fire But alas t is usually a poenal â—dicial vindictive Stroke of the great God up◠〈◊〉 the minds of men for sins against the Gospel 〈◊〉 our Lord Jesus accompanied not seldomâ— with very sensible Possession of Satan thâ—o ' which â—e Delusions of This way come to be received â—nd the Efficacy thereof is therefore frâ—quently 〈◊〉 obstinate for a Cure Only the Power and â—ercy of God can Restore those wandering â—ls which we do from the very bottom of our â—â—arts implore However we have just Hopes that we shall 〈◊〉 furnish the Churches in this Land with an â—tidote against the Contagion of Quakerism 〈◊〉 supply our Conflicting Neighbours with Answers to encounter the Attempts made by Seducers upon The faith once delivered unto us There hath been a sort of Quakerism not long since broached in Italy the Professors whereof go under the Name of Quietists and the late Pope himself was not without suspicion of being tainted with it But the Quakers among us are some of them so far from being Quietists that they disturb the Quiet of all that are about 'em and go about seeking whom they may deceive 'T is our Duty to Warn you against them Ye Flocks of our LORD and we do it in the Name of our Glorious Master whom you declare to be Your King your Lord your Law-giver We cannot be faithful if we do not warn you against at least the Teaching Talking Busie and more Bigotted Quakers which infest you as a Sort of men who invite you to give up at once your whole Religion and to Embarque your souls no more on that Bottom which all the Saints have hitherto been saved upon If you shall think it convenient for you to part with your Pastors because the Wolves bark at them We do assure you that most of us could have lâ—ved much more easily and pleasantly and provided more comfortably for our Families if we had applyed ourselves to other Callings than that of the Ministry It is our Grief â—nd Care for You that will make us cry after â—ou Intreat us not to leave you for our â—od must be your God But how can you think of parting with an â—nfinite and Eternal GOD and having a â—eated Soul blasphemously placed in His â—hrone How can you think of parting â—ith a precious Bible as a Dead Letter â—nd having Silent Postures of your own in â—e Room thereof How can you think of partâ—â—g with an Inestimable REDEEMER â—r a dim Light within you which may prove â—arkness it self and then How great is that â—arkness How can you endure to see the â—hole Gospel which your souls have hitherto â—ved upon all evapourated into Dispensations â—llegories and meer mystical Notions Bapâ—sm and the Supper of the Lord Jesus of 〈◊〉 Advantage to your Faith your Love your â—oy Can you with any patience behold the â—lorious Doctrines of Election and Justifiâ—ation and Perseverance depraved with Oâ—inions that make Man to be All and Grace 〈◊〉 have small or no share in the matters of â—alvation But Blessed be our GOD our Churches â—ave yet had very little Impression from any Seducers hitherto and they are the more obscure nooks and skirts of the Countrey which These do make any figure in We nevertheless forbear not these wholesome Cautions and tho' we believe the Day is at hand when our Blessed Saviour will Purify His Temple and sweep Quakerism among other Defilements out of it with a swifter and a greater Force than we can promise to our present Endeavours yet we are now making some little Essayes at that work by taking the brushes of the Sanctuary to strike down what Cobwebs the Quakers have been spinning there James Allen. Joshuah Moodey Samuel Willard Cotton Mather The Introduction IT is reported of Bellarmine that great Atlas of the Papal Interest that after his Death there was a sharp Contest in the Lateran whether his books should not be called in burnt as having in them as much exposed the cause by his over liberal Concessions as supported it by his cunning Sophisms And we are told that the Papists have hanged Erasmus between Heaven and Hell because he profest himself a Catholick and yet wrote too much like a Protestant The Hands were Esau 's but the Voice Jacob's And what Reason G. K. hath to expect the like treat at the hands of his brethren the Quakers will be obvious to any that shall read his late pernicious Pamphlet pretended to be emitted for the Discovery of the false Doctrines of some particular sorts of Professors of Religion but indeed to Bid Defiance to the True Religion in the principal fundamental Articles of it as they have been in all Ages and places acknowledged by the Church of Christ which he hath clothed in a rough Garment to deâ—eive withal For however he expresseth a right spirit of a Quaker in his nonsense fallacious way of declaring himself and bitter Reviling of the Orthodox which is enough to proclaim him one of that Society yet might any Credit be given to his words and the commonly received Sense put upon his Expressions it is apparent â—hat he hath mightily betrayed the Cause he undertook to patronize and setting aside his Billingsgate-Rhetorick a gift seldoâ—e separable from these men hath said more against their received Principles if they ever had any than against ours For if he