betwixt Oliver's Porter and the other less Mad-Men who call'd him Mad and he call'd them Wicked and Prophane and Pronounc'd Curses against them In the Name of the Lord for Despising his Gifts and Mission so do the Quakers and Muggletonians Curse one another bitterly and call one another Serpents and Sorcerers I have heard a Quaker say that Muggleton deserv'd all that he met with that is New-Gate Pillory and his Books Burn'd because said the Quaker he was a Deceiver of the People And Muggleton says the same of them and that Fox met better Treatment than he deserv'd And the Authority of the one is as good as the other And there we leave them But this I must say that Muggleton sticks truer even to Fox's Principle of Enthusiasm than either Fox himself or his Followers For Fox 's Chief and only Principle was at first to Direct Men to the Inward Anointing and that They needed no Man to teach them See his Journal p. 5 31 and 57. but as the Anointing teacheth them Therefore that they shou'd come off from all Mens Teaching unto God's Teaching For that God was come to Teach His People Himself But Fox wou'd not trust to this for he went about Teaching outwardly and has Erected an Outward Church-Discipline and Authority to over-rule that Anointing if it prove Refractory And though they have rejected the Sacraments as Outward things yet they keep up an Outward Ministery and Preaching which are more Inconsistent with their Principle of Reducing all to the Inward and waiting for the Lord in silence within c. But Muggleton has no Outward either Sacraments or Teaching nor any Outward Worship or Assemblies for any thing Relating to Religious Matters But leaves every Man Free to follow his own Impulse and to an Vniversal Liberty of Conscience If any Embrace his Principles Welcome If not let them go This is true Liberty of Conscience And sticking to the Inward Principle With which the Quaker Preaching and Church-Discipline is altogether Inconsistent even as at first Taught by themselves However Muggleton and Fox must be allow'd to be Brethren tho' not in equal Perfection because they both set up to Destroy the Outward or whole Body of Religion and Reduce it all to a Skeleton or a Ghost upon Pretence of giving Preference to the Spirit or Inward part of Religion which none denies as if one should Destroy the Cask to Preserve the Wine upon Pretence that the Cask is no part of the Wine But these two Mad-Men Fox and Muggleton being totally Ignorant of this thought themselves Spiritual by running down all Outward Forms And both their Inspirations came from the same Author The Father of Lyes who in that Hurricane of Schism and Rebellion got an Act of Parliament for Toleration and Liberty of Conscience to sow his Tares at Noon-Day with Doors open c. and he made full use of his Liberty He enter'd into the Herd of our Swine the Beasts of the People and drove them over Precipices of Enthusiasm to Perish in the Ocean of Heresie and Error Amongst these Jannes and Jambres Fox and Muggleton were Chiefs of greatest Note But Fox has got more Followers and of late some tho' very Few of more Sense and Learning Whose Labours have rendered their Cause much more Deform'd like a Monkey Dress'd in Mans Clothes and set on Horse-back or as a Jewel hung in a Swines Snout The Jargon was something agreeable to the Enthusiasm of Mechanicks both alike Intelligible But to see it Dress'd up in the Guise of Learning and set off in Mr. Penn's Elegant Stile 'T is such a Sight And it has undone them by Discovering them For being now made to speak Sence they are capable of being answer'd by Reason 8. But Nothing so Diverting as to see them sick of their Prophecies and spue them up again when they happen to interfere with their Interest How they endeavour since 1660 to stifle and conceal the Flattering Prophecies they gave to Oliver and the Cursed ones against the King and Cavaliers But in the Re-printing the Works of their Prophets since 1660 they leave out these Now unsavory Passages Their Infallibility needs an Index Expurgatorius as well as that of Rome through which we suppose George Fox's Works are to pass which are design'd as a Second Volume to his Journal Of this Cleanly Art they have given us a fair Specimen in the Re-printing of the Works of Edward Burrough one of their main Pillars or Posts wherein they leave out at p. 100. the following Prophecies which he directs thus To all you who are and have been always Enemies to the very appearance of Righteousness who are called Dilinquents and Cavaliers And he holds forth to them as follows Thus saith the Lord my Controversie is against you And you are become Cursed in all your Hatchings and Endeavours i. e. to Restore the King and from time to time my Hand hath been against you in Battel Your Kings and Princes and Nobles have been cut off in Wrath You are given to be a Curse and a Desolation and a Prey in Houses and Lands and Persons to them whom I I have raised up against you i. e. Oliver Cromwel and then he goes on to Prophesie for the Future in these words And you and your Kings and Lordly Power by which you have thought to Exercise Lordship over my Heritage shall be Enslaved by the Devil in the Pit of Darkness in Everlasting Bondage where He shall Reign your Lord and King for Evermore These are the Mildest words they can bestow Pillars of Fire and Smoak like the very opening of the Infernal Pit In all whose Caverns there lodges not a more Furious and Cursed Spirit than that which Inspires these Prophets of the Quakers whose Breath is Fire and Brimstone That Book of Burrough's out of which I have Quoted what is above bears this Title A Trumpet of the Lord or Fearful Voices of Terrible Thunders uttered from the Throne Declared and Written by a Son of Thunder c. 1656. How does it make ones Hair stand on end And how ought it to raise the Indignation of every Christian to see such a Blasphemous Wretch Pretend that all these his Hellish Thunderings were Uttered from the Throne of God! To see him begin in such a Stile as this By Order and Authority says he given unto me by the Spirit of the Living God King of Kings and Lord of Lords the 31. day of the 10th Month in the Year of the World's Account 1655. about the 4th Hour in the Morning when my Meditations was of my God upon my Bed in Kilkenny City in the Nation he wou'd not say Kingdom that was too Monarchical at that time of day of Ireland at that time The Word of the Lord came unto me saying Write my Controversie with All the Inhabitants of the Earth unto All sorts of People as I will shew thee by this same Authority and Commission Declared this I send unto
Ribaldry and Billings-gate But the Furies which breath in their Spirit can go along with it into Breasts of more Free and Generous Conversation Mr. Penn's Sense and Breeding cou'd not secure him from the Tincture of this Leaven which transported him for nothing else cou'd do it to treat his old Friend Mr. Firmin at this course rate calling him in his VVinding-Sheet Printed 1672. p. 2. That Little Great Pragmatical Thomas Firmin a Monster all Tongue and no Ears I abhor his Folly Lightness and Foul Mouth And he calls Mr. Hedworth p. 1. a very Night-bird a VVanderer one that looks and creeps about like an Angry Vagrant Momus p. 3. Bursten'd with Folly and Revenge p. 4. Stuffed with dull Ignorance and Cavils Shallow Head Envious Heart an Idle Shifter Bombast a Lye as black as Hell All this in one Sheet of Paper In the Conclusion of which in one line he calls Mr. Hedworth a Busie Body Caviling Conceited Proud Wrathful Equivocating Slandering Cowardly Man And in a Pamphlet Entituled The Spirit of Alexander the Copper-Smith c. Printed 1673. p. 1 2 14 16. he calls William Muggleton his Opponent an Old Canker'd Apostate a Clamourer a New Alexander Phygellus Hermogenes Hymenaeus Philetus a very Mutineer in Religion a Dark Envious Inveterate Man An Adamantine Alexander the Apostate c. Such sort of Railing and Effeminate Spite one wou'd not have expected from a Man of Education and Excellent Natural Parts But it shews the strength of the Poison and how hard it is to touch Pitch and not be defil'd This VVrathful Spirit of the Quakers shews it self yet three times more Deform'd and Ridiculous when it is vented Naturally by the Mechanick Gang who have no Art to hide its Natural Colours Take some of their Poetical Elevations against some of their own Separatists which is Recorded in T. C's Animadversions hereafter Quoted p. 10. Rogers Team Crisp * This Pen is not William Penn who is not one of their Separatists but one John Peniman contracted into Pen for this sweet Verse Pen Bullock and Bugg Dark Devil-driven Dungy-Gods desperately Lugg That are ty'd to the Tail of the separate Schism Popish Libertine Heathen Judaism Atheism Such Filth and Nonsensical Venom could never proceed from the Spirit of Purity or of Wisdom There needs no Argument to discern betwixt Perfume and Stench The opening of the Box does it And this shews the true Picture of the Quaker-Spirit exposes it to our Touch we Feel See and Abominate it by the very Conviction of our Senses As Heaven and Hell wou'd discover themselves at first sight No less distinguishable are Blessing and Cursing Meekness and Fury His Delight was in Cursing says David Psal 109.16 and it shall happen unto him He loved not Blessing therefore it shall be far from him He Cloathed himself with Cursing like as with a Raiment Psal 14.5 The Poison of Asps is under their Lips their Mouth is full of Cursing and Bitterness Thus much for their VVrathful Spirit next for their Pride Pride is involv'd in Wrath and Wrath proceeds from Pride But of all Pride there is none so dangerous and wicked as that of Spiritual Pride It is this which makes us likest to the Devil But when Wrath expresses it self in the Contempt and Disparagement of others then it is direct Pride which consists in a Comparing of our selves with others and a Preferring of our selves before them And when this is upon Account of Religion of our own suppos'd Holiness above that of others Stand by thy self Isai 65.5 come not near me for I am Holier than thou These are a smoke in my Nose says God a fire that burneth all the day Now the Quakers in this exceed all the Sects upon the Face of the Earth And that most Uncharitably They Damn all the World to Hell all since the days of the Apostles but themselves as above is shewn Sect. 4. They make themselves as Infallible as Christ or the Apostles as hereafter will be shewn They Explain not their Light within to be only an Illumination from Christ as Mr. Penn has of late Ingeniously turn'd it but to be the very Person of Christ in them and that there is no other Christ no Personal Christ in Heaven or any where without them Which I will shew abundantly from G. Fox and others of their Apostles and therefore that the Title or Name of Christ does belong to them to every Member as well as to the Head as well as to that Man Jesus Christ in whom Christ or the Light dwelt no otherwise tho' some of them will sometimes say in a Greater Measure than in every one of the Quakers Nay G. Fox says that their Soul is a Part of God Gr. Myst p. 273 100 91 229 90 29 207 282. of his Being and Essence that they become one Soul with God that their Soul is Infinite in its self And that God is not distinct from his Saints as I come to shew They pretend to a Perfection even Equal with God as I will shew in express Terms out of G. Fox And therefore they say they are without Sin and they never beg Pardon for Sin but Laugh at us and Upbraid us for confessing of selves to be Sinners or Praying to God for Mercy Alas poor Souls says Mr. Penn of the Church of England in his Truth Exalted Reprinted at London 1671. p. 9. are you not at Have Mercy upon us miserable Sinners there is no Health in us from seven to seventy And p. 8. He accuses the Church of England as Opposers of Perfection They think it not Honour enough to stand before the Throne of God but G. Fox places them upon the Throne p. 31. The Quakers says he are in the Power of God and in the Authority of the Lamb above all Houses and are upon the Throne And according to this high Dignity in which they place themselves they give to themselves and to one another the most peculiar Titles of Christ as that of the Branch and the Star and the Son of God which are attributed to G. Fox New Rome Arraign'd p. 33 34. and which he takes to himself I saw the Copy of a Letter of his to Oliver Cromwel transcrib'd by a Quaker and preserv'd as a Precious Pieceâ— He there calls himself the Son of God and says of himself My Kingdom is not of this World But because some wou'd turn it off and pretend that he spoke these words of Christ and not of himself I will set down verbatim that part of the Letter and leave the Reader to judge These then are his words I who am of the World call'd George Fox do deny the carrying or drawing of any Carnal Sword against any or against thee Oliver Cromwel or any Man in the presence of the Lord God I Declare as God is my witness by whom I am moved to give this forth from him whom the World calls George Fox who is The Son of God who is
the Quakers p. 97. Witness Immediate Revelation They are come to that the Apostles was in the Spirit of Christ the Spirit of God they Witness Immediate Revelation p. 153. But the rest of the World have never heard the Voice of God nor the Voice of Christ and have not the same Infallible Spirit as the Apostles had and no Immediate Revelation nor Inspiration as they had p. 221. Revelation is now witnessed in our Days as it was in the Apostles but not amongst you who have inwardly Ravened from the Spirit of God which have Apostatized from the Apostles And so you be in the Diabolical Devilish that expects not that now which was in the Days of the Apostles If ever you own the Prophets Christ New Rome Unmask'd p. 42. G. F's Answer to the Westmorland Petition p. 30. Truth 's Defence G. F. and R. H. p. 2 89 104 and the Apostles you will own our Writings which are given forth by the same Spirit and Power You may as well Condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as our Quaeries Our giving forth Papers and Printed Books it is from the Immediate Eternal Spirit of God You are now Answered from the Mouth of the Lord. Of their stiling their own Writings The Word of the Lord and denying it to the Holy Scriptures you will see farther Sect. 11. Concerning the Authority of the Holy Scriptures SECT X. Concerning the Quakers Infallibility THis Section may seem needless as being included in the former For who pretend to an Equality with God to the same Immediate Revelation with Christ the Prophets and Apostles had must needs be Infallible But I conceive it will be worth the Readers while to see how they Branch it and Descend to particular Marks and Instances of their Infallibility This Section therefore is like opening the Jugler's Box And you may expect to see Rareties I told you before how their Infallibility was Palm'd upon them by the Church of Rome Of which they were so greedy that they swallow'd it down by whole-sale and wou'd have none of those Cautions with which the Church of Rome us'd to Defend themselves or else forgot them in their Haste and in their Hony Month while they were New-fangl'd Thus while the Church of Rome plac'd their Infallibility only in their Church or at most in the Pope alone as the Head of it the Quakers set up for it All and every One of them There was an Infallibility for you The Church of Rome had cunning Hiding Places and if you attack'd the Infallibility of their Church they wou'd not tell you what they meant by their Church nor where to find their Infallibility some wou'd make you believe that it was in the Pope as Head of the Church and only Successor of Peter to whom the Promises Super hanc Petram and Tues Petrus were made But then some distinguished and said not in Peter alone nor always but only when he was in Cathedra and some said that was with his Conclave others said no but only with a General Council Again some plac'd the Infallibility in the Council above the Pope others in the Pope above the Council others in neither of them asunder but only in both together And lastly some will have it none of all these ways but say it is only to be look'd for in the Diffusive Body of the Church And then as to the Infallibility it self some tell us that it relates to Manners as well as Faith and to Practice as well as Theory Others will by no means admit of that but confine it wholly to matters of Faith And then it will be a long Dispute what shall be adjudg'd a Matter of Faith and what not but only as Relating to Faith These are long and intricate Mazes and it requires no little Skill to be able to follow them thro' all these various Subterfuges But the Simplicity of our Quakers has depriv'd them of every one of these Helps For as they place Infallibility in every single Quaker so they confine it not to matters of Faith but extend it to all Persons and Things To know all Mens Hearts and all Things in the World by their inward Light without being told by any I am sure by this time the Reader is impatient to come to the Proof to see if it be possible for Men to be possess'd with such an incredible degree of Enthusiasm And I am willing to begin that I may no longer lie under the suspicion of Imposing unjustly or at least of Aggravating any thing against them G. Fox says plainly Gr. Myst p. 89. That they can discern who are Saint who are Devils and who Apostates without speaking ever a word Ibid. p. 5. That they have the Word of God Christ which is Eternal and Infallible in their Hearts to judge Persons and Things Thou says he to his Opponent p. 96. not being Infallible thou art not in the Spirit and so art not a Minister and art not able to judge of Powers that is not Infallible nor Magistrates nor Kingdoms nor Churches Now which of the Quakers is it who have this Spirit to judge thus Infallibly of Persons and Things of Powers Magistrates Kingdoms and Churches And to discern Mens Hearts who are Saints and who Apostates and that without being told by any as G. F. expresses it without speaking ever a word This is told us in p. 7. of Edward Burrough's Epistle to the Reader of G. F's Great Mystery where he says that this Infallible Spirit was given To us says he every one of us in particular And this Light gave us to discern between Truth and Error between every false and right way and it Perfectly discover'd to us the true state of All Things Thou say'st says Fox to his Opponent p. 107. that the Holiest Man is not able to give an Infallible Character of another Man Hast thou not in this discover'd thy self to be no Minister of Christ or of the Spirit Who cannot give an Infallible Character of another Man how canst thou Minister to his Condition How canst thou see where he is How canst thou see them that be turned from the Darkness and that be in the Darkness and distinguish the one from the oother and an Holy Man from an Unholy Man that canst not give an Infallible Character of and Man's Estate And p. 94. Have ye given your selves a Name of the Church of Christ and is there not a Spirit of discerning among you Have ye not manifested here that ye are Harlotted from the Church of Christ the Apostles were of And how can ye Minister or Teach People if ye do not discern their states how they stand before God How can you commend your selves to every Man's Conscience in God's sight How can ye present the Souls of Men to God and see not their states how they are in his sight How come ye to have Fellowship in the Spirit How can you or any Minister to the state and condition that People be
