A DEFENCE Of a PAPER Entituled GOSPEL-TRVTHS Against the EXCEPTIONS OF THE BISHOP of CORK'S Testimony By W. Penn. The Second Edition Printed in the Year 1698. THE PREFACE Reader IT was the Wise Counsel of an Ancient and Great Prelate of the Kingdom of Ireland at a late Visit I made him there to discourage Controversie and endeavour to abate Strife among Christians For said he Heaven is a Quiet Place there are no Quarrels there and Religion is a Holy and Peaceable Thing and Excites to Piety and Charity and not to Genealogies Strife and Debates But the Bishop of Cork seems to be of another Mind that could not pass by so Inoffensive a Paper as that Stiled Gospel-Truths given him by me in a Private Way at a Friendly Visit upon his own Desire without his Publick Animadversions and those Exprest not with so much Justice and Charity as might have been expected from him to his Dissenting Neighbours I am I confess very sorry my Christian Visits to the Bishop have met with no Better Returns than Controversie But because that 's his and not my fault it shall be my Satisfaction I did indeed Perceiving him Conversant in our Writings and his Character to be Moderation casually Present him with one of those Papers but as the Nature of it is Far from Provocation so my design in it was purely to Improve his Temper and not to Excite his Contradiction Nor was it Writ for an Exact and Compleat Account of our Belief but Occasionally to prevent the Prejudices that the Attempts of a Course and Scurrilous Pen at Dublin just before might provoke in some against us as to the Points touched upon in the Gospel-Truths And though we have been so Unhappy as to be therein Mistaken by the Bishop yet it 's some Comfort to Us that our Christian Declaration hath had quite another Reception with the Generality of those to whose Hands it has come And I heartily wish That hath not been the most prevailing Motive to his Undertaking However since he has been pleased to fault it both with Shortness and Error which we thought Healing at least Inoffensive I esteem my self Answerable for it and shall with God's Assistance Defend it against the Force of his Exceptions and I hope with Clearness and Temper For though I may be plain as he may expect I desire to be neither Rude nor Bitter I ask Reader but the Common Justice due to all Authors especially in Controverted Points of Religion to wit Attention and Impartiality and then judge whether our Pacifick Paper deserved so Sharp a Censure and the Manner of its being given him so Publick a Return Though I hope the Consequence will be Good To Almighty God I leave the Success and am in all Christian Obligation Thy Assured Friend W. Penn. Bristol the 23d of the 7th Month 1698. GOSPEL-TRUTHS Held and briefly Declared by the People called QUAKERS for Satisfaction of Moderate Enquirers SOBER READER IF thou hadst rather we should be in the Right than in the Wrong and if thou thinkest it but a Reasonable Thing that we should be Heard before we are Condemned and that our Belief ought to be taken from our own Mouths and not at theirs that have prejudged our Cause then we intreat thee to Read and Weigh the following Brief Account of those Things that are chiefly Received and Professed among us the People called Quakers according to the Testimony of the Scriptures of Truth and the Illumination of the Holy Ghost which are the Double and Agreeing Record of True Religion Published to Inform the Moderate Enquirer and Reclaim the Prejudic'd to a better Temper which GOD grant to his Glory and their Peace I. It is our Belief that GOD Is and that He is a Rewarder of all them that fear Him with Eternal Rewards of Happiness and that those that fear him not shall be turned into Hell Heb. 11. 6. Rev. 22. 12. Rom. 2. 5 6 7 8. Psal 9. 17. II. That there are Three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and these Three are really One 1. John 5. 7. III. That the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among Men and was and is the only Begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth His Beloved Son in whom he is well pleased and whom we are to hear in all things who tasted Death for every Man and Dyed for Sin that we might Die to Sin and by his Power and Spirit be raised up to Newness of Life here and to Glory hereafter John 1. 14. Matth. 3. 17. Heb. 2. 9. IV. That as we are only Justified from the Guilt of Sin by Christ the Propitiation and not by Works of Righteousness that we have done so there is an absolute Necessity that we receive and obey to unfeigned Repentance and Amendment of Life the holy Light and Spirit of Jesus Christ in order to obtain that Remission and Justification from Sin Since no Man can be Justified by Christ who walks not after the Spirit but after the Flesh for whom he Sanctifies them â—e also Justifies And if we walk in the Light as he is Light his precious Blood â—leanseth us from all Sin as well from the Pollution as Guilt of Sin Rom. 3. 22. to 26. Chap. 8. 1 2 3 4. 1 John 5. 7. V. That Christ is die Great Light of the World that lighteth every Man that cometh into the World and is full of Grace and Truth and giveth to all Light for Light and Grace for Grace and by his Light and Grace he Inwardly Appears to Man and teaches such as will be taught by him That Denying Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts they should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World John 8. 