Try and Prove without Partiality Now take heed of your Approving such as he disapproved for since the Apostles days such as he disapproved have had their Liberty and they have told us The Tongues were their Original and that they were Orthodox Men and that the Steeple-house with a Cross on the top of it was the Church the Papists Mass-house you may look on the Top of it and see the Sign But the Scriptures tell us All the Earth was of one Language before the Building of Babel And when Pilate crucified Christ he set the Tongues Hebrew Greek and Latin on the top of him And John tells us That the Beast had power over the Tongues Kindreds and Nations and that the Whore sits upon the Tongues of whose Cup all Nations have drunk and the Kings of the Earth have committed Fornication with her and John said The Tongues are Waters Christ gives marks to his Disciples and to the Multitude how to Try such as these that you are to Try They are called of Men Master they love the Chiefest Seat in the Assemblies they be Sayers but not Doers And said he They shall put you out of the Synagogues and seven Woes he denounced against them and so disapproved them Christ said False Prophets should come and John saw They were come for they went forth from them and since the World hath gone after them But Babylon must be confounded the Mother of Harlots and the Devil must be taken and with him the Beast and the false Prophet must be cast into the Lake of Fire for the Lamb and his Saints over all must reign and have the Victory The Lord God sent his Prophets of Old to cry against the Shepherds that sought for the Fleece Ezek. 34. and to cry against such Shepherds as seek for their Gain from their Quarter and never have enough Isa 5.6 and to cry against the Prophets that prophesied falsely and the Priests that bore rule by their Means which was the filthy and horrible thing Jer. 5. And if you would forbear to give them Means you would see how long they would bear Rule There was in the Old Time a Store-house for the Fatherless Strangers and Widows to come to and be filled and they did not prosper then who did not bring their Tithes to the Store-house But did not Christ put an end to that Priesthood Tithes Temple and Priests And doth not the Apostle say that the Priesthood is changed the Law is changed and the Commandment disannulled Might not they have pleaded the Law of God that gave them Tithes Have ever any of the Priests prospered that take Tithes since by the Law of Man Was not the first Author of them since Christ's time the Pope or some of his Church Did the Apostles cast Men into Prison for Tithes as your Ministers do now As Instance Ralph Hollingworth Priest of Phillingham for petty Tithes not exceeding six Shillings hath cast into Lincoln-Prison a poor Thatcher named Thomas Bromby where he hath been about Eight and Thirty Weeks and still remains a Prisoner And the Priest petitioned the Judge That the poor Man might not labour in the City to get a little Money towards his maintenance in Prison Is this a good Savour amongst you that are in Commission to chuse Ministers Is this glad Tidings to cast in Prison a Man that is not his Hearer because he could not put into his Mouth Can such as be in the fear of God and in his Wisdom own such things The Ministers of Christ are to plant a Vine-yard and then Eat of the Fruit to Plow Sow and Thresh and get the Corn and then let them Reap but not cast them into Prison for whom they do no Work Christ when he sent forth his Ministers bid them Give freely as they had Received freely and into what City or Town soever they came Inquire who were Worthy and there abide and what they set before you said He that Eat And when these came back again to Christ and he asked them If they wanted any thing They said No They did not go to a Town and call the People together to know How much they might have by the Year as these that are in the Apostacy do now The Apostle said Have I not power to Eat and to Drink But he did not say To take Tithes Easter-Reckonings Midsummer-Dues Augmentations and great Sums of Money But have I not power to Eat and to Drink 1655. London And yet he did not use that Power among the Corinthians But they that are Apostatized from him will take Tithes great Sums of Money Easter-Reckonings and Midsummer-Dues and cast them into Prison that will not give it them whom they do no work for The Oxe's Mouth must not be muzz'led that treads out the Corn But see if the Corn be trodden out in you and the VVheat be in the Garner This is from a Lover of your Souls and one that desires your Eternal Good G. F. Now after I had made some stay in the City of London and had given forth the several foregoing Papers and cleared my self of what Service lay upon me at that time there I was mov'd of the Lord to go down into Bedford-shire to John Crook's House Bedford-shire Luton where there was a great Meeting and People generally Convinced of the Lord's Truth When I was come thither John Crook told me that the next day several of those that were called the Gentlemen of the Country would come to dine with him and to discourse with me They came and I declared to them God's Eternal Truth Several Friends went to the Steeple-houses that day And there was a Meeting in the Country which Alexander Parker went to and towards the middle of the day it came upon me to go to it though it was several Miles from me John Crook went with me and when we came there there was one Gritton that had been a Baptist but he was gotten higher than they and called himself a Trier of Spirits He used to tell People their Fortunes and pretended to discover to People when their Goods were stollen or Houses broken up who the Persons were that did it by which he had gotten into the Affections of many People thereabout This Man was got into that Meeting and was speaking and making an hideous Noise over the Young-convinced Friends when I came in and he bid Alexander Parker give a reason of his Hope Alex. Parker told him Christ was his Hope but because he did not Answer him so soon as he expected he boastingly cried His Mouth is stopt Then this Gritton directed his Speech to me for I stood still and heard him and he spake many things which were not agreeable to Scripture I asked him Whether he could make those things out by Scripture which he had spoken and he said Yes yes Then I bid the People Take out their Bibles to search the Places he should quote for proof of his Assertions But he
to Prison some for Meeting to Worship God and soâ—â—e for not Swearing so that the Prison was very full And many of them being poor Men that had nothing to maintain their Families by but their Labour which now they were taken off from several of their Wives went to the Justices that had committed their Husbands to Jail and told them 1663. Lancaster Prison If they kept their Husband 's in Jail for nothing but the Truth of Christ and for good Conscience-sake they would bring their Children t them to be maintained A mighty Power of the Lord rose in Friends and gave them great Boldness so that they spake much to the Justices Friends also that were Prisoners writ unto the Justices laying the Weight of their Sufferings upon them and shewing them both their Injustice and waâ—t of Pity and Compassion towards their poor Neighbours whom they knew to be honest consciencious and peaceable People that in tenderness of Conscience could not take any Oath yet they sent them to Prison for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance Though several of them who were Imprisoned on that Account were known to be Men that had served the King in his Wars and had hazarded their Lives in the Field in his Cause and had suffered great Hardships with the loss of much Blood for him and had always stood faithful to him from First to Last and had never received any Pay for their Service and to be thus requited for all their Faithful Services and Sufferings and that by them that pretended to be the King's Friends