to live in their native Country as their Brethren the ancient Christians were in Ages and Generations past I say as they suffer for Righteousness sake in Conscience to God not as Evil doers they shall have the Answer of a good Conscience and enjoy the Presence of the Lord which is better then Life and all those things you threaten to deprive them of and they shall live the Life and dye the Death of the Righteous and enter in and inherit the Crown of Life when you that are of a bitter spirit a persecuting envious spirit against your Neighbours who have done you no Wrong and yet profess Christ and Christianity shall see your selves shut out and when trouble anguish sorrow pain perplexity of spirit and horror of conscience shall attend you in your Houses and upon your Beds for the Hand of God will lie heavy upon the Evil-doer and Cruel Men and Vengeance is the Lord's and he will repay it and to him they can commit their Cause and appeal to for Justice seeing their Importunity though like the poor Widow's to the Unjust Judge cannot prevail with men They are known viz. the people called Quakers to be a quiet peaceable people among their Neighbours in all parishes Towns Cities and Countries where they dwell throughout England and great Observers and Honourers of the End of Magistracy and true Christian-Government which is a praise to them that do well and a terror to them that do evil and are true Subjects to the King and obedient to all the good and wholsom Laws of their native Country which tend to preserve men Liberties Properties Persons and Estates not for fear of Punishment but for Conscience sake and they are ready to obey every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake in all things relating to the Things of a Man giving Caesar his due and readily paying all Rates and Taxes that tend to the Good and Service and Preservation of their Neighbours and Country-men which is proper for any Christian men to do but in things relating to God and his Worship and Conscience they cannot endure to be imposed upon they rather chuse to obey God then Man in all such Matters and rather chuse to suffer the spoiling of their Goods imprisonment of their Bodies and give up their Lives also then submit to the Wills and Commands of men in Matters of Religion Church and Worship contrary to their Consciences and the perswasions of the Spirit of God in their own Hearts knowing it is a grievous thing to fall into the Hands of the living God and to sin against Light and Knowledge for fear of suffering therein they would not only be like the Common Sinners of the Times but worse who in their common Service daily confess They do that which they should not do and leave undone that which they should do who confess they have no Health in them but are full of putrified Sores from the crown of the Head to the sole of the Foot I say they would be worse then these if worse can be and would be Abomination in the sight of the Lord and a Stink in his Nostrils and his Righteous Soul would be vexed with them from day to day and they would not enjoy the Light of his Countenance which to them is better then the encrease of Corn Wine and Oyl They can say and that truly in the sight of God That they desire the good of all men and have Love and Good-wil to all their Neighbours and country-men and can truly pray for their enemies though they use them despightfully and do desire they may see the evil of their wayes and repent that they may enjoy Blessings and Peace temporal and eternal And if any thing to the contrary as Evil Thoughts Evil Will Prejudice or Enmity arise in them or among them against any they judge it with the Light and Spirit of God as an Evil inconsistent with their Profession of Christianity and directly contrary to the Life and Nature thereof for they have do declare own it their duty to live walk according to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and to know the same written in their Hearts and this Law was the Guide of Man-kind before Sin entred the World before outward Laws were written in Tables of Stone or in a Book And those that are led by this Law of the Spirit of Life are the righteous Men and righteous Women against whom there is no Law being living Witnesses of its power and vertue making them free from that and giving them Victory and Dominion over that because of which the outward Law was added viz. Sin And these own all good Laws outwardly and will not transgress against them And the Law as saith Paul Is not made for the Righteous but for the Wicked 1 Tim. 1.9 10. or Lawless and Disobedient for the Vngodly and for Sinners for Vnholy and prophane for murtherers of Fathers and murtherers of Mothers for man-slayers for Whoremongers for them that defile themselves with mankind for men-stealers for Lyars for perjured Persons and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound Doctrine c. And whoever talks and professes the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and lives under