further attainments we ingenously confess that no man is ever like to grow up so high as to need no teaching nor are we our selves come up to such a perfection and we think our selves to be but Children in knowledge in comparison of that which we hope to attain unto in heaven nor do we think it any dishonour to us to confess so much especially while we medicate upon the Apostles expression 1 Cor. 13. 12. Now we see through a glass darkly speaking of the time of this life but then we shall see face to face speaking of the time after this life Nor do we find that Christ himself or the Apostles ever bred up persons to such a condition as these men speak of to need none to teach them in their sense Paul bred up Timothy and to a great height he bred him under his Ministery whom he cals Son because he had been with him as a Son yet he exhorts him to meditate upon such things and to give himself wholly unto them that his profiting might appear unto all 1 Tim. 4. 15. And Peter exhorcs those that he wrote to of whom he Iaith that he did ouly put them in remembrance of things and that they knew them already and were established in the present truth that they would grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 3. 18. The Conclusion that they put to all these Questions is this The Church of Christ say they is a pillan and ground of Truth which doth witness the eternal Spirit and if you be the same Church and have the same Spirit answer me these Queries without any consequencies or senses otherwise diny your Eldership and Pastorship and to be no Church of Christ Answ The Church of Christ is the ground and pillar of Truth and doth witnese the truth of all that is contained in the holy Scriptures and more especially that the mysterie of godliness is gteat viz. That God was manifest in the flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the World received up into Glory And this we assert without any Consequencies or senses many of which if not all you that urge us thus most desperately deny As for your questions we have answered them agreeablyto Scripture and have made such inferences and necessary consequences and have put such senses as cannot be contradicted by any knowing Christian nor indeed by any but those whose design is to destroy all Scripture and utterly to subvert the Faith of the Gospel and to lead men captive after their own delusions and instead of denying a Pastorship and Eldership and our selves to be the Church of Christ we shall pray God to open the eyes of so many of these poor creatures who are thus sold over to delusions that so many of them as belong to Gods Election may be recovered out of the snare of the devil who are led captive for the present after his will A Coppy of a Letter which Richard Waller a Quaker sent to a Gentlemans Family near Stockport in Cheshire in which both he and his wife had been formerly servants Wherein he pleads for an absolute perfection and for Quaking Dear Friends MY dear love in the Lord presents it self unto you all in the power of the truth desiring the Lord to establish you all in the truth it self that you may grow and become faithfull unto the Lord to bring forth much fruit that the Lord in all things may be glorified by you Dear friends I did long stand in opposition against a company of people by the World called Quakers So it pleased the Lord in his time to let me see my condition So that I did plainly see that I had got the Saints words to talk of before I came to witness the Saints condition Now the Scripture saith Jesus Christ was made manifest to destroy the works of the Devil Whosoever can witness Christ manifest in him can witness sin destroyed But he that saith Christ is manifest in him and committeth sin is a lyar For whosoever is born of God sinneth not 1 Job 2. 4. For his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God Now the Priests of the World tell us we cannot be perfect here So they leave a hole for Satan here contrary to Scriptures and when will they have him cast out As for me I deny all the Teachers of the World For I can really witness that I have found my Teacher within me which is a mysterie to all the World Now I and the rest that can witness that Christ is made manifest in us we are hated of the World for we disown the Worlds ways Worlds worships and Worlds Customs and they disown us Now the Scriptures saith He that is a friend to the World is an enemy to God The World calls us witches and mad men they did so by Christ they said he was a Devil and they said Paul was mad and Stephen spoke Blasphemy It is just so now as it was then they Jear and say Never any of the Saints Quaked and Trembled Read these Scriptures at your leasure and you may find them lyars Heb. 12. 25 26. Ezra 9. 3 4. Heb. 12. 21. Moses quaked and trembled David trembled Psal 119. 120. Psal 18. 7. Heb. 3. 16. When I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered Jerem. 23. 9. Isa 66. 2. Ezek. 32. 10. Dan. 10. 7. and 11. Daniel Trembled Acts 9. 6. Joel 2. 10. Job 26. 11. Amos 8. 8. Jer. 30. 6 7. Acts 13. 40. 41. See here is a Cloud of Witnesses against them And whereas they deny that perfection is to be attained here they are found lyars See Phil. 3. 15 Let us as many as are perfect be thus minded Col. 1. 28. Col. 4. 12. 2 Tim. 3. 17. Heb. 6. 1. Heb. 10. 14. He. 12. 23. Heb. 13. 21. Jam. 1. 4. Col. 4. 12. Deut. 18. 13. Joh. 17. 21. I in thee and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one I plainly see the Priests taught deceit and we believed them But the Lord hath discovered their deceit to his and he will teach all his himself Oh therefore wait upon the Lord and cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils and mind the light of God in you which discovers deceit and the peace of God be with you all and keep you all in the sense of him staid in your minds that you may be kept in his feare which keepeth the mind clear and pure and open to receive his teachings and to forsake the evil and choose the good and so bring you into obedience and it will suffer you to joyn with nothing but what is of it own nature pure and clear and it will keep you from the evil of the World The Lord cause you all to grow up as trees of Righteousness and stablish your hearts in the living truth that his name in all thing may be glorified
