The Seed of the Woman is but one in all generations and the Seed of the Serpent is but one which ever was is ruling and reigning in the Children of Disobedience who are disobedient to the Light of God within them and betwixt these two Seeds is Enmity the one against the other each Seed is known by its fruit the old bottle pours out old Wine the new bottle new Wine therefore all people sink down to within and call in all your wandring thoughts imaginations and affections and desires and see which seed is head in you and see what your desires and affections goes out after for where your hearts are there is your treasure see what you do possess of God in your Souls and what you are made witnesses of for he that believeth hath the witness in himself and Faith is the Victory over the world he that can receive it let him Dear people I have freely Declared to you the Truth and from the love of God shed abroad in my heart to your Souls and for the Seed sake in you which lieth in death captivated under your Wisdom and Reason have I spoken the Word of the Lord which if you own it and abide in it shall be the savor of Life and in eternal joy shall you witness me to be true in what I have Declared but if you harden your hearts and kick against the Truth and against what I have Declared shall be the savor of death unto Death and in eternal torment and misery shall ye witness me in what I say for to that which should exercise the Conscience do I speak in every one of you and to that in you have I cleared my Conscience and have freed my Spirit this is the day of your Visitation the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Remember that you have been shewed the Deceits which you live in and have been warned of the misery and desolation that shall come upon you except you lay these things to heart and turn to the Lord. Farewel By him who is dispised and had in derision among you who is not greater then his Lord and therefore is contented to be called a Blasphemer and a Seducer as he whom I serve was by them of your Generation E. B. TO all you my Country people of every degree who are Inhabitants in Underbarrow have I cleared my Conscience and have freely Declared to you the Word of the Lord and have laid open the Deceits of your Deceitful Ministry and Ministry and have directed you to that in every one of you which leads unto God and which is the way to the Father which is the true Light which hath enlightned every one that comes into the World which light all who loves and follows walk not in darkness but walks up to God out of the Fall from under the Curse into the Being but all who hates this Light and follows the imagination of their own brains and of the divination of their Hirelings and Pharisees this Light shall be their condemnation because they walk not in it even this Light which is come into the World in every man even the witness in the Conscience which is placed by God shall for ever witness against you and against all your false worships and Hirelings and shall bear testimony to what I have in this little Volume declared to be true when the Book of Conscience shall be laid open for to every mans Conscience am I made manifest in what I have to you declared as concerning your Hireling whom God hath never sent but is in the way of the false Prophets and Pharisees for he that abides not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God 2 Iohn 1. 9. but is an Antichrist and of the Devil And as concerning the Light within you that Light will bear witness to it self that every one of you to whom I speak hath this Light which shews you sin your lying swearing pride and wicked wayes covetousness and wantonness to be sin this is the true Light which is as ever was foolishness and a stumbling block to the wise ones This is the Light which your Pharisee denies to have lightned every one and this Light shall for ever witness me to be true and shall witness this poor people among you who are despised and contemned by you and scornfully called Quakers to be the servants of God whom I do own as my Brethren in the sufferings of Jesus who are my joy in the Lord. Now all people every where to you all a word from the Lord though I have spoken in this small Volume as moved by the Lord of Heaven and Earth to the Inhabitants of Underbarrow as declaring against their false Teacher and false Worships which they uphold now freely and plainly do I declare against all thy Teachers O England who are one in the same generation with him in the Seat of Christ and of his Apostles professing themselves to be sent of God but walking contrary to his commands in the same footsteps which the Scribes and Pharisees walked in which were persecutors of the Son of God and which he cried wo against they who said and did not as all these thy Teachers do who are called of men Masters as they were and have the chiefest places in the Assemblies as they had and prayed standing as these thy professed Ministers do Now the same Light which ever was which is Jesus Christ is now born and made manifest which is witnessed among the Saints in which Light I see all thy Teachers O England to be drunk with the Wine of her that hath deceived the Nations who sits upon a scarlet coloured Beast and is arrayed in purple and scarlet colour and decked with gold and precious stones and hath the golden cup in her hand full of abominations whose name is written in her forehead Mystery Babylon the great the Mother of Harlots and abomination of the Earth And in this Light to I declare against them all which are in the generation of the false Prophets of Israel which seeks for their gain from their Quarter and which steals the word from their neighbor and have taken the words of the Prophets of Christ and of his Apostles and selleth the divination of their own brain upon the Scriptures which the holy men speak forth freely to the poor blind people and teacheth for the Fleece and if ye stop not into their mouths they prepare War against you and which are called of men Master which Christ forbids Against all these freely as from the Lord I do Declare to be no Ministers of Jesus Christ but are Seducers and blind Guides and are Antichrists and leads the poor blind people in the wayes of death and destruction for they are no Ministers of Christ that abides not in the Doctrine of Christ these have run but have not been sent by God and therefore is not your Souls profited by them but are in the dark heathenish nature as by
and divers practises thereunto pertaining it is not the true Worship of the True and Living God though never so zealously practised because it cannot be believed that the Authors and Composers of it were moved led and guided by the Holy Spirit of God in their very Institution and forming of it and whatsoever is brought forth whether in Faith or any practise in any kind of Profession and practises in any way of Religion and not onely by the Spirit of God is not the true Worship of God which is only in Spirit and Truth and consists onely of such practises moved unto and guided in by the Spirit and the true Worship of God is not otherwise neither for matter nor manner but in what things and after what manner as the Spirit of God leadeth unto and guideth in for the Father seeketh such to Worship him as Worship in Spirit and Truth 4. As for the Method and Form of the matter it is not according to the example of the Holy Scriptures nor agreeing to the practise of Worship held forth by the Apostles but different from and partly contrary to the Spirit that was in the Saints and their example of Worship as in many circumstances pertaining to the orders of Common-Prayer-Book might be instanced but even some of the Practises themselves and the manner of performing them are for the most part Invention and Tradition traduced into the World long since the Apostles days and they are not according to the Scriptures nor example of the Saints Worship in the Church of Christ in their days and therefore the Matter in it self partly and the Method of it are not the true Worship of the Living God which is not after the traditions of men as the manner of performance of Common prayer-Prayer-Book is when as the Worship of God is in and by the Spirit of God as before witnessed 5. And as for the Practice of it in this Nation as by Imposition and force upon pains penalties as it was practised for many years together as so held forth it was not the Worship of God but Abomination to him as I have shewed and that Worship which is practised by any people being forced upon them is but Hypocrisie and deceit and outward conformity in such Worshippers and God requires it not of them and such was the Worship in the Common-Prayer so called for there were many who did bow and conform thereunto even because of the terror of men even many in the Ignorance of their Consciences and some against their Consciences and contrary to the Light thereof and some were persecuted because they could not conform all which was Abomination in the sight of the Lord even the consequence of the thing was as evil as any part of either matter or manner also even while many conceited themselves in their Ignorance that they had Worshipped God and done well while they had onely performed such Worship forced upon them and which the Lord never required at their hands and that cannot be the true Worship of the true and Living God which can be performed by a People without the Spirit of God by which alone and without it God cannot be Worshipped and the practise of Worship after the order of Common-Prayer did many thousands if not most perform without the Spirit of God whereby it fully appears that in the practise of the Book of Common-Prayer the Worshippers did not Worship the true and Living God but walked only in a part of the Form of Godliness but had not the Power 6. But as for the Practise of it as now in England without Imposition upon all by force and penalty but by some out of supposition that it is the best way of worship and that willingly and neither forced upon them nor they forcing it upon others as thus practis'd is not so great Idolatry nor of so bad effects as if it were violently forced upon all but if any suppose it to be the best way of worship and be so perswaded such may more equally have their Liberty in the exercise thereof while they allow Liberty to others to follow what worship as they are preswaded and as it is unjust to impose by violence that or any other Form of worship upon people so it is unjust to impose penalty or punishments on the Bodies or Estates of any for their conformity to the Book of Common-Prayer or any other kind of Worship for as it is contrary to God to compel by force to that Practise of Worship so it is unjust to stop by force from that Way of Worship or to inflict Penalties upon the Persons or Estates of any because thereof for though many exceptions may be justly made by sound Arguments against that way of Worship in matter manner and effects as I have said yet none ought to be afflicted in Person or Estate for the error of their minds while their error extends not to destroy the Person and Estate of another for all force by violence that hath been put on the Bodies and Estates of men about Church-Worship Ministry and Religion of any kind hath been Antichristian and not of God even for many Generations 7. And therefore them that read the Book of Common-Prayer and all other sort of Worshippers that are either perswaded by the Spirit of God or suppose in their hearts of the Verity and Truth of their Way let them all have their Liberty in their way of Worship without force or restraint by outward Laws while they impose not one upon another violently for the true Worshippers ought not to be persecuted for their Worship but if they are it will confirm them in the truth of their Way the false Worshippers ought not to suffer affliction of Persecution nor loss of Estate though they do err in their Minds and Judgments about Worship in spiritual things but if they are afflicted because thereof it will harden them in their evil wayes and not convert them nor turn them from the evil of their wayes for men are converted to the right way and out of that which is evil by the Spirit of God and through perswading of the Conscience inwardly and not by force or violence put upon their Bodies or estates outwardly never any were converted to God by such means And this is my Answer to the Objection and my judgment of the case inquired into The Book of Common Prayer so called partly the Matter it self and the Method of it and the Manner of its performance is not the true Worship of the True and Living God no not the free Practise there of without Imposition much less the Practise of it by Imposition and force for that is altogether Abomination and hath with it woful effects upon whatsoever People it hath been or shall hereafter be forced and violently Imposed This is given forth for the Satisfaction of all that desires in this Matter The 5th Moneth 1660. E. B. A Postscript AND some set up the Institution
Iacob is coming out of Egypt that will replenish the whole Earth and the seed of Esau shall become bondmen and wherefore are you gathered together and to what purpose have the wicked spent their strength to oppose what the Lord is bringing to pass shall not all our Enemies be broken to pieces and will not the Lord grind them to Powder will he not marr their Beauty and stain their pride will he not bring down their crowns and corrupt their glory and stain it with his Fire of Wrath and make them ashamed of their Wayes and Doctrines Hear this ye Priests and howl and lament for the misery that is coming upon you the Lord hath laid you naked and made you bare and you are seen as you are and the Elect is risen amongst us which ye cannot deceive but alas wo is me how have you caused the people to err and how have you led the blind out or the way and how is truth fallen in your Streets and you have daubed falsly with untempered Morter and have cried peace to the wicked and condemned the righteous and all this hath vexed the righteous soul and the Lord will now arise and is risen and you shall not resist and escape the stroak of his hand which will come upon you and bruise you as a Milstone for you have caused the wicked to rejoyce and the righteous to mourn and you have made sad his heart whom God hath not made sad have not you fed your selves with the fat and clothed with the Wooll and have not the peoples souls been starved and leanness been upon them all your plants are dry and barren trees that bring forth no good fruit and your people are like a Wilderness that is untilled and unploughed and undressed and your flocks are like wild Asses upon the Mountains that are untamed as rude as the Horse Mule that know no Bridle and now it is seen what the end of your Ministry is and what fruit it hath brought forth the Lord hath taken notice and he hath beheld how you have loytered and lain idle and the Nations lie yet like fallow ground that bears no fruit and mens hearts are untouched with absence of Gods Word and there is no sound true and perfect sence amongst your people of the dealings of the Lord nor of the operation of his Spirit but they remain in great Blindness and Ignorance void of the Knowledge of God for ye have not caused them to hear his Word but you have told your Dreams and your false Visions and you have spoken Imaginations of your hearts and not from the Mouth of the Lord neither have you stood in his Counsel nor hearkened to his Voyce and therefore people remain unprofited but what they and you know it s naturally and not by the Spirit of the Father but as dry Trees you are not taught of the Father and as rough Goats in the nature of Swine that is polluted in the silth of the World and in the nature of Dogs and Lyons devouring one another and biting one another and killing one another which things were not in the Churches of Christ and we have a great controversie with you and that from the Lord we have tried you searched you and discovered your Foundation and it s not sound nor will not stand in the trial we have fetcht your Line from the first original and we have found out your beginning and we find yours of that Race which Christ prophesied of that should come which should deceive many having the sheeps cloathing but inwardly revening and which Iohn saw was come and went out from the Apostles and true Churches which went from the truth and went into the World and had the Form of Godliness without the Power here began the Race in the Apostacy of the Churches and when they Apostatized from the true Faith then came your original up and the World went after them and all that dwelt upon the Earth worshipped the Beast that hath reigned through all this time of Apostacy which hath been since the dayes of the Apostles and we find your original goes no further then to the false Brethren and false Apostles which went out from the true Apostles and run for Gifts and Rewards and preached for filthy Lucre and through covetousness made merchandize of souls seeking mony and gain to themselves I say we find your original begins there and your Line goes no further and never came your first rise so far as the true Apostles you were not in your beginning of their life nor birth nor cannot be reckoned from their original for you succeed not them but you truely succeed the false Apostles and false brethren which Christ prophesied should come after his days and Iohn saw was come and coming in his days and we find you of this stock and Generation and now you are discovered to be contrary to the true Apostles and agreeing with the false Apostles in Call in Practice in Maintenance and in all things and the Line of true judgement is laid upon you all and you are measured and found too short and weighed and sound too light and we will deal truely with you in judgement first we do hold controversie with you as concerning your Call your Ministry it agreeth not with but is contrary to what the Apostles Call was they were called by power from on high and were made Ministers by the Gift of the holy Spirit received from God and their Ministry was an absolute Gift from God and not to be bought and sold for mony and they were anointed of the Father by his Spirit of promise and to Preach the Gospel but your Call is at Schools and Colledges in such and such Orders which are attained through natural industry such and such Arts and Sciences and Degrees having been so many years brought up in studying natural Arts natural Languages this is your Ordination and your Call having no respect to receive or to wait for the Gift of the holy Spirit to be made Ministers thereby and this is different from the Apostles and true Ministers and equal and according to the false Prophets and Deceivers Secondly Again you are not according but contrary to the true Ministry and Ministers of Christ in Practise for they were led by the Spirit of the Father which dwelt in them and they preached the Gospel by the Spirit and spake as the Spirit gave them utterance and went up and down the World through Nations converting People to the Knowledge of the Truth and what they had handled tasted seen and felt of the Word of Life in them that they declared to others and preached the Gospel which they had not received from man nor by man but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ in them but your Practices are not such but contrary for the spirit of this World leads you and it you follow in all your Works in your Preaching Praying and in your whole Worship in Form
