streames or of Euphrates the pleasant vallies turned into a parched wildernesse and all in order to a more higher fuller and excellenter glory this is prophesied of in the Scripture The Sunne shall bee turned into darknesse and the Moone into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come that is not onely the Lord Jesus will be darknesse unto the world which I deny not but all that which was the glory and light of a Christian and high-way of communion with God his Sunne Moone and Starres shall be darkned c. before that notable day or that more excellent revelation of God in glory and 1 Pet. 3. 10. The heavens shall passe away with a great noise and the Element shall melt with fervent heat and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up which is not onely at the last judgement but upon perticular administration which is figured out in the heavens earth and elements or those more or lesse glorious administrations and the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is 1 Cor. 3. 13. 15. And as Christ crucified all that glorious administration in the flesh in which he was and it all dyed to a more glorious life so every Christian is to take up his crosse or to bring his highest and cheifest administrations to this crosse and to leave them all crucified to more higher excellenter discoveries and this is the knowledge of Christ crucified now many Christians who are sadded darkned and in much tribulation as to the administration they are under and in looking into the wildernesse seeing nothing but mount Sinai with blacknesse and darknes and tempest they take it for desertions and withdrawings of God when as indeed it is the presence of God darkning withering and consuming such administrations and the bringing in a more fuller and transcendent glory The next ministration will be the appearing of Christ in brightnesse and glory of Spirit destroying Antichrist with the spirit of his mouth and brightnes of his comming this shall be a glory without Sun or Moon or Star or any such low appearance as gift or ordinance but the Lord shall be there everlasting light and God the glory and light shall cover the earth as waters cover the Sea that is it shall not sparkle or be in bright beams as in a Gift or Ordinance but it shall slow out from the Lord swallowing up and overflowing all earthly administrations that expectation of him in externall administrations as Gifts or Ordinances c. is but to expect Christ in a fleshly way or appearance and not as he is in his own height spirit and glory in himselfe in his Saints their fulnesse and hope of glory Col. 1. 27. And therefore this is that which is to be expected an estate of spirit love meeknes self-denyall overcoming evill with good conquering by receiving in the wrath and enmity of the world into which estate God will gather up his people by times and degrees from all worldy and fleshly interests and ingagements wherein they shall be carried up into a more full injoyment of God and conformity to Christ in all his sufferings death and resurrection where God will be to all his sâ— glorified as broad rivers and streams where shall goe no Ship with sailes nor Gally with Ores And then it shall be as much apostacy in the Saints to go back to the first ministery of the Gospel times or first patterne which was the first discovery of that mystery hid from ages as would have been in them in the Apostles dayes to have gone back to the Jewish Tabernacle Temple and Priest-hood c. out of which God had departed as he also hath out of these late administrations Furnell 8. Letter Loving Cozen DEarly and much beloved there is some content in nature that you abide in the flesh with me and are yet an appearance of God upon the Earth for I confesse I have none so neere my heart as you of a fleshly beeing in the world therefore I have been affected with the kindnesse of the Lord that hath spared you that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow my sister being removed yet have I more sweet joy and content in understanding that you are in the fellowship of the Spirit growing forward through al the dark shadows of seeming glory into the substance which is reall glory for in that you say you see God is all and doth all I question not but you understand that all things below him are but shaddows of him yea Christ himself in his fleshly appearance was but a form of God which appeared to answer our distance from God for wee being departed from him by experiencing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evill of which food I hope we have our fill now God condescending to redeem us from this by the way of Christ who was appointed of God to bring us unto God not to himself as he was Christ beeing but an appearance of God not the Father himself Therefore if we should sit down with Christ being come to him and proceed no further we are not brought by him to the Father And the will of God is that we be co-heires and joint heires together with him till we know that the Father and the Son are in one and we one with the Father as the Son For I believe that God even the Son of God doth dwell in us even the same that dwelt in Christ Jesus and I am waiting when that heavenly Image shall as