Letter that was given me and the Answer which I sent unto it which was directed to his wife together with the Reply that the Quakers made unto it which indeed is too tedious to be read of any who have most time it is such a sottish and senseless piece of stuff and hath so much scurrilous language in it But by it and by the Queries the Saints and World may know what a people these are what little hope there is of any good to be wrought upon them if they would admit of any rational discourse from Scripture some encouragement would be given to spend time that way with them but they can easily evade all with such Answer as this Busie minds give senses to Scripture and are Persons that have nothing to do with Scripture can witness nothing of that they speak of They pretend to speak and act all by the Spirit and if any one will try the Spirit that they speak by their Reply is that such an one can neither witness Scripture nor Spirit and therefore hath nothing to do with such things Yet they deceive many and they increase in number continually but the time will come that they shall proceed no further In the mean time it ought to be sad to every godly spirit that Satan should have such power to work so effectually in and upon many who have been reputed Saints who are drawn into them but God will issue all to his Glory at the last and in this I rest and remain Thine in the Lord Jesus Samuel Eaton THE Quakers QUERIES For some Friends who call themselves Elders of the Church of Christ meeting at Stopport these c. A few Queries to you who profess your selves to be Teachers Pastors and Elders Querie 1. WHether you have the same eternal Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures yea or no Querie 2. Whether the Apostles did give a right meaking to the Scriptures when they gave them forth or left them to you to give a meaning to them yea or no Querie 3. Whether the Plagues be not added to them who add to the Prophesies written in the Book and whether his Name be not diminished out of the Book of Life that diminishes and whether you can witness this Name yea or no Querie 4. Whether you have an infallible Judgement to judge of things eternal yea or no Querie 5. Whether you be above the Apostle and are able to judge his Condition because you say he was not perfect who said he spoke wisdom among them that were perfect Querie 6. Whether you have the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the World was which the Apostle speaks of yea or no Querie 7. Whether you have heard the voice of the liveing God of Heaven and Earth or whether do you not take the Prophets words Christs words and the Apostles words and say he saith it when saith the Lord I never spoke to you Querie 8. Whether a man shall overcome the body of sin while he is upon the Earth yea or no Querie 9. Whether you preach no other Doctrine then that which the Apostles did that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and with our hands have handled of the word of life For this life is made manifest and we have seen it and bear witness and shew it unto you Querie 10. Whether you have this word which was from the beginning and this life manifested to you which was to the Apostles And if it be why do you take a Text from the Letter and Preach from it and shew the People the Letter Querie 11. And shew me where the Prophets did take a Text and preach from it but only Christ read a place and said it was fulfilled who said he was anointed to preach and which of you can witness you are anointed to preach by the living God yea or no Querie 12. Tell me why you sing Davids Conditions and Experiences in Meeter and when you read them hats you keep on and when you sing them hats you put off Querie 13. Whether you have the voice and whether you do know the voice of Christ from the voice of a Stranger My Sheep know my voice saith Christ seing that you are so forward to judge and sit as Judges of the Saints Conditions Querie 14. Whether that which is in you which Judgeth be eternal and infallible yea or no Querie 15. What is the Ordinance which is ordained of God that those which you call Quakers deny and where or when did God command you to observe them As to sprinkle Infants to pray before and after your Sermons as you call them or to set times dayes and hours which was in the Generation which were enemies to Christ who observed such things Querie 16. What these Ordinances of God be which you speak of And where God commanded them and to whom which you say those that you call Quakers do deny mention them in particular and declare them openly in Writing and give over accusing Querie 17. Whether you do not seduce the People to draw them from the anointing within them when as John saith they need no man teach them but as the anointing and the Promise was Eternal Life to him that did abide in the anointing Querie 18. Whether you do not bewitch the people to draw them from the Spirit of God within them to observe these things which God never commanded to tell people of a Sacrament and following your outward Teaching who stand praying in the Synagogues and are called of men-Masters which Christ did forbid Mat. 23. And have the chiefest places in the Assemblies Whether these be not Antichrists which act contrary to the Commands of Christ this yea or no Querie 19. Whether a man shall ever grow up that he need no man teach him under your Ministry yea or no seeing the Apostle saith you need no man teach you and you which have been long Teachers how many have you brought up into this Condition The Church of Christ is the Pillar and Ground of Truth which doth witness the eternal Spirit and if you be the same Church and have the same Spirit Answer me these Queries without any consequences or senses otherwise deny your Eldership and Pastorship and to be no Church of Christ From some Friends in the Truth in Lancashire whom the World calls Quakers An ANSWER to the forementioned Queries brought by one Richard Waller a Messenger of the Quakers and presented by him in the name of them unto the Elders of the Church common-called the Church of Duckenfield now meeting at Stockport in the face and presence of the whole Congregation and an Answer required fromthe above said Elders upon the 5th of Iune 1653. Querie 1. WHether you have the Eternal Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures yea or no Answ We do believe and assert that all Concering the indwelling of the Spirit in the Saints that do
to those in whom he is in light in power and grace as he will Therefore neither we nor any others have infallible judgments in all things at all times but we are subject to Errour and in many things we do not apprehend and speak aright of God of Christ of the Spirit of the Saints of our selves of the mysteries of the Gospel which are some of those things which are eternal As God said to Iobs Friends Ye have not spoken of me the things that are right as my Servant Job hath and Iob himself did darken Counsel by words without knowledge when he spake of God Notwithstanding that fallible mind and judgement that is in all men in some things and at some times yet because the Rule that is left men to judge by is an infallible sure and certain Rule which cannot deceive men and because it is a plain Rule in many things and easily understood Prov. 1. 