_The grateful and humble Address of the People commonly called
Quakers, from their Yearly Meeting in London, this 28th day of
the third month, called May, 1708._
‘We having good cause to commemorate the manifold mercies of
God vouchsafed to this united kingdom of Great Britain, believe
it our duty to make our humble acknowledgments, first to the
Divine Majesty, and next to the queen, for the liberty we enjoy
under her kind and favourable government, with hearty desires
and prayers to Almighty God, (who hath hitherto disappointed the
mischievous and wicked designs of her enemies, both foreign and
domestic,) that he will so effectually replenish the queen’s
heart, together with those of her great council, with his divine
wisdom, that righteousness, justice and moderation, which are the
ornaments of the queen’s reign, and which exalt a nation, may be
increased and promoted.
‘And we take this opportunity to give the queen the renewed
assurance of our hearty affection to the present established
government, and that we will as a people in our respective
stations, according to our peaceable principles, by the grace of
God, approve ourselves in all fidelity the queen’s faithful and
obedient subjects, and as such conclude with fervent prayers to
the Lord of Hosts, that after a prosperous, safe and long reign
in this life, thou, O queen, mayest be blessed with an eternal
crown of glory.’
This address was signed in the name of the meeting by fourteen members
thereof, who also were ordered to present it; but it being understood
that the queen seemed willing to be attended with it in private, only
seven, among whom were G. Whitehead and Thomas Lower, went in with it,
and were introduced by the principal secretary of state Boyle; and G.
Whitehead presenting it, said, ‘We heartily wish the queen health and
happiness: we are come to present an address from our yearly meeting,
which we could have desired might have been more early and seasonably
timed, but could not, because our said meeting was but the last week;
and therefore now hope the queen will favourably accept our address.’
Then G. Whitehead delivering it, the queen said, ‘Pray read it:’
whereupon he took and read it, and the queen answered,
‘I thank you very kindly for your address, and I assure you of my
protection; you may depend upon it.’
To which G. Whitehead replied, ‘We thankfully acknowledge, that
God by his power and special providence, hath preserved and
defended the queen against the evil designs of her enemies,
having made the queen an eminent instrument for the good of
this nation and realm of Great Britain, in maintaining the
toleration, the liberty we enjoy in respect to our consciences
against persecution. Which liberty being grounded upon this
reason in the late king’s reign, for the uniting the Protestant
subjects in interest and affection, the union of Great Britain
now settled tends to the strength and safety thereof; for in
union is the strength and stability of a nation, or kingdom; and
without union, no nation or people can be safe; but are weak
and unstable. The succession of the crown being settled and
established in the Protestant line, must needs be very acceptable
to all true Protestant subjects.
‘And now, O queen, that the Lord may preserve and defend thee for
the future, the remainder of thy days, and support thee under all
thy great care and concern for the safety and good of this nation
and kingdom of Great Britain, and that the Lord may bless and
preserve thee to the end, is our sincere desire.’
To this the queen returned, ‘I thank you for your speech, and for your
address; and ye may be assured I will take care to protect you.’
And G. Whitehead replied, ‘The Lord bless and prosper the queen and all
her good intentions.’ And thereupon he and his friends withdrew.
The most remarkable occurrences the Quakers in England now met with,
were that they enjoying the liberty to perform their religious worship
publicly, without disturbance, were afterward encountered by the
writings of their enemies from ignorance or envy, and represented as
maintainers of heterodox sentiments; but they not failing of answers,
the eyes of many were opened, and some came over to them. And though
sometimes those of the public church had the success to draw over one
that was born and educated among the Quakers, but inclined to more
liberty, and to be esteemed by the world, yet there have been others
of the episcopal church, who not from any earthly consideration, but
merely by a convincement of their mind, have entered into society
with the Quakers; not fearing to make public profession of their
religion, as may appear by two letters which I will insert here; the
one of Samuel Crisp, a clergyman of the episcopal church, who gave the
following account of his change to one of his near relations:
‘_My dear Friend_,
‘I received a letter from thee, the week before last, which
was sent by thy uncle Bolton: there were a great many kind
expressions in it, and in thy sister Clopton’s likewise; I
acknowledge myself much obliged to you both, and to the whole
family, for many repeated kindnesses, and if my school had not
engrossed so much of my time, I would have taken opportunity to
answer my dear friend’s letter now, and upon that account my
delay will be more excusable.
