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[To such as ask, why I in Verse have writ?]
Prov. 26. 5.
To such as ask, why I in Verse have writ?
This Answer I return, I held it fit,
Verse should in Verse be answer'd, Prose in Prose.
My Adversary his own Weapon chose.
He chose before in Prose to write, and then
I answer'd him in Prose. So now agen,
Since he his Stile from Prose to Verse hath chang'd,
And in the Muses Walks hath boldly rang'd,
In his own Method him I chose to Treat,
Lest he should wise be in his own Conceit,
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A Rod for William Rogers, in return for his Rhyming Scourge, &c.
The Preacher tells us, that beneath the SunThere's no new thing: for, That which shall be done,
Hath been before, And what is now a doing
Shall acted be again, in Times ensuing.
Let none be shaken, therefore, in his Mind,
If he Gods People now Reviled find,
Reproach't with bitter Words, and Vilifi'd,
With filthy Slanders loaded, and bely'd
By Wicked men: Such was the Churche's state
Of old, as sacred Story doth relate.
That Railing Herauld of th'Assyrian Host,
The foul-mouth'd Rabshakeh, that man of Boast,
Who from Senacherib, Assyrian's King,
Did a proud Message unto Judah bring;
When he design'd the faithful Jews to draw
From their Observance of the holy Law,
He labour'd to perswade them they had left
The way of God already, and bereft
Themselves, by that means, of all ground of hope
That God would them defend. This was the scope
Of his false Reas'ning with them: If, said he,
Ye answer, In the Lord our God trust we;
Is not that He, whose Altars and High-places
Your Hezekiah takes down and defaces;
And hath to Judah and Jerus'lem said,
Your Worship at this Altar shall be made?
By this, he hop'd their Confidence to shake,
In God the Lord, and them distrusted make
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An open Ear to his seducing Word.
And that he might the more amuze them, he
Pretends his Mission from the Lord to be.
Am I, says he, come up without the Lord
Against this place, to put it to the Sword?
The Lord (adds he; for in a Lye he'll stand)
Unto me said, Go up against this Land.
Then let not Hezekiah make you trust
Still in the Lord, saying, The Lord (who's just)
Will surely us deliver, and this City
Shall not be subject to Assyria's Pity.
To this effect that Wretch, with strained Voice
Proclaim'd, and in his Lewdness did rejoyce
A little while; but, e'er 'twas long, the Rod
Taught him what 'twas to Rail at Israel's God.
When Treacherous Sanballat and Tobiah
Perceiv'd the godly zeal of Nehemiah,
The care and pains he took, his Diligence
The holy City with a Wall to fence,
How hard he labour'd (in despite of them)
To build the Breaches of Jerusalem;
Set up the Gates thereof, and hang the Dore,
That they no longer could, as heretofore,
Go in and out at pleasure, and prophane,
With unclean Mixtures, Jacob's Seed again;
Bring in mixt Marriages, and thereby make
God's People him offend, him them forsake:
At first it griev'd them sore to hear some tell
Of one that sought the good of Israel.
Then when they found the Work would be begun,
They laught, and into scornful Scoffs did run;
And by Derision and Disdainful Cries,
Declar'd how much they did the Work despise.
But when they understood the Work went on,
And was in likely posture to be done,
They waxt exceeding wroth, and strait combin'd
Together to oppose it; with them joyn'd
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In League, against Jerusalem to fight:
And all to the intent, to bring to nought
The Work, which God had by his Servants wrought.
Their War-like Preparations proving vain,
They use a Stratagem, they lay a Train
To catch the Innocent; thus him they greet,
Come, let us in one place together meet.
Fair the Pretence appeared, but their Thought
Was, by that Medium, to have Mischief wrought.
Good Nehemiah saw their Snare, and scap'd
The hands of them that for his Ruin gap'd.
I am, quoth he, about a Work too great
To leave it, and come down, with you to treat.
Four times (so did they long to circumvent
The Righteous) They the self same Message sent
And the same Answer did as oft receive,
And the same Answer did as oft receive,
I may not stop, the Work's too great to leave.
When thus Sanballat saw his Counsels fail,
That nor by Force, nor Guile, he could prevail;
With Rage and Envy swell'd, at length he burst,
And cast up Gall, and whatsoe'er was worst;
Not only Nehemiah to defame,
But bring an Odium on the Jewish Name.
And that he might his Slander publick make,
(As publick as he could) this way did take.
He gave unto his Servant a command,
To bear a Letter open in his hand,
In which he did suggest an Accusation
Upon Report, (a sly Insinuation)
That Nehemiah had imploy'd the Jews
To build the Wall, that he might them abuse,
And thrust himself upon them for their King,
And thereby double Bondage on them bring.
And, that he might the Crown the better reach,
He had appointed Prophets too, to Preach
So of him at Jerusalem, and say,
There is a King in Judah at this day.
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That with them joyn'd, the Work of God t'oppose.
One while, by Scoffing, Scorning and Deriding,
Another while, by Force and Factious Siding;
Then by Deceit, and many a subtil Wile,
In hopes they might the Innocent beguile;
And lastly, by a publick Defamation,
To make the Jews a Scorn to Gentile-Nation.
When proud Diotrephes, whose swelling Breast,
Love of Pre-eminence had long possest,
Had by Surmize and false Insinuation,
Leaven'd a Party in the Congregation,
The Rancour of his Venom'd heart brake forth
Against some, in the Church, of greatest Worth,
Prating against them, with Malicious words,
As, in his third Epistle, John Records;
Nor only Prating, but from Words proceeds
To work Division by Mischievous Deeds,
Opposing what the Inspir'd Apostle writ
Conducing to the Churches Benefit.
By these Examples, plainly it appears,
How Satan plaid his Pranks in former years,
What Arts he us'd, how craftily he wrought,
What Instruments, whereby to work, he sought;
One while, professed Enemies, and then
Another while he chose false Brethren.
