Further Discovery of the Quakers, Reply · Practice 3
Pract. 3. Their pretending upon all occaſions to be ſent by ſhe…iall Commiſſion from God.
1. Here we having related by ſeverall paſſages of the quakers pretending to a Commiſſion from God, the ridiculouſneſſe of their Meſſages, and that pretence, he plainely tells us, he will not juſtifie them; and when he cannot ſhuffle it off, he tell us, he can ſay nothing to it, becauſe he knows not the things in particular; though the perſons (Reader, thou mayſt obſerve) that are there mentioned are of his familiar company and converſe; and ſo thou wilt eaſily think, had they been lyes, we ſhould have heard from him with open mouth: yet the man will needs take the boldneſſe to call them lyes, though he confeſſe he knows not the particulars. Now Reader, judge of Nayler and his conſcience.
2. He ſayes, that they who were before the Magiſtrates, were invited to any of our houſes, is falſe. Oh! the confidence of this man, and how boldly dare he ruſh upon a lye, or any thing, to make us odious. All we ſay is, that ſome of them that came to Newcaſtle were invited to come to our houſes by ſome of us. If Iames Nayler will aske M. Tayler, if he were not invited by W. C. to his houſe, when he was at that time at Newcaſtle, and did not come, he will ſee the debauchedneſſe of his conſcience; for W. C. doth beleeve, M. Tayler hath ſo much honeſty left, as not to deny it.
Quakers juſtifie their curſing becauſe ſuch vvords are in Scripture and make the Scripture a vvarrant for curſing.As to George Foxes curſing M. Fetherſton, which we quoted, p. 48. Perf. Phar. all that Nayler replyes is, that M. Fetherſton confeſſed, all that Geo. Fox ſpoke, was Scripture. What a ridiculous evaſion is this of ſo great a ſin? Becauſe there are ſuch words in Scripture, therefore he may apply them as he will. There are theſe words in Scripture, I am the Lord, and change not; he ſits upon the circle of the Heavens, &c. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God; theſe expreſſions, becauſe they are in Scripture, is it therefore lawfull to give them to any creature? Nay, dare Geo. Fox challenge them to himſelf, becauſe they are in Scripture? Or becauſe ſuch words, the Lord ſmite thee thou painted wall; thou haſt lyed againſt the holy Ghoſt; for whom is reſerved the blackneſſe of darkneſſe for ever; Are theſe true of G. Fox? or may we therefore lawfully apply them to G. Fox? becauſe they are ſuch words as are found in Scripture? Oh! what a ridiculous evaſion is this? He may alſo plead, that he and his followers may lawfully ſwear, becauſe the words [ſweare and oaths] are to be found in Scripture; and then this generation will perfectly come up to the neceſſary and experienced fruit of theſe principles, viz. Ranting to a great degree wherof they are already attained in their moſt impudent, obſcene, and ſhameleſſe nakedneſſe.
The next exception is againſt our objecting Perf. Phar. p. 48. Chriſtopher Atkinſon his immodeſt familiarity with a woman of that way &c. where Atkinſon challengeth the proofe of it: we ſhall onelyonly ſay, that that immodeſt familiarity (if he will needs force us, from our modeſt covering of that carriage, to ſpeak out) it was his familiar Kiſſing of her, as we are fully informed by the teſtimony of M. Walker and M. Wallas, and we cannot but account it as a ſinfull behaviour. But to weaken the ſtrength of this teſtimony, Atkinſon tells the Reader, that M. Wallace ſaid, It was no murther in him to murther Chriſtopher Atkinſon, and the reſt of the priſoners at Kendale.
Truely we are afraid this whole generation of men are in a confederacy of lying; we have purpoſely ſent to finde out the truth of this foule challenge, and ſhall give thee his clearing of himſelfe word for word as we received it.
M. Wallace his vindication from Atkinſons lye.HAving received a Paper from the Quakers that were priſoners containing horrible blaſphemies, viz. That they were the ſearchers of hearts, and ſaying, Let them be accurſed from God for ever, that will have Chriſt have any other Body, but his Church. I ſpoke theſe words, and no more, in the hearing of many, viz. (That I thought it was no murder in the civill Magiſtrate to put ſuch blaſphemers as they were to death, it being according to the Law of God.)Reade Lev 24.10.16. Deut. 13. the vvhole chapter. But that I ever ſaid, It was no murder in me to murder them, or to put them to death, I declare it to be a manifeſt lye.
Kendale Ian. 14. 1653. Iohn Wallace.
We whoſe names are ſubſcribed, did heare when M. Wallace ſpoke theſe words above written, namely, theſe which are incloſed within the parentheſis, but no more.
Thomas Barket.
Miles Harriſon.
Now let the Reader judge of what ſpirit theſe men are; and as for the rayling which Atkinſon powres out by reaſon of this teſtimony like a floud upon W. C. we his Brethren ſ…y, we hope he hath learned that of Chriſt, 2 Pet. 2.23. who when he was reviled, reviled not againe, when he ſuffered, he threatned not, but committed himſelfe to him that judgeth righteouſly.
There is but one thing remains, And that is the account we gave, why we called our Booke the Perfect Phariſce, which thou mayſt reade in pages 49. 50. 51. and ſo conclude. We therein prove from Scripture, that that Title was moſt truely and properly applicable to them: to which Nayler anſwers ſo exceeding weakely and raylingly, that we are reſolved not to reply one word thereto, as having ſaid enough before to that purpoſe, to diſcover how weakely he ſtruggles to evade the cleareneſſe of theſe Scriptures againſt himſelfe and that way.
Reader, thou wilt by this time, ſee the falſeneſſe of what Nayler ſpeaks in his word of concluſion to us five: as if we had uttered many untruths, and falſe reports, taken up by heare ſay, without any ground at all, and divers things out of Books, which we have on purpoſe wreſted to ſlander with, &c. Thou wilt in this reply, ſee the fulleſt evidence we thinke that can be given as to ſuch caſes, and all theſe particulars that he excepts againſt, made the more apparant unto all. We profeſſe before the Lord, that it … nothing we have againſt their perſons, that ſhould any way leade us to wreſt any of their writings to make them odious: it is our onelyonly zeale for the truth and Saints of the high God, that hath carried out our ſpirits thus to expoſe our ſelves to the revilings of all this generation, if by any meanes we might be ſerviceable to the Goſpel, and ſave our ſelves, and them that heare us.
Thou wilt finde in the cloſe of Naylers Booke two leaves put forth in the name of one, who ſayes, his name in the Fleſh is Iohn Andland: tis ſuch a perfect piece of bitterneſſe and rayling, and no way in anſwer to our Booke, that we leave it for waſte Paper.
Thus having been carried on by the Everlaſting Arme, and drawne out by the cords of Love to our deare Lord Ieſus his Ordinances, and his Saints, to beare witneſſe to the true grace of God wherein we ſtand; we ſhall ſit downe in comfort, and fly to him, who is a refuge from the ſtorme, and a ſhadow from the beat, when the bla… the terrible ones ſhall be as the ſtorme againſt the Wall.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Weld, Further Discovery of the Quakers (1654)