THE ELEVENTH BOOK. 1689-1702.
1689.
I proceed now to the year 1689, in the beginning of which the peers of the realm, &c. offered the administration of the government to the prince of Orange, which he accepted of. Not long after he called a convention of the commons; for a parliament it could not be named, since in England none but a king has power to call a parliament. In the meanwhile the prince had caused the princess his consort, to come over from Holland, into England; and at length the convention, after many great debates, came to this resolution, that the throne was vacant; the consequence of which was, that the prince and princess of Orange were declared by the names of William the third, and Mary the second, king and queen of England, &c. and according were afterwards crowned. A large relation thereof is to be found in several books. By the way I will only say, that the coronation was performed by the bishop of London, the archbishop of Canterbury having refused to act in that solemnity; at the performance of which the king and queen were asked by the bishop, ‘Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed to, and the laws and customs of the same?’ To which the king and queen having answered, ‘I solemnly promise so to do;’ the bishop asked, ‘Will you to your power cause law in justice and mercy to be executed in all your judgments?’ Answer was made, ‘I will.’ The next question was, ‘Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the law of God, the true profession of the gospel, and the Protestant Reformed religion established by law? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain to them, or any of them?’ To which the king and queen answered, ‘All this I promise to do.’ After this they laying each of them their hands upon the book of the gospel, said, ‘These things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.’ Under these punctual and nice questions was more hidden than some would think. For the king having answered so as hath been said, could not now free any from paying tithes to the clergy, without violation of his oath.
Not long after William and Mary were thus made king and queen of England, they were also in Scotland declared king and queen of Scotland. And somebody in Holland denoted the year of his being made king in this manner: ‘VVILheLMVs tertIVs angLIæ VInDeX.’ Not long after this a war was proclaimed against France, and the late king, James, supported by the French king, went over to Ireland, from whence in process of time he was driven away by king William, after the bloody battle near the river Boyne; but that not belonging to this history, I will not detain my reader with a relation thereof.
A king having now mounted the throne, the convention was turned into a parliament; and then this august assembly made it their business to restrain the forcing of conscience; and an act passed for exempting Protestant dissenters from the penal laws, by which some dissenters, and especially the Quakers, had suffered and been persecuted many years. Yet care was taken to keep that law in force by which Papists were excluded from sitting in parliament. And those penal laws, of which mention hath been made heretofore in due place, were now restrained, except the test act, properly required for serving in high offices, and to keep out the Papists. The aforesaid act gave also liberty to dissenters to keep religious meetings, provided the doors were not locked, barred or bolted, during the time of such meeting. But none of these dissenters were freed from paying tithes, or other church duties, so called, to the clergy, nor from being cited before bishops’ courts. But this liberty of keeping public meetings was not allowed to Papists; for all that would participate of the said liberty, were required to take the oath of allegiance; yet to comply with the people called Quakers, who for conscience-sake scrupled to take any oath, this act enjoined that they should subscribe the following declaration:
‘I A. B. do sincerely promise and solemnly declare, before God and the world, that I will be true and faithful to king William and queen Mary; and I do solemnly profess and declare, that I do from my heart abhor, detest and renounce, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position, that princes excommunicated or deprived by the pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any other whatsoever. And I declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have any power, jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm.’
Besides this they were obliged to subscribe also another, with respect to their orthodoxy, and for excluding Socinianism.
‘I A. B. profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ his eternal Son, the true God, and in the holy Spirit, one God, blessed for evermore: and do acknowledge the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.’
And lest any Papist might make use of this declaration, there were required sufficient Protestant witnesses that the declarer was a Protestant dissenter. Besides no congregation or assembly for religious worship was permitted or allowed by this act, until the place of such meeting should be certified to the bishop of the diocese, or to the archdeacon of the archdeaconry; or to the justices of the peace at the general or quarter-sessions of the peace for the county, city, or place, in which such meeting should be held, and registered in the said bishop’s or archdeacon’s court respectively, or recorded at the said general or quarter-sessions: for which the register or clerk should not take greater fee or reward than sixpence.
By this we now see the religion of the Quakers acknowledged and tolerated by an act of parliament; and themselves released from all persecution for performance of their public worship, and their refusal of the oath of allegiance. This was a work reserved for that great prince king William, who being born in a country where force upon conscience was abrogated, when a Protestant government was settled there, now also according to his ability introduced the like Christian liberty in England: but to release from the payment of tithes was beyond his reach, how unreasonably soever the clergy acted in this case; whereof about this time a notable instance was published in print, of one John Bishop, a countryman at Wortham, from whom for two years tithes there had been taken, horses, kine, and sheep, to the value of about seventy-six pounds, according to the estimate of impartial persons, though rated by himself at eighty-three pounds. And yet the priest, Thomas Thurlow, had declared upon his oath, that he believed that the tithes of every year’s growth of the said Bishop, did amount one year with another, to three pounds seventeen shillings and sixpence; but the charges were reckoned so high, and the rating of the distrained goods was so very much beneath the real value, that the loss thereby sustained was exceeding great.
