of the Serpent that is the Devil Now which of these several Treatments do testifie the greatest Respect And whether their Veneration does Hereby appear more to the Holy Scriptures or to their own Writings I leave it without more Argument to the Reader Manger their Thin and Hypocritical Distinction of the Letter It is plain they never gave the Scriptures a good word but meerly for Popularity when forc'd to it to avoid the Odium of the World And therefore since the year 1660. when the Restoration of the Church and Her Liturgy brought the Holy Scriptures again into Request the Quakers have been more Pharisaically Civil towards them and upon some Turns will bestow upon them the Epithet of Holy because it is so common in the Mouths of other Men. But in all their Preachings or Writings before 1660 where-ever they had occasion to name the Holy Scriptures they seldom or never gave them that Epithet of Holy or Sacred but plain Scriptures at best tho' most commonly they did not let them pass without some of their sweet Appellations before-told of Beastly Ware Serpent's Meat Death and Carnal to beget the greater Reverence for them in the People And it is desir'd to Confute this Observation that they wou'd give us what Citations they can they will not be many out of all their Books which were wrote before 1660. and they are very numerous which name the Scriptures with the Appellation of Holy or Sacred or indeed with any sort of Respect Especially let them Quote Fox Burrough Howgil or some of their Principal Pillars But if this Observation be Malicious and that they cannot disprove it now then let them take time and put in such Expressions as oft as they please in the New Edition of G. Fox's Works according to their Laudable Custom before spoke of to chop and change the Writings of their Dead Prophets to answer the Exigency of the Times Tho' if what they wrote was Dictated Immediately by the Holy Ghost as they pretend they are of Equal Authority with the Scriptures and it must be as great a sin to Add or Diminish in the Writings of the Quakers as in the Holy Scriptures themselves And then by the Sentence pronounc'd Rev. 22.18 and 19. all those Quakers shall be Blotted out of the Book of Life who in the New Editions of the Works of Edward Burrough Francis Howgil c. have taken away from the Words of the Books of their Prophecies And I have given them Lawful Warning not to incurr the like Sin and Shame in the new design'd Edition of their great Apostle G. Fox's worthy Remains But that they may not pretend Ignorance or Inadvertence I do here particularly Caution that the following Passages may not be left out nor Blended in a Book Published by Him and other Quakers call'd The West Answering to the North Printed 1657. where p. 7 8. They tell That Strafford's Head was cut off and Canterbury's and Charles Stuart's as Traytors for endeavouring to subvert the Fundamental Laws And p. 79. That His Charles Stuart 's Arbitrary Actions were Recorded every where in the Blood and Misery of the late Wars and the Destruction of Him and His Family The Dreadful and Sad Examples of His Righteous Judgments who Renders to every one according to his Deeds And p. 89. Doth not here appear from the Grave the Spirit that was in Christopher Love Priest and his Fellow-Traytors who being within the Jurisdiction of this Common-wealth look upon them to Commissionate Divers Men to treat with Charles Stuart the Proclaim'd Traytor of the Government P. 95. The Common Enemy Charles Stuart c. and forget not the wonderful Deliverances from them all which the Right Hand of the Lord effected p. 96. 97. Multitudes of People flock'd up out of the City to Westminster to complain of their Sufferings which Charles Stuart called Tumults and by the Guard one of them was slain at the place of the shedding of whose Blood was Charles Stuart's Head struck off and His Blood poured forth on the ground A remarkable Record of the Righteous Iudgments of God Lastly Mark these words p. 102 The Righteous Ends of the Wars for Liberty and Law And these Innocent Servants of the Lord who have been All of them Always Faithful to the honest Interest of the Nation and many of them for it have drawn the Sword and Fought in the Field from first to last And p. 83. The honest Men then who own'd them the Parliament Army throughout England against the Priests and the Common Enemy That is the Church and the King And by the Honest and Innocent Servants of the Lord they meant Themselves For they allow none other to be such as is fully shewn hereafter The Defence of them the Laws say they p. 16. have we in the late Wars vindicated in the Field with our Blood c. There is another Book of this Great Apostle wherein I am very apprehensive his New Editors may do him wrong It is a most Bitter and Senseless Invective against all Kings and Monarchical Government which was Printed in the beginning of the Year 1660. but before the Restoration which was in May the same Year to shew what Obstinate Rebels these Quakers were who held out against the King to the very last Day That Book bears this Title Several Papers given forth by George Fox London Printed for Thomas Simonds at the Sign of the Bull 1660. I set it down thus particularly because the Friends may know that it is still in being and in the Hands