was hard unkind and ungrateful Dealing At length the Justices being continually attended with Complaints of Grievances released some of the Friends that were Prisoners but kept divers of them still in Prison Amongst those that were then in Prison there were Four Friends Prisoners for Tithes who were sent to Prison at the Suit of the Countess of Derby so called and had lain there then near Two Years and an half One of these whose Name was Oliver Atherton being a Man of a Weakly Constitution was through his long and hard Imprisonment in a cold raw unwholsom place brought so low and weak in his Body that there appeared no hopes of his Recovery or Life unless he might be removed from thence Wherefore a Letter was written on behalf of the said Oliver Atherton to the said Countess and sent by his Son Godfrey Atherton wherein was laid before her the Reasons why he and the rest could not pay Tithes because if they did they should deny Christ come in the Flesh who by his coming had put an end to Tithes and to the Priesthood to which they had been given and to the Commandment by which they had been paid under the Law And his Weak Condition of Body was also laid before her and the apparent likelyhood of his Death if she did continue to hold him there that she might be moved to Pity and Compassion and also warned not to draw the Guilt of his Innocent Blood upon her self But when his Son went to her with his Father's Letter a Servant of hers abused him and pluck'd off his Cap and threw it away and put him out of the Gate Nevertheless the Letter was delivered into her own hand but she shut out all Pity and Tenderness and continued him in Prison till Death So when his Son came back to his Father in Prison and told him as he lay on his Dying-Bed that the Countess denied his Liberty he only said She hath been the Cause of shedding much Blood but this will be the heaviest Blood that ever she spilt and soon after he died Then Friends having his Body delivered to them to bury as they carried it from the Prison to Ormskirk the Parish wherein he had lived they stuck up Papers upon the Crosses at Garstang Preston and other Towns through which they passed with this Inscription This is Oliver Atherton of Ormskirk-Parish persecuted to Death by the Countess of Derby for good Conscience sake towards God and Christ because he could not give her Tithes c. Setting forth at large the Reasons of his refusing to pay Tithes the Length of his Imprisonment the Hardships he underwent her hard-heartedness towards him and the manner of his Death After his Death Richard Cubban another of the said Countess her Prisoners for Tithe writ a large Letter to her on behalf of himself and his other Fellow-Prisoners at her Suit laying their Innocency before her And that it was not out of Wilfulness Stubbornness or Covetousness that they refused to pay her Tithes but purely in good Conscience towards God and Christ and letting her know that if she should be suffered to keep them there till they every one died there as she had done their Fellow-Sufferer Oliver Atherton yet they could not yield to pay her And therefore desired her to consider their Case in a Christian Spirit and not bring their Blood upon her self also But she would not shew any Pity or Compassion towards them who had now suffered hard Imprisonment about two Years and an half under her but instead thereof she sent to the Town of Garstang and threatned to complain to the King and Council and bring them into trouble for suffering the Paper concerning Oliver Atherton 's Death to be stuck upon their Cross The Rage that she express'd made the People take the more notice of it and some of them said The Quakers had given her a Bone to pick. But she that regarded not the Life of an Innocent Sufferer for Christ lived not long after her self For That day three Weeks that Oliver Atherton 's Body was carried through Ormskirk to be buried she died and her Body was carried dead that day Seven Weeks through the same Town to her Burying Place And thus the Lord pursued the hard-hearted Persecutor Lancaster Assize As for me I was kept to the Assize and then Judge Turner and Judge Twisden coming that Circuit I was brought before Judge Twisden on the 14th day of the Month called March in the latter end of the Year 1663. When I was set up to the Bar I said Peace be amongst you all The Judge lookt upon me and said What! do you come into the Court with your Hat on Upon which Words the Jailer taking it off I said ' The Hat is not the Honour that comes from God Then said the Judge to me Will you take the Oath of Allegiance George Fox I said I never took any Oath in my Life nor any Covenant or Engagement Well said he will you Swear or no I answered I am a Christian and Christ commands me not to swear and so does the Apostle James likewise and whether I should obey God or Man do thou Judge I ask you again said he Whether you will Swear or no I answered again I am neither Turk Jew nor Heathen but a Christian and should shew forth Christianity And I asked him If he did not know that
Name of Christ depart from Iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 The Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels and then he shall reward every Man according to his Works Mat 16.27 He who is gone into a far Country and hath given the Talents to every one of you according to your several Ability will render to every Man according to his Deeds Rom. 2.6 And further I say unto you If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And if Christ be in you the Body is dead because of Sin but the Spirit is Life because of Righteousness Rom 8.9 10. So let the Light which cometh from Christ Examin for the Lord is appearing Ye that have received according to your Ability smite not your Fellow-servant and think not that the Lord delayeth the Time of his Coming Be not as they that said Let us Eat and Drink for to Morrow we shall die The Apostle tells the Ephesians that unto him this grace was given to make all Men see what is the Fellowship of the Mystery which from the beginning of the World hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ Eph. 3.9 Read and understand every one with the Light which comes from Christ the Mystery which will be your Condemnation if ye believe not in it This is to all who stumble at the work of the Spirit of God the manifestation of it which is given to every Man to profit withal Come ye Professors who stumble at it Let us read the Parables A Sower went forth to sow and some Seed fell on the High-way-ground and some on stony ground and some on thorny ground The Seed is the word the Son of Man is the Seeds-man He that hath an Ear let him hear Mat. 13. Now look all ye Professors which Ground ye are And what ye have brought forth And whether the wicked Seeds-man hath not got his Seed into your Ground He that hath an Ear let him hear it And come read another Parable of the Housholder hiring Labourers to go into the Vineyard and agreeing with every Man for a Penny Mat. 20. Every Man is to have his Penny the Last that went in as well as the First and the Last shall be First and the First shall be Last for many are called but few are chosen He that hath an Ear let him hear There is a Promise spoken to Cain that if he did well he should be accepted Gen. 4.7 And Esau had a Birth-right but despised it Yet is it not of him that willeth Rom. 9.16 but by grace ye are saved Ephes 2.8 And stand still and see your Salvation Exod. 14.13 And ye that be Children of Light put on the Armour of Light that ye may come into the Unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ that henceforth ye be no more Children tossed to and fro Eph. 4.13 And the Lord said he would make a new Covenant by writing his Law in People's Hearts and putting his Spirit in their inward parts whereby they should all come to know the Lord him by whom the World was made Now every one of you mind the Law written in your Hearts and this Spirit put in your inward