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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 being nourished by the pure, eternal food of God, encouraging the Church of God in Lancashire to be famous in His Light and bold in His Strength. He urges believers to watch over one another in love and to remain vigilant against evil thoughts and surmising that can arise from a veiled mind. By focusing on the pure Seed of God within, they can overcome temptations and be supported by God's mighty Power. Fox calls for a commitment to holiness and praises the Lord for His eternal wisdom and strength.
Be Famous
(To the Church of God in Lancashire) . . . OH, wait all in that which is pure, to be fed alone with the Eternal, Living Food! . . . Be famous in his Light, and bold in his Strength, which will carry you above the World, and above all the Deceits of it. Oh, in Love watch over one another for good, and for the better, and not for the worse. And dwell in that which is pure of God in you, lest your Thoughts get forth; and then evil Thoughts get up, and Surmising one against another, which ariseth out of the vailed Mind, which darkens the pure Discerning. . . . I say unto you, and charge you in the Presence of the Lord, Mind the pure Seed of God in you, and the mighty Power of God in you, and the mighty Power of God will cherish you up to the Lord God above all Temptations, not to bow down to anything; but feeding upon the Immortal Food ye will feel yourselves supported and carried over him [the Tempter] by your Father and your God, who is over all, blessed for ever! Who is the Vertue of all Creatures, the Wisdom of all Things; all Holy Praises be unto the Holy, Glorious Lord God for ever! 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.