In Barbadoes, in the West Indies, where the inhabitants were marshalled to bear arms, the Quakers, notwithstanding what had been ordered in their favour by king James, continued yet under hard sufferings, of which more in the sequel. They now that were thus oppressed, sent over a petition to the king, wherein they set forth how they were molested, and prayed for relief; which had such effect, that the king issued forth the following order:
‘At the Council at Whitehall, Dec. 12, 1689.
‘Present the king’s most excellent majesty in council.
‘Upon reading a petition of the people called Quakers, inhabiting the island of Barbadoes, setting forth, that because the said Quakers could not bear arms, nor take an oath in any case, they have suffered much by virtue of an act made to settle the militia in the said island; as in the petition hereunto annexed, is more at large expressed; his majesty in council is graciously pleased to refer the matter of the said petition to the examination of James Kendal, esq. his majesty’s governor of Barbadoes for the time being, who is to give the petitioners such relief in relation to the militia, as to him shall seem just and reasonable to answer their particular circumstances, and to make report thereof to his majesty.
RICHARD COLLINGE.’
1690.
This year deceased Alexander Parker, sometimes mentioned in this history, being a man not only of a godly life and conversation, but also of a godly mien and grave deportment. In the following year, viz. that of 1690, Robert Barclay also departed this life, a man of eminent gifts and great endowments, expert not only in the languages of the learned, but also well versed in the writings of the ancient fathers, and other ecclesiastical writers, and furnished with a great understanding, being not only of a sound judgment, but also strong in arguments, and cheerful in sufferings. Besides, he was of a friendly and pleasant, yet grave conversation, and eminently fitted for composing of differences; and he really lived up to what he professed, being of an unblameable deportment, truly pious, and well beloved of those he conversed with. And in this happy state it pleased God to take him away out of this vale of tears, into a glorious immortality, in the prime of his age, having not lived much above half the life of a man, as it is commonly accounted, viz. in his 42d year, on the third of October, at his house at Ury, in Scotland, where he died of a sickness, which did not last long, yet he signified with a good understanding, that it was well with him as to his soul.
This year Stephen Crisp wrote an epistle of tender love and brotherly advice to all the churches of Christ throughout the world, in which he exhorted them more particularly to charity; and since therein several remarkable duties are held forth and recommended, I cannot well omit to insert a copy of it here, which is as followeth:
‘Dearly beloved friends and brethren, gathered out of the world by the eternal arm and power of the mighty God, to bear his holy name in your generation; my love and life in the fellowship of the universal spirit salutes you all, and my prayer to God is, you may be kept steadfast and immoveable in the grace of God, and in the communion of his holy Spirit, that ye may bring forth fruit in abundance, according to the abundant mercy and grace bestowed upon you, to the glory of God, and to your mutual joy, comfort, and edification.
‘And that you may so do, let your eye be kept daily to the Lord, and behold and take notice of the wondrous works that he hath wrought in you, and for you, since the day ye were first quickened by his immortal word, and stirred up to seek after him, and to wait upon him: how good and gracious he hath been to you, in bringing you from the barren mountains, where your souls languished for the heavenly nourishment; where you knew not the Lord, nor one another, but were without a comforter, or any to sympathise with you in your mournings; Oh, how hath he pitied your groanings, and had compassion on your sighings, and brought you into acquaintance with those that were in the like exercises; and then he taught you to believe on him that was able to help you: and those that were thus taught of the Father, and felt his drawing cords of love prevailing upon them; these came to Christ their Saviour, and in him began to feel an unity one with another, in the faith you had received in him; whereby you believed he would give you of his spirit to teach and guide you in the way of truth, righteousness, and peace; and thus was the foundation of your holy communion laid, and a lively hope raised in each particular soul, that he that had begun this blessed work would carry it on; and this hope made you that were not ashamed to make a public profession of his name before the world; but cheerfully to take up his cross, and deny yourselves of your former pleasures, friendships, and delights of this world: this hope hath been your support in many sharp trials, and bitter combats you have had with the enemy of your souls’ peace within, and with the enemies of God’s holy way and truth without; and in all your conflicts you have found him nigh at hand, to put forth his power on your behalf, as you have depended upon him for assistance; and by these experiences of his goodness, your faith hath been strengthened; and by the same word of life that quickened you, many more have been reached unto, so that you have seen a daily addition of strength in the particular, and also an addition to your number, to your great comfort and encouragement; and many have come to wait upon the Lord among you; and many are daily inquiring the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward. These things are worth your remembrance and serious considerations, that you may look upon these great mercies as obligations upon your souls, to walk humbly before the Lord, and to be devout and fervent in your testimony, for that God that hath done thus great things for you.
