TO THE Ministers Teachers AND PRIESTS So called and so Stileing your Selves IN BARBADOES BY GEORGE FOX Printed in the Year 1672. To the Ministers Teachers and Priests so called and so stiling your selves in BARBADOES COnsider seriously what a Charge you take in hand do you not pretend to watch for and over Peoples Souls and to present them to God Have you presented any to God Nay Can you present any to God unless you be in the same Power and Spirit the Apostles were in which is an Immortal Power Spirit to present the immortal Soul to the immortal God Do you pretend to watch for the spiritual and everlasting Good of the People but do not you watch more whatever your pretences are for their Goods which you call your Revenues then for that O! how is it that there is so much raging which wars against the Soul amongst you yea such abundance of Fleshly Lusts and Fleshly Talk in the Hearts and Mouthes of People Do you not pretend to cure their Souls and to be the Curates of them And if so can you make the Soul Perfect If you present them to God must they not be perfect here For will you present an unperfect Offering to a perfect God Do you not pretend that you Plough in Hope And have you the Spiritual Plough that turns up the Fallow Ground And if so how comes it to pass that there are so much Weeds upon your Ground and that your Land lies fallow in that there 's so little Fruit brought forth to God Look upon your Field every one of you or whether are you idle and do not plough but beat the Air and so do not you pretend that you thresh in Hope Now have you the Spiritual Flayl and if so How chances it that there is so much Chaff And do you not plead for Imperfection and a Body of Sin and Death that people must necessarily have while they live upon Earth Then do you not plead for Chaff and not for the Wheat And look upon your Fields and look upon your Vineyards and see what abundance of Chaff there is Have you not been the Seeds-men of the Flesh who sow to the Flesh and not the Seeds-men of the Spirit who sow to the Spirit For he that sows to the Flesh must of the Flesh reap Corruption and so look what a goodly Crop you have and he that sows to the Spirit he reaps Life Eternal But do you believe that every one hath a measure of the Spirit for you to sow to And do you believe that every one is enlightened by Christ Jesus the Light and their Saviour that you may turn them from Darkness to the Light and from the Power of the Devil to God or rather that you turn them from the Power of God to the Devil and from the Light to Darkness Examine your selves and consider for you must give an Account to God Have you heard Christ's Voice and God's Voice immediately from Heaven Hath he sent you to Preach or have you ran before you were sent And have you not spoken and yet God never spoke to you and say Thus saith the Lord as those did who were reproved in Jer. 23.21 or Have you been called of God as Aaron was or Have you taken that Honour upon your selves having a Call of Men and not as Aaron had And Christ saith to his Apostles Go and teach all Nations and else-where he saith The Gospel must be preached amongst all Nations Mark 13.10 Now did Christ set his Apostles down in Parishes for so much a Year that the People should be like a Free-hold and that the People should be Tenants for Life or until they could hear of a bigger Benefice Is this your Practice or theirs to wit the Apostles of Christ Now consider Christ I say saith Go teach all Nations Have you obeyed his Commands or have you heard his Voice as was said before or are you of those that have climed up another way and what doth Christ call such And if you be Ministers of Christ are you not Teachers of Blacks and Taunies to wit Indians as well as of the Whites For is not the Gospel to be preached to all Creatures And are not they Creatures And did not Christ taste Death for every man And are not they Men And was not he a Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World as well as for the Saints And so consider if the Gospel was to be preached unto all according as Christ commanded why do you not teach the Blacks and Taunies here You may it may be say There is nothing to be gotten of them What have they not Souls for you to watch over and to cure Are they not part of your Parishioners if not the greatest part And why do you find fault with the Quakers so called for teaching of their Families and instructing them to wit the Blacks and Taunies and Whites Does not the Lord say That Abraham he knew would instruct his Family And were not all his Men-Children to be Circumcised And are not all Men and Women now to be Circumcised with the Spirit of God But it seems your Blacks c. are taught to Swear and to Curse and to say God Dam them and many of them do Swear almost at every word which they have been taught and learned here among you called Christians for they learn no such kind of Speech in their own Country And is not this sad that Christians who profess Christianity should have such things amongst them For Christ saith You must not Swear at all in Mat. 5. and in Jam. 5. who taught them true Christianity And is it not the Duty of every Master of a Family that so these may come to know their Duty to God and to Man Now first Consider your own Lives and the End of your Preaching whether you do not preach your selves and for your selves and seek theirs you preach to and not them Examine