er.

in Christ, is exhorted to, and prayed for; therefore not unobtainable.

To conclude: We do not teach people the perfection of our persons, but the principle of God, and our experience of its converting and tranNating pow

Christ is stronger than the devil; and for this, was and is he manifested, “ To end sin, and destroy the " works of the devil ;” a doctrine the church of England teaches in her baptisın. Nor do we say, That every man is perfet from sin as soon as he is convinced of fin : no, there is a great war, a long wilderness to travel through, many enemies to subdue, and difficulties to surmount; and those enemies are mostly those of a man's own house. We therefore exhort all to wait for “ God's arising, that his enemies

may be scattered;" that witnessing a victorious state over hell and death, by the power of Christ Jesus, such may obtain " the new name which is is written in the Lamb's Book of Life,” and promised to all that overcome: which is far from that ungodly ranterisın he would faften upon us and our principles : and I doubt not but time, patience, and our blameless conversation, shall dispel those mists which malice and ignorance may have raised, to darken and blemish the reputation of our practice, persons, and principles in the world.

'TH

His ninth and tenth chapter of the ways and arts

that the Quakers use in gaining profelytes, with the advantage their way has over other heresies, honestly considered, and briefly confuted.' i 'P' b

op yng ng HE first artifice,' he says we use,"is, to come

in sheep's cloathing. Now what is this 'fheep's cloathing,' says he, but only the innocence

and purity of the Christian doctrine ? When-as their • main purpose is to devour credulous souls.' p. 117;

Anf. If we have the sheep's cloathing, and if the sheep's cloathing be the purity and innocence of Christian doctrine, then is our doctrine innocent, pure, and Chriftian. And since he avers the doctrine of the church of England to be so remote and opposite, this character must necessarily imply, that her doctrine is hurtful, impure, and antichristian.

But what have we seduced people to ? Drunkenness, whoredom, perjury, wantonness, idleness, or any such unseemnly or irreligious practice? Let him tell me who of us are less serious, less moral, or worse livers than we were before. But the truth of the matter is this: Our way of devouring people's souls, as he calls it, is that which hinders the hireling priests from devouring the people's pockets, and endangering their souls to; who « teach for hire, and divine for mo“ ney," and make religion but a stalk to preferment, who have the shell without the substance, as the form « without the power:" from such, in obedience to God's Spirit, we have turned away; and because we have dared no longer to put into their mouths, their covetous fpirit has swelled, (notwithstanding their pretences) and their sheep-skin burst, and an arrant wolf has come forth; no true sheep, but a sheep-fleecer, and a sheep-fucker of their blood, whose innocency and patience have plainly proved them such, But the

wolf's wolf's and the fox's skin have been always good enough for us! Any thing to disguise, and make the dogs faften and worry to death! Our conscience they call enthusiasms and our folemn confession, collusion and equivocation; our perseverance is reputed obstinacy; our plainness, fingularity; our industry, worldly-mindedness; and our retired living, penuriousness; our rebukes of evil, they will have to be cenforiousness; and our disregard of company, pride, and sullenness. Whatever God by his light has made conscience to us, there are a fort of men that have so little conscience, as to conftrue it all backwards; rendering us, instead of honeft, conscientious men, 'A pack of fraudulent cheat

ing fellows:' but we cannot help it; if men will rage, they must: their shame, and our patience, will the more appear.

He says, “Our second stratagem is, to bring the people out of love with their pastors, who have the care of them.'

Anf. I know not a Quaker in the world that would not adminifter both food and raiment to the worst-persecutor, as a necessitous creature: but I hope they would suffer unto death before they would contribute either to him as a priest: no; God's witness in our consciences never faid Amen to their ministry. They have the scriptures, true: but the “ word of reconci

liation, that brings to God," and of which they declare, they want. I know that some of them can talk well; fo can some mountebanks and comedians. Do they witness the truth of what they speak? Their heads know, but do their hearts feel the operation of that truth they will sometimes in words declare? Have they travelled the way, and traced the many anxious steps of that new birth, which is the only door into the heavenly kingdom? But alas! Oxford and Cambridge make them, and their parents and patrons prefer them: a good round maintenance is mostly their aim on all hands: tell them of the necessity of an inward work; that it is the Spirit of God that only makes a man a minister of God, and that the anointing, which true Christian-men receive, is sufficient to their instruction, and presently the cry is, Donatism, · Pelagianism, Famililin, Brownisin, Jesuitism, Qua• kerisin,' or any other name that begets jealousy, undervalue and hatred. In short, we do believe, that the settled ministers of the world are so far from being beneficial to people, that, on the contrary, they exercise their minds with a sort of unexperienced, unauthorized preaching; leading from the secret strivings, discoveries, and conduct of that Spiritual Minister of the everlasting covenant, which is able to bring man into that way of holiness, without which no foul shall ever see the Lord : and this is the true reason why we are turned unto God's Minister, Christ Jesus, who says, “Learn of me:" of whom God said, << This is my beloved Son, hear him;" and reject the ministry of man, Author and Master of it? If such learning be so great a friend to truth, how comes it that the greatest things have fallen to the share of poor and illiterate men ; and that such have been most apt to receive, and boldeft to suffer for it? Why not rabbies, rather than fisher-men, which was before the pouring out of the spirit of prophecy? and for what reason should so many learned academies, since the pretended ceasing of it, (a) be overrun with such foul idolatries, gross superstitions, and flagitious living, as 1200 years past will witness. Nay, on the occasion of any reformation, with whom is there more to do, and who harder to be brought to yield, than universities have been? Scripture and story give it clear against him.

Our third artifice,' by which he says we gain our proselytes, is 'denying all human learning, and use i of reason: that we are the most futtish and ignorant

fect that ever appeared in the world: yet, for our own turn, we will be nibbling at it, as G. W. in

mentioning a moth-eaten manuscript, mentioned bị < Beza in his annotations."!

Ans. We have already said enough to defend Christianity from the absolute necessity of human learning, either to understand or vindicate it: and so false is his affertion, "That since prophecy has ceased in the

church, secular learning hath been of greatest use " and benefit to religion,' that there is nothing more true than the contrary, as it is commonly understood, promoted, and practised in the world. I would fain know, how many rabbies, Greek and Latin philosophers, yielded themselves profelytes to the Christian religion, though they had his presence, ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection amongst them, who was and is the

Not that I would be thought to oppose all sorts of learning, neither: it has been man's erring from his Divine Guide, that has made way for those numerous theses, distinctions, books, and controversies, the world for ages hath been infested with. Such are the obfcure, unintelligible, and unprofitable metapbyficks of the heathen, too greedily received, and mischievously increased, by fathers, councils, school-men, and our modern universities, to the corrupting of Christian doctrine, and disputing away the benefit of Christian life. An unbounded curiosity and fancy have been the womb that hath brought forth so much troublesome and unprofitable matter, which began with a degeneration of philosophers; true philosophy, in the beginning of it, being no more than the way of holy

living, by the mortification of passions. But learning, as religion, failing by corruption of men, is now

(a) But why is it ceased ? Because ceased to you, fons of the night? Did not Christ promise to be with his to the end? Either that is not so, or his being with them endues them not with the spirit of prophecy: was it not apostolical, and in the first churches ? Why not now Is it lefs wanted? Is Chrift not that to his church he was? A blind argument indeed! Because the priests of man's making have it not, therefore none have it. “ I will pour out my Spirit upon “thee, and upon thy seed, and thy feed's feed unto all gererations."

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