large and blessed Meetings And in many places we were threatned by the Officers but through the Power of the Lord we escaped their hands So leaving things well settled in Darbyshire we travelled over the Peak-Hills which were very cold Peak-Hills Staffordshire for it was then Frost and Snow and so came into Staffordshire and at Thomas Hammersley's we had a General Mens-Meeting where things were well settled in the Gospel-Order and the Monthly Meetings were established there also But I was so exceeding weak I was hardly able to get on or off my Horse's Back But my Spirit being earnestly engaged in the Work the Lord had concerned me in and sent me forth about I travelled on therein notwithstanding the Weakness of my Body having Confidence in the Lord that he would carry me through as he did by his Power So we came into Cheshire 1667. Cheshire where we had several blessed Meetings and a General Mens Meeting wherein all the Monthly Meetings for that County were settled according to the Gospel-Order in and by the Power of God And after the Meeting was done I passed away But when the Justices heard of it they were very much troubled that they had not come and broken it up and taken me but the Lord prevented them So after I had cleared my self there in the Lord's Service I passed into Lancashire Lancashire Near Warrington to William Barnes's near Warrington where met some of most of the Meetings in that County and there all the Monthly Meetings were established in the Gospel-Order also From thence I sent Papers into Westmorland by Leonard Fell and Robert Widders Westmorland Bishoprick of Durham Cleaveland Northumberland Cumberland SCOTLAND and also into Bishoprick Cleaveland and Northumberland and into Cumberland and Scotland to exhort Friends to settle the Monthly Meetings in the Lord's Power in those places which they did And so the Lord's Power came over all and the Heirs of it came to inherit it For the Authority of our Meetings is the Power of God the Gospel which brings Life and Immortality to Light that they may see over the Devil that hath darkned them and that all the Heirs of the Gospel might walk according to the Gospel and glorifie God with their Bodies Souls ond Spirits which are the Lord's For the Order of the Glorious Gospel is not of Man nor by Man To this Meeting in Lancashire Margaret Fell Warrington Cheshire being a Prisoner got liberty to come and went with me from thence to Jane Milners in Cheshire where we parted Shropshire And I passed out of Cheshire into Shropshire and from thence into Wales WALES and had a large General Mens-Meeting at Charles Floid's where some Opposers came in but the Lord's Power brought them down Denbyshire Montgomeryshire Meriâ—â—â—â—â—shâ—â—â— Having gone through Denbyshire and Montgomeryshire we passed into Merionethshire where we had several blessed Meetings and then went to the Sea side where also we had a precious Meeting And having passed through several Countries and Friends there being established upon Christ their Foundation we left Wales the Monthly Meetings being settled there in the Power of God and returned into Shropshire Shropshire where the Friends of the Country gathering together the Monthly Meetings were established there also Then coming into Worcestershire Worcestershire after we had had many Meetings up and down amongst Friends in that Country we had a General Mens-Meeting at Henry Gibs's House at Pashur Pashur where also the Monthly Meetings were settled in the Gospel-Order The Sessions were held that day in that Town and some Friends were pretty much concerned lest they should send some Officers to break up our Meeting but the Lord's Power restrained them so that our Meeting was quiet through which Power we had Dominion After the Meeting I passed away and had several Meetings amongst Friends in that Country Worcester till I came to Worcester and it being the Fair-time we had a precious Meeting there There was then in Worcester one Major Wild a persecuting Man and after I was gone out of Town some of his Souldiers inquired after me but I having left the Friends there settled in good Order Draitwich was passed away to Draitwich From thence we passed to Shrewsbury 1667. Shrewsbury where also we had a very precious Meeting But the Mayor hearing that I was in Town got the rest of the Officers together to Consult what to do against me For they said The Great Quaker of England was come to Town But when they were come together the Lord Confounded their Counsels so that when some were for Imprisoning me others of them opposed it and so being divided amongst themselves I escaped their hands We went also into Radnorshire Radnorshire where we had many precious Meetings and the Monthly Meetings were settled in the Lord's Power As we came forth of that Country staying a little at a Market Town a Justice's Clerk and some other Rude Fellows combined together to do us a Mischief upon the Road. Accordingly they followed us out of Town and soon overtook us but there being many Market-People on the way they were some-what hindred from doing what they intended Yet observing that Two of our Company rid at some distance behind they set upon them Two and one of them drew his Sword and cut one of those two Friends whose Name was Richard Moor the Chirurgeon of Shrewsbury Mean while another of these Rude Fellows came galloping after me and the other Friend that was with me and we being to pass over a Bridge that was somewhat of the narrowest for him to pass by us he in his Eagerness to get before us rid into the Brook and plunged his Horse into a deep Hole in the Water I saw the Design and stopt and desired Friends to be patient and give them no occasion and in this time came Richard Moor up to us with the other Friend that was with him who knew the Men and their Names Then we rid on the Road again and a little further we met another Man on foot who was Drunk and had a naked Sword in his hand And not far beyond him in a Bottom we met Two Men and Two Women one of which Men had his Thumb cut off by this Drunken Man that had the Naked Sword for he being in Drink would have Ravished one of the Women and this Man withstanding him and rescuing the Young-Woman from him he whipt out his Sword and cut off the Man's Thumb Now though this Drunken Man was then on foot having alighted to do his Wickedness yet he had a Horse that being loose followed him a pretty way behind Wherefore I rid after the Horse and having caught him I brought him to the Man that had his Thumb cut off and bid him Take the Horse to the next Justice of Peace and by that means they might find out and pursue the Man that had wounded
him Upon this occasion I writ a Letter to the Justices and to the Judge of the Assize which was then at hand And I imployed some Friends to carry it to the Justices first The Justice to whom the Clerk belonged rebuked his Clerk and the others also for disturbing and abusing us upon the High-Way So that those Men were glad to come and make Intreaty to Friends not to appear against them at the Assize which upon their Submission and Acknowledgment of their Fault Friends granted And this thing was of good Service in the Country for it stopt many rude People that before had been forward to abuse Friends 1667. Herefordshire We passed into Herefordshire where we had several blessed Meetings and we had a General Mens-Meeting also where all the Monthly Meetings were settled There was about this time a Proclamation against Meetings and as we came through Herefordshire we were told of a great Meeting there was of the Presbyterians who had engaged themselves to stand and give up all rather than forsake their Meetings But when they heard of this Proclamation the People came but the Priest was gone and then they were at a loss Then they met in Lemster privately and provided Bread and Cheese and Drink in readiness that if the Officers should come they would put up their Bibles and fall to Eating The Bayliff found them out and came in among them and said Their Bread and Cheese should not cover them but he would have their Speakers They cried What then would become of their Wives and Children But he took their Speakers and kept them a while This the Bayliff told our Friend Peter Young and said They were the veriest Hypocrites that ever made a Profession of Religion The like Contrivance they had in other places For there was one Pocock at London that married Abigail Darcy who was called a Lady and she being Convinc'd of Truth I went to his House to see her This Pocock had been one of the Triers of the Priests and being an high Presbyterian and envious against us he used to call our Friends House-Creepers Now I going to visit his Wife and he being present she said to me I have something to speak to thee against my Husband ' Nay said I thou must not speak against thy Husband Yes said she but I must in this Case The last First-Day said she He and his Priests and People the Presbyterians met and they had Candles and Tobacco-Pipes and Bread and Cheese and Cold Meat on the Table and they agreed before-hand that if the Officers should come in upon them then they would leave their Preaching and Praying and would fall to their Cold Meat Oh said I to him is not this a Shame to you who Persecuted and Imprisoned us and spoiled our Goods because we would not follow you and be of your Religion and called us House-Creepers and now ye do not stand to your own Religion your selves Did ye ever find our Meetings stufft with Bread and Cheese and Tobacco-pipes Or did ye ever read in the Scriptures of any such Practice among the Saints Why said the Old Man We must be as wise as Serpents Then said I This