Friends in several Places were then gathered to Gods Teaching by his Light Spirit and Power For the Lord's Power brake forth daily more and more wonderfullly Now was I come up in Spirit through the flaming Sword into the Paradise of God All things were New and all the Creation gave another Smell unto me than before beyond what Words can utter I knew nothing 1648. Mansfield but Pureness and Innocency and Righteousness being renewed up into the Image of God by Christ Jesus so that I say I was come up to the State of Adam which he was in before he fell The Creation was opened to me And it was shewed me how all things had their Names given them according to their Nature and Vertue And I was at a stand in my Mind whether I should practise Physick for the good of Mankind seeing the Nature and Vertues of the Creatures were so opened to me by the Lord. But I was immediately taken up in Spirit to see into another or more stedfast State than Adam's in Innocency even into a State in Christ Jesus that should never fall And the Lord shewed me that such as were faithful to him in the Power and Light of Christ should come up into that State in which Adam was before he fell In which the admirable Works of the Creation and the Vertues thereof may be known through the Openings of that divine Word of Wisdom and Power by which they were made Great things did the Lord lead me into and wonderful Depths were opened unto me beyond what can by Words be declared But as People come into subjection to the Spirit of God and grow up in the Image and Power of the Almighty they may receive the Word of Wisdom that opens all things and come to know the hidden Vnity in the Eternal Being Thus traveled I on in the Lord's Service as the Lord led me And when I came to Nottingham Notingham Leicestershire Clauson Vale of Beavor the mighty Power of God was there among Friends From thence I went to Clauson in Leicestershire in the Vale of Beavor and the mighty Power of God was there also in several Towns and Villages where Friends were gathered While I was there the Lord opened to me Three Things relating to those Three great Professions in the World Physick Divinity so called and Law And he shewed me that the Physicians and Doctors of Physick were out of the Wisdom of God by which the Creatures were made and so knew not the Vertues of the Creatures because they were out of the Word of Wisdom by which they were made And he shewed me that the Priests were out of the true Faith which Christ is the Author of the Faith which purifies and gives Victory and brings People to have Access to God by which they please God Which Mystery of Faith is held in a pure Conscience He shewed me also that the Lawyers were out of the Equity and out of the true Justice and out of the Law of God which went over the first Transgression and over all Sin and answered the Spirit of God that was grieved and transgressed in Man And that these three the Physicians the Priests and the Lawyers ruled the World out of the Wisdom out of the Faith and out of the Equity and Law of God the one pretending the Cure of the Body the other the Cure of the Soul and the third the Property of the People But I saw they were all out out of the Wisdom out of the Faith out of the Equity and perfect Law of God And as the Lord opened these things unto me I felt his Power went forth over all by which all might be Reformed if they would receive and bow unto it The Priests might be Reformed and brought into the true Faith which was the Gift of God The Lawyers might be Reformed and brought into the Law of God 1648. Vale of Beavor which answers that of God that is transgressed in every one and brings to love one's Neighbour as himself This lets Man see If he wrongs his Neighbour he wrongs himself and this teaches him To do unto others as he would they should do unto him The Physicians might be Reformed and brought into the Wisdom of God by whick all things were made and Created that they might receive a right Knowledge of the Creatures and understand the Virtues of them which the Word of Wisdom by which they were made and are upheld hath given them Abundance was opened concerning these things how all lay out of the Wisdom of God and out of the Righteousness and Holiness that Man at the first was made in But as all believe in the Light and walk in the Light which Christ hath enlightned every Man that cometh into the World withal and so become Children of the Light and of the Day of Christ in his Day all things are seen Visible and Invisible by the Divine Light of Christ the Spiritual Heavenly Man by whom all things were made and Created Then I saw concerning the Priests that although they stood in the Deceit and acted by the dark Power which both they and their People were kept under yet they were not the greatest Deceivers spoken of in the Scriptures For these were not come so far as many of them had come But the Lord opened to me who the greatest Deceivers were and how far they might come even such as came as far as Cain to hear the Voice of God and such as came out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and to praise God on the Banks of the Sea-shore such as could speak by Experience of God's Miracles and Wonders such as were come as far as Corah and Dathan and their Company such as came as far as Balaam who could speak the Word of the Lord who heard his Voice and knew it and knew his Spirit and could see the Star of Jacob and the goodliness of Israel's Tent the Second Birth which no Enchantment could prevail against These that could speak so much of their Experiences of God and yet turned from the Spirit and the Word and went into the Gainsaying These were and would be the great Deceivers far beyond the Priests Likewise among the Christians such as should preach in Christ's Name and should work Miracles cast out Devils and go as far as a Cain a Core and a Balaam in the Gospel-times These were and would be the great Deceivers they that could speak some Experiences of Christ and God but lived not in the Life These were they that led the World after them who got the Form of Godliness but denyed the Power who inwardly ravened from the Spirit and brought People into the Form but persecuted them that were in the Power as Cain did and ran greedily after the Error of Balaam through Covetousness loving the Wages of Unrighteousness as Balaam did These Followers of Cain Core and Balaam have brought the World since the Apostles Days to be like a Sea
abroad through the Island Whereupon I with some other Friends drew up a Paper to go forth in the Name of the People called Quakers for the clearing Truth and Friends from those false Reports It was directed thus For the Governour of Barbados with his Council and Assembly and all others in Power both Civil and Military in this Island from the People called Quakers WHereas many scandalous Lies and Slanders have been cast upon us to render us odious as that We do deny God and Christ Jesus and the Scriptures of Truth c. This is to Inform you that all our Books and Declarations which for these many Years have been published to the World do clearly testifie the contrary Yet notwithstanding for your Satisfaction we do now plainly and sincerely declare That we do Own and Believe in God the only-Wise Omnipotent and Everlasting God who is the Creator of all things both in Heaven and in the Earth and the Preserver of all that he hath made who is God over all blessed for ever To whom be all Honour and Glory Dominion Praise and Thanksgiving both now and for evermore And we do Own and Believe in Jesus Christ his beloved and only begotten Son in whom he is well-pleased Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the Forgiveness of Sins Who is the Express Image of the Invisible God the First-born of every Creature by whom were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers All things were created by him And we do Own and Believe that he was made a Sacrifice for Sin who knew no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth And that he was Crucified for us in the Flesh without the Gates of Jerusalem and that he was Buried and Rose again the Third Day by the Power of his Father for our Justification And we do Believe that he Ascended up into Heaven and now sitteth at the Right Hand of God This Jesus who was the Foundation of the Holy Prophets and Apostles is our Foundation and we do believe that there is no other Foundation to be laid but that which is laid even Christ Jesus who we believe tasted Death for every Man and shed his Blood for all Men and is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the Sins of the whole World According as John the Baptist testified of him when he said Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World Joh. 1.29 We believe that he alone is our Redeemer and Saviour even the Captain of our Salvation who saves us from Sin as well as from Hell and the Wrath to come and destroys the Devil and his Works who is the Seed of the Woman that bruises the Serpent's Head to wit Christ Jesus the Alpha and Omega the First and the Last That he is as the Scriptures of Truth say of him our Wisdom and Righteousness Justification and Redemption neither is there Salvation in any other for there is no other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we may be saved It is he alone who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls He it is who is our Prophet whom Moses long since testified of saying A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you And it shall come to pass that every Soul that will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the People Acts 2.22 23. He it is that is now Come and hath given us an Vnderstanding that we may know him that is true and he rules in our Hearts by his Law of Love and of Life and makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death and we have no Life but by him for he is the quickning Spirit the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven by whose Blood we are cleansed and our Consciences sprinkled from Dead Works to serve the Living God And he is our Mediator that makes Peace and Reconciliation between God offended and us offending he being the Oath of God the New Covenant of Light Life Grace and Peace the Author and Finisher of our Faith Now this Lord Jesus Christ the Heavenly Man the Emanuel God with us we all own and believe in him whom the High-Priest raged against and said he had spoken Blasphemy whom the Priests and the Elders of the Jews took Counsel together against and put to Death the same whom Judas betrayed for Thirty Pieces of Silver which the Priests gave him as a Reward for his Treason who also gave large Money to the Souldiers to broach an Horrible Lie namely That his Disciples came and stole him away by Night whilst they slept And after he was Risen from the Dead the History of the Acts of the Apostles sets forth how the Chief-Priests and Elders persecuted the Disciples of this Jesus for Preaching Christ and his Resurrection This we say is that Lord Jesus Christ whom we own to be our Life and Salvation And as concerning the Holy Scriptures we do believe That they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God through the Holy Men of God who as the Scripture it self declares 2 Pet. 1.21 spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost We believe they are to be Read Believed and Fulfilled He that fulfils them is Christ and they are profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction and for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 and are able to make wise unto Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus And we do believe that the Holy Scriptures are the Words of God for it s said in Exod. 20.1 God spake all these Words saying c. meaning the Ten Commandments given forth upon Mount Sinai And in Rev. 22.18 saith John I testifie to every man that heareth the Words of the Prophecy of this Book If any man addeth unto these and if any Man shall take away from the Words of the Book of this Prophecy not the Word c. So in Luke 1.20 Because thou believest not my Words And so in John 5.47 and John 15.7 John 14.23 John 12.47 So that we call the Holy Scriptures as Christ and the Apostles called them and Holy Men of God called them viz. the Words of God Another Slander and Lye they have cast upon us namely That we should teach the Negroes to Rebell A thing we utterly abhor and detest in our Hearts the Lord knows it who is the Searcher of all Hearts and knows all things and so can witness and testifie for us that this is a most Abominable Vntruth For that which we have spoken and declared to them is To exhort and admonish them to be sober and to fear God and