or in the day of Judgment when we and all Man-kind shall appear and come sorth to tryal and every mans work shall be tryed and all shall receive according to their deeds And so gladly would we be made manifest to all the World if that after the reading of this Book any be unsatisfied still in this matter And if any especially of the Heads and Rulers have doubts or Jealousies raised in them concerning us and the Priests and that they further would be satisfied and resolved for that end let any Wise-men propound for full satisfaction of all sorts of People that we with the consent of the chief in Authority that have power in this Nation who may preserve peace and safety among people and thereby to stop all Jealousies may freely and chearfully Four Ten Twenty Thirty more or fewer of us give as many of the wisest and ablest of the Priests and Professors a meeting for dispute at any place in England at what place time and for what continuance as they shall ascribe and consent unto and to dispute and controvert betwixt us and them any such thing and every such particular as shall or may be objected by any of the Heads and Rulers or other Grave Understanding Men wherein they are doubtful betwixt us and would thereof be satisfied that by such Dispute and opening of such causes objected full and real and toal satisfaction may be given to the whole Nation and every particular man and member therein Otherwise Let the Priests or Professors or any of them object what they can against us in our Principles Profession Faith and Practice and our whole Religion And if they shall affirm and alledge any one or more things against us that any Principle we hold or Practice we profess in any part throughout all our Religion are false Principles and false Practices and not according to Truth nor the Scriptures but shall affirm that our Religion is not the true Religion nor we of the true Church of Christ and they shall have free liberty to give their best proof and reason for what they affirm and alledge yet by the Strength of Christ and in the power and authority of God and according to the Scriptures we shall confute all their Proofs and strongest Reasons and on the contrary we shall joyn our Principles Doctrines and Practices and all our Religion and every part and particular thereof to be the very truth and agreeing with the Scriptures according to that shall maintain by lawful Arguments and plea that our Religion and Worship and all that we profess and Practice is according to the mind of the Lord and justified of him and that whatsoever is and may be spoken against us upon that account is utterly false and to be condemned and upon this we will ingage with them and with any of our Enemes of what Sect and Profession soever to the intent onely that Truth may be manifest and embraced and Deceit and Error discovered and denied And also upon such an Engagement we should agree to have the liberty freely and soberly to object against the Priests concerning their Ministry their Call their Practice their Maintenance and their Fruits and Effects and concerning their Church and Principles and Worship and whole Religion and shall hear patiently all that can be said in defence thereof by any or all of them and shall prove by the Spirit of the Lord and according to the Scriptures that their ministry is not the true Ministry of Christ nor they true and lawfull Ministers of the Gospel but shall manifest by evident Arguments that their Call Practice Maintenance Fruits and Effects are not according nor agreeing but contrary and differing to what the true Ministry was and its Call Practice Maintenance Fruits and Effects were in the true Apostles and among the true Churches and furthermore by the Grace of God we shall prove their Church their Worship and their whole Religion in all parts thereof to be degenerated from what the true Church was the true Worship and true Religion in the days of the Apostles and true Churches of old and these things shall we make manifest by faithful and sound Arguments according to the Scriptures that all the Earth may know and all people perceive who is in the Truth and of the true Worship and Religion and who are in the contrary and whether the Priests and that which they profess and practice for Religion or the Quakers and that which they profess and practice for Religion be of God and according to him and whether are contrary that the end of this long Travel and War and controversie may be desided and justly ended between us and all people may be resolved and satisfied concerning us and them that do oppose us And let all the Priests and Professors lay aside and give over their Houses of Correction and imprisoning people and whipping of them and stocking of us and dealing in this manner of violence and cruelty as for years by-past they have done in defence of their Religion and resisting of ours and let them lay aside their carnal Weapons and fighting against our persons and imprisoning of us about our Religion and let them come forth in sound Arguments the best they have and let us see what spiritual Weapons they have to resist us and defend themselves and let us try whether their spiritual Weapons or ours be the strongest and the most powerful and mighty and let theirs that are so prevail against the other be it ours or theirs and this is the way to try the truth and to make all things manifest and to deside and end all the whole controversies between us and them which hath been great this many years and let the Truth be set up and exalted where ever it is and all Deceit thrown down to the Ground and let us war with the Weapons of the Spirit against Errour and false Religion one in the other but le ts not hurt Creatures nor imprison Persons nor stock and whip Creatures and make them to suffer but let us thresh Deceit and whip and beat that and all false Opinions let us throw them down where they are found whether in them or in us and let us fight with the Weapons of the Spirit that are spiritual let them fight no longer with such cruel carnal Weapons and then let such as get the victory and overcome appear to be in the truth of the Church and such as falls and is overcome be manifest to be in the Error and of the false Church and Religion and let us love one anothers persons and let them act no otherwise towards our persons then we do upon theirs and towards them and let them take the liberty to deal with us and our persons as we deal with them and their persons and no otherwise And let such whether them or us that cannot prove our selves to be the true Church of Christ nor of the true Worship and true
shall conquer by the sword of the Lord which the Lord hath put into their hands over Countries and Dominions For O Nation the Lord is with them and thy unjust Rulers and Officers cannot hurt them not a hair of their heads shall perish without my heavenly Father It is for a testimony of their Fathers love to them that they suffer shame and reproach and some of them imprisonment by the unjust Rulers and for a witness against them that some of them are brought before them the Lord is chusing the weak things of this World and he is making manifest his Counsels to Babes and revealing his Counsel and eternal Truth to Children and keeps his hidden Treasures from the eyes of the Wise and vulturous ones Praises praises be to him for evermore For the Lion of Judah is opening and hath opened the Sealed Book let all his Saints rejoyce for evermore This is the day of thy Visitation O Nation wherein the Lord speaks to thee by the mouth of his Servants in word and writing therefore return to the Lord thy God from whence thou art fallen Now will the Lord gather his Jewels and Chosen ones out of thee and will raise up the dead which lies slain under thy Teachers and Pharisees which makes a prey upon the people which was never sent by God to speak unto thee O Land Hear the Word of the Lord Depart from all thy Teachers for the Lord hath drawn his Sword and lifted it up against the false Prophet and the Vials of Indignation shall be poured upon him and upon all that upholds him in his Whoredoms and Witchcraft by which he deceiveth the simple therefore lest thou be partaker of their Plagues depart from them And all people mind that measure of Light within you which the Lord hath lightened every one of you withal for the Lord is risen to teach his people himself and he is fulfilling his Prophesie in thy ears O Nation they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will put my Law in thine inward parts and write it in their hearts Ier. 31. 33. The Lord is about his great and wonderful Work in thee and all the Wars and Contentions in thee O Land hath but been a making way for this Work of the Lord and hath not been the Work which the Lord hath purposed This Work is made known to them that feareth the Lord and abideth in his Counsel The Lord will overturn overturn the Nation and will create new Heavens and new Earth wherein shall dwell righteousness in which all the Chosen of the Lord shall rejoyce for evermore And all the Kings and Nobles shall cast down their Crowns before this Glory And all the men of War shall lay down their Armour and Weapons of War And Nation shall not lift up a Sword against Nation any more For the Lord will establish Righteousness and Peace this will the Lord bring to pass in thee O England through the destruction of that which now liveth and through the Resurrection of that to Life which now lieth in Death Hear O Land give ear O People for the Lord of Heaven and Earth is now turning the World up-side down all old things shall pass away all things shall become new by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of him shall be many corrupt Judges and Officers will the Lord sweep away and their name shall no more be found in the Nation the fire is kindled and the sword is drawn happy is he that keepeth himself from fighting against the Lord in this his Work and happy are ye O Brethren that stands faithful to the end to see these things accomplished great shall be the battel it is now begun many shall see death and shall yet live to see these things TO all the Despised and Contemned ones who are Persecuted and shamefully entreated by the Generation of the Chief Priests and by them who live in the highest Profession in the Word outwardly ye who are the scorn of the Nation and the derision of all the Heathen and are called Quakers you are my brethren children of my Father have been brought forth by the same Womb and have sucked the same Breast Ye are chosen out of the world out of all worldly glories and earthly excellencies and are not of this world and therefore the world hateth you you are brought out of the broad way of the flesh and are separated from all the world in their ways worships and forms of religion and are redeemed out of the mouths of all Idoll dumb Shepherds and hath one Shepherd and are gathered from all the mountains and out of all the desolate disinhabited places and are come into the pleasant sheepfold where is green pastures and fresh springs of living Waters By Faith with Abraham are ye come out of your native Country from among your kindred and out of your Fathers house And with Moses have you forsaken the glory of Pharaohs house and chosen rather to suffer affliction among the poor despised people than to have enjoyed the pleasures of sin but great shall be your reward ye Contemned ones glory and honor and everlasting happiness is prepared for you if you stand faithful to the end the Lord is with you as a mighty terrible one and therefore shall all your persecuters be ashamed and confounded the sound of a trumpet is heard among you which makes all Nations at a stand and all the Heathen to wonder and all the Rulers Nobles and chief Priests are in consultation combining together to suppress the Army of the Lord of Hosts which he is gathering together fear not nor be dismaid for the sounding of your trumpet causes an alarum and makes all the inhabitants of the Land to tremble and all bows before the sound of it for the sound of it is terrible to the Nations to all Kingdoms and Dominions the Lord of Heaven and Earth is your Captain which rides upon the Clouds and whose glory is above the World and therefore in the battel shall you obtain the conquest and all your enemies shall be put to flight and one of you shall chase a thousand for he is with you who hath all power in his hand and all your enemies are limitted by him therefore be not discouraged at the raging and swelling words of your Adversaries but be bold and valiant and faithful to him for his is the victory and by his own Right Hand will he get himself the victory Ye are my fellow Souldiers and fellow Members of the same body and my joy in the Lord stand faithfull to the Lord and be bold and valiant for the Truth upon Earth for you hath the Lord chosen of all the Families of the Earth to place his Name among you and he will glorifie his
now I am but praised praised be the Lord for evermore who hath separated me from the World and worldly glories and hath made me a partaker of his Love in whom my Soul hath fall satisfaction joy and content Thus have I travelled through the World even unto the end and am now come to the beginning of that which never shall have end which the dark mind of man knows not E. B. I Am a Prisoner for the Truth sake and for Declaring to man of his Wickedness and of his Transgression of the spiritual Law of God which is spiritual and for writing of a Letter which was written from God to shew to man of his wicked ways and how he stood in the presence of God as by the spiritual Light of God which shines in the hearts of his servants was discovered and made manifest unto me for who Speaks Writes or Declares from the Light of God which doth discover all the dark paths of fallen man and all his spiritual Wickedness Speaks Writes and Declares not as from man whose light is only natural and carnal which is darkness in the pure Light which is eternal but as from God whose Light is spiritual and doth make manifest the secret Whoredom of fallen man and from this Light did the Prophets and Ministers of God who were sent by him to reprove Sin and Transgression Speak Write and Declare and in this Light did the true Prophets Ieremiah and Hosea discover Israel to be adulterous and in the presence of God to be guilty of Whoredom from whose presence they declared And all now who are sent of God to reprove for Sin and Iniquity declares from the same Light of God and by the same Spirit which Ieremiah and Hosea did For the pure Light of God is but one from generation to generation in all generation which discovers Sin and Iniquity the same Light now as in the time of the Prophets and Apostles and from this Light which is not carnal but eternal did all the holy men of God Write and Declare And all who are sent of God now witnesses the same Light and Speaks from the same Light now as they did then for who cannot witness this Light are no Ministers of God neither ever were sent of God to Declare the Truth from God but are Deceivers and blind Guids and speaâ—â— from the natural and carnal light the imagined and supposed light which hath not seen the living spiritual God for Declaring by Writing to a man that he is guilty of all manner of wickedness naming pride drunkenness and whoredom I am imprisoned I wrote not as from man whose light is only natural and carnal and doth only make manifest carnal Transgressions of a carnal Law but as from the eternal and spiritual light which doth make manifest spiritual Transgressions of a spiritual Law And in this Light is he to whom I wrote guilty of all manner of Wickedness Now this which I declared from God who is spiritual is above the reach and comprehension of the carnal and earthly Law for by the natural light through the earthly Law is no natural man able to judge of that which is spoken or declared from that which is eternal and spiritual for darkness cannot comprehend the light which light all the Servants and Ministers of God are guided by to Act Speak or Write and therefore do I deny to have this Cause put into the Judgement of carnal Lawyers who judges by the natural light through the earthly and carnal Law yet willing I am before any Authority to Answer for my self that whereof I am Accused but to the Judgement of earthly Magistrates I do not stand but to the Judgement of the Living and Eternal Judge who Judges not according to the sight of the eyes and hearing of the ears but who judges with Equity and Righteousness thus rather I chose to suffer imprisonment in the Body yet free as to God in the Truth waiting to be Redeemed not by the earthly Powers through the earthly Law but by him who is Eternal whose Law is Eternal who orders all things by his mighty Power to which Power I give up my self to be kept in it and ordered by it continually Here I have given to all People the ground of my Imprisoment in the particular of it though I might in few words have declared the thing for between the feed of the Woman and the Seed of the Serpent is Enmity put and he in whom the Seed of the Serpent is Ruling seeks the destruction of him in whom the Seed of the Woman is Raised And here is the Ground of all the Saints Imprisonment now as ever was the envy of the Devil working in Fallen man against the living Truth of God where it is made manifest By one who is a Labourer in the Vineyard who is not known to the World though named of the World EDWARD BURROUGH THE Walls of Jericho Razed down to the GROUND OR An Answer to a Lying Book called The Quaking Principles dashed in pieces Wherein one called Henoch Howet which goes under the name of an Anabaptist doth falsely accuse and maliciously belye us his seven Principles which he calls ours I shall lay down and what we own is vindicated and what he hath belyed the Truth in is turned upon his own head NOw is the time wherein the Lord God of Heaven and Earth is setting up a Kingdom and exalting his Name in the Earth and is exalting his own Son upon the holy Hill of Sion and is discovering the Mother of Harlots who hath made all Nations drunk with her Fornication and Iezabel shall be cast into a Bed of Torment and the fire of the Lord God is come down from Heaven and is kindled in the Earth to burn up and destroy and to consume to ashes even all those that have worshipped the Beast and hath his Image and the false Prophets that have deceived the Nations and they both shall be taken alive and cast into the pit for the Lord is grieved and wearied with this adulterous and viperous Generation who are offering up that which stinks in his nostrils and strange fire and are professing him and his Resurrection who crucifie him and put him to open shame and they deny the end of his coming and are offering in Cains nature while they slay the Just and are in the gainsaying of Corah who perished in it and so shall all those that gainsay the Lord in his Way and now the Lord of Heaven and Earth is proclaming War with the Dragon and his Angels and they shall be cast out and whosoever doth resist him in his way shall be broken to pieces as a Potters vessel and thou Henoch Howet who would limit the holy One of Israel and bind him up in thy carnal reason and stint him in his Way and Form up things in thy imagination from the Scripture and walks by Tradition thou art accusing us among the Papist but let it stand for
