and worshipped I say when my heart was thus fitted and filled then did I endeavour to keep down my Spirit to the meltings of it and great was the care of my Soul that I might no ways miss nor abuse this Power nor let up a wrong thing into my Mind to be betrayed thereby and then I knew if I kept all that was wrong down sound Wisdom and a true Understanding would be grown into even of those Mysteries that the World was ignorant of for the Son of God being come it was he that did give the Understanding to know him that was true as Iohn said of old in his first Epistle and he was made Wisdom as Paul said 1 Cor. 1. 30. So I often observed and that with great care and diligence in those blessed and pleasant Seasons wherein the Lord did so wonderfully appear amongst us and filled our Hearts with the glorious Majesty of his Power how it was with my own Spirit and whether that was subject as it ought or no for I clearly saw the Enemy might beguile and lead up into the hights and unnecessary pride and vain-glorying in that which the Soul might soon be deprived of if it kept not humble for it 's the humble the Lord teacheth and the meek he guides in Judgment And thus in the greatest Enjoyments I saw there was need of care and fear to be kept in for as those that grew sluggish idle and careless in waiting in a Meeting for the Power did sit without the sense of it in a dead dry barren state even so such as weer not diligent to mind to keep low humble and tender and so to mind the Nature of the working of the Power and the Nature of their own Spirits under the Powers exercise and also to watch against the Enemies subtilty who lay in wait to betray might easily be led aside out of the Powers way by the Stranger even while the Power was a working and Joy was in the Heart And thus for want of true Fear and Care might the Soul come into a loss e're it be aware and I believe some have so done and can scarcely find the reason of it Great is the Mystery of Godliness it may truly be said even the great Mystery which Paul writes of in Colossians the first Christ in us the hope of glory c. And as he is there great is the Mystery of his working by his Spirit to the opening and clearing of the Understandings of all that rightly wait upon him and it is the Soul in the Sanctification and Oneness with the Life the true Unction that comes to be a Priest and so of the Royal Priesthood chosen and elected in God's Covenant that comes rightly and lawfully to eat of those holy things and so to partake of the sanctified holy Food This I did observe and therefore the Stranger is not to come nigh this was in the Figure signified the Stranger was not to eat of the Passover Exod. 12. 43. and the Command of God was to Aaron by Moses that no Stranger should eat of the holy things c. Lev. 22. 10. And Solomon saith The heart knoweth his own bitterness and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy Prov. 14. 10. Much might be said but this is the matter its Wisdom for the Heart that hath known his own bitterness in the Judgment and Distress and through it is come to this Peace and Joy to keep it and not to let that which would have no share with it there come to intermeddle with the Joy for if it do it will soon overthrow the Joy of the Soul and bring to another state and then have no more pity in the Day of Distress than the Iews had of Iudas when they bad him look to it what was that to them when he had betrayed his Master And thus I continued as I have said before for these four Years mostly following my outward Calling and attending and waiting upon the Lord in the workings of his holy Power in my Heart both in Meetings and at other times where-ever I was or whatever I had to do for I found that as my Heart was kept near the Power it kept me tender soft and living And besides I found as I was diligent in eying of it there was a constant sweet Stream that run softly in my Soul of Divine Peace Pleasure and Joy which far exceeded all other Delights and Satisfactions and this became the great Engager of my Soul to watch with such diligence for I did find the love of God to constrain And furthermore I did observe that if I neglected or let my Mind out after any thing else more than I ought and so forgot this I began to be like a Stranger and saw that I soon might lose my Interest in these Riches and Treasure and true Common-wealth of God's Spiritual Israel which Christ had purchased for me and given me the earnest of to inherit And thus being mindful of the opening Wisdom of God which was from above and heavenly and not from below earthly I was preserved and helped and succoured in the needful time and because of the Blessings and rich Mercies of the Lord that my Soul enjoyed I was willing to serve him in what I might and willingly received upon me a share of that Concern that became proper for me with others to take upon us in the Church that I might be helpful in all necessary things And thus I went on in the holy Fellowship of the Gospel of Life and Salvation with the rest of my Brethren and Sisters and many joyful Day we had together in the Power of the Holy Ghost that was richly and graciously continued amongst us and daily poured out upon us so that we still grew in favour with God and unity one with another and received daily strength from the Lord and an increase of his Divine Wisdom and Spirit which did greatly comfort us And in this our pleasant state I do well remember my Heart was satisfied and setled into a content where I was willing to abide but the Lord that had so dealt by me in Mercy as I have said began to stir in my Heart by his Spirit to arise and go forth in the strength of his Word and declare against the Hirelings that feed themselves and not the People and kept the People ignorant of those good things that he had made me and others Witnesses of And when the Word of the Lord came unto me with this Message it became a great Exercise unto me and I would willingly have shunned it and have dwelt in that Ease Peace and Pleasure the Lord had brought me into but there was none but in obeying the Lord and giving up to do his Will that I soon came to know for I was sure it was the Word of the Lord and then I yielded in Spirit and longed for the Day that I might clear my self and be eased of the Charge that was upon
