is Invisible doth open you by his Invisible Power and Spirit and brings down the carnal Mind in you so the Invisible and Immortal things are brought to Light in you O therefore you that know the Light walk in the Light For there are Children of Darkness that will talk or the Light and of the Truth and not walk in it but the Children of the Light love the Light and walk in the Light But the Children of Darkness walk in Darkness and hate the Light and in them the earthly Lusts and the carnal Mind choke the Seed of Faith and that bringeth Oppression on the Seed and Death over them O therefore mind the pure Spirit of the Everlasting God which will reach you to use the Creatures in their right place and which iudgeth the Evil. To thee O God be all Glory and Honour who art Lord of all Visibles and Invisibles To thee be all Praise who bringest out of the Deep to thy Self O powerful God who art worthy of all Glory For the Lord who created all and gives Life and Strength to all is over all and Merciful to all So thou who hast made all and art over all to thee be all Glory In thee is my Strength Refreshments and Life my Joy and my Gladness my Rejoycing and Glorying for evermore So to live and walk in the Spirit of God is Joy and Peace and Life but the Mind going forth into the Creatures or into any Visible Things from the Lord this bringeth Death Now when the Mind is got into the Flesh and into Death then the Accuser gets within and the Law of Sin and Death that gets into the Flesh and then the Life suffers under the Law of Sin and Death And then there is straitness and failings For then the Good is shut up and then the Self-Righteousness is set a top and then Man doth work in the outward Law and he cannot Justify himself by the Law but is Condemned by the Light For he cannot get out of that State but by abiding in the Light and resting in the Mercy of God and believing in him from whom all Mercy doth flow For there is Peace in resting in the Lord Jesus This is the Narrow Way that leads to him the Life but few will abide in it Therefore keep in the Innocency and be obedient to the Faith in him And take heed of Conforming to the World and of Reasoning with Flesh and Blood for that bringeth Disobedience and then Imaginations and Questionings do arise to draw from Obedience to the Truth of Christ But the Obedience of Faith destroyeth Imaginations and Questionings and Reasonings and all the Temptations in the Flesh and Buffetings and lookings forth and fetching up things that are past But not keeping in the Life and Light and not crossing the Corrupt Will by the Power of God the Evil Nature grows up in Man and then Burdens will come and Man will be stained with that Nature But Esau's Mountain shall be laid waste and become a Wilderness where the Dragons lie But Jacob the second Birth shall be fruitful and shall arise For Esau is hated and must not be Lord but Jacob the second Birth which is perfect and plain shall be Lord for he is beloved of God G. F. I writ another Paper also much about the same time and sent it forth amongst the Convinced People as followeth THE LORD is KING over all the Earth Therefore all People praise and glorifie your King in the true Obedience in the Uprightness and in the beauty of Holiness O Consider in the true Obedience the Lord is known and an Understanding from him is received Mark and consider in silence in the Lowliness of Mind and thou wilt hear the Lord speak unto thee in thy Mind His Voice is sweet and pleasant His Sheep hear his Voice and they will not hearken to another And when they hear his Voice they Rejoice and are Obedient they also sing for Joy Oh their Hearts are filled with everlasting Triumph They sing and praise the Eternal God in Sion their Joy shall never Man take from them Glory to the Lord God for Evermore But many that had been Convinced of the Truth turned aside because of the Persecution that arose Whereupon I writ a few Lines for the Comfort and Encouragement of the Faithful thus COme ye Blessed of the Lord and Rejoice together Keep in Unity and Oneness of Spirit Triumph above the World Be joyful in the Lord reigning above the World and above all things that draw from the Lord that in Clearness Righteousness Pureness and Joy you may be preserved to the Lord. O hear O hearken to the Call of the Lord and come out of the World and keep out of it for evermore And come Sing together ye Righteous Ones the Song of the Lord the Song of the Lamb which none can learn but they who are Redeemed from the Earth and from the World Now while I was in the House of Correction my Relations came to see me and being troubled for my Imprisonment they went to the Justices that cast me into Prison and desired to have me home with them offering to be bound in One hundred Pounds and others of Darby in fifty Pounds a piece with them that I should come no more thither to declare against the Priests So I was had up before the Justices and because I would not consent that they or any should be bound for me for I was Innocent from any Ill Behaviour and had spoken the Word of Life and Truth unto them Justice Bennet rose up in a rage and as I was kneeling down to Pray to the Lord to forgive him he ran upon me and struck me with both his Hands Crying Away with him Jailer Take him away Jailer Whereupon I was had back again to Prison and there kept until the time of my Commitment for Six Months was Expired But I had now the Liberty of walking a Mile by my self which I made use of as I felt freedom And sometimes I went into the Market and Streets and warned the People to Repent of their Wickedness and so returned to Prison again And there being Persons of several sorts of Religion in the Prison I sometimes went and visited them in their Meetings on the First-days After I had been before the Justices and they had required Sureties for my good Behaviour which I could not Consent should be given to blemish my Innocency It came upon me to write to the Justices again which I did as followeth Friends SEE what it is in you that doth Imprison and see who is Head in you and see if something do not Accuse you Consider you must be brought to Judgment Think upon Lazarus and Dives the one fared sumptuously every day the other a Beggar And now you have time prize it while you have it Would you have me to be bound to my Good Behaviour I am bound to my Good Behaviour And do Cry for Good Behaviour
and Mortality put off yet we believe he has a Building with God Eternally in the Heavens and is entred into Rest as a Reward to those great Labours hard Sufferings and sore Trials he patiently endured for God and his Truth Of which Truth he was made an Able Minister and One if not the First Promulgator of it in our Age who though of no great Literature nor seeming much Learned as to the outward being hid from the Wisdom of this World yet he had the Tongue of the Learned and could speak a Word in due Season to the Conditions and Capacities of most especially to them that were weary and wanted Soul's Rest being deep in the Divine Mysteries of the Kingdom of God And the Word of Life and Salvation through him reached unto many Souls whereby many were Convinced of their great Duty of inward Retiring to Wait upon God and as they became diligent in the Performance of that Service were also raised up to be Preachers of the same Everlasting Gospel of Peace and Glad Tidings to others who are as Seals to his Ministry both in this and other Nations and may possibly give a more full Account thereof Howbeit we knowing his unwearied Diligence not Sparing but Spending himself in the Work and Service whereunto he was Chosen and Called of God could not but give this short Testimony of his Faithfulness therein and likewise of his tender Love and Care towards us who as a tender Father to Children in which Capacity we stood being so Related unto him he never failed to give us his wholesome Counsel and Advice And not only so but as a Father in Christ he took Care of the whole Family and Houshold of Faith which the Lord had made him an Eminent Overseer of and endued him with such an Excellent Spirit of Wisdom and Vnderstanding to propose and direct Helps and Advantages to the Well-ordering and Establishing of Affairs and Government in the Church as now are found very serviceable thereunto and have greatly disappointed and prevented the false loose and libertine Spirit in some who to their own Confusion have endeavoured by Separation and Division to disturb the Church's Peace And although many of that sort have at sundry times shot their poisonous Darts at him publickly in Print and privately other ways yet he has been always preserved by the Heavenly Power of God out of the Reach of their Envy and all Perils and Difficulties that attended on their Account Who as a Fixed Star in the Firmament of God's Power did constantly abide and held his Integrity to the last being of a sweet savoury Life and as to Conversation kept his Garments clean And though outwardly dead yet liveth and his Memory is right precious unto us as it is and will be to all that abide in the Love of Truth and have not declined the Way of it For he was one of the Lord's Worthies Valiant for the Truth upon Earth not turning his Back in the Day of Battle but his Bow still abiding in its Strength he through many Hardships brought Gladness and Refreshment to Israel's Camp being assisted by the Might of that Power that always put the Armies of Aliens and Enemies to Flight And now having finished his Course is removed from us into a Glorious State of Immortality and Bliss and is gathered unto the Lord as a Shock of Corn in its full Season and to that Habitation of Safety where the Wicked cease from troubling and the Weary be at Rest John Rous. William Meade Thomas Lower William Ingram Daniel Abraham Abraham Morrice Margaret Rous. Sarah Meade Mary Lower Susanna Ingram Rachel Abraham Isabel Morrice An Epistle by Way of Testimony to Friends and Brethren of the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings in England Wales and elsewhere concerning the Decease of our Faithful Brother GEORGE FOX From our Second-Days Morning Meeting in London the 26th of the 11th Month 1690. DEar and truly beloved Friends Brethren and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Blessed Lord and Saviour we sincerely and tenderly salute you all in his free and tender Love wherewith he hath graciously visited us and largely shed it abroad in our Hearts and Souls to our own unspeakable Comfort and Consolation and towards his whole Heritage and Royal Off-spring blessed be his pure and powerful Name for Evermore And our Souls do truly and fervently desire and breathe unto the God of all our Mercies that you all may be preserved and kept truly faithful and diligent in his Work and Service according to your Heavenly Calling and Endowments with his Light Grace and Truth unto the End of your Days as being livingly engaged thereby all your appointed Time to serve him and to wait till your Change come That none may neglect that true Improvement of your Times and Talents that God has afforded you here for your Eternal Advantage hereafter in that Inheritance and Life Immortal that never fades away And that the whole Flock and Heritage of Christ Jesus which he has purchased and bought for himself with a Price incorruptible may always be so preserved in his own pure Love and Life as to grow increase and prosper in the same and thereby be kept in Love Vnity and Peace with one another as becomes his true and faithful Followers is that which our very Hearts and Souls desire being often truly comforted and enlarged in the living sense and feeling of the Encrease and Aboundings thereof among faithful Friends and Brethren And Dear Brethren and Sisters unto this our Tender Salutation We are concerned in Brotherly Love and true Tender-heartedness to add and impart unto you some Account of the Decease of our Dear and Elder Brother in Christ namely his and his Church's true and faithful Servant and Minister George Fox whom it hath pleased the Lord to take unto himself as he hath divers others of his faithful Servants and Ministers of late Time who have faithfully served out their Generation and finished their Testimony and Course with Joy and Peace Howbeit O Dear Brethren and Friends that so many Worthies in Israel and serviceable Instruments in the Lord's Hand are of late taken away and removed from us so soon one after another appears a Dispensation that deeply and sorrowfully affects us and many more whose Hearts are upright and tender toward God and one to another in the Truth The Consideration of the Depth Weight and Meaning thereof is very weighty upon our Spirits though their precious Life and Testimony lives with us as being of that same Body united to one Head even Christ Jesus in which we still and hope ever shall have secret Comfort and Union with them whom the Lord has removed and taken to himself out of their Earthly Tabernacles and Houses into their Heavenly and Everlasting Mansions This our said Dear Brother George Fox was enabled by the Lord's Power to Preach the Truth fully and effectually in our Publick Meeting in White-Hart-Court by Grace-Church-street London on the Eleventh
Day of this instant 11th Month 1690 After which he said I am glad I was here now I am clear I am fully clear Then he was the same Day taken with some Illness or Indisposition of Body more than usual and continued weak in Body for two days after at our Friend Henry Goldney's House in the same Court close by the Meeting-House in much Contentment and Peace and very sensible to the last In which time he mentioned divers Friends and sent for some in particular to whom he exprest his Mind for the spreading Friends Books and Truth in the World and through the Nations thereof as his Spirit in the Lord's Love and Power was universally set and bent for Truth and Righteousness and the making known the Way thereof to the Nations and People afar off signifying also to some Friends That all is well and the Seed of God reigns over all and over Death it self That though he was weak in Body yet that the Power of God is over all and the Seed reigns over all disorderly Spirits which were his wonted sensible Expressions being in the living Faith and Sense thereof which he kept to the End And the Thirteenth Instant between the Ninth and Tenth Hour in the Night he quietly departed this Life in Peace being two days after the Lord enabled him to Publish and Preach the Blessed Truth in the Meeting as aforesaid So that he clearly and evidently ended his days in his faithful Testimony in perfect Love and Unity with his Brethren and Peace and Good-will to all Men being about Sixty and six Years of Age as we understand when he departed this Life And on the Sixteenth of this Instant being the day appointed for his Funeral a very great Concourse of Friends and People assembled at our Meeting-House in White-Hart-Court aforesaid about the Mid-day in order to attend his Body to our Burying-place near Bunhill-Fields to be Interred as Friends last Office of Love and Respect due on that Account The Meeting was held about two Hours with great and heavenly Solemnity manifestly attended with the Lord's Blessed Power and Presence and divers living Testimonies given from a lively Remembrance and Sense of this his Dear Ancient Servant his Blessed Ministry and Testimony of the breaking forth of this Gospel-day his Innocent Life long and great Travels and Labours of Love in the Everlasting Gospel for the turning and gathering many Thousands from Darkness to the Light of Christ Jesus the Foundation of true Faith also of his manifold Sufferings Afflictions and Oppositions which he met withal for his faithful Testimony both from his open Adversaries and false Brethren and his Preservations Dominion and Deliverances out of them all by the Power of God To whom the Glory and Honour was and is ascribed in raising up and preserving this his faithful Witness and Minister to the End of his Days whose blessed Memorial will Everlastingly remain He loved Truth and Righteousness and bore faithful Testimony against Deceit and Falshood and the Mystery of Iniquity and often of late time especially warned Friends against Covetousness Earthly-mindedness against getting into the Earth and into a brittle Spirit and the younger sort against Loosness and Pride of Life c. A few days before he died he had a great Concern upon his Mind concerning some in whom the Lord's Power was working to lead them into a Ministry and Testimony to his Truth who through their too much entangling themselves in the things of this World did make themselves unready to answer the Call and Leadings of the Power of God and hurt the Gift that was bestowed upon them and did not take that regard to their Service and Ministry as they ought And mentioned the Apostle's Exhortation to Timothy To take heed to his Ministry and to shew himself approved c. And exprest his Grief concerning such as preferred their own Business before the Lord's Business and sought the advancing worldly Concerns before the Concerns of Truth And concluded with a tender and fatherly Exhortation to all to whom God had imparted of his Heavenly Treasure that they would improve it faithfully and be diligent in the Lord's Work that the Earth might be sown with the Seed of the Kingdom and God's Harvest might be minded by those whom he had called and enabled to labour therein and that such would commit the Care of their outward Concerns to the Lord who would care for them and give a Blessing to them However this is not mentioned to encourage any to run unsent or without being called of God Many are living Witnesses that the Lord raised him up by his Power to proclaim his mighry Day to the Nations and made him an Effectual Instrument in our Day to turn many from Darkness to Light and from Satan's Power to God and freely to suffer and bear all Reproaches and the manifold Persecutions Buffetings Halings Stonings Imprisonments and Cruelties that were in the Beginning and for some time inflicted on him and others for the Name of Christ Jesus He was in his Testimony as a fixed Star in the Firmament of God's Power where all that be truly wise and that turn many to Righteousness shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and as the Stars for ever and ever He knew and Preached the Mystery of Christ Revealed the Life and Substance and the Power of Godliness above all Shadows and Forms The Lord endued him with a hidden Wisdom and Life He loved Peace and earnestly laboured for universal Love Unity Peace and good Order in the Churches of Christ And wherever he met with the contrary it was his great Grief and Burthen He was greatly for the Encouragement of faithful Labourers in the Lord's Work and it was a great Offence and Grief to him to have their Testimony weakned or Labours slighted through Prejudice in any professing Truth And inasmuch as the Lord suffered him not to be delivered up to the Will of his Enemies and Persecutors who often heretofore breathed out Cruelty against him and designed his Destruction but in his good Pleasure so fairly and quietly took him away in his own time when his Testimony was so blessedly finished and his Work accomplished This is all remarkable and worthy of serious and due Observation as being by a special and Divine Providence and Wisdom of God to whom we ascribe the Glory of all and not unto Man or Creatures Though we must needs allow and own that good Report and due Esteem which faithful Elders Ministers and Servants of God and Christ have by Faith obtained to the Praise of that blessed Power that upheld them in every Age in their day many whereof are even of late taken away from the Evil to come and are at Rest in the Lord out of the Reach of all Envy and Persecution where the Wicked cannot trouble them any more And we must patiently bear our Parting with them and our Loss and Sorrow on that Account with respect to their unspeakable
Gain Yet how can we avoid being deeply affected with Sadness of Spirit and brokenness of Heart under the sense and consideration of such Loss and Revolutions which we have cause to believe are Ominous of Calamities to the wicked World though of good to the Righteous Did the Death of plain upright Jacob Gen. 50. namely Israel who was as a Prince of God so deeply affect both his own Children and Kindred as that they made a great and exceeding sore Lamentation for him and even the Egyptians also that they bewailed him seventy days And the Death of Moses so deeply affect the Children of Israel Deut. 34. as that they did weep and mourn for him in the Plain of Moab thirty Days And the Death of Stephen that faithful Martyr of Jesus so deeply affect certain Men fearing God Acts 7. as that they made great Lamentation for him And the Apostle Paul when taking his leave of the Elders of the Church of Ephesus Acts 20. and telling them They should see his Face no more If this did so deeply affect them that they wept all abundantly sorrowing most of all for these Words That they should see his face no more with many more of this kind How then can we otherwise chuse but be deeply affected with Sorrow and Sadness of Heart though not as those which have no hope when so many of our Ancient Dear and Faithful Brethren with whom we have had much sweet Society are removed from us one after another We pray God raise up and increase more such Yet must we all contentedly submit to the good Pleasure and Wisdom of the Lord our God in all these things who taketh away and none can hinder him nor may any say unto him What dost thou Yet we have cause to bless the Lord that he hath of late raised and is raising up more to publish his Name in the Earth And we that yet remain have but a short Time to stay after them that are gone but we shall be gone to them also The Lord God of Life keep us all Faithful in his holy Truth Love Vnity and Life to the End He hath a great Work still to bring forth in the Earth and great things to bring to pass in order to make way for Truth and Righteousness to take place therein and that his Seed may come forth and be gathered and the Power and Kingdom of our God and of his Christ made known and exalted in the Earth unto the Ends thereof Dear Friends and Brethren Be faithful till Death that a Crown of Life you may obtain All dwell in the Love of God in Christ Jesus in Vnion and Peace in him To whom we tenderly Commit you to keep and strengthen you bless and preserve you to the End of your Days In whose dear and tender Love we remain Your Dear Friends and Brethren Stephen Crisp Geo. Whitehead Fra. Camfield James Park John Elson Peter Price John Field John Edridge Nicholas Gates Francis Stamper John Vaughton Gilbert Latey Charles Marshal Rich. Needham James Martin Daniel Monro John Heywood George Bowles William Robinson William Bingley John Butcher Benjamin Antrobus These Names are since added at the desire of the Persons following Sam. Goodaker Amb. Rigg William Fallowfield POSTSCRIPT BEfore his Death he writ a little Paper desiring all Friends every where that use to write to him about the Sufferings and Affairs of Friends in their several Countries should henceforth write to their several Correspondents in London to be Communicated to the Second-Days Meeting to take Care that they be answered Thomas Ellwood's Account of that Eminent and Honourable Servant of the Lord George Fox THis Holy Man was raised up by God in an Extraordinary Manner for an Extraordinary Work even to Awaken the sleeping World by proclaiming the Mighty Day of the Lord to the Nations and publishing again the Everlasting Gospel to the Inhabitants of the Earth after the long and dismal Night of Apostacy and Darkness For this Work the Lord began to prepare him by many and various Trials and Exercises from his very Childhood And having fitted and furnished him for it he called him into it very Young and made him Instrumental by the effectual Working of the Holy Ghost through his Ministry to call many Others into the same Work and to turn many Thousands from Darkness to the Light of Christ and from the Power of Satan unto God I knew him not till the Year 1660 from that Time to the Time of his Death I knew him well Conversed with him often Observed him much Loved him dearly and Honoured him truly and upon good Experience can say He was indeed an Heavenly-minded Man zealous for the Name of the Lord and preferr'd the Honour of God before all things He was Valiant for the Truth Bold in Asserting it Patient in Suffering for it Unwearied in Labouring in it Steady in his Testimony to it Immoveable as a Rock Deep he was in Divine Knowledge Clear in opening heavenly Mysteries Plain and Powerful in Preaching Fervent in Prayer He was richly endued with heavenly Wisdom Quick in Discerning Sound in Judgment Able and ready in Giving Discreet in Keeping Counsel A Lover of Righteousness an Encourager of Vertue Justice Temperance Meekness Purity Chastity Modesty Humility Charity and Self-Denial in all both by Word and Example Graceful he was in Countenance Manly in Personage Grave in Gesture Courteous in Conversation Weighty in Communication Instructive in Discourse Free from Affectation in Speech or Carriage A severe Reprover of hard and obstinate Sinners A mild and gentle Admonisher of such as were tender and sensible of their Failings Not apt to resent personal Wrongs Easie to forgive Injuries But zealously Earnest where the Honour of God the Prosperity of Truth the Peace of the Church were concerned Very Tender Compassionate and Pitiful he was to all that were under any sort of Affliction full of Brotherly Love full of Fatherly Care For indeed the Care of the Churches of Christ was daily upon him the Prosperity and Peace whereof he studiously sought Beloved he was of God Beloved of God's People and which was not the least part of his Honour the Common Butt of all Apostates Envy whose Good notwithstanding he earnestly sought He lived to see the Desire of his Soul The Spreading of that Blessed Principle of Divine Light through many of the European Nations and not a few of the American Islands and Provinces and the Gathering many Thousands into an Establishment therein which the Lord vouchsafed him the Honour to be the First Effectual Publisher of in this latter Age of the World And having fought a good Fight finished his Course and kept the Faith his righteous Soul freed from the Earthly Tabernacle in which he had led an Exemplary Life of Holiness was translated into those Heavenly Mansions where Christ our Lord went to prepare a Place for His there to possess that Glorious Crown of Righteousness which is laid up
for and shall be given by the Lord the Righteous Judge to all them that love his Appearance Ages to come and Peoples yet unborn shall call him Blessed and bless the Lord for raising of him up And Blessed shall we also be if we so walk as we had him for an Example for whom this Testimony lives in my Heart He liv'd and died the SERVANT of the LORD T. E. Advertisement FOrasmuch as many other Testimonies from divers Counties and Friends concerning George Fox and his Great Service for the Truth are sent up to London which cannot conveniently be printed with the Journal lest they should swell it too Bigg and many of them being of the same Import Therefore they are reserved for further Consideration to be disposed of as a future Service may be seen in the Wisdom of God for them when Way is made for his Epistles or any of his other Works to be published The Appearance of the Lord 's Everlasting Truth and Breaking forth again in his Eternal Power in this our Day and Age in ENGLAND WHerein the Lord 's mighty Power and Word of Life hath been Richly and Freely preached to the Gathering of many into Reconciliation with God by it to the Exaltation and Glory of the great God through the bringing forth of the Heavenly and Spiritual Fruits from such as have been Gathered by his Eternal Light Power and Spirit unto himself And by the Sowing to the Spirit in the hearts of People Life Eternal hath been Reaped That the Flocks have been Gathered which have the Milk of the Word plenteously That the Riches of the Word have flourished and mightily abounded and God's Heavenly Plow with his Spiritual Men hath gone on chearfully to the Overturning the Fallow Ground of the Hearts that had not borne Heavenly Fruit to God And God's Heavenly Threshers with his Heavenly Flail have with Joy and Delight Thresht out the Chaff and the Corruptions that have been a-Top of God's Seed and Wheat in Man and Woman And thus have they Thresht in Hope and are made Partakers of their Hope through which God's Seed is come into his Garner Oh! the Unutterable Glory and the Unexpressible Excellency of the Everlasting Glorious Truth Gospel and Word of Life that the Infinite Invisible and Wise God who is over all hath Revealed and Manifested And how have the Professors Priests and Powers risen up in Opposition against his Children that are born of the Immortal Seed by the Word of God! And Oh! how great have the Persecutions and Reproaches and Spoiling of Goods been that have been Executed upon them But they that have Touched them and Touches them which are as Dear to God as the Apple of his Eye how hath the Lord Manifested himself to stand by them in Overthrowing Powers Priests and States What Changes have there been since 1644 and 1650 and 1652 How have the Gaols been filled since then in this Nation with the Heirs of Life God's Chosen Ones who had no Helper in the Earth but the Lord and his Christ So that Truth 's Faithful Witnesses were scarcely to be found but in Gaols and Prisons where the Righteous were Numbred among the Transgressors who had neither Staff nor Bag from Man but the Staff the Bread of Life and the Bag that holds the Treasure that waxes not old But the Lord Jesus Christ that sent them forth was their Exceeding great Supporter and Upholder by his Eternal Power and Spirit both then and now G. F. THE PREFACE BEING A SUMMARY ACCOUNT Of the DIVERS Dispensations of God TO MEN FROM The Beginning of the World to That of our present Age by the Ministry and Testimony of his Faithful Servant George Fox as an Introduction to the ensuing Iournal DIVERS have been the Dispensations of God since the Creation of the World unto the Sons of Men But the Great End of all of them has been the Renown of his own Excellent Name in the Creation and Restauration of Man Man the Emblem of himself as a God on Earth and the Glory of all his Works The World began with Innocency All was then good that the good God had made And as he blessed the Works of his hands so their Natures and Harmony magnified him their Creator Then the Morning Stars Sang together for Joy and all parts of his Works said Amen to his Law Not a Jarr in the whole Frame but Man in Paradise the Beasts in the Field the Fowl in the Air the Fish in the Sea the Lights in the Heavens the Fruits of the Earth yea the Air the Earth the Water and Fire Worshipped praised and exalted his Power Wisdom and Goodness O Holy Sabbath O Holy Day to the Lord But this Happy State lasted not long For Man the Crown and Glory of the Whole being tempted to aspire above his place unhappily yielded against Command and Duty as well as Interest and Felicity and so fell below it lost the Divine Image the Wisdom Power and Purity he was made in By which being no longer fit for Paradise he was expelled that Garden of God his proper Dwelling and Residence and was driven out as a poor Vagabond from the presence of the Lord to wander in the Earth the Habitation of Beasts Yet God that made him had pitty on him for He seeing he was deceived and that it was not of Malice or an Original Presumption in him but through the Subtilty of the Serpent that had first fallen from his own State and by the Mediation of the Woman man 's own Nature and Companion whom the Serpent had first deluded in his infinite Goodness and Wisdom found out a way to Repair the Breach Recover the Loss and Restore fallen Man again by a Nobler and more Excellent Adam promised to be born of a Woman that as by means of a Woman the evil one had prevailed upon Man by a Woman also He should come into the World who would prevail against him and bruise his Head and deliver Man from his Power And which in a signal manner by the Dispensation of the Son of God in the Flesh in the fullness of Time was personally and fully accomplished by him and in him as Man's Saviour and Redeemer But his Power was not limitted in the Manifestation of it to that time for both before and since his blessed Manifestation in the Flesh He has been the Light and Life the Rock and Strength of all that ever feared God Present with them in their Temptations followed them in their Travels and Afflictions and supported and carried them through and over the Difficulties that have attended them in their Earthly Pilgrimage By this Abel's heart excelled Cains and Seth obtained the preheminence and Enoch walked with God It was this that strove with the Old World and which they rebelled against and which sanctified and instructed Noah to Salvation But the outward Dispensation that followed the benighted State of Man after his Fall especially among the Patriarcks was generally
Rock and Sanctuary and by thee we have leaped over a Wall and by thee we have run through a Troop and by thee we have put the Armies of the Aliens to Flight these People had Right to say it And as God had delivered their Souls of the warisom Burthens of Sin and Vanity and enriched their poverty of Spirit and satisfied their great Hungar and Thirst after Eternal Righteousness and filled them with the Good Things of his own House and made them Stewards of his Manifold Gifts so they went forth to all Quarters of these Nations to Declare to the Inhabitants thereof what God had done for them what they had found and where and how they had found it viz. The way to Peace with God Inviting them to come and see and taste for themselves the Truth of what they Declared unto them And as their Testimony was to the Principle of God in Man the precious Pearl and Leven of the Kingdom as the only blessed means appointed of God to Quicken Convince and Sanctifie Man so they opened to them what it was in it self and what it was given to them for How they might know it from their own Spirit and that of the Subtil appearance of the Evil one and what it would do for all those whose minds are turned off from the Vanity of the World and its Lifeless ways and Teachers and ad-hear to this blessed Light in themselves which discovers and condemns Sin in all its appearances and shows how to overcome it if minded and obeyed in its holy Manifestations and Convictions Giving Power to such to Avoid and Resist those things that do not please God and to grow Strong in Love Faith and Good Works That so Man whom Sin hath made as a Wilderness over-run with Briers and Thorns might become as the Garden of God cultivated by his divine Power and replenisht with the most Virtuous and Beautiful Plants of God's own Right Hand Planting to his Eternal Praise But these Experimental Preachers of Glad Tydings of God's Truth and Kingdom could not run when they List or Pray or Preach when they Pleased But as the Christ their Redeemer prepared and moved them by his own Blessed Spirit for which they waited in their Services and Meetings and Spoak as that gave them utterance and which was as those having Authority and not like the Dreaming Dry and formal Pharisees And so it plainly appeared to the serious Minded whose Spiritual Eye the Lord Jesus had in any measure opened so that to one was given the Word of Exhortation to another the Word of Reproof to another the Word of Consolation and all by the same Spirit and in the good Order thereof to the Convincing and Edifying of many And truly they waxed Strong and Bold through Faithfulness and by the Power and Spirit of the Lord Jesus became very Fruitful thousands in a short time being turned to the Truth through their Testimony in Ministry and Sufferings insomuch as in most Counties and many of the considerable Towns of England Meetings were settled and daily there were added such as should be saved For they were Diligent to Plant and to Water and the Lord blessed their Labours with an Exceeding great Increase notwithstanding all the opposition made to their blessed Progress by false Rumors Calumnies and bitter Persecutions not only from the Powers of the Earth but from every one that listed to injure and abuse them So that they seemed indeed to be as poor Sheep appointed to the Slaughter and as a People killed all the Day long It were fitter for a Volumn than a Preface but so much as to repeat the Contents of their cruel Sufferings from Professors as well as from Prophaine and from Magistrates as well as the Rabble that it may well be said of this abused and despised People they went forth Weeping and sowed in Tears bearing Testimony to the Precious Seed the Seed of the Kingdom which stands not in Words the Finest the Highest that Man's Wit can use but in Power the Power of Christ Jesus to whom God the Father hath given all Power in Heaven and in Earth that he might rule Angels above and Men below who impowred them as their Work witnesseth by the many that were turned through their Ministry from Darkness to the Light and out of the Broad into the Narrow Way bringing People to a Weighty Serious and God-like Conversation the Practice of that Doctrine which they Taught And as without this Secret Divine Power there is no Quickning and Regenerating of dead Souls so the want of this Generating and begetting Power and Life is the Cause of the little Fruit that the many Ministrys that have been and are in the World bring forth O that both Ministers and People were sensible of this My Soul is often troubled for them and Sorrow and Mourning compass me about for their Sakes O! that they were Wise O! that they would consider and lay to Heart the things that truly and substantially make for their lasting Peace Two things are to be briefly toucht upon the Doctrine they Taught and the Example they lead among all People I have already toucht upon their Fundamental Principle which is as the Corner stone of their Fabrick And to speak eminently and properly their Characteristick or main distinguishing Point or Principle viz. the Light of Christ within as God's Gift for Man's Salvation This I say is as the Root of the goodly Tree of Doctrines that grew and branched out from it which I shall now mention in their Natural and Experimental Order First Repentance from dead Works to serve the Living God Which comprehends three Operations First a sight of Sin Secondly A Sense and Godly Sorrow for it Thirdly An Amendment for the Time to come This was the Repentance they preached and pressed and a Natural result from the Principle they turned all People unto For of Light came Sight and of Sight came Sense and Sorrow and of Sense and Sorrow came Amentment of Life Which Doctrine of Repentance leads to Justification that is Forgiveness of the Sins that are past through Christ the alone Propitiation and the Sanctification or Purgation of the Soul from the defiling Nature and Habits of sin present which is justification in the compleat Sense of that Word comprehending both justification from the Guilt of the Sins that are past as if they had never been commited through the Love and Mercy of God in Christ Jesus and the Creatures being made inwardly just through the Cleansing and Sanctifying Power and Spirit of Christ revealed in the Soul which is commonly called Sanctification .. From hence sprang a Second Doctrine they were led to declare as the Mark of the Price of the High Calling of all true Christians viz. Perfection from sin according to the Scriptures of Truth which testifie it to be the end of Christ's coming and the Nature of his Kingdom and for which his Spirit was given But they never held a Perfection
Intimacy of the Deceased Party The Corps being in a plain Coffin without any Covering or Furniture upon it At the Ground they pause some time before they put the Body into its Grave that if any one there should have any thing upon them to exhort the People they may not be dissappointed and that the Relations may the more Retiredly and Solemnly take their last leave of the Corps of their departed Kindred and the Spectators have a Sense of Mortality by the occasion then given them to reflect upon their own Latter End Otherways they have no set Rites or Ceremonies on those Occasions neither do the Kindred of the Deceased ever wear Mourning they looking upon it as a Wordly Ceremony and piece of Pomp and that what Mourning is fit for a Christian to have at the Departure of a beloved Relation or Friend should be worn in the Mind which is only sensible of the Loss and the Love they had to them and Remembrance of them to be outwardly exprest by a respect to their Advice and care of those they have left behind them and their Love of that they Loved Which Conduct of theirs though unmodish or unfashionable leaves nothing of the Substance of things neglected or undone and as they aim at no more so that simplicity of Life is what they observe with great Satisfaction though it sometimes happens not to be without the Mockeries of the vain World they live in These things gave them a Rough and Disagreeable Appearance with the Generality who thought them Turners of the World upside down as indeed in some Sense they were but in no other than that wherein Paul was so charged viz. To bring things back into their Primitive and right Order again For these and such like Practices of theirs were not the Result of Humour as some have fancied but a Fruit of Inward Sense which God through his Fear had begotten in them They did not consider how to contradict the World or distinguish themselves being none of their Business as it was not their Interest no it was not the Result of Consultation or a framed design to declare or recommend Schism or Novelty But God having given them a sight of themselves they saw the whole World in the same Glass of Truth and sensibly discerned the Affections and Passions of Men and the Rise and Tendency of Things What gratified the Lust of the Flesh the Lust of the Eye and the Pride of Life which are not of the Father but of the World and from thence Sprang in that Night of Darkness and Apostacy which hath been over People through their Degeneration from the Light and Spirit of God these and many other vain Customs which are seen by the Heavenly day of Christ which dawns in the Soul to be either wrong in their Original or by Time and Abuse Hurtful in their Practice And though these things seemed Trivial to some and rendered this People Stingy and conceited in such Persons Opinions there was and is more in them than they were aware of It was not very easie to our Primitive Friends to make themselves Sights and Spectacles and the Scorn and Derision of the World which they easily foresaw must be the Consequence of so Vnfashionable a Conversation in it But herein was the Wisdom of God seen in the Foolishness of these things First That they discovered the Satisfaction and Concern that People had in and for the Fashions of this World notwithstanding their Pretences to another in that any disappointment about them came so very near them that the greatest Honesty Virtue Wisdom and Ability were unwelcom without them Secondly It seasonably and profitably divided Conversation for making their Society uneasie to their Relations and Acquaintance it gave them the opportunity of more Retirement and Solitude wherein they met with better Company even the Lord God their Redeemer and grew strong in his Love Power and Wisdom and were thereby better qualified for his Service and the success abundantly show'd it Blessed be the Name of the Lord. And though they were not Great and Learned in the Esteem of this World for then they had not wanted Followers upon their own Credit and Authority yet they were generally of the most Sober of the several Perswasions they were in and of the most Repute for Religion and many of them of good Capacity Substance and Account among Men. And also some among them neither wanted for Parts Learning nor Estate though then as of Old not many Wise nor Noble c. were called or at least received the Heavenly Call because of the Cross that attended the Profession of it in Sincerity But neither do Parts or Learning make Men the better Christians though the better Orators and Disputants and it is the Ignorance of People about the Divine Gift that causes that vulgar and mischievous mistake Theory and Practice Expression and Enjoyment Words and Life are two things Oh! 't is the Penitent the Reformed the Lowly the Watchful the Self-denying and Holy Soul that is the Christian and that Frame is the Fruit and Work of the Spirit which is the Life of Jesus whose Life though hid in God the Father is shed abroad in the Hearts of them that truly Believe Oh! that People did but know this to cleanse them to circumcise them to quicken them and to make them New Creatures indeed Re-created or Regenerated after Christ Jesus unto good Works That they might live to God and not to themselves and offer up living Prayers and living Praises to the living God through his own living Spirit in which he is only to be Worshipped in this Gospel Day Oh! that they that read me could but feel me for my Heart is affected with this Merciful Visitation of the Father of Lights and Spirits to this poor Nation and the whole World through the same Testimony Why should the Inhabitants thereof reject it Why should they loose the Blessed Benefit of it Why should they not turn to the Lord with all their Hearts and say from the Heart Speak Lord for now thy poor Servants hear Oh! that thy will may be done thy Great thy Good and Holy will in Earth as it is in Heaven Do it in us do it upon us do what thou wilt with us for we are thine and desire to glorifie thee our Creator both for that and because thou art our Redeemer for thou art redeeming us from the Earth from the Vanities and Pollutions of it to be a Peculiar People unto thee Oh! this were a Brave Day for England if so she could say in Truth But alas the Case is otherwise for which some of thine Inhabitants O Land of my Nativity have mourned over thee with bitter Wailing and Lamentation Their Heads have been indeed as Waters and their Eyes as Fountains of Tears because of thy Transgression and Stiffneckedness becuse thou wilt not Hear and Fear and Return to the Rock even thy Rock O England from whence thou wert Hewen
which the word begets them again to God which is the Regeneration and New Birth without which there is no coming unto the Kingdom of God and which whoever comes to is greater than John that is than John's Dispensation which was not that of the Kingdom but the Consummation of the Legal and Forerunning of the Gospel Times Accordingly several Meetings were gathered in those Parts and thus his Time was employed for some Years In 1652. He being in his usual Retirement to the Lord upon a very High Mountain in some of the hither parts of Yorkshire as I take it his Mind exercised towards the Lord he had a Vision of the great Work of God in the Earth and of the way that he was to go forth to begin it He saw People as thick as Motes in the Sun that should in time be brought Home to the Lord that there might be but one Shepherd and one Sheepfold in all the Earth There his Eye was directed Northward beholding a great People that should receive him and his Message in those Parts Upon this Mountain he was moved of the Lord to sound out his Great and notable Day as if he had been in a great Auditory and from thence went North as the Lord had shown him and in every place where he came if not before he came to it he had his particular Exercise and Service shown to him so that the Lord was his Leader indeed for it was not in vain that he Travailled God in most places sealing his Commission with the Convincement of some of all sorts as well Publicans as sober Professors of Religion Some of the first and most Eminent of them which are at Rest were Richard Farnsworth James Nayler William Dewsberry Francis Howgil Edward Burroughs John Camm John Audland Richard Hubberthorn T. Taylor John Aldam T. Holmes Alexander Parker William Simpson William Caton John Stubbs Robert Widders John Burnyeat Robert Lodge Thomas Salthouse and many more Worthies that cannot be well here Named together with divers yet living of the first and great Convincement who after the knowledge of God's purging Judgments in themselves and some time of waiting in silence upon him to feel and receive Power from on High to speak in his Name which none else rightly can though they may use the same Words They felt the Divine Motions and were frequently drawn forth especially to visit the Publick Assemblies to reprove inform and exhort them sometimes in Markets Fairs Streets and by the High-way-side calling People to Repentance and to turn to the Lord with their Hearts as well as their Mouths directing them to the Light of Christ within them to see and examine and consider their ways by and to eschew the Evil and do the Good and Acceptable Will of God And they suffered great Hardships for this their Love and Good-will being often Stockt Stoned Beaten Whipt and Imprisoned though Honest Men and of Good Report where they lived that had left Wives and Children and Houses and Lands to visit them with a living Call to Repentance And though the Priests generally set themselves to oppose them and write against them and insinuated most False and Scandalous Stories to Defame them stirring up the Magistrates to suppress them especially in those Northern Parts yet God was pleased so to fill them with his living Power and give them such an open Door of utterance in his Service that there was a mighty Convincement over those Parts And through the tender and singular Indulgence of Judge Bradshaw and Judge Fell who were wont to go that Circuit in the Infancy of things the Priests were never able to gain the point they laboured for which was to have proceeded to Blood and if possible Herod like by a Cruel exercise of the Civil Power to have cut them off and rooted them out of the Country Especially Judge Fell who was not only a Check to their Rage in the Course of Legal Proceedings but otherwise upon occasion and finally countenanced this People for his Wife receiving the Truth with the First it had that Influence upon his Spirit being a Just and Wise Man and seeing in his own Wife and Family a full Confutation to all the popular Clamours against the Way of Truth that he covered them what he could and freely opened his Doors and gave up his House to his Wife and her Friends not valuing the Reproach of Ignorant or Evil Minded People which I here mention to His and her Honour and which will be I believe an Honour and a Blessing to such of their Name and Family as shall be found in that Tenderness Humility Love and Zeal for the Truth and People of the Lord. That House was for some Years at first till the Truth had opened its way in the Southern parts of this Island an Eminent Receptacle of this People Others of good Note and Substance in those Northern Countrys had also opened their Houses with their Hearts to the many Publishers that in a short time the Lord had raised to declare his Salvation to the People and where Meetings of the Lord's Messengers were frequently held to communicate their Services and Exercises and Comfort and Edify one another in their Blessed Ministry But least this may be thought a Digression having touched upon this before I return to this Excellent Man And for his Personal Qualities both Natural Moral and Divine as they appeared in his Converse with Brethren and in the Church of God take as follows I. He was a Man that God endued with a Clear and Wonderful Depth a discerner of others Spirits and very much a Master of his own And though the side of his Vnderstanding which lay next to the World and especially the Expression of it might sound Vncouth and Vnfashionable to Nice Ears his matter was nevertheless very profound and would not only bear to be often considered but the more it was so the more Weighty and Instructing it appeared And as abruptly and brokenly as sometimes his Sentences would fall from him about Divine Things it is well known they were often as Texts to many fairer Declarations And indeed it showed beyond all Contradiction that God sent him that no Arts or Parts had any share in his matter or manner of his Ministry and that so many Great Excellent and Necessary Truths as he came forth to Preach to Mankind had therefore nothing of Man's Wit or Wisdom to recommend them So that as to Man he was an Original being no Man's Copy And his Ministry and Writings show they are from one that was not Taught of Man nor had Learned what he said by Study Nor were they Notional or Speculative but sensible and Practical Truths tending to Conversion and Regeneration and the setting up the Kingdom of God in the Hearts of Men and the way of it was his Work So that I have many times been overcome in my self and been made to say with my Lord and Master upon the like Occasion I thank
thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent of this World and revealed them to Babes For many times hath my Soul bowed in an Humble Thankfulness to the Lord that he did not choose any of the Wise and Learned of this World to be the first Messenger in our Age of his blessed Truth to Men but that he took one that was not of High Degree or Elegant Speech or learned after the way of this World that his Message and Work he sent him to do might come with less Suspicion or Jealousie of Humane Wisdom and Interest and with more Force and Clearness upon the Consciences of those that sincerely Sought the way of Truth in the Love of it I say beholding with the Eye of my mind which the God of Heaven had opened in me the Marks of God's Finger and Hand visibly in this Testimony from the Clearness of the Principle the Power and Efficacy of it in the Exemplary Sobriety Plainness Zeal Steadiness Humility Gravity Punctuality Charity and Circumspect care in the Government of Church Affairs which shined in his and their Life and Testimony that God employed in this Work it greatly confirmed me that it was of God and engaged my Soul in a Deep Love Fear Reverence and Thankfulness for his Love and Mercy therein to Mankind in which Mind I remain and shall I hope to the end of my Daies II. In his Testimony or Ministry he much laboured to open Truth to the Peoples Vnderstandings and to bottom them upon the Principle and Principal Christ Jesus the Light of the World that by bringing them to something that was of God in themselves they might the better know and judge of him and themselves He had an Extraordinary Gift in opening the Scriptures He would go to the Marrow of things and show the Mind Harmony and Fullfilling of them with much Plainness and to great Comfort and Edification The Mistery of the first and second Adam of the Fall and Restoration of the Law and Gospel of Shadows and Substance of the Servant and Sons State and the fullfiling of the Scriptures in Christ and by Christ the True Light in all that are his through the Obedience of Faith were much of the Substance and Drift of his Testimonies In all which he was witnessed to be of God being sensibly felt to speak that which he had received of Christ and was his own Experience in that which never Ers nor Fails But above all he excelled in Prayer The Inwardness and Weight of his Spirit the Reverence and Solemnity of his Address and Behaviour and the Fewness and Fulness of his Words have often struck even Strangers with Admiration as they used to reach others with Consolation The most Awfull Living Reverent Frame I ever Felt or Beheld I must say was his in Prayer And truly it was a Testimony he knew and lived neerer to the Lord than other Men for they that know him most will see most reason to approach him with Reverence and Fear He was of an Innocent Life no Busie Body nor Self Seeker neither Touchy nor Critical What fell from him was very Inoffensive if not very Edifying So Meek Contented Modest Easie Steady Tender it was a pleasure to be in his Company He exercised no Authority but over Evil and that every where and in all but with Love Compassion and Long Suffering A most Merciful Man as ready to Forgive as unapt to take or give an Offence Thousands can truly say he was of an Excellent Spirit and Savour among them and because thereof the most Excellent Spirits loved him with an unfained and unfading Love He was an Incessant Labourer for in his Younger time before his many great and deep Sufferings and Travels had enfeebled his Body for Itinerant Services he laboured much in the Word and Doctrine and Discipline in England Scotland and Ireland turning many to God and confirming those that were convinced of the Truth and setling Good Order as to Church Affairs among them And towards the Conclusion of his Travelling Services between the Years Seventy One and Seventy Seven he Visited the Churches of Christ in the Plantations in America and in the Vnited Provinces and Germany as his following Journal Relates to the Convincement and Consolation of many After that time he chiefly resided in and about the City of London and besides the Services of his Ministry which were Frequent and Serviceable he writ much both to them that are within and those that are without the Communion But the care he took of the Affairs of the Church in General was very great He was often where the Records of the Affairs of the Church are kept and the Letters from the many Meetings of God's People over all the World where settled come upon Occasions which Letters he had read to him and Communicated them to the Meeting that is Weekly held there for such Services he would be sure to stir them up to discharge them especially in Suffering Cases Showing great Sympathy and Compassion upon all such Occasions carefully looking into the Respective Cases and endeavouring Speedy Relief according to the Nature of them So that the Churches and any of the Suffering Members thereof were sure not to be forgotten or delayed in their Desires if he were there As he was Vnwearied so he was Vndaunted in his Services for God and his People he was no more to be moved to Fear than to Wrath. His Behaviour at Darby Litchfield Appleby before Oliver Cromwell at Launston Scarborough Worcester and Westminster-Hall with many other Places and Exercises did abundantly evidence it to his Enemies as well as his Friends But as in the Primitive Times some rise up against the blessed Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ even from among those that they had turned to the Hope of the Gospel and who became their greatest Trouble so this Man of God had his share of Suffering from some that were convinced by him who through prejudice or mistake run against him as one that sought Dominion over Conscience because he prest by his Presence or Epistles a ready and zealous compliance with such good and wholesome things as tended to an Orderly Conversation about the Affairs of the Church and in their walking before Men. That which contributed much to this ill Work was in some a begrudging of this Meek Man the love and esteem he had and deserved in the Hearts of the People and weakness in others that were taken with their groundless Suggestions of Imposition and blind Obedience They would have had every Man Independent that as he had the Principle in himself he should only stand and fall to that and no Body else not considering that the Principle is One in all and though the Measure of Light or Grace might differ yet the Nature of it was the same and being so they struck at the Spiritual Vnity which a People guided by the same Principle are
to go to Meetings and Exercise an ordinary Charity in the Church and an honest Behaviour in the World and limit your selves within those Bounds feeling little or no concern upon your Spirits for the Glory of the Lord in the prospirity of his Truth in the Earth more than to be glad that others succeed in such Service Arise ye in the Name and Power of the Lord Jesus Behold how white the Fields are unto Harvest in this and other Nations and how few Able and Faithful Labourers there are to work therein Your Country Folks Neighbours and Kindred want to know the Lord and his Truth and to Walk in it Does nothing lie at your Door upon their Account Search and see and loose no time I beseech you for the Lord is at Hand I do not Judge you there is one that Judgeth all Men and his Judgment is true You have mightily increased in your outward Substance may you equally increase in your inward Riches and do good with both while you have a day to do Good Your Enemies would once have taken what you had from you for his Names Sake in whom you have believed wherefore he has given you much of the World in the Face of your Enemies But Oh let it be your Servant and not your Master your Diversion rather than your Business Let the Lord be chiefly in your Eye and ponder your Ways and see if God has nothing more for you to do and if you find your selves short in your Account with him then wait for his Preparation and be ready to receive the word of Command and be not weary of well doing when you have put your Hand to the Plow and assuredly you shall Reap if you faint not the Fruit of your Heavenly Labour in God's Everlasting Kingdom And you Young Convinced Ones be you Entreated and Exhorted to a Diligent and Chast waiting upon God in the way of his Blessed Manifestation and appearance of himself to you Look not out but within Let not anothers Liberty be your Snare Neither Act by Imitation but Sense and Feeling of God's Power in your selves Crush not the tender Buddings of it in your Souls nor over run in your desires and your warmness of Affections the Holy and Gentle Motions of It. Remember it is a still Voice that Speaks to us in this Day and that it is not to be heard in the Noises and Hurries of the Mind but is distinctly understood in a retired Frame Jesus loved and chose out Solitudes often going to Mountains to Gardens and Sea-sides to avoid Crowds and Hurries to shew his Disciples it was good to be Solitary and sit loose to the World Two Enemies lie near your States Imagination and Liberty but the plain practical Living Holy Truth that has convinced you will preserve you if you mind it in your selves and bring all Thoughts Imaginations and Affections to the Test of it to see if they are wrought in God or of the Enemy or your own selves So will a true Tast Discerning and Judgment be preserved to you of what you should do and leave undone And in your diligence and Faithfulness in this way you will come to inherit Substance and Christ the Eternal Wisdom will fill your Treasury And when you are Converted as well as Convinced then confirm your Brethren and be ready to every good Word and Work that the Lord shall call you to that you may be to his Praise who has chosen you to be partakers with the Saints in Light of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken an Inheritance incorruptible in Eternal Habitations And now as for you that are the Children of God's People a Great Concern is upon my Spirit for your good and often are my Knees Bowed to the God of your Fathers for you that you may come to be partakers of the same Divine Life and Power that has been the Glory of this Day that a Generation you may be to God an Holy Nation and a Peculiar People Zealous of Good Works when all our Heads are laid in the Dust Oh you Young Men and Women let it not suffice you that you are the Children of the People of the Lord you must also be born again if you will inherit the Kingdom of God Your Fathers are but such after the Flesh and could but beget you into the likeness of the first Adam but you must be begotten into the likeness of the second Adam by a Spiritual Generation And therefore look carefully about you Oh ye Children of the Children of God Consider your Standing and see what you are in Relation to this Divine Kindred Family and Birth Have you obeyed the Light and received and walked in the Spirit that is the incorruptible Seed of the Word and Kingdom of God of which you must be born again God is no respecter of Persons The Father cannot save or answer for the Child the Child for the Father but in the Sin thou Sinnest thou shalt die and in the Righteousness thou doest through Christ Jesus thou shalt live for it is the Willing and Obedient that shall eat the Good of the Land Be not deceived God is not mocked such as all Nations and People Sow such they shall reap at the hand of the just God And then your many and great Priviledges above the Children of other People will add weight in the scale against you if you choose not the way of the Lord. For you have had Line upon Line and Precept upon Precept and not only good Doctrine but good Example and which is more you have been turned to and acquainted with a Principle in your selves which others have been ignorant of and you know you may be as Good as you please without the Fear of Frowns and Blows or being turned out of doors and forsaken of Father and Mother for God's Sake and his Holy Religion as has been the Case of some of your Fathers in the day they first entred into this Holy Path And if you after hearing and seeing the Wonders that God has wrought in the deliverance and perservation of them through a Sea of Troubles and the manifold Temporal as well as spiritual Blessings that he has filled them with in the sight of their Enemies you should neglect and turn your backs upon so great and so near a Salvation you would not only be most ungreatful Children to God and them but must expect that God will call the Children of those that knew him not to take the Crown out of your Hands and that your lot will be a dreadful Judgment at the hand of the Lord. But Oh that it may never be so with any of you The Lord forbid saith my Soul Wherefore Oh ye Young Men and Women look to the Rock of your Fathers chuse the God of your Fathers There is no other God but him no other Light but his no other Grace but his nor Spirit but his to Convince you Quicken and Comfort you to Lead Guide and
Souls Friend William Penn. London Printed and Sold by T. Sowle at the Crooked Billet in Holly-well-lane Shoreditch and near the Meeting-House in White-hart-court in Grace-church-street 1694. A JOURNAL OR Historical Account OF THE Life Travels Sufferings And CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCES c. OF GEORGE FOX THAT all may know the Dealings of the Lord with me and the various Exercises Trials and Troubles through which he led me in order to prepare and fit me for the Work unto which he had appointed me and may thereby be drawn to admire and glorify his Infinite Wisdom and Goodness I think fit before I proceed to set forth my Publick Travels in the Service of Truth briefly to mention how it was with me in my Youth and how the Work of the Lord was begun and gradually carried on in me even from my Childhood I was born in the Month called July in the Year 1624. Drayton in Leicestershire the Place of G. F's Birth at Drayton in the Clay in Leicestershire My Father's Name was Christopher Fox He was by Profession a Weaver an honest Man and there the was a Seed of God in him The Neighbours called him Righteous Christer My Mother was an upright Woman her Maiden-name was Mary Lago of the Family of the Lago's and of the Stock of the Martyrs In my very Young Years I had a Gravity and stayedness of Mind and Spirit not usual in Children insomuch that when I have seen Old Men carry themselves lightly and wantonly towards each other I have had a Dislike thereof risen in my Heart and have said within my self If ever I come to be a Man surely I should not do so nor be so wanton When I came to Eleven Years of Age I knew Pureness and Righteousness For while I was a Child I was taught how to walk to be kept pure The Lord taught me to be faithful in all Things and to act faithfully two ways viz. Inwardly to God and Outwardly to Man and to keep to Yea and Nay in all Things For the Lord shewed me that though the People of the World have Mouths full of Deceit and changeable Words yet I was to keep to Yea and Nay in all Things and that my Words should be few and savory seasoned with Grace And that I might not Eat and Drink to make my self Wanton but for Health using the Creatures in their Service as Servants in their Places to the Glory of him that harh created them they being in their Covenant and I being brought up into the Covenant as sanctified by the Word which was in the Beginning by which all things are upheld wherein is Vnity with the Creation But People being Strangers to the Covenant of Life with God they Eat and Drink to make themselves wanton with the Creatures devouring them upon their own Lusts and living in all Filthiness loving foul ways and devouring the Creation and all this in the World in the Pollutions thereof without God And therefore I was to shun all such Afterwards as I grew up my Relations thought to have made me a Priest but others perswaded to the Contrary Whereupon I was put to a Man that was a Shoo-maker by Trade and that dealt in Wooll and used Grazing and sold Cattel and a great deal went through my Hands While I was with him he was blest But after I left him he broke and came to nothing I never wronged Man or Woman in all that Time For the Lord's Power was with me and over me to preserve me While I was in that Service I used in my Dealings the Word Verily and it was a common Saying among People that knew me If George says verily there is no altering him When Boys and rude People would laugh at me I let them alone and went my Way But People had generally a Love to me for my Innocency and Honesty When I came towards Nineteen Years of Age I being upon Business at a Fair one of my Cousins whose Name was Bradford being a Professor and having another Professor with him came to me and asked me to drink part of a Jug of Beer with them and I being Thirsty went in with them For I loved any that had a Sense of Good or that did seek after the Lord. And when we had drunk a Glass a piece they began to drink Healths and called for more Drink agreeing together That he that would not drink should pay all I was grieved that any that made Profession of Religion should offer to do so They grieved me very much having never had such a thing put to me before by any sort of People Wherefore I rose up to be gone and putting my Hand into my Pocket I took out a Groat and laid it down upon the Table before them and said If it be so I 'll leave you So I went away And when I had done what Business I had to do I returned home But did not go to Bed that Night nor could not Sleep but sometimes walked up and down and sometimes prayed and cryed to the Lord who said unto me Thou seest â how Young People go together into Vanity and Old People into the Earth and thou must forsake all both Young and Old and keep out of all and be as a Stranger unto all Then at the Command of God on the Ninth Day of the Seventh Month 1643. I left my Relations Lutterworth Northampton Newport-pagnel in Bucks Barnet and brake off all Familiarity or Fellowship with Young or Old And I passed to Lutterworth where I stay'd some Time And from thence I went to Northampton where also I made some stay Then passed from thence to Newport-Pagnel in Buckinghamshire where after I had stay'd a while I went unto Barnet and came thither in the Fourth Month called June in the Year 1644. And as I thus travelled through the Countries Professors took notice of me and sought to be acquainted with me but I was afraid of them For I was sensible they did not Possess what they Profess'd Now during the time that I was at Barnet a strong Temptation to Despair came upon me and then I saw how Christ was Tempted and mighty Troubles I was in And sometimes I kept my self retired in my Chamber and often walked solitary in the Chace there to Wait upon the Lord. And I wondered why these Things should come to me and I looked upon my self and said Was I ever so before Then I thought because I had forsaken my Relations I had done amiss against them So I was brought to call to Mind all my Time that I had spent and to consider whether I had wrong'd any But Temptations grew more and more and I was tempted almost to Despair And when Satan could not effect his Design upon me that way then he laid Snares for me and Baits to draw me to commit some Sin whereby he might take advantage to bring me to Despair I was about Twenty Years of Age when these Exercises came upon me
that To be bred at Oxford or Cambridge was not enough to make a Man fit to be a Minister of Christ So that which opened in me I saw struck at the Priest's Ministry But my Relations were much troubled at me that I would not go with them to hear the Priest For I would get into the Orchard or the Fields with my Bible by my self And I told them did not the Apostle say to Believers That they needed no Man to teach them but as the Anointing teacheth them And though they knew this was Scripture and that it was true yet they would be grieved because I could not be subject in this Matter to go to hear the Priest with them For I saw that a true Believer was another thing than they looked upon it to be And I saw that being bred at Oxford or Cambridge did not qualifie or fit a Man to be a Minister of Christ and what then should I follow such for So neither them nor any of the Dissenting People could I join with but was as a Stranger to all relying wholly upon the Lord Jesus Christ At another time it was opened in me That God who made the World did not dwell in Temples made with Hands This at the first seemed a strange Word because both Priests and People use to call their Temples or Churches dreadful Places and Holy Ground and the Temples of God But the Lord shewed me so that I did see clearly that he did not dwell in these Temples which Men had commanded and set up but in People's Hearts For both Stephen and the Apostle Paul bore Testimony That he did not dwell in Temples made with Hands not even in that which he had once commanded to be built since he put an End to it But that his People were his Temple and he dwelt in them This opened in me as I walked in the Fields to my Relations House And when I came there they told me That Nath Stevens the Priest had been there and told them He was afraid of me for going after New Lights And I smiled in my self knowing what the Lord had opened in me concerning him and his Brethren But I told not my Relations who though they saw beyond the Priests yet they went to hear them and were grieved because I would not go also But I brought them Scriptures and told them There was an Anointing within Man to teach him and that the Lord would teach his People himself And I had great Openings concerning the Things written in the Revelations and when I spake of them the Priests and Professors would say That was a sealed up Book and would have kept me out of it But I told them Christ could open the Seals and that they were the nearest things to us For the Epistles were written to the Saints that lived in former Ages but the Revelations were written of things to come After this I met with a sort of People that held Women have no Souls adding in a light manner no more than a Goose But I reproved them and told them that was not right For Mary said My Soul doth magnify the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour And removing again to another Place I came among a People that relied much on Dreams And I told them Except they could distinguish between Dream and Dream they would mash or confound altogether For there were Three sorts of Dreams for Multitude of Business sometimes caused Dreams And there were Whisperings of Satan in Man in the Night-Season and there were Speakings of God to Man in Dreams But these People came out of these Things and at last became Friends Now though I had great Openings yet great Trouble and Temptation came many Times upon me so that when it was Day I wished for Night and when it was Night I wished for Day And by reason of the Openings I had in my Troubles I could say as David said Day unto Day uttereth Speech and Night unto Night sheweth Knowledge And when I had Openings they answered one another and answered the Scriptures For I had great Openings of the Scriptures And when I was in Troubles one Trouble also answered to anothââ About the beginning of the Year 1647. I was moved of the Lord to go into Darbyshire Darbyshire where I met with some Friendly People and had many Discourses with them Then passing further into the Peak-Country I met with more friendly People Peak-Country Leicesterââire Nottinghamshire and with some in empty high Notions And travelling on through some Parts of Leicestershire and into Nottinghamshire there I met with a tender People and a very Tender Woman whose Name was Eâââbeth Hootton and with these I had some Meetings and Discourses Bââ my Troubles continued and I was often under great Temptations and I fasted much and walked abroad in solitary Places many Days and often took my Bible and went and sate in hollow Trees and lonesome Places till Night came on and frequently in the Night walked mournfully about by my self For I was a Man of Sorrows in the Times of the first Workings of the Lord in me Now during all this Time I was never joined in Profession of Religion with any but gave up my self to the Lord having forsaken all evil Company and taken leave of Father and Mother and all other Relations and travelled up and down as a Stranger in the Earth which Way the Lord inclined my Heart taking a Chamber to my self in Town where I came and tarrying sometimes a Month sometimes more sometimes less in a Place For I durst not stay long in any Place being afraid both of Professor and Profane lest being a tender Young-Man I should be hurt by conversing much with either For which Reason I kept my self much as a Stranger seeking heavenly Wisdom and getting Knowledge from the Lord and was brought off from outward Things to rely wholly on the Lord alone And though my Exercises and Troubles were very great yet were they not so continual but that I had some Intermissions and was sometimes brought into such an Heavenly Joy that I thought I had been in Abraham's Bosom As I cannot declare the Misery I was in it was so great and heavy upon upon me so neither can I set forth the Mercies of God unto me in all my Misery Oh! the everlasting Love of God to my Soul when I was in great Distress when my Troubles and Torments were great then was his Love exceeding great Thou Lord makest a fruitful Field a barren Wilderness and a barren Wilderness a fruitful Field thou bringest down and settest up Thou killest and makest alive all Honour and Glory be to thee O Lord of Glory The Knowledge of thee in the Spirit is Life But that Knowledge which is fleshly works Death And while there is this Knowledge in the Flesh Deceit and Self will conform to any thing and will say Yes yes to that it doth not know The Knowledge which
the World hath of what the Prophets and Apostles spake is a fleshly Knowledge and the Apostates from the Life in which the Prophets and Apostles were have gotten their Words the Holy Scriptures in a Form but not in their Life nor Spirit that gave them forth And so they all lie in Confusion and are making Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof but not to fulfil the Law and Command of Christ in his Power and Spirit For that they say they cannot do but to fulfil the Lusts of the Flesh that they can do with Delight Now after I had received that Opening from the Lord that To be bred at Oxford or Cambridge was not sufficient to fit a Man to be a Minister of Christ I regarded the Priests less and looked more after the Dissenting People And among them I saw there was some Tenderness And many of them came afterwards to be Convinced for they had some Openings But as I had forsaken all the Priests so I left the Separate Preachers also and those called the Most-Experienced People For I saw there was none among them all that could speak to my Condition And when all my hopes in them and in all Men was gone so that I had nothing outwardly to help me nor could tell what to do Then O! then I heard a Voice which said â There is one even Christ Jesus that can speak to thy Condition And when I heard it my Heart did leap for Joy Then the Lord did let me see why there was none upon the Earth that could speak to my Condition namely that I might give him all the Glory For all are concluded under Sin and shut up in Vnbelief as I had been that Jesus Christ might have the Pre-heminence who enlightens and gives Grace and Faith and Poweâ Thus when God doth work who shall let it And this I knew experimentally My Desires after the Lord grew stronger and Zeal in the pure knowledge of God and of Christ alone without the help of any Man Book or Writing For though I read the Scriptures that spake of Christ and of God yet I knew him not but by Revelation as he who hath the Key did open and as the Father of Life drew me to his Son by his Spirit And then the Lord did gently lead me along and did let me see his Love which was Endless and Eternal and surpasseth all the Knowledge that Men have in the natural State or can get by History or Books And that Love did let me see my self as I was without him and I was afraid of all Company For I saw them perfectly where they were through the Love of God which let me see my self And I had not Fellowship with any People Priests nor Professors nor any sort of separated People but with Christ who hath the Key and opened the Door of Light and Life unto me And I was afraid of all Carnal Talk and Talkers for I could see nothing but Corruptions and the Life lay under the Burden of Corruptions And when I my self was in the Deep under all shut up I could not believe that I should ever Overcome my Troubles my Sorrows and my Temptations were so great that I thought many times I should have despaired I was so tempted But when Christ opened to me how he was tempted by the same Devil and had Overcome him and bruised his Head and that through him and his Power Light Grace and Spirit I should Overcome also I had Confidence in him So he it was that opened to me when I was shut up and had not hope nor Faith Christ it was who had enlightened me that gave me his Light to believe in and gave me Hope which is himself Revealed himself in me and gave me his Spirit and gave me his Grace which I found sufficient in the Deeps and in Weakness Thus in the deepest Miseries and in the greatest Sorrows and Temptations that many times beset me the Lord in his Mercy did keep me And I found that there were Two Thirsts in me the one after the Creatures to have gotten Help and Strength there and the other after the Lord the Creator and his Son Jesus Christ And I saw all the World could do me no good If I had had a King's Diet Palace and Attendance all would have been as nothing For nothing gave me Comfort but the Lord by his Power And I saw Professors Priests and People were whole and at ease in that Condition which was my Misery and they loved that which I would have been rid of But the Lord did stay my Desires upon himself from whom my help came and my care was cast upon him alone Therefore all Wait patiently upon the Lord whatsoever Condition you be in wait in the Grace and Truth that comes by Jesus For if ye so do there is a Promise to you and the Lord God will fulfil it in you And Blessed are all they indeed that do indeed hunger and thirst after Righteousness they shall be satisfied with it I have found it so praised be the Lord who filleth with it and satisfieth the desires of the hungry Soul O let the House of the Spiritual Israel say His Mercy endureth for ever It is the great Love of God to make a Wilderness of that which is pleasant to the outward Eye and fleshly Mind and to make a fruitful Field of a barren Wilderness This is the great Work of God But while People's Minds do run in the Earthly after the Creatures and changeable Things and changeable Ways and Religions and changeable uncertain Teachers their Minds are in Bondage and they are brittle and changeable and tossed up and down with windy Doctrines and Thoughts and Notions and Things their Minds being from the unchangeable Truth in the inward Parts the Light of Jesus Christ which would keep their Minds to the Unchangeable who is the Way to the Father who in all my Troubles did preserve me by his Spirit and Power praised be his Holy Name for ever Again I heard a Voice which did say Thou Serpent Thou dost seek to destroy the Life but canst not For the Sword which keepeth the Tree of Life shall destroy thee So Christ the Word of God that bruised the Head of the Serpent the Destroyer preserved me my inward Mind being joined to his good Seed that bruised the Head of this Serpent the Destroyer And this inward Life did spring up in me to answer all the Opposing Professors and Priests and did bring in Scriptures to my Memory to refute them with At another time I saw the great Love of God and I was filled with admiration at the Infiniteness of it And then I saw what was Cast out from God and what Entred into God's Kingdom And how by Jesus the Opener of the Door by his Heavenly Key the Entrance was given And I saw Death how it had passed upon all Men and oppressed the Seed of God in Man and in me
And how I in the Seed came forth and what the Promise was to Yet it was so with me that there seemed to be Two Pleading in me and Questionings arose in my Mind about Gifts and Prophecies and I was tempted again to Despair as if I had sinned against the Holy Ghost And I was in great Perplexity and Trouble for many Days Yet I gave up my self to the Lord still And one day when I had been walking solitarily abroad and was come home I was taken up in the Love of God so that I could not but admire the greatness of his Love And while I was in that Condition it was opened unto me by the Eternal Light and Power and I therein clearly saw That all was done and to be done in and by Christ and how he conquers and destroys this Tempter the Devil and all his Works and is a top of him And that all these Troubles were good for me and Temptations for the Trial of my Faith which Christ had given me And the Lord opened me that I saw through all these Troubles and Temptations My living Faith was raised that I saw All was done by Christ the Life and my Belief was in him And when at any time my Condition was vailed my secret Belief was stayed firm and Hope underneath held me as an Anchor in the bottom of the Sea and Anchored my Immortal Soul to its Bishop causing it to swim above the Sea the World where all the raging Waves foul Weather Tempests and Temptations are But oh then did I see my Troubles Trials and Temptations more than ever I had done As the Light appeared all appeared that is out of the Light Darkness Death Temptations the Vnrighteous the Vngodly all was manifest and seen in the Light Then after this there did a pure Fire appear in me Then I saw how he sate as a Refiner's Fire and as the Fuller's Sope. And then the Spiritual Discerning came into me by which I did discern my own Thoughts Groans and Sighs and what it was that did vail me and what it was that did open me And that which could not abide in the Patience nor endure the Fire in the Light I found to be the Groans of the Flesh that could not give up to the Will of God which had vailed me and that could not be patient in all Trials Troubles and Anguishes and Perplexities and could not give up Self to die by the Cross the Power of God that the Living and Quickned might follow him and that that which would cloud and vail from the Presence of Christ that which the Sword of the Spirit cuts down and which must die might not be kept alive And I discern'd the Groans of the Spirit which did open me and made Intercession to God In which Spirit is the true Waiting upon God for the Redemption of the Body and of the whole Creation And by this true Spirit in which the true Sighing is I saw over the false Sighings and Groanings And by this Invisible Spirit I discerned all the false Hearing and the false Seeing and the false Smelling which was a top above the Spirit quenching and grieving it and that all they that were there were in Confusion and Deceit where the false Asking and Praying is in Deceit and a top in that Nature and Tongue that takes Gods holy Name in vain and wallows in the Egyptian Sea and asketh but hath not for they hate his Light and resist the Holy Ghost and turn the Grace into Wantonness and rebel against the Spirit and are erred from the Faith they should ask in and from the Spirit they should pray by He that knoweth these things in the true Spirit can witness them The divine Light of Christ manifesteth all things and the spiritual Fire tryeth all things and severeth all things Several things did I then see as the Lord opened them to me For he shewed me that which can live in his holy Refining Fire and that can live to God under his Law And he made me sensible how the Law and the Prophets were until John and how the least in the Everlasting Kingdom of God is greater than John The pure and perfect Law of God is over the Flesh to keep it and its Works which are not perfect under by the perfect Law And the Law of God that is perfect answers the perfect Principle of God in every one And this Law the Jews and the Prophets and John were to perform and do None knows the Giver of this Law but by the Spirit of God neither can any truly read it or hear its Voice but by the Spirit of God He that can receive it let him John who was the greatest Prophet that was born of a Woman did bear Witness to the Light which Christ the Great heavenly Prophet hath Enlightned every Man that cometh into the World withal that they might believe in it and become the Children of Light and so have the Light of Life and not come into Condemnation For the true Belief stands in the Light that condemns all Evil and the Devil who is the Prince of Darkness who would draw out of the Light into Condemnation And they that walk in this Light come to the Mountain of the House of God established above all Mountains and to God's Teaching who will teach them his ways These things were opened to me in the Light And I saw the Mountains burning up and the Rubbish and the rough and crooked Ways and Places made smooth and plain that the Lord might come into his Tabernacle These things are to be found in Man's Heart But to speak of these things being within seemed strange to the rough and crooked and mountainous Ones Yet the Lord saith O Earth hear the Word of the Lord The Law of the Spirit crosseth the fleshly Mind Spirit and Will which lives in Disobedience and doth not keep within the Law of the Spirit And I saw this Law was the pure Love of God which was upon me and which I must go through though I was troubled while I was under it For I could not be dead to the Law but through the Law which did judge and condemn that which is to be condemned I saw many talked of the Law who had never known the Law to be their School-master And many talked of the Gospel of Christ who had never known Life and Immortality brought to Light in them by it You that have been under that School-master and the Condemnation of it know these things for tho' the Lord in that day opened these things unto me in secret they have since been published by his Eternal Spirit as on the House top And as you are brought into the Law and through the Law to be dead to it and witness the Righteousness of the Law fulfilled in you ye will afterwards come to know what it is to be brought into the Faith and through Faith from under the Law And abiding in the Faith which Christ
from the highest Bishop to the lowest Priest What one Trade else in the World is Comparable to it Notwithstanding that the Scriptures were given forth freely and Christ commanded his Ministers to Preach freely and the Prophets and Apostles denounced Judgment against all Covetous Hirelings and Diviners for Money But in this free Spirit of the Lord Jesus was I sent forth to declare the Word of Life and Reconciliation freely that all might come up to Christ who gives freely and who renews up into the Image of God which Man and Woman were in before they fell that they might sit down in the heavenly Places in Christ Jesus Nottingham Now as I went towards Nottingham on a First-day in the Morning with Friends to a Meeting there when I came on top of a Hill in sight of the Town I espied the great Steeple-house and the Lord said unto me Thou must go cry against yonder great Idol and against the Worshippers therein So I said nothing of this to the Friends that were with me but went on with them to the Meeting where the mighty Power of the Lord God was amongst us In which I left Friends sitting in the Meeting and I went away to the Steeple-house And when I came there all the People looked like Fallow Ground and the Priest like a great Lump of Earth stood in his Pulpit above And he took for his Text these Words of Peter We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a Light that shineth in a dark Place until the day dawn and the Day-star arise in your Hearts And he told the People that this was the Scriptures by which they were to Try all Doctrines Religions and Opinions Now the Lord's Power was so mighty upon me and so strong in me that I could not hold but was made to cry out and say Oh no It is not the Scriptures But I told them what it was namely the Holy Spirit by which the Holy Men of God gave forth the Scriptures whereby Opinions Religions and Judgments were to be tried For it led into all Truth and so gave the knowledge of all Truth For the Jews had the Scriptures and yet resisted the Holy Ghost and rejected Christ the bright Morning-Star and persecuted Christ and his Apostles and took upon them to Try their Doctrines by the Scriptures but erred in Judgment and did not try them a-right because they tried without the Holy Ghost Now as I spake thus amongst them the Officers came and took me away and put me into a nasty stinking Prison the smell whereof got so into my Nose and Throat that it very much annoyed me But that day the Lord's Power sounded so in their Ears that they were amazed at the Voice and could not get it out of their Ears for some time after they were so reached by the Lord's Power in the Steeple-house At Night they took me out of Prison and had me before the Major Aldermen and Sheriffs of the Town And when I was brought before them the Major was in a peevish fretful Temper but the Lord's Power allay'd him Then they examined me at large and I told them how the Lord had moved me to come Then after some Discourse had passed between them and me they sent me back to Prison again But sometime after 1649. Nottingham the Head-Sheriff whole Name was John Reckless sent for me to his House And when I came in his Wife met me in the Hall and said Salvation is come to our House â And she took me by the Hand and was much wrought upon by the Power of the Lord God And her Husband and Children and Servants were much changed for the Power of the Lord wrought upon them And I lodged at the Sheriff's House and great Meetings we had in his House and some Persons of considerable Condition in the World came to them and the Lord's Power appeared eminently amongst them And this Sheriff sent for the other Sheriff and for a Woman they had had Dealings with in way of Trade and he told her before the other Sheriff that they had wronged her in their Dealings with her for the other Sheriff and he were Partners and that they ought to make her Restitution This he spake chearfully But the other Sheriff denied it and the Woman said She knew nothing of it But the friendly Sheriff said it was so and that the other knew it well enough And then having discovered the Matter and acknowledged the Wrong done by them he made Restitution to the Woman and exhorted the other Sheriff to do the like And the Lord's Power was with this Friendly Sheriff and wrought a mighty Change in him and great Openings he had And on the next Market-day following as he was walking with me in the Chamber in his Slippers he said I must go into the Market and preach Repentance to the People And accordingly he went in his Slippers into the Market and into several Streets and preached Repentance to the People Several others also in the Town were moved to speak to the Major and Magistrates and to the People exhorting them to Repent Hereupon the Magistrates grew very Angry and sent for me from the Sheriff's House and Committed me to the Common Prison Nottingham Prison When the Assize came on there was one moved to come and offer up himself for me Body for Body yea Life also But when I should have been brought before the Judge the Sheriff's Man being somewhat long in fetching me to the Sessions-house the Judge was risen before I came At which I understood the Judge was somewhat offended and said He would have admonished the Youth if he had been brought before him For I was then Imprisoned by the Name of A YOVTH So I was returned to Prison again and put into the Common Goal And the Lord's Power was great among Friends but the People began to be very Rude Wherefore the Governour of the Castle sent down Souldiers and dispersed them and after that they were quiet But both Priests and People were astonished at the wonderful Power that brake forth And several of the Priests were made tender and some did Confess to the Power of the Lord. Now after I was set at Liberty from Nottingham-Goal where I had been kept Prisoner a pretty long time I traveled as before in the Work of the Lord. And coming to Mansfield-Woodhouse Mansfield Wood-house there was a distracted Woman under a Doctor 's Hand with her Hair loose all about her Ears and he was about to let her Blood she being first bound and many People being about her holding her by Violence But he could get no Blood from her And I desired them to unbind her 1649. Mansfield Woodhouse and let her alone for they could not touch the Spirit in her by which she was tormented So they did unbind her And I was moved to speak to her and in the
of all People to turn from the Vanities Pleasures and Oppression and from the Deceits of this World And there will come a time that you shall know it Therefore take heed of Pleasures and Deceits and Pride and look not at Man but at the Lord for Look unto me all ye Ends of the Earth and be ye saved saith the Lord. Some little time after I writ to them again thus Friends WOuld you have me to be bound to my Good Behaviour from Drunkenness or Swearing or Fighting or Adultery and the like The Lord hath Redeemed me from all these things and the Love of God hath brought me to loath all Wantonness blessed be his Name They who are Drunkards and Fighters and Swearers have their Liberty without Bonds And you lay your Law upon me whom neither you nor any other can justly accuse of these things praised be the Lord I can look at no Man for my Liberty but at the Lord alone who hath all Mens Hearts in his Hand And after some time not finding my Spirit clear of them I writ to them again as followeth Friends HAD you known who sent me to you ye would have received me for the Lord sent me to you to warn you of the Woes that are coming upon you and to bid you Look at the Lord and not at Man But when I had told you my Experience what the Lord had done for me then your Hearts were hardened and you sent me to Prison where you have kept me many Weeks If the Love of God had broke your Hearts then would ye see what ye have done Ye would not have Imprisoned me had not my Father suffered you and by his Power I shall be loosed For he openeth and shutteth to him be all Glory In what have I misbehaved my self that any should be bound for me All Mens Words will do me no good nor their Bonds neither to keep my Heart if I have not a Guide within to keep me in the upright Life to God But I believe in the Lord that through his Strength and Power I shall be preserved from Ungodliness and worldly Lusts The Scripture saith Receive Strangers but you Imprison such As you are in Authority take heed of Oppression and Oaths and Injustice and Gifts or Rewards for God doth loath all such But love Mercy and true Judgment and Justice for that the Lord delâghts in I do not write with Hatred to you but to keep my Conscience Clear Take heed how you spend your time I was moved also to write again to the Priests of Darby which I did after this manner Friends YOU do profess to be the Ministers of Jesus Christ in Words but you shew forth by your Fruits what your Ministry is Every Tree doth shew forth its Fruit The Ministry of Jesus Christ is in Mercy and Love to unloose them that be bound and to bring out of Bondage and to let them that are Captivated go free Now Friends where is your Example if the Scriptures be your Rule to Imprison for Religion Have you any Command for it from Christ If that were in you which you do profess you would walk in their Steps who spake forth those Words the Scriptures which you do profess But he is not a Jew who is one outward whose Praise is of Men but he is a Jew who is one inward whose Praise is of God But if you do build upon the Prophets and Apostles in Words and pervert their Life remember the Woes which Jesus Christ spake against such They that spake the Prophets words but denied Christ they professed a Christ to come but had they known him they would not have Crucified him The Saints whom the Love of God did Change were brought thereby to walk in Love and Mercy for he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God But where Envy Pride and Hatred doth rule the nature of the World doth rule and not the nature of Jesus Christ. I write with no hatred to you but that you may weigh your selves and see how you pass on your Time Thus having cleared my Conscience to the Priests it was not long before a Concern came upon me again to write again to the Justices which I did as followeth I am moved to Warn you to take heed of giving way to your own Wills Love the Cross and satisfy not your own Minds in the Flesh but prize your Time while you have it and walk up to that you know in Obedience to God and then you shall not be Condemned for that you know not but for that you do know and do not obey Consider betimes and weigh your selves and see where you are and whom you serve For if ye blaspheme God and take his Name in vain if ye Swear and Lie if ye give way to Envy Hatred Covetousness and Greediness Pleasures and Wantonness or any other Vices be assured then that ye do serve the Devil But if ye fear the Lord and serve him ye will loath all these things He that loveth God will not blaspheme his Name but where there is Opposing of God and serving the Devil that Profession is sad and miserable O prize your Time and do not love that which God doth forbid Lying Wrath Malice Envy Hatred Greediness Covetousness Oppression Gluttony Drunkenness Whoredom and all Vnrighteousness God doth forbid So Consider and be not deceived Evil Communication corrupts good Manners Be not deceived God will not be mocked with vain Words The Wrath of God is Revealed from Heaven against all Ungodliness Therefore Obey that which doth Convince you of all Evil and telleth you that you should do no Evil It will lead to Repentance and keep you in the Fear of the Lord. O look at the Mercies of God and prize them and do not turn them into Wantonness O Eye the Lord and not earthly things Besides this I writ the following to Colonel Barton who was both a Justice and a Preacher as was hinted before Friend DO not Cloak and Cover thy self there is a God who knoweth thy Heart and will Vncover thee He seeth thy Way Wo be to him that Covereth and not with my Spirit saith the Lord. Dost thou do contrary to the Law and then put it from thee Mercy and true Judgment thou neglectest look what was spoken against such My Saviour said to such I was Sick and in Prison and ye visited me not I was hungry and ye fed me not I was a Stranger and ye took me not in And when they said When saw we thee in Prison and did not come to thee c. He replied Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these little ones ye did it not to me Friend thou hast Imprisoned me for bearing Witness to the Life and Power or Truth and yet professest to be a Minister of Christ But if Christ had sent thee thou wouldest bring out of Prison and out of Bondage and wouldest receive Strangers Thou hast been wanton upon Earth thou hast lived plenteously
and nourished thy Heart as in a Day of Slaughter thou hast killed the Just O look where thou art and how thou hast spent thy Time O remember thy self and now while thou hast Time prize it and do not slight the free Mercy of God and despise the long-suffering of God which is great Salvation But mind that in thee which doth Convince thee and would not let thee Swear nor Lie nor take God's Name in vain Thou knowest thou shouldest do none of these Things Thou hast learned that which will Condemn thee Therefore obey the Light which doth Convince thee and forsake thy Sins and look at the Mercies of God and prize his Love in sparing thee till now The Lord saith Look unto me all ye Ends of the Earth and be ye saved and Cease from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils And Friend prize thy Time and see whom thou servest For his Servant thou art whom thou dost obey whether of Sin unto Death or Obedience unto Righteousness If thou servest God and fearest him thou wilt not blaspheme his Name nor Curse nor Swear nor take his Name in vain nor follow Pleasures and Wantonness Whoredom and Drunkenness or Wrath or Malice or Revenge or Rashness or Headiness Pride or Gluttony Greediness Oppression or Covetousness or foolish Jesting or vain Songs God doth forbid these things and all Unrighteousness If thou professest God and actest any of these Things thou takest him for a Cloak and servest the Devil Consider with thy self and do not love that which God doth hate He that loveth God keepeth his Commandments The Devil will tell thee It is an hard thing to keep God's Commandments but it is an easie thing to keep the Devil's Commandments and to live in all Unrighteousness and Ungodliness turning the Grace of God into Wantonness But let the Unrighteous Man forsake his Ways and turn unto me saith the Lord and I will have Mercy Turn ye why will ye die saith the Lord. Howl ye Great Ones for the Plagues are pouring out upon you Howl ye Oppressors for Recompence and Vengeance is coming upon you Wo unto them that Covetously Join one House to another and bring one Field so nigh unto another that the Poor can get no more Ground and that ye may dwell upon the Earth alone These things are in the Ears of the Lord of Hosts Wo unto him that Covetously getteth evil-gotten Goods into his House that he may set his Nest on high to escape from the Power of Evil. While I was yet in the House of Correction there came unto me a Trooper and said As he was sitting in the Steeple-house hearing the Priest exceeding great Trouble came upon him and the Voice of the Lord came to him saying Dost thou not know â that my Servant is in Prison Go to him for direction So I spake to his Condition and his Understanding was opened And I told him That which shewed him his Sins and troubled him for them would shew him his Salvation For he that shews a Man his Sin is the same that takes it away Now while I was speaking to him the Lord's Power opened him so that he began to have a good Understanding in the Lord's Truth and to be sensible of God's Mercies and began to speak boldly in his Quarters amongst the Souldiers and to others concerning Truth for the Scriptures were very much opened to him insomuch that he said His Colonel was as Blind as Nebuchadnezar to cast the Servant of the Lord into Prison Upon this his Colonel had a Spight at him and at Worcester-Fight the Year after when the Two Armies lying near one another Two came out from the King's Army and challenged any Two of the Parliament-Army to fight with them his Colonel made Choice of him and another to Answer the Challenge And when in the Encounter his Companion was slain he drave both his Enemies within Musquet-shot of the Town without firing a Pistol at them This when he returned he told me with his own Mouth But when the Fight was over he saw the Deceit and Hypocrisy of the Officers And being sensible how wonderfully the Lord had preserved him and seeing also to the End of Fighting he laid down his Arms. Now the Time of my Commitment to the House of Correction being very neat out and there being many new Souldiers Raised the Commissioners would have made me Captain over them And the Soldiers cried They would have none but me So the Keeper of the House of Correction was Commanded to bring me up before the Commissioners and Souldiers in the Market-place and there they proffered me that Preferment as they called it asking me If I would not take up Arms for the Common-wealth against Charles Steward I told them I knew from whence all Wars did arise even from the Lust according to James his Doctrine and that I lived in the Vertue of that Life and Power that took away the Occasion of all Wars But they courted me to accept of their Offer and thought I did but Complement with them But I told them I was come into the Covenant of Peace which was before Wars and Strifes were They said They offered it in Love and Kindness to me because of my Vertue and such like flattering Words they used But I told them If that was their Love and Kindness I trampled it under my Feet Then their Rage got up and they said Take him away Jailer and put him into the Dungeon amongst the Rogues and Fellons Darby-Dungeon So I was had away and put into a lousy stinking Place without any Bed amongst thirty Fellons where I was kept almost half a Year unless it were at Times For they would sometime let me walk in the Garden having a Belief of me that I would not go away Now when they had gotten me into Darby-Dungeon it was the Belief and saying of People that I should never come out But I had Faith in God and believed I should be delivered in his Time For the Lord had said to me before That I was not to be removed from that Place yet being set there for a Service which he had for me to do After it was bruited abroad That I was in Darby-Dungeon my Relations came to see me again and they were much troubled that I should be in Prison For they looked upon it to be a great shame to them for me to lie in Jail It was a strange thing then to be Imprisoned for Religion And some thought I was Mad because I stood for Purity and Righteousness and Perfection Among others that came to see me and discourse with me there came a certain Person from Nottingham a Souldier and that had been a Baptist as I understood and with him came several others And in Discourse this Person said to me Your Faith stands in a Man that died at Jerusalem and there was never any such thing I was exceedingly grieved to hear him say so and I said to
