a blessing enjoy the good and live for evermore Thine for the Truths sake THO. FORSTER THE CONTENTS 1. THat God is now known by his Name Light as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that God's First dayes work in the dark Soul of Man is the creating of Light 2. That man true Guide is within him Or the Light of Christ in Man is the true guide of the Soul 3. A word of Reproof to all that say The Light of Christ in man is natural carnal or an insufficient Guide 4. A word to all that say Revelation is ceased and that the Saints must not expect such glorious manifestations now as were in the primitive times With a few Queries for the enlightning the blind Eyes of such as say That No man hath the infallible Spirit now 5. Counsel to him that feels the wright of sin and groans for deliverance but yet complains for mans of power 6. A word of Hope for the Persecuting Magistrate if his day of Grace be not already past also some it is 7. A view of false Doctrine and a Reproof to false Teachers who beast that they have the Original and yet are ignorant of the Word of Life and quickning Spirit within 8. Direction for all those that wait for the coming of their Saviour and how they may know him when he appears 9. Encouragement to the weary Traveller whose journey is towards Canaan To follow the Light and Lamb of God to the Holy Land of Rest But not to go before it 10. A Word touching the Resurrection and who they are that are risen with Christ and shall reign with him And by whom 〈◊〉 is seen in his spiritual appearance and where A GUIDE TO THE BLIND Pointed to That God is now known by his Name LIGHT as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that Gods first dayes work in the dark Soul or little world of Man is creating of Light THE Message which the beloved Disciple of Christ hath declared to the Saints is this That God is â—â—ght and that in him is no darknesse 1 Joh. 1.5 This also is my Message unto thee God is Light and whatsoever is to be known of him is manifest in man Rom. 1.19 To thee then who art still in the dark and knowest not this truth or if thou knowest it obeyest it not to wit the Light within Thou I say art not yet come to the first dayes work of God in the dark Chaos of thy own heart for the same way doth the Lord proceed with his creature Man in the creation of him to good works as he did with the whole Universe to wit First bring him out of darkness into his marvelous light God when he made the World created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without form and darkness was upon the face of the deep And in this state is man in his first Creation through the fall without form and darkness is upon him But when the Spirit of God moved upon the Waters and said Let there be Light there was light and the Light he called Day and the Darkness he called Night and the Evening and the Morning were the first Day Now consider Friends all you who disown the Light calling it natural carnal darkness and insufficient to guide you What do you judge of your present state and condition Are you not like the Chaos And is not your little World without form and void And is not darkness upon the face of your deep imaginations until the spirit of God move upon your Waters of instability and his Light spring forth in your understandings from his holy Spirit Oh that you who reject the Light would consider this that you are so far from rest that you are not yet come to the first dayes work of God in your own hearts How can you say as the Disciples and followers of Christ do That it is God that worketh all his works in you and for you How can you number your selves amongst the children of Light when you refuse the Light to work in you and rebel against it Have you not read in the holy Scriptures That Christ did not work many miracles in his own Countrey because of the peoples unbelief there I do not say he could not work them but this I affirm The Lord compels none to serve him in the dark but when he hath enlightened man with his own Light with which he enlighteneth every man that cometh into the World man is at his choice whether he will follow and obey the light yea or no I say the Lord doth not force the Will of man to obedience but woes him and beseecheth him to be reconciled knowing the great misery which will justly and inevitably follow the rebellious and disobedient soul Oh! that I could perswade all men to obedience that so they may eat of the Tree of Life which by transgression man is falne from and which he cannot touch lest he dye And now let none say that he is not enlightened or that he wants power upon the penalty of condemnation for ever for the Lord requires nothing of man but what he hath given him full power to do all power in heaven and in earth being in the Son and this Son of power is freely offered to every man that will receive him For God so loved the world that he gave his own Son to dye for lost man that he might live I say he is freely given a light to the Gentiles and a Guide to them as well as a Glory to his people Israel and none are excluded who are willing to come unto him And thou that deniest the Light Whose workmanship art thou And whose Works are wrought in thee Are they not Works of darkness and thou the son of perdition Oh! suffer not the Devil any longer to delude thee by his evil Instruments and to work his works in thee but endeavour thou to be made light in the Lord for thou wert not made to serve the Devil but to be a Temple for Gods holy Spirit to dwell in Mans true Guide is within him Or The Light of Christ in Man is the true Guide of the Soul PAUL that eminent Apostle of Christ and Son of the Light hath declared That whatsoever is to be known of God is manifest in man as is said already Rom. 1.19 Let none then say Lo here or lo there but if they should hear what our Saviour Christ faith Go not after them nor follow them for the kingdom of God is within you Luke 17.21 Now if the Kingdom be within then of necessity must mans guide be there also That Christ is the Light and Guide of man see Joh. 1.9 Joh. 14.6 and that he is in his Saints read Col. 1.27 And in Rom. 8.10 the Apostle saith If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin and again If the spirit of him that raised up Iesus from
