The Principles of the Protestant Religion Maintained

ALtho' the Church of God, which is a Society of men professing the Truths, & practising the Wayes, of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Sacred Sriptures have Recommended them unto the world, has in all ages undergone the Batteries of a various assault, yet it has out-liv'd them all. As one while there arise Persecutors with Cain's Club in their Hands, endeavouring by Force to banish out of the world, that Godliness which their sore eyes se◊◊ an Ey-◊ore in; so another while, the grand Enemy of our Salvation bring's Hereticks upon the stage, who with Fraud would perswade the people of the Saints of the Most High to unchurch themselves by parting with all the meanes of Communion between them and their God. But hitherto an Abortion has attended all their attempts against that Mount Sion which cannot be removed, but remaineth for ever; the impotent Assailants find themselves but pushing hard against the great stone, and perish by its Rolling over them. This is among the Glorious things which are spoken of thee, O thou City of God!

Indeed the Craft of the old Serpent hath not shown it self in any one thing more marvellous & dangerous, than in his Fitting of Seducers to the several Designs, Peoples, Tempers, which he has had to manage. He knowes, that as the first Creation, so the new Creation, begins with Light◊ & he has used a thousand Blinds to keep a saving Light from entring into the souls of men, that being a people of a wrong understanding, He that made them might not have mercy on them. Hence the Deceivers of the former days having been baffled & conquer'd by the Spirit of the Lord lifting up a standard against them, in the Labours of His faithful Servants; the Hydra of Error, has had new sprouts proceeding from it; among which, that of Quakerism seems to be one of the vilest, as well as one of the Latest, and we see therein fulfill'd, what was long since fore-told, That Seducers will wax worse and worse. In Quakerism we see the Vomit cast forth in the by-past ages by whole kennels of those creatures, for whom the Apostle to the Philippians has found a name, licked up again for a new-Digestion, and once more expos'd for the poisoning of mankind; and it is especially the more ignorant & unwary, & envious part of mankind which it is adapted unto: few swallow it but the more silly & feeble sort of souls, & those in 〈…〉 the Light (which they so much adore) affords little better Directions, than those of an Ignis fatuns. Indeed Quakerism is the peculiar plague of this Age. One that was a pillar-◊◊◊ it, wrote in the year 1659. ◊uch a passage as that It is now about seven years since the Lord raised us up, And as the Novity of the Sect proves their Falsity, so tis beyond all measure admirable, that in so clear a day-light of the Gospel, so many should espouse it. It is thro the wrath of the Lord of hosts, that any part of the English Nation should he so darkned, as to follow this new light 〈…〉 and it is the particular disgrace of the English, with but one or two Nations more, to have these people in it, who th◊ they tremble, yet believe not, but oppose and muddy the whole of that Religion, by which we draw near to God.

We cannot but have our sad Apprehensions, when we behold this great Choak◊weed of the Christian & Protestant Religion, taking root in the Borders of N. England; and, whereas unto our own Inclination◊ to be doing so, their have been added the Provocations of one George Keith, in a late Book addressed both to them for their Establishment, & to us for our Conviction, we have counted ourselves concerned to appear in the defence of those glorious Truths, which all Quakerism (& George Keith's particularly) does oppugn. We have answered the Cavils and Sophisms of the Champion whom the American Quakers do so much admire, not feeling in any of his arguments the weight of a Weaver's beam; and if in any passages we have done it cuttingly, we knew, that same are so to be rebuked. But the Reader 〈…〉 oblige himself to peruse the Whole of our Treatise, before he pronounce upon the sufficiency and validity of our Answer; we found it so dull 〈…〉 thing to follow the confused methods of our Antagonist, and to renew our Discourses as often as h◊s tedious and n◊◊seous Repetitions came in our way, that we resolved, as we met the several Haeresies we would Answer once for all; and therefore we do pass over with a dry Foot many unfound Assertions in diverse parts of his Book, because by the very same in other parts of it, we are forc'd to wade over shoes in the mire after him. And we take no notice at all of the calumnies, which in the close of his little Volumn, he loads the Reverend Increase Mather with, because the Son of that worthy person, has elsewhere already vindicated him. We wish that we could with any hopes propound the Conversion & Reduction of George Keith, as the end of our present undertaking. But we fear lest his Apostacy, after he had been enlightened & had taste of the good word of God, hath rendred him incurable. If it should be so, we must expect, that tho' the Arrows here fetch'd from the Scriptures of the Lord Jesus, may force from him a 〈…〉 ◊hou hast overcome! yet we shall have no Returns from him, except those of rage & wrath, which we shall not count it worth the while to publish any reply unto, but what the Archangel gave to a railing Accusation.

We do likewise wish, that we had more hopes of turning others that have been prosely◊ed (tho' scarce any have been so by him among our selves) unto his Perswasion, from the Error of their way; which we do sincerely declare to be the worst that we wish to them, tho' is be also the Best that we can do for them. They are much mistaken, if they think that we shall ever pursue them with any thing but Pitty, and Prayer, and Reason, which they want above most in the world. We desire no Revenge on them, for all the Railing and Hatred, which they so commonly follow us withal, save only to pluck them as brands out of the fire. But, alas, tis usually a poenal, judicial, vindictive Stroke of the great God upon the minds of men for sins against the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, accompanied not seldome with a very sensible Possession of Satan, thro' which the Delusions of This way come to be received. And the Efficacy thereof, is therefore frequently too obstinate for a Cure! Only, the Power and Mercy of God, can Restore those wandering souls; which we do from the very bottom of our Hearts implore.