of God in themselves by which they might come to him and by which they might also come to know 1651. Pickering who the false Prophets were So having had a large time among them I departed in Peace After some time traveling in the Country I came to Pickering where in the Steeple-house the Justices held their Sessions Justice Robinson being Chairman and I had a Meeting in the School-house at the same time and abundance of Priests and Professors came to it asking Questions which were Answered to their Satisfaction And it being Sessions-time four Chief-Constables and many other Poople were Convinced that day And word was carried to Justice Robinson that his Priest was Overthrown and Convinced whom he had a Love to more than to all the Priests besides After the Meeting was done we went to an Inn and Justice Robinson's Priest was very lowly and loving and would have paid for my Dinner but I would by no means suffer it Then he offered that I should have his Steeple-house to preach in But I denied it and told him and the People That I came to bring them off from such things to Christ. The next Morning I went up with the Four Chief-Constables and some others to visit Justice Robinson who met me at his Chamber-door I told him I could not honour him with Man's Honour and he said He did not look for it So I went into his Chamber and opened te him the State of the false Prophets and of the true Prophets and set the true Prophets and Christ and the Apostles over the other and directed his Mind to Christ his Teacher and opened to him the Parables and how Election and Reprobation stood as that Reprobation stood in the first Birth and Election stood in the second Birth I shewed also what the Promise of God was to and what the Judgment of God was against He Confessed to it all and was so opened with the Truth that when another Justice that was present made some little Opposition he Informed him At our parting he said It was very well that I did exercise that Gift which God had given me And he took the Chief-Constables aside and would have given them some Money to have given me saying He would not have me be at any Charge in their Country but they told him That they themselves could not get me to take any Money and so accepting his Kindness refused his Money From thence I passed up into the Country and the Priest that called me Brother in whose School-house I had the Meeting at Pickering went along with me When we came into a Town to bait the Bells rang Whereupon I asked What the Bells rang for And they said for me to preach in the Steeple-house After some Time I felt Drawings that way And as I walked to the Steeple-house I saw the People were gathered together in the Steeple-house-yard The Old Priest would have had me gone into the Steeple-house but I said Nay it was no matter But it was something strange to the People that I would not go into that which they called the House of God Then I stood up in the Steeple-house-yard and declared to the People That I came not to hold up their Idol-Temples nor their Priests nor their Tithes nor their Augmentations nor their Priests-wages nor their Jewish and Heathenish Ceremonies and Traditions for I denyed all these and told them that that piece of Ground was no more Holy than another Piece of Ground 1651. Yorkshire And I shewed them that the Apostles going into the Jews Synagogues and Temples which God had Commanded was To bring People off from that Temple and those Synagogues and from the Offerings and Tithes and Covetous Priests of that Time And that such as came to be Convinced of the Truth and Converted to it and believed in Jesus Christ whom the Apostles preached they met together afterwards in Dwelling-Houses And that all who preach Christ the Word of Life ought to preach freely as the Apostles did and as he had Commanded So I was sent of the Lord God of Heaven and Earth to preach freely and to bring People off from these outward Temples made with Hands which God dwelleth not in that they might know their Bodies to become the Temples of God and of Christ And to draw People off from all their Superstitious Ceremonies and Jewish and Heathenish Customs Traditions and Doctrines of Men and from all the World's Hireling-Teachers that take Tithes and great Wages preaching for Hire and divining for Money whom God and Christ never sent as themselves confess when they say They never heard God's Voice nor Christ's Voice Therefore I exhorted the People to come off from all these things and directed them to the Spirit and Grace of God in themselves and to the Light of Jesus in their own Hearts that they might come to know Christ their Free Teacher to bring them Salvation and to open the Scriptures to them Thus the Lord gave me a good Opportunity amongst them to open things largely unto them and all was quiet and many were Convinced Blessed be the Lord. I passed on to another Town where there was another great Meeting and the Old Priest before-mentioned went along with me and there came Professors of several sorts to it Now I sate on an Hay-stack and spake nothing for some Hours for I was to famish them from Words And the Professors would ever and anon be speaking to the Old Priest and asking him When I would begin and when I would speak And he bad them Wait and told them That the People waited upon Christ a long while before he spake At last I was moved of the Lord to speak and they were struck by the Lord's Power and the Word of Life reached to them and there was a General Convincement amongst them From hence I passed on the Old Priest being still with me and several others And as we went along some People called to the Old Priest and said Mr. Boyes We owe you some Money for Tithes pray come and take it But the Old Priest threw up his Hands and said He had enough he would have none of it they might keep it And he praised the Lord he had enough At length we came to this Old Priest's Steeple-house in the Moors And when we were come into it the Old Priest went before me The Moors and held open the Pulpit-Door but I forbad him and told him I should not go into it This Steeple-house was very much painted and I told him and the People That the painted Beast had a painted House Then I opened to them the Rise of all those Houses and their Superstitious Ways shewing them that as the End of the Apostles going into the Temple and Synagogues which God had Commanded was not to hold them up 1651. Yorkshire in the Moors but to bring them to Christ the Substance So the End of my coming there was not to hold up these
Debate Did your Hearts never burn within you Did you never come to question your Conditions Are you wholly given up to do the Devil's Lusts to Persecute Where is your Loving Enemies Where is your Entertaining Strangers Where is your Overcoming Evil with Good Where are your Teachers that can stop the Mouths of Gain-sayers and can convince Gain-sayers and such as oppose themselves Have you no Ministers of the Spirit no Soldiers with Spiritual Weapons displaying Christ's Colours But all the Dragon 's the Murderer's the Persecutor's Arm of Flesh Cain's Weapons Chief Priests taking Counsel Judas and the Multitude with Swords and Staves Sodom's Company raging about Lot's House like the Priests and Princes against Jeremiah like the Dragon Beast and great Whore and the false Church which John saw should cast into Prison and Kill and Persecute Whose Weapons are you bearing doth not the false Church the VVhore make Merchandize of Cattel Corn VVine and Oil even to the very Souls of Men And hath not all this been since the true Church went into the Wilderness Read Revelations the 12th with the 18th Do you not read and see what a Spirit you are of and what a bottomless Pit you are in And have not you dishonoured the Place of Justice and Authority What! turned your Sword backward like Mad-Men who are a Praise to the Evil-Doer and would be a Terror to the Good with all Force and Might to stop the way of Justice Doth not the Lord think you behold your Actions How many have you wronged how many have you Imprisoned and Persecuted and put out of your Synagogues Are you they that must fulfil the Prophecy of Christ Matth 23. John 16. Read the Scriptures and see how unlike you are to the Prophets Christ and his Apostles and what a Visage you have like unto them that persecuted the Prophets Christ and the Apostles You are found in their Steps wrestling with Flesh and Blood and not with Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickedness And your Teachers imprisoning and persecuting for outward things you being their Executioners the like whereof hath not been in all the Nations The Havock that hath been made the spoiling of the Goods of People taking away their Oxen and fatted Beeves their Sheep Corn Wool and Houshold-Goods and giving them to the Priests that have done no Work for them More like Moss-Troopers than Ministers of the Gospel they take them from Friends suing them in your Courts and fining them because they will not break the Commands of Christ that is because they will not Swear And thus you Act against them that do not lift up an Hand against you and as much as you turn against them you turn against Christ But he is risen that will plead their Cause and you cannot be hid for your Works are come to Light and the End of your Ministry is seen what it is for for Means And ye have dishonoured the Truth the Gospel and are they that make it Chargeable You have lost your Glory you have dishonoured your selves Persecution was ever blind and mad Read the Apostle what he saith of himself when he was in your Nature Exaltation and Pride and your lifting up your selves hath brought you to this not being humble and not doing Justice and not loving Mercy And when such as have beaten been and bruised by your Rude Company to whom you are a Praise and Encouragement have come and laid things before you that you might have done Justice preserved and kept Peace you as knowing they could not swear have put an Oath to them And this hath been your Trick and Cover that ye might not do Justice to the Just but by this means have gone on still further to Encourage the Evil-Doer But the Lord sees your Hearts If ye were not Men past feeling ye would fear and tremble before him the God of the whole Earth who is risen and will stain your Glory and marr your Pride and deface your Beauty and lay it in the dust Though for a Time you may swell in your Pride and glory in your Shame and make a mock of God's Messengers who for Reproving Sin in the Gate are become your Prey you will feel the heavy hand of God and his Judgments at the last This is from a Lover of the Truth and of Righteousness and of your Souls but a Witness against all such as make a Trade of the Prophets Christ's and the Apostles Words and are found in the Steps of them that persecuted the Prophets Christ's and the Apostles Life who will persecute them that will not hold you up and put into your Mouths and give you Means Tithes were before the Law and Tithes were in the Law but Tithes since the Days of the Apostles have been only since the false Church got up Now Christ who is come to end the Law and to end War Redeems Men out of the Tenths and out of the Nines also The Redeemed of the Lord shall reign upon the Earth and know the Election which was before the World began Since the days of the Apostles Tithes have been set up by the Papists and by them that went forth from the Apostles into the World so set up by the false Church that made Merchandize of People since the true Church went into the Wilderness But now is the Judgment of the great Whore come and the Beast and false Prophet the Old Dragon shall be taken and cast into the Fire and the Lamb and his Saints shall have the Victory And now is Christ come who will make War in Righteousness and destroy with the Sword of his Mouth all these Inventers and Inventions that have got up and been set up since the Days of the Apostles and since the true Church went into the Wilderness And the everlasting Gospel which is the Power of God shall be preached again to all Nations and Kindreds and Tongues in this the Lamb's Day before whom you shall appear to Judgment and you have no way to Escape For he hath appeared who is the First and the Last the Beginning and the Ending the Alpha and the Omega He that was Dead is alive again and lives for evermore I mentioned before That Gervase Benson and Anthony Pearson though they had been Justices of the Peace were not permitted to come to me in the Prison whereupon they jointly wrote a Letter to the Magistrates Priests and People at Carlisle concerning my Imprisonment And thus it was HIM who is called George Fox who is persecuted by Rulers and Magistrates by Justices by Priests and by People and who suffers Imprisonment of his Body at this present as a Blasphemer and an Heretick and a Seducer him do we witness who in measure are made Partakers of the same Life which lives in him to be a Minister of the Eternal Word of God by whom the everlasting Gospel is preached by the powerful Preaching whereof the Eternal Father of the Saints hath opened the Blind Eyes hath
unstopped the deaf Ears hath let the Oppressed go free and hath raised up the Dead out of the Graves Christ is now preached in and among the Saints the same that ever he was and because his heavenly Image is born up in this his faithful Servant therefore doth fallen Man Rulers Priests and Peopleâ persecute him because he lives up out of the Fall and testifies against the Works of the VVorld that the Deeds thereof are Evil he suffers by you Magistrates not as an Evil-Doer For thus it was ever where the Seed of God was kept in Prison under the cursed Nature that Nature sought to imprison them in whom it was raised The Lord will make him to you as a burdensom Stone for the Sword of the Spirit of the Almighty is put into the Hands of the Saints which shall wound all the Wicked and shall not be put up till it hath cut down all corrupt Judges Justices Magistrates Priests and Professors till he hath brought his wonderful thing to pass in the Earth which is to make New Heavens and a New Earth wherein shall dwell Righteousness which now he is about to do Therefore fear the Lord God Almighty ye Judges Justices Commanders Priests and People ye that forget God suddenly will the Lord come and destroy you with an utter Destruction and will sweep your Names out of the Earth and will restore his People Judges as at the First and Counsellors as at the Beginning And all Persecutors shall partake of the Plagues of the VVhore who hath made the Kings of the Earth and the great Men drunk with the VVine of her Fornications and hath drunk the Blood of the Saints and therefore shall you be Partakers of her Plagues We are not suffered to go see our Friend in Prison whom we witness to be a Messenger of the Living God Now all People mind Whether this be according to Law oâ from the wicked perverse envious Will of the envious Rulers and Magistrates who are of the same Generation that persecuted Jesus Christ for said he as they have done to me so will they do to you And as he took the love the kindness and service that was shewed and performed to any of his Afflicted Ones in their Sufferings and Distress as done unto himself so the Injuries and Wrongs that were done by any to any of his Little Ones he resented as done unto himself also Therefore you who are so far from visiting him your selves in his suffering Servant that ye will not suffer his Brethren to visit him ye must depart ye Workers of Iniquity into the Lake that burns with Fire The Lord is coming to thresh the Mountains and will beat them to Dust And all corrupt Rulers corrupt Officers and corrupt Laws the Lord will take Vengeance on by which the tender Consciences of his People are oppressed And he will give his People his Law and will judge his People himself not according to the sight of the Eye and hearing of the Ear but with Righteousness and with Equity Now are your Hearts made manifest to be full of Envy against the living Truth of God which is made manifest in his People who are contemned and despised of the World and scornfully called Quakers You are worse than the Heathens that put Paul in Prison for none of his Friends or Acquaintance were hindred to come to him by them therefore they shall be Witnesses against you Ye are made manifest to the Saints to be of the same Generation that put Christ to death and that put the Apostles in Prison on the same pretence as you act under in calling Truth Error and the Ministers of God Blasphemers as they did But the day is dreadful and terrible that shall come upon you ye Evil Magistrates Priests and People who profess the Truth in Words outwardly and yet persecute the Power of Truth and them that stand in and for the Truth While ye have Time prize it and remember what is written Isa 54.17 George Benson Anthony Pearson Not long after this the Lord's Power came over the Justices and they were made to set me at Liberty But sometime before I was set at Liberty the Governour and the said Anthony Pearson came down into the Dungeon to see the Place where I was kept and understand what Vsage I had And when they were come down to me they found the place so bad and the savour so ill that they cried shame of the Magistrates for suffering the Jailer to do such things And they called for the Jailers into the Dungeon and required them to find Sureties for their good Behaviour and the Vnder-Jailer who had been such a Cruel Fellow they put into the Dungeon with me amongst the Moss-Troopers 1653. Cumberland At T. B's Now after I was set at Liberty I went to Thomas Bewley's where there came a Baptist-Teacher to Oppose me and he was Convinced And Robert Widders being with me was moved to go to Coldbeck-Steeple-house and the Baptist-Teacher went along with him the same day And the People fell upon them and almost killed Robert Widders and took the Baptist's Sword from him and beat him sorely This Baptist had the Inheritance of an Impropriation of Tithes and he went home and gave it up freely Robert VVidders was sent to Carlisle-Jail where having lain a while he was set at Liberty again VVilliam Dewsberry also went to another Steeple-house hard by and the People almost killed him they beat him so but the Lord's Power was over all and healed them again At that day many Friends went to the Steeple-houses to declare the Truth to the Priests and People and great Sufferings they underwent but the Lord's Power sustained them Now I went into the Country and had mighty great Meetings and the Everlasting Gospel and VVord of Life flourished and Thousands were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Teaching And several that took Tithes as Impropriators denied the receiving of them any longer Westmorland and delivered them up freely to the Parishioners Then passing on into VVestmorland I had many great Meetings and at Strickland-Head I had a large Meeting Strickland head where a Justice of Peace out of Bishoprick whose Name was Henry Draper came up and many Contenders were there The Priests and Magistrates were in a great Rage against me in Westmorland and had a VVarrant to apprehend me which they renewed from time to time for a long time Yet the Lord did not suffer them to serve it upon me So I traveled on amongst Friends visiting the Meetings till I came to Swarthmore Swarthmore where I heard that the Baptists and Professors in Scotland had sent to me to have a Dispute with me Whereupon I sent them word Cumberland that I would meet them in Cumberland at Thomas Bewley's House whither accordingly I went but none of them came Some dangers at this time I underwent in my Travels to and fro Wighton for at one time as
the Deceit Sing the Song of the Lamb Triumph over the World spread the Truth abroad Come ye Captive ones out of Prison and Rejoice with one accord for the Joyful Days are coming Let us be glad and Rejoice for ever Singleness of Heart is come Pureness of Heart is come Joy and Gladness is come The glorious God is exalting himself and Truth hath been talked of but now it is possessed Christ hath been talked of but now he is come and possessed The Glory hath been talked of but now it is possessed and the Glory of Man is defacing The Son of God hath been talked of but now he is come and hath given us an Understanding Vnity hath been talked of but now it is come Virgins have been talkt of but now they are come with Oil in their Lamps He will be glorified alone Where Pride is thrown down Earth and the fleshly Will is thrown down and the Pure is raised up there alone is the Lord Exalted Let the Heavens Bow down to him and the Earth Reel to and fro and Stagger up and down The Lord is setting up his Throne and his Crown and throwing down the Crown of Man and he alone will be glorified To whom be all Honour and Glory all Praises and all Thanks Who gives his Children Wisdom and Strength Knowledge and Vertue Power and Riches Blessings and durable Substance and an Eye to discern and an Ear to hear things singly and brings down the Pride of Man's Heart and turns the Wicked out of the Kingdom The Righteous Ones inherit Righteousness the Pure Ones Pureness the Holy Ones Holiness Praises Praises be to the Lord whose Glory now shines whose Day is broken forth which is hid from the World hid from all worldly wise Ones and from all the Prudent of this World hid from the Fowls of the Air hid from all Vultures Eyes and all venemous Beasts and all Liars and all Dogs and all Swine But to them that fear his Name the Secrets of the Lord are made manifest the Treasures of Wisdom are opened and the Fulness of Knowledge For thou O Lord dost make thy self manifest to thy Children G. F. My Spirit was greatly burdened to see the Pride that was got up in the Nation even amongst the Professors and in the sense thereof I was moved to give forth the following Paper directed To such as follow the World's Fashions WHAT a World is this How doth the Devil garnish himself and how obedient are People to do his Will and Mind that they are altogether carried away with Fooleries and Vanities both Men and Women that they have lost the hidden Man of the Heart and the meek and quiet Spirit which with the Lord is of great price They have lost the Adorning of Sarah they are putting on Gold and gay Apparel Women plaiting the Hair Men and Women powdering it making their Backs look like Bags of Meal They look so strange that they can scarce look at one another they are so lifted up in Pride Pride is flown up into their Head and hath so lifted them up that they Snuff up like Wild Asses and like Ephraim they seed upon Wind and are gotten to be like Wild Heifers who feed upon the Mountains Pride hath puffed up every one of them They are out of the Fear of God Men and Women Young and Old one puffs up another They must be in the Fashion of the World else they are not in esteem else they shall not be respected if they have not Gold or Silver upon their Backs or if his Hair be not powdered But if he have store of Ribbands hanging about his Waste and at his Knees and in his Hat of divers Colours Red or White or Black or Yellow and his Hair be powdered then he is a brave Man then he is accepted then he is no Quaker because he hath Ribbands on his Back and Belly and Knees and his Hair powdered This is the Array of the World But is not this from the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh or the Pride of Life Likewise the Women having their Gold their Spots on their Faces Noses Cheeks Fore-heads having their Rings on their Fingers wearing Gold having their Cuffs double under and above like unto a Butcher with his white Sleeves having their Ribbands tied about their Hands and three or four Gold-Laces about their Cloths This is no Quaker say they This is that that pleaseth the World this Array this Attire pleaseth the World and if they cannot get these things they are discontented But this is not the Attire of Sarah whose Adorning was in the hidden Man of the Heart of a quiet and meek Spirit This is the Adorning of the Heathen not of the Apostle nor of the Saints whose Adorning was not wearing of Gold nor plaiting of Hair but a meek and quiet Spirit which was and is of great price with the Lord. And here was the Sobriety and good Ornament which was of the Lord accepted This was Paul's Exhortation and Preaching But we see the Talkers of Paul's Words live out of Paul's Command and out of the Example of Sarah and are found in the steps of the great Heathen who comes to examin the Apostles in his gorgeous Apparel Now are not all these that have got their Ribbands hanging about their Arms Hands Back Waists Knees Hats like unto Fidlers-Boys Which shews that you are gotten into the basest and most contemptible Life who be in the Fashion of the Fidlers-Boys and Stage-Players quite out of the Paths and Steps of solid Men and in the very Steps and Paths of the wild Heads who give themselves up to every Invention and Vanity of the World that appears and is inventing how to get it upon their Backs Heads Feet and Legs and say If it be out of the Fashion it is nothing worth Are not these the Spoilers of the Creation who have the fat and the best of it and waste and destroy it Do not these Cumber God's Earth Let that of God in all Consciences Answer and who are in the Wisdom judge And further If one get a pair of Britches like a Coat and hang them about with Points and up almost to the Middle a pair of double Cuffs upon his Hands and a Feather in his Cap here 's a Gentleman bow before him put off your Hats bow get a Company of Fidlers a set of Musick and Women to dance This is a brave Fellow up in the Chamber up in the Chamber without and up in the Chamber within Are these your fine Christians Yea say they They are Christians Yea but say the serious People They are out of Christ's Life and out of the Apostles Command and out of the Saints Ornament And to see such as are before described as are in the Fashions of the World before-mentioned a Company of them playing at Bouls or at Tables or at Shovel-Board or Each taking his Horse that hath Bunches of Ribbands on his Head as
the Rider hath on his own who perhaps hath a Ring in his Ear too and so go to Horse-racing to spoil the Creatures Oh these are Gentlemen indeed these are bred up Gentlemen these are brave Fellows and they must take their Recreation for Pleasures are lawful And these in their Sports set up their Shouts like unto the wild Asses they are like unto the Kine or Beasts when they are put to Grass Lowing when they are full And here is the Glorying of them before-mentioned but it is in the Flesh not in the Lord These are bad Christians and shew that they are gluttoned with the Creatures and then the Flesh rejoiceth And here is bad breeding of Youth and young Women who are carried away with the Vanities of the Mind in their own Inventions Pride Arrogancy Lust Gluttony Vncleanness so Eat and Drink and rise up to Play This is the Generation which God is not well pleased withall but their Eyes are full of Adultery who cannot cease from Evil. These be they that live in Pleasures upon Earth These be they who are dead while they live who glory not in the Lord but in the Flesh These be they that be from the Life that the Scriptures were given forth from who live in the Fashions and Vanities of the World out of Truth 's Adorning in the Devil 's Adorning who is out of the Truth and not in the Adorning of the Lord which is a meek and quiet Spirit which is with the Lord of great price But this Ornament and this Adorning is not put on by them that be adorned and have the Ornament of him that is out of the Truth and that is not accepted with the Lord which is accepted in their Eye G. F. Moreover it came upon me about this time from the Lord to write a short Paper and send forth as An Exhortation and Warning to the Pope and all Kings and Rulers in Europe a Copy of which here follows Friends YE Heads and Rulers and Kings and Nobles of all sorts Be not bitter nor hasty in persecuting the Lambs of Christ neither turn your selves against the Visitation of God and his tender Love and Mercies from on high who sent to visit you lest the Lord's Hand Arm and Power take hold swiftly upon you which is now stretched over the World that is turned against Kings and shall turn Wise Men backward and will bring off their Crowns to the Dust and lay them low and level with the Earth God and Christ will be King who gives Crowns to whomsoever obey his Will and this is the Age wherein the Lord God of Heaven and Earth is staining the Pride of Man and defacing his Glory So you that profess Christ and do not love your Enemies but on the contrary do shut up and Imprison them who are his Friends these be Marks that you be out of his Life and do not love Christ who do not the things he commands The day of the Lord's Wrath is kindling and his Fire is going forth to burn up the Wicked which will leave neither Root nor Branch They that have lost their Habitation with God be out of the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures and from the Light that Jesus Christ hath enlightned them withall and so from the true Foundation Therefore be swift to hear and slow to speak and slower to persecute For the Lord is bringing his People to himself from off all the World's Ways to Christ the Way and from off all the World's Churches to the Church which is in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and from off all the World's Teachers to teach his People himself by his Spirit and from off all the World's Images into the Image of himself and from their Likenesses into his own Likeness and from off all the World's Crosses of Stone or Wood into his Power which is the Cross of Christ For all these Images and Crosses and Likenesses are among them that are Apostatized from the Image of God the Power of God which is the Cross of Christ which now fathoms the World and is throwing down that which is contrary to it which Power of God never changes Let this go to the Kings of France and of Spain and to the Pope for them to prove all things and to hold that which is good And first to prove that they have not quenched the Spirit for the mighty Day of the Lord is come and coming upon all Wickedness and Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men who will plead with all Flesh by Fire and by Sword And the Truth and the Crown of Glory and the Scepter of Righteousness over all shall be exalted which shall Answer that of God in every one upon the Earth tho' they be from it Christ is come a Light into the World and doth enlighten every one that cometh into the World that all through him might believe He that feeleth the Light that Christ hath enlightened him withal he feeleth Christ in his Mind and the Cross of Christ which is the Power of God and he shall not need to have a Cross of Wood or Stone to put him in mind of Christ or of his Cross which is the Power of God manifest in the inward Parts G. F. Besides this I was moved to write a Letter to the Protector so called To warn him of the mighty Work the Lord hath to do in the Nations and shaking of them and to beware of his own Wit Craft Subtilty and Policy or seeking any By-Ends to himself There was about this time an Order for the Trying of Ministers so called and for Approving or Ejecting them out of their Places or Benefices whereupon I writ a Paper To the Justices and other Commissioners who were appointed to that Work Of which Paper the Copy here follows Friends YOU that be Justices and in Commission to Try Ministers who have so long been in the Vine-yard of God now see whether they be such as are mentioned in the Scriptures whom the Prophets Christ and the Apostles did Dis-approve of And if they be such as they Dis-approved then see how ye can stand Approved in the sight of God to let such go into his Vine-yard and Approve of them who will admire your Persons because of Advantage and if you do not give them advantage they will not admire your Persons Such Jude speaks of See if they be not such as teach for filthy Lucre for the love of Money Covetous such as love themselves who have a Form of Godliness but deny the Power from such the Apostle bids Turn away The Apostle said Their Mouths should be stopped who served not the Lord Jesus but their own Bellies being Evil Beasts slow Bellies who mind Earthly Things Paul gave Timothy an Order to Try Ministers by He said They must not be Covetous nor given to Wine nor filthy Lucre nor a Novice lest being lifted up into Pride they fall into the Condemnation of the Devil These he was to
Diana's Crafts-men did against Paul At this Place John Crook met us When it was within Night the Mayor of the Town being friendly came and fetched me to his House and as we walked through the Streets there was a Bustle in the Towm but they did not know me it being darkish But they were in a Rage not only against me but against the Mayor also 1655. Cambridg so that he was almost afraid to walk the Streets with me for the Tumult We sent for the Friendly People and had a fine Meeting there in the Power of God and I stay'd there all Night Next Morning having ordered our Horses to be ready by the sixth Hour we passed peaceably out of Town and the Destroyers were disappointed for they thought I would have stay'd longer in the Town and intended to have done us Mischief but our passing away early in the Morning frustrated their Evil-Purposes against us Bishop-Starford Hertford Then rode we through the Countries to Bishop-Starford where were some Convinced And so to Hertford where also there were some Convinced and where now there is a large Meeting London From thence we returned to London where Friends received us gladly the Lord's Power having carried us through many Snares and Dangers And great Service we had for the Lord for maây hundreds were brought to sit under the Teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ their Saviour and to praise the Lord through him James Nailer also was come up to London and Richard Hubberthorn and I stay'd sometime in the City visiting Friends and Answering Gain-sayers for we had great Disputes with Professors of all sorts Many Reproaches they cast upon Truth and lying slanderous Books they gave forth against us But we Answered them all and cleared God's Truth and set it over them all and the Lord's Power was over all Amongst other Services for the Lord which then lay upon me in the City I was moved to give forth a Paper to those That made a scorn at Trembling and Quaking of which a Copy here followeth THE Word of the Lord to all you that scorn Trembling and Quaking who scoff at them and scorn them and throw Stones at them and belch forth Oaths against them who are Trembling and Quaking threatning them and beating them Strangers ye are to all the Apostles and Prophets and are in the Generation that stoned them and mocked them then in those Ages Now ye are the Scoffers which they spake of that are come in the last times Be ye Witnesses against your selves To the Light in all your Consciences I speak that with it you may see your selves to be from the Life of the holy Men of God Moses who was a Judge over all Israel he trembled feared and Quaked when the Lord said unto him I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob then he trembled and durst not behold This which makes to Tremble now ye Teachers and People scoff at and scorn them in your Streets who witness the Power of the Lord. Moses forsook the Pleasures of the World which he might have enjoyed for a Season He might have been called the Son of Pharaoh's-Daughter he refused it and forsook Pharaoh's House yet was no Vagabond And David a King he trembled he was mocked they made Songs on him they wagged their Heads at him Will you profess David's Words and Moses his Words who are in the Generation of your Fathers 1655. London Mockers Scoffers Wonderers and Despisers which are to perish O blush and be ashamed of all your Profession and be Confounded Job trembled his Flesh trembled and they mocked him So do you now mock them in whom the same Power of God is made manifest and yet you profess Job's Words O deceitful Hypocrites will ye not own Scripture O for shame never profess Scripture-words and deny the Power which according to the Scripture makes the Keepers of the House to tremble and the strong Man to bow himself These things both Priests Magistrates and People scoff at but with the Power ye are judged and by the Power and Life condemned The Prophet Jeremiah trembled he shook his Bones quaked he reeled to and fro like a drunken Man when he saw the Deceits of the Priests and Prophets who were turned from the way of God and they were not ashamed neither could they blush Such were gone from the Light and such were they that ruled over the People But he was brought to Cry O foolish People that had Eyes and could not see that had Ears and could not hear that did not fear the Lord and tremble at his Presence who placed the Sands for Bounds to the Sea by a perpetual Decree that the Waves thereof cannot pass And he said A horrible thing is committed in the Land The Prophets prophesy falsly and the Priests bear rule by their means Shall not I arise for these things saith the Lord Shall not my Soul be avenged upon such a Nation as this They were such as did not Tremble at the Word of the Lord therefore he called them a foolish People Hear all ye the Word of the Lord ye foolish People who scorn Trembling and Quaking and Shaking Give over professing the Prophet Jeremiah's Words and making a Trade of them for with his Words you are judged to be among the Scoffers and Scorners and Stockers For he was stocked by your Generation and you now stock them that tremble at the word of the Lord at the Power of the Mighty God which raises up the Seed of God and throws down the Earth which hath kept it down So you that are in the Fall where Death reigneth Enemies of the Truth despising the Power of God as those of your Generation ever did Wo and Misery is your Portion except you speedily Repent Isaiah said Hear the Word of the Lord all ye that Tremble at his Word And he said This was the Man that God did regard that was of a broken and contrite Heart and trembled at his Word When their Brethren hated them and persecuted them saying Let the Lord be glorified he shall appear to your Joy but they shall be ashamed Isa 66.5 Now all ye Scoffers and Scorners that despise Trembling you regard not the Word of the Lord They are not regarded by you that Tremble at the Word which are regarded by the Lord therefore you are contrary to Isaiah's Words Therefore profess him and his Words no more for shame nor make a Trade of his Words Ye that seek for your Gain from your Quarter ye greedy dumb Dogs that never have enough ye are they that despise Trembling ye are such as Isaiah cried against who himself witnessed Trembling Here therefore be ye Witnesses against your selves that with the Light in your Consciences ye may see ye are out of the Prophet Isaiah's Spirit and are Haters of them that Tremble whom the Lord regards but such you regard not but hate and persecute mock and rail
against them But it is manifest that you walk in the steps of your Fore-fathers that persecuted the Prophetâ Habakâuk the Prophet of the Lord trembled and Joel the Prophet of the Lord said Blow the Trumpet in Sion and let all the Inhabitants of the Earth Tremble The People shall Tremble and all Faces shall gather Blackness and the People shall be much pained And now this Trembling is witnessed by the Power of the Lord This Power of the Lord is come the Trumpet is sounding the Earth is shaking the Inhabitants of the Earth are trembling the Dead is arising and the Living is praising God And the World is Raging and the Scoffers are Scorning and they that witness Trembling and Quaking wrought in them by the Power of the Lord can scarce pass up and down the Streets but with Stones and Blows and Fists and Sticks or Dogs set at them or pursued with Mocks and Reproaches Thus you vent forth your Malice against them that witness the Power of the Lord as the Prophets did who are come to the broken Heart and contrite Spirit and who Tremble at the Word of the Lord whom the Lord regards These you stone these you stock these you set your Dogs at these you scoff and scorn these you revile and reproach but those Reproaches are our Riches praised be the Lord who hath given us power over them And if you see one as Habakkuk whose Lips quivered whose Belly shock who said Rottenness was entred into his Bones and who trembled in himself if you see such an one in this Condition now ye say He is Bewitched Here again you shew your selves Strangers to that Power to that Life that was in the Prophet Therefore for shame never make a Profession of his Words nor a Trade of his Words nor of Joel's who witnessed Trembling which ye scorn and scoff at Ye proud Scoffers and Scorners Misery Misery is your End except you speedily Repent Daniel a Servant of the most-high God he Trembled his Strength and his Breath was gone He was Prisoned He was hated he was persecuted they laid Baits and Snares for him in whom the holy Spirit of God was Now for shame all you that make a Profession of Daniel's Words give over your Profession Priests and People who scoff and scorn at Trembling with the Light you are seen to be out of Daniel's Life and by the same Power you are judged at which you scorn and scoff And so here again be ye Witnesses against your selves that you are Scorners and Scoffers against the Truth And with the Scripture you are judged to be contrary to the Life of the holy Men of God Paul a Minister of God made by the Will of God a Messenger of the Lord Jesus a Vessel of the Lords to carry his Name abroad into several Nations when the dark blind World have got some of his Words and Epistles you filthy Teachers make a Trade of them and get great Sums of Money for it and so destroy Souls for dishonest Gain making a Trade of his Words and of the rest of the Apostles and Prophets and of Christ's Words but denying the Spirit and Life that they were guided by and that Power which shook the Flesh and the Earth which the Apostle witnessed who said When he came among the Corinthians he was then with them in weakness and fear and in much Trembling that their Faith might not stand in the Wisdom of Words but in the Power of God in that Power which made him to Tremble This Power it is that the World and all the scoffing Teachers scoff at and scorn in your Towns in your Villages in your Assemblies in your Ale-houses for shame lay away all your Profession of the Apostle's Words and Conditions And some of them that scoff at this Power call it the Power of the Devil and some persecute them and Stone and Stock Imprison and Whip them in whom that Power is made manifest and lade them with Reproaches as not worthy to walk on the Earth hated and persecuted as the Off-scouring of all things Here you may see you are in the steps of your Fore-Fathers who persecuted the Apostles and acted so against them stocked them mocked them prisoned them stoned them whipped them haled them out of the Synagogues reproached them and shamefully entreated them Do not you here fulfil the Scripture and Christ's saying who said If they kill you they will think they do God Service Yet you make a Profession of Christ's Words of the Prophets and Apostles Words and call your selves Churches and Ministers of the Gospel I charge you in the presence of the Living God to be silent who act such things And mind the Light in your Consciences ye Scoffers and Scorners which Christ hath enlightened you withall that with it ye may see your selves what ye Act and what ye have Acted for who Act such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God for all such things are by the Light condemned And who come to witness Trembling and Quaking the Powers of the Earth to be shaken the Lustful Nature come to be destroyed the scorning and scoffing Nature judged by the Light In it Wait to receive Power from him who shakes the Earth That Power we own and our Faith stands in it which all the World scoffs at the Lofty Ones the Proud Ones the Presumptuous Ones which live in Presumption and yet make a Profession of the Scriptures as your Fathers the Pharisees did who were painted Sepulchres and Serpents and as the Scribes did who had the Chiefest Places in the Assemblies stood praying in the Synagogues and were called of Men Masters which Christ cried WO against who are not come so far as the Trembling of Devils who believed and trembled Let that Judge you The Light and Life of the Scripture is seen and made manifest and with it all you Scoffers and all you Scorners and all you Persecutors and Railers are seen Take Warning all ye Powers of the Earth how ye persecute them whom the World Nick-name and call Quakers who dwell in the Eternal Power of God lest the Hand of the Lord be turned against you and ye be all Cut off To you this is the Word of God Fear and Tremble and take Warning For this is the Man whom the Lord doth regard who trembles at his Word which you who are of the World scoff and scorn stock persecute and imprison Here ye may see ye are contrary to God contrary to the Prophets and are such as hate what the Lord regards which we whom the World scorns and calls Quakers own And we exalt that Power and honour that Power that makes the Devils tremble and shakes the Earth and throws down the Loftiness of Man and the Haughtiness of Man and which makes the Beasts of the Field to Tremble and makes the Earth Reel to and fro and cleaves the Earth asunder and over-turneth the World This Power we own and honour and preach up whom
the World scornfully calls Quakers But all Scoffers and Persecutors Railers and Scorners Stockers and Whippers we deny by that Power which throweth down all that Nature as seeing that all who act such things without Repentance shall not inherit the Kingdom of God but are for Destruction So Rejoice all ye Righteous ones who are persecuted for Righteousness sake for great is your Reward in Heaven Rejoice ye that suffer for Well-doing for ye shall not lose your Reward And wait you in the Light that you may grow up in the Life that gave forth the Scriptures that with it ye may see the Saints Conditions and with it ye may see all that which they testified against and there with it ye will see the state of those that did reproach and scoff them and did mock them and persecute them and did whip and stock them and haled them out of the Synagogues before Magistrates So to you who are in the same Light and Life the same things do they now that they may fill up the measure of their Fathers With the Light now they are seen where the Light and Life and Power of God is made manifest for as they did unto them so will they do unto you Here is our Joy and the Scripture is fulfilled and fulfilling and with the Light which was before the World was which is now made manifest in the Children of Light with it they see the World and comprehend it and the Actions of it for he that loves the World and turns from the Light is an Enemy to God he turneth into VVickedness for the whole VVorld lieth in VVickedness He who turns from the Light turns into the VVorks of Evil which the Light of Christ testifies against And by this Light where it is made manifest all the VVorks of the VVorld are seen and made manifest G. F. This is to go abroad among the scattered Ones and among the World Great was the Rage and Enmity of the People Professors as well as Prophane against the Truth and People of God at this time and great the Contempt and Disdain they shewed of Friends plainness Wherefore I was moved to write the following Paper and send it forth directed as An Epistle to gathered Churches into outward Forms upon the Earth ALL ye gathered Churches into outward Forms upon the Earth the Son of God is come to Reign and he will tread and trample and will shake and make you Quake and Quiver you that be found without his Life out of his Light and without his Power His Day hath appeared Morter and Clay will you be found Breaking and Shaking and Quaking is coming among you Your high Building is to be laid desolate your professed Liberty shall be your Bondage the Mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it Tremble ye Hypocrites ye Notionists The fenced Cities shall be laid desolate the fruitful Fields shall become a VVilderness your false Joy shall become your Heaviness the time of VVeeping and Desolation draweth nigh Come ye witty Ones see how ye can stand before the Almighty who is now come to plead with you you 'll fall like Leaves and wither like VVeeds Come you that have boasted of my Name saith the Lord and have gloried in the Flesh ye shall fade like a Flower who have slain my VVitness yet boast of my VVords which have been as a Song unto you Come ye Novelty-Ones who love Novelties changeable Suits of Apparel who be in the Fashions outward and inward putting on one thing this day and another the other day I 'll strip thee saith the Lord I 'll make thee bare I 'll make thee naked and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. What! hast thou profest the Prophets words hast thou profest the Apostles words and my Son's words hast thou Covered thy self with their Expressions thinkest thou not that I see thee out of my Life thinkest thou thou witty One to hide thy self where none can see thee thinkest thou if thou fliest to the uttermost parts of the Earth that I am not there Is not the Earth mine and the fulness of it saith the Lord Come all ye that have trusted in your own conceited Notions and Knowledge and VVisdom who were never yet out of the Earth and the Lusts of it and never yet got the Load of thick Clay off you and never were out of the drunken Spirit whose Imperfection appears who must be come upon as a Potter's Vessel broken Cisterns and ye that have been made VVise in your own Conceit and wise in your own Eyes in which Pride hath lifted you up and not the Humility you must be Abased You have run on with every one after his own Invention and every Man hath done that thing that was right in his own Eyes and that which did please himself This hath been the Course of People upon Earth Ye have run on without a King without Christ the Light of the World which hath enlightened every one that is come into the World but now is Truth risen now are your Fruits withering And you that are fortified and have fortified your strong Houses called your Churches make you your Cords strong the Lord will break you asunder ye that are gathering in and ye that are gathered For the Lord is risen to scatter you his Witness is risen in the Hearts of his People they will not be fed with dead Words nor with that which dies of it self nor will they be satisfied with the Husk which the Swine seeds upon And all ye Priests in the Nation and Teachers that now stand against the Light your Envy shews that ye be in Cain's Way your Greediness shews that ye be in Balaam's Way your standing against the Light which hath enlightned every man that cometh into the world doth manifest that you are in Core's Way that spoke the great high Words of Vanity ye whose Consciences are seared as with an hot Iron whose Judgment doth not linger whose Damnation doth not slumber who serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but your own Bellies who are the Evil Beasts spoken of which have destroyed many Families taken away their Cattel their Horses their Goods even their Household-Goods destroyed many poor men even whole Families taking their whole Estates from them whom you do no Work for O! the grievous Actions that are seen done by you the Ministers of Vnrighteousness whose fruits declare to the whole Nation that you are the Devil's Messengers your Actions declare it your taking Tithes Augmentations treble Dammages Midsummer-Dues as ye call them of them ye do no Work for nor Minister to And all ye Powers of the Earth beware of holding such up that be Vnrighteous Let not the Words of the Vnrighteous overcome you lest the righteous Judge the righteous God the Judge of Heaven and Earth upon you take hold whose Judgment is according to that of God in you which will let you see when you Transgress Come you proud and lofty ones who
have not considered the handy-works of the Lord but have destroyed them nor have regarded the way of the Lord but have had plenty of the Creatures and have therewith fatted up your selves and forgot the Lord and his way O let Shame cover your Faces here upon Earth Come ye that are given to Pleasures and spend your Time and Days in Sports and Idleness and Fulness your Fruits declare the Sins of Sodom yet you will make a Talk of my Name and of my Saints Words But I behold you afar off saith the Lord you are Proud and Lofty you are bad Patterns and bad Examples that be full and rich and Idle who say Others are Idle that cannot maintain your Lusts Oh! the unrighteous Ballances that are among People Oh the Iniquity in Measuring Oh the Oppression in Ruling and Governing Therefore because of these things my Hand shall come upon you saith the Lord. For the Oppression is entred into the Ears of the Lord who gives Rest to the wearied to the burdened to the oppressed who feeds the Hungry and cloaths the Naked who brings the Mighty from their Seats and beats the Lofty to Ground and makes the Haughty to bend Come saith the Lord ye Mockers and Scorners and Rebellious ones light and wild People vain and heady you have had your Day of Joy you have Scoffed you have Mocked and derided my Messengers and my Ambassadors who have preached in your Streets and cried in your Synagogues and Temples a Day of Trembling and Lamentation shall on you come when you are not aware I 'le take away your Pride and your Height I 'le shake you as a Leaf and bring you to be as Men distracted I 'le distract you and make you that you shall not trust one another in the Earth who have joined hand in hand against my Servants in the Truth I 'le smite you with Terrors and bring Frets and Fears upon you the Cup of my Indignation and Fury shall you drink Where will you appear when Repentance is hid from your Eyes when prophane Esau your Father it set before you and Ishmael and Cain wild and envious whose Fruits declare the Stock Come ye proud Priests who have eaten up the Fat of the Nation who by Violence have taken other Men's Goods whose Envy hath slain many whose Wickedness and Darkness hath abounded and whose Vnrighteousness daily appears Your Fruits every day declare it in summoning up by Writs and Subpoena's from most parts of the Nation for Wages and Tithes such as you do no work for Oh the Abominable Vnrighteousness how is the State of Man lost that these things they do not take to Heart to feel them What havock is made in most parts of the Nation with such And all ye Priests and Teachers who are railing and brawling in the Pulpit setting People at variance one against another Haters and Hateful provoking People to Hate one another here is the Seed of Enmity seen which you have sown and are sowing whose Seed must be bruised by the Seed of the Woman which a top of your Heads is set G. F. This Year came out the Oath of Abjuration by which many Friends suffered and several Friends went to speak with the Protector about it but he began to harden And Sufferings increasing upon Friends by reason that envious Magistrates made use of that Oath as a Snare to catch Friends in who they knew could not swear at all I was moved to write to the Protector about it and other suffering Friends as followeth THE Magistrate is not to bear the Sword in vain which ought to be a Terror to the Evil-doers but the Magistrate that doth bear the Sword in vain as he is not a Terror to the Evil-doers so he is not a Praise to them that do well Now hath God raised up a People by his Power whom People Priests and Magistrates who are out of the Fear of God scornfully call Quakers who do cry against Drunkenness for Drunkards destroy God's Creatures and do cry against Oaths for because of Oaths the Land mourns and they Drunkards and Swearers to whom the Magistrate's Sword should be a Terror are we see at liberty but for crying against such many are cast into Prison and for crying against their Pride and Filthiness their deceitful Merchandize in Markets their Cozening and their Cheating their Excess and Naughtiness their playing at Bouls and Shovel-boards at Cards and at Dice and their other vain and wanton Pleasures for who live in Pleasures are dead while they live and who live in Wantonness kill the Just This we know by the Spirit of God which gave forth the Scriptures which God the Father hath given to us and hath placed his Righteous Law in our Hearts which Law is a Terror to Evil-doers and answers that which is of God in every Man's Conscience They which act contrary to the Measure of God's Spirit in every Man's Conscience cast the Law of God behind their Backs and walk despitefully against the Spirit of Grace The Magistrate's Sword we see is born in vain whilst the Evil-doers are at Liberty to do Evil and they that cry against such are for so doing punished by the Magistrate who hath turned his Sword backward against the Lord. And now the Wicked one fenceth himself and persecutes the Innocent as Vagabonds and Wanderers for crying against Sin and against Vnrighteousness and Vngodliness openly in the Markets and in the High-ways or as Railers because they tell them what Judgment will follow them that follow such Practices And here they that depart from Iniquity are become a Prey and few lay it to heart But God will thresh the Mountains and beat the Hills and cleave the Rocks and cast into his Press which is trodden without the City and will bathe his Sword in the Blood of the Wicked and Vnrighteous So they that have drunk the Cup of Abominations an hard Cup have you to drink you who are the Enemies of God and of you he will be avenged who be his Enemies Now ye in whom something of God is remaining consider If the Sword was not born in vain but turned against the Evil-doers then the Righteous would not suffer and be cast into Holes Dungeons Corners and Prisons and Houses of Correction as Peace-Breakers for crying against Sin openly as they are commanded of the Lord and for crying against the Covetousness of the Priests and their false Worships who exact Money now of poor People whom they do no work for Oh! where will you appear in the Day of the Lord or how will you stand in the Day of his righteous Judgment How many Jails and Houses of Correction are now made Places to put the Lambs of Christ in for following him and obeying his Commands which are too many to mention The Royal Law of Christ To do as ye would be done by is trodden down under foot So that Men can profess him in Words and Talk but Crucify him wheresoever he appears
