disclaimed by them which had been the only fair way of vindicating Truth and themselves But no such matter our Adversary denys not but they are quoted truly but only says they are perverted and mistaken or else maimed and imperfect which is the usual Artifice of this sort of People as if we did not understand the sense of common English words and know not what is meant by equal or infinite by a part or the whole Sure we are that passage of a plain-dealing Quaker had been a more proper answer who says They are no Blasphemers because 't is impossible Shewen ' s Treatise of Thoughts p. 14. they should be so they have not erred because 't is impossible they should being infallible But 't is pleasant to hear them cry out we put a wrong sense upon their words whilst we have not offered to give any sense of them at all but barely recited them as we find them in their own Books And had we quoted every word he charges us to have designedly concealed we should still have been deafned with their clamours of disingenuity and unfairness of Citations there might always have been a pretence of something left out unless we had transcribed whole Leaves which would have been infinitely tedious to any but especially to so august an Assembly as the Brief Discovery was tendred to But for all our Charge of their being guilty of blasphemous and seditious Words they mean as honestly as you can desire but we pretend not to know the meaning of their Authors but of their Words We had always thought Words had been the best Interpreters of our meaning and that these ought to be taken according to the common and customary usage of them in our Nation and if so we are sure they import Blasphemy and Sedition 't was not our work to inquire into the meaning of the Men but of the words Here thou hast shewed saith Geo. Fox to his Adversary that the Quakers have a Spirit given to them beyond all the Forefathers which we do witness since the days of the Apostles in the Apostacy and they can discern who are Saints who are Devils and who are Apostates without speaking ever a word they that be in the Power and the Life of Truth Great Mystery p. 89. We have heard indeed that the Quakers have such a Spirit of discerning as can tell us Mens thoughts and meanings without their speaking a word but we pretend to no such unerring Key but judging by their words we must declare them monstrously blasphemous and seditious Again we are told there are other words in the Authors we have cited which were able to have sweetned the Expressions we blamed into Truth and Orthodoxy But why may not those seemingly Orthodox Expressions be as well interpreted by these we have quoted as these be expounded by them especially since one who was lately of their own Communion and so best knows their meaning has averr'd that notwithstanding all their palliations and seeming agreeableness they do not truly and rightly believe one Article of the Creed according to the Scriptures and the true universal sense of sound Christians in all Ages see G. Keith's Postscript to the Serious Dialogue between a Churchman and a Quaker Thus like the Hereticks of old tho they used the same words with the Orthodox in the Articles of their Belief yet they meant differently yea sometimes quite contrary to them as Ireneus complains l. 3. c. 19. ult Similia loquentes fidelibus non solum dissimilia sapiunt sed contraria But supposing this were so will Orthodoxy in one place be an excuse for Heterodoxy in another 'T is not their having spoken like Loyal Subjects yesterday will clear them if they speak Treason to day It must be acknowledged that G. Whitehead of late has attain'd a notable skill in the Art of Chymistry if you send him not only both the Foxes Burroughs Howgil and the rest but even Julian Porphiry and Celsus the keenest and most venomous Revilers of Christianity by the same methods he has here used to clear those he may correct the poison of their Writings and extract wholesom Doctrines from the most pestilent Expressions for let him take but the liberty as he has done here of three things and what should hinder it 1. To blot out part of a Sentence as in p. 10. where Fox says He that hath the same Spirit that raised up Jesus Christ is equal with God Now says Whitehead He that hath should be left out and then indeed the Sentence is very Orthodox viz. The same Spirit that raised up Jesus Christ is equal with God 2. To say they are confusedly misplaced as p. 6. or the words Brief Discov pag. 5. are to be transposed as p. 19. Sol. Eccles tells us It was said of Christ That he was in the World and the World was made by him and the World knew him not So it may be said of this true Prophet Geo. Fox whom John said he was not c. These words saith Whitehead whom John said he was not we disown in that place they are confusedly misplaced to be sure he was in great confusion how to bring him off from being guilty of Blasphemy for saying Fox was he whom John the Baptist said he was not i. e. the Christ And p. 19. Geo. Fox had said to the Priest Thou canst not know Scripture but by the same degree of the Spirit the Prophets and Apostles had No saith Geo. Whitehead it must be by a degree of the same Spirit the words before cited should as I suppose be so transposed Who sees not a vast difference between saying We must have the same degree of the Spirit the Prophets and Apostles had to know Scripture and a degree of the same Spirit Or 3. that such a part of the Sentence is to be put into a Parenthesis and so left out if we think fit as p. 25. when Fox had been charged by the Brief Discovery p. 12. for saying The Apostles preached Christ that was crucified within and not another for the other is the Antichrist And he that hath not this Christ that was risen and crucified within is a Reprobate Geo. Whitehead to vindicate him says that these Expressions wanted their due Points and so puts the words that was crucified in a Parenthesis thus The Apostles preached Christ that was crucified within and he that hath not this Christ that was risen and crucified within is a Reprobate Thus altering the great intendment of Fox which was to set their whole value upon Christ's being crucified and risen within us as is evident by many other Passages in their Writings and believing sure that no Person would ever look this Passage in Fox's Great Mystery where 't was objected against the Quakers as their deluding poor Souls to hold forth a crucified Christ within risen within ascended within which indeed he answers in the next words orthodoxly enough tho nothing to the purpose of
a great many more of the Gang who can scarce speak or write good sense should dare to challenge Inspiration and immediate Revelation from Heaven equal with the Apostles themselves a thing not to be claimed without the greatest certainty in our selves and the highest evidence given to Mankind since the Glory of God the Authority of the Scriptures the State and Welfare of human Societies as well as the Interest of the Christian Religion and the Souls of so many thousands easily intangled by such pretences are deeply concerned therein May we not Sleidan ' s Comment 5th and 10th Books Ross ' s Appendix to his View of all Religions Casaubon of Enthusiasm Spencer ' s Vulgar Prophecies Rutherford ' s Surve of the Spiritual Antichrist Short History of the Anabaptists in Germany be convinced from the accounts given us by many learned and impartial Writers mentioned in the Margin that evil Designs inward Heats melancholy Fancies Satan's Suggestions nay the want of good Arguments have frequently taken sanctuary under this sacred Cover It were easy to make good this by Instances some from Hereticks in the primitive times others from the Enthusiasts amongst the Romanists and very many from the Sectaries of late days both at home and abroad as the persons cited and others have largely done The Anabaptists flew high with this Claim and it was Rutherford p. 6 7 8. their Blind to carry on every design Their Founder Nich. Storke boasted of Dreams and Visions rejecting the Scripture as being a carnal and literal Rule saying God spake to him by an Angel and revealed to him his Will in Dreams promising him the place of the Angel Gabriel and the Empire of the World See the Short History of the Anabaptists of High and Low Germany chap. 2. p. 6. His Follower Tho. Munster pretended the like Communications from God and would fain have gained Luther to his side but he wrote to the Senate of Mulhaysen a famous Town in Thuringia to beware of that Wolf John Becold a Taylor afterwards called John of Leyden carried on all his Designs by a pretence of immediate Revelation from Heaven and the great Mischiefs caused thereby are abundantly known above a hundred thousand being kill'd by occasion of these bloody Inspirations John Matthiz or Matthias the Baker of Harlem had Secrets reveal'd to him which God had not reveal'd to others he being Enoch the second High Priest of God and was in effect perpetual Dictator at Munster Yea Herman the Cobler profess'd himself a true Prophet Hist of the Anabapt chap. 3. p. 21. and the true Messiah These with Knipperdolling Tuscocurer the Goldsmith and many more of that Sect pretended Inspirations from Heaven for all they did and said and at all turns made known their Revelations to the People which betraved them to Ruin and Destruction which made Melancthon severely censure them saying These Fanatical Dotages are accursed And we in opposition to such who assert new Revelations are to be expected from Melanct. de numero sacrament God do declare that God out of his infinite Goodness having revealed his Will to us in the Gospel other Revelations are not to be expected And 't is evident Revelation has been pretended for very ill purposes among the Quakers themselves one of them replying to his Creditor 'T is revealed to See Christianity no Enthusiasm pag. 125 126. me that I owe thee nothing Thus Mary Gadbury pretended a Revelation to get some Cloth from Mrs. Woodward And there were two Quakers near Stukely in Yorkshire whose Consciences bidding them destroy Original Sin they apprehending their Mother was the Fountain thereof went and murder'd her Agreable to the Practices of some of the Anabaptists beyond Sea who being drunk with Enthusiasm the spiritual Lunacy of this Schismatical Age as a Dr. Hicks Short History of the Anabaptists p. 51. Learned Man calls it committed many such wild Freaks One of their Sect being in his prophetical mood call'd his Father Mother Brother and Sisters to him and commanding his Brother to kneel down cut off his Head with one Blow crying out The Will of God is done Thus John of Leyden led by his prophetical Spirit wrote several Conclusions which he commanded the Preachers to teach the People the sum of which was That men are not tied P. 24. to one Wife but may have as many as they please and he had fifteen for his share which when they refused he declared the Doctrine was revealed to him from Heaven and commanded the first Opposer thereof to be beheaded which was done presently These and the like Extravagancies made a Learned Man declare That Dr. Hicks ' s Spirit of Enthusiasm exorcis'd p. 37 38. it was a dangerous Principle to assert That immediate Revelation or Inspiration is not ceased but is a standing and perpetual Gift in the Church of Christ and that this Spirit is not like the Spirit in the Primitive times to be tried by the Scriptures and Reason but both of them are to be tried by it as Barclay in his Theses asserts And he very well observes further That amongst all the miraculous Gifts taken notice of in the New Testament there is no mention made of Heroical Impulse by which men were sometimes irresistably moved from the Spirit under the Jewish Oeconomy to execute Judgment P. 39. in an extraordinary manner upon the Enemies of God for God being the Political King and Legislator of the Jews did as other absolute Monarchs do in some special Exigencies send men with extraordinary supra-legal Commissions to do present execution upon great and dangerous Offenders without staying for the ordinary process by Law but our Saviour one end of whose coming was to put an end to the Jewish Oeconomy and who came not to destroy mens Lives but to save them gave no such Gifts unto Men There is to be no Fire from Heaven nor no Phineas's under the Christian Dispensation accordingly the first Apostolical Ages of Wonder were utterly ignorant of killing Impulse and Zeal And let us saith he P. 40. a little more particularly reflect upon that blasphemous Doctrine of the Quakers concerning a spiritual Ministry and spiritual Worship whereby they pretend that the Holy Ghost now comes down upon their Assemblies as it did in the Apostles time and moves them to preach and pray by inspiration without any regard to Condition or Sex Hence when they meet together they sit hanging their heads in a silent dumb manner till the Spirit as they pretend shall move some body it is indifferent be it Man or Woman to preach or pray Accordingly they call their Preaching Prophesying and precariously say that they have the Spirit of Adoption by which they call God Father and that the Spirit in the inspired Minister maketh intercession for them with unutterable Groans that they groan sufficiently we grant for sometimes in their Meetings they do nothing else but if their groaning or vocal Devotions be
nay when they say 't is Blasphemy to say they are the Word of God and they are no rule at all to us All is for the wonderful deference they have for those â—â—â—â—ed Books For shame â—ir after all the Wounds you have given to the Scriptures to add Mockery and Scorn to Stripes and after you have spit upon them reviled and buffeted them to put the Purple and the Crown upon them as the Jews did upon their Author after such Indignities to cry out O how we love and honour them after the Treason to bestow the Kiss See Will. Penn's Courtship to the Scripture * Reâ—â—inder p. 1â—â— but especially Sam. Fisher's †Additional Append. p. 21. He calls the Scripture a Nose of Wax and it 's capable of being made no other a Character he took from the mouth of a Jesuit Andradius but Quakers we hope like it never the worse for that We could easily shew you that all the Arguments that Fisher and Pen use to prove the Scriptures are not the rule of Faith are the same the Papists have used this 100 years if they had been 7 years at School at Rome they could not have spoke Italian plainer than they have done A little further Fisher tells us he and the Quakers have put it to the question how it may be known infallibly that the Scripture is all of God and not a cunningly devised Fable He tells us of the uncertainty of Translations the various Lections and the loss of many Portions of them which they needed not have taken such pains about for the Papists have done that before and Penn in the forecited place hath mustered up a great many more such Popiâ—â— Objections against the Scriptures which were cast in our dish by Papists and as often answered before Quakery was born but all that you must understand is said for the great respect they bear to the Scriptures Reader if thou desirest to see more of such respect to the Scriptures see Parnel p. 16. You Teachers are doting upon Scriptures without with your dark Minds with the blind Pharisees seeking for life where it is not to be found P. 18. We can do all things without the Scriptures or any thing without Solomon Eccles coming into a Church at London naked and besmeared with T d carrying his â—ands fuâ—l of the same Filth compared it to the Bible which the Minister carried in his hand into the Pulpit Fisher in his Velara Revelata p. 845. says Such Men as the Scribes are ever scraping in the Scripture to find God yet never know him nor see his Shape To call our love to the Scriptures a senseleâ—s Dotage to compare David's Hony and Hony-comb as he calls the Word to a stinking Excrement and our reading the Scriptures to a Brute's scraping or rooting in a Dunghil must needs manifest a mighty respect they have for those Writings By the way does not Fisher deserve to be accounted Angelicus Doctor for talking of the Shape of God how glad would some Papists be if he could shew it them that they might draw his true Picture by it Lorreto Market would go near to be spoiled by it and most of her Votaries would come thronging hither sure to worship an Original But as a further Testimony of their respect for Scripture hear what Smith Morning-Watch p. 22 23. says Reading in the Scripture that there were some that met together exhorted one annother edified and comforted one another they observe and do as near as they can what is the Saints practice and so conceive a Birth in the same Womb and bring it forth in the same strength that others do these are Bastards and not Sons for these adulterous Births have provoked the Lord and gâ—â—â—â—â—ed his Spirit What an hellish Smâ—ak is this a Belch sure from the bottomless Pit to say that our meeting together according to Scripture Examples to exhort comfort and edisy one another is no better than going to a Brothel-house for there can be nothing but Bastards got by it and adulterous Births This may pass for another Quaker-Panegy rick upon Scripture Penn calls Searchers of Scripture as Faldo quotes him p. 113. and in his Answer Penn does not deny it Lettermongers We suppose though he differ in expression from his Brother Smith his intention is the same he means Whoremongers or Bastard-getters All these Quotations have we brought to prove Friend Whitehead's Assertion That Quakers have a marveilous Honour for the Scripture though we believe heâ—ll hardly be so grateful as to give us thanks for our pains In a Testimony from the Brethren in London met 66 together signed Farnsworth Parker Whitehead see Brief Discovery p. 11. l. 5 they say If any difference arise in the Church we declare and testify that the Church with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ hath power without the assent of those that differ to hear and determine the same and if any of ours will not submit so to be tried nor submit to the Judgment given by the Spirit of truth in the Elders and Members of the same being consistent with the Doctrine of such good antient Friends as have been and are found in the Faith agreeable to the witness of God in his People viz. the Light within then we testify in the name of the Lord that he or she is to be rejected and joined with Heathens and Infidels Mark we pray if he or she kick against their Judgment consistent with the Doctrine of antient Friends and agreeable to the Light within Here is no notice taken of the Scriptures how agreeable or disagreeable soever it be to them And p. 23. l. 26. yet Whitehead hath the face to say this makes nothing against them It seems to be a small fault or none with G. to take away the Commission God hath given to the Scriptures to be Judg of Controversys in matters of Faith The Question G. is not whether the Church hath any Power in matters of Religion which is all thou provest from Mat. 18. 17. and we know none deny it 1. If it be exercised about indifferent matters in Discipline and Worship we allow her not only a Judgment of discretion to discern what 's fit to be imposed but also an authoritative Judgment to oblige her Members to obedience or else she would have less Authority over her Members than every Master hath over the Servants of his Family 2. As for things that are necessary to Salvation we think our selves only obliged to submit our Faith and Practice to the Authority of God in the Holy Scriptures and not to the Authority of any Church pretending to Infallibility meeting together in Treat or in Gracechurch-street So then that which we find fault with you for is a profane neglect of Holy Scriptures in determining matters of Faith or Doctrine that your Church should censure its Members only for this cause that you will not submit to the Authority of the Churches Judgment
