only as an Extraordinary Inspiration for some time but as an Holy Duty And if it be such it must bind for ever Sam. Fisher in his Rusticus ad Academicos Exercit. 2. p. 18. says As for that Holy Duty it self of Quaking which as Blind a Guide and Brute a Beast as Thou thus he treats Dr. Owen in the Quaker Courtly Dialect art in speaking evil of c. Now if it be an Holy Duty then are the Present Quakers fallen from their Duty and from their Holiness If it is an Effect of the Extraordinary Inspiration of God then have not the Present Quakers such a Degree of the Spirit as the First Quakers had which I suppose they will not be willing to own For then there will be Degrees in their Infallibility And if it be once coming Down Stairs But if as in truth it is that their Quaking and Shaking proceeded from a strong Possession of the Spirit of Enthusiasm it will follow that all was a Delusion then and must be so still while our Modern Quakers take upon them to Justifie those who went before them and their Doctrines And by G. Fox's Sentence above-told all Was and Is Conjuration and their Quaking was the Possession of the Devil and the Quakers now are Inspir'd by Him and are False Prophets Diviners and Conjurers And this as G. Fox teaches must certainly be so if they have spoken any thing not only Against the Word of God but if All that they have said was not spoken from the Mouth of the Lord. Even to make it Heathenism and Idolatry to have the Image or likeness of any Ceature in Heaven or in Earth painted upon a Sign See a Treatise of G. Fox's which was surnam'd Iconoclastes And an Order of his Printed at the end of Tyrany and Hypocrisie 1673. But only a Bed-Staff Fire-Shovel Saw Fork or the like of Man's making And where he Preaches against Skimming-Dish-Hats Unnecessary Buttons on Coats or Cloaks Slit-Peaks behind on the Skirts of Womens Wast-coasts Short Black Aprons needless flying Scarfs Vizard-Masks Bare-Necks c. All which he Dictates as from Immediate Inspiration 5. But because these poor misled Quakers and other Enthusiasts among us are made to believe that the Church of England does wholly throw off all Inspiration of the Holy Spirit and rests only on their outward Forms I will here briefly set down the Doctrine of the Church of England in this Point and shew what sort of Inspiration She allows and what it is which She rejects 1st She constantly Teaches That all the Saving Graces are wrought in our Hearts by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost Insomuch that of our selves we are not able so much as to think a good Thought And that this Inspiration is as necessary to our Fructifying or bringing forth Good Works as the Influence of the Sun is to the Earths bringing forth of her Fruits That whatever may bear the appearance of Good Works in us and is not wrought by this Inspiration is not Good nor Acceptable to God As it is express'd in our 13th Article Works done before the Grace of Christ and the Inspiration of His Spirit are not pleasant to God Yea rather for that they are not done as God hath Willed and Commanded them to be done we doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin What fuller can be said for the necessity of this Inspiration And if the Quakers will have this call'd The Light within we will not Dispute with them about a Word it is the Thing and Meaning that we Contend for This is the constant Tenor of all our Prayers Almighty God 2d Sunday after Lent who seest that we have no Power of our selves to help our selves keep us c. And because we can do no good thing without Thee Who seest that we put not our Trust in any thing that we do We humbly beseech Thee 1st Sunday after Trinity that as by thy special Grace preventing us Sexagesima Thou dost put into our Minds good Desires Easter-Day so by Thy continual Help we may bring the same to good Effect That 5th Sunday after Easter by Thy Holy Inspiration we may think those things that be Good Grant us by Thy Spirit to have a Right Judgment in all things Whit-Sunday c. And in The Ordering of Deacons this is the first Question Demanded by the Bishop from those who are to be Ordainâ—d Do you trust that you are Inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this Office Do you think that you are truly called according to the Will of our Lord Jesus Christ c. The same is Demanded in the Ordination of Priests and Bishops And the words of Consecration of a Bishop are Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Bishop in the Church of God And the Hymn Veni Creator Spiritus is Sung Come Holy Ghost our Souls Inspire And lighten with Coelestial Fire c. And according to this we Pray that God wou'd Cleanse the Thoughts of our Hearts by the Inspiration of His Holy Spirit First Collect in the Communion Service That He would Prevent and Further us Last Collects in all our Works And that of His only Gift it cometh 13th Sunday after Trinity that we do unto Him True and Laudable Service Nay not only our Works 3d. Sunday after Trinity or Prayers but that our very Desire to Pray is his Gift We Pray for Pensons to be Baptized that God wou'd Wash them and Sanctifie them with the Holy Ghost Baptism And our Catechism teaches 1st Collect. that we are not able of our selves to walk in the Commandments of God Catechism and to serve Him without His special Grace And lastly for I must Transcribe our whole Liturgy to name every place where the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost is Witnessed and Prayed for thus the Bishop Prays for Persons to be Confirmed Strengthen them we beseech Thee O Lord with the Holy Ghost the Comforter and daily increase in them Thy manifold Gifts of Grace Confirmation the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding the Spirit of Council and Ghostly Strength the Spirit of Knowledge and true Godliness and fill them O Lord with the Spirit of Thy Holy Fear now and for ever Here is an Enumeration of the Principal Gifts of Grace for which we Pray And in the Exhortations before the Communion it is earnestly Inculcated upon us that if we be not thus Spiritually prepared all the Outward Ordinance will avail us nothing For otherwise as it is there worded the Receiving of the Holy Communion doth nothing else but encrease your Damnation And there is not one Book of Devotion us'd among us that does not tell us the same That the Inward is the Soul of Religion without which the Outward part is but a Dead Carcase and stinks before God And that the Inward Purity of the Heart cannot be wrought but by
great Non-sense as well as Blasphemy and utterly inconsistent with the first Notions of a God And upon this Scheme no tolerable account can be given for the Death of Christ. For whether as an Example or an Intercessor or a Teacher which are all the Notions wherein the Socinians and Quakers do receive him in none of these is there any Necessity or Rational Account to be given for his Death This is the Mill-stone of Socinianism which will sink it into the Sea These Men pretend to the highest Reason and reject the most express Revelations of the Holy Trinity of God and the Divinity of Christ meerly upon the account that their Reason cannot comprehend these profound Mysteries These Men reject the Doctrine of the Satisfaction upon the like pretence of Reason and advance in its place the most Arbitrary and Unaccountable suppos'd Covenant betwixt God and Christ to remit the sins of the Penitent for the altogether Needless and Barbarous Murther of the most Innocent Person in the World But having wrote at large upon this Subject I will not here repeat My business at the present being not to enter into the large Field of the Socinian Controversy But to shew the much misled generality of the Quakers how Ignorantly and blind-fold they are led in the most gross and vile Heresie that ever the Enemy sow'd in the Christian Church which is that of the Socinians and which in Name the Quakers do so much abhor SECT XVI Concerning the Holy Trinity THE Quakers and Socinians acknowledge a Three but deny a Trinity which is to confess the same thing in English and to deny it Latine For Trinitas is only Latine for the Three But the meaning is they wou'd not have the Three in Heaven to be three Persons Tho' they cannot tell what Three they are if they be not three Persons And the Quakers who own the Divinity of Christ are under greater difficulties than the Socinians who deny the Divinity of Christ For if Christ be God and that there is but one Person in the God-head it must necessarily follow that God the Father was Incarnate and Dy'd And that Christ was his own Father to whom he pray'd upon the Cross And too many the like Absurdities which are avoided by those Socinians who do not acknowledge Christ to be God Tho' others of them do own the Divinity of Christ but with such distinctions and salvo's as I am afraid are at the bottom of the Quaker Pretences G. Fox opposes Chr. Wade for saying Great Mystery p 246. That the Holy Ghost was a Person and that there was a Trinity of Three Persons before Christ was born It seems by this they do not acknowledge that there were Three in Heaven before Christ was born And if so then the Quaker Three in Heaven must be Creatures The Scriptures says G. Fox Ibid. to Chr. Wade do not tell the People of a Trinity nor three Persons but the Common-Prayer Mass-Book speaks of three Persons brought in by the Father the Pope and the Father Son and Holy Spirit was always One He means one Person As Muggleton does who says That the God-head was Incarnate and that there was no God while Christ was upon the Earth But that Elijah was Deputed by God upon his Divesting himself of his God-head to Govern as God That Christ knew no more of himself nor what he was than Elijah pleas'd to let him know That Elijah was the Father to whom Christ Pray'd upon the Cross That Elijah rais'd God from the Dead carry'd him to Heaven restor'd him to his Throne and then he was God again All this I have had from Muggleton's own Mouth as well as from his Writings It terrifies my very Soul while I repeat such Dreadful and Senseless Blasphemy And I wou'd not have done it but to shew to what unimaginable Excesses Enthusiâ—sm may drive Men and that all shou'd beware of that desperate Shelve upon which both our Church and State have suffered miserable Shipwreck That we may once again if it be the will of God learn some Sobriety of Religion and Modesty in our own Conceits to distinguish Fancy from Revelation and not to think our selves Wiseâ— than all the World beside How far the Quakers differ from Muggleton in what is here told excepting the Deputyship of Elijah will appear by their allowing no distinction betwixt the Father and the Son Great Mystery p. 142.293 Christ is not distinct from the Father says G. Fox They the Father Son and Holy Ghost are not distinct and you Priests are not fit to judge in such things as they are they are too weighty and too heavy for you This was because these Priests as he calls them had said That the Father Son and Holy Ghost were Distinct which Fox thus violently opposes I hope Mr. Penn's former Excuse will not serve here too that this must go off upon the account of G. Fox's Ignorance and that by Distinct he did not mean Distinct but may be as an Ingenious Stickler may pretend for him that he thought Distinct meant Separated for there is nothing that can be said for which something may not be alledg'd but sure G. F. if he were alive wou'd give little thanks to any who shou'd vilifie his Understanding for George here exalts his own Understanding and reproaches that of the Priests who he says were not fit to judge of such Great and Weighty things And now for any Quaker to say that it was George himself who was not fit wou'd be a severe Reproof and look like playing Booty But secondly these Priests of G. Fox's did not hold or alledge any Separation but only a Distinction between the Father Son and Holy Ghost And if you will suppose G. F. so incapable as not to know any difference betwixt these two he was a very sorrowful Beginner of a Religion and cou'd neither be Separated nor Distinguish'd from a Tool that Knaves do work with call'd a F He licks up or stumbles upon old exploded Heresies and vents them for Immediate Revelations He falls in here with the Patripassians so call'd because they held that it was God the Father who was Incarnate and Suffer'd Which G. Fox asserts ut supra p. 246. where he Disputes against Chr. Wade for saying That God the Father never took upon him Human Nature Which says George is contrary to the Scripture And says That Christ was call'd The everlasting Father And in his usual Stile accuses Chr. Wade for his Ignorance in this Mystery which G. Fox thought none understood but himself and Partners Of which you will see yet greater proof in what follows SECT XVII Concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of Christ THE Quakers Heresie in this is taken from the Socinians they say Christ took Flesh but no otherwise as they explain it than as Angels assum'd Bodies or as He Christ or the Word did Inspire or Dwell in Prophets or Holy Men of old tho' they allow not always that