that of Angels as the Scriptures of the Old Testament do in many places express as to Abraham Jacob c. The next was that of the Law by Moses which was also delivered by Angels as the Apostle tells us This Dispensation was much outward and suited to a low and servil State called therefore that of a School-Master to point out and prepare that People to look and long for the Messiah who would deliver them from the servitude of a Ceremonious and imperfect Dispensation by knowing the Realities of those Misterious Representations in themselves In this time the Law was written on Stone the Temple built with Hands attended with an outward Priest-hood and External Rites and Ceremonies that were Shadows of the Good Things that were to come and were only to serve till the Seed came or the more excellent and general manifestation of Christ to whom was the Promise and to all Men only in him in whom it was Yea and Amen even Life from Death Immortality and Eternal Life This the Prophets foresaw and comforted the believing Jews in the certainty of it which was the Top of the Mosaical Dispensation and which ended in John's Ministry the Forerunner of the Messiah as John's was finished in him the Fullness of all And God that at sundry Times and in divers manners had spoken to the Fathers by his Servants the Prophets Spoak then by his Son Chrâ—st Jesus Who is Heir of all things being the Gospel-Day which is the Dispensation of Sonship Bringing in thereby a nearer Testament and a better hope even the beginning of the Glory of the latter days and of the Restitution of all things yea the Restoration of the Kingdom unto Israel Now the Spirit that was more sparingly communicated in former Dispensations began to be Poured forth upon all Flesh according to the Prophet Joel and the Light that shined in Darkness or but dimly before the most gracious God caused to Shine out of Darkness and the Day-star began to arise in the Hearts of Believers giving unto them the knowledge of God in the Face or Appearance of his Son Christ Jesus Now the Poor in Spirit the Meek the true Mourners the Hungry and Thirsty after Righteousness the Peace-makers the Pure in Heart the Merciful and the Persecuted came more especially in Remembrance before the Lord and were sought out and blessed by Israel's true Shepherd Old Jerusalem with her Children grew out of Date and the New Jerusalem into Request the Mother of the Sons of the Gospel-Day Wherefore no more at Old Jerusalem nor at the Mountain of Samaria will God be worshipped above other places for behold he is declared and preached a Spirit and he will be known as such and worshipped in the Spirit and in the Truth He will come nearer then of old time and he will write his Law in the Heart and put his Fear and Spirit in the inward parts according to his promise Then Signs Types and Shadows flew away the Day having discovered their Insufficiency in not reaching to the inside of the Cup to the cleansing of the Conscience and all Elementary services were expired in and and by him that is the substance of all And to this Great and Blessed End of the Dispensation of the Son of God did the Apostles Testifie whom he had chosen and anointed by his Spirit to turn the Jews from their Prejudice and Superstition and the Gentiles from their Vanity and Idolatry to Christ's Light and Spirit that shined in them that they might be quickned from the Sins and Trespasses in which they were Dead to serve the Living God in the Newness of the Spirit of Life and walk as Children of the Light and of the Day even the Day of Holiness For such put on Christ the Light of the World and make no more Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof So that the Light Spirit and Grace that comes by Christ and appears in Man was what the Apostles ministred from and turned Peoples Minds unto and in which they gathered and built up the Churches of Christ in their Day For which cause they advised them not to quench the Spirit but wait for the Spirit and Speak by the Spirit and Pray by the Spirit and Walk in the Spirit too as that which approved them the truly begotten Children of God born not of Flesh and Blood or of the will of Man but of the will of God by doing his will and denying their own by drinking of Christ's Cup and being Baptized with his Baptism of Self-denial The Way and Path that all the Heirs of Life have trod to Blessedness But alas even in the Apostles Days those bright Stars of the first Magnitude of the Gospel Light some Clouds foretelling an Eclipse of this Primitive Glory began to appear and several of them gave early Caution of it to the Christians of their Time that even then there was and yet would be more and more a falling away from the Power of Godliness and the Purity of that Spiritual Dispensation by such as sought to make a fair shew in the Flesh but with whom the offence of the Cross ceased Yet with this comfortable Conclusion that they saw beyond it a more glorious Time than ever to the true Church Their sight was true and what they foretold to the Churches gathered by them in the Name and Power of Jesus came so to pass For Christians degenerated a-pace into outsides as Days and Meats and divers other Cerimonies And which was worse they fell into Strife and Contention about them separating one from another then Envying and as they had Power Persecuting one another to the shame and scandal of their common Christianity and grievous stumbling and offence of the Heathen among whom the Lord had so long and so marvellously preserved them And having got at last the Worldly Power into their Hands by Kings and Emperors embracing the Christian Profession they changed what they could the Kingdom of Christ which is not of this World into a Worldly Kingdom or at least stiled the Worldly Kingdom that was in their Hands the Kingdom of Christ and so they became Worldly and not true Christians Then Humane Inventions and Novelties both in Doctrine and Worship crowded fast into the Church a Door being opened thereunto by the Grossness and Carnality that appeared then among the generality of Christians who had long since left the Guidance of God's meek and heavenly Spirit and given themselves up to Superstition Will-worship and Voluntary Humility And as Superstition is Blind so it is Heady and Furious for all must stoop to its blind and boundless Zeal or Perish by it In the Name of the Spirit persecuting the very appearance of the Spirit of God in others and opposing that in them which they resisted in themselves viz. the Light Grace and Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ but always under the Notion of Innovation Heresie Schism or some such plausible Name Though Christianity
Times that so Self-love and Honour to which the proud Mind of Man is incident in his fallen Estate might not be Indulged but Rebuked They also used the Plain Language of Thou and Thee to a single Person whatever was his Degree among Men. And indeed the Wisdom of God was much seen in bringing forth this People in so Plain an Appearance for it was a Close and Distinguishing Test upon the Spirit of those they came among shewing their Insides and what predominated notwithstanding their High and Great Profession of Religion This among the rest sounded so harsh to many of them and they took it so ill that they would say Thou me Thou my Dog If thou thouest me I 'le thou thy Teeth down thy Throat forgetting the Language they use to God in their own Prayers and the common Stile of the Scriptures and that it is an absolute and essential Propriety of Speech And what good had their Religion done them who were so sensibly toucht with Indignation for the use of this Plain Honest and True Speech VI. They recommended Silence by their Example having very few words upon all Occasions They were at a Word in Dealing nor could their Customers many Words tempt them from it having more regard for Truth than Custom to Example then Gain they sought Solitude but when in Company they would neither use nor willingly hear Vnnecessary as well as Vnlawful Discourses whereby they preserved their Minds pure and undisturbed from unprofitable Thoughts and Diversions Nor could they humour the Custom of Good Night Good Morrow God Speed for they knew the Night was Good and the Day was Good without wishing of either and that in the other Expression the Holy Name of God was too lightly and unthinkingly used and therefore taken in Vain Besides they were Words and Wishes of Course and are usually as little meant as are Love and Service in the Custom of Cap and Knee and superfluity in those as well as in other things was Burthensom to them and therefore They did not only decline to use them but found themselves often prest to reprove the Practice For the same reason they forbore Drinking to People or Pledging of them as the manner of the World is A Practice that is not only Unnecessary but they thought Evil in the Tendencies of it being a Provocation to Drinking more than did People Good as well as that it was in it self Vain and Heathenish VII Their way of Marriage is peculiar to them and is a distinguishing Practice from all other Societies professing Christianity They say that Marriage is an Ordinance of God and that God only can rightly join Man and Woman in Marriage Therefore they use neither Priest nor Magistrate but the Man and Woman concern'd take each other as Husband and Wife in the presence of divers Credible Witnesses promising unto each other with God's Assistance to be Loving and Faithful in that Relation till Death shall separate them But antecedent to all this They first present themselves to the Monthly Meeting for the Affairs of the Church where they reside There declaring their Intentions to take one another as Man and Wife if the said Meeting have nothing material to object against it They are constantly askt the necessary Questions as in Case of Parents or Guardians if they have acquainted them with their Intention and have their Consent c. The Method of the Meeting is to take a Minute thereof and to appoint Proper Persons to enquire of their Conversation and Clearness from all others and whether they have discharged their Duty to their Parents or Guardians and make report thereof the next Monthly Meeting where the same Parties are desired to give their Attendance In case it appears they proceeded Orderly the Meeting passes their Proposal and so Records it in their Meeting Book and in Case the Woman be a Widow and hath Children due care is there taken that Provision also be made by her for the Orphans before the said Marriage advising the Parties concerned to appoint a convenient Time and place and to give fitting Notice to their Relations and such Friends and Neighbours as they desire should be the Witnesses of their Marriage Where they take one another by the Hand and by Name promising Reciprocally after the Manner before expressed Of all which Proceedings a Narative in a way of Certificate is made to which the said Parties first set their Hands thereby making it their Act and Deed and then divers of the Relations Spectators and Auditors set their Names as Witnesses of what they Said and Signed Which Certificate is afterward Registred in the Record belonging to the Meeting where the Marriage is Solemnized Which Regular Method has been as it deserves adjudged in Courts of Law a good Marriage where it has been Disputed and Contested for want of the accustomed Formality of Priest and Ring c. which Ceremonies they have Refused not out of Humour but Conscience reasonably grounded in as much as no Scripture Example tells us that the Priest had any other part of Old Time than that of a Witness among the rest before whom the Jews used to take one another And therefore this People look upon it as an Imposion to advance the Power and Profits of the Clergy And for the use of the Ring it is enough to say that it was an Heathen and vain Custom and never in Practice among the People of God Jews or Primitive Christans The words of the Usual form as With my Body I thee Worship c. are hardly defensible In short they are more Careful Exact and Regular than any Form now used and it is Free of the inconveniencies other Methods are attended with Their Care and Checks being so many and such as no Clandestine Marriages can be perform'd among them VIII It may not be unfit to say something here of their Births and Burials which make up so much of the Pomp and Solemnity of too many called Christians For Births the Parents Name their own Children which is usually some days after they are Born in the presence of the Midwife if she can be there and those that were at the Birth c. who afterward sign a Certificate for that purpose prepared of the Birth and Name of the Child or Children which is Recorded in a proper Book in the Monthly Meeting to which the Parents belong avoiding the accustomed Cerimonies and Feastivals IX Their Burials are performed with the same Simplicity If the Corps of the Deceased be near any publick Meeting Place it is usually carried thither for the more convenient Reception of those that Accompany it to the Ground they Bury in and it so falls out sometimes that while the Meeting is gathering for the Burial some or other have a Word of Exhortation for the sake of the People there met together After which the Body is borne away by the Young Men or those that are of their Neighbourhood or that were most of the