‘The news thou hast heard of my late change is really true, I
cannot conceal it, for it is what I glory in; neither was it
any prospect of temporal advantage that induced me to it, but
a sincere love to the truth, and pure regard to my own soul:
neither can I be sufficiently thankful to God, that he hath let
me live to this glorious day, and not cut me off in the midst
of my sins and provocations against him; he is long suffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance: he hath brought me off from the forms
and shadows of religion, and let me see in a more illustrious
manner what is the life and substance of it, as he found me in
some degree faithful to that measure of light and knowledge he
had bestowed on me, whilst I was in the communion of the church
of England; therefore he was pleased of late, as I humbly waited
upon him to make known to me greater and deeper mysteries of his
kingdom; and I can truly say, that I find by daily experience,
as I keep low and retired into that pure gift which he hath
planted within me, things are every day more and more cleared
up to me, and the truth shines and prevails greatly over the
kingdom of darkness; and if I should now turn my back upon such
manifestations as these, and entangle myself again with the yoke
of bondage, surely I should grieve the Holy Spirit, so that he
might justly withdraw his kind operations, and never return more
to assist and comfort me; for God is not mocked; religion is a
very serious and weighty thing; repentance and salvation are not
to be trifled with, nor is turning to God, to be put off till our
own time, leisure or conveniency, but we must love and cherish
the least appearance of Christ, not slighting or despising
the day of small things, but embrace the first opportunity of
following Christ in any of his commands: when he speaks, there is
such force and authority in it, that we cannot stand to cavil,
dispute, or ask questions; for unless we will be so obstinate
as to shut our eyes against the sun, we must needs confess to
the truth of his doctrine, and presently strike in with it; and
therefore when for several weeks I had lived more privately and
retiredly in London, than was usual, fasting twice or thrice
in a week, or sometimes more, spending my time in reading the
Scriptures, and in prayer to God, this was a good preparation of
my mind, to receive the truth which he was then about to make
known to me. I lamented the errors of my past life, and was
desirous to attain a more excellent degree of holiness than I had
discovered in the church of England. In this religious retirement
God knew the breathings of my soul, how sincere I was, and
resigned to him when alone. I wanted him to set me free, and to
speak peace and comfort to my soul, which was grieved and wearied
with the burden of my sin: for though I had strictly conformed
myself to the orders and ceremonies of the church of England,
and had kept myself from running into any great or scandalous
enormities, the fear of the Almighty preserving me, yet still I
had not that rest and satisfaction in myself which I desired,
and greatly longed for. I found when I had examined my state and
condition to God-ward, that things were not right with me.
‘As for a sober and plausible conversation in the eye of the
world, I knew that was a very easy attainment. A good natural
temper, with the advantage of a liberal education, will quickly
furnish a man with abilities for that, so that he shall be looked
upon as a saint, and very spiritual; when perhaps in chains of
darkness, in the gall of bitterness, and in the very bond of
iniquity. If this sort of righteousness would have done, perhaps
I might make as fair pretensions that way as some others; but
alas, I quickly saw the emptiness and unsatisfactoriness of
those things: this is a covering that will not protect or hide
us from the wrath of the Almighty, when he comes to judgment. It
is not a man’s natural temper, or his education, that makes him
a good Christian; this is not the righteousness which the gospel
calls for, nor is this the truth in the inward parts which God
requires. The heart and affections must be cleansed and purified
before we can be acceptable to God; therefore it was death to me
to think of taking up my rest in a formal pretence of holiness,
wherein yet I saw to my grief, abundance of people wrapped
themselves, slept securely and quietly; dreaming of the felicity
of paradise, as if heaven were now their own, and they needed not
trouble themselves any more about religion. I could not entertain
so dangerous an opinion as this, for then I should be tempted to
take up my rest by the way, whilst I was travelling towards the
promised land. I think I made a little progress in a holy life,
and through God’s assistance I weakened some of my spiritual
enemies, whilst I lived in the communion of the national church.
I thank my God, I can truly say, whilst I used those prayers,
I did it with zeal and sincerity, in his fear and dread; but
still I ceased not my earnest supplication to him in private,
that he would show me something more excellent; that I might get
a complete victory over all my lusts and passions, and might
perfect righteousness before him; for I found a great many sins
and weaknesses daily attending me: and though I made frequent
resolutions to forsake those sins, yet still the temptation was
too strong for me; so that often I had cause to complain with
the apostle in the bitterness of my soul, “O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Who
shall set me free, and give me strength to triumph over sin, the
world, and the devil: that I may in every thing please God, and
there may not be the least thought, word, or motion, gesture or
action, but what is exactly agreeable to his most holy will, as
if I saw him standing before me, and as if I were to be judged
by him for the thought of my heart next moment? O divine life!
