Body of Christ is within them as well as His Spirit Indeed they are here in a monstrous Confusion for by this Body they mean the Spirit and by a Spiritual Body they mean nothing but Spirit However this serves them to Dodge and Decieve others It was to meet with them in this that the First and the Sixth Quaeres of those given to their Yearly Meeting 1695. were fram'd viz. Do you believe in a Christ without you Now in Heaven And Quaer 6. Is Christ now at this Day and for Ever to come Truly and Really a Man in true and Proper Human Nature without all other Men But in their Pretended Answer to these Quaeres they wave Answering Directly and leave out the words without us and without all other Men and the word Human upon which the Chief stress was laid because they do believe that this Notional Body of Christ is within them as well as His Spirit Therefore they wou'd not Answer to this And tho' this was again Prest upon them in the Conclusion of the Sn. and they were told of all this Dodging and this was put upon them as a Criterion to Clear themselves and therefore they were Desir'd to begin their Answer to the Sn. with a Plain and Direct Ans Yea or Nay to these Two short Queres Yet no Provocation can bring them to it They will not yet Answer to it for it Discovers the Heart of their Cause It wou'd totally overthrow their Ancient Testimonies wherein they Deny That Christ hath now a Body of Flesh and Bones Circumscript or Limited in that Heaven which is Above and out of Every Man on Earth These are the words of John Whitehead in his Quakers Refuge Printed 1673. p. 40. And p. 41. he says that they are in the Error who wou'd Limit it to a Particular Place and out of every Man on Earth for says he The Spirit and Body of Christ is not Divided but wheresoever the Spirit and Life of Christ is it is in the Body of Christ. This shews plainly what they mean That the Body of Christ is not Now a Body Circumscript or Limited to any Place and consequently it is no Body at all for that is Inseperable from a Body but that it is wheresoever His Spirit is and that it is within them and not without all other Men. Thus Edward Burough being Demanded in these Positive Terms Is that very man with that very Body within you Yea or Nay And this he do's not at all Deny but Answers in the Affirmative p. 149. of his works The very Christ of God is within us You must take the meaning of these men by Considering that to which they Answer and which they oppose for in a Limited sense Christ by His Holy Spirit and Influences is within us and Christ is The very Christ so that ther is a sense in which that Expression tho' offensive in the wording of it may be admitted But then when we consider that which they Oppose or to which they Answer the meaning appears Plain for why wou'd they Oppose what they thought Orthodox And this is the method by which we must understand G. Fox's Great Mystery which is a Pretended Answer to 108 Books and Disputes against the Quakers For G. Fox's own words are â—eldom either Sense or English and he Miserably Mis-Quotes and Mistakes their words whom he writes against sometimes it appears to be on Purpose and sometimes out of Pure want of Vnderstanding Half Knave and Half Fool But by Reading those Books which he opposes you may Discover what he wou'd be at Instances of this out of Number can be given Which if any think it worth the while are Ready to be Produc'd But to the Subject we are upon The first Book he Answers in his Great Mystery is of one of the then Ministers Mr. Sam. Eaton call'd The Quakers Confuted Printed A. D. 1654. where p. 12. Mr. Eaton makes as full a Confession as can be to the Inward Presense and Operation of Christ by His Spirit in the Hearts of Believers And therein says he they have Him But they have not Christ in Flesh or the Flesh of Christ dwelling in them for that was taken up into Heaven and will there be Contain'd till the Restitution of All things This G. Fox opposes in his Great Mystery p. 3. And Quotes thus much of his words with the Page But the Saints have not Christ in the Flesh p. 12. And opposes this as Contrary to Christ and the Apostles Doctrin who said they were of His Flesh and of his Bone and they that have His Flesh have it in them This shews in what sense he Understood these Scriptures and what his Notion was of the Flesh of Christ viz. That it was now at this time in all Believers and so not any Literal Flesh but some Imagination or other that they have of Spiritual Flesh which they think that God Himself has and Christ or the Light had from all Eternity so nothing of outward Human Flesh or Nature Tho' if you take the word Human as it may be Deriv'd from Homo a Man thus they will allow that Christ has a True Human Body and Ever had from Eternity that is a True and Real Manhood In this sense it is said before p. 11. l. 8. that they allow the Body which they say Christ had from Eternity to be an Human Body For ther is no other word in Latin whereby to Express the Nature of Man but Humanitas whence we use the word Humanity to mean the same as Manhood But if you Derive the word Human from Humus the Ground or Earth of which Man was Made in this sense the Quakers Deny that Christ had an Human Body from Eternity or indeed while He was upon the Earth For which I Refer you back to p. 19 20. where you will find this Artfully Distinguish'd by the Quakers But we will now go on to see the further Salvos that the Present Antidote affords in this Case Their Denyal that Christ had any Human or Created richer Soul or Body while upon Earth 2. G. W. Skips to p. 38. And takes up this Argument again where he Pretends to Answer the objection of the Quakers making the Body of Jesus only a Vaile or Garment wherein Christ or the word Dwelt but that He took not that Body into His own Person so as to be Hypostatycally United to it And to this he says p. 38. We are to seek herein as not knowing where the Quakers say these things Yet Answers not or Names one of the many Proofs which are brought for this See Sn. Sect. x. This wou'd be very Provoking but that I am us'd to it for it is his Constant Method Yet in the Excuse he makes for it he Confesses enough to shew that the Quakers are Guilty herein For says he Tho' His Flesh is call'd the Vail yet it was that he own'd as His own Body being also call'd the Body of
28. And their Appealing from their Printed Books to the Original Copies See hereafter N. 7. of this same Section And how came it that none but G. W. Corrected this Monstrous Blasphemy Were not the Rest of the Quakers likewise Concern'd Well if this will not do they have another Excuse They say ibid. That G. W. positively Disowns the words and Affirms they are None of his and that he writ not that Part of the Answer to Townsend And G. W. was sorry his Name was to that Paper without Distinction between what he writ and what he did not write in it wherein those words are which gave the Occasion Let this Advertisement Clear G. W. and Others and suffice every Charitable Reader as we hope it will And G. W. sets his Approbation upon the Margin in these words To this I subscribe George Whitehead And now George thinks he is Lick'd Clean No Spark of Dirt can Stick upon him But how is it that G. W. let his Name stand to this Book for 44 years without Vindicating of himself or cou'd not his Infallibility of Discerning Discover this Blasphemy all that time Especially considering that Christoph Wade wrote against this Book and objects this very Blasphemy And that both George Fox and George Whitehead wrote severally Answers to Wade And yet Neither of them found any Fault with the Writing or Printing of these Words But if this shou'd Clear G. W. how will the Others get off upon whom G. W. lays the Blame The Quakers say Let this Advertisement clear G. W. and Others And upon the Title Page of their Book it is said to be Sincerely Tendered in behalf of the aforesaid People and their Ancient Friends Now these Ancient Friends whose Names are Affix'd to that Precious Book Ishmael along with G. W.'s are here fairly Left in the Lurch Disown'd and Abandon'd with all this Dreadful Blasphemy upon their Heads And yet they will not Disown them No. They Pretend to vindicate their Ancient Friends still and that they have not Chang'd from the Beginning As they tell not only in their Books but in the Printed News-Papers that All the World may take Notice of it They are still Infallible Every one of them in Particular See Sn. p. 34.284 And they are Conjurers who speak and not from the Mouth of The Lord. Now how came G. W. to write a Book jointly with Conjurers And to set his Name to it along with theirs And that without Distinction between what he writ and what he did not write in it For which he says now that he is Sorry But they who Jointly Sign a Book or a Bond are Answerable Jointly and Severally Such a Poor Excuse as this cou'd not be taken from any Man of Common Animadvertence For who wou'd set his Name with others as Joint Authors of a Book if he had not weighed as well what the others had wrote as what Himself wrote Yet this is all the Defence that the Quaker Infallibility can make for it self that is That it did not Mind but let things Slip at Peradventure But then to Inscribe their Heedless Indigested Stuff as the Word of the Lord which these Quakers do This is Intolerable And the Blasphemy not to be Endur'd For this they give such another Excuse in the same place of The Christianity of the Quakers p. 28. putting it again upon the Printer They say that instead of Which is the Word of the Lord it shou'd have been From the Word How sensless is this for that which is From the Word of the Lord is not that The Word of the Lord But say they We shall not stand by the said Title as 't is worded without such Amendment Yet Charitably think it was worded Contrary to the Intent and Meaning of the Author This is Pretty But how then came the Quakers even the Great Fox himself to say of their vile Scribles as they almost do every where This is the Word of God See Instances particularly of G. Fox in the Sn. p. 89 90. Can we suppose that this was Contrary to the Intent and Meaning of the Author How then shall we know what was their Meaning They may Alter all their Books and every word in them Truly this wou'd be their Best way They will never be Right or their Books passable till this be done And if we cou'd take them at their Word they are in a fair way towards it For here they say That they will not stand by the said Blurrs in their Books as 't is worded without such Amendment Among other of their Infallible Errata I have spy'd two Letters in this same Page which I suppose must go into the Basket next time the Dust-Man comes about They are two Letters which are grown very offensive to the Quakers of late viz. G. K. But they say here We know no reason to Disown our Friends G. K. or R. B. for we have a True Tender and Christian esteem of Both. These were George Keith and Robert Barclay And p. 26. say they We have cause to Assure our selves that both G. Keith and R. B. wou'd Abominate this False-Brother's Attempt to make Divisions between them and their Ancient Brethren Yet now G. Keith is the Great Incendiary and Accuser of the Brethren An Apostat and as such Excommunicated by the Sanhedrin of the Quarkers But what Cause they had to Assure themselves of this G. K. will fall foul upon their Infallible Spirit of Discerning which they Insist upon Now as strongly as ever See hereafter Sect. v. And say that none can be a Minister of Christ who cannot Discern what Spirit is in any Man whether a Good or an Evil Spirit at the first sight without Speaking ever a word See Sn. p. 33. c. of which a Pleasant Instance is hereafter given of G. Fox in Sect. v. But to Return we have seen the Silly Excuses which the Quakers have made for that Most Horrible and Cursed Blasphemy before Quoted which they have Belched out against the H. Trinity of Damning the three Persons into Hell But they have another Put off which tho' they have not Adventur'd upon in Print that I know of yet some of them make use of in Private Conversation which is That it is only the word Persons which they Doom to the Lake and to the Pit with those who use that Vnscriptural word with Relation to God or Christ But then they must send Will. Penn thither too who in his Sandy Foundation p. 15. speaking of the Son of God the True Light which Lightneth every man c. says Who in Person Testify'd c. Tho' G. Whitehead in his Quakers Plainess p. 24. says That is not our Phrase that I know of or Remember And That the Title Person is too Low and Vn-scriptural to give to the Christ of God Now then let him Remember now let him Know That his Friend Will. Penn has us'd it And let them Reckon for thus Contradicting and Thwarting one
Infallibility and Spirit of Discerning Equally Infallible In their Description of the Light within p. 38. say they And it is Eternally true That men by Believing in the Light notwithstanding his Idle scoff may become Children of the Light And it is of necessity that them that are truly such must be seperate from and Discerners of the Children of this World i. e. Darkness Thus Appen And if what I have said before be not sufficient to Prove these men to be stark Mad sure this will be such a Conviction as that none can Desire a Greater It has been Prov'd upon them over and over again that not only most Vile and Scandalous Livers but even Witches and Persons visibly Possess'd with the Devil have Preach'd VnDiscover'd amongst them some for Twenty years together see Sn. Sect. xxi as Winder's Witches c. Attested beyond all Contradiction And their Books are full of Complaints of Judases among Themselves so they call their Seperatists who liv'd long among them but were not truly of them whom yet they cou'd not Discover Did they Discover Christopher Atkinson and Thomas Symons's Maid till they Discover'd it themselves Sn. Sect. vi N. v. or George Archer Sat. Dis. Glean Sect. vi N. 2. p. 92. and many others till their Whoring and Vileness Grew Notorious in the Countries where they liv'd Who was it that Discover'd H. Winder's murderous Witches to the Quakers who stuck by them to the very Last Yet still notwithstanding of all these Convictions they stand firmly to it That it is of necessity that they must be seperate from and Discerners of the Children of Darkness Have they not had Instances enough to shame them out of this Senseless and Blasphemous Pretence They call for more while they Refuse to Repent And tho' it be needless I will Gratify them or the Reader with one more that is Remarkable The Great Quaker Apostle of Mary-Land in America was Thomas Thurston who while the Deputy Governor was absent a year or more in England came with a Message from the Lord as he Horridly pretended to his Wife who was a Quaker that he was sent to Propagate the Holy seed with her And when her Husband Return'd finding a Child more than he had left she Confess'd the whole matter Upon which he oblig'd her to go to the Quaker-Meeting and there Publickly to Declare the whole Monstrous Truth which she did Nor cou'd Thomas Deny it Upon which he came to England and till it was otherwise Discover'd was Receiv'd by the Friends and Preach'd among them as Formerly As he did in Mary-Land for sometime after it was Publickly known there And his Light within was thought so Infallible that another Quaker-Preacher own'd it to him of Good Credit who told it to me That the Generality of the Quakers there nay said he I my self Durst not Judge him even in our minds not to have had an Inspiration from God for what he did Yet it is of necessity That they that are truly Quakers must be seperate from and Discerners of the Children of Darkness And Rich. Hubberthorn p. 212. of his works says That they can Discern the Elect from the World And Denies those to be true Ministers of Christ who cannot do it This was the Argument by which G. Fox thought that he had Prov'd one Nathanael Stephens who was Minister of Drayton in the year 1655. not to be a True Minister of Christ This you may see in a Book wrote by G. Fox and others of the Quakers with this Title The Spiritual Man Judgeth all things or The Spiritual Man's True Judgment And how by him the Hearts of others were and may be Judged by the Spirit of Truth and also how things by the Spiritual Man were Judged of concerning both Salvation and Dammation c. Printed for Giles Calvert at the Black Spread-Eagle at the West-end of Paul's 1655. This Spiritual Man here mention'd was G. Fox And the Judgment which he pas'd upon the Hearts of Others and the Occasion of it is told p. 3. of a Chapter which bears this Superscription This is to go abroad to stop Lies and Slanders that Truth may be Cleared c. And it is subscrib'd George Fox There he speaks of himself in the third Person and says GEORGE FOX coming to Drayton to his Fathers in the Flesh Christopher Fox's House This was to Imitate the Stile of our Blessed Lord. Rom. ix 5. upon the Sixth day of the week being the Twelth day of the Eleventh Month Thus Particularly he sets it down with other Circumstances as who were Present c. Because of the mighty Miracle he shewed that Day in Judging the Heart of Nat. Stephens which he go's on to Relate and tells how he came into the Grave-yard so he call'd the Church-yard and met with N. Stephens the Priest as he thought he Reproach'd him and there before the Company particularly Christopher Fox his Father According to the Flesh being Present Then George asked him the Priest what he did Believe whether he G. Fox had such a Familier Spirit as it seems with very good Reason had been objected against him Yea or Nay The Priest Answered and said He cou'd not tell He might have a Good and he might have a Bad. Then George told him Here thou hast Manifested thy self to be no Minister of God but a False Minister For the Ministers of Christ and the New Covenant of God they cou'd Discern Spirits and Try them 1 Cor. 12. 1 Joh. 4. And as you may Read in Isaiah he Discern'd the Familier Spirit and Judged it Isa 8. And the Apostle Discerned the Witch-Craft of the Witches that had Bewitched the Galatians read Gal. 3. And here thou hast Manifested thy self to be a Blind Guide who can put no Difference between the Precious and the vile who hast no Salt to savour withall therefore thou art good for nothing but to be Cast out and Troden under Foot Mat. 5. Then George told him that the Spiritual Man Judgeth All things And Stephens and the other Priest Chester both Denyed it and said the spiritual Man did not Judge All things These are the words of G. Fox And upon this occasion the Book wherein this is told was written And bears the Title of The Spiritual Man Judgeth All things c. Through all which Book this Argument is carry'd on That he can be no true Minister of Christ who cannot Discern and Judge the Hearts of other men And the Quakers here take to Themselves those Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit which are mention'd 1 Cor. xii And equal Themselves to Isaiah and the Holy Prophets and Apostles of our Lord. None of whom ever Pretended to that Prerogative of God Alone to Know the Hearts of Men. Therefore it is said of Christ Joh. ii 24 25. â— That He knew All men And needed not that any shou'd testify of man for He knew what was in Man But this was never said of any Prophet or Apostle
Human Nature of an Human Soul and Human Body And likewise Truly and Properly the Son of God Contrary to Will. Penn. And that He is not such in Any Other Person Whatsoever Not in the Person of Will. Penn G. Whitehead or Any of the Quakers Reader forgive me for using so many Words Less Particular and Positive will not do with these Men. It is for their sakes that I do it That I may by any Means if Possible Open their Eyes to Discover their Horrible Delusions They have by this Means of Allegorizing the Incarnation and Birth of our Blessed Saviour from the Letter to their Imagined Conception Birth Passion Death and Resurrection of the Light within taken away all Certainty whereby we may know Whether ever ther was Such a Man in the World as Jesus Christ or that He ever did any Miracle or had any Attestation from Heaven for His Ministry That Most Express of the Glorious Appearance of a Light from Heaven Descending Leasurly and Hovering upon the Head of Jesus at His Baptism after the Manner that a Dove Lights upon the Ground the Quakers have Deny'd that is turn'd it to an Allegorie Doest thou believe says G. Whitehead to his Opponent in his Truth Defending the Quakers p. 42. That it was visible to the Carnal Eye as a Created Dove is or its Lightning I believe he Meant Lighting upon Him as a Dove was in respect of its Nature and Comliness By this they Mean That Innocency and Simplicity like that of a Dove was all that did Light upon Jesus or which Exprest His Nature and Comliness at that Time And then indeed they might well Ask Was it visible to the Carnal Eye But by this they have Quite Overthrown the Validity of that Miraculous Attestation given to Christ And so they have done to all the Rest That as I said they have not left One Single Proof that Ever ther was such a Man in the World For that can not be known but by Outward Acts and Attestations And if they can be thus Turn'd ther is an End of all Proof from them But they wou'd have no other Proof for Christ or His Mission than ther is for their Own Since they vouch Themselves to be Christ and God! Indeed as many Gods as ther are Quakers For if as they say the Seed in them can Grow up to be God That God do's BEGET Himself in them Then I do not see how they can avoid the Consequence of a Multiplication of Gods Of God's having a Beginning and being Created For if He be Begotten in Time Every Day in Every New Quaker He must be Created and so is both the Creature and the Creator If He be Capable of Encrease of Growing up from a Seed to a Child c. He must likewise be Subject to Dissolution He must be Lyable to Infirmities and Passions as We are And this the Quakers do not Deny Nay they Argue Expresly for it They take in a Literal Sense those Expressions in Scripture Where God is said to Repent to be Weary to Suffer c. several of which G. Whitehead Quotes in his Divinity of Christ p. 56. as Isai 63 10. Amos. 2.13 Hos. 11.8 9. Psal 95. Gen. 6.6 Psal 78.40 Isai 1. and chap. 43.24 These he brings as an Answer to the Argument of Thomas Vincent against whom he Disputed That Christ as God Cou'd not make Satisfaction for our Sins because as God He cou'd not Suffer The Contrary of which G. W. here Endeavours to Prove and brings these Texts to shew That God can Suffer These are the Natural and Necessary Consequences of this Mad Foundation of the Quaker Faith in Setting up their Light Within for Christ and God I am Weary in Pursuing their Blasphemies But it is Necessary in Order to Un-Deceive the Simple and Deluded among them Who know not these Depths of Satan into which they have been Led Especially Considering the Tenacious Obstinacy of their Leaders Who tho' they know these things Yet for Popularity or other Ends will not Suffer their Implicit Followers to Repent But Buoy them up with all the Artifice and Cunning they are Able to Believe That all is Well And to adhere firmly to All that they haue Taught them from the Begining And that IN ALL THE PARTS OF IT Some Texts Rescu'd from the False Glosses of the Quakers to favour the Universality of what they call The Light within 3. Let me for a Conclusion Rescue some Texts of Scripture which the Quakers have wrested to their own Destruction And upon which they build their wild Notion of the Light-Within That being undeceiv'd in this they may by the Blessing of God see their Error and Return Their Chief Text which they have Constantly in their Mouths is Rom. x. 8. The word is Nigh thee even in thy Mouth and in thy Heart that is the word of Faith which we Preach This word of Faith they take to be the Light which is in Every man of the World and not to Refer to the outward Christ or to the Faith in Him His outward Sufferings and Death but to the Faith in their Light within which Every man has even those who never heard of Jesus of Nazareth But the very next words ver 9. shew the Apostle's Meaning to be quite otherwise and to Refer wholy to Faith in the outward Christ This is the word of Faith which we Preach says he That if thou shalt Confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt Believe in thine Heart that God hath Raised Him from the Dead thou shalt be saved Now that by Faith the Apostle did not mean that Light which is Common to All men is plain from 2 Thess iii. 2. For all men have not Faith Says he You see here That in the very next verse following Rom. x. 8. which is the Quakers Text the Apostle do's Limit it Expressly not to the Light within but to Faith in the outward Jesus So in Deut. xxx 11 12 13 14. Whence the Apostle Quoted it the very next Verse immediately Before viz. Ver. 10. do's Limit these words in Moses to the outward Book of the Law and not to their Light within For thus says he If thou wilt hearken unto the Voice of the Lord thy God to keep His Commandments and His Statutes which are Written in this Book of the Law For this Commandment which I Command thee this Day is not far off It is not in Heaven or Beyond the Sea c. And Chap. xvii 18 19 20. The King is Commanded to Write him a Copy of this Law in a Book out of that before the Priests the Levits And to Read therein all the Days of his Life That he might thereby Learn to Fear the Lord his God to keep all the words of this Law and these Statutes to do them Was he to write a Copy of the Light within in a Book out of the Levits Book And by Keeping the words of this Law was no More