‘And, friends, consider of the great works that this mighty arm of the Lord hath brought to pass in the general, as well as in the particular; how many contrivances have been framed, and laws and decrees made to lay you waste, and to make you cease to be a people, and how have the wicked rejoiced thereat, for a season, crying, ‘Ah, ah! thus would we have it; they are all now given up to banishments, to imprisonments, to spoils and ruins; now let us see if that invisible arm they trust in can deliver them.’ Oh friends! how hath your God been your support in the midst of all these exercises! and when he hath pleased, how he hath quieted the sharpest storms, and turned back the greatest floods and torrents of persecution that ever you met! and how hath he confounded his and your enemies, and brought confusion upon the heads of them that sought your hurt! Were not these things wrought by the power of God? Did your number, your policy, your interest, or any thing that might be called your own, contribute any thing to these your great preservations and deliverances? If not, then let God have the glory, and acknowledge, to his praise, these have been the Lord’s doings, and are marvellous in our eyes.
‘Again, dear friends, consider how the wicked one hath wrought in a mystery among yourselves, to scatter you, and to lay you waste from being a people as at this day; how many several ways hath he tried, raising up men of perverse minds, to subvert and to turn you from the faith, and from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus our Lord; and to separate you from that invisible power that hath been your strength, and to separate you one from another, and by subtle wiles to lead you into a false liberty above the cross of Christ; and sometimes by sowing seeds of heresy and seditions, endeavouring to corrupt the minds of whom they could with pernicious principles; but oh, how have their designs been frustrated, and the authors thereof confounded and brought to nought: and how have you been preserved as a flock under the hand of a careful shepherd, even unto this day, which ministers great cause of thanksgiving unto all the faithful, who have witnessed the working of this preserving power in their own particulars.
‘Also, my friends, it is worth your considerations, to behold how that by this invisible power so many faithful watchmen are raised up upon the walls of your Zion; that in most of your meetings there be men and women, upon whom God hath laid a concern to be taking care for the good of the whole; and to take the oversight upon them, to see all things kept in good and decent order, and to make due provision for the comforting and relieving the necessities of the needy and distressed; that nothing be lacking to make your way comfortable; and these have not been, nor are brought under this charge by any act of yours, but God hath raised up pastors and teachers, elders and deacons of his own election and choice, and bowed their spirits to take upon them the work and service to which they are appointed, for the Lord’s sake, and for the body’s sake, which is the church; to whom it may truly be said, as in Acts xx. 28. “Take ye heed to the flock of God, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,” &c. And such ought to be hearkened to in the discharge of their trust, as those that must give an account to him that called them, and gifted them for their several works and services in the church.
‘And by these ways and means hath the Lord established among you a heavenly government, and built as it were a hedge about you, that ye may be preserved from generation to generation, a people fitted for the glory that is, and shall daily more and more be revealed among and upon the faithful, who delight in that power that called them to be saints, and to bear a profession for the holy name of God, against the many names and ways that men in their changeable minds have set up, that the name of the Lord alone may be exalted.
‘And, dear friends and brethren, I intreat you, that the consideration of these great and weighty things which God hath wrought for you, and among you, may have that deep and weighty influence upon your souls, that ye may find yourselves engaged to answer the love and mercy of God in your lives and conversations, and in all you have to do in this world; that ye may show forth the honour of God in all things, that the light which hath shined in you, may shine forth through you unto others, who yet sit in darkness; that all men may know by your innocent and harmless conversations, and by your close keeping to the Lord, that ye are a people who are assisted and helped by a supernatural power, which governs your wills, and subjects them to his blessed will; and that guides and orders your affections, and sets them upon heavenly and divine objects, and that gives you power to deny your own private interests, where they happen to stand in competition with the interest of truth; for these, and these only, will be found the true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, who can deny themselves, take up a cross daily, and follow him in the guidance of his regenerating power; which brings death upon itself, and crucifies the old nature, with its affections and lusts, and raiseth up a birth in you, that hath a holy will and desire to serve the Lord, and do his will in the earth; and such as these are instruments in the hand of God for him to work by, and to do works of righteousness, of justice, of charity, and all others the virtues belonging to a Christian life, to the honour of God, and for the comfort and benefit of his church and people.
‘And all you, dear friends, upon whom the Lord hath laid a care for his honour, and for the prosperity of the truth; and gathered you into the good order of the gospel, to meet together to manage the affairs thereof; take heed that ye have a single eye to the Lord, to do the Lord’s business in the leadings of his Spirit, which is but one, and brings all that are given up to be governed by it, to be of one mind and heart, at least in the general purpose and service of those meetings; although through the diversity of exercises, and the several degrees of growth among the brethren, every one may not see or understand alike in every matter, at the first propounding of it; yet this makes no breach of the unity, nor hinders the brotherly-kindness, but puts you often upon an exercise and an inward travailing, to feel the pure peaceful wisdom that is from above to open among you; and every one’s ear is open to it, in whomsoever it speaks, and thereby a sense of life is given to the meeting, to which all that are of a simple and tender mind join and agree; but if any among you should be contrary minded in the management of some outward affair, relating to the truth, this doth not presently break the unity that ye have in Christ; nor should weaken the brotherly love, so long as he keeps waiting for an understanding from God, to be gathered into the same sense with you, and walks with you, according to the law of charity. Such a one ought to be borne with and cherished, and the supplications of your souls will go up to God for him, that God may reveal it to him if it be his will; that no difference may be in understanding, so far as is necessary for the good of the church, no more than there is in matters of faith and obedience to God; for, my friends, it is not of absolute necessity that every member of the church should have the same measure of understanding in all things; for then where were the duty of the strong bearing with the weak? Then where were the brother of low degree? Where would be any submitting to them that are set over others in the Lord; which all tend to the preserving unity in the church, notwithstanding the different measures and different growths of the members thereof; for as the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; so are the spirits of all that are kept in a true subjection to the spirit of life in themselves, kept in the same subjection to the sense of life given by the same spirit in the church; and by this means we come to know the one master, even Christ, and have no room for other masters in the matter of our obedience to God: and while every one keeps in this true subjection, the sweet concord is known, and the oil is not only upon Aaron’s head, but it reach the skirts of his garment also; and things are kept sweet and savoury, and ye love one another from the greatest to the least in sincerity, and, as the apostle saith, without dissimulation; and this love excludes all whisperings of evil things; all backbiting, tale-bearing, grudging, and murmuring; and keeps friends’ minds clean one towards another, waiting for every opportunity to do each other good, and to preserve each other’s reputation; and their hearts are comforted at the sight of one another; and in all their affairs, both relating to the church and to the world, they will be watchful over their own spirits, and keep in the Lord’s power, over that nature and ground in themselves that would be apt to take an offence, or construe any word or action to a worse sense than the simplicity thereof, or the intention of the other concerned will allow of.