G. Whitehead upon it that there never were such Priests either in the North or any where else that were so Ignorant No George This is an Arrant Lye without all doubt Did any Man ever Think or Say that the very Material Paper and Ink and Letters wou'd Endure for ever Where is now thy Infallibility Where thy Common Honesty or Morality thus grosly to bely these Priests as thou callest them But they thank Thee that it was so Grosly for it is so very Ridiculous that it is in no Man's Power to believe Thee or that Thou canst have the least pretence to Infallibility or even that Thy word shou'd be trusted in any thing that Thou averrest when Thou darest Print so notorious and impossiblean Untruth Like G. Fox's senseless Reply to Richard Baxter c. Writing says he Paper and Ink is not Infallible Great Mystery p. 302. nor the Scripture is not the ground of Faith Your Rule Paper and Ink that will come to Dust Here I wou'd fain ask them a Question How it comes that since they are such bitter Enemies to the Letter they yet make a Conscience of saying Thee and Thou instead of You in the singular because these were old English words in the first Translations Is there any Immorality or Iniquity in these Letters y o u more than in T h o u And is not every Nation Master of its own Language Besides these were not the words of the Languages in which the Scriptures were wrote It is likely that G. Fox and the rest in the Year 1650. thought they were and lighting upon some old English Bible took it for the Original For if stress must be laid upon the Letter it must be surely upon the Original Letter in which the Scriptures were wrote And the Quakers may as well lay stress upon the Latine or French or Dutch Translation as upon the English in this Case How do they in other Languages make the Distinction betwixt thou and you when you is us'd in the singular Number Behold here these Men whose Chief Principle it is to Decry and Damn the Letter do set up at the same time the most Superstitions and Ridiculous sticking to the Letter that ever was heard of since Adam so very Extravagant that if it had not been no Man cou'd have believ'd that it cou'd have been Or that any Men cou'd have made a Case of Conscience of such a senseless and insignificant Criticism But as the Scorpion is said to carry Oyl which cures its own Venom so the wise Providence of God has dispos'd of most Errors that they carry Contradictions to themselves in their own Bowels But if the Holy Scriptures of God must not be call'd the Word of God because they are wrote in Letters why must the Quakers most Blasphemous and Prophane Scribbles be Stil'd the Word of the Lord Even Solomon Eccles's Lying Prophesie before told in his Letter to John Story To you all this is The Word of the Lord says George Fox of his own Writings Great Myst p. 225. I charge you says he in the presence of the Lord God Some of the Quakers Principles c. p. 4. to send this amongst all Friends and Brethren every where to be Read in all Meetings To you all This is the Word of God G. Fox's Letter to all Friends Printed 1671. with several Papers c. p. 60. 62. The Scriptures are not the Word of God G. F. c. Fire-brand c. p. 159. 2d Part 1678. A Printed Letter of G. Fox's which is now lying before me Dated at Dalston the 13th of the 10th Month 1683. Bears this Title All Friends every where this is The word of the Lord unto you all And there is a Postscript in these words This you may read amongst the Children of the Light and of the Day And p. 4. of the Letter he says I remember before we were call'd Quakers as I was sitting in an House in Nottingham-shire about the Year 1648. the word of the Lord came to me and said c. And yet in his Great Myst p. 246 247. he calls it Blasphemy to say that the Scriptures are the Word of God His words are these They the Scriptures are not the word of God which thou Christopher Wade hast Blasphemously affirmed But says he Jesuitcally to amuse the Reader Christ is the word of God As if Christopher Wade or any Christian had ever affirmed that the Book of Scriptures was the Word of God in the same sense as Christ or any otherwise than as the Records of those Revelations which God by his Holy Spirit did dictate to the Inspired Pen-Men But not a Living Person partaking of the Substance of the Father like the Word Eternally Begotten Cou'd this George either of these Georges Fox or VVhitehead produce any one Man even in Bedlam who ever asserted this of the Ink or Paper of the Holy Scriptures Why then do they use this Distinction Against whom do they use it Against No Body it was only to Shufle and Cut to Cover and Excuse their Contempt of the Holy Scriptures and in their place Deifying of their own Spirit and their own Scriptures They knew that the Holy Scriptures cou'd not be discarded openly and above Board nor all at once That the World had been long in Possession of them and of a just Veneration of them and therefore wou'd not so easily part with them nor accept of any Foxes Inspirations instead of them Therefore they set up a Power like that of the Church of Rome of Infallible Interpretation of Scripture And improv'd it as above is told into Immediate Revelation equal to that of the Prophets and Apostles And pursuant to this Plenitude of Power they have taken upon them not only to Abrogate the most express Ordinances of the Gospel and Pronounce them expir'd at their Pleasure as Baptism and the Lord's Supper But to set up and Institute new ones as the Womens Preachings directly contrary to 1 Cor. 14.35 which suffers not VVomen to speak in the Church and the Prelacy of the VVomens Meetings an Invention never heard of in the World till G. Fox Cobbled it out And they Enjoyn not these only as Ecclesiastical Injunctions of their Church but upon their pretence before told to the same Immediate Revelation which was given to the Apostles as the Institutions of Christ Solomon Eccles in his Letter already mention'd to John Story calls these the VVomens Preachings and the VVomens Meetings the Great and Good Ordinance which Christ Iesus hath set up in his Church This is directly giving us New Scriptures and a New Gospel For which they will find their Reward Gal. 1.8 9. Rev. 22.18 19. And they having as they pretend the same Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures they cannot be bound by the Scriptures or any Command in them unless their Spirit does anew require the same thing which the Scripture Commands So that the Scripture remains of no Authority with them
Keith hereafter mention'd Of which he has given us a full Account in Print Entituled The Pretended Yearly Meeting of the Quakers their Nameless Bull of Excommunication given forth against G. Keith c. And in another Treatise which bears this Title The True Copy of a Paper given in to the Yearly Meeting of the People called Quakers the 15th day of the 3d Month 1695. with a Brief Narrative of the most material Passages of Discourse betwixt George Whitehead Charles Marshal and George Keith the said day c. Together with a short List of some of the Vile and Gross Errors of George Whitehead Iohn Whitehead William Penn c. Both these are Printed for R. Levis 1695. and the Bull of Excommunication is inserted Verbatim in the first of these Accounts As to the Justice or Injustice of the said Bull I refer the Reader to these two short Treatises above-mentioned But the use I have to make of it is to shew the Authority which their Church or Meetings do assume over the Light within Particular Persons which was the great Pretence upon which the Quakers first set up and decry'd all Church-Authority as Carnal and Anti-Christian That is as they have done the Power of the Sword till it come into their own Hands See Sect. II. p. 14. This Grace-Church-street Excommunication may be added to the Proceedings against G. Keith in Pensilvania to the Barbadoes Judgment and other Instances of their Church-Authority over Particular Persons which are mention'd at the end of Sect. X. from p. 118. But there is another thing of a more astonishing Nature You will see Sect. IX of the Antient Pretence of the Quakers to Immediate Revelation in the same Degree that the Prophets and Apostles had And as a Consequence of this it is shewn Sect. X. how they have aspir'd to Infallibility and that not only of their Church as they call it but in each of their Particular Persons And Hence they have taken upon them to pronounce Prophecies and Curses as all their Prophecies that I have met with are in the same Stile with the Holy Prophets Thus saith the Lord. This is from the Mouth of the Lord c. Several of which Prophecies thus solemnly Denounced have prov'd Errant Lyes as is shewn from Remarkable Instances 2. Now I did really think that the Present Quakers were asham'd of these Gross Delusions so Palpably Detected past all Contradiction Tho' they wou'd not own it nor Publicly Censure these False Prophets of theirs because of overthrowing their Foundation the pretended Sanctity of these their Leaders And this was the reason that I thought it highly useful to lay open their Horrid Deceit for this purpose chiefly That I might by this bring our Present Quakers under that Happy Necessity as I thought of Disowning the Mad Enthusiasm of these their Adored Guides and thereby persuade them to return to the Sobriety of Religion in Odium to which as a Carnal and Spiritless Dispensation they had been Betrayd by these Pharisaical Pretenders to quit the Communion of a Regularly Constituted and Apostolical Church But Alas the Issue has quite deceived my Expectations for our Present Obstinate Quakers not only refuse to be brought to disown their own False Prophets though they cannot deny the Instances wherein they are prov'd to be such but do still Fearlesly go on and pretend themselves to the same Extraordinary Commission of Immediate Divine Revelation and thereby a Right to affix God's Seal Thus saith the Lord to whatever their Rage their Malice or their Folly shall suggest If they think these too hard words they shall have harder yet For this matter cannot be compounded No! This is nothing short of Blasphemy Rank wild Blasphemy And the Honour of God must take place of any Respect to Men and I have a great deal for some who are too much herein concern'd therefore I must I cannot help it yea Wo to me if I do it not I must freely and openly Rebuke this Proud Blasphemous Spirit which Seduces the Servants of God and speaks to them in the Name of the Lord whereby they are brought to Worship It What is That What is It which pretends to be God and is not Even That which Inspires Men to think what It Dictates to be the Immediate Revelation of God Himself and Emboldens them to affix to it Thus saith the Lord. This is the Prince of the Spirits of Delusion and this Prince they Worship tho' Ignorantly for God who mistake his Inspirations for God's Now I am to tell the Reader That the same day month after G. Keith was Excommunicated as abovesaid George Whitehead one of the Quaker Metropolitans thought not that Condemnation sufficient but pursu'd him with his Prophetical Curse in the following words Thus saith the Lord Because thou hast poured out great Contempt and Reproach upon My Servants and People I will assuredly pour out and bring great Contempt and Confusion upon Thee This is signed George Whitehead and Dated the 17th of the 4th Month that is June 1695. and was sent to G. Keith But Copies of â—t were likewise given out amongst the Friends that they might admire these Prophetical Gifts and if any thing infortunate should in all G. Keithâ—s Life-time befall him that it might cerâ—ainly be esteem'd as the Consequence of his Curse and G. Whitehead be bought as much a Prophet and to have spoken from the Mouth of the Lord as certainly as ever Jeremiah foretold the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Seventy years Captivity But I proceed to a Man of much greater Consideration It is told at the end of Sect. 10. from p. 136. how the otherwise highly-valuable Mr. Penn pronounced a Sentence of Apostacy against George Keith In the Name of the Lord. It is true this was not taking upon him the Gift of Prophecy like G. Whitehead but it was delivering his own Judgment as the Positive and Infallible Oracles of God And if G. Keith does tell us truth if not he is in a Man's Hands that can and will surely correct him in the second of his Books above-mentioned The true Copy c. p. 14. Mr. Penn did own before the Yearly Meeting That the Glorious Power of God which he felt did so Transport him that he was carry'd beyond himself and knew not whether he was sitting standing or kneeling when he Pronounc'd that Sentence This was like St. Paul 's whether in the Body or out of the Body he cou'd not tell Good God! How great is the force of this Mad Spirit of Enthusiasm That a Man of Mr. Penn's Known Sense and Abilities shou'd not be able to distinguish betwixt the violent Transports of Passion and the Immediate Inspiration of the Holy Ghost O that our Religion and the whole Scriptures shou'd be thus expos'd to loose and Atheistical Wits when they shall compare the Inspirations of the Holy Prophets and Apostles with these of W. Penn G. Whitehead c. and turn both alike into Ridicule O
that the time were come when these Quakers shou'd at last bethink themselves of this horid Scandal they have given to Christianity at least that Mr. Penn who has a stock of Breeding and Excellent Natural Parts too good to be thus Employ'd may Rescue himself from that Herd of Zealots sotishly possess'd even to Blasphemy And he is thus far towards it which to a Man of his Reason I reckon a great way that he must either make out his own Inspirations to be from God in as High a Degree as those which were given to the Prophets and Apostles or otherwise that he has no Authority to Inscribe the Name of God upon them as They did Nay he must not only Defend his own Works but he must likewise Justifie all the False Lying Prophecies hereafter told or otherwise he must Un-herd and be no longer of Them who dare Father the Lyes and Deliriums of their own Brain upon the Holy Spirit of God He must Answer one of their own Party John Penniman who has Printed the Paper he gave in to their last Yearly Meeting Entituled A few words of Moment to be Imparted to this Yearly Meeting at London 1695. of the People call'd Quakers And indeed they are Words of Moment and to be duly consider'd by the Quakers They are grounded upon two Quotations out of George Fox as follows 3. All you that speak and not from the Mouth of the Lord are False Prophets G. Fox's Answer to the Westmorland Pet. p. 5. 1653. They are Conjurers and Diviners and their Preaching is from Conjuration that is not spoken from the mouth of the Lord. George Fox 's Saul's Errand c. p. 7. 1654. Now the Advantage which these Quotations do afford is to shew from the words of this Great Prophet that unless all that he has said of his own and all the Quakers Infallibility of their Sinless Perfection Equal with God not only in Quality but in Equality of their Immediate Revelation in the same Degree as the Prophets and Apostles of their Souls being of one Substance and Person with God if all this and a great deal more which is shewn in the following Sections be not from the Mouth of the Lord then by G. Fox's own Confession he was a False Prophet and a Diviner But all that knew him or have taken the pains but to read three lines of his Works will free him from being a Conjurer If all the Black-Mouth'd and Hellish Venom mention'd Sect. V. was not spoken from the Mouth of the Lord then were all these Quakers Conjurers by G. Fox's Rule If all the Lying Prophecies mention'd Sect. X. of Solomon Eccles the Glover's Prophets c. were not from the Mouth of the Lord then were these Conjurers instead of Prophets If all the False and Foolish miracles which G. Fox tells of himself in his Journal Printed 1694. which exceed the Foppery of a Popish Legend if all these were not from God then was he and those who recommended that Journal all Conjurers If G. Whitehead cannot by some better Miracles than these vouch that the Curse and Prophecy above-told which he sent to G. Keith came from the Mouth of the Lord then is G. Whitehead to be esteem'd no better than a Conjurer Et sic de Caeteris In short if the Quakers cannot prove all their Books and Preachings many of which none of sense among themselves can deny to be thick larded with gross Ignorance and much nonsense if all and every scrap and tittle of these be not from the Mouth of the Lord then by Sentence of G. Fox himself all is Conjuration 4. And a visible effect of this was that extraordinary shaking and quaking like Fits of Convulsion which these Quakers at the first either acted or like the Heathen Priests of old were possess'd with whence they had their Name of Quakers George Fox in his Journal p. 156. to 161. strongly vindicates this their Quaking as a Mark of Divine Inspiration Which if it be not then it can be nothing else but Witchraft and Conjuration as G. Fox complains that the Prophane did call it If you see one says he ibid. p. 158. as Habakkuk whose Lips quivered whose Belly shook c. ye say he is Bewitched and p. 159. Some of them that scoff at this Power call it the Power of the Devil Yes and not only they that scoff'd at it but those that ador'd it and were possess'd by it and some of these have given us Relations of it in print which are indeed wonderful and do equal if not exceed all the Accounts in any Age even of Heathenism concerning the strange Possessions of the Devil or what has of later Years been told of Witches as their Bodies being seen to lie as Dead while they have told of their passing through the Air and acting their Phantastical Freaks c. Which is attributed by some to the strong impression made by the Devil upon their Imaginations whereby they really thought that they did such things as were transacted only in their Brain fully possess'd and turn'd with the force of an Enthusiastical Madness But whatever the power of the Devil may be in such cases or the Methods by which he works upon those miserable Mortals who are given up to his Inspirations which I will not take upon me to determine there never were more visible and dreadful effects of it no not in any of the possess'd Men mention'd in the Gospel than has been among the Quakers even as declar'd and witnessed by themselves and that not only as to the strange and preternatural Distortions Quaking and Shaking of their Bodies past the power of any to counterfeit or to act it by their Natural Strength But what is much more horrible and exceeding all other Witchcrafts and Possessions of the Devil that were ever heard of before These Possess'd Quakers do impiously Blaspheme and call themselves Christ and some of them have imitated his Passion Death and Resurrection Madly in themselves John Gilpin of Kendal in Westmorland has given us a strange and wonderful account of his own Possession by the Devil while he was a Quaker in a Book which he Intituled The Quakers shaken c. printed 1653. and attested by the then Mayor of Kendal the Minister of Kendal and several other persons whose Names are thereunto annexed The Story is prodigious and such astonishing Quaking and Distortion of his Limbs as cou'd not be counterfeited which the Devil told him was the effects of his Inspiration by the Spirit of God He tells that he was converted to Quakerism by the powerful preaching of one Christopher Atkinson a then renowned Quaker-Apostle and the Friends are desir'd to tell us whether he was not the same hereafter mentioned p. 90. to 95 I find another Edition of John Gilpin 's Book Anno 1655. which is mentioned by Christopher Wade in a Book of his call'd Quakery slain c. printed 1657. where p. 7 and 8. he quotes out of Gilpin 's
only as an Extraordinary Inspiration for some time but as an Holy Duty And if it be such it must bind for ever Sam. Fisher in his Rusticus ad Academicos Exercit. 2. p. 18. says As for that Holy Duty it self of Quaking which as Blind a Guide and Brute a Beast as Thou thus he treats Dr. Owen in the Quaker Courtly Dialect art in speaking evil of c. Now if it be an Holy Duty then are the Present Quakers fallen from their Duty and from their Holiness If it is an Effect of the Extraordinary Inspiration of God then have not the Present Quakers such a Degree of the Spirit as the First Quakers had which I suppose they will not be willing to own For then there will be Degrees in their Infallibility And if it be once coming Down Stairs But if as in truth it is that their Quaking and Shaking proceeded from a strong Possession of the Spirit of Enthusiasm it will follow that all was a Delusion then and must be so still while our Modern Quakers take upon them to Justifie those who went before them and their Doctrines And by G. Fox's Sentence above-told all Was and Is Conjuration and their Quaking was the Possession of the Devil and the Quakers now are Inspir'd by Him and are False Prophets Diviners and Conjurers And this as G. Fox teaches must certainly be so if they have spoken any thing not only Against the Word of God but if All that they have said was not spoken from the Mouth of the Lord. Even to make it Heathenism and Idolatry to have the Image or likeness of any Ceature in Heaven or in Earth painted upon a Sign See a Treatise of G. Fox's which was surnam'd Iconoclastes And an Order of his Printed at the end of Tyrany and Hypocrisie 1673. But only a Bed-Staff Fire-Shovel Saw Fork or the like of Man's making And where he Preaches against Skimming-Dish-Hats Unnecessary Buttons on Coats or Cloaks Slit-Peaks behind on the Skirts of Womens Wast-coasts Short Black Aprons needless flying Scarfs Vizard-Masks Bare-Necks c. All which he Dictates as from Immediate Inspiration 5. But because these poor misled Quakers and other Enthusiasts among us are made to believe that the Church of England does wholly throw off all Inspiration of the Holy Spirit and rests only on their outward Forms I will here briefly set down the Doctrine of the Church of England in this Point and shew what sort of Inspiration She allows and what it is which She rejects 1st She constantly Teaches That all the Saving Graces are wrought in our Hearts by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost Insomuch that of our selves we are not able so much as to think a good Thought And that this Inspiration is as necessary to our Fructifying or bringing forth Good Works as the Influence of the Sun is to the Earths bringing forth of her Fruits That whatever may bear the appearance of Good Works in us and is not wrought by this Inspiration is not Good nor Acceptable to God As it is express'd in our 13th Article Works done before the Grace of Christ and the Inspiration of His Spirit are not pleasant to God Yea rather for that they are not done as God hath Willed and Commanded them to be done we doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin What fuller can be said for the necessity of this Inspiration And if the Quakers will have this call'd The Light within we will not Dispute with them about a Word it is the Thing and Meaning that we Contend for This is the constant Tenor of all our Prayers Almighty God 2d Sunday after Lent who seest that we have no Power of our selves to help our selves keep us c. And because we can do no good thing without Thee Who seest that we put not our Trust in any thing that we do We humbly beseech Thee 1st Sunday after Trinity that as by thy special Grace preventing us Sexagesima Thou dost put into our Minds good Desires Easter-Day so by Thy continual Help we may bring the same to good Effect That 5th Sunday after Easter by Thy Holy Inspiration we may think those things that be Good Grant us by Thy Spirit to have a Right Judgment in all things Whit-Sunday c. And in The Ordering of Deacons this is the first Question Demanded by the Bishop from those who are to be Ordainâ—d Do you trust that you are Inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this Office Do you think that you are truly called according to the Will of our Lord Jesus Christ c. The same is Demanded in the Ordination of Priests and Bishops And the words of Consecration of a Bishop are Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Bishop in the Church of God And the Hymn Veni Creator Spiritus is Sung Come Holy Ghost our Souls Inspire And lighten with Coelestial Fire c. And according to this we Pray that God wou'd Cleanse the Thoughts of our Hearts by the Inspiration of His Holy Spirit First Collect in the Communion Service That He would Prevent and Further us Last Collects in all our Works And that of His only Gift it cometh 13th Sunday after Trinity that we do unto Him True and Laudable Service Nay not only our Works 3d. Sunday after Trinity or Prayers but that our very Desire to Pray is his Gift We Pray for Pensons to be Baptized that God wou'd Wash them and Sanctifie them with the Holy Ghost Baptism And our Catechism teaches 1st Collect. that we are not able of our selves to walk in the Commandments of God Catechism and to serve Him without His special Grace And lastly for I must Transcribe our whole Liturgy to name every place where the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost is Witnessed and Prayed for thus the Bishop Prays for Persons to be Confirmed Strengthen them we beseech Thee O Lord with the Holy Ghost the Comforter and daily increase in them Thy manifold Gifts of Grace Confirmation the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding the Spirit of Council and Ghostly Strength the Spirit of Knowledge and true Godliness and fill them O Lord with the Spirit of Thy Holy Fear now and for ever Here is an Enumeration of the Principal Gifts of Grace for which we Pray And in the Exhortations before the Communion it is earnestly Inculcated upon us that if we be not thus Spiritually prepared all the Outward Ordinance will avail us nothing For otherwise as it is there worded the Receiving of the Holy Communion doth nothing else but encrease your Damnation And there is not one Book of Devotion us'd among us that does not tell us the same That the Inward is the Soul of Religion without which the Outward part is but a Dead Carcase and stinks before God And that the Inward Purity of the Heart cannot be wrought but by
