the end God may be glorified and our Souls after all Trials and sore Exercises are ended may be everlastingly comforted Dear Friends By this you may see that I do not forget you though so weakly in body that I cannot visit you yet am with you in spirit and as long as we abide in the precious Truth the Spirit of Truth writes us as Epistles in one another's hearts that cannot be forgotten and in the same I dearly salute you and bid you farewel in the Lord Jesus though in this World ye have many besetments yet unto his tender compassionate care I commit our Cause and unto the Protection of his Almighty Power do I commend you with my own Soul henceforth and for evermore Your Sister in the heavenly Relation J. V. Chawlow 1st of the 6th Month. 1683. Concerning her Journey into Ireland Dear Friends BY this the blessed Truth and them that love it may be cleared that have unity with me in my Service for I have a witness in every heart that I may appeal unto but them that take no heed to the Spirit of God the true witness in their own hearts can have no experience of the work of it in others and therefore no marvel if they wonder and perish as said the Apostle though they say daily and weekly and year after year it is their duty to love and fear and obey God with all their hearts with all their souls and with all their strength yet so far are they from doing of it that they are ready to cast Aspersions on those that do and though it 's written in the Liturgy of the Church of England that it is their Duties yet they will not wait upon Jesus to receive power to perform their Duties and therefore they abide in unbelief and disobedience not considering their time is short and the work of Sanctification is great Oh how dangerous a thing will it be to have such a weighty work to do when there is no time to do it Well said the Apostle Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling was that the way then and is it become ridiculous now that so many are so much averse to it Oh where are the Mockers and Scoffers and Persecutors of our Age Who are hearing and reading the Scriptures without Understanding Oh that they would take heed to that which reproves for evil that their Understandings might be opened by it for that is the Spirit that the holy Men were inspired with that gave forth the Scriptures and until the hearts of People be turned to it their understandings are so darkened that they cannot see the state of their own Souls much less understand the holy Scripture and therefore we need not care what such can say or do against us who truly fear the Lord for our reward is from him and we have good cause to serve him and seek to exalt his blessed Truth by preferring it above all things though Relations may be near and dear yet to part with them and natural Life and all is but my reasonable Service if my God require it for I have found him a bountiful Master and no respecter of Persons but them that truly fear him and work righteousness do find acceptance with him and that is more to a Remnant then to find acceptance with all the Potentates of the World for their favour will not procure peace with God neither can those live in God's holy heart-cleansing fear that offends him to please Man and in vain will it be for any to hope to die in favour with God and not live so in his fear as not to offend him and notwithstanding all the talk of loving the Lord Jesus and fearing him yet there 's none doth it but them that leave off doing evil and learn to do well and such keeps his holy Commands which are not grievous but joyous to them when the Lord doth enlarge their hearts then can they run the way of his Commands with great delight but while Man or Woman standeth at a distance from that good Spirit that God hath in his tender love given them to profit withal they cannot be sensible of the Lord's enlarging their hearts nor of his working in them both to will and to do of his own good pleasure therefore let all have regard to the work of God's Holy Spirit in their own hearts that they may come to be sensible of the goodness of the Lord and the mighty works that he does for their Souls and from a living experience invite others to come and tast and see for themselves how good our God is for of a truth he is good unto his Israel that are of an upright heart in his sight and they can say of a truth That one day in his Courts is better than a thousand years in the Kings Palaces and in the presence of the Lord is the fulness of our Soul's joy and at his right hand is durable riches and pleasures for evermore and indeed it is weighty to consider how many are preferring the honour of Man before the honour of God and earthly riches before the heavenly treasure And how eagerly do Mankind press after outward gain and slightly esteems the gain of godliness though with content it is the greatest gain of all But my dear Friends you that can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth I leave these lines with you that the weak may not be turned out of the way nor the feeble caused to stumble by any false Asperson that the Devil through his Instruments may be permitted to cast upon me for the Truths sake For I have given no just cause to any to speak evil of me but if any should take occasion to speak evil of the Precious Truth because of my serving it let them know that for