the power of Sin and Death or continues in evil-doing they are no true Subjects to it nor lovers of it nor walkers in it but a shame and a Scandal to the Christian Religion and Strangers and Alians from the Common-Wealth of Israel and the Law of Sin and Death rules in their Minds and Members and leads them Captive into Evil and these are in great Bondage to the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life And these are the Children of disobedience in whose Hearts the Prince of the Air the Prince of Darkness Rules and leads them to Envy Hate and Persecute their Neighbours about Religion which was never the work of a true Christian For he that hateth his Brother is a man-slayer 1 John 3.15 He that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 John 4.20 Be Serious consider your Work and Condition and see how you stand in the sight of God and mind God's witness in your own Consciences and hearken to the Voice thereof and it will Infallibly inform and shew you whether the Spirit of Christ and Christianity which is the Spirit of Meckness Gentleness Kindness and Brotherly love rules in your Hearts or the contrary and the Voice of this whether it be with you or against you is as a Thousand Witnesses and all that sleight and disregard its Voice and stop their Ears at the Reproof thereof while the day of their Visitation lasts Time will come upon them and the Night will overtake them wherein they shall hear its Voice whether they will or no and be judged according thereto Conscience is compared to a Book and the
A BRIEF NARRATIVE Of the Proceedings of Doctor Parr And some of the Parishioners of Mary Magdalen-Bermonsey in the County of SURREY Against certain People called Quakers Inhabitants of the said Parish for not Paying and Complying with an Illegal Tax laid under pretence of Repairing their Church Shewing how some of the said people did endeavour as of right belongeth to every English man to defend themselves from the Rigor and Cruelty of the Ecclesiastical Courts about the same by seeking to gain a Prohibition to stop the Proceedings in the Bishop's Court and to bring their Unreasonble Illegal Imposition of 1800 l. upon the said Parish to tryal at Common Law and by what Means they have been prevented therein Also an EXHORTORY REPREHENSION upon the whole Published to prevent a Misunderstanding concerning the said people who are and may be more presented as that they in Enmity Stubbornness and Self-willedness have refused to pay towards the said Rate and occasioned a Charge to the said Parish Whereas in Truth the Cause of their endeavour to defend themselves was to keep their Consciences void of Offence to God and Men To God in not yielding to Repair an Idols Temple for so they believe it to be To Men in that their Proceeds therein were contrary to all the known Law in being And having done their endeavour in trying the Courts of Judicature and finding Iniquity in the place of Judgment and the Cause of the Poor sleighted they are clear in their Consciences and can leave their Cause to God and lie down in Peace and Good Will to all men But the gnawing Worm that never dyes will fasten upon the Wicked in the Day of Account Eccles 5.15 And moreover I saw under the Sun the Place of Judgment and Iniquity was there and the Place of Righteousness and Wickedness was there Printed in the Year 1677. To the Reader Friend THou mayst understand we live in a Nation whose Laws and constituted Government excels most Nations in the World being very tender and careful in defence of its Inhabitants Liberties Persons Estates and Lives from the Wills and Arbitrary Power of lawless unreasonable Men and every English man hath a Birth right and Inheritance in this Law and it is the Just Interest of every honest man to endeavour to keep up this Standard and Bulwork of Property Lives and Liberties against all that would invade them or attempt to rob and spoil them of either 'T is true there is much Failure and Corruption in the Executive Part of this well framed law and government there is so much Partiality Self-interest and Iniquity got into the Place and Seat of Judgment that many times the clear Stream and Current of Justice and Equity is stopped defiled and corrupted and it 's a very hard thing for a poor man who is oppressed and abused by his Neighbour to get Relief but this is not to be attributed to the Law but to the Abusers and Corrupters of it whose Work is to pervert the End of all good Law and Government which is to be a Terror to the Evil-doers and a Praise to them that do well where-ever this just End is not answered such do not rule nor judge for God let them pretend what they will but are Contemners Despisers and Perverters of the Law of God and all good men In this Case of ours we apprehend our selves Arbitrarily contrary to Law imposed upon by a sort of rash inconsiderate men who have run themselves upon a Work more proper for a Parliament then a Parish and if they had a Reward accordingly they would