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Show The Rife and l'rogrefs VoL. I. CHAP. IV. Of th< Difcipline and Praaiee of tbis P E 0 P L E, as •. &ligiollt Soci<ry. Tbt Chwth Power they own and txtrcift, an~ t!Jat w~ub tbt.f Rtjdl II!J.. Condemn: llfitb the Method of tbtir Procttdmgs agmnj! Emng and Diforderly Perfons. T HIS People incrcofing daily both in Town and Country, an Holy C~rt fell upon fame of the E!der1 among them, for the Benefit and Sen tee of the Church. And the firft Bufinefs in thei~ View, after the Example.of the Primitive Saints, was the Exeni{t of Chanty ? to fupply the J:leccffines of the Poor and anfwer the like Occafions. Wherefore CoUdbons were early and Hberally made for that and divers otht-r Service11 in the Church, and intrnfted with Faithful Men, Fearing God, and of Go~ Report, who were not weary in Well-doing; adding often ofTbt1r Own, 1n large Propor· tions, which they never brought to Acco~mt, or dcfired ibould b~ known, much lefs reftored to them, that none m1gbt want, n<u any Setvlce be re~ tarded or difappointed. They were alfo very Careful, that every one that belonged to them, an .. fwered their Pr9feffion in their Behavi?ur amon_g Men, upon all Occafions; that they Lived Peaceably, and were lD all Thtn~s Good Exa~plcs. Th~y found themfelves engagtd to Record their Suffenn~s and Sen1ces: And tn Cafe of Marrhige, which they could not perform m the ufual M7thoda of the Nation, but among themfelvet, they took _Care that all Thmgs were Clear between the Parties and all others : And lt was then ra.re; that any One entertain'd an Inclination to a Perfon on th~t Account, t~ll He o~ She had communicated it fecretly to fome very Wetghty and Emme~t Fnends among them, that they might have a Senfe of the Matter ~ lookmg to the Council and Unity of their Brethren as of great Moment to them. But becaufe the Charge of the Poor, the Number of Or~hans, Marriages, Suf· ferings, and other Matters muftiplied ; and that 1t. wa~ Good tha~ the Churches were in fame Way and Method ofproceedmg m·fuch Affaus a· {Dong them, to the End they might the better corre.fpond upon Occafio~, where a Member of on e Meeting might have to do With one of another l. tt pleafed the Lord in His Wifdom and Goodnefs,. to open the Underftandtng of the Fir{/ Inflrument of rb11 Difpen[a11on of Life, abou: a Good and Ord~rly Way of Proceeding; who felt an Holy Concern. to .vtfit the Churches m Perfon throughout this Nation, to begin and e~abhfb It amon_g them : And by His Epijlles, the like was done in other N~uons iJnd ~rovmces abroad ;, which he alfo afterwards Vifited, and helped m that Se!Vlce, as !hall he ol?- ferved when I come to fpeak of him: . Now the Care, ConduO and Difcipline, .I have been fpeakmg of, and which are now praEt:iced among this People, IS as followeth. This Godly Elder, in every County where he travelled, exhortctd the~, thar Sonu out of every Meeting of Worfhil>! fbould meet together once 1n Jhe Month, to confer about the Wants and ~ccafions of the Church. A~d as the Cafe required fo thofe ... i'dontbly Meeung.r. were fe.wer or more .m Number in every rcfpeEt:ive County : Four or S1x Meeungs of ~oribtp, ufuolly making One Montbly .Meeting of Bujinifs. And accord.mgly the Brethren met him from Place to Place, and began tbe fatd Meeungs,. vt:;. For the Poor, Orpba,s, Orderly Wttlking, lnregrity to tbeJr Profeffion, Bzr!h.r, lt1arrit~ges, Burial.r, Sufferingt, Sec. And that thefe_ -Monthly ltluungs fhould, jo each County, make up One fi.!larterly Mttt111g, where the Mo~ Zealous and Eminent Friends of the County fbould AUe•ble to ~1111111111_1· cau ; Jldvife and Help one at~otber, efpecially when any Rufinefl feemed d1f· ficult. or a Monthly Jlfeetinf. was tender of determining.a Maner. Alfo that thefe feveral !<._11arttrly .meetings fhould d~~ft the R.epor~ of their Monthly .Meetings, and prepare One- for each refpe J\'eOuntJ, aga~b~ VoL, I. Of the 'People caltd Quakers; g· . !het•;ly liiming, in which allfJ!Jarterly Me<ting; refolve. which is held . 6 77 tn n on : Where the Churches in this Nation 3nd othe~ N . 