speak the Judgement of the Quakers it is certain that G. F. and other Rabbi's of that Sect were mistaken for they speak quite another thing except he will tell us we poor ignorants understand not the Language of their spirit which regards neither Grammer nor Logick and this is the Hercules's Club where-with they are wont to knock all our Reasons in the head and brain them at once However his Design is easily discerned The Devil himself that spirit of Delusion knowing that some principles are rivetted in men's Minds will nourish them tho' he be the Father of Lies that he may graft his Falsehoods upon the stock of them and why should not his Messengers do the like in Imitation See 2. Cor. 11.13 14 15. He hopes by some large Concessions to gain Credit with the Simple and perswade them to say as they Act. 23.9 for whose sake only have we undertaken him and not for any need of Refuting his Errors which have been so often Cashiered there being no New-Revelation in them but what has been the Vomit of ancient Hereticks licked up by him and again disgorged Reflections on his Title-Page and Epistle In his Title he talks high and looks big and would hold the world in hand that he had at once routed broken disbanded all the Orthodox Churches in Christendome and proved that they had neither Doctrine Ministry Worship Constitution Government Sacraments nor Sabbaths but what are Surreptitious and not belonging to the true Church of Christ and truly if men would be dared out of their Religion he hath bid as fair for it as any we know but how farr they
Legal and Evangelical Obedience the Gospel hath abated of the Law and provided strength for us to obey Evangelically and made the command grateful to our new nature and Christ's grace is sufficient for what he intends by it but what is that to the Power of exact performing the law in its latitude And it s his ignorance in the Gospel which transports him into the following blasphemy against God calling Him Cruel and Tyrannical and worse than Pharaoh his friends the Arminians do the like and why because He requires of some that which He gives them no ability to perform Had man had none in Adam it would have look't harder but since he had and wickedly lost it and cares not for having it agen shall God now lose His Glory because man hath by his own fault lost his power or must He otherwise be said to be cruel Certainly if we cannot see into the depth of His providence an Holy God is not thus to be treated by a vile worm Nor is it as he pretends injurious to mens pressing after perfection and his Similitudes to illustrate it by are fopperies and no way quadrate Death is but Catacrestically or worse said to heal all bodily diseases buâ— Grace is then properly perfected and sin abolished and that is a great comfort that when we remove hence we shall sin no more the City we are going to lies beyond Death and the Grave so it is no discouragement that we cann't reach it in this world Heb. 13.14 Christ hath provided sufficiently to keep his people from sloth make them press to the mark Who of us ever said that if a man dy in his sins his faith shall save him tho he live and dy in his sins what 's this but to slander We say that Believers shall not dy in their sins but God will give them Repentance if at any time they fall and yet that they sin more or less till they dy we say GOD saith so too but it 's one thing to have Sin in us another thing to be in our Sins And when he saith pag. 159. That It is an ill sign that we plead so earnestly for sin We Demand Is a saying that we have sin in us which calls for our humbling and plying the work of mortification and going daily to Christ the fouâ—â—tain a pleading for sin surely they that Cover and not they that Confess their sins are pleaders for it and then we are sure that sin never had such Attourneys as the Quakers Sect 6. Now for the positive proof of Perfection and he is at a loss how to define it or where to state it he seems to deny absolute or perfect Perfection yet challengeth as much as Christ or Adam ever had nay 2ndly He grants that It is not in all but in some and that not at first conversion but afterwards Nay 3dly He further conceives that It is not in the most perfect without Infirmity that must be in a moral sense and then there must be some sin and that is almost as much as we say Yea 4thly he yeilds all that we pretend to though he will not acknowledge it to be sin Viz. Motions to sin not only from the devil without but from the mortal part within and that is it which Paul often calls sin 〈◊〉 Rom. 7. and whereas 5thly he pleads thaâ— tho' it be yet it is not imputed that is another question It sufficeth that it is imputable and it is on Christs account that it is noâ— actually imputed and 6thly To wind uâ— the whole he comes to a fair acknowledgment that he pleads for no more perfection in saints than we do It is a Faithfulness to God in that degree of Grace and assistance that He affords according as he sees meet some more some less I but in them that have least it is safe dying for them in that state and all this we plead and preach for And now let any man judge how he hath