rest quiet under his disposing and ordering Hand by which he will in his Wisdom and Power over-rule all Men and Things who knows best how to Execute Iustice and Iudgment upon all according to their Works or Deserts For before him all things are naked and bare therefore he cannot miss in Iudgment We resting here and waiting upon him it quiets our Spirits and sweetens them and also I can say it makes many bitter things sweet and so sanctified that we meet with Comfort in Tribulation And though it be both Natural unto and Lawful for us in Affliction reverently to pray for and desire Deliverance and also when obtained to rejoyce therein and bless the Lord therefore yet still our Happiness is to mind his Providences and wise Ordering of all things and therewith to be Content without either murmuring at or strugling against what he seems good to bring to pass And so here we shall all rest in one Fold and Covenant and seed in one Pasture together and so have a Fellow-feeling of one anothers Ioy or Sufferings For our Resting-place is but one in the Truth and our Salvation stands therein for ever and therefore we need look at no other Iohn Burnyeat SEVERAL EPISTLES WRITTEN By J. B. to Friends from divers Places Dear Friends IN the dear and tender Bowels of Love and Life do I dearly salute you all who are faithful to the Lord without respect of Persons in whose Life and Love I feel you and enjoy you wherein my Heart is opened towards you my dearly beloved ones with whom I am daily refreshed and comforted in Christ Jesus the Fountain and Well-spring of Life and living Refreshment who is our Rock and daily Refuge unto whom we fly and are safe in the day of storms and tempest when the floods arise and the raging Waves of the Sea do swell and beat yet in the Light have we a safe hiding-place and a sure and peaceable Habitation against which they cannot prevail As faithful to the Lord we abide therein whose Love towards us hath abounded and will abound as we abide in that unto which his Love doth reach which is his own Seed which he hath raised in us by his own Power and outstretched Arm wherein the Issues of Live and Love are known and received Therefore my dear Friends keep to it and feel it continually that fresh and lively and open-hearted ye may always be in the Life that nothing may enter that would vail the Seed and oppress it for that will stop the Issue of the Love of God which is shed abroad and shedding it self abroad in the Hearts of all the Faithful whereof we in the bountifulness of his Love have richly been made partakers of Therefore as one who with you have been partaker of the rich and endless Love of God I do exhort you my dearly beloved ones to continue in his Love and all to abide faithful in the Life that Death again may not pass over any one but that the Life which God hath raised may be felt and that may rule over him that hath the Power of Death in every one of us to his own Praise and Glory who hath redeemed us wherein the comfort strength and refreshment is re-received daily from him who is the Life and Strength of all that wait upon him and who is near to preserve all them that are upright in their Love towards him And herein have we boldness believing that neither Tribulation nor Affliction Persecution nor Distress shall be able to separate us from the Love of God which we enjoy in Christ Iesus although he may suffer great things to come upon us as it is at this day to try us nor yet to separate us one from another nor to break our Unity in the Spirit wherein we feel and enjoy one another In which my dear Friends I feel you and have you often in my remembrance to my great Joy and Gladness of heart for ye in the Lord are my Ioy and Rejoycing many times when all other Comforts are taken from me but only that in which I feel and enjoy you wherein our Unity Life and Love doth stand wherein I remain Your Brother in my measure received J. Burnyeat Postscript Dear Friends I Wrote a Letter in the Eleventh Month before I went out of these Parts and sent with one who did intend to pass through Cumberland but I hear it was left in Yorkshire which did something trouble me because that I did not obtain an Opportunity to send again so soon as I could have desired in regard we travelled into the West towards Galloway and Cork But at Dublin when I was there I wrote a Letter which I partly believe may be come to you So being in haste I cannot give you an account as I would desire only Times are very troublesome in regard of the Distractions of the People in this Nation We were taken Prisoners after we came from Dublin at Ardmagh and kept three days It is very hard to Travel in this Nation for us but for the Seed's sake we are freely given up into the Will of God Clanbrasel in the County of Ardmagh in Ireland the fourth day of the fourth Month 1660. Dear and well-beloved Friends in Cumberland BRethren and Sisters in the holy Covenant of Life with you is my life bound up in the unspeakable Bond of perfect Unity and unfeigned Love wherein I feelingly reach unto you in this day of weighty Trial wherein every ones Faith and Patience must come to be tried and every ones Foundation made manifest whereon he stands blessed are they whose Foundation and standing is in the Power of Christ Jesus the Rock of Ages and Foundation of many Generations such shall stand immoveable on the Rock in the day of Tempest and shall be at Peace and kept in Safety in the Power in the hour of Temptation and time of trial Therefore my dear Friends as if I were present with you my Bowels are opened towards you and my Life reacheth unto you in pure love even desiring that every one of you may truly feel and abide in the feeling of the pretious Life and pure invisible Power of the blessed God which he hath made manifest in your Hearts whereby every mind of them that hath been faithful to the Lord is changed and renewed and redeemed and made pure and sweet through the vertue and goodness of the same whereby our Souls continually are refreshed as we abide in the sensible seeling of the Lord's Presence O! therefore my dear Friends ye who have tasted of the Lord's goodness and have been nourished by his mercies inwardly who have felt the weight of his love and the value of his truth in your inward parts Mind that as your chiefest treasure my dear Friends that the sweet Consolation and the pretious Spring of the Father's love ye may feel opened in your Hearts from day unto day and from time to time For truly Friends large is the Lord's
