Therefore the Psalmist does not Appeal here to the mixt multitude of Jews much less to all Mankind but to those alone who fear'd God And these undoubtedly were transported with holy Joy at what he related to them How much more will they be so in the like Cases who believe truly in the Son of God For they who are always remembring the sweet Commands of Mercy and Love which the Gospel of Peace breaths out continually they who have always before their Eyes those Holy Examples of Goodness and Charity which our blessed Lord left us will also have a tender Concern upon them for the Good of their Neighbour especially in what relates to the Salvation of his Soul and therefore will rejoice to see him Recover'd from the very brink of Ruin to behold him turning back when just falling into Eternal Damnation 't is to these then alone that we Appeal at present in the Words of the Text Come and hear all ye that fear God c. 2. Let us consider the Publickness of that Acknowledgment which he design'd to make and his Earnestness with them to Attend to him Come and hear and I will declare unto you Tho' David was a very great Prince and the Sins which he fell into were very great both in their Nature and their Circumstances as being against much Knowledge and long Experience of God's Goodness and therefore the more Shameful yet He is always ready to make a Publick Confession of them as He does particularly in the 51 Psal upon the Matter of Uriah But Humane Nature generally is very Averse to this whither in Returning from Error to Truth or from Vice to Virtue With what strange Confidence do some Men Value themselves upon the foulest Vices With what Impudence do others Scoff at all Religion and Blaspheme the Son of God! With what Harden'd Obstinacy and sullen Bitterness do others again Break thro' all the Laws of Modesty and Charity to bear their Testimony to the Grossest Errors but if thro' the Mercy of God they become sensible of this and cool by Degrees from the Violent Heats of Debauchery or Enthusiasm and are Willing to Return again to themselves and to their God yet how full of Fear and Shame are they With what Caution and Privacy do they Proceed What care is taken to secure their Honour or cover their Reputation lest they should be Censur'd for want of Judgment or Levity and Inconstancy But how Unreasonable is this The want of Judgment surely was Discovered at first in the falling into Error nor in the Disclaiming it so the Levity and Inconstancy was Notorious in the Turning out of the Right way into every Dirty By-Lane and mistaking the Hot Vapours of a Distemper'd Brain for the Light of Revelation To persist in an Error for fear of being Censur'd by Weak and Wicked Men for leaving it is Obstinacy not Constancy 't is the Walking on steddily to Hell in Compliance to our Acquaintance for 't is not only making Reason Useless but doing despight to the Spirit of Grace denying the Holy Jesus while we pretend to profess Him and putting Him to Open Shame to secure ones own Reputation Whereas if Men considered things impartially if they reflected as they ought to do upon the Majesty of that God whom they have offended how much his Honour and Glory suffers by any Wickedness but especially by foul Apostacy and Enormous Crimes how the Saving Name of Jesus is expos'd to the Blasphemy of Atheists and Infidels while People Embrace such Doctrines as make Void his Cross and Render the Blood of the Covenant shed there a common or Contemptible thing If I say they wou'd be sensible of this then sure the least that they can do wou'd be to acknowledge publickly that they are so In Quarrels which happen between one another before Company To ask Forgiveness in Private is not look'd upon as sufficient Satisfaction but this must be as Publick at least as the Injury was Alas shall we proceed so nicely in the little mistakes between Brethren and Fellow Christians and yet Scruple to do any thing of this Nature after we have been Guilty of the Greatest Sins of Deserting or Rebelling against the most High and most Holy God The use of this is twofold 1. That since Men are so generally averse so very much asham'd to own their Errours and this still the more the greater those Errours are Where People Break thro' these Difficulties to own in the Face of the World Errors of the Grossest kind we ought to be satisfied of their Sincerity and Conclude with ourselves that they do that upon mature Deliberation and firm Resolution which they chuse to do before so many Witnesses 2. That what is so done and must be so acceptable to God ought to Raise our Value and esteem for such Persons and Restore them as well in Justice to themselves as for the Encouragement of others not only to our good Opinion but our Friendship and Affection for who is there that does really fear God himself that wou'd not Run forth in Holy Joy to meet any mistaken Christian Returning