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
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
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
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
at Jerusalem must live in us and we in him and so must we know him even to lead and guide us out of all error sin and vanity into all truth righteousness and stability if we ever know him to salvation I know your minds have been abroad and peradventure yet are as mine was but I never knew my Saviour whom I sought without until I turned my mind inward and found him there No more can ye If them art still abroad wandring upon the barren Mountains O come down for I am well assured there is no food there for thy hungry soul The day I say is far spent and the night at hand wander no longer in the coasts of Egypt and Land of darkness where no Light is nor true Guide to lead thee but hasten into the low Valley search deep into the bottom of thy heart come to Meekness Patience and humility of spirit and there O there wilt thou meet with thy true Guide and that Light which alone can lead out of darkness all the faithful followers of it Reproof to him that faith the Light within is natural and that the Light of Christ was carnal and darkness as some have affirmed THou knowest not what thou sayest O man that sayest the Light is natural carnal or insufficient nor whereof thou affirmest Hast thou been a Teacher or Hearer in England for many years and a professor of Religion and yet knowest not Jesus Take this for thy portion thou who despisest the riches and goodness of the Lord in his Son Christ The Light or Talent which thou now hast shall be taken from thee and thou the unprofitable servant cast out into outward darkness vvhere shall be nothing but weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth because thou hast rejected the Light within which is Gods Witness in every man and hast judged and denied it Know this That thou by it shalt be condemned for ever I say the day of Grace and long-suffering of the Lord which would now lead thee to repentance will not alwayes last the Light or Candle of the Lord in thee will not alwayes shine but the night of darkness in which thou shalt ever remain will overtake thee where thou shalt be shut up in Chains for evermore then oh then it vvill be too late to vvish thou hadst not slighted the light in thy conscience and called it carnal darkness and insufficient for it now is and then will be more then a thousand Witnesses against thee The Light of Christ I say is not carnal is not darkness is not insufficient to lead blind man out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord for by it and it alone have I been lead from the one into the other and can set to my seal of a truth That God is light and Christ is light and that his light is in every man and it is and will be the condemnation That Light is come into the World but men love darkness rather then light because their deeds are evil and ful of darkness Friend This I am bold to declare as in the Light of the Lord That there is no other way to be saved from eternal darkness but by coming unto Christ the light of the World and walking in his light if so thou do as he is in the light then and not till then shalt thou have fellowship with the children of Light and the blood of Jesus will cleanse thee from all sin Some Queries to them that say Revelation is ceased and that the Saints must not now expect such glorious manifestations as were in the primitive times and that say no man hath the infallible Spirit now MAny there are who in this state of darkness do believe and say That Revelation is ceased and that the infallible Spirit is not now known amongst the Saints and that they are not to expect such glorious manifestations now as were in the primitive times The ignorance and gross darkness of such I cannot but bewail and for the opening of their understandings shall propound unto them some Queries As first Whether is not Christ the same to day yesterday and for ever and the holy Spirit the same and as operative quick and powerful now as ever Or hath it lost its powerful operation now Is the Lords love to his Saints less now then before Or is his hand shortned that he cannot save to the uttermost as well now as ever Where is it said which ye so boldly affirm That Revelation is ceased or shall ever cease from the Saints or Spouse of Christ Hath not the Lord promised that in the later dayes he will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh and his sons and his daughters shall prophesie And hath not John said That the light of that day shall be as seven dayes and that there shall be no need of a Candle nor light of the Sun for the Lord God shall be the light thereof What is it that in the night of darkness when thou art lying upon thy bed of Adultery and carnal