And though those Agents now are dead and gone,
Satan remains the same, the Evil One.
He Mischief always to the Church intends,
And Mischief to effect, his Agents sends.
Though Rabshakih be dead, Tobiah Rotten,
Sanballat and Diotrephes forgotten,
The Wicked Spirit that in them did strive
Against Gods Truth and Church, is still alive;
And other Instruments doth daily raise,
To hinder Truth's fair Progress, in these dayes.
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And sort. How num'rous are Truth's Enemies!
Yet blest be God! A greater Number's those
That stand for Truth, than those that it oppose.
I lift not here a Muster-Roll to make
Of all who, from without, in hand did take
To Battel against Truth, and shake their Spears
At Israel's Camp within these twenty years.
Nor do I purpose to enum'rate all,
Who, in that time, themselves did Quakers call,
That through Misguided Zeal, or Discontent,
Their Bows against their Brethren have bent.
But since some few, of late, appear to be
With Rage and Envy fill'd, to that degree,
That with more Bitterness than all the rest,
Their Malice against Truth they have exprest,
My purpose is to single out from these
Him, that appears as their Diotrephes.
And that is ROGERS: For though Crisp and Bug,
With other some, do at the same Oare Tug,
And Toil hard at it too, with all their Might,
Yet can they do no more but shew their Spite.
And for the rest, that lie behind the Skreen,
And move the Wheels, but like not to be seen;
Although they help to carry on the Work,
I take less notice of them, while they Lurk.
Them therefore leaving, I return again,
To view Will. Rogers his Poetick strain;
Who having been too often foil'd in Prose,
To try his Fortain, now in Verse hath chose;
If Verse, without Offence, that may be call'd,
Which is delivered in Rhimes so bald,
So flat, so dull, so rough, so void of Grace,
Where Symphony and Cadence have no place;
So full of Chasmes, stuck with Prosie Pegs,
Whereon his Tired Muse might rest her Legs,
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She might, with much a-doe, hop on agen.
His [ Words to that effect,— Why so?— How so?
Hence I observe,— Hence I conclude—] do show,
His Pursy Muse was often out of Wind,
And glad when she a perching place could find.
What drew thee, William, to this Rhiming fit,
Having no more propensity to it?
Could'st think such hobling and unequal Rhimes,
That make a Jangling, like disorder'd Chimes,
Could of a Poem e'er deserve the Name,
Or e'er be read without the Author's Shame?
What Clouds of Darkness in thy Lines appear!
How is thy Stile perplext! how far from clear!
Thy Muse is wrapt in thickest Fogs of Night,
Which shews thou art departed from the Light.
Nor Sun, nor Moon, nor Star throughout thy Book
Is to be seen. No Spring nor Christal Brook
Glides through thy Margin. No, thy Waters run
Black, like the Streams of Styx, or Phlegeton.
I will not, William, take the pains to trace
The Snakey Windings of thy crooked Race;
Nor do I mean to give my self the trouble
To hunt thee, foot by foot, through ev'ry double;
Nor do I purpose here to spend my time,
To sweep away the stinking Mud and Slime,
(The Sanious matter of a Putrid Brain,
Which doth well nigh each page of thine distain)
Which in base Terms, and for the basest Ends,
Thou belchest forth against those worthy Friends,
Who, maugre all thy foul Calumniation,
Have in the Church an honourable Station.
I hold it needless now to make Defence,
Against plain Envy, for plain Innocence.
Besides, they are more able far, I know,
Thy Vomit back upon thy face to throw,
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And, silent, set their feet upon thy Horn.
Avoiding therefore that Scurrility,
Wherewith upon some Persons thou dost fly,
A purpose more especially to look
Unto those envious Parcels of thy Book,
Which seem to have a more extence relation
To all the faithful Friends in ev'ry Nation;
Not only those whom God hath call'd to be
His Servants in a publick Ministry,
But even all, beneath the Cope of Heaven
Now living, who their Names to Christ have given.
And, in this Search, I make no doubt to find,
And manifest, that, with malicious Mind,
Like Sanballat, Tobiah, and the rest,
Whose envious workings are before exprest,
Thou either chargest Friends with what's not true,
Or blam'st their doing what they ought to do.
After thou hast, in Misty Phrases, told
What those call'd Quakers us'd to preach of old,
Which yet thou dost in Language so unclear,
That common sense doth not therein appear:)
Thou slily dost suggest, That Friends are gon
From that great Truth they first insisted on.
But thy Suggestion's false: We firmly hold
The sure Foundation that was laid of old.
Quakers (thou sayst) in Christ's Name thus did preach,
Christ's Light's our Guide, it fallen Man doth teach.
And Quakers still (say I) do preach the same,
[Christ's Light's our Guide] and preach it in Christ's Name;
And that it fallen man Would teach, if he
Would be perswaded by it taught to be.
But fallen man rebels, and often kicks
Against this inward Teacher, when it pricks.
And that's the soundest Reason can be brought,
Why thou, being fall'n from Truth, remain'st untaught.
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Thou say'st. Why Few? Let Truth the case decide.
If [few] relates to Friends, there was not any:
If to the World, not few, but very many,
Christ's Teachings by his Spirit did deny,
And 'gainst immediate inward Teachings cry.
Now take which course thou wilt, 'tis plain in view,
That what thou hast asserted is Untrue.
Thus run'st thou on, till thou thy way hast lost,
And run'st thy heedless against a Post.
Look not, said they, to us, 'tis our concern,
That you from th'Light within your duty learn;
So thou report'st. The same concern remains
Upon Friends still, say I: Their Care, their Pains;
Is exercis'd in this, that all may learn,
From Light within their Duty, and discern
The Light's true Voice, which never did oppose
In some, what from the same in others rose.
And, if some said, Look not to us (which yet,
I ne'er saw prov'd in aught that thou hast writ)
It cannot well in other sence be took,
That they would not others so should look
To them, as thereby to neglect or slight
The inward Teachings of the heav'nly Light.
