A few quæries to Simon Ford priest at the town of Northampton. By Daniel Wills. Wills, Daniel. 1662 Approx. 11 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2013-12 (EEBO-TCP Phase 2). A96642 Wing W2864 ESTC R186623 47683562 ocm 47683562 173017

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 Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A96642) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 173017) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 2661:22) A few quæries to Simon Ford priest at the town of Northampton. By Daniel Wills. Wills, Daniel. 7 p. Printed for Robert Wilson., London, : [1662] Date of publication from Wing (2nd ed.). Reproduction of original in: Friends' Library (London, England).

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 eng Ford, Simon, 1619?-1699. Church of England -- Controversial literature -- Early works to 1800. 2020-09-21 Content of 'availability' element changed when EEBO Phase 2 texts came into the public domain 2012-04 Assigned for keying and markup 2012-06 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2013-01 Sampled and proofread 2013-01 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2013-02 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

A Few QUAERIES TO SIMON FORD Prieſt at the Town of Northampton.

By Daniel Wills.

LONDON, Printed for Robert Wilſon.

A Few Queries to Simon Ford Prieſt at the Town of Northampton. SIMON FORD,

I Hearing of thy late change, and of thy publick Confeſſion, before thy Congregation (whom thou haſt formerly and ſtill doſt pretend, is at thy care, and that thou haſt a charge over them from the Lord) moved me to write theſe Queries to thee, of which from thee I expect a ſpeedy anſwer, either to the clearing of thy ſelf, or elſe thy ſilence ſhall condemn, thee guilty before the Lord and thy Congregation: to as many of whom as I can I ſhall communicate the ſame.

Whether it is the ſame God that hath given thee the charge over theſe People ſince thy change, as did before, yea or nay?

Whether is it the ſame ſpirit that hath moved in thee, to take upon thee to read the Common Prayer to theſe People, whom thou pretendest to have a charge over, for the good of their ſouls: as moved thee to preach openly againſt it not long ſince, as many of thy hearers can teſtifie, yea or nay?

Whether that God whom thou worſhippedſt, (before thy now change) be the ſame God thou now worſhippest, yea or nay?

Whether thy belly be not thy God whom thou ſerveſt: and whether is it not for filthy Lucre thou now laboureſt, yea or nay?

Whether thou hadſt received the Holy Ghoſt before thy change, for the Office and Work of a Prieſt: or whether thou haſt received it ſince, by the impoſition of the Biſhops hands, yea or nay?

Now if thou hadſt not received the Holy Ghoſt before thy late change,

Whether then do not ſome of thoſe Curſes belong unto thee, and are due upon thee, which thou art to read and pronounce to thy Congregation on the firſt day of Lent, according to thy late aſſent and conſent made in publick, before them, whom thou haſt ſo blindly led, infomuch, they could not believe thou wouldſt have deceived them, as thou hast dore, although it was told to ſome of them long ſince, viz.

Curſed is he that maketh the blind to go out of his way.

Whether haſt thou done this, yea or nay?

Curſed is he that putteth his trust in man, and taketh man for his defence, and in his heart goeth from the Lord.

Whether art thou guilty of this, yea or nay?

Curſed are the Ʋnmerciful, Fornicators, and Adulterers, Covetous perſons, Idolaters, Slanderers, Drunkards and Extortioners.

Whether do not ſome of theſe fall weighty upon thine own head, yea or nay?

Whether thou putſt thy truſt in man, or was it not for fear of man or for looſing of that thou calleſt thy due, as the Falſe Prophets of old did who preached for filthy lucre, that cauſed thee thus to change and deceive the people who ſo much put their truſt in thee, anſwer yea or nay?

Now if theſe Curſes be due unto thee,

Whether then hath the biſhop (or any other) power to abſolve or pardon thee, thereof: ſeeing thou haſt taken upon thee to abſolve and pardon others, as thou hast declared to thy Congregation in thy late acknowledgement, anſwer yea or nay?

D'ANIEL WILLS.

A Copy of theſe Queries were given into his own hand, by one of his hearers, on the 29. day of the ſixth month, commonly called August, 1662. of which there hath been no anſwer.
Some words of unfeigned Love, to all the Tender-hearted People in the ſaid Town of Northampton or elſwhere, who are yet held in bondage under the changeable Prieſts of this Age. DEar People,