the Objection no body denying that if Christ that 's crucified be not within us we are Reprobates but within six lines after he has these Passages the Brief Discovery charges The Apostles preached Christ that was crucified within c. Now allowing this Sophistry we defy any Turk Jew or Atheist nay even the Devil himself to utter so vile a Blasphemy but that it may be made as Orthodox as the Creed But let wise Men judg whether this ought to be allowed any Writer who undertakes to vindicate another when by his confession if the words be read as they are and have been printed for many and many years the Author must be guilty of Blasphemy Great endeavours has he used in many places to vindicate himself and others from Blasphemy as where he says That which is spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and greater but the best way he ever took was when charg'd with that most blasphemous passage against the Trinity in a Book put out by him and three other Quakers called Ishmael and his Mother cast out where they bespeak their Adversary thus The three Persons thou dreamest of which thou wouldst divide out of one like a Conjurer are all denied and thou shut up with them in perpetual darkness for the Lake and the Pit Geo. Whitehead does now expresly disown the words tho they were justly chargeable upon him as well as the others being Partner with them in the whole and setting his Name without any distinction to the intire Book affirming that they are none of his and that he wrote not that part of the Answer and that he shall neither stand by nor own these words c. This we are sure is the best way he could take to vindicate himself tho thereby he has left his three Brethren under this black mark of being Blasphemers for to say only The words appear too rash and irreverent is handling the Ulcer too gently which ought to be cut out to the very Coar But if we may believe a great and good Man Geo. Whitehead could not always thus excuse himself in this particular for the Reverend and Learned Dr. Falkner in his Treatise of Reproaching and Censure Part 2. cap. 3. sect 1. num 5 6. p. 265 266. tells us That when he disputed with Geo. Fox and Geo. Whitehead at Lynn Regis in the County of Norfolk Anno 1659 they sent him nine Questions or Positions rather the first of which was against the three Persons of the Deity And in the first day they plainly declared themselves against the three Persons of the Trinity and then says Dr. Falkner I charged G. Whitehead in the presence of Geo. Fox and a great number of other Witnesses with those horrid and blasphemous words against the Trinity aforementioned which says the Doctor he neither did nor could deny but this wicked Assertion was written and published by him and his Companions it seems he made no such excuse for himself then or declared that he would not stand by or own them as he now does for what Reason let the World judg Nay in his dispute with Mr. Suith of Christ's College in Cambridge he owned the Book for says Mr. Smith to him tell me plainly whether you will own it or not if you will not at all then tell me what you will own and what not if you will not own it speak To which George Whitehead answers Well I will own it prove what you can Smith's Quaker disarmed printed 1659. Tho the licentiousness of those times permitted Men to belch forth any Poison their corrupt minds had conceived against the Trinity which they durst not now do but to show says that Reverend Person their particular zeal to oppose the Holy Trinity I received a Paper of four Queries directed to them that affirm that there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead and that the Father is the first and the Word the second and the Spirit the third and that the second was begotten as to his Godhead wholly level'd against the Doctrine of the Trinity and subscribed by G. Whitehead and G. Fox After I had returned an Answer to these I received another large Paper containing a long Harangue against the Holy Trinity with Geo. Whitehead's Name alone subscribed In this Paper which says the Doctor I have by me it is declared That to call three distinct Persons in the Trinity are Popish Terms and Names the Papists do call the Godhead by c. As if none but Papists did so or 't was never done till the days of Popery thus labouring to render the Doctrine odious by representing it as Popish However whether it be owing to the change of his Mind or for fear of the Scourge that was over him viz. that Passage in the Act for Toleration which secures a Reverence to this Doctrine of the Trinity Provided that neither this Act nor any Clause Article or Thing herein contained shall extend or be construed to extend to give any Ease Benefit or Advantage to any Person that shall deny in his Preaching or Writing the Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity as it is declared in the aforesaid Articles of Religion we are glad to find him at length returning to a more fober mind and wish he would have corrected if not his Sentiment yet his Stile in many other Particulars as plainly blasphemous as this taken notice of in the Brief Discovery but meerly to seek out and study Evasions does but multiply words and argues a mind very mean and insincere studious only of preserving a Name and upholding a Party We have endeavoured a just and honest Reply labouring to set things in a right Light and thereby evidencing the Truth of what we had charged them with We speak as to wise Men and let them judg between us for we can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth And as to the Persons of these Men we have no particular quarrel with them neither have we to our knowledg any Family of their Perswasion in all our Parishes which is a happiness that many of our neighbour Ministers cannot boast of and had they not grown to such an insolence as even to dare all our Robe with a particular Challenge as not only we but our Superiors apprehended we should never for ought we know in any publick way have entred the Lists with them but being duly and regularly called forth as we made appear in our first piece stiled The Quakers Challenge we hold it both just and dutiful to our Religion Superiors and our selves to indeavour maintaining the Orthodox Faith of that Church we profess our selves Members and Ministers of And whereas many the Laodiceans of this Age have blamed us for contesting with so foolish a People as the Quakers generally are telling us That we might have found a better employment than to be busied with such Impertinents as these planting a Battery against Aspin Leaves
to God as Omnipotence Omniscience and the like Ezek. 20. 27. In this your Fathers have blasphemed me in that they have committed a Trespass against me and that Trespass was Idolatry as v. 28. When I had brought them into the Land they saw every high Hill and all the thick Trees and there they offered their Sacrifices and presented the provocation of their Offering there also they made their sweet Savour Mr. Mede Comment Apocal Par. 2. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 3. p. 503. and poured out their Drink-Offerings So Isa 65. 7. Your Fathers have burnt Incense upon the Mountains and blasphemed me upon the Hills And that Blasphemy the Beast is said to be guilty of is conceived by Learned Men to be Idolatry viz. the giving his incommunicable Name and Attributes to Idols or Images Dr. Heâ— More in loc And as an attributing to others so an assuming to our selves that which is Luke 5. 21. proper to God alone is Blasphemy as the places cited in the Margin shew Mar. 2. 7. When our Saviour said to the Paralytick Thy Sins are forgiven thee presently Mar. 9. â— the Scribes and Phaâ—iseeâ— cried oat This man blasphemeth who can forgive Sins but God alone Remission of Sins was God's Prerogative as they well knew and had not Christ been God as wâ—â—â— as Man to have assumed this Authority as originally and of right belonging to him would have been Blasphemy as also the assuming to himself the honour of being the Son of God of sitting at his Right hand and being the Great Judg of the World would have made him guilty of Blasphemy had he not been the Son of the most High and also sanctified and set apart for the judging the World by a Commission from his Father as appears by these Scriptures Joh. 10. 33 36. Mat. 26. 64 65. Mark 14. 62 64. Let the Followers of Geo. Fox who called himself the Judg of the World consider this and such vile Wretches as Audland and Coale who in their Letters See the Letters in the Snake in the Grass § 8. p. 115. 3 d Edit attributed to him that which is peculiar to our Blessed Saviour viz. That his Habitation was in the Power of the Highest in which be ruled and governed in Righteousness and that his Kingdom is established in Peace and the Increase thereof is without end All which William Pen labours to justify in his Judas and the Jews p. 24. Dear and precious one says Audland in his Letter to Geo. Fox in whom my Life is bound up and my Strength in thee stands by thy Breathings I am nourish'd by thee is my Strength renewed Life and Strength comes from thee Holy One Pray for me that I may stand in thy Dread for evermore I am thine begotten and nourished by thee and in thy Power am I preserved Glory unto thee Holy One for ever And let those that Hosanna'd James Naylor into Bristol as our Lord was into Jerusalem reflect seriously upon their Blasphemy therein If we may not be allowed to say these men blasphem'd we are utterly to seek touching the true notion of Blasphemy and will take it for a favour to be by some worthy Pen directed more rightly to conceive of it VVHEREAS George Whitehead declares our Designs were to incense the Government against them and deprive them of their Christian Liberty 't is evident we meddled not with their Persons but Doctrines and desired not an Abridgment of any Liberty the Government thinks fit to allow them but we would be loth Blasphemy and Sedition should be embraced as part of the Christian Faith or that Men who profess them be reckoned as true Members of the Protâ—stâ—â—nt Church all that we could hope for was that a Mark might by Publick Authority be set upon such Principles and thereby Persons check'd who endeavour'd to propagate them among the People and whether any in Authority will think fit to do so we know not But we judg it agreeable to our Office and Ministry to contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints and to endeavour the stopping their Mouths that speak perverse things as the brief Discovery shows Burroughs both the Foxes Howgil and others have done and especially in these following particulars CHAP. I. Of the Light Within Dr. Cudworth's true Notion of the Lord's Supper 'T IS the Observation of a learned Man That there is always some truth which gives being to every Error pure Falshood not being able to subsist of it self and therefore twines about some Truth for its Support and Succour and it being a great Truth that Christ is the true Light which John 1. 9. lighteth every Man that cometh into the World i. e. by the Light of Reason human Understanding and natural Conscience and all People perceiving they have a Light within that discerns some things to be good and moves them thereunto and also checks for many things that are evil and dissuades them from them our Adversaries conclude that this Light is Christ himself the true Light whereas 't is but a Ray from that Sun an Illumination from the Father of Lights and not the true Eternal God and Christ as is their current and most fundamental Doctrine for thus * viz. Richard Ashby Thomas Bonnet John Hubbard John Fiddeman Daniel Philips Tho. Buckingham six of them together in the Defence of the People called Quakers p. 14. tell us The Light within is Christ and Christ is the Word that was in the beginning with God and was God And the †viz. Rich. Ashby John Fiddeman and John Cade Authors of the true Light owned and vindicated p. 10. argue thus If the Light which shines in the Heart of Man be God and Christ as we believe and teach then 't is impossible the Light within so taught by us should expose us to Blasphemy against God Christ or the Holy Scriptures But the Light which shines in the Heart of Man is God and Christ And this the brief Discovery charged them with quoting Fox's Great Mystery saying The Light which every one that cometh into the World is inlightned with and Fox jun. saying The Light in you is not Conscience for the Light was before any thing was made or Conscience named George Whitehead in his Vindication hereof makes a hideous Outâ—ry Where 's the blasphemous Principle why truly in these words The Light that is in us as Fox jun. explains it and as Rich. Ashby and the rest above assert is not made and so by Consequence must be God When they speak of the Inbeing of this Divine Light in Believers we hope they mean something peculiar to them and not common to Beasts which is nothing but the Presence of his Essence and that is every where We say then that Light which is in us peculiarly and enlightens us is but a Ray and Beam of that Eternal Light as William Penn owns in many places subjected in our minds and
