George Fox
(1624-1691)

George Fox
Founder, Society of Friends (Quakers)

(On Matthew 21)
And to your fathers spake a parable, which was agreeable to the prophet's words: as a man letting forth a vineyard to husbandmen, and he sent his servants to look for fruits, and they beat him one and cast him out, and wounded another, and killed another; and last of all he sent his son, and when they saw his son, the heir of the vineyard, come, said they to the keepers of the vineyard, this is the heir, let us kill him, and cast him out, then the vineyard will be ours. And these things your fathers did fulfil, they killed him, and cast him out, then the vineyard will be ours. And these things your fathers did fulfil, they killed him, they cast him out, and delivered him up to the gentiles to be mocked, scourged, and crucified.

Now consider, what become of you since, of you husbandmen? have not you been laid waste? and was not the word fulfilled concerning his coming and rising up among the brethren? and when he was come among them, he would have gathered them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but your fathers would not. And he shewed them how they stoned the prophets, and killed them; and how wise men should be sent among them, and scribes and prophets, some of them they should crucify and scourge in their synagogues, because they neither knew the Father, nor the prophet that he had raised up, which Moses spoke of. "

(On the Significance of AD70)
"And was it not often that Jerusalem and the children of Israel were carried into captivity for transgressing of the righteous law of God? And did not the enemy come upon you, which trod down the wall of Jerusalem, which was before Christ was manifest in the flesh, which after came and was manifest in the flesh, according to the saying of the prophet which shewed the coming of the just one; and when he was come among you that had the words of Moses and the prophets, but being out of the life, you saw not that which Moses and the prophets saw; though the prophet said, Jerusalem should be laid waste, and compassed with armies; the wall thrown down, and you scattered: is not the word of this prophet fulfilled among you, and upon you?"

A clear Distinction between the Old Covenant, or Old Testament, and the New Covenant, or New Testament; and how that Christ hath abolished and taken away the First Covenant and Testament, and established the Second. By G. F.

For in Jer. xxxi. 31. it is said, ‘Behold the day cometh, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.’ Mark, this was a prophecy which they were to behold and take notice of; these days were to come, and these are the days of Christ, who came above sixteen hundred years since. 

For the Lord saith, ‘I will give thee for a covenant with the people, and for a light to the Gentiles, to open their blind eyes,’ &c. So this new covenant is to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews. Isa. xlii.
 

And again, the Lord saith, ‘I will give thee for a covenant to the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritage, that thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth; to them that are in darkness, show yourselves; and they shall feed in their ways, and in their pastures’. Isa. xlix.
 

‘And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people, and unto it the Gentiles shall seek, and his rest shall be glorious. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel.’ Isaiah xi.
 

And further, he saith, ‘The Gentiles shall come to his light, and kings to the brightness of his rising.’ &c. Isa. lx.
 

Now it is clear, according to these promises and prophecies, that the new covenant is not only to the Jews, but to the Jews, Gentiles and nations, according to Isa. xlii. ‘Behold, or take notice, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare, before this spring forth, I tell you of them.’ This did Isaiah speak by prophecy concerning the days of Christ; who saith in the same chapter, ‘That he shall set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.’ 

Now the law from Sinai the Jews had before; but this is the law of life, in the new covenant, which law of life goes from heavenly Sion, and the word from heavenly Jerusalem, in the new covenant. 

So these are new things, which were declared before they came to pass; for the old things of the old covenant they had already, when he declared these new things. 

And therefore the Lord saith by Jeremiah, ‘Behold, the day shall come, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: But this is the covenant that I will

make with the house of Israel: after these days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws in their inward parts, and write them in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: And they shall not need to teach every man his brother, and every man his neighbour, saying, know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’ 

So this is the new covenant, in which all shall know the Lord, that was promised and prophesied of before it came to pass, which is not according to the old. Jer. xxxi.
 

And in Heb. viii. the apostle showeth the fulfilling of Isaiah's and Jeremiah's, and Ezekiel's prophecy; and how the new covenant was come, and he preached up the new covenant, and preached down the old; and how that all should be taught of God in the new covenant: So in that he saith, the new covenant, he hath made the first old covenant as a thing decayed, and ready to vanish away. 

And in Heb. ix. he saith, how the first covenant had ordinances of divine services, and a worldly sanctuary and tabernacle, and candlestick, and table, and show-bread, and censors, and pot of manna, and Aaron's rod, and many other outward things. 

But in the new covenant Christ hath abolished all these outward things, who will rule all nations with his rod of iron, which is beyond Aaron's rod. 

And so it is clear, that the new covenant is not according to the old: For in the old covenant, the priest's lips were to preserve the people's knowledge. And Ezra had a pulpit of wood to read the law to the people upon: And the law was written in tables of stone. But in the new covenant and testament Christ ends this priesthood, whose lips were to preserve the people's knowledge; and they are to look unto Christ Jesus, who is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge in the new covenant. 

And God writes his laws in their hearts, and puts them in their minds in the new covenant, by which all may know him, from the greatest to the least of them. 

And in the old covenant they had sanctuaries, and tabernacles, and temple, and the high priest was to light the candle and lamps in them. But in the new covenant, Christ who ends the first priesthood, and the old covenant, and abolishes the sanctuary, tabernacle, and outward temple and lamps, enlightens every man's spirit that cometh into the world, in his tabernacle or temple, with his heavenly light, which is the life in himself, Christ Jesus, the high priest, made higher than the heavens. So he was made by the oath of God, and fulfils it; so were not the priests in the law and old covenant.
 

So the new covenant is not according to the old; for the old covenant, and the law, commanded offerings and sacrifices; but Christ in the new covenant, offered up himself once for all the offerings and sacrifices, and ended them all, and the old covenant also. 

And in the old covenant, the blood of the clean beasts, the priest with it made atonement for his own sins, and the sins of the people: But in the new covenant, Christ, with his own blood, hath made atonement for the sins of the whole world; ‘and by the grace of God hath tasted death for every man; which grace of God, that brings salvation, hath appeared to all men, to teach them, and bring their salvation, &c.’ And ‘he hath given himself a ransom for all men, to be testified of in due time,’ in the new covenant; which the days thereof are come above sixteen hundred years since. 