that the time were come when these Quakers shou'd at last bethink themselves of this horid Scandal they have given to Christianity at least that Mr. Penn who has a stock of Breeding and Excellent Natural Parts too good to be thus Employ'd may Rescue himself from that Herd of Zealots sotishly possess'd even to Blasphemy And he is thus far towards it which to a Man of his Reason I reckon a great way that he must either make out his own Inspirations to be from God in as High a Degree as those which were given to the Prophets and Apostles or otherwise that he has no Authority to Inscribe the Name of God upon them as They did Nay he must not only Defend his own Works but he must likewise Justifie all the False Lying Prophecies hereafter told or otherwise he must Un-herd and be no longer of Them who dare Father the Lyes and Deliriums of their own Brain upon the Holy Spirit of God He must Answer one of their own Party John Penniman who has Printed the Paper he gave in to their last Yearly Meeting Entituled A few words of Moment to be Imparted to this Yearly Meeting at London 1695. of the People call'd Quakers And indeed they are Words of Moment and to be duly consider'd by the Quakers They are grounded upon two Quotations out of George Fox as follows 3. All you that speak and not from the Mouth of the Lord are False Prophets G. Fox's Answer to the Westmorland Pet. p. 5. 1653. They are Conjurers and Diviners and their Preaching is from Conjuration that is not spoken from the mouth of the Lord. George Fox 's Saul's Errand c. p. 7. 1654. Now the Advantage which these Quotations do afford is to shew from the words of this Great Prophet that unless all that he has said of his own and all the Quakers Infallibility of their Sinless Perfection Equal with God not only in Quality but in Equality of their Immediate Revelation in the same Degree as the Prophets and Apostles of their Souls being of one Substance and Person with God if all this and a great deal more which is shewn in the following Sections be not from the Mouth of the Lord then by G. Fox's own Confession he was a False Prophet and a Diviner But all that knew him or have taken the pains but to read three lines of his Works will free him from being a Conjurer If all the Black-Mouth'd and Hellish Venom mention'd Sect. V. was not spoken from the Mouth of the Lord then were all these Quakers Conjurers by G. Fox's Rule If all the Lying Prophecies mention'd Sect. X. of Solomon Eccles the Glover's Prophets c. were not from the Mouth of the Lord then were these Conjurers instead of Prophets If all the False and Foolish miracles which G. Fox tells of himself in his Journal Printed 1694. which exceed the Foppery of a Popish Legend if all these were not from God then was he and those who recommended that Journal all Conjurers If G. Whitehead cannot by some better Miracles than these vouch that the Curse and Prophecy above-told which he sent to G. Keith came from the Mouth of the Lord then is G. Whitehead to be esteem'd no better than a Conjurer Et sic de Caeteris In short if the Quakers cannot prove all their Books and Preachings many of which none of sense among themselves can deny to be thick larded with gross Ignorance and much nonsense if all and every scrap and tittle of these be not from the Mouth of the Lord then by Sentence of G. Fox himself all is Conjuration 4. And a visible effect of this was that extraordinary shaking and quaking like Fits of Convulsion which these Quakers at the first either acted or like the Heathen Priests of old were possess'd with whence they had their Name of Quakers George Fox in his Journal p. 156. to 161. strongly vindicates this their Quaking as a Mark of Divine Inspiration Which if it be not then it can be nothing else but Witchraft and Conjuration as G. Fox complains that the Prophane did call it If you see one says he ibid. p. 158. as Habakkuk whose Lips quivered whose Belly shook c. ye say he is Bewitched and p. 159. Some of them that scoff at this Power call it the Power of the Devil Yes and not only they that scoff'd at it but those that ador'd it and were possess'd by it and some of these have given us Relations of it in print which are indeed wonderful and do equal if not exceed all the Accounts in any Age even of Heathenism concerning the strange Possessions of the Devil or what has of later Years been told of Witches as their Bodies being seen to lie as Dead while they have told of their passing through the Air and acting their Phantastical Freaks c. Which is attributed by some to the strong impression made by the Devil upon their Imaginations whereby they really thought that they did such things as were transacted only in their Brain fully possess'd and turn'd with the force of an Enthusiastical Madness But whatever the power of the Devil may be in such cases or the Methods by which he works upon those miserable Mortals who are given up to his Inspirations which I will not take upon me to determine there never were more visible and dreadful effects of it no not in any of the possess'd Men mention'd in the Gospel than has been among the Quakers even as declar'd and witnessed by themselves and that not only as to the strange and preternatural Distortions Quaking and Shaking of their Bodies past the power of any to counterfeit or to act it by their Natural Strength But what is much more horrible and exceeding all other Witchcrafts and Possessions of the Devil that were ever heard of before These Possess'd Quakers do impiously Blaspheme and call themselves Christ and some of them have imitated his Passion Death and Resurrection Madly in themselves John Gilpin of Kendal in Westmorland has given us a strange and wonderful account of his own Possession by the Devil while he was a Quaker in a Book which he Intituled The Quakers shaken c. printed 1653. and attested by the then Mayor of Kendal the Minister of Kendal and several other persons whose Names are thereunto annexed The Story is prodigious and such astonishing Quaking and Distortion of his Limbs as cou'd not be counterfeited which the Devil told him was the effects of his Inspiration by the Spirit of God He tells that he was converted to Quakerism by the powerful preaching of one Christopher Atkinson a then renowned Quaker-Apostle and the Friends are desir'd to tell us whether he was not the same hereafter mentioned p. 90. to 95 I find another Edition of John Gilpin 's Book Anno 1655. which is mentioned by Christopher Wade in a Book of his call'd Quakery slain c. printed 1657. where p. 7 and 8. he quotes out of Gilpin 's
Book another Monstrous Possession of one James Milner who said that he was Christ and that he must suffer as Christ did and in a jugling manner with a Knife and a Bason pretended that his Blood was shed and that he gave up the Ghost as Christ did He prophesy'd Twelve strange Prophesies and liv'd to see them all prove False George Fox answers Gilpin in a very pleasant sort of manner He owns that the Lord did open True Prophesies Great Mystery Printed 1659. p. 298. and mighty things to him James Milner But then as an Excuse for his false Prophesies and his Blasphemies in calling himself Christ c. he makes this Comical Apology In some things his Mind runned out and that he condemns and yet these wicked men will go tell the Nation of it This was a very sad case that he could not call himself Christ and give forth false Prophesies but these wicked Men must tell the Nation of it It was nothing but his Mind Runned out He only Blasphem'd and sought to delude the Nation and yet they must not be told of it For notwithstanding of all this he is a good enough Prophet for Fox Fox thinks that the Lord did open true Prophesies and and mighty things to him True and False Prophet in one Or else there never was one among the Quakers I will trouble the Reader but with one Instance more John Toldervy has printed a very punctual Narrative of his own Conversion to Quakerism and of the most astonishing Possession of the Devil in which he was held after his said Conversion even to the Apparitions of Evil Spirits Dancing and Singing about him and directing him what he shou'd do and encouraging him in the Principles of Quakerism chiefly to adhere strongly to his own Light within which he was to make a superiour Guide to Scripture it being the same Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures and consequently that he himself was as Infallible as any of the Prophets or Apostles as having the same Spirit which they had And thus being brought to believe every strong Imagination which came into his Head to be the immediate Dictate of the Holy Ghost And these Unclean Spirits having the power to make Impressions upon his Imagination he became intirely subject to their Will and was carried into strange Excesses even to attempt Miracles That as Fire proceeded from the Lord See John Toldervy 's Book call'd The Foot out of the Snare Printed 1656. p. 30. upon the Altar in the sight of Moses Aaron and the Children of Israel so from the Lord in me says he so he call'd his Light within thinking it to be very God and Christ and that he thereby was Christ the true and real Christ of whom that Man Christ Jesus was but a Type or Figure which is the Quaker Doctrine as is shewn Sect. 17. and 18. shou'd there proceed that Vertue which shou'd infuse a heat into these Coles and Sticks which he had gather'd together for that purpose by which a Fire shou'd be kindled now being confident he goes on I shou'd effect the Work yea had I been Master of the whole World I shou'd have ventured all with a value of no worth upon the performance of this Deed having laid all things in their order as directed by that Spirit which moved me to the Work Page 31. I was moved to blow with my Mouth Expecting still that from my Life The Lord there shou'd Heat proceed with my Breath to the lighting of the Fire But in the end not being able to effect the thing I was extreamly troubled that I The Christ of God should fail in the performance of the first Miracle since so many Miracles were wrought by him that was a Figure of me It is dreadful to repeat such Horrid Blasphemy After this he was tempted to mimick over in himself our Saviour's Agony Crucifixion his Death Burial and Resurrection thrusting a Needle through his Thumbs Page 37. for the piercing of Christ's Body falling down and covering himself with Shavings of white Paper for a Winding-Sheet c. There are multitudes of prodigious Instances in the said Narrative of the incredible power of Enthusiastick Delusion to which I refer the Reader He pretended to be directed by Flies in most of his This minded me of the Etymology of Beelzebub Extasies which signifies The God of Flies But to go on James Naylor wrote an answer to Toldervy call'd Foot yet in the Snare c. printed in the same Year 1656. To which Toldervy reply'd the same Year and call'd his Replication The Snare broken c. And in the same Year again in two Sheets call'd The Naked Truth c. he made a sort of a half Vindication and half Recantation not of the Matters of Fact of his foresaid Delusions for these were undeniable but to free the Quakers from the Imputation and Scandal of them and to clear himself to have been and still to continue a true Quaker which makes the Cause much worse on their side James Naylor in his answer to Toldervy makes him to be both a true Prophet and a False like Fox 's Apology beforetold for Milner and where Toldervy tells of his being moved to say Thee and Thou Foot yet in the Snare p. 16. not to pull off his Hat to pull off the Points at his Knees and his Buttons that were unnecessary and not to direct his Mind in Drinking to any and the like Essential points these things Naylor says were dictated to Toldervy by the Spirit of God But as to his being led with Flies to Crucifie himself and to burn his Legs and prick Needles in his Thumbs and the like these Naylor says were the Devils Work And yet they were the same Spirits which bid Toldervy do both the one and the other and so both Good and Evil Spirits by Naylor 's Account But after Naylor had thus endeavour'd to Vindicate the Quaker-Spirit and to shew that Toldervy had it not like him Naylor in perfection even that same Year viz. 24. October 1656. all the Good or Evil Spirits entered into Naylor himself and he set up to be Christ and was Hosanna'd into Bristol Quakers leading his Horse strowing Branches and their Cloths in the way and singing Hosannah to him and Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Israel These Quakers said upon their Examinations That he James Naylor was the Christ that his Name was changed from James to Jesus that he was the only begotten Son of God the only Saviour See Ra. Farmer 's Narrative of this Triumph of James Naylor Entituled Satan Enthroned c. Printed 1657. p. 18 c. and that they knew no other Saviour but him And James Naylor upon his Examination wou'd not disown any thing of this But Justify'd and own'd it in Terms Equivalent p. 14. But this was Threatning to the Great For who pretended to be the Christ himself Naylor was but For 's Disciple And now was setting
