Light of the Truth because he quarrels this that the Truth is made so easie plain to be discerned and the reason or ground given by this worthy Author why the Churches of Christ are necessitated to use such novelty of words if they may be so called is when the Truth is to be Defended against Rangleâ—… who deride it with Quibbles so the Old Fathers being troubled with False Doctrines were necessitated to express themselves in exquisite plainness least they should leave any crooked by ways to the wicked to whom the doubtful Constructions of words were hiding Holes of Error therefore it was that the Fathers in Confutation of Arius were necessitated in asserting the Divinity of the Son to call him HOMOUSION or Consubstantial with the Father And against Sabellius who denied all Distinction between the Father Son and Holy Ghost but what was Nominal the Defenders of Truth were necessitated to say there did subsist in the Unity of God aâ— Trinity of Persons which is most suitable to thoughâ— not rigidly the same with the Language of John There are Three and these Three are One Trinity Tres Vnes or Tres in Vno Trinity Having offered these Generals I come particularly to the Charge for asserting there are Three Persons in the God-head All that Keith would seem to Alledge is only that it is not Scripture Language whereby he would seem to favour the great Fundamental Principle most of his Brethren have been blasphemously barking against these Thirty or Forty Years and devoutly to say There are Three in One But it were to be wished that he and all of them would demonstrate themselves according to their usual boasting more skilful in the Scriptures then any of their Neighbours by declaring freely ingenuously what those Three are called that are but One God and what Substantive they joyn with the Adjective three which is distinguished in the Father Son and Holy Ghost and then they would have dealt plainly without all Popish Equivocation or Reservation which all that Read their Books and frequently Converse with them will find the generality of Quakers as guilty of as any subtile Jesuit at St. Omers For if this great and Fundamental Truth would be made plain to the Edification of the Church of God to which it is so highly necessary that God can neither be known believed in or called upon aright without it then some denomination must be ascribed and given differing from one another in Incommunicable Properties for they must either be three somethings or three nothings the former being rejected if three somethings they must be either three Gods three Essences three Parts of the same Essence or three Qualities or three Names or three Manners or wayes of Subsisting To assert to Three Gods were insufferable Blasphemy Though Josiah Coal is as guilty of as great Blasphemy in a Letter to George Fox which as it came from a Quaker was also Approved of by Pen himself in his Answer to Mr. John Faldo a Minister I lately saw in London which for the Readers satisfaction and abhorrence of all I shall here Insert Dear George Fox who art the Father of many Nations whose Life has reached through us thy Children even to the Isles afar off to the Begetting of many again unto a Lively Hope for which Generations to come shall call thee Blessed whose Being and Habitation is in â—he powtr of the Highest in which thou Rules Governs â—n Righteousness And thy Kingdom is Established in Peace and the Encrease thereof is without End Let Pen and as many as will dare to Justifie this consider the Language of the Righteous God Hâ— that Justifies the Wicked and he that Condemneth thâ— Just even they both are Abomination to the Lord. But to return To assert Three Essences were to conceal Three Essentially Distinct which were to fall in with the former absurdity To receive or be lieve three parts of the same Essence or God head which were most inconsistent with that Oneness and absolute Simplicity in the Nature of God which cannot be conceived divisible and to call the three in one three qualities or accidents were to believe accidents in God which were absurd and to asseâ—… nothing else but three Names were to fall in with the long since exploded Heresy of Apollinarius and to hold Faith repugnant to the Rule of Gods Word whence he has twice Three Names and yet asserted to be but Three only so that it must be Three Distinct Manners Methods or Wayes of Subsisting and is Termed in the Schools Ens and Modus Entis And according to the unanimous Opinion of our Reforming and Reformed Divines A Person in the God-head is whole God not absolutely or simply considered but by way of some personal Properties or a manner of Being or Distinct Subsistence haveing the whole God-head in it Vsher and Calvin call a Divine Person a Subsistence in the Divine Nature which having relation to the other is distinguished from them with Incommunicable Properties So that though the Father Son and Holy Ghost be really and essentially the same in Essence or Being yet they have something differing from one another for if the Word