4. and because the principles of Religion and fundamentals of Salvation are so clearly revealed in the Scripture that Babes in Christ may come to the knowledge of them therefore both we and all the Saints may in some things have an infallible judgement and may judge of things eternal with a judgement of Certainty both respecting God Christ Faith Repentance Resurrection of the dead eternal judgment and many other things How else could there be any preaching if persons could not know infallibly that in some things they hold forth they speak the Truth And how could any thing be assuredly believed if the word of Faith in the true sense of it could not infallibly be held forth and judged of And how could any Person be at a certainty concerning his own Salvation And how could any Christian seal the Truth of Christ with his blood if some things could not be judged of with an infallible judgement But whether any person having not the Spirit can have an infallible judgement to judge of things eternal by the knowledge they may get from the Scripture is the drift and scope of the question if I be able to make a judgement of it They think that none can infallibly judge of things of an eternal nature but such who have the Spirit and that we are persons that have not the Spirit and therefore cannot judge of them nor of their way and that they themselves have the Spirit and that judgement belongs to them only both of persons and of things we are but in our first birth and are carnal and know not things of an eternal Nature they are in the second birth and are spiritual and can judge all things and all men for hitherto tends a great part of a large Letter sent unto us from them by which I come to prove them in this question In answer therefore unto this I must distinguish of infallible judgement There is an infallible Judgment which may be made from the Scripture without the Spirit and there 's an infallible judgment which cannot be made from the Scripture without the spirit The Judgment that may be made from the Scripture without the Spirit infallibly respects the Doctrine which the Scripture contains to be received believed by men that they may be saved what they be and what manner of life it is that Persons ought to live that would come to Life eternal these things are clearly and plainly laid down and may easily be taken up by unprejudiced Persons who have unballanced spirits though they have not the spirit Upon this account it is that the Apostle John would not have every Spirit believed but would have the spirits tryed whether they be of God but how must they be tried unless by the Scriptures for every one will pretend the Spirit and there are many false Prophets who have the spirit of delusion and are gone forth into the world 1 Joh. 4. 1. For if the Scripture were not the judge of the Spirit in this case so far as concerns Doctrines and Manners which men have Received and learned whether they be of God or no or whether the spirit of the Devil hath not inspiried them therewith all men living would be put upon desperate uncertainties which is the Spirit that gives our the Truth and which is the spirit of Errour And they would be confounded through the multiplicity of spirits each spirit pretending to Truth and crying down the contrary as Errour Therefore the Scripture alone being of the Spirits inspiring is a light sufficient to shew the Doctrine what it is and the commandment precept what it is to one that will attend unto it without any further inspiration of the Spirit else in vain were the Scriptures at the first inspired But then again there is an infallible Judgement which cannot be made without the Spirit that is whether those Doctrines and Rules of Life which are clearly contained in the Scripture be Doctrines which proceeded from God whether God spake with Moses sent Christ to declare what he hath declared inspired the Apostles in speaking and writing what they have spoken or written or whether all these spake of themselves It is the Spirit of God alone that can give assured satisfaction concerning this The Jews and their Rulers though they saw the Miracles yet they know not Christ to be the Messiah for had they known him they would never have crucified the Lord of glory These are among those invisible things which are revealed unto us by the Spirit as the Apostle tels us 1 Cor. 2. 8 9 10. It is easie for any man that hath his reason and hath not the Spirit by reading the Scripture to conclude that Scripture makes Jesus the Son of Mary to be the Son of God and the Christ But for any man to beleeve it and build upon it as a sure truth of God this is from the Spirit flesh and blood hath not revealed this but the Father which is in Heaven Christ told Peter so Mat. 16 16. The conclusion is That the Scripture is the foundation of an insallible judgement concerning things contained in them and not the Spirit but both Scripture and Spirit must concur to give in the certainty of those things that are there contained that they may become a sure rock to be built upon for no one can say assuredly and by a spirit of Faith that Jesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost 1 Cor. 12. 3. Quere 5. Whether you be above the Apostle and able to Concerning perfection what may be granted and what not judge his condition because you say he was not perfect who said he spake wisedom among them that were perfect Answ This Question relates to a passage in our Answer to a Letter of theirs which pleaded for perfection which we had the sight of which fell into their hands and hath occasioned this Question The words of our Answer are these He might have discerned that Paul expressly denies perfection in reference to himself Phil. 3. 12. His Question hence is Are you
Dear friend Christian I have sent you a little book read it without partiality and you may see deceit discovered My wife desires you to present her service to her Master and Mistress and all the children and her love unto you and all the servants We are both well and our child grows fast As for me as I begun with my dear love unto you all so I end For I dare not complement because it is a Custom of the World Farewell A Copy of an answer to the forementioned Letter written in the name of the Church of Duckenfield now meeting in Stopport and sent unto the wife of Richard Waller for the setling and establishing of her in the faith of Christ being a member of the forementioned Church wherein all such Scriptures which were brought to prove an absolute Perfection and Quaking are Interpreted and the true sense given to them and freed from such corrupt fense for which they are alledged Sister Waller YOu are very precious to us though your miscarriage against God and us hath been very great We are apt to hope that the Lord either hath or will convince you of the sin you committed in your unadvised Marriage Which you so selfwilledly carried on against us And when your heart is kindly humbled we know you will give praise to God and justifie us And then we shall conceive as much can see of joy from your repentance as we have done grief from your sin We cannot yet think otherwise but that you do belong to the Lord And if so he will not suffer you to have rest in any evil way you have gone in till he have made you truly sensible and sorrowfull after a Godly manner which if ever you once manifest to us we shall with as much tenderness own you as in any time heretofore For you are very dear to us and our bowels do very much yearn after you Especially since we heard of a Letter which your husband wrote to Duckenfield which some of us have seen by which we discern what deadly poyson he hath sucked in to the undoing of his poor Soul if God be not very mercifull to him and bring him to Repentance And you also through your nearness of Relation to him are exposed to multiplicity of Temptations to forsake the faith of our Lord Jesus and to turn aside to such Satanical delusions which he is carried away with We do conceive hope that as yet the Lord hath kept you by observing one passage of his Letter which holds out your desire that your service may be presented to your Master and Mistress therein owning the relation they stood in to you and you to them which he declares against making it the worlds way and not Gods Our desire and