to His Duty that wou'd not Embrace him with the most tonder Compassion and Love and Praise and Magnify with him the Father of Mercies forasmuch as this their Brother was Dead but is alive again was lost but is sound This I am persuaded Every one wou'd Gladly do when they consider Attentively the Greatness of the Benefit Receiv'd which is our 3d. Point The most Important indeed of all included in these Words what He hath done for my Soul As this concerns the Psalmist the Benefit for which He Praises God was as may be seen by the Verses following God's Accepting of his Humiliation and Prayers and Restoring him to the Peace of a Good Conscience But to bring this directly to the Case in Hand Namely the Greatness of the Mercy which this Person hath Receiv'd together with these others his Friends and Acquaintance here Present and to move you to join with them in Praising of God accordingly it will be necessary to shew you the Greatness of that Danger which they have been in and the monstrous Errours which the People call'd Quakers with whom they lately joined are fallen into concerning the Fundamental Articles of our Faith This will be done most fairly and Impartially by Quoting to you their own Words in several Remarkable Passages taken out of such Books as were Written by their first or chief Teachers and are still own'd by them such I say as I have perus'd and Examin'd Diligently my self and most of them with others upon a Particular occasion Whereas then it is most plainly and positively affirm'd in the holy Scriptures That Jesus Christ the Son of God was Conceiv'd of the Holy Ghost made Flesh and Born of the Virgin Mary That he was put to Death upon the Cross That thro' his Blood-shed there we have Redemption That as he Died for our Sins so he Rose
deny'd To say this Christ is God and man in one Person is a Lye C. Atkinson's Sword of the Lord drawn p. 5. 4. Concerning Christs coming to Judgment take this one alone from G. Whitehead above-mention'd now living Dost Thou Look for Christ as the Son of Mary to appear outwardly in a Bodily Existence to save Thee according to thy works If Thou dost Thou mayst look till thy Eyes drop out before Thou wilt see such an Appearance of Him Nature of Christianity p. 29 30. These are some of their Horrid Blasphemies concerning the Fundamentals of our Holy Religion and the Chief Articles of our Creed which notwithstanding all this They Pretend to Own and to this purpose have publish'd as they have been taxt with these Impieties some Accounts of their Faith Deluding the Ignorant and Covering themselves by Applying to their Christ within which is their Constant way of Equivocation whatever We say of our Christ without Meaning I say always that what they affirm concerning Christ is perform'd as to His Birth Sufferings Resurrection and Ascension as these are necessary to Salvation within every true Quaker The Holy Scriptures teach us that the True Object of that Faith which Justifies is Christ Jesus manifest in the Flesh Both God and Man That it was necessary that a Spotless Sacrifice should be offered to appease the Justice of the Father that it being impossible any man should be so perfectly innocent as to make Atonement for others or that God should suffer as God He took the Nature of Man upon Him as to its Substance in all Respects Excepting Sin alone that He Suffer'd and Dy'd Rose again and ascended in the same Nature and that we obtain Forgiveness by the Merits of his so doing without any Merits of our own But by Applying by the Assistance of the Holy Spirit and a Lively Faith what He did Thus outwardly inwardly to our Souls For They teach further that as a Proof of the Sincerity of this Faith and as a means of Holiness of Life We should by the Influence and Operations of the Holy Spirit which God has Promis'd to the Faithful imitate Christ in the several Parts of what He did for our Redemption by Dying Unto Sin by Rising again to a Life of Righteousness by ascending also after our Saviour by Setting our Affections on things above on himself especially the Great and Glorious Object of our Love Duty and Adoration Now what is thus done is not performed by Christs being Personally in any one of Us but by the Influences of the Holy Spirit moving and concurring with us nor would it be of any Benefit to us were it not for that which Christ did and suffered for Us All these operations in and of the Soul would according to the Covenant of Grace contained in the Gospel signify nothing at all for the attaining Eternal Salvation but only as they depend upon the Merits of that Blood that Humane and Material Blood shed by Christ at Jerusalem But the Quakers are for the Inward only What is done in the Soul they Reckon to be done by Christ Himself embody'd as it were and Personally in them upon which Ground G. Fox accepted and defended with Blasphemous Pride the Adoration which was