what a necessary work it is to yield our Love and Obedience to that Law and Light with which God instructs and enlightens our Nature and that without some Experience thereof it is in vain to pretend to any Religion Whether does he offer this as one Reason for leaving us or Digresses and gives it as Advice to his present Friends For it 's much but he may think himself notwithstanding all the pretences of Sorrow and Shame wiser than some Older and more Eminent Church-men He goes on and tells how dangerous it is To reduce all Religion and Faith towards God under a Profession and Experience of Light and Truth without any Distinction of common and special Illumination and Grace How far he intends this a Charge against us I am not like to know besides it is too general for him to expect a particular Answer let him Charge us but Honestly and do his worst We know that though there are Diversities of Gifts yet the same Spirit and there are differences of Administrations but the same Lord and there are diversities of Operations but the same God which worketh all in all 1 Cor. 12.4 5 6. Next he chargeth us by Name for having ignorantly and blasphemously opposed this Work of Faith and Reformation and that if we contradict or deny it must bespeak great ignorance or obstinacy But seeing he has been so kind as to account us Blasphemers and Ignorant I will submit to be accounted Obstinate too before he shall pass without Rebuke and do therefore Deny his Charge and Dare him to prove it He now being upon the high Rope goes on insinuating we Reject the Institutions of Jesus Christ which as he saith is evident from our Writings constantly published from our beginning yet he offers not one Quotation of them all for Confirmation If what he says were true what must we judge of him as to joyn and continue so many Years with such a People since as he says It is evident from our Writings constantly published that we reject the Institutions of Jesus Christ to which he cannot pretend Ignorance I think he is mightily to blame thus to Reproach his old Friends and all without-Book it looks like as if he had left them rather out of Humour than real Conviction for real Conviction would have demonstrated it self with a more Christian Temper When I have added a little more of his of like Nature I shall shew from our Doctrine how opposite his Charges are to what we Believe by which his Envy will evidently appear he saith How under pretence of high Attainments and further Glory a Spirit of Pride and great Uncharitableness hath possessed us is sufficiently manifest by its Fruits in Censuring and Reproaching all other Denominations of profess'd Christians whom we set at a great Distance and account as the World which lyeth in Wickedness with some more of like nature As to this latter That we account all other Denominations of Christians as the World which lyeth in Wickedness our Charity is so far reverse to that that we blieve there may be even among Turks and Jews such as belong to the Catholick-Church hear what is said Barclay's Apology p. 400. of his Works viz. There may be therefore Members of this Catholick-Church both among Heathens Turks and Jews and of all the several sorts of Christians Men and Women of Integrity and Simplicity of Heart who though blinded in something in their Understanding and perhaps burthened with the Superstitions and Formality of the several Sects in which they are ingrossed yet being Upright in their Hearts before the Lord chiefly aiming and labouring to be delivered from Iniquity and loving to follow Righteousness are by the secret Touches of this holy Light in their Souls inliven'd and quicken'd thereby secretly united to God and there-through become true Members of this catholick-Catholick-Church Is not this very opposite to his false Charge And to his other Insinuations That we reduce all Religion and Faith towards God under a Profession of Life and Truth without any distinction of Common and Special Illumination and Grace and so Reject the Institutions of Christ See p. 405. of the same Book Secondly The Church is to be considered as it signifies a certain Number of Persons gathered by God's Spirit and by the Testimony of some of his Servants raised up for that end unto the belief of the true Doctrines and Principles of the Christian Faith who through their Hearts being united by the same Love and their Understandings informed in the same Truth Gather Meet and Assemble together to wait upon God to Worship him and to bear a joynt-Testimony for the Truth against Error Thus it is evident how notoriously False are his Charges and Insinuations against us what he observes of the Disagreeableness of what we Teach or Publish I should have thought the small Earnings his Friend G. K. hath made thereof for if we consider his Eminence and the great Number of Years he zealously preached and defended our Faith even nigh thirty Years which must be granted the chief of his natural Life and yet upon his Revolt should be able to draw off no more looks almost incredible might have given sufficient Check to his Calumny As to the oppositeness of our Principles to true Christianity is another gross Calumny without any manner of Proof however we are ready to vindicate them and shew their agreeableness with the Holy Scriptures either with this or any other Adversary And for our Quibling and Shuffling with dull and apparent Sophistry I ascribe to his want of Matter