Wither And this sows to the Spirit which is in Prison and of the Spirit reaps Life to you this is the VVord of the Lord God and the other sows to the Flesh and of the Flesh reaps Corruption And this you may see all the World over amongst these Seeds-Men what may be reaped in the Field that is the VVorld Therefore in the Spirit of the Lord God VVait which cuts down and casts out all this the Root and Branches of it So in that wait to receive Power and the Lord God Almighty preserve you in it whereby you may come to feel the Light that comprehends Time and the VVorld and fathoms it which believed in gives you the Victory over the VVorld And here the Power of the Lord is received which subdues all the contrary and puts off the Garments that will stain and pollute With which Light you come to reach the Light in every Man which Christ enlightens every Man that cometh into the world with-all And here the things of Christ come to be known and the Voice of Christ heard Therefore keep in the Light the Covenant of Peace and walk in the Covenant of Life There is that which maketh Merry over the Witness of God and there is that which maketh Merry in the Lord which rejoyceth over that which hath made merry over it of that take notice you who be in the Light Such the Lord doth beautify whose Trust is in his Strength and the Lord doth see such and them that be in his Light But such as be from the Light whose Eyes be after their Abominations and Idols their Eyes are to be blinded and their beautiful Idols and their Abominations to be destroyed and by the Light condemned which they have made from the Life in their own Strength which with the Light is seen and overthrown by the Power of God If you can change my Covenant saith the Lord which keeps the Day in its Season and the Night in its Season mark my Covenant the Light If you can change this then may you change the Covenant of God with his Seed So all Friends that be turned to the Light which cometh from him by whom the VVorld was made who was before it was made Christ Jesus the Saviour of your Souls abide in the Light and you will see your Salvation to be VValls and Bulwarks against that which the Light discovers to be contrary to it Waiting in the Light you will receive the Power of God which is the Gospel of Peace that you may be shod with it And know that in one another which raiseth up the Seed of God and sets it over the VVorld and the Earth and Crucifies the Affections and Lusts and then the Truth comes to reign which is the Girdle G. F. About this time Rice Jones of Nottingham who had been a Baptist and was turned Ranter the same that came to me in Darby-Jail he and his Company began to prophesy against me giving out That I was then at the highest and that after that time I should fall down as fast And he sent a bundle of Railing Papers from Nottingham to Mansfield Clauson and the Towns thereabouts Judging Friends for declaring the Truth in the Markets and in the Steeple-houses which Papers I Answered But his and his Company 's Prophecies came upon themselves for soon after they fell to Pieces and many of his Followers came to be Friends and continued so And through the Lord's blessed Power Truth and Friends have increased and do increase in the increase of God And I by the same Power have been and am preserved and kept in the Everlasting Seed that never fell nor changes But Rice Jones took the Oaths that were put to him and so disobeyed the Command of Christ Many such false Prophets have risen up against me but the Lord hath blasted them and will blast them all who rise against the blessed Seed and me in that My Confidence is in the Lord for whosoever did I saw their End and how the Lord would Confound them before the Lord sent me forth Synder-hill-Green Now was I at Synder-hill-Green where I had had a large Meeting in the day-time and at Night we had a great Meeting again in Thomas Stacy's House for People came from far and could not soon depart The High-Sheriff of the County told Captain Bradford that he intended to have come up with half a dozen of his Troopers to the Meeting but the Lord prevented him and stopt him When I had stayed some Meetings thereabouts Yorkshire Holderness Land'send I traveled up and down in Yorkshire as far as Holderness and to the Lands-End that way visiting Friends and the Churches of Christ which were finely settled under Christ's Teaching At length I came to Captain Bradford's house whither many Ranters came from York to wrangle but they were confounded and stopped Thither came she also who was called the Lady Mountague who was then Convinced and lived and died in the Truth Hallifax Then I came again to Thomas Taylor 's within three Miles of Hallifax where there was a large Meeting of about Two hundred People amongst which were many rude People and divers Butchers several of whom had bound themselves with an Oath before they came out that they would kill me as I was told One of those Butchers had been Accused for killing a Man and a Woman They came in a very rude manner and made a great Disturbance in the Meeting The Meeting being in a Close Thomas Taylor stood up and said unto them If you will be Civil you may stay but if not I charge you to be gone from off my Ground But they were the worse and said They would make it like a Common and they yelled and made such a Noise as if they had been come to a Bear-baiting And they thrust Friends up and down and Friends being peaceable the Lord's Power came over them Several times they thrust me off from the place I stood on by the Crowding of the People together against me but still I was moved of the Lord to stand up again as I was thrust down At last I was moved of the Lord to say unto them If they would discourse of the things of God let them come up to me one by one and if they had any thing to say or to Object I would Answer them all one after another 1654. Near Hallifax at T. B ' s. Then they were all silent and had nothing to say And then the Lord's Power came so over them all and Answered the Witness of God in them that they were bound by the Power of God and a glorious powerful Meeting we had and his Power went over all and the Minds of People were turned by the Spirit of God in them to God and to Christ their Teacher And the powerful Word of Life was largely declared that day and in the Life and Power of God we brake up our Meeting and that Rude
to see the Candle lighted and the House sweeping and swept Then afterward the pure Pearl ariseth and then the Eternal God is exalted The same Light that calls in your minds out of the World that are abroad the same turns them to God the Father of Lights Here in the pure mind is the pure God waited upon for Wisdom from above and the pure God is seen Night and Day and the Eternal Peace of which there is no end enjoied People may have Openings and yet their minds go into the Lusts of the Flesh but there the Affections are not mortified Therefore hearken to that and take heed to that which calls your minds out of the Affections and Lusts of the World to have them renewed The same will turn your minds to God the same Light will set your Affections above and bring you to wait for the pure Wisdom of God from on high that it may be justified in you VVait all in that which calls in your minds and turns them to God Here is the true Cross that mind shall feed upon nothing that is earthly but be kept in the pure Light of God up to God to feed upon the living Food which comes from the living God So the Lord God Almighty be with you all Dear Babes and keep you all in his Strength and Power to his Glory over all the world ye whose minds are called out of it and turned to God to worship the Creator and serve him and not the Creature And the Light of God which calls the mind out of the Creatures and turns it to God brings into a Being of Endless Joy and Peace And here is alway a Seeing God present which is not known to the world whose minds are in the Creatures whose Knowledge is in the Flesh whose minds are not renewed Therefore all Friends the Seed of God mind and dwell in to reign over the Vnjust and