of those who will watch the New Edition of Fox's Works that they shall neither Add nor Diminish without being told of it I give this Caution because great pains has been taken and by some Arts which I will not here mention to recover this Book out of the Hands of any who are in the least Disaffected to their Cause and it may rationally be suppos'd that the Design is either wholly to suppress it or to take out its Sting that it hurt them not and render them odious to all Kingly Government I will give the Reader but a Taste out of that Delicious Dispensatory He says p. 8. That all Kings and Emperors have sprung up in the Night since the days of the Apostles among the Anti-Christs p. 12. So the Christians goes out from Christ and set up Kings like the Heathens p. 15. And all these Novice-Christians that are crying up Earthly Kings and fighting for the Kings of the Earth are not such as follow the Lamb. p. 16. We know that these Kings are the Spiritual Aegyptians got up since the days of the Apostles p. 18. and 9. You never read of any King among the Christians but among the Apostates since the days of the Apostles p. 8. Many cry for an Earthly King and will have Caesar and is not this the same Nature the Jews was in and do not they in this Crucifie Jesus p. 9. Are not all these Christians that will
is just now since I began this Preface a most clever and Ingenuous Excuse made for this in a Paper Dated at London the 4th of the 4th Month 1695. and Signed on Behalf of the Friends and yearly Meeting by John Vaughton Samuel Watson John Field Thomas Lower and William Bingley Printed and Sold by T. Sowle near the Quaker Meeting-House in Grace-Church-street It is Entituled An Answer to Francis Bugg's Presumptuous Impeachment c. There they wou'd persuade us That all they have said against the Payment of Tythes was only meant by them against Payment of them to the Popish Clergy But by no means against the Right of the Church of England to Their Tythes as settl'd upon them by the Civil Government No! They are not such bad Subjects as to oppose any thing of the Laws of the Land We are not Convinced say they p. 2. that it can be against the Fundamental Laws of the Land either to deny Tythes What When the Law enjoins them now in this Gospel-Day or to deem them Anti-Christian as they were imposed by Popes and Popish Laws which are not the Fundamental Laws of this Realm Are not Acts of Parliament tho' made in Popish times And there are Acts of Parliament since the Reformation for Tythes So that this is a mere Sham But they go on And our Testimony herein does rather affect a Popish Clergy than a Protestant Civil Government And p. 3. they tell that what they are Quarrell'd for was their Testimonies against the Corruption of Priests and Popish Imposition and Oppression of Tythes And p. 5. for Deeming the Imposition of Tythes by the Pope and Popish Laws to be Anti-Christian But hark ye Gentlemen if ye be not offended with that Title there were no Tythes paid to any Popish Priests in England ever since Quakerism appear'd amongst us And if you meant all you said only against them your Preaching was altogether vain But Barclay as before Quoted names the National ministery who had received a Deadly Blow by your witness against Their forc'd Maintenance of Tythes whose Kingdom he says was tottering and shou'd assuredly if he was a true Prophet fall to the Ground Slay Baal crys G. Fox Balaam must be slain news out of the North 1655. p. 31. all the Hirelings must be turned out of the Kingdom These are the Baal's Priests whom this Fox Commands you not to Feed The Beasts the Anti-Christs over whom you are to keep your Authority and Dominion If it be not so Why then do you not now pay your Tythes to the Ministers of the Church of England Why do you boast of your Sufferings and Imprisonments for not paying your Tythes to them as being a sort of Martyrdom for the truth Why do you Persecute and Disown those of your own Communion who pay their Tythes not to Popish Priests but to those of the Church of England Why are you so Zealous herein as not to leave it to their own Conviction or Light within whether they will pay their Tythes to the Priests of the Church of England or not Why will you not allow them what you your selves so much plead for Liberty of Conscience in this Case No This is a Material Cause This is the surest Method to Destroy the Church of England And you have gone a great way in it already For if they are Depriv'd first of the Tythes of all the Quakers who are not so few by the lowest Computation as one hundred thousand here in England and then of all those who to avoid Payment of their Tythes will pretend to be persuaded by them herein if the Tythes of all such were substracted there wou'd not be sufficient left to keep half the Clergy in England from Starving And it is the Desire and Design of the Quakers to Starve them as is plainly Confess'd and Threaten'd or Prophesy'd of in Richard Hubberthorn's Works Re-printed since 1660. in his Answer to John Stellum p. 130. When the Law of the Land says he ceaseth to maintain them the Priests as he calls them which will come sooner than they expect then may they begg their Bread or Perish for want And this the Quakers hope to effect by their Testimony against Tythes and Threaten