A letter to the clergy of the diocess of Norfolk and Suffolk wherein they are desired to challenge the Quakers once more to meet them in the face of the country in order to prove which of them are Christ's ministers which may be done according to the method herein laid down with very little disputation and to the great satisfaction of the auditory / by a member of the Church of England.

A Letter to the CLERGY OF THE Diocess of Norfolk and Suffolk , Wherein they are Desired to Challenge the Quakers once more To Meet them in the Face of the Country , in Order to Prove which of them are Christ's Ministers ; which may be done according to the Method herein laid down , with very little Disputation , and to the Great Satisfaction of the Auditory . By a Member of the Church of England . SIRS ,

I Being at West-Dereham , December the 8th last , expecting to have heard a Dispute , though it proved little but Noise , only a few Charges you made against the Old Quakers ; by which it appeared , you had nothing to Object against the present Generation of them , yet Charged them all down-right with Blasphemy , which you pretended to prove out of their Books , most of the Authors being in their Graves ; some of whom have been Dead these Twenty or Thirty Years , and bringing not one Quotation or Instance of a late Date against them , out of any of their Books , as I remember ; tho' it seems they have lately Wrote much , which I , with many more of the Country , thought very strange , that you should be so Lavish in your Charges against them ( most of whom you knew not , and could prove nothing against them present ) which might well make Mr. Archer so far to do them Justice , as to say , they were Orthodox . That which the Quakers insisted on , I with many more , both of our Church and others , admired at , and thought it very unreasonable in you to deny , which was a Copy of the Quotations out of which you pretend to Prove your Charge ; tho' at the same time they proffered to pay for it . The last Day I was not there , neither have heard any thing to purpose was done , saving you Baited them with your Bugg .

I conceive your Design was , to Prove their Religion false , by your Resolving beforehand on Measures , whether the Quakers would meet you or no : But I conceive you might have taken a better Way , which is this ; First , To Prove your own Religion True , and your Selves Christ's Ministers ; and then you do not only prove the Quakers false , but all others that separate themselves from you : Perhaps you 'll say , there 's no need of that , the Church of England hath been proved to be the True Church many Years and Generations ago ; does that Prove you to be Christ's own Ministers in these Days ? And if you shall Evade it , and say , Who can disprove us to be Ministers of Christ ? I confess , I am not willing to go about that , yet must tell you , There are many in this Nation , and that of our Church too , which do greatly Question that Point , Whether you be Christ's Ministers ? Therefore I should think it absolute Necessary for you to Prove your Selves such , if you can , and that may End all Differences , and bring all into One Mind again . But perhaps you may think , that will cause a long Dispute : But I 'll tell you a Way to do it without Dispute , and it will be soon done ; I hope you will own that the Apostles were Christ's Ministers , and Preached the Right and True Gospel , according to the Mind and Will of Christ Jesus ; also , hoping you will allow , that Christ's Ministers do Preach the same in this our Day , as the Apostles did in their Day : For the Apostle Paul seems to be very Strict concerning the Gospel which they Preached , saying , Tho' we , or an Angel from Heaven , preach any other Gospel unto you , than that ye have received , let him be accursed , Gal. 1. 8. And the Apostle being so Apprehensive of the Need of that Advice ( as though he had spoken to our present Preachers ) comes over with it again in the next Verse .

