The Quakers Catechism, Prefatory letter 1
TO THE Separatiſts and Anabaptiſts IN England.
THough Gods minde be moſt plainly revealed to us in his written Word, yet are his Providences alſo teaching, and it is the duty of his Servants to reade and ſtudy them, eſpecially the Poenall withdrawing or withholding of his grace, and giving men up to beleeve lies, and to vile affections, to a reprobate ſence, and to an abominable converſation, theſe are ſuch diſcoveries of the ſore diſpleaſure of the Moſt High, as ſhould make even the beholders to fear, and all that ſtand but near to this heavy judgement to fly away from it, as the Iſraelites did at the cries of the Rebellious followers of Corah, Num. 16. leſt the earth ſhould have ſwallowed them up alſo: I am not of their minde that make light of the ſtrange Providences in our military affairs and changes of State, though I think every carnal admirer of them doth not underſtand them: But it's a matter of very ſad conſideration, that many of vhoſe ſame men that ſeem ſo much to magnifie theſe, do no more obſerve, underſtand, and lay to heart the more remarkable Providence of our heavy ſpirituall judgements! The overlooking of theſe Providences makes many fear leſt it be but their own intereſt which they ſtudy in the other, and leſt by reading themſelves and their own Names where they ſhould reade God, they turn this light into darkneſſe or ſeduction, and by ſurfetting on this Feaſt do contract thoſe diſeaſes that are like to be their bane; What is Gods Word for but to make himſelf and our duty known to us? And ſo he doth very much by his Works, where we may ſee his Nature, and ſomething of his Approbation or diſlike, eſpecially as they are read by the help of the Word. Certainly God is known by the judgement which he executeth: (ſpecially when) the wicked is ſnared in the work of his own hands, Pſa. 9. 16. The hand of God is apparently gone out againſt your waies of Separation and Anabaptiſm: It is your duty to obſerve it: You may ſee you do but prepare too many for a further progreſſe, Seekers, Ranters, Familiſts, and now Quakers, and too many profeſſed Infidels, do ſpring up from among you, as if this were your Journeys end, and the perfection of your Revolt. And it is your Churches and thoſe that lean toward you that preſently receive the Doctrines of the deceiver, and are the ſtream in which ſome others with them are carried away. You may ſee you cannot hold your followers when you have them; Your work is blaſted, You labour in vain, nay, worſe then in vain; You do but prepare men for flat Hereſie and Apoſtacy; I have heard yet from the ſeverall parts of the Land, but of very few that have drunk in this venome of the Ranters or Quakers, but ſuch as have firſt been of your opinions, and gone out at that door; The reſt are but here and there a young perſon that was not noted for any great matter of Religiouſneſſe, or only liked it and inclined to your waies; And if any others be ſeduced, the evil ariſeth from among you, and from your Graduats do they receive their taint, as yours do from the Papiſts and the great Deceiver. Is it your Miniſtry or ours that they bend their force againſt? Is it not part of their preſent buſineſſe to do your work, and cry down Infant-Baptiſm? One of the Queres which they here put to me is [What expreſſe Scripture I have for Infant Baptiſm? which I muſt ſhew without conſequences or elſe confeſſe my ſelf a falſe Prophet:] And another tendeth to prove us no true Churches: The Quakers then are Separatiſts and Antipaedobaptiſts, though more: I ſpeak not this to reproach you, but to minde you of the tendency of all your endeavours, that you may ſeriouſly as before the Lord conſider, whether he do not witneſſe from Heaven againſt you and your waies, by giving up your followers to ſuch abominations as ſince the daies of the Nicolaitans and the reſt of the Gnoſticks, the Sun hath not ſeen, at leaſt ſo openly and commonly owned. Have you well conſidered into what your Societies were reſolved in Germany and other parts? And do you well conſider what fruits they here bring forth, and now likely they are to be ſhortly quite corrupted, if a ſpeedy ſtop be not made? and what it is that you have done to the Church of God, and how much it is beholden to you for the