up to be above him to be his Lord and Master And being thrown into Gaol for that his Blasphemous Cavelcade G. Fox and his Myrmidons watch'd their time run down Naylor who was at last brought upon his Knees before G. For Confessing his Error c. Thus he who but a day or two before thought to justifie the Quakers from the False Spirit of John Toldervy and his Quakers was Condemn'd himself for a False Spirit by other Quakers That nothing might be wanting for the full Conviction of that Cursed Spirit which Possess'd them both and G. Fox as much as either of them and his followers in their several Measures Many more Instances might be added to Gilpin Milner Toldervy and Naylor of Quakers in an high Degree Possess'd with the Devil There have not been among so many of all Mankind such a number as of these Quakers that have run quite Mad of whom Catalogues might be produc'd For their Principle is little short of Madness Reading the Story of Toldervy one night to as sober a Quaker as I believe is of the Number he own'd that he had many times sat alone expecting of Revelations So very Susceptible do the Quaker Principles make Men of the wild Impressions of Enthusiasm None of them have yet been able to give us any Mark whereby to distinguish betwixt their Explanation of the Light within and the mere strength of Imagination which in its Excess is Madness And they having Encourag'd this beyond all other sorts of Enthusiasts consequently more of them have been carry'd to the height of it And thereby their Reason the Seat of Religion being thoroughly disturb'd they have been laid open and Fenceless to the downright Possessions of Satan not only in the Opinion of those that Scoff at it as G. Fox says in his Journal above Quoted but forc'd to be confess'd by themselves by the Best of them That part of For 's Journal wherein he thus complains of their monstrous Quaking c. to be constru'd as Witch-Craft and the Power of the Devil is said to be wrote in the Year 1655. in the very height of their Inspiration which began in the Year 1650. and went on Trembling and Quaking in most Prodigious manner till the Restauration An. 1660. since which time the Nation having recover'd some sense of sobriety their strange and Enthusiastical fits of Quaking have been for the most part left off by them or their Numen which Inspir'd them has forsakeâ— them and there is now seldom any such thing to be seen among them Buâ— They too pretend to be Sober What! Are they asham'd of their former Quaking Or have they not now so great a Degree of Inspiration as they had before Patrick Livingston one of their Preachers makes a very pleasant Excuse for this in his Plain and downright Dealing with them that were with us and are gone out from us p. 10. when Physick is given to the Body says he is it not to work terribly See the 3d Part of the Quakers Quibbles Sect. I p 4. 1675. that it may Purge the Body And when all is Purged out the Physick leaves working and the Body is still Were not all the Breakin gs and meltings and Terrible Shakings and Quakings of Friends Bodies to Purge out sin and to bring to Stillness Coolness and Calmness of Mind Now when Terrible Shakings Breakin gs c. were they were but for a little time and so were quickly gone again and the Voice of the Lord was not distinctly discern'd there but these were that sin might be Purged out and then the cause of Terrible Potions was taken away and the stillness being come that 's a durable thing a solid Condition and Here the Mind is brought into a Capacity to discern the Voice of the Lord whereas in the time of the violent motions the Mind was so Hurry'd and Loss'd with the Rage of the Enemy so that there was not a clear Discerning what might be done or left undone in many things And this he gives as an Answer to those modern Quakers who were offended that this Spirit of Quaking had Ceased among them and objected that because the mighty motions of the Bodies of Friends are Ceased and Friends are still cool and quiet therefore that the same Power is not in meetings and they cry where is the Power that was at first Now here is a Comparison made betwixt the State of the Quakers from 1650 to 1660 and from thence to this time The first State was their time of Physick they were those Ten long years in Purging out their Sin And their Terrible Potions of the Spirit wrought violent Convulsions in their Bodies of Tremblings and Quakings to the Admiration of all Beholders But there was worse than that For as Livingston here Informs us during these Extatick years they were not in a Solid Condition and the Voice of the Lord was not distinctly discerned among them their Mind was so Hurry'd and Loss'd so that there was not a Clear Discerning what might be done or left undone in many things This is a very sad Beckoning For what now will become of the First Quaker Infallibility set up in these same Ten Quaking Purging years to Discern between Truth and Error between every False and Right way and which Perfectly Discover'd to them the true State of All things And that not only to G. Fox or some of the Chief of them but to every one of them in Particular as you will see hereafter Sect. X. p. 72 c. It seems that these Hurryings and Tossing for the first Ten years did not come from the Holy Spirit of God because Livingston says that they Hindred the Discerning the Voice of the Lord. Whereas the Extasies of the Holy Prophets did most perfectly discover to them the Voice of the Lord and what was to be done or left undone But Livingston says plainly that they the Quakers were Hurry'd and Toss'd thus by the Rage of the Enemy That is of the Devil And that it was this which hindred them from the Clear Discerning of what might be done or left undone in many things For surely no Inspiration from God cou'd Hinder this And I hope no Quaker Now will say that the Extraordinary Commotions of the Holy Prophets of Old were caus'd by the Rage of the Enemy when the Scriptures tell us plainly that they were caused by the Extraordinary Impulse of the Spirit of God Those caused by the Rage of the Enemy the Quakers have Vindicated to themselves And as a farther Demonstration of it it is apparent that since their Extraordinary Quaking Fits have ceased they have many of them return'd to a more Sober Mind And the Wisest of them now seek to Cover and Palliate all that they can the Madness and Extravagance of their first Quaking State But they will not yet Condemn it Nay sometimes for they are all made up of Contradictions they will support it and plead for it And that not
Miraculous such as the Gifts of Tongues of Prophecy and Miraculous Cures c. And these Miraculous Gifts as they are of much less Value to us than the Saving Graces so are they not greatly to be Covertd See Enthusiasm Exercis'd before Quoted nor are they at all to be Pray'd for We must be wholly Passive in this Case and leave it altogether to the Wisdom of God when where and how to bestow of these But to pretend Falsly to any such Gifts is down-right Diabolical it is Express Blasphemy against God and by His Law to be Punished with Death All such Enthusiasm or Inspiration is most certainly from the Devil And therefore we must be well aware of it and examine all such Pretences diligently and having detected Falshood in them to oppose them with all Zeal to Cry aloud and give the World warning of the Spirit of Delusion broken loose among them And there can be no Neuters in this War Whoever can be Patient to see the Name of God thus openly and presumptuously Blasphem'd is no Christian has no Zeal for God nor Love for the Souls of Men but is such a Latitudinarian Laodicean as God will Spue out of his Mouth Had the Quakers pretended to never so great Talents in Sanctifying Graces tho' greater than they had they shou'd never have been oppos'd by me Because I wish to them and to all Men much greater than they have and daily encrease of them But when I found them pretend to Miraculous Gifts and upon this Fund to set up Schism and Seduce Multitudes from the Peace and Unity of the Church and introduce Damnable Heresies I thought it an Unpardonable sin any longer to forbear to warn others and seek to undeceive the Poor and Simple sort among them who are â—â—d blindly in their Snares The Lord Rescue them of his Infinite Mercy Amen If G. Fox had set up for the greatest Zeal towards God and to the most Extraordinary Impulse of Spirit and Experiences the then â—and of God and that upon this Pretence he had been carry'd even to Excesses much might have been allowed to such a well-intended Zeal tho' not according to Knowledge But in his Journal p. 83. he despises such a low Dispensation which he turns over to the Priests as he calls them who Disputed against him One of them says he told me That He cou'd speak his Experiences as well as I. But I told him Experience was one thing but to go with a Message and to have a Word from the Lord as the Prophets and Apostles had and did and as I had done to them this was another thing and therefore I put it to them again Cou'd any of them say he had ever had a Command or Word from the Lord Immediately at any time Thus he And here can be no mistake Because he puts the Distinction himself betwixt Immediate Revelation and Inward Impulses those ordinary Assistances or Inspirations which Good Men Experiment of the Holy Spirit of God in their Studies and Meditations upon the Holy Scriptures their Preaching Praying and other Means of Grace which God has appointed Such Experiences the Priests own'd to G. Fox But he pretended to further that is to Immediate Command from God to go with such a Message c. as the Prophets and Apostles had Not a mediate Command by the Mediation of the Use and Knowledge of Scripture Preaching Praying or any Human Means But Immediately without help of Scripture or any thing else from God Himself as when He spoke to Abraham or any of the Prophets or Apostles If George had pretended only to have Reason'd with us out of the Scriptures we cou'd have born with him If Mr. Penn had contented himself to have told us of his great Knowledge in the Scriptures not to give us New to have Celebrated him for a Thousand Virtues or for his Learning or any other Natural or Acquir'd Aibilities He shou'd have Peaceably Enjoy'd all these Trophy's however Deserv'd for any Pains I had taken to the contrary But when p. 29. of his Preface Mr. Penn wou'd persuade us that this Fox had Outward Revelations and Visions from God upon a very high Mountain in Yorkshire and there had his Commission given by God to go to the North c. This obliges us to look more narrowly into the Matter For there is no Medium