THE

SOCIETY OF F R I E N D S ,

COMMONLY

CALLED QUAKERS.

GERMANTOWN:
T H E GUIDE STEAM PRINT, ADAMS AND HARVEY STREETS.
1891.

230.96
So13

THE

SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
There are many persons who may occasionally have attended a "Quakers' Meeting," and
others who are brought into contact with members of this Society in various ways, who yet
appear but little acquainted with the religious
principles professed by them. The question is
accordingly often asked, "What are the Quakers, and what do they believe?" The object
of this little tract is to give, very briefly, an
outline of their Christian principles, and in so
doing, to refer the reader to Holy Scripture in
confirmation of them.
In the first place, as to the name, "Quakers."
It was given to members of this Society two
hundred years ago, by a persecuting magistrate
at Derby, because George Fox, an eminent
minister of that day, "bid him tremble at the
word of the Lord." The name was at once
adopted as a term of ridicule; but they have
always been known amongst themselves by the
endearing name of "Friends."
The Society of Friends believe in G O D THE
FATHER, Almighty, the Maker and Preserver of

4

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

all m e n ;

and in His SON, JESUS CHRIST, our

Lord, and in the HOLY SPIRIT, the Comforter.

They believe that Jesus Christ came into the
world, took our nature upon Him, and " tasted
death for every man ; " being a perfect sacrifice
for sin, and a perfect example and pattern to
His people in all ages ;—that none can be saved
from sin in any other way than by " repentance
towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus
Christ." They also believe that " He ascended
up on high," that " H e sitteth on the right
hand of G o d , " and that " H e ever liveth to
make intercession for u s . "
For God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.—John iii. 16.
Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is
none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.—Acts iv. 12.
For there is one God, and one Mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus.—I Timothy ii. 5.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he
loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins.—1 John iv. 10.

Friends believe, also, that as Christ died for
all men, so has a measure of light been given
to all, by the operation of the Holy Spirit on
their hearts and consciences; and that there is
not a human being in the world who has not
been visited by this light, or who has not, in a

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

5

measure, God's law written in the heart. They
believe that it is the Holy Spirit alone who can
convince the world of sin, or bear witness in
the hearts of any, to the pardoning love of
God, through Jesus Christ.
T h a t was the true Light, which lighteth every m a n
that cometh into the world.—John i. 9.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present w o r l d ; looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God, and our Saviour Jesus C h r i s t ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works.—Titus ii. 11-14.

Friends believe in the Divine inspiration and
authority of the Old and New Testament, and
" that they are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.''
They regard it as a great blessing that they are
now so freely circulated; and it is a duty they
enjoin on all their members to "search them
d a i l y / ' with earnest desires for the illuminating
power of the Holy Spirit.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness; that the m a n of God may
be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.—
II Timothy iii. 16, 17.

6

T H E SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
m a n ; but holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost.—n Peter i. 2 1 .

Friends have always regarded the public worship of Almighty God as an inestimable privilege, as well as a bounden duty. They therefore meet publicly " o n the first day of the
week," and also on some day in the middle of
the week; yet they believe that when assembled together, it is not necessary that any form
of singing, prayer, or preaching should be gone
through, to enable them to perform acceptable
worship, but that the worship of God " i n
spirit and in truth" may be without words at
all. The worshipper is the creature; the object
of worship is the Creator of all things; — the
one weak and sinful, the other Almighty, and
" of purer eyes than to behold iniquity." Believing it to be the good pleasure of our heavenly Father that every man should have access
to Him, through Jesus Christ, by the one Spirit,
Friends believe it right to wait in silence before
Him when publicly assembled, that each believer may for himself offer the sacrifice of " a
broken and contrite heart," be prepared with
offerings of prayer and praise, and receive the
spiritual food most convenient for him. They
refer with comfort to many passages of scripture in confirmation of this practice.

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

7

Lead me in thy truth, and teach m e ; for thou art the
God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.—
Psalm xxv. 5.
Wait on the L o r d ; be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine h e a r t : wait, I say, on the Lord.—
Psalm xvii. 14.
Be still, and know that I am God.—Psalm xlvi. 10.
My soul, wait thou only upon G o d ; for my expectation is from him.—Psalm Ixii. 5.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of
their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand
of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our
God, until that he have mercy upon us.—Psalm cxxiii. 2.
And it shall be said in that day, L o , this is our G o d ;
we have waited for him, and he will save u s : this is the
L o r d ; we have waited for him, we will be glad and
rejoice in his salvation.—Isaiah xxv. 9.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in t r u t h :
for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in
spirit and in truth.—John iv. 23, 24.
I t is the spirit that quickeneth;' the flesh profiteth
nothing. —John vi. 63.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for
we k n o w not what we should pray for as we o u g h t : but
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.—Romans viii. 26.
But the anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in y o u ; and ye need not that any man teach
y o u : but as the same anointing teacheth you of all
things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it h a t h
taught you, ye shall abide in him.—1 John ii. 27.