from the Spirit how comes it to pass that the Spirit never moves them as it did in the Apostles days to pray and prophesy in unknown Tongues When we shall see in their Assemblys as the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles did in the Primitive Christians Meetings that they have the Gift of Tongues and the gift of interpreting thereof when together with the Gift of Tongues we shall see that they have as the Christians had all the other miraculous Gifts when we shall see that they shew themselves to be Prophets and spiritual in receiving what this Apostle hath written in particular that a Woman should not speak in the Church as the Commandments of God And lastly when with all this they shall preach no other Doctrine than what the Apostle hath preached and the Catholick Church received then we will believe if they be lawfully baptized that it is the Spirit which is speaking in them and that God is in them and among them of a truth but till then we must believe them all to be Impostors or Enthusiasts or Blasphemers of the Holy Ghost Thus he enough to silence all their pretences to immediate Inspiration Calv. adv Libertines c. 2. which has been the common Stalâ— of each fanatical Party to influence the People by so the Libertines would boast of their Intimacy with God and all See Rutherford's Sâ—â—vey of the Spiritual Antichrist cap. 9. p. 55 56 57 c. their talk was de Spiritu of what Communications they had from the Spirit as Calvin notes Henry Nicholas the first nominated Elder of the Family of Love pretended to Visions and Revelations and Conferences with Angels and said He was raised by the highest God â—anointed with the Holy Ghost godded with God in the Spirit of his Love Caspâ—r Swenkefield pretended to the Spirit and Enthusiastical Dreams called for spiritualness and the Spirit and the Rutherf cap. â— p. 15 16 c. Id. Part 2. p. 211. internal Word revealed his fancys to Luther who sharply rebuked him but to no purpose Pertinacy cleaving to the Plague of Heresy says our Author his Errors are there recited they were condemned by a Synod at Norimburg Anno 1554 and by the Confession of the Divines of Mansfield 1555. who tell us he had vexed the Church thirty years That American Jezabel as she is called Mrs. Hutchison deceived and drew away many boldly asserting that her peculiar Revelations about Events to fall out were as infallible as any parts of Scripture and that she was as much bound to believe them as the Scripture for the same Holy Ghost was the Author of both It were endless to recite what is said of this sort of People who all deluded the World with the Pretence to Visions Revelation and immediate Teachings from the Spirit which was the shield they laboured to secure themselves by when assaulted by the Ministers of the Gospel and therefore we have great reason to caution our People against itching Ears and the being fond of new things but more especially to avoid those who pretend to new â—ights and Revelations as being but Wolves in sheeps clothing remembering that 't is recorded to the great praise of the Bereans that upon St. Paul's preaching they searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so To the Law and to the Testimony If they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them which shows that this ought to be their rule to try all Doctrines by CHAP. VI. Of the SCRIPTURES G EO FOX in his Piece stiled News coming out of the North written See Brief Discov p. 9. from the Mouth of the Lord c. saith Your Original is Carnal Hebrew Greek and Latin A learned Man reading this wondered and well he might how Latin came to be an Original and we cannot guess unless it be to make a court to the Church of Rome which has decreed the vulgar Latin to be as infallible and authentick as the Greek and Hebrew and had he brought in the Latin Service as well as the Latin Bible we had been Al-a-Mode Roman Who knows tho not he yet his infallible Successors may one day make that authentick too Oh this Infallibility can do strange feats when it pleases But he goes on Your Word is carnal the Letter and the Light is carnal the Letter their Original is but dust which is but the Letter which is Death and their Gospel is but Dust Matthew Mark Luke and John which is the Letter To this Geo. Whitehead answers here That the Letter it self is not made up of spiritual Matter or of lasting materials but of such as will decay and turn to dust A wonderful discovery That your Gospel Matthew Mark Luke and John are not printed with never-failing Ink and upon immortal Paper he tlls us in Innocency Triumphant p. 17. they mean no more than the Writings abstractly considered as in Paper and Ink and false Ministers dead preaching and commenting on them Well George if thou hadst but as much honesty as wit tho in that there is but bare measure thou wouldst not abuse us with such a trifling Answer Was ever any thing properly called Carnal that was not capable of being made spiritual Carnality being only the want of Spirituality in a Subject capable And 't is as improper to say Ink and Paper are carnal as a Stone is blind would it not be a wise business for one to discourse of a carnal Dog a carnal Horse a carnal Tree or a carnal Block as if there were those that could be spiritual But further who ever thought the innocent Letters of the Alphabet and the Scrivener's Bottel should be accused as carnal or Hebrew and Greek should have the fortune to be censur'd as carnal Languages and not French Spanish or Italian unless it was because Hebrew and Greek were the first Languages whereby the Doctrine of Salvation was conveyed to the World without the least mention of Light within unless with a note of infamy if the Light in thee be darkness O! 't is this carnal Hebrew and Greek which has done us all the mischief that has chok'd us with this Serpents meat But Fox tells us We Dogs Serpents Swine feed upon the Letter which is Death tho we think 't was never heard that ever any fed upon the Letters of the Alphabet and a Bottle of Ink and took them for his dinner or how Pen Ink and Paper should kill any unless he were such a Fool as to choke himself by swallowing his Bible No no Quakers are not so silly tho wicked enough to think so there 's no question but 't is somewhat conveyed to us by their Letters and Languages they have their spight at as appears further by what he saith here Your Word is Carnal and your Light is Carnal your Gospel is Dust Matthew Mark Luke and John which is the Letter Sure our Word our Light our Gospel our Matthew Mark c. are somewhat
add another which is worth them all for Spondani Annales A. D. 1204. n. 17. its Antiquity 't is of one Almericus Student at Paris as great an Enthusiast as themselves He cries out Now was the time of the Holy Ghost in which the use of Sacraments was to cease and all external Administrations and every one was to be saved by the Inspiration and inward Grace of the Holy Ghost The Mendicant Friars defended this Doctrine and Pope Alexander the 4 th Mat. Paris Hist 909. was their Protector So that you see these Doctrines of Quakers are but the Sink and Drainings of Popery We care not if we add another out of the Spiritual Exercise of the Jesuits 'T is the great perfection of a Christian P. 31 32. printed 74. to keep himself indifferent to do what God shall reveal to him and not to determine himself to do what he hath already revealed and tanght in the Gospel No Fox thou art not the Father of the Quakers as some have Stillingfleet ' s Fanaticism c. p. 341. thought but Almericus and the Jesuits and Papists have only put out that Brat to thee to nurse it for them and we own it hath battled prodigiously at thy Breasts and grown to be a very formidable Monster CHAP. VII Of the RVLE of FAITH BRief Discovery quotes Parnel p. 16. line 33. Shield of Truth p. 11. saying He that saith the Letter is the Rule and Guide of the People of God is without feeding upon the Husks and is ignorant of the true P. 515. Light Burroughs is also quoted saying The Scriptures are not the Rule and Guide of Faith and Life but the Spirit of God This is the current Doctrine of the Quakers you may see it in Parnel's * P. 71. Collect. Smith's Primmer P. 10. Light Life 17. Fisher speaks plain English and tells us Scripture is not the Voice of God tho the very Dribbles of a Quaker are from the Mouth of the Lord. The same says Howgil 68 7â— 251. Pen Reason against Railing p. 32. yea all of them Not the Scriptures but the Light within is our Rule of Faith and Life Fisher ' s Messages of the Lord p. 19 21. By the way observe how this symphonizes with your Testimony before the House of Commons the form of your Confession there was this I believe with my Heart and confess with my Mouth that the Scriptures are a divine and History of Quakerisin p. 53. exact Rule of Faith and Life yet you must know the Quakers are always the same and sweetly agree with one another as their Brethren the Papists do tho they have never so many Opinions and differ as much from one another as Lines in the Circumference yet you must believe they are all one for all that because they meet in the same Center of Unity the Pope So the Quakers let them differ never so much yet in spight of Sense and Reason there is nothing but Harmony and Unity amongst them because they all follow the same unerring Light tho it lead them into never so many contradictions We would fain know whether their Light within be their Rule when they call us Sorcerers Devils Gimcracks Wheelbarrows Tatterdemallions Whitehead says The Scripture allows these Names p. 68. l. 26. Thus far then sure you will allow the Scripture to be a practical Rule to guide and countenance you in the Work of railing and reviling for the great Honour and Respect you give them you keep them to do your dirtiest Drudgery to authorize you in your Billinsgate Rhetorick But because this Principle is so generally held by Quakers that the Light within is the Rule and not the Scriptures and of so vast an Importance we shall inlarge a little the more upon it but first we shall lay down some preliminary Propositions 1. We do not say the Scriptures are a Rule to us as written tho they are so when they are written 2. We do not suppose that the Revelation of the Mind of God in Scripture is a general Rule to Chrâ—stians Jews and all our Forefathers from Adam before the Mind of God was committed to writing 3. We positively assert that neither God nor Christ but the Mind of God revealed to Mankind either written or unwritten is a general Rule The unwritten Revelations before the Scriptures were put into writing and the written ever since And further we say That revelation of the Mind of God conveighed to us by writing in all things necessary to Salvation is the only compleat and general Rule to us to whom it is so conveighed for our Faith and Practise and not God nor Christ essentially or substantially considered nor any immediate Revelation not that we deny all immediate Revelation in these last days but we say God does not ordinarily bestow it and that because he hath taken care in his Providence that in this last Age there shall be no need of it having provided the Scriptures as a Supplement of that want neither if there should be such immediate Revelations to a Person now as formerly to the Aposâ—les yet carrying not the same Evidence to us to oblige us in our Faith and Practice as the Apostles Revelations did they can be no Rule to us they that have them and have good assurance they have so on God's Name let them believe and obey them if they please 1 st We prove the Light within can be no Rule to us 1. Because it teaches not all things necessary to our Salvation the Light within could never have instructed us about the Fall of Man or our recovery by Jesus Christ how then could it have been the Rule of our Faith as to these Particulars Sure you dare not deny but these are necessary to be believed We had had a deep silence of this thing to this day had we not had tidings of them in our Scriptures or some other Revelations of them we could never have known there had been a Spirit of Christ or a Scripture as they call it for they dare not call it Trinity as if there were some Magick in that Latin word but from the Scriptures And if the Light within be the same with Christ and the Spirit of Christ as Quakers say I must believe first that there is such a Light such a Christ and such a Spirit of Christ which I cannot do but by the Scriptures before I can believe any thing upon their Authority unless I must believe a Doctrine upon the Authority of a Rule of whose Being and Existence I have no Evidence sufficient to induce me to believe it so that the Scriptures only can be the Rule of such a Faith The Truth is the Light within is not the Rule but the rational Sight or Eye rather whereby we discern our Rule advise and consult with it How ridiculous would it be to say Christ or the Spirit of Christ is our Rule who is our Rule tho his Laws
leave it out to make the better sense of thy Blasphemy shouldest thou have put in that Conjunction what nonsense would it have been it would have been thus all Scripture given by Inspiration and is profitable the copula and methinks should couple like Sentences and the former part of the Text cannot be a sentence without a Verb and if it must be like Sentences the Verb in the former part must be is as in the latter and so it runs as we well translate it is by Divine Inspiration and is profitable rather than the Scripture should be a perfect Rule Howgil would make it perfect nonsense 2. The Scripture must be our Rule for we are to try all things by it and hold fast that which we find streight and right nay by that we are to try the Quakers Rule it self 1 John 4. 1. we are to try the Spirits What must we try the Spirit by the Spirit 't is evident we are to bring it to some Rule or Ballance to find out its just weight and rectitude for there are many Spirits that walk now about and haunt our stuary ground the Spirit of Muggleton Fox and Naylor and there is one Spirit to be sure that challenges it as its right to possess it and dwell there and by what rule shall we determine the Controversy but by Scripture there 's none of these Pretenders can challenge any greater Authority over our Faith than others only the Scriptures which are the Letters missive and circulatory of the Spirit of God to his Church have such a right which have their Authority confirmed by such a Seal as cannot be counterfeited by Men or Devils and therefore may oblige us to believe them and that Spirit which agrees with their testimony 'T is utterly false what Smith says That the Spirit was the rule to them that Primmer p. 10. gave forth the Scriptures We say not the Spirit it self but the dictates of the Spirit which were as much a rule to them when written as when spoken to them This does not exclude the Spirit from having any thing to do to direct us what to believe and how to live for the Scriptures are the Spirits Rule given to guide us by Besides the Spirit of God opens our Eyes too much closed up since the fall so that we may the better perceive and believe the things contained in the Scripture and stir up our affections to embrace them observe the Rule our Saviour sends us to Mat. 21. 42. Did you never read in the Scriptures Ver. 22 29. Ye err not knowing the Scriptures Acts 8. 35. He began at the same Scripture and preached unto them Jesus Acts 17. 2 11. Paul reasoned with them out of the Scriptures Acts 2. what a long Sermon St. Peter preacheth there from the 14 th almost to the end all out of the Scripture Luke 24. 17. as also 32. he opened to them the Scriptures Moses and the Prophets were the Text he preach'd on Ver. 46. he carries their attention to what was written Joh. 7. 38. He that believeth on me not as the Light but as the Scripture saith John 19. 37. another Scripture saith all along they are sent to the Light without them to see what the Scripture saith John 20. 9. their want of Faith in Christ's Resurrection is attributed to their ignorance of the Scriptures strange the Light could not have informed them Philip corrects not the Eunuch for poring upon and scraping in the Scriptures as Fisher does in his Velata Revelata p. 845. Such Men says he as the Scribes are ever scraping in the Scriptures neither does he call them to mind the Light within Away with this dead Letter this Dust will choak you this Serpents Meat will poison you Ver. 35. he opened his Mouth and began at the same Scripture and preached Jesus But when shall we hear a Quaker begin a Sermon from a Text of Scripture By the way you see a Man may preach Jesus from the Letter Acts 18. 24. Apollo was mighty in the Scriptures the Scripture was the Sword of the Spirit Ephes 6. 17. by which the mighty Man and Evangelical Hero hewed down the Enemy before him they were not able to stand before the Dint of his Scripture-charge he mightily convinced them out of Scripture ver 28. Paul in his Dispute about Justification Rom. 4. 3. crys What saith the Scripture Rom. 11. 2. Wot ye not what the Scripture saith he brings all his Proofs from the Letter of Scripture Rom. 15. 4. all our comfort flows from those Wells of Salvation all written for our Learning that we through comfort and patience of the Scriptures might have hope And should these envious Philistines be suffered to stop up these Wells 2 Tim. 3. 15. Paul commends Timothy that from a Child he had been well acquainted with this Rule so that he became a Workman that needed not be ashamed The Scriptures you see in the Apostles days as many as were written were the only Rule they appealed to Fox jun. for above 200 Pages hath vehement Exhortations to mind the Light but not a word of reading the Scriptures in that whole Book Esa 8. 20. To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this word they may pretend the Spirit of God and a Light within if they will but they have no light in them says the Prophet That such an one as W. Penn should please himself with such a Gimcrack as to say in his answer to Faldo By the Law and the Testimony are meant God and Christ seeing then William we are saved by Christ we are saved by the Law 'T is much Mr. Pool should forget to grace his Synopsis with this Criticism if thou hadst any respect for Scripture sure thou wouldst not dally and play with it so wantonly We conclude then that the Scriptures are a Rule to them they are given to and 't was never denyed by any in the Christian part of the World but Quakers besides Atheists Deists and Papists and we envy them not the Honour of such Company Whitehead says p. 23. l. 7. They don't slight the Scripture nay p. 17. l. 4. They acknowledg them to be divine and prefer them before all other Books in the World We do them wrong to lay such an heinous Crime to their charge Alas poor Quakers to be so hardly censured when they call the Scriptures Dust Serpents Meat killing and deadly this is all for the profound Veneration they have for Scripture When they say their own Speakings are of equal Authority nay to be preferred before them nay the Scriptures may as well be burnt as their nonsensical Scriblings This is yet for the great respect and honour they bear to the Scriptures When they tell us the Scriptures have no authority of themselves not so much as that golden Legend of Father Fox's Journal unless we have a Câ—mmand again from within that is they have no authority unless we think they have