is the Serpent's Wisdom indeed But who said I would ever have thought that you Presbyterians and Independents who persecuted and imprisoned others and spoiled their Goods and whipped such as would not follow your Religion should now flinch your selves and not dare to stand to and own your own Religion but cover it with Tobacco-pipes Flagons of Drink Cold Meat and Bread and Cheese But this and such like deceitful Practices I understood afterwards were too Common amongst them in times of Persecution Now after we had travelled through Herefordshire and Meetings were well settled there Monmouthshire we passed into Monmouthshire where I had several blessed Meetings and at Walter Jenkins who had been a Justice of the Peace we had a large Meeting where were some Convinced This Meeting was quiet But at another Meeting that we had before this there came the Bayliff of the Hundred 1667. Monmouthshire almost drunk pretending he was to take up the Speakers There was a mighty Power of God in the Meeting so that although he raged the Power of the Lord limited him that he could not break up the Meeting When the Meeting was over I staid a while and he staid also but after some time I spake to him and so passed quietly away At Night some rude People came and shot off a Musket against the House but did not hurt any body Thus the Lord's Power came over all and chained down the unruly Spirits so that we escaped them and came to Ross that Night and had a Meeting there at James Merricks Ross After this we came into Gloucestershire Glouâ—estershire and had a General Mens-Meeting at Nathaniel Crips's House where all the Monthly Meetings were settled in the Lord 's Everlasting Power and the Heirs of Salvation were exhorted to take their Possessions of the Gospel the Power of God which was and is the Authority of their Meetings Many blessed Meetings we had up and down in that Country before we came to Bristol whither also we went Briâ—tol And after we had had several powerful Meetings there the Mens and Womens-Meetings were settl'd there also Now as I was lying in Bed at Bristol the Word of the Lord came to me that I must go back to London Next Morning Alexander Parker and several others came to me and I asked them What they felt They in like manner asked me What was upon me I told them I felt I must return to London and they said the same was upon them So we gave up to return to London for which Way the Lord moved and led us thither we went in his Power Wherefore leaving Bristol we passed into Wiltshire Wiltshire and established the Mens-Monthly-Meetings in the Lord's Power there and then passed through the Countries visiting Friends till we came to London London After we had visited Friends in the City and had staid there a while I was moved to exhort them to bring all their Marriages to the Mens and Womens-Meetings that they might lay them before the Faithful there that so Care might be taken to prevent those Disorders that had been committed by some For many had gone together in Marriage contrary to their Relations minds and some young raw People that came among us had mixed with the World and Widows had married and had not made provision for their Children by their former Husbands before their Second Marriage And although I had given forth a Paper concerning Marriages about the Year 1653 when Truth was but little spread over the Nation Advising Friends who might be concerned in that Case That they might lay it before the Faithful in time before any thing were Concluded and afterward publish it in the end of a Meeting or in a Market as they were moved thereto
cherish the Good and reprove the Evil. 1668. South-hampton Then having visited the Meetings of Friends through the Countries we came to South-hampton where we had a large Meeting on the First-Day of the Week And from thence we went to one Capt. Reeves where the General Men's-Meeting for Hampshire was appointed to which some of all the County came and a blessed Meeting we had There the Mens-Monthly-Meetings for that County were settled in the Order of the Gospel which had brought Life and Immortality to Light in them But there came a Rude Company who were run into Ranterism and had opposed and disturbed our Meetings much One of them had lain with a Man and the man that had lain with her declared it at the Market-Cross and gloried in his Wickedness These lewd People lived a Company of them together at a House hard by the place where our Meeting was Wherefore I went to the House and told them of their Wickedness but the Man of the House said Why Did I make so strange of that Another of them said It was to stumble me I told them Their Wickedness should not stumble me for I was above it And I was moved of the Lord God to tell them That the Plagues and Judgments of God would overtake them and come upon them Afterward they went up and down the Country till at last they were cast into Winchester-Jail where the Man that had lain with the Woman aforesaid stabbed the Jailer but not mortally And after they were let out of Jail this Fellow that had stabb'd the Jailer hang'd himself The Woman also had like to have Cut a Child's Throat as we were Informed These People had formerly lived about London and when the City was fired they Prophesied That all the rest of London should be burnt within Fourteen Days and hastned away out of Town Now though they were Ranters and were great Opposers of Friends and Disturbers of our Meetings yet in the Country where they came some of the People of the World that did not know them would be apt to say They were Quakers Wherefore I was moved of the Lord to write a Paper to be dispersed amongst the Magistrates and People of Hampshire to Clear Friends and Truth of these Lewd People and their Wicked Actions Now after the Mens-Monthly Meetings in those parts were settled and we had visited Friends and the Lord's blessed Power was over all we went to a Town where we had a Meeting with Friends And from thence we came to Farnham Farnham where we met many Friends it being the Market-Day and we had many precious Meetings up and down that Country Friends in those Countries had formerly been plundered and their Goods much spoiled both for Tithes and for going to Meetings but the Lord's Power at this time preserved both them and us from falling into the Persecutors Hands We passed from thence and had a General Mens-Meeting at a Friends House in Surrey Surry who had been plundered so extreamly that he had scarce a Cow Horse or Swine left The Constables threatned to come then and break up our Meeting but the Lord restrained them At this Meeting the Mens-Monthly-Meetings were settled in the Authority of the Heavenly Power And after we had visited Friends in that Country and had many large and precious Meetings among them we passed to a Friend's House in Sussex Sussex where the General Meeting for the Men Friends of that County was appointed to be held 1668. Sussex and thither came several Friends from London to visit us There we had a blessed Meeting and the Mens-Monthly-Meetings for that County were then settled in the Lord 's Eternal Power the Gospel of Salvation that all in it might keep to the Order of the Gospel There were at that time great Threatnings of Disturbance but the Meeting was quiet And afterward we passed from thence and had several large Meetings in that County though Friends were then in great Sufferings there and many in Prison I was sent for to visit a Friend that was sick and went to see Friends that were Prisoners and there was danger of my being apprehended but I went in the Faith of God's Power and thereby the Lord preserved me in Safety Having visited Friends through the Country we passed on into Kent where after we had been at several Meetings Kent we had a General Meeting for the Men-Friends of that County There also the Mens-Monthly Meetings for that County were settled in the Power of God and established in the Order of the Gospel for all the Heirs of it to enter into their Services and Care in the Church for the Glory of God And Friends Rejoiced in the Order of the Gospel and were glad of the Settlement thereof which is not of man nor by man After this Meeting was over I visited Friends in their Meetings up and down in Kent And when I had cleared my self of the Lord's Service in that County I came up to London Thus were the Mens-Monthly-Meetings settled through the Nation For I had been in Berkshire before where most of the Ancient Friends of that County were in Prison and when I had informed them of the Service of these Monthly-Meetings they were settled amongst them also And the Quarterly Meetings were generally settled before I writ also into Ireland by faithful Friends and into Scotland Holland Barbados and other parts of America advising Friends to settle their Mens-Monthly-Meetings in those Countries also For they had their General Quarterly Meetings before But now that Truth was Increased amongst them they should settle those Mens-Monthly-Meetings in the Power and Spirit of God that did at first Convince them And since the time these Meetings have been settled that all the Faithful in the Power of God who be Heirs of the Gospel have met together in the Power of God which is the Authority of them to perform Service to the Lord therein many Mouths have been opened in Thanksgivings and Praise and many have blest the Lord God that ever he did send me forth in this Service Yea with Tears have many praised the Lord. For now all coming to have a Concern and Care for God's Honour and Glory that his Name be not blasphemed which they do profess and to see that all who profess the Truth do walk in the Truth in Righteousness and in Holiness which becomes the House of God and that all order their Conversations aright that they may see the Salvation of God All having this Care upon them for God's Glory and being exercised in his holy Power and Spirit in the Order of the Heavenly Life and Gospel of Jesus here they may all see and know possess and partake of the Government of Christ of the Increase of which there is to be no end Thus the Lord 's everlasting Renown and Praise is set up in every one's Heart 1668. Kent that is faithful so that we can now say that the