8

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

Friends believe in the supreme authority and
continued administration of the Lord Jesus
Christ, as the head of the church ; and that no
worship ought now to be made dependent upon
the presence of any one man or order pf men—
no service or stated vocal utterance in the congregation, ought to be allowed to interfere with
the operations of the Lord's free Spirit. They
thankfully recognize, as a means of edification,
the preaching of the Gospel, and offerings of
public prayer or thanksgiving, under the renewed anointing of the Holy Ghost; but they
dare not make these dependent upon human
arrangements, or exclude by any such arrangements, the unseen but not unfelt ministrations
of the Spirit of Christ dividing to every man
severally, as He will. According to the declaration of the apostle, that " in Christ Jesus there
is neither male nor female," Friends believe that
Christian women, as well as men, may be called
to the work of the ministry.
Whilst they believe that those who are called
to be ministers among them should be " esteemed very highly for their work's sake," yet, seeing that the gifts of God cannot be purchased
with money, their ministers are not paid for
their services. • They consider such payments
tend to interfere with the faithful preaching of
the truth, and that they are contrary to the

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

9

example of Christ's apostles. A reference to
the Acts of the Apostles will show that the
Apostle Paul, although charged with so great a
commission,.did not disdain, for years together,
to labor with " his own hands," that he " might
be chargeable to no man." Nevertheless, when
any of their ministers are called, by religious
duty, to leave their homes and preach the gospel either in their own country or in foreign
lands, their brethren cheerfully supply them
with the needful means.
Freely ye have received, freely give.—Matthew x. 8.
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with
rne. I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed
to give than to receive.—Acts xx. 33, 34, 35.
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as
the oracles of G o d ; if any man minister, let him do it
as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all
things may be glorified through Christ Jesus, to whom
be praise and dominion for ever and. ever. A m e n . —
I Peter iv. 10, 11.
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not
for filthy lucre, but of a ready m i n d ; neither as being
lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the
flock.—1 Peter v. 2, 3.

IO

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

Friends believe in the " One Baptism" of
the Spirit, and that the true baptism which can
save the soul is not the outward washing with
water, but that cleansing and purifying of the
Holy Spirit, so often promised as the peculiar
blessing of the gospel dispensation ; and that
the " outward sign" may too often be a substitute for the " inward and spiritual grace." Submission to this work of the Holy Spirit is a
consequence of the true reception of Christ as
our Saviour.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance ; but
he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes
I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and
he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat
into his g a r n e r ; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.—Matthew iii. n , 12.
T h e like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now
save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.—I Peter iii. 2 1 .
But after that the kindness and love of God our
Saviour toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost.—Titus iii. 4, 5.

With regard to the observance usually called
the " Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," Friends
believe that communion with Christ is not to
be had by eating bread and drinking wine, or

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

II

any outward performance, practiced, too, perhaps only a few times during the year. But
they do believe that unless a man truly, and in
a spiritual sense, " eat the flesh and drink the
blood of the Son of Man, he hath no life in
him." They believe this privilege is to be enjoyed, not in the performance of an outward
ceremony, nor exclusively in a place of worship,
but that all who, in every place, hear and obey
the voice of their Lord and Master, do indeed
sup with Him, according to His promise in the
book of Revelations: " Behold I stand at the
door and knock; if any man hear my voice,
and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with m e . "
Friends regard the eating of the passover
supper by our Lord and His disciples, when He
broke bread and drank of the cup, as the fulfilment of a Jewish ordinance, and that the
observance is no more binding than the service
of "washing one another's feet," which appears to have been enjoined in quite as plain
terms as the other ceremony; yet almost all
Christians have disused the practice of washing
each other's feet. Though Friends fully maintain the truths these rites are designed to embody, they believe that their value consists in
their being understood in a spiritual sense,
such as is evidently indicated in the following
passages :—

12

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

T h e n Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from h e a v e n ; but
my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For
the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life unto the world.
.
.
.
.
A n d Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he
that cometh to me shall never h u n g e r ; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst.—John vi. 32-35.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven :
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for e v e r ; and
the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world.
.
.
. T h e n Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat
the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life : and I will raise him up
at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my
blood is drink indeed. H e that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.-—
John vi. 51-56.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
n o t h i n g ; the words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit, and they are life.—John vi. 63.

