IN the last dayes, saith the Apo­stle, 2 Tim. 3. Perilous times shall come, for men shall be lo­vers of their own selves, cove­tous, boasters, blasphemers, diso­bedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, [Page] false accusers, incontinent, fierce despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lo­vers of pleasures more then lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power there­of: From such, saith the Apostle in the fifth verse, Turn away.

And that we may the better discern and avoid these seducers, the Apostle sets them out unto us, as well in their pre [...]ences and outward actions and carriages, as by their inward principles and corruptions, as you may see in the sixth, seventh, and eighth verses: Of this sort, saith he, are they that creep into Houses, and lead captive silly Women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts; ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

In the fix first Verses of this Chapter, the Apo­stle setteth forth unto us, the practises of these un­godly sinners; and that men might be fore-arm'd against these seducers, he tels us at the sixt Verse, how we should know them; Of this sort, saith he, are they that creep into Houses, and lead cap­tive silly Women. Now as Iames and Iambris withstood Moses, so do these resist the Truth; Men of corrupt mindes, reproba [...]e concerning the faith. But in the ninth Verse, saith the Apostle, They shall proceed no further; for their folly shall be manifest unto all men.

Now according to this method of the Apostle, [Page] shall I proceed; in setting forth unto you, the corrupt, horrid, and blasphemous practices, of these ungodly, and irreligious sinners of our times, known by the name of QUAKERS: First, I shall discover unto you, by the Lords assistance, their horrid, and of all good Christians to be abhorred, practices and opinions: In the next place, I shall endeavour, God willing, to set forth unto you, the Blasphemies, and accursed delusions, of these monsters of men and enemies of all righteousness, the QUAKERS; a generation of Vipers, of late, by the power of Satan, sprung up amongst us: Having done this, I shall by Gods assistance, give you some few motives and encouragements, to perswade you, in the fear of the Lord, to beware of these wicked ones, whom the Lord, I hope, will ere long consume with the breath of his nosthrils, and suddenly scatter them in his wrath, like a mighty Whirle-winde. Beware of false Prophets, saith our Saviour. And then lastly, having discovered unto you the folly, and madness of these Seducers, I shall conclude all, in a word of advice, to all those that fear the Lord, in these three Nations; to beware of these wicked and ungodly men; As the Apostle perswades, in the second Epistle of Peter and the third Chapter: Having before described such a generation of wic­ked ones as they are; in the seventeenth verse, he [Page] concludes all, with heavenly advice and admoniti­on, to all that desire to fear the Lord: Ye there­fore beloved, saith the Apostle, seeing you know these things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the errour of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness; but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.

And now I begin with the first; The horrid and accursed Principles of these wicked men: First, they do blasphemously deny God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is God, blessed for e­ver; impiously and blasphemously saying, God is in them, and the Light within them, is God; when indeed there is no light at all in them, but darkness: As the Psalmist saith, Their very in­ward thoughts are darkness, and blindness of minde; who being past feeling, as the Apostle saith, Have given themselves over to lascivious­ness, to commit all uncleanness with greediness. Its the Devil that is in them, and not God, the Devil he deludes them, and he reigns and rules in these Children of disobedience; they are of their father the Devil, and his instruments they are, to delude and destroy, both their own and other mens souls.

Secondly, they deny the blessed word of God, and despise it; tearing it in peices, and re­fusing [Page] to walk according to the rule of it, saying; They have the Word within them and that there is no need of any other Word, they have it remem­bred to them by the Spirit. And this also is a delusion of the Devil; for as the Apostle saith, Tim. 3. 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration, and is profitable for Doctrine and for Instruction, that the men of God may be perfect. So likewise 2 Pet. the first Chapter and last Verse; Ye have have a more sure word of Prophesie, whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light that shi­neth in dark places.

Thirdly, they are loose and lascivious in their lives and conversations, despising both Ministry and Magistracy, together with all humane Socie­ty; presumptions are they, as St. Iude saith in his Epistle; They are not afraid to speak evil of Dignities, walking according to the imaginations of their own base hearts; the good Lord rebuke them, and undeceive them. Ungodly men they are, as St. Iude saith, Turning the grace of God into wantonness, and denying the Lord God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; leading captive silly Women, laden with divers lusts, going naked a­bout the streets, in a most odious and beastlike manner, belching forth blasphemy against the great God of heaven, saying, They are comman­ded to do so. Wels they are, without water, ra­ging [Page] waves of the Sea, foaming out their ow [...] shame; trees that are twice dead, pluckt up by the roots: Whose end, as St. Paul saith, is to be burned.