And that, all faithful Friends at this day are
As careful to prevent, as e'er they were.
But that Friends ever deemed it unright,
To look to one another, in the Light,
To help, encourage, comfort any Brother,
Be good Examples one unto another,
To stir the pure Mind up, provoke to Love,
And to good Works, as God thereto doth move;
That ever this by Friends condemned was,
I never heard, nor to believe see cause.
We read, that the Apostles, (chiefly Paul)
On the believing Christians oft did call
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The followers of Christ: Was this unsound
In them? If not, how comes it now to be
Exclaim'd on, as so high a Crime, by thee?
But of this Subject, William, thou hast writ
Before; and I at large have answer'd it.
What in thy Book comes next, is very dark,
And, as it stands, seems quite besides the Mark.
From th'Scriptures they Light, such a Teacher prov'd,
As into Corners could not be remov'd:
These are the words; If Printer be in fault,
Which I to know, have the Errata sought,
But find no mention of it there) then he
The blame must bear, and set the Author free.
Mean while, so far as I thy meaning guess,
I will Reply, and readily confess,
That ev'ry one, who in the Gospel-Path
Doth walk uprightly, such a Teacher hath,
As can't in to a Corner be remov'd,
Which from the holy Scripture may be prov'd.
Which if it be of th'inward Teacher meant,
As I to take it here, am well content)
Yet do the Scriptures plainly too declare,
And Paul himself doth Testimony bear,
That Christ, when he ascended up on high,
Gave Teachers for the Work o'th' Ministry.
And gave those Teachers Gifts to fit them to
The Work he had appointed them to do.
One of those Teachers too, in down-right Terms,
Th'Apostle Paul himself to be, affirms.
By which we plainly see, our gracious Lord
And outward Teachers to his Church afford,
Although they had the inward. And to them
Are outwardly, he said, who do condemn
Them, me contemns; who yield to you the Ear,
And you receive, me too receive and hear.
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To vilifie those Teachers Christ hath sent.
Thou add'st (while speaking of Teacher prov'd,
That into Corners could not be remov'd)
But did not preach it up, a slight to bring,
On holy Scriptures, pen'd for our Learning.
What means this, William? Dost thou any know
Amongst the Quakers, who do now preach so?
Name, if thou canst, among us all, one Friend,
That slights the Scriptures for our Learning pen'd.
Such dark Suggestions do from Envy flow,
And a malicious concred Mind they show.
For selfish ends, thou sayst, some thus did tell,
You see not right, your Light directs not well.
Thy drift is here, the Quakers to compare
With the Worlds Teachers, who in Darkness are;
And so art thou. The cases differ quite:
For their Objection was against the Light;
But so's not ours. You see not right, they said,
The fault whereof upon the Light they laid.
We see, and truly, that you see not right,
But far be't from us to reproach the Light.
We never say, the Light directs not well:
We tell you, That you from the Light are fell.
Their case with ours, doth no proportion bear,
But serves to make thy Envy more appear.
In all these Passages that I have quoted,
And divers others that I have not noted,
Of the same tendency with these, thy aim
Is, by Insinuation to defame
Gods faithful Servants, and beget suspition,
That they have lost their primitive condition:
Whenas it is indeed thyself, and those
Who with thee joyn. Truths Order to oppose
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And leagu'd in War against the honest hearted;
Whom, with malicious Mind, and words untrue,
Thou, in the following Lines dost thus pursue.
What Hypocrites, are all such Quakers then,
As touching Souls concern, have said Amen,
On the meer credit of another's Lines,
That seeking Self, from Scripture-Truth's declines.
Here's Slander by the Lump: A Whole-sale Trade:
Who are the Quakers thou dost thus upraid?
Come to Particulars; leave gen'ral Work:
Deceit, thou knowst, in Generals doth Lurk.
Name none 'gainst whom thou darest undertake,
The charge thou here hast publisht, good to make,
And make it good too: I will then declare,
He and thy self, may make an even pair.
Hadst thou consider'd, as it thee behov'd,
How many things must in this Charge be prov'd;
Not only that the Author of those Lines,
Which Souls concern, from Scripture Truth's declines,
And seeketh self; but that some Quakers do,
On his meer credit, say Amen thereto:
It might perhaps, have thee more wary made,
And the loose Ramblings of thy Pen have staid.
But when dark Envy once the Eye doth blind,
It bars Consideration from the Mind.
Have any told thee, that they said Amen
On the meer credit of another? Then
Prethee conceal them not, disclose their Names,
And let them of their Follies bear the Shames.
But if none so have told thee, prithee, whence
Assum'st thou to thy self the Confidence,
To dive mens Hearts, and undertake to know
The only Motive whereupon they go?
Thou, that hast so derided inward Sense,
Wilt not pretend, I hope, to judge from thence.
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By themselves, how dar'st thou be so bold
And positive, that some have said Amen
On the meer credit of another, when,
For ought thou know'st, they had an inward sense
The thing was right, and said Amen from thence.
And that Amen may to another's words
In Truth be said, the Scripture Proof affords.
And for that cause th'Apostle doth command,
To use a Tongue that People understand.
In thy third page, thy Mouth thou open'st wide,
To Rail at Fox, his Preachers and his Pride.
Thy Railing's slighted, and laid under foot,
And for the rest, I'll say but this unto't;
George Fox is, of the Truth, a faithful Teacher,
And hath been from the first: but has no Preacher
That he calls his. They that by thee are meant,
Are Preachers that, as he, by Christ are sent.
I dare thee but one Preacher to impeach,
That was by him commissioned to preach.
And as for Pride, hadst thou been half so humble,
Thou hadst not climb'd so high, to take this tumble.
Thou sayst, He fram'd i'th' Church a Government.
I say, not he, but Christ, that had him sent.
Christ, by his Spirit, first in him did move:
The Church the same, in Spirit did approve.