Joh. 1.1 had been simply and absolutely God without any thing peculiar to 〈◊〉 self it had been improper and amiss to have said 〈◊〉 was not only God but with God To which Dâ—ctrine Tertullian agrees saying there is in God a certain Disposition or Distribution which changeth nothing of the Unity of the Essence I need not heap up these manifold Testimoâ—ies both of old New Testament asserting Three in One and One in Three and if any quarrel the word person they shall find this plain Scripture Language Heb 1.3 speaking of Christ the Second Person in the Trinity saith He is the Brightness of his Fathers Glory and Express Image of his Person can any serious and illuminated Reader pass over this Text without owning the word Person to be Scripture Language and that the Father is a Person distinct in Person from God the Son for he is not called the Fathers Person Remark it Reader but the Express Image of his Fathers Person And if none must be called a Person but the Father as some Quakers have said then what was Christ's Person when Mediator having two Natures of God and man not mans personality for so Divine Nature would have satisfied in the Person of the Humane Nature which would imply no small Absurdities or he should be the Person of the Father which were repugnant to the formerly cited Text Our Mediator was without all Person And finally if the Father is a Person and the Son the Image of this Person why not the Holy Ghost a Person also and Three in One and One in Three The Next Charge is and that a Weighty one in P. 9 10. And that is for mentioning only Three Offices of Christ as Mediatour a Prophet Priest and King And that Really Savingly and only to those that Believe
a Competent maintainance or necessary Aliment by Quaker teachers however so freely and Voluntarily given without appointment of humane law and all compulsion be a Preaching the Gospel freely A True Copy of George Keith's Paper Delivered to Mr. George Layfield At POCAMOK in MARY-LAND KIND Friend George Lay-field my Dear Love in the Lord Jesus Christ Saluteth thee with Earnest Supplication and Prayer to God for thee that God who hath begun his good work in thee may perfect it until the Day of Christ and that the Precious Seed that God hath Sown in thy Heart may grow not only to be the greatest of Herbs but a great Tree bringing forth Fruit to Gods Everlasting Praise and to thy Souls Everlasting Comfort and Happiness As concerning the Catechism Published by F. M. I have diligently read and conâ—dered it and tho' it holdeth forth diverse true things yet it hath a great mixture of Error and many false and unsound hurtful things it doth contain which my present shortness of time in these Parts doth not permit me to mention in most particulars and as the same Catechism aboundeth with many Errors so it falleth exceeding short in not mentioning in the least many necessary Truths and Doctrines which are of great necessity to be taught unto people as belonging to the first Principles of Christian Religion which he altogether omitteth nor doth he in the least declare that he receiveth any one of these things delivered by him in his said Catechism from any inward opening or discovery of Gods Spirit in his Heart Nor doth he mention any one thing of his own experience of the work of God in his heart but as his Title Page sheweth his whole Work is but a Collection from others he mentions nothing in all his Catechism that people are to be turned or directed to God or Christ or the Spirit of God in them he telleth not People that it is God or Christ or the Spirit of God convinceth them and reproveth them for sins of all sorts as Lying Pride Envy Coveteousness Unbelief he doth not instruct People how they are to find God and Christ in their Hearâ—… and how they are to wait in silence 〈◊〉 mind and thoughts to hear God and Chriâ— speak inwardly unto them in their Heartâ— in the silence of all Flesh and how theâ— are to have God and Christ and the Hâ—ly Spirit to dwell and walk in them and tâ— teach them over and beyond all outwarâ— teaching he mentions very little of the Spirit at all and what he mentions of it is very Obscurely so that without breach of Charity I can freely say he is a great Stranger to the inward Dealings and Workings of Gods Holy Spirit in the Hearts of his People and whereas he mentions his Compassion over the Tender Souls in an American Desart ready to perish for want of a Vision in his Epistle to the Reader his Catechism can nothing help them in that respect for not one word in all his Catechism directeth People were to find the true Vision of God in any measure but on the contrary according to his and his Bretherens False Faith all true Divine Vision and Revelation and all Divine Inspiration is ceased since the Apostles Days both among Teachers and People and God hath committed His Counsel wholly to Writing the former ways of Gods revealing himself being ceased and they say further there is no inward voice or word of God in people but the Scripture is the only Word and only Rule