CHAPTER XII (8)

Among the priests, one whose name was Townsend, stood up and cried, “Error, blasphemy, and an ungodly meeting!” I bid him not burden himself with that which he could not make good; and I asked him what was our error and blasphemy; for I told him, he should make good his words before I had done with him, or be shamed. As for an ungodly meeting, I said, I believed there were many people there that feared God, and therefore it was both unchristian and uncivil in him, to charge civil, godly people with an ungodly meeting. He said, my error and blasphemy was, in that I said, that people must wait upon God by his power and Spirit, and feel his presence when they did not speak words. I asked him then, whether the apostles and holy men of God did not hear God speak to them in their silence, before they spoke forth the Scripture, and before it was written? He replied, Yes, David and the prophets heard God, before they penned the Scriptures, and felt his presence in silence before they spoke them forth. Then said I, All people take notice, he said this was error and blasphemy in me to say these words; and now he hath confessed, it is no more than the holy men of God in former times witnessed. So I showed them that as the holy men of God who gave forth the Scripture as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, heard and learned of God, before they spoke them forth; so must they all hearken and hear what the Spirit saith, which will lead them into all truth, that they may know God and Christ, and may understand the Scriptures. O, said the priest, this is not that George Fox I would speak withal; this is a subtle man, said he. So the Lord’s power came over all, and the rude people were made moderate, and were reached by it; and some professors that were there, called to the priests, saying, “prove the blasphemy and errors which ye have charged them with; ye have spoken much against them behind their backs, but nothing ye can prove now (said they) to their faces.” But the priest began to get away; whereupon I told him, we had many things to charge him withal, therefore let him set a time and place to answer them; which he did and went his way. A glorious day this was, for truth came over all, and people were turned to God by his power and Spirit, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, their free teacher, who was exalted over all. And as we passed away, people’s hearts were generally filled with love towards us; yea, the ruder sort of them desired another meeting, for the evil intentions they had against us were thrown out of their hearts. At night I passed out of town to a Friends’ house, and thence to Colonel Dennis’s, where we had a great meeting; and afterwards travelled on, visiting Friends in Norfolk, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire. But George Whitehead and Richard Hubberthorn stayed about Norwich to meet the priest, who was soon confounded, the Lord’s power came so over him.

After I had travelled through many counties in the Lord’s service, and many were convinced, notwithstanding the people in some places were very rude, I returned to London, when General Monk was come up thither, and the gates and posts of the city were pulling down. Long before this I had a vision, wherein I saw the city lie in heaps and the gates down; and it was then represented to me, just as I saw it several years after, lying in heaps, when it was burned.

Divers times, both by word and writing, had I forewarned the several powers, both in Oliver’s time and after, of the day of recompense that was coming upon them; but they rejecting counsel, and slighting those visitations of love to them, I was moved now, before they were quite overturned, to lay their backsliding, hypocrisy, and treacherous dealing before them, thus:

“Friends, now are the prophecies fulfilled and fulfilling upon you, which have been spoken to you by the people of God in your courts, steeple-houses, towns, cities, markets, highways, and at your feasts, when ye were in your pleasures, and puffed up, that ye would neither hear God nor man; when ye were in your height of authority, though raised up from a mean state, none might come nigh you without bowing, or the respect of persons, for ye were in the world’s way, compliments, and fashions, which, for conscience’ sake towards God they could not go into, being redeemed therefrom; therefore they were hated by you for that cause. But how are ye brought low, who exalted yourselves above your brethren, and threw the just and harmless from among you, until at last God hath thrown you out; and when ye cast the innocent from among you, then ye fell to biting one another until ye were consumed one of another. And so the day is come upon you, which before was told you, though ye would not believe it. And are not your hearts so hardened, that ye will hardly yet believe, though ready to go into captivity? Was it not told you, when ye spilt the blood of the innocent in your steeple-houses, markets, highways, and cities, yea, and even in your courts also, because they said the word ‘Thou’ to you, and could not put off their hats to you, that if something did not arise up amongst yourselves, to avenge the blood of the innocent, there would come something from beyond the seas, which lay reserved there, which being brought by the arm of God, the arm of flesh and strongest mountain cannot withstand? Yet ye would not consider, regard, or hear; but cried, peace, peace, and feasted yourselves, and sat down in the spoil of your enemies, being treacherous both to God and man; and who will trust you now? Have ye not made covenants and oaths? and broken covenants and oaths between God and man, and made the nations breakers both of covenants and oaths; so that nothing but hypocrisy, rottenness, and falsehood under fair pretence, was amongst you?

“When ye pretended to set up the old cause, it was but yourselves; for which ye long stuck to sober people, who saw ye would do no good. But it was a joy for any of you to get up into authority, that ye might have praise, honour, and respect; and they that were in the self-denial were a derision to you, from amongst whom that was banished. Thus ye became the nation’s masters, and not servants; whereas the greatest of all should be the servants of all. But there ye lost your authority, not considering your estates, from whence ye were, and to what end God had raised you up; but forgot the Lord, and quenched that which was good in yourselves, and persecuted them that lived in it; and so are grown so gross and perverse, that at last ye are fit for neither God nor man. Have not ye called the Quakers the fanatic people, and the giddy heads? But whither now are ye giddying? into Cain’s city Nod, which signifies fugitive, or wandering? Have not ye persecuted and imprisoned to death such as God had respect to, and is now reproving you for their sakes, by them whom ye have hated? Were not many amongst you cut off for your persecution, and yet the rest of you would not take warning? Was there not a book of examples sent out unto you, of what sudden and strange deaths happened to the persecutors of the innocent; and yet ye would not take warning, until the overflowing scourge is now coming upon you. Are not ye they that have killed like Cain, who have killed about your sacrifice, and mingled the blood of the innocent with it? Hath not God now vagabonded you, that ye should become a curse upon the earth, who have persecuted Friends to death? Did not the blood of the righteous cry out of the ground for vengeance? And will not the blood of the righteous be required? Could ye think that the Lord would let you sit always with bloody hands and fists of wickedness? Ah! what is become of all your feasts and your fasts, the prayers and blessings of your priests?”