plainly appear as the Image of the earthly hath appeared for we shal see his face and his name shall be upon our foreheads Deere Cozen since I received your letter I have seen you in a Vision and so was it represented to me that I understand that you have or shall bring forth the man Childe even Christ to open veiw for which you must die and be buried I mean you shall appear to some as one dead to truth and God and alive to errour and so you shall be as one dead and put into a grave of darknes and silence yet fear not for I have proved that the day of death is better then the day of Birth And that by death Christ brought to light life and immortality Remember also Christ was put to death in the flesh and was alive to God his flesh was as pure and honourable as even ours was yet by the eternall Spirit within it was offered a Spirituall Sacrifice to God whilest the dark apprehensions of men conclude that he suffered as a blasphemer therefore arm your self with the same minde always expecting we shall surely rise with him as we suffer together with him for indeed we are but one in life and death And he is the resurrection and the life even Christ in us who is rising in me and either is or will rise in you And when he doth appear we shall appear with him I pray you deare Cozen as often
actions glorious and overule that spirit of perversenesse and darknes mingling it self with their counsels but if they faile the Lord will doe the work let us build upon this as upon a rock it is fixed and immoveable Sir excuse me I have been too tedious impute it to the subject I write which affords matter for a volume I have this confidence in you that nothing will be unwelcome to you from a friend or a Christian or him who really is Your kinsman and servant in every relation H. B. Letter 11. An Answer of a Letter written by a friend June 8. Oh friend SOme two nights agoe I saw a Bible and found a desire to look into it but presently my spirit checked me saying within me What shouldest thou be peeping into that which thou canst not understand Stay till the light of the Lord shall lead thee and then go whither it shall lead thee till then every motion and desire cannot but be bitter and the more it is hearkened unto the more bitter Yet my spirit said again within me Why should I refuse this motion though griefe and bitternesse may attend it may it not be good to see how dark and ignorant I am become In the middest of such reasonings I opened the Book the first place I looked on was very strange to me thence I turned from place to place but thick darknes covered every place even those which formerly seemed very clear to me At last I lighted on a place which did somewhat affect me then I took up the Book into a Chamber thinking to suck a little sweetnes or at least to vent a little of that load which had lain exceeding heavy on me all the day so I read some six Chapters at least together though with much adoe they were the last Chapt. of Esay so soon as I had done I fell into a very grievous passion to behold into what a state I was cast for I understood not one tittle but confusion and darknes covered and hid every thing from me faine would I have fastened on somewhat to have supported my spirit to hope and wait for better dayes but it would not bee I could not conceive concerning whom those things were spoken or what that Zion is to whom they seem to be spoken Indeed I could not but weep outwardly and mourn inwardly to think on my present darknes which is so thick that on no manner of light comes in at any crevis The Book of the creatures the book of providence as I was wont to call it this book of the scriptures which was once unutterably sweet and bright and living they are all become now dead dark but yet powerfull and peircing tormentors In the middest of these workings of minde I fell I know not how to think of your letter and your desire to hear from me wondring at both both why you should write so to me and why you should desire to hear from me as if either I could apprehend what you wrote or tell how to speak or write any thing to you in this state of darknes and many particular passages of your letter came into my minde more increasing this my amazement The first clause of your letter did kindle in me a great desire to expostulate with you about it I must break off I can proceed no further now Letter 12. June 6. Oh friend I am heart-sick what shall I doe I am sick unto death and yet am miserable because I cannot dye I finde death as farre removed from me as life I thought I had been dead and buried long agoe and had nothing to do for the future but to wait for a resurrection from death and out of the grave but I feele my self much alive to torment and yet why may I not be dead for all that spirituall death and a spirituall grave may have a kind of life in them for ought I know I cannot go on with the relation about thy letter shall I try if I can open my breast and give the a little glance of the misery and oppression that it lyes burdened with I finde three tormentors within me and they are continually ravening upon me rending and tearing my head my heart my bowels The names that I best know them by are Love Griefe fury They commonly all rush forth upon