parts that it need not be said to you Know the Lord but that ye may witness the Promise of God fulfilled in you But say the World and Professors If every one must come to witness the Law of God written in their Hearts and the Spirit put in the inward parts what must we do with all our Teachers As we come to witness that we need not any Man to Teach us to know the Lord having his Law written in our Hearts and his Spirit put in our inward parts This is the Covenant of Life the everlasting Covenant which decays not not changes not and here is the way to the Father without which no Man cometh unto the Father And here is the Everlasting Priesthood the End of the Old Priesthood whose Lips were to preserve Knowledge but now saith Christ Learn of me who is the High-Priest of the New Priesthood And saith the Apostle That ye may grow up in the Knowledge of Jesus Christ in whom are hid the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge So we are brought off from the Old Priesthood that did change to Christ to the New Priesthood that doth not change and off from the first Covenant that doth decay to the Everlasting Covenant that doth not decay Christ Jesus the Covenant of Light from whom every one of you have a Light that ye might believe in the Covenant of Light If ye do not believe ye are condemned for Light is come into the World and Men love Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds are evil I am come a Light into the World saith Christ that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in Darkness but have the Light of Life Joh. 12.46 And Believe in the Light that ye may be Children of the Light But ye who do not believe in the Light but hate it because it manifests your Deeds to be evil ye are they that are condemned by the Light Therefore while ye have Time prize it Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is nigh lest ye say Time is past for the Rich Glutton's Time was past Therefore while Time is not quite past consider and search your selves and see if ye be not they that hate the Light and so are Builders that stumble at the Corner-stone for they that hated the Light and did not believe in the Light did so in Ages past I am the Light of the World saith Christ and who doth enlighten every Man that cometh into the World and he also saith Learn of me and of him God saith This is my beloved Son hear ye him Here is your Teacher But ye that hate the Light do not learn of Christ and will not have him to be your King to reign over you him to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given who bears his Government upon his Shoulders who is now come to reign who lighteth every Man that cometh into the World and who will give to every Man a Reward according to his Works whether they be good or evil So every Man with the Light that comes from Christ will see his Deeds both he that hates it and he that loves it And he that will not bring his Deeds to the Light because the Light will reprove him that is his Condemnation and he shall have a Reward according to his Deeds For the Lord is come to reckon with you and he looks for Fruits and now the Ax is laid to your Root and every Tree of you that bears not good Fruit must be hewen down and cast into the Fire G. F. Having staid sometime in London and visited the Meetings of Friends in
me Many of them lived in the Country and he could not tell how to send to them I told him He might acquaint them about the Town of it and send to as many in the Country as he could So the next Day we Met at the Castle there being about fourscore People to whom I declared the Truth for about the space of two Hours And the Lord's Power was over them all so that they had not Power to open their Mouths in Opposition When I had done one of them asked me a Question which I was loth to have answered for I saw it might lead into Jangling and I was unwilling to go into Jangling 1657. Nottingham for some of the People were tender yet I could not tell how well to escape it Wherefore I answered the Question and was moved forthwith to speak to Rice Jones and lay before him How that he had been the Man that had scattered such as had been Tender and some that had been Convinced and had been led out of many Vanities of the World which he had formerly judged but now he judged the Power of God in them and they being simple turned to him and so he and they were turned to be vainer than the World for many of his Followers were turned to be the greatest Foot-ball-players and Wrestlers in the Country So I told him it was the Serpent in him that had scattered and done hurt to such as were Tender towards the Lord. Nevertheless if he did wait in the Fear of God for the Seed of the Woman Christ Jesus to bruise the Serpent's Head in him that had scattered and done the hurt by the Seed Christ Jesus he coming into him he might come to gather them again by this heavenly Seed though it would be an hard work for him to gather them again out of those Vanities he had led them into At this Rice Jones said Thou liest it is not the Seed of the Woman that bruises the Serpent's Head No! said I What is it then I say it is the Law said he But said I the Scripture speaking of the Seed of the VVoman saith It shall bruise thy Head and thou shalt bruise his Heel Now hath the Law an Heel said I to be bruised Then Rice Jones and all his Company were at a stand and I was moved in the Power of the Lord to speak to him and say This Seed Christ Jesus the Seed of the VVoman which should bruise the Serpent's Head shall bruise thy Head and break you all to pieces Thus I did leave on the Heads of them the Seed Christ and not long after he and his Company scattered to pieces and several of them came to be Friends and stand to this Day For many of them had been Convinced about eight Years before but had been led aside by this Rice Jones For they denied the Inward Cross the Power of God and so went into Vanity And it was about eight Years since I had been formerly amongst them in which time I was to pass over them and by them seeing they had slighted the Lord's Truth and Power and the Visitation of his Love unto them But now was the time that I was moved to go to them again and it was of great Service for many of them were brought to the Lord Jesus Christ and were settled upon him sitting down under his Teaching and Feeding where they were kept fresh and green and the others that would not be gathered to him soon after withered This was that Rice Jones that some Years before had said I was then at the highest and should fall But poor Man he little thought how near his own Fall was We left Nottingham and went into Warwickshire 1658. Warwicksh Northamptonshire Leicestersh Bedfordsh Yearly Meeting and thence passing through some parts of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire visiting Friends and having Meetings with them as we travelled we came into Bedfordshire where we had large Gatherings in the Name of Jesus After some time we came to John Crook's House where a General Yearly Meeting for the whole Nation was appointed to be held This Meeting lasted Three Days and many Friends from most Parts of the Nation came to it so that the Inns and Towns round thereabouts were filled for many Thousands of People were at it And although there were some Disturbance by some rude People 1658. Bedfordshire Yearly Meeting that had run out from Truth yet the Lord's Power came over all and a glorious Meeting it was And the Everlasting Gospel was preached and many received it for there were many sorts of Professors came to the Meeting which Gospel brought Life and Immortality to Light in them and shined over all Then was I moved by the Power and Spirit of the Lord to open unto them the Promise of God how that it was made to the Seed not to Seeds as many but to One which Seed was Christ And that all People both Males and Females should feel this Seed in them which was Heir of the Promise that so they might all witness Christ in them the