and the effect of Envy What he saith of our altering the Sense of our own and our Opponents Writings with more of the same kind is all of a piece with the former and deserves no other answer the poor Man being at a loss must vent his Envy some way As to those Sounds and Echoes he speaks of what he intends thereby is a little dubious but if he has tender Ears and cannot endure great Sounds I ought to pity him for as the saying is He is gone out of hot Love into red Fire Most of his ninth Page as far as I find is filled with his Resentments for our refusing G. K's Arbitrary Summons And since he mentions a Paper writ by our Friends on that occasion Titled A word to the well-inclined I shall for answer refer to that Paper which I doubt not but will give the Impartial entire Satisfaction As to the Spreading our Books can he or any else blame us Would any Christian Society do less if they were abused and railed on in Print by their Adversaries but use all lawful means to remove the Reproach and vindicate their just Case Would he have us Dumb that his beloved Keith's Scotch Eloquence might pass without Remark Then I doubt not but Printing would be accounted a more edifying Method than building Stages and drawing Multitudes of People together What he insinuates of the Increase of our Number doth not
well agree with his former account of his and many others leaving our Societies this should not Increase but Diminish our Number tho' I am willing to agree with him in this I hope our Doctrine and Faith doth take place with many and yet will more abundantly The Lord hasten to accomplish and fulfil these good things he hath promised that his dear Son our Lord Jesus Christ may come to Reign in all Hearts who has paid so precious a Ransom to God for them As to the Misery our numerous Proselites are under in Partiality and Prejudice that what is published by our Party passes for Truth not only in Doctrine and Fact but that they conceive a peculiar Presence of God as a continual Blessing that accompanies them and the same Conceit we have in all we say or do and that we are so affected with the relish and savour of it that it puffs us up with intolerable Pride while it appears to us under a disguise of Humility That we should be so Partial and Flatter our selves is even against Reason to believe for People are most apt to Flatter themselves in an easie way but few are willing to be byassed in that which may expose them to manifold Sufferings and Exercises it must be the dint of Reason and force of Conviction that must effect that to which if God be pleased to give the Sense or Seal of his Spirit or Presence I will grant to him it is a Confirmation past controul and this is so far from being the Misery of any People that it is the greatest Blessing whatsoever he may think But that we conceive a peculiar Presence of God in all we say or do I cannot tell how to give him Credit for but desire proof for I believe it is a mistake as well as he is mistaken that we are so affected with the Relish and Savour thereof that it puffs us up with Intolerable Pride I see his Charity is near at an end towards us however he ought to pity us the more because as he says This intolerable Pride appears to us under a disguise of Humility which is the opposite to Pride well he had need to have some good evidence since he takes upon him to judge other Mens Hearts and remember our Saviour's Doctrine Judge not that ye be not judged for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged This rash judgment of his puts me quite out of conceit with his fine Comment on true Humility His eleventh Page appears to me to be a kind of Preachment much like one of G. K's new Sermons What he says of a proud and obstinate Generation of Men who under pretence of Subjection to a Power above the Magistrate being very delusive in the Appearance of it By which one might conclude if one were as rash in Judgment as he that he was gotten from under that Delusion to pretend Subjection to a Power above the Magistrate If the good Men the Martyrs in Queen Mary's time could have done so they might have saved their Bodies from the Flames however those that believe Magistracy to be God's Ordinance and are desirous to be subject to God cannot be ill Subjects notwithstanding R. B's Insinuations He Insinuates that being taught that Reasoning is Dangerous in things of Religion they stop their Ears and close their Eyes c. If any that comes to us should be so unwise it 's to be feared they may not continue so long with us as R. B. did for these that comes to us had need to have both their Eyes and Ears open for there is a daily Cross to be born by all the Disciples of crucified Jesus His Envy grows so big that he cannot let the Dead alone even that Person whom he in 1694. gave Testimony had laid down his Head in Peace now he accounts him of a melancholly Temper and an ignorant Education which blown up by a Spirit of Enthusiasm gave Birth to his Faction in those Hurricane Times when the Church lay despoiled of her Power and Priviledges So that by this Man's Account not only G. F. but even all the Quakers are stark Naught this is he which judgeth others guilty of great Uncharitableness Let us hear what G. K. says of the Quakers since he was disowned by them even in 97. in his Explications p. 39. viz. But yet I do affirm that I have found divers that go under that name that to my Understanding and Apprehension have