me at once though some one of them still more predominantly then the rest feeding upon every object that is presented to me and heightning the disease and sicknesse of my spirit thereby Sometimes Love tyrannizes and makes me pant immeasurably after some glimpse of that my spirit is in love with but what it is or where it is I know not when I hear the birds or see any other creature in the heavens above or in the earth beneath Oh think I that I were behind thee that I might discern thy substance and see whether that be my love or no When I see their tendernes towards their young ones the employment they are busied with the delight they can suck in Oh where am I what am I how farr laid below the whole creation who finde no employment no delight none to look after me no bowels to answer the sounding of my bowels Some what I love but I know not what nor where to seek after nor what name to enquire for it by Shall I go to the woods among the wilde Hindes Alas they are as unable to heare as I am to speak shall I ask the common sort of men They poore creatures never think of any such thing Shall I ask Christians Ah! they as insensible of my condition as any of the rest and all the news I can heare of them is of melancholy and giving way to temptation and wish me to use the means which is as impossible to me as to finde out my love without them Oh miserie miserie to love one knows not what or where to have love kindled and the beloved quite lost to have love flaming and nothing for its flames to go forth upon but still to feed within upon the bosome wherein it breeds I finde this sometimes make these earthly bowwels so yearn as if they would immediately melt and drop out of the body wherein they are as yet contained When Love hath wearied it self then Grief though it was not absent before supplies its place in panting in sighing in mourning in complaining if it can Oh God! oh my God! oh living God! oh my beloved these expressions it uses for forms sake though it understands them not What are thou Where art thou Verily thou art a God that hidest thy self what no news of thec Why dost thou open my bowels when thou meanest to shut up thine own What is become of thee Hast not thou a discovering art as well as an hiding art When wilt thou open thy self I cannot finde thee out I cannot visit thee wilt thou never bestow a visit on me shall I never be remembred Shall I never know what God means
men But I have here digressed I come againe therefore to tell you concerning this thing that when the great day of judgement was upon me this was one thing and a very great thing for which I was judged of by the Lord even that I had judged or past sentence upon this pretious soule before the time for the Lord of all men was at hand and I should have left all judgment unto him but I was base and unworthy and I judged those things which I knew not Blessed bee the Lord which hath not everlastingly cut me off for it but hath accepted a ransome in his beloved Jesus in Emanuel God with us that is in himselfe even in the bowels of his owne love manifested through flesh Now because it hath been as I have told you so heavy a thing upon me I could not but acquaint you as a forewarning least you also should come into the same condition of torment by the like occasion and also that I might take shame to my selfe for my basenesse and envy at Gods people Now that which I say is the same with what I have already said that this Saint with many others are risen and come into my soule accompanying my Saviour and therefore if you see her I should desire you to acquaint her with it and shew her this paper that shee may see how I have suffered for my persecuting of her but let her know that now I am one in the body with her though I confesse I have beene exceeding vile and base and when any have been speaking of move light or move spirituall injoyments then I had I would bid them be carefull and consider what they did and I would bring that mayd for an example to them that they might see whereto shee was come even said I to destroy all when indeed and in truth as farre as I can see now shee was come to the injoyment of all this was the persecuting spirit I was then of nay deare friend I have not wondered since at her expressions which I heard you say shee used that was why are you saith she come to persecute mee you know that wee both laughed at her and said was this the spirit that was upon her but since I have considered it and it was true enough for flesh must needs persecute the spirit and wee being flesh came indeed to persecure her therefore it was a true spirit of revelation that was upon her though she could not but beleeve our words when we professe to the contrary but I confesse I did not see you so apt to judge her as my selfe and therefore it is just that I should suffer in it and you bee forewarned from it for I did as much as in me lay strive to behead her and lay her dead in the affections of my freinds and all this was even for the testimony that shee bare of her Saviour and therefore I cannot thinke that the sword must depart from my house but that I must bee slaine in others affectiors even as others have beene slaine in mine I cannot passe by one thing considerable in