(October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718), was the founder of Pennsylvania. He was the son of a British Navy Admiral, of the same name, who discovered Bermuda and helped strengthen King Charles II’s throne. William Penn attended Oxford University, and later studied law. In 1667, at the age of 22, William Penn was impressed by a sermon delivered by Thomas Loe, entitled, “The Sandy Foundation Shaken.” He converted to the Christian beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, who at that time were scorned and ridiculed.337
In his Treatise on the Religion of the Quakers, William Penn proclaimed:
I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God; that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself.338
William Penn became a Quaker preacher and writer. Beginning in 1668, he suffered imprisonment over three times for his faith. Once he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for eight months,339 during which time he wrote the classic book, No Cross, No Crown:
No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.340
Christ’s cross is Christ’s way to Christ’s crown. This is the subject of the following discourse, first written during my confinement in the Tower of London in the year of 1668, now reprinted with great enlargement of matter and testimonies, that thou mayest be won to Christ, or if won already, brought nearer to Him. It is a path which God in his everlasting kindness guided my feet into, in the flower of my youth, when about two and twenty years of age.
He took me by the hand and led me out of the pleasures, vanities and hopes of the world. I have tasted of Christ’s judgements, and of his mercies, and of the world’s frowns and reproaches. I rejoice in my experience, and dedicate it to thy service in Christ. …
The unmortified Christian and the heathen are of the same religion, and the deity they truly worship is the god of this world. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? And how shall we pass away our time? Which way may we gather and perpetuate our names and families in the earth? It is a mournful reflection, but a truth which will not be denied, that these worldly lusts fill up a great part of the study, care and conversation of Christendom.
The false notion that they may be children of God while in a state of disobedience to his holy commandments, and disciples of Jesus though they revolt from his cross, and members of his true church, which is without spot or wrinkle, notwithstanding their lives are full of spots and wrinkles, is of all other deceptions upon themselves the most pernicious to their eternal condition for they are at peace in sin and under a security in their transgression.341
William Penn stated:
Read my “No Cross, No Crown.” There is instruction. Make your conversation with the most eminent for wisdom and piety, and shun all wicked men as you hope for the blessing of God and the comfort of your father’s living and dying prayers. Be sure you speak evil of none, not of the meanest, much less of your superiors as magistrates, guardians, teachers, and elders in Christ.342
William Penn traveled and preached throughout Holland and Germany with George Fox, the founder of Quakerism. He met many persecuted Christians of various denominations, who desired to worship God in their own way without fear.343 In his account, Travels in Holland and Germany, William Penn recorded:
As I have been traveling, the great work of Christ in the earth has often been presented to my view, and the day of the Lord hath been deeply impressed upon me, and my soul and spirit hath frequently been possessed with an holy and weighty concern for the glory and name of the Lord and the spreading of his everlasting truth.344
In 1670, William Penn’s father, Sir William Penn, who had been a courageous admiral in the King’s navy, died. King Charles II owed him a tremendous amount of money, but being short on funds, decided to repay him with a land grant in America.345 In 1681, as heir of his father’s estate, William Penn received the grant from Charles II. The area consisted of all the land between Maryland and New York. The following year, Penn received from the Duke of York the territory that is now Delaware. William Penn had named the area “Sylvania,” meaning “woodland,” but King Charles II changed it to “Pennsylvania.” The state has since become known as “The Quaker State,” due to the members of the Society of Friends who helped found it.346
On January 1, 1681, William Penn wrote to a friend concerning the land given to him, declaring he would:
Make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in all opposition to all unchristian … practices.347
I eyed the Lord in obtaining it and more was I drawn inward to look to Him, and to owe it to His hand and power than to any other way. I have so obtained it, and desire to keep it, that I may not be unworthy of His love. God that has given it to me, through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation.348
William Penn was intent on making friends with the native inhabitants. He insisted on buying parcels of land from the Indians, rather than just taking it. History records that, due to his fair dealings, the colony never suffered an Indian attacked.349 On August 18, 1681, in a letter to the Indians in Pennsylvania, William Penn stated:
My Friends:
There is one great God and Power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day give an account, for all that we doe in the world; This great God hath written His law in our hearts by which we are taught and commanded to love and help and doe good to one another and not to doe harm and mischief one unto another. …
Now this great God hath pleased to make me concerned in my parts of the world, and the king of the country where I live, hath given unto me a great province therein, but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together as neighbors and friends, else what would the great God say to us, who hath made us not to devour and destroy one another, but to live soberly and kindly together in the world. …
I have great love and regard towards you, and I desire to gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable life, and the people I send are of the same mind, and shall in all things behave themselves accordingly. …
I shall shortly come to you myself at which time we may more freely and largely confer and discourse of these matters. Receive those presents and tokens which I have sent to you as a testimony to my goodwill to you and my resolution to live justly, peaceably and friendly with you.