them over night next day when I sent for them not one of them was to be had When he is Dead that too must pass the Index Expurgatorius with the Rest of his Works If Quakerism be not out of Fashion before that time which I Hope he may Live to see If they wou'd Call in or Commit to the Flames all their Old Editions I shou'd be very well Pleas'd to Rake no More into them But let them and their Heresies Die together And let the Present Quakers slide Gently from their Errors without the Shame of Recanting For it is their Conversion not Victory over them that we seek But when these Old Quaker Books are still kept as Sacred Relicts by the Generality of the Ignorant and Besotted Quakers And their Now Governing and Subtile Teachers in all the Apologies they have of Late Published still Pretend to stand by and Confirm All the Testimonies and Writings of their Ancient Friends and that In all the Parts of them And that they are thus Enjoin'd by the Yearly Epistle of their General Council as supposing them all Infallible and Dictated by the Immediate Inspiration of the Holy Ghost as they Horridly Pretend yet are not Afraid to Alter Correct and Amend them It becomes Necessary and our Duty to Search out and Expose them That being the Most Likely Means to Open those Eyes which are not Seal'd up to their own Destruction And now let others think That if the Figure of Quakerism be so Abhorrent even as Represented to Us in their Re-Printed and Corrected Books How ten times more Deform'd and Frightful it wou'd Appear if taken off their first Rude Draught if their Original Books were Expos'd to Publick view if the Publick wou'd take some Method to have them Collected and Reserv'd in some safe Place till ther shou'd be no Longer Use for them but what they first Deserv'd the Animadversion of the Hang-Man and a Faggot In the mean time Let the more sober among the Quakers Reflect how the Words of their Prophets give a Certain sound as Boasted in the Title-Page of BVRROVGH's Trumpet before Quoted when they are Chopt and Chang'd as we have seen and made Speak the Language of Every Turn tho' in Direct Opposition to one Another And if their Words are the Immediate Dictates of the Holy-Ghost as they Blasphemously Pretend then must the Curse of Adding to or Diminishing from the Word of God Light upon those who have Added or Substracted or Alter'd any thing in Any of these Quaker-Writings Which Curse they May Read in the Book of Rev. xxii 18 19. To have their Part taken away out of the Book of Life and out of the Holy City and from the things which are written in this Book And to have the Plagues which are written in this Book added unto them This they must take to Themselves or else Confess as the Truth is That the Words of these Quaker-Prophets were not Wrote from the Spirit of God And if so then because they do Pretend to be so Written they must be Acknowleg'd to have been Wrote by the Spirit of Blasphemy that is the Devil And that this is the Spirit which has Possess'd these QVAKERS To Sir Thomas Lane Lord Mayor of London HAving been Lately Summoned before Thee by Dr. Linford and Marmaduke Hopkins who are more Diligent to seek thy Warrant to take Our Goods than to seek us thereby shewing That it 's Ours more than We they desire and Love Which to us shews That they have no more Right to esteem themselves Ministers of Christ than as such to take Tyths or Plead for them For Christ said to his Ministers freely ye have received freely Give He did not Advise nor Teach That if any would not Give they should take from them whether they would or nay Therefore Consider whether such who take by force abide in or transgress the Doctrine of Christ If they Transgress as certainly they Do who abide not in his Doctrine Then his Apostle declares their Condition 2. John 9. And we Intreat thee Mayor seriously consider how he either bids God speed to such or assists them in such a Work For Thou and All must receive a Reward from the hand of the Righteous God According to your Works We have also herewith sent a small Collection out of the Book of Martyrs Fol. 669.670 To shew that the Priests have no Right to Tythes and that it was anciently so Testified by other Consciencious men besides us and made an Article against them as well as it is against us Read and consider the following Collection is the Request of us who are Sincere Well wishers to the Mayor and All men and truely desire that We nor any Other may Do that here that we cannot Answer hereafter in the Great Day of Account John Feild Will. Bingley The Collection IN the New Law neither Christ nor any of his Apostles took Tythes of the People nor Commanded the People to pay Tythes neither to Priests nor Deacons But in the 1000 year of Our Lord 211. One Pope Gregory the 10th Ordained Tythes First to be Given to Priests Again Paul saith He was not Chargeable unto them but with his hands got his Own Living It were Good Councel That all Priests took Good heed to the Heavenly Learning of Paul not Charging the People for their Bodily Livelyhood And Paul saith since the Priesthood is Changed its necessary a Change also be made of the Law so that Priests Live without Tythes For the Priests that Challenge Tythes say in effect That Christ is not become Man nor that he Suffered Death for man's Love Again the Taking of Tythes and of such other Duties that Priests Challenge now wrongfully neither Christ nor his Apostles Challenged nor took such Duties Therefore these taking of Priests now are to be called and holden The Sclanderous Covetousness and because of the Covetousness of Priests and Pride it stirreth God to take Vengeance both upon Lords and Commons which Suffer Priests Charitably This is Verbatim according to the Original Letter which I have in my Possession The Collection added out of Fox's Martyrs is not as here set down But gather'd out of several places of the Answers of one Will. Thorp an Ignorant Zealous Man but no Martyr in the Reign of Hen. 4. I wou'd not Mend any of the words to make sense of them as In the 1000 year of our Lord 211. but give them just as Quoted by the Quakers Who took what was for their Purpose 1. To make Tythes to be Anti-Christian as being a Denyal of Christ's having Come in the Flesh 2 That the Clergy are not to be supported Nor so much as God Speed be given to them 3 That the Vengeance of God is upon both Lords and Commons who suffer Priests Charitably The Arguments of the Quakers against Tythes I have Promised to Consider in a Treatise by it self But I have Printed this Letter of theirs to shew what Moderation they now at
the Venom and Bitterness of their Spirit set forth as at least to Prevent their Falling for some time into the like again yet they verifie the Character that Author has given of them while they are Pretending to Clear themselves from it and shew that Bitterness and Fury are so Ingrafted into their very Natures that they cannot Refrain from it even when they are Pleading not Guilty to the Charge and call themselves The Lambs of Christ and The Meek of the Earth Ther is hardly a Page in this Antidote that is not be speckl'd with the Meek Froth of these Lambs Such as calling the Author of The Snake Ep. to Reader p. 2. Book p. 3. and all that take his Part The Devil and his Agents Furious Foul-mouth'd Persecuting Agents Precipitated by the Devil and Malice A Poor Dissembling Hypocrite thro' whom the Devil and Malice do Invent 44.88.188.251.253.255.257.262.264 c. Screwed up by the Father of Lies to such a Height of Malice and Outrage Like some Mercenary Soldier of Fortune A Persecuting sculking Adversary Persecuting Incendiaries This Author 's Great Malice Cruelty and Persecuting Spirit Most Hideous and sordid Calumny The sink of his Gross Calumnies and Malice Such Dirty Kennels of Lies and Abuses as the Books of the said Author c. This is enough for a Taste of such Delicious Fare I shou'd Transscribe Great Part of his Book if I gave you a Collection of all of this sort that runs thro' it And after all this Out-Cry he has not shewn one False Charge or Calumny cast upon the Quakers in All The Snake as you will see in the Examining of those which he do's Allege But this Bluster and Confidence by way of Meekness he thought wou'd gain Credit with some who wou'd take his word rather than be at the Pains to Compare or Read Defences His Cry of Persecution against him III. And such wou'd think by his Exclamations that some Grievous Persecution were stirr'd up against them that the Author of The Snake had Incited the Civil Power to Hang Draw and Quarter the Quakers to Confiscate their Estates Imprison Banish Torture or some Terrible Proceedings against them But not a word of this or any thing like it in The Snake no not as Alledg'd by G. W. himself but on the Contrary ther is nothing else there Propos'd but to Reason and Argue with them Fairly and upon the Square to Convince them out of their own Books and writings and Undeniable Matters of Fact Which if any man Quote wrongfully against them or Deduce Unjust Consequences from them he Exposes himself and gives them the Fairest opportunity can be to vindicate themselves Indeed if I shou'd Traduce and Defame in the General as G. W. here serves the Author of The Snake without Descending to Particulars and Producing my vouchers clearly and above board whereby the Accused may have free scope to disprove the Charge if False this wou'd be a Persecution of the Tongue and that is a Persecution and a Severe one But if I Quote Book and Page as the Author of The Snake has done and Recite fairly and Argue from thence in the Common way of Reasoning this cannot be call'd a Persecution Or it is such a one to which the Quakers have always Invited Encourag'd and Provok'd us Edw. Burrough in his Return to the Ministers of London A. D. 1660. Page 657. and 658. of his Works Reprinted A. D. 1672. says to them Search the Scriptures and that Religion and worship and Ministry which is not according to the Scriptures let that Religion worship Church and Ministry be utterly Condemned of The Lord and all his People and let such Ministers as cannot Prove their Call their Maintenance and Practices to be according to Scriptures let such Ministers be Confounded and silenced for ever And come to try this Matter when ye will For whereas you cry out against us as if we were Denyers of Scriptures as if we were Enemies to Church Deceivers Hereticks c. But I say unto you these things have you never yet justly Proved against us but rather Accused us behind our Backs And tho' for divers years together we have been Publick yet when did ever any of your Ministers seek by Lawful means to Convert us or shew us our Errors If we were as you say of us Oh it had been your time to have sought our Conversion If we be in an Evil way as you say let us hear your soundest Arguments by the Spirit of God and according to the Scriptures to Prove those things which you say of us Prove it by Evident Arguments that we Deny Scriptures that we are Hereticks I challenge you All in the Name of the Lord even All you Ministers of London Let us hear your sound Reasons openly Come out you Ministers we are willing to be Try'd according to the Scriptures and by the Spirit of God in our Religion and in Every Part of it and if you be the same then come forth and let us have fair Dealing Openly that Truth may be Manifested Publickly and Error may be Discovered And this wou'd be a Christian like way we wou'd hear what you have to Charge against our Religion by sound Arguments that we may Answer it and come out when you will in such away as this and this wou'd Satisfie thousands and this is the way to Exalt Religion and we wou'd think it a Happiness more than otherwise to be joyned in sober Debate and Dispute against you that all may be satisfy'd who are Doubtful and may hear your Principles and our Principles discussed in the Presence of the People who may Judge by the Light and witness in their own Consciences for to that in All we do appeal And in such a Proceeding come forth when you will c. But all this Daring was soon Quash'd when it came to the Tryal How have they Exclaim'd of late agaist George Keith for Provoking them to Dispute in Publick and have Quit the Field crying out and that in Print that they wou'd meet in no such way lest it might Provoke the Government tho' the Lord Mayor had given his leave for the Meeting in one of the Publick Halls of the City and one of the Sherifes was himself Present and his Officers attending to see order kept But all that was nothing the Quakers said it was a Turbulent way And that the People were not Competent Judges of such matters as they Printed in the Reasons they put out for their Declining to give G. Keith a Meeting two years after one another in Turners-Hall the first on the 11. June 1696. the other upon the 29. Apr. 1697. To take away both which Pretences four Reverend Divines of the City of London were appointed by the Lord Bishop of London to meet at Turners-Hall the 21 of Apr. 1698. And there to Hear and Examin the Charges of False-Doctrin and Heresies which G. Keith had Exhibited against the Quakers and
no body Understands it in this Case What if we spell it Humane for Human and take Humanity in the Moral and not Natural sense of the word as when we say that such an One is a Man of Great Humanity i. e. of Good Nature Gentleness Goodness c. And Christ or The Word having Great Goodness in His Nature consequently we will allow Him a Humane tho not a Human Nature I am Confident the Reader do's now think that I am Fooling with these Quakers and Mean this only as a Banter For that he must Conclude it Impossible for any Men to shew themselves such Knaves as well as Fools to Dodge at such a silly and Impudent rate with Mankind while they Pretend to the Greatest Plainess and Sincerity of any Men upon the Earth Therefore let him Read a Quaker Book Intitul'd A Testimony for the true Christ and His Light in the Conscience in Confutation of Robert Cobbit 's Testimony against the Truth c. Printed An. 1668. And said on the Title Page to be From some of them called Quakers But suppos'd to be Penn'd by G. Whitehead There p. 4. and 5. they say As he Rob. Cobbit speaks of Humane with Relation to Nature or Body it hath Relation to the Earth or Humus the Ground of which Man was made which the First Man is of not the second though He was Really Man too but Humane or Humanity in the other sence with Relation to Gentleness Mercifulness and the like this we know was and is in the Image of God in which Man was Made and His Gentleness Kindness Mercifulness c. is Manifested in Christ And the true and Real Humanity as Oppos'd to that Cruelty Envy and In-Humanity which is got up in Man since the Fall so that Humanity und the Unreasonableness of Beasts are two things Thus the Quakers Here they Deny Christ the Second Man to have been Made of Humus the Earth as the First Man was And yet say they He the second Man was Really Man too How was this It cou'd not be in the same sense as the First Man who was Made of Humus the Earth if Christ did not take our Nature or Humus upon Him No The Quakers do not mean it in that sense as if Christ had ever taken our Human Nature so as to Consist of it or let it be any Part of His Person And yet they say That He is Really Man too By which they Mean only That Eternal and Heavenly Manhood before Mentioned And so Banter the World with their Plain Confessions in Double Meanings Yet have they the Confidence to Cry Whore first And Boldly Challenge others with what Themselves are the most Notoriously Guilty of any that Live upon the face of the Earth Sam. Fisher one of the Chief Rabbies of the Quakers Sam. Fishers Works p. 177. Charges the Priests against whom he Disputes with Shameful shiftings from sense to sense miserable marchings from Meaning to Meaning so that we can hardly know where or How to find them nor what they mean But we says he mostly or ever keep to the True Honest Ordinary and Plain purport of the words as they lie open and Clear to every Ordinary and Common Capacity And G. Whitehead Intitul's one of his Books The Quaker's Plainess detecting Fallacie Whereas their Books are such Un-intelligible Jargon that one must serve a Prentiship before he can understand one word almost of what they wou'd be at Nay they Glory and often Boast that their Words as well as Names are Hidden from the World And this not only in their Books but I Appeal to all that Converse with them whether the same Mysteriousness be not in all their Conversation concerning Religion When you ask them the meaning of their Light within their Christ within their Life Read c. They Answer Commonly with a Grunt of Disdain or Pity as they wou'd have you take it And when they Vouchsafe to Speak it is to this Purpose These things are Hid from thee and from the World Read within there thou wilt find them But we know them and have Sweetness and Life in them c. Their Language is as much a Cant as the Gipsies And this has Preserv'd them so long Vn-discover'd in the World Yet they make up a Mouth and Pretend to Plainess beyond all others But you shall never get them to Answer Directly or to the Purpose To give a Plain Yea or Nay to any Question concerning their Heresies If they say I wrong them let this be the Test That they will either Own or Disown this their Notion of an Heavenly and Eternal Manhood of Christ And tell us in Plain Terms which of the Manhoods that which is Created or that which they say is Vn-created they mean when they Confess to the Manhood of Christ now in Heaven And till they do this which I Guess will not be in Hast let my Charge stand good against them Which I may Reasonably presume from all Judicious Readers But ther is no stop in the Art of Heresie This their Mad Notion of an Heavenly Body in God or Christ has brought them to Fancy that they themselves have the same Heavenly Body And thus they Understand our being Members of Christ not as being Members of His Church of which He is the Mystical Head But as Members of this His Heavenly Flesh Blood and Bones And therefore say that Their own Bodies shall never Dye G. Fox when one minded him that he wou'd Dye Will. Rogers his Christian Quaker IV. Part. p. 49. and turn to Dust and therefore that he ought to be Humble Answers in his Letter which is Printed Thou sayest when I am turned to Dust and Dead Is this thy Doctrin Are the Members of the Heavenly Body turned to Dust and Dead This Doctrin proceeds from Darkness and not from the Light of Christ. This is very Intelligible And Easie to the Meanest Capacity This is the Quakers Plainess It was not said that his Soul shou'd turn to Dust this was spoke of his Body And here he denies it of the Body Why Because it was a Member of the Heavenly Body of God And yet they do not doubt but their Bodies must Dye in the True Honest Ordinary and Plain purport of the Words to which they Mostly or Ever keep But this Mystery is Vn-Riddl'd in the Second Part. Sect. vii n. 2. where it is shewn That they hold their Bodies as well as Souls to be God It is told in the Preface how the Quaker Heresies were Borrow'd from the Ancienter Sectaries amongst us And this their Answer to the Seven Queres shews that they have Inherited their Plainess and Sincerity in Representing their own Principles to the World The Family of Love who Prevaricated in every Article of the Creed Printed a Confession of their Faith in the very words of the Creed An. 1656. But how they meant it Mr. Knewstub has shewn us which is Inserted in Heresiography p. 97.
Instances the Quakers have made themselves as Mad as any ever were in the World And have been so esteem'd at Rome and other Places where they had never been before as they were at first when they Rose up amongst us only the Common use of it now has abated of the Strangeness but nothing of the Irrationality and Madness not to speak of the Breach of Justice or Religion for Honour is as much Due to our Superiors as either Fear or Tribute and Equally Commanded Rom. xiii 7. and to Deny it is Immorality and a Sin besides the Singularity and Proud-Humility which Entitles it to a High Degree of Madness And in this the whole Body of the Quakers is Involv'd In making Themselves free from Sin and Equal with God 3. But thirdly wou'd not that man be Counted Mad who shou'd Fancie himself Exempted from the Common Condition of other Mortals to be as Bright and Glorious and Impassible as an Angel And is it not as much to think our selves as Pure and Impeccable as they even while we feel our own Frailty and Imperfections in Dayly and Frequent Instances Yet still to Cry that we are Pure and without Sin Nay Perfect even as God! And Equal to Him and One with Him in very Nature and Substance and a Part of Him Can any Madness be Imagin'd beyond or Equal to this And G. W. p. 88. gives his Consent to secure such Persons in Bedlam if we can find any such among them that we can plainly Prove to hold the Same Now whether this be not Plainly Prov'd in the Sn. Sect. ii iii. and iv I leave to the Reader And G. W. do's neither Deny nor Answer one of the Quotations there Produc'd But stoutly Denies the whole Charge without so much as Attempting to Invalidat any one Particle of the Evidence Which I think I may Modestly say is very like the Answer of a Mad-Man In Assuming to be Prophets 4. But I will put the Case lower than that of Aspiring to be Equal with God Suppose then that a Poor Country Lad shou'd come to London and hapning upon a Rich Widdow shou'd presently fancie himself to be some Duke or Great Prince and as such shou'd Issue forth his Proclamations Commissions c. wou'd not G. W. give me leave to think this fellow a little Craz'd But suppose he shou'd set up for a Prophet sent Immediately from God as Elijah was And as such shou'd take upon him to Dictate to Kings and Emperors and Command them In the Name of the Lord to Give forth Prophesies and affix to them Thus saith the Lord c. And suppose he Cou'd shew no Credentials at all for this High Commission only bid Men take his own word for it wou'd not this make him much more Extravagantly and Blasphemously Mad Now how many Mad-Men of this sort have we had among the Quakers Even Fox their Original and all the way down as many as have Wrote or almost that have Preach'd or Spoke amongst them This is a Talent without which whosoever speaks is a Conjurer as Fox has Determin'd in his Westmorland Petition p. 5. in his Saul's Errand p. 7. and elswhere as shewn in the Sn. Ther is one particular Instance put in the Front of the Preface p. xi of the First Edit of the Sn. it is p. 281. of the Third Edit where a Prophetical Curse is set down of Confusion against George Keith And it is not a Hasty Rash Curse in Passion or so as is usual among the Profane Cursers and Swearers of the World But it is a Deliberat Grave Curse in Cold Blood set down in Writing and sent to George Keith it bears Date the 17th of the 4th Month. 1695. And is subscrib'd George Whitehead And begins in these words Thus Saith the Lord. And it is written not in the Name of G. Whitehead as any Thought or Prognostick of his own but every word in the Person of God as speaking to G. Keith Because thou hast poured Contempt upon My Servants I will assuredly bring Confusion upon thee c. Now for this George Whitehead thus to assume the Stile of the most Extraordinary Prophets of God and to Fancie himself one of them I think will be Judg'd a Greater Degree of Madness than if he had Fancy'd himself to be a Duke or a Prince for a Prophet Immediatly sent from God is certainly Cloath'd with a far Greater Honour than any that can be Bestow'd by the most Splendid of Worldly Titles Therefore this is no ordinary mistake or such as cou'd befall any Man in his Wits Nay farther to shew the Excess of G. Whitehead's Madness Suppose he shou'd think that this Prophetical Curse of his against G. Keith to be not only Equal to any Prophesie Recorded in Scripture but of Greater Authority than any Chapter in the Bible wou'd any body in this case Excuse him from the very Height of Madness And for this see his Truth defending the Quakers An. 1659. p. 7. where this Question was Demanded of him Do you Esteem your Speakings to be of as Great Authority as any Chapters in the Bible And he sets down his own Answer in these words That which is Spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as Great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and GREATER This he Repeats again in the same words in his Serious Appology An. 1671. p. 49. And Quotes his former Book to shew that this was not spoke by Chance but was a standing Principle among them Now then if G. W. will say That the Curse which he sent to G. Keith was Spoken by the Spirit of Truth he owns by his own words that it is not only of As Great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are but of GREATER And then I think we need no further Proof of his being Stark-Mad But on the other hand if he will to save himself from this Imputation Acknowledge that that Curse was not Spoken by the Spirit of Truth then must he own himself Guilty of a most Notorious Blasphemy to Dictate thus in the Person of God and make God to speak his Lies and the Delusions of his Besotted Brain And if this be not put upon the score of Madness then ought G. Whitehead to suffer the Punnishment of a Blasphemer Therefore he shou'd Return his Thanks to those who are so Merciful as to Prove him only Non Compos as of Felo de se to save his Chattels and his Carcass too But this is not only as to this Curse against G. K. that is but one Instance among many nor only as to G. W. but it Reaches to All that the Quakers have Deliver'd In the Name of the Lord not only against Particular Persons but the whole Church of England the King the Bishops and Priests and the Lawyers too they are Particularly mark'd out for Destruction if ever the Quakers do Prevail they are the Midianites whom we must Vex that is Destroy see
p. 301. Add to this another Instance given in the Further Discovery before Quoted wrote by Five Ministers p. 91. of a Quaker woman who came to Disturb one of their Congregations at Kellet in Lancashire she fell into a Trance her Belly puffed up her sides Extended her Back-bone thrust out her whole Body as a Bladder when it is in Blowing c. This is attested under the hand or Mr. Moore Minister at Kellâ—t But Instances are Endless See the General Account of it in a Book Printed at that time 1653. call'd A brief Relation of the Irreligion of the Northern Quakers Wrote by Francis Higgison p. 15. Those in their Assemblies that are taken with these Fits fall suddenly down as it were in a Swoon as tho' they were surpris'd with an Epilepsis or Apoplexy and ly Groveling on the Earth and strugling as it were for Life and sometimes more Quietly as tho' they were Departing While the Agony of their Fits is upon them their Lips Quiver their Flesh and Joints Tremble their Bellies swell as tho' Blown with Wind they Foam at the Mouth and sometimes Purge as if they had taken Phisick In this Fit they continue sometimes an Hour or two sometimes Longer before they come to themselves again And when it leaves them they Roar out Horribly with a Voice Greater than the Voice of a Man The Noise those say that have heard it is a very Horrid Fearfull Noise and Greater sometimes than any Bull can make The Speaker when any of them falls in this Fit will say to the rest that are sometimes Astonisht at this sight especially if they be Incipients let them alone trouble them not the Spirit is now strugling with the Flesh if the Spirit overcome they will Quickly come out of it again though it be sorrow now it will be Joy in the Morning c. And when they have said a few words to this Effect they go on with their Speaking Sometimes they carry those wretched Patients to Beds when they are near them and let them Ly on them till their Fit be over These Quakings they Maintain Saul's Errand p. 5. and in their Books and Papers call them the Marvelous works of the Lord Battels of Shaking and Trembling before the Presence of the Lord and call them that speak against them Ishmaelites that scoff at the works of the Lord They say also those that speak against this Quaking shew themselves to be Blasphemers and that it is Presumption and Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost to speak against it Thus that Account Take another two Years after this Wrote by Mr. Edmund Skipp then Minister of Bodenham in Hereford-shire but who as himself tells us had been before seduc'd by the fair Pretences of the Quakers and was one of them But by the Great Mercy of God having Discover'd their Gross Deceits he Return'd from them and then Gave notice of them to the World in a Book printed 1655. which he Intituled The Worlds wonder or The Quakers Blazing-Star c. there p. 22. he tells of these Mysterious Deceits of Anti-Christ Which I gather says he from those strange and unheard of Passions and Agonies those Great Burthens and Exercitations of Body in so much that they are sometimes in Trances and Soundings and if they are not brought into such a state of Deadness as it were yet they suffer most Extreme Tortures of Body that hath been Visible to me and several others many times nay so much Extremity that it maketh them Roar out for very Bitterness And I do clearly Judge that if the Lord did not Limit the Devil in their behalf as he did for Job saying Thou shalt not touch his Life it wou'd be Impossible for their Concaves to hold their Inwards in those Violent Motions for they are made under those Agonies to Tremble and Quake as though their Flesh must part from their Bones and Ligatures like unto Men in the strongest Fits of an Ague that ever you saw as tho' they had seen Belshazzar's Vision Dan. 10. that made his knees smite one against another In those strange Passions they are Exercised with so much Heat I know not of what sort that it maketh them cry out for Drink and maketh them Sweat like men in most violent Feavers Now they call these Agonies the Fiery-Trial and say it is the Power of the Holy Ghost burning up and Destroying their Corruptions and Purifying them like Gold that is tried seven times in the Fire And that which is very strange when they are thus in the midst of these Extreme Shakings Quakings Trials Roarings and Perplexities that one wou'd think ther cou'd be no more Torment upon the Damn'd Spirits than is upon them at the Present yet many times when they begin to come to their Speech for it falleth out often that they are not able to speak for a long time they will speak how much Joy and Pleasure they have mix'd with that Torment in such an Inseperable Manner as they themselves Express as Heat and Fire mix'd together that they cou'd wish to be in it for Ever and Ever This they call Drinking of the Cup or the Undergoing the Curse and wrath of God as Christ did for here they speak to my Understanding most Blasphemously and say they must be brought to suffer as Christ did and to Undergo as Great a sense of Wrath as He did when he Cried out My God My God why hast thou forsaken me In a word as far as ever I cou'd Understand their Apprehensions by their Expressions in this last particular I did Judge this to be their Delusion that they must suffer Eternal Burnings bearing the full weight of Divine Justice and wrath as fully as though ther never had been any Christ Crucifi'd or acceptation of His Sacrifice untill as they say ther shou'd be no more left in them but the Pure seed of God in its own Perfect Likeness And they say that Condition or state which is call'd in Scripture Hell or Everlasting Torment is but a Dispensation which shall End at such a time as that Burning and Torment of the Soul and Conscience shall have Refin'd it and brought it into its former Purity and Likeness of God Thus far I have transcrib'd out of this Author not only as to this of their Quaking but because he do's withal open to us the very Heart and Bottom of the Quaker Heresie viz. That the Meritorious Cause of our Justification is not the Sufferings of Christ in His Body upon the Cross but that the same sufferings must be wrought over again in us that we must Bear our own Sins in our own Bodies and must be Healed by our own Stripes which likewise they call the Sufferings of Christ or the Light within them And that what he suffers thus within every man is the only Meritorious Cause of his Justification and Reconciliation to God That what He suffer'd Outwardly upon the Cross is nothing to us but an Example a History
