the dead dwell in you be that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodyes by his spirit that dwelleth in you Ver. 11. and Ver. 9. If any man hath not the spirit of Christ he is none of his And again If Christ be not in you then are you reprobates 2 Cor. 13.5 By all which places it is most evident That Christ is the light of man and that he lighteth every man that cometh into the World of what Countrey or Nation soever and none can deny this unless he will unman himself and say he is not of the race and generation of manking So then it is clearly demonstrated to him that can read the Scriptures That Christ is the Saints Guide and that he is their hope of glory in them And thou that deniest Christ in man to be his Guide thou art either a reprobate or no man For Friend this is my Testimony for the Lord and it is the Testimony of thousands at this day blessed for ever be his Name That Christ within is man's true Guide and also man's true Light to walk by and that in him is life and the life is the light of men and that this light shineth in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it read 1 Ioh. 4.5 Yet now if any shall say he is in the light and hateth his Brother he is in darkness and knoweth not whether he goeth To thee then who art a hater of thy Brother assure thy self that thou art none of the Children of Light not have I any thing to say to thee but this Thou art condemned already as well by the Light within thee as by the children of Light without thee For God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him 1 Joh. 4.16 But to the poor soul who is ignorant of his true Guide and is willing to follow him if he knew where to find him my counsel to him is this Look at home for thy Saviour is near unto thee and blessed art thou if thou canst believe it and obey him To thee I say that art seeking thy Saviour with all thy heart and art restless till thou find him Know for thy comfort that he is near to thee and to every one that is of an upright heart and is even in thy heart and in thy mouth Rom. 10.8 Seek him not then at a distance from thee or in any outward thing for he that justifies thee is near unto thee and if ever thou find him in truth thou wilt say as Iacob did That he was in this place and thou knewest is not Wouldst thou have thy Saviour and thy Guide to lead thee by his un-erring and infallible spirit Then cease from man whose breath is in his Nostrils and turn to the living God with whom onely the Well-springs of life are to be found Salvation is not to be had from the Hills nor from the Mountains neither from this divided judgement or that but from Jesus alone who is in his Saints the hope of glory and is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that believe I say The Tabernacle of God is with men and though he be the High and Holy one that inhabiteth Eternity yet is his dwelling also with him that is of a lowly heart and trembleth at his Word The spirit of Christ in man is the true Guide all others are false ones his Light in man is the true light al others are false ones Oh be not so willingly blind as not to see it nor so wilfully ignorant as not to know it He it is that condemneth sin in the flesh and reproves man for a vain thought or wanton look when nothing without him can Turn in the eye of thy mind than and hearken to his checks and daily reproofs in thee Knowest thou not that the state of reprobation belongs to him that hath not Christ in him Friend thy Saviour is within thee and if ever thou know him aright it must be there for there O there it is that thee and I have crucified him that is Lord of life and this is that Jesus whom the Jews crucified at Jerusalem but is now crucified by the false Christians within them and by them put again to an open shame as their Streets Market-places Cities Towns and Villages do declare by stocking mocking stoning cruel whipping long imprisoning and persecuting unto death his Members But now is come and is coming a day of tryal upon all prosessions whatsoever and all professors must now be tryed whether their faith be true or feigned none must escape the siery tryal but the judgement of the Lord will pass upon all high and low great and small poor or rich airy notions as well as carnal Ordinances which all perish with the using and now seen thorough in this day of light for the Sun which hath long sate in a Cloud is arisen to discover the inward subtilty and hypocrisie as well as the outward superstition and idolatry of all hearts Bring thy Works then to the light of Christ Jesus in thy own conscience that so they may be manifest whether they are wrought in God or nou for he that hideth his sin shall not prosper And thou who art a sinner and believest that thou canst not be freed from them because the blind guides have told thee so there is little ground for thee to hope for mercy for the sinner cannot stand before the Lord nor the wicked in the Congregation of the righteous nor can any unclean thing enter into Heaven Know thou that it is sin that crucifies thy Saviour who though he bear with patience the sinners burthen for a time being pressed therewith as a Cart with sheaves yet thou wilt one day find he will cast off the heavy burthen upon the sinners own back which when the Lord hath done striving with him will be too unsupportable for him to bear Oh that no poor soul would suffer himself to be mislead and deceived by blind Guides in a matter of so great concernment as the everlasting salvation or damnation of their immortal souls for the Light of Christ Jesus hath appeared unto thousands and discovered their Egyptian darkness and false Doctrine and can prove them to be such builders as reject the Corner-stone and declare lyes in the Name of the Lord And for which appearance of Christ in his Saints glory be given to the Father to the Son through the blessed Spirit for evermore Christ Jesus is to be known within by all who will approve themselves no reprobates and so to be within them as to live his life of meekness of patience of long-sufferance of mercy and compassion of goodnese of gentleness of wisdom and godly fear of self-denial of perseverance of faith of hope of love and whatsoever else are the fruits of his spirit and presence in us Friends 'T is not a Christ without that will save you but the same Christ which dyed