respect of Gods Decree and Efficacy of his Death from the foundation of the world really and indeed suffer death or dissolution of Soul and Body as upon the Cross at Ierusalem more or oftner than once Answ. Here in this query thou Diviner art found adding to the Scripture thy divinations of thy own brain whereupon the plagues of God is to be added unto thee and poured upon thee for as thou sayst the Man Christ Jesus the Lamb of God slain in respect of Gods Decree and Efficacy of his Death from the Foundation of the World Oh thou Lyar let all people see where there is such a Scripture that speaks as thou speakst here but in the Light of Christ thou art seen and in the life comprehended and art for condemnation The man Christ Jesus we own and witness and the Lambs Book of Life which was slain from the Foundation of the world we witness the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world this we witness according to the Scripture praises praises eternal praises be to the Lord God for ever and thee to be the Beast that makes war with the Lamb we witness and thou Antichrist which looks at Christs death at Ierusalem alone and cannot confess him no otherwise but without thee here thou art but equal with the Pope of Rome for he confesseth Christ dyed at Ierusalem as well as thou so let all thy Congregation see what they hold up that follows thee 3. Quer. Whether did the man Christ ever really and indeed suffer in his own person for that end and after that manner which he did once upon the Cross at Ierusalem before the time or since the time Answ. Here thou full of all subtilty hast made manifest thy Poison and enmity but with the Light of Christ thou art seen and known and with it condemned for ever Christ Jesus in his own Person doth and ever did suffer by thee and such as thou art and by thy Generation he did suffer at Ierusalem and doth suffer where he is made manifest by you after the same manner and thou Blind-Pharisee and Blasphemer wouldst thou have Christ to have more ends in suffering then one 4 Quer. Whether was not that death which the man Christ suffered once and but once upon the Cross at Ierusalem so satisfactory for all the sins of the Elect as that the Iustice of God did not doth not since require any suffering or working upon that account either from Sinner or from Saint Answ. Here thou Jesuite art pleading again for a Christ far off thee according as thy Father doth at Rome That Christ that dyed at Ierusalem did not satisfie for thee who art an enemy to him and doth not abide in his Doctrine but acts contrary to his Commands and art under the wo which he cryed against them that were in the same steps where thou art and from that wo thou shalt never flee The death of the man Christ Jesus which suffered at Ierusalem we own and witness the same Christ that suffered at Ierusalem we witness made manifest and the one God and the one Mediator we witness and know betwixt God and man the Man Christ Jesus according to the Scripture And here thou Lyar art made manifest to all thy Congregation to be a Lyar who said amongst them that we denyed that Christ that died at Ierusalem so let them all be Witnesses of thy Lyes and let thy mouth be stopt thou Lyar who art for the Lake and whereas thou queries whether the justice of God be not satisfied for the sins of the Elect here let shame strike thee in the face that ever thou shouldst take upon thee to speak to any people and knowst not the Scripture where dost thou read in all the Scripture that God doth require satisfaction for the sins of the Elect or laid any thing to their charge let all people try thee here by the Scripture and see whether thou be not a blind ignorant Sot who doth not know what the Justice of God requires neither from Sinner nor from Saint Isa. 42. 1. Isa. 65. 9. 22. Luk. 18. 7. Rom. 8. 33. 5 Quer. Whether you are reconciled to God by any other obedience than that particular obedience which Christ performed in his own Person and is mentioned in the Scripture or by any other suffering or death than that which Christ once suffered upon the Cross at Ierusalem Answ. Silence flesh wouldst thou who art an Enemy to God and a child of disobedience in whom the Prince of the Air rules know how we are reconciled to God and by what obedience first own the Light in thy Conscience which condemns thee and be obedient to that and then thou shalt know by what obedience it is that we are reconciled to God for yet thou knowst no obedience nor the Death which Christ suffered upon the Cross thou dost not know but art an Enemy to the Cross of Christ and in the mystery of iniquity and in the dark power and man of sin what hast thou to do to talk of obedience who art reconciled to thy lust and sin reigns in thee and thou art blind in the broad way that leads to death as thy fruits makes it manifest who lives in strife and envy 6 Quer. Whether did not the Man Christ suffer as a publick Person in the Elects stead or in their behalf and for that end that none who believed in him might dye eternally Answ. There thou Blind-Guide makest many replys but still one and the same thing but thou makest it manifest that thou dost not know the man Christ at all nor his sufferings for that death reigns in thee yet that hath passed over all men that askes this query for a publick Person Christ is not to thee but a mystery which thou knowest nothing of and for the redeeming of the Elect from under such mouths as thine did and doth Christ suffer and those that are brought to believe deny such dumb Idol Shepherds as thee who as yet doth not believe and therefore shalt dye eternally except they repent 7 Quer. Whether the sufferings of Christ now in his Saints be all the satisfaction that is made to or which the justice of God looks for for sins past present and to come Answ. There thou Blasphemer askest thou knowest not what is not Christ the same now as ever and is not the sufferings of Christ satisfactory where ever What wilt thou have to satisfie if the sufferings of Christ do not satisfie let all people take notice what a Blasphemer thou art or what they can learn of such a one as thee who knowst neither the justice of God nor the sufferings of Christ in his Saints 8 Quer. Whether was not that Body of Iesus which consisted of Flesh Blood and Bone and which was offered upon the Cross at Ierusalem the one and onely sacrifice for sin God accepted and to which alone exclusively the Saints before under the Law and the Saints
in your own wills despising the daily cross of Christ which if you walked in would bring down the high minde and high nature in you and through the Cross that which is low in you would be exalted and the witness of your Ordinances would you have within which you are seeking in the letter without And now Friend to the◠who wert the Speaker when I was present among you thy Name I know not but by thy nature and spirit thy spirit is the same which they speak from which thou seems to deny as false spirits and by that spirit hast thou been deceived and now it workes by thee to deceive others and that spirit infallibly by the eternal Spirit do I judge for the time is come that by the Saints the great Whore must be judged which hath made all the men of the Earth drunk with the Wine of her Fornication and which hath deceived the simple And whereas thou didst Quaery what one thing I will deny as untruth which you had spoken I answered then as now I do I do deny thy voyce and spirit for 〈◊〉 is the voyce of the stranger and not of Christ and though you sweare by that spirit The Lord lives I say surely thou swearest falsely and the false Prophets which used their tongues and said The Lord saith it when the Lord had not spoken unto them spoke the same words of the true Prophet but he that had the true spirit judged the false spirit and so it is now And therefore Friend out of love to thy soul I do advise thee to be silent before the Lord and wait upon him till he manifest himself to speak in thee and by thee for Friend thy Ministry is in the will of man and thou ministers death unto dead minds and the Ministery which is to the Seed thou art ignorant of to that in thy conscience I speak which shall witness for me before the Lord who is appearing in his power to utter his thunders and all Flesh shall tremble at his presence and all Forms of Worship will he dash to pieces at his appearance And yours which is the purest Form shall be broken to pieces that he may rule who is without form and comeliness Now Friends for the Seeds sake have I spoken and written to you and to that in your consciences have I cleared my conscience in the presence of the Lord which you shall Eternally witness whether you will hear or forbear By a Servant of the Lord who is named of the World Edward Burrough An Answer to a Book called A Voice from the word of the LORD by one Iohn Griffith against us whom the World calls Quakers wherein his false Accusations is denied and he proved to be a Slanderer and the Truth cleared from his Scandals A Certain Book being come forth into the world full of Lies and Slanders against the Innocent called A voice from the word of the Lord to those grand Impostors called Quakers to the Author of which Book who calls himself Iohn Criffith a Servant of Christ and to all to whomsoever it may come I am moved to write something in Answer that his lies and slanders and false reproaches may be made manifest and that he may proceed no further for as Iannes and Iambres withstood Moses so doth he resist the truth being a man of a corrupt mind and reprobate concerning faith and is not a Servant of Christ nor a witness for his Name but a child of disobedience in whom the Prince of the aire rules And first to the title of thy Book I Answer the Word of the Lord is powerful and will cut thee down thou sensual minded man it thou knowest not but takes the words of others declared from the word which was in them and thou useth thy tongue and saith the Lord saith it but I say unto thee the Lord hath not spoken unto thee neither commanded thee to speak of his Name and I charge it upon thee in the presence of the Lord God of Life that thou art of that Generation which Ieremiah was sent to cry against Ier. 23. 31. for thou speaks thy imaginations upon their words which dwelt in the life of God but the life thou knowest not and thy whole Book is no more but an empty sound and voice and is as the untimely fruit of the womb which will wither and perish away and one of them I am whom thou calls Quakers to whom thou sayst thou directs thy speech but that we are grand Impostors I do deny for we are gathered up into the life which the holy men of God lived in and are fallen from the world and from its wayes and nature and I charge thee here to be a slanderer and from the mouth of the Lord I do declare unto thee that thou must have a slanderers reward And whereas thou sayst thou hast discovered their fleshly and filthy mindedness together with the judgments of God attending them I Answer Fleshly and filthy mindedness we have denied by the Power of the Son of God made manifest in us thou hast laid it to our charge but thou hast not proved it nor discovered it and here again thou are a false Accuser fleshly and filthy mindedness shall stand for thy own condition for there thou art in the flesh filth living to thy will in the lust of uncleanness for thou mayst remember thou camest out of the Bowling-Alley to our Meeting though Pharisee-like thy out-side is painted and made clean but thy heart is full of enmity and lies and slanders and false reproaches to that in thy conscience I do speak which shall forever witness me and as for the judgments of the Lord upon thy own head will they fall and with what measure thou metes it shall be measured to thee again we are passed from judgment and from the condemnation and who art thou thou enemy of righteousness that shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect. And whereas thou sayest thou art one that bears witness against those wandring starres I answer this shall stand for thy own condition a wandring star thou art and hath no habitation in the Heaven but speaks swelling words of vanity thou thy self being a servant of corruption we have an abiding place and an habitation in the Lord and are not wandring and here again I charge thee to be a false Accuser and a false witness who bears Witness of thy self for the Father bears no witness of thee but against thee Whereas thou sayst the most high God that made the heavens and the Earth hath moved thee and stirred thee up to bear witness to the Truth and to witness against the abominable fleshly mindedness and yet spiritual pride of those grand Impostors called Quakers by whose sorceries many are bewitched and drawn from the simplicity of the Gospell to another Gospel which is not another Gospel but the vanity of their own minds and their own fleshly and corrupt thoughts which they
in your own time and the Lord is not all and in all among you for your Mother is not the Lords wife but married unto a Harlot and your seed is mixed with strange Children A Prophet was your Father and a Whore brought you forth and your Profession will wither as time passeth away and your covering is too narrow and your righteousness no more regarded then your sin for the Spirit convinceth of it as of sin with the Light everlasting your height and depth is comprehended And this to you is a Warning for a Preparation to meet the Lord and to put away your other Lovers The Beast which all the World wonders after but they whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life hath many Heads and many Horns ANd the great Image set up in the Earth worshipped by Nations and People is of many mixtures and it shall fall before the little Stone which strikes at the Bottom All your several Forms and divers appearances outward and different Judgements and Opinions will stand you in no stead in the dreadful day of the Lord which upon all flesh is coming and hastning in its glory Wo wo will be the end of all profession when Christ comes in his own way contrary to all your divided expectations and groundless hopes He was before the world was and doth and shall reign for ever when it is not and in this his day will the Lord God set up an everlasting Kingdom of whose Government and Dominion there shall be no end but it shall abide for ever and your divided Kingdom of the Beastly power and authority shall be dashed to pieces never more to be found and your Mountains shall be burned and your righteousness and your sin shall meet in the Pit of everlasting Wrath receiving the Sentence of eternal Judgment from him that sits upon the Throne of infinite Power and Glory and your rich Treasures shall be spoiled in a Day and your sun and light shall be darkned at Noon-day and all your goodly Buildings shall be thrown down and shall become the Habitation of Dragons I have viewed you all in the eternal Light and you are weighted in the Ballance of Equity and all your wise Builders stumble at the Foundation and at the Corner-Stone and Christ Jesus is become an offence unto you in his Light by which he hath enlightened every man that comes into the World of which you are unbelieving and therefore shut up in darkness and confusion groping as blind men being many Branches of one Root planted in the barren cursed ground of enmity And though you are divided as Herod and Pilate yet do you joyn your selves in one Body to war against the Lamb and his Followers who cannot bow to your great Image and you are listed in the Records of Gog and Magog against whom the Lamb is risen and his Followers come forth having the Bow and Sword conquering and going to conquer and will make you a Desolation for ever All your Sacrifice is corrupted and the Lord God of Heaven and Earth is weary with your Oblations and Offerings your hearts are far from him and your hands are full of blood and the Just lyeth slain in every corner of your Streets and the Earth covereth the blood of the Innocent and the Slain cryeth How long Lord how long But he hath heard in an acceptable time and will come forth in his Might and will slay and his Hand shall not spare and will wound and his Eye shall not pity Awake awake ye Careless and Slothful that have laid at ease in the dark night of Slumber and Come out come out ye Upright-hearted and separate your selves and touch no unclean thing nor no longer partake of their Idolatries and Inchantments The Lord is now coming to gather his own and to make up his Jewels of the Despised and his Angels are gone forth to Reap the Earth to bring in the Wheat and to bind the Tares in bundles for the fire of everlasting Fury and Babel shall be thrown down and the great Whore shall be rewarded which sits upon the Nations and Tongues and People and the Dregs of the Cup of Wrath shall be wrung out unto her and the Kingdom of the man of sin shall utterly be laid waste and every Subject shall be utterly driven away into everlasting captivity of Vengeanee and all your Sects and Opinions and many Wayes and Forms and Worships shall become heaps of Confusion for ever And your talking of Christ without you so long and largely professed by you shall not save you nor justifie you in another World who are found Enemies and Actors against his Light present in the World which is but one in you all at which you all stumble and by which you shall all be broken and which shall grinde you to powder and be your eternal Condemnation in this World and forever which Light shines in your darkness and convinceth every one of you of your sin which Light if it you love is your Way to Peace with God Eternal and will lead you into one Truth to be of one heart and one mind and to serve one God with one accord in loving him with all the heart and your Neighbour as your self and this is Sacrifice of the living God only accepted And to you all sorts of People my Conscience do I clear to the Light in all your Consciences which is but One without respect to your Persons whether you hear or forbear And this to you all is a Warning and A Trumpet sounded out of Sion your many gods and Idols to forsake and your Forms without power to turn away from and all your graven Images set up in your hearts to cast away And this is the Word of the Lord to you all which upon you all shall be fulfilled and by you witnessed when the Book of your Conscience is opened and your eternal judgment rewarded by the just Judge that sits upon the Throne of true Judgment judging nations and People righteously TO all you who are in the Light of eternal Life which doth comprehend the World who are born from above of the Immortal Word which doth live for ever who are not of the World nor of the many Opinions in Divisions but of one Heart Soul and Spirit Worshippers of the one living God with whom there is no change nor shaddow of turning who are not known to the World though by it scornfully called Quakers even you doth the Lord also remember with everlasting Kindness and infinite Love of whose beginning and end there is none and whose height and depth measure and limit cannot be found out for you hath he chosen above all the Families of the Earth to place his Name among and to stablish his everlasting Covenant with of Righteousness and Peace forever and Redemption and Salvation to you is come Judgment and Mercy in you is met Righteousness and Peace in you hath embraced each other In the womb of eternal
