the Scriptures of Truth c. This is to inform you That all our Books and Declarations that for these many years have been published to the World do clearly testifie to the contrary but yet for your sakes this is now given forth That God who is the Only Wise Omnipotent and Everlasting God we do Own and Believe in who is the Creator of all things both in Heaven and in Earth and the Preserver of all that he hath made who is God over all blessed forever to whom be all Honour and Glory and Dominion and Praise and Thanksgiving both now and for evermore And that Jesus Christ is his Beloved and Only Begotten Son in whom he is Well-pleased who was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Virgin Mary in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the Forgiveness of Sins who is the express Image of the Invisible God the First-born of every Creature by whom were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in the Earth Visible and Invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers And we do own and believe that he was made to be as Sin or an Offence and Curse for us who knew no Sin and was Crucified for us in the Flesh without the Gates of Jerusalem and that he was Buried and Rose again the Third Day by his own Power for our Justification and we do believe that he Ascended up into Heaven and now sitteth at the Right-Hand of God And that this Jesus is the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and our Foundation so that there is no other Foundation to be laid but what is laid even Christ Jesus and that he tasted Death for every man and shed his Blood for all men that he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for our Sins only but for the Sins of the whole World For saith John the Baptist of him Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World John 1.29 And we do believe That he is our Alone Redeemer and Saviour even the Captain of our Salvation who saves us from Sin as well as from Hell and from the Wrath to come and destroyes the Devil and his Works who is the Seed of the Woman that bruises the Serpent's Head to wit Christ Jesus who is Alpha and Omega the First and Last That he is as Scriptures of Truth say our Wisdom Righteousness Justification and Redemption neither is there Salvation in any other For there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved it is he alone who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls he it is that is our Prophet whom Moses long since testified of in Acts 3.22 23. A Prophet shall the Lord our God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you and it shall come to pass that every one that will not hear that Prophet shall be Destroyed from among the People He it is that is now come and hath given us an Understanding that we may know him that is true and a Rule in our Hearts even his Law of Love and of Life in our Inward Parts which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death And we have no Life but by him For he is the Quickening Spirit the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven by whose Blood we are cleansed and our Consciences sprinkled from Dead Works that we might serve the Living God by whose Blood we are purchased And so he is our Mediator that makes Peace and Reconciliation between God offended and Us offending being our Surety of the New Testament and the Oath of God the New Covenant of Light Life Grace and Peace the Author and Finisher of our Faith Now this Lord Jesus Christ the Heavenly Man Emanuel God with us we all own and believe in whom the High Priests raged against and said He had spoken Blasphemy and the Chief Priests and Elders of the Jews took Counsel together and put him to Death the same whom Judas betray'd for Thirsy Pieces of Silver which he had from the Priests who gave a Large Sum of Money to the Souldiers to broach a Horrible Lye namely that they should say That his Disciples stole him away by Night whilst they Slept And after he was risen from the Dead you may see in the Acts of the Apostles how that the chief Priests and Elders Persecuted the Disciples of this Jesus for preaching Christ and his Resurrection this we say is that Lord Jesus Christ whom we own to be our Life and Salvation Now concerning the Holy Scriptures We do believe That they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God through Holy Men of God who spoke as Scriptures of Truth say As they were Moved by the Holy Ghost in 2 Pet. 1.1 and that they are to be Read and Believed and Fulfilled and he that fulfils them is Christ And are profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction and for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 and are able as Divinely Inspir'd to make us Wise to Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus And we do believe That the Scriptures are the Wordâ— of God for it s said in Exod. 20.1 God spake all