ſince it hath been the good pleaſure of the Almighty God to bring a day of Tryal upon your Teacher, (whom you could not diſcern) would have ſo ſhamefully dealt concerning you his hearers, until God by his good pleaſure hath manifeſted him and diſcovered his deceit, and laid him to your open view, with many others in this day in theſe Nations. O dear and tender People, whoſe hearts have been and are as yet made ſad by the abominations of your Teacher, and his unexpected change; But this know every one of you, it is not enough for you to ſee your Teacher go aſide from the right way of God; but it may well bring you to conſider, whether ye ought not • o come out from amongſt ſuch, and • e ſeparate fro • them, and not to touch the unclean thing, that the unchangeable God may receive you. Oh! let none reſt there and ſay I can go after he hath read that which I do not like of; and if I come there before he hath done it, I will not regard it, I will keep my mind on other things. Oh! dear People how can this be well, where wil • be your Teſtimony that you bear for the Lord God, who gives you life and breath; and let none think to ſtand excuſed before the Righteous God by ſo doing, for thus you muſt expect, and it ſhall ſurely come to paſſe, that all who partake of the ſins of the changeable Prieſts in this day, ſhall aſſuredly partake with them of their plagues: for ſo might the chree Children have ſaid, its but bowing our bodies to the Earth, we may keep our minds to God, and do this, and then ſhall we eſcape the wrath of the King, and our bodies will be preſerved out of the hot fiery Furnace; but they conſulted not with fleſh and blood; but in true obedience to the Lord their God; and their faithful ſtanding therein, though but the number three, how mightily did the Lord appear for the preſervation of them in the fire, and alſo to the getting himſelf a name throughout the Kingdom; and ſome of you have ſaid we had warning enough, we might have kept our ſelves out of Priſon, we might have forſook the aſſembling of our ſelves together for one day, and then it might be, we might have eſcaped theſe ſufferings, as to be ſeparated from our Families and outward imployments, which thing we count of no value, for the ſake of whom we ſuffer; but to the witneſſe of God in your Conſciences I deſire ſuch to turn and well conſider whether they might not as well have ſaid the ſame to Daniel when the Decree was given forth, that not any ſhould call upon the Name of any other God, but the god who was ſet up for all people to worſhip in that day: but mind what Daniel did, when he heard the Decree was ſealed unalterably, and he well knew by the ſame Decree he who called upon any other God for thirty dayes ſhould be caſt into the Den of Lions, yet notwithſtanding he preſently went and called upon the Name of his God with his window open, as he had uſually done; ſo he was caſt in: but God preſerved him out of the Lions mouths, and got himſelf a name greatly in that day thereby. So dear People mind the Saints and Prophets of old, who ſought not to ſave their Goods nor Lands nor their lives, if the Lord called them to bear a Teſtimony therewith; but alwayes freely ſacrificed up to the Lord God that gave it them; and this is our God onely and true, who is the ſame yeſterday, to day and for ever, and he alſo requires the ſame faithfulneſſe of his Children in this age, as he did in ages and generations paſt, even to give up all for a Teſtimony for his glorious Name, who, we well know is worthy for ever and ever; and we can truly ſay, he never required any thing of any of his, or to part with any thing for his Names ſake, but he hath been ready alwayes to attend with his ſtrength, even ſo much that he makes the tryals eaſie: And I well know he is the ſame to all, who wholly put their truſt in him; but mind this dear People, then you muſt Worſhip no other god beſides him, neither Wife nor Children, Father nor Mother, Houſe nor Land, Liberty nor Life; for which of theſe is delighted in more then the Lord God, are made Idols on, and ſo get the heart from the living God and adulterates it from his pure Preſence, without which his Children in Ages paſt could not live, neither can his tender Ones in this Day; So pure, living, eternal Praiſes do we give to the God of our Salvation alwayes, who hath ſet the door of his Mercies open, that whoſoever will come, may come and drink of the Waters of Life freely without Money or without Price; So dear people, ſleight not this Day of Gods Viſitation, but return at the Reproof of the living God, who hath diſcovered mighty things unto you, and mind his Witneſſe in your Conſciences, and be truly obedient unto that when it ſecretly reproves you, when no outward eye ſeeth you, Oh! that is alwayes near you, in your Beds that will plead with you, and into your ſecret Chambers this will follow you; Oh! dear People, it was the Saints deſire in the dayes of old to keep their Conſciences void of offence towards God (mind that) and towards men, the ſame is the deſire of the Saints in theſe dayes, which makes them chearfully willing to part with all for the great and glorious Name of God, and it is the deſire of our Souls that you might drink of the ſame Fountain, and eat of the ſame Bread and no longer feed upon the Husks without, as the Prodigal did, but return inward whilſt you have time, that you may find a ſure hiding-place, even your lives to be hid with Chriſt in God; then, even then, and not till then ſhall you be hid from the wrath of the Lamb, which is ſurely a coming, and ſhall ſurely come upon all the workers of iniquity.

By one who was forceably taken out of my own hired Houſe, and by the Wills of the Mageſtrates of the ſaid Town, was (contrary to any Law) by them committed to Priſon; but they conſidering their unjuſt Action towards me, did the ſame day ſend for me from the Priſon, who (in execution of their deſign) tendred me the Oath, and ſent me back again, where I remain a preſent Sufferer for the Teſtimony of a pure Conſcience.

DANIEL WILLS.