So in the new covenant of light, life and grace, there is no need of offering rams and beasts, and other creatures for sins; nor the blood of bulls and goats, nor the ashes of a heifer to cleanse; nor outward lights nor lamps, in the outward tabernacle; for Christ Jesus hath offered up himself once for all: And he, the one offering, is a sufficient atonement in the new covenant, for the sins of the whole world. And his blood, (the life of him) the clean lamb of God, without blemish, ‘who takes away the sins of the world,’ is sufficient to cleanse from all sin. And his light, that is the life in him, 'the word, by which all things were made, is sufficient to light every man's spirit, that cometh into the world. And the oil from him, the heavenly man, is sufficient for every man's lamp, to keep it burning. 

So the new covenant is not according to the old; nor the New Testament is not as the Old. For the New Testament is in the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin; and in him, the one offering, ‘who offered up himself once for all, who is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.’ And the New Testament is in Christ, who is the life and light of men. And the Old Testament, in the old covenant, was for the outward light, and lamps, and temple, tabernacle and sanctuary, and the priest's lips, which preserved the people's knowledge: But the New Testament, in the new covenant is, ‘that Christ is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge; and he is the everlasting high priest, who hath offered up himself for them, and is risen, and is alive again, and lives for evermore;’ and is their light and life. 

And in the Old Testament and old covenant, the priesthood continued after the order of Aaron: But in the new covenant and testament, Christ is after the order of Melchizedec, after the order of Aaron, nor came not of that tribe, but of the tribe of Judah. And in the New Testament and new covenant, all the believers in it, their bodies are the tabernacles and temples of God and Christ, and Christ the high priest dwells in them: 

But in the old covenant and testament the priests had chambers in the temple; which chambers and priesthood Christ hath abolished, and made his chamber in the hearts of his people. 

And in the old covenant and testament there was a covenant of salt, with which the sacrifices were to be salted, and the priests were to salt them: But in the new and everlasting covenant and testament, Christ, the high and everlasting priest, doth salt all the spiritual sacrifices of his people, and makes them savoury, and makes his followers the salt of the earth, and the light of the world; so that they need not have the outward salt, and light, and lamps in the old covenant, which Christ hath abolished. 

And in the old covenant the Jews were to keep their feasts of tabernacles, and the feast of passover, throughout all their generations; and they eat of this passover when they came out of Egypt: but in the new covenant and testament, the Jews in spirit, that pass out of the spiritual Egypt, feed upon Christ, their heavenly passover, and keep the heavenly passover throughout all their generations in the new covenant, and keep their heavenly spiritual feast of tabernacles, dwelling in the green booths of the green tree, Christ Jesus, the heavenly man, the second Adam, whose leaf never withers, fades nor falls, but is always green. And Christ abolishes the feasts and passovers of the old covenant; so the new covenant is not according to the old. 

And the Jews, in the old covenant, brought all their first fruits, and offered them to the priests; so there was a feast of the first fruits. But in the New Testament and covenant of light and grace, they do offer the first fruits of the spirit, that which the spirit inspires them with, or reveals to them; which spirit hath ploughed up the fallow ground of their hearts, and so they sow to the spirit, and of the spirit reap life; which crop goes into God's garner, which the heavenly high priest gathers into his heavenly garner, his heavenly wheat, that is threshed out with his heavenly spiritual flail. For the priests, in the old covenant, had their first fruits brought into the outward garner, which Christ abolishes: So the new covenant is not according to the old. 

And in the old covenant and testament, there was but one tribe of twelve that was made a priesthood, and they were to have no portion nor lot in the land, but tithes and offerings was their portion and salary. But Christ in his new covenant and testament makes ‘all his believers priests,’ as Peter saith, ‘and to offer up spiritual sacrifices:’
And saith in his general epistle, ‘Ye are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, offering up spiritual sacrifices, having one high priest (Christ Jesus) that lives for ever; who sanctifies his people (his church) and washes and cleanses them with the heavenly water of his word.’ So his people are a nation of priests, of men and women; for all must offer up to the Lord their spiritual sacrifices in his new covenant, both male and female are all one in Christ Jesus. And so he ends the first priesthood, and abolishes him, with all his outward water and washings, and ends all his offices, and changes the law by which he was made, and the commandment that gave him his tithes and offerings. For by the law he was to have no lot of the land: But now that law being changed, he may take up land where he can, as others do. 

And Christ saith in the new covenant and testament to the followers and learners of him, ‘Freely you have received, freely give:’ And bid them, ‘Go without a bag or staff: and into what city or town they came, they were to inquire, Who was worthy? and to eat such things as were set before them: For the workman was worthy of his meat.’ So the new covenant is, ‘Freely you have received, freely give:’ And they need neither bag nor staff: for Christ the great prophet and priest will supply and uphold them. 

And so it is clear, the new covenant and testament is not according to the old, nor the new and living way according to the old way among the Jews; which old covenant and testament, and old law, and old way among the Jews served, until the seed Christ came, who is the new and living way in his new covenant and New Testament; and hath abolished that old way, Old Testament, covenant and law. 

And in the old covenant, their circumcision was in the flesh, and in that they were to obey and serve God; and he that was not circumcised, was not to eat of the sacrifice, but to be cut off; and the priest and levite was to circumcise them. But in the new covenant and testament, Christ, the high priest, is the minister of the circumcision of the spirit; which circumcision of the spirit puts off the body of death, and the sins of the flesh, which is got up in man and woman by transgression. For Adam and Eve had not a body of sin and death before they transgressed. So the christians in the new covenant of grace and light, are the circumcision of the spirit, which serve and worship God in the spirit: And such eat of the heavenly passover and supper (Christ Jesus;) and if they be not circumcised with the spirit, they are cut off from keeping that heavenly feast of the passover (Christ Jesus.) So the new covenant and testament is not according to the old; for Christ hath abolished both the Jewish passover and circumcision of the old covenant. 

And in the old covenant and testament, they that did resist the high priest, and gainsaid Moses, died an outward death by the hands of two or three witnesses. But in the new covenant, they that do neglect to hear the great prophet and high priest (Christ Jesus) whom God hath raised up, like unto Moses, and will not have him to reign over them, nor hear him that speaks from heaven, a more severe punishment comes upon them, than they that died by the hands of two or three witnesses (that did resist Moses;) for that was a natural death in the old covenant, but this is an eternal death in the new covenant. And therefore hear the Son of God in the new covenant, and ye shall live; ‘and whilst it is called to day, hear his voice,’ (for ye may be dead before to-morrow.) I say, hear him that speaks from heaven, whose voice shakes the earth, and so all that appertains to the earth, or is earthly; and not the earth only, but the heavens also, that they may appear, which cannot be shaken, to wit, the seed of life. So people was to hear Moses and the high priest in the old covenant and testament: But now they are to hear Christ, their high priest and prophet, that God hath raised up in the new covenant, in his grace, light and spirit. For the law came by Moses, in the old covenant; and all the people of the Jews was to hear the law in the old covenant, and do it, and live: ‘But grace and truth is come by Jesus Christ,’ in the new covenant and testament of light, life, and grace. And so all the children of the new covenant are to hear Christ in his grace, and to be under the grace, and truth's teaching, which will bring their salvation. 