O seraphic soul! O that I could always stand here; for here is
no reflection, no sorrow, no repentance: but at God’s right hand
there is perfect peace, and a river of unspeakable joy. O that we
might imitate the life of Jesus, and be thoroughly furnished unto
every good word and work. This was the frequent breathing of my
soul to God when I was in the country, but more especially after
I had left my new preferment of a chaplain, and took private
lodgings in London. In this retirement I hope I may say without
boasting, that I was very devout and religious, and I found great
comfort and refreshment in it from the Lord, who let me see
the beauty of holiness; and the sweetness that arises from an
humbled, mortified life, was then very pleasant to my taste, and
I rejoiced in it more than in all the delights and pleasures of
the world.
‘And now it pleased God to show me, that if I would indeed live
strictly and holily as becomes the gospel, then I must leave the
communion of the church of England; but knew not yet which way
to determine myself, nor to what body of men I should join, who
were more orthodox and more regular in their lives. As for the
Quakers, so called, I was so great a stranger to them, that I
had never read any of their books, nor do I remember that ever I
conversed with any one man of that communion in my whole life.
I think there was one in Foxly, whilst I was curate there; but I
never saw the man, though I went several times to his house on
purpose to talk with him, and to bring him off from his mad and
wild enthusiasm, as I then ignorantly thought it to be. As for
that way, I knew it was every where spoken against. He that had
a mind to appear more witty and ingenious than the rest, would
choose this for the subject of his profane jests and drollery;
with this he makes sport, and diverts the company; for a Quaker
is but another name for a fool or a mad man, and was scarce ever
mentioned but with scorn and contempt. As for drollery, I confess
I was never any great friend to it; but indeed if all was true
that was laid to the Quakers’ charge, I thought they were some of
the worst people that ever appeared in the world, and wondered
with what face they could call themselves Christians; since I
was told they denied the fundamental articles of the holy faith,
to which I ever bore the highest veneration and esteem; and
notwithstanding I had always lived at the greatest distance from
that people, and was very zealous in the worship of the church
of England, and upon all occasions would speak very honourably
of it, moreover was content to suffer some few inconveniencies
upon that account, as thou very well knowest; yet my father
still looked upon me as inclining to the Quakers; and some years
ago signified to a friend, he was afraid I would become an
enthusiast; and whilst I was at Bungan school, he sent me two
books to read that were written against the Quakers, one of which
was John Faldo’s: who had been sufficiently exposed for it by
William Penn.
‘Whilst I lived in London in that private retired manner, I was
just now speaking of walking very humbly in the sight of God,
and having opportunity to reflect upon my past life, as I had
occasion to be one day at a bookseller’s shop, I happened to cast
my eye on Barclay’s works: and having heard in the country, that
he was a man of great account amongst the Quakers, I had a mind
to see what their principles were, and what defence they could
make for themselves; for sure, thought I, these people are not so
silly and ridiculous; nor maintainers of such horrid opinions, as
the author of the Snake, and some others would make us believe.
I took Barclay home with me, and I read him through in a week’s
time, save a little treatise at the end, which I found to be
very philosophical, I omitted; but however, I soon read enough
to convince me of my own blindness and ignorance in the things
of God; there I found a light to break in upon my mind, which
did mightily refresh and comfort me, in that poor, low, and
humbled state, in which I then was; for indeed I was then, and
had been for a considerable time before, very hungry and thirsty
after righteousness, and therefore I received the truth with all
readiness of mind: it was like balm to my soul, and as showers
of rain to the thirsty earth, which is parched with heat and
drought. This author laid things down so plainly, and proved
them with such ingenuity and dexterity of learning, and opened
the Scriptures so clearly to me, that without standing to cavil,
dispute, raise argument or objection, or consulting with flesh
and blood, I presently resigned myself to God; and weeping for
joy that I had found so great a treasure, I often thanked him
with tears in my eyes for so kind a visitation of his love, that
he was graciously pleased to look toward me when my soul cried
after him; so, though before I was in great doubt and trouble of
mind, not knowing which way to determine myself, yet now the sun
breaking out so powerfully upon me, the clouds were scattered: I
was now fully satisfied in my own mind which way I ought to go,
and to what body of people I should join myself.
