SKETCH OF THE KI^jprjJfOFP^TVf 
 
 JAN 30 1918 
 
 RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OP FRIENDS: 
 
 THEIR 
 
 DOCTRINES AND DISCIPLINE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS FOR THE DIFFUSION OF RELIGIOUS 
 AND USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, 
 109 North Tejtth Street. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The contents of the following work, with the exception of the 
 last article, have been selected from a volume entitled, " Tracts 
 Illustrating the History, Doctrine and Discipline op the 
 Society op Friends," published in London in 1851. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductory Remarks Page 3 
 
 The Eise of the Society of Friends 9 
 
 Doctrines of the Society of Friends 27 
 
 The Christian Doctrine of the Teaching of the Holy Spirit 
 
 as held by the Society of Friends 51 
 
 Essay on the Discipline of the Primitive Christians and on 
 
 that of the Society of Friends, by J. J. Gurney 63 
 
 (2) 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 Two centuries have passed away since the first 
 members of the Society of Friends believed them- 
 selves called upon to bear a conspicuous testimony 
 by deed as well as word to the purity and spirituality 
 of the Christian religion. Reverently accepting the 
 doctrines of Christ and His apostles in their compre- 
 hensive fulness as recorded in the New Testament, 
 they felt that they could not rest in a mere profes- 
 sion even of these blessed truths. Their souls longed 
 for the possession of the substance, even reconcilia- 
 tion with the Father, and communion with Him by 
 His own Spirit through the one living Saviour, Ad- 
 vocate, and Intercessor for us, Christ Jesus. That 
 which they sought was not to be found in outward 
 observances. Their spiritual necessities required 
 spiritual refreshments. The ancient sacrifices and 
 cei'emonies under the Law, though expressly insti- 
 tuted by Divine authority, were given but for a 
 season, to be fulfilled and ended by Christ. The new 
 covenant of life and salvation was not in these. Much 
 less could they find it in those outward rites and ob- 
 servances, which, having no such Divine institution, 
 had been intruded by human authority into the pro- 
 fessing Church, spoiling it of its ancient simplicity 
 and beauty, and gradually usurping the place of 
 
 (iii) 
 
iv INTRODUCTORY R E xM A R K S . 
 
 Christ Himself in the hearts of His professed dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 Without unduly anticipating the contents of the 
 ensuing pages, the serious attention of the reader 
 may not be improperly invited to the particular con- 
 sideration of one or two points that more especially 
 distinguished them from others of the Christian 
 name. Notwithstanding the diversities that prevail 
 among other denominations of professing Christians 
 as to the mode of Divine worship, all seem, in prac- 
 tice, at least, to unite in this, that this solemn act 
 consists in a course (mostly a prescribed course) of 
 certain vocal exercises, such as prayer, singing, and 
 preaching ; and few, if any, would admit that a con- 
 gregation could meet to any profit, or could long sub- 
 sist, without regular exercise of this description. 
 Again, it is almost universally assumed in practice, 
 that in the Christian Church, with a view to prevent 
 confusion, and to ensure a regular performance of 
 these services, the ministry in the congregation must 
 be confined to one or two individuals, to the exclu- 
 sion of all others; that these must statedly perform 
 the allotted exercises, irrespective of the possibility 
 of the restraint of the Holy Spirit, or the want of 
 His renewed qualification ; and that provision must 
 be made by means of schools, or colleges, or other 
 means of human appointment, for training and qua- 
 lifying a regular succession of such ministers. And 
 some may be ready confidently to ask how, assuming 
 ministry to be necessary to the well-being of the 
 Christian Church, order could be maintained, or an- 
 
INTRODUCTORY R E 31 A R K S . V 
 
 arcliy avoided, or an adequate supply kept up, Tvitli- 
 out such provisions as have been just adverted to. 
 
 It must be confessed that these are subjects of in- 
 calculable importance ; and we believe there are not 
 a few who, with the Xew Testament in their hands, 
 are ready to acknowledge that the modern system is 
 not in conformity with the spirit or practice of pri- 
 mitive Christianity, who nevertheless think them- 
 selves bound to maintain it, simply from the idea of 
 its present necessity or expediency. If the reader 
 be one of this number, he will be prepared to admit 
 that the principles and practice of the Society of 
 Friends on these subjects, characterized as they are 
 by their peculiar simplicity, and confirmed by the 
 experience of two centuries, are at least deserving 
 of his attentive consideration. 
 
 This people affirm that the worship of God, who 
 is a Spirit," is essentially spiritual. They do not con- 
 sider that the communion of the invisible and spi- 
 ritual soul of man with its unseen Creator is con- 
 fined to outwardly sensible communications ; or that 
 outward rites or outward words are necessary to it. 
 Hence, they feel bound in their assemblies for Divine 
 worship reverently to wait upon the Lord in solemn 
 stillness, desiring to be individually gathered in 
 spirit unto Christ their Saviour, Prophet, and High 
 Priest, and through Him to find access by the one 
 Spirit unto the Father to worship Him "in spirit 
 and in truth," in reverent humiliation of soul, in the 
 resignation of the will, and, if it may be, with the 
 humble tribute of prayer and praise. But they do 
 1* 
 
vi INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 not limit the operations of the Spirit to one particu- 
 lar mode. They believe that this spiritual worship 
 may be with words, as well as without them, and 
 they are far from excluding the vocal exercises of 
 prayer or thanksgiving, provided all be offered in the 
 fresh quickening of the Lord's Spirit. 
 
 Again, they believe that Christ instituted among 
 his followers no such distinction as that of Clergy 
 and Laity. They affirm that all true believers are 
 consecrated into the class of His " royal priesthood 
 and that the " manifestation of His Spirit is given to 
 every one to profit but that no manifestation that 
 is not of His Spirit can profit in His Church. 
 Hence, while on the one hand they feel bound to 
 deny all ministry that, being without the Spirit, is 
 dead, barren, and lifeless, they dare not, on the other, 
 put any check upon the full and free exercise of any 
 ministry that is really exercised " in the ability which 
 God giveth." In their assemblies none are restrained 
 from exercising the gifts of the Spirit ; while a care 
 is maintained that all should act as under the govern- 
 ment of Christ, not in their own will and time, but 
 according to His guidance and the sufficiency that is 
 from Him, that all things in His Church should be 
 done " decently and in order,'' to His praise. Their 
 belief that the gifts are freely bestowed by the great 
 Head of the Church according to His will, irrespec- 
 tive of human limitations and degrees of order, leads 
 them into liberty ; their belief that they must be ex- 
 ercised in subjection to His government preserves 
 them from anarchy. 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. vii 
 
 They have no colleges for educating ministers, be- 
 cause they believe that the qualification for the min- 
 istry is not human learning, but a spiritual gift; 
 they have no funds provided for their maintenance, 
 because they believe that this gift is free, and that, 
 according to the doctrine of Christ, being freely re- 
 ceived it ought to be freely dispensed. 
 
 The reader who duly reflects upon these prin- 
 ciples, which have, under the Divine blessing (though 
 often in much weakness and infirmity), been carried 
 into practice for two centuries, will probably be led 
 to inquire further into the origin, principles, and 
 practices of the Society of Friends. The following 
 pages will, it is hoped, be some assistance to such an 
 inquiry. It will be seen that they were originally 
 written as separate tracts ; a circumstance which will 
 excuse the want of strict connexion and occasional 
 repetition. 
 
THE KISE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FEIENDS. 
 
 The religious Society of Friends dates its rise from 
 about the year 1647. This was, in England, a 
 period in which many of the props, on which men 
 had long been accustomed to lean, both in civil and 
 religious matters, were shaken or removed. The 
 fears, troubles, and heart-stirring thoughts connected 
 with the domestic commotions which then prevailed 
 in the nation, led many into a deep search as to the 
 grounds of their opinions, and the real stability of 
 their religious hopes; but the movements of this 
 period must be traced to a much earlier date. To go 
 to their source, we must at least go back to the days 
 of the enlightened Wickliffe and the persecuted Lol- 
 lards ; but this would lead us beyond our present 
 space. 
 
 The English Eeformers who fled into Switzerland, 
 during the persecution in the reign of Queen Mary, 
 and who returned from their exile on the accession 
 of Elizabeth to the throne, were far from being con- 
 
 (9) 
 
10 
 
 THE RISE OF THE 
 
 tent witli the point to which the Queen allowed the 
 Reformation to be carried. Many of. them, how- 
 ever, appeared to satisfy their consciences with the 
 hope, that they were doing more good by taking- 
 offices under her auspices, than by leaving them to 
 be filled by those who were less attached than them- 
 selves to the Protestant cause ; but others could not 
 be persuaded thus to compromise their religious judg- 
 ment, and chose rather to remain without office and 
 profit than to conform to all the rites and ceremonies 
 which the Queen had chosen to impose upon the 
 nation. Uniformity in matters of religion was at 
 this time the favourite doctrine of all parties, and 
 was hardly less espoused by Elizabeth than it had 
 been by her sister Mary ; for very severe laws were 
 made in the reign of Elizabeth, under which both 
 Papists and Protestant Dissenters were cruelly per- 
 secuted, and some of them even put to death. A re- 
 ligious movement, deep and inward, though not very 
 active, was going on during the subsequent reign of 
 James the First ; and it may fairly be said, that the 
 continued denial to the people of the right of pri- 
 vate judgment in religious matters, and the unchris- 
 tian efforts which were made by his successor, Charles 
 the First, to force conscience, contributed not a 
 little to that convulsion of the State, in which the 
 monarchy was for a time overthrown. 
 
 The proceedings of Archbishop Laud and his 
 party, during the reign of this monarch, in endea- 
 vouring to assimilate the Episcopal Church of Eng- 
 land more closely to the Church of Rome, excited a 
 
SOCIETY OF JR TENDS. 
 
 11 
 
 strong feeling of revulsion in tlie minds of many 
 Episcopalians, and led the way for that extraordinary 
 ascendancy which the Scotch Presbyterians suddenly 
 obtained in England in those days. There was 
 among this people, at that time, much high religious 
 profession, united with the bitterest intolerance to- 
 wards all who could not accept their Directory on 
 matters of worship and other outward services. 
 There was, however, also to be seen much deep and 
 practical religious conviction, and in not a very few 
 an earnest search after truth. The strictness of their 
 lives, and the earnestness of their preaching, doubt- 
 less recommended them to the more serious part of 
 the nation, of various classes; but, in connexion 
 with the power which they obtained, it is evident 
 that they sought primarily the absolute ascendancy 
 of their own church polity and doctrine. Though 
 they had strongly denounced, in their own case, 
 popish and prelatical imposition upon conscience, yet 
 they did not scruple, in the case of others, to attempt 
 to rule in that seat of God ; and they were no less 
 ready than their predecessors to punish those who 
 could not bow down to their authority. Thus it was 
 evident that presbyter and prelate alike sought to be 
 lords over God's heritage, and that amidst the ear- 
 nest discussions respecting church government and 
 the forms of religious worship, the essential, experi- 
 mental work of the Holy Spirit on the heart, and 
 the true liberty of the Gospel, were in great measure 
 overlooked. All the chief religious parties of the 
 day so mistook the nature of Christianity, as to en- 
 
12 
 
 THE RISE OF THE 
 
 deavour to obtain their objects by the power of the 
 sword ; and many of the individuals who were ex- 
 tensively engaged in the enterprise of reformation, 
 if sincere in the outset, became corrupted by suc- 
 cess, and sought selfish ends under the guise of pa- 
 triotism and religion. 
 
 There was, however, a large number who were 
 constant and earnest in their desire for the establish- 
 ment of truth and righteousness ; and these, grieved 
 with the versatility and hypocrisy which prevailed, 
 were led into a deeper search into things within them 
 and around them. Many prayers ascended to Heaven 
 from individuals and from little communities, scat- 
 tered about in various places, that they might see 
 more clearly the path in which they ought to walk, 
 and be strengthened to follow Christ wherever he 
 should lead them. The deep cries of these, made 
 in living faith, were not in vain : they came to see 
 that they had been too much engaged in discussions 
 about outward forms, and had too much depended 
 upon man in the great work of religion, and for its 
 establishment in the earth. They continued stead- 
 fast in the great doctrine, that the door of God's 
 mercy was freely opened to sinful man, through the 
 propitiatory sacrifice of Christ alone; but their minds 
 were awakened to see themselves and the condition 
 of things around them in a new light. The require- 
 ments of a disciple ; the denial of self ; the trans- 
 forming power of the Spirit ; the restoration into the 
 divine presence, that they might really become sons 
 of God and brethren of Christ; were things which, 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 13 
 
 thougli tliey liad heard them discoursed about, now 
 took possession of their minds with the force and 
 energy of new truths ; and as they dwelt upon them, 
 they were led to believe that there was to be known 
 a fuller deliverance from sin, and a closer union with 
 Christ, than they had hitherto found. They were 
 told, indeed, that a state was not to be attained here, 
 in which man walks before the Lord in entire alle- 
 giance to his will ; and therefore without disobeying 
 him; but they believed, that though man's know- 
 ledge is imperfect, and though from weakness he 
 may slip or fall, yet his heart may nevertheless be so 
 renewed by grace, as that his love shall be pure and 
 simple, and his eye being single to the Lord, his 
 whole mind may be enlightened to see trul}^ and to 
 pursue steadily the things which belong unto his 
 peace. They felt and deeply lamented how short 
 they were of this experience, which they believed to 
 be the privilege of the Christian, and they sought 
 help from many quarters ; for nothing less than this 
 experience could satisfy their inward cravings, or 
 their thirst after the knowledge of the very truth as 
 it is in Jesus. These seeking people found, how- 
 ever, but little help from those who were esteemed 
 the most eminent religious teachers, and they came 
 to place less and less dependence upon man, and to 
 look to the Lord only for light and strength. 
 
 Such appears to have been, with different degrees 
 of clearness, the state of many minds in various 
 parts of England, when George Fox, who had him- 
 self been similarly led and deeply instructed in the 
 
 9 
 
14 
 
 RISE OF THE 
 
 scliool of Christ J went fortli preaching the truth, as 
 he had found it to his own peace. Many received 
 his message as the expression of their deepest 
 thoughts, and as an answer to their fervent prayers. 
 He preached Christ crucified for the sins of all men ; 
 opening the way of reconciliation to all who believe 
 in him, and receive him into their hearts as their 
 rightful Lord ; — Christ come in the flesh, and Christ, 
 according to his promise, come in the Spirit, to be 
 with his disciples in their individual and collective 
 capacity to the end of the world. 
 
 These were the fundamental doctrines which 
 Greorge Fox preached; and it was no way in dis- 
 paragement of the doctrine of Christ having come in 
 the flesh, that he dwelt more conspicuously upon that 
 of Christ being come in the Spirit, seeing the lattei 
 was that which, in the professing church, Satan had 
 been most busy in restricting and perverting. " I was 
 glad," says George Fox, ^'when the Lord God, and 
 his Son Jesus Christ, sent me forth into the world, 
 to preach his everlasting gospel and kingdom, that I 
 was commanded to turn people to that inward light, 
 spirit, and grace, b}^ which all might know their sal- 
 vation and their way to God, even that Divine Spirit 
 which would lead them into all truth." Christ 
 dwelling in the heart by faith, ruling there, and sub- 
 jecting everything to himself by the power of his 
 spirit, was the experimental knowledge to which 
 George Fox called men. This, he declared, was the 
 state of liberty which Christ had promised to give to 
 his followers, and which they only know who believe 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 
 
 15 
 
 in and accept tliat " liglit^ spirit, and grace/' wliich 
 convicts of sin, and leads through deep repentance 
 and living faith into righteousness. The Lord Jesus 
 promised to be " with his disciples alway, even unto 
 the end of the world." And these words, in George 
 Fox's view, referred to his spiritual presence in the 
 soul, as the teacher, bishop and prophet of his 
 people; superseding all the Jewish priesthood, and 
 excluding all those corrupt imitations of it, by which 
 man, in various ages, had sought to exalt himself, 
 and to evade that spiritual rule of Christ, to which 
 the flesh and the devil ever were, and still are, so 
 strongly opposed. 
 