the Power of the Lord dwell in to keep you clear in your Understandings that the Seed of God may reign in you all the Seed of God which is but one in all which is Christ in the male and in the female which the Promise is to VVait upon the Lord for the Just to reign over the Vnjust and for the Seed of God to reign over the Seed of the Serpent and be the Head and all that is mortal may die for out of that will rise Presumption So Fare ye well and God Almighty bless and guide and keep you in his VVisdom G. F. About this time Friends that were moved of the Lord to go to the Steeple-houses and Markets to reprove Sin and warn People of the Day of the Lord suffered much hardship from the rude People and also from the Magistrates being commonly pulled down buffeted and beaten and many Times sent to Prison Wherefore I was moved to give forth the following Paper to be spread abroad amongst People to shew them How contrary they acted therein to the Apostles Doctrine and Practice and to bring them to more moderation Thus it was IS it not better for you that have cast into Prison the Servants and Children of the Lord God for speaking as they are moved in Steeple-houses or Markets Is it not better I say for you to Try all things and hold fast that which is good Is it not of more Honour and Credit to prove all things and try all things than to pluck down in the Steeple-houses and pull off the Hair of their Heads and cast them into Prison Is this an Honour to your Truth and Gospel you profess Doth it not shew that ye be out of Truth and are not they that are ready to Instruct the Gainsayers Hath not the Lord said He will pour out of his Spirit upon all Flesh and his Sons and his Daughters shall prophesy and old Men shall dream Dreams and young Men see Visions and on his Hand-maids he will pour forth of his Spirit Was not this Prophecy in Ages past stood against by the Wise learned Men in their own Wisdom and by the Synagogue-Teachers And were not such haled out of the Synagogues and Temple who witnessed the Spirit poured forth upon them Doth not this shew that ye have not received the pourings forth of this Spirit upon you who fill the Gaols with so many Sons and Daughters and hold up such Teachers as are bred up in Learning at Oxford and Cambridge and are made by the Will of Man Doth not this shew that ye that are bred up there and are made Teachers by the Will of Man and do persecute for Prophesying are Strangers to the Spirit that is poured forth upon Sons and Daughters by which Spirit they come to minister to the Spirits that are in Prison The Lord hath a Controversy with you who are found prisonings and persecuting such as the Lord hath poured forth of his Spirit upon Do not all your Fruits shew in all the Nation where ye come in Towns Cities Villages and Countries that ye are the Seeds-men made by the Will of Man who to the Flesh do sow of which nothing but Corruption is reaped in Nations Countries Cities and Villages Ye are looked upon and your Fruits and that which may be gathered is seen by all that be in the Light as they pass through your Countries Towns Cities and Villages that ye are all the Seeds-men that have sown to the Flesh Mark and of this take ye Notice who are of that Birth that is born of the Flesh and so ye sow to your own persecuting him that is born of the Spirit who sows to the Spirit and of the Spirit reaps Life Eternal Such ye who sow to the Flesh cast into Prison Do ye not hale out of the Synagogues and persecute and beat in the Synagogues and knock down Are not these the Works of the Flesh Have not many been almost murdered and smothered in your Synagogues And have not some been haled out of your Synagogues for but looking at the Priest and after cast into Prison Doth not all this make manifest what Spirit ye are of and your Fruits to be of the Flesh What Pleasures and Sports in every Town are to be seen among your Flocks that sow to the flesh and are born of it Whereas the Ministers of the Spirit cried against such as sported in the day-time and such as ate and drank and rose up to play and such as lived wantonly upon Earth in Pleasures and such as lived in fulness of Bread and Idleness such as defile the Flesh such did God overthrow and destroy and set them forth as Examples to all them that after should live Vngodly But are not the Fruits of this reaped in every Town Cannot we from hence see that here is sowing to the flesh Again what Scorning Scoffing Mocking Derision and Strife What Oaths Drunkenness Vncleanness and cursed Speaking What Lust and Pride is seen in the Streets These fruits we see are reaped of the flesh So here we see the
Seeds-man him that sows to this flesh of which nothing but Corruption is reaped as the Countries Towns Cities and Villages make manifest But the Ministers of the Spirit who sow to the Spirit come to reap Life Eternal These discern the other Seeds-man who sows to the flesh and of the flesh reaps Corruption For the Day hath manifested each Seeds-man and what is reaped from each is seen Glory be to the Lord God for ever The Ministers of the Spirit which be born of the Spirit Sons and Daughters which have the Spirit poured forth upon them and witness the promise of God fulfilled in them by the Spirit of God preach and minister to the Spirit in Prison in every one in the sight of God the Father of Spirits God's Hand is turned against you all that have destroyed God's Creatures upon your Lust And God's Hand is turned against you that have wronged by unjust Dealing and defrauded and have oppressed the Poor and have respected the Persons of the Proud such as be in gay Apparel and lend not your Ear to the Cry of the Poor The Lord's Hand and Arm against you all is turned and his righteous Judgment and Justice upon you all will be accomplished and repayed who shall have a Reward every one according to your Works Oh the Abomination and hypocritical Profession that is upon the Earth where God and Christ Faith Hope the holy Spirit and Truth is professed but the fear of God and the Faith that purifies and gives Victory over the World not lived in Doth it not appear that the Wisdom that rules in all those whom the Seeds-man that sows to the flesh sows for and who are born of the Flesh is from below earthly sensual and devillish and their Understanding brutish and their knowledge natural as the brute Beasts For Men and Women in that state have not patience to speak one to the other of the Scriptures without much Corruption and Flesh appearing yet they have a feigned Humility a Will-worship and Righteousness of Self but they own not the Light which lighteth every Man that cometh into the World Christ Jesus the Righteousness of God Which Light being owned Self and the Righteousness of Self comes to be denied Here is the Humility that is contrary to the Light and that is below and feigned Here is the Wisdom that is from below earthly sensual and devillish for People can scarce speak one to another without destroying one another prisoning and persecuting one another when they speak of the Scriptures Now this is the Devillish Wisdom murdering and destroying This is not the Wisdom that is from above which is pure and peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruits Here all may read each Seeds-man which hath each Wisdom He that sows to the Flesh and is born of that hath the wisdom that is earthly sensual and devillish He that sows to the Spirit a Minister of the Spirit hath the Wisdom from above which is pure which is peaceable which is gentle which is easie to be intreated the Wisdom by which all things were made and created Now is each Wisdom discovered and each Seeds-man the Day which is the Light hath discovered them G. F. As the fore-going Paper was sent forth amongst the World's People to let them see from whence their Imprisoning and Persecuting Cruelty and violent Dealing sprang so I was also moved to give forth the following Epistle to Friends to stir them up to be bold and valiant for the Truth and to encourage them in their Sufferings for it ALL Friends and Brethren every where Now is the Day of your