When Deacons first were in the Church appointed,
By those that with the Spirit were anointed,
Was that appointment to be call'd their own,
Or Christ's, whose Life and Pow'r through them was shown?
Paul in the Church did sundry things ordain,
(Bear with the word, the Scripture speaks it plain)
For Order sake. Was therefore th'Order his?
No sure, not his, but Christ's: And so in this.
Thou Cavil'st too, that (after Government)
Preachers, approv'd by man, beyond Seas went.
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To kindle Jealousies and Discontent
Draw unsettled Minds: Let's therefore scan
The meaning of those words [Approv'd by Man]
By Man thou mean'st the Church (for so I find,
Thou hast a few Lines off exprest thy Mind:)
And to approve, imports to own, receive,
Commend, or like: This then no room doth leave
For Cavil: For he must be stupid grown,
That thinks Christ's Church should not Christs Preachers own.
Besides, I note that here thou hast not said
Those Preachers were by man ordain'd or made;
But that they were approv'd. Now 'tis most plain,
One thing t'Approve, another to Ordain.
They had their Ordination from above:
Thou Christ Ordains, his Church may well approve.
Had to receive the Churches Approbation,
Is to Christ's Servants no Dis-reputation.
He that in Righteousness and Peace, says Paul,
Loves Christ, and in the Spirit joy withal,
Is unto God acceptable, and then,
Adds he, Approved also is of men.
Thou giv'st an hint, as if of them that went
Beyond the Seas, some by G. F. were sent.
How prov'st thou that? I Proof thereof demand:
Thy proofless Affirmation will not stand,
Much less dark Hints. Come, name the man that went
A preaching at G. F's commandment,
Without an inward Motion from the Lord,
To sound abroad his everlasting Word.
I solemnly profess, I do not know
One Friend amongst us all, that e'er did so.
Thou sayst, The Church hath cry'd once and agen
'Gainst Black-Coats, for their being sent of men.
Thou Envy-blinded art, and much unlearn'd
In Truth, nor hast thou Right from Wrong discern'd.
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'Twixt those that run, as only sent by men,
Who neither waited for, nor yet believ'd
The Spirit's motion was to be receiv'd,
And did their Mission too from such men take,
As have against the Spirit's sending spake:
And them that await she, and in Truth rejoyce
At hearing, in themselues, the Spirit's Voice
Giving a certain Echo to the sound
Of the same Voice, when in another found?
Hast thou not read, how, in the purest state
Of Christian Faith, (as Scripture doth relate)
The blest Apostles sometimes others sent,
And sometimes also, sent by others, went?
How oft did Paul send Timothy and Titus,
Beloved Tychicus, Epaphroditus,
Onesimus, Erastus, and some others,
True Gospel-Preachers, and beloved Brothers?
Was this like Black-Coats sending? Blush for shame,
That e'er thy Envy did thy Black-Coats name.
Canst thou imagin, they who thus were sent,
On the meer Motion of th'Apostle went?
No: They, no question, in themselves did find
The same good Motion stirring up their Mind.
With what the good Apostle did advise,
The holy Ghost in them did harmonize.
Titus his case so clearly is exprest,
That it may serve to open all the rest.
Him Paul to Corinth had desir'd to go;
He thereunto a Readiness doth show:
But why? God put it in his heart to do
What the Apostle did exhort him to.
Peter and John, Luke tells us, being sent
By the Apostles, to Samaria went.
The Church too, after Stephen's fatal Stroke,
Sent Barnabas as far as Antiock.
Examples of this kind are many found,
The holy Scriptures do therewith abound.
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Of some that in the purest Age did live,
Ev'n holy Barnabas and blessed Saul,
(Whose Christian Name was after called Paul)
That these were sent by Simon, and the rest,
In Scripture positively is exprest:
Yet in the very words that follow next,
It is recorded in the holy Text,
That they were by the holy Ghost sent forth:
Whence plainly follows, (and indeed 'tis worth
Our Observation) that what those men did
Is to the holy Ghost attributed.
And there's great Reason that it should be so,
Since what they did, did from the Spirit flow,
Yet, think I, not the other two did go
Without a Motion, in themselves, thereto.
But, William, that which frets thee most of all,
And makes an overflowing of thy Gall,
Is, that the Church hath Money to supply
The just occasions of her Ministry,
When they, to preach the Word, are mov'd to travel
Beyond the Seas. At this thou thus dost cavil;
Such Church men unto Christ's Church strangers are,
And most rely upon their Churches ear:
Vnlike those whom Christ sent i'th? Ministry,
Without a Scrip, to sound the Gospel free:
And therefore when her Cash was empty'd, she,
Gav'd Money for to serve the Ministry.
Hence prating Preachers turn'd the Silver Bait,
Brought not a few o'th' Church with zeal to wait.
As favour was obtain'd by Parasites,
They labour'd hard to gain more Proselites.
Thus, like a troubl'd Sea, thou castest up
The Mire and Dirt that's in thy filthy Cup:
Then, in a paltry kind of Balad Tone,
Like scoffing Ishmael, thou thus go'st on;
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For Money, Money for the Ministry.
And in thy fifth page, having given a yerk
At Richardson, for being an hired Clerk,
Thou sayst, Its true, that some do frequent say,
Both Clerks and Priests from th'Flock obtain their pay.
Thy envious term of Priests, as 'tis apply'd
To Friends, is by the Truth in Friends deny'd.
Th'Apostle Peter call'd the Saints of old
A Royal Priesthood: We no other hold.
But that Christ's Ministers should be supply'd
With necessaries, by the Churchs (his Bride)
Is such a known and certain Truth, as none,
Perhaps, hath e'er oppos'd, but thou alone.
Read but the Scriptures in the Margin set,
And thou'lt be forc'd to grant (though with Regret)
That 'tis the Churches duty, to supply
The needful wants of all her Ministry.
