A RELATION OF THE Labour Travail AND SUFFERING Of that faithful Servant of the Lord Alice Curwen Who departed this Life the 7th Day of the 6th Moneth 1679. and resteth in Peace with the LORD Here is the Patience of the Saints here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus Rev. 14.12 The Souls of the Righteous are precious in the Eyes of the Lord and they shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance Printed in the Year 1680. Something of Alice Curwen's Testimony which did lie upon her to declare some few dayes before she departed out of the Body she spoke for one to come to write and there was one that did come and did purpose to write but the Lord's Power and Presence was so with her that the Friends that were with her were so broken into Tenderness that there could nothing be written but there was one Friend which was present with her at that time which did remember something of what she did speak as followeth whose Name is Anne Martindall AND I can truly say my Heart was greatly affected and much broken in hearing of that powerful Testimony which dear Alice Curmen did bear for the Lord and for his Eternal Truth and in the Sense and Consideration of that blessed heavenly Power which did run thorow her at that time my Spirit is often tendred as before the Lord and truly many of her Words are past out of my Memory The first time I did see her she had been sick about five dayes and she seemed 〈…〉 but I went again 〈…〉 very sick that 〈…〉 continued that Night yet she was very sensible and desired me to sit up with her and so I did stay all that Night in which time she did utter many precious Words which I cannot call to mind she said That she felt nothing upon her but all was clear for she said I do not know that ever I did any thing that did offend the Lord if it was but a Hasty word or a Thought but I was reproved for it and I was willing to lie low and wait upon the Lord until he was pleased to arise again And she spoke much of the Goodness of the Lord towards her how that He had been with her at all times and in all places Some asked her If she did think that she should not get over it To which she answered I do not know what the Lord has to do but I am freely given up to do his will whatever it be Life or Death I am as clear as a Child this she spoke several times and desired that the will of the Lord might be done And after she had lain a while she said I have something in my Mind to speak if the Lord will enable me and she spoke forth with a Heavenly Melody and so spoke a long time but I do remember very few of her words but she said The Lord is on his way and he will go on Conquerings and to Conquer and he will carry on his great work which he hath begun And she often desired Friends to be faithful and follow the Lord fully and said That she would have none to go before nor none to stay behind nor to turn aside either to the Right Hand or to the Left but follows the Lord your Leader wheresoever he goes for she had 〈…〉 Sense upon her of the 〈◊〉 know the Truth 〈…〉 with us in a great 〈…〉 were sold it for the Preferment of this World which will perish and past away and yet they can come in with us and sit down in Meetings and have their Clothes made like the World's Fashions and like their order and speak their own Words but the Lord will blow such away with the Whirlewind of his Wrath but those that are faithful Travailers in the work of the Lord the Lord will preserve though they may meet with many Tryals and Besetments both inwardly and outwardly And she desired That all would let their Light shine and none to put it under a Bushel or under a Bed but all stand faithful for the Lord in your Day and then you need not be afraid of Death but it will be as easie to you as it is to me Truly she was so filled with the Lord's blessed Power and living Presence that the Sense of her Sickness was many times taken from her and she did often say Truly Friends I have little Pain upon me only weak and many a time she did lie singing and did make a sweet Melody to the Lord when she uttered very few words except on this wise Oh my Heavenly Father how hast thou filled my Cup and made it to overflow for I can do no less but even praise and magnifie they holy eternal Name and so she often desired That the Will of the Lord might be done whether it was Life or Death and said For to me to live is Christ and to dye is Gain and many such like precious words which she did speak which I cannot call to mind She spoke many very clear weighty things concerning the Virgins and their Lamps and exhorted all to be diligent and to know Life and Virtue in themselves to feed upon for she said The time will come that Words will cease and Life shall more arise and many more weighty things she did speak and said if she did live she must declare it and if she did dye she must leave it as a Testimony for the Lord she often desired Friends to be faithful to the Lord and follow the Lord fully as Deborah and Baruk did which if all had stood faithful what a blessed Day would it have been ere now So when she had declared and spoken what was upon her Spirit she had some ease and so continued about two hours and she spoke very much of her Off spring and said She desired nothing more concerning them then that they may Fear the Lord and then they will never Want And then towards the latter end of the Night she had an extream great Pain in her Head which was very hard to bear yet in all this time she did not utter one unpatient word but was like a patient Lamb and said Friends breathe to the Lord for me that he may lay no more upon me than I am able to bear that I may not offend this good God and immediately she did breathe forth in Prayer to the Lord then she had a little Ease and lay still as if she had been in a Slumber and a little after she said I have been in the Deep and I had something to speak but I could not So she did grow weaker and weaker but she was sweetly carryed through it to the End This was declared of this faithful Servant of the Lord who said She would have none to mourn for her when she was gone The Names of them that were with her Mary Nelson Marvell Fallbery Alice Cobb Rebecca Reckly Anne Martindall Thomas Curwen the elder Thomas