Gospel-Order established amongst us is not of Man nor by Man but of and by Jesus Christ in and through the Holy Ghost And this Order of the Gospel which is not of Man nor by Man but from Christ the Heavenly Man is above all the Orders of Men in the Fall whether Jews Gentiles or Apostatized Christians and will be when they are gone For the Power of God which is the Everlasting Gospel was before the Devil was and will be and remain for ever And as the Everlasting Gospel was Preached in the Apostles days to all Nations that all Nations might come into the Order of it through the Divine Power which brings Life and Immortality to Light that they who were Heirs of it might inherit the Power and Authority of it So now since all Nations have drunk the Whore's Cup and all the World hath Worshipped the Beast but they whose Names are written in the Book of Life from the Foundation of the World who have worshipped God in Spirit and Truth as Christ commanded the Everlasting Gospel is to be and is preached again as John the Divine foresaw it should to all Nations Kindreds Tongues and People And this Everlasting Gospel torments the Whore and makes her and the Beast to rage even the Beast that hath Power over the Tongues which are called the Original to order them by which they make Divines as they call them But all that receive the Gospel the Power of God which brings Life and Immortality to Light they come to see over the Beast Devil Whore and False Prophet that hath darkned them and all their Worships and Orders and come to be Heirs of the Gospel the Power of God which was before the Beast Whore False Prophet and Devil were and will be when they are all gone and cast into the Lake of Fire And they that be Heirs of this Power and of this Gospel they inherit the Power which is the Authority of this Order and of our Meetings Every Man and Woman that be Heirs of the Gospel are Heirs of this Authority and of the Power of God which was before the Devil was and which is not of Man nor by Man These come to inherit and possess the joyful Order of the joyful Gospel the comfortable Order of the comfortable Gospel the glorious Order of the glorious Gospel and the everlasting Order of the everlasting Gospel the Power of God which will last for ever and will out-last all the Orders of the Devil and that which is of Men or by Men. And these shall see the Government of Christ who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him and of the Increase of his glorious righteous holy just Government there is no end but his Government and his Order will remain for he who is the Author of it is the First and the Last the Beginning and Ending the Foundation of God which over all stands sure Christ Jesus the Amen After I had travelled amongst Friends through most parts of the Nation and the Monthly-Meetings were settled being returned to London London I stay'd some time there visiting Friends Meetings in and about the City While I was in London I went one day to Visit him that was called Esq Marsh who had shewed much Kindness both to me and to Friends and I happened to go when he was at Dinner He no sooner heard my Name but he sent for me up and would have had me sit down with him to Dinner 1668. London but I had not freedom to do so There were several Great Persons at Dinner with him and he said to one of them who was a great Papist Here is a Quaker which you have not seen before The Papist askt me Whether I did own the Christening of Children I told him There was no Scripture for any such Practice What! said he Not for Christening Children I said Nay I told him the one Baptism by the one Spirit into one Body we owned but to throw a little Water on a Child's Face and say that was Baptizing and Christening it there was no Scripture for that Then he asked me Whether I did own the Catholick Faith I said Yes but added That neither the Pope nor the Papists were in that Catholick Faith for the true Faith works by Love and purifies the Heart and if they were in that Faith that gives Victory by which they might have Access to God they would not tell the People of a Purgatory after they were dead So I undertook to prove That neither Pope nor Papists that held a Purgatory hereafter were in the true Faith For the true precious Divine Faith which Christ is the Author of gives Victory over the Devil and Sin that had separated Man and Woman from God And if they the Papists were in the true Faith they would never use Racks Prisons and Fines to persecute and force others to their Religion that were not of their Faith For this was not the Practice of the Apostles and Primitive Christians who witnessed and enjoyed the true Faith of Christ but it was the Practice of the Faithless Jews and Heathens so to do But said I to him seeing thou art a great and leading Man among the Papists and hast been taught and bred up under the Pope and seeing thou say'st There is no Salvation but in your Church I desire to know of thee What it is that doth bring Salvation in your Church He answered A Good Life And nothing else said I Yes said he Good Works And is this it that brings Salvation in your Church a good Life and good Works Is this your Doctrine and Principle said I Yes said he Then said I neither Thou nor the Pope nor any of the Papists know what it is that brings Salvation Then he askt me What brought Salvation in our Church I told him That which brought Salvation to the Church in the Apostles Days the same brought Salvation to us and not another Namely The Grace of God which the Scripture says brings Salvation and hath appeared to all men which taught the Saints then and teaches us now and this Grace which brings Salvation teaches To deny Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live godly righteously and soberly So it is not the good Works nor the good Life that brings the Salvation but the Grace What! said the Papist Doth this Grace that brings Salvation appear unto all men Yes said I. Then said he I deny that But I said All that deny that are Sect-makers and are not in the Universal Faith Grace and Truth which the Apostles were in Then he spake to me about the Mother-Church and I told him The several sorts of Sects in Christendom had accused us and said We forsook our Mother-Church The Papists charged us with forsaking their Church and they said Rome was the only Mother-Church The Episcopalians taxed us with forsaking the old Protestant Religion and they said Theirs was the Reformed Mother-Church The Presbyterians and Independents
now which Christ is the Author of it must stand in the Power of God in which Power of God the Everlasting Kingdom stands and so as every one's Faith stands in the Power of God this keeps all in the Power of Godliness For as it was in the Days of the Apostles when some was crying up Paul and Apollos and so forth he judged them as Carnal and exhorted them and admonished them that their Faith should stand in the Power of God So it was not to stand in Men nor in the Words of Man's Wisdom but in the Power of God And he said He would not know the Speech of them but the Power amongst them for the Kingdom of God is not in Word but in Power And so it is to be now Every one's Faith must stand in the Power of God and not in Men nor their Speeches of the good Words For we have seen by Experience when they begin to cry up Men and their Faith to stand in them such Men as would have Peoples Faith stand in them loves Popularity and brings not People's Faith to stand in the Power of God and such cannot exalt Christ And when such fall they draw a great Company after them And therefore the Apostle would not know such after the Flesh but would know them that were in the Power and Spirit and struck down every one's Faith that stood in the Words of Man's Wisdom that they might stand in the Power of God And so it must be now And all whose Faith doth not stand in the Power of God they cannot Exalt his Kingdom that stands in Power and therefore every one's Faith must stand in the Power of God And the Apostle denied Popularity when he Judged the Corinthians for looking at Paul and Apollos to be Carnal and such are Carnal still And therefore all should know one another in the Spirit Life and Power and look at Christ and this keeps all low and down in the Humility And they whose Faith stands in Men will make Sects as in the Days of J. N. and J. P. and since in others And such their Faith Christ is not the Author of and if he be they have erred from it and made Shipwrack of it And all those that are in the True Faith that stands in the Power of God they will Judge them as Carnal and Judge down that Carnal Part in them that cries up Paul or Apollos that their Faith may stand in the Power of God and that they may Exalt Christ the Author of it For every one's Eye ought to be to Jesus the Author and Finisher of their Faith and every Just Man and Woman may live by their Faith which Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of And by this Faith every Man and Woman may see God who is Invisible which Faith gives the Victory by which he hath Access to God And so every one's Faith and Hope standing in