Now you may object, and say, ‘Do not the scribes and pharisees set in Moses's seat or chair? And all that they bid you do, are ye not to do and observe it?’ 

This Christ spake before he was offered; for before he was offered up, he bid the people, whom he had cleansed, ‘Go and offer a sacrifice to the priest for their cleansing.’ And before he was offered up, he told them, ‘They ought to pay tithe of mint and anise to the priest,’ &c. But when he had offered up himself once for all the offerings, he put down all the priests, and their offerings; and sent his disciples into all nations to preach the gospel: And then he did not bid them go and hear the scribes and pharisees, that sat in Moses's chair, and go to the priests for their cleansing, and give them their tithes: But by the offering up himself once for all, he had ended the priests and their services, and the old covenant, and its works. [Mark, ‘An offering once for all, for the sins of the whole world.’] Then there was no need of the priests in the old law, to offer lambs and rams, and the blood of the creatures, for the cleansing of the sins of the people, &c. But the priests, in the old covenant, his works were finished; and his wages and salary, his tithes and offerings, were taken away also. So he took away the first old covenant, testament and priesthood, and established the second. So tithes in the old covenant and testament to the priests we grant; but Christ hath abolished both it and them. And the new covenant is not according to the old, in which Christ saith, ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ 

And in the old covenant and testament, the Jews were to appear three times a year at the outward temple, and there to worship the Lord: And there was another place of worship, where Jacob's well was, at the mountain near Samaria. But Christ saith in his new covenant and testament, in John iv. ‘That God is not worshipped, neither at the mountain of Samaria, nor yet at Jerusalem; for the hour cometh, and now is, [Mark, now is] that the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father seeks such to worship him: For God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and truth.’ So this worship in the new covenant and testament, is a new worship, which Christ Jesus, the heavenly spiritual man, the second Adam, set up above sixteen hundred years ago; and then put down and abolished the worship at the mountain, and the worship at Jerusalem, when he set up this worship in spirit and in truth. And this spirit and truth must every man and woman feel in their hearts, by which they may know the God of truth, who is a spirit. And so the Jew inward worships in temple, his body being the temple of the Lord. And the Jew outward, in the old covenant and testament; they sung and prayed in the temple, at outward Jerusalem: But the Jew inward, in the spirit, in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, sings and rejoices, and prays in the Holy Ghost, their bodies being temples of the Holy Ghost. 

And so it is clear, the new covenant and testament, and the new and living way, is not according to the old. And in the old covenant and testament, God poured out of his spirit upon the house of Israel, that by it they might serve God in his law. But in the new covenant of light and grace, and the New Testament, ‘God pours out of his spirit upon all flesh,’ as was prophesied of in Joel ii. And the apostle preached the fulfilling of it, in Acts ii. So that with the spirit all flesh might see the glory of God, and see Christ, ‘who gave himself a ransom for them all, and tasted death for every man.’ 

And so in the new covenant the holy ghost, which proceeds from the Father and the Son, leadeth the servants of God and Christ into all truth, and reproves the world for their unbelief, and their false judgment and unrighteousness. So that they need not have the priest's lips of the old covenant to preserve their knowledge, nor the priest to kill the clean beasts, to offer up for their sins, to cleanse them with the blood of the clean beasts; and they need not have the clean beasts to die for them: For Christ, the lamb without blemish, hath tasted death for every man, and died for the sins of the whole world, and so not only for the Jews. 

And so God pours out his spirit upon the house of Israel, that by it they might understand the law of works, and do it. 

But in the new covenant, as was said before, God pours out of his spirit upon all flesh, that by it they might understand the law of life, which is in Christ Jesus, to make them free from the law of sin and death. 

And as all the outward Jews in the old covenant were to walk in the law of works; so in the new covenant of light and grace, and New Testament, they are to walk in the light and spirit, and the law of life in Christ Jesus, as every one hath received him. 

And as the outward Jews in the old covenant and testament received the law from Mount Sinai; so the inward Jews in the spirit in the new covenant and testament receive the law of life in Christ Jesus, laid in heavenly Zion. 

And so it is clear, the new covenant and testament is not according to the old. 

And the old covenant and testament did forbid the outward Jews the eating of several sorts of creatures; but in the new covenant and testament, and the new and living way, Christ saith, ‘He that made that without, made that within, and that all things are clean; and whatsoever goeth into the mouth, doth not defile the man; for it goeth into the belly, and so into the draught, the purger of all meats.’ 

But Christ Jesus is the purger of the conscience, mind, heart and soul, with his blood, his life, the clean lamb without blemish, and with his baptism with fire and the holy ghost: For he saith, ‘These evils, that come out of a man's heart, defile a man.’ And so these evils came into man by transgression; for Adam and Eve had them not, when God made them. 

And the apostle saith, ‘Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat.’
 

This he speaks to the Corinthians, who were Gentiles before their conversion: And so these things sold, were in the Gentiles' shambles; not in the Jews' shambles, where only the clean beasts and fowls were sold, but at Corinth, or amongst the Corinthian shambles, where both were sold, 1 Cor. x. 25. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; ‘And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good:’ Mark, every thing that he had made, he saw it was very good, Genesis i. 31.
 

And the apostle in the new covenant and testament, and in the new and living way, said, ‘Every creature of God was good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God, and prayer:’ For by the word of God were all things made, and by his word and power were all things upheld: And the apostle saith to Timothy, ‘If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus.’ 1 Tim. iv. 4.
 

And moreover the apostle said, ‘The kingdom of God stood not in meats and drinks, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy ghost.’ 

