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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47165	The Pretended Yearly Meeting of the Quakers, their nameless bull of excommunication given forth against George Keith from a party or faction of men that call themselves the Yearly Meeting, which they would have to be received as the general judgment and sentence of the Quakers ; with a brief answer to the same, shewing that for his zealous and consciencious opposing their gross errors, and reproving the evil and wicked practices of them in Pennsylvania, whom they own to be their breathern, particularly their persecution of G. Keith, and some of his friends, that party has excommunicated him.	Society of Friends. London Yearly Meeting.	1695 (1695)	Wing K193; ESTC R1084	10,700	12

man or men to be false Accusers But whereas they say the Divine Sense in the openings of the Heavenly Life ran as a mighty stream through the Meeting they writ nonsensically confounding the Life with the sence that the Life gives for it is most improper to say That mens sense runs through a Meeting tho the Life that gives it doth in the Assembly of the Faithful as it sealeth to a Righteous Judgment but this their Judgment being unrighteous it hath neither the Divine Life nor Sense to feal it but that a Power of Darkness might run through the Meeting and deceive many by its false appearance of Life is probable In my Paper I delivered to them at their Meeting I demanded them to let me know what they had against me either in Doctrine or Manner of Life and Conversation and was most willing to have been brought to a Trial before them making my just exceptions against some persons from being either Evidences against me or Judges in the Case because of their known Prejudice but without all due Tryal they have given out this Nameless Bull against me having nothing of any real substance or matter of just occasion against me and therefore it is but waste either of Time or Paper to give them any other but a general Answer to their bare general Charge having sufficiently by way of Anticipation to this their rash and imprudent Act as well as injurious cleared my self of all these general Charges they cast upon me in my Paper I delivered to them at their Yearly meeting and in the brief Narrative of the chief and most material Passages of discourse that passed betwixt some of them and me in the said Meeting at two several times both lately Printed together wherein I answer at length to their general and indefinit Accusation That I have not followed the Christian Advice and Judgment of the last Yearly Meeting but if they had not been Conscious to themselves that that part of it I did not follow and for which they have given out this rash and injurious Sentence against me was unchristian why did they not particularly and distinctly mention that Advise Which was to clear the Body of the People called Quakers and their Ministers from the gross Errors charged on some in America which I have with a good Conscience refused to do because to my certain knowledg and which I offered at their Meeting to prove some of their chief Teachers present in the said Meeting are guilty of divers of the same gross Errors charged on some in America and which I have in part sufficiently demonstrated in Print in that called a List And as I have occasion may further demonstrate out of their own Printed Books But let none think strange that I have not made this discovery of their gross Errors till now at least so to expose them in Print for I sincerely declare that the worst and grossest sort of their Errors whom I now expose to publick view I did not know they were guilty of them or that they were to be found in their Books but of late times and after I had discovered them to my own certain knowledg I was willing to exercise Christian Patience if by any means they might have been perswaded to have Corrected them having privately warned and admonished some of them and having also at divers times in a general way of Testimony in their hearing declared against these Errors But instead of their hearkening to my Testimony and amending these Errors they became my Enemy for telling them the Truth and now they having cut off all hope or expectation that they will receive any brotherly Advice from me by this their most Hostile way of appearing against me I am constrain'd thus to appear not in any Enmity against them but in Love to the Truth and the Honour of it which I ought to Love and Honour above all men and also in Love to the Souls of many ignorant persons whom they have Blinded and Darkned and led into these gross Errors to the great danger of the Salvation of their Souls that they might be undeceived And whereas they make it a matter of Accusation against me that I denied that Paper called A true Account which they call The Christian Advice and Judgment of the Yearly Meeting to be the Judgment or Sense of the Yearly Meeting affirming that Meeting that gave it forth not to be the Yearly Meeting but a Party or Faction which is the only true particular thing that I observe in all their Nameless Bull that they bring against me Is this so hainous a matter to deserve Excommunication and totally to be Rejected and disowned not only as a Minister but as one of that People We see to what a great height they are come to in a short time Rome did not arise to that height in full ten times the length of time that this which calleth it self the Yealy Meeting and Church of Christ hath raised it self unto within the space of a few years So that if a man will but speak a word concerning the Yearly Meeting of the People called Quakers That it is not a free Meeting not duly constituted tho he can ever so Evidently proven as I have done sufficiently no less censure shall pass on him than an Excommunication and off-cutting But thanks be to God whatever humane Authority they usurp to cut me off from some