from the Priesthood of Aaron as well as from the House of David and set up opposite Altars to that of Jerusalem But on the other Hand tho' God sent many Prophets to Reprove the Kings and the Priests yet they neither Rebell'd against the Kings nor set up opposite Altars against those of those wicked Priests But as they paid all Dutiful Obedience to their Persecuting Kings and suffer'd Martyrdom under them without Resistance so did they always keep in the Communion of those same Priests whom they had Provok'd and Reprov'd and paid all due Obedience to their Sacred Authority and never wou'd Countenance any Separate Communions set up in Opposition to Their Communion at the same time that they were Denouncing the Judgments of God against them for their manifold Iniquities and Prevarications And when our Saviour himself came into the World he did not Separate from the Publick Worship and Communion of the Jewish Church But in the same Chapter Mat. 23. where he inveighs most severely against their Wickedness he Guards their Authority as Sacred and Inviolable and to shew that the receiving of Christianity it self was no Exemption from paying all Obedience to them he Commands his own Disciples as well as the Multitude to pay them all manner of Obedience Then spake Jesus to the Multitude and to his Disciples saying The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses Seat All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do And the Apostles after our Saviour frequented the Jewish Temple Luke 24.53 and observed their hours of Publick Worship Acts 3.1 Acknowledged the Anthority of their High Priest and submitted themselves to him as to one invested with God's Commission as to God's High Priest even when he was judging them unjustly and Commanding them to be smitten contrary to the Law Acts 23.3 4 5. And they frequented the Jewish Temple and Liturgy tho' they had Separate Meetings for the breaking of Bread and other Institutions of the Christian Religion which they cou'd not have in the Jewish Communion from which they did not abstain while it lasted in the World that is till the Destriction of Jerusalem by the Romans By all which Examples we are instructed how strongly we are to adhere to the Publick Communion of the Church and to suspect all pretended Inspirations which wou'd draw us away from it But this concerns the others of our Dissenters as well as the Quakers Let us return to them And we shall find their Infallibility disprov'd not only in particular Instances such as that fore-mentioned of Solomon Eccles and the Glover's Prophets But 2dly in whole Floods and Parties for Francis Bugg and many others have come openly off from their Communion after having liv'd many years with them and as Zealous Quakers as the best But now Detect their gross Errors Publickly and in Print But Thirdly Those among them who continue still Quakers have notwithstanding joyn'd in disproving their Pretences to Infallibility and discovering many other Damnable Heresies and Doctrines of Devils among them Denying the Lord who bought them c. From which Diabolical Errors George Keith being Converted he has endeavour'd to strengthen his Brethren and has gain'd many and has Separated them in a distinct Communion from the other Quakers who call these Separatists Apostates and False Brethren that have Erred from the Faith And the Separatists say the same of Them Now if their above-told Pretences to Infallibility do hold then it will follow that these their former Opinions which the Separatists now Condemn were True Then and False Now. Nay that they are both True and False even Now because some Quakers do now hold them to be True and others contend as Zealously that they are False Then the Separate Quakers and the others do not differ tho' they Damn one another nor are they Separate tho' they be Separate All these Contradictions must be Reconcil'd or else it must be granted that G. Fox and others have grosly Erred who asserted that They the Quakers and every one of them in particular were Infallible as above is Quoted And that they cou'd discern who were True Quakers and who were only False or Pretended ones without speaking ever a word For either Francis Bugg who liv'd 25. years in their Communion their Secretary and a Principal Man among them G. Keith who as Sam. Jennings tells us in his State of the Case hereafter mentioned p. 2. was 28 years of their Communion Yea says he most of that time a Preacher amongst us a Vindicator of us and others were true Quakers or not If not why were they own'd as such all that time Then G. Fox nor any of them had an Infallible discerning Spirit to which they have falsly pretended But if Keith Bugg c. were True Quakers then True Quakers are not Infallible And then G.F. c. who said they were Infallibile were led by the Spirit of Delusion and not by the Spirit of Truth But that nothing may be wanting to the full Conviction of this Fourthly The Infallibility of the Private Spirit or of each