A Guide to the Blind Pointed to Or a true TESTIMONY TO THE Light within Wherein some men are reproved others counselled and encouraged but all who are ignorant of their true Guide directed to the path of Life With a Friendly CALL to all Notionists and high Professors of Religion in what Form soever To come speedily down from their Pinacles lest they fall into temptation Also some Queries to the persecuting Ministers of the Church of ENGLAND VVritten for the Truths sake by T.F. The darkness is past the true Light new shineth 1 Joh. 2.8 See therefore that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise Eph. 5.15 London Printed for the Author and are to be sold by G. Calvert at the Black-spread Eagle near the west end of Pauls N. Brooks at the Angel in Cornhil 1659. THE PREFACE READER ALthough I have bin for many yeers a true seeker of the kingdom of Heaven yet had I been one who had sate in the seat of the scorner or been disobedient unto the Light or motion of Gods Spirit upon those Waters in me which had neer over-whelmed my Soul I should have remained as most men still do in darkness even until now or else been like unto those who are a sleep in sin neither knowing nor beleeving any other state attainable in this life who yet notwithstanding are bold to say They see But blessed be the Lord God I am not of their unbelief but of that faith which overcomes the World Sin and the Devil Friend If thou art such a one to wit a sinner and beleevest thou canst not be otherwise here and yet will presumptuously say Thouseest Know thou That Christ Iesus came to make thee blind and that those who are blind and sensible of it might see And thou who art a sleep in sin and dead whilest thou livest Arise and listen thou to the voice of Christ and to his knock in thee if thou wilt live to God open the door of thy heart unto him betimes He it is who calls to sinners to be pure and to be perfect as our heavenly Father is He it is who cryed out to Jerusalem to be gathered under his wing and he also if thou will be gathered would gather thee O refuse him not for he it is who hath called me out of darkness into light and caused me to listen to his still voice within me and he it is who calls to thee also to return and live saying to thee as he did to Israel Why will ye die O House of Israel Now that thou mayest know I am none of those that cry Lohere Or Loâ—hers nor of the many Sects and divided Judgments in this Nation I shall briefly tell thee how many by-wayes I have past through and how restless I was in them all till I came to own the light of Christ in me First As to my Education I must tell thee it was such a was in the fear of the Lord into which I admonish thee to hasten and therein continue all the dayes of thy life for I assure thee there is no safety but in that state and in the pure life of innocency from which all men by disobedience are fallen It 's not talking of the holy life but living it that can give thee an entrance into Paradice for the flaming Sword is turned against the transgressor so that he cannot touch the tree of life much-less eat thereof but with the Serpent must feed upon dust all the dayes of his life O Make haste Friend to the life of Obedience and come down from the barren Mountains lest thou die for there is no bread to be had there Consult no longer with the Serpents carnal reasonings in thee nor with his numerous and busie Agents without thee perswading thee that purity is not to be attained here Oh! that thou wouldest consider that the Soul which sinneth must die and that as the tree falls so it lyes that there is no Repentance in the Grave nor any other Way to life but by keeping the Commandments of God Friend Thy Enemy is within thee therefore look at home keep the Watch well there and if thou canst pray that thou enter not into temptation for the Devil now goes about roaring like a Lyon and is seeking whom he may devour Oh! beleeve not those that say The best of Gods Children cannot be free from sin in this life for I declare to thee they are all of the black Army of Satan and for the support of his kingdom are they come to fight and to make War with the Lamb and his followers who walk with him in white Remember thou That without holiness no man shall see God and that the pure in heart and they only can see him And thou who art flown high in thy comprehension of aiery Notions without life thou must descend and dwell in the Low-valley where once thou hadst some sooting for thy safety is there and no where else Come thou into the cool of the day and hear Gods voice unto thee who chargeth thee with eating of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil Thou hast lost thy state of happiness by hearkning to the Woman thy fallen Reason who is not to speak in the Church for thou hast suffered to be marr'd the holy Creation of God in thee and there is no way lest now for thee but to come to Christ Jesus the light of the world and life of man He it is though thou hast despised him because his appearance is low in thee who must repair the breach between God and thee but if thou reject him who is thy light and who would be thy leader thy stare is worse then fallen Adams was thou art now one with the Angel of false light Darkness will be thy portion as it is his for evermore Friend What I have further to say in this Preface may give thee some light of the crooked-wayes thou art not to walk in and therefore shall proceed to give thee an accompt of my wandring steps which the Lord hath now brought to my remembrance even from my Child hood The fear of God I say was before me even from my Youth so that when I was but a School-Boy I durst not omit my Morning and Evening Sacrifice of Prayer to God upon any pretence whatsoever Never did I swear an Oath but once since I was born and that was upon great provocation by a lewd Boy when I was about twelve yeers of age But such was the goodness of God to me then that presently after I had spoken the word I found trouble in my Conscience and condemnation for it many yeers after My Companions were mostly such as were sober and freest from scandal and I can truly say I remembred my Creator in the dayes of my Youth and was a true seeker of the Kingdom of Heaven from such time as I had an understanding to believe there was such a Kingdom to be sought after And when I