I know, these Texts which I have here inserted,
Have oft been misapply'd, and much perverted
By Parish-Preachers, who these Scriptures strain,
To draw unto themselves dishonest Gain.
But what of that? Truth must not be refus'd,
Because it is by Evil men abus'd:
And truth it is, too plain to be deny'd,
Christ's Church should for Christ's Ministers provide.
What carp'st thou at then, William? Would thy Muse
Plead that St. Paul did not his Priv'ledge use?
I grant he did not, in some special cases,
And that too only in some factious places:
And I, perhaps, if need requir'd, could name
Some scores of Friends too, that have done the same,
That at their own charge have a Warfare gone,
And crost the Seas, being chargeable to none.
But what of that? Th'Apostle Paul we find
His Right asserted, though he had no mind
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That other Churches did of him take care;
That what was lacking to him, privately
The Macedonian Brethren did supply.
Thus it appears, th'Apostle did partake
Of that Provision, which the Church did make.
And what, but Envy, hath bewitcht thy Mind,
With what was then approv'd, now fault to find !
Pretend thou canst not, that the stock is given
To such as have no need thereof; for even
Thy self here sayst, The Church supply'd the need
Of those that wanted Monies to proceed
To go beyond Seas. What a groundless Cavil
Is this of thine! How should such Preachers travel
Beyond the Seas, whom Christ thereto doth move,
And whom the Church, as faithful, doth approve,
If neither have they Monies to proceed,
Nor Church may, with her Stock, supply their need?
May none beyond Seas go, but who can spare
Sufficient of their own, the charge to bear?
Must Christ be so confin'd, he may not send
Any, but such as have Estates to spend?
God bless us from such Doctrine, and such Teachers,
As will admit of none but wealthy Preachers.
Peter, we read, nor Silver had, nor Gold,
(So he the Cripple, at the Temple, told)
Yet after that he travell'd far and near,
By Sea and Land; pray, who the Charge did bear,
Unless the Church? And is that now a Crime,
Which was a Virtue in the purest time?
No sure: Though Dissolute Apostates slight
Her care, the Church then did, and now doth right
Christ's Messengers to furnish, and their need
Supply, when they want Monies to proceed
In this Work. As for what thou add'st, to wit,
[If they their Motion freely did submit
To th'London Church, and do as she thought fit:]
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Of thee an Evidence thereof demand.
Produce one Instance, if thou canst; declare
One Person's Name, with whom it did so fare.
Name one (or else thou may'st be thought a Lyar)
Of whom the Church in London did require,
That he his Motion freely should submit
To her, and do therein as she thought fit.
I know, 'tis usual with thee to suggest
The false Surmizes of thy envious Breast,
Void of all Proof, and many a Calumny,
By thee flung at us, yet unprov'd doth ly.
I know, the Friends of London, to whose Care
And Trust, those Services committed are,
Are faithful men, and tender of the good,
By whom true Motions will not be withstood.
They'r such as would not break a bruised Reed,
Nor quench the smoaking Flax. Yet they had need
Be satisfi'd, how they dispense that Stock,
Which is the Free-Will Offering of the Flock,
Not limitted to any single use,
(As thou insinuatest in Abuse)
But is imploy'd in a more gen'ral way,
The Churches common Charges to defray.
And, William, ask thy Friends, T. C. E. M.
If the Accompts were not perus'd by them
Within these few years, and each set his Name
Thereto, to shew he did approve the same.
Thou sayst, Her Papers, like to Briefs did cry
For Money, Money for the Ministry:
But thou sayst falsly; I thy words deny:
Prove them, or Falshood at thy door shall ly.
Thy naming Briefs, on this occasion, shows
Thy Cavil from a Scoffing Spirit flows.
Paul to the Church did his Epistles send,
In which he to their care did recommend
21
At those Epistles too? Why cry'st not out
Against the Papers of th'Apostle Paul,
That They, like Briefs, for Money, Money, call?
Thy Cavil doth as much against him ly,
As against us: and 'twas thy subtilty,
Not openly of Paul to shew dislike,
But rather through our sides at him to strike.
Thy Work is seen; thy Undertaking's vile;
Thy Spirit scornful; frothy is thy Stile.
But, William, art thou sure, thou never yet
To what thou termest Briefs, thy Name hast set?
Take heed, lest while thou Stones dost upward throw,
They fall not back, and give thy self a blow.
Thy flurt at Richardson, for taking pay
For what, as Clark, he writes, doth much bewray
Thy Folly and Injustice: Is't not fit,
Who works for others, should be paid for it,
And that by them, who him, to work, desire?
The Labourer is worthy of his Hire.
Have you no things, call'd Clerks? From whom, I pray,
Do your Apostate-Clerks obtain their pay,
Save from the Herd to which they do belong?
And is Reward due only to the Wrong!
Come, William, come; one Heav'n-instructed Scribe
Will weigh down all your Pharisaical Tribe.
Thou mention'st Impositions, Humane Laws,
Forms, Yokes, Decrees, Pales, any thing to cause
Strange Apprehensions, Fears and Jealousies,
(Whence Discontent and Prejudice might rise)
In some professing Truth, who have not taken
Root deep enough therein, not to be shaken:
And that thou also mightst the Church expose
To the Contempt and Fury of her Foes.
But (blest be God) though thy mischeivous Heart
Be desperately Wicked, yet thy Art
22
Confusion, Envy, and Self-Contradiction,
That he must be already more than blind,
Who to believe thee can perswade his Mind.
One while thou sayst, (but in deriding-wise)
The Churches Laws, are, to her Members, Eyes.
This is a plain Acknowledgment, that she
Would have her Members with their own Eyes see.
Yet, ten Lines further off, thou sayst, she cryes,
Dark Spirits, he that sees not with our Eyes.
This needs no Comment: 'Tis so plain, that he
Is blind, that don't the Contradiction see.
But, William, here's not only Contradiction,
But a foul Slander too; a Lying Fiction.