And when Peter saw in his vision a ‘Sheet let down from heaven, wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts and creeping things, and fowls of the air;’ and there came a voice to him in the new covenant and testament, and said, ‘Arise, Peter, kill and eat;’ And Peter having been a Jew of the Old Testament and covenant, his voice was according to it, when he said, ‘But not so, Lord; for I have neither eaten any thing that is common or unclean.’ And the voice spake unto him the second time, and said, ‘What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.’ Now the occasion of this was, when Peter was to go and preach the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile, as in Acts x.
 

So here it is clear, that the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, is not according to the old covenant and testament, and old way amongst the Jews: For Christ doth reconcile in one, all things both in heaven and in earth. 

And in the old covenant and testament, and the Jews' old way, they did observe days, months, times and years; and this they were commanded by the law. But in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, the apostle, (that preached the new covenant, and the New Testament, and the new and living way) brought them off from the observing of days, times, months and years: And some after they were come from the observing of them, were turning again to the weak and beggarly elements, wherein they again desired to be in bondage: For saith he, ‘Ye observe days and months, times, and years.’ And the apostle said, ‘I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed my labour in vain upon you.’ So he was afraid of them, who had laboured to bring them out of the observing of them to Christ, and his everlasting kingdom of light, life and grace: And they to go back again into the observing of days, times, months and years, they went into that which he had laboured to bring them out of; for which he was afraid, lest he had bestowed labour upon them in vain. 

So it is clear here, that the new covenant and New Testament, and the new and living way, is not according to the old. 

For in the old covenant and testament, the outward Jew had his days, times, months and years, and feasts. But in the New Testament and new covenant of light, and life and grace, they came to the heavenly feast, and to the day of Christ, and are called children of his day; and so have their bread from heaven, and keep the heavenly and everlasting feast in Christ Jesus, who abolishes the Jews' feasts of the old covenant. 

And in the old covenant and testament, God gave unto the Jews his Sabbath as a sign, after he brought them out of Egypt, though he had not given it to Adam, nor to the old world, nor to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by command to keep, but to the Jews, and they were to keep it holy: And they were not to do their own work; no, not so much as to make a fire to dress their meat, nor to think their own thoughts; for six days they were to labour, and to do all their works in. And this law that commanded this Sabbath, which God gave unto the Jews as a sign, served till the seed Christ, the substance, came; and when he was come, they accused him and his disciples as being sabbath breakers, because his disciples gathered some ears of corn on the Sabbath day to eat. And he healed on the Sabbath day. 

And Christ said unto his accusers, the Jews, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the son of man is lord of the Sabbath, the sign, who was the substance of it.’ Mark ii. 23.27, 28.
 

And this saying of Christ troubled the Jews, that professed the old covenant and testament, and had the Sabbath, the outward day, which was the sign in the old covenant. Now that outward day was the sign of the eternal rest and day of Christ, in his new covenant. For Christ in his new covenant doth end all the Jews' signs and shadows, and saith, 'Behold, I make all things new.’ And as it is said before, the apostle's labour was to bring them off the observation of days, &c. And saith to the saints, in the New Testament and new covenant of light and grace, 'Let no man judge you in meats or in drinks, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath, which were shadows of things to come; but the body is of Christ.’ 

So it is clear that the apostle brought the saints to Christ, the substance of the shadows. For the Sabbath, and the new moons, and those outward things amongst the Jews, were but shadows and signs: And when the substance was come, the shadows fly away. Col. ii.
 

So the apostle in another place, speaks of another day than the seventh day, the Jews' Sabbath, which is the day of Christ, and saith, ‘We which have believed, do enter into his rest.’ And again he saith, ‘He that hath entered into his rest, is also ceased from his own works, as God did from his.’ So the believer's rest in the new covenant and New Testament, and new and living way, is Christ Jesus, the substance, Heb. vi.
 

And the Jews were to keep the outward Sabbath day and sign holy, and not to gather their meat, nor kindle a fire, nor bear a burthen, nor do their own work, nor think their own thoughts upon the Sabbath day, (the sign) in the old covenant and testament. 

So the true christians and children in the new covenant of light and grace, that do enter into the rest by belief in the light, which is the life in Christ, do cease from their own works; and in Christ, their Sabbath, their rest, they bear no burthen; and in him they do not think their own thoughts; and in him they are not kindling their own fires; and in Christ they are not gathering their own meat; for he is their bread of life from heaven; so that in him they shall not hunger. And he destroys the devil and his works, which hath burthened man and beast, yea, even the whole creation; and in Christ people are over and above their own thoughts. So all are to keep the eternal Sabbath, the eternal rest, by belief in the light, which is the life in Christ, this holy day, this holy rest and Sabbath, which ends the sign, that was to be kept holy in the old covenant. For if the Jews in the old covenant and testament did not keep the Sabbath holy, they were to be stoned to death with outward stones; but they that do not keep in Christ, by belief in the holy rest, he, the top and corner stone, falls upon them, and grinds them to powder, and stones them to death with the heavenly stone, that keep not in Christ, the holy, eternal, everlasting rest and Sabbath. 

So here the new covenant is not according to the old; for the old had an outward temporal day; but they in the new covenant have the substance, Christ, and his eternal day, and enter into his everlasting rest, by belief in his light, which is the life in him. 

And the Jews in the old covenant and testament, and in their old way, had outward helmets, shields and swords, and carnal weapons, and armour. But Christ, in his new covenant and testament, who is the new and living way, he saith, ‘He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.’ Though he was the king of kings, and lord of lords, yet he was far off from giving any precept or command to his disciples to destroy men's lives: When some would have had fire to come down from heaven, to consume them that would not receive him, he turned about and rebuked them, and said, ‘He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.’ 

And such men as would have been plucking up the tares, Christ, the king of kings, would give them no commission, no, not so much as a license; but said, ‘Let the wheat and tares grow together till the harvest, which was the end of the world; and then his father would send forth his angels, which should be the reapers, and they should sever the wheat from the tares,’ &c. And Christ gave a reason wherefore he would not give a commission to men to pluck up the tares, lest they in their blind zeal should pluck up the wheat also with the tares.

And so Christ, in his new testament and new covenant, who sent forth his twelve disciples, and after his seventy, to preach the gospel, he did not send them with any carnal weapons or armour, or any carnal set maintenance, or tithes, as was in the old covenant; nay, they were not so much as to take a bag or a staff to defend them. 

So the King of kings was far off from giving them commission or licenses, to beat people into his religion, way, and worship, church, or belief, with carnal weapons: but saith, ‘He that believes, is saved; and he that doth not, is condemned already;’ and that was punishment enough. And therefore the apostle Paul saith, ‘The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual.’ Mark, spiritual, in the new covenant and new testament, and new and living way; but carnal in the old covenant and old testament, to the outward Jews in the old way. 