come to the truth nor be led by the Spirit of Truth for the Children of God are all guided by the infallible spirit so long as they be faithful followers of it and they live in the spirit and walk in the spirit and talk in the spirit and act in the spirit all which is a Riddle to thee and impossible for any to open unless he have the gift of Faith to believe in the mighty Power of God which is the Son of God Friend whosoever thou art that art of this perswasion I must declare unto thee from the Lord Thy Faith is but Faney thou art still in Aegypt and like to perish in the Wilderness O be perswaded to search the Scriptures and to believe in Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of the Faith of his Disciples of Whom thou art none as thou now stands forbear thou to make mention of the holy and infallible Spirit of Truth which in their several measures all possess who are taught of God until thou are freed from the spirit of Error and come out from the fleshly apprehensions of the Divine Truth to see the infallible things of God by the eye of living Faith and if you come to know the Lord his truth your rotten foundations must be removed and your Faith built upon the Rock of Ages Dost thon think that because thy heart is filled with unbelief of the mighty Power of God and because thou knowest not the secrets of the Lord revealed unto thee in regard thou art not come into his fear that therefore the Lord doth not reveal his secret to any No no thou are miserably deluded and bereft of the right use of thy understanding by Satan and his Minister for know thou the Lord is as merciful now as ever as good now as ever and as free to reveal himself and his secrets unto those that fear him now as ever he was Canst thou be ignorant of this That the Lord reveals his secrets to them that fear him Or that the secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him Psal. 25.14 Or Prov. 3.32 That his secret is with the Righteous And Amos 3.7 That the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants Friend There is no way to come to the knowledge of God but by the Revelation of the Son of God in us witnessing with our spirits whose children we are And all that I shall say further to thee herein is this My soul shall weep in secret for thee and and thy Teachers who have caused thee to err they themselves not knowing the truth by saying Revelation is ceased when there is no other way to know God by A Word of Counsel to him that feels himself loaden with his sins and groans for deliverance but complains that he wants power ART thou laden with the burthen of thy sins And dost thou mourn in secret praying to God for case and pardon Or Art thou black with lying in the mire and filthy pollutions of this World so that thou art ready to say From the crown of my head to the sole of my foot I am full of wounds and putrified sores and would fain be made clean Art thon possest with the spirit of error and ignorant of the truth of God And wouldst thou be acquainted with the Spirit of God to guide thee into all truth and lead thee into the path of holiness Wouldst thou be freed from the spirit of pride self-love passion and emulation towards thy Neighbour Art thou covetous of gain and earthly-minded and dost not do to another as thou wouldst be done unto wanting the Royal Law of Love to be thy Rule Art thou possest not onely with one evil spirit but Legions and seest no power to resist the least assault of the Enemy Then be thou counselled by one who hath felt the weight and burchen of most of these evils and seen deliverance in a measure to own the light in thy conscience and that will open unto thee a door of hope and shew thee a Fountain where Judah and Jerusalem Jew and Gentile Christian and Heatheu Profane and Professor high and low rich and poor may wash in and be made clean yea and from all their filthiness may they be cleansed And if thou do so viz. own the Light in thy conscience and obey it it will lead thee to holiness And thou that complainest for want of power against sin I tell thee and do affirm unto thee whoever thou art Thou hast power unless with the unjust Steward thou hast buryed it in thy corrupt heart and made no improvement of it and the Lord for thy unsaithfulness hath taken it from thee and given it to him who hath been a better husband of his gift then thou hast been For this I say That the Lord hath given a Talent or measure of himself to every one to profit withal which is his light in every conscience the which whosoever doth not improve shall have it taken from him and he be cast into utter darkness for there is a day vvhen the Candle of the Wicked shall be put out and he shall have no light to vvalk by though he seek it and that vvith tears Remember Iudas and be vvarned by him to be faithful to thy Master and to obey him even whilst the Light shines upon thee and would guide thee least thy repentance be too late as his was and thou be with him called a Son of Perdition but if thou obey the Light in thy conscience which convinceth thee of sin I declare unto thee as a Word from experience of the mighty Power of God and of its powerful working there That it will not only give thee power against gross corruptions but against vain thoughts and idle words and though thy sins be red like crimson they shall be as Wool and as red as scarlet they shall be as white as snow Be willing therefore and obedient and thou shalt eat the good of the Land but if thou refuse and rebel thou shalt be devoured with the Sword The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Some Hope left for the persecuting Magistrate of England if his Day of Grace be not past already PEradventure thou mayest say unto me I have been a Civil Magistrate and a great Persecutor of the Saints 〈◊〉 the Most High God who have few or none on earth to plead their cause how shall I find mercy from the Lord for I am the greatest of sinners That when the Servants and Messengers of the Lord have come into our Cities Towns Villages or Market-places to preach repentance and declare against sin and to bring the glad tydings of the Gospel into our quarters where it was never preached before I have not been so sober unto them as the Gadarenes were to Christ who when he came to cast out unclean spirits and to do them good they entreated him to depart out of their coasts but I instead of entreating have compelled