the Power of God in it they all have Vnity and Victory and Access to God's Throne of Grace in which Faith they do please God which Christ is the Author of And so by that Faith they are Saved and by this Faith they obtain the good Report and subdue all the Mountains that have been betwixt them and God So that Power hath kept and preserved Friends over their Persecutors and over the Wrath of Men and above the Spoilings of their Goods and Imprisonments as seeing God that hath created all and gives the Encrease of all and upholds all by his Word and Power Therefore let every one's Faith be in his Power And here in this no Schism or Sect can come for it is over them and before they were and will be when they are gone But perfect Vnity is in the Truth and in the Spirit that does Circumcise the Body of Death and that puts off the Sins of the Flesh and plunges it down with the Spirit And in the Spirit of God there is a perfect Fellowship and Christ is the Minister of this Circumcision and Baptism So this is upon me from the Lord to write unto you all that every one of your Faith that Jesus is the Author of may stand in the Power of God and from the Lord I do warn you and all every where to the same For if a Star should fall which has been a Light either the Earth or the Sea does receive it that is the Earthly Mind or the foaming raging People Though neither the Seed nor Light nor Power nor Truth ever fell nor the Faith it self the Gift of God but Men going from it then they become Vnsavoury For Adam whilst he kept in Truth and obeyed the Command of God he was happy but when he disobeyed the Lord he fell under the Power of Satan and became unhappy though he might talk after of his Experiences in Paradice but he had lost his Image and his Power and Dominion that God Created him in And the Jews after they received the Law of God as long as they kept the Law of God which was just holy good and perfect it kept them good just and holy and savoury but when they turned their Backs off the Lord and forsook his Law then they came under the Power of Darkness and under the Powers of the Earth and were trodden under as unsavoury And so the Christians they were called a City set on a Hill The Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth but when they forsook the Power of God and their Faith stood in Words and Men and not in the Power then their Walls fell down though the Power in it self stood and they lost their Hill and their Saltness and their Shining And so as Christendom now does confess they are not in the same Power and Spirit as the Apostles were in so not in the same Salt nor upon the same Hill So they came to be trodden under and the Beast and the Whore and the false Prophet are uppermost the unsavoury So their Dead Faith is in Men and in Words and therefore they are full of Sects and one against another And now the Everlasting Gospel the Power of God is preacht again which was before the Devil was that had darkned Man and by this Power of God the Gospel Life and Immortality is come to light again And therefore every one's Faith is to stand in this Power the Gospel that hath brought Life and Immortality to Light in them and so to be Heirs of the Power of God the Gospel And here have all Men and Women a Right to the Power of God before the Devil was and the Power of God is the Authority of the Mens and the Womens-Meetings and of all the other Meetings set up thereby But now as the Gospel is preacht again if your Faith doth not stand in the Power but in Men and in the Wisdom of Words you will grow Carnal and such are for Judgment who cry up as they did Paul and Apollos and not Christ
the Author of your Faith And them that loves to be Popular would have People's Faith to stand in them and such do not preach Christ but themselves But such as preach Christ and his Gospel would have every Man and Woman to be in the Possession of it and so to have every Man and Woman's Faith to stand in Christ the Author of it and in the Power of God which was before the Devil was and it will be when he is gone And their Faith standing in the Power of God then nothing can get betwixt them and God For if any should fall amongst us as too many have done then that leads its Followers either into the Waters or into the Earth And if any should go from the Spirit of Prophecy that did open to them and from the Power they may speak their Experiences which the Power hath opened to them formerly And so might Adam and Eve speak of what they saw and enjoyed in Paradise and so might Cain and Balaam of what they saw and also the Jews and Corah and Dathan who praised God on the Banks and saw the Victory over Pharaoh and they ate of the Manna and drank of the Rock and came to Mount Sinai and saw the Glory of the Lord. And so also might the false Apostles speak of their Experiences and all those false Christians that turned from the Apostles and Christ And so may such do now that err from the Spirit that are come out of Egypt in Spirit and Sodom and have known the Raging of the Sodomites as Lot did the outward and the Pursuit of the Spiritual Egyptians as the outward Jew did of the outward Egyptians yet if they do not Walk in the Spirit of God and in the Light and in the Grace which keeps their Hearts stablished and their Words seasoned and also their Faith to stand in the Power of God in which the Kingdom stands they may go forth like the false Christians and like the Jews and like Adam and Eve and Cain and Corah and Balaam and be wandring Stars Trees without Fruit and Wells without Water and Clouds without Rain and so come to be Vnsavoury and trodden down And as Adam who lost Paradise and the Jews who lost the Holy Land not walking in the Law and keeping the Command of God and as the Christians who lost the City and the Hill and the Salt and the Light since the Apostle's Days and came to be unsavoury and to be trodden under foot of Men. And therefore let every one's Faith stand as I said before in the Lord's Power which is over all through which they may be built upon the Rock and the Foundation of God the Seed Christ Jesus that bruises the Head of the Serpent who was before he was and will be when he is gone who is the Head of his Church So that all in Christ may be always fresh and green for he is the green Tree that never withers and all are fresh and green that are grafted into him and abide in him fresh and green and bring forth heavenly fresh Fruits to the Praise of God And though Adam and Eve fell from Paradise and the Jews fell from the Law of God and many of the Christians fell from their Prophecies and erred from the Faith and the Spirit and the Grace and the Stars have fallen as was spoken of in the Revelations yet the Spirit Grace Faith and Power of God remains And many such States have I seen within this Twenty Eight Years though there is a State that shall never fall nor be deceived in the Elect before the World began who are come to the End of the Prophecies and are in him where they end and renewed up into the Image of God by Christ which Man was in before he fell in that Power where he had Dominion over all that God made and not only so but Attain to a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ who never fell And in him is the Sitting down in Life Eternal where their Feet stand sure and fast in the Gospel his Power and here their Bread is sure and he that ears this Bread lives for ever And all Friends and Brethren that do Declare God's Eternal Truth and Word of Life live in it and be seasoned with Grace and salted with the Heavenly Salt that your Lives and Conversations may preach where-ever you come That there be no Rawness nor no Quenching of the Spirit nor despising Prophecy neither in Men nor Women For all must Meet in the Faith that Jesus is the Author of and in the Light that comes from Jesus and so grafted into the Life that your Knowledge may be there one of another in Christ And that there may be none Slothful nor sitting down in Earthly Things and minding them like Demas of old lest you Cloath your selves with another Clothing than you had at first but all to keep Chaste for the Chaste do follow the Lamb. And Friends that are settled in Places that be Ministers possess as if ye did not married as if ye were not and be loose to the World in the Lord's Power for God's Oil will be a-top of all Visible things which makes his Lamps to burn and to give Light afar off And none strive nor covet to be Rich in this World in these Changeable things that will pass away but your Faith to stand in the Lord God who changes not that Created all and gives the Increase of all And now Friends Concerning Faithful Men and Womens-Meetings which were set up in God's Counsel whoever should oppose them and the Authority and Tenure of them I say They oppose the Power of God which is the Authority of them and they are no Ministers of the Gospel nor of Christ that opposes his Power which all are to possess For the true Ministers of Christ that preach Christ and his Gospel which is to be preacht to all Nations as Deceit is gone over all Nations and all Nations have drunk the Whore's Cup and she hath them in her Cage her unclean Power from the Beast and Dragon out of the Power of God and out of Truth and the Spirit of God the Apostles were in the Power of God must come over all this again and all the true Ministers that preach the Gospel the Power of God must bring all People into the Possession of it again I say whosoever preaches the Gospel of Christ and him to People or Nations and those People and Nations receiving the Gospel they receive the Power of God that brings Life and Immortality to Light in them and they see over the Devil that hath darkned them and the Beast and the Whore and her Cage And so by the Power of God Life and Immortality is brought to Light in them then all these Men and Women being Heirs of this Power the Gospel they are Heirs of Authority and Power over the Devil Beast Whore and Dragon So all