unstopped the deaf Ears hath let the Oppressed go free and hath raised up the Dead out of the Graves Christ is now preached in and among the Saints the same that ever he was and because his heavenly Image is born up in this his faithful Servant therefore doth fallen Man Rulers Priests and Peopleâ— persecute him because he lives up out of the Fall and testifies against the Works of the VVorld that the Deeds thereof are Evil he suffers by you Magistrates not as an Evil-Doer For thus it was ever where the Seed of God was kept in Prison under the cursed Nature that Nature sought to imprison them in whom it was raised The Lord will make him to you as a burdensom Stone for the Sword of the Spirit of the Almighty is put into the Hands of the Saints which shall wound all the Wicked and shall not be put up till it hath cut down all corrupt Judges Justices Magistrates Priests and Professors till he hath brought his wonderful thing to pass in the Earth which is to make New Heavens and a New Earth wherein shall dwell Righteousness which now he is about to do Therefore fear the Lord God Almighty ye Judges Justices Commanders Priests and People ye that forget God suddenly will the Lord come and destroy you with an utter Destruction and will sweep your Names out of the Earth and will restore his People Judges as at the First and Counsellors as at the Beginning And all Persecutors shall partake of the Plagues of the VVhore who hath made the Kings of the Earth and the great Men drunk with the VVine of her Fornications and hath drunk the Blood of the Saints and therefore shall you be Partakers of her Plagues We are not suffered to go see our Friend in Prison whom we witness to be a Messenger of the Living God Now all People mind Whether this be according to Law oâ— from the wicked perverse envious Will of the envious Rulers and Magistrates who are of the same Generation that persecuted Jesus Christ for said he as they have done to me so will they do to you And as he took the love the kindness and service that was shewed and performed to any of his Afflicted Ones in their Sufferings and Distress as done unto himself so the Injuries and Wrongs that were done by any to any of his Little Ones he resented as done unto himself also Therefore you who are so far from visiting him your selves in his suffering Servant that ye will not suffer his Brethren to visit him ye must depart ye Workers of Iniquity into the Lake that burns with Fire The Lord is coming to thresh the Mountains and will beat them to Dust And all corrupt Rulers corrupt Officers and corrupt Laws the Lord will take Vengeance on by which the tender Consciences of his People are oppressed And he will give his People his Law and will judge his People himself not according to the sight of the Eye and hearing of the Ear but with Righteousness and with Equity Now are your Hearts made manifest to be full of Envy against the living Truth of God which is made manifest in his People who are contemned and despised of the World and scornfully called Quakers You are worse than the Heathens that put Paul in Prison for none of his Friends or Acquaintance were hindred to come to him by them therefore they shall be Witnesses against you Ye are made manifest to the Saints to be of the same Generation that put Christ to death and that put the Apostles in Prison on the same pretence as you act under in calling Truth Error and the Ministers of God Blasphemers as they did But the day is dreadful and terrible that shall come upon you ye Evil Magistrates Priests and People who profess the Truth in Words outwardly and yet persecute the Power of Truth and them that stand in and for the Truth While ye have Time prize it and remember what is written Isa 54.17 George Benson Anthony Pearson Not long after this the Lord's Power came over the Justices and they were made to set me at Liberty But sometime before I was set at Liberty the Governour and the said Anthony Pearson came down into the Dungeon to see the Place where I was kept and understand what Vsage I had And when they were come down to me they found the place so bad and the savour so ill that they cried shame of the Magistrates for suffering the Jailer to do such things And they called for the Jailers into the Dungeon and required them to find Sureties for their good Behaviour and the Vnder-Jailer who had been such a Cruel Fellow they put into the Dungeon with me amongst the Moss-Troopers 1653. Cumberland At T. B's Now after I was set at Liberty I went to Thomas Bewley's where there came a Baptist-Teacher to Oppose me and he was Convinced And Robert Widders being with me was moved to go to Coldbeck-Steeple-house and the Baptist-Teacher went along with him the same day And the People fell upon them and almost killed Robert Widders and took the Baptist's Sword from him and beat him sorely This Baptist had the Inheritance of an Impropriation of Tithes and he went home and gave it up freely Robert VVidders was sent to Carlisle-Jail where having lain a while he was set at Liberty again VVilliam Dewsberry also went to another Steeple-house hard by and the People almost killed him they beat him so but the Lord's Power was over all and healed them again At that day many Friends went to the Steeple-houses to declare the Truth to the Priests and People and great Sufferings they underwent but the Lord's Power sustained them Now I went into the Country and had mighty great Meetings and the Everlasting Gospel and VVord of Life flourished and Thousands were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Teaching And several that took Tithes as Impropriators denied the receiving of them any longer Westmorland and delivered them up freely to the Parishioners Then passing on into VVestmorland I had many great Meetings and at Strickland-Head I had a large Meeting Strickland head where a Justice of Peace out of Bishoprick whose Name was Henry Draper came up and many Contenders were there The Priests and Magistrates were in a great Rage against me in Westmorland and had a VVarrant to apprehend me which they renewed from time to time for a long time Yet the Lord did not suffer them to serve it upon me So I traveled on amongst Friends visiting the Meetings till I came to Swarthmore Swarthmore where I heard that the Baptists and Professors in Scotland had sent to me to have a Dispute with me Whereupon I sent them word Cumberland that I would meet them in Cumberland at Thomas Bewley's House whither accordingly I went but none of them came Some dangers at this time I underwent in my Travels to and fro Wighton for at one time as
have not considered the handy-works of the Lord but have destroyed them nor have regarded the way of the Lord but have had plenty of the Creatures and have therewith fatted up your selves and forgot the Lord and his way O let Shame cover your Faces here upon Earth Come ye that are given to Pleasures and spend your Time and Days in Sports and Idleness and Fulness your Fruits declare the Sins of Sodom yet you will make a Talk of my Name and of my Saints Words But I behold you afar off saith the Lord you are Proud and Lofty you are bad Patterns and bad Examples that be full and rich and Idle who say Others are Idle that cannot maintain your Lusts Oh! the unrighteous Ballances that are among People Oh the Iniquity in Measuring Oh the Oppression in Ruling and Governing Therefore because of these things my Hand shall come upon you saith the Lord. For the Oppression is entred into the Ears of the Lord who gives Rest to the wearied to the burdened to the oppressed who feeds the Hungry and cloaths the Naked who brings the Mighty from their Seats and beats the Lofty to Ground and makes the Haughty to bend Come saith the Lord ye Mockers and Scorners and Rebellious ones light and wild People vain and heady you have had your Day of Joy you have Scoffed you have Mocked and derided my Messengers and my Ambassadors who have preached in your Streets and cried in your Synagogues and Temples a Day of Trembling and Lamentation shall on you come when you are not aware I 'le take away your Pride and your Height I 'le shake you as a Leaf and bring you to be as Men distracted I 'le distract you and make you that you shall not trust one another in the Earth who have joined hand in hand against my Servants in the Truth I 'le smite you with Terrors and bring Frets and Fears upon you the Cup of my Indignation and Fury shall you drink Where will you appear when Repentance is hid from your Eyes when prophane Esau your Father it set before you and Ishmael and Cain wild and envious whose Fruits declare the Stock Come ye proud Priests who have eaten up the Fat of the Nation who by Violence have taken other Men's Goods whose Envy hath slain many whose Wickedness and Darkness hath abounded and whose Vnrighteousness daily appears Your Fruits every day declare it in summoning up by Writs and Subpoena's from most parts of the Nation for Wages and Tithes such as you do no work for Oh the Abominable Vnrighteousness how is the State of Man lost that these things they do not take to Heart to feel them What havock is made in most parts of the Nation with such And all ye Priests and Teachers who are railing and brawling in the Pulpit setting People at variance one against another Haters and Hateful provoking People to Hate one another here is the Seed of Enmity seen which you have sown and are sowing whose Seed must be bruised by the Seed of the Woman which a top of your Heads is set G. F. This Year came out the Oath of Abjuration by which many Friends suffered and several Friends went to speak with the Protector about it but he began to harden And Sufferings increasing upon Friends by reason that envious Magistrates made use of that Oath as a Snare to catch Friends in who they knew could not swear at all I was moved to write to the Protector about it and other suffering Friends as followeth THE Magistrate is not to bear the Sword in vain which ought to be a Terror to the Evil-doers but the Magistrate that doth bear the Sword in vain as he is not a Terror to the Evil-doers so he is not a Praise to them that do well Now hath God raised up a People by his Power whom People Priests and Magistrates who are out of the Fear of God scornfully call Quakers who do cry against Drunkenness for Drunkards destroy God's Creatures and do cry against Oaths for because of Oaths the Land mourns and they Drunkards and Swearers to whom the Magistrate's Sword should be a Terror are we see at liberty but for crying against such many are cast into Prison and for crying against their Pride and Filthiness their deceitful Merchandize in Markets their Cozening and their Cheating their Excess and Naughtiness their playing at Bouls and Shovel-boards at Cards and at Dice and their other vain and wanton Pleasures for who live in Pleasures are dead while they live and who live in Wantonness kill the Just This we know by the Spirit of God which gave forth the Scriptures which God the Father hath given to us and hath placed his Righteous Law in our Hearts which Law is a Terror to Evil-doers and answers that which is of God in every Man's Conscience They which act contrary to the Measure of God's Spirit in every Man's Conscience cast the Law of God behind their Backs and walk despitefully against the Spirit of Grace The Magistrate's Sword we see is born in vain whilst the Evil-doers are at Liberty to do Evil and they that cry against such are for so doing punished by the Magistrate who hath turned his Sword backward against the Lord. And now the Wicked one fenceth himself and persecutes the Innocent as Vagabonds and Wanderers for crying against Sin and against Vnrighteousness and Vngodliness openly in the Markets and in the High-ways or as Railers because they tell them what Judgment will follow them that follow such Practices And here they that depart from Iniquity are become a Prey and few lay it to heart But God will thresh the Mountains and beat the Hills and cleave the Rocks and cast into his Press which is trodden without the City and will bathe his Sword in the Blood of the Wicked and Vnrighteous So they that have drunk the Cup of Abominations an hard Cup have you to drink you who are the Enemies of God and of you he will be avenged who be his Enemies Now ye in whom something of God is remaining consider If the Sword was not born in vain but turned against the Evil-doers then the Righteous would not suffer and be cast into Holes Dungeons Corners and Prisons and Houses of Correction as Peace-Breakers for crying against Sin openly as they are commanded of the Lord and for crying against the Covetousness of the Priests and their false Worships who exact Money now of poor People whom they do no work for Oh! where will you appear in the Day of the Lord or how will you stand in the Day of his righteous Judgment How many Jails and Houses of Correction are now made Places to put the Lambs of Christ in for following him and obeying his Commands which are too many to mention The Royal Law of Christ To do as ye would be done by is trodden down under foot So that Men can profess him in Words and Talk but Crucify him wheresoever he appears
