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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 recognizing and nurturing the pure essence of God within us, which guides us towards spiritual growth and obedience to His will. He encourages believers to delight in the truth that reveals the deceit of their hearts and to trust in God's constant presence and provision, likening Him to a shepherd who protects and nourishes His flock. Fox assures that those who seek the Lord will experience joy and abundance, moving from a state of want to one of plentiful redemption and divine guidance. He concludes with a blessing for the preservation and empowerment of the faithful in God's might.
Epistle 60
Friends,—Every particular, mind that which is pure of God in you, to guide you up to God, and to keep you in the fear of the Lord, that ye may receive refreshment from God alone in yourselves, and grow up in the inward man, nourished and strengthened by that which is immortal. And delight in that which shows you the deceit of your hearts, and judges that which is contrary to God, and be obedient to that which is pure; so ye will see the Lord God present with you, a daily help, his hand always ordering of you, and as a shepherd always keeping the dogs from his lambs, whom he feeds in green pastures [Psa 23;2], and waters with his heavenly dew of mercy, who makes them all fruitful. The cry of want and poverty shall be no more heard in the land of the living, but joy, gladness, and plenty. The wearied soul, that hath lain in the pit and in the mire, and lived in the clouds of temptation, and cried out for want of the Lord, shall cry plentious redemption [Psa 130:7], and say, God is our king, who fills heaven and earth, and the voice of our king is heard in our land [Song 2:14]. So fare ye well in the Lord! and the Lord God Almighty keep you and preserve you in his mighty power. 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.