Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A57308
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The serpent's subtilty discovered in a plain answer to a lying scandalous paper, lately came from Leonard Letchford, who calls himself rector of Hurst-Pierpoint in the county of Sussex.
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Rigge, Ambrose, 1635?-1705.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing R1490; ESTC R217999
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16,680
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19
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not be rightly said to be the Devil in L. L. who sends the servants of God to prison for practising of prayer holy duties which the Lord hath led them to perform as he hath done many of late years and as for any extraordinary motions which the Quakers doth own as Christ in them which differeth from or standeth in no conjunction with the Scripture I charge L. L. to produce any such that the Quakers either own or practise or else let shame cover his face from condemning the Innocent without a cause Pr. 2. Affirmation And now he may boldly adventure to become a seducing and an erronious Devil having drawn him from the rule which is the written word which he calls sometimes the declaration of the mind of God I suppose he means to other men who are in darknesse he calls the Quakers to have recourse to some voice within him which was Saul 's delusion I verily thought that I might do many such such thingâ— Acts 26. to attend upon some new revelations and declarations of the mind of God which he hath not given to other men and which are not contained in that dull and dark lant horn of the Scriptures as they esteemed it if this Devil play as he doth with the Quaker may not the dreams of St. Frances and St. Anthony the Revelation of St. Bridget and St. Katharine come to be of higher esteem and to be preferred before the Scriptures Popery Popery is not this making way for unwritten traditions a bringing them into credit to the slighting of the written word of God Answ As for the Devil being a seducing erroneous spirit this hath been his practise many ages having drawn both the Priests and their followers from the life and power of God in Christ Jesus which only redeems out of Satans Kingdome but as for drawing the Quakers from the rule of righteousnesse or the word of God this he neither is nor I hope shall ever be able to do for it is the sword of the Spirit by which we have and doe quench all his fiery darts which either he or any of his ministers hath or can shoot against us but where dost thou read of a written word to be the rule if thou canst prove such a word by the Scriptures bring it forth now because thou hast urged that so often to make us odious who cannot call the Scripture that which it doth not call it self but a declaration we can truly call it because the holy men of God did so call it as thou mayst read Luke 1. 1 2. which plainly demonstrates that the Scriptures or writings of the holy men of God from the beginning was called a declaration And the word was God Joh. 1. 1. And Christ who was one with his Father his name was called the word of God Rev. 19. 13. And the Bereans were noble because they received the word and then searched the Scriptures Act. 17. 11. which again makes a manifest difference between the word and the writings which was first received before they could rightly search the Scriptures for if we had not received the word of God and thereby searched the Scriptures we could not have found out the deceivableness of the Priests so much as we have done And as for the Dâ—vil calling the Quaker to some voice within him this was never the Devils call but the call of God as thou maist read Deut. 30. 13 14. And it was not the word of the Devil in Paul who said the righteousness of faith saith the word is nigh thee even in thy hearâ— mouth that thou maist hear it do it Rom 10. 6 7 8. here he called them to a voice within as God called Moses as I have shewed above it was not the Devil that led Paul to say Christ spoke in him 2 Cor. 13. 3. whose voice he both heard and exhorted others to hear And to say that that was the light within Saul when he said I verily thought c. this is an absolute lye for that was the same Spirit of darkness and delusion which now leads his Successors to think they do good service in persecuting the Church of Christ and the members of it who follows their evil thoughts as he did but when he came to know the true light word and power of God this brought into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ as he himself affirmed 2 Cor. â—0 5. and then instead of being a persecutor he was persecuted by them who followed their evil thoughts and among such who now follows their evil persecuting thoughts instead of the true light of Christ Jesus the imaginations of their own brain is more esteemed then the sound Truths declared in the Scriptures and as for St. Frances St. Anthony and Bridget I know no such Saints but if they follow their own dreams imaginations it is but as the Priests doth at this day who sets up that from Scripture which bears no testimony unto it which is but meer Popery in the ground though covered with a more fair cloak Pr. 3. Affir He is in the Quaker a proud supercilious uncharitable censorious Devil to cloak and colour which he gives him leave to be outwaâ—dly and in shew a reserved and humble and grave and abstemious and abounding with sanctimony and self-denial as the most religious Monk or Hermite or the strictest Votary in the Church of Rome that he is not in lewdness like other men there lieth the foundation of his spiritual pride if he had not this boast of the Devil could not hope to make him half so like himself who is the king of pride though he never wore ribonds nor lace nor band strings to judge and censure condemn all men who are not in their way by calling themselves the blessed of the Lord the followers of the Lamb the counsel and nobility of the Royal seed is such a piece of diabolical pride and uncharitableness the devil were a very fool should he not be willing to give them the glory of that deep humility and self-denial as the renouncing of a hat band a pair of cuffs and a band string Answ Was that a proud supercilious uncharitable censorious Devil in John who said we know we are of God the whole world lyeth in wickedness 1 Jo 5. 19. was their gravâ— humbleness abounding with sanctimony self-denial to be judged as L. L. would judge the Quakers whose light so shines before men that the worst of their enemies cannot but see acknowledg to their good works yet the Devil having no just occasion against them that way to satisfy his malice to make them odious would brand them with spiritual pride or liken them to the strict votaries in the Church of Rome therby to cast dirt in their faces for which God will them judge But as for the Church of Rome time may manifest whether the Priests or the Quakers are more like to her in principle
