The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers. William Sewel
always laid burdens upon the people: and the true servants of the Lord did speak against them. Jeremiah did speak against hirelings, and said, “It was an horrible thing;” and said, “What will ye do in the end?” for the people and priests were given to covetousness. Paul did speak against such as did make gain upon the people; and exhorted the saints to turn away from such as were covetous men and proud men, such as did love pleasures more than God; such as had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof. “For of this sort, (said he,) are they that creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, who are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith; and as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so, (saith he,) do these resist the truth; but they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be made manifest unto all men.” Moses forsook honours and pleasures, which he might have enjoyed. The apostle in his time saw this corruption entering, which now is spread over the world, of having a form of godliness, but denying the power. Ask any of your teachers, whether you may ever overcome your corruptions and sins? None of them doth believe that; but as long as man is here, he must, (they say,) carry about with him the body of sin. Thus pride is kept up, and that honour and mastership, which Christ denied; and all unrighteousness: yet multitudes of teachers; heaps of teachers; the golden cup full of abominations! Paul did not preach for wages; but laboured with his hands, that he might be an example to all them that follow him. O people, see, who follow Paul! The prophet Jeremiah said, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means;” but now the “priests bear rule by the means they get from the people:” take away their means, and they will bear rule over you no longer. They are such as the apostle said, intruded into those things, which they never saw, being vainly puffed up with a fleshly mind; and, as the Scriptures declare of some of old, “They go in the way of Cain, (who was a murderer,) and in the way of Balaam, who coveted the wages of unrighteousness.” The prophet Micah also cried against the judges, that judged for reward; and the priests, that taught for hire; and the prophets that prophesied for money; and yet leaned on the Lord, saying, “Is not the Lord amongst us?” Gifts to blind the eyes of the wise: and the gift of God was never purchased with money. All the holy servants of God did ever cry against deceit: and where the Lord hath manifested his love, they do loathe it, and that nature which holdeth it up.’
He also wrote a serious exhortation to the magistrates of Derby, to consider whom they imprisoned.
‘Friends,
‘I desire you to consider in time, whom ye do imprison: for the magistrate is set for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. But when the Lord doth send his messengers unto you, to warn you of the woes that will come upon you, except you repent; then you persecute them, and put them into prison, and say, ‘We have a law, and by our law we may do it.’ For you indeed justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; he will not be worshipped with your forms and professions, and shows of religion. Therefore consider, ye that talk of God, how ye are subject to him; for they are his children, that do his will. What doth the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love and show mercy, to walk humbly with him, and to help the widows and fatherless to their right? but instead thereof ye oppress the poor. Do not your judges judge for reward, and your priests teach for hire? The time is coming, that he who seeth all things, will discover all your secrets. And know this assuredly, the Lord will deliver his servants out of your hands, and he will recompence all your unjust dealings towards his people. I desire you to consider of these things, and search the Scriptures, and see whether any of the people of God did ever imprison any for religion; but were themselves imprisoned. I desire you consider, how it is written, that when the church is met together, they may all prophesy, one by one: that all may hear, and all may learn, and all be comforted: and then, “If any thing be revealed to him that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.” Thus it was in the true church; and thus it ought to be. But it is not so in your assemblies; but he that teaches for hire, may speak, and none may contradict him. Again, consider the liberty that was given to the apostles, even among the unbelieving Jews; when after the reading the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue said unto them, “Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” I desire you to consider in stillness, and strive not against the Lord; for he is stronger than you. Though he hold his people fast for a time; yet when he cometh, he will make known who are his: for his coming is like the refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. Then the stone that is set at nought of you builders, shall be the headstone of the corner. O friends, lay these things to heart, and let them not seem light things to you. I wrote unto you in love, to mind the laws of God, and your own souls, and do as the holy men of God did.’
During his imprisonment there, he was under a great exercise and travail in spirit, because of the wickedness of that town; for though some were convinced there of the doctrine of truth, yet generally they were a hardened people: and he seeing the visitation of God’s love pass away from them, he mourned, and wrote the following lamentation.
‘O Derby! as the waters run away when the flood gates are up, so doth the visitation of God’s love pass away from thee, O Derby! therefore look where thou art, and how thou art grounded; and consider, before thou art utterly forsaken. The Lord moved me twice, before I came to cry against the deceits and vanities that are in thee; and to warn all to look at the Lord, and not at man. The wo is against the crown of pride, and the wo is against drunkenness and vain pleasures, and against them that make a profession of religion in words, and are high and lofty in mind, and live in oppression and envy. O Derby! thy profession and preaching, stinks before the Lord. Ye do profess a Sabbath in words, and meet together, dressing yourselves in fine apparel; and you uphold pride. Thy women go with stretched forth necks, and wanton eyes, &c. which the true prophet of old cried against. Your assemblies are odious, and an abomination to the Lord; pride is set up, and bowed down; covetousness abounds: and he that doth wickedly is honoured: so deceit doth bear with deceit; and yet they profess Christ in words. O the deceit that is within thee! it doth even break my heart to see how God is dishonoured in thee, O Derby!’
After he had written this, he perceived that his imprisonment there would not continue long; for the magistrates grew uneasy about him, and could not agree what to do with him: one while they would have sent him up to the Parliament, and another while they would have banished him to Ireland. At first they called him a deceiver, and a blasphemer; and afterwards, when the judgments of God befel them, they said he was an honest virtuous man. But their well or ill speaking was nothing to him; for the one did not lift him up, nor did the other cast him down. At length they turned him out of jail, about the beginning of the winter, in the year 1651, after he had been prisoner in Derby about a year: six months whereof in the house of correction, and the rest of the time in the common jail and dungeon.
Being set at liberty, he went into Leicestershire, and had meetings where he came, preaching so effectually, that several were convinced. He went after to Nottinghamshire again, and from thence into Derbyshire, where having visited his friends, he passed into Yorkshire, and coming into Doncaster, and other places, he preached repentance. Afterwards he came to Balby, where Richard Farnsworth and several others were convinced by his preaching. And coming afterwards into the parts about Wakefield, James Naylor came to him, and also acknowledged the truth of that doctrine he held forth; likewise William Dewsbury, with many more; and these three named, became in time also ministers of the gospel. But by the way, I must say that William Dewsbury was one of those that had already been immediately convinced, as G. Fox himself was, who coming to him, found himself in unity with him: and of these was also G. Fox the younger, of whom more hereafter.
But I return to the other G. Fox, who coming about Selby, passed from thence to Beverly, where he went into the steeple-house, and after he that preached there had done, George Fox spoke to the congregation, and said, that ‘they ought to turn to Christ Jesus as their teacher.’ This struck a dread amongst the people, and the mayor spoke to him; but none meddled with him. In the afternoon he went to another steeple-house, about two miles off, where, after the priest had done, he spoke to him, and the people, showing them the way of life and truth, and the ground of election and reprobation. The priest saying he could not dispute, G. Fox told him he did not come to dispute, but to hold forth the word of truth, that they might all know the one seed, to which the promise was, both