Trial and now is the Time for you to be Valiant and to 〈◊〉 that the Testimony of the Lord doth not fall For now is the Day of Exercise of your Gifts of your Patience and of your Faith Now is the Time to be armed with Patience with the Light and with Righteousness and with the Helmet of Salvation And now is the Trial of the Slothful Servant who hides his Talent and will judge Christ hard Now happy are they that can say The Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness thereof and he gives the Increase And therefore who takes it from you Is it not the Lord still that suffers it For the Lord can trie you as he did Job whom he made Rich whom he made Poor and whom he made Rich again who still kept his Integrity in all Conditions So learn Paul's Lesson In all Stateâ— to be content And have his Faith That nothing is able to separate us from the Love of God which we have in Christ Jesus Therefore be Rich in Life and in Grace which will endure ye who are Heirs of Life and born of the Womb of Eternity that Noble Birth that cannot stoop to that that is born in Sin and conceived in Iniquity who are better bred and born whose Religion is from God above all the Religions that are from below and who walk by Faith by that which God hath given you and not by that which Men make who walk by Sight from the Mass-book to the Directory Such are subject to stumble and fall who walk by Sight and not by Faith Therefore mind him that destroys the Original of Sin the Devil and his Works and cuts off the Entail of Satan viz. Sin who would have by Entail an Inheritance of Sin in Men and Women from Generation to Generation and pleads for it by all his Lawyers and Counsellors For though the Law did not cut it off which made nothing perfect yet Christ being come destroys the Devil and his Works and cuts off the Entail of Sin This angers all the Devil's Lawâ—ers and Counsellors that Satan shall not hold Sin by Entail in thy Garden in thy Field in thy Temple thy Tabernacle So keep your Tabernacles that there ye may see the Glory of the Lord appear at the Doors thereof And be faithful for ye see what the Worthies and Valiants of the Lord did attain unto by Faith Enoch by Faith was translated Noah by Faith was preserved over the Waters in his Ark Abraham by Faith forsook his Father's House and Religion and all the Religions of the World Isaac and Jacob by Faith followed his Steps And see how Samuel and other of the Lord's Prophets with David by Faith were preserved to God over God's Enemies And Daniel and the Three Children by Faith escaped the Lions and the Fire and preserved their Worship clean and by it were kept over the Worships of the World And the Apostles by Faith travelled up and down the World and were preserved from all the Religions of the World and hâ—ld forth the pure Religion to the dark World which they had received from above from God for the Way they walked in and the Worship they performed and taught was received from above from God and from Christ Jesus and likewise their Fellowship was received from above which is in the Gospel that is
together in the heavenly places in him And so are clothed with Christ Jesus the Sun who is the Mountain that filleth the whole Earth with his Divine Power and Light And so all his People see him and feel him both by Sea and Land so he is in all places of the Earth felt and seen of all his And Christ Jesus saith to the outward Professors the Jews I am from above ye are from below or beneath ye are of this World to wit that is beneath And so their Religions Worships Ways Teachers Faiths Beliefs and Creeds are made of Men and are below and of this World that changeth like the Moon and ye may see their Religions Ways Worships and Teachers they are all changeable like the Moon but Christ the Sun with which the Church is clothed doth not change nor his Church for they are spiritually minded and their Way Worship and Religion is spiritual from Christ who is from above and not of this World For Christ hath redeemed you from the World and their changeable Rudiments and Elements and old things and their changeable Teachers and from their changeable Faiths and Beliefs For Christ is the Author and Finisher of his Churches Faith who is from above and saith Believe in the Light that ye may become Children of the Light And it is given them not only to believe but to suffer for his Name So this Faith and Belief is above all Faiths and Beliefs which change like the Moon And God's People are an holy Nation a peculiar People a spiritual Houshold and Royal Priesthood offering up spiritual Sacrifice to God by Jesus Christ and are zealous of righteous godly good works and their Zeal is for that which is of God against the Evil which is not of God And Christ took upon him the Seed of Abraham he doth not say the corrupt Seed of the Gentiles So according to the Flesh he was of the holy Seed of Abraham and of David and his holy Body and Blood was an Offering and a Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World as a Lamb without blemish whose Flesh saw no Corruption And so by the one Offering of himself in the New Testament and New Covenant he has put an end to all the Offerings and Sacrifices amongst the Jews in the Old Testament And Christ the holy Seed was crucified dead and buried according to the Flesh and raised again the third day and his Flesh saw no Corruption Though he was crucified in the Flesh yet quickned again by the Spirit and is alive and liveth for evermore and hath all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him and reigneth over all and is the One Mediator betwixt God and Man even the Man Christ Jesus And Christ said He gave his flesh for the life of the World And the Apostle saith His Flesh saw no Corruption So that which saw no Corruption he gave for the life of the corrupt World to bring them out of Corruption And Christ said again He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal life for my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed And he that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him And he that eats not his Flesh and drinks not his Blood which is the life of the Flesh hath not Eternal Life Now as the Apostle saith All died in Adam Then all are dead Now all coming spiritually to eat the Flesh of Christ the second Adam and drink his Blood his Blood and Flesh gives all the Dead in Adam life and quickens them out of their sins and trespasses in which they were dead and so they come to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus and so are living Members of the Church of Christ that he is the Head of and are clothed with the Sun the Sun of Righteousness the Son of God that never changes and have the changeable Moon under their feet and all changeable worldly things and inventions and works of mens hands and do see the People how that they do change from one Worship to another and from one Religion to another and from one Way to another and one Church to another and yet their hearts are not changed And the Letter of Scripture is read by the Christians like the Jews but the Mystery is hid They have the Sheeps-clothing the outside but are inwardly ravened from the Spirit which should bring them into the Lamb's and Sheep's Nature The Scripture saith All the Vncircumcised must go down into the Pit And therefore all must be Circumcised with the Spirit of God which puts off the Body of Death and Sins of the Flesh that came into Man and Woman by their Disobedience and transgressing of God's Commands I say all must be Circumcised with the Spirit which puts off the Body of Death and Sins of the Flesh before they come up into Christ their Rest that never fell and be clothed with him the Sun of Righteousness G. F. Kingston Towards the latter End of this Year I went down to Kingston to visit Friends there and stay'd some time at my Son Rouse's near Kingston While I Was there I writ a Paper concerning the Falling away foretold by the Apostle Paul 2 Thess 2.3 Which Paper was as followeth THE Apostle saith that there must be a Falling away first before the Wicked one and Man of sin