the Rock Christ Iesus which by the Storms and Winds cannot be thrown down For the sure Foundation being kept unto you will abide and endure and the Lord will bless you with inward Peace in your Souls and true Pleasure in your Hearts and you will enjoy the true Riches and Heavenly Treasure and learn as you keep to the power of God in your Hearts to lay up this true Treasure in Heaven through the true Faith where the Thief cannot come to steal nor the Moth to waste or corrupt And then your Riches and Treasure that you trust and delight in being thus laid up in Safety your Hearts will be at quiet and in ease and setled in the Kingdom in Heaven where the Treasure is and then Christ's Words will be witnessed Where the Treasure is there will the Heart be also Oh my dear Friends how true are these things Happy are they that grow up into the experience thereof through the working operation and openings of the true living Heavenly Power in their Hearts such their Minds are kept free from that which would entangle and their Feet at liberty that they may run chearfully the Race that is set before them For the Riches the Price that their Hearts are upon being before them and the Mark also that they look at this draws them to look forward and press forward so that they are not of them that draw back to Perdition And thus Friends you may see where and in what your profitable Exercise is through your Day and where the lasting Gain Riches and Treasure is to be got that will endure and be your Portion when the Enemy and all his Instruments have done what they can And this made David say he would not fear what Man could do unto him for the Lord was his Shepherd he said and the Lord was the Portion of his Cup and the Lot of his Inheritance c. And therefore keep your Hearts out of the World and the Riches thereof which are uncertain and also above the delighting in the Glory thereof and let your delight be in the Lord and in the sweet and pleasant Enjoyment of his righteous peaceable Power all the Day long that you may still feel a Habitation therein and a place of Safety to fly unto in every needful time And wait you upon its holy springings in your Hearts that your Souls thereby being united unto God you may dwell in his Covenant and so in Unity with him and his blessed Son and so feel the Fellowship which is a Mystery held in a pure Conscience And dearly Beloved live at Peace among your selves and wait for the Spirit of Love and Concord to spring in all your Souls that the true Mark of Christ's Disciples may appear among you Remember what he said unto his of old By this shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if you love one another And consider what the Apostle said He that dwells in God dwells in Love c. And therefore I intreat you wait for the power of it in your Hearts that you therein may serve one another and so the whole Body may be edified the weak strengthned the faint-hearted encouraged and the lame not turned out of the way but all helpt forward on their way And you all being thus in the righteous holy Power exercised for good which is that it will lead unto you will be a Strength and Comfort and Crown of Rejoycing one unto another and so helpers forward of one anothers Joy in the Lord Surely this is needful in this Day wherein Zion hath so many Enemies she had need to be as a City that 's at Peace within her self So the God of Peace keep you all in the Dominion of his Life that therein you may reign over every hurtful Thing and so dwell in the holy Mount of Safety where the Destroyer cannot come and upon the holy Hill of Zion about which he hath appointed Salvation for Walls and Bulwarks That so you may all witness Peace to be within her Walls and Prosperity within her Palaces And so you may every Day witness high Praises in your Hearts and Mouths unto her King who is King of Kings and reigns over all who only hath Immortality and dwells in the Light To whom be Glory and Eternal Praises saith my Soul for ever and for evermore Amen From your Friend and one that truly loves you in the Truth J. B. Dear R. S. UNTO thee with thy Dear Wife C. H. R. U. and theirs with the rest of Friends there in Prison with you doth the living sincere Love of my Heart truly reach and livingly flow forth for I can say of a truth that you are often near my Soul and livingly in my Heart and that in my nearest approach unto the Lord when my Life opens and my Spirit is let forth through the Power thereof and poured forth into his Bosom as blessed be his Name he gives us access by his own Spirit even then are you many times fresh in my Heart and Livingly before me as if I were present in Body with you and with great delight do I put up my Supplications upon your account unto the Lord our God rejoycing to feel the Lord so concerned for you that by his own Spirit he so often stirs up a remembrance of you in my Soul and that upon such Holy occasions Oh! blessed be his Name he is the Keeper of Israel that neither Slumbers nor Sleeps but remembers his People and his Eye is open to see their Afflictions and his Ear is open to hear their Complaints and tender Groanings and no doubt but he will arise in his own due time to work Deliverance and Salvation and they shall glorify him Oh! my dear Friends how is my Soul overcome in the weighty Love of God at this time unto you all who Suffer or are given up to Suffer for his Name 's sake that hath Loved you and values your Testimony above all things and so are of that number that love not your Lives unto Death but are given up to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes Oh! my Heart is affected with you in your Testimony and can say as Debora of old My Heart is towards you who offer your selves willingly among the People now to Suffer in the Lambs Battle as they did to War in the outward War for that 's the way the Lamb and his followers do overcome he was made Perfect through Suffering And the Promise still is The Lamb shall have the Victory everlasting Glory and Honour and Praise to the Living God that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb who is worthy for ever more And therefore my dear Friends look not out look not back but to the Lord your Rock and Strength look for Help and for Deliverance for you know that its from him that Salvation comes and not from the Hills and Mountains for he is the God of the whole Earth and the Mountains shall Melt at his