pleasure sporting thy unsatiable soul in the lusts of the flesh discovers and reveals the wickedness of thy heart unto thee What is it that in the day time checks thee for thy wanton eye and pride of life when none without perhaps dares accuse thee What is it that discovers unto thee in thy Chamber of Imagery the secret Adultery of thy heart when no outward eye sees thee What is it that brings to thy remembrance things past as if they were but yesterday and sets thy secret sins in order before thee What is it that tells thee thou hast committed the sin against the Holy Ghost and for which thou canst never receive pardon when committed Oh! how is it that thou shouldst suffer the instruments of Satan to work such a belief in thee and so far to put out the eye of thy Faith and of thy reasonable soul also as not to see thy self in a delusion when the Scriptures do positively say That no man knows the Father but the Son and him to whom the Son wil reveal him Matth. 12.27 Tell me poor soul whether thou canst be so ignorant of the Scriptures as not to know this That he that worships the Father must worship him in spirit Dost thou not know that the holy spirit is a spirit of Revelation wheresoever it is Dost thou not know that that is its work in man and that if thou hast not this Spirit of Christ thou art none of his Friend it 's an infallibly sign thou deniest the spirit that sayest Revelation is ceased it being its proper Work And thou that sayest No man hath the infallible Spirit now Let me ask thee also Hath the Lord no people in this Age to bear testimony to his Truth Do none know the Lord novv And are none in the Way of Truth Is this thy Faith Then knovv thou for certain thou art led by a spirit of delusion and whilest thou thus believest thou canst never
them not with mild perswasions but with cruel and merciless stripes upon their naked bodies with stockings stonings beatings long and tedious imprisonmets and other bitter usage which for shame I cannot mention And as if this had been too little I have caused some of them to be scourged twice or thrice for not bowing to my corrupt Will and worshipping me with their Hats off or for speaking to our blind Guide who calls himself a Minister And all this I have done contrary to the Law of the Land too and when I have so done I have with Passes sent them away as Vagabonds and Wanderers not suffering them though sufficient men and of good Estates near us to have a place in our quarters to dress their sore stripes deep wounds which my bloody Executioners have made upon their innocent and harmless bodyes nor yet a place wherein to rest their aking heads except in stocks dungeons close holes of little ease or filthy and stinking Goals amongst thieves and murtherers where many of them have finished their testimonies by death Now saith the guilty Magistrate This is the truth of my condition and thus have I served the Embassadors of Christ Jesus whom the malicious World cannot accuse of evil and my case is lamenable and the worse because what I have done was through the instigation of our Gospel-Minister as he called himself â—nd to please him who otherwise would not suffer me to be at rest crying out against them that they will undo us and our generation after us and render our Gospel to be Antichristian and our selves false Prophets as indeed we are and will make our nakedness and ignorance appear to all sober men if they be tollerated But that which is more considerable then all this I am afraid I have sinn'd the sin against the Holy Ghost which can never be forgiven and how shall I escape the damnation of Hell Friend Is this thy case indeed And art thou guilty so deeply as this in truth makes thee 'T is sad indeed Yet consider and for thy comfort I have this to say unto thee St. Paul was as great a Persecutor of the Saints as thou possibly hast been and as mad against them as the most of you have been or can be yet when the Light appeared to him and struck him from his horse or beastly nature of persecution he presently fell to the earth and with trembling and astonishing said Lord what wilt thou have me to do He did not as the blind Guides of this age say That the Light of Christ was natural and insufficient to guide him out of his darkness but he became obedient to the Light immediately though he saw no body consulting neither with flesh nor blood nor yet running to Gamaliel a great Doctor under whom he had been brought up for counsel but forthwith ceased from the sprit of persecution and obtained mercy So he being obedient to the Light became a true Disciple of Jesus and Preacher of the everlasting Gospel Acts 9. And now oh Magistrate know this That though thou hast been the greatest persecutor of the Saints amongst thy numerous Brethren and hast persecuted them until death as many in England have been for conscience-sake within these few years under a pretence of maintaining the Popish and Antichristian Law for Tythes and suppressing of Hereticks yet there is some hopes of mercy for thee also if thou canst in truth say That what thou didst then hast done ignorantly But if this be not thy case but hast wilfully transgressed and rebelled against the Light in thy conscience then O then â—hy condition is sad indeed and thou with the blind Guides art of all men most to be pittyed Examine therefore â—y own heart in secret and if thou findest that thou hast been a wilful Persecutor of Gods Servants cry mightily unto the Lord that the iniquity of thy heart may be forgiven thee and possibly thou mayest find hopes upon thy unfeigned