all which is most false and hurtful Doctrine and doth more hurt where it is received then all his Catechism can do good And all the People in Virginia both English and Scots whom he seemeth to reflect upon for their Ignorance have the Holy Scriptures without and the Holy teachings and illuminations of God and Christ within to teach them what is needful to their Salvation if they will hearken thereunto far better then this Catehism of F M. which is defective and wanting of many Principal and necessary doctrines belonging to the Christian Faith In the first Page of his Catechism He saith God made the World out of Nothing but this is no Scripture Language and indeed in very many of his Answers he holdeth not to Scripture Language but useth the invented words of Mans Wisdom not according but contrary unto the Holy Scriptures May it not suffice to say God Created aâ— things by Jesus Christ as the Scriptures declareth without adding to the Word of God Page Third He mentions no other Teacher but the Scriptures given to men to serve and Glorify God And thus according to him all these great Nations who have not the Scriptures are wholly left without all Teaching of God to Serve and Glorify him in the least measure but this is expresly contrary to Scripture which say concerning the Gentiles who had not the Law outwardly delivered in Scripture that they did show the work of the Law in their hearts and what was to be known of God was manifest in them for God had shown it unto them and when they knew God they Glorified him not as God and Christ the Light of the World hath enlightned every man that cometh into the World and teacheth every man in some measure to serve God which is to obey him otherwise they could not have sin if there were nothing in the Gentiles to require obedience or service of them unto God It had been much better in this Authour to have instructed People that they had some other helps and means of knowledge with the Scriptures and these some outward and some inward although it is to be granted that the Scriptures are the best of all Books outward yet there is the Book of Gods Creation and the Book of His Providence over all his Creatures that are no small helps and means in their place being duely used and together with God Christ and the Spirit are inwardly present to teach all People in some things to serve God and as every one is faithful in the little more is given to them Besides that the Writer of this Catechism should have joined the spirit of God Christ with the Scriptures as the Opener Interpreter of them informing people that the Scriptures are the Organ Instrument of Gods Spirit that Gods Good and Holy Spirit is the principal Author and cause of all true knowledge of God as he doth inwardly inspire and enlighten every one and that there is no true saving knowledge of God and Christ without the Spirits Inspiration and Teaching and that how much soever people read or hear the Scriptures if they neglect or turn away their minds from Gods inward teachings by his Word Spirit and Light within their hearts they remain Blind and Dark and Ignorant of God Page Third That he saith there are Three Persons in the God-head this is not Scripture Language to say Three Persons The Mystery of the Three to wit the Father the Son and the
in him and to whom He is Actually a Saviour and that those Three Offices include All that Christ did and was Requesite to be done as Mediatour None even Kieth himself cannot deny as he readily owned at my House all was Reducible to those Three Offices which are all we have mentioned in the Scriptures and those Three are very Obvious and Plain 1. He is called and that Deservedly The Greaâ— Prophet of His Church according to that Promise of and Prophecy concerning him A Prophet shalâ— the Lord your God raise up unto you like unto hiâ— Brethren Him shall ye hear in all things And thiâ— Promise was fulfilled in his Coming and Executing this his Prophetical Office by being the Great Gospel-Preacher to his Church and People Declaring the Way and Means of Salvation by a Mediatour delivering the Will of His Father This was Prophesied also of him in Isaiah 61.1 2 3. and Hebr. 3.1 He is called the Apostle of our Profession And He is the Sole Teacher of the Mysterys of Salvation from the Father Matth. 