The Great Mysteries of Godliness and Ungodliness, Preface
A Prefatory word of advice, to the ſeduced Followers of the ſeducing QƲAKERS.
Friends,
DId you never ſee Hocus Pocus playing his prancks of Legerdemain, and deceptions of the ſight, perſwading people they ſee that which is not? ſuch ſpiritual Juglers, (Juglers in ſpiritual things) are come among you, and if you look not to your ſelves, you will be cheated by theſe, worſe then by others; there you loſe a little money, here your ſouls; if I have endevoured to diſcover them, that you may know and avoid them, I hope you will not be angry. If you be, and be ſo long, you are more then angry, you are mad. And its common to mad men to be offended with their Phyſitian, yet he muſt not ceaſe his work. It was the great bleſſing God gave to mankind at firſt to have one language, that all might underſtand one another; for words are the Interpr…ters of the mind: and heretofore, for the proud attempts of the ſons of men, God came down and confounded their languages; ſo that though they meant the ſame things, and things retained the ſame names and nature; yet by the obſcurity of their newly gotten expreſſions, they underſtood not one anothers meaning, and ſo (upon the matter) were as bad as dumb one unto another: So that when the Brick-layer cald for morter, the Labourer apprehended a trowel, and when he cald for his rule, he would bring him a hammer; this would make mad work you'l ſay, and ſo it did, it brought all to a Babel, confuſion. And now, ſince by the bleſſings of the Almighty, this confuſion of tongues is pretty wellhealed, by the reconciling of languages, and bringing words to ſome commonly received ſignifications, and intimations: what do thoſe men do, but build Babylon agen; who have brought up a jugling trick of ſpeaking one thing, and yet meaning another; this is the practiſe of the Quakers, and that diſcovery of it, is the ſubject matter of this following diſcourſe: And this I drive at in it, to let thee know, that many times (moſt times) when they ſpeak of God, and Chriſt, and Scriptures, &c. They do not mean that God, and Chriſt, and Scriptures, that thou doſt, and other men, (wiſe men, godly men) do. They do not mean a God, and Chriſt, and Scriptures without thee, but within thee onelyonly. 'Tis very plauſible, and ſeems to have much piety & godlineſſe in it; & what will any man dare to ſpeak againſt God within us, and Chriſt within us, and Scripture within us, and Ordinances within us? they are ſure Seducers, falſe Prophets, idol-ſhepheards, theſe will never convert ſouls. They in the letter, and they ſpeak onelyonly the letter; here's no life, no ſpirit; no, no, come hither, come and eat; here's a new Tree of Knowledg; eat, you ſhall be as Gods; nay Gods, equal with him, allſufficient in your ſelves: A Light, a God, a Chriſt, Scriptures, Ordinances, all within you; and ſo within you, as theſe without you are not worth looking after, they be carnal, fleſhly▪ yourimagined God beyond the Stars, and your carnal Chriſt, which you would make appear through your Heatheniſh Philoſophy is utterly denyed; you ſhall ſee by whom and to whom theſe words are vomited. Friends, Ile onelyonly ſay thus muck, for I undertake not the confutation o ſo much as one of their opinions, nor I think need I. To diſcover them is ſufficient to render them abborred to all Chriſtian ears; Ile onelyonly ſay thus much Though God, and Chriſt, and Scriptures, and Ordinances be, and be never ſo glorious and excellent, yet if they be not in thee, in their life and power and efficatiouſly reforming and conforming vertue, they are to thee as if they were not at all, or worſe: but when ever they ſhall be in thee, let the meaſures and degrees be never ſo high, they will (and muſt) alſo be without thee, and ſhall never be indiſtinctly the ſame with thee. Waders, you have need revive your old principles received from the word of truth; and looke about you; deceivers are come into the world, and would caſt a miſt before your eyes, that you may not perceive their end. They often ſay, they have ſomewhat to deliver which the world is not yet fit to receive; I ſuppoſe I have diſcovered their meaning, if they durſi ſpeak out; for thy moſt profitable reading whereof (beſides a few brief directions hereafter given thee, concerning their manner of anſwering to the queries or queſtions propoſed unto them) let me here a little admoniſh and inform thee. In all inquires after truth, when a matter or queſtion is propoſed or demanded; he that is to anſwer (if he be willing to have the truths diſcovered) doth either affirm and grant the queſtion or deny it, or in the third place (if there be need) diſtinguiſh and explain ſome words that may be doubtfull, or have a double meaning: And accordingly make his anſwer. There is no fourth way. But to be wholy ſilent, or to ſhuffle and avoid the queſtion, by impertinent matter, that is not to the thing purpoſed. And ſuch men that ſhall take this and their uſuall way and courſe, are to be accounted as prevaricators, impoſtors and deceivers. But is there no fourth way did I cry, but ſilence and ſhuffling. There are a generation of men have found out that way of equivocating and jugling even now mentioned, ſc. To ſpeak one thing and mean not the ſame thing, which the words uſually and in moſt mens ſenſe and conſtruction ſignifie. Now obſerve, in all their anſwers, theſe quakers neither grant nor deny nor diſtinguiſh; But conſtantly betake themſelves for one of theſe two refuges of liers.