Particular Quaker is now Damn'd by their Church and their Infallibility is now Reduc'd by them as in the Church of Rome whence their first Inspiration came as told before and wherein it naturally ends to that of their Church For Proof of this First Their Meetings or Churches in Pensylvania c. in America have Censured G. Keith and other Separatists there for not submitting to their Judgment which these Churches have given forth against them This appears in the Account of the Proceedings There against the said G. Keith c. in the Year 1692. which was Published by G. Keith or some of his Party and Printed in the Year 1693. under this Title New-England's Spirit of Persecution transmitted to Pensylvania and the pretended Quaker found Persecuting the True Christian Quaker in the Tryal of Peter Boss George Keith c. In Answer to this was Publish'd a Vindication of the Proceedings against G. Keith c. call'd The State of the Case betwixt the People called Quakers in Pensylvania c. in America and George Keith with those seduc'd by him into a Separation from them This was wrote by Samuel Jennings a Quaker Justice of Peace in Pensylvania and one of the Prosecutors of G. Keith and the Separatists and Printed in London in the Year 1694. To which G. Keith hath Printed a Replication Entituled A further Discovery of the Spirit of Falshood and Persecution c. I will not trouble my self nor the Reader to say any thing either for or against the manner of these Proceedings of the Old Quakers against their Modern Separatists let them implead one another as to that All I am at present concern'd for is that their Churches have Censur'd these Separatists and consequently given Judgment against the Light within Particular Persons which was the Original Pretence and only Infallible Guide of the First Quakers And upon this only ground they
is just now since I began this Preface a most clever and Ingenuous Excuse made for this in a Paper Dated at London the 4th of the 4th Month 1695. and Signed on Behalf of the Friends and yearly Meeting by John Vaughton Samuel Watson John Field Thomas Lower and William Bingley Printed and Sold by T. Sowle near the Quaker Meeting-House in Grace-Church-street It is Entituled An Answer to Francis Bugg's Presumptuous Impeachment c. There they wou'd persuade us That all they have said against the Payment of Tythes was only meant by them against Payment of them to the Popish Clergy But by no means against the Right of the Church of England to Their Tythes as settl'd upon them by the Civil Government No! They are not such bad Subjects as to oppose any thing of the Laws of the Land We are not Convinced say they p. 2. that it can be against the Fundamental Laws of the Land either to deny Tythes What When the Law enjoins them now in this Gospel-Day or to deem them Anti-Christian as they were imposed by Popes and Popish Laws which are not the Fundamental Laws of this Realm Are not Acts of Parliament tho' made in Popish times And there are Acts of Parliament since the Reformation for Tythes So that this is a mere Sham But they go on And our Testimony herein does rather affect a Popish Clergy than a Protestant Civil Government And p. 3. they tell that what they are Quarrell'd for was their Testimonies against the Corruption of Priests and Popish Imposition and Oppression of Tythes And p. 5. for Deeming the Imposition of Tythes by the Pope and Popish Laws to be Anti-Christian But hark ye Gentlemen if ye be not offended with that Title there were no Tythes paid to any Popish Priests in England ever since Quakerism appear'd amongst us And if you meant all you said only against them your Preaching was altogether vain But Barclay as before Quoted names the National ministery who had received a Deadly Blow by your witness against Their forc'd Maintenance of Tythes whose Kingdom he says was tottering and shou'd assuredly if he was a true Prophet fall to the Ground Slay Baal crys G. Fox Balaam must be slain news out of the North 1655. p. 31. all the Hirelings must be turned out of the Kingdom These are the Baal's Priests whom this Fox Commands you not to Feed The Beasts the Anti-Christs over whom you are to keep your Authority and Dominion If it be not so Why then do you not now pay your Tythes to the Ministers of the Church of England Why do you boast of your Sufferings and Imprisonments for not paying your Tythes to them as being a sort of Martyrdom for the truth Why do you Persecute and Disown those of your own Communion who pay their Tythes not to Popish Priests but to those of the Church of England Why are you so Zealous herein as not to leave it to their own Conviction or Light within whether they will pay their Tythes to the Priests of the Church of England or not Why will you not allow them what you your selves so much plead for Liberty of Conscience in this Case No This is a Material Cause This is the surest Method to Destroy the Church of England And you have gone a great way in it already For if they