Gospel-Order and it belongs to them Then take your Possessions and Practise in it and be not Talkers only but Live and Walk in the Gospel the Power of God which is the Authority of your Meetings Swarthmore the 28th of the Third Month 1676. G. F. Read at the Yearly Meeting in London the 17th of the Third Month 1676. During this time also I Collected together as many as I could of the Epistles I had written in former Years to Friends I made a Collection too of the several Papers that I had written to O. Cromwel and his Son Richard in the time of their Protectorships and to the Parliaments and Magistrates that were in their times And after I had gathered them together I Collected also the Papers I had written to King Charles the Second since his Return and to his Council and Parliaments and the Justices or other Magistrates under him I made also another Collection of Certificates which I had received from divers Governours of Places Judges Justices Parliament-Men and others for the Clearing of me from many Slanders which the Envious Priests and Professors both here and beyond the Seas had cast upon me And this I did for the Truth's-sake as knowing that their Design in Slandering me was to defame the Truth published by me and hinder thereby if they could the Spreading thereof amongst the People Besides these I made Two Books of Collections the one was A List or Catalogue of the Names of those Friends who went first forth out of the North of England when Truth first brake forth there to proclaim the Day of the Lord through this Nation The other was of the Names of those Friends that went first forth to Preach the Gospel in other Nations Countries and Places and in what Years and to what Parts they went I made also another Collection in Two Books one of Epistles and Letters from Friends and others on several Occasions to me The other of Letters of mine to Friends and others I writ also a Book of the Types and Figures of Christ with their Significations and many other things which will be of Service to Truth and Friends in times to come I took notice also of those who had run out from Truth and drawn others out after them and turned against Truth and Friends at several times since the First Breaking forth of Truth in this latter Age and what became of them noting particularly the Repentance and Return of such of them as came back to Truth again But some ran quite out and never returned again but were Cut off in their Gainsaying and Rebellion for the Word and Power of God hath blasted and is blasting them and the Holy Seed hath ground and is grinding them to pieces And this I have observed that they who have been Convinced and have not lived and walked in the Truth have been the Worst Enemies to the Truth and done most Hurt amongst Friends in the Truth and to others And in these I have seen fulfilled what the Lord did long since shew me That such should be greater Deceivers than all the Priests and Professors For such as came as far as Cain and Balaam and Corah and Dathan and could preach Christ and say They had preached in his Name and such as came to be Apostles and had tasted of the Power of Christ and then turned from it such could yet speak their Old Experiences and have the good Words like Corah and Balaam but not keeping in the Life and Truth such Deceived the Hearts of the Simple both then and now and such come to be of the Devil who abode not in the Truth as Cain and and all the Jews that abode not in the Truth were For though Cain did Sacrifice to God and did talk with God and the Jews could talk of Abraham Moses and the Prophets yet Christ told them They were of their Father the Devil In like manner though they who are called Christians can talk of Christ and use his and his Apostles and Disciples Words yet not abiding in the Truth and Power and Spirit that the Apostles were in they are of the Devil out of Truth and do his Work And so are all these that have been Convinced of God's Eternal Truth since it sprang up in this Nation that have not abode in the Light and in the Spirit and Power of Christ Jesus but have turned against the Power and have opposed the Work thereof though they may retain their former Experiences and be able to speak many good Words yet not living in the Life and Power that gave them those Experiences they live in the Power of Darkness which is of the Devil and by the Light and Truth both he and they are Condemned and must own their Condemnations if ever they come to Truth again For to Resist the Heavenly Power and to oppose the Workings and Divine Manifestations thereof through any is not a light Matter And as I had been moved of the Lord to travel in his Power round about this Nation and in other Parts to preach the Everlasting Gospel and to declare the Word of Life which was in the Beginning through many Imprisonments Hardships Sufferings and Trials so I was afterwards moved to Travel in the same Heavenly Power about the Nation again and to write to such Places where I came not to recommend unto Friends the setting up of the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings in all Counties for the looking after the Poor and taking Care for Orderly Proceedings in Marriages and other matters relating to the Church of Christ Though some Meetings for this end were settled in the North of England in the Year 1653. And after this also Truth still spreading further over the Nation and Friends encreasing in number I was moved by the same Eternal Power to recommend the setting up the Womens-Meetings also that all both Male and Female that had received the Gospel the Word of Eternal Life might come into the Order of the Gospel brought forth by the Power of God and might act for God in the Power and therein do Business and Service for him in his Church All the Faithful must labour in God's Vineyard they being his Hired Servants and he having given them the Earnest of his Spirit For a Master that hires a Servant and gives him the Earnest of his Hire expects he should do his Work after he knows his Will in the outward Creation So all God's Prople that be of the new Creation and have received the Earnest of his Spirit ought to labour with by and in his Spirit Power and Grace and Faith in the Light in God's Vineyard that they may have their Wages every one Male and Female when they have done God's Work and Business in his Day which is Eternal Life But none can labour in his Vineyard and do his Work and Will but as they walk in the Heavenly Divine Light Grace and Spirit of Christ which is hath been and is my Travel and
time amongst Friends thereabouts and had Meetings at all those places Then being a little refreshed with being in the Country I went back to London where I tarried labouring in the Work of the Ministry till the middle of the Ninth Month at which time I went down with my Son Mead to his House in Essex and abode there all the Winter Essex Gooses During which time I stirred not much abroad unless it were sometimes to the Meeting to which that Family belonged which was about half a Mile from thence but I had Meetings often in the House with the Family and those Friends that came thither Many things also I writ while I was there some of which follow here One was an Epistle to the Quarterly and Yearly-Meetings of Friends in Pensylvania New-England Virginia Maryland the Jerseys Carolina and other Plantations in America And it was thus MY Dear Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ who by believing in his Light are become Children of his Light and of his Day my desires are that you may all walk in his Light and in his Day and keep the Feast of Christ our Passover who is sacrificed for us not with Old Leaven neither with the Leaven of Malice and Wickedness but let all that be purged out that ye may be a New Lump keeping the Feast of Christ our Passover with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth Therefore let no leavened Bread be found in your Houses nor in your Meetings nor in the Camp of God or Houshold of Faith which are the Houshold of Christ But all that sour old Leaven which makes Peoples hearts sour and to burn one against another all that must be purged out of the Camp of God and kept out For the Feast of Christ our Passover must be kept in the New Covenant with his heavenly unleavened Bread of Life The Jews in the Old Testament their Feast was kept with outward unleavened Bread And now in the New Testament in the Gospel-Day our Feast is to be kept with the heavenly unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth Therefore Friends I desire you seriously to consider and to keep this Feast which the Apostle directed the Church of Christ to keep Do not you see Christendom 1689. Gooses so called keep their Feasts with the leavened Bread of Malice and Wickedness which makes them so sour and their hearts to burn one against another that they have destroyed and do destroy one another about Religion Therefore all live in the love of God which keeps above the love of the World so that none of your Hearts may be choaked or surfeited with these outward Things or with the Cares of the World which will pass away But mind ye the World and the Life that is without end that ye may be heirs of it And Friends you should strive to Excel all both Professor and Prophane both in Morality Humanity and Christianity Modesty Sobriety and Moderation and in a good godly righteous Life and Conversation shewing forth the Fruits of the Spirit of God and that you are the Children of the living God and Children of the Light and of the Day and not of the Night And serve God in Newness of Life for it is the Life and a living and walking in the Truth that must Answer the Witness of God in all People that they seeing your good Works may glorifie our Father which is in Heaven Therefore be valiant for God's holy pure Truth and spread it abroad among both Professors and Profane and the Indians And you should write over once a year from all your Yearly-Meetings to the Yearly-Meeting here concerning your Diligence in the Truth and of its spreading and of Peoples receiving it both Professors and Profane and the Indians and concerning the Peace of the Church of Christ amongst your selves For blessed be the Lord Truth doth get ground in these Parts and many are made very loving to Friends and the Lord's Power and Seed is over all In which God Almighty keep all his People to his Glory Amen Gooses the 28th of the 11th Month 1689. G. F. While I was in the City I had a Concern upon my Spirit with respect to a Twofold Danger that attended some who profest Truth one was of Young Peoples running into the Fashions of the World and the other was of Old Peoples going into the Earth And that Concern coming now again weightily upon me I was moved to give forth the following Paper as a Reproof to such and an Exhortation and Warning to all Friends to beware of and keep out of those Snares To all that do Profess the Truth of God MY desires are that you may walk in Humility in it For when the Lord first called me forth he let me see That Young People grew up together in Vanity and the Fashions of the World and Old People went downwards into the Earth raking it together and to both these I was to be a stranger And now Friends I do see too many Young People that do profess the Truth 1690. Gooses do grow up into the Fashions of the World and too many Parents indulge them And amongst the Elder some are growing downwards and raking after the Earth Therefore take heed that you are not making your Graves while you are Alive outwardly and loading your selves with thick Clay Hab. â— 6 For if you have not power over the Earthly Spirit and that which leadeth into a Vain Mind and the Fashions of the World and into the Earth though you have often had the Rain fall upon your Fields you will but bring forth Thistles Briars and Thorns which is for the Fire And such will become brittle peevish fretful Spirits that will not abide the heavenly Doctrine and the Admonitions Exhortations and Reproofs of the Holy Ghost or heavenly Spirit of God which would bring you to be Conformable to the Death of Christ and to his Image that ye might have Fellowship with him in his Resurrection And therefore it is good for all to bow to the Name of Jesus their Saviour and that all may Confess him to the Glory of God the Father For I have had a Concern upon me in a sense of the Danger of Young Peoples going into the Fashions of the World and Old Peoples going into the Earth and many going into a loose and false Liberty till at last they go quite out into the Spirit of the World as some have done Such their House hath been built upon the Sand on the Sea shore not upon Christ the Rock that they are so soon in the World again under a pretence of Liberty of Conscience But it is not a pure Conscience nor in the Spirit of God nor in Christ Jesus for in the Liberty in the Spirit there is the Vnity which is the Bond of Peace and all are one in Christ Jesus in whom is the true Liberty And this is not of the World for He is not of the World And
Gain Yet how can we avoid being deeply affected with Sadness of Spirit and brokenness of Heart under the sense and consideration of such Loss and Revolutions which we have cause to believe are Ominous of Calamities to the wicked World though of good to the Righteous Did the Death of plain upright Jacob Gen. 50. namely Israel who was as a Prince of God so deeply affect both his own Children and Kindred as that they made a great and exceeding sore Lamentation for him and even the Egyptians also that they bewailed him seventy days And the Death of Moses so deeply affect the Children of Israel Deut. 34. as that they did weep and mourn for him in the Plain of Moab thirty Days And the Death of Stephen that faithful Martyr of Jesus so deeply affect certain Men fearing God Acts 7. as that they made great Lamentation for him And the Apostle Paul when taking his leave of the Elders of the Church of Ephesus Acts 20. and telling them They should see his Face no more If this did so deeply affect them that they wept all abundantly sorrowing most of all for these Words That they should see his face no more with many more of this kind How then can we otherwise chuse but be deeply affected with Sorrow and Sadness of Heart though not as those which have no hope when so many of our Ancient Dear and Faithful Brethren with whom we have had much sweet Society are removed from us one after another We pray God raise up and increase more such Yet must we all contentedly submit to the good Pleasure and Wisdom of the Lord our God in all these things who taketh away and none can hinder him nor may any say unto him What dost thou Yet we have cause to bless the Lord that he hath of late raised and is raising up more to publish his Name in the Earth And we that yet remain have but a short Time to stay after them that are gone but we shall be gone to them also The Lord God of Life keep us all Faithful in his holy Truth Love Vnity and Life to the End He hath a great Work still to bring forth in the Earth and great things to bring to pass in order to make way for Truth and Righteousness to take place therein and that his Seed may come forth and be gathered and the Power and Kingdom of our God and of his Christ made known and exalted in the Earth unto the Ends thereof Dear Friends and Brethren Be faithful till Death that a Crown of Life you may obtain All dwell in the Love of God in Christ Jesus in Vnion and Peace in him To whom we tenderly Commit you to keep and strengthen you bless and preserve you to the End of your Days In whose dear and tender Love we remain Your Dear Friends and Brethren Stephen Crisp Geo. Whitehead Fra. Camfield James Park John Elson Peter Price John Field John Edridge Nicholas Gates Francis Stamper John Vaughton Gilbert Latey Charles Marshal Rich. Needham James Martin Daniel Monro John Heywood George Bowles William Robinson William Bingley John Butcher Benjamin Antrobus These Names are since added at the desire of the Persons following Sam. Goodaker Amb. Rigg William Fallowfield POSTSCRIPT BEfore his Death he writ a little Paper desiring all Friends every where that use to write to him about the Sufferings and Affairs of Friends in their several Countries should henceforth write to their several Correspondents in London to be Communicated to the Second-Days Meeting to take Care that they be answered Thomas Ellwood's Account of that Eminent and Honourable Servant of the Lord George Fox THis Holy Man was raised up by God in an Extraordinary Manner for an Extraordinary Work even to Awaken the sleeping World by proclaiming the Mighty Day of the Lord to the Nations and publishing again the Everlasting Gospel to the Inhabitants of the Earth after the long and dismal Night of Apostacy and Darkness For this Work the Lord began to prepare him by many and various Trials and Exercises from his very Childhood And having fitted and furnished him for it he called him into it very Young and made him Instrumental by the effectual Working of the Holy Ghost through his Ministry to call many Others into the same Work and to turn many Thousands from Darkness to the Light of Christ and from the Power of Satan unto God I knew him not till the Year 1660 from that Time to the Time of his Death I knew him well Conversed with him often Observed him much Loved him dearly and Honoured him truly and upon good Experience can say He was indeed an Heavenly-minded Man zealous for the Name of the Lord and preferr'd the Honour of God before all things He was Valiant for the Truth Bold in Asserting it Patient in Suffering for it Unwearied in Labouring in it Steady in his Testimony to it Immoveable as a Rock Deep he was in Divine Knowledge Clear in opening heavenly Mysteries Plain and Powerful in Preaching Fervent in Prayer He was richly endued with heavenly Wisdom Quick in Discerning Sound in Judgment Able and ready in Giving Discreet in Keeping Counsel A Lover of Righteousness an Encourager of Vertue Justice Temperance Meekness Purity Chastity Modesty Humility Charity and Self-Denial in all both by Word and Example Graceful he was in Countenance Manly in Personage Grave in Gesture Courteous in Conversation Weighty in Communication Instructive in Discourse Free from Affectation in Speech or Carriage A severe Reprover of hard and obstinate Sinners A mild and gentle Admonisher of such as were tender and sensible of their Failings Not apt to resent personal Wrongs Easie to forgive Injuries But zealously Earnest where the Honour of God the Prosperity of Truth the Peace of the Church were concerned Very Tender Compassionate and Pitiful he was to all that were under any sort of Affliction full of Brotherly Love full of Fatherly Care For indeed the Care of the Churches of Christ was daily upon him the Prosperity and Peace whereof he studiously sought Beloved he was of God Beloved of God's People and which was not the least part of his Honour the Common Butt of all Apostates Envy whose Good notwithstanding he earnestly sought He lived to see the Desire of his Soul The Spreading of that Blessed Principle of Divine Light through many of the European Nations and not a few of the American Islands and Provinces and the Gathering many Thousands into an Establishment therein which the Lord vouchsafed him the Honour to be the First Effectual Publisher of in this latter Age of the World And having fought a good Fight finished his Course and kept the Faith his righteous Soul freed from the Earthly Tabernacle in which he had led an Exemplary Life of Holiness was translated into those Heavenly Mansions where Christ our Lord went to prepare a Place for His there to possess that Glorious Crown of Righteousness which is laid up
Rock and Sanctuary and by thee we have leaped over a Wall and by thee we have run through a Troop and by thee we have put the Armies of the Aliens to Flight these People had Right to say it And as God had delivered their Souls of the warisom Burthens of Sin and Vanity and enriched their poverty of Spirit and satisfied their great Hungar and Thirst after Eternal Righteousness and filled them with the Good Things of his own House and made them Stewards of his Manifold Gifts so they went forth to all Quarters of these Nations to Declare to the Inhabitants thereof what God had done for them what they had found and where and how they had found it viz. The way to Peace with God Inviting them to come and see and taste for themselves the Truth of what they Declared unto them And as their Testimony was to the Principle of God in Man the precious Pearl and Leven of the Kingdom as the only blessed means appointed of God to Quicken Convince and Sanctifie Man so they opened to them what it was in it self and what it was given to them for How they might know it from their own Spirit and that of the Subtil appearance of the Evil one and what it would do for all those whose minds are turned off from the Vanity of the World and its Lifeless ways and Teachers and ad-hear to this blessed Light in themselves which discovers and condemns Sin in all its appearances and shows how to overcome it if minded and obeyed in its holy Manifestations and Convictions Giving Power to such to Avoid and Resist those things that do not please God and to grow Strong in Love Faith and Good Works That so Man whom Sin hath made as a Wilderness over-run with Briers and Thorns might become as the Garden of God cultivated by his divine Power and replenisht with the most Virtuous and Beautiful Plants of God's own Right Hand Planting to his Eternal Praise But these Experimental Preachers of Glad Tydings of God's Truth and Kingdom could not run when they List or Pray or Preach when they Pleased But as the Christ their Redeemer prepared and moved them by his own Blessed Spirit for which they waited in their Services and Meetings and Spoak as that gave them utterance and which was as those having Authority and not like the Dreaming Dry and formal Pharisees And so it plainly appeared to the serious Minded whose Spiritual Eye the Lord Jesus had in any measure opened so that to one was given the Word of Exhortation to another the Word of Reproof to another the Word of Consolation and all by the same Spirit and in the good Order thereof to the Convincing and Edifying of many And truly they waxed Strong and Bold through Faithfulness and by the Power and Spirit of the Lord Jesus became very Fruitful thousands in a short time being turned to the Truth through their Testimony in Ministry and Sufferings insomuch as in most Counties and many of the considerable Towns of England Meetings were settled and daily there were added such as should be saved For they were Diligent to Plant and to Water and the Lord blessed their Labours with an Exceeding great Increase notwithstanding all the opposition made to their blessed Progress by false Rumors Calumnies and bitter Persecutions not only from the Powers of the Earth but from every one that listed to injure and abuse them So that they seemed indeed to be as poor Sheep appointed to the Slaughter and as a People killed all the Day long It were fitter for a Volumn than a Preface but so much as to repeat the Contents of their cruel Sufferings from Professors as well as from Prophaine and from Magistrates as well as the Rabble that it may well be said of this abused and despised People they went forth Weeping and sowed in Tears bearing Testimony to the Precious Seed the Seed of the Kingdom which stands not in Words the Finest the Highest that Man's Wit can use but in Power the Power of Christ Jesus to whom God the Father hath given all Power in Heaven and in Earth that he might rule Angels above and Men below who impowred them as their Work witnesseth by the many that were turned through their Ministry from Darkness to the Light and out of the Broad into the Narrow Way bringing People to a Weighty Serious and God-like Conversation the Practice of that Doctrine which they Taught And as without this Secret Divine Power there is no Quickning and Regenerating of dead Souls so the want of this Generating and begetting Power and Life is the Cause of the little Fruit that the many Ministrys that have been and are in the World bring forth O that both Ministers and People were sensible of this My Soul is often troubled for them and Sorrow and Mourning compass me about for their Sakes O! that they were Wise O! that they would consider and lay to Heart the things that truly and substantially make for their lasting Peace Two things are to be briefly toucht upon the Doctrine they Taught and the Example they lead among all People I have already toucht upon their Fundamental Principle which is as the Corner stone of their Fabrick And to speak eminently and properly their Characteristick or main distinguishing Point or Principle viz. the Light of Christ within as God's Gift for Man's Salvation This I say is as the Root of the goodly Tree of Doctrines that grew and branched out from it which I shall now mention in their Natural and Experimental Order First Repentance from dead Works to serve the Living God Which comprehends three Operations First a sight of Sin Secondly A Sense and Godly Sorrow for it Thirdly An Amendment for the Time to come This was the Repentance they preached and pressed and a Natural result from the Principle they turned all People unto For of Light came Sight and of Sight came Sense and Sorrow and of Sense and Sorrow came Amentment of Life Which Doctrine of Repentance leads to Justification that is Forgiveness of the Sins that are past through Christ the alone Propitiation and the Sanctification or Purgation of the Soul from the defiling Nature and Habits of sin present which is justification in the compleat Sense of that Word comprehending both justification from the Guilt of the Sins that are past as if they had never been commited through the Love and Mercy of God in Christ Jesus and the Creatures being made inwardly just through the Cleansing and Sanctifying Power and Spirit of Christ revealed in the Soul which is commonly called Sanctification .. From hence sprang a Second Doctrine they were led to declare as the Mark of the Price of the High Calling of all true Christians viz. Perfection from sin according to the Scriptures of Truth which testifie it to be the end of Christ's coming and the Nature of his Kingdom and for which his Spirit was given But they never held a Perfection
Reformation So that this People did not only in words more than equally press Repentance Conversion and Holiness but did it knowingly and experimentally and directed those to whom they preach'd to a sufficient Principle and told them where it is and by what Tokens they might know it and which way they might experience the Power and Efficacy of it to their Soul's Happiness Which is more then Theory and Speculations upon which most other Ministries depend for here is certainly a bottom upon which Man may boldly appear before God in the great Day of Account V. They reached to the Inward State and Condition of People which is an Evidence of the Virtue of their Principle and of their Ministring from it and not their own Imaginations Glosses or Comments upon Scripture For nothing reaches the Heart but what is from the Heart or pierces the Conscience but what comes from a living Conscience Insomuch as it hath often happened where People have under Secrecy revealed their State or Condition to some choice Friends for Advice or Ease they have been so particularly directed in the Ministry of this People that they have challenged their Friends with discovering their Secrets and telling the Preachers their Cases Yea the very Thoughts and Purposes of the hearts of many have been so plainly detected that they have like Nathaniel cryed out of this inward appearance of Christ Thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel And those that have embraced this Divine Principle have found this Mark of its Truth and Divinity that the Woman of Samaria did of Christ when in the Flesh to be the Messiah viz. It had told them all that ever they did showed them their insides the most inward secrets of their Hearts and laid Judgment to the Line and Righteousness to the Plummet of which Thousands can at this day give in their Witness So that nothing has been affirmed by this People of the Power and Virtue of this Heavenly Principle that such as have turned to it have not found true and more and that one half had not been told to them of what they have seen of the Power Purity Wisdom Mercy and Goodness of God herein VI. The Accomplishments with which this Principle fitted even some of the meanest of this People for their Work and Service Furnishing some of them with an Extraordinary Vnderstanding in Divine Things and an admirable Fluency and Taking way of expression which gave occasion to some to wonder saying of them as of their Master is not this such a Mechanick's Son how came he by this Learning As from thence others took occasion to suspect and insinuate they were Jesuites in Disguise who have had the Reputation of learned Men for an Age past though there was not the least ground of Truth for any such Reflection VII That they rise Low and Dispised and Hated as the Primitive Christians did and not by the help of Worldly Wisdom or Power as former Reformations in part did But in all things it may be said this People were brought forth in the Cross in a Contradiction to the Ways Worship Fashion and Customs of this World yea against Wind and Tide that so no Flesh might Glory before God They could have no design to themselves in this Work thus to expose themselves to Scorn and Abuse to spend and be spent Leaving Wife and Children House and Land and all that can be accounted dear to Men with their lives in their Hands being daily in Jeopardy to declare this Primitive Message 1 Jo. 1.5 revived in their Spirits by the good Spirit and Power of God viz. That God is Light and in him is no darkness at all and that he has sent his Son a Light into the World to enlighten all Men in order to Salvation and that they that say they have Fellowship with God and are his Children and People and yet walk in Darkness viz. in Disobedience to the Light in their Consciences and after the Vanity of this World they lie and do not the Truth But that all such as love the Light and bring their Deeds to it and walk in the Light as God is Light the blood of Jesus Christ his Son should cleanse them from all Sin VIII Their known great Constancy and Patience in Suffering for their Testimony in all the Branches of it and that sometimes unto Death by Beatings Bruisings long and crowded Imprisonments and Noisom Dungeons Four of them in New England Dying by the Hands of the Executioner purely for Preaching amongst that People besides Banishments and Excessive Plunders and Sequestrations of their Goods and Estates almost in all parts not easily to be expressed and less to be endured but by those that have the support of a good and glorious Cause refusing Deliverance by any indirect ways or means as often as it was offered to them IX That they did not only not show any disposition to Revenge when it was at any time in their Power but forgave their cruel Enemies shewing Mercy to those that had none for them X. Their Plainness with those in Authority not unlike the Antient Prophets not fearing to tell them to their Faces of their Private and Publick Sins and their Prophecies to them of their Afflictions and Downfall when in the Top of their Glory also of some National Judgments as of the Plague and Fire of London in express Terms and likewise particular ones to divers Persecutions which accordingly overtook them and which were very remarkable in the Places where they dwelt and in time they may be made publick for the Glory of God Thus Reader thou seest this People in their Rise Principles Ministry and Progress both their General and Particular Testimony by which thou maist be informed how and upon what foot they Sprung and became so considerable a People It remains next that I shew also their Care Conduct and Discipline as a Christian and Reformed Society that they might be found living up to their own Principles and Profession And this the rather because they have hardly suffered more in their Character from the Vnjust Charge of Error than by the false Imputation of Disorder Which Calumny indeed has not failed to follow all the true steps that were ever made to Reformation and under which Reproach none suffered more than the Primitive Christians themselves that were the Honour of Christianity and the great Lights and Examples of their own and succeeding Ages This People encreasing daily both in Town and Country an Holy Care fell upon some of the Elders among them for the Benefit and Service of the Church And the first Business in their View after the Example of the Primitive Saints was the Exercise of Charity to supply the Necessities of the Poor and answer the like Occasions Wherefore Collections were early and liberally made for that and divers other Services in the Church and intrusted with Faithful Men fearing God and of good Report who were not weary in
well-doing adding often of their own in large Proportions which they never brought to account or desired should be known much less restored to them that none might want nor any Service be retarded or disappointed They were also very careful that every one that belonged to them answered their Profession in their Behaviour among Men upon all Occasions that they lived Peaceably and were in all things good Examples They found themselves engaged to record their Sufferings and Services and in case of Marriage which they could not perform in the usual Methods of the Nation but among themselves they took care that all things were clear between the Parties and all others and it was then rare that any one entertain'd such Inclination to a Person on that account till he or she had communicated it secretly to some very Weighty and Eminent Friends among them that they might have a sense of the Matter looking to the Council and Unity of their Brethren as of great Moment to them But because the Charge of the Poor the Number of Orphans Marriages Sufferings and other Matters multiplied and that it was good that the Churches were in some way and Method of proceeding in such Affairs among them to the end they might the better correspond upon occasion where a Member of one Meeting might have to do with one of another It pleased the Lord in his Wisdom and Goodness to open the Understanding of the first Instrument of this Dispensation of Life about a Good and Orderly way of Proceeding and he felt an Holy Concern to visit the Churches in Person throughout this Nation to begin and establish it among them and by his Epistles the like was done in other Nations and Provinces abroad which he also afterwards Visited and helped in that Service as shall be observed when I come to speak of him Now the Care Conduct and Discipline I have been speaking of and which is now practised among this People is as followeth III. This Godly Elder in every County where he travelled exhorted them that some out of every Meeting of Worship should meet together once in the Month to confer about the Wants and Occasions of the Church And as the Case required so those Monthly Meetings were fewer or more in number in every respective County Four or Six Meetings of Worship usually making one Monthly Meeting of Business And accordingly the Brethren met him from place to place and began the said Meetings viz. For the Poor Orphans orderly Walking Integrity to their Profession Births Marriages Burials Sufferings c. And that these Monthly Meetings should in each County make up one Quarterly Meeting where the most Zealous and Eminent Friends of the County should assemble to Communicate Advise and Help one another especially when any Business seemed difficult or a Monthly Meeting was tender of determining a Matter Also these Quarterly Meetings should digest the Reports of the Monthly Meetings and prepare one for the County against the Yearly Meeting in which the Quarterly Meetings resolve which is held Yearly in London where the Churches in this Nation and other Nations and Provinces Meet by chosen Members of their Respective Counties both mutually to communicate their Church Affairs and to advise and be advised in any depending Case to Edification Also to provide a requisite Stock for the discharge of general Expences for general Services in the Church not needful to be here particularized At these Meetings any of the Members of the Churches may come if they please and speak their Minds freely in the Fear of God to any matter but the Mind of each Meeting therein represented is chiefly understood as to perticuler Cases in the Sense delivered by the Persons deputed or chosen for that Service During their Yearly Meeting to which their other Meetings referr in their Order and Resolve themselves care is taken by a Select Number for that service chosen by the General Assembly to draw up the Minutes of the said Meeting upon the several matters that have been under Consideration therein to the end that the Respective Quarterly and Monthly Meetings may be informed of all Proceedings together with a general Exhortation to Holiness Vnity and Charity Of all which Proceedings in Yearly Quarterly and Monthly Meetings due Record is kept by some One appointed for that Service or that hath voluntarily undertaken it These Meetings are opened and usually concluded in their Solemn waiting upon God who is sometimes graciously pleased to answer them with as signal Evidences of his Love and Presence as in any other their Meetings of Worship It is further to be Noted that in these Solemn Assemblies for the Church's Service there is no one presides among them after the manner of the Assemblies of other People Christ only being their President as he is pleased to appear in Life and Wisdom in any one or more of them to whom whatever be their Capacity or Degree the rest adhere with a Firm Vnity not of Authority but Conviction which is the Divine Authority and way of Christ's Power and Spirit in his People Making good his blessed Promise That he would be in the Midst of his where and whenever they were met together in his Name even to the End of the World So be it Now it may be expected I should here set down what sort of Authority is exercised by this People upon such Members of their Society as correspond not in their Lives with their Profession and that are Refractory to this good and wholesom Order settled among them and the rather because they have not wanted their Reproach and Suffering from some Tongues upon this occasion in a plentiful manner The Power they exercise is such as Christ has given to his own People to the End of the World in the Persons of his Disciples viz. To Oversee Exhort Reprove and after long Suffering and Waiting upon the Disobedient and Refractory to disown them as any more of their Communion or that they will any longer stand Charged in the Sight and Judgment of God or Men with their Conversation or Behaviour as one of them untill they Repent The subject matter about which this Authority in any of the foregoing Branches of it is Exercised is First in Relation to common and general Practice and Secondly about those things that more strictly referr to their own Character and Profession and distinguish them from all other Professors of Christianity avoiding two Extreams upon which many Split viz. Persecution and Libertinism A Coercive Power to Whip People into the Temple that such as will not Conform though against Faith and Conscience shall be punisht in their Persons or Estates or leaving all loose and at large as to Practice unaccountable to all but God and the Magistrate To which hurtful Extream nothing has more contributed than the Abuse of Church Power by such as suffer their Passions and private Interests to prevail with them to carry it to outward Force and Corporal Punishment A