‘And whereas it may often fall out, that among a great many, some may have a different apprehension of a matter from the rest of their brethren, especially in outward or temporal things; there ought to be a Christian liberty maintained for such to express their sense with freedom of mind, or else they will go away burdened; whereas if they speak their minds freely, and a friendly and Christian conference be admitted thereupon, they may be eased, and oftentimes the different apprehension of such an one comes to be wholly removed, and his understanding opened, to see as the rest see; for the danger in society doth not lie so much in that, that some few may have a differing apprehension in some things from the general sense, as it doth in this, namely, when such that so differ, do suffer themselves to be led out of the bond of charity, and shall labour to impose their private sense upon the rest of their brethren, and to be offended and angry if it be not received; this is the seed of sedition and strife that hath grown up in too many, to their own hurt.
‘And, therefore, my dear friends, beware of it, and seek not to drive a matter on in fierceness or in anger, nor to take offence into your minds at any time, because what seems to be clear to you, is not presently received; but let all things in the church be propounded with an awful reverence for him that is the head and life of it; who hath said, “Where two or three are met in my name, I will be in the midst of them.” And so he is, and may be felt by all who keep in his spirit; but he that follows his own spirit, sees nothing as he ought to see it. Therefore let all beware of their own spirits and natural tempers, as they are sometimes called, but let all keep in a gracious temper; then are ye fit for the service of the house of God, whose house ye are, as ye keep upon the foundation that God hath laid; and he will build you up, and teach you how to build up one another in him, and as every member must feel life in themselves, and all from one head; this life will not hurt itself in any, but be tender of the life in all; for by this one life of the word ye were begotten, and by it ye are nourished, and made to grow into your several services in the church of God. It is no man’s learning, nor artificial acquirements; it is no man’s riches, nor greatness in this world; it is no man’s eloquence and natural wisdom, that makes him fit for government in the church of Christ; unless he, with all his endowments, be seasoned with the heavenly salt, and his spirit subjected, and his gifts pass through the fire of God’s altar, a sacrifice to his praise and honour; that so self be crucified and baptized in death, and the gifts made use of in the power of the resurrection of the life of Jesus in him; and when this great work is wrought in a man, then all his gifts and qualifications are sanctified, and they are made use of for the good of the body, which is the church; and are as ornaments and jewels, which serve for the joy and comfort of all who are partakers of the same divine fellowship of life in Christ Jesus our Lord; and thus come many to be fitted and furnished to good works, which are brought forth in their due seasons, for edification and building up the weak, and for repairing the decayed places, and also for defence of them that are feeble, that hurtful things may not come near them.
‘Oh friends! great is the work the Lord hath called you to, and is fitting you for, who innocently wait upon him; and the Lord hath opened my heart unto you, and laid it upon me to exhort and beseech you to have a care that ye quit yourselves as ye ought, in what God requires of you; and for the more particular expressing what lies before me in the matter, I shall set down a few particular observations for your benefit and advantage; and my soul’s desire is, that my labour of love may have a good effect in all your bosoms, that God may be honoured thereby. And, friends, ye know the chief business, to which ye are called in your particular men and women’s meetings, is under these two heads, justice and charity; the first, to see that every one hath right done him; and the other, to take care there be nothing lacking to the comfort of the poor, that are made partakers of the same faith with you.