your Hearts truly before God for to him you must give an Account Have you not laid aside this Command of Christ namely Freely you have received freely give and to invite the People To come for Wine and Milk without Money and without Price Isa 55.1 Now can you do so without Hypocrisie How can you say so and not blush when you will do nothing without Price nor give any thing without Money but will have so much a Year of every one in your Parish or else No Penny No Pater Noster The Apostle saith He coveted no mans Silver nor Gold nor Apparrel but laboured with his Hands to supply his own Necessities and the Necessities of others and that he might be an Example to all that followed him remember the words of our Lord Jesus how that it is a more Blessed Thing to Give then to Receive Acts 20.33 34 35. Now do you follow the Apostle Paul herein and is he your Example What do you think the People have no Eyes in their Heads to see
things cometh the Wrath of God upon the Children of Disobedience Now consider all you that call your selves Ministers and others in Christendom so called Christ Jesus is the Seed's-Man and he sows the good Seed which is in Man's Heart now some Hearts be a High-Way and those Fowls in them that are bred by the foul spirit take it away and some is sown upon Stony Ground where 's not much Earth but is scorch't by the heat of Persecution and some again is sown upon the Thorny Ground Thorny Hearts where it grows a while and then the Thornes the Cares of the World choaks it but that which is sown upon Good Ground brings forth good Fruit abundantly to the Glory of God and Christ the Seed's-Man Now Christ in a Parable 〈◊〉 speaks of a Housholder that sowed good Seed in his Field and his Servants said Didst thou not sow good Seed whence then hath it Tares He answered An Enemy hath done this They replyed Wilt thou that we go and gather them up Nay saith he lest ye gather the Wheat also let both grow together till the Harvest The Field is the World the Good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom of Christ the Tares are the Children of the Wicked One the Enemy that sowed them is the Devil the Harvest is the end of the World and the Reapers are the Angels So Christ he would not suffer his Disciples to gather the Tares lest c. Now what 's the matter with you and others who will be Gatherers when Christ hath forbidden you lest you pluck up Wheat instead of Tares seeing it is the Angels Work to sever the Wheat from the Tares and the Wicked from the Just And therefore whose Servants have you been in all Christendom who will venture the gathering of the Tares and instead of them have been plucking up the Wheat as witness all the Martyrs and Bloody Persecutions since Christ's time but these Tares at the End of the World the Angels shall cast into the Fire where shall be Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth c. And Luke 9.55 When Christ sent to a Village of the Sameritans to make ready for him and they did not receive him his Disciples said Lord Wilt thou that we command Fire to come down from Heaven to consume them even as Elias did but Christ rebukâ—t them saying Ye know not what spirit ye are of the Son of Man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them Now mark If the Disciples of Jesus Christ did not know themselves what spirit they were of who would have had Fire to come down from Heaven upon such as would not receive Christ how do you know what spirit you are of and all those since the Apostles dayes that do persecute people about Religion by Imprisoning them c Now had they and you known what spirit you are of you would not Persecute but seeing you do not therefore it is you will have the People of God persecuted and so are under the Rebukes of Christ who came to Save and nor destroy And therefore since you do not know what spirit you are of your selves we cannot trust our Bodies nor our Souls nor Spirits in your hands And you see you have no Command from Christ or the Apostles to persecute for Christ saith All Power is given to me both in Heaven and Earth c. What to do To destroy the Devil and his Works the Enemy the Adversary and Destroyer of Mankind Christ he is so far from that that he commands us To love one another and to love Enemies but this Command hath been little regarded in Christendom Christ spake to such as built the Sepulchres of the Prophets and garnisht them whom their Fore-Fathers had killed and yet these Builders killed the Son Have not we the same Builders now that would kill him and persecute him where he is revealed in his People Truly ye bear witness that you allow the Deeds of your Fore-fathers who did kill them and their Children built and garnisht their Sepulchres that so all the Righteous Blood from Abel to Zacharias yea to this very day will come upon this Generation of Persecutors whereof in our dayes we have seen sad Examples how the Lord hath cut several of them suddenly off who have been found persecuting his People and Beloved Ones his dear Lambs And saith Christ The Servant that says in his Heart My Lord delays his coming and begins to smite his Fellow-Servants and Eat and be Drunken the Lord will come in a day when he looks not for him when he is not aware of it and will cut him assunder and will appoint him his Portion with Unbelievers Mat. 12. And therefore take ye heed who smite the Servants of God and Hand-Maids of God lest the Lord come