Day of your Fast ye find Pleasure and exact all your labours Behold ye fast for Sirife and Debate and to smite with the fist of Wickedniss ye shall not fasâ— as ye do this day to make your voices be heard on high Is it such a Fast that I have chosen a Day for a man tâ—â—ffiâ—â— his Soul Is it to how down his Head as a Bulrush and to spread Sâ—â—ckâ—loth and Ashes under him Wilt thou call this a Fast and an acceptable Day to the Lord Is not this the Fast that I have chosen saith the Lord To loose the Bands of Wickedness to undo the heavy Burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that you break every Yoke So this Fast that the Lord requires is not to lay yokes and oppress and lay heavy Burdens and to make fast the Bands of Wickedness but to loose and break such things And further concerning the true Fast the Lord requires Is it not to deal thy Bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy House When thou seest the naked that thou cover him and that thou hide not thy self from thine own flesh Do you keep this true Fast Then shall the Light break forth as the Morning and thine Health shall spring forth speedily and thy Righteousness shall go before thee the Glory of the Lord shall be thy Rere-ward Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer thou shalt cry and he shall say Here I am If thou take away from the midst of thee the Yoke the putting forth of the finger and speaking Vanity And if thou draw out thy â—oul to the hungry and satisfie the afflicted Soul then shall thy Light rise in Obscurity and thy Darkness be as the Noon-day and the Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfie thy Soul in Drought and make fat thy bones and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a Spring of Water whose Waters fail not c. Now here is the true Fast the Lord requires of his People they that observe this Fast the Lord saith When they call he will answer and you may see what Glorious and Happy Comforts they do receive from the Lord that keep this true Fast but such as fast for Strife and Debate and smite with the fists of Wickedness to make their Voice to be heard on high and afflict their Souls for a Day and bow down their head like a Bulrush and looses not the Bands of Wickedness and doth not undo every heavy Burden and break off every yoke and let the oppressed go free and doth not deal his Bread to the hungry and cloth the naked and bring the poor to his house but hides himself from his own Flesh and clothes not the naked such Fasts and Fasters the Lord dotâ— not accept neither hath he chosen them but these appear to men with their disfigured faces in bowing down their heads like a Bulrush for a Day like the Hypocrites to fast as Christ speaks of in Mat. 6. And is it not the Command of Christ that in their Fast they should not appear unto men to fast And now you that would force us to shut up our Shops on fasting dayes or for a Day doth not this Fast appear unto men and is not this the Fast that the Lord saith in Isaiah he doth not accept for he saith Is this the Fast that I have chosen a Day for a man to afflict his Soul and bow down his Head as a Bulrush c. Wilt thou call this a Fast and an acceptable Day to the Lord Isa 58. And therefore all God's People are to keep the true Fast of the Lord from Debate and Strife and the Fist of Wickedness and that Fast that breaks the Bands of Wickedness and undoes every heavy Purden and breaks every yoâ—e and lers the oppressed go free and deals Bread to the hungry and clothes the naked and brings the poor that are cast out to his own House So every one that keeps this true Fast their Health shall grow and when they call the Lord will hear them and the Lord will be their Guide continually and satisfie their Souls in Drought and make their Bones fat and shall be like a watered garden and like a Spring of Water whose Waters fail not Now you that keep not this true Fast when you caâ—l upon the Lord on your own Fasting-Dayes doth the Lord answer you and say Here I am Doth the Lord guide you continually And are your Bones made fat by him and your Souls satisfied in Drought And are you like a watered Garden and like a Spring whose waters fail not But you who keep not this true Fast do you not want these Waters which fail not So your Souls are not satisfied in Drought but your Bones are lean and you hear not the Voice of the Lord who saith Here I am and so you loose the Heritage of Jacob and ride not upon the High Places there but come under And therefore every mau and woman shut your hearts against all manner of Evil whatsoever and trade not with Babylon's Merchants of Confusion but keep the supernatural Day of Christ that is sprung from on high that is by believing and walking in the Light of Christ and being grafted into him and this will bring you to the true Fast