naturally led into So that what is an evil to One is so to All and what is Vertuous Honest and of good Report to One is so to All from the Sense and Savour of the one Vniversal Principle which is common to all and which the disaffected profess to be the Root of all True Christian Fellowship and that Spirit into which the People of God drink and come to be Spiritually Minded and of one Heart and one Soul Some weakly mistook good Order in the Government of Church Affairs for Discipline in Worship and that it was so prest or recommended by Him and other Brethren And they were ready to reflect the same things that Dissenters had very reasonably objected upon the National Churches that have coercively pressed Conformity to their Respective Creeds and Worships Whereas these things related wholly to Conversation and the Outward and as I may say Civil part of the Church that Men should walk up to the Principles of their Belief and not be wanting in Care and Charity But though some have stumbled and fallen through Mistakes and an unreasonable Obstinancy even to a Prejudice yet blessed be God the Generality have returned to their First Love and seen the Work of the Enemy that looses no Opportunity or Advantage by which he may check or hinder the Work of God and disquiet the Peace of his Church and chill the Love of his People to the Truth and one to another and there is hope of divers that are yet at a Distance In all these Occasions though there was no Person the Discontented struck so sharply at as this Good Man he bore all their Weakness and Prejudice and returned not Reflection for Reflection but forgave them their weak and bitter Speeches praying for them that they might have a Sense of their hurt and see the Subtilty of the Enemy to Rend and Devide and return into their First Love that thought no Ill. And truly I must say that though God had visibly cloathed him with a Divine Preference and Authority and indeed his very Presence exprest a Religious Majesty yet he never abused it but held his Place in the Church of God with great Meakness and a most engaging Humility and Moderation For upon all Occasions like his blessed Master he was a Servant to all holding and exercising his Eldership in the Invisible Power that had gathered them with Reverence to the Head and Care over the Body And was received only in that Spirit and Power of Christ as the First and Chief Elder in this Age who as he was therefore worthy of double Honour so for the same Reason it was given by the Faithful of this day because his Authority was inward and not outward and that he got it and kept it by the Love of God and Power of an Endless Life I write my Knowledge and not Report and my Witness is True having been with him for Weeks and Months together on divers Occasions and those of the nearest and most exercising Nature and that by Night and by Day by Sea and by Land in this and in Foreign Countrys And I can say I never saw him out of his Place or not a Match for every Service or Occasion For in all things he acquitted himself like a Man yea a strong Man a New and Heavenly minded Man A Divine and a Naturalist and all of God Almighty's making I have been surprised at his Questions and Answers in Natural things that whilst he was Ignorant of useless and Sophistical Science he had in him the Foundation of useful and commendable Knowledge and cherisht it every where Civil beyond all Forms of Breeding in his Behaviour Very Temperate eating Little and sleeping Less though a Bulky Person Thus he Lived and Sojourned among us and as he lived so he died feeling the same Eternal Power that had raised and preserved him in his last Moments So full of assurance was he that he Triumpht over Death and so even to the last as if Death were hardly worth Notice or a Mention Recommending to some with him the Dispatch and Dispersion of an Epistle just before Written to the Churches of Christ throughout the World and his own Books but above all Friends and of all Friends those in Ireland and America twice over Saying mind poor Friends in Ireland and America And to some that came in and enquired how he found himself he answered Never heed the Lord's Power is over all Weakness and Death the Seed reigns Blessed be the Lord Which was about Four or Five Hours before his Departure out of this World He was at the great Meeting near Lombard-street on the First day of the Week and it was the Third following about Ten at Night when he left us being at the House of H. Goldney in the same Court. In a good Old Age he went after having lived to see his Childrens Children to many Generations in the Truth He had the Comfort of a short Illness and the Blessing of a clear Sense to the last and we may truly say with a Man of God of Old that being Dead he yet Speaketh and though absent in Body he is Present in Spirit neither Time nor Place being able to interrupt the Communion of Saints or dissolve the Fellowships of the Spirits of the Just His Works praise him because they are to the Praise of him that worked by him for which his Memorial is and shall be Blessed I have done as to this part of my Preface when I have left this short Epitaph to his Name Many Sons have done virtuously in this Day but Dear George thou Excellest them All. And now Friends you that profess to walk in the way this Blessed Man was sent of God to turn us into suffer I beseech you the word of Exhortation as well Fathers as Children and Elders as Young Men. The Glory of this Day and Foundation of the Hope that has not made us ashamed since we were a People you know is that Blessed Principle of Light and Life of Christ which we Profess and Direct all People to as the great Instrument and Agent of Man's Conversion to God It was by this we were first Touched and effectually enlightned as to our Inward State which put us upon the Consideration of our Latter End causing us to set the Lord before our Eyes and to Number our Days that we might apply our Hearts to Wisdom In that Day we judged not after the Sight of the Eye or after the Hearing of the Ear but according to the Light and Sense this Blessed Principle gave us we judged and acted in reference to Things and Persons our selves and others yea towards God our Maker For being quickned by it in our Inward Man we could easily discern the difference of things and feel what was Right and what was Wrong and what was Fit and what not both in reference to Religion and Civil Concerns That being the ground of the Fellowship of all Saints it was in
is possible for one that hath received the Word of the Lord to miss in the Division and Application of it which must come from an Impatiency of Spirit and a Self-working which makes an unsound and dangerous Mixture and will hardly beget a right minded living People to God I am earnest in this above all other Considerations as to publick Brethren well knowing how much it concerns the present and future State and preservation of the Church of Christ Jesus that has been gathered and built up by a Living and Powerful Ministry that the Ministry be held preserved and continued in the Manifestations Motions and Supplies of the same Life and Power from time to time And where ever it is observed that any one does Minister more from Gifts and Parts than Life and Power though they have an Inlightned and Doctrinal Vnderstanding let them in time be advised and admonished for their Preservation because insensibly such will come to depend upon a Self-sufficiency to forsake Christ the living Fountain and to hew out unto themselves Cisterns that will hold no living Waters and by degrees draw others from waiting upon the Gift of God in themselves and to feel it in others in order to their Strength and Refreshment to wait upon them and to turn from God to Man again and so to make Shipwrack of the Faith once delivered to the Saints and of a good Conscience towards God which are only kept by that Divine Gift of life that begat the one and awaken'd and sanctified the other in the Beginning Nor is it enough that we have known the Divine Gift and in it have reached to the Spirits in Prison and been the Instruments of the Convincing of others of the way of God if we keep not as low and poor in our selves and as depending upon the Lord as ever since no Memory no Repetitions of former Openings Revelations or Enjoyments will bring a Soul to God or afford Bread to the Hungry or Water to the Thirsty unless Life go with what we say and that must be waited for O that we may have no other Fountain Treasury or Dependence that none may presume at any rate to Act of themselves for God! Because they have long acted from God that we may not supply want of waiting with our own Wisdom or think that we may take less Care and more liberty in speaking than formerly and that where we do not feel the Lord by his Power to open us and enlarge us whatever be the Expectation of the People or has been our Customary Supply and Character we may not exceed or fill up the time with our own I hope we shall ever Remember who it was that said Of your selves you can do nothing our sufficiency is in Him And if we are not to speak our own Words or take Thought what we should say to Men in our Defence when exposed for our Testimony surely we ought to speak none of our own Words or take Thought what we shall say in our Testimony and Ministry in the Name of the Lord to the Souls of the People for then of all Times and of all other Occasions should it be fulfilled in us for it is not you that speak but the Spirit of my Father that speaketh in you And indeed the Ministry of the Spirit must and does keep its Analogy and Agreement with the Birth of the Spirit that as no Man can Inherit the Kingdom of God unless he be born of the Spirit so no Ministery can beget a Soul to God but that which is from the Spirit For this as I said before the Disciples waited before they went forth and in this our Elder Brethren and Messengers of God in our Day waited visited and reached to us And having begun in the Spirit let none ever hope or seek to be made perfect in the Flesh For what is the Flesh to the Spirit or the Chaff to the Wheat And if we keep in the Spirit we shall keep in the Vnity of it which is the ground of true Fellowship For by Drinking into that one Spirit we are made one People to God and by it we are continued in the Vnity of the Faith and the Bond of Peace No Envying no Bitterness no Strife can have place with us We shall watch always for Good and not for Evil over one another and rejoice exceedingly and not begrudge at one anothers increase in the Riches of the Grace with which God replenisheth his Faithful Servants And Brethren as to you is committed the Dispensation of the Oracles of God which give you frequent Opportunities and great Place with the People among whom you Travail I beseech you that you would not think it sufficient to declare the Word of Life in their Assemblies however Edifying and Comfortable such opportunities may be to you and them But as was the Practice of the Man of God before mentioned in great Measure when among us inquire the State of the several Churches you Visit who among them are Afflicted or Sick who are Tempted if any are Vnfaithful or Obstinate and endeavour to Issue those things in the Wisdom and Power of God which will be a glorious Crown upon your Ministry As that prepares your way in the Hearts of the People to receive you as Men of God so it gives you Credit with them to do them good by your Advice in other Respects The Afflicted will be Comforted by you the Tempted Strengthened the Sick Refreshed the Vnfaithful Convicted and Restored and such as are Obstinate Softned and fitted for Reconciliation which is Clenching the Nail and applying and Fastning the general Testimony by that particular Care of the several Branches of it in reference to them more immediately concerned in it For though Good and Wise Men and Elders too may reside in such places who are of Worth and Importance in the general and in other Places yet it does not always follow that they may have the Room they deserve in the hearts of the People they live among or some particular occasion may make it unfit for him or them to use that Authority But you that Travail as God's Messengers if they receive you in the Greater shall they refuse you in the Less And if they own the general Testimony can they withstand the particular Application of it in their own Cases Thus ye will shew your selves Workmen indeed and carry your Business before you to the praise of his Name that hath called you from Darkness to Light that you might turn others from Satan's Power unto God and his Kingdom which is within And Oh that there were more of such Faithful Labourers in the Vineyard of the Lord Never more need since the day of God! Wherefore I cannot but Cry and Call aloud to you that have been long Professors of the Truth and know the Truth in the convincing Power of it and have had a sober Conversation among Men yet content your selves only to know Truth for your selves
to go to Meetings and Exercise an ordinary Charity in the Church and an honest Behaviour in the World and limit your selves within those Bounds feeling little or no concern upon your Spirits for the Glory of the Lord in the prospirity of his Truth in the Earth more than to be glad that others succeed in such Service Arise ye in the Name and Power of the Lord Jesus Behold how white the Fields are unto Harvest in this and other Nations and how few Able and Faithful Labourers there are to work therein Your Country Folks Neighbours and Kindred want to know the Lord and his Truth and to Walk in it Does nothing lie at your Door upon their Account Search and see and loose no time I beseech you for the Lord is at Hand I do not Judge you there is one that Judgeth all Men and his Judgment is true You have mightily increased in your outward Substance may you equally increase in your inward Riches and do good with both while you have a day to do Good Your Enemies would once have taken what you had from you for his Names Sake in whom you have believed wherefore he has given you much of the World in the Face of your Enemies But Oh let it be your Servant and not your Master your Diversion rather than your Business Let the Lord be chiefly in your Eye and ponder your Ways and see if God has nothing more for you to do and if you find your selves short in your Account with him then wait for his Preparation and be ready to receive the word of Command and be not weary of well doing when you have put your Hand to the Plow and assuredly you shall Reap if you faint not the Fruit of your Heavenly Labour in God's Everlasting Kingdom And you Young Convinced Ones be you Entreated and Exhorted to a Diligent and Chast waiting upon God in the way of his Blessed Manifestation and appearance of himself to you Look not out but within Let not anothers Liberty be your Snare Neither Act by Imitation but Sense and Feeling of God's Power in your selves Crush not the tender Buddings of it in your Souls nor over run in your desires and your warmness of Affections the Holy and Gentle Motions of It. Remember it is a still Voice that Speaks to us in this Day and that it is not to be heard in the Noises and Hurries of the Mind but is distinctly understood in a retired Frame Jesus loved and chose out Solitudes often going to Mountains to Gardens and Sea-sides to avoid Crowds and Hurries to shew his Disciples it was good to be Solitary and sit loose to the World Two Enemies lie near your States Imagination and Liberty but the plain practical Living Holy Truth that has convinced you will preserve you if you mind it in your selves and bring all Thoughts Imaginations and Affections to the Test of it to see if they are wrought in God or of the Enemy or your own selves So will a true Tast Discerning and Judgment be preserved to you of what you should do and leave undone And in your diligence and Faithfulness in this way you will come to inherit Substance and Christ the Eternal Wisdom will fill your Treasury And when you are Converted as well as Convinced then confirm your Brethren and be ready to every good Word and Work that the Lord shall call you to that you may be to his Praise who has chosen you to be partakers with the Saints in Light of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken an Inheritance incorruptible in Eternal Habitations And now as for you that are the Children of God's People a Great Concern is upon my Spirit for your good and often are my Knees Bowed to the God of your Fathers for you that you may come to be partakers of the same Divine Life and Power that has been the Glory of this Day that a Generation you may be to God an Holy Nation and a Peculiar People Zealous of Good Works when all our Heads are laid in the Dust Oh you Young Men and Women let it not suffice you that you are the Children of the People of the Lord you must also be born again if you will inherit the Kingdom of God Your Fathers are but such after the Flesh and could but beget you into the likeness of the first Adam but you must be begotten into the likeness of the second Adam by a Spiritual Generation And therefore look carefully about you Oh ye Children of the Children of God Consider your Standing and see what you are in Relation to this Divine Kindred Family and Birth Have you obeyed the Light and received and walked in the Spirit that is the incorruptible Seed of the Word and Kingdom of God of which you must be born again God is no respecter of Persons The Father cannot save or answer for the Child the Child for the Father but in the Sin thou Sinnest thou shalt die and in the Righteousness thou doest through Christ Jesus thou shalt live for it is the Willing and Obedient that shall eat the Good of the Land Be not deceived God is not mocked such as all Nations and People Sow such they shall reap at the hand of the just God And then your many and great Priviledges above the Children of other People will add weight in the scale against you if you choose not the way of the Lord. For you have had Line upon Line and Precept upon Precept and not only good Doctrine but good Example and which is more you have been turned to and acquainted with a Principle in your selves which others have been ignorant of and you know you may be as Good as you please without the Fear of Frowns and Blows or being turned out of doors and forsaken of Father and Mother for God's Sake and his Holy Religion as has been the Case of some of your Fathers in the day they first entred into this Holy Path And if you after hearing and seeing the Wonders that God has wrought in the deliverance and perservation of them through a Sea of Troubles and the manifold Temporal as well as spiritual Blessings that he has filled them with in the sight of their Enemies you should neglect and turn your backs upon so great and so near a Salvation you would not only be most ungreatful Children to God and them but must expect that God will call the Children of those that knew him not to take the Crown out of your Hands and that your lot will be a dreadful Judgment at the hand of the Lord. But Oh that it may never be so with any of you The Lord forbid saith my Soul Wherefore Oh ye Young Men and Women look to the Rock of your Fathers chuse the God of your Fathers There is no other God but him no other Light but his no other Grace but his nor Spirit but his to Convince you Quicken and Comfort you to Lead Guide and
And they were generally pretty quiet Only some few raged and would have had my Relations to have bound me I declared largely to them how that God was come to Teach his People himself and to bring them off from all their Man-made Teachers to hear his Son And some were Convinced there Market-Bossoth Then went I to a Place called Market-Bossoth and there was a Lecture there also And he that preached there that day was Nathaniel Stevens who was Priest of the Town where I was born And he raged much when I spake to him and to the People and told the People I was Mad tho' he had said before to one Colonel Purfoy That there was never such a Plant bred in England and he bid the People they should not hear me So the People being stirred up by this deceitful Priest fell upon us and stoned us out of the Town Yet they did not do us much hurt Howbeit some People were made Loving that day and others were Confirmed seeing the Rage of both Priests and Professors And some cried out that the Priest durst not stand to prove his Ministry And as I traveled through Markets Fairs and divers Places I saw Death and Darkness in all People where the Power of the Lord God had not shaken them Leicester-shire Twy-Cross And as I was passing on in Leicester-shire I came to a Place called Twy-Cross where there were Excise-Men and I was moved of the Lord to go to them and warn them to take heed of Oppressing the Poor And People were much affected with it Now there was in that Town a great Man that had long lain sick and was given over by the Physicians and some Friends in the Town desired me to go to see him And I went up to him in his Chamber and spake the Word of Life to him and was moved to Pray by him and the Lord was entreated and Restored him to Health But when I was come down the Stairs into a lower Room and was speaking to the Servants and to some People that were there a Serving-Man of his came Raving out of another Room with a naked Rapier in his Hand and set it just to my side But I looked stedfastly on him and said Alack for thee poor Creature what wilt thou do with thy carnal Weapon It is no more to me than a Straw The Standers by were much troubled and he went away in a Rage and full of Wrath But when the News of it came to his Master he turned him out of his Service Thus the Lord's Power preserved me and raised up the Weak Man who afterwards was very Loving to Friends And when I came to that Town again both he and his Wife came to see me After this I was moved to go into Darbyshire where the mighty Power of God was among Friends Darbyshire Chesterfield And I went to Chesterfield where one Britland was Priest He was one that saw beyond the common sort of Priests for he had been partly Convinced and had spoken much on behalf of Truth before he was Priest there But when the Priest of that Town died he got the Parsonage and choked himself with it 1649. Chesterfield So I was moved to speak to him and the People in the great Love of God that they might come off from all Mens Teaching unto God's Teaching and he was not able to gainsay But they had me before the Major and threatned to send me with some others to the House of Correction and kept us in Custody till it was late in the Night And then the Officers with the Watchmen put us out of the Town leaving us to shift as we could So I bent my Course towards Darby having a Friend or two with me And in our way we met with many Professors Kidsey-park and at Kidsey-Park many were Convinced Then coming to Darby I lay at a Doctor 's House 1650. Darby whose Wife was Convinced and so were several more in the Town And as I was walking in my Chamber the Bell rung and it struck at my Life at the very hearing of it So I asked the Woman of the House What the Bell rung for And she said There was to be a great Lecture there that day and many of the Officers of the Army and Priests and Preachers were to be there that Day and a Colonel that was a Preacher Then was I moved of the Lord to go up to them And when they had done I spake to them what the Lord Commanded me and they were pretty quiet But there came an Officer and took me by the Hand and said I must go before the Magistrates and the other Two that were with me It was about the First Hour Afternoon that we came before them They asked me Why we came thither I said God moved us so to do and I told them God dwells not in Temples made with Hands I told them also All their Preaching Baptism and Sacrifices would never sanctifie them and bid them Look unto Christ in them and not unto Men For it is Christ that sanctifies Then they ran into many Words but I told them They were not to Dispute of God and Christ but to Obey him And the Power of God thundred amongst them and they did fly like Chaff before it They put me in and out of the Room often hurrying me backward and forward often For they were from the First Hour till the Ninth at Night in Examining me And sometimes they would tell me in a deriding manner That I was taken up in Raptures At last they asked me Whether I was Sanctified I answered Yes for I was in the Paradise of God Then they asked me If I had no Sin I answered Christ my Saviour has taken away my Sin and in him there is no Sin They asked How we knew that Christ did abide in us I said by his Spirit that he hath given us They temptingly asked If any of us were Christ I answered NAY ☜ we were nothing Christ was all They said If a Man steal is it no Sin I answered All Unrighteousness is Sin So when they had wearied themselves in Examining me they Committed me and one other Man to the House of Correction in Darby for six Months as Blasphemers as may appear by the Mittimus a Copy whereof here followeth To the Master of the House of Correction in Darby Greeting WE have sent you herewithal the Bodies of George Fox late of Mansfield in the County of Nottingham and John Fretwell late of Staniesby in the County of Darby Husbandman brought before us this present Day and charged with the avowed uttering and broaching of divers blasphemous Opinions contrary to a late Act of Parliament which upon their Examination before us they have Confessed These are therefore to require you forthwith upon sight hereof to receive them the said George Fox and John Fretwell into your Custody and them therein safely to keep during the space of
of God in themselves by which they might come to him and by which they might also come to know 1651. Pickering who the false Prophets were So having had a large time among them I departed in Peace After some time traveling in the Country I came to Pickering where in the Steeple-house the Justices held their Sessions Justice Robinson being Chairman and I had a Meeting in the School-house at the same time and abundance of Priests and Professors came to it asking Questions which were Answered to their Satisfaction And it being Sessions-time four Chief-Constables and many other Poople were Convinced that day And word was carried to Justice Robinson that his Priest was Overthrown and Convinced whom he had a Love to more than to all the Priests besides After the Meeting was done we went to an Inn and Justice Robinson's Priest was very lowly and loving and would have paid for my Dinner but I would by no means suffer it Then he offered that I should have his Steeple-house to preach in But I denied it and told him and the People That I came to bring them off from such things to Christ. The next Morning I went up with the Four Chief-Constables and some others to visit Justice Robinson who met me at his Chamber-door I told him I could not honour him with Man's Honour and he said He did not look for it So I went into his Chamber and opened te him the State of the false Prophets and of the true Prophets and set the true Prophets and Christ and the Apostles over the other and directed his Mind to Christ his Teacher and opened to him the Parables and how Election and Reprobation stood as that Reprobation stood in the first Birth and Election stood in the second Birth I shewed also what the Promise of God was to and what the Judgment of God was against He Confessed to it all and was so opened with the Truth that when another Justice that was present made some little Opposition he Informed him At our parting he said It was very well that I did exercise that Gift which God had given me And he took the Chief-Constables aside and would have given them some Money to have given me saying He would not have me be at any Charge in their Country but they told him That they themselves could not get me to take any Money and so accepting his Kindness refused his Money From thence I passed up into the Country and the Priest that called me Brother in whose School-house I had the Meeting at Pickering went along with me When we came into a Town to bait the Bells rang Whereupon I asked What the Bells rang for And they said for me to preach in the Steeple-house After some Time I felt Drawings that way And as I walked to the Steeple-house I saw the People were gathered together in the Steeple-house-yard The Old Priest would have had me gone into the Steeple-house but I said Nay it was no matter But it was something strange to the People that I would not go into that which they called the House of God Then I stood up in the Steeple-house-yard and declared to the People That I came not to hold up their Idol-Temples nor their Priests nor their Tithes nor their Augmentations nor their Priests-wages nor their Jewish and Heathenish Ceremonies and Traditions for I denyed all these and told them that that piece of Ground was no more Holy than another Piece of Ground 1651. Yorkshire And I shewed them that the Apostles going into the Jews Synagogues and Temples which God had Commanded was To bring People off from that Temple and those Synagogues and from the Offerings and Tithes and Covetous Priests of that Time And that such as came to be Convinced of the Truth and Converted to it and believed in Jesus Christ whom the Apostles preached they met together afterwards in Dwelling-Houses And that all who preach Christ the Word of Life ought to preach freely as the Apostles did and as he had Commanded So I was sent of the Lord God of Heaven and Earth to preach freely and to bring People off from these outward Temples made with Hands which God dwelleth not in that they might know their Bodies to become the Temples of God and of Christ And to draw People off from all their Superstitious Ceremonies and Jewish and Heathenish Customs Traditions and Doctrines of Men and from all the World's Hireling-Teachers that take Tithes and great Wages preaching for Hire and divining for Money whom God and Christ never sent as themselves confess when they say They never heard God's Voice nor Christ's Voice Therefore I exhorted the People to come off from all these things and directed them to the Spirit and Grace of God in themselves and to the Light of Jesus in their own Hearts that they might come to know Christ their Free Teacher to bring them Salvation and to open the Scriptures to them Thus the Lord gave me a good Opportunity amongst them to open things largely unto them and all was quiet and many were Convinced Blessed be the Lord. I passed on to another Town where there was another great Meeting and the Old Priest before-mentioned went along with me and there came Professors of several sorts to it Now I sate on an Hay-stack and spake nothing for some Hours for I was to famish them from Words And the Professors would ever and anon be speaking to the Old Priest and asking him When I would begin and when I would speak And he bad them Wait and told them That the People waited upon Christ a long while before he spake At last I was moved of the Lord to speak and they were struck by the Lord's Power and the Word of Life reached to them and there was a General Convincement amongst them From hence I passed on the Old Priest being still with me and several others And as we went along some People called to the Old Priest and said Mr. Boyes We owe you some Money for Tithes pray come and take it But the Old Priest threw up his Hands and said He had enough he would have none of it they might keep it And he praised the Lord he had enough At length we came to this Old Priest's Steeple-house in the Moors And when we were come into it the Old Priest went before me The Moors and held open the Pulpit-Door but I forbad him and told him I should not go into it This Steeple-house was very much painted and I told him and the People That the painted Beast had a painted House Then I opened to them the Rise of all those Houses and their Superstitious Ways shewing them that as the End of the Apostles going into the Temple and Synagogues which God had Commanded was not to hold them up 1651. Yorkshire in the Moors but to bring them to Christ the Substance So the End of my coming there was not to hold up these