the fifth Chapter where we discern what gave occasion to this Exhortation he Heb. 5. there distinguishing Christians into two Classes Babes and strong Men i. e. perfect and imperfect both of which he describes at large And from thence v. 12 13 14. this learned Person asserts That the utmost height to which the Scripture exhorts Dr. Lucas Rel. Per. 2d edit 3. pt of Enq. p. 5 6. us is nothing more than a steady habit of Holiness That place of St. John purifyeth himself even as he is pure speaks not their attaining to Perfection equal with Christ's but their taking him for their Pattern daily to regulate themselves by and the Term even as signifies an Analogy i. e. a Proportion 1 Jo. 3. 3. Sutableness and Agreeableness not an Equality Another place he cites to prove this Perfection of Purity but that speaks of the whole Church Eph. 4. 12 13. which the Apostles and other Ministers were constituted to render exact and orderly fitted in every part in which there should be no Chasm no Luxation but every thing duly placed with great Coherence and Agreement and this Church he compares to a Body and Christ to the Soul that animates it and as the Soul when the Organs of the Body are by degrees strengthened puts forth its Powers till the Body comes to an Age of Consistency so is the Church actuated by the Spirit of Christ till it comes to a consistent State and at last the Holy Jesus presents it to his Father without spot or wrinkle but 't is not so whilst in this Life And after all this Is it not Blasphemy to say That 't is the Doctrine of Devils to preach that men shall have Siâ— and be in a Warfare as long as they be on Earth since they are not absolutely perfect and therefore win have Sin inherent in them at their best state and adhering to their best Works See this Doctrine of Perfection discoursed of by Dr. Lucas in his Religious Perfection or the third part of the Enquiry after Happiness with reference to the Chap. 2. Quakers Tho that good Man is so candid that he will hardly believe the Quakers P. 22 23 c. 2 d Ed. designed any thing more by their asserting Perfection in this Life than the arriving to a steady well-settled habit of Wisdom and Goodness which he may be convinced of by what we have already quoted and aâ—oâ— peruâ—ing See also Geo. Keith ' s 4 th Narrative P. 10. to 22. concerning their sinless Perfection Geo. Fox's Great Myst in the several pages here refer'd unto page 4. line 19. p. 7. ult 12. med 24. l. 15. 27. l. 11. p. 30. med usque ad fin p. 37 38 39 40 41. ult p. 51. med p. 124. ult 125. per â—ot 133. ult p. 137. med 156. ult 157. init 159. ult 160. init p. 231 232 243 251 252 253. ult p. 257 258 277 279 280 282 286 288 293 307. ult 318. ult 320. med And also by consulting a Piece called Ishmael and his Mother caffâ— out p. 3. in Quarto where George Whitehead's and three other Quakers Answer to their Adversary was in these words But thou and thy Generation hates this and says that there is no Perfection to be attained here O thou blind Guide did Christ ever command any thing that might not be accomplished or did he speak of being perfect not till after death here thou dost deny the very End for which Christ came who came to take away Sin and in him is no Sin Mat. 1. 21. 1 John 3. 3 4 5 6. 1 John 5. 18 c. So also pag. 12. Thou sayen say these four Quakers to their Adversary the Priest the most eminent Believer sins in many things O thou Blasphemer and Slanderer of the Just reply then when wilt thou cease from thy Lies and Blasphemy where dost or canst thou prove such a Scripture as the most eminent Believer sins in any things when the Scripture saith He that believeth is born of God and he that is born of God sinneth not for whosoever sinneth hath not seen him neither known him and he that commieteth Sin is of the Devil and there 's thy condition and he is thy Father who is the Father of all Liers as thou art 1 John 3. 3 4 5 6 7 8. But more plainly and directly from that Account Will. Baldwinson gives in a Letter of his dated Jan. 14. 1653. and attested by three others where he declares that before a company where James Naylor and Richard Farnsworth were setting out this Doctrine of Prefection he demanded of them in these words Friends do you hold that a Man may attain to that height of Perfection in this Life to be as perfect as pure as holy and as just as God himself And he asserts that they jointly reply'd Yea and they were so For which look The Defence of the Snake in the Grass Part the First pag. 88. But that the best of Men were liable to commit Sin the Man after God's own Psal 91. Heart David found it so and confessed it and the Church of God complained that their Righteousness was as filthy Rags not that their Righteousness was Sin but that Sin cleaved to and blemished their best Performances as clean Water running through a Channel not perfectly clean contracts some Soil Neither do we say that this Pollution makes the Work cease to be good or puts the doer into a state of Damnation because God for Christ's sake forgives the Imperfection and reputeth the Duty good for the sake of that part which his own Spirit wrought And are we not in a state of Warfare whilst on Earth when the Apostle saith Gal. 5. 17. That the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other and therefore there will be a War betwixt Rom. 7. 20 21. them so that ye cannot do the things that ye would And I delight in the Law of God after the Inward Man But I see another Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind And-to what end did holy Paul so nicely describe the whole Armature of a Christian if it were to hang up for a show only as rusty pieces are wont to do in a time of Peace No he directs to put them on telling us our Warfare is not so much with evil Men as with evil Spirits We wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the darkness of this World against spiritual Wickedness in high Places Eph. 6. 12 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God c. God himself published this War first in Paradise declaring that our Lives should be a continual Warfare Gen. 3. 15. with the Devil I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed it shall bruise thy Head and thou
viz. That God does not accept any where there is any failing who does not fulfil the Law and answer every demand of Justice which Experience as well as God's Word assure us none is able to do so little do these foregoing words contribute towards the rendring those Orthodox which the Brief Discovery charges upon him and if these People in particular should pretend above other Men to be without failings 't would but make them the more ridiculous which in this matter they are already even to Contempt He says we oppose the Urim and Thummim Light and Perfection but do we oppose the Urim and Thummim whilst we assert it to be only in the Breast-plate of our great High-Priest but not upon the Breast of every or any Saint on Earth CHAP. V. Of Immediate REVELATION THE Brief Discovery charges Whitehead and Fox jun. with saying That P. 8. which is spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and greater This undervaluing the Scriptures with respect to their own Writings is not a careless stumble of their Pen but deliberate and design'd for wherever they treat of Scripture 't is in the same Strain not varying from the Analogy of this Faith If ever you will own the Prophets Apostles or Christ himself you will own our Writings given forth by the same Spirit You may as well condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as our Queries and in this Answ to the Westmorel Petit. p. 30. place Whitehead gives the preheminence to their Writings says They are of as great Authority and greater Here he complains again of Injustice because we left out some explanatory words as he calls them in the same period the words are these which rather darken than enlighten the matter as Christ's words were of greater Authority when he spoke than the Pharisees reading the Letter never sure was there so cross so perverse an Answer was the comparison made between the Pharisees reading the Letter and the Quakers Speakings or between the Scriptures and their Speakings The Question ask'd was Whether they esteemed their Speakings of as great Authority as any Chapter in the Bible And the Answer was direct enough They are as great and greater too But when they prefer their Writings to the Scriptures he does not as he tells us mean the Scriptures but the Pharisees reading them If the Pharisees were such A B C-Darians that they knew not how to read a Chapter in the Bible as it ought to be yet the Bible is of the same Authority still read by a Pharisee or an Apostle tho perhaps not of the same Efficacy and the Scriptures whensoever spoken or by whomsoever tho they have not the Spirit who speak them yet whatever Whitehead says in the close of that Paragraph the Scriptures by whomsoever spoken we must obey and not as he says deny In the next Paragraph he bids us note That the Comparison is placed upon the Spirit of Truth speaking in Man in the first place and through and by the Ministers thereof in the next place A wonderful opening and amounts to thus much The Comparison is placed upon the Spirit of Truth speaking in Man in the first place and in and through Man in the second place He concludes we suppose from hence as he should have said the Spirit speaking in and through them as in and through the Apostles hath not lost its Authority and Power since it gave forth the Scriptures therefore their Writings must be of the same Authority with the Scriptures This were true if the Spirit spake in us or them as through a Trunk as the Devil did through the Images when he uttered his Oracles but he speaks in us or them whilst he assists us in our Speakings and Writings so that 't is not the Spirit but we that speak and write by the assistance of Christ's Spirit which assistance is given us according to what degree our Lord pleases as Whitehead acknowledges to us in P. 17. Pâ—r. 2. such a degree as overcomes not the Infirmities of our Nature so as that we should not be liable to some Mistakes but to the Apostles in such a degree as left them liable to none in their speaking or delivering the Scriptures to the World and the Miracles that they wrought were an abundant Evidence to all Men thereof And to shew that which he says in the next viz. That the Spirit of Truth immediately ministring in Man is of greater Authority or Power than the Chapters are without the Spirit is very vain or worse for which are those Chapters in our Bible that are without the Spirit or its Authority since every Chapter sure they will acknowledg is as much the Dictates of the Spirit as their Teachings are And it must be an Atheistical Consideration of the Scriptures to look upon them as Whitehead does here without the Spirit P. 17. l. 3 4 5. As for his Profession that they acknowledg the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be of Divine Authority and prefer them above all other Writings c. 't is Protestatio contra factum he only professing he does not do a thing even whilst he is doing of it Whereas he says the Spirit of God speaking in the Soul is of greater Efficacy Power and Authority than the Scripture without it is a captious Assertion for Efficacy Power and Authority are not the same thing and therefore as joined together we can neither affirm nor deny for of greater Efficacy and Power it may be but not of greater Authority unless they will say the Spirit is of greater Authority than the Spirit it being the same Spirit we are sure that wrote the Scriptures which they pretend speaks in them All this while he hath not offered to prove their Speakings to be of greater Authority than the Scriptures tho he said it very absurdly and blasphemously For can there be any Authority greater than that which is Divine and this Divine Authority Whitehead here saith they the Quakers sincerely acknowledg the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to have We think now 't would be but just to forbear charging the Priests with ignorance as he frequently does since 't is a spice of that which makes his Discoverer so confused here Letter of the 3 d day 3 d month 98. See Keith's 3 d Nâ—â— p. 66. Such Expressions as those above thou thoughtest fit to excuse to G. Keith in a Letter to him for there thou confessedst thou hast been too short and dubious in some Words or Exprestions as not fully explained in thy former Writings which may easily be helped by some ingenuous or charitable Explication or Emendation First by the way Here is thy Infallibility left to its shifts tho Thomas Danson and his Brethren were once no Ministers of Christ for disclaiming of it and Fâ—x tells us Whoever speaks a word and not from the Mouth of the Lord
is a Witch and Conjurer I hope these short and dubious words that need the help of some ingenâ—ous and charitable Person to explain and amend them were not from the Mouth of the Lord yet they were from the Mouth of G. Whitehead to be sure and if thy Prophet calls thee Witch and Conjurer for them thoâ— must eâ—en take it patiently from one that spake every word from the Mouth of the Lord unless thou wouldst have him rather recorded for the Conjurer than thy self 〈◊〉 But secondly They are short it seems what thou sayest in thy Nature of Christianity I am afraid was a little too long viz. We have no Scripture Proof that Coâ—â—st exists outwardly at God's right hand which would have been as good Doctrine as you could have wisht if the Reader would be 〈◊〉 charitable and ingenuous as to throw out No And here where thou sayst That which is spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and greater seems to be too short Let but the ingenuous Reader be so kind as to put in that word not and 't is admirable orthodox and he is very uncharitable that will not help a poor Man out of the Bryars when a word will do it Thirdly Thou sayst Ingenuity and Charity might explain them and amend them for thee methinks this were work might very well become thy self And this is all at present we have to desire of thee that thou wouldst correct and amend those blasphemous words we and others have charged thee with i. e. renounce them and give us other words more plain and orthodox in the room of them Brief Discovery and Fr. Bugg have taken some Pains to shew thee a few of them and we should be glad to see thee mending and correcting them and when thou hast mended thy own when thy hand is in thou wouldst do well to be so charitable to thy Brethren to amend few words of theirs and if thou dost but once set up the mending Trade we promise we will find thee mending work enough out of your own Authors for thy self and a Journy-man too G. Fox tells us the Priests say The Apostles were Eye-witnesses and understood Myst p. 24. by Immediate Revelation from God inspired with the Gift of the Spirit more than any Man could hope for since And saith they do not pretend to any such Gift nor depend upon any such immediate miraculous Revelation from Heaven To which G. Fox answers Then all may see now in this what you received that hath been from Man which is not from Heaven immediate nor the Gifts of the Spirit nor received the Gospel by the same means the Apostles did who were not the Eye-witnesses as the Apostles were neither have ye attained to the same Knowledg and Understanding as the Apostles did nor received it from Heaven c. But we deny this silly consequence That because what we receive is not by immediate Revelation therefore it must be from Man tho Man may be a means by which it is received and that it is not from Heaven nor the Gift of the Spirit nor the Gospel neither because not received by the same means the Apostles received it to let go the nonsense that the Apostles received the Gospel by means and yet immediately viz. without means for the Gospel is the same whether received by the Ministry of Men or without it for whatever those Holy Men of God the Prophets and Apostles have through the Assistance of the Spirit written and sent down to us we consonantly thereunto preach unto our People and therefore may truly say As they delivered so we preach and so ye believed But alas it seems it cannot be the Gospel we received because we are not Eye-witnesses as the Apostles were we cannot say with St. John That which was from the beginning which we have seen with 1 John 1. â— our Eyes and our Hands have handled of the word of Life Because we had the fortune to be born sixteen hundred years after the Gospel was preached and confirmed and so wanted the Happiness of a personal Converse with our Saviour and had not the honour to feast with him in Cana to be with him in the Mount in Galilee in Samaria to see the Draught of Fishes the Multiplication of Loaves and all his other Miracles because we did not see him in the Garden upon the Cross after his Resurrection or when he actually ascended into Heaven or at least were not wrapt up into the third Heaven with St. Paul and had not the abundance of Revelations that he had therefore we know nothing of the Gospel tho we have as rational an evidence as the nature of the thing will bear 〈◊〉 that which all wise men were satisfied with who never expected to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—to the same capacity or to be in the same circumstances with the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diâ—ciples of our Lord as to this matter But we fear 't is another Gospel they pretend to than ours their Gospel being only a manifestation of a Christ within his inward Life Death Blood Resurrection and Ascension which they pretend to feel taste and see within them every day In the close of this Citation George Fox would have all People judg and so would we too whether it may not be the same Gospel preached now by the Ministry of Men and from Heaven too that was received by the Apostles immediately from God since we give sufficient evidence that 't is the same we preach which we received from them tho we do not teach immediatly from Rom. 1. God or by Revelation The Gospel he saith is the Power of God and therefore immediate 'T is true the Gospel is stiled both the Power and Wisdom of God and they are immediatly in God for they are God But then that the Gospel which had a beginning is so called is not properly but figuratively as the Cause may be predicated of the Instrument for the Gospel is an Instrument of God's Power and Wisdom for the Salvation of Believers It may innocently enough be said Preaching the Word of God by a lawful Minister is the Power of God because the Power of God makes use of this means for the conversion of Thousands but then 't is meant secondarily or subordinately not originally and supremely There is a heavy complaint made for our omitting after these words They are in the same Power Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven that the Apostles were in those in the close of the Sentence That understand the Gospel as also those And they that be in another cannot understand it Which amounts to thus much Every one that understands the Gospel is in the same Power Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven that the Apostles were in and they that are not can never understand the Gospel when 't is evident a man may understand the meaning of the Gospel by the help of common