left by this but either that all these Nations and all the World to whom he directs some of his Papers are Fighters against God in not submitting to his Message by this Prophet Fox Or otherwise that this Fox was a Wizard possess'd with the Devil and that all are Deluded Fatally who follow him or wou'd Recommend him And when all this is but the Preface to Pretended Miracles Exhibited in his foolish Legend of a Journal as Vouchers of his Mission When Miraculous Gifts are not only ascrib'd to G. Fox but to the Rabble of these Quakers whom Mr. Penn ibid. Sect. 10. p. 23. compares to the Ancient Prophets and tells us of their Prophecies particularly of the Plagne and Fire of London in express Terms says be and likewise Particular ones to divers Persecutions I suppose it shou'd be Persecutors which accordingly overtook them and which were very Remarkable in the places were they dwelt and in time they may be made Publick for the Glory of God But Mr. Penn This wou'd be the best time For one Prophecy before it be fulfill'd is worth twenty that are Publish'd afterwards Besides People will be apt to say that you Pick and Choose out of your Register of Prophecies and having many Most if not All Curses and Iudgments some must likely happen or towards it and that you give us only them but throw all those that miscarry behind the Door And some may suspect even Forgery that Prophecies are Coin'd after the Facts come to pass Therefore to obviate all these Objections and to prevent the deceiving of after-Generations who may not be so well able to Examine into matters of Fact said to be done long before their time it is desir'd that Mr. Penn wou'd Now Publish his Register of Quaker Prophecies or for ever after hold his Peace But we must take them as he pleases to give them and by what he has told us we may guess at the rest He names Prophecies of the Plague and Fire of London in express Terms And there he leaves us in the General but tells not who where when that is reserv'd for after Ages when there shall be none alive to disprove it But notwithstanding it is fair in us freely to own what is come to our Knowledge tho' the Modesty of the Persons concern'd might let it sleep in Generals unexamin'd Be it known then unto all Men That one Solomon Eccles a Quaker Preacher and Prophet did go Naked through Bartholomew-Fair the year before the Fire of London with a Pan of Fire upon his Head warning the People to Repent c. But it must
betwixt Oliver's Porter and the other less Mad-Men who call'd him Mad and he call'd them Wicked and Prophane and Pronounc'd Curses against them In the Name of the Lord for Despising his Gifts and Mission so do the Quakers and Muggletonians Curse one another bitterly and call one another Serpents and Sorcerers I have heard a Quaker say that Muggleton deserv'd all that he met with that is New-Gate Pillory and his Books Burn'd because said the Quaker he was a Deceiver of the People And Muggleton says the same of them and that Fox met better Treatment than he deserv'd And the Authority of the one is as good as the other And there we leave them But this I must say that Muggleton sticks truer even to Fox's Principle of Enthusiasm than either Fox himself or his Followers For Fox 's Chief and only Principle was at first to Direct Men to the Inward Anointing and that They needed no Man to teach them See his Journal p. 5 31 and 57. but as the Anointing teacheth them Therefore that they shou'd come off from all Mens Teaching unto God's Teaching For that God was come to Teach His People Himself But Fox wou'd not trust to this for he went about Teaching outwardly and has Erected an Outward Church-Discipline and Authority to over-rule that Anointing if it prove Refractory And though they have rejected the Sacraments as Outward things yet they keep up an Outward Ministery and Preaching which are more Inconsistent with their Principle of Reducing all to the Inward and waiting for the Lord in silence within c. But Muggleton has no Outward either Sacraments or Teaching nor any Outward Worship or Assemblies for any thing Relating to Religious Matters But leaves every Man Free to follow his own Impulse and to an Vniversal Liberty of Conscience If any Embrace his Principles Welcome If not let them go This is true Liberty of Conscience And sticking to the Inward Principle With which the Quaker Preaching and Church-Discipline is altogether Inconsistent even as at first Taught by themselves However Muggleton and Fox must be allow'd to be Brethren tho' not in equal Perfection because they both set up to Destroy the Outward or whole Body of Religion and Reduce it all to a Skeleton or a Ghost upon Pretence of giving Preference to the Spirit or Inward part of Religion which none denies as if one should Destroy the Cask to Preserve the Wine upon Pretence that the Cask is no part of the Wine But these two Mad-Men Fox and Muggleton being totally Ignorant of this thought themselves Spiritual by running down all Outward Forms And both their Inspirations came from the same Author The Father of Lyes who in that Hurricane of Schism and Rebellion got an Act of Parliament for Toleration and Liberty of Conscience to sow his Tares at Noon-Day with Doors open c. and he made full use of his Liberty He enter'd into the Herd of our Swine the Beasts of the People and drove them over Precipices of Enthusiasm to Perish in the Ocean of Heresie and Error Amongst these Jannes and Jambres Fox and Muggleton were Chiefs of greatest Note But Fox has got more Followers and of late some tho' very Few of more Sense and Learning Whose Labours have rendered their Cause much more Deform'd like a Monkey Dress'd in Mans Clothes and set on Horse-back or as a Jewel hung in a Swines Snout The Jargon was something agreeable to the Enthusiasm of Mechanicks both alike Intelligible But to see it Dress'd up in the Guise of Learning and set off in Mr. Penn's Elegant Stile 'T is such a Sight And it has undone them by Discovering them For being now made to speak Sence they are capable of being answer'd by Reason 8. But Nothing so Diverting as to see them sick of their Prophecies and spue them up again when they happen to interfere with their Interest How they endeavour since 1660 to stifle and conceal the Flattering Prophecies they gave to Oliver and the Cursed ones against the King and Cavaliers But in the Re-printing the Works of their Prophets since 1660 they leave out these Now unsavory Passages Their Infallibility needs an Index Expurgatorius as well as that of Rome through which we suppose George Fox's Works are to pass which are design'd as a Second Volume to his Journal Of this Cleanly Art they have given us a fair Specimen in the Re-printing of the Works of Edward Burrough one of their main Pillars or Posts wherein they leave out at p. 100. the following Prophecies which he directs thus To all you who are and have been always Enemies to the very appearance of Righteousness who are called Dilinquents and Cavaliers And he holds forth to them as follows Thus saith the Lord my Controversie is against you And you are become Cursed in all your Hatchings and Endeavours i. e. to Restore the King and from time to time my Hand hath been against you in Battel Your Kings and Princes and Nobles have been cut off in Wrath You are given to be a Curse and a Desolation and a Prey in Houses and Lands and Persons to them whom I I have raised up against you i. e. Oliver Cromwel and then he goes on to Prophesie for the Future in these words And you and your Kings and Lordly Power by which you have thought to Exercise Lordship over my Heritage shall be Enslaved by the Devil in the Pit of Darkness in Everlasting Bondage where He shall Reign your Lord and King for Evermore These are the Mildest words they can bestow Pillars of Fire and Smoak like the very opening of the Infernal Pit In all whose Caverns there lodges not a more Furious and Cursed Spirit than that which Inspires these Prophets of the Quakers whose Breath is Fire and Brimstone That Book of Burrough's out of which I have Quoted what is above bears this Title A Trumpet of the Lord or Fearful Voices of Terrible Thunders uttered from the Throne Declared and Written by a Son of Thunder c. 1656. How does it make ones Hair stand on end And how ought it to raise the Indignation of every Christian to see such a Blasphemous Wretch Pretend that all these his Hellish Thunderings were Uttered from the Throne of God! To see him begin in such a Stile as this By Order and Authority says he given unto me by the Spirit of the Living God King of Kings and Lord of Lords the 31. day of the 10th Month in the Year of the World's Account 1655. about the 4th Hour in the Morning when my Meditations was of my God upon my Bed in Kilkenny City in the Nation he wou'd not say Kingdom that was too Monarchical at that time of day of Ireland at that time The Word of the Lord came unto me saying Write my Controversie with All the Inhabitants of the Earth unto All sorts of People as I will shew thee by this same Authority and Commission Declared this I send unto
Burrough in his Word of Advice to the Soldiers p. 2. Oh! says be with a Gusto give the Priests Blood to drink for they are worthy But this with other sweet bits is left out in the new Edition of his Works wherein there is yet enough behind to shew the largeness of his Bowels and to what narrow Limits he wou'd confine that Inundation of Blood which the Good Old Cause had brought upon these Nations and which he Justifies and that from the Mouth of the Lord. In his Warning to the English Army 1659. he assures them p. 540. of his Works in these words Your Victory hath been of the Lord. But then he wou'd have them go on and carry Blood and Slaughter into other Countries What are these few Poor Islands says he p. 537 538. that you have run through And then he advises them to fall upon 〈◊〉 and Spain and Avenge says he p. 537. the Blood of the Guiltlâ—ss through all the Dominions of the Pope p. 538. that your Sword and the Sword of the Lord may neither leave Root nor Branch of Idolatry that your Sword be lifted up against them p. 540. Set up your Standard at the Gites of Rome And Prophesying of the time when Vengeance shou'd be taken of Rome The time is come says he p. 537. their Church cannot stand Long. p. 535 536. and as sure as the Lord lives so shall it come to pass But this is long since pass'd and their Church stands still And which is much a greater wonder this Burrough is counted still a true Prophet among the Quakers in whom the fullness of Grace and Virtue châ—elâ— â—us was said of him in his Life â—rote 1663. p. 24. by a Club of the Principal Quakers G. Fox â—os Coal G. Whitehead c. who thus Blasphem'd in Praise of a Wretch that durst Pawn the very Being of God That as sure as the Lord lives so it must come to pass as he said And since it is not so come to pass are â—â—tiâ—ll the rest of these Quakers as Mad and Blasphemous as he who will still believe that he was sent from God or spoke His Words And that all these Lyes and Preaching up of Blood their Blasphemies and Treasons are of Equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures yea of Greater as I will shew you presently from George Whitehead And if this be true we must believe the 〈◊〉 Contradictions of the Quakers before the Scriptures As that notwithstanding all these loud Proclamations of Blood and War which we have beâ—â—d from them and that if their Advice were follow'd all whole Christendom wou'd be turned into an Aceldamâ— the Protestants falling upon all Popish Countries and the Papists upon them I say that notwithstanding of all this if the Quakers Writings are given forth by the Spirit of God as they boldly pretend we must believe their Declaration given to King Charles II. upon the 21st of January 1660. subscrib'd by G. Fox and Eleven more in the behalf of the whole Body of the Quakers wherein p. 4. They Declare positively against the lawfulness of Fighting upon any account And this say they is both our Principle and Practice and hath been from the beginning so that if we suffer as suspected to take up Arms or make War against any it is without any Ground from us for it neither is nor ever was in our Hearts since we owned the Truth of God neither shall we ever do it because it is contrary to the