the Son of Perdition be Revealed which betrayeth Christ within as the Son of Perdition betrayed Christ without And they that betray Christ within crucifie to themselves Christ afresh and put him to open shame Before the Apostles deceased this Man of Sin and Son of Perdition was revealed for they saw the Antichrist come and false Prophets and false Apostles and Deceivers come having a Form of Godliness but denied the Power thereof They saw the Wolves dressed in the Sheep's Clothing and such as went in Cain's Corah's and Balaam's way and Jezabel's and the Whore of Babylon the Whore of Confusion the Mother of Harlots and such as were Enemies to the Cross of Christ that served not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own Bellies These Christ saw should come and said If it were possible they should deceive the Elect and commanded his Followers not to go after them And the Apostle said Turn away from such and Christ and his Apostles warned the Church of Christ of such And now in this day of Christ and his Gospel after the long Night of Apostacy from the Light and Grace and Truth and Life and Spirit of Christ Jesus the Son of Perdition the wicked One the Man of Sin is revealed again and the inwardly ravening Wolves in Sheeps clothing and the Spirit of Cain Corah Balaam Jezabel the Antichrists false Prophets and false Apostles and such as are Enemies to the Cross of Christ who serve not the Lord Jesus but their own Bellies and crucifie Christ to themselves and put him to open shame This Spirit have we seen in
for and shall be given by the Lord the Righteous Judge to all them that love his Appearance Ages to come and Peoples yet unborn shall call him Blessed and bless the Lord for raising of him up And Blessed shall we also be if we so walk as we had him for an Example for whom this Testimony lives in my Heart He liv'd and died the SERVANT of the LORD T. E. Advertisement FOrasmuch as many other Testimonies from divers Counties and Friends concerning George Fox and his Great Service for the Truth are sent up to London which cannot conveniently be printed with the Journal lest they should swell it too Bigg and many of them being of the same Import Therefore they are reserved for further Consideration to be disposed of as a future Service may be seen in the Wisdom of God for them when Way is made for his Epistles or any of his other Works to be published The Appearance of the Lord 's Everlasting Truth and Breaking forth again in his Eternal Power in this our Day and Age in ENGLAND WHerein the Lord 's mighty Power and Word of Life hath been Richly and Freely preached to the Gathering of many into Reconciliation with God by it to the Exaltation and Glory of the great God through the bringing forth of the Heavenly and Spiritual Fruits from such as have been Gathered by his Eternal Light Power and Spirit unto himself And by the Sowing to the Spirit in the hearts of People Life Eternal hath been Reaped That the Flocks have been Gathered which have the Milk of the Word plenteously That the Riches of the Word have flourished and mightily abounded and God's Heavenly Plow with his Spiritual Men hath gone on chearfully to the Overturning the Fallow Ground of the Hearts that had not borne Heavenly Fruit to God And God's Heavenly Threshers with his Heavenly Flail have with Joy and Delight Thresht out the Chaff and the Corruptions that have been a-Top of God's Seed and Wheat in Man and Woman And thus have they Thresht in Hope and are made Partakers of their Hope through which God's Seed is come into his Garner Oh! the Unutterable Glory and the Unexpressible Excellency of the Everlasting Glorious Truth Gospel and Word of Life that the Infinite Invisible and Wise God who is over all hath Revealed and Manifested And how have the Professors Priests and Powers risen up in Opposition against his Children that are born of the Immortal Seed by the Word of God! And Oh! how great have the Persecutions and Reproaches and Spoiling of Goods been that have been Executed upon them But they that have Touched them and Touches them which are as Dear to God as the Apple of his Eye how hath the Lord Manifested himself to stand by them in Overthrowing Powers Priests and States What Changes have there been since 1644 and 1650 and 1652 How have the Gaols been filled since then in this Nation with the Heirs of Life God's Chosen Ones who had no Helper in the Earth but the Lord and his Christ So that Truth 's Faithful Witnesses were scarcely to be found but in Gaols and Prisons where the Righteous were Numbred among the Transgressors who had neither Staff nor Bag from Man but the Staff the Bread of Life and the Bag that holds the Treasure that waxes not old But the Lord Jesus Christ that sent them forth was their Exceeding great Supporter and Upholder by his Eternal Power and Spirit both then and now G. F. THE PREFACE BEING A SUMMARY ACCOUNT Of the DIVERS Dispensations of God TO MEN FROM The Beginning of the World to That of our present Age by the Ministry and Testimony of his Faithful Servant George Fox as an Introduction to the ensuing Iournal DIVERS have been the Dispensations of God since the Creation of the World unto the Sons of Men But the Great End of all of them has been the Renown of his own Excellent Name in the Creation and Restauration of Man Man the Emblem of himself as a God on Earth and the Glory of all his Works The World began with Innocency All was then good that the good God had made And as he blessed the Works of his hands so their Natures and Harmony magnified him their Creator Then the Morning Stars Sang together for Joy and all parts of his Works said Amen to his Law Not a Jarr in the whole Frame but Man in Paradise the Beasts in the Field the Fowl in the Air the Fish in the Sea the Lights in the Heavens the Fruits of the Earth yea the Air the Earth the Water and Fire Worshipped praised and exalted his Power Wisdom and Goodness O Holy Sabbath O Holy Day to the Lord But this Happy State lasted not long For Man the Crown and Glory of the Whole being tempted to aspire above his place unhappily yielded against Command and Duty as well as Interest and Felicity and so fell below it lost the Divine Image the Wisdom Power and Purity he was made in By which being no longer fit for Paradise he was expelled that Garden of God his proper Dwelling and Residence and was driven out as a poor Vagabond from the presence of the Lord to wander in the Earth the Habitation of Beasts Yet God that made him had pitty on him for He seeing he was deceived and that it was not of Malice or an Original Presumption in him but through the Subtilty of the Serpent that had first fallen from his own State and by the Mediation of the Woman man 's own Nature and Companion whom the Serpent had first deluded in his infinite Goodness and Wisdom found out a way to Repair the Breach Recover the Loss and Restore fallen Man again by a Nobler and more Excellent Adam promised to be born of a Woman that as by means of a Woman the evil one had prevailed upon Man by a Woman also He should come into the World who would prevail against him and bruise his Head and deliver Man from his Power And which in a signal manner by the Dispensation of the Son of God in the Flesh in the fullness of Time was personally and fully accomplished by him and in him as Man's Saviour and Redeemer But his Power was not limitted in the Manifestation of it to that time for both before and since his blessed Manifestation in the Flesh He has been the Light and Life the Rock and Strength of all that ever feared God Present with them in their Temptations followed them in their Travels and Afflictions and supported and carried them through and over the Difficulties that have attended them in their Earthly Pilgrimage By this Abel's heart excelled Cains and Seth obtained the preheminence and Enoch walked with God It was this that strove with the Old World and which they rebelled against and which sanctified and instructed Noah to Salvation But the outward Dispensation that followed the benighted State of Man after his Fall especially among the Patriarcks was generally
