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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.
Soul Religion and Life these he thinks he leads away in Tryumph after him for I am if he may be believed by my Doctrine an Heretick a Blasphemer an Atheist a Traytor a Regicide a Paracide a Murderer of my Kindred and Neighbours a Destroyer of all Government Divine and human and a common Enemy to Mankind unfit for this World and for Heaven in the next unless I repent which ought to be very questionable to so dissolute and impious a Wretch as this pretended Minister of the Gospel in his Skirmish hath been pleased to render me what remains but that the Dogs or the Lyons devour me the Rabble or Government sacrifice me I am only fit for Prey if this be true what now shall I do Revile him by no Means revenge my self by a bitter and invective Answer no such Matter but may not I be angry with him not a Jot what then Pity and Inform him though a Parson I think so too wherefore overlooking all such Provocations I begin and proceed in this Method First I cannot but take it very ill in Case I were unsound in any one Doctrine not through Inadvertency but knowingly and premeditately that he without any further Search or unquestionable Proof should fault and impeach the Way I profess and upbraid an entire People with my Mistake I ask if this be the VVay to perswade me that he is a true Minister of the Gospel one that is zealous to promote the Commandments of God that in doing this hath broke That of loving his Neighbour as himself and doing unto others as he would have them do unto him William Penn holds a gross Error therefore the People call'd Quakers and the Way they profess must be skirmish'd upon with the foul Names of Murderers Rebels Traitors Atheists Heresie Blasphemy c. What Part of Logick or Philosophy is this none I think I am sure there is neither Law nor Gospel for it but 't is too frequent with many to live in the Transgression of those Commandments they verbally admire even then when they are pleading for them In the next Place I must needs observe to him his Disingenuity in telling me He would be glad to make the best of my Position after he had manifestly made the worst he could his two Sheets being stuft with the most abominable Consequences it had been possible for any Man to invent or aggravate against me this seems to be a Degree beyond Ignorance and looks very scurvily for a Man of his Function and Pretences Skirmishing laid aside But that which weighs the most with me to suspect my present Adversary of unfair Dealing to let such Words as Forgery slip for this Time is his taking my Matter to Pieces clipping Sentences and dropping that by the Way which read with the rest would in my Apprehension have defended the Passage from the Possibility of any reasonable Exception Shall four Lines and an half of a Book of above 250 Pages and those cull'd too out of three several Places reprobate the Book the Author his Religion and the Body of People he relates to I hope he has so much Conscience and Conviction left upon second Thoughts if for my sake he is not out of Charity with both as to condemn this Sort of proceeding with us but perhaps he will tell me I make too much of it and that it was but a Skirmish if so then no Battail or solid Encounter of both Armies and if not how come we and our Religion to be defeated and taken in his Apprehension doubtless this must go but for a Vapour and proves the Parson more a Man of his Words then of his Deeds Nor is this all the Ground of my Jealousie for unless he had met with my Book by Accident and had cast his Eye only on those three Places not reading what went before came between or followed after a thing scarcely possible and upon that transcient Notice had sally'd forth and skirmish'd upon me a Rashness no Man in his Wits would be guilty of or that when he had fallen so patly on those three places he resolved to see no more for Fear of being better informed a Disingenuity greatly unbecoming a Man of his Pretensions it must and will follow that he did knowingly and on Purpose omit both giving his Reader the Reason of this Part of the Controversie between me and John Faldo and my Sense at large in Defense of our first Position which done would have sav'd him the Trouble and Danger of a Skirmish and me the present Pains of giving him this Repulse And here I entreat the Readers Patience for a little Digression if yet it be one John Faldo writes a Book call'd Quakerism No Christianity in it he charges the People call'd Quakers with several erroneous Principles whereof one is in general Terms That we deny the Scriptures upon this he bestows 9 Chapters One of them is taken up with this Title That the Quakers affirm the Doctrines Commands Promises and holy Examples expressed in Scriptures as such not to be at all binding upon them To this Book I return'd my Answer entituled Quakerism a New Nick Name for Old Christianity I follow him Chapter by Chapter in my Course I undertake him upon this Head To prove his Charge he produces a Passage out of Edward Burrough's Writings much at the same Rate that this Adversary quotes me and such Harmony they hold that they fall both upon the same Construction of us as if they had compared Notes or had abused us by Instinct This I complain of in my Answer to J. F. how comes J. C. to make the same false Step and yet have read that Answer E. Burroughs's Words were these as cited by J. F. That is no Command of God to me what he commanded to another did any of the Saints which we read of act by the Command which was to another not having the Command to themselves This J. F. improves at the same Rate that J. C. doth mine to wit That it opens a Way to all Lewdness and Impiety and hath all Iniquity in the Womb of it extending these Words to all Laws which as I make appear in my Answer however overlookt by this Man were limited by E. B. and me to Temporary and extraordinary Cases Had J. F. been quiet here I could have hoped that he had both seen and sorrowed for his Mistake but he persists in his horrid Abuse of E. B. and begins at the same Rate with me for defending him This is in his Vindication of his former Book to which I Rejoyn at large in Defense of my Answer resume the Controversie entirely distinguish of his Fallacies and Misrepresentations and assert and maintain our own Principles confirming them with some Hundreds of reputed Authorities as well of former as more modern Ages In this Discourse hitherto unattempted by any I make a further Defense of E. B's and my own Sense from J. F's Mis-construction which it had become this