and how then should they be able to sow their Seed and bring forth sin Out of the evil heart proceeds all evil but out of that heart which is throughly Circumcised to love the Lord God wholly evil cannot proceed If Lust be not conceived it cannot bring forth Sin and where the Womb which conceived it is kept dry and barren it cannot conceive again And is not this the Promise of the Gospel That the Womb which was once barren shall be very fruitful and bear abundantly but the other grow feeble and be able to bear no more Oh that People had experience of Gods Power and did believe therein what should stand in the way of it It was Israels sin of old when they looked at their Enemies and saw their footing and strength in the Land which God had promised to Abrahams Seed for an Inheritance they could not believe that they should be overcome O take heed of the same unbelief now Concerning CHRIST Coming to the FATHER by him Receiving him walking in him not in the oldness of the Letter but in the newness of the Spirit and concerning reading the Scriptures aright I am the Way the Truth and the Life No man cometh unto the Father but by me saith Christ John 14.6 MAN in the corrupt degenerate estate is fallen from God