in the Heart And Conscience is my Throne upon that will I sit and rule the Children of Men in Righteousness and who ever lives soberly righteously and godlily in this World shall be my good and 〈…〉 s and they will certainly make no ill ones for C 〈…〉 Virtue is the end of Government and renders hiâ— S 〈…〉 more easie safe then before Had I any other Desâ—gâ— then â—â—is would I suffer my Self to be reproached traduced and perâ—ecuted by a conquered people were it not more my 〈◊〉 to suffer then revenge would not their many provocation have drawn from me some instance of another Nature then the Forbearance and Forgiveness I teach Certainly were I animated by another principle then the perfection of Meekness and Divine Sweetness I should not have forbiden Peter fighting 〈…〉 ing put up thy Sword or endoctrinated my Followers to bear Wrongs but revenge all Affronts and by Plots and other Stratagems have attempted Ruin to my Enemies and the Acquest of worldly Empire and no doubt but they would have fought for me Nay I am not only patiently and with Pitty to Enemies sensible of their barbarous Carriage towards me for my Good Will to them for their Eternal Happiness I only seek but I foresee what they further intend against me they design to crucifie me and to do it will rather free a Murderer then save their Saviour they will perform that Cruelty with all the Agravation and Contempt they can deriding me themselves and exposing me to the Derision of others for they will mock my Divine Kingship with a Crown of Thorns and in my Agonies of Soul and Body for a Cordial give me Gall and Vineger to drink but notwithstanding all this to satisfie the World that my Religion is above Wrath and Revenge I can forgive them and to secure Caesar and his People from all Fears of Imposition whatever Authority I have and how many Legions of Angels soever I might command both to my Deliverance and the Enforcement of my Message upâ—n Mankind I resolve to promote neither with worldly Power for it is not of the Nature of my Religion and Kingdom and as I neither assume nor practise any such thing my Self that am the great Author Promoter and Example of this Holy Way so have I not only never taught my Disciples to live or act otherwise or given them a Power I refuse to use my Self but expresly forbad them and warn'd them in my Instructions of exercising any the least Revenge Imposition or Coertion towards any This is evident in my Sermon preached upon the Mount where I freely publickly and with much Plainness not only prohibited Revenge but â—njoyned Love to Enemies making it to be a great Token of true Discipleship to suffer Wrongs and conquer Cruelty by Patience and Forgiveness which is certainly a great Way off Imposition or Compulsion upon other Men. And when I was strongly bent for Jerusalem and sent Messengers before to prepare some Entertainment for me and my Company in a Village belonging to the Samaritans and it seems the People refused because they apprehended I was going to Jerusalem this provoakt some of my Disciples particularly James and John to that Degree that they asked me if I were willing that they should command Fire from Heaven to destroy those Samaritans as Elias in another Case had done I turned about and rebuked them saying Ye know not what Manner of Spirit ye are of for I am not come into the World to destroy Mens Lives but by my peaceable Doctrine and Example to save them At another Time one of my Disciples relating to me some Passages of their Travails told me of a certain Man they saw that cast out Devils in my Name and because he was not of their Company nor followed them said he we forbad him as if they had thereby served and pleased me but I presently testified my Dislike of the Ignorance and Narrowness of their Zeal and to inform them better told them they should not have forbid him for he that is not against us is for us my Drift is not Opinion but Piety they that cast out Devils convert Sinners and turn Men to Righteousness are not against me nor the Nature and Religion of my Kingdom and therefore ought to be cherisht rather then forbid That I might sufficiently declare and inculcate my Mind in this Matter I did at an other Time and upon a different Occasion preach against all Coertion and Persecution for Matters of Faith and Practice towards God in my Parable of the Sower as my Words manifest which were these The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a Man which sowed good Seed in his Field but while Men slept his Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat and went his Way but when the