Hope of Glory the Mystery which had been hid from Ages and Generations which was revealed to the Apostles and is revealed again now after this long Night of Apostacy So that all might come up into this Seed Christ Jesus and walk in it and sit down together in the heavenly Places in Christ Jesus who was the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles and the Rock of Ages and is our Foundation now And all sitting down in him sit down in the Substance the First and the Last that changes not the Seed that bruises the Serpent's Head and was before he was who ends all the Types Figures and Shadows and is the Substance of them all in whom there is no Shadow Now these things were upon me to open unto all that they might mind and see what it is they sit down in For First They that sit down in Adam in the Fall sit down in Misery in Death in Darkness and Corruption Secondly They that sit down in the Types Figures and Shadows and under the first Priesthood Law and Covenant sit down in that which must have an End and which made nothing perfect Thirdly They that sit down in the Apostacy that hath gotten up since the Apostles Days sit down in spiritual Sodom and Egypt and are drinking of the Whore's Cup under the Beast's and Dragon's Power Fourthly They that sit down in the State in which Adam was before he fell sit down in that which may be fallen from for he fell from that State though it was perfect Fifthly They that sit down in the Prophets sit down in that which must be fulfilled And they that sit down in the Fellowship of Water Bread and Wine these being temporal things they sit down in that which is short of Christ and of his Baptism Sixthly To sit down in a Profession of all the Scriptures from Genesis to the Revelations and not be
is the Author of ye will have Peace and Access to God But if ye look out from the Faith and from that which would keep you in the Victory and look after fleshly Things or Words ye will be brought into Bondage to the Flesh again and to the Law which takes hold upon the Flesh and Sin and worketh Wrath and the Works of the Flesh will appear again The Law of God takes hold upon the Law of Sin and Death But the Law of Faith or the Law of the Spirit of Life which is the Love of God and which comes by Jesus who is the end of the Law for Righteousness-sake this makes free from the Law of Sin and Death This Law of Life fleshly-minded Men do not know yet they will tempt you to draw you from the Spirit into the Flesh and so into Bondage Therefore ye who know the Love of God and the Law of his Spirit and the freedom that is in Jesus Christ stand fast in him in that divine Faith which he is the Author of in you and be not entangled with the Yoke of Bondage For the Ministry of Christ Jesus and his Teaching bringeth into Liberty and Freedom But the Ministry that is of Man and by Man and which stands in the Will of Man bringeth into Bondage and under the shadow of Death and Darkness And therefore none can be a Minister of Christ Jesus but in the Eternal Spirit which was before the Scriptures were given forth For if they have not his Spirit they are none of his Though they may have his Light to condemn them that hate it yet they can never bring any into Unity and Fellowship in the Spirit except they be in it For the Seed of God is a burdensome Stone to the selfish fleshly earthly Will which reigns in its own Knowledge and Understanding that must perish and in its Wisdom that is Devilish And the Spirit of God is grieved and vexed and quenched with that which brings into the fleshly Bondage and that which wars against the Spirit of God must be mortified by it For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other The Flesh would have its Liberty and the Spirit would have its Liberty But the Spirit is to have its Liberry and not the Flesh If therefore ye quench the Spirit and join to the Flesh and be Servants of it then ye are judged and tormented by the Spirit But if ye join to the Spirit and serve God in it ye have Liberty and Victory over the Flesh and its Works Therefore keep in the daily Cross the Power of God by which ye may witness all that to be Crucified which is contrary to the Will of God and which shall not come into his Kingdom These things are here mentioned and opened for Information Exhortation and Comfort to others as the Lord Opened them unto me in that day And in that day I wondred that the Children of Israel should murmur for Water and Victuals for I could have fasted long without murmuring or minding Victuals But I was judged sometimes that I was not contented to be sometimes without the Water and Bread of Life that I might learn to know how to Want and how to Abound Lancashire And I heard of a Woman in Lancashire that had Fasted Two and twenty Days And I traveled to see her but when I came to her I saw that she was under a Temptation And when I had spoken to her what I had from the Lord I left her her Father being one high in Profession Duckenfield Manchester And passing on I went among the Professors at Duckenfield and Manchester where I stay'd a while and declared Truth among them And there were some Convinced who received the Lord's Teaching by which they were confirmed and stood in the Truth But the Professors were in a Rage all pleading for Sin and Imperfection and could not endure to hear talk of Perfection and of an holy and sinless Life But the Lord's Power was over all though they were chained under Darkness and Sin which they pleaded for and quenched the tender Thing in them About this time there was a great Meeting of the Baptists 1647. Broughton in Leicester-shire at Broughton in Leicester-shire with some that had separated from them and People of other Notions went thither And I went thither also Not many of the Baptists came but abundance of other People were there And the Lord opened my Mouth and his Everlasting Truth was declared amongst them and the Power of the Lord was over them all For in that day the Lord's Power began to spring and I had great Openings in the Scriptures and several were Convinced in those Parts and were turned from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God and his Power they did receive and by it many were raised up to praise God And when I reasoned with Professors and other People some were Convinced and did stand Yet I was under great Temptations sometimes and my inward Sufferings were heavy but I could find none to open my Condition to but the Lord alone unto whom I cryed Night and Day And I went back into Nottingham-shire Nottingham-shire and there the Lord shewed me that the Natures of those things which were hurtful without were within in the Hearts and Minds of Wicked Men. The Natures of Dogs Swine Vipers of Sodom and Egypt Pharaoh Cain Ishmael Esau c. the Natures of these I saw within though People had been looking without And I cryed to the Lord saying Why should I be thus seeing I was never addicted to commit those Evils And the Lord answered That it was needful I should have a sense of all Conditions how else should I speak to all Conditions And in this I saw the Infinite Love of God I saw also that there was an Ocean of Darkness and Death but an infinite Ocean of Light and Love which flowed over the Ocean of Darkness And in that also I saw the Infinite Love of God and I had great Openings And as I was walking by the Steeple-house side in the Town of Mansfield Mansfield the Lord said unto me That which People do trample upon must be thy Food And as the Lord spake he opened it to me how that People and Professors did trample upon the Life even the Life of Christ was tramâ—led upon and they fed upon Words and fed one another with Words but trampled upon the Life And trampled under Foot the Blood of the Son of God which Blood was my Life and they lived in their airy Notions talking of him It seemed strange to me at the first that I should feed on that which the high Professors trampled upon but the Lord opened it clearly to me by his Eternal Spirit and Power Then came People from far and near to see me And I was fearful of being drawn out by them yet