was set up for a season so that Iohn farther saw and said the whole World went after the Beast and false Prophet whom he saw before was come and worshipped the Beast and his Image but a few whose names were written in the Book of Life And as I have said the whole City with the outward Court was trodden down by the Gentiles foot and darkness surprised all and wickedness abounded more and more and the night came upon all as Christ had prophesied and the Beast grew in his dominion till there was hardly any man left to bear witness in the Truth and in the Power of God unto the Name of Jesus but all was subverted into dead Forms and Shadows and Likenesses without Life and the Lord left the Earth as it were and covered himself in the Darkness and became a stranger in the World and did scarce openly speak by Vision nor Dream nor Prophet but all were in the dark and Ignorance abounded and Superstition was exalted the Saints Spirit and Life which they were in and guided by was lost and then they began to worship the Saints Names and Dayes and Words without the Life and Power and that Nature and that same Seed which had persecuted the Saints to death and gainsayed the Power and lost the holy Ghost turned it self into the profession of the Saints Words which were left upon Record and conformed it self into the Saints Practises without the Life Power and holy Ghost And having lost the Power from which the Scripture was given forth and not being guided in the Life which they were in which spoke it forth then from the Scripture in mens own conceptions and thoughts and by their reason without Gods Spirit they set up Likenesses and Images and Sects and Forms and many Heads and many Horns grew upon the Beast which all the World worshipped and went after for they had lost Christ the one Head wherein the Union stood and grew into Idolatry under the many Heads which were upon the Beast who had many Horns which pushed one against another as it is witnessed unto this day do not the Papists and Protestants so called and other Sects risen out of them push one at another to break and tear one another and these have many Heads The Pope he is a Head and the others they have a Head which every one bowes down under his own Head the Pope will not bow to the Protestants Head nor will the Protestants bow to the Papists Head the Presbyterians and Independâ—… and Anabaptists and the rest every one of them bows to their own Head and will not bow to anothers Head and all these with their Horns push one against another to rend one another and all these are from Christ and know not him the one Head of the whole Body and the one Horn of God's Salvation unto aâ— People for Christ which is but one is the Head and the Horn which all the Saints who are now gathered out of this Apostacy and dark Night unto whom the Light again is risen worship Christ the one Head and know him the one Horn which pushes aganist the Devils Kingdom which hath long been set up and rulâ—â— in the Earth among all these who have many Heads and many Horns who are aâ—… of them the very chiefest but in the night fallen in the Apostacy and Daâ—â—ness since the beginning of the reign of the Beast and the coming in of faâ—… Prophets which came in as I have said when the Churches backslided with the Whore also who hath made all Nations and People Drunk with the Wine of be Fornication and the Beast hath reigned over all Nations in his Dominion and Authority and the false Prophet hath prophesied through all Nations And all these came in since the dayes of Christ for he prophesied that iâ— should be so as it is come to pass and they were coming in in the dayes of the Apostles as you may read Paul saw them coming and largely describes their Character in several Epistles And Peter he saw them coming in and described them what such they were and should be and Iude he saw them also and Iohn more fully then any both in his Epistles and Revelations as I have â—â—â—â—ed at And when the Apostles were taken off the Earth some by cruel Deaths and others were banished then they sprung in more fully and grew through all Nations and to this day hath the Beast with his many Heads and many Horns ruled in Nations and been worshipped and his false Prophet hath ever since been defended and hath riden on the Beast through Nations and hath deceived Nations with vanity and error and at this very day the Nations and People are deceived and lie under Darkness in the slavery and bondage under the authority of the Beast and subject to the doctrine of his false Prophets And as I have said Darkness hath been over all and fancies and likenesses without Life have been bowed under and the Power being lost the Form hath been set up one after this sort and another after that according to mens vain conceits and apprehensions upon the Scriptures and not according to the manifestation of the Spirit of God which fulfilleth the Scriptures and brings to live the Life of them So in divers Colours and in divers Appearances and Robes in several forms and shapes of Garments hath the great Whore been decked who hath sat upon the Beast having the false Prophet serving as a Boy or Servant to do whatsoever the Whore listeth and the false Prophet this Servant of the Whore under the power of the Beast hath moved and turned as the Beast would and according as the Whore hath changed her self into other Garments and Colours even so hath the false Prophet changed his Doctrine and Prayers to please the Whore and to keep people under the Government of the Beast It s known in this our day that some who preached and prayed for the King and Bishops do now preach and pray for others even for them who destroyed the King and Bishops so the false Prophets with all his Children are but the Whores Servants who hath made drunk Kings and Princes and great Men and People and Nations with the Cup of Fornication and Abomination in the several Sects and Forms of Worships which have been set up without the power of Godliness for the Baptism of the Spirit being lost and not known then from the Letter by imaginations were several sorts of Baptism brought forth as sprinkling of Infants that dark folly and vain vanity which all these Nations have been deceived withal by the exercise of the false Prophet And when the Gift of the Ministry through the holy Ghost which the Ministers of Christ had was lost and not any more â—…eceived then began men to make Ministers by natural Learning and Arts and Languages and humane Pollicy and when the gift of preaching by the eternal Spirit was lost through the coming in of the
Apostacy then began men to study from Books and Writings what to preach and say not having the holy Ghost received in them without which none are Ministers of Christ mark that and when men had lost through ignorance the Knowledge of God dwelling in them and that their Bodies were his Temple and that he dwelled and walked in his People then began they again to build Temples without and to set up their false worships in them for having lost the sence of Gods true Worship which the Saints worshipped in in the Spirit and in the Truth then they began to worship in set Dayes and set Times and set Places and outward Observances which is not the worship of God in the Spirit and in the Truth but Superstitious and Idolatrous and when the Word of God was not received immediately from his Mouth nor the Gospel by the revelation of Jesus Christ as it was in the dayes of the Apostles then darkness being come in they used their tongues when the Lord had not spoken to them as the false Prophets did before Christs time and long have they said the Letter is the Word and that the Letter is the Gospel and that it must be received by the Scriptures and by natural Learning and Arts and that none can be Ministers of Christ but such who are learned in the Languages and knows the Original of Scriptures Latine and Greek and Hebrew nor any of these have received the Gospel by revelation or the Word of God from his mouth And when singing in the Spirit and with the Understanding was ceased and not known then began People to get the Form of singing of Davids experiences in Rime and Meeter and when the pure power of Godliness was lost which was in the days of the Apostles manifested and known then in the Apostacy the deceit grew into the Form of every thing which the Saints had enjoyed in the Power and so were Shadows set up instead of Substance and Death instead of Life and the Form without the Power which in many Branches sprang forth some into one appearance and some into another but all under the power of the Beast with his many heads and horns defended and until this day since the dayes of the Apostles thus it hath been and those very Teachers and supposed Ministers which now are in this and other Nations are of that very Root which sprang forth in the dayes of the Apostles and they are under the dominion of the Beast and moveable like unto the great Whore and this may easily be proved that they are of that Generation of Teachers and false Prophets which Christ prophesied of should come which the Apostle saw was coming in in their dayes of those which Iohn saw the world to run after for Christ said That by their fruits they should be known and the Apostles they described their fruits them by their fruits and so we seeing their fruit to be the very same now which the Apostles described was the fruit of them that then were come and coming from whence we do conclude according to sound judgment that these very Teachers are of the same Generation and Branches of the same Root which sprang forth then And in Pauls Writings you may read such they were whom he saw of whom he bad people to beware and said perillous times would come and men should be Lovers of themselves Covetous Proud Blasphemers Disobedient to Parents Unthankfull Unholy without Natural Affection false Accusers Fierce Despisers of those that are good Heady High-minded Lovers of Pleasures more then lovers of God having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power and such of whom people were ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth for people were laden with sins and led away with divers lusts and these did resist the Truth as Iannes and Iambres who withstood Moses by making likenesses without Life and they were men of corrupt minds and reprobate concerning the Faith Now it is plain that these Teachers in this Generation are of that very Stock which Paul describes such he saw would come and such we see are come and by their fruits we know them as Christ said and Pauls words are fulfilled for these Teaâ—hers are lovers of themselves and covetous and proud this is plain to all people and Blasphemers who denies Christ to have lighted every man that comes into the World and therefore they deny Scripture and so are disobedient and unholy men and without natural affection who many of them have caused the Innocent to be imprisoned and some have died in Prison and they the chief cause of this and this is without natural affection to the Creatures and they are false Accusers and Lyars and fierce in their Books and Preaching as is manifest through all this Nation and they greatly dispise those that are good and prepares war against such as do not put into their Mouthes and they aâ—â— heady and high-minded and lovers of vanities and pleasures this is evident without proof and they have a Form of Godliness they say all should be taught 〈◊〉 God but when any comes to witness it and deny their teaching they cry agaiâ—… such as Hereticks and thus they have the words and the Form but deny thâ—… Power and they are ever teaching twenty and forty years and more but noâ—… able ever to come to the knowledge of the Truth by them but all in blindness aâ—â— darkness still and people cries out who have been learning many years froâ— them that they do not know the Truth and its plain that these Teachers are of that sort that Paul spoke of who brings none to the knowledge of the Truth people that follows them are laden with sins and led away with divers lusts 〈◊〉 these have and do resist Truth every whore they deny that Christ hath lights every man that comes into the world and so resists Truth and denies Scripture and the truth as you may read Iohn 1. 9. And they are corrupt minded ever wicked Persecutors and Suers at Law and earthly minded and covetous and oppressors and are wholly rebrobate concerning the faith and thus it is plain that the root of these Teachers was springing in the Apostles dayes and hath grown ever since in this dark night of Apostacy and hath filled the Nations Again the Apostle saw that many should depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of Devils speaking Lyes in hypocrisie haviâ—â— their Consciences seared as with a hot Iron Now these Teachers are of the Stock which is departed from the true Faith for they are without true Faith and reprobate concerning it who are in iniquity and sin and the works of the World which are evil now Faith purifies the heart from all this but their hearts 〈◊〉 not purified but polluted with Covetousness and preaching for Hire and Persecution and Envy and therefore they had not Faith and so are of that Generation which
Lawful Tryal OF THE Teachers and professed Ministers of this Age and Generation by a perfect proceeding against them And hereby they are righteously examined and justly weighed and truely measured and condemned out of their own mouthes and judged by their own professed Rule viz. The Scriptures and thereby are proved to disagree and be contrary to all the Ministers of Christ in former Ages and to agree and concur with all the false Prophets and Deceivers in their call in their maintenance and in their doctrines and conversation and practice And being brought to the Bar of Justice these things are truly charged against them and legally proved upon them and their own professed Rule the Scriptures have judged them guilty Whereunto is added A short description of the true Ministry of Christ and of its lawfull and just maintenance according to the Apostles Examples and now again justified by the People of God called Quakers in England THe time of Tryal is come wherein the Lord is trying the Hearts of men and now it is manifest what lodgeth in the hearts of all mankind and by the Fruit every Tree shall be judged The Lord hath beheld the wickedness of this Generation and it is very great and cometh not short but rather abounds all other Generations that have gone before Wickedness is grown high among Teachers and People and the measure of iniquity is fulfilling daily Come let us reason together What think you was there ever such a Generation of Teachers as this is Have they any example that ever went before for their Wickedness To whom may they be compared or with whom shall we parallel them And because they say the Scripture is their Rule therefore will we try them by it and their own Mouth shall Condemn them and such they shall be concluded to be whose example they do follow be it Ministers of Christ or be â—t Deceivers unto the Apostles and Ministers of Christ they are compared but are found quite contrary in many things and their Practice fitly suteth and agrees with all the false Prophets and Deceivers And thus I shall prove them according to Scripture wherein these men that are Teachers do disagree to the Apostles and Ministers of Christ which he sent forth in former Generations and wherein they do agree with the Deceivers and Antichrists and false Prophets that have run and not been sent 1. And first of all The Apostles and Ministers of Christ were made Ministers of Christ by the Gift of the Holy Ghost and by Power from on high only and what they ministred unto others they had freely received from Christ and had Handled Felt and Tasted of the Word of LIFE But the Teachers of this Generation do not agree with them in this for they are made Ministers by natural Learning and Education and the knowledge of Arts and by the Ordination of men and by the Powers of this World and not by the Gift of the Holy Ghost and they speak that whcih they have heard out of Books and studied for by Arts and which they have received from man and not that which they have received only from the Lord. 2. The Ministers of Christ they were approved of God and called by his Spirit into the work of the Ministry and were not of man neither by man But many of these are approved of man and not of God and called by man and maintained by maâ— in their Ministry and herein do they differ and disagree for as I said the Ministers of Christ were made Ministers by the Holy Ghost and not by natural learning but these are made Ministers by natural learning or otherwise and not by the Gift of the Holy Ghost 3. Again herein do they disagree The Ministers of Jesus Christ went up 〈◊〉 down through the World declaring the Word of the Lord freely at any time in the Market-places and in the Synagogues and in the Streets and went from Country to Country and were Strangers upon Earth not having any certain Dwelling-place or any great PARSONAGES But these settle themselves in a certain place for so much Money by the year and spend their time in ease and pleasure and lust of the flesh selling to the People for Money what they preach and herein they disagree the Ministers of Christ preached freely as they had received freely but the Ministers of this Age sell for money what they preach to the People and thus they differ in their call to the Ministry and in their practise in the Ministry and in their maintenance also as is made manifest to many 4. Again the Ministers of Christ preached to bring People into fellowship with Gâ—… by preaching of the Gospel through converting Sinners unto the knowledge of the Truth anâ— by no other way did they make Christians nor counted any so but such as hâ—… repented and were changed by the Spirit But the Teachers of this Age do maâ—… Christians by sprinkling them while they are Infants before they preach the Gospâ—… to them or before they repent of their sins and they bring them into fellowship by traditions and a vain shew of Baptism and not by the Spirit of God and herâ—… also they disagree the one counted none Christians but such as were converted by the Spirit of God and knew the operation of Gods Spirit and the other coâ—… all Christians that are sprinkled when they are Infants while they are without tâ—… Operation of the Spirit of God and converteth them not unto God by their preaching but tell them they are Christians before they preach to them 5. Again they differ in Doctrine for the Ministers of Christ Preached Câ—… the Light of the World and said he lighted every man that cometh into the World But the Teachers of this Age contend against that and say every one is not enlightened by him but some have no Light from Christ. And the Ministers of Christ they tuâ—…ed people to the Light from the Darkness and from Satans Power to the Power of God Bâ—… the Teachers of this Age do not turn People to the Light of Christ within 〈◊〉 to the Saints words without or to some other thing and are divided amoâ—… themselves and so in effect â—ry Lo here and Lo there is Christ in this form 〈◊〉 that form but the Ministers of Christ said he was within People or else they were 〈◊〉 probates 6. Again the Ministers of Christ said Christ was the Word and the Scripturâ—… was a Declaration of what they believed But the Teachers of this Age say the Letter and the Scripture is the Word and say It is the Instrument whereby God 〈◊〉 soules and say it is both the Writings and the thing signified and say it is the Foundation of Foundations but thus the Ministers of Christ never spoke of the Letter Anâ— thus herein they differ and disagree the one preach Christ to be the Word the other preach the Letter and Scripture to be the Word The
