NEFBQ: what a selfish Prayer is this?
It's been a while since I posted a piece of A New-England Fire-Brand Quenched. After the preliminaries about who saw or didn't see who during Fox's visit to Rhode Island, Fox challenges the Epistle to the King at the start of Roger Williams' GEORGE FOX Digged out of his Burrows, &c. Some of it challenges Williams' flattery of the King and abuses of the Quakers, but the strongest part responds to:
R. W. And yet thou sayst to the King, If the Most-High please, Old and New-England may flourish, when the Pope and Mahomet, Rome, and Constantinople are in Ashes.
By 17th-century standards, that doesn't strike me as a particularly unusual wish, but Fox is, I think, completely right to challenge both the prayer and what it says about the person praying for such a circumstance:
Ans. How now Roger, what a selfish Prayer is this? Dost thou think that God, or Christ or the King, or at White-Hall will hear this Prayer? is this a Loyal Subject, oran Affectionate Orator at the Throne of Grace? But why would thou have Rome and Constantinople in the Ashes? why wouldst have these two Cities in the Ashes? What hurt do these Cities to thee and the New-England Priests and Professors?
...For if the Pope and Mahomet be Enemies; were not thou to love them according to Christ's Doctrine? where is thy Christianity now Roger? And if the Pope or Mahomet have destroyed any for Religion, are not thou as bad as they? nay worse, because thou professt thyself a better Christian: And yet thou wouldst not only have Pope and Mahomet burnt to Ashes, but their Cities also; which include hundreds of thousands of People, and some Protestants too, that may be there.
But here it is plain (as in Luke 9) that thou dost not know, what Spirit thou art of; as Christ told James and John, better men that thee, when they said, Wilt thou, that we command Fire to come down from Heaven, even as Elias did: but Christ turned him about, and rebuked them, and said, You know not, what Spirit you are of; for the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives, but to save them. And so R. W. thou dost not know thy own Spirit; and therefore art very unfit to direct other Men's....
Is this his Christian Practice and Doctrine, and way of converting the Nations to God? but how short is R. W. of the Royal Law of God. To do unto all men, as he would have them do unto him. But the People of God (called Quakers) are not of R. W.'s mind; for they have the mind of Christ, and would have the Pope and Papists, and Mahometans to repent: and do not desire to see Rome nor Constantinople in their Ashes; but in the Truth, as it is in JESUS.
But all may see, what is in this New-England Priest's heart (his mouth has published it, and spoken it to the King) who hath not the Spirit, nor words of a true Christian, which is, To love Enemies, and pray for them; not Persecute, and burn to Ashe's them that evilly entreat them. O this wicked, envious, destroying Spirit, that would depopulate the Earth to satisfie its evil mind, the Lord rebuke it!
I'm not sure how Williams could have responded to this; perhaps he just shook his head and decided to ignore some fundamental messages of the Gospels, like so many of his predecessors, peers, and intellectual descendants.
The full excerpt is in the extended entry.
{Epistle to the King} R. W. And all that read his Epistle may see, how he goes about to flatter the King, [but the Lord knoweth his heart, and the hearts of you New England Professors were are are manifest] And all that read his Epistle to the King, may see, what mere flattery it is, who says; That because he heard it affirmed, that the King had one of most of the Quakers Boooks, therefore says R. W. he will present the King the Protestant Truth more justly, than his Popish & Arminian Opposites did offend his Royal Eyes with smoak out of the deep Pit.
Ans. Doth not R. W. here abuse the King? and yet hopes for Patronage under him. But does R. W. think, that the King will not see through his flatteries and vain applauses?
R. W. And after this, Roger, thou tells the King, The Pope and the Quakers pretend to Enthusiasme and Infallibilities; and then thou boasts, that thou hast detected much of their Impostures: and then thou desires, His Royal Spirit may be preserved from both their cheats, which is the Oracle of Hell in their mouths.
Ans. Ah! R. W. dost thou think, the King will not see through thy words here again? But for the Oracle of Hell, though shouldst have lookt at home for it, as thy following words will manifest it. But is New-England such a Glory to the Protestant Name, as thou boasts of, and wouldst have the King believe? the King knows you bet- ter, who have Hanged, Cut off Ears, Burnt with hot Iron, Banisht, Whipt so many of the Protestants, and King's Subjects too: did ever the Papists do worse?
R. W. And yet thou sayst to the King, If the Most-High please, Old and New-England may flourish, when the Pope and Mahomet, Rome, and Constantinople are in Ashes.
Ans. How now Roger, what a selfish Prayer is this? Dost thou think that God, or Christ or the King, or at White-Hall will hear this Prayer? is this a Loyal Subject, oran Affectionate Orator at the Throne of Grace? But why would thou have Rome and Constantinople in the Ashes? why wouldst have these two Cities in the Ashes? What hurt do these Cities to thee and the New-England Priests and Professors?
And why wouldst thou have the Pope and Mahomet burnt? and not only so, but the Cities of Rome and Constantinople also? what smoak is this, that is come out of thy Pit? Wast thou not speaking but now of the Popish and Arminian Opposites, that did offend the Kings Royal Eyes? and why wouldst have Rome and Constantinople, and Mahomet, and the Pope in Ashes to smoak, and offend the King's Eyes? But dost thou think, that either God, or Christ, or the King, or any true Protestant will receive thy unmerciful, unnatural and wicked Prayer? Here the King and his Councel may see, what Spirit the New-England Priests are of, by Roger Williams, their great Oratour.
For if the Pope and Mahomet be Enemies; were not thou to love them according to Christ's Doctrine? where is thy Christianity now Roger? And if the Pope or Mahomet have destroyed any for Religion, are not thou as bad as they? nay worse, because thou professt thyself a better Christian: And yet thou wouldst not only have Pope and Mahomet burnt to Ashes, but their Cities also; which include hundreds of thousands of People, and some Protestants too, that may be there.
But here it is plain (as in Luke 9) that thou dost not know, what Spirit thou art of; as Christ told James and John, better men that thee, when they said, Wilt thou, that we command Fire to come down from Heaven, even as Elias did: but Christ turned him about, and rebuked them, and said, You know not, what Spirit you are of; for the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives, but to save them. And so R. W. thou dost not know thy own Spirit; and therefore art very unfit to direct other Men's.
But if R. W. had been such an Oratour, and able Minister of Christ, he had better have gone and Preach'd Repentance to the Pope and Mahomet, and not to rail against them behind their backs; as he doth here against G. F. and others, who never had to do with him. And would not many people suffer besides Papists and Mohametans, if Rome and Constantinople should be burnt? Would this cause Old and New-England to flourish? this is rising by the Ruins of others.
Is this his Christian Practice and Doctrine, and way of converting the Nations to God? but how short is R. W. of the Royal Law of God. To do unto all men, as he would have them do unto him. But the People of God (called Quakers) are not of R. W.'s mind; for they have the mind of Christ, and would have the Pope and Papists, and Mahometans to repent: and do not desire to see Rome nor Constantinople in their Ashes; but in the Truth, as it is in JESUS.
But all may see, what is in this New-England Priest's heart (his mouth has published it, and spoken it to the King) who hath not the Spirit, nor words of a true Christian, which is, To love Enemies, and pray for them; not Persecute, and burn to Ashe's them that evilly entreat them. O this wicked, envious, destroying Spirit, that would depopulate the Earth to satisfie its evil mind, the Lord rebuke it! But now, would New-England Professors and R. W. their Oratour like it well,if the Pope and Turk should pray, that New-England and he and them should be burnt to Ashes? (4-6)
[Paragraph breaks added.]