in a Day or in an Hour when you are not aware and cut you assunder with his sharp two-edged Sword and appoint you your Portion with Hypocrites and Unbelievers and therefore the People of God are alwayes to be in a readiness waiting for the Appearance of the Lord Mat. 24. And Blessed is that Servant that the Lord finds so doing he will make him Ruler over his House that gives them their Meat in due season Now consider you Strikers this and all you Smiters and Persecuters you do not watch for Christ's coming no no but you put the Day and Hour afar off and you do not know how soon either of them may come of cutting assunder and of your Weeping Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth and your Portion which you are like to have with Hypocrites And Christ further saith Luke 19.27 Those mine Enemies which would not that I should Raign over them bring hither and slay them before me Now consider this you that will not have Christ to Rule and Raign in his People no nor in your selves Do you think that you shall escape the Sword of his Judgments and of his Mouth and the Wrath of the Lamb And did ever Christ though he was called a Blasphemer and as Belzebub and that he had a Devil and a Deceiver yet though he had all Power in his Hands given to him in Heaven and in Earth yet he did not persecute any of them but rebuk't his Disciples Neither did he give any such Command or Advice to his Apostles but rather the contrary viz. That they should love one another and love Enemies Now then who hath given you this Power to persecute and beat another mans Children and Servants Let us know your Original and your Antiquity Now whereas you may say That Lay-men and Mechanick Men are not to meddle with the Scriptures but you onely that have got the Original of Hebrew Greek and Latine I Answer Was not the beginning of the Originals in Babel For was not all the Earth of one Language before And had not Pilate these Originals when he crucified Christ And did he not write a Title upon his Cross in Hebrew Greek and Latine
Fathers by his Prophets but hath in these last dayes spoken to us by his Son who is Heir of all things by whom the World was made c. For as the Apostle saith Acts 3.22 that Moses said A Prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you And so now we do witness that God hath raised him up and him we do hear and so I say we do witness the Teachings of God by his Son Jesus Christ the Anointed of the Lord So that we are not now without a Prophet and a Priest nor without a Shepherd and a Bishop nor a Minister And we do certainly know That the Son of God is come and he hath given us an Understanding that we know him that is true and we are in him that is true even in his Son Jesus Christ and this is the True God and Eternal Life 1 John 5.20 and he hath given us an Understanding so that we now find that Wisdom and Satisfaction in him which we could never purchase neither for Gold nor Silver nor for Pearls the beginning whereof is the Fear of God and departing from Evil as you may see in John 28. at large And therefore the Apostle saith Heb. 12.25 See that you refuse not him that speaketh for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on Earth much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from Heaven And in Heb. 3.7 To day if you will hear his Voice harden not your Hearts as in the Provocation in the Day of Temptation in the Wilderness c. So we are to hear his Voice that speaks from Heaven yea and that while it is to day and not to put it off till to morrow Now you that do so and say that there is no hearing of God's Voice nor of Christ's Voice now adayes and that there 's no speaking from Heaven now adayes are not your Hearts hardened and have you not hardened them to the purpose do not the Fruits of your Hearts bespeak it with a loud Voice And if God's and Christ's Voice be not to be heard now adayes I would willingly know of you how he doth exercise his Offices in his Church namely his Kingly Office as he is sole Head of his Church and his Prophetical and Priestly Offices and his Office of a Bishop and Shepherd who feeds them with Life and over-sees and rules them by his Power and Spirit Now do not say He doth not exercise his Offices in his true Church because you do not feel the exercise of them in yours who lies knocking at the Door of your hearts as a Priest and a Prophet c. and you will not let him in if so how then can he exercise his Offices and how can you hear his Voice when you harden your Hearts and like the deaf Adder stop your Ears and will not hearken to the Voice of the Charmer charm he never so wisely And how can you see him when you close your Eyes Pharisee-like so that you are not like to see him exercise his Offices but the Blind lead the Blind into the Ditch which is a corrupting place and there they corrupt and plead for their Corruptions for term of Life Whereas we can and do now hear his Voice and obey it and so can love our Enemies in Obedience to Christ's Command and love one another And we know the Lyars who say they Love God and yet Hate their Brother He is a Lyar saith the Apostle For he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 John 4.20 And he that hates his Brother is a Man-Slayer And we know that no Man-Slayer hath Eternal Life abiding in him For as the same Apostle saith We know the Message which we have heard from the Beginning That We love one another