Thou, speaking of the Church, here say'st, She cryes
Dark Spirits, he that sees not with our Eyes.
This is a down-right Falshood, I declare;
Make Proof on't, if thou canst, and do not spare:
Acquit thy self thereof, or it shall ly
Upon thee, as a Badge of Infamy.
'Tis by such base dishonest tricks as these,
Thou thy misguided Party, seek'st to please,
And captivated hold: But Truth thee strips,
And thy deceitful workings open rips.
Fox is term'd Head, thou say'st. I ask, By whom?
Such terms ne'er from the Church of Christ did come.
This is another Slander: One would think
Thy Heart were full of Falshoods to the Brink,
And these run over. What a horrid Sin
Is this of Lying, when its once let in!
And thou hast let it in so deep, that now
Thou tumblest out thy Lyes, thou car'st not how.
Thou sayst, External Forms by Fox decreed,
Are set as Marks to know the Chaff from th'Seed.
This is another Whisker, like the rest,
Hatcht by the Lying Spirit in thy Breast,
23
To shake the weak, and cause them to decline
The way of Truth. Thus doth the Serpent lay
His baited Hooks, the simple to betray.
But by the Truth, his Wiles discover'd are,
That the most weak may see, and shun the Snare.
In thy last-cited words I do detect
Two most notorious Falshoods, and expect
Thy Proof; for what thou chargest, I deny,
And turn't back on thee as a double Ly.
One, That External Forms have been decreed
By FOX: This is a shameless Lye indeed.
Bring that Decree forth, that it may be seen,
If ever any such Decree hath been,
That ev'ry one may with his own Eyes see,
And not be fain to pin his Faith on thee.
Thy other Falshood is, Those Forms decreed,
Are set as Marks to know the Chaff from th'Seed.
This also, as a Slander, I reject,
By which thou would'st unstable Minds infect.
So Forms, as Marks to know the Seed, are set.
The Seed is known by weight and Vertue; yet
It is not void of Form, but doth receive
Its proper Form, which thou can'st not bereave
Ye of, with all thy Railing: Truth remains
The fame, not blemished by Envy's stains.
The Chaff too, William, is by lightness known:
By lightness hath thy chaffy Spirit shown.
Burnt up, the Chaff shall be with quenchless Fire:
Oh William! unto thee that day is nigher
Than tho'rt aware. My Spirit mourns to see
Thee raving on the brink of Misery.
Some scatt'red flurts, with hideous Exclamation,
Thy Pamplet has at Excommunication,
Wherewith thou mak'st a rumbling noise, to scare
Such as thou apprehend'st unsettled are.
24
And with thy BULLS thou mak'st a great a-do.
Rome thou upbraid'st us with; but prethee whence
Had'st thou thy Bullish Term, if not from thence
Speak plainly, William, tell us, who thee hope
Unto that title [BULLS] unless the Pope.
Art not asham'd the Pope should thee so gull,
To make thee take a Paper for a Bull!
That whilst thou of a Paper wast a Treating,
The thought of Bulls strait made thee fall a Bleating.
Come, William, whilst thou writ such Paltry Trash,
Ne'er wonder, if thou sometimes get'st a Lash.
Thou knowst whose Back, the Wise man says, The Rod
Is for: Henceforth let Wisdom's Path be trod.
Leave thy Scurrilities; cease to Revile:
And, if thou wilt write, learn a more cleanly Stile,
Thy Language is most Loathsom: Take a tast
Thereof, in what thou in thy tenth page say'st;
[Hence Sixty Six, like Mercenary Judges,
Or rather like Self-seeking slavish Drudges,
By Satan led:] What Nasty Terms are these!
How Foul must that Mind be that this can please!
No question, William, but thou, at this rate,
May'st all the Scolds out scold at Billings-Gate!
As to thy Cavil, that what was prepar'd
By one, was past against thy John unheard;
Thy STORY's false: He had been fully heard,
And faulty found, as at Drawell appear'd.
But this same Cavil has before been brought,
And Answer'd fully in my Antidote,
To which I now refer thee, not delighting,
On the same ANVIL to be always smiting.
Thy Curtailling the Number of the Beast,
To make thy giddy Folk a jolly Feast,
Is such a Beastly Prank, as ne'er was play'd
By any, that of Truth Profession made.
What? To prophane the Text with frothy wit,
And sport at what the Holy Ghost hath writ?
He that shall dare invent such slipp'ry Tricks,
May shrink the Number of the Beast to six.
But William, nothing can more plainly show
How seard that Conscience is, from which did flow
Thy scoff, than that thou therewith dost belye
The Chief of Christian Vertues, Charity.
To make thy giddy Folk a jolly Feast,
Is such a Beastly Prank, as ne'er was play'd
By any, that of Truth Profession made.
25
And sport at what the Holy Ghost hath writ?
He that shall dare invent such slipp'ry Tricks,
May shrink the Number of the Beast to six.
But William, nothing can more plainly show
How seard that Conscience is, from which did flow
Thy scoff, than that thou therewith dost belye
The Chief of Christian Vertues, Charity.
Thy Clamour against Excommunication,
Shews what thou wouldst be at; A Toleration
For Unclean Spirits in the Church to lurk,
And uncontroul'd to carry on their work
Against the Truth; that so they might effect?
The Mischief they design, and not be checkt.
Shews what thou wouldst be at; A Toleration
For Unclean Spirits in the Church to lurk,
And uncontroul'd to carry on their work
Against the Truth; that so they might effect?
The Mischief they design, and not be checkt.
That such as in their practice do Oppose
The principles of Truth, as do all those
That pay the Priest for preaching (though they may
It do, in never such a covert way)
That these, and other such (who are no less
Unfaithful to the Truth which they profess)
Might notwithstanding from Reproof be free,
Upon pretence they don't the Evil see.
The principles of Truth, as do all those
That pay the Priest for preaching (though they may
It do, in never such a covert way)
That these, and other such (who are no less
Unfaithful to the Truth which they profess)
Might notwithstanding from Reproof be free,
Upon pretence they don't the Evil see.