Blade sprung up and brought forth Fruit there appeared the Tares also so the Servâ—nts of the House-houlder came and said didst thou not sow good Seed in thy Field from whence then hath it Tares he answered an Enemy hath done this the Servants said unto him wilt thou then that we go and gather them up but he said NAY lest while ye gather up the Tares ye root up also the Wheat with them let both grow together till the Harvest and in the Time of Harvest I will joy to the Reapers gather ye together first the Tares and bind them in Bundles to burn them but gather the Wheat into my Barn And that I might not leave so necessary a Truth mis apprehended of my dear Followers or liable to any Mis-constructions my Disciples when together desiring an Explanation I interpreted my Words thus He that soweth the good Seed is the Son of Man the Field is the World the good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom but the Tares are the Children of the Wicked One the Enemy that sowed them is the Devil the Harvest is the End of the World and the Reapers are the Angels This Patience this Long-Suffering and great Forbearance belong to my Kingdom and the Subjects of it my Doctrine speaks it and my Example confirms it and this can have no possible Agreement with Imposition and Persecution for Conscience And that I might sufficiently deter my Followers from any such Thing as I profess my self to be their Lord and Master so have I commanded them to love one another in a more especial Manner but if instead therof any grow proud high minded and beat or abuse their Fellow Servants in my religious Family when I come to take account of my Houshold he shall be cut asunder and appointed his Poâ—â—tion among the Unbelievers behold the Recompence I appoint to Imposing Lordly Persons such as count others Infidels and to make them such Believers as themselves will exercise Violence towards them and if they prevail not will call for Fire from Heaven to devour them and if Heaven refuse them will fall a beating
THE Continued Cry OF THE OPPRESSED FOR JUSTICE Being A farther Account of the late Unjust and Cruel Proceedings of Unreasonable Men against the Persons and Estates of many of the People call'd Quakers only for their peaceable Meetings to worship God Presented to the Serious Consideration of the KING and both Houses of PARLIAMENT With a Postscript of the Nature Difference and Limits of Civil and Ecclesiastical Authority and the inconsistency of such Severities with both Recommmended and submitted to the Perusal of Caesar's True Friends By the Author of England's Present Interest c. Seek Judgment Relieve the Oppressed Judge the Fatherless and Defend the Widdow Isa 1. 17. Printed in the Year 1675. FOR THE KING AND Both Houses OF PARLIAMENT FOrasmuch as the Maintenance of Justice and Preservation of the Peace of Civil Societies have in all Ages been the great End of Government and since it hath pleased Almighty God to cast our Lot in a Kingdom whose Constitution is more then ordinarily caresil of the Liberty and Property of its free-born Inhabitants And because several Laws have been made upon Occasion of Dissent in Matters of Religion to press an Uniformity to the Religion now established that in the Execution of them have generally interferred with those Laws that give and preserve English Freedoms in that Hundreds of us have been Imprisoned and our Goods frequently spoiled to the utter Ruine of many Families without any Legal Process or Tryal by Peers and This not for refusing Conformity to the State or denying Caesar his Due or being chargeable to Parishes or useless to the Government but only because of our conscientious Dissent from the present Church And since this seems to be an Alteration in the ancient English Government by making an ECCLESIASTICAL CONFORMITY the Grand and Necessary Qualification in English Men to the Peaceable Enjoyment of their NATURAL and CIVIL INHERITANCES and forasmuch as this Course tends â—o a manifest Decay of Trade the Political Life or this Island Discouragement of Strangers Depopulation of the Country Impoverishing of many Thousand Vseful Inhabitants as well as that such Severities about Matters of Conscience are Inconsistent with the Doctrine and Example of Christ and his Followers in all Ages and repugnant not only to the very VVay of true Conviction but the Doctrine of ancient Protestants whose Protestation at the Diet at Spira against Coertion in Matters of Religion was the Occasion of their being called Protestants And because many malicious and covetous Persons under Pretence of doing God the King