Now my Masters , Let me ask you one Question , by Reason you call your selves Christ's Ministers , What is the Right and True Gospel the Apostle preached ? And I do not only put the Question to you , but to all those that call themselves Christ's Ministers : For why ? None other can answer it Rightly . I find two sorts of Ministers in the New Testament , the First are Christ's Ministers , that received their Authority as St. Paul did , Not of Man , neither by Man , but by Jesus Christ , and God the Father : The Second are the pretended Ministers of Christ , these are they that receive their Authority of Man , and by Man ; of which I desire your Serious Consideration : Can you say with the Apostle , you have received your Authority not of , nor by Men , but by Jesus Christ , and God the Father : But if you have not , how are you Christ's Ministers ? The Gospel you see is but One in every Age , If we , or an Angel from Heaven , preach any other Gospel unto you , than that which we have preached , let him be accursed : Does not this distinguish enough between the two sorts of Ministers ? But Christ further puts the Difference , Many will say to me in that Day , Lord , Lord , have we not Prophesied in thy Name , and in thy Name have cast out Devils , and in thy Name done many Wonderful Works ? Mat. 7. 22. And in another place , We have Eat and Drank in thy Presence , and thou hast taught in our Streets : But he shall say , I tell you , I know not whence you are , depart from me all you Workers of Iniquity : These are they that Preach in Christ's Name , and do many Notable Works in his Name ; yet you hear Christ saith , He never knew them : That is as much as to say , He never sent them : Why , who sent them then ? They are sent from the Schools of Learning , and without their sending they must not Preach , if they have not their Authority from these great Schools ; as St. Paul received it from Jesus Christ , and God the Father , they must not be received ( Pray unfold these Contradictions if you can ) this Scholarship was all laid by with St. Paul , and nothing accounted on by him , tho' he had as much of it as some of my Masters ▪ being brought up under Gamaliel , a Great Doctor in that Day : And Christ tells Paul , That he appeared to him on purpose to make him a Minister , and tells him what he is to do , To open the Blind Eyes , to unstop the Deaf Ears , to turn them from Darkness to Light , and from Satan's Power to God , Acts 26.

Now as Christ and his Apostles bare Testimony against the Man-made Ministers in that Day ; so the Lord commanded his Prophets to cry in the Word of the Lord against the Hireling Priests and Prophets under the Law , that Preached for Pieces of Bread and Handfuls of Barley , he declared , I have not sent these Prophets , yet they run ; I have not spoken to them , yet they prophesied . But if they had stood in my Counsel , and had caused my People to hear my Words , then they should have turned them from their Evil Ways , and from the Evil of their Doings , Jer. 23. 21 , 22.

Now Sirs , to return to my Question , perhaps you 'll say , This Gospel is Glad Tidings of a Saviour ; that I grant is part , but there goeth several other Rights with it , which leave out any one of them , and it 's no more the Gospel , than the Trinity is the Trinity , leaving out One of the Three Persons ; leave out any One of the Rights which the Apostle preached , and you leave out the Power ; then what good can it do ? The Apostle tells you what the Gospel is , I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ , said he , for it is the Power of God unto Salvation , Rom. 1. 16. so he again tells them , Our Gospel came not unto you in Word only , But also in Power , and in the Holy Ghost , and in much Assurance ; as ye know what manner of Men we were among you for your sake , 1 Thess. 1. 5. The same Apostle saith , Which things also we speak not in the Words which Man's Wisdom teacheth , but which the Holy Ghost teacheth , 1 Cor. 2. 13. So you may see the Gospel which Christ's Ministers preached , made some Work where it went , as the Preaching of Paul and Timothy in Macedonia , where the Heart of Lydia the Lord opened , and a Damsel possessed with a Spirit of Divination , that brought her Masters much Gain by her Soothsaying , cried out , saying , These Men are the Servants of the most High God , which shew unto us the Way of Salvation ; and this did she many Days , Acts 16. But mark the Event , when the Spirit was come out of her , that her Masters saw that the Hope of their Gain was gone , then they began to cry , Help Rulers , Help Magistrates ( but they had not a Parliament to Cry to , as our Masters have ) these Men being of a different Religion , do exceedingly Trouble our City , and Teach Customs which are not Lawful for us to Receive , neither to observe ( why , what 's the Matter now ? They were for a free Ministry I warrant you ) and they , the Masters , that had such Gain by this Spirit of Divination ; had the Magistrates and Multitude so far at their Beck , that the Magistrates caused many Stripes to be laid on these Gospel Ministers , besides a Prison they had ready .