And the apostle plainly saith, we in the new covenant and new testament, and new and living way in Christ Jesus, wrestle not with flesh and blood; who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them; but they wrestled with spiritual wickedness and rulers of darkness, &c. 

And in another place the apostle tells the saints in the new covenant, that their weapons and armour were the shield of faith, which is the gift of God, which Christ is the author and finisher of, that saves men's lives; and the sword of the spirit, the word of God; and the helmet of salvation, that preserved their head; and the breastplate of righteousness, that kept evil out of their breasts and hearts; and their loins were to be girt with truth; and to be shod with the preparation of the everlasting gospel of peace. 

And these are Christ's ministers of the spirit, and believers, and true-christians, that stand in this armour, and have these weapons, and follow Christ, and fight under his banner of love, with his spiritual armour and weapons, in his new and living way, and new testament, and new covenant of grace and light; and follow not the Jews in their carnal armour and weapons, and signs, and shadows; for the substance is come. 

So the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, are not according to the Jews' old covenant and testament, and old way, which served till the seed Christ came. And all those signs and shadows in the old covenant, upheld with their outward weapons and carnal armour, have done their service to hold up their signs and shadows; but Christ is come, and hath abolished them. 

And so it is clear, that the new covenant and new testament, and new and living way, are not according to the old covenant, and old testament, and old way amongst the Jews, as was said before. 

And in the old covenant, and testament, and old way, the Jews were to swear, and to perform their oaths unto the Lord; and not to swear falsely. 

But in the new covenant, and testament, and new and living way, Christ the son of God saith, ‘Swear not at all, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil.’ Matt. v.
 

And the apostle James in the new covenant, in his general epistle saith, ‘Above all things, [mark, above all things] my brethren, swear not,’ &c. So these are the brethren in the new covenant, and testament, and new and living way, that are not to swear at all. And further he saith, ‘They were not to swear by heaven, nor by earth, nor any other oath; but let your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay, lest ye fall
into condemnation.’ 

So it is clear, the command in the old covenant and testament, which Christ calls the old time, in which they were not to forswear themselves, but to perform their oath to the Lord; so they did not go into evil and condemnation that did swear truly, and perform their oath to the Lord in the old time, and old covenant; but they go into evil and condemnation, that swear at all in the time of the new covenant and testament: for Christ, who is the oath of God, he fulfils the oaths of the old, and takes away and abolishes the oaths of the old covenant, and sets up yea and nay instead of them. 

And now, if you should object, that Abraham, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and the prophets, and the angels swore: Christ the son of God is greater than Moses; who said ‘Before Abraham was, I am;’ and he reigns over the house of Joseph and Jacob, and fulfils the prophets; and he saith, ‘Swear not at all:’ and Christ the great prophet, whom God had raised up, is to be heard in all things. 

And as for the angel's swearing, it is said, ‘I bring forth my first begotten into the world, let all the angels worship him,’ to wit, the son of God, who saith, ‘Swear not at all.’ And ‘This is my beloved son,’ saith God, ‘hear ye him.’ 

And in the Old Testament it is said, ‘That unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear, saith the Lord,’ in the old covenant and testament. Isa. xlv. 23.
 

But in the new covenant and testament the apostle quotes Isaiah, and saith, ‘Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ Rom. xiv. 10.
 

So here it is clear, that swearing was allowed in the old covenant and old time, but confessing in the new covenant and new time. 

And it is manifest, that Christ hath taken away all swearing in his new testament and covenant: for all swearing hath been since man fell from the image of God; and Christ renews man and woman up into the image of God again, and sets up yea, yea, and nay, nay, instead of an oath. 

And Christ sets up in his new covenant instead of swearing, ‘true witness bearing;’ and that ‘in the mouth of two or three witnesses every thing shall be established.’ He doth not say, that in or by the mouth of two or three swearers every thing shall be established. 

And the apostle saith, ‘Let every man speak the truth to his neighbour;’ which speaking truth is set up by Christ and his apostles instead of swearing, which was commanded in the old time, and under the old covenant and testament, in which the law commanded people to swear, which oath was to end the controversy and strife amongst men; which served until Christ the seed came. But when Christ came, he abolished the law that commanded swearing, and swearing also. 

And so it is clear, that the new covenant, and new testament, and new and living way, is not according to the old covenant and testament, and the Jews' old way. 

And the apostle Paul writes to the Galatians, and to such as were going again into circumcision and the law, and he saith unto them, ‘As many as are for the works of the law, are under the curse: for it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are
written in the book of the law to do them.’ 

And again he saith, ‘That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for the just shall live by faith; and the law is not of faith.’ 

And again he saith, ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.’ Gal. iv.
 

And here it may be seen, what labour the apostle had, to bring people into the faith in the new covenant and testament, and from under the works of the law in the old covenant and testament, and from under the curse. 

And again the apostle saith, ‘Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterward be revealed; even so when we were children, we were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.’ Gal. 3d and 4th chapters. 

So they that are redeemed from under the law, are redeemed from under bondage, and outward elements of the world, which elements of the world the law commanded to be observed: for the law commanded the priests' garments to be distinct from others. 

And the law commanded an outward temple and tabernacle, and a worldly sanctuary, and outward altars, and candles, and candlesticks, and outward days, and months, and times, and years, and feasts, and outward trumpets were blown at such times; and sacrifices, and offerings of beasts, and fowls, and other creatures. 

And the law commanded the priests' tithes and offerings, and the store-house: and these outward things with many others, were elements of the world, which kept them in bondage, in the old covenant and old testament, before Christ was revealed. And where faith is revealed by Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of it, he is the end of that law to every one that believeth; which law commanded these outward worldly elements; and ‘such are not under the law, but under grace.’ Rom. vi.
 

And here the new covenant and new testament, and the new and living way is not according to the old testament and covenant. 

For the new covenant and new testament is heavenly and spiritual. And the law of life, that is in Christ Jesus, is not according to the law received upon Mount Sinai, which commanded all these outward elementary things to the Jews; and they were to observe and do them. And the law served until the seed came; which the seed Christ is come, and hath abolished them all, and changed the law, and covenant, and priesthood, and the old testament. 

And they that are believers, are come into the new covenant of light, and life, and grace; and do receive the spirit of Christ, and the law of life that is in Christ Jesus, that makes them free from the law of sin and death. 