Men and Women that be Heirs of this Power of God it is their Possession and Portion and they are to labour in their Possession and Portion and to do God Almighty's business and Service in the Possession of the Power of God the Gospel which is a Joyful Glorious Everlasting Order And here is the Authority of our Men and Women's Meetings and other Meetings in the Name of Jesus the Gospel of Christ the Power of God which is not of Man nor by Man and in this they are all to Meet and to Worship God and by this they are all to act and in this Power they have all Fellowship a Joyful Fellowship a Joyful and Comfortable Assembly And so this is the Day in the Eternal Light that all are to take their Possessions of the Gospel and its Order that Power of God which they are Heirs of And all the Faithful Men and Women in every Country City and Nation whose Faith stands in the Power of God the Gospel of Christ and have received this Gospel and are in the Possession of this Gospel the Power of God they have all Right to the Power in these Meetings for they be Heirs of the Power which is the Authority of the Mens and Womens-Meetings So here is God's Choice and not Man's by his Power of his Heirs and they have all Freedom in this Gospel the Power of God to go to the Meetings the Men to the Mens and the Women to the Womens for they are Heirs of the Power which Power is the Gospel not of Man nor by Man but from Heaven sent by the Holy Ghost and received in the Holy Ghost which hath brought Life and Immortality to Light in them and they see over Enmity and before it was by the Light and the Life and Immortality which is brought to Light in them So the Devil the Author of Enmity cannot get into this Authority and Power nor Order nor Fellowship of the Gospel nor Life nor Light nor the Fellowship in the Holy Spirit nor into the Vnity of the Faith which gives Victory over him that hath separated Man from God by which Faith they have Access to God and into the Vnity of this Faith the Serpent cannot come nor into the Worship of God in Spirit and Truth into this Worship the Devil cannot come nor any Enmity So I say that the Serpent the Devil is out of the Fellowship of the Gospel out of the Vnity of the Faith and out of the Order of the Gospel and out of the Worship in Spirit and Truth And they that be in this be in Vnity over him And therefore as I said before let every one's Faith stand in the Power of God the Glorious Gospel and all to walk as becomes the Gospel and the Order of it and as every one hath received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him and let him be their Lord and Orderer For they that do preach the Gospel of Christ Jesus it is to the Intent that all might come to be Heirs of the Gospel and into the Possession of it and to be Heirs of Christ and of his Government the Encrease of which there is no end who is over all in his Righteousness and over all in his Light Life Power and Dominion And therefore know one another in his Power his Gospel which is the Authority of your Meetings And know one another in Christ Jesus who is able to restore Man out of the State of the Fall into the Image of God as he was in before he fell and into that Power and Dominion that Man had before he fell and into himself that never fell where they shall go no more forth And here is the Rock and Foundation of God that stands sure And Friends be Tender to the Tender Principle of God in all and shun the Occasion of Vain Disputes and Janglings both amongst your selves and others for that many times is like a blustering Wind that hurts and bruises the tender Buds and Plants For the World though they have the Words yet they be out of the Life and the Apostle's Disputing with them were to bring them to the Life And those Disputes that were amongst the Christians about Genealogies and Circumcision and the Law and Meats and Drinks and Days those came to be the worst sort of Disputers whom the Apostles Judged for such destroyed People from the Faith And therefore did the Apostles exhort the Churches That every ones Faith should stand in the Power of God and to Look at Jesus which was the Author of it and there every Graft stands in Christ the Vine quiet where no blustring Storms could hurt them and there is the Safety And there all are of one Mind one Faith one Soul one Spirit Baptized into one Body with the one Spirit and made all to drink into one Spirit one Church one Head that is Heavenly and Spiritual one Faith in this Head Christ who is the Author of it and hath the Glory of it one Lord to order all who is the Baptizer into this one Body So Christ hath the Glory of this Faith out of every Man and Woman and God through him hath his Glory the Creator of all in his Power the Gospel that hath brought Life and Immortality to Light in them and their Faith standing in it they know the Immortal God and Serve and Worship him in his Spirit and in his Truth by which they are made God's free Men and Women from him that is out of the Truth And now Friends all you that have been Ancient Labourers and have known the Dealings of the Lord these Twenty Years more or less as I have often said to you to draw up what you can of that which the Lord hath carried you through by his Power the Passages and Sufferings and how by the Lord ye have been supported from the first So that the Lord may be Exalted by his Power now and in the Ages to come who hath been the only Support Defence and Stay or his People all along over all to himself to whom be all Glory and Praise for ever and ever Amen Who deserves it in his Church throughout all Ages from his living Members who return the Praise to the living God who lives and reigns over all blessed for ever who is the Life and Strength and Health and Length of the Days of all his People And therefore let there be no Boasting but in the Lord and in his Power and Kingdom and that keeps all in the Humility And Friends In the Lord's Power and Truth what Good you can do for Friends that be in Prison or Sufferers as to the Informing of them or helping of them Every one bend your selves to the Lord's Power and Spirit to do his Will and his Business and in that all will have a fellow-Feeling of one anothers Conditions in Bonds or in what Trials and Tribulations soever you will have a fellow-Feeling one of another having one Head and one
if ye lose it and let another Spirit get over you ye will not so soon regain it again For I knew the Devil would bestir himself in his Instruments when Mens and Womens-Meetings came to be set up and all in the Power Light and Truth and Heirs of the Gospel to take their Possession of it in every County and City in it to walk and to watch one over another and in it to take Care of God's Glory and Honour and his precious Truth and to see that all did walk in the Truth and as becomes the Gospel and to see that nothing was lacking and so whatsoever was decent modest virtuous lovely comely righteous and of good Report to follow after and to admonish and exhort all that was not faithful and to rebuke all that did Evil I knew that this would give such a Check to all loose Speakers Talkers and Walkers I did not expect but that there would be an Opposition against such Meetings But never heed Truth will come over them all and is over them all and Faith must have the Victory for the Gospel and its Order is Everlasting and the Seed Christ is the Beginning and the Ending and will out-last all the Amen in whom ye have Peace I say all that do oppose the Mens and Womens-Meetings or that Marriages should be laid before them or of Recording of Condemnations of Sin and Evil or Admonishing or Exhorting such as walk not in the Truth they are of a loose Spirit and their Spirits tend to Looseness and let them take them that will for Truth will not have them nor will have none of their Sacrifice For nothing is accepted of God but what is done in Truth and in his Spirit which is peaceable And the Authority of our Mens and Womens-Meetings is the Power of God and all the Heirs of the Gospel are Heirs of that Authority and Dignity and this is of God and shall Answer the Witness of God in all And the greatest Opposers of this Practice and Work will be and are such as have been Convinced of God's Truth but have not lived in it and such were the greatest Troublers of the Church in Moses's Day and in the Days of the Apostles But mark their End and read what became of them all And therefore all keep your Habitation in Truth and therein ye may see what became of all the Opposers of it for Twenty Years past They are all gone and the Truth lives and reigns and the Seed is over all and all is One in it in Rest Peace and Life Everlasting and therein they sit down together in the Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus the Amen Swarthmore the 5th of the 8th Month 1676. G. F. In this Year while I was at Swarthmore died William Lampit the old Priest of Vlverstone which is the Parish that Swarthmore is in He was an Old Deceiver and Perverter of the Right Way of the Lord and a Persecutor of the People of God and much Contest I had with him when I first came into those parts He had been an old false Prophet for in the Year 1652. he Prophesied and said he would Wage his Life upon it That the Quakers would all vanish and come to nought within half a year But he came to nought himself For he continued in his