are Depriv'd first of the Tythes of all the Quakers who are not so few by the lowest Computation as one hundred thousand here in England and then of all those who to avoid Payment of their Tythes will pretend to be persuaded by them herein if the Tythes of all such were substracted there wou'd not be sufficient left to keep half the Clergy in England from Starving And it is the Desire and Design of the Quakers to Starve them as is plainly Confess'd and Threaten'd or Prophesy'd of in Richard Hubberthorn's Works Re-printed since 1660. in his Answer to John Stellum p. 130. When the Law of the Land says he ceaseth to maintain them the Priests as he calls them which will come sooner than they expect then may they begg their Bread or Perish for want And this the Quakers hope to effect by their Testimony against Tythes and Threaten or Prophesie that it will come sooner than we expect either to have the Laws for Tythes alter'd or overthrown if the Government will not alter them they will overthrow them by Declaring them Anti-Christian and so Abrogated of Course And it is to be observ'd that there is no Principle of the Quaker Religion wherein they are so Zealous as in this They did not think it sufficient to Preach and Print against Tythes but they went about and got Subscriptions of many thousands of the Quakers throughout all England against Tythes and sent them up to the Parliament in an Humble Threatning Manner And as if this had not been sufficient the VVomen must be assembled in the several Counties and They too must sign the like Subscriptions and sent them likewise to the Parliament And then they Printed them to let the Nation know their Force I have now before me the Printed Testimony and Subscriptions with all their Names at length of above Seven Thousand of these Quaker-women against Tythes sent to the Parliament as they call'd it the 20th Day of the 5th Month 1659. They were resolvâ—d to Batter them down And all who thus Subscrib'd were in their Fashion Canoniz'd by them For they are thus stil'd in the said Printed Account The Hand-maids and Daughters of the Lord. But these seven thousand who had not Bowed to the Baal of Tythe wou'd not have you think that there number was so small for they subscribe not only for themselves but as it is there Printed in the Names of many more of the said Hand-Maids and Daughters of the Lord who witness against Tythes c. And G. Fox in his Letters of Licence hereafter inserted for these Subscriptions complain that All the Good Women had not Sign'd I have not yet seen the Subscriptions of the Men. But we may compute by this of the Women what vast Numbers the Men Subscribers must have been And we may reasonably suppose their Arguments to have been much the same with these of the Women being likely drawn by the Men at least with their Concurrence And the VVomen do positively Declare for Annulling the Laws for Tythes if the Parliament wou'd not Alter the Laws The Commands of men say they p. 3. must be Annulled that take Tythes and not to be obey'd by them that live in the Covenant of God And they tell p. 4. That they bear their Testimony for the Lord Iesus Christ in opposition of Tythes against the Commands of men set up in opposition to him since the Days of the Aposties c. which to you say they is the word of the Lord God And. p. 21. The shout of a King is amongst Us the Lord God Omnipotent Therefore we with our Names and Hands bear our
Testimony against Tythes the Giver of them the Setter of them up and the Taker of them p. 40. This Priesthood which takes Tythes Now this was not the Popish Priesthood we in the Power of the Lord God deny them p. 63. VVe Declare with our Hands and with our Lives and Estates against the Ministery that â—akes Tythes and the Setters of them And the Law that upholds them p. 71. Are not all these set up by the Dragon's Power and held up by the Dragon's Power the Devourer the Destroyer Is not this the Power of the Devil These are their Words And they need no Comment They were and are Plainly for Destroying the Law if the Law will not Comply with them But then as now they were for Flattering the Powers in being They sooth that Rebel Parliament p. 54. Some of our Friends sâ— they who have been for the Parliament ever since the Beginning oâ— the late VVars have suffereâ— more by these Plundering Priests than by the Plundering Cavalierâ— and you have sadned the Hearâ— of them that are your Friends by setting up Tythes c. And p. 62. the well-wishers of the Choicest of the Nation are towards you Here is a Material Discovery Because the Quakers since 1660. wou'd make us believe that they had been Loyal in the Rebellion of 41. And the Reason they give is their Sufferings under those Usurpers But here it is plain that their Sufferings were not for their Loyalty to the King but for their Principles Destructive to all Government taking upon themselves a Power Superior to all Laws and to Annull what Laws they think fit For here they confess