borrow Words or a Profession but to have a right to them and be made one with them by the same Spirit of Jesus Christ the Lord of all our Mercies and as in him they lived moved and had their being who gave them forth he is so to the faithful this day and what I have heard and seen I declare that he is the true God And the Poor in Spirit receive the Kingdom of Heaven and see a nothingness and emptiness in themselves without a dayly supply from him and they are led and made to understand the Mystery of Election and Reprobation as in the two Seeds and Births the one elect and blessed of God before the World was if the mind of Man joyns to Christ who is God's Elect Isa 42. they are saved by him and Works out their Salvation with Fear and Trembling and this is the Elect and Corner-Stone Christ Jesus whom soever Builds thereon The Gates of Hell shall not prevail and will over turn overturn till he come whose right is to Reign and as unto this Elect and Precious Seed we Unite we are therein and thereby blesed of God this is not of our selves but the free Gift given of God by which we make our Calling and Election sure and in this we have learn'd to know the Reprobated and the Enemy of all Mankind that leads the mind from God into the Lust of the Eye the lust of the Flesh and the Pride of Life and all other Evils which if joined unto the Evil conceived in the mind brings Death and separates Man from God his Maker and here the strong Man keeps the House and by his Temptations therein prevails on Man to eat the forbidden Fruit by which he breaks the Law of God and falls under Condemnation from which State there is no coming nor the Figg-leaf Garment nor nothing without will cover but a turning to the blessed Appearance and Gift of God in the Soul and there find the Mystery Christ within the Hope of Glory who hath many Names and his Kingdom is compared to a little Leaven the lost Groat a grain of Mustard Seed and many other Parables and it is vailed from Man who is in the first nature of the Earth Earthly but revealed in the second Man who is the Lord from Heaven which gives us to know the first Man Adam a living Soul and the last Man Adam a quickning Spirit by which unless we be Born again of the true incorruptible Seed which enlightens us we cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven nor the Glory thereof which Man in the first Nature have strove to know but we must receive that knowledge by the ingrafted Word of God not in our will and time these things God gives as to know but being acquainted with his Mercies and the Temptations of the evil One as we may read and learn of Christ who left us an example as all true Travellers shall find in themselves him near in their best performances as I have seen and do see his approach and when I have heard or seen any on the high Mountains in their Imaginations who pretend they see all the World and their selves in conceit above all for which I have been grieved as well-knowing the danger of that State and willing I was to have advised them but knowing they was so highly set up in themselves my voice could not reach them calling that God which is not God taking the Name of the Lord God in Vain for which he will not hold them guiltless some of them having blown a loud Trumpet Jehu like saying Come and see my Zeal for the Lord of Hosts which I have been grieved to see in some both Men and Women and have lived to see divers fall which I well knew as they stood could not hold out to the end and many of Martha's Spirit I have seen and now do which runs and serves and cumbers themselves with striving to utter Words and have got the true Notion in their Heads but the true Seed hath not taken root downwards and those are they which are stumbling-Blocks who have been by some encouraged as I might have been but the Lord my God kept me out of that Temptation and many others not loving Hypocricy nor a feigned imitation whereby I might deceive others in what I was not truly to God who called me to take up the Cross to that which my Heart loved whether they were Idols of Silver or Gold or other things tho' useful yet if over-valued they fill the Heart of which there must be an emptying to make room for the Heavenly Jesus under whose Reign Israel shall safely possess their Souls in Peace and have the new Name given them and the White Stone which none knows nor can believe but those that have it and those are they that are come through great Tribulations and are washed with the Blood of the Lamb and all those of this Faith I dearly salute as being Children of one Father whose Voice I know from the Voice of a Stranger and I thank God who hath raised up the Poor in Spirit all that are therein gathered will out-last all other Notions and the Lord give Wisdom to them that have not as yet thereto attained to know the true Ministration and the right Season when they should and when they should not which in some hath been lacking which causes the weak to stumble and keeps out more than it brings in Thus have I given a short but true Account as I have passed through the Wilderness of this World and have seen many fall on the Right Hand and on the Left where also I might but have had for my preservation the cloud over me by day to keep me low that I might not be exalted neither by Visions Sights nor Revelations many have been hurt thereby and cast that on others which concerned themselves And as the cloud stood over me it kept me low from self-exaltation to know my self nothing but what I received from the God of all my Mercies and as I see the Cloud by day I also see the Pillar of Fire by Night which caused me to stand still and see the Salvation of God and the bright appearance of his Glory I am sorry for some that are backsliden and may say to them what have you or your Fathers found in the God of Jacob that you should depart from him But let all the strong will'd know little David who trusts not in Bow nor Sword but in the living God he by his Sling and smooth Stone shall hit the Head of those that defies the Armies of Israel's God And to all you workers of Iniquity who have charged us that we deny Christ Jesus come in the Flesh the Holy Scriptures and the Resurrection and say we are Heathens and Hereticks all which we know to be false and can appeal to God in the integrity of our Hearts therein and with him we can with Joy leave our Cause as well-knowing he