And so, as I said before, it is clear, that the new covenant and testament, and the law of life are not according to the old covenant, and the old testament, and the law from Mount Sinai, that was written in tables of stone. 

And now also, are not the priests' garments, their surplice, and white sleeves, and their other distinguishing garments, a work of the law, though they do not offer sacrifices and offerings, as the outward old Jews' priests did? 

Likewise, are not tithes, tenths, first-fruits and offerings, which were to be given to the priests, works of the law, though now they do not do all the priests' work under the law? And some of the priests now have lots of the land also, contrary to the law in the old covenant. 

And is not setting up lights and candles in temples, works of the law and the priests under the law, though they do not burn incense like them? 

And is not swearing truly by the Lord a work of the law, which the law commanded, by which they ended the differences amongst men in the old time of the law? And so none of these are works of the gospel, or works of faith, in the time of the new testament and covenant, which prohibiteth all swearing, and saith, ‘Men must not swear at all, or take any oath; but their yea must be yea, and their nay, nay, lest they go into evil,’ and so into condemnation. 

And so the law commanded swearing; but the gospel, and new covenant and testament commands every man to ‘speak truth to his neighbour;’ and ‘in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established.’ 

And the apostles, in the gospel-time and new covenant, (to whom Christ said, ‘Freely you have received, freely give,’) did not go in distinct garments from other people; for Peter had his fisher's coat, after Christ was risen. And Paul bid them bring his cloak, which he had left at Troas, &c. 

So the apostle saith, and tells them plainly, ‘As many as are under the works of the law, are under the curse.’ And if ye do some things of the law, and not continue in all things ‘written in the book of the law, ye are cursed; and no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. And the law is not of faith, which the just do live by; for God doth justify the heathen through faith;’ and they are justified by that faith which Christ is the author of: ‘For by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.’ Gal. ii. 10.
 

And the priests' pulpits is a work of the law; for Ezra had his pulpit to read the law, in the time of the law and old covenant. And the tenths of the increase, with the tithes and offerings, were a work of the law, and not a work of the gospel; for Christ said to his gospel ministers, ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ 

And to kill blasphemers and sabbath-breakers, and to stone them to death, or put to death with outward weapons about religion, is a work of the law, and not of the new covenant and new testament. For Christ, though his name was blasphemed, and the apostles and their doctrine and teaching blasphemed and evil spoken of; yet, he, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and his great apostles, did not command, nor put any to death with any carnal weapons. But Christ said, ‘They that blasphemed against the son of man, it might be forgiven; but they that did blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, were not to be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come;’ which was punishment enough. And further, he said in the new covenant and his gospel-day, ‘He came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.’ 

So all they that wrestle with flesh and blood, and with carnal weapons about religion, it is a work of the law, and the old testament, and not a work of the new testament and new covenant. 

For the apostle said, ‘Their warfare was spiritual, and their weapons were spiritual, and not carnal;’ and they did not wrestle with flesh and blood, but with spiritual wickedness, and rulers of darkness. 

So the apostles were of faith, in the new covenant and testament, and not of the law, wrestling with their works and weapons of the old testament. And the law was added because of transgression, and served until the seed Christ came, who redeems from under the law, Christ Jesus, by whom the world was made. So he was before man fell into transgression, by reason of which the law was added, which served until the seed came, which seed is Christ, who doth fulfil the promises and the law, and so redeems his people from under the works of the law, and from under the curse. 

And the apostle saith, that ‘the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, to love thy neighbour as thyself. And if ye be led by the spirit of God, ye are not under the law,’ &c. Gal. v. ‘For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.’ Gal. ii. ‘And they that love one another fulfil the law.’ Rom. xiii.
 

And further the apostle saith, ‘The righteousness of God is without the law, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Christ Jesus, unto all and upon all that believe; for there is no difference.’ 

So this righteousness in the new testament is larger than the righteousness of the law, which the Lord gave unto the Jews, which he had not given the like to other nations. So this is larger than the old covenant. 

And therefore the apostle concludes, ‘that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law.’ Rom. iii.
 

‘For the promise that was to Abraham and his seed, that he should be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith,’ before he was circumcised, and before he gave tithes to Melchizedec, as in Gen. xii. where the Lord said to Abraham, ‘I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be blessed; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ So before he was circumcised, and before tithes were paid, the promise was to Abraham. And so, who are of faith, are of Abraham, and walk in the steps of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised, yea, and before he gave tithes to Melchizedec. Gen. xii. and Rom. iv. ‘Therefore it is of faith, and by grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed.’ And therefore the apostle saith, ‘But now are we delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we might serve God in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.’ Rom. vii. ‘For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sendeth forth his own son in likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus,’ saith he, ‘hath made me free from the law of sin and death.’ Rom. viii. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness' sake, to every one that believeth. 

Now, this was the law of works, and the law of the old covenant and testament that Christ was the end of, and which the apostle laboured to bring people out of, into the law of faith, and law of love, in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, and to establish people upon Christ, the substance, who is the end of the law. For the apostle saith, ‘When the fulness of time [mark, the fulness of time] was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that they might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons of God, he hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father.’ So no more servants under the law, and old covenant and testament, but sons in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, through the redemption in Christ Jesus, and through his spirit that he hath sent into their hearts. 

So here the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, are not according to the old testament and covenant, and the Jews' way in their old time: nor the old law from Mount Sinai is not according to the law of life, which is in Christ Jesus. 

And Moses was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; that is, all these signs, shadows, and figures. But Christ, as a son over his own house, whose house we are, to wit, in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way. So Christ is over his house, the Jews in the spirit, in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way; and they enjoy him, the substance, who makes all things new. 

And Moses was faithful in all his house, in the old covenant and testament, in the old time, over the outward Jews with the outward shadows and signs, which were commanded by the law, and served until Christ the seed came; and when he came, he abolished them. So as Moses was to be heard in his house in the old covenant concerning his shadows, figures, and signs; so Christ is to be heard in his house in the new covenant, who is the substance, and abolishes all the figures and signs of the old covenant. And God saith, ‘This is my beloved son, hear ye him.’ 

And the high priest, in the time of the law and old covenant, once a year went with the blood of the clean beasts into the holy place, which he offered for himself, and the sins of the people. But Christ being come a high priest, by his own blood he hath entered once into the holy place, to wit, heaven itself; and hath obtained eternal redemption for us.
 