or Prophesie that it will come sooner than we expect either to have the Laws for Tythes alter'd or overthrown if the Government will not alter them they will overthrow them by Declaring them Anti-Christian and so Abrogated of Course And it is to be observ'd that there is no Principle of the Quaker Religion wherein they are so Zealous as in this They did not think it sufficient to Preach and Print against Tythes but they went about and got Subscriptions of many thousands of the Quakers throughout all England against Tythes and sent them up to the Parliament in an Humble Threatning Manner And as if this had not been sufficient the VVomen must be assembled in the several Counties and They too must sign the like Subscriptions and sent them likewise to the Parliament And then they Printed them to let the Nation know their Force I have now before me the Printed Testimony and Subscriptions with all their Names at length of above Seven Thousand of these Quaker-women against Tythes sent to the Parliament as they call'd it the 20th Day of the 5th Month 1659. They were resolvâ—d to Batter them down And all who thus Subscrib'd were in their Fashion Canoniz'd by them For they are thus stil'd in the said Printed Account The Hand-maids and Daughters of the Lord. But these seven thousand who had not Bowed to the Baal of Tythe wou'd not have you think that there number was so small for they subscribe not only for themselves but as it is there Printed in the Names of many more of the said Hand-Maids and Daughters of the Lord who witness against Tythes c. And G. Fox in his Letters of Licence hereafter inserted for these Subscriptions complain that All the Good Women had not Sign'd I have not yet seen the Subscriptions of the Men. But we may compute by this of the Women what vast Numbers the Men Subscribers must have been And we may reasonably suppose their Arguments to have been much the same with these of the Women being likely drawn by the Men at least with their Concurrence And the VVomen do positively Declare for Annulling the Laws for Tythes if the Parliament wou'd not Alter the Laws The Commands of men say they p. 3. must be Annulled that take Tythes and not to be obey'd by them that live in the Covenant of God And they tell p. 4. That they bear their Testimony for the Lord Iesus Christ in opposition of Tythes against the Commands of men set up in opposition to him since the Days of the Aposties c. which to you say they is the word of the Lord God And. p. 21. The shout of a King is amongst Us the Lord God Omnipotent Therefore we with our Names and Hands bear our
No they are not able to produce one word or any thing like it But on the contrary there are plain Intimations in the Gospel of their Continuance particularly 1 Cor. 9.13 14. But we need no new Command for them in the Gospel If they are not Forbidden and Abrogated by Christ they are still of force They are no part of the Typical or Ceremonial Law and nothing else of the Law was Abrogated by Christ They were before the Law and the Reason of them is Eternal That is Honouring the Lord with our Substance Prov. 39. as with our Time and that Proportion of either which He at first Reserv'd to Himself must so Remain But there is another Jesuitical Excuse in p. 2. of these Quakers Answer to Bugg viz. That these their Orders are not Constitutions or Canons but Epistles wherein several matters of Christian Advice are Recommended and not Imposed This wou'd seem as if these Quakers were left to their Liberty whether they wou'd pay Tythes or not But the contrary is made fully appear in the Instances of Crisp Story Rogers c. as before And as to the Stile of their Orders being call'd Epistles I suppose they have heard of the Pope's Decretal Epistles And he Commands most Absolutely when he writes himself Servant of the Servants of God Soft Words and Hard Meaning That Severe and Terrible Excommunication against John Story c. above told was by way of Epistle which is taken notice of in the above-Quoted Replication in the very Title of it viz. A Testimony against the 66 Judges called Quakers who writ an Epistle as they call it against John Story John Wilkinson and those join'd with them c. I have shewn before that not only Their Writings when they are call'd Epistles but all even the very Queries of Theirs are to be esteem'd Equal to the Scriptures so that as they say you might as well condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as their Queries That Their Writings are not to be look'd upon as the Edicts of Men but of God Himself c. But when they are Pinched then they are only Recommendations and Advices But such as must be Obey'd under the pain of being Rebels to God and Disown'd by them Which to much the greatest number of them considering their Dependance upon one another in Trade is their utter undoing Now such Advices look very like Commands And this last Excuse of the Quakers is no better than the former But in all this Answer to Bugg they have quite forgot the most material Objection against them which is some Quotations of theirs as to Tythes which are cited by Bugg particularly that mention'd p. 3. of Edw. Burrough in the 780 page of his Works Tythes says he as received and paid in these days are of Anti-Christ This totally overthrows the Quakers Excuse in