particular visible Meetings or Persons they have no Divine authority or Power to cut me off either from Christ or his faithful Followers and their Bull is but an empty blast of Air that hath not killed nor I hope ever shall kill the Life of my Soul or that Holy Fellowship I have had and still have with a faithful and sincere Remnant among that People and for all their emnity hatred reproaches revilings curses woes and plagues that they have poured out against me in publick Meetings both in Preaching and Prayer acted to be sure by an unchristian Spirit I return them Love and Goodwil blessing for cursing good for evil earnestly Praying that God may give them Repentance and Forgiveness for this their unchristian way of Proceeding against me and for all their other Errors and that they may be recovered both out of the many gross Errors they are held in by the power of Darkness notwithstanding their high pretences to Light and also out of their height of Pride and self Exaltation which God in his great mercy grant if it be his blessed will and it is my great comfort that notwithstanding their great Provocations I never felt a Curse or any thing like it either in my mouth or heart against any And they may be greatly ashamed to accuse me in this their nameless Bull as they do if they were not greatly hardened that I have been very troublesome and burthensome to Friends in publick meetings since the last Yearly Meeting which being but a bare general without mentioning any particular words or

deeds or gesture wherein I was such I might reject as little worth noticing But I cannot well let pass their exceeding great Partiality in taking no notice of the great Abuses and most unchristian usages I have received from time to time from some of their chief Preachers by most uncivil Interruptions contrary not only to the Gospel-order but to the Law of the Nation whereas none can truly say that ever I interrupted any of them also by their moving themselves to Preach and Pray and moving one another and so closely speaking one after another on purpose to Exclude my Testimony and their most bitter Reflections Revilings Reproaches false Accusations false Prophecies and Curses that divers of them have poured out against me as particularly Charles Marshal W. Penn W. Bingley and J. Vaughton both in Preaching and Prayer and tho G. Whitehead hath carried it a little more smoothly than those others yet his prejudice hath sufficiently vented it self also against me in publick Meetings yea even in Prayer and such profanations of Prayer in the pretended Exercise of their Extemporal Gift assuming a most sinful liberty to vend their sinful passions and animosities against them at whom they are prejudiced as it is abomination in the sight of God so it is most loathsome and offensive to Men of tender Spirits and giveth to many occasion to say a set Form of Prayer is less offensive and more Edifying than such passionate Rapsodies that too many use and yet do call them Praying by the Holy Spirit But whatever pretences these men have against me who have published this Nameless Bull in accusing me of being Contentious causing Divisions Seperations and Breaches among Friends and other bare general but false Charges which require no particular Answer the bottom and foundation of all this and of my being thought so burdensom and troublesome to them in Meetings is because they cannot endure sound Doctrine especially their deep prejudice against my frequent Preaching the great necessity of Faith in Christ Crucified as necessary to Regeneration Justification and eternal Salvation and also the Resurrection of the Dead and Christ's coming without us in his Glorified Body to Judg the Quick and the Dead all which have seemed as new and strange Doctrin to them and some have more directly and some more indirectly opposed it and about the time of the last Yearly Meeting William Edminson at the Bull and Mouth in the hearing of hundreds as well as in my hearing boldly affirmed It was not needful to Preach Christ's Death and Sufferings in Friends Meetings William Penn lately affirmed at Ratcliffe-Meeting where he falsely accused me to be an Apostate That Friends see not cause to Preach that Doctrine much because all England and Christendom have an Historical Belief of Christ's Death and Sufferings and it doth not profit them and as it was the Dispensation of the Apostles to Preach Christ outwardly it is our dispensation to Preach him inwardly W. Bingly hath Preached That People that come to Meetings generally believe well enough in Christ without but they want to have Christ Preached within that they may believe in him within thus making two Faiths And to the same purpose hath Charles Marshall frequently Preached and also several times he hath said in Publick Meetings It is not needful for a Man to stand up and Preach Christ's Death and Sufferings from Morning to Evening seeing it was generally Believed And also several times he Preached in publick Meetings as at Grace-Church-street and at Devonshire-house That the Conscience must first be purified before Faith can be received Which false Doctrine I did several times contradict in publick by showing that by true Faith the Conscience is Purged and they go along together and by the Lively Exercise of Faith the Conscience is gradually Purged and not all at once And John Gratton said about the time of the last Yearly Meeting in the Publick Meeting in Grace-Church-Street To believe that Christ died was the Drunkards Faith and the Whoremongers Faith adding further That none had Benefit by Christ's Death but such as are Dead with Christ And thus generally they Declare their great ignorance of the true Faith of Christ's Death and sufferings Resurrection and Ascension and Intercession making it only an Historical and Literal Faith whereas as there is an Historical and Literal Faith only of it that Drunkards and ill Livers may have as they may