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A57213
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An epistle to the people called Quakers emitted by Mr. Robert Rich; who arrived at London from the Barbadoes the ninth day of September, 1679, and departed this life the sixteenth of November following.
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Rich, Robert, d. 1679.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing R1355; ESTC R28476
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9,150
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11
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AN EPISTLE To the PEOPLE called QUAKERS Emitted by Mr. ROBERT RICH Who arrived at LONDON from the BARBADOES the Ninth day of September 1679 and departed this Life the Sixteenth of November following LONDON Printed in the Year 1680 to be sold by Francis Smith at the Elephant and Castle in Cornhil a little below the Royal Exchange An Epistle for the most pure Amity and Vnity in the Spirit Life and Love of God in all sincere-hearted Souls amongst the People called QUAKERS And as to them so unto all or any other Sort or Sect of People that own and follow the Light of Christ Jesus wherewith every one is enlightened ROBERT RICH sendeth Greeting in our Lord God Everlasting Allelujah IN the Year 1666 feeling the Babe of Grace the Word in the Heart to wax strong in the Love of God shed a broad in my Heart I sent to the Poor of your People Thirty pounds which after some of your Leaders had received to wit John Bolton Gerard Roberts and Amos Stoddard and given under their hands accordingly 't was denied to be received and about a Year after returned to me again with many evil opprobrious Names which makes me say That I went to my Own but my Own would not receive me but sold me into Aegypt by their many false Reports And poor Joseph found no greater Enemies than his Brethren were Nevertheless the Lord my God did not forsake me but found me out in the Innocency wherewith he had cloathed me and appeared to me in all my straits and was my Strength my joy and Crown of Glory and at length brought me forth of Prison to stand before Princes assisting and carrying me with much Courage and through great Opposition to bear and finish my Testimony to Christ in the Saints And being cast out from my Brethren the Lord my God took me up and became my Teacher under whose Teachings I felt more of the Love of God and increased more in knowledg of the Things of God than when I sat under the Teachings of Men by whose Teachings I grew in Wisdom and in Stature unto the measure of a perfect Man in Christ Jesus then I came to know that out of Egypt God called his Son to whom he hath given not only the Heathen but the whole World for his Possession and Inheritance In which Spirit of the Son I call to mind the sweet Union and Communion I had with the Quakers when they preached Christ the Light in every one that cometh into the World the way to God the Father of Lights which Light sprang up so strongly in my Heart that with St. Paul it struck me down to the Ground where I felt the Root of the Matter in my self so that I needed no Man to teach me but as the Unction that small grain of Mustard-Seed grew to a great Tree on whose Body did hang all my Sins my Weaknesses and Infirmities which Seed of the Kingdom begot in me a new Heart and Placed within me a right Spirit the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding fill'd with the Love of God Allelujah In the day when the People called Quakers were small in their own Eyes I dearly loved them who did not only preach Christ the Truth and Light in every one but with much boldness and courage and through great Persecutions defended the same living in much Love and Amity one with another which to me was a most lovely sight to see till there came to be a difference between J. N. and George Fox then G. F. by reason of his Enmity and Self-exaltation envied and persecuted J. N. and begat a most bitter wrathful Spirit in all his Friends against J. N. and all that stood by him in his sufferings Thus G. F. was the Father that begat all those Divisions Rendings and Tearings that were then amongst the Quakers and since to this very day which with great violence lasted till J. N. took all the blame on himself and made himself of no reputation who was circumcised in Heart and Soul in which Circumcision he lived and died a true Israelite indeed But G. F. and his Party continued acting in another manner of Spirit for I have seen those pull hale and carry out of their Synagogue at the Bull and Mouth one Richard Freeman and the chief in this work was John Bolton with divers others At this time I perfectly saw that God had divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel and that a separation was making betwixt the Precious and the Vile amongst the Quakers And was it not the same bitter persecuting Spirit in G. F. that writ against J. Perrot's Book called Vnity and Amity for did not G. F. say This Book was writ with Cain's Spirit crying against his Sottishness and Ignorance affirming That a Cloud had compassed him that he went in the way of the false Prophets that his Spirit would give up the Children of God to Persecution Further alleadging that J. P. is one of Ham's Stock and that his gross Lies proceeded from a devilish hellish Spirit and that none that are in the least Truth will believe him and that he is a Liar and Deceiver And the great Offence G. F. takes at this Book is that J. P. owns the Spirit of God's Grace and Light to be in Presbyterians Independents Anabaptists Seekers and others also that he hath Unity and Amity with all that walk therein the which G. F. denying and calling it a Lye c. plainly shews he is an Enemy to all that will not bow down to him and call him Master or Father of their Spirits and that he is turned from the Faith once delivered to the Saints and that he is removed to another Gospel than what at first himself had preached and also writ against J. P. that he was like a Dog snarling and biting such as are in the Life of Truth and so like a Dog thinks he will die This and much more hath G. F. writ against J. P. pursuing and hunting him as Saul did David like a Partridg on the Mountains from Country to Contry from Region to Region and from City to City whithersoever he went these venemous Arrows were shot against him At this time I perfectly saw a Star fall from Heaven called Wormwood or the Dragon's Tail with which he drew to the Ground a third part of the Stars of Heaven then I saw a War in Heaven a Religious War the Dragon against the Lamb Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and his Angels Which bitter Spirit of the Dragon did write or indite John Bolton's Book printed 1670 intituled Judas and his Treachery c. In which Book he saith The thirty pounds Robert Rich sent to the Poor amongst the Quakers was the price of Blood and Judas his Treachery That Robert Rich is a Vagabond on the Earth one that hath not an Habitation in the Living God That he is a Contender against God's Blessed and Holy Way the Way of Life with whom