the dead dwell in you be that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodyes by his spirit that dwelleth in you Ver. 11. and Ver. 9. If any man hath not the spirit of Christ he is none of his And again If Christ be not in you then are you reprobates 2 Cor. 13.5 By all which places it is most evident That Christ is the light of man and that he lighteth every man that cometh into the World of what Countrey or Nation soever and none can deny this unless he will unman himself and say he is not of the race and generation of manking So then it is clearly demonstrated to him that can read the Scriptures That Christ is the Saints Guide and that he is their hope of glory in them And thou that deniest Christ in man to be his Guide thou art either a reprobate or no man For Friend this is my Testimony for the Lord and it is the Testimony of thousands at this day blessed for ever be his Name That Christ within is man's true Guide and also man's true Light to walk by and that in him is life and the life is the light of men and that this light shineth in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it read 1 Ioh. 4.5 Yet now if any shall say he is in the light and hateth his Brother he is in darkness and knoweth not whether he goeth To thee then who art a hater of thy Brother assure thy self that thou art none of the Children of Light not have I any thing to say to thee but this Thou art condemned already as well by the Light within thee as by the children of Light without thee For God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him 1 Joh. 4.16 But to the poor soul who is ignorant of his true Guide and is willing to follow him if he knew where to find him my counsel to him is this Look at home for thy Saviour is near unto thee and blessed art thou if thou canst believe it and obey him To thee I say that art seeking thy Saviour with all thy heart and art restless till thou find him Know for thy comfort that he is near to thee and to every one that is of an upright heart and is even in thy heart and in thy mouth Rom. 10.8 Seek him not then at a distance from thee or in any outward thing for he that justifies thee is near unto thee and if ever thou find him in truth thou wilt say as Iacob did That he was in this place and thou knewest is not Wouldst thou have thy Saviour and thy Guide to lead thee by his un-erring and infallible spirit Then cease from man whose breath is in his Nostrils and turn to the living God with whom onely the Well-springs of life are to be found Salvation is not to be had from the Hills nor from the Mountains neither from this divided judgement or that but from Jesus alone who is in his Saints the hope of glory and is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that believe I say The Tabernacle of God is with men and though he be the High and Holy one that inhabiteth Eternity yet is his dwelling also with him that is of a lowly heart and trembleth at his Word The spirit of Christ in man is the true Guide all others are false ones his Light in man is the true light al others are false ones Oh be not so willingly blind as not to see it nor so wilfully ignorant as not to know it He it is that condemneth sin in the flesh and reproves man for a vain thought or wanton look when nothing without him can Turn in the eye of thy mind than and hearken to his checks and daily reproofs in thee Knowest thou not that the state of reprobation belongs to him that hath not Christ in him Friend thy Saviour is within thee and if ever thou know him aright it must be there for there O there it is that thee and I have crucified him that is Lord of life and this is that Jesus whom the Jews crucified at Jerusalem but is now crucified by the false Christians within them and by them put again to an open shame as their Streets Market-places Cities Towns and Villages do declare by stocking mocking stoning cruel whipping long imprisoning and persecuting unto death his Members But now is come and is coming a day of tryal upon all prosessions whatsoever and all professors must now be tryed whether their faith be true or feigned none must escape the siery tryal but the judgement of the Lord will pass upon all high and low great and small poor or rich airy notions as well as carnal Ordinances which all perish with the using and now seen thorough in this day of light for the Sun which hath long sate in a Cloud is arisen to discover the inward subtilty and hypocrisie as well as the outward superstition and idolatry of all hearts Bring thy Works then to the light of Christ Jesus in thy own conscience that so they may be manifest whether they are wrought in God or nou for he that hideth his sin shall not prosper And thou who art a sinner and believest that thou canst not be freed from them because the blind guides have told thee so there is little ground for thee to hope for mercy for the sinner cannot stand before the Lord nor the wicked in the Congregation of the righteous nor can any unclean thing enter into Heaven Know thou that it is sin that crucifies thy Saviour who though he bear with patience the sinners burthen for a time being pressed therewith as a Cart with sheaves yet thou wilt one day find he will cast off the heavy burthen upon the sinners own back which when the Lord hath done striving with him will be too unsupportable for him