their wickedness without reproof and ungodliness may be hid under hypocrisie and above all other means that is used at this day to keep up the Kingdom of the Devil and to offend the Kingdom of Christ this is Cheif striving against the Light of the World opposing it and denying it and by crafty Arguments and cunning Speeches seeking sutable Scriptures as they suppose to ground their false Argumentâ— upon against this very thing that the Light of Christ is given to every man that comes into the World or that the Light which convinceth and reproveth every man of sin within him is not the Light of Christ nor worthy to be taken notice of but natural and such like and no way sufficient to Life and Salvation if the Unjust men persecute it is such as walk in the Light of Christ Jesus that cannot fulfill the wills and customs of mâ—n and so are not of thâ—… World but contrary to it in all its wayes and workâ—…â—…ich are evil and if tâ—… wise men of the World make any Arguments it is against the Light wiâ—… which Christ lightneth every man that comes into the World so that all 〈◊〉 envy of the Devil whether under this or that colour and appearance is againâ—… the Light of Christ Jesus and them that walk therein and if the light be 〈◊〉 denyed and not believed in nor regarded then may the Devil have whâ—… Possession of the heart of man and if the Light of Christ Jesus within 〈◊〉 owned and loved and walked in then Christ is received and there the Dâ—… is dispossessed and therefore it stands him upon above all other things 〈◊〉 possess people against the Light within which Christ hath given that then 〈◊〉 may not be discovered in the heart but may keep all his goods in peace aâ—… have quiet possession in his Habitation Well be it so though all men of thâ—… Kingdom doth gainsay the Light of Christ by this or that way of wickedness yet it is precious unto us and I cannot but earnestly contend for it against 〈◊〉 Gainsayers and yet strives not for mastery to our selves nor to exalt any thing of our selves but only the Lord and his truth which he hath made more dear to us then either life or name or liberty and though so it be that this Way be spoken evil against every-where yet the Lord owneth it and us who are faithful therein in the presence of our Enemies to the confounding of the wisdom of this World And whereas Iohn Bunion hath formerly set himself divers wayes to oppose the Truth under the account of his great zeal against Error but especially in a Book sometime since put forth by him thinking thereby to offend the Way of Righteousness and now a second time hath appeared with a defence upon his former called A Vindication c. Of the former and his Defence is more to the laying open his folly and to the uncovering of his blindness and wickedness then his first offence given by him which caused me to write in short four sheets of paper to clear the Truth from what he had spoken against it And now having again a second time appeared in many word without knowledge yet in great zeal hath brought forth many things reprovable even Lyes and Slanders and evil Speeches in abundance yet with great pretence of holiness and soberness and he hath not only belyed me but the Truth which is my chief and moving cause that the Truth may be clear of this my second Reply unto him and not for my own sake in any thing for I more prize to be accounted a fool and dispraised in the World then to be honoured thereby and when iniquity shall come to an end and transgression shall be finished his shall be the Kingdom and the Inheritance of Rest Eternal that hath kept himself clean and pure from a lying and slanderous tongue and who hath done righteously and fullfilled the Will of God For it is not every one that saith Lord Lord that enter into the Kingdom but he that doth the will of the Father which is in Heaven and in that day when the Book of all Consciences shall be opened and every thing brought to Judgement then shall the Light in every ones Conscience answer the Lord in the justness of his dealings and even then if not before shall this Iohn Bunion know the Light in all mens Consciences is of force when he shall be judged and then shall he see he hath wronged the Lord and dealt evil against his own soul in speaking evil of what he hath not known and in giving false judgement of what he hath not understood and till that day I leave him without praying for fire to devour him only may reprove his Lyes Errors Contradictions and False-dealing and clear the Truth from his false Charges and only to the most chiefest things whereof he accuses us in short I may Reply And whereas thou sayst There is one that hath ventured to stand up against the Truth and hath published a Book in which there is a great number of Heresies cunningly vented by him and also many things there falsly Reported of thee To which I answer that same Book published called The true faith of the Gospel contended for c. Shall clear it self from this reproach that I have not stood against any one truth or uttered any Heresie or lye against thee but in that Book did witness forth the Truth against many things falsly laid down by thee against the Quakers and that same Book with soberness read without partiality and prejudice doth clear it self from these false Aspersions and prove thee a Lyer herein and I leave it to the honest hearted to judge who reads that Book while I with patience and not seeking any revenge doâ— bear thy reproaches counting them greater riches then thy praise And Farther thou saist Only by the way thou thinkest good to mind me of my cloathing my self with the words of the Prophets and Apostles c. Answ. True enough by the Way out of the Truth and out of Christ who is the Way hast thou spoken this and so hast uttered in falsehood and by or out of the Way neither have I cloathed my self and yet am I clothed with the Life of the Prophets and Apostles and not only with their words nor do I fight against them though thou falsly sayst it but bears witness unto them in Doctrine and Conversation and before all the seed of Evil-doers and take back thy own words to thy self who art in that Generation which hath the words but are without the Life in the evil life Farther thou sayst I have broken out with a false Testimony of Iohn Burton and thee at which thou seemest to be much offended that I should say thou art joyned with the broken Army of Magog and hath shewed your selves in the defence of the Dragon against the Lamb c. Reply what needest thou be troubied at this
it is said yea a lively stones are built up a spiritual house and where it is said 〈◊〉 Salt in your selves He asked if a mans belly must be filled with salt Mark this Expositor and his blindness and ignorance and the cause why 〈◊〉 is silent And forbears to aggravate sin is least hard thoughts should be entertained against him Let men judge whether this be not an unfaithful man to the Lord who rather then harsh thoughts should be against him in the wicked he will be silent and hide and cover sin in sinners O wickedness indeed He saith that Christ Ascended into Heaven in our nature viz in his nature and they that are one with him and he and they are proved to be in corrupt nature as they will confess it O what wickedness to hold forth that Christ is at the right hand of God in sinfull nature as his words holds forth from his own mouth Iohn Burton said That men may depend too much upon something called Christ and 〈◊〉 righteousness of Christ within He saith that the Devil Knows how to take the Childrens bread viz. Christ Jesus who only is the Childrens bread and give him to dogs O sâ—d error and damnable He said That the Devil deceives souls by bidding them follow the Light which they brought into the World with them And he confesses that Light is the Light of Christ as God O unutterible ignorance can a sober man read this and not be ashamed to hold forth that the Devil deceives souls by bidding them follow the Light of Christ as God He saith they that follow Christ aright must follow him without to the cross wiâ—… for Iustification or monut Calvery without they must seek for Iustification without 〈◊〉 the Spirit of Christ it leads to Christ without Reader see if this be not near unto Popery or enquire else what he means as if he would have people to go a Pilgrimage and this is contratry to Rom. 10. 6 7 8. He said That the soul of man is the Light wherewith every man is lighted by Christ as God and this is the Light that every man brought into the World with him and the Devil deceives souls by this Light viz. by the soul this is true from his own words let it be marked by sober men what damnable doctrines these are hardly fit to be raked in He saith further That the Devil deceives souls by perswading them to follow the Light within which he confesses is the Light of Christ and that all man hath it He saith Conscience is the Light of God and yet in another place saith Conscieâ—… defiled what concurrence is here let the Reader judge to hold forth that the Light of God is defiled his words plainly shews to say that the Law is the Schoolmaster to bring to Christ. He saith This is a frothy Argument And to make up his wickedness he said He is ruled by Scripture conâ—… whether those doctrines and lyes be not quite contrary to Scripture what is pudency is in this mans heart to say he is ruled by Scripture he saith Thy that look upon Christ no otherwayes then as he was before the World was be dare 〈◊〉 bold to say they are no Christians but Antichristians he said That Christ as he is â—…diator so he hoth not lighten every man that comes into the World though as he is God 〈◊〉 doth Mark here he would divide Christ not to be the same the Son as he is the Father yet he confesses in his Book What the Father doth the Son doth also see what contradiction here is not worth the raking in O blindness that may be felt in the grossest darkness he inhabits He saith That the Devil hath more experience of the knowledge of the eternal power and Godhead then unregenerate men Mark the word more signifies something He saith The Light of Christ 〈◊〉 God is Conscience and Nature it self Mark nature is sinful and wicked and all are children of Wrath in it so are all by the Light of Christ as God wicked and children of wrath if Ioh. Bunions doctrine be true let him make it good as he can O wonderful trash and muddy stuff unheard of before He saith The Devil deceives souls by bidding them listen within and see if there be not that which doth convince of sin Mark his doctrine well He denyes That Pauls bids listen within contrary to that Scripture Rom. 10. 8 9. He said Conscience may be hardned and seared and is naturally evill and yet saith Conscience is the Light of Christ as God see what an agreement is here the Light of Christ as God is hardened and seared and evil else Iohn Bunion must revoke his doctrine or else prove this Consider what stuff this is which is held forth by him He saith he preaches not for hire indeed he had no need to receive money for such doctrines as these He saith Christ is some four or five foot long This is more then he can tell He reckons the doctrine of Christ within a false or among false opinions He saith measureâ—or â—or manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man though Paul saith so plainly to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 12. 7. Mark here he hath spoken quite contrary to Scripture denyed that which Paul affirmed or else counted Pauls words no Scripture He saith They that are born of God do daily sin absolute contrary to 1 Ioh. 3. 9. And therefore he would give the Apostle the lye Now Reader consider whether thou wilt believe Iohn Bunion or the Apostle Iohn for they are at odds and speaks quite contrary one to the other He saith That the Light that shews thee there is a God and that this God is eternal would lead to life then might Devils be delivered from damnation and the Devils knows God as a Creator c. He saith That the Light spoken of John 3. is the man Christ Iesus and yet saith that the man Christ Iesus is not a condemning Light Mark that Scripture saith that Light was condemnation to them that did evil he saith not who must you believe He saith That the Lyar and Slanderer is an Unbeliver and his condition is sad Consider here how out of his own mouth he is condemned who is at large proved a Lyar and Slander out of his own mouth will the Lord condemn him He saith That a man cannot give a more right description of a false Prophet then the Prophets Christ and the Apostles did give Reply In this thou hast truly said Now le ts consider how thou hast confessed to thy own shame and laid open thy own nakedness the Prophets said such were false Prophets as Preached for Hire and divined for Mony and fed themselves and clothed themselves with the wool and that used their Tongues and said the Lord saith it when God had not spoken to them and that cryed peace to the wicked and Christ said such were Deceivers who had the chiefest place in
of the Power of God and we shall not much seek or beg our Adversaries belief for to God are we known and one to another in the Spirit and not to the wisdom of the World which is devilish and knows not nor receives not the things which be eternal His last Reason They teach but such like Dostrine and takes the like course as many of the Hereticks did and saith he Shall we run our selves into the fire which hath consumed such Heresie through former Ages c. Answer To this I answer The Doctrines of the Gospel we hold forth and teach to all people and in that way that is called Heresie worship we indeed the God of our fathers but it is but such as this man with whom I deal who is a false witness-bearer and a reproacher and the Company of Hireling-Teachers and such like that doth call the Way of God Heresie And though he say presently after the Apostles dayes such Hereticks arose and troubled the Church To which I answer Nay it is just such like as himself who appeared in the Apostles dayes who taught for filthy lucre and for gain made merchandize of souls and it was such lying Prophets which Iohn saw the whole world run after in his days and they were them that troubled the Church even such as were heady and high minded and covetous men and such as are false Accusers and fierce men and his shame and folly is made manifest and so his lyes and slanders are turned upon his own head And in his conclusion he doth beseech Professors to consider impartially of these 24. Reasons to which I say The most of them are so reasonlesse that they will rather turn to his own confusion then to his praise to any man of understanding And he bids all bethink themselves first What a doleful thing it is that Professors should be so loose and unstable c. Answ. Doleful it is indeed that after so much preaching of Priests of England people should be so ignorant loose and unstable as indeed they are and this is a very shame to Teachers and shews that they were not sent of God because that the people are not profited at all but continues ignorant loose and unstable and wicked according to their own confession and indeed people are to be pittied that are under their Ministry who by it can never come to the Knowledge of God but must be ever learning fifty or sixty years and ignorant loose and unstable at their very end and yet these are members of this Church of England so called which the very Pastors thereof confesseth to be loose and unstable andwicked and brands us to be denyers of this Church as indeed we have good reason to see the Members thereof so wicked loose and unstable as is confessed by their own Teachers therefore we cannot be condemned for denying such a Church Secondly He bids consider what a heavy judgement it is to Professors themselves to be self-condemned and self-divided from the Church c. To which I answer A heavy judgement indeed that such as are of the Church should be self-condemned and self-divided from it but yet it is a blessed thing that any that have been deceived with false likeness now should come to see the error thereof and be turned to the true Church which is in God and to be drawn away from all windy Doctrines of Englands Teachers and this many doth witness Then he exhorts Christians to be serious and be true to the Light which they have received To which I say All that are true to the light which they have received from Christ Iesus will deny this man I now deal withall and all his Lyes and Slanders Then he bid-stick close to the Word of God and I say All that do so will find it as a Fire and a Hammer and will be gathered from under the dead Doctrines of men in this Age. And he exhorts them to stick close to a faithful Ministry To which I say Then must they deny all Hirelings and such as preacheth for hire for such are not of the faithfull Ministry but Deceivers of people And thus in few words return is sent in the pursute of a Sheet of Lyes and Slanders put forth into the World and all sober-minded people by this may come to a good understanding between Truth and error And though he hath taken a course to spread his Books 〈◊〉 Ballads and Fables by having them cryed up and down the streets which is not for his advantage altogether but doth shew his Work ridiculous to all wise men And so hereby it may be seen that all his Strong Reasons are confounded and overturned that would hinder a man from being a QUAKER THe main and chief things I have spoken of and by what is written in short men of understanding may understand what his whole matter can be But in the beginning of his Book he falls a complaining of the lamentable ignorance and ungodliness of common People and of the pride and seâ—…conceitedness of Professors of godliness and of the weakness and giddiness and unstableness of others To this I Answer It is true abundance are ignorant and abundance are proud and self-conceited and abundance unstable and giddy in their minds and substract these from the whole Company of the Hearers of the Teachers of England and there is but a few left if any at all that are truly righteous in the Sight of God and so to the shame of all the Teachers of England hath he confessed the truth in this particular and sheweth that indeed the People is not profited by them and this is a strong Argument that they were never sent of God but hath ran and were never sent But presently after that he cryes out of Hereticks and Deceivers even like as the Pope doth but What is he afraid of That they that are ignorant and ungodly and proud and self-conceited unstable and giddy should be deceived they that are in those iniquities are deceived already and cannot possibly fall into greater deceit or delusion But it appears That many of the Priests of England cares not how little their Hearers profits by them so if they can get their wages their Hire their great sums of money for one of them said I mean a supposed Minister of England in Cambridge-shire That he mattered not if all his Hearers went to the Devil so they would but give him his dues to wit Tythes and Maintenance So that by this instance you may judge what stock they are of and what their endeavours are and we desire that people may be undeceived of that wherein they are deceived and that they may turn from such a Generation of covetous Teachers who care so little for their souls And whereas he saith The Quakers are but of a few years standing and that they arose from among the Papists but a few year ago c. To this I Answer the people of God received that name but a