made a good Progress in spiritual Experiences and other spiritual Attainments of Knowledge and Vertue and I do continue in my real Perswasion and Belief that there was a good Work of God upon the Hearts of many of that People and his mighty Power did stir and operate in them as I hope it doth still continue in some to do unto this day Thus Keith corrects Bridgman and well he may if we consider what George must of necessity once have known to Pity is now vain and to Pray for I want Faith so shall leave him to God But since R. B. refers for Proof to the enterance of the Journal of the Deceased I shall refer thither also not doubting but the impartial will differ with Bridgman in their Judgment G. F. was well known in his Day and both his personal Acquaintance and Works gives Bridgman the Lye This Man is so very gross I shall on this Head only return him as a further Reply what Michael returned the Devil The Lord Rebuke thee What he would Insinuate of the Rise of the Quakers that it was when the Church lay spoiled of her Power and Priviledges as tho' the Quakers were then in great Prosperity and Peace whenas in Truth they were also great Sufferers and many of them in Prisons and Dungeons for their Testimony however this young Convert talks like a gallant Son of the Church and as bravely doth he undertake to inform her it 's young days for him to conceit himself wiser than his Teachers yet he is seeking out Expedients how to heal the Breach and restore the Wastes his present Thoughts are by a laborious and diligent Instruction of Youth and detecting of Error by open and free Conferences judiciously managed in divers parts of the Nation How the Ministers of the Church will like this I will not determine But to me it seems they were defective in R. B's Account or else what need is there of this Proposal if he would not have them to be more Diligent and Laborious And if so they are not Diligent and Laborious enough consequently Defective or would he have them take in Him and F. Bugg to their Assistance How he would have the Conferences managed in the divers parts of the Nation he hath not sufficiently taught he only says Judiciously but whether he intends that the Church shall Summons all the several Societies of Christians in the Nation to Dispute as G. K. Summon'd the Quakers at Turner's-Hall or the Church shall state as she sees meet
prove that they were Figures R. B. might have saved his Quotation to prove that for G. W. acknowledges it so says R. B. The Martyrs intended one thing and G. W. would make them to intend another May I not say O pertinent Logician Is there not divers Texts in holy Scripture that one and the same Text holds out two or more Principles of Faith And what because one of these Texts is brought to prove one of these points if one offer it for proof of another must it be accounted a Perversion I hope not His next Charge is That the Faith of the Body of Christ now absent in Heaven is lost among us I believe he here speaks Truth of us against his will and saves himself telling a great Lye thereby for that Faith is indeed lost nay it never was received by us That the Body of Christ is now absent in Heaven we have always and still do believe it to be there present These are fit Reasons to shew his leaving us was out of Envy for I hope I have made it already manifest that we believe the Existence of the Body of Christ in Heaven as really as any Christians whatsoever As to his hopes and dependance on the outward Baptism and Supper as two such Pillars and Supports of the Christian Faith I may advertise him that suppose they were what most Protestants account them to be yet if he have not regard to something beyond them he may find himself mistaken in the end and the Army of Abaddon may compass him about To conclude what I have to say concerning them at present is That as many as do practice them out of pure Conscience to God believing the same to be their Duty we are charitable towards them hoping in time they will come to see further as they continue true Seekers of God His next is he saith It is a specious pretence the Quakers have made to the Vertue and Efficacy of the inward Principle as having therein an Art of Extraction by which they perform as by one single Still all that can be proposed from the variety in a Laboratory This specious pretence as he calls it rightly stated will stand all Winds and Weathers For this Principle in it self as held by the Quakers is no other than the Word God in whom was Life and the Life the Light of Men John 1.4 Tho' the Quakers are no such ill Distinguishers that if R. B. will be so barbarous as to divide the particular Measure or Manifestation from the fulness and the purchase of that Blessing tho' that is a Presumption the Quakers dare not attempt because God as Father Word and Spirit is present therein to say That that particular Measure and Manifestation so divided is sufficient Tho' they do boldly say This inward Principle not divided but conjunctly taken as aforesaid is able to effect whatever is needful yet this doth not lead us to slight any of the least means appointed of God as helps in the Work of our Salvation for there are many things very useful and highly needful towards an End yet cannot be said to be absolutely necessary and yet who so unwise as to reject them At the same rate R. B. might find fault with St. John who told the Believers of his time That they had received an