Spirit of Christ his Doctrine and the Practice of his Apostles And in The Quakers Plea Printed 1661. p. 5. They say Such of us whose Principles were once so that is for Fighting are changed even from that Principle and Practice of going to Wars and Fighting and Now are all of that Mind and Heart That in the Administration of the Gospel 〈◊〉 on all Occasions whatsoever unlawful to go to War and Fight with any Man with Carnal Weapons contrary to the Doctrine of Christ This was in the Year 1661. to fix this Opinion of them the Quakers in the King and Government But when by this Deep Deceit and Hypocrisie they did prevail and it had for Twelve Years after the Restauration been generally receiv'd that this was in good earnest the Principle of the Quakers as it continues with most to this day and I doubt not but many of the simple well-meaning Quakers themselves are Imposed upon in this to think that the Quaker Principle is against all War and Fighting upon any Occasion whatsoever as in their Plea above Quoted Yet I say when the World and many of themselves had been thus Deluded by their Leaders they in the Year 1672. to secure to themselves their Old Principle of Fighting whenever The Good Old Cause shou'd stand in need of it did Reprint what I have above Quoted of Edward Burrough for carrying Blood and War into all the Popish Countries and much more to the same purpose in the New Edition of his Works To which there are high Testimonies affix'd of George Fox George VVhitehead Josiah Coal Francis Howgil and Ellis Hookes Now if this Doctrine of Fighting or making VVar upon any Occasion whatsoever was contrary to the Spirit of Christ and His Doctrine in the Year 1â—60 that part of the Year I mean after the Restauration how came the Saints above-nam'd to Publish the contrary Doctrine of Edw. Burrough with such mighty Pomp in the Year 1672 And we must believe Both to be Infallible as the Holy Scriptures themselves being Both given forth by the same Spirit But these Editors of Burrough's Works are yet more Chargeable with whatever is in the New Edition because they took more upon them than barely as Editors that is to Correct and Amend and to Expunge what they thought fit as his Declaring VVar against the King and the Church before-told which tho' Dictated as he said by the Eternal Spirit yet they made bold to set these things aside lest they shou'd offend the Powers then in being but they thought that carrying the VVar into Italy and Spain wou'd be less taken notice of and wou'd continue their Claim to the Privilege of Fighting when they shou'd have occasion for it Why otherwise were not these Expung'd as well as the Traiterous Passages against the King and the Government If it was through the Inadvertence of their Infallibility let them now Disclaim it and confess Burrough to have been in an Error as to that Principle of Fighting No they will not and therefore it is their own They will not They have not done it for since the New Edition of Burrough's Works 1672. when a fair occasion seem'd to offer towards the Re-asserting of the Good Old Cause in Monmouth's Rebellion 1681. Several of the Quakers in the VVest where he Landed took Arms and Fought in his Quarrel and tho' some of them were taken Prisoners yet we heard nothing of their Repentance or that they were oblig'd by the rest to sign any Instruments
Acts 8.19 but George Magus own'd no other Holy Ghost than what was within himself of which he was the Possessor and Owner These have far out-strip'd their Master For Simon Magus was the Father of the Quakers Socinians and all the rest of the Anti-Trinitarian Hereticks He first Blasphem'd against the Holy Trinity slighted the Scriptures Epiphan Haer. 21. Iren. Advers Haer. l. 1. c. 20. denying the Law of Moses to be from God set up Magic Idolatry and Sensuality In all of which he was not more follow'd by the Gnosticks than the Quakers as I think I have sufficiently shewn I hope without Exception unless it be that sometimes I do not name every Voucher and sometimes set down but the two first Letters of their Names which is but seldom and then only when they were not willing unless upon necessity to clear the Truth which they will not refuse to have their Names expos'd to the Fury of the Quaker-Spirit which throws so much Dirt upon any who dare oppose them that no Man tho never so Innocent wou'd desire to be so bespatter'd which is the Reason given by the Ingenious Author of The Third Part of the Quakers Quibbles Printed 1675. why he did not let himself be known And may be one Reason why they have not yet attempted any Answer to that Book alone I think I may say of all that have been wrote against them being depriv'd of their beloved Topick which they use instead of Argument to Vilifie and Discredit all that is in their Power the Good Name of any who writes against them Let the Reader take this for one Reason if he please tho' I say not that it is the only one why the Author of this small Treatise has not troubled the World with his Name For he desires no stress to be laid upon who says but upon what is said Besides he thought it needless to tell his Name to these Gentlemen with whom he has to do because as hereafter Quoted p. 71. George Fox says That they the Quakers have an Infallible Judgment to judge Personâ— and Things Which yet has not discoverâ—d to them the Author of The Quakers Quibbles and this Author may perhaps escape as well tho' his Concern is not great if it prove otherwise But this by the bye To return to Edw. Burrough p. 47. of his Works determines clearly that the Scriptures are not now of any Authority at all to us at this day Why Because they were Commands given to others and not to us For example That the Epistles to the Corinthians bound no other Church that to the Galatians had respect only to those of Galatia and so of all the rest And that the old Prophets were only to be hearkened to at that time by those particular People or Nations to whom they then directed their Prophecies For it being objected that the Quakers held this pernicious Principle That the Saints were not to do Duties by or from a Command without but from a Command within and that the word Command in Scripture was not a Command to them till they had the word within them Burrough owns and justifies it I answer says he That is no Command from God to me which he Commands to another neither did any of the Saints which we read of in Scripture act by the Command which was to another not having the Command to themselves I Challenge an Example of it they obey'd every one their own Command and thou or any other who goes to Duty as you call it by Imitation from the Letter without which was Commands to others your Sacrifice is not accepted but is Abomination to the Lord c. Here it is made Abomination to the Lord to obey the Command of Scripture or to live by Imitation as he calls it from the Letter that is not to follow our own Imaginations without the controul of Scripture or any other Law This is the same Principle which is hereafter p. 156. related from Mr. Penn and almost in the same words That what was a Command of God in old time that is in the Scriptures is not so to us unless requir'd by the same Spirit Anew Here the whole Authority of Scripture is at one blow cut down For no Command in Scripture is by this Rule obligatory unless it be Commanded Anew by the Quaker Light within that is by every Man's Roving Imagination and if it be Commanded by their Light within then they think that it is Dictated by the same Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures of old and upon that account only that it is obligatory but not because it is contain'd in Scripture which was only a Command to those in former Ages but not to us who have another Rule given unto us Anew that is our own Light within So that the Scriptures are by this as much out-dated as an old Almanack And we must no longer search the Scriptures we must not live so much as by Imitation of what we find there Burrough says it is Abomination to the Lord. And therefore it was no strange thing to hear George Whitehead in his Serious Apology p. 49. Prefer not only their Writings but their Extempore Preachments and even all whatsoever they speak upon any account to the Holy Scriptures themselves The Question demanded was this Do you esteem your Speakings to be of as great Authority as any Chapter in the Bible And his Answer is in these words That which is spoken by the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and Greater And therefore tho' they have let no suppos'd contempt of their own Books go unrebuked as in the Instance before of Chandler yet we never heard of any Censure they have pass'd upon those many much grosser contempts of Scripture which daily are found among them Particularly that we may always name some Instance of Mary Tucker a Quaker Servant to William Reyman a Barber now living in Queen-street Cheap-side but formerly in Bread-street where this Mary then his Servant took the Bible and in the open day publickly Burnt it against the Church in Bread-street to shew her Zeal Pursuant to this their Principle in their Disputes among themselves they appeal to their own Writings instead of the Holy Scriptures Thus when in their Publick Meeting at Philadelphia upon Sunday 11. Dec. 1692. G. Keith was Accus'd of Heresie See Heresie and Hatred before Quoted p. p. in saying That the Light within was not sufficient to Salvation without something else i. e. Christ Jesus as without us And that G. Keith desir'd to have that Pretended Heresie prov'd against him by Scripture it was Reply'd by Sam. Jennings as the Mouth of the Meeting we are not to prove it from Scripture but from Friends Books for the Question betwixt us and George Keith is not who is the best Christian but who is the best Quaker And indeed they did rightly distinguish betwixt the Christian and the
in their Answers to all the rest of this Book And that they are not sound in the Faith THE SNAKE in the Grass OR SATAN Transform'd into An Angel of Light Discovering the Deep and Unsuspected Subtilty which is Couched under the Pretended Simplicity of many of the Principal Leaders of those People called QUAKERS THE Controversie with the Quaker-Dissenters has not been pursu'd by the Church of England with the like Zeal and Pains as those against the Presbyterians Independents and other Dissenters because the Quakers were not so Considerable either for their Learning or for their Influence upon the Publick Revolutions which the others caus'd both in Church and State But their Numbers whether increas'd by being so neglected are now really Formidable I mean for the many Souls Seduc'd by them for I speak not now of Temporal Considerations they not only swarm over these Three Nations but they Stock our Plantations abroad It is wholly for the love of Souls that I have enter'd into this Controversie And therefore to do Right to All I have made a Distinction between them in the very Title I name many of their Principal Leaders because I have great Charity for the generality of the Ignorant sort of them some of whom I know to be very Honest and Well-meaning Men and Devout in their way and who suspect nothing of the Depth of that Mystery of Iniquity wherein they are Blindly and Implicitly led And therefore it is chiefly for the sake of these that I detect the Errors of their Leaders and Ministers that they may now at length if it be the Will of God recover themselves out of the Snares of the Devil wherein they are taken Captive by him at his will Secondly I name the Subtilty of these Rabbies of the Quakers Sect. For tho' they are generally thought the most Ignorant and Contemptible Sect amongst all our Dissenters and therefore are most neglected by us yet since I have perus'd their Books and Convers'd with some of them I have much alter'd my Opinion as to that I find them to Inherit the Subtilty as well as Heresie of the Arians and Socinians who were the most Subtile and hardest to be Detected of any of the Christian Hereticks And the Quakers do defend themselves with the same Distinctions and even add to their Arts as you shall see But they are now at a very hard Lock For many of them have really gone off from the height of Blasphemy and Madness which was Profess'd among them at their first