The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers. William Sewel
hatred of his enemies was the fiercer, because he had undisguisedly and clearly demonstrated their duty, to the rulers, and preachers, and lawyers: for in a certain book, published by him in the year 1653, to exhort men to repentance, he writes thus to the rulers:
‘O you rulers of the people, who are set up to judge between a man and his neighbour, ought not you to judge for God, and not for man? Ought not you to be men fearing God, and hating covetousness, not judging for gifts and rewards? Ought not you to countenance and encourage them that do well, and to be a terror to them which do evil? Justice is so. And he that is of God, and bears his sword, turns the edge of it against all sin and wickedness, injustice and oppression; and so sets up justice and judgment in the gates, that the poor may be delivered from him that is too mighty for him, and that the cause of the fatherless, widow, and stranger may not fall; but hath an ear open to the cries of the poor and helpless, who hath but little money, and few friends; that a poor man may not be afraid to appear in a good cause, against the greatest oppressor in the nation.
‘And ought not you to judge without respect to persons, or without seeking respect to your own persons, worship or honour from men; but only to advance justice, equity, and righteousness, which is of God; that so you may be honoured by the Lord; for true humility is honour, and he that honours the Lord, him will He honour; and such have been honoured in all ages, though they never sought it from men.’
This and much more he writ to the rulers; and to the preachers thus:
‘And you who say you are the teachers of the nation, how long will it be ere you look at your own ways? Is not all manner of filthiness amongst you, which you should lead the people out of? Is there not among you drunkenness, gluttony, whoredom, and sporting, sitting down to eat and to drink, and rising up to play; swearing, lying, backbiting, false accusing, railing, slandering, contention, strife, and envy? Yea, are not the best of you given to pride and covetousness, which is idolatry; fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness? Are not you hirelings, and teach for the fleece? Do not you contend for money with your own hearers, and sue them at law for it; yea, although they cannot satisfy your demands, without sinning against the light in their own consciences, and so sin against God? Are you not bitter, and persecutors of any that come to discover your lewdness, crying out to the magistrate to uphold you in your beastly ways, and to stop the mouths of all those whom God hath sent to witness against you? And many more works of this nature are amongst you, which the pure all-seeing God hath showed unto his people, to be amongst you, and therefore it is that they come out from you, lest they partake with you of your sins and plagues. But are not you blind leaders of the blind, when you neither see these to be the works of darkness, nor those that follow you. Wo unto you that devour souls for money and gain, the day of your account is at hand. O repent, the blood of souls is upon you,’ &c.
The lawyers in the same writing had a stroke also thus:
‘And you lawyers, ought not you to plead the cause of equity, between man and man for equity sake, without respect to yourselves or others, but only to truth itself; that a just cause may be owned in whomsoever it concerns? But is not the justest cause sure to fall, if the party have not money to satisfy your demands; which are many times very unreasonable? And you who should instruct people in the ways of truth and peace, do not you by your wisdom teach them lies and strife? Do not you advise your plaintiffs, as you call them, to declare in bills, things that are not true, and make small offences seem very great by false glosses? For say you, we may declare what we will, and prove what we can; so that you, and they whom you act for, know beforehand, that scarce one thing of ten can be proved, neither is true? Is this the way to make up the breach, and preserve peace and truth amongst people? O miserable fall from God, when that law which should preserve in peace, is used to aggravate offences beyond truth, and so make differences greater. And do not you delight to fish in troubled waters: and the greater dissension amongst the people, the more is your gain? Are not your purses filled, and your estates raised in the ruins of the people? And are not those laws which ought to be used to preserve people from oppression, by abusing, made the undoing of whole families, impoverishing towns and countries? The law, as it is now used, is scarce serviceable for any other end, but for the envious man, who hath much money to revenge himself upon his poor neighbours, which, may be, never did him wrong. Is there any appearing for the poor against the rich, although his cause be just; but by deceit, delays, and expenses, the remedy is worse than the disease?’
Much more he wrote to the lawyers, to stir them up to do justice, and then addressed himself to the people in general, in these words:
‘And you people of the nation, that have seen the hand of God against the prince and people for these and the like abominations, and you yourselves are escaped, as brands plucked out of the fire; have you at all turned to him who hath smitten you; or are you bettered by correction; or have you made your peace with the Almighty? Although you have seen war, and the sword reaching to the very soul, are you not every one, to your own power, gathering fuel to that fire which hath been burning in the land, and hath consumed thousands; which should have been as a warning unto you who are escaped, to return to the Lord from the evil of your doings? But are not you still making the breach wider between God and the nation, as though you were left for no other end, but to fill up the measure of iniquity that is yet behind, that the just God may sweep the land with the besom of destruction? O when will you cease to provoke the Lord by your sins? Where is your Redeemer you have professed so long in words and forms? Can you witness him in your works? And what hath he redeemed you from? For saith he, “Why call you me Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Is He your Lord, and you servants to all manner of filthiness? And notwithstanding you have seen his wonders in the nation, yet do not you exceed all that ever went before you, in pride, covetousness, drunkenness, swearing, envying, quarrelling, backbiting, slandering, false accusing, self-love, and deceit in all manner of merchandise and trading; false weights and measures, sayings, protestings one towards another, in your bargaining, speaking things that are not true, and hereby to overreach your brethren, and get dishonest gain. How many false oaths, and idle words are spent about every bargain in your markets, and open streets, without blushing, or being ashamed? Yea, it is able to break the hearts of any who know the pure God, to know it, and hear it; for it is come to such a height of deceit, that none can trust his brother, for lying, swearing, and forswearing, which abound in the nation; and yet you will profess yourselves to be the members of Jesus Christ: and had Jesus Christ ever such a body as this? Nay, all that are members of him, are of one heart, and one soul.
‘And you talk of a communion of saints: had ever the saints such a communion as this, to defraud one another for money; and profess a Redeemer, and are servants to the devil, and your own lusts, in all the motions and temptations thereof, and are led captive at his will? But what redemption is this you witness? So long as sin, the partition wall between God and you, stands still whole in your wills, you will be drunk, swear, lie, and commit adultery, dissemble, and satisfy your lusts in all things, and say we are redeemed; yet commit all these abominations and live in them, under a pretence of a profession, and going to the idols’ temple once a week. Did ever Jesus Christ redeem such a people, or dwell in such a people? Those whom he hath redeemed, he hath freed from the servitude of sin, by separating them from sin, and reconciling them to God, from whence they are fallen by sin: for God and sin cannot dwell in one. And to such he saith, “Be ye holy, for I am holy:” and as he is the “Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world,” now see, how is your sins taken away, when the kingdom of darkness doth wholly rule in you, and leads you into works and ways of darkness? Are you reconciled to God, and have you fellowship with him? Are not you yet strangers to him, and worship an unknown God? “For he that commits sin, hath not seen him, neither known him,” and so worship, they know not what, in formal and superstitious worships.’
Thus J. Nayler wrote: but I now break off that I may not be tedious.
So zealous was he before his fall; which was wholly of another nature than the common sins and transgressions; for, by the wiles of Satan, he accepted the idolatrous honour that some persons gave him, instead of which he ought to have reproved them; and thus was he so stupified in his understanding, that he imagined the bowing and kneeling before him, was not done on account of his person, but for Christ: and with this false opinion