confession and resolution to turn to the Lord and obey the Light within thee to obtain Mercy Cease I say from that Spirit of Persecution and become obedient for the future if peradventure thy fins may be blotted out A view of false Doctrines Or A Word of Reproof to false Teachers who boast that that they have the Original and yet are ignorant of the word of life FRiends to you all I speak who disown the Light of Christ within and count it a low thing a wo is pronounced unto you for your light is turned into darkness and your sweet into bitter and for the present see not your way before you the whole World lyes in wickedness and darkness is upon the faces of all who are led by you who preach for hire and divine for money contrary to the prophets phets and true Ministers of Christ you preach false Doctrine and practice persecution and therefore are you none of the children of Light nor Ministers of the everlasting Gospel You say That the best of Gods servants cannot be free from sin in this life whereas the holy Scriptures say Without holynesse no man shall see the Lord Christ himself hath preached perfection and hath commanded his Disciples to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect but you say No perfection is not to be attained here You say many of you That the Light of Christ in the conscience is natural not considering that he himself is spiritual and that his Light must of necessity be so too You say Revelation is ceased not considering this That no man knows the Father but the Son and him to whom the Son will reveal him You say No man hath the infallible Spirit now not considering That he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his For where-ever the Spirit of Christ is it must needs be infallible and you that have not the infallible Spirit you are none of Christs and if so then consider with your selves whose childrern you are and what spirit guides you and whither for it cannot lead you into all truth nor any part thereof Some of you have been heard to say That the Devil is the Power of God and that the Gospel is not the Power of God no more then a Rose Cake and further That the Light of Christ Jesus is carnal and darkness Friends I hope better things of many of you but assuredly this Doctrine is damnable and pernicious to the souls of men And therefore I warn you to forbear preachihg in the Name of the Lord whilst you are of this Faith which I affirm is of the Devils and not of the Saints whose faith overcomes the World and who believe they must be holy as God is holy and perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect in their several measures They know that the Son of God is the Light of the World and life of men and is not darkness carnal natural or insufficient to lead them to purity as you declare And because I wil not
bore the ears as I may say of the hearers or bring to the Readers remembrance your multitude of Errors Heresies and false Doctrines nor trouble him with a view of all your ungodly practices at once I shall be sparing as hoping you may return from whence you are fallen and repent but shall hereafter if God will propound a few queries unto you whereby you may see your selves in some few particulars of your Doctrine and practice Friends Is preaching for hire and persecution of your Neighbour for conscience-sake to be miantained by Scripture Is throwing men into Gaols and stealing of their Goods to be maintained by the Scriptures Is your taking up the carnal Weapons to defend your Gospel with when your spirituall Weapons will not do to be maintained by Scripture Did Christs Ministers ever rebel against the Civil Magistrate and teach men so to do as many of you have done of late instead of being subject to the higher Powers For my own part I wonder not hereat as knowing that that spirit which at present guides you teacheth rebellion and disobedience as well to God as to man Furthermore You say you are Ministers of the Gospel and yet have perswaded people to believe that the Commandments of God cannot be kept Reader to thee who art of this perswasion with them be but moderate and let me ask thee this question For what end thinkest thou were the Commandments given by God Were they to be read onely or to be painted upon the Steeple-house Walls Will that please the Lord Or were they not given to be kept by his servants who enter into life Hath not the Lord said He will write them upon his peoples hearts never to be blotted out Or can any man be blessed that doth not keep them Tell me Doth any man require that of another which he knows he cannot perform and do And wilt thou make the Lord so hard a Master as to require obedience of man if it were not in his power to give it or that the Lord had not impowered him Friend even as the Serpent beguiled Eve so art thou by blind Guides He drew our first Parents into disobedience by going out to hearken to his subtilty and so left their innocency and thou being now in disobedience he would keep thee there by his evil instruments O take heed of the Serpents brood who say The Commandments of God cannot be kept for they are false prophets that so teach but assure thy self That if ever thou enter into life thou must keep the Commandments David could keep them under the Law and said That the Commandments of the Lord were not grievous My soul saith he hath kept thy Testimonies and I love them exceedingly And again saith he I have done thy Commandments And again he saith I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies Read Psal. 119 166 167 168. Now Friend consider