12. Chap. 1. 9 â—14 Tit. 2. 11 12. VI. That this Principle of Light and Grace which is GOD's Gift through Christ to Man is that which shews us our Sins Reproves us for them and would Lead all all out of them that obey it to serve GOD in Fear and Love all their Days And they that turn not at the Reproofs thereof and will not Repent and Live and Walk according to it shall die in their Sins and where Christ is gone they shall never come who is Undefiled and separated from Sinners Ephes 5. 13. John 16. 7. Prov. 1. 20. to 24. John 8. 24. VII This is that Principle by which GOD prepares the Heart to worship him aright and all the Duties of Religion as Praying Praising and Preaching ought to be performed through the sanctifying Power and Assistance of It other Worship being but Formal and Will-Worship with which we cannot in Conscience joyn nor can we maintain or uphold It. Rom. 8. 26. 1 Pet. 4. 10 11. VIII Worship in this Gospel-Day is Inward and Spiritual For GOD is a Spirit as Christ teacheth and he will Now be worshiped in Spirit and Truth being most suitable to his Divine Nature wherefore we wait in our Assemblies to feel GOD's
Spirit to open and move upon our Hearts before we dare offer Sacrifice to the LORD or Preach to others the way of his Kingdom That we may Preach in Power as well as Words and as GOD Promised and Christ Ordained Without Money and without Price John 4. 23 24. 1 Thess 1. 5. Isa 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17. Matt. 10. 8. IX This also leads us to deny all the vain Customs and Fashions of the World to avoid Excess in all things that our Moderation may be seen of all Men because the LORD is at hand to see and judge us according to our Deeds Tit. 2. 12. Rom. 12. â— Philip. 4. 5. Eccl. 12. 14. Mat. 16. 27. Rom. 2. 6. Rev. 20. 12. X. We believe the Necessity of the One Baptism of Christ as well as of his One â—upper which he promiseth to Eat with those that open the Door of their Hearts to him being the Baptism and Supper signified by the Outward Signs which tho' we disuse we judge not those that conscientiously practise them Mat. 3. 11. Ephes 4. 1. 1. Pet. 3. 21 22. John 6. Rev. 3. 20. XI We Honour Government For we believe it is an Ordinance of GOD and that we ought in all things to submit by Doing or Suffering But esteem it a great Blessing where the Administration is a Terror to Evil Doers and a Praise to them that Do Well Rom. 13. 1 2 3 4 5. This hath all a long been the General Stream and Tendency both of our Ministry and Writings as our Books will make appear notwithstanding what Ill-minded and Prejudic'd Persons may have strained to Mis-represent Us and our Christian Profession Dublin the 14th of the 3d Month 1698. William Penn. Thomas Story Anthony Sharp George Rooke THE TESTIMONY OF THE BISHOP OF CORK As to a Paper Intituled GOSPELâ—TRUTHS held c. by the PEOPLE called QUAKERS And Delivered to Him by an eminent Member of them Friends I Am such a Reader as in your Paper you desire I have read and soberly weighed the account you give of those things which you say are chiefly Received and Professed amongst you And I will exercise so much Moderation and Charity as to lay a great weight on that word chiefly hoping these are not the Only Things or All that you Believe I should have been heartily glad to have found that you had been in the Truth as I am well assured I my self am But as I professed when the Paper was given Me That if I took it you must expect I should bear my Testimony touching It or against It So I now must tell you I think my self bound in Conscience to perform what I then professed and that upon more Reasons than I will now trouble the World with You must not be offended if I say You have such a way of Writing and Speaking that it is very hard in many matters of Religion to know what you mean But as far as I understand you I will candidly acknowledge what Truths you have sufficiently or tolerably exprest I will shew you with meekness how far your Faith if this be your Faith comes short of being sufficient or Christian and I will sincerely tell you what I apprehend to be the cause of your Delusion and how dangerous a condition I really fear nay believe you to be in And first The only Articles in which you have exprest a sufficient Christian Belief are your IV. which is touching Justification and your last touching Government and your Submission thereto I wish you may always stick to this Belief and Practice And I heartily rejoyce to find you acknowledging the Necessity of Christ as a Propitiation in order to Remission of Sins and Justifying You as Sinners from Guilt 'T is the first time I have heard of it amongst you As to all the rest of your Articles I mean those which I understand I must tell you the declaration of your Faith comes so short of what is required from People to denominate them Christians that except under each Article you believe more than you have declar'd you cannot be accounted Christians For first in those Articles of Faith which you have thought fit to mention you have