the Operation of the Holy Ghost who is the only Author of all Holiness So exceedingly groundless is that mistaken Prejudice taken up against the Church of England in this point that I do not believe there is one Man to be found in our Communion so Ignorant or so ill Taught as to think the Outward Performance can make us accepted with God unless the Inward does go along with it And if the Quakers or any other thought that we too much neglected the Inward their Admonitions and Example wou'd have been well receiv'd but not to accuse our Doctrine as denying Inspiration For this Doctrine of the Inspiration of the H. Ghost is the Alpha and Omega of our Religion I have shewn it in our Offices of Baptism Confirmation and Holy Orders of Bishop Priest and Deacon In our Catechism and Common Prayers And to all who are acquainted with these I have taken very needless pains at least they might think that one Quotation or two had been sufficient But I have enlarg'd for the sake of these Quakers and others Enthusiasts who are possess'd with the most False and Violent Prejudices against our Doctrine and Worship and then are strictly forbidden so much as to look into our Liturgy Articles or Homilies whereby to undeceive themselves and are led in as Blind and Implicit a Faith in their Leaders as any is to be found in the Church of Rome it self If they think I have wrong'd them let them then be persuaded to Read and Judge as they shall find And for this particular subject we are now upon of Enthusiasm as to what sort of Enthusiasm is allow'd and what Censur'd in our Church be sides our Homilies and Liturgy I recommend to their serious Perusal Dr. Hammond 's Postscript concerning New Light or Divine Illumination which is added to his Annotations upon the New Testament And that Excellent Sermon of Dr. Hicks called The Spirit of Enthusiasm Exorcised Preached before the University of Oxford the 11th of July 1680. I have briefly shewn what sort of Enthusiasm or Inspiration is allow'd and own'd in our Church And it is full as much as any sober Quaker can mean by the Light within Which therefore in this Sence is not Disowned but Avowed by us And as much stress is laid upon it as they can reasonably desire It is made Necessary to every Good Work and Thought And the Cause of all the Good that is in us And we are Directed to it to Follow and be Guided by it and are assur'd that it will lead us to all Truth that is requisite and necessary for our Eternal Salvation It is this which opens the Scriptures to us and our Understandings rightly to apprehend the true Sense and Meaning of Them and which inclines our Will to Love and duly to follow the Divine Precepts therein Commanded If any Quaker as I am confident all that are in the least sober-minded will say that this is all they mean by their Light within then where is the Difference Why do they break off and separate from our Communion upon the Pretence of the Light within wherein we agree with them What Reason have they to Censure ours and all other Ministeries but their own as Mr Penn says in his Preface to Fox's Journal p. 38. We have seen says he the Fruit of All other Ministries by the few that are turned from the Evil of their Ways First This is a very bad Argument for Mens being Evil may proceed from their own Preverseness and not from the Fault of the Ministery We find but about 120 that were Converted by the Ministery of Christ in all his Life-time Acts 1.15 And by Mr. Penn's Consequence this must be charg'd upon the Ministery and as a Proof that it was not Good And to justifie rather the Ministery of Thendas Acts 5.36 37. who got about 400 to follow him and Judas of Galilee drew away Much People But Secondly This is a most Uncharitable Presumption and the Heighâ— of Spiritual Pride to Condemn All the World but themselves While they cannot deny that there are many in other Communions of Sober Honest and to all appearance Religious Conversation But that is no matter It is all Formality in them The Quakers only have the Spirit and truly follow its Inspirations or the Light within Therefore Mr. Penn in the same Page of his Preface Censures ours with others as A Dry Doctrinal Ministery That can reach but the Ear and is but a Dream at the best And p. 21. They the many Ministeries in the World declare of Religion say many things true in words of God Christ and the Spirit of Holiness and Heaven c. But which of them All ever directed a Man to a Divine Principle or Agent placed of God in Man to help him c. I Answer which of them has not Not one that I know of Did any ever yet deny The Candle of the Lord searching the Inward Parts Prov. 20.27 I have sufficiently Vindicated the Church of England in this And the Sects amongst us Presbyterian Independents Anabaptists and all the way down to Muggleton himself have set up upon great Pretences to the Spirit But Mr. Penn says that is only in Word none Feel or Experiment the Power of the Spirit but the Quakers And being Infallible we must take their Word As likewise That it is plainly possible for one that hath received the Word of the Lord Penn Ibid. p. 39. to Miss in the Division and Application of it Which is a very Pertinent Caution Mr. Penn bestows upon his Beloved and much Honoured Brethen that are in the Exercise of the Ministry among the Quakers And if they may Miss how do we know but they have Miss'd How did he know they cou'd Miss but by their having Miss'd And how does this Missing consist with Infallibility Such Infallibility as they set up Sect. IX X. and Mr. Penn in this same Preface p. 36. For being quickned by it says he that is by the Light within in our Inward Man we cou'd Easily Discern the Difference of things and Feel what was Right and what was Wrong and what was fit and what not both in Reference to Religion and Civil Concerns Here is an Infallibility of as large a Latitude as can be desir'd It is both Spiritual and Temporal And yet it may Miss in the Division and Application of The Word of the Lord And be nothing the less Infallible But will they give no Body leave to Miss but themselves Must wâ— be Conjurers and They Apostles and all for our Missing Is their missing too from the Mouth of the Lord If not then G. Fox has Pronounc'd them all to be Conjuters Even Dear George Thou who excellest them all 6. But I shall exceed the bounds of a Preface I have shewn what Inspiration or Enthusiasm is own'd in our Church which is that of Sanctifying and Saving Graces I come now to speak of that Enthusiasm which is Extraordinary and
Miraculous such as the Gifts of Tongues of Prophecy and Miraculous Cures c. And these Miraculous Gifts as they are of much less Value to us than the Saving Graces so are they not greatly to be Covertd See Enthusiasm Exercis'd before Quoted nor are they at all to be Pray'd for We must be wholly Passive in this Case and leave it altogether to the Wisdom of God when where and how to bestow of these But to pretend Falsly to any such Gifts is down-right Diabolical it is Express Blasphemy against God and by His Law to be Punished with Death All such Enthusiasm or Inspiration is most certainly from the Devil And therefore we must be well aware of it and examine all such Pretences diligently and having detected Falshood in them to oppose them with all Zeal to Cry aloud and give the World warning of the Spirit of Delusion broken loose among them And there can be no Neuters in this War Whoever can be Patient to see the Name of God thus openly and presumptuously Blasphem'd is no Christian has no Zeal for God nor Love for the Souls of Men but is such a Latitudinarian Laodicean as God will Spue out of his Mouth Had the Quakers pretended to never so great Talents in Sanctifying Graces tho' greater than they had they shou'd never have been oppos'd by me Because I wish to them and to all Men much greater than they have and daily encrease of them But when I found them pretend to Miraculous Gifts and upon this Fund to set up Schism and Seduce Multitudes from the Peace and Unity of the Church and introduce Damnable Heresies I thought it an Unpardonable sin any longer to forbear to warn others and seek to undeceive the Poor and Simple sort among them who are â—â—d blindly in their Snares The Lord Rescue them of his Infinite Mercy Amen If G. Fox had set up for the greatest Zeal towards God and to the most Extraordinary Impulse of Spirit and Experiences the then â—and of God and that upon this Pretence he had been carry'd even to Excesses much might have been allowed to such a well-intended Zeal tho' not according to Knowledge But in his Journal p. 83. he despises such a low Dispensation which he turns over to the Priests as he calls them who Disputed against him One of them says he told me That He cou'd speak his Experiences as well as I. But I told him Experience was one thing but to go with a Message and to have a Word from the Lord as the Prophets and Apostles had and did and as I had done to them this was another thing and therefore I put it to them again Cou'd any of them say he had ever had a Command or Word from the Lord Immediately at any time Thus he And here can be no mistake Because he puts the Distinction himself betwixt Immediate Revelation and Inward Impulses those ordinary Assistances or Inspirations which Good Men Experiment of the Holy Spirit of God in their Studies and Meditations upon the Holy Scriptures their Preaching Praying and other Means of Grace which God has appointed Such Experiences the Priests own'd to G. Fox But he pretended to further that is to Immediate Command from God to go with such a Message c. as the Prophets and Apostles had Not a mediate Command by the Mediation of the Use and Knowledge of Scripture Preaching Praying or any Human Means But Immediately without help of Scripture or any thing else from God Himself as when He spoke to Abraham or any of the Prophets or Apostles If George had pretended only to have Reason'd with us out of the Scriptures we cou'd have born with him If Mr. Penn had contented himself to have told us of his great Knowledge in the Scriptures not to give us New to have Celebrated him for a Thousand Virtues or for his Learning or any other Natural or Acquir'd Aibilities He shou'd have Peaceably Enjoy'd all these Trophy's however Deserv'd for any Pains I had taken to the contrary But when p. 29. of his Preface Mr. Penn wou'd persuade us that this Fox had Outward Revelations and Visions from God upon a very high Mountain in Yorkshire and there had his Commission given by God to go to the North c. This obliges us to look more narrowly into the Matter For there is no Medium left by this but either that all these Nations and all the World to whom he directs some of his Papers are Fighters against God in not submitting to his Message by this Prophet Fox Or otherwise that this Fox was a Wizard possess'd with the Devil and that all are Deluded Fatally who follow him or wou'd Recommend him And when all this is but the Preface to Pretended Miracles Exhibited in his foolish Legend of a Journal as Vouchers of his Mission When Miraculous Gifts are not only ascrib'd to G. Fox but to the Rabble of these Quakers whom Mr. Penn ibid. Sect. 10. p. 23. compares to the Ancient Prophets and tells us of their Prophecies particularly of the Plagne and Fire of London in express Terms says be and likewise Particular ones to divers Persecutions I suppose it shou'd be Persecutors which accordingly overtook them and which were very Remarkable in the places were they dwelt and in time they may be made Publick for the Glory of God But Mr. Penn This wou'd be the best time For one Prophecy before it be fulfill'd is worth twenty that are Publish'd afterwards Besides People will be apt to say that you Pick and Choose out of your Register of Prophecies and having many Most if not All Curses and Iudgments some must likely happen or towards it and that you give us only them but throw all those that miscarry behind the Door And some may suspect even Forgery that Prophecies are Coin'd after the Facts come to pass Therefore to obviate all these Objections and to prevent the deceiving of after-Generations who may not be so well able to Examine into matters of Fact said to be done long before their time it is desir'd that Mr. Penn wou'd Now Publish his Register of Quaker Prophecies or for ever after hold his Peace But we must take them as he pleases to give them and by what he has told us we may guess at the rest He names Prophecies of the Plague and Fire of London in express Terms And there he leaves us in the General but tells not who where when that is reserv'd for after Ages when there shall be none alive to disprove it But notwithstanding it is fair in us freely to own what is come to our Knowledge tho' the Modesty of the Persons concern'd might let it sleep in Generals unexamin'd Be it known then unto all Men That one Solomon Eccles a Quaker Preacher and Prophet did go Naked through Bartholomew-Fair the year before the Fire of London with a Pan of Fire upon his Head warning the People to Repent c. But it must
c. This is plain Language They will not yet take Arms not For the present not till they see their time But they have enter'd a Caveat to secure their Right and Title to it till they think fit to set up their Claim for their Heirship to the uttermost parts of the Earth But this is a Secret and to be kept under their Thumb for the present And therefore in their New Edition of Edward Burrough's Works Anno 1672. This Passage is left out with others against the King c. But no ways Disclaimed or Censur'd by them Which is now Requir'd from them or otherwise they must give us leave to believe that it is their Principle to take Arms and to Fight to set up their Heirship to any Kingdom they please when their King the Son of God Commands them And they believing that their Light within is that very Christ the Son of God as is fully shewn in what follows the Consequence is that they are free to take Arms whenever they say it is the time Or if the Mission of a Prophet be necessary to signifie the Command of their King to Fight for Him and for their own Heirship that can never be wanting to them because they do pretend to keep up a continual Succession of Prophets among them And the Word of every True Prophet being the Command of God Himself consequently whoever believes such a one to be a True Prophet must at his Command think themselves oblig'd to pull down any King and to set up whomsoever that Prophet names in his Place As Hazael was made King of Syria and Jehu of Israel by the Command of Elijah 1 Kings 19.15 16. Now the Quakers do pretend to have still Prophets and with as great a Power 9. For by their Printed Injunctions from the Meeting of Sufferings in London the 18th of the 6th Month 1693. to the respective Monthly and Quarterly Meetings in England and Wales for preserving and spreading Friends Books for Truths Service among other of their Works to be carefully by them spread by way of Epistle Warning Caution and Exhortation they add likewise Prophecy And by a Canon of their General Assembly in London the 27th of the 3d Month 1675. they strictly Caution and Forbid to say That the Faithful Friends Papers which we say they testifie have been given forth by the Power of God are Mens Edicts And in their Paper of Orders from London in the 3d Month 1666. they reckon them as Heathens and Infidels who will not submit to the Judgment of their Church and dare oppose it as the Judgment of Man This is beyond all Acts of Parliament they are but the Edicts of Men And we pretend our Canons and Ecclesiastical Injunctions to be no other But whatever a Quaker Dictates if it were to Depose the King and set up their Universal Monarch above-told and to assert by Arms their own Heirship to the uttermost parts of the Earth If they should abrogate any or all of our Laws as they have done that of Tithes or any thing else whatever their Arbitrary Enthusiastical Spirit shall suggest to them this must not be look'd upon as any thing that is Humane that is below a Quaker's Pride but as the very Words of God as if pronounc'd by an Angel or an Apostle So that we must look well to our selves These are no Ordinary Men believe it 10. And their Design I mean of their Leaders is not only Liberty of Conscience that 's but a poor business but the total overthrow of the Church of England And that by a very Crafty Policy first to take away their Maintenance that is the Tithes and then they are sure it will fall to the ground And this Rob. Barclay does not conceal Anarchy p. 42. An. 1676. That Anti-Christian Apostatiz'd Generation says he the National Ministery have received a Deadly Blow by out Witness against their forc'â— Maintenance and Tythes So that their Kingdom in the Hearts of thousands begins to Totter and shall assuredly fall to the Ground But what if the Light within some Quakers shou'd allow them to pay Tythes And think that they ought in Conscience to do it as being Legally Established c. Wou'd the Quakers Rulers allow them Liberty of Conscience and give them leave to follow their Light within No. No. That is but scaffolding to pull down our Church and to build their own And they will not have their Cannon turn'd against themselves See his Animadversions on George Whitehead 's Innocency Triumphant 1694. p. 30. For when Thomas Crisp and other Quakers thought themselves oblig'd to pay their Tythes and did so accordingly they were Proceeded against as Rebels under no less a Denomination and that not only as against Men but against God Himself For their Writings as above told are not to be look'd on as the Edicts of Men. But as G. Fox Proclaims in his Answer to the Westmorland Petition p. 30. If ever you own the Prophets Christ and the Apostles you will own our Writings which are given forth by the same Spirit and Power And in another place See G. F. and R. H. Truths Defence c. p. 2. 104. 107. You might as well Condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as our Queries Our giving forth Papers and Printed Books it is from the Immediate Eternal Spirit of God You are Answered from the mouth of the Lord c. And from the same mouth of the Lord Thomas Ellwood Denounces Antidote against the Infection of W. Rogers c. p. 78. That they who pay Tythes thereby deny Christ to be come in the Flesh which is a mark of Anti-Christ And G. Fox in his Decretal Epistle bearing Date the 3d Month 1677. See his Journal p. 431. Commands severely that the Friends Testimony against Tythes be kept up with vigor He says That for any to cry against the Priests in words and yet to give them means and put into their Mouths is a Contradiction And therefore take heed says he for if the Lord God do Bless you with outward Creatures and you do bestow them upon Baal's Priests the Lord may justly require the outward things from you again So all the Preachers for Tythes and money and the Takers and Payers of Tythe must be testified against in the Lords Power and Spirit and therefore in the power of the Lord maintain the War against the Beast that is as well Payers as Receivers of Tythes And that is the whole Kingdom King and Parliament who made Laws for the Payment of Tythes and all who dare obey those Laws are The Beast Anti-Christs and have deny'd Christ's coming in the Flesh as T. Ellwood and therefore G. Fox concludes his Epistle above-said keep your Authority and Dominion That is over that Beast and these Anti-Christs This was wrote 1677. and Printed 1694. whereby we may understand what Church they mean to which Tythes are paid and against which they have Proclaim'd War 11. But there
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