gone thro and cleared the charges that he made against us in his blasphemous letter If to ly slander pervert Scripture magisterially dictate Haeresies is to be acknowledged for conviction we are gone to all intents and purposes Reflections on Cap. 9th of the Visible Church We have already seen what little Reason there is to indulge the Doctrine of Immediaâ—e Revelation Allow but a Quaker this Engine and he will do wonders with it beat down the foundations of many generations un-Church all Christendom make the Scripturâ— to intend just contrary to what it speaks who shall question him if he tells us he sees all this in the Light hath it immediately revealed G. K. hath hitherto discharged this against the fundamental Articles of Salvation endeavouring to set GOD againsâ— Himself and shamm us out of our faith Nor hath he donâ— yet but will a fresh essay to remove all that is visible of Christianity 〈◊〉 the world and if he can blow up Churches take away Sacraments and wrest our Sabbatâ— out of our hands what would Beelzebub himself have desired more But the Church is built upon a Rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Sect. 1. His first Essay is against the Church considered as visible and here he cavils at the description of the visible Church given by the Assembly Viz. That it consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true Religion together with their Children insinuating that we hold that nothing of grace or of the power of godliness is requisâ—â—e to constitute a member of our visible Church but this is all Railâ—ng not understanding what we mean by Visible nor what by Profession 1. It is the visible Church they speak of and he also after grants that there is such a thing and what is it that makes it visible it must be something that makes it discernible to others Here then observe 1. That there is inward Grace required absolutely to make any one a living member of Christ â—o of the church of the first-born 2. That this sincerity of heart is to give its evidence to others by an answerable life and conversation There is a confession of the mouth as well as a beleeving in the heart Rom. 10.9 3. These Fruits are they by which others are to judge of mens Sincerity and accordingly to declare them to be visible members of the Church this rule the Apostles themselves followed in their owning of men 4. That such a profession may be where sincerity is not and thus Hypocrites may belong to the visible Church there were such in the primitive times Simon Magus Demas those 1. Joh. 2.19 were such 5. There may be many Irregularities in the Conversation of such which yet do not presently unchurch them such there were in the Churches of Corinth Galatia 6. That when such are become scandalous there are Church censures appointed by Christ and these can be administred to none but under the
consideration of their being Members of the Church visible thus Paul delivered Hymeneus c. to satan 2. Profession as it is understood by the Assembly is not a meer verbal thing but practical too it containes in it an Orthodoxy in the principles professed and a Conversation framed thereto a professing in words a not-denying in works else men are not visible Christians but to be turned from 2. Tim. 3.5 and yet we believe that men may do all this and be close Hypocrites and that they may afterwards fall away G. K. himself confesseth and now let us trace him He infers that Notoriously-scandalous persons liars deceivers drunkards c. are qualified members of our Church but without reason if he should essay he would find is to reject him for some of the qualifications he mentions We acknowledge not such for professors and if any in our Churches afterward prove so we censure them And it is grosly untrue that Independents require no more than such a profession as he talks of to make them members of their church for they whom he calls Independents distinguish between the Church visible or Christianity at large Membership or Fellowship in a congregational Church and have not been wonâ— to be charged for their Laxness but rather Strictness in Admission Nor doth it arguâ— them of Hypocrisy or contradiction becausâ— they separated from another Church viz the Episcopal it being well known that they did it mainly because their terms of Communion were such as they could not in Conscience comply with tho' also their promiscuous Admission of all sorts of ignorant scandalous persons to the Lords Table added to the incitement as for the Presbiterian Churches we did not separate from them but have held Communion with them and have admitted their members to Communion with us although by reason of some points of Church Administration which they differ from them in in principle they thought they might without any just offence do so in practice too Sect. 2. How daringly doth he here assert that we find no such Church in all the Scripture owned to be the church of Christ that the outward form or profession of religion makes such when the whole New Testament acquaints us with no other if he keep to his subject viz. a visible Church For indeed it is nothing else but such a profession as we