their Answer to Bugg viz. That they only spoke against Tythes being paid to Popish Priests and by Popish Laws For here Edw. Burrough condemns those Tythes as Anti-Christian which are Receiv'd and Paid in these Days which are to Protestant Priests and by Protestant Laws And to this the Quakers Answer has not return'd one word or taken the least notice of it No nor to that other Quotation out of the Ancient Testimony c. p. 2. So it is no new thing that the People of the Lord call'd Quakers have suffer'd so deeply for but the Ancient Testimony to the Coming Death and Resurrection of Christ which they that Plead for Tythes in this Gospel-Day do in effect Deny c. Nor to that Quoted out of Thomas Ellwood's Antidote c. which I have mention'd before but Bugg here more at large Thus p. 78. of the Antidote Truth allows no Payment of Tythes at all under the New Covenant but Condemns it They who Pay Tythes do therein uphold a Legal Ceremony Abrogated by Christ and thereby deny Christ to be come in the Flesh which is a Mark of Anti-Christ c. To the Argument it is Answer'd before That Tythes are no Legal Ceremony nor any Ceremony at all They are a just Tribute and Acknowledgment to God out of that Encrease with which He has bless'd our Labours This is far above a Ceremony which in its own Nature is a thing Indifferent neither Good nor Bad which the Duty of Honouring the Lord with our Substance is not but a Necessary and even a Natural Duty And as to the particular Quantum of a Tenth part of our Substance that was determin'd long before the Law and was the Universally receiv'd Notion of the World in all Ages and therefore of Divine Institution and so far from a Legal Ceremony And as they were no Ceremony so neither were they any Type of Christ and to cease at His Coming like Sacrifices whose first Institution was to Prefigure the Death of Christ and the shedding of His Blood And therefore Christ is call'd by the Name of His Types Christ our Passover is Sacrificed for us 1 Cor. 5.7 He is call'd our Passover and Sacrifice but he is never call'd our Tythe For that has no Relation to any Typical Representation of Christ â—hey Prefigure not His Passion or Death They are totally of another Nature a Tribute due from us to our Creator and Preserver And therefore never to cease They are never Fullfill'd but in being dayly Paid Sacrifices and all other Types of Christ are Fullfill'd For He only is now our Sacrifice But He is not our Tythe The nonsence of such a Pretence appears from the very Proposing of it But in the next place as Tythes are no Legal Ceremony nor Type so neither are they Abrogated by Christ as T. Ellwood affirms but cannot Prove We desire any one Text to shew it He quotes 1 Joh. 4.3 which has no more Relation to it than Neh. 10. to the 28. verse And is a plain Demonstration that they have no such Proof else they wou'd have brought it And it is as plain that they have no Answer to give to those Quotations which Fr. Bugg produces out of their Books otherwise it is impossible but they must have said something to them they being so exceedingly Scandalous and Provoking to our Government both in Church and State as their making our Magistrates to be Pharaohs Nebuchadnezzars c. and the Clergy very Conjurers Thieves Anti-Christs Witches Devils Baal's Priests Hell-Hounds c. and crying woe and misery to the Upholders whether Kings or Parliaments of that Treacherous Crew and Deceitful Generation But William Penn continues Bugg in his Impeachment p. 1. in his late Book Stil'd The Guide Mistaken c. goes a little farther viz. Whilst the Idle Gormondizing Priests of England run away with above 150000 l. a year under Pretence of God's Ministers And that no sort of People have been so Vniversally through Ages the very Bane of Soul and Body of the Vniverse as that Abominable Tribe for whom the Theatre of God 's most Dreadful Vengeance is reserved to Act their
Particular Persons 14. Lastly I desire to obviate some Objections which have been made by some to whom I have shewn the following Sheets and thereby further to enforce the Proofs hereafter brought First It has been objected to me That I seem to have aggravated that Point against the Quakers of their aspiring to an Equality with God which is so wild and outrageous a Blasphemy that some cannot believe these Men mean it tho' they say it And indeed it was not without great Force upon my self that I cou'd be brought to believe it for I thought it impossible that any Man even in Bedlam cou'd be far given up to a total Deprivation of all Sense and Reason But I was over and over to my Astonishment convinc'd of this by the Perusal of their Blasphemous Writings Particularly of G. Fox which I have Quoted Sect. VI. p. 51. and have consider'd Mr. Penn's Defence of him Sect. VII from p. 57. And if this be not sufficient I will now further prove my Charge even in Legal Form against him by Evidence upon Oath which you will find in a Book Printed 1653. Entituled A Brief Relation of the Irreligion of the Northern Quakers c. There p. 2. and 3. you have the Account how George Fox did avow himself over and over to be Equal with God being ask'd by Dr. Marshal in the Presence of Mr. Sawro Coll. Tell and Coll. West Justices of the Peace in the County of Lancashire at a Private Sessions in the