Curwen the younger Thomas Cobb Thomas Curwen HIS TESTIMONY Which is in behalf of his Wife's Testimony which she did bear faithfully for God and for his Eternal Truth ever since she was Convinced and her Heart and Mind turned from Darkness to the Light of Jesus Christ and from Satan's Power to the Power of God who did serve the Lord in Fear and rejoyced with Trembling whilst Breath and Life remained And Blessed are the Dead that Dye in the Lord they do Rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them AND this I can say to the Praise and Glory of our God That she did Dye in the Lord for she did Praise and magnifie the Name of the Lord and was freely given up to dye and the Lord's Presence was with her which did carry her up above her Weakness in the Flesh and though she be dead and her Body return to the Dust yet her Spirit is alive where Hell Death and the Grave can never seperate us Glory to our God forever who is the God of the Living and not of the Dead and the Living Praise the Lord the Dead in the Grave of Sin cannot For the Wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life and blessed are they that know the Gift of God and have their Minds exercised in it or else it had been better for them they had never known it but as their Minds are exercised in the Gift of God they come to witness Redemption from Sin and Death and come to witness Eternal Life where the Redeemed of the Lord do rejoyce who are redeemed out of the Earth and have a Habitation in Heaven and the Redeemed do sing Praises and Halelujahs to the Lord God and the Lamb forever and for evermore over Death Hell and the Grave for he is risen whom the Grave could not hold Glory to our God forever to whom all Power is given both in Heaven and in Earth and he will rule all with his Iron Rod everlasting Praises forever be given unto his holy blessed Name the Lamb of God who was slain from the Foundation of the world by whom the world was made who was dead but he is alive whose Name is called The word of God who was in the World and the World knew him not And ye will not come to me saith Christ that ye may have Life who hath given us Life Breath and Being that we may live to his Praise and to his Honour and Glory forever who is worthy who is worthy forever and for evermore saith my Soul And this I can say concerning my dear and loving Wife who was dear and tender over me to serve me in any thing that might do me good either for Soul or Body and the Consideration of her endeared Love to me doth often times come very fresh into my Remembrance which doth break my Heart into much Tenderness which doth cause me to write these few Lines concerning God's Testimony which she did bear for his Eternal Truth And I can truly say She was given me of the Lord who was a Meet Help for me who did live Husband and Wife about Thirty Eight Years who was my true Friend and Companion in Tribulation who did keep the Word of Patience in the Day of Tryal and in the Hour of Temptation and did bear the Burthen in the heat of the Day without Murmuring or looking back to the Flesh-Pots of Egypt but did Rejoyce in Tribulation Know ye not saith the Apostle that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope and this Hope maketh not ashamed because we have obtained the End of our Hope which is Salvation to be as Walls and Bulwarks And now we can say to the Praise and Glory of our God That now is Salvation nearer than when we first believed And when a measure of the Spirit of Grace was manifested to her and she did feel the Operation of it working in her Heart and was led and guided by it Oh! how she did improve her Talent for the Lord and for one Talent he gave her more and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ did teach her to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly and Righteously and Godly in this World and she did grow in the Grace of God from Strength to Strength and from Grace to Grace and her Affections were not on things below but on things above for her Treasure was in Heaven where neither Rust nor Moth could corrupt nor Thieves break through and Steal and the Lord was her Portion who is the Portion of the Righteous And when she was got into the highest Form of Profession she was very Zealous in her Way and Form that when the Truth came she was ready to receive it who did receive it with great Joy and Gladness of Heart and said Now I have found him whom my Soul loves which was my Desire which the blind watch-men could never know in reading of the Scriptures of Truth She had much comfort in reading of David's Psalms which was much Refreshment to her to sound forth Praises to the Lord and she did sing with the Spirit and with Understanding and she was almost alwayes Praising the Lord and magnifying his holy and blessed Name and when she could not speak she put her Hands together and did lift them up unto the Lord and did Praise the Lord in her Heart And when the Lord did send her forth to preach the Everlasting Gospel she did not reason with Flesh and Blood for the Lord's Power and Presence was with her wherein she did sound forth his Praises to the Nations and did declare of the Wonderful Works which the Lord had done for the Sons and Daughters of Men And she was not ashamed to confess the Name of the Lord before men who was brought several times before Magistrates and Rulers and was cast into Prison and was set in the Stocks and brought to the Whipping-Post for her Testimony which she had to bear for the Lord and for his Eternal Truth for she did follow Christ Jesus fully who was the Captain of her Salvation and did make War in Righteousness with the Beast and the False Prophet and her Captain did never fail her in time of Need but did go before her and did tread down her Enemies as Ashes under her Feet and the Lamb did get the Victory Glory to our God forever who did plead the Cause of the Innocent and did put a Word in her Mouth in every needful time and the Lord was with her and his Eternal Arm and Power did cover her Head in the Day of Battel And she did often pray to the Lord and said Lord let me injoy thy Presence and I desire no more and the Lord did hear her Cry and did answer her Desire for the Love of God was so large unto her which is more than I can express Glory and Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord. And she had great