prayer to God for you shall be that he will yet keep you even to the end And who can tell but that the Lord may bring out a great deal of good to your soul by this evil of your Husbands fearfull apostacy which his Letter holds out God may open your eyes thereby to see your sinfull haste which you made in that Marriage He may humble you for rushing upon it against Counsel he may make you to know that he was angry against you by leaving him to such fearful error of way He hath laid a sore affliction upon you by giving up one so near and dear to you to such fearfull Temptations You have offended God through him and now you must be chastned in him Be awakned be awakned and consider the Lords righteous hand in this matter The person whom you have chosen God seems to have forsaken at least for a time he is become the Devils Captive O fear you and repent you least he also forsake you But we hope better of you and our prayer is that you may be setled and established in the truth We foresee that you will be strongly sollicited He that thought himself bound to tempt persons by his Letters at so great a distance what alluring ways will not he take to cause you to forsake your integrity and to turn aside to such fleshly deceits of Satan take heed you be not bewitched with pretences and quotations of Scripture presented in the Letter there lyes the greatest danger The Devil tempted Christ by telling him that it was written and his Instruments will use the same fleights They will put false Glosses upon Scripture while they deny all senses to be put upon Scripture to deceive themselves and others thereby The Apostle Peter saith 2 Pet. 3. 16. that some that are unlearned and unstable do wrest Scripture to their own destruction and he doth warn them lest they being led away by the error of the wicked do fall from their own stedfastness by such means And we also do beseech you to beware of this Snare viz of Scripture abused by misconstructions It is a misconstruction when the construction is made to follow the sound of the words though it be never so much repugnant to other Scripture You know that all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God 2 Tim 3 16. And that holy men spake as they were Inspired by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1. 21. Now God is a God of Truth and the Spirit is a Spirit of Truth and cannot speak contrary things nor contradict himself therefore if there be any seeming contradiction in Scripture taken in the Letter of it we must seek after a right sense by which the seeming contradiction may be removed Your husband produceth many Scriptures to prove an absolute perfection without sin And the first Scripture he mentions is Phil. 3. 15. Let us saith Paul speaking of himself and the Philippians as many as be perfect be thus minded He Collects from hence that the Saints here have such a perfection that excludes all sin Alas poor Creature We thought he had been better acquainted with his own heart But he might have looked a little higher in the Chapter upon ver 12. and have discerned that Paul expresly denies Perfection in reference to himself Not as though I were already perfect saith he Was Paul perfect and yet was he not perfect In the Letter there is a contradiction But Paul speaking by the Spirit of God cannot contradict himself therefore we must look after the sense of the word Perfect It is many time taken for sincere 2 Kings 15. 14. Asa took not away the high places that was his failing Yet his heart was perfect In what sense perfect Was it perfect without sin Not so For it was his sin that the high places were not taken away But perfect that is Upright He did not serve God in pretence but in truth They say we must not give the sense of Scripture but must take it in the Letter but that is contrary to the examples of Scripture Those in Nehemiah 8. 8. read in the Book of the Law and gave the sense and it is necessary sometimes to avoid contradiction which is in the Letter to
give the sense The sense of that place in Phil 3. 15. Let us so many as be perfect be thus minded is this Let us so many as be Sincere Upright and halt not betwixt Moses and Christ betwixt the Law and the Gospel be thus minded that is minded like to Paul as he had given them example For that was the Scope in that whole Chapter he had left the Law and all confidence in Mofaical Ordinances and followed Christ But yet was not perfect therein as to be without defect in that but was upright and sincere therein and he presseth them as many as were perfect that is upright to be as he was to do likewise and yet not to think that they can be so compleat as not to need to follow more and more after Christ but to be still striving as he was This is clearly the sense by which your husband may understand his error As for all other places to give a particular Exposition of each Quotation will take up more time then we can well spare at present but as need shall require upon intimation given us we shall be willing to hold forth the sense of any Scripture you shall doubt of hereafter as the Lord shall help us and we hope with Truth comparing Scripture with Scripture that one may not oppose another Onely in general it is good to take notice that is Scripture there is mention made of a Comparative perfection Those who stuck in Moses his Rites and could not get past them were not so perfect as those who were clearly bottomed upon the Gospel And to this Perfection Paul endevoured to bring the Colossians and Philippians and all that did believe Col 1. 28. And those who were Babes in knowledge were not so perfect as those who had their senses exercised to discern betwixt good and evil of which Heb. 6. 1. And there is a perfection that respect Justification and not Sanctification Heb. 10. 14. By one Offering he hath for ever perfected them that are Sanctified that is he hath perfectly justified all the Saints by dying once when as all the legal Offerings though repeated day by day could not do it But there was still a Conscience accusing for sin And there is a perfection that respects rather the number of Graces then the measure of them and respects rather duration and continuance to the end then any height or strength in the act of performance as Jam. 1. 4. Let patience have its perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing This perfect work of patience is the work of patience perpetuated and lasting to the end He that endureth to the end shall be saved Mat. 10. 22. Mat. 24. 13. And being entire and wanting nothing respects the filling up and compleating the rest of the Graces that they had with this Grace of patience exercised to the end as in 2 Cor. 8. 7 Therefore as ye abound in every thing in Faith and Utterrance and knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us see that ye abound in this Grace also When all Graces be in Saints and do abide in exercise to the end then there is a kinde of Perfection in Saints And the Scripture doth frequently stir up the Saints to endeavor after perfection When yet it saith not that is is to be attained unto in this life 2 Cor. 13. 9. We wish said the Apostle your Perfection and Heb 6. 1. Let us go on to perfection And the Apostle himself was not Perfect but going on towards it Phil. 3. 