came to visit us and were Convinced Then got up a great Rage among the Professors and Priests against us and they said This People Thou and Thee all Men without Respect and they will not dâ—ff their Hats nor bow the Knee to any Man This made them fret But said they we shall see when the Assize comes whether they will dare to Thou and Thee the Judge and keep on their Hats before him And they expected we should all be hanged at the Assize But all this was little to us for we saw how God would stain the World's Honour and Glory And we were commanded not to seek that Honour nor give it but knew the Honour that came from God only and sought that It was Nine Weeks from the time of our Commitment to the Assizes 1556. Lanceston Assizes And when the Assize came abundance of People came from far and near to hear the Trial of the Quakers There was one Captain Bradden that lay with his Troop of Horse there at that time whose Souldiers and the Sheriff's men guarded us up to the Court through the Multitude of People that filled the Streets and much ado they had to get us through them besides the Doors and Windows were filled with People looking out upon us When we were brought into the Court we stood a pretty while with our Hats on and all was quiet and I was moved to say Peace be amongst you After that Judge Glyn a Welch-man who was then Chief Justice of England said to the Gaoler What be these you have brought here into the Court Prisoners my Lord said he Why do not you put off your Hats said the Judge to us We said nothing Put off your Hats said the Judge again still we said nothing Then said the Judge The Court commands you to put off your Hats Then I spake and said Where did ever any Magistrate King or Judge from Moses to Daniel command any to put off their Hats when they came before them in their Courts either amongst the Jews the People of God or amongst the Heathens And if the Law of England doth command any such thing shew me that Law either Written or Printed Then the Judge grew very Angry and said I do not carry my Law-books on my Back But said I tell me where it is printed in any Statute-book that I may read it Then said the Judge Take him away Praevaricator I 'le ferk him So they tock us away and put us among the Thieves Presâ—ntly after he calls to the Gaoler Bring them up again Come said he where had they Hats from Moses to Daniel Come Answer me I have you fast now said he I replied Thou may'st read in the Third of Daniel that the Three Children were cast into the fiery Furnace by Nebuchadnezzar's Command with their Coats their Hose and their Hats on This plain Instance stopt him so that not having any thing else to say He cried again Take them away Gaoler Accordingly we were taken away and thrust in among the Thieves where we were kept a great while and then without being called again the Sheriff's men and the Troopers made way for us but we were almost spent to get through the Crowd of People Lanceston Prison and so guarded us to the Prison again a Multitude of People following us with whom we had much Discourse and Reasoning at the Gaol We had got some very good Books to set forth our Principles and to Inform People of the Truth which the Judge and Justices hearing of they sent Captain Bradden for them who came into the Gaol to us and violently took our Books from us some out of Edward Pyot's Hands and carried them away so that we never got them again In the Afternoon we were had up again into the Court by the Gaoler and Sheriff's men and Troopers who had a mighty Toil to get us through the Crowd of People When we were in the Court waiting to be called I seeing both the Jury-men and such a Multitude of others Swearing it grieved my Life to see that such as profest Christianity should so openly disobey and break the Command of Christ and the Apostle And I was moved of the Lord God to give forth a Paper against Swearing which I had about me to the Grand and Petty Juries which was as followeth Concerning SWEARING TAKE heed of giving People Oaths to swear for Christ our Lord and Master saith Swear not at all but let your Communications be Yea Yea and Nay Nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of Evil. And if any Man was to suffer Death it must be by the Hand of two or three Witnesses and the Hands of the Witnesses were to be put first upon him to put him to Death And the Apostle James saith My Brethren above all things swear not neither by Heaven nor by Earth nor by any other Oath least ye fall into Condemnation Now you may see those that Swear fall into Condemnation and are out of Christ's and the Apostle's Doctrine Therefore every one of you having a Light from Christ who saith I am the Light of the World and doth enlighten every Man that cometh into the World who saith Learn of me whose Doctrine is not to Swear and the Apostle's Doctrine is not to Swear but Let your Yea be Yea and your Nay be Nay in all your Communications for whatsoever is more cometh of Evil So then they that go into more than Yea and Nay go into the Evil and are out of the Doctrine of Christ Now if you say That the Oath was the End of Controversie and Strife they who be in Strife are out of Christ's Doctrine for he is the Covenant of Peace and who be in it are in the Covenant of Peace And the Apostle brings that but as an Example As Men swearing by the greater and The Oath was the end of Controversie and Strife among Men and said Verily Men swear by the greater but God could not find a greater but swears by himself concerning Christ which when he was come taught not to swear at all So such as be in him and follow him cannot but abide in his Doctrine Now if you say They swore under the Law and under the Prophets Christ is the End of the Law and of the Prophets to every one that doth believe for Righteousness sake Now mark If you believe I am the Light of the World which doth enlighten every Man that cometh into the World saith Christ by whom it was made now every Man of you that is come into the World being enlightned with a Light that comes from Christ by whom the World was made that all of you through him might believe That is the End for which he doth enlighten you Now if you do believe in the Light as Christ Commands and saith Believe in the Light that you may be Children of Light you believe in Christ and come to learn of him who is the Way to the Father
willing to lay the VVeight thereof upon him and make him sensible thereof also writ an Epistle to him on behalf of us all which was thus and thus directed To John Glyn Chief Justice of England Friend WE are Free-men of England Free-born our Rights and Liberties are according to Law and ought to be defended by it And therefore with thee by whose Hand we have so long and yet do suffâ—r let us a little plainly reason concerning thy Proceedinos against us whether they have been according to Law and agreeable to thy Duty and Office as Chief Minister of the Law or Justice of England And in Meekness and Lowliness abide that the Witness of God in thy Conscience may be heard to speak and judge in this Matter For Thou and We must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every one may receive according to what he hath done whether it be good or bad Therefore Friend in Moderation and Soberness Weigh what is herein laid before thee In the Afternoon before we were brought before thee at the Assize at Lanceston thou didst cause divers Scores of our Books to be violently taken from us by Armed Men without due Process of Law which Books being perused to see if any thing in them could have been found to have laid to our Charge who were Innocent Men and them upon our Legal Issue thou hast detained from us to this very day Now our Books are our Goods and our Goods are our Property and our Liberty it is to have and enjoy our Property and of our Liberty and Property the Law is the defence which