Lying and false Accusing of God's People till a little before he died and then he cried for a little Rest And to one of his Hearers that came to visit him before he died he said I have been a Preacher a long time 1677. Swarthmore and thought I had lived well but I did not think it had been so hard a Thing to die Now after I had finished those Services which lay upon me then to do feeling my Spirit drawn again towards the South though I was yet but weakly and not able to Travel far in a Day I left Swarthmore on the Twenty Sixth Day of the First Month 1677. Westmorland Powbank Camsgill and went to Thomas Pearson's at Powbank in Westmorland where I had a Meeting the next Day and went from thence to Thomas Cam's at Cam's-Gill whither Robert Widders with his Wife and several other Friends came to see me before I left the Country and to be at the Meeting there the next Day which was very large and in which I was largely drawn forth in Testimony to the Truth After the Meeting I had much Discourse with some of that Meeting who at that time were not in Vnity with Friends of the Quarterly Meeting they belonged to but afterwards several of them that were somewhat Tender came to see their Error and gave forth Condemnations against themselves Next day John Blaykling came to Tho. Cam's Yorkshire Sedberg Drawell to bring me to his House at Drawell in Sedberg in Yorkshire whither I went with him visiting Friends in the way I staid at Drawel two or three Nights having Meetings there and thereabouts For while I was there the Men and Womens-Meetings were held there which were very large and precious And on the First Day following I had a Meeting at Brigflats not far off Brigflats where were most part of the Friends from the several Meetings round about and a great Concourse of other People also so that it was thought there were Five or Six Hundred People and a very good Meeting it was wherein Truth was largely declared and preciously opened to the comforting and refreshing the Faithful and the drawing near them that were afar off After this I had another Meeting at John Blaykling's Drawell where were many Friends that were going to the Quarterly Meeting at Kendal With them my Wife went back who with her Daughter Rachel had accompanied me thus far and I having Leonard Fell with me passed on through Sedberg and Garsdale and into Wensydale Sedberg Garsdale Wensydale Counterside visiting Friends as we went And at Night I reached to Richard Robinson's at Counterside where several Friends came to me that Evening and some of them went with me next Day over the Hills to the Widow Tenant's at Scarhouse in Langstroth-dale Langstrothdale Scarhouse whither we had much ado to get the Snow lay so deep though it was a Week in the Second Month. Here on the next Day which was the First Day of the Week we had a large Meeting Friends coming to it from several parts round about and the Lord gave me a very seasonable Testimony to bear amongst them which I did for several Hours to their great Satisfaction and Comfort Thence passing on through Bishopsdale Bishopsdale Mildum Barton Bedal Northallerton Burrowby Mildum Barton and so through the Country by Bedal and North-allerton I came to George Robinson's at Burrowby where also Friends coming out of several parts we had a very large and good Meeting and very Peaceable But not long after an envious Justice who lived not far off hearing that I had a great Meeting there troubled Friends about it
I had not been long at Swarthmore e're a Concern came upon me to visit the Churches of Christ in London and elsewhere by an Epistle which was as followeth Dear Friends TO whom is my Love in the heavenly Seed in whom all Nations are blessed Oh keep all in this Seed in which ye are blessed and in which Abraham and all the Faithful were blessed without the Deeds of the Law for the Promise was and is to and with the Seed and not with the Law of the First Covenant In this Seed all Nations and ye are blessed which bruiseth the Head of the Seed that brought the Curse and separated between Man and God This is the Seed which reconciles you to God and this is the Seed in which ye are blessed both in Temporals and Spirituals through which ye have an Inheritance among the Sanctified that cannot be defiled neither can any defiled thing enter into its Possession for all defilements are out of this Seed This is that which leavens up into a New Lump and bruiseth the Head of the Wicked Seed that leavens into the Old Lump upon whom the Sun of Righteousness goes down and sets but never goes down and sets to them that walk in the Seed in which all Nations are blessed by which Seed they are brought up to God which puts down that Seed which separated betwixt them and God so that there comes to be nothing betwixt them and God Now all my Dear Friends my desires are that ye may all be Valiant in this heavenly Seed for God and his Truth upon the Earth and spread it abroad answering that of God in all that with it the Minds of People may be turned towards the Lord that he may come to be known and served and worshipped and that ye may all be the Salt of the Earth to make the unseasoned savoury And in the Name of Jesus keep your Meetings who are gathered into it in whose Name ye have Salvation he being in the midst of you whose Name is above every Name under the whole Heaven And so ye have a Prophet and Bishop Shepherd Priest and Counsellor above all the Counsellors and Priests Bishops Prophets and Shepherds under the whole Heaven to exercise his Offices among you in your Meetings that are gathered in his Name For Christ's Meeting and Gathering is above all the Meetings and Gatherings under the whole Heaven And his Body his Church and he the Head of it is above all the Bodies and Churches and Heads under the whole Heaven And the Faith that Christ is the Author of and the Worship that he hath set up and his Fellowship in the Gospel is above all Historical Faiths and the Faith 's that Man hath made together with their Worships and Fellowships under the whole Heaven And now Dear Friends keep your Men and Womens-Meetings in the Power of God the Gospel the Authority of them which brings Life and Immortality to Light in you and this Gospel the Power of God will preserve you in Life and in Immortality which hath brought it to Light in you that ye may see over him that hath darkned and kept from the knowledge of the things of God for it is he and his Instruments which hath darkned you from Life and Immortality that would throw down your Men and Womens-Meetings which were set up in the Power of God the Gospel and would darken you again from this Life and Immortality which the Gospel hath brought to Light and will preserve you in as your Faith stands in this Power of God the Gospel in which every one sees your Work and Service for God And every Heir in the Power of God the Gospel hath right to this Authority which is not of Man nor by Man which Gospel the Power of God is everlasting an everlasting Order an everlasting Fellowship and in the Gospel is everlasting Joy Comfort and Peace which will out-last all those Joys Comforts and Peaces that will have an end and that Spirit also that opposes its Order and the glorious Fellowship Peace and Comfort in it And My Dear Friends my desire is that ye may keep in the Unity of the Spirit that baptizes you all into one Body which Christ is the heavenly and spiritual Head of so that ye may see and bear witness to your heavenly and spiritual Head and so all drink into the One Spirit Which all People upon the Earth are not like to do while they grieve quench and rebel against it nor to be baptized into one Body and to keep the Unity of the Spirit which is the Bond of Peace yea the King of Kings and Lord of Lords his Peace which it is the duty of all true Christians to keep who are inwardly united to Christ So with my Love to you all in the everlasting Seed Swarthmore the 26th of the 7th Month 1678. G. F. There were about this time several Friends in Prison for bearing Testimony to the Truth To whom I was moved to write a few Lines to comfort strengthen and encourage them in their Sufferings having a true sense of their Sufferings upon my spirit and a sympathizing with them therein And that which I writ was after this manner My Dear Friends WHO are Sufferers for the Lord Jesus sake and for the Testimony of his Truth the Lord God Almighty with his Power uphold you and support you in all your Trials and Sufferings and give you Patience and Content in his Will that yâ— may stand valiant for Christ and his Truth upon the Earth over the persecuting and destroying Spirit which makes to suffer in Christ who bruises his Head in whom ye have both Election and Salvation And for God's Elect sake the Lord hath done much from the Foundation of the World as may be seen throughout the Scriptures of Truth and they that touch them touch the Apple of God's Eye they are so tender to him And therefore it is good for all God's suffering Children to trust in the Lord and to wait upon him for they shall be as Mount Sion that cannot be removed from Christ their Rock and Salvation who is the Foundation of all the Elect of God of the Prophets and the Apostles and of God's People now and to the End Glory to the Lord and the Lamb over all Remember my dear Love to all Friends and do not think the time long for all Time is in the Father's hand his Power And therefore keep the Word of Patience and exercise that Gift and the Lord strengthen you in your Sufferings in his holy Spirit of Faith Amen Swarthmore the 5th of the 12th Month 1678. G. F. I abode in the North at this time above a year having Service for the Lord amongst Friends there and being much taken up in writing Books and Papers some in Defence of Truth in Answer to Books published by Adversaries and some for the opening the Principles and Doctrines of Truth to the World that they might come to have a