it and that was this I doe well remember that even whilst I spake against her I was warned from within that I should take heed what I did and I could never speake of her but I should be smitten for it and yet I hearkened not but rushed into sinne as the Horse into the battell therefore I am willing now to take shame to my selfe and have thus largely written this to you that you might communicate it to whom you please for indeed the goodnesse of the Lord hath so overcome me and the glory of my God is so risen upon mee that I care not if all the world know my miscarriages I did not thinke to write so large to you but my God so fils me as I cannot tell how to leave if you understand not my language I pray let Mr. G. C. helpe you I question not but hee may give you a sight in it to whom present my deare respects also to all the rest of my dear friends tell them I am one in the spirit with them and that I would have them carefull of judging the good Lord reward you spirituall consolations for all your labour of love to me in 〈◊〉 I am your exceeding loving and as God shall make me your faithfull friend to serve you 3. Letter Christian friend OUr loving Father hath comforted me by your Letter I exceedingly rejoyce in your condition I see his very great power magnified in you to make you thus willing to be at his dispose It s no smal matter for a soule to deny it selfe We have been a long time talking of self-deniall because the letter of the Scriture hath sweetly spoken of it but truly we have not known what it is from the indwelling of truth in us I am sure thus much I finde that it must be the death of the whol first man that so the second man may be established in righteousnes and truly 't is the mighty power of God must passe upon us to raise us up to live thus in himself I could willingly open to you how I was brought in that measure that I am into this life It was by the sight or vision of God himself For as I was one day carried forth by him to speake some thing to another as he spake in me I had this wonderfull Vision that confounded me and threw me to the ground before it for it was no lesse then infinitenesse it self that beheld me and at last made mee to behold it but this sight of God did so astonish me it destroyed and wrought such an utter death to my selfe and to every thing below or besides him I mean things that appear to be that truly I may say I had no spirit of a man left in me but I sat before him as a meer passive appearance Then I felt the spirit of life from above enter into me again and carried me forth to act where when and how it pleased Now came I to be what he would have me and never before It was not long since that I should have been much troubled to be called hither and thither and to act the part of such or such a one No the reasonable man indeed was not dead yet in me but now the Lord so slew it that I cryed out Here am I Lord send me for I am no more my self now nor to act for my self but for the Lord And I wondred still why the flesh in the ordinary appearnce of it did remain I mean this outward form or vessel that held the treasure for indeed I thought when the Apostle spake of a change that it had been the changing of the outward forme but this day came upon me unawars However I doe not say the outward form shal not be changed let it be as it pleaseth him my glory lies within the Vaile I am not called so much to talk
more Aâ—ust I alwayes be tormented among shadows longing and wandring after the substance and never meet with it All this while it is pretty well in comparison of what it is when fury 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my spirit boils within me and rages 〈◊〉 is that maketh my spirit so violent and 〈◊〉 ous I can in no wise imagine nor vent 〈◊〉 cannot it is too big to come forth therâ— no object without capacious enough to râ—ceive it but within it lyes and feeds and 〈◊〉 presses so vehemently that my spirit is 〈◊〉 forced to cry out day and night there is 〈◊〉 subsisting no there is no subsisting undâ—â— it June 10. NOw to return if it may be to the thoughts and workings of my minde concerning your letter To what end should he write to me in this manner unless he could withall have sent me light to read by I understand not one line not one tittle of all his letter This day whilest my father and I was together this letter became yours What 〈◊〉 the meaning of this which way shall I go 〈◊〉 bout to finde out the meaning of this 〈◊〉 he present how many questions might I 〈◊〉 him before I could receive in any imagination 〈◊〉 concerning the sense of these words 〈◊〉 I must ask him who is his father what 〈◊〉 father I cannot so much as fancy what 〈◊〉 should be A father is he that begets his 〈◊〉 is he that begat him But who is that 〈◊〉 begat him what is he I am at a losse at 〈◊〉 dash But what meanes this Whilest my 〈◊〉 and I was together what is it to bee 〈◊〉 the father to have the father with one here is a puzling phrase indeed here my fancy is quite puzled I know not how to frame any imagination about this what it is to be with the father And whilest I was with the father what is the meaning of this whilest is hee sometimes with the father and sometimes not with the father Whilest I know not