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A54213 The skirmisher defeated and truth defended being an answer to a pamphlet, entituled, A skirmish made upon Quakerism / by William Penn. Penn, William, 1644-1718. 1676 (1676) Wing P1364; ESTC R21605 31,443 43

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them because they are in the Bible only which runs against the Testimony of Scripture the Consent of Ages and the Writings and Judgment of the most Honest and Learn'd Protestants 2ly As if it were a like Evil Conscientiously to forbear Running Willing and Striving in Matters of Worship without the Spirit 's Conduct and scared●y to plead for the Commission of Murder and Idolatry because Men of such Consciences bogle not at it though that is more then J. F. can prove I mean that they have no Stroak or Remorse 3ly As if we could Worship Preach gather Churches and administer Gospel-Ordinances aright without the Spirit 4ly That he is not convinced by any other Testimony then the Scripture without of any Transgression against God's Law 5ly It supposes that if Men stay'd till the Spirit mov'd they should stay long enough who vainly prate of Praying by the Spirit notwithstanding never considering that the Spirit standeth ready to Reveal it self to their Assistance and Assurance who wait for it and that all the Children of God are led by the Spirit of God which being our Position had it but been weighed by this Adversary he could not methinks be so unjust in his Aggravations 'T is true should we believe as he doth the Spirit is not to be waited for now adayes to lead us or that it is not ready to our Information when we wait for its Discoveries and Leadings our Assertion would look very absurd and loose for it were to let fall all Worship but not upon our own Principle as I said before for first all Worship to God ought to be performed by the Assistance of his holy Spirit for of our selves we can do nothing that is good And secondly God's Spirit is ready to assist instruct and comfort those that wait diligently and patiently for it yea God hath given it to the Rebellious that it may judge them if it do not lead them It is such Protestant Doctrine that I wonder Men should not know their admited Ancestors Faith when they meet it Oh great Degeneration into Hardness Ignorance Lastly There is the same to be said against him that pretends to ground all upon the Scripture that he objects against us who plead for the Conviction of Conscience which the Instance of the Jews Murder of our Lord Jesus Christ unanswerably proves There was a Law that Blasphemers should be put to Death by this Law they apprehended Jesus adjudged and got him to be executed These Men above any Age exalted the Scriptures as the Only Rule Where lyes the Mistake Not in the Scripture but in their blind and envious Application of it Now I ask if the only Way for them to have come to the true Sense and Knowledge of him and escaped that Wicked Murder and the deplorable Consequences of it had not been to have waited upon God for the Conviction Discoveries and Guidance of his holy Spirit since Flesh and Blood and the utmost Wit of Man with the Exactness of the meer Letter of the Scriptures could never give the certain discerning Knowledge and Savour of him unto that Generation whose very Words themselves were Spirit and Life It was by a Divine Touch Sense and Knowledge given from above that he was truly discern'd own'd and follow'd of those that believ'd in him and clear ved to him therefore said Christ No man cometh to me but whom my Father draweth Where was that Drawing but within Again Simon Peter Flesh and Blood hath not revealed what who I am but my Father that is in Heaven So that at last Men must come to this Spiritual Sense in themselves to understand and apply the very Commands of Scripture otherwise not Justice but detestable Murder may under the Name of it be confidently perpetrated Wherefore we Exhort all To have Recourse unto God's Spirit that illuminates certainly and gives to act unblameably by which the Scriptures are only understood as they should be People brought into the Possession of that Life of Righteousness they plentifully declare of Had it not been for this inward Discerning there had been no Ground for the Abolishment of the whole Jewish Service which followed some Years after Christ's Ascension And it is the same Eternal Spirit that is the great Rule and Judge now which God promised more particularly to shed abroad in the latter Dayes and is the great inseparable Priviledge from the New and Everlasting Covenant But to conclude Why should it seem so Heterodox in J. Faldo's Judgment since if Men believe the Scripture upon the Testimony of the Spirit they practise it by the Knowledge and Power of the same How else could Paul have decry'd Jewish Ceremonies or we know what to take and what to leave Or why do we omit any Command therein mentioned They Circumcised therefore must I Circumcise They Baptized must I therefore Baptize with forty more particular Cases wherein nothing can secure any from the Imitation of them set Conviction or Spiritual Discerning aside I will offer two or three Testimonies from approved Men in our Defence William Tindal that ancient faithful Protestant Martyr whom J. Fox that writ the Books of Martyrs calls the English Apostle speaks thus That it is impossible to understand in the Scripture more then a Turk for whosoever or any that hath not the Law of God writ in his Heart to fulfil it Again Without the Spirit it is impossible to understand them John Jewel Bishop of Salisbury in his excellent Book against the Papists writ above One Hundred Years ago says thus to our purpose The Spirit of God is bound neither to Sharpness of Wit nor to abundance of Learning Oftentimes the Unlearned see that thing that the Learned cannot see Christ saith I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the Wise and the Politick and hast revealed them unto the Little Ones Therefore Epiphanius saith Only to the Children of the Holy Ghost all the Holy Scriptures are plain and clear Again Flesh and Blood is not able to understand the Holy Will of God without SPECIAL Revelation Therefore Christ gave Thanks unto his Father and likewise opened the Hearts of his Disciples that they might understand the Scriptures Without this special Help and PROMTING of God's Holy Spirit the Word of God is unto the Reader be he never so wise or well learned as the Vision of a sealed Book Now unless Men are bound to do what they do not understand how to do then only are they to do them where they are Revealed or Discovered to them which being by the Spirit only according to their Doctrine the Testimony and Discoveries of the Spirit are requisite to our understanding of the Scriptures which implies and comprehends a Discriminating Knowledge or Certain Discerning of what we should practise from what is not obliging upon us to practise and consequently that we ought not to run head long without such knowledge T.