but one the same to day yesterday and forever who is the Foundation of God and abides forever was preached unto you all to be the Way the Truth the Life and Salvation and there is none besides him why then are there Divisions amongst you and some for one and some for another And herein are you carnal and your minds abroad and not'staid upon him which gives the increase and all this is to be judged with the Life of God Wherefore I beseech you in the Fear of the Lord as you love him and his Glory yea as you love your own souls Come to the Light which lets you see all this and condemns it and strive not one with another nor exalt not your selves one above another but let all that be condemned and all your evil Surmisings and foolish Jealousies separate Worshippings Backbitings be brought to Judgment and let condemnation pass upon it all never more to appear to hinder your Fellowship with the Lord and know the Life of God in you all which is but one which is not at strife nor divided and let that arise that all Vails may be taken off and Hardness of heart judged and the Countenance of the Lord may shine upon you when that exalted spirit which has appear'd in some is brought down of which I charge you all to beware lest there be a total departing from the Lord and his Name be reproached through you among the Heathen and it had been better for such they had never been born Therefore I say unto you all lay it to heart till the Judgments of the Lord take it away and purifie your hearts from all these things which ariseth out of that which is not of the Father that my joy may be renewed who have been in travel for you tell Christ be formed in you that he alone may rule in you over all those things which are at enmity against the Life and hinders your growâ—â— And if you yet harden your heart against Reproof who are stubborn well the Lord will ease him of his Adversaries and break you as a Potter's Vessel And though you oppress the Life of God for a moment yet my Peace with him â—â—â—ll these things never take away but over all these things I tread am not offendâ—â— in him who is my Peace forever And though those things cause sadness of heart yet the Lord giveth no cause of Sorrow to them that are faitful to him but will arise to confound all Deceit and Deceitful Workers who err from his Way and count the Knowledge of his Wayes a Burden and of you all though you perish I am clear who am not hated of the Lord though falsly judged by his Enemies over whom I trample as the Dust and the Living God gives Victory over you all I am not of this World E. B. Something of TRUTH Made Manifest In Relation to a Dispute at Draton in the County of Middlesex in the first Moneth last In Opposition to the False Account given of it by one Philip Taverner in his Book stiled The QUAKERS ROUNDS OR A Faithful Account c. FOrasmuch as one who hath I suppose ambitiously stiled himself Mr. Philip Taverner hath taken in hand to set forth to the view of the World an Account and Relation of a Dispute hapning in the eleaventh Moneth last at Draton near Colebrook to which Relation I am a little engaged to write something by way of answer thereunto that all people may know the Truth and being the Truth is somewhat concerned herein that is the Reason wherefore I have taken in hand to write a little by way of answer to his Relation being without any prejudice towards the man as concerning any Wrong he hath done to me though me as well as the Truth he hath wronged as may appear to such who desire to know the Truth It 's true a publique dispute I had the time and place mentioned with a company of Priests and this same Philip Taverner was one of them and the occasion of the Dispute was thus I being a few weeks before at a Meeting with some Friends in the said Town one Richard Goodgroom in his relation mentioned was present at the hearing of what was spoken but at that time did not object any thing though afterwards in London and other places he went up and down in a backbiting manner and gave forth That I had held forth blasphemous Doctrines or the like whereupon I much desir'd a Dispute for the tryal of those things and it was accomplished and that day the Truth was much made manifest and Deceit confounded And as to all the things objected against me by Richard Goodgroom which he would have seemed to have taken great occasion thereby as if some great matter of Heresie and Error had been utter'd by me I say the very Truth of all these things was demonstrated according as I had laid them down and his Arguments against them made of none effect And though such as hardened their Hearts might go unsatisfied and in greater Unbelief then they came yet I am sure the Upright-hearted and such as desired the knowledge of the Truth were wholy satisfied and this many can give Testimony of with me And though by his Relation it may appear otherwise to some yet wherein he hath related falsly it shall fall upon his own head and his Folly shall truly more appear in the End then he would have or seem to cause any in me to appear at this present and so he might with more Credit to himself been silent then to have meddled in that wherein he hath shewed himself so imperfect For I believe That this same Philip Taverner hath given a Relation of four times as much as he did speak at that Meeting and hath related as though he spake that which he never uttered by so many times fo much as I have said and hath not related so much by many times as was spoken by me and them of my part as many may witness Which Work of his seems not to be perfect neither yet altogether honest as sober Men may judge but such a thing must redown more to his own Dishonour then to the Truth 's Disadvantage And first As to the Title of his false Relation which is stiled The Quakers Rounds or A Faithful Account c. To this I answer That the very Frontispiece and Title of his Book savours of a vain light scornful spirit and so every Spiritual Man may judge of it to be so But why dost thou Philip Taverner say A Faithful Account but that to confirm Falshood with audacious words having a shew of Confidence upon it thereby the more easily to enter ento the Hearts of the People as if it were irreprovable coming also from the hand and under the hand of a Mr. Philip c. having so stil'd thy self to make thy Fame great and to publish thy Work under a seeming Authority but hadst thou had more Humility less
God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 of him who is now appeared in Power and great Glory to gather his People to Himself This is to go abâ—… among all people wâ—o arâ— worshipping in Tempâ—… made with hands â—nd who are under this Ministry and are of 〈◊〉 Church aforementioned that they may come to consider and see the Erâ—… of their Way of thâ—… Worship and of their Miâ—… And this is a Visitation from the Lord unto them all by a Friend 〈◊〉 all your Souls E. B. Some False Principles And ERRORS DISCOVERED And REFUTED 〈…〉 Answer to a Catechism-Book which is said to contain The Principles of Religion put forth by a nameless Author But is supposed to be the work of one Samuel Eaton a professed Minister of the Gospel among the Sect of the Independants in Châ—shire But upon true Examination he is found to be teaching the Traditions of Men for the Commandments of Christ and his Principles are proved to be not according but contrary to the SPIRIT of GOD and the Scriptures To the READER THE Reason and Cause of this being sent abroad is for the better Information of all but more particularly for the good of that Assembly to whom Samuel Eaton is Minister and Pastor that they may know the Truth from Error and the Way of Righteousness from all false Wayes and may turn frâ—â— Idol-Shepherds that destroy the Vine-yard and tread it down and may 〈◊〉 to Christ and receive him who is the chief Shepherd to feed his Flock with the Bread of Eternal Life And the Reason why these False Principles are charged upon Samuel Eaton is this It being doubtful to some who was the Author of that Catechism wherein these Principles and Doctrines were held forth John Gredley and Anne Sheeld by name were with the said Samuel Eaton and asked him If he owned that Book the Catechism and he said He would maintain all in it That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Answer THE Wayes of the Lord are Equal and Just but the wayes of the Sons of Adam are altogether corrupted and different and contrary to the Wayes of Salvation And the Wisdom that is of this World is Foolishness with God and its End is Destruction to its self and to all that walk therein And what is Man that he shall prescribe a Way to his Makerâ— and who is it that will be more wise then God to â—et him a Way how he must â—…ch his People Therefore in-vain have men laboured and have reaped to â—…selves nothing but Wind and Confusion And in vaâ—â— have they sown 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to reap after them whose Fruit hath been Emptiness and not filled the Hand of the Gatherer And in particular this Book with which I am now â—…ing is the Fruit of an empty Tree which cannot satisfie the hungry 〈◊〉 nor comfort the weary Seeker for the Satisfaction and Comfort of the â—…ing hungry Soul dependeth only upon the Lord and upon the Bread of â—â—fe that commeth down from God and the soul that eaâ—â— thereof is â—…ed and comforted forever and hungereth no more nor thirsteth any slâ—… but the Fountain is in him and the Well springeth up unto Eternal Life 〈◊〉 goes no more forth And if so be that all herein were true and souâ—… Doâ—… and were learned so as to express it over again in words this might be 〈…〉 the soul still remaining in Anguish and under Sin and Death though 〈◊〉 in the Knowledge that is from below and yet in a farther Ignorance of God for the wisdom of this World knows not God neither can it teach not receive the knowledge of the things that pertain unto Life Eternal but to the Sâ—…e and to Fools doth the Lord teach and reveal the Knowledge of his Kingdom and it is not received from Books nor the Teachings and Tradition of 〈◊〉 〈…〉 by the Manifestation of the eternal Spirit which doth lead into all Truth â—…eveals the Mysteries of Salvation The first thing that I take notice of is this thou sayst God is a Spirit 〈◊〉 he is one in Beeing and is to be distinguished into three Persons and the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Holy Ghost are Personal Relations and if one be a Person such are the other c. Answ. The Father Son and Spirit is one this we believe and know according to the Scriptures but as for thy word Person that is carâ—… 〈◊〉 â—oo low a word to denominate God by who is Infinite for God and the Spirit hath no Person nor cannot truly be distinguished into Persons for a person has relation to Place Time and Change and is not in all places at all tiâ—es at â—…e and the Scriptures know no such distinction for God is a Spirit and hath no relation to one Time Place or Alteration more then another but filleth Heaven and Earth and his Presence is in all and over all who is bleâ—… forever and is infinite and without Person or confined Beeing and the Sâ—…pture no where in true Translation doth denominate God Christ and the Spirit by Persons and Personal Beeings nor doth distinguish them into â—…ee Persons for Persons are related to carnal as I have said and Persons is â—oo low to denominate God and Christ and the Spirit by So thy Principles are unsound and not agreeing to the Spirit of God and the Scriptures and therefore not to be believed nor received Whereas thou sayst That the one standing Rule according to which God is to bâ—â—…ht worshipped and served is the holy Scriptures in which God hath revealed himself in all things which he would have believed and doâ—e c. Answ. It is the Spirit of God that gave forth the Scriptures which Spirit was and is within the Saints that leadeth into all Truth and teacheth to kâ—… all things and that Spirit of God only is the standing Rule to walk in and to walk by it was the Rule to Abel Enoch Abraham and the rest of the â—…ly Fathers that lived before any Scripture was written and it was the Ruâ—… to the Prophets to Christ and to the holy Apostles they all followed the Spirit and walked in it and spake and wrought and acted as the Spirit of God within them moved them and led them it was not the Scriptures but the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures that was the standing unchangâ—…le un-erring Rule of worshipping serving and obeying the Lord God and that same Spirit is the standing Rule to us also For the Apostle commandeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Spirit and that which we are to walk in is our Rule And as many 〈◊〉 the Sons of God are led by the Spirit of God and then the Spirit is their 〈◊〉 and that guides the Feet in the Way of Peace And in the Spirit is God â—…pped For they that worship him must worship him in the Spirit and in the â—… and such he seeketh to worship him For it is in the Hearts of his People 〈◊〉 within them that God revealeth himself by his Spirit For it is the Spirit 〈…〉 the thing â—f
this shall be manifest in the day of the Lord and in the mean time we are willing to bear and to suffer all things that is put upon us for the Name of the Lords sake Query 1. Whether you or any of you that pretend to Inspiration and Revelation did foresee or was it revealed to you that ever Charles Stuaâ—â— should be proclaimed King 〈◊〉 Reign in England ever anymore or whether or no any of you did believe it or could have believed it by your great Faith which you profess if it had been told you long ago Answ. As for the Proclaiming of Charles Stuart King to reign in England it was not improbable unto our Faith neither is it contrary to that which some of us hath seen for we know that God respects neither persons nor names but doth give the Kingdoms of this World to whomsoever he will and thus much was said as may be seen in a Book called Good Counsel and Advice rejected and divers other Papers c. p. 17. In a Letter to Oliver Cromwel it is said concerning you that are commonly called Cavaliers But what and if for and because of thy Wickedâ—â—â—â— in the sight of God he should raise them up and make them Instruments in his Hand to accomplish his wrath upon thee even like as he made thee once his Instrument to overthrow them c. And here the thing was believed to be possible that the Lord might raise you up again for his pleasure to fulfil his Will because of the wickedness of the Army and Nation and it is now come to pass even as it was seen and believed And also it was expressed in a Letter written in the 10th Mon. 1659. concernning them that were your Enemies and that were at first raised against you The very same spirit of Pride and Oppression and Idolatry is entred into them meaning your Enemies and now lives in them in as high a measure as ever it lived amongst you and â—â—â—ir Iniquities are well nigh finished and the Lord will one way or other correct reprove them and they shall be dealt with in like manner as they have dealt with you for they were no more then a Rod in the Hands of the Lord for a season and they must also be broken and cast into the Fire and whether the Lord may ever may make use of you to reprove them as he did of them to reprove you this I determine not but leave it to him who can do whatsoever he will by what Instrument he pleaseth It is true you have made many Attempts to be revenged upon them but you have not hitherto prospered but could you be humbled and come into the meek Spirit of the Lord then might you prosper but hitherto the Lord hath alwayes defeated you and bowed you down under a People as unworthy as others but their time will come to an end And submit unto the Will of the Lord in what is come to pass and seek not vengeance to your selves and then the Lord will avenge your Cause for the Iniquities of your Adversaries are ripe c. And Charles Stuart must either be converted to God and ruled by him or else he can never rightly rule for God in this Nation though this I believe it is not impossible but that he may be a Rod upon them that once smote him and their Oppressions and Ambitions may receive a check through him c. These things were written in a Letter to all the people of your part long before there was any visible appearance of that which is now come to pass whereby it doth appear that these things in a great measure were foreseen and prophesied of and it was believed as a thing very possible that thus it might be as is already come to pass And as for Visions they are for an appointed time there is a time to see and a time to speak what is seen and revealed things belong to us and when we declare them then you may take notice of it but it was verily believed as a thing possible that such a thing would be and also by the Proceedings and Transactions as they have fallen out for your very Enemies have so acted and proceeded as to destroy themselves and to bring you in over their heads though they little intended the thing yet the effect of their proceedings could hardly prove otherwise then to destroy themselves and make room for you and these things I observed And also thus far we did fore-see and it was revealed to us and believed by mâ—â—y of us fully and we did often Prophesie it that the Lord God of Heaven and Earth would destroy and bring down the Government and Authority as they have stood in this Nation for divers years and that he would bring Iudgment upon the Rulers and upon many of the Teachers and People of this Nation because of their oppressions and unfaithfulness and treachery and hypocrisie and wickedness which abounded amongst them which we have felt and seen and been sensible of and we have often given our witness against them because of their guiltiness in their sinful ways Oh it hath been loathsome unto the Lord even the Oppressions and treacheries of the Rulers Oh how hath Cruelty and Injustice abounded in their Government and their hypocrisie hath been evident in our â—ight in many Particulars and even in that they have cryed against and overthrown King and Kingly Government charging them with oppression and cruelty and pretended to ease the people in a better way of Government when as though Governors and Names and Titles of Government were changed and altered yet oppression ceased not neither was injustice forsaken nor was the heavy yoaks of great bondage removed but the rather these things were increased upon many good people in these Natiâ—â—s and herein was the unfaithfulness and treachery of the Rulers very great in the sight of God and their Government unjust and unequal wherefore the Lord hath been provoked against them to confound them and overturn them and we have often told it them and also the hypocrisie and deceits and sinfulness of Teachers we have seen and testified against and our witness to them both is and will be found true and Gods justice will be fulfilled upon them both and these things we have observed even the heinous guilt of sin against God in both Rulers and Teachers and the aboâ—â—â—â—tions that have been committed both in Civil and Church Government so called also and many people have lov'd to have these things so and we have been sensible how the Lord hath been provoked to overthrow the Governors of this Nation because hereof and this we have foreseen Prophesied of even that Iudgment and Confusion would come upon the Government the Rulers and the Teachers but particularly when and after what manner judgment and overthrow should come upon them was left to the Lord who hath brought to pass his own will according to Justice and it