Country Service have taken advantage by these Laws to vent their Passions act their Revenge and pursue their VVorldly Interest beyond all Law and Humanity as wofully appears by the anexed Particulars ready to be proved VVe therefore intreat First That it would please you to peruse the anexed Particulars for your better Information of the Nature of our Case and Allegations Secondly That you would be pleased for the Removal and Prevention of the like Mischiefs to repeal or qualifie those Laws whereby the Persons and Estates of many Thousands of the peaceable People of this Kingdom are hourly exposed to Ruine in this VVorld for meer Conscience about Things relating to the next VVorld that being assured the sweat of our Brows and hard-gotten Bread for our Families shall not be made a Forfeit for our peaceable Consciences we may be better encouraged for the Time to come to all virtuous and industrious Living under the present Government as hath hitherto been through God's Grace our daily Practice A few Instances out of many which might be given of the great OPPRESSIONS and CRVELTIES lately acted upon Innocent Persons and Industrious Families chiefly in Persuance as is pretended of the late Act against Conventicles for their meeting in peaceable Manner to worship God Read Consider and Redress Leicester-Shire FOR a Meeting at Long Claxton or Clawson four persons were sent to Prison and so much Goods at divers Times taken from some of the said Meeting that they had not a Cow left to give their young Children Milk their very Bed-Clothe wearing Clothes and working-Tools escaped not the Violence or Avarice of their Persecutors the total Sum amounts to above Two Hundred thirty six Pounds nor did this satisfie our Persecutors for they cruelly dragg'd some Women in the Streets by the Necks till they were neer stiffied tearing the Clothes off their Heads and Backs One Woman that gave Suck was so beaâ—â—n and bruised on her breast that it sestered and broke with which she hath endâ—red many Weeks Misery and Torture Another Woman of seventy five Years of Age was violently â—â—rown â—own â—pon the Groâ—nâ— by one W 〈…〉 Constable the Men wâ—â—â— sorely beaten drawn and draâ—ged out of the Meetiâ—â— some by the Heels some by the Hair of the Head and 〈◊〉 so brâ—ised that they were not able to follow their Day 〈…〉 others they whipâ— on the Face till the Blood ran down there was one they furiously trod upon till Blood gusht out of his Mouth and Nose To compleat the Matter the Informer took away from one of the Prisoners his Purse and Money as if he had not been a quiet Neighbour but a Prisoner of VVar Nor was this accidental but Designs no short Fit of Cruelty upon an extraordinary Provocation for at this bitter Rate have they treated them for several Moneths Witnesses Edward Hallam William Marryott John Wilford William Smith Richard Parker Nottingham-Shire UNder Pretence of prosecuting the late Act against Conventicles One Peniston Whaley a Justice and one Colgrave a Bum-Bayly and one Walker both Informers have utterly ruin'd many poor Families in this County in their Estates having taken or caus'd to be taken from several Persons about Seven Hundred Pounds the Justice bidding the Officers take three or four Times the Value of the Fines that they migâ—t sell good peny-worths never returning as we are informed any one Record of Conviction into the Sessions except forced by persons appealing John Godrick and William Hudson of Little Gâ—eâ—ly appealing to the Sessions the Sessions ordered them their Money again but the aforesaid Peniston Whaley still detains Sixty pounds in his Hands contrary to the Orders of the Sessions notwithstanding it haâ— been divers Times demanded T. Sampson by Warrant from G. Nevil Justice for two Meetings had taken from him nineteen Head of Beasts and Goods to the Value of sixty Pounds and upwards as was vallued by the Neighbours so that they left him not a Cow to give his Children Milk That ever these Things should be done by such as count themselves Christians and Followers of Christ Jesus who suffered but would have none to suffer for his Religion Witnesses Abraham Sampson Francis Hawksmore Robert Porter Norfolk FOR several Meetings in and about Cockley Clay several Persons have had Goods taken from them to the Value of fifty three Pounds William Wat being Informer John Patterson had Two Hundred Sheep taken from him worth Eighty Pounds