setting up in the Year 1650. and so continu'd till after the Restauration Anno 1660. since which time they have been coming off by degrees especially of late some of them have made nearer Advances towards Christianity than ever before And among them the Ingenious Mr Penn has of late refin'd some of their gross Notions and brought them into some Form has made them speak Sense and English of both which George Fox their First and Great Apostle was totally Ignorant as you will see in the few Quotations which I have Transcrib'd out of his Great Mystery in his own words But so wretched is their State that tho' they have in a great measure Reform'd from the Errors of the Primitive Quakers yet they will not own this because as they think it wou'd Reflect upon their whole Profession as indeed it does and Argues that their Doctrine was Errouneous from the Beginning and their Pretence False and Impious upon which they first left the Church and run into Schism Therefore they endeavour all they can to make it appear that their Doctrine was Uniform from the Beginning and that there has been no alteration and therefore they take upon them to defend all the Wrizings of George Fox and others of the first Quakers and turn and wind them to make them but it is impossible agree with what they Teach now at this day On the contrary they have by these Arts brought back their New Reformation to the Old Standard and while they wou'd Reconcile they in effect Justifie and still Maintain their first Blasphemous Pretences only have Dress'd and Couch'd them more Craftily which is more Wickedly Therefore to rid them out of this Difficulty I wou'd persuade them openly and above-board to Renounce George Fox and their first Reformers and all their Blasphemous and Heretical Doctrine Which whoever refuses to do must be concluded to remain still in that Root of Bitterness and Bond of Iniquity For this Reason I have taken my Rise from the Writings of George Fox and others of their Scribes and shewn the little pretty Distinctions which the Modern Quakers make use of to Cover Palliate and Reconcile those Doctrines of Devils at first taught by them And I hope I have perform'd thus much That our present Quakers must either plainly Renounce George Fox and other their Original Rabbi's or otherwise that they are not to be believ'd in that fair Face which they at present wou'd put upon their Doctrine There is nothing so Monstrous or so Senseless for which excuses may not be made and some seemingly plausible meaning put upon the grossest Absurdities No Quakers in the World do Defend themselves with greater vehemence and self-assurance than the Muggletonians do And they go as the Quakers do upon the Pretence of an Infallible Inspiration of the Spirit of God or the Light within and are as Positive as any Quaker of them all And I must say it they give the same Proof for their Extraordinary Inspiration as the Quakers do that is none at all but their own Confident averring of it Mr Penn in his Winding-Sheet hereafter Quoted p. 6 Sect. 6. calls Muggleton the Sorcerer of our Days Now I wou'd beseech Mr. Penn who has more Wit than all the rest of his Party to let us know what Ground he had for leaving the Church of England more than Muggleton Or than others of the Separate Quakers have for leaving of him and his Party Or why we shou'd trust the Light within Him or George Fox rather than the Light within Lodowick Muggleton Has Lodowick wrought no Miracles to prove his Mission No more have George Fox or William Penn. Are they very sure that they are in the Right So is he Are they Schismaticks So is he Are they above Ordinances Have they thrown off the Sacraments Muggleton has done more He has discarded Preaching and Praying too For these are Ordinances Is He against distinct Persons in the Godhead So are They. Is He against all Creeds So are They. Does He deny all Church-Authority So do They. Yet does He require the most Absolute Submission to what Himself teaches So do They. Does He make a Dead Letter of the Holy Scriptures and Resolve all into his own Private Spirit So do They. Does He Damn all the World and all since the Apostles So do They. All which will be shewn at large in what follows These are Twin-Enthusiasts both born in the year 1650. for then
sent to stand a Witness against all Violence My VVeapons are not Carnal but Spiritual and My Kingdom is not of this world therefore with the Carnal weapon I do not fight He said The Quakers Unmask'd Printed 1691. p. 26 27. That he was beyond the state of the first Adam that fell that his Marriage was above the state of the first Adam in his Innocency in the state of the second Adam that never fell And that he never fell nor changed I am saith G. Fox the Door that ever was the same Christ yesterday to day and for ever And in the Title page Written from the Mouth of the Lord from one who is naked New Rome Arraign'd p. 33. and stands 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 fulfill'd My Name is cover'd from the world and the world knows not me nor my Name G. F. G. Fox came out of the North of England where they thus break forth Ibid. p. 34. O thou North of England Who art counted as Desolate and Barren and reckon'd the least of the Nations yet out of Thee did the BRANCH spring and the STAR arise which gives Light to all the Regions round about in Thee the Star of Righteousness appear'd c. Jos Coal in his Letter to G. Fox thus Adores him Ibid. p. 33. Dear G. Fox who art the Father of many Nations whose Life hath reached through us thy Children whose Habitation is in the Power of the Highest in which thou Rulest and Governs in Righteousness and Thy Kingdom is Established in Peace and the Increase thereof is without End And all this W. Penn does Justifie and Excuse Judas and the Jews c. p. 44. John Audland another Quaker-Preacher offers his Sacrifice and Worship in the following words of his Letter to G. Fox from the West of England New RomeVnmask'd p. 43. 44. from whence to p. 50. you will find many more of the like Idolatrous Letters and Blasphemies Dear and Precious One in whom my Life is bound up and my strength in thee stands By thy Breathings I am Nourished by thee is my Strength renewed Blessed art thou for ever more and Blessed are all that Enjoy thee Life and Strength comes from thee Holy One Daily do I find thy Presence with me which doth exceedingly preserve me for I cannot Reign but in thy Presence and Power Pray for me that I may stand in Thy Dread for evermore I am thine Begotten and Nourished by thee and in thy Power am I Preserved Glory unto Thee Holy One for ever I mention this Letter more particularly because I have seen the Original in John Audland's own Hand and compar'd it with other of his Letters and as well by the Character as by some unusual spelling of some words it is as Demonstrable to be John Audland's own Hand-writing as can be given except seeing of him write it But because some of the Modern Quakers wou'd fain deny it tho' they cannot this Letter was sent by some Quakers to Chippenbam in Wilt shire where John Audland us'd to Preach and there were many who were well acquainted with his Hand and it was return'd from thence with the Attestation of many Quakers that it was certainly his own Hand-writing And for farther Confirmation it was sent likewise to Kendal in Westmorland where John Audland was born and dy'd and it was certify'd from thence likewise by the Quakers who knew him that it was unquestionably John Audland's own Hand-writing Many more Instances of this Nature are to be shewn but I hasten and refer you to the Books Quoted upon the Margent And their Pride will yet farther appear in the following Sections But before I take leave of this Head of their VVrath and Pride let me observe that the Bitterest and most Venomous Appellations above Quoted Devil-Driven Dungy-Gods Judas's Old Canker'd Apostates c are bestow'd upon the Separate Quakers for making a Schism in their Church Never Reflecting how themselves have made a Schism from the Church of England I began this Section with a Quotation out of G. Fox against Railing and I will end it with one out of W. Penn's Address to Protestants Printed 1679. p. 242. Men that are Angry for God Passionate for Christ that Call Names for Religion may tell us they are Christians if they will but no Body wou'd know them to be such by their Fruits to be sure they are no Christians of Christ's making Now I would earnestly desire Mr. Penn to read over again once more the Names he and others have call'd Men for Religion some of which are above Quoted and then to tell me whether by his present Sentiments as here express'd they were at that time Christians of Christ's or of whose making And to strengthen the Modern Mr. Penn I add two Texts 1 Cor. 6.10 That Revilers shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God And James 1.26 If any Man among you seem to be Religious and bridleth not his Tongue This Man's Religion is vain And we must bridle our Tongue not only from Railing against our Brethren but much more from such Luciferian Pride as to assume the Name and Titles of God to our selves and to aspire even to an Equality with the Almighty with which we now go on SECT VI Of the Quakers aspiring to an Equality with God THis in effect is prov'd already But more expresly and in very terms G. Fox's Adversary Gr. Myst p. 282. yields to him tho' very unreasonably that we may be Perfect as God in Quality but not in Equality Against this G. Fox Disputes and endeavours to prove that they the Quakers are Perfect as God not only in Quality but in Equality for Christ says he makes no Distinction in his words but saith Be ye Perfect even as your Heavenly Father is And as he is so are we and that which is Perfect as he is Perfect is in Equality with the same And in his Saul's Errand New Rome Unmask'd p. 42. c. p. 8. he saith He that hath the same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the Dead is Equal with God He Acuses Christopher Wade Great Mystery p. 248. because he deny'd Equality with the Father and says All that have the Son and the Holy Ghost have that which is Equal in Power and Glory with the Father and this all the Quakers say they have This appears further in the next Section SECT VII Of the Quakers making their Soul of the same Person and Substance with God THou say'st says G. Fox to his Opponent Great Myst. p. 247. Christ doth not Dwell in them Personally Doth not Christ dwell in his Saints as he is in the Person of the Father the Substance Hence he makes the Soul without Beginning or Ending and Infinite in it self His Opponent had granted him in these words p. 90. There is a kind of Infiniteness in the Soul but it