not as Cain who was of that Wicked One and slew his Brother And wherefore slew he him Because his own Works were Evil and his Brother 's Righteous Marvel not my Brethren if the World hate you 1 John 3.11 12 13. And so 't is no Wonderment to us that the World hate us for saith Christ the Heavenly Man It hated Me first And this Cain was the first Persecutor about Religion and where-ever this Persecuting is we know that is of Cain of his Spirit of his Nature Seed and Off-spring from whence is the Reprobation since the World began in the Devil and old Adam out of Christ since I say the World began whereas the Election is in Christ the Seed of the Woman by whom the World was made who was glorified with the Father before the World began But the Reprobation I say is in the Devil and old Adam that seed where all the Vessels of Dishonour are Whereas they are the Vessels of Mercy and of Honour that have received Christ in whom is the Election only And therefore as we said before Marvel not if the World hate us as the Reprobate Seed hated the Elect Seed Cain hated Abel and Esau Jacob and this you may see in 1 John 3.10 In this the Children of God are manifest from the Children of the Devil whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God neither he that loves not his Brother And in Heb. â— 10 where the Apostle sets forth the Children of the New Covenant saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their Mind and write them in their Hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People Now these are God's People of his Elect Seed and he is their God who hath written his Law in their Hearts c. and this we witness praised be the Lord for evermore for his New Covenant and Work in us And in the next Verse saith he You shall not teach every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying Know the Lord for all shall know him from the Least unto the Greatest c. And so we know that the Knowledge of the Lord shall cover the Earth as the Waters cover the Sea For the Lord saith Look unto me and be saved all the Ends of the Earth Here all are invited to Salvation And in another place saith he I will give him for a Covenant of Light the Glory of Israel and he shall be my Salvation to the Ends of the Earth And so now the Church is coming out of the Wilderness the Bride the Lamb's Wife and the Bride saith Come and the Spirit saith Come Here is the Call to Christ the Saviour who is the Way to God and there is no other Way to the Father but by him neither is there any Salvation by any other Name under Heaven but by the Name of Jesus in whose Name we are gathered and there is no other Foundation to be laid but what is laid even Christ Jesus who is the Top and
unto all men without Exception Teaching us to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly and Righteously and Godlily in this present Evil World Tit. 2.11 12. And this Grace seasons our Words and establishes our Hearts So we have a Teacher which brings us Salvation Glory be to God forever and forever And this Teacher is with us where-ever we are to wit the Grace of God by which we are saved and not of our selves And we can say this Grace is Sufficient which brings Salvation though you look not upon it to be Sufficient who keep People alwayes under your Teachings that they may be alwayes Learning of you and alwayes paying of you and yet never come to the Knowledge of the Truth in themselves nor their Talent in themselves to improve For have you not been like the Pharisees who stopt their Ears and closed their Eyes and like Saul who kickt against that that pricks him and then kickt against others and persecuted others And were they not them who shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men who would not enter themselves nor suffer others to enter See that Blessed Doctrine of Christ in Luk. 17. who said to them The Kingdom of Heaven when they demanded when it should come Christ's Answer to them was comes not with Observation Lo Here Lo there But saith Christ The Kingdom of Heaven is within you And we have found his blessed Words to be true Blessed be his Name forever who hath stood at our Door and knocks as He doth at yours Yea I say at the Door of our Minds and at the Door of our Hearts and Souls and we have let Him in who now Sups with us and we with Him the Heavenly Supper with the Heavenly Man the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ and our Alone Saviour O! Glory be to Him forever and for evermore Rev. 3. And you say There is no Overcoming of Sin and Death on this side the Grave but must have alwayes a Warfare Ans But did not Paul say that He had fought c. then surely he was not then fighting he was not then warring though 't is true Time was that He had been in the War and led Captive to do those things he would not have done But if there be no Overcoming on this side the Grave then there is no Eating of the hidden Manna on this side the Grave nor no Getting of the White Stone on this side the Grave nor of that New Name written in the Stone which no man knoweth saving He that receiveth it Rev. 2.17 The Reason there rendred because it is a Gift only to Him that Overcometh that is on this side the Grave And Rev. 3.12 13. Him that Overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and He shall go no more out and I will write upon Him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God So that mark this Promise will