themselves to have been for the Parliament from the beginning of the War so the Traytors stil'd that Rebellion and as before Quoted out of G. Fox Souldiers in Oliver's Army And they urg'd this as their Merit to the Parliament 1659. and therefore complain that any of them shou'd suffer by Tythes And to shew what thorough-pac'd Commonwealths-Men they were G. Fox in his Letter to the Council and Officers of the Army before Quoted speaking of the several steps which were made by the Rebel House of Commons in Destroying the King and House of Lords burst out into an Extasie of Commendation of their Glorious Proceedings in these words p. 7. What a sincerity was there once in the Nation What a Dirty Nasty thing wou'd it have been to have heard talk of a House of Lords among them c. This was in the year 1659. They held out against the King to the very last And that not only in Talking and Writing and Fighting but in Watching and Discovering and Betraying Francis Howgil of great Name among the Quakers in a Book of his call'd An Information and also Advice to the Army and this present Committee of Safety Newly Erected c. Printed 1659. p. 7. boasts as a Merit of the Quakers their giving Intelligence against Sir George Booth and others who rose for the King in Cheshire and Lancashire whom he calls Rebels Them says he who were your Real Friends called Quakers who gave you and the Army Intelligence about the late Insurrection in Cheshire who were spoil'd by the said Rebels of their Goods c. But this with other now ungrateful Passages are left out of the New Edition of Francis Howgil's Works in a large Folio 1676. p. 330. By the bye Howgil in this Book Justifies the Title of the Committee of Safety against the late Parliament as he calls it as he did that of the Parliament against the late King p. 6. And as for the Long Parliament says he by whom God did good things and great things in the overthrowing that Power which was Deviated from the aforesaid end to wit the late King c. But these last words to wit the late King are left out in the New Edition p. 329. that if this shou'd come to be objected they might say that by the Power Deviated c. they did not mean the King but some other Power And as the King Deviated so says he the Parliament Deviated and thereby justifies the Committee of Safety against the Parliament And so every thing that is uppermost to the end of the Chapter They too have stumbld upon the Doctrine of Success During the long Reign of the Rump they run down the King's Prerogative and up with Privilege of Parliament But when the Parliament was kick'd out of Doors then Privilege was as great a Beast as Prerogative and the Committee of Safety only was in the right And in the year 1660 then round about again Hey for monarchy they wou'd make you believe that they were always for Monarchy The Ancient Courtiers says Howgil Ibid. p. 4. paragr 6. having found so much Ease and Profit by the late King turn'd all Cavaliers and cry'd up the Prerogative of the King But the Long Parliament and the People that aided them at that time counted it no Treason to Oppose him and God decided the Controversie in Overthrowing the one and Establishing the other c. Yet many are so blind to this day that they judge the Nation cannot be Established in freedom without a King c. This whole Paragraph is left out in the New Edition for the Reason aforesaid But having thus run down the King they fall as foul upon the Parliament when it was Discarded Many says Howgil Ibid. are so Doating on the Name of a Parliament as tho it were Essential and cries up the Priviledge of Parliament But if they will not hearken p. 5. to the Cry of their Masters the People but may be call them Rebels and Traytors if they shou'd be turned out c. And so he goes on to maintain the Title of the Committee of Safety against all others But they were enrag'd against none so Implicably as against the King They wou'd stop all means and possibility of his Return The Army of their VVomen before-mentioned shew'd particular Zeal in this They Advise in their above-told Address to the Parliament 1659. the very year before the King came home That the Late King as they Rebelliously term'd Him His Rents Parks and Houses shou'd be sold And to what end To pay the Sacrilegious Impropriators that they of all Men should not lose by the Abolition of Tythes which the Quakers demanded And to she their Zeal in this against the King they repeat it three times p. 59 63 and 65. In the same place they join with the Kings-Lands the Gleab-Lands and all the Colleges and their Lands to be sold upon the same foot and the very Bells out of the Churches except one in a Town to give notice of Fire Thus they had made sure of the Church and the very Nurseries for the Education of the Clergy Root and Branch If the Curiosity of any lead them to see the abovesaid Subscriptions they are all bound together and bear this Title These several Papers were sent to the Parliament the 20th day of the 5th