the question now but if you will not tell me where he dwells then tell me his name that I may find him out What call you his Name Qu. His Name is called The Word of God Rev. 19. 13. Mu. What a strange man are you what an Answer is this why do you answer so crosly I took you for a wise man once but are you not now turned fool But I have heard of such a Name well if his Name be called The Word of God it is a far better Name in my opinion than Solomon the King but I hope you will not be angry for Quakers do not use to be angry Qu. Nay I am not angry with thee one whit for thou hast spoke the Truth and there is witness born both in Heaven and in Earth to this Name for he whose Name is called The Word of God is a far more excellent Name then Solomon the King for every Name and power in heaven and earth shall bow and must bow to this Name Read Acts 4. 12. Phil. 2. 4 10. Mu. But pray Friend doth he prick Plain-Song or Intableture for if he prick Plain-Song I do not fear but I shall learn it Qu. He pricks very plain for every Note is as easily seen as a white Sembrif or Minnom John 16. 15. Mu. Truly I am glad to hear that you Quakers speak comfortably sometimes though it is but seldom it joys me much for now I hope I shall learn that Lesson that God is well pleased with But where doth he prick his Notes Qu. He pricks at the Heart and brings his pure Light into the Conscience that thou and all the men and women in the world may read yea that they that run on in their wickedness may read because the Book of Conscience is open that all men may see how 't is with them and may come to see who they have pierced And thus men begin to mourn their parts and their wives apart and this takes more in the ears of the Lord than all the Babylonish Worship and Musick in the world Acts 2. 37. Zech. 12. 12. Mat. 5. 4 Mu. Now wo is me is it come to this my hopes are frustrated Is there no way but I must come in at this door Well I do perceive that the Quakers preach not for gold nor silver for if you did you would never preach after this manner for who can take any pleasure in this Doctrine I see now what you drive at for when Peter preacht to the Jewes he told them that they had murdered and betrayed him whom God had made both Lord and King And when they heard this they were pricked at their hearts crying out Men and Brethren what shall we do Truly I do believe there be but few Musitians that ever learnt this Lesson Qu. Mind the gift of God in thy heart Christ Jesus the true Teacher and prize thy pretious time that it may be blessed to thee remember how that he hath waited on thee long O prize the long-suffering of the Lord for it is high time for thee now to return Rom. 2. 4. Mu. Would to God I were of any other Calling for I verily believe that God will overthrow all pleasant things and all false Worship I am sorry I have lived so vainly Bap. I could like the Quakers well if they did not despise the Ordinances as Water-Baptisme and Bread and Wine which are the two Sacraments Qu. Who gave you Baptists Commission to Baptize men and women with Water God never sent you yet you run but God sent John to Baptize with Water and some of his Apostles did it in their freedom and who gave you Commission to eat Bread and to drink Wine The Lord Jesus gave it to his Disciples but whose Disciples are you Ye please your belly and your Faith is of things that are seen but we look not at the things that are seen for they are Carnal but the things that are not seen are Eternal But Bread Wine and Water are seen No marvel that you love good Bread and good Wine and cry them up for Ordinances but if in its place you would put bread of Affliction and water of Affliction till he came and come every First Day to eat this bread of affliction and water of affliction you would not cry up your Ordinances so much as you do neither would you have the tenth part of Communicants as you have Are you not ashamed to intrude into those things you have no Commission for Poor David would not meddle with things that were too high for him Psal 131. 1. But when did you Baptists witness Davids state My tears have been my meat day and night Psal 42. 3. And again I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping Psal 102. 9. And when did you Baptists fast till men might tell your bones as some of the Quakers have done Are you any better than Queen Elizabeths Fidlers that turned the holy sayings of David into Meeter Hymn and Verse O be ashamed and come to the Light and that will let you see how you have lept above the Life of Christ and his Disciples Come down ye exalted Spirits to the lowly Seed and Learn of him that is meek and low in heart Bap. Did not the Lord command his Apostles to Baptize all Nations in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Qu. Yea that he did But who gave you Commission to Baptize any Besides you are blind Guides indeed to go and Baptize with Water and bring the Apostles Commission for it and there was no Water at all in it And Christ himself Baptized none with Water for he was not sent to Baptize with Water but with the Holy Ghost And Paul was not sent to Baptize with Water but to Preach the Gospel But you Baptists were never yet slain you never yet put on the Lord Jesus Christ When did you put on his Sufferings and Sorrows and how are you killed all the day For if you were slain with Christ from the Rudiments of the World why as living in the World are ye subject to Ordinances Surely you do not believe that Christ is come Gal. 3. 