receive but their desert and it being to do a Work illegal and so ‖ For the Truth of this we may appeal to the Consciences of many of the Inhabitants of Magdalen Parish whether they their Neighbours were not more sober temperate grave and wise and guilty of less sin and Transgression against God and man twenty or thirty years ago then at this time if so then wherein are people profited by the studied Sermons of Hirelings needless and unprofitable to our selves and Neighbours we were willing to stop their Ecclesiastical Proceeds otherwise we should have been passive and silently suffered the weight of the leaden Hands of unholy Church whose Mercies are very Cruelties witness the Popish Inquisitions and cruel Torture and Burnings of conscientious men and the Protestants Goals Whips Stocks Cutting off Ears and Stigmatizing and Hanging also as in New-England upon the account of Church Religion and Worship all which we testifie against as directly contrary to and inconsistent with the Pure Christian Religion and Church of Christ as is signified in short in what follows but is according to the Whore or false Church whose Weapons are carnal and not spiritual who is and hath been since the Apostacy very busie in Christendom in spoiling peoples Goods imprisoning and torturing their Bodies and sometimes killing them also and making her self drunk with the Blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus Now it 's so far from the Nature and Life of the true Church to inflict Corporal Punishments for Spiritual Offences or to hurt any man's Liberty Person and Estate in this World about the things of the World to come as Faith Conscience and Manner of Worship that it is both unnatural and unreasonable for if People do err in their minds and understand things relating to their future Estate amiss and are of an unsound Judgment in the things of God and in matters relating to his Kingdom c. Spiritual-weaponed Men and not Goalers and Executioners of corporal Punishments are to deal with such People and inform and restore them with the Spirit of Love and Meekness if they can according to the Example and Doctrine of Christ Jesus his Apostles and primitive Christians who never used outward Force and Violence or corporal Punishments to compel People to be of their Religion Christianity came not this way into the World neither is it or ever was it upheld or propagated by such means it 's a Gospel of Life and Salvation and brings Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men and the true Ministers of it being endued with Power from on High in the universal Love of God perswaded men to be reconciled to him by turning them from the Darkness within to the Light and Grace of God Within from the Power of Satan within by which their minds were captivated to the Spirit and Power of God within that they might receive Remission of their Sins and Inheritance among them that are sanctified And if people would not receive them into their Houses or build them some Houses to preach this Gospel to them in they were not to call for Fire from Heaven upon them nor send their Bodies to Goal or take away or spoil them of their Earthly Treasures because they would not receive their heavenly Treasures nor own and believe them to be Dispensers and ministers of it let all that pretend themselves
and did and do freely give and they were and are Ministers of the manifold Grace of God But these Hirelings or Preachers for Money have not received freely neither from God nor Man but have purchased their Ministry with Money and are made by Men at Schools and Colledges and are sent and ordained by Men and not by the Lord therefore they did not profit us when we were their Hearers and Disciples neither do they profit the people at all but rather cause them to err as the False Prophets and Teachers did in the Prophet Jeremiah's time recorded in the 23d chapter of his Prophecy read from the 11th verse to the 32d verse and what thou findest testified against the False Prophets in that day is true against all that are found in the same spirit and practices at this day the Priesthood of England now as the Prophets then speak a Vision of their own Heart and not out of the Mouth of the Lord they fill peoples Ears with a Noise of Words and with fair Speeches or eloquent Discourses deceive the Hearts of the Simple talking much of the Righteous Holy Men's Words but not living their Life speaking and smiting against Sin with that Weapon which can never destroy it in themselves nor others their Preaching is like that of the Scribes and Pharisees and not as one having Authority they say Hear the Word of the Lord but speak their own words conceivings and Inventions they are of those that steal the Word from their Neighbour and boast in other mens Lines c. In Christendom so called what a great Trade do these Schoolmen Rabbies Doctors Bishops and Hireling Priests make of the poor honest plain Tradesmen's Words who were some Plough-men Herds-men Shepherds and