have described that can make them so nothing else can give them the visibility of a Church and how strangely do's he talk when he saies We nowhere find in scripture any society called â—he church of Christ that had nothing but the professon of the true religion who ever said â—hat they had nothing but so We say if â—he profession be right it s a making sincerity visible as far as may be but yet let us tell him there are such owned for Churches in which the major part were such as he mentions Sardis was so had a name to live was dead had but a few names Rev. 3.2 and Laâ—dicea was so vers 15. But the truth is he aequivocates about the word True If by a true Church he intends such as are united to Christ in truth sincerity we plead it not but the word also signifies that there is really such a thing and that there is really such a thing is visible there may be a true visible Church tho many in it are not of the true invisible Church Sect. 3. Men that talk of two things may thwart one another strangely but we thought he had been discoursing of the visible Church and if so then he is deceived when he saith that every member of Christ is a living member Christ hath said otherwise see Joh. 15.2 how in Christ but by profession their being fruitless proves them dead and they might be taken away which they could not be if they were not first in him and he did well to instance in the Church of Corinth 1. Cor. 3.6 there was the old Leaven in this Church which was to be purged out there were fearful divisions there were that would eat in the Idols Temples that horridly profaned the Lord's Table that denied the resurrection of the body c. Such a mixture there was in this Church yet see what a glorious Encomium Paul gives them on the account oâ— their being a visible Church cap. 1. begin His finding fault with us for using an Hour-glass to know how the time spends and a Bell to gather our Assemblies together orderly is worse than ridiculous That God's people should have their Meetings to worship GOD is undeniable to neglect it is a sin Heb. 10.25 as for his inward spiritual Bell which he calls the Gospel-bell ringing in their hearts serving for such a use it is a Fancy more fabulous than any thing in Aesop as if the Light-within were a Clock to tell the hour of the day Besides it is certain that God's people in all ages have had a known time of meeting and some civil sign to give notice that they might meet together as in one place so at one Time and he knows that we place no holiness in Bells yea the very Scripture which he abuseth to prove a Gospel bell is directly against him Psal 89.15 which intends the Silver Trumpets which God appointed for such an end as ancient modern interpreters agree yea the Quakers themselves give notice of their meetings Sect. 4. He makes The work of conversion wrought by the Spirit in the hearts of God's Elect to be the true gathering of a visible Church for of that he must speak or he is distracted and let any man of sense judge whether this be any gathering of a visible Church at all or whether this makes a man so much as a visible Christian it being a thing secret and that which no man knows but he in whom it is wrought As for his Banter here about new-made things it is but a second Disgorging of the vomit which he hath licked up after he had once before spewed it in p. 36. where he is animadverted upon once is too much Sect. 5. Here he agen confounds the mystical invisible Church which the visible and gives the encomiums proper to the one unadvisedly to the other which mistake led him to draw that blasphemous Inference p. 172. that the Religion which we profess is not the Religion of Jesus Christ and that in the foundation it self which is Jesus Christ hence we do without any breach of charity infer that G. K. bids the world to take notice that he utterly renounceth the religion we profess even in the very foundation of it which is JESUS CHRIST and of which he himself if we are not misinform'd once made no mean profession in the University of Aberdeen and say if Julian the Apostate did worse Sect. 6. He contradicts himself here in the same Paragraph at the beginning he saith that Christ is but one both in heaven and in us and before the end
these are two but not contraries but concomitants as being indeed two parts of the same Sacrament And that it belonged not limitatively to John's Dispensation appears because Christ gave order for the Continuance of it Mat. 28.19 20. Philip baptized the Eunuch with water Act. 8. Paul baptized 1. Cor. 1.15 Nor will he ever disprove the Baptizing with water being appointed Mat. 28.19 till he can prove that there is some other ministerial Baptism for which he must run to his Revelations Ten thousand of which are worth nothing And what an infatuation is it to tell us there are no other words of institution but the words of Institution What more would he have Nor doth he evade by telling us they could baptize with the Spirit as well as beget sons and daughters to God for this was done ministerially by dispencing the Ordinances which Christ only can bless to that end though He own His servants as workers-together