this cause it was made known unto me that I might truly serve it and not my self and if they that are Carnally minded would do so they would then indeed know that to be Carnally minded is Death but to be Spiritual minded is Life and Peace and true Contentment And this I write as one that has had a woful experience of the enmity that lodges in the carnal mind and a good experience and priviledge that redownds to the Souls of the Spiritual Minded and do earnestly desire that those that are carnal and sold under Sin as the Apostle said may turn unto that which is to say the enmity for it is night unto every one it s the Word of the Lord which is the Sword of his Spirit and as a Hammer to break down the partition-wall of Sin which separates the Soul from the presence of the Lord and it must be known so to be before Men can be fit to receive the things of God and thus may People come to see between things that differ and not call good evil and evil good and put darkness for light and light for darkness as too many do by which
enduring hardships to travel on and follow our Captain fully for his Reward is sure though it is through many Tryals obtained yet when this momentary Pilgrimage is passed through the greater weight of Glory will out-ballance all and in the sense of it let our Hearts rejoyce and our Souls magnifie that Power that has preserved and is able to preserve unto the end and that in and through it we may be strong in the Lord Jesus and fitly furnished to every good Work that we may never be weary of well doing nor faint in our minds though in this World we meet with many Troubles yet we know him that is able to deliver out of them all and if he feed with the Bread of Affliction and the Water of Adversity yet blessed be his living Name he teacheth our Souls to profit thereby and we have cause to say in this Trying Day as the three Children did in Ages past We know that our God is able to deliver us if he please but if he will not we will still trust in him for he has been with us in Six Troubles and we have good cause to depend upon him and to have confidence in him in the Seventh for it is but a little while and Persecution and Affliction shall come to an end but the Word of Patience that preserves in times of great temptation abides for ever and shall never have an end Glory and Honour and Living Praises be returned and ascribed unto the God of all our Mercies and Blessings both Spiritual and Temporal which we daily partake of from his fatherly hand for he is an never-failing God and of his loving-kindness there is no end And unto the Protection of his Almighty Power which reaches over Sea and Land do I commit you with my own Soul henceforth and for evermore Your Sister in the unchangeable precious Truth JOAN VOKINS From London the 3 d of the 1st Month 1682. To Friends of Crambrook in Kent Dear Friends MY Love salutes you and the rest of the Faithful in Christ Jesus who holds fast their Integrity and retains their first Love for such are near and dear unto me and often in my remembrance whatever Exercises they undergo and my Soul do often breath unto the God of my life that we may be kept in a waâ—â—ing frame that if Tryals and Afflictions do abound that his sanctifying Power may superabound that as faithful Soldiers we may endure hardships to the end that in the end we may receive the greater weight of Glory that may out ballance all the momentary Afflictions that we meet with in this short Pilgrimage O Glory to his Name who is the Physician of Value that can cure both Body and Soul he is worthy to be trusted in who never fails them whose confidence is in him and all things are possible for his Power to do therefore let our dependance be on it for ever that we may feel it in all our undertakings that we may have the benefit of it in the use of the Creatures that his Blessing may be upon them then it will go well with us whatever may come Thus the Lord Jesus brings to pass for the honour of his own worthy Name and the comfort of our weak Bodies and everlasting benefit of our immortal Souls is the desire of Your true Friend in the unchangeable Truth J. V. 4th of the 9 Month 1682. For the Friends of Abingdon Meeting in Berkshire My dear and well beloved Friends IF you will be delivered then keep to Truth and that will set you free from Sin and from Iniquity and if you would wear the Everlasting Crown think not for to sit down at ease but follow the Lamb through the many Tribulations that you may partake of his sweet Consolations For the more Tryals and sore Exercises do abound the more the Love and Life of Jesus will super-abound unto all them that do believe in him and suffer with him they shall assuredly reign with him and be crowned with life that are faithful unto death and what is left upon Record we see fulfilling that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer and the worst Enemies are them of their own house let them read that have experience for they may understand me and such I truly simpathize with in the patience and suffering of the Lamb knowing that he and his Followers are deeply engaged in the spiritual warfare and truly it is a precious and a blessed cause to be concerned in and them that love any thing more than him are not worthy to be concerned in his War neither can such partake of his Government and Peace which shall