27. Bap. Nay We do not believe that Christ is come though we do believe he did once come but we look for him to come the second time Qu. He that believeth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is Antichrist and thou sayest thou dost not believe that Christ is come because thou lookest not where he is manifest in the flesh but thou lookest for him without And Is not Christ in thee except thou be a Reprobate 1 John 4. 3. Col. 1. 27. Bap. Doth not the Text say Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up to Heaven this same Jesus which you now see go into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye see him Qu. Friend Leave off thy gazing for they were reproved that gazed But come
personal appearance or by a vocal voice that may be heard by the outward ear Mu. Then we must all conclude that he teacheth invisibly and in silence if not by voice nor personal appearance to the outward eye nor outward ear and by this methinks you seem to justifie the Quakers Silent-meetings Qua. We ask no favour of him nor thee nor any man living to worship our God neither any mans counsel or approbation whether we are in the right Worship or no but by way of Argument because the Worshippers in England do wonder and gaze so much at us in our Silent-meetings Now if the Devil do teach his to lye and swear by an evil spirit who is the father of all lyars how much more may the true God who is blessed for evermore teach his and lead his into all Truth as it is said and they shall all be taught of God Isa 53. 13. and in silence as to the outward ear the enemy of mans Salvation teacheth his all ungodliness may not the Lord that good Spirit teach his in silence to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts And as thou hast said and hast said true That the Devil is a spirit and comes not to man to speak to him by personal appearance or a vocal voice to mens outward ear but yet he layes baits before the eyes of their minds and snares to murder and to commit Adultery to steal and rob over-reach cheat and cozen and may not the Lord teach his to do to all men as they would be done by For where I my self had done wrong before Conversion came the Spirit of Truth brought it to my remembrance again where I had over-reacht and cheated and made me to make restitution again this teaching I witness and made me pay back again many a pound and that with advantage also Oh! I commend the teaching of the Spirit above all teachings O glory be to his Name for ever Exod. 22. 3. Numb 6. 7. Mu. Well but my Friend I cannot pass you by any longer pray let me know why you forsook so good a Calling Qua. While I was taught of men I could follow it viz. When the Church of England was govern'd by Episcopal Order I could follow it and call'd it the gift of God and when I became more strict a Presbyter I made a trade of it and never question'd it at all and after that I became an Independant I could follow it and when I came further and was baptized with water and eat Bread and Wine with them about the year 1642. they encouraged me in it and some of them had their Children taught on the Virginals but I went further and was an Antinomian so called and then I could teach mens Sons and Daughters on the Virginals and on the Viol and I got the two last years more than an hundred and thirty pounds a year with my own hands and lived very high and perceived that the longer I followed it the greater in-come I had but when Truth came I was not able to stand before it the Lord did thunder grievously against this practice and I would fain have pleaded the harmlesness of it but no pleading would serve it was nothing but vanity and vexed the good Spirit of God O it was hard to flesh and blood to give it up for it was not only my livelihood but my life was in it Now the Witness of God did often smite me for it before I could yeeld to the Lord to give up so that sometimes it put me to a stand and then reasonings arose whether it was a lawful Calling and while I with the wrong thing strove to prove it lawful that pure thing that was sent of God it took away my peace from me O the goodness and forbearance of the Lord to me for what was I that the Lord should strive so with me lest I should have gone on to my everlasting destruction Then was I at a stand what I should do for a livelihood but the Holy-One caught hold on me and said Am not I alsufficient