‘And when ye meet about these things, keep the Lord in your eye, and wait to feel his power to guide and direct you, to speak and behave yourselves in the church of God, as becomes the peaceable gospel: and beware of all brittleness of spirit, and sharp reflections upon each other’s words; for that will kindle up heats, and create a false fire; and when one takes liberty of a sharp word spoken out of the true fear and tenderness, it oftentimes becomes a temptation to another; and if he hath not a great care, it will draw him out also, and then the first is guilty of two evils, first, being led into a temptation, and then secondly, he becomes a tempter to others; therefore all had need be upon their watch, neither to tempt, nor be tempted; and let none think it a sufficient excuse for them that they were provoked; for we are as answerable to God for every evil word spoken upon provocation, as without provocation; for, for that end hath the Lord revealed his power to us, to keep and preserve us in his fear and counsel in the time of our provocations; and therefore if any man through want of watchfulness, should be overtaken with heat or passion, a soft answer appeaseth wrath, saith the wise man; and therefore such a time is fittest for a soft answer, lest the enemy prevail on any to their hurt, and to the grief and trouble of their brethren; for it is the proper duty of watchmen and overseers to spare the flock; that is, let nothing come nigh them that will hurt them, and wound and grieve them; nay, the good apostle was so careful over the flock of believers, that if there were any doubtful matters to be disputed of, he would not have them that were weak in the faith at such disputes; much less ought they that are weak, to see those that are strong, descend from their strength, and go into the weakness where they are not able to bear; for that is certainly the weak that cannot bear; those that really live in the strength and power, they can bear even burdens for them that cannot bear their own. The apostle in the place before-mentioned, when he sent for the elders of Ephesus to Miletus, and left a charge with them, before he said, take heed to the flock of God, he said, “Take ye heed to yourselves.” And indeed we are none of us like to discharge ourselves well towards others, but by taking heed to ourselves, to be kept in that sober innocent frame of spirit, which the truth calls for.
‘In the next place, my dear friends, when ye are called upon in point of justice, to give a sentence of right between friend and friend, take heed that neither party get possession of your spirit aforehand, by any way or means whatsoever, or obtain any word or sentence from you in the absence of the other party, he not being yet heard: there is nothing more comely among men than impartial judgment; judgment is a seat where neither interest, nor affection, nor former kindness may come; we may make no difference of the worthiness or unworthiness of persons in judgment, as we may in charity; but in judgment, if a good man, being mistaken, hath a bad cause, or a bad man a good cause, according to his cause must he have sentence. It was a good saying, he that judgeth among men, judgeth for the Lord, and he will repay it. Therefore let all be done as unto the Lord, and as ye are willing to answer it in his presence; and although some may for a time be discontent thereat, yet in time God shall clear up your innocency as the sun at noon-day; and they that kick at sound judgment will find but hard work of it; they do but kick against that which will prick them; and however such through their wilfulness, and their abounding in their own sense may hurt themselves, yet you will be preserved, and enjoy your peace and satisfaction in the discharge of your consciences in the sight of God.
‘And as concerning practical charity, ye know it is supported by liberality, and where liberality ceaseth, charity waxeth cold, yea, so far ceaseth; where there is no contribution, there is no distribution; where the one is sparing, the other is sparing; and therefore let every one nourish charity in the root, that is, keep a liberal mind: a heart that looks upon the substance that is given him, as really bestowed upon him for the support of charity, as for the support of his own body: and where people are of this mind, they will have a care of keeping back any of God’s part, for he hath in all ages, in a most singular manner, espoused the cause of the poor, the widow, and fatherless; and hath often signified by his prophets and ministers, a special charge upon rich men that had this world’s goods, that they should look to it that they were faithful stewards of what they possessed, and that they might be found in good works, and might not suffer their hearts so to cleave to uncertain riches, as to neglect the service God had given them the things of this life for: either to give them up when called for in a testimony of his worthy name, or to communicate of them to those that were in necessity.
‘Now as concerning the necessities of the poor, there is great need of wisdom when ye meet together about that affair: for as I said before, though the worthiness or unworthiness of persons is not to be considered in judgment, yet in this it is; and you will find some that God hath made poor, and some that have made themselves poor, and some that others have made poor, which must all have their several considerations; in which you ought to labour to be unanimous, and not one to be taken up with an affection to one person more than another; but every one to love every one in the universal spirit, and then to deal out that love in the outward manifestations thereof, according to the measure, that the Lord in his wisdom working in you, shall measure forth to them.
‘And as to those who by sickness, lameness, age, or other impotency, are brought into poverty by the hand of Providence; these are your peculiar care and objects pointed out to you, to bestow your charity upon, for by them the Lord calls for it; for as the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness of it, he hath by his sovereign power commanded in every dispensation, that a part of what we enjoy from him, should be thus employed. The Israelites were not to reap the corners of their fields, nor to gather the gleanings of the corn nor vintage; it was for the poor; and in the time of the gospel, they were to lay apart on the First day of the week, a part of what God had blessed them with, for the relief of those that were in necessity; nay, they did not confine themselves in their charity to their own meetings, but had an universal eye through the whole church of Christ, and upon extraordinary occasions, sent their benevolence to relieve the saints at Jerusalem in a time of need; and all that keep in the guidance of the same universal Spirit, will make it their business to be found in the same practice of charity and good works. To do good, and communicate, forget not, saith the apostle: so they that forget not this Christian duty will find out the poor’s part in the corners and gleanings of the profits of their trades and merchandisings, as well as the old Israelite did the corners and gleanings of his field; and in the distribution of it, will have a regard to comfort the bowels of such, who are by the divine providence of God, put out of a capacity of enjoying those outward comforts of health, and strength and plenty, which others do enjoy; for while they are partakers of the same faith, and walk in the way of righteousness with you, submitting themselves patiently to the dispensation of God’s providence towards them, they are of your household, and under your care, both to visit and to relieve, as members of one body, of which Christ Jesus is head; and he that giveth to such poor, lendeth to the Lord, and he will repay it.