the Quakers p. 97. Witness Immediate Revelation They are come to that the Apostles was in the Spirit of Christ the Spirit of God they Witness Immediate Revelation p. 153. But the rest of the World have never heard the Voice of God nor the Voice of Christ and have not the same Infallible Spirit as the Apostles had and no Immediate Revelation nor Inspiration as they had p. 221. Revelation is now witnessed in our Days as it was in the Apostles but not amongst you who have inwardly Ravened from the Spirit of God which have Apostatized from the Apostles And so you be in the Diabolical Devilish that expects not that now which was in the Days of the Apostles If ever you own the Prophets Christ New Rome Unmask'd p. 42. G. F's Answer to the Westmorland Petition p. 30. Truth 's Defence G. F. and R. H. p. 2 89 104 and the Apostles you will own our Writings which are given forth by the same Spirit and Power You may as well Condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as our Quaeries Our giving forth Papers and Printed Books it is from the Immediate Eternal Spirit of God You are now Answered from the Mouth of the Lord. Of their stiling their own Writings The Word of the Lord and denying it to the Holy Scriptures you will see farther Sect. 11. Concerning the Authority of the Holy Scriptures SECT X. Concerning the Quakers Infallibility THis Section may seem needless as being included in the former For who pretend to an Equality with God to the same Immediate Revelation with Christ the Prophets and Apostles had must needs be Infallible But I conceive it will be worth the Readers while to see how they Branch it and Descend to particular Marks and Instances of their Infallibility This Section therefore is like opening the Jugler's Box And you may expect to see Rareties I told you before how their Infallibility was Palm'd upon them by the Church of Rome Of which they were so greedy that they swallow'd it down by whole-sale and wou'd have none of those Cautions with which the Church of Rome us'd to Defend themselves or else forgot them in their Haste and in their Hony Month while they were New-fangl'd Thus while the Church of Rome plac'd their Infallibility only in their Church or at most in the Pope alone as the Head of it the Quakers set up for it All and every One of them There was an Infallibility for you The Church of Rome had cunning Hiding Places and if you attack'd the Infallibility of their Church they wou'd not tell you what they meant by their Church nor where to find their Infallibility some wou'd make you believe that it was in the Pope as Head of the Church and only Successor of Peter to whom the Promises Super hanc Petram and Tues Petrus were made But then some distinguished and said not in Peter alone nor always but only when he was in Cathedra and some said that was with his Conclave others said no but only with a General Council Again some plac'd the Infallibility in the Council above the Pope others in the Pope above the Council others in neither of them asunder but only in both together And lastly some will have it none of all these ways but say it is only to be look'd for in the Diffusive Body of the Church And then as to the Infallibility it self some tell us that it relates to Manners as well as Faith and to Practice as well as Theory Others will by no means admit of that but confine it wholly to matters of Faith And then it will be a long Dispute what shall be adjudg'd a Matter of Faith and what not but only as Relating to Faith These are long and intricate Mazes and it requires no little Skill to be able to follow them thro' all these various Subterfuges But the Simplicity of our Quakers has depriv'd them of every one of these Helps For as they place Infallibility in every single Quaker so they confine it not to matters of Faith but extend it to all Persons and Things To know all Mens Hearts and all Things in the World by their inward Light without being told by any I am sure by this time the Reader is impatient to come to the Proof to see if it be possible for Men to be possess'd with such an incredible degree of Enthusiasm And I am willing to begin that I may no longer lie under the suspicion of Imposing unjustly or at least of Aggravating any thing against them G. Fox says plainly Gr. Myst p. 89. That they can discern who are Saint who are Devils and who Apostates without speaking ever a word Ibid. p. 5. That they have the Word of God Christ which is Eternal and Infallible in their Hearts to judge Persons and Things Thou says he to his Opponent p. 96. not being Infallible thou art not in the Spirit and so art not a Minister and art not able to judge of Powers that is not Infallible nor Magistrates nor Kingdoms nor Churches Now which of the Quakers is it who have this Spirit to judge thus Infallibly of Persons and Things of Powers Magistrates Kingdoms and Churches And to discern Mens Hearts who are Saints and who Apostates and that without being told by any as G. F. expresses it without speaking ever a word This is told us in p. 7. of Edward Burrough's Epistle to the Reader of G. F's Great Mystery where he says that this Infallible Spirit was given To us says he every one of us in particular And this Light gave us to discern between Truth and Error between every false and right way and it Perfectly discover'd to us the true state of All Things Thou say'st says Fox to his Opponent p. 107. that the Holiest Man is not able to give an Infallible Character of another Man Hast thou not in this discover'd thy self to be no Minister of Christ or of the Spirit Who cannot give an Infallible Character of another Man how canst thou Minister to his Condition How canst thou see where he is How canst thou see them that be turned from the Darkness and that be in the Darkness and distinguish the one from the oother and an Holy Man from an Unholy Man that canst not give an Infallible Character of and Man's Estate And p. 94. Have ye given your selves a Name of the Church of Christ and is there not a Spirit of discerning among you Have ye not manifested here that ye are Harlotted from the Church of Christ the Apostles were of And how can ye Minister or Teach People if ye do not discern their states how they stand before God How can you commend your selves to every Man's Conscience in God's sight How can ye present the Souls of Men to God and see not their states how they are in his sight How come ye to have Fellowship in the Spirit How can you or any Minister to the state and condition that People be
of the Truth as were in few years gathered then the Heavenly motion came upon George Fox as the Lord 's Anointed as being the Great Apostle of Jesus Christ and as one whom the Lord had ordained to be in the place amongst the Children of Light in this our Day as Moses was amongst the Children of Israel in his Day to set forth Methods and Forms of Church Government and to Establish Monthly and Quarterly Meetings of Men and of Women distinct from Men and these Meetings are since called the Church whose Counsel Advice and Judgment as occasion shall offer is to be submitted unto by every one who Professeth himself a Member of the Church And saith George VVhitehead We are to Believe as the true Church Believes c. Christian Quaker Part 1. p. 9. 1680. I was told by one present at the Quaker-Meeting at Radcliff on Sunday the 17th of February last 1694 5. that Mr. Penn having Preached and after George Keith rising up and Expounding some Scripture in another manner than Mr Penn had done that Mr. Penn stopt him and solemnly Denounced these words against him In the Name of the Lord I Pronounce him an Apostate over his Head Upon which occasion I have these few Questions to ask 1. Whether this was a Sentence from Mr. Penn himself or from their Church If the latter it comes in the Class just before-mention'd of their Church-Authority over the Light within particular Persons But if the former then here is Private Light against Private Light And Mr. Penn will please to tell us by what Authority he Pronounc'd this Sentence against G. Keith in the Name of the Lord. If by an Ordinary Commission of Succession to Christ and the Apostles by Regular Ordination That I should be glad to hear But if by an Extraordinary Commission such as the Prophets and Apostles had we wou'd desire such Credentials as they had that is Miracles Otherwise any Reason why this is not rank Enthusiasm and liable to the Sentence of those who spoke In the Name of the Lord when He had not sent them Mr. Penn owns the Enthusiasm but does not shew the Miracles for he said publickly in their last Yearly Meeting in May 1695. in Excuse or Justification of his above-said Sentence of Apostacy against G. Keith That he was then so Transported with the extraordinary Power of God upon him that he knew not whether he was sitting standing or kneeling when he spoke the words But whether this Enthusiasm proceeded from Divine or what other Inspiration will be best known from the Doctrine it supported and which was the ground of the Contest And it was thus told to me by one who was present viz. That Mr. Penn at a former Meeting had Explain'd this Scripture 1 John 1.7 The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin in this manner That the Blood was the Life and the Life was the Light within This Resolves all into the Light within which as will be further shewn they make to be the Archi-Type and Substance of what Christ's outward Body Blood and all that He did or suffer'd in it were but the Types and Shadow and so of much less Value and Consequence to our Salvation But to go on with our present matter of Fact At the fore-mention'd Meeting the 17th of Feb. 1694 5. G. Keith taking occasion to Discourse upon the above-said Text 1 John 1.7 did Expound it in a quite different manner from what Mr. Penn had done but without naming of Mr. Penn Said that it ought to be taken Literally that it was the outward shedding of Christ's Blood which cleanseth from sin and that this was not to be Resolv'd into the Light within nor to be Spiritualiz'd away from the Letter For that this was overthrowing of the Faith Upon which Mr. Penn rose up and Interrupted him in the middle of his Discourse which I am told is contrary to the Method and Freedom of their Meetings and Church-Discipline and taking it to himself and his former Exposition of that Text which is told above he inveigh'd not without great Passion against G. Keith concluded with the Sentence of Excommunication above-told and stopping G. Keith from any Reply immediately Dissolv'd the Assembly I will not here enlarge upon the Subject matter of this Dispute betwixt them because it will be fully Discuss'd in the following Sections Particularly Section 12 17 and 18. But for the present I only apply it to the point of their Church-Authority over the Light within particular persons which was their Original and Great pretence SECT XI Concerning the Authority of the Holy Scriptures THE Quaker's Refuge Printed Anno 1673. p. 17. states this as truly own'd by the Quakers in these words VVhether the first Pen-Man of the Scriptures was Moses or Hermes or whether both these are not one or whether there are not many words contained in the Scriptures which were not spoken by Inspiration of the Holy Spirit whether some words were not spoken by the Grand Impostor some by wicked Men some by wise Men ill Apply'd some by good Men ill Express'd some by False Prophets and yet True some by True Prophets and yet False And from these Suppositions he goes on and concludes that some part of the Scriptures concerning the Redemption and Salvation of Mankind were True And p. 18. That the Scriptures as above Distinguished are a true Record c. Instead of Answering these Diabolical Suggestions against the Sacred Authority of the Holy Scriptures of God and which evidently overthrow the Certainty of the whole G. VVhitehead in his Innocency Triumphant Printed 1693. in Answer to F. Bugg's New Rome Arraign'd p. 28. does own the whole by way of an Excuse for it and says That this question'd but of some words in Scripture not all But the Holy Scriptures confirming the whole of themselves one part Quoting another if the whole be not therefore True the whole must be False And we must take this to be the Opinion of the New Quakers as well as the Old because Non Asserted G. VVhitehead endeavours to solve this Ibid. p. 21. in Answer to the Quotations which F. Bugg had brought out of their Authors which call'd the Holy Scriptures by the Wicked and Contemptible Names of Dust Death Serpents Meat c. Whitehead says that was only in opposition to those who wou'd have the very Paper and Ink and Characters to be the Word of God and the Gospel wherein they were oppos'd says he Christ being the Word and the Gospel the Power of God which Endures for ever which the Books and Letters or Characters cannot Here Whitehead says that there were some Priests in the North in and before the year 1653. when those Books which Bugg Quoted were Printed who were thus Ignorant And that this was the Reason for those Expressions in these Quaker Books First This had been no Reason for these Barbarous Expressions if it had been so But Secondly I will joyn Issue with
