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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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Sermon Summary
George Fox emphasizes the importance of staying close to the inner light of God, urging believers to focus on the powerful words of God rather than the empty words of the world. He warns of the impending judgment for the wicked and encourages the faithful to remain obedient to the truth, fostering love and accountability among one another. Fox calls for humility, purity, and vigilance against deceit, while also encouraging believers to boldly pursue their faith and uphold the truth in a world that may oppose them. He concludes with a reminder to support and exhort each other daily in their spiritual journey.
O Friends! Keep Close to the Light
O Friends! Keep Close To The Light (1652) O Friends! keep close to the light in you, and do not look forth at words that proceed from a vain and light mind; but at the power of word. for the words of God, that proceed from him, are powerful and mighty in operation, to the throwing down of all the strong holds of the man of sin. The Lord is coming in power, to gather his chosen ones to himself, and to judge and condemn the wicked ones for evermore. He will plague the beast, and burn the whore, and plague and torment the disobedient, the rebellious, and backsliders very sore. Therefore, ye that know the voice of the Lord, hearken to it, and see how ye stand in his fear, and how ye are brought into the obedience of the truth. And take heed of looking forth at man; but keep close to that, and guided by that; and being guided by that, it will keep you clear and pure to receive the teaching of the Lord. Have salt in yourselves, and let your words be few and seasoned, that they may be savoury. And watch over one another in love, and walk in wisdom and sobriety, and gravity, and sincerity, in purity, and cleanness. And keep free from deceit, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful words of darkness, but rather reprove them. And be faithful to the Lord; walk so that the world may be confounded and ashamed, when they speak evil of you, as evil doers; walking in humbleness, lowliness, and uprightness before them, it will take away all just occasion of speaking evil against the truth. And be bold and valiant for the truth, and press forward, towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and let no man take your crown. Dear Friends, watch over one another in love, and stir up that which is pure in one another, and exhort one another daily. And the Lord keep you all in his fear, and in his obedience now and 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.