what to make of this whilest Whilest I was with the father this letter became yours how mine I know not how it is mine how became it mine Did his father while he was with him bid him write this to me Here may be more in this then I am aware of I remember my mind did much muse on this and my desire was great to have satisfied my spirit concerning the sence of it but it was and still is too hard for mee Then I thought on the next passage That there is but one to remain on the earth that is the Lord. But one What is one For my paâ—â— I know neither unity nor distinction and thaâ— is the Lord. The Lord Oh what is the Lord â— who is the Lord I am forced to speake likâ— Pharaoh I know not the Lord. I cannot say know any thing nay certainly if any thing bâ— certaine to mee I doe not know any thing But of all things I have no knowledge at all oâ— the Lord that is the thing indeed that is hiâ— from mee with perfect darknesse The vaile â— so thicke and my eye so weake if I have anâ— eye that I have no manner of discerning â—â— him But one to remaine on the earth Whâ—â— is this remaining when all things passe awaâ— shall the earth it selfe abide any otherwiâ—â— then other things abide also how shall thâ—â— Lord remaine on the earth Then I thought on that passage Be not troâ—bled What voyce is this whence came this Did his father bid him wâ—ite thus to mee Who is it troubles me To this let me sâ— two things I cannot resist alas what a vaiâ— thing is it for a poore weake creature to thiâ— to withstand such mighty powerfull troublâ— as comes rushing in upon mee I have â— strength to resist any thing there is nothiâ—â— so weake as I the strongest Engine is weaâ— in my hand but trouble hath growne strength as fast as I have decayed How should I now resist it how should I now avoid beâ—ng troubled Besides when at at any time â— thinke to keepe trouble of it presently over-beares me I never finde any mitigation of â—rouble so farre as I have observed but when â— lye downe at its feet opening my bosome â—nd letting it enter as deepe as it will What means this phrase whence came this speech Be not troubled Then that passage came into my minde If â—ou will but stand still you shall see the salvaâ—ion of the Lord breaking forth upon the whole earth I did not finde my spirit so enquiring into the particular sence of this Phrase â—s working thus How spake hee this Upon â— generall notion that the Lord will appeare â—re long and so I among others shall see him â—ea perhaps he may meane though the body be laid in the dust first yet I shall see him or by a particular present light from the father concerning me whom he said was now with him and that while he was with him this Letâ—er became mine Afterwards I remembred another passage Shall I come to you or will you come to mee What was his intent in this that the body â—hould move to him to Westminster or send to him to move to the place where my body then was Alas that were a poore comming on either hand or to what end were any such comming and for any other comming either of mee to any or of any to mee I am not acquainted with it At last I remembred that When he appeared unto mee my flesh died and was crucified Oh then I felt my spirit burne within mee to know this appearing of him and the rather that it might kill me that I might once enteâ— into this crucified state oh this is a sweet way of dying to dye by the appearing of the Lord this is the very way I have desired to dye alâ— this while My torments have been partly welcome through hope of death from them and I reasoned within my selfe though thâ— Lord might slay me by his appearing yet if â—â— were his pleasure to kill me by his absence anâ— severall kindes of tormenting fires which hâ— should pick out to that purpose yet at lengâ—â— death would bee sweet and an entrance intâ— my desired life But this was it still perplexâ—â— me I could not dye the flames wereliving fed mee with life as well as with tormenâ— Then my Spirit would Sigh Surely this wiâ— never do it after this rate may I be tormentâ— for ever and yet still live unto that to whiâ—â— I have still desired to dye But to be killed by the appearing of the Lord oh how sweet would this way be and this would be a certaine way too mee thinkes I could easily bee perswaded to beleeve that the creature cannot live any longer when God once appeares To these let me add one more which came into my minde this morning Come let us be gone why stay we here our bed is greene Oh how faine would I be gone How doe I loath staying here