given Him They teach that Christ is actually Born and suffers in every one of them in order to His being a compleat Quaker Thus they make Void the Cross of our Gracious Redeemer and destroy all the Substance of Christianity which Evaporates by this means into a Vain Allegory And the Consequence of this is that they Utterly Reject Christs outward Ordinances His Blessed Sacraments and despise the Holy Scriptures unless when they think 'em of their Side till their Wild Enthusiasm ends in a Blasphemous Pretence to Sinless Perfection Infallibility and Equality with God Their Errors in these particulars 't will be necessary to lay before you also and that I shall do in the same manner as before by producing their own Words 1. As to the Holy Sacraments or Outward Baptism This they call Idolatry a Carnal Empty Shadow c. as in the Treat above-mentioned Son of Perdition Reveal'd by G. Whitehead and E. Burroughs p. 26. All may see what Idolatry He J. W. their Opponent is in about Water and How he is Muddled in His Confusion tho He without just Cause is offended that we count their Baptism a Carnal Empty Shadow or low thing that God is gone out of tho it be both True and Apparent enough since they make such an Idol of it and Practice it either without immediate Command from Heaven or motion of Gods spirit for it The same Burroughs again Collect. of his Works p. 190. To say that sprinkling Infants with Water is Baptism into the Faith of Christ is the Doctrine of Devils And G. Fox their Founder Your Baptism and Sacraments as ye call them and all your Ordinances and Churches and Teaching is Cain's Sacrifice Their Sacrament as they call it is Carnal their Communion Bread and Wine is the Table of Devils and the Doctrine of Devils p. 14. News out of the North Written from the mouth of the Lord from one who is naked and who standeth naked before the Lord cloathed with Righteousness whose Name is not known in the World risen up out of the North which was prophesy'd of but now is fulfilled called George Fox 2. Concerning the Scriptures Dust is the Serpents meat their Original is but Dust which is but the Letter which is Death So these Serpents feed upon Dust which feed upon all those carnal things and their Gospel is Dust Matthew Mark Luke and John which is the Letter News out of the North p. 14. the Cursed Serpent is in the Letter Truths defence by R. Hubberthorn p. 102. This alone is too much upon this Head 3. Concerning Sinless Perfection A tittle of the Law is seen not to be broken this saith G. Fex is Known in Us Great Mystery p. 310. Upon that of St James In many things we Offend all mark in the many things we offend all but we are come to the one thing Christ Jesus the End of the many things and in Him there is no sin and who is in Him sins not who put an End to the many things that must End and Change Great Mystery p. 309. An Admirable Comment And in the Abundance of this Vanity Mr Penn objects to us Truth Exalted p. 9. Reprinted 1671. the Praying from Seven to Seventy Have Mercy upon us miserable Sinners Which Mr Whitehead seconds with Great Charity and Humility Alas poor Sinners It 's not a sign of Laughter at them but rather of Lamentation and Pity over their miserable Estate who are always confessing but not forsaking their Sins Truth and Innocence p. 15. and upon this ground George Fox Expostulated with some of the Ministry many years before Are ye not worse than the Lawyers and Physicians taking the Peoples Money and Yet cannot make them perfect men Great
Mystery p. 268. Again as to Their Infallibility Who witness these conditions that they were in that gave forth the Scriptures they witness Infallibility an Infallible Spirit Which is now Possessed and Witnessed among those called Quakers Glory to the Highest for ever Oh Horrid And a little after I say the Devil False Prophets Antichrists Deceivers which are the Names they give to all that differ from them or write against them none of these can witness an Infallible Spirit But being out of the Spirit that Christ the Prophets and the Apostles was in they are not Infallible as they were but with that they are all Judged out Gr. Myst p. 105. But of themsemselves they say again Our Giving forth Books and Printed Papers it is from the immediate Eternal Spirit of God to the shewing forth the Filthy Practices of the World's teachers Truths Def. p. 2. And George Fox speaking of other Preachers says they are Conjurers and Diviners and their teaching is from Conjuration which is spoke from the mouth of the Lord and the Lord is against all such and Who are of God are against all such Sauls Errand to Damas p. 7. Lastly Concerning Equality with God They that have the Spirit of God meaning themselves are equal with God He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit there is Vnity and the Vnity stand in Equality it self F. Howgills Work p. 232. He that hath