the promise of the Lord concerning his people by the the mouth of his Prophet Zechariah That in the day of the Lord He that is feeble amongst them shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God Zech. 12.8 And as the keeping of the Commandments is the entrance into life so are they pronounced blessed that keep them Rev. 22.14 psal. 119.2 Prov. 8.32 And saith St. John Hereby we know that we know him if we keep his commandments 1 Joh. 2.3 But he that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a lyar and the truth is not in him Ver. 4. And again Whatsoever we ask saith he we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing in his sight 1 John 4.22 and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him Ver. 24. Such then as say that the commandments of God cannot be kept are hereby proved to be Lyars false prophets and deceivers Come out therefore from among them and be thou separate from such unclean men for the lyar shall not enter into the Kingdom nor any unclean or imperfect thing Friends I even tremble to think on your condition who break the Commandments of God and teach men so to do you are so far from the Way the Truth and the Life that unless you speedily repent and turn to the Lord you will have your portion with hypocrites where is weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth for evermore My direction then to you also before it be too late is To own the Light in your consciences and submit to its checks when you are reproved by it and know this That whilst it reproves you for your fins the day of Grace is not yet past nor hath the Lord given over striving with you but when you feel no checks of conscience when you do evil in thought word or deed then be assured your day is past and you are sealed up for destruction I say unto you therefore again Own the Light within you while you have it and take it for your Guide for you are gone a whoring from God and the Spirit of Truth and Holiness you know not O do not any longer abuse this Light this Lamb of God for you will one day find him to be the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah who when his Wrath shall be kindled against you you must be consumed for ever And now to you who say We are the Learned Ministers of England We have the Tongues We have the Originals and we have the many Languages and therefore we are best able to interpret the Scriptures To you I say this That the holy Scriptures are a sealed Book to all that are not taught of God by the Revelation of his spirit which you falsly and ignorantly say is ceased therefore it is that the unlearned Doctors and others the University-men of this age wrest them to their own destruction therefore it is that there are so many Errors Heresies Opinions Sects and divided Judgements amongst you and those who are called Christians Friends if you be ignorant of the true Original of all things to wit the infallible and unerring Spirit of God by which the holy Scriptures were wrote you want the key of true knowledge which should open them unto you and you with all your learning must stay without when the simple whom God teacheth and whom you despise can give you the true meaning and mind of God's Spirit shall enter in Oh! remember that the Jews had the Original Tongues before you and spoke them naturally and more then that they had amongst them the true Original himself even Christ Jesus the Alpha and Omega the first and the last and yet they crucified him and chose a Thief and a Robber before him I wish from my very soul it were not so with you chusing Hebrew Greek Latine and other Tongues before the naked and simple truth of God I say Christ Jesus was to the Jews a stumbling block and to the wise Greeks foolishness So is he this day to
and that as long as they live they cannot be free from corruption and these sit down without hope and shall never enter But yet notwithstanding there is encouragement enough for the faithful Traveller when he remembers that there were two to wit Caleb and Joshua who were true Spyes and that notwithstanding the multitude of false Spyes that went forth to view the Land these as faithful Witnesses For God brought in their Testimony and said Let us go up at once and possesse it for we are well able to overcome it And these for their faithfulness to the Lord notwithstanding the false Spyes ill report of the good Land were brought to possess the Land which flowed with Milk and Honey but the rest perished in the Wilderness for their unbelief and their children were wanderers there fourty years Now Friend It is observable and very remaakrble That Caleb and Joshuah who did enter had another spirit then the false Spyes had and followed the Lord fully to wit the Spirit of Faith which overcomes the World and all the Enemies therein to the soul of men so that the Believer and his Seed shall possess the holy Land when all the unbelievers shall perish in the Wildcrness Numb. 14. And as for the glory of this holy Land or New Jernsalem of which Canaan was a Type and the Riches thereof none wil doubt but all Will confess the Land is good though some say too good to be obtained here or possessed in this life I say as to this I cannot but bring in my testimony and declare They are all false Spyes and false prophets that say the Enemies of mans soul are not to be overcome in this life and that the holy life is not attainable for he that gives Victory over one sin which I witness will give victory over all sins if I and thou be faithful Warriers in the Army of the Lamb I say our Captain is able