give up for I have a great work for thee to do But my life was so much in the thing that he made me to feel his sharp Sword which divided between me and my lovers Mu. But Friend you undervalue Musick too much 't is true that if in case you had been a Fidler it had been no great matter if you had cast it off but to teach mens sons and daughters on the Virginals and on the Viol it is as harmless a Calling as any man can follow How say you Sir Bap. Truly I do not see but he might have followed it still as he us'd it and as you say me thinks it is a very harmless Calling there is sufficient proof of Scripture for the lawfulness thereof only in this one thing the Quakers must be singular Qua. I have heard divers men and some of all Religions and almost all people especially those of the Universities do highly commend Musick but O the Truth the Spirit of Truth nor the Children of Truth can never bear it but Truth and her Children do trample it under foot 't is Babylons Musick and down it must and shall for ever And since I through the good hand of God had an eye open in me to see where I stood I soon sided with the Truth and stood off from the reasoning part and then the Zeal of God rose up as hot as fire and I greatly loathed my self to see what cursed ground I stood in and I reckon it a happy day that I was redeemed out of a vain practice Acts 19. 19. Mu. But prethee thou mad Quaker hold a little for thou wrests the Scriptures as many of you do to your own destructions for they were Magicians not Musicians that burnt their Books of great price Qua. That which taught them taught me to deny ungodliness and will teach all that will turn to it to deny ungodliness and curious Arts and is not Musick a curious Art wilt thou deny it Mu. T is true Musick is a curious Art but will you say 't is ungodliness take heed what you say lest you pull an old house upon your head for we are no Fidlers but are sober men and in a sober Calling and that which delights the ears of Kings and wise men and grave sage men and the honourablest men and women in the Nation do highly esteem of Musick Qua. That which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination to the Lord reade Luke 16. 15. And why dost thou make such a difference between those called Fidlers and you who call your selves Musicians for my own part since I came to the Truth it self I do see indeed that I being a Teacher in Musick it might have this stile above the other for I count it was a civil Devil and the Fidler more prophane but both are for the Lake that practise it except they do repent Mat. 9. 23. Rev. 18. 22. Mu. Are they
sin because he is born of God And John said he should have boldness in the Day of Judgement because as he is so are we saith he in this Life Bap. But doth not the Apostle say We and others speak after the same manner Qu. Yea for instance James said We as well as John In many things WE sin all But James was not in the many things but in the one Seed the Anointing and could sin no more than John And again he said We For saith he with the tongue we bless God and with the tongue we curse men made after the Image of God But did James Curse men Mu. God forbid For I believe that James was a very honest man and would not Curse men Jam. 3. 9. But pray Friend why did Paul say The good that I would do I do not and the evil that I would not do that do I Qu. Truly Friend that was a good state to cry out being under the sense of a body of sin and to feel sin exceeding sinful I verily believe there was such a day with Paul but the Lord brought him out of that state as he said For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath set me free from the Law of sin and death 'T is so Rom. 7. 24. 8. 2. Bap. Why do you Quakers hold falling away For once in Christ and ever in Christ and so sin past and present and to come is done away Qu. How can Baptists fall away from the Truth that are not come to it or fall from Christ who are not in Christ For I testifie in the Spirit of Truth that there is as great a gulfe between you Baptists that are not in Christ and those that are in the Truth as there was between Abraham and Dives But they that are in Christ and do abide in Christ are his Disciples But they that are in him and do not abide in him they will be cast forth as a branch and so it withereth and men cast it into the fire saith Christ Jesus John 15. But if thou couldest make that good That sin past present and to come is put away thou wouldest be a friend to the Ranters and to the old Apostates and so make the sayings of Christ and the Prophets of none effect But thou and they will find it otherwise except ye repent And I know also though I bear you no malice but wish that you may be delivered from wrath to come and that you may come to the Righteousness of Christ by true repentance towards God and faith through our Lord Jesus Christ there is an antipathy in you against the truth of God and Gods friends called Quakers For in times past I had been delivered out of Prison had it not been for a Baptist-Chair-Man But Paul was in the same condition when he was Saul for he thought verily that he must do many things against Jesus of Nazareth which thing I did in Jerusalem and many of the Saints did I shut up in Prison and when they were to be put to death I gave my voice against them Acts 16. 