have of Christ within Notionally and Historically so there is a living effectual Faith of Christ's Death and Sufferings wrought by the Living Power of God in the Hearts of sincere believers which Power doth in Gods ordinary way accompany the sincere Preaching of the Gospel even outwardly and other outward helps and means of Justification and all men have a Benefit by Christ's Death and Sufferings to wit a day of Visitation and any Light and Grace that is inwardly given to men and the way and manner to come to witness a Dying and Rising with Christ is to believe by the Operation of the Spirit of God that Christ Died for Mens Sins and Rose again and to believe that great Love of God that he spared not his Son but freely gave him for us and also to believe the great Love of Christ who freely gave himself for us by which Faith men come to Witness a being Dead with Christ and also a being Raised with him and seeing this true Faith is wrought in God's ordinary way by Preaching therefore the true Faith of Christ's Death and Sufferings ought to be one of the first and chiefest things that every true Minister ought to Preach and build up his hearers in in order to bring them to Communion with God and Christ in Spirit and that they may witness God and Christ to dwell in them and rule in them Another great cause of their passing this unjust Sentence against me is That I refused to call in the Book Printed since the last Yearly Meeting called The Causeless Ground wherein I expostulate the case not only with respect to their too great connivance of the vile and gross Errors whereof I proved some guilty in Pensilvania owned by them to be their Brethren but also with respect to their Connivance at and covering the evil practises of their Persecuting Brethren there and their most illegal and arbitrary Proceedings against me contrary to the Fundamental Laws of all Nations to the danger of my Life as well as of my Reputation for the more particular account whereof I refer the Reader to the above cited Book called The Causeless Ground and my Printed Answer to their Proclamation and also to the Printed Tryal relating to Th. Budd and me in the Book called New-England's Spirit of Persecution c. And all this they have passed over both in their former Yearly Meeting 1694. and also in this last 1695 without the least censure a sufficient Evidence of their partiality and that a prevailing Faction or Party of corrupt Men ruleth in that called the Yearly Meeting and that therefore what Edict or Judgment goeth forth from that pretended Yearly Meeting ought not to be called the Act or Judgment of the Body of that People it being sufficiently known that many even owned by them as their Brethren here in England and elsewhere have greatly been dissatisfied with the Persecution raised against us by them in Pensilvania and have declared against it as well as their other Proceedings And had all there present at the Yearly Meeting so called been unanimous in their unjust Sentence against me and ten times more a greater Number with them yea suppose they can get this their unjust Sentence against me confirmed by all their Quarterly and Monthly Meetings in England which yet I think it will be a very hard if not impossible thing for them to obtain yet this doth not prove that they are not a Faction or Party seeing it is sufficiently known that for many Years past there hath been a Breach amongst the People called Quakers in relation to the Church Government of Women and other Circumstantial Things imposed by a Party among them Now of them of the other side that oppose some humane Impositions called by some of the Imposers but civil things as many do well own and approve me in my publick Testimony against the vile Erors held by some of the contrary part so I know not any that disown me or that approve of this Sentence that this Party that call themselves indefinitely the Yearly Meeting have given against me and yet there is a considerable number and body of them And lastly Whereas they seem to blame me for my departing out of their Yearly Meeting before the further sense and Judgment of the Meeting could be given me which they say I did in a very angry manner But they should have said divers of them particularly George VVhitehead and VVill. Penn did in a most angry manner most unjustly and falsly accuse me and behave themselves most unchristianly towards me as will appear by the Printed Narrative I have made publick and I know no undue or unsavory Expression which they only Charge me with in general I uttered among them the greatest passion I was in was that of Grief to see their most unjust and inhuman proceedings and I remember not in the least that the Meeting or any in the Meeting desired me to stay after I rose up to go and therefore I see not why I should be blamed for going having no occasion to stay longer with them nor any expectation they would hear my just Complaint or give me any Tryal but as it hath come to pass as I expected they would have condemned me without any Tryal fair or unfair The 28th day of the 3d. Month 1695. G. Keith FINIS