Most people are aware that the Society of
Friends object to the use of all OATHS, even in
a court of law. Their conscientious scruples in
this particular have been so far respected by
the legislature of this country, that they are
excused from taking oaths in all cases where it
is required of others, and are allowed to make
an affirmation instead. Friends believe that
the commands of our Saviour against the use
of oaths are so plain and positive, that they can
do no other than yield obedience to them.

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

13

Again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time, T h o u shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine o a t h s : but I say unto you,
Swear not at a l l ; neither by heaven, for it is God's
t h r o n e ; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; neither
by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great K i n g . Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst
not m a k e one hair white or black. But let your communication be Y e a , y e a ; Nay, n a y : for whatsoever is more
than these cometh of evil.—Matthew v. 33-37.
But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither
by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other
oath ; but let your yea be yea, and your n a y , nay ; lest
ye fall into condemnation.—James v. 12.

Friends believe WAR to be utterly opposed to
the Gospel of Christ, and therefore unlawful to
the Christian. They believe that the teaching
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that
of His apostles, is calculated to lead men from
a trust in " a n arm of flesh" to an entire dependence upon G o d ; and true Christians well
know that " all things work together for good
to them that love G o d , " and so are delivered
from that slavish fear of man, which leads to
the use of weapons of warfare. Seeing, too,
that the apostle declares that the weapons of
the Christian's warfare " a r e not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds," Friends believe that the evils of
the world can never be cured by force of arms,
or social or religious liberty promoted thereby.

14

T H E SOCIETY OF FRIENDS,

They think they are acting out both the letter
and spirit of the New Testament in refusing
under any circumstances to bear arms, believing
that " no weapons of defense will be found so
effectual in promoting the good of all mankind
as the exercise of Christian forbearance in the
suffering of injuries, the absence of revenge,
the return of good for evil, and the ever-operating love of God and man."
Ye have heard that it hath been said, T h o u shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute y o u . — M a t t h e w v. 4 3 , 4 4 .
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them : for this is the
law and the prophets.—Matthew vii. 12.
And he answering, said, T h o u shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with ail thy m i n d ; a n d thy neighbour as thyself.—Luke x. 27.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give
place unto w r a t h : for it is written, Vengeance is m i n e ;
I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy
hunger, feed h i m ; if he thirst, give him d r i n k : for in so
doing, thou shalt h e a p coals of fire on his head. Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with g o o d . — R o mans xii. 19, 20, 2 1 .
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness
of God.—James i. 20.
A n d this commandment have we from him, T h a t h e
who loveth G a d love his brother also.—I J o h n i v . 2 1 .

COMMONLY CALLED QUAKERS.

15

Members of the Society of Friends no doubt
are often considered singular in using " t h e e "
and " t h o u " in the place of " y o u , " and also
in not giving complimentary titles to their fellow-men. They believe it to be more scriptural
to do s o ; and that plain and truthful speaking
is enjoined by the spirit and precepts of Christ
and His apostles. And although they prescribe
no form of dress or speech as a condition of
membership, they enjoin upon their members
the practice of simplicity and truthfulness, as
becoming the Christian, and that those .forms
of speech which tend to flattery, exaggeration,
and untruthfulness, should be avoided. Vain
compliments, superfluous or gay apparel, they
discountenance, as inconsistent with the simplicity of a Christian life.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
even Christ; and all ye are brethren.—Matthew xxiii. 8.
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which
is evil; cleave to that which is good.—Romans xii. 9.
For the fruit of the spirit is all goodness and righteousness and truth.—Ephesians v. 9.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The
Lord is at hand.—Philippians iv. 5.
Whoso adorning, let it not be that outward adorning
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the
heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of
God of great price.—1 Peter iii. 3, 4.

16

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.

Thus the reader is presented with a very
brief view of some of the Christian principles
of the Society of Friends, or " Quakers ; " and
he is affectionately invited to " Search the
Scriptures" for himself, and " see whether
these things are s o . "
It may be proper to explain, for the information of some who ask, " May any one attend
a Quaker's meeting ?'' that their places of worship are open as publicly as those of any other
denomination; and that the company of any
who may be disposed to attend their meetings
is always acceptable.
In nearly every Friends' meeting-house there
is a library of books, explanatory of their principles ; and should any person be desirous of
further information on them, he may obtain
the loan of such books gratuitously.
W.