 He travelled unweariedly throughout England, 
 from place to place, calling men to repentance, and 
 to come to God through Christ their Saviour, who 
 had died for them, and who, by his Spirit within 
 them, was enlightening, convicting, and seeking to 
 convert them. There were many who heard this call 
 with gladness of heart, and who came to sit under 
 Christ's teaching, and to learn in all humiHty in his 
 school. These, when deserted by kindred and 
 friends, and persecuted on every hand, yet not for- 
 saken by their gracious Lord, felt that it was 
 " enough for the disciple to be as his Master." And 
 indeed their sufferings were grievous and long. For 
 when the Presbyterians had been superseded by 
 those who had complained so heavily of church 
 tyranny, and who had spoken so well of liberty of 
 conscience, and of the evils of state impositions in 
 religious matters, these were not proof against the 
 
16 
 
 RISE OF THE 
 
 temptation of power : it was soon apparent that they 
 also, but too generally, loved the uppermost seats 
 in the synagogues, and to be called of men, Kabbi/' 
 They were ready not only to take the pulpits of the 
 ejected ministers, but also to extort from others, who 
 conscientiously differed from them, that forced main- 
 tenance for preaching which had been galling to 
 many of themselves, when it was imposed by pre- 
 latical or presbyterian authority. It is due to the 
 cause of truth as maintained by the early Friends, 
 to remark that they upheld liberty of conscience, not 
 only when suffering under persecution, but also when 
 they were raised to power in the province of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Those who united with George Fox in his views 
 of the presence of Christ in the Church, and in its 
 individual members, and who believed in his spiritual 
 guidance and teaching, could not conform to the cus- 
 tomary modes of worship. They met together to 
 worship God, who is a spirit, in spirit and in truth. 
 They could not offer to him words which did not 
 truly express their feelings. They believed that, in 
 true worship, all acts must be performed in the abase- 
 ment of self, and under the influence of the Holy 
 Spirit. When assembled, they were often strength- 
 ened and comforted together in silent waiting before 
 the Lord; whilst, individually, they breathed their 
 secret aspirations unto God, and realized that Christ 
 was amongst them by his Spirit, uniting their hearts 
 together in mutual love to Him and his great cause. 
 And when any amongst them, under this deep feel- 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 17 
 
 ing of true worship, were constrained in spirit to 
 speak tlie word of exhortation, prayer, or praise, 
 they gratefully accepted it, as from the Lord, and as 
 drawing to him. But preconcerted human arrange- 
 ments for preaching or prayer ; the setting up of one 
 man as the sole teacher in the congregation ; the es- 
 tabHshment of a body of such ministers by the 
 State; the imposition of their maintenance upon 
 those who differed from them; all these were, in 
 their view, violations of great Christian principles, 
 interfering with Christ's authority and government 
 in his Church, and excluding the free exercise of the 
 various gifts bestowed by him for its edification. They 
 admitted freely the preaching of women, as well as 
 that of men, according to the practice of the apos- 
 tolic age, when sons and daughters prophesied, and 
 the Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon " ser- 
 vants and handmaidens,'^ not limiting the number in 
 any church. 
 
 But though the early Friends maintained the right 
 and duty of the members of a Christian Church to 
 exercise the spiritual gifts with which they were 
 severally endued, they held that the authority to 
 judge of the offered services of the members rested 
 with the assembled body of the church, under the 
 direction of it^ spiritual Head. Entire individual 
 independence in society is a contradiction in terms. 
 In the primitive church, though there was the ut- 
 most liberty of prophesying, it is declared that " the 
 spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 
 for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 
 
18 
 
 RISE OF THE 
 
 as in all the cliurclies of the saints/' The members 
 were subject one to another in the fear of God," 
 and this subjection, as well as the duty of caring for 
 and watching over one another for good, were clearly 
 recognized by the early Friends, and formed the basis 
 of that system of discipline which was established 
 among them, and under which, as members of the 
 body, they enjoyed so large a measure of liberty in 
 connexion with true order. Under this discipline 
 the poor were cared for, the education of the youth 
 was promoted, religious efforts were used to reclaim 
 the wandering and delinquent members, and when 
 Christian labour had failed, the ultimate proceeding 
 was the declaration of the Society's disunity with the 
 offender as one of its members. This proceeding 
 carried with it no proscription from its religious wor- 
 ship or the ordinary intercourses of human kindness, 
 and the Society was open at all times to receive the 
 disowned person again into fellowship, on the evi- 
 dence being afforded of a changed mind. As the 
 Society declined conscientiously the usual rites in 
 connexion with marriages, births, and deaths, the re- 
 gistration of these events was under the special care 
 of the meetings for discipline. After two hundred 
 years from its establishment, the original system of 
 discipline is with much benefit steadily acted upon, 
 and those principles which, at its rise, united the 
 members of the Society in Christian fellowship, con- 
 tinue to be upheld by, and to distinguish, their suc- 
 cessors in religious profession. 
 
 Although the early Friends maintained that imme- 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 19 
 
 diate spiritual guidance was still granted to the chil- 
 dren of God, they fully recognized the divine au- 
 thority of the Holy Scriptures, and were ever ready 
 to have their doctrines and practices tried by them : 
 they accepted them indeed unequivocally, as given 
 by inspiration of Glod, and loved and valued them as 
 the genuine records of his dealings with his creature 
 man, and as communicating to him the knowledge 
 of that Gospel covenant by which life and immor- 
 tality are brought to light; they read and quoted 
 them freely, referred to them for the proof of the 
 soundness of their own faith and doctrine, and re- 
 commended them strongly to the perusal of others ; 
 but they warned men against fancying themselves in 
 a state of salvation, because of possessing a know- 
 ledge of the Scriptures, whilst remaining strangers 
 to that true faith in Christ, through which alone they 
 make wise unto salvation. 
 
 Believing that no typical or ceremonial rites were 
 appointed by Christ or his xlpostles, for the continual 
 or universal observance of the church, and in con- 
 nexion with the views which these Christian people 
 entertained of the spirituality of the Gospel dispen- 
 sation, they abstained from the use of Water Bap- 
 tism, and from what is called the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper. In the declaration of Christ, that 
 the time was at hand when " they that worship the 
 Father, must worship Him in spirit and in truth,'' 
 they saw the essential abolition of all ritual religious 
 services, and the opening of that real spiritual rela- 
 tion and intercourse between man and his Creator, 
 
20 
 
 RISE OF THE 
 
 which is the glory of the Gospel of Christ. Under 
 the Christian dispensation there is one, and but one, 
 baptism. " I indeed/' said the forerunner of Christ, 
 "baptize you with water unto repentance; but he 
 that Cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes 
 I am not worthy to bear, he shall baptize you with 
 the Holy Ghost and with fire f (Matt. iii. 11). This 
 baptism of the Spirit, by which conversion of heart 
 is known, and the repentant sinner is brought, 
 through living faith in Christ, into his adopted 
 family, was fully asserted by the early Quakers ) as 
 was also that spiritual communion with Christ, whe- 
 ther alone or in fellowship with the brethren, in 
 which the benefits of his death, resurrection, and as- 
 cension are appreciated and appropriated, by the 
 power of the Holy Spirit. This they believed to be 
 the true Supper of the Lord, — the spiritual eating 
 of his flesh and drinking of his blood. 
 
 The imposition of tithes on the people they es- 
 teemed to be a virtual recognition of the continued 
 authority of Judaism, and a practical denial that 
 Christ had come, had superseded the whole Judaical 
 economy, and had placed upon the site of its de- 
 parted glories the spiritual temple in which he was 
 the great High Priest. He said to his disciples, 
 "Freely ye have received, freely give.'' Those 
 whom he sent to minister to his flock in spiritual 
 things, were entitled to partake of the carnal things 
 of those who received their message; but this natu- 
 ral claim gave no authority, they asserted, to the im- 
 position of payment. Such an imposition, in the 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 21 
 
 view of tlie earlj Friends, was utterly opposed to the 
 liberty and nobility of the Christian system, and was 
 an evidence of corruption in the church which prac- 
 tised it, whatever name that church might bear. 
 They called men, therefore, to come out of it; to 
 leave hireling priests and mere lip services ; and to 
 come to Christ alone for the supply of their spiritual 
 necessities. They believed it would be, on their 
 part, a virtual recognition of an unchristian system, 
 if they were to pay the ecclesiastical demands im- 
 posed upon them, esteeming it a case in which they 
 must act upon the apostoHc rule, ^^to obey Grod 
 rather than men." 
 
 In obedience also to Christ's command, " Swear 
 not at all," they refused all judicial as well as other 
 oaths; and in like accordance with Christ's com- 
 mands of love to enemies, and of not returning' evil 
 for evil, they believed that all war was unlawful to 
 the Christian. They did not seek to be singular; 
 but in the maintenance of strict truth, and the avoid- 
 ance of pride and flattery, they were led into great 
 simplicity in their dress, manners, and language. 
 
 These various testimonies brought much con- 
 tumely, from the high professors as well as from the 
 profane, upon the early Friends. They were said to 
 be " against ministry, magistracy and ordinances 
 but being brought into an entire submission to what- 
 ever, in their enlightened consciences, they believed 
 to be the will of their Lord, they acted simply and 
 decidedly upon their convictions of duty, and gave 
 up all that they counted dear, in faithful allegiance 
 
22 
 
 THE RISE OF THE 
 
 to liim; and many of tliem went forth, as into the 
 highways and hedges, to proclaim the truth, believ- 
 ing themselves called to invite others to come and 
 enjoy the Gospel liberty which they had found. 
 Great were their sufferings when the high professors 
 of Oliver Cromwell's days had the rule in England ; 
 and still greater were they under the government of 
 the second Charles, when the old Episcopalian was 
 again instated in power, and when the prominent 
 members of " Church and State seemed to vie with 
 each other, both in licentious indulgence and in 
 cruelty. A systematic, legalized effort appears, at 
 this period, to have been made to exterminate the 
 Quakers ! Cruel laws of Henry the Eighth and 
 Queen Elizabeth, made originally against the Papists, 
 were revived, especially those for the regular attend- 
 ance at " church,'' and the taking of the oath of al- 
 legiance, and were executed with severity upon the 
 Quakers. 
 
 The Conventicle Act, passed in the year 1664, 
 prohibiting the meeting together of five or more per- 
 sons for the exercise of religion, in other manner 
 than is allowed by the liturgy or practice of the 
 Church of England, under pain of being committed 
 to prison for the first offence, and transported beyond 
 the seas for the second ! An act had previously been 
 passed against those who, ^' on the ground that it was 
 contrary to the word of God," refused to take an 
 oath before a lawful magistrate ; or who should, " by 
 printing, writing, or otherwise, go about to maintain 
 and defend, that the taking of an oath is, in any case 
 
SOCIETY OF TRIEXDS. 
 
 23 
 
 ■whatsoever, altogetlier unlawful;" and this offence 
 was in the Conventicle Act also made punishable by 
 transportation I 
 
 With these and similar legal engines, bishops, 
 clergy, judges, and magistrates, with the aid of a 
 host of wicked informers, betook themselves to the 
 work of hunting down these Christian people. At 
 one period more than 4,200 of them were shut up 
 in close and noisome prisons, chiefly for meeting to- 
 gether to worship God in such manner as they be- 
 lieved he required of them, and for refusing to swear, 
 in accordance with the positive command of their 
 Lord and Saviour, Swear not at all." When the 
 plague was raging in Loudon, in 1665, the persecu- 
 tors were busily engaged in committing the Quakers 
 to infected prisons, and putting them on board ves- 
 sels for transportation. Many died in prison, and 
 out of fifty-five put on board one vessel, which was 
 designed to transport them to the colonies, twenty- 
 seven died of the plague, rescued from the hands of 
 cruel men, and, as we reverently believe, taken to be 
 with their Lord. 
 
 All the trials, however, which were permitted to 
 attend them did not shake their faith and constancy. 
 Though the world hated them, they were heartily 
 united in love to God and one to another. At the 
 hazard of their own liberty, those who were at large 
 visited their brethren who were in prison, and min- 
 istered to them. And at a time when many of them 
 were sick and dying from their confinement in filthy 
 holes and dungeons, a large number of their friends 
 
24 
 
 THE RISE OF THE 
 
 entreated, that if their afflicted brethren could not 
 otherwise be relieved, they themselves might be al- 
 lowed to take, body for body, the places of the most 
 suffering prisoners. The government, unmoved, re- 
 jected the offer, but the love which directed it was 
 not without its influence on the minds of the people, 
 who could not avoid observing how largely the de- 
 spised Quakers evinced the charity, as well as the 
 zeal and constancy, of the primitive Christians. 
 
 Many persons were led by the treatment and by 
 the conduct of the early Friends to look more in- 
 quisitively into their doctrines and manners : they 
 remembered that, heretofore, the way of truth had 
 been everywhere spoken against; and when they 
 found that these objects of general reproach were in- 
 dustrious in their callings and exemplary in all the 
 duties of social life, and that they were also ready to 
 forsake houses and lands, parents and children, 
 rather than disobey what they believed to be the law 
 of Christ, the inquirers were often led to conclude, 
 that these much despised people were indeed true 
 followers of Him who, with his disciples, was not of 
 this world, and therefore the world hated them. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, how much this kind of 
 conviction, not founded on minute reasoningj but 
 resting chiefly on the practical and internal evidence 
 for the truth, whether furnished by the lives of its 
 converts, or by the convictions of the Spirit in the 
 hearts of those to whom it is preached, has marked 
 the course through which Christ, the great Head of 
 his own Church, has, in all ages, thought fit to gather 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 25 
 
 his people out of the world. In the opening of the 
 Gospel day, though then accompanied by extraordi- 
 nary miracles, there was much of this process to be 
 observed : and in the subsequent revivals of divine 
 truth, whether in Germany, Switzerland, or England, 
 a large majority of the converts were drawn by a 
 sense of Truth, — by finding a conformity of the doc- 
 trine preached, both with Scripture and with the tes- 
 timony of the Holy Spirit, the witness for God in 
 their own hearts. 
 
 Many among the early converts to the Truth, who 
 had been wise and great in this world, were made 
 willing to become fools in the sight of men. In deep 
 humility they sat at the foot of the cross, seeking to 
 learn of that promised Comforter, who, the Saviour 
 declared, should " teach " his disciples " all things,^' 
 and bring to their " remembrance whatsoever he had 
 said unto them." Their delight was in the law of 
 the Lord, and they gloried in nothing save in the 
 cross of Christ, by whom the world was crucified 
 unto them, and they unto the world. 
 
 They found, as one of them has said, that it was 
 the nature of true faith to produce a holy fear of 
 offending God, a deep reverence for his precepts, and 
 a most tender regard to the inward testimony of his 
 Spirit. They proved that those who truly believe, 
 receive Christ in all his ofi'ers to the soul ; and that 
 to those who thus receive him, is given power to be- 
 come the sons of God, — ability to do whatsoever he 
 requires ; strength to mortify their lusts, control their 
 afiiections, deny themselves, and overcome the world 
 3 
 
26 RISE OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 in its most enticing appearances. This is the true 
 bearing of that blessed cross of Christy which, ac- 
 cording to his own words, is the great and essential 
 characteristic of his disciples. That the early Friends 
 were among these true cross-bearing disciples, was 
 abundantly evidenced before the world in their life 
 and conversation ; and by these, as well as by their 
 preaching, they held out to mankind the apostolic 
 invitation, " Come and have fellowship with us ; for 
 truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ." 
 
DOCTRINES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 The original and immediate ground of the religious 
 fellowsliip of the early members of the Society of 
 Friends, was a union of sentiment in regard to Christ's 
 inward teaching, a doctrine which they believed to 
 have been too much neglected by others. They were 
 at the same time firm believers in all that is revealed 
 in Holy Scripture respecting the fall of man, and his 
 redemption through our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ ; nor would they have allowed that any one 
 held the truth who denied his coming in the flesh, 
 or the benefit derived to man by his propitiatory 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Our predecessors not only recognized the Bible as 
 of Divine authority, and as the standard of their re- 
 ligious doctrines, but were particularly careful to ad- 
 here to Scripture language in the statement of them. 
 They adopted no creed or confession of faith to be 
 subscribed by their members, yet when charged with 
 false opinions^ they did not hesitate to make a full 
 
 (27) 
 
28 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 declaration on any or all of the points of the Christian 
 faith. 
 
 The following extracts satisfactorily prove this. 
 Issued as they were at different periods, they exhibit 
 the harmony which has prevailed in our religious 
 Society, in reference to the doctrines of the Gospel, 
 — doctrines which are designed, through the power 
 of the Holy Spirit, and the operation of a living 
 faith, to promote the happiness of man in this life, 
 and to prepare him for eternal bliss in Christ's hea- 
 venly kingdom. 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 29 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 We own and believe in the only wise, omnipotent, 
 and everlasting God, the Creator of all things in 
 heaven and earth, and the Preserver of all that he 
 hath made ; who is God over all, blessed for ever • 
 to whom be all honour and glory, dominion, praise, 
 and thanksgivings, both now and for evermore I 
 
 And we own and believe in Jesus Christ, his be- 
 loved and only-begotten Son, in whom he is well 
 pleased ; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and 
 born of the Virgin Mary ; in whom we have redemp- 
 tion through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins ; 
 who is the express image of the invisible God, the 
 first-born of every creature, by whom were all things 
 created that are in heaven and in earth, visible and 
 invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, 
 principalities or powers ; all things were created by 
 Him. And we own and believe that He was made a 
 sacrifice for sin, who knew no sin, neither was guile 
 found in his mouth ; that He was crucified for us in 
 the flesh, without the gates of Jerusalem ; and that 
 He was buried, and rose again the third day by the 
 power of his Father, for our justification ; and that 
 He ascended up into heaven, and now sitteth at the 
 3=^ 
 
80 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 right hand of God. This Jesus, who was the foun- 
 dation of the holy prophets and apostles/is our foun- 
 dation ; and we believe that there is no other foun- 
 dation to be laid but that which is laid, even 
 Christ Jesus; who tasted death for every man, shed 
 his blood for all men, and is the propitiation for our 
 sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of 
 the whole world : according as Jolm the Baptist tes- 
 tified of Him, when he said, " Behold the Lamb of 
 God, which taketh away the sin of the world.'' 
 John i. 29. 
 
