The Quakers Confuted, To the reader
To the Chriſtian READER.
CHriſtian READER, about three years ſince I was travelling through Notting ham towards London, and meeting with many reports reſpecting a People who are called Quakers, concerning Sorcery and witchcraft that ſhould be among them; for confirmation whereof, it was aſſerted, that many Perſons who came among them only as ſpectators and Obſervators of their way, grew diſtempered, and fell into trances among them. I was very deſirous to ſatisfie my ſelf concerning the truth thereof, being very unwilling to entertain reports upon Hear-ſay; At laſt (about half a mile from Nottingham Town) I met with a man of a godly, ſober ſpirit (as he appeared to me) & Preacher to a people about amile off from the aforementioned Town: upon occaſion of enquiring of the way which I was to go, I fell into diſcourſe with him about the Quakers, and asked him, whether he conceived that there was any Sorcery among them; he anſwered, yea; and thereupon made Relation of this enſuing Story. There is (ſaid he) a young man of my Fariſh, whom I judge to be truly godly; he deſired leave from me to go among them one day to behold their way: but I durſt not give way unto him, but told him that is might be a tempting of God if he ſhould go. Notwithſtanding (unknown to me) he went, and while he was obſerving of them, he began to be ſick, and was afraid he ſhould fall, and wiſhed himſelf from among them, and ſoon after their meeting was ended; and he grew well again, and remained unſatiſfied with that which he had ſeen (for he came late) and was very deſirous to have ſome further knowledge of their way, and therefore went the ſecond time among them; and after he had been there awhile, he began to be ſick again, and his diſtemper increaſed upon him, till at length he fell into a trance among them, in which they left him, and went their way; and when he came to himſelf there was onelyonly an old woman there, and he returned home, and was very ſenſible of his miſcarriage in not hearkening to my advice, and came to me and confeſſed his fault, and acquainted me with all that he had done, and what had befallen him, and bleſſed himſelf from that people, and concluded the Devil was powerful among them. Having received this Relation from the Miniſter (who was a meer Stranger to me, but very godly in all his expreſſions) I became credulous of many like things, which I had before that time heard of them, and thought to have nothing to do with that Generation of men; and though I have been often ſollicited to confer with them, yet I have perpetually declined it, becauſe I looked upon them as a People not onelyonly deluded, but given over to the power of Satan. Notwithſtanding beyond all mine own thoughts, I have (by the Providence of the Lord, which orders all things) been called forth to have ſome dealings with them, and am now in a ſort neceſſitated to appear in Print againſt them. Fo thus it fell out.
There was a certain man, named Richard Waller, who was Servant at a Gentlemans Houſe near Stopport in Cheſhire; this man fell in league with a Woman ſervant in the ſame houſe with him, who ſtood related to us, and was a Member of our Society; ſhe acquainted us with this league, and ſought our conſent; we appeared not againſt it abſolutely, becauſe he made ſome profeſſion of Religion, but withheld our conſent till he ſhould clear himſelf from ſome ſcandalous fact that was charged upon him; but ſhe was impatient of delay, and received his own relation of the thing, and to our grief and trouble gave herſelf up unto him in Mariage. Not long after both of them left the Family in which they lived, and went into the lower parts of Lancaſhire to live there, near unto thoſe parts where there are many Quakers, who meet frequently together. This man (it ſeems) had not been long there but he fell in among them, and gave himſelf up unto them; and within a ſhort time after writ a Letter to the Family (where he and his wife had ſo lately been Servants) in which he pleads for ſuch a Perfection which excludes all ſin from being committed by the Saints; and he alſo pleads for quaking, and produces many Scriptures to prove both; and he reviles Miniſters under the Title of Prieſts of this World which teach deceit, and he denies all the Teachers of the World, and witneſſeth his Teacher to be within him, and he exhorts them to wait upon the Lord, and to ceaſe from man, and to mind the Light of God-within them, with much more of this nature. A Copy of this Letter was given unto me, which I communicated to the Brethren, and after a debate had of thoſe two things, which he aſſerted and endevoured to make out by Scripture; it was concluded that the Letter with thoſe Scriptures ſhould be anſwered, and ſent to this mans wife who wrote the Letter, for the eſtabliſhing of her, becauſe ſhe ſtood related to us, and we were ſenſible of the danger that ſhe was in; and I was intreated to draw the Anſwer, which I did, and it was ſent by a ſpecial Maſſenger unto her. About two Moneths after, the ſame man that wrote the Letter (which occaſioned our Letter of anſwer to his wife) came over to our ſide as a Meſſenger ſent by the Quakers, with a Reply to our Anſwer, and with a paper of nineteen Queſtions; and upon the fifth of June laſt, being the firſt day of the Week, he delivers the paper of the Queſtions in their name to me, in the face of the Congregation, and requires an anſwer thereto, and pleads for an Abſolute Perfection in the preſence of all that were aſſembled; the paper of Reply he kept back, as being too ſcurrilous in his own thoughts, as ſome collected that ſpake with him; but I had notice of it, and called for it from him the next day, and then received it.
Upon this account it is that I come to be engaged in an anſwer to theſe Queries; I have alſo annexed the Copy of his Letter that was given me, and the Anſwer which I ſent unto it, which was directed to his wife, together with the Reply that the Quakers made unto it; which indeed is too tedious to be read of any who have moſt time; it is ſuch a ſottiſh and ſenſeleſs piece of ſtuff, and hath ſo much ſcurrilous language in it. But by it, and by the Queries, the Saints and World may know what a people theſe are, & what little hope there is of any good to be wrought upon them; if they would admit of any rational diſcourſe from Scripture, ſome encouragement would be given to ſpend time that way with them; but they can eaſily evade all with ſuch Anſwer as this, Buſie minds give ſenſes to Scripture, and are Perſons that have nothing to do with Scripture, can witneſs nothing of that they ſpeak of. They pretend to ſpeak and act all by the Spirit, and if any one will try the Spirit that they ſpeak by, their Reply is, that ſuch an one can neither witneſs Scripture nor Spirit, and therefore hath nothing to do with ſuch things. Yet they deceive many, and they increaſe in number continually; but the time will come that they ſhall proceed no further. In the mean time it ought to be ſad to every godly ſpirit, that Satan ſhould have ſuch power to work ſo effectually in and upon many who have been reputed Saints, who are drawn into them; but God will iſſue all to his Glory at the laſt, and in this I reſt, and remain
Thine in the Lord Jeſus Samuel Eaton.