with him in their place but they ever renounced their doing any of these things by their own virtue Yea also Baptism is signified in Mat. 28.19 to be one way in which they made disciples of them But he fore-saw that we would tell him that the disciples under Christ's Dispensation and after the Resurrection of Christ baptized with water has provided a fine Evasion viz. It was done by Toleration as many things else by the Law but we suppose that Infant-Baptism was not of the Law but of the preparation of the Gospel yea an Institution which Christ Himself confirmed by his commands and so not a meer Toleration And when Paul faith he was sent to baptize it is meant not so much to baptize as to preach he was an Apostle had diverse Ministers waiting upon him who were ordinarily imployed in baptizing such as by his Ministry were prepared for it his Thanking of God therefore that he baptized so few was not because the Ordinance it self was not Authentick and honourable but because as there was no necessity ordinarily for him to do it personally so it eventually prevented occasion of their naming themselves from Paul this Reason he gives 1. Cor. 1.14 if G. K.'s pretended reason had any weight he had broken his Commission in baptizing of any Somebody ows him thanks for his Charity that allows Babes and children their Images c. provided they are cordially zealous for spiritual Baptism and he grants there are some few such only Christ is little beholden to him for making a sacred Institution of His a George-on-horseback to invite children to their books but for us we are not thus obliged for we are not so much as babes but meer Hypocrites and Formalists did he ever read 1. Cor. 4.8 and Rom. 14.10 we have alwaies professed our zeal for the inward Baptism our whole Ministry is a witness â—o it only we are for both Baptism with water and the Holy Ghost and the Quakers pretend to be only for the latter and which is most agreeable to the mind of Christ let the Scripture determine and indeed they thus take away the very means appointed by Christ for enjoying that other Sect. 4. Nor doth he treat the sacred Supper with any better language He grants That Christ had an outward supper of the Pascal Lamb i. e. that He had the sign without the thing Signified i. e. that Christ ate the passover hypocritically which is prodigious Blasphemy When he saith Our sacrament hath no inward spiritual signification to us he arrogates God's Prerogative who only can judge the heart immediately and his reason is groundless for we never denied a real and spiritual partaking in Christ though we allow it not in the Quakers carnal sense but spiritually When he takes notice of Christ's drinking first and drinking twise at the Sacrament he bewrayes his ignorance or perverseness if that place be more obscure it is to be interpreted by such as are more clear the other Evangelists mention the order of the Institution By Christ's first blessing and giving the Bread and after that the Cup and Paul tells us he received the Order from Christ Himself thus 1. Cor. 11.23 c. Christ indeed kept two Sacraments at one Meeting the Passover which He now antiquated and the Supper which he now instituted the former Cup belonged to the Passover which also represented Christ and Jewish Antiquity tell us it was their custom to conclude that Sacrament with such a Cup. In pag. 188. we have him there introducing a new Sacrament which he tells us they have at their ordinary Meals and the Ministers do consecrate them sometimes by Praying sometimes by silence a new way of Consecration and to this he shrinks up this Gospel Ordinance which is pure Familism endeavouring to banish all instituted Worship out of the Church under a pretence of continual holiness a fine way to extirpate Religion out of the world by Evacuating the Appointments of Jesus Christ We beleeve that there is a spiritual Feeding on Christ which beleevers are to practise daily by the exercise of Faith and are Satisfied that our Eating c. should be alwais to the glory of God and might possibly say as much of that as and with more truth than he But Christs institution is something beyond that and is appointed as a special help of our Faith in these exercises herein therefore they are behind us they pretend to no more than we do and in our measure endeavour whereas we are also for the Sacred Institutions of Christ to help us in all other duties and we think that our Supper is beyond theirs as being an holy Ordinance of Gospel Worship and theirs is only the Common duty of all men we believe that outward eating is but a sign of the inward and therefore not to be rested in but because it is a sign and Christ hath enjoined the use of it we dare not omit it That all outward Eating and Drinking is a natural and necessary sign of the Inward we utterly deny that it is accommodable to it by way of resemblance we acknowledge else Christ would not have chosen it for this end but we use them for figures upon the account of His institution and not because of a natural Analogy else we might multiply Sacraments at pleasure and yet we grant it to be as much a natural sign as the outward world is a figure of the inward which he saith Paul expresly calls it 1. Cor. 7.31 when there is not one syllable expresly or consequentially intimating any such thing Sect. 5. But if the Sabbath may but be caâ—hier'd the other Ordinances will fall Here then his first cavil is against the first day of â—he week but if he decries any outward Sabâ—ath at all as he calls it the First day â—eeds no more Vindication than any other â—ouching the Change of the Sabbath such as â—cknowledge the Sabbath to be moral perpetual by divine precept may find it made gooâ— by many Sheppard Owen and others Hiâ—