saith No Free-man shall be disseized of his Free-hold Liberties or free Customs c. nor any way otherwise destroyed Nor we shall not pass upon him but by lawful Judgment of his Peers or by the Law of the Land Magna Charta cap. 29. Now Friend Consider Is not the taking away of a Man's Goods violently by force of Arms as aforesaid contrary to the Law of the Land Is not the Kâ—eping of them so taken away a disseizing him of his Property and a destroying of it and his Liberty yea his very Being so far as the Invading of the Guard the Law sets about him is in order thereunto Calls not the Law this a Destroying of a Man Is there any more than one common Guard or Defence to Property Liberty and Life viz. the Law And can this Guard be broken on the former viz. Property and Liberty and the Latter viz. Life be sure Doth not he that makes an Invasion upon a Man's Property and Liberty which he doth who contrary to Law which is the Guard acts against either make an Invasion upon a Man's Life since that which is the Ground of the One is also of the Other If a Penny or Penny's-worth be taken from a Man contrary to Law may not by the same Rule all a Man hath be taken away If the Bond of the Law be broken upon a Man's Property may it not on the same ground be broken upon his Person And by the same Reason as it is broken on One Man may it not be broken upon all since the Liberty and Property and Beings of all Men under a Government are Relative a Communion of Wealth as the Members in the Body but one Guard and Defence to all the Law One Man cannot be injured therein but it redounds to all Are not such things in order to the Subversion and Dissolution of Government Where there is no Law what is become of Government And of what value is the Law made when the Ministers thereof break it at pleasure upon Mens Properties Liberties and Persons Canst thou Clear thy self of these things as to us To that of God in thy Conscience which is Just do I speak Hast thou acted like a Ministâ—r the Chief Minister of the Law who hast taken our Goods and yet detainest them without so much as going by lawful Warrant grounded upon due Information which in this our Case thou could'st not have for none had perused them whereby to give thee Information Shoulâ—'st thou exercise Violence and Force of Arms on Prisoners Goods in their Prison-Chamber instead of proceeding Orderly and Legally which thy Place calls upon thee above any Man to tender defend and maintain against the other and to preserve entire the Guard of every Man 's Being Liberty Life and Livelyhood Should'st thou whore Duty it is to punish the Wrong-doer do wrong thy self Who ought'st to see the Law be kept and observed break the Law and turn aside the due Administration thereof Surely from Thee considering Thou art Chief Justice of England other things were expected both by Vs and by the People of this Nation And Friend when we were brought before thee and stood upon our Legal Issue and no Accuser or Accusation came in against us as to what we had been wrongfully Imprisoned and in Prison detained for the Space of Nine Weeks shouldest not thou have caused us to have been Acquitted by Proclamation Saith not the Law so Ought'st thou not to have Examined the Cause of our Commitment And there not appearing a lawful Cause ought'st thou not to have discharged us Is it not the Substance of thy Office and Duty To do Justice according so the Law and Custom of England Is not this the End of the Administration of the Law of the General Assizes of the Gaol-Deliveries of the Judges going the Circuits Hâ—st not thou by doing otherwise acted Contrary to all these and to Magna Charta which Cap. 29 saith We shall sell to no Man we shall Deny or Defer to no Man either Justice or Right Hast thou not both Deferred and Denied to us who had been so long oppressed this Justice and Right And when of thee Justice we demanded sayd'st thou not If we would be uncovered thou would'st hear us and do us Justice We shall sell to no Man we shall deny or defer to no Man either Justice or Right saith Magn. Chart. as aforesaid Again We have commanded all our Justices that they shall from henceforth do even Law and Execution of Right to all our Subjects Rich and Poor without having Regard to any Man's Person and without letting to do Right for any Letters or Commandments which may come to them from Vs or from any other or by any other Cause c upon Pain to be at our Will Body Lands and Goods to do therewith as shall please us in case they do contrary saith Stat. 20. Edw. 3. cap. 1. Again Ye shall swear that ye shall do even Law and Execution of Right to all Rich and Poor without having regard to any Person and that ye deny to no Man Common Right by the King 's Letters nor none other Man's nor for none other Cause And in Case any Letter come to you contrary to the Law that ye do nothing by such Letter but Certify the King thereof and go forth to do the Law notwithstanding those Letters
the same For the Power of the Lord God hath been abused by some and the worth of Truth hath not been minded there hath been a Trampling on and Marring with the Feet and that abuseth the Power But now every Friend is to keep in the Power and to take heed to that for that must be kept down which would trample and marr with the Feet and the pure Life and Power of God is to be lived in over that that none with the Feet might foul or marr but every one may be kept in the pure Power and Life of the Lord Then the water of Life cometh in then he that Ministreth drinketh himself and giveth others to drink Now when any shall be moved to go to speak in a Steeple-house or Market turn in to that which moves and be Obedient to it that that which would not go may be kept down for that which would not go will be apt to get up And take heed on the other Hand that the lavishing Part do not get up for it is a bad Savour therefore that must be kept down and be kept subject So wait in the Light of the Lord God that ye may be all kept in the wisdom of God For when the Seed is up in every particular then there is no Danger But when there is an Opening and Prophecy and the Power stirs before the Seed comes up then there is something that will be apt to run out rashly there 's the Danger and there must be the Patience in the Fears For it is a weighty Thing to be in the work of the Ministry of the Lord God and to go forth in that It is not as a customary Preaching but it is to bring People to the End of all outward Preaching For when ye have declared the Truth to People and they have received it and are come into that which ye spake of the uttering of many Words and long Declarations out of the Life may beget them into a Form And if any should run on rashly into Words again without the savour of Life then they that are come into the Thing that he spake of will judge him whereby he may hurt again that which he had raised up before So Friends ye must all come into the Thing that is spoken in the Openings of the heavenly Life among you and walk in the Love of God that ye may answer the Thing spoken to And take heed all of running into Inordinate Affections For when People come to own you then there is Danger of the wrong Part to get up There was a Strife among the Disciples of Christ who should be the Greatest Christ told them The Heathen exercise Lordship and have Dominion over one another but it shall not be so among you For Christ the Seed was to come up in every one of them so then where is the Greatest For that part in the Disciples which looked to be Greatest was the same that was in the Gentiles But who comes here to liue in the Word that sanctified him having the Heart sanctified the Tongue and Lips sanctified living in the Word of Wisdom that makes clean the Heart and reconciles to God all things being upheld by the Word and Power as there is an abiâ—ing in the Word of God that upholds Times and Seasons and gives all things Increase here dwelling in the Word of Wisdom if there be but Two or Three