Debate Did your Hearts never burn within you Did you never come to question your Conditions Are you wholly given up to do the Devil's Lusts to Persecute Where is your Loving Enemies Where is your Entertaining Strangers Where is your Overcoming Evil with Good Where are your Teachers that can stop the Mouths of Gain-sayers and can convince Gain-sayers and such as oppose themselves Have you no Ministers of the Spirit no Soldiers with Spiritual Weapons displaying Christ's Colours But all the Dragon 's the Murderer's the Persecutor's Arm of Flesh Cain's Weapons Chief Priests taking Counsel Judas and the Multitude with Swords and Staves Sodom's Company raging about Lot's House like the Priests and Princes against Jeremiah like the Dragon Beast and great Whore and the false Church which John saw should cast into Prison and Kill and Persecute Whose Weapons are you bearing doth not the false Church the VVhore make Merchandize of Cattel Corn VVine and Oil even to the very Souls of Men And hath not all this been since the true Church went into the Wilderness Read Revelations the 12th with the 18th Do you not read and see what a Spirit you are of and what a bottomless Pit you are in And have not you dishonoured the Place of Justice and Authority What! turned your Sword backward like Mad-Men who are a Praise to the Evil-Doer and would be a Terror to the Good with all Force and Might to stop the way of Justice Doth not the Lord think you behold your Actions How many have you wronged how many have you Imprisoned and Persecuted and put out of your Synagogues Are you they that must fulfil the Prophecy of Christ Matth 23. John 16. Read the Scriptures and see how unlike you are to the Prophets Christ and his Apostles and what a Visage you have like unto them that persecuted the Prophets Christ and the Apostles You are found in their Steps wrestling with Flesh and Blood and not with Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickedness And your Teachers imprisoning and persecuting for outward things you being their Executioners the like whereof hath not been in all the Nations The Havock that hath been made the spoiling of the Goods of People taking away their Oxen and fatted Beeves their Sheep Corn Wool and Houshold-Goods and giving them to the Priests that have done no Work for them More like Moss-Troopers than Ministers of the Gospel they take them from Friends suing them in your Courts and fining them because they will not break the Commands of Christ that is because they will not Swear And thus you Act against them that do not lift up an Hand against you and as much as you turn against them you turn against Christ But he is risen that will plead their Cause and you cannot be hid for your Works are come to Light and the End of your Ministry is seen what it is for for Means And ye have dishonoured the Truth the Gospel and are they that make it Chargeable You have lost your Glory you have dishonoured your selves Persecution was ever blind and mad Read the Apostle what he saith of himself when he was in your Nature Exaltation and Pride and your lifting up your selves hath brought you to this not being humble and not doing Justice and not loving Mercy And when such as have beaten been and bruised by your Rude Company to whom you are a Praise and Encouragement have come and laid things before you that you might have done Justice preserved and kept Peace you as knowing they could not swear have put an Oath to them And this hath been your Trick and Cover that ye might not do Justice to the Just but by this means have gone on still further to Encourage the Evil-Doer But the Lord sees your Hearts If ye were not Men past feeling ye would fear and tremble before him the God of the whole Earth who is risen and will stain your Glory and marr your Pride and deface your Beauty and lay it in the dust Though for a Time you may swell in your Pride and glory in your Shame and make a mock of God's Messengers who for Reproving Sin in the Gate are become your Prey you will feel the heavy hand of God and his Judgments at the last This is from a Lover of the Truth and of Righteousness and of your Souls but a Witness against all such as make a Trade of the Prophets Christ's and the Apostles Words and are found in the Steps of them that persecuted the Prophets Christ's and the Apostles Life who will persecute them that will not hold you up and put into your Mouths and give you Means Tithes were before the Law and Tithes were in the Law but Tithes since the Days of the Apostles have been only since the false Church got up Now Christ who is come to end the Law and to end War Redeems Men out of the Tenths and out of the Nines also The Redeemed of the Lord shall reign upon the Earth and know the Election which was before the World began Since the days of the Apostles Tithes have been set up by the Papists and by them that went forth from the Apostles into the World so set up by the false Church that made Merchandize of People since the true Church went into the Wilderness But now is the Judgment of the great Whore come and the Beast and false Prophet the Old Dragon shall be taken and cast into the Fire and the Lamb and his Saints shall have the Victory And now is Christ come who will make War in Righteousness and destroy with the Sword of his Mouth all these Inventers and Inventions that have got up and been set up since the Days of the Apostles and since the true Church went into the Wilderness And the everlasting Gospel which is the Power of God shall be preached again to all Nations and Kindreds and Tongues in this the Lamb's Day before whom you shall appear to Judgment and you have no way to Escape For he hath appeared who is the First and the Last the Beginning and the Ending the Alpha and the Omega He that was Dead is alive again and lives for evermore I mentioned before That Gervase Benson and Anthony Pearson though they had been Justices of the Peace were not permitted to come to me in the Prison whereupon they jointly wrote a Letter to the Magistrates Priests and People at Carlisle concerning my Imprisonment And thus it was HIM who is called George Fox who is persecuted by Rulers and Magistrates by Justices by Priests and by People and who suffers Imprisonment of his Body at this present as a Blasphemer and an Heretick and a Seducer him do we witness who in measure are made Partakers of the same Life which lives in him to be a Minister of the Eternal Word of God by whom the everlasting Gospel is preached by the powerful Preaching whereof the Eternal Father of the Saints hath opened the Blind Eyes hath
have my Liberty he said if I would not go to nor keep Meetings I told him I could not promise any such thing Several times upon the Road did he ask and try me after the sâ—me manner and still I gave him the same Answers So he brought me to London London Charing-Cross and lodged me at the Mermaid over against the Mews at Charing-Cross And on the way as we traveled I was moved of the Lord to Warn People at the Inns and Places where I came of the day of the Lord that was coming upon them And William Dewsberry and Marmaduke Stor being in Prison at Northampton he let me go and visit them After Captain Drury had lodged me at the Mermaid he left me there and went to give the Protector an Account of me And when he came to me again he told me The Protector did require that I should promise not to take up a carnal Sword or Weapon against him or the Government as it then was and that I should write it in what words I saw good and set my Hand to it I said little in Reply to Captain Drury But the next Morning I was moved of the Lord to write a Paper To the Protector by the name of Oliver Cromwel wherein I did in the presence of the Lord God declare that I did deny the wearing or drawing of a carnal Sword or any other outward Weapon against him or any Man And that I was sent of God to stand a Witness against all Violence and against the Works of Darkness and to turn People from the Darkness to the Light and to bring them from the Occasion of War and Fighting to the peaceable Gospel and from being Evil-Doers which the Magistrates Sword should be a Terror to When I had written what the Lord had given me to write I set my Name to it and gave it to Captain Drury to give to O. Cromwel which he did Then after some time Captain Drury brought me before the Protector himself at Whitehall Whitehall It was in a Morning before he was dressed and one Harvey that had come a little among Friends but was disobedient waited upon him When I came in I was moved to say Peace be in this House and I bid him Keep in the Fear of God that he might receive Wisdom from him that by it he might be ordered and with it might order all things under his Hand to God's Glory I spake much to him of Truth and a great deal of Discourse I had with him about Reliâ—ion wherein he carried himself very moderately But he said We quarrelled with the Priests whom he called Ministers I told him I did not quarrel with them but they quarrelled with me and my Friends But said I If we own the Prophets Christ and the Apostles we cannot hold up such Teachers Prophets and Shepherds 1654. Whitehall as the Prophets Christ and the Apostles declared against but we must declare against them by the same Power and Spirit Then I shewed him That the Prophets Christ and the Apostles declared freely and declared against them that did not declare freely such as preached for filthy Lucre and divined for Money and preached for Hire and were covetous and greedy like the dumb Dogs that could never have enough And that they that have the same Spirit that Christ and the Prophets and the Apostles had could not but declare against all such now as they did then As I spake he would several times say It was very good and it was Truth I told him That all Christendom so called had the Scriptures but they wanted the Power and Spirit that they had who gave forth the Scriptures and that was the reason they were not in Fellowship with the Son nor with the Father nor with the Scriptures nor one with another Many more words I had with him but People coming in I drew a little back And as I was turning he catched me by the Hand and with Tears in his Eyes said Come again to my House for if thou and I were but an hour of a day together we should be nearer one to the other adding That he wisht me no more Ill than he did to his own Soul I told him If he did he wronged his own Soul And I bid him hearken to God's Voice that he might stand in his Counsel and obey it and if he did so that would keep him from hardness of Heart but if he did not hear God's Voice his Heart would be hardened And he said It was true Then went I out G. F. set at Liberty And when Capt. Drury came out after me he told me His Lord Protector said I was at Liberty and might go whither I would Then I was brought into a great Hall where the Protector 's Gentlemen were to dine and I asked them What they did bring me thither for They said It was by the Protector 's Order that I might dine with them I bid them Let the Protector know I would not eat a bit of his Bread nor drink a sup of his Drink When he heard this he said Now I see there is a People risen and come up that I cannot win either with Gifts Honours Offices or Places but all other Sects and People I can But it was told him again That we had forsook our own and were not like to look for such things from him Now I being set at Liberty went up to the Inn again where Capt. Drury had at first lodged me This Capt. Drury though he sometimes carried fairly was an Enemy to me and to Truth and opposed it and when Professors came to me while I was under his Custody and he was by he would scoff at Trembling and call us Quakers as the Independents and Presbyterians had Nick-named us before But afterwards he came on a time to me and told me That as he was lying on his Bed to rest himself in the day-time a sudden Trembling seized on him that his Joints knocked together and his Body shook so that he could not rise from his Bed he was so shaken that he had not strength enough left to rise But he felt the Power of the Lord was upon him and he tumbled off his Bed and cried to the Lord and said He would never speak against the Quakers more such as Trembled at the Word of God During the Time that I was Prisoner at Charing-Cross 1654. Charing-Cross there came abundaâ—ce to see me People almost of all Sorts Priests Professors Officers of the Army c. And one Time a Company of Officers being with me desired me to pray with them I sate still with my Mind retired to the Lord. At last I felt the Power and Spirit of God move in me and the Lord's Power did so shake and shatter them that they wondred though they did not live in it Among those that came thither to see me there was one Colonel Packer with several of his Officers and while they
the Deceit Sing the Song of the Lamb Triumph over the World spread the Truth abroad Come ye Captive ones out of Prison and Rejoice with one accord for the Joyful Days are coming Let us be glad and Rejoice for ever Singleness of Heart is come Pureness of Heart is come Joy and Gladness is come The glorious God is exalting himself and Truth hath been talked of but now it is possessed Christ hath been talked of but now he is come and possessed The Glory hath been talked of but now it is possessed and the Glory of Man is defacing The Son of God hath been talked of but now he is come and hath given us an Understanding Vnity hath been talked of but now it is come Virgins have been talkt of but now they are come with Oil in their Lamps He will be glorified alone Where Pride is thrown down Earth and the fleshly Will is thrown down and the Pure is raised up there alone is the Lord Exalted Let the Heavens Bow down to him and the Earth Reel to and fro and Stagger up and down The Lord is setting up his Throne and his Crown and throwing down the Crown of Man and he alone will be glorified To whom be all Honour and Glory all Praises and all Thanks Who gives his Children Wisdom and Strength Knowledge and Vertue Power and Riches Blessings and durable Substance and an Eye to discern and an Ear to hear things singly and brings down the Pride of Man's Heart and turns the Wicked out of the Kingdom The Righteous Ones inherit Righteousness the Pure Ones Pureness the Holy Ones Holiness Praises Praises be to the Lord whose Glory now shines whose Day is broken forth which is hid from the World hid from all worldly wise Ones and from all the Prudent of this World hid from the Fowls of the Air hid from all Vultures Eyes and all venemous Beasts and all Liars and all Dogs and all Swine But to them that fear his Name the Secrets of the Lord are made manifest the Treasures of Wisdom are opened and the Fulness of Knowledge For thou O Lord dost make thy self manifest to thy Children G. F. My Spirit was greatly burdened to see the Pride that was got up in the Nation even amongst the Professors and in the sense thereof I was moved to give forth the following Paper directed To such as follow the World's Fashions WHAT a World is this How doth the Devil garnish himself and how obedient are People to do his Will and Mind that they are altogether carried away with Fooleries and Vanities both Men and Women that they have lost the hidden Man of the Heart and the meek and quiet Spirit which with the Lord is of great price They have lost the Adorning of Sarah they are putting on Gold and gay Apparel Women plaiting the Hair Men and Women powdering it making their Backs look like Bags of Meal They look so strange that they can scarce look at one another they are so lifted up in Pride Pride is flown up into their Head and hath so lifted them up that they Snuff up like Wild Asses and like Ephraim they seed upon Wind and are gotten to be like Wild Heifers who feed upon the Mountains Pride hath puffed up every one of them They are out of the Fear of God Men and Women Young and Old one puffs up another They must be in the Fashion of the World else they are not in esteem else they shall not be respected if they have not Gold or Silver upon their Backs or if his Hair be not powdered But if he have store of Ribbands hanging about his Waste and at his Knees and in his Hat of divers Colours Red or White or Black or Yellow and his Hair be powdered then he is a brave Man then he is accepted then he is no Quaker because he hath Ribbands on his Back and Belly and Knees and his Hair powdered This is the Array of the World But is not this from the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh or the Pride of Life Likewise the Women having their Gold their Spots on their Faces Noses Cheeks Fore-heads having their Rings on their Fingers wearing Gold having their Cuffs double under and above like unto a Butcher with his white Sleeves having their Ribbands tied about their Hands and three or four Gold-Laces about their Cloths This is no Quaker say they This is that that pleaseth the World this Array this Attire pleaseth the World and if they cannot get these things they are discontented But this is not the Attire of Sarah whose Adorning was in the hidden Man of the Heart of a quiet and meek Spirit This is the Adorning of the Heathen not of the Apostle nor of the Saints whose Adorning was not wearing of Gold nor plaiting of Hair but a meek and quiet Spirit which was and is of great price with the Lord. And here was the Sobriety and good Ornament which was of the Lord accepted This was Paul's Exhortation and Preaching But we see the Talkers of Paul's Words live out of Paul's Command and out of the Example of Sarah and are found in the steps of the great Heathen who comes to examin the Apostles in his gorgeous Apparel Now are not all these that have got their Ribbands hanging about their Arms Hands Back Waists Knees Hats like unto Fidlers-Boys Which shews that you are gotten into the basest and most contemptible Life who be in the Fashion of the Fidlers-Boys and Stage-Players quite out of the Paths and Steps of solid Men and in the very Steps and Paths of the wild Heads who give themselves up to every Invention and Vanity of the World that appears and is inventing how to get it upon their Backs Heads Feet and Legs and say If it be out of the Fashion it is nothing worth Are not these the Spoilers of the Creation who have the fat and the best of it and waste and destroy it Do not these Cumber God's Earth Let that of God in all Consciences Answer and who are in the Wisdom judge And further If one get a pair of Britches like a Coat and hang them about with Points and up almost to the Middle a pair of double Cuffs upon his Hands and a Feather in his Cap here 's a Gentleman bow before him put off your Hats bow get a Company of Fidlers a set of Musick and Women to dance This is a brave Fellow up in the Chamber up in the Chamber without and up in the Chamber within Are these your fine Christians Yea say they They are Christians Yea but say the serious People They are out of Christ's Life and out of the Apostles Command and out of the Saints Ornament And to see such as are before described as are in the Fashions of the World before-mentioned a Company of them playing at Bouls or at Tables or at Shovel-Board or Each taking his Horse that hath Bunches of Ribbands on his Head as
Everlasting And in this neither Powers Principalities nor Thrones Dominions nor Angels nor things present nor things to come nor Heights nor Depths nor Death Mockings nor spoiling of Goods nor Prisons nor Fetters were able to separate them from the Love of God which they had in Christ Jesus And Friends Quench not the Spirit nor despise Prophesying where it moves neither hinder the Babes and Sucklings from crying Hosannah for out of their Mouths will God ordain Strength There were some in Christ's Day that were against such whom he reproved And there were some in Moses his Day who would have stopt the Prophets in the Camp whom Moses reproved and said in Way of Incouragement to them Would God that all the Lord's People were Prophets So I say now to you Therefore ye that stop it in your selves do not quench it in others neither in Babe nor Suckling for the Lord hears the Cries of the Needy and the Sighs and Groans of the Poor Judge not that nor the Sighs and Groans of the Spirit which cannot be uttered lest ye judge Prayer for Prayer as well lies in Sighs and Groans to the Lord as otherwise So let not the Sons and Daughters nor the Hand-maidens be stopt in their Prophesyings nor the Young-men in their Visions nor the Old-men in their Dreams but let the Lord be glorified in and through all who is over all God blessed for ever So that every one may improve their Talents and every one exercise their Gifts and every one speak as the Spirit gives them Vtterance Thus every one may minister as he hath received the Grace as a good Steward to him that hath given it him so that all Plants may bud and bring forth Fruit to the glory of God for the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit withal So see that every one hath profited in heavenly things Male and Female look into your own Vineyards and see what Fruit ye bear to God look into your own Houses see how they are decked and trimmed and see what Odors Mirrh and Frankincense ye have therein and what a Smell and Savour ye have to ascend to God that he may be glorified So bring your Deeds all to the Light which ye are taught to believe in by Christ your Head the heavenly Man and see how they are wrought in God And every Male and Female let Christ dwell in your Hearts by Faith Christ in the Male and in the Female and let your Mouths be opened to the Glory of God the Father that he may rule and reign in you We must not have Christ Jesus the Lord of Life put any more in a Stable amongst the Horses and Asses but he must now have the best Chamber the Heart and the rude debauched Spirit must be turned out Therefore let him reign whose Right it is who was conceived by the Holy Ghost by which Holy Ghost ye call him Lord in which Holy Ghost ye pray and by which Holy Ghost ye have Comfort and Fellowship with the Son and with the Father Therefore know the Triumph in it and in God and his Power which the Devil is out of and in the Seed which is first and last the beginning and ending the Top-and Corner-stone in which is my Love to you and in which I rest Your Friend G. F. POSTSCRIPT And Friends be careful how ye set your feet among the tender Plants that are springing up out of God's Earth lest ye do tread upon them and hurt them and bruise them or crush them in God's Vineyard Now after I had tarried two first-Days at Swarthmore and had visited Friends in their Meetings thereabouts I passed from thence into Westmorland visiting Friends Meetings there Westmorland till I came to John Audland's where there was a general Meeting The Night before I had a vision of a desperate Creature that was coming to destroy me but I got Victory over it And the next Day in the Meeting-time there came one Otway with some rude fellows with him and he rode round about the Meeting with his Sword or Rapier and would fain have gotten in through the Friends to me but the Meeting being great the Friends stood thick so that he could not easily come at me Then when he had rid about several Times raging and found he could not get in being limited by the Lord's Power he at length went away It was a glorious Meeting and ended peaceable and the Lord 's everlasting Power came over all But this wild Man went home and became distracted and not long after died I sent a Paper to John Blaykling to read to him while he lay ill shewing him his wickedness and he did acknowledge something of it Going from hence I went through Kendal Kendal where a Warrant had long lain to apprehend me and the Constables seeing me ran to fetch their Warrant as I was riding through the Town but before they could come with it I was gone past the Town and so escaped their Hands I travelled on Northwards visiting Friends Meetings as I went till I came to Strickland-head where I had a great Meeting Strickland head And most of the Gentry of that Country being gathered to an Horse-Race not far off from the Meeting I was moved to go and declare the Truth unto them 1657. Strickland head and a Chief-Constable that was there did also admonish them Our Meeting was quiet and the Lord was with us and by his Word and Power Friends were settled in the Eternal Truth Cumberland From hence we passed into Cumberland where we had many precious living Meetings And after we had travelled through to Gilsland Gilsland Carlisle and had a Meeting there we came to Carlisle where they had used to put Friends out of the Town but there came a great Flood while we were there that they could not put us out of the Town so we had a Meeting there on the first-Day After which we passed through the Country to Abby-holm Abbey-holm and had a little Meeting there This is a Place where I told Friends long before there would a great People come forth to the Lord which hath since come to pass and a large Meeting there is gathered to the Lord in those Parts Langlands I passed from hence to a general Meeting at Langlands in Cumberland which was very large for most of the People had so forsaken the Priests that the Steeple-houses in some places stood empty And John Wilkinson a Preacher that I have often named before who had three Steeple-houses had so few Hearers lest that giving over preaching in the Steeple-houses he first set up a Meeting in his House and preached there to them that were left Afterwards he set up a silent Meeting like Friends to which came a few for most of his Hearers were come off to Friends Thus he held on till he had not past half a Dozen left the rest still forsaking him and
Professors who pleaded for Imperfection I was opened to declare and manifest unto them how that Adam and Eve were perfect before they fell and all that God made he saw that it was good and he blessed it But the Imperfection came in by the Fall through Man's and Woman's hearkening to the Devil who was out of Truth And though the Law made nothing perfect yet it made way for the bringing in of the better Hope which Hope is Christ who destroys the Devil and his Works that made Man and Woman Imperfect Now Christ saith to his Disciples Be ye perfect even as your Heavenly Father is perfect And he who himself was perfect comes to make Man and Woman perfect again and brings them again to the State which God made them in So he is the Maker up of the Breach and the Peace betwixt God and Man That this might the better be understood by the lowest Capacities I used a Comparison of Two Old People that had their House broken down by an Enemy so that they with all their Children were liable to all Storms and Tempests And there came some to them that pretended to be Workmen and offered to build up their House again if they would give them so much a Year But when they had gotten their Money they left their House as they found it After this manner came a First Second Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth each with his several pretence to build up the Old House and each got the Peoples Money and then cried They could not rear up the House nor the Breach could not be made up For there is no Perfection here Cry they the House can never be perfectly built up again in this Life Though they have taken the Peoples Money for the doing of it For all the Sects in Christendom so called have pretended to build up Adam's and Eve's fallen House and when they have got Peoples Money they tell them the Work cannot be perfectly done here and so their House lies as it did But I told the People Christ was come to do it freely who by one Offering hath perfected for ever all them that are sanctified and renews them up into the Image of God which Man and Woman were in before they fell and makes Man's and Woman's House as perfect again as God had made them at the first And this Christ the Heavenly Man has done freely Therefore all are to look unto him and all that have received him are to walk in him the Life the Substance the First and the Last The Rock of Ages and Foundation of many Generations Largely were these and many other things opened and declared unto the People and the Word of Life was Preached which doth live and abide and all were Exhorted to hear and obey that which did live and abide that by it all might be born again of the Immortal Seed and feed of the Milk of the Word A glorious Meeting there was wherein the Lord 's Everlasting Seed Christ Jesus was set over all and Friends parted in the Power and Spirit of the Lord in Peace and in his Truth that is over all About this time the Souldiers under General Monk's Command were rude and troublesome at Friends Meetings in many places Whereof Complaint being made to him he gave forth the following Order which did somewhat restrain them St. James's the 9th of March 1659. I Do Require all Officers and Souldiers to forbear to disturb the peaceable Meetings of the Quakers they doing nothing prejudicial to the Parliament or Common-wealth of England GEORGE MONK Oldeston Nailsworth After this Meeting at Edward Pyott's I passed through the Countries to Oldeston and to Nailsworth and to Nathaniel Crisp's where there was a large Meeting and several Souldiers at it but quiet And from thence we passed through Friends to Gloucester Gloucester visiting their Meetings And in Gloucester we had a Meeting that was peaceable though the Town was very rude and divided For one part of the Souldiers were for the King and another for the Parliament 1660. Glouceser And as I passed out of the Town over the Bridge Edward Pyott being with me the Souldiers there said They were for the King But after we were gone past them and they understood it was I they were in a great rage that I had scaped them and said Had they known it it had been I they would have shot me with Hail-shot rather than I should have escaped them But the Lord prevented their Devilish Design and brought me safe to Col. Grimes his House where we had a large general Meeting Col. Grimes and the Lord's Truth and Power was set over all and Friends were established upon the Rock and settled under the Lord Jesus Christ's Teaching We passed from thence to Tewksburg and so to Worcester Tewksbury Worcester visiting Friends in their Meetings in the Towns as we went And in all my time I never saw the like Drunkenness as then in the Towns For they had been then chusing Parliament-Men But at Worcester the Lord's Truth was set over all and People were finely settled therein and Friends praised the Lord Nay I saw the very Earth Rejoiced Yet great fears and troubles were in many People and a looking for the King 's Coming in and that all things should be altered and they would ask me what I thought of Times and Things I told them the Lord's Power was over all and his Light shined over all and that the Fear would take hold only on the Hypocrites such as had not been faithful to God and on our Persecutors For in my Travel and Sufferings at Reading when People were at a stand and could not tell what might Come in and who might Rule I told them the Lord's Power was over all for I had travelled through in it and his Day shined whosoever should come in and whether the King came in or no all would be well to them that loved the Lord and were faithful to him Therefore I bid all Friends Fear none but the Lord and keep in his Power that was over all From Worcester I came through the Countries Badgely Leicestershire Drayton visiting Friends in their Meetings till I came to Badgely and from thence I went to Drayton in Leicestershire to visit my Relations While I was there one Burton a Justice hearing that I had a good Horse sent forth a Warrant to search for me and my Horse But I was gone before they came and so he missed of his wicked End I passed on to Twy Cross Twy-Cross Swanington Darby and Swanington and so to Darby where I visited Friends and found my old Goaler amongst them who had formerly kept me in the House of Correction there and was now Convinced of the Truth which I then suffered under him for Passing still further up into Darbyshire Darbyshire Nottinghamshire Synderhill-green Yorkshire Balby Yearly Meeting and Nottinghamshire I came to Synderhill-green visiting Friends through all
Strife with Strife And therefore Live in the Peaceable Life doing Good to all Men and seeking the Good and Welfare of all Men. Let this go among Friends every where G. F. We went from York to Burrowbridge Burrowbridge where I had a glorious Meeting Thence we passed into the Bishoprick to one Richmond's where there was a General Meeting and the Lord's Power was over all Bishoprick of Durham tho' People were grown exceeding Rude about this time After the Meetting we went to Henry Draper's where we stay'd all Night and the next Morning a Friend came to me as I was passing away and told me If the Priests and Justices for many Priests were made Justices in that Country at that time could light on me they would Destroy me But I being clear of the Bishoprick Stainmoor Yorkshire Sedberg Westmoreland Lancashire Swarthmore Arnside went over Stainmoore into part of Yorkshire and to Sedberg where having visited Friends I went into Westmorland visiting Friends there also From thence I passed into Lancashire and came to Swarthmore where I staid but a little while before I went over the Sands to Arnside where I had a General Meeting After that Meeting was ended there came some Men to have broken it up but understanding before they got thither that the Meeting was over they turned back I went to Robert Widder's and from thence to Vnderbarrow Underbarrow where I had a glorious Meeting and the Lord's Power was set over all From thence I passed to Grayrigge and having visited Friends there I went to Ann Audland's Grayrigge where they would have had me to have staid their Meeting the next day but I felt a stop in my Spirit and it was upon me to go to John Blaykling's in Sedberg and to be next day at the Meeting there Sedberg which is large and a precious People there is So we had a very good Meeting next day at Sedberg but the Constables went to Ann Audland's to their Meeting to look for me Thus by the good Hand and Disposing Providence of the Lord I escaped their Snare I went from John Blaykling's with Leonard Fell to Strickland-head Strickland-head where on the First-Day we had a very precious Meeting on the Common That Night we staid amongst Friends there and the next day passed into Northumberland Northumberland After the Justices had heard of this Meeting at Strickland-head they made Search for me but by the good hand of the Lord I escaped them again though there were some very wicked Justices We went to Hugh Hutchinson's House in Northumberland a Friend in the Ministry from whence we visited Friends thereabouts and then went to Darwin-Water Darwin-water where we had a very glorious Meeting There came an Ancient Woman to me and told me her Husband remembred his Love to me and she said I might call him to mind by this Token that I used to call him the Tall White Old Man She said he was Six score and two Years old and that he would have come to the Meeting but that his Horses were all imployed upon some urgent Occasion I heard he lived some Years after 1663. Darwin-water Cumberland Now when I had visited Friends in those parts and they were settled upon Christ their Foundation their Rock and their Teacher I passed through Northumberland and came into Cumberland to old Thomas Bewley's And Friends came about me and said Would I come there to go into Prison For there was great Persecution in that Country at that time Yet I had a General Meeting at Thomas Bewley's which was large and precious and the Lord's Power was over all One Musgrave was at that time Deputy Governour of Carlisle and I passing along the Country came to a Man's House that had been Convinced whose Name was Fletcher and he told me If Musgrave knew that I was there he would be sure to send me to Prison he was such a severe Man But I staid not there only called on the way to see this Man Wigton and then went on to one William Pearson's near Wigton where the Meeting was which was very large and precious Some Friends were then Prisoners at Carlisle whom I visited by Letter which Leonard Fell carried From William Pearson's I passed through the Countries Pardsey-Crag visiting Friends till I came to Pardsey-Crag where we had a General Meeting which was large and all was quiet and peaceable and the glorious powerful Presence of the Everlasting God was with us So eager were the Magistrates about this time to stir up Persecution in those parts that they offered some Five Shillings some a Noble a day to any that could apprehend the Speakers amongst the Quakers but it being now the time of the Quarter-Sessions in that County the Men who were so hired were gone to the Sessions to see to get their Wages and so all our Meetings were at that time quiet Westmoreland Keswick From Pardsey-Crag we went into Westmorland calling in the way upon Hugh Tickell near Keswick and upon Thomas Laythes where Friends came to visit us and we had a fine opportunity to be refreshed together At Fr. Benson ' s. We went that Night to one Francis Benson's in Westmorland near Justice Fleming's House This Justice Fleming was at that time in a great Rage against Friends and me in particular insomuch that in the open Sessions at Kendal just before he had bid Five Pounds to any Man that should take me that Friend Francis Benson told me And it seems as I went to this Friend's House I met one Man coming from the Sessions that had this Five Pounds offered him to take me and he knew me for as I passed by him he said to his Companion That is George Fox Yet he had not Power to touch me for the Lord's Power preserved me over them all And the Justices being so eager to haue me and I being so often nigh them and yet they missing me it tormented them the more Lancashire Cartmel I went from thence to James Taylor 's at Cartmel in Lancashire where I staid the First-Day and had a precious Meeting and after the Meeting was done I came over the Sands to Swarthmore Swarthmore When I came there they told me Col. Kirby had sent his Lieutenant thither to search for me and that he had searched Trunks and Chests for me That Night as I was in Bed I was moved of the Lord to go next day to Kirby-Hall Kirby-Hall which was Col. Kirby's House about Five Miles off to speak with him and I did so When I came thither I found there the Flemmings and several others of the Gentry so called of the Country who were come to take their Leave of Col. Kirby he being then to go up to London to the Parliament 1663. Kirby-Hall I was had into the Parlour amongst them but Col. Kirby was not then within being gone forth a little way