never have end Therefore them that go this spiritual warfare must not be entangled but must follow their Captain through the many tribulations bearing their faithful Testimonies that their Garments may be made white being washed in the Blood of the Lamb that the precious adorning of his meek and quiet spirit we may be covered with that we may feel Justification by him in our own hearts then we need not fear what Man can do unto us though all Men should rise up against us yet if our God be for us he can take our part and plead our cause and soon subdue our Enemies if he pleases but if he will not so do yet we have cause to do as the Three Children did to trust in him however for he knows what is most convenient for us and he will cause all things to work together for our good and if he gives the Bread of Adversity and the Water of Affliction yet glory be to his worthy Name he teaches us to profit thereby and what he orders for us is still for the best and let us wait to feel his sanctifying power to strengthen us to follow him which way soever he leads that we may love him above all perishing things and manifest our Love by keeping his Commands and one of his Commands which he gave unto all his is to watch to be aware of their Souls Enemy and to enjoy the sweet benefit of their Souls Friend which far exceeds the Friendship of all the World and for the same we can turn our backs on the glory of the World and do chuse rather to suffer with the Lamb and his Followers then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season for that would captivate our Souls though we might have more favour from the wicked and more ease to our bodies but if hardship be our portion and that we must have a sufficient share therein yet our reward is sure if we endure to the end Glory and honour and praises unto the God of all our Mercies and that for evermore his blessed everlasting reward will out-ballance all therefore great encouragement have we to wait upon the Lord Jesus for the renewing of our inward Man that we may continue in well-doing those few days we have to come in this momentary Pilgrimage that in
and a cunning Hunter seeking for the precious Life and chased my poor Soul as a Partridge on the Mountains but my God had shewed me that the way to Rest was through many Troubles and that he would be at hand to Deliver out of them all by his Almighty Power but I could hardly trust it then but yet turning to it I found Preservation by it when the backsliding of some had like to have caused me to stumble but the unerring Spirit of Jesus shewed me that if thousands fall on the one hand and tens of thousands on the other that should not defile me and if all the rest were Righteous that should not justifie me if I did not obey the Truth now he had made known his Covenant of Life which I so deeply engaged to be faithful unto and then I turned my back on the World and all the friendship and glory of it that I might obtain the favour of Jesus who condemned me for my Self-righteousness as for my known Sins for I was cautious of Sinning against the Lord ever since my Youth and desired after the best Religion and Company and when I was very young in years I greatly delighted to go to Professors Meetings and could bring home the Text and repeat much of their Sermons but yet that brought no benefit to my poor hungry Soul And when I was in secret before the all-seeing Eye of the Lord he administred Condemnation upon it all and I had no Peace inwardly although none could condemn me for any misdemeanor as outwardly but when my own Righteousness became loathsome to me then was I made willing to part with all that had been near and dear unto me that I might feel and witness the Robe of Christ's Righteousness revealed and be cloathed therewith And as for my Husband and Children my true and tender Love was so great that I could have done or suffered much for them But if I had disobeyed the Lord to please them I might have provoked him to have withholden his Mercies from us all and to bring his Judgments upon us And then who shall excuse in the Day of Accompt Then if a Man as the Scripture says should give the Fruit of his Body for the Sin of his Soul it will not be accepted Then Husbands and Wives and Parents and Children and Servants shall all receive according to their doings and none that disobeys the Lord can be excused no more than Adam was when he said That the Woman gave him the forbidden Fruit and he did eat and so provoked the Lord that the Curse came upon himself and could not be excused And although Man and Wife should be helpful one to another in Righteousness yet too many there are since the fall that hinder and hurt each other for which an account must be given anavoidably And this did I consider many a time and earnestly endeavour to avoid notwithstanding the false Aspersions that might arise yet I still endeavoured to keep my Conscience clear in the sight of my tender God and none can lay any thing to my Charge except it be for serving the Living and True God though in that way that many may call Heresie yet I do worship him in Spirit and in Truth For as Christ Jesus hath said it is come to pass that our Heavenly Father seeketh such and always sought such to worship him in his own Spiritual way of Worship which shall stand when all Idolatry and invented Worships shall