proſperity of truth and piety. Is it like to be Gods way which ſo ordinarily leadeth to end endeth in ſuch deſperate evils? I make not this my firſt or chief argument againſt you, but it's a conſiderable ſecond, and ſhould make wiſe men at leaſt ſuſpicious of ſuch a courſe: Nor would I thus argue from the Apoſtacy of a few, or upon ſome unuſuall accident; but when ſuch hath been the Fate of the ſtream of your party, from the very firſt riſing of them in the world to this day, I think it not inconſiderable. Nor would I thus argue from any temporall judgement or oppreſſion by a perſecuting Enemy; for I know that is no ſuch ſigne of Gods diſpleaſure: But if I ſuſpect whether thoſe perſons are in a way pleaſing to God, whom I ſee him ſo uſually deliver up to Satan, I hope I may be excuſed. Certainly Gods Churches are the places of his Bleſſing and his Delight: And certainly ſuch ſpirituall plagues as our eyes now behold, are as evident Notes of Gods heavy diſpleaſure as men can expect to ſee on earth. And we have the more reaſon yet to be ſuſpicious that this is Gods diſowning of your way, and Teſtimony from heaven againſt it, in that he followed the firſt Hereticks, the Simonians and their followers, with the ſame kinde of judgements, and by ſuch fearful deſertions, did then witneſſe his deteſtation of thoſe that withdraw from the Unity of his Church.
And it is very remarkable, that it is a pretence of our Impurity and of a greater purity with you, that is pleaded by thoſe that firſt turn over to you, and that this height of all impieties ſhould be the uſuall iſſue of a way pretended ſo exact and clean: Doubtleſſe it is none of Gods minde by this to diſcourage any from Purity and true Reformation, but to ſhew his Deteſtation of that ſpirituall pride which makes men have too high thoughts of themſelves, and too much to contemn others, and to deſire to be further ſeparated from them then God in the Day of grace doth allow of; Where the Tares (of ungodly men) are ſuch as cannot be pulled up and caſt out of the Church, without danger of pulling up and caſting out ſome of the Wheat, even the weakeſt true Believers with them, there God would; have us let both grow together till the time of harveſt But theſe proud men will ſtand at a further diſtance, and will diſlike Gods gracious cealings with ſinners, and their eye is evil becauſe he is good; and they will not grow in the ſame Field (or Church) where ſuch Tares do grow, but will tranſplant themſelves and remove from the field becauſe God will not pluck up the Tares, (eſpecially if any Miniſterial neglect of Diſcipline be conjoyned as too commonly it is:) and in ſtead of blaming their own pride, and miſunderſtanding of Gods merciful dealings with ſinners, they lay the blame on the corruption of the Church, and call it A Field of Tares and not of Wheat: In one word, it is moſt evident that ſpiritual Pride doth turn moſt men from us to you, and that this is the very ſinne that undoes ſuch a multitude of Profeſſors of Religiouſneſs, and which hath let in all Gods Judgements upon us, and the ſinne which he is now witneſſing againſt from Heaven. As none more like to Chriſt then the humble that are mean in their own eyes and compaſſionate to others; ſo none are more like to the devil then the proud, that think highly of themſelves and contemptuouſly of others; And the better the thing is that they are proud of, the worſe is their pride in this reſpect, that it is the ſetting up of Gods pretious mercies againſt him, and the building of Satans houſe with Chriſts materials: The Phariſees Liturgy is of too frequent uſe in the Separated Congregations [I thank thee O God that I am not as other men are, &c. nor even as this Publicane.] He that maketh us to differ from other men, and expecteth thanks for his differencing grace, doth yet abhorre a proud oſtentaiton of it, and a diminutive eſteem of his ſmalleſt mercies unto others, and all proud deſires that they ſhould be thruſt below us further then he hath appointed: It is the good of ſinners, and the honour of God that is the end of diſcipline, and not that we might perſonally be extolled and judged of above what is meet.
I beſeech you take this plain Admonition in good part from a Deſirer of your Recovery and Salvation.
Richard Baxter,