risen from the Dead the Grave could not hold nor contain him neither could all the Watchers of the Earth with all their Guards keep him therein Sound Sound ye Trumpets of the Lord to all the Seekers of the Living among the Dead that he is risen from the Dead to all the Seekers of the Living among the Dead and in the Graves that the Watchers keeps he is not in the Grave but he is Risen and there is that under the Grave of the Watchers of the outward Grave which must be awakened and come to hear his Voice which is risen from the Dead that they might come to live Therefore Sound abroad you Trumpets of the Lord that the Grave might give up her Dead and Hell and the Sea might give up their Dead and all might come forth to Judgment to the Judgment of the Lord before his Throne and to have their Sentence and Reward according to their Works G. F. And Sound Sound all ye Angels and Faithful Servants of the Most-High you Trumpets of the Lord amongst all the Night watchers and Watchers of the Graves Sepulchres and Tombs and Overseers of those Watchers of the Seas Graves and Sepulchres Sound the Trumpet amongst them and over them all Make the Sound to be heard that the Dead may arise at the Sound of the Trumpet that they may come out of their Graves and live and praise the Lord That all the Dead in the Seas and all the Dead in the Tombs and Sepulchres may hear the Sound of the Trumpet and come to Judgment and come to hear the Voice of the Son of God and live in whom there is Life Away with all the Chaff and the Husks and Contentions and Strife that the Swine feed upon in the Mire and in the Fall and the Keepers of them of Adam and Eve's House in the Fall that lies in the Mire out of Light and Life G. F. At James Hutchinson's in Ireland there came many Great Persons desiring to discourse with me about Election and Reprobation I told them Though they judged our Principle foolish it was too High for them and they could not with their Wisdom comprehend it Therefore I would discourse with them according to their Capacities You say said I that God hath Ordained the greatest part of Men for Hell and that they were Ordained so before the World began For which your Proof is in Jude And you say Esau was Reprobated and the Egyptians and the Stock of Ham But Christ saith to his Disciples Go teach all Nations and Go into all Nations and preach the Gospel of Life and Salvation Now if they were to go to all Nations were they not to go to Ham's Stock and Esau's Stock Did not Christ die for all then for the Stock of Ham and of Esau and the Egyptians Doth not the Scripture say God would have all men to be saved Mark All Men then the Stock of Esau and of Ham also And doth not God say Egypt my People and that he would have an Altar in Egypt Isa 19. Were there not many Christians formerly in Egypt And doth not History say that the Bishop of Alexandria would formerly have been Pope And had not God a Church in Babylon I confess The Word came to Jacob ☜ and the Statutes to Israel the like was not to other Nations For the Law of God was given to Israel but the Gospel was to be preached to all Nations and is to be preacht The Gospel of Peace and glad Tidings to all Nations He that believes is Saved but he that doth not believe is Condemned already So the Condemnation comes through Vnbelief And whereas Jude speaks of some that were of Old Ordained or written of before to Condemnation he doth not say before the World began but Written of Old may be referr'd to Moses his Writings who writ of those whom Jude mentions namely Cain Corah Balaam and the Angels that kept not their first Estate And such Christians as followed them in their way and Apostatized from the first state of Christianity such were and are Ordained for Condemnation by the Light and Truth which they are gone from And though the Apostle speaks of God's loving Jacob and hating Esau yet he tells the Believers We all were by nature Children of Wrath as well as others This includes the Stock of Jacob of which the Apostle himself was and all believing Jews were And thus both Jews and Gentiles were all concluded under Sin and so under Condemnation that God might have Mercy upon all through Jesus Christ. So the Election and Choice stands in Christ and he that believes is saved and he that believes not is condemned already And Jacob is the Second Birth which God loved and both Jews and Gentiles must be born again before they can enter the Kingdom of God And when you are born again ye will know Election and Reprobation for the Election stands in Christ the Seed before the World began but the Reprobation lies in the Evil Seed since the World began After this manner but somewhat more largely I discoursed with those Great Persons about this matter and they confest they had never heard so much before Now after I had travelled over that Nation of Ireland and had visited Friends in their Meetings as well for Business as for Worship and had Answered several Papers and Writings from Monks Friers and Protestant Priests for they all were in a Rage against us and endeavoured to stop the Work of the Lord and some Jesuits sware in some of our hearing that we came to spread our Principles in that Nation but we should not do it I returned to Dublin Dublin in order to take Passage there for England And when I had staid the First-Day's Meeting there which was very large and precious there being a Ship ready and the Wind serving we took our Leave of Friends parting in much Tenderness and Brokenness in the Sense of the Heavenly Life and Power that was manifested amongst us 1669. Dublin So having put our Horses and Necessaries on Board in the Morning we went our selves in the Afternoon many Friends accompanying us to the Ship and divers both Friends and friendly People coming after us in Boats when we were near a League at Sea At Sea their Love drawing them though not without Danger A good weighty and true People there is in that Nation sensible of the Power of the Lord God and tender of his Truth and very good Order they have in their Meetings for they stand up for Righteousness and Holiness which dams up the way of Wickedness A precious Visitation they had and there is an Excellent Spirit in them worthy to be visited Many things more I could write of that Nation and of my Travels in it which would be large to mention particularly but thus much I thought good to signifie that the Righteous may Rejoice in the Prosperity of Truth James Lancaster Robert Lodge and Thomas Briggs came
out of the Truth for the Good will Overcome the Evil and the Light Darkness and the Life Death and Vertue Vice and Righteousness Vnrighteousness The False Prophet cannot overcome the True but the True Prophet Christ will overcome all the False So be Faithful and live in that which doth not think the time long G. F. But after some time it pleased the Lord to allay the Heat of this Violent Persecution and I felt in Spirit an overcoming of the Spirits of those Men-Eaters that had stirred it up and carried it on to that Height of Cruelty though I was outwardly very Weak And I plainly felt and those Friends that were with me and that came to Visit me saw and took notice that as the Persecution Ceased I came from under the Travels and Sufferings that had lain with such Weight upon me So that towards the Spring I began to Recover and to walk up and down beyond the Expectation of many who did not think I could ever have gone abroad again I had been so exceeding Weak through the Travel and Exercise that was upon my Spirit Whilst I was under this Spiritual Travel and Suffering the State of the City New Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven was opened to me which some Carnal-minded People had looked upon to be like an outward City or Town that had dropt out of the Elements But I saw the Beauty and Glory of it the Length the Breadth and the Height thereof all in Compleat Proportion And I saw that all who are within the Light of Christ and in his Faith which he is the Author of and in the Spirit the Holy Ghost which Christ and the Holy Prophets and Apostles were in and within the Grace and Truth and within the Power of God that was before the Devil was which was the Walls of the City such are within the City such are Members of this City and have right to Eat of the Tree of Life which yields her Fruit every Month and whose Leaves are for the healing of the Nations But they that are out of the Grace out of the Truth out of the Light Spirit and Power of God such as Resist the Holy Ghost quench vex and grieve the Spirit of God and hate the Light and turn the Grace of God into Wantonness and do Despight to the Spirit of Grace such as have erred from the Faith and made Ship-wrack of it and of a Good Conscience and abuse the Power of God and despise Prophesying Revelation and Inspiration these are the Dogs and Vnbelievers that are without the City And these make up the great City Babylon Confusion and her Cage the Power of Darkness and the Evil Spirit of Error surround and cover them over And in this great City Babylon are the False Prophets in the false Power and false Spirit and the Beast in the Dragon's Power and the Whore that is gone a Whoring from the Spirit of God and from Christ her Husband But the Lord's Power is over all this Power of Darkness Cage Whore Beast Dragon False Prophets and their Worshippers who are for the Lake which burns with Fire Many things more did I see concerning the Heavenly City the New Jerusalem which are hard to be uttered and would be hard to be received But in short This Holy City is within the Light and all that are within the Light are within the City the Gates whereof stand open all the Day for there is no Night there that all may come in and Christ's Blood being shed for every Man and he tasted Death for every Man and enlightneth every Man that cometh into the World and his Grace that brings Salvation having appeared to all Men there is no Place or Language but there his Voice may be heard The Christians in the Primitive Times were called by Christ A City set upon an Hill and they were also called The Light of the World and The Salt of the Earth But when the Christians lost the Light and Salt and Power of God then they came to be trodden under foot like unsavoury Salt Even as the Jews who while they kept the Law of God were kept above all Nations but when they turned their Backs on God and his Law then were they trodden under foot of other Nations So Adam and Eve while they obeyed God were kept in his Image and in the Paradise of God in Dominion over all the Works of God's Hands but when they disobeyed God they lost the Image of God the Righteousness and the Holiness in which they were made they lost their Dominion and were driven out of Paradise and so fell under the dark Power of Satan and came under the Chains of Darkness But the Promise of God was That the Seed of the Woman Christ Jesus should bruise the Serpents Head should break his Power and Authority which had led into Captivity and had held Man in it So Christ who is the First and Last sets Man free and is the Resurrection of the Just and Vnjust the Judge of the Quick and Dead and they that are in him are invested with everlasting Rest and Peace out of all the Labours and Travels and Miseries of Adam in the Fall So he is sufficient and of Ability to Restore Man up into the State that Man was in before he fell and not into that State only but up into that State also that never fell even to himself I had also in this time a great Exercise and Travel of Spirit upon me concerning the Powers and Rulers of these Nations from the sense I had of the many tender Visitations and faithful Warnings that had been given them and of their great Abuse thereof who had refused to hear and had rejected the Counsel of the Lord. And though I knew Friends would be Clear of their Blood yet I could not but Mourn over them and gave forth these few Lines following concerning them WE have given them a Visitation and have faithfully Warned them and have declared to them our Innocency and Vprightness and that we never did any Hurt to the King nor to any of his People We have nothing in our Hearts but Love and Good-will to him and his People and desire their Eternal Welfare But if they will not hear then the Day of Judgment and of Sorrow of Torment and Misery and sudden Destruction will come from the Lord upon them that have been the Cause of the Sufferings of many Thousands simple innocent harmless People that have done them no hurt nor have had any Ill Will towards him or them but have desired their Eternal Good for the Eternal Truth 's sake Destruction will come upon them that turn the Sword backward Therefore do not blind your Eyes the Lord will bring swift Destruction and Misery upon you Surely he will do it and will relieve his Innocent People who have groaned for Deliverance from under your Oppression and have also groaned for your Deliverance out of Wickedness Blessed be
of answering me the Judge told the Jury They might go out Some of the Jury were not satisfied whereupon the Judge told them They had heard a Man Swear that the Oath was tendered to me the last Sessions and then he told them what they should do I told him He should leave the Jury to their own Consciences However the Jury being put on by him went forth and soon after came in again and found me Guilty I spake to the Jury and asked them How they could satisfie themselves to find me Guilty upon that Indictment which was laid so false and had so many Errors in it They could make but little Answer yet one who seemed to be the Worst of them would have taken me by the Hand But I put him by saying How now Judas hast thou betrayed me and dost thou now come with a Kiss 1674. Worcester Sessions So I bid him and them Repent Then the Judge began to tell me How favourable the Court had been to me I asked him How he could say so Was ever any man worse dealt with than I had been in this Case who was stopped in my Journey being travelling upon my lawful Occasions and then Imprisoned without Cause and now had the Oaths put to me only for a Snare And I desired him to Answer me in the Presence of the Lord in whose Presence we all are Whether this Oath was not tendered me in Envy He would not answer that but said Would you had never come here to trouble us and the Country I told him I came not thither of my self but was brought being stopped in my Travel on my Journey and I did not trouble them but they had brought Trouble upon themselves Then the Judge told me What a sad Sentence he had to tell me I asked him Whether what he was going to speak was by way of passing Sentence or by way of Information For I told him I had many things to say and more Errors to Assign in the Indictment besides those I had already mentioned to stop him from giving Sentence against me upon that Indictment He said He was going to shew me the danger of a Premunire which was the Loss of my Liberty and of all my Goods and Chattels and to endure Imprisonment during Life But he said He did not deliver this as the Sentence of the Court upon me but as an Admonition to me and then he bid the Jailer Take me away I expected to have been called again to hear the Sentence but when I was gone the Clerk of the Peace whose Name was Twittey asked him as I was informed Whether that which he had spoken to me should stand for Sentence And he consulting with some of the Justices told him Yes that was the Sentence and should stand This was done behind my Back to save himself from Shame in the Face of the Country Many of the Justices and the generality of the People were moderate and civil and there was one John Ashley a Lawyer was very friendly both the time before and now speaking on my behalf and pleading the Errors of the Indictment for me But Justice Street who was Judge of the Court would not regard but over-ruled all This Justice Street said to some Friends in the Morning before my Trial That if he had been upon the Bench the first Sessions he would not have tendered me the Oath but if I had been Convicted of being at a Conventicle he would have proceeded against me according to that Law and that he was sorry that ever I came before him And yet he maliciously tendered the Oath to me in the Court again when I was to have Tried my Traverse upon the Indictment But the Lord pleaded my Cause and met with both him and Justice Simpson who first ensnared me with the Oath at the first Sessions For Simpson's Son was Arraigned not long after at the same Bar for Murder And Street who as he came down from London after the Judges had returned me back from the King's-Bench to Worcester said Now I was returned to them I should lie in Prison and rot had his Daughter whom he so doted on that she was called his Idol brought down dead from London in an Hearse to the same Inn where he spake those Words and brought to Worcester to be buried within a few days after And People took notice of the Hand of God 1674. Worcester Prison how sudden it was upon him but it rather hardned than tendered him as his Carriage afterwards shewed After I was carried back to Prison several came to see me and amongst others the Earl of Salisbury's Son who was very loving and troubled that they had dealt so badly by me He stayed about two Hours with me and took a Copy of the Errors in the Indictment himself in Writing The Sessions being now over and I fixt in Prison by a Premunire my Wife came up to me out of the North to be with me And the Assizes coming on soon after in the Sixth Month the State of my Case being drawn up in Writing She and Thomas Lower delivered it to Judge Wild. In it was set forth the Occasion of my Journey the Manner of my being Taken and Imprisoned the Proceedings of the several Sessions against me and the Errors in the Indictment by which I was Premunired which having had Occasion to mention often before I forbear to repeat here When the Judge had read it he shook his Head and said We might Trie the Validity or Invalidity of the Errors if we would And that was all they could get from him While thus I lay in Prison it came upon me to state our Principle to the King not with particular Relation to my own Sufferings but for his better Information concerning our Principle and us as a People It was thus and thus Directed To the KING THe Principle of the Quakers is the Spirit of Christ who Died for us and is Risen for our Justification by which we know we are his and he dwelleth in us by his Spirit and by the Spirit of Christ we are led out of Vnrighteousness and Vngodliness It brings us to deny all Plottings and Contrivings against the King or any Man And the Spirit of Christ brings us to deny all manner of Ungodliness as Lying Theft Murder Adultery Fornication and all Vncleanness and Debauchery Malice and Hatred Deceit Cousening and Cheating whatsoever and the Devil and his Works And the Spirit of Christ brings us to seek the Peace and Good of all Men and to live peaceably and leads us from such Evil Works and Actions as the Magistrate's Sword takes hold upon And our Desire and Labour is that all who profess themselves Christians may walk in the Spirit of Christ that they through the Spirit may mortifie the Deeds of the Flesh and by the Sword of the Spirit may cut down Sin and Evil in themselves Then the Judges and other Magistrates would not have so much Work in
punishing Sin in the Kingdom neither then need Kings or Princes fear any of their Subjects if they all walked in the Spirit of Christ For the Fruits of the Spirit are Love Righteousness Goodness Temperance c. And if all that profess themselves Christians did walk in the Spirit of Christ and by it did mortifie Sin and Evil it would be a great Ease to the Magistrates and Rulers and would free them from a great deal of Trouble For it would lead all Men and Women To do unto all others as they would have others do unto them and so the Royal Law of Liberty would be fulfilled For if all that are called Christians did walk in the Spirit of Christ by it to have the Evil Spirit and its Fruits mortified and cut down in them then not being led by the Evil Spirit but by the good Spirit of Christ the Fruits of the good Spirit would appear in all Men and Women for as People are led by the good Spirit of Christ it leads them out of Sin and Evil which the Magistrate's Sword takes hold upon and so would be an Ease to the Magistrates But as People err from this good Spirit of Christ and follow the Evil Spirit which leads them into Sin and Evil that Spirit brings the Magistrate into a great deal of Trouble to Execute the Law upon the Sinners and Transgressors of the good Spirit That Spirit that leads People from all manner of Sin and Evil is one with the Magistrate's Power and with the righteous Law for the Law being added because of Transgression that Spirit that leads out of Transgression must needs be One with that Law that is against Transgressors So that Spirit that leads out of Transgression is the good Spirit of Christ and is One with the Magistrates in the Higher Power and owns it and them But that Spirit that leads into Transgression is the bad Spirit and is against the Law and against the Magistrates and makes them a great deal of Troublesome Work Now the Manifestation of the good Spirit is given to every Man to profit withall and no Man can profit in the Things of God but by the Spirit of God which brings to deny all Sin and Evil. It is said of Israel Nehem. 9. The Lord gave them his good Spirit to instruct them yet they rebelled against it But if all People did mind this Manifestation of the Spirit which God hath given to instruct them it would lead them to forsake all manner of Sin and Evil Enmity Hatred Malice and all manner of Vnrighteousness and Vngodliness and to mortifie it And then in the Spirit of Christ they would have Fellowship and Vnity which is the Bond of Peace and then would Love and Peace which are the Fruits of the good Spirit flow among all them that are called Christians Now we are a People who in Tenderness of Conscience to the Command of Christ and of his Apostle cannot Swear for we are commanded in Matth. 5. and James 5. to keep to Yea and Nay and not to Swear at all not by Heaven nor by Earth nor by any other Oath lest we go into Evil and fall into Condemnation The Words of Christ are these Ye have heard that it hath been said by or to them of old time Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths These were true and solemn Oaths which they who made ought to perform in Old Time But these Christ and his Apostle forbids in the Gospel-times as well as false and vain Oaths Now if we could take any Oath at all we could take the Oath of Allegiance as knowing that King Charles was by the Power of God brought into England and set up King of England c. over the Heads of our Old Persecutors And as for the Pope's Supremacy we do utterly deny it But Christ and the Apostle having commanded us Not to Swear but to keep to Yea and Nay we dare not break their Commands and therefore many have put the Oaths to us as a Snare that they might make a Prey of us So our denying to Swear is not in Wilfulness Stubbornness or Contempt but only in Obedience to the Command of Christ and his Apostle And we are content if we break our Yea and Nay to suffer the same Penalty as they should that break their Oaths We desire therefore that the King would take this into his Consideration and how long we have Suffered in this Case This is from one who desires the Eternal Good and Prosperity of the King and of all his Subjects in the Lord Jesus Christ. G. F. About this time I had a fit of Sickness which brought me very low and weak in my Body and I continued so a pretty while insomuch that some Friends began to doubt of my Recovery and I seemed to my self to be amongst the Graves and dead Corpses Yet the Invisible Power did secretly support me and conveyed refreshing Strength into me even when I was so Weak that I was almost Speechless And one Night as I was lying awake upon my Bed in the Glory of the Lord which was over all it was said unto me That the Lord had a great Deal more Work for me to do for him before he took me to himself Endeavours were used to get me Released at least for a Time till I was grown stronger but the Way of Effecting it proving difficult and tedious for the King was not willing to Release me by any other way than a Pardon being told he could not Legally do it and I was not willing 〈◊〉 be Released by a Pardon which he would readily have given me because I did not look upon that way as agreeable with the Innocency of my Cause a Friend one Edward Pitway having Occasion to speak with Justice Parker upon some other Business desired him to give Order to the Jailer That in regard of my Weakness I might have Liberty to go out of the Jail into the City Whereupon Justice Parker wrote the following Letter to the Jailer and sent it to the Friend to deliver Mr. Harris I Have beeen much importuned by some Friends to George Fox to write to you I am informed by them that he is in a very weak Condition and very much Indisposed What lawful Favour you can do for the Benefit of the Air for his Health pray shew him I suppose the next Term they will make Application to the King I am Sir Your loving Friend HENRY PARKER Evesham the 8th of Octob. 1674. After this my Wife went to London and spake with the King laying before him my long and unjust Imprisonment with the Manner of my being taken and the Justices Proceedings against me in tendring me the Oath as a Snare whereby they had Premunired me so that I being now his Prisoner it was in his Power and at his Pleasure to Release which she desired The King spake kindly to her and referr'd her to the Lord-Keeper to
the Author of your Faith And them that loves to be Popular would have People's Faith to stand in them and such do not preach Christ but themselves But such as preach Christ and his Gospel would have every Man and Woman to be in the Possession of it and so to have every Man and Woman's Faith to stand in Christ the Author of it and in the Power of God which was before the Devil was and it will be when he is gone And their Faith standing in the Power of God then nothing can get betwixt them and God For if any should fall amongst us as too many have done then that leads its Followers either into the Waters or into the Earth And if any should go from the Spirit of Prophecy that did open to them and from the Power they may speak their Experiences which the Power hath opened to them formerly And so might Adam and Eve speak of what they saw and enjoyed in Paradise and so might Cain and Balaam of what they saw and also the Jews and Corah and Dathan who praised God on the Banks and saw the Victory over Pharaoh and they ate of the Manna and drank of the Rock and came to Mount Sinai and saw the Glory of the Lord. And so also might the false Apostles speak of their Experiences and all those false Christians that turned from the Apostles and Christ And so may such do now that err from the Spirit that are come out of Egypt in Spirit and Sodom and have known the Raging of the Sodomites as Lot did the outward and the Pursuit of the Spiritual Egyptians as the outward Jew did of the outward Egyptians yet if they do not Walk in the Spirit of God and in the Light and in the Grace which keeps their Hearts stablished and their Words seasoned and also their Faith to stand in the Power of God in which the Kingdom stands they may go forth like the false Christians and like the Jews and like Adam and Eve and Cain and Corah and Balaam and be wandring Stars Trees without Fruit and Wells without Water and Clouds without Rain and so come to be Vnsavoury and trodden down And as Adam who lost Paradise and the Jews who lost the Holy Land not walking in the Law and keeping the Command of God and as the Christians who lost the City and the Hill and the Salt and the Light since the Apostle's Days and came to be unsavoury and to be trodden under foot of Men. And therefore let every one's Faith stand as I said before in the Lord's Power which is over all through which they may be built upon the Rock and the Foundation of God the Seed Christ Jesus that bruises the Head of the Serpent who was before he was and will be when he is gone who is the Head of his Church So that all in Christ may be always fresh and green for he is the green Tree that never withers and all are fresh and green that are grafted into him and abide in him fresh and green and bring forth heavenly fresh Fruits to the Praise of God And though Adam and Eve fell from Paradise and the Jews fell from the Law of God and many of the Christians fell from their Prophecies and erred from the Faith and the Spirit and the Grace and the Stars have fallen as was spoken of in the Revelations yet the Spirit Grace Faith and Power of God remains And many such States have I seen within this Twenty Eight Years though there is a State that shall never fall nor be deceived in the Elect before the World began who are come to the End of the Prophecies and are in him where they end and renewed up into the Image of God by Christ which Man was in before he fell in that Power where he had Dominion over all that God made and not only so but Attain to a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ who never fell And in him is the Sitting down in Life Eternal where their Feet stand sure and fast in the Gospel his Power and here their Bread is sure and he that ears this Bread lives for ever And all Friends and Brethren that do Declare God's Eternal Truth and Word of Life live in it and be seasoned with Grace and salted with the Heavenly Salt that your Lives and Conversations may preach where-ever you come That there be no Rawness nor no Quenching of the Spirit nor despising Prophecy neither in Men nor Women For all must Meet in the Faith that Jesus is the Author of and in the Light that comes from Jesus and so grafted into the Life that your Knowledge may be there one of another in Christ And that there may be none Slothful nor sitting down in Earthly Things and minding them like Demas of old lest you Cloath your selves with another Clothing than you had at first but all to keep Chaste for the Chaste do follow the Lamb. And Friends that are settled in Places that be Ministers possess as if ye did not married as if ye were not and be loose to the World in the Lord's Power for God's Oil will be a-top of all Visible things which makes his Lamps to burn and to give Light afar off And none strive nor covet to be Rich in this World in these Changeable things that will pass away but your Faith to stand in the Lord God who changes not that Created all and gives the Increase of all And now Friends Concerning Faithful Men and Womens-Meetings which were set up in God's Counsel whoever should oppose them and the Authority and Tenure of them I say They oppose the Power of God which is the Authority of them and they are no Ministers of the Gospel nor of Christ that opposes his Power which all are to possess For the true Ministers of Christ that preach Christ and his Gospel which is to be preacht to all Nations as Deceit is gone over all Nations and all Nations have drunk the Whore's Cup and she hath them in her Cage her unclean Power from the Beast and Dragon out of the Power of God and out of Truth and the Spirit of God the Apostles were in the Power of God must come over all this again and all the true Ministers that preach the Gospel the Power of God must bring all People into the Possession of it again I say whosoever preaches the Gospel of Christ and him to People or Nations and those People and Nations receiving the Gospel they receive the Power of God that brings Life and Immortality to Light in them and they see over the Devil that hath darkned them and the Beast and the Whore and her Cage And so by the Power of God Life and Immortality is brought to Light in them then all these Men and Women being Heirs of this Power the Gospel they are Heirs of Authority and Power over the Devil Beast Whore and Dragon So all
present I declared the Truth with which they seemed to be affected Then travelling on we came to a River called Eyder where we took Boat and so went to Frederick-stadt The River Eyder Frederick-stadt We went to a Friend's house there whose name is William Pauls where several Friends came to us for there is a pretty many Friends in that City and we had a fine refreshing Meeting together that Evening which made us forget our Weariness for we were indeed very weary having travelled hard those Two days and being Wet through our Cloaths having had much Rain in our Open Wagons But the Lord made all easie and good to us and we were well and glad to see Friends blessed be his holy name for ever This City is in the Duke of Holsteyn's Country Holstein who would have banished Friends out of the City and Country and did send to the Magistrates of the City to do it But they said they would lay down their Offices rather than they would do it inasmuch as Friends came to that City to enjoy the Liberty of their Consciences And not long after the Duke himself was banished out of that City by the King of Denmark but Friends do still enjoy their Liberty there and Truth and they are of good Report amongst the People both in City and Country On the First-day of the Week I had a Meeting here to which many People came and some rough Spirits but the Power of the Lord bound them down and the Seed of Life was set over all While I was here I had a Discourse with a Jew that was a Levite concerning the Coming of the Messiah and he was much confounded in what he said Yet he carried himself lovingly and Invited me to his house I went thither and there I discoursed with another Jew who shewed me their Talmud and many other Jewish Books but they are very dark and do not understand their own Prophets There was at this City a Baptist-Teacher who had reproached and belied Friends 1677. Frederickstadt wherefore John Claus went with Two Friends of the Town to the house where he lodged and cleared Truth and Friends from his Reproaches and laid his Lies and Slanders upon his own head to his shame Before we left this Place I had another Meeting with the Friends only wherein I laid before them the Usefulness and Benefit of a Monthly-Meeting for the looking after the Poor and taking care that Marriages and all other things relating to the Church were done and performed in an orderly Manner and the thing Answered the Witness of God in their Consciences so that they readily Consented and Agreed to have Monthly Meetings thence-forward amongst themselves that both Men and Women might look after and take care of the outward Concerns of the Church After this Meeting feeling my spirit clear of that place we took leave of Friends there whom we left in good Order and not intending to go further that way we turned back again for Hamborough When we had travelled one days Journey and came to an Inn at night to Lodge I inquired there whether there were any tender People in the Town that feared God or that had a mind to discourse of the things of God but the Inn keeper told me there were few such in that Town Next night we got to Hamborough Hamborough and having passed the Guards we went to a Friend's house being very Weary for we had been up those Two Mornings before the third hour and had travelled each day hard and late Here we met with John Hill an English Friend who had been travelling in Germany and being in a Ship bound for Amsterdam that waited for a Wind he had lain sick on board her about two weeks and now hearing that I was in the Country got off from the Ship and came hither to meet me and to go along with me The next day after we came to Hamborough we had a very good Meeting there and very peaceable After the Meeting I had Discourse with a Swede an Eminent man in his own Country who having been banished from thence upon the Account of his Religion was come to Hamborough and was at the Meeting I had there before And when I had done with him I had another Discourse wirh a Baptist concerning the Sacraments so called In both which I had good service having opportunity thereby to open Truth unto them Being clear of Hamborough we took our Leave of Friends there whom we left well And taking John Hill along with us we passed by Boat to a City in the Duke of Lunenbergh's Country Lunenburghs Country where after we were Examined by the Guards we were had to the Main-Guard and there Examined more strictly but after they found that we were not Souldiers they were Civil to us and let us pass In the Afternnoon we travelled by Wagon and the Waters being much out by reason of the great Rains that had fallen when it drew towards night we hired a Boy upon the Way to guide us through a great Water that we had to pass When we came to it the Water was so deep 1677. Lunenburghs Country before we could come at the Bridge that the Wagoner was fain to wade and I drove the Wagon But when we were come upon the Bridge the Horses brake part of it down and one of them fell into the Water the Wagon standing upon that part of the Bridge which remained unbroken and it was the Lord's mercy to us that the Wagon did not run into the Brook When they had got the Horse out he lay a while as if he had been dead but at length they got him up and put him to the Wagon again and laid the Planks right and then through the goodness of the Lord to us we got safe over After this we came to another Water which finding to be very deep and it being in the night we hired Two Men to help us through These men put Cords to the Wagon to hold it by that the force of the Water might not drive it beside the way But when we came into it the Stream was so strong that it took up one of the Horses off his legs and was carrying him down the Stream which I seeing called to the Wagoner to pluck him to him by his Reins which he did and the Horse recovered his Legs and so with much difficulty we got over the Bridge and went to Bormer-haven Bormer-haven the Town where the Wagoner lived It was the last day of the sixth Month that we escaped these dangers and it being about the eleventh hour in the night when we came in here we got some fresh straw and lay upon it till about the fourth hour in the Morning and then getting up we set forward again towards Bremen going part of the way by Wagon and part by Boat In the way I had good Opportunities to publish Truth among the People especially at a