‘But there is another sort of poor, who make themselves poor through their sloth and carelessness, and sometimes by their wilfulness, being heady and high-minded, and taking things in hand that are more than they can manage, and making a flourish for a season, and then, through their own neglects, are plunged down into great poverty. These are a sort the primitive churches began to be troubled withal in the early days of the gospel; for the apostle took notice of some that would not work at all, and sharply reproved them, and said, they that would not work should not eat; and these are commonly a sort of busy-bodies, and meddlers with others’ matters, while they neglect their own, and run into a worse way than the unbelievers, while they profess to be believers, yet do not take a due care for those of their own household.
‘The charity that is proper to such, is to give them admonition and reproof, and to convince them of their sloth and negligence; and if they submit to your reproof, and are willing to amend, then care ought to be taken to help them into a way and means to support themselves; and sometimes by a little help of this kind, some have been reclaimed from the snares of their souls’ enemy: but if they will not receive your wholesome counsel and admonitions, but kick against it, either in their words or actions, friends will be clear of such in the sight of God; for it is unreasonable to feed them that will not be ruled by you, they break the obligation of society by their disorderly walking; for our communion doth not stand only in frequenting meetings, and hearing truth preached, but in answering the blessed principle of truth, in life and conversation, and therein both the rich and the poor have fellowship one with another.
‘There are another sort that are made poor by the oppressions and cruelties of others. These oppressed poor cry loud in the ears of the Almighty, and he will in his own time avenge their cause; but in the meantime there is a tenderness to be extended to them, not knowing how soon it may be our turn; and if there be need of council and advice, or if any applications can be made to any that are able to deliver them from the oppressors; in such cases let all that are capable be ready and willing to advise, relieve, and help the distressed; and this is an acceptable work of charity, and a great comfort to such in their sharp afflictions, and their souls will bless the instruments of their ease and comfort.
‘And my dear friends, as God hath honoured you with so high and holy a calling, to be his servants and workmen in this his great and notable day, and to work together in his power, in setting forth his praise and glory in the earth, and gathering together in one the scattered seed in this and other nations; oh, let the dignity of your calling provoke and encourage you to be diligent attenders upon this work and service you are called to, and let not your concerns in the world draw you from observing the times and seasons appointed to meet together; but you that are elder, set a good example to the younger sort, by a due observation of the hour appointed, that they that come first one time, may not by their long staying for others be discouraged, so as perhaps they may be last another time; but when the time is come, leave your business for the Lord’s work, and he will take care your business shall not suffer, but will add a blessing upon it, which will do more for you than the time can do that might be saved out of his service.
‘And when you have to do with perverse, and froward, or disorderly persons, whom ye have occasion to reprove, and to rebuke for the truth’s sake, and you find them stout and high, and reflecting upon you; then is a time for the Lamb’s meekness to shine forth, and for you to feel your authority in the name of Christ, to deal with such an one, and to wait for the pure and peaceable wisdom from above, to bring down and confound the earthly wisdom. And in this frame of mind you labour together to pull the entangled sheep out of the thicket, and to restore that which is gone astray, to the fold again, if you can; but if you cannot, yet you save yourselves from the guilt of his blood; and if such do perish, his blood will be on his own head: but on the other hand, if ye suffer their perverse spirits to enter, and their provocations to have a place in you, so as to kindle your spirits into a heat of passion, then you get a hurt, and are incapable to do them any good; but words will break out that will need repentance, and the wicked will be stiffened and strengthened thereby, and you miss the service that you did really intend. Therefore, dearly beloved, keep upon your watch, keep on your spiritual armour; keep your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and the God of peace will be with you, and crown your endeavours with good success, to your joy and comfort, and will bring up his power over your adversaries and opposers more and more, to which many shall bow and bend in your sight; and will bring shame and confusion upon the rebellious, who harden their hearts and stiffen their necks against the Lord, and his Christ, and kingdom; which he will exalt in the earth, notwithstanding all that Satan, and all his evil instruments can do to hinder the growth and progress of his blessed truth; for of the increase of the government, and of the peace of the kingdom of Christ, there shall be no end.
‘And now, friends, I have cleared my conscience of what lay upon me for some time, to write by way of remembrance, and as the exhortation of my life unto you, I remain travailing in spirit for the welfare of Zion: and although the outward man decays, yet in the inward man I am comforted, in beholding daily the great things that our God hath done, and is still doing for those that have their sole dependance upon him. So committing you to the grace of God, for your director and preserver, in these and all your several services unto which God hath called you, that by the operations of his mighty power ye may be kept blameless and unspotted of the world, to his honour and your comfort, and to the universal comfort and edification of the church, that so praises and thanksgivings may fill your hearts and mouths, your families, and your meetings; for he is worthy who is our tower, our support, the Lord of hosts, the King of saints, to whom be glory, honour and renown, through this and all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
‘From your friend and brother, in the communion and fellowship of the gospel of peace and purity,
STEPHEN CRISP.’