Blind As for rehearsal of all those former sailings therein contained if they were true yet rightly considered and impartially weighed may say since those Divisions a great manifestation there hath been of such Spirits to whom those names may deservedly be attributed tho' for many Years I have been counted a Dissenter Yet I nor many more never took pleasure to lay the Nakedness of any open but rather to cover for his Names sake who hath kept us in his Truth by which we have been preserved I have seen I have seen an Enemy enter the House and hath not been discover'd till they come into the Cool out of the Hurry and Noise and hear the call of the still Voice and herein my Soul with many other of my Christian Friends have been Blessed and by this we are led to Unite and to be truly reconciled in that Spirit by that Heavenly Jesus that true Reconciler of Man to his Maker And of this from thy true Friend be assured it was not from the Spirit of Hypocrisie Policy or any carnal or selfish End no no our House is not Built on that Sandy Foundation but on Christ Jesus that Rock of Ages which leads his in the way of Everlasting Peace which Peace cannot be declared but as it is felt of which Peace hath my Soul tasted largely and can say truly since into this happy state the Lord hath brought me I have experienced more of that Heavenly Joy and Everlasting Peace than ever I knew before but I thank the Lord who gave me a share thereof under every dispensation he hath led me through and can say they were all good in their time but this excelleth them all well knowing the Administration of John to be Glorious in its Time yet He that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he into which Kingdom that thou may'st have an entrance after all thy Travels and come into this Sabbath and Rest with God will be a true Joy to thy Friend of which I can say with many more of my dear Friends whom I know not but as I feel them in this Spirit It is the Way and there is not another And for all those that are other wise-minded the Lord sned a Famine to come on the outward Knowledge that they may know to be led to the Spiritual Joseph whoever comes unto him 〈◊〉 upbraideth no one with what is past but receives them with his Love and embraceth them and they partake with him of the Fatness of the good Land Of this I am a witness and remain Thy True Friend S. B. S. B. AS to a Fast I desire this may be solemnly proclaimed a Fast from Strife Malice and every evil Work as new Born Babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word of Life and grow thereby in which we shall be accepted of God and truly reconciled to one another Postscript I Did not intend to have Printed this Letter I sent to a Friend but finding he hath Printed the Letter he sent to me as an Answer to W. R's Book I sent him which Book I had good Unity with and with all that are of a reconciling Spirit which to my Comfort I find many sincere hearted therein and as the vail of Prejudice comes to be taken of the Heart we shall see one another as God seeth us to whom I approve my Heart let Men Judge of me as they please it is not from any Evil or Insinuating self-end I can truly say for my self and many more true Christian Friends whose Hearts in this matter of Reconciliation is not to gain Praise of Men God is our witness but we are led to Unite by that blessed Spirit who hath shewed us of what and in what the Kingdom of Heaven consists of which is true Righteousness Joy and Peace in the holy Spirit which I with many more have tasted and could be glad all that oppose would come and taste and see how good the Lord is and with what the Immortal Soul is Refreshed I could never find satisfaction in any visible thing till I received the Word of God in which Word I find the Key of David Which opens and none can shut and shuts and none can open and that is that that opens the Mystery of the Kingdom of God in which the Father Son and Spirit is to be koown which Word of Faith gave the true understanding to the Prophets and Apostles and to all the Faithful of God to this day And in that way which some call Heresie Worship I the God of my Fathers believing all the Law and the Prophets and in Jesus Christ who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith S. B. O Lord Out of the deep I cried unto thee and thou pluckedst my feet out of the Mire and Clay and hast set them in the right way And being converted strengthen my Brethren Unto which I have this further to add when I first heard the confused noise made by G. K. and T. B. which appearance was and is to me like the Golden Calf and beholding many I knew which I thought had been more grafted in the Word of Life than to go after it for which I was greatly troubled but the heavenly still Voice gave me this Satisfaction fret not thy self be still it is a Cloud I suffer the Wind thereof shall blow away the Chaff but I will gather my Wheat thereby nearer together and this I know to be a certain Truth by which my Heart hath been often refreshed for which my Soul Praise thou the Lord. S. B. And unto all those who have raked up the miscarriages and evils and printed it and given it abroad to defame the People called Quakers whose Principles shall out-last their Malice and was some of us of their Spirit to render evil for evil revileing for revileing might say that of some of them that would cause shame who covered their foolish actions with the name of the Lord but it was and is such a Lord of which there is many but not the true God as some can witness but cover'd it from Men hopeing time might work them to see their weakness and know the true Lord over-ruling all their false Imaginations who may be truly compared to Saul when gone from the true God he goes to the Witch of Endor and she raised up what he would see but not what he should see so he was never the better for it but his Enemies prevailed and he fell by his own Sword so shall envy slay the wicked Man and they in darkness shall grope for the door but shall not find it All this is true and I own before all Men the Principle of the Quakers And have this to say for my self and many more I well know however our Enemies may render us vve knovv this by our selves and our Consciences bears us vvitness vve have in good Conversation vvalked before God and Men vvhich vvill speak for us in the gates of our Enemies and