to bear Oh that no poor soul would suffer himself to be mislead and deceived by blind Guides in a matter of so great concernment as the everlasting salvation or damnation of their immortal souls for the Light of Christ Jesus hath appeared unto thousands and discovered their Egyptian darkness and false Doctrine and can prove them to be such builders as reject the Corner-stone and declare lyes in the Name of the Lord And for which appearance of Christ in his Saints glory be given to the Father to the Son through the blessed Spirit for evermore Christ Jesus is to be known within by all who will approve themselves no reprobates and so to be within them as to live his life of meekness of patience of long-sufferance of mercy and compassion of goodnese of gentleness of wisdom and godly fear of self-denial of perseverance of faith of hope of love and whatsoever else are the fruits of his spirit and presence in us Friends 'T is not a Christ without that will save you but the same Christ which dyed
came to be about 16. yeers of age I then began to Pray out of my usual Form as finding nought but deadness in my Form of Prayers which I had got so that by little and little I Prayed by rote and I encreased in yeers I applyed my self to Reading Sermon-Books and often to Hear and Write Sermons after the choicest of the Presbyterian-Way whom I conceived then were most Orthodox Early did I rise to Read and Meditate of God whom I then look'd on at a distance from me as most men do but he was in this place and I knew if not the Lord was with me in all my crooked-wayes and preserved me but I saw him not nor what it was that breathed in me after God I did not know it was the seed of God which was in bondage and groaned to be delivered into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God Often did I with Tears beg for pardon of my sins and assurance of my Salvation which I prized above all the world and did often say within my self That if I could but gain Assurance of that I could be content to be miserable in this World as long as I should live in it Company was many-times a burthen unto me and to be retired and much alone was my great delight that so I might freely breath forth my Soul to God for the assurance of his Love and to be freed from everlasting burnings The consideration of Eternity was often in my mind and many-times would this voice sound in me Arise ye dead and come to judgement But alas What hope of Assurance could I have of my Salvation whilest I gave Faith to such Teachers as affirmed That the best of Gods Saints cannot be free from sin in this life and in the same breath also said That the least sin deserved the torments of Hell fire for ever May not a poor Soul who presseth after holiness truly say They are miserable Comforters Oh! who can be assured of his Salvation or gain Assurance thereof that beleeves false Doctrine to be true and instead of living the Holy life believes it is not attainable Can any man be assured of his Salvation whilest he is a sinner surely no and if no Assurance then surely no Salvation for the Soul that sinneth must die and without holiness no man shall see the Lord By this and such like Doctrine was my life made very uncomfortable and though I knew little by my self to deserve the torments of Hell being alwayes of a sober life and free from the gross pollutions of this world Yet the fear of Hell was a contimsa 〈…〉 torment unto my mind insomuch that I often wish'd I had never been born or that there had been no God to punish me Yet I can truly say Religion was my chief businss and my great delight was in hearing Sermons receiving the Sacrament as they call it to be often conversant in Fastings and frequent in outward Worships and carnal Ordinances all which perish with the using so that I never could have enough of them Tears was my delight and mourning in secret was a refreshing to my Soul and when I could not weep I prayed and when I could not pray I wept and sometimes I prayed and wept till I had wept my self to silence before the Lord and when I neither could weep nor pray then trouble and perplexity seized on my Spirit and I should begin to fear the danger of a hard heart and that the Spirit of Prayer was taken from me Blasphemeus thoughts would sometimes surprize me and the terrors of Hell get hold upon me and how to escape I knew not No comfort could I receive from any of my Teachers for when by the best of their marks and signs I judged my self in a safe condition yet the witness of God would rise through all that false peace which they had spoke to me and accuse me of being a sinner And this was my case for many yeers and my condition was very unsafe as all theirs is who are yet in Egypt leaning upon men and forsaking the Lord But the Lord God after long seeking to him in secret seeing my integrity and that the desire of my Soul was after him and to be holy as well as happy He mercifully brought me out of Egypt and delivered me from those cruel Taskmasters Builders of Confusion and set me at liberty to travel towards the Holy Land for in all the Land of Egypt I found no outward Guide to lead me out of my Egiptian darkness though something within me would often groan and say Return unto thy rest O my Soul thus I say the Lord pitying my soul pardoning my sins winking at my ignorance and bottling up my tears set me free from bondage That being delivered out of Egypt and journying towards Canaan I met with divers sorts of Travellers with whom I had converse acquaintance As first with those of the Independent-way but finding after a short time that there was little difference between them and the others and that the path they went in was too broad and would not bring me to rest I forsook them and travelled forward towards those men of the Baptized-way who for some season I heard and observed but finding that the main stress of their Argument that their Way was right was because they submitted to the Ordinance of Baptism pleading difficulty if not impossibility for any to come to