George Fox Digged Out of His Burrows, Account of dispute 1 · Letter 2
My ancient loving Friend,My Answer to the fore-going Letter from I. T.
IF you pluck out the eyes of your Understanding, Profession, and Experience, yet (through the mercy of the Father of Lights and Mercyes) I cannot do so with mine. You tell me my Paper to G. Fox, is Scurrilous, &c. full fraught with [7] Impudent Lyes and Slanders, &c. And you say you write in Love, from the Spirit of Truth, to which (you say) I am a stranger. You mind mee of Death &c. and bid me Repent, Repent, or else be filthy still, and be damned.
To which I will not Answer as G. Fox answered H. Wrights Paper with a scornfull and shamefull Silence. Thus I say in generall, you are my Witness, that I have long said with David (and I humbly hope have made it good) I hate and abhor Lying, but thy Law do I love, for which I have lost in my time something, &c If I had not loved his Law, and abhorred Lyes, I had long ere this bowed down against my Conscience,Crying sins in N. England. yea I had fired the Countrey ahout this barbarous Land (as some in this Colony have done) I had murthered the Indians, and English by the Powder and Liquor trade, to which you know I had Temptation, as much as your self, or any others in N. England, but I loved the Name of God.
For your self, if the God of heaven have terrified your Soul, (which I believe is the case of most Quakers, and of the Devils themselves) and made it tremble at the Wrath to come, you must not think to run from his flaming Eyes and Hand (as Adam) amongst the Thickets; The infinite Justice of God must be satisfied.you cannot talk of Mercy without a way of Satisfaction to an insinite Justice. (Who payes the Old Score)? It is impossible that all created Powers, in Heaven or Earth, can discharge for one sinfull Thought. There must be an Equivalent discharge, not by filthy Rags, and menstruous Clouts of our own Holiness; which must he thought of before we can say, We can sin no more against God, than he can sin against us; as you know who Blasphemously and Horribly maintain it.
In your lines I pray you to Consider,
First. Your Irrationality, for how can you imagine that a serious Christian, in humble Considence of the of the mercifull Presence, and gracious Assistance of Gods holy Spirit, The Bruitish Simplicity of the Quakers Spirit.and of no little Afsliction and Suffering, should be so easily stird (as a Rock with a Feather) by your bare crying Repent, Repent or be Damned, hearken to the Light within thee? &c.
2. Can Reason imagine, that after much strugling within my self, and the Birth of my Propositions and Resolutions, that I can so suddenly strike Sail, and bear up, and immediately [8] Stifle, and Smother, and Burn my Conceptions and Resolutions, as soon as I hear your simple and childish spirit Countermand me?
3. Is it not unmanly Childish and effeminate, to cry out a Scurrilous paper, Lyes, Lyes, impudent Slanders &.c. and yet give me not one Reason or one Scripture against any one of them? Is it not too like the irrationall and brutish Answer of Humphrey Norton (to a sober and Sollid Paper of Thomas Olnys sen.) crying out, Lyes, Lyes, 224 Lyes, without any serious Examination of Particulars?
2. I charge your Lines with Impiety, The Manifestation of the Spirit. 1. Cor. 12.where you infer that the most holy Spirit (from that Scripture [The manifestation of the Spirit &.c.) is poured forth upon every Individuall person in the World. Did the Oyl most precious and holy, the holy Ointments and the Blood in the Law, respect the whole world, or the Messiah the anointed and his Members (Christians or anointed also)? Was not 1. Cor. 12. written to the Christians, or Saints gathered into the Christian slock or Congregation at Corinth, unto whome the Father of Spirits (as in that place) vouchsafeth those three heavenly Favours.
1. Gifts which he shews there to be different. 2. Administrations, Ministeryes or Offices. 3. Operations, Works or Successes, all wrought in the Saints by the holy Spirit, for the Glory of the same Father, Lord, and Spirit, the mutual comfort and edifing of the Saints, yea and for the Convicting and drawing of other poor Sinners, out of the World to God.
The Lord mercifully awaken your Souls to the Love of God, and the Love of his holy Truth, for the not beleiving of which but the profane playing with it,Gods wonderful Justice. the most high and righteous Judge of the whole world (in a way of Iudicial Sentence) delivers up poor Souls to believe Lyes, and that so strongly, as to give their bodyes to be burned for them.
The Papists catch hold upon a Letter [This is my body] You as simply as doe the Generalists catch hold upon the Letter [All, every man that comes into the world &.c.The words All and every one, Considered.] whereas the Scope and Connection in all writings, and in all matters in the world are rationally to be minded. The Sence and Meaning is in all Speech and Writing, (in our own and other Languages) the very Speech or Writing it self. These Words [All and every one] in our own and other Tongues, [9] are often used figuratively: it is so all the Scripture over, and thrice in one verse, Colloss. 1. 28. where Reason cannot imagine that Paul did literally and individually admonish every man, teach every man, and present every man that comes into the world, perfect in Christ Jesus which could not, cannot possibly be true without another Sence and Exposition, then the words literally hold out.
4, Again, you are dangerously bold to say that you write from the Spirit of Truth, wherein you Father these your childish Irrationalityes, your profaning of the holy Majesty of God, his holy Scriptures and writings, and your rash Judging and Examining of others, upon the holy Spirit of God: But I do humbly hope to evince, that the Spirit you boast of, is so far from the Spirit of God, that it falls beneath the foot of a sober and well grounded Humanity. At present I only Instance in that whorish and monstrous act of your Women and Maidens,The Impudency and Uncleaness of the Quakers Spirit. stripping themselves stark naked, by your Spirit, and with a face of brass coming into the open streets, and publick Congregations of Men and Youths. This Spirit (though defended by G. Fox and others) is such a piece of unnaturall and bruitish Impudence, that I cannot hear of the like amongst Jews or Gentiles, yea not amongst the most Savage, Base and Barbarous of them all (all Circumstances considered).
5. In the last place I observe your Fickleness and Inconstancy, what, and how often have I heard you speak of the Chief of the Quakers now at Newport? How lately and how much have you uttered of John Crosman his Cross and froward spirit (even since he pretended the Spirit) yea how inhumane and injurious to your self in the way of his Calling? now all on a sudden (for I heard but little untill I saw your Lines) you are got up into the lofty Chair of Judging and ready to say, God I thank thee I am not as this Publican, I beseech the Lord to make you savingly to remember that Word [God resisteth that is sets himself in Hostility against the Proud, but he giveth Grace unto the Lowly] so prayes.
your old unworthy Friend R. W. Providence 18th. 5th. 72.
I had hoped that I had Conjur'd down (at least for the present) that Waspish spirit, but he flyes out against me (within a few dayes) in this second Letter following.