fall Written aboard the first Ship The 1st month 1680. as I went to New-England when none that saw me expected my life but the Lord was with me and relieved me and his blessed Power raised me as at many other times And I arrived at New York the 4th Day of the 3d Month 80 and a Maiden Friend whose Name was Sarah Yoklet went with me from England and travelled with me until I came to Oyster-Bay in Long-Island and the Lord so ordered it that when she left me another Woman-Friend that had a Testimony was my Companion several Months whose name was Lydia Wright Oh matchless Mercies of the Lord who can rightly consider them as they have been manifested and not be tendered as I am Oh how long did his tender Spirit strive with me before I gave up to go to Sea How did his long Patience wait and suffer Surely it 's worthy to be remembred for he might have cut me off in a disobedient Condition But blessed and magnified be his Heart-tendering Power it bowed me from Year to Year and brought me into Subjection when in a low Condition I could not help my self nor had no other to help me Oh then did it support me in Exercises sore both in Body and Spirit when my Mind hath been so dejected that my Faith almost failed then did my tender Father through the Son of his Love Christ Jesus yeild me sweet relief though in a weary Land and sweetly encouraged me to travel on and many sweet Promises which before he gave me as I stood singly resigned to obey his Commands and be at his dispose he was never wanting to fulfil but by Sea and Land hath multiplied his Mercies and renewed a right Spirit in me to the resolving of Doubts and casting out of false Fears everlasting Praises to his most holy Name for often did that cause Torment when the dark Reasoner was very busie Then did I cry unto the Lord and say Surely thou knowest all and I have none but thee to help and many Eyes are over me and great Difficulties surround me on every hand and I am the poorest and weakest that I do know and if I should fail by the way how would the Enemy rejoice and the Truth be reproached And much buffeting did I undergo in my long and sore Exercises but as I cast my Care upon him he hath cared for me and blessed be his Name he hath helped in my greatest straits and hath made hard things easie and what he shewed me by his pure Spirit of Light for my encouragement before I came forth he hath brought to pass Glory to his Name for ever may all those say with my Soul that love the Leadings of the Light of Jesus for though it leads through Tribulation yet it brings the Soul sweet Consolation and therefore worthy to be followed through the Self-denial for it 's through the daily Cross to obtain the Reward of the Crown and precious is the feeling of the Life of Jesus to the awakened and illuminated Soul and that made the roaring Sea and dry Land and lonesome Wilderness all one to me by Night and by Day and great was my encouragement to commit all that my Heavenly Father had given me to his keeping and to follow him and in taking up the daily Cross I found Power to preserve me from looking out at my affliction of Body when sorely exercised in Mind ready to sink under the oppression of it had not the Spirit of
to them all as if I nam'd them and their Wives one by one And my servent desire is that the precious Truth may prosper amongst you and that faith and patience and love and life and all other spiritual graces and gifts may abound amongst you and that all that is wrong may be purged out Oh that all of you would wait to feel the renewings of the right Spirit that there might be no room in the heart to entertain the wrong Spirit to hinder or hurt innocency And the Lord God of my Life discover its subtilty and keep us all upon our watch that none of us may be taken in his snares for they are many and dangerous and therefore I commit you with my self and all that loves the Truth and lives in it to the never-failing God who is worthy to be feared and obeyed trusted in and depended upon by us and all that love him for ever and for evermore You would say that I have great cause so to declare if you did but know what he has brought me through since I left you but blessed be his Name he enabled me to do his Service every-where and Friends are kind and loving to me here at Barbadoes and so they were at the Leeward Islands No more but unfeigned Love and rest Your Friend and Sister in the precious Truth Joan Vokins From Barbadoes 14th of the 1st Month 1681. To Friends in West Jersey Dear Friend WIlliam Peachee after the Salutation of my Love to Thee and thy Wife and Friends This is to let thee and Friends there know that I cannot forget you but the Travel of my Soul is for you and the tender God of my Life has heard the Cry of his oppressed Seed and arrisen and will appear more and more for its deliverance although the Philistine Spirit do strongly strive and Amaleck lay by the way yet Israel is greatly encouraged and have great cause to travel on for the Captain of our Salvation is going on before us conquering and to conquer and he will gather his Sons from far and his Daughthers from the ends of the Earth and for this end he visits the Dark Corners and for his Seed sake he has appeared on your behalf and if you mind the Gospel-light and live the Gospel-life and keep the Gospel-order then will God's Plantation grow