and from feeding upon any Evil and to the true praying in the Spirit as Christ and the Apostles have taught which Fruits of rhe Spirit is Love c. which Birth of the Spirit is not a persecuting Firth but he that is born of the Flesh will persecute him that is born of the Spirit because he will not follow the Birth of the Flesh with its weak beggerly Elements that entangle with its yoke of Bondage and its observing dayes moneths times and years which the Birth of the Spirit is to stand fast against in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made it free And do you not know the very Turks they keep their Sabbath on the sixth day and the Jews on the seventh day and the Christians meet together on the first day of the Week and that day which the Turks keep the Jews and Christians shops are open and that day the Jews keep the Turks and Christians shops are open and the first dayes the Christians keep both Jews and Turks shops are open And so the Turk doth not force the Jews nor Christians to shut up their shops on their meeting-dayes but lets them have their Liberty in the Turks Counrry And where do you read that ever the Turks forced any Christians to observe any of their holy-Holy-Dayes Fasts or Feasts and if not should not Christians be beyond the Turks in giving Liberty to all tender Conscience to serve God seeing Christ and the Ap stles command not nor forâ—e People to observe holy-Holy-Dayes or Times or Monet's or years but should pray alwayes in the Spirit and fast alwayes from Strife and Debate and from all manner of
THE HYPOCRITES FAST and FEAST not GOD's HOLY DAY HAT-HONOUR to MEN MAN's INSTITUTION not GOD's Presented to the View and Consideration of Papistical and Protestant Time servers and Day-observers VVill-worshippers and Persecutors and Satisfaction of the moderate Inquirer By George Fox Printed in the year 1677. THE HYPOCRITES FAST and FEAST not GOD's HOLY-DAY HAT-HONOUR to MEN MAN's INSTITUTION not GOD's WHere did ever Christ or his Apostles command any Believers or Christians to observe Holy-dayes or Feast dayes and let us see where it is written in the Scriptures of the New Testament in the four Evangelists or the Epistles or the Revelations That ever Christ or his Apostles gave the Christians any such Command that they should observe the time called Christmas or a day for Christ's Birth Or that they should observe the time called Easter or Whitesuntide or Peter's or Paul's or Mark 's or Luke's dayes or any other Saints dayes Now you that profess your selves the Reformed Churches from the Papists Jews and Heathen and the Scriptures to be your Rule are Professors of the New Covenant where do you prove out of the Scriptures of the new Testament that the Apostles any of the primitive Church practised any such thing or that Christ or his Apostles gave any such Command to the Churches that they should practise and observe any such days let us see where this Command is written For did not the Apostle say in his Epistle to the Galatians ' in chapter 4. But now after ye have known God or rather are known of God how turn ye again to the weak and Beggerly Elements whereunto ye desire again to be in Bondage Ye observe Dayes and Moneths and Times and Years I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you Labour in vain And in Gal. 3. it is said O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth c. And in Gal. 5. the Apostle exhorts them To stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free and moreover said Be not entangled again with the Yoke of Bondage Now doth not this manifest that here were some Teachers that were drawing the Church of the Galatians into these Beggerly Elements and bringing them again into Bondage in observing of Dayes Moneths Times and Years for it was the Apostles work to bring them out of those Bondages and Beggerly Elements and therefore when they were going back again into observing Dayes and Moneths and Times and Years he was afraid that he had bestowed his Labour upon them in vain and be exhorts them to stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ Jesus hath made them free not to be entangled again with the Yoke of Bondage AGAIN signifies that they had been once intangled with that Yoke of Bondage and Beggerly Elements But O how are all that are called Christians since the Apostles dayes gone again under this Yoke of Bondage and these beggerly Elements in observing Dayes Times Moneths and Years let their Practice declare Nay do not both Papists and Protestants force People by Laws to observe Dayes and Months and Times c. And therefore is not the Apostles Labour and Travel bestowed upon Christendom in vain which was to bring People from under such beggerly Elements and that Yoke of Bondage which the Law did require to stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free