Unction from the Holy One and they knew all things and that they needed not that any Man should Teach them but as the same Anointing should Teach them of all Things Tho' the Apostle no more than we intended hereby to lay waste Gospel Means or outward and instrumental Helps appointed by God What he adds of William Penn's Ranting at an unreasonable rate and disparaging the Reputation of our Principles I must say doth not become him if he had only regarded Civility it would have taught him better Language Doth he think his going to Church will priviledge him to abuse by Authority Nay surely many of them are Men of better Temper and more Honour Nor can I think he cares how much W. P. disparages our Principle tho' the Truth of his Heart may be that he thinks him too great an Honour to it neither can I believe that the repute of our Principles affords him any great pleasure His charging G. Whitehead with irregularity of Practice without producing proof doth not bespeak him a Man of Honour for a Person of worth would abominate to impeach Men of Note without producing some good Ground for so doing P. 9. He has more cause to reflect upon his own Incivility for exposing in Print part of G. W's private Letter to his Father-in Law unduly intercepted together with his own angry Resentments and Defamations against G. W c. I am sure saith R. B. no Principle of Truth ever taught W. P. to advance such a Notion of the Composition of Man as he delivers in p. 71. of his Primitive Christianity Man says W. P. as I said just now is a Composition of both Worlds his Body of this his Soul of the other World If R. B. has a better Notion of the Composition of Man to advance I should be glad to hear it tho' a truer I am confident he cannot so that I cannot but tell him he is mistaken in so rashly judging W. P's Notion Is it not apparent that our Bodies are of this World Yet where is the Person that believes that the Soul is a created immortal and invisible Spirit that can be so gross as to believe it is of this World too If not of this then of some other World of this it cannot be for this World is Visible Material and Corruptible but the Soul is Invisible Immaterial and Incorruptible Truly I should think R. B. cannot be so gross as to think otherwise if he believes Man to have an Immortal Soul He goes on adding more words of W. P's viz. By the Body the Soul looks into and beholds this World and by the Word it beholds God the World without end Upon which R. B. Comments thus So that the World without end and God are with him Terms Synonimous which by the way is falsly inferred and of this endless World it 's with him a part of Man's Composition his Soul is of its Essence and beholds its being a-kin to God not only by a Relation but in Substance Oh! false Comment and notable Reason for leaving the Quakers it is much that Men will expose their Envy so apparently Let us consider W. P's Words and then without any difficulty we shall discern the disingenuity of this Adversary and the falseness of the Comment First let us observe tho' W. P. do say Man's Soul is of the other World yet he doth not say The other World is God or that God and the other World are one and the same thing so that except R. B. can make it appear that W. P. believes the other World and God to be one and the same he argues to no purpose and all the fine Gloss and
Guilt with which he would bespatter W. P. will fall as Dung upon his own Face as well as the dull and apparent Sophistry which he would father upon us will a great deal of it fall to his Share to account for neither will it all vindicate his abuse of W. Penn and others And as impertinent is he in making those words he Quotes out of Judas and the Jews p. 130. a description of God and of the Soul of Man it being a part of him from W. P's there saying The new dispersed Flock of God shall rest with him in that World which never had Beginning and is without End Where do we find such a Description of the Soul in these Words The words carped at viz. That World which never had beginning may be allowed by the Ingenuous as figuratively expressed as That World is put for Eternal Life in Heaven Luke 20.35 They that be counted worthy to enjoy that World by the World eternal Life is here intended * See T. Wilsons Dictionary it being only a Transmutation as between the Cause and the Effect Behold what a weighty Reason this is for R. B. his leaving our Society But at the rate he wrangles he may even fault the very Doctrine of our Lord that because he told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of Heaven was within them that he thereby destroyed the Kingdom of Heaven without I think it is time to remind him of what he writ in 1694. in our Vindication Supposing says he there may have been some defect in Expression by which means the matter has not been left so well guarded against the exceptions of malicious Cavillers who no doubt were it not for the general Authority of the holy Scriptures would be as ready to make their exceptions against many Sentences or Expressions therein also But R. B. making God and the World without end terms Synonimous with W. P. for want of the word and before the World without end shows himseif now to be turned a malicious Caviller Would one have thought that this Man would have himself become herein so quickly guilty What he quotes out of W. P's Book called Judas and the Jews is one with this above so needs no other