forth and spake through the Streets which were so strait and short that one might stand in the Midst of the Town and see both the Gates I followed John ap John and a multitude of People were soon gathered about him amongst whom a very dark Priest began to babble but his Mouth was soon stopped So when John had cleared himself I declared the word of Life amongst the People directing them to the Light of Christ in their Hearts that by it they might see all their own Ways Religions and Teachers and might come off from them all to Christ the true and living Way and the Free Teacher Some of the People were rude but the greater part were civil and told us They had heard how we had been persecuted and abused in many places but they would not do so to us there I commended their Moderation and Sobriety and warned them of the Day of the Lord that was coming upon all Sin and Wickedness testifying unto them that Christ was now come to Teach his People himself by his Spirit and by his Power Beaumorris From hence we went to Beaumorris a Town wherein John ap John had formerly been Preacher to a Congregation After we had put up our Horses at an Inn John went forth and spake through the Street and there being a Garrison in the Town they took him and put him into Prison The Inn-keeper's Wife came and told me That the Governour and Magistrates were sending for me to send me to Prison also I told her They had done more than they could answer already and had acted contrary to Christianity in Imprisoning him for Reproving Sin in their Streets and Gates and for declaring the Truth Soon after came other friendly People and told me If I went out into the Street they would Imprison me also and therefore they desired me to keep within the Inn. Upon this I was moved to go and walk up and down in the Streets and told the People What an uncivil and un-Christian thing they had done in casting my Friend into Prison And they being high Professors I asked them If this was the Entertainment they had for Strangers And if they would willingly be so served themselves And whether they who looked upon the Scriptures to be their Rule had any Example in the Scriptures from Christ or his Apostles for what they had done So after a while they set John ap John at Liberty again Next Day being Market-day we were to cross over a great Water and not far from the place where we were to take Boat many of the Market-People drew to us amongst whom we had good Service for the Lord declaring the word of Life and Everlasting Truth unto them and proclaiming the Day of the Lord amongst them which was coming upon all wickedness and directing them to the Light of Christ which he the heavenly Man had enlightned them withal by which they might see all their sins and all their false Ways Religions Worships and Teachers and by the same Light might see Christ Jesus who was come to save them and lead them to God So after the Lord's Truth had been declared to them in the Power of God and Christ the free Teacher set over all the Hireling-Teachers I bid John ap John get his Horse into the Boat which was then ready But there being a Company of wild Gentlemen as they called them got into it whom we found very rude and far from gentleness they with others kept his Horse out of the Boat So I rode to the Boat's-side and spake to them shewing them What an unmanly and unchristian Carriage it was and told them they shewed an unworthy Spirit below Christianity or Humanity As I spake unto them I leapt my Horse into the Boat amongst them thinking John's Horse would have followed when he had seen mine go in before him but the Water being pretty deep John could not get his Horse into the Boat Wherefore I leapt out again on Horseback into the Water and staid with John on that side till the Boat returned There we tarried from the Eleventh Hour of the Fore-noon to the Second in the Afternoon before the Boat came to fetch us and then had we forty and two Miles to ride that Evening and by that time we had paid for our Passage we had but one groat left between us both in Money We rode about sixteen Miles and then got a little Hay for our Horses and setting forward again we came in the Night to a little Ale-house where we thought to have staid and baited But finding we could have neither Oats nor Hay there we travelled on all Night And about the fifth Hour in the Morning got to a place within six Miles of Rexam Near Rexam where that Day we met with many Friends and had a glorious Meeting and the Lord 's Everlasting Power and Truth was over all and a Meeting is continued there to this day Very weary we were with travelling so hard up and down in Wales and in many places we found it difficult to get meat either for our Horses or Our selves The next Day we passed from thence into Flintshire Flintshire Rexam sounding the Day of the Lord through the Towns and came into Rexam at Night Here many of Floyd's People came to us but very rude wild and airy they were and little Sense of Truth they had Yet some were Convinced in that Town Next Morning one called a Lady sent for me who kept a Preacher in her House I went to her House but found both her and her Preacher very light and airy too light to receive the weighty Things of God In her Lightness she came and asked me If she should cut my Hair But I was moved to reprove her and bid her Cut down the Corruptions in her self with the Sword of the Spirit of God So after I had admonished her to be more grave and sober we passed away and afterwards in her frothy mind she made her Boast That she came behind me and cut off the Curl of my Hair but she spake falsly From Rexam we came through the Country to West-chester West-Chester and it being the Fair-time we stay'd there a while and visited Friends For I had travelled through every County in Wales preaching the Everlasting Gospel of Christ and a brave People there is now which hath received it and sitteth under Christ's Teaching But before I left Wales I writ a Paper to the Magistrates of Beaumorris concerning their Imprisoning of John ap John letting them see their Conditions and the Fruits of their Christianity and of their Teachers And afterwards I met with some of them near London but oh how ashamed they were of their Action From West-chester we came through the Country to Leverpool Liverpool where was at that time a Fair also And as I rode through the Fair there stood a Friend upon the Cross declaring the Truth to the People Who seeing me ride
Hand and threw it on the Table before me to see whether I would speak against it or no I took no notice of it but declared the Truth to her and she was reached There came in many Baptists also who were very rude but the Lord's Power came over them so that they went away confounded Then there came in another sort and one of them said He would dispute with me and for Argument's sake would deny There was a God I told him He was one of those fools that said in his Heart There is no God but he should know him in the Day of his Judgment So he went his way and a fine precious time we had afterward with several People of Account and the Lord's Power came over all William Osburn was with me And Colonel Lidcot's Wife and William Welch's Wife and several of the Officers themselves also that were there were convinced at that Time Now Edward Billing and his Wife were at that time separated and lived apart and she being reached by Truth and become loving to Friends we sent for her Husband and he came and the Lord's Power reached unto them both and they joined together in it and agreed to live together in Love and Unity as Man and Wife After this we went back to Edenborough again where many Thousands of People were gathered together with abundance of Priests among them about burning of a Witch and I was moved to declare the Day of the Lord amongst them Which when I had done I went from thence to our Meeting whither many rude People and Baptists came The Baptists began to vaunt with their Logick and Syllogisms but I was moved in the Lord's Power to thresh their chaffy Edenborough light minds and shewed the