willing to lay the VVeight thereof upon him and make him sensible thereof also writ an Epistle to him on behalf of us all which was thus and thus directed To John Glyn Chief Justice of England Friend WE are Free-men of England Free-born our Rights and Liberties are according to Law and ought to be defended by it And therefore with thee by whose Hand we have so long and yet do suffâ—r let us a little plainly reason concerning thy Proceedinos against us whether they have been according to Law and agreeable to thy Duty and Office as Chief Minister of the Law or Justice of England And in Meekness and Lowliness abide that the Witness of God in thy Conscience may be heard to speak and judge in this Matter For Thou and We must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every one may receive according to what he hath done whether it be good or bad Therefore Friend in Moderation and Soberness Weigh what is herein laid before thee In the Afternoon before we were brought before thee at the Assize at Lanceston thou didst cause divers Scores of our Books to be violently taken from us by Armed Men without due Process of Law which Books being perused to see if any thing in them could have been found to have laid to our Charge who were Innocent Men and them upon our Legal Issue thou hast detained from us to this very day Now our Books are our Goods and our Goods are our Property and our Liberty it is to have and enjoy our Property and of our Liberty and Property the Law is the defence which saith No Free-man shall be disseized of his Free-hold Liberties or free Customs c. nor any way otherwise destroyed Nor we shall not pass upon him but by lawful Judgment of his Peers or by the Law of the Land Magna Charta cap. 29. Now Friend Consider Is not the taking away of a Man's Goods violently by force of Arms as aforesaid contrary to the Law of the Land Is not the Kâ—eping of them so taken away a disseizing him of his Property and a destroying of it and his Liberty yea his very Being so far as the Invading of the Guard the Law sets about him is in order thereunto Calls not the Law this a Destroying of a Man Is there any more than one common Guard or Defence to Property Liberty and Life viz. the Law And can this Guard be broken on the former viz. Property and Liberty and the Latter viz. Life be sure Doth not he that makes an Invasion upon a Man's Property and Liberty which he doth who contrary to Law which is the Guard acts against either make an Invasion upon a Man's Life since that which is the Ground of the One is also of the Other If a Penny or Penny's-worth be taken from a Man contrary to Law may not by the same Rule all a Man hath be taken away If the Bond of the Law be broken upon a Man's Property may it not on the same ground be broken upon his Person And by the same Reason as it is broken on One Man may it not be broken upon all since the Liberty and Property and Beings of all Men under a Government are Relative a Communion of Wealth as the Members in the Body but one Guard and Defence to all the Law One Man cannot be injured therein but it redounds to all Are not such things in order to the Subversion and Dissolution of Government Where there is no Law what is become of Government And of what value is the Law made when the Ministers thereof break it at pleasure upon Mens Properties Liberties and Persons Canst thou Clear thy self of these things as to us To that of God in thy Conscience which is Just do I speak Hast thou acted like a Ministâ—r the Chief Minister of the Law who hast taken our Goods and yet detainest them without so much as going by lawful Warrant grounded upon due Information which in this our Case thou could'st not have for none had perused them whereby to give thee Information Shoulâ—'st thou exercise Violence and Force of Arms on Prisoners Goods in their Prison-Chamber instead of proceeding Orderly and Legally which thy Place calls upon thee above any Man to tender defend and maintain against the other and to preserve entire the Guard of every Man 's Being Liberty Life and Livelyhood Should'st thou whore Duty it is to punish the Wrong-doer do wrong thy self Who ought'st to see the Law be kept and observed break the Law and turn aside the due Administration thereof Surely from Thee considering Thou art Chief Justice of England other things were expected both by Vs and by the People of this Nation And Friend when we were brought before thee and stood upon our Legal Issue and no Accuser or Accusation came in against us as to what we had been wrongfully Imprisoned and in Prison detained for the Space of Nine Weeks shouldest not thou have caused us to have been Acquitted by Proclamation Saith not the Law so Ought'st thou not to have Examined the Cause of our Commitment And there not appearing a lawful Cause ought'st thou not to have discharged us Is it not the Substance of thy Office and Duty To do Justice according so the Law and Custom of England Is not this the End of the Administration of the Law of the General Assizes of the Gaol-Deliveries of the Judges going the Circuits Hâ—st not thou by doing otherwise acted Contrary to all these and to Magna Charta which Cap. 29 saith We shall sell to no Man we shall Deny or Defer to no Man either Justice or Right Hast thou not both Deferred and Denied to us who had been so long oppressed this Justice and Right And when of thee Justice we demanded sayd'st thou not If we would be uncovered thou would'st hear us and do us Justice We shall sell to no Man we shall deny or defer to no Man either Justice or Right saith Magn. Chart. as aforesaid Again We have commanded all our Justices that they shall from henceforth do even Law and Execution of Right to all our Subjects Rich and Poor without having Regard to any Man's Person and without letting to do Right for any Letters or Commandments which may come to them from Vs or from any other or by any other Cause c upon Pain to be at our Will Body Lands and Goods to do therewith as shall please us in case they do contrary saith Stat. 20. Edw. 3. cap. 1. Again Ye shall swear that ye shall do even Law and Execution of Right to all Rich and Poor without having regard to any Person and that ye deny to no Man Common Right by the King 's Letters nor none other Man's nor for none other Cause And in Case any Letter come to you contrary to the Law that ye do nothing by such Letter but Certify the King thereof and go forth to do the Law notwithstanding those Letters
And in case ye be from henceforth found in default in any of the Points aforesaid ye shall be at the King 's Will of Body Lands and Goods thereof to be done as shall please him Saith the Oath appointed by the Statute to be taken by all the Judges Stat. 18. Edw. 3. But none of these nor none other Law hath such an Expression or Condition in it as this viz. Provided he will put off his Hat to you or be Vncovered Nor doth the Law of God so say or that your Persons be respected but the contrary From whence then comes this New Law If ye will be uncovered I will hear you and do you Justice This hearing Complaint of Wrong this doing of Justice Vpon Condition wherein lies the Equity and the Reasonableness of that When were these Fundamental Laws Repealed which were the Issue of much Blood and War which to uphold cost the Miseries and Blood of the late Wars that we shall now be heard as to Right and have Justice done us but upon Condition and that too such a Trifling one as the Putting off the Hat Doth thy saying so who art Commanded as aforesaid Repeal them and make them of none Effect and all the Miserie 's undergone and the Blood shed for them of old and of late Years Whether it be so or no indeed and to the Nation thou hast made it so to Vs to whom thou hast denied the Justice of our Liberty when we were before thee and no Accuser nor Accusation came in against us and the Hearing of the Wrong done to us who are Innocent and the Doing us Right And Bonds hast thou cast and continued upon us until this Day under an Vnreasonable and Cruel Gaoler for not performing That thy Condition for Conscience sake But thinkest thou that this thine own Conditional Justice maketh void the Law or can it do so or absolve thee before God or Man or acquit the Penalty mentioned in the Laws aforesaid unto which hast thou not Consented and Sworn viz. And in case ye be from henceforth found in Default in any of the points aforesaid ye shall be at the King 's Will of Body Lands and Goods thereof to be done as shall please him And is not Thy Saying If ye will be uncovered or put off your Hats I will hear you and do you Justice and because we could not put them off for Conscience-sake Thy denying us Justice and refusing to hear us as to Wrong who had so unjustly suffered a Default in thee against the very Essence of those Laws yea an Overthrow thereof for which things sake being of the highest Importance to the well-being of Men so just so equal so necessary those Laws were made and all the Provisions therein To make a Default in any one Point of which Provisions exposeth to the said Penalty Dost not thou by this time see where thou art Art thou sure thou shalt never be made to understand and feel the Justice thereof Is thy Seat so high and thy Fence so great and art thou so certain of thy Time and Station above all that have gone before thee whom Justice hath Cut down and given them their due that thou shalt never be called to an Account nor with its long and sure stroke be reached Deceive not thy self God is come nearer to Judgment than the Workers of Iniquity in this Age Imagin who persecute and evil-intreat those that witness the Just and Holy One for their Witnessing of him who is come to Reign for ever and ever Saith he not he will be a swift Witness against the false Swearers God is not mocked Surely Friend that must needs be a very great Offence which deprives a Man of Justice of being heard as to Wrong of the Benefit of the Law and of those Laws afore-rehearsed to defend the Justice and Equity of which a Man hath adventured his Blood and all that is Dear to him But to stand Covered or with the Hat on in Conscience to the Command of the Lord is made by thee such an Offence which is none in Law and rendered upon us who are Innocent serving the Living God effectual to deny us Justice though the Laws of God and of Man and the Oath and Equity and Reason saith the Contrary and on it pronounceth such a Penalty If ye will be Vncovered Vncovered said'st thou I will hear you and do you Justice But Justice we had not nor were we heard because Jesus Christ who is the Higher Power the Law-giver of his People in our Consciences Commanded us not to Respect Persons whom to Obey we chuse rather than Man And for our Obedience unto him hast thou cast us into Prison and continuest us there till this very Day having shewed us neither Law for it nor Scripture nor Instances of either nor Example of Heathens or others Friend Come down to that of God that is Just in thee and Consider was ever such a thing as this heard of in this Nation What 's become of Seriousness of true Judgment and of Righteousness An unrighteous Man standing before thee with his Hat off shall be heard but an Innocent Man appearing with his Hat on in Conscience to the Lord shall neither be heard nor have Justice Is not this regarding of Persons contrary to the Laws aforesaid and the Oath and the Law of God Understand and Judge Did we not own Authority and Government oftentimes before the Court Didst not Thou say in the Court Thou wast glad to hear so much from us of our owning Magistracy Pleaded we not to the Indictment though it was such a new-found One as England never heard of before Came we not when thou sentest for us Went we not when thou bid'st us go And are we not still Prisoners at thy Command and at thy Will If the Hat had been such an Offence to thee Could'st not thou have caused it to have been taken off when thou heard'st us so often declare we could not do it in Conscience to the Commands of the Lord and that for that Cause we forbore it not in Contempt of thee or of Authority nor in Disrespect to thine or any Man's Person For we said We honoured all Men in the Lord and owned Authority which was a Terror to Evil-Doers and a Praise to them that do well And our Souls were subject to the Higher Powers for Conscience-sake as thou caused'st them to be taken off and to be kept so when thou called'st the Jury to find us Transgressors without a Law What ado hast thou made to take away the Righteousnesâ— of the Righteous from him and to cause us to suffer further whom thou knewest to have been so long wrongfully in Prison contrary to Law Is not Liberty of Conscience a Natural Right Had there been a Law in this Case and we bound up in our Consciences that we could not have obeyed it was not Liberty of Conscience there to take place For where the Law saith not against there
