THus saith the Light: Wo unto you Quakers! for ye are an evil and perverse Generation; a Generation that walk not in the Light, but love your own dark­ness better than the Light; you honour the Light with your Lips, but your Hearts and Ways are far from it.

For the Light will tell you, and if you open your Eyes you must see it, that you live under, and are protected by the Na­tional Laws; that those fix and deter­mine mens Rights, and were it not for [Page 2] them, every man would call that his own, which he could take from another by force; and so we should fall into a state of War, and be wilde Beasts one to another. The Light will tell you that Laws preserve what we have, and make it ours: And that the same Laws that made the Ninth part of increase yours, give the Tenth unto the Minister or Re­ctor. Now hereby are ye condemned, O ye Quakers! for you take and enjoy the benefit of the Laws as to your own part, but contradict and oppose the Law as to his: And therefore, thus saith the Light, The same measure you meet, may be mea­sured to you again; and as you will not allow the Law as to the Rectors right, o­thers by the same reason may refuse to allow it as to yours: and so every one may take and with-hold your Goods from you by your own law, and rule of pra­ctise: and here is foundation laid for uni­versal confusion. So that in this, O ye Quakers, ye are Enemies to the Light, to your own, and the Rights of Man­kinde.

The Light saith, Thou shalt not Steal. Now Stealing is either taking or detain­ing that which by Law or Custom is ano­thers; [Page 3] in this also ye Quakers sin against the Light, by taking the Tythes, which are none of yours: For there is neither Law nor Custom that gives you any right in them; neither did you or your Fore­fathers ever buy or pay for them; they were still reserved and paid elsewhere; and the Seller abates of his rates on con­sideration that the Lands are Tythable: So that you will have what you never did or could buy; and in this you make your selves Thieves and Robbers, and Ene­mies to the Light.

The Light saith, Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you: But ye rebel against the Light, and deal with others as you would not be willing to be dealt withal your selves. If you have right in a Common by antient Law or Custom, you would not have the Privi­ledge taken from you; nor be willing it should be enclosed for the use of a pri­vate person, who can claim but his share; and yet you shut others out of their Common, and enclose all the In­crease of your Field to your selves, con­trary to the most antient Laws and Cu­stomes of the Kingdom; and in this the Light condemns you.

The Light tells you, that you should Give unto Caesar the things that are Cae­sars; and Tythes are due by Caesar's Laws and Caesar hath the Tenth of them; so that you deny the Kings Right, as well as the Ministers; and in this also you con­tradict the Light.

The Light forbids you to remove an­tient Land-marks; but this you do, and break the bounds which your Fore-fathers, set and owned: they confined your rights and properties within the Nine parts; but you would enlarge them to the whole Ten, and so break over the bounds, and rebel against the Light.

The Light saith, Give unto every man his due, Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Custom to whom Custom: Now Tythes are Tribute to the King, and Custom to the Minister: So that your with-holding Tythes, on this score also, makes you Ene­mies to the Light.

The Light saith, that as far as is possi­ble, you should live peaceably with all men; but you will not let men live in peace by you, but force them into Law and [Page 5] trouble against their wills, to defend their own just rights, which you would take from them; and in this you are Enemies to the Light, and to the peace of your neighbours.

The Light saith, Give no offence nei­ther to Jew nor Gentile, nor to the Church of God. But you wilfully give great ground of provocation and offence to them that meddle not with you, by ta­king their Bread from them, and putting them to much trouble and vexation to get their own; and in this likewise you act against the Light.

The Light saith, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours goods; but you Quakers covet and usurp the livelihood of other men, and many times bring them and their Families to beggary and ruine, by with-holding their Bread from them and their Children: So that the Light con­demns you for Persecutors, and Oppres­sors, ravening Wolves in Sheeps cloath­ing.

The Light saith, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour; but you bitterly Revile, Reproach, and Slan­der [Page 6] Ministers for receiving their own, as if they were Thieves and Robbers for so doing: So that your Tongues are not guided by the Light, but set on fire of Hell.