to make war wth the Enemy and not onely give us victory but also an entrance into the Holy of holies within the vail here where no false prophet can enter but him who is the Priest for ever after the order of Melehizedeck Therefore friends go chearfully on your way in believing the Enemy is as well before as behind look not back neither turn to the right hand nor to the left but press forward and in due time you shall reap if you faint not 'T is the Faith of the Saints which overcomes the World and all difficulties which the honest Traveller shall find in his Journey towards the holy Land And that none may be discouraged that he meets with troubles and tryals let him remember The greater his tryals are the stronger had his Faith need be and the bitterer his Travels are the sweeter will his Rest be If some of the Servants of the Lord have through experience said That the sufferings of this present life are not worthy the glory that shall be revealed what will they be able to say when in is revealed It is better to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Therefore let us proceed on our journey with unwearied minds and in the strength and power of the Lord make war against all the Enemies of our Souls following our Leader and in the end we shall be more then Conquerors And because there are many pretenders to holiness who with fair speeches do deceive the hearts of people and by enticing words of mans Wisdom seduce many a well-meaning and honest-hearted Traveller who is ever and anon ready to question whether his way be right I do advise thee as thou lovest life and tenderest the true rest of thy weary soul keep close to thy Leader whose voice is low speaking in thee saying Go not forth wander not for this I declare That whilst thou art unturned to thy Guide within thee or art listening to the loud Voice and found of big Words without as I have been thou canst finde no rest though thou travel hard to obtain it A Word concerning the Resurrection THE Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared unto many among whom I am come to give you notice though a most unworthy Messenger That he is now come to exalt his Son in his saints and set him upon his holy hill glory for evermore But many there are who with Martha do look for the Resurrection at the last day without and so put the day of his Resurrection in them far from them as believing no such thing and saying How can this be when in the mean time Christ lyes slain in some of them and others are so far from the holy Life of Christ that they are dead in trespasses and sins and some twice pluckt up by the roots neither knowing their Saviour within them nor Without them Art thou one that knowest nothing of the resurrection of Christ in thee then know that thou art not to look out to a day without thee for the resurrection of Christ but in Spiritual Sodomand Aegypt where he lyes still crucified art thou to expect his resurrection to wit in thy own wicked heart Christ before his resurrection from the Grave told Martha and said I am the the Resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and that he that liveth and believeth in him should not dye Dost thou believe this Arise then thou that art asleep in thy grave of sin fleshly ease or carnal delights and hearken to the voice of the Son of God in thee live for he who called Lazarus out of his grave of earth being naturally dead to life again will raise thee also and call thee out of thy spiritual grave of sin and denth if thou hearken to his Voice and obey his Call in thoe Christ Jesus after his resurrection appeared unto many of his Disciples with out them and they knew him not he being spiritual and after he had by many signal Testimonies made himself known unto them to be Jesus a Cloud received him out of the sight of those that stood looking after him Whereupon it was told them by two men who were in white that said To men of Galilee why stand ye here gazing The same Iesus which hath been taken up from you into heaven shall in like manner come again to wit in a Cloud for so he went up Now this Friend is a Mystery to the wise and learned men of this World oh that they knew it That the light of the World and life of men should come in a cloud but so it is and they are utterly ignorant of this mysterie though to the children of Light it is made manifest and revealed by the Spirit They can tell you that as Christ's first appearance to the World was in the flesh and the fleshly eye saw him so his second appearance is in Spirit and no fleshly eye can behold him he being now a spirit You
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
say Eat O friends drink abundantly O beloved Go no more forth But you who are still upon the Mountains you must come down and dwell in the low Valley before you can find safety You must walk in the narrow path which leads to life before you can come to rest and to the spirits of just men made perfect you must be joyned Peradventure some of you may say you are now upon the Mount with Jesus and have seen his transfiguration and do say in your hearts It is good to be here if so yet boast not For you must all come down from the Mount as the Disciples of Christ and as Christ himself did and live here below Nay though you have been wrapt up into the third heaven as Paul was and heard things unutterable yet the cross must be born and the Thorn in the flesh felt by all who are lifted up above their measures To your measures herefore of the gift of God all come Boast not of any thing which you have â—t attained through the