and bring forth Fruit to his praise and then you may expect his Blessings and Prosperity upon you and yours but if you slight the great Love of God and let in the Spirit of this World and get you other Lovers that will greatly provoke the Lord and cause him to withhold his Mercies from you and cause you to fail of your expectations This loving Caution sprung in my Heart unto you and in that which thinks no evil I leave it with you hoping that in the same you will receive it that in the reading our Lives may be refreshed together though in Person far asunder for it is exceeding precious to me and my life rejoyces at the feeling of a living Brother or Sisters growth in the truth and it 's that my Soul travels for who am a friend to it and as I feed with you in the Land of the Living we can sing together as the ransomed of the Lord and the breathing of my Soul is that all that are there may be preserved and that many thousands more may be gathered to the Honour of his great and worthy Name and our mutual Comfort for ever and for evermore Amen J. V. From Barbadoes 1st Month 1681. A short Testimony against that Spirit of Division that gave forth W. R 's Book stiled The Christian Quaker distinguished WHereas there is a Libertine Spirit at work very busie to darken the Hearts of them that touch with it I feel a necessity upon me and that from the Lord to bear my Testimony against it and to caution all the tender ones not to meddle with it lest they be tinctured and hurt by it for it is a subtil Spirit and seeks under fair pretences to betray Innocency and some there are that are come to a loss thereby as woful Experience do daily shew and therefore let it be considered how it is with those that are alive to God and how it is with those that are within the bounds of that Spirit which gave forth W. R's wicked Book and those that owns it are they not in a dying condition as to the pure Life of Jesus and let them whose understandings are not clear take heed how they read in it lest they bring a Vail over them again they know not how I may say from a certain sense that it is a dark Spirit and too many are groping therein and that is the cause they do not see wherein the difference lyes Oh that every such a one would keep to that which did at first convince them that they might have their understandings opened and kept open that they might see how far they are on their Spiritual Journey that this self-seeking Spirit might not betray in the Wilderness for there are howling Deserts and dangerous Places where this Spirit have lurking corners and creeps in at every turn if the watch be not duly kept And therefore let all take heed and beware of this destroying Spirit whatever it does pretend it 's no better than the inwardly ravening Woolf though cloathed outwardly like a Sheep and therefore deceives the more but the Lord will lay it open more and more for his own Seed sake that has long suffered and the upright hearted who are true to God shall have great encouragement to travel on but those that are looking out are in great danger of being ensnared by this Spirit which may make their Journey long and tedious by muddlement of mind and sometimes go backwards yet their way may be so hedged up that they cannot get quite back to Egypt again but may die in the Wilderness if they take not heed Oh that all while they have time may come into obedience to the Truth and feed together in the Land of the Living that in the feeling of Life we may sing together as the Ransomed of the Lord dwelling with him out of all strife in purity of Life cemented together in the bounds of his Love with our Affections fixed on things above J V. To Friends in New England and thereaway Dear Friend SAmuel Spicer my Love salutes thee and thy dear Wife and Father and Mother Tilton if yet alive and the rest of Friends of your Meeting and Friends at New York earnestly desiring your welfare in the Lord Jesus and breathing to the God of my Life that above all things Truth may prosper amongst you and that Faith and Love and Peace and Life may be multiplied amongst you that the Work of the Day may go on whatever you meet with to hinder though the Philistine Spirit do strive and Amaleck lye by the way yet good Encouragement have we as faithful Soldiers
door keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the pleasantest palace of the Wicked For until I through tender mercy had unity with Jesus in his divine Spirit of Light my Soul could have no true satisfaction though never so self-righteous but when the heart-searching Light made manifest my condition my heart was so affected with it that I still desired the operation of the power of it and as I came to watch in the measure of it I became aware of the enemy and through Faith in Christ Jesus obtained a waiting state which could not be obtained by me but as I felt the Almighty Power to rebuke the subtil enemy that lies so nigh but as we are commanded to watch we find great benefit by keeping that command And magnified be that wonderful power that has preserved in dangers deep and difficulties many there is nothing too hard for it to do it has often rebuked the destroyer and helped the helpless and strengthen the weak and supported the needy and as we have waited for it we have been partakers of the arising of it to our comfort when our Souls have been in