 We believe that He alone is our Redeemer and 
 Saviour, even the captain of our salvation, who saves 
 us from sin, as well as from hell and the wrath to 
 come, and destroys the devil and his works; He is 
 the seed of the woman that bruises the serpent's 
 head, to wit, Christ Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, 
 the First and the Last. He is (as the Scriptures of 
 truth say of him) our wisdom and righteousness, justi- 
 fication and redemption ; neither is there salvation 
 in any other, for there is no other name under heaven 
 given among men, whereby we may be saved. He 
 alone is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls : He 
 is our Prophet, whom Moses long since testified of, 
 saying, " A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise 
 up unto you of your brethren, like unto me : Him 
 shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say 
 unto you: and it shall come- to pass, that every soul, 
 which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed 
 from among the people." Acts iii. 22, 23. He it is 
 that is now come in Spirit, " and hath given us an 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 31 
 
 understanding, that we may know Ilim that is true." 
 He rules in our hearts by his law of love and life, 
 and makes us free from the law of sin and death. 
 We have no life, but by Him ; for He is the quick- 
 ening Spirit, the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, 
 by whose blood we are cleansed, and our consciences 
 sprinkled from dead works, to serve the living God. 
 He is our Mediator, that makes peace and reconcilia- 
 tion between God offended and us offending; He 
 being the new covenant of light, life, grace, and 
 peace; the author and finisher of our faith. This 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly Man, the Emanuel, 
 God with us, we all own and believe in ; He whom 
 the high priest raged against, and said He had spoken 
 blasphemy ; whom the priests and elders of the J ews 
 took counsel together ngainst, and put to death ; the 
 same whom Judas betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, 
 which the priests gave him as a reward for his trea- 
 son ; who also gave large money to soldiers to broach 
 a horrible lie, namely, " That his disciples came and 
 stole Him away by night whilst they slept." After 
 he was risen from the dead, the history of the acts 
 of the apostles sets forth how the chief priests and 
 elders persecuted the disciples of this Jesus, for 
 preaching Christ and his resurrection. This, we say, 
 is that Lord Jesus Christ, whom we own to be our 
 life and salvation. 
 
 Concerning the Holy Scriptures, we do believe 
 they were given forth by the Holy Spirit of God 
 through the holy men of God, who (as the Scripture 
 itself declares, 2 Pet. i. 21) spake as they were 
 
32 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 moved by the Holy Ghost. We believe they are to 
 be read, believed, and fulfilled (He that fulfils them 
 is Christ) ; and they are " profitable for doctrine, for 
 reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
 ness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
 furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. iii, 16, 17); 
 and are able to make wise unto salvation, " through 
 faith in Christ Jesus." 
 
 George Fox and others. Address to the Gov. of Barba- 
 does, 1671. 
 
 And we own the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, as the apostles have declared. When the 
 fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, 
 made of a woman, made under the law, that he might 
 redeem them that were under the law, that we might 
 receive the adoption of sons. Gal. iv. 4, 5. And by 
 the grace of God, Christ tasted death for every man. 
 Heb. ii. 9. And how that Christ died for our sins, 
 according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried 
 and rose again, according to the Scriptures. 1 Cor. 
 XV. 3, 4. For other foundation can no man lay than 
 that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. iii. 11. 
 And so we believe those things which God before 
 hath showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that 
 Christ should suiTer, and he hath thus fulfilled it, 
 and is risen from the dead, and is at the right hand 
 of God, who is alive again, and lives for evermore, 
 and will reward every man according to his deeds, 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 33 
 
 and is the Judge both of the quick and dead, and 
 his sheep now hear his voice and follow him, as in 
 the apostles' days. Acts iii. Rev. i. 18. Neither is 
 there salvation in any other than in the name of 
 Jesus; for there is none other name given under 
 heaven among men, whereby we must be saved. 
 Acts iv. 12. And without controversy, great is the 
 mystery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesh, 
 justified in the Spirit; seen of angels, preached unto 
 the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up 
 into glory. 1 Tim. iii. 16. And it is the Spirit that 
 beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth; for 
 there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, 
 the "Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are 
 one. 1 John v. And now let none be ofi'ended, be- 
 cause we do not call them by those unscriptural 
 names of Trinity and three persons, which are not 
 Scripture words, and so do falsely say that we deny 
 the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, which 
 three are one that bear record in heaven, &c., which 
 three we own with all our hearts, as the apostle J ohn 
 did, and as all true Christians ever did, and now do. 
 
 We believe concerning God the Father, Son, and 
 Spirit, according to the testimony of the Holy Scrip- 
 ture, which we receive and embrace as the most au- 
 thentic and perfect declaration of Christian faith, 
 being indited by the Holy Spirit of God, that never 
 errs : — First, that there is one God and Father, of 
 whom are all things. Secondly, that there is one 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made 
 (John i. and chap. xvii. ; Rom. ix.), who was glorified 
 c 
 
34 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 with the Father before the world began, who is God 
 over all, blessed for ever (John xiv.) : that there is 
 one Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father and the 
 Sou, and Leader and Sanctifier, and Comforter of his 
 people. 1 John v- And we further believe, as the 
 Holy Scriptures soundly and sufficiently express, that 
 these three are one, even the Father, the Word, and 
 the Spirit. And in the fulness of time, according 
 to the promise of the Father, Christ was manifested 
 in the flesh, and by the grace of God tasted death 
 for every man, is risen and ascended, and sits on the 
 right hand of God in heaven, and is the only Media- 
 tor between God and man 3 and that He exercises his 
 prophetical, priestly, and kingly office now in his 
 church, and also his offices as a Counsellor and 
 Leader, Bishop, Shepherd, and Mediator. He (to 
 wit), the son of God, He exercises these offices in 
 his household of faith, whose house we are, that are 
 believers *in the light, and by faith ingrafted into 
 Christ the Word, by whom all things were made ; 
 and so are heirs of eternal life, being elected in Him 
 before the world began. And we do not matter if 
 this Jewish spirit saith now of us, as it did formerly 
 of the followers of Christ, that none but accursed 
 people follow him, that knew not the law ', and if you 
 say as Nathaniel said (John i. 46), " Can there any 
 good thing come out of Nazareth?" we say with 
 Philip, "Come and see." 
 
 Frojji Worcester Prison. 
 
 George Fox to such as say the Quakers are no Christiana. 
 1673. 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 35 
 
 Question. "What is your belief concerning the 
 blessed Trinity, as our term is ? 
 
 Ansicer. Our belief is, tbat in the unity of tlie 
 Godhead there is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 being those three Divine Witnesses that bear record 
 in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy 
 Spirit; and that these three are one, according to 
 Holy Scripture testimony. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe the Divinity and humanity 
 of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, or that 
 Jesus Christ is truly God and man if 
 
 Ansio. Yes ; we verily believe that Jesus Christ is 
 truly God and man, according as Holy Scripture tes- 
 tifies of Him, God over all, blessed for ever, the true 
 God and Eternal Life, the one Mediator between God 
 and men, even the Man Christ Jesus. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe and expect salvation and 
 justification, by the righteousness and merits of 
 Jesus Christ, or by your own righteousness or works ? 
 
 Ansic. By Jesus Christ, his righteousness, merits, 
 and works, and not by our own. God is not indebted 
 to us for our deservings, but we to Him for his free 
 grace, in Christ Jesus, whereby we are saved through 
 faith in Him (not of ourselves), and by his grace 
 enabled truly and acceptably to serve and follow Him 
 as he requires : He is our all in all, who worketh all 
 in us that is well pleasing to God. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe remission of sin, and re- 
 
36 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 demption tlirough the sufferings, death, and blood of 
 Christ? 
 
 AnsiD. Yes ; through faith in Him, as he suffered 
 and died for all men, gave himself a ransom for all ; 
 and his blood being shed for the remission of sins, 
 so all they who sincerely believe and obey Him, re- 
 ceive the benefits and blessed effects of his suffering 
 and dying for them ; they by faith in his name re- 
 ceive and partake of that eternal redemption, which 
 He hath obtained for us, who gave Himself for us 
 that he might redeem us from all iniquity. He died 
 for our sins, and rose again for our justification; and 
 if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have 
 fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus 
 Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John i. 7. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe and own the Divine offices 
 of Jesus Christ in .his church ? 
 
 Answ. Yes, verily, we sincerely believe and own 
 Christ, not only as He is the light of the world, en- 
 lightening every man coming into it; but also that 
 He is given for a Leader, and for a Commander; and 
 that He is both King, Priest, and Prophet to and 
 over his church and people. He is the Minister of 
 the sanctuary, which the Lord pitched, and not man ; 
 and we are to hear Him in all things. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe and own the Holy Scrip- 
 tures contained in the books of the Old and New 
 Testament to be given by Divine inspiration, and to 
 contain all matters of doctrine and testimony, &c., 
 necessary to be believed and practised in order to 
 salvation and peace with God ? 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 37 
 
 Answ. Yes, we do, and by the assistance of tlie 
 grace and good Spirit of God, which gives the true 
 understanding of the mind of God, and meaning of 
 Holy Scripture, we always desire to live in the faith, 
 knowledge, and practice of them in all things apper- 
 taining to life and godliness. Holy Scripture being 
 given by Divine inspiration, is profitable for doctrine, 
 correction, and instruction, that the man of God may 
 be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good 
 work, able to make the man of God wise unto salva- 
 tion, through faith in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Quest. Do you believe the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection from the dead, and of eternal judgment, and 
 the immortality of the soul ? 
 
 Answ. We sincerely believe and confess the doc- 
 trine of the resurrection from the dead, and of eter- 
 nal judgment according to Holy Scripture. Heb. vi. 
 and ii. 
 
 That God will raise the dead and judge the world 
 in righteousness by his Son Jesus Christ, in the day 
 appointed, even in the great day of judgment, and 
 that harvest which is the end of the world. 
 
 That the soul of man, though created, is immortal, 
 and never dies : even as these doctrines are more 
 fully testified in Holy Scripture, by Jesus Christ and 
 his holy apostles. 
 
 First. For the doctrine of the Resurrection see 
 Matt. xiii. 43, and chap. xxii. 30, 31.— Mark xii. 25. 
 — Luke XX. 36. — John v. 29. — 1st Cor. chap. xv. 
 19, 35,36, 37 verses, to the 53d verse. — Phil. iii. 21. 
 4 
 
38 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 — Colos. iii. 4. — 1st John iii. 2. — 1st Thes. iv. 16. 
 — Kev. XX. 12, 13, 14, 15. 
 
 Second. Of Eternal Judgment see Matt. xiii. 89, 
 40, 41, 42, chap. x. 15, and xi. 24, and xxv. 30, 31, 
 41 — Mark viii. 38.— Luke ix. 26.— Acts xvii. 31.— 
 John V. 22, 27.— Acts x. 42.— 2d Thes. i. 7, 8, 9.— . 
 2d Tim. iv. 1. — 1st Peter iv. 5. — 2d Peter ii. 9. — 
 Jude 6. 
 
 Third. For the Immortality of the Soul see Gen. 
 i. 27, and ii. 7.— 1st Kings xvii. 21.— Matt. xvi. 26. 
 Mark viii. 36, 37. — Eccles. iii. 21, and xii. 7. — Luke 
 xvi. 22, 23.— 2d Cor. v. 1, 2. 
 
 " The Christianity of the people commonly called Quakers, 
 asserted." 1689. 
 
 We sincerely profess faith in Grod by his only-be- 
 gotten Son J esus Christ, as being our light and life, 
 our only way to the Father, and also our only Media- 
 tor and Advocate with the Father. 
 
 That God created all things, He made the worlds, 
 by his Son Jesus Christ, He being that powerful and 
 living Word of God, by whom all things were made; 
 and that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit 
 are one, in Divine being inseparable ; one true, living, 
 and eternal God, blessed for ever. 
 
 Yet that this Word, or Son of God, in the fulness 
 of time, took flesh, became perfect man according to 
 the flesh, descended and came of the seed of Abra- 
 ham and David ; but was miraculously conceived by 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 39 
 
 the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary; and 
 also, further, declared powerfully to be the Son of 
 God, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the 
 resurrection from the dead. 
 
 That in the Word (or Son of God) was life, and 
 the same life was the light of men ; and that He was 
 that true light, which enlightens every man coming 
 into the world ; and therefore that men are to be- 
 lieve in the light, that they may become the children 
 of the light; hereby we believe in Christ the Son of 
 God, as He is the light and life within us ; and 
 wherein we must needs have sincere respect and 
 honour to (and belief in) Christ, as in his own un- 
 approachable and incomprehensible glory and ful- 
 ness ; as He is the fountain of life and light, and 
 giver thereof unto us ; Christ, as in himself, and as 
 in us, being not divided. And that as man, Christ 
 died for our sins, rose again, and was received up 
 into glory in the heavens ; He having, in his dying 
 for all, been that one great universal offering and 
 sacrifice for peace, atonement, and reconciliation be- 
 tween God and man ; and he is the propitiation not 
 for our sins only, but for the sins of the v\^hole world. 
 We were reconciled by his death, but saved by his 
 life. 
 
 That Jesus Christ, who sitteth at the right hand 
 of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, yet He 
 is our King, High Priest, and Prophet ; in his church, 
 a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true taber- 
 nacle which the Lord pitched, and not man. He is 
 Intercessor and Advocate with the Father in heaven, 
 
40 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 and there appearing in the presence of God for us, 
 being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, 
 sufierings, and sorrows. And also by his Spirit in 
 our hearts, He maketh intercession according to the 
 will of God, crying, Abba, Father. 
 
 That the Gospel of the grace of God should be 
 preached in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, being one in power, wisdom, and goodness, 
 and indivisible (or not to be divided) in the great 
 work of man's salvation. 
 
 We sincerely confess (and believe in) Jesus Christ, 
 both as He is true God, and perfect man, and that 
 He is the author of our living faith in the power and 
 goodness of God, as manifested in his Son Jesus 
 Christ, and by his own blessed Spirit (or Divine unc- 
 tion) revealed in us, whereby we inwardly feel and 
 taste of his goodness, life, and virtue ; so as our souls 
 live and prosper by and in Him : and the inward 
 sense of this Divine power of Christ, and faith in 
 the same, and the inward experience, are absolutely 
 necessary to make a true, sincere, and perfect Chris- 
 tian in spirit and life. 
 
 That Divine honour and worship is due to the Son 
 of God ; and that He is, in true faith, to be prayed 
 unto, and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ called 
 upon (as the primitive Christians did), because of 
 the glorious union or oneness of the Father and the 
 Son, and that we cannot acceptably offer up prayers 
 and praises to God, nor receive a gracious answer or 
 blessing from God, but in and through his dear Son 
 Christ. 
 
SOCIETY OF PRIEXDS. 41 
 
 That Christ's body that was crucified was not the 
 Godhead, yet by the power of God was raised from 
 the dead ; and that the same Christ that was therein 
 crucified, ascended into heaven and glory, is not 
 questioned by us. His flesh saw no corruption, it 
 did not corrupt, but yet, doubtless, his body was 
 changed into a more glorious and heavenly condition 
 than it was in when subject to divers sufferings 
 on earth; but how and what manner of change it 
 met withal, after it was raised from the dead, so as 
 to become such a glorious body (as it is declared to 
 be), is too wonderful for mortals to conceive, appre- 
 hend, or pry into (and more meet for angels to see) ; 
 the Scripture is silent therein, as to the manner 
 thereof, and we are not curious to inquire or dispute 
 it; nor do we esteem it necessary to make ourselves 
 wise above what is written, as to the manner or con- 
 dition of Christ's glorious body, as in heaven ; no 
 more than to inquire how Christ appeared in divers 
 manners or forms ; or how He came in among his 
 disciples, the doors being shut : or how He vanished 
 out of their sight, after He was risen. However, we 
 have cause to believe his body, as in heaven, is 
 changed into a most glorious condition, far transcend- 
 ing what it was in on earth ; otherwise how should our 
 low body be changed, so as to be made like unto his 
 glorious body ? — for when He was on earth and at- 
 tended with sufi"erings, He was said to be like unto 
 us in all things, sin alone excepted ; which may not 
 be said of Him as now in a state of glory, as He 
 4. * 
 
42 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 prayed for; otherwise where would be the change 
 both in Him and in us ? 
 
 Concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the 
 great day of judgment yet to come, beyond the grave, 
 or after death, and Christ's coming without us, to 
 judge the quick and the dead (as divers questions 
 are put in such terms), what the Holy Scriptures 
 plainly declare and testify in these matters, we have 
 been always ready to embrace. 
 
 1. For the doctrine of the resurrection : if in this 
 life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men 
 most miserable. 1 Cor. xv. 19. ^Ye sincerely believe 
 not only a resurrection in Christ from the fallen sin- 
 ful state here, but a rising and ascending into glory 
 with him hereafter, that when he at last appears, we 
 may appear with Him in glory. Col. iii. 4; 1 
 John iii. 2. 
 
 But that all the wicked, who live in rebellion 
 against the light of grace, and die finally impenitent, 
 shall come forth to the resurrection of condemnation. 
 
 And that the soul or spirit of every man and 
 woman shall be reserved in its own distinct and 
 proper being, and every seed (yea every soul) shall 
 have its proper body, as God is pleased to give it. 1 
 Cor. XV. A natural body is sown, a spiritual body 
 is raised ; that being first which is natural, and after- 
 ward that which is spiritual. And though it is said, 
 this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal shall put on immortality, the change shall be 
 such as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom 
 of Grod, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 43 
 
 1 Cor. XY. We shall be raised out of all corruption 
 and corruptibility, out of all mortality ; and tlie chil- 
 dren of God and of the resurrection shall be equal 
 to the ano-els of God in heaYen. And as the celes- 
 tial bodies do far excel terrestrial, so we expect our 
 spiritual bodies in the resurrection shall far excel 
 what our bodies now are. Howbeit we esteem it 
 Yery unnecessary to dispute or question how the dead 
 are raised, or with what body they come ; but rather 
 submit that to the wisdom and pleasure of Almighty 
 God. 
 
 2. For the doctrine of eternal judgment : God hath 
 committed all judgment unto his Son Jesus Christ; 
 and he is Judge both of quick and dead, and of the 
 states and ends of all mankind. John y. 22, 27. — 
 Acts X. 42.-2 Tim Iy. 1.— 1 Pet. iv. 5. 
 
 That there shall be hereafter a great harvest, which 
 is the end of the world, a great day of judgment, and 
 the judgment of that great day, the Holy Scripture 
 is clear. 31att. xiii. 39, 40, 41, x. 15, and xi. 24. — 
 Jude 6. " When the Son of Man cometh in his 
 glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall 
 He sit upon the throne of his glory, and before Him 
 shall be gathered all nations," &c. Matt xxv. 31, 32, 
 to the end, compared with chap, xxii. 21. — 31ark 
 viii. 38.— -Luke ix. 26, and 1 Cor. xy. 52.-2 Thess. 
 i. 7, 8, to the end, and 1 Thess. Iy. 16. — Ecy. xx. 
 12, 13, 14, 15. 
 
 Statement of Christian Doctrine. 1693. 
 
44 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 We feel ourselves called upon, at this time, to avow 
 our belief in the inspiration and Divine authority of 
 the Old and New Testament. 
 
 We further believe, that the promise made after 
 the transgression of our first parents, in the conse- 
 quence of whose fall all the posterity of Adam are 
 involved, that the seed of the woman shall bruise 
 the head of the serpent; and the declaration unto 
 Abraham, In thy seed shall all the nations of the 
 earth be blessed," had a direct reference to the 
 coming in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ. To 
 Him, also, did the prophet Isaiah bear testimony, 
 when he declared, Unto us a child is born, unto us 
 a son is given ; and the government shall be upon 
 his shoulder : and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
 Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, 
 the Prince of Peace : of the increase of his govern- 
 ment and peace there shall be no end." And again, 
 the same prophet spoke of Him when He said " Surely 
 He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet 
 we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and 
 afflicted ; but He was wounded for our transgressions : 
 He was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement 
 of our peace was upon Him : and with his stripes 
 we are healed." The same blessed Eedeemer is em- 
 phatically denominated by the prophet Jeremiah, 
 ''The Lord our Righteousness." 
 
 At that period, and in that miraculous manner 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 45 
 
 which God in his perfect wisdom saw fit, the pro- 
 mised Messiah appeared personally upon earth, when 
 " He took not on Him the nature of angels ; but He 
 took on Him the seed of Abraham." " He was in 
 all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.'^ 
 Having finished the work which was given Him to 
 do, He gave himself for us an ofi"ering and a sacri- 
 fice to God. He tasted death for every man. " He 
 is the propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, 
 but also for the sins of the whole world." "We have 
 redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness 
 of sins." He passed into the heavens : and being 
 the brightness, of the glory of God, " and the ex- 
 press image of his person, and upholding all things 
 by the word of his power, when He had by himself 
 purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the 
 Majesty on high/' and ever liveth to make interces- 
 sion for us. 
 
 It is by the Lord Jesus Christ that the world will 
 be judged in righteousness. He is the mediator of 
 the new covenant ; " the image of the invisible God, 
 the first-born of every creature : for by Him were 
 all things created that are in heaven and that are in 
 earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, 
 or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things 
 were created by Him, and for Him : and He is before 
 all things, and by Him all things consist." " In Him 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," and 
 to Him did the evangelist bear testimony when he 
 said, " In the beginning was the "Word, and the 
 "Word was with God, and the Word was God. The 
 
46 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 same was in the beginning with God. All things 
 were made by Him ; and without Him was not any- 
 thing made that was made. In Him Was life ; and 
 the life was the light of men." " He was the true 
 light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the 
 world." 
 
 Our blessed Lord himself spoke of his perpetual 
 dominion and power in his churchy when He said, 
 " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and 
 they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life 
 and, when describing the spiritual food which He 
 bestoweth on the true believers. He declared, " I am 
 the bread of life : he that cometh to me shall never 
 hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never 
 thirst." He spoke also of his saving grace, bestowed 
 on those who come in faith unto Him, when He said, 
 " Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
 him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall 
 give him shall be in him a well of water, springing 
 up into everlasting life." 
 
 Our religious Society, from its earliest establish- 
 ment to the present day, has received these most im- 
 portant doctrines of Holy Scripture in their plain and 
 obvious acceptation : and it is the earnest desire of 
 this Meeting, that all who profess our name, may so 
 live, and so walk before God, as they may know these 
 sacred truths to be blessed to them individually. We 
 desire that, as the mere profession of sound Christian 
 doctrine will not avail to the salvation of the soul, 
 all may attain to a living efficacious faith, which, 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost, bringeth forth 
 
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 47 
 
 fruit unto holiness ; the end whereof is everlasting 
 life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Blessing, 
 and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever 
 and ever.'' 
 
 Miuute of London Yearly Meeting, 1829. 
 
 Dear Friends, — We are again made sensible that 
 we cannot meditate on a subject more fraught with 
 instruction and comfort, than the coming of the Son 
 of God in the flesh, and the many blessings which 
 through Him have been conferred on the human 
 race, — the coming of Him, who, being born of a 
 virgin, " was made in the likeness of men who, 
 being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to 
 be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputa- 
 tion, and took upon Him the form of a servant." 
 He " was delivered for our offences, and was raised 
 again for our justification." He ascended on high, 
 He led captivity captive. He received gifts for men, 
 yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might 
 dwell among them. He sitteth on the right hand of 
 God," making intercession for us. He " is made unto 
 us of God, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctiii- 
 cation, and redemption and unto Him we must look 
 as our Mediator and Advocate with the Father. He 
 emphatically describes himself as "the good Shep- 
 herd." He is our Lawgiver; and solemn indeed is 
 the declaration, that we must all appear before his 
 
DOCTRINES OF THE 
 
 judgment-seat, to receive our reward, according to 
 the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or 
 bad. 
 
 We feel that it is not a light matter thus to advert 
 again to the various offices of the Son and sent of 
 the Father; and we beseech all whom we are ad- 
 dressing, to contemplate these solemn truths with 
 due reverence ; yet frequently to meditate thereon, 
 seeking for the assistance of the Grace of God to 
 direct their understandings aright. As this is done 
 with humble and believing hearts, the conviction 
 will increase, and ultimately become settled, that it 
 is a great mercy to know individually that we have 
 not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feel- 
 ing of our infirmities, but who was in all points 
 tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
 
 But, blessed be God, He has not only provided the 
 means of reconciliation unto himself, through the 
 sacrifice of Christ; He hath also, through the same 
 compassionate Saviour, granted unto us the gift of 
 the Holy Spirit. By this the patriarchs, and the 
 holy men of old who lived under the law, walked ac- 
 ceptably before God. Its more plenteous effusion, 
 and its powerful and life-giving efiects, were distinctly 
 foretold by the ancient prophets. Christ himself de- 
 clared that it was expedient that He should go away, 
 that He might send the Comforter, the Spirit of 
 Truth, who should guide into all truth : in allusion 
 to whose coming He also said, " I will not leave you 
 comfortless, I will come to you." To be guided by 
 \ his Spirit is the practical application of the Christian 
 
SOCIETY OF rPwIEXDS 
 
 49 
 
 religion. It is the light of Christ "wrhich enlightens 
 the darkness of the heart of man : and by following 
 this light, vre are enabled to enjoy and maintain com- 
 munion with Him. The children of God are led by 
 the Spirit of God ; and this is the appointed means 
 of bringing ds into that state of " holiness, without 
 which no man shall see the Lord." It is not a doe- 
 trine of mysticism, but one of practical piety. The 
 great office of the Holy Spirit we firmly believe to 
 be, to convince of sin, to bring the soul to a state of 
 deep and sincere repentance, and to effect the work 
 of sanctification. A holy and constant watchfulness 
 is required, to preserve the mind alive to the guidance 
 of this Divine Teacher; who, if dihgently sought 
 after and waited for, will be found to be a swift wit- 
 ness for God in the soul, producing that tenderness 
 of spirit, and that quickness of understanding in the 
 fear of the Lord, which are essential to our growth 
 in grace. • 
 
 It is through Him whom God has set forth to be a 
 propitiation, through faith in his blood, that we ob- 
 tain pardon for sin ; and it is through the power of 
 his Spirit working mightily in us, that we come even- 
 tually to experience freedom from sin. 
 
 Epistle of London Yearly Meeting, 1S30. 
 
 5 
 
THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE TEACHING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, 
 
 AS HELD BY THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 The great doctrine of the teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit, as held by the religious Society of Friends, 
 has often been misunderstood, and it has been felt to 
 be desirable to attempt briefly to state the views of 
 the Society upon this doctrine. Before, however, 
 proceeding to do this, it may be right to premise a few 
 particulars relative to some other fundamental points. 
 
 1. They have always maintained that the Holy 
 Scriptures were given by inspiration of God ; and, 
 believing them to convey to man a declaration of the 
 deahngs of God with his people in past ages — of his 
 statutes, judgments, and mercy, and, above all, as 
 containing the message of the covenant of grace and 
 peace through Jesus Christ — they have always 
 taught that these writings are to be reverently re- 
 ceived, diligently read, and their commands faithfully 
 obeyed. 
 
 2. In full accordance with these writings they have 
 ever believed, that there is one God and Father of 
 
 (51) 
 
52 
 
 TEACHING OF 
 
 all, of whom are all things; that there is one Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made, who 
 was glorified with the Father, before the world was, 
 who is God over all, blessed for ever ; and that there 
 is one Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father and the 
 Son, the leader, sanctifier, and comforter of his 
 people; and that these three are one God. And, 
 though shunning scholastic terms and distinctions, 
 or the attempt to be wise in the deep things of God 
 beyond what he has plainly revealed, they have ever 
 held, without any mystification, the real manhood as 
 well as the deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ : that the Word which was in the beginning 
 with God, and was God, was made flesh and dwelt 
 amongst us ; that He was the Messiah of whom the 
 Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, so largely 
 speaks, and whose offices in the church were pre- 
 figured in various types under the Mosaic covenant. 
 
 3. They believe that man, as he stands in the fall, 
 is separated, alienated in his nature from God ; that 
 we all have sinned, and come short of the glory of 
 God, and are therefore exposed to Divine wrath ; and 
 that it is solely through the mercy of God in Jesus 
 Christ that we are again brought into reconciliation 
 with Him ; receiving remission of our sins through 
 the one propitiatory ofi"ering of the Lamb of God, 
 and sanctification of heart through the influences of 
 the Holy Spirit. They also believe that there shall 
 be a great day of final account, in which all men 
 shall be judged by Jesus Christ, when " all who are 
 in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 53 
 
 forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection 
 of life ; and they that have done evil unto the resur- 
 rection of damnation/' John v. 21, 29. 
 
 4. They have from their origin declared that they 
 believed in no natural principle or power in man to 
 discover Divine truth, so as to enable him to turn 
 effectually to God ; but they have not hesitated to 
 declare their experimental conviction, that by the im- 
 mediate power of his Spirit man is convinced of sin, 
 led to deep repentance for sin, to trust alone to the 
 free mercy of God in Jesus Christ for the forgive- 
 ness of his sins, and to experience the purification 
 of his heart by the baptism of the Spirit. 
 
 It is in reference to this great practical work that 
 they have urged so earnestly the doctrine of spiritual 
 influence ; that they have called upon men to consider 
 whether they did not know the convictions for sin in 
 their own hearts, and besought them to attend to 
 them as the monitions of the Holy Spirit calling them 
 to repentance, and to come unto Christ, that they 
 might be made partakers of the blessings of his 
 covenant, and know through Him true union and 
 peace with God. 
 
 They esteem it no derogation from the character of 
 Holy Scripture, but that it is in the strictest accord- 
 ance with its scope and letter, to maintain that some 
 measure of the light of the Spirit of God has been 
 immediately granted to man ever since his fall, for 
 the purpose of his restoration ; that it is the spring 
 and principle of all true knowledge and holiness; 
 and that a larger measure of this grace, a fuller com- 
 5* 
 
54 
 
 TEACHING OF 
 
 munication between God and liis people, is tlie pecu- 
 liar feature and privilege of the Christian covenant. 
 
 Neither do they imagine that they withdraw one 
 .iota from the character of our blessed Lord, as having 
 been the sacrifice for our sins upon the cross, and as 
 still ever living at the right hand of the Father, as 
 our high priest and intercessor, when they assert, as 
 they believe on the full authority of Holy Scripture, 
 that, as the ^^true light which lighteth every man 
 that cometh into the world" (John i. 9), Christ has 
 been spiritually present with mankind in every age ; 
 that with Him in an especial manner the righteous 
 patriarchs walked ; that He followed and instructed 
 the children of Israel ; and that He is still present 
 with the objects of his redeeming love, calling them 
 by his grace, and, when converted to Him, dwelling 
 with them as their Bishop, Teacher, and King. 
 
 When the apostle John declares, that Christ " was 
 the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world," we apprehend that he speaks not 
 only with reference to that light which shone forth in 
 himself when personally on earth, but also of his en- 
 lightening grace bestowed in measure upon all men 
 as the objects of his redeeming love in every age. 
 
 "When our Lord, after his ascension, in the reve- 
 lation which he made to his servant John, declared, 
 
 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man 
 hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to 
 him, and will sup with him, and he with me " (Rev. 
 iii. 29), we apprehend that He spoke of those gra- 
 cious visitations which, by his Spirit, He makes to 
 
THE HOLT SPIRIT. 
 
 55 
 
 the soiil;3 of men, in their unregenerate state, to call 
 them to repentance ; and also of that union with Him 
 which takes place in, and is the unspeakable privilege 
 of, the renewed soul. This privilege is spoken of on 
 another occasion by our Lord, where He sa^-s, If a 
 man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father 
 will love him, and we will come unto him and make 
 our abode with him *' (John xiv. 23) ; and again to 
 his disciples, shortly before his ascension, Lo, lam 
 with you alway, even unto the end of the world/^ 
 Matt, xxviii. 20. This spiritual intercourse the So- 
 ciety of Friends do believe to be sensible and imme- 
 diate, both as it regards the first enlightenment of the 
 soul, its spiritual discipline, and its fuller and more 
 constant realization of the Divine presence. And 
 when our Saviour said, for the encouragement of his 
 disciples, Where two or three are gathered together 
 in my name, there am I in the midst of them,'' 
 (Matt, xviii. 20), we believe He spoke of his imme- 
 diate spiritual presence in the midst of his church, 
 that is, not of a mere outward association of profes- 
 sors, but of the few or the many living spiritual dis- 
 ciples, in every place, under eveiy name, and in 
 every age. 
 