the same Spirit that raised up Jesus Christ is equal with God and the Saints have the same spirit in measure for Gods Spirit is but one Saul's Errand by G. F. p. 8. Which he confirms in another place the Assemblies Catechism says The Holy Ghost and Son was equal in Substance und Power and Glory with the Father What says he then all that have the Son and the Holy Ghost hath that which is Equal in Power and Glory with the Father G. Myst p. 248. These are some of the Errors which this Unhappy and Deluded People are led into I mention not their Blasphemies against the Holy Trinity and their Scorn and Contempt of the Civil Power but for a further account of these and other Errors recommend to your Perusal that Excellent Book called The Snake in the Grass with other Writings of the same Author upon this Subject Also what the Learned Mr Keith has published since His Retractations And now Brethren Who is there in all this Company whose Blood has not been chill'd with a Sudden damp of Horrour at the very Recital of so many dreadful Blasphemies and who is there that has so little fear of God or Love for his Neighbour as not to magnifie and adore His Great mercy to these Persons whom He has at length Truly enlighten'd by His Blessed Spirit Recover'd from Such Errors as without Repentance might have ended in Damnation and done so much so very much for their Souls And oh that we might Ever see that Happy day When the rest of our Country-men I am sorry I cannot say our fellow Christians shall Return to Sion and build up the Walls of Jerusalem which they have made Such Breaches in Acknowledge their dreadful Errors and Give God the Glory But this is a Blessing very little to be Expected because very little Deserv'd Alas it must be confest that the Sins of this Nation are too great for it to be delivered from so Heavy a Judgment and yet the very heaviness of it ought to move us to Repentance for this is greater in itself if rightly considered than Fire War or Plague can be for those destroy only our Estates or Lives and while they are doing so often make us Better But Delusion of this kind spreads with a silent yet deadly Infection to the utter destruction of many thousand Souls And withal this particular Evil is so deeply Rooted and of so Stubborn a Kind as being Compos'd of all the Heresies of Old and fixt and settled in those it possesses by Enthusiastick Retirements by working themselves into Bitter Agonies which they call being under An Exercise and by separating themselves by a Peculiar Language Habit and Behaviour all which Sowres at last into a Hatred and Contempt of the Rest of Mankind this I say is such a Spirit of delusion upon all these accounts as is not to be cast out of this Nation but by much Prayer and Fasting By humbling our Selves greatly before the Father of Mercies for our Own Sins and then interceeding with Him in all Tenderness and Charity for their Deluded Souls And this is all the Force these are all the Arms I desire should be Employ'd against them What I have said has not been with any design to Raise or Increase any Bitterness or to Stir up Any Persecution Against them but to Shew the Goodness of God in Recovering these Persons from Such a Bottomless Pit of Error and Darkness and to Prevent others from falling into the same And what I have quoted Remains still in their Books not Retracted but Rather Confirm'd by them they Having Solemnly Resolv'd to Stand by the Testimony of their Ancient Friends Yearly Ep. 1696. meaning the Doctrines of their first Teachers such as I have recited and yet at the Same Time they have bought up All the old Editions of such Books and have left out or alter'd several passages in their New ones See the Collect at the end of the Defence of the Snake Numb 4. and as to others strain'd and tortur'd the Words a thousand Ways as some Parents serve their Crooked Children to Conceal if Possible their Odious Deformity This may be seen in the Answer to Mr Keith's first Narrative and the Switch for the Snake and prov'd Against 'em fully in Satan disrob'd the Defence of the Snake and Mr Keith's Fourth Narrative Such is the misery and folly of the Pretence of Infallibility where-ever it obtains In the Council of Trent many were for giving up some of the Doctrines which they were sensible were directly Against the Holy Scriptures and this was in a likely way of Succeeding till the Popes Creatures began to Represent How much the Dignity and Authority of the Court of Rome must be hazarded and How they must forfeit for Ever their Darling Principle of Infallibility and then all was dash'd in a moment So much more are some men concern'd to Secure their Interest than to Confess their Errors and to Gratifie their Pride than to Obey their Consciences And indeed Considering the Errors which these poor People Hold their infallibility which we have been Speaking of their Contempt of the Scripture with the Boasts of their own Perfection which are the fundamental Errors of the Papists and also the Hindring of the Common People of their Perswasion from Reading the Books of Truths Enemies as they call all that write and speak against them the Equivocations and Reserves in their way of writing to which they Retire like retrenchments as oft as they are driven from one to another and the Odd Collection of the