set down only some little Ends I had almost called them Snaps of the Article And Secondly many more whole Articles of the true Christian Faith and which are of no less import you have intirely omitted waved or suppressed You acknowledge in your I. Article there is a God and you own his Providence as to the other Life But that He made Heaven and Earth that He is the Almighty and at present by his Sovereign Power most wisely and holily Governs Orders and Sustains all by his Mercies as well as Judgments even in this World not â—â—aving Himself without witness you say not 〈◊〉 word Creation in the beginning and Providence as to this World at present are not here acknowledged by You. We hope you believe both Your II. Article is wholly true for it is express Scripture 1 John V. 7. But it is onely what the Apostle there had occasion to say and what was to his purpose touching the Father Son and Holy Spirit far from being the sum of what the Holy Scripture teaches of them and therefore iâ— not a sufficient Confession of Faith on that head In your III. Article you acknowledge indeed the Son of God to have been made Flesh but neither Conceived by the Holy Ghost nor Born of the Virgin Mary So that it does not appear by this your Confession but that He was at first an ordinary corrupt sinful Person Nay you own Him not so much as Jesus or the Christ the great Saviour who delivereth from the wrath which is to come or the Great Prophet Priest Lord and King of his Church You acknowledged him indeed to have dyed for Sin but not to mention the Articles inferible from and relating to the Circumstances of his death You have not one word of His Resurrection from the Dead or of His Ascension into Heaven which iâ— may be proved some of you have expresly denyed saying He is not ascended into Heaven He is in us Nor again of Hâ—… sitting now at the right hand of the Majesty oâ— high And so you seem not to own any thing of His Mediation Intercession or Appearing now in Heaven for us Nor further have you said a word of his coming again to Judgment or the End of the World Thus indeed You have here neither own'd the Creation nor Dissolution of the World so that it does not appear by this Account of your Faith whether you do not judge it Eternal and so otherwise Infinite Yet again Not a word of One Church which it may be feared you strike out of your Belief because you are resolved never more to return into the Unity of the Church but to make and maintain a Schism or Party for ever Nor further have you a word of the Resurrection of the Body which divers of you have been
known to deny and others of you only say It may be so And Lastly Tho' you acknowledge Everlasting Rewards for them that fear GOD yet nothing of the Everlasting Punishment of Wicked Men You mention Hell indeed in a very unnatural place viz. in your first Article of â—he Being of GOD but whether you mean thereby the Grave as most commonly in â—cripture is meant or a place of Temporal Punishment after this Life as some have â—one or a State of total Destruction and Annihilation as many now a days do no one knows Upon the whole As to the Sum of the Christian Faith which you have been pleased to set down there is not any one Article of our common Twelve that you have own'd intirely and Eight at least if not more of them that you have here totally suppressed or waved And how influential to a holy Life those which you have waved are and therefore how necessary to Salvation I must require and conjure you on your own Eternal Account to consider I will only mind you of two passages out of the Scriptures of Truth 1 Cor XV. 16 17. If the Dead rise not that is if there be no Resurrection of the Flesh then is not Christ Raised And if Christ is not raised your Faith is vain you are yet in your Sins Hence it appears All other points of Faith are in vain if this be not true The other is Rom. X. 9. If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy Heart that GOD hath raised Him from the Dead thou shalt be saved This Article alone is of such force and influence on Mensâ—Hearts that if believed as it should be such belief will save Men. But both Christ's Resurrection and Our own are by You in this Paper left out of your Faith I judge You not but judge Your selves lest you be condemned of the LORD Your V VI and VII Articles treat of what you call The Light of Christ within Man This You have never been able yet that I could find to make out what You mean by For You will not allow it to be either the Natural Rational Faculty or common innate Notions or Natural Conscience or Conscience Illuminated by the Preaching of the Gospel and the Operation of the Holy Ghost thereby Till You can make us understand your meaning or indeed till You understand it Your Selves that is till you are less confused in this the very Fundamental Principle or Rule of what you profess You must not think of Declaring or Publishing an Account of your Faith See you understand it first There are some Men who have a Faculty to speak things seemingly profound but in the End neither themselves nor others can make any distinct sense of what they have said This we usually call Banter And I must acknowledge as far as I can see your Discourse of his Light within