The Light requires that we should do things honest in the sight of all men; but you Quakers, in carrying away Tythes that are not yours, do what is dishonest in the sight of all men, except your selves, whose Eyes Covetousness and the God of this World seems to have blinded; so that you see not, or pretend not to see that right belonging to Ministers, which is so clear, and so apparent to all the world besides: in this you shew your selves men of corrupt mindes, that make Gain God­liness, and love the wages of unrighte­ousness, and so the Enemies to the Light.

The Light saith, Let none of you suffer as an evil doer, as a Thief, as a Murther­er, &c. For if men are buffetted for their faults, what thanks have they? But you expose your selves to just sufferings as evil doers, for oppressing, and defrauding, and robbing your Neighbours: And in this you glory as if it were suffering for [Page 7] Conscience and Religion, when 'tis suf­fering for plain knavery and theft: And High-way men and Cut-purses have as much reason to glory in their suffering, and to cry out Persecution, Persecution, as you: So that you abuse the sacred name of Conscience, and prophane Religion, by this your vain and absurd glorying, and sin against the Light.

The Light saith, Let your yea be yea, and your nay nay: It requires plainness and simplicity in our speeches; but you Qua­kers use words of deceit, and tricks and evasions to colour your injustice in with­holding Tythes. You bid Ministers prove Tythes due by the Gospel-rule. It were not hard to do it to men of any tolerable un­derstanding, and indifferency of judge­ment; but there is no need of it, they are certainly and most undoubtedly due by the Laws of the Land, which are e­nough to give right. You say there is no mention of Tythe to be paid upon your Leases: but you knew when you bought that the Seller could convey but the nine parts to you; the Tenths beyond all me­mory of time were transferred elsewhere; and if you had bought Tythe-fee, you must have given more for your Purchase. [Page 8] You say, If the Minister hath any right in your Field, let him tell whereabout his due lies: A piece of vain Sophistry! Let me ask them the same Question; If they have right of feeding in a Common, let them tell me where their particular share of Grass lies? Their answer to this, will serve for one to themselves: where more have interest, the particular shares cannot be determined till division be made; and when their sheaves are counted, the Minister can easily tell what is his. By such silly shifts and pretences, O ye Qua­kers, you plainly shew your juggling and insincerity, that you are led by car­nal reason, the reason of your obstinacie and worldly interest, and not by any principle of Truth or Light.

The Light saith, you should rather suf­fer wrong, than do any: men may quit their personal rights without sin, but can­not take anothers without it; so that if the case was doubtful whether Tythes are due or not, the safer way was to let them go, rather than contend; or if they were not due really, it were much honester to part with them to those on whom Laws and constant Custome have placed them, than to offer violence to the Laws, [Page 9] to thwart ancient Usage, to trouble our Neighbours, and to offend and disturb Governours by detaining of them: So that in this also you rebel against the Light.

The Light commands you to submit to every Ordinance of man, to be subject to the higher Powers, to obey Magistrates; and these have enacted, and most solemnly commanded the payment of Tythes to Ministers, through all times; and there­fore, O ye Quakers, by denying this pay­ment, you rebel against their Authority, and refuse that subjection to them that God hath made their due, and so you affront and sin against the Light.

The Light bids us to eschew all appear­ances of evil; but to break ancient Cu­stomes, to oppose legal Establishments. and to with-hold that which the Laws have made due to others, hath at least an appearance of evil; and therefore in this also, O ye Quakers, you transgress against the Light.

So that thus saith the Light, Repent and return, O ye Quakers; for Oppression and Violence is in your hands, and the ways [Page 10] of Justice and Peace you have not known. Turn your eyes to the Light, and your hearts to righteousness and judgement, that you may do justice and love mercy, and walk as Children of the true Light that enlight­ens every one that cometh into the world.