have â—un and the Lord hath never sent you so that you have not profited this people at all as the Lord by the Prophet foretold of you Jer. 23. 21 22. who hath not turned them out of covetousnesse which is idolatry Col. 3. 5. It seems God hath given little increase to your planting waâ—â—ing this many hundred yeares that at the last you must force wages out of their hands it is a signal token that God hath opened their eyes to see how long they have spent their money for that which is not bread and how you have made merchandise of them through covetousnesse as the Apostle foretold of you 2 Pet. 1. 2 3. And now they will buy your trafficks no mâ—re which day is hastning upon you will overtake you as a thief in the night and if you were not Atheistical Ministeâ—s indeed you would make them satisfaction fourfold whom you have thus wronged And where did Christs Ministers exact or desire wages of them who did not hear them â—nd receive of their spiritual nay where do any Shop-keepers through this Nation force his commodities upon any who do not like it though his shop-doors stand open daily to sell yet if any man do not like it he may go to the next and please himself that Shop-keeper do not sue him at the Law as the Priests do for money who do not affect his wares and goes to another nay it were against reason for him so to do yet at such things the Priests cannot blush whose unreasonnâ—ble exaction far exceeds all other Merchants beside themselves Pr. 10. and last Affirmation That we may not deny the Quakers their Tenths though they grudge us ours He is in the Quaker a discontented blundering Devil not knowing how to draw up his Charge against a thing called Priest so as to make both ends hang together if among these he meet with â—ny who are blame worthy and I could wish he meet with fewer whom he might justly blame though he seem to be troubled at any kind of transgression yet what pleasure doth he take in the treading awry of the foot of any such servant of the Lord if there be any thing of trouble in him it is not because he finds such as do amiss but because he finds no more iniquity in them to open his black mouth against them if among these he meets with whose conversation seems in the eye of the world to be as unblameable as the most arrogant Pharisee among them then they cry out of them for their well doing for what the Law of God and the light within them their own rule guides them to such as the obeying the just commands of Superior powers this they must forbear to do for fear of being clamoured against for those that stir up the Rulers of the people against them when we know nothing better or more becomming us then to stir up such to be zealous in the cause of God and in the maintaining of his true worship and service how shall we ever credit that discontented contradictory spirit that rules in the Quakers who sends us to be guided by the light within us rails against us for doing what this tells us we are bound to do Answ By this it seems L. L. hath reserved nine of the Devils to himself aforementioned and hath sent that to the Quakers which he calls a discontentented blundertng Devil which had been as fit for him to have reserved to himself as the other nine not knowing how to draw up his Charge against them which he cannot do without man festing the blundering Devil which rules in him which leads him to give forth such a loathsome dish that the very sight thereof were able to turn the stomacks of all honest men both against it the maker of it but to draw up a charge against a Priest is the easiest thing of a thousand to make the ends meet together is no hard thing the scrole will be so long For by the time their covetousness pride drunkenness thievery whoredom rebellion be measured with their luxury murther cruelty which is so manifest to all men that there is scarce a County throughout this Nation in which there is not hundreds which can draw up volumes against them their actions are grown so foul odious that the ends will so meet together that he that is half blind may fasten them together But as for the Quakers taking pleasure in the Priests iniquity that is a very lye for their iniquity hath made many of their hearts sad whom the Lord hath not made sad and hath grieved the Spirit of the Lord till the earth is ready to spue them up therefore let all people take heed of partaking with them in their sins least they partake of their plagues But L. L. when didst thou hear of any of the Quakers cry out against any one for their well doing but if thou call the stirring up the Rulers to persecute and imprison the innocent well doing that is cried against by the Spirit of God throughout the Scripture for it was always the practise of the bloud thirsty Priests so to do which Christ and his Apostles cried many woes against And I charge thee to mention where ever the cause of God or his worship was defended by such weapons in all the time of the Gospel though all power in heaven and earth was committed to the Son yet he never gave such authority to any of his Ministers to inflict any corporal punishment upon any for not receiving his doctrine or whereby to defend the cause of God which he and his Ministers pleads with the losse of their lives if thou canst produce any bring it forth if not for shame give over calling it the cause of God lest the blundering Devil in thee appear unto all men not to be able to make the ends meet either by Scripture or by good reason what he hath led thee to give forth under thy hand and so put all people out of credit of that spirit that cannot defendit self without sending men to prison and when that will not serve to aggravate the Rulers against them to adde afflictions to their bonds when all that will not do to threaten to cut their throats as L. L. hath done to his own confusion and as for the Quaker sending men to a light within them and railing against them for doing that which it tells them they are bound to do what now Leonard didst not thou say in the second page of thy Pamphlet that the voice within was Saul's delusion which led him to persecute and doth thou confesse it tells thee thou art bound to stir up the Rulers c. is not Saul's spirit by thy own confession thy leader to this and not the true light of Christ Jesus and dost thou so confesse and affirm that the voice within was Saul's delusion and yet confesseth at last thou harkens to this voice and doth