6 10. And this I say in the fear of the Lord not sparing any whoever they are that are and shall be found workers of Iniquity they must depart from him although they may be called Quakers yet if they go from their stedfastness and from the Truth and become such as forsake the assemblings of themselves together as some do and have done such are gone from their first Love and have damnation Yea and if such do not speedily return and witness repentance they are in danger to sin against the holy Ghost for such Crucify unto themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame yea such trample under foot the Son of God and count the blood of the New Covenant an unholy thing by which they were sanctified Notwithstanding such did taste of the heavenly gift and of the power of the world to come Such were in the dayes of Old who were called The Sons of God And the Sons of God went in to the Daughters of men and were drowned with the wicked Gen. 8. 2. Ezek. 16. 22. and 34. 7. Heb. 6. 6. and 10. 25 26. Mu. But truly Friend 't is pitty that so many good men that are in England and other parts who fear God for I am perswaded that there are some good men among the Baptists and Independants the Presbyters and Episcopal yea and Papists too that are very strict men and serve God instantly and what are they all cast away because they are not Quakers Qu. Why call'st thou them good there is none good but God and they that are taught of God and do hear what the Spirit of Truth doth say to them and obey it and such their praise is not of men but of God But as to the fear of the Lord that is very precious God will bring such to the Truth from out of all the barren places For God is no respecter of persons but in every Nation he that feares God and works Righteousness is accepted of him I say such will God bring to his Everlasting Truth as he did Cornelius But as for the generality of those men thou spakest of They have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge For there is one thing that God doth require and they despite that one thing so their Prayers cannot be heard Rom. 10. 2 3. Mu. Pray what is that One thing which makes them uncapable of acceptation for methinks 't is great pitty that so many good men as I call them should not be accepted Surely you judge too hardly Qu. I dare not daube with untempred morter for where they are I was viz. in Performances in Ordinances in Family Duties in Hearing in Reading in Prayers in Fastings in my own Will and all this was Will-Worship but when that One thing came which is needful I became very poor and needy and I do find and therefore do testifie for God that while men are in their natural state they cannot please God nay all men rather are displeased at that of God in their own hearts though they may think themselves never so Religious For Paul said That he thought verily that he was to do many things contrary to Jesus of Nazareth Well but when I came to bend my mind to that of God in me which is Christ his pure Law in my heart shewed sin to be exceeding sinful and then I began to learn to be a fool insomuch that I durst not give thanks for the Victuals that were set before me Psal 39. 2. Rom. 7. 13. Mu. Truly then you were unworthy of it in my judgement for we must give thanks and praise God for all his Benefits Lord what sad People are you Quakers I did never hear such a word before Qu. Ah Friend Gods wayes are not like mans wayes neither are mans teachings like unto God's teachings for when the Lord comes his Commandment is
Silence all flesh and that Tongue which could Preach and Pray and give Thanks must come to know a Bridle from good words and bad words Even as David said I kept silence even from good words though sore against my will For I had often praised God with that tongue that had told Lies before Truth came and Truth brought its Bridle and tied me up so I gave up that to the Famine which was for the Famine and with my tongue I had often called God Father before that was born that should call him Father as many Professors do this day but when they shall turn to the One thing that is needful and part with all for that One things sake then the broken heart will rise then no sleep to the eyes nor slumber to the eye-lids till that be felt born that comes to do the will of God and before this time or about this time men come to sit down and reckon what it will cost them for all is to be given up within and without and such come in at the right door yet were it not for the mercy of the Lord we could never hold out Luke 14. 