these Words saying c. meaning the Ten Commandments given forth upon Mount Sinai and in Rev. 18. saith John I testifie unto every man that heareth the WORDS of the Prophesie of this Book if any man addeth unto These and if any man shall take away from the WORDS not Word of the Book So in Luke 1.20 Because thou believest not my WORDS and John 5.47 15.7 14.23 12.47 So that we call the Scriptures as Christ and the Apostles call'd them and as the Holy Men of God call'd them namely The WORDS of God Another Slander and Lye they have cast upon us is namely That we should teach the Negars to Rebel A Thing we do utterly abhor and detest in and from our Hearts the Lord knows it who is the Searcher of all hearts and knows all things and so can witness and testifie for us that this is a most Egregious and Abominable Untruth For that which we have spoken and declared to them is to exhort and admonish them To be Sober and to Fear God and to love their Masters and Mistresses and to be Faithful and Diligent in their Masters Service and Business and that then their Masters and Overseers will Love them and deal Kindly and Gently with them And that they should not beat their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands nor multiply Wives nor put away their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands as they use frequently to do and that they do not Steal nor be Drunk nor commit Adultery nor Fornication nor Curse nor Swear nor Lye nor give Bad Words to one another or unto any
And had not he your Originals and was not he an Orthodox man and yet could not see Christ And did not the Priests and the Jews speak Hebrew naturally And the Grecians was not Greek their Natural Language and yet they could not see Christ nor could any of the Priests open Scriptures to the People but incensed them against Christ as you may see John 19. And is it not said in the Revelations That the Beast and the Whore had Power over the Tongues Rev. 13.7 And doth not the Apostle there call the Tongues Waters Chap. 17.15 And in 1 Cor. 13.8 Doth he not say That Tongues shall cease And where are your Originals then Now the Original viz. the Word is not that it that makes Divines for was not John the Divine a Fisher-man and who made him a Divine was it not Christ the Word that made him so For they had no Colledges nor Universities nor Schools to serve Seven Years in as Mechanick Men do and when they are out of their Time then they set up where they can have the best Trading And was not Paul a Tent-Maker and Aquila and Priscilla Tent-Makers and was not Luke a Physitian and was not Mathew called from the Custom and Peter and others of the Apostles were they not Fisher-men and yet were they not Preachers And were not Abraham and Noah Husbandmen and Isaac a Husbandman and a Grazier and was not Lot a Grazier and an Husbandman and were not Moses and David Shepherds and did not Moses keep his Father's Sheep in the Wilderness and David his Father's and was not Jacob a Shepherd twenty years with Laban his Uncle whom he faithfully served and was not Elisha a Plowman and Amos a Herdsman a Keeper of Cattel and a Gatherer of Fruits and what were the rest of them And so were not these Lay-men as you term them and these Mechanick-men that gave forth the Scriptures And can you make a Trade of Lay-men's and Mechanick-men's words whom you allow and approve of and yet will not suffer Lay-men and Mechanick-men to Preach and Teach and Speak now adayes I pray you consider and read the Scriptures and read your selves Did any of these serve Seven years at the School before they went to preach and learn the Seven Liberal Arts or Sciences whereof Musick is one are not they accounted by you University men as the Seven Seals of that Book spoken of in the Revelations and so is the Arms of your University at Oxford which is as much as to say That you are the only Persons that are fit to open those Seals and is not this to give John the Lye who said None was found worthy to open the Seals of the Book but the Lamb the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah Rev. 5.1 2 3 4 5. But what Parsonages or Vicaridges and Benefices had these Lay-men these Mechanicks these Husbandmen these Graziers Shepherds Customers Plowmen Herdsmen and other Tradsmen for Preaching and giving forth these Scriptures or what had Paul and his Fellow-Teat-Makers or Peter and his Fellow-Fisher-Men I pray you let 's see some Scripture for your Revenues and Parsonages Christ saith They shall take no Scrip nor Purse no Money with them and they should be contented to eat such things as are set before them And is there any thing more in the whole World got by any Trade now adayes by all them that serve Seven years or by the Husbandmen before mentioned now in the World that get more by their Callings than you do who call your selves and are called Priests and Ministers all Christendom