not be made good unless we Overcome on this side the Grave But it may be you have not the Ears to Hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches And in the 21. Vers To Him that Overcometh will I grant to Sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am Set down with my Father in his Throne He that hath an Ear let Him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches But I fear you have none of these Ears open that the Spirit speaks to here namely The Church of the Living God whereof Christ is the Head Again Rev. 3 5. He that Overcometh the same shall be Clothed in White Rayment and I will not blot out his Name out of the Book of Life But I will confess his Name before my Father and before his Angels He that hath an Ear let him hear c. But as I said before I question your Ears of hearing what the Spirit saith that there must first be an Overcoming Now this was the Spirit 's speaking to the Church that did Overcome But it may be you will say That the Spirit doth not speak to you in your Church and therefore you may question your Church and your selves too And Rev. 2.26 He that Overcometh and keepeth my Works unto the End to him will I give Power and I will give him the Morning Star He that hath an Ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches Now we can and do witness that Spiritual Ear to hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches Glory to God forever and we do heartily desire that you had the same And as for the LIGHT which you call Natural and Created and a Made Light that really and truly is the Light of Christ Jesus the Heavenly and Spiritual Man and it is a Heavenly Light and a Spiritual Light wherewithal He Enlightens every one that comes into the World which he commands us to believe in through which we become Children of Light as was said before For in Him was Life to wit Christ by whom the World was made and this Life that is in Christ is the Light of Men. And so as men are turned to the Light and believe in the Light they are ingrafted into Christ who is the Root or Stock and they the Branches So that this Light is neither Natural nor Created nor Made for it is the Heavenly Light which is the Life in Christ by which we coming into Christ the Light we receive Life And as Peter speaks of the Light which was a more Sure Word of Prophesie whereunto you do well that you take heed as unto a Light that shines in a dark Place until the Day dawn and the Day-Star arise in your Hearts signifying that this Light was sufficient to bring them unto the Day-dawning and unto the Day-Star arising in their Hearts yea this Light that shines in a dark Place And what dark Place was this and where was it was it not in their Hearts which they did well to take heed unto signifying thereby that they do not well that do not take heed unto it and so they do well that do take heed unto it in the Light they see more Light and it shines more and more to the perfect Day So this Light that comes from Christ Christians waiting in it they receive Christ the Bright Morning-Star which Thousands do witness and have received Him Glory to God for evermore and with their Hearts they do believe and with their Mouthes Confession is made unto Salvation and that their Salvation is their Wall and Bulwork against all Persecutors And so we follow Him to wit Christ Jesus the Captain of our Salvation and the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World against whom the Dragon Beast and Whore and their Followers are Fighting but the Lamb will have the Victory For He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is the First and Last
the Scriptures of Truth c. This is to inform you That all our Books and Declarations that for these many years have been published to the World do clearly testifie to the contrary but yet for your sakes this is now given forth That God who is the Only Wise Omnipotent and Everlasting God we do Own and Believe in who is the Creator of all things both in Heaven and in Earth and the Preserver of all that he hath made who is God over all blessed forever to whom be all Honour and Glory and Dominion and Praise and Thanksgiving both now and for evermore And that Jesus Christ is his Beloved and Only Begotten Son in whom he is Well-pleased who was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Virgin Mary in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the Forgiveness of Sins who is the express Image of the Invisible God the First-born of every Creature by whom were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in the Earth Visible and Invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers And we do own and believe that he was made to be as Sin or an Offence and Curse for us who knew no Sin and was Crucified for us in the Flesh without the Gates of Jerusalem and that he was Buried and Rose again the Third Day by his own Power for our Justification and we do believe that he Ascended up into Heaven and now sitteth at the Right-Hand of God And that this Jesus is the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and our Foundation so that there is no other Foundation to be laid but what is laid even Christ Jesus and that he tasted Death for every man and shed his Blood for all men that he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for our Sins only but for the Sins of the whole World For saith John the Baptist of him Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World John 1.29 And we do believe That he is our Alone Redeemer and Saviour even the Captain of our Salvation who saves us from Sin as well as from Hell and from the Wrath to come and destroyes the Devil and his Works who is the Seed of the Woman that bruises the Serpent's Head to wit Christ Jesus who is Alpha and Omega the First and Last That he is as Scriptures of Truth say our Wisdom Righteousness Justification and Redemption neither is there Salvation in any other For there is none other Name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved it is he alone who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls he it is that is our Prophet whom Moses long since testified of in Acts 3.22 23. A Prophet shall the Lord our God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you and it shall come to pass that every one that will not hear that Prophet shall be Destroyed from among the People He it is that is now come and hath given us an Understanding that we may know him that is true and a Rule in our Hearts even his Law of Love and of Life in our Inward Parts which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death And we have no Life but by him For he is the Quickening Spirit the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven by whose Blood we are cleansed and our Consciences sprinkled from Dead Works that we might serve the Living God by whose Blood we are purchased And so he is our Mediator that makes Peace and Reconciliation between God offended and Us offending being our Surety of the New Testament and the Oath of God the New Covenant of Light Life Grace and Peace the Author and Finisher of our Faith Now this Lord Jesus Christ the Heavenly Man Emanuel God with us we all own and believe in whom the High Priests raged against and said He had spoken Blasphemy and the Chief Priests and Elders of the Jews took Counsel together and put him to Death the same whom Judas betray'd for Thirsy Pieces of Silver which he had from the Priests who gave a Large Sum of Money to the Souldiers to broach a Horrible Lye namely that they should say That his Disciples stole him away by Night whilst they Slept And after he was risen from the Dead you may see in the Acts of the Apostles how that the chief Priests and Elders Persecuted the Disciples of this Jesus for preaching Christ and his Resurrection this we say is that Lord Jesus Christ whom we own to be our Life and Salvation Now concerning the Holy Scriptures We do believe That they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God through Holy Men of God who spoke as Scriptures of Truth say As they were Moved by the Holy Ghost in 2 Pet. 1.1 and that they are to be Read and Believed and Fulfilled and he that fulfils them is Christ And are profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction and for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 and are able as Divinely Inspir'd to make us Wise to Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus And we do believe That the Scriptures are the Wordâ— of God for it s said in Exod. 20.1 God spake all these Words saying c. meaning the Ten Commandments given forth upon Mount Sinai and in Rev. 18. saith John I testifie unto every man that heareth the WORDS of the Prophesie of this Book if any man addeth unto These and if any man shall take away from the WORDS not Word of the Book So in Luke 1.20 Because thou believest not my WORDS and John 5.47 15.7 14.23 12.47 So that we call the Scriptures as Christ and the Apostles call'd them and as the Holy Men of God call'd them namely The WORDS of God Another Slander and Lye they have cast upon us is namely That we should teach the Negars to Rebel A Thing we do utterly abhor and detest in and from our Hearts the Lord knows it who is the Searcher of all hearts and knows all things and so can witness and testifie for us that this is a most Egregious and Abominable Untruth For that which we have spoken and declared to them is to exhort and admonish them To be Sober and to Fear God and to love their Masters and Mistresses and to be Faithful and Diligent in their Masters Service and Business and that then their Masters and Overseers will Love them and deal Kindly and Gently with them And that they should not beat their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands nor multiply Wives nor put away their Wives nor the Wives their Husbands as they use frequently to do and that they do not Steal nor be Drunk nor commit Adultery nor Fornication nor Curse nor Swear nor Lye nor give Bad Words to one another or unto any
one else For there is something in them that tells them That they should not Practice those Evils or any other before mention'd Which if notwithstanding they should do them that there are but two Ways the one that leads to Heaven where the Righteous go the other that leads to Hell where the Wicked and Debancht Whoremongers and Adulteres Murderers Lyars Thieves go To the one the Lord of Heaven and Earth will say Come ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World but to the other he will say Depart ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels The Wicked into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal Mat. 25. Now consider Friends that it s no Transgression for a Master of a Family to instruct his Family himself or else some others in his behalf but rather that it is a very