1 940 Pro;inc<:o Meet ~y Cbofen. Members ofrheir refpehive Counties 3b~~h A~:~ ~ !"a !Y to mf!IUDIC3te thetr Ch•rcb-.Affairs, and ro advife, a d 'b d ·rc d. I~ arrGd~pendtn~GCafe to Edification. Alfo to provide a Reij~i}it/St~c~lf~r • t e 1 c arge o eneral Expences for General Ser\'ices in the Ch h needful ro be here particularized. urc , not At thefe Meetings llny of the Members of the Churches ma ·{ lhey pleafe, ond fpeok their Minds freely in the Fear of God t Y comii t te~; but the Mind of each !<11arterly Atecting, therein r~pr~f=~red a~~ phtty underftood, as to p.:mlcular Cafet, in the Senfe delivered by 'th~ er on~ deput.ed, or chofen .for that Serviee by the faid Meeting. Duung theu Yearly .A1utmg, to which their other Meetings refer in their Order, and n~turally Refolvethemfdves, Care is uken by a SeleO Number for that ~rv1ce, .chofen by the General Affembly, w dr3.w up the Minurtt ofth~ fatd M~etmg, upon the fe\'eral M:nters thar have been under Conft4 derau_on therem , . to the End that the refpeClive ~uarur/y and .A1ontbl .Mtefl'!g.r may be ~nformed .of all Proceedings ; togerher with a General Ex~ hottauon to Hohnefs, Umty and Ch.arity. Of all which Proceedings in Ttu~, Monthly, and ~11arterly .blettmgs, Due Record is kept by fame One }Xpo~nted for that Servtce, or that hath voluntarily undertaken it. Thefe eettngs a!e opene.d, and u~ually concluded in theu Solemn Waiting npon G~, who IS fo_mettmes grac10ufly plea fed to anfwer them with tU Signal Ev1d:nces of hts Love and Prefence, as in any of their MeetingsofWorfhip. It JS furthert.o be Nored, that in thefe Solemn 4.1Jemblier, for the Churches SerVIc.e, there ts no One Prefides among them after the Manner of the A'f'" fembhes of other ~eopl~ l CHRIS 'I' only being their Pre6dent, as He u pleafed to appear m L1fe and W'tfdom in any One or more oLthem to wh?m, whatever be t~eir Capacity or Degree, the refi: adhere with a Firm Untty, not of A~thonty, but Conviil:ion, wliich is the Divine Authority 3nd Way of ~h11ft's Power and Spirit in His People : Making Good HiJ Blelfed Promtfc, That 1ft f~J?IIld be m the M~tlfl of H.ir, wbue, •nd wbenevtr they_ wer~ met togetber m Hu Name, t ven to tbe &d of tbt World. So be it. • Now. It may be;: expeaed, I fbould here fet down what Sort of Authority IS exerctfed by thiS People, upon fuch Members of their Society as corref. pond in their Lives with their Profeffion, and that are Refrail:ory to this Good and Wholefom Or~er ferried among them ; and the rather •. becaufe they have not wanted then Reproach and Sufferings from fome Tongues and Pens, upon this Occafio~, 10 a plentiful Manner. The Power they exercife, 1S fuch as Chrifi: has given to His own People · to the End of the World, in the Perfon•.of His Difciples, 'Viz. Td Overfee: Exhort, ReprMJe, 411~ after long Suffertllg and Waiting upon the Difobedient tlnd Re/raffory, to Difown rbe111, m any mort of their Communion or rbat tb.ey wiU .any longer fl.and Charged. in tbt Sight t~nd ]11lgme111 of Goi or Men, Wit~ tbetr Converfauon "'.. Beha~nour a1 any of them, ~t~ntilrbey Repent. The Su~J~ Matt~r abo~t ~h1ch thts A~thority, in any of the foregoing Branches of It, Js Exerctfed, ts Fuft, In Relatum to Common and General Prtllliu and Secondly, about thofe Thin~ tha~ !l'lor~ !trialy refer to their own' Cha.: raaer ~n~ P!ofeffion, .a~d which dtftmgudh them from all other ProfeftorS of Chrift_tantty ; ~VOt~t~g Two F;xttealpS upon which rnany fplit, 'Vis. Perftc11tton and Ltbertmijm, That z.s, a Coercive Power, to Whip &opk in .. ,,_the Temple; that _fuc~ as w}ll not Conform, tbo' againR Faith and C011 .. fctence, !hall be pum!ht tn the11 Perl'ono or Eftatei : Or leaving allloote anc! 2t large, as to Pratlice 1 and fo unaccountable to ~11 but God and the Ma· gUlrate. To which hurtful Extream, nothing has more contributed than rhe Abufe of Church Power, by fuch as fulfer their Paffion and Private In· terefts to prevail with tl;lem to carry it to Outward Force and Corporal Punifhment. A Pratlice' they have been taught to djflike, by their exrrcam Sulfer.ings, as wellos their known Principle for an Univtrf•l Libtrt)' •f ~Dnjc1tnct. On |