death of the Cross for if you do you will suffer loss â—any of you have set your selves at the â—pper end in the room Oh be sure you be not without your wedding garments left the Master send you forth as unworthy guests you seem to be eager to tast of the Supper of the Lord and some of you are giving and taking it in beggarly elements All such are to know they are not yet past the shadow be their pretence what it will be much lesse come to the substance of all things which puts an end to types and shadows The voice in me cryes keep low abide in the fear of the Lord for there is the beginning of true wisdome High words will no longer beguile the true Israelite for in him there is an eye open which sees and can discern spirits and an ear that can hear the shepherds voice from the stranger The stranger or false messenger's voice saith I comprehend all mysteries I am past the first second dispensation to wit the fear and the faith and I am arrived at the third which is Love I have born the crosse and now wear the crown Is this thy voice indeed then know thou art the Antichrise whom God will destroy with the breath of his mouth whosoever thou art that cryest up one dispensation by way of boasting and sets it against another thou art doing the Devils work and endeavouring to make a rent where nothing but unity and peace ought to be for one mans state in Christy though but the babe is not to be set against another no more then Christ is to be divided But now on the contrrary the true Shepherds voice saith I am meek and lowly of heart learn of me and be little in your own eys This voice calls out of the world it stills the waves when they rage it binds the strong man in chains and Nobles in fetters of iron by its meekness patience gentleness and long-suffering Therefore friends come all down into the true fear of the Lord where this is to be witnessed and no where els Your knowledge in misteries and large comprehensions of divine things unlesse your practice be answerable doth but fit you for the scourge with many stripes I say while you are upon your Pinacles the inward beauty of the Temple you can never behold nor see the glorious presence of the Lord who fits therein Hasten therefore to the porch where wisdomes voice is to be heard and become Doore-keepers therein which keeps out sin and vanity that so an entrance may be made unto you into the holy of ho-lies For this I declare to you all That no more of the true knowledge of God have you attained then what you have learned and known through the death and daily cross of Christ Jesus And now to thee who hast been once enligtened and hast tasted of the heavenly gift and been made partaker of the holy Ghost and tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come Content not thy self with these refreshments nor feed thou upon them for they will passe away as the lightning but live thou upon the bread of life it self from which these refreshings have proceeded for that 's it and it alone which can nourish the Soul up to eternal life I say again keep low and patiently run the race that is set before thee and through perseverance thou shalt gain the Crown Some Queries to my old friends the Ministers of the Church of England FRiends I come not now to question you as to my self nor yet your Faith and Hope in God being fully satisfied concerning you and your Ministry and also of your Call thereunto having well known and heard the chief amongst you for many years together Yet for the sakes of those heaps of people that pin their faith upon your sleeves and take all for granted that you declare unto them for truth believing your lives also to be unblameable I shall mildely propound unto you these ensuing Queries charging you as you would be accounted Ministers of Christ and are willing to observe the Apostles direction of rendring a reason of your hope to every one that shall ask you to make it appear in your answer by what fruits you may be known 1. VVHether was your Call to your Ministry from God yea or no as the true Ministers of the Gospel ever was and will be Or was it not a place of preferment to a comfortable maintenance as you call it and to get a Trade to live by that called you And whether if that maintenance were removed you your selves would not soon come to silence and your Ministry quickly fall to the ground 2. Whether or no did ever the true Ministers of Christ or any of them go to the Arm of Flesh for aid to uphold their Doctrine and force a Maintenance from people contrary to their consciences as you do 3. Whether are you not respecters of persons honouring and fawning upon those men most who can promote you to the greatest Benefices And do you not remove from one quarter to another where the greatest gain is to be had often leaving your flock when you are assured of greater wages from other Masters or because you may not sheer them to their very skins 4. Whether do you not rend and tear mens Goods from them to the value of ten times more then your unreasonable and Antichristian demands are under a pretence of a Popish Law for maintenance and trebble damages and yet come forth and say you are Gospel-Ministers and the workman is worthy of his hire though the true Husbandman never set you to work 5. Whether is the spirit of cruel and bitter perjecution in which many of you are found and which none of you that I hear have declared against be the sprâ—â—â— of a true Minister of Christ or the spirit of Antichrist 6. Whether have you not stirred up the Beast â—nd
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