a blessing enjoy the good and live for evermore Thine for the Truths sake THO. FORSTER THE CONTENTS 1. THat God is now known by his Name Light as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that God's First dayes work in the dark Soul of Man is the creating of Light 2. That man true Guide is within him Or the Light of Christ in Man is the true guide of the Soul 3. A word of Reproof to all that say The Light of Christ in man is natural carnal or an insufficient Guide 4. A word to all that say Revelation is ceased and that the Saints must not expect such glorious manifestations now as were in the primitive times With a few Queries for the enlightning the blind Eyes of such as say That No man hath the infallible Spirit now 5. Counsel to him that feels the wright of sin and groans for deliverance but yet complains for mans of power 6. A word of Hope for the Persecuting Magistrate if his day of Grace be not already past also some it is 7. A view of false Doctrine and a Reproof to false Teachers who beast that they have the Original and yet are ignorant of the Word of Life and quickning Spirit within 8. Direction for all those that wait for the coming of their Saviour and how they may know him when he appears 9. Encouragement to the weary Traveller whose journey is towards Canaan To follow the Light and Lamb of God to the Holy Land of Rest But not to go before it 10. A Word touching the Resurrection and who they are that are risen with Christ and shall reign with him And by whom 〈◊〉 is seen in his spiritual appearance and where A GUIDE TO THE BLIND Pointed to That God is now known by his Name LIGHT as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that Gods first dayes work in the dark Soul or little world of Man is creating of Light THE Message which the beloved Disciple of Christ hath declared to the Saints is this That God is â—â—ght and that in him is no darknesse 1 Joh. 1.5 This also is my Message unto thee God is Light and whatsoever is to be known of him is manifest in man Rom. 1.19 To thee then who art still in the dark and knowest not this truth or if thou knowest it obeyest it not to wit the Light within Thou I say art not yet come to the first dayes work of God in the dark Chaos of thy own heart for the same way doth the Lord proceed with his creature Man in the creation of him to good works as he did with the whole Universe to wit First bring him out of darkness into his marvelous light God when he made the World created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without form and darkness was upon the face of the deep And in this state is man in his first Creation through the fall without form and darkness is upon him But when the Spirit of God moved upon the Waters and said Let there be Light there was light and the Light he called Day and the Darkness he called Night and the Evening and the Morning were the first Day Now consider Friends all you who disown the Light calling it natural carnal darkness and insufficient to guide you What do you judge of your present state and condition Are you not like the Chaos And is not your little World without form and void And is not darkness upon the face of your deep imaginations until the spirit of God move upon your Waters of instability and his Light spring forth in your understandings from his holy Spirit Oh that you who reject the Light would consider this that you are so far from rest that you are not yet come to the first dayes work of God in your own hearts How can you say as the Disciples and followers of Christ do That it is God that worketh all his works in you and for you How can you number your selves amongst the children of Light when you refuse the Light to work in you and rebel against it Have you not read in the holy Scriptures That Christ did not work many miracles in his own Countrey because of the peoples unbelief there I do not say he could not work them but this I affirm The Lord compels none to serve him in the dark but when he hath enlightened man with his own Light with which he enlighteneth every man that cometh into the World man is at his choice whether he will follow and obey the light yea or no I say the Lord doth not force the Will of man to obedience but woes him and beseecheth him to be reconciled knowing the great misery which will justly and inevitably follow the rebellious and disobedient soul Oh! that I could perswade all men to obedience that so they may eat of the Tree of Life which by transgression man is falne from and which he cannot touch lest he dye And now let none say that he is not enlightened or that he wants power upon the penalty of condemnation for ever for the Lord requires nothing of man but what he hath given him full power to do all power in heaven and in earth being in the Son and this Son of power is freely offered to every man that will receive him For God so loved the world that he gave his own Son to dye for lost man that he might live I say he is freely given a light to the Gentiles and a Guide to them as well as a Glory to his people Israel and none are excluded who are willing to come unto him And thou that deniest the Light Whose workmanship art thou And whose Works are wrought in thee Are they not Works of darkness and thou the son of perdition Oh! suffer not the Devil any longer to delude thee by his evil Instruments and to work his works in thee but endeavour thou to be made light in the Lord for thou wert not made to serve the Devil but to be a Temple for Gods holy Spirit to dwell in Mans true Guide is within him Or The Light of Christ in Man is the true Guide of the Soul PAUL that eminent Apostle of Christ and Son of the Light hath declared That whatsoever is to be known of God is manifest in man as is said already Rom. 1.19 Let none then say Lo here or lo there but if they should hear what our Saviour Christ faith Go not after them nor follow them for the kingdom of God is within you Luke 17.21 Now if the Kingdom be within then of necessity must mans guide be there also That Christ is the Light and Guide of man see Joh. 1.9 Joh. 14.6 and that he is in his Saints read Col. 1.27 And in Rom. 8.10 the Apostle saith If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin and again If the spirit of him that raised up Iesus from