 In accordance with these declarations of our Lord 
 are numerous passages in the epistolaiy writings 
 of the Xew Testament. When the apostle Paul 
 says, ^'Xow if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, 
 he is none of his " (Eom. viii. 9), and, Know ye 
 not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, 
 except ye be reprobates?'*' (2 Cor. xiii. 5), and when 
 
56 
 
 TEACHING OF 
 
 he says, " If Clirist be in you, the body is dead be- 
 cause of (as regards) sin : but the Spirit is life be- 
 cause of (as regards) righteousness ; but if the Spirit 
 of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in 
 you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall 
 also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that 
 dwelleth in you (Rom. viii. 10, 11), and when, in 
 writing to the Colossian believers, he uses these 
 words, Christ in you the hope of glory," we appre- 
 hend that he speaks of the presence of Christ by 
 his Spirit, granted for the purpose of drawing the 
 soul to God, and keeping it in true union with Him. 
 We do not confound together the striving and con- 
 victing reproofs of the Holy Spirit in the soul, with 
 that which may more especially be called his in- 
 dwelling presence; but we conceive that we have 
 apostolic authority for exhorting our young persons 
 and others to mind the convictions of the Spirit of 
 Christ in them ; and, upon the authority of the pre- 
 ceding as well as of various other passages of Holy 
 Scripture, we apprehend that we are justified in 
 holding, in the manner we do, the doctrine of the 
 continued presence of our Lord Jesus Christ with 
 his people, and in speaking, as we do, of the spiritual 
 appropriation of all the benefits of his coming, death, 
 resurrection, and ascension, and of the participation 
 in the soul, by living faith, of his body and blood. 
 
 It was this spiritual appropriation, this inward 
 knowledge of Christ in all his gracious oflGices, — not 
 in opposition to the outward knowledge, but certainly 
 in opposition to the resting in the outward know- 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 57 
 
 ledge, — 'R'liicli the early Friends pressed so earnestly. 
 Strongly and frequently did they assert, that their 
 reference to the spiritual presence of Christ in the 
 heart was not subversive of a simple unsophisticated 
 belief in all that is revealed in the Old and New 
 Testament, relative to the character and offices of our 
 blessed Saviour. It was indeed, to Him, not in part, 
 but in whole, that they called men; and, whilst in- 
 sisting on the actual necessity of a change of heart 
 for acceptance with God, they undoubtedly believed 
 that it was only through his mercy in Christ as the 
 Redeemer of men, by the offering of his body on the 
 cross, that they received the remission of their sins ; 
 and that it was alone to the power of that Holy 
 Spirit which He had purchased for them by his blood, 
 that they attributed their ability to do any good 
 work. Christ being thus the author and finisher of 
 their faith, and their only hope of eternal life. 
 
 "We apprehend, that whatever were the spiritual 
 privileges possessed by the Jew, or symbolized in the 
 economy of the Mosaic law, they are in the full pos- 
 session of the Christian church. The sacrifices under 
 the law set forth that one propitiation, which, being 
 applied by living faith to the burthened conscience, 
 gives the remission of sins ; and the Divine presence 
 within the innermost veil (from which the high 
 priest received the special commands for the govern- 
 ment of the people), is now, we reverently believe, 
 in the midst of his church, ready to direct and guide 
 it by his secret counsels, and to govern in the hearts 
 of those who truly wait on Him. 
 
58 
 
 TEACHING OP 
 
 The prophecy of Jeremiah in regard to the new 
 covenant which was to supersede that of the law, 
 appears to us strongly to support our views of the 
 privileges of the G ospel day. " This is the covenant 
 that I will make with the house of Israel after those 
 days, saith the Lord ; I will put my laws into their 
 mind, and write them in their hearts : and I will be 
 to them a God, and they shall be to me a people ; 
 and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, 
 and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, 
 for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." 
 Heb. viii. 10, 11. 
 
 When our blessed Lord said, " He that believeth 
 on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly 
 shall flow rivers of living water,'^ (John vii. 36), the 
 apostle who records the words says, "but this spake 
 He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him 
 should receive," (John vii. 39); signifying, we ap- 
 prehend, that the supply of their spiritual wants 
 should be always at hand, and that the benefits of 
 this supply vshould be difiused around them. When 
 our Lord declared that it was expedient for his dis- 
 ciples that He should go away, for that if He went 
 not away the Comforter would not come unto them, 
 and when He spoke of the ofiices of that Comforter, 
 we believe that He spoke of privileges which were 
 designed for all, according to their respective needs, 
 who should believe upon his name to the end of 
 time. 
 
 We acknowledge that wc do materially differ from 
 those who assert that several of the Divine promises 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 59 
 
 wMcli Tve liave just referred to, belong only to the 
 apostles, and that we derive the benefit of them only 
 through their communication ; and we think that the 
 stream of apostolic testimony is in our favour, to the 
 extent in which we maintain the doctrine of imme- 
 diate revelation. When the apostle declares " that 
 no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the 
 Holy Ghost," (1 Cor. xii. 3), when he declares that 
 the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that 
 we are the children of God," (Rom. viii. 16), we ap- 
 prehend that he sets forth the need of immediate 
 spiritual teaching, for the saving knowledge of Christ, 
 and for becoming sons of God. 
 
 And when he says " The flesh lusteth against the 
 Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh/' (Gal. v. 17), 
 and when he exhorts, Walk in the Spirit, and ye 
 shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh,'' (Gal. v. 16), 
 believing that these lusts are still those bonds and 
 barriers which keep us from the peaceful knowledge 
 of God, and that the strivings of the Spirit are to be 
 known, as well as the strivings of the flesh, Friends 
 think they have apostolical authority for their so fre- 
 quently urging the seeking of the Spirit, the mind- 
 ing of the Spirit, and the walking in the Spirit, that 
 we may be kept from the evils of the world, and be 
 made subject to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ 
 Jesus. And in accordance, as they apprehend, with 
 the scope of the preceding passages, and of the Xew 
 Testament dispensation, and whilst fully accepting 
 the authority of the whole revealed will of God, they 
 have spoken of the spiritual law as constituting tlie 
 
60 
 
 TEACHING OF 
 
 law and the liheriy of the true Christian : and, as the 
 natural law in us may fairly be called a principle, 
 being the very element from which evil action 
 springs, so have we spoken of the renewing grace of 
 the Holy Spirit, as a Divine principle in man, but not 
 of man, which is the very element of all true holi- 
 ness, and which, if allowed free course, would prove 
 itself to be like that " grain of mustard seed," spoken 
 of in our Lord's parable, "which a man took and 
 cast into his garden, and it grew and waxed a great 
 tree." 
 
 When the apostle declares that the things of Grod 
 are only known by the Spirit of God, and (address- 
 ing the Corinthians) says, " Now we have received, 
 not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is 
 of God ; that we might know the things which are 
 freely given to us of God," — " But the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for 
 they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned,'^ (1 
 Cor. ii. 12, 14), we think that he speaks of those im- 
 mediate perceptions which the spiritually-minded man 
 alone has of Divine things, even of those which are 
 externally revealed. 
 
 When the apostle John, writing to the church at 
 large, and speaking of those who seduced them, says, 
 " But the anointing which ye have received of him 
 abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach 
 you ; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all 
 things, and is truth, and is no lie," (1 John ii. 27) ,* 
 and where the apostle Paul writes so particularly re- 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 61 
 
 specting spiritual gifts to the church at Corinth, we 
 think it is clearly maintained that immediate spiritual 
 gifts were not at that time confined to the apostles : 
 and we can find no scriptural authority which war- 
 rants us in denying that immediate spiritual calls and 
 qualifications for services in the church are still to be 
 expected ; hut, on the contrary, we believe the asser- 
 tion that they are the existing privilege of the church, 
 is in strict accordance with the letter, and in the full- 
 est harmony with the whole scope and spirit, of the 
 New Testament dispensation. 
 
 Here, then, may be briefly enumerated the chief 
 features of this fundamental Christian doctrine, as 
 held by the Society of Friends ; set forth, as they 
 apprehend it to be, in the preceding and in many 
 other passages of Holy Scripture. 
 
 1st. That the light of the Spirit of Christ en- 
 lightenth every man that conieth into the world. 
 
 2nd. That the dispensation of the Spirit in a larger 
 and fuller sense than had been heretofore witnessed, 
 is the peculiar privilege of the Christian covenant. 
 
 3rd. That the leading object of this gift is, and ever 
 has been, to quicken the soul, and raise man from a 
 state of sin, which separates from God, to a state of 
 holiness and of acceptance with Him, through Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 4th. That some manifestation of the Spirit is given 
 to every true member of the church, to fit him for the 
 part assigned him, and that the great Head of the 
 church does immediately call some to, and qualify 
 6 
 
62 TEACHING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 them for, those special services by which the body is 
 edified. 
 
 5th. That, though not looking for any miraculous 
 powers or prophetic gifts in the sense of foretelling 
 future events, they do not dare in these, or in any 
 other respects, to set limits to the Divine agency in 
 this day ; believing that no apprehension of danger 
 authorizes us to limit the power of God, where He 
 has not himself fully declared the limitation. 
 
 Nevertheless, let it be remembered, that the So- 
 ciety of Friends fully unites with other Christians in 
 believing, that there can be no other message and cove- 
 nant of mercy and peace to man, but that one everlast- 
 ing Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pro- 
 claimed by himself, and promulgated by those men 
 whom He so largely and specially endued for their 
 work with the Spirit from on high ; and also that 
 they never looked for any other revelation of that 
 message but that which is contained in the Holy 
 Scriptures. 
 
ESSAY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 DISCIPLIXE OF THE PRDIITIYE CHRISTIAIsS, 
 
 AXD ON THAT OP THE 
 
 SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 The supremacy of Jesus, over the little band of 
 his followers, was never for a moment disputed. 
 They were not permitted to call any man master, or 
 to exalt each other with the title of Rabbi, Rabbi ; 
 — One was their Master — even Christ. Nor was this 
 view of the subject obscured or weakened, after he 
 had withdrawn his personal presence. Although he 
 had " ascended up on high, far above all heavens," 
 he was still with them, by his Spirit ; and they knew 
 that he ruled supreme, not only over the church 
 which he had purchased with his blood, but over the 
 universe itself, for the church's sake.'^ They con- 
 fessed that he was their High Priest for ever after 
 the order of Melchizedek — the king of righteous- 
 ness — the king of peace ; and they lived in filial re- 
 liance upon his love. 
 
 * Eph. i. 20-23. 
 
 (63) 
 
64 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 While they thus looked upon Christ as the Head 
 of his wliole church, the believers were soon planted 
 in distinct communities ; and in each of these it was 
 their privilege to depend on the immediate govern- 
 ment of their Lord. Wherever they were raised up 
 and gathered together, whether few or many in num- 
 ber, there they found their ever present helper, 
 friend, and teacher. They sat under his shadow 
 with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to their 
 taste." 
 
 But the dependence of the primitive Christians on 
 their Holy High Priest and King, afforded them no 
 pretext for a neglect of their duties as members of 
 his body. The religion to which they had been in- 
 troduced was found to be of a social character ; its 
 main practical feature was love : " By this shall all-- 
 men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
 one to another."* For the sake of that God and 
 Saviour who was now the supreme object of their 
 affections, they were willing to labour for the benefit 
 of each other, and of the church ; and this they did, 
 according to their respective callings, under the go- 
 vernment and influence of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 One obvious duty which devolved upon them, was 
 to provide for the poor. They were prepared, in this 
 respect as well as in others, to do good unto all 
 men, especially to them that were of the household 
 of faith." Thus we find that the deacons were ap- 
 pointed in the very infancy of the churchy to provide 
 both the Greek and Hebrew widows with their daily 
 
 ^ John xiii. 35. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 65 
 
 food, — a service of benevolence, for wliicli seven men 
 were chosen, of " honest report, full of the Holy 
 Ghost and wisdom." Liberal collections were after- 
 ward made, in the churches of Greece and Macedo- 
 nia, for the poor saints at Jerusalem. 
 
 But we cannot doubt that the spiritual welfare of 
 their fellow-believers was still nearer to their hearts; 
 they were taught by the apostles to " consider one 
 another to provoke unto love and to good works."* 
 " Brethren," said Paul to the Galatians, " if a man 
 be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore 
 such an one in the spirit of meekness ; considering 
 thyself, lest thou also be tempted — bear ye one an- 
 other's burthens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." f 
 In order to eflPect the object here set forth by the 
 apostle, the most important means must have been 
 private, brotherly, expostulation and advice. When 
 one Christian, in tender love, reproved another for 
 his fault, and thus endeavoured to restore him to the 
 fold of Christ, this was no improper interference 
 with individual liberty — it was but one needful fruit 
 of the law of love. " Thou shalt in any wise rebuke 
 thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." J 
 
 By our Saviour himself they were left in posses- 
 sion of a rule, which lay at the very foundation of 
 Christian discipline ; " Moreover, if thy brother shall 
 trespass against thee^ go and tell him his fault be- 
 tween thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee thou 
 hast gained thy brother. But if he shall not hear 
 
 * Heb. X. 24. 
 
 6* 
 
 t Gal. vi. 1. 
 E 
 
 X Lev. xix. 17. 
 
66 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in 
 the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may 
 be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, 
 tell it unto the church/^ * 
 
 Although the duty of private admonition rested 
 on all true believers, as occasion might require it, 
 yet it especially devolved on the most experienced 
 members of the church. While the communities of 
 Christians, in that day, were taught in the first place 
 to submit to the government of Christ, and in the 
 second, to exercise a mutual care among themselves, 
 they were not left without rulers. " Obey them that 
 have the rule over you," said the apostle to the He- 
 brews, " for they watch for your souls, as they that 
 must give account." f 
 
 These persons were called indifferently, elders Or 
 overseers,'\_ and although it sometimes happened that 
 they possessed a gift for the ministry of the word, 
 they were in their official capacity (as has been al- 
 ready remarked) § distinct from the prophets or 
 preachers. It was their duty to guard and nourish 
 the people of God, " taking the oversight thereof, not 
 by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but 
 of a ready mind ; neither as being lords over God's 
 
 * Matt, xviii. 15-17. f Heb. xiii. 17. 
 
 J The word tniaKOTroi, rendered in our version "bishop," 
 signifies only an "overseer." 
 
 g See chap. vi. p. 145-147, of "Observations on the Dis- 
 tinguishing Views and Practices of the Society of Friends," 
 by J. J. Gurney. First American Edition. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 67 
 
 heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." * In 
 these labours of love they acted in behalf of the 
 
 Chief Shepherd/' at whose hands alone they were 
 to receive their crown of glory ; and although they 
 were often ordained by the apostles, and other in- 
 spired persons, it was the Holy Ghost who made them 
 overseers — it was the Chief Shepherd himself who 
 called them into their office. 
 
 It was, indeed, a primary principle in the early 
 Christian church, that whatsoever office any man oc- 
 cupied for the spiritual edification of his brethren, 
 nothing short of divine authority and power could 
 truly bestow the commission, or qualify for the work. 
 Sometimes the gifts of Christians are ascribed to God 
 the Father — " God hath set some in the church, first, 
 apostles, secondarily, prophets, thirdly, teachers, 
 &c."f — Sometimes, to Christ — "He (Christ) gave 
 some apostles, and some prophets, and some evange- 
 lists, and some pastors and teachers." J Sometimes 
 to the Spirit — All these worketh that one and the 
 selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he 
 will." § 
 
 But although the " elders and overseers," or " pas- 
 tors and teachers," were the leading persons in the 
 church, and had an important sway in the govern- 
 ment of the body, they exercised no exclusive power 
 in the regulation of the churches ; much less did any 
 such power devolve on the prophets or preachers. 
 On all subjects connected with the interests of reli- 
 
 * 1 Peter v. 1-3. 
 X Eph. iv. 11. 
 
 t 1 Cor. xii. 28. 
 I 1 Cor. xii. 11. 
 
68 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 gion, and with the welfare and good order of the 
 body, the ultimate authority, under Christ, rested on 
 the community of believers. 
 
 Many instances are on record of meetings of the 
 churches, for the consideration of such matters; and 
 on these occasions, even the apostles were accustomed 
 to act in unison with their less gifted brethren, and 
 as members of an undivided body. When a new 
 apostle was to be appointed in the place of Judas, 
 the whole company of believers united in the nomi- 
 nation of Joseph and Matthias, and in that giving 
 forth of the lots, which resulted in the choice of the 
 latter.* When deacons were to be set apart, who 
 should undertake the care of the poor, it was upon 
 all the hretliyen that the duty of selection devolved. f 
 And on the same principle of discipline, the persons 
 who were to accompany Paul in conveying the con- 
 tributions of the European Christians to the poor 
 saints at Jerusalem, were elected '-by the churches 
 
 It was to the apostles and hrethren at J erusalem 
 that Peter apologised, when he had been preaching 
 the gospel to Cornelius and his family. It was to the 
 church at Antioch that Paul and Barnabas, on return- 
 ing from their mission, gave a report of their pro- 
 ceedings in the work of the gospel. § And it was the 
 same body of persons which brought them on their 
 way, when they were again leaving that city, for their 
 journey through Phenice and Samaria. || 
 
 That important discussion which resulted in the 
 
 * Acts i. 15-26. 
 I Acts xiv. 27. 
 
 f Acts vi. 3. 
 II Acts XV. 3. 
 