That such as will, when Persecution shall
Arise, may let Truth's Testimony fall;
Forsake their Meeting-Places, Skulk and hide,
And closely into Obscure Places glide;
Meet now and then, by stealth, in pit, or Gill,
And set a Lad to watch upon an Hill,
Or Hireling-like, into a Cock-loft creep,
Themselves to save, what e're befals the Sheep.
And though by such Unfaithfulness they break
The strength of Others, and make many Weak,
Though they Examples so pernicious show,
Yet should for Friends, and Preachers, blameless go.
Arise, may let Truth's Testimony fall;
Forsake their Meeting-Places, Skulk and hide,
And closely into Obscure Places glide;
Meet now and then, by stealth, in pit, or Gill,
And set a Lad to watch upon an Hill,
Or Hireling-like, into a Cock-loft creep,
Themselves to save, what e're befals the Sheep.
And though by such Unfaithfulness they break
The strength of Others, and make many Weak,
Though they Examples so pernicious show,
Yet should for Friends, and Preachers, blameless go.
That such as have in Truth's Profession stood,
May now, as some such did before the Flood,
In Marriages with Unbelievers link,
And yet expect, the Church, at least, should wink.
May now, as some such did before the Flood,
26
And yet expect, the Church, at least, should wink.
That Zimri might his Cozbi (without fear
Of being peirced by a Phineas-Spear,)
From Midian fetch; And with her (as befell
Of old) the Plague bring upon Israel.
Of being peirced by a Phineas-Spear,)
From Midian fetch; And with her (as befell
Of old) the Plague bring upon Israel.
That by such Mixtures, They the Holy seed
Might Stain, and introduce a Mungrel Breed,
Which half the Language should of Ashdod speak;
And make God's Warth against his People reak.
Might Stain, and introduce a Mungrel Breed,
Which half the Language should of Ashdod speak;
And make God's Warth against his People reak.
That such as list might in their Discontent,
The seamless Garment of our Saviour rent;
Make Breaches in the Church, Dissention sow,
And cause Divisions amongst Friends to grow;
And that they might, although they Guilty be
Of All these Crimes, from all Reproof be free;
Nor only so: but to be own'd expect
Ev'n by that Church, whose Power they reject.
The seamless Garment of our Saviour rent;
Make Breaches in the Church, Dissention sow,
And cause Divisions amongst Friends to grow;
And that they might, although they Guilty be
Of All these Crimes, from all Reproof be free;
Nor only so: but to be own'd expect
Ev'n by that Church, whose Power they reject.
This pleases wondrous well the Libertine;
The loose Licentiats think it very fine.
And to be loose and yet retain their Station,
They baul amain at Excommunication.
The loose Licentiats think it very fine.
And to be loose and yet retain their Station,
They baul amain at Excommunication.
But (blest be God) our Saviour hath not left
His Church so void of power, nor her bereft
Thereof to be will suffer; but that shee
Hath in her self full pow'r her self to free
From such Pretenders, who unto her cling,
Only that they may Scandall on her bring,
His Church so void of power, nor her bereft
Thereof to be will suffer; but that shee
Hath in her self full pow'r her self to free
From such Pretenders, who unto her cling,
Only that they may Scandall on her bring,
Our Saviour his Disciples hath directed,
That such, as private Warnings had neglected,
Should to the Churches Censure be refer'd,
(Which plainly shews, The Church is to be heard)
And whoso Her neglects to hear, saith He,
Let him be as an Heathen Man to thee.
And that the Church did such Cut off declare
From her Communion, as unruly were,
In the Apostles days, the Texts here set.
Sufficient are a Credence to beget.
That such, as private Warnings had neglected,
Should to the Churches Censure be refer'd,
(Which plainly shews, The Church is to be heard)
And whoso Her neglects to hear, saith He,
Let him be as an Heathen Man to thee.
And that the Church did such Cut off declare
From her Communion, as unruly were,
In the Apostles days, the Texts here set.
Sufficient are a Credence to beget.
27
This is a Principle that hath a place
Even in Nature too as well as Grace.
In living Bodies how doth Nature strive
The foul and penant Humours out to drive?
And reason good: for why should that remain
Which would corrupt the Health, or Beauty stain?
All Liquors that have life, by defectation,
Purge out their Dregs, and make a separation.
Even in Nature too as well as Grace.
In living Bodies how doth Nature strive
The foul and penant Humours out to drive?
And reason good: for why should that remain
Which would corrupt the Health, or Beauty stain?
All Liquors that have life, by defectation,
Purge out their Dregs, and make a separation.
And shall Christs Church alone less power have,
Than unto natural Bodies Nature gave,
That she must to Communion those receive,
Who her of Life and Honour would bereave,
No, no our Saviour hath his Church indu'd
With pow'r, from her Communion to exclude
Vnruly spirits, Evil Workers, Those
That Christian Order in Christs Church oppose.
Than unto natural Bodies Nature gave,
That she must to Communion those receive,
Who her of Life and Honour would bereave,
No, no our Saviour hath his Church indu'd
With pow'r, from her Communion to exclude
Vnruly spirits, Evil Workers, Those
That Christian Order in Christs Church oppose.
That which to other Churches is a stain,
In that they don't within due Bounds contain
Themselves; but outward penalties impose,
In Body, or Estate, or both on those
They Excommunicate: which doth not stand
With Christian Practice, or with Christ's Command.
But William, no such things can charged be
On Friends; Nay, that they from such things are free,
Thy Self hast own'd, than whom where's any more sparing,
To own a Truth, or to Asperse more daring?
That which of Persecuting thou dost tell us,
In that they don't within due Bounds contain
Themselves; but outward penalties impose,
In Body, or Estate, or both on those
They Excommunicate: which doth not stand
With Christian Practice, or with Christ's Command.
