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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47162	The plea of the innocent against the false judgment of the guilty being a vindication of George Keith and his friends, who are joyned with him in this present testimony, from the false judgment, calumnies, false informations and defamations of Samuell Jenings, John Simcock, Thomas Lloyd, and others joyned with them, being in number twenty eight : directed by way of epistle to faithful friends of truth in Pennsilvania, East and West-Jersey, and else-where, as occasion requireth.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.; Budd, Thomas, 1648-1699.	1692 (1692)	Wing K189; ESTC R14187	22,743	25

THE Plea of the Innocent Against The False Judgment OF THE GUILTY Being a Vindication of George Keith and his Friends who are joyned with him in this present Testimony from the False Judgment Calumnies False Informations and Defamations of Samuell Jenings John Simcock Thomas Lloyd and others joyned with them being in Number Twenty Eight Directed by way of Epistle to faithful Friends of Truth in Pennsilvania East and West-Jarsey and else-where as Occasion requireth John 7. 50 51. Nicodemus said Doth our Law judge any Man before it hear him Acts 25. 16 17. It is not the manner of the Romans said Festus to deliver any man to dye before that he which is accused have the Accusers face to face and to have License to answer for himself concerning the Crime laid against him Psal 58. 1 2. Do ye indeed speak Righteousness O Congregation Do ye judge Vprightly O ye Sons of Men yea in Heart you work Wickednes you weigh the Violence of your Hands in the Earth The Plea of the Innocent c. Directed by way of Epistle to faithful Friends of Truth in Pennsilvania East and VVest-Jarsey c. Dear Friends Brethren every where to whom this may come WE dearly Salute you in the Love of God The occasion of this present Writing is in Vindication of the Truth and Us the detamed Witnesses of it and particularly of George Keith from the false Judgment Calumnies false Informations and Defamations of S. Jennings John Simcock and Thomas Lloyd Pretended ●reachers and others joyned with them being in Number twenty eight in their late Epistle sent to the Monethly and Quarterly Meetings in Pennsilvania East and West Jarsey First of all whereas they pretend to give an Account to these Meetings of the Tedious Exercise and Vexatious Perplexity they have met with in their late Friend George Keith for several Months past In this they have dealt most unfairly and uniustly with him in that they have given no account of the Occasion of that called by them the Tedious Exercise Vexatious Perplexity c. which because they have not given we see fit to do the Truth and all Friends of it to whose hands this may come that Justice as to give you a true Information of the Cause and Occasion of the late Difference that hath happened betwixt divers of them that hath signed their Epistle and these the chiefest among them and G. K. which was this vizx About fifteen Moneths ago William Stockdale an Antient Preacher having accused G. K. of pre●ching Two Christs because he preached Faith in Christ within and Faith in Christ withou● the which G. K. hearing after he had private●y dealt with him laid his Compl●in first before about twelve of the friends of the Ministr● met at the House of R●bert Ewer who having done nothing in the said Meeting to ●●ing W. Stockdale to due Conviction or Condemnat●● for his said Error but rath●r for the most part d●d excuse and defend him as can well be proved by divers Credible Witnesse then present only two of the said Friends of the Ministry then present viz. John H●rt and John D●lavall dissented from the rest then G. K. did again lay his C●mp●●int before Friends of the Ministry at the last Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia in the first week of 7 Mon. 1691. and soberly desired to have their sence and judgment Whether he was guilty of preaching Two Christs or W●ether W. S. was not guilty of Blasphemy for saying Christ within and Christ without are Two Christs and no less than six several Meetings were had about this matter in that time of the Yearly Meeting and the first Meeting continued about ten hours viz. from about nine in the fore noon to the time that Candles were lighted in the evening And it must needs be granted That it was a time of tedious Exercise vexatious Perplexity in all the six Meetings but who was to be blamed for it deserveth your serious Examination Is it not matter of Astonishment that such an easie Question being proposed to so many men called Ministers of Christ all highly pretending to the Spirits immediate teachings and leading and to be in a degree of Christianity above all other Professions in Christendom there being assembled of these ca●●ed Ministers out of these three Provinces about forty or fifty if ●ot more six Meetings could not determine it viz. W●et●er to p●each Faith in Christ within us and Faith in Christ without us was to preach Two Christs or One Whereas G. K. had many Witnesses