needs no Plea of Liberty of Conscience But the Law have we not offended yet in thy Will hast thou caused and dost thou yet cause us to suffer for our Consciences where the Law requires no such thing and yet for Liberty of Conscience hath all the Blood been spilt and the Miseries of the late Wars undergone and as the Protector saith this Government undertaken to preserve it and a Natural Right he saith it is and he that would have it he saith ought to give it And if it be a natural Right as is undeniable then to attempt to force it or to punish a Man for not doing contrary to it is to act against Nature which as it is unreasonable so it is the same as to offer Violence to a Man's Life And what an Offence that is in the Law thou knowest and how by the Common Law of England all Acts Agreements and Laws that are against Nature are meer Nullities and all the Judges cannot make one Case to be Law that is against Nature But put the Case our standing with our Hats on had been an Offence in Law and we wilfully and in Contempt and not out of Conscience had stood so which we deny as aforesaid yet that is not a ground wherefore we should be denied Justice or to be heard as to the Wrong done to us If ye will not Offend in one Case I will do you Justice in another This is not the Language of the Law or of Justice which distributes to every one their Right Justice to whom Justice is due Punishment to whom Punishment is due A Man who doth Wrong may also have Wrong done to him shall he not have Right wherein he is wronged unless he Right him whom he hath wronged The Law saith not so but the Wrong-doer is to suffer and the Sufferer of Wrong to be righted Is not otherwise to do a Denying a Letting or Stopping of Even Law and Execution of Justice and a bringing under the Penalties aforesaid Mind and Consider And should'st Thou have Accused when no Witness appeared against us as in the particulars of striking Peter Ceely and Dispersing Books as thou said'st against Magistracy and Ministry with which thou didst falsly Accuse one of uâ— saith not the Law The Judge ought not to be the Accuser much less a false Accuser And wast not thou such an one in Affirming That he dispersed Books against Magistracy and Ministry when as the Books were Violently taken out of our Chamber as hath been said undispersed by him or any of us Nor did'st thou make it appear in one particular wherein those Books thou so Violently didst cause to be taken away were against Magistracy or Ministry or gavest one Instance or Reply when he denied what thou charged'st therein and spake to thee to bring forth those Books and make thy Charge appear Is not the Sword of the Magistrate of God to pass upon such Evil-Doing And according to the Administration of the Law ought not Accusations to be by way of Indictment wherein the Offence is to be charged and the Law expressed against which it is Can there be an Issue without an Indictment Or can an Indictment be found before Proof be made of the Offence charged therein And hast not thou herein gone contrary to the Law and the Administration thereof and thy Duty as a Judge What just cause of Offence gave George Fox to thee when upon thy producing a Paper concerning Swearing sent by him as thou said'st to the Grand Jury and requiring him to say Whether it was his Hand-writing he answered Read it up before the Country and when he heard it read if it were his he would own it Is it not equal and according to Law that what a Man is charged with before the Country should be read in the hearing of him and of the Country When a Paper is delivered out of a Man's Hand Alterations may be made in it to his Prejudice which on a suddain looking over it may not presently be discerned but by hearing it read up may be better understood whether any such Alterations have been made therein Could'st thou in Justice have expected or required him otherwise to do Considering also that he was not unsensible how much he had suffered already being Innocent and what Endeavours there were used to cause him further to suffer Was not what he said as aforesaid a plain and single Answer and sufficient in the Law Though as hath been demonstrated contrary to Law thou didst act and to thy Office in being his Accuser therein and producing the Paper against him And in his Liberty it was whether he would have made thee any Answer at all to what thou did'st exhibit or demand out of the due Course of Law for to the Law Answer is to be made not to thy Will Wherefore then wast thou so filled with Rage and Fury upon that his Reply Calmly and in the Fear of the Lord consider Wherefore did'st thou Revile him particularly with the reproachful Names of Juggler and Prevaricator Wherein did he juggle wherein did he prevaricate Wherefore did'st thou use such Threatning Language and such Menacings to him and us saying Thou would'st Ferk us with such like Doth not the Law forbid Reviling and Rage and Fury and Threatning and Menacing of Prisoners Soberly mind Is this to act like a Judge or a Man Is not this Transgression Is not the Sword of the Magistrate of God to pass on this as Evil-doing which the righteous Law condemns and the Higher Power is against which judgeth for God Take heed what ye do for ye judge not for Man but for the Lord who is with you in the Judgment Wherefore now let the Fear of the Lord be upon you take heed and do it For there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God nor Respect of Persons nor taking of Gifts said Jehoshaphat to the Judges of Judah Pride and Fury and Passion and Rage and Reviling and Threatning is not the Lord's It and the Principle out of which it springs is for Judgment and must come under the Sword of the Magistrate of God and it is of an ill Savour especially such an Expression as to threaten to Ferk us Is not such a Saying more becoming a Pedant or Schoolmaster with his Rod or Ferula in his Hand than Thee who art the Chief Justice of the Nation who sittest in the highest Seat of Judgment who oughtest to give a good Example and so to Judge that others may hear and fear Weigh it soberly and Consider Doth not threatning Language demonstrate an Inequality and Partiality in him who sits as Judge Is it not a Deterring of a Prisoner from standing to and pleading the Innocency of his Cause Provides not the Law against it Saith it not That Irons and all other Bonds shall be taken from the Prisoner that he may plead without Amazement and with such freedom of Spirit as if he were not a Prisoner But when he who is
to judge according to the Law shall before-hand threaten and Menace the Prisoner contrary to the Law how can the Mind of the Prisoner be free to plead his Innocency before him or expect Equal Judgment from him who before he hears him threatens what he will do unto him Is not this the Case between Thee and Vs Is not this the Measure we have received at thy Hands Hast thou herein dealt according to Law or to thy Duty Or as thou wouldest be done unto Let that of God in thy Conscience Judge And did'st not thou say There was a Law for putting off the Hat and that thou would'st shew a Law and did'st not thou often so express thy self But didst thou produce any Law or shew where that Law might be found or any Judicial President or in what King 's Reign when we so often desired it of thee having never heard of or known any such Law by which thou didst Judge us Was not what we demanded of thee reasonable and just Was that a Savoury Answer and according to Law which thou gavest us viz. I am not to carry the Law-books at my Back up and down the Country I am not to Instruct you Was ever such an Expression heard before these days to come out of a Judge's Mouth Is he not to be of Counsel in the Law for the Prisoner and to Instruct him therein Is it not for this cause that the Prisoner in many Cases is not allowed Counsel by the Law In all Courts of Justice in this Nation hath it not been known so to have been And to the Prisoner hath not this been often declared when he hath demanded Counsel alledging his Ignorance in the Law by reason of which his Cause might miscarry though it were righteous viz. The Court is of Counsel for you Ought not he that judgeth in the Law to be Expert in the Law Could'st thou not tell by what Act of Parliament it was made or by what Judicial President or in what King 's Reign or when it was adjudged so by the Common Law which are all the Grounds the Law of England hath had there been such a Law though the words of the Law thou could'st not remember Surely To Inform the Prisoner when he desired it especially as to a Law which was never heard of by which he proceeds to Judge him that he may know what Law it is by which he is to be Judged becomes him who Judgeth for God for so the Law was read to the Jews by which they were to be Judged yea every Sabbath-day this was the Commandment of the Lord. But instead thereof to say I am not to carry the Law-books at my Back up and down the Country I am not to Instruct you To say There is a Law and to say Thou wilt shew it and yet not to shew it nor to tell where it is to be found Consider whether it be Consistent with Savouriness or with Truth or Justice Have not thy whole Proceedings against us made it evidently to appear that thy desire was to Cause us to suffer not to deliver us who being Innocent suffered to have us aspersed and reproached before the Country not to have our Innocency cleared and vindicated Doth not thy taking away our Books as aforesaid and the perusing of them in such haste before our Trial and thy Accusing us with something which thou said'st was contained in them make it to appear that Matter was sought out of them where-withal to Charge us when the Et Caetera-Warrant would not stand in Law by which we stood Committed and were then upon our Delivery according to due Course of Law Doth it not further appear by thy refusing to take from our Hands a Copy of the strange Et Caetera-Warrant by which we were Committed and of the Paper for which we were Apprehended to read it or cause it to be read that so our long Sufferings by reason of both might be lookt into and weighed in the Law whether Just or Righteous and the Country might as well see our Innocency and Sufferings without a Cause and the manner of Dealing with us as to hear such Reports as went of us as great Offenders when we called upon thee often so to do and which thou oughtest to have done and said'st Thou would'st do but did it not nor so much as took notice before the Country that we had been falsely Imprisoned and had wrongfully suffered But what might Asperse and Charge us thou brought'st in thy self contrary to Law and did'st call to have us charged therewith Is not this further manifest in that thou did'st cause us on a sudden to be with-drawn and the Petty-Jury to be called in with their Verdict whereupon Peter Ceely's falsly accusing George Fox with telling him privately of a Design and persuading him to join therein It was by G. Fox made so Clear to be a manifest Falshood and so plainly to be perceived that the Cause of our Sufferings was not any Evil we had done or Law that we had transgressed but Malice and Wickedness And is it not abundantly clear from thy not permitting us to Answer and clear our selves of the many foul Slanders charged upon us in the New-found-Indictment of which no Proof was made but when we were Answering thereunto and Clearing our selves thereof thou did'st stop us saying Thou mindest not those things but only the putting off the Hat when as before the Country the New-found Indictment charged us with those things and the Petty-Jury brought in their Verdict Guilty of the Trespasses and Contempts mentioned therein of which except as to the Hat not one Witness or Evidence was produced and as to the Hat not any Law or judicial President upon the Transgression of which all legal Indictments are only to be grounded Now the Law seeks not for Causes whereby to make the Innocent to suffer but helpeth him to Right who suffers Wrong and relieveth the Oppressed and searcheth out the Matter Whether that of which a Man stands Accused be so or no seeking Judgment and hastening Righteousness and it saith The Innocent and the Righteous slay thou not But whether thou hast done so to us or the contrary let the Witness of God in thee search and judge as these thy Fruits do also make manifest And Friend Consider how abominably wicked and how highly to be abhorred denied and witnessed against and how Contrary to the Laws such a Proceeding is as to Charge a Man with many Offences in an Indictment which they who draw the Indictment they who Prosecute and they who find the Bill know to be false and to be set in purposely to Reproach and Wound his good Name whom with some small Matter which they can prove they Charge and Indict as is the Common Practice at this day Prove but one particular Charge in the Indictment and it must stand say they for a True Bill though there be never so many Falshoods and Lies therein on set purpose