Likewise, they cast off the ordinances of Jesus Christ, accounting them as needless and unneces­sary: They have no need, they say, of the Word of God, nor no need of Prayer; they are above these things, above Ordinances; yea, I may tru­ly say, they are past grace: For, say they, We may live as we list. They have no sin in them at all, but whatsoever they do is good, being accor­ding to the light within them, and the motions of the spirit, with which they are possest: But mi­serable wretches as they are, they deceive their own souls▪ as St. Iohn saith, in the first Chapter of his first Epistle, and the last Verse. If the spirit within them bid them do any thing, though it be never so wicked, they say, it is God: The Lord anoint their eys with the eye-salve of his spirit▪ and cast out of them this foul unclean spirit, with which they are possest; that they may see the evil of their ways, and abhor themselves, and repent of their Blasphemies; that so the Nation may be no longer deluded by them.

Secondly, for the practices of these wicked men, how foul are they? and what a height of wickedness and uncleanness is there amongst the [Page] most of them? What roarings and howlings do they keep when they meet together? alrighting even the Beasts that hear them, as if God were served by their roaring and howling like Dogs? What Witchery and Sorcery is there amongst many of them, so that those that have but come to see them, have been bewitched by them, to fol­low their pernicious wayes, and so have brought everlasting destruction upon themselves. As one near to Newbery of late, who ran naked into the Congregation upon the Lords Day; and after, gi­ving away all his estate which was worth two or three hundred a year, he ran away in this condi­tion from his wife and children. Likewise, one near Durham, who had been a great Professor of Religion for a long time, and a man of good parts, but something given to Novelties; going to hear these people cald Quakers, was presently bewitched by them, that he ran up and down the Town in a confused manner, crying out very blasphemously; I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: and thus he continued for the space of two or three moneths, some [...]imes running naked about the stree [...]s in the night, being as he said, so commanded to do, by a voice within him; which voice was the voice of the Devil, with whom he was really possest, as he himself hath since confes­sed, it having pleased God since, to bring him out of [Page] the snares of the Devil, after a most miraculous manner, that others might see and take notice, and abhor those wicked ways. The Devil having possession of him, he was sometimes caried forth so violently by the power of Satan, to act and utter such strange things, that he soon became the chief among them; to the great grief and sorrow of all his friends, who perswaded him with tears to desist from those wicked and pernicious ways; but all in vain, for he was still possest with this blasphemous opinion, That God was in him, and that what ever he did was from God; when it was onely from the power and delusion the Devil, as he himself since, hath to the glory of God, confessed.

This man being in his bed, the voice within him, spake unto him as follweth: That he was CHRIST, and came to live and abide in him; and that he should have two Angels always to attend upon him. At which, there appeared two in the likeness of Sparrows, comming down the Chimney, which came and sat upon the wall by his beds-side, which he conceited were the two Angels spoken of before. After which, the voice within him began to speak again, in a most wick­ed manner, saying, That he was Christ, and was come to dwell in him: all which he beleeved. Then upon a sudden was he carried, by a more [Page] then ordinary force, from his bed, and his hand conveyed to a knife which lay in the room : Ha­ving this knife in his hand, the point of it was presently set to his throat, and a voyce heard, say­ing, Open that I may enter in. At which it plea­sed God to smite this mans heart, and by his Al­mighty power to hold back his hand from cutting his own throat therewith; and then through the mercy of the Lord to him, he saw how he was de­luded by the Devil, and so flung away the knife, and ever after forsook and abhorred these wicked and accursed ways, to the great joy and rejoyeing of all his friends. The truth of this Relation was testified under his own hand, together with the hands of the Mayor and Minister of the Town, with several others.

The next I come to speak of, is one Iames Parnel: Who most blasphemously said he was Christ and that they should see he could do mira­cles. And then the Devil deluded him to fast forty days, and forty nights; which he said he would do, that so they might see that he was God. He being in prison at Colchester for his blasphe­my, there began his Fast, and for several days he would eat nothing, and seemed very pleasant: but being narrowly watched that he might eat nothing privately, and so delude the people, he in less then a fortnights space began to desire food, which was [Page] dayly offered him before, if he would have eaten it; and then being a weary of his fasting, he be­gan to eat, but to little purpose; for what he eat, went through his body as fast as he eat it, and then when he would have eaten, it gave him no sustenance; and so in two or three days after, he died in a most miserable manner, being guilty of his own death.