12. Not as though I were already Perfect But I forget that which is behind c. and so follow on towards it The Apostle Paul tells us that while he was here he did see through a Glass darkly and that now that is in this life he did know but in part and if but in part where then was perfection And the Apostle John tells all Saints 1 Joh. 1. 8. that if they say they have no sin they deceive themselves and the truth is not in them And the Apostle James faith that in many things we-offend all he and all others did offend And he faith he is a perfect man that offendeth not in word that is he would be comparatively perfect that could only bridle his tongue but who can do it at all times we perceive your Husband cannot for then he would never have uttered such reproachsul words against godly men calling them Priests and saying they are found Lyars his Conscience will tell him that some of them are such as fear the Lord but he faith if Perfection be not here we leave an hole for Satan and when will it be if it be not here in this Life Alas alas is he left so soon to so great darkness as not to believe another Life and World after this that he asks when it will be if not here It seems Satan hath had an open door to enter into his heart and fill it with such fogs and mists of Darkness he might have read and weighed the Apostles words in 1 Cor. 13. 9 10 11. Now we know in part but when that which is perfect is come that which is in part shall be done away and he might have considered that distinction of time contained in these words Now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face this now is here and this then is after this life But he strengthens himself in that place in 1 Ioh. 3. 9. He that is born of God sinneth not but his Seed remaineth and he cannot sin This he urgeth but he considereth not that the same Iohn saith that which is contrary to this viz. Whosoever saith he hath no sin deceives himself and the truth is not in him A sound sense therefore must be brought out of Iohns words else Iohn will be found a Lyar against himself and against God as your Husband endeavours to make him denying sin to be there in whom Christ is made manifest from this text but the meaning is of sin in course perfisted and continued in without true repentance and turning from it he that is born of God cannot so sin for the seed of Truth and of Grace within him will not let him so sin for after such manner the wicked of the world sin but the Saints cannot so sin there will be smitings of heart in them and they will ask and enquire what they have done and will repent and turn to God as Iob did David did Peter and all the Saints have done Now concerning quaking and trembling there is a multiplying of many Texts of Scripture without knowledge for none of them can be applyed to justifie the practice of those whom they call Quakers The first Text that they alledge if it be taken in the Letter as they take all Scripture doth destroy them and their practice viz. Heb. 12. 26 whose voice then shook the Earth but now he hath promised saying Yet once more I shake not
THE Quakers Confuted BEING AN ANSWER Vnto Nineteen QUERIES Propounded by them and sent to the Elders of the Church of Duckenfield in Cheshire WHEREIN Is held forth much of the Doctrine and practise Concerning Revelations and immediate Voices and against the holy Scriptures Christs Ministry Churches and Ordinances c. TOGETHER With an Answer to a Letter which was Written and sent by one of them to a Family of Note and Quality in the said County which pleaded for perfection in this life and for Quaking By Samuel Eaton Teacher of the Church of Christ heretofore meeting at Duckenfield now in Stockport in Cheshire LONDON Printed by R. White for Thomas Brewster and are to be sold at the sign of the three Bibles at the West-end of Pauls 165â— To the Supream Authority of the Nation the Parliament now sitting in Westminster Right Honourable IT is the Duty of all that Love the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity to contend for the Faith that was once given to the Saints every man in his place according to the Calling Office Power Interest Gift Ability that he hath received from God And I in my place though the weakest of many being yet led forth thereto by special inviting Providences have done it both formerly and at present And I Assume the boldness to present my poor plain weak and slender labours to your Honors view and most humbly beg your favorable construction of my design and scope in them It is not to asperse any who are innocent it is not to bring Saints who are weak and frail under contumelie Neither is it to exasperate the Supream Magistrate against any Persons in whom the visibility of Saintship shall be found Nor is it to conivnce these Persons betwixt whom and my self the contest lies of their Errour for had there been any hope of that I should have found out another way but it is to preserve those who are yet sound in the Faith from infection and it is to awaken others who are far more able in the Scriptures then my self to appear for God for Christ and for the Truth in such times of the great Apostasie of so very many from the Faith And it is to provoke your Honors to a self-reflection if thereby you may discern what your own Duty may be and whether there be not somewhat which the Supream Magistrate according to his Power Place and Interest is called to do in obedience to that command I know you will manifest very much tenderness to all Saints though in different forms and of different judgements in circumstantial Truths and no question Christ will take it kindly from your hands but there is a company of Apostate Christians who are dispersed all over the Land and who do sow much corrupt seed which comes up with great increase in many places who yet do pass with some for precious Saints But my hope is and my Prayer shall be that the Lord will make you wise to judg ef Saintship according to Scriptural Rules and not according to the large Charity of some who are truly good though too much friends to them You are not ignorant what a Character Christ himself gives of false Teachers though appearing a Righteous Innocent and Harmless People as these Quakers stile themselves he calls them Wolves in Sheeps clothing And Paul speaking of such compares them to Satan in this That they will transform themselves as he doth himself into an Angel of Light so they into Ministers of Righteousness And John in his Epistles makes them all Antichrists And the Scope Drift of all the Apostles in all their Epistles almost is to confirm the Faith which the Saints had received and to preserve from recover them out of Errour and it is to impugn such Doctrine as Seducers brought in among them the Zeal that they shewed is worthy of observation You know also that as God is a righteous God loves Righteousness and therefore if you advance Righteousness as my hope in God is that you wil you shall not lose your reward For he is also a jealous God in the things wherein his Glory is more immediately concerned And his Honor is not more concerned in any thing then it is in the Doctrines which men hold and teach and in the Worships which men give to him therefore if you also shew your selves jealous of his Glory in these things it will be assuredly written down in Gods Book of Remembrance what Zeal you