We see it was the Loss of their Gain , that made that Bitter Cry , Help Rulers , Help Magistrates : Now , pray my Masters let me privately ask you one Question in your Ears , for you will hardly openly Confess it ( lest every Body should compare you with the foregoing Masters ) are not you afraid of your Gain also , that you have made the same Cry ? Are not you afraid of your Fat Benefices , your Darling Tithes ? If you say Nay , yet the People do , and will , Judge that 's the Sore Place you Kick at . So , Sirs , by these things you may see , the Ministers of Christ do a great deal of Good where they go ; and that the pretended Ministers of Christ can do None , because they know not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; neither can they , except it were Revealed unto them by the Holy Ghost .

Now , Sirs , to my first Request , Prove your Selves Ministers of Christ , and you do your Business all at once ; for the doing thereof , Please to take the Advice of Christ , who says , The Tree is known by its Fruit , and by their Fruits you shall know them : In Order to which , seeing you were once so eager to Challenge the Quakers to Meet you ; to Hollow , and Hout , and Bait Them ; Let me , my Dear Masters , beg it of you , that you would appoint once more , both Time and Place , and Order the Quakers to Meet you in the Face of the Country , and bring some of your Fruits with you of both sides ; perhaps some of you have been settled Men in your Parishes , some 10. 20. some 30 Years or more , which if you be Christ's Ministers , there is no doubt but you have much Fruit in all this Time ; if you bring but Two or Three out of every of your Parishes , according to Christ's saying , Out of the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses every Truth shall be Established : Bring in such as are able to give in Testimony before God and the Country , that your Gospel came to them with such Power , that it hath turned them from Darkness to Light , and from the Power of Satan unto God : Then these are become your Witnesses , that your Gospel is the True Gospel of Christ , and your Fruit to be good , and so the Tree good also . This is the Way the Apostle took ▪ We Preach unto you the Gospel of God , ye are Witnesses , and God also , how Holily , and Justly , and Unblamably we behaved our selves among you : 1 Thes. 2. And also speaking of the Truth of the Gospel which is come unto ☞ you , as in all the World , and bringeth forth Fruits , &c. Gal. 1.

Now , Sirs , bringing these Witnesses ▪ they do not only prove you to be Christ's Ministers , but it will take off those Scandals which are thrown upon you by the Country : Let me go where I will , you are all Charg'd with one thing or other amiss ; some with Covetousness , some with Pride , some with Drunkenness , indeed what not ? For most Folks will have one Story or other to tell of a Parson ; perhaps you 'l say that 's no New thing , the Great Lord Jesus was called a Wine-bibber , a Friend to Publicans and Sinners ; and Paul was called a Sinner , and a Babbler ▪ But , Sirs , remember this , those that accused Christ and his Apostles , were not of the same Society or Communion with them , they were Unbelievers ; but these that accuse you , are Men of our own Church , which you must and do own , by making them Communicants with you ; and surely one would think you would not give your Sacrament to any but Believers , and only such as are Worthy too : Remembring Paul's Words , He that Eateth and Drinketh Unworthily , Eateth and Drinketh his own Damnation . Therefore appear , the Quakers and You once more , and bring some of the best of your Fruits with you , to Testifie what Tree you are of : Then you may have something to tell the King and Parliament of ; but till then you will be look'd upon to be but like Demetrius ▪ and the rest of his Crafts-men , Acts 19. that were so Ingenuous to confess their Gain was in Danger , if the True Ministers of Christ were suffered to Preach up and down .