Town of Lancaster whether or no he was Equal with God as he had before that time been heard to affirm His Answer was this I am Equal with God This Blasphemy hath been attested upon Oath by the aforesaid Dr. Marshal and Mr. Altam School-Master of Lancaster before the Justices at the last Sessions held at Appleby the 8th of January 1652. and before Judge Puleston at the last Assizes held at Lancaster the 18th of March 1652. Thus that Account which was Printed soon after the said Assizes at the same Assizes it was prov'd against this Fox that he had avowed himself to be the Christ the Way the Truth and the Life Witnessed by George Bickett and Isaac Bourne That he was the Judge of the World Witnesses George Bickett Adam Sands Nathanael Atkinson yea the Eternal Judge of the World George Bickett Witness and Mr. Sawro a Justice of Peace told the Judge in the open Court that he cou'd produce many more who cou'd Witness that G. Fox had affirm'd himself to be the Christ c. But the Witnesses produc'd were thought sufficient at that time In the above Account p. 3. it is likewise Witnessed that Iames Naylor affirm'd That he was as Holy Just and Good as God Himself and that ames Milner before mentioned p. 24. 25. in the County of Lancashire profess'd himself to be God and Christ Witnesses Thomas Shaw Gerard Shaw George Inman These monstrous Blasphemies occasioned a Petition from the Gentlemen of that County to the then Council of State Which being short I give you Verbatim as follows To the Right Honourable the Council of State The Humble Petition of several Gentlemen Justices of Peace Ministers of the Gospel and People within the County of Lancaster whose Names are Subscribed Sheweth That George Fox and James Naylor are Persons Disaffected to Religion and the wholesom Laws of this Nation and that since their coming into this Country have Broach'd Opinions tending to the Destruction of the Relation of Subjects to their Magistrates Wives to their Husbands Children to their Parents Servants to their Masters Congregations to their Ministers and of a People to their God And have drawn much People after them Many whereof Men Women and little Children at their Meetings are strangely wrought upon in their Bodies and brought to Fall Foam at the Mouth Roar and swell in their Bellies And that some of them affirm themselves to be Equal with God contrary to the late Act as hath been attested at a late Quarter-Sessions holden at Lancaster in October last past and since that time acknowledged before many Witnesses besides many Dangerous Opinions and Damnable Heresies as appears by a Schedule hereunto annexed with the Names of the Witnesses Subscribed May it therefore please your Honours upon the Consideration of the Premises to provide as your Wisdomâ— shall think fit that some speedy Course may be taken for the speedy Suppressing of these Evils And your Petitioners c. The Schedule annexed was as follows 1. George Fox Profess'd and avow'd that he was Equal with God 2. He Professed himself to be the Eternal Judge of the World 3. He said that he was the Judge of the World 4. He said whosover took a place in Scripture and made a Sermon of it and from it was a Conjurer and his Preaching was Conjuration 5. He said that the Scripture was Carnal Iames Milner a Follower of the said Fox professeth himself to be God and Christ and gives out Prophecies 1. That the Day of Judgment shall be the 15th day of November 2. That there shall never Judge sit at Lancaster again 3. That he must ere long shake the Foundations of the Great Synagogue meaning the Parliament Leonard Fell Professeth that Christ had never any Body but His Church Richard Huberthorn wrote that Christ coming in the Flesh was but a Figure This was the Schedule And G. Fox wrote an Answer to this Petition and to every particular in the Schedule which he Entituled Saul's Errand to Damascus c. Printed 1653. wherein he inserts the said Petition and Schedule out of which I have Transcrib'd them And I have done it First to give the Readers who are Strangers to the Proceedings of the Quakers a clearer view of them Secondly To Invite all that are Curious to Read that Answer of Fox 's Saul 's Errand c. because there is none can Imagine but that Fox having produc'd so particular a Charge of Gross and Abominable Blasphemies against himself and Partners did it on purpose that he might the more exactly and in terms most Express and Plain Renounce and Disown them And every Reader will judge it Reasonable to conclude Fox and the Foxonians absolutely Guilty of every part of this Charge which they refuse in this their Vindication thus Plainly and Expresly to Disclaim Or where they Dodge and Shift and will not give a Direct and Categorical Answer Because no Innocent Person wou'd desire to wave his Denial of so Foul an Imputation laid upon him But on the contrary wou'd with the greatest Earnestness press to be Heard and wou'd Purge himself in the Plainest and Fullest Terms he cou'd devise and wou'd believe that every one wou'd think him Guilty wou'd give every one leave to believe him Guilty if he gave any Dubious or Foreign Answers For who will not think him Guilty who cannot be brought to Plead not Guilty But such is the Case of Fox in his Saul's Errand above-mentioned He does not Plainly deny no not