received at thy Hands thou hast given us to understand And here thou may'st think thou hast made thy self secure and sufficiently barr'd up our Way of Relief against whom tho' thou knew'st we had done nothing contrary to the Law or worthy of Bonds much less of the Bonds and Sufferings we had sustained thou hast proceeded as hath been rehearsed notwithstanding that thou art as are all the Judges of the Nation Intrusted not with a Legislative Power but to Administer Justice and to do Even Law and Execution of Right to all High and Low Rich and Poor without having regard to any Man's Person and art sworn so to do as hath been said And wherein thou dost Contrary art liâble to Punishment as ceasing from being a Judge and becoming a Wrong-doer and an Oppressor which what it is to be many of thy Predecâssors have understood some by Death others by Fine and Imprisonment And of this thou may'st not be Ignorant that to deny a Prisoner any of the Priviledges the Law allows him is to deny him Justice to Try him in an Arbitrary Way to rob him of that Liberty which the Law gives him which is his Inheritance as a Freeman And which to do is in effect To subvert the Fundamental Laws and Government of England and to Introduce an Arbitrary and Tyrannical Government against Law which is Treason by the Common Law and Treasons by the Common Law are not taken away by the Statutes of 25 Edw. III. 1 H. IV. 1 2. m. See O. St. Johns now Chief Justice of the Common Pleas his Argument against Strafford fol. 65. c. in the Case These things Friend We have laid before thee in all plainness to the End that with the Light of Jesus Christ who lighteth every one that cometh into the World a Measure of which thou hast which sheweth thee Evil and reproveth thee for Sin for which thou must be accountable thou being still and cool may'st consider and see what thou hast done against the Innocent and shame may overtake thee and thou may'st Turn unto the Lord who now calleth thee to Repentance by his Servants whom for witnessing his living Truth in them thou hast Cast into and yet continuest under Cruel Bonds and Sufferings From the Gaol in Lanceston the 14th day of the 5th Month 1656. Edw. Pyot By the foregoing Letter the Reader may Observe how contrary to Law we were made to suffer But the Lord who saw the Integrity of our Hearts to him and knew the Innocency of our Cause was with us in our Sufferings and bore up our Spirits through and made them Easie to us and gave us Opportunities of publishing his Name and Truth amongst the People so that several of the Town came to be Convinced and many were made Loving to us and Friends from many Parts came to visit us There came Two out of Wales who had been Justices of the Peace there Also Judge Hagget's Wife of Bristol came to visit us and she was Convinced and several of her Children and her Husband was very kind and serviceable to Friends and had a great Love to God's People which he retained to his Death Now in Cornwall Devonshire Dorsetshire and Somersetshire Truth began mightily to spread and many were turned to Christ Jesus and his free Teaching for many Friends that came to Visit us were drawn forth to declare the Truth in those Countries which made the Priests and Professors rage and they stirred up the Magistrates to ensnare Friends Then they set up Watches in the Streets and in the High-ways on pretence of taking up all suspicious Persons under which Colour they stopt and took up those Friends that travelled in and through those Countries coming to visit us in Prison which they did that the Friends might not pass up and down in the Lord's Service But that which they thought to have stopt the Truth by was the Means of spreading it so much the more for then Friends were frequently moved to speak to one Constable and t'other Officer and to the Justices they were brought before and this caused the Truth to spread the more amongst them in all their Parishes And when Friends were got among the Watches it would be a Fortnight or three Weeks before they could get out of them again for no sooner had one Constable taken them and carried them before the Justices and they had discharged them but another would take them up and carry them before other Justices Which put the Country to a great deal of needless Trouble and Charges As Thomas Rawlinson was coming up out of the North to visit us a Constable âo Devonshire took him up and at Night took Twenty Shillings out of his Pocket And after they had thus robbed him he was cast into Exeter-Gaol They cast Henry Pollexfen also into Prison in Devonshire for being a Jesuit who had been a Justice of Peace for the most part of Forty Years before Many Friends were cruelly beaten many times by them Nay some Clothiers that were but going to Mill with their Cloth and other Men about their outward Occasions they took up and Whipt though Men of about Eighty or an hundred Pounds by the Year and not above four or five Miles from their Families The Mayor of Lanceston too was a very Wicked Man for he would take up all he could get and cast them into Prison And he would search substantial grave Women their Petticoats and their Head-cloaths There came a Friend a Young-Man to âee us who came not through the Town So I drew up all the Gross Inhuman and Vnchristian Actions of the Mayor for his Carriage was more like an Heathen than a Christian and I gave it the Young Man and bid him Seal it up and go out again the back-way and then come into the Town through the Gates He did so and the Watch took him up and carried him before the Mayor who presently searched his Pockets and found the Letter wherein he saw all his Actions Characterized Which shamed him so that from that time forward he meddled little with the Servants of the Lord. Now from the sense I had of the Snare that was laid and Mischief intended against the Servants of the Lord in setting up those Watches at that time to stop and take up Friends it came upon me to give forth the following Lines as An Exhortation and Warning to the Magistrates ALL ye Powers of the Earth Christ is come to Reign and is among you and ye know him not who doth Enlighten every one of you that are come into the World that ye all through him might believe who is the Light who treads the Wine-press alone without the City whose Feet are upon it Therefore see all and examin with the Light what ye are Ripe for for the Press is ready for you Before Honour is Humility And all you that would have Honour before ye have Humility mark before ye have Humility are ye not as the Heathen are
Ye would have Honour before ye have Humility Did not all the Persecutors that ever were upon the Earth want this Humility And so they wanted the Honour and yet would have the Honour before they had the Humility and had learned that And so ye that be out of the Humility be out of the Honour and ye are not to have the Honour who have not the Humility for before Honour is Humility mark before it Now ye pretend Liberty of Conscience yet shall not one carry a Letter to a Friend nor Men visit their Friends nor visit Prisoners nor carry a Book about them either for their own Use or for their Friends and yet ye pretend Liberty of Conscience Men shall not see their Friends but Watches are set up against them to catch and stop them and these must be Well-armed Men too against an Innocent People that have not so much as a Stick in their Hânds who are in scorn called Quakers And yet âmâng such as set up these Watches is pretended Liberty of Conscience who take up them whose Consciences are exercised towards God and Men who worship God in their Way which is the Truth which they that be out of the Light call Heresy Now these who set up the Watches against them whom they in scorn call Quakers it is Because they confess and witness the true Light that lighteth every one that cometh into the World amongst People as they pass through the Country or among their Friends This is the dangerous Doctrine which the Watchmen are set up against to subdue Error as they call it which is the Light that doth enlighten every Man that cometh into the World Hâm by whom the World was made who was glorified with the Father before the VVorld began For them whom they in scorn call Quakers have they set up their VVatches Able Men well-Armed to take up these that bear this Testimony either in VVords Books or Letters So that is the Light you hate that doth Enlighten every man that cometh into the VVorld and these that witness to this Light are they that you put in Prison And after you have Imprisoned them you set up your VVatches to take up all that go to Visit them and to Imprison them also So that by setting up your VVatches ye would stop all Relief from coming to Prisoners Therefore this is the VVord of the Lord God to you and a Charge to you all in the presence of the living Goâ of Heaven and Earth Every Man of you being enlightned with a Light that cometh from Christ the Saviour of People's Souls from whom the Light cometh that enlightens you To the Light all take heed that with it you may all see Christ from whom the Light cometh you may all see him to be your Saviour by whom the VVorld was made who saith Learn of me But if ye hate this Light which Christ hath enlightned you withal ye hate Christ who doth Enlighten you all that you all through him who is the Light might believe But not believing in the Light nor bringing your Deeds to the Light which will make them manifest and reprove them this is your Condemnation even the Light Remember you are warned in your Life-time for this is your VVay to Salvation the Light if you walk in it And this is your Condemnation the Light if you reject and hate it And you can never come to Christ the Second Priest unless you come to the Light which the Second Priest hath enlightned you withal So ye that come not to the Light ye go to the Priests that take Tithes as did the First Priesthood and so hale out of your Synagogues and Temples as some call them as that Priesthood did that took Tithes which they that were of the Second Priesthood did not Was there ever such a Generation Or ever did such a Generation of Men appear as doth now in this Age who are so full of Madness Envy and Persecution that they stand up in VVatches with Bills and VVeapons against the Truth to persecute it as the Towns and Countries do declare which Rings as Sodom and like Gomorrah And this hath its Liberty and Truth is stood against And to Reprove Sin is accounted a Breach of the Peace as they say who be out of the Truth and set up their VVatches against it G. F. Besides this General VVarning there coming to my Hand a Copy of a VVarrant Issued out from the Sessions of Exon in express Terms For the apprehending of all Quakers wherein Truth and Friends were reproached and vilified I was moved to write an Answer thereunto and send it abroad for the Clearing of Truth and Friends from the Slanders therein cast upon them and to manifest the wickedness of that persecuting Spirit from whence it proceeded And that which I writ was after this manner WHereas there was a VVarrant granted forth the last Sessions holden at Exon on the Eighteenth Day of the Fifth Month 1656. which VVarrant is For the Apprehending and taking up all such as are Quakers or call themselves Quakers or go under the Notion of Quakers And is directed to the Chief-Constables to be sent by them to the Petty-Constables requiring them to set VVatches able Men with Bills to take up all such Quakers as aforesaid And whereas in your said VVarrant you speak of the Quakers spreading Seditious Books and Papers I Answer They whom ye in scorn call Quakers have no Seditious Books or Papers but their Books are against Sedition and Seditious Men and Seditious Books and Seditious Teachers and Seditious VVays And so ye have numbred them who are honest Men Godly Men holy Men Men that fear God among Beggars Rogues and Vagabonds Thus putting no Difference between the Precious and the Vile you are not fit to judge who have set up your Bills and armed your Men to stand up together in Battel against the Innocent People the Lambs of Christ which have not lifted up an Hand against you But if ye were sensible of the State of your own Country your Cities your Towns your Villages how the Cry of them is like Gomorrah and the Ring like Sodom and the Sound like the Old World where all Flesh had Corrupted its way which God overthrew with the Flood If you did this consider with your selves you would find something to turn the Sword against and not against the Lambs of Christ and not make a Mock upon the Innocent that stand a Witness against all Sin and Vnrighteousness in your Towns and Steeple-houses Noah the Eighth Person a Preacher of Righteousness was grieved with the filthy Conversation of the Wicked So are we now So likewise Just Lot was grieved with their unmerciful Deeds and the filthy Conversation of Sodom And were not these hated of the World and of them that lived in Filthiness And whereas you speak of those whom you in scorn call Quakers that they are a Grief to those whom you call Pious and Religious People and their
one of you a Reward according to your Works you which have the Letter which speaks of Christ but now ye are persecuting that which the Scripture speaks of so your Fruits make you manifest Therefore every one Sheriff Justices Constables c. see what ye do possess Consider what ye do possess and what a Profession ye are now in that all these Carnal Weapons are now set up against the Innocent yea against the Truth Which shews that ye have not the Spiritual Weapons that they are not among you and that ye want the Counsel of Gamaliel yea ye want the Counsel of such a Man among you who said Let the Apostles alone If it be of God it will stand if it be not it will come to nought But ye may see your selves on the Contrary in the Spirit of them that came with Judas with Swords and Staves from the Chief-Priests against Christ still it is against Christ where he is made manifest Paul while Saul went against him though he professed a Christ that was to come and the Jews professed a Christ that was to come Yet Paul persecuted him where he was manifested in his Saints So ye profess a Christ that is come but persecute him where he is manifest You that have the Letter the High-Places the Synagogues you persecute him where he is made manifest in his Saints as the Jews did They who were in the Letter out of the Life persecuted them that were in the Life of that which they profess in the Letter So now do you persecute them that are in the Life and are your selves Strangers to it as your Fruits make appear You have numbred the People of God amongst Transgressors but have you prisoned any of the Rogues and Transgressors you speak of you have prisoned the Innocent and let the others go free G. F. When I had sent abroad the fore-going Papers concerning the Watches that were then set up to Intercept and Stop Friends in their Travels in the Work of tho Lord so great a sense came upon me of the Darkness and Vail that was over the Priests and Professors of Christianity that I was moved to give forth the following Paper as An Awakening Warning to them BLindness hath happened to the professed Christians of the Letter now a days as Blindness happened to the Jews who professed the Letter but owned not the Life which the Letter speaks of As the Christians now to whom this Blindness hath hap'ned who profess the Scripture but own not the Life which the Scripture speaks of For against the Life the Jews stood who profest the Letter of the Scripture but they were Blind they gathered Counsel against the Life they were in an Vproar when the Babe was born in Bethlehem Herod and all the Chief Priests And Herod sought to destroy all the young Children in Bethlehem yet missed the Babe Herod that Fox though he slew John and put him to death And you may here see how the Literal Professors did stand up not for the Truth but quite against it Furthermore the Chief-Priests consulted together how they might take Jesus by Subtilty and put him to death mark by their Subtilty The Professors of a Christ that was to come they preached of a Messias of a Christ of a Saviour but denied the Life when he was made manifest The Chief-Priests and the Council gathered together they profest his words and the Chief-Priests who were gathered together with the Council said That his Disciples had stolen him away by Night and gave large Monies to the Souldiers to declare this Likewise in the day when the Children of Israel were in Egypt and they with their Children began to spread and multiply Come said the Egyptians Let us deal wisely with them to Afflict them and tax them Which held until the Lord overthrew their Oppressors and brought out his Seed by his mighty Power from under the Oppressor and exalted his Son above all though the Heathen raged and the People imagined vain things and he made his Power known that all might see that there was no God upon the Earth but himself This Power now hath brought forth the Work of the Lord Many who be turned to the Light Christ have received the Power of God and are thereby become the Sons of God Now this Birth that is born of God are all the Powers of the World joined together to Crucify to put to Death those Jews in the Spirit as they did put Christ to Death in the Flesh formerly This is the Birth that all the Wicked World is enraged against and mad at Against this they set their Watches this Birth brought forth by the Mighty God of Jacob who rides upon the High-places of the Earth This is the Birth that the profest Christians without the Life in our Days and Age rage against and lay out all their Wisdom about Are not the Chief-Priests and Wise Men of the Earth consulting together how they might destroy this Birth Is not this the Birth that is banished out of your Hearts you that profess the Scripture and are Talkers of it but do not own the Light and Life which the Scripture speaks of as the Jews would not and so will not have Christ to Reign over you as they would not Do you not hale out of your Synagogues and before Magistrates Do you not herein fulfil Christ's Words who said to his Disciples They should be haled out of the Synagogues and before Rulers Do you not Persecute them from City to City Do you not almost fill your Prisons with them And now set your Watches that none should go to Visit them whom ye have put into Prison Is not this an Vnchristian Spirit How can you for shame say You are Vpholders of Truth Or how can you for shame say that Truth hath been profest among you Yet we say We Grant that you have talked of it And how can you for shame say The Gospel shines among you when you will not own it the Life of it when you call it Error and the evil Seed Yea the very Truth yea the very Life of Truth ye have blasphemed against now as the Jews did against Christ calling him a Devil you now call it Error and the Evil Seed and stand up against it and turn the Sword against it As it was in the days of the Jews who turned the Sword against Christ so it is in these days of the Professed Christians of the Scripture but out of the Life that gave it forth as it was with the Jews outward in the Flesh who were not the Jews in the Spirit And is it not a shame to all the Ministers of the Gospel as they are called that they can find no better Way to maintain that which they call the Truth and their Gospel than by Carnal Weapons Stocks and Prisons and Whips Watches and Wards and Powers of the Earth Were these the Apostles Weapons Carnal Watches and Wards Stocks and Prisons and haling out
of the Synagogues when they came to speak Judge your selves what an Antichristian Spirit you have Never talk of defending Truth with that which is against Truth For are you not setting up the Rabble of the World against it Do they not Join with you with Swords and Staves against it And is this the Life of Christians Is not this the Life of Error and of the Evil Seeds-man Surely ye would find Work enough if ye were in the Fear of the Lord to turn your Swords against the Prophaneness the Oaths and Wickedness that is in your Streets and High-ways How do they ring like Sodom and give a sound like Gomorrah But they are become a Prey in this your Age that Reprove in your Gate Sin Wickedness and Prophaneness They are become your By-word Against them your Councils are gathered and them you cast into Prison and hale them out of your Synagogues and cast them likewise into Prison that write against it and speak against it and set your Guards to stop and hinder any from Visiting them whom you cast into Prison and give them the Names of Vagabonds and Wanderers Was ever the like heard in the days of the Heathen against the Apostles who witnessed the Gospel Did they set Guards and Watches in every Town in every City to take the Disciples the Brethren the Believers that heard that the Apostles were cast into Prison and came to see what they wanted Shew ye not as much Rage and Fury now in your Age as was in those that were in that Age And how can you talk of the Gospel and of defending the Gospel when you are setting Guards and Watches against it and are defending that which stands against it and the Lambs of Christ are almost torn to pieces amongst you who are like Wolves for the Lord hath now sent his Lambs amongst Wolves And have not you profest the words of Christ and of the Prophets and Apostles as the Jews had long profest the Scriptures the words of Moses and of the Prophets that prophesied of Christ that was to come and stood against him when he was come as you do in this Day of his Reign and in this Day of his glorious Gospel who are persecuting the Messengers of it imprisoning them persecuting them in your Streets and High-ways and now setting up your VVatches against them who bring you the glad Tidings of Peace to your Souls whose Feet are beautiful a Top of the Mountains Mark a Top of the Mountains that against which the Mountains rage and swell but God will make them to melt the Sun is risen which will make them to melt And God will cleave the Rocks and Mountains asunder and make the Hills to bow perpetually for his Son he will exalt and his Glory he will give to him and not to another Therefore be awakened ye Rulers of the Earth and take Counsel of the Lord and take not Counsel together against him Make not your Bonds strong and set not your selves in Battel against him for ye will be found but as Briers and Thorns before him which the Fire shall consume Therefore be awakened all ye that be Talkers of the Scripture and that gather your selves together by your Multitudes and Meetings and have had your Teachers but not having the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures the Lord God of Glory the Father of Spirits will scatter you all your Bonds will not hold you together who are out of the Spirit which is the Bond of Peace The Threshing Instrument is gone forth which will beat the Hills to pieces Sion is risen to Thresh out of the holy Mountain is the Trumpet sounded Stand not up against the Lord for all Nations are with the Lord as the Drop of a Bucket He that measures the VVaters in the hollow of his Hand and weighs the Earth in Scales the Lord of Hosts is his Name who is now risen and rising to plead the Cause of the Innocent who is exalting his Son and bringing his Sheep to him Now are they seen and known that feed upon wind that are lifted up given up to believe Lies who report and say Report and we will report it Now are they seen who have a Form of Godliness but the Power is denied by them so Christ is denied the Power it self is denied for Christ is the Power of God And the Power being denied by you that have a Form of Godliness that have the words of the Scriptures the Gospel is denied for the Gospel is the Power of God And thus it is among you that have the Knowledge and VVisdom that is sensual earthly and devilish Doth it not appear so Let your Gaols and VVatches witness your Fruits in every Town Your VVisdom is earthly sensual and Devillish so you have a Knowledge and VVisdom but not that which is from above for that is pure and gentle and so is not your knowledge But to know Christ is Life Eternal Now your Fruits have manifested that you are not of this and so out of the Power of God which is the Cross of Christ For you are found in the VVorld out of the Power of God out of the Cross of Christ persecuting So that which doth persecute and send forth VVritings and Decrees to stop all and take up all and set VVatches and prepare Bonds to stint the Lord to Imprison and persecute and suffer none to go to visit them This shews you are not Christians but stand against a Christian's Life which is to love your Enemies Where is your Heaping up Coles of Fire your Love to your Enemies who are thus persecuting your Friends He came to his own and his own received him not Here is a turning the Sword against the Just. Do you shew here a Christian's Life or your selves Christians who are filling your Gaols with the Christians in the Spirit you that be in the Letter in Shadows as the Jews in the Letter did put the Jews in the Spirit into Prison Is not this the Fruit in our Days of the Christians in the Letter to put the Christians in the Spirit into Prison And doth not this shew that your Decrees which you have sent forth proceed from Death who thus Act against the Life and them that be in it which the Scriptures were given forth from Is it not here as it was with Saul when he went to persecute to hale to Prison and bind all that he could find calling upon that Name who were Christians in the Life the Spirit such as now you are persecuting because they are in the Life though you profess their Words Are not your Decrees gone forth from the same Spirit of Envy against the same Spirit of Christ they were in Is it not manifest to all that fear God and to the sober-minded and honest-hearted People that see your Practices your Decrees your Letters to stop to molest to hinder to Imprison them that are moved of the Lord to do his Will or to go to
Visit Prisoners whom you have Imprisoned Doth this shew you to have a Spirit like Paul yea or nay or are you not quite contrary like to them that persecuted Paul The Day hath declared it To that of God in you all I speak which shall witness it at the Last Day in the Day of Judgment Persecution was blind in all Ages and Madness and Folly led it Yet Persecution got always a Form or Presence of Godliness or to talk of Religion as in the Days of Moses in the Days of Jeremy in the Days of Christ and of the Apostles Come saith the Council Let us crush them while they are Young they have almost over-spread the Nation in every Corner This is as much as to say Let us put this Birth to Death as Pharaoh and Herod did the Children But the Lord caused his Truth the more to spread For you may read what Numbers came out of Egypt and what Multitudes followed Christ Therefore with Consideration read these Lines and not with Fury and let not Foolishness appear But consider in Humility your Ways you act in and your Paths you go in and what Spirit you are of and what the End of your Conversation is now see For in Love to your Souls I write that in the Day of your Visitation you may consider it From him who loveth Righteousness and the establishing of it and Truth and Peace and Faith which is by Christ Jesus Mercy and Peace be multiplied among such But a Witness against all Hypocrites and all who have a Profession but live out of the Possession who are in an Hypocritical Religion in the Lusts and Fashions of the World having a Form of Godliness but standing against the Power with might and main Sword and Staff Which things declare your Conversation and Practices to be out of Christ 's Life against the Gospel-practice and contrary to the Manner and Order of the Saints G. F We were continued in Prison till the next Assize 1656. Lanceston Assize before which time divers Friends both Men and Women were sent to Prison that had been taken up by the Watches When the Assize was come several of these were called before the Judge and Indicted and tho' the Jailer brought them into Court yet they Indicted them that they came in by Force of Arms and in an hostile manner And the Judge fined them because they would not put off their Hats But we were not called before the Judges any more but they let us alone Great Work we had and Service for the Lord both between the Assizes and after amongst the Professors and People of all sorts for many came to see us and to reason with us And Elizabeth Trelawny of Plimouth who was the Daughter of one called a Baronet being Convinced as was formerly mentioned the Priests and Professors and some great Persons of her Kindred were in a great Rage concerning her and writ Letters to her And she being a Wise and Tender Woman and fearing to give them any Advantage sent their Letters to me and I answered them and returned them to her again for her to send the Answers to them Which she did till growing in the Power and Spirit and Wisdom of God she came her self to be able to Answer the wisest Priest and Professor of them all and had a Dominion over them all in the Truth through the Power of the Lord by which she was kept faithful to her Death Now while I was in Prison here Lanceston Gaol the Baptists and Fifth-Monarchy-Men prophesied That this Year Christ should come and Reign upon Earth a Thousand Years And they looked upon this Reign to be Outward When as he was come inwardly in the Hearts of his People to Reign and Rule there and these Professors would not Receive him there So they failed in their Prophecy and Expectation and had not the Possession of him But Christ is come and doth dwell in the Hearts of his People and Reigns there And Thousands at the Door of whose Hearts he hath been knocking have opened to him and he is come in and doth Sup with them and they with him the heavenly Supper with the heavenly and spiritual Man So many of these Baptists and Monarchy-People turned the greatest Enemies to the Possessors of Christ But he Reigns in the Hearts of his Saints over all their Envy At the Assize divers Justices came to us and were pretty Civil and Reasoned of the things of God pretty soberly expressing a Pity to us There came also Capt. Fox who was Governour of Pendennis-Castle and lookt me in the Face and said never a word but went his ways to his Company and told them He never saw a simpler Man in his Life I called after him and said Stay Man we will see who is the simpler Man But he went his way A light Chaffy Man There came also at the Assize one Thomas Lower to Visit us and he offered to give us Money which we refused accepting nevertheless of his Love He asked us many Questions concerning our denying the Scriptures to be the Word of God and concerning the Sacraments and such like To all which he received Satisfaction And I spake unto him and he afterwards said 1656. Lanceston Gaol My Words were as a flash of Lightning they ran so through him And he said He never met with such wise Men in his Life for they knew the Thoughts of his Heart and were as the wise Master-Builders of the Assemblies that fastned their Words like Nails He came to be Convinced of the Truth and remains a Friend to this Day When he came home to his Aunt Hambley's where he then lived and made Report to her concerning us She with her Sister Grace Billing hearing the sound of Truth came afterwards to Visit us in Prison and was Convinced also And great Sufferings and Spoilings of Goods both he and his Aunt have undergone for the Truth 's sake About this time I was moved to give forth the following Paper to Friends in the Ministry Friends IN the Power of life and wisdom and dread of the Lord God of life and Heaven and Earth dwell that in the wisdom of God over all ye may be preserved and be a Terror to all the Adversaries of God and a Dread answering that of God in them all spreading the Truth abroad awakening the VVitness confounding the Deceit gathering up out of Transgression into the Life the Covenant of Light and Peace with God Let all Nations hear the sound by Word or Writing Spare no Place spare no Tongue nor Pen but be obedient to the Lord God go through the VVork and be valiant for the Truth upon Earth tread and trample all that is Contrary under Ye have the Power do not Abuse it and Strength and Presence of the Lord eye it and the VVisdom that with it you may all be ordered to the Glory of the Lord God Keep in the Dominion keep in the Power over all Deceit
tread over them in that which lets you see to the VVorlds End and the utmost Parts of the Earth Reign and Rule with Christ whose Scepter and Throne is now set up whose Dominion is over all to the Ends of the Earth whose Dominion is an everlasting Dominion Throne an everlasting Throne Kingdom an everlasting Kingdom Power above all Powers Therefore this is the Word of the Lord God to you all Keep in the wisdom of God that spreads over all the Earth the wisdom of the Creation that is Pure from Above not destructive For now shall Salvation go out of Zion to Judge the Mount of Esau and now shall the Law go forth from Jerusalem to Answer the Principle of God in all to hew down all Inventors and Inventions For all the Princes of the Earth is but as Air to the Power of the Lord God which you are in and have tasted of Therefore Live in it that is the Word of the Lord God to you all and do not Abuse it And keep down and Low and take heed of false Joys that will Change Bring all into the Worship of God Plow up the fallow Ground thresh and get out the Corn that the Seed the Wheat may be gathered into the Barn that to the Beginning all People may come to Christ that was before the VVorld was made For the Chaff is come upon the VVheat by Transgression he that treadeth it out is out of Transgression and fathoms Transgression and puts a difference between the precious and the vile and can pick out the Wheat from the Tares and gather into the Garner so brings to the lively Hope the Immortal Soul into God out of which it came And none worships God but who comes to the Principle of God which they have transgressed and none are plowed up but who comes to the Principle of God in him that he hath transgressed then he doth service to God then is the planting and the watering and the Increase from God cometh So the Ministers of the Spirit must minister to the Spirit that is in Prison which hath been in Captivity in every one that with the Spirit of Christ People may be led out of Captivity up to God the Father of Spirits and do service to him and to have Vnity with him with the Scriptures and one with another And this is the Word of the Lord God to you all and a Charge to you all in the presence of the living God Be Patterns be Examples in all Countries Places Islands Nations where-ever you come that your Carriage and Life may preach among all sorts of People and to them then you will come to walk Chearfully over the World Answering that of God in every one whereby in them ye may be a Blessing and make the Witness of God in them to bless you Then to the Lord God you will be a sweet Savour and a Blessing Spare no Deceit lay the Sword upon it go over it Keep your selves clear of the Bloods of all Men either by Word or Writing or Speaking and keep your selves clean that you may stand in your Throne and every one have his Lot and stand in the Lot in the Ancient of Days And so the Blessing of the Lord be with you and keep you over all the Idolatrous Worships and Worshippers let them know the Living God for Teachings Churches Worships must be thrown down with the power of the Lord God set up by Man's earthy Vnderstanding Knowledge and Wills For this all must be thrown down with that which gave forth Scripture and who be in that Reigns over it all That is the Word of the Lord God to you all In that is God Worshipped that brings to declare his Will and brings to the Church in God the Ground and Pillar of Truth for now is the mighty Day of the Lord appeared and the Arrows of the Almighty gone forth which shall stick in the Hearts of the Wicked Now will I Arise saith the Lord God Almighty to trample and Thunder down Deceit which hath long reigned and stained the Earth Now will I have my Glory out of every one The Lord God Almighty over all in his Strength and Power you keep to his Glory that you may come to Answer that of God in every one in the World Proclaim the mighty Day of the Lord of Fire and Sword who will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth and keep in the Life and Power of the Lord God that the Inhabitants of the Earth may tremble before you That the Lord God's Power and Majesty may be Admired among the Hypocrites and Heathens and ye in the Wisdom Dread Life Terror and Dominion Preserved to his Glory that nothing may Rule or Reign but Power and Life it self and in the Wisdom of God ye may be preserved in it And this is the Word of the Lord God to you all and the Call is now Out of Transgression the Spirit bids Come and the Call is now from all false Worships and Gods and from all Inventions and dead Works to serve the living God and the Call to Repentance to the Amendment of Life whereby Righteousness may be brought forth which shall go throughout the Earth Therefore ye that be Chosen and Faithful which are with the Lamb go through your Work faithfully and in the Strength and Power of the Lord and be obedient to the Power for that will save you out of the Hands of unreasonable Men and preserve you over the World to himself hereby you may live in the Kingdom that stands in Power which hath no end where glory and life is For Tho. Mounts G. F. After the Assize the Sheriff with some Souldiers came to guard a Woman to Execution that was sentenced to die and we had a great deal of Discourse with them One of them wickedly said That Christ was as passionate a Man as any that lived upon the Earth for which wicked Saying we rebuked him Another time we asked the Jailer what Doings there were at the Sessions and he said Small Matters only about Thirty for Bastardy We thought it very strange that they who professed themselves Christians should make small Matters of such things But this Jailer was very bad himself and I often admonished him to Sobriety but he would Abuse People that came to Visit us Edward Pyot had a Cheese sent him from Bristol from his Wife and the Jailer took the Cheese from him and carried it to the Mayor to search it for Treasonable Letters as he said And though they found no Treason in the Cheese they kept it from us This Gaoler might have been made Rich if he had carried himself Civilly but he sought his own Ruin Which soon after came upon him For the next Year he was turned out of his Place and for some wickedness was cast into the Jail himself and there begged of our Friends And for some Vnruliness in his Carriage he was by the succeeding Jailer put into Doomsdale and
us that were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ but since it is become a Larger Meeting Leaving Kingston we rode to London Hide-park And when we came near Hide-Park we saw a great Concourse of People and looking towards them we espied the Protector coming in his Coach Whereupon I rode up to his Coach-side and some of his Life-Guard would have put me away but he forbad them So I rode down by his Coach-side with him declaring what the Lord gave me to say unto him of his Condition and of the Sufferings of Friends in the Nation shewing him ' how contrary this Persecution was to Christ and his Apostles and to Christianity London When we were come to James's Park-gate I left him and at parting he desired me to come to his House The next Day one of his Wife's Maids whose Name was Mary Sanders came up to me at my Lodging and said Her Master came to her and told her he would tell her some good News And when she asked him What it was He told her George Fox was come to Town She replied That was good News indeed for she was one that had received Truth but she said She could hardly believe him till he told her how I met him and rode from Hide-Park down to James 's Park with him After a little time Edward Pyot and I went to Whitehall Whitehal And when we came before him there was one called Dr. Owen Vice-chancellor of Oxford with him We were moved to speak to Oliver Cromwel concerning the Sufferings of Friends and laid them before him and directed him to the Light of Christ who had enlightned appeared to all Men. 1656. London Jude saith Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousands of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to convince all that are Vngodly among them of all their ungodly Deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard Speeches which ungodly Sinners have spoken against him ver 15. Here mark again Him that cometh with ten Thousands of his Saints to Convince all of their ungodly Deeds and hard Speeches Here it is All of their ungodly Deeds and All of their hard Speeches none left out but All to be Convinced and Judged the World Reproved by him who comes with ten Thousands of his Saints and will Reign and be King and Judge And have not ye all something in you that doth Reprove you for your hard Speeches and your ungodly Deeds the Ungodliest of you all who live in your hard Speeches against him and against his Light and spiritual Appearance in his People Again the Apostle writing to the Gentiles saith But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the Measure of the gift of Christ Ephes 4.7 Now mark Here is the Measure of the Gift of Christ who lighteth every Man that cometh into the World Joh. 1.9 that all Men through him might believe He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned c. And this is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World c. Joh. 3.18.19 Now every Man that cometh ânto the World being enlightned One he loveth it and brings his Deeds to the Light that with the Light he may see whether they be wrought in God The Other he hates the Light because his Deeds are Evil and he will not bring his Deeds to the Light because he knows the Light will reprove him So he that hates the Light wherewith Christ hath enlightned him knows the Light will reprove him for his evil Deeds and therefore he will not come to the Light Again the Lord by his Prophet saith concerning Christ I will give him for a Light to the Gentiles that he may be my Salvation to the Ends of the Earth Isa 49.6 And what is that which the Children that walk according to the Course of this World according to the Prince of the Power of the Air the Spirit that now worketh in the Children of Disobedience Ephes 2.2 are disobedient to Mark and read your selves who being disobedient walk according to the Course of the World according to the Power of the Prince of the Air Mark I say what it is that all such are disobedient to He that hath an Ear let him hear The Apostle saith to the Colossians The wrath of God cometh upon the Children of Disobedience Col. 3.6 Come ye Professors let us see Is not this something of God that is disobey'd Is it not that which is of God manifest in them which God hath shewed them which lets them see God's Judgments are upon such when they act unrighteously Is not this the Measure of God Mark and the Spirit that is in Prison and the Spirit of God that is grieved And ye Professors come let us read the Parable of the Talents and reckon with you and see who it is that hath hid the Lord's Money in the Earth Come ye that have gained enter ye into your Master's Joy Go thou that hast hid the Lord's Money in the Earth into utter Darkness Take it from him and give it to him that hath and every Man shall have his Reward For the Lord hath given to every Man according to âis several Ability Mat. 25.15 Mark that To every Man according to his several Ability Read this if you can And now is the Lord coming to call every Man severally to Accompt to whom he hath given severally according to their Ability And now the wicked and slothful Servant who hid the Lord's Money in the Earth will be found out and the Lord's Money will be taken from him although he hath hidden it To him the Lord's Commands have been grievous but to us they are not who love God and keep his Commandments And saith the Apostle to the Romans I say through the Grace given unto me to every Man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every Man the measure of Faith Rom. 12.3 Read and mark here is a Measure of Faith And saith another Apostle As every one hath received the Gift even so minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold grace of God 1 Pet. 4.10 For the grace of God hath appeared to all Men. Now the good Stewards can give their Accompt with Joy But ye bad Stewards that turn the grace of God into Lasciviousness now ye will be reckoned withal now ye shall have your Reward But say the World Must every one minister as he hath received the Gift Yea say I but let him speak as the Oracles of God and let him do it as of the Ability which God giveth ver 11. John in the Revelation saith They were judged every Man according to their works Rev. 20.13 Christ saith Every idle Word that Men shall speak they shall give Account thereof in the day of Judgment Mat 12.36 So ye that name the
Seeds-man him that sows to this flesh of which nothing but Corruption is reaped as the Countries Towns Cities and Villages make manifest But the Ministers of the Spirit who sow to the Spirit come to reap Life Eternal These discern the other Seeds-man who sows to the flesh and of the flesh reaps Corruption For the Day hath manifested each Seeds-man and what is reaped from each is seen Glory be to the Lord God for ever The Ministers of the Spirit which be born of the Spirit Sons and Daughters which have the Spirit poured forth upon them and witness the promise of God fulfilled in them by the Spirit of God preach and minister to the Spirit in Prison in every one in the sight of God the Father of Spirits God's Hand is turned against you all that have destroyed God's Creatures upon your Lust And God's Hand is turned against you that have wronged by unjust Dealing and defrauded and have oppressed the Poor and have respected the Persons of the Proud such as be in gay Apparel and lend not your Ear to the Cry of the Poor The Lord's Hand and Arm against you all is turned and his righteous Judgment and Justice upon you all will be accomplished and repayed who shall have a Reward every one according to your Works Oh the Abomination and hypocritical Profession that is upon the Earth where God and Christ Faith Hope the holy Spirit and Truth is professed but the fear of God and the Faith that purifies and gives Victory over the World not lived in Doth it not appear that the Wisdom that rules in all those whom the Seeds-man that sows to the flesh sows for and who are born of the Flesh is from below earthly sensual and devillish and their Understanding brutish and their knowledge natural as the brute Beasts For Men and Women in that state have not patience to speak one to the other of the Scriptures without much Corruption and Flesh appearing yet they have a feigned Humility a Will-worship and Righteousness of Self but they own not the Light which lighteth every Man that cometh into the World Christ Jesus the Righteousness of God Which Light being owned Self and the Righteousness of Self comes to be denied Here is the Humility that is contrary to the Light and that is below and feigned Here is the Wisdom that is from below earthly sensual and devillish for People can scarce speak one to another without destroying one another prisoning and persecuting one another when they speak of the Scriptures Now this is the Devillish Wisdom murdering and destroying This is not the Wisdom that is from above which is pure and peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits Here all may read each Seeds-man which hath each Wisdom He that sows to the Flesh and is born of that hath the wisdom that is earthly sensual and devillish He that sows to the Spirit a Minister of the Spirit hath the Wisdom from above which is pure which is peaceable which is gentle which is easie to be intreated the Wisdom by which all things were made and created Now is each Wisdom discovered and each Seeds-man the Day which is the Light hath discovered them G. F. As the fore-going Paper was sent forth amongst the World's People to let them see from whence their Imprisoning and Persecuting Cruelty and violent Dealing sprang so I was also moved to give forth the following Epistle to Friends to stir them up to be bold and valiant for the Truth and to encourage them in their Sufferings for it ALL Friends and Brethren every where Now is the Day of your Trial and now is the Time for you to be Valiant and to ãâã that the Testimony of the Lord doth not fall For now is the Day of Exercise of your Gifts of your Patience and of your Faith Now is the Time to be armed with Patience with the Light and with Righteousness and with the Helmet of Salvation And now is the Trial of the Slothful Servant who hides his Talent and will judge Christ hard Now happy are they that can say The Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness thereof and he gives the Increase And therefore who takes it from you Is it not the Lord still that suffers it For the Lord can trie you as he did Job whom he made Rich whom he made Poor and whom he made Rich again who still kept his Integrity in all Conditions So learn Paul's Lesson In all Stateâ to be content And have his Faith That nothing is able to separate us from the Love of God which we have in Christ Jesus Therefore be Rich in Life and in Grace which will endure ye who are Heirs of Life and born of the Womb of Eternity that Noble Birth that cannot stoop to that that is born in Sin and conceived in Iniquity who are better bred and born whose Religion is from God above all the Religions that are from below and who walk by Faith by that which God hath given you and not by that which Men make who walk by Sight from the Mass-book to the Directory Such are subject to stumble and fall who walk by Sight and not by Faith Therefore mind him that destroys the Original of Sin the Devil and his Works and cuts off the Entail of Satan viz. Sin who would have by Entail an Inheritance of Sin in Men and Women from Generation to Generation and pleads for it by all his Lawyers and Counsellors For though the Law did not cut it off which made nothing perfect yet Christ being come destroys the Devil and his Works and cuts off the Entail of Sin This angers all the Devil's Lawâers and Counsellors that Satan shall not hold Sin by Entail in thy Garden in thy Field in thy Temple thy Tabernacle So keep your Tabernacles that there ye may see the Glory of the Lord appear at the Doors thereof And be faithful for ye see what the Worthies and Valiants of the Lord did attain unto by Faith Enoch by Faith was translated Noah by Faith was preserved over the Waters in his Ark Abraham by Faith forsook his Father's House and Religion and all the Religions of the World Isaac and Jacob by Faith followed his Steps And see how Samuel and other of the Lord's Prophets with David by Faith were preserved to God over God's Enemies And Daniel and the Three Children by Faith escaped the Lions and the Fire and preserved their Worship clean and by it were kept over the Worships of the World And the Apostles by Faith travelled up and down the World and were preserved from all the Religions of the World and hâld forth the pure Religion to the dark World which they had received from above from God for the Way they walked in and the Worship they performed and taught was received from above from God and from Christ Jesus and likewise their Fellowship was received from above which is in the Gospel that is