THE Pretended Yearly Meeting OF THE QUAKERS THEIR Nameless Bull OF EXCOMMUNICATION Given forth against George Keith From a Party or Faction of Men that call themselves the Yearly Meeting which they would have to be received as the general Judgment and Sentence of the Quakers With a brief Answer to the same shewing that for his Zealous and Consciencious opposing their gross Errors and reproving the evil and wicked Practises of them in Pensilvania whom they own to be their Brethren particularly their Persecution of G. Keith and some of his Friends that party has Excommunicated him Printed for R. Levis 1695. At the Yearly Meeting in London the 17. of the 3d. Month. 1695. THis Meeting taking notice of the Iudgment and Advice of the last Yearly Meeting concerning George Keith and inquiring whether he had Answered the Sense and Advice which in the Name of the Lord that Meeting then delivered to him doth find that he hath not only not followed the Christian Advice and Iudgment of that Meeting but hath Rejected it and Printed against it denying it to be the Iudgment or Sense of the Yearly Meeting and affirming that Meeting that gave it forth not to be the Yearly Meeting but a party or Faction And also That he hath since the last Yearly Meeting been very troublesome and burthensome to Friends in publick-Meetings in and about this City as was Testified in his presence by many faithful Friends who were Eye and Ear Witnesses thereof And in this Meeting the said Geo. Keith did openly Read a Paper of his containing Reflections Accusations and Exceptions against divers Friends that are members of this Meeting in which Paper he Iustifleth himself in those things for which the last Yearly Meeting Reproved and Censured him and in what he hath Printed since And being afterwards desired to come into the Meeting again and acquainted with the great dissatisfaction which the Meeting had concerning him with respect to what he had printed spoken and done against Truth and Friends he brake forth into great disorder and very unseemly behaviour uttering many bitter and unsavory Expressions and in a very angry manner rose up and departed before the further Sense and Iudgment of the Meeting could be given him All which this Meeting taking into their weighty Consideration and being fully satisfied both by his Printed Books and other outward Evidences with respect to matters of Fact and by that Divine Sense which in the openings of the Heavenly Life ran as a mighty stream through the meeting and was confirmed and sealed by many living Testimenies born in the Name of the Lord and in the powerful demonstration of the Holy Spirit That the said Geo. Keith of late hath been and yet is acted by an unchristian Spirit which hath moved and led him to stir up contention and strife in the Church of Christ and to cause Divisions Seperations and Breaches amongst them that profess the Truth and that the tendency of divers of his late writings and actings hath been to Expose the Truth and the Friends thereof to the Reproach of the World did unanimously agree and declare it to be the Sense and Iudgment of this meeting And it is the sense and judgment of this Meeting That the said George Keith is gone from the blessed Vnity of the peaceable Spirit of our Lord Iesus Christ and hath thereby seperated himseif from the Holy Fellowship of the Church of Christ and that whilst he is in an unreconciled and uncharitable state he ought not to preach or pray in any Friends Meetings nor he Owned or Received as one of Vs until by a publick and hearty Acknowledgment of the great Offence he hath given and hurt he hath done and Condemnation of himself therefore he give Proof of his unfeigned Repentance and do his endeavour to remove and take off the Reproach he hath brought upon Truth and Friends which in the love of God we heartily desire for his Souls sake Signed by appointment of the Yearly Meeting and in behalf thereof as their Act which is to my own certain knowledge Benjamin Bealing A brief Answer to the foregoing Nameless BVLL of Excommunication A Paper bearing this Title At the Yearly Meeting in London the 17th of the 3d Month 1695. And having at the end of it these following words Signed by the appointment of the Yearly Meeting and in behalf thereof as their Act which is to my certain knowledg Benjamin Bealing came to my House and was delivered to some in my Family the 17th of this Instant 1695 the which Paper mentioneth no sort of People nor what sort of yearly meeting it came from and tho it is signed by one Benj. Bealing who saith he signed it by the apoointment of the Yearly Meeting yet he telleth not what Yearly Meeting did so appoint him and whereas he saith to his own certain Knowledge is that enough How doth he make it appear to others that it is to his own certain knowledg Is it either Christian or Human or agreeable to any civil Constitution or Religious Society to give forth a defamatory Paper in the Name of a People and not tell who or what that People is And tho I do not in the least pretend ignorance so as not to know some particular persons who have had a main hand in it and whose work principally it is yet it appeareth not whom they mean by what they call the Yearly Meeting if granted it comes from that called the Yearly Meeting of the People called Quakers as whether they mean only such a select number consisting of two persons sent up to London from every County in England and Wales or from every Quarterly Meeting in the several Counties together with them they call Publick Friends or Friends of the Ministry who assume a Power to make Laws and give forth Edicts or Decrees to bind and oblige the Consciences of all these many thousands in the three Nations and other places of the World that go under the outward profession and denomination of Quakers and profess to be one Body of People with them And that this select number of Ministers and chosen members from the several Counties who in great part are Ministers and Pe●●●●ners paid by the respective Counties for that Service and oft designedly chosen to bring to effect something contrived beforehand by a particular Cabal of some particular persons excluding generally others of the same Profession whom they own to be in Unity with them from being members in the said Yearly Meeting or from being priviledged to meddle in Church Affairs with them If this is meant by the Yearly Meeting that hath sent this Paper to me I disown all such constitution of a Yearly Meeting as not only not being warranted by Scripture but contradictory thereunto and also to the received and approved Doctrine in R. B. his Book called the Anarchy c. highly approved by the Principal Teachers and Leaders among the People called Quakers and hath been twice Printed by