Christ and his sake we bear all things having Prophesie and Example before us of the same things that came to pass between the Men of this World and the People and Saints of the Most High And for as much as one that subscribes himself George Willington of Bristol City hath publickly appeared in Print even in the Work aforesaid with his Accusations and Reproaches against the People of God whom he in scorn calls Quakers in his Book called The thrice Welcome of King CHARLES the Second c. Because of which his Accusations are the very present Occasion of this my present Work and that his Accusations may be turned backward and the minds of Men even of King Charles may be better informed for he hath accused us to the King and being we are somewhat concerned in this matter being thus reproached and that to the King who hath yet little knowledge of us and our Principles therefore it is upon me to give reasonable Answers to that Part of his Book wherein we are concerned and accused lest that the King to his own hurt should receive such Accusations for Truth when as they are otherwise and so be induced to proceed upon Reports if the Charge should not be answered And first I shall affirm and prove it in its season That this same Man whose Accusations I am now going to answer hath proceeded in the same spirit of all the false Accusers beforementioned and he hath lifted up his voyce in contempt of the Lord's People and hath rendered an evil Report of the Lord's Elect and though we forgive our Enemies him and such as he yet will the Lord plead with and give unto them according to their Deeds and we only may reprove them and leave Vengeance to the LORD our GOD unto whom it belongs Now though we are and have been thus proceeded against ever since we were a People even falsly reproached and all manner of evil spoken against us foâ— the Name of Christ by them whose Hearts are filled with Fury and Rage against us yet we are known in our integrity unto the Lord who hath placed his Nâ—me with us and we know one another in Faithfulness and Truth and Righteousness and I hope we have a Witness in many Consciences even of our Enemies and also of many in Bristol that as to our Doctrines Practises and Conversations they are according to the Truth and answerable to the Scriptures and justifiable even of the Witness of God in all sober-minded People even of them that have not yet joyned themselves to us and we are known to that in many even to the Witness of God in their Consciences to which in all we daily commend our selves in Doctrine Practise and Conversation that thereby onely we may be known and approved and we praise not our selves neither do we boast of what we are sâ—ving in the Lord yet from time to time we do and can make our Appeal in the sight of God to the just Principle of Him in all Men and even to the King before whom we now stand accused by this our Enemy do I make this desire though yet we are in a great measure Strangers to him in Doctrine Practises and Conversation that he may in all Cases of this and other Matters shew Moderation and the Spirit of Meekness and may first try all things and then he may judge the more justly for we are not afraid to be tryed before him and all the World in any Matter of Doctrine or in any Part of our Religion and we should judge it greatly honourable in the King to hear our Answers as well as our Enemies Accusations and to the Witness of God in him we can appeal for determination in any matter that is or may hereafter come in controversie before him concerning us And it is most certain that the proceedings of George Willington in this case of his accusing us to the King is not in love to Us nor to the King and his Government but altogether contrary as upon divers found Reasons I might â—emonstrate and may in its season and his present work against us is from old in-bred Enmity and Malice against us who would have us destroyed if it were in his Power for he hath formerly manifested himself in writing Reproaches and Slanders against us which were sufficiently answered and hereproved and refuted to his great shame among all sober People to which he never yet replied as being too Ignorant and too weak ever to clear himself from what is charged against him in the Answer given to his former Book but now as I have said out of and from that bitter old long-seated Enmity and devouring Malice he hath again appeared in Print against us supposing himself to have so excellent opertunity more then ever before to have his devouring mind satisfied of us and therefore hath he in haste presented the King with a Welcome partly of Reproaches and Accusations against the People of God but his Heart hath deceived him in this case for we shall live and not die God will preserve us and no man shall destroy us Now it had been a Welcome of love far more to the King to have sought his Mercy and Meekness towards all at his first enterance into the Government and the rather to have stirred him up thereunto then to seek to provoke him to rigour and wrath against any to destroy them as this Welcome of Willinton's tends unto which is not true love to the King but rather a preparing a Net for to entangle him and to lay stumbling Blocks of Iniquity before the Feet of the King that he might be destroyed and fall and never rise And let the King consider this for if he be provoked by any means to dâ—stroy or seek to overthrow the Innocent People of God that same shall be a Net to entangle him to destruction and a stumbling Block to fall upon and be everlastingly broken So that hereby the Welcome of Geo. Willington doth appear to be not of love but of ignorant hatred to the King and indeed it is such especially that part of it now under hand that it deserves reproof more then acceptation even from the King if he rightly consider the ground and end of the Author in his Accusations against us notwithstanding his seeming fawning and Flatteries by which he appears to be some Pick-thank or some News-teller or rather Tale-carrier for some hope of Promotion or Reward But I wish better to the King then that he receive or accept of the false Informations of this Author our Accuser or of any such like lest that he ensnare himself and be taken and stumble and fall in receiving mis-Informations instead of Truth and thereupon proceed in judgement or censure unjustly which is a way to destroy himself Let him take heed to himself I desire better for him and that he may shut his Ear against evil Informations and may never have his Heart opened to the sheding of Blood
New Birth and â—ll such are out of the right way in the way of Error if they have the Form of Godliness but want the Power though they may have Mass or say Common-prayer once a week oâ— oftner yet all this is but Abomination and Deceit whilst they practise Iniquity Hatred Back-biting Lying Drunkenness and the like they that act these things the Plagues of God will be their portion and Misery their end and their Profession in Religion will not save them The Day of the Lord is at hand ye Hypocrites ye false Christians ye â—â—at profess God with your Lips and your Hearts are far away Therefore repent ye and treâ—ble before the Lord lest hâ— smite you with Vengeance and forsake your false Religions both your Mass and your Iâ—…s of Prayer and be not Idolaters in professing love in your mouthes and honour with your Lips wâ—ilst your hearts are departed from the living 〈◊〉 and now come to learn the true Religion Depart from all Iniquity and do not Lye nor Swear nor be Drunk nor Steal nor Murder nor Envy but love the Lord with all your hearts and your Neighbour as your selves And this is the true Religion in which man may be saved and live in Soberness Meekness and â—â—nesttâ—y and speak every man Truth to his Neighbour and live in love 〈◊〉 with another and be kind and gentle and bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit of God Cease to do evil and learn to do well and depart form all â—â—iquity and follow after Righteousness This is true Religion and in it â—ou may â—e saved this is the right way all that walk in it shall have Peace and Blessing from God and all that walk contrary Damnation is their portion Therefore you Papists and Protestants so called turn from your Hypocrisie and learn this way and cease from your false worships that are after the Forms and Traditions of men and not after the Spirit of God and learn to worship God in the Spirit that you may be saved You have a Light from Christ in your Consciences which lets you see what sins ye are guilty of and it reproves you for your sin If you believe in the Light and walk in it that is the right way then you will deny what is evil and follow what is good in your Conversations but if you follow what is evil and act contrary to the Light in your Consciences and repent not Vengeance in flames of fire will be youâ— portion This is the day of your Visitation the Army of the Lamb is gone forth and the Sword of the Spirit is drawn amongst them that will wound your Consciences and God will smite you with the words of his mouth ye Rocks and Hills and Bryars and Thorns and fruitless Trees the God of Heaven will hew you to pieces and pluck you up and cast you into the fire to be consumed Repent for the Day of the Lord is at hand By one that seeks the Good of all men E. B. A VINDICATION OF The People of God CALLED QUAKERS Directed Unto Roger Boyle Called Earl of Orrery Charles Coote Called Earl of Mountrath Theophilus Iones Called Sir Theophilus Iones Being an Answer to a Book dedicated to them by one George Pressick of Dublin In which Book many Lyes and Calumnies are presented against the Innocent People of God And this is for the clearing of the Truth that no Lye may rest upon it And for the Satisfaction of all Sober People in Ireland and elsewhere With a Word of Good Advice to the Chief Governours there THere is Irreconcileable Ennity between the two Seeds to wit the Seed of God and the Seed of the Serpent and these two are alwayes opposite and contrary one to the other in Nature Fruits and Effects and the seed of the Serpent is alwayes persecuting the Seed of God in every Age and Generation and they in whom the seed of the Serpent is living and ruling are alwayes projecting and contriving mischief and hatred against the People and â—â—â—vants of the Lord in whom the Seed of God liveth and reigneth as it is written He that is born of the Flesh persecutes him that is born after the Spirit Thus it hath been in all Generations and thus it is at this day Great is the â—â—â—â—sition that is made by many in Lyes and Slanders in Reviling and Reâ—…hing in Imprisoning and Persecuting and in all manner of evil works 〈◊〉 words against the innocent People of God called Quakers How have the hands of ungodly men been lifted up to smite that People by many kinds of abuses and how have their Tonges been set on fire to reproach and revile and slander in all kind of evil-speaking and all this for Righteousness-sake and not for any evil doing For who is the man and where is he that can justly charge Evil upon that People either in Doctrine Faith or Practice or in any â—â—ing relating to their Religion to God-wards or in relation to their Conversations and walking towards men It is true we have not wanted Accusers to every Authority but such and such things have been falsly charged against us and that to every Power that hath been since we were a People under whom we have been a suffering People even from all that ever have sitten in the Throne since the Lord raised us up to bear Witness of his glorious Name and Truth in the World Now the present occasion of this my present work is Forasmuch as we now stand accused of great and heinous Crimes in the view of this whole Kingdom of Ireland and more particularly before you three in a Book called A brief Relation of some remarkable Passages of the Anabaptists in Germany c. published by one George Pressick of Dublin and dedicated in a special manner to you that his Work may pass with the greater Credit and his Slanders and Calumnies be received for undoubted Truths Now that the Innocency of the Upright may be cleared and that no Lye may rest upon the Truth nor that you neither any others may receive Falshoods for Verities because of our silence therefore it is that the Lord hath put it into my Heart to defend the Cause of God and his People by returning plain and sober Answer to the principal part of his Book wherein we are concerned and falsly Charged and for the end that the false Accuser may be reproved and his Calumnies returned into his own evil and malicious Heart from whence they came and that you and all men may be truly informed and prevented if possible of being seduced into the belief of Falshoods lest that your Hearts and Hands should be stirred up to act or do in your Authority against the People whom God hath blessed and from the ground and cause of Mis-informations and false Accusations without better Testimony which would be a way to destroy your selves and to bring the unjust Sufferings of the Lord's People upon your own Heads which would draw
the Church of ROME who are in the said Book Villified and Reproached by the Name and Term of Antient Phanaticks And this is sent forth as an Answer thereunto to Pursue it Apprehend it and Condemn it as a Pamphlet of Calumnies and Slanders against the Protestants both of former and present Dayes who are all of them Scorned in the said Book the one as Ancient the other as Modern PHANATICKS Which is sent abroad as a Warning to ENGLAND to beware of the spirit of the Church of ROME lest it Exalt it self in Cruel Persecution against the PROTESTANTS and all that differ from it HOW Great and Miserable hath been that Darkness and Ignorance which hath over-spread the Nations and Kingdoms of the World since the Apostles dayes And how manifold is that Error into which many have been fallen even as into a Snare of Destruction And how woful is that Strife Division and Contention about Religion that hath highly abounded among the Christian People so called For the whole Christendom have been divided and in Opposition one part against another about the True God and his Worship and concerning the knowledge of Salvation by Jesus Christ And divers kinds of Religion Church-Government and Practices of Ordinances of Faith Worship have been extant in the World and Nations Countries have been all in Division Strife and Contention about these Matters and have been also persecuting one another violently unto Bonds and Death for and because difference in Judgment and Practices concerning Spiritual Things Papists against Protestants and Protestants against Papists and one sort of Christians so called against another and the men of such a Judgment and Faiâ—â— and Way of Religion have been persecuting and seeking to destroy all that have been contrary minded to them And thus have been the woful Divisions and evil Effects thereof in the World among Christians about Faith and Worship and Religious matters this has come to pass because of the spirit of Error Darkness that hath possessed the minds of men since the falling away from the Truth as it was once manifest among the Apostles And thus it s come to pass because of the erring from the Spirit of God and because that hath been wanting amongst men therefore have People been divers and divided about Matters of Religion each one sort following their own Invention and Traditions of men and also persecuting one another and killing and imprisoning one another because of the same and all this because the Spirit of Truth hath not dwelt in the Hearts of Christians as it did in the Apostles not led guided and taught them in true Unity and Fellowship as it did the true Christians in the dayes of old And while the Spirit of Christ hath been wanting and is not received into the Heart to mortifie guide rule and teach in all the Wayes of God and the whole exercise of Religion and Duty towards Him and while there is any kind of imposing and forceing of Religion by Laws of men upon Penalties and Forfeitures and setting up Worship and Church Government by that means and in that way without the immâ—… Teaching of the Spirit of Christ in the Conscience I say while this hath been and is continued nothing but Division Strife Contention Persecution and Nations and Peoples destroying one another about Religion hath been is or can be in the World amongst Christians And of this same to wit of Division and Contention about Religion with the Enmity of such as are so divided one against another to the persecuting and killing one of another that are contrary minded as it hath been brought forth in the World for Generations past we have here a sufficient large Testimony lately published in a Book called Semper Iidem or A Paralel of Phanaticks c. wherein is made mention of what Strife and Contention there hath been in former dayes among the false Christians and how they have cruelly Persecuted Burned and Destroyed one another in this Cause only for and because of the difference in Maters of Judgment and Religious Things and these Persecutions and Cruelties effected contrary to the Example of Christ and his Doctrine who hath exhorted to Love and Peace and not to Kill and Destroy and that a man should love his Enemies and not Kill and Destroy them contrary to which Doctrine the false Christians of all kinds have walked and acted since the dayes of the Apoâ—… who have been Apostatized and fallen from the very Life and Power of Godliness as held amongst the primitive Saints into Forms and empty Shadows being all in strife one with another about such things and have wanted the Spirit of Christ which should have led and guided into all Truth and exercised them in the true Worship of the true and living God who is a Spirit and is only truly worshipped in Spirit and in Truth but out of this Spirit and spiritual Worship the false Christians have been erred and so all divided and in Centention aâ— aforesaid and persecuting one another because thereof each one sort justifying their own Way 〈◊〉 Right and condemning that which hath differed as the Wrong and all as Hereticks that have been otherwise minded But as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Book Semper Iidem c. I would gladly animadâ—… 〈◊〉 conâ—…ing it and do intend to write a few things by way of anâ—â—er thereunto and this is the present Occasion of my present work for having met with the said Pamphlet and perusing of it I found divers Considerations on my spirit to send forth in Answer to pursue the said Semper Iidem up and down the World till it returns again unto the place from whence it came to wit Unto the bottomless Pit out of which it lately arose and in reading the same Book I have principally observed the Mischievout End and secret Evil Intents of the Nameless Author more than the Matter it self contained and though the Author be Nameless yet is his nature and spirit known by his Book and for what end he hath concealed his Name I know not except he was ashamed of his Work and durst not Authorize his Matter by his Name but however the spirit end and intent of the said Nameless Person is perceived and known as much as any Tree can be distinguished by its Fruit and he is of an Envious Disposition of Heart and of Malicious Countenance and in nature and stock of the descent of Cain for his spirit is of an evil constitution hot and fiery and enclinable to destroy all that are not like-minded with himself in the Iudgment of Religious Matters and his proceedings and the end of his work is of an Intent and Purpose wicked enough if every Effect answers the Cause appearing and be not diverted from the End proposed by the Author and this I find by Calculation of his Birth and the Temper of his spirit and of the Time wherein his Book is published and by the Cause and End and Intent of the