not your Reward your Crown nor your Peace cannot reach to take it a way and that is our Joy that we have a Crown and Inheritance that is out of their sight and so out of their reach Oh therefore let all take heed that through carelesness or looseness of Spirit or any other thing you be not beguiled or betrayed from that to the losing of it while you are suffering for it You know my Friends it is possible such things have been even in our Age that while some have been suffering for the Truth they have been betrayed from the Truth and the Innocency and Simplicity of it in their Hearts and so have lost the Truth even that for which they were called to suffer For you know it is an inward thing and must be held in the inward unity of the Mind in a spiritual Fellowship and if there be not a care even while we are in one thing doing for the Truth in the outward in the inward we may lose it and our Justification by it and then whither shall we go for our Peace and Recompence The God of my Life give you all Wisdom and Fear and fill you with holy Reverence that you may still stand in awe before him and be watchful over your spiritual Path and the Feet of your Souls and Minds that you may invisibly tread in the invisible way of Peace and Righteousness And Dear Friends live in Peace and Love together amongst your selves and in a holy solid Life before all Men keeping out of the Spirit of the World in all things that as it is upon a Religious Account that you suffer you may appear in all other things to be Religious Men or otherwise you know the Truth cannot be honoured by your suffering For if Men that suffer for or upon the account of Religion appear not to be Religious Men this overthrows the Glory and Beauty of their Religion and brings it into Dis-esteem amongst Men And therefore did Christ command that our Light should shine before Men by their seeing of our good Works c. And Dear Friends have a care of provoking one another unto any thing that is Evil but endeavour to stir up and provoke one another unto Love and good Works that you may build up one another therein and so help to bear one anothers Burthen and fulfill the Law of Christ that you may all be kept up together in the Iustification and Peace And so Dear Friends my Heart's Love being unto you I send these few lines as a Testimony thereof by which you may know you are in my remembrance in the Love of God and my Heart hath an honourable Esteem of your Testimony and your Sufferings in Righteousness for the same I desire to be remembred to Friends in the Country both below Carlisle and above and Friends in the City to Io. Carlisle and Family with the rest My Wife 's dear Love is to you all My Love is with you Farewell From your Friend I. B. Dublin the 12 th of the 8 th Month 1685. Dear Friends IN the universal Spirit of Life and Truth and of Righteousness and Peace doth the tender Affection and pure Love of my Heart flow forth and reach unto you all who are true Lovers of the Power and the Holiness of the same wherein alone it is that we bear the Image of him whose Name is Holiness and his Nature and Being is Purity so that in that only we do draw and may draw near unto him and have Fellowship with him and enjoy his Presence who is our God our Life and Salvation And therefore in the Unity of that whereby we have been quickened and through which we Live unto him that hath quickned us do I exhort and beseech you all to mind with Reverence his secret and sweet Visitations by his Holy Power upon your Spirits in your Hearts that you feel that to appear there and so through the brightness of its appearing to destroy him whose coming is after the Working of Satan with all Power c. and with all Deceivableness of Unrighteousness in them that Perish And not only to appear and destroy him and his Works but also to abide with you and dwell in you and so make you his dwelling-place And then you being Watchful shall not Watch in vain because the Lord then will be your keeper and then as one said of old He keeping the City the Watch-man watcheth not in vain Thus you may see it fulfilled in your own Hearts unto your own Souls and so have Comfort and Confidence with Holy David and with him Live above the fear of Evil though you might walk through the Shadow of Death as he said because of the Lord 's being with you And therefore Friends see that you all be mindful of him in his Appearing by his Power and Spirit of Grace in your Hearts and let him have Room there and not to be straitned or thronged up or oppressed for he delights to dwell alone there and have the whole Heart to himself and at his own disposing that he may Fill it with that which he takes Pleasure in and in which he only may be Glorified and Honoured And therefore doth he require the Heart saying My Son give me thy Heart And Christ Commands That we should Love him with all our Hearts c. So as I said let him have room in your Hearts and take heed that with this World the Spirit of it Nature of it and Love to the things therein your Hearts be not filled and so taken up that there be not room for him whose coming is with such Glory and Fulness that he fitls all that are rightly poor and empty with that Fulness Richness and Glory that there can be no want to them that have him for their Portion and Inheritance and so keep single in their Hearts before him But where the Heart is filled with Delight in or desire after other things out of the Covenant of God which is out of his Favour there the Lord will not have delight to Dwell there is not room nay he will not have delight to appear there because it will be his Grief and an Oppression unto him Was it not so of old when he took up his Complaint against both Iudah and Israel As you may see Amos 2. how the Lord pleads with them and threatens them what he would bring upon them for their Sins that he reckons up against them and withall to aggravate their Crimes as he might justly do he also reckons up and tells them what he had done for them how he had destroyed the Amorites for their sakes brought them out of the Land of Egypt led them in the Wilderness given them the Land of the Amorites to Possess raised of their Sons to be Prophets and their young Men to be Nazarites But saith he unto them Ye gave my Nazarites Wine to Drink and commanded my Prophets saying Prophesy not behold I am pressed under