What would you have to say , if the King and Parliament should return the same Answer back upon you , that Christ did to the Jews , when they brought the Woman before him , taken in Adultery , in the very Act ▪ You did not take these Men in the very Act ; Neither can you lay any such thing as you Charge them with , to their own particular Charges , yet you would willingly Hang them for it , Right or Wrong ( only the good Old Proverb is made good , Curst Cows have Short Horns ▪ ) Christ did not so by the Woman , but said , He that is without Sin amongst you , let him cast the first Stone at her , and they went out all of them , and left the Woman where she was , and as she was : Would you do so , if the King should return the same answer back upon you ? If you did not , you would be worse than those Unbelieving Jews ; what if I should say , you are worse than the High Priests were in Christ's Days , that accused him before Pilate , for they had no Example before Them ; you were not their Example , but methinks they might be yours , Remember what Christ said to Saul , when he was a Persecutor ( who did it out of more Zeal , than I fear you do ) Why Persecutest thou me : And said in another place , He that doth it to the least of these , doth it to Me ; I think you have not prov'd these Men , i. e. the Quakers , to be false Preachers , if you have , pray tell us when , and how you did it ? We expected you would have done it in Print , and that with all Expedition ; which would have been more Serviceable to your Cause , than a Blind Certificate , which gives no Certain Knowledge of any thing , and will only serve to please the Simple and Ignorant of our Church ; as Toys do Fools and Children , the most material of which , is not the Matter , But the Company of Names which are to it .

Sure if your Corner Story you speak of , gave such full Satisfacton and Proof ▪ for the Auditory to Cry out Blasphemy , Blasphemy ! It might have been Extraordinary Encouragement for you to proceed in your Proofs , and that in the Face of the Sun , which would look more Honourable for you , than a Blind Corner Story , which I know not any heard but your Selves .

The High Priest had a Judas at work for Mony , to Betray Christ into their Hands , one that was a Follower of Christ that betrayed him for Mony : Have not you a Judas at work now , for Mony , to Betray the Quakers ? One that was a Follower of Them ; pray where is the Difference between these two Traytors ? Why , the Difference is Twofold , the First was a Iudas , the Latter a Bugg . Secondly , Judas had Thirty Pieces of Silver which was paid by the High Priest ; the Latter had his Mony not only from the High Priest , but a Recommendation also , not only to the Lesser Priests throughout the Diocess , but the Laity were desired to Contribute to so Good a Work .

And now , Sirs , he is made a Serviceable Prop to our Church : But now I Remember my self , there is another thing in which these two Traytors differ'd : Notwithstanding , Judas had made his Bargain for Thirty Pieces of Silver , when he had done his Work , Horrour and Condemnation so siezed him , that he brought back the Mony , saying , He had betrayed the Innocent ( which the High Priest , and Those with him , little mattered when the Work was done , but said , See thou to that ) and went and Hanged himself ; which shews his Sorrow and Regret ; Is there Sorrow and Regret in the Latter ? We must leave Events to Him that is Higher than the Highest ; I would not meddle too far in that , but desire the Consideration of all , that if he should come to show any Remorse on that Nature , whether they do not think he might Meet with the same Treatment his Brother did ; I shall further say , 't is the End that Crowns all .