had for your God and the Lord will bless you thence forward Are Magistrates for a Praise to good works and for a terrour to evil works while only they are good and evil but when they come to be best or worst as they alwayes be when Religion is in them is it so that they then have nothing to do neither are they to meddle with them If this be the sense of the Apostles words as all Persons which do exclude the Magistrate from having any thing to do with the matters of God will have it to be it is a strange one and hath nothing to bear it up either from that Text or any that I know of But you are sufficiently instructed I doubt not concerning your own power and your Zeal shewed where the honour of God is engaged will provoke many whereto they will the rather be carried considering that no sins do bring more greater plagues upon a Nat on that professeth Righteousness then sins against the first Table do Now Magistrates are the Fathers of the Commonwealth and therefore should study to preserve it from those judgments that would destroy it Or else why are Laws made against Oaths and such kind of Blasphemies if they be not to intermedle with matters of the first Table and are there no sins against the first Table that God hates so much as he hates Oaths yea there are Blasphemies of opinion that are of a more hateful and harrid nature But what ought to be done in this case I leave that to your Honors wisdom to find out by searching of the Scriptures knowing that the Lord hath made many of you very dextrous and skilful in the understanding of the Scripture When you meet with Crimes of a Civil Nature mentioned in the New Testament as Murther Adultery Theft c. You cannot Read their Penalties there which ought to be inflicted you find the sins but not the Punishments against such Offenders What course do you take you are forced to fly to the Old Testament and to fetch your Light thence There are Apostates from the true God from the true Christ from the true Faith in the great Fundamental of it and from the true Worship in the very Substantials of it and who also are Teachers of Apostasie who yet were once enlightned and knew the Truth What ought to be done to such or what course ought to be taken that Dishonour to God may not be increased nor the Land troubled by Gods Controversie against it I leave
shewed It is against all outward teaching against singing of Psalms against Ministery against Sacraments expresly against Infants baptism against publick prayer against all set times dayes and hours of performing religious duties the 10 11 12 15 17 18 19. Queries do declare all this Now whether these be Ordinances of Christ and how they will be maintained so to be will be the Question and for our own justification must be discussed I have already given some touches respecting outward teaching and have endeavoured to clear up our practise in singing of Psalms and shall now attempt to vindicate other of our ways and the ways of the Churches of Christ from unjust exceptions and discuss them as I meet with them in the paper And first concerning sprinkling of Infants there is so much Concerning the sprinkling of Infants written for and against this practise that I accompt it lost time to make any large debate about it onely something of that which satisfies us in reference to our own practise I shall present First for the Act of sprinkling we use it not though something may be held out to justifie it The blood of Christ is called the blood of sprinkling Heb. 12. 24. and cleansing was by sprinkling blood Heb. 9. 13. and sprinkling of blood was used in the Passeover and signified cleansing therefore seeing water in Baptism typifies Christs blood and the application of it signifies cleansing from sin why may not the water be sprinkled on the subject of Baptism to signifie the cleansing away of sin by the blood of Christ If any object further let such as use it maintain it Our practise is to use the water of Baptism in a washing way which sutes well with the mysterie in it which is washing away of sin Act. 22. 16. And the Greek word which is put for baptism is applied to Tables brazen vessels beds and such like things which was not by dipping but by the application of water in a washing way Mar. 7. 4. So that though the word signifie dipping yet it signifies washing also which warrants the application of water in Baptism in a washing way Secondly for the subject of baptism whether it be to be applyed to Infants amongst many things I shall onely present this viz. That Baptism is an outward Seal of an outward and visible Covenant of Grace which runs always upon the condition of believing and is to be applyed to visible believers or Saints and is also to be extended in reference to the subject as far as the Covenant is extended and if the Covenant be extended not onely to visible believers but to their whole Infant seed as from Gen. 17. 7. compared with Exod. 12. 48 49. and also from Deut. 29. 10 11. appears then the Seal of it must extend so far also I shall confirm all this first that it is a Seal for God having promised such a blessing as the taking away of sin in the Covenant of Grace Jer. 31. 34. would by the Ordinance of Baptism in the application of the element of water in a washing way to the body have the baptized person to know and believe that he washeth away the sin of the Soul by the blood of Christ Act. 22. 16. therefore it is said Act. 2. 38. be baptized for the remission of sins not to effect it but to assure it to you secondly that it is an outward Seal because all is external and visible the water is which is as it were the Seal the washing is which is as it were the Sealing or the putting on of the Seal the body is which is as it were the thing sealed all is outward and done before men but whether it be done in the conscience really and inwardly by the Spirit that is a secret and known to God And the Spirit onely is the inward Seal that assures the heart And many times the outward confirmation is separated from the inward assurance as in Simon Magus he had the outward sign of remission of sins but not remission of sins it self Thirdly that it is an outward Seal of an outward and visible covenant of Grace because the profession of faith with shews of reality is all that is required unto the bringing of persons into it and unto the participation of the Seal of it It was enough to the Eunuch he professed his Faith and Philip baptized him he could not see into the heart to know the truth of it yet he baptized him And Ananias and Saphira and Simon Magus their profession brought them within the Covenaut and gave them a right to the Seal of it and not any truth of Faith it self for there was none And indeed that Covenant wherein the ministery of man in made use of in the making of it must needs be external Fourthly that it is extended in reference to the subject of it as far as the Covenant is excended because it is the confirmation of it to the subjects of it and the confirmation must need be as large as the Covenant but this is not doubted of by any Fifthly that the Covenant is not onely extended to visible Believers but also to their whole Infant seed because in Gen. 17. 7. we finde it so for it runs in these words I will be thy God now this is comprehensive of all blessings even the very highest as Heb. 11. 