But William, no such things can charged be
On Friends; Nay, that they from such things are free,
Thy Self hast own'd, than whom where's any more sparing,
To own a Truth, or to Asperse more daring?
Is but what Hymeneus, or Phygellus,
Dimas, Hermogenes, Philetus, with
Grim Alexander too, the Copper-Smith,
Might have Objected to th'Apostle Paul,
Had they as Envious been, and apt to braul.
For Two of these th'Apostle doth declare,
For their bold Blasphemies, deliver'd were
By him to Satan: And of all the rest,
Some Evil Note, or other, is exprest.
28
For casting such a Blemish on their name.
'Tis like, They took it for a Defamation;
As thou, a Wounding of their Reputation:
And might against St Paul have learnt to prate,
Had they but had thee for their Advocate.
But, William, One short Answer may Suffice,
To stop the Clamour of thy causless Cries
All they that into such disorders run,
As cause the Church their Fellowship to shun,
And to the World ev'n force Her to declare,
That they in her Communion have no share:
These on themselves do that Discredit bring,
Which thou so fain upon the Church would'st fling.
'Tis They themselves their Reputation wound:
The Church is only in Her duty found.
But O the Impudence? that Friends should be
With Persecution tax't, and that by thee,
By thee, who with some others did combine
At Bristol, and a kind of Warrant sign,
By which you took upon your selves, O base!
To Order him that kept the Meeting-Place,
That Friends he should not there to Meet permit,
Because (forsooth!) to you it seem'd not fit.
By Thee, I say, who but a while agoo,
Didst keep Friends out at Olston-Meeting too;
And didst to such their Meeting-House deny,
As had therein a rightfull Property.
By thee, whose Party to your soul disgraces
Hath done the like in divers other places
Now after all these Arbitrary Tricks,
The same which now on Friends the World inflicts,
Who can, without a just Abhorrence, view
Thy charge 'gainst Friends, for persecuting you!
Thou spend'st some pages, William, to inherse
Thy John in dolefull Weeds of Threadbare Verse;
29
Linking Rimes, unto thy lifeless STORY.
Indead: His Memory, perhaps, may want
More Odours than his Friends can cast upon't.
Well, make the best on't: I no pleasure have
Beset my foot upon a Dead Man's Grave.
Oh, William, let me tell thee, Couldst thou free
Thy Story from the Faults, that fastned be
on him, by The Line of Truth (A Book
Of which thy Title page some notice took)
[W]ould unto his Credit more conduce,
[Than] all the hobling Rimes thy fumbling Muse
[Could] tag together, to Revive his Name,
While still that Book, unanswer'd, Speaks his shame.
But leaving John to moulder in his Urn,
My Pen doth, William, unto thee return,
And to thy Work Some notice I have took
Of what seem'd most material in thy Book.
Yet all the Filth that Thou, and Others Spaul,
On honourable Friends, in course will fall
Upon your Selves; On them it ne'er can stick:
Your selves your Vomit up again must lick.
William, Thy work is weigh'd, thy Spirit try'd;
And both thy Work and Spirit are deny'd.
Thy Spirit is the same that wrought of old
To Sanballat, Tobiah, and the bold
Assyrian Railer, Rabshakeh, who sought
God's Work and People to have brought to nought,
As thou hast done: And what the Prophet cry'd
In that case, may to thee be well apply'd.
The Virgin hath despis'd thee, Zion's Daughter
Makes thee the Object of her Scorn and Laughter.
The Daughter of Jerusalem hath shook
At thee her head (with a disdainfull look:)
For, whom hast thou Reproached and Blasphem'd,
And against whom hast thou so loudly Scream'd,
30
Against the Holy One of Israel.
To this effect the Prophet did declame
Against the proud Assyrian, from whom came
That cursed Railer, who ev'n seems to be,
In railing Blasphemies, a Type of thee.
What Nehemiah, to Samballat said,
(When he foul Slanders to his charge had laid)
That I to thee, of all thy Slanders, Thus,
There are no such things acted, amongst us,
As thy abusive Pamphlet doth contein;
But out of thine own heart thou dost them feign.
And where thou carp'st at what we do aright,
We can for Truth's sake, in Reprocah delight.
The Lord rebuilding is his Holy City,
Which thou and Others envy (more's the pity)
And put forth all the strength and Art you have,
The work to stop, the Workmen to deprave.
But never be so vain, to think you can
The work obstruct: 'tis not the work of man.
The God of Heaven, he will prosper us;
And therefore we his Servants, (strengthned thus)
Will rise and build, as God shall us indue
With courage, Strength and Counsel for't: But you
No Portion have, who do the work condemn,
Right, Nor Memorial in Jerusalem.
My soul laments your state, who once have felt
That tend'ring Pow'r, which stony hearts can melt,
And have been in some measure, tend'red by it,
But now so hardned are as to defy it:
All you I mean, who have in Print appear'd
(With Envious hearts and Conscience doubly sear'd)
To fight against the Truth, and to expose
God's People to the Fury of their Foes.
And all you too, who do that work abet,
Although your Names thereto ye have not set
31
(Which in your inward Parts the Lord did place)
And not, in discontented Humour, run
After Lo-heres, Lo-theres, as you have done;
Ye might, in Truth, the Bond of Peace have known,
And in the Spirits Unity have grown,
Which is the Churches Girdle, highly priz'd
By all the Faithfull, though by you despis'd,
Whereas (by letting in first false Surmisings
Of others, which ere long Produc'd Despisings,
And so made way for Prejudice to enter,
Till cancred Malice in your hearts did center)
Ye now are broke, and into pieces Shatter'd,
And from the Body and the Head are Scatter'd.
Without the Camp ye stand (Oh dismal State!)
Snarling amongst the Dogs, without the Gate;
Belching forth Slander and Calumniation
'Gainst those that in the Light have kept their Station.
Oh? may the God of Heaven stop your Way,
That Ye no more the Simple may betray.
THE END.
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