Either to avoid anſwering, by talking nothing to the purpoſe. Or if they do affirm or deny, (which is very ſeldome) their words have another meaning then is intended thou in the queſtion. By the help of this obſervation thou maiſt trace and perceive? Then in all their wrightings and arguings, where any ſuch is controverted or debated by or with them: And much in all their ſpeakings. And if thou be now deceived by them, the fault is much nay, moſt, if not altogether thine own, who will ſo eaſily be led blindfold by ſuch palpable deceivers, impoſtors, juglers. This firſt onſet of theirs is but to unſettle thee, from off thy old. If thou hold here a while, they'l come and compleat the work hereafter. But I hope the Lord will ſtirre up the zeale of our Magiſtrates to ſtop the mouthes of blaſphemers though they have regard as is fit to tender conſciences however Reader do thy work. And i'le indeavoure to do mine and the Lord make us all able, wiſe vigilant, faithfull and ſuccesfull. So prayes he, who is,
The furtherer of thy faith and the helper of thy joy.
RA: FARMER.
And now Reader, having laid before thee, this great myſterie of Godlineſſe from the un-erring truth of the eternall word, revealed in the ſcriptures. I ſhall diſcover unto thee a great myſterie of ungodlineſſe, a myſteric of iniquity, and of abhomination; even that abhomination which maketh deſolate, & deſtroyeth all Chriſtian Religion from the writings and ſpeakings in a generation of men called Quakers.
And here (in …he firſt place) I ſhall communicate unto thee; that which I confeſſe was the firſt ground, of the diſcovere of this my ſterie unto me, and that you ſhall finde in a beok intitl'ed.
A Confeſſion of Faith, of the ſeveral Congregations, or Churches of Chriſt in London, which are commonly (though unjuſtly) as they ſay, called Anabaptiſts. Ʋnto which is added, Hearts-bleedings for Profeſſors abominations; Or, a faithfull generall Epiſtle, from the ſame Churches: Preſented to all who have known the way of truth, forewarning them to flee ſecurity, and careleſſe walking under the profeſſion of the ſame, diſcovering ſome of Satans wiles, whereby alſo wanton perſons and their ungodly wayes are diſclaimed. The fifth impreſſion.
Which Book is ſigned in the name, and by the appointment of the aforeſaid ſeverall Churches meeting in London. By William Kiffen, John Spilsberry, and twelve more of them.
And theſe men I look upon as competent for this diſcovery, for ſeveral reaſons; firſt, in reſpect of their reſidence and habitations, ſc. London, a place where (if any where) all Religions, Opinions, & Profeſſions are to be found; ſecondly, the parties themſelves, ſc. the Anabaptiſts, a ſort of men in many things (many of them) neer of kin, I charge no man in particular; but generally they have bin a ſort of people much given to Enthuſiaſmes, and immediate Calls, & Revelations, and apt to entertain fantaſtick dreams and fancies. And concerning them, I fully concurre with that precious Servant of Chriſt (now in heaven) Mr. Cuthbert Sidenham, in an Epiſtle of his before his excellent Book concerning Infant-Baptiſm, and ſinging of Pſalms; where ſpeaking of the Opinion of Anabaptiſts denying Infants Baptiſm, An opinion (ſaith he) which hath been alwayes ominous, and of a powerfull ſtrange influence, accompanied with the moſt dangerous retinue of errors, ſince the firſt Embryo of it was brought forth; whether by a judgement of God, or from its naturall or ſecret connexion with other principles of darkneſſe, I will not determin. Only God hath ſhewed ſome black Characters on it, in every Nation where it hath prevailed; though we cannot but ſay, many Saints are innocently under the power of it. Thus farre he.
Now theſe men therefore, both in reſpect of the conveniency of the place, but eſpecially in the likelyhood of acquaintance and familiarity with this kind of people, who moſtly have been Members of their Congregations, and have departed from them (which may be one of the black works before ſpoken of) theſe Anabaptiſts, may have probablie plowed with their heyfer, and ſo may beſt unfold their riddle, and diſcover their ungodly Myſterie, within their generall Epiſtle (before mentioned) after ſome little Preface, they do in theſe words.