again to hear the Sentence And Margaret Fell being called first to the Bar she had some Counsels to plead who found many Errors in her Indictment Whereupon after the Judge had acknowledged them she was set by Then the Judge asked What they could say to mine Now I was not willing to let any Man plead for me but to speak to it my self And indeed though Margaret had some that pleaded for her yet she spake as much her self as she would But before I came to the Bar I was moved in my Spirit to pray That God would confound their Wickedness and Envy and set his Truth over all and exalt his Seed And the Lord heard and answered and did Confound them in their Proceedings against me And though they had most Envy against me yet the most-gross Errors were found in my Indictment Now I having put by others from pleading for me the Judge asked me What I had to say why he should not pass Sentence upon me I told him I was no Lawyer but I had much to say if he would but have Patience to hear At that he laughed and others laughed also and said Come what have you to say He can say nothing ' Yes said I I have much to say have but the Patience to hear me Then I asked him Whether the Oath was to be tendred to the King's Subjects or to the Subjects of Forreign Princes He said To the Subjects of this Realm Then said I Look the Indictment and ye may see that ye have left out the Word Subject so not having named me in the Indictment as a Subject ye cannot Premunire me for not taking the Oath Then they looked the Statute and the Indictment and saw that it was as I said and the Judge confessed it was an Error I told him I had something else to stop his Judgment And I desired him to look What day the Indictment said the Oath was tendered to me at the Sessions there They lookt and said It was the Eleventh day of January What Day of the Week was that Session held on said I On a Tuesday said they Then said I Look your Almanacks and see whether there was any Sessions held at Lancaster on the Eleventh Day of January so called So they looked and found that the Eleventh day was the Day called Monday and that the Sessions was on the day called Tuesday which was the Twelfth day of that Month. Look ye now said I ye have Indicted me for refusing the Oath in the Quarter-Sessions held at Lancaster on the Eleventh Day of January last and the Justices have Sworn that they tendered me the Oath in open Sessions here that day and the Jury upon their Oaths have found me Guilty thereupon and yet ye see there was no Session held in Lancaster that day Then the Judge to have covered the matter asked Whether the Sessions did not begin on the Eleventh day But some in the Court Answered No The Session held but one day and that was the Twelfth Then the Judge said This was a great Mistake and an Error Some of the Justices were in a great Rage at this and were ready to have gone off the Bench and stampt and said Who hath done this Some body hath done it on purpose and a great Heat was amongst them Then said I Are not the Justices here that have Sworn to this Indictment forsworn Men in the face of the Country But this is not all said I I have more yet to offer why Sentence should not be given against me Then I asked ' In what Year of the King the last Assize here was holden which was in the Month called March last And the Judge said It was in the Sixteenth Year of the King But said I the Indictment says It was in the Fifteenth Year and they looked and found it so This also was acknowledged to be another Error But then they were all in a Fret again both Judge and Justices and could not tell what to say For the Judge had sworn the Officers of the Court that the Oath was tendered to me at the Assize mentioned in the Indictment ' Now said I Is not the Court here forsworn also who have sworn that the Oath was tendered to me at the Assize holden here in the Fifteenth Year of the King when-as it was in his Sixteenth Year and so they have sworn a whole Year false The Judge bid them Look whether Margaret Fell 's Indictment was so or no And they lookt and found it was not so I told the Judge I had more yet to offer to stop Sentence And I asked him ' Whether All the Oath ought to be put into the Indictment or no Yes said he it ought to be All put in Then said I ' Compare the Indictment with the Oath and there thou may'st see these Words viz. or by any Authority derived or pretended to be derived from him or his Sea left out of the Indictment which is a principal part of the Oath And in another place the Words Heirs and Successors are left out The Judge did acknowledge these also to be great Errors But said I I have not yet done I have yet something further to alledg Nay said the Judge I have enough you need say no more If said I thou hast enough I desire nothing but Law and Justice at thy hands for I don't look for Mercy You must have Justice said he and you shall have Law Then I asked Am I at Liberty and free from all that ever hath been done against me in this matter Yes said the Judge You are free from all that hath been done against you But then starting up in a Rage he said I can put the Oath to any man here and I will tender you the Oath again I told him He had Examples enough yesterday of Swearing and False-swearing both in the Justices and in the Jury For I saw before mine Eyes that both Justices and Jury had forsworn themselves The Judge asked me If I would take the Oath I bid him Do me Justice for my false Imprisonment all this while For what had I been Imprisoned so long for And I told him I ought to be set at Liberty You are at Liberty said he but I will put the Oath to you again Then I turned me about and said All People take notice this is a Snare for I ought to be set free from the Jailer and from this Court But the Judge cried Give him the Book and the Sheriff and the Justices cried Give him the Book Then the Power of Darkness rose up in them like a Mountain and a Clerk lift up a Book to me I stood still and said If it be a Bible give it me into my hand Yes yes said the Judge and Justices give it him into his hand So I took it and lookt in it and said ' I see it is a Bible I am glad of it Now he had caused the Jury to be called and they stood by for
Gospel-Order and it belongs to them Then take your Possessions and Practise in it and be not Talkers only but Live and Walk in the Gospel the Power of God which is the Authority of your Meetings Swarthmore the 28th of the Third Month 1676. G. F. Read at the Yearly Meeting in London the 17th of the Third Month 1676. During this time also I Collected together as many as I could of the Epistles I had written in former Years to Friends I made a Collection too of the several Papers that I had written to O. Cromwel and his Son Richard in the time of their Protectorships and to the Parliaments and Magistrates that were in their times And after I had gathered them together I Collected also the Papers I had written to King Charles the Second since his Return and to his Council and Parliaments and the Justices or other Magistrates under him I made also another Collection of Certificates which I had received from divers Governours of Places Judges Justices Parliament-Men and others for the Clearing of me from many Slanders which the Envious Priests and Professors both here and beyond the Seas had cast upon me And this I did for the Truth's-sake as knowing that their Design in Slandering me was to defame the Truth published by me and hinder thereby if they could the Spreading thereof amongst the People Besides these I made Two Books of Collections the one was A List or Catalogue of the Names of those Friends who went first forth out of the North of England when Truth first brake forth there to proclaim the Day of the Lord through this Nation The other was of the Names of those Friends that went first forth to Preach the Gospel in other Nations Countries and Places and in what Years and to what Parts they went I made also another Collection in Two Books one of Epistles and Letters from Friends and others on several Occasions to me The other of Letters of mine to Friends and others I writ also a Book of the Types and Figures of Christ with their Significations and many other things which will be of Service to Truth and Friends in times to come I took notice also of those who had run out from Truth and drawn others out after them and turned against Truth and Friends at several times since the First Breaking forth of Truth in this latter Age and what became of them noting particularly the Repentance and Return of such of them as came back to Truth again But some ran quite out and never returned again but were Cut off in their Gainsaying and Rebellion for the Word and Power of God hath blasted and is blasting them and the Holy Seed hath ground and is grinding them to pieces And this I have observed that they who have been Convinced and have not lived and walked in the Truth have been the Worst Enemies to the Truth and done most Hurt amongst Friends in the Truth and to others And in these I have seen fulfilled what the Lord did long since shew me That such should be greater Deceivers than all the Priests and Professors For such as came as far as Cain and Balaam and Corah and Dathan and could preach Christ and say They had preached in his Name and such as came to be Apostles and had tasted of the Power of Christ and then turned from it such could yet speak their Old Experiences and have