that belong to the King of Poland and where they do live and how ye may send Books or Epistles to them and keep a Correspondence with them and also the Name of the Bishop or Cardinal that I heard was with you And if ye can get any of them that belong to the King that are his Attendants to come and visit the Prisoners that they may Inform the King of their Cruel Sufferings Also I desire you to get as many Books of mine as you can dispose of that set forth your Sufferings and the Cruelty of the Magistrates of Dantzick and give them to the King and his Council and Attendants and his Bishops And some of the Women may speak to the Queen if they can that she may signifie to the King their Cruel Sufferings and especially some of the Sufferers Wives if there be any of a Capacity to do it You may likewise give his Attendants any other Friends Books and what Books ye lack send for them to Amsterdam where ye may be furnished with them to Answer every tender Desirer and Inquiring mind after the Lord. So let all your Minds be bended with the Lord's Power to spread his Truth abroad and where ye hear of any or have any Correspondence in outward Trading with any sober People far or near send them Books that their Understandings may be opened after the Lord. So the Lord God Almighty preserve you and to his Protection in his Eternal Power do I Commend you all in Bonds or at Liberty with my Love to you in the Everlasting Seed of God Christ Jesus who bruises the Head of the Serpent that make you to suffer But Christ is over him and will be when he is gone who is First and Last over all from Everlasting to Everlasting in whom ye have both Life Knowledge Wisdom and Salvation and through him live to the Praise and Glory of God who is blessed for evermore Amen Amsterdam the 18th of the 7th Month 1677. English stile G. F. The next day being the Fourth day of the Week and 19th of the Month I had a large Meeting at Amsterdam many Professors being at it and Truth was largely opened to them in the demonstration of the heavenly Power The day following I went by Boat from Amsterdam Waterland Landsmeer many Friends going with me to Landsmeer in Waterland a Town in which they say there are above an hundred Bridges where I had a very good Meeting to which several Professors came And after the Meeting I returned with Friends to Amsterdam again Amsterdam where I stay'd with Friends till the First-day following and went to their Meeting which was large for many Professors of several sorts were at it and heard the Truth declared with great Attention I tarried amongst Friends there next day and in the night following had a great Exercise upon my Spirit concerning that loose Spirit that was run out into Strife and Contention among Friends and had drawn some after it into Division and Separation the way work and end whereof the Lord opened to me wherefore feeling the Motion of Life upon me I got up in the Morning and wrote the following Epistle to Friends My Dear Friends KEep your First Love in the Truth and Power and Seed of Life in Christ Jesus for this last night as I was lying in my Bed at Amsterdam I had a great Travel in the holy Seed of Life and Peace and my Spirit was troubled with that Spirit of Strife and Separation I saw it was a Destroying Spirit and did seek not only to get over the Seed but to destroy it and to Eat out the minds of People from it by Strife and Contention and under pretence of standing for the Antient Truth its work is to root it out and destroy the Appearance of it to set up it self And it is a Creeping Spirit seeking whom it can get into and what it cannot do it self it stirreth up others to do and setteth up their Spirits on float with the dark Wisdom to destroy the Simple And this Spirit is managed by the Prince of the Air and leadeth some to do such things which they would have been ashamed to have done as men which doth Unman them and they would not have suffered them if they had kept to the tender Principle of God which leadeth to Peace And it is a despising backbiting and a secret-whispering Spirit and a Sower of Dissension and a taker of advantage of all prejudiced Spirits that are disobedient to their first Principle and Love of Truth and begetteth into hatred so it begetteth all into that Spirit whose work is to destroy both the Good within and the good Order without Nay it would if it could destroy the Government of Christ and the Order of the Gospel to set up its own Will and Spirit which is not of God and under pretence of crying down Man are setting up Man and are gathering into a Separation of disobedient Men who float above their Conditions And this Spirit which neither liveth in the Truth nor its Order but opposeth them that do I cannot express it as I do see it and its work whose end will be accordingly And therefore Friends I am to warn you all that have not lost your Simplicity not to touch it nor to have any Vnity with it lest you be defiled and lose your Conditions of your Eternal Estate and your Everlasting Portion and that your Inward man which is after God may be preserved and Christ may reign in all your hearts And they that are joined with them it will be very hard for them ever to come down to Truth in themselves and to see their own Conditions and to have that Spirit of Strife and Contention which eateth as a Canker to be brought down in them which is carnal and slayeth the tender Babe which was once begotten in themselves and the Philistine is got up in them that stoppeth the Wells and Springs and maketh a great Busle and are crying up Men and pleading for them instead of Christ And so Friends strive not with them but let them take them that cry them up and keep you to the Lord Jesus Christ with his Light that cometh from him that he may be your Lord and ye in him may be all in Vnity in one Light Life Power and Dominion in Christ your Head And so the God of Peace and Power preserve you all in Christ Jesus your Saviour and out of and from that mischievous Spirit which is idle and slothful as to the Work of the Power and Spirit and Light of God and Christ and its very Act is that which worketh strife and disturbance against the Peace of the Church of Christ and thinks in its wilfulness and stubbornness and unruliness to set up it self and in that to have peace but Destruction will be the end of it and it is sealed for the Fire and Eternal Judgment And therefore let Christ the Seed be the Head and
Crown of every one of you that nothing may be between you and the Lord God And be not deceived with vain Words or fained Words or rough for Satan is transforming himself as an Angel of Light to deceive but God's Foundation standeth sure and God knoweth who are his and will preserve his upon the Rock and Foundation of Life in his peaceable Truth and Habitation that in the same they may grow And so keep out of Strife and Contention with it after that ye have born your Testimony in the Lord's Power and Truth against it and then keep in the Truth for it hath a life in scribling strife and jangling because it would enlarge its Hell and bring others into its Misery with the airy Power and would get Power over the Good and disjoin People from it and so to make Rapes upon the Simplicity by its Subtilty But I do believe the Lord will defend his People though he may try them and exercise them with this Spirit for a time as he hath done by it in days past in other Vessels it hath made use of as it doth of these now who have a more seeming fair Outside but foul and rough and rugged enough within against the Seed Christ as ever were the Pharisees to destroy it And they under a pretence of Preaching Christ are the men that are the Destroyers and Crucifiers of him and Killers of the Just not only in themselves but endeavouring with all their might to destroy it in others where it is born Pharaoh and Herod to slay the young Jews in the Spirit as the Old did I do feel it Worrying of them and it is got up to be King which knew not suffering Joseph But God will plague him and the Seed will have more rest and be better entertained in Egypt than under Herod into whom Old Pharaoh's Spirit is entred He that hath an Ear to hear let him hear and an Eye to see let him see how this Spirit hath Transformed in all Ages against the Just and Righteous but mark what hath been its end But the Seed reigneth Glory to the Lord God over all for ever and his Truth spreadeth and Friends here are in Unity and Peace and of good Report answering the good or that of God in People And so my desires are that all God's People may do the same in all places where-ever they be so that the Lord may be glorified in their bringing forth much Fruit that is heavenly and spiritual Amen Amsterdam the 25 of the 7th Month 1677. G. F. After I had given forth the fore-going Epistle whereby my Spirit was in some measure eased of the Weight that lay upon it I went in the Afternoon to the Monthly Meeting of Friends at Amsterdam where the Lord was present with us and refreshed our Spirits together in himself I thought to have gone next day to Harlem but there being a Fast appointed to be kept that day I was stopped in my Spirit and moved to stay at Friends Meeting that day at Amsterdam We had a very large Meeting a great Concourse of People coming to it and amongst them many great Persons The Lord's Power was over the Meeting and in the Openings thereof I was moved to declare to the People That no man by all his wit and study nor by reading History in his own Will could declare or know the Generation of Christ who was not begotten by the Will of Man but by the Will of God After I had largely opened this unto them I shewed them the Difference between the true Fast and the false manifesting unto them that the profest Christians Jews and Turks were out of the true Fast and fasted for strife and debate being under the Band and Fists of Iniquity and Oppression wherewith they were smiting one another but the pure hands were not lifted up to God And though they did all appear to men to Fast and did hang down their Heads for a day like a Bulrush yet that was not the Fast which God did accept but in that state all their Bones were dry and when they called upon the Lord he did not Answer them neither did their Health grow for they kept their own Fast and not the Lord 's And there I exhorted them to come and keep the Lord's Fast which was to fast from Sin and Iniquity from Strife and Debate from Violence and Oppression and to abstain from every Appearance of Evil. These things were opened to the astonishment of the Fasters and the Meeting ended peaceably and well I went to Harlem the day following Harlem having before appointed a Meeting to be there that day Peter Hendricks and Gertrude Dirick Nieson went with me and a blessed Meeting we had There were at the Meeting Professors of several sorts and a Priest of the Lutherans who sate very Attentive for several hours while I declared the Truth amongst them Gertrude Interpreting When the Meeting was done the Priest said That he had heard nothing but what was according to the Word of God and desired That the Blessing of the Lord might rest upon us and our Assemblies Others also confessed to the Truth saying They had never heard things so plainly opened to their understandings before We stayed that night at Harlem at a Friend's house whose name was Dirick Klassen and returning next day to Amsterdam went to Gertrude's house where we had not been long come in before there came a Priest of great note who had formerly belonged to the Emperor of Germany and with him another German Priest desiring to have some Conference with me So I took the Opportunity to declare the Way of Truth unto them opening unto them how they might come to know God and Christ and his Law and Gospel and shewing them that they could never know it by study nor by Philosophy but by Divine Revelation through the Spirit of God opening unto them in the stilness of their Minds The men were tender and went away well satisfied On the First-day of the Week following I was at Friends Meeting at Amsterdam where amongst the several sorts of Professors that were present there was a Doctor of Poland who for his Religion was banished from the place he lived in and he being affected with the Testimony of Truth that was born in the Meeting came after the Meeting to have some Discourse with me and after we had been some time together and I had opened things further to him he went away very Tender and Loving Now while I was at Amsterdam I spent most of my time except it were when I was at Friends Meetings or when People came to speak with me in Writing Books Papers or Epistles on Truth 's behalf For I writ several Epistles from Amsterdam to Friends in England and elsewhere on several Occasions as the Lord moved me by his Spirit thereunto I writ also from thence A Warning to the Inhabitants of the City Oldenburgh which was lately burnt down Also A Warning to
at Finchcomb where were several of the Opposit Spirit who it was thought Intended to have made some disturbance amongst Friends but the Lord's Power was over and kept them down and good Service for the Lord we had at that Meeting We returned from Finchcomb to Nailsworth again Nailsworth and had another very precious Meeting there to which Friends came from the several Meetings thereabouts which made it very large also We went from Nailsworth on the First day of the First Month 1677 8 and travelled through the Country visiting Friends and having many Meetings amongst them at Cirencester Crown-Allins Cirencester Crown-Allins Cheltonham Stoke-Orchard Tewksbury c. Worcester Parshow Evesham Warwickshire Ragley Cheltonham Stoke-Orchard Tewksbury c. so went to Worcester where I had formerly suffered Imprisonment above a Year for the Truth 's sake and Friends rejoiced greatly to see me there again Here I stay'd several days and had many very precious Meetings in the City and much Service amongst Friends After which travelling through the Country I had Meetings at Parshow and Evesham and then struck to Ragley in Warwickshire to visit her that was called the Lady Conway who I understood was very desirous to see me and whom I found tender and loving and willing to have detained me longer than I had freedom to stay About Two miles from hence I had Two Meetings at a Friend's house whose name was John Stangley Stratford Lamcoat Armscott Oxfordshire Sibbard North-Newton Banbury Adderbury c. Buckinghamshire Long-Crendon Ilmer Mendle Weston Cholsberry Chesham c. Hartfordshire Charlewood Watford Hempsted Market-street Bedfordshire Luton Albans South-Mims Barnet Hendon London whither William Dewsbury came to me and stay'd with me about half a day Afterwards I visited Friends in their Meetings thereabouts at Stratford Lamcoat and Armscott from whence it was that I was sent Prisoner to Worcester in the Year 1673 and thence passed into Oxfordshire visiting Friends and having Meetings at Sibbard North-Newton Banbury Adderbury c. Then visiting Friends through Buckinghamshire at Long-Crendon Ilmer Mendle Weston Cholsberry Chesham c. having several Meetings amongst them I came to Isaac Pennington's where I stay'd a few days And then turning into Hartfordshire visited Friends at Charlewood Watford Hempstead and Market-street at which places I had Meetings with Friends From Market-street I went in the Morning to Luton in Bedfordshire to see John Crook with whom I spent good part of the day and went towards Evening to Albans where I lay that night at an Inn. And visiting Friends at South-Mims and at Barnet and Hendon where I had Meetings I came to London on the Eighth day of the Third Month. And it being the Fourth-day of the Week I went to Gracious-street-Meeting which was peaceable and well and many Friends not knowing I was come to Town were very Joyful to see me there and the Lord was present with us refreshing us with his living Vertue blessed be his holy Name The Parliament was sitting when I came to Town and Friends having laid their Sufferings before them were Waiting on them for Relief against the Laws made against Popish Recusants which they knew we were not though some malicious Magistrates took Advantages against us 1678. London to prosecute us in several parts of the Nation upon those Statutes So Friends being Attending on that Service when I came I Joined with them therein and some probability there was that something might have been obtained towards Friends Ease and Relief in that Case many of the Parliament-men being tender and loving towards us as believing we were much mis-represented by our Adversaries But when I went down one Morning with George Whitehead to the Parliament-house to Attend upon them on Friends hehalf on a sudden they were Prorogued though but for a short time Yearly Meeting About two weeks after I came to London the Yearly Meeting began to which Friends came up out of most parts of the Nation and a glorious heavenly Meeting we had Oh the Glory Majesty Love Life Wisdom and Vnity that was amongst us the Power reigned over all and many Testimonies were born therein against that ungodly Spirit which sought to make Rents and Divisions amongst the Lord's People but not one Mouth was opened amongst us in its defence or on its behalf Good and Comfortable Accounts also we had for the most part from Friends in other Countries of which I find a brief Account in a Letter which soon after I writ to my Wife the Copy whereof here follows Dear Heart TO whom is my Love in the Everlasting Seed of Life that reigns over all Great Meetings here have been and the Lord's Power hath been stirring through all the like hath not been And the Lord hath in his Power knit Friends wonderfully together and the glorious Presence of the Lord did appear among Friends And now the Meetings are over blessed be the Lord in quietness and peace From Holland I hear that things are well there Some Friends are gone that way to be at their Yearly Meeting at Amsterdam At Embden Friends that were banished are gotten into the City again At Dantzick Friends are in Prison and the Magistrates threatned them with harder Imprisonment but the next day the Lutherans rose and plucked down or defaced the Popish Monastery so they have work enough among themselves The King of Poland did receive my Letter and read it himself and Friends have since printed it in High-Dutch By Letters from the Half-yearly-Meeting in Ireland I hear that they be all in Love there And at Barbados Friends are in quietness and their Meetings settled in peace At Antego also and Nevis Truth prospers and Friends have their Meetings orderly and well Likewise in New-England and other places things concerning Truth and Friends are well and in those places the Mens and Womens-Meetings are settled blessed be the Lord. So keep in God's Power and Seed that is over all in whom ye all have Life and Salvation for the Lord reigns over all in his Glory and in his Kingdom Glory to his Name for ever Amen So in haste with my Love to you all and to all Friends London the 26th of the 3d Month 1678. G. F. The Letter to the King of Poland before mentioned is as followeth To Johannes III. KING of Poland c. O King WE desire thy Prosperity both in this Life and that which is to come And we desire that we may have our Christian Liberty to Serve and Worship God under thy Dominion For our Principle leads us not to do any thing prejudicial to the King or his People For we are a People that do exercise a good Conscience towards God through his holy Spirit and in it do serve and worship and honour him and towards Men in the things that be equal and just doing to them as we would have them do unto us and looking unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith which Faith
business upon them they were hindred from doing the good they would so that the Sufferings upon Friends were Continued But that which added much to the Grief and Exercise of Friends was that some who made a Profession of the same Truth with us being gone from the Simplicity of the Gospel into a fleshly Liberty and labouring to draw others after them did Oppose the Order and Discipline which God by his Power had set up and established in his Church and made a great noise and clamour against Prescriptions Whereby they easily drew after them such as were loosly Inclined and desired a broader Way than the Path of Truth to walk in Some also that were more simple but young in Truth or weak in Judgment were apt to be betrayed by them not knowing the Depths of Satan in these Wiles For whose sakes I was moved to write the following Paper for the undeceiving the Deceived and the opening the Understandings of the Weak in this matter ALL you that do deny Prescriptions without distinction you may as well deny all the Scriptures which were given forth by the Power and Spirit of God For do not they prescribe how men should Walk both to God and Man both in the Old Testament and in the New Yea from the very first Promise of Christ in Genesis what People ought to believe and trust in and all along till ye come to the Prophets Did not the Lord prescribe to his People both by the Fathers and then by his Prophets did he not prescribe to the People how they should Walk though they turned against the Prophets in the Old Covenant for declaring or prescribing to them the Way how they might Walk to please God and keep in favour with him And then after in the days of Christ did not he prescribe and teach how People should walk and believe And after him the Apostles did not they prescribe unto People how they might come to believe and receive the Gospel and the Kingdom of God directing unto that which would give them the Knowledge of God and how they should walk in the New-Covenant in the days of the Gospel and by what way they should come to the holy City And did not the Apostles send forth their Decrees by faithful Chosen Men them that had hazarded their Lives for Christ's sake to the Churches by which they were established And so you that deny Prescriptions given forth by the Power and Spirit of God do thereby oppose the Spirit that gave them forth in all the holy Men of God And were there not some all along in the days of Moses and in the days of the Prophets and in the days of Christ and in the days of his Apostles who did withstand that which they gave forth from the Spirit of God And hath there not been the same since the days of the Apostles And how many have risen since Truth appeared to oppose the Order which stands in the Power and Spirit of God who are but in the same Spirit which hath opposed the Spirit of God all along from the beginning And see what Names or Titles the Spirit of God gave that Opposing Spirit in the Old Covenant and also in the New which is the same now as was for after the Lord had given forth the Old Covenant there were some among themselves that did Oppose which were worse than publick Enemies And likewise after in the days of the New Covenant in the Gospel-times you may see what sort did Oppose both Christ and the Apostles after they came to some Sights of the Truth and how they turned against Christ and his Apostles And see what Liberty they pleaded for and ran into in the Apostles days who could not abide the Cross the Yoke of Jesus And therefore we see the same rough and high Spirit cries now for Liberty which the Power and Spirit of Christ cannot give and cries Imposition and yet is Imposing and cries Liberty of Conscience and yet is opposing Liberty of Conscience And cries against Prescriptions and yet is prescribing both in Words and Writing So with the Everlasting Power and Spirit of God this Spirit is fathomed its Rise Beginning and End and it is Judged And this Spirit cries We must not judge Conscience we must not judge Matters of Faith and we must not judge the Spirits nor Religions c. Yes They that be in the pure Spirit and Power of God which the Apostles were in they Judge of Conscience whether it be a seared Conscience or a tender Conscience They Judge of Faith whether it be a dead one or a living one They Judge of Religion whether it be vain or pure or undefiled They Judge of Spirits and try them whether they be of God or no They Judge of Hope whether it be of Hypocrites or the true Hope that purifies even as God is pure They Judge of Belief whether it be that which is born of God and overcometh the World or that which runs into the Spirit of the World which lusts to Envy and doth not overcome the World And they Judge of Worships whether they be Will-worships and the Worship of the Beast and Dragon or the Worship of God in Spirit and in Truth They Judge of Angels whether they be fallen or them that keep their Habitation And they Judge the World that grieves and quenches the Spirit and hates the Light and turns the Grace of God into wantonness and resists the Holy Ghost They Judge of the Hearts Ears and Lips which are Circumcised and which are Uncircumcised They Judge of Ministers and Apostles and Messengers whether they be of Satan or of Christ They judge of Differences in outward things in the Church or elsewhere yea the least Member of the Church hath Power to Judge of such things having the One true Measure and true Weight to weigh things and measure things withal without respect to Persons And this Judgment is given and all these things are done by the same Power and Spirit the Apostles were in And also such can Judge of Election and Reprobation and who keep their Habitation and who not And who are Jews and who are of the Synagogue of Satan And who are in the Doctrine of Christ and who are in the Doctrines of Devils And who prescribes and declares things from the Power and Spirit of God to preserve all in the Power and Spirit of God and who prescribes and declares things from a loose Spirit to let all loose from under the Yoke of Christ the Power of God into Loosness and Liberty And likewise can Judge and Discern who brings People into the Possession of the Gospel of Light and Life over Death and Darkness and into the Truth where the Devil cannot get in and who brings them into the Possession of Death and Darkness out of the glorious Liberty of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ and his Faith and Truth and Spirit and Light and Grace For there is no true Liberty but in
the Lord laid it upon me to write to both the great Turk and the King of Algier severally to Warn them both and the People under them to turn from their wickedness and fear the Lord and do justly lest the Judgments of God came upon them and destroyed them without Remedy But to the Algerines I writ more particularly concerning the Cruelty they exercised towards Friends and others whom they held Captives in Algiers Now when I had finished that Service and visited Friends in their Meetings at Kingston I went on further into the County and had Meetings amongst Friends in many places Worplesdon Guildford Eshing Capell Patchgate Worminghurst Bletchington Horsham Ifield Rygate Gaton c Kingston Hammersmith Battersea Wansworth Kensington Hendon London Edmunton Hartford as at Worplesdon Guildford Eshing Capell Patchgate Worminghurst Bletchington Horsham Ifield Rygate Gaton c. and so came back to Kingston again and from thence to Hammersmith And having spent some days in the Service of Truth amongst Friends at Hammersmith Battersea Wansworth and thereabouts I crossed over by Kensington to Hendon where I had a very good Meeting on the First-day of the Week And having spent about two Months time in this Journey went from thence to London When I had been about Ten days in London I was drawn forth again to visit Friends in the Country and went down to Edmunton to Christopher Taylor 's who kept a School in his House for the educating of Friends Children I had some Service here amongst the Youths and then went on towards Hartford visiting several Friends in the way At Hartford I met with John Story and some others of his Party but the Testimony of Truth went over them and kept them down so that the Meeting was quiet It was on a First-day of the week and the next day being the Mens and Womens Meeting for business I visited them also and the rather because some in that place had let in a Dis-esteem of them Wherefore I was moved to open the Service of those Meetings and the Usefulness and Benefit thereof to the Church of Christ as the Lord opened the thing in me and it was of good Service to Friends 1680. Hartford I had a Meeting also with some of them there that were gone into Strife and Contention to shew them wherein they were wrong and having cleared my self of them I left them to the Lord. Then after I had had another publick Meeting in the Town Waltham-Abby I returned towards London by Waltham-Abby where I had a publick Meeting on the First-day following and another with Friends in the Evening Next day I went to Christopher Taylor 's at Edmunton and stay'd there a day or two Edmunton having some things upon me to write which were for the Service of Truth When I had finished that Service Schacklewell I went to London by Shacklewell where was a School kept by Friends for the breeding up Young Maidens that were Friends Daughters I abode at London most part of this Winter London having much Service for the Lord there both in Meetings and out For as it was a time of great Sufferings upon Friends I was drawn forth in Spirit to visit Friends Meetings more frequently to encourage and strengthen them both by Exhortation and Example The Parliament also was sitting and Friends were diligent to wait upon them to lay their Grievances before them of which we received fresh Accounts almost every day of the sad Sufferings Friends underwent in many parts of the Nation In this Service of seeking Relief for my suffering Brethren I spent much time together with other Friends who were freely given up to that Service attending at the Parliament-House day by day for many days together and watching all Opportunities to speak with such Members of either House as would hear our just Complaints And indeed some of the Members of each House were very Courteous to us and appeared willing to help us if they could But the Parliament being then earnest in Examining the Popish Plot and contriving ways to discover such as were Popishly Affected our Adversaries took advantages against us because they knew we could not Swear nor Fight to Expose us to those Penalties that were made against Papists though they knew in their Consciences that we were no Papists and had had Experience of us that we were no Plotters Wherefore to clear our Innocency in those Cases and to stop the Mouths of our Adversaries I drew up a short Paper to be delivered to the Parliament which was as followeth IT is our Principle and Testimony to deny and renounce all Plots and Plotters against the King or any of his Subjects for we have the Spirit of Christ by which the have the Mind of Christ who came to save mens lives and not to destroy them and we would have the King and all his Subjects to be safe Wherefore we do declare that we will endeavour to our power to save and defend him and them by discovering all Plots and Plotters which shall come to our knowledge that would destroy the King or his Subjects This we do sincerely offer unto you But as to Swearing and Fighting which in tenderness of Conscience we cannot do ye know that we have suffered these many years for our Consciencious Refusal thereof 1680. London And now that the Lord hath brought you together we desire you to Relieve us and free us from those Sufferings and that ye will not put upon us to do those things which we have suffered so much and so long already for not doing for if you do ye will make our Sufferings and Bonds stronger instead of Relieving us G. F. About this time I received Two very envious Books written against Truth and Friends one of them by a Doctor so called of Bremen in Germany the other by a Priest of Dantzick in Poland They were both full of gross Falshoods and â—ad in them many reproachful Slanders I found it upon me to Answer them both and that I might not be over-much interrupted therein by other Business and Company I got out of London for a little while Kingston upon Thames and went down to Kingston upon Thames were I writ an Answer to each of them And also an Answer to some other Scandalous Papers which had been printed and scattered about to mis-represent Friends by While I was there I writ also the following Paper to perswade the Magistrates to Moderation towards Dissenters and take off their Edge to Persecution And because it should have its full Service I directed it To all the Rulers Magistrates and them that are in Authority and Law-makers in England Scotland and Ireland from the Highest to the Lowest and to all other Magistrates every where in that which is called Christendom Desiring their Health and Peace and Tranquillity and Life and Salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord of Glory and Lamb of God that takes away the Sins of the
in Saul's nature let them be of what Name or Profession soever they be that are Persecutors and unconverted into Paul's Life of Christianity He said the Life that he did live after he was Converted was by the Faith in the Son of God And that He lived yet not He but Christ lived in him who came to save mens Lives and not to destroy them Which Life should be the Life of all Christians now which Paul in his converted state lived in And the Apostle saith The Law is good if a man use it lawfully knowing this that the Law is not made for a righteous man but for the Lawless and for the Ungodly and Sinners and for Unholy and Prophane and for Murtherers of Fathers and Mothers and for Manslayers for Whoremongers and for them that defile themselves with Mankind for Menstealers Liars and Perjured Persons 1 Tim. 1. So the Law in its place is good against such Again the Apostle says The Law was added because of Transgression Gal. 3.19 Now here all Magistrates may see what the Law in its place is good against and what it was made for and against and what Evils the Apostle says it takes hold upon He does not say the Law should be laid upon Men that differed from them in their Religion and Judgment nor upon the Righteous men And so you may see in what condition the Law is good and what it was made against not against Righteous men against whom they have nothing in their Lives and Conversations only because they differ from them in Matters of Religion and let Manslayers Whoremongers Perjured Persons Vngodly Prophane Persons Liars c. go unpunished Such do not use nor execute the Law lawfully as the Apostle says The Law is good if a man use it lawfully Therefore it ought to be used lawfully which Law the Apostle says is for the punishment of the Evil-Doers and a praise for them that do well as may be seen Rom. 13. And so as the Apostle said We do not break the Law nor make it void but we establish the Law Rom. 3.31 Kingston upon Thames the 4th of the first Month 1680 1. This is from him who desires the Eternal Good and Salvation of you all in Christ Jesus Amen G. F. After I had finished these Services there I returned to London where I stay'd about a Month London labouring amongst Friends in the Work of the Lord both in publick Meetings for Worship and in the Meetings relating to the outward Affairs of the Church Waltham-Abbey Flamsteadend Edmunton Enfield Winchmore-hill Then feeling my Spirit drawn to visit Friends about Enfield-side I went down to Waltham-Abbey where I had a very precious Meeting and another at Flamstead-Heath not far from thence And having spent some time amongst Friends there and thereabouts and had divers good Meetings at Edmunton Enfield Winchmore Hill 1681. London Yearly Meeting and other places there aways I came back to London a little before the Yearly Meeting which was in the Third Month 1681 it was a very precious Meeting in which the Glorious Presence and Power of the Lord was eminently felt and enjoyed Some time after the Yearly Meeting was over it came upon me to write the following Epistle which I directed To the Quarterly Mens and Womens Meetings that are gathered in the Name and Power of Jesus CHrist the second Adam who is both Head and Husband of his Church and Redeemer and Purchaser and Saviour and Sanctifier and Reconciler of his Sons and Daughters his Church to God I say his Presence to wit Christ's feel among you to exercise his Prophetical Office in opening of you with his Light Grace Truth Power and Spirit and to exercise his Office as he is a Bishop to Oversee you with his Light Grace Power and Spirit that ye do not go astray from God And as Christ is a Shepherd feel see and hear him exercising that Office who has laid down his Life for his Sheep and is feeding them in his living Pastures of Life and makes them to drink of his living Eternal Springs And let him rule and govern in your Hearts as he is King that his heavenly and spiritual Government all may live under as true Subjects of his righteous peaceable Kingdom which stands in Righteousness and Power and Joy in the Holy Ghost over Satan and his Power and the unclean unholy Ghost and all unrighteousness So all ye Subjects to Christ's Kingdom of Peace if ye want Wisdom or Knowledge or Life or Salvation Christ is the Treasure feel him the Treasure among you And every one among you as ye have received Christ walk in him in whom ye have all Peace who bruises the Head of the Serpent that is the Author of all Strife Distraction and Confusion yea you have Peace with God and one with another though the Trouble be from the World and the World's Spirit And therefore My dear Friends Brethren and Sisters Love one another with the Love that is of God shed in your hearts that ye may bear the Maâ—ks of Christ's Disciples and it may appear that Christ is in you and ye in him so that God Almighty may be glorified among you And whatever ye do let it be done in the Name of Jesus to the praise of God the Father keeping in Vnity in the Holy Spirit of God which was before the unholy Spirit was Which holy Spirit is your Bond of Peace yea the holy King of Kings and Lord of Lords his peace And in this holy pure Spirit is your eternal Vnity and Fellowship in which Spirit of Truth ye do serve and worship the God of Truth who is God over all blessed for ever Amen So the Lord guide you all with his Word of Patience Word of Life Power and Wisdom in all your Actions Lives Conversations and Meetings to God's glory 1681. London My Love to you all in the Lord Jesus Christ by whom all things were made and who is over all the First and the Last London the 9th of the 4th Month 1681. G. F. About this time I had occasion to go to several of the Judges Chambers upon a Suit about Tithes For both I and my Wife and several other Friends were sued in Cartmel-Wapentake-Court in Lancashire for small Tithes and we had demurred to the Jurisdiction of that Court. Whereupon the Plaintiff prosecuted us into the Exchequer-Court at Westminster where they run us up to a Writ of Rebellion for not Answering the Bill upon Oath and got an Order of Court to the Sergeant to take me and my Wife into Custody This was a little before the Yearly Meeting at which time it was thought they would have taken me up and according to outward appearance it was likely indeed that he would and very easie for him to have done it I lodging at the same places where I used to lodge and being very publick in Meetings But the Lord's Power was over them and restrained them so