the Holy Ghost and of Power and thereby the inward cleansing from Sin and Pollution and by the Power and Work of Christ to become the Sons of God which no outward thing can do but whoso therein believes shall find Power in that Gift which God hath given which is a true discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart to which I would persuade all that are weary and heavy laden to come unto and they shall assuredly find Rest to their Souls by Christ Jesus the Substance unto which all Men must bow in the inwardness of their Hearts for the day of his bright Appearance is at hand and Behold he comes with Clouds Rev. 1.7 yet they that are gazing abroad cannot see him being veil'd from that Eye and Mind as he was unknown to the Jews formerly who had a great expectation of the coming of the Messiah who came in the will of God at the appointed time yet he not coming in that Glory and great Appearances they expected him they could not believe nor think that it was he and now there is great expectation in some of his second appearance some saying Lo here and some Lo there and yet still are disappointed and strangers to his appearance in Spirit but to them who truly look for him he shall appear the second time without Sin unto Salvation and there the true inward Christians shall see him in his Glory and enter into his Kingdom which exceeds all the glory of this World neither can the wise imaginary part in Man give a true description thereof but as God's Wisdom rises up into the Throne and hath the Government of the Mind they shall know the depth of these things from him that gives it and give him the Praise who hath brought them into so happy estate who desires well for every Creature both Man and Beast who groans for deliverance And as a Man comes to be gathered into the light and changed into the Nature of Jesus Christ the whole Creation will reap great benefit thereby and as many as have seen the beginning of the good Work of God in what he did He divided the Light from the Darkness and saw the Light and it was Good and so he went on in every day's Work till the whole Creation was finished and as we read in the Old we must find it in the New for he saith I will make a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein shall dwell Righteousness And as in the first he went on in order in his Work so you shall find him now and though by him called into the Vine-yard to work it shall find in many a high and strong will which would obstruct the good Work of God and that Hammon like gets upon the Kings Horse but he 's not Mordica that sits low in sackcloth at the gate and where this is in what pretence so ever in whom Pride rises and prevails it will if suffered destroy the Seed of the Jews but he that sees in secret will reveal the matter and that Spirit shall be brought down let its cloathing be never so glorious God hath decreed to exalt Mordicai who is of the true Seed he is found worthy and the Lord lives he shall Reign whose Right it is though the Heathen rage and the People imagine a vain thing yet will he set his Son upon the holy hill of Sion I could not well omit one thing more to give satisfaction to some who may think I am one that goes under the name that ministers to the People but I am not but this I give as my experience to all that are traveling to find rest with God in his Kingdom of Peace but to appear in a Publick Assembly there to speak I never did and I am of the Apostle's mind Let such Women as want Instruction or would usurpe Authority over the Man keep Silence in the Church and give place to Man to whom God hath given Preheminency and made fit for that great Work in which Work had not I satisfaction in my self and been strengthened by those worthy good Ministers through the weakness of some others who thereto pretend and as I well know run when they are not sent I might have stumbled but I saw how ever Justified by others divers of them were not nor are not upon the right Ground and some of them have been blown away like Chaff with the Wind not but that I know there is many Good and Vertuous Women who are appointed for good Examples in their Families who in Modesty Sobriety Charity and good Works a good Life and Conversation with these I joyn and in that Life I desire to Preach to my Children Friends Neighbours and Servants and they that in this rightness of Heart Live shall deceive none but gain to themselves a lasting Establishment which shall be of good Savour never to be repented of and as in this I desire to do unto all as I would be done unto and that in Truth and Sincerity I have here writ may be for the good of all to help the Feeble and strengthen the Weak and that from the ground of Integrity and in Good Will to all Men and it being received in the good Mind will cover any Weakness herein contained and make that use of it as it is intended Good Will to all and Glory to God Yet as there was formerly so there is now he that is born after the Flesh Persecutes him that is born after the Spirit whose Censures I expect not to escape it being so natural to the Litteral Jews when they could find nothing to accuse Christ of whilst upon the Earth sought what they could to intrap him in his Words but God gave him that Wisdom to see in them and cautioned his Disciples not to give the Childrens Bread to Dogs nor Pearls to Swine least they trample them under Foot and turn again and Rent you under Christ's Protection I leave my self This writ by one that hath waited at Wisdom's Gate for Instruction who hath given me an entrance to know as I have here declared and all that would go higher to see the Bride the Lambs Wife must be guided thereto by the Meek and Humble Spirit of Jesus without which there is no Safety though they may understand all Mysteries and give much to the Poor and have all those Gifts the Apostle mentions in the 13 of the 1. Epistle to the Corinthians and yet if the most excelent gift of Charity be wanting that thinks no Evil which boasteth not c. but Suffereth Believeth Hopeth and Endureth all Things and rejoyceth in God alone he that is here will out-last all other let their pretences be what it will and they that come not here let them change their Habits their Customs and as some call it the Worlds Fashions yet if they come not to see the World's Covetousness unto which the Heart of Man is naturally inclined rooted out the Earth will open and swallow up that