 X 2 Cor. viii. 19. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 69 
 
 declaration of Gentile liberty from the yoke of the 
 Jewish law, took place in a general assembly of the 
 Christians at Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas then 
 stated their case to the " multitude " of believers ; 
 and the " whole church " united with the apostles in 
 sending messengers to declare their will on the sub- 
 ject. The letters respecting it, addressed to the 
 church of Antioch, were inscribed as coming from 
 the apostles, and elders, and brethren.^ 
 
 On this occasion a rule, intended to be binding on 
 all Gentile believers, was settled in a meeting of the 
 Lord's peojile. But although the fixing of a general 
 rule is a highly important act of discipline, it does 
 not so nearly affect an individual, as the suspension 
 of his own membership in the body. It is, there- 
 fore, satisfactory to find, that when an unfaithful pro- 
 fessor was to be separated from communion with his 
 brethren, this also was to be an act, not of the elders 
 and overseers alone, but of the church. The direc- 
 tions of Paul to the Corinthians, respecting an 
 offender of this description, are entirely to the point. 
 " For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, 
 have judged already as though I were present, con- 
 cerning him that hath so done this deed. In the 
 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ichcn ye are gathered 
 together^ and my spirit, with the power of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for 
 the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be 
 saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." f It is pro- 
 
 * Acts XV. 23. 
 
 1 1 Cor. V. 3-5. 
 
70 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 bable that some painful disease was tlie punishment 
 about to be inflicted through the Lord's power, on 
 this transgressor; but there was also to be an act of 
 excommunication — "Purge out therefore the old 
 leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are un- 
 leavened." * The whole passage contains an authority 
 for the separation of an unfaithful member, as an 
 act of the body itself- — and it was by the same body, 
 as we afterward find, that the offender, when penitent, 
 was to be restored to his membership. f 
 
 Since ivomen were not permitted to speak in the 
 churches, except under the immediate influence of 
 the Spirit,! and since they were forbidden to " usurp 
 authority over the man/' I conclude that no active 
 part was assigned to them in public assemblies for 
 the settlement of the afiuirs of the church. No such 
 restriction, however, could be laid upon them, in case 
 of their meeting together at any time, without their 
 brethren, and it is c^tain that the elderly among 
 them were intrusted with the instruction of their 
 younger sisters, " The aged women likewise, that 
 
 they be in behaviour as becometh holiness 
 
 that they may teach the young women to be sober, 
 to love their husbands, to love their children ; to be 
 discreet, chaste, keepers at home, obedient to their 
 own husbands, that the word of God be not blas- 
 phemed." § 
 
 * 1 Cor. V. 7. 12 Cor. ii. 6, 7. 
 
 J See Chapter VIII., "Observations, &c.," by J. J. 
 Gurney. 
 
 I Tit. ii. 4, 5. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 71 
 
 On a similar principle, there could be no reason 
 why the elders and overseers, and other gifted mem- 
 bers of the church, should not hold select conferen- 
 ces on subjects which concerned their own station in 
 the body ; or even on points affecting the body at 
 large, so long as they assumed no authority which in- 
 terfered with the functions of the church itself. 
 Examples of such conferences are afforded us in the 
 history of the apostle Paul. When he went up by 
 revelation to Jerusalem, he conversed on the subject 
 of his own calling, with the apostles and others who 
 were " of reputation in the church. On another 
 occasion, the elders of the church at Ephesus met 
 him at Miletus, when he unfolded to them the prin- 
 ciples on which he acted as a preacher of the gospel, 
 and exhorted them to the faithful discharge of their 
 peculiar duties.* Again, it appears to have been by 
 a select company of the same character, that he and 
 Barnabas were separated from their brethren for their 
 mission to lesser Asia.f 
 
 Now, whatsoever was the subject on which the 
 primitive believers were called upon to deliberate, 
 
 * Acts XX. 17. 
 
 y " Now there were in the church that was in Antioch cer- 
 tain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas, and Simeon that 
 was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which 
 had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 
 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost 
 said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work where- 
 unto I have called them. And ivhen tJiey had fasted and 
 prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them aivay ;" 
 Acts xiii. 1. 
 
72 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 they depended for counsel and direction on the 
 Pivine Head of the churchy and acted under the im- 
 mediate guidance of the Holy Spirit. Their de- 
 mocracy was safe, because it was also a theocracy. 
 The church was enabled to conduct its own affairs, 
 only because Christ was its ruler. 
 
 After giving directions to his disciples respecting 
 the treatment of a delinquent brother — showing that, 
 when private endeavours had failed, the offence was 
 to be laid before the church — our Lord expressed 
 himself as follows ; " Yerily I say unto you, whatso- 
 ever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, 
 and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be 
 loosed in heaven." These expressions are best un- 
 derstood as relating to discipline, which was to be 
 administered on earth, and to be confirmed "in 
 heaven." The divine sanction was to accompany the 
 decision of the body, as in the case of the Corinthian 
 transgressor, whom the church condemned, and whom 
 (as we may infer from the passage) the Lord afflicted. 
 A peculiar authority in these respects was, no doubt, 
 bestowed on the apostles, but the same principle ap- 
 plied, in its measure, to the believers in general. 
 
 Now it is quite obvious, that whether the degree 
 of this authority for binding and loosening was 
 greater or less, the act of discipline could be con- 
 firmed in heaven only on one ground ; namely, that 
 in applying it, the Lord's servants followed the coun- 
 sels of their divine Master, and formed their conclu- 
 sions under the influence of his Holy Spirit. Ac- 
 cordingly, our Lord concludes his discourse on the 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 73 
 
 subject by an express promise of a most cheering 
 nature — " Where two or three are gathered together 
 in my name^ there am I in the midst of them/' * 
 
 Certain it is, that the early behevers were accus- 
 tomed to realize this promise, not only when they 
 met for the sole purpose of worship, but when their 
 attention was directed to discipline — to affairs of what- 
 soever description, connected with the order and wel- 
 fare of the body. Thus, in their first meeting after 
 the ascension of Jesus, when the important duty de- 
 volved on them of setting apart an apostle, the Lord 
 himself was present to listen to their prayers and to 
 direct the lot ; nor can we doubt, that when the seven 
 deacons were chosen, the choice was guided by wis- 
 dom from above. The general rule already alluded 
 to respecting the Gentile converts, was formed under 
 a direct divine influence ; for the written declaration 
 of the church on the subject is thus prefaced — " It 
 seemed good to the Holy GJiost and to us to lay upon 
 you no greater burthen than these necessary things." f 
 
 When the company of prophets and teachers at 
 Antioch was met in one place, and while ^' they min- 
 istered to the Lord and fasted,'' it was the Soli/ 
 Ghost who said unto them, " Separate me Barnabas 
 and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 
 them." I Again, when the Corinthian transgressor 
 was to be excommunicated, and delivered up, for a 
 season, to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, it 
 was " in the name of the Lord Jesus " that the church 
 
 * Matt. xYiii. 20. f Acts xv. 28. i Acts xiii. 2. 
 
 7. 
 
74 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 was to assemble for the purpose, and in dependence 
 on his power alone, was the chastisement to be in- 
 flicted* 
 
 Thus it appears that, in primitive times, the dis- 
 cipline of the church of Christ was carefully main- 
 tained, and at the same time was conducted with re- 
 markable simplicity. Certain great principles, not 
 formally determined upon, but arising out of the 
 nature of Christianity itself, pervaded the whole sys- 
 tem. The first was, that Christ is the Supreme and 
 only Head of his own church, who rules over her, 
 and ministers to all her need ; the second, that Chris- 
 tians are to care for the temporal and spiritual benefit 
 one of another, in privacy and love. Thirdly, it was 
 provided that the most experienced persons in the 
 church, in the character of elders and overseers, 
 should be the guardians of the flock, watching over 
 them and ruling them in the Lord — their gifts for 
 these purposes, being distinct from that of inspired 
 preaching. Fourthly, it was universally understood, 
 that these individuals were not to be lords over God's 
 heritage, but that the final authority, on all questions 
 of church government, rested on the Lord's people, 
 in their collective capacity. Lastly, this authority 
 could be duly exercised, and the discipline rightly 
 conducted, only under the immediate control and 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit. Through a steadfast 
 adherence to these principles, the primitive Chris- 
 tians were established in the truth, and prospered. 
 
 * 1 Cor. V. 4. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 75 
 
 They grew up into liiiii in all things, which is the 
 head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly 
 joined together and compacted by that which every 
 joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in 
 the measure of every part, maketh increase of the 
 body unto the edifying of itself in love."* The 
 power, the work, was the Lord's, and his alone was 
 the praise ! 
 
 Christianity was established in the world under 
 the most extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
 ever witnessed among men. During all preceding 
 ages of man's history, indeed, the Lord had reserved 
 for himself a church of believers, to whom were 
 committed the oracles of God ; but now the sun of 
 righteousness had arisen, in all its splendor, upon a 
 corrupt and slumbering world. After the resurrec- 
 tion and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, his re- 
 ligion was spread among many nations, through the 
 wondrous working of his own power. The miracles 
 which the apostles and their companions wrought in 
 his name, were precisely suited to the nature of their 
 calling, as the promulgators of truths hitherto un- 
 known; and under a divine influence, adequate to 
 the occasion, they were enabled to write the books 
 of the New Testament, which were to form the 
 standard of Christian doctrine and practice in all 
 succeeding ages. 
 
 Yet it is certain, that the truth, which was thus 
 revealed with power, could maintain a permanent 
 
 * Epli. iv. 15, 16. 
 
76 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 footing on the earth, only through the operation of 
 the same Spirit ; nor can we doubt that in every age 
 of the church, and even amid its deepest corruptions, 
 a people, through divine grace, was still preserved 
 for the Lord. Hidden and scattered as the true 
 church of Christ may often have been, and more or 
 less weakened through the superstitions of men, still 
 we have every reason to believe that a remnant of 
 true believers has never failed from the earth ; like 
 the seven thousand men, in the days of Elijah the 
 prophet, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. And 
 not only has there existed among Christians this con- 
 tinued work of grace, but fresh outpourings of the 
 Holy Spirit have, on various occasions, taken place, 
 which have led to important consequences in the his- 
 tory of the church. When such men as Ignatius, 
 Polycarp, Irengeus, Cyprian, Ambrose, Augustine, 
 and Bernard, were raised up to bear a noble testi- 
 mony to the truth, even though that testimony was 
 shaded with some portions of error — when Claudius 
 of Turin fought single-handed against the corrup- 
 tions of the day — when the Paulicia'ns of Asia, in 
 the ninth century, and the Cathari of Germany, in 
 the eleventh, maintained a far purer system of doc- 
 trine and practice than was customary in the profes- 
 sing church — when, in the thirteenth century, Peter 
 Waldo boldly proclaimed the doctrine of the cross, 
 and the Lord's people, who had so long been dwell- 
 ing in the Alpine valleys, openly declared, amid in- 
 numerable sufferings, their adherence to simple Chris- 
 tianity — when in the fourteenth and fifteenth centu- 
 
 / 
 
OF THE PRI3IITIYE CHRISTIANS. i i 
 
 Ties "Wickliffe and the Lollards in England, and Huss 
 and liis followers in Hungary and Bohemia, stemmed 
 the tide of ecclesiastical corruption — and when, at 
 last, in the sixteenth century, the reformation, under 
 the banners of Luther, 3Ielanchthon, and other sol- 
 diers of Christ, burst forth with irresistible force in 
 almost every part of Europe — it is impossible to deny 
 that God was at work in the bosom of his church, 
 and was carrying on his own gracious designs, by 
 means of the especial effusions of his Holy Spirit. 
 
 On none of these occasions was there any revela- 
 tion of new truth — any addition to original Chris- 
 tianity. There was only the renewed publication, 
 again and again, of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, under different degrees of divine light, and 
 with more or less of the darkening mixture of human 
 wisdom, according to the features of each particular 
 case. 
 
 The reformation, which took place in the sixteenth 
 century, from the corruptions of the papal system, 
 went far toward restoring the profession of Chris- 
 tianity to its native purity. But who can wonder 
 that it did not go the 2choIe luay in this blessed and 
 necessary work ? And who is not aware that much 
 was left among the protectant churches, which still 
 required the reforming hand of divine wisdom and 
 power ? 
 
 In our own country the founders of that system 
 of doctrine and discipline, which now distinguishes 
 the established church of England, were generally 
 men of enlightened minds and profound piety; and 
 7* 
 
78 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 many of tliem gave, at the stake, the liigliest proof 
 of fidelity to the Lord Jesus. Yet they left a scope 
 to the puritans and other nonconformist divines, for 
 further efforts in the work of purification ; and these, 
 again, still retained many views and practices which 
 by no means precisely accorded with the spirituality 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 Now T conceive that it was under another and 
 very powerful effusion of the one blessed Spirit, and 
 for the purpose of carrying on the work of reforma- 
 tion, in the Christian church, to a greater extent than 
 had been before experienced, that Friends were so 
 remarkably raised up in the course of the following 
 century. The Lord's call was sent to a very young 
 person, in a situation of comparative obscurity ; and 
 it was after the patient endurance, for several years, 
 of the deep baptism of mental conflict — after a long 
 preparation of prayers and tears with searching of 
 heart and searching of the Scriptures — that George 
 Fox went forth, to proclaim among men the spiritual- 
 ity of true religion. No one can impartially peruse 
 his history without perceiving that a remarkable 
 power attended his ministry ; many fellow-labourers 
 under the same anointing were raised up, chiefly 
 through his instrumentality; and multitudes of per- 
 sons were weaned from a dependence on human sys- 
 tems in religion, to sit down under the teaching of 
 Christ himself. Thus the first meetings of the people 
 called Quakers were gathered and settled in almost 
 every part of Great Britain and Ireland ; and, before 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 79 
 
 very loDg, in several places on tlie continent of Eu- 
 rope, in the West Indies, and in Xortli America. 
 
 The era when Friends arose in this country was 
 one of great excitement, and it ought to be freely al- 
 lowed, that some of them were at times carried off 
 their centre by a warm imagination. In taking a 
 calm review of their history, I am by no means pre- 
 pared to justify all that they did, or all that they said. 
 They were liable to error and infirmity like other 
 men ; they had their treasure in earthen vessels. We 
 need not, therefore, be at all surprised, if we find 
 them occasionally giving way to that enthusiasm in 
 practice, and to that heat in argument, which were 
 leading temptations of the day. But, while I wil- 
 lingly make these admissions, I am deliberately of 
 opinion, that George Fox and his brethren were en- 
 abled to uphold a high standard of truth, and to 
 make a very near approach to the incormptness of 
 primitive Christianity. ^ While they were deeply read 
 in the Scriptures, they gave themselves up to the 
 guidance and government of the Holy Spirit. They 
 discarded expedicnci/, when it interfered with _p7'm- 
 ciple ; and they were calmly resolved ''to follow the 
 Lamb," whithersoever he might lead them. The 
 consequence was, that they renounced all merely cere- 
 monial observances ; all secular views in the pursuit 
 and maintenance of religion ; and all dependence on 
 the systems of men, in the things of God. 
 
 From time to time they were gathered together in 
 silence before the Lord ; and such was their contrite 
 state, that the floors of their meeting-houses were 
 
80 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 often wetted with tlieir tears. Nor did they dare to 
 omit their public worship, which they regarded as an 
 essential mark of their allegiance to the King of 
 kings. In the midst of the fire of persecution, and 
 when the dissenters of the day met only in private 
 places, that they might avoid the terrors of the law, 
 the despised Quakers persisted in the assembling of 
 themselves together, and worshipped God in public, 
 in the face of their enemies. 
 
 The same unbending principle they manifested in 
 their uniform refusal to pay tithes — to join in the 
 warfare of the world — and to swear even in courts 
 of justice — to give that honour to men, which is due 
 to God alone — or to use those forms of homage and 
 compliment, which had no better origin than vanity 
 and falsehood. In consequence of their firm Chris- 
 tian conduct in these matters, they underwent an 
 amount and variety of sufiiering, which have not 
 many parallels in the history of the church of Christ. 
 Their goods were spoiled, and their families reduced 
 to poverty; multitudes of them were thrown into 
 filthy dungeons among the worst of felons ; consider- 
 able numbers lost their lives in consequence of these 
 hardships, and a few (in New England) sufi"ered 
 death by the hand of the executioner. 
 
 During this time of severe trial, they were enabled 
 to exhibit the peaceful triumphs of Christian prin- 
 ciple. So ardent was their love for each other, that 
 they frequently offered to lie in prison for their 
 brethren, body for body;* and so undoubted was 
 
 * See Besse's Sufferings of the Quakers." 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 81 
 
 their integrity, that even by their persecutors 
 their word was acknowledged to be as valid as an 
 oath. Thus the name of Jeshurun, the "upright 
 people," was truly applicable to them ; and as was 
 their integrity, so was their patience. Nothing 
 daunted their fortitude or shook their perseverance. 
 They quietly endured their sufferings, in submission 
 to the will of God ; and God did not forsake them. 
 In the depth of the noisome prison-house, they were 
 often permitted to feel the sweetness of his presence, 
 and their mouths were filled with his praise. 
 