may come short of the Price the blessed Inheritance and so be such as Iames speaks of that ask and receive not because they ask amiss For the Heavenly Wisdom is to be sought after and waited for that comes down from above which teacheth and guideth in the Heavenly Way the Heavenly Path of Life and Salvation where every ones steps will be sure and their goings will be established and their understandings will grow For the Iust Man's Path will be as the shining Light that shines more and more unto the perfect Day Here none will be like those that beat the Air or run at an uncertainty the Apostle said they were not such yet there may be such whose Pains and Travels may be great Therefore still I say let your pressing be towards the Mark in the sense of the Lord's power which is the true Guide and the true Cross that mortifies and crucifies the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts and keeps Self down in the Death out of the Reputation for there is none due unto it For whosoever gives and seeks Reputation to it which ought to be made of no Reputation such can never rightly seek God's Honour nor work his Work nor obtain the right Price nor attain the Crown but must fall short at last For it is in him that crucifies Self and makes it of no Reputation that the Election stands and in whom the Heirship is for ever And therefore dear Friends wait all to feel his power in your Hearts and diligently mind the blessed working thereof that you may feel how it purgeth your Consciences from dead Works and cleanseth your Hearts from Sin for Sin defileth the Heart that it is not prepared for the Lord he will not dwell therein Therefore it must be washed and dead Works must be purged away for no Man can serve the living God therein it must be the living Works in the living Power wherein we must be accepted And so let all mind the living Power which is the living Guide which doth guide in the living Way and keeps alive unto God and so you will all be kept a living People and grow up in the living Wisdom that is from above which is inwardly taught by the living Gift that is received from the Father of Lights with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning And as you grow up in this Wisdom you will be constant there will be an establishing and such will shew out of a good Conversation their Works with Meekness and Wisdom But saith the Apostle if there be bitter Envying and Strife in your Hearts glory not and lie not against the Truth this Wisdom descendeth not from above but is Earthly Sensual and Devilish For where Envying and Strife is there is Confusion and every evil Work But the Wisdom that is from above is first pure and then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated full of Mercy and good Fruits c. And the Fruit of Righteousness is sown in Peace of them that make Peace so you may see the Fruits brought forth manifest the Wisdom from whence it comes The Heavenly peaceable Wisdom brings forth the peaceable Fruits of Righteousness and is full of Mercy gentle and easie to be intreated and full of good Works but the Earthly brings forth the contrary Therefore saith the Apostle If there be bitter Envying and Strife in your Hearts glory not and lie not against the Truth Say not thou art in the Heavenly Wisdom while this lodgeth in thee for this Wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly and sensual and therefore can never establish but bring Confusion because he is the Author of it that can never work good And therefore dear Friends let your Hearts be always kept in subjection unto that Power that bridles your Wills and crosses them and keeps you lowly humble and gentle where the daily dying which the Apostle was in may be witnessed and so you will see the true pressing forward towards the Mark and the true growing into Dominion over him that would hinder and then as Iames saith Swift to hear slow to speak slow to Wrath for the Wrath of Man worketh not the Righteousness of God Yet this I have often observed Man in a heat of Wrath would be working for God but in that he cannot work the Righteousness of God Therefore well said Iames Swift to hear slow to speak slow to Wrath And you know that he whom we ought to hear saith Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in Heart And so as every one learns of him and minds the leadings of his Power and the teachings of his spirit of Grace in their Hearts they will grow more and more like him and come into his Nature and healing Spirit and so in his Grace and Life be Healers and Saviours And therefore was it said by the Prophet they should be as Saviours upon Mount Zion Now Friends every one mind this saving healing power in your selves and bow in your Hearts unto it and be still in your Minds and calm and you shall see how it will sweeten you level your Spirits and bring down that which is high and losty and hard and you shall see how the Mountains will melt at the prefence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Iacob and you shall see how the Winds and Seas obey your Saviour and into what calmness he will bring your Spirits and then when all is still your Ear being opened which is the first Work of the Word you will be swift to hear and hearing your Souls will live And you will come down out of all the noises floatings and swellings into the calmness and stillness where you will admire your Saviour and say What manner of Man is this that even the Winds and Seas obey him And you will see that though Iordan over-flow her Banks yet at the leadings on of our Ioshuah and at the entrance of the feet of our High Priest it must be driven back that the Ransomed of the Lord may pass over dry-shod Much of this nature in Spirit may be read as there is a hearkning and keeping low but the forward rash and hasty are often tossed upon the Waters and very uncertain in their ways and doings and therefore do produce unto themselves much affliction of Soul and Spirit for to them the promise doth not belong where it is said He will keep them in perfect Peace whose Minds are stayed upon him because they trusted in him Now Friends methinks the Way is plain if every one would be careful to attend upon the power and its openings and give way thereunto and be humble for its the humble he teacheth his Ways and the meek he will guide in Iudgment and the willing and obedient he will feed for the Promise is They shall eat of the good of the Land And therefore I do beseech all be mindful be you all careful keep your Hearts out of the World and the