that end withdrew to my Bed where I thought I might in my more singular addresses expend my desires upon my received glory I lay down in my Bed with unexpressible comfort being overcome with the beauty of holy delights I endeavoured to cover this fire with silence but it grew so hot within me that no longer I could retain it but was forced to declare to my Bed-fellow a friend of mine how it was with me I told him I was over-come with love I was so replenished with divine rest and consolation that I could not contain my self I began to sing and rejoyce being every minute apt to be carried out of my Bed to daunce and leap about the room but this noise soonvanished away by the power of that voice which commanded silence saying Rest and be still in thine own Love Hereat a deep silence possessed me yet not a jot of my glory diminished but onely brought under the power of a heavenly silence yea there was silence in heaven My friend lying by me was suddenly surprized with a miraculous power from above his body did shake and tremble in such a manner as I never saw who declared the comming of the day of God in a language divine and powerfull sometimes singing and rejoycing in so much that the people of the house being thereat awakened wondred what the matter should be All this while my lovely silence constrained me yet under unspeakable enjoyments my breath was by fits taken from me and the divine life did so overpower the naturall as that I expected a daily motion out of this form or body nay how willing was I to commit my body to the power of an eternall sleepe and to enter into that immensity which was able to comprehend me We spent almost the whole night under the power of these raptures while at last towards morning I felt a timely withdrawing of the rigour and vehemency of this power which I was made freely willing to part with at the Fathers pleasure for I have learned both how to want and how to abound Yet notwithstanding to this day there remaines a virulent and powerfull impression of the same upon my heart which I hope shall never be raced out I then saw and doe still behold a perfect reconciliation brought forth in me to all that heretofore I have beene at enmity with Hell Sinne Death Divell are all in a league with mee I have fellowship with God in all these I care not who knowes it Sinne hath lost its strength Hell its torment Death its victory the Divell his enmity we are all friends Hallelujah God omnipotent reignes in all these Good Lord What a poor low life is that which subsists onely in those things that bring forth our advantage I have now learned to live upon the highest disadvantages that may be I can fetch life out of death good out of evill yea enjoy light in darknesse peace in torment Heaven in Hell I know nothing can hurt nothing can destroy in this Mountain where I live Shall Sinne alas that 's to weake the Law which was its strength is departed it shall no more have dominion over me for I am not under the Law I can passe through all imaginable evill in the light of divine righteousnesse and receive not the least dammage Shall Hell O it s a lake of comfortable torment I live in it joyfully I love it dearly I know the breath of God as rivers of brimstone kindles hell in me it burnes it scorches and so let it till the will of God be fulfilled I can passe through these flames yea lye down amongst them and not one haire of my head shall perish by them I glorifie and rejoyce in the very fires I shall now desire you to acquaint my Freâ—nds with these dealings of God towards me if happily any thing may be given in upon their spirits about it All that I have at present is this I looke upon it as an evident signe of some dreadfull appearance of the Sonne of man for these two things were given in with much power upon my heart First That the God of peace shall tread Satan under feet shortly Secondly Lift up your head your redemption drawes nigh Read Vnderstand Rejoyce 24. Letter A Letter written by a young man about 19. yeares of age the Evening before he dyed being Saturday-night hee was well as was supposed about 11. of the clock and about 2. the next morning dyed and left a Letter of which this is a Coppy with this Superscription To his dear Sisters Mrs. Hester Langham Mrs. Sarah Brewer Mrs. Thomason Fison and others the Saints of God when deceased YEE Saints and Spouse of the King of loves the Lord Jesus the delight of delights himselfe the Lord Jesus from everlasting with the Sonnes of men Love our fountaine with those lovely streames of divine and supernaâ—urall glory who now dwels in us and we in him Our Saviour saith Yet a little and the world seeth me no more but ye see me pretious for a small season a little while hath this world seene mee but low they see me no more but ye shall see me for I am gone to our fathers house to lye in the everlasting armos of eternall love in the infinite embraces of eternall sweetnesse to bee there where yee shall bee all together with mee and all Saints to all eternity Rejoyce now together for me and if you love mee you will rejoyce because I goe to the Father for me indeed to live is Christ but to dye is gaine And sure I am that Saint Pauls desire for a long time by a flame of love hath beene kindled in my soule even to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all I now live yet not I but Christ lives in me Loe the the time comes when I dye yet not I but this old man which I carry about with me Oh pretious Saints How sweet how pleasant are the thoughts of death to mee Surely sorrow may be for a night but joy comes in the morning Love is that bond of union betweene mee and my beloved union is that perfection of love love throughly desirâ—s perfect communion What now hinders this but death surely this must needs be pleasing unto me being the meanes to so lovely an end I am here but as a wayfaring man which tarries but for a night and surely what are the pleasures of this night at the best They are but darknesse in themselves and in their greatest light but resemblances of another which is farre greater But behold the night is past the day appeares and I am gone to my beloved he that should come is come and hath not tarried and oh blessed yea thrice blessed is his comming to me where I can see him face to face whom my soule so much longed for The vaile is rent and I now no longer see him as in a glasse but in his owne native beauty and supernaturall glory Blessed