agreed in this on Earth it shall be done for them in Heaven So in this must all things be ordered by the Word of Wisdom and Power that upholds all things the Times and the Seasons that are in the Father's Hand to the glory of God whereby his Blessing may be felt among you and this brings to the Beginning So this is the Word of the Lord God to you all Keep down Keep low that nothing may rule nor reign in you but Life it self Now the Power being lived in the Cross is lived in and where-ever Friends come in this they draw the Power and the Life over and they leave a Witness behind them answering the Witness of God in others And where this is lived in there is no want of Wisdom no want of Power no want of Knowledge but he that Ministreth in this seeth with the Eye which the Lord openeth in him what is for the Fire and what is for the Sword and what must be fed with Judgment and what must be nourished This brings all down and to be Low every one keeping to the Power for let a Man get up never so high yet he must come down again to the Power where he left and what he went from he must come down again to that So new before all these wicked Spirits be got down which are rambling abroad Friends must have patience and must wait in the Patience and in the cool Life and who is in this doing the work of the Lord he hath the Tasting and the Feeling of the Lamb's Power and Authority Therefore all Friends keep cool and quiet in the power of the Lord God and all that is contrary will be subjected the Lamb hath the victory in the Seed through the Patience If any have been moved to speak and have quenched that which moved them let none such go forth afterward into Words until they feel the Power to arise and move them thereto again for after the first Motion is quenched the other part will be apt to get up and if any go forth in that he goeth forth in his own and the Betrayer will come into that And all Friends be Careful not to meddle with the Powers of the Earth but keep out of all such things and as ye keep in the Lamb's Authority ye will answer That of God in them and bring them to do Justice which is the End of the Law And keep out of all Jangling for all that be in the Transgression they be out from the Law of Love but all that be in the Law of Love come to the Lamb's Power in the Lamb's Authority who is the End of the Law outward For the Law being added because of Transgression Christ who was glorified with the Father before the world began is the End of the Law bringing them that live in the Law of Life to live over all Transgression which every Particular must feel in himself More was then spoken to many of these Particulars which were not taken at large as they were delivered After this Meeting was over and most of the Friends gone away as I was walking in John Crook's Garden there came a Party of Horse with a Constable to seize on me I heard them ask Who was in the House And some-body made them Answer I was there They said I was the Man they looked for and went forthwith into the House where they had many Words with John Crook and some few Friends that were with him But the Lord's Power so confounded them that they never came into the Garden to look for
right understanding thereof and be gathered thereunto Several Epistles also to Friends I writ in this time on divers Occasions and Subjects whereof one was to the Friends of the Yearly Meeting which was held in London this year 1679. a Copy of which here follows My Dear Friends and Brethren WHO are Assembled together in the Name and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ fill all your hearts and establish you in his Grace Mercy and Peace upon Christ the holy living Rock and Foundation who is the First and Last and over all the Foundations and Rocks in the whole world a Rock and Foundation of Life for all the Living to build upon which stands sure in his heavenly divine Light which is the Life in him by whom all things were made who is the precious Stone laid in Sion and not in the World which all the Wise Master-Builders rejected who pretended to build People up to Heaven with the Words of the Prophets and the Law from Mount Sinai but out of the Life of both and therefore such Builders could not receive the Law of Life from Christ the precious Stone laid in Sion nor the Word from heavenly Jerusalem But you My Dear Friends that have received this Law from heavenly Sion and the Word from heavenly Jerusalem in the New Covenant where the Life and Substance is enjoyed you do see the end and abolishing of the Jews Law and Ceremonies from Mount Sinai And therefore my desire is that you all may keep in the Law of Life and Love 1679. Swarthmore which ye have in Christ Jesus by which Love the Body is edified and knit and united together to Christ Jesus the Head Which Love doth bear all things and fulfils the Law and will preserve all in Humility and in it to be of one mind heart and soul so that all may come to drink into that One Spirit that doth Baptize them and Circumcise them Plunging down and Cutting off the Body of the Sins of the Flesh that is gotten up in Man and Woman by their transgressing of God's Commands So that in this holy pure Spirit all may serve and worship the pure God in Spirit and in Truth which is over all the Worships that are out of God's Spirit and his Truth And in this Spirit ye will all have a Spiritual Unity and Fellowship over all the Fellowships of the Unclean Spirits which be out of Truth in the World And so by this holy Spirit all your hearts minds and souls may be knit together to Christ from whence it comes and by the Grace and Truth which is come by Jesus Christ which all should be under the Teachings of in the New Covenant and not under the Law as the outward Jews were in the Old Covenant So that by this Grace and Truth in the New Covenant all may be made God's free Men and Women to serve God in the new Life and in the new and living Way shewing forth the Fruits of the new heart and new spirit in the New Covenant over death and darkness and before it was Glory be unto the Lord for ever And now Friends in this Grace and Truth is your heavenly gracious and true Liberty to every Spiritual Mind that makes you free from him that is out of Truth where your bondage was Also your Liberty in the holy divine and precious Faith which gives you Victory over that that hath separated you from God and Christ and through which Faith ye have Access to God again through Jesus Christ So in this divine and holy Faith ye have divine holy and precious Liberty yea and Victory over him that separated you from God and this Faith is held in a pure Conscience So the Liberty in the Spirit of God is in that which baptizes and plunges down Sin and Iniquity and puts off the Body of Death and Sins of the Flesh that is gotten up by transgressing of God's Command as I said before And also the Liberty of the Gospel which is sent from Heaven by the Holy Ghost which is the Power of God which was and is again to be preached to all Nations In this Gospel the Power of God which is over the Power of Satan is the true Liberty and the Gospel-Fellowship and Order So that the Evil Spirit or Conscience or false dead Faith and that which is ungracious and out of Truth and not in the Spirit of God nor in his Gospel nor in the divine Faith its Liberty is in the Darkness For all the true Liberty is in the Gospel and in the Truth that makes free and in the Faith and in the Grace and in Christ Jesus who destroys the Devil and his Works that hath brought all Mankind into Bondage So in this heavenly peaceable Spirit and Truth and Faith which works by Love and in the Gospel of Peace and in Christ Jesus is all the Saints Peace and pure true and holy Liberty in which they have Salt and Sense and Feeling Discerning and Savour yea and Unity and Fellowship one with another yea and with the Son and the Father that heavenly eternal Fellowship So all being subject to the Grace and Truth and to the Faith and Gospel the Power