I am your loving friend, William Penn.350
In 1682, William Penn, who had experienced religious persecution for his faith in England, established the colony as a land of religious freedom, granting toleration to every denomination. He printed advertisements in six different languages and sent them across Europe. Soon Quakers, Mennonites, Lutherans, Dunkards (Church of the Brethren), Moravians, Schwenkfelders, etc., from England, Sweden, Wales, Germany, Scotland and Ireland all began arriving in his “holy experiment.” To emphasize his plan for Christians working together, he named their city “Philadelphia,” which is Greek for “City of Brotherly Love.” His concept was that religion is not to be limited to a Sunday ceremonial ritual, but should be an integral aspect of every day life, demonstrated by working with others.351
In 1684, William Penn composed his Prayer for Philadelphia, displayed in the Philadelphia City Hall:
And thou, Philadelphia, the Virgin settlement of this province named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service and what travail have there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee.
O that thou mayest be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee. That faithful to the God of thy mercies, in the Life of Righteousness, thou mayest be preserved to the end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blest of the Lord and thy people saved by His Power.352
William Penn labored to end slavery in the colonies, established a public grammar school in Philadelphia, 1689, and presented the first plan for a union of the colonies to the Board of Trade in London, 1697. On October 28, 1701, William Penn issued the Charter of Privileges to the province of Pennsylvania. In 1701, William Penn left Pennsylvania for London, unaware that he would never again return to his colony. In his farewell to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, he stated:
You are come to a quiet land, and liberty and authority are in your hands. Rule for Him under whom the princes of this world will one day esteem it their honor to govern in their places.353
William Penn wrote to Peter the Great, Czar of Russia:
If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him. … Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.354
William Penn stated:
True Godliness doesn’t turn men out of the World, but enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavors to mend it.355
In his Book of Psalms, William Penn stated:
Set forth and allowed to be sung in all churches, of all the people together, before and after morning and evening prayer, and moreover in private houses for their godly solace and comfort, laying apart all ungodly songs and ballads: which tend only to the nourishing of vice and corruption of youth.356
In his sermon, A Summons or call to Christendom—In an earnest expostulation with her to prepare for the Great and Notable Day of the Lord that is at the Door, William Penn stated:
For in Jesus Christ, the light of the world, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; redemption and glory; they are hid from the worldly Christian, from all that are captivated by the spirit and lusts of the world:
and whoever would see them (for therein consists the things that belong to their eternal peace) must come to Christ Jesus the true light in their consciences, bring their deeds to Him, love Him and obey Him; whom God hath ordained a light to lighten the Gentiles, and for His salvation to the ends of the earth.357
William Penn wrote:
My dear Wife and Children:
My love, which neither sea nor land nor death itself can extinguish or lessen toward you, most endearly visits you with eternal embraces, and will abide with you forever; and may the God of my life watch over you and bless you, and do good in this world and forever!
Some things are upon my spirit to leave with you in your respective capacities, as I am to the one a husband and to the rest a father, if I should never see you more in this world.
My dear wife, remember thou wast the love of my youth and much the joy of my life; the most beloved as well as the most worthy of all my earthly comforts; and the reason of that love was more thy inward than thy outward excellencies, which yet were many.
God knows, and thou knowest it, I can say it was a match of Providence’s making and God’s image in us both was the first thing, and the most amiable and engaging ornament in our eyes. Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing whether I shall ever see thee more in this world; take my counsel into thy bosom and let it dwell with thee in my stead while thou livest.
First: Let the fear of the Lord and a zeal and love to his glory dwell richly in thy heart; and thou wilt watch for good over thyself and thy dear children and family, that no rude, light, or bad thing be committed; else God will be offended, and He will repent Himself of the good He intends thee and thine. …
And now, my dearest, let me recommend to thy care my dear children; abundantly beloved of me as the Lord’s blessings, and the sweet pledges of our mutual and endeared affection. Above all things endeavor to breed them up in the love and virtue, and that holy plain way of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part of it get into my family.
I had rather they were homely than finely bred as to outward behavior; yet I love sweetness mixed with gravity and cheerfulness tempered with sobriety. Religion in the heart leads into this true civility, teaching men and women to be mild and courteous in their behavior, an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise.358
In 1819, the Biographical Review in London described William Penn as having:
Established an absolute toleration; it was his wish that every man who believed in God should partake of the rights of a citizen; and that every man who adored Him as a Christian, of whatever sect he might be, should be a partaker in authority.359