fail him I am willing to perswade my self that he is more Novice then Souldier in this War and that this is rather a Spurt of Heat then a Deliberate Action for Wise Men count their Cost Fools only invade without Force I hope he will not be angry with me for this Opinion of him I am sure he ought not if he be a Minister of the Gospel I know not how he will take it as a Skirmisher an Employment of so different a Nature but certain it is that Mistake is more pardonable then Malice and Ignorance excusable then Fiction I would not willingly fall upon him with those severe Terms and put him upon that Difficulty I have been constrained to treat others with and reduce them to I would chuse rather to inform then chide him only I must tell him that he is fallen into the Road of as great and arch a Perverter of our Writings and Sayings as any Enemy that ever appear'd against us and improved his Mistake upon us by as many Foul Impious and Detestable Consequences even to a Tautology as that of any other Adversary hath done which would make one think that there was more of Design then Accident and Premeditation then Inadvertency in the Business Be it as it will the Man pretends to be offended at me endeavours to make others offended too 'T is highly fit as a Christian-man that I do my best to remove the Reason of it and that I shall by the Help of Almighty God First then I will set down that Passage of mine which he makes the Reason of writing his Pamphlet annex some of the Consequences he draws from my words by which he would render them and me Odious to his Reader and then fall to my Defence which will not be difficult and I hope not tedious to my ingenuous and inquiring Reader No Command in the Scripture is any further obliging upon any man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience It is Conviction that can only oblige to Obedience When any man is convinced that was commanded another is required of him then and not till then he is rightly authorized to perform it These Parcels has he cull'd out of a Book of mine Quakerism a New Nick Name for Old Christianity I writ in Answer to John Faldo's Book entituled Quakerism No Christianity Let 's now see the Use he makes of them and what Language he makes them to speak That this Position opens the Flood-gate to all Error Atheism Impiety and Wickedness and that it is the Overthrow of all Law and Government p. 2 That sins of Ignorance are no sins for all Conviction is by Knowledge that this justifies Paul 's Blasphemy and Persecution and gross sins against the Gospel because he did it ignorantly p. 3. It justifies all Erronious Doctrines and Practical Misapprehensions and whatever Vices lie in the Vnderstandings of men Penn's Position doth justifie the Irish Rebellion the French Massacre the Marian Persecution the Ten Persecutions of the Primitive Churches the Gunpowder Treason Judaism Mahometanism Paganism Popery and all Erroneous Sects and Parties in the World with all their False Principles and Practices Christ saith It is Life Eternal to know God and Christ Jesus John 17. 3. Penn's Position saith If you are ignorant and unconvinced no Law can lay hold on you if you be deluded and practise according to the Conviction of your deluded Mind you are warranted by the Command of God which do all center in Conviction p. 4. Again If this Position be true then Conscience and Conviction is God and whatever Conscience sayes must be done be it right or wrong and it lies in the power of Conscience to make void all the Laws of God and to do what it pleaseth It will also follow that he is the most free from Sin who hath the most feared Conscience and that the ready Way to Obedience and Salvation is to debauch and sear the Conscience If Conviction be the Ground of Obedience and the Authority of Scripture depend upon the Rectitude and Purity of Conscience then all Rational Laws Order and Government both divine and human are overturned and a stop is put to all Religion and Piety towards God to all Conscience Honesty and Charity towards Men So Princes and Rulers may command and make never so good Laws Conscience may come and say I deny all these Laws and the Maker of them Children may refuse to obey Parents Servants Masters and Inferiour Superiours if Conscience shall be unconvinced and if it be deluded Subjects may murder their Princes Children their Parents Servants their Masters one Man another there can be no Law but Conscience and whatsoever Conscience sayes must stand p. 5 6 The Quakers Conscience sayes one Thing the Papists another the Pagans the Turks the Jews the Tyrants the Traytors the Hereticks the Worldlings the Hypocrites the Proud the Adulterers Conscience how many contrary Consciences are these how many Gods shall we have and contradictory Laws if Conscience and Conviction be the only Thing which obligeth to Duty p. 6 7. These with Abundance more of the like Nature are the Consequence he rather bestows upon then draws from my Words as particularly he hath laid them down pray hear his Farewel after such a violent and virulent Skirmish I would be glad to make the best of your Position but I must profess my Conscience and Conviction p. 13 I refer my self and what I have here writ to Impartial Censure warning and entreating all People as they love their Souls to take heed of Quakerism Keep your Poyson to your self and none will perish by it but your self but if you will needs vend it and in the View of the Nation and such at least as know the English Tongue set up a Position subverting all Religion Law and Government and levelling all holy and profitable Rules and Commands to Mens Lusts leaving no Man in the World under any Obligation or any Duty to God or Man further then he is convinced in his Conscience be it known to you that Jesus Christ hath his Servants abroad to bear Testimony for him against such GOD-BLASPHEMING AND SOUL-DAMNING ERRORS and if you repent not this that I have written shall rise up in Judgment against you and shall be an Aggravation of your Misery in that Day Prepare to answer the righteous Judge if your Conscience be blinded and seared now it will be open and awaken then This Reader concludes his two Sheets of Skirmish upon me But by the way it ought to sound very strangely to my Reader that a man should profess Conscience and Conviction for this long Anathema against Conscience and Conviction But by that time he is as well acquainted with these sort of men as I am he will leave off wondring that such men contradict themselves indeed they live by it But what shall I do or say to this Goliah Behold the Spoil of his Skirmish He has invaded my Body and