 Makincr a due allowance for the difference between 
 
 o 
 
 heathen and Christian countries, we may perceive 
 a remarkable similarity between the first settlement 
 of the meetings of Friends in Great Britain and Ire- 
 land, and the planting of the primitive Christian 
 churches. In both cases, societies were raised up in 
 various distinct places, consisting of persons who 
 differed in a striking manner from the surrounding 
 community, and who were associated in the bond of 
 common principles- At once distinguished from 
 their fellow-countrymen, and agreeing among them- 
 selves, the early Friends were well compacted toge- 
 ther, and were baptized by one Spirit into one body. 
 
 Now I conceive that their system of discipline, 
 like that of the primitive Christians, originated in 
 the very nature of their social and religious union. 
 Gathered together by a divine hand, they were taught 
 to love as brethren, and to watch over each other for 
 good ; nor can it be doubted, that from the first rise 
 P 
 
82 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 of tlie society, the most pious and experienced of 
 their number were led, in an especial manner, to su- 
 perintend the flock, and to supply, as -far as possible, 
 both their temporal and spiritual need. "As the 
 church of Grod in those days increased," said one of 
 our worthy elders about the year 1655, in reference 
 to the meeting of Friends at Colchester, my care 
 daily increased, and the weight of things relating 
 both to the outward and inward condition of poor 
 Friends, came upon me ..... . the more I came 
 
 to feel and perceive the love of God and his goodness 
 to me, the more was I humbled and bowed in my 
 mind to serve him, and to serve the least of his 
 people among whom I walked ; and as the word of 
 wisdom began to spring in me, and the word of Grod 
 grew, so I became a counsellor of those who were 
 tempted in like manner as I had been.'^ * 
 
 In the year 1656 a general meeting of Friends 
 was held at Balby, near Doncaster, which issued 
 many important precepts on subjects connected with 
 the good order and welfare of the body — such as the 
 method of proceeding with delinquents, and the 
 duties of husbands, wives, parents, children, ser- 
 vants, and masters, justice in trade, and faithfulness 
 in the performance of civil duties. A similar meet- 
 ing was held at Skipton, A. D. 1660, " for the affairs 
 of the church, both in this nation, and beyond the 
 seas." This, indeed, was only one session of a meet- 
 ing established by the advice of George Fox, for the 
 
 * Stephen Crisp, Introd. to Book of Extracts, p. xix. 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 
 
 83 
 
 purpose of caring for the Society, and of providing 
 for its poor members, under the pressure of perse- 
 cution. 
 
 In the meantime, there were established, by de- 
 grees, quarterly meetings, ^hich exercised a general 
 superintendence over the Friends in each county; 
 and, for a time, the discipline of the society mainly 
 rested on tliese bodies. 
 
 But in the year 16G6, the form of our church go- 
 vernment became more detailed and settled. George 
 Fox says in his journal under that date, " Then was 
 I moved of the Lord to recommend the setting up 
 of five monthly meetings of men and icomcn Friends 
 in the city (London) besides the women's meetings 
 and the quarterly meetings, to take care of God's 
 glory, and to admonish and exhort such as walked 
 disorderly or carelessly, and not according to truth. 
 For, whereas Friends had had only quarterly meet- 
 ings, now truth was spread, and Friends were grown 
 more numerous, I was moved to recommend the set- 
 ting up of monthly meetings throughout the nation.'* 
 In 1668, he writes thus — "the men's meetings were 
 settled throughout the nation. The c^uarterly meet- 
 ings were generally settled before. I wrote also into 
 Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Barbadoes, and several 
 parts of America, advising Friends to settle their 
 monthly meetings in those countries, for they had 
 their quarterly meetings before." 
 
 The quarterly meetings now received reports of the 
 state of the Society from the monthly meetings of 
 which they were severally composed, and gave such 
 
84 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 directions to them as tliey thought right. Finally, 
 in the year 1678^ a general meeting of representatives 
 from the quarterly meetings was convened in Lon- 
 don; which received reports from those bodies, de- 
 liberated on the state of the Society, issued advices 
 in the form of an epistle, and finally agreed to meet 
 again, the following year, in like manner. This re- 
 presentative assembly has since continued to meet 
 every year in London, at or near the time called 
 Whitsuntide,^^ with unbroken regularity, to the pre- 
 sent date ; and in it centres the authority of disci- 
 pline for the whole Society in Great Britain. 
 
 The reader will have observed that George Fox 
 was led to recommend the setting up of womerHs 
 meetings, both in London and in country places. 
 These meetings, before very long, became as regular 
 as those of the brethren ; being held at the same time 
 with them, and being constituted on the same orderly 
 system. While it belonged to the brethren only to 
 form rules for the government of the Society, and 
 ultimately to carry them into efiect, the women's 
 meetings were established for the purpose of exer- 
 cising a wholesome care over their own sex. To this 
 object, their attention was, from the beginning, ex- 
 clusively directed, as is the case in the present day. 
 
 We do not, however, forget that the gifts of the 
 Spirit, and among others that of spiritual discern- 
 ment, are freely bestowed upon Christians of both 
 sexes. When, therefore, our ministers apply to their 
 monthly meetings for leave to travel in the work of 
 the ministry, the women unite with the men, in the 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 85 
 
 consideration of the subject. For the same reason 
 they, as well as the brethren, are often appointed to 
 the station of elder, in which capacity it is their duty 
 to watch over the ministry of both men and women. 
 
 The free scope allowed to women in the exercise 
 of the gifts of the Spirit, and the share assigned to 
 them in the discipline of the church, are circum- 
 stances of a distinguishing character, which have 
 produced very beneficial results to the Society of 
 Friends. Xot only have the Christian care and coun- 
 sel as well as the Gospel ministry of women been 
 greatly blessed to the body at large ; but under the 
 grace of God, a more than common stability has been 
 imparted to the female character — this has wrought 
 well for our domestic comfort, for our temporal 
 safety, and for our religious edification. 
 
 Previously to the regular institution of our annual 
 assembly, meetings had been occasionally held in 
 London, consisting only of the ministers of the So- 
 ciety, who were convened from various parts of the 
 country, in order to confer on subjects connected 
 with their common cause. These conferences con- 
 tinued to be held in connexion with the yearly meet- 
 ing; and were soon joined by the elders, on whom it 
 devolved to cherish and guard the ministry. In 
 process of time similar meetings were formed, in con- 
 nexion with the quarterly and monthly meetings, in 
 every part of the country, and they are still regularly 
 maintained. Their specific object is to exercise a 
 watchful care over their own part of the body; and 
 thev have been found of great use in assistins: to 
 8 
 
86 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 secure the right religious standing, and the harmo- 
 nious operations, of those among us who are called 
 to labour in the Gospel, or to watch over the flock of 
 Christ. But the meetings of ministers and elders 
 have no concern with the conduct of the discipline; 
 they are entirely destitute of legislative authorit3^ 
 
 That authority has uniformly rested with the 
 yearly meeting — that is, with the body at large;* 
 and the monthly meetings were set up for the express 
 purpose of carrying the discipline into effect. They 
 are the hands of the body, the executors of the law^ 
 entrusted with a parental authority over their indi- 
 vidual members. In point of fact, it is by means of 
 these subordinate assemblies that the church, in its 
 separate and local associations, resrulates its own 
 affairs, and governs itself. 
 
 It cannot be necessary, on the present occasion, to 
 enter at large into a view of the business which de- 
 volves on our montlily meetings. No sooner were 
 they regularly established, than a variety of objects 
 came under their attention ; the care of the poor, the 
 protection and assistance of the afflicted and im- 
 prisoned, the Christian and orderly conducting of 
 marriages and burials, the registration of births and 
 deaths, the education of children, the settlement of 
 differences to the exclusion of legal proceedings, were 
 all of them subjects which claimed the attention of 
 
 * The Yearlj"- Meeting, like our other meetings for disci- 
 pline, although, strictly speaking, composed of representa- 
 tives, is open to any members of the Society — of course, 
 the men and women being convened separately. 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 87 
 
 tliese executive bodies, and -^liich continue to do so 
 to tlie present day. 
 
 By far the most important of their functions, how- 
 ever, is the spiritual care of their individual mem- 
 bers. This care is especially called forth by certain 
 enquiries, respecting the moral and religious state of 
 the body, which are answered periodically for the in- 
 formation of the quarterly meetings."^ Each little 
 church among us is thus brought, at certain periods, 
 to a deliberate view of the condition of its members, 
 and advice is often extended as occasion may require. f 
 
 ^ The monthly meetings constitute the lowest class of our 
 meetings for the discipline of the church. A single monthly 
 meeting, however, often comprehends two or more "pre- 
 parative meetings," which severally draw up answers to 
 these enqxiiries. The answers of the monthly meeting it- 
 self, are formed frOm those of its preparative meetings, 
 
 f These enquiries are as follows : — 
 
 I. Are meetings for worship and discipline kept up, and 
 do Friends attend them duly, and at the time appointed; 
 and do they avoid all unbecoming behaviour therein? 
 
 II. Is there among you any growth in the Truth ? 
 
 III. Are Friends preserved in love one toward another; 
 if differences arise, is due care taken speedily to end them; 
 and are Friends careful to avoid and discourage talebearing 
 and detraction? 
 
 IV. Do Fi-iends endeavour by example and precept to train 
 up their children, servants, and those under their care, in a re- 
 ligious life and conversation, consistent with our Christian 
 profession ; and in plainness of speech, behaviour, and 
 apparel ? 
 
 V. Is it the care of all Friends to be frequent in reading 
 the Holy Scriptui-es, and do those who have children, ser- 
 vants, and others under their care, train them up in the 
 practice of this religious duty ? 
 
88 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 Again, wlien cases occur of breaclies of morality^ or 
 of a departure from our more important Christian 
 testimonies, it is the monthly meeting which must 
 uldmateli/ sit in judgment on the transgressor; and 
 
 VI. Are Friends just in their dealings, and punctual in 
 fulfilling their engagements ? 
 
 VII. Do Friends avoid all vain sports and places of diver- 
 sion, gaming, all unnecessary frequenting of taverns and 
 other public-houses, excess in drinking, and other intem- 
 perance ? 
 
 VIII. Are Friends faithful in bearing our Christian testi- 
 mony against receiving and paying tithes, priests' demands, 
 and those called church-rates ? 
 
 IX. Are Friends faithful in our testimony against bear- 
 ing arms, and being in any manner concerned in the militia, 
 in privateers, or armed vessels, or dealing in prize-goods ? 
 
 X. Are the necessities of the poor among you properly 
 inspected and relieved; and is good care taken of the edu- 
 cation of their offspring? 
 
 XI. Is due care taken, when any thing appears to require 
 it, that the rules of our discipline be timely and impartially 
 put in practice ? 
 
 XII. Is there any appearance of convincement among you, 
 and have any been joined to our society on that ground 
 since last year ? 
 
 XIII. Is care taken early to a&lmonish such as appear in- 
 clined to marry in a manner contrary to the rules of our so- 
 ciety ; and in due time to deal with such as persist in re- 
 fusing to take counsel ? 
 
 XIV. Have you two or more faithful friends, appointed 
 by the monthly meeting, as overseers in each particular 
 meeting ; are the rules respecting removals duly observed ; 
 are the general advices read as directed ; and are the lists 
 of your members revised and corrected once in the year ? 
 
 XV. Are Friends annually advised to keep correct and 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 89 
 
 either pass over the fault on receiving proofs of re- 
 pentance, or separate him, for a season at least, from 
 his fellowship with the body. 
 
 It is not without meaning that a stress is here 
 
 clear accounts, and carefully to inspect the state of their 
 affairs once in the year ? 
 
 XVI. Are Friends clear of defrauding the king of his cus- 
 toms, duties, and excise, and of using or dealing in goods 
 suspected to be run ? 
 
 XVn. Do you keep a record of the prosecutions and suf- 
 ferings of your members ; is due care taken to register all 
 marriages, births, and burials ; are the titles of yom- meet- 
 ing-houses, burial-grounds, &c., duly preserved and re- 
 corded ; are the rules respecting registers and trust-pro- 
 perty observed ; and are all legacies and donations properly 
 secured and recorded and duly applied ? 
 
 The following advices of the yearly meeting are read, at 
 least once in the year, in the quarterly, monthly, and pre- 
 parative meetings of men and women Friends ; they are to 
 be read in the men's and women's meetings separately: — 
 
 Take heed, dear friends, we entreat you, to the convic- 
 tions of the Holy Spirit, who leads, through unfeigned re- 
 pentance and living faith in the Son of God, to reconcilia- 
 tion with our Heavenly Father, and to the blessed hope of 
 eternal life, purchased for us by the one sufferifig of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 Be earnestly concerned in religious meetings reverently 
 to present yourselves before the Lord, and seek, by the help 
 of the Holy Spirit, to worship God through Jesus Christ. 
 
 Be in the frequent practice of waiting upon God in pri- 
 vate retirement with prayer and supplication, honestly ex- 
 amining yourselves as to your growth in grace, and your 
 preparation for the life to come. 
 
 Be careful to make a profitable and religious use of those 
 8* 
 
90 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 laid on tlie word ultimately ; for Friends have always 
 upheld the importance of the preceding steps, which 
 ought, if possible, to take place in dealing with de- 
 linquents. The first of these is private admonitioyi — 
 
 portions of time on the first day of the week, which are not 
 occupied by our meetings for worship. 
 
 Live in love as Christian brethren, ready to be helpful one 
 to another, and to sympathize with each other in the trials 
 and afflictions of life. 
 
 Follow peace with all men, desiring the true happiness of 
 all; and be liberal to the poor, endeavouring to promote 
 their temporal, moral, and religious well-being. 
 
 With a tender conscience, and in accordance with the pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel, take heed to the limitations of the Spirit 
 of Truth, in the pursuit of the things of this life. 
 
 Maintain strict integrity in all your transactions in trade, 
 and in your other outward concerns, remembering that you 
 will have to account for the mode of acquiring, and the 
 manner of using, your possessions. 
 
 Watch, with Christian tenderness, over the opening minds 
 of your oifspring ; inure them to habits of self-restraint and 
 filial obedience ; carefully instruct them in the knowledge 
 of the Holy Scriptures, and seek for ability to imbue their 
 minds with the love of their Heavenly Father, their Re- 
 deemer, and their Sanctitier. 
 
 Observe simplicity and moderation in the furniture of 
 your houses, and in the supply of your tables, as well as in 
 your personal attire, and that of your families. 
 
 Be diligent in the private and daily family reading of the 
 Holy Scriptures : and guard carefully against the introduc- 
 tion of improper books into your families. 
 
 Be careful to place out children, of all degrees, with those 
 Friends whose care and example will be most likely to con- 
 duce to their preservation from evil ; prefer such assistants, 
 servants, and apprentices, as are members of our religious 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 91 
 
 " If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and 
 tell him his fault between thee and him alone ; if he 
 hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother !" 
 
 " Admonish a friend/' said the son of Sirach, " it 
 may be that he hath not done it ; and if he have 
 done it, that he do it no more. Admonish a friend, 
 it may be that he hath not said it, and if he have, 
 that he speak it not again. Admonish a friend, for 
 many times it is a slander, and believe not every 
 tale." * The views of this wise, though apociyphal 
 writer, are coincident with those which our Society 
 has always endeavoured to maintain. "We consider 
 it to be our individual duty to communicate in private 
 
 society ; not demanding exorbitant apprentice fees, lest you 
 frustrate tlie care of Friends in these respects. 
 
 Encourage your apprentices and servants of all descrip- 
 tions to attend public worship, making -^ay for them herein : 
 and exercise a watchful care for their moral and religious 
 improvement. 
 
 Be careful to make your wills and settle your outward 
 affairs in time of health ; and, when you accept the office 
 of guardian, executor, or trustee, be faithful and diligent in 
 the fulfilment of your trust. 
 
 Finally, dear Friends, let your conversation be such as 
 becometh the Gospel. Exercise yourselves to have always 
 a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man. 
 Watch over one another for good ; and when occasions of 
 uneasiness first appear in any, let them be treated with pri- 
 vacy and tenderness, before the matter be communicated to 
 another; and Friends, every where, are advised to maintain 
 "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." — 1791. — 
 1801.— 1833. 
 
 * Eccles. xix. 13-15. 
 
92 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 ■with a supposed offender, before we mention his 
 fault to a third person. If we then find that it has 
 not been committed, our care on his account is re- 
 moved. If, on the contrary, he is guilty of it, our 
 own adherence to an honourable secrecy may greatly 
 increase the efficacy of our endeavours to restore him 
 to the right way. 
 