So the blood of the beasts cleansed from sin in the time of the old covenant and testament: but in the time of the new covenant and testament the blood of Christ Jesus, the lamb without blemish, cleanses us from all sin. 

‘And Christ is the mediator of the new testament, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, that they which are called, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.’ Heb. ix.
 

So, as the priest entered into the holy place made with hands, with the blood of bulls and goats, for the cleansing of himself and the people in the old testament and covenant, which were figures. But Christ in the new testament, is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. 

So all are to look unto Jesus in the new covenant and new testament, which is not according to the old; for in the old the people were to look unto the priest for their cleansing, and to the outward blood and water, by which they were cleansed. But in the new covenant and testament they are to look unto Christ Jesus, his blood, his life, and unto the heavenly water of life, by which they are cleansed. 

So the new covenant and new testament is not according to the old. For Christ, the high priest in his new covenant and testament, and new and living way, and in his new Jerusalem, and he, the offering, and his blood, is not of the building of the old covenant and old testament, and old priesthood, with their offerings of the outward blood of beasts, and their cleansing with the outward water; I say, Christ is of a far greater and more perfect tabernacle, &c. not made with hands, than that outward tabernacle, which is built and made with hands. So he is not of the old covenant and testament building. 

And in the old covenant and testament, it was the old way to anoint the priests, the prophets, and the kings, with outward oil. But in the new covenant and new testament, and new and living way, Christ, the great prophet and high priest, who is made higher than the heavens, and the King of kings, God hath anointed him with the holy ghost, and he doth anoint his Jews in the spirit, and his true believers and followers with his spirit, in his new covenant and new testament. So the anointing in the new covenant and new testament, and new and living way, is not according to the old. 

For the apostle saith, ‘He which establisheth us and you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.’ 2 Cor. i. 21.
 

And so, the manner of the anointing is also different in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way, from the manner of the anointing in the old covenant; in which the prophets, priests, and levites, did anoint the prophets, and the priests, and the kings. But in the new covenant God and Christ anoints his people with his spirit, which God hath poured out upon all flesh. And so that outward anointing amongst the Jews in the old covenant, Christ hath abolished, which was with outward oil. 

And in the old covenant the Lord bid Moses, ‘Go and lead the outward Jews (which he brought out of Egypt) unto the place which I have spoken of unto thee,’ &c. But in the new covenant and testament the Lord saith, ‘I have given thee for a witness, and for a leader and commander to the people; and thou shalt call nations, that knew not thee; and they shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, the holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.’ Isa. lv.
 

So Moses was the leader of the outward Jews in the old covenant in his day, with his types, figures, signs, and shadows; and the rock Christ followed them. But in the new covenant and testament Christ is the leader and commander of his people; and is the good shepherd, that hath laid down his life for his sheep, and goes before them (who is the substance) and not after them, as he did after the old Israel in their shadows. And his sheep do know his voice in the new covenant, and they do follow him into the pastures of life, that are always green; and to the living springs, that are always fresh. 

And Christ, the commander and leader of his people, his call is larger than Moses's; ‘For he shall call and lead nations, that knew not God, and they shall follow him.’ So he not only calls and leads the Jews, but nations. 

And so it is clear, that the new covenant and testament, new and living way, is not according to the old in this also. 

And in the old covenant they had carnal ordinances, and a worldly sanctuary, though the sanctuary was called holy in its time; and all these meats, and drinks, and sacrifices, and outward washings with outward water, which were imposed upon them by carnal ordinances, until the time of reformation, that is, until the time of Christ in his new covenant. And the priests were made after the law of a carnal commandment, and had their carnal storehouse, and carnal tithes and offerings; and so, the carnal mind is death. And so it is called, ‘The ministration of death in the Old Testament, written and engraven in stone.’ 2 Cor. iii. and Rom. viii. and Heb. vii. 9. But Christ, in his new covenant and testament, ‘is not made after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.’ Heb. vii. 16.
 

And so his ordinances and commandments are spiritual; and to be spiritually minded is life and peace.’ Rom. viii. 6.
 

So all these carnal worldly things in the old covenant, and carnal ordinances, and worldly sanctuary, and the law, which was after the law of a carnal commandment, served until Christ the seed came, to reform them out of those carnal worldly things, figures, signs, and shadows, into the spiritual things, and to Christ the substance. For when the substance is come, the shadows fly away. And so, the new covenant and new testament is not according to the old. 

And in the old covenant and testament they had an outward ark, and in it they had the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and outward altars; and in the ark they put the testament. But Christ in his new covenant puts his testament, his spirit, in the hearts of his people; and the altar is spiritual, upon which the saints do offer up their spiritual sacrifices; and they have their heavenly bread in their hearts, which gives them life. For they that eat of the manna, died in the wilderness; but they that eat of this heavenly bread, it gives them life eternal. 

And as Aaron's priesthood was tried by the budding of his rod in the ark, when all the rest of the outward rods, that were laid in the ark with his, did not. So are Christ's ministers, in the new covenant, by the budding of the spiritual rod in their tabernacle, and bringing forth spiritual fruits; which spirit God hath poured upon all flesh; which fruits of the spirit they bring forth, and that which they have profited by the spirit, they come to minister. 

So the new covenant is not according to the old, with its outward rod, testament, and manna, outward tabernable and altar; for all these outward things served but till the time of reformation, till the seed Christ, the heavenly and spiritual man, came, in his new covenant of light, life and grace, who puts the heavenly testimony, and heavenly manna and rod in the heavenly ark, the sanctified hearts, and who offer up the spiritual sacrifices upon the spiritual altar. And Christ abolishes all those outward things, with the old covenant and testament, and establishes the new. 

And in the old covenant the priests, which were made by the law of a carnal commandment, were to burn incense at the outward temple at Jerusalem, and there they were to do it by course, and served in their course. 

But in the new covenant and testament the Lord saith, ‘From the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.’ Mal. i. 11.
 

So this pure offering and incense, which should be offered unto God in every place, is by and in his pure spirit to the pure God, the Lord of
the hosts of the Jews in the spirit; yea, and the Gentiles also. 

