform to their directory. And yet they confess also, that they have not the same spirit and power that the apostles had.

And the Independents, they cry, Conform, conform to their image, their church faith they made at the Savoy in eleven days' time; and so would have all to conform to their church, way, faith, and worship, and give their priests maintainance and tithes, or else they will fill their prisons also with non-conformists, and there keep them till death, and have made many widows and fatherless.

And the Anabaptists, they cry, Conform, conform to their image, and be of their church, or else persecute.

So all these cry, Conform, conform, conform; but the apostle saith, Touch not, taste not, handle not the doctrines, ordinances, and commandments of men, and the rudiments of the world; but be conformed to the image of the son of God, and be conformable to his death, and be ye not conformable to the world; but be ye transformed,' &c. So every one that gets uppermost, and gets the staff of authority, commands people to put into his bag, and to feed their priests with tithes, and set maintainance, &c. And the priests cry, 'The law of the land requires it.' But no law or command of Jesus requires it, who said, Freely you have received, freely give.'

6

Hath it not been the beast and the whore that did compel all, with their carnal weapons, to conform to their images? But Christ and the apostles did not compel any to conform by carnal weapons to his image; neither did they spoil the goods of any of those that would not be conformable to the image of Christ.

Neither do you read that the Jews did compel any of the nations they had conquered, to be conformable to the law of God, but they lived under them as tributaries. But if of their own accord they would join with them in a voluntary submission, they might.

Neither do we read that king Abimelech did go about to compel Abraham or Isaac to conform to his religion; or that either Abraham or Isaac went about to compel him or any of his subjects to conform to their God and his law, by or with carnal weapons.

Neither do we read that Pharaoh did go about to compel by carnal weapons the children of Israel, which sojourned in his country, to be of his religion.

Neither do we read that Joseph, when he had great power in Egypt, next unto the king, did go about to compel any of the Egyptians to be

of his religion; or that Pharaoh did go about to compel him to his religion by carnal weapons.

Neither do we read that any of those famous fathers in the old world, from Seth to Noah, did go about to compel with carnal weapons the stock of Cain, to be conformable to their religion.

But all are to be conformable to the image of the son of God: Christ destroys the devil and his works, who is the head of all false and fallible images, and likenesses, and false ways, religions, doctrines, ordinances, and rudiments of the world, which are not to be touched, tasted, nor handled, and so not to be conformed unto. For by one man's disobedience came sin and death unto condemnation upon all men: and so by one man's obedience, Christ Jesus, is justification of life come upon all men; and so Christ hath tasted death for every man, that they might be conformable unto his death; and he hath enlightened all men that come into the world, that by it they might come to the knowledge of him, and so to be conformable to his holy and glorious image, who bruises the head of all the false images and likeness makers.

And his grace, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men, to teach them, that they may deny all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and the lusts of the world, and not to be conformable unto them, but to be conformable unto the glorious image of the son of God, in his light, grace, truth, spirit, gospel, and faith that comes from him, the author of it. And so be made conformable unto his death, and to his image of righteousness and holiness; and not to be conformable to the world's lusts, nor vanities, nor their images, nor likenesses of ways, worships, doctrines, ordinances, churches, faiths, and creeds, which they have set up with their fallible spirits; but to be conformed to the image of the son of God, which is the universal conformity that ought to be by all the believers in Christ Jesus, which is the alone infallible conformity in the infallible spirit of Christ, who is the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of his substance, whose image never changes; so, a conformity to an unchangeable image, whose image never fell, who is the brightness of the glory of God, and the express image of the Father's substance.

So he is over all, and liveth for ever, who is the first and last, in whom all nations are blessed, who destroyeth the devil and his works, and bruiseth his head, and defaceth his image, in which all nations have been cursed.

So to this glorious unchangeable image of the son of God, the second Adam, that never fell, in whose mouth there was no guile, who came to save men's lives, and not to destroy them; I say, unto his image must all be conformable, who destroys the devil that hath destroyed men's VOL. VI.

13

lives, because they would not conform to their false and changeable religions, ways, worships, and faiths.

But Christ nor his apostles in the new covenant did never destroy the lives of any, nor spoil the goods of any, because they would not be conformable to Christ's way, religion, church, faith, and worship; but if they would not be persuaded, they left them to the judgment of the Lord.

Therefore, how far are men degenerated since the apostles' days, from the apostles' warfare and weapons, doctrine, faith, worship, church, and image, that they were conformable unto? Let them that are conformed to the image of the son of God judge.

And thus people having erred from the spirit of God and Christ, and hating his light, and walking despitefully against the spirit of grace, not being conformable to the image of the son of God in themselves, but are conformable to the spirit of the world in them, which lusts to envy, by which they have set up their doctrines, commandments, ordinances, ways, and worships, and cried, conform, conform to them; though they be uncertain how long their way, worship, and religion shall stand, which hath been no longer than till another power got up over them, of another way, religion, and worship, which calls to them to conform to their way.