over both amongst Papists and Protestants than you do I say by these Shepherds words and Plowmen Fishermen and Tent-makers words who never served seven years at your Colledges which were given freely forth at first by which you now get such great Revenues that you will not suffer any others neither Shepherds Plowmen nor Husbandmen nor Fishermen nor Tole-Gatherers hardly to meddle with their Fellow-Fishermen Fellow Plowmen Fellow-Husbandmen Fellow-Shepherds words I pray take the right Measure and the right Weights and measure your selves and see whether you would be so served your selves And do you think that you can open such men's words before mention'd with your Tongues and Languages now Whereas Pilate and the Jews and the Grecians could not open them then and are there better Tools think you to open them now then there were then not a whit It was said by one of your acknowledg'd and own'd Fathers St. Augustine so called upon that verse The Kingdom of Heaven suffers Violence c. saith he to this purpose A company of poor Mechanick and Tradesmen Tinkers Weavers and Cobblers c. do take the Kingdom of Heaven by Violence when such great Doctors and Learned as we are thrown down to Hell But further Is it not written in Isa 54.13 c. All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the Peace of thy Children In Righteousness shalt thou be Established c. And many shall gather together amongst them but not by me saith the Lord. Whosoever shall so gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake and no Weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every Tongue that shall rise up against thee in Judgment thou shalt condemn c. Now mark Is not this fulfill'd now adayes upon them that are Taught of God yea by you Ministers so called And in John 6.45 where Christ speaking to the Jews saith he It is written in the Prophets They shall be all taught of God every man therefore that hath heard and learnt of the Father cometh unto me Now this we witness this day and therefore it is that there is so much murmuring against us And in Rom. 10. The Word of God is nigh thee even in thy Mouth and in thy Heart That is the Word which we Preach saith the Apostle which every one is to Hear and to Obey And the Apostle relates in Acts 2. when the professing Jews mockt the Apostle saying They were drunk with New Wine Peter answering told them it was the third Hour of the Day and so not likely to be in Drink But this is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel And it shall come to pass in the last dayes saith the Lord I will pour out of my Spirit upon all Flesh and your Sons and your Daughters shall Prophesie and your young Men shall see Visions and your old Men shall dream Dreams and on my Servants and on my Hand-maids I will pour out in those days of my Spirit and they shall Prophesie Now this same we witness in our days as the Apostles did in their days And we see your Sun is turned into Darkness and your Moon into Blood verse 20. and your Sun is gone down and your Stars are fallen from Heaven as was prophesied in the Revelations And in Heb. 1.1 2. God at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the
Lamb and the Smoak of their Torment ascends up forever and forever and they have no Rest Day nor Night Can you Friends English that Rev. 14 10. 16.5 6 7. MENE TEKEL You are weighed in the Ballance and are found light so writes the Finger of God and therefore your Kingdom shall be taken from you look for it and all your Ill-gotten Goods and Estates that by your Lyes and False Prophesyings and by speaking Smooth Things Isa 30.10 and Daubing with Untempored Morter Ezek. 22.28 13.9 10. and by all your sowing Pillows under people's Elbows to Keep and Lull them Asleep shall all be Vomited up Thus much I thought meet in Love to write unto you that so you may learn to Fear God Repent Believe and Live forever with the Lord. Barbadoes the 29th of the 1st Moneth called March 1672. From Him that was once of you but now through Mercy is come out from amongst youâ— and bears this Tostimony against you John Hull Read Jer. cap 6. from vers 13. to 19. and Ezek. cap. 34. cap. 13. throughout Postscript Since the writing of this Letter I had Information of some Sad Passages of Priest Walker's Sermon that he Preached before the Rulers of the last General Sessions which occasioned this Postscript OFRIENDS But Seriously weigh the Thing in the Cool of the Day between God and your own Hearts and Consider Seriously Whether it be not Sad to See Him and such who profess your selves Ministers viz. Christ's Ambassadours given to the Churches for Education Consolation Information and Instruction to Stand and Appear so directly Diametrically Opposite and Cross to the very End of your Pretended Work and Ministry Concerning many of whom I fear it may be said That knowingly wilfully and deliberately Oppose Piety and Godliness and Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and have Condemned and Killed the Just that Resisted not O! read that Within That you should I say Persecute and stir up others to Persecution whose Work should be To Feed and Preserve out of it and Wound instead of Healing and Grieve the Spirit of the Righteous who should further their Joy and Comfort So that such declare themselves with open Mouth to be Physâ—â—ians of No Value And so it is made clearly manifest That none are a Greater Plague to the Church so called both in Corrupting and Deluding it by your Sorceries and Enchantments and also in causing the Sacrifice of the Lord to be by Men abhorred then some of you who would be accounted The SALT of the EARTH But alas it hath lost its Savour so that as Christ saith It is good for Nothing but to be cast out and troden under Foot by men Mat. 5.13 Luke 14.34 Just like those Priests Eli's Sons Sons of Belial by their Debaucheries Wickedness and Whoredoms spoken of in 1 Sam. 2.12 17. compared And instead of being Barnabas's Sons of Consolation are found and experimented to be Boanerges's Sons of Thunder Alaruming to War and to Battels with Confused Noise and Garments rold in Blood O Friends Be Friendly Advised Not to Sadden the Hearts of those whom God would not have made Sad Hazael-like 2 King 8.11 12 13. Is thy Servant a Dog saith he to the Prophet that I should do this Great Thing So Priest Walker and you may happily say Far be it from any of us that we should do this Great Thing that we should Seek Labour and Endeavour by Preaching Teaching or Petitioning the Destruction of the Righteous But take heed take heed that you be not found amongst the number of those that think in so doing i. e. in Killing Imprisoning Plundering and Persecuting them they do God Service you cannot be Ignorant that such there were mention'd John 16.2 where saith the Lord They have put you out of their Synagogues that is Excommunicated or Unchurched them and then Imprisoned them and Spoiling them of their Goods as many Hundreds have been by such as you Yea the Time cometh and is it not now that whosoever shall Kill them thinks he dorh God Service therein O! Read and Consider lest you be found I say to be such such Fools were those by their own Consession in the Book of Wisdom which is good Scripture though placed in that part which is called Appochripha read Wisdom chap. 5. vers 1 2 3 4 5 c. Then shall the Righteous Man stand in great Boldness before the Face of such as have Afflicted him and made no Account of his Labours when they see it they shall be Troubled with Terrible Fear and shall be Amazed at the Strangeness of his Salvation so far beyond all that they looked for Mark Is not this made good now in the Disappointment of the late strenous Endeavours and Actings against the Quakers only of all Dissenters in this Island through the Instigation and Promotion with the greatest Violence and Fury of you Priests especially of Priest Walker W. Lessley and his Son in Law Johnson For as the Psalmist saith Psal 25.20 They speak not Peace but Divise Deceitful Matters against them that are Quiet in the Land whereas the Lord saith plainly Divise not Evil against thy Neighbour seeing he dwelleth securely by thee Prov. 3.29 30 31. Weigh this well and consider Proud Hamon's Devilish Stratagem against God's People and how the Lord Frustrated and Disannulled his designed Acts as he hath and will do yours and wicked Divises in and to their own Ruin in the Book of Esther chap. 8. 9. according to that Psal 7.15 He made a Pit and Digged it and is fallen into the Ditch which he made his Mischief shall return upon his own Head and his Violent Dealing shall come down upon his own Pate Insidit in foveam quam struxit then sollows I will Praise the Lord according to his Righteousness c. It being a Righteous Thing in God so to Reward them whose Wayes are Equal though Man's Wayes are Unequal And Prov. 26.27 But to return to that in Wisdom again And they Repenting and Groaning in Spirit shall say within themselves This was he we had sometimes in Dirision and a Proverb or Parable of Reproach We Fools Accounted his Life Madness and his End to be without Honour How is he numbred among the Children of God and his Lot is amongst the Saints Therefore we Erred from the Way of Truth the Light of Righteousnes hath not shined unto us and the Son of Righteousnes arose not upon us We Wearied our selves in the Way of Wickedness and Destruction c. O! was not this Friends your Work and will not these or the like be your Words and Wages answerable one Day John Hull FOR THE GOVERNOUR And His Council Assembly And all Others in Power both Civil and Military in this Island from the People called QVAKERS With an ADDITION WHereas many Scandalous Lyes and Slanders have been cast upon us to the rendring us the more Odious viz. That we do deny God and Christ Jesus and