and not to be entangled again with the Yoke of Bondage So it was and is Christ that has made and does make his People free from these things in the Apostles dayes and now And had all Christendom kept in this Freedom they had kept from under this Yoke of Bondage And therefore they who are redeemed are to stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free And this Liberty which all true Christians are to stand fast in they are made free by Christ à nd not by man for man without the Spirit and Mind of Christ seeks to force and compel Christs Followers and such as he hath made free from the Yoke of Bondage to the outward things that the law commanded and to the observing of Dayes and Moneths and Times Fasts and Feasts and Years such weak and beggerly Elements them that know God or are known of God and Christ He hath made them free and they are to stand fast in their liberty and not come under not be entangled with the Yoke of Bondage in such things again for they that are in such things and would force others to them are gone fâ—om that which gives them the Knowledge of God and have not stood fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free Concerning Prayer First We do not read that ever Christ or his Apostles did compel any to pray or fast and make a law to strain the Goods of such as would not observe dayes to fast and pray with them but Christ taugâ—t them how they should pray and be distinct from the Hypocrites and Christ's words are as followeth When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites are for they love to stand praying in the Synagegues and in the Corners of the Streets that they may be seen of men c. But when thou prayest enter into thy Closet and when thou hast shut thy Poor pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father that seeth in secret will reward thee openly but when you pray use not vain Repetitions as the Heathen do for they think that they shâ—ll be heard for their much speaking Be not ye therefore lâ—ke unto them for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him c. So as the Apostles and Saints did so do we pray in secret and we pray in publick c as the Spirit gives utterance which helps our Infirmities as it did the Apostles and true Christians and after this manner we pray for our selves and we pray for all men both high and low Concerning Fasting Christ saith Moreover when ye fast be not as the Hypocrites of a sad Countenance for they disfigure their Faces that they may appear unto men to fast but when thou fasts anoint thy Head and wash thy Face that thou appear not unto men to fast but unto thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly And likewise you may see in Isaiah 58. what the true Fast is the Lord requires where it is said to the Prophet Cry aloud and spare not lift up thy Voice like a Trumpet and shew my People their Transgression and the House of Israel their Sins yet they seek me daily and delight to know my Wayes as a Nation that did Righteousness and forsook not the Ordinance of their God they ask of me the Ordinance of Justice they take Delight in approaching to God Wherefore have we fasted say they and thou seest not Wherefore have we afflicted our souls and thou takest no Knowledge Behold in the
Sin and Evil and that will keep down the Fist of Wickedness and the Bond of Iniquity c. And why should not People that be of tender Consciences have their Liberty to exercise their Consciences towards God that they may have a good Conscience alwayes towards God and man and to that which God requires and to do unto all men as they would have them do unto them to love their Neighbours as themselves And seeing there is so many debauched and seared Consciences as with a hot Iron have their Liberty in their loose Lives and Conversations and in their loose words whose Tongues are at liberty to swear and curse and their Spirits are at liberty in Drunkenness and Uncleanness so let the Magistrates look see how this evil Conscience hath its liberty to be exercised in all manner of Evil Things yea all Christendom over which is a great Shame and Dishonour to God Christ Christianity Humanity And therefore why should not God's People have their liberty to exercise their good and tender Consciences towards God and man for the Mystery of Faith which Christ Jesus is the author and finisher of is held in a pure Conscience and should not the Work of the Christian Magistrates be to encourage the Exercise of this pure Conscience towards God and man and to discourage the exercise of this evil Conscience which dishonours God Christ and true Christianity If not how are they a Praise to them that do well and a Terror to evil-doers And now concerning The not Putting off Hats for which many that go under the Name of Christians have taken Offence at us because