Vnconsecrated Bread and VVine in a safe Place with a sure VVatch upon it and let Trial thus be made VVhether the Consecrated Bread and VVine would not lose its Goodness and the Bread grow dry and mouldy and the VVine turn dead and sour as well and as soon as that which was Vnconsecrated By this means said I the Truth of this matter may be made manifest And if the Consecrated Bread and VVine change not but retain their Savour and Goodness this may be a Means to draw many to your Church If they change decay and lose their Goodness then ought you to confess and forsake your Error and shed no more Blood about it for much Blood hath been shed about these things as in Queen Mary's Days To this the Jesuit made this Reply Take said he a piece of New Cloth and cut it into two pieces and make two Garments of it and put one of them upon King David 's Back and the other upon a Beggar 's and the one Garment shall wear away as well as the other Is this thy Answer said I Yes said he Then said I by this the Company may all be satisfied that your Consecrated Bread and VVine is not Christ Have ye told People so long that the Consecrated Bread and VVine was Immortal and Divine and that it was the very and real Body and Blood of Christ and dost thou now say it will wear away or decay as well as the other I must tell thee Christ remains the same to day as yesterday and never decays but is the Saints heavenly Food in all Generations through which they have Life He replied no more to this being willing to let it fall for the People that were present saw his Error and that he could not defend it Then I asked him Why their Church did persecute and put People to Death for Religion He replied It was not the Church did it but the Magistrates I asked him Whether those Magistrates were not counted and called Believers and Christians He said Yes Why then said I Are they not Members of your Church Yes said he Then I left it to the People to judge from his own Concessions Whether the Church of Rome doth not persecute and put People to Death for Religion Thus we parted and his Subtilty was comprehended by Simplicity Now during the Time that I was at London I had many Services lay upon me for it was a Time of much Suffering And I was moved to write to O. Cromwell and lay before him the Sufferings of Friends both in this Nation and in Ireland There was also a Talk about this time of making Cromwel King Whereupon I was moved to go to him and warned him against the same and of divers Dangers which if he did not avoid I told him He would bring a Shame and Ruin upon himself and his Posterity He seemed to take well what I said to him and thanked me Yet afterwards I was moved to write unto him more fully concerning that matter About this time the Lady Claypool so called was sick and much troubled in Mind and could receive no Comfort from any that came to her which when I heard of I was moved to write unto her this following Letter Friend BE Still and Cool in thy own Mind and Spirit from thy own Thoughts and then thou wilt feel the Principle of God to turn thy Mind to the Lord God from whom Life comes whereby thou mayest receive his Strength and Power to allay all Blustrings Storms and Tempests That is it which works up into Patience into Innocency into Soberness into Stilness into Stayedness into Quietness up to God with his Power Therefore mind that is the Word of the Lord God unto thee that the Authority of God thou mayst feel and thy Faith in that to work down that which troubles thee For that is it which keeps Peace and brings up the Witness in thee which hath been transgressed to feel after God with his Power and Life who is a God of Order and Peace When thou art in the Transgression of the Life of God in thy own particular the Mind flies up in the Air and the Creature is led into the Night and Nature goes out of its Course and an old Garment goes on and an uppermost Clothing and thy Nature being led out of its Course it comes to be all on a Fire in the Transgression and that defaceth the Glory of the First Body Therefore be still a while from thy own Thoughts searching seeking Desires and Imaginations and be stayed in the Principle of God in thee that it may raise thy Mind up to God and stay it upon God and thou wilt find Strength from him and find him to be a God at hand a present Help in the time of Trouble and of Need. And thou being come to the Principle of God which hath been transgressed it will keep thee humble and the humble God will teach his way which is Peace and such he doth Exalt Now as the Principle of God in thee hath been transgressed come to it that it may keep thy Mind down low to the Lord God and deny thy self and from thy own Will that is the Earthly thou must be kept Then thou wilt feel the Power of God which will bring Nature into its Course and give thee to see the Glory of the First Body And there the Wisdom of God will be received which is Christ by which all things were made and Created to be thereby preserved and ordered to God's Glory There thou wilt come to receive and feel the Physician of Value who cloaths People in their right Mind whereby they may serve God and do his Will For all Distractions Unruliness and Confusion is in the Transgression which Transgression must be brought down before the Principle of God which hath been Transgressed against be lifted up whereby the Mind may be seasoned and stilled and a right understanding of the Lord may be received whereby his Blessings enter and are felt over all that is contrary in the Power of the Lord God which raises up the Principle of God within and gives a feeling after God and in time gives Dominion Therefore keep in the Fear of the Lord God that is the Word of the Lord God unto thee for all these things happen to thee for thy Good and for the Good of those concerned for thee to make you know your selves and your own Weakness and that ye may know the Lord's Strength and Power and may trust in him Therefore Let the time that is past be sufficient to every one who in any thing hath been lifted up in Transgression out of the Power of the Lord For he can bring down and abase the Mighty and lay them in the Dust of the Earth Therefore all keep low in his Fear that thereby ye may receive the Secrets of God and his Wisdom and may know the Shadow of the Almighty and sit under it in all Tempests and Storms
do not fight Therefore Fighters are not of Christ's Kingdom but are without Christ's Kingdom For his Kingdom stands in Peace and Righteousness but Fighters are in the Lust And all that would destroy Men's Lives 1659. London are not of Christ's Mind who came to save Men's lives Christ's Kingdom is not of this World it is peaceable and all that be in Strife are not of his Kingdom And all that pretend to fight for the Gospel are deceived For the Gospel is the Power of God which was before the Devil or Fall of Man was and the Gospel of Peace was before Fighting was Therefore they that pretend Fighting and talk of Fighting so are Ignorant of the Gospel And all that talk of Fighting for Sion are in Darkness For Sion needs no such Helpers And all such as profess themselves to be Ministers of Christ or Christians and go about to beat down the Whore with outward carnal Weapons the Flesh and the Whore are got up in themselves and they are in a blind Zeal For the Whore got up by the Inward Ravening from the Spirit of God and the beating down of the Whore must be by the inward Stroke of the Sword of the Spirit within All such as pretend Christ Jesus and confess him and yet run into the use of Carnal Weapons wrestling with Flesh and Blood throw away the Spiritual Weapons They that would be Wrestlers with Flesh and Blood throw away Christ's Doctrine and Flesh is got upon them and they are weary of their Sufferings And such as would Revenge themselves be out of Christ's Doctrine And such as being stricken on the one Cheek would not turn the other be out of Christ's Doctrine And such as do not love one another and love Enemies be out of Christ's Doctrine Therefore ye that be Heirs of the Blessings of God which were before the Curse and the Fall was come to Inherit your Portions And ye that be Heirs of the Gospel of Peace which was before the Devil was live in the Gospel of Peace seeking the Peace of all Men and the Good of all Men and live in Christ who came to save men's lives out of Adam in the Fall where they destroy men's lives and live not in him For the Jews Sword outwardly by which they cut down the Heathen was a Type of the Spirit of God within which cuts down the Heathenish Nature within So live in the peaceable Kingdom of Christ Jesus and live in the Peace of God and not in the Lusts from whence Wars arise and live in Christ the Prince of Peace the Way of God who is the Second Adam that never fell but live not in Adam in the Fall in the Destruction where they destroy one another Therefore come out of Adam in the Fall into the Adam that never fell and so live in Love and Peace with all Men and keep out of all the Buslings in the World and meddle not with the Powers of the Earth but mind the Kingdom the Way of Peace Ye that be Heirs of Grace and Heirs of the Kingdom and Heirs of the Gospel and Heirs of Salvation and Saints of the most-High and Children of God whose Conversations are in Heaven that is above the Combustions of the Earth let your Conversation Preach to all Men and your Innocent Lives that they which speak Evil of you beholding your Godly Conversation may glorifie your Father which is in Heaven And all Friends every where this I charge you which is the Word of the Lord God unto you all Live in Peace in Christ the way of Peace and therein seek the Peace of all Men and no Man 's Hurt As I said before in Adam in the Fall is no Peace but in Adam out of the Fall in him is the Peace So ye being in Adam which never fell it is Love that overcomes and not Hatred with Hatred nor Strife with Strife Therefore live all in the peaceable Life doing good to all Men and seeking the Good and Welfare of all Men. G. F. It was not long after this before George Booth rose in Arms in Cheshire and Lambert went down against him At which time some foolish rash Spirits that came sometimes amongst us were ready to have taken up Arms But I was moved of the Lord to warn them and forbid them and they were quiet In the time of the Committee of Safety so called we were Invited by them to have taken up Arms and great Places and Commands were offered some of us but we denied them all and declared agâââst it both by Word and Writing testifying that our Weapons and Aââââr were not Carnal but Spiritual And lest any that came amongâââs should be drawn into that Snare it came upon me from the Lord to write a few Lines on that occasion and send them forth as a Caution to all amongst us Of which this is a Copy All Friends every where Take heed to keep out of the Powers of the Earth that Run into the Wars and Fightings which make not for Peace but go from that such will not have the Kingdom And Friends take heed of Joining with this or the other or medling with any or being busie with other Mens matters but mind the Lord and his Power and his Service And so let Friends keep out of other Mens matters and keep in that which answers the Witness in them all out of the Mans-matters-part where they must expect Wars and the Dishonour And all Friends every where dwell in your own in the Power of the Lord God to keep your Minds up to the Lord God from falling down to the Strength of Egypt or going thither for Strength after ye are come out of it like the Children of Israel after they were come out of outward Egypt But dwell in the Power of the Lord God that ye may keep over all the Powers of the Earth amongst whom the just Hand of God is come For they have turned against the Just and disobeyed the Just in their own particulars and so gone on in one against the Just therefore the Just sets them one against another Now he that goes to help among them is from the Just in himself in the mad and unstay'd state and doth not know by the All-seeing Eye that beholdeth him that recompenseth and rewardeth and lives not in the Hand in the Power that mangles and overturns which vexeth the Transgressors that come to be blind and zealous for they do not know what Therefore keep in Peace and in the Love and Power of God and in Unity and Love one to another lest any go out and fall with the Vncircumcised That is they that are from the Spirit in themselves and they that go from it go into the Pit together Therefore stand in that it is the Word of the Lord God to you all in the Fear and Dread of the Lord God his Power Life Light Seed and Wisdom by which ye may take away the occasion of Wars and
Professors who pleaded for Imperfection I was opened to declare and manifest unto them how that Adam and Eve were perfect before they fell and all that God made he saw that it was good and he blessed it But the Imperfection came in by the Fall through Man's and Woman's hearkening to the Devil who was out of Truth And though the Law made nothing perfect yet it made way for the bringing in of the better Hope which Hope is Christ who destroys the Devil and his Works that made Man and Woman Imperfect Now Christ saith to his Disciples Be ye perfect even as your Heavenly Father is perfect And he who himself was perfect comes to make Man and Woman perfect again and brings them again to the State which God made them in So he is the Maker up of the Breach and the Peace betwixt God and Man That this might the better be understood by the lowest Capacities I used a Comparison of Two Old People that had their House broken down by an Enemy so that they with all their Children were liable to all Storms and Tempests And there came some to them that pretended to be Workmen and offered to build up their House again if they would give them so much a Year But when they had gotten their Money they left their House as they found it After this manner came a First Second Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth each with his several pretence to build up the Old House and each got the Peoples Money and then cried They could not rear up the House nor the Breach could not be made up For there is no Perfection here Cry they the House can never be perfectly built up again in this Life Though they have taken the Peoples Money for the doing of it For all the Sects in Christendom so called have pretended to build up Adam's and Eve's fallen House and when they have got Peoples Money they tell them the Work cannot be perfectly done here and so their House lies as it did But I told the People Christ was come to do it freely who by one Offering hath perfected for ever all them that are sanctified and renews them up into the Image of God which Man and Woman were in before they fell and makes Man's and Woman's House as perfect again as God had made them at the first And this Christ the Heavenly Man has done freely Therefore all are to look unto him and all that have received him are to walk in him the Life the Substance the First and the Last The Rock of Ages and Foundation of many Generations Largely were these and many other things opened and declared unto the People and the Word of Life was Preached which doth live and abide and all were Exhorted to hear and obey that which did live and abide that by it all might be born again of the Immortal Seed and feed of the Milk of the Word A glorious Meeting there was wherein the Lord 's Everlasting Seed Christ Jesus was set over all and Friends parted in the Power and Spirit of the Lord in Peace and in his Truth that is over all About this time the Souldiers under General Monk's Command were rude and troublesome at Friends Meetings in many places Whereof Complaint being made to him he gave forth the following Order which did somewhat restrain them St. James's the 9th of March 1659. I Do Require all Officers and Souldiers to forbear to disturb the peaceable Meetings of the Quakers they doing nothing prejudicial to the Parliament or Common-wealth of England GEORGE MONK Oldeston Nailsworth After this Meeting at Edward Pyott's I passed through the Countries to Oldeston and to Nailsworth and to Nathaniel Crisp's where there was a large Meeting and several Souldiers at it but quiet And from thence we passed through Friends to Gloucester Gloucester visiting their Meetings And in Gloucester we had a Meeting that was peaceable though the Town was very rude and divided For one part of the Souldiers were for the King and another for the Parliament 1660. Glouceser And as I passed out of the Town over the Bridge Edward Pyott being with me the Souldiers there said They were for the King But after we were gone past them and they understood it was I they were in a great rage that I had scaped them and said Had they known it it had been I they would have shot me with Hail-shot rather than I should have escaped them But the Lord prevented their Devilish Design and brought me safe to Col. Grimes his House where we had a large general Meeting Col. Grimes and the Lord's Truth and Power was set over all and Friends were established upon the Rock and settled under the Lord Jesus Christ's Teaching We passed from thence to Tewksburg and so to Worcester Tewksbury Worcester visiting Friends in their Meetings in the Towns as we went And in all my time I never saw the like Drunkenness as then in the Towns For they had been then chusing Parliament-Men But at Worcester the Lord's Truth was set over all and People were finely settled therein and Friends praised the Lord Nay I saw the very Earth Rejoiced Yet great fears and troubles were in many People and a looking for the King 's Coming in and that all things should be altered and they would ask me what I thought of Times and Things I told them the Lord's Power was over all and his Light shined over all and that the Fear would take hold only on the Hypocrites such as had not been faithful to God and on our Persecutors For in my Travel and Sufferings at Reading when People were at a stand and could not tell what might Come in and who might Rule I told them the Lord's Power was over all for I had travelled through in it and his Day shined whosoever should come in and whether the King came in or no all would be well to them that loved the Lord and were faithful to him Therefore I bid all Friends Fear none but the Lord and keep in his Power that was over all From Worcester I came through the Countries Badgely Leicestershire Drayton visiting Friends in their Meetings till I came to Badgely and from thence I went to Drayton in Leicestershire to visit my Relations While I was there one Burton a Justice hearing that I had a good Horse sent forth a Warrant to search for me and my Horse But I was gone before they came and so he missed of his wicked End I passed on to Twy Cross Twy-Cross Swanington Darby and Swanington and so to Darby where I visited Friends and found my old Goaler amongst them who had formerly kept me in the House of Correction there and was now Convinced of the Truth which I then suffered under him for Passing still further up into Darbyshire Darbyshire Nottinghamshire Synderhill-green Yorkshire Balby Yearly Meeting and Nottinghamshire I came to Synderhill-green visiting Friends through all
Righteousness After I had been kept there two or three Hours Marsh spake to him that was called the Lord Gerrard and he came and bid them set me at liberty Then the Marshal when I was discharged demanded Fees I told him 1660. Whitehall I could not give him any neither was it our Practice And I asked him How he could demand Fees of me who was Innocent Nevertheless I told him in my own Freedom I would give him Two Pence to make him and the Souldiers drink But they shouted at that and took it disdainfully So I told them If they would not accept it choose they for I should give them no Fees Then went I through the Guards the Lord s Power being over them and after I had declared Truth to the Guards and Souldiers I went up the Streets with two Irish Colonels that came from Whitehall and went to an Inn where many Friends were at that time Prisoners under a Guard I desired those Colonels to speak to the Guard to let me go in to visit my Friends that were Prisoners there but they would not Then I stept to the Centry and desired him to let me go up and he did so While I was there the Souldiers went to the Pell-Mell again to search for me there but not finding me they turned towards the Inn and bid all come out that were not Prisoners so they went out But I asked the Souldiers that were within Whether I might not stay there a while with my Friends And they said Yes I stay'd a while and so escaped their Hands again Towards Night I went down to the Pell-Mell to see how it was with the Friends there and after I had stay'd a while I went up into the City London Great Rifling of Houses there was at this time to search for People but I went to a private Friend's House and Richard Huberthorn was with me There we drew up a Declaration against Plots and Fightings to be presented to the King and Council But when we had finished it and sent it to the Press it was taken in the Press Upon this Insurrection of the Fifth Monarchy-Men great Havock was made both in City and Country so that it was dangerous for sober People to stir abroad for several Weeks after and hardly could either Men or Women go up and down the Streets to buy Provisions for their Families without being abused In the Countries they dragged Men and Women out of their Houses and some Sick Men out of their Beds by the Legs Nay one Man that was in a Fever the Souldiers dragged out of his Bed to Prison and when he was brought thither he died His Name was Thomas Pachyn Margaret Fell went to the King and told him what sad Work there was in the City and in the Nation and shewed him that we were an Innocent peaceable People and that we must keep our Meetings as we used to do whatever we suffered but that it concerned him to see that Peace was kept that so no Innocent Blood might be shed Now were the Prisons every where filled with Friends and others in City and Country and the Posts were so laid for the searching of Letters that none could pass unsearched Yet we heard of several Thousands of our Friends that were cast into Prison in several places throughout the Nation and Margaret Fell carried an Account of them to the King and Council The next Week we had an Account of several Thousands more that were cast into Prison and she went and laid them also before the King and his Council They wondered how we could have such Intelligence seeing they had given such strict Charge for the intercepting of all Letters But the Lord did so order it that we had an Account notwithstanding all their Stoppings For in the deep Sense I had of the grievous Sufferings Friends underwent and of their Innocency towards God and Man I was moved to send the following Epistle to them as a Word of Consolation and to put them upon sending up their Sufferings My Dear Friends IN the Immortal Seed of God which will plead its own Innocency who be Inheritors of an Everlasting Kingdom that is Incorruptible and of a World and Riches that fade not away Peace and Mercy be multiplied amongst you in all your Sufferings who never feared them whose Backs were not unready but your Hair and Cheeks prepared who never feared Sufferings as knowing it is your Portion in the World from the Foundation of which the Lamb was slain who reigns in his Glory which he had with his Father before the World began who is your Rock in all Floods and Waves upon which ye can stand safe with a chearful Countenance beholding the Lord God of the whole Earth on your side So in the Seed of God which was before the Unrighteous World in which the Sufferings are live and feed wherein the Bread of Life is felt and no cause of Complaint of Hunger or Cold. Friends your Sufferings all that are or have been of late in Prison I would have you send up an Account of them and how things are amongst you that it may be delivered to the King and his Council for things are pretty well here after the Storm London the 28th of the Eleventh Month 1660. G. F. Having lost our former Declaration in the Press we made haste and drew up another against Plots and Fighting and got it Printed and sent some of them to the King and Council others of them were sold up and down the Streets and at the Exchange Which Declaration was some Years after Re-printed and is as followeth A Declaration from the Harmless and Innocent People of God called Quakers against all Sedition Plotters and Fighters in the World For the removing of the Ground of Jealousie and Suspicion from both Magistrates and People in the Kingdom concerning Wars and Fightings Presented unto the King upon the 21th day of the 11th Month 1660. OUR Principle is and our Practices have always been to seek Peace and ensue it and to follow after Righteousness and the Knowledge of God seeking the Good and Welfare and doing that which tends to the Peace of All. We know that Wars and Fightings proceed from the Lusts of Men as Jam. 4.1 2 3. out of which Lusts the Lord hath redeemed us and so out of the Occasion of War the occasion of which War and the War itself wherein envious Men who are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God Lust Kill and desire to have Men's Lives or Estates ariseth from the Lust All Bloody Principles and Practices We as to our own particular do utterly deny with all outward Wars and Strife and Fightings with Outward Weapons for any end or under any pretence whatsoever and this is our Testimony to the whole World And whereas it is Objected But although you now say That you cannot Fight nor take up Arms at all yet if the Spirit do move you then you will change
your Principle and then you will sell your Coat and buy a Sword and Fight for the Kingdom of Christ Answ As for this we say to you that Christ said to Peter Put up thy Sword in his place though he had said before he that had no Sword might sell his Coat and buy one to the fulfilling of the Law and Scripture yet after when he had bid him put it up he said He that taketh the Sword shall perish with the Sword And further Christ said to Pilate Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve Legions of Angels And this might satisfie Peter Luke 22.36 after he had put up his Sword when he said to him He that took it should perish by it which satisfieth us Mat. 26.51 52 53. And in the Revelation it 's said He that kills with the Sword shall perish with the Sword and here is the Faith and the Patience of the Saints And so Christ's Kingdom is not of this World therefore do not his Servants Fight as he told Pilate the Magistrate who Crucified him and did they not look upon Christ as a Raiser of Sedition and did not he say Forgive them But thus it is that we are numbred amongst Transgressors and numbred amongst Fighters 1660. London that the Scriptures might be fulfilled That Spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable so as once to command us from a thing as Evil and again to move unto it and we do certainly know and so testifie to the World That the Spirit of Christ which leads us into all Truth will never move us to Fight and War against any Man with outward Weapons neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the Kingdoms of this World First Because the Kingdom of Christ God will exalt according to his Promise and cause it to grow and flourish in Righteousness Not by Might nor by Power of outward Sword but by my Spirit saith the Lord Zech. 4.6 So those that use any Weapon to Fight for Christ or for the establishing of his Kingdom or Government both the Spirit Principle and Practice in that we deny Secondly We do earnestly desire and wait That by the Word of God's Power and its effectual Operation in the Hearts of Men the Kingdoms of this World may become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ that he might Rule and Reign in Men by his Spirit and Truth that thereby all People out of all different Judgments and Professions might be brought into Love and Vnity with God and one with another and that they might all come to witness the Prophets Words who said Nation shall not lift up Sword against Nation neither shall they learn War any more Isa 2.4 Mich. 4.3 So we whom the Lord hath called into the Obedience of his Truth have denied Wars and Fightings and cannot again any more learn it And this is a certain Testimony unto all the World of the Truth of our Hearts in this particular that as God perswadeth every Man's Heart to believe so they may receive it For we have not as some others gone about cunningly with devised Fables nor have we ever denied in Practice what we have professed in Principle but in Sincerity and Truth and by the Word of God have we laboured to be made manifest unto all Men that both we and our ways might be witnessed in the Hearts of all People And whereas all manner of Evil hath been falsly spoken of us we hereby speak forth the plain Truth of our Hearts to take away the occasion of that Offence that so we being Innocent may not suffer for other Men's Offences nor be made a Prey upon by the Wills of Men for that of which we were never Guilty but in the Uprightness of our Hearts we may under the Power ordained of God for the Punishment of Evil-doers and for the Praise of them that do well live a peaceable and godly Life in all Godliness and Honesty For although we have always suffered and do now more abundantly suffer yet we know that it 's for Righteousness sake For our rejoycing is this the Testimony of our Consciences that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity not with fleshly Wisdom but by the Grace of God we have had our Conversation in the World 2 Cor. 1.12 Which for us is a Witness for the convincing of our Enemies For this we can say to all the World we have wronged no Man's Persons or Possessions we have used no Force nor Violence against any Man we have been found in no Plots nor guilty of Sedition when we have been wronged we have not sought to revenge our selves we have not made resistance against Authority but wherein we could not obey for Conscience-sake we have suffered even the most of any People in the Nation We have been counted as Sheep for the Slaughter Persecuted and Despised Beaten Stoned Wounded Stocked Whipped Imprisoned Haled out of Synagogues cast into Dungeons and Noisom Vaults where many have died in Bonds shut up from our Friends denied needful Sustenance for many days together with other the like Cruelties And the Cause of all these our Sufferings is not for any Evil but for things relating to the Worship of our God and in obedience to his Requirings of us For which Cause we shall freely give up our Bodies a Sacrifice rather than disobey the Lord For we know as the Lord hath kept us Innocent so he will plead our Cause when there is none in the Earth to plead it So we in Obedience unto his Truth do not love our Lives unto Death that we may do his Will and wrong no Man in our Generation but seek the Good and Peace of all Men. And he that hath commanded us That we shall not Swear at all Matth. 5.34 hath also commanded us That we shall not Kill Matth. 5. So that we can neither Kill Men nor Swear for nor against them And this is both our Principle and Practice and hath been from the Beginning so that if we suffer as suspected to take up Arms or make War against any it is without any Ground from us For it neither is noâ ever was in our Hearts since we owned the Truth of God neither shall we ever do it because it is contrary to the Spirit of Christ his Doctrine and the Practices of his Apostles even contrary to him for whom we suffer all things and endure all things And whereas Men come against us with Clubs Staves Drawn Swords Pistols cock't and do beat cut and abuse us yet we never resisted them but to them our Hair Backs and Cheeks have been ready But it is not an Honour to Manhoood or Nobility to run upon harmless People who lift not up an Hand against them with Arms and Weapons Therefore consider these things ye Men of Understanding For Plotters Raisers of Insurrections Tumultuous Ones and Fighters running with Swords Clubs Staves and Pistols one
against another we say these are of the World and have their Foundation from this Unrighteous World from the Foundation of which the Lamb hath been slain which Lamb hath redeemed us from this unrighteous World and we are not of it but are Heirs of a World in which there is no End and of a Kingdom where no corruptible thing enters And our Weapons are Spiritual and not Carnal yet Mighty through God to the pulling down of the Strong Holds of Sin and Satan who is Author of Wars Fighting Murder and Plots and our Swords are broken into Plow shares and Spears into Pruning-hooks as Prophesied of in Micah 4. Therefore we cannot learn War any more neither rise up against Nation or Kingdom with outward Weapons tho' you have numbred us amongst the Transgressors and Plotters the Lord knows our Innocency herein and will plead our Cause with all Men and People upon Earth at the day of their Judgment when all Men shall have a Reward according to their Works Therefore in love we warn you for your Souls good not to wrong the Innocent nor the Babes of Christ which he hath in his Hand which he tenders as the Apple of his Eye neither seek to destroy the Heritage of God neither turn your Swords backward upon such as the Law was not made for i. e. the Righteous but for the Sinners and Transgressors to keep them down For those are not the Peace-makers neither the Lovers of Enemies neither can they overcome Evil with Good who wrong them that be Friends to You and All Men and wish Your Good and the good of all People on the Earth If you oppress us as they did the Children of Israel in Egypt and if you oppress us as they did when Christ was Born and as they did the Christians in the Primitive Times we can say The Lord forgive you and leave the Lord to deal with you and not revenge our selves And if you say as the Council said to Peter and John You must speak no more in that Name and if you serve us as they served the Three Children spoken of in Daniel God is the same as ever he was that lives for Ever and Ever who hath the Innocent in his Arms. Oh Friends Offend not the Lord and his Little Ones neither afflict his People but consider and be moderate And do not run hastily into things but mind and consider Mercy Justice and Judgment that is the way for you to prosper and get the Favour of the Lord. Our Meetings were stopped and broken up in the days of Oliver in pretence of Plotting against him and in the days of the Committee of Safety we were looked upon as Plotters to bring in KING CHARLES and now our Peaceable Meetings are termed Seditious Oh that Men should lose their Reason and go contrary to their own Conscience knowing that we have suffered all things and have been accounted Plotters all along though we have declared against them both by Word of Mouth and Printing and are clear from any such thing Though we have suffered all along because we would not take up Carnal Weapons to fight withal against any and are thus made a Prey upon because we are the Innocent Lambs of Christ and cannot avenge our selves These things are left upon your Hearts to consider But we are out of all those things in the Patience of the Saints and we know that as Christ said He that takes the Sword shall perish with the Sword Mat 26.52 Rev. 13.10 This is given forth from the People called Quakers to satisfie the King and his Council and all those that have any Jealousie concerning Vs that all occasion of Suspicion may be taken away and our Innocency cleared Given forth on the behalf of the whole Body of the Elect People of God who were called Quakers in the Year 1660. POSTSCRIPT THough we are numbred amongst Transgressors and so have been given up to all Rude Merciless Men by which our Meetings are broken up in which we Edified one another in our Holy Faith and prayed together to the Lord that lives for ever yet he is our Pleader for us in this Day The Lord saith They that feared his Name spake often together as in Malachy which were as his Jewels And for this Cause and no Evil-doing are we cast into Holes Dungeons Houses of Correction Prisons they sparing neither Old nor Young Men nor Women and made a Prey on in the sight of all Nations under pretence of being Seditious c. so that all rude People run upon us to take Possession For which we say The Lord forgive them that have thus done to us who doth and will enable us to suffer and never shall we lift up hand against any Man that doth thus use us But that the Lord may have mercy upon them that they may consider what they have done For how is it possible for them to requite us for the Wrong they have done to us Who to all Nations have sounded us abroad as Seditious or Plotters who were never found Plotters against any Power or Man upon the Earth since we knew the Life and Power of Jesus Christ manifested in us who hath redeemed us from the World and all Works of Darkness and Plotters that be in it by which we know our Election before the World began So we say The Lord have Mercy upon our Enemies and forgive them for that they have done unto us Oh! do as you would be done by and do unto all Men as you would have them do unto you for this is but the Law and the Prophets And all Plots Insurrections and Riotous Meetings we do deny knowing them to be of the Devil the Murtherer which we in Christ who was before they were Triumph over them And all Wars and Fightings with Carnal Weapons we do deny who have the Sword of the Spirit and all that wrong us we leave them to the Lord. And this is to clear our Innocency from that Aspersion cast upon us That we are Seditious or Plotters Added in the Reprinting Courteous Reader THis was our Testimony above Twenty Years ago and since then we have not been found Acting contrary to it nor ever shall For the Truth that is our Guide is unchangeable And this is now Reprinted to the Men of this Age many of whom were then Children and doth stand as our certain Testimony against all Plotting and Fighting with Carnal Weapons And if any by departing from the Truth should do so this is our Testimony in the Truth against them and will stand over them and the Truth will be clear of them This Declaration did somewhat clear the Dark Air that was over the City and Country And soon after the King gave forth a Proclamation That no Soldiers should go to search any House but with a Constable But the Jails were still full many Thousands of Friends being in Prison in the Nation Which Mischief was occasioned by that wicked Rising of
those Fifth-Monarchy-Men But when those of them that were taken came to be executed they did us that Right to clear us openly from having any hand in or knowledge of their Plot. And after that the King being continually Importuned thereunto Issued forth a Declaration That Friends should be set at liberty without paying Fees But great Labour and Travel Care and Pains was taken in it before this was obtained for Thomas Moor and Margaret Fell went often to the King about it Much Blood was shed this Year many of them that had been the Old King's Judges being hanged drawn and quartered And amongst them that so suffered Col. Hacker was one he who sent me Prisoner from Leicester to London in Oliver's time of which an Account is given before A sad Day it was and a Repaying of Blood with Blood For in the time of O. Cromwel when several Men were put to Death by him being hanged drawn and quartered for pretended Treasons I felt from the Lord God that their Blood would not be put up but would be required And I said as much then to several And now upon the King's Return when several of them that had been against the King were put to Death as the others that were for the King had been before by Oliver This was sad Work destroying of People contrary to the Nature of Christians who have the Nature of Lambs and Sheep But there was a Secret Hand in bringing this Day upon that Hypocritical Generation of Professors who being got into Power grew Proud Haughty and Cruel beyond others and persecuted the People of God without pity Therefore when Friends were under cruel Persecutions and Sufferings in the Common-wealth's time I was moved of the Lord to write unto Friends to draw up their Sufferings and lay them before the Justices at their Sessions And if they would not do them Justice then to lay it before the Judges at the Assize And if they would not do them Justice then to lay it before the Parliament and before the Protector and his Council that they might all see what was done under their Government And if they would not do Justice then to lay it before the Lord who would hear the Cries of the Oppressed and of the Widows and Fatherless that they had made so For that which we suffered for and which our Goods were spoiled for it was for our Obedience to the Lord in his Power and in his Spirit who was able to help and to succour and we had no Helper in the Earth but him And he did hear the Cries of his People and did bring an overflowing Scourge over the Heads of all our Persecutors which brought a Quaking and a Dread and a Fear amongst and on them all So that they who had nick-named us who are the Children of Light and in scorn called us Quakers the Lord made them Quake and many of them would have been glad to have hid themselves amongst us and some of them through the Distress that came upon them did at length come to Confess to the Truth Oh! the daily Reproaches Revilings and Beatings we underwent amongst them even in the High-ways because we could not put off our Hats to them and for saying Thou and Thee to them Oh! the Havock and Spoil the Priests made of our Goods because we could not put into their Mouths and give them Tithes Besides casting into Prisons and besides the great Fines laid upon us because we could not Swear But for all these things did the Lord God plead with them Yet some of them were so hardened in their Wickedness that when they were turned out of their Places and Offices they said If they had Power they would do the same again And when this Day of overturning was come upon them they said It was all long of us Wherefore I was moved to write to them and to ask them Did we ever resist them when they took away our Ploughs and Plough-Gears our Carts and Horses our Corn and Cattel our Kettles and Platters from us and whipt us and set us in the Stocks and cast us into Prison and all this only for serving and worshipping God in Spirit and Truth and because we could not Conform to their Religions Manners Customs and Fashions Did we ever resist them Did we not give them our Backs to beat and our Cheeks to pull off the Hair and our Faces to spit on Had not their Priests that prompted them on to such Work plucked them with themselves into the Ditch Why then would they say It was all long of us when it was long of themselves and their Priests their blind Prophets that followed their own Spirits and could fore-see nothing of these times and things that were come upon them which we had long forewarned them of as Jeremiah and Christ had forewarned Jerusalem And they thought to have wearied us out and undone us but they undid themselves Whereas we could praise God notwithstanding all their plundering of us that we had a Kettle and a Platter and an Horse and Plow still Many ways were these Professors warned both by Word by Writing and by Signs but they would believe none till it was too late William Sympson was moved of the Lord to go at several times for Three Years Naked and Bare-foot before them as a Sign unto them in Markets Courts Towns Cities to Priest's Houses and to Great Men's Houses telling them So should they be all stripped Naked as he was stripped Naked And sometimes he was moved to put on Hair-Sack-cloth and to besmear his Face and to tell them So would the Lord God besmear all their Religion as he was besmeared Great Sufferings did that poor Man undergo sore Whippings with Horse-whips and Coach-whips on his bare Body grievous Stonings and Imprisonments in three years time before the King came in that they might have taken Warning but they would not but rewarded his Love with cruel Vsage Only the Major of Cambridge did nobly to him for he put his Gown about him and took him into his House Another Friend one Robert Huntington was moved of the Lord to go into Carlisle-Steeple-house with a White Sheet about him amongst the great Presbyterians and Independents there to shew them that the Surplice was coming up again and he put an Halter about his Neck to shew them That an Halter was coming upon them which was fulfilled upon some of our Persecutors not long after Another whose Name was Richard Sale living near West-Chester and being Constable of the place where he lived had a Friend sent to him with a Pass whom those wicked Professors had taken up for a Vagabond because he travelled up and down in the Work of the Ministry and this Constable being convinced by the Friend that was thus brought to him gave him his Pass and Liberty and was afterwards himself cast into Prison After this on a Lecture-day this Richard Sale was moved to go to the Steeple-house in the time
they that did not bring their Tithes into the Store-house they robbed God and then there was not Meat in their House Therefore the Lord commanded them To bring them into his House that there might be Meat in the Store-house which was to fill the Fatherless Stranger and Widow But these Priests who are Counterfeits who take Peoples Tithes now by a Law are from the Beast and if any will not pay them they Prison them or make them pay Treble So these Rob the Poor People and Rob the Fatherless and the Stranger and the Widow is not filled So their Cry is gone up to Heaven against these And many are made almost Beggars by these Oppressing Priests their Cattle and their Corn being taken away from them and they cast into Prison Others are Sued at the Law by these Priests and have Treble Damage taken from them and yet such Priests are cried up to be Ministers of the Gospel Though when the Vnchangeable Priest was come the Priesthood that was Changeable 1665. Lancaster-Prison was denied as we now deny these But if any be moved now to Cry against them they are stocked or beat or imprison'd as there are many now in Prison at Lancaster and in other places by a National Law the like whereof was never done by the Law of God which was delivered to Moses For we do not read that under Moses his Law any suffered Imprisonment or spoiling of their Goods for not paying Tithes or was to pay Treble Damage Surely surely the Cry for Vengeance will be heard which arises from the Oppressed Souls that lie under the Altar And there are many which be Prisoners at Kendal because they cannot pay Tithes as Capt. Ward and Thomas Robertson and the Widow Garland who hath many small Children and these suffer because they cannot pay Tithes Others there be in Kendal-Prison who were moved of the Lord to speak to the Priests whereof one was moved to go in Sack-cloth and of late with Ashes upon her Head And others have been moved to go in Sack-cloth as a Lamentation for the miserable Estate of this Nation seeing so much Crying up of the Preaching of the Gospel and yet so much Strife Debate and Oaths and Dissension among People But where the Gospel is received indeed Strife and Contention is ended and Oppression is taken off But Oh! The Land mourns because of the Oppression of them called Ministers And though the Cry of the Oppressed hath not entred into the Ears of the Magistrates Yet is the Cry of the poor oppressed People of God entred into the Ears of the Lord of Sabaoth who now will be avenged of all his Adversaries And all you Vnjust Law-givers and Vnjust Judges to that in all your Consciences I speak to be Clear'd when ye are Judged by the Just Judge of Heaven and Earth whose Terror is gone out and is gone forth against all the Vngodly and all the Oppressors of God's People whatsoever whether ye will hear or forbear G. F. After the Assize at Lancaster was over Col. Kirby and some others of the Justices were very uneasie with my being at Lancaster for I had gauled them sore at my Trials there and they laboured much to get me removed from thence to some Remote Place Col. Kirby threatned that I should be sent far enough and sometimes he said I should be sent beyond the Seas So about Six Weeks after the Assizes they got an Order from the King and Council to remove me from Lancaster and with it they brought a Letter from the Earl of Anglesey wherein was written That if those things were found true against me which I was charged withal I deserved no Clemency nor Mercy And yet the greatest Matter they had against me was because I could not disobey the Command of Christ and Swear When they had prepared for my Removal the Vnder-Sheriff and the Head-Sheriff's Man with some Bayliffs came and fetched me out of the Castle when I was so weak with lying in that cold wet and smoky Prison that I could hardly go or stand They had me down into the Jailer's House where was William Kirby a Justice and several others and they called for Wine to give me I told them ' I would have none of their Wine Then they cried Bring out the Horses I desired them first to shew me their Order or a Copy of it if they intended to Remove me But they would shew me none but their Swords Then I told them ' There was no Sentence passed upon me nor was I Premunired that I knew of and therefore I was not made the King's Prisoner but was the Sheriff's For they and all the Country knew that I was not fully heard at the last Assize nor suffered to shew forth the Errors that were in the Indictment which were sufficient to quash it though they had kept me from one Assize to another to the end they might Try me But they all knew there was no Sentence of Premunire passed upon me And therefore I not being the King's Prisoner but the Sheriff's did desire to see their Order Instead of shewing me their Order they haled me out and lifted me up upon one of the Sheriff's Horses And when I was on Horseback in the Street the Town 's People being gathered to gaze upon me I told the Officers I had received neither Christianity Civility nor Humanity from them So they hurried me away about Fourteen Miles to Bentham and I was so very weak that I was hardly able to sit on Horseback and my Cloaths smelt so of Smoke that they were loathsom to my self And the Wicked Jailer one Hunter a young Fellow would come behind and give the Horse a Lash with his Whip and make him skip and leap that I being weak had much a-do to sit him and then he would come and look me in the Face and say How do you Mr. Fox I told him It was not Civil in him to do so but the Lord cut him off soon after When we were come to Bentham in Yorkshire Yorkshire Bentham there met us many Troopers and a Marshal and many of the Gentry of the Country were come in and abundance of People to stare at me I being very Weak and Weary desired them to let me lie down on a Bed which the Souldiers permitted me for they that brought me thither gave their Order to the Marshal and he set a Guard of his Souldiers upon me When they had stayed there a while they press'd Horses and raised the Bayliff of the Hundred and the Constables and others and had me to Giggleswick that Night but an exceeding Weak Man I was There they raised the Constables with their Clog-Shoes Giggleâwick who sate drinking all Night in the Room by me so that I could not get much Rest The next day we came to a Market Town where several Friends came to see me and Robert Widders and divers Friends came to me upon the Road. The next
another New-Garden We went on to a place called New Garden where was a great Meeting And from thence we travelled on among Friends till we came to Bandon-Bridge and the Lands-End Bandon-Bridge Lands-end having many Meetings as we went in which the mighty Power of the Lord was manifested through which Friends were well refreshed and many People were affected with the Truth Bandon At Bandon the Mayor's Wife being her self Convinced desired her Husband to come to the Meeting but he bid her for her Life she should not make known that I was at a Meeting there He that was then Mayor of Cork was very envious against Truth and Friends and had many Friends in Prison And knowing that I was in the Country he had sent forth Four Warrants to take me wherefore Friends were desirous that I might not ride through Cork But being at Bandon there appeared unto me in a Vision A very ugly-visag'd Man of a black and dark Look My Spirit struck at him in the Power of God and it seemed to me that I rid over him with my Horse and my Horse set his Foot on the side of his Face When I came down in the Morning I told a Friend that was with me that the Command of the Lord was to me to ride through Cork but bad him Tell no Man So we took Horse many Friends being with me Cork And when we came near the Town the Friends would have shewed me a way on the backside of the Town but I told them My way was through the Streets Wherefore taking one of them along with me whose Name was Paul Morrice to guide me through the Town I rode on and as we rode through the Market-place and by the Mayor's Door the Mayor seeing me ride by said There goes George Fox but he had not power to stop me When we had passed through the Centinels and were come over the Bridge we went to a Friend's House and alighted And there the Friends told me what a Rage was in the Town and how many Warrants were granted forth to take me While I was sitting there with Friends I felt the Evil Spirit at Work in the Town stirring up Mischief against me and I felt the Power of the Lord strike at that Evil Spirit By and by some other Friends coming in told me That it was over the Town and amongst the Magistrates that I was in the Town I said Let the Devil do his worst So after a while that Friends were refreshed one in another and we who were Travellers had refreshed our selves I called for my Horse and having a Friend to Guide me we went on our way But great was the Rage that the Mayor and others of Cork were in that they had missed me and great pains they afterwards took to have taken me having their Scouts abroad upon the Roads as I understood to observe which way I went And afterwards there was scarce a Publick Meeting I came to but there came Spies to watch if I were there And the Envious Magistrates and Priests sent Informations one to another concerning me describing me by my Hair Hat Cloaths and Horse so that when I was come near an Hundred Miles from Cork they had an Account concerning me and Description of me before I came amongst them There was one very Envious Magistrate who was both a Priest and a Justice and he got a Warrant from the Judge of Assize to apprehend me which Warrant was to go over all his Circuit which reached near an Hundred Miles Yet the Lord disappointed all their Counsels and defeated all their Designs against me and by his good hand of Providence preserved me out of all their Snares and gave us many sweet and blessed Opportunities to visit Friends and spread Truth through that Nation For Meetings were very large Friends coming to them far and near and the World's People flocking in And the powerful Presence of the Lord was preciously felt with and amongst us whereby many of the World were reached and Convinced and gathered to the Truth and the Lord's Flock was increased And Friends were greatly refreshed and comforted in feeling the Love of God Oh the Brokenness that was amongst them in the flowings of Life So that in the Power and Spirit of the Lord many together have broken out into Singing even with Audible Voices making Melody in their Hearts At which time I was moved to declare to Friends there in the Ministry as followeth SOund Sound abroad you faithful Servants of the Lord and Witnesses in his Name and faithful Servants and Prophets of the Highest and Angels of the Lord Sound ye all abroad in the World to the awakening and raising of the Dead that they may be awakened and raised up out of the Grave to hear the Voice that is living For the Dead have long heard the Dead and the Blind have long wandered among the Blind and the Deaf amongst the Deaf Therefore Sound Sound ye Servants and Prophets and Angels of the Lord ye Trumpets of the Lord that you may awaken the Dead and awaken them that be asleep in their Graves of Sin Death and Hell and Sepulchres and Sea and Earth and who lie in the Tombs Sound Sound abroad ye Trumpets and raise up the Dead that the Dead may hear the Voice of the Son of God the Voice of the Second Adam that never fell the Voice of the Light and the Voice of the Life the Voice of the Power and the Voice of the Truth the Voice of the Righteous and the Voice of the Just. Sound Sound the pleasant and melodious Sound Sound Sound ye the Trumpets the melodious Sound abroad that all the deaf Ears may be opened to hear the pleasant Sound of the Trumpet to Judgment and Life to Condemnation and Light Sound Sound your Trumpets all abroad you Angels of the Lord Sons and Daughters Prophets of the Highest that all that are dead and asleep in the Graves and been long dreaming and slumbering may be awakened and hear the Voice of the Lamb who have long heard the Voice of the Beast that now they may hear the Voice of the Bridegroom now they may hear the Voice of the Bride now they may hear the Voice of the Great Prophet now they may hear the Voice of the great King now they may hear the Voice of the great Shepherd and the great Bishop of their Souls Sound Sound it all abroad ye Trumpets among the Dead in Adam for Christ is come the Second Adam that they might have Life yea have it abundantly Awaken the Dead Awaken the Slumberers Awaken the Dreamers Awaken them that be asleep Awaken them out of their Graves out of their Tombs out of their Sepulchres out of the Seas Sound Sound abroad you Trumpets you Trumpets that awaken the Dead that they may all hear the Sound of it in the Graves and they that hear may live and come to the Life that is the Son of God He is