it But so you will find it with many Mad-Men till you come to hit upon the Point which Disturbs them Every Mad-Man is not Mad in Every thing A Man may be Mad Secundum Quid. Ther is a Remarkable story of a Great Don in Spain who took a Fancie that he was The Holy Ghost And therefore was shut up as a Mad-Man But taking occasion one day to Discourse upon the Politicks with one of the King's Council who came to see him he Argu'd a Knotty Point which had Puzl'd the King and Council with so Great Accurateness that this Councellor Venting it next day at the Council receiv'd General Approbation Upon which he took occasion to Interceed with the King for the Liberty of his Friend owning that what he had said was all borrow'd from him and therefore did Conclude that it must be the Malice of some of his Enemies which had Mis-Represented him as a Mad-Man The King bad his Friend Return to him again and if he did not own that he was the Holy Ghost he shou'd have his Liberty But he stuck to his Point and Remain'd a Mad-Man notwithstanding of all his Politick Qualifications And now upon the whole Matter I Refer it to all the World whether ther can be Produc'd such a Catalogue of Mad-Men in so many several Instances as I have here shewn of the Quakers among such a Number of any sort or Discrimination of Men upon the face of the Earth G. W. has Extorted this from me And one wou'd think that this were sufficient to Excuse me from Answering any more of his Book But however I will Proceed to Examin those Mistakes and Abuses which he Alledges in the Sn. for wrong may be done even to a Mad-man and ther is an old saying which G. W. has us'd upon occasion Give the Devil his Due The Abuses and Mistakes which G. W. Alleges in the Snake VII The Catalogue of these Abuses begins at p. 13. of his Book And he begins at p. 93. of the Sn. it seems he found None in all that went before this And his Curse of Confusion upon G. Keith before mention'd is in p. xi But ther was no Abuse or Mistake in this therefore he lets that Pass without any Notice As to the Necessity of Preaching I. The first he Instances is in p. 93 94. it is Sect. xxiii N. iv p. 328 329. 3d. Edit where from the Quaker-Principle of Reducing all to the Light within and making that sufficient without any thing else it is urg'd as In-consequential to this that the Quakers shou'd Preach outwardly c. To which G. W. Answers That this is a Condemning of the Apostles and of the Church of England who Preach outwardly and yet do own the Inward Anointing or the Light within as well as the Quakers Ans But not as do the Quakers That is to set it above the Scriptures as has been spoke to and to make it Sufficient to Salvation without any thing else as G. W. here owns again p. 28. i. e. without any Necessity of an outward Christ or Scriptures or any thing else And according to this sense of the Anointing or Light within it is altogether Impertinent to have any outward either Preaching or Ordinances for that must be Vnnecessary that is Added to what is Sufficient without it But neither the Apostles nor the Church of England having ever had any such notion of the Light within but that it needed Helps therefore their Preaching was most Rational And that of the Quakers is Irrational and Contradictory to their own Principles The Comparison of Fox and Muggleton With G. W's Malicious Innuendo as to the Act of Toleration II. To what is said of the Comparison betwixt Fox and Muggleton in the Sn. he says p. 14 15. That it is a Gross Calumny against G. F. whose Divine Inspiration and sound Testimony given him of God was Evident against Muggleton 's Dark Spirit Presumptuous and Blasphemious thus the Quakers pronounce Blasphemous Doctrin And this is every word he says to the Matter This is a Pretty Easie way of Answering If you will not take his own word ther is not a word like an Answer in his Book He shou'd have Deny'd the whole Sn. at once And sav'd himself and me this trouble But p. 15. he wou'd charge the Reflection that is made upon the Toleration 1650 wherein Fox and Muggleton appear'd as if intended against the Present Toleration and so to bring the Author under the Lash of the Government It is not worth any Answer I only mention it to shew the Good Nature of the Man who in the same Page cries out upon Persecution for Conscience Sake As to the Oâ—der of the Quakers a gainst carrying Guns in their Ships III. His next Skip is to p. 104. where he finds a Great Mistake The Author was there shewing that since 1660 the Quakers have Decry'd the use of the Carnal weapon and as a Proof of it which they do not Deny he said that by Order of their Yearly Meeting 1693 they were Commanded that none of them shou'd carry Guns in their Ships This is Vntrue says G. W. p. 15. we know no such Commands only a tender Caution to such that have acted contrary Here are two Grievous Mistakes First not a Command but a Tender Caution i. e. their Command was worded in that Form See Sn. p. 271.272 Secondly not a Command for the Future only a Caution or Reproof to those who had transgress'd before And do's not this Imply a Command Oh! I beg your Pardon a Caution for the Future And do's not this shew the Quakers pretended Principle as much as in the words cited in the Snake And were they Cited to any other End than to shew that Principle I have not seen that Yearly Epistle only took an Account of it from those that had Seen and Read it And I find they have given me a True Account tho' it were not Sillabical as G. W. Objects and none but he wou'd have made such an Objection to no Purpose in the world but for Objection sake This shews what little Room was left him in the Sn. for Objections when he makes such work with this and sets down Part of that Yearly Epistle but not the whole nor that Part which Relates to the Guns that we may see how it is worded But he has Confest enough As to their Principles being Dangerous to Government IV. He finds no more fault to p. 115. of the Sn. it is p. 214. of the Third Edit which he Excepts against p. 16. 17. In that part of the Sn. it was shewn of what pernicious Consequence it was to Government for the Quakers to assume as they do a Prophetical Commission Immediately from God as the Prophets of old had That this wou'd Inferr a Power for Deposing of Kings and Alteration of Government as some of the old Prophets did by Command from God That besides the Quakers had
small Summ which he receiv'd after the Fight at Preston That Josiah Coal was also a Soldier in service of the Common-Wealth and at Worcester Fight This was one of the Prime worthies of the Quakers a Preacher of Renown See his Blasphemous Letter to G. Fox in the Sn. p. 114. 115. Here the Treasons and Rebellion and Fighting of these Quaker-Leaders were Glory'd in instead of being Condemn'd by the rest of them in the year 1656. But since 1660 they have got a New Light they are now against all outward Fighting Treason and Rebellion Yet will not Censure any of their Ancient Traytors Fighters and Rebels for such were their Chief Apostles and led by the Infallible Light within But they wou'd have that Forgotten till a Day may come when as in 1656 they may again Plead these Glorious Merits of their Saints And in the mean time make a Mouth at us while they wou'd Pame them upon us as the only Lambs of Christ But ther is one of these Lambs that I have not yet Nam'd under this Head of Treason whom I must bring forth before G. W. to see what Character he will give us of him This Quaker in the year 1659 had a Dispute with one Thomas Smith in the Mayor's House at Cambridge soon after Sir George Booth had taken Armes for the King and was Suppress'd by the Rebels It is told in the Sn. Sect. xviii p. 228. How busy the Quakers were upon that occasion against the King's Interest and Boasted in it as their merit that they had given the first Intelligence to the Vsurpers against the Loyal Party and gave their Advice or Command and that In the Name of the Lord God! to cut off all the Cavaliers whom they had taken Prisoners They were Full of this their good service and very Vain of it And this Quaker whom I am speaking of taking his opponent Smith to be well Inclin'd towards the Royal Cause and having him in the Mayor's House he broke off from the Subject of Religion they were met about and Demanded of him whether he owned his Brethren the Priests who had so much stirred up the Rebellion against the present Government To which Insnaring Question the Quaker says Smith answer'd That he did not own them But that was said the Quaker because he saw they did not Prosper in their Designs But when they did Prosper as they did the year following then the Quakers were the only Royal and Loyal Party and said they had been so all along And accus'd these same Professors as they call'd the Presbyterians Independents c. that they had been the King's Enemies and therefore not fit to be Trusted by Him or to be suffer'd to Teach the People as shewn in the Sn. Sect. xviii Now G. W. tell us Plainly what do'st Thee think of this Quaker before mention'd we wou'd have thy opinion of him Was he then a Loyal Man when he call'd it Rebellion to assert the King's Cause against the Vsurpation that then obtain'd and upbraided others with being Concern'd in it If thou woud'st know his Name not to keep thee longer in suspence it is George Whitehead And this thee wilt find p. 25. of a little pretty Treasonable and very Blasphemous Book of his call'd Truth defending the Quakers c. Printed that same year 1659. said on the Title Page to be written from the Spirit of Truth in George Whitehead and George Fox the yonger I wou'd have thee Read it George It is as full of Heresies as a Dog is of Fleas Larded thick with Nonsense and Pride Prodigious And prithee George le ts have thy Censure of it the next time thou sets Pen to Paper if thou be'st not Tyr'd with that sport as well thou May'st considering thy Luck at it It is now 49 years since that precious Piece escapt thy Fist And if thee art not Grown Wiser as thou 'st Grown Older thou'lt verefie the Proverb no F l to an Old F l. It is told in the Sn. Sect. xviii How G. Fox and the Quakers stood out against the Restauration of King Charles II. to the very Last even in the Beginning of the year 1660. And yet Immediately upon the Kings Coming Home Run to him with Addresses of their Love c. I have one here to Add which came Lately in my way G. Bishop his Bitterness and Implacable Hatred to the King and his Cause is Particularly Insisted upon in the Sn. How he Preach'd and Commanded In the Name of the Lord That the Cavaliers who were then Prisoners shou'd be All put to Death This is in his Book of Warnings Printed in the Beginning of the year 1660 before the Restauration And now I find another Book of his warnings An. 1661. Directed to The King and Parliament to the Arch-Bishops and Bishops c. where p. 2. he Recommends the Innocent People the Quakers to their Protection as Those who suffer'd with you says he and by and under your Enemies who have Good will towards you c. And not Content with this Gross Dissimulation in Themselves he falls upon the poor Presbyterians for their Inconstancy and Turning about he upbraids them p. 18. with their being Vpwards and Downwards and Backwards and Forwards Now here and now there Reeling and Rouling Pinching here sometimes and Drawing as Contrary at another This needs no Application to the Quakers G. Fox his Aspiring to be Equal with God VII In the Sn. ther is set down a Tryal at the Assises and Depositions upon Oath that G. Fox and others of the Quakers did call themselves Equal with God c. To this says G. W. p. 25. That we ought not to take the Depositions of Adversaries against them This is Pleasant why if any of the Quakers had Depos'd this then they had been Apostats Judases c. as the Quakers have call'd their Late Seperatists and so Adversaries with a witness And all others are Adversaries of Course And if none of their words must be taken the Quakers may Blaspheme Rebel Murder Steal or what they Please For is not any one that wou'd Accuse them of any of these things an Adversary And an Adversaries word must not be taken But let alone Adversaries Has not G. Fox and others of the Quakers asserted the same in their Printed Books And are they not Quoted in the Sn. Sect. iii And has G. W. Answer'd to one of these Quotations No. Not to one of them yet he Pretends this Book of his to be an Answer to the Sn. And in the Contents he stiles the above Answer thus A False Charge against G. Fox c. Examin'd and Answer'd Yet this is all the Answer he has given to it In the same manner he passes off the Charge of their Assuming the Name of God and Christ to themselves and their Pretence to Perfection Equal Even to God c. He says to this p. 26. That it is False and Asserts the Contrary But Answers none of the Proofs See Sn.
Sect. x. p. 132. and Sect. xiv p. 175 176. Let me add here one Proof more I have before Quoted a Book wrote by Five Ministers call'd A further Discovery c. There p. 23 24. is a Letter of Will. Baldwinson Dated 14. January 1653. and attested by Three others where Will. Baldwinson Declares that he before a Company where James Nayler and Richard Farnsworth were setting out this Doctrin of Perfection Demanded of them in these words Friends do you hold that a man may attain to that Height of Perfection in this Life to be as Perfect as Pure as Holy and as Just as God Himself And he asserts that They Joyntly Reply'd Yea and they were so After p. 62. of that Book these Five Ministers say of the Quakers But what dare not these men do who Dare lift up themselves in their Blasphemous Pride to be as Pure as God G. Fox Answers this Book in his Great Mystery and p. 232. Repeating these last words thus But how Dare these men lift up themselves in their Blasphemous Pride to say they are pure as God He do's not at all Deny the Charge but Justifies and Defends it from being Blasphemy and says Doth not Christ say Be ye Perfect as your Heavenly Father is Perfect and As he is so are we in this present World c. These are the Texts they Commonly Abuse to this Blasphemous Purpose John Harwood a Quaker but who had fallen out with G. Fox wrote a Letter to The Friends against him An. 1663. which is Intitul'd To all People that Profess the Eternal Truth c. where p. 3. he says G. Fox hath call'd Himself The Son of God and also said I am the Seed which he might as well have said I am Christ for we know that the Seed is Christ c. To this G. Fox Printed an Answer the same year 1663 with this Title The Spirit of Envy Lying and Persecution made Manifest Where p. 2. He Answers the above Charge thus And first thou saydst G. F. calls himself The Son of God c. And this thou calls a Crime This is all he says to it Confessing the Charge but Retorting upon Joh. Harwood for his Ignorance being a Quaker to think it a Crime in G. Fox to call Himself The Son of God and Christ and The Seed Here now G. W. has a Plain Answer and out of the Mouth of one whom he will not call an Adversary And we need no more witnesses against G. Fox when we have it from his own Mouth Their Asserting the Sufficiency of their Light within to Salvation without Christ And Assuming the Name of Christ to Themselves VIII He comes p. 27. to a material Point indeed where it is objected against the Quakers That they hold the Light within Every Man that comes into the world sufficient to Salvation of it self without Something else that is without the outward Christ to suffer and Dye outwardly for Us. Which makes Christ's coming into the World of no Necessity at all to our Salvation And Faith in Him to be but a sort of an Accomplishment or Civility towards Him but no way Necessary And puts the Heathen upon as good a Foundation as the Christian Nay I must say upon a Better for if Faith in Christ be by the Gospel made Necessary to Salvation and the Light within the Heathen be sufficient without this Then is this not only Vnnecessary but it puts us farther off from Heaven by making more things Necessary to our getting thither than what is Requir'd from the Heathen Then might Cornelius have answered the Angel that commanded him to send for Peter who shou'd tell him words by which he and his House shou'd be saved Act. xi 14. that he had a Light within which was Sufficient without any thing else And that he had Duly follow'd this Light for he had the Testimony of a Devout man Act. x. 2. and one that feared God with all his House But this shews that ther was Something else Necessary without which he and his House were not to be Saved This was the Ground of the Quarrel which the Quakers took against G. Keith because he Preach'd among them the Necessity of Faith in the outward Jesus which they call'd Preaching of Two Christs i. e. one more besides their Light within which they call The Christ G. W. says in answer to this p. 28. That they were not offended at G. K's Preaching Christ or his suffering and Dying without Vs truly consider'd Truly Consider'd what do's he mean by this It is Impossible to catch these Quakers speaking one word Plain without a Mental Reservation By Truly Consider'd he means That the Quakers do allow the History of Christ of His Death and Sufferings i. e. That ther was such a man and that he Did and Suffered such things and that the Light or Christ was in the man Jesus whence he was called Christ as others who have the same Light may for the same Reason be called by the same Name of Christ which as they say belongs to Every Member as well as to the Head Is not the Substance the Life the Anointing called Christ wherever it is found Doth not the Name belong to the whole Body and Every Member in the Body as well as to the Head says Isaac Penington in a Book which he calls A Question to the Professors of Christianity Printed 1667. p. 27. And in the same place says That the Apostle gives them the Members the Name Christ together with Him that is together with Jesus who was called Christ and he Quotes for this 1 Cor. xii 12. in which Text ther is nothing like what he would be at But it shews the Quakers Notion which he go's on to fortifie thus The Body says he is the same with the Head one and the same in Nature and doth not the Nature belong to the Nature in the whole i. e. Because Christ has taken Our Nature therefore J. P. wou'd give us His Nature which wou'd be to make Us God As he words it p. 7. We are as well of His Flesh and Blood as He was of ours By Christ's Flesh of which we Partake he means the Heavenly Flesh which the Quakers say Christ had from Eternity and that it is in them that is Christ's Divine Nature of which J. P. makes us to Partake as well as He of our Human Nature which yet they say He took not Really for J. P. do's not allow Jesus to be the Lamb of God but that the Lamb i. e. the Light Dwelt in Him as in a Vessel in like manner as in us By Feeling says he ibid. and knowing the Lamb in our Vessels we know also what was the Lamb in His Vessel So that by this Jesus was not the Lamb or Christ but only the Vessel in which the Lamb or Christ did for a time Reside Which he further Explains p. 33. in these words Now the Scriptures Do Expresly Distinguish between
the Gift of God He of His Infinit Mercy Grant it at length to these Miserably Deluded Souls For they yet stick fast in this Root of Bitterness and Bond of Iniquity As you may see in a Book lately Publish'd by one of themselves but who has with others happily Discover'd the most Gross of their Heresies this is one Daniel Leeds in America his Book is Intitul'd News of a Trumpet Sounding in the Wilderness Printed at new-New-York An. 1697. And some Numbers of them are sent over hither There at the Conclusion of the Preface he tells of the Doctrin which is at Present Preach'd among the Quakers in America One Preach'd thus says he It is the work of the Devil to cause People that have Profest the Appearance of Christ in the Heart to Respect the Person without them Another Preached thus I am Grieved that any that have Profest the Light shou'd now direct the Minds of People to Respect him as he is now in Heaven above the Clouds Truly Friends it is Delusion Another Preach'd thus There is that wou'd have Flesh added in the Creed but let them take it that will I believe the Lord will give them his Plagues and Torments with it Of this a Quaker there one Abraham Hulings complained and gave in a Paper with the above cited Quotations under his hand to the Quakers Church at Burlington desiring them to censure this Doctrin But they wou'd not On the contrary they Exccommunicated or Disown'd as they Phrase it this Hulings for opposing this Doctrin Moreover says Dan. Leeds there is one John Humphrey a Preacher near Philidelphia that writes a Letter against G. Keith and his Friends wherein he has this Expression I am Grieved to hear some say they expect to be Justify'd by that Blood that was shed at Jerusalem In Justification of which Passage he writes in another Letter thus His Christs own words will clear me from your Aspersion Joh. 6.63 It is the Spirit that Quickneth the Flesh profiteth nothing So He himself ascribes the work of Mans Salvation and Sanctification not to the Flesh that Suffer'd but to the Spirit that Quickned Not to the Blood that was shed at Jerusalem but unto that Flesh and Blood which was Spiritual c. of this False Doctrin G. K. complain'd to the Quarterly Meeting at Philadelphia but no Answer cou'd he have nor no Blame nor Condemnation must pass against their Brother John Humphrey for this False Doctrin tho' it 's near Six years since these Letters were Writ Thus far Dan. Leeds As to the Quakers mis-understanding of this and other Texs in the 6th of St. John it is Rectify'd before p. 101. this Text. ver 63. is an Explanation of ver 53. viz. That it was Christ's Literal Flesh of which He spoke but He corrected the Gross Conception of Eating it Literally in which sense it wou'd not have Profited any who had Eat it But the Spiritual-Eating of it by Faith is that which Quickneth but the Quakers put the Figure and the Allegorie upon the Flesh as if it were not the Outward Flesh of Christ of which He spoke but an Inward and Allegorical Flesh by which they mean what they call their Light within And so Enervat and Evacuat the Whole Foundation of the Christian Faith Dan. Leeds Informs Us That in America the Quakers had heard that their Brethren in England particularly at London where most Notice has been taken of the Late Controversies with them had begun of Late to Preach of an outward Christ and of His Death and Sufferings But this is only to Amuse For as has been said they are not Charg'd with Denying the Matter of Fact that Jesus of Nazareth did Suffer as is Recorded of Him in the H. Gospel And which they now Preach to make themselves Appear to be Christians But who ever heard them Preach of Faith in Him His outward Sufferings and Death as of any Necessity to Salvation This only is the Christian Faith The other of an Historical Belief that He did Suffer is no more than what Jews and Mahometans do Confess And which the very Devils do Believe and Tremble And no more have the Quakers yet Preached But they think that a Great Deal and are brought to it with mere Force For till of late the outward Christ or Jesus of Nazareth was seldom or never so much as mention'd in any of their Meetings unless to Revile and cast Dirt upon Him To give it as a Mark of False Ministers Will. Smith's Primmer p. 8. Gr. Mystery p. 250. to Preach Christ without and bid People believe in Him as He is in Heaven above Nay as a Proof of their being Possest with the Devil as G. Fox Blasphemes The Devil was in thee says he to a Christian Thou say'st thou art Saved by Christ without thee and so hast Recorded thy self to be a Reprobate But tho' the Quaker Preachers in London to stop the Cry against them have of late submitted to Mention the outward Christ with some seeming Respect Yet in the Country where they have less Politicks and more Honesty they cannot be brought even to that as you may see in Sat. Dis. Glean Sect. vi N. 4. p. 94. And there are later Instances which G. Keith met with in a Progress he made last Summer by Invitation from some Quakers who begin to open their Eyes in Huntington-shire and other Places thereabouts where tho' kindly Receiv'd and the Doctrin he Preach'd of Faith in the Lord Jesus of Nazareth and what He Did and Suffer'd for us well Entertain'd and Listen'd to by several of the Sincere tho' Deluded among the Quakers Yet it was a New Doctrin to them And ther were others who violently oppos'd this Doctrin particularly of the Quaker both He and She-Preachers one of which at St. Ives in Hunington-shire ask'd him what Christ he Preached He said The Man Jesus of Nazareth who was Born of the Virgin Nail'd to the Cross c. She askt what was become of him G. K. said That He was gone into Heaven What said she that Heaven above our Heads Pointing upwards Which she Ridicul'd And said she knew no Christ or Heaven but within her self Thank'd God That she had Bread in her own House and Water in her own Cestern And did not believe that ther was any thing without her cou'd do her any Good And upbraided G. K. that he cou'd not be content with the Ancient Doctrin of Friends of Faith in the Light within as alone sufficient to Salvation and ask'd him if now he wou'd have any thing else Or wou'd he make himself Wiser than all the Friends who had gone before And to the like purpose A He-Preacher at Charteres in the Isle of Ely being askt by G. K. What he suppos'd was become of that Body which Christ took of our Nature Answered That He left it behind Him when He Rose from the Dead And he Profess'd to Believe in no other Christ but only his Light