Like unto him is now one Iames Nailer, now in prison at Bristol for the like blasphemies. This man being a principal man amongst the Quakers, was looked upon by them as their God, all of them owning and receiving for truth what Iames Nailer spake, whose blaspemous opinions are very well known by most men. This Iames Nailer taking upon him to be Christ, and by his accursed sect and followers was so owned and looked upon, yea, and worshipped as Christ. This blasphemous fellow, did in September last past, ride through the City of Bristol on Horse-back, conducted by others of this wicked sect, who went bare-headed along by his Horse side; others strowing the way as they went, blasphe­mously cried out, Hosanna, Hosanna in the high­est, Holy, Holy, the Lord, the Holy One. Ha­ving passed quite through the City in this blasphe­mous manner, he took up his Inne, where his wicked Disciples washed his feet, and the wo­men [Page] wiped them with the ha [...]s of their heads. For which accursed, and abominably blasphemous practise, he was after committed to prison there, and is now sent for up to London by the Parlia­ment, to answer for the same, who I hope will give him the reward of his iniquity. Oh! that wretched sinfull men should dare thus to blas­pheme the living God! Children of the Devil they are, and Enemies of all Righteousness; who have forsaken the right way, and are turned after vanities.

By the Law of Moses Blasphemers ought to be stoned to death, as it is recorded in the 24 of Leviticus, vers. 16. He that blasphemeth the Name of the Lord, shall surely be put to death, and all the Congregation shall stone him. This is the Law of God delivered by Moses: God will not have such wicked wretches, that shall dare to blaspheme his holy Name, to go unpunished: and truly, men ought not to pass it over unpunished; hee is accounted a very bad servant, that shall hear his master abused, and take no notice of it; the Name of God is abused, and his Honour and Majesty is abused by these wicked wreches, and shall they not be punished for this! shall one man be punished for speaking ill of another, and shall not wicked men be punished for blaspheming the great God of heaven and earth! O I tremble [Page] to thinke what will become of these accursed wretches, when they shall come to appear before the Lord, to answer for all their wicked blasphe­mies. Certainly this is an iniquity, as Iob saith, Iob 31, 10▪ to be punished by the Judge. And if, as St. Paul sairh, Rom. 13. 4 the Magistrate beareth not the sword in vain, but is the Minister of God to execute wrath upon him that doth evil; then certainly, if he let such blasphemies as these go unpunished, he beareth his sword in vain, and is, in stead of being a terrour unto the evil doers, an incouragement of them in their sins, and there­by bring upon themselves the guilt of other mens sins.

Now then Christians, I hope these things will affright you from these ways, and cause in you an abhorring both of the opinions and practises of these wicked ones: O that you would tremble to think of the sad condition of these men, what will become of them, if they repent not, Hell fire and brimstone shall be their portion for ever. O Chri­stians, I beseech you for the Lords sake, read the Epistle of St. Iude and likewise the second Chap­ter of the second Epistle of St. Peter, and consider what is there said; compare what is there written, with our times, see how the opinions and practi­ses of men in our days agree with these the Apo­stles there speak of: There were false Prophets, [Page] saith the Apostle, even as there shall be false Tea­chers, who shall bring in damnable Heresies, de­nying the Lord that bought them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction, If ever there was a time when these things were, certainly it is now: O how do false Prophets and Teachers a­bound and increase! O what horrid blasphemies and accursed opinions are there broached and practised among us! The Lord cast out from a­mong us that foul spirit of errour and blasphemy that so much abounds; give a check, O Lord, to Satan, and stop the current of blasphemy, for thy own Names sake. O Lord arise, and beat down the power of Satan, and let him no longer reign in the hearts of disobedient and gain saying people. O do thou turn them, O Lord, from sin and Sa­tan, unto thee our God; and establish righteous­ness and truth, and increase the Kingdome of thy dear son all the world over. O all ye Quakers, Shakers, and Ranters, what ever you are, that blaspheme the Name of God, and despise his Word, repent of your blasphemies, and turn to the Lord, who will have mercy upon you; lest if you persist, the wrath of God be poured forth upon you to destroy you.

Now then consider all of you, and every one of you, and every one that reads or hears this; Consider, I say, and see the dreadful judgements [Page] of God against such sinners as you are, and repent of your wickedness, and abhorre it; break off your sins by repentance, and look up­on Jesus Christ, whom you have pe [...]rced, and whose bloud you have trampled upon, and despi­sed by your blasphemies.

Which that you may unfeignedly do, the Lord in mercy send out his light and truth, and scatter all these mists and fogs of errour heresie and bla­sphemy, that now so much abounds; and bring down the power of Satan, and set up the King­dome of Christ; and settle and establish righte­ousness and truth in the midst of us; and make us a praise, and the glory of the whole world: Even so come Lord Jesus, Come quickly.