Now , Sirs , a little further to consider , do the Quakers hold Errors ? How do you know it ? You are not competent Judges : You say you are full of Rottenness . from the Crown of the Head to the Sole of the Foot , there is no Soundness in you . Christ forbad such Judging in these Words , Thou Hypocrite , first cast out the Beam that is in thy own Eye , then thou shall see clearly the Moat that is in thy Brothers Eye : Have we not a Vulgar saying , The Kettle calls the Pot Black ? You know your selves to be as Black within as without ; and so confess your Selves , and your Crimes , to be such , in your daily Actions ; and for you to Charge them , looks strange ; you might Remember the Words of St. Paul , Thou that sayest a Man should not Commit Adultery , dost thou Commit Adultery ? Thou that Abhorrest Idols , dost thou Commit Sacriledge ? Rom. 2. 22. Or as if he had said , Thou that sayest a Man shall not Blaspheme , and dost thou Blaspheme ? You Charge the Quakers with Blasphemy , and is not that yery Charge Blasphemous ? In saying , The Light within , as taught by them , leads them into these , and many more Errors . Is Christ the Author of Blasphemy ? You have now Charg'd it upon him with a Witness , if we believe the Testimony of the Holy Scriptures , in particular of himself , who said , John 8. 12. I am the Light of the World , he that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness , but shall have the Light of Life . See Luke 2. 32. He was given for A Light to Enlighten the Gentiles , and the Glory of my People Israel . See Luke 11. 34. and 16. 8. John 1. 7 , 8 , 9. All Points out Christ to be the Light ; So that , Sirs , you have not only Charged the Quakers , but Christ too , as high as you Charge them : Was he ever Charged higher when Personally on Earth ? Tho' he was then so Charg'd , pray who was it by ? By the Priests I 'll warrant you , Matth. 26. 65 , 66. What further need have we of Witnesses ? Behold , now you have heard his Blasphemy , what think you ? They answered he is Guilty of Death : What think you my Masters of those People that gave Sentence , He is Guilty of Death ? Was not this like your Corner Story of the Peoples Satisfaction ? From which they cried out Blasphemy , Blasphemy ▪ You call Christ your Master , and your Selves His Ministers ; If you be so , I hope you will Obey his Commands ; if you think the Quakers are the Tares , and your selves the weighty Wheat ( which the People will and do judge ) you should let them grow together till the Harvest , the End of the World , and in the time of Harvest , I will say to the Reapers , &c. but you would not let them grow together , if you could help it ; Do not you Contradict Christ's Words ? And yet call him Master ; he says , He will say to the Reapers ; you say , you will do it your selves : By this he must not do his own Business , but you will do it for him ( like Hanging of Men for God's sake ) Therefore by this , pray who is Master , Christ or You ? That you are so forward to do his Work for him , and such Work as he hath forbad you ; is it your great Love to Him , or your great Envy against the Quakers , that you cannot abide them any longer in your sight , if you could help it ?

Perhaps you 'll say , The Quakers made this ; I tell you the Quakers knew no more of my Writing it than your selves ; for I am no Quaker , nor I think I never heard them Preach Six times in all my Life ; but this I can satisfie you of , that I have heard them but Twice these Six Years : Neither have I joined my self with any other Religion , but with the Church of England ; and if you come to Prove your selves Christ's Ministers , I shall then never Forsake you , but Love and Respect you as such : But if you do not , nor cannot , then I must remember the Words of St. Paul to Timothy , where he saith , There should come such , having the Form of Godliness , but denying the Power thereof , from such , I must , turn away : If you do not Meet , and bring such Witnesses , as aforesaid , I must with many more conclude You to be the Men the Apostle spake of , that are in the Form of Godliness , but denying the Power ; therefore I dare do no other than Turn away from you ; though you pretend you have stop'd the Gangrene , except you take effectual Care , the old Sore , being falsly Healed , will break out again ; and perhaps make the Wound then prove Uncurable , as in Jer. 15. 18.

Now Sirs , I shall draw to a Conclusion , desiring you to take the Advice of Doctor Gamaliel in these Words , Ye Men of Israel , take heed to your selves what you intend to do , as touching these Men. Let them alone : For if this Counsel , or this Work be of Men , it will come to nought : But if it be of God , ye cannot overthrow it ; lest haply ye are found even to Fight against God , Acts 5. 35 , 38 , 39.

Thus Gentlemen , I hope you will pardon me for not setting my Name at large to this Letter ; the Omission of which was , because I take you to be in Cain's Envious Spirit , about killing his Brother Abel ; and for what Reason may be easily known , because his Sacrifice was Accepted , and his Brother 's Rejected : I see your Envy is so great against them , you would Hang them if you could ; and perhaps you would do the same by me ( if you knew me ) for giving you this Advice .

If the Man that wrote these Lines you fain would know , Then come to me , the Man to you I 'll show . S. J. FINIS .