Illumination without any special enlightning much more without immediate Revelation from Heaven But this is their general Sentiment and Opinion Geo. Fox says the same with Whitehead not only here but in his Journal p. 22. and Pen in his Answer to Faldo p. 58 64. Now for the honour of the Scriptures that they may not ly under the Popish Imputation of so great obscurity we shall prove that they who are not in the same Power Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven that the Apostles were in may yet understand the sense of the Scriptures in things necessary to Salvation The Scriptures are plain in themselves a Lamp unto our Feet and a Light unto our Paths Psal 119. 105. and their Words manifest their Sense to us as other Writings do if we have but the use of rational Faculties and the common Illumination of the Spirit of God And it were contrary to the Goodness and Justice of God to enact Laws and make our Obedience to them necessary to Salvation and yet propound them so darkly and obscurely that none should be able to understand them unless they enjoyed the same Power Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven with the Apostles which to be sure the greatest part of those they wrote unto viz. the Romans Corinthians Galatians Ephesians and others never did Besides the Scripture obliges all to whom they are delivered to believe and obey and therefore to understand both the Promises and Precepts thereof tho they have not attained to the same Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven which the Apostles had nay wicked men who are far from any such Knowledg and Revelation c. are yet bound if they have the Scriptures to understand them since they sin if they do not Mat. 22. 19. Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures says Christ to the Sadduces and the consequence is evident because God never obliges to an Impossibility Besides they will not sure deny but we may understand the Scriptures of St. Whitehead St. Pen St. Fox and St. Burroughs without the same degree of the Spirit the Apostles were acted by and why not of St. Peter and St. Paul who sure were able to speak as clearly and intelligibly as the former We understand well enough what the Friends mean when they say Infant Sprinkling is from the Devil and the Pope when they say the Priests are Devils Dogs Beasts Hirelings and many more such Characters drawn to the life by those Artists in Railing See Fox Hubberthorne Truth 's Defence and many more And if we cannot understand your Scriptures why are we invited to read them who are carnal destitute of the Spirit of the Spirit we hope they were wrote by Again Did not Julian Celsus and Lucian understand the sense and meaning of the Scriptures and many Articles of our Faith contained therein Did they not scoff and jeer at them not sure at Ink and Paper dead Letters but the sense they imported They knew the meaning of those words well enough A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and laugh'd at them as an impossible Fiction They well understood the sense of that Scripture 1 Cor. 15. 42 43 44. even better than William Pen who has allegorized away the literal meaning to a spiritual Resurrection and therefore scoffed at it as a Romantick Dream And Celsus who as Origen tells us boasted that he knew all the Christian Doctrines derided both the Holy Virgin asking if God were in love with her Beauty and the descent of the Holy Ghost in the shape of a Dove the Voice from Heaven the coming of the Wise men c. as may be seen l. 1. p. 30 31. Orig. contr Cels These sure were not in the same Power Understanding Knowledg and immediate Revelation from Heaven that the Apostles were in and yet by a very common Illumination could discern the sense and meaning of many Scriptures But we may instance in one more and he a great Quaker too that certainly was not in such Power and Understanding c. the Apostes were in and yet understands the Scriptures well enough to his cost the Deviâ— we mean for he believes them and trembles The Scriptures he brings p. 18. parag 5. prove nothing but what we have owned before Mat. 11. 27. No man knoweth the Father but the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal him and hath not the Son revealed him to every one of us by the Scriptures To the same purpose is that place 1 Cor. 2. 9. And the things of God knows no man but the Spirit of God By the common Illumination of the Spirit he is enabled to understand the sense of that Revelation and by a more special one to understand it savingly i. e. to believe and obey it and all this without the same Power Knowledg Understanding and immediate Revelation from Heaven that the Apostles were in And we are taught of God and by the Spirit John 6. 45. Isa 54. 13. Jer. 31. 33. when we are taugh by the Scriptures they being the means used for our instruction which is all that is observed in the Margin of the old Bible in Q. Elizabeth's days by hearing of his Word and inward moving of his Spirit the Spirit cooperating with those means And the following Note upon Jer. 31. 33. has only reference to that more plentiful effusion of the Spirit in the days of the Gospel than was afforded under the legal Ministration which tho no body ever denied or yet by granting shall need to render less useful and necessary the preaching of God's Ministers or the reading of the Scriptures The Priest had said Thou dost not speak in that degree of the Holy Ghost as the Prophets and Apostles did that spoke forth Scriptures To which George Fox answers p. 213. Gr. Mystery Thou canst not know Scriptures but by the same degree of the Spirit the Prophets and Apostles had But p. 19. l. 14. Whitehead seems to boggle at this expression saying Now the Scripture i. e. the whole Scripture cannot be truly known 't is like he means all the dark Visions Mysteries and Revelations which no private Christian is concerned to understand but by a high degree of the Spirit if not the same but presently comes to confession that the true knowledg of the Scripture must be obtained by a degree of the same Spirit Instead of the same degree of the Spirit it is now a degree only of the same Spirit which all know to be vastly different and yet thus the words should have bin wrote at first for they were so intended says this excellent Vindicator had not Fox's Infallibility nodded whilst he was writing and so mistakingly wrote the same degree of the Spirit for a degree of the same Spirit And now for a close of this Head 't is a thing much to be lamented and ought by all sober Christians to be seriously laid to heart that such persons as both the Foxes Parnello Eccles and
else besides Ink and Paper and if not Pen Ink and Paper they must be somewhat conveyed to our knowledg by them But he tells us they mean only our dead preaching and commenting on it so then God be thanked the Letter is alive again and 't is only our preaching and commenting on it is dead tho Fox in direct opposition to him says 't is the Letter is dead But let us a little expostulate with the two Georges herein Why are they not as bold and plain with their own Writings as they are with the Scriptures are they not Pen Ink and Paper as well as these or are the Ink and Paper of Fox and Burroughs's writing made of more lasting materials than our Bible How comes it to pass then that they are not Dust and Death and Serpents Meat as well as the Scriptures No they are all messengers from Heaven given from the Mouth of the Lord sealed with the Eternal Spirit What care is there to guard the honour of their own Writings see Snake in the Grass p. 102. To you this is the Word of the Lord says Fox every where of his Scribbles No no yours are not dead and killing Serpents Food they are all Manna Quail Honey and the Honey-Comb our Souls Nourishment as Coal said of Fox's Book a good stomach surely he had which could feed so savourly as some Africans are said to do upon Guts and Garbage nay on Snakes and Serpents In the mean time St. Paul's Scriptures are but Dust Husks Rottenness scarce Dogs-meat 'T is true of late they give the Scriptures better names but 't is their cunning Artifice very highly to complement and caress this Favorite of the People especially when they have some Act of Parliament to procure which may tend to their advantage and when their turn is served perhaps you may hear of them under their old Character and they may be as much Serpents Meat as ever That place 2 Cor. 3. 6. which they often quote to depreciate the Letter of Scripture by is understood of the Legal ceremonial Dispensation which the Apostles were not made Ministers of and in that place the Law is the Letter that killeth and the Gospel the Spirit which giveth Life as will appear plainly to them who attentively read the following Verses to the end of the Chapter Lawson's Brief Discovery p. 9. saith The Ministers are Babylon's Merchants selling beastly Ware for a large price the Letter which is Dust and Death A very high complement to the Ministers as if they were no better than a company of Pedlars that cheat the Country selling the excrements of Beasts cunningly drest up for choice Perfumes but our comfort is we fare as well as the Holy Scriptures for they are the beastly Ware we sell as follows the Letter which is Dust and Death Here George begins to open against the injustice and falshood of this Quotation saying the Quotation runs thus selling beastly Ware for a large Price all the week time heaping up a rabble of Notions into the Brain And there he stops as Balaam's Ass could be got no further for the Sword truth is had he gone any further he would have felt the point of it which was in these words the Letter which is Dust and Death so that beastly Ware relates not only to the rabble of Notions in our Brains but to the Letter also George says again This was never spoken of the Ministers without exception P. 20. l. 19. but of the false Ministers Geo. we thank thee for nothing we know who they are very well that are the false Ministers in your account even my Lord of Canterbury and all the Bishops and Priests of the Nation that take Tithes as Rob. Barclay that Antichristian apostatized Generation the National Ministry His Anarchy p. 41. And as Smith says They are the false Ministers which preach Christ without Primmer p. 8. so that all the Christian Ministry in the World are here rank'd as well as ours amongst a company of cheating Pedlars And when he says He excepts the Ministers that are not the false ones he excepts none but themselves Br. Discov p. 9. quotes Saul's Errand All that study to draw a living thing P. 7. out of a dead the Spirit out of the Letter are Conjurers neither is Fox alone His brief Discovery of the threesold state p. 7 8 9 10. for Lawson says the same The Priests of the World are Conjurers raising dead doctrines out of the Letter dead reasons dead uses dead motives We have proved before 't is not the Scripture as it is barely Ink and Paper but as containing a System of Doctrines necessary to be believed and practised for our Salvation which they profanely call a dead Letter which is yet that very salutary Letter the Spirit himself hath written to his Church Besides how can we or the Devil himself draw any Doctrines Reasons or Uses at all from Paper and Ink abstractly considered as G. says but from some doctrinal Propositions contained under those Letters and so there will be no such need to conjure to raise a living thing out of a living viz. the Word of Life or a spiritual Doctrine from the Spirit 's Letter yet thus all the Ministers of the Gospel from Christ's time to this day are villainously traduced by the yea and nay Men as a company of Magicians and Sorcerers that work by the Black Art that preach out of the Scriptures as out of a conjuring Book and no doubt those Wretches would not be much concerned to see them burnt with the rest of those Acts 19. 19. Books of Sorcery thereby to spoil the Priests trade of conjuring by them Here again G. upbraids us of partiality for leaving out some passages of Fox P. 20. l. 29. wherein he distinguishes between the Letter and the Light the Letter and the Spirit while by his good leave the Letter containing such Doctrines as abovesaid is the Light as David says the Spirit 's Epistle to us containing lively Directions in our way to Heaven the lively Oracles of God which are quick and powerful and therefore there needs no conjuring to raise Spiritual matter out of them As for what he adds ibid. Mic. 3. 11. that the Prophet prophesys against such Priests that preach for hire we can't imagin how it comes to be fetch'd in here unless it be a device to start another Subject before us about Tithes on purpose to divert us and draw us off from the pursuit of their Blasphemy only by the way we say our Tithes are no Hire neither did we ever hear that it was accounted Wages what was paid to a Man out of his own of that which was due Debt before * P. 9. l. 31. Brief Discovery quotes Truth 's †P. 101. defence saying 'T is dangerous to read the Scriptures which the Prophets Christ and his Apostles spoke forth freely G. Whitehead clamours hideously the Qotation is abused for