likewise the Inward operations of His Spirit in our Hearts And that if Will. Penn or Thom. Elwood cannot Name one single Man much less any of those Communions which he Disputes against that ever thought Christ's outward Appearance wou'd save them without His Inward Appearance in their Consciences then against whom have they Disputed The Objection being thus stated wherein I take no Notice of his misplacing some words to hurt both the Sense and the English he Answers thus Yes I can Name one Single Man whom he has Vindicated against Us. in G. K's behalf who has both thought and said as much as That Christ's outward Appearance and Sufferings has saved them without his Appearance or Work in them And that is the said Rob. Gordon And it 's Charged against him among his many other Corrupt Doctrins by G. Keith in My and his Book Entituled The Nature of Christianity p. 70. 71. Artic. 1. That Christ without Us upon the Cross hath already subdued all things finished Transgression Made an end of Sin abolish'd Condemnation and Death Art 8. That Redemption Justification were finished and Completed in the Crucify'd Body of Christ for Us not in our Persons Art 12. That Redemption and all things are wrought Purchas'd for Us without the help of any thing to be wrought in Us. So that here was one Man i. e. R. G. and too many more that laid the whole stress and work of Mans Salvation Only upon Christ's outward Appearance and Suffering without His Inward Appearance and Operations by His Spirit in Vs I have given G. W's words at large because upon this Depends the whole Cause of Quakerism Therefore I will Examin them Fully and Fairly But first let me take notice of the Modesty of the Quaker-stile In My and His Book says G. W. It founds Harsh in English because so Vnusual But G. W. wou'd not Give Place to G. K. He Reserves His Dignity And Comon Civility is an Heresie among the Quakers But now to our Work And first I observe That G. W. has left out in the Articles he Quotes out of His and G. K's Book the pages in R. Gordon's Book call'd A Testimony to the true Saviour to which their Nature of Christianity is in Answer For there the Pages of R. G's book are Quoted after Each Article Which was wisely done of G. W. That none might know where to find the Quotations unless they wou'd have Recourse to G. W's Nature of Christianity which not one of a Thousand knows where to find It was Printed An. 1671. and now hardly to be Got. And G. W. not only leaves out the Pages but do's not so much as Name that Book of R. G's out of which they are taken that his Reader might be left Sufficiently in the Dark And that he had Good Reason so to do will soon Appear To These Articles here Quoted these pages of R. G's Testimony are added in The Nature of Christianity viz. p. 3. 4. 5. 20. And whoever will Read these will see R. G. fully Clear himself from this Imputation cast upon him and that he had given no Ground at all for these Objections made against him P. 4. and 5. he makes Two great Gospel Truths The first God manifest in the Flesh of Christ whereby Christ became our H. Priest in the Flesh therein to offer up himself the one Perfect Sacrifice Sufficient Atonement the Compleat Peace-Offering Once for Ever not often and in Every Generation and in Many Bodies as the Quakers say he Dayly offers Himself in their Bodies but in One Body by one Offering not in our Persons or Within Vs which is the Exact Quaker Notion but in His Crucifi'd Body without Vs and before any Good wrought in Vs whereby He hath already subdued all things finished Transgression made an end of Sin Abolished Condemnation and Death and so hath for Ever as our Head in Himself compleated the work of our Redemption and Reconciliation with God for Vs God thereby commending His Love towards Vs that while we were yet Sinners Christ Dyed for Vs when we were Enemies we were Reconciled to God by the Death of his Son The other Truth is the Mystery of Christ by His Spirit Dwelling in His Saints called in the H. Scripture Christ within you whereby God works In Us through Faith in Christ the Fruit and Effect of the work already wrought by Christ in His Crucifi'd Body for Vs without Vs And then he tells that for which he Reprehends the Quakers viz. That they Pretend so much zeal for this Mysterie of Christ within the Operations and Actings of the Spirit of God in themselves That they Deny the Mysterie of God in the Flesh of Christ as a Matter of no Necessity to them as to Redemption Reconciliation and Justification Reckoning to Accomplish this in their own Bodies Each for himself thro' Obedience to the Law or Light in his Conscience which Light they call Christ Redeemer and only Saviour without Respect to the true Christ and our only Saviour Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Redemption already wrought and Accomplished for Vs in His Crucifi'd Body Thus Plainly do's R. G. Express himself Giving full Testimony to Christ within Dwelling in our Hearts by Faith But Disputes only against that Quaker Heresie of Placing the Sacrifice and Atonement for Sin in the offering up of this Light within Perform'd in their Hearts and throwing off the Sacrifice and Atonement made by the offering which Christ made of Himself for Us upon the Cross as of no Efficacy to our Salvation This is it for which the Quakers so violently oppose him and which G. W. here calls Corrupt Dectrin And observe That in the 12 Art above Quoted R. G's words are Recited Imperfect for after the last words here put down viz. without the help of any thing to be wrought in us ther follows in R. G's words p. 20. so as to Atone with God for Vs which Explains his Meaning and is most Orthodox viz. That nothing Perform'd In us is the Atonement or Satisfaction for our Sins But this in no ways Hinders or Denies the Necessity of the Inward Presence and Operations of his H. Spirit to Sanctifie our Hearts whereby only that Atonement Perform'd by Christ in His own Body without Vs is Apply'd and Made Effectual to Us. Which R. G. over and over again not only Asserts but Zealously Contends for it Now let the Reader Judge whether G. W. has found an Instance in R. G. of one who Asserted That Christ's outward Appearance and Sufferings wou'd save any without His Appearance and Work in them The doing Right to R. G. is not the Matter I shou'd not have Detain'd the Reader so long meerly for that But by this it is very Evident That the Quakers have all along oppos'd the Christian Doctrin and Rejected all Faith in our Lord Jesus of Nazareth as to our Redemption or Salvation by His Death and Sacrifice of our Sins upon the Cross Why
Sn. which he pretends to Answer This he must own Unless he can Produce Vouchers for their making Publick Confession of their Sins and Asking Pardon for them But since he himself the Eldest Preacher now among them cannot Vouch it I think we may Despair of any other If ther needed further Vouchers I cou'd Produce Many even as Many of their Hearers as will speak the Truth But I will give one Remarkable one which will shew that it is not Forgetfulness in them but against their Principle Mr. Thomas Crispe was of their Communion about 30 years a Constant Hearer and a Zealous Sufferer too among them But he took offence at their never having any Confession of Sin or Prayer for the Remission of it in their Publick Meetings and complain'd of it above 20 years ago But no Rectification No not at this Day when they are putting a new Face upon all their Matters But they will not be brought to this to Confess themselves Sinners for then they might be brought to Repentance of which they Declare themselves Incapable For this among other vile Heresies Mr. Crispe has seperated from them of which he has given us a very Good Account in Several Treaties he has wrote against the Quakers They who were of them must know them best Let me give another Authority of Daniel Leeds before mention'd in his News of a Trumpet Sounding in the wilderness c. p. 138 139. he Charges them in these words You do never in your Meetings Pray for Pardon or Forgiveness of Sin not that I have heard in Twenty years Due Attendance for seeing it is Christ in you that Prays ther is no need of it He being without Sin Secondly You do not Pray to Christ because it being Christ in you that Prays it is Absur'd for Christ to Pray to Himself Thus you see their Practice is Uniform all the world over yet not Consistent with it self For Rich. Hubberthorn p. 20. of his works Collected and Reprinted An. 1663. Repeating this Assertion of R. Sherlock his Opponent viz. Christ Himself was not Capable of Faith and Repentance Answers Here I Charge thee to be a Lyar and a Slanderer for He was Capable of Faith and Repentance Now How Christ Himself was Capable of Repentance who never did Sin And yet the Quakers to be above Repentance is left for them to Explain Fran. Bugg in his Picture of Quakerism Printed 1697. says p. 64. That he had been more than 25 years among the Quakers and a Principal-Member Yet never had heard any such thing among them Moreover that he had Read the Chief of their Books of which he there sets down a Catalogue and tho' ther are some Prayers in them yet nothing like Confession of Sin or Begging for Pardon of Sin is to be found in any of their Writings and he Provokes them to shew any Quotation of this sort out of all their Books He names p. 68. a Book of George Whitehead's call'd Judgment Fixed Printed 1682 where ther is a Long Prayer of near 5 pages beginning at p. 354. fill'd with nothing but Pharisaical Boast's of his own Perfections and Appeals to God with Imprecations and Reproches upon his Adversaries But not one sylable either of Confession of Sin or Asking Mercy for it I wou'd not take Bugg's word tho' I had no cause to doubt it lest G. W. shou'd Reproach me with trusting to his Authority But I procur'd this Book of G. W's and have it now before me with his Long Appeal and Supplication as he himself call's it which contains Prayers not so like Petitions As Overtures and Propositions And now upon the whole Matter after all the Wriggling and Dodging that G. W. or any of the Quakers can use it must be Known to all the World and without Contradiction what sort of Christians these Quakers are viz. such as cannot make use of The Lord's Prayer unless as one of their Preachers C. H. who taking occasion to Repeat it in one of his own Prayers perhaps on Purpose left out the Petition for Forgiveness of our Trespasses as Useless forsooth to the Quakers It was not made for them Nor they for it Unless they can have Liberty to Mend it as they have done to the Creed and the Decalogue All of which Articles and Commands they have Reduc'd to One viz. Hearken to your Light within For this with them is the only Rule for all Matters both of Faith and Practice But to see the Artifice and snare of the Devil in which these men are Caught They who are too Good for The Lord's Prayer have Coppy'd exactly after the Prayer of the Pharisee Luk. xviii 11. George Whitehead's seems to be taken word for word out of it only Enlarges it and far Exceeds that Pharisee in High Pride and valuing of His own Worthiness The Pharisee only Thanked God That he was not as other men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers that he Fasted and Gave Tythes of All That he did Possess These all were Duties Incumbent upon all and the Neglect of which had been a Sin in any But that is nothing to George Whitehead's Rant Being Free from Sin that is the Prerogative of every Quaker That was a Poor Matter for the Top-Apostle He tells God in this Prayer of his Extraordinary Gifts for which he is so Civil as to thank Him for his Christian Spirit his Faith and not only Patience but Rejoycing under all his Sufferings for his Righteous Judgment and for his Vnderstanding too he wou'd not thank God for Nothing and for his Zeal which was Most of All And that Thou hast Raised me up Says he to God in Defence of thy Gospel to vindicate thy Truth c. Thou knowest Says he the Integrety of my Soul before Thee and that I have not sought to Exalt my Self nor any Popularity Party or Interest to my Self but only thy Glory and the Good of Souls Thou knowest that in the first Place my Soul hath sought for Peace Thou knowest that thou hast Endued me with a Christian Spirit and with Faith Patience c. Thou hast also Endued me with the Spirit of Righteous Judgment Vnderstanding c. O my God! as I have Eyed Thee so I Recommend to Thee to Plead and Justifie My Cause c. we say one Good turn Deserves another Was ther ever such High Arrogance and Setting forth his own Excellencies in the Presence of God And to His very Face Before whom the Holy Job said Job xlii 6. I Abhor my Self and Repent in Dust and Ashes But he was an Vnderling to George Whitehead or the Meanest Quaker They do not Abhor but Vaunt themselves they scorn to Repent for they have nothing to Repent of They are Clean and Pure as God! who Chargeth his Angels with folly Job iv 18. xv 15. See before Sect. vii p. 87. and the Heavens are not Clean in His Sight But the Quakers Dare Reckon with Him when He Pleases and think they can
the Dark for want of the true Light yet shining which now shineth forth they have been suppos'd to be but Christ himself his Light and Spirit which shew Good and Evil in the Heart which are the only Guide Law and Rule And this is Infallible and there is the only sure and safe walking even in the Light in Christ in the Spirit and not in the Letter which is Fallible by false Interpretation and Translation Here are all our Translations and the Originals too both Hebrew and Greek that are Extant of the Holy Scriptures Damn'd at one Blow That is to say All the Bibles now in the world They are no longer a Rule or Law to us But all is Resolv'd into our own Light within without Limit or Controul of Scripture or any other Law or Rule whatsoever And this is the New-Light which the Quakers have brought into the world viz. Before the Quakers came that is In the Dark as Fisher words it for want of the true Light yet shining the Scriptures were Suppos'd to be the Rule That was Dark indeed But now that the True Light which the Quakers have brought Shineth forth the Scriptures are Discarded from being the Rule and the Light within i. e. what any man Fancies so to be is the only Rule Guide Law c. From this Ancient Quaker his Son Will. Penn has Lick'd the Spittle and thus Copies after him and Improves upon him I cannot but Observe says W. Penn after what a suspected Rate the SCRIPTVRES have been first Collected Are we sure that the Judgement of those who Collected them was sufficient to Determin what was Right Rejoinder to John Faldo An 1673. p. 38. and what not What Assurance have our Anti-Revelation Adversaries of their Doctors Choice How shall we be Assur'd that in above three hundred years so many Copies as were doubtless taken shou'd be Pure and Vn-Corrupted From hence we may Observe the Uncertainty of J. Faldo 's Word of God See with what Contempt he calls the Holy Scriptures John Faldo's Word of God! And makes them an Vn-Certainty And calls those who Adhere to them Anti-Revelation Adversaries Not that these Adversaries Oppos'd all Revelation for the Holy Scriptures are a Revelation But they are an Extraordinary Revelation far Exceeding the Discoveries which are made by that Light or Reason which is Common to all Mankind and which the Deists and Quakers do Improperly call Revelation And who will not own this as the only Certain and Infallible Rule of Faith and Practice are those whom Will. Penn calls Anti-Revelation Adversaries He says ibid. That we can never by Authorities prove the Scriptures to be given forth by Inspiration nor that they are truly Collected That is That ther is no outward Evidence for them but only what our Light within tells Us of them And then they wou'd be Vn-Certain indeed How many Men's Light within tells them nothing of the Holy Scriptures of Moses or of Christ of the Law or the Gospel As for what Outward and Human Evidence ther is for these I Referr the Quakers to the Short Method with the Deists wherein they are Equally Concern'd But here see the Reason why they not only Equal but Preferr their own Writings and Speakings to the Holy Scriptures viz. Because we have the Original of their Writings and as they say but Corrupted Copies of the Scriptures And that They have The same Degree of the Spirit the Prophets and Apostles had Gr. Myst p. 213. therefore that what they say Now is of Greater Authority than the Scriptures wrote so Long ago Of which before G W's Sincerity and Ingenuity in some Objections with which he Concludes the First Part of his Book Wherein the Summ of the Quaker Doctrin is laid Open. viz. That they Deny the Humanity of Christ Ard the Divinity of Jesus XVII We are now come to the End of the first Part of G. W's Answer which concludes p. 48. with a Notable smart Repartee upon the Author of the Sn. for calling the Title of a Book Holy What was the Title of the Book Gross Error and Hypocrisie Detected And what do's G. W. make of this He calls it Blasphemy But how Blasphemy George Is not the Detection of Gross Error and Hypocrisie a very Good work And is it Blasphemy to call a Good work an Holy work Good and Holy George are very near of Kin. And thou did'st strain very hard against the Author when thou found'st out this for Blasphemy But it falls out further Unluckily in this Matter for the Author never thought of any such Epithet as Holy to give to the Title of that Book or any Epithet at all but just to Name the Book It was a mere Error of the Press And it was put into the Errata to Dele that word Holy And the page and line are nam'd in the Errata p. 351. l. 9. but the Direction of Dele Holy was left out And ther is no other Error in that line which has but Six words in it so that a little Skill and as much Sincerity wou'd easily have found it out At least wou'd have stopt such Ingenious Remarks upon it It was corrected with a Pen in several of the Printed Books And in the Second Edit p. 350. the word Holy is left out But however this being the only Error which G. W. has found in the Sn. and shewing himself so Fond of it it is a Pity to Deprive him of the Pleasure of it And now being Flusht with this First Victory he Hews down G. Keith for company because in that Book of his Gross Error and Hypocrisie Detected about the Title of which we have Quarrel'd he brings Answers to the Seven Queres Presented to the Yearly Meeting of the Quakers 1695. and Sophistically Answer'd by the Committee of Seven thereto appointed of which G. W. was one out of the Quaker-Books since they wou'd not Answer Directly themselves But G. W. is very smart upon him and observes with Great Acuteness that those Books being wrote before the Queres were not Intended as Direct Answers to those Queres for says he They cou'd be no Proper nor Direct Answers to those Queries nor so Intended nor by us Adapted to any such Queries therefore the Greater Abuse in him to Collect and Place them for Answers thereto This was a Great Abuse indeed To make you Answer more Directly than you had a Mind to Your former Books spoke Plainly your Gross Heresies against the True Humanity of Christ c. and you had no mind this shou'd be known therefore you Contriv'd your Answers to bear a Double-Face that you might have Room to Escape And G. Keith most Vnkindly considering old Acquaintance wou'd stop your Passage and shew out of your Printed Books the Plain Truth of the Matter and Detect your Gross both Errors and Hypocrisie And all he has left you to say for your selves is That those Books were not Intended as an Answer to these Queries But was
same they were from the Beginning and not Chang'd at all Do's it then seem Tolerable to our Clergy and Magistrates to Ly under the odious Names of Beast False-Prophet Dogs Witches Anti-Christs Devils Incarnate c Did the Quakers for their Vindication Indict Bugg at the Sessions in London and object to him their own Dayly Practice of Printing without License Did they Complain against him to the Secretary of State and upon a False Information That his Papers were Seditious and against the Government Procur'd them to be Seiz'd taken from the Book-sellers and Deliver'd into the Hands of the Quakers Did they Imprison William Bradford a Printer in Pensilvania seize his Letters or Types and Forc'd him out of the Dominions of the Quakers for Printing G. Keith's Defences against Them and Prosecuted likewise the Publishers and G. Keith himself for his Life Improving his Disputes against Them into a Design against the Government Are they so Watchful so Industrious so Impatient lest any Indignity shou'd be Past upon Them And must all orders of Men among us Ecclesiastical Civil and Military Bear their most Bitter Reproches without any Sign of Repentance And Court them and do them Favours for it or suffer them to Usurp Favors that were never Intended them It is Plain the Act of Toleration do's Except those who Deny in their Preaching or writing the Doctrin of the Blessed Trinity as it is Declar'd in the Articles of Religion That is in our 39 Articles These are the words of the Act. And it is as Plain that the Quakers have all along done it G. Fox says in his Great Mystery p. 246. The Scriptures do not tell the People of a Trinity nor Three Persons but the common-prayer-mass-Common-Prayer-Mass-Book speaks of Three Persons brought in by the Father the Pope Here it is Plain that the Quakers do not Acknowledge that Trinity which is own'd in the Common-Prayer And the Common-Prayer-Book being every word an Act of Parliament it is Plain what Trinity is Intended in the Act of Toleration And the Opposers of That Trinity are the Persons Excepted out of the Act. To which the Quakers have no Pretence Unless they will Disown G. Fox herein They must likewise Disown Will. Penn who wrote a Book in the year 1668. to which he Gave this Title The Sandy Foundation shaken Or Those so Generally Believed and Applanded Doctrins of one God Subsisting in three Distinct and Separate Persons of the Impossibility of God's Pardoning Sinners without a Plenary Satisfaction Of the Justification of Impure Persons by an Imputative Righteousness are Refuted And p. 12. The Title of that Section is The Trinity of Distinct and seperate Persons in the Vnity of Essence Refuted from Scripture I know for a Pinch they will own the word Trinity as the Sabellians and Socinians meaning three Manifestations or Operations but not Three Persons But that is not the Trinity Intended in the Act. But the Trinity which is Profess'd in the Creed of St. Athanasius and more Briefly in our Litany viz. The Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Three Persons and one God This is that Trinity Intended in the Act of Toleration And which whoever opposes are Excluded from Claiming any Benefit by that Act. And this is that Trinity which the Quakers have and still do Oppose And therefore they are altogether Excluded from any Benefit of that Act. But their Opposing is not so Intolerable as the Manner of it Their Cursing and Damning Horresco Referens The Holy and ever Blessed Trinity into the very Pit of Hell And making it nothing but Conjuration Ther is a Book wrote by George Whitehead and three other Quakers viz. Christopher Atkinson James Lancaster and Thomas Symons of whose Character see Sn. Sect. vi n. v. p. 43. c. Intituled Ishmael and his Mother cast out c. Against Mr. Townsend a Minister in Norwich Where p. 10. they tell him And here is the three Persons thou Dreams of which thou wouldst Divide out of One like a Conjurer And ibid. He Mr. Townsend is shut up with the three Persons in perpetual Darkness for the Lake and the Pit This is thus Quoted by Christoph Wade in his Quakery slain p. 9. To which G. Fox Replies in his Gr. Myst p. 246. who Denies not the Quotation but Re-Blasphemes against the H. Trinity in the words above-quoted and more which you will find in the same place Christoph Wade wrote an Answer to this Gr. Myst which bears this Title To all those called Quakers c. To which G. Whitehead Replies in his Truth defending the Quakers An. 1659. And denies not the above Quotations out of his own Book Ishmael c. But as the Quakers use when Pinch'd he slips it over and takes no notice of it Not that he was Converted from his Heresie for in several other Places of the same Book he continues to Blaspheme at his old Rate against the H. Trinity as in p. 40. 41. c. But finding that the Matter was not thus Forgot being Re-Objected against them about the year 1690 in An Epistle to the Friends c. at their next General Meeting in London Subscrib'd N. N. Ther was Publish'd an Answer to this and two other Books wrote against the Quakers by Some of Them Intituled The Christianity of the People commonly call'd Quakers Vindicated c. Printed An. 1690. There p. 28. coming to this Objection they go a New way to work and lay the Fault Partly upon the Printer And Looks on the words as wrong writ or wrong Printed Wrong Writ and wrong Printed are two things But they Jumble them here that the Reader might mistake and overlook the Author and so think it only an Error of the Press But what was this Error Why they say That instead of And the three Persons it shou'd have rather been About the three Persons which makes it non-sense but not less Blasphemy But however was this taken Notice of by the Quakers in all that time from the writing of that Answer to Townsend which the Quakers say in this last book ibid. was about the year 1654. till this Book of theirs An. 1690 that is for the space of 44 years No. That is not Alledg'd But they say ibid. that G. W. Corrected it long since where he has met with that Answer How do's this Appear O you must take his own word for it for is not He Infallible But was not so Fatal a Slip of Infallibility fit to be Corrected in Print to Remove that most Hideous and Blasphemous Scandal which cou'd not be done otherwise For to what end was G. W's Correcting it with a Pen upon a Book that came in his way if he did it How shou'd this Un-deceive the World Who had never heard of it if he had not now told them And it is at their Pleasure how far they will Believe him This is like another Error of the Press which they let slip 28 years together See Sat. Dis. Sect. ii N. iii. p.