to Ruin and their Persons to Goals Exiles and Abundance of other Cruelties What is this but to confound the Things of Caesar with the Things of God Divine Worship with Civil Obedience the Church with the State and perplex human Societies with endless Debates about Religious Differences nay is not this to erect new Measures to try the Members of Worldly Societies by and give an Accession to another Power then that which is necessary to the Constitution of Civil Government But that which ought to deter wise Rulers from assuming and exercising such an Authority is the Consideration of the pernicious Consequences of doing so For First It makes PROPERTY which is the first and most fixt part of English Government floating and uncertain no Conformity to the Church no Property in the State and doubtless the Insecurity of Property can be no Security to the Government 2dly It makes me owe more to the Church then to the State for in this Case the Anchor I ride by is not my Obedience to Laws relating to the Preservation of Civil Society but Conformity to certain Things belonging to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church to that though I may be an honest industrious English man a great Lover of my Country and an Admirer of the Government I live under yet if I refuse to profess the Religion that either now is or hereafter may be imposed I must neither enjoy the Liberty of my Person nor the quiet Possesion of my Estate 3dly This not only alters the Government by sacrificing Mens Properties for that which cannot be called a Sin against Property nor an Offence to the Nature of Civil Government if any Transgression at all but it narrows the Interest and Power of the Governours for proportionably what Number they cut off from their Protection they cut off from themselves and the Government not only rendering a great Body of People Vseless but provoaking them to be Dangerous to be sure it clogs the Civil Magistrate in his Administration of Government making that necessary which is not at all necessary to him as Caesar It is a Sort of DVVMVIRATESHIP in Power by which the Civil Monarchy is broken for as that was a Plurality of Men so this is a Plurality of Powers and to speak freely the Civil Power is but Lackey to run of all the unpleasant Errands the froward Zeal of the other sends it upon and the best Preferment it receives for its Pains is to be Informer Goaler or Executioner to some of the best Livers and therefore the best Subjects in the Kingdom Oh what greater Injustice to Caesar then to make his Government vary by such Modes of Religion and him to hold his Obedience from his People not by their Conformity to Him but the Church 4thly This is so far from resembling the Universal Goodness of God who dispenses his Light Air Showres and comfortable Seasons to all and whom Caesar ought alwayes to imitate and remote from increasing the Trade Populacy and Wealth of this Kingdom that it evidently tends to the utter Ruin of Thousands of Traders Artificers and Husband-men and their Families thereby increasing the Charges by increasing the poor of the Nation 5thly This must needs be a great Discouragement to Strangers from coming in and setling themselves amongst us when they have Reason to apprehend that they and their Children after them can be no longer secured in the Enjoyment of their Properties then they shall be able to prevail with their Consciences to believe that the Religion which our Laws do now or shall at any Time approve and impose is undoubtedly true and the Way of worshipping of God which shall at any Time be by our Laws enjoyned is and shall be more agreeable to the Will of God then any other Way in which God is worshipped in the World 6thly The Religion we are commanded Conformity to doth not make better Livers that 's a Demonstrative nor better Artists for it cannot be thought that going to Church hearing Common-Prayer or believing in the present Episcopacy learns Men to build Ships or Houses to make Clothes Shoes Dials or Watches Buy Sell Trade or Commerce better then any that are of another Perswasion and since these Things are Vseful if not Requisite in Civil Society is not prohibiting nay ruining such Men because they will not come to hear Common-Prayer c. distructive of Civil Society nor more obedient Subjects If any object Dissenters have not alwayes been so the Answer is ready do not expose them protect them in their Lives Liberties and Estates for in their present Posture they think they can call nothing their own and that all the Comforts they have in this World are hourly lyable to Forfeiture for their Faith Nope and Practice concerning the other World Is not this to destroy Nature and Civil Government when People are ruined in their Natural and Civil Capacity