Canaan unless they were re-baptized I search'd into the Doctrine of Baptisms also wherein I found That Water-Baptism or Johns Baptism was but onto Repentance which was effected in me already and that it could not wash away my inwardâ—ilth and therefore must decrease And I considering that the Apostle saith There is now but one Baptism to wit that of the Spirit and that that is the only Baptism for every Christian to be Bapized with if he will be cleansed and purged from sin And considering that Iesus himself Baptized none and that Paul saith he came not to Baptize but to Preach the Gospel And that this Ordinance was only Apostolical and not relating to Christians now I left them and their Water and travelled towards those called Notionists with whom after I had travelled a while I began to conclude them to be the men that I must walk with and so followed them as seeing more of truth to wit in the Notion of it then in any I had met with before and was much enlightned but after I had been with them a while I found I could not Pray as I was wont to do and so began to fear I was now further from the right way then ever I was before and being now come to the red Sat I had a lingring and secret longing to the Garlick and Onions of Egypt again yet the Lord kept me from going back into Egypt where was no light at all but I walked in the Wilderness to and again for many yeers together filling my
head with Notions and comprehending of Mysteries which were very pleasant and delightful unto me Thus I wandred up and down from one tree of knowledge to another and in many a by-path I trod seeking for rest but found none and though the Spirit of innocency often cryed in me Return return and come into the narrow-way which leads to life yet I flattered my self that I had been there already and that I was now come to the Borders of Canaan one while conceiving my self there and set down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom but by and by a branch from the old Root would arise in me and break forth into passion rash and hasty words and overturn all my Confidence again and give me to understand I was not in that Kingdom for that there was nothing of Pride or Passion self-conceit or vain laughter or foolish and idle talking and jeasting but giving of thanks and rejoycing in the Lord continually and that they who were in that kingdom were led by the Spirit lived in the Spirit and walked in the Spirit and were at rest in the Lord injoying the fellow ship and society of just mens Spirits Now that I was not here I was clearly convinced often and instead of enjoying this state I had the other set before me as my Condition and the Lord let me see how my poor Soul was be-wildred And then after 14 years wandring up and down I began to see and find my way out and not till then Then I saw my self at a loss and in the dark and was made to confess That if I had perished in the Wilderness yet the Lord was righteous in my destruction because that when he would have led me by the gentle motions of his Spirit and Light in me yet I Refused it and went forth to men chusing the tree of Knowledge and neglecting the tree of Life for my â—ood But blessed be the God of Israel who is not a barren wilderness to those that seek him in truth and singleness of heart He shewed unto me the way that I should walk in to wit The strait and narrow â—ath which leads to Canaan and that by a foolish people in the Worlds esteem was I directed the way to eternal life But after I was perswaded of the way to life and convinced of the truth as it is in Jesus and after the seed of the Kingdom began to stir in my earthly tabernacle and to take root to my heart then the Enemy came in the form of an Angel and set me on a suddain upon the Pinacle of the Temple where I was made to beleeve I saw over all the Children of truth and was ready to sit down there also But after the Lord in his rich Mercy had let me see my danger and how I had been misled by the Angel of false Light He directed me to the low valley there to abide and assured me that if I would be a true Disciple of Christ indeed I must take up the Cross daily and follow him and be obedient to his Light in my Conscience which convinceth of the most secret sin And now that I may bring in my Testimony to the truth which was once delivered to the Saints and which now is again made known to the Children of the most High and That I may set to my Seal to the Doctrine of the Cross I here Declare to all the Sects up on earth and to all people high and low Professor or Prophane That the despised people whom the scorners of this age call QVAKERS are the true Disciples of Christ Jesus viz. Such amongst them as are faithful followers of the Lamb and obedient Children of the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world By them is the Everlasting Gospel preached again to the Sons and Daughters of men and blessed are all those that hear and obey the sound thereof The glad tydings of Salvation I say is preached by them and whosoever he be that shall bring any other Gospel is disowned by all the true Disciples of Jesus and Sons of the Light They are the Sheep of Christ and amongst them is the true Shepherd of Israel known and he goes in and out before them To them and in them hath the Light of the world appeared and the life of men communicated himself and I must say I sate in darkness till I heard them These are they who having past through all forms are come into the power and are knit together into one body whereof Christ Jesus is head These are they who take up their daily Cross and follow him These are they who pass through great tribulation and through many and fiery tryals These are they who are the true Worshippers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth and love not their lives unto death These are they who are Redeemed from the Earth though upon it These are they that are come to Mount Sion and to the City of the living God and to the innumera 〈…〉 of Angels and to the Spirits of just and 〈…〉 and