CHAPTER XIV (5)

“Christ’s church was never established by blood, nor held up by prisons: neither was the foundation of it laid by carnal-weaponed men, nor is it preserved by such. But when men departed from the Spirit and truth, they took up carnal weapons to maintain their outward forms, and yet they cannot preserve them with their carnal weapons; for one plucketh down another’s form with his outward weapons. And this work hath been among nominal Christians, since they lost the Spirit, and spiritual weapons, and the true worship which Christ set up, that is in Spirit and in truth, which they that worship in, are over all the tares. All that would be plucking up the tares are forbidden by Christ, who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him; for the tares and the wheat must grow together till the harvest, as Christ hath commanded. The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth; now, if the stone fill the whole earth, all nations must be temples for the stone. All that say they travail for the seed, and yet bring forth nothing but a birth of strife, contention, and confusion, their fruit shows their travail to be wrong; for by the fruit, the end of every one’s work is seen, of what sort it is.”

About this time many Papists and Jesuits began to fawn upon Friends, and talked where they came, that of all sects the Quakers were the best and most self-denying people; and said, “It was a great pity they did not return to the holy mother church.” Thus they made a buzz among the people, and said, “They would willingly discourse with Friends.” But Friends were loth to meddle with them, because they were Jesuits, looking upon it to be both dangerous and scandalous. But when I understood it, I said to Friends, “Let us discourse with them, be they what they will.” So a time being appointed at Gerrard Roberts’s house, there came two of them like courtiers. When we were met together, they asked our names, which we told them; but we did not ask their names, for we understood they were called Papists, and they knew we were called Quakers. I asked them the same question that I had formerly asked a Jesuit, namely, “Whether the church of Rome was not degenerated from the primitive church, from the Spirit, power, and practice, of the apostles’ times?” He to whom I put this question being subtle, said, “He would not answer it.” I asked him, “Why?” But he would show no reason. His companion said, he would answer me; and said, “They were not degenerated from the primitive church times.” I asked the other, whether he was of the same mind? He said, “Yes.” Then I told them that for better understanding one another, and that there might be no mistake, I would repeat my question over again after this manner, “Whether the church of Rome now was in the same purity, practice, power, and Spirit, that the church in the apostles’ time was in?” When they saw we would be exact with them, they flew off, and denied that, saying, “It was presumption in any to say, they had the same power and spirit that the apostles had.” “But I told them, it was presumption in them to meddle with the words of Christ and his apostles, and make people believe they succeeded the apostles, and yet be forced to confess they were not in the same power and Spirit the apostles were in. This,” said I, “is a spirit of presumption, and rebuked by the apostles’ Spirit.” I showed them how different their fruits and practices were from those of the apostles.

Then one of them said, “Ye are a company of dreamers.” “Nay,” said I, “ye are the filthy dreamers, who dream ye are the apostles successors; and yet confess ye have not the same power and Spirit they were in. And are not they defilers of the flesh, who say, ‘It is presumption in any to say, they have the same power and Spirit the apostles had?’ Now,” said I, “if ye have not the same power and Spirit the apostles had, then it is manifest that ye are led by another power and spirit than the apostles and primitive church were led by.” Then I began to tell them how that evil spirit, which they were led by, had led them to pray by beads and to images; to set up nunneries, friaries, and monasteries, and to put people to death for religion; and this practice of theirs, I showed them, was below the law, and far short of the gospel, in which is liberty. They were soon weary of this discourse, went away, and gave a charge, as we heard, to the Papists, “That they should not dispute with us, or read any of our books;” so we were rid of them. But we had reasonings with all the other sects as Presbyterians, Independents, Seekers, Baptists, Episcopalians, Socinians, Brownists, Lutherans, Calvinists, Arminians, Fifth-monarchy-men, Familists, Muggletonians and Ranters; none of which would affirm they had the same power and Spirit the apostles had, and were in; so in that power and Spirit the Lord gave us dominion over them all.

As for the Fifth-monarchy men, I was moved to give forth a paper, to manifest their error to them; for they looked for Christ’s personal coming in an outward form and manner, and fixed the time to the year 1666; at which time some of them prepared themselves when it thundered and rained, thinking Christ was then come to set up his kingdom; and they imagined they were to kill the whore without them. But I told them the whore was alive in them, and was not burned with God’s fire, nor judged in them with the same power and Spirit the apostles were in. And their looking for Christ’s coming outwardly to set up his kingdom, was like the Pharisees’ “Lo here” and “Lo there.” But Christ was come, and had set up his kingdom above sixteen hundred years ago (according to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s prophecy), and he had dashed to pieces the four monarchies, the great image, with its head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet part of iron and part of clay; and they were all blown away with God’s wind, as the chaff in the summer thrashing-floor. And when Christ was on earth, he said, “His kingdom was not of this world:” if it had been, his servants would have fought, but it was not; therefore his servants did not fight. Therefore all the Fifth-monarchy-men, that are fighters with carnal weapons, are none of Christ’s servants, but the beast’s and the whore’s. Christ said, “All power in heaven and in earth is given to me:” so then his kingdom was set up above sixteen hundred years ago, and he reigns. “And we see Jesus Christ reign,” said the apostle; and he shall reign till all things be put under his feet; though all things are not yet put under his feet, nor subdued.