that we cannot easily be moved Though the Winds do blow and the Waters swell and toss and the unestablished be driven to and fro and so afflicted in their Spirits yet this Rock abides for a Habitation and Being of Safety unto all them that keep firm thereunto and so do abide near in their Spirit unto the holy Power thereof they find the living Spring of that Grace from the same in their Souls that the World cannot take away whose Treasure the Thief cannot steal nor the Moth waste for its Heavenly and kept by a Heavenly Hand And such who mind this will be ready to offer up their Earthly Substance and also themselves into his Hand and Will out of which no Man is able to pluck And surely in this Day there is no true Rest nor Satisfaction to the Souls or Spirits of Friends but as they get hither in the Faith with their Hearts and Spirits And when we are here spiritually oh this holy Shield how doth it defend Oh the holy Rock how do we sit under the shadow of it Oh the holy Ioy that the Dwellers upon this do feel in their Spirits though the Tempest be great Oh the God of Heaven keep us all in the holy sense of this that our Spirits may be born up from sinking under our Exercises in the Trial that so we may all glorify him in our Day Dearly Beloved you tender suffering Children whose Hearts are tender of God's Glory and therefore are willing to give up your selves and your all for his Name 's sake that you may be of that number who following the Lamb whithersoever he goes and not loving your Lives unto Death that may stand with him upon Mount Sion My Heart and Soul is knit unto you and you are near me and in the unity of the antient Life I feeling Love abundantly to flow unto you you have had a proof of the sincerity of my Love of old unto you And truly you that stand in your innocent Testimony faithfully do ingage my Heart still more and more in Love unto you Oh the tender meltings of my Spirit in the sweetness of the Love of God in which I reach you and rejoyce with you in your Ioy which all the Wrath of Man cannot put a stop unto I know your Hearts are at ease and your Spirits free and the Weights and Burdens from off you who are freely given up to suffer though in these Bonds outwardly But there can be no such spiritual Portion received by any that shrink from their Testimony in this Day of Trial. For the Word is true for ever They that suffer with him shall reign with him He the Captain was made perfect through Sufferings he must be followed by all that come in the fulness to pertake with him of his Glory And such who draw back and would find a place of Safety for themselves to escape their Sufferings for their Testimony though they should fly to the uttermost parts of the Earth the Lord's hand will find them out and there will not only be a holding back of the Portion but a spiritual Pain will overtake where the Heart is tender and because thereof uneasie will every ones place be unto their Spirits And therefore my dear Friends keep in the Faith and Word that Iustifies and then will you reign in the Seed that 's heir for ever wherein you will Overcome and Inherit and be Conquerors and so Triumph with the Lamb that must have the Victory before whose Feet the Crowns of all the Mighty must be laid down unto whom the Kings of the Earth and all Flesh must bow in him we trust his Heavenly Kingdom we wait for and pray for the coming of that even such as are our Enemies by the power thereof may be Converted unto God and so have an Inheritance with us in that Kingdom that hath no End That so Mankind might rest together in that Hope that makes not ashamed where the Love of God might be shed abroad in all Hearts by his Spirit Thus God is filling the Hearts of his Children with good Will towards all The Lord keep us therein for ever Dear Friends by this know that I am well and am now come to have a share with you of the Sufferings that attend for the Gospel's sake I have been three Weeks a Prisoner here in the Marshalsee of Dublin So in the true Fellowship of the Gospel am a Partaker with you both of the Sufferings and Consolation that attend us for the Testimony thereof I remain From the Marshals in the City of Dublin the 25 th of the 6 th Month 1683. Your Brother I. B. Dublin the 19th of the 6th Month 1685. Dear J. Banck UNTO thee with thy fellow-Prisoners who suffer for the blessed Testimony of that precious Truth in which we have believed doth the real and tender Affection and Love of my Heart and Soul flow forth at this time and in the sweetness and peaceableness of that which is our Life do I dearly salute you and in the unity thereof tenderly greet you all whose Hearts are kept up in that and under the holy conduct of it for which you suffer In this have we our unity which in it self lives and reigns over all and shall reign in its own pure Dominion and Dignity even the Power of our Lord Iesus Christ to whom Principalities and Thrones and Dominions must be subject It is for the Testimony of him you know that you suffer to wit the Testimony of Iesus which you have received from him by his Spirit and thereby have it sealed in your Hearts Though many do not understand the weight and certainty of your Testimony for which you suffer and therefore may look lightly upon it yet you who are enjoyers of the Power and so have received the Spirit of Iesus which is the Spirit of Prophesy and so his Testimony therein you feel the Weight of it and know the Certainty of the Testimony for which you suffer and so in your Sufferings have your Peace and Iustification And therefore my dearly Beloved in the Lord see that you all hold that fast in all your Hearts in the inward rich Possession of it for which you suffer that you may feel your Reward with you and your Comforter in you to bear up your Spirits over all your Sufferings and so you will have a Satisfaction in your selves that whatever others say or may think of your Sufferings and the reason thereof you know within your selves that it is for the Truth and its Testimony that you suffer and for the keeping of your Consciences clear in the sight of God And so in the hidden Man of the Heart you rest in quietness in that hidden Life which you receive from Christ and here is your Peace and Comfort which no Man can take from you no nor Man knows of it but such as are in Fellowship with you who live in and love the same Testimony And therefore those that know