that they did not take me Yet understanding that there was a Warrant out against me as soon as the Yearly Meeting was well over I took William Mead with me and went to several of the Judges Chambers to speak with them about it and to let them understand both the state of the Case and the ground and reason of our Refusing to pay Tithes The first that I went to was Judge Gregory to whom I tendred mine and my Wife's Answer to the Plaintiff's Bill in which was set forth That my Wife had lived Three and forty years at Swarthmore and in all that time there had been no Tithe paid nor demanded and an old Man who had long been a Tithe-Gatherer had made Affidavit that he never gathered Tithe at Swarthmore-hall in Judge Fell's time nor since There were many Particulars in our Answer but it would not be accepted without an Oath I told the Judge that both Tithe and Swearing among Christians came from the Pope and it was matter of Conscience to us not to pay Tithes nor to swear for Christ bid his Disciples who had freely received give freely and he commanded them Not to swear at all The Judge said There was Tithe paid in England before Popery was I asked him by what Law or Statute they were paid then but he was silent Then I told him there were Eight poor men brought up to London out of the North about Two hundred Miles for small Tithes and one of them had no Family but himself and his Wife and kept no living Creature but a Cat. I asked him also Whether they could take a Man and his Wife and Imprison them both for small Tithes and so destroy a Family and if they could I desired to know by what Law He did not Answer me but only said That was an hard Case So when I found there was no help to be had there we left him and went to Judge Mountague's Chamber and with him I had a great deal of Discourse concerning Tithes Whereupon he sent for our Adversary's Atturney and when he came I offered him our Answer He said If we would pay the Charges of the Court and be bound to stand Trial and abide the Judgment of the Court we should not have the Oath tendred to us I told him that they had brought those Charges upon us by requiring us to put in our Answer upon Oath which they knew before we could not do for Conscience sake And as we could not pay any Tithe nor swear so neither should we pay any of their Charges Upon this he would not receive our Answer So we went from thence to Judge Atkyns his Chamber and he being busie we gave our Answers and our Reasons against Tithes and Swearing to his Clerk But neither could we find any Encouragement from him to expect Redress there Wherefore leaving him we went to one of the most noted Counsellors and shewed him the state of our Case and our Answers He was very Civil to us and said This way of proceeding against us was somewhat like an Inquisition A few days after those Eight poor Friends that were brought up so far out of the North appeared before the Judges and the Lord was with them and his Power was over the Court so that the Friends were not Committed to the Fleet. Our Cause was put off till the next Term called Michaelmass Term and then it was brought before the Four Judges again Then William Mead told the Judges that I had engaged my self never to meddle with my Wife's Estate The Judges could hardly believe that any Man would do so Whereupon he shewed them the Writing under my Hand and Seal at which they wondred Then Two of the Judges and some of the Lawyers stood up and pleaded for me that I was not liable to the Tithes But the other two Judges and divers other Lawyers pressed earnestly to have me sequestred alledging that I was a publick Man At length they prevailed with one of the other Two Judges to Join with them and then they granted a Sequestration against me and my Wife together Thereupon by Advice of Counsel we moved for a Limitation which was granted and that much defeated our Adversary's design in suing out the Sequestration for this limited the Plaintiff from taking no more than was proved One of the Judges who was called Baron Weston was very bitter against me and brake forth in a great Rage against me in the open Court but in a little time after he died After the Yearly Meeting was over I tarried about a Month in London Sussex London and then went into Sussex to visit Friends there amongst whom I had many large and very precious Meetings in divers parts of that County Yet I spent not much time now in Sussex but returned pretty soon to London whether I felt drawings in Spirit and had very good Service for the Lord there both in publick Meetings and amongst Friends And when I had tarried some time in London Edmunton Bucks I went down to Edmunton and from thence into Buckinghamshire where I visited Friends at several Meetings in the upper-side of that County and then went by Henly to Reading where I tarried several Meetings 1681. Henly Reading O e. Oxfordshire Warborow I went no farther Westward at this time than to Ore where I had a very large Meeting After which striking off through the Edg of Oxfordshire I had a large and very precious Meeting at Warborow in which the Glory of the Lord shined over all Many Friends came to this Meeting some out of Barkshire some out of Buckinghamshire and some out of Hampshire Ilmore in the Vale of Bucks From thence I passed to Ilmore which is in the Vale of Buckinghamshire where we had a glorious Meeting And the day following I returned to Mary Pennington's From whence I visited the Mens and Womens Monthly Meetings at Hunger-hill Hunger-hill Watford and some other Meetings thereabouts and then passed to Watford where was a Marriage of Two Friends at which I was present A very large Meeting we had on that Occasion and the Lord's Power was over all I went from Watford to Longford in Middlesex Middlesex Uxbridge Longford visiting Friends at Uxbridge in the way At Longford we had a large Meeting it being on the First-day of the Week and the presence of the Lord was preciously felt amongst us blessed be his Name I passed from Longford to Kingston visiting Friends as I went at Stains and Sunbury Stains Sunbury Kingston At Kingston I abode with Friends two Meetings wherein we were sweetly refreshed together in the Lord. And passing on from thence towards London I had a very precious Meeting at Wansworth Wansworth Hammersmith Then crossing over to Hammersmith I had a good Meeting there which was the larger by reason of a Burial that was there that time and there being a pretty Openness in the People on that Occasion I had a
fine Opportunity to open the Way of Truth amongst them After I was come to London London I was moved to write the following Paper concerning that Spirit which had led some who profest Truth into Strife and Division and to oppose the Way and Work of the Lord. Friends YOU that do keep your habitations in the Truth that is over all do see that it is the same Spirit that doth lead the Backsliders and Apostates now from the Spiritual Fellowship and Unity of God's People and the Church of Christ that led out Adam and Eve from God and the Jews from God and his Law to Rebel against his Spirit and so to turn against God and his Prophets And this Spirit was the same that was in the World which was got into the Jews when they were gone from the Spirit of God and then they turned against God and his Prophets and against Christ and his Apostles And that Spirit led them to be as bad as Pilate or worse The Enmity or Adversary was got within them against the Truth and them that walked in it and the Spirit of the Lord so that they killed and destroyed the Just. And this was the Spirit of the Devil the Destroyer who would seek not only to destroy the Truth but the Order of it and them that walk in it when true Christianity was planted among the Possessors of the Light 1681. London Grace and Truth and the Gospel-holy Faith and Spirit and they did enjoy Christ in their hearts But when some did begin to Err from the Spirit and Faith and hate the Light and disobey the Gospel and to turn the Grace of God into Wantonness and walk despitefully against the Spirit of Grace and turn from the Truth and Crucifie to themselves Christ afresh and put him to open shame These were they that let in the Spirit of the World who held the Form of Godliness but denied the Power thereof which troubled the Churches in the Apostles days And when the Spirit of Satan had got into such they were more troublesome to the Church than the open Persecutors that were without And these got into the Assemblies to deceive the hearts of the Simple having the good Words and fair Speeches and Sheep's-Cloathing Paul Peter John Jude and James had much to do with such and to keep them from troubling the Church of Christ For they are out of the Light Power and Spirit and therefore the Apostles of Christ did exhort the Saints to keep to the Word of Life within and to the Anointing and to the Grace and Truth and holy Spirit in their hearts This foul Spirit will profess all the Scriptures in words but by the Spirit of God which is holy that Spirit is tried and its fruits And so the Apostates went from the Power and Spirit of God and turned against the Prophets and the Martyrs of Jesus and became the Whore whose Cup all Nations drunk of And the Dragon with his Tail threw down many of the Stars and would have devoured the Woman with his Flood but the Woman the true Church was preserved and the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against her And then the Dragon made war with her Seed So the Dragon and the Whore and Beast and false Prophets all made war against the Lamb and the Saints but the Lamb and the Saints will overcome them all and will have the Victory And now the Everlasting Gospel is preached again to all Nations Tongues and Peoples and many are gathered into the Gospel the Power of God and are turned to the Light which is the Life in Christ and are grafted into him and are come to walk in the Order of the New Covenant of Light and Life in the Gospel of Peace and Salvation The same Spirit that opposed the Apostles and the Churches in their days opposes now yea it is the same that opposed Christ and disdained him that disdaineth God's Servants now And the same that did oppose the Prophets and rebelled against Moses opposes and rebels against God's Servants and People now And it is the same dark blind and disobedient faithless wilful jealous Spirit that doth persecute some with the Hands and others with the Tongue And it is the same Spirit of Enmity the Adversary and Destroyer that tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God and did deceive them which deceived the Jews and tempted them and deceived all those that went from the Church in the Apostles days And it is the same Spirit that is now going about sometimes like a roaring Lion sometimes like a twisting Serpent to tempt and to deceive 1682. London and to devour having the fair Speeches and good Words and Sheeps-Cloathing in a Form of Godliness and in pretence of the Light and Liberty but denies the Power thereof and inwardly are ravening Wolves and if it were possible they would deceive the very Elect. But the Elect are in the Covenant of Light and Life and in the Power of God over them and in Christ who will grind them to pieces and will slay all his Enemies with his spiritual Sword who will not have him to rule over or in them In Christ all his People have Rest and Peace who is their Sanctuary over all Storms and Tempests And in Christ the Sanctuary no Deceiver nor Destroyer can come for he is a place of sweet Rest and Safety Hallelujah Praise the Lord for his Sanctuary Amen G. F. Sufferings continuing still hard upon Friends at London I found my Service lay mostly here Wherefore I went but a little out of Town and not far being frequent at the most publick Meetings to encourage Friends both by Word and Example to stand fast in the Testimony to which God had called them And at other times I went about from house to house visiting those Friends that had their Goods taken away for their Testimony to Truth And because the wicked Informers were grown very audacious by reason that they had too much Countenance and Encouragement from some Justices who trusting wholly to their Information proceeded against Friends without hearing them whereby many Friends were made to suffer not only contrary to Right but even contrary to Law also I advised with some Friends about it and we drew up a Paper which was afterwards delivered to most of the Magistrates in and about the City which was as followeth WHereas some Informers have obtained Warrants of some Justices of Peace and have Convicted many of us without hearing us or once Summoning us to Appear before them by which proceedings many have had their Goods seized and taken away being generally fined Ten Pounds a piece for an unknown Speaker and some of those Persons so fined have not been that day at the Meetings they were fined for and the Speaker notwithstanding hath himself been fined for the same Meeting the same day the others were fined for the unknown Speaker By which the Justices may see the Wickedness of these Informers by whose false
and to the People To the Constables I declared That we were a peaceable People who meet to wait upon God and worship him in Spirit and in Truth and therefore I told them they needed not to come with their Staves amongst us who were met in a peaceable manner desiring and seeking the good and salvation of all People Then turning my Speech to the People again I declared what further was upon me to them and while I was speaking the Constables drew out towards the door and the Souldiers stood with their Muskets in the Yard When I had done speaking I kneeled down and prayed desiring the Lord to open the Eyes and Hearts of all People both high and low that their minds might be turned to God by his holy Spirit that he might be glorified in all and over all After prayer the Meeting rose and Friends passed away the Constables being come in again but without the Souldiers and indeed both they and the Souldiers carried themselves Civilly William Penn and I went into a Room hard by as we used to do and many Friends went with us and lest the Constables should think we would shun them a Friend went down and told them That if they would have any thing with us they might come where we were if they pleased One of them came to us soon after but without his Staff which he chose to do that he might not be observed for he said The People told him he busied himself more than he needed We desired to see his Warrant and therein we found that the Informer was one Hilton a North-Country-man who was reputed to be a Papist The Constable was asked Whether he would Arrest us by his Warrant on that day it being the First-day of the Week which in their Law was called the Lord's-day and he said He thought he could not He told us also That he had charged the Informer to come along with him to the Meeting but he had run away from him We shewed the Constable that both he and we were Clear yet to free him from all fear of danger we were free to go to the Alderman that granted the Warrant Then a Friend that was present said He would go with the Constable to speak with the Alderman which they did and came presently back again the Alderman being gone from home We seeing the Constable in a strait and finding him to be a tender Man bid him set an hour to come to us again or send for us and we would come to him So he appointed the fifth hour in the Afternoon but neither came nor sent for us and a Friend meeting him afterwards in the Evening the Constable told him He thought it would come to nothi g and therefore did not look after us So the Lord's Power was over all to him be the Glory On the Fourth day following it was upon me to go to Gracious-street-Meeting again for I had heard that they would come to break up the Meeting that day The Neighbours it seems were Informed so and a Justice had granted a Warrant for that purpose and the Constable told a Friend that Hilton the Informer had been with him about it The Constable would have had the Informer to have gone with him to the Meeting but the Informer would not but would have the Constable go without him Whether that put the Constable by from coming I know not but he did not come I was in a Travel of Spirit in the power of God and was moved in it to go to the Meeting and the Lord's Power did chain all down And though they threatned to bring the Red-Coats yet none came nor was there any disturbance but a glorious powerful Meeting it was and very peaceable Glory and Honour and Praises be to the Lord over all for ever Amen During the time I thus abode at London as I had leisure between Meetings and from other Publick Services I writ divers Books and Papers some of which were printed and others were spread about in Manuscript Of these One was directed To the Bishops and others that did stir up Persecution to shew them from the holy Scriptures that they did not walk therein according to the Royal Law To love their Neighbour as themselves and to do to others as they would be done unto Another was ' To all the several sorts of professed Christians as well Protestants as Papists whose Religion and Worship stands in outward Observances and Ceremonies pressing them from those words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians chap. 5. vers 2 3 4. Behold I Paul say unto you that if ye be Circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing For I testifie again to every man that is Circumcised that he is a Debter to the whole Law Christ is become of no effect unto you whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace to Consider Whether they being gone back into legal Observations and shadowy Ceremonies in upholding Tithes Offerings First-Fruits Priests-Garments outward Altars Temples Lamps Lights c. and in Observing Days Months Times Years with many other things commanded by the Law were not gone into the same state that the Galatians were running into and so were fallen from Grace and become Debtors to the whole Law Another was ' To direct and turn all People to the Spirit of God that they might thereby receive a right understanding and be able to distinguish between Right and Wrong Truth and Error that under pretence of punishing Evil-doers they might not themselves do Evil in persecuting the Righteous That Paper being short is here inserted The Spirit of God which he hath poured upon all giveth an Vnderstanding to all that are led by it and who do not quench the Motions of it it doth give them Knowledge and Understanding to distinguish Good from Evil and Light from Darkness Christ from Antichrist and the Old Testament or Covenant from the New and the Old Way from the New and living Way and the Sheep and Lambs from the Goats and from the Wolves the Worship of God which Christ set up above sixteen hundred years ago from the Dragon 's and Beast's Worship and all them that worship the Works of Mens hands and the Will Worshippers from them that Worship God in his Spirit and in his Truth in which God's People do worship him which Worship is over all false Worships and Worshippers And who believe in the Light which is the Life in Christ do become the Children of Light and are the Lambs of Jesus And the Lambs do follow the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World and they will not follow the Hirelings nor the Strangers to be led into strange Ways and Doctrines and Religions and Churches for the Lambs of Christ follow Christ the Lamb of God and do know his heavenly Voice And they do know also that they who are without Christ are Dogs and Wolves Adulterers Idolaters Liars and Vnbelievers who would devour
the Lambs but they are in the hand of the Lord which is his Power that is over all And such do good in his Power unto all for they have the Mind of Christ who would have all to come to the knowledge of the Truth and be saved And they that do good unto all do hurt unto none for that Spirit that doth hurt unto any is not of God but that Spirit which doth good unto all and especially to the Houshold of Faith is of God Christ came not to destroy mens Lives but to save them And it is the Devil that is the Destroyer of mens Lives about Religion and that blinds and corrupts Men and Women and makes them deaf and blind to the things of God and to halt out of God's way They that obey the Evil one and forsake the Lord such the Destroyer doth destroy But Christ doth destroy that Destroyer and in Christ all have Life G. F. I writ another Paper also concerning Meditation Delight Exercise and Study shewing from the Scriptures of Truth what the true Christians ought to Meditate upon and to Exercise their minds in and what they should take Delight in and what they should study to do For in these things not the prophane and loose People only but even the great Professors of Religion are very much mistaken taking Delight in earthly fading perishing things whereas they ought to Meditate on heavenly things and to delight in the Law of God after the inward man and exercise themselves to have always a Conscience void of Offence towards God and towards Men as the Apostle Paul did And inasmuch as Sufferings continued very sore and heavy up on Friends not only in the City but in most parts of the Nation I drew up a Paper to be presented to the King setting forth our Grievances therein and desiring Redress from him in those Particular Cases which I understood were in his power But not having Relief from him it came upon me to write an Epistle to Friends to Encourage them in their Sufferings that they might bear with patience the many Exercises that were brought upon them both from the outward Magistrates and by false Brethren and Apostates whose wicked Books and filthy Slanders did grieve the upright-hearted This Epistle I writ at Dolston Dolston whither I went to visit an ancient Friend that lay sick FRiends and Brethren in Christ Jesus whom the Lord hath called and gathered into him In him abide for without him to wit Christ ye can do nothing and through him ye can do all things who is your strength and support in all your Trials Temptations Imprisonments and Sufferings who for Christ's sake are accounted as Sheep for the slaughter and in all these things we are more than Conquerours through Christ who hath loved us And therefore Friends though ye do suffer by the Outward Powers ye know that the Prophets Christ and the Apostles suffered by the Unconverted And though ye do suffer by false Brethren and false Apostates for a time and by their filthy Books and Tongues whose Tongues indeed are become no Slander let them speak write or print what they will for the sober People even of the World hardly regard it And it is well they have manifested themselves to the World that their folly may proceed no farther though to the utmost of their power they have shewed their Wicked Intent to stir up the Magistrates Professors and Prophane against us and to speak evil of the way of Truth But God's Judgments will overtake them and come upon them as sure as they have come upon those that are gone before them Let their pretence be never so high mark their End for they will fall like untimely Figs and wither like the Grass on the top of the House Though they may seem to flourish and make a Boast and a Noise for a time yet the Seed is on the head of such which will grind them to powder which Seed bruises the Serpent's head Therefore in this Seed Christ who is your sanctuary rest peace and quiet habitation who is the First and Last and over all in him walk for the Lord taketh pleasure in his People that are faithful and that serve and worship him And therefore let the Saints be Joyful in Glory and the God of Peace the God of all Grace who hath called us into his Eternal Glory by Jesus Christ after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you casting all your Care upon the Lord for he careth for you And Dearly Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery Trial 1682. Dolfon which is to Try you s though some strange thing had hap'ned unto you for it is â—etter if the Will of God be so that ye suffer for Well-doing than for Evil-doing and Rejoice inasmuch as ye are made Partakers of Christ's Sufferings Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator for unto you is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake So it is given or is a gift from Christ to suffer for his Name and therefore as I said before Rejoice inasmuch as ye are made Partakers of Christ's sufferings And if ye be Reproached or evil spoken of for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you On their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified And therefore if any suffer as Christians let them not be ashamed but let them glorifie God on this behalf Though now for a season ye are in Sufferings and Trials and Temptations that the Trial of your Faith being much more precious than that of Gold which perishes though it be tried with Fire may be found unto praise honour and glory who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation Therefore mind your Keeper where-ever ye are or what sufferings soever ye be in and mind the Example of the Apostle how he suffered trouble as an Evil-doer unto Bonds But the Word of God is not bound which is Everlasting and endures for ever And they who are in that which is not Everlasting and doth not endure for ever cannot bind the Word And the Apostle said I endure all things for the Elects sake that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with Eternal Glory mark with Eternal Glory And if we suffer with Christ we shall reign with Christ who abide faithful Therefore strive not about words to no profit but shun prophane and vain Babblings for they will encrease unto more ungodliness So that ye may be Vessels of Honour sanctified and meet for Christ your Master's use and prepared unto every good work Follow after Righteousness Godliness Faith Love Patience and Meekness and fight the good Fight of Faith with your heavenly
were many loose Spirits there yet they were bound down by the Power and Spirit of the Lord that they could not get up to make disturbance About this time I was moved to write the following Epistle Friends and Brethren WHO have received the peaceable Truth let the fruits of its peaceableness and of your quiet Spirit appear in all your Meetings and in all your Words and Actions for he that inhabits Eternity dwells with an humble heart and he gives Grace to the humble and resisteth the proud Heaven is his Throne and the Earth ye walk upon is his Foot-stool happy are ye that see and know him that is Invisible And now Friends ☞ Let all things be done in your Meetings and otherways in Love without strife or vain-glory For Love fulfils the Law and Love overcomes and edifies the Body of Christ and builds it up and there is neither Self nor Envy in Love neither is it pufft up but abides and bears all things So see that this Love of God have the sway in you all and over you all Christ saith Blessed are the Poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain Mercy Blessed are the Pure in heart for they shall see God Blessed are the Peace makers for they shall be called the Children of God Blessed are they that are Persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you Now Friends here is a great deal in these words And all must be in these States and Conditions if they have these Blessings And the Children of God are Peace-makers and strive to make Peace in the Truth and to live in Peace with all men if it be possible So live in the Peace and the Good-will to all men which Good-will is both for their Sanctification and Salvation And Friends consider The Wisdom of God which is from above is pure peaceable and gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without Partiality and without Hypocrisie And now Dear Friends let this pure peaceable gentle Wisdom that is from above that is easie to be entreated 1683. London and is full of mercy and good fruits be exercised and practised in all the true Churches of Christ so that Wisdom may be justified of her Children For the Works of the Flesh or fleshly Spirit are Hatred Variance Wrath Strife Envyings Drunkenness Revilings Adultery Fornication Lasciviousness Uncleanness c. and they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God But the Fruits of the Spirit of God are Love Joy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance c. And so Dear Friends and Brethren strive to exceed one another and all People upon the Earth in Humility in Meekness in Gentleness in Temperance in Love and in Patience in Pureness and in Mercy and then ye will shew forth the Fruits of the Spirit of God and of his heavenly Wisdom that is from above And in this Wisdom will be justified of her Children and ye will be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World set on an Hill that cannot be hid and your Moderation will appear to all men And be ye just and righteous and faithful and true in all your Words Dealings and Conversations so that ye may answer the Truth in all People For Christ saith his Father is glorified by such as bring forth Fruits when men do see their good Works for he that doth Righteousness is accepted with God And he that dwells in Love dwells in God for Love is his Habitation And let that be the Habitation of every one that hath received the Truth for if it be not such do not dwell in God let them profess what they will And therefore my desire is that all you who have received Christ the Seed which bruises the Serpent's head may walk in him your Sanctuary Life and Salvation your Rest and Peace Amen London the 14th of the 6th Month 1683. G. F. I continued yet at London labouring in the Work and Service of the Lord both in Meetings and out sometimes visiting the Friends that were in Prison for the Testimony of Jesus encouraging them in their Sufferings and exhorting them to stand faithful and stedfast in the Testimony which the Lord had committed to them to bear sometimes also visiting those that were sick and weak in Body or troubled in Mind helping to bear their Spirits up from sinking under their Infirmities Sometimes our Meetings were quiet and peaceable sometimes they were disturbed and broken up by the Officers One First-day it was upon me to go to the Meeting at the Savoy Sav. Meet and it was a large Meeting for many Professors and sober People were there And the Lord opened many precious weighty things in me to the People which I declared amongst them and directed them to the Spirit of God in themselves which the Lord had given them a measure of that all by the Spirit might understand the Scriptures which were given forth from the Spirit of God And that by the Spirit of God they might know God and Christ whom God hath sent whom to know was Eternal Life And that by the Spirit they might all come into Christ and know him to be their Sanctuary who destroys the Devil the Destroyer and his works and bruises the Serpent's head For Christ was a Sanctuary to them to whom he was a Saviour whom he saved from the Destroyer And Christ did baptize them with the holy Ghost and with Fire and did thorowly purge his floor and burn up their Chaff with unquenchable fire that is Sin and Corruption which is got into Man and Woman by their Transgression But Christ gathereth his Wheat into his Garner So all that are baptized with Christ's Baptism their Wheat is in God's Garner and no Spoiler can get into God's Garner to meddle with the Wheat there though they may be permitted to meddle with the outward Goods c. Now as I was speaking in the power of the Lord and the People were greatly affected therewith on a sudden the Constables with the rude People came in like a Sea and one of the Constables said to me Come down and he laid hands on me I asked him Art thou a Christian We are Christians He had hold on my hand and was very fierce to pluck me down but I stood still and spake a few words to the People desiring of the Lord that the Blessings of God might rest upon them all