And from this fallible spirit hath all the persecution and bloodshed been about religion, and spoiling of goods, imprisonments, and banishments, since the apostles' days, by them who are erred from the same spirit and power the apostles were in, and so from their spiritual weapons also.

And the apostle saith to the Galatians, How turn you again to the weak and beggarly rudiments of the world, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and times, and months, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed on you labour in vain.' Gal. iv. And doth not the apostle here call these beggarly elements of the world?

And did not the apostle say, while he was amongst the Jews, and under these elements of the world, he was carnal, sold under sin?" Rom. vii. 14.

And did not the apostle say, 'that Christ was an high priest, not made after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life?' Heb. vii.

And again, doth not the apostle set forth, how that the first covenant had worldly ordinances, &c. and had outward lights and lamps; and their outward services which stood in meats and drinks, and divers outward washings, and carnal ordinances; and that these things were imposed upon them until the time of restitution came?' Heb. ix.

So, doth not the apostle call all these outward things in the old covenant which were seen with the carnal eye, worldly and carnal? which the Jews were to be conformable unto in the old covenant, which served until the time of reformation by Christ, who reforms people out of those carnal worldly elements and rudiments in his new covenant of light and grace: so that they come to be conformable to his death, and to his image; and not to be conformable to the world's elementary things, which pass away.

And Christ said, the world hated him, and he was not of the world, but testified against it, and therefore it hated him.'

And he said unto his disciples, that they were not of the world, as he was not of the world;' and therefore they were to be conformable to the image of Christ, and not conformable to the world.

And the apostle said, The world by wisdom knew not God; and the wisdom of the world is foolishness; and the fashion of this world passeth away.'

So can people that are conformable to the image of the son of God, who is not of the world, be conformable to the world's wisdom and fashions that pass away, and to that wisdom which is foolishness, by which they do not know God?

6

And, therefore, as Christ said, They that are of the world, speak of the world;' but he is not of the world unto whose image every true believer must be conformable.

And John said, Whosoever is born of God, overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith,' which faith Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of.

And he said to the true believing christians in his General Epistle, We are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.'

And again, John saith, You have overcome the world, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world; and they that are of the world, speak of the world, and the world heareth them; and we are of God, and he that knoweth God heareth us, and he that is not of God heareth not us; hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.'

So here it is clear, that John and the true church of Christ, were conformed to the image of the son of God, and not to the world, nor their ways, nor wisdom, by which they knew not God; but said, they had victory over the world; and their victory was their faith: so then, they were not like to conform to that which they had victory over.

And therefore by the world and its spirit they suffered, for not being conformable to its ways and ordinances; for the spirit of God cannot be conformable to the spirit of the world, nor its image, but brings to be

conformed to the image of the son of God, whose image is the brightness of the glory of God, and express image of the Father's substance.

The Lord hath chosen us a people to himself, and led us by his light out of darkness, and by his power from under the power of satan, and by his holy pure spirit, grace, and truth, which we received of Christ Jesus, and by it to follow him, who is not of the world; and so to walk in him, who is the new and living way, by whom all things were made and created, who is our rest, peace, and salvation, our rock, foundation, and mediator, who makes our peace betwixt us and God; and he is our priest, prophet, shepherd, and bishop of our souls, in his grace, truth, gospel, and spirit, which is come from him; by it we are joined to him; and so through Christ, with his light, power, and spirit, we do see over all the ways, religions and worships, and the churches, which men that are fallen from the spirit and power that Christ and his apostles were in, have set up; and cannot join unto, nor walk in any of their ways, religions, and worships, but in that new and living way, that was set up above sixteen hundred years since, and in that faith which Christ is the author and finisher of now, as he was in the apostles' days; and in that religion which was set up above sixteen hundred years since, which is pure and undefiled before God, and keeps from the spots of the world; and in that worship which Christ set up in the spirit and truth, which comes by him, which he set up above sixteen hundred years since.

And we do join to that church which is come to the heavenly Jerusalem, and the spirits of just men made perfect, which are the living stones, and spiritual household; not a carnal household, with their carnal Jerusalem, and carnal worldly sanctuaries and temples.

And this church is a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices unto God; of which church Christ is the heavenly and spiritual head and husband; and so their heavenly prophet, and bishop, and spiritual priest, that lives for ever in his church.

And now, we have been branded, as being Papists and Jesuits, and Popishly affected. But be it known to all the world, that we are neither Papists nor Popishly affected; for our religion, way, and worship, and the grace, truth, spirit, faith, and gospel of Christ, which we walk and live in, was before the Pope, Papists and Jesuits, and their religions and worships were.

And we have suffered in the days of Oliver Cromwell, and in his long parliament time; and before Oliver was protector, we suffered by Papists made in Queen Mary's time,