to the General Assembly of the fir 〈…〉 se Names are written in Heaven These are 〈…〉 who are Sons of God and are led by the infallible spirit into all truth These are they who are joint-Heirs with Christ whose fellowship is with the Father and the Son in the Spirit and they shall Reign with him for ever and ever Glory be to his Name for evermore Friend by these I say was I directed to obey the light in my Conscience which convinceth of sin when nothing else can and to which they direct all men who are in the dark to follow In so doing was I brought out of darkness into his marvelous Light Glory be to the Light and to the Laâ—â— for evermore Thus I have given thee a short account of my journey so far and now can boldly say with David My hearts is fixed my heart is fixed and I have nought to do now but to give thanks and to follow the Lamb of God whithersoever he goes And now Friend let me ask thee Is the Lord the desire of thy soul And dost thou pant and breath after him as the Hart doth after the Water-brooks Is truth in the inward parts the thing thou would have And art thou indeed and in truth a true seeker of the Kingdom and restless till thou findst it Then let me advise thee Seeke the Lord where he may be found to wit in thy own heart for that it his Temple and there will he dwell if thou be upright I say the tabernacle of the Lord is with men and there only will he be found Scourge then out those Buyers and Sellers that dwell there suffer not the House of God to be a den for Thieves and Robbers to reside in for whilest thou givest entertainment unto them the Lord will not make his abode with thee Put therefore the evil thing out of thy Camp that so thou mayest receive
then who are looking for the Resurrection of your Saviour with the eye of the first Adam which is natural and to come without you know you that your eyes will fail you and your expectations be in vain for him whom you look for is a spirit and invisible to all but to the Spiritual man And While you are looking for his coming to be hereafter the spiritual man can tell You he is already come and converseth with him daily and this is the reason that the Saints and Servants of Christ who do his Will can endure stocking stoning mocking cruel whipping and tedious imprisonment Why Because they have seen conversed with Jesus who by his power enables them to suffer what man can do unto them He that hath an ear to hear let him hear But thou maist say unto me Is there no other Resurrection of Christ then what is in man And are we not to look for the coming of Christ and the Resurrection of our Bodies also at the last day For an answer to this Friend consider that the resurrection of Christ without was there where he had been entombed or buried and there was he to rise again that so a testimony thereof might be given to the unbeliever and as encouragement and strengthening to the Faith of those that did believe therein Now Friend so it is Christ is risen in his Saints and hath appeared unto them there even as he rose from the Grave and appeared to his Disciples and others without and though thou wouldst give large money to us to make false Reports of his Resurrection yet we cannot but must tell you all Christ is risen from the grave of our souls where he was once buryed with earthly-mindedness and the cares of this World but the Grave being able to hold him no longer he is come forth and is manifest to thousands in this age who at first when he appeared to them without to wit in carnal Ordinances they knew him not but he being now come in spirit according to his promise we cannot but declare it unto you being the things which our ears have heard our eyes seen and our hands handled of the Word of Life that so ye might have fellowship with us And thou who lookest for the resurrection of thy carnal body I shall not contradict thee in thy faith nor do I deny the resurrection of the body nor shall I say to thee any other thing then what Paul said to to the Corinth THOU FOOL That which thou sowest is not quickned except it dye and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain perchance of wheat or some other corn but God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him First come to the life of Jesus in thy self and when thou canst say Now I live yet nor I but Christ liveth in me thou shalt better understand the Resurrection of the Body For the natural man discerns not the things of God because they are spiritual Then and not till then thou shalt know the first and second Resurrection A Friendly Call to all Notionists Separatists and high Professors of Religion in what form soever or out of form to come down from their Pinacles of imagination lest they fall and rise no more Friends Come all down from your seats you sit in slippery places and are in great danger and peril of your lives who though you have had many Allarums to call you away you are still asleep in spiritual pride or airy notions without life What do you mean Will you suffer the Angel of false light to be your guide whilst the glorious light of Christ and glad tydings of the everlasting Gospel declared almost every where in the Nation to pass by you and take no notice of it I cannot but pitty your souls seeing the great delusion you are in Poor hearts you are got too high to sit in safety for the God of Heaven and Earth will dwell with none who are not poor in spirit and tremble not at his Word I say if you would have the Lord to dwell with you you must all become Tremblers O remember that self-exaltation was the fall of Lucifer that Angel of false Light and so will be the fall of all who are not meek and lowly in heart and abide not there It 's the Devil's Work to elevate the mind of man above his measure and that he may accomplish it he perswades the man he can shew him all things in a Mystery and set him where he may see beyond the reach of others on a sudden deluding him with this old bait That he shall be as God knowing good and evil Thus he deluded Eve and so he will do every