we could not put off our Haâ—s and bow down to them for which we find no such command from Christ or his Apostles but rather to the contrary for Christ saith I receive not Honour of man Mâ—rk Job 5.41 42. he did not receive Honour of men And further Christ saith How can ye believe which recive Honâ—ur one of another and seek not the Honour that comes from God only Now Christ declares it to be a Mark of an Unbeliever that seeks Honour one of another and seeks not that Honour that comes from God only And is not the puttâ—ng off the Hat and bowing with it an Honour of men which they seek one of another and are offended if they have it not Nay have they not fined persecuted and imprisoned some because they did not put off their Haâ—s to them Nay do not the veâ—y Turks mock at the Christians in their Proverb saying That the Christians spend most of their time in shewing their bare Heaths one to another â—ut should not the Christians be beyond the Turks that bear that noble Name of Chistian in seeking Honour one of another and perseâ—uting them that will not give it them when all true believing Christians should seek the Honour that comes from God only whiâ—h is the Duâ—y of all true Believers in Christ Jesus for he would not receive Honâ—ur of men And he that believeth on the Son of God hath Ever lasting Life and he that believeâ—h not the Son of God shall not see Life but the Wrath of God abiâ—eth upon him And now is not the Turks Proverb a Reproach to the Christians who say that The Christians spend most of their time in shewing their bare Heads one to another Nay have you not fined and imprisoned many because that they could not put of their Hats to you and shew you their bare Heads Nay in many of your courts they shall not have Right and Justice and its hard for Apprentices in some Places to get their Liberty Freedom in Cities or States though they have truly served their Time are honest civil men unless they will put off their hats shew their bare Heads And have not some of you made a law against such as will not put off their hats and shew you their bare heads yea and to compel and force them to do it and fine such as do not Two Guilders as at Lansmeer in Holland in Waterland And is not this the Honour that you seek one of another Did not the Pharisees and Jews do the same Now as for your saying the Apostle commands To honour all men and such as rule well are worthy of double Honour Now if this Honouring all men were to put off the Hat to à ll men shew all men their bare Heads then this command you break your selves for you do not do this to all men generally and if they that rule well must have Double Hat-honour then they must put off their Hats twicej à nd shew their bare Heads twice Now if this Hat-Honour and shewing the bare Head be an Invention of man and not from God and ye cannot prove it by Scripture and yet you say it is your Rule then you act beside the Rule and compel People to act conrrary to your Rule for where did ever the Prophets Chriâ—t or the Apostles command any such thing let us see a Command a Practice or an Example for it Nebuchadnezzar who was a Persecutor and cast the Three Chidren of Israel into the fire With their Hose Cloaks and Hats we do not read that he was offended at them because they did not pâ—t off their Hats and shew him their bare Heads but because they would not bow to his Image And is it not in the Margin of the Pible where it is said Honour all men it is said Have all men in Esrâ—em then they that rule well are worthy of Double Eâ—teâ—â—â— and this Esteem must be trùly in the Heart without any Envy Malice or Hatred as all men are the Workmanship of God they are to be esteemed in the Heart wi h the Spirit of God and they that Rule wellare worthy of double Esteem and here is true Honour from the Heart both to God and man his Workmanship for People may put off their Hats and shew their bare heads one to another and put off their Hats and shew their bare Heads twice to the Officers and to the Megistrates and be full of Envy and Malice and Hatred and Murder in their Hearts one against another and give them that Honour as you callit and yet speak or wish bad things of them when they have turned their Backs on them which the true Honour or Esteem in thê Heart to all men as they are God's Creation is without any evil Wish or Thought in the Heart to all men and to them that rule well which have the double Esteem whom God hath placed over People there is no Evil in the Hear that gives this Respect Esteem or Honour and brings them to love their Neighbour as themselves and to do unto all men as they would have them do unto them in that they esteem all men and they have a Double Esteem to them that rule well and that is beyond à ll the Honour of putting off the Hats once to the Commonality and twice to them that are