head with Notions and comprehending of Mysteries which were very pleasant and delightful unto me Thus I wandred up and down from one tree of knowledge to another and in many a by-path I trod seeking for rest but found none and though the Spirit of innocency often cryed in me Return return and come into the narrow-way which leads to life yet I flattered my self that I had been there already and that I was now come to the Borders of Canaan one while conceiving my self there and set down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom but by and by a branch from the old Root would arise in me and break forth into passion rash and hasty words and overturn all my Confidence again and give me to understand I was not in that Kingdom for that there was nothing of Pride or Passion self-conceit or vain laughter or foolish and idle talking and jeasting but giving of thanks and rejoycing in the Lord continually and that they who were in that kingdom were led by the Spirit lived in the Spirit and walked in the Spirit and were at rest in the Lord injoying the fellow ship and society of just mens Spirits Now that I was not here I was clearly convinced often and instead of enjoying this state I had the other set before me as my Condition and the Lord let me see how my poor Soul was be-wildred And then after 14 years wandring up and down I began to see and find my way out and not till then Then I saw my self at a loss and in the dark and was made to confess That if I had perished in the Wilderness yet the Lord was righteous in my destruction because that when he would have led me by the gentle motions of his Spirit and Light in me yet I Refused it and went forth to men chusing the tree of Knowledge and neglecting the tree of Life for my â—ood But blessed be the God of Israel who is not a barren wilderness to those that seek him in truth and singleness of heart He shewed unto me the way that I should walk in to wit The strait and narrow â—ath which leads to Canaan and that by a foolish people in the Worlds esteem was I directed the way to eternal life But after I was perswaded of the way to life and convinced of the truth as it is in Jesus and after the seed of the Kingdom began to stir in my earthly tabernacle and to take root to my heart then the Enemy came in the form of an Angel and set me on a suddain upon the Pinacle of the Temple where I was made to beleeve I saw over all the Children of truth and was ready to sit down there also But after the Lord in his rich Mercy had let me see my danger and how I had been misled by the Angel of false Light He directed me to the low valley there to abide and assured me that if I would be a true Disciple of Christ indeed I must take up the Cross daily and follow him and be obedient to his Light in my Conscience which convinceth of the most secret sin And now that I may bring in my Testimony to the truth which was once delivered to the Saints and which now is again made known to the Children of the most High and That I may set to my Seal to the Doctrine of the Cross I here Declare to all the Sects up on earth and to all people high and low Professor or Prophane That the despised people whom the scorners of this age call QVAKERS are the true Disciples of Christ Jesus viz. Such amongst them as are faithful followers of the Lamb and obedient Children of the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world By them is the Everlasting Gospel preached again to the Sons and Daughters of men and blessed are all those that hear and obey the sound thereof The glad tydings of Salvation I say is preached by them and whosoever he be that shall bring any other Gospel is disowned by all the true Disciples of Jesus and Sons of the Light They are the Sheep of Christ and amongst them is the true Shepherd of Israel known and he goes in and out before them To them and in them hath the Light of the world appeared and the life of men communicated himself and I must say I sate in darkness till I heard them These are they who having past through all forms are come into the power and are knit together into one body whereof Christ Jesus is head These are they who take up their daily Cross and follow him These are they who pass through great tribulation and through many and fiery tryals These are they who are the true Worshippers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth and love not their lives unto death These are they who are Redeemed from the Earth though upon it These are they that are come to Mount Sion and to the City of the living God and to the innumera 〈…〉 of Angels and to the Spirits of just and 〈…〉 and to the General Assembly of the fir 〈…〉 se Names are written in Heaven These are 〈…〉 who are Sons of God and are led by the infallible spirit into all truth These are they who are joint-Heirs with Christ whose fellowship is with the Father and the Son in the Spirit and they shall Reign with him for ever and ever Glory be to his Name for evermore Friend by these I say was I directed to obey the light in my Conscience which convinceth of sin when nothing else can and to which they direct all men who are in the dark to follow In so doing was I brought out of darkness into his marvelous Light Glory be to the Light and to the Laâ—â— for evermore Thus I have given thee a short account of my journey so far and now can boldly say with David My hearts is fixed my heart is fixed and I have nought to do now but to give thanks and to follow the Lamb of God whithersoever he goes And now Friend let me ask thee Is the Lord the desire of thy soul And dost thou pant and breath after him as the Hart doth after the Water-brooks Is truth in the inward parts the thing thou would have And art thou indeed and in truth a true seeker of the Kingdom and restless till thou findst it Then let me advise thee Seeke the Lord where he may be found to wit in thy own heart for that it his Temple and there will he dwell if thou be upright I say the tabernacle of the Lord is with men and there only will he be found Scourge then out those Buyers and Sellers that dwell there suffer not the House of God to be a den for Thieves and Robbers to reside in for whilest thou givest entertainment unto them the Lord will not make his abode with thee Put therefore the evil thing out of thy Camp that so thou mayest receive