The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.Sewel, William
History
The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.
Sewel, William
Society of Friends -- History -- Early works to 1800
called Quakers, that was at Swarthmore; and so it continued to be kept
there until the year 1690, when a new meeting-house was built there.
Judge Fell not being willing to appear in that meeting, went that day
to the steeple-house, and none with him but his clerk and his groom.
Yet in process of time he came to be so well affected to the doctrine
of the Quakers, so called, that though he did not enter publicly into
their society, yet he loved them, and several years before his death,
did not frequent the steeple-house any more.
After G. Fox had stayed some days at the house of judge Fell, he
went to Lancaster, and there preached in the market; and on the next
First-day, had a great meeting in the street, amongst the soldiers,
to whom he declared the Truth; and in the afternoon went to the
steeple-house; but speaking there, and directing people to the Spirit
of God, he was hauled out, and stoned along the street.
Then having travelled about some time, and preached in some places,
sometimes with rude opposition, he returned to Swarthmore, where
discoursing with several priests at judge Fell’s house, he asked them,
whether any of them ever heard the voice of God or Christ, commanding
them to go to any people, and declare the word of the Lord to them. But
none of them answered this with Yea: yet one saying, ‘I can speak of my
experience as much as you;’ G. Fox told him experience was one thing,
but to go with a message, and to have the word of the Lord, as the
prophets and apostles had, was quite another. An ancient priest, whose
name was Thomas Taylor, did ingenuously confess before judge Fell, that
he had never heard the voice of God, nor of Christ, but that he spoke
his experiences, and the experiences of the saints in former ages. This
very much confirmed judge Fell in the persuasion he had already, that
the priests were not what they pretended to be: for he had thought, as
the generality of the people did then, that they were sent from God.
At this time, the saying of G. Fox wrought so close on the mind of the
said T. Taylor, that he was convinced, and travelled with him into
Westmoreland; and coming into Crosland steeple-house, T. Taylor’s mouth
was opened, so that he declared amongst the people, how he had been
before he was convinced; and like the good scribe, brought forth things
new and old from his treasury, to the people; and showed them how the
priests were out of the way.
Now great rage arose among the priests, and they began as much as they
could, to stir up to persecution; for not only T. Taylor after some
time preached the gospel freely, but several others, viz. John Audland,
Francis Howgill, John Camm, Edward Burrough, Richard Hubberthorn,
Miles Halhead, and others, appeared zealous preachers among those
called Quakers; and often declared the doctrine they professed in
steeple-houses, and markets; whereby the number of their friends began
greatly to increase.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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