to wrong him who is maliciously prosecuted This is known to the Judges and almost to every Man who hath to do with and attends their Courts How contrary is this to the End and Righteousness of the Law which Clears the Innocent and Condemns the Guilty and condemneth not the Righteous with the Wicked Much it is Cried out of but what Reformation is there thereof How else shall Clerks of Assize and other Clerks of Courts fill up their Bags out of which perhaps their Master must have a secret Consideration and be heightned in Pride and Impudence that even in open Court they take upon them to Check and Revile Men without Reproof when a few Lines might serve instead of an hundred How else shall the Spirit that is in Men that lusteth unto Envy Malice Strife and Contention be cherished and nourished to feed the Lawyers and Dependents on Courts with the Bread of Mens Children and the Ruin of their Families to maintain their long Suits and malicious Contentions For a Judge to say I mind not these things I 'le not hear you clear your selves of what you are falsely accused of One thing I mind in your Charge the rest are but Matter of Form set there to render you such wicked Men before the Country as the thing that is to be proved against you is not sufficient to make out Oh abominable Wickedness and perverting of the Righteous End of the Law which is so careful and tender of every Man's Peace and Innocency How is the Law in the Administration thereof adulterated by the Lawyers as the Scriptures are mangled by the Priests And that which was made to preserve the Righteous and to punish the Wicked perverted to the Punishing of the Righteous and the Preserving of the Wicked An Eye for an Eye a Tooth for a Tooth Life for Life Burning for Burning Wound for Wound a Stripe for a Stripe he that Accuseth a Man falsely to suffer the same as he should have suffered who was falsely Accused if he had been guilty This saith the righteous Law of God which is agreeable to that of God in every Man's Conscience Are not such Forms of Iniquity to be denied which are so contrary to the Law of God and Man Which serve for the gendering of Strife and the kindling of Contention And of this Nature was not that with which thou did'st cause us to be Indicted And this Form did'st not thou uphold in not permitting us to Answer to the many foul Slanders therein saying Those things thou mindest not Will not the Wrath of God be revealed from Heaven against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men who hold the Truth in Unrighteousness who are so far from the Power of Godliness that they have not the Form but the Form of Iniquity which is set up and held up instead of and as a Law to overthrow and destroy the Righteousness of the Righteous and so to shut him up as by the Law he can never get out Is not the Cry thinkest thou gone up It is time for thee to set to thine Hand O Lord for thine Enemies have made void thy Law Draws not the hour nigh Fills not up the Measure of Iniquity apace Surely the day is coming and hastneth Warned ye have been from the presence and by the Mouth of the Lord and clear will he be when he cometh to Judgment and upright when he giveth Sentence That of God in every one of your Consciences shall so to him bear witness and confess and your Mouths shall be stopped and before your Judge shall ye be silent when he shall divide you your Portion and render unto you according to your Deeds Therefore whilst Thou hast Time prize it and Repent for verily Our God shall come and shall not keep silence a Fire shall devour before him and it shall be very Tempestuous round about him He shall call to the Heavens from above and to the Earth that he may judge his People and the Heavens shall declare his Righteousness for God is Judge himself Consider this ye that forget God lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver And Friend should'st thou have given Judgment against us wherein thou didst fine us Twenty Marks a piece and Imprisonment till Payment without causing us being Prisoners to be brought before thee to hear the Judgment and to Move what we had to say in Arrest of Judgment Is not this contrary to the Law as is manifest to those who understand the Proceedings thereof Is not the Prisoner to be called before Judgment be given And is not the Indictment to be read and the Verdict thereupon And is not Liberty to be given him to move in Arrest of Judgment And if it be a Just Exception in the Law ought not there to be an Arrest of Judgment For the Indictment may not be drawn up according to Law and may be wrong placed and the Offence charged therein may not be a Crime in Law or the Jury may have been corrupted or menaced or set on by some of the Justices with other Particulars which are known to be legal and just Exceptions And the Judgment ought to be in the Prisoner's hearing not behind his Back as if the Judge were so Conscious of the Error thereof that he dares not give it to the Face of the Prisoner But these Priviledges of the Law this Justice we who had so long and so greatly suffered contrary to Law received not nor could have at thy Hands no not so much as a Copy or Sight of that long and New-found Indictment which in England was never heard of before nor that the Matter contained therein was an Offence in Law nor ever was there any Law or judicial President that made it so though Two Friends of ours in our Names and Behalfs that Night and the next day and the day following often desired it of the Clerk of the Assize and his Assistant and Servants but it they could not have nor so much liberty as to see it And 't is like it was not unknown or unperceived by thee that had we been Called as we ought to have been or had known when it was to be given Three or Four Words might have made a sufficient legal Arrest of the Judgment given on that New-found Indictment and the Verdict thereupon Therefore as our Liberties who are Innocent have not in thy Accompt been worth the minding and esteemed fit for nothing but to be trampled under foot and destroyed so if we find fault with what thou hast done thou hast taken care that no Door be left open to us in the Law but a Writ of Error The Consideration whereof and the Judgment to be given thereon is to be had only where thy self is Chief of whom such Complaint is to be made and the Error Assigned for the Reverse of thy Judgment And what the Fruit of that may be well expected to be by what we have already mentioned as having
lockt in Irons and beaten and bid to Remember how he had abused those good Men whom he had wickedly without any Cause cast into that nasty Dungeon and told That now he deservedly should suffer for his wickedness and the same Measure he had meted to others he should have meted out to himself He grew to be very poor and died in Prison and his Wife and Family came to Misery While I was in Prison in Lanceston there was a Friend went to Oliver Cromwel and offered himself Body for Body to lie in Doomsdale-Prison for me or in my stead if he would take him and let me go at Liberty Which thing so struck him that he said to his great Men and Council VVhich of you would do so much for me if I were in the same Condition And though he did not accept of the Friend's Proffer but said He could not do it for that it was contrary to Law yet however the Truth thereby came mightily over him A good while after this he sent down Major General Desborow pretending to set us at Liberty And when he came he proffered us If we would say VVe would go home and preach no more we should have our Liberty but we could not promise him so Then he urged that we should promise to go home if the Lord permit Whereupon Edward Pyot writ him this following Letter To Major General Desborow Friend THough much might be said as to the Liberty of English-men to Travel in any part of the Nation of England it being as the English-man's House by the Law and he to be protected in any part of it and if he transgress the Law the penalty upon the Transgressor is to be inflicted And as to Liberty of Conscience which is a natural Right and a Fundamental and the Exercise of it by those who profess Faith in God by Jesus Christ is to be protected as by the Instrument of Government appears though they differ in Doctrine Worship and Discipline provided the Liberty extend not to Popery or Prelacy nor to Licentiousness Where these Rights are denied is our Liberties are infringed which are the Price of much Blood and Treasure in the late Wars Yet in the Power of God over all by which all are to be ruled are we and in it dwell and by it alone are guided to do the Will of God whose Will is free and we in the freedom of his Will walk by the Power either as it Commands or Permits without any Condition or Enforcement thereunto by Men but as the Power moves either by Command or Permission And although we cannot Covenant or Condition to go forth of these Parts or to do this or that thing if the Lord permit for that were to do the will of Man by God's Permission yet 't is like we may pass forth of these Parts in the liberty of the will of God as we may he severally moved and guided by the pure Power and not of Necessity We who were first Committed were passing homewards when we were apprehended and as far as I know we might pass if the Prison-Doors were Commanded to be Opened and we freed of our Bonds Should we stay if the Lord commands us to go or should we go if the Lord command us to stay Or having no Command to stay but being permitted to pass from hence the pure Power moving thereto and we yet stay or go when as â—efore commanded to stay we should then be Wanderers indeed for such are Wanderers who wander out from the Will and Power of God abroad at large in their own Wills and earthly Minds And so in the fear of the Lord God well weigh and consider with the just Weight and just Ballance that Justice thou may'st do to the Just and Innocent in Prison Edward Pyot Some time having passed after the fore-going was delivered him and he not giving any Order for our Discharge I also writ unto him as followeth To Major General Desborow Friend WE who be in the Power of God the Ruler of all the Vpholder of all things and know and dwell in his Power â—o it we must be Obedient which brings us to stand out of all Men's Wills not limited To say We will if the Lord permit in a Case of Buying and Selling to get gain if the Intent be so to do may be done but we standing in the Power of God to do his VVill and to stand out of Man's will If Man propound VVe shall have our Liberty if we will say we will go to our outward Being if the Lord permit if it be the VVill of God and because we cannot say these Words in this case shall not have our Liberty when we know that the will of God is we shall go to speak at some other Place here we cannot say these Words truly For to say We will go to our outward Habitation if it be according to the will of God when we know the will of God is otherwise we cannot speak so truly and clearly Neither can any Man say so to him that requires it of him who stands in the Power and knows the Power of God to lead him according to God's will and it leads him to another place than that which is called the outward Home But the Son of God who came to do and did the will of God had no place whereon to lay his Head And the Apostles and many of the Followers of Christ had no certain dwelling-place Now if these should have been restrained because they could not say they would go to that which the world calls their outward Homes if it were the will of God when they knew it was the will of God they should not and they could not do the will of God in doing so and therefore could not speak those words to satisfy man's mind and will would not that have been Evil Abraham could not do the will of God but in going from his Native Country And who are of Faith are of Abraham of whom Christ came according to the Flesh Now if thou alledge and say This is to let all loose and at Liberty to Idleness I say No such as be in the Power of God who do the will of God come to receive his wisdom by which all his Creatures were created by which to use them to his Glory So this I shall say who are moved by the Lord God of Glory and Power to go to their outward Beings or Habitations such of us may go to our outward Beings or Homes and there be diligent in serving the Lord God that they may be a Blessing from the Lord God in their Generation diligently serving him in Life and Doctrine in Manners in Conversation in all things And who are moved of the Lord to go to any other Place we standing in his will and being moved by his Power which comprehends all things and is not to be limited we shall do his will which we are commanded to do So the Lord God