great Duty lying incumbent upon them As Abraham did and Joshua did as to the first the Lord said I know that Abraham will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the Way of the Lord to do Justice Judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him And as for Joshua said he Josh 24.15 And if it seems Evil unto you to serve the Lord choose you this Day whom you will serve whether the Godds which your Fathers served that were on the other side of the Flood or the Godds of the Amorites in whose Land ye dwell But as for me and my House we will serve the Lord. And further consider this That it is a Duty lying upon us to Pray and to Teach Instruct and Admonish those in and belonging to our Families it being the Command of the Lord the Disobedience to which will incur the Lord's Displeasure as you may see in Jer. 10.25 where it s written Pour out thy Fury upon the Heathen that know thee not and upon the Families that call not upon thy Name Now Negars Tauny Indians make up a very great part of Families here in this Island for whom an Account will be required at the Great Day of Judgment when every one shall be Rewarded according to his Deeds done in the Body whether they be Good or whether they be Evil In that Day I say of the Resurrection both of the Good and of the Bad of the Just and of the Unjust when the Lord shall be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels in Flaming Fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with Everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power when he shall come to be Glorified in his Saints 2 Thess 1.8 Here follows the Addition VVHereas divers Reproachful Speeches by some of the Priests and People of the Island of Barbadoes were cast upon George Fox since his arrival here its manifest that the Devil was the Author of them to prevent and pervert the Minds of People from the Living Truth of God and the Right Way to God to wit Jesus Christ of whom the said G.F. inform'd the People that so they might all come to inherit Christ Jesus and so inherit the Substance viz. Christ their Teacher their Way their Prophet of whom Moses prophesied long since That him they should Hear their Bishop to Over-see them and their Shepherd to Feed them and their Minister that Ministereth Grace and Life and Truth unto them who is their Rock and Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and of us who in Scorn they call Quakers yea of that Christ who bruised the Serpent's Head and destroyes the Devil and his Works So he is the Way to God to the pure God who is the Pure Foundation of many Generations is the Life of all Mankind that have Life for as they all dyed in the first Adam so the Life they have is in the second Adam to wit Christ Jesus by whom the World was made who was Glorified with the Father before the World began Now I say every one must receive him in whom they have Life Eternal who is the Son of God and so receiving him they receive the Faith of the Son of God and receive his Blood that sprinkles their Hearts and Consciences from dead Works that so they might serve God in the new Life in Christ Jesus I say that Christ Jesus that was Crucified without the Gates of Jerusalem who was born of the Virgin Mary and was Dead and Buried whom Judas betray'd to the Chief Priests for thirty pieces of Silver who afterwards arose out of the Grave even the third day though the Magistrates and Priests set a Watch a Guard of Souldiers upon his Sepulchre and the chief Priests gave the Souldiers large Money to say That his Disciples stole Him away by Night This Christ I say is our Life who Dy'd for our Sins and is Risen for our Justification who remains in the Heavens at the Right hand of God until the restitution of all things And we say He is Manifested and Revealed in us and we are in him by his Light Power and Spirit and he hath taught us what to believe in to wit the Light as you may see in John who saith He is the Light and commands us to believe in the Light that we may be the Children of Light And so we are Believers in the Light to wit Christ Jesus and have the Witness within our selves And after we believ'd we were seal'd by the Spirit of Promise and we can set to our Seal That God is True in all his Prophets and Promises concerning his Son and the Doctrine of the Apostles that preacht Christ's Birth and Life Miracles Sufferings his Death and Resurrection So we do confess him before men to be our Shepherd our Way and our Foundation and the Head of his Church and he is our Bill op our Minister and our Priest who is made higher then the Heavens Holy and Harmless and this we are not ashamed to confess before men Now as for the Filthy and Unsavory words that have been cast upon me they are all False O! that People should bend their Tongues to invent filthy Lyes and that others should be given up to believe a Lye So that Say … of Christ is fulfilled They shall speak all manner of Evil◠you for my sake But yet this we can truly say The Lord forgive them if it be his will if that they have not sin'd out their day and we do earnestly desire their Repentance if there be any place found for Repentance But truly it is much if God's Wrath and his Sore Judgments do not fall heavy upon them in this Island a great measure whereof they have seen and felt already and that not long since both by the Plague that swept Multitudes away as with a Besom and by a very great Fire that