simple heart who keeps not in the pure fear of the Lord but goes forth to hear the voice of the stranger For had Eve kept to her measure and been contented therewith the Devil could not have beguiled her but she going forth was by a temptation mislead and so lost her innocent state and her true Guide within her And now the Serpent being the subtillest of all the Beasts of the Field and perceiving that man is eager of knowledge and desirous to comprehend all things in himself in a mysterie it being too low a thing for so noble a creature to go out for knowledge he sets himself in the seat of God and exalteth himself in man lifting him up also above the pure Seed of God which lyes buryed in man and sets at naught poverty of spirit perswading him he is beyond the first Principles of Religion and above the Doctrine of the Cross and that he is now at rest in God when indeed and in truth poverty of spirit the man hath peradventure never yet known nor the true fear of the Lord neither or if he hath he is made to believe that there are higher things to be known then the mystery of the Cross and so suffers the Devil to delude and blind him Poor heart Thy delusion is strong indeed and thy condition most to be lamented Where dost thou find that the fear of the Lord is a low dispensation whenas man is to abide therein all the day long I say though it be day with man yea noon-day where the Flock of Christ are at rest yet the fear of the Lord is never to be left it being part of the Everlasting Gospel which the Angel preached saying FEAR GOD Rev. 14.6.7 What 's the reason Friends that you stand so far off and keep at such a distance from those that dwell in the Valley where the cross is dayly to be born so long as you have a vain thought to be subjected or a high look to be brought down Is it not because you think your selves higher and taller by the head and shoulders then your Brethren and that they are but dwarfs in knowledge in comparison to you Is it not because you look on the Cross to be a low attainment and that you
are wearing the crown Friends let me be plain with you How came you into the fear of the Lord Did that which brought you in lead you out again Surely no the Work of the Lord is perfect and stands for ever and the true Members of Christ Jesus call not this high or that low but they know that if any man will be great amongst them he is to be servant to all I say the Members jar not nor clash not one against another but there is a most sweet harmony in the body without any discord at all the highest doth not say to the lowest I have no need of thee nor the lowest doth not say so to the highest But friends is it not because you have felt the Cross too heavy for you to hear having once taken it up and laid it down again Or is it because you would shun judgement which you must come to again and love it too before you can meet with the Lord in peace Peradventure thou thinkest thy self some wise man in knowledge and so hast been accounted in thy generation and for thee to become a fool or to come back again after so great a profession of Christ as thou hast made would be to thy dishonor and shame would cover thy face If thus thou reasonest know this Thou art thy own Enemy and thou lovest the praise of men more then the glory of God or the salvation of thy own soul And since you cannot deny but the poor receive the Gospel the rich are sent empty away with all their words of mans Wisdom How comes it to pass that the plain and naked Truth of God preached in power and practised in simplicity is of no more account amongst you Friends be not deceived in your selves for you cannot deceive us The Light of Christ Jesus in us hath discovered you all to be out of the way who own it not Are you sent of God who cry Lo here or low there as some of you do and creep into Chambers and private places there speak with your doors shut Is this in times of freedom like the practice of the true Ministers of the Gospel who preach the glad tydings thereof to all inviting all and beseeching all to receive it that so all might come in or be left without excuse Can any of you say you preach the everlasting Gospel by the Revelation of Christ Jesus in you Or do you not confess your selves to be fallible and such as preach from a large comprehension of what you have heard or read peradventure from H. N. or Jacob Behem c Is what you preach of God And are all your springs in him If yours be the everlasting truth of God come forth and declare your Message to all for truth seeks no corners The Kingdom of Heaven is like a draw-net which being cast into the sea receives all that comes in but treasures up none but the good fish if then you would be Fishers of men come to the sea-shore stand in an open place and cast in your Nets into the seas of Confusion of this World prick people to the heart by your powerful Ministration and convince thousands of their Errors Heresies and false Opinions which they received and suckt in by the false prophets and Ministers of Antichrist as the true Ministers of Christ in the primitive times did and still do But if you doubt whether yours be the true Gospel or another My counsel to you is CEASE to declare it in the Name of the Lord for nothing shall profit the hearers but what is declared in the eternal Spirit of God without doubting Wait in silence then until you have received power from on high which when it is received and declared shall put to silence the gain-sayers and stop the mouth of the evil doers Friends for the Seed's sake in you I desire to speak therefore suffer me though a fool to be free with you Have you known the fools state which all that will be truly wise must come to if not hasten thither apace for mans Wisdom is foolishness with God and and keeps him truly in that which is but folly Oh! What will all thy carnal Wisdom though in a mystery and high notions avail thee so long as thou art got above that which leads to true Wisdom and makes wise unto salvation those that are fools for Christ Are you those that