yet therein do they exercise themselves to have always a Conscience void of Offence towards God and Man as ye may read the Saints of Old did Acts 24.14 15 16. not wronging any Man neither giving any just Cause of Offence only being obedient to the Commands of the Lord to declare as they are moved by the Holy Ghost and standing for the Testimony of a Good Conscience speaking the Truth in Christ their Consciences bearing them witness that they lie not For this do they suffer under you who in Words profess the same thing for which they suffer Now see if any Age or Generation did ever persecute as ye do For ye profess Christ Jesus who Reveals the Father and persecute them that witness the Revelation of the Father by Christ Jesus unto them Ye profess Christ Jesus who is the Light of the World that enlightens every one that cometh into the World and yet persecute them that bear Witness and give Testimony to this Light Ye profess that the Word is become Flesh and yet persecute them that witness it so Ye profess that whosoever confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh is an Antichrist and yet persecute them that do Confess him come in the Flesh and call them Antichrists and Deceivers Ye profess that the Kingdom of Christ is come and yet persecute them that witness it come Ye profess Christ Jesus the Resurrection and the Life and yet persecute them that witness him to be so If ye say How shall we know that these People who say they witness these things do so or no I answer Turn your Minds to the Light which Christ Jesus hath enlightned you withal which is one in all and if ye walk in the Light ye shall have the Light of Life and then ye will know and see what ye have done who have persecuted the Lord of Glory in his People in whom is Life and the Life is the Light of Men. To no other Touchstone shall we turn you but into your own Consciences and there shall ye find the Truth of what we have declared unto you and of what we bear Testimony to according to the Holy Scriptures And when the Books of Consciences are opened and all judged out of them then shall ye Witness us to be of God and our Testimony to be true though now ye may stop your Ears and harden your Hearts while it is called to day But then ye shall know what ye have done and whom ye have transgressed against and then ye will see that no Persecutors in any Age or Generation that ever went before you did ever Transgress against that Light and Measure of God made manifest in such manner as ye have done For though Christ and the Apostles were persecuted in their times the Jews for the most part of them did not know that he was the Christ when he came notwithstanding that they had the Scriptures which prophesied of him neither did they believe that he was Risen again when the Apostles preached his Resurrection But ye say Ye believe he is come and ye say Ye believe his Resurrection and yet ye persecute those that witness him come in the Flesh those that are buried with him in Baptism those that are conformable to his Death and know the Power of his Resurrection those ye persecute those ye hale before Magistrates and suffer to be beaten in your Synagogues those ye cause to be whipt and stock't and shamefully entreated and into Prison cast and kept as many Goals in this Nation at this day testifie to your Faces Therefore honestly consider what ye are doing while ye are taking notice of others Cruelties lest ye over-look your own There is some difference in many things between the Popish Religion and that which ye call the Protestant but in this Persecution of yours there is no difference For ye will Confess that the Foundation of your Religion is grounded upon the Scriptures and yet now ye are persecuting them that be in the same Life which they were in who spake forth the Scriptures your selves being the mean while under a Profession of the Words they spake and this ye shall one day witness So ye have a Profession and Form and persecute them that are in the Possession Life and Power Therefore know assuredly that ye must come to Judgment for he is made manifest to whom all Judgment is committed Therefore to the Light of Christ Jesus in your Consciences which searcheth and trieth you turn your Minds and stand still and wait there to receive the Righteous Law which is according to that of God in the Conscience which is now rising and is bearing witness against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men and they whom ye persecute are manifest to God and that of God in all Consciences shall bear witness for us that we are of God And this ye shall one day witness whether ye will hear or forbear Our Rejoycing is in the Testimony of our Consciences that in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity not with Fleshly Wisdom but by the Grace of God we have had our Conversation in the World not handling the Word of God deceitfully but in the Manifestation of the Truth commending our selves to every Man's Conscience in the sight of God and if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost And for the witnessing the holding the Mystery of Faith in a pure Conscience do we suffer and are subject for Conscience sake This is thank-worthy if a Man for Conscience sake endure Griefs and Suffering wrongfully And in this is our Joy and Rejoicing having a good Conscience that whereas we are evil spoken of as Evil-Doers they may be ashamed that falsly accuse our good Conversation in Christ which is not only the putting away of the Filth of the Flesh but the Answer of a good Conscience towards God by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ And this we Witness made manifest Eternal Praises to the Living God and bear Testimony to that which spake it in the Apostle in Life and Power And therefore do we bear witness and testifie against those who being got into a Form and Profession of it do persecute the Life and Power Therefore to the Eternal Light of Christ Jesus the Searcher and Trier of all Hearts turn your Minds and see what ye are doing lest ye overturn your Foundation and Bottom whereon ye pretend to stand while ye are professing the Scriptures and persecuting the Life Light and Power which they were in who gave them forth For the Stone cut out of the Mountains without Hands is now striking at the Feet of the Image the Profession which is set up and stands in the Will of Man Now is that made manifest unto which all must answer and appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his Body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Knowing therefore the Terror of the Lord
Christians in the Primitive times under the Ten Persecutions 1663. Lancaster Assize and some also of the Martyrs in Queen Mary's days refused Swearing because Christ and the Apostle had forbidden it I told him also They had had Experience enough how many Men had first sworn for the King and then against the King But as for me I had never taken an Oath in all my Life and my Allegiance did not lie in Swearing but in Truth and Faithfulness for I honour all Men much more the King But Christ who is the Great Prophet who is the King of Kings who is the Saviour of the World and the great Judge of the whole World he saith I must not Swear Now whether must I obey Christ or Thee For it is in tenderness of Conscience and in Obedience to the Commands of Christ that I do not Swear And we have the Word of a King for tender Consciences Then I asked the Judge If he did own the King Yes said he I do own the King Why then said I dost thou not observe his Declaration from Breda and his Promises made since he came into England That no man should be called in question for matters of Religion so long as they lived peaceably Now if thou ownest the King said I why dost thou call me into question and put me upon taking an Oath which is a matter of Religion seeing thou nor none else can charge me with unpeaceable living Then he was moved and looking angrily at me said Sirrah Will you Swear I told him I was none of his Sirrahs I was a Christian and for him that was an Old Man and a Judge to sit there and give Nick-names to Prisoners it did not become either his Gray Hairs or his Office Well said he I am a Christian too ' Then do Christians Works said I. Sirrah said he Thou thinkest to frighten me with thy Words Then catching himself and looking aside he said Heark I am using the word Sirrah again and so check'd himself I said I spake to thee in love for that Language did not become thee a Judge Thou oughtest to Instruct a Prisoner in the Law if he were Ignorant and out of the way And I speak in Love to thee too said he But said I Love gives no Nick-names Then he roused himself up and said I will not be afraid of thee George Fox Thou speakest so loud thy Voice drowns mine and the Court 's I must call for three or four Criers to drown thy Voice Thou hast good Lungs I am a Prisoner here said I for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake for his sake do I suffer and for him do I stand this day and if my Voice were five times louder yet I should lift it up and sound it out for Christ's sake for whose Cause I stand this day before your Judgment-Seat in Obedience to Christ who commands not to Swear before whose Judgment-Seat you must all be brought and must give an Account Well said the Judge George Fox say Whether thou wilt take the Oath Yea or Nay I replied I say as I said before Whether ought I to obey God or Man Judge thou ' If I could take any Oath at all I should take this for I do not deny some Oaths only or on some Occasion but all Oaths according to Christ's Doctrine who hath commanded his Not to swear at all Now if thou or any of you or any of your Ministers or Priests here will prove that ever Christ or his Apostle after they had forbidden all Swearing commanded Christians to Swear then I will Swear I saw several Priests there but never an one of them offered to speak Then said the Judge I am a Servant to the King and the King sent me not to dispute with you but to put the Laws in Execution Therefore tender him the Oath of Allegiance If thou love the King said I why dost thou break his Word and not keep his Declarations and Speeches wherein he promised Liberty to Tender Consciences I am a Man of a tender Conscience and in obedience to Christ's Command I cannot Swear Then you will not Swear said the Judge Take him away Jailer I said It is for Christ's sake that I cannot Swear and for Obedience to his Command I Suffer and so the Lord forgive you all So the Jailer took me away but I felt the mighty Power of the Lord was over them all Upon the Sixteenth Day of the same Month I was brought before Judge Twisden again and he was somewhat offended at my Hat but it being the last Morning of the Assize before he was to go out of Town and not many People there he made the less of it He asked me Whether I would Traverse or stand Mute or Submit But he spake so fast and in such haste that it was hard to know what he said However I told him I desired I might have Liberty to Traverse the Indictment and Try it Then said he Take him away I will have nothing to do with him take him away I said Well live in the Fear of God and do Justice Why said he have not I done you Justice I replied That which thou hast done hath been against the Command of Christ. Lancaster Prison So I was taken away and had to the Jail again and there kept Prisoner till the next Assizes Sometime before this Assize Margaret Fell was sent Prisoner to Lancaster-Jail by Flemming Kirby and Preston Justices and at the Assize the Oath was tendered to her also and she was committed again to Prison to lie till the next Assize Now Justice Flemming being one of the fiercest and most-violent Justices in Persecuting Friends and sending his honest Neighbours to Prison for Religion's sake and there being many Friends at this time in Lancaster-Jail committed thither by him and some having died in Prison we that were then Prisoners had it upon us to write to him as followeth O Justice Fleming MErcy and Compassion and Love and Kindness adorns and graces Men and Magistrates Oh! dost thou not hear the Cry of the Widows and the Cry of the Fatherless who were made so through Persecution Were they not driven like Sheep from Constable to Constable as though they had been the greatest Transgressors or Malefactors in the Land Which grieved and tendered the Hearts of many sober People to see how their Innocent Neighbours and Countrymen who were of a peaceable Carriage and honest in their Lives and Conversations amongst Men were used and served One more is dead whom thou sentest to Prison having left Five Children both Fatherless and Motherless Now how canst thou do otherwise than take Care of these Fatherless Infants and also of the other's Wife and Family Is it not thy place Consider Job c. 29th how he was a Father to the Poor he delivered the Poor that cried and the Fatherless that had none to help 1663. Lancaster Prisons how he brake the Jaws of the Wicked and plucked the Spoil