 But important as is the individual duty of private 
 admonition, it affords no pretext for the absence, in 
 any church, of an official overseership. It is an es- 
 sential part of our system of discipline, that as far as 
 circumstances will allow, ^' two or more faithful 
 friends " should be appointed to this office in each 
 meeting. The proper business of these persons is 
 to exercise a. godly care over all the members of the 
 body; to watch against occasions of offence, to settle 
 disputes, and to endeavour to reclaim delinquents, 
 when the evil first appears ; to strengthen the weak, 
 to rebuke the gainsayers; to reprove the careless; 
 and to maintain, by every means in their power, that 
 purity and harmony in the body, which best adorn 
 our Christian profession. Nor must it be forgotten, 
 that those whom the Holy Spirit raises up to be 
 overseers in the church, ought not only to show, but 
 to lead the way — to be examples to the flock in 
 all holy conversation and godliness." 
 
 I conceive that the elders and overseers in our 
 meetings — did they fully occupy the place assigned 
 to them — would very nearly correspond in point of 
 authority and function, with the same officers in the 
 primitive church. And it is no less clear that it is 
 
or THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 93 
 
 the Christian duty of the younger and less expe- 
 rienced members of the body, to render to them a 
 ready deference and obedience, as to those who watch 
 over their souls, and must give an account of their 
 stewardship. " Likewise, ye younger, submit your- 
 selves unto the elder. Yea, all of you, be subject 
 one to another, and be clothed icith humility ; for 
 God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the 
 humble." * 
 
 In communicating with a brother who has been 
 " overtaken in a fault," it will ever be the first en- 
 deavour of the truly Christian overseer, to restore 
 such an one in the spirit of meekness." " The ser- 
 vant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto 
 all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instruct- 
 ing those that oppose themselves, if God peradven- 
 ture will give them repentance to the acknowledging 
 of the truth • and that they nmy recover themselves out 
 of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by 
 him at his will." f 
 
 Nor ought the effort of the church, to reclaim her 
 wandering members, to end with the kindly offices 
 of the overseers. "When the third step commanded 
 by oiir Saviour has been taken, and the collective 
 body is informed of the oflPender's fault, repeated 
 visits should be made to him by persons selected for 
 the purpose, and every endeavour used to bring him 
 to repentance. Such, I trust, is the usual practice 
 of our monthly meetings. Yet I believe there is 
 
 * 1 Peter v. 6. 
 
 f 2 Tim. ii. 21-26. 
 
94 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 often a danger lest our care over transgressors should 
 cease after disownment has taken place. Where there 
 is any love for the truth in the disowned party, or 
 any open door for continued efforts on his account, 
 his separation from the body ought surely to be re- 
 garded as merely temporary ; and it is our bounden 
 duty, with all diligence and prayer, to seek his re- 
 storation. Sufficient to such a man," said the 
 apostle Paul on an occasion of this kind, is this 
 punishment which was inflicted of many. So that, 
 contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him, and 
 comfort him, lest, perhaps, such an one should be 
 swallowed up of overmuch sorrow.'^ * To conduct 
 our discipline with impartiality and vigour, and 
 steadily to maintain its integrity, is indeed of essen- 
 tial importance to the welfare of the body. Yet the 
 main characteristic of Christian discipline is love — 
 that love which seeks, above all things, the salvation 
 of sinners. f 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 6-8. 
 
 f The spirit of tenderness, which breathes through the 
 instructions of George Fox, in regard to the treatment of 
 delinquents, is worthy of especial notice, and would, if there 
 were no other, afford ample evidence of the soundness of 
 his Christian character. In one of his earl}' epistles he thus 
 writes: "Now, concerning Gospel order, though the doc- 
 trine of Jesus Christ requireth his people to admonish a 
 brother or sister twice, before they tell the church, yet that 
 limiteth none, so as that they shall use no longer forbear- 
 ance. And it is desired of all, before they publicly com- 
 plain, that they wait in the power of God, to feel if there 
 is no more required of them to their brother or sister, before 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIEXDS. 95 
 
 Although the executiTe authority rests only -^ith our 
 monthly meetings, provision is made for their help on 
 occasions -which require it. Thus, 'when ministers 
 receive certificates to travel beyond the seas, the au- 
 thority of the monthly meeting must be confirmed 
 
 they expose him or her to the church. Let this be -vreightily 
 considered, and all such as behoki their brother or sister in 
 a transgression, go not in a rough, light, or upbraiding 
 spirit, to reprove or admonish him or her ; but in the power 
 of the Lord and spirit of the Lamb, and in the wisdom and 
 love of the Truth, which sulFers thereby, to admonish such 
 an offender. So may the soul of such a brother or sister be 
 seasonably and effectually reached unto and overcome, and 
 they may have cause to bless the name of the Lord on their 
 behalf, and so a blessing may be rewarded into the bosom 
 of that faithful and tender brother or sister who so ad- 
 monished them. And so keep the church order of the Gos- 
 pel, according as the Lord Jesus Christ hath commanded ; 
 that is ' If thy brother offend thee, speak to him betwixt 
 thee and him alone ; and if he Trill not hear, take two or 
 three, and if he will not hear two or three, then tell it to 
 the church.' And if any one do miscarry, admonish them 
 gently in the -wisdom of God, so that you may preserve him 
 and bring him to condemnation, and preserve him from fur- 
 ther evils, -which it is well if such do not run into, and it will 
 be -well for all to use the gentle -wisdom of God toward them 
 in their temptations, and condemnable actions : and, -with 
 using gentleness, to bring them to condemn their evil, and 
 to let their condemnation go as far as their bad action has 
 gone and no farther, to defile the minds of Friends or others ; 
 and so to clear God's truth and people, and to convert the 
 soul to God, and preserve them out of further evils. — So be 
 wise in the wisdom of God." See Introduction to the last 
 edition of the Book of Extracts. 
 
96 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 by that of the quarterly meeting, before they are at 
 liberty to proceed.* Again when elders are to be 
 nominated, the quarterly meeting appoints a commit- 
 tee, to assist a committee of the monthly meeting, in 
 proposing names for the consideration of the latter 
 body. In general, it devolves on the quarterly meet- 
 ings f to extend help, as required, either by advice or 
 deputation, to their subordinate bodies; and of this 
 duty they are, from time to time, reminded by the 
 following enquiry : — " Are you careful to give to your 
 monthly meetings that assistance which your place in 
 the body and their state require 
 
 This enquiry, together with twelve of those whicb 
 are answered by the monthly to the quarterly meet- 
 ings, are answered by the quarterly meeting to our 
 annual assembly, which is thus enabled to form a cor- 
 rect view of the state of the society. The care of 
 the yearly meeting itself over the society seldom fails 
 to be evinced, by written advices, as well as by a 
 printed general epistle; and when any quarterly 
 meeting, under circumstances of trial and difficulty, 
 applies for assistance, a deputation is, for the most 
 
 ^ When a minister from England is about to visit Ireland, 
 this rule is not imperative. On the other hand, when the 
 service which he has in view, lies in foreign parts, he must 
 obtain the sanction of the yearly meeting of ministers and 
 elders, or of its subordinate body (called the morning meet- 
 ing) as well as that of his monthly and quarterly meetings. 
 
 •j- In some parts of the kingdom the meetings answering 
 to the quarterly meetings are held only three times, and in 
 Scotland only twice in the year. 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 97 
 
 part, appointed for tte purpose. Occasionally, in- 
 deed, the yearly meeting has set apart a large com- 
 mittee, for a general visit in Christian love to all its 
 inferior meetings ; and many can testify that these 
 labours of love have been blessed both to those who 
 paid the visits, and to those who received them. 
 
 There exists, moreover, a standing committee of 
 the yearly meeting, consisting of numerous friends 
 of London and its vicinity, and of correspondents in 
 the country, which sits at least once a month, during 
 the intervals between one yearly meeting and an- 
 other. It is the duty of this important body — called 
 " the meeting for sufferings " — to extend advice and 
 assistance to the Society, or to any part of it, under 
 the exigencies which may arise ; to provide supplies 
 of the standard books of Friends ; to watch the pro- 
 ceedings of the legislature, as far as they affect the 
 Society j to exercise a friendly care over ministers 
 who are travelling abroad ; to correspond with Friends 
 in foreign parts; and to protect the interests of the 
 body at large. 
 
 Thus is our little church assisted and edified, 
 under the cherishing hand of our Holy Redeemer, 
 by the mutual care and sympathy of its component 
 parts. 
 
 It is satisfactory to reflect on the unbroken regu- 
 larity with which the system now detailed has been 
 maintained in our Society, for more than a century 
 and a half from year to year, and from generation to 
 generation, Friends have kept up their monthly, 
 9 G 
 
98 
 
 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 quarterly, and yearly meetings, and have never found 
 occasion materially to alter the plan so "wisely laid 
 down for them by their predecessors. -This plan has 
 been, from the beginning, remarkable for that sim- 
 plicity on the one hand, and that precision on the 
 other, which, under Providence, could alone insure 
 its usefulness and stability ; and it affords a clear evi- 
 dence that there was nothing in the religious views 
 of the early Quakers, opposed to the principles of 
 Christian order. Some persons, indeed, there were, 
 under our name, of a wild and ungoverned spirit, 
 who refused to submit to these wholesome provisions ; 
 but, by the Society at large, they were embraced with 
 gladness, and have ever since been found easy to 
 apply, and salutary in their operations. 
 
 While we cannot reasonably doubt, that, in con- 
 structing this plan, George Fox and his coadjutors 
 were favoured with the gracious aid of the Holy 
 Spirit, it is probable that their attention was closely 
 fixed on the pattern of discipline presented to them 
 in the New Testament. Their system was indeed 
 more developed than that of the primitive believers 
 is known to have been, especially as it regards the 
 subordination of one class of meetings to another; 
 but with regard to main principles, as well as in 
 many distinct particulars, the views and practices of 
 Friends, with respect to church order, appear to be 
 the same as those of the primitive Christians. 
 
 The acknowledgment of Christ as the only Head 
 and Priest of his people — the direct dependence upon 
 him as the present Ruler of the church — the divine 
 
OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 
 
 99 
 
 origin of the gift of the ministry, and the absence 
 of all human restriction, as to the person Tvho might 
 exercise it — the voluntary support of the poor — the 
 appointment, in every church, of deacons to manage 
 the funds raised for that purpose, and of elders and 
 overseers to watch over the flock of Christ; all being 
 distinct, in their official characters, from the pro- 
 phets or preachers — the settlement of disputes, not 
 before the magistrates of the land, but by the arbi- 
 tration of brethren — the private admonition of offend- 
 ers as the first step in discipline — the care extended 
 over women by overseers of their own sex — the select 
 conferences of preachers and elders — the making of 
 rules, the choosing of officers, the disownment and 
 restoration of offenders, by the assembled believers — 
 are points which distinguish the simple religious 
 polity of the earliest Christians : and all these points 
 are steadily maintained in the Society of Friends. 
 
 In conclusion, however, there are two subjects con- 
 nected with our view of church-government, which 
 appear to claim especial notice. The first is the ab- 
 sence of all ecclesiastical domination, or of any dis- 
 tinction between a priesthood in power, and a laity in 
 subjection. No such distinction appears to have 
 been known among the immediate followers of Christ, 
 or in the first and purest age of the churches which 
 they planted — and none such exists among ourselves. 
 Our views on this point are indeed by no means op- 
 posed to the just influence of the most experienced 
 members of the church, or to the proper authority 
 of appointed overseers ; but we consider ourselves to 
 
100 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 be brethren, possessed of equal rights ; and we con- 
 ceive it to be the duty and privilege of the church, 
 to conduct its own affairs, and govern itself. And 
 here there is no place, on the part of individuals, for 
 a proud independence, or impatience of restraint; 
 because, as far as Christian discipline extends, every 
 single member is controlled and governed by the 
 body at large. 
 
 Now it is very obvious, as has been already ob- 
 served, that such a form of church-government can be 
 safe and salutary, only while we maintain a still higher 
 principle — that of the supremacy and perpetual su- 
 perintendence of Christ himself. This is a doctrine 
 on which Friends have at all times delighted to dwell. 
 Often have they been led to call to mind the glowing 
 words of the prophet — " Unto us a child is born, unto 
 us a son is given, and the government shall he upon 
 his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
 Counsellor, the Mighty God 3'"^ — often have they 
 found occasion to recur to the doctrine of the apostle, 
 that God hath put "all things'' under the feet of 
 Jesus, and " given him to be Head over all things to 
 the church." f 
 
 "What then is the agency by which Christ conducts 
 his reign, and orders the affairs of his universal 
 people ? Scripture and experience alike declare that 
 it is the agency of the Holy Spirit. It is by his 
 Spirit that he brings his children into subjection to 
 his will, qualifies them for their respective offices in 
 
 * Isa. ix. 6. 
 
 t Eph. i. 22. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 101 
 
 the body, and guides them individually and collec- 
 tively, in their course of duty. 
 
 The second point to which I was anxious to allude 
 is this — the belief of Friends, that a manifesta- 
 tion of the Spirit is given to every man to profit 
 withal; and that the living members of the church, 
 in their endeavours to promote the religious welfare 
 of others, will not fail to receive, as they humbly seek 
 it, his gracious aid and guidance. Whether in such 
 endeavours, we act as private individuals, or in the 
 official character of overseers of the flock, it is still 
 in dependence on our Divine Master, and in obe- 
 dience to the government of his Spirit, that our 
 duties ought to be performed. "We believe that it is 
 thus, and thus only, that we can with confidence 
 offer up the prayer of the Psalmist, Establish thou 
 the work of our hands upon us ; yea the work of our 
 hands establish thou it." 
 
 But further — when Christians meet in their cor- 
 porate capacity, for the purpose of regulating the 
 affairs of the church, and of promoting the cause of 
 religion, Christ is their rightful president. And it is 
 our firm belief, that as they reverently wait upon him, 
 they will find him present to assist their deliberations, 
 to prompt their efforts, and to direct their decisions. 
 
 That such was the happy experience of the primi- 
 tive believers has already been shown from Scripture ; 
 and there is surely no good reason why Christians, 
 in the present day, did they fully rely on God, 
 
 9* 
 
 * Ps. xc. 17. 
 
102 ESSAY ON THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 should not enjoy a sufficient measure of tlie same 
 blessed privilege. 
 
 We, therefore, consider it to be our duty to con- 
 duct all our meetings for discipline, with immediate 
 reference to the government of Christ and to the 
 guidance of his Spirit. Whether we are engaged in 
 appointing officers ; in acknowledging ministers ; in 
 deliberating on their prospects of service ; in admit- 
 ting members ; in dealing with delinquents ; in ex- 
 tending advice to subordinate meetings ; or in dis- 
 cussing propositions made with a view to the welfare 
 of the body — whatever subject, indeed, connected 
 with religion and morality may occupy our attention 
 — we believe it to be right, humbly to wait for divine 
 direction, and to yield to that judgment, on the sub- 
 ject before us, which appears to be most consistent 
 with the mind of Christ. 
 
 On the general maxim, that of every question 
 which can arise in the church, there must be some 
 riglit conclusion, and in the further belief, that as 
 they diligently seek his counsel, Christ will lead his 
 dependent fpllowers into that conclusion, we admit, 
 in our meetings for discipline, of no division of mem- 
 bers — of no settlement of any point by majority. 
 Neither have these assemblies, any more than our 
 meetings for worship, a human president. The clerk 
 collects and records the judgment of his brethren, 
 and it is his duty, during the course of every discus- 
 sion, to take care that proper order be preserved. 
 But he has no personal authority over the assembly 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS. 103 
 
 — ^no power to put any subject to tlie vote — no cast- 
 ing vote of his own. 
 
 That this is a principle worthy of our Christian 
 profession, and eminently conducive to the welfare 
 of the church, cannot with any reason be denied ; 
 and although its full effect may often be prevented by 
 the infirmity of our nature, we are bound to acknow- 
 ledge that it works well in practice. I am not aware 
 that a single instance has occurred in this country, 
 of the settlement of any question in a meeting for 
 discipline — monthly, quarterly, or yearly — by the 
 division of its members. Have we not then much 
 cause for thankfulness to Him who raised up our 
 forefathers by his power, that he still condescends 
 to preserve us, as a people, in some degree of prac- 
 tical dependence on his own authority; that he still 
 brings us, from time to time, into the same judg- 
 ment; that he still enables us, when our opinions 
 differ, to condescend one to another in love ? 
 
 Certain it is, that the more we are weaned from 
 the eagerness of the carnal mind, and brought to 
 wait patiently on the Lord, the better we shall be 
 prepared to receive and follow his counsel; the more 
 eminently we shall enjoy the unity of the spirit, 
 
 IN THE BOND OF PEACE. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Date Due 
 
 FACULTV 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PRINTED 
 
 IN U. S. A. 
 
 
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