to clear him that he alwayes said when he tre●ted on that subject that Christ within us and Christ without us was but one Christ the ●ea●ure of the Gift of Christ within us and the Fullness without us in the Man Christ Jesus being one Lord Jesus Christ a sincer● Christian though in the lowest degree and but a Babe in Christ could have easily determined and resolved this Question and given ju●gm●nt against W. S. being guilty of Blasphemy against the Son of M●n though not against the holy Ghost for his blasphemous Assertion That to preach Faith in Christ within and Faith in Christ without was to preach Two Christs for according to him Christ without is a false Christ he being a great Owner in Pretence and words of Christ within and yet which will be matter of Admi●ration to all Impartial Persons that hear it who have the least true Knowledge in the Mystery of Christ t●i great and solemn Assembly of so many high Pretenders to be Ministers of Christ were at a great stand and demur● to determine and in the conclusion of the sixth Meeting gave but a very slender and partial determination and judgment concerning it which yet such as it was was not intimated by any Order of the Meeting as themselves have acknowledged And indeed such was the Partiality as well as the Ignorance and gross Unbelief that openly and manifestly appeared in these Meeting whereof sufficient Proof can be given and that of divers owned and esteemed great Preachers among us that is scarcely credible a hint whereof we think necessary to give for your true Information In one of these six Meetings T. Fitzwater in Prayer said O God that dyed in us and ●aid down thy Life in us and took it up again c. After he had ended his Prayer G. Keith G. Hatcheson and J. Hampton but f●w or none others greatly blamed T. F. for his ●rayer for it appeared to them as Blasphemy and surely it is not only contrary to Scripture but to the express Testimony of Friends That God is Immortal and cannot dye yea G. W. in his book called Judgment fixt expresly saith God cannot be impri●oned or imbond●ged with other words to that effect and so cannot dye Another called Robert Young a great Preacher among them openly said as many can bear witness in one of these Meetings That he did not find Christ without in all the Scripture further positively affirming

Doctrine and clearing T. F. they have declared openly their being no Christians and therefore it is no Railing nor Ungodly Speech to call them Ignorant Heathens for it is their proper Name due to them seeing they will not own any thing else not the Man Christ Jesus but only the Light in them to be sufficient and necessary to their Salvation but for a more full account of their thus publickly renouncing the Man Christ Jesus we refer to two Papers of Minuts writ by G. K. of what passed at the last Quarterly and Monthly Meetings about this matter But whereas some of them say They have not cleared T. F. let all impartial men who read their act recorded in their Monethly Meeting Book a copy of which with great difficulty we have at last obtaine● judge whether their words in the said Act doth not clear him when they say The Meeting saw no Reason to give Judgment against him in this particular above-mentioned as much as when the Grand Jury bringeth ●n their Verdict of an Ignoramuus into the Court doth not clear the Person accused for that time and whether this their clearing of him is not further confirmed by their allowing countenancing him to preach and pray in their Meetings and the last clause of their Paper concluding That T. F's charge in it self was true 2 dly Whereas in their Epistle they use a great many words in Commendation of what formerly G. K. was and how once he walked in the Counsel of God and was little in his own Eyes and his Brethrun honourable in his esteem and that he was lovely in that day when the Beauty of the Lord was upon him and his Comliness covered him and other high words of Commendation scarce given to many far more worthy than he It i● very apparent that all this is but on purpose first to raise him up as it were on high that they may seem the more to throw him down into their deep Pit of Infamy false Judgment they have given against him together with their deceitful hypocritical Lamentation over his Fall from the high places of Israel as a man slain in his high places this is not unlike to their Predecessors the Persecuting Clergy of the Church of Rome who before they burnt that worthy Servant of Christ John H●●s they caused be put on him his Priestly Robes then afterwards stript him of them on purpose the more to defame him and render him vile before the People the which as they were doing that worthy Servant of Christ called to remembrance that White Vesture which Herod put upon Christ to mock him withal as Fox doth relate it in his Book of Martyrs pag. 739. Tom. 1. But we would have these men to know that G. K. needs none of their hypocritical and mock Lamentations but rather let them in good earnest weep for themselves and for th● in great Ignorance Error and Unbelief that some if not all of them