Quakers As a Christian Testimony and Heavenly Expression And to shew what Solid Instruction he had Learn'd among the Quakers it is told of him p. 5. and 6. That seeing some little Lyons of China upon the Chimney-piece he said Take away those Images for they are to be Trodden under foot And seeing another Piece of China which had several Hands he said Take away that Piece that is Covered for it hath Eyes and seeth not and Ears and Heareth not Then he took offence at a Pair of Guilded Tea-Pots And said you may take away the other things that are Guilded and wash it off And after they were taken away says the Relation He was at ease This is told to shew the Aversion of the Quakers to Idols and how Tender this Young-Man was upon that Head And this was Printed for the Instruction of those that come after To shew how Exactly this Precious Youth kept up to the Doctrin of their Great Master Fox who in his Iconoclastes makes it Heathenism and Idolatry to have the Likeness of any Creature Painted upon a Sign see Sn. Sect. xxi p. 299. And I suppose it is the same upon a Chimney-Piece See with what Froth and Chaff these Poor Quakers are Fed And Glory in at their Death And yet do not Believe themselves For if they did they wou'd not have the Likeness of Creatures Lyons Bulls c. Painted upon their Signs as is Common with them now in London Yea and China Birds Beasts and Men upon their Chimney-Pieces Guilt Tea-Pots too and moreover do Sell them for Gain and all the Rest that offended this Tender Youth upon his Death-Bed But not his Sins for Alas he had none he was one of the Perfect ones And his Example is set out to Encourage the Rest of the Quakers to follow it Now if you shou'd tell any Quaker who had the Likeness of some Creature Painted upon his Sign that he was an Idolater He wou'd take it very Ill and tell thee Thou art a Lyar a Satan c. If you shou'd Ask him again whether G. Fox was Acted by the Infallible Spirit when he call'd this Idolatry He wou'd Answer That G. Fox was above thy Shallow and Dark Mind That He was sent from God And Endowed with Power from on High And Taught the way of the Lord in Truth That thou wert one of those who made a Man an offender for a word He wou'd bid thee Read within And Hearken to The small still voice And such Banter nothing to the Purpose And then think that he had sufficiently Answer'd thee This is the Method they take to Reconcile Contradictions And no other will you get from them This brings me to another Topick they use in Answering Objections made against them 3. Bringing of Contrary Testimonies which is To bring Contrary Testimonies to those Objected without offering to solve those that are Objected not minding or Hoping the Reader wou'd not that this only Proves them Guilty of Contradictions which is one of the Great Objections made against them And indeed of this their Writings are so Fertile that hardly a Page can escape you wherein you will not find some of them For they are all Confusion and Contradictions This is the Method thro' all this Appendix which we are considering They bring Contrary Testimonies or so seeming to those which are Objected and think but they cannot so think that this has done the work and Clear'd their Cause 1. Thus Sect. vi In answer to their Contempt of Magistracy and Government their Manifold Treasons and Rebellions they bring Testimonys from p. 41. to p. 45. of their Acknowlegement to the Government And I cou'd have fill'd ten Pages more with the same for they made Submissions and Acknowledgments to all the Vsurpations and Governments that ever happen'd in their time as Each had the Fortune to get Vppermost And then they Beslav'd that which was Down which they had Worship'd before Of this Many Instances are given in the Sn. Sect. xviii To which not one word of Answer either in the Antidote or this Appendix But ther is an Answer which they have under their Thumb to some of the Passages there Produc'd which I must not Conceal tho' it shou'd fore-stall their Market because it will afford some Diversion to the Reader These Passages are in the Sect. above Quoted of the Sn. p. 222 223. out of a Book wrote by G. Fox which carries this Title Several Papers given forth by George Fox c. The Book I never saw yet will answer for the Quotations which notwithstanding I take not upon trust of any ones Memory or my own And can give them further Quotations out of that Particular Book which G. Fox Mark'd with his own Pen or Aule which he cou'd handle much better for I have seen of his Hand or Foot writing tho' not in that Book and it look'd rather like the Ingravings of a Sciver or the Scratches of an Aule than the Draughts of a Pen. Besides his Delicate Spelling of which I can Present the Reader with a Sampler out of that same Book Which shews how much he was oblig'd either to his Amanuensis or the Corrector of the Press that we had one Line right Spelt in all his Works tho' his Dictating has hardly afforded Us one Paragraph either of Sense or English The Book I Quote is in the Possession of the Friends where neither I nor any I can Employ can have Access I mention this as a Tryal for their Spirit of Discerning and will venture their Reproof for the Mis-Spelling but of a Word The above-Mention'd Quotations out of that Book are Bitter Invectives against the King Char. 2. to obstruct his Restoration and against All Kings and Kingly-Government It was Printed in the beginning of the year 1660 when things were coming on fast towards the Restauration But soon after when the King was Establish'd then it was time pursuant to their old wont to turn about and Tack with the wind Then G. Fox wrote Marginal-Notes upon one of these Books the same that I have mention'd to Reconcile those Treasons and Rebellions which were in it according to his Skill that is after the Manner of this Antidote and Appendix by giving a Contrary Testimony without Retracting the other In p. 5. ther are these words That the Christians were not to do any thing in the Name of an Earthly King And again The setting up of these Kings and Emperors and Protectors and giving them the Names of Excellency and Majesty amongst the Christians hath been since the Days of the Apostles amongst the Apostats in the Apostacy from the true Wisdom and Life Here he writes upon the Margin I give it you in his own spelling This was in the Days of Olefer Cromell who wou'd be King G. F. And the like upon the Margin of p. 8. where more of his Treasons were express'd This was the time when the was so besy of making Olefer Cromell King
Railing or Reviling in them but that he Queries smoothly And therefore calls him a White Devil and the more Serpentine for that However a Civil Question Deserves a Civil Answer But Civil Questions Provoke the Quakers most because it is hardest to Raile at them without which the Quakers cannot Answer Therefore W. P. calls Bennet's Civil Questions Insnaring and Trapanning Questions i. e. Vgly Hard Questions they are to be seen in Burrough's works They are very Sober and Pertinent Questions therefore were Troublesome to Answer But Truth is not Easily Insnar'd nor is Afraid of Questions These Rather make Truth appear the more And it looks like Guilt to Return Railing and Reviling And that is the Method which Will. Penn Condemns here as Anti-Christian Yet concerning the aforesaid Railing of Burrough against Bennet W. Penn says p. 164. I warrant it from God and by the sence of His Eternal Spirit do Declare That it was the Portion and only fit Answer to be given to those Trapanning Questions What! Better than a Sober Solution to such Questions let them be never so Trapanning Had not this been the best way to have Discover'd their Deceit and Convinc'd or else Confounded the Adversary and left him without Excuse No. Says Will. Penn ibid Had Ed. Burrough gone into a familiar opening to his Bennet 's Vulturous Vnclean Serpentine Eye what then E. B. had brought the wrath of the Eternal God upon Himself instead of the Priest Thus W. Penn. So that sometimes for the Quakers to Answer Soberly without Railing is to bring the wrath of God upon Themselves and that is when such Insnaring and Trapanning Questions are put to them as will not Admit of a Plain and Direct Answer without Discovering their Mystery of Iniquity But that is not the Point now It is not what Excuse they may have for their Railing which none afford so Liberally to their Opponents as the Quakers But is not Railing Railing be it in whom it will was not this Reviling in W. P. not only to Justifie the Revilings of E. B. in such an Extraordinary manner as above but as if that had not been Enough to Fall Himself upon Bennet and call him Vulturous Vnclean Serpentine Tho' after all their Malice they cou'd find nothing worse to say of Mr. Bennet than his Opposition to the Quakers and Discovering of their Errors by his Vnmerciful Insnaring Questions tho' Confess'd to be Civil And the worse for that Against which they have Answer'd with their Teeth and Broke them But was this no Raling no Reviling in W. Penn No. Have a care of that wou'd he have Exceeded the Rules of Meekness and Charity tho' Hicks or Bennet did it against their Friends and some of them who were Dead too No. He Protests to the Contrary ibid. p. 166. God is my Record says he this Day I wou'd not to Inherit more worlds than ther are Stars in the Firmament have so Violated the Laws of Charity against the most violent of our Deceased Opposers Therefore who can believe that such a Good man as this wou'd Raile or Revile any Body And he did justly Correct T. Hicks for slandering of him as if he had Abetted the Railings of James Naylor against the Clergy and more over that he had Father'd it upon the Holy Spirit and that neither he nor I says W. P. p. 174. have words enough to signifie our venom and Malignity And what was the Reason of this Heavy Charge only as W. P. himself there gives it us Because I said of Iames Naylor 's Book That if he had Treated that Accursed stock of Hirelings the Clergy ten Thousand times more sharply it had been but Enough That was All And to be Accus'd of Railing or Reviling for this But he went further in his Serious Apology p. 156. And I wou'd say not Enough continues he but that the Reverence I bear to the Holy Spirit wou'd oblige me to Acquiesce in whatever He shou'd utter thro' any Prophet or Servant of the Lord. Here is Ascribing all their Railing to the Holy Spirit But W. P. go's on as before partly Quoted p. 34. we have nothing for them the Clergy but Woes and Plagues who have made Drunk the Nations c. see before p. 34. And how they Damn the Clergy not only of the Present Age but Through Ages past and that Vniversally as you will see in the Quotation brought p. 34. out of his Guide Mistaken Here are the Dead as well as the Living And not only the Priests of the Church of England but Vniversally of all the Churches in the World Yet W. P. wou'd not God is his Record this Day for more Worlds than ther are Stars in the Firmament so Violate the Law of Charity as to Raile or Revile the most violent of their Deceased opposers Here are Contrary Testimonies with a witness And is ther no Contradiction in all this No. Far from it For this is one of the Main Heads upon which he Proves Thom. Hicks not to be a Christian In the same Reason against Railing p. 124. thus He that Contradicts himself is not led by God's Spirit and Consequently No Child of God nor Certain Rule of their own Faith but so doth T. Hicks therefore no Christian Man I will not say How Patly this might be Retorted But I wou'd Recommend to W. Penn's second Thoughts the Inference he makes against T. Hicks for all this p. 167. No man can be secure of him in Common Converse who to Compass his End upon such as oppose him will self-Contradict Pervert Ly Forge beyond which in this World is nothing but direct Murder And that 's a Question since in some cases it were less Irksome to Dy than to be Defamed Is this doing as Men wou'd be done to c. Apply this to W. Penn's usage of the Church of England and others in what is above Quoted and much more of the same strain that might be Produc'd out of his Writings What can we say to Reconcile these things but that the Quakers think None but Themselves have a Right to Raile or that it is not Railing if it comes from Them but Pure Zeal and Godliness thus The Saints may do the same things by The Spirit in Sincerity Which other men are Tempted to And at the Devil's Instance do All Piety consists therein In them in other men all Sin But I have an Apology for Mr. Penn Which I think Real He tells us in his Reason against Railing p. 171. That he was then about 29 years of Age. This was Printed An 1673. And his Guide Mistaken before Quoted p. 34. was Printed An. 1668. When he was but 24 years of Age. He was then in the Heat of Youth and a New Convert to Quakerism And it is usual with such to Exceed in Zeal But since he has had time to Cool And his Conversation of Late years so much at Court has softn'd his Temper and let him see the Deformity of Rudeness and
they Profess'd from the Beginning How then came they to Excomunicate any for Receiving of Baptism as for Instance John Cox And call'd it a Drawing back to the Weak and Beggarly Elements Come Friends speak out in Plainess and tell Us wou'd you own any for a True Quaker who shou'd Receive Baptism and frequent the Holy Sacrament of The Lord's Supper wou'd you neither Censure not Condemn them if they made a Conscience of it as their Duty Wou'd you have Greater Tenderness towards these than for William Wilkins whose Excommunication is put in the Collection at the End of this for Marrying one that was not a Quaker and for Marrying by a Priest Was this a greater offence than the Receiving of the outward Baptism But in good Earnest did you never Censure or Condemn Baptism Is this new Moderation of G. W.'s no other than what you always did Profess In the Quotation before brought of Edw. Burrough's it is Rank'd amongst the Damnable Heresies even to the Denying the Lord who bought Vs And it is call'd The Doctrin of the Devil And p. 644. of his Works he says That it is not Lawful for the Saints of God to Join themselves to your Ordinances Yet now G. W. will let them go and neither Censure nor Condemn them He has forgot a Book of his own to which he gave this Title The Authority of the true Ministry in Baptizing with the Spirit And the Idolatry of such men as are Doting about shadows and Carnal Ordinances and their Ignorance of the Spirits Baptism of which water-Baptism was but a Figure Discover'd And herein is shewed that Water-Baptism is neither of Necessity to Salvation nor yet is now Practised either by Authority from Heaven or by any New-Testament Law that is in force upon Believers seeing the Substance and the End of things Abolished is come and Enjoyed wherein the Types Shadows and Figures are Ended Yet George now will neither Censure nor Condemn them if they be Conscientiously Tender in the Observation of these Abolished Types and Shadows tho' he calls it Idolatry nay and Doting Idolatry yet these men never Vary'd they always said the same since they were first a People that they say now Appen p. 5. slighting all the Authorities brought for Baptism in Prim. Her within the first 150 years after Christ they care for no Antiquity or Fathers says Indeed if he can absolutly Determin the Question by the Scriptures the work is done And yet in the Discourse of Baptism the Arguments are all Limited only to the Holy Scriptures and for any thing the Quakers have said to the contrary the Question is there Absolutely Determin'd They Referr to a Book of one Dell against Baptism This is their Great Assylum Yet he was not a Quaker he was one of the Professors whom they call Children of Darkness and Damn them All to the Pit of Hell And a Cambridge Schollar too another Mark of Reprobation with them and yet they fly to this Man to Help their Light against the Divine Institutions of our Blessed Saviour And they have Printed and Re-Printed this Book as oft as they have been Attack'd upon this Point of Baptism And out it has come since the Discourse of Baptism was Publish'd This made me Curious to look into it And there I found not one Objection but what is fully Answer'd in that Discourse Tho' I am satisfy'd that Author had never seen it before that Discourse was Printed Yet still they Referr to that Book which is only a Put-off because they have nothing to say and shews them to be Self-Condemn'd Their Appealing from their own Printed Books to the Original Copies 7. They have yet another Contrivance which is the Prettiest of all to avoid the Quotations brought out of their Books When none of the former ways will do then they say They have not the Book as if they cou'd not come at their own Books or otherwise they Appeal from the Print tho' themselves have Publish'd it to the Original Copy which if Extant none can have but Themselves Yet they do not Produce the Copy or tell how it is worded there or that it is otherwise than in the Print Thus p. 9. of the Prim. Heres ther is a Bloody Quotation out of a Book of G. Fox's call'd News out of the North. p. 14. where he makes it as unlawful to Return to Baptism as to Circumcision and calls the Lord's Supper The Table of Devils and Cup of Devils which is in the Generation of Serpents c. and p. 39. where he Denies the Books of Matthew Mark Luke and John to be the Gospel and calls them Carnal c. To this says Appen p. 32. I cannot Examin it not having the Book by me but I much Question the Truth of the Quotation And this is all that is said to it Now I can assure the Reader that this Quotation was taken out of the Book it self and not from any second hand And will he believe that this Book which is Common enough for I have seen more than one of them cou'd not be Procur'd among the whole Quaker Sanhedrin or that if this Quotation were much Question'd the Quakers are so Good Natur'd or so very Remiss as not to be at the Pains to look into that Book if they thought to Catch that Author at one False Quotation which they have not yet been able to do or whether every sober Person will not rather Judge that the Quakers do herein Plead Guilty I leave it to their consideration But hear another Pleasant Instance G. W. being Press'd with a very untoward Quotation in Sat. Dis. Glean Sect. iv p. 82. out of the Works of Edw. Burrough p. 273. where he Blasphemously makes the Sufferings of the Quakers not only Greater but more Vnjust than the Sufferings of our Blessed Lord Himself He comes to give an account of this in his Antidote p. 254. and he says after the old Fashion that E. B. is Cited Vnfairly and Partially in this Point But he tells not wherein These are only words of Course in all their Answers Nay himself finds no Fault with the Quotation that ther is a word Added or Diminished or Alter'd But says he Whether it was so Verbally stated by E. B. himself or by some mistake since I shall not undertake to Determin unless I see his Original Copy This Justifies the Quotation out of his Printed Book And if ther was any Mistake it was not in him who Quoted it So that G. W. if he Reguarded Instice ought to make Satisfaction for saying that this was Vnfairly or Partially Cited But in the next place this was Printed by E. B. in the year 1657. And Re-Printed in his Works An. 1672. And these Works were Collected and Published by an Junto of the Chief of the Quakers whereof George Whitehead was one and his Epistle particularly among others Praesix'd in High Commendations of the Author and the Works Yet now he wou'd turn it
thus He that gives that for a Man's Answer to any Question that is not his Answer to that Question is a Forger But that T. Hicks hath done Therefore a Forger and Consequently no true Christian He alledges That T. Hicks did not Give Faithfully the Answers of a Quaker in Dispute with an Ana-Baptist But all the Proof that W. P. brings for his Negative who was not Present is p. 160. We Charge it all with Forgery in the Name of God the Lord of Heaven and Earth And this being Proof In-Contestable he thence Concludes T. Hicks without Help to be a Forger who cou'd only support his Affirmative by Human Testimony But now Reader behold the whole Herd of the Quakers I know not if one can be Excepted of all that have wrote Answers to their Opponents turn'd all out of the Pale of Christianity by this Infallible Rule of W. Penn's See in Sat. Dis. almost in Every Quotation which is there Canvass'd how Grossy the Quakers have Mistaken at least the Answers of their Opponents Charging them with what they never said nay Quite Contrary to their own Words But of this sort ther never was such another as George Fox In his Gr. Mystery he Replies upon above 100 Opponents of whose Books I have seen a good many And I cannot say that he has Quoted one Aright Not only for Splitting of Sentences with which Appen keeps such a Racket where the Sense is not Hurt but taking Scraps out of several Chapters upon Different Subjects that sometimes you must Read over almost the whole Book he Answers to find the Words which he Quotes And then so Mangl'd so Distorted not one Sentence Intire that the Author's sense can not be Gather'd from what he Quotes of him Insomuch that without seeing those Books which he Answers it is Impossible to know what they Truly said Besides such Ridiculous Blunders as cou'd not befall a Child that knew how to Spell and Put together I before mention'd his Reading External for Eternal a small mistake if that had been all But to Ground a Charge upon this and to Accuse Mr. Baxter of Ignorance and False Doctrin for setting up the Notion of an External Light in God when Mr. Baxter's word is Plainly Eternal This and many more such like Instances of which that Book is full not only Ruins their Sensless Boasts of Infallible Guidance of the Spirit But by Will Penn's Rule Excludes them from being Christians But if the Mistake of a Word may be Excus'd upon the In-advertence of Infallibility Ther are many more Instances which shew either want of Sense or Wilful Perversion Thus one Jonathan Clapham who wrote against the Quakers says Christ having Vndertaken the work of Man's Redemption the Father hath Deliver'd up the whole Creation to Him And therefore must Magistracy belong to Him as Mediator Now cou'd any Man in his Right mind Understand this as if Clapham had meant that the Magistrate and not Christ was the Mediator Yet thus G. Fox mistakes him Gr. Mystery p. 95. And Repeats his words thus He saith the Magistrate in this External Politick Kingdom is a Mediator And not only Fox but one of the Chief of his Worthys R. Hubberthorn follows him in the same Perversion the Second p. 28. of his Works for ther are Double Pageings Reprinted An. 1663. he says thus The Honour which God will not Give to Another than Christ hath he J. Clapham Given to Another from Christ And so Denyed the work of the Son of God as Mediator And p. 44. Instancing in Sixteen Particulars of Clapham's Vn-sound Doctrin as he calls it this is the First That he says That the Magistrate is an Officer of Jesus Christ as Mediator And upon the whole they Establish this as a standing Article of their Faith that To say the Magistrate is an Officer of Jesus Christ as Mediator is Blasphemy And say they to Clapham What Priest besides thee Dare own any to be Join'd with Christ as Mediator Now not only Dear George Fox who Excelleth them all but this Hubberthorn and their Works are Highly Commended and Recommended by Will. Penn. By whose Rule of Mistaking or Mis-Representing the Answers of other Men All of them must out of Christendom together Especially George Fox who Stumbles so often that he hardly Goes one Right Step I cou'd fill a Volume with his Mistakes of this kind but for the Present will Press your Patience with two or three Christopher Wade in his Quakery Slain p. 13. says As the Devil of old Spake some Truths to usher in his Manifold Deceits even so he over-powers you Quakers to Deny the Scriptures God's Inspired writings Manifested by his holy Apostles And as he thereby Limits the Supreme Holy one so he over-rules you to acknowlege but one Dispensation of God's mind unto the Sons of Men. viz. The Light within To this George Fox Answers in his Gr. Mystery p. 247. And Repeats C. Wade's words thus He saith says G. F. God limits the Supream Holy one by the Inspired Writings of the Apostles And then he Pays C. W. for saying that The Holy one is Limited by the words of the Apostles But it is obvious to any one of Common Sense that C. W. Meant that it was the Devil in the Quakers who Limited the Holy one by Denying the Dispensation of the Holy Scriptures and allowing but of that only Dispensation of the Light within But to take off all Excuse C. W. wrote an Answer to G. F. which he Directs To all those call'd Quakers An. 1659. Where he Instances in Twelve Lies and Forgeries which G. F. had thus put upon him Among which this is the Sixth p. 5. where he clears what he had said by shewing the thred of the whole Discourse and that it was the Devil and not God who he said did Limit the Holy one To this G. Whitehead Replies in his Truth defending the Quakers Printed the same year 1659. p. 61. And do's he either Confess G. Fox's Perverting the words of C. Wade or Justify it No. Neither For Justify it he cou'd not the Case was so Plain And it is below a Quaker ever to Confess for that supposes he cou'd Err How then do's G. W. Answer Why he falls upon C. W. for saying that the Devil cou'd Limit the Supreme Holy One But first here is the Cause given against G. Fox that he had Perverted the words of C. W. And next as to G. Whitehead's Mettl'd observation how the Devil cou'd Limit the Holy one let him Read Psal Lxxviii 41. Yea they turned back and Tempted God And Limited the Holy one of Israel Where Limiting is express'd as a Tempting But says G. Whitehead in the place above Quoted This is as much as to say the Devil is stronger than God as this Deceiver hath Affirmed Now here is another Manifest Perversion of the Meaning as G. Fox's was of the Words of G. Wade For did C. W. Affirm That the Devil was Stronger than God