come 4. He calls us Beasts of prey and Night-birds that creep out only in the dark but this charge is very impertinent and contradictory it was in his Language night with us when our Liberties were taken away and then if at all we refused to come out and then G. K. comes daringly he then is the Forrest-beast by his own doom 5. He boasts of his great Conquest in his book and yet like an Hypocrite would arrogate nothing to himself no he is but like the Barly cake which tumbled into the host of the Midianites only his Conquest is not like to hold the parallel for we suppose we have made his Cake appear to be Dough. 6. He thinks we were afraid of exposing our people and wonders that we have wrought no more on them all this while and might we not lawfully have a cautious Fear Ought not the Shepherd to be aware when the Wolf comes to his flock Nor did we ever pretend to make our people savingly holy any further than as God blessed our endeavours 7. He wonders we doubted his design but we knew he was a Quaker 8. He tells us that he came not of his own will but by a necessity from the Lord but gives no demonstration 9. He Wrote this treatise of the will of the Lord and little reason to boast of that It was of God doubtless to leave him in the hands of satan to be thus acted If we say we have written this Answer in the will of the Lord we can give a better account of His approving will in it because written in defence of the Truth of Christ which he has perverted the Name of Christ which he hath blasphemed this moved us to reply upon him and this is of God 10. He desires us If we answer him not to defend our cause with Railing and Lies Physician heal thy self he hath set us a precedent and Hereticks grown beyond Admonition but persons that had been trained up in false principles from whence they endeavoured to draw them which alters the case nor is it any Contradiction that Quakers may be invited to come to our publick Meetings and yet not admitted into our private Houses There are the instituted meanes which if they come to they may possibly be convinced but the Scripture has given cautions to Christians in the other respect Nor is there any parallel between his comparison the thing Turkish Pyrats hang out false colours and invite men to rob them that we do neither He that will one day vindicate His own truth ways will make it appear then Wisdom shall he justifyed of all her children mean while we take it to be one Commendation of our Doctrine Ministry that G. K. and such as he rail at and revile it But before we part we shall for the Satisfaction of some who possibly are concerned that we took him not up when he challenged us to a publick disputation subjoin our reasons then moving swaying of us which were not from any suspicion of our own cause nor Fear of his strength of reason or jealousy lest our Hearers should be seduced but 1. it was not in our power to grant it him without laying our selves obnoxious to the then Government who had expresly forbidden the people to take liberty of any publique Meeting together on any occasion on the week-days besides the usual Lectures 2. We knew none of our Hearers that had any scruple on their minds about any of those Truths which he charged with falsehood but believed them firmly as far as we had any knowledge and therefore to dispute them for their sakes was altogether needless 3. We knew partly because he was a Quaker partly by the reports of his managing himself elsewhere partly by his first Article of his Charges that there would be no holding of him to any Law or Rule of Disputation but he would bring all to his Revelations and therefore the whole must needs issue in a tumuluous Brangle 4. Because he had declared himself at once in opposition to almost all the Fundamental Articles of Religion which had been mained for almost seventeen hundred years by the Church of Christ and in Defense of which so many thousands had laid down their lives and who but Men Distracted would expose these to be publickly debated â—s so many disputable Points in Religion upon the Challenge of a fearful Apostate And we suppose here is enough to satisfie any that are intelligent But now being under some Necessity we â—ave with no little Tediousness in being put upon it to take notice of so many Impertinencies Fooleries and Tautologies as his Book is fraught with answered the Substance of what he hath said with as much Brevity as is consistent with Perspiouity And so we commend it for its Success to His Grace and Blessing on whom alone it depends FINIS