he says the P. 21. l. 6. words are these T is dangerous to read and to make a trade of that which the Prophets Christ and his Apostles spoke forth freely and to give meanings to it contrary than it is We have not now the Book by us and therefore are forced to yield him his Quotation neither do we see any great hurt it will do us as he hath stated it for he makes three different Sentences of it joined together by two Conjunction Copulatives 't is dangerous to read them and to make a trade of them and to give contrary meanings to them so that with him every one of these is dangerous both to read them to make a trade of them and to pervert the sense of them which is Blasphemy Nay further we say 't is a profane Slander upon the Scriptures to affirm that they are dangerous to be read by any tho they wickedly make a trade of them or pervert their Meaning 't is only that wicked Merchandize and Perversion that is so dangerous nay to say 't is dangerous for Men to read the Scriptures that read them with a design to pervert and scoff at them such a design is dangerous but not their reading the reading the Scriptures being a good means to bring them into better Temper and Sobriety 'T was happy for St. Austin that he heard that Sermon of St. Ambrose tho it 's said he went with a purpose to flout and jeer at him and the Officers had no reason to repent them John 7. 45 46. of their coming to Christ though they came with a purpose to take him Prisoner who were so happily taken by him they could not for never man spake like him So then this must still go for a Blasphemy against the Scriptures that Ibid. l. 16. it 's dangerous to read them as 't is to make a trade of them and pervert them As for what he says 'T is dangerous for any to read them for an unlawful end we say 't is not the reading them is dangerous but the propounding an unlawful end is dangerous such a man that hath such ends may safely read them though he may not safely read them with such ends Come come G. never stand mincing of this gob 't will go down well enough with other Friends Isaac Pennington very ingenuously tells us That Knowledg gain'd by the Letter of the Scripture makes a Man wise and able in his Head to oppose Truth and brings him into a state of Condemnation Wrath and Misery beyond the Heathen and makes him harder to be wrought upon by the Light than the very Invalid of Faldo's Vindie p. 124. Heathen This Citation of Faldo Will Penn quotes and owns Well said Isaac thou sayst the Knowledg gain'd by the Letter makes us worse than Heathens and it must be very dangerous sure to read such a Letter that will make us all turn Heathens or worse perhaps to Will. Penn this seems to be no fault to His Address to Protestants p. 118 119. make us Heathens since with him to be an Heathen and a Christian is 〈◊〉 one He says every meek and patient Man is a Christian he argues largely for Heathens to be Christians Thomas Elwood justifys this That moral Heathens are very good Christians See his Answ to Keith ' s Narrat p. 75. and pleads for his Master Penn at large so that a Man may learn the Principles of Christianity out of a Seneca or a Socrates as well as out of a Bible Well whatever Whitehead may think if Isaac says true that the reading the Scriptures will bring us into an Estate of Wrath worse than Heathens we can't but think it sadly dangerous to meddle with them and if Will. Penn be to be believed the Scriptures are at leastwise needless and 't is but a wise caution to cast them quite out of their Meetings * P. ◠l. 2◠Brief Discovery quotes Fox and Hubberthorn †Truths Defence p. 2. and 〈◊〉 4. again saying You might as well condemn the Scriptures to the Fire as some of our Queries and also giving this Reason Because our giving forth Papers and printed Books is from that same immediate Eternal Spirit of God G. says 't is a great Evil to condemn the Scriptures to the Fire or any of their Books given forth by the Eternal Spirit of God as without question all those are that are authorised by their second Day 's Meeting nay all that they have spoken or printed or else they must be Conjurers that have so spoken and printed if not from the mouth of the Lord you may be sure Fox's Great Myst and Burrows's Works were so for they stoutly witness it in the beginning of them May the Bible as well be burnt as these Most impudent Blasphemy To compare such Writings full of Ignorance Blasphemy Barbarisms Nonsense Contradictions pouring out such Filth and Nastiness upon God's Ministers not to be read but when a Man stands in need of a dose of Physick to make him vomit Must such Stuff come in competition with that holy and heavenly System of our Religion the Scriptures that are able to make a Man wise unto Salvation Ah G. may we as well spare all the Bibles the World as such Writings This thou cunningly insinuatest while thou only sayst 'T is dangerous to burn them both but rebukest not in the least that blasphemous comparison That 't was as well to burn the Scriptures as their Writings but speakest as if it were equally wicked to burn either which Fox and Hubberthorn have spoke out plainly yet sometimes the Bible is the best Book in the World though now it be no better than a nonsensical Battledoor and may as well be burnt We have known the time when such a comparison as that would have made their Tongues have hist with an hot Iron though we are accounted Persecutors we rather desire their Tongues should confess the Blasphemy than so hiss for it 'T were an easy matter for us to pretend to immediate Revelations and Inspirations such as the Apostles had as well as they and we could cry as loud as they This is from the Mouth of Lord a Message from the Great God and could prove it too by the same Argument that they prove theirs by we are sure of it and we could cluck and call Shoals of Followers after us among the credulous Multitude as well as they but we dare not be so bold with God as to set his Hand and Seal to every Fancy and Dream of our own and call it divine Revelation nor dare we be so treacherous to the Souls of Men as to loobel them into a snare by false Lights or to hold up an Ignis fatuus before them which God knows some are apt enough to follow thereby to lead them into Pits and Precipices could they prove their Revelations as convincingly as Christ and his Apostles did theirs we should not envy them the comparison What
of Swearing It seems nothing but yea and nay would down with them 4. Opposition to the carnal Church Would not any one believe a Metempsuchosis here and that the Soul of Petrus Johannes was entred into Fox and we were Quakers now after the Order of St. Francis But come let us ask these Revelation-men a Question Can they shew me any reason why we should believe them so extraordinarily inspired as Christ and his Apostles any more than Munster John of Leyden or Muggleton Either I must believe every one that pretends to it or I must have some reason why I should believe one rather than another We would fain know what other rational proof they can bring of a Divine Revelation than Miracles Can we imagine that a Wise and Righteous God should call immediately and send persons into the World for nothing but to be laught at giving them no Gifts nor Signs whereby they may be distinguish'd from other folk and certainly known to be so called and commissioned that men might obey them We would fain know what other Signs Maimon de fundam legis c. 7. §. 11. are there that may convince a rational person but Miracles It was a Maxim amongst the Rabbies that whenever God sent a Prophet to a People he gave him a Sign or a Wonder that the People might know God had truly sent him and therefore the Jews would not be satisfied without a Sign from Acts 2. 22. Christ And St. Peter calls to the men of Israel Hear these words says he I preach no other Jesus to you than him that is approved of God by Miracles and Wonders and Signs done in the midst of you as your selves know And our Lord himself is pleased to make his appeal to them John 10. 25. The Works that â—do in my Father's name bear witness of me V. 37 38. If I do not the Works of my Father believe me not but if I do tho you believe not me believe my Works And John 15. 24. If I had not done the Works that no man did they had not had Sin And if it had not been a Sin not to have believed the Son of God himself without a Miracle sure it would not be a very great one if we should reject the testimony of Cobler Fox without one Brief Discovery p. 10. quotes Burroughs p. 47. saying That 's no command from God to me what he commands to another neither did any of the Saints which we read of in Scripture act by a Command which was to another not having a Command to themselves Smith speaks plainly 〈◊〉 p. 〈◊〉 The Scriptures have no authority of themselves to oblige us No Will We hope George Fox's Commands have authority of themselves to oblige especially those weighty Commands about slit Peaks short black Aprons Vizard-masks â—â—immindish Hats to thee and thou Men and Women tho St. Paul's have none How useless does that render the Scriptures to us for if we have a Command in our selves from the same Spirit that gave them forth that inward Command will be sufficient to oblige us if there were no other in the Scripture so that that were altogether neâ—dless But that 's not all for Burroughs P. 105. tells us They that take up a Command from the Scriptures are in the Witchcraft Good Mr. Burroughs wouldst thou take such an answer from any of thy Servants that God it seems must be forced to take from you should you command them to do a lawful thing No Sir we thank you till we have a Command in our selves thy Command is of no authority to oblige us at all But thou wouldst take it much worse sure if they should say thou wert a Wizard or in the Witchcraft if they should obey thee Or would Quakers take such an answer from their People when they have been speaking to them from the mouth of the Lord And yet that lewd Wretch is so bold and impudent as to tell us that when God Almighty commands his Servants they are no less than Witches and Devils and have familiar conversation with that Fiend that take up a Command from his Scriptures P 5. Fox jun. says You took it from the Letter and never received a Command from God for it As if the Command he received from the Letter had not been from God A Command it seems it was but not from God We wonder then from whom it was it was not sure from the Devil as Burroughs intimated just now when he said He that takes up a command from the Spirit is in the Witchcraft Whitehead speaks of Pen to the same purpose saving No command in P. 22. l. 21. Scripture is any further obliging to any man than he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience otherwise men should be engaged without or against Conviction And again be says against Faldo The reason of our obeying the Scripture P. â— is Conviction Manifestation and drawing of the Light So that of themselves they have no more authority than an AEsop's Fables all the authority they have is from those Convictions and Drawings of the Light within and no man sins in not obeying Scripture Commands till he 's convinc'd he 's bound to obey them so that their Power to oblige us does not arise from the Authority of God that gave them forth but from our Convictions that is they have none till we think they have Sure Mr. Pen forgot himself for elsewhere he tells us 'T is a dangerous Principle and pernicious to true Religion nay Brief Exam. P. 3. printed 1681. see Brief Discovery P. 14. that it was the root of Ranterism to assert nothing was a Duty but what we were persuaded was our Duty We see great Wits have but bad Memories We shall next prove that the Scriptures have authority over us without such a Command Conviction Manifestation within us Thus If there be a sort of men that have sinned grievously in not having obeyed the Precepts of the Gospel which never had these new Revelations Manifestations or Convictions then those Revelations Manifestations and Convictions are not the reasons of Obedience but there have been and yet are many such Ergo. The Minor thus St. Paul before Conversion the Jews the Scribes and Pharisees sinned griâ—vously in not obeying the Precepts of the Gospel tho they had no such Revelations Manifestations and Convictions Ergo. 1. The Scribes and Pharisees sinned it 's evident how many Woes are denounced against them for their Unbelief And that St. Paul sinned 't is as evident how many bloody Crimes is he charged with He breathed out Threatnings Acts 9. 1 4. and Slaughter against the Church and says Christ Saul said why persecutest thou me See how he charges himself I was a Blasphemer Persecâ—â—â— 1 Tim. 1. 13 14. injurious 2. That they had no such Revelations Manifestations or Convictions is as evident That the Jews Scribes and Pharisees knew not it was their Duty to embrace that new
consistent with the Doctrine of antient Friends and agreeable to the Witness of God in them and that all this while here 's not the least mention of the Scripture The reason of Submission to the Doctrine of their Church is it seems its consistency with the Doctrine of antient Friends and the Witness of God in them The Judgment of antient Friends and a whimsical Witness called the Light within fetch'd from Terra incognita must be set upon the Bench and authoritatively judg and determine all and the Scriptures must be turned out of office for some disservice sure they have done the Quakers Accordingly Keith was sentenced as an Heretick not from Scripture but from Friends Books So Jennings told him to his Face He was not to prove his Heresy from Scripture but from Friends Books and the question was not now who was the best Christian but who the best Quaker and therefore they produced a Book of W. Pen's instead of Scripture to prove Keith an Heretick and no Christian And indeed it would be a hard task to prove a Quaker to be a Christian if they had not somewhat else to prove it by than Scripture See G. Keith's Heresy and Hatred printed at Philadelphia 1693. The Truth of this Story Whitehead only questions he dares not deny p. 24. l. 6. Now George is all this nothing to the purpose as thou pretendest Do not all the Protestant World but our newly espoused ones and the Papists resolve their Faith into the Authority of God in the Holy Scriptures and not into the Authority of a Montanus and his Paâ—â—clete or the Roman Pope with his Council or Cardinals or his Holy Ghâ—st he could send about in a Male or the Authority of our English Pope Fox with his Pigeon whispering Divine Doctrines in his Ear like another Mahomet This was a deadly Blow at the Head of thee George tho thou cunningly dissemblest it Thou wert loth any one should take notice of thy broken Pate CHAP. VIII Of the Person of CHRIST BRief Discovery p. 12. l. 10. charges Fox in Saul's Errand c. p. 14. for saying Christ is the Substance of all Figures and his Flesh is a Figure and in Truth defending Quakers p. 20 22. Christ's coming in the Flesh is but a Figure To this Whitehead p. 24. l. 33. They mean by Figure an Example The same says Father Fox Saul's Errand p. 8. He is the Example and Figure which are both one Whitehead proves it because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek frequently signifies Example But George what sense is here The coming of Christ was an example tho it be good enough Christ come in the Flesh is so Again what if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek signify Figure and Example must Figure in English signify so too What if Liber in Latin signify a Child and a Book must a Child in English signify a Book too Did ever any understand by the English word Child to be meant a Book or by the English word Figure to be meant a Pattern Had he said Christ's coming in the Flesh was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it might have been understood to have meant Example because that word is often interpreted so but the word Figure never George why shouldst thou thus dodg and shuffle with us for once be so ingenuous as to own your antient Testimony or openly disown it That Christ's Flesh is a Figure of Christ within So Hubberthorn and also Fox Saul ' s Errand p. 14. and Pen in his Rejoinder p. 336. says Those Transactions of Christ were as so many facile Representations of what is to be accomplish'd Truth desending Quakers p. 20. in Man And Whitehead himself learnedly proves it because Christ was transfigured which could not possibly have been as he argues with great Quaker Subtilty if he had not been a Figure He says again Men need not be directed Light and Life p. 8. to the Type for the Antitype nor yet to Jerusalem either to Jesus Christ or his Blood where our Jerusalem Christ is but a Type And what could he be the Figure or a Type of but a Christ within as W. Pen above plainly And Whitehead cannot name any thing else but their Christ within to be the Antitype and so all that Christ did and suffered must be a Figure of what is done within the Shadows of the Law that typified Christ were but Shadows of Shadows See further for this purpose G. Keiâ—h ' s 4th Narraâ— p. 41 42 43 44 45. and Figures of Figures and the Person of Christ his living and dying at Jerusalem were no benefit to us but as they figured and typified this Christ within He taught as a Figure died and rose again and sits at the Right Hand of God as a Figure And thus by making Christ without a Figure they have made him a very Cypher Well but tho Whitehead owns Christ's Flesh to be a Figure he storms at it p. 24. l. 25. when we affirm that he should say Christ's Flesh is but a Figure George we have not that Book at present by us we 'll let that go as it will we are sure W. Pen speaks plain enough in his Sandy Foundation p. 26. Christ is but our Example And again ibid. He 's but our Pattern And Whitehead owns Figure and Pattern are the same thing viz. synonymous p. 24. l. 33. But thou mayest say this is by consequence only because Pen says but an Example therefore he must say but a Figure Tho this consequence sufficiently affects G. Whitehead who says Figure and Pattern are all one yet see a little further Pen says plainly Câ—râ—stian Quaker p. 97. The Paschal Lamb was not the Figure or Type of the outward Christ but of the Light within of which Christ himself was but a Figure Whitehead doth not deny Truth and In 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. â—4 l. â— but Pen hath the very word but there he only denies that was the Quakers Doctrine or that it was his But George was not this also the Doctrine of Hubberthorn and didst not thou stoutly defend the same in Truth defending Quakers as the Gag for Quakers p. 67. l. 8. charges thee to have done And is not that an owning of what Hubberthorn asserted That Christ is but a Figure But to compound the matter supposing the word but be not in thy Truth defending Quakers if thou wilt confess those Expressions of Pen and Hubberthorn were blasphemous we will ask thee pardon for the Mistake contenting our selves to have proved that you have owned him oft to be a Figure of Christ within without the word but for then he must be either the Figure of himself or of another Christ within or only of some Graces and Influences Christ sheds in our Hearts which are figuratively Christ All which are Absurdities too gross for any but a Quaker that would also advance Christ within to be that Principal and render Christ without as a Shadow only Brief Discovery p.