‘So I immediately left the communion of the church of England,
and went to Gracechurch-street meeting. After I had read
Barclay, I read some other books of that kind, among which was
an excellent piece, though in a small volume, called No Cross
No Crown. Thus I continued reading and frequenting meetings
for several weeks together, but did not let any one soul know
what I was about. The first man I conversed with was George
Whitehead, and this was several weeks after I began to read
Barclay, and frequent their meetings. By him I was introduced
into more acquaintance, and still the further I went, the more I
liked their plainness, and the decency and simplicity of their
conversation. They do not use the ceremonies and salutations
of the church of England, but shake hands freely, and converse
together as brothers and sisters, that are sprung of the same
royal seed, and made kings and priests unto God. O, the love,
the sweetness and tenderness, and affection, I have seen among
this people! “By this,” says Christ, “shall all men know that
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” “Put
on therefore,” says the apostle, “(as the elect of God, holy
and beloved,) bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, long-suffering.”
‘Thus, my dear friend, I have given thee an account of my
proceeding on this affair. As to my bodily state, if thou
desirest to know what it is, I may acquaint thee that I have
my health, as well as ever, and I bless God I have food and
raiment sufficient for me, so that I want no outward thing; and
I have the necessities and conveniencies of life liberally: let
us not burden ourselves with taking care for the vanities and
superfluities of it; let us possess our vessels in sanctification
and honour; and as we bring our minds into perfect subjection
to the whole will of God, so let us bring our body to the most
simple and natural way of living; being content with the fewest
things, never studying to gratify our wanton appetites, nor to
follow the customs and humours of men; but how we may so contract
our earthly cares and pleasures, that we may bring most glory to
God, most health and peace to our own souls, and do most service
to the truth; and if this be our aim, certainly a very small
portion of the things of this world will suffice us, seeing we
are Christians; we should therefore earnestly pursue those things
which bring us nearest to God, and which are most perfective of
human nature: for what is more than a competency, seems to be a
burden to a generous philosophical soul, which would breathe in a
pure vehicle, that so it may have a quick sense and relish of all
blessings, both of the superior and inferior worlds.
‘Thou knowest, my dear friend, that religion is a very serious
thing, and repentance is a great work, and one precious immortal
soul is of more worth than ten thousand perishing worlds, with
all their pomp and glory; therefore let us take courage, and
be valiant for the truth upon the earth, let us not content
ourselves with a name and profession of godliness, let us come
to the life and power of it, let us not despond of getting the
victory. We have a little strength for God: let us be faithful
to him, and he will give us more strength, so that we shall
see the enemy of our peace fall before us, and nothing shall
be impossible unto us: I say, my friend, let us be faithful to
that measure of light and knowledge which God has given us, to
be profited and edified by it in a spiritual life, and as God
sees we are diligent and faithful to work with the strength we
have, he will more and more enlighten us, so that we shall see
to the end of those forms and shadows of religion wherein we
had formerly lived; but if he sees we are about to take up our
rest in those shadows, that we grow cold and indifferent in the
pursuit of holiness, running out into notions and speculations;
and have more mind to dispute, and to make a show of learning and
subtilty, than to lead a holy and devout life, then it is just
with God to leave us in a carnal and polluted state; to continue
yet but in the outward court, where we may please ourselves with
beholding the beauty and ornaments of a worldly sanctuary, and
never witness the veil being taken away, and that we are brought
by the blood of Jesus, into the holiest of all, where alone there
is true peace with God, and rest to the weary soul. I could say
much upon this head, if time or leisure would give leave.
‘As for a particular answer to thy letter, I have not time now
to give it; and for the present let this general answer suffice:
and if thou wilt consider things in their pure abstracted nature,
and not suffer the prejudice of education to sway thee, but
in fear and humility wilt search out the truth for thyself,
thou wilt find that there needs no other answer to thy letter
than what I have already given; for by waiting upon God, and
diligently seeking him, thou wilt find an answer to it in thy own
bosom, and this will be much more full, clear, and satisfactory
than I, or any other man living can pretend to give thee, or
any other friend who hath lovingly written to me; for whom I
desire, with all the sincere-hearted in the church of England,
that they may come to witness the Almighty power of God, to save
and redeem them from every yoke; and that they may see clearly
to the end of those things which are abolished, and come to the
enjoyment of spiritual and heavenly things themselves, is the
daily prayer and deep travail of my soul, God knoweth. Till I
can be more particular, if thou please thou mayest communicate
this to them, and let them know that I am well, and thank them
for their kind letters. Let us remember to pray for one another
with all fervency, that we may stand perfect in the whole will of
God, Amen, saith my soul. I am thy most affectionate friend and
servant in Jesus,