because the Devil is said to Limit Him Then the Israelits were Stronger than God for David says that they did Limit Him But as C. W. said no such thing do's G. W. think that C. W. Believ'd the Devil to be Stronger than God No. he cou'd not think so for who ever thought so And then he said this against his own Conscience Without doubt he did And for this calls C. W. a Deceiver Now here are some small Mistakes First of G. Fox's in taking God for the Devil That was All Next of G. Whitehead's in saying that C. Wade did Affirm That the Devil was Stronger than God Now Recollect Will. Penn's Rule before Mentioned That he that gives that for a Man's Answer that is not his Answer is a Forger and so no true Christian The Application is Easie and Unavoidable That neither Fox nor Whitehead are Christians because they are Notorious Forgers and Give that for a Man's Answer which is not his Answer Nay more The very Objections which are put against them they Retort as being the Principles of the Objectors Thus five Ministers wrote a Book against the Quakers call'd The Perfect Pharisee An. 1654. And another in Defence of it the same year Intituled A further Discovery of that Generation of Men call'd Quakers in Reply to an Answer the Quakers had put out to the Former In both these they Charge the Quakers with Seventeen Gross Positions of which this is the Third That the Soul is a Part of the Divine Essence Thus plainly put down p. 5. of the Further Discovery Num. 3. of the Quaker Positions which are there first Rang'd in order And then particularly Disprov'd under their several Heads And coming to this Head p. 31. they call this Position as truly it is Blasphemy G. Fox Answers to this in his Gr. Myst p. 227. and sets down this as the first of the Ministers Principles That the Soul is a Part of the Divine Essence And thence Inferrs p. 229. That in calling this Blasphemy they had given Judgment against themselves And so you five says he have Judged your selves to be Blasphemers who said the Soul was Part of the Divine Essence and yet 't is Blasphemy to say so This is Giving that for a man's Answer which is not with a witness And if Will. Penn can any Longer Defend G. Fox even Dear George who Excelleth All the Quakers to be a Christian by his own Rule he will Exceed himself and Out-do all that he has Ever yet Done At least I hope he will Alter his Opinion if he spoke it sincerely That George Fox was as Good a Proas Asaiah which has been Mention'd before But not only Putting words upon a Man which he did not say nay Quite Contrary to what he says but Leaving out the Material part of a Man's Answer and giving that for his Answer is Belying of a Man and comes under Will Penn's Rule Let me give one Instance of this among many that I cou'd Produce Matthew Caffyn in his Damnable Heresies of the Quakers Discover'd p. 29. gives his Charge thus The Quaker saith that Christ is already Come the second time And George Fox Affirmed in Plain words before many Witnesses that he knew him come within him and he looked for Him to come NO OTHERWISE And James Parnal affirmeth That by Preaching of a Christ in Heaven the Devil gets his work done on Earth as appears in his Book call'd Satan's Design discover'd p. 19. 25. This Fox Answers in his Gr. Myst p. 141. And first he leaves his Brother Parnel to shift for himself He Denies not the Quotation But says nothing to it Then as to what is Charg'd upon Himself he Quotes the Page in Caffyn but Repeats his words thus And George Fox said that he knew Christ come in him p. 29. Then he Crys that Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates As if Caffyn had Deny'd the Inward Presence of Christ by the Influence of His H. Spirit in the Hearts of Believers which no Christian ever did Deny But they Deny the Person of Christ His Flesh Blood and Bones in Men as the Quakers Blaspheme And Caffyn found no Fault with Fox's saying that He knew Christ come within him On the Contrary he Justifies the Indwelling of Christ by His Spirit But he laid the stress upon G. Fox's saying That he Looked upon Christ to come NO OTHERWISE whith was put in Capital Letters to shew that the stress lay upon that as being a Denyal of Christ's Second Coming to the Final Judgment Of all which G. Fox took no Notice at all but gives his words short as above Quoted Whereby it appears which I have often observ'd before That without looking into the Books which this Fox Answers ther is no knowing of their Meaning or what they object by his False and often Absurd Chopping and Changing of their Words Caffyn ibid. p. 35. Charges thus The Quaker saith that the offering of Christ's Body to be Broken and His Blood shed Avails not so as thro' Faith therein to set free from Sin But Blood in a Mystery and a Body in a Mystery which we know not what it is saith Lawson in his Book p. 18. which was Typified by the Fleshly Body of Christ and His Blood And says Caffyn p. 36. Wherefore he saith Boldly but Blasphemously That the Lord Jesus whom we Profess is Accursed professing a Spirit within him to be the only Christ To this G. Fox Answers Gr. Myst p. 142. And Repeats the Charge only thus They say they own Christ that suffered meaning the Spirit within Page 36. Here he Quotes the Page in Caffyn's Book whereby we cannot mistake to what it is that he Answers And instead of Denying he Justifies in his Squinting way this Hideous Blasphemy by laying the whole upon the Light within But Denies nothing of the other part of the same sentence of calling that Jesus whom we Profess Accursed c. Blessed God Defend Us The Pen is like to Drop out of my Hand while I am forc'd to set down this Greatest Outrage that Ever the Devil durst Presume to Belch out against our Blessed Lord and Saviour thro' these the most Wretched of all his Instruments the Quaker Tongues which are set on Fire of Hell I cannot stay longer upon this Subject Ther is Infection in the very Air. Let us Return to their Moderate Sins of Lying and Mis-representing the Answers of their Adversaries and Rid Christianity of them at the Back-Door which Will. Penn has Pointed But not open the Mouth of the Gulph at once of Blasphemies not fit to be Heard upon Earth lest the Stench shou'd carry Plagues with it thro' the World Christoph Wade in his Quakery Slain p. 7 8. tells of a Quaker Wizard one James Milner who Pretended that he must Suffer as Christ did to save the Souls of two Women Dorothy Barwick and the Wife of Brian Fell of Ulverston and in a Juggling Inchanting Manner with a Knife and a
Bason he pretended his Blood was shed and said that he Gave up the Ghost as Christ did Thus C. Wade And hence he Charges Milner with Luciferian Pride to Save Souls as Christ did To this G. Fox Answers in his Gr. Myst p. 246. And Repeats no more of the Charge but these words He Crys says Fox Oh Luciferian Pride to save Souls And thence falls upon Wade as if he were an Enemy to the Saving of Souls and asks him What good then doth all your Preaching do And Quotes the Apostles who watched to save Souls by turning People from their Sins Now wou'd not any one have suppos'd upon G. F.'s Quotation of C. W.'s words That C. W. had been against all Methods or Means to Save Mens Souls and that he had call'd it no less than a Luciferian Pride for any one to Attempt it either to Preach or Pray or do any other Office of Religion Who cou'd have Imagin'd from this Quotation as G. F. gives it That C. W. only spoke of Attempting to Save Souls as Christ did that is by Shedding of our Blood and Giving up the Ghost as an Atonement or Propitiation for the Sins of others I will spare my Pains to Exemplifie the Truth and Faithfulness of this Quotation And when Will. Penn can make a 〈◊〉 of G. F. for this by his own Rule I will Promise Twenty and Twenty more of the â—ike if need be out of that one Book the Gr. Mystery In which p. 298. And in his Saul's Errand p. 9. G. F. Justifies this Wretch Milner And notwithstanding that he cou'd not nor did Deny this Matter of Fact and much more of the Like Blasphemy as Giving forth Twelve several Prophesies in the Name of the Lord all of which prov'd False Pretending to Fast Forty Days as Christ did and other Madnesses of High Enthusiasm yet G. Fox Justifies Milner says Ther was a Pure seed in Him And that The Lord did open True Prophesies and Mighty things to Him And calls those Persecutors and Wicked Men who wou'd go tell the Nation as he words it of the Above mention'd and such like Infirmities of that Precious Quaker Prophet And now that I have given the Reader a Taste of Rich. Hubberthorn's G. Whitehead's and G. Fox's sincerity in Reciting the Answers of other Men out of the Fountain that is behind of the like Instances in their Works and those of the other Quakers Approved and Recommended by W. Penn And by his standing Rule before Mention'd He himself and all the Rest of that Herd turn'd out of the Pale of Christianity together to Graze in the Common with Deists Jews and Pagans Themselves the worst of the Company Let me for a Concluding stroke upon this Head Divert my self a little with Witty Ap-Pen from whom I have thus far Digress'd to his more Considerable Brethren Now then you shall see Ap-Pen shew his Parts in behalf of Himself and Partners at the End of the Preface he gives their Authority for their so Frequent calling the Author of the Sn. a Serpent a Viper a Snake Will. Penn has lately Improv'd it to a Rattle-Snake and they say it is A Title of his own Choosing As I said before it is not very Material what they call him He is neither the Better nor the Worse for that They have call'd others by the same and worse Names where they had not the Pretence for such a witty Pun as this But that which I take notice of this for is to shew them the Consequences which Themselves have laid down of Mistaking or Mis-Representing the words of other Men. Did the Author of the Sn. then mean that Title for Himself or for the Quakers How you can Turn it upon him is not the Point free Leave you have But to say That you wou'd not Abridge him a Title of his own Choosing and to give this as a Reason of your calling him so is Expresly to Mistake and that Wilfully his words And then out of Christianity with you according to Will. Penn. If you may call him a Snake by this Argument you may as well call Him the Devil and say that too his A Title of his own Choosing for another of is Books is Intitul'd Satan Dis-Rob'd Therefore both Will. and Ap-Pen cum Sociis must either Renounce their Christianity and then they will be just where they were or else Correct the above Mention'd Rule which W. P. has Infallibly laid down to Thrust others from thence Thus Justly in the same Trap which they set for others is their own Foot taken SECT III. The Quakers Clear'd from Contradiction in those Seeming Contrary Testimonies which are Produc'd in this Appendix to Defend them from the Heresies Charg'd upon them WHAT I have already said may be thought sufficient in Answer to this Appen wherein ther is nothing like an Argument but the Contrary Testimonies which are Produc'd against the Charges Exhibited And these are Reply'd to without Considering of them in Particular in Sect. ii N. 3.4 Whereby it appears First That tho' these Testimonies produc'd were Contrary to what is Charg'd from other Testimonies of the Quakers yet that this is no Justification but rather a further Argument of Contradictions against them Secondly That by the Contrary Meanings which they have these Testimonies tho' seemingly Contrary yet are not so and do not Contradict the Charges laid against the Quakers To make the which more fully Appear I will go over the Contrary Testimonies Produc'd And shew the Deep Deceit of these Quakers 1. These Testimonies begin Appen Sect. 2. p. 12. with this Title Some Testimonies to Christ Jesus as the Son of God and Come in the Flesh The first is of Rich. Farnsworth An. 1651. in his Confession and Profession of Faith where he Confesses to the Father Son and Holy Spirit but he calls them not 3 Persons so that this is no Contrary Testimony to the Quaker-Heresie concerning the Blessed Trinity which makes them to be only three Manifestations or Operations of the same Person as the Sabellians Socinians c. But then how is this a Testimony to the Son of God as Come in the Flesh if the Son be not Distinct from the Father as G. Fox affirms in so many words Great Mystery p. 142. and 293. c. if so then it was God the Father who took Flesh as Muggleton said Ay and Fox too Gr. Myst p. 246. where he falls upon Chr. Wade for offering to say That not God the Father but the Son said Wade took upon him Human Nature This Fox opposes and brings as an Argument against it that Christ is call'd The Everlasting Father Isa ix 6. The truth is these Quakers make no Distinction at all betwixt God and Christ they mean the same thing by Father Son Spirit Christ Light or Light within which they make to be God If otherwise let them tell us how the Son took Flesh and not the Father if the Son be only a Manifestation of the
Eyes of those who are Sincere among Themselves I will undergo the Penance of Exposing them Appen p. 35. makes a Great Noise of wrong done the Quakers in Prim. Heres Sect. v. by the Charge of their Forbidding to Marry and Preaching up of Fornication As if this were Laid out as a General Charge upon the whole Body of the Quakers Tho' it is Expressly sai'd in the very Beginning of the Sect. p. 12. That they are not All Charg'd with it nor Any of them but only the New Quakers in America And this Appen do's confess too And do's not pretend to Clear them from it Where then was the Abuse in Placing of the Charge O says Appen it s being against the whole Body of the Quakers is Imply'd in the Title Page and abundantly Charg'd in the Contents For says he I cannot find one Marry'd or Single Quaker left out First for the Title-Page ther is not one Syllable of it or any thing like it And the Contents saying Their forbidding to Marry is no more than the Hand of a Clock to Point where you may find the Hour And the Page being Nam'd There you See who are or are not Charg'd O but says Appen The first Charge runs over England and all the Rest of the World where ther are Quakers the last is Limited only to America Can any man make Sense of this This Implys as if ther were Two Charges one for England and one for America But by the first Charge they only mean the Title and Contents which they say Run over England and all the World of the Quakers This is Non-sense as to the Contents for they never go but where the Book go's Indeed Title-Pages are stuck up or may be put into the Advertisements of News-Papers But ther is not the least Hint towards this Charge of Marriage in the Title-Page So that all this Cry of the Quakers is no Wooll Yet Appen calls this Looseness in the Author and at best an Equivocal Lye They must give some ill-Ill-words or else they cannot Speak If it were worth the while to make Reprisals upon these Quakers and Re-criminate upon them I might go over as many Books I believe as they have wrote for I can say it of as many as I have seen and shew not only in their Contents but Title-Pages the most Fulsom Boasts of what you will find nothing in the Book I have in the First Part given several Instances of it as to the Contents of the Antidote and cou'd give many more both in that and this Appen but that it is obvious to every one who will be at the Pains to Compare their Contents with their Performance I will here give the Reader one Instance because it is a Pleasant one and Discovers some other of their Principles Ther is a Gentleman who was long of their Communion now one of their Seperatists and a member of Turners-Hall Mr. Thom. Crisp who tho' a Quaker and Zealous even to Suffering with them yet run not to all their Mad Extravagancies he allow'd himself to Pay Tythes as a Just Debt being Enacted by the Laws of the Land for which he with others such Moderate Quakers were severely Censur'd by them He committed another Great Offence against their Orders and Constitutions he was Marry'd in a Church and by a Minister of the Church of England which Rais'd their Indignation Exceedingly Therefore they Press'd him very hard to make a Publick Confession of this Grievous Crime and to sign an Instrument of Condemnation against himself for it Pursuant to their Disciplin But not being able to Prevail they underhand and without his Knowledge dealt with his Wife who being Terrify'd with their Threatnings all In the Name of the Lord God Almighty did sign such a Paper of Condemnation as they Requir'd But Mr. Crisp knew nothing of it for several years after till they themselves upon his further Contests with them Publish'd it in Print without the Consent and against the mind of Mrs. Crisp who was not willing her Husband shou'd know it lest he might be Displeas'd with her But neither the sacredness of the Seal of Confession nor the Hazard of making Difference 'twixt Husband and Wife was strong enough for their Resentment when they thought they cou'd Reach a Blow at one who had Oppos'd them or rather who wou'd not be Intirely and Implicitly subject to their Popedoms for no other Opposition had Mr. Crisp then given them but only as to their Disciplin in the Jurisdictions of their Womens Meetings and other Institutions set up by George Fox as Cardinal Primat contrary to their Original Principle of leaving every one to the Measure of the Light within Himself Under which Pretence they Drew many away from their obedience to the Church But wou'd not Indure that Loose Plea as W. Penn calls it when urg'd by some among themselves See Sn. Sect. vi N. x. paragr 12. p. 79 against that High Authority which their Leaders Assum'd over all under their Dominion This was all the Contest at that time betwixt the Seperate and other Quakers as appears in what was then wrote by John Story Wilkinson Rogers Crisp Bugg and others of the Seperats wherein ther is nothing of those Errors in Doctrin and Damnable Heresies which they have since Discover'd but were then Involv'd in as Deep as the Rest Yet for their Refusing to be subject to this Plenitude of the Quaker-Church-Authority they call'd them Judases Apostats Devils In-carnate c. tho' Agreeing with them in Doctrin and all the other Articles of the Quaker-Creed It was this made them Discover Mrs. Crisp her Paper of Condemnation against her self for being Marry'd by a Priest of the Church of England in Revenge upon Mr. Crisp who joyn'd with their Seperatists But they were Disapointed of their Malice in thinking to make him Un-Easie as to his Wife for he as a wise Man Consider'd their Importunity and Terrible Denunciations of no less than Damnation to all who wou'd not come under their Disciplin which might work upon a Woman that had given her self up to be Guided by them And as he ought he plac'd the Abuse upon them who had thus Impos'd upon the Credulity of a woman whom they had Deluded to Believe them Thus says he in the 5th Part of his Babels Builders p. 9. Printed An. 1682. It is like She as too many more have gave too much Credit to what some of G. Fox 's CHEATS said And She is not the first that hath been Deceived by you And perhaps some among you that have Prated others out of their Money might Prate her unto the writing and giving you that Paper you Pretend to This is thus Quoted by G. Whitehead in his Judgement Fixed p. 290. And how do's he Answer it Why thus O Thomas be Asham'd of thus Abusing thy Wife And in his Contents which is the thing I am Coming to he sets it down thus p. 162. His Thom. Crisp's Abuse of his
hold the Same but they Meant only his Rashness or Ill-Luck to Meet with His and Their Due Deserts or such like Mental-Reservation G. Fox wrote several Papers in Justification of James Naylor his Calling himself Christ and his being Hosanna'd as Christ was c. which are Annex'd to the Tryal of James Naylor Printed by the Quakers An. 1657. With Marginal Notes in Defence of All his Blasphemies Tho' this Vulpone like Judas after he saw that Naylor was Condemn'd turn'd Tayle and yet but Seemingly Pretended to Disown him But he Disown'd None of his Books Principles or Doctrin On the Contrary he as well as the Rest of the Quakers did Justifie them against several Opposers who Quoted them as the true Quaker-Doctrin which they did not Dis-own And Will. Penn in his Serious Apology An. 1671. p. 156. Names James Naylor and Vindicates him as a Prophet and Servant of the Lord thro' whom the Holy Spirit did Vtter His Mind Haworth in the Place above Quoted says That John Bolton who was a Quaker told him That he stood by and saw three Women one after another Fall down and Worship James Naylor and one of them in her Bowings had these words viz. Thy Name is no more James but J AM. And James Naylor told John Bolton That if he worshipped his Body he shou'd Refuse it But if that within he wou'd Accept it This is the same Answer which G. Whitehead in his Innocency against Envy p. 18. Gives to Fran. Bugg his Charge of the Idolatries and Blasphemous Names and Titles given by the Quakers to G. Fox G. W. Replies How Proves he they Gave and Intended those Names and Titles to the Person of George Fox and not to the Life of Christ in him whereof he was a Partaker But how a Partaker Was it of the Influences only or Inspirations of Christ's Blessed Spirit that the Quakers Mean No. No. That is but a small Dispensation with them They Mean Partaking of Christ's very Nature and Essence so as Themselves to be God! See hereafter Sect. vii N. 2. And that the Light within Them is not only a Ray or Communication of Christ but is Christ Himself in Person And therefore Appen do's so often tell Us not only of Believing That ther is such a Light in Vs But to Believe In That Light viz. To make That the Object of our Faith Tho' take it as they will Adoration Paid to them upon Account of that Light in Them is Downright Idolatry The Body of Christ while upon Earth was no otherwise Adorable than upon Account of the Divinity Residing in it And ther is no way by which the Quakers do Allow Adoration to Christ but by the same they take it to Themselves I do not Doubt but ther is an Influence and Inspiration sent from the Holy Spirit of God into the Hearts of all True Believers This I Believe But I do not Believe In it That is To make That In me the Object of my Faith Tho' He is the Object of my Faith from whom It comes Therefore to talk as Appen of Believing In this Light within is no less than Idolatry and shews the Quakers to be Destitute of whole Christianity Hence they Reject the Holy Scriptures as the Rule of Faith which this Appen instead of Denying do's again own as shewn before And then Trusting only to what is within them they are Given up to follow their own Imaginations and take Every strong Impression which comes into their Brain tho' by the Illusion of the Devil of which ther are many Instances In-disputable for no less than the Immediate Dictates of the Holy Ghost And they are Equally sure of Every thing they Say or Do. And tho' it be but upon Hear-say yet they can Pawn their Infallibility for the Truth of it As in this Appen where before Quoted p. 6. speaking of the Boast which they wou'd fix upon the Author of the Sn. of his having Converted many Quakers for which they give no other Proof than I have heard yet within five Lines it says Therefore when this his Pretended service is urg'd as an Argument for his Attonement and Reconciliation I can Assure them the Argument is False May not the Quakers be here minded of what they say to this same Author p. 49. of this Appen where they Accuse him for saying That G. Fox 's Inspirations came from the Spirit of Pride But says Appen how Charles will Assure any man of that which he is not Infallibly Assur'd of himself an Inspiration so Foul a Vessel must not Pretend to cannot Readily be Guessed It may very Easily be Guess'd my sweet Appen for do's he say so of his own Knowlege or only by Hear-say or do's he give any sort of Proof for it If none at all He was a very Naughty Fellow But upon what occasion do you bring this in It is speaking of your Stiffness in not pulling off your Hats As you word it But you mis-Quote Prim. Heres This Charge is there Sect. vii p. 17. And it is not worded Pulling but only for not Taking off your Hats you have made Mountains of less Mis-Quotations than this this is beyond a Colon or a Semi-Colon for he wou'd not have you Pull or Lugg at your Hats that is not Mannerly but to Take them off Handsomly and with a Boon meen And did he call G. Fox Proud for not doing of this Why truly Appen the world do's call it a little Saucy not to Return a Civility especially to ones Betters But Cry you Mercy G. Fox thought no body Better no nor Half so Good as Himself He call'd Himself The Son of God said His Kingdom was not of this world He Trode upon Princes like Mortar Nay He made Himself Equal to God! all which is shewn in the Sn. why then shou'd He D'off His Bonnet to Mortal Man And did that Scurvy Author of the Sn. say That these Inspirations came from the Spirit of Pride However here was something like to Proof it was not meer Hear-say but from G. Fox's own words Printed in his Books Tho' we know all this Proceeded from Pure spunk Humility And you take no Pride at all in keeping your Hats on when men of Quality stand Bare before you As did not that Friend who coming to K. Charles II. in Windsor-Park and the King permitting him to walk by him with his Hat on said to him How like a Fool do'st thou look See how Every body Stares at thee for having thy Hat on The Ingenious Quaker Reply'd And Charles if my Hat were off no body wou'd look at me Well but notwithstanding of all these Proofs here is no Infallibility in the Case And How can Charles Assure any man of that which he is not Infallibly Assur'd of Himself There Appen has Clinch'd him But will not both words and Actions amount to an Infallible Proof No not in Charles Why Because so Foul a Vessel must not Pretend to it But from the