16. shews and it is the same for substance with that in Jer. 33. 33. which is called a new Covenant And Circumcision that sealed it is called The Seal of the righteousness of Faith Rom. 4. 11. and the Circumcision of the flesh did signifie the circumcision of the heart Col. 2. 11. And the Gentiles that professed Abraham's Faith which had nothing to do with Canaan entred into it and spiritual priviledges were sealed to them Exod. 12. 48 49. by which it appeareth to be a Covenant of Grace And for the subject it was with Abraham a Believer and with his seed what seed his whole Infant seed for the application of the seal viz. Circumcision to the whole Infant seed shews that the Covenant extended it so far And Deut. 29. 10 11. clears it That the Covenant was with the little ones And though all Infants are not counted the seed as to spiritual and eternal blessings as indeed neither are all that profess Faith with shews of reality as Demas c. to be accounted the true spiritual seed yet they are the seed as to Church priviledges and external Ordinances of a spiritual nature and so were all Abrahams Infant natural seed and Believers seed in all Ages the true seed as to the enjoying of such Ordinances Concerning praying before and after Sermon first we Concerning praying before and after Sermon finde that in the meetings of the first Christian Church at erusalem there was Doctrine breaking of bread and prayers in which Ordinances that Church of Christ was conversant Act. 2. 42. Secondly we finde that the Apostles whose work was to attend upon
is necessary for such Secondly The Apostle seems to speak of such an annointment which they had received which had already taught them by which they should abide in Christ and not be seduced as those words shew Even us it hath taught you you shall abide c. Now indeed the Spirit of God hath taught us of all things in the Scriptures which were of his inspiring whereto if we attend we shall abide in the Truth and not be misled by Seducers and to this teaching of the Spirit in the Scriptures we need not that any teaching of man should be added but as we are taught in them Thirdly The words You need not that any man teach you but as the annointing teacheth you are hyperbolical expressions there is an excess in them as in many places of Scriptute as where it is said If all things should be written which Jesus said and did the whole world would not contain the the Books that would be written The meaning is there would be very many Books written if all should be written And in vers 20 of this very Chapter the Apostle tells them that they knew all things it is an excessive speech for no one knoweth all things but God Christ himself as man knew not all things who yet had the Spirit not according to measure but beyond it the meaning then is they had much knowledge and knew many things and so they needed not that any man teach them that is they knew so much already of the Doctrine of the Gospel that if onely they persevered in that which they knew they might be kept without much teaching it is to be understood in a comparative sense not in an absolute consideration as to exclude all teaching but to exclude much of that teaching which others do require and it respects the abundance of knowledge which they had in comparison of Believers of former times before the Gospel was revealed as from the Prophesie from which these words of John were fetcht appears Jer. 31. 34. They shall teach no more man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord Knowledge should so abound in the dayes of the Gospel that they should not need teaching so much as in the times of the Law For it points at the days of the Gospel after Christ should be revealed of which Christ saith That he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven should be greater then John the Baptist who yet was greater then al the Prophets so exceedingly should Light shine in Gospel-times but that teaching should be absolutely excluded was not the Apostles meaning for though they never did need it less yet they never had it more then in the days of the Apostles and of the Primitive Churches For there were many who were eminently gifted besides Pastors and Teachers who did teach And it is to be observed that the Spirit was never given so plentifully in any Age as in that Age wherein so much outward teaching was so that there is no such measure of reception of the Spirit that can thrust out outward teaching while we are here yea and John himself thought there was need of teaching while he tells them of an unction that they had received and that they knew all things and needed not that any one should teach them for vers 36. he saith These things have I written unto you in reference to them that seduce you that is least you should be carried away from the Truth by them he taught them to stand fast in the Truth they had received Fourthly It holds forth that they were not neither should be Babes which knew nothing themselves were able to judge of nothing themselves but do depend wholly and really upon others to teach them and were led wholly as others guide them in this sense they should not need teaching for there was a light set up in their souls and they had the Spirit of God which is a light and enables them to discern with such clearness that they believe not because others tell them so but because they can look into the Truth themselves Concerning the last words of that question viz. that the Promise was eternal Life to him that did abide in the anointing because there is no such Scripture that saith so and because no course we take in our teaching doth tend as hath been shewed to withdraw from the anointing therefore I shall not insist upon them Querie 18. Whether you do not bewitch the people and draw them from the Spirit of God within them to observe those Sacraments and Ministery maintained and other practises in Church-meetings things which God never commanded to tell the people of a Sacrament and following your outward Teaching who stand praying in the Synagogues and are called of men Masters which Christ dâ—d forbid Mat. 23. And have the chiefest places in the Assemblies Whether these be not called Antichrists which act contrary to the Commands of Christ yea or no Answ In this Question besides the repetition of former things they strike at Sacraments at the teaching and praying of Pastors and Elders for to them they speak in al their questions at the posture of standing in prayer at the places of meeting calling them Synagogues in a derisive way at the Title of Master which is put upon them and charge them with ambition in assuming chiefest places which they say such take I must clear up the truth in all these particulars First Concerning Sacraments there are no Ordinances on foot amongst us which we call by that name though there Concorning Sacraments might be a defence for it but there are Ordinances which others call Sacraments and we call them Seals of the Covenant which are to confirm Faith in the Covenant of God concerning Remission of sin by the blood of Christ and other Grace of the like nature which is vouchsafed in Christ and they are Baptism and the Lords Supper and they are both of them instituted by Jesus Christ Mat. 28. 19. 1 Cor. 11. 23. and they both point at Christs Death and the shedding of his Blood Rom. 6. 3. 1 Cor. 1. 26. Mat. 26. 28. and they serve to Seal Remission of sins by Christs Blood Act. 22. 16. Mat. 26. 28. and indeed both of them are to put us in remembrance of Christ and that which Christ hath instituted who dares abrogate And those that destroy the Seals therein attempt the destruction of the Covenant for Seals are the ratification of Covenants or at least they do despise Gods grace of condescendency who for the cause of our weakness in belief of his Covenants vouchsafeth to grant us Seals to confirm them And Gods Covenants have never been without Seals and though there hath been change of Seals yet Seals are as old one or other of them and are to last as long as the Covenants and the Lords Supper