People That after that fallacious way of discoursing they might make White seem Black and Black seem White as That because a Cock had two Legs And each of them had two Legs therefore they were all Cocks Thus they might turn any thing into Lightness and Vanity but it was not the Way of Christ or his Apostles to Teach Speak or Reason after that manner Hereupon those Baptists went their way and after they were gone we had a blessed Meeting in the Lord's Power which was over all I mentioned before that many of the Scotch Priests being greatly disturbed at the Spreading of Truth and Loss of their Hearers thereby were gone up to Edenborough to Petition the Council against me Now when I came back from the Meeting to the Inn where I lodged an Officer belonging to the Council came to me and brought me the following Order Thursday the 8th of October 1657. at his Highness's Council in Scotland Ordered THat George Fox do appear before the Council on Tuesday the 13th of October next in the Fore-noon E. Downing Clerk of the Council When he had delivered me the Order he asked me Whether I would Appear or no I did not tell him whether I would or no but asked him If he had not forged the Order He said No it was a real Order from the Council and he was sent as their Messenger with it When the Time came I Appeared and was had up into a great Room where many great Persons came and looked at me After a while the Door-keeper came and had me into the Council-Chamber Edenborough Council and as I was going in he took off my Hat I asked him Why he did so and who was there that I might not go in with my Hat on for I told him I had been before the Protector with my Hat on But he hung up my Hat and had me in before them When I was come in and had stood a while and they said nothing to me I was moved of the Lord to say Peace be amongst you and Wait in the Fear of God that ye may receive his Wisdom from above by which all things were made and created that by it ye may all be Ordered and may Order all things under your Hands to God's Glory After I had done speaking they asked me What was the Occasion of my coming into that Nation I told them I came to visit the Seed of God which had long lain in Bondage under Corruption and the Intent of my Coming was that all in the Nation that did profess the Scriptures the Words of Christ and of the Prophets and Apostles 1657. Scotland Edenborough Council might come to the Light Spirit and Power which they were in who gave them forth that so in and by the Spirit they might understand the Scriptures and know Christ and God aright and have fellowship with them and one with another They asked me Whether I had any outward Business there I said Nay Then they asked me How long I intended to stay in the Country I told them I should say little to that My Time was not to be long yet in my freedom in the Lord I stood in the Will of him that sent me Then they bid me withdraw and the Door-keeper took me by the Hand and led me forth In a little time they sent for me in again and told me I must depart the Nation of Scotland by that day Seven-night I asked them Why What had I done What was my Transgression that they passed such a Sentence upon me to depart out of the Nation They told me They would not dispute with me Then I desired them to hear what I had to say to them but they said They would not hear me I told them Pharaoh heard Moses and Aaron and yet he was an Heathen and no Christian and Herod heard John Baptist and they should not be worse than these But they cried Withdraw withdraw Whereupon the Door-keeper took me again by the Hand and led me out Then I returned to my Inn and continued still in Edenborough visiting Friends there and thereabouts and strengthning them in the Lord. And after a little time I writ a Letter to the Council to lay before them their Vnchristian Dealing in banishing me an innocent Man that sought their Salvation and Eternal Good A Copy of which Letter here followeth directed To the Council of Edenborough YE that sit in Council and bring before your Judgment-seat the Innocent the Just without shewing the least Cause what Evil I have done or convicting me of any Breach of any Law and afterward ye banish me out of your Nation and Country without telling me for what or what Evil I had done though I told you when ye asked me How long I would stay in the Nation That my Time was not long I spake it innocently and yet ye banish me Will not all think ye that fear God judge this to be wickedness Consider did not they sit in Council about Stephen when they stoned him to Death Did not they sit in Council about Peter and John when they haled them out of the Temple and put them out of their Council for a little Season and took Counsel together and then
from men and to receive the Gospel from him and their Vnction from him the Word and as they receive him they declare him freely as his Command was to his Disciples and is so still to the Learners and Receivers of him For he Lord God and his Son Jesus Christ is come to teach his People and to bring them from all the Worlds Ways to Christ the Way the Truth and the Life who is the Way to the Father and from all the Worlds Teachers and Speakers to him the Speaker and Teacher as Hebr. 1.1 and from all the Worlds Worshippers to worship God in the Spirit and in the Truth which the Devil the Destroyer is out of which Worship Christ set up above Sixteen hundred years ago when he put down the Jews Worship at the Temple at Jerusalem and the Worship at the Mountain where Jacob's Well was and to bring People from all the World's Religions which they have made since the Apostles days to the Religion that was set up by Christ and his Apostles which is Pure and Undefiled before God and keeps from the Spots of the World And to bring them out of all the Worlds Churches and Fellowships that they have made and set up since the Apostles days to the Church that is in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Thess 1.1 and to bring to the Unity and Fellowship in the holy Spirit that doth mortifie and circumcise and baptise to plunge down Sin and Corruption that has got up in Man and Woman by Transgression and in this holy Spirit there is a holy Fellowship and Unity yea it is the Bond of the Prince of Princes and King of Kings and Lord of Lords Peace which heavenly Peace all the true Christians are to maintain with Spiritual Weapons not with Carnal And now my Friend the holy Men of God did speak forth the Scriptures as they were moved by the holy Ghost and all Christendom are on heaps about those Scriptures because they are not led by the same holy Ghost as they were that gave forth the Scriptures which holy Ghost they must come to in themselves and be led by if they come into All the Truth of them and to have the Comfort of God and Christ and Them For none can call Jesus Lord but by the holy Ghost and all they that do call Christ Lord without the holy Ghost take his Name in vain And likewise all that name his Name are to depart from Iniquity then they name his Name with Reverence in Truth and Righteousness And O therefore feel the Grace and Truth in thy heart that is come by Jesus Christ which is a Teacher that will teach thee how to live and what to deny and it will establish thy heart and season thy words and bring thy Salvation and will be a Teacher unto thee at all times and by it thou may'st Receive Christ from whence it comes and as many as Receive him to them he gives power not only to stand against sin and evil but to become the Sons of God if Sons then Heirs of a Life and a World and Kingdom that is Everlasting without end and of the Eternal Riches and Treasures thereof So in haste with my Love in the Lord Jesus Christ that has tasted death for every man and bruises the Serpents head that has been betwixt Man and God that through Christ Man may come to God again and so can praise God through Jesus Christ the Amen who is the spiritual and heavenly Rock and Foundation for all God's People to build upon to the praise and glory of God who is over all blessed for Evermore Amsterdam the 7th of 6th Month 