is perfectly such Take notice We in our Preaching require People to look within as much as You do We strictly charge all to walk according to the Convictions and Light they have received We daily appeal unto Conscience but then we teach that Conscience opened by the Holy Spirit under the Ministry of the Word Acts XVI 14. does and must take in its Light from Holy Scripture The Commandment of the Lord is pure inlightning the Eyes Ps XIX 8. viz. of the Mind Ephes I. 18. Thy Word is a Lamp to my Feet and a Light to my Path. Ps CXIX 105. To the Law and to the Testimony If they even Men in their Consciences speak not according to this Word it is because there is NO LIGHT in them Isai VIII 20. Now these things are intelligible This Rule is fixt and certain nothing of which can be said of Your Light within In Your VIII Article You tell us Worship under the Gospel is Inward and Spiritual If You mean hereby that all Outward and Bodily Worship ought to be accompanied with an Inward and Spiritual Worship it is what we daily Preach and Practice and even in private press But if as it would seem You mean all the Worship GOD now requires is from the Inward Man or from the Spirit this is abominably false For Our Bodies are GOD's handy-work and Christ's Purchase as well as Our Souls on which reason GOD by His Apostle commands Glorifie â—OD in Your Body and in Your Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in the Plural Number that is both which are GOD's Not to tell You that You your selve now a days perform somewhat of Bodily Worship And indeed if there be not a worship of the Body as well as of the Spirit there can be no Publick Worship This Article therefore must also be mended to make it Christian In your IX Article You tell us of youâ— Denying all the vain Customs and Fashions of the World as also Excess in all things I know no sort of Christians who teach otherwise I wish I could say I knew none even of your selves that practice otherwise It is one part of the Catechism We teach our Children to renounce all these But there are many Innocent and laudable Customs which You call vain Would it not almost make a Mans Stomach turn to hear one forbear in point of Conscience â—â—ying You to a single Person because it 〈◊〉 improper and at the same time while â—e is speaking to his Superiour because Thou doest sounds a little rudely to soften the Thou and say Thee doest which is commonly Your Peoples Practice and much more improper Will You ever be able to prove the Primitive Christians â—sed a Dialect or Dress different from others of their Nation and Qualities and placed Religion in it Does not Christ require Saluting even those who salute not us And no doubt his and his Apostles Salutations were in the common form In a word There is more Vanity in Singularity and Affectation than in moderate following a common innocent Phrase Garb or Custome In your X Article you believe you say a Spiritual Baptism and a Spiritual Supper and Communion but acknowledge you Disuse the Outwards Signs by us commonly called Sacraments Now did not Christ command Water-Baptism Go ye and Baptise all Nations Matth. XXVIII 19 20. The Baptism here commanded was Water-Baptism For Baptising with the Spirit was GOD's work not the Apostles and tho the Baptism of the Spirit commonly accompanied Baptism with Water yet not always as in the Case of Simon Magus and many others Yet did not Christ promise to be with them Preaching to all Nations and Baptising to the End of the World Further Did not the Apostles in Obediencâ— to Christs Command both constantly practice and also require Water-Baptism to all Initiated Christians Can any Man forbiâ— Water that these should not be Baptised which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we And he Peter commanded they should bâ— Baptised Acts X. 47 48. Then as to the Outward use of Bread and Wine for the Lord's
to see the Bishop's Evidence for this Knowledge For in the Conclusion of this Paragraph he turns us to the Scriptures who in the beginning of it makes us Unintelligible and Banterers in Religion for Expressing Ours in the Terms of It which may well merit the Bishop's Serious Reflexion His Ninth Paragraph refers to our Eighth Article as he calls it of which he cites these Eight Words only Worship under the Gospel is Inward and Spiritual upon which he says If you mean that Outward Worship ought to be accompanied with Inward and Spiritual Worship 't is what we Preach Press and Practice but if as it would seem you mean that all the Worship God now requires is from the Inward Man or from the Spirit this is abominably false for our Bodies are God's Handy-work and God by the Apostle commands Glorifie God in your Body and in your Spirit which are God's Not to tell you that you your selves now a-days perform somewhat of Bodily Worship Indeed we do and Ever did and Ever shall I hope while we have Bodies to Worship God in We are so â—ar from denying the Body what share is â—ue to it that with the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. â—9 we say What know ye not that your Boâ—ies is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is â—n you which ye have of God and you are not â—our own Of which I would have the Biâ—hop