the good Words like Corah and Balaam but not keeping in the Life and Truth such Deceived the Hearts of the Simple both then and now and such come to be of the Devil who abode not in the Truth as Cain and and all the Jews that abode not in the Truth were For though Cain did Sacrifice to God and did talk with God and the Jews could talk of Abraham Moses and the Prophets yet Christ told them They were of their Father the Devil In like manner though they who are called Christians can talk of Christ and use his and his Apostles and Disciples Words yet not abiding in the Truth and Power and Spirit that the Apostles were in they are of the Devil out of Truth and do his Work And so are all these that have been Convinced of God's Eternal Truth since it sprang up in this Nation that have not abode in the Light and in the Spirit and Power of Christ Jesus but have turned against the Power and have opposed the Work thereof though they may retain their former Experiences and be able to speak many good Words yet not living in the Life and Power that gave them those Experiences they live in the Power of Darkness which is of the Devil and by the Light and Truth both he and they are Condemned and must own their Condemnations if ever they come to Truth again For to Resist the Heavenly Power and to oppose the Workings and Divine Manifestations thereof through any is not a light Matter And as I had been moved of the Lord to travel in his Power round about this Nation and in other Parts to preach the Everlasting Gospel and to declare the Word of Life which was in the Beginning through many Imprisonments Hardships Sufferings and Trials so I was afterwards moved to Travel in the same Heavenly Power about the Nation again and to write to such Places where I came not to recommend unto Friends the setting up of the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings in all Counties for the looking after the Poor and taking Care for Orderly Proceedings in Marriages and other matters relating to the Church of Christ Though some Meetings for this end were settled in the North of England in the Year 1653. And after this also Truth still spreading further over the Nation and Friends encreasing in number I was moved by the same Eternal Power to recommend the setting up the Womens-Meetings also that all both Male and Female that had received the Gospel the Word of Eternal Life might come into the Order of the Gospel brought forth by the Power of God and might act for God in the Power and therein do Business and Service for him in his Church All the Faithful must labour in God's Vineyard they being his Hired Servants and he having given them the Earnest of his Spirit For a Master that hires a Servant and gives him the Earnest of his Hire expects he should do his Work after he knows his Will in the outward Creation So all God's Prople that be of the new Creation and have received the Earnest of his Spirit ought to labour with by and in his Spirit Power and Grace and Faith in the Light in God's Vineyard that they may have their Wages every one Male and Female when they have done God's Work and Business in his Day which is Eternal Life But none can labour in his Vineyard and do his Work and Will but as they walk in the Heavenly Divine Light Grace and Spirit of Christ which is hath been and is my Travel and
Lord and being one Body in him For God's Heavenly Flail hath brought out his Seed and his Heavenly Plow hath turned up the fallow Ground and his Heavenly Seed is sown by the Heavenly Man which brings forth Fruits to the Heavenly Sower in some Fifty Sixty and an Hundred fold in this Life And such in the World without End will have Life Eternal Oh therefore all keep within and let your Lights shine and your Lamps burn and that you all may be the Wells full of the Living Water and the Trees full of the Living Fruit of God's Planting whose Fruit is unto Holiness and End is Everlasting Life And so the Lord God of Power preserve you all in his Power and let all your Faith stand therein that you may have both Vnity in the Faith and in the Power and by this Faith and Belief you may be all grafted into Christ the sure Root and Rock of Ages where the Eternal Sun of Righteousness shines in the Heavenly and Eternal Day upon his Plants and Grafts And this Sun never sets nor goes down And the Heavenly Springs of Life and Showers are known to Water and nourish the Grafts and Plants and Buds that they may always be kept fresh and green and never wither bringing forth fresh and green and living Fruit which is offered up to the Living God and he is glorified in that you bear much Fruit. And so as I said before The Lord God Almighty keep you and preserve you all in his Power Light and Life over Death and Darkness that in the Light Life and Power of God you may spread his Truth abroad and be valiant for it upon the Earth answering that of God in all That with it the Minds of People may be turned to God and Christ so that with it they may come to know the Lord Christ Jesus in the New Covenant in which the Knowledge of the Lord shall cover the Earth as the Waters do the Sea and his Life must go over Death and his Light must go over Darkness and the Power of God must go over the Power of Sa tan And so all ye that be in the Light Life and Power Keep the Heavenly Fellowship in the Heavenly Power and the Heavenly Vnity in the Heavenly Divine Faith and the Vnity of the Spirit which is the Bond of the Heavenly Prince of Princes Peace who bruises the Head of the Enmity and of the Adversary and reconciles Man to God and all things in Heaven and in the Earth a blessed Reconciliation And let every one's Faith stand in the Power of God which Jesus Christ is the Author of that all may know their Crown of Life For all outward things without the Substance the Life the Power is as the Husk without the Kernel and doth not nourish the Immortal Soul nor the new-born Babe but that which it is nourished by is the Milk of the Word by which it is born again and groweth by it in the Heavenly Life Strength and Wisdom And the Gospel which is not of Man nor by Man but is the Power of God and answers the Truth in all all the Possessors of it are to see that all Walk according to it which Everlasting Order is ordained of God already and all the Possessors of him possess their Joy their Comfort and Salvation So with my Love unto you all with him that Reigns and is over all from Everlasting to Everlasting So dwell in the Love of God which passeth Knowledge which Love of God doth Edifie the Living Members of the Body of Christ which Love of God you come to be built up in and in the Holy Faith which Christ is the Author of that stands in his Power And this Love of God it brings you to bear all things and endure all things and hope all things From this Love of God which you have in Christ Jesus nothing will be able to separate you neither Powers nor Principalities Heights nor Depths things present nor things to come Prisons nor Spoiling of Goods neither Death nor Life So the Love of God keeps above all that which would separate from God and makes you more than Conquerors in Christ Jesus And therefore in this Love of God dwell which you have in Christ Jesus And that with the same Love you may Love one another and all the Workmanship of God so that you may Glorifie God wiâ—h your Bodies Souls and Spirits which are the Lord 's Amen G. F. All Friends sit low in the Life and the Lord's Power and keep your Place in it till the Lord and Master of the Heavenly Feast bid you Sit higher lest you take the Highest Place and be put down with Shame He that hath an Ear let him hear G. F. And Friends take heed of speaking the things of God in the Words that Men's Wisdom hath taught for those Words will lift up the foolish that be erred from the Spirit of God which Words and Wisdom is for Condemnation and that which is lifted up by them and they that thereby speak the things of God in them So that Old House with it's Things must be thrown under the Foot of the New Birth And Friends I desire that you may all keep the Holy Order which is in the Gospel the Glorious Order in the Power of God which the Devil is out of which was before all his Orders were and before they made any in the World In this Gospel the Power of God is the Glorious Order this Joyful Order keeps all Hearts pure to God an everlasting Peace Vnity and Order feel it and keep the Order of it both Men and Women and come to be Heirs of the Gospel which brings Life and Immortality to Light and to see over that Power of Darkness by him who was before the Power of Death was In this is the Holy Order in Love and Peace And so keep in this that keeps you always pure and what Men and Women act in this they act in that which will stand when the World is gone This is not received of Man nor by Man every Man and Woman must feel this Power that brings Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel in that feel this then Heirs of this Gospel This is their Inheritance and Portion which they have Right to and to Membership Every Man and Woman inherit it possess it every one take your Possessions of this Gospel of Salvation and of it's Holy Orders There hath been some Scruple about Men and Womens-Meetings Men and Women in the Gospel are Heirs of the Power which was before the Devil was Heirs of this then enter into the Possession of it and do the Lord's Business therein And every one take the Care of God's Honour and to keep all things in Righteousness and Holiness which becomes God's House And in that which Honours the Lord God it eased me when those Meetings were set up for Men and Women That are Heirs of the Gospel have Right to the