1677. George Fox POSTSCRIPT THE Bearer hereof is a Daughter-in-law of mine that comes with Gertrude Dirick Nieson and George Keith's Wife to give thee a Visit G. F. The Princess Elizabeth her Answer to the aforesaid LETTER Dear Friend I Cannot but have a tender Love to those that love the Lord Jesus Christ and to whom it is given not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him Therefore your Letter and your Friends Visit have been both very welcome to me I shall follow their and your Counsel as far as God will afford me Light and Unction Remaining still Hertfort the 30th of August 1677. Your loving Friend ELIZABETH Buyckslote Purmerent Next day John Claus and I took Boat and passed to Buyckslote and thence to Purmerent where having stayed awhile and refreshed our selves at an Inn we went by Wagon through the Country to Alcmaer Alcmaer about Thirty Miles from Amsterdam We went to a Friend's house there whose name was Willem Willems where I had a Meeting that night I had also another Meeting there next day which was larger for several Professors came to the Meeting and all was quiet and well When the Meeting was done I went and visited some Friends and then taking Boat Hoorn North-Holland passed-by several places to Hoorn which is counted the chief City in North-Holland We lodged at an Inn there that night and taking Wagon again early next Morning we passed through the Country to Enckhuysen Enckhuysen Friezland Workum where we took Ship for Friezland and landing in the Afternoon at Workum took Wagon there again and rode along upon the high Bank of the Friezen Seas till we met Two Friends coming with a Wagon to meet us Mackum with whom discharging our Wagon at Mackum a Village hard by we went Harlingen in their Wagon to Harlingen the chief Sea-port-Town in Friezland We went to a Friend's house whose Name was Hessel Jacobs whither several Friends came to Visit us that night Next day we went among the Friends of the place and Visited them and I wrote a Paper directed To all them that persecute Friends for not observing their Fast-day The day following was the First-day of the Week and Friends had a Meeting there to which we went and many Professors came to it I declared the Everlasting Gospel amongst them John Claus interpreting and they were all very Civil and heard attentively and when the Meeting was done departed peaceably without making any Opposition After Meeting I went to Hessel Jacobs his house again whither after a while came a Calvinist to ask me some Questions which I answered to his satisfaction and he departed friendly Soon after he was gone a Preacher of the Collegians came to discourse with me 1677. Harlingen and he seemed well satisfied also and we parted lovingly That Evening I had another Meeting with the Friends there and next Morning when we had taken our Leave of them we passed to Leuwarden the chief City in Friezland Leuwarden and lodged that night at a Friend's house there whose Name was Sybrand Dowes Next Morning early taking Boat we passed to Dockum Dockum Strobus and walking through the City took Boat again to Strobus which is the utmost part of Friezland There we baited at a
house shall be established in the top of the Mountains and shall be exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it Isa 2.2 Is not that a great House Now is not this Mountain Christ who is over his House in the New Testament and New Covenant And to this Mountain and House all the Children of the New Testament and New Covenant slow in these latter days so that it is come to pass which was prophesied of by Isaiah For he said Many People shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And he shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many People and they shall beat their Swords into Plon-shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks Nation shall not lift up Sword against Nation neither shall they learn War any more O house of Jacob come ye and let us walk in the Light of the Lord ver 3 4 5. Here ye may see They that come to the Mountain of the house of God and to God's Teaching they must walk in the Light of the Lord yea the House of Jacob. Jacob signifies a Supplanter he supplanted profane Esau who is hated and Jacob is loved Now these Two Births must be known within And they that walk in the Light of the Lord and come to Christ the Mountain of the house of the Lord established above all Mountains and Hills they break their Swords into Plow-shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks and in Christ this Mountain and House of the Lord there are no Spears nor Swords to hurt one another withal And Christ the Son of God is over his House and great Family the Children of the Light them that believe in it and walk in it who are the Children of the Day of Christ and are of his Holy and Royal Priesthood that offer up spiritual Sacrifice to God by him All such are of Christ's the spiritual Man's house who are born of God and led by his Spirit They are of the Lord of Lords and King of King's House and Family which he is over and are of the Houshold of the holy divine pure and precious Faith which Christ is the Author and Finisher of And they that be of the Son's house they are pure righteous and holy and can do nothing against the Truth but for it in their Words Lives and Conversations and so are a chosen Generation a holy Nation a peculiar People that they should shew forth the Praise of him who hath called them out of Darkness into his marvellous Light And these are Christ's lively Stones that build up a spiritual House which he Christ the spiritual Man the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is over London the 10th Month 1688. G. F. 1688. Essex Gooses Sometime after this my Body continuing Weak I went down with my Son Mead to his House in Essex where I staid some Weeks In which time I Writ many things relating to the Service of Truth of which some were printed soon after others were spread abroad in Manuscript And amongst other things ' there were a few Lines to this purpose THat while Men are contending for Thrones here below Christ is on his Throne and all his holy Angels are about him who is the Beginning and the Ending the First and Last over all And that the Lord will make way and room for himself and for them that are born of his Spirit which are heavenly Jerusalem's Children to come home to their free Mother A few Words also I writ concerning the World's Teachers and the Emptiness of their Teaching Which were thus DOth not all that which is called Christendom live in Talking of Christ's and of the Apostles and Prophets Words and the Letter of the Scriptures And do not their Priests minister the Letter with their own Conceptions thereupon to them for Money though the holy Scriptures were freely given forth from God and Christ and his Prophets and Apostles Yet the Apostle saith The Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life 2 Cor. 3.6 And the Ministers of the New Testament are not Ministers of the Letter but of the Spirit And they do sow to the Spirit and of the Spirit do reap Life Eternal But Peoples spending their time about Old Authors and their Talking of them and of the outward Letter this doth not feed their Souls For Talking of Victuals and Cloaths doth not clothe the Body nor feed it except they have Victuals to eat and Cloaths to put on No more are their Souls and Spirits fed and clothed except they have the Bread and Water of Life from Heaven to feed them and the Righteousness of Christ to clothe them So only Talking of Outward things and Spiritual things and not Having them they may starve both their Bodies and their Souls Therefore quench not the Spirit of God which will lead to be diligent in all things With this I writ another short Paper shewing the hurt that they did and the danger they run into who turned People from the inward Manifestation of Christ in the heart THE Jews were commanded by the Law of God Not to remove the outward Land-mark Deut. 19.14 And they that did so or that caused the Blind to wander were Cursed in the Old Covenant Deut. 27.17 In the