witness that you are made free from the Law for the Law hath power over a man as long as he lives The Saints that did witness they were made free from the Law by the body of Christ witnessed this quaking and trembling which you with your serpentine wisdom would give senses upon them and despise but he shall not enter into the Kingdom Did not Habbakuks lips tremble and his belly quake And did not the Prophets knees knock together and quake David and Ioh their flesh trembled and so must all proud flesh he laid low and the loftiness of man be brought down and your imaginations and God alone be exalted the power that makes you to quake and tremble is now made manifest which you know not for if you did you would not give so many senses upon the Scripture and the same Power is now made manifest as ever was praised be the Lord for ever As they that saw the outside of the Vision as you speak so you see the outside of the Letter and would flie from them who have the power of the Letter as Daniel had so you see the outside but not the inside as Daniel did if you did you would not utter forth your solly ignorance and weakness the same Christ they do witness to be made manifest that makes proud flesh to tremble and the same operation and death to be brought conformable to Christ they witness but this power working in them as thou sayest thou knowest not and whereof you speak that you know them whom God spake to by Angels and Visions whom he wrought wonders by but only by a history-knowledge by Paper and Ink and there you shew your selves to be lyars for them whom you do accuse which you call Quakers the wonderous Works of the Lord are made manifest among them though that Christ wrought Miracles among the people yet they said he did it by Belzebub the Prince of Devils and thou shewest thy self to be in the same Adulterous Generation that the Scribes and Pharisees were which would have a sign or a wonder but there in none shall be shewed to thee but the sign of Jonas for an adulterous Generation seeks for a sign and there thou art Friends you say there is nothing in all the Scriptures makes out of the people meeting together as concerning trembling did not the Corinthians tremble when Titus came to preach among them and did not the Assemblies that came to Ezra tremble there is nothing in your minds of God born up in your understandings to judge withall so in your'own conceits you are satisfied and doth not the Lord say I will shake all Nations and let all the Inhabitants of the Earth tremble so ye shew forth the ignorance of the form for the power of it you cannot own nor believe where it is operating and working Friends you have uttered forth many lyes and slanders and scandalous speeches lay your hands upon your mouths blush and be a shamed who art in Cains nature murdering the righteous ones in your hearts and spewing forth your venome against a harmless people was it not the practice of the Saints to wait alone upon God for counsel for wisdom for grace and for the Spirit and being guided by the light of God they waited upon God and the Apostle exhorts them that they should take heed to the light within them until the day dawn and the day-Star arise in their hearts and no Prophesie of the Scripture came by the Will of man so it was of no private Interpretation but Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost this moving you speak not from neither know therefore as dogs fnarle and bite them who are guided by the same Spirit and wait for the same Spirit by which we have unity with them in the same Spirit and you shew your selves to be in the number of them who use their tongues and say he saith when saith the Lord I never spoke to them but you speak a vain divinatition of your own brain and not from the mouth of the Lord gathering your selves together against the Lord and against his annointed but I am satisfied that I see your folly and weakness uttered forth which doth blind many but God is raising up a light which will discover you the Doctrine of God they own but your Doctrine which is of man they deny And if these be your Ordinances which you speak of as sprinkling Infants and telling people of a Sacrament these we deny for God never commanded them and if you draw people to these things which God never commanded you bewitch them for the Galathians were bewitched which were drawn to act these things God had not commanded when the substance was come so you do bewitch them to follow your Traditions from the sight of God within them And as touching Magistrates you are false accusers which the Scripture speaks of which have the form and not the power For all who are brought into the Truth do labour with singleness of heart unto God and not with eye-service and their souls are subject to the power of God and Justice they own and honour in their soul which cuts down filthiness and corruptions which are alive in you which makes you to give forth so many false accusations upon a harmless people who wait for the restoring of the Kingdom and the overturning the World and the Kingdoms of it and the Image of the Devil defaced in man and the Image of God renewed in Righteousness and man brought into his being from whence he was fallen and so you are yet under the dominion of Satan judging truth errour and blasphemy as ever they did which had the form and not the power in whose steps you walk seeing you have uttered forth your folly so and filthiness and call your selves the Church of Christ his Church is not a sinful Church for that you stand up for but his Church which he hath purchased with his blood is without spot or wrinkle or any such and yours is but an imitation therefore slander not the Church of Christ as they which say they are Iews and are not but are Synagogues of Satan and there you are I charge you by the Lord that you read this among all your Churches as you call it and as you will answer it before the Lord for to that in your Conscience do I speak From some Friends in the Truth whom the World calls Quakers in Lancashire Annotations upon this Reply and an Extraction of the unsavory passages contained in it THe greatest part of this Reply contains nothing but reproachfull and villifying expressions and is extremly censorious of us as of persons who have nothing but darkness in us and is self-magnifying as conceiving themselves onely in the light and having themselves and they onely the spirit And some small part of it makes mention of the very self same Scriptures which Richard Wallers Letter doth contain and of some few