This year several Friends were moved to go beyond the seas, to publish Truth in foreign countries. John Stubbs, and Henry Fell, and Richard Costrop were moved to go towards China and Prester John’s country; but no masters of ships would carry them. With much ado they got a warrant from the king; but the East India Company found ways to avoid it, and masters of their ships would not carry them. Then they went into Holland, hoping to get passage there, but none could they get there either. Then John Stubbs and Henry Fell took shipping for Alexandria in Egypt, intending to go by the caravans from thence. Meanwhile Daniel Baker being to go to Smyrna, drew Richard Costrop,[71] contrary to his own freedom, to go along with him, and in the passage Richard falling sick, Daniel Baker left him so in the ship, where he died: but that hard-hearted man afterwards lost his own condition.

John Stubbs and Henry Fell reached Alexandria; but they had not been there long before the English consul banished them: yet before they came away, they dispersed many books and papers, for opening the principles and way of truth to the Turks and Grecians. They gave the book called, The Pope’s Strength Broken, to an old friar, for him to give or send to the Pope; which when the friar had perused, he placed his hand on his breast, and confessed, “What was written therein was truth; but” said he, “if I should confess it openly, they would burn me.” John Stubbs and Henry Fell, not being suffered to go further, returned to England, and came to London again. John had a vision that the English and Dutch, who had joined together not to carry them, would fall out one with the other; and so it came to pass.

Having now stayed in London some time, I felt drawings to visit Friends in Essex. So I went down to Colchester, where I had very large meetings; and thence to Coggeshall; not far from which a priest was convinced, and I had a meeting at his house. Travelling a little up and down in those parts, and visiting Friends in their meetings, I returned pretty quickly to London, where I found great service for the Lord; for a large door was opened, many flocked in to our meetings, and the Lord’s truth spread mightily this year.

Yet Friends had great travail and sore labour, the rude people having been so heightened by the Monarchy-men’s rising a little before. But the Lord’s power was over all, and in it Friends had dominion; though we had not only those sufferings without, but sufferings within also, by John Perrot and his company; who, giving heed to a spirit of delusion, sought to introduce among Friends that evil and uncomely practice of “keeping on the hat in time of public prayers.” Friends had spoken to him and many of his followers about it, and I had written to them concerning it; but he and some others rather strengthened themselves against us.[72] Wherefore feeling the judgment of truth rise against it, I gave forth the following as a warning to all that were concerned therein:—

“Whosoever is tainted with this spirit of John Perrot, it will perish. Mark his and their end, who are turned into those outward things and janglings about them, and that which is not savoury; all which is for perpetual judgment—is to be swept and cleansed out of the camp of God’s elect. This is to that spirit, that is gone into jangling about that which is below (the rotten principle of the old Ranters)—gone from the invisible power of God, in which is the everlasting fellowship; and thus many who now clamour and speak against them that are in the power of God, are become like the untimely figs, and like the corn on the house-top. O! consider! the light and power of God goes over you all, and leaves you in the fretting nature, out of the unity which is in the everlasting light, life, and power of God. Consider this, before the day be gone from you; and take heed, that your memorial be not rooted out from among the righteous.”

Among the exercises and troubles Friends had from without, one was regarding Friends’ marriages, which sometimes were called in question. This year there was a cause tried at the assize at Nottingham concerning one. The case was thus. Some years before, two Friends were joined together in marriage amongst Friends, and lived together as man and wife about two years. Then the man died, leaving his wife with child, and an estate in lands of copyhold. When the woman was delivered, the jury presented the child heir to its father’s lands, and accordingly the child was admitted; afterwards another Friend married the widow. After that, a man that was near of kin to her former husband, brought his action against the Friend that had last married her, endeavouring to dispossess them, and deprive the child of the inheritance, and to possess himself thereof as next heir to the woman’s first husband. To effect this, he endeavoured to prove the child illegitimate, alleging, “the marriage was not according to law.” In opening the cause, the plaintiff’s counsel used unseemly words concerning Friends, saying, “That they went together like brute beasts,” with other ill expressions. After the counsels on both sides had pleaded, the judge (viz., Judge Archer) took the matter in hand, and opened it to the jury, telling them, that “There was a marriage in Paradise when Adam took Eve, and Eve took Adam; and that it was the consent of the parties that made a marriage. As for the Quakers,” he said, “he did not know their opinions, but he did not believe they went together as brute beasts, as had been said of them, but as Christians and therefore he believed the marriage was lawful, and the child lawful heir.” And the better to satisfy the jury, he brought them a case to this purpose:—“A man that was weak of body, and kept his bed, had a desire in that condition to marry, and declared before witnesses that he took such a woman to be his wife, and the woman declared that she took that man to be her husband. This marriage was afterwards called in question; and (as the judge said) all the bishops at that time concluded it to be a lawful marriage.” Hereupon the jury gave in their verdict for the Friend’s child, against the man that would have deprived it of its inheritance.