11.27 No Man knoweth the Father save the Son and he to whom soever the Son will reveal him And this Our Great Prophet do's not always immediately else K's Teachings and all the Teachings among Quakers were most needless and vain but 1 By the Holy Scriptures Profitable for Doctrine and able to make the Man of God Wise unto Salvation 2. By His Messengers and Ministers whom he has commanded to Go and Teach all Nations and sent to give Warning to His Churches and People Therefore from their Office and Teaching called Teachers And Lastly by his Holy Spirit in the Hearts of his People where Christ dwells not Substantially as Quakers say but Spiritually by Faith and so is united by Faith tho' Locally Distant without the Presence of the things United as K. would insinuate and assert in his Paper For if there can be a Moral Union and Relation standing firm betwixt a Husband and Wife the one in Europe the other in America and a Natural Union and nigh Relation between Parent and Child much more between Christ in Heaven and believers on Earth by a Spiritual and indissolvible Union by Faith which is not an absent Christ to Believers with whom he is by Gracious and Spiritual Influences in their Hearts And K's Subtle and Sophistical Arguments from the General and Universal Presence of Christ as God to his special and Gracious Presence as Mediatour will take Place with none but Ignorant and Deluded Quakers for so the Devils in Hell should enjoy as great a Priviledge as Believers on Earth And also it is granted that he is the Eternal High-Priest of His Church who Offered and gave Himself a Sacrifice once upon the Cross for Sinners and by the Efficacious Merits of this Death renders the Persons and Services of his People acceptable unto God not only Teaching them by His Holy Spirit what to pray for as they ought but also continues an High-Priest at the Right-hand of God making continual Intercession for Believers Heb. 7 15. Wherefore he is able to Save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him seeing he ever Liveth to make Intercession for us all which is fully and soundly delivered in the Catechisms and Confessions of Faith of our Divines of the Westminster Assembly And Lastly He is the Sole King Head and Law-giver of his Church by which Kingly Power and Authority he Appoints Laws and Statutes for the Counsel and Direction of his people even to the binding of Conscience with the whole inward man in whom Christ does Rule and Reign even in and over such as subject their Souls to his Government suffering Christ to Reign over them 2 He Subdues and Conquers sinners Naturally Rebels to himselâ— making them from an Un-willing a Willing People in the Day of his power 3 In defending of his Church from all their Enemies assuring them the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against them 4 He restrains the Fury and rage of and Finaly executes his Wrath on all His and their Enemys And we never did disown that the special Fruits of all these Three Offices are wrought in the heart of Believers which is inconsistent with that Prophet Priest King in all men according to Quakeâ— Doctrine while the Scripture affirms they are Reprobate in whom Christ is not And it is plaiâ— the Quakers common Christ is not the true Mediatour and Messiah who only dwells in the hearts oâ— Believers by Faith and not of Infidels that do not so much as know by any kind of knowledge aâ—… yet they are Enlightned by him as they say with 〈◊〉 sufficient and saving knowledge How unnecessaâ—… must it be to multiply Offices in our Mediatouâ— seeing all are reducible to those Three and must he not be a Man of a Perverse Spirit and contentioâ— mind that would raise a Debate upon this head and K's Evasion and Quibble for this is extreemâ— silly and weak for saith he the Commands 〈◊〉 Gods Moral Law are reducible to two yet 〈◊〉 branched out into Ten for the first Division 〈◊〉 the Divine Commands was by God himself into tâ— Tables or two Commands yet the same Gâ—… makes the Enumeration or Divisiâ—… 〈◊〉 to ten but no such Warrant can be produced for this Enumeration or Multiplication of Offices in our Mediator for it were as impertinent and idle as if every Duty required and every Sin prohibited in every Command were a new Command and there should be thrice ten instead of ten and what must be thought of those that multiply Offices in Christ calling every thing that Christ is called a new Office in the Mediator as a Father a Shepherd an Husband Physician c. Whence he is called the Way a Rock a Door a Vine all which denote no new Offices but signifie his Richness Fulness Benefits Love and Favour to Believers denoting that Spiritual Relation to Believers and Christ's usefulness to them in all Estates and Conditions His next Charge Page 10 11. I have affirmed Christ Died or was Sacrificed for Sinners Now let any determine whether this Answer does not set forth the Fruit and Satisfaction of Christ's Death for Sinners for if he Died for Sinners and for our Sins is it not enough to us for if we had not been Sinners we should not have stood in need of Redemption and if sinners were Redeemed no others did want it And tho' he seems to reprehend it with Scripture Language yet his Charge is more obscure and defective then that he finds fault with either that quarrelled at must be true or false or deficient if true why Censured if false let Quakers speak their minds plainly if deficient there must be some for whom Christ Died besides Sinners If I have not multiplied words to humour captious and critical Quakers I hope I shall never have cause to repent it where I Studiously avoided all prolixity and endeavoured all succinctness and brevity But to return to the