well as Men. And Deborah was a Judge and a Prophetess and do not You make use of Deborah's and Miriam's words in your Service and Worship as you may see Judg. 5. v. 1 31. Deborah's large Speech or Song And Barak did not forbid her nor none of the Jewish Priests And did not she make this Speech or Song in the Congregation or Church of Israel And in the Book of Ruth there are good Speeches of those good Women which were not forbidden And Hannah prayed in the Temple before Ely and the Lord Answered her prayer And see what a Speech Hannah makes and a praising of God before Ely the High-Priest and he did not forbid her 1 Sam. 2. v. 1. to 10. And Josiah the King sent his Priest with several others to Ask Counsel of Huldah the Prophetess who dwelt at Jerusalem in the Colledge 2 King 22.14 2 Chron. 34.22 So here the King and his Priests did not despise the Counsel of this Prophetess and she did prophesie to the Congregation of Israel as may be seen in these Chapters And in Luke 1.41 to 55. there see what a godly Speech Elizabeth made to Mary and what a large godly Speech Mary made also And Mary said That the Lord did regard the Low Estate of his Hand-maid c. And don't you make use in your Worship and Service of Mary's and Elizabeth's words from Luke 2.41 to 55. who were holy Women in your Churches and yet forbid Womens speaking in your Churches and to be in silence yet all sorts of Women speak in your Churches when they sing and say Amen And in Luke the second there was one Anna a Prophetess she was a Widow of about fourscore and four years which departed not from the Temple but served God with Fasting and Prayer night and day Did not she Confess Christ Jesus in the Temple and gave thanks to the Lord and spake of Christ to all that looked for Redemption in Jerusalem Luke 2.36 37 38. So such holy Women were not forbidden to speak in the Church neither in the Law nor Gospel And was it not Mary Magdalen and other Women that first preached Christ's Resurrection to the Apostles The Woman indeed namely Eve was first in Transgression and so they were Women that first preacht the Resurrection of Christ Jesus for Christ said to Mary c. Go to my Brethren and say unto them I Ascend unto my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God John 20.17 And Luke 24.10 it was Mary Magdalen and Johanna and Mary the Mother of James and other Women that were with them which told the Apostles that Christ was risen from the dead and their words and these Womens words were as Idle Tales to the Apostles and they believed them not Ibid. vers 11. And vers 22. Certain Women also of our Company made us astonished they said So here it may be seen that the Womens preaching the Resurrection of Christ did Astonish the Apostles and Christ sent these Women to preach his Resurrection so it is no shame for such Women to preach Christ Jesus neither were they to be silent when Christ sends them And the Apostle says Every Tongue shall Confess to God Rom. 14.11 and Every Tongue shall Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father Philip. 2.11 So Here 't is Clear that Women must Confess Christ as well as men if Every Tongue must Confess And the Apostle saith There 's neither Male nor Female for ye are all one in Christ Jesus Gal. 3.28 And whereas 't is said Women must ask their Husbands at home c. Now the Duke knows very well Virgins have no Husbands nor Widows for Anna the Prophetess was a Widow And if Christ be the Husband Men must ask Counsel of him at home as well as Women before they Teach And set the Case that a Turk's Wife should be a Christian or a Papist's Wife should be a Lutheran or a Calvinist must they Ask and Learn of their Husbands at home before they confess Christ Jesus in the Congregation of the Lord Their Counsel will be to them to turn Turks or Papists I Intreat the Duke to Consider these things And again I Intreat him to mind God's Grace and Truth in his heart that is come by Jesus that by his Spirit of Grace and Truth he may come to serve and worship God in his Spirit and Truth so that he may serve the Living Eternal God that made him in his Generation and have his Peace in Christ that the World cannot take away And I do desire his Good Peace and Prosperity in this World and his Eternal Comfort and Happiness in the World that is Everlasting without End Amen London the 26th of the 8th Month 1684. G. F. Besides the fore-going I writ also Epistles to Friends one of which the following is a Copy FRiends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom you have all life peace and salvation Walk in him who is your heavenly Rock and Foundation that stands sure who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given unto him So his Power is over all And let your Faith stand in his Power which is over all from everlasting to everlasting and so is over the Devil and his power that in the holy heavenly Wisdom of God ye may be all preserved and kept to God's glory out of all snares and temptations so that God's Wisdom may be justified of all his Children in this day of his power and they all may be faithful serving and worshipping God in his Spirit and Truth and valiant for it upon the Earth For as the Apostle saith They that believe are entred into their rest and have ceased from their own works as God did from his Now this Rest is an Eternal Rest in Christ the Eternal Son of God in whom every true Believer hath everlasting Life in Christ Jesus their Rest and everlasting Day For Christ the Rest bruiseth the Serpent's head and through Death destroyeth Death and the Devil the power of Death and his works And he is the eternal Rest that giveth eternal Life to his Sheep And Christ fulfilleth the Prophets and all the Figures Shadows and Ceremonies as in the Old Testament and all the Promises are Yea and Amen in Christ their and our Eternal Rest who was the Eternal Rest to all the true Believers in the Apostles days and ever since and is so now And Christ is the Beginning and the Ending the First and Last who is ascended above all Principalities Powers Thrones and Dominions that he might fill all things For by Jesus Christ all things were made and created whether they be things in Heaven or things in the Earth and he is the eternal Rest and they that believe are entred into Christ their Eternal Rest in whom they have as I said before Eternal Life and peace with God Wherefore I say again in him who is your Rest live and abide for in
him ye are happy and his Blessings will rest upon you God Almighty keep and preserve you all his true Believers in Christ your Rest and Peace this day Amen London the 18th of the 12th Month 1684 5. G. F. About a Month after this I got a little out of London visiting Friends first at South-street then at Ford-Green and Enfield where I had Meetings South-street Ford-green Enfield Waltham-Abbey Enfield Edmunton side and afterwards I went to Waltham-Abbey and was at the Meeting there on a First-day which was very large and peaceable Then returning through Friends at Enfield and about Edmunton-side I came back to London in the Third Month to Advise with and Assist Friends in laying Friends Sufferings before the Parliament then sitting and we drew up a short Account of our Sufferings which we caused to be printed and spread amongst the Parliament-men London Yearly-Meeting The Yearly-Meeting now coming on I was much concerned for the Friends that came up to it out of the Countries lest they should meet with any Trouble or Disturbance in their Passages up or down and the rather for that about this time there began to be great bustles in the Nation upon the Duke of Monmouth's landing in the West But the Lord according to his wonted goodness was graciously pleased to preserve and keep Friends in safety and gave us a blessed Opportunity to Meet together in peace and quietness and accompanied our Meeting with his living refreshing Presence blessed for ever be his holy Name Now considering the Hurries and Bustles that were in the Nation it came upon me at the Close of this Meeting to write a few Lines to Friends to Caution all to keep out of the Spirit of the World in which the Trouble is and to dwell in the peaceable Truth Wherefore I writ as followeth Dear Friends and Brethren WHom the Lord hath called and chosen in Christ Jesus your Life and Salvation in whom ye have all rest and peace with God The Lord God by his mighty Power which is over all hath preserved you and supported you to this day to be a peculiar holy People to himself so that by his Eternal Spirit and Power ye might be all preserved and kept out of the World for in the World is the Trouble And now in this great Day of the Lord God Almighty he is shaking the Heavens and the Earth of outward Professions and their Elements are in a heat and their Sun and their Moon are darkened and the Stars falling and the Mountains and Hills shaking and tottering as it was among the Jews in the Day of Christ's appearing And therefore all Dear Friends and Brethren dwell in the Seed Christ Jesus who is the Rock and Foundation 1685. London that cannot be shaken that ye may see with the Light and Spirit of Christ that ye are the fixed Stars in the â—irmament of God's Power and in this his Power and Light you 'l see over all the wandring Stars and Clouds without water and Trees without fruit And that which may be shaken will be shaken as will all they that are wandred from the Firmament of God's Power Now Dear Friends and Brethren you that are redeemed from the Death and Fall of Adam by Christ the second Adam in him ye have Life Rest and Peace for Christ saith In me ye shall have Peace but in the World Trouble And the Apostle saith They that believe are entred into their Rest namely Christ who hath overcome the World who bruiseth the Serpent's Head and destroys the Devil and his Works and fulfils the Types Figures and Shadows of the Old Testament and the Prophets In whom the Promises are Yea and Amen who is the First and Last Beginning and Ending Yea and Amen who is the eternal Rest So keep and walk in Christ your Rest every one that have received him your Eternal Rest And now Dear Friends and Brethren whatever Bustlings and Trouble or Tumults or Outrages Quarrels and Strife should arise and be in the World keep out of them all and concern not your selves with them but keep in the Lord's Power and peaceable Truth that is over all such things in which Power ye seek the peace and good of all men And live in the Love which God hath shed abroad in your hearts through Christ Jesus in which Love nothing is able to separate you from God and Christ neither outward Sufferings Persecutions nor any outward thing that is below and without nor to hinder or break your heavenly Fellowship in the Light and Gospel and Spirit of Christ nor your holy Communion in the Holy Ghost that proceeds from the Father and the Son which leads you into all Truth And in this Holy Ghost in which is your holy Communion that proceeds from the Father and the Son you have fellowship with the Father and the Son and communion and fellowship one with another And this is it which links and joins Christ's Church or Body together to him the heavenly and spiritual Head and in Unity in his Spirit which is the Bond of Peace of all his Church and living Members in whom they have Eternal and Everlasting Rest and Peace in Christ and with God everlasting who is to be blessed and praised for ever Amen Now Dear Friends forsake not the Assembling of your selves together who are gathered in the Name of Jesus who is your Prophet that God has raised up in the New Testament to be heard in all things who opens to you and no man can shut and shuts and no man can open Who is your Priest made higher than the Heavens by the Power of an endless Life by him you are made a Royal Priesthood to offer up to God spiritual Sacrifice Who is the Bishop of your Souls to oversee you that ye do not go astray from God Who is the good Shepherd that hath laid down his Life for his Sheep and they hear his voice and follow him and he gives to them eternal Life And now Dear Friends and Brethren abide in Christ the Vine that ye may bring forth fruit to the glory of God And as every one hath received Christ walk in him who is not of the World that lies in wickedness so that ye may be preserved out of the Vain Fashions and Customs of the World which satisfie the Lust of the Eye the Lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life which are not of the Father but are of the World that passes away And who joins to that which is not of the Father or encourages it draws the mind from God the Fathâ—r and the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore Let Christ rule in your hearts that your Minds Souls and Spirits may be kept and preserved out of the Vanities of the World both in their words ways and actions so that ye may be a peculiar People zealous of good works serving the Lord God through Jesus Christ in whom is life and may be a peculiar People to
amongst other Services that I found there one was to assist Friends in drawing up Testimony to Clear our Friends from being concerned in the late Rebellion in the West and from all Plots against the Government Which accordingly we did and delivered them to the Chief-Justice who was then to go down into the West with Commission to Try Prisoners I tarried some time in London visiting Meetings and labouring among Friends in the Service of Truth But finding my Health much impaired for want of fresh Air I went a little way out of Town to Charles Bathurst's Country-house at Epping-Forrest Epping-Forrest where I stay'd a few days And while I was there it came upon me to write the following Epistle to Friends Dear Friends WHO are called chosen and faithful in this Day of Trial 1685. Epping-Forest and Temptations and Sufferings whom the Lord by his right Hand hath upholden in all your Sufferings and some to Death for the Lord and his Truths sake Christ saith Be of good cheer I have overcome the World In me ye have peace but in the World ye have trouble The Children of the Seed which be Heirs of the Kingdom know this is true And though ye have Trials by false Brethren Judasses and Sons of Perdition that are got into the Temple of God and exalted above all that is called God whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his Mouth and the brightness of his Coming And though ye be Tried by Powers or Principalities yet there is nothing able to separate you from the Love of God which ye have in Christ Jesus In that Love dwell which bears all things and fulfils the Law in which edifie one another and be courteous and kind and humble for to such God giveth his Grace plentifully and such he teacheth And pray in the Holy Ghost which proceeds from the Father and the Son and in it keep your holy Communion and Unity in the Spirit the Bond of Peace which is the King of Kings heavenly Peace In that you are all bound to good behaviour and keeping Peace among your selves and seeking the Peace of all men and shewing forth the heavenly gentle and peaceable Wisdom to all men in Righteousness and Truth answering the good in all People in all your Lives and Conversations for the Lord is glorified in your bringing forth spiritual fruit that ye may eye and behold the Lord in all your actions that the Blessings of the Lord ye may all feel to rest upon you Whether ye be the Lord's Prisoners for his Name and Truth 's sake or at Liberty in all things labour to be Content for that is a Continual Feast and let no Trouble move you then ye will be as Mount Sion that cannot be removed And in all things exercise the Word of Patience which Word will sanctifie all things to you And study to be Quiet and do the Lord's business that he requires of you and your own in Truth and Righteousness and whatsoever ye do let it be done to the praise and glory of God in the Name of Jesus Christ All they that do make God's People to suffer they make the Seed to suffer in their own particulars and Imprison the Just there And such will not visit the Seed in themselves but cast it into Prison in Others and not visit it in Prison You may read that Christ saith Such must go into Everlasting Punishment That is a sad punishment and prison And all such as are become Apostates and Backsliders that do crucifie to themselves Christ afresh and put him to open shame and trample under feet the blood of the Son of God by which they were cleansed and then come to be Vnclean such grieve vex and quench and rebel against the Spirit of God in themselves and then such rebel against them that walk in the Spirit of God Such are Vnfaithful to God and Man and are Enemies to every good Work and Service of God But their End will be according to their works who are like unto the Earth that hath often received Rain but brings forth Briars and Thorns which are to be rejected and are for the fire Therefore Dear Friends in all your Sufferings feel the Lord's Eternal Arm and Power which hath upheld you and supported you to this day and will to the end as your Faith stands in it and as you are settled upon the Rock and Foundation Christ Jesus that cannot be removed in whom ye have life and peace with God And so the Lord God Almighty in him give you Dominion and preserve and keep you all to his Glory that in all your Sufferings ye may feel his presence and that when ye have finished your Testimony ye may receive the Crown of Glory which God hath laid up for them that fear and serve him Amen The 15th of the 7th Month 1685. G. F. Having spent about a week at this time among Friends in the Country London I returned to London Where I continued about Two Months visiting Friends Meetings and labouring to get Relief for Friends from their Sufferings which yet lay heavy upon them in many parts of the Nation Several Papers also I writ relating to the Service of Truth one of which was concerning Order in the Church of God which some that were gone out of the Unity of Friends did much oppose And that was as followeth AMong all Societies or Families or Nations of People in the World they have among them some sort of Order There was the Order of Aaron in the Old Testament and there was the Order of Melchizedeck before that after whose Order Christ Jesus came and he did not despise that Order So God is a God of Order in his whole Creation and in his Church And all the Believers in the Light the Life in Christ that do pass from death to life they are in the Order of the holy Spirit Power Light Life and Government of Christ Jesus of the Increase whereof there is no End And this is a Mystery to all those disorderly People who have written and printed so much against Orders which the Lord's Power and Spirit hath brought forth among his People And you that cry so much against Orders is it not manifest that you are gone into a Land of Darkness thick as darkness it self and of the shadow of death into disorder and where the Light is as Darkness And is not this your Condition seen by all them that live and walk in the Truth and whose Conversations are according to the Gospel of Life and Salvation The Devil Satan Dragon and the first and second Beast 1685. London and the Whore and false Prophets and their Worshippers and Followers all these are out of the Truth and abode not in it nor in the Order of it And the Truth is over them all In Salem is God's Tabernacle a peaceable Tabernacle and his Tabernacle is in Shiloh And these are far beyond the Tabernacles of Ham Psal
Idolatry of the Jews who forsook the Lord and compares them to an Harlot And in Chap. 8. ye may see the Destruction threatned against the Jews for their Impiety and Idolatry In Chap. 9. also the Distress and Captivity of the Jews is threatned for their sins and Idolatry And again they are reproved and threatned for their Impiety and Idolatry Hos 10. And this was for forsaking the Lord and his Way and following the ways of their own Inventions and the Ways of the Heathen And doth not Isaiah say That the Lord would visit Tyre and that she should commit Fornication with all the Kingdoms of the World upon the face of the Earth and therefore the Lord threatned Destruction upon her Chap. 23. And in Chap. 57. you may see how the Lord reproved the Jews for their Whorish Idolatry and said Vpon an high and lofty Mountain hast thou set thy Bed even thither wentest thou up to offer Sacrifices Thou hast enlarged thy Bed and made a Covenant with them thou lovedst their Bed where thou savest it This was a Joining to the Heathens Religions Altars and Sacrifices and a forsaking the Lord's Altar and Sacrifices which he commanded in the Law And therefore that was committing Whoredom with the Heathen and a going into their Beds from the Living God that made them And now in the New Testament God having poured his Spirit upon all Flesh that by his Spirit all might come to be a Royal Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ All that err from the Spirit of God and rebel against it they are not like to offer spiritual Sacrifices to God and such their Sacrifice God doth not accept no more than he did the Heathens and the Jews who rebelled against his good Spirit that he gave them to Instruct them And ye may see in the 17th 18th and 19th Chapters of the Revelation the Punishment of the great Whore Babylon the Mother of Harlots and the Victory of the Lamb and how he calleth God's People out of Babylon For in her was found the Blood of the Prophets and of the Saints and of all that were slain upon the Earth But there ye may read her Judgment and her Downfal And this Whore are they that are whored from the Spirit of God and so from God and from his holy Worship in Spirit and Truth and from the pure undefiled Religion that keeps from the Spots of the World and from the new and living Way Christ Jesus and so are whored from the Spirit of God into false Religions Ways and Worships and so corrupted the Earth with her Abominations But her Judgment and Downfal is seen over whom Christ hath the Victory And the Marriage of the Lamb is come Glory to the Lord for ever And God's pure Religion and pure Worship in Spirit and Truth Christ hath set up as it was in the Apostles days Hallelujah G. F. London I soon returned to London but made no long stay there at this time my Body not being able to bear the Closeness of the City long together While I was in Town besides the usual Services of visiting Friends and taking care about their Sufferings to get them eased I Assisted the Friends of the City in distributing certain Sums of Money which our Friends of Ireland had charitably and very liberally raised and sent over hither for the Relief of their Brethren who suffered for the Testimony of a good Conscience here which Monies were distributed amongst poor suffering Friends in the several Counties in proportion according as we understood their Need. Before I left the City also I heard of a great Doctor that was lately come from Poland whom I invited to my Lodging and had a great deal of discourse with him And after I had informed my self by him of such things as I had a desire to know I writ a Letter to the King of Poland on behalf of Friends at Dantzick a Town belonging to him who had long been under grievous Sufferings A Copy whereof here follows To JOHN the Third King of Poland 1685. London Great Duke of Lithuania Russia and Prussia Defender of the City of Dantzick c. Concerning the Innocent and Afflicted People in scorn called Quakers who are now fed with Bread and Water in Bridewell of the aforesaid City under close Confinement where their Friends Wives and Children are hardly suffered to come to see them O King THE Magistrates of the City of Dantzick say That it is thy Order and Command that these Innocent and Afflicted People should suffer such Oppression Now this Punishment is Inflicted upon them only and alone because they come together in the Name of Jesus Christ their Redeemer and Saviour who died for their Sins and is risen from the dead for their Justification who is their Prophet whom God hath raised up like unto Moses whom they ought to hear in all things in this day of the Gospel and the New Covenant who went astray like scattered Sheep but now are returned to the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of their Souls 1 Pet. 2.25 Who has given his Life for his Sheep and they hear his Voice and follow him who leads them into his Pastures of Life John 10. And now O King I understand that thou openly professest Christianity and the great and mighty Name of Jesus Christ who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords To whom is given all Power in Heaven and in Earth who rules all Nations with a Rod of Iron Therefore O King it seems hard to us that any that openly confesses Christ Jesus yea the Magistrates of Dantzick do the same should Inflict those Punishments upon an Innocent and Harmless People by reason of their Tender Consciences only and alone because they come together to serve and worship the Eternal God who made them in Spirit and in Truth which worship Christ Jesus has set up Sixteen hundred years ago as we read in John 4.23 24. Therefore I beseech the King that he would Consider Whether Christ in the New Testament ever gave such a Command to his Apostles that they should shut up any in Prison and feed them with Bread and Water who was not Conformable in every particular to their Religion Faith and Worship Or where did the Apostles exercise such things in the true Church after Christ's Ascension For is not this the Doctrine of Christ and the Apostles that Christ's Followers should Love their Enemies and pray for them that hate them and persecute and despitefully use them Matth. 5. And now Is it not a shame to Christendom among the Turks and others That one Christian should persecute another for the Doctrine of Faith Worship and Religion And they cannot prove that Christ ever gave them such a Command whom they profess to be their Lord and Master For Christ says that his Believers and Followers should love one another and by this they shall be known to be his Disciples And did not Christ
Reprove those who would have fire to come down from Heaven to destroy them who would not receive him and did not he tell them They did not know what spirit they were of And therefore all who have persecuted Men or taken away their Lives because they would not receive their Religion have they known what spirit they were or are of Therefore is it nor good for all to know by the Spirit of Christ what spirit they are of For the Apostle says Rom. 8.9 If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And does not the Apostle say 2 Cor. 10.4 The Weapons of our Warfare are not Carnal but Spiritual c. And we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness c. Thus we can see here that the Fight of the first Christians and their Weapons in the days of the Apostles were spiritual in matters of Faith Religion and Worship in the Church of Christ Now would not the King and the Magistrates of Dantzick think that it was contrary to their Consciences if they should be forced by the Turk to his Religion Would it not in like manner seem hard to the Magistrates of Dantzick and contrary to their Consciences if they should be forced to the Religion of the King of Poland or the King of Poland if he should be compelled to the Religion of the Magistrates of Dantzick And if they would not be subject thereunto that then they should be banished from their Wives and Families and out of their Native Country or otherwise be fed with Bread and Water under a strict Confinement Therefore we beseech the King with all Christian Humility and the Magistrates of Dantzick that they would order their proceedings in this matter according to the Royal Law of God which is To do unto others as they would have others do unto them and to love their Neighbour as themselves For we have this Charity that we hope and believe that the King of Poland and his People with the Magistrates of Dantzick own the Writings of the New Testament as well as of the Old And therefore we beseech the King and the Magistrates of Dantzick to take heed that their Work of Imprisoning an Innocent People for nothing but their meeting together in Tenderness of Conscience to serve and worship God their Creator may not be contrary and opposite to the Royal Law of God and to the Glorious and Everlasting Gospel of Truth So we desire the King in Christian Love earnestly and weightily to Consider these things and to give Order to set the Innocent Prisoners our Friends called Quakers at Liberty from their strict Confinement in Dantzick that they may have freedom to serve and worship the living God in Spirit and in Truth and go home to their outward Habitations and follow their Trades and Calling to maintain their Wives Children and Families And we believe that the King in doing such a Noble Glorious yea Christian Work will not go unrewarded from the Great God who made him whom we serve and worship who has the hearts of Kings and their lives and length of days in his hands From him who desires that the King and all his Ministers may be preserved in the Fear of God and receive his Word of Wisdom by which all things were made and created that by it he may come to order all things to the Glory of God which God has put under his hand That the King both He and They may enjoy the Comforts and Blessings of the Lord in this Life and in that which is to come Life Eternal Amen London in England the 10th of the 3d Month commonly called May 1684. G. F. Post-script The King may please to Consider that His and all Mens Consciences is the Prerogative of God After this I went to Enfield where Enfield and in the Country thereabouts several Friends had Country-houses not very far from one another amongst whom I tarried some time visiting and being visited by Friends and having Meetings with them Several things I writ in this time relating to the Service of Truth One whereof was concerning Judging For some who were departed from the Truth were so afraid of Truth 's Judgment that they made it much of their business to Cry out against Judging Wherefore I writ a Paper proving by the Scriptures of Truth that the Church of Christ hath power and ability to Judge those that profest to be of it not only with respect to outward things relating to this World but with respect to Religious Matters also A Copy of which follows Concerning Judging THE Natural Man receiveth not the Things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned but he that is spiritual judgeth all things mark all things yet he himself is judged of no Man 1685. Enfield 1 Cor. 2.14 15. So here the Natural Man cannot judge of those things he receives not for they are foolishness to him but he is comprehended by the Spiritual Man and his foolishness and is Judged though he cannot judge the Spiritual Man Do not ye judge them that are within saith the Apostle this Power the Church had and hath therefore put away from amongst your selves that wicked person And did not this Wicked person think you profess and plead for Liberty for his Wickedness and his Freedom as he was a Christian who was lookt upon as a Member of the Church And the Apostle saith For I verily as absent in body yet present in spirit have judged already as though I were present concerning him that hath done this wicked deed 1 Cor. 5.3 12. Here the Apostle did Judge though afar off and set up Judgment in the Church against false Liberty under what pretence soever it was And the Apostle saith Dare any of you having a matter against a Brother go to Law before the Vnjust and not before the Saints Here the Saints the Church are to Judge of things amongst themselves and not for the Unjust to Judge of their Matters Do ye not know the Saints shall judge the World So the Saints are to judge the Unjust and not the Vnjust to judge their Matters And farther the Apostle saith If the World shall be judged by you to wit the Saints are you unworthy to judge the smaller matters amongst you So here it is clear that the Saints have a Judgment given them of Christ by his Power and Spirit Light and Wisdom to judge the World and not to carry their Matters before the Vnjust but to judge of them amongst themselves and if they carry them before the Unjust they shew their unworthiness of the Saints Judgment And further the Apostle saith Know ye not that we shall Judge the Angels and Angels are Spirits how much more the things which pertain to this life If ye then have Judgment of things pertaining to this life set them up to judge who have least
falsly and did not this Hananiah pretend to speak the Word of the Lord to the Priests and People as in Jeremiah the 28th And did not Isaiah judge in Divine Matters when he judged the Watchmen and the Shepherds Isa 56. And did not Micah judge in Divine and Spiritual Matters when he said he was full of the Power by the Spirit of the Lord and of Judgment did not he Judge both of Priests and Prophets and Judges though they would lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord amongst us and no evil can come unto us yet did not he let them see their States and Conditions and divided the precious from the vile Mich. 3. And so the rest of the Prophets you may see here they Judged for God in his Divine Matters who served him and who served him not and who lived in truth and who not and likewise the Apostles And this Divine Spiritual Heavenly Judgment was given of God to his holy Men and Women And they that do Judge in God's Divine Matters must live in his Divine Spirit and Power and Light now as they did then which Spiritual and Divine Judgment Christ has given to his Church that be the living Stones and living Members that makes up his spiritual Houshold to try Jews and to try Apostles and to try Prophets and to try Faith and to try Religions and to try Trees and Fruits and to try Shepherds and Teachers and to try Spirits So the living Members have a living and divine Judgment in the Church of Christ which he is the Head of the Judge of all Nay the Church has a Power given them which is farther then a Judgment for what they bind on Earth is bound in Heaven by the Power of God and what they loose on Earth is loosed in Heaven by the Power of God and this Power has Christ given to his living Members the Church The 20th of the 12th Month 1685 6. G. F. to Friends 1686. London I came back to London in the First Month 1686. and set my self with all diligence to look after Friends sufferings which we had now some hopes of getting Relief for The Sessions came on in the Second Month at Hicks's Hall where many Friends had Appeals to be Tried with whom I was from Day to Day to advise and see that no Opportunity were slipt nor Advantage lost and they generally succeeded well Soon after also the King was pleased upon our often laying our Sufferings before him To give order for the Releasing of all Prisoners that were imprisoned for Conscience sake and which were in his power to discharge Whereby the Prison doors were opened and many hundreds of Friends some of whom had been long in Prison were set at Liberty and some of them who had for many years been restrained in Bonds Yearly Meeting came now up to the Yearly-Meeting which was in the Third Month this Year Which caused great Joy to Friends to see our Ancient Faithful Brethren again at Liberty in the Lord's Work after their long Confinements And indeed a precious Meeting we had the refreshing Presence of the Lord appearing plentifully with us and amongst us After the Meeting I was moved to write a few Lines to be sent abroad amongst Friends the tenor whereof was thus Dear Friends MY Love is to you all in the holy Seed Christ Jesus that bruises the Serpent's head and destroys the Devil and his Works and who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him Let every ones Faith stand in him and in his Power who is the Author and Finisher of your Faith And now ye who have been Partakers of his Power and are sensible of it in this Day of his Power that is over all whose day and power is over darkness and its power And by his Power the hearts of the King and Rulers have been opened by which your outward Prison-doors have been set open for your Liberty And therefore my desires are that all may be preserved in Humility and Thankfulness in the sense of the Mercies of the Lord and live in the peaceable Truth that is over all that ye may answer God's Grace and his Light and Spirit in all in a righteous godly Life and Conversation And let none be lifted up by their outward Liberty nor let none be cast down by Suffering for Christ's sake but all live in the Seed which is as Wheat which is not shaken nor blown away by the Winds and Storms as the Chaff is Which Seed of Life none below can make higher or lower for the Children of the Seed are the Children of the everlasting unchangeable Kingdom of Christ and God So in Christ Jesus whom God hath given you for a Sanctuary God Almighty keep you in whom ye have Life Everlasting and Wisdom which is from above pure peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits 1686. London Yearly Meeting that ye all now may be exercised in it and may practise this Wisdom in your godly holy Lives and Conversations so that this Wisdom may be justified of all her Children and they I say exercised and preserved in it in this day of the Power of Christ in which all his People are made a willing People to serve and worship God in Righteousness and Holiness and in the Spirit and Truth So that none may abuse the Power of the Lord nor grieve his Spirit by which you are sealed and kept to the day of Salvation and Redemption But always exercise your selves to have a good Conscience void of Offence towards God and towards all men being exercised in Holiness Godliness and Righteousness and in the Truth and in the Love of it that ye may all study to be approved unto God in Innocency Vertue Simplicity and Faithfulness and so labouring and studying to be quiet in the Will of God in all Conditions And whatsoever ye do in Word or Deed do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus giving Thanks to God the Father by him That he who is over all may have the Praise for all his Mercies and Blessings with which he doth and hath refreshed his People and by his Eternal Arm and Power hath kept and preserved his People to this day Glory to his Name over all for ever Amen! For Christ hath called you by his Grace into One Body to him the holy Head And therefore live in Charity and in the Love of God which is the Bond of Perfectness in his Body which Love edifies the Body of Christ which Body and all his Members are knit together and increased with the Increase of God from whom they receive Nourishment For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body and have been made all to drink into one Spirit in which Spirit the Body and all his Members have Fellowship with Christ the Head and one with another And so the Vnity of this holy Spirit is the Bond of Peace of all the living