G. Whitehead upon it that there never were such Priests either in the North or any where else that were so Ignorant No George This is an Arrant Lye without all doubt Did any Man ever Think or Say that the very Material Paper and Ink and Letters wou'd Endure for ever Where is now thy Infallibility Where thy Common Honesty or Morality thus grosly to bely these Priests as thou callest them But they thank Thee that it was so Grosly for it is so very Ridiculous that it is in no Man's Power to believe Thee or that Thou canst have the least pretence to Infallibility or even that Thy word shou'd be trusted in any thing that Thou averrest when Thou darest Print so notorious and impossiblean Untruth Like G. Fox's senseless Reply to Richard Baxter c. Writing says he Paper and Ink is not Infallible Great Mystery p. 302. nor the Scripture is not the ground of Faith Your Rule Paper and Ink that will come to Dust Here I wou'd fain ask them a Question How it comes that since they are such bitter Enemies to the Letter they yet make a Conscience of saying Thee and Thou instead of You in the singular because these were old English words in the first Translations Is there any Immorality or Iniquity in these Letters y o u more than in T h o u And is not every Nation Master of its own Language Besides these were not the words of the Languages in which the Scriptures were wrote It is likely that G. Fox and the rest in the Year 1650. thought they were and lighting upon some old English Bible took it for the Original For if stress must be laid upon the Letter it must be surely upon the Original Letter in which the Scriptures were wrote And the Quakers may as well lay stress upon the Latine or French or Dutch Translation as upon the English in this Case How do they in other Languages make the Distinction betwixt thou and you when you is us'd in the singular Number Behold here these Men whose Chief Principle it is to Decry and Damn the Letter do set up at the same time the most Superstitions and Ridiculous sticking to the Letter that ever was heard of since Adam so very Extravagant that if it had not been no Man cou'd have believ'd that it cou'd have been Or that any Men cou'd have made a Case of Conscience of such a senseless and insignificant Criticism But as the Scorpion is said to carry Oyl which cures its own Venom so the wise Providence of God has dispos'd of most Errors that they carry Contradictions to themselves in their own Bowels But if the Holy Scriptures of God must not be call'd the Word of God because they are wrote in Letters why must the Quakers most Blasphemous and Prophane Scribbles be Stil'd the Word of the Lord Even Solomon Eccles's Lying Prophesie before told in his Letter to John Story To you all this is The Word of the Lord says George Fox of his own Writings Great Myst p. 225. I charge you says he in the presence of the Lord God Some of the Quakers Principles c. p. 4. to send this amongst all Friends and Brethren every where to be Read in all Meetings To you all This is the Word of God G. Fox's Letter to all Friends Printed 1671. with several Papers c. p. 60. 62. The Scriptures are not the Word of God G. F. c. Fire-brand c. p. 159. 2d Part 1678. A Printed Letter of G. Fox's which is now lying before me Dated at Dalston the 13th of the 10th Month 1683. Bears this Title All Friends every where this is The word of the Lord unto you all And there is a Postscript in these words This you may read amongst the Children of the Light and of the Day And p. 4. of the Letter he says I remember before we were call'd Quakers as I was sitting in an House in Nottingham-shire about the Year 1648. the word of the Lord came to me and said c. And yet in his Great Myst p. 246 247. he calls it Blasphemy to say that the Scriptures are the Word of God His words are these They the Scriptures are not the word of God which thou Christopher Wade hast Blasphemously affirmed But says he Jesuitcally to amuse the Reader Christ is the word of God As if Christopher Wade or any Christian had ever affirmed that the Book of Scriptures was the Word of God in the same sense as Christ or any otherwise than as the Records of those Revelations which God by his Holy Spirit did dictate to the Inspired Pen-Men But not a Living Person partaking of the Substance of the Father like the Word Eternally Begotten Cou'd this George either of these Georges Fox or VVhitehead produce any one Man even in Bedlam who ever asserted this of the Ink or Paper of the Holy Scriptures Why then do they use this Distinction Against whom do they use it Against No Body it was only to Shufle and Cut to Cover and Excuse their Contempt of the Holy Scriptures and in their place Deifying of their own Spirit and their own Scriptures They knew that the Holy Scriptures cou'd not be discarded openly and above Board nor all at once That the World had been long in Possession of them and of a just Veneration of them and therefore wou'd not so easily part with them nor accept of any Foxes Inspirations instead of them Therefore they set up a Power like that of the Church of Rome of Infallible Interpretation of Scripture And improv'd it as above is told into Immediate Revelation equal to that of the Prophets and Apostles And pursuant to this Plenitude of Power they have taken upon them not only to Abrogate the most express Ordinances of the Gospel and Pronounce them expir'd at their Pleasure as Baptism and the Lord's Supper But to set up and Institute new ones as the Womens Preachings directly contrary to 1 Cor. 14.35 which suffers not VVomen to speak in the Church and the Prelacy of the VVomens Meetings an Invention never heard of in the World till G. Fox Cobbled it out And they Enjoyn not these only as Ecclesiastical Injunctions of their Church but upon their pretence before told to the same Immediate Revelation which was given to the Apostles as the Institutions of Christ Solomon Eccles in his Letter already mention'd to John Story calls these the VVomens Preachings and the VVomens Meetings the Great and Good Ordinance which Christ Iesus hath set up in his Church This is directly giving us New Scriptures and a New Gospel For which they will find their Reward Gal. 1.8 9. Rev. 22.18 19. And they having as they pretend the same Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures they cannot be bound by the Scriptures or any Command in them unless their Spirit does anew require the same thing which the Scripture Commands So that the Scripture remains of no Authority with them
words Our Ministers do not teach that the Name of Jesus and Christ belong to every Member in the Body or Church as Amply as to Christ the Head And that you may take notice of it the word Amply is put in a different Character in old Black Letters lest you shou'd mistake and think that George was Christ as Amply as Jesus That was modest indeed But then George Thou art Christ as well as Jesus tho' not so Amply and then your first Art above Quoted which calls Jesus the Christ means no great matter but is rank Sophistry and Dodging and casting a Mist before the Eyes of poor deluded People For I have that Charity for a great many of your Followers as to think that they do not know those Depths of Stan and that Mystery of Iniquity into which thou and others have led them And out of which thou dost not desire to Rescue them but to bind them faster in it by this thy Equivocating and Jesuitical Confession of Faith As Article 2. where you confess with the Socinians Christ's coming in the Flesh That is as before explain'd taking Flesh upon him as a Veil or Garment but not in the Language and true Sense of the Scripture That he was made Flesh John 1.14 that is took it into his Person and joyn'd it in a Personal Union with his Divine Nature so that as it is express'd in the Athanasian Creed as the Reasonable Soul and Flesh is one Man so God and Man is one Christ. If you had believ'd what is contain'd in these words you wou'd not have scrupl'd setting it down in these words which must have given the best satisfaction if it had been your design to have given satisfaction without any reserve for that wicked Heresie which you wou'd seem not to plead for yet in such words as you might easily afterwards explain to mean nothing against it Article 7. You say We own no such saying as that the Holy Doctrine or Divine Precepts of Scripture is either Dust Death or the Serpent's Meat But you say that wicked Men have Perverted the Scriptures That no Body can deny to You. But what then Is the Holy Word of God therefore become Death and Serpent's Meat because you have made it Death unto your selves God forbid says St. Paul Rom. 7.13 in answer to the same Argument which you bring Wherefore the Law is Holy and the Commandment Holy and Just and Good tho' the Vnlearned and the Vnstable wrest them to their own Destruction 2 Pet. 3.16 But what was it you call'd Dust and Serpent's Meat Was it nothing else but the Ink and the Paper Did any Body ever say that These were not Dust Or is that any part of the Contest betwixt us Was it the Ink Only and the Paper of which you doubt as before Quoted in the Quakers Refuge whether Moses or Hermes was the Pen-Man Thou meanedst verily which of them made the Pen that was all upon the word of a Quaker Was it the Pen or Ink of which you doubt that some of it was not spoken by the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit And whether some of it was not spoken by the Grand Impostor Some by False Prophets and yet True some by True Prophets and yet False The Ink or Paper are neither True nor False but the Doctrine only which is written in them And therefore George notwithstanding all thy mealy Modesty it is It is indeed George it is the very Doctrine of the Scriptures which you Blaspheme as Dust and Death and Serpent's Meat on purpose to bring Men off from trying your Pernicious Heresies by those Sacred Oracles and to make your Followers trust wholly to your New Light within in comparison of which it is that you vilifie the written Doctrine and Precepts of God which are most opposite to all your Gross Delusions it is not the Ink nor the Paper that you quarrel at No they do you no hurt But it is the Law and the Testimony according to which written Word if any do not teach the same Holy Scriptures do Instruct us it is because there is no Light in them Isai 8.20 No Light George Mark that Your false Pretences to the Light within is here over-rul'd and to be measured by the written word without These are hard sayings to the Infallible Friends And it was for the sake of these and such like Texts which Detect and Explode the miserable Ignorance and Blasphemy of these Pretenders to Light which made Thee Friend George in this same Book to which Thou hast prefix'd Thy abovesaid Affirmative Confession of Faith p. 28. Excuse and Justifie the Diabolical Suggestions in the Quakers Refuge against the Authority of the Sacred Scriptures by saying that it Question'd but of some of the Scriptures not all as I have shewn before But now come George we are near an end and we know not if ever we shall meet again tell me in the Plain Downright Honesty and Simplicity of thy Light within Didst Thou mean no more by this but that only some and not all the Ink was thick and muddy and fit for Serpents Meat and that only some Sheets of the Paper or Parchment or Barks of Trees on which they wrote in ancient time and might write the Scriptures for ought thou knowest was course and ugly Is all thy Malice only against those base Printers or VVriters who Prophane the Letter by poor sneaking Impressions and provide not good Ink and Paper If thou thinkest all this to be Railery not becoming thy Gravity See I pray thee if it be any thing more than what thou settest forth as the very true and only Reason for those vile Epithets which thou and thy Friends do bestow upon the Holy Scriptures of God And be asham'd and blush if thou canst for that Silly and Childish come off with which thou Gravely undertakest to Banter all Mankind as if all your Ignominies and Contempt cast upon Scripture were to be understood only of the Ink and Paper Nor is thy salvo more Ingenious in the Eleventh Article of thy aforesaid Creed wherein thou endeavourest to reconcile the Heretical Notions of thy Sect against the true Incarnation of Christ calling his Body a Figure Veil c. It is really say'st thou contrary to our Faith and Principle to make Christ Jesus himself only a Figure a Veil or Garment Here the word only as the word Amply in the tenth Article is put in great Black Letters to shew the stress thou layst upon it And to discover thy Sophistication thou sayst That Christ Jesus is not only a Figure or a Garment Not only No more is a Cloak or a Veil It is not only a Garment for it is Cloath or Stuff and may be put to many other uses There is no one thing in the World that is only one thing It may be taken under more considerations than one But this as I observ'd at first of thy Equivocating manner is but a Negative Confession