Month 1659. being above seven thousand of the Names of the Hand-maids and Daughters of the Lord and such as feel the Oppression of Tythes c. London Printed for Mary Westwood and are to be sold at the Black Spread-Eagle at the VVest End of Pauls 1659. And this Book of Subscriptions contains 72 Pages in Quarto This was the Quaker Solemn League and Covenant a formal Association wherein they bind themselves under their Hands their Lives and Estates to Extirpate the Church and the Laws and Government which support it And this was no Volunteer of the VVomen They did not do it without their Men Jer. 44.19 For here follows G. Fox's own Order Verbatim For all Women Friends to set their Hands against Tythes they may freely as they are moved and do not Quench the Spirit of the Lord in any for the Women in the Truth feel the weight as well as the Men for the Seed of God in the Women bears witness against Tythes in the Priests and Pope the Author of them and suffers in Prisons and are Summoned up in Courts so that is good which beareth the Testimony against them and is to be receiv'd and set a top of the Author of the Holders of them up And so if all the Women in England send up their Names I shall send them by the Women to the Parliament for many Women have sent up their Names and some have not but have been stopped Therefore that all may send their Names against Tythes that be Free with speed to London G. F. He did not Date this as it was not his Custom to Date the Papers he gave out and the Reason he gave for it was because as he said the Apostles did not Date their Epistles But the year before these Subscriptions of the VVomen he printed a Paper A. D. 1658. call'd Papists Strength c. where p. 19. he leads the way to these Pious Hand-Maids in all the Particulars which they Requested or Demanded from the Parliament even to the Abolition of Schools and Colleges as well as Churches These are his Words And this I declare in the Presence of the Lord God and all the Magistrates that be in God's fear they will break down the Mass-Houses Schools and Colleges which you make Priests and Ministers in c. I cou'd enlarge upon this Head out of the Quaker-Writings But what Authorities I have already produc'd are abundantly sufficient to shew their deep design against the Church and the means by which they have agreed to Destroy Her this especially of keeping up to use their own Phrase their Testimony against Tythes Therefore this Handle must by no means be let go Insomuch that tho' their Pretence to the Sufficiency and Infallibility of the Light within was the Original and is the Fundamental Principle of all the whole Quaker Doctrine yet if any Plead it in this Case they shall be run down as Hypocrites and Rebels against God and to have fallen from the True Light within and to be guided by a False Light which comes from Satan to be very Anti-Christs and to have denied Christ's coming in the Flesh c. as I have above shewn from Tho. Ellwood's Antidote against the Infection of William Rogers c. Now I must tell the Reader that this William Rogers is a Quaker but of the more moderate sort and he wrote 〈◊〉 Book call'd The Christian Quaker Printed 1680. where Part 2. Chap. 8. touching Tythes He disputes expresly against Tythes and against the Lawfulness of Suing for them or Compelling any to Pay them Only p. 43. he allows those to Pay them who are Free so to do And that only as a Voluntary Contribution 〈◊〉 those who Teach them but not as any thing of a Divine Right And p. 44. he again limits this to those only who own such Ministers as true Ministers of Christ and go to Hear them and upon that account bestow a Fifth Tenth or what they please upon them So that hereby he cuts off all Dissenters to the Church of England from Paying Tythes to the Clergy of the Church of England Seconly He bars the Clergy from Suing or using any Compulsory means to recover their Tythes even from those of their own Communion But he makes Tythes meerly Eleemosynary and the Clergy to have no better Title to them than a Beggar has to our Alms. Yet all this was not sufficient for the Quakers But Tho. Ellwood falls upon him like a Turk for granting so much as to make Tythes Lawful upon any Account or Consideration whatsoever And writes against this Book of William Rogers the above Quoted An Atidote against the Infection of William Rogers's Christian Quaker Where p. 78. he Denounces as above against those who Pay Tythes even according to William Rogers's aforesaid Limitations That they who Pay Tythes thereby deny Christ to be come in the Flesh which is a mark of Anti-Christ And in Westmorland there were 44 Articles Exhibited against John Story and J. Wilkinson two Quakers by sundry of their Chief Preachers and Rulers One of which Articles was That he John Story said he knew a Man that was an honest Man that cou'd have given up his Body to be Burnt for the Truth who said he never saw Evil in Paying of Tythes and that he cou'd Pay them and wou'd Pay them Another Article was That John Story said he believ'd every Man had not a Testimony for God laid upon them to bear against Tythes But them which had he wou'd have them be Faithful And these two John Story and John Wilkinson were Proceeded against by a General Meeting of the Quakers in London who the 12th Day of the 4th Month 1677. gave Judgment against them and those that joined with them in a Formal Instrument Subscrib'd by Sixty Six of them But this was soon Re-buffeted back again upon them by the Quakers in the VVest of England who adhered to Story and VVilkinson in as Solemn and Judicial a Condemnation of them and their Sentence and this was Subscrib'd by Sixty Seven of the other Party and Styl'd A Testimony against the 66 Judges called Quakers c. and Printed under that Title together with the Paper of the said Judges and all their Names Subscrib'd It is pleasant to see them Play their Infallibilities against one another For each of these Parties pretend to the Immediate Spirit of God and in the Name of God Pronounce the other to be led by a False Ravening Spirit Our Souls say the Defendants do in the highest Degree Abominate it and do surge against it p. 15. that is the Authority which the Plaintiffs assumed over Conscience in Judging of others and not leaving them to their Primitive Liberty of following their own Light within On the other Hand the London Quakers who assum'd a Superiority over the Countrey Quakers Condemn'd that Spirit which Possess'd them as a wrong Murmuring and Dividing Spirit p. 5. And our Day say they hath lamentably shewn us the
No they are not able to produce one word or any thing like it But on the contrary there are plain Intimations in the Gospel of their Continuance particularly 1 Cor. 9.13 14. But we need no new Command for them in the Gospel If they are not Forbidden and Abrogated by Christ they are still of force They are no part of the Typical or Ceremonial Law and nothing else of the Law was Abrogated by Christ They were before the Law and the Reason of them is Eternal That is Honouring the Lord with our Substance Prov. 39. as with our Time and that Proportion of either which He at first Reserv'd to Himself must so Remain But there is another Jesuitical Excuse in p. 2. of these Quakers Answer to Bugg viz. That these their Orders are not Constitutions or Canons but Epistles wherein several matters of Christian Advice are Recommended and not Imposed This wou'd seem as if these Quakers were left to their Liberty whether they wou'd pay Tythes or not But the contrary is made fully appear in the Instances of Crisp Story Rogers c. as before And as to the Stile of their Orders being call'd Epistles I suppose they have heard of the Pope's Decretal Epistles And he Commands most Absolutely when he writes himself Servant of the Servants of God Soft Words and Hard Meaning That Severe and Terrible Excommunication against John Story c. above told was by way of Epistle which is taken notice of in the above-Quoted Replication in the very Title of it viz. A Testimony against the 66 Judges called Quakers who writ an Epistle as they call it against John Story John Wilkinson and those join'd with them c. I have shewn before that not only Their Writings when they are call'd Epistles but all even the very Queries of Theirs are to be esteem'd Equal to the Scriptures so that as they say you might as well condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as their Queries That Their Writings are not to be look'd upon as the Edicts of Men but of God Himself c. But when they are Pinched then they are only Recommendations and Advices But such as must be Obey'd under the pain of being Rebels to God and Disown'd by them Which to much the greatest number of them considering their Dependance upon one another in Trade is their utter undoing Now such Advices look very like Commands And this last Excuse of the Quakers is no better than the former But in all this Answer to Bugg they have quite forgot the most material Objection against them which is some Quotations of theirs as to Tythes which are cited by Bugg particularly that mention'd p. 3. of Edw. Burrough in the 780 page of his Works Tythes says he as received and paid in these days are of Anti-Christ This totally overthrows the Quakers Excuse in their Answer to Bugg viz. That they only spoke against Tythes being paid to Popish Priests and by Popish Laws For here Edw. Burrough condemns those Tythes as Anti-Christian which are Receiv'd and Paid in these Days which are to Protestant Priests and by Protestant Laws And to this the Quakers Answer has not return'd one word or taken the least notice of it No nor to that other Quotation out of the Ancient Testimony c. p. 2. So it is no new thing that the People of the Lord call'd Quakers have suffer'd so deeply for but the Ancient Testimony to the Coming Death and Resurrection of Christ which they that Plead for Tythes in this Gospel-Day do in effect Deny c. Nor to that Quoted out of Thomas Ellwood's Antidote c. which I have mention'd before but Bugg here more at large Thus p. 78. of the Antidote Truth allows no Payment of Tythes at all under the New Covenant but Condemns it They who Pay Tythes do therein uphold a Legal Ceremony Abrogated by Christ and thereby deny Christ to be come in the Flesh which is a Mark of Anti-Christ c. To the Argument it is Answer'd before That Tythes are no Legal Ceremony nor any Ceremony at all They are a just Tribute and Acknowledgment to God out of that Encrease with which He has bless'd our Labours This is far above a Ceremony which in its own Nature is a thing Indifferent neither Good nor Bad which the Duty of Honouring the Lord with our Substance is not but a Necessary and even a Natural Duty And as to the particular Quantum of a Tenth part of our Substance that was determin'd long before the Law and was the Universally receiv'd Notion of the World in all Ages and therefore of Divine Institution and so far from a Legal Ceremony And as they were no Ceremony so neither were they any Type of Christ and to cease at His Coming like Sacrifices whose first Institution was to Prefigure the Death of Christ and the shedding of His Blood And therefore Christ is call'd by the Name of His Types Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for us 1 Cor. 5.7 He is call'd our Passover and Sacrifice but he is never call'd our Tythe For that has no Relation to any Typical Representation of Christ â—hey Prefigure not His Passion or Death They are totally of another Nature a Tribute due from us to our Creator and Preserver And therefore never to cease They are never Fullfill'd but in being dayly Paid Sacrifices and all other Types of Christ are Fullfill'd For He only is now our Sacrifice But He is not our Tythe The nonsence of such a Pretence appears from the very Proposing of it But in the next place as Tythes are no Legal Ceremony nor Type so neither are they Abrogated by Christ as T. Ellwood affirms but cannot Prove We desire any one Text to shew it He quotes 1 Joh. 4.3 which has no more Relation to it than Neh. 10. to the 28. verse And is a plain Demonstration that they have no such Proof else they wou'd have brought it And it is as plain that they have no Answer to give to those Quotations which Fr. Bugg produces out of their Books otherwise it is impossible but they must have said something to them they being so exceedingly Scandalous and Provoking to our Government both in Church and State as their making our Magistrates to be Pharaohs Nebuchadnezzars c. and the Clergy very Conjurers Thieves Anti-Christs Witches Devils Baal's Priests Hell-Hounds c. and crying woe and misery to the Upholders whether Kings or Parliaments of that Treacherous Crew and Deceitful Generation But William Penn continues Bugg in his Impeachment p. 1. in his late Book Stil'd The Guide Mistaken c. goes a little farther viz. Whilst the Idle Gormondizing Priests of England run away with above 150000 l. a year under Pretence of God's Ministers And that no sort of People have been so Vniversally through Ages the very Bane of Soul and Body of the Vniverse as that Abominable Tribe for whom the Theatre of God 's most Dreadful Vengeance is reserved to Act their
not the Seed and Christ Himself as the Quakers Blasphemously Dream only a Ray or Communication of His Light and Life to us How then can the Quakers have the True Christian Faith how can they be esteem'd as any Christians at all who will not allow Christ to be the Promis'd Seed or that He was more a Man in the Body of Jesus than in the Body of any other Man who make no more Reckoning of His Blood than of any other Saint who do not believe Him now to be a Man and as such our Mediator and Intercessor at the Right Hand of His Father These things I offer to their serious Consideration and I Pray God to Discover to them those Depths of Satan and that Bond of Iniquity wherein they are Captivated But I wou'd ask Mr. Penn one Question before I go upon his Hypothesis of the Light within being the Promis'd Seed And that is since the Quakers make this Light within to be in every Man that comes into the World how was it Promised Gen. 3.15 Was it not Then in the World And how then were they to look for it as to come But Mr. Penn has another Argument Ibid. to prove that the Outward Christ cou'd not be the Promis'd Seed which he says must be Inward and Spiritual Why Because says he One outward thing cannot be the proper Figure or Representation of another nor is it the way of Scripture so to teach us the outward Lamb shews forth the inward Lamb c. I am sorry Mr. Penn should tell us that this is not the way of Scripture because it is the Common High-way of the Scriptures For all the outward Sacrifices under the Law were Types or Figures of the Sacrifice of Christ the outward Christ upon the Cross Of whom St. Paul said 1 Cor. 5.7 Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for us So that the outward Paschal Lamb in Aegypt and the striking of its Blood upon the Side-Posts of their Houses Exod. 12.7 13. that the Destroyer might not come in was a certain Type of the outward Blood of Christ which keeps off God's Wrath from us and not of any fansy'd inward Lamb slain in our Hearts c. as the Craft and Malice of the Devil has suggested to deface and wear out of our Minds the Faith in Christ's outward Blood by which only there is Salvation And by the help of this Distinction of an outward and Inward Christ outward and inward Blood c. the Quakers do keep themselves out of sight of all Men not throughly acquainted with their Deceits They can upon a Pinch subscribe the whole Creed and yet not mean one word of it of God or Christ at all that is of any God or Christ without Men or what all the World believe by God or Christ as existing without us tho' by their Blessed Influence operating within us But their Gross Ignorance cou'd not at First distinguish betwixt God and his Influence and those of them who know better now think themselves obliged to Justifie at least to Palliate and Excuse the Failings of their Leaders because they once own'd them to be Infallible By this means all the Non-sence and Blasphemy of G. Fox lies upon Mr. Penn's Shoulders If he will maintain him right or wrong then must Mr. Penn answer for G. Fox's calling himself Equal with God And his senseless Argument to prove it in his Saul's Errand before Quoted p. 8. because forsooth he had the Spirit of God as he Pretended whence he Argues in these words He that hath the same Spirit that raised up Jesus Christ is equal with God Nor is this Madness peculiar to Fox alone it runs in the Blood of the Quakers The Renowned Francis Howgil is yet more Express in this Blasphemy if more can be His Works in Folio Reprinted 1676. Entituled The Dawnings of the Gospel-Day p. 232. The first thing thy Dark Mind stumbles at says he to his Opponent Edward Dodd is that some have said that they that have the Spirit of God are Equal with God He that hath the Spirit of God is in that which is Equal And he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit there is Unity and the Unity stands in Equality it self Thus he and lest you should think too little of the word Equality he gives it you with an Emphasis Equality it self But he seems to come into a calmer mood a few lines after and says There is Equality in Nature tho' not in Stature But instead of bringing him off this sets him deeper in the Mire For first it is Nonsence for whatever is equal to God in Nature must be so likewise in Stature Since His Nature is Infinite And for that Reason secondly making us equal to God in Nature is the highest Equality it is indeed Equality it self Which Expression Howgil repeats twice in the distance of three lines that he might be sure of it Having thus made themselves Equal to God in very Nature it is not strange to see them denying any other God or Christ but themselves They pull God out of Heaven and upbraid those who believe that there is any God or Christ there as I have hereafter Quoted their words out of a Book of theirs call'd The Sword of the Lord drawn c. p. 5. Your imagined God beyond the Stars and your Carnal Christ is utterly deny'd to say this Christ is God and Man in one Person is a Lye I will here add to this how careful they are to instill into their Children according to their Capacities these Principles of their most Anti-Christian Religion and exceeding the Blasphemy of all that we ever yet heard among the most Barbarous of the Heathen Nations There is a Primmer put out for the Quaker Children by W. Smith There p. 8. you have this Question asked How may I know when Christ is truly Preached And the Answer is They that are False Ministers Preach Christ without and bid People believe in Him as He is in Heaven above but they that are Christ's Ministers Preach Christ within Here was an admirable Cue given to young Children to prevent their ever receiving the least tincture of Christianity that if they shou'd at any time hear of a Christ in Heaven or of any Christ out of themselves they might immediately stop their Ears and believe all who spoke of it to be False Ministers Sure Satan never advanc'd his Kingdom in any Age so high as in these miserably Deluded People But lest the Child shou'd think that there might be only difference of Expression betwixt the Quakers and others who Profess'd a Christ Personally in Heaven tho' Present with us and operating in our Hearts by the Influence and Graces of His Spirit there is another Question p. 9. Here then is great difference in their Doctrine Answer Yes and no more Fellowship than East with West This Answer is true indeed For the difference is not only in the Expression but in the Doctrine And
of the Serpent that is the Devil Now which of these several Treatments do testifie the greatest Respect And whether their Veneration does Hereby appear more to the Holy Scriptures or to their own Writings I leave it without more Argument to the Reader Manger their Thin and Hypocritical Distinction of the Letter It is plain they never gave the Scriptures a good word but meerly for Popularity when forc'd to it to avoid the Odium of the World And therefore since the year 1660. when the Restoration of the Church and Her Liturgy brought the Holy Scriptures again into Request the Quakers have been more Pharisaically Civil towards them and upon some Turns will bestow upon them the Epithet of Holy because it is so common in the Mouths of other Men. But in all their Preachings or Writings before 1660 where-ever they had occasion to name the Holy Scriptures they seldom or never gave them that Epithet of Holy or Sacred but plain Scriptures at best tho' most commonly they did not let them pass without some of their sweet Appellations before-told of Beastly Ware Serpent's Meat Death and Carnal to beget the greater Reverence for them in the People And it is desir'd to Confute this Observation that they wou'd give us what Citations they can they will not be many out of all their Books which were wrote before 1660. and they are very numerous which name the Scriptures with the Appellation of Holy or Sacred or indeed with any sort of Respect Especially let them Quote Fox Burrough Howgil or some of their Principal Pillars But if this Observation be Malicious and that they cannot disprove it now then let them take time and put in such Expressions as oft as they please in the New Edition of G. Fox's Works according to their Laudable Custom before spoke of to chop and change the Writings of their Dead Prophets to answer the Exigency of the Times Tho' if what they wrote was Dictated Immediately by the Holy Ghost as they pretend they are of Equal Authority with the Scriptures and it must be as great a sin to Add or Diminish in the Writings of the Quakers as in the Holy Scriptures themselves And then by the Sentence pronounc'd Rev. 22.18 and 19. all those Quakers shall be Blotted out of the Book of Life who in the New Editions of the Works of Edward Burrough Francis Howgil c. have taken away from the Words of the Books of their Prophecies And I have given them Lawful Warning not to incurr the like Sin and Shame in the new design'd Edition of their great Apostle G. Fox's worthy Remains But that they may not pretend Ignorance or Inadvertence I do here particularly Caution that the following Passages may not be left out nor Blended in a Book Published by Him and other Quakers call'd The West Answering to the North Printed 1657. where p. 7 8. They tell That Strafford's Head was cut off and Canterbury's and Charles Stuart's as Traytors for endeavouring to subvert the Fundamental Laws And p. 79. That His Charles Stuart 's Arbitrary Actions were Recorded every where in the Blood and Misery of the late Wars and the Destruction of Him and His Family The Dreadful and Sad Examples of His Righteous Judgments who Renders to every one according to his Deeds And p. 89. Doth not here appear from the Grave the Spirit that was in Christopher Love Priest and his Fellow-Traytors who being within the Jurisdiction of this Common-wealth look upon them to Commissionate Divers Men to treat with Charles Stuart the Proclaim'd Traytor of the Government P. 95. The Common Enemy Charles Stuart c. and forget not the wonderful Deliverances from them all which the Right Hand of the Lord effected p. 96. 97. Multitudes of People flock'd up out of the City to Westminster to complain of their Sufferings which Charles Stuart called Tumults and by the Guard one of them was slain at the place of the shedding of whose Blood was Charles Stuart's Head struck off and His Blood poured forth on the ground A remarkable Record of the Righteous Iudgments of God Lastly Mark these words p. 102 The Righteous Ends of the Wars for Liberty and Law And these Innocent Servants of the Lord who have been All of them Always Faithful to the honest Interest of the Nation and many of them for it have drawn the Sword and Fought in the Field from first to last And p. 83. The honest Men then who own'd them the Parliament Army throughout England against the Priests and the Common Enemy That is the Church and the King And by the Honest and Innocent Servants of the Lord they meant Themselves For they allow none other to be such as is fully shewn hereafter The Defence of them the Laws say they p. 16. have we in the late Wars vindicated in the Field with our Blood c. There is another Book of this Great Apostle wherein I am very apprehensive his New Editors may do him wrong It is a most Bitter and Senseless Invective against all Kings and Monarchical Government which was Printed in the beginning of the Year 1660. but before the Restoration which was in May the same Year to shew what Obstinate Rebels these Quakers were who held out against the King to the very last Day That Book bears this Title Several Papers given forth by George Fox London Printed for Thomas Simonds at the Sign of the Bull 1660. I set it down thus particularly because the Friends may know that it is still in being and in the Hands of those who will watch the New Edition of Fox's Works that they shall neither Add nor Diminish without being told of it I give this Caution because great pains has been taken and by some Arts which I will not here mention to recover this Book out of the Hands of any who are in the least Disaffected to their Cause and it may rationally be suppos'd that the Design is either wholly to suppress it or to take out its Sting that it hurt them not and render them odious to all Kingly Government I will give the Reader but a Taste out of that Delicious Dispensatory He says p. 8. That all Kings and Emperors have sprung up in the Night since the days of the Apostles among the Anti-Christs p. 12. So the Christians goes out from Christ and set up Kings like the Heathens p. 15. And all these Novice-Christians that are crying up Earthly Kings and fighting for the Kings of the Earth are not such as follow the Lamb. p. 16. We know that these Kings are the Spiritual Aegyptians got up since the days of the Apostles p. 18. and 9. You never read of any King among the Christians but among the Apostates since the days of the Apostles p. 8. Many cry for an Earthly King and will have Caesar and is not this the same Nature the Jews was in and do not they in this Crucifie Jesus p. 9. Are not all these Christians that will