purifies our hearts and brings us to have Access to God without which we cannot please him by which Faith all the Just lives as the Scripture declares And so that which we desire of Thee O King is that we may have the Liberty of our Consciences to serve and worship God and to pray unto him in our Meetings together in the Name of Jesus as he Commands with a promise that he will be in the midst of them The King we do hope cannot but say that this Duty and Service is due to God and Christ and we give Caesar his due and pay our Tribute and Custom equal with our Neighbour according to our proportion And we never read in all the Scriptures of the New Testament That ever Christ or his Disciples did Banish or Imprison any that were not of their Faith or Religion and would not hear them or gave any such Command but on the Contrary Let the Tares and the Wheat grow together till the harvest and the harvest is the end of the World And then Christ will send his Angels to sever the Wheat from the Tares c. And also he Rebuked such that would have had fire to come down from Heaven to consume such that would not receive Christ and told them That they did not know what Spirit they were of he came not to destroy mens lives but to save them And therefore we desire the King to consider how much Persecution has been in Christendom since the Apostles days concerning Religion And Christ said They should go into Everlasting punishment that did not visit him in Prison then what will become of them that Imprison him in his Members where he is Manifest And now none can say that the World is ended And therefore how will all Christendom answer the dreadful and terrible God at his Day of Judgment that have persecuted one another about Religion before the end of the World under a pretence of plucking up Tares which is not their Work but the Angels at the end of the World And Christ Commands men to Love one another and to Love Enemies and by this they should be known to be his Disciples And therefore Oh! 1677. London that all Christendom had lived in Peace andVnity that they might by their Moderation have Judged both Turks and Jews and let all have their Liberty that do own God and Jesus and Walk as becomes the glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ And so our desires are that the Lord God of Heaven may soften the King 's heart to all tender Consciences that do fear the Lord and are afraid of disobeying him And now we intreat the King to read over some of the Noble Expressions of several Kings and others concerning Liberty of Conscience and especially Stephanus King of Poland his sayings viz. It belongeth not to me to Reform the Consciences I have always gladly given that over to God which belongeth to him and so shall I do now and also for the future I will suffer the Weeds to grow till the time of harvest for I know that the Number of Believers are but small Therefore said he when some were proceeding in Persecution I am King of the People not of their Consciences He also affirmed that Religion was not to be planted with Fire and Sword Chron. Liberty of Religion Part. 2. Also a Book wrote in French by W. M. Anno 1576. hath this Sentence viz. Those Princes that have ruled by Gentleness and Clemency added to Justice and have exercised Moderation and Meekness towards their Subjects always prospered and reigned long but on the Contrary those Princes that have been Cruel Unjust Prejudiced and Oppressors of their Subjects have soon fall'n they and their Estates into danger or total ruin Veritus saith Seeing Christ is a Lamb whom you profess to be your Head and Captain then it behoveth you to be Sheep and to use the same Weapons which he made use of for he will not be a Shepherd of Wolves and Wild-beasts but only of Sheep Wherefore if you lose the Nature of Sheep said he and be changed into Wolves and Wild-beasts and use fleshly Weapons then will you exclude your selves out of his Calling and forsake his Banner and then will he not be your Captain c. And also we find it asserted by King James in his Speech to the Parliament in the Year 1609. That it is a pure Rule in Divinity that God never planted his Church with Violence of Blood And furthermore he said It was usually the Condition of Christians to be persecuted but not to persecute And also King Charles in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag. 61. said in his Prayer to God Thou seest how much Cruelty amongst Christians is acted under the Colour of Religion as if we could not be Christians unless we crucified one another And pag. 28. Make them at length seriously to Consider that nothing violent nor injurious can be Religious Pag. 70. Nor is it so proper to hew out Religious Reformation by the Sword as to polish them by fair and equal Disputations among those that are most Concerned in the Differences whom not force but reason must Convince And pag. 66. Take heed that outward Circumstances and Formalities in Religion devour not all And pag. 91 92. 1678. London In point of true Conscientious tenderness I have so often declared how little I desire my Laws and Scepter should intrench on God's Soverainity who is the only King of Conscience Pag. 123. Nor do I desire any man should be further subject unto me then all of us may be subject unto God Pag. 200. O thou Soveraign of our Souls the only Commander of our Consciences Pag. 346. In his Meditations on Death It is indeed a sad state to have his Enemies to be his Accusers Parties and Judges The Prince of Orange testified Anno 1579. That it was impossible the Land should be kept in Peace except there was a free Toleration in the Exercise of Religion And further Where hast thou read in thy day said Menno in the Writing of the Apostles that Christ or the Apostles ever cried out to the Magistrate for their power against them that would not hear their Doctrine nor obey their Words I know certainly said he that where a Magistrate shall banish with the Sword there is not the right Knowledge Spiritual Word nor Church of Christ it is Invocare Brachium Seculare to Invoke the Secular Arm. It is not Christian-like but Tyrannical said D. Philipson to banish and persecute People about Faith and Religion and they that so do are certainly of the Pharisaical Generation who resisted the Holy Ghost Erasmus said That though they take our Monies and Goods they cannot therefore hurt our Salvation they afflict us much with Prisons but they do not thereby separate us from God In de Krydges wrede fol. 63. Lucernus said He that Commandeth any thing wherewith he bindeth the Conscience this is an Antichrist In
the Lambs but they are in the hand of the Lord which is his Power that is over all And such do good in his Power unto all for they have the Mind of Christ who would have all to come to the knowledge of the Truth and be saved And they that do good unto all do hurt unto none for that Spirit that doth hurt unto any is not of God but that Spirit which doth good unto all and especially to the Houshold of Faith is of God Christ came not to destroy mens Lives but to save them And it is the Devil that is the Destroyer of mens Lives about Religion and that blinds and corrupts Men and Women and makes them deaf and blind to the things of God and to halt out of God's way They that obey the Evil one and forsake the Lord such the Destroyer doth destroy But Christ doth destroy that Destroyer and in Christ all have Life G. F. I writ another Paper also concerning Meditation Delight Exercise and Study shewing from the Scriptures of Truth what the true Christians ought to Meditate upon and to Exercise their minds in and what they should take Delight in and what they should study to do For in these things not the prophane and loose People only but even the great Professors of Religion are very much mistaken taking Delight in earthly fading perishing things whereas they ought to Meditate on heavenly things and to delight in the Law of God after the inward man and exercise themselves to have always a Conscience void of Offence towards God and towards Men as the Apostle Paul did And inasmuch as Sufferings continued very sore and heavy up on Friends not only in the City but in most parts of the Nation I drew up a Paper to be presented to the King setting forth our Grievances therein and desiring Redress from him in those Particular Cases which I understood were in his power But not having Relief from him it came upon me to write an Epistle to Friends to Encourage them in their Sufferings that they might bear with patience the many Exercises that were brought upon them both from the outward Magistrates and by false Brethren and Apostates whose wicked Books and filthy Slanders did grieve the upright-hearted This Epistle I writ at Dolston Dolston whither I went to visit an ancient Friend that lay sick FRiends and Brethren in Christ Jesus whom the Lord hath called and gathered into him In him abide for without him to wit Christ ye can do nothing and through him ye can do all things who is your strength and support in all your Trials Temptations Imprisonments and Sufferings who for Christ's sake are accounted as Sheep for the slaughter and in all these things we are more than Conquerours through Christ who hath loved us And therefore Friends though ye do suffer by the Outward Powers ye know that the Prophets Christ and the Apostles suffered by the Unconverted And though ye do suffer by false Brethren and false Apostates for a time and by their filthy Books and Tongues whose Tongues indeed are become no Slander let them speak write or print what they will for the sober People even of the World hardly regard it And it is well they have manifested themselves to the World that their folly may proceed no farther though to the utmost of their power they have shewed their Wicked Intent to stir up the Magistrates Professors and Prophane against us and to speak evil of the way of Truth But God's Judgments will overtake them and come upon them as sure as they have come upon those that are gone before them Let their pretence be never so high mark their End for they will fall like untimely Figs and wither like the Grass on the top of the House Though they may seem to flourish and make a Boast and a Noise for a time yet the Seed is on the head of such which will grind them to powder which Seed bruises the Serpent's head Therefore in this Seed Christ who is your sanctuary rest peace and quiet habitation who is the First and Last and over all in him walk for the Lord taketh pleasure in his People that are faithful and that serve and worship him And therefore let the Saints be Joyful in Glory and the God of Peace the God of all Grace who hath called us into his Eternal Glory by Jesus Christ after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you casting all your Care upon the Lord for he careth for you And Dearly Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery Trial 1682. Dolfon which is to Try you s though some strange thing had hap'ned unto you for it is â—etter if the Will of God be so that ye suffer for Well-doing than for Evil-doing and Rejoice inasmuch as ye are made Partakers of Christ's Sufferings Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator for unto you is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake So it is given or is a gift from Christ to suffer for his Name and therefore as I said before Rejoice inasmuch as ye are made Partakers of Christ's sufferings And if ye be Reproached or evil spoken of for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you On their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified And therefore if any suffer as Christians let them not be ashamed but let them glorifie God on this behalf Though now for a season ye are in Sufferings and Trials and Temptations that the Trial of your Faith being much more precious than that of Gold which perishes though it be tried with Fire may be found unto praise honour and glory who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation Therefore mind your Keeper where-ever ye are or what sufferings soever ye be in and mind the Example of the Apostle how he suffered trouble as an Evil-doer unto Bonds But the Word of God is not bound which is Everlasting and endures for ever And they who are in that which is not Everlasting and doth not endure for ever cannot bind the Word And the Apostle said I endure all things for the Elects sake that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with Eternal Glory mark with Eternal Glory And if we suffer with Christ we shall reign with Christ who abide faithful Therefore strive not about words to no profit but shun prophane and vain Babblings for they will encrease unto more ungodliness So that ye may be Vessels of Honour sanctified and meet for Christ your Master's use and prepared unto every good work Follow after Righteousness Godliness Faith Love Patience and Meekness and fight the good Fight of Faith with your heavenly