Part II. p. 108. Burroughs calls our Christ we pray to an Idol God and a dead God * Sword of the Lord drawn p. 5. Atkinson an Imaginary God and a Carnal Christ and Lawson as Cassin charges him p. 36. tells us That the Lord Jesus whom we profess is accursed Fox quotes the very Page of Cassin in his Great Mystery p. 142. and answers it but denies nothing of this Charge That he should say our Jesus is accursed And yet the Jesus whom we 1 Cor. 1. 2 3. worship is that Jesus whom all the Christians in the World and all the Angels of God worship The Apostle saith Such an one speaketh not by the Spirit of God that calleth Jesus accursed Vox faucibus haeret Our Pens are ready to drop out of our Hands while we are only repeating this Blasphemy Whenever the Devil hath one too big for his own Mouth for fear of choaking he hath ever some Quaker or other who never keck at it tho never so great an one to mouth it for him Great God to suffer such Venom to be spit upon thee by such a speckled Creature for such an one to curse our King and our God and yet look up and not to be struck dumb at the uttering of such a Blasphemy The Impunity of such a monstrous Villany if we had doubted of it before were alone enough to convince us there must be a Judgment to come CHAP. IX Of WATER BAPTISM BRief Discovery p. 13. charges them with blaspheming the Ordinances of Christ Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Smith says 1 Primmer p. 6. Our Baptism Bread and Wine are the Pope's Invention Pen says 2 Reason against Raiâ—ing p. 108. 109. Water Baptism is no more in force than Circumcision Fox says 3 P. 4. Our Baptism and Sacraments are Cain's Sacrifice Fox says 4 News come out of the North p. 1â— Your Baptism is carnal and their Communion is carnal Whitehead says 5 P. 26. l. 12. in his Answer Your Water Bread and Wine is carnal Thou hast indeed George a notable art in giving answers nothing to the purpose for the Authors before cited say Our Baptism our Sacraments our Communion are carnal and Cain's Sacrifice and invented by the Pope Now Water and Bread and Wine are not those but the outward part of them which with the inward and spiritual Grace make up the Sacraments and hence they are not carnal but a spiritual Ordinance He tells us again that Will. Smith says only that Infant Baptism was of the Pope's Invention Good Reader see the Primmer as above quoted The Child's Question was not concerning Insant-Baptism but how it was concerning Baptism Bread and Wine Why Child says the Father as to those things those things sure were the things in question they arose from the Pope We matter not what he says afterwards 't is that place we charge with blaspheming Water-Baptism an Ordinance of Christ Whitehead justifies Pen for saying Water-baptism is no more in force than P. 27. l. 3. Circumcision he tells us 't is to be rejected because it is shadowy and of a perishing nature he knows we do not hold that Water Bread and Wine are our Sacraments what then if they perish as long as the thing signified which is the best part of the Sacrament does not so By such an Argument we might prove the Passover must presently have been abolished for the Lamb was a perishing Creature to be slain and eaten up immediately but sure there was somewhat signified by it that lasted a little longer even till the coming of Christ in the Flesh as the thing signified by the Elements of our Sacraments will abide till Christ's coming to Judgment In fine one says Baptism and our Sacraments are carnal Cain's Sacrifice Another says Baptism and our Sacraments were from the Pope Another they are no more in force than Circumcision and therefore to be laid aside Our business therefore shall be next to prove they are Ordinances of Christ and the neglect of them is a contempt of an Ordinance of Christ and their scurrilous Reflections upon them a blaspheming Christ's Ordinances and because Water-baptism is a Sacrament they raise most and their chiefest Arguments against we shall speak to that first We know the Cry is Give us plain express Scripture for Water-Baptism Nothing will pass with them for Scripture proof but what 's express John Stubs in his Epistle before Whitehead's Divinity of Christ hath these words Do the Scriptures speak of three Persons in the Godhead in these express words let us see where it is written come do not shuffle give us plain Scripture let us see in what Chapter is printed Abstract Relative and Concrete while it 's evident enough that Scripture-Consequences are as good proof as express Texts of Scripture Do you think the Lord Jesus knew how to dispute with the Sadduces and prove a Doctrine out of Scripture Prove if thou canst say those Cavillers the Resurrection of the Dead from Scriptures Christ presently proves it out of Exod. 3. 5 6. as we find Mat. 22. 32. where his medium is God's saying I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. If some of thy Brethren had been by and heard our Saviour offer such an Argument out of Scripture to prove the Resurrection would not they have retorted briskly Good Sir what 's this to the Resurrection give us plain Texts of Scripture that the Dead shall rise again would not they have presently given it out tho the Sadduces we find had more modesty how shamefully they had run down and baffled our Saviour and that he had not a word to say for himself not one word of Scripture to confute them with because he brought nothing but Scripture consequences against them We would know what express Scripture you have for your Negative as well as for several other Doctrines that Water-Baptism is not an Institution of Christ and yet 't is a Doctrine that Quakers believe to be Divine which yet they only endeavour to prove by Scripture-consequence tho horridly forced and strained Now let us see whether we can offer better to prove our Water-Baptism 1 st The first Scriptures for we shall here give you two together are John 3. 26. They came to John and said to him Rabbi he that was with thee beyond Jordan to whom thou bearest Witness behold the same baptizeth and all Men come to him And John 4. 1 2. The Pharisees heard how that Jesus made and baptized more Disciples than John tho Jesus himself baptized none but his Disciples Here we see Water-Baptism was instituted by Christ long before his Death to be an initiating Ceremony whereby Jewish Converts were admitted into the Society of Christians so that we find our selves obliged to prove these four things 1. That it was Water-Baptism that was spoken of in these Texts 2. That hereby Christ admitted Converts into his Society 3. That they were only Jewish Converts
and the same end to make Disciples from what he had appointed before to make Disciples by had he intended so he would certainly have given some caution being about to institute a Baptism of another kind lest we should mistake this new and more glorious Baptism of the Spirit to be no more than that other elementary one he had commanded before and they had been used to to that very hour He repeats the Command again because the first Commission would not serve his purpose seeing he was to ampliate and inlarge the Terms having just now laid down his Life for all the Nations of the World he puts a Clause into their Commission now to instruct all Nations in the Rudiments of his new Religion and then baptize them that they may be the more capable of the benefit of his Sufferings 3 ly The next Text proving Water-Baptism to be instituted of Christ is Act. 10. 47. Can any one forbid Water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we Here are several Arguments to prove Water-Baptism was an Institution of Christ 1. The Holy Ghost was received before as preparatory to this Baptism so that the Baptism in the Text could not be the Baptism of the Holy Ghost therefore of Water 2. Can any one forbid it If any of these Gentlemen had been present would he not have started up immediately Can any one forbid Good Sir tell us who ever commanded us when or where were we bidden to dabble the Disciples with a little Popiâ—h Holy-Water you an Apostle of Christ and peremptorily inforce things upon the Disciples that are not now in force as our dear Brother W. Pen hath testified to offer up such a carnal Cainitical Sacrifice to God and tell People 't is an Ordinance of Christ behold we stand up here in the Power and the Spirit of the Lord God to witness against thee And we know not what St. Peter could better have replied to them than St. Paul once said to the Corinthians What I have received of the Lord I have delivered unto you and it being a Command of our Lord and Master you are impudent Servants to forbid it if the practice had been nothing but an exercise of Liberty and pure Condescension as W. Pen P. 127. l. 20. says in his Reply to the Answer to his Key if it had not been settled by Authority 3. St. Peter issues out an Authoritative Command that they should be baptized v. 28. he commanded them to be baptized The imposing such a Command upon the Disciples would have been an usurpation upon their Christian Liberty as the practice of it would have been superstitious enough if he had not had Divine Authority for his Warrant 4. He commands them to be baptized not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in Matth. 28. 19. and Acts 19. 5. but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is by the Authority of Jesus and the Holy Ghost by varying the Expression here from that in those Texts seems purposely to countenance this Interpretation to command a thing to be done in the Name of a Person was ever thought to be by his Authority 1 Cor. 5. 4 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have judged in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ when you are gathered together and my Spirit with the Power of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver c. In the Name and in the Power and Authority are here all one 4 ly Another Text is Acts 22. 16. Ananias said to Paul Arise why tarriest thou and be baptized for c. Ananiâ—s leaves it not here to Paul as a matter of Liberty or Condescension to the Jews here 's a peremptory Command as in the foregoing Citation Arise and be baptized and that quickly too why tarriest thou And this must be Water-Baptism for he must arise and put himself into a posture to go to some place of conveniency as a Brook or River to be baptized in and not tarry in the least he should not need to have got up and travelled in such haste for the Holy Ghost who is not limited to any place or time Again this was a Baptism he had in his own Power as that was in the Power of the Disciples in the former Citation or else they would not have been commanded to have been baptized it had been both a folly and injustice to command them what they had no power to do now the Baptism of the Holy Ghost was not in their Power they could not give themselves that Baptism nor St. Peter nor Ananias neither and if it had been the Baptism of the Holy Ghost that was spoken of in this Text it had been a more proper method for St. Peter Ananias St. Paul and the Disciples to have fallen upon their knees to God and have prayed that he would bestow that heavenly Gift upon them rather than bid them be baptized and take it themselves as Peter and John had done Acts 8. 15 16. they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost 5 ly Another Text is John 3. 3 5. Except a Man be born again of Water and the Holy Ghost c. Whatever be the sense of being born again we are sure that Water is Water and not the same in this place with the Spirit of God if it were so the words would have this ridiculous sense Except a Man be born again of the Spirit and the Spirit further if they were the same thing a Copulative were needless which ever uses to join two different things together and not the same thing to it self and if it be Water-Baptism it must be of Christ besides there would never have been affixt such a Reward to it if it had not been a Duty 2. We have a great many Scripture-Instances for the Practice of Water-Baptism besides those before named sure they will not say but that the Apostles baptized as Christ commanded them in Jâ—h 4. and Maâ—ih 28. 1. The first Scripture is 1 Cor. 1. 14. Crispus and Gaiuâ— were baptized with Water for St. Paul would not have thanked God he baptized so few of them with the Holy Ghost and those many other Corinthians Acts 18. 8. can't be supposed to have been baptized any otherwise than those their Fellow Citizens 2. The second Scripture is Act. 19. 3 5. Unto what were ye baptized He does not ask whether they were baptized with Water he did not doubt of that noâ— by what but unto what They answer Unto John's Baptism As soon as they were better instructed they were baptized agen into another and better Service into the Name of the Lord Jesus by such Water as they had been baptized with before For he scâ—upled not the Water they had been baptized with but only asks into what Discipline or Society John's or Christ's 3. The third Text is Acts 8. 38. the Eunuch was baptized with Water for Philip and the Eunuch went both down into the Water In the same
Chapter v. 1â— Simon himself believ'd viz. seemed to do so and he was baptized too they will not say sure such a Wizard as he was baptized with the Holy Ghost In ver 1â— 16. he prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost for as yet he was fallen upon none of them only they were baâ—tâ—â—ed into the Name of the Lord Jesus We think we shall not need to prove that Water Baptism hath been the Practice of the whole Christian World to this day 't is sufficient we have shewn several Commands out of Scripture for Water-Baptism and also several Instances wherein it hath been practised in the Apostles times but not one single Instance can we give in the Scripture where it s said Go and baptize or be baptized with the Holy Ghost not one Text where the Baptism practised in Scripture is called the Baptism of the Holy Ghost It would have been a very gracious Condescension to our Weakness if by the Baptism of Water so often mentioned in Holy Scripture there had been nothing meant but the Baptism of the Holy Ghost to have delivered it to us in more plain and express Terms and called it in some place or other the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and told us 't was not Water-Baptism was commanded or practised since we poor ignorant Creatures are so apt to take Water for Water and a Command for a Command and had always been accustomed to that of Water Besides such a continued Chain of Practices from Christ's Ascension to this day must needs inser either Christ's Institution or their gross Superstition We have shewn before that this Baptism was not John's and if the Apostles were the Authors and Beginners of such a Practice we would be glad to know whether it were in their own wills or no whether they had a Revelation and Command in themselves from the Spirit of Christ within Edw. Burrows says For you to go P. 47. without the moving of the Spirit in your own wills and strength God hares this and upon this is his wrath And Whitehead says To baptize preach and pray P. 22. l. â— they that perform these Acts in their own wills without the moving the Spirit they are not accepted therein but rejected of God We hope they will not say that the apostles baptized in their own wâ—lls and it was but a carnal Câ—â—nitical popish Sacrifice they offered herein If they had not a Command in themselves supposing they had had none from without they were Will-worshippers and if they had they must have it from Christ Again here was such a Privilege annext to this Water-Baptism Regeneration Remission of Sins Titus 3. 5. Joh. 3. 2 5. Acts 2. 38. and 22. 16. as proves it to be more than the dabbling the Face with a little common Water as they profanely scoff a Privilege cou'd never have been joined to it but by Christ's Authority Again however it might have been practised in compliance it could not have been imposed upon the Churches by Command he commanded them to be baptized of any Authority less than Christ's without great Superstition Further we prove that all the Scripture Instances can't be meant of Baptism with the Holy Ghost because Baptism with the Holy Ghost in some measure was always preparative to that Baptism no doubt there were further improvements of the Measures afterwards that were the Gifts of the Holy Ghost accompanying Water Baptism and they were to expect the Holy Ghost in the falled and most ample measure after Christ's 〈◊〉 some measure of the Holy Ghost was always required to sit and 〈◊〉 Men for it And when it is said Acts 8. 