And they Bow after the same Fashion Who wou'd speak Three words to Purchace their Ungainly Conges as Stiff and Grave as an Elephant's or to see them thrust out a Limb for a Salute as if they were going to make a Pass at you But ther is a Mystery at the Bottom of Iniquity and Rebellion All that was Couch'd under the Parallel that is made to them of Judas and his Gaulonites And we may the Rather Believe this because the Quakers in this Appen do in plain Terms Justifie Judas for having Repeated his Principle as given in Prim. Heres out of Josephus That he and his Followers wou'd Expose themselves to all Torments rather than call any Mortal Man Lord or Master Appen Answers p. 49. Now Believe me Friends I cannot See the Heresie of this Doctrin Here then the Charge is Confess'd And the Parallel Acknowleg'd to be Just betwixt Judas and the Quakers who own That they Maintain the same Principle with Him And who can Doubt but that it is to the same End They Quarrel Prim. Heres for bringing the Testimony of Josephus as they wou'd make the Reader believe instead of one of the Primitive Fathers which Appen p. 48. calls Canonizing this Jew Whereas Josephus is only Quoted to shew the Principles and Sect of Judas Galilaeus not for the Condemning of them That is shewn from the Apostles And what Canonizing is hear of Josephus Can the Reader bear with this Trifling But these men will Complain nay Boast if they are not Answer'd But whether is this so much a Canonizing of Josephus as Appen do's of Judas who Justifies his wicked Heresie And Consequently must Rank his Sufferings for it upon the score of Martyrdom as of the Quakers for the same Cause And is Every Primitive Father that is Quoted therefore Canoniz'd But what Patience can hold out to see these Quakers make objections for want of Primitive Fathers And to Quote them too as Gibson before and others Do they lay any stress upon the Primitive Fathers or Pretend to Follow Them O yes by all means They wou'd fain be in Good Company And they call Quakerism now of Late Primitive Christianity in which Book ther is not one Syllable of what the Primitive Fathers held not one Quotation from one of them nor any of them so much as Nam'd How then do's their Christianity appear to be Primitive No matter for that Primitive is a Good word especially to stand upon a Title-Page which 100 Read for one that Reads the Book This shews They wou'd be Primitive or have the Reputation of it And so they have As Primitive as Judas whose Doctrine they Espouse and the Apostles Oppos'd But if they are so much for Primitive what say they to those Quotations which are brought in Prim. Heres out of the most Ancient and Vn-doubted of the Fathers And which Confront their Tenets very Expresly For them They care not two pence for as many more of them Appen p. 10. 11. calls them Stale Tracts of Vncertain Persons Do's he shew how they are Vncertain No not he Let them look to that or have the Quakers any Better Editions or other Works of those Fathers than those which are come to our Hands No no no They have None of them they Hate and Abhor them they were a Company of Bishops and Doctors But ne'r a one among them like George Fox or Edw. Burrough or G. Whitehead or Little Appen No not one of them Therefore says Appen p. 10. We shall not need to be at all Afrighted if we do find our selves to Differ from what is to be found under the specious Names of Ignatius Polycarp c. tho' Living within 150 years after Christ nor under the Great Names of them call'd Fathers in the Succeeding Ages And p. 5. It will not Avail tho' he bring many Clouds of such Witnesses And notwithstanding he calls this a Cavil we learn'd from Elder Dissenters we are not Afraid to stand by it and therefore Pay little Reverence to those nor any thing not Purely Apostolical But Ignatius and Polycarp liv'd in the Apostles Days and were Disciples to the Apostles What is that to Us Quakers It is no matter what they were or where they were We will have None of them So set your heart at Rest We have Better at Home We never Lik'd G. Keith since he was so Insolent to Compare the Books of our Friends to them call'd the Greek and Latin Fathers as supposing Friends Books to have been written by no Better Guidance See Sat. Dis Sect. iv n. v. p. 47. nor Clearer Light than theirs who Lived and wrote in those Dark times For which Thom. Ellwood has Pay'd him to Purpose And it is no wonder that he has left Us. For when any once get Fathers and Councils and Antiquity and such stuff into their Heads they can never Endure Us afterwards Therefore we Hate all Schools and Colleges and Learning and Human Reason for all these things make against Us. And now that we are Setting up Schools c. of our own I 'm afraid we shall not be Long-Liv'd That by the bye Therefore Appen wisely throws off all your Fathers and Primitives which serve us only for Title-Pages But says p. 5. Indeed if he can Absolutely Determin the Question by the Scriptures the work is done Yet in the Last Case against Judas and the Quakers the Proof was brought from Scripture and from nothing else And yet the work is not done For then you call'd for the Fathers then he has not Perform'd his Promise of Giving us Quotations out of the Fathers but puts Josephus upon us and Canonizes him for a Father But will the Scriptures do Then indeed the work wou'd soon be done Will you let the Scriptures be the Rule we will Ask no more Appen Denies it as shewn before Yet they will stand to what the Scripture Commands Provided the same thing be Requir'd by Their Own Spirit Anew See Sn. Sect. vii p. 92 93. that is if they Like it They cannot Deny but that the Scripture Requires Honour to be Pay'd to Magistrates Or that Taking off the Hat is not a Paying of Honour as Prov'd above And therefore Except the Reason I have Given which they will not Give I cannot Conjecture the shadow of a Reason for their Refusing it They say as Howgil before That God has not Commanded it Not Particularly as to the Hat Neither has He Commanded to take off our Hats at Prayer Why then did they Contend so zealously for that They Render themselves Self-Condemn'd They will as Judas call no man Lord or Master Why then do they call any Man Father for both are Forbidden in the same Place Matth. xxiii 9. And in whatever Sense they take the one they may take the other But their Practice shews their meaning They do call their Quaker Masters by the Name of Masters And they do now use the word Lord Speaking of or to Noble-Men but
not Publish'd except to the Friends for their Book-Sellers Refuse to Sell them unless they know to whom they Refus'd it to some that I imploy'd A Discourse of the General Rule of Faith and Practice of which the whole Argument is ex professo to Prove That the Scriptures cannot be that Rule Wherein all the Popish Artillery is Muster'd up against the Holy Scriptures being the Rule It has Receiv'd a very Substantial Answer by G. Keith therefore I say no more of it here But to take Notice of the Deceit of the Quakers in their Quoting of Scripture For to what Purpose do they Quote them when they Own them not to be the Rule And Consequently will not be Determin'd by them This is only to Amuse and to bear a Face as if they Own'd the Scriptures And to use them ad hominem against those who do Acknowledge them Yet they have no Proof but what they Pretend from Scripture for their Foundation-Principle of The Light within which they make the only Rule being Christ and God They cannot say that the Light within do's tell them this of its Self For then it wou'd tell others so Seeing they make it Common to all Mankind And if it tells None so but the Quakers or if it do's not tell all Others so as well as the Quakers then how is it the General Rule to All Men as the Quakers wou'd have it Therefore they have Recourse for this to Joh. i. 9. That was the true Light which Lighteth every Man that Cometh into the World And to other Scriptures which they Wrest to their own Destruction And yet they will not Own the Scriptures for the Rule But when Pinch'd they Fly back again to their Light-within This is all they have for their Principle of the Hat and their Sulleness which they call Gravity But I wou'd have them Distinguish betwixt the Gravity of an Angel and a Devil Both are Grave But if an Angel Appear'd we must Suppose with his Gravety the Greatest Sweetness and Attraction that can be On the other hand if a Devil Appear'd he wou'd be Grave too but it wou'd be an Abhorrent and Frightfull Gravity like that of a Lyon when he was going to Devour or of a Mastiff Dog with Grin and Snarle Ther is nothing Exotick or Sour in the Gravity of Religion It is all Decent and Comely It is the Beauty of Holiness But in a Quaker-Meeting Especially their Silent Ones their Phiz and Meen Hats pull'd over Eyes their Habit their Grunts and Dogged Demureness the Deformity of Holiness is Drawn to the Life No Stranger but wou'd think himself at a Bedlam or a Funeral or as indeed it is among a Company of People Possess'd and Bewitch'd But if he saw them fall to their Convulsions and Quaking-Fits their Rolling and Roaring Fomeing Swelling and Yelling as at first was Common among them I dare say it wou'd never bring into his Mind the Extasies and Tremblings of the Holy Prophets thro' the Excess of the Revelations given unto them which the Quakers urge as their Precedent But rather that of Feinds in their Torments For the Devils believe too And Tremble as the Quakers do I have now gone over the Several Heads Mention'd in Prim. Heres And Consider'd the Defences which Appen has Produc'd for them This brings him to his Conclusion Wherein is Nothing but what has been Answer'd already Only their Vapouring How Bravely they have Acquit themselves Which I leave them to Enjoy And Hasten to the Last Section that I may have Done SECT VII The Asurdity and Blasphemy of the Quakers Notion of the Light Within They hold That ther is no Natural Light or Reason in Man But that All in him is Divine 1. I Now go on to Examin the Defence of Will. Pen against the Friendly Expostulation with him in Prim. Heres This begins in Appen p. 53. And it says p. 55. That the Author of Prim. Heres wou'd have Will Penn to suppose That nothing but the Divine Light cou'd Reprove of Evil. But Says Appen I have looked and find no such Supposition And therefore no further Notice need be taken of the Consequences he draws as depending on that Supposition This is Positive and Impudent to a Degree that cou'd befall none but a Quaker He says he has Look'd Therefore I beseech the Reader to Look too The Charge is in Prim. Heres p. 20. where the Pages of Will Penn's Primitive Christianity are Quoted viz. p. 29 30. and 31. And a short Account of them given to wit That the Scripture makes no Distinction between Natural and Spiritual Light That Will. Penn Provokes any to give so much as one Text to that Purpose That he makes it as Absur'd as to talk of a Natural and Spiritual Darkness within That he says That ther are not Two Lights from God in Man that Regard Religion Not that Reproves or Condemns a man for Sin These are the words in Prim. Heres I must ask the Reader 's Pardon for Trans-Scribing them And also for Setting down Will Penn's words more at Large to satisfie the Importunate and Guilty Clamour of this his Appen to Amuse those who have not Lookt into the Books Will. Penn first supposes what All Agree to That ther is a Light in Man which as he words it yields him the Knowledge of God And likewise Reproves or Discovers that which offends Him But whether this can be done by the Natural Light or only by the Divine Light in Man is the Question Or whether ther be any such Natural Light in Man that can do Both or Either of these Now take Will. Penn's own words in Answer to this p. 29. It is Granted says he that what we call Divine and some Mistakenly call Natural Light can do Both. Secondly If this Light be Natural Notwithstanding it doth Manifest our Duty and Reprove our Disobedience to God they wou'd do well to Assigne Vs some Certain Medium or Way whereby we may truly Discern and Distinguish between the Manifestations and Reproofs of the Natural Light within from those of the Divine Light within since they Allow the Manifestation of God and Reproof of Evil as well to the one as the other Let them give us but one Scripture that Distinguishes between a Natural and a Spiritual Light within They may with as much Reason talk of a Natural and Spiritual Darkness within All this is in p. 29. and 30. and p. 31. he pursues the same Argument Neither is there says he so much as one Scripture that affords Vs a Distinction between Light within and Light within or that there are really Two Lights from God in Man that regard Religion And p. 32. Therefore there are not Two Distinct Lights within but one and the same Manifesting Reproving and Teaching Light within And that this One and but One Light within is not any Natural Light he Particularly Explains and Distinguishes with Exactness that none can unless wilfully mistake him
Angels differ in their Natures and Glory Distinct from their Creator in their Persons And the Answer of the Quakers is That the Nature and Glory of the Elect differs not from the Nature and Glory of the Creator For the Elect are one with the Creator And thy word Distinct Essence I Deny For the Elect is not Distinct from the Creator The First Quaere Asks How God is Distinct from all Living Creatures And the Answer is He is not Distinct from Living Creatures for in Him Living Creatures Lives Moves and hath their Beings This shews how the Quakers and Ranters their Predecessors understand that Text. Act. xvii 28. Not as there Explain'd and ver 25. That God gives us all these things But that these things are Part of God's Essence and not any Distinct Essence from Him That ther is but one Essence or Being which is God Of which All Creatures do Partake in their several Degrees By which Hypothesis as Sebastian Frank one of this Horrid Gang in Germany did Impiously Blaspheme In Trunco Dcum esse Truncum in Porco Porcum in Diabolo Diabolum O Astonishment to Repeat it That In a Block God is a Block in a Swine a Swine and in a Devil He is a Devil These last Quotations I take from Mr. Farmer not having seen that Answer of Burrough and Howgil to Reeve But G. Fox in his Answer to this Book of Mr. Farmer do's not Deny them which ther is no Doubt he wou'd have done had they been False Nay on the Contrary he do's Justify the Doctrin and stand by it He Quotes the very Place in Farmer where these Quotations are viz. p. 60 61 62. In p. 61. is that Dreadful Blasphemy above Quoted of Sebast Frank there call'd one of the same Gang with the Quakers and in the same page and beginning of p. 62. it is Compar'd with what I have above Quoted out of Christopher Atkinson's Sword of the Lord c. where he Denies God to be a Distinct Being from All Creatures And G. Fox in his Gr. Myst p. 174. Quotes this same Page of Farmer viz. p. 62. and sets down this as one of Farmer 's False Principles which he Opposes He saith says Fox That God is Distinct in His Being and Blessedness from All Creatures and that God who is the Creator is Eternally Distinct from All Creatures He Quotes the same again from p. 53. of Farmer thus He saith That this God who is the Creator is Eternally Distinct from All Creatures And from p. 55. That Christ being God only in one Man's Person remains a Distinct Person from All Creatures and Angels And G. Fox's Answer is This is Contrary to Scripture And he Quotes some of the Scriptures which they use to wrest to this Blasphemous Purpose as That God is All in All. In Him we Live and move c. And he Disowns not Sebast Frank or his Blasphemy Thus they hold That Christ is God not only in One Man's Person i. e. in the Person of our Lord Jesus of Nazareth but in Every one of their Persons and as much Incarnat in Them as in Jesus Nay as much in Every other Man ay and Beast too by this Principle which Degrades God into a Stock to a Swine to a Devil O Horror who by this Means wou'd Maintain His Equality with God And has Taught it to the Quakers Who from his Inspiration think Themselves to be Infinit and Eternal as God is Thus says G. Fox in the Introduction to his Battle-doore for Teachers and Professors c. All Languages are to me says he no More than Dust who was before Languages were And p. 214. Next follow a few words by George Fox Who is before Confusion or Many Languages were In the same Strain says James Parnell in his Book Intituled The Watchers c. p. 37. To the End of all Disputes and Arguments I am come for before they was I AM. And thus it must be if their Soul be not a Creature and have no Beginning as before has been Quoted out of their Books It will not now seem Strange That they Allow no Created that is no Human Soul to Christ Since they Deny it to themselves This you may see in George Whitehead his Answer to Thomas Danson his Synopsis of Quakerism Printed An. 1669. p. 18. There he says As to T. Dansons telling of the Son of God's Incarnation the Creation of his Body and Soul the Parts of that Nature he Subsisted in c. To this I say if the Body and Soul of the Son of God were both Created doth not this render him a Fourth Person for Creation was in Time Where doth the Scripture say That his Soul was Created The Consequences of this Horrid Opinion Engages the Quakers to believe That God may Grow and Encrease be Born and Suffer because they find it so with Themselves They Suppose that what they call the Seed in their Hearts do's Grow from a Seed to become a New-Born Child Thence to be a Son that is in the Perfection of a Man And thence by Degrees to Encrease till it be God! This is the Climax of the Quaker-Perfection for they Cannot say that they were Perfect at first Thus Will. Penn gives it Us in his Christian Quaker An. 1674. p. 98. When says he what was but in the Condition of a SEED or NEW-BORN CHILD shou'd become the ONLY SON the WONDERFVL COVNCELLOR the MIGHTY GOD the EVERLASTING FATHER This is the same Language with Will. Bayly in his Works p. 291. CHRIST is known says he to be first a Holy thing then a CHILD given and a SON Born Which is EMANVEL God with Vs a Saviour a Wonderful Councellor the MIGHTY GOD the PRINCE OF PEACE c. And this is not said of Our Blessed Lord Jesus of Nazareth his Conception in the Womb of the Virgin MARY and being Born of her Body But the Quakers Mean it as all fulfill'd Within Themselves viz. The SEED Sown or Conceiv'd in their VIRGIN Hearts which at the first in Embrio is only a Holy thing But Encreasing it becomes a Child in the Womb of the Heart thence Repening it has a Spiritual BIRTH and is a SON Born Which SON Grows up to be at last the MIGHTY GOD the EVERLASTING EATHER Nor do they Suppose that Christ was any otherwise Born of the Blessed Virgin than as He is thus Born in Themselves They Allegorize all the History of His Incarnation into this Spiritual Birth of the Light which they Call CHRIST in their Hearts The Virgin MOTHER of God is a Virgin HEART wherein God is Conceiv'd and Born They have Spiritual Shepherds too heeping their Flocks by Night A Spiritual STAR in the EAST Spiritual WISE MEN who follow'd it to a Spiritual BABE in a Spiritual INN MANGER c. And all this Perform'd Within them Now at this Day Awake therefore NOW says Will. Bayly p. 292. of his Works Ye Shepherds who have been keeping your Flocks by Night and Look
Meant than to Keep to his Light within Cou'd that have told him all that was Commanded in the Law of Moses How came all the Heathen then not to Know it for they had the Light within As little cou'd it of it Self without the Help of outward Revelation have Discover'd a Messiah the Son of God to be Incarnat and offer'd up a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World This Faith as the Apostle truly Says All men have not None Ever had it by Means only of their Light within But either by Express Revelation such as was Given of it to Adam to Abraham and the Prophets or by the outward Means of Hearing as the Apostle says in that same Chap. of the x. Rom. ver 17. Describing how that same Faith commeth of which he spoke ver 8. And he says That it cometh by Hearing viz. The outward Preaching of it For as he says ver 14. How shall they Believe in Him of whom they have not Heard And how shall they Hear without a Preacher So Mad and Void of all Common Sense as well as most Impious and Heretical Is that Quaker Exposition of Deut. xxx 14. And Rom. x. 8. Whereby they wou'd Exclude the outward Christ from being the Object of the Christian Faith And Blasphemously Translate it to Themselves that is to their own Light Within And by this make the Christian Faith Common to all Mankind even to those who never Heard of the outward Christ Which is To make Him His Blessed Death and Passion Vseless and Vn-necessary to the World Another Text they urge mightily for the Vniversality of their Light within is Joh. 1.9 That was the true Light which Lighteth Every man that cometh into the World This they Understand of Faith the True Saving Faith and so suppose that Every Man must have it But the Apostle from the beginning of this Chap. was speaking of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Divine Word by whom All things were Made And therefore not only what Light but what Life Every man or any Creature has is from Him Act xvii 25.28 Seeing He giveth to All Life and Breath and All things For in Him we Live and Move and have our Being Now that Light which He giveth to All Men is not the Light of Faith which All Men have not But the Natural Light of our Vnderstanding which is Common to All Men. And is a Ray Communicated from the Supreme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Reason The Quakers to Avoid this set about that Mad Task of Proving that All men have not Reason as before is shewn And yet wou'd give All men Faith of which no man is Capable without supposing him to have the use of his Reason Otherwise a Tree or a Stone might Believe as well as a Man I will Name but one Text more upon which they Chime Exceedingly that is 1 Joh. 2.20 27. But ye have an Vnction from the Holy one and ye know All things And ye need not that any man Teach you but as the Same Anointing Teacheth you of All things This they Interpret of the Light within which is Common to All Men. But then by this it wou'd follow That All Men do know All things Quite contrary to what the Apostle there Supposes who speaks of those who Knew not the Truth And Applys this of the Anointing only to those who Knew the Truth Ver. 21. I have not written unto you because ye know not the Truth but because ye Know it c. Therefore this of the Anointing was spoken only To and Of the True Believers and not of Infidels or Generally of All Men as is Plain to any who Read that Chapter These are the Chief Texts they Insist upon for the Vniversality of Faith which they call The Light within And they All prove Directly against them Ther are others so Forc'd and Strain'd as need not Confutation As 2 Pet. 1.19 We have also a more sure word of Prophesy c. which they apply to their Light within Whereas it was plainly spoken of the Holy Scriptures as the next Verse do's Expressly Determin it Knowing this first that no Prophesy of SCRIPTVRE is of any Private Interpretation I wish the Quakers wou'd Reflect Seriously upon this It wou'd correct the Exorbitancy of their Private Interpretations by what they call their Light within Different from the Sense of the whole Catholick Church in All Ages And let them see and Consider that ther was Great Reason for that Caution given in this same Epistle Ch. iii. 16. That the Vnlearned and Vnstable do wrest the Scriptures to their own Destruction The Quakers pretend sometimes to be Determin'd by Scripture and to admit of no Interpretation which is not in Express words of Scripture See a Book of theirs call'd The Divinity of Christ Wrote by G. Whitehead and G. Fox where in the Epistle they speak thus Where do the Scriptures speak of three Persons in the Godhead in these Express words Let us see where it is written Come do not shuffle for we are Resolv'd the Scriptures shall Buffet you about And where doth the Scripture speak of a Human Nature of Christ in Heaven And where doth the Scripture say the Soul is Part of Man's Nature Give us plain Scripture without Adding or Diminishing Come let us see Chapter and Verse c. Now the Quakers cannot Refuse the same Measure which they have Meated to others Therefore let us see Chapter and Verse where The Light within is spoke of In these Express words wher is ther any thing of Faith in the Light within of Believing In The Light within as this Appen do's often speak Where is it said that Christ was not the Lamb but that the Lamb was in Christ where is ther a word of the Manhood of God of Christ's Heavenly Flesh Blood and Bones of His Flesh that was Crucify'd when Adam Fell Where is His Body call'd a Garment or a Vessel where shall we find the Distinction of Christ Without and Within of an Outward and an Inward Christ of the Shedding of His Blood within Vs of the Blood and Bones of our Light within where is it said that the Person who Suffer'd upon the Cross was not Properly the Son of God He is oft call'd The Son of God what Text says that He was not Properly so In these Express words Come Produce Chapter and Verse Where are the Holy Scriptures call'd Beastly ware Serpents meat Death and Dust Where is the Text for Theeing and Thouing and for not taking off your Hats For your Silent-Meetings For the Ceasing of Baptism and The Lord's Supper For Womens Preaching and Womens Meetings which you call the Good Ordinance of Jesus Christ what Text do's Abolish Tythes in these Express words or Declare all going to War to be unlawful To keep Holy-Days or Marry by a Priest Where is it said that the Quakers are Infallible That their Preachings are of as Great Authority as the Scriptures and GREATER And