Desperate and to think all Reconsiliation betwixt them and the King to be Impracticable Beware says Bishop ibid. p. 27. of falling under this Spirit or of thinking that the Breach between you can be Healed For I Declare it to you from the Lord That it is Irreconsilable it cannot it will not be Healed Therefore in the Power and Dread of the Almighty stand and Bear over it Crush it to Pieces Stamp it to Powder c. Therefore it concerns you whilst ye have time to bear down this Enemy and to secure Places necessary for Defence Did he only mean Spiritual Defence or the Carnal Sword But he Advises to Murther in Cold Blood all that stirr'd for the King or as he there words it The doing Justice on those whom God hath given into your Hands lest out of this Serpent's Egg do come a Cockatrice and his Fruit be a Fiery flying Serpent and the Lord deliver you and your Forces into the Power of those who seek the Destruction of you and your Interest That was the King And p. 26. ibid. He tells them that there was a necessity of the Expeditions and continual Marching of your Horse were these Spiritual Horse up and down in all parts especially where these Insurrections have been This Letter was wrote the 6th of Aug. 1659. when things were moving towards the Restauration but Printed as before-told Anno 1660. to stir them up afresh against the King when they had a nearer Prospect of His Return Yet in their foresaid Declaration to Him after His Return p. 7. they Gravely tell Him We are a People that follow after those things that make for Peace Love and Unity and do deny and bear our Testimony against all Strife and Wars and Contentions c. That is when they were Beaten and cou'd Fight no longer But while there was one spark of Life in the Good Old Cause they Fought and Preach'd and Curs'd and Damn'd for it all that durst oppose them That is all who were on the weaker side For they still had the Grace to Court those in Power and like Rats to fly from a Falling House Thus the aforesaid Bishop in his Letter to Richard Protector the 9th of September 1658. assures him that if he would follow their Principle of the Light within that is be good to the Quakers which is thou dost says Bishop and givest up to be Govern'd by it the Lord will dash in pieces all the Consultations against thee and thy Father's House and will settle the Throne under thee and make thee a Dread and a Terror to all the Nations round about as he made thy Father This is in p. 17. of Bishop's Book before Quoted And the very next Letter is p. 18. Flattering those Officers of the Army who Pluck a down this Fine Protector is soon as ever they had done it It is Dated the 27th of April 1659. and thus Directed To the General Council of the Army in whom is risen the Spirit of the Good Old Cause these following Particulars are tender'd in order to the Carrying through of what is by them begun c. The Quakers were for Thorough Work and indeed all their Quarrel with Oliver Richard and the Rump before them was for sparing Amalek for not Destroying downright all that stood for the King the Church or the Laws This was still the burthen of their Song in all their Addresses as in Article 11. of the Particulars which they Recommended to these Officers of the Army p. 19. Remember Amalek i. e. as this Quaker Bishop there explains it the Soul-murthering and Conscience-binding Clergy-Man and what he did unto you by the way when ye were come out of Aegypt Therefore blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven Ye shall not forget it And Artic. 10 Vex the Midianites i. e. the Lawyers says he for they vex you with their Wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor and Cosbi i. e. the King and Protector The Protector now he is down is as bad as the King But see how they soothed the Protector when he was in the Saddle Whom says Bishop in his Letter to him ibid. p. 10. we have loved above any Man whose with all that is dear to us have we become and they Lot and Portion have we chosen to stand or fall as it shou'd be unto Thee and so have we stood by Thee against All Thine Opposers whether in Field or Council Thine Enemies we have accounted and made our own and never Left Thee till Thou was brought through all And again The Righteous Ends of the Wars in which we have born our Part in the Heat of the Day But after the King's Return then the Case was alter'd then they cou'd not Fight no not they they wou'd not draw a Sword for the World They never were for Oliver but were allways Loyal and Faithfulâ— to the King They did not Rejoice at Oliver â—â—â—â—cess against the King but Mourâ—â— for the King tho' they cou'd 〈◊〉 Fight for Him And they were fore Griever at the Hearts for the Blood which Oliver shedâ— and never Applauded him in it Witness their Exultation ibid. p. 3. Did thy Sword say they ever return empty from the Blood of the Slain Did'st not thou come upon Princes as upon Mortar and as the Potter treadeth the Clay Were not the Hearts of Honest Men knit to thee as one Man Was any thing so great that they cou'd not trust Thee with Was any thing so Dear that they were not ready to lay down for Thy sake Did they sigh at any time at the remembrance of thee Did their Faces wax Pale Confounded or Cover'd Or was not the remembrance of thee to them sweet and pleasant as the Dew upon the tender Herb as Life from the Dead c. And so they run on whole Pages together in a Hideous Panegyrick to which I refer the Reader But here he sees how expresly they renounce so much as a sigh at any time for all his Traiterous Murthers or that their Faces were ever Pale or Confounded or Covered for all that Blood shed no but that they Rejoic'd and Glory'd in it and for all His Successes against the King p. 4. Did he not smite them with a Wound incurable they and their King and their Nobles p. 5. Wadedst thou not through the Blood and War with a restless and unweary'd Spirit And whilst it was thus with thee did the Lord ever fail or forsake thee Or wantedst thou the Hearts and Hands of the Honest Men of these Nations Can the Generations that are past produce the like of the Lords and His People being with a Man as with thee c. These are the Meek and the Loyal Quakers They can Wade in Blood so it be of the King or the Clergy and their Abettors Slay Balaam Vex the Midianites Remember Amalek Give the Priests Blood to Drink These are the Mild Breathings of the Quaker Spirit Thus sweetly sings Edward
Burrough in his Word of Advice to the Soldiers p. 2. Oh! says be with a Gusto give the Priests Blood to drink for they are worthy But this with other sweet bits is left out in the new Edition of his Works wherein there is yet enough behind to shew the largeness of his Bowels and to what narrow Limits he wou'd confine that Inundation of Blood which the Good Old Cause had brought upon these Nations and which he Justifies and that from the Mouth of the Lord. In his Warning to the English Army 1659. he assures them p. 540. of his Works in these words Your Victory hath been of the Lord. But then he wou'd have them go on and carry Blood and Slaughter into other Countries What are these few Poor Islands says he p. 537 538. that you have run through And then he advises them to fall upon 〈◊〉 and Spain and Avenge says he p. 537. the Blood of the Guiltlâ—ss through all the Dominions of the Pope p. 538. that your Sword and the Sword of the Lord may neither leave Root nor Branch of Idolatry that your Sword be lifted up against them p. 540. Set up your Standard at the Gites of Rome And Prophesying of the time when Vengeance shou'd be taken of Rome The time is come says he p. 537. their Church cannot stand Long. p. 535 536. and as sure as the Lord lives so shall it come to pass But this is long since pass'd and their Church stands still And which is much a greater wonder this Burrough is counted still a true Prophet among the Quakers in whom the fullness of Grace and Virtue châ—elâ— â—us was said of him in his Life â—rote 1663. p. 24. by a Club of the Principal Quakers G. Fox â—os Coal G. Whitehead c. who thus Blasphem'd in Praise of a Wretch that durst Pawn the very Being of God That as sure as the Lord lives so it must come to pass as he said And since it is not so come to pass are â—â—tiâ—ll the rest of these Quakers as Mad and Blasphemous as he who will still believe that he was sent from God or spoke His Words And that all these Lyes and Preaching up of Blood their Blasphemies and Treasons are of Equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures yea of Greater as I will shew you presently from George Whitehead And if this be true we must believe the 〈◊〉 Contradictions of the Quakers before the Scriptures As that notwithstanding all these loud Proclamations of Blood and War which we have beâ—â—d from them and that if their Advice were follow'd all whole Christendom wou'd be turned into an Aceldamâ— the Protestants falling upon all Popish Countries and the Papists upon them I say that notwithstanding of all this if the Quakers Writings are given forth by the Spirit of God as they boldly pretend we must believe their Declaration given to King Charles II. upon the 21st of January 1660. subscrib'd by G. Fox and Eleven more in the behalf of the whole Body of the Quakers wherein p. 4. They Declare positively against the lawfulness of Fighting upon any account And this say they is both our Principle and Practice and hath been from the beginning so that if we suffer as suspected to take up Arms or make War against any it is without any Ground from us for it neither is nor ever was in our Hearts since we owned the Truth of God neither shall we ever do it because it is contrary to the Spirit of Christ his Doctrine and the Practice of his Apostles And in The Quakers Plea Printed 1661. p. 5. They say Such of us whose Principles were once so that is for Fighting are changed even from that Principle and Practice of going to Wars and Fighting and Now are all of that Mind and Heart That in the Administration of the Gospel 〈◊〉 on all Occasions whatsoever unlawful to go to War and Fight with any Man with Carnal Weapons contrary to the Doctrine of Christ This was in the Year 1661. to fix this Opinion of them the Quakers in the King and Government But when by this Deep Deceit and Hypocrisie they did prevail and it had for Twelve Years after the Restauration been generally receiv'd that this was in good earnest the Principle of the Quakers as it continues with most to this day and I doubt not but many of the simple well-meaning Quakers themselves are Imposed upon in this to think that the Quaker Principle is against all War and Fighting upon any Occasion whatsoever as in their Plea above Quoted Yet I say when the World and many of themselves had been thus Deluded by their Leaders they in the Year 1672. to secure to themselves their Old Principle of Fighting whenever The Good Old Cause shou'd stand in need of it did Reprint what I have above Quoted of Edward Burrough for carrying Blood and War into all the Popish Countries and much more to the same purpose in the New Edition of his Works To which there are high Testimonies affix'd of George Fox George VVhitehead Josiah Coal Francis Howgil and Ellis Hookes Now if this Doctrine of Fighting or making VVar upon any Occasion whatsoever was contrary to the Spirit of Christ and His Doctrine in the Year 1â—60 that part of the Year I mean after the Restauration how came the Saints above-nam'd to Publish the contrary Doctrine of Edw. Burrough with such mighty Pomp in the Year 1672 And we must believe Both to be Infallible as the Holy Scriptures themselves being Both given forth by the same Spirit But these Editors of Burrough's Works are yet more Chargeable with whatever is in the New Edition because they took more upon them than barely as Editors that is to Correct and Amend and to Expunge what they thought fit as his Declaring VVar against the King and the Church before-told which tho' Dictated as he said by the Eternal Spirit yet they made bold to set these things aside lest they shou'd offend the Powers then in being but they thought that carrying the VVar into Italy and Spain wou'd be less taken notice of and wou'd continue their Claim to the Privilege of Fighting when they shou'd have occasion for it Why otherwise were not these Expung'd as well as the Traiterous Passages against the King and the Government If it was through the Inadvertence of their Infallibility let them now Disclaim it and confess Burrough to have been in an Error as to that Principle of Fighting No they will not and therefore it is their own They will not They have not done it for since the New Edition of Burrough's Works 1672. when a fair occasion seem'd to offer towards the Re-asserting of the Good Old Cause in Monmouth's Rebellion 1681. Several of the Quakers in the VVest where he Landed took Arms and Fought in his Quarrel and tho' some of them were taken Prisoners yet we heard nothing of their Repentance or that they were oblig'd by the rest to sign any Instruments
of Condemnation against themselves for this or any way Censur'd for it by their Yearly Meetings or any other Authority of theirs And if it be true which Edward Burrough says p. 462. of his Works That they the Quakers are of one Mind and one Soul which I do not believe I have a better Opinion of many of them but we have here their Infallibility Pawn'd for it I say if this were true then this wou'd be a Demonstration what all the rest of the Quakers wou'd have done if Monmouth had proceeded to their Parts and what they are still ready to do when a like Opportunity shall Summon them to Arms. But as I said I do not believe that they are all of one Mind in this matter but then those that are not of this Mind must I think past all Excuse Renounce the Infallibility or the Truth of Edw. Burrough and of G. Fox G. VVhitehead and the other Quakers who have Publish'd these Works of Edward Burrough with such high Applause and Commendation in which he disdains to limit the Bloody Sword within these Few Poor Islands but wou'd have had Oliver his Joshua carry it through all Christendom G. Fox Advises further to fall upon 〈◊〉 Turk and all the rest of the World Oh Oliver sayâ— he in his Letter to him Dated the 11th Month See Quakers Vnmask'd p. 4 5 6. 1659 c. Thou should'st not have stood Trifling about small things Do not stand cumbering thy self about Dirty Priests and then hâ— tells him that if he had follow'd his Counsel The Hollanders says hâ— to him had been thy Subjects How How George Our Deaâ— Friends the Dutch Must they tâ— Pot too When the Quaker Sword is drawn it spares none Protestants Papists Turks it is all one Germany Fox goes on had giveâ— up to thy Will and the Spaniaâ—â— had quiver'd like a Dry Leaf The King of France shou'd have Bowed under thee his Neck The Pope shou'd have withered as in Winter The Turk in all his Fatness shouâ—d have Smoak'd Thou should'st have Crumbled Nations to Dust Therefore says he Let thy Soldiers go forth with a free and willing Heart that thou may'st Rock Nations as a Cradle For a Mighty Work hath the Lord to do in other Nations and their Quakings and Shakings are but entering So this is the Word of the Lord God to thee as a Charge to thee from the Lord God c. Here is Destruction Proclaim'd to the Ends of the Earth and that from the Mouth of the Lord O Blasphemous Cursed Wretch that durst thus set The Dreadful Name of The most High God to thy Diabolical Inspirations for Blood and Slaughter through the whole Earth And yet to see these Men wipe their Mouths and say that they are the Meek of the Earth They never were for Fighting No not they They now deny the use of the Carnal Sword as Anti Christian Poor Lambs And yet I believe in my Heart that many of them now are Deceived and think that the Quaker Principle is really against Fighting because they have heard so much of it since 1660. and that most of the Quakers of this Generation do not know for it is Studiously conceal'd from them by those of the Old Stamp what Bloody Devils G. Fox Edw. Burrough G. Bishop and the rest of the Primitive Quakers were Do they know that after Oliver â—s Death G. Fox pursu'd his Son Richard with the same Cry for Blood General Vniversal Blood Fox wou'd have sent him an Able Hand to have set up his Standard at Rome and then says he in his Letter to him you shouâ—d have sent for the Turks Idol and pluckt up Idolatry and to have made Inquisition for Blood c. Now if using the Carnal Sword upon any account be contrary to the Doctrine of Christ as the Quakers since 1660. have Preached and if they do believe themselves they must Hunt this Bloody Fox out of their Herd and for ever hereafter Disown his Spirit and his Writings And I do earnestly invite Mr. Penn to follow this Chase it is most incumbent upon him of any other because I think my self oblig'd to tell it him he is suspected by some of his fellow Quakers as favouring this Principle of using the Carnal Sword And to convince him that I do not speak without Book I have now before me a Letter from Philadelphia the Metropolis of Pensilvania Dated the 21st of the 4th Month 1695. wherein are these words I have seen a Copy of the King 's late Grant of the Government wherein they give the Reasons of their taking it away and of Will Penn's humble Submission and Requesting the Government to be Granted to him again which was therefore done on his giving them certain Assurance that he wou'd Secure and Defend the Place and wou'd send 80 Soldiers to Albany when callâ—d for or find Money to Pay them This causeth a great stir among the People who are not very ready to comply therewith c. I will make no Comments but leave it to Mr. Penn himself to Own or Deny the Matter of Fact And whether he will stand by G. Fox as to his Principle of Fighting or not And if any have been heretofore Deceived by G. Fox that they wou'd now Repent and Return But I must tell them that they must first Cease to be Quakers For they who pretend to Infallibility can never Repent or Acknowledge a Fault Therefore the Quakers do not ask Pardon for Sin because they says they have no Sin If any one can give Evidence that ever he heard at â—y Quaker Meeting Remission of Sins Pray'd for he is desirâ—d for the Vindication of the Truth to Declare it God has Promisâ—d to Give to those who Ask but those who will not Ask have no Title to any Promise in the Gospel Their Condition is the most Desperate of any of Mankind The Lord help them and hear our Prayers for them since they will not Pray for themselves Had ever the Devil any Poor Creatures at such a Lock before To bar up their way by a Proud and Blind Conceit of Perfection from seeking or so much as Wishing to Return from their Sins And the same Principle must keep them from making any Restitution to Man Because a Wrong to Man is a Sin against God and therefore if they cannot Sin against God they cannot do any Wrong to Man and on the contrary if it can be prov'd thâ—â—t they have done any Wrong to Man it follows certainly that they can Sin against God Therefore they must put it to that Issue whether any Quaker ever Wrong'd any other Man and to let their Infallibility stand and fall with this They must do this they cannot refuse it as being a necessary Consequence of their Principles And yet they will not do it they cannot do it Because there are many and undeniable Instances which can be produc'd to the contrary and if the Friends desire any for fat is faction