have sufficiently discovered themselves guilty of and most of them of their great Prejudice and Hypocrisie and all of them of their Folly and rash and false Judgment which will be their own burden for which we wish them true Repentance And seeing their Accusations against G. K. lie much in bare generals we see no cause further to take notice of them as they contain bare generals as his ●e●ng guilty of Anger En●y Cruelty Treachery and other false reproachful Speeches they give out against him but to show that for want of particular matter against him they thus labour to defame him so much in bare Generals a way common to all Sophisters false Accusers And for the Hard Words they alledge he used to call some of them as Fools Ignorant Heathens Inf●els Silly So●ls Lyars Hereticks Rotten Ranters Muggl●tonians c. G. K. saith and that in the uprightness of heart that he never gave such Names to any of them but to such as he can prove did deserve them and for which he can appeal to all impartial men that profess Christianity whether they to whom he gave such Names did not deserve them as when one of them said to him in his own house in the hearing of some present That seeing to preach Faith in Christ without did give Offence to his Brethren and was like to make a Division among Friends it was best to let it alone as Paul said concerning eating of Flesh i● it did offend his weak Brother this W. Gabitas said to him whereupon G. K. said as he solemnly declareth and as some do witness Thou silly Soul or little Soul dost thou compare the preaching of Christ crucified to eating o● fl●sh And to call men Fools and Sots yea blind and dark Sots that deserve it hath been the practice of some very eminent Friends for no greater cause than some have given who have openly renounced the Faith of ●hrist without them as necessary to their Salvation as we can sufficiently prove some of them have done w●o deservedly may be called Ignorant Heatheus Infidels Hereticks and if G. K. did ca●l fome of them Lyars he can prove they were such and that is no Railing to call a Lyar by his true Name so did Christ call such as deserved it and so did Paul and divers of them that have signed that Epistle have called G. K. openly in a Meeting Lyar and other unworthy and base Names without all just ground a●d therefore it is base Partiality in these men to condemn G. K. for that which they are guilty of themselves some of them having not only called him Lyar but Apos●ate and worse than Prop●●ne as particularly S. Jenings in the hearing of divers credible Witnesses and Arthur Cook who is of thei● side tho' his hand is not at th●n Paper being absent at the School-house-Meeting did openly call him M●ggletonia● for affirming That Christ had the true Body of Man in Heaven the which Body was not 〈◊〉 where of this many can bear witness at the same time the said A. C. would not acknowledge that Christs appearance to Paul mentioned 1 Cor. 15. 8. was without him alledging it was Only within put G. K. to prove Where we read in Scripture of Faith in Christ within and Christ witho●t as also to p●ove that Cornelius was faithful to the Light within or had the Light within And T. Lloyd hath used very uncivi● expressions to G. K. in some of those Meetings one time saying No man could differ with G. K. but he was in danger o● the Li●e of his Soul by him which G. K. was greatly offended with and judged the most unchasitable saying that e●er any of his greatest Enemies gave him this T. L. knoweth himself guilty of hath laboured since to put a cloak upon it but that could not cover it and at another time said G. K. had been a more vexatious Adversary to Friends than Hicks or Scanderet or the greatest Enemies at other times he

the false Judges said lately on 〈…〉 day Meeting That Christ was a Mediator for no Drunkards non Wicked Persons but for his own Disciples expresly contrary to Scripture Testimon in many places Isa 53. 12. Psal 68. for it is by the Merits and Intercession of Christ that a●● m●n even wicked men of all sorts have a day of Visitation and are inwardly enlightned by Christ and such who improve it not but live and dte in their sins hinder not but that it is a benefit to it self Also the same Person some time ago at a Meeting in East-Jersey said in Prayer Lord that we may not dote on the Body to neglect the Life which was very offensive and is an unsavoury irreverend 〈◊〉 to every Pious Christian for to dote on it is too much to love it but this none can do for we cannot too much love the Lords glorious body nor any thing of him but the more truly we love his Body the more we enioy of his Life inwardly and the more we enjoy of his Life in us and love it we love his Body and prise and esteem still more and more a● the Sufferings of his Soul and his Bodily Suffering Death Resurrection Ascention in that ●ody hoping that he will charge our low Body and fashion it like to his glorious Body All which and other gross Errors being considered 〈◊〉 denying Gods Presence in all his Creatures arguing If God be i● Herbs and Grass than who trample on Herbs Grass trample on God Horrid