have got in thorough the strait Gate and do you walk in the narrow path which leads to life and which few find Or are you not indeed those who have striven for a time to enter but could not Take heed you be not left out Have you bid Farewel to the friendship of this World to the manners fashions vain customs and delights thereof Or are you not still alive in them all Have you born the cross till every idle world and vain imagination be slain and crucified Or are you not those who have felt it too heavy to bear and so laid it down again Are you as Beacons upon a Hill And do you give light to all that see your conversation Or have you not put your light in a dark Lanthore not suffering it to shine forth lest you your selves should be discovered Are you not those who preach and hear from a large comprehension but your selves far from the life of what you hear or speak Have you the power as well as the words of truth Or are you uot those who have lost the power you once had as the Devil hath done and retained the notion onely which he is the supporter of Are you indeed and in truth arrived at the dispensation of Love as you pretend or third degree of the holy life as you call it which loves its Neighbours good as its own and stoops to the meanest Babe in Christ as well as walks with the grown man Friends the Well of Life lyes low and you must dig deep to find it high words without the power are as the blustering winds which do more harm then good but its the still low voice where God is heard and the sheep of Christ follow it 'T is true the Doctrine of the Crosse was once in my esteem but a low and mean dispensation and the disciples thereof as I thought in a pitifull and sad condition but this was in the time of my exaltation with you when I had got above the pure and meek seed of Jesus which was kept under in me but blessed be the Lord who hath brought down the Mighty from his Seat and set me on the Rock of ages On which if ever you know stability you must be brought which Rock Christ which followed the Israelites the wilderness and refreshed them wh 〈…〉 Rock is the food of Angels as well as every hungry soul If any of you h 〈…〉 this bread you know that in the m 〈…〉 of famine you shall have enough a 〈…〉 that your water is sure coming out the rock if so I
which should give an entrance thereinto which is the Light of Christ in every conscience and which is the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world Know ye not that the whole Creation groaneth to be delivered from under the power of the Beast and false Prophet to wit the corrupt Magistrates and the persecuting and Antichristian Ministers of the Nations Do ye not know that these have had Dominion over the Saints of the most high God for many hundred years past doing and executing their own pleasures upon the bodies and estates of the children of God as well in our dayes by cruel tortures untill death as in Queen Maries dayes upon the Martyrs that suffered burning then who ye notwithstanding could not worship the Beast nor his image nor give their power to the Dragon which all the world have wondred after Do ye not know that the Man-child hath been caught up to God the woâ—an fled into the Wildernesse and the Devil had the power over all Nations If not then know the time is now hasting that the Man-child is coming to rule the Nations with a rod of iron and to some he is already come and all must bow to his righteous Scepter for he will rule in righteousness and all the sturdy Oaks must be hewn down the proud and lofty looks of man must fall and his tyrannicall and unjust power be taken from him The Lilly of the Valley must be exalted and the Beast and false Prophet cast alive into the Lake where they shall be tormented for ever and ever Let none of you now for my love to lost man be so scandalous as to say I disown Magistracy and Ministry for if you do I here again in the presence of the Lord and before all the world pronounce you to be Lyers and false Prophets for I so far own both the true Magistracy and Ministry which is of God that I well know and am assured the Nations cannot be happy till both are establisht in righteousnesse and true Judgement in the fear of the Lord I say till truth and righteousnesse be set up false Doctrine error and heresie disowned by those men in power and the false Prophet and the Beast cast alive into the Lake The truth Will be suppressed and the Ministers of the Gospel persecuted yea though Christ Jesus himself should come again in the flesh the Professors of this age would call him deceiver and be as ready to whip scourge and imprison him to death as they have done his members But blessed for ever be the holy name of our God the false Prophet is known by his life and Doctrine and the beastly nature in all persecuting Magistrates is seen and discovered so that let their Profession be what it will be they are made manifest and cannot hide themselves from the eye of the Lord nor from the discerning Spirits of his Saints who do his will and who worship him in Spirit and in truth Friends the dreadfull day of Gods fiery indignation hangs over your heads and will inevitably fall upon you without speedy Repentance and this the servants of the Lord see and forwarn you of in love to your souls but you like blind Balaam see not the sword drawn against you and ready to cut you off You are blinder then the dumb Asse who saw the sword hang over his Masters head when he himself did not Oh read your portion in the 11. Zech. 17. and take it to ye for unlesse you spedily repent and turn to the Lord you will surely have it where the Prophet of the Lord pronounceth a Woe to the Idol-shepherd saying The sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye his arm shall be clean dryed up and his right eye shall be utterly darkned Friends every mans work must be tryed by fire of what sort soever it be therefore let none of you think to escape the fiery tryall for our God is righteous and will reward every man according to his work THE END