the Lord God that he hath a People in this Nation that seeks the Good of all Men upon the Face of the Earth For we have the Mind of the Lord Jesus Christ that desires not the Death of a Sinner but the Salvation and Good of all Blessed be the Name of the Lord our God for ever G. F. While I continued at Enfield a sense came upon me of an Hurt that sometimes hap'ned by Persons coming under the Profession of Truth out of one Country into another to take an Husband or Wife amongst Friends where they were Strangers and it was not known whether they were Clear and Orderly or no. And it Opened in me to recommend the following Method unto Friends for preventing such Inconveniences Whereupon I writ the following Lines ALL Friends that do Marry whether they be Men or Women if they come out of another Nation Island Plantation or County let them bring a Certificate from the Men's-Meeting of that County Nation Island or Plantation from which they come to the Men's Meeting where they do propound their Intention of Marriage for the Men's-Meeting being made up of the Faithful this will stop all bad and raw Spirits from Roving up and down And then when any come with a Certificate or Letter of Recommendation from one Men's-Meeting to another one is refreshed by another and can set their Hands and Hearts to the thing and this will take away a great deal of Trouble And then what ye have to say to them in the Power of God in Admonishing and Instructing them ye are left to the Power and Spirit of God to do it and to let them know the Duty of Marriage and what it is that there may be an Vnity and a Concord in the Spirit and Power and Light and Wisdom of God throughout all the Men's-Meetings in the whole World in One in the Life Let Copies of this be sent to every County and Nation and Island where Friends are that so all things may be kept holy and pure and righteous in Vnity and Peace and God over all may be glorified among you his Lot his People and Inheritance who are his Adopted Sons and Daughters and Heirs of his Life So no more but my Love in that which changeth not The 14th of the First Month 1670 1. G. F. When I had recovered so much Strength that I could Walk a little up and down I went from Enfield to Gerrard Roberts's again and from thence to the Womens School at Shacklewell and so to London Shacklewell London Grac. Meet to the Meeting at Gracious-Street where though I was yet but Weak yet the Lord's Power upheld and enabled me to Declare his Eternal Word of Life And about this time I was moved to pray to the Lord as followeth O Lord God Almighty 1670. London Prosper Truth and Preserve Justice and Equity in the Land and bring down all Injustice and Iniquity Oppression and Falshood and Cruelty and Vnmercifulness in the Land and that Mercy and Righteousness may flourish And O Lord God! Establish and set up Verity and Preserve it in the Land And bring down in the Land all Debauchery and Vice and Whoredoms and Fornication and this Raping Spirit which causeth and leadeth People to have no Esteem of Thee O God! nor their own Souls or Bodies nor of Christianity Modesty or Humanity And O Lord Put it in the Magistrates Hearts to bring down all this Vngodliness and Violence and Cruelty Prophaness Cursing and Swearing and to put down all these Whore-houses and Play-houses which do Corrupt Youth and People and lead them from the Kingdom of God where no Vnclean Thing can Enter neither shall come but such Works lead People to Hell And the Lord in Mercy bring down all these things in the Nation to stop thy Wrath O God! from coming on the Land This Prayer was writ the 17th Day at Night of the 2d Month 1671. G. F. I mentioned before that upon the Notice I received of my Wife 's being had to Prison again I sent two of her Daughters to the King and they procured his Order to the Sheriff of Lancashire for her Discharge But though I expected she would have been set at Liberty thereby 1671. London yet this Violent Storm of Persecution coming suddenly on upon it the Persecutors there did not Release her but found means to hold her still in Prison But now the Persecution a little ceasing I was moved to speak to Martha Fisher and another Woman-Friend to go to the King about her Liberty They went in the Faith and in the Lord's Power and the Lord gave them Favour with the King so that he granted a Discharge under the Broad-Seal to Clear both her and her Estate after she had been Ten Years a Prisoner and Premunired The like whereof was scarce to be heard in England I sent down the Discharge forthwith by a Friend by whom also I writ to her both to Inform her how to get it delivered to the Justices and also to Acquaint her that it was upon me from the Lord to go beyond the Seas to visit the Plantations in America and therefore desired her to hasten up to London as soon as she could conveniently after she had obtained her Liberty because the Ship was then fitting for the Voyage In the mean time I got down to Kingston Kingston and staid at John Rous his House till my Wife came up and then I began to prepare for the Voyage But the Yearly Meeting being near at hand London-Yea Meet I tarried till that was over A very large Meeting it was for many Friends came up to it from all parts of the Nation and a very precious Meeting it was for the Lord's Power was over all and his glorious everlastingly-renowned Seed of Life was exalted above all Now after this Meeting was over and I had finished my Services for the Lord here in England the Ship also and the Friends that intended to go with me being ready I went down to Graves-end on the 12th day of the Sixth Month my Wife and several Friends accompanying me to the Downs We went from Wapping in a Barge to the Ship Wapping which lay a little below Graves-end and there we found the Friends Gravesend that were bound for the Voyage with me who went down to the Ship the Night before Their Names were Thomas Brigges William Edmundson John Rouse John Stubbs Solomon Eccles James Lancaster John Cartwright Robert Widders George Pattison John Hull Elizabeth Hooton and Eliz. Miers The Vessel we were to go in was a Yatch and it was called The Industry the Master's Name was Thomas Forster and the number of Passengers about Fifty I lay that Night on Board but most of the Friends lay at Graves end Early next morning the Passengers and those Friends that intended to accompany us to the Downs being come on Board we took our Leave in great Tenderness of those Friends that came with
where Friends had never had any Meeting before And the Meeting was very large for the Country generally came in and People came also from Connecticut and other parts round about There were amongst them four Justices of the Peace and most of these People were such as had never heard Friends before but they were mightily affected with the Meeting and a great Desire there is after the Truth amongst that People So that our Meeting was of very good Service blessed be the Lord for ever The Justice at whose House the Meeting was and another Justice of that Country invited me to come again but I was then clear of those parts and was going off towards Shelter-Island But John Burnyeate and John Cartwright being come back out of New-England into Road-Island before I was gone I laid this place before them and they felt Drawings thither and went to visit them At another place I heard some of the Magistrates should say among themselves If they had Money enough they would hire me to be their Minister This was where they did not well understand Vs and our Principles But when I heard of it I said It was time for me to be gone for if their Eye was so much to Me or any of Vs they would not come to their own Teacher For this thing of hiring Ministers had spoiled many by hindring them from improving their own Talents whereas our Labour is to bring every one to their own Teacher in themselves Now after we had had very good Service for the Lord in Road-Island and the Parts adjacent and that John Burneyate with the other Friends that went from the General Meeting here into New-England were returned hither again I went off from hence to Shelter-Island having with me Robert Widders James Lancaster George Pattison and one John Jay a Planter in Barbados and leaving John Stubbs and John Burneyate in Road-Island to Water 1672. Road-Island what had been Planted by the Lord there and there-aways who expected John Cartwright whom they had left at Piscataway to come and join shortly with them in the same Service We that were for Shelter-Island went off in a Sloop and passing by Point-Juda and Block-Island Point Juda Block Island Fisher's Island came to Fishers Island where at Night we went on Shore but were not able to stay for the Muschetos a sort of Gnats or little Flies which abound there and are very troublesom Wherefore we went into our Sloop again and put off from the Shore and cast Anchor and so lay in our Sloop that Night Next day we went into the Sound The Sound but finding our Sloop was not able to live in that Water we turned in again for we could not pass that way and so came to Anchor again before Fisher's-Island where we lay in our Sloop that Night also There fell abundance of Rain that Night and our Sloop being open we were exceeding wet The Two Horse-Races Garner's Island Gull 's Island Shelter Island Next day we passed over the Waters called the two Horse Races and then by Garner's Island after which we passed by the Gull's-Island and so got at length to Shelter-Island which though it was but about Twenty seven Leagues from Road-Island yet through the Difficulty of Passage we were three Days in getting thither The Day after we came thither being the First Day of the Week we had a Meeting there Afterwards in the same Week I had a Meeting among the Indians there at which were their King with his Council and about an hundred Indians more They sate down like Friends and heard very attentively while I spake to them by an Interpreter an Indian that could speak English well After the Meeting they appeared very loving and confessed that what was said to them was Truth On the next First-Day we had a great Meeting on the Island to which came many of the World's People that had never heard Friends before They were very well satisfied with the Meeting and would not go away when the Meeting was done till they had spoken with me Wherefore I went amongst them and found they were much taken with the Truth and good Desires were raised in them and a great Love Blessed be the Lord his Name spreads and will be great among the Nations and Dreadful among the Heathen While we were in Shelter-Island William Edmundson came to us who had been labouring in the Work of the Lord in Virginia From whence he travelled through the Desert-Country through Difficulties and many Trials till he came to Roan-Oak where he met with a tender People And after Seven Weeks Service in those parts sailing over to Mary-land and so to New-York he came from thence to Long-Island and so to Shelter-Island where we met with him and were very glad to hear from him the good Service he had had for the Lord in the several Countries and Places wherein he had travelled since he parted from us We staid not long in Shelter-Island but entring our Sloop again At Sea put forth to Sea for Long-Island We had a very rough Passage for the Tide did run so strong for several Hours that I have not seen the like and being against us we could hardly get forwards though we had a Gale We were upon the Water all that Day and the Night following but found our selves next Day driven back near unto Fisher's-Island For there was a great Fog and towards Day it was very dark 1672. New-England so that we could not see what way we made and besides it rained much in the Night which in our open Sloop made us very wet Next day a great Storm arose so that we were fain to go over the Sound and did get over with much ado When we had gotten from Fisher's-Island Faulcon Island we passed by Faulcon-Island and came to the Main where we cast Anchor till the Storm was over Sound and then we came over the Sound being all very wet and much difficulty we had to get to Land the Wind being strong against us But blessed be the Lord God of Heaven and Earth and of the Seas and Waters Long Island Oister-bay all was well and we got safe to Oister-Bay in Long-Island on the Seventh Day of the Sixth Month very early in the Morning which they say is about two hundred Miles from Road-Island At Oister-Bay we had a very large Meeting and the same day James Lancaster and Christopher Holder went over the Bay to Rye on the Continent in Governour Winthrop's Government and had a Meeting there Flushing From Oister-Bay we passed about Thirty Miles to Flushing where we had a very large Meeting many Hundreds of the People of the World being there some or whom came about Thirty Miles to it A glorious and heavenly Meeting it was praised be the Lord God! and the People were much satisfied Mean while Christopher Holder and some other Friends went to a Town in Long-Island called
and the High-Sheriff with their Wives and several others And of Indians there was he who was called their Emperor and one of the Indian Kings and their Speaker who all sate very attentive and carried themselves very lovingly and an establishing settling Meeting it was This was on the Twenty third of the First Month. And on the Twenty fourth we went by Water ten Miles to the Indian Town where this same Emperor dwelt whom I had acquainted before with my Coming and desired him to get their Kings and Councils together In the Morning the Emperor came himself and had me to the Town and they were generally come together and had their Speaker and other Officers with them and the Old Empress sate among them And to give them their due they sate very grave and sober and were all very Attentive beyond many that are called Christians I had some with me that could interpret to them and we had a very good Meeting with them and of very good Service it was for it gave them a good Esteem of Truth and Friends blessed be the Lord After this we had many Meetings in several parts of that Country one at William Stephens's which was a general Meeting once a Month another at Tredhaven-Creek another at Wye another at Reconow-Creek and another at Thomas Taylor 's in the Island of Kent Most of these Meetings were large there being many of the World's People at them and divers of them of the most Considerable in the World's Account And the Lord's Power and living Presence was with us and plenteously manifested amongst the People by which their Hearts were tendred and opened to receive the Truth which had a good Savour amongst them blessed be the Lord God over all for ever Then being clear of that side we passed over the Bay about Fourteen Miles to a Friend's House where we met with several Friends and I sent for Thomas Thurston thither and had a Meeting with him to bring the Truth over his bad Actions Now having travelled through most parts of that Country and visited most of the Plantations thereabouts and had very good Service for the Lord in America having alarm'd the People of all sorts where we came and proclaimed the Day of God's Salvation amongst them we found our Spirits began to be clear of those parts of the World and to draw towards Old England again Yet we were desirous and felt Freedom from the Lord to stay till the General Meeting for that Province of Mary-land was over which drew nigh that we might see Friends generally together before we departed Wherefore spending our time in the interim partly in visiting Friends and Friendly People Clifts Pottuxon and in having Meetings about the Clifts and Pottuxon and partly in writing Answers to some Cavilling Objections which some of Truth 's Adversaries had raised and spread abroad to hinder People from receiving the Truth we were not idle but laboured in the Work of the Lord until that General Provincial Meeting came on which began on the Seventeenth Day of the Third Month The General Provincial Meeting and lasted four Days On the First of these days the Men and Women had their Meetings for Business wherein the Affairs of the Church of God were taken Care of and many things relating thereunto were opened unto them to their Edification and Comfort The other Three Days were spent in Publick Meetings for the Worship of God at which divers of considerable Account in the Government and many others of the World's People were present who were generally satisfied and many of them reached for it was a wonderful glorious Meeting and the mighty Presence of the Lord was seen and felt over all blessed and praââed be his Holy Name for ever who over all giveth Dominion After this Meeting we took our Leave of Friends parting in great Tenderness in the sense of the Heavenly Life and vertuous Power of the Lord that was livingly felt amongst us and went by Water to the place where we were to take Shipping many Friends accompanying us thither and tarrying with us that Night Next Day which was the Twenty first of the Third Month 1673 and the Day following we set Sail for England At Sea The same Day Richard Covell came on Board our Ship having had his own taken from him by the Dutch We had foul Weather and contrary Winds which caused us to cast Anchor often so that we were till the Thirty first of the Third Month e'er we could get past the Capes of Virginia and come out into the main Sea But after this we made good Speed ENGLAND King's-Road and on the Twenty eighth of the Fourth Month cast Anchor at Kings-road which is the Harbour for Bristol We had in our Passage very high Winds and Tempestuous Weather which made the Sea exceeding rough the Waves rising like Mountains so that the Masters and Sailers wondred at it and said They never saw the like before But though the Wind was strong it sate for the most part with us so that we sailed away before it and the Great God who commands the Winds who is Lord of Heaven of Earth and the Seas and whose Wonders are seen in the Deep he steered our Course and preserved us from many imminent Dangers The same good Hand of Providence that went with us and carried us safely over watched over us in our Return and brought us safely back again Thanksgivings and Praises be to his holy Name for ever Many sweet and precious Meetings we had on Board the Ship during this Voyage commonly two a Week wherein the blessed Presence of the Lord did greatly refresh us and did often break in upon and tender the Company Bristol Harbour And when we came into Bristol Harbour there lay a Man of War and the Press-master came on Board us to press our men We had a Meeting at that time in the Ship with the Sea-men before we went to Shore and the Press-master sate down with us and staid the Meeting and was very well satisfied with it After the Meeting I spake to him to leave two of the Men he had Pressed in our Ship for he had pressed four one of which was a lame Man and he said At my Request he would We went on Shore that Afternoon and got to Shear-hampton Shear-hampton where we got Horses and rode to Bristol that Night where Friends received us with great Joy 1673. Bristol In the Evening I writ a Letter to my Wife to give her Notice of my Landing as followeth Dear Heart THis Day we came into Bristol near Night from the Seas Glory to the Lord God over all for ever who was our Convoy and steered our Course who is the God of the whole Earth and of the Seas and Winds and made the Clouds his Chariots beyond all Words blessed be his Name for ever Who is over all in his great Power and Wisdom Amen Robert Widders and James Lancaster
into the Court of the King's-Bench and sate there among the Lawyers almost an Hour till the Judges came in When the Judges came in the Sheriff took off my Hat and after a while I was called and the Lord's Presence was with me and his Power I felt was over all I stood and heard the King's Attorney whose Name was Jânes who indeed spake notably on my behalf as did also another Counsellor after him and the Judges who were Three were all very moderate not casting any reflecting Words at me So I stood still in the Power and Spirit of the Lord seeing how the Lord was at Work and the Earth was helping the Woman 1673. London King's-Bench-Bar But when they had done I applied my self to the Chief Justice desiring That I might speak and he said I might Then I related the Cause of our Journey the Manner of our being Taken and Committed and the Time of our Imprisonment until the Sessions with a brief Account of our Trial at the Sessions and what I had offered to the Justices then as a Declaration that I could make or sign instead of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy When I had done the Chief Justice said I was to be turned over to the King's-Bench and the Sheriff of Worcester to be discharged of me He said also That they would consider farther of it and if they found any Errour in the Record or in the Justices Proceedings I should be set at Liberty So a Tipstaff was called to take me into Custody and he delivered me to the Keeper of the King's Bench who let me go to a Friend's House where I lodged and appoânted to meet me at Edward Man's in Bishopsgate-Street next Day But after this Justice Parker or some other of my Adversaries moved the Court That I might be sent back to Worcester Whereupon another Day was appointed for another Hearing and they had Four Counsels that pleaded against me and there was one George Stroud a Counsellor that pleaded for me and was pleading before I was brought into the Court but they bore him down King's-Bench-Bar and prevailed with the Judges to give Judgment That I should be sent down to Worcester-Sessions Only they told me I might put in Bail to Appear at the Sessions and to be of the good Behaviour in the mean time But I told them I was never in Ill Behaviour in my Life and that they the Four Judges might as well put the Oath to me there as send me to Worcester to be ensnared by the Justices in their putting the Oath to me and then premuniring me who never took Oath in my Life But I told them if I brake my Yea or Nay I was content to suffer the same Penalty which they should that break their Oaths This Alteration of the Judges Minds in my Case proceeded as was thought from some false Informations that my Adversary Justice Parker had given against me For between the times of my former Appearance and this he had spread abroad a very false and malicious Story viz. That there were many substantial men with me out of several parts of the Nation when he took me and that we had a Design or Plot in hand and that Thomas Lower stayed with me in Prison long after he was set at Liberty to carry on our Design This was spoken in the Parliament-House insomuch that if I had not been brought up to London when I was I had been stopped at Worcester and Thomas had been Recommitted with me But although these Lies were easily disproved and laid open to Parker's Shame yet would not the Judges alter their last Sentence but remanded me to Worcester-Jail only this Favour was granted that I might go down my own Way and at my own Leisure provided I would be without fail there by the Assize which was to begin on the Second Day of the Second Month next following So I stayed in and about London till toward the latter End of the First Month 1674 and then went down leisurely for I was not able to abide hasty and hard Travel Worcester and came into Worcester on the last Day of the First Month 1674 being the Day before the Judges came to Town 1674. Worcester Jail On the Second Day of the Second Month I was brought from the Jail to an Inn near the Hall that I might be in Readiness if I should be called But not being called that Day the Jailer came to me at Night and told me I might go home meaning to the Jail Whereupon Gerrard Roberts of London being with me he and I walked down together to the Jail without any Keeper Next Day being brought up again they set a little Boy of about eleven Years old to be my Keeper I came to understand that Justice Parker and the Clark of the Peace had gived Order that I should not be put into the Calendar that so I might not be brought before the Judge Wherefore I got the Judge's Son to move in Court That I might be called And thereupon I was called Worcester Assizes and brought up to the Bar before Judge Turner my old Adversary who had tendered me the Oaths and Premunired me once before at Lancaster After Silence made he asked me What I did desire I answered My Liberty according to Justice He said I lay upon the Oath and asked If I would take it I desired he would hear the Manner of my being Taken and Committed and he being silent I gave him an Account thereof at large as is before set down letting him also know ' That since my Imprisonment I had understood that my Mother who was an Ancient Tender Woman and had desired to see me before she died hearing that I was stopped and imprisoned in my Journey so that I was not likely to come to see her it struck her so that she died soon after which was a very hard thing to me When I had done speaking he again asked me To take the Oaths I told him I could not take any Oath for Conscience-sake and I did believe he and they all knew in their Consciences that it was for Conscience-sake I could not Swear at all But I did declare amongst them what I could say and what I could sign in owning of the King 's Right to the Government and in denying the Pope and his pretended Power and all Plotters Plots and Conspiracies against the Government Some thought the Judge had a mind to have set me at Liberty for he saw they had nothing Justly against me but Parker who Committed me endeavoured to incense him against me telling him That I was a Ring-leader that many of the Nation followed me and he knew not what it might come to with many more envious Words which some that stood near took notice of who also observed that the Judge gave him never a Word in Answer to it However the Judge willing to ease himself referred me and my Case to the Sessions
now which Christ is the Author of it must stand in the Power of God in which Power of God the Everlasting Kingdom stands and so as every one's Faith stands in the Power of God this keeps all in the Power of Godliness For as it was in the Days of the Apostles when some was crying up Paul and Apollos and so forth he judged them as Carnal and exhorted them and admonished them that their Faith should stand in the Power of God So it was not to stand in Men nor in the Words of Man's Wisdom but in the Power of God And he said He would not know the Speech of them but the Power amongst them for the Kingdom of God is not in Word but in Power And so it is to be now Every one's Faith must stand in the Power of God and not in Men nor their Speeches of the good Words For we have seen by Experience when they begin to cry up Men and their Faith to stand in them such Men as would have Peoples Faith stand in them loves Popularity and brings not People's Faith to stand in the Power of God and such cannot exalt Christ And when such fall they draw a great Company after them And therefore the Apostle would not know such after the Flesh but would know them that were in the Power and Spirit and struck down every one's Faith that stood in the Words of Man's Wisdom that they might stand in the Power of God And so it must be now And all whose Faith doth not stand in the Power of God they cannot Exalt his Kingdom that stands in Power and therefore every one's Faith must stand in the Power of God And the Apostle denied Popularity when he Judged the Corinthians for looking at Paul and Apollos to be Carnal and such are Carnal still And therefore all should know one another in the Spirit Life and Power and look at Christ and this keeps all low and down in the Humility And they whose Faith stands in Men will make Sects as in the Days of J. N. and J. P. and since in others And such their Faith Christ is not the Author of and if he be they have erred from it and made Shipwrack of it And all those that are in the True Faith that stands in the Power of God they will Judge them as Carnal and Judge down that Carnal Part in them that cries up Paul or Apollos that their Faith may stand in the Power of God and that they may Exalt Christ the Author of it For every one's Eye ought to be to Jesus the Author and Finisher of their Faith and every Just Man and Woman may live by their Faith which Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of And by this Faith every Man and Woman may see God who is Invisible which Faith gives the Victory by which he hath Access to God And so every one's Faith and Hope standing in the Power of God in it they all have Vnity and Victory and Access to God's Throne of Grace in which Faith they do please God which Christ is the Author of And so by that Faith they are Saved and by this Faith they obtain the good Report and subdue all the Mountains that have been betwixt them and God So that Power hath kept and preserved Friends over their Persecutors and over the Wrath of Men and above the Spoilings of their Goods and Imprisonments as seeing God that hath created all and gives the Encrease of all and upholds all by his Word and Power Therefore let every one's Faith be in his Power And here in this no Schism or Sect can come for it is over them and before they were and will be when they are gone But perfect Vnity is in the Truth and in the Spirit that does Circumcise the Body of Death and that puts off the Sins of the Flesh and plunges it down with the Spirit And in the Spirit of God there is a perfect Fellowship and Christ is the Minister of this Circumcision and Baptism So this is upon me from the Lord to write unto you all that every one of your Faith that Jesus is the Author of may stand in the Power of God and from the Lord I do warn you and all every where to the same For if a Star should fall which has been a Light either the Earth or the Sea does receive it that is the Earthly Mind or the foaming raging People Though neither the Seed nor Light nor Power nor Truth ever fell nor the Faith it self the Gift of God but Men going from it then they become Vnsavoury For Adam whilst he kept in Truth and obeyed the Command of God he was happy but when he disobeyed the Lord he fell under the Power of Satan and became unhappy though he might talk after of his Experiences in Paradice but he had lost his Image and his Power and Dominion that God Created him in And the Jews after they received the Law of God as long as they kept the Law of God which was just holy good and perfect it kept them good just and holy and savoury but when they turned their Backs off the Lord and forsook his Law then they came under the Power of Darkness and under the Powers of the Earth and were trodden under as unsavoury And so the Christians they were called a City set on a Hill The Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth but when they forsook the Power of God and their Faith stood in Words and Men and not in the Power then their Walls fell down though the Power in it self stood and they lost their Hill and their Saltness and their Shining And so as Christendom now does confess they are not in the same Power and Spirit as the Apostles were in so not in the same Salt nor upon the same Hill So they came to be trodden under and the Beast and the Whore and the false Prophet are uppermost the unsavoury So their Dead Faith is in Men and in Words and therefore they are full of Sects and one against another And now the Everlasting Gospel the Power of God is preacht again which was before the Devil was that had darkned Man and by this Power of God the Gospel Life and Immortality is come to light again And therefore every one's Faith is to stand in this Power the Gospel that hath brought Life and Immortality to Light in them and so to be Heirs of the Power of God the Gospel And here have all Men and Women a Right to the Power of God before the Devil was and the Power of God is the Authority of the Mens and the Womens-Meetings and of all the other Meetings set up thereby But now as the Gospel is preacht again if your Faith doth not stand in the Power but in Men and in the Wisdom of Words you will grow Carnal and such are for Judgment who cry up as they did Paul and Apollos and not Christ
Lord and being one Body in him For God's Heavenly Flail hath brought out his Seed and his Heavenly Plow hath turned up the fallow Ground and his Heavenly Seed is sown by the Heavenly Man which brings forth Fruits to the Heavenly Sower in some Fifty Sixty and an Hundred fold in this Life And such in the World without End will have Life Eternal Oh therefore all keep within and let your Lights shine and your Lamps burn and that you all may be the Wells full of the Living Water and the Trees full of the Living Fruit of God's Planting whose Fruit is unto Holiness and End is Everlasting Life And so the Lord God of Power preserve you all in his Power and let all your Faith stand therein that you may have both Vnity in the Faith and in the Power and by this Faith and Belief you may be all grafted into Christ the sure Root and Rock of Ages where the Eternal Sun of Righteousness shines in the Heavenly and Eternal Day upon his Plants and Grafts And this Sun never sets nor goes down And the Heavenly Springs of Life and Showers are known to Water and nourish the Grafts and Plants and Buds that they may always be kept fresh and green and never wither bringing forth fresh and green and living Fruit which is offered up to the Living God and he is glorified in that you bear much Fruit. And so as I said before The Lord God Almighty keep you and preserve you all in his Power Light and Life over Death and Darkness that in the Light Life and Power of God you may spread his Truth abroad and be valiant for it upon the Earth answering that of God in all That with it the Minds of People may be turned to God and Christ so that with it they may come to know the Lord Christ Jesus in the New Covenant in which the Knowledge of the Lord shall cover the Earth as the Waters do the Sea and his Life must go over Death and his Light must go over Darkness and the Power of God must go over the Power of Sa tan And so all ye that be in the Light Life and Power Keep the Heavenly Fellowship in the Heavenly Power and the Heavenly Vnity in the Heavenly Divine Faith and the Vnity of the Spirit which is the Bond of the Heavenly Prince of Princes Peace who bruises the Head of the Enmity and of the Adversary and reconciles Man to God and all things in Heaven and in the Earth a blessed Reconciliation And let every one's Faith stand in the Power of God which Jesus Christ is the Author of that all may know their Crown of Life For all outward things without the Substance the Life the Power is as the Husk without the Kernel and doth not nourish the Immortal Soul nor the new-born Babe but that which it is nourished by is the Milk of the Word by which it is born again and groweth by it in the Heavenly Life Strength and Wisdom And the Gospel which is not of Man nor by Man but is the Power of God and answers the Truth in all all the Possessors of it are to see that all Walk according to it which Everlasting Order is ordained of God already and all the Possessors of him possess their Joy their Comfort and Salvation So with my Love unto you all with him that Reigns and is over all from Everlasting to Everlasting So dwell in the Love of God which passeth Knowledge which Love of God doth Edifie the Living Members of the Body of Christ which Love of God you come to be built up in and in the Holy Faith which Christ is the Author of that stands in his Power And this Love of God it brings you to bear all things and endure all things and hope all things From this Love of God which you have in Christ Jesus nothing will be able to separate you neither Powers nor Principalities Heights nor Depths things present nor things to come Prisons nor Spoiling of Goods neither Death nor Life So the Love of God keeps above all that which would separate from God and makes you more than Conquerors in Christ Jesus And therefore in this Love of God dwell which you have in Christ Jesus And that with the same Love you may Love one another and all the Workmanship of God so that you may Glorifie God wiâh your Bodies Souls and Spirits which are the Lord 's Amen G. F. All Friends sit low in the Life and the Lord's Power and keep your Place in it till the Lord and Master of the Heavenly Feast bid you Sit higher lest you take the Highest Place and be put down with Shame He that hath an Ear let him hear G. F. And Friends take heed of speaking the things of God in the Words that Men's Wisdom hath taught for those Words will lift up the foolish that be erred from the Spirit of God which Words and Wisdom is for Condemnation and that which is lifted up by them and they that thereby speak the things of God in them So that Old House with it's Things must be thrown under the Foot of the New Birth And Friends I desire that you may all keep the Holy Order which is in the Gospel the Glorious Order in the Power of God which the Devil is out of which was before all his Orders were and before they made any in the World In this Gospel the Power of God is the Glorious Order this Joyful Order keeps all Hearts pure to God an everlasting Peace Vnity and Order feel it and keep the Order of it both Men and Women and come to be Heirs of the Gospel which brings Life and Immortality to Light and to see over that Power of Darkness by him who was before the Power of Death was In this is the Holy Order in Love and Peace And so keep in this that keeps you always pure and what Men and Women act in this they act in that which will stand when the World is gone This is not received of Man nor by Man every Man and Woman must feel this Power that brings Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel in that feel this then Heirs of this Gospel This is their Inheritance and Portion which they have Right to and to Membership Every Man and Woman inherit it possess it every one take your Possessions of this Gospel of Salvation and of it's Holy Orders There hath been some Scruple about Men and Womens-Meetings Men and Women in the Gospel are Heirs of the Power which was before the Devil was Heirs of this then enter into the Possession of it and do the Lord's Business therein And every one take the Care of God's Honour and to keep all things in Righteousness and Holiness which becomes God's House And in that which Honours the Lord God it eased me when those Meetings were set up for Men and Women That are Heirs of the Gospel have Right to the
Friends in all the United Provinces of Holland and in Embden the Palatinat Hamborough Frederick-stadt Dantzick and other places in and about Germany which Friends were very glad of and it hath been of great service to Truth Next day an Exercise came upon me concerning that deceitful Spirit which wrought in some amongst Friends to make Divisions in the Church and the Care of the Churches being upon me I was moved to Write a few Lines to warn Friends of it as followeth ALL Friends keep over that Spirit of Separation and Division in the peaceable Truth and in the Seed of Life which will wear it all out and out-last it For the Lamb will have the Victory over all the Spirits of Strife as it hath had since the beginning and they will Wither as others have done but all that do keep in the Seed which is always green shall never Wither as Friends have been to this day kept And if any have gone out and backslidden and thrown off the Cross and are grown loose and full and are gone into Strife and Contention with their Earthly Spirits and therein plead for a liberty this Spirit taketh with loose earthly Spirits and cries Imposition to such as do admonish them to come to the Life Light and Spirit and Power of God that they may be alive and may live again with the Living And then upon this Admonishment their Spirits do arise into Contention and Strife and a Separation turning against the Living in their loose earthly Spirits which would have the Name of Truth but is not in the Nature of it but is for Eternal Judgment of the living Seed And this is it which doth deceive but it is judged by that which doth undeceive and save Amsterdam in Holland the 5th of the 6th Month 1677. G. F. This being the First-day of the Week we had a very large Meeting again there coming to it a great Concourse of People of several Opinions as Baptists Seekers Socinians Brownists and some of the Collegians Robert Barclay George Keith William Pen and I did all severally declare the Everlasting Truth among them opening the Estate of Man in the Fall and shewing by what way Man and Woman may come into the Restoration by Christ Jesus And indeed the Mystery of Iniquity and the Mystery of Godliness were very plainly laid open and the Meeting ended quietly and well The day following George Keith Robert Barclay and William Penn leaving me and some other Friends at Amsterdam set forward on their Journey towards Germany where they Travelled many hundred Miles and had good Service for the Lord Benjamin Furly going with them and Interpreting That day and the next I stayed at Amsterdam visiting the Friends and assisting them in some businesses concerning their Meetings And there came Three Baptists to discourse with me unto whom I opened things to their satisfaction and they parted from me in kindness I writ a Letter also to the Princess Elizabeth which Isabel Yeomans delivered to her when George Keith's Wife and she went to visit her Princess Elizabeth I Have heard of thy Tenderness towards the Lord and his holy Truth by some Friends that have visited thee and also by some of thy Letters which I have seen which indeed is a great thing for a Person of thy quality to have such a tender mind after the Lord and his precious Truth seeing so many are swallowed up with Voluptuousness and the Pleasures of this World and yet all make an outward Profession of God and Christ one way or other but without any deep Inward sense and feeling of him For it is not many mighty nor wise of the World that can become fools for Christ's sake or can become low in the humility of Christ Jesus from their mighty state through which they might Receive a mightier Estate and a mightier Kingdom through the Inward holy Spirit and the Divine Light and Power of God and a mightier Wisdom which is from above pure and peaceable which Wisdom is above that which is below that is earthly sensual and devillish by which men destroy one another yea about their Religions Ways and Worships and Churches but this they have not from God nor Christ But the Wisdom which is from above by which all things was made and created which the holy fear of God in the heart is the beginning of that keeps the heart clean And by and with this Wisdom are all God's Children to be ordered and with it come to order all things to God's glory So this is the Wisdom that is Justified of her Children And in this fear of God and Wisdom my desire is that thou may be preserved to God's glory For the Lord is come to teach his People himself and to set up his Ensign that the Nations may flow unto it And there hath been an Apostacy since the Apostles days from the Divine Light of Christ which should have given them the Light of the Knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus and likewise from the holy Spirit which would have Lead them into all Truth and therefore have People set up so many Leaders without them to give them Knowledge and also from the holy and precious Faith which Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of which Faith purifies the heart and gives victory over that which separates from God through which Faith they have access to God and in which Faith they please God the Mystery of which Faith is held in a pure Conscience And also from the Gospel which was preached in the Apostle's days which Gospel is the Power of God which brings Life and Immortality to Light in Man and Woman by which People should have seen over the Devil that has darkned them and before he was which Gospel will preserve all them that receive it in Life and in Immortality For the Eyes of People have been after Men and not after the Lord who doth write his Law in the hearts and puts it into the minds of all the Children of the New Covenant of Light Life and Grace through which they all come to know the Lord from the Least to the Greatest So that the Knowledge of the Lord may cover the Earth as the Waters doth the Sea And this Work of the Lord is a beginning again as it was in the Apostles days that People shall come to receive an Vnction in them again from the holy One by which they shall know all things and shall not need any man to teach them but as the Anointing doth teach them and also to know what the Righteousness of faith speaks the Word nigh in the heart and mouth to obey it and to do it which was the Word of Faith the Apostles preached Which is now received and preached again which is the duty of all true Christians to receive And so now People are coming out of the Apostacy to the Light of Christ and his Spirit and to receive Faith from him and not
I had not been long at Swarthmore e're a Concern came upon me to visit the Churches of Christ in London and elsewhere by an Epistle which was as followeth Dear Friends TO whom is my Love in the heavenly Seed in whom all Nations are blessed Oh keep all in this Seed in which ye are blessed and in which Abraham and all the Faithful were blessed without the Deeds of the Law for the Promise was and is to and with the Seed and not with the Law of the First Covenant In this Seed all Nations and ye are blessed which bruiseth the Head of the Seed that brought the Curse and separated between Man and God This is the Seed which reconciles you to God and this is the Seed in which ye are blessed both in Temporals and Spirituals through which ye have an Inheritance among the Sanctified that cannot be defiled neither can any defiled thing enter into its Possession for all defilements are out of this Seed This is that which leavens up into a New Lump and bruiseth the Head of the Wicked Seed that leavens into the Old Lump upon whom the Sun of Righteousness goes down and sets but never goes down and sets to them that walk in the Seed in which all Nations are blessed by which Seed they are brought up to God which puts down that Seed which separated betwixt them and God so that there comes to be nothing betwixt them and God Now all my Dear Friends my desires are that ye may all be Valiant in this heavenly Seed for God and his Truth upon the Earth and spread it abroad answering that of God in all that with it the Minds of People may be turned towards the Lord that he may come to be known and served and worshipped and that ye may all be the Salt of the Earth to make the unseasoned savoury And in the Name of Jesus keep your Meetings who are gathered into it in whose Name ye have Salvation he being in the midst of you whose Name is above every Name under the whole Heaven And so ye have a Prophet and Bishop Shepherd Priest and Counsellor above all the Counsellors and Priests Bishops Prophets and Shepherds under the whole Heaven to exercise his Offices among you in your Meetings that are gathered in his Name For Christ's Meeting and Gathering is above all the Meetings and Gatherings under the whole Heaven And his Body his Church and he the Head of it is above all the Bodies and Churches and Heads under the whole Heaven And the Faith that Christ is the Author of and the Worship that he hath set up and his Fellowship in the Gospel is above all Historical Faiths and the Faith 's that Man hath made together with their Worships and Fellowships under the whole Heaven And now Dear Friends keep your Men and Womens-Meetings in the Power of God the Gospel the Authority of them which brings Life and Immortality to Light in you and this Gospel the Power of God will preserve you in Life and in Immortality which hath brought it to Light in you that ye may see over him that hath darkned and kept from the knowledge of the things of God for it is he and his Instruments which hath darkned you from Life and Immortality that would throw down your Men and Womens-Meetings which were set up in the Power of God the Gospel and would darken you again from this Life and Immortality which the Gospel hath brought to Light and will preserve you in as your Faith stands in this Power of God the Gospel in which every one sees your Work and Service for God And every Heir in the Power of God the Gospel hath right to this Authority which is not of Man nor by Man which Gospel the Power of God is everlasting an everlasting Order an everlasting Fellowship and in the Gospel is everlasting Joy Comfort and Peace which will out-last all those Joys Comforts and Peaces that will have an end and that Spirit also that opposes its Order and the glorious Fellowship Peace and Comfort in it And My Dear Friends my desire is that ye may keep in the Unity of the Spirit that baptizes you all into one Body which Christ is the heavenly and spiritual Head of so that ye may see and bear witness to your heavenly and spiritual Head and so all drink into the One Spirit Which all People upon the Earth are not like to do while they grieve quench and rebel against it nor to be baptized into one Body and to keep the Unity of the Spirit which is the Bond of Peace yea the King of Kings and Lord of Lords his Peace which it is the duty of all true Christians to keep who are inwardly united to Christ So with my Love to you all in the everlasting Seed Swarthmore the 26th of the 7th Month 1678. G. F. There were about this time several Friends in Prison for bearing Testimony to the Truth To whom I was moved to write a few Lines to comfort strengthen and encourage them in their Sufferings having a true sense of their Sufferings upon my spirit and a sympathizing with them therein And that which I writ was after this manner My Dear Friends WHO are Sufferers for the Lord Jesus sake and for the Testimony of his Truth the Lord God Almighty with his Power uphold you and support you in all your Trials and Sufferings and give you Patience and Content in his Will that yâ may stand valiant for Christ and his Truth upon the Earth over the persecuting and destroying Spirit which makes to suffer in Christ who bruises his Head in whom ye have both Election and Salvation And for God's Elect sake the Lord hath done much from the Foundation of the World as may be seen throughout the Scriptures of Truth and they that touch them touch the Apple of God's Eye they are so tender to him And therefore it is good for all God's suffering Children to trust in the Lord and to wait upon him for they shall be as Mount Sion that cannot be removed from Christ their Rock and Salvation who is the Foundation of all the Elect of God of the Prophets and the Apostles and of God's People now and to the End Glory to the Lord and the Lamb over all Remember my dear Love to all Friends and do not think the time long for all Time is in the Father's hand his Power And therefore keep the Word of Patience and exercise that Gift and the Lord strengthen you in your Sufferings in his holy Spirit of Faith Amen Swarthmore the 5th of the 12th Month 1678. G. F. I abode in the North at this time above a year having Service for the Lord amongst Friends there and being much taken up in writing Books and Papers some in Defence of Truth in Answer to Books published by Adversaries and some for the opening the Principles and Doctrines of Truth to the World that they might come to have a
all your Sacrifices will be a sweet savour to the Lord and ye will be as the Lilies and Roses and Garden of God which gives a sweet smell unto him Whose Garden is preserved by his Power that is the Hedge that hedges out all the unruly and unsavoury and the Destroyers and Hurters of the Vines Buds and Plants and God's tender Blade which springs up from his Seed of Life who waters it with his heavenly Water and Word of Life every moment that they may grow and be fruitful that so he may have a pleasant and fruitful Garden And so here all are kept fresh and green being watered every moment with the everlasting holy Water of Life from the Lord the Fountain So my dear Friends my desire is that this heavenly Seed that bruises down the Head of the Serpent both within and without may be all your Crowns and Lifes and ye in him one another's Crown and Joy to the praise of the Lord God over all blessed for evermore This holy Seed will out-last and wear out all that which the evil Seed since the Fall of Man hath brought forth and set up And as every one hath received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him in the Humility which he teaches and shun the occasions of Strife vain Janglings and Disputings with Men of Corrupt Minds who are destitute of the Truth for the Truth is peaceable and the Gospel is a peaceable Habitation in the Power of God which was before the Devil was and his Wisdom is peaceable and gentle c. And his Kingdom stands in Peace Oh! his Glory shines over all his Works And in Christ Jesus ye will have Peace who is not of the World yea a Peace that the World cannot take away for the Peace which ye have from him was before the World was and will be when it is gone So they are not like to take his Peace away from his People This keeps all in that which is weighty and substantial over all Chaff and will be when it is gone Glory to the Lord God over all for ever and ever Amen! And now My dear Friends the Lord doth require more of you than he doth of other People because he hath committed more to you He requires Fruits of his Spirit and of the Light and of the Gospel and of the Grace and of the Truth for herein is he glorified as Christ said in your bringing forth much Fruit Fruits of Righteousness âliness Godliness Vertue Truth and Purity so that ye may answer that which is of God in all People And be ye valiant for his everlasting glorious Gospel in God's holy Spirit and Truth keeping in the Vnity and in the holy Spirit Light and Life which is over Death and Darkness and was before Death and Darkness was In this Spirit ye have the Bond of Peace which cannot be broken except ye go from the Spirit and then ye loose this Unity and Bond of Peace which ye have from the Prince of Peace The World also does expect more from Friends than from other People because you profess more Therefore you should be more Just than Others in your Words and Dealings and more Righteous Holy and Pure in your Lives and Conversations so that your Lives and Conversations may preach For the Worlds Tongues and Mouths have preached long enough but their Lives and Conversations have denied what their Tongues have professed and declared And Dear Friends strive to excel one another in Vertue and that ye may grow in Love that excellent Way which unites all to Christ and God And that all may stand up for God's Glory and mind that which concerns the Lord's Honour and Glory that in no wise his Power may be abused nor his Name evil spoken of by any evil Talkers or Walkers but that in all things God may be honoured and ye may glorifie him in your Bodies Souls and Spirits the little time ye have to live So my Love to you all in the holy Seed of Life that reigns over all and is the First and Last in whom ye all have Life and Salvation and your Election and Peace with God through Jesus Christ who destroys him that hath been betwixt you and God so that nothing may be betwixt you and the Lord but Christ Jesus Amen My Life and Love is to you all and amongst you all And the Lord God Almighty by his mighty Power by which he hath preserved all his People unto this day preserve and keep you all in his power and peaceable holy Truth in Unity and Fellowship one with another and with the Son and the Father Amen The 24th of the 3d Month 1679. G. F. Divers other Epistles and Papers I writ unto Friends during my stay in the North One whereof was in a few Lines To Encourage Friends to be bold and valiant for the Truth which the Lord had called them to bear witness to and it was thus worded Dear Friends ALL be Valiant for the Lord's Truth upon the Earth which the Serpent Satan and the Devil is out of and in the Truth keep him out in which you all have Peace and Life and Vnity with God and his Son and one with another And let the Love of God fill all your hearts that in it ye may build up one another and edifie one another in the Light Life and holy Spirit and Power of God the glorious comfortable Gospel of Christ the heavenly Man who is your Lord and Saviour who will fill all your Bottles and Vessels with his heavenly Wine and Water of Life and cloath you with his heavenly Cloathing his fine Linnen that never waxeth old And will arm you with his heavenly Weapons and Armour that ye may stand faithful Witnesses for God and his Son who is come and hath given you an understanding to know him and ye are in him And so walk in him in whom ye all have Life and Salvation and Peace with God So my Love to you all in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom I have laboured and God Almighty in his eternal Power and Wisdom preserve you all to his Glory Amen Swarthmore the 29th of the 10th Month 1679. G. F. The next day having a sense upon me how some that had received the Truth and had Openings thereof for want of keeping low had run out there-from I was moved to give forth the following Epistle as a Warning and Exhortation to all to dwell in Humility My Dear Friends VVHom the Lord in his tender Mercies hath visited with the Day-spring from on high and hath opened you to confess and bow to his Name keep low in your minds and learn of Christ who teacheth you Humility and to keep in it so that in no wise ye that be younger be exalted or puffed up or conceited through your Openings and by that means lose your Conditions by being carried up into Presumption and then fall into Despair and so abuse the Power of God For it was the Apostles care