Fisher-men ome of whom it 's said knew not a Letter And how is this part of the World called Europ filled with Books and Commentaries of Papists Prelates Presbyters and other Sects under Pretence of opening and giving the right Meaning of their Words whereby indeed people are divided and confused and various in their Understandings and know not well what to do nor whom to believe nor which to follow so instead of gathering people into Unity they divide and scatter them and lead them into Sects and Opinions instead of Repairing the Breaches of the Walls of Jerusalem they Build up the Tower of Babylon instead of communicating to people the Key of Knowledge they shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men and neither enter themselves nor suffer those that would These things we have by sad and woful Experience known while we were seeking the Living among the Dead and wandring from Mountain to Hill from one Priest and Profession to another changing from one sort and fashion of Worship unto another from one Sect and Opinion to another but not from Sin to Righteousness not from Evil to Good nor from Death to Life neither through them all did we witness a Translation from the kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Christ as the Primitive Christians did but remained in Sin and Corruption in Death and Darkness talking of the Fame of Wisdom and professing the holy Scriptures the Words of holy righteous wise Men the Words of sanctified justified and redeemed Men but not living the Life of Righteousness Wisdom Sanctification Justification and Redemption nay we were so far from it that we did not believe it was possible so to do while on this side the Grave our Teachers caused us to err teaching for Doctrine the Precepts of Men and the Thoughts and Conceivings of their own corrupt Hearts instead of the Word of the Lord so we were as Blind led by the Blind and walked in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death and knew not whither we went we stumbled and knew not at what and grouped like blind men for the Wall following the divers uncertain fallible Voices that are in the World which say Lo here is Christ Lo there is Christ others Behold he is in the secret Chamber and we were going forth and wandring after them and wearying our selves for a very Vanity spending our Money for that which was not Bread and our Labour for that which did not satisfie This was our state and condition in the day of our Ignorance in the day of our Captivity and Bondage to the lust of the eye the lust of the flesh and the pride of life But now we can say as the primitive Christians did 1 Joh. 5.19 20. We know that the Son of God is come not only that he Did come above Sixteen Hundred Years ago but Is come and hath given us a good Vnderstanding whereby we may know him that is true and we are in him that 's true even in his Son Jesus Christ this is the true God and eternal Life And God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts whereby we can call God Father and whereby we are led and guided out of all false wayes and false worships out of the crooked wayes and by-pathes of our own finding out into the one true and living Way and everlasting Worship which is in the Spirit and in the Truth which was before all the false Wayes and invented Worships upon the Face of the Earth and will remain when they all vanish away So it is no new Sect or Opinion that we are now come unto but the ancient Way wherein the holy Fathers Prophets Apostles and all the Righteous walked in all Ages and Generations past from Abel and Enoch unto this day which is Christ the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin which is Christ the true Light that lighteth every man coming into the World who is indeed the Way the Truth and the Life the Saviour of his People not in their Sins but from their Sins And the true Light now shines out of Darkness in thousands in this our Native Country and makes manifest reproves and condemns every appearance of evil and leads the Children of it out of the same this is the Vniversal Way of God wherein he is known worshipped and served acceptably this is his Son in whom he is well pleased and with all that are in him Therefore in this Light must all the Nations that are saved walk and all that walk in it witness Safety from and Power and Victory over the Evil One and Blessings Peace and Consolation abound in their inward man But all that Reject and Despise Sleight and Contemn the Light and Grace of God teaching and shining within and the leading guiding and moving of the Spirit of God within they reject and despise the Way and Means of Salvation and have no Strength against Sin nor Victory over their Enemy the Prince of Darkness which rules within in their Hearts but remain Slaves and Captives to him under the Chains of darkness let their Talk and Profession of Christ and Christianity be what it will this is the Word of Truth to all our Neighbours and Country-men whether they