as by the other But this plainly discovers their Preference of their own Writings to the Holy Scriptures that while they rejected the Scriptures as not Necessary to the Guidance or Direction of their Light within they at the same time enjoin'd under the severest Penalties even of rejecting the Authority of God Himself not only the Private Studying but the Publick Reading of their own Writings in their Meetings Thus their Great Fox Commands This is the Word of the Lord says he I charge you in the Presence of the Lord God to send this Epistle amongst all Friends and Brethren every where to be read in all Meetings To them All this is the Word of God c. Yet he calls it Blasphemy to say the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God as you will see hereafter p. 150 151. and George Whitehead in what he calls An Epistle for the Remnant of Friends concludes thus Let this Epistle be read distinctly in the Life and Authority of God from whence it came amongst Friends in and about London and elsewhere c. Now I do desire G. Whitehead to produce out of any of his or all of their Writings such an Advice or Encouragement as this for reading of the Holy Scriptures Or to tell us whether they ever yet endur'd so much as one Chapter of them to be read upon any occasion whatsoever in any of their Meetings And then whether it be not a plain Consequence that they do Prefer their own Writings which they so strictly enjoin to be read to the Holy Scriptures which they not only not Enjoin or Command but never so much as Advise or Recommend to be read But on the contrary they give all the Threatning Discouragements that can be to deter any from reading of them calling them Carnal and Death as before is told But to come to further Evidence and give you even a Judicial Determination of the Quakers Assemblâ—d in their Publick Meeting when they durst speak out against the Scriptures about the Year 1658. this Cause was brought before them and solemn Judgment given For then it was that Thomas Padle accus'd John Chandler both of Southwark Quakers at a Meeting of the Quakers at the Bull and Mouth up one pair of Stairs I give it thus particularly that the Friends may not pretend Ignorance and because I have Eye and Ear Witness to produce if it be in the least Disputed that Then and There the said John Chandler was Accus'd by the said Thomas Padle for saying That he Preferr'd the Scriptures before the Friends Books which Accusation J. Chandler did not deny he was something of a Scholar beyond the common Quaker Level but being Reprov'd for it by the Meeting he said in Excuse that it was in Dispute with some Opposers and that the People urg'd him to it And some of those who were present at that Meeting do very well remember that one principal Reason they gave for the Preference of their own Books to the Scriptures was That tho' the People had had the Scriptures many years yet they had not Converted so many to the Truth as Their Books had done They really thought themselves tâ—â— have a Dispensation beyond the Prophets or Apostles whom they call'd Low and Carnal in their Day see hereafter p. 235. I can name those that now stand high among them who being press'd with a Text out of one of St Paul's Epistles not twenty years ago did before many Witnesses of the Principal Quakers not stick to say That Paul was Dark and Ignorant like him whom they oppos'd and that they saw beyond him The occasion of this if the Friends pretend not to remember it was a solemn Meeting or Council which was call'd of some of their Principal Preachers in London about the Yeaâ— 1678. upon an Accusation preferr'd by some of them against one of their Number for these three Heretical Doctrines as they esteem'd them 1. That the Body of Christ arose out of the Grave 2. That Christ is â—o be Pray'd to 3. That we must come to the Father through Christ There were various Opinions in that Learned Council concerning all of these they being such Deep and Abstruse Points in Divinity But none of the Heretical side were Disown'd by the other or caus'd to sign Instruments of Condemnation against themselves as in other Cases is usual with them Upon the 2d Point that Text 1 Cor. 1.2 being urg'd as a Proof for the Invocation of Christ the above Answer was return'd That Paul was Blind and Ignorant and that they saw beyond him Anâ— they stood upon it that no English Quaker was ever heard Pray to Christ If the Friends think it more for their Service that Names Time and Place be set down it shall be done whenever I can say that it is upon their Request because I wouâ—d be Civil In the mean time I can tell them that about the Year 1662. John Parrot one of their Chief Preachers being question'd for some Expression he had us'd he justify'd himself by shewing the like in the Prophet Hosea to which G. Fox answer'd That the Prophets were not come to the Son This was a common saying with him And at another time one pressing him hard with the Authority of Abraham he said Abraham was before John â—nd that the least in the Kingdom â—i e. of the Quakers was Greaâ—er than He. Greater indeed When as is shewn hereafter near the â—nd of Sect. V. and of Sect. XII G. Fox was Ador'd with the Epithets and Worship of Christ And that Blasphemous Vulpone took it Gravely without any Reprehension but on the contrary with Delectation stroaking his Hand over their Faces as his Custom was who kneel'd or fell Prostrate before him But because the Friends call always for an Instance tho' the Case by never so common I will to oblige them go a great way back and name Ann Gargil who when G. Fox came first to London threw her self upon her Knees betwixt his Feet and cry'd out to him Thou art the Son of tâ—â— Living God! S. B. another Quâ—ker now alive was present aâ—â— confesses she was struck with that Blaâ—phemous Expression At another time a She-Preacheâ— arose in a Publick Meeting anâ— with a Trembling Voice anâ— singing Tone thus accosted G. Fox then present Thou art the King of Saints Whereat another Quakeâ— Woman being offended did expostulate with her after the Meeting anâ— her excuse was that it was not to G. Fox she spoke those words but tâ— Christ who was within him thâ— same Distinction which all Idolater use for Worshiping their Idols Anâ— which G. Whitehead uses in thiâ— same Case as you will see hereafter at the close of Sect. XII And the same wou'd excuse Simon Magus for being call'd The Great Power of God Act. 8.10 That was more modest than our Magician who was call'd The Christ himself and not only His Power or Virtue Simom desir'd only That the Holy Ghost might be given by his Hands
Acts 8.19 but George Magus own'd no other Holy Ghost than what was within himself of which he was the Possessor and Owner These have far out-strip'd their Master For Simon Magus was the Father of the Quakers Socinians and all the rest of the Anti-Trinitarian Hereticks He first Blasphem'd against the Holy Trinity slighted the Scriptures Epiphan Haer. 21. Iren. Advers Haer. l. 1. c. 20. denying the Law of Moses to be from God set up Magic Idolatry and Sensuality In all of which he was not more follow'd by the Gnosticks than the Quakers as I think I have sufficiently shewn I hope without Exception unless it be that sometimes I do not name every Voucher and sometimes set down but the two first Letters of their Names which is but seldom and then only when they were not willing unless upon necessity to clear the Truth which they will not refuse to have their Names expos'd to the Fury of the Quaker-Spirit which throws so much Dirt upon any who dare oppose them that no Man tho never so Innocent wou'd desire to be so bespatter'd which is the Reason given by the Ingenious Author of The Third Part of the Quakers Quibbles Printed 1675. why he did not let himself be known And may be one Reason why they have not yet attempted any Answer to that Book alone I think I may say of all that have been wrote against them being depriv'd of their beloved Topick which they use instead of Argument to Vilifie and Discredit all that is in their Power the Good Name of any who writes against them Let the Reader take this for one Reason if he please tho' I say not that it is the only one why the Author of this small Treatise has not troubled the World with his Name For he desires no stress to be laid upon who says but upon what is said Besides he thought it needless to tell his Name to these Gentlemen with whom he has to do because as hereafter Quoted p. 71. George Fox says That they the Quakers have an Infallible Judgment to judge Personâ— and Things Which yet has not discoverâ—d to them the Author of The Quakers Quibbles and this Author may perhaps escape as well tho' his Concern is not great if it prove otherwise But this by the bye To return to Edw. Burrough p. 47. of his Works determines clearly that the Scriptures are not now of any Authority at all to us at this day Why Because they were Commands given to others and not to us For example That the Epistles to the Corinthians bound no other Church that to the Galatians had respect only to those of Galatia and so of all the rest And that the old Prophets were only to be hearkened to at that time by those particular People or Nations to whom they then directed their Prophecies For it being objected that the Quakers held this pernicious Principle That the Saints were not to do Duties by or from a Command without but from a Command within and that the word Command in Scripture was not a Command to them till they had the word within them Burrough owns and justifies it I answer says he That is no Command from God to me which he Commands to another neither did any of the Saints which we read of in Scripture act by the Command which was to another not having the Command to themselves I Challenge an Example of it they obey'd every one their own Command and thou or any other who goes to Duty as you call it by Imitation from the Letter without which was Commands to others your Sacrifice is not accepted but is Abomination to the Lord c. Here it is made Abomination to the Lord to obey the Command of Scripture or to live by Imitation as he calls it from the Letter that is not to follow our own Imaginations without the controul of Scripture or any other Law This is the same Principle which is hereafter p. 156. related from Mr. Penn and almost in the same words That what was a Command of God in old time that is in the Scriptures is not so to us unless requir'd by the same Spirit Anew Here the whole Authority of Scripture is at one blow cut down For no Command in Scripture is by this Rule obligatory unless it be Commanded Anew by the Quaker Light within that is by every Man's Roving Imagination and if it be Commanded by their Light within then they think that it is Dictated by the same Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures of old and upon that account only that it is obligatory but not because it is contain'd in Scripture which was only a Command to those in former Ages but not to us who have another Rule given unto us Anew that is our own Light within So that the Scriptures are by this as much out-dated as an old Almanack And we must no longer search the Scriptures we must not live so much as by Imitation of what we find there Burrough says it is Abomination to the Lord. And therefore it was no strange thing to hear George Whitehead in his Serious Apology p. 49. Prefer not only their Writings but their Extempore Preachments and even all whatsoever they speak upon any account to the Holy Scriptures themselves The Question demanded was this Do you esteem your Speakings to be of as great Authority as any Chapter in the Bible And his Answer is in these words That which is spoken by the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and Greater And therefore tho' they have let no suppos'd contempt of their own Books go unrebuked as in the Instance before of Chandler yet we never heard of any Censure they have pass'd upon those many much grosser contempts of Scripture which daily are found among them Particularly that we may always name some Instance of Mary Tucker a Quaker Servant to William Reyman a Barber now living in Queen-street Cheap-side but formerly in Bread-street where this Mary then his Servant took the Bible and in the open day publickly Burnt it against the Church in Bread-street to shew her Zeal Pursuant to this their Principle in their Disputes among themselves they appeal to their own Writings instead of the Holy Scriptures Thus when in their Publick Meeting at Philadelphia upon Sunday 11. Dec. 1692. G. Keith was Accus'd of Heresie See Heresie and Hatred before Quoted p. p. in saying That the Light within was not sufficient to Salvation without something else i. e. Christ Jesus as without us And that G. Keith desir'd to have that Pretended Heresie prov'd against him by Scripture it was Reply'd by Sam. Jennings as the Mouth of the Meeting we are not to prove it from Scripture but from Friends Books for the Question betwixt us and George Keith is not who is the best Christian but who is the best Quaker And indeed they did rightly distinguish betwixt the Christian and the
our Salvation by our own Abilities So very Insufficient is the Light within us even tho' follow'd to the utmost by its own strength to carry us to Heaven And therefore the Quakers Preaching up the Sufficiency of the Light within as all of them but the Separatists do is not only highly Derogatory to the Satisfaction paid by Christ for our sins But it is Blasphemous in ascribing to our selves a Power sufficient to work out our own Salvation whereas no Wisdom less than Infinite cou'd have found out the Means nor Power less than Infinite cou'd have Effected our Salvation And tho' we are Commanded Phil. 2.12 to work out our own Salvation that is to perform the Conditions which are requir'd on our Part. That does not make the Light within the Efficient Cause of our Salvation or give it any Title to Infallibility more than ver 13. of the 4th Chap. in the same Epistle can Entitle us to Omnipotence because St. Paul says there I can do all things But if any cou'd pretend to Infallibility from the Countenance of some Texts in Scripture they will be found to have the best Title to whom the Quakers wou'd most unwillingly grant it For it is Written Prov. 16.10 A Divine Sentence is in the Lips of the King and his Mouth Transgresseth not in Judgment If either Pope or Quaker cou'd shew such a Text for either of their Infallibilities we shou'd never have done with them I fansie I hear George Whitehead answering of this Text thus That Kings Lips and their Mouths were only made Infallible by this But that they might Transgress in their Hearts and with their Hands and make Signs with Head Eyes or Feet for Unrighteous Judgments or Subscribe tho' not Dictate wicked Decrees If he think that this is making too bold with him I learn'd it from himself in his Sheet call'd A Charitable Essay Printed in Answer to Fr. Bugg's New Rome Unmask'd there p. 6. he Answers the before-mentioned Quotation out of G. Fox that they the Quakers cou'd discern who were Saints and who Apostates without speaking ever a word and he puts it off Ingeniously thus That they cou'd discern it by their Lofty Looks Wanton and Scornful Eyes Envious and Fallen Countenances And so without speaking ever a word What! Do you think that the Quaker Infallibility is limited to speaking only they can make an Infallible Judgment of Men's Hearts and tell who are Saints and who Devils by very Winks and Glances But if Envious and Fallen Countenances be such sure Marks of Devils I wou'd advise some Friends to go to the Dancing-School and learn a more Gentle and Graceful Mien For it wou'd be a sad thing to be made a Devil of for scrouling down ones Head or their Hat hanging over their Eyes Therefore George Hold up thy Face and look like a Man Come be Brisk and tell me by Yea and by Nay is not this very hard Fishing for Infallibility Thou and thy God-father Fox can know a Saint from a Devil without speaking but not without a little Mincing and Prinking if Thee but once see him Peep or Trip it through the Floor a turn or two Thou couldst spy the Cloven Foot presently Alas Poor George Is the Infallible Quaker dwindled down to a meer Gypsie or Paltry Fortune-Teller to nothing but a little Skill in Physiognomy Ah! George What a Blessed Spirit wouldest Thee have thought Satan if Thee hadst seen him when he was Transform'd into an Angel of Light Thou hast seen him George so Transform'd and hast so mistaken him But smaller Juglers than he can easily deceive these Infallible Physiognomists In the very Dawning of the Quaker Light when their Infallibility was spick and span new before those Miserable Flaws which have been since Discover'd in it in the year 1655. the very year after Quakerism came first to London there happen'd a Notorious Detection of George Whitehead's Infallibility by Signs and Faces as well as of George Fox's without speaking ever a word For so it fell out that a Precious Brother one Char. Atkinson being in Prison in Norwich for the New Faith in the Infallible Light prov'd Carnally Fallible in Darkness with a Dear Sister the Maid of Thomas Symons who was likewise one of the Infallible Now these put so good a Face upon the matter that neither by their Lofty Looks Wanton and Scornful Eyes Envious and Fallen Countenances were they discover'd Nay tho' there was some suspicion of it and as R. Hubberthorne tells some other Infallible Friends J. N. F. H. and E. B. in his Letter from Wramplingham Dated the 9th Day of the 5th Month 1655. while as Hubberthorne saith in the Wisdom of God we were searching it out and in his Will waiting for his Counsel Yet all this notwithstanding and that in his said Letter he desires that George Fox may be acquainted with it and names George Whitehead too by Name whose Letter to the foresaid J. N. F. H. and E. B. Dated the 9th of the 5th Month is added to the abovesaid Letter of Hubberthorne's in the Copy which I have seen I say notwithstanding of all this neither G. Fox G. VVhitehead nor any other of the Infallible Gang cou'd find it out till Christopher Atkinson Pricked as he said with the stings of his own Conscience did freely and of his own accord confess it and Sign'd a Paper of Condemnation of himself for this wicked Fact Dated in Norwich Gaol the 3d Day of the 5th Month 1655. and gave it as an Act of Penance and of the Sincerity of his Repentance to three Friends John Stubbs VVilliam Cotton and Tho. Symons But these not regarding the Sacredness of the Seal of Confession or being not acquainted with it and fearing that this wou'd be known and so reflect upon the in-errable Society and preferring their own Honour to the Honour of God and the Restoring of a Laps'd Brother did resolve to Reveal his Confession and then Renounce him which they did and pretended that it was by the special Direction of God by sending his Paper of Confession to the Magistrates tho' they thought them to be the Children and Rulers of Darkness which was under-written in these words The above-written being declar'd to me I am mov'd of the Lord to make it known to you that are the Rulers of this City that the Truth of God may be cleared and he to bear his own iniquity who hath done this wicked Deed which is hated of them that dwell in the Light This from me Tho. Symons But now how do you think they contriv'd to salve their Infallibility that cou'd not find out this of Christopher Atkinson till he told it himself Why most Cleverly As we have it in another Letter of the above R. Hubberthorne to E. B. F. H. Ger. Roberts and the rest from Gissing the 5th Day of the 5th Month 1655. wherein he ascribes this Confession of C. A's to a miraculous Force upon him from God and against his