So likewise in this, the new covenant is not according to the old, but is larger. For in the old covenant the priests by turns were to burn outward incense only in one outward temple. But in the new covenant all the believers in Christ Jesus are to offer spiritual incense in every temple and place, in the new covenant and testament, and new and living way; for Christ abolishes and puts out, and to an end, the outward fires of the outward incense, and tabernacle, and temple, and sanctuary, those outward worldly things, which served until the time of reformation by Christ the seed. And so the new covenant is not according to the old; for the one was of natural and outward things, and the other of inward and spiritual. 

And God sent Moses to lead the people out of outward Egypt; and they did not come out from outward Egypt till Pharaoh's first-born was slain. And they had light in Goshen, before they came out, though darkness was over the land of Egypt. But Christ in his new covenant leads his Jews in spirit out of spiritual Egypt and Sodom; and they have light in their Goshen before they come out, though spiritual darkness be in spiritual Egypt. And the first birth of the spiritual Pharaoh must be slain, before the Jew inward comes out of the spiritual house of bondage and darkness within, and to follow Christ, the captain of their salvation, in his new testament and new covenant, and new and living way; and so to worship God in his holy spirit, and in his truth, that the devil is out of. 

So outward Pharaoh oppressed the outward Jews; and spiritual Pharaoh oppresses the spiritual Jews, and will not let them go forth, till the first and spiritual birth of him be slain. 

And the Jews, when they received the law in the old covenant from Mount Sinai, they were to wash their clothes, as they were commanded by the Lord, and Moses was to sanctify them. Exod. xix. But in the new covenant all that receive the law of life, which is in Christ Jesus, from Mount Zion, Christ doth sanctify them, and they are to wash their hearts, souls, spirits, and minds, with the heavenly water of the word; and the blood of Jesus cleanses them. 

And the priests sprinkled the people with the blood, which is the life of the clean beasts, in the old covenant. But Christ in his new covenant and testament sprinkles his precious blood (which is his life) upon the hearts and consciences of his people, by which they are made clean. And the priest made atonement with the blood of the clean beasts, for the sins of himself and the people; but Christ with his blood hath made atonement to God for the sins of his people. So the blood and the priest of the new covenant are contrary to the old, and exceed it. For they offered up the blood of the beasts, and he offered up his own blood, his life, for his people. 

And so the new covenant and testament is not according to the old; for Christ abolisheth all those outward washings and offerings, and the law that commanded them. 

And in the old covenant and testament the priests were to wear the outward fine linen, and the high priest the urim and thummim written upon his breast, which signifies light and perfection: but in the new covenant and testament, Christ is the light himself, and the perfection of all those outward things in the old covenant, and the substance of them all. And the righteousness of Christ is the fine linen, which will never dirt nor wax old; which all Christ's believers in his new covenant and testament wear; and they need not wash this fine linen, which all the believers that wear it, are the royal priesthood, and offer up the spiritual sacrifices. And as the priests in the old covenant were to wash their outward fine linen, which outward fine linen Christ doth abolish, and the priests and their garments, and the wearing of the urim and thummim upon their breasts in the old covenant; and sets up his righteousness in the new covenant, for his royal priesthood to wear, and light and perfection in their hearts. And so, in this, also, the new covenant is not according to the old. 

And all the unclean, in the old covenant, were to be put out of the outward camp, and they were to dwell alone; and without the camp was their habitation to be. Levit. xii. and Deut. xxiii. The unclean were to go out of the camp; and they were to wash themselves with outward water, and to be clean, before they were to come into the camp again; yea, when they did go forth to ease themselves, they were to go forth without the camp, and cover it with a paddle. So the camp of the outward Jews was to be holy, in the old covenant; for the Lord God said, ‘He would walk in the midst of the camp to deliver them.’ Deut. xxii.
 

Therefore, if the Jews, in the old covenant, and in these outward things, were to be so holy, and all uncleanness kept out of it; and their excrements were to be covered without the camp, that the Lord might walk amongst them, in their figures, signs, and shadows, which served till the seed Christ came, the time of reformation, in the new covenant of grace and light, which is not according to the old; then much more the camp of the new covenant and testament must be kept clean; and all their uncleanness must be done away, and buried with a spiritual instrument, without the camp. For the habitation of all the unclean is without the camp of God and Christ, and his new covenant; and they cannot come into his holy camp and city, until they be washed with the pure blood of Christ and the holy water of life. 

And in the time of the old covenant, the Jews were not to offer any thing to the Lord that was blind or lame, or that was blemished, in their sacrifices. Deut. xxv. and Levit. xxii. 21. ‘There shall be no blemish in that which they offer unto the Lord; neither shall it be broken, or blind, or maimed, nor have a wen or scab, &c. or any thing superfluous, or lacking any of his parts, or that was crushed, or bruised, or cut; they were not to offer any such things in all the land to the Lord, but what was whole and clean, and without blemish:’ which was a type of Christ, who was clean and whole, and had all his parts, and not broken, but was a lamb without blemish, who, to establish the new covenant, offered up himself once for all these offerings in the old covenant. So he is both the peace offering and thanksgiving offering, and the offering also for the sins of the whole world, who abolished all the offerings of the old covenant, and ended them; and consumes all the false offerings, with their fat, in his fiery baptism. 

And so, the lame, blind, blemished, broken, scurvy, scabbed offerings, were not accepted of God in the old testament and old covenant; and much less are they accepted in the new covenant of grace, light, and life; for in the new covenant, the children of the covenant of grace offer spiritual sacrifices. 

So it is clear here, the new covenant and testament is not according to the old. 

And whosoever of the seed of Aaron had any blemish, was not to offer the bread of his God in the old covenant and testament; and what man soever hath a blemish, he shall not approach. A man that is blind or lame, or scabbed, crushed, broken foot or hand, or crooked back, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or scurvy, or hath his stones broken, or any superfluity, or hath any blemish, of the seed of Aaron the priest, he shall not come nigh the offerings of the Lord. Nay, the priests were not to drink wine or strong drink, when they went into the tabernacle to offer. So perfect, whole, clean, and clear, without blemish, they were to be in the old covenant, that offered those outward things, in the outward tabernacle or temple. Then much more perfect, and more clean and clear, is Christ Jesus, the high priest, who offered up himself to God, without spot or blemish, for the sins of the whole world, and gave his holy flesh for the life of the whole world, and who abolished all those offerers and offerings in the old covenant. 

And therefore all his believers, in the new covenant and testament, which are called a royal priesthood, must be much more clean and holy than they were in the old covenant and law of works, they that be in the new covenant of grace, and without blemish. For as Peter saith, ‘Christ, the Lamb of God, who offered up himself, is wi