16. as yet be was fallen upon none of them it can't be meant the Holy Ghost was not come upon any of them in any measure at all before the Quakers themselves will not say so sure who tell us the Light and the Spirit are in every one that was evidently spoken as appears in the 2 Uses following of the Gift of Miracles that Simon so ambitiously affected See Act 8 12 〈◊〉 they believed they were baptized 37. If thou believest with all thine heart Acts 2. 41. Tâ—â—y that gladly received the Word were baptized Act. 16. 14 15. Lydia as soon as her heart was opened was baptized 33. The laylor and his whole House as soon as converted were baptized streightway all this could not be without some previous Gift of the Holy Ghost to them to put all out of doubt See Acts 10. 47. Can any forbid Water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we Farther Baptism was appointed as a means whereby the inward Baptism of the Holy Ghost was given and therefore the Scripture-Baptisn was not the Baptism of the Holy Ghost Acts 2. 38. Be baptized and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost as also Fphes 5. 26. that he might saâ—ctifie and cleanse it with the washing of Water c. and Joh. 3. 5. Farther Water Baptism was appointed by Christ as an initiating Sign whereby Believers were to be admitted into Christ's visible Church and no Man can be admitted into a visible Society by a Sign that is invisible as Baptism with the Holy Ghost is By Baptism we list our selves into Christ's Company take the Milâ—ary wath of Fidelity to him and being baptized we are reckoned Christ's Soldiers and Seâ—vâ—â—â—s Joh. 4 1. He baptized and made Disciples made them visible Disciples by baptizing them which could not be by Baptism with the Holy Ghost which is altogether secret and invisible the â—fâ—e as sâ—on as ever Men were converted they were baptized Acts 22. 16. Why tarâ—â—est thou c. So Lydia as soon as her heart was opened Acts 16. 14 15 so he Jailor ver â—3 〈◊〉 Baptism was the outward Sign Mark oâ— Character appointed by Christ whereby the Sâ—câ—eâ—y of Christians are known and distinguished from all other Societies in the World It were strange if any Society should be distinguished and known from an their by that which is invisible as Baptism with the Holy Ghost is 1. 'T is evident the Church must be a visible Society being a City upon an Hill Matih 5. 14 The Quakers themselves are a Society distinguished by some Marks and Characters oâ— how should we kâ—â—w who were of the Quaker Church and who not Thâ—y have their Marks I say but far from Christ's Appointment they are yeaing and â—â—ying and loudly decrying the outward visible Marks of Châ—â—â—â—s Institution The Disciples of Moses as they were distinguished by their Circumcision and therefore they were called by Horace Curti Judaei so by their Baptism and John's Disciples by their Baptism and Christ's by his This was the Badge and â—â—very the Christians wore to let the World know whose Servants they were and that they were not ashamed of their poor Master that gave it them therefore when they were baptized they were said to put on Christ Gal 3. 17 and when
Divine Prophetical Influx and Inspiration when there 's all the evidence imaginable that the Father of Lyes and not the God of Truth was the Author of these spurious Prophesies that by the false he might derive a suspicion upon the true ones or abuse the Minds of Men with vain Hopes or panick Fears Oh let not any of us who own our Saviour for our Prophet receive the Devil for our Oracle if we be sick or weary of things present shall we resort to the God of Ekron by attending to any Prophecy of his incitation for Quiet and Resolution Can the Devil be thought able to answer any Questions concerning things to come Isai 41. 23. Chap. 44. 7. Or is he willing if able to do it with any fair and single Intentions Have the Beams of the Sun of Righteousness put out all the Fires on his Altars Have the Glory and Power of the Divine Oracles and Miracles spoiled his great Trade of Lying Oracles and Wonders and shall our Credulity and Vanity encourage him to drive this secret and little Trade of Prophesies The particular advice God gavethe People by Jeremiah in a like Case deserves now Jer. 27. 9. to be recommended to them Hearken not to your Prophets nor to your Diviners nor to your Dreamers for they prophesie a Lye unto you And 't is worth our Consideration that those who in these last Ages have pretended to them are Men either extremely Ignorant or very Vicious or strangely Fanciful or Hypocondriacal for Men that are best disposed by their great Wisdom and Holiness as also by the Evenness and Serenity of their Tempers to receive these influences of the Holy Spirit do neither feel nor desire them whilst they consider those vehement Transports Consternations Tremors Enigmatical Visions must create great uneasiness to them which the faculties of those Holy Men who were actuated by the Spirit in order to Prophecy most frequently underwent thereby which makes them value it as a happiness that God hath delivered us to the Conduct of that sure word of Prophecy the Holy Scriptures and the Dictates of clear and renewed Reason But to return to the Quotation out of Burroughs George Whitehead to excuse him tells us p. 29. That what Prophesies are for Christ's Kingdom they must own viz. that he shall rule the Nations and in the midst of his Enemies and that the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdoms of God and his Christ which says he the Holy Scriptures do expresly warrant and testifie But how idle and impertinent is this when he knows none of us Priests or People of the Church of England who do not own the Scripture-Prophesies concerning the Kingdom of Christ or the Government of the Lamb whenas we assert them in a great measure fulfilled already since so many Earthly Kings have willingly submitted to the Spiritual Government of our Lord acknowledging his Scepter above theirs and yielding themselves freely to be his Subjects yea counting it a greater honour to be Membra Ecclesiâ— Members of his Body than Capita Imperii Emperors of the World but we never read that the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ should be so troublesom to Earthly ones as to extirpate and overturn them or that the Scepter of the Lord Jesus should like Aaron's Rod swallow up the Scepters of all Earthly Princes as Burroughs asserts But now George if thy fright be over let us survey the other part of the Quotation There shall be no King ruling but Jesus nor no Government of Force but the Government of the Lamb nor no Law of effect but the Law of God Canting words that signifie nothing but to inspire People with a disgust of the Government if it does not set up Quakers in Authority over the rest But pray resolve us did not Christ reign whilst Constantine Theodosius Justinian and other Godly Kings and Emperors ruled who were Nursing Fathers to the Church and brought their Glory and Honour into it who sway'd their Scepters in Sub-ordination to their Saviour and exercised their Authority for the promoting his Religion and now could he truly say in opposition to such there should be no King ruling but Jesus nor no Government of Force but the Government c. since all that which was otherwise viz. the Heathen Persecuting Power was by the means of Constantine ground to Powder and why might not Jesus be said to reign when K. Ch. II. came to the Crown who professed his Religion restored his Church to her pristine Glory and own'd himself a Member thereof let George Whitehead tell us in good earnest whether he thinks with his Brother Burroughs that there ought to be no other Government in the World but that of Jesus and we urge it the rather because the Letter our Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ was pleased to own another Government to which he himself paid Tribute and Obedience and disclaim'd all Temporal Authority saying My Kingdom is not of this World and therein taught his Disciples and Followers what to do even to submit to those Rulers in whose Dominions they are born and live and not withdraw their Obedience out of pretence that they are Subjects to him as Burroughs does in the following part of the Quotation As for this People the Quakers they are raised of the Lord and established by him even contrary to all Men and they have given their Power only to God and they cannot give their Power to any Mortal Men to stand or fall by any outward Authority Words not only Seditious but direct Treason against the Government of any Kingdom as if it were in the Power of any Natural-born Subject under the pretence of being a Christian to withdraw his Allegiance from his lawful Prince contrary to the Doctrine both of St. Peter and St. Paul 1 Pet. 2. 13 14 15 16 17. Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether to the King or to Governours sent by him for so is the will of God the wâ—iâ—h well-doing i. e. with the constant practise of Obedience to them ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free but not using the liberty for a cloak of maliciousness as redeemed by Christ but not making that a pretence for disobedience to the Magistrate that because you have given up your Names to Christ you cannot give your Power to any Mortal Man to the service of the King or Government but as the Servants of God Honour all men love the brotherhood fear God honour the King Thus St. Paul exhorts the Roman Christians Let every Soul be subject to the higher powers which Rom. 13. 1. how can they be if they withdraw their Obedience and Assistance when call'd for and say they cannot give their Power to any Mortal Man to stand or fall by any outward Authority when as the same Apostle adds speaking to the Christians Ye must needs be subject not only for wrath for fear of the Magistrate's Power but
Corruptions of Kings are spiritual Egyptians Deliver us from such trifling 't is both a tiresom and useless Imploy to be engag'd in pursuing and catching Flies We come now to George Fox Jun. who vented as much Rancour against chusiug Members of Parliament by the Voices of his People as his Talent enabled him and yet endeavoured to be vindicated by his Brother Whitehead Pag. 32 33. A Parliament chosen by the Voices of the People are not saith he like to govern for God or the good of his People no doubt he knew a much better way that none but Quakers should come to the Poll and this he spoke from the Mouth of the Lord too for this that I declare to you the Lord by his Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding opened in me This Method of See the Brief Discovery p. 17. the Peoples chusing their Representatives by a Majority of Voices was you see infinitely displeasing to God if we believe Fox tho nothing seems more reasonable to us than that they who act in our stead and name should be chosen by us But besides particular Revelation from God touching this The Scriptures he tells are point blank against our English Usage herein and if you will says he believe them then may vou see that a Parliament chosen by most Voices are not like to act for God or the good of his People Well let 's hear what the Scriptures say herein he names three The first is John 15. 19. If ye were of the World the World would love his own but because ye are not of the World but I have chosen you out of the World to be sure these Words because ye are not of the World c. refer particularly to the Quakers they are not of the World but chosen out of the World therefore the World hateth you In our Saviours ' Days the World was made up of Jews and Gentiles who soon shew themselves most bitter Enemies to the Christians but is England made up of such do these chuse Parliamen-men for us no doubt then Christianity wou'd soon be decreed against and Judaism or Heathenism by Law be established But what does this make against us when the whole Kingdom owns the Christian Religion and none are chosen but the Professors thereof Is he not a rare Prophet to this Nation as he stiles himself thus to interpret the Scripture to them His next place is Matt. 7. 13. Wide is the Gate and broad is the Way that leadeth to Destruction and many there be which go in thereat This we are sure is wide enough from the thing 't is quoted for and if we come not nearer in the last we must get a Quakers Translation of the Bible to find something for their turn Rom. 9. 27. is his other place Tho the Number of the Children of Israel be as the Sand of the Sea a Remnant shall be saved He that can read here that a Parliament chosen by most Voices cannot act for God and the good of his People must look through a Glass unknown to all Interpreters since the Apostle's Days to the time of the Quakers Most prodigious Boldness to father all this stuff upon the Spirit of the God and the holy Scriptures and make the World believe that this wise Constitution of our Ancestors in electing Members by the Voices of the People was condemn'd by them he had a mind no doubt the Army should interpose and hinder the Commons from their free Election for to them in particular did he direct his Message But we cannot but remark the Wariness and Wisdom of George Whitehead in this particular who tho he would willingly speak a good word for his Friend for certainly Pag. 33. George Fox Jun. says he had an honest intent in what he wrote of this Subject yet thinks not fit to go too far in this Matter Pray observe says he That I do not in the least design to oppose the People's fair and lawful Elections according to the true and just Intention and Constitution of Parliaments No truly George thou did'st therein very wisely for that is a nice Point and dangerous to touch much upon at least at present 't is too early a day to promote such a design as yet we must be quiet till the blessed time of our raign is come and then we 'll damn all the ungodly Priviledges which the wicked call People's Birthrights and make as great havock of their Charters as was done in the late Reign we 'll closet every Man of them and make them promise to give their Votes for our Light within that we may have a Parliament to govern for God Thou wer't more plain and ingenuous with us George p. 64. Where thou sayest Thou would'st not be understood in any-wise to oppose the People's legal and just Rights to Elections No George whatever thy meaning and intention be we know thou would'st not be understood so whatever Faux and Catesby designed against the Government yet good Men they would not be understood to have designed any such thing such a design is to be a Dark-Lanthorn Business If thou wouldest not be understood thou mightest even have kept it to thy self and not so foolishly have opened thy very Heart to us in justifying thy Brother Fox who so not oriously opposes the Peoples choice But how then can'st thou vindicate thy dear Brother who positively asserts that a Parliament chosen by the Voices of the People is not like to govern for God or the good of his People if not then to be sure he wou'd have them chosen some other way Nay says he The chusing of Parliament-men according to the Custom of England which is called its Birthright stands in respect of Persons and not in Equality Oh! this is a very unequal and unjust way of chusing Parliament-men And we see says he The People have been in great blindness in contending for Parliaments so chosen a blind buzzardly People that will be always contending for this way and not let the Saints chuse alone who only have right to do it I must deal plainly with you says he and we think very unmannerly too but according to the Quaker's guise in the sight of God who has made me a Prophet to this Nation This was rare and delicious indeed fit for the season 't was written in when there was no King in Israel and so every Man wrote and said what was right in his own Eyes But now it may be dangerous to speak it over again and therefore says George Whitehead pray observe That tho I wou'd help our Friend at a dead lift I do not in the least design to oppose the Peoples fair and lawful Elections according to the true and just Intention and Constitution of Parliaments No we now pretend great Honour to Parliaments thus chosen tho our Brother George Fox â—ail'd against it in his Days as intollerable And we reprinted his Book to keep up his Testimony against this way of