worst of the Primitive Heresies which are Recorded in Greek and Latin Languages unknown to their first Teachers I do not doubt but that the Missionaries of Rome have been very busie in sowing their tares among them while the Nation slept and never regarded a Sect which they thought ought to be Pity'd for their Innocence or Despis'd for their Ignorance Upon this Account it is that the inferiour sort especially Really deserve our Kindness and Compassion But most of all upon the Account of that Holy Religion which we Profess That Jesus who came in the Flesh that outward Christ which they deny and deprive themselves by so doing of the most perfect Pattern of Charity and Mercy that Jesus I say Who Requires us to Love our Enemies to Bless them that Curse us and Pray for them that Despightfully use us And indeed Never had we so much occasion to Practise this Command as they have given us But Charity is to extend to our Passions and not our Understandings and therefore the same Jesus who Commands this Commands us also to beware of false Prophets who cry Lo here is Christ or there is Christ Whither in a Wafer by Transubstantion or in a sinful Body by the light within these must be false Christs because among other Reasons they are many Christs whereas there is and can be but one but He alone Who is now interceeding for us at the Right Hand of God and Who gave us this particular Caution to direct us and prevent vain Excuses See I have told you before In order then to our Obeying it let me give you three short Rules and then I shall Conclude 1. That We should carefully beware of this Spirit of Enthusiasm which is gone out in this Age that we should be cautious How we Humour any Religious Melancholy to such a degree as to Expect continually new Revelations and when the Soul is suspended in Scruples Terrours and Amazement take every Sudden thought which Flashes in the Heated Fancy to be immediate Inspiration The Apostle St John our Lord 's Beloved Disciple cautions us with all the meekness of the Spirit of Peace Beloved believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the World 1st Epist John 4. cap. 1. One Rule He gives in the next Verse which would be sufficient to detect those we have to do withal if Rightly apply'd viz. Hereby Know Ye the Spirit of God Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus is come in the Flesh is of God and Every Spirit that Confesseth that Jesus Christ is not come in the Flesh is not of God this is that Spirit of Antichrist which was come into the World even in those days and which prevails in it too much in ours But there is a more General Rule whereby to Judge of any Spirit whatsoever and that is the Word of God Wherefore if any Pretended Prophet Rises up with a New Light and Contradicts directly all the Rest if two new Prophets rise much about the same time as Fox and Muggleton did and oppose and Curse one another affirming both with like confidence that they come from God How shall any Person judge between them and the Rest There is no Rule given to this purpose but the Old and New Testament and to these they ought to be brought for Examination if what they teach be agreeable to what is Written there 't is no new light but the better for being old if it be not 't is in Vain to plead that it is inspired by the Same Spirit by which they were wrote for that cannot Contradict itself and therefore Whoever Contradicts that must be Impos'd upon Himself or have a design to impose Upon others This Shews the Necessity of the Next Caution 2dly That we should take care How we neglect or undervalue those Holy Writings our selves or attend to those who do so Because if this be once done we have no Rule either of Faith or Practice left Us and consequently must Lye open to all Delusion and be blown about with every wind of Doctrine The Jews and Romanists set up Tradition Equal to these By which they provide an Excuse not only for all the Errors Which they have fallen into already but for All they shall think fitting to embrace Hereafter for Who can fathom or discover the dark Abyss of Tradition on the other side all Enthusiasts set up Against them the Private Spirit and all Atheists what they call Humane Reason and so Wander in their different errors or Wallow in their different Vices for Private Inspiration and Humane Reason amount to much the Same and Signifie no More but the Doing or Saying Whatever each man Pleases Wherefore we should be very careful How we