in Heaven and Rt. Young one of their pretended Teachers said that he did not find Christ without in all the Scriptures and further that Christ when he ascended into the Cloud was seperated from his Body and Arthur Cook accused G. K. for saying that Christs Body that was Crucified and Buried is gone into Heaven and was and is in heaven even the very same Body which Cook and others called a Novelty imposed upon his Ancient Brethren And John Simtock asked G. K. Did Christs Bones Arise and Thomas Lloyd did object against G. K. his imposing Unscriptural Faith on his Bretheren further that Faith in Christ without us as he Dyed for our sins and rose again was not necessary to Salvation and further that Christ within did all Can any Repeat such Blasphemous expressions without horrour when they consider the deplorable case of such as are Lead and Taught by these men who openly publickly and avowedly profess their Ignorance of the true Christ which is but One and can be no other even He that was Born of the Virgin Mary Suffered in the World was Crucified without the Gates of Jerusalem was Buried Rose again with the same Body having his wounds upon him as he shewed to Thomas the Apostle after some time of Converse in the World proving thereby the Reality of his Resurrection was received Bodily into a Cloud in the open view of his Apostles and Ascended into Heaven now Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father making continual intercession for sinners the same Man-Christ that Liveth for Ever Ever shall come in his Glory with all his Holy Angels to Judge the World in Righteousness at the Last Day All which is abundantly testified in the Holy Scriptures And now whosoever Believes not in Christ nor receives him as described in the Word of God seeing he himself says John 5.39 They are they that testify of him it may warrantably be concluded they believe not in him at all therefore I leave it to others to determine what sort of Christians Quakers must needs be and also what we must judge of their Sufficient Saving Divine Light of which they have been boasting universally and magnifying them selves from above all others in the world and what do they now think of their immediate Call and Apostolick Mission seeing they discover themselves so grosly Ignorant and so much in the dark about the Foundation of our Salvation even Christ Jesus who is so fully described in the very Letter of the Scriptures And this Breach is Risen to such a height that the Railings Revilings bitter uncharitable Accusations they were wont to vomit maliciously against all the Reformed Churches are now justly turned against one another for Lloyd and his Party fly out against Keith calling him a Reviler of the Brethren Brat of Babylon Accuser of the Brethren one that alwayes endeavoureth to keep down the power of Truth drawing from the Gift of God calling him also Pope Primate of Pensilvania Father Confessor accusing him of Envy extream Passion a turbulent unsubdued Spirit Let the Authors of these make good their Charge or let them take what follows Shall ever such a man be followed by such as have given him such a monstrous Character as none but the greatest of Impostors deserve and it is observable that in all which K has Published for he has carried the day in his Prints that he has not fairly nor fully Explained himself for it wants to be determined when Christ is said to be in all men by the name Light whether he and his Party who say with all Quakers He is substantially in them believe him to be in them as Mediator and Saviour as K. seems to assert in his Grounds of Separation pag. 32 William Pen in Reason against Railing asserts the true Light with which every man is Enlightned to be sufficient for Salvation and how Pen G. K. and his Adversaries can jump again into a Knot after so plain and palpable Difference about their great Fundamental of the Sufficiency of the Light within I Leave it to other Judges to determine and it deserves observation that in their Epistle to their Brethren and their Commendation what high lofty and proud Titles of Commendation scarce applicable to men they gave to G K. as That he Walked in the Counsel of God was Lovely in that Day When the Beauty of the Lord was upon him and his Comeliness covered him and immediately with the same Breath they throw him down and look upon him as Fassen from the high Places of Israel as a man Slain in his High Places as they fix hard names upon him as formerly so he payes them home again in the same Coin calls Lloyd and his Party which are some thousands Fools Ignorant Heathens Infidels Silly Souls Lyars Hereticks Rotten Ranters Mugg letonians c So that if we were inclinable to give them Names we have no Room for they have done it to our hands themselves And I must confess they are better able than we for they are better acquainted with one another and privy to their Errors Heresies and other Hidden Works of Darkness which they have hitherto been ashamed to Publish to the World and yet it is admirable to think where these men find such a stock of Confidence as to wipe their mouths