not for Things relating to either but what are of a Super-natural Import 7thly This deprives them of Protection that protect the Government Dissenters have a great Share in the Trade which is the Greatness of this Kingdom and they make a large Proportion of the Taxes that maintain the Government and is it reasonable or can it be Christian when they pay Tribute to Caesar to be preserved in an Vndisturbed Possâ—ssion of the rest and that the rest should be continually exposed for the peaceable Exercise of their Consciences to God 8thly Neither is this a Conformity to True and Solid Religion such as is necessary to Eternal Salvation wherein most Parties verbally agree but for a Modification of Religion some peculiar Way of Worship and Discipline All confess One God One Christ One Holy Chest and that it is indispensably requisite to live Soberly Righteously and Godlikely in this present evil World yet is one prosecuting the other for his Conscience seizing Corn driving away Cattel breaking open Doors taking away and spoiling of Goods in some Places not leaving a Cow to give poor Orphans Milk nor a Bâ—d to lye on in other Places Houses have been swept so clean that a Stool hath not been left to fit on nor so much as working Tools to labour for Bread To say nothing of the Opprobrious Speeches Bloody Blows and Tedious Imprisonments even to Death it self through Nastiness of Dungeous that many Innocent People have suffered for their peaceable Conscience only 9thly But this Way of proceeding for Maintenance of the National Religion is of an ill Consequence upon this Account Heaven is barr'd from all further Illuminations let God send what Light he pleaseth it must not be received by Caesar's People without Caesar's Licence and if it happen that Caesar be not presently convinced it is of God at this Rate I must either renounce my Convâ—ctâ—ons and loose my Soul to please Caesar or profess and persevere in my Perswassion and looâ—e my Life Liberty or Estate to please God this hath frequently ocâ—urr'd and may again therefore I
comes Imposition Force Cruelty Spoil of Goods Imprisonments Knocking 's Beatings Bruisings Stockins Whippings and Spilling of Blood for Religion What Church is that whose Officers are so far from cloathing the naked as to strip the clothed from feeding the hungry that they take their Bread from them and those poor Widdows and helpless Orphans too and so remote from visiting the sick and imprisoned that they drag away their Bed from under them and cast People into Prison for Conscience sake Nay they haled away an Honest Man from a Meeting to Goal at Reading but the other Day not permitting him to TAKE LEAVE of his poor Wife newly delivered and in a DYING Condition though she also desired it and liv'd but just by the Meeting-House where they took him In fine what are they that for no other Cause pass such dreadful Excommunications as render the Excommunicants little better then outlawed Persons subjecting their Civil and Natural Rights to their Pride Passion Interest or Revenge unless they will purchase their Enjoyment at the dear Rate of loosing their own Souls For what else can be the Conseqâ—ence of conforming to that I do not believe Is not this to destroy sincere Men and make and save Hypocrites Oh that such as are concern'd would soberly consider if any Thing is so Scandalous to True Religion as FORCE who can think that evidence Good that is extorted And what a Church is that which is made up of such Proselites or that employes such Means to make them O where is that Christian Meekness Patience and Forbearance How many have been ruined that were never exhorted and excomunicated before they were once admonished This is not to serve God but Worldly Interest it s quite contrary to Christ's Counsel and Doctrine He came to save and not to destroy Nature to magnifie his Grace You pretend to hate J. Calvin's unconditional Reprobation yet practise it If you say no Conformity is your Condition I answer that it s as unreasonable to require an impossibillity as cruel to damn Men for not doing it For as you say his Doctrine makes God to command them to repent that cannot repent and yet damn them if they repent not So you injoyn Men to relinquish their present Faith and Worship and conform to yours which is not in their Power to do yet damn them in a temporal Respect if they refuse it For you make such an unavoidable Dissent punishable with the Destruction of Mens Liberties and Estates You had better leave off valuing your selves upon the Mercy and Well-Natur'dness of that Tenet of the universal Love of God to