ye are of God Oh Friends see that your Lamps be trimmed and that ye have Oyl in your Vessels for the Day of the Lord is near when he will pour out his Wrath upon the Heathen that know him not nor call not upon his Name in Righteousness and therefore Friends do we write unto you in a living Sense and in the Tenderness of our Spirits that ye may be exercised in the Gift of God every one in your several places and none to hide the Lord's Money in the Earth nor to account him a hard Master for indeed he is exceeding good unto all that in the Simplicity of their Spirits seek after him blessed be his Name forever and evermore And if it be your Freedom let Friends at New-York and at Flushen as ye see convenient see and read this Epistle in their Meeting for our dear and unfeigned Love is unto you all more than we can here declare And we cannot but return Praise and Thanksgiving unto the Lord who raised his own Witness in you to receive our Testimony though we be the least of many of the Lord's People and truly the Remembrance thereof is exceeding precious blessed be the Name of our God forever and for evermore We are here waiting for our Passage to Barbadoes and we desire you if you have a convenient Oportunity to let us hear from you and to write to Barbadoes for it is our Joy and the Joy of all that truly Fear the Lord to hear from one another and not only to hear but to feel one another in the Life and Power of God's eternal Truth So in the true Sense of the Love of our God wherein our true Comfort and Consolation stands we remain in the eternal Spirit of Truth which hath made us free from the Law of Sin and Death eternal Praises Praises forever and for evermore be rendred and returned unto the Lord God of our Life who is worthy forever and for evermore Amen in which we remain Your Friends in the Vnchangeable Truth of our God THOMAS ALICE CURWEN From Newport in Road-Island the 9th of the 5th Moneth 1676. To Friends at New-York in New-England FRIENDS IN that Love of our God which caused us to leave our Native Country and all that was dear and near unto us and come and visit you and in Obedience we came and we are well satisfied in the Lord and refreshed one in another as you your selves very well know and we wrote to you from Road-Island and earnestly desired to hear from you to Barbadoes which made us greatly to wonder that we did not receive one Line from you we did expect to hear from you in writing by Lewes Morris but indeed we can truly say That if our Exercise be great yet the Lord is with us who will not suffer us to be tryed but he also brings us through by the Arm of his holy Power and so the Righteous can Rejoyce Everlasting Holy Praises be unto the Lord our God forever and for evermore So that which is chiefly in our hearts at this time is That we may all serve the Lord in Fear and Rejoyce in Trembling and with the Holy Man of God we can sing of the Judgments of the Lord and also of his Mercies and so shall we all dwell together in the holy Fear low in our measures where we offer up unto God a living Sacrifice well-pleasing in his sight So mind our dear Love to Friends at the Gravesend and Long-Island and Oyster-Bay and let them know that the Love of our God which is shed abroad in our Hearts reaches to the Seed and breathes for the Preservation of its Off-spring that we may be comforted in our Travails concerning you for we are very certain that our Testimony is true for the Lord for he rewards us an hundred fold into our Bosom for we have had great Service in this Island and the Lord hath given unto our two Talents two more for which our Souls bless the Lord Let all that feel his holy Power rejoyce with us for the Work of the Lord goes on and Prospers in this Island since our coming hither he is turning back the Wisdom of the Wise though they laid many Baits and Snares for the Innocent yet the Snares are broken and we are delivered and Truth prospers over the Heads of them that do oppose Everlasting holy Praises be unto the Lord our God who carries his Lambs in his Arms and prospers his own Work Here is a great openness in this Island and the Lord is working secretly in Peoples Hearts though they little know it who it is that smites them So dear Friends when you have read this Epistle which is a Salutation of our Unfeigned Love you may read it in your Meeting and let Friends at Gravesend Long-Island and Oyster-Bay see it for you are all as one to us whose Hearts are Upright to God Our dear Love to Matthew Pryer and his Family to Mary Willis and her Family and Alice Crabe and her Family and to John Dickson and his Family and to Friends about Flushen and Jamaco to Hugh Couperwhete and his Wife and though we cannot remember their Names yet in that Unchangeable Love that can never be forgotten in which the Lord refresht our Immortal Souls when we were together do we dearly salute you all and do bid you all Farewel And if it be in any of your Hearts to write a few Lines to us ye may write to London for we should be glad to hear from Friends at so great a distance and how things are but we do not know at present when we shall go Home but in the Will of the Lord we stand who hath given us good Success Holy Praises be to his Name forever and evermore saith your Friends From Oliver Hutton's at Barbadoes the 12th of the 12th Mon. 1676. Thomas Alice Curwen There was a Widdow-Woman in Barbadoes that had Negro's to her Servants who were convinced of God's Eternal Truth and I hearing of them was moved to go to speak to the Woman for their coming to our Meetings and when I did speak to her she did deny me and then I did write to her as followeth Martha Tavernor I Cannot pass by but in Love write to thee for in Love we came to visit thee and to invite thee and thy Family to the Meeting but thou for thy part art like him that was invited to work in the Vineyard and went not And as for thy Servants whom thou callst thy Slaves I tell thee plainly thou hast no right to reign over their Conscience in Matters of Worship of the Living God for thou thy self confessedst that they had Souls to save as well as we Therefore for time to come let them have Liberty lest thou be called to give an Account to God for them as well as for thy self So in thy old Age chuse rather as a good Man did that both thou and thy whole Family may serve