William Penn

“ It is thy duty to wait upon God in silence and patience, and as thou abide in the simplicity of Truth thou wilt receive an understanding with the rest of thy brethren about the thing doubted. And it is their duty, whilst thou behavest thyself in meekness, to bear with thee, and carry themselves tenderly and lovingly towards thee. ”

“ True spiritual Liberty is one of the most glorious things in the World, but it is little understood and frequently abused by many. I beseech Almighty God to preserve you, His people, in the right knowledge and use of the liberty, which Jesus Christ is redeeming us into. ”

“ Where all are left with the one spirit of Truth, they must be of one mind; they can’t be otherwise. So that to plead this against unity is to abuse the very plea. Therefore if thou pleadest against the counsel and spirit of the Lord in other faithful persons under the pretense of being left to this spirit in thyself, thou opposest the spirit to the spirit and pleadest for disunity under the name of liberty. ”

“ They that have Christ for their head have one prophet, and one bishop, and disagree not in their judgments relating to him and the good of his church. They have one and the same guide, for the one spirit into which all have drunk and by it baptized into one body leads them all. To every member is given a measure of the same spirit and though every member is not an eye, ear, nor mouth, the eye sees for the mouth, the mouth speaks for the eye, and the ear hears for both. ”

“ Here is measure set up against measure—which is confusion itself.
The enemy is working to rend and divide the heritage of God who, under the pretense of crying down man, forms, and prescriptions, is crying down the heavenly Man, Christ Jesus and his blessed order and government. ”

“ There may be ignorance from inability or incapacity and ignorance from disobedience and prejudice. So though thou art not to conform to a thing ignorantly, yet thou art seriously to consider why thou art ignorant and what the cause of such ignorance may be. It can’t be God ”

“ But are not the members of one mind, one will, and one judgment in matters relating to the family and church of God? There can’t be a falser reasoning than to Conclude discord from diversity, contrariety from variety. ”

“ They have not been contented with their station in the body; they have not kept to their own gift, nor to their own place in the church. Walking loose from the holy cross there can be no such thing as concord and fellowship in the church of Christ. ”

“ Each member is aware of the other and moves and acts in the same life which is proportionable to every member in his distinct office. All cannot be the eye neither can all be the hand for then they would act disagreeably to the great Orderer of his church. ”