Mankind till you love more then your selves and abominate the Church of England's being such an Elect to the Civil Government as utterly reprobates the rest as you pretend to detest the like Injustice in J. Calvin's Notion of Election and Reprobation And the Truth of it is this helps on Atheism as much as any Enormity in the Land when Witty Men not willing to take Pains to examine after the Truth and Excellency of Religion behold Men that call themselves Christ's Ministers and the Apostles Successors and Followers to affect and seek Government and yet twice deny it when they go to receive it that some others grow Lordly live Voluptuously and watch after the biggest Preferments not being excited by most Service for God but Earthly Power and Wealth for themselves and at the same Time persecuting Men of more Self-Denyal for Matters of Opinion about Faith and Worship towards God so that No Conformity to this Church No Protection from the State Which among Protestants is so much the more unreasonable because they by these Courses implicitely own and assume the highest Infallibility and Perfection and yet deny any such Thing for it supposes that nothing is Truer nothing Perfecter or else they both persecute Men to embrace a Fallible and Imperfect Religion and with cruel Penalties provide against any Thing more True or Infallible the greatest Injury to the World that can be for it is a plain Endeavour to frustrate all those excellent Prophesies and gracious Promises God has given and the holy Scriptures declare of the latter Dayes To conclude I shall desire Men of this Unnatural Unreasonable and Unchristian Spirit to consider 1. What Church was that which John saw riding upon the Powers of the Earth employing their Authority to force CONFESSION TRIBUTE and SUBJECTION to her 2. What that Church was which dyed her self in the BLOOD of them that believed not in her against whom the poor Souls under the Altar whose Bodies had been beheaded by her cryed to God 3. What Church it was that would suffer none to Buy Sell or Traffick without having her Mark CONFORMITY to her in their Forehead or right Hand that is either those that heartily and openly confest her or those that basely complyed for Fear 4. What Church is that which Trades in the Souls of Men Read Revelations Chap. 13. 18. 20. 5. Whether this Church reigns not wherever Mens LIBERTIES and PROPERTIES with all the Comforts of this Life are exposed and sacrificed for Matters of FAITH and WORSHIP to Almighty God Weigh these Things you great Church-Men of the Age in the Fear of that God who made Heaven and Earth and think not to make thus cheap of the Lives Liberties and Estates of Free-born English People and Harmless Christians for their peaceable Conscience without being accountable to that Great Lord in the Terrible Day of his Judgment that draws on upon the World No Plea you have shall be able to justifie these things or fence off the heavy Stroak of that Just Judge unless you repent 'T is not Succession in Name but Nature that makes the true Christian Minister and Bishop And where the Divine Life and Holy Qualifications of Christ and his Apostles are wanting there can be no Succession but what is as proper to the false Church as the true the Counterfeit as the Christian Be not deceived God will not be mocked such as you Sow such shall you Reap Remember Christ's Words Blessed are the Poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth Blessed are the MERCIFVL for they shall obtain Mercy Therefore Reform and let your Moderation be known unto all Men for the Lord is at hand Even so come Lord Jesus ERRATA Pag. 18. Line 33. for Injustice read Injury p. 20. l. 11. dele and. p. 20. 31. read Heaven is hereby barr'd as much as in Men lyes from p. 22. l. 22. for the read though p. 25. l. 15. read revenged p. 28. l. 25. read Chains ☜ ☜ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☞ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☞ ☜ a Mat. 11. 29 b 1 Pet. 3. 2. 2 Cor. 11. 2. c Phil. 4. 8. 1 Pet. 1. 15. d Mat. 16. 24 e 2 Cor. 4. 6. f Luke 6. 37. g Mat. 5 44. h Rev. 14. 4. i Phil. 2. 6. k Eph. 1. 22. Col. 1. 118. l Job 19. 14 15. m Rom 8. 17. n Heb 2. 11. o Tit. 2. 14. p Acts 20 28. q Rev. 14. 3. r 1 Pet. 2. 9. s Heb. 12 23. t Col. 1. 24. u Rev. 21. 9. w Joh. 18. 36. Mat. 22. 2. Luke 13. 2. Joh. 18. 36. Luke 17. 21. Tit. 2. 12. Mat. 26. 52. Mat. 27. 20. Ver. 27. c. Ver. 29. ver 48. Luke 23. 34. Mat. 26. 53. Mat. 5. 44. 45 46 47. Luke 9. 53 54 55 56. Luke 9. 49 50. Mat. 13. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Ver. 36 37 38 39. Joh. 15. 12. Phil. 3. 15.