own Will And therefore we are left to suppose if we please that it was obtain'd by their Prayers His words are these VVhen it was intended by them Christopher Atkinson and the Maid to have been hid they were forced from the witness of God in them to Declare it and own their Condemnation And here was a greater Miracle than if they had found it out of themselves if they could prevail with God to force the very Guilty Parties to confess it against their own Wills And therefore no thanks to them And therefore these Quaker Confessors were not bound to Conceal the Confession which C. A. made to them in Prison nor to seek to Restore him but rather to Drive him farther into Despair by quite throwing him off and disowning him There was much more tender Regard shew'd to some Young Women who had given a Confession in VVriting to John Bolton of their Frailty in the Flesh as is told in the Spirit of the Hat Printed 1673. p. 43. but it was hush'd up because as the Quaker Author Declares it touched many Eminent ones in the Ministery who from day to day resorted unto them and giving them these Appellations Innocent Lasses and Daughters of Sion Instances can likewise be given of some of their She-Preachers whom they call Traveling Friends that went abroad to propagate the Faith and to settle the Churches who got something in their Journey which made them Propagate and Travail even according to the Letter It is not good Manners to name Names upon such an Occasion Yet if the Friends will plead Ignorance something may be done for their Satisfaction But let the shame lie at their own Door It is but ask and have But we may make a little more bold with the Mens Infallibility And I will not go to Mean ones The great James Naylor was brought upon his Knees before their Church where George Fox Presided to acknowledge his Failings And I saw in George Fox's own Hand this Sentence against James Naylor viz. Friends shall not be judged for judging of him J. N. This was preserv'd by one present among many others when he wrote it This James Naylor suffer'd himself to be Hosanna'd into Bristol as Christ was into Jerusalem And I have told you before of G. Fox's ascribing not only the Names and Titles of Christ but his Power and Virtue to himself and others of their Preachers Invoking and Worshiping him as God in the Stile and Attributes of God These are much more dreadful Failings than those before spoke of of the Flesh than those of W. W. of Hallelujah Fish the Saints know whom I mean and several others whom I cou'd name And I had not mention'd one single Person if it had not been against Pretenders to Infallibility which Plea leads us Naturally and Necessarily into this sort of Redargution as giving a Man a Fall is the shortest and plainest Conviction that he is not Almighty And I am very sure that all the knowing among the Quakers will believe that it was meerly the necessity of the Argument which forc'd me to expose the Failings of any for that if it had proceeded from any Inveteracy or Malice Catalogues might have Been produc'd instead of single Instances here set down and those at great Distance But I hope what has been said will be sufficient and then it has reach'd my Purpose to cure Men of this most mistaken pretence to Infallibility grounded upon the Infallibility of the Spirit of God as if nothing cou'd proceed from Infallibility but what was Infallible or from Omnipotence but what was it self Omnipotent But tho' God Omnipotent and Infallible did Create all things that are yet there is VVeakness Error and Sin in the World Of all which there is not any Instance so great as of those who deny this who are not sensible of their own VVeakness and Fallibility but pretend to Perfection and that even Infallible But let such consider that it is a just Judgment from God to give up those to follow their own Imaginations who of their own Heads durst presume to leave those Guides the Bishops of the Church under whose Government God had plac'd them and to rend the Body of Christ by a causeless and Desperate Schism So that even their Error may in this Sense come from God that is as a Judgment upon them And for this cause says St. Paul 2 Thess 2.11 God shall send them strong Delusion that they should believe a Lye And if the Prophet be deceived Ezek. 14.9 I the Lord have deceived that Prophet And it was the Lord who put a Lying Spirit into the Mouths of Ahab's Prophets 1 Kings 22.23 Now whether it be such a Spirit or not which is in the Mouths of the Quaker Prophets we have a plain Rule whereby to know Deut. 18 20 21 22. The Prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my Name which I have not Commanded him to speak even that Prophet shall die And if thou say in thine Heart how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken VVhen a Prophet speaketh in the Name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Prophet hath spoken it Presumptuously thou shall not be afraid of him Here is a plain Touch-stone which cannot be mistaken And the case of the Quakers is so hard that if we can prove but one False Prophet among them the Infallibility of all and every one of them must be a Deceit because as above-quoted out of Ed. Barrough the Infallibility is asserted to belong to every one of them in particular And I need not Travel far to find Instances undeniable upon this Head But I will be as merciful in Exposing them as I can Therefore without telling Names the Friends do know that there is a Quaker Glover in Cheapside London who had his Till Robb'd and that a Quaker Prophet came to him and told him he was sent from God to Reveal to him in the Name of the Lord that his Maid Servant who was likewise a Quaker was the Person who had Robb'd him The Maid being thus Charged stood resolutely in asserting of her Innocency But the Prophet endeavour'd to bear her down by his Prophetick Authority and bid her not deny it for she was seen do it Who saw me said the Maid The Prophet reply'd with a Monstrous assurance The Lord saw thee This prevail'd so far with the Glover that he had his Maid before a Magistrate who was persuaded the more to terrifie her to send her to Newgate where she was threatned with the Irons or put in them But nothing cou'd extort any Confession from her and having no Evidence against her at length she was dismiss'd from the Prison but her Master the Glover believing the Prophet turn'd her out of Doors Had that poor Maid been either Threatened or Flattered into any Confession here had been a Prophet as great as
Elijah But however the Prophet stuck to his point and those who were so inclin'd believ'd him rather than the Maid But Alas this Story did not end here For the Devil ow'd some Body a shame And these Quaker Prophets resolv'd to try their hands round since they had begun and see if they could terrifie some or other to Confess to their Infallibility and then all the Nation shou'd have been Deafened with their Miraculous Gifts In order to this soon after the Glover had turn'd off his Maid as above-said there came to him in the Power and Spirit of the Lord as he Blasphemously pretended one John another Quaker Prophet and told him that as God sent Prophets to the Children of Israel so had he even now Prophets among his People that he was a Prophet sent to him from the Lord and did pronounce to him in the Name of the Lord God that his Apprentice then present was the Person who had Robbed him The young Man the Apprentice tho' a Quaker knew his own Innocence and therefore did boldly before his Master confroâ—â— this Prophet and that with so much assurance and such Circumstances as overcame the Prophet's Confidence who thereupon own'd to his Master and to him that he was mistaken in the Person for that it was not the Apprentice who had Robb'd the Till The Glover then asked the Prophet if he had spoke of this to any The Prophet said Yea to one Robert a Friend and a Shooe-maker in Martins near Aldersgate Then said the Glover Thou canst do no less than to clear my Apprentice to him which he promis'd to do And away went the Apprentice with him to see his Reputation vindicated When they came there and the Quaker Shoe-maker had gone with them into a Room the Prophet being loath to fall to his work sat silent Humming and Groaning as if moved by the Spirit till the Apprentice having waited very long minded him of the end of their coming there and related to the Shooe-maker how the Prophet had confess'd himself mistaken in charging the Robbery upon him and had come there on purpose to own so much before him the Shooe-maker because he had aspers'd him to the Shooe-maker And therefore desired the Prophet to proceed and perform his Promise But the Prophet having bethought himself gave no answer but continu'd in his Humming posture The Shooe-maker seeing the distress of the Prophet interpos'd very seasonably and said to the impatient Apprentice Perhaps he desireth some longer time to consider of it And turning to the Humming Prophet said Doest thou not John Yea cry'd the Prophet hastily finding himself reliev'd And the Apprentice was forced to return to his Master without the satisfaction which was promised But on the contrary John the Prophet upon second thoughts found it best to stick to his Infallibility and therefore return'd to the Glover and repeated his Charge in the Name of the Lord against the Apprentice But after this the Robber was taken Robbing a Till at another Shop and among other of his Robberies Confess'd that he had Robbed the Till of this Glover Then was this Prophet again confounded And nothing left to the Friends to salve up the Deceit of this Prophet otherwise than by concealing it But they see it is not conceal'd nor a great many more Instances which if they will join Issue upon that point shall be produc'd Only for the present let me mention one yet more Notorious and Remarkable mistake in a greater Prophet and Preacher of theirs call'd Solomon Eccles And the Proof is not Hear-say but under his own hand in a Letter of his which he did not send but carry and deliver to a Fellow Quaker of his one John Story who was one of the Opposers of the Womens Preachings and the Jurisdiction of the Womens Meetings set up by G. Fox as an Ordinance of Christ This Letter bears Date the 1st Day of the 1st Month 1677. and is Printed by Thomas Crisp another Quaker Opposer of this Prelacy of the Women in their Church in his Babels Builders c. The first Part Re-printed at London 1682. Where he likewise tells us that for the greater Solemnity Solomon Eccles carry'd with him two Eminent Friends and Espousers of G. Fox and his Party to be present at his delivery of his own Letter to this Back-sliding John Story in which Letter being Usher'd with so great Ceremony after very sharp Reprehensions to the saiâ— John for opposing himself to their Great Apostle G. Fox he Denounces thus This is the word of the Lord to thee says he That this Year shalt thou John Story die because thou hast taught Rebellion against the Living God Note That as T. Crisp tells us in his Book above-Quoted this John Story was at that time ill and not like to live long And to Men possess'd with such Enthusiasm as the Quakers are and Languishing under the Infirmities of Sickness such a Cordial as this administred with such Circumstances of Terror might have wrought the Effect it fore-told which in all probability was Solomon's Design and if he had not liv'd to see himself prov'd to be a False Prophet he might have been hang'd for a real Murtherer But this John Story liv'd about four years after this to the Eternal Confusion of the Quaker pretence to Infallibility But that is not all If losing their Plea to Infallibility were all they wou'd still stand upon the Common Level with other Men. But now it is made apparent that that Spirit which possesses them is the very Spirit of Lyes which is the Spirit of the Devil and consequently that their Light within is Darkness and then as our Saviour said O how great is that Darkness How Great indeed to see a miserable Wretch possessed with the Devil pronounce his Delusions as the Immediate Revelation of God with a This is the Word of the Lord. And the same horrible Blasphemy is in all pretended Extraordinary Inspirations from God O therefore let those Christians beware who are led away with Pretences to the Spirit in any Men not only Against but Beside that which is Written Who break the Unity of the Church which Christ calls the tearing of his own Body to pieces and forsake the Communion of their lawful Bishops whom Christ has left as his own immediate Representatives and Vice-gerents and as the Principles of Unity in their Respective Churches upon pretences of Extraordinary Inspirations in those Teachers whom they have heaped to themselves For Extraordinary Inspirations are not to be Credited unless vouch'd by Miracles which God always sent to attest to his Extraordinary Commissions And if they are pretended to come from Him and are not then it is a Demonstration that they come from the Devil And let us take this one Mark more to judge when such Inspirations are from God or from the Devil Those from the Devil generally tend to Schism and Rebellion as in that of Jeroboam and the Ten Tribes who broke off
exclaim'd against any Church assuming Authority over any Man 's Private Spirit or his Light within as Anti-Christian and Diabolical and gave this as the Reason of their Separation from the Church of England And yet now Condemn the Pretence of the Light within others who Separate from them Nay more they flie to the Brachium Seculare when it is on their side for G. Keith and other of their Separatists were try'd before Samuel Jennings and other Quaker Justices of Peace at their Sessions in Philadelphia c. and some of them were Imprison'd for Printing and Publishing Defences for themselves without Licence tho' it be their daily Practice in London most if not all their Books Here being Printed without Licence they Issu'd Warrants one is inserted in the above-nam'd Narrative New Englands Spirit of Persecution c. p. 4. against the Printer and Publishers of a Vindication of Georgâ— Keith and his Separatists Entituled An Appeal from the Twenty Eighâ— Judges to the Spirit of Truth c. The 28. Judges were 28. oâ— their Ministers who had pass'd Sentence against G. Keith at Philadelphia the 20th of the 4th Month 1692. As a person without the feaâ— of God before his Eyes c. Anâ— they Published a Paper of this Judgment against him In Answer to which came out the abovesaid Appeal for which the Printer William Bradford was Apprehended and put in Prison and his Letters seiz'd whereby he was disabled to support his Family and at last forc'd to quit that Countrey and fled to New-York and one John Mackcomb a Taylor was prosecuted for Dispersing one of them his Name is inserted in the abovesaid Warrant And Sam. Jennings was one of the Five Justices who Sign'd the Warrant But the Pretence in the said Warrant was for Reflecting upon Their Majesties Justices of the Peace in the said Appeal for some of these 28 Ministers who judg'd George Keith were likewise Justices of Peace as the abovesaid Samuel Jennings c. Yet how severely do they inveigh against Ministers in our Church being Justices of Peace But this double Capacity of Justices and Ministers serves them in stead in other matters as in the Case of the Sloop above-mention'd But I must not omit to acquaint the Reader that the ground of this Prosecution against G. Keith was his Preaching Christ without or a Personal Christ in Heaven besides the Light within which he said was only the Spiritual presence of Christ by his Light and Life in all his Children Upon this G. Keith was accus'd for Preaching Two Christs i. e. a Christ without besides the Christ within And so Denying the sufficiency of the Light within which Light the other Quakers say is sufficient without the Man Christ Jesus This Sam. Jennings after their manner of mumbling Thistles will not Confess but dare not Deny If they took no Offence at Preaching a Christ without and thought this not derogatory to the sufficiency of their Light within Why was G. Keith accused for this and nothing else What need was there for the Ministers of the Quakers as Thomas Fitzwater and Will. Stockdale to appear as Witnesses against G. Keith for Preaching that Doctrine and no other even as his Adversary Sam. Jennings himself gives the Account Why was this the business of so many Meetings and of so great stir among them and at last of an open Separation if the Quakers do in good earnest believe in a Christ without them or in a Personal Christ who suffer'd and dy'd for us and now Reigns in Heaven in the same Body For G. Keith is not so much as Accus'd for Preaching any thing else but this And I think this as good as a Demonstration That however they endeavour to mince the matter they do not Really believe in any other Saviour than their own Light within which they call Christ and so endeavour to amuse us But Reader take notice that as it is told in G. Keith's Apology above-said call'd New England's Spirit of Persecution c. p. 2. and own'd likewise by Sam. Jennings a Meeting consisting of at least sixty Monthly Meeting Members gave Judgment in Vindication of G. Keith against his Accusers T. Fitzwater and W Stockdale the substance of which was That they shou'd forbear Preaching and Praying in Meetings till they had Condemned their Ignorance and Unbelief c. But at the next Quarterly Meeting a Party withstood the said Judgment and said That the Persons being Ministers none but them of the Ministery were fit to Judge Which many says the Account thought relishâ—d too much of Popery But as above-told after this an Assembly of Twenty Eight of their Ministers met together at Philadelphia and Publish'd a Paper of Judgment against G. Keith the 20th of the 4th Month 1692. in answer to which he Publish'd An Appeal from these 28 Judges to the Spirit of Truth c. In Reply to which these Ministers being likewise Justices of Peace Issu'd their Warrants against the Printers Publishers c. as above is told Here is a many-forked and involved Infallibility one Meeting Justifying another Condemning G. Keith and all for the very same Doctrine There were in America sixteen Meetings against G. Keith and as many for him This will not only overthrow the Infallibility in each particular Person among them but even of their Churches or Meetings However their Churches or Meetings assuming an Authority over the Light within particular Persons totally destroys their Original pretence of Infallibility in particular Persons Secondly And besides this first Proof in Pensylvania there is another yet more Express and Positive call'd The Barbadoes Judgment The Dispute was this very Point whether they were to adhere to the Spirit or Light in each particular Person or to the Judgment of their Church or Meetings And it was Resolv'd as follows At a Quarterly Meeting at Ralph Fretwell 's House in Barbadoes the 23d day of the Tenth Month 1680. I desire to give up my whole Concern if requir'd both Spiritual and Temporal unto the judgment of the Spirit of God in the Men and Womens Meetings As believing it to be more according to the Universal Wisdom of God than any particular Measure in my self or any particulars with which the Men and Womens Meetings have not Unity This Judgment was subscrib'd by 39 Men and 43 Women in all 82. And the Party that sent the above-said Judgment writes thus This Paper hath been Promoted in sundry Meetings since and subscrib'd some few have Refused in Abhorrence whereof other Persuasions have Posted it This you have in Babel's Builders before Quoted p. 4. There are further Testimonies to this in some of the Quakers Principles c. before Quoted p. 14 15. where the words of some of them are set down as followeth 'T is true Friends in the beginning were turned to the Light in their own Consciences as their Proper Guide but when it pleas'd the Lord to gather so great a Number into the Knowledge and Belief
of the Truth as were in few years gathered then the Heavenly motion came upon George Fox as the Lord 's Anointed as being the Great Apostle of Jesus Christ and as one whom the Lord had ordained to be in the place amongst the Children of Light in this our Day as Moses was amongst the Children of Israel in his Day to set forth Methods and Forms of Church Government and to Establish Monthly and Quarterly Meetings of Men and of Women distinct from Men and these Meetings are since called the Church whose Counsel Advice and Judgment as occasion shall offer is to be submitted unto by every one who Professeth himself a Member of the Church And saith George VVhitehead We are to Believe as the true Church Believes c. Christian Quaker Part 1. p. 9. 1680. I was told by one present at the Quaker-Meeting at Radcliff on Sunday the 17th of February last 1694 5. that Mr. Penn having Preached and after George Keith rising up and Expounding some Scripture in another manner than Mr Penn had done that Mr. Penn stopt him and solemnly Denounced these words against him In the Name of the Lord I Pronounce him an Apostate over his Head Upon which occasion I have these few Questions to ask 1. Whether this was a Sentence from Mr. Penn himself or from their Church If the latter it comes in the Class just before-mention'd of their Church-Authority over the Light within particular Persons But if the former then here is Private Light against Private Light And Mr. Penn will please to tell us by what Authority he Pronounc'd this Sentence against G. Keith in the Name of the Lord. If by an Ordinary Commission of Succession to Christ and the Apostles by Regular Ordination That I should be glad to hear But if by an Extraordinary Commission such as the Prophets and Apostles had we wou'd desire such Credentials as they had that is Miracles Otherwise any Reason why this is not rank Enthusiasm and liable to the Sentence of those who spoke In the Name of the Lord when He had not sent them Mr. Penn owns the Enthusiasm but does not shew the Miracles for he said publickly in their last Yearly Meeting in May 1695. in Excuse or Justification of his above-said Sentence of Apostacy against G. Keith That he was then so Transported with the extraordinary Power of God upon him that he knew not whether he was sitting standing or kneeling when he spoke the words But whether this Enthusiasm proceeded from Divine or what other Inspiration will be best known from the Doctrine it supported and which was the ground of the Contest And it was thus told to me by one who was present viz. That Mr. Penn at a former Meeting had Explain'd this Scripture 1 John 1.7 The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin in this manner That the Blood was the Life and the Life was the Light within This Resolves all into the Light within which as will be further shewn they make to be the Archi-Type and Substance of what Christ's outward Body Blood and all that He did or suffer'd in it were but the Types and Shadow and so of much less Value and Consequence to our Salvation But to go on with our present matter of Fact At the fore-mention'd Meeting the 17th of Feb. 1694 5. G. Keith taking occasion to Discourse upon the above-said Text 1 John 1.7 did Expound it in a quite different manner from what Mr. Penn had done but without naming of Mr. Penn Said that it ought to be taken Literally that it was the outward shedding of Christ's Blood which cleanseth from sin and that this was not to be Resolv'd into the Light within nor to be Spiritualiz'd away from the Letter For that this was overthrowing of the Faith Upon which Mr. Penn rose up and Interrupted him in the middle of his Discourse which I am told is contrary to the Method and Freedom of their Meetings and Church-Discipline and taking it to himself and his former Exposition of that Text which is told above he inveigh'd not without great Passion against G. Keith concluded with the Sentence of Excommunication above-told and stopping G. Keith from any Reply immediately Dissolv'd the Assembly I will not here enlarge upon the Subject matter of this Dispute betwixt them because it will be fully Discuss'd in the following Sections Particularly Section 12 17 and 18. But for the present I only apply it to the point of their Church-Authority over the Light within particular persons which was their Original and Great pretence SECT XI Concerning the Authority of the Holy Scriptures THE Quaker's Refuge Printed Anno 1673. p. 17. states this as truly own'd by the Quakers in these words VVhether the first Pen-Man of the Scriptures was Moses or Hermes or whether both these are not one or whether there are not many words contained in the Scriptures which were not spoken by Inspiration of the Holy Spirit whether some words were not spoken by the Grand Impostor some by wicked Men some by wise Men ill Apply'd some by good Men ill Express'd some by False Prophets and yet True some by True Prophets and yet False And from these Suppositions he goes on and concludes that some part of the Scriptures concerning the Redemption and Salvation of Mankind were True And p. 18. That the Scriptures as above Distinguished are a true Record c. Instead of Answering these Diabolical Suggestions against the Sacred Authority of the Holy Scriptures of God and which evidently overthrow the Certainty of the whole G. VVhitehead in his Innocency Triumphant Printed 1693. in Answer to F. Bugg's New Rome Arraign'd p. 28. does own the whole by way of an Excuse for it and says That this question'd but of some words in Scripture not all But the Holy Scriptures confirming the whole of themselves one part Quoting another if the whole be not therefore True the whole must be False And we must take this to be the Opinion of the New Quakers as well as the Old because Non Asserted G. VVhitehead endeavours to solve this Ibid. p. 21. in Answer to the Quotations which F. Bugg had brought out of their Authors which call'd the Holy Scriptures by the Wicked and Contemptible Names of Dust Death Serpents Meat c. Whitehead says that was only in opposition to those who wou'd have the very Paper and Ink and Characters to be the Word of God and the Gospel wherein they were oppos'd says he Christ being the Word and the Gospel the Power of God which Endures for ever which the Books and Letters or Characters cannot Here Whitehead says that there were some Priests in the North in and before the year 1653. when those Books which Bugg Quoted were Printed who were thus Ignorant And that this was the Reason for those Expressions in these Quaker Books First This had been no Reason for these Barbarous Expressions if it had been so But Secondly I will joyn Issue with