Saints I leave you and goe to my Father surely whether I goe you know and the way you know think it not strange cone rning this my fiery tryall by death and sepâ—â—ation from you for loe the time commeth in which we shall be no more seperated but as we are one so shall we ever be inseperable from our own beloved Holy holy holy is the Lord God of Sabbath a holy rest a Sabbath of eternall rest am I gone to celebrate Oh yee holy Saints the voyce of my Beloved behold he comes leaping upon the Hils and skipping upon the Mountaines Loe he comes and that quickly he comes and now quickly am I gone of all Beloveds none is like to mine the melodious voyce sings sweetly in mine eare even of Angels themselves but that new Song of love the sweet lovely Song of Saints gloriously glorified with their Beloved is harmonious indeed What shall I now say of these things I cannot now fully apprehend them as it is but am now comprehended of them therefore lye I downe and rest with this perswasion and full conclusion sealed by the witnesse of the Spirit unto my Soule that what my Beloved is so shall I be and where bee is thither am I gone Then deare Sisters and precious Saints make haste and tarry not that are here on earth in imperfection so that now in heaven in perfection we may live and for ever enjoy Joyes unspeakable and full of glory Farewell deare Saints farewell farewell though I now leave you and goe away from you yet I shall see you againe and when I see you so I rejoyce eternally together with you in this life I have beene yours and here together with you and surely death disjoynts not our Spirits though our Bodies therefore in another life shall we be as members so Saints glorified in our glorious Jesus and with him who is our delight in whom you are to whom you are to whom I goe and with whom wee shall remaine Priests and Kings to our God Deare Saints I rest and the God of rest be with your spirits for ever and when you see this think on him who was here your fellow Disciple but now Your glorified Brother WILLIAM LANGHAM 25. Letter The Coppy of a Letter as it was sent from Mrs. T. P. in behalfe of Mrs. E. P. To a Congregation of Saints in London under the forme of Baptisme DEAR brethren in the bowels of love and meeknesse I kindly salute you wishing you an encrease of all faithfulnesse and true knowledge in the mystery of Christ The cause of my present writing is to acquaint you that providence hath lately brought a letter to my hand directed to my husband concerning one Mrs. P. once a member with you which woman say you for scandalous evils was cast out Now it being some yeares since it was done I humbly desire a little to reason with you about the grounds why this still remains upon your spirits seeing Christ saith forgive yee one another as I forgive you and God is said to remember our sinnes no more this therefore is a note of forgivenesse not to remember and sure we should shew our selves children of our heavenly father But further I desire before the Lord that you examine your owne hearts in this thing what your end is in it if it be that you thinke she is not worthy to have a livelihood amongst men then why doe you not either by the Civill Law if that will take hold of the offence or by some other way if nothing will satisfie you but her blood take some present course that may put an end to this great difference but if you thinke this bee too grosse or more then the offence requires then I beseech you for the Lords sake to consider your owne actings in this thing whether you doe not as much as in you lies carry on the same designe though more closly from the eyes of the world which sure before the Lord can appear no other but the hunting after her life nay is it not more then to take off one single life at once for which is greater cruelty for a Tyrant to take a mans life at once or by degrees and then your selves be judges whether your proceedings towards her be not a killing all the day long for you cannot bee ignorant that she hath no livelihood amongst men but what she earnes by her hands and your defaming her in this manner cannot in an ordinary way but deprive her of that and so at last bring her blood upon you If you say you acquaint none but the Saints with it it is evident to the contrary for your open publishing it in the Counsell of Warre caused the world to take notice of it and yet your spirits rest not here truly deare friends as the evill spirit wrought in her one way when she was with you so consider whether the fame spirit doe not highly worke in you at this time another way the Lord give you understanding in all things But if her life be not that which you aim at then is it those divine discoveries of life and light which