you as a Cart is pressed that is full of Sheaves saith he Hence it may be understood that when he hath been at work and hath done good by his glorious Power who worketh wonderfully for them and now in them also that believe in his Power if there be a going from him and a letting in of other things into the Heart where he should Rule and have his Dwelling in Man and so with Man it becomes a Grief and an Oppression unto him and so a Provocation that he will not always bear it nor spare Man though he is long-suffering as may be seen very fully in that Prophesy of Amos and more at large through the Scripture which was written for our Learning that we might be warned and thereby be stirred up unto that diligence care and watchfulness which may tend to our preservation And now considering these things that were of old and observing how that in our Age the Lord hath made known his wonted goodness unto us even that which doth far exceed the outward Priviledges of outward Israel for that which he blesseth us withall is a Possession and Enjoyment of a degree of his own Life who is the Creator by which he Created all things which is more than the Enjoyment of the Creature the Loss of which was the great penalty laid upon Adam if he broke the Command which he having lost is again restored unto us through Christ Iesus the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven which we having received do thereby live unto God and therein serve him And so Dear Friends the thing that is chiefly in my mind unto you in the reach of the Heavenly Bowels is To intreat and beseech you all To be tender in your Hearts and careful over your Spirits that you may not let in nor join with any thing that will bring Grief or Oppression upon your Life or lead you into the Transgression of the Law thereof Mind the Exhortation of the Apostle Grieve not the Spirit by which you are Sealed c. And so as you are careful watchful and wise to take heed unto the Holy Conduct and Blessed Leadings and Direction of this Spirit and the Law thereof your Souls will dwell in Peace and your Feet will tread in a safe Path even the Path of Peace and your Steps will not Slide but you will witness what David said of old to be true The Righteous shall inherit the Land and dwell therein forever for saith he The mouth of the Righteous speaketh Wisdom and his Tongue talks of Iudgment The Law of his God is in his Heart none of his steps shall slide So here you see what it is that keeps from Sliding the Law of God which is in the Heart this preserved David for it was as a Lanthorn to his Feet and a Light unto his Paths Oh! my Dear Friends you may be happy yea we may all be happy if we be as careful as we ought to walk by this Rule Oh! the Sweetness Peace and Glory that he fills the Hearts of all his People with that take heed unto his Law the Spirit is not grieved the Life of the Soul is not Oppressed the Soul Life or Spirit of Man is at ease and so in the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God and so in that state where it can Sing unto the Lord and Praise him And therefore all of you mind your Dwelling and inward Liberty and Spiritual Freedom from all the Corruptions of the World and of the Flesh both inwardly in your selves and all Temptations from without that you may reign in the Dominion of the Seed Christ Iesus for ever and so with him be Co-heirs of that Heavenly Inheritance and Possession which he hath Purchased for you And so in the Unity of that Life which reigns over all do I very dearly Salute you all who Love the Truth and in that do I desire that the God of Life may bear up your Spirits by his Power over and a top of all that would Defile or Oppress that you may be preserved to remain the Sons and Daughters of God without Rebuke in and among this Crooked and Perverse Generation amongst whom do you Shine as Lights to the Glory of him who hath called you out of Darkness into his Marvellous Light who over all is worthy of Glory and Honour and Dominion World without End From Your Friend and Brother in the Truth I. B. Dublin the 23 d of the 11 th Month 1685. Dear R. R. IN the Love and Unity of the Blessed Truth which lives and abides for Ever do I very dearly Salute thee and thy Wife and therein is my Heart's desire for you unto the Lord that by his blessed Hand and Power you may be born up and supported under all Exercises that may attend and in your minds Preserved with an invisible Eye unto the Lord taking notice of his Orderings as it is his Hand that brings to pass what he sees Good and then in his Fear and Love there will be a Reverent Submitting unto his Will without Murmuring or Repining at what the Lord doth Though Nature in the True and Natural Affection which good Men and Women cannot be without may be broken and greatly bowed down yet as long as the mind is preserved from Murmuring at what the Lord doth it will be well there will be a Heart Capable of giving him his due as it was with Iob. Dear R. I must needs say my Heart is concerned for you both upon thy own Account having heard of thy great Weakness there and Affliction thou hast been under and also because of the Loss of thy Dear and Tender Daughter who in your Absence is taken away both from you and us But what shall I say It is so and the Lord hath done it and it is not safe to Dispute the Case with him or say Why hath he done so But tenderly submit unto his Will and bless him that gives and takes away as he sees good However this I think I may say to thee and thy Wife with safety you need not sorrow as such who have no Hope because of the ground God hath given for a sure Hope of her Eternal Well-being which is the Mark we are all Pressing towards and they are happy that do obtain it For I was with her that same day that she Dyed in the Afternoon and had a serious weighty season with her She sent for me and told me as soon as I came to her That now she was satisfied she must Die and her Heart was wholly set after her Assurance of Peace with the Lord and her desires to us to wit her Husband and me was That the Doctor might not trouble her or meddle with her for she was not willing to be molested or hindred from a quiet Departure For her Heart was set after a peaceable Departure out of this World as was evident from her words several times And she was very sensible and did speak to me with