World Who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all Power in Heaven and in Earth is given to him who will reward every Man according to his Words and Works ALL you bearing the Name of Christian Magistrates my desire is that you may all be found in Christ and not only have the Name but be made Partakers of his Divine Nature that ye may be not only Sayers of the Word but Doers of the Word not only Professors of Christ and Talkers of Christ but let Christ rule in your hearts by Faith and be Walkers in Christ For as Christ's great Apostle saith As every one hath received the Lord Jesus Christ so let him walk in him 1680. Kingston for in him there is peace And if all that do Profess Christ did Walk in Christ they would all Walk in Peace and be in Unity For the Apostle exhorted the Christians in his day to keep the Vnity of the Spirit which is the Bond of Peace yea of Christ the King of Kings Peace And all Christians who have the Scriptures and are not in this Spirit of Christ they are not in Unity one with another and so have broken this Bond of Peace which should knit and unite them together And likewise all that do profess the Truth of Christ should live in it for it is peaceable and the Gospel is the Gospel of Peace which if all Christians that do profess it lived in they would be at peace one with another and in the glorious Fellowship of the Gospel And also if all Christians kept in the Fear of God which is the beginning of the pure heavenly peaceable and gentle Wisdom which is easie to be entreated above that Wisdom which is earthly sensual devillish and destroying then there would be no difference and destroying about Matters of Religion I do declare the mighty Day of the Lord is Come and Coming and the Lord God is come to Teach his People himself by his Son Hebr. 1. whose Son Christ Jesus bruises the Serpent's Head that false Teacher that led Adam and Eve from God their Teacher So God will Teach his People by his Son who was the Teacher of Adam and Eve in Paradise before they fell and disobeyed the Lord and forsook him and followed the Serpent whose Head Christ does bruise and renews Man and Woman up again into the Image of God which Adam and Eve was in before they fell Glory and Honour be to God through Jesus Christ who hath called us by his Son into his glorious Image to serve and worship him in his Spirit and Truth which holy Spirit and Truth the Devil is out of and cannot come into it And now I desire all Christian Magistrates to take heed of Persecuting any though they differ from you in Matters of Faith Worship and Religion For Christ saith Let the Tares and the Wheat grow together till the Harvest and he forbad such as would be plucking up Tares The Reason was Lest they should pluck up the Wheat also for that Christ said should be his Angels work to separate the Tares from the Wheat Moreover Christ said They should go into everlasting Punishment that did not Visit him in Prison in his Members Then what will become of them that Cast him into Prison where he is made manifest in his Members Oh lay these things to heart A Day of Judgment will come Vengeance and Recompence upon every one according to their Works And Christ said to his Disciples who would have had Fire to come down from Heaven to consume them that would not receive him He turned him about and rebuked them and told them They did not know what spirit they were of for he came not to destroy mens Lives but to save them And therefore let all the Magistrates and the Priests in that which is called Christendom consider who have destroyed Mens and Womens Lives since the Apostles days because they could not Receive their Religions Ways and Worships or Conform to them which they have made and set up Have they known what Spirit they have been of Are they not all reproved by and come under the Judgment of Christ Therefore let all Persecution be laid away concerning Religion and let Love bear the sway to overcome Evil and Enemies and let Patience over-sway Passion in all such doings that all may retain the heavenly Reason and the pure Understanding that your Moderation in true Christianity may be known to all Men. For have you not the Turks Jews Tartars Indians and Atheists Eyes upon you and upon Christendom And therefore be in Unity and let not the Name of God and Christ be blasphemed amongst them by means of any that bear the Name of Christians So that God may be glorified by all and in all through Jesus Christ who is over all who calls all to Peace who is blessed for ever And now I would have you to be as Noble as the Bereans and search the Scriptures of Christ and the Apostles where-ever he or they did give any Command to Imprison Banish Persecute or put to Death any that would not receive or conform to them or that were contrary-minded to them in Religion or differ'd from them in Matters of Worship Again I desire all Christian Magistrates to search both Scriptures and Chronicles and see what was the End of all Persecutors and what Judgments came upon them What came to Cain who was the first Persecutor for Matters of Faith and Sacrifice Did not he become a Runnagade a Vagabond and a Fugitive in the Earth What became of the Old World that grieved God and Noah a Preacher of Righteousness What became of Sodom that vex'd Just Lot What became of Pharaoh that persecuted God's People in Egypt though the more he persecuted them the more they grew What became of Ahab and Jezabel that persecuted the Lord's Prophets And what became of Haman that would have destroyed the Jews What became of the Jews and Jerusalem that persecuted Christ and the Apostles What was the End of all these Are they not become Vagabonds in the Earth and driven away from their native Country Therefore I beseech you in the Love and Fear of God be so Noble as to search both Scripture and History and let not your divine understanding be clouded What will become of the Beast and Whore spoken of in the Revelations with their false Prophets that have drunk the blood of the Saints Martyrs and Prophets of Jesus must they not all go with the Devil who is a Murderer Destroyer an Enemy and Adversary of Mankind into the Lake of Fire that burns with Brimstone And ye may be sure that Spirit that stirs you up to Persecution let it be in whomsoever it will is not of Christ and of his Lamb-like Nature who takes away the Sins of the World not the Lives of Men. Paul was a Persecutor and a Haler to Prison before he was converted to Christianity but never after And therefore are not all
First Month 1683. I went to Kingston upon Thames and it being then a time of Persecution as I went to the Meeting I met the Chief Constable who had been at the Meeting-Place Kingston upon Thames and had set Watchmen there to keep us out yet he was pretty Civil and the Watchmen let Friends have a couple of Forms out to sit upon in the High-way so Friends met together there and a very precious Meeting we had for the refreshing Presence of the Lord was with us in which we parted in peace Having visited and encouraged Friends there I returned to London and went to the Meeting at Bull and Mouth London Bull and M. Meeting where the Constables with their Watchmen kept a Guard to keep Friends out of the House So we met in the Street and when any Friend spake the Officers and Watchmen made a great bustle to pull him down and take him into Custody After some other Friends had spoken it was upon me to speak and I said Heaven is God's Throne and Earth is his Footstool and will ye not let us stand upon God's Footstool to worship and serve the living God While I spake they were quiet and after I had cleared my self of what was upon me to speak we brake up our Meeting in peace This was on the Sixth-day of the Week On the First-day of the Week following I was moved to go to the Meeting at Gracious-street and when I came there Grac. Meet I found a Guard set at the Entrance in Lumbard-street and another at the Gate in Gracious-street to keep Friends out of the Meeting-Place so that we were fain to meet abroad in the Street After some time I got a Chair and stood up in it and spake largely to the People Opening the Principles of Truth to them and declaring many weighty Truths concerning Magistracy and concerning the Lord's Prayer There was besides Friends a great Multitude of People and amongst them many Professors and all was very quiet for the Lord's Power was over all and in the Lord's time we broke up our Meeting and departed in peace The next day I went down to Guilford in Surrey Surrey Guilford Sussex Worminghurst and having visited Friends there I passed from thence to Worminghurst in Sussex where I had a very blessed Meeting among Friends and free from disturbance While I was there James Claypoole of London who with his Wife was there also was suddenly taken very ill with so violent a Fit of the Stone 1683. Worminghurst that he could neither stand nor lie but through the extremity of pain cried out like a Woman in Travel When I heard it I was much exercised in Spirit for him and went to him and after I had spoken a few words to him to turn his mind inward I was moved to lay my hand upon him and prayed the Lord to rebuke his Infirmity And as I laid my hand on him the Lord's Power went through him and through Faith in that Power he had speedy Ease so that he quickly fell into a sleep And when he awaked the Stone came from him like dirt and he was so well that the next day he rode with me five and twenty miles in a Coach though he used formerly as he said to lie sometimes two weeks sometimes a month with one of those Fits of the Stone But the Lord was intreated for him and by his Power soon gave him Ease at this time blessed and praised be his holy Name therefore Now after I had had some Meetings in Sussex and Surrey and had visited Friends there aways I returned to London by Kingston Kingston where I had a Meeting on the First-day of the second Month being the First-day of the Week also We were kept out of the Meeting-House by a Constable and Watchmen as before and so were fain to meet in the High-way But it being the Monthly-Meeting-day and many of the World's People being there the Meeting was pretty large and very quiet and the Lord's blessed Presence was amongst us blessed be his Name for ever London Wheel Meet Being come to London I went to the Meeting at Wheeler-street near Spittle-fields which that day proved very large For besides that there were more Friends there that day than usually there came also many Professors to the Meeting that day and a glorious blessed Meeting it was for the Lord's Power and Truth was over all and many deep and weighty things were opened to the People to their great Satisfaction I tarried now in and near about London visiting Friends Meetings and labouring in the Service of the Gospel until the Yearly-Meeting came on which began on the 28th of the third Month this Year It was a time of great Sufferings and much concerned I was lest Friends that came up out of the Countries on the Churches-Service should be taken and imprisoned at London But the Lord was with us and his Power preserved us and gave us a sweet and blessed Opportunity to wait upon him and be refreshed together in him and to perform those Services for his Truth and People for which we met Now inasmuch as it was a time of great Persecution and we understood by our Friends who came out of the several parts of the Nation that in most Counties Friends were under great Sufferings either by Imprisonments or spoilings of Goods or both a concern was weightily upon me lest any Friends that were Sufferers especially such as were Traders and Dealers in the World should hazard the losing of other mens Goods or Estates through their Sufferings Wherefore as the thing opened in me 1683. London I drew an Epistle of Caution to Friends in that Case which I communicated to the Brethren at the Yearly-Meeting and from thence it was sent forth among Friends throughout the Nation A Copy of which here followeth DEar Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ who is your only Sanctuary in this day of Storm and Persecution Spoiling of Goods and Imprisonments Let every ones Eye be unto him who has all Power in Heaven and Earth given unto him so that none can touch an hair of your head nor you nor any thing ye have except it be permitted or suffered in this day to Try his People whether their minds be with the Lord or in the Outward things And now Dear Friends take care that all your Offerings may be free and of your own that has cost you something so that ye may not offer of that which is another man's or that which ye are intrusted withal and not your own or Fatherless or Widows Estates but all such things ye may settle and establish in their places You may remember many years ago in a time of great Persecution there were divers Friends who were Traders Shop-keepers and others who had the Concerns of Widows and Fatherless and other Peoples Estates in their hands And when a great Suffering Persecution and Spoiling of Goods
well as Men. And Deborah was a Judge and a Prophetess and do not You make use of Deborah's and Miriam's words in your Service and Worship as you may see Judg. 5. v. 1 31. Deborah's large Speech or Song And Barak did not forbid her nor none of the Jewish Priests And did not she make this Speech or Song in the Congregation or Church of Israel And in the Book of Ruth there are good Speeches of those good Women which were not forbidden And Hannah prayed in the Temple before Ely and the Lord Answered her prayer And see what a Speech Hannah makes and a praising of God before Ely the High-Priest and he did not forbid her 1 Sam. 2. v. 1. to 10. And Josiah the King sent his Priest with several others to Ask Counsel of Huldah the Prophetess who dwelt at Jerusalem in the Colledge 2 King 22.14 2 Chron. 34.22 So here the King and his Priests did not despise the Counsel of this Prophetess and she did prophesie to the Congregation of Israel as may be seen in these Chapters And in Luke 1.41 to 55. there see what a godly Speech Elizabeth made to Mary and what a large godly Speech Mary made also And Mary said That the Lord did regard the Low Estate of his Hand-maid c. And don't you make use in your Worship and Service of Mary's and Elizabeth's words from Luke 2.41 to 55. who were holy Women in your Churches and yet forbid Womens speaking in your Churches and to be in silence yet all sorts of Women speak in your Churches when they sing and say Amen And in Luke the second there was one Anna a Prophetess she was a Widow of about fourscore and four years which departed not from the Temple but served God with Fasting and Prayer night and day Did not she Confess Christ Jesus in the Temple and gave thanks to the Lord and spake of Christ to all that looked for Redemption in Jerusalem Luke 2.36 37 38. So such holy Women were not forbidden to speak in the Church neither in the Law nor Gospel And was it not Mary Magdalen and other Women that first preached Christ's Resurrection to the Apostles The Woman indeed namely Eve was first in Transgression and so they were Women that first preacht the Resurrection of Christ Jesus for Christ said to Mary c. Go to my Brethren and say unto them I Ascend unto my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God John 20.17 And Luke 24.10 it was Mary Magdalen and Johanna and Mary the Mother of James and other Women that were with them which told the Apostles that Christ was risen from the dead and their words and these Womens words were as Idle Tales to the Apostles and they believed them not Ibid. vers 11. And vers 22. Certain Women also of our Company made us astonished they said So here it may be seen that the Womens preaching the Resurrection of Christ did Astonish the Apostles and Christ sent these Women to preach his Resurrection so it is no shame for such Women to preach Christ Jesus neither were they to be silent when Christ sends them And the Apostle says Every Tongue shall Confess to God Rom. 14.11 and Every Tongue shall Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father Philip. 2.11 So Here 't is Clear that Women must Confess Christ as well as men if Every Tongue must Confess And the Apostle saith There 's neither Male nor Female for ye are all one in Christ Jesus Gal. 3.28 And whereas 't is said Women must ask their Husbands at home c. Now the Duke knows very well Virgins have no Husbands nor Widows for Anna the Prophetess was a Widow And if Christ be the Husband Men must ask Counsel of him at home as well as Women before they Teach And set the Case that a Turk's Wife should be a Christian or a Papist's Wife should be a Lutheran or a Calvinist must they Ask and Learn of their Husbands at home before they confess Christ Jesus in the Congregation of the Lord Their Counsel will be to them to turn Turks or Papists I Intreat the Duke to Consider these things And again I Intreat him to mind God's Grace and Truth in his heart that is come by Jesus that by his Spirit of Grace and Truth he may come to serve and worship God in his Spirit and Truth so that he may serve the Living Eternal God that made him in his Generation and have his Peace in Christ that the World cannot take away And I do desire his Good Peace and Prosperity in this World and his Eternal Comfort and Happiness in the World that is Everlasting without End Amen London the 26th of the 8th Month 1684. G. F. Besides the fore-going I writ also Epistles to Friends one of which the following is a Copy FRiends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom you have all life peace and salvation Walk in him who is your heavenly Rock and Foundation that stands sure who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given unto him So his Power is over all And let your Faith stand in his Power which is over all from everlasting to everlasting and so is over the Devil and his power that in the holy heavenly Wisdom of God ye may be all preserved and kept to God's glory out of all snares and temptations so that God's Wisdom may be justified of all his Children in this day of his power and they all may be faithful serving and worshipping God in his Spirit and Truth and valiant for it upon the Earth For as the Apostle saith They that believe are entred into their rest and have ceased from their own works as God did from his Now this Rest is an Eternal Rest in Christ the Eternal Son of God in whom every true Believer hath everlasting Life in Christ Jesus their Rest and everlasting Day For Christ the Rest bruiseth the Serpent's head and through Death destroyeth Death and the Devil the power of Death and his works And he is the eternal Rest that giveth eternal Life to his Sheep And Christ fulfilleth the Prophets and all the Figures Shadows and Ceremonies as in the Old Testament and all the Promises are Yea and Amen in Christ their and our Eternal Rest who was the Eternal Rest to all the true Believers in the Apostles days and ever since and is so now And Christ is the Beginning and the Ending the First and Last who is ascended above all Principalities Powers Thrones and Dominions that he might fill all things For by Jesus Christ all things were made and created whether they be things in Heaven or things in the Earth and he is the eternal Rest and they that believe are entred into Christ their Eternal Rest in whom they have as I said before Eternal Life and peace with God Wherefore I say again in him who is your Rest live and abide for in
him ye are happy and his Blessings will rest upon you God Almighty keep and preserve you all his true Believers in Christ your Rest and Peace this day Amen London the 18th of the 12th Month 1684 5. G. F. About a Month after this I got a little out of London visiting Friends first at South-street then at Ford-Green and Enfield where I had Meetings South-street Ford-green Enfield Waltham-Abbey Enfield Edmunton side and afterwards I went to Waltham-Abbey and was at the Meeting there on a First-day which was very large and peaceable Then returning through Friends at Enfield and about Edmunton-side I came back to London in the Third Month to Advise with and Assist Friends in laying Friends Sufferings before the Parliament then sitting and we drew up a short Account of our Sufferings which we caused to be printed and spread amongst the Parliament-men London Yearly-Meeting The Yearly-Meeting now coming on I was much concerned for the Friends that came up to it out of the Countries lest they should meet with any Trouble or Disturbance in their Passages up or down and the rather for that about this time there began to be great bustles in the Nation upon the Duke of Monmouth's landing in the West But the Lord according to his wonted goodness was graciously pleased to preserve and keep Friends in safety and gave us a blessed Opportunity to Meet together in peace and quietness and accompanied our Meeting with his living refreshing Presence blessed for ever be his holy Name Now considering the Hurries and Bustles that were in the Nation it came upon me at the Close of this Meeting to write a few Lines to Friends to Caution all to keep out of the Spirit of the World in which the Trouble is and to dwell in the peaceable Truth Wherefore I writ as followeth Dear Friends and Brethren WHom the Lord hath called and chosen in Christ Jesus your Life and Salvation in whom ye have all rest and peace with God The Lord God by his mighty Power which is over all hath preserved you and supported you to this day to be a peculiar holy People to himself so that by his Eternal Spirit and Power ye might be all preserved and kept out of the World for in the World is the Trouble And now in this great Day of the Lord God Almighty he is shaking the Heavens and the Earth of outward Professions and their Elements are in a heat and their Sun and their Moon are darkened and the Stars falling and the Mountains and Hills shaking and tottering as it was among the Jews in the Day of Christ's appearing And therefore all Dear Friends and Brethren dwell in the Seed Christ Jesus who is the Rock and Foundation 1685. London that cannot be shaken that ye may see with the Light and Spirit of Christ that ye are the fixed Stars in the âirmament of God's Power and in this his Power and Light you 'l see over all the wandring Stars and Clouds without water and Trees without fruit And that which may be shaken will be shaken as will all they that are wandred from the Firmament of God's Power Now Dear Friends and Brethren you that are redeemed from the Death and Fall of Adam by Christ the second Adam in him ye have Life Rest and Peace for Christ saith In me ye shall have Peace but in the World Trouble And the Apostle saith They that believe are entred into their Rest namely Christ who hath overcome the World who bruiseth the Serpent's Head and destroys the Devil and his Works and fulfils the Types Figures and Shadows of the Old Testament and the Prophets In whom the Promises are Yea and Amen who is the First and Last Beginning and Ending Yea and Amen who is the eternal Rest So keep and walk in Christ your Rest every one that have received him your Eternal Rest And now Dear Friends and Brethren whatever Bustlings and Trouble or Tumults or Outrages Quarrels and Strife should arise and be in the World keep out of them all and concern not your selves with them but keep in the Lord's Power and peaceable Truth that is over all such things in which Power ye seek the peace and good of all men And live in the Love which God hath shed abroad in your hearts through Christ Jesus in which Love nothing is able to separate you from God and Christ neither outward Sufferings Persecutions nor any outward thing that is below and without nor to hinder or break your heavenly Fellowship in the Light and Gospel and Spirit of Christ nor your holy Communion in the Holy Ghost that proceeds from the Father and the Son which leads you into all Truth And in this Holy Ghost in which is your holy Communion that proceeds from the Father and the Son you have fellowship with the Father and the Son and communion and fellowship one with another And this is it which links and joins Christ's Church or Body together to him the heavenly and spiritual Head and in Unity in his Spirit which is the Bond of Peace of all his Church and living Members in whom they have Eternal and Everlasting Rest and Peace in Christ and with God everlasting who is to be blessed and praised for ever Amen Now Dear Friends forsake not the Assembling of your selves together who are gathered in the Name of Jesus who is your Prophet that God has raised up in the New Testament to be heard in all things who opens to you and no man can shut and shuts and no man can open Who is your Priest made higher than the Heavens by the Power of an endless Life by him you are made a Royal Priesthood to offer up to God spiritual Sacrifice Who is the Bishop of your Souls to oversee you that ye do not go astray from God Who is the good Shepherd that hath laid down his Life for his Sheep and they hear his voice and follow him and he gives to them eternal Life And now Dear Friends and Brethren abide in Christ the Vine that ye may bring forth fruit to the glory of God And as every one hath received Christ walk in him who is not of the World that lies in wickedness so that ye may be preserved out of the Vain Fashions and Customs of the World which satisfie the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life which are not of the Father but are of the World that passes away And who joins to that which is not of the Father or encourages it draws the mind from God the Fathâr and the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore Let Christ rule in your hearts that your Minds Souls and Spirits may be kept and preserved out of the Vanities of the World both in their words ways and actions so that ye may be a peculiar People zealous of good works serving the Lord God through Jesus Christ in whom is life and may be a peculiar People to
Idolatry of the Jews who forsook the Lord and compares them to an Harlot And in Chap. 8. ye may see the Destruction threatned against the Jews for their Impiety and Idolatry In Chap. 9. also the Distress and Captivity of the Jews is threatned for their sins and Idolatry And again they are reproved and threatned for their Impiety and Idolatry Hos 10. And this was for forsaking the Lord and his Way and following the ways of their own Inventions and the Ways of the Heathen And doth not Isaiah say That the Lord would visit Tyre and that she should commit Fornication with all the Kingdoms of the World upon the face of the Earth and therefore the Lord threatned Destruction upon her Chap. 23. And in Chap. 57. you may see how the Lord reproved the Jews for their Whorish Idolatry and said Vpon an high and lofty Mountain hast thou set thy Bed even thither wentest thou up to offer Sacrifices Thou hast enlarged thy Bed and made a Covenant with them thou lovedst their Bed where thou savest it This was a Joining to the Heathens Religions Altars and Sacrifices and a forsaking the Lord's Altar and Sacrifices which he commanded in the Law And therefore that was committing Whoredom with the Heathen and a going into their Beds from the Living God that made them And now in the New Testament God having poured his Spirit upon all Flesh that by his Spirit all might come to be a Royal Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ All that err from the Spirit of God and rebel against it they are not like to offer spiritual Sacrifices to God and such their Sacrifice God doth not accept no more than he did the Heathens and the Jews who rebelled against his good Spirit that he gave them to Instruct them And ye may see in the 17th 18th and 19th Chapters of the Revelation the Punishment of the great Whore Babylon the Mother of Harlots and the Victory of the Lamb and how he calleth God's People out of Babylon For in her was found the Blood of the Prophets and of the Saints and of all that were slain upon the Earth But there ye may read her Judgment and her Downfal And this Whore are they that are whored from the Spirit of God and so from God and from his holy Worship in Spirit and Truth and from the pure undefiled Religion that keeps from the Spots of the World and from the new and living Way Christ Jesus and so are whored from the Spirit of God into false Religions Ways and Worships and so corrupted the Earth with her Abominations But her Judgment and Downfal is seen over whom Christ hath the Victory And the Marriage of the Lamb is come Glory to the Lord for ever And God's pure Religion and pure Worship in Spirit and Truth Christ hath set up as it was in the Apostles days Hallelujah G. F. London I soon returned to London but made no long stay there at this time my Body not being able to bear the Closeness of the City long together While I was in Town besides the usual Services of visiting Friends and taking care about their Sufferings to get them eased I Assisted the Friends of the City in distributing certain Sums of Money which our Friends of Ireland had charitably and very liberally raised and sent over hither for the Relief of their Brethren who suffered for the Testimony of a good Conscience here which Monies were distributed amongst poor suffering Friends in the several Counties in proportion according as we understood their Need. Before I left the City also I heard of a great Doctor that was lately come from Poland whom I invited to my Lodging and had a great deal of discourse with him And after I had informed my self by him of such things as I had a desire to know I writ a Letter to the King of Poland on behalf of Friends at Dantzick a Town belonging to him who had long been under grievous Sufferings A Copy whereof here follows To JOHN the Third King of Poland 1685. London Great Duke of Lithuania Russia and Prussia Defender of the City of Dantzick c. Concerning the Innocent and Afflicted People in scorn called Quakers who are now fed with Bread and Water in Bridewell of the aforesaid City under close Confinement where their Friends Wives and Children are hardly suffered to come to see them O King THE Magistrates of the City of Dantzick say That it is thy Order and Command that these Innocent and Afflicted People should suffer such Oppression Now this Punishment is Inflicted upon them only and alone because they come together in the Name of Jesus Christ their Redeemer and Saviour who died for their Sins and is risen from the dead for their Justification who is their Prophet whom God hath raised up like unto Moses whom they ought to hear in all things in this day of the Gospel and the New Covenant who went astray like scattered Sheep but now are returned to the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of their Souls 1 Pet. 2.25 Who has given his Life for his Sheep and they hear his Voice and follow him who leads them into his Pastures of Life John 10. And now O King I understand that thou openly professest Christianity and the great and mighty Name of Jesus Christ who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords To whom is given all Power in Heaven and in Earth who rules all Nations with a Rod of Iron Therefore O King it seems hard to us that any that openly confesses Christ Jesus yea the Magistrates of Dantzick do the same should Inflict those Punishments upon an Innocent and Harmless People by reason of their Tender Consciences only and alone because they come together to serve and worship the Eternal God who made them in Spirit and in Truth which worship Christ Jesus has set up Sixteen hundred years ago as we read in John 4.23 24. Therefore I beseech the King that he would Consider Whether Christ in the New Testament ever gave such a Command to his Apostles that they should shut up any in Prison and feed them with Bread and Water who was not Conformable in every particular to their Religion Faith and Worship Or where did the Apostles exercise such things in the true Church after Christ's Ascension For is not this the Doctrine of Christ and the Apostles that Christ's Followers should Love their Enemies and pray for them that hate them and persecute and despitefully use them Matth. 5. And now Is it not a shame to Christendom among the Turks and others That one Christian should persecute another for the Doctrine of Faith Worship and Religion And they cannot prove that Christ ever gave them such a Command whom they profess to be their Lord and Master For Christ says that his Believers and Followers should love one another and by this they shall be known to be his Disciples And did not Christ
Members of Christ Jesus of which he is the Spiritual Head Rock and Foundation And in the midst of his Church of living Members Christ exercises his Spiritual Prophetical Office to open to them the Mysteries of his Kingdom And is a Spiritual Bishop to oversee them that they do not go astray from the living God that made them and a Shepherd that feeds them with Bread and Water of Life from Heaven and none is able to pluck his Sheep out of his hands and he is a Priest that died for them and sanctifieth them and presents them to God who ruleth in their Hearts by the Divine Faith which he is the Author and Finisher of And his living Members do praise God through Jesus Christ in whom they have Life and Salvation who reconciles them to God that they can say they have Peace with God through Jesus Christ and so praise God through him that was dead and is alive again and reigns over all and liveth for evermore blessed for ever Hallelujah Amen! Greet one another with an holy Kiss of Charity and this Kiss of Charity is above all the Kisses of the World for Love and Charity beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things and endures all things It envieth not and Charity vaunteth not it self nor is puffed up nor doth it behave it self unseemly It rejoices not in Iniquity but rejoices in the Truth And Charity is not easily provoked and thinks no Evil but suffereth long and is kind And Charity never faileth I say Greet one another with this holy Kiss of Charity and Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus your Life and Salvation The 30th of the 3d Month 1686. G. F. I remained for the most part of this Year in London save that sometimes I got out to Bednal-Green for a Night or two Bednal-Green Enfield Chiswick and some times went as far as Enfield and thereabouts amongst Friends and once or twice to Chiswick where an Ancient Friend had set up a School for the Educating of Friends Children in all which places I found Service for the Lord. London And when I was at London I spent my time amongst Friends either in Publick Meetings as the Lord drew me or visiting Friends that were not well and in looking after the Sufferings of Friends For though very many Friends were released out of Prisons yet some remained Prisoners still for Tithes c. and Sufferings of several sorts lay heavy yet on Friends in many places Yet inasmuch as many Friends that had been Prisoners were now set at Liberty I felt a Concern upon me that none might look too much at Man but might Eye the Lord therein from whom deliverance comes Wherefore I writ an Epistle to Friends and sent it abroad to be read amongst them as followeth Friends THE Lord by his Eternal Power hath opened the heart of the King to open the Prison-doors by which about Fifteen or Sixteen hundred are set at Liberty and hath given a Check to the Informers so that in many places our Meetings are pretty quiet So my desires are that both Liberty and Sufferings all may be sanctified to his People and Friends may prize the Mercies of the Lord in all things and to him be thankful who stilleth the Raging Waves of the Seas and allayeth the Storms and Tempests and maketh a Calm And therefore it is good to trust in the Lord and cast your Care upon him who careth for you For when ye were in your Gaols and Prisons Then the Lord did by his Eternal Arm and Power uphold you and sanctified them to you and unto some he made them as a Sanctuary and tried his People as in a Furnace of Affliction both in Prisons and spoiling of Goods And in all this the Lord was with his People and taught them to know that The Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness thereof 1686. London and that he was in all places who crowneth the year with his goodness Psal 65. Therefore let all God's People be diligent and careful to keep the Camp of God holy pure and clean and to serve God and Christ and one another in the glorious peaceable Gospel of Life and Salvation which Glory shines over God's Camp and his great Prophet and Bishop and Shepherd is among or in the midst of them exercising his heavenly Offices in them so that you his People may Rejoice in Christ Jesus through whom you have Peace with God For he that destroyeth the Devil and his Work and bruises the Serpent's Head is all God's Peoples heavenly Foundation and Rock to build upon which was the holy Prophets and Apostles Rock in days past and is now a Rock of our Ages which Rock and Foundation of God standeth sure And upon this the Lord God establish all his People Amen London the 25th of the 7th Month 1686. G. F. Divers other Epistles and Papers relating to Friends and Truth I writ this Year whereof one was by way of Exhortation to Friends to keep in Vnity in the Truth in which there is no Division nor Separation And thus it was DEar Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom ye have all Peace and Life and in him there is no Division nor Schism nor Rent nor Strife nor Separation for Christ is not divided and there can be no Separation in the Truth nor in the Light Grace Faith and Holy Ghost but Unity and Fellowship and Communion For the Devil was the first that went out of the Truth and separated from it and tempted Man and Woman to disobey God and to go from the Truth into a false Liberty to do that which God forbad And so it is the Serpent now that leads Men and Women into a false Liberty even the God of the World from which Man and Woman must be separated by the Truth that Christ the Truth may make them free and then they are free indeed And then they are to stand fast in that Liberty in which Christ hath made them free and in him as I said before there is no Division nor Schism nor Rent nor Separation but Peace and Life and Reconciliation to God and to one another So that in Christ Male and Female are all one for whether they be Male or Female Jew or Gentile Bond or Free they are all one in Christ And there can be no Schism Rent or Division in him nor in the Worship of God in his holy Spirit and Truth nor in the pure and undefiled Religion that keeps from the Spots of the World nor in the Love of God that beareth and endureth all things nor in the Word of God's Grace for it is pure and endureth for ever Many you see have lost the Word of Patience and the Word of Wisdom that is pure and peaceable and gentle and easie to be intreated Then they run into the Wisdom that is below that is earthly sensual and devilish and very uneasie to be intreated And they
of the Land of Egypt for before that time the Lord had not given to Man and Woman his outward Sabbath-day to keep neither in the Old World nor after in Abraham's time nor in Isaac's nor in Jacob's time until the Jews came out of Egypt to Mount Sina in the Wilderness And then there the Lord gave the Law and his Sabbath as a Sign in the Old Covenant of Christ the Eternal Rest in the New Covenant and they that believe do enter into Christ their Rest. Adam the first Man is the Root from whence we all spring naturally And Christ is called the last or second Adam because he is the Beginning and Root of all them that are spiritual The first Adam was made a living Soul And Christ the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit Christ by the Grace of God tasted death for every Man that they might all come into Favour with God and that every Tongue should Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father I writ also a Paper there Concerning the Two Seeds distinguishing the Seed wherein the Blessing is received from the Seed which the Curse remains upon Of that Paper the following is a Copy THE Lord said to Abraham In thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed Gen. 22.18 And thy Seed shall be as the Stars of Heaven and as the Sand which is upon the Sea-shore and as the Dust of the Earth that cannot be numbred Chap. 13.16 and 15.5 and 22.17 Now in this Seed all Nations and Families of the Earth are blessed but not in the Seed of Evil Doers and of Falshood nor in the Seed of the Adulterer and the Whore Isa 1.4 and 57.3 4. for the Seed of the Wicked shall be cut off 1687. Kingston saith the Lord Psal 37.28 The Lord said to David That his Seed should endure for ever Psal 89.36 And again it is said Psal 102.28 The Children of thy Servants shall continue and their Seed shall be established before thee Now ye may see that here is a Distinction betwixt the Two Seeds for the Seed of Evil Doers and of the Adulterer and Whore and of the Wicked shall be Cut off and so it is not blessed But Christ bruises the Head of the Serpent and his Seed which he soweth in them that do disobey and transgress God's Command and rebel against God's good Spirit This Wicked Seed of the Serpent is Curst and is an Enemy to the Seed in whom all are blessed But Christ bruises the Head of this cursed Seed of Enmity and destroys the Devil and his Works and in his Seed are all blessed and all are in Unity in this Seed And all the Children of the Seed are the Children of the Kingdom of God and of Christ and are blessed with faithful Abraham and who are of the saving divine precious Faith are of Abraham and walk in the Steps of the Seed and Faith of Abraham and are blessed with him yea all Nations and all the Families of the Earth And the Lord said to Abraham Thy Seed shall be a stranger in a Land that is not theirs and shall serve them and they shall afflict them Four hundred years and that Nation whom they shall serve will I judge and afterwards shall they to wit God's Seed come out with great Substance Gen. 15.13 14. Here ye may see That which Afflicts God's Seed he will judge and did judge for he did destroy the First-birth of Pharaoh and overthrew him and his Host And an holy Man said Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a Seed or Remnant we had been as Sodom c. that is destroyed and burnt But in the Seed which destroys the Devil and his Works and bruises the Head of the Serpent and his Seed are all Nations and Families of the Earth blessed Christ according to the flesh was of Abraham and of David for he took not on him the Nature of Angels but the Seed of Abraham in which Seed all Nations and Families of the Earth are blessed And so they that are of his Seed are of the Generation of Christ and so are Flesh of his Flesh and Bone of his Bone Now all Nations and Families of the Earth must be in this holy Seed if they have the Blessings and are blessed And out of the Mouth of this Seed's Seed shall not God's Word depart but shall Remain and abide in the Mouth of this Seed's Seed in which they are blessed Isa 59.21 So it is not the First-birth's talking of the Words of Christ the Seed in whose Mouth the Word of God doth not abide that makes an outward Profession like the Jews that did kill and persecute the Prophets and crucified Christ the Seed and Substance of the Law and Prophets which the Jews professed in words but they denied Christ the Seed and Life And all the Christians so called that do profess the Scriptures in Words and are not in the Seed Christ they are in the Confusion and are like the Jews And so neither Jews nor Christians are blessed except they be in Christ the Seed of Life But though Christ is said to be of the Seed of David and of Abraham as his Generation is declared by Matthew and Luke yet Christ was not born of the Will of the Flesh nor of the Will of Man but of God For he was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and not by the Will of Man but by the Will of God born of the Virgin and supposed to be the Son of Joseph but was the Son of God and his Name was called Jesus because he should save his People from their sins and Emanuel God with us And Christ took not upon him the Nature of Angels but the Seed of Abraham as I said before and so was made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh and declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead Rom. 1.4 So the Generation of Christ is a Mystery And Christ saw his Seed or Word to grow up in his Disciples And Christ in you the hope of Glory the Apostle calls The Mystery which hath been hid from Ages and Generations but now is made manifest to the Saints or sanctified Ones Col. 1.26 27. Whom we preach warning every Man and teaching every Man in all Wisdom that we may present every Man perfect in Christ Jesus v. 28. For in Christ the second Adam all are made perfect and compleat and in Adam in the Fall all are deformed and made imperfect So out of Christ all Mankind are Imperfect and Deformed Let them paint and dress themselves with the Sheep's Clothing and with the Form of Godliness of the Prophets and Christ's and his Apostles Words never so much yet if Christ be not in them they are Uncompleat Imperfect Deformed Reprobates But the Apostle tells the Church of Christ Ye are compleat in Christ which is the Head of all
Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the World and this is the Victory that overcometh the World even our Faith ver 4. Were not these that were Born of God in the Kingdom of God And seeing John says Every one that doth Righteousness is born of God do not such see the Kingdom of God that stands in Righteousness and enter into it Peter in his first general Epistle to the Church of Christ saith As new-born Babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 And he tells them they were a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar People that they should shew forth the praises of him who had called them out of darkness into his marvellous light ver 9. And that as lively stones they were built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ ver 5. Did not these New-born Babes these lively Stones spiritual Houshold Royal Priesthood holy Nation and chosen Generation who were called out of darkness into Christ's marvellous light see and enter into his holy Kingdom being Heirs of the same who were Born again not of corruptible Seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 Pet. 1.23 And had not such an Entrance ministred to them into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ James in his general Epistle to the Church of Christ saith Hath not God chosen the poor of this World rich in Faith and Heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him James 2.5 The Apostle Paul saith God sent forth his Son made of a Woman c. to redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father Wherefore thou art no more a Servant but a Son and if a Son then an Heir of God through Christ Gal. 4.4 5 6 7. The same Apostle saith As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God And tells the Saints at Rome Ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The Spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the Children of God And if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with Christ if so be we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together namely with Christ Rom. 8.14 15 16 17. Now seeing they are the Sons of God that are led by the Spirit of God and the Spirit beareth witness unto their Spirit that they are the Children of God and Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with Christ Are not all these Children of God Heirs of the righteous glorious Kingdom of God and do they not see it and enter into it The Lord saith in Hosea 1.10 Where it was said unto them Ye are not my People there it shall be said unto them Ye are the Sons of the living God Did not this relate to the Gospel-days of the New Covenant see Rom. 9.26 And what the Lord said by the Prophet Jeremiah Ch. 31.1 the Apostle applies to the Gospel-days and says Be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the Unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty 2 Cor. 6.18 Are not these the Children that see and enter into the righteous Kingdom of God that seperate from that which is Vnclean and touch it not The Lord saith also by Isaiah I will say to the North Give up and to the South Keep not back Bring my Sons from far and my Daughters from the ends of the Earth Isa 43 6. Then doth not he bring them to his Kingdom of Glory that stands in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost And the Lord said to Job When the Morning-stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for Joy Job 38.7 Where did these Sons of God shout for joy Was it not in his Kingdom of Glory Christ saith The least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John Luke 7.28 And in Chap. 16.16 he says The Law and the Prophets were until John since that time viz. since the Law and the Prophets and John the Kingdom of God is preached and every Man presseth into it The good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom Matth. 13.38 And the righteous shall shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father ver 43. And Christ said unto his Disciples Vnto you it is given to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God Mark 4.11 And Christ lifted up his Eyes upon his Disciples and said Blessed be ye poor for yours is the Kingdom of God Luke 6.20 And the Apostles preached the Kingdom of God These were Born again that saw and knew the Kingdom of God preached it Christ said to his Disciples Fear not little Flock for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom Luke 12.32 And I appoint to you a Kingdom said Christ as my Father hath appointed to me Chap. 22.29 The Lord said He that overcometh shall Inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my Son Rev. 21.7 And John saith I have written unto you Young men because ye are strong and the Word of God abideth in you and ye have overcome the wicked One 1 John 2.14 And Christ by whom are all things is said To bring many Sons to Glory Hebr. 2.10 Christ said Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against Men for ye neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entring to goin Matth. 23.13 He also said Wo unto you Lawyers for ye have taken away the Key of Knowledge ye entred not in your selves and them that were entring in ye hindred Luke 11.52 Christ gives unto his Children the Keys of the Kingdom his Spirit but the Scribes and the Pharisees and the Lawyers great Professors who were erred from the Spirit like the great Professors in our Age that scoff at the Spirit and draw People from the Spirit of God within these shut up the Kingdom from Men and draw People from the Key of Knowledge and the Key of the Kingdom For no Man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God for the Things of God are spiritually discerned So the Spirit is the Key by which the Kingdom of God and the Things of God are revealed and discerned and known according to 1 Cor. 2.10 11 13 14. The Apostle names some in his Epistle to the Colossians and says These are my Fellow-workers unto the Kingdom of God Col. 4.11 And he tells that Church that God hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Chap. 1.13 So ye may see these