must Know what they speak that is they must have Experienc'd and Past through those States and Conditions they Preach of and Practically know those Truths they Declare of to the People or they come not in by the Door but over the Wall and are Thieves and Robbers Thus Will. Penn. And in the Contents of this Chapter p. 97. He Intitules this Fourth Sect. thus Christ's Ministers True Witnesses they speak what they Know not by Report So that by this the Quakers know nothing of the Resurrection of Christ by Report of the Apostles or others who saw it But only that sort of Resurrection which they say they have Experienc'd Pass through themselves and Practically Known of Christ in their Hearts And they Pronounce all those who Now Preach the Resurrection of Christ which they have not Seen or any other Christ but whom they have Seen with their Eyes whom they have Looked upon whom their Hands have Handled they Pronounce all such Preachers that is All the Christian Preachers that are Now or Ever were in the world since Christ Left it to be Thieves and Robbers In the same Manner do's G. Fox Conclude against them Who are not the Eye-Witnesses as the Apostles were Gr. Mystery p. 242. of whose Resurrection say the Quakers we are Eye-Witnesses Of whose Resurrection Will. Bayly's works Re-printed 1676. p. 173. Was it of the Person of Christ to the Resurrection of which the Apostles did Witness No. For they lay no stress upon that Resurrection neither do All of them Believe it I have heard some even of their Preachers Deny it But however they make it of no Consequence to us For says the same Quaker Quoted on the Margin ibid. p. 307. What was his Person being Mean and Contemptible to them his Disciples more than another Person I can hardly believe my Eyes tho' I take these words out of the Book now before me For who cou'd think that such vile Contempt of the Person of our Blessed Saviour cou'd have come out of the Mouths of any who call themselves Christians But they Deserve not that Name who turn the Faith in Christ to Faith in their Light within and thus overturn the whole Foundation of the Gospel Their Light is Darkness even that may be Felt Which has led them as thus to Allegorize the Resurrection of our Blessed Lord See Sn. Sect. xii p. 160. 161. into the Rising of their Light within so Downright to Deny the Resurrection of our Bodies Which Will. Penn do's utterly Deny to be Meant at all in the xv Chap. of the 1 Ep. to the Corinthians Which if it be true then by the Apostles Argument ver 16. the Quakers must likewise Deny the Resurrection of Christ as they Do but will not always Confess For if the Dead Rise not then is not Christ Raised And hence I Recommend to their Consideration the next verse And if Christ be not Raised your Faith is vain ye are yet in your Sins Are they not then in their Sins and is not their Faith vain who Preach That Christ was never seen with Carnal Eye nor His voice heard with any Carnal Ears These are the words of one Worlidge a Quaker in his Declaration to the Baptists p. 13. And Justify'd by G. Whitehead in his Light and Life p. 39. For if Christ was never seen with Carnal Eye how cou'd the Apostles be Witnesses of His outward Resurrection What do's the Apostle mean by saying That He was Seen of Cephas then of the Twelve c Did none See that is Fcel the Light within but these only Was it to keep the Light within from Kising that the High Priests Desired Guards to be set upon the Sepulcher of Jesus our Lord Did not Thomas see Christ when he thrust his Hand in his side And upon that Conviction said to Him My Lord and My God! What did Christ mean when He said to him Thomas because thou hast seen thou hast Believed Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have Believed Is not here a Plain Difference put betwixt Seeing and Believing Believing is the Inward Seeing Therefore the other must be meant of the outward Seeing with the Carnal Eye Christ said to His Disciples Many Prophets and Kings have Desir'd to see what you see and have not seen them Did not the Prophets see the Light within that is Inwardly in their Hearts Did not Christ say The Poor ye have always with you but Me ye have not Always Is not the Light within Always with Us Was not this then Spoke of His outward Person which was to be taken from Us Yet the Quakers will not Allow that He is Absent from Us even as to His Person or we from Him Tho' the Apostle says Whilest we are at home in the Body 2 Cor. 5.6 we are Absent from the Lord. Which G. Fox Opposes in his Gr. Myst p. 8.210.222.247 c. and many other Places where he Denies that Christ is Absent from Us As touching His Flesh and as to His Bodily Presence And do's not Answer but Confront the above Text with others as That Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates c. Now from the words of St. Paul above Quoted I leave it to the Consciences of the Sober among the Quakers whether it be True which Will. Bayly so Positively Averrs p. 600. of his Works That Paul did not Preach a visible Christ with Flesh and Bones But the word says he that is the Light within But Paul Preached That Same Jesus whom the Jews Took down from the Tree and laid him in a Sepulcher Act. xiii 29. Did they take the Light within down from the Tree I am Asham'd to offer Proofs for a Point so Obvious to Every Christian But it is Necessary for these Miserably Deluded Quakers who have thrown off the Lord Jesus and turn All that is said of Him to their Christ their own Light within Even his being the Seed of Abraham according to the Flesh as Will. Bayly says p. 210. This Seed of Abraham which is Christ In Vs which He hath Raised to offer up Living Sacrifices acceptable in His Sight So that by this the Living Sacrifice and only Acceptible Offering for Sin is Christ or the Light within Offer'd up IN Us But this has been Sufficiently Expos'd before And ten times more Authoritys than here Produc'd are Ready when ther shall be need To the Authority of the Holy Scriptures I will add the Experience and Confession of the Quakers themselves that their Faith in what they call their Light within is a Vain and Vncertain Faith That they can never be sure of it or know when they have it Right G. Whitehead in his Judgment fixed Printed 1682. Inserts with Approbation a Letter which he calls a Testimony of Benj. Furly's Retracting some things he had formerly wrote against Fox and Whitehead where he says thus p. 268. As for those Papers so long since given forth by me not Discerning
by their subtilty to ensnare them yet now George Keith has given a plain answer to their Question he tells them Christ's Body is Ascended into Heaven and is in Heaven Note this fallacy G. W. knew well enough that what I had asserted about Christ's Body his Ascension into Heaven did contradict both his and his Brethren's Doctrine He doth Contradict what Friends had formerly said but is possitive and plain in his answer to the Professors question So my opposers ceased any more to object against me upon that Head The Second Particular they charged against me was that in my Book I had said the Friends did pray to Christ Jesus and did Worship and Pray unto the Mediator betwixt God and Man the Man Christ Jesus the Anointed King Priest and Prophet of his People who also is God over all blessed for ever pag. 123. of The way cast up And whereas I had set down some words of prayers that I had said I had heard some use in our own Meetings and I had used as Jesus son of David had mercy on us pag. 121. O thou blessed Lord Jesus that wert Crucified and Dyed for our sins and shed thy Precious Blood for us be gracious unto us c. the which prayer containeth a whole page in Print wherein also the forgiveness of our sins is prayed for a thing many say they never heard in a Quaker's Meeting to this these two men observed that it was a sort of Popery but with this difference that the Papists prayed both to the Mother and the Son George Keith though he prayed not to the Mother yet he prayed to the Son Some present said it was a part of Common Prayer to say Son of David have mercy on us but these two before mention'd Persons my chief opposers put me hard to it to give some Instance where ever I heard any ancient Friend of the Ministry that was an English man pray to Christ Jesus It is possible said they thou hast heard some Scotch Friends pray so whom thou hast taught so and were thy Proselites I confess I was at a stand to name any one English man that ever I heard so pray though in Scotland I would have named one But William Penn prevented me and said Friends I am an English man and a Freind of the Ministry I have oft prayed to Christ Jesus to my great comfort and have been answered And not long ago being under some great weight upon my Spirit and like to have been swallowed up by a power of Darkness I uttered these words its true I was in private Lord Jesus who was Crucified for me have mercy on me and immediately I was eased and comforted They objected that William Penn was but a young Minister Let George Keith give an instance what ancient English Friend of the Ministry he ever heard pray to Christ Jesus As I could remember none so nor did any in all the Meeting give an Instance But said George Whitehead it is not what William Penn or George Keith saith let the Scripture decide it whereupon he call'd for the Bible and reads in 1 Cor. 1.2 Vnto the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus call'd to be Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ both theirs and ours What say ye to this Friends ye see that Paul did-approve the Corinthians that called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Note Reader one would think that if G. Whitehead had made it his practise to pray to Christ Jesus being an ancient Minister and using to pray frequently in the publick Meetings of the people call'd Quakers he would have named himself to have been one who had prayed to Christ Jesus or some that had oft heard him ther present might have given him for an instance but no instance was brought of any English ancient Friend of the Ministry who had ever been heard so to pray and had it been a frequent practise among them to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ it could not be supposed to be possible that these two men my opposers could have objected it against me as a novelty or such a singular practise as that no English ancient Friend could be produced as a witness for that practise their answe to George Whitehead's Question was Paul was dark and ignorant in that thing as George Keith is for our parts we know better George Whitehead reply'd hold Friends say not so Ye know we have been accused by divers that we esteem our selves equal to the Apostles which for my part I never did how will this be received by Professors if they shou'd hear that we did set up our selves above them and above Paul one of the chiefest of them after he had so plentifully received the Holy Ghost and had planted so many Churches Pray let us not exalt our selves above Paul it is very well if we be where he was But they still continued blaming my assertion in my Book for saying that Christ was to be prayed unto and especially they blam'd the manner of praying to him by the name Son of David objecting against one of the prooffs in my Book how Bartimeus pray'd to Christ in these words Son of David have mercy on me Poor blind Bartimeus said they had George Keith no better Arguments for him than blind Bartimeus he was as blind in his Soul as he was in his Body Thomas Hart replyed to them Friends say not so ye are under a great mistake to think he was blind in his Soul he was greatly enlightned in his Soul and had a great Faith and Christ answered him and said thy Faith hath saved thee which proveth he was not blind in his Soul when he so prayed They still remaining dissatisfied and greatly blaming that manner of expression Son of David as improper William Penn said Friends we know that Christ after his Ascension call'd himself the root and off-spring of David Now why may it not be supposed that a Friend may be moved in prayer to say O thou root and off-spring of David have mercy on us Some also brought that place in Acts. 7.59 how Stephen being fill'd with the Holy Ghost at his death call'd saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit so after several words of discourse made by other Friends present mostly approving my assertion they passed to their Third particular charg'd against in my Book the passage in my Book that they blam'd is in pag. 123. Compared with pag. 136. where I had said pag. 123. He is that mighty one upon whom the Father hath laid help for that although the Father himself loveth us and is most willing and ready to help us in all our Necessities yet we can no otherwise receive his help but as it comes to us by the Conveyance of the Man Christ Jesus our alone Mediator And pag. 136. I had said But still as in respect of Union Manifestation
desir'd them to begin with the Scriptures and prove the Contradiction of my Doctrine first to the holy Scriptures and then it was time to Consider these men's Books Samuel Jennings in a publick Meeting at Philadelphia on a first day said it was not necessary to prove me guilty of Heresie whereof they had accus'd me from the Scriptures but from Friends Books for said he the Question betwixt G. K. and them is not who is the best Christian but who is the best Quaker And though I still desir'd them to bring their Scripture proofs yet they for most part waved that and continued clamouring that my Doctrine contradicted Will. Pen. Geo. Whitehead and other Friends which I did not know all that time that it did for though the places they quoted out of their Books seemed much to favour my Adversaries yet I was not willing to think so but labour'd to retain my Charitable perswasion of them putting the most Charitable Constructions upon their Words as was possible so farr as I had read the passages in their Books that seemed to interfere with me At last I came to a firm Resolution in my mind to Come for England having first writ to George Whitehead and other Friends of the Ministry about our differences desiring to know their sense they seemed to blame me for the separation but in great part to approve of my Principles but the words in their Epistles were so dubious like the Heathen Oracles that as to the main difference of Principles betwixt my Adversaries and me in Pensilvania it was rather increas'd by their Epistles then allayd my Adversaries Construing them one way and I and my Friends another way After I arrived in England and came to London And had some private Conferrences with George Whitehead and William Penn about these very Principles of the sufficiency of the Light within to Salvation without any thing else by the something else that I did plead for declaring that I meant the man Christ Jesus and his most holy and perfect Obedience unto death for our Sins and his Intercession for us in Heaven I began easily to perceive that they greatly differed from me in those great things yet they did seek to hide themselves as much as they well could mainly and almost only blaming me for the Separation and making a breach in Pensilvania and the neighbouring Provinces among Friends But by degrees the difference in Principles betwixt them and me began plainly to appear before they Excommunicated me at their yearly Meeting in the Year 1695. For at a large Meeting of Friends of the Ministry where were many Country Friends about two days before the yearly meeting in 1694. William Penn accused me for seeking to bring in a new method of Preaching Christ and Faith in him differing from that of Friends and that new method was to preach the Man Christ without us and his Death and Sufferings in order to bring people to know the Divine Principle within them and the work of Regeneration And at the said Meeting G. W. blamed me for affirming that all the Light and Grace that any men had in any age of the World was the effect of Christ's Obedience unto death for us and argued against it thus Men had Light and Grace before Christ came in the Flesh to perform that obedience can the Effect be before the Cause this plainly enough let me see into G. Whitehead's Principles he had the same strength of Argument but that 's none at all against any mens having Remission of Sin by Christ's death before he came in the Flesh why can the effect be before the Cause I told him a Moral effect can be before its cause and oft times is and gave an Example how a man by a Contract or Covenant buyeth a House or Field and posesseth it before the Money is paid the Condition of the Covenant being that the Money is not to be paid until such a time so by Virtue of the Covenant of Grace which respected Christ to Come and the satisfaction he was to make to divine justice by his Death and Sufferings for mens sins past as well as to come all the faithful had remission of sin and inward Light and Grace as well before he came as since And some Months after this at a publick Meeting of the Quakers at Ratcliff by London William Penn did publickly oppose my testimony and charged me to be an Apostate and that I endevoured to pluck up the testimony of truth by the roots And at the same time He told the Auditory that Friends saw no great need to preach the Faith of Christ's Death and Sufferings for all England had that Faith and all Christendom had it but it did not profit them * Reader by this Argument it should not be Preached at all With many Abusive words all which he father'd upon a transport of the glorious power of God at the next yearly Meeting when I Complain'd upon his so abusing me Yet they have after all this sought to hide the differences in Doctrine betwixt them and me from publick notice so that in their sentence of Excommunication they blame not my Doctrine nor Morals in any particular thing but cast out some general charges against me for being turbulent c. and seperating my self from the Church of Christ But their unchristian dealings with me as well as Antichristian Principles have sufficiently proved them not to be a Church of Christ though still I have that charity to diverse among them that they belong to Christ and his Church but not as respecting that visible Society that has less the face of a Church than any Society of Protestants any where in the world A third Reason is that this publication of the foregoing Relation will be a true Evidence and Witness for me that as to the great fundamentals of the Christian Faith I am not changed from what I was Twenty years ago when own'd among them and for many years after acknowledg'd by them that I was in the Unity And that therefore it is manifest to be a Calumny and false Accusation rais'd by some Malicious Persons among the Quakers against me that I am Apostatised from my former Principles of Christianity and have embraced new notions or Priests and Professors Principles as they are pleased 〈…〉 that formerly I had relinquished and from a tentation that I had let prevail over me to seek and affect preheminence over my Brethren and not finding my desire and end answered in that I sought occasion to differ from them and purposely chang'd my Principles that I might have a ground of Strife and Contention with them all which the Righteous Judge of the whole Earth and the searcher of hearts knoweth to be false and injurious charges I have sufficiently in my late Printed Books proved that I am the same in all Principles of Truth that I was formerly and wherein I am changed in some lesser matters of Perswasion it is to
had made them Conceive of his very silly Reign Especially considering that according to their wont they gave forth the above Quoted words to Richard P. in the Name of The Lord for Immediately after those these words follow And thus Friend according as it lay upon me from the Lord I have Written this unto thee in Dear and Pure Love God is Witness And yet they have Hypocritically Nibb'd This out of the aforesaid Letter to Hide their Shame And God is Witness of that too 9. Ther are several other Instances of the like Practise in other Parts of this same Book as in p. 23. where the Quakers Boast to the Protector and his Council of their own Merits thus Who have in times past as faithfully as your selves serv'd their Nation with their Lives and Estates to the Purchasing of this Peace and Freedom out of the Hands of TYRANTS But in the Re-print p. 563. of E. B's Works instead of the word Tyrants they put the word Oppressors that it might not look so Directly upon the Kings Cha. I. and II. but be Turn'd to any other as they saw Cause Tho' it cou'd not properly be Apply'd to any other For the Government was in Their Hands and therefore cou'd not be Purchas'd out of Other Hands And therefore They the Kings were the Tyrants here meant at least Principally and Chiefly They having the Chief Part in the Government and it was against them that Oliver and the Quakers took Arms. 10. Again p. 35. they say to Oliver in the like strain as that before Quoted to his Son Richard And as concerning thy War and Armies abroad in Spain something ther is in it known to the Lord seek not thine own Honour in it but be faithful and leave the Issue of all things to the Lord Make no Covenant with Idolators but Tread down their Idol Gods that they have set up and Hew down their Mountains in which their Confidence stands and Plow up their Ground that the seed may be sowen after thee it 's Honour enough to be the Lord's Plow-Man All this is left out in the Re-print p. 568. of E. B's Works They had conceiv'd mighty Hopes of that Army in Spain Which they Hollood thus to Shed Blood without Mercy see Sn. p. 239. what is there Quoted out of this same Book Councel and Advice That they might Sow their Seed in the Ruin and Destruction of whole Nations This they then Greedily Gaped for and Expected They were sure Something ther was in it known to the Lord. But the Lord knew that ther was Nothing in it For Oliver Dy'd about a Month after they had Wrote this Letter to him which bears Date in the 6. Month. 1658. And was then Deliver'd to him at Hampton Court as is told at the end of this Letter p. 36. But their Confidence did not Dye with him One Disappointment is a small matter with a Quaker Prophet Two Months after they renew'd the same to his Hero Son Richard as before Quoted And then they were as sure To say no more about it That ther was something in it But he fail'd them too And now they have Dasht out Both these Prophesies for Spite or Shame Yet they are not Asham'd However will say no more about it 11. In this same Edw. Burrough his Message to the present Rulers of England An. 1659. p. 6. these words viz. He God overthrow the oppressing Power of Kings Lords and Bishops both in Church and Civil State And brought some Tyrants and Oppressors to Just Execution for their Wickedness are left out in the Re-print of E. B's Works p. 591. Yet this Message E. B. said he had from the Lord God whose Ambassador he stiles himself and says p. 1. In his Name and Authority I am come unto you And as such Affixes an Imprimatur to his Book in these words I order this to be Printed and given to their Particular Hands with Speed E. B. 12. In what he calls A Just and Lawful Tryal of the Teachers and Professed Ministers of England The Re-print instead of England put of this Age and so in several other places in this Book And p. 8. where they Reproach other Mens Preaching to be At the best but what the Saints of the Lord said before them And this is no more then stealing of the Prophets words They seeing how this must Expose them and make them Stealers too if they said any thing of what the Saints said before them in the Re-print they Add to these words thus And this is no more AS DONE BY THEM then Stealing c. i. e. It is Stealing in Others but not in the Quakers 13. Ibid. p. 9. E. B. says of the Ministers of England or of this Age as they now turn it Most of them are Lovers of Wine c. But his new Editors knowing the Wicked Falshood of this Charge and how it must Expose their Boundless Malice have taken away the word Most and put in the Re-print only SOME of them are Lovers of Wine c. So that if they can fix this but upon One or Two they may come off with the word SOME The like Trick is us'd in several other Places of this Book And thus they take upon them to Alter and Mend E. B's Message which he said he had from The Lord God! It is not worth while to make Reprisals upon the numerous Train of Wet-Quakers That is not the business now 14. But if they take from the full Extent of his Message in one Place they Add to it in another Speaking of those who Profess themselves to be Orthodox Divines he says p. 16. They seek to Allure all People to follow them in their way of Wickedness But the new Editors of his Works thinking this not to be Angry enough instead of their way of Wickedness put it their Idol Worship 15. Ibid. p. 22. Says E. B. I have accounted and I find the Sum of their the Ministers Maintenance yearly in this Nation being Reckoned in a whole Sum is about or above Fifteen hundred Thousand pounds a Year This was wrote in the year 1657. And the Quakers being sensible how Grossly their Prophet had over-shot himself to make the Mistake more Easie in the Re-print they leave out the words I have Accounted and I find which being so Possitive an Assertion wou'd Render this Horrible Prophet a most Impudent Blasphemer to Father what he knew to be a Lye upon the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost And to Deliver it as a Message from the Lord God! But E. B. goes on to Prove it ibid. If any doubt of this Account says he and shall think this not to be like to be true upon an even Reckoning it may be Proved and made Appear considering how many Parishes ther is in England and Reckon what belongs to every Priest's Parish But this very Reckoning will Prove him to be a Blasphemous Lyar for what was Allotted to every Parish Priest as he calls