a desolate condition when we cold not help our selves nor had none to help us Oh! how hath it wrought by Sea and Land among false Brethren it hath so signally preserved and wrought deliverances many somtimes by ways unexpected surely its worthy to be trusted in and depended upon and magnified as it hath been manifested my Soul hath cause to say to the Honour and Renown of it for its perfect strength hath been my support in every great weakness and in its strength I have travelled many thousands of Miles by Land and many thousand Leagues by Sea through many and sore exercises both inwardly and outwardly and it hath raised my Soul from Death and my Body many times from the brink of the Grave oh let it have the honour of its own Works saith my Soul for it is worthy for it will make the strong to bow and the weak to be as David and it is worthy to be extolled in a wonderful manner for no heart can be too much affected with it there is al-sufficiency in it to relieve the poor and to incourage the feble though there be much to be met with in our Heavenly prayers yet here is a sure defence in stormy times wherein glory unto it I have found shelter when many times in a weary condition by reason of exercise of Soul and Spirit and weakness and pain of Body Oh! how many hundred Miles have I travelled in this the Land of my Nativity and thousands elsewhere in such a condition not having many well Days in many Years together but yet have good cause to say to the honour and renown of the sanctifying power of the God of my life blessed be the Lord Jesus his Rod and Staff has comforted me and he is always with me and I have cause to admire the tender dealing of my Heavenly Father for he hath exercised me in the deep and made his wonders known And I have cause to speak well of his worthy Name for it hath been as oyntment powred into my poor wounded Soul and it was also so much comfort and strength to my weak body that I can tenderly invite others to come and tast and see how good that name is that brings salvation that those that desire for it may obtain it for as the heart comes to be bowed unto the powerful Name of Jesus and the Soul and Spirit comes to be gathered into a sense of the great love of God there will then be felt a necessity to serve and obey the God of all our Mercies And this was with me when in great weakness when temptations came in as a flood and the buffetings of the enemy was ready to overcome Oh Blessed and Magnified and Renowned over all be that Everlasting Power that wrought a resignment so effectually and caused me to cast my care upon him that always careth for his children who is the holy one and dwelleth in the highest Heavens and takes regard to them of low degree for he has been more to me then all that this World can produce and hath fulfilled many precious Scriptures and hath not been wanting as a tender Father but his mercies of old and the continuation of his favours and the renewing of his tender dealing have deeply obliged me to glorifie him unto the end and in the end for evermore for he is worthy for he hath redeemed my Soul from out of the grave of Sin and Death and now may I say to the praise and honour and renown of his powerful Name that to live is Christ and to die is so much gain that my soul is deeply affected in a true Consideration of the same oh that my posterity and friends for whom my soul hath so long breathed and travelled may be so concerned that every one may be made partakers of the like precious faith with me while on the stage of this World that we may leave a faithful Testimony behind that the generations to come may be induced thereby to fear and serve the Lord for he is a sure rewarder of all them that are diligent in so doing not only in this Worâ—â— but in that which is to come with Life â—â—â—â—â—â—sting World wtthout end Amen Joan Vokins This was written a few Months before her decease about the 1st Month 1690. To William Cooper and his Wife dwelling in West-Jersey near Delaware-River not far from Burlington These are DEar and tender friends William Cooper and M. my love in the unchangable Truth salutes you and in the same I still desire your welfare as my own with all that holds fast their integrity and retains their first love they are as near and dear unto me as ever and my entire love truly reaches to them all and so I desire thou mayest let them know if they have received my Letters and Epistles for I have sent several but my kindsman dying by the way makes me question whether what I sent did ever come to any of your hands for I sent to you and to S. Spicer and to Lidia Wright as was and to her Husband and to her Sister Mary Andrews and to several others in Pensilvania side as well as on that side and I should be very glad to hear of your welfare in the Lord Jesus for that my soul still travels as truly as when I was amongst you Oh that your faithfulness and living obedience may ingage our Heavenly Father to answer the breathing desires of my Soul for you in those remote places for I cannot forget you but the cry often runs through me for your preservation and prosperity every way and that the honour of Truth and the good one of another may be preferred far more then all other things that our nearness and dearness unto our tender God and one unto another may be felt and witnessed that we may praise his