God makes out to the world by her if it be so then you are to know that hee is too strong you strive withall but about this I would a little quere first whether doe you think that because such evils were manifest in her when with you therefore it is impossible now that any good should bee brought forth by her doe you not hope to grow better and better But secondly is it not Gods usuall way to manifest himselfe there highest where in time past he was by the evill spirit kept lowest yea doth hee not suffer himselfe for this very end many times thus to die in appearance and to leave a soule to it selfe that it may see what it is in it selfe and learne to die to it selfe that so hee may have the more glorious resurrection in that soule I beseech you for the Lords sake to consider these things As for her outward person I conceive she cares as little for it as you can therefore you may take your fill of trampling on it but I beseech you bee carefull how you medle with the spirit that breaths in her for surely brethren I know not what spirit manifested it selfe in her while with you I am sure and I speake nothing but the truth that I have found a most divine spirit in her as farre as I could discerne and that which comes to the spirit and life of things and in this me thinks you should rejoyce for truly I have heard many professors and seene many professions but to my knowledge I never heard one come so neare the power as shee does I doe not speake this as being affected with any person party or opinion I blesse my God I am now in his strength delivered from that though some have falsly affirmed my being deluded by her but I am confident I can say with Paul
glory in that administration I grant it and that it yet is to some yea many and they doe well to waite for glory there where they finde it appearing to them I call off none frâ—m ordinances I judge not those that professe themselves called off I know not where abouts I am surenot in vision but sometimes I hope in dreames the old mans state and so under the spirit The last thing you mention is your seruples about Ordinances which are torâ— as an hedge of thornes set by the Lord in your way to turn you backe again from those things which we have more or lesse idollized and set up in his place I have performed your desire and you may looke upon me as Lazarus quickened but bound hand and foot with grave cloaths what life and liberty I have it must be to serve the Saints and therefore account me ever ready to serve you August 18. 1649. Letter 29. Dear and much esteemed MY Father hath unbosomed such a glory to me since I saw you last that I cannot but admire at it it was as I was walking alone the power of my Father was seen in an exceeding glory so that I could not tell how to contain it my veile was too narrow to receive it I have had many discoveries of glory since and have been in many fires and burnt very sweetly and consum'd very joyfull I desire to live as well in Hell as in Heaven and the greater Hell the greater Heaven I rejoyce exceedingly in the everlasting burnings one breath of my Father makes both Heaven and Hell but this is that my Father hath written in my heart that everlasting deliverance is at hand but first the Lord will cover the Earth with darknesse and with grosse darknesse the people and such black clouds of darknes will our Father cloath himself with that none but those that see with the eye of the Lord shall be able to see him in the thick darknes The smoak of the Beast ascends out of the bottomlesse pit and wrath from the Almighty is upon her and I cannot but rejoyce and sing Hallelujah Hallelujah all praise be given to him that sits on the thron for ever and when you see these things done then lift up your heads the day of your redemption is at hand I see them performed I see them finished and brought forth into power and I rejoyce in the work of the Lord. I see the restored estate of our bringing forth with mighty power that wee shall see all things good that the Saints shall know no evill for my part I know no evill I see all things good I know nothing but good in all the world the Lord doth all things well whether in Earth or in Heaven and that that hath swallowed us up we are now swallowing it up I am swallowing Death Hell and the Grave up that now I am able to play with Satan He is but a Reed in my hands I have been really cloathed upon and mortality swallowed up into life and when this glory comes forth it will judge the world and silence them our glory is their torment and our Heaven is their Hell Thus I have given you an account of the present discoveries of my Father and rest in your heart â— Clem. FINIS A New Song 1. I Am that I am All that you heare and see I was now is and so shall bee All to Eternitie 2. Good is the Word the Word is Good God and the Word are one The rule is true and even so All that you look upon 3. This Word is Good this Good is God This Good is all you see If otherwise I should it owne Where would the freedome be 4. Now herein is the freedome just Thus knowing light to see That all is Good this all is God This Good hath made us free 5. Then entertein this freedome just In pure love for to bee Which pure love is the perfect Good Vnto Eternitie