and say they have not Railed all this while but all they have said on both sides is in the uprightness of their hearts all these Names given are Truth I shall leave them so disproving neither one of Lloyds Party William Gabitas desired K to forbear Preaching Christ without seeing it gave Offeence to his Brethren as Paul did concerning Eating of Flesh an able Doctor indeed and very probable to have Christ in him who valued the Preaching of Christ Crucified no more than the Eating of Flesh and must not such Brethren as take Offence as such Doctrine be acted by a Diabolical Spirit Thomas Lloyd in a Publick Meeting affirmed no man could differ with G. K. but he was in danger of the Life of his Soul by him and farther that he had bin 〈◊〉 more vexatious Adversary to Friends then Hicks or Scanderet or the greatest Enemies sure such Untharitableness and Ranchor must have great provocations flow from no good Spirit another proud and self conceited expression of a plain Quaker Must I truckle under thee indeed it was not fit a Governour should and further G. K. affirmed That no such Damnable Heresies and Doctrines of Devis were Tolerated in any Protestant Society as among Quakers at Philadelphia if this Charge is true I am perswaded it will extend to most Quakers in the World or they must yet be in Confusion and Undetermined about their Principles Many other most dangerous Positions were urged and disputed among them savouring of nothing but Blindness and Error as one that owned no man Christ Jesus as Mediator in Heaven without him but the
Holy-Ghost who are One GOD is Great and Glorious and ought to be Reverently conceived expressed in Scripture words which the Holy-Ghost hath Taught but not in words of Mans Wisdom Page Ninth Tenth In mentioning the Offices of Christ being Three Viz. Prophet Priest and King he should have mentioned how that not only without us he did perform these Offices and now is both Priest and King in Heaven whither he is ascended but that also within us Viz. All true Believers in him he is both Prophet and King and Priest also who offereth up their Prayers unto God and by whom they have access unto God beside that Christ is not only King Priest and Prophet over his Church but Bishop Shepherd Physitian Captain and Husband c. as the Scripture declareth And that he saith Christ revealeth the Will of God to us by His Word and Spirit in Page 10. He delivereth this matter very barely and obscurely for he does not tell people where they may find the Spirit of God he doth not instruct them That the Spirit of God is in them to teach them and open the Scriptures unto them And tho' he delivereth diverse things in his Catechism concerning the New Covenant yet he neglecteth a Principal matter belonging to the same Viz. That God hath Promised in his New Covenant to teach His People Himself and to dwell in them and walk in them and that they shall be his Temple c. Page 10 11. Although he mention the death and Sacrifice of Christ for sinners yet he doth not well that he doth not hold forth that Christ died for all and tasted Death for every man as the Scripture expresly declareth which is a most great and weighty testimony of Gods universal Love for sinners Page Eleventh Tho' he say The Holy Spirit worketh faith in us and Uniteth us to Christ yet he doth this very barely and obscurely yea in contradiction to his and his Brethrens Doctrine who say all inward Divine Revelation and Inspiration is ceased since the Apostles Days if so then the Holy Spirit hath ceased to work or operate on mens hearts for his operation is not in the dark or in a blind and insensible manner but in Light and Demonstration sensibly and clearly revealing his power in them opening the eyes of their understanding and thence it is that the Spirit of God is called in Scripture the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and that Spirit worketh in true Beleivers Page Eleventh That he calleth Regeneration a New and Spiritual Birth by the Spirit of God is true but this Contradicteth His and His Brethrens Doctrine who say they have no infallible Spirit and all Divine Revelation is ceased and that there is no immediate communion with God or his Spirit which is False Doctrine and contrary to Scripture and the Saints Experience who know that as they are Born of Gods Spirit so they are sensibly Fed and Nourished by the Spirit of God and Suck the Breasts of their Heavenly Mother Jerusalem from above and feel themselves embraced by the same as sensibly as the Child feeleth the Mothers Embraces and see and behold Her Beauty hear her voice and Language and all this is Spiritually and Inwardly known and witnessed in all True Believers Again that he saith True Believers are United to Christ is true and very comfortable but is in contradiction to His and his Brethrens Doctrine who say it is Blasphemy to affirm that Christ is really in the Saints for if he be not really in them by himself they cannot be United to him for true Union requireth the near presence of the things United