Blasphemy as one ar gued charged G K of Blasphemy 〈◊〉 Mo. Meeting for saying God was present in all his Creatures even Gross Herbs c. Hence a new dispute hath risen among some W●etner God be present in Li●e some arguing they are no part of the Creation Are not these things enough to make sober Ears to tingle by all which and much more that can be proved it may sufficiently appear what great reason G. K. had to say No such damnable Heresies c. are tollerated in any Christian Society as are among many 〈◊〉 away called Quakers Another preaches That Christ cureth mens Souls perfectly at once and maketh them free of all sin and when we are perfect we are Kings are not to beg or pray to God for then selves And openly in a Meeting at J. Goodsonn's S. Jenings accused G. K. as also did J. S●mcoak for preaching Faith in Christ without us calling it the Prosessors Faith and the Faith of all Chris. endom that did not profit them And T. Ducket another great States-man the● and Preacher declared at the Meeting at Rob. Ewer's when G K. made the first Gomplaint to them against W. S. that he could not determine whether that Body 〈◊〉 was crucified was 〈◊〉 on not but said he let the Church determine it if the Church determine it we shall I hope submit which was more like a blind Mass-Priest than a judicious Protestant Minister And S. Jenings hath sufficiently discovered his great Ignorance as in some other things and joyning with them that sa● the Light is sufficient without something else and requiring G. K. to give an absolute Submission to their judgment which G. K. calling Ra●k Popery S. J. took out his pocket-Pocket-Book and writ it down before G. K. had ended the sentence so in openly declaring in a mens Meeting That to do Gods business we needed Gods Wisdom and Power but to do our own business as men we needed it not which G. Keith Geo. 〈◊〉 Rob. Turner J. Hart and several others publickly testified against but the Meeting gave no judgment against him And notwithstanding th●● this S. J. hath severely blamed G. K. that he refused to submit to him and his Associates who were joyned in a Faction against G. K. for his faithful Testimony yet he hath refused to submit to the judgment not only of the mens Meeting here at Philadelphia in a small worldly matter betwixt T. B. and him but refused to submit to the Judgment of a Meeting of the most eminent Friends viz. G. F. G. W. and others appointed at London to hear the difference betwixt Edw. B●utno● and him concerning the Trust committed to him by E. B. as his Deputy Governo● the which tho' he ref●sed to submit to their Judgment yet they judged him guilty of betraying his Trust and the came away 〈◊〉 England in dis-unity with the most faithful Friends at London on that very account and had he had his due Friends here would scarce have suffered him to preach and pray in Meetings far less to have ruied in their men and womens Meetings as since he hath done first in West-Jersey of whose too severe Government People in that Province were generally weary and of other his proud and lofty Carriages and now here in Pennsilvania who hath already shown himself too high and impe●ious both in Friends Meetings and worldly Courts as is but too weit known to many and yet this ignorant presumptuous and insolent man hath been one of the main Opposers Threatners of G. K. threatning him That they will let him know that though he deny their Judgment yet they shall judge him but seeing they have given false Judgment against him a G. K. could expect no better from his declared Opposetrs and Adversaries both to Truth and him it is no cause of Offence for G. K. to say he trampled their Judgment as Dirt under his sect for Dirt is good for something to fatter the Land but false Judgment is good for nothing except to discover what ignorant and prejudiced men these are against the Trut● Another of the false Judges is one W. Walker Novice who began to preach before he had the outward sober carriage of a Friend known to be a prejudiced Person against G. K. for reproving his false Doctrine first in private then more publickly he having said in a publick Meeting That a man might speak unsound words in the L●●e and at another time in a publick Meeting he bid us wa●t that the Scepter might depart from Judah c. to at Shilo might come and many other most gross impertinent things he hath spoke in Meetings fathering a●● upon the Spirit And a for J. Delavall his declining from G. K. and turning most severely against him and his Doctrine but of late formerly preached by him is sufficient●● known to many as well as his accusing of G. K in a thing he could not prove but essayed to do it with a dreadful Oath saying As God was in Heaven it was true which to be sure is as real an Oath as that was under the Law The Lord liveth Another of the false Judges is Paul Saunders very sately a great pretended Friend of G. K. and who hath greatly owned in words G. K. Doctrine and came to that called our seperate Meeting at least one first day as joyning with us and yet now hath joyned with these false Judges against us and yet but a f●w