of God and to his good Spirit in this they distinguish all true pure and holy Liberty from that which is false And this will bring all to sit low for Patience runs the Race and the Lamb must have the Victory and not the rough unruly and vain Talkers unbaptized uncircumcised and unsanctified For such travel not in the way of Regeneration but in the way of unregeneration Neither go they down into the Death with Christ by Baptism and therefore such are not like to Reign with him in his Resurrection who are not buried with him in Baptism Therefore all must go downward into the Death of Christ and be crucified with him if they will Arise and follow him in the Regeneration before they come to Reign with him And Friends Many may have precious Openings but I desire all may be comprehended in that thing which doth open to them And that they may all keep in the daily Cross then they keep in the Power that doth kill and crucifie that which would lead them amongst the Beasts and Goats to leaven them into their rough unruly spirit But that through the Cross the Power of God That may be crucified and they in the Power might follow the Lamb. For the Power of God keeps all in Order and in Subjection and in Humility in that which is lovely and vertuous decent comely temperate and moderate that their Moderation comes to appear to all men So my desire is that all your Lights may shine as from a City set upon a Hill that cannot be hid And that ye may be the Salt of the Earth to salt and season it and make it savoury to God and you all seasoned with it Then
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
Temples Priests and Tithes which God had never Commanded but to bring them off from all these things to Christ the Substance So I shewed them the True Worship which Christ had set up and distinguished unto them Christ the True Way from all the false Ways opening the Parables to them and turning them from the Darkness to the true Light that by it they might see themselves and their Sins and Christ their Saviour that believing in him they might be saved from their Sins After this we went to one Birdet's House where I had a great Meeting and this Old Priest accompanied me still leaving his Steeple-house For he had been looked upon as a famous Priest above Common-prayer-Men and Presbyters and Independents too Before he was Convinced he would have gone sometimes into their Steeple-houses and have preached For he had been a zealous Man in his Way And when they have Complained of him to Justice Hotham he would bid them Distrein his Horse for travelling on the Lord's Day as he call'd it But Hotham did that only to put them off for he knew the Priest used no Horse but travelled on Foot Crantsick Now came I up through the Country again towards Crantsick to Captain Purslo's and Justice Hotham's who received me kindly being glad that the Lord's Power had so appeared and that Truth was spread and so many had received it and that Justice Robinson was so Civil And Justice Hotham said If God had not raised up this Principle of Light and Life which I preached the Nation had been over-run with Ranterism and all the Justices in the Nation could not have stopped it with all their Laws Because said he they would have said as we said and done as we Commanded and yet have kept their own Principle still But this Principle of Truth said he overthrows their Principle and the Root and Ground thereof and therefore he said he was glad the Lord had raised up this Principle of Life and Truth Holderness From thence I travelled up into Holderness and came to a Justice's House whose Name was Pearson where there was a very tender Woman that believed in the Truth and was so affected therewith that she said She could have left all and have followed me Oram Thence I went to Oram to one George Hartise's where many of that Town were Convinced On the first-Day I was moved to go into the Steeple-house where the Priest had got another Priest to help him And a many Professors and Contenders were got together But the Lord's Power was over all and the Priests fled away and a great deal of good Service I had for the Lord amongst the People And some of those great Professors were Convinced and became honest faithful Friends being Men of Account in the Place The next day Friends and friendly People having left me I traveled alone declaring the Day of the Lord amongst People in the Towns Patrington where I came and warning them to Repent And as I traveled one day I came towards Night into a Town called Patrington and as I walked along the Town 1652. Patrington I warned both Priest and People for the Priest was in the Street to Repent and turn to the Lord. Now it grew dark before I came to the End of the Town and a Multitude of People gathered about me and I declared the Word of Life unto them And when I had cleared my self I went to an Inn and desired them to let me have a Lodging but they would not Then I desired them to let me have a little Meat or Milk and I would pay them for it but they would not So I walked out of the Town and a Company of Fellows follow'd me and asked me What News And I bid them Repent and fear the Lord. After I was gone a pretty way out of the Town I came to another House and I desired the People of that House to let me have a little Meat and Drink and Lodging for my Money but they would not neither but denied me Then I went to another House and desired the same but they refused me also By this time it was grown so dark that I could not see the High-way but I discerned a Ditch and got a little Water and refreshed my self Then I got over the Ditch and being weary with traveling I sate down amongst the Furz-bushes till it was day About break of Day I got up and passed on the Fields and a Man came after me with a great Pike-Staff and went along with me to a Town And he raised the Town upon me with the Constable and Chief-Constable before the Sun was up So I declared God's Everlasting Truth amongst them warning them of the day of the Lord that was coming upon all Sin and Wickedness and exhorted them to Repent But they seized on me and had me back again to Patrington about three Miles guarding me with Watch-Bills and Pikes and Staves and Halberds Now when I was come back to Patrington all the Town was in an Vproar and the Priest and Constables were consulting together So I had another Opportunity to declare the Word of Life amongst them and warn them to Repent At last a Professor a tender Man called me into his House and there I took a little Milk and Bread having not eaten for some Days before Then they guarded me about Nine Miles to a Justice and when I was come near his House there came a Man riding after us and asked me Whether I was the Man that was apprehended And I asked him Wherefore he asked And he said For no hurt and I told him I was So he rode away to the Justice before us The Men that guarded me said It was well if the Justice was not drunk before we got to him for he used to be drunk early Now when I was brought in before him because I did not put off my Hat and said Thou to him he asked the Man that rode thither before me Whether I was not mazed or fond But the Man told him No it was my Principle Then I warned him to Repent and come to the Light which Christ had enlightned him withal that by it he might see all his evil Words and Actions that he had spoken and acted his ungodly Ways he had walked in and his ungodly Words he had spoken and to return to Christ Jesus whilst he had time and that whilst he had Time he should prize it Ay Ay said he the Light that is spoken of in the third of John I desired him that he would mind it and obey it And as I admonished him I laid my Hand upon him and he was brought down by the Power of the Lord And all the Watch-men stood amazed Then he took me into a little Parlour with the other Man and desired to see what I had in my Pockets of Letters or Intelligence and I plucked out my Linnen and shewed him that I had no Letters So he said