answer And to his insinuating that G. F. held that Notion of the Souls being a part of God is already answered by abler Pens as G. W. and J. W. so I need not say any thing thereto He returns to W. P. again touching W. P's Answer to John Faldo concerning the Resurrection of the Body if I take for granted what R. B. quotes as W. P's Answer not having the Book by me I do say W. P. answered wisely and did well to put by his Antagonist as he did for I find that those that define so nicely often run themselves into Contradictions even G. K. is scarce clear in this particular as for Instance G. K. says in his Testimony against that absurd Opinion page 3. and That which rises is the Mortal that puts on Immortality and the Corruptible that putteth on Incorruption Now Paul says It is sown a natural Body it is raised a spiritual Body it is sown in Corruption it is raised in Incorruption so that G. K. and Paul seems to assert two things G. K. says that which rises is the Mortal and Corruptible and Paul says that it is raised Spiritual and Incorruptible Would not R. B. account this an Error in a Quaker Besides W. P's words are safe for neither do I remember any Text of Scripture that says in express words of a Body having the same Matter and not the same Grosness c. but that W. P. is Sound in the Faith as well as we is clear see his Key where he thus expresses himself on our behalf as well as his own In this says he also i. e. the Quakers are grosly abused They deny not but believe the Resurrection according to Seripture not only from Sin but also from the Grave but are conscienciously not contumeliously Cautious in expressing the manner of the Resurrection intended in the Change because it is left as a Secret in the Scripture Are People angry with them for not believing or asserting what is hidden and which is more curious than necessary to be known and which the Objectors themselves cannot be positive in Thou Fool is to the curious inquirer as saith the Apostle which makes the Quakers contented with that Body which it shall please God to give them being assured that their Corruptible must put on Incorruption and that their Mortal must put on Immortality but in such manner as it pleaseth him And in the mean time they esteem it their Duty as well as Wisdom to acquiesce in his holy Will It is enough they believe a Resurrection and that of a Glorious and Incorruptible Body without further nicities for to that was the antient Hope Passing by his Inference touching the Body of Christ because of his following Query For as he says he could not obtain a plain and positive Answer thereto from several of our Friends appointed to hear his Reasons for declining our Meetings and least he should blame me too I will first place the Query and then give a positive and plain Answer with little trouble Query Whether our Lord Jesus Christ is now in Heaven above or without us in the true and entire Nature of Man glorified the same for Substance which he had on Earth and for ever to come united to the Godhead Answer Yea. What he says of finding it fully and safely expressed in the Articles of the Church of England I think it is as fully and as safely expressed in the Apology in the Quotation I have brought at the beginning I come now to his last which is touching a Letter writ by G. Whitehead to his Father-in-law and G. W's Brother-in-law he gives us some part of G. W's Letter as well as a Copy of his own Answer requesting a meeting with G. W. in order that G. W. might make good what he had insinuated against him to his Father-in-law as he says but G. W. giving him no such Meeting he was willing to expose it to the publick As to the Letters it being a private Concern between them two I have nothing further to say than this That G. W. was under a simple impossibility to offer him a Meeting for till G. W. saw his Letter in Print he knew nothing of it wherefore R. B. ought either to have taken more care in sending his Letter or when he was in London to have gone to G. W. so he has no cause to Glory as tho' G. W. declined to give him a Meeting it is nothing but an empty Flourish Having thus briefly gone through R. B's whole Paper of his wonderful Reasons for leaving us hoping I have not omitted any thing that might in the least require my notice withall both modestly detecting his Envy and also shewing the Soundness of our Faith in opposition to his false Charges whereby as I doubt not but the Impartial Enquirer will meet with satisfaction and plainly see that it is more Envy than real Matter that thus Influences our Adversaries hoping withal tho' blessed be God it is not only hopes but we see evidently that it is true in Fact that the very means our Adversaries use to revenge themselves upon us turns to our advantage for thereby the Sober and Enquiring are the more stirred up to examine into the Truth of Matters and God is daily adding to his Church blessed be his holy Name Now for a Conclusion I heartily wish R. B. may cease to envy the Children and People of God and come to true Repentance for I am heartily sorry for him So with the words that he was pleased to add to his Uncle G. Whitehead's Letter I shall at present leave him Prov. 26.26 27. Whose Hatred is covered by Deceit his Wickedness shall be shewed before the whole Congregation Whoso diggeth a Pit shall fall therein and he that rolleth a Stone it will return upon him Graithwait the 7th of the 6th Month 1700. FINIS