preach at Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the Coasts of Judea and then to the Gentiles turning them from Darkness to the Light of Christ and from the Power of Satan to God that they should Repent and turn to God and do works meet for Repentance Acts 26.20 Now here ye may see that People must Repent before they do believe and are baptized and before they receive the Holy Ghost and the Kingdom of God And they must Repent of their vain Life and Conversation before they do receive the Gospel and must be turned from Darkness to the Light of Christ and from the power of Satan unto God before they do receive his Holy Spirit and his Gospel of Life and Salvation The Lord doth command all Men every where to Repent and do works meet for Repentance So they must shew forth 1687. Gooses that their Lives and Conversations and Tongues are changed and that they do serve God in the Newness of Life with new Tongues and new Hearts Gooses the 6th Month 1687. G. F. Another short Paper I writ about the same time shewing Wherein God's People should be like unto him It was thus GOD is Righteous and he would have his People to be righteous and to do righteously And God is Holy and he would have his People holy and to do holily And God is Just and he would have his People to be just and to do justly to all God is Light and his Children must walk in his Light And God is an eternal infinite Spirit and his Children must walk in the Spirit God is Merciful and he would have his People to be Merciful God's Sun shines upon the Good and the Bad and he causes the Rain to fall upon the Evil and the Good so should his People do good unto all God is Love and they that dwell in love dwell in God Love worketh no Ill to his Neighbour therefore Love is the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13.10 And the Apostle saith All the Law is fulfilled in one word even in this Thou shalt love thy Neigbour as thy self Gal. 5.14 As the Father hath loved me so I have loved you continue ye in my love John 15.9 This should be the practice of all God's People Gooses the 6th Month 1687. G. F. And because most People would own and Confess that God's People should be thus but few knew how to come to this state Therefore in the Openings of the Spirit of Truth I writ another short Paper directing to The right Way and Means whereby People might come unto Christ and so be made like unto God That was thus CHrist saith I am the Way the Truth and the Life no Man cometh unto the Father but by me John 14.6 And again No Man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him John 6.44 Now what is the Means by which God doth draw People to his Son but by his holy Spirit who poureth out of his Spirit upon all Flesh that is all Men and Women And by this holy Spirit the holy and righteous God doth draw People from their Unrighteousness and Unholiness to Christ the righteous and holy One the great Prophet in his New Covenant and New Testament whom Moses in the Old Covenant and Testament said God would raise up like unto him and whom People should hear in all things and they that would not hear him should be Cut off Now they that do not hear the Son of God the great Prophet do not mind the drawing of the Father by his holy Spirit to his Son But they that do mind the drawings of the good Spirit of the Father to his Son the Spirit doth give them Understanding to know God and Jesus Christ which is Eternal Life And then they do know that Jesus Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life and that none can come unto God but by and through his Son Jesus Christ who is their Shepherd to feed them at his Pastures and Springs of Life and his Sheep do know his holy Voice in whom there was no sin and in whose mouth there was no guile and an Hireling they will not hear for he careth not for the Sheep for they are not the Hireling's but Christ's who hath laid down his Life for his Sheep And he that robs and steals his Neighbour's Words and climeth up another way and entereth not by the Door he is a Thief and a Robber But Christ is the Door into his Sheepfold for his Sheep to enter in by And so they know that Christ is the Bishop of their Souls to see that they do not go astray from God nor out of his Pastures of Life And they do know that Christ is their Mediator and makes their Peace with God And they do know that Christ is their High-Priest made higher than the Heavens and hath died for their sins and doth cleanse them with his Blood and is risen for their Justification and is able to the utmost to save all that come to God by him Gooses the 6th Month 1687. G. F. Before I left this place I writ another Paper the Scope whereof was to shew by many Instances taken out of the holy Scriptures That the Kingdom of God which most People talk of at a distance and refer altogether to another life is in some measure to be known and entred into in this life but that none can know an Entrance thereinto but such as are Regenerated and Born again Of that Paper the following is a Copy CHrist saith Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God John 3.3 That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ver 6. So Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God ver 5. And John writing to the seven Churches in Asia calls himself their Brother and Companion in Tribulation and in the Kingdom and Patience of Jesus Christ Rev. 1.9 Here you may see that John was in the Kingdom so he was born again for he did not only see the Kingdom but was in it And John saith Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God therefore the World knoweth us not because it knew him not 1 John 3.1 And Beloved now are we the Sons of God ver 2. And If ye know that he is Righteous ye know that every one that doth Righteousness is born of him Chap. 2.29 And Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God Ch. 3.9 Again John saith Let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love Ch. 4.7 8. Again Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God Ch. 5.1 And
and Vnity and in him they are strong and in a full Perswasion and in him who is the First and Last they are in a heavenly Resolution and Confidence for God's Everlasting Honour and Glory Amen From him who is Translated into the Kingdom of his Dear Son with all his Saints a heavenly Salutation And salute ye one another with a holy Kiss of Charity that never faileth G. F. Ford Green the 25th of the 9th Month 1690. Another Epistle I writ soon after more particularly to the Friends in the Ministry that were gone into America which was thus DEar Friends and Brethren that are Ministers and Exhorters and Admonishers that are gone into America and the Islands there-aways Stir up the Gift of God in you and the pure Mind and improve your Talents that ye may be the Light of the World a City set upon an Hill that cannot be hid and let your Light shine among the Indians and the Blacks and the Whites that ye may answer the Truth in them and bring them to their Standard and Ensign that God hath set up Christ Jesus For from the Rising of the Sun to the Going down of the same God's Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every Temple or sanctified Heart Incense shall be offered up to God's Name And have Salt in your selves that ye may be the Salt of the Earth that ye may salt it that it may be preserved from Corruption and Putrefaction so that all Sacrifices offered up to the Lord may be salted and seasoned and be a good Savour to God And all grow in the Faith and Grace of Christ that ye may not be like Dwarfs for a Dwarf shall not come near to Offer upon God's Altar though he may eat of God's Bread that he may grow by it And Friends Be not negligent but keep up your Negroes-Meetings and your Family-Meetings and have Meetings with the Indian Kings 1690. Tottenham and their Councils and Subjects every where and with others and bring them all to the Baptizing and Circumcising Spirit by which they may know God and serve and worship him And all take heed of sitting down in the Earth and having your Minds in the earthly Things Coveting and Striving for the Earth for to be carnally minded brings death and Covetousness is Idolatry There is too much Strife and Contention about that Idol which makes too many go out of the Sense and Fear of God so that some have lost Morality and Humanity and the true Christian Charity O therefore be awakened to Righteousness and keep awakened for the Enemy soweth his Tares while Men and Women sleep in Carelesness and Security Therefore so many slothful Ones go in their filthy Rags and have not the fine Linnen the Righteousness of Christ but are stragling and plowing with their Ox and their Ass in their woollen and linnen Garments mixt Stuff feeding upon Torn food and that dieth of it self and drinking of the dregs of their old Bottle and eating the sour leavened Bread which makes their hearts burn one against another But all are to keep the Feast of Christ our Passover with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth And this unleavened Bread of Life from Heaven makes all Hearts and Souls glad and joyful and lightsome and cheerful to serve and love God and to love and serve one another in the peaceable Truth and to keep in the Vnity of God's Spirit which is the Bond of the Lord of Lords and the King of all Kings his Peace In this Love and Peace God Almighty keep and preserve all his People and make them valiant for his Truth upon the Earth to spread it abroad both in Doctrine and good Life and Conversation Amen All the Members of Christ have need one of another For the Foot hath need of the Hand and the Hand hath need of the Foot The Ear hath need of the Eye and the Eye of the Ear. So that all the Members are serviceable in the Body which Christ is the Head of and the Head sees their Service Therefore let none despise the least Member And have a Care to keep down that greedy earthly Mind that raveneth and coveteth after the Riches and Things of this World lest ye fall into the low Region like the Gentiles or Heathen and so lose the Kingdom of God that is Everlasting But seek that first and God knows what things ye have need of who takes care for all both in Heaven and in the Earth Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gifts both Temporal and Spiritual Tottenham the 11th of the 10th Month 1690. G. F. Not long after this I returned to London and was almost daily with Friends at Meetings 1690. London And when I had been near Two Weeks in Town The sense of the great Hardships and sore Sufferings that Friends had been and were under in Ireland coming with great weight upon me I was moved to write the following Epistle as a Word of Consolation unto them DEar Friends and Brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ whom the Lord by his Eternal Arm and Power hath upheld through your great Sufferings Exercises Trials and Hardships more I believe then can be uttered up and down that Nation which I am very sensible of and the rest of the faithful Friends that have been Partakers with you in your Sufferings and cannot but suffer with the Lord's People that suffer And my Confidence hath been in the Lord that he would and will support you in all your Sufferings and that he would preserve all the Faithful in his Wisdom that they would give no just Occasion to one nor other to make them suffer And therefore if that you did suffer wrongfully or unjustly the righteous God would assist you and uphold you and reward them according to their Works that opprest or wronged you And now my desire is unto the Lord that in the same holy and heavenly Wisdom of God ye may all be preserved to the End of your days to the Glory of God minding God Almighty's supporting Hand and Power who is God Al-sufficient to strengthen help and refresh in time of Need. And let none forget the Lord's Mercies and Kindnesses which endure for ever but always live in the sense of them And truly Friends when I consider the thing It is the great Mercy of the Lord that ye have not been all swallowed up seeing with what Spirits ye have been compassed about But the Lord carrieth his Lambs in his Arms and they are as tender to him as the Apple of his Eye And his Power is his Hedge about his Vineyard of heavenly Plants And therefore it is good for all his Children to be given up to the Lord with their Minds and Souls Hearts and Spirits who is a faithful Keeper that never slumbers nor sleeps but is able to preserve and keep you and to save to the utmost and none can hurt so much as an hair of your Heads except he suffer
and to God's Spirit and to the Grace and Truth in your hearts that comes by Jesus Christ that with it ye may search your hearts And so do not grieve nor vex nor quench God's good Spirit in your hearts and walk not despitefully against the Spirit of Grace nor turn from it into Wantonness and yet make a Profession of God and Christ in Words 1677. Amsterdam when your hearts are afar off and living in Pleasures and wantonly upon the Earth sporting your selves killing the Just and Crucifying to your selves Christ afresh and putting him to open shame And so dishonouring God and Christ and Christianity and making a Profession and a Trade of the Scriptures keeping People always Learning that they may be always paying Therefore Cease from Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils and look unto the Lord all ye ends of the Earth and be saved for the Lord God of Heaven and Earth is come to teach his People himself by his Light Spirit Grace and Truth and to bring them off all the World's Teachers And God hath raised up Christ Jesus his Prophet whom People should hear and saith This is my beloved Son hear ye him and Christ saith Learn of me I am the Way the Truth and the Life and no Man comes to the Father but by me And there is no Salvation by any other Name under the whole Heaven but by the Name of Jesus who saith I am the good Shepherd and have laid down my Life for my Sheep and my Sheep hear my voice and follow me and will not follow the Hireling For Christ feeds them in the Pastures of Life that will never wither And God hath anointed Christ Jesus to preach if you will hear him and God hath given Christ for a Counsellor and a Leader if you will be Led and Counselled by him and God hath given Christ for a Bishop to Oversee you and a King to Rule you if you will be Overseen and Ruled by him And you that will not have Christ to Rule over you who never sinned nor Guile was found in his Mouth you may read his Sentence in the New Testament upon such And is not Christ a sufficient Teacher whose Blood was shed for you and tasted Death for every Man And doth not Christ say to his Ministers Freely ye have received freely give And the Apostle saith We covet no Man's Gold Silver or Apparel but Laboured with their Hands and kept the Gospel without Charge Have they that are called Ministers amongst you done the same and kept this Command of Christ Jesus Let them be Examined and Examine themselves And have you not trimmed your Outsides but look within with the Light and Spirit of Christ Jesus and see if your Insides be not black and foul For Christ Jesus who doth Enlighten every Man that cometh into the World with the Life in himself who is the Word he saith Believe in the Light that ye may become Children of the Light and with the Light ye may see all the Evil Deeds ye have done and all your ungodly Deeds that ye have acted and committed and all your ungodly Words you have spoken and all your ungodly Thoughts ye think that ye may turn from them and turn to Christ from whence the Light comes who is your Saviour and Redeemer who hath given you a Light to see your Sin and how that you are dead in Adam that with the same Light you may see Christ the quickening Spirit who makes you alive to God and saves you from your sin But if you hate the Light which is the Life in Christ the Prince of Life and Love the Darkness and the Prince of Darkness more than the Light or the Life in Christ whose Deeds be Evil and because it will Reprove you Christ tells you This Light will be your Condemnation John 3. And therefore be Warned now in your Day and while you have Time turn to the Lord and do not quench the Spirit of the Father by which he draws to his Son nor hate the Light of Christ for if you do you hate the Life in Christ and so remain under Condemnation from God and Christ with the Light who now speaks to his People by his Son as he did in the Apostles Days so the same God that was the Speaker by the Prophets to the Fathers and Speaker to Adam and Eve in Paradise And happy had Adam and Eve and the Jews and all Christians been if they had kept to this Speaker and not have followed the Serpent that false Speaker and his Instruments And now God is the true Speaker by his Son who bruises the Head of the Serpent the false Teacher who is the Head of all false Ways and false Prophets and false Churches and false Religions and Worships And so God and Christ is bringing People to the pure and undefiled Religion that will keep them from the Spots of the World and into the new and living Way Christ Jesus and to the Church in God which Christ is the Head of as he was in the Apostles Days and to worship God in the Spirit and Truth which Worship Christ set up above Sixteen hundred years since And therefore must all People come to the Grace and Spirit of Truth in their own hearts to know the God of Truth who is a Spirit and in the Spirit and Truth to worship and serve and honour and glorifie the Living God who is over all and Worthy of all Blessed for evermore Amen And ye Magistrates and Officers read this in all your Assemblies and cause all your Priests to read it in their Churches that they and you and all People may hear and fear the God of Heaven as you will Answer it at the Great and Terrible Day of Judgment and Vengeance of the Lord God Almighty And this is in Love to your Souls and for your Temporal and Eternal Good Amsterdam the 19th of the 7th Month 1677. G. F. 1677. Harlingen in Friezland An Epistle concerning true Fasting true Prayer true Honour and against Persecution and for the true Liberty in Christ Jesus To pag. 438 and that all may have a care that the Apostle hath not bestowed his Labour in vain upon you in your observing of Days Months Times Feasts and Years and of coming under the beggarly Elements and the Yoke of Bondage again and of bringing and forcing People into them WHere did ever Christ or his Apostles Command any Believers or Christians to observe Holy-Days or Feast-Days and let us see where it is written in the Scriptures of the New Testament in the Four Evangelists or the Epistles or the Revelation that ever Christ or his Apostles gave the Christians any such Command that they should observe the Time called Christmas or a Day for Christ's Birth or that they should observe the Time called Easter or Whitsuntide or Peter or Paul's or Mark or Luke's Days or any other Saints Day Now you that profess your selves to be
worship God in Spirit and in Truth which Christ set up above Sixteen hundred years since So all Men and Women must come to the Spirit and Truth in their hearts by which they must know the God of Truth who is a Spirit and then in the Spirit and Truth they will Worship him and know what and who they Worship And also the Lord is come to bring his People off all the World's Temples that with the Spirit they may know â—â—at their Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost And the Lord is come to bring his People off all the World's Crosses and Pictures and Images and Likenesses to know that the Power of God is the Cross of Christ which Crucifies them to the World and brings them up into the Likeness and Image of God as Man and Woman was in before they fell and so to Christ that never fell And this Work of Christ must all know in their hearts by the Light of Christ Jesus who is the true Light that lighteth every Man that cometh into the World It is called the Light in Man and Woman and the Life in Christ the Word and Christ saith Believe in the Light that ye may become Children of the Light And the Light lets you see all your Evil Actions that you have done and committed and your ungodly Ways you have walked in and your ungodly Words and Thoughts and now if you do hate this Light and love the Darkness and the Prince of it more than this Light which is the Life in Christ the Prince of Life and will not come to it because your Deeds be Evil and it will reprove you Christ tells you This Light is your Condemnation And then what is all your Profession good for when you remain under the Condemnation of the true Light in which you should believe and so become Children of Light and out of Condemnation And therefore every one must believe in the Light if they do receive Christ Jesus and as many as receives him he gives them Power to become the Sons of God So he that hath the Son of God hath Life and they that have not the Son of God have not Life and then if you have not Life what good doth all your Profession of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelations do you any more than the Jews Scribes and Pharisees that would not receive Christ the Life upon whom God brought his overflowing Scourge And therefore do you take heed of that for your Strength will be no better than theirs if you have not God and Christ's supporting Power when God's Scourge comes upon you and you are filled with Horrours and Fears But my desires are that you may all Repent even from the Highest to the Lowest and not grieve nor quench nor vex nor rebel against God's good Spirit in you nor walk despitefully against the Spirit of Grace nor turn from it unto Wantonness which would teach you and bring your Salvation Which if you do how can you escape the over-flowing Scourge of the Almighty and the Wrath of the Lamb But my desires are that you may all obey God's good Spirit of Truth which will lead you out of all Evil into all Truth and reprove you for your Righteousness and for your own Judgment and Sin c. and it will bring you to cleave to that which is good and forsake that which is evil and to turn to the Lord who will receive you in his Mercy and Kindness By which Means you may escape the over-flowing Scourge in the Day of Vengeance which dreadful Day is coming upon all Evil-doers And this as a Warning to you both for your Temporal and Eternal Good and for you to Read it in your Assemblies and your Priests to Read it in their Churches so that all People may hear and fear as you will Answer it at the Terrible and Dreadful Day of Judgment Amsterdam the 19th of the 7th Month 1677. G. F. For the Embassadors that are Met to Treat for Peace at the City of Nimmeguen in the States Dominions To pag. 448 CHrist Jesus saith Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God Matth. 5.9 so all Christian men are to forsake Evil and do Good and seek Peace and follow it if they will love Life and see good Days 1 Pet. 3.11 for God hath called all true Christians unto Peace 1 Cor. 7. and therefore all Christians ought to follow this Peace which God calls them to and they should let the Peace of God rule in all their Hearts which is above the Peace of this World that is so soon broken For the Apostle Commands the Christians to let the Peace of God rule in their Hearts to which all Christians should be subject Now the Practice of this should be among Christians that profess Christianity and this Peace is above that which Christ takes from the Earth Rev. 6. which is the Peace of the Wicked And the Apostle saith to the Christians Be at Peace among your selves 1 Thess 5. Now all Christians should obey this Command and be at Peace among themselves and not in Wars and Strife And further the Apostle exhorts the Christians to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace so this Vnity and this Bond of Peace should be kept and not be broken by all that bears that Noble Name Christian and they should keep the Unity of the Spirit of Christ in the Bond of the Prince of Princes and King of Kings and Lord of Lords Peace which is the Duty of all true Christians to keep In which they may honour Christ in bringing forth the Fruits of Peace which is Love and Charity For the Apostle tells you The fruits of the good Spirit is Love Joy and Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness c. Gal. 5. And the Apostle exhorts the Christians and saith If it be possible as much as lieth in you live peaceable with all Men and this should be the Endeavour of all Christians For it is no honour to Christ that Christians should war and destroy one another that do profess the Name of Christ who saith He came to save Mens lives and not to destroy them For Christians have Enemies enough abroad without them and therefore they should Love one another as Christ commands who saith By this ye shall be known to be my Disciples if ye Love one another For Christians are commanded to love Enemies therefore much more one another And Christ saith As the Father hath loved me so I have loved you Continue ye in my Love John 15.8 and By this shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if ye Love one another John 13.35 But if Christians do war and destroy one another this will make both Jews Turks Tartars and Heathens to say That you are not Disciples of Christ. And therefore as you love God and Christ and Christianity and its Peace All make Peace as far as you have power among Christians that
could not make good by Scripture that which he had said So he was shamed and fled out of the House and his People were generally Convinced for his Spirit was discovered and he came no more amongst them And when his People were Convinced and settled in God's Truth they gave forth a Book against him and denied his Spirit and his false Discoveries Many were turned to Christ Jesus that day and came to sit under his Teaching insomuch that the Judges were in a great Rage and many of the Magistrates in Bedford-shire because there were so many turned from the Hireling-Priests to the Lord Jesus Christ's free Teaching But John Crook was kept by the Power of the Lord Yet he was turned out from being a Justice After some time I turned up through the Country to London again where Friends were finely established in the Truth and great Comings in there were And about this time several Friends went beyond the Seas to declare the everlasting Truth of God Now when I had stay'd a while in the City Kent Rochester I went into Kent And when I came to Rochester there was a Guard kept to examin Passengers Cranbrook but we passed by and were not stopped So I went to Cranbrook where there was a great Meeting and several Souldiers were at it and many were turned to the Lord that day After the Meeting some of the Souldiers were somewhat Rude but the Lord's Power came over them One Thomas Howsigoe an Independent-Preacher who lived not far from Cranbrook was Convinced and became a faithful Minister for the Lord Jesus Some Friends had traveled into Kent before as John Stubbs and William Caton and the Priests and Professors had stirred up the Magistrates at Maidstone to Whip them for declaring God's Truth unto them as may be seen at large in the Journal of William Caton's Life There was also one Captain Dunk Convinced in Kent Sussex Ry. and he went with me to Ry where we had a Meeting to which the Mayor and Officers and several Captains came and they took what I said in Writing which I was well pleased with All was quiet and the People affected with the Truth Rumney From Ry I went to Rumney where the People having had notice of my Coming some time before there was a very large Meeting Thither came Samuel Fisher who was an Eminent Preacher among the Baptists and had had a Parsonage reputed worth about Two hundred Pounds a Year which for Conscience-sake he had given up And there was also the Pastor of the Baptists and abundance of their People And the Power of the Lord was so mightily over the Meeting that many were reached by the Power of God and one greatly shaken and the Life sprang up in divers One of the Pastors of the Baptists being amazed at the Work of the Lord's Power bid one of our Friends that was so wrought upon Have a good Conscience Whereupon I was moved of the Lord to bid him Take heed of Hypocrisy and Deceit and he was silent A great Convincement there was that day and many were turned from the Darkness to the divine Light of Christ and came to see their Teachers Errors and to sit under the Lord Jesus Christ's Teaching and to know him their Way and the Covenant of Light which God had given to be their Salvation And they were brought to the One Baptism and to the One Baptizer Christ Jesus When the Meeting was done Samuel Fisher's Wife said Now we may discern this day betwixt Flesh and Spirit and distinguish Spiritual Teaching from Fleshly The People were generally well satisfied with what had been declared but the Two Baptist-Teachers and their Company when they were gone from the Meeting fell to Reasoning amongst the People Samuel Fisher with divers others reasoned for the Word of Life which had been declared that day and the other Pastor and his Party reasoned against it So it divided them asunder and cut them in the midst A Friend came and told me that the Baptists were disputing one with another 1655. Rumney and desired me to go up to them but I said Let them alone the Lord will divide them and they that Reason for Truth will be too hard for the other And so it was This Samuel Fisher received the Truth in the Love of it and became a faithful Minister of it and preached Christ freely and laboured much in the Work and Service of the Lord being moved of the Lord to go and declare the word of Life at Dunkirk and in Holland and in divers parts of Italy as Leghorn and Rome it self And yet the Lord preserved him and his Companion John Stubbs out of their Inquisitions From Rumney I passed to Dover and had a Meeting there Dover where several were Convinced And near unto Dover there was a Governour and his Wife Convinced who had been Baptists and the Baptists thereabouts were much offended and grew very envious but the Lord's Power came over all Luke Howard of Dover was Convinced sometime before and became a faithful Minister of Christ Returning from Dover I went to Canterbury Canterbury where there were a few honest-hearted People turned to the Lord who sate down under Christ's Teaching Thence I passed to Cranbrook again Cranbrook where I had a great Meeting A Friend that was with me went to the Steeple-house and was cast into Prison But the Lord's Power was manifested and his Truth spread From thence I passed into Sussex and lodged near Horsham Sussex Horsham where there was a great Meeting and many were Convinced Also at Stenning we had a great Meeting in the Market-House Stenning and several were Convinced there and thereaways for the Lord's Power was with us Several Meetings I had thereabouts and among the rest there was a Meeting appointed at a Great Man's House and he and his Son went to fetch several Priests that had threatned to come and dispute But when the time came none of them came for the Lord's Power was mighty in us A glorious Meeting we had and the Man of the House and his Son were vext because none of the Priests would come So the Hearts of People were opened by the Spirit of God and they were turned from the Hirelings to Christ Jesus their Shepherd who had purchased them without Money and would feed them without Money or Price Many that came expecting to hear a Dispute were Convinced that day amongst which Nicholas Beard was one Thus the Lord's Power came over all and his Day many came to see There were abundance of Ranters in those parts and Professors that had been so Loose in their Lives that they began to be Weary of it and had thought to have gone into Scotland to have lived privately But the Lord's Net catched them and their Understandings were opened by his Light Spirit and Power through which they came to receive the Truth and to be settled upon the Lord and so
became very sober Men and good Friends in the Truth And great Blessing and Praising the Lord there was amongst them and great Admiration in the Country Out of Sussex I traveled through the Country till I came to Reading Reading where I found a few that were Convinced of the Way of the Lord. There I stay'd 1655. Reading till the First-day and then had a Meeting in George Lamboll's Orchard and a great part of the Town came to it A glorious Meeting it was and a great Convincement there was that day and the People were mightily satisfied Thither came Two of Judge Fell's Daughters to me and George Bishop of Bristol came with his Sword by his side for he was a Captain After the Meeting many Baptists and Ranters came privately reasoning and discoursing but the Lord's Power came over them The Ranters pleaded That God made the Devil But I denied it and told them I was come into the Power of God the Seed Christ which was before the Devil was and bruised the Head of him And he became a Devil by going out of Truth and so became a Murderer and a Destroyer So I shewed them That God did not make the Devil for God is a God of Truth and he made all things good and blessed them But God did not bless the Devil And the Devil is bad and was a Liar and a Murderer from the beginning and spoke of himself and not from God And so the Truth stopt them and bound them and came over all the highest Notions in the Nation and Confounded them For by the Power of the Lord God I was manifest and sought to be made manifest to the Spirit of God in all that by it which they vexed and quenched and grieved they might be turned to God as many were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God and were come to sit under his Teaching London After this Meeting at Reading I passed up to London where I stay'd a while and had large Meetings and then went into Essex and came to Cogshall Essex Cogshall And there was a Meeting of about Two Thousand People as it was judged which lasted several hours and a glorious Meeting it was for the Word of Life was freely declared and People were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ their Teacher and their Saviour the Way the Truth and the Life Near Colchester On the sixth day of that Week I had a Meeting near Colchester to which many Professors and the Independent-Teachers came After I had done speaking and was stept down from the place on which I stood One of the Independent-Teachers began to make a Jangling which Amor Stoddart who was with me perceiving he said to me Stand up again George for I was going away and did not at the first hear them But when I heard the Jangling Independent I stood up again and after a while the Lord's Power came over him and his Company and they were confounded and the Lord's Truth went over all And a great Flock of Sheep hath the Lord Jesus Christ in that Country that feed in his Pastures of Life On the First-day following we had a very large Meeting at another place not far from Colchester wherein the Lord's Power was eminently manifested and the People were very well satisfied for they were turned to the Lord Jesus Christ's free Teaching and they received it gladly Many of these People had been of the Stock of the Martyrs As I passed through Colchester I went to visit James Parnel in Prison but the Cruel Gaoler would hardly let us come in or stay with him Very Cruel they were unto him The Gaoler's Wife threatned to have his Blood and in that Jail they did destroy him 1655. Colchest as the Reader may see at large in a Book printed soon after his Death giving an Account of his Life and Death and also in an Epistle printed with his Collected Books and Writings From Colchester I went to Ipswich where we had a little Meeting Ipswich and very rude but the Lord's Power came over them After the Meeting I said If any had a desire to hear further they might come to the Inn And there came-in a Company of Rude Butchers that had abused Friends but the Lord's Power so chained them that they could not do Mischief Then I writ a Paper and gave it forth to the Town warning them of the Day of the Lord that they might Repent of the Evils they lived in and directing them to Christ their Teacher and Way exhorting them to forsake their hireling-Teachers We passed from Ipswich to Mendlesham where Robert Duncon lived Suffolk Mendlesham in Suffolk where we had a large Meeting that was quiet and the Lord's Power was preciously felt amongst us Then we passed to a Meeting at one Captain Lawrence's in Norfolk where it was judged Norfolk were above a Thousand People and all was quiet Many Persons of Note were there and a great Convincement there was for they were turned to Christ their Way and their Teacher and many of them received him and sate down under him their Vine Here we parted with Amor Stoddart and some more Friends who intended to meet us again in Huntingtonshire About the Second Hour in the Morning we took Horse for Norwich Norwich where Christopher Atkins that dirty Man had run out and brought dishonour upon the blessed Truth and Name of the Lord. But he had been judged and denied by Friends and afterwards he gave forth a Paper of Condemnation of his Sin and Evil. So we came to Yarmouth yarmouth and there stayed a while where there was a Friend one Thomas Bond in Prison for the Truth of Christ There we had some Service for the Lord and some were turned to the Lord in that Town From thence we rode to another Town about Twenty Miles off where were many tender People and I was moved of the Lord to speak to the People as I sate upon my Horse in several Places as I passed along We went on to another Town about Five Miles from thence and set up our Horses at an Inn having travelled Five and forty Miles that Day Richard Hubberthorn and I. There were some friendly People in the Town and we had a tender broken Meeting amongst them in the Lord's Power to his Praise We bid the Hostler have our Horses ready by the Third Hour in the Morning for we intended to ride to Lyn about three and Thirty Miles next morning But when we were in Bed at our Inn about the Eleventh Hour at Night came the Constable and Officers with a great Rabble of People into the Inn and said They were come with an Hue and Cry from a Justice of Peace that lived near that Town about five Miles off where I had spoken to the People in the Streets as I rode along to search for two Horsmen that rid upon gray Horses and in gray Cloaths an House