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George Fox
George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.
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George Fox emphasizes the importance of giving thanks to the Lord in all circumstances, citing 1 Thessalonians 5:18 as a directive from God. He explains that gratitude is essential to fulfilling God's will and that everything created by God is good when received with thanksgiving. Fox also references David's expressions of gratitude in the Psalms, highlighting the enduring mercy of the Lord. Ultimately, he calls for continual praise and thanks to God through Jesus Christ, who is the source of all good things.
In Everything Give Thanks to the Lord
In Everything Give Thanks to the Lord (1674) Friends, - In everything give thanks to the Lord; for from him every good thing do you receive; for the apostle saith, 1 Thess. v. 18. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ concerning you;" and they that do not obey this doctrine, do not the will of God in Jesus Christ. And the apostle saith, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be met with thanksgiving." etc. 1 Tim. iv. 4. And David saith, "At midnight I will rise to give thee thanks, because of thy righteous judgments," Psalm cxix, 62. And David saith, "O give thanks to the Lord, for it is good, because his mercy endures forever." Psalm cxviii. 1. So the Lord is worthy of all the thanks and praises, through Jesus Christ, who created all be Jesus Christ, to his glory and honour for evermore. G.F.
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George Fox (1624 - 1691). English Dissenter, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire. Apprenticed as a shoemaker, he left home at 19, seeking spiritual truth amid Puritan and Anglican tensions. In 1647, after visions and direct experiences of God, he began preaching an “inner light” accessible to all, rejecting clergy and formal worship. By 1652, he gathered followers in northern England, forming the Quakers, known for pacifism and simplicity. Fox traveled across England, Ireland, the Netherlands, and America, enduring eight imprisonments for his beliefs, including at Lancaster Castle. He wrote Journal (1694) and numerous letters, shaping Quaker theology with calls for equality and justice. Married to Margaret Fell in 1669, a key Quaker leader, they had no children, but she had eight from her prior marriage. His 1660 Declaration rejected violence, influencing conscientious objection. Fox’s emphasis on personal revelation transformed Protestantism, and his writings remain central to Quaker thought.