London, the 15th of the 7th month, 1690.
1691.
Passing now by other matters of the year, we step to the next, being that of 1691, about the beginning of which G. Fox departed this life, who even in the last period thereof wrote much, and continued laborious without fainting. The last epistle I find of his, was to his friends and brethren in Ireland, who, because of the revolution and troubles there, suffered much, chiefly, as I think, by the Papists; and therefore in the said epistle he exhorted his friends to steadfastness. This was in the month called January; and the next day, being the first of the week, and the 11th of the said month, he went to the meeting at Gracechurch-street, where he preached very effectually, treating of many things with great power and clearness; and concluded with a prayer. After which, the meeting ending, he went to Henry Gouldney’s, in White-Hart court, near the meeting-house, where he said to some that came with him, he thought he felt the cold strike to his heart, as he came out of the meeting. Yet added, ‘I am glad I was here: now I am clear; I am fully clear.’ When those friends that were with him were withdrawn, he lay down in his clothes upon a bed, but soon rose again; yet after a little time he lay down again, complaining still of cold; and his strength decaying, he not long after undressed, and went to bed, where he lay in much contentment and resignation, continuing very sensible to the last. His distemper increasing, and perhaps perceiving that his end was at hand, he recommended to some of his friends that came to him after having been sent for, the spreading of books containing the doctrine of truth. And to some others who came to visit him in his illness, he said, ‘All is well, the seed of God reigns over all, and over death itself. And though, continued he, I am weak in the body, yet the power of God is over all, and the seed reigns over all disorderly spirits.’ He used often, even in his preaching, when he spoke of Christ, to call him the seed; wherefore those that were with him very well knew what he meant when he spoke of the seed. Thus he lay in a heavenly frame of mind, his spirit being wholly exercised towards the Lord, and he grew weaker and weaker in body, until, on the third day of the week, and of his sickness also, he piously departed this life. About four or five hours before, being asked how he did, he answered, ‘Do not heed, the power of the Lord is above all sickness and death; the seed reigns, blessed be the Lord.’ And thus triumphing over death, he departed from hence in peace, and slept sweetly on the 13th of the month, anciently called January, for being as a door or entrance into the new year, about ten o’clock at night, in the 67th year of his age. His body was buried near Bunhill-fields, on the 16th of the said month, the corpse being accompanied by great numbers of his friends, and of other people also: for though he had had many enemies, yet he had made himself also beloved of many.
He was tall of stature, and pretty big-bodied, yet very moderate in meat and drink; neither did he yield much to sleep. He was a man of a deep understanding, and of a discerning spirit: and though his words were not always linked together by a neat grammatical connexion, and his speech sometimes seemed abrupt, as with a kind of gap; yet he expressed himself intelligently, and what was wanting in human wisdom, was abundantly supplied with heavenly knowledge. He was of a quick apprehension; and though his wit was not polished by human art, yet he was ingenious; and in his prayers, which generally were not very long, though powerful, appeared a decent gravity, mixed with an awful reverence, to admiration. His qualities are at large set forth by Thomas Ellwood, an eminent author, who having much conversed with him, gave the following character of him. ‘He was indeed an heavenly-minded man, zealous for the name of the Lord, and preferred the honour of God before all things. He was valiant for the truth, bold in asserting it, patient in suffering for it, unwearied in labouring in it, steady in his testimony to it, immoveable as a rock. Deep he was in divine knowledge, clear in opening heavenly mysteries, plain and powerful in preaching, fervent in prayer. He was richly endued with heavenly wisdom, quick in discerning, sound in judgment: able and ready in giving, discreet in keeping counsel; a lover of righteousness; an encourager of virtue, justice, temperance, meekness, purity, chastity, modesty, and self-denial in all, both by word and example. Graceful he was in countenance, manly in personage, grave in gesture, courteous in conversation, weighty in communication, instructive in discourse; free from affectation in speech and carriage. A severe reprover of hard and obstinate sinners; a mild and gentle admonisher of such as were tender and sensible of their failings. Not apt to resent personal wrongs; easy to forgive injuries: but zealously earnest, where the honour of God, the prosperity of truth, the peace of the church, were concerned. Very tender, compassionate and pitiful he was to all that were under any sort of affliction; full of brotherly love, full of fatherly care; for indeed the care of the churches of Christ was daily upon him, the prosperity and peace whereof he studiously sought.’ Yet more is said of him to his praise, both by the said Thomas Ellwood and others, but I will not detain my reader any longer therewith. His wife, about six months before his death, came to him at London, and being glad of his health, which then was better than some time before, she, after some stay in the said city, returned home well satisfied, leaving him at London, where his general service to the church seemed to be then most requisite. After his decease an epistle was found, which was written with his own hand, and left sealed up with this superscription, ‘Not to be opened before the time.’ What this signified, seemed to be a riddle, but he being now deceased, it was judged to be the time to open this letter, which was directed to his friends, and was as followeth:
‘For the yearly and second-day’s-meeting in London, and to all the children of God in all places in the world. By and from G. Fox.