World John 18.36 And Christ is the Image of the Invisible God the First-born of every Creature For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist Col. 1.15 16 17. Here ye may see All things Consist by Jesus Christ and all things were Created by Christ and for him whether they be things in Heaven or things in Earth visible or invisible they were Created by him and for him yea Thrones Dominions or Principalities or Powers these were all created by him and for him So Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. 19.16 And the Prince of the Kings of the Earth Chap. 1.5 And out of his Mouth goes a sharp Sword with which he shall smite the Nations and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron As the Vessel of a Potter shall they be dashed in pieces who do not obey him who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords This is Christ by whom all things were made who doth rule the Nations who saith I am Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the Ending the First and the Last So he is over all Nations and above them all Now we must understand this Rod of Iron by which Christ who is the First and Last doth rule the Nations is a Figurative Speech of Christ who is Ascended into Heaven and is at the right hand of God yet all Power in Heaven and Earth is given unto him and All things were created by him and for him So then they are Christ's and he hath power over all things for all are his So as the Scripture saith By me Kings Reign and Princes decree Justice Prov. 8.15 But if they abuse his Power and do not do Justice as is decreed by Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the First and the Last they must feel and know the weight of his Rod of Iron by which he will rule such as abuse his Power and do not do Justice that is decreed by him who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him and rules in the Kingdoms of Men. Kingston the 11th Month 1687. G. F. Several other things I writ while I was now at Kingston for my Spirit being continually exercised towards God I had many precious Openings of Divine Matters and divers places of Scripture both in the Old Testament and in the New relating to a state of Regeneration and Sanctification c. were brought to my remembrance by the holy Spirit some of which I committed to writing and were as followeth THey that Touched the dead were unclean and were to be cleansed by the Water of Purification Numb 19. And they which touch the dead Doctrines or Faiths and let them in burden the pure and defile and make themselves unclean until the Spring of the Water of the Word do arise and wash and cleanse them for all the Dead in Adam in the Fall are Vnclean and they must be washed by Christ in his Blood and Water of Life who quickeneth and makes alive A Dwarf might not come near to Offer upon God's Altar but he might eat ot the holy Bread that he might grow Levit. 21.20 c. So the New-born Babes may eat of the Milk of the Word that they may grow thereby and increase And he that had any Blemish might not come near to Offer upon God's Altar neither might any thing be Offered upon God's Altar that had any Blemish or was Vnclean Lev. 21. And it is said The Vngodly shall not stand in the Judgment nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous Psal 1.5 But God standeth in the Congregation of the Mighty Psal 82.1 The Camp of God was to be kept Clean and Holy All that which was unclean or defiled was to be kept out of God's Camp in the Old Testament And in the New Testament all that is defiled and unclean must be kept out of God's Kingdom the new and heavenly Jerusalem that is from above All was to pass through the Fire even of those things that would bear the Fire and to be purified by Fire and Water before the People might come into God's Camp Numb 31. So all must be Circumcised and Baptised with the Holy Ghost and with Fire and be cleansed with the Blood of Christ and washed with the Water of the Word before they come into the Kingdom of God and into heavenly Jerusalem The Apostle Paul saith We know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our House which is from Heaven that mortality might be swallowed up of life 2 Cor. 5.1 2 4. Here is WE in the Earthly House of this Tabernacle which We are they that have received Christ and are become the Sons of God and New Creatures and Children of the Light that do believe in Christ's Light who have an Eternal House in the Heavens where Mortality is swallowed up of Life in which House from Heaven they will not groan And Peter said I think it meet as long as I am in this Tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me 2 Pet. 1.13 14. So Peter knew he must put off this Tabernacle shortly but as long as he was in it he did stir up the Saints to their duty in holiness that they might remember it after he was deceased The Apostle Paul saith The first Man is of the Earth Earthly mark Earthly 1 Cor. 15.47 And as we have born the Image of the Earthy we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly mark the Heavenly ver 49. And We have this Treasure in earthen Vessels c. 2 Cor. 4.7 And I live said he yet not I but Christ liveth in me Gal. 2.20 who is the Life of all God's People And Christ said to the Jews That the Dead are raised even Moses shewed at the Bush when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob for he is not the God of the Dead but of the Living for all live unto him Luke 20.37 38. So None of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die we are the Lord 's For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14.7 8 9. For all died in Adam and Christ by the Grace of God tasted death for every Man that they might come out of the death in Adam to
Amen London the 27th of the 3d Month 1689. G. F. Being much Wearied and Spent with being at many large Meetings 1689. Kingston and in much Business with Friends during the time of the Yearly-Meeting and finding my health much impaired thereby I went out of Town with my Daughter Rouse to their Country-house near Kingston and tarried there most of the remaining part of the Summer In which time I sometimes visited Friends Meetings at Kingston and writ divers things for the Service of Truth and Friends Amongst those things that I writ there one was an Epistle to Friends in Barbados and it was as followeth To all Friends in Barbados that are Convinced of God's Truth MY Desires are that ye may live and walk in his peaceable Truth and shew forth that ye are Children of the Light and of the Truth for the heavenly gentle and peaceable Wisdom is justified of her Children But Debate Strife Wilfulness and laying open one another's Nakedness and Weakness that is not heavenly Wisdom's Children's doing but Ham's nor from the Spirit of Christ nor such as bite and tear one another That 's from a devouring Spirit and not from the Spirit of Jesus which cloaths and covers that which is uncomely and can forgive And now my Friends you profess that Truth which is beyond all the World's ways therefore see that you do Excel them in the heavenly gentle Wisdom that is easie to be intreated for the Wisdom of the World is not easie to be intreated and sometimes will not be intreated at all And now pray see how you do excel the World in Wisdom in Vertue in Kindness in Love that is over hatred in Meekness and Lowliness and Humility and in Sobriety Civility and Modesty and in Temperance and Patience and in all that which is called Morality and Humanity which will not act any thing below Men or unmanly and to shew forth true Christianity and that ye are the Converted and Translated Believers in Christ dwelling in the Love of God that beareth all things and endureth all things and is not puffed up and envies not For they that be out of this Love of God and Christian Charity are nothing but as a tinkling Cymbal and a sounding Brass and are discontented Murmurers and Complainers full of Doubts Questions and false Jealousies Keep that Spirit out of the Camp of God for do not you read in the Scriptures both of the New and Old Testament that the End of such was Misery Therefore in the Love of God build up one another for Love edifies the Body of Christ and he commands his Believers to love Enemies and to love one another By this they are known to be the Disciples of Christ But to live in Envy Strife and Hatred is a Mark they are no Disciples of Christ For he that loveth not his Brother abides in Death and whosoever hates his Brother is a Murderer and ye know that no Murderer hath eternal life abiding in him But they that do love the Brethren are passed from death to life 1 John 3.14 15. And If a Man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a liar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen And this Commandment have we from God that he who loveth God loveth his Brother also Chap. 4.20 21. Therefore love one another for Love is of God and Hatred is of the Devil and every one that loveth is born of God and knows God Now all are Children of God by Creation and therefore in that state they are to love their Neigbours as themselves and to do unto all Men as they would have them do unto them Secondly God pouring his Spirit upon all Flesh or all Men and Women all that are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God and Heirs of God and Joint-heirs with Christ and so are in Fellowship in the Everlasting Gospel and so are in Vnity in the Spirit the Bond of Peace And they that go out of this Unity and out of the Bond of Peace and do not keep it they break the King of Kings Peace but they that keep in the Unity and Fellowship in the Spirit and walk in the Light have Fellowship one with another and with the Father and the Son So it is not every one that talks of the Light and talks of the Word and of Righteousness and talks of Christ and of God but he that Doth the will of God And therefore My Friends all strive to excel one another in Love and in Vertue and in good Life and Conversation and strive all to be of one Mind Heart and Judgment in the Spirit of God for in Christ all are one and are in peace in him The Lord God Almighty preserve you in him who is your holy Rock and Foundation that is heavenly and stands sure that ye may all be Valiant for the Truth upon the Earth and for the Lord and his glorious Name so that ye may all come to serve him in your Generation and in his New Creation in Christ Jesus Amen And now that you are come into so much Favour with the Magistrates and Powers that they let you serve the Office of a Constable c. without swearing or taking any Oaths hereby Christ's Doctrine and Command and his Apostle's is set up And therefore I desire that you may double your diligence in your Offices in doing that which is just and true and righteous so that ye may excel and exceed all them that are tied shack'led or bound by Swearing or Oaths to perform their Offices and you can do it at Yea and Nay so say and so do according to Christ's Doctrine and Command For Adam and Eve by disobeying the Command of God fell under Condemnation and they that disobey the Command of Christ in taking Oaths and Swearing go into Evil and fall into Condemnation Matth. 5. and Jam. 5. So my Love in the Lord is to you all Kingston upon Thames the 10th of the 5th Month 1689. G. F. I stay'd at Kingston till the beginning of the Seventh Month where not only many Friends came to visit me but some Considerable People of the World with whom I discoursed about the Things of God Then leaving Kingston I went to London by Water visiting Friends as I went Hammersmith and taking Hammersmith-Meeting in my way And having recovered some strength by being in the Country when I was come to London London I went from Meeting to Meeting labouring diligently in the work of the Lord and opening the Divine Mysteries of the heavenly things as God by his Spirit opened them in me But I found my Body would not long bear the City wherefore when I had travelled amongst Friends there about a Month Tottenham-High-Cross Winchmore-hill Enfield I went to Tottenham-High-Cross and from thence to Edward Man's Country-house near Winchmore-hill and to Enfield spending a matter of Three Weeks
time amongst Friends thereabouts and had Meetings at all those places Then being a little refreshed with being in the Country I went back to London where I tarried labouring in the Work of the Ministry till the middle of the Ninth Month at which time I went down with my Son Mead to his House in Essex and abode there all the Winter Essex Gooses During which time I stirred not much abroad unless it were sometimes to the Meeting to which that Family belonged which was about half a Mile from thence but I had Meetings often in the House with the Family and those Friends that came thither Many things also I writ while I was there some of which follow here One was an Epistle to the Quarterly and Yearly-Meetings of Friends in Pensylvania New-England Virginia Maryland the Jerseys Carolina and other Plantations in America And it was thus MY Dear Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ who by believing in his Light are become Children of his Light and of his Day my desires are that you may all walk in his Light and in his Day and keep the Feast of Christ our Passover who is sacrificed for us not with Old Leaven neither with the Leaven of Malice and Wickedness but let all that be purged out that ye may be a New Lump keeping the Feast of Christ our Passover with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth Therefore let no leavened Bread be found in your Houses nor in your Meetings nor in the Camp of God or Houshold of Faith which are the Houshold of Christ But all that sour old Leaven which makes Peoples hearts sour and to burn one against another all that must be purged out of the Camp of God and kept out For the Feast of Christ our Passover must be kept in the New Covenant with his heavenly unleavened Bread of Life The Jews in the Old Testament their Feast was kept with outward unleavened Bread And now in the New Testament in the Gospel-Day our Feast is to be kept with the heavenly unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth Therefore Friends I desire you seriously to consider and to keep this Feast which the Apostle directed the Church of Christ to keep Do not you see Christendom 1689. Gooses so called keep their Feasts with the leavened Bread of Malice and Wickedness which makes them so sour and their hearts to burn one against another that they have destroyed and do destroy one another about Religion Therefore all live in the love of God which keeps above the love of the World so that none of your Hearts may be choaked or surfeited with these outward Things or with the Cares of the World which will pass away But mind ye the World and the Life that is without end that ye may be heirs of it And Friends you should strive to Excel all both Professor and Prophane both in Morality Humanity and Christianity Modesty Sobriety and Moderation and in a good godly righteous Life and Conversation shewing forth the Fruits of the Spirit of God and that you are the Children of the living God and Children of the Light and of the Day and not of the Night And serve God in Newness of Life for it is the Life and a living and walking in the Truth that must Answer the Witness of God in all People that they seeing your good Works may glorifie our Father which is in Heaven Therefore be valiant for God's holy pure Truth and spread it abroad among both Professors and Profane and the Indians And you should write over once a year from all your Yearly-Meetings to the Yearly-Meeting here concerning your Diligence in the Truth and of its spreading and of Peoples receiving it both Professors and Profane and the Indians and concerning the Peace of the Church of Christ amongst your selves For blessed be the Lord Truth doth get ground in these Parts and many are made very loving to Friends and the Lord's Power and Seed is over all In which God Almighty keep all his People to his Glory Amen Gooses the 28th of the 11th Month 1689. G. F. While I was in the City I had a Concern upon my Spirit with respect to a Twofold Danger that attended some who profest Truth one was of Young Peoples running into the Fashions of the World and the other was of Old Peoples going into the Earth And that Concern coming now again weightily upon me I was moved to give forth the following Paper as a Reproof to such and an Exhortation and Warning to all Friends to beware of and keep out of those Snares To all that do Profess the Truth of God MY desires are that you may walk in Humility in it For when the Lord first called me forth he let me see That Young People grew up together in Vanity and the Fashions of the World and Old People went downwards into the Earth raking it together and to both these I was to be a stranger And now Friends I do see too many Young People that do profess the Truth 1690. Gooses do grow up into the Fashions of the World and too many Parents indulge them And amongst the Elder some are growing downwards and raking after the Earth Therefore take heed that you are not making your Graves while you are Alive outwardly and loading your selves with thick Clay Hab. â 6 For if you have not power over the Earthly Spirit and that which leadeth into a Vain Mind and the Fashions of the World and into the Earth though you have often had the Rain fall upon your Fields you will but bring forth Thistles Briars and Thorns which is for the Fire And such will become brittle peevish fretful Spirits that will not abide the heavenly Doctrine and the Admonitions Exhortations and Reproofs of the Holy Ghost or heavenly Spirit of God which would bring you to be Conformable to the Death of Christ and to his Image that ye might have Fellowship with him in his Resurrection And therefore it is good for all to bow to the Name of Jesus their Saviour and that all may Confess him to the Glory of God the Father For I have had a Concern upon me in a sense of the Danger of Young Peoples going into the Fashions of the World and Old Peoples going into the Earth and many going into a loose and false Liberty till at last they go quite out into the Spirit of the World as some have done Such their House hath been built upon the Sand on the Sea shore not upon Christ the Rock that they are so soon in the World again under a pretence of Liberty of Conscience But it is not a pure Conscience nor in the Spirit of God nor in Christ Jesus for in the Liberty in the Spirit there is the Vnity which is the Bond of Peace and all are one in Christ Jesus in whom is the true Liberty And this is not of the World for He is not of the World And
therefore all are to stand fast in him as they have received him for in him there is peace who is the Prince of Peace but in the World there is Trouble For the Spirit of the World is a Troublesome Spirit but the Spirit of Christ is a Peaceable Spirit and in it God Almighty preserve all the Faithful Amen Gooses the 1st of the 2d Month 1690. G. F. Another Paper that I writ while I was here was concerning the Ensign which Isaiah prophesied the Lord should set up for the Gentiles which I shewed was Christ. Of that Paper this which follows is a Copy THE Lord saith They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountain for the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea Isa 11.9 And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse which shall stand for an Ensign of the People to it shall the Gentiles seek and his Rest shall be glorious ver 10. And he shall reign over the Gentiles and in him shall the Gentiles trust Rom. 15.12 This Ensign is Christ which was prophesied of by the Prophet which Prophecy the Apostle who was a Minister to the Gentiles sheweth was fulfilled in the New Testament And in this Day of Christ Isaiah saith The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to Recover the Remnant of his People which shall be left from Assyria and from Egypt c. And he shall set up an Ensign for the Nations and shall assemble the Outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four Corners of the Earth ver 11 12. This is in the Day of Christ and his Gospel of Life and Salvation which is preached to every Creature under Heaven who Enlighteneth every Man that cometh into the World both Jews and Gentiles that by his heavenly divine Light they may see Christ their Ensign and Captain of their Salvation So Christ is one Ensign both to the Jews and Gentiles And Isaiah saith The Redeemer shall come to Sion c. Isa 59.20 And This is my Covenant with them saith the Lord my Spirit that is upon thee to wit Christ and my Words which I have put in thy Mouth shall not depart out of thy Mouth nor out of the Mouth of thy Seed nor out of the Mouth of thy Seed's Seed saith the Lord from hence-forth and for ever ver 21. Arise shine for thy Light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Chap. 60.1 And the Gentiles shall come to thy Light ver 3. And the abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee ver 5. the Sea is the World The Lord shall be thy everlasting Light ver 20. And Thou shalt call thy Walls Salvation and thy Gates Praise ver 18. And the Lord saith I will make the place of my Feet glorious ver 13. Heaven is his Throne and Earth is his Footstool Chap 66.1 And he that puts his trust in me saith the Lord shall possess the Land and shall inherit my holy Mountain Chap. 57.13 Which Mountain is Established above all the Mountains and Hills Isa 2.2 The Lord saith speaking of Christ I have put my Spirit upon him he shall bring forth Judgment to the Gentiles Isa 42.1 And he saith of him I will give thee for a Covenant of the People for a Light of the Gentiles To open the blind Eyes to bring out the Prisoners from the Prison and them that sit in Darkness out of the Prison-house I am the Lord that is my Name and my Glory will I not give to another neither my Praise to graven Images ver 6 7 8. So Christ the Light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen and the Gentiles are come to the Light of Christ and this Prophesie of Isaiah concerning Christ many of the Gentiles witness fulfilled that Salvation is come to the Gentiles Rom. 11.11 And God gave his Glory to his Son And Christ saith The Glory which thou gavest me I have given them namely his Believers and Followers that they may be one even as we are one John 17.22 Now here you may see how the Promises and Prophecies are fulfilled in Christ Jesus whom God hath given for an Ensign both to the Jews and Gentiles and the Captain of their Salvation and he doth enlighten every one that cometh into the World that with his heavenly divine Light they might see Christ the Lord from Heaven their Captain and Ensign and trust in him who is their Conqueror who bruises the Serpent's head and destroys the Devil and his Works And Christ and his Followers overcome the Dragon Beast and false Prophet And therefore all Jews Gentiles and Christians that come to believe in Christ are to stand to their Ensign Christ who is also the Captain of their Salvation who is above all Ensigns and Captains below For he is from above and therefore all are to trust in him for he is certain and able to save to the utmost c. and is the same Ensign and Captain to day as he was yesterday and so for ever the First and Last the Beginning and Ending and Lord of all Lords and King of all Kings upon the Earth and there is nothing certain to be trusted in below Christ Jesus who is from above You see in the Scriptures there were many Ways and Religions among the Heathen as there were many Sects among the Jews when Christ came And now there are many Sects or Religions among the Christians who believe from the Scriptures that he is come as the Jews believed he was to come But they that close their Eyes and stop their Ears to the Light of Christ they are not like to see Christ who hath enlightened them to be their Ensign and the Captain of their Salvation that see not with the heavenly Eye nor hear with the heavenly Ear to see and hear their heavenly Ensign and Captain of their Salvation to convert them and heal them that they might follow him and be of his holy Camp and be his heavenly Soldiers to whom he gives spiritual Arms and Armour the Helmet of Salvation the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Armour of Light and the Shield of Faith which will quench all the fiery Darts of Satan and give Victory and the Sword of the Spirit the Word of God which shall cut and hammer down and burn up all the Strong holds of Satan Also he cloatheth his Soldiers with fine Linnen white and clean his Righteousness and shooeth them with the everlasting Gospel of Peace the Power of God which Cloths and Shooes will never wax Old And all that are shod with the Everlasting Gospel the Power of God they will never wax Old but will stand all Storms and Tempests in the World And they that are shod with the Gospel the Power of God can in it tread upon Serpents Vipers and Scorpions and all the venemous Beasts upon the Earth and all the Thorns Briars Brambles
Thistles and sharp Rocks and Mountains and never be hurt nor never wear out their Shooes but their Feet are always beautiful upon the Mountains Moses a Captain the Servant of the Lord said unto the People of Israel I have led you forty years in the Wilderness your Cloths are not waxen old upon you and thy Shooe is not waxen old upon thy foot Deut. 29.5 Here ye may see the Jews in the Old Testament their Cloths and their Shooes did not wax old But they who are Christ's followers whom he shooeth with his Everlasting Gospel of Peace and Cloatheth with his fine Linnen his Righteousness and Arms with his Arms and Armour they are cloathed shod and armed with that which will never decay nor wax old nor canker nor rust nor corrupt nor grow blunt Now all whether Christians or Jews or Gentiles that hate the Light of Christ and close their Eyes and stop their Ears to it are not like to see Christ their Ensign and Captain of their Salvation but are blind And as there is no outward Captain would List a Company of blind and deaf men and cloath and arm them with outward Armour so such as are blind and deaf whose Eyes are closed and Ears stopped to the heavenly Light of Christ he is not like to cloath them with his fine Linnen and arm them with his heavenly and spiritual Armour nor are they like to be spiritually and heavenly disciplined and to see and know his holy and spiritual living Camp nor to follow him while they are deaf and blind and hate his Light which is the Life in Christ the heavenly Ensign and Captain of their Salvation For it is the Light that shines in the heart which gives the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus who is the Ensign and Captain of Mens Salvations and who hath brought and doth bring many Sons unto glory Praises Honour and Glory be unto the Lord over all who liveth for ever Amen Gooses the 14th of the 2d Month 1690. G. F. London A Week after this I return'd to London and after a little stay there Kingston went down to visit Friends at Kingston where I stay'd not long London but came back to London and remained there in the Lord's work Yearly-Meeting till after the Yearly-Meeting which was in the Fourth Month this Year in which the wonted Goodness of the Lord was witnessed and his blessed Presence enjoyed and his heavenly Power livingly felt opening the hearts of his People unto him and his Divine Treasures of Life and Wisdom in and unto them whereby many useful and necessary things relating to the safety of Friends and to the honour and prosperity of Truth were weightily treated of and unanimously concluded After the Meeting was over I writ the following Paper to Friends to be added to the Epistle which from the Yearly-Meeting was sent into the several Counties ALL Friends every where that are alive to God through Jesus Christ and are living Members of Christ the holy Head Be still and stand still in the Lord's Camp of Holiness and Righteousness and therein see the Salvation of God and your Eternal Life Rest and Peace and in it you may feel and see the Lord's Power is over all and how the Lord is at work in his Power and ruling the Nations with his Rod of Iron and is breaking in the Nations the old leaky Vessels and Cisterns to pieces like the Potter's Vessels that will not hold his living Water of Life who are erred from the Spirit But blessed be the Lord God of Heaven and Earth 1690. London Yearly Meeting who by his Eternal Arm and Power hath settled all his People upon the living holy Rock and Foundation that stands sure whom he hath drawn by his Spirit to his Son and gathered them into the Name of Jesus Christ his only begotten Son full of Grace and Truth who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him Whose Name is above every Name under the whole Heaven and all his living Members know there is no Salvation given by any other Name under the whole Heaven but by the Name of Jesus and he their Salvation and their living Head is felt in the midst of them in his Light Life Spirit Grace and Truth and his Word of Patience Wisdom and Power who is his People's Prophet that God hath raised up in his New Testament and Covenant to open to them and their living Shepherd that hath purchased redeemed and bought them with his precious Blood And Christ the living One feeds his living Sheep in his living Pastures of Life and his living Sheep know their living Shepherd's voice with his living Bread and Water and follow him and will not follow any of the World's Hirelings nor Thieves nor Robbers nor Climbers that are without Christ the Door And likewise Christ's living Children know Christ the Bishop of their Souls to oversee them with his heavenly and spiritual Eye that they may be preserved in his Fold of Life and go no more forth And also they know Christ their holy Priest that by the Grace of God tasted Death for them and for every Man and is a Propitiation for their Sins and not for their Sins only but for the Sins of the whole World and by the one Offering up of himself he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified And such an High-Priest becomes Christ's Sheep in his New Covenant and Testament who is holy and harmless and separate from sinners and is made higher than the Heavens who is not made a Priest after the Order of Aaron with his Tithes Offerings c. but he makes an end of all those things and hath abolished them and is made an High-Priest after the Power of an endless life who ever liveth to make Intercession for his People and is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God through him Who is the one holy Mediator betwixt God and Man and who sanctifies his People his Church that he is Head of and presents them to God without spot or wrinkle or blemish or any such thing and makes them an holy royal Priesthood to offer up spiritual holy Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ who is King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords in the Earth So an holy heavenly King who hath âall power in Heaven and Earth given to him and rules in all the hearts of his Sheep and Lambs by his holy divine precious Faith that is held in all the pure Consciences of his People which holy Faith Christ the holy One is the Author and Finisher of By which holy Faith all the Just live and in which holy divine and precious Faith all the Just and holy Ones have Unity and by it they do quench all the fiery Darts of Satan and by this holy divine and precious Faith they have access to the pure God in which they do please him And Christ
and Vnity and in him they are strong and in a full Perswasion and in him who is the First and Last they are in a heavenly Resolution and Confidence for God's Everlasting Honour and Glory Amen From him who is Translated into the Kingdom of his Dear Son with all his Saints a heavenly Salutation And salute ye one another with a holy Kiss of Charity that never faileth G. F. Ford Green the 25th of the 9th Month 1690. Another Epistle I writ soon after more particularly to the Friends in the Ministry that were gone into America which was thus DEar Friends and Brethren that are Ministers and Exhorters and Admonishers that are gone into America and the Islands there-aways Stir up the Gift of God in you and the pure Mind and improve your Talents that ye may be the Light of the World a City set upon an Hill that cannot be hid and let your Light shine among the Indians and the Blacks and the Whites that ye may answer the Truth in them and bring them to their Standard and Ensign that God hath set up Christ Jesus For from the Rising of the Sun to the Going down of the same God's Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every Temple or sanctified Heart Incense shall be offered up to God's Name And have Salt in your selves that ye may be the Salt of the Earth that ye may salt it that it may be preserved from Corruption and Putrefaction so that all Sacrifices offered up to the Lord may be salted and seasoned and be a good Savour to God And all grow in the Faith and Grace of Christ that ye may not be like Dwarfs for a Dwarf shall not come near to Offer upon God's Altar though he may eat of God's Bread that he may grow by it And Friends Be not negligent but keep up your Negroes-Meetings and your Family-Meetings and have Meetings with the Indian Kings 1690. Tottenham and their Councils and Subjects every where and with others and bring them all to the Baptizing and Circumcising Spirit by which they may know God and serve and worship him And all take heed of sitting down in the Earth and having your Minds in the earthly Things Coveting and Striving for the Earth for to be carnally minded brings death and Covetousness is Idolatry There is too much Strife and Contention about that Idol which makes too many go out of the Sense and Fear of God so that some have lost Morality and Humanity and the true Christian Charity O therefore be awakened to Righteousness and keep awakened for the Enemy soweth his Tares while Men and Women sleep in Carelesness and Security Therefore so many slothful Ones go in their filthy Rags and have not the fine Linnen the Righteousness of Christ but are stragling and plowing with their Ox and their Ass in their woollen and linnen Garments mixt Stuff feeding upon Torn food and that dieth of it self and drinking of the dregs of their old Bottle and eating the sour leavened Bread which makes their hearts burn one against another But all are to keep the Feast of Christ our Passover with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth And this unleavened Bread of Life from Heaven makes all Hearts and Souls glad and joyful and lightsome and cheerful to serve and love God and to love and serve one another in the peaceable Truth and to keep in the Vnity of God's Spirit which is the Bond of the Lord of Lords and the King of all Kings his Peace In this Love and Peace God Almighty keep and preserve all his People and make them valiant for his Truth upon the Earth to spread it abroad both in Doctrine and good Life and Conversation Amen All the Members of Christ have need one of another For the Foot hath need of the Hand and the Hand hath need of the Foot The Ear hath need of the Eye and the Eye of the Ear. So that all the Members are serviceable in the Body which Christ is the Head of and the Head sees their Service Therefore let none despise the least Member And have a Care to keep down that greedy earthly Mind that raveneth and coveteth after the Riches and Things of this World lest ye fall into the low Region like the Gentiles or Heathen and so lose the Kingdom of God that is Everlasting But seek that first and God knows what things ye have need of who takes care for all both in Heaven and in the Earth Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gifts both Temporal and Spiritual Tottenham the 11th of the 10th Month 1690. G. F. Not long after this I returned to London and was almost daily with Friends at Meetings 1690. London And when I had been near Two Weeks in Town The sense of the great Hardships and sore Sufferings that Friends had been and were under in Ireland coming with great weight upon me I was moved to write the following Epistle as a Word of Consolation unto them DEar Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ whom the Lord by his Eternal Arm and Power hath upheld through your great Sufferings Exercises Trials and Hardships more I believe then can be uttered up and down that Nation which I am very sensible of and the rest of the faithful Friends that have been Partakers with you in your Sufferings and cannot but suffer with the Lord's People that suffer And my Confidence hath been in the Lord that he would and will support you in all your Sufferings and that he would preserve all the Faithful in his Wisdom that they would give no just Occasion to one nor other to make them suffer And therefore if that you did suffer wrongfully or unjustly the righteous God would assist you and uphold you and reward them according to their Works that opprest or wronged you And now my desire is unto the Lord that in the same holy and heavenly Wisdom of God ye may all be preserved to the End of your days to the Glory of God minding God Almighty's supporting Hand and Power who is God Al-sufficient to strengthen help and refresh in time of Need. And let none forget the Lord's Mercies and Kindnesses which endure for ever but always live in the sense of them And truly Friends when I consider the thing It is the great Mercy of the Lord that ye have not been all swallowed up seeing with what Spirits ye have been compassed about But the Lord carrieth his Lambs in his Arms and they are as tender to him as the Apple of his Eye And his Power is his Hedge about his Vineyard of heavenly Plants And therefore it is good for all his Children to be given up to the Lord with their Minds and Souls Hearts and Spirits who is a faithful Keeper that never slumbers nor sleeps but is able to preserve and keep you and to save to the utmost and none can hurt so much as an hair of your Heads except he suffer
it to try you for he upholds all things in Heaven and Earth by the Word of his Power All things were made by Christ and by him all things do consist mark consist whether they be Visibles or Invisibles c. So he hath power over all for all Power in Heaven and Earth is given to him and to you that have received him he hath given Power to become the Sons and Daughters of God so living Members of Christ the living Head and grafted into him in whom ye have Eternal Life And Christ the Seed reigns and his Power is over all who bruises the Serpent's Head and destroys the Devil and his Works and was before he was And so all of you live and walk in Christ Jesus so that nothing may be between you and God but Christ in whom ye have Salvation Life Rest and Peace with God As for the passages of Truth in this Land and abroad I do hear that in Holland and Germany and there-aways Friends are in Love Vnity and Peace And in Jamaica Barbados Mevis Antego Maryland and New-England I hear nothing but Friends are in Vnity and Peace The Lord preserve them all out of the World in which there is Trouble in Christ Jesus in whom there is Peace Life Love and Vnity Amen So my Love in the Lord Jesus Christ to all Friends every where in your Land as though I named them London the 10th of the 11th Month 1690. G. F. THus Reader hast thou had some Account of the Life and Travels Labours Sufferings and Manifold Trials and Exercises of this holy Man of God from his Youth to almost the time of his Death Of which himself kept a Journal out of which the foregoing Sheets were transcribed It remains that an Account be added of the Time Place and Manner of his Death and Burial Which were thus The next day after he had written the foregoing Epistle to Friends in Ireland be went to the Meeting at Gracious-street which was large it being on the First-day of the Week And the Lord enabled him to preach the Truth fully and effectually opening many deep and weighty things with great Power and Clearness After which having Prayed and the Meeting being ended he went to Henry Gouldney 's a Friend's House in Whitehart-Court near the Meeting house and some Friends going with him thither he told them He thought he felt the Cold strike to his heart as he came out of the Meeting yet added I am glad I was here Now I am clear I am fully clear As soon as those Friends that were with him were withdrawn he lay down upon a Bed as he sometimes used to do through Weariness after a Meeting but soon rose again and in a little time lay down again complaining still of Cold. And his Strength sensibly decaying he was fain soon after to go into Bed where he lay in much Contentment and Peace and very sensible to the Last And as in the whole Course of his Life his Spirit in the universal Love of God was set and bent for the exalting of Truth and Righteousness and the making known the Way thereof to the Nations and Peoples afar off so now in the time of his outward Weakness his Mind was intent upon and as it were wholly taken up with that And some particular Friends he sent for to whom he exprest his Mind and Desire for the Spreading Friends Books and Truth thereby in the World and through the Nations thereof Divers Friends came to visit him in his Ilness unto some of whom he said All is well The Seed of God reigns over all and over Death it self And though said he I am weak in Body yet the Power of God is over all and the Seed reigns over all disorderly Spirits Thus lying in an heavenly frame of Mind his Spirit wholly exercised towards the Lord he grew weaker and weaker in his natural Strength and on the Third day of that Week between the hours of Nine and Ten in the Evening he quietly departed this Life in Peace and sweetly fell asleep in the Lord whose blessed Truth he had livingly and powerfully preached in the Meeting but two days before Thus ended he his Days in his faithful Testimony in perfect Love and Vnity with his Brethren and in Peace and Good-will to all Men on the 13th day of the 11th Month 1690. being then in the 67th year of his Age. Vpon the 16th day of the same Month being the sixth of the Week and the Day appointed for his Funeral a very great Concourse of Friends and other People of divers sorts Assembled together at the Meeting-house in White-Hart-Court near Gracious-street about the middle time of the day in order to attend his Body to the Grave The Meeting was held about two hours with great and heavenly Solemnity manifestly attended with the Lord's blessed Presence and glorious Power in which divers living Testimonies were given from a lively Remembrance and Sense of the blessed Ministry of this Dear and Ancient Servant of the Lord his early Entring into the Lord's Work at the breaking forth of this Gospel-day his innocent Life long and great Travels and unwearied Labours of Love in the Everlasting Gospel for the turning and gathering many Thousands from Darkness to the Light of Christ Jesus the Foundation of true Faith his manifold Sufferings Afflictions and Oppositions which he met withal for his faithful Testimony both from his open Adversaries and from false Brethren and his Preservations Deliverances and Dominion in out of and over them all by the Power of God To whom the Glory and Honour always was by him and is and always ought to be by all Ascribed After the Meeting was ended his Body was born by Friends and accompanied by very great Numbers of Friends and other People to Friends Burying-Ground near Bunhill-Fields where after a solemn Waiting upon the Lord and several living Testimonies borne recommending the Company to the Guidance and Protection of that Divine Spirit and Power by which this holy Man of God had been raised up furnished supported and preserved to the end of his Day his Body was decently committed to the Earth but his Memorial shall Remain and be Everlastingly Blessed among the Righteous An Epistle of Dear George Fox's which was writ with his own Hand and left Sealed up with this Superscription viz. Not to be opened before the Time which after his Decease being opened was thought meet to be printed being as followeth Viz. For the Yearly and Second-Days-Meeting in London and to all the Children of God in all Places in the World By and from G. F. This for all the Children of God every where that are led by his Spirit and do walk in his Light in which they have Life and Unity and Fellowship with the Father and the Son and one with another KEep all your Meetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus that be gathered in his Name by his Light Grace Truth Power and Spirit
and to God's Spirit and to the Grace and Truth in your hearts that comes by Jesus Christ that with it ye may search your hearts And so do not grieve nor vex nor quench God's good Spirit in your hearts and walk not despitefully against the Spirit of Grace nor turn from it into Wantonness and yet make a Profession of God and Christ in Words 1677. Amsterdam when your hearts are afar off and living in Pleasures and wantonly upon the Earth sporting your selves killing the Just and Crucifying to your selves Christ afresh and putting him to open shame And so dishonouring God and Christ and Christianity and making a Profession and a Trade of the Scriptures keeping People always Learning that they may be always paying Therefore Cease from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils and look unto the Lord all ye ends of the Earth and be saved for the Lord God of Heaven and Earth is come to teach his People himself by his Light Spirit Grace and Truth and to bring them off all the World's Teachers And God hath raised up Christ Jesus his Prophet whom People should hear and saith This is my beloved Son hear ye him and Christ saith Learn of me I am the Way the Truth and the Life and no Man comes to the Father but by me And there is no Salvation by any other Name under the whole Heaven but by the Name of Jesus who saith I am the good Shepherd and have laid down my Life for my Sheep and my Sheep hear my voice and follow me and will not follow the Hireling For Christ feeds them in the Pastures of Life that will never wither And God hath anointed Christ Jesus to preach if you will hear him and God hath given Christ for a Counsellor and a Leader if you will be Led and Counselled by him and God hath given Christ for a Bishop to Oversee you and a King to Rule you if you will be Overseen and Ruled by him And you that will not have Christ to Rule over you who never sinned nor Guile was found in his Mouth you may read his Sentence in the New Testament upon such And is not Christ a sufficient Teacher whose Blood was shed for you and tasted Death for every Man And doth not Christ say to his Ministers Freely ye have received freely give And the Apostle saith We covet no Man's Gold Silver or Apparel but Laboured with their Hands and kept the Gospel without Charge Have they that are called Ministers amongst you done the same and kept this Command of Christ Jesus Let them be Examined and Examine themselves And have you not trimmed your Outsides but look within with the Light and Spirit of Christ Jesus and see if your Insides be not black and foul For Christ Jesus who doth Enlighten every Man that cometh into the World with the Life in himself who is the Word he saith Believe in the Light that ye may become Children of the Light and with the Light ye may see all the Evil Deeds ye have done and all your ungodly Deeds that ye have acted and committed and all your ungodly Words you have spoken and all your ungodly Thoughts ye think that ye may turn from them and turn to Christ from whence the Light comes who is your Saviour and Redeemer who hath given you a Light to see your Sin and how that you are dead in Adam that with the same Light you may see Christ the quickening Spirit who makes you alive to God and saves you from your sin But if you hate the Light which is the Life in Christ the Prince of Life and Love the Darkness and the Prince of Darkness more than the Light or the Life in Christ whose Deeds be Evil and because it will Reprove you Christ tells you This Light will be your Condemnation John 3. And therefore be Warned now in your Day and while you have Time turn to the Lord and do not quench the Spirit of the Father by which he draws to his Son nor hate the Light of Christ for if you do you hate the Life in Christ and so remain under Condemnation from God and Christ with the Light who now speaks to his People by his Son as he did in the Apostles Days so the same God that was the Speaker by the Prophets to the Fathers and Speaker to Adam and Eve in Paradise And happy had Adam and Eve and the Jews and all Christians been if they had kept to this Speaker and not have followed the Serpent that false Speaker and his Instruments And now God is the true Speaker by his Son who bruises the Head of the Serpent the false Teacher who is the Head of all false Ways and false Prophets and false Churches and false Religions and Worships And so God and Christ is bringing People to the pure and undefiled Religion that will keep them from the Spots of the World and into the new and living Way Christ Jesus and to the Church in God which Christ is the Head of as he was in the Apostles Days and to worship God in the Spirit and Truth which Worship Christ set up above Sixteen hundred years since And therefore must all People come to the Grace and Spirit of Truth in their own hearts to know the God of Truth who is a Spirit and in the Spirit and Truth to worship and serve and honour and glorifie the Living God who is over all and Worthy of all Blessed for evermore Amen And ye Magistrates and Officers read this in all your Assemblies and cause all your Priests to read it in their Churches that they and you and all People may hear and fear the God of Heaven as you will Answer it at the Great and Terrible Day of Judgment and Vengeance of the Lord God Almighty And this is in Love to your Souls and for your Temporal and Eternal Good Amsterdam the 19th of the 7th Month 1677. G. F. 1677. Harlingen in Friezland An Epistle concerning true Fasting true Prayer true Honour and against Persecution and for the true Liberty in Christ Jesus To pag. 438 and that all may have a care that the Apostle hath not bestowed his Labour in vain upon you in your observing of Days Months Times Feasts and Years and of coming under the beggarly Elements and the Yoke of Bondage again and of bringing and forcing People into them WHere did ever Christ or his Apostles Command any Believers or Christians to observe Holy-Days or Feast-Days and let us see where it is written in the Scriptures of the New Testament in the Four Evangelists or the Epistles or the Revelation that ever Christ or his Apostles gave the Christians any such Command that they should observe the Time called Christmas or a Day for Christ's Birth or that they should observe the Time called Easter or Whitsuntide or Peter or Paul's or Mark or Luke's Days or any other Saints Day Now you that profess your selves to be
the Lord laid it upon me to write to both the great Turk and the King of Algier severally to Warn them both and the People under them to turn from their wickedness and fear the Lord and do justly lest the Judgments of God came upon them and destroyed them without Remedy But to the Algerines I writ more particularly concerning the Cruelty they exercised towards Friends and others whom they held Captives in Algiers Now when I had finished that Service and visited Friends in their Meetings at Kingston I went on further into the County and had Meetings amongst Friends in many places Worplesdon Guildford Eshing Capell Patchgate Worminghurst Bletchington Horsham Ifield Rygate Gaton c Kingston Hammersmith Battersea Wansworth Kensington Hendon London Edmunton Hartford as at Worplesdon Guildford Eshing Capell Patchgate Worminghurst Bletchington Horsham Ifield Rygate Gaton c. and so came back to Kingston again and from thence to Hammersmith And having spent some days in the Service of Truth amongst Friends at Hammersmith Battersea Wansworth and thereabouts I crossed over by Kensington to Hendon where I had a very good Meeting on the First-day of the Week And having spent about two Months time in this Journey went from thence to London When I had been about Ten days in London I was drawn forth again to visit Friends in the Country and went down to Edmunton to Christopher Taylor 's who kept a School in his House for the educating of Friends Children I had some Service here amongst the Youths and then went on towards Hartford visiting several Friends in the way At Hartford I met with John Story and some others of his Party but the Testimony of Truth went over them and kept them down so that the Meeting was quiet It was on a First-day of the week and the next day being the Mens and Womens Meeting for business I visited them also and the rather because some in that place had let in a Dis-esteem of them Wherefore I was moved to open the Service of those Meetings and the Usefulness and Benefit thereof to the Church of Christ as the Lord opened the thing in me and it was of good Service to Friends 1680. Hartford I had a Meeting also with some of them there that were gone into Strife and Contention to shew them wherein they were wrong and having cleared my self of them I left them to the Lord. Then after I had had another publick Meeting in the Town Waltham-Abby I returned towards London by Waltham-Abby where I had a publick Meeting on the First-day following and another with Friends in the Evening Next day I went to Christopher Taylor 's at Edmunton and stay'd there a day or two Edmunton having some things upon me to write which were for the Service of Truth When I had finished that Service Schacklewell I went to London by Shacklewell where was a School kept by Friends for the breeding up Young Maidens that were Friends Daughters I abode at London most part of this Winter London having much Service for the Lord there both in Meetings and out For as it was a time of great Sufferings upon Friends I was drawn forth in Spirit to visit Friends Meetings more frequently to encourage and strengthen them both by Exhortation and Example The Parliament also was sitting and Friends were diligent to wait upon them to lay their Grievances before them of which we received fresh Accounts almost every day of the sad Sufferings Friends underwent in many parts of the Nation In this Service of seeking Relief for my suffering Brethren I spent much time together with other Friends who were freely given up to that Service attending at the Parliament-House day by day for many days together and watching all Opportunities to speak with such Members of either House as would hear our just Complaints And indeed some of the Members of each House were very Courteous to us and appeared willing to help us if they could But the Parliament being then earnest in Examining the Popish Plot and contriving ways to discover such as were Popishly Affected our Adversaries took advantages against us because they knew we could not Swear nor Fight to Expose us to those Penalties that were made against Papists though they knew in their Consciences that we were no Papists and had had Experience of us that we were no Plotters Wherefore to clear our Innocency in those Cases and to stop the Mouths of our Adversaries I drew up a short Paper to be delivered to the Parliament which was as followeth IT is our Principle and Testimony to deny and renounce all Plots and Plotters against the King or any of his Subjects for we have the Spirit of Christ by which the have the Mind of Christ who came to save mens lives and not to destroy them and we would have the King and all his Subjects to be safe Wherefore we do declare that we will endeavour to our power to save and defend him and them by discovering all Plots and Plotters which shall come to our knowledge that would destroy the King or his Subjects This we do sincerely offer unto you But as to Swearing and Fighting which in tenderness of Conscience we cannot do ye know that we have suffered these many years for our Consciencious Refusal thereof 1680. London And now that the Lord hath brought you together we desire you to Relieve us and free us from those Sufferings and that ye will not put upon us to do those things which we have suffered so much and so long already for not doing for if you do ye will make our Sufferings and Bonds stronger instead of Relieving us G. F. About this time I received Two very envious Books written against Truth and Friends one of them by a Doctor so called of Bremen in Germany the other by a Priest of Dantzick in Poland They were both full of gross Falshoods and âad in them many reproachful Slanders I found it upon me to Answer them both and that I might not be over-much interrupted therein by other Business and Company I got out of London for a little while Kingston upon Thames and went down to Kingston upon Thames were I writ an Answer to each of them And also an Answer to some other Scandalous Papers which had been printed and scattered about to mis-represent Friends by While I was there I writ also the following Paper to perswade the Magistrates to Moderation towards Dissenters and take off their Edge to Persecution And because it should have its full Service I directed it To all the Rulers Magistrates and them that are in Authority and Law-makers in England Scotland and Ireland from the Highest to the Lowest and to all other Magistrates every where in that which is called Christendom Desiring their Health and Peace and Tranquillity and Life and Salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord of Glory and Lamb of God that takes away the Sins of the