suffer any doubt to rise in us concerning the Authority of those Holy Writings which Was so diligently inquir'd into and so carefully settled in the first Ages of Christianity that we should not throw away what is attested by so many miracles and by the consent of so many thousands and what is of so great importance to our Souls upon account of any Custom or Passage which may seem strange to Us but consider 'em as the Writings of Holy and Upright men who were guided by the Infallible Spirit of God and who Seal'd what they wrote by their own Blood 'T is therefore that these are Able to make us wise unto Salvation and if these are able what does there want else or is it not sufficient that they can make Us Wise unto Salvation If any Angel from Heaven that Preach'd any other Doctrine than what is to be found there should be accursed according to St Paul's Sentence Gal. 1.8 What shall we say of Any Quaker's Openings as they call their Pretended Revelations which either ignorantly wrest 'em or insolently Oppose them 3dly That we should take care How we indulge our Roving Fancies in Leaving the Service of the Church and Running up and down to Separate Meetings which I mention the rather because it was the Person 's Case who is now particularly concern'd This is dangerous Because no body can tell where it will End For when the Soul has once been Us'd to Change and our Faith becomes unsettled it Either Runs into a Contempt of all Religion or thinks none Good Enough for it and so is becalmed in Atheism or hurry'd into Enthusiasm The Church of England was not Only the Glory of the Reformation by the Purity of its Doctrine and the Blood of its Martyrs but has been the Support of it Ever Since and Faithfully and Effectually oppos'd and defeated from Time to Time the Force the Fraud and Learning of its most dangerous Enemies of the Church of Rome This Sure may be said at least without Envy And yet upon what trifling Occasions have many forsaken Her some upon private quarrels or Personal Revenge nay some because their Clothes have not been good Enough to be seen by their Neighbours or because they have not been Plac'd High Enough above them Others through meer Levity and unsettledness of temper together with a Great Opinion of themselves till having try'd all they have left all too and set up for distinct Churches of themselves Thus Divisions and Opinions have multiplied at last to such a Degree that we may too justly apply the words of the Prophet Jerem. 2.18 According to the Number of thy Cities may I not say thy Towns thy Villages are thy Gods O England Behold then into how Wretched a Condition we Are fallen What a Shame must this be to us Who have so deservedly upon other Accounts the Eyes of the World fixt Upon Us and How must this Cause the Name of Jesus to be Blasphem'd by Infidels and Atheists Hath a Nation Chang'd their Gods which are yet no Gods Hath the Jews Quitted their Law or the Papists yielded up their Worship of Saints and Images But my People have Chang'd their Glory for that which doth not Profit Jer. 2.11 for Empty Noise and Wild Gestures for Vain Pretences to Sinless Perfection and Equality with God But tho we ought to consider these things with Sorrow and Shame Yet let us consider them with Charity too Let this always be our distinguishing Character By this let all men know who are the True Disciples of the Holy Jesus And tho we ought to be Prepar'd always with Arguments to give an Account of the Faith that is in us yet all men are not Capable of Using these as they should do nor all men Capable of Receiving them But there is one that may be Us'd by the Young as well as the Old the Poor as well as the Rich and the Ignorant as the most Learned One that insinuates itself by degrees Even through Raging Passion Stubborn Pride and Rooted Prejudice and that is a Good Life Let this then be our Particular Care and Let no Disputes concerning the Grossest Errors Either Run us into a Hatred of the Persons that maintain them or into a Neglect of our own Duty And to Reflect once more Upon the Occasion of this Discourse Let all those Who Fear God Who have any Tenderness for their Neighbour or any Zeal for Gods Glory Praise Him and Magnifie Him for Ever for opening the Eyes and Hearts of these our Brethren for delivering them from such dreadful Errors and shewing so great mercy doing so very much for their Souls But Thanksgiving is never so Acceptable as when Accompany'd by Charity Therefore Let us Conclude all by Joyning together in our Prayers to that God who wouldeth not the Death of Any Sinner and Who is the God of Unity and Peace that He would Heal up all our Breaches and Divisions that He would take from those Who persist in their Errors All Ignorance Hardness of Heart and Contempt of his Word that they and we may be made all together one fold under one Shepherd Jesus Christ the Lord. To whom c FINIS