one to another as the Body cannot be United to the Soul if the Soul be not really in the Body and all true Believers are United to Christ in Heaven by their being United to the measure of him in themselves as the Members of the Body are United to the Head by being United to a measure of the same Life and Spirit in them that is in the Head Page Eleven Twelve He defineth Effectual Calling to be A powerful call of God whereby he calls and draws sinners out of Sin into Grace which as it is true so is in contradiction to him and his Brethren who say All inward calling and speaking of God is ceased and there is no other Voice or Word of God but the Scriptures and yet he confesseth all have not that Effectual Calling who have the Scriptures Again he concradicteth by saying that God calleth and draweth sinners out of sin unto Grace and yet in Page Twelve saith All are still sinners And in Page Thirty saith The Godly cannot keep Gods commands perfectly And His Brethrens Doctrine is that the Saints sin in every Though Word and Deed. Page Fifteen He saith Justification and Adoption are acts of God without us and make only a Relative change but no real change and are compleated at once And in Page Sixteen He saith Justification Adoption and Sanctification once had can never be wanted all which are False and hurtful Assertions and contrary to Scripture for Gods Justifying Believers is his speaking peace to them in their Consciences and Absolving them from Condemnation as a Judge absolveth or cleareth an Accused Person and surely that is within and if not within he should have told where without if he mean in Heaven thiâ— can be no assurance nor comfort to any unless it be revealed and done also within in mens hearts Again that God maketh any men to be his Children without a Reâ—change is most absurd is not Faith and Regeneration a real change and none are made the children of God but by Faith and Regeneration and again to say that Sanctification and Justification cannot be lost is moâ—… absurd and serveth to flatter people iâ— great sins yea the greatest as if they were still Saints for according to this False Doctrine David remained a Saint and perfectly Justified when he committed Murder and Adultery and at this rate the worst of men may be Saints while such but the Scripture saith No Murderer nor Unrighteous Person can Inherit the Kingdom of God but they must be washed c. But if they still remain Saints after Murder they may inherit Gods Kingdom for all the Saints are in measure in Gods Kingdom Page Twenty-four Concerning the Sabbath he expresly Contradicteth the Scripture which expresly enjoyned the seventh Day to be kept and not indifferently one of seven Page Twenty-six He most grosly wrongeth and most falsely accuseth the People of God called in scorn Quakers saying that the Quakers and all Profane Persons are enemies to a Sabbath but it is no new nor strange thing that Gods People is numbred with Transgressors of the greatest sort seeing Christ our Lord and Head was so used by men high in an outward Profession and the people called Quakers own Christ to be the True Spiritual Sabbath or Rest of all True Believers the substance and thing signified by the
retaining all the Essentials both for matter and manner waving only some occasional and accidental Circumstances therefore Administers it in Bread and Wine 2 He Reflects on us by charging us with Popish Consecrations but in this and many things else he cannot be so Ignorant as Malicious for he knows we abhor all Popish Consecration And all we do is only to Pray to God for a Blessing on the Elements that God would be pleased to vouchsafe his Gracious Presence and Sanctify the Elements of Bread and Wine making his own Ordinance Effectual for the Spiritual Nourishment of Believers and as we Eat Bread and Drink Wine so we may Feed by Faith and Spiritually upon Jesus Christ and what Popery is here let the World judge All this K has seen in our Directory for Publick Worship Lastly In his Book he Quarrels our Eating in this Ordinance so Sparingly and would seem to approve of a Plentiful Meal and a full Stomach and commend the Quantity but I am sure this is not Spiritual but Carnal Arguing to the Pampering of our Flesh and Flatly contrary to the Apprehension Paul gives to the carnal Corinthians even Eating at the Lords Table to the Nourishment of their Bodies which was a great and Sinful abuse of that Holy Ordinance 1 Cor. 11.22 What have ye not Houses to Eat and Drink in or despise ye the Church of God showing that Eating the Lords Supper is another thing then Eating at home only to the Nourishment of our Bodys for which the Holy Ordinance of the Lords Supper was never instituted FINIS A Brief Narrative of a Late Difference among Quakers begun at Philadelphia HAving in August 1692. Satisfied my Longing Desire in visiting Pensilvania I no sooner Arrived in that Government but perceived a Remarkable Difference between the Gestures Behaviour of Quakers there all others I have been acquainted with elsewhere Males and