opportunity for him to clear himself if innocent but it 's like he knowing in his Conscience his guilt made him fly from so reasonable an offer and shuffle as he hath done that he might escape coming to the Trial left he should be further manifested Now as to those three Principles Iames Barry promised to send forth his Arguments in Print to prove the Quakers grand Hereticks in they were in our Answer to one of his said Papers sent him laid down and expressed according to the following Words viz. To the first we affirm That we own the Resurrection and do believe that the Righteous shall rise and ascend into Glory and be glorified in Heaven with an Eternal Reward and that the Wicked also shall rise and come to Iudgment and be turned into Hell to receive an Eternal Punishment But that the same fleshly Body which must undergo Death and Corruption shall rise and enter into Heaven we leave for thee to prove and make good from the Scriptures of Truth being our selves satisfied in believing what the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 15. 36 37. when he answers the Fools Question saying That which thou sowest is not quickned except it die and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that Body that shall be c. and further saith verse 44. It is sown a Natural Body it is raised a Spiritual Body c. And in the same Chap. saith further verse 50. Now this I say Brethren that Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God neither doth Corruption inherit Incorruption Thus we laid it down and looking upon Iames Barry's Asserting That it must be the Fleshly Body which must Die and see Corruption for these are his words we did believe he contradicted the Apostle in so saying and also Christ himself who said that the Children of the Resurrection were equal unto the Angels c. Luke 20. 36. And therefore did we offer to Dispute with him in the Vindication of our Faith as to this Principle The second Errour that he charged upon us was That the Quakers deny that Men are Iustified and Saved by the alone Righteousness of Iesus Christ imputed without the Concurrence of inherent Righteousness And in another Paper Condemns us of Errour for Believing that the Active and Passive Righteousness of Iesus Christ is not the only Righteousness as imputed to us by God without any mixture of Righteousness inherent in us by the which Sinners must be Iustified and eternally Saved We Answered That we do own Righteousness to be Imputed of God and God's Imputation thereof to be a Blessing and Happiness unto Man but do not believe that Sinners shall be Iustified and Saved by the Imputation only of the Active and Passive Righteousness of Christ without us without any Righteousness wrought in us by the Spirit of Grace which comes by Iesus Christ. Let all People that are of understanding Hearts seriously consider this which he calls an Errour and charges upon the Quakers for such an Errour as that he will prove us grand Hereticks herein c. for allowing any mixture of Righteousness inherent in us that is cleaving to or abiding in One might think he had never read the Scriptures thus to exclude the work of Grace in the Heart Did not the Apostle say Eph. 2. 5. By Grace ye are Saved and vers 8. again By Grace ye are Saved through Faith not of your Selves it is the Gift of God And was not this Grace a Spiritual Gift And was it not to be in their Hearts Did not the Apostle say Let the Word of God dwell richly in you And were they not to sing with Grace in the Heart Col. 3. 16. And was not Christ in them the Hope of Glory Chap. 1. 27. And did not Christ say Iohn 3. 3. Except a Man be Born again or from above he cannot see the Kingdom of God And vers 5. Except a Man be Born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God For that which is Born of the Flesh is Flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit as v. 6. From all which it is evident that none can enter the Kingdom of God without this Regeneration and being Born again And how can this New Birth be without the work of the Spirit of Christ in the Heart And how can this work of Regeneration be wrought and no Inherent Righteousness Or how can it be that a Man may be Born of the Spirit or from above and have no Righteousness abiding in him And without this work of Regeneration and New Birth you see Christ saith he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven This being rightly understood let Iames Barry tell us what manner of Justification and Salvation that is which he means that is without any mixture of Righteousness wrought in a Man by the Spirit of Grace or abiding in him for he saith By the alone Righteousness active and passive of Christ imputed without any mixture of Righteousness inherent must Sinners be justified and eternally saved But it is evident from Christ's Words that by this eternal Salvation of Iames Barry's a Man cannot enter the Kingdom of God for they are not prepared for it Behold Christ saith John 15. I am the Vine ye are the Branches abide in me and I in you And verse 5. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much Fruit Without me ye can do nothing Now can it be possible that any should be in Christ and Christ in them and yet no Righteousness Inherent that is sticking to or abiding in them and yet they as Branches bearing Fruit and if they do not bear Fruit they are to be taken away then not Saved and Justified if they be taken away and if they bear Fruit Christ is in them and they in him Then if it be so Righteousness is Inherent both by sticking to and abiding in So let Iames Barry make out how any can be in Christ and Christ in them and no Righteousness Inherent Or otherwise how any can be Fruitful and consequently Justified and Saved and Christ not in them and they in him seeing Christ saith it cannot be And verse 6. You may see the end of all that abide not in Christ As withered Branches cut off they are gathered for the Fire So that they that abide not in Christ bear no Fruit and are neither Justified nor Saved agreeing with the very Parable Christ speaks Matth. 9. 17. Neither do Men put New Wine into Old Bottles else the Bottles break and the Wine runneth out and the Bottles perish c. Which plainly demonstrates there must be an inward work of renewing for it is not the Old that must enter Therefore the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any Man be in Christ he is a new Creature And in 1 Cor. 5. 7. The Apostle exhorts them to purge out the old Leaven that they might be a new Lump c. and in Gal. 6. 15.