28. Now we come to witness the saying of the Lord Jesus Without me ye can do nothing For indeed the way is very strait and the gate narrow but God hath laid help upon one that is mighty and he hath met us to go before us O blessed be the Lord Mu. But doth not the Lord say Buy wine and milk without money and without price Then why dost thou tell us of cost and charges Is not the grace of God free Qu. Yes verily yea and the Testimony of the Lord is true for no gold or silver can buy the Truth yet it is to be bought for saith Christ who is the Wisdom Buy the Truth and sell it not Prov. 23. 23. Mu. This is strange Doctâ—ine and methinks you are a strange People and your Language is strange and your Carriage strange You stand much upon Thee and Thou and Yea and Nay Qu. Come to the Witness of God in thy own particular and thou shalt know the reason why we are so fearful to displease the Lord Oh when the fear is over the heart lest we should offend with our tongue we are safe And as for thee and thou we had never learnt it except the Lord had taught it us for I could willingly have spoken the old Language which was from the Pope You to a particular but the Language of the Spirit is thou to one and you to many as thou mayest read from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelations though I could willingly have gone miles about than meet my old Companions to speak the plain language to them And as I was faithful in a little the Lord made me stronger and stronger But when I said to one you the Lord would smite and judge me for it And as yea and nay are faithfully performed in the power of the Lord and to stand faithful to it Men will as soon take our yea or nay as others Bonds But these little things cost me and others very dear and whoever will be his disciple he must not despise the day of small things but must take up the daily Cross and follow him This is true Mat. 10. 38. Mu. Indeed I have heard in the Gospel that we must seek the Kingdom of Heaven first and the Righteousness thereof and all other things shall be added That is a very plain Scripture but who is able to do so Surely but very few Qu. Many in this day of the Lord have denyed all and have taken up the daily Cross and have followed him and are well satisfied in what they have done Glory for ever be to the Lord Mat. 5. 20. Mu. O the way to heaven is a very hard strait and narrow way and few there be that find it What will become of me vile wretch Qu. That which presents thee vile in thine own eye and in secret reproves thee for sin O love that Rev. 3. 9. Mu. Friend Pray for me for now I begin to hate my self and my Calling but how shall I love that which reproves me would you indeed have me do so how contrary is this to our Religion Qu. Take heed to Gods Witness and give up to obey it and own the indignation of the Lord as David did because he had sinned against him So the Light of Christ will let thee see thy sin But believe the Light and follow the Light and look not so much at the sin as at him who will save thee out of the hands of all thine Enemies For a mans enemies are they of his own house But as thou mindest the Light it will judge and condemn sin and raise a desire in thee to do the will of God and thou must have a care not quench that desire Mu. Truly I think there is something in me I cannot be at peace nor at quiet for it and sometimes I am grievously affrighted Qu. 'T is the Witness of God this was my case once Give up in obedience to him and love his Reproofs for the reproofs of Instruction is the way of Life 'T is so Prov. 3. 11 12. Mu. Well Friend I have strove much to oppose you though in my self I have been reproved for it for I do believe that both God and good men love the honest Quakers But if I and all men do oppose you yet you go on surely there is a miraculous hand upholds you that you so hold your integrity truly Friend I have a good mind to hear you but I would not be seen Qu. 'T is meet for thee to try all things and hold fast that which is good but thou must not be afraid of men if thou wilt be a follower of Christ Take heed and agree with thy Adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him and he with thee Mat. 5. 25. Mu. But I have read that the Devil is my Adversary must I agree with him Qu. Nay Thou hast been at agreement with him too long already but thou must agree with him that reproves thee for thy sin and look well to thy precious time while the Spirit yet strives with thee and let all people take heed of deferring their time But hearken to his voice while it is called to day For now is the acceptable time now is the day of Salvation for Gods long-suffering waits to be gracious as it did in the days of Noah Therefore haste haste come out of all uncleanness and of all false Worships let all men take heed how they withstand their day for Gods Spirit will not always strive with men lest it should fail before him and the souls that he hath made S. E. THE END