because if what the Scripture Commands be anew required by their Spirit they are bound to obey it because required by their Spirit But if the Scripture Command the thing they are by their Principles not bound to obey it unless it be requir'd by their Spirit Anew Which is most effectually overthrowing the Scriptures and resolving all into their Private Spirit or Light within This will yet further appear in the Sections which follow But let me first give an Authority for the last thing that I have said and it is such a one as does astonish me because first it is from the ingenious Mr. Penn secondly it is where he accuses others of Mis-representing the Quaker Principles and rescuing them from such Mis-representations Reason against Railing 1673. p. 150. Article 21. he sets them down in their most Moderate and he says True sense And he averrs That what was a Commandment to any Servants of God in old time that is in the Scriptures That such are not Commandments to us unless required by the same Spirit Anew And he instances in those Elementary Types Shadows and Figures appointed as he says for a season and to pass off These are the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords's Supper which he calls Elementary Types and Figures But that they were appointed only for a season and to pass off that is not to be prov'd from Scripture which enjoins them till Christ's coming again 1 Cor. 11.26 always even unto the end of the VVorld Matt. 28 19 20. But all this signifies nothing These Commandments are not required by the Quaker Spirit Anew And so they pass off This we are sure is not Aggravated upon them Indeed Mr. Penn does in the same place find fault with those who would improve this Principle of theirs to justifie Immoralists and things inconsistent with Government As if says he that Eternal Holy Omnipresent Light with which we are enlightned did not continually declare and require Just and Righteous things at our Hands This with submission instead of an Excuse is a full Confession oâ— the whole Charge unless Mr. Penn can make it appear that the Quakers and every one of them in Particular have this Light more than other Men Or if they have it that they must necessarily be guided by it Because otherwise they may commit Theft Sacrilege and all Immoralities under this Umbrage And no Command of Scripture can Restrain or Convince them by this Latitude here granted because if they shou'd Enthusiastically Believe or Hypocritically Pretend that such Command of Scripture was not required by their Spirit Anew it is ipso facto superseded by this Principle Thus it being Objected to G. Fox that one of his Quakers had Pretended an Immediate Call from Heaven to commit Theft or Robbery Great Myst p. 77. and Sacrilege in taking out of the Church an Hour-Glass G. F. does vindicate it in these words And as for any being moved of the Lord to take away your Hour-Glass from you by the Eternal Power it is owned And if another shou'd pretend an Immediate Call to take away the Communion-Plate for that is us'd to Superstitious uses where is the end of these loose Principles Mr. Penn can tell whether he did not solicite G. W. to return a Letter Some of the Quaker Principles p. 8. which another Quaker had stoln and given to him and whether G. W. did not make this Answer That unless the Lord requir'd him he wou'd not return it again See more of this in Tyranny and Hypocr c. p. 37. But as for things Inconsistent with Government which Mr. Penn supposes their Light can never dictate I refer him to the first Section and to some of the Quakers Principles Sect. 10. to 18. These concern the Government of the State But as for Church Government I think Mr. Penn will not say but their Principles are wholly Inconsistent Have they not broke off from the Church-Government established in England and in all the Christian World And â—o they not pretend that their Light guides them in it Have they not by the same Light Rebell'd from Episcopacy which they cannot deny was in the times of the Apostles and through all Ages of Christianity to this day If they think this a Light sin let them read the 16th of Numb and see if the sin of Korah was small Or if it was for any thing else but Church-Government And St. Jude tells us ver 11. of those under the Gospel who perish in the gain-saying of Rorah But if disobedience to Church-Government be no such great matter why do the Quaker-Church treat their Separatists with such violent fury and strain their Invention to find Names bad enough for them Devil-driving Dungy Gods c. as if already smoaking in Hell Why do they charge them so desperately with the heinousness of Schism It is true indeed that the Church cannot subsist more than any other Society without Government But it is as true that the Quaker Pretence to the Private Light in Particular Persons as a Principle over-ruling Scripture and all outward Ordinances is Inconsistent with Government either in Church or State or any security from all the Dismal and Enthusiastical Murthers Rapines and Outrage of the Zealots among the Jews who went upon the same Principle yet shew'd no evil signs of it nor I do Charitably believe had at first any Evil Designs nor knew more than Hazael 2 Kings 8.13 whither these Principles would at last hurry them But if Hard Words are a Natural Presage and shew and Inward Disposition to come to Blows no People have shewn more Virilence in the First nor do I believe that they are Infallibly securâ—d from the Latter But no Tempting occasion has yet offer'd it self to them For it is a very convenient Principle to be protected by other Mens Swords without running any of the hazard our selves to enjoy the Benefits of Peace equally with others and to be freed if not from the Charge at least from the Slavery and Dangers of War It is good to sleep in a whole Skin But yet if they had a Government of their own they wou'd not part no not with a Sloop And I do not think any sort of People wou'd less encourage under their own Government their now Pretended Principle of Enthusiasm or the Private Spirit We see how violently they now oppose it in their Separatists They call any Opposition to the Orders of their Church no less than Rebellion and that against God Himself Thus Solomon Eccles told John Story in his Letter above-Quoted That his opposing the Divine Right of the Womens Preachings and Womens Meetings set up by G. Fox was Rebellion against the Living God More Instances of this see in some of the Quakers Principles Sect. 13. And they make Orders in direct opposition to the Laws and make it Rebellion against God to obey the Laws T. C's Animadversions upon G. W's Innocency Triumphant p. 16. and 30. as in the
Case of Tythes They declare all as well Payers as Receivers of Tythes to be Anti-Christs and to have deny'd Christ's coming in the Flesh And it is at their Discretion to declare any other Injunction of the Law of the Land to be against their Light and then it is Rebellion against God any longer to obey the Law in such a Case So that all our Laws stand but at their pleasure And if they shou'd declare against All Laws and Kings together there is nothing excepted from the Plenary Power of their Inward Light Do not think these for extravagant suppositions They have done as much as all I have said Their Principle is Spiritualizing And as they have Spiritualiz'd away all the Letter of the Scripture the Sacraments and Christ's Humanity so have they reduc'd Government also from the outward Administration at least of Kings when the time was that they durst speak plain Some of the Quakers Principles Sect. 10. As in Edw. Burrough's Standard c. in the Year 1658. p. 9. The Lord is risen says he to overturn overturn Kings and Princes Governments and Laws and He will change Times and Laws and Governments There shall be no King Ruling but Iesus nor no Government of force but the Government of the Lamb. And George Fox says There is that Nature that would have an Earthly King to Reign in which Nature lodgeth the Murtherer A Word from the Lord p. 15. Anno 1654. The Lord will cleanse the Land of you Rulers Priests c. and not any that rejects Christ shall Rule in England Discovery of the Enmity p. 29. Anno 1655. Now whether or no the Quakers do reckon us of the Church of England to be among those who Reject Christ I refer to Sect. 4. And then whether they think by this Rule that any such ought to Rule in England I leave to the Reader And then whether their Submission to such Govenment can proceed from Principle or Necessity In short Enthusiasts have no Principles They have no Rule but their own Fansie which is strongest in Mad-Men and this they mistake for Inspiration And then their Madness is at the height And it is inconstant as the VVind They know not their own Minds Nor can promise for themselves an hour together They are as dangerous in any Government as Elephants in an Army who if they take the Humour fall foul upon their Leaders No Libertines have done greater mischief than the Enthusiasts The Atheist and Profligate pursue not their VVickednesses with half Their Zeal and Fury If the Debauch'd stick at nothing Unlawful the Zealot thinks every thing he does to be Lawful And it cannot be deny'd No Quaker can deny but that the Principle of the Quakers is all Enthusiasm There never was any Enthusiasm in the World that exceeded it None that ever call'd themselves Christians have advanc'd themselves so high to have the same Infallible Spirit and Immediate Revelation as the Prophets and Apostles or as Christ Himself to be Equal even to God to be one Person Substance Soul with God And I do not think that any Human Government can be secure of Men in whose Power it is to screw themselves up to such Blasphemus heights of Enthusiasm and who while they make themselves Gods think their Governors to be Serpents Reprobates and Devils Raveners from Christ and his utter Enemies I here repeat the Caution which I set down at the beginning of this Discourse That I do not include all the Quakers in this But those only who having seen these Blasphemies and Delusions of George Fox and other their old Primitive Quakers will not Renounce them but seek to Cover and Excuse them and pretend still to the same Spirit that they had And what that was we shall see yet farther in the next Section SECT XII Concerning the Light within VVherein of the Quaker Idolatry THE Light within the Quakers call that Light which lightneth every Man that cometh into the VVorld They say that every Man has it Yet they will not call it Natural Reason nor Conscience It is not Conscience Great Mystery p. 209. says G. Fox But it be what it will if every Man has it it is no Peculiarity to the Quakers And yet by virtue of this Light they advance themselves above all Man-kind and Damn all but themselves as above is shewn Therefore the meaning must be That none but the Quakers do follow this Light Which they do suppose but have yet given no proof of it more than other Enthusiasts that is their own saying so and being very sure of it However I would ask them this Question VVhether a Man may leave that Light without Knowing that he does so If he may then all the Quakers have left it for ought they Know. If he cannot then all who leave it do it Maliciously For I ask again Whether a Man can sin while he follows this Light If he can then that Light may lead him wrong and so is not Infallible But if he cannot sin while he follows this Light and cannot leave the Light without Knowing of 〈◊〉 as in the first Quaere then can there be no sin of Ignorance Which is contrary to the Law for their Expiations were appointed for sins of Ignorance And it is likewise contrary to the Gospel for Christ tells of those who Know not their Masters VVill. They Know not what they do said He of those who Crucify'd Him Luke 23.34 The time shall come said He to His Apostles John 16. â— that whosoever killeth you shall Think that he doth God service And it is said 2 Thess 2.11 That â—â—ey should Believe a Lye Christ â—as foretold Mat. 6.23 That â—e Light which is in some Men that is what they take to be â—ight is Darkness And if they be so mistaken How great is that Darkness But there can be no such Mistake as our Saviour supposes iâ— the Light within be Infallible and that every Man has it and that 〈◊〉 Man can leave it without Knowing of it Yet St. Peter says to the Jewâ— who Crucify'd Christ I wot thâ— through Ignorance ye did it Act 3.17 And St. Paul says 1 Cor 2.8 That had they Known iâ— they would not have Crucify'd the Lorâ— of Glory There is no doubt but thesâ— Jews who Crucify'd Christ anâ— St. Paul too while he was a Perscutor did Think that they follow their Light within Therefore 〈◊〉 Man may Think himself in thâ—â— Right and be Mistaken which will destroy all the Quakers certainty Yes a Man may Think so and think very strongly And yet all this may be no more than a strong Delusion It wou'd make one Merry were there not too much of Tragedy in this Miserable and Destructive Error to see what pains G. Fox takes to struggle from under this Objection He repeats the Professors Objection against him in these words The Apostle Paul thought to do many things against the Church Great Mystery p. 224. and thought
Heavenly seem to imply a Bodily Resurrection but let the whole verse be consider'd and we shall find no such thing c. I will not take up the Reader 's time to repeat all his Arbitrary Interpretations They are such as will by the same Liberty be useless take away the Literal Adam and Literal Christ as well as the Literal Resurrection And I shall have occasion Sect. 17. to shew that the Quakers have Spiritualiz'd away all the Body and the Being of Christ into their Light within Indeed if the Spiritualizing Art be allow'd in this Latitude there can remain no one word of Certainty or Reality in the whole Bible or in any other Book or Writing or in any other Book or Writing or in any words that Men can speak When I urg'd to a Quaker-Preacher towards a proof of the Resurrection of Bodies that Text Mat. 27.52 53. that many Bodies of Saints arose and came out of the Graves after Christ's Resurrection and went into the Holy City and appeared unto many He made answer That that was not meant of the Literal or Earthly Ierusalem that any Dead Body arose there but of the Spiritual Ierusalem which John saw coming down from Heaven And others told me they heard the same Exposition in a Quaker Sermon at one of their Meetings Here we have Spiritual Graves Spiritual Dead Bodies Spiritual Ierusalems Spiritual Resurrection and Spiritual Christ whenever any Text pinches them Among other Names of Reproach which Mr. Penn in his Spirit of Alexander the Copper-Smith before Quoted p. 4. bestows upon one of the Separate Quakers he calls him Hymeneus and Philetus who as St. Paul tells of them 2 Tim. 2.18 concerning the Truth have erred saying that the Resurrection is past already That is they Spiritualiz'd it from the Letter and meant it only of the Spiritual rising up of Christ in our Hearts which having obtain'd as their Light within did assure them their Resurrection they suppos'd was past already and they expected no other But this St. Paul calls overthrowing the Faith And I can tell of a Preacher among the Quakers who was as confident of himself were they not all so see Sect. 8 9 10. and said that he had already obtain'd the Resurrection by Christ having Risen in his Heart and that he believ'd no other Resurrection nor expected any And G. Fox says plainly in these words Great Myst p. 214. There 's none have a Glory and a Heaven but within them SECT XIV Of the Sacraments AT the same rate they answer that Text 1 Cor. 11.26 of shewing forth the Lord's Death by the Celebration of His Last Supper till He come That is say they with Hymeneus and Philetus till His coming Spiritually in our Hearts And they supposing that He is so come there is an end of the time limitted for the Celebration of that Ordinance of Christ Tho' they cannot deny but that Christ was so come in the Hearts of the Holy Apostles and of the purest Primitive Christians and Blessed Martyrs none of whom Dream'd of the time being thus expir'd but did continue and the Catholick Church from their days to this in the Religious Observance of that Holy Institution thinking it obligatory till his coming again that is at the Literal Resurrection in the last day The same time that was limited to the continuance of the other Sacrament of Baptism Mat. 28.20 That is always even unto the end of the World as it is there said by Christ to his Apostles and their Successors Go ye and teach all Nations Baptizing them and lo I am with you that is you and your Successors in the Execution of this Commission of Baptizing c. Alway even unto the end of the World For if this be the time during which Christ promised to assist his Commission it must doubtless infer the like continuance of the things requir'd in the said Commission And I wou'd fain know from any Quaker why Teaching does not cease as well as Baptism since both are in the same Commission and the time of Continuance spoken equally of both And the necessity of Baptism greatly inforc'd in the same Commission Mark 16.16 Go ye into all the VVorld He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved And upon the Quaker Pretence to Infallibility and the unerring guidance of the Light within every particular Person why shou'd not all outward Teaching cease as well as Baptism For what need of Teaching to Infallibility And is not Teaching an outward Ordinance as well as Baptism And to last only till we are Taught And does not the Light within teach sufficiently The Quakers dare not deny the sufficiency of the Light within Therefore there is greater need by their own Principles for the continuance of Baptism than of Preaching because Baptism is an initiating Ordinance and therefore always to be continu'd while there are any to be initiated or Admitted into the Society of the Church But Teaching does of its own Nature cease when Men are sufficiently Taught Therefore to those who hold the sufficiency of the Light within outward Preaching must be wholly inconsistent Yet they keep up Preaching and abolish Baptism All that can be said is That their Power of Interpretation is a very Arbitrary and Despotick Power And we must ask no Reasons Inward Baptism must supersede the Outward but Inward Teaching must not even to those whose sole Foundation is the Inward Teaching Let me here add one Observation for the sake of those who pretend that the Baptism which is spoke of Mat. 28.19 Go ye and Teach all Nations Baptizing them c. was meant only of the Spiritual Baptism or the Baptism with the Holy Ghost Let me observe to those That Christ only is He who cou'd Baptize with the Holy Ghost The Holy Ghost is His Gift only To say that Man cou'd bestow God which the Holy Ghost is is the highest Blasphemy Men indeed are made Ministerial Officers by whose Hands Christ does bestow the Holy Ghost in the use of those Rules and Means which He has appointed And Simon Magus himself understood it no otherwise Acts 8.18 19. He desir'd only to be made such a Ministerial Officer through whose Ministry the Holy Ghost might be given And in all the Gospel there is no such Command given to any Apostle as to Baptize with the Holy Ghost Nor is it said that any of them did Baptize with the Holy Ghost That is the Peculiar of Christ himself and spoke Characteristically of him alone John 1.33 They indeed were impowered as John to Baptize with Water which being duly Administer'd and Receiv'd according to Christ's Institution He has promisâ—d the Spiritual Baptism with the Holy Ghost to go along with it but as His Gift not as the Gift of his Ministers by whose Hands He pleases to convey it Therefore if the Quaker Interpretation of Mat. 28.19 do hold it will follow That the Apostles and their Successors have power to Baptize with the Holy