Females using that Masculine way of Bowing the Body and Alarmed with a Rent and Division between the Quakers in Philadelphia who are divided into two Factions and Partys and soon meeting with two Pamphlets Pulished to acquaint the World therewith and that by G. Keith who is the Head and Ringleader or Publick Mouth of one Party And Thomas Lloyd President and Deputy Governour head of the other Party the matter in Difference was occasioned by G. Keith his urging them to Publish their Fundamental Truths and Principles as a Confession of their Faith and Unanimously agreed upon which he saith has never been yet done and from what rent and seperation has already arisen upon the first motion of such a design is no difficulty to determine what shall Unquestionably happen before its accomplishment the points already mentioned where in the Difference Lies are weighty Fundamental and Saving absolutely necessary to Salvation As 1. Concerning the only Object of Saving Faith even Christ Jesus God-man Saviour and Mediator 2. Concerning the Sufficiency of the Light in all men to Salvation which Light they Call Christ our Saviour and that I may give a Narrative to the Word I shall give a Relation from their own VVritings also from their own Testimonies and the open and publick Discourses of both Parties I Converst with while at Philadelphia 1. I shall give an Account of what G. K. has Published in a Book called The Plea of the Innocent being a Vindication of G. K. and his Followers from the false Informations Judgments and Defamations of Thomas Lloyd Samuel Ginnings John Simcock and others to the number of Twenty Eight It happened many Months ago that Thomas Lloyd and his Party had signed an Epistle to the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings in Pensilvania East and VVest Jarsey Informing them of the tedious Exercise and vexatious Perplexity they met with in their Late Friend G K for several months past from whence the Reader may warrantably conclude two things 1 That there hath been much Division Contention Jangling and Difference among themselves ere it broke forth to publick view and no private measures of Inspired Judges could prove effectual for reconciling those divided Parties who used to take away either justly or unjustly all those Differences aâ—mong themselves about Civil and VVorldly Matters which gives to believe it was a Matter in Debate among them of another Nature of greater weight of a considerable continuance some say for fifteen Months e're that Fire of contenton broke forth into a Flame 2 That these Twenty Eight pretended Preachers at this time look on George Keith and consequently all his Party none of their present but late Friend and consequently now their Enemy and so the name Friend must no longer be a general Epithite or universal title peculiar to that Party or George Keith must be only a Late Quaker The Occasion of all this Clamour Heat is given by K. pag 2. To be an Accusation of K by W. Stockdale an ancient Quaker Teacher For Preaching two Christs because he Preached Faith in Christ within them Faith in Christ without and if this was a new thing from K. his frequent Teaching before must have been void of Christ and so Christless Sermons or if he did it was so obscurely delivered that he was never plainly understood till now But K having dealt privately with the said Stockdale but unsuccessfully laid his complaint before twelve of their Ministry in a meeting at Rt. Ewers house who rather defended and excused Stockdale then Condemned him whereby ten of these able Doctors two only diffenting became as Guilty of Ignorance Errors as Stockdale himself And next the Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia and so at length six several Meetings had this matter in debate and under their determination who gave so slender a determination at last that they all appeared rather at a stand and demurr about it K. Justly accuses them of partiality Ignorance Unbelief pag. 4. Reader all may easily perceive from the unchristian Labyrinth in which these men have involved themselves about so weighty and so plain a Fundamental how great Strangers they are to the True knowledge of the Gospel Mystery of Christ Jesus that of six several Meetings of their greatest Dons in the three forementioned Governments they are in confusion about the Christ to be Believed in for our Salvation and understand not Christ as he is Revealed in the Scriptures God Man Suffering and Dying for us whence it is evident what Christ the generality of Quakers have been hitherto believing in which is clear from the Prayer of Thomas Fittz-Watter at a Meeting saying O God that Dyed in us and Laid down thy Life in us and took it up again c. Which G. K. justly called Blasphemy if this Spiritual Man suppose Christ as God Mortal is most inconsistant with Scripture which affairms that to him belongs Immortatity and absolute Eternity both a parte ante post and by this prayer directs it to something within himself and not according to Divine Pattern to Our Father