‘This for all the children of God every where, that are led by his spirit, and do walk in his light, in which they have life, and unity, and fellowship with the Father and the Son, and one with another.
‘Keep all your meetings in the name of the Lord Jesus, that be gathered in his name, by his light, grace, truth, power and spirit; by which you will feel his blessed and refreshing presence among you, and in you, to your comfort and God’s glory.
‘And now all friends, all your meetings, both men’s and women’s, monthly and quarterly, and yearly, &c. were set up by the power, and spirit, and wisdom of God: and in them you do know that you have felt both his power, and spirit, and wisdom, and blessed refreshing spirit amongst you, and in you, to his praise and glory, and your comfort: so that you have been a city set on a hill, that cannot be hid.
‘And although many loose and unruly spirits have risen betimes to oppose you and them, both in print and other ways; but you have seen how they have come to nought; and the Lord hath blasted them, and brought their deeds to light, and made them manifest to be the trees without fruit, and wells without water, and wandering stars from the firmament of God’s power, and the raging waves of the sea, casting up their mire and dirt: and many of them are like the dog turned to his old vomit, and the sow that was washed, turned again to the mire. And this hath been the condition of many, God knoweth, and his people.
‘And therefore all stand steadfast in Christ Jesus your head, in whom you are all one, male and female, and know his government, and of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end; but there will be an end of the devil’s, and of all them that be out of Christ, and do oppose it and him, whose judgment doth not linger, and their damnation doth not slumber: and therefore in God’s and Christ’s light, life, spirit and power live and walk, that is over all, (and the seed of it,) in love and in innocency, and in simplicity; and righteousness and holiness dwell, and in his power and Holy Ghost, in which God’s kingdom doth stand. All children of new and heavenly Jerusalem, that is from above, and is free, with all her holy, spiritual children, to her keep your eyes.
‘And as for this spirit of rebellion and opposition, that hath risen formerly and lately; it is out of the kingdom of God and heavenly Jerusalem; and is for judgment and condemnation, with all its books, words and works. And therefore friends are to live and walk in the power and spirit of God, that is over it, and in the seed, that will bruise and break it to pieces: in which seed you have joy and peace with God, and power and authority to judge it; and your unity is in the power and spirit of God, that doth judge it; and all God’s witnesses in his tabernacle go out against it, and always have and will.
‘And let no man live to self, but to the Lord, as they will die in him; and seek the peace of the church of Christ, and the peace of all men in him: for blessed are the peace-makers. And dwell in the pure, peaceable, heavenly wisdom of God, that is gentle and easy to be intreated, that is full of mercy; all striving to be of one mind, heart, soul, and judgment in Christ, having his mind and spirit dwelling in you, building up one another in the love of God, which doth edify the body of Christ, his church, who is the holy head thereof. So glory to God through Christ, in this age, and all other ages, who is the rock and foundation, and the Immanuel, God with us, Amen, over all, the beginning and the ending; in him live and walk, in whom you have life eternal, in whom you will feel me, and I you.
‘All children of new Jerusalem, that descends from above, the holy city, which the Lord and the Lamb is the light thereof, and is the temple: in it they are born again of the spirit: so Jerusalem that is above is the mother of them that are born of the spirit. And so they that come, and are come, to heavenly Jerusalem, are them that receive Christ; and he giveth them power to become the sons of God, and are born again of the spirit: so Jerusalem that is above, is their mother. And such do come to heavenly mount Sion, and the innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and are come to the church of the living God, written in heaven, and have the name of God, and the city of God written upon them: so here is a new mother, that bringeth forth a heavenly and a spiritual generation.
‘There is no schism, nor division, nor contention, nor strife, in heavenly Jerusalem, nor in the body of Christ, which is made up of living stones, a spiritual house. And Christ is not divided, for in him there is peace. Christ saith, in me you have peace. And he is from above, and not of this world; but in the world below, in the spirit of it, there is trouble: therefore keep in Christ, and walk in him, Amen.
G. F.’
‘Jerusalem was the mother of all true Christians before the apostacy; and since, the outward Christians are broken into many sects, and they have gotten many mothers; but all they that are come out of the apostacy by the power and spirit of Christ, Jerusalem that is above, is their mother, and none below her; who doth nourish all her spiritual children.
G. F.’
Read at the Yearly Meeting in London, 1691.
This year I find that William Goodridge, of Banwell, in Somersetshire, was released from prison, where he had been confined about thirteen years. He had been premunired for refusing to take the oath: and his goods, whereof the moveables were rated at about two hundred and forty-four pounds, and the real estate counted worth sixty pounds per annum, were confiscated. Thus to suffer spoil of goods hath been the lot of many others, and among these was Benjamin Brown, an ancient man, of Brownish in Suffolk, who also, for not taking the oath, was stripped of all, so that his wife and child were fain to lie on the floor without a bed.