Magistrates so as to punish them for Breach of the Laws for the preventing of these Evils But such Wickedness is too much suffered though there be divers Acts of Parliaments against such Persons and such Actions as well as there is one against our Meetings yet the Act against us is more put in Execution some Places for the breaking of out Meetings which are for the Worship of God than the good Laws for suppressing Wickedness though there is better Law for the one than for the other Divers other Laws and Statutes made for good Ends for the suppressing of Wickedness in the Land there are which are but easily Executed at this day but here is one Act against Peaceable meeting together for the Worship of God which is violently prosecuted and executed upon Innocent Men and let all just Men judge of these things Though there be a Law Enacted against our Meetings so there is against Drunkards and Drunkenness and Unreasonable Tippling in Taverns and Ale-Houses and against Minstrels Fiddlers Pipers and Players Common-Players and Stage-Players that go up and down the Countries and have their Play-Houses in publick Cities which Statutes ought rather to be Executed though they are not But these things we shall leave to all sober People to judge of And seeing that the Law against us is more put in Execution than these other Laws it doth appear That there is more Envy against us and our Peaceable Religious Meetings than there is against Prophaneness and Wickedness Drunkenness and Stage-Playing and such like and such Magistrates wheresoever they are are not excusable in the Sight of God though there is a Law against us while they prosecute it against us and not these other good Laws against Prophane and Ungodly Persons and Practices And therefore seeing we do suffer we must say It is not only because there is a Law against us but it is also or rather Because there is Enmity and Wrath and Wickedness in the Hearts of Men against us which is the main Cause of our Sufferings at this day And let the Magistrates compare this Law made against us with that Saying in Doctor and Student Chap. 2. speaking concerning the Law written in the Heart teaching every man what is to be done and what is to be fled And saith he Because it is written in the heart therefore it may not be put away nor is it ever changable by any diversity of place or time And therefore against this Law Prescription Statute nor Custom may not prevail and if any be brought in against it they be not Prescriptions Statutes nor Customs but things void and against justice and all other Lawes as well the Law of God as the Acts of Men ought to be grounded upon the Law written in the Heart And in cap 4. of the same it s said Every mans Law must be consonant with the Law of God and therefore the Lawes of Princes the Commandements of Prelates the Statutes of Commonalties nor yet the Ordinances of the Church are not Righteous nor Obligatory but as it is consonant to the Law of God And we are sure the Law of God and holy Scriptures do justifie our Meeting together as afore is expressed Also in the Statute 28. Hen. 8. chap 7. it is said in these words That no man of what Estate Degree or Condition soever he be hath Power to dispence with Gods Lawes as all the Clergy of this Realm and the most part of all the Universities of Christendom And we also Affirm and think these things truly compared one with another We leave them to the Judgment of the Law of God Gospel of Christ holy Scriptures and our Neighbours and let Truth determine So be it Edward Burroughs A TABLE OF THE Several Books Contained in this VOLUMN And of the Principal HEADS and Matters contained in the said Books A Warning from the Lord to the Inhabitants of Underbarrow and to all the Inhabitants in England Which containeth 1. A Warning to all who hold up the false Teachers and false Worship page 1. to 11. 2. A true Declaration to all the World of his manner of Life what he had been and what he was at that present p. 15. 16. The Walls of Ierico razed down to the Ground Which containeth an Answer to a Book called The Quarkers Principles dashed in pieces put forth by Enoch Howet called an Anabaptist p. 18 c. An Answer to several Queries Put forth to the People called Quakers by Phillip Bennit a pretended Minister of Christ and John Reeve one who called himself The Last Messenger and Witness p. 29 c. An Answer to a Book called Choice Experiences put forth by J. Turner p. 45. The Copy of a Letter sent to the Assembly of them called Anabaptists in Newcastle p. 51. An Answer to a Book called A Voice from the Word of the Lord put forth by one John Griffith against the People called Quakers p. 54. A Visitation of the Rebellious Nation of Ireland and a Warning from the Lord Proclaimed to all the Inhabitants thereof with a Lamentation over its Unfruitfulness and Rebellion after so many Visitations p. 77. Containing several particular Papers written in that Nation to several sorts of People viz. 1. An Information to the Heads and the Ground of the Law laid down to the Iudges and Iustices c. p. 83. 2. An Exhortation sent to the chief Commander and his Council and the Iust Cause of the Innocent laid before them p. 85. 3. The Unjust Sufferings of the Iust declared and their Appeal to the Iust Witness of God in all their Consciences p. 88. 4. A Challenge to the Priests of Dublin to try their Godd and their Ministry and their Worships p. 90. 5. A Discovery of the Idol Dumb Shepherds in that Nation and a Lamentation ever their starved and strayed Flocks p. 91. 6. An Invitation to all the poor desolate Souldiers to Repent and make their Peace with the Lord and their Duty shewed them what the Lord requires of them p. 93. 7. A Warning from the Lord to the Natives of that Nation of Ireland p. 94. A Trumpet of the Lord sounded forth of Zion Which containeth a Testimony from the Word of the Lord 1. To Oliver Cromwell and his Counsel p. 97. 2. To all the Iudges and Lawyers p. 98. 3. To all Astrologers Magitians South-sayers and Wise-Men p. 99. 4. To all the Generals Collonels Commanders Officers and Souldiers in England Scotland and Ireland p. 99. 5. To all the Priests and Prophets and Teachers of the People p. 100. 6. To all them called Papists and to their whole Body and Head at Rome p. 102. 7. To all them called Protestants of the eldest sort p. 103. 8. To all them called Presbyterians and Independants p. 103. 9. To all them called Anabaptists p. 105. 10. To all them called Free-willers who say Christ dyed for all p. 107. 11. To all them that say They wait and believe for the coming of Christ to
Raign in Person upon Earth p. 107. 12. To all them called Ranters p. 108. 13. To all them called Seekers and Waiters p. 109. 14. The Beast which all the World Wonders after but they whose Names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life hath many Heads and many Horns p. 109. A Description of the State and Condition of all Mankind upon the Face of the whole Earth Sheweth from p. 115. to 123. 1. What man was in his Creation before Transgression 2. What he is in Transgression and how he became a degenerate Plant. 3. The Way of Restauration Salvation and of Life Eternal declared to the Sons and Daughters of Adam in the whole World Truth Defended or Certain Accusations answered cast upon the People called Quakers by the Teachers of the World In which is discovered 1. Who are the false Prophets 2. When they came in 3. How they may be known 4. Who they are that deny Christ and preach another Gospel 5. Who they are that deny the Scriptures Churches Ministers and Magistrates c. p. 124. to 135. The true Faith of the Gospel of Peace Contended for in the Spirit of Meekness Being an Answer to John Bunnian a professed Minister in Bedfordshire p. 136. An Answer to a Book called Stablishing against Quaking put forth by Giles Firmin a professed Minister in Essex p. 153. The Crying Sins Reproved whereof the Rulers and People of England are highly guilty Being Additions to their own Confessions held forth by them in their Declaration wherein these Three Nations were invited to a solemn Day of Fasting c. p. 168. A Measure of the Times Wherein is shewed 1. What the state of things have been in Ages past 2. What the state of things are at this present day 3. What shall be the state of things hereafter from p. 183. to 203. The Testimony of the Lord concerning London Being a Warning to all sorts of People in it what the Lord requires of them p. 214. to 222. A Just and Lawful Tryal of the Teachers and Professed Ministers of this Age Wherein is shewed That they are judged and by the Scriptures proved to be contrary to all the Ministers of Christ in former Ages 2. And are proved to agree with all the false Prophets and Deceivers in their Call Maintenance Doctrine and Practice In which Book is also a Description of the true Ministry of Christ from p. 223. to 239. A Standard lifted up and an Ensign held forth to all Nations Being a Testimony Concerning The True God p. 241. The Son of God p. 242. The Spirit of God p. 242. Man and all Mankind p. 243. The World in general p. 243. Man's Restauration Redemption and Salvation what they are and by whom they are wrought p. 245. True Religion and the true Worship of the true God p. 245. Iustification and Sanctification p. 246. The Kingdom of Christ and how it is to be set up p. 246. Governours and Government and Subjection to them p. 247. The true Ministry of Christ and the false Ministry and the Difference betwixt them p. 248. The Gospel of Christ p. 249. The Word of God and the Scriptures p. 249. The Devil and Damnation p. 250. All Creatures that God made p. 251. The New Covenant p. 252. Faith p. 253. What Works are accepted of God and what Works are not accepted p. 253. Man's State in the first Adam before Conversion and his State after Conversion and what Conversion is p. 254. The Woful Cry of Unjust Persecutions and grievous Oppressions of the People of God in England Shewing the Ground of Persecution in its first Cause and the Enmity which is betwixt the two Seeds p. 256. Truth the Strongest of all witnessed forth in the Spitit of Truth against all Deceit In a Reply to John Bunnian ' s second Book p. 275. Many Strong Reasons Confounded Being an Answer to Richard Baxter ' s Twenty four Arguments which he said Would hinder any reasonable man from being a Quaker p. 310. The true Christian Religion again Discovered after a long and dark Night of Apostacy Shewing who it is of the Sects and Forms of Religion in the Nations that are agreeable to the Scriptures p. 325. A Message for Instruction to all the Rulers Judges and Magistrates to whom the Law is committed Shewing 1. What Iust Government is 2. How far the Magistrates Power reacheth and what the Sword of Iustice is to cut down and what it is to defend 3. An Exposition of some parts of the Law for the Edification of such as desire to judge Righteously between man and man p. 343. The State of the Controversie between Richard Mayo Priest of Kingstone and Edw. Burroughs p. 375. Truth made Manifest Being an Answer to a Book called The Quakers Rounds put forth by one Philip Taverner p. 399. A Testimony concerning the Estate of the True Church Shewing 1. What she hath been 2. What she is pag. 413. The True State of Christianity truly described Shewing 1. What it was in its Beginning and Purity 2. What it now is in its Apostacy and Degeneration And also sheweth the Woful State wherein them called Christians now stand being departed and revolted from the Spirit of Christ and from his Teachings pag. 418. A Declaration to all the World of our Faith and what we believe who are called Quakers pag. 439. Some of the Principles of the Quakers scornfully so called by men Vindicated In Answer to two Printed Books put forth by Philip Taverner a supposed Minister of the Gospel in Middlesex p. 444. A Testimony against a Great Idolatry committed Being a true Mourning of the Lord's Servant upon the many Considerations of his Heart upon that Occasion of the great stir about an Image of O. Cromwell carryed about the 23th of the 9th Moneth 1658. p. 457. A Message proclaimed by Divine Authority From the Chosen Assembly of the Redeemed People in England to the Pope chief Bishop in Rome and to his Cardinals Iesuits and Priests c. being an Invitation and Challenge to them to come forth to Tryal and shew if they have the same Faith Power Spirit Authority and Government as had the Apostles and true Churches before the Apostacy p. 462. A Faithful Testimony concerning the true Worship of God Shewing 1. What it is in it self 2. And who are the true Worshippers p. 474. Some false Principles and Errors Discovered In Answer to a Book supposed to be put forth by Samuel Eaton a professed Minister of the Gospel amongst the Sect of Independents in Cheshire p. 483. A Message to all Kings and Rulers in Christendom Being a Warning from the Lord to them to take heed of Oppression and to cease to grind the Face of the Poor and from drinking the Whore's Cup and from carrying of her and from all Oppressions whatsoever lest the Lord God Almighty execute his fierce Indignation upon them p. 492. An Account of some Grounds and Reasons of the Innocent Sufferings of the People of God
and Tradition what you have studied for out of Books and old Authors you preach to people and what ye have noted in a Book that you preach by an Hour-glass and not as the Spirit of God gives you utterance and you seek out and enquire after great Benefices and much Money by the year and where there is much Tythes and Gleb-Lands and such like thither and to such a Place you go and seek after to be Minister there and there you remain twenty forty more or fewer years as you can agree with the People and while they will give you so much as will content you and maintain you your Wives and Families as you say respect not whether any be converted to God by your preaching but people remain always in blindness and ignorance generally and without the Knowledg of God for you preach other mens words and what you have collected in your Imaginations from the Saints words an Hour by a Glass leaning upon a soft Cushion and for Money and Hire preaching to the people and this is your manner of practice and Ministry in these Nations but thus did not the Apostles nor Christ's Ministers but the contrary and by your Fruits and Works it appears that you are not Followers of that Spirit that Christ and his Ministers were guided by neither are lawfull Successors of the Apostles but by your Fruits and Practice you manifest that the Lord never sent you nor Christ never called you into his Service to be his Ministers for in all your Practices and in your whole Performances of Worship you differ and do not agree but are contrary to what the Practice and Worship of Christ's Ministers and Churches were in the days of the Apostles this I charge upon you in the Name and by the Authority of the Lord God and am able to prove it against you face to face or otherwise to shew that you are not of the same spirit but contrary to the Saints and Apostles of old and so not true Succeeders of them nor lawful Ministers of Christ as to all people it is and shall be made manifest Thirdly You disagree and are contrary altogether to the true Ministry and to the Apostles in respect of your Maintenance and Wages for the Wages which Christ allowed his Ministers was into whatsoever House they entered that was worthy they might eat such things as are set before them for the Workman saith he is worthy of his Hire and the Apostles eat only of the Fruit of the Vineyard that they had planted and of the Milk of the Flock which they kept by a free gift of the People which they had begotten to the Faith and to whom they sowed spiritual things it was but as a small matter if they reaped their carnal things yet as a free gift they would do it and the Apostle said he would not make the Gospel of Christ chargeable And in this manner were Christ Ministers and Ministry in Wages and Gifts upheld and maintained outwardly in the World But your Practise and Maintenance is not such but contrary as is fully made manifest for you will have so much by the year promised to you in Tythes Money or Gleab-lands or Stipends and of Drunkards and Swearers and prophane Wordly People who are not Sheep of Christ's Flock nor Plants of his Vine-yard you will have so much of each of them and of every man in such a compass as you call your Parish and if any either out of Covetousness or good Conscience cannot pay you you sue at Law and cast into Prison for Wages and spoil their Goods and take treble nay sometimes Five double damage and through Violence and Injustice and Cruelty are you maintained in such a manner and not as the true Ministers and Apostles of Christ were but in a way and manner quite contrary as it is manifest and so herein it is proved that you are not lawful Successors of the Apostles and Ministers of Christ. Fourthly Again you follow not the Apostles and true Ministers of Christ but are contrary to them in Doctrine as this following Volumn will clearly manifest which for this very end is collected from your own Mouths and Pens that all men may see what you are and what you hold and profess and being truely laid down and answered let your selves and all sober men compare your doctrines and sayings with the Doctrines of the Apostles and they may see you agree not with them but are contrary to them And now Friends to all you that profess your selves to be Ministers of the Gospel I do hereby declare unto you in the Name and Authority of the Lord that we have a controversie with you and a great charge against you in all these things in your Call in your Practice and in your Maintenance and in your Doctrines and our Mouthes hath the Lord opened and they cannot be shut from declaring and crying against you as such whom the Lord never sent but are contrary to Christ his Prophets and Apostles in all your Ways and Practices and the Hand of the Lord is certainly against you and his Power and Dread will comeover you and lie upon your Consciences Now Reader whatsoever thou are that reads this following Volumn if thy mind be sober and thy heart right towards God thou may come to a good understanding of the Ground and cause of this great controversie between the Priests and the Professors of this Nation and us who are in scorn called Quakers for it is not unknown to Nations of this great debate and battel now for some years of continuance in this Nation no man can be ignorant what putting in Prisons and what Persecuting and what Preaching and Printing against us and what Reports and Fame hath been through this Nation for some years past and the Quakers so called have written and spoken and printed against the Priests their Worships and Ways and Doctrines and declared against them as Deceivers and false Prophets and such as never were sent of God and on the other hand thus have the Priests and more abundantly cried out against and printed against the Quakers as Hereticks and Deceivers and Witches and all what they could say that 's evil and these things being not unknown but publickly brought to pass therefore it will be good to discover unto every man the first ground and cause of this great Strife and the matter of it and its beginning so that all may know the certainty of these things and know they are not without good ground and sufficient reason on our part to wit That we have just cause to do and strive against that Generation of Priests and Teachers and that we do nothing rashly and without sufficient reason It is now about seven years since the Lord raised us up in the North of England and opened our Mouthes in this his Spirit and what we were before in our Religion Profession and Practices is well known to that part of the Country