well Consider For if our very Bodies are under the Influence of the Holy Ghost how much more reasonable is it to believe that It dwells in our Souls and that our Hearts must be Prepared and Animated by the Holy Spirit in all our Devoâ—ion towards God But two things I must Remark to the Bishop First That we did not give him the least Occasion to suspect we deny'd Bodily Worship as appears by the Gospel-Truth now in question For 't is plain there by these words Worship in this Day is Inward and Spiritual That we only distinguish'd between Gospel Worship and the Ceremonial and Pompous Worship of the Law and that by Spiritual Woship we understand Praying Praising and Preaching by the Preparation and Sanctification of the Spirit of God which the Bishop does not and I hope dares not Deny Yet Unkindly and I think Unjustly brings in His as it would seem to make us by an Uncharitable Innuendo look to his Reader as if we denied Bodily Worship And yet to avoid so hard a Chapter as Maintaining this Aspersion would prove to the Bishop he is forced to confess that now a-days we perform some-what of Bodily Worship as if we did not perform any formerly and but a little now Which shews not that Candor that his Character ows us and but too plainly tells every Impartial Reader how muck more mind he has that we should be in the Wrong than in the Right I must Confess we have leâ— Pomp and Gaudiness in our Worship as welâ— as in our Cloaths than is the Custom oâ— some other Churches and think it our Happiness that we are freed from such an Unprofitable as well as Unsuitable Incumberance Whatever It be 't is such as we believe God by his Holy Spirit hath led us into And tho' it be not so Entertaining to those who are Govern'd more by their outward Senses than their Souls yet I hope it will be allowed us to be Grave Solemn and Fervent The other Remark I make upon the Bishop's Exceptions is this That the Spiritual Worship he there allows of seems to be but the Worship of Man's Spirit and not of the Spirit of God working upon the Spirit of Man I would not Imitate him lest I â—â—ould be Uncharitable too For if my â—eader can make more of it he has my â—onsent but that seems to me to be the â—ishop's Interpretation upon Christ's words â—ted by us on this Occasion viz. God will 〈◊〉 worshipped in Spirit and in Truth Tho' â—ere is a Truth in that also yet this nor â—eing so peculiar to the Gospel Dispensaâ—on could not be the Extent of Christ's â—ords whose Drift certainly was to draw Mens Minds to a more Inward and Spiriâ—ual Worship Not only to have less Cereâ—ony than was Practis'd among the Jews â—ut to feel more of the Power and Spirit of God in our Adoration and Praises than beâ—ong'd to the Former Dispensation and with which I heartily wish the Bishop a â—etter Acquaintance Upon the whole Matâ—er I am apt to think my Reader believes with me he might as well have spared his Pains upon us about the first Part of this Gospel-Truth as he is Silent of the latter viz. That we may Preach in Power as well as Words and as God Promised and Christ Ordained without Money and without Price The Bishop in his Tenth Paragraph is pleased to Endeavour to lessen the Authority and Credit of our Ninth Gospel-Truth relating to the vain Fashions and Customs oâ— the World His words are these You teâ— us of denying all the vain Customs and Fashion of the World as also Excess in all things 〈◊〉 know no sort of Christians who teach otherwiseâ— I wish I knew none even of your selves thaâ— practis'd otherwise it is one part of our Câ—techism we teach our Children He first Concurs with our Doctrine for he says 〈◊〉 knows none that Preaches otherwise and thâ— they do the like in their Catechism Sâ— far then he allows us to be sound But hâ— wishes he knew none even of Us that Practice otherwise This is a sort of Charge and being not Prov'd looks like a Calumnyâ— Some perhaps do not walk quite so strictly as becomes them to their Profession but are they own'd by us therein Or Indulged it self If not what are we to Concludeâ— but that the Bishop's Insinuation is to Ballance Accounts with us for the failures of his own People But pray are our Excesses equal or the Numbers that in Proportion do transgress I would not have him Comfort himself with his Uncharitableness to his honest and friendly Neighbours As it will not Excuse his less exact Friends that any of ours live larger than they profess so it cannot justly affect our Body â—here so few are faulty when 't is so well â—nown that such are sure to meet with due â—eproof But he adds that There are many Innocent â—nd Laudable Customs We call vain This 〈◊〉 all in a Heap and a Reflection by Wholeâ—ale I can truly tell him I know of none â—nd if he had been more particular so would too Perhaps he thought Generals bes◠〈◊〉 make his Reflection Safe But if it were â—y place to be Plaintiff I could treat the â—ishop with a large Catalogue of very Ofâ—ensive Customs that would concern him â—o think upon However he is pleased to â—e particular upon us in one of them which â—lmost turns his Stomach he says to think of viz. Would it not make a Man's Stomach â—urn to hear one forbear in point of Conscience saying you to a single Person because â—t is Improper