New Covenant the Apostle saith Let him be Accursed that preacheth any other Gospel than that which he had preached Gal. 1.8 Now the Gospel that he preached was The Power of God unto Salvation 1688. Gooses to every one that believeth Rom. 1.16 And the Gospel that was preached to Abraham was That in his Seed all Nations and all the Families of the Earth should be blessed And in order to bring Men to this blessed state God poureth out of his Spirit upon all Flesh and Christ doth enlighten every one that cometh into the World and the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men and teacheth the Christians the true Believers in Christ and God doth write his Law in the true Christians hearts and putteth it in their minds that they may all know the Lord from the greatest to the least and he giveth his Word in their hearts to obey and do and the Anointing within them so that they need not any Man to Teach them but as the Anointing doth Teach them Now all such as turn People from the Light Spirit Grace Word and Anointing within remove them from their heavenly Land-mark of their Eternal Inheritance and make them blind and cause the Blind to wander from the living way to their Eternal House in the Heavens and from New and Heavenly Jerusalem So they are Cursed that cause the Blind to wander out of their way and to remove them from their heavenly Land-mark G. F. I writ also a
who is set on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens in his New Testament and New Covenant is a Minister of the Sanctuary and true Tabernacle which the Lord hath pitcht and not Man And therefore all the Lambs and Sheep of Christ must feel this holy Minister in their Temple and Sanctuary who ministers spiritual holy and heavenly things to them in their Sanctuary and Tabernacle For all the Tabernacles and Sanctuaries that are built or pitcht by Man Men make Ministers for them and such Ministers are of Men and by Men with their worldly Sanctuaries and Tabernacles of Mens pitching by Mens hands And now all Dear Friends and Brethren every where that are the Flock of Christ Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us Therefore let us all keep this heavenly Feast of our Passover in his New Testament and Covenant not with Old Leaven neither of Malice nor Wickedness but let all that be purged out with the sour old leavened Bread that all may become a new Lump and so keep this heavenly Feast of Christ our heavenly Passover with the unleavened Bread mark with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth My desires are that all the Flock of Christ every where may keep this heavenly Feast of Christ our heavenly Passover with his heavenly unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth Amen G. F. I stay'd in Town between Three Weeks and a Month after the Yearly-Meeting was over and then went into the Country first to Tottenham-High-Cross Tottenham-High-Cross Ford-green Enfield where was a Meeting on the First-day of the Week which I was at and then went to Edward Man's House at Ford-Green near Winchmore-Hill and on the First-day following went from thence to the Meeting at Enfield where the Lord gave me many precious Openings to declare to the People Afterwards moving to and fro amongst Friends thereabouts I visited the Meetings at Chess-hunt Chess-hunt Waltham-Abbey Enfield Tottenham Winchmore-hill Hartford Waltham-Abbey Enfield Tottenham and Winchmore-hill frequently the Lord being with me and opening many deep and weighty Truths divine and heavenly Mysteries to his People through me to their great Refreshment and my Joy After some time I went to Hartford to visit the Friends there and was at their Meeting on a First-day And having something more particular upon me to the Ancient Friends of that place I had a Meeting with some of them the next day and imparted to them what the Lord had given me for them Ware Then passing thence to Ware I made a little stay amongst Friends there and was at their Meeting After which returning Edmunton Tottenham London amongst Friends about Edmunton-side and Tottenham and taking Meetings as I went I came back to London in the end of the Seventh Month. I remained now at London 1690. London till the beginning of the Ninth Month being continually exercised in the Work of the Lord either in Publick Meetings opening the Way of Truth to People and building up and establishing Friends therein or in other Services relating to the Church of God For the Parliament now sitting and having a Bill before them concerning Oaths and another concerning Clandestine Marriages several Friends did attend the House to see to get those Bills so worded that they might not be hurtful to Friends In this Service I also assisted attending on the Parliament and discoursing the Matter with several of the Members Having stay'd more than a Month in London and much spent my self in these Services I went out of Town to Tottenham Tottenham Ford-Green and sometime after to Ford-Green near London at which Places I continued several Weeks visiting Friends Meetings round about there at Tottenham Enfield and Winchmore-Hill Tottenham Enfield Winchmore-hill In this time several things came upon me to Write whereof One was an Epistle to Friends in the Ministry and was as followeth ALL Friends in the Ministry every where Ford-Green to whom God hath given a Gift of the Ministry and who use to Travel up and down in the Gift of the Ministry Do not hide your Talent nor put your Light under a Bushel Nor Cumber your selves nor entangle your selves with the Affairs of this World For the natural Soldiers are not to Cumber themselves with the World much less the Soldiers of Christ who are not of this World but are to mind the Riches and Glory of the World that is Everlasting And therefore stir up the Gift of God in you and Improve it and do not sit down Demas-like and embrace this present World that will have an end lest ye become Idolaters But be valiant for God's Truth upon the Earth and spread it abroad in the Day-light of Christ you who have sought the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof and have received it and preached it which stands in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost As Able Ministers of the Spirit sow to the Spirit that of the Spirit ye may reap Life Everlasting And go on in the Spirit plowing with it in the purifying Hope and threshing with the Power and Spirit of God the Wheat out of the Chaff of Corruption in the same Hope For he that looks back from the spiritual Plow into the World is not fit for the Spiritual and Everlasting Kingdom of God and then he is not like to press into it as the Faithful do Therefore you that are awakened and are come to Righteousness and to the Knowledge of the Truth keep your selves awakened in it then the Enemy cannot sow his Tares in your Field for Truth and Righteousness is over him and before he was So my desires are that all may fulfil their Ministry that the Lord Jesus Christ hath committed to them and then by the Blood or Life and Testimony of Jesus you will overcome the Enemy that opposes it within and without And all you that do preach the Truth do it as it is in Jesus in Love And all that are Believers in Jesus 1690. Ford-Green and receivers of him he gives them Power to become the Sons of God and so Joint-heirs with Christ whom he calleth Brethren and he gives them the Water of Life which shall be a Well in them springing as a River up to Eternal Life that they may water the spiritual Plants of the living God So that all may be spiritual Planters and spiritual Waterers and may see with the spiritual Eye the Everlasting Eternal God over all to give the Increase who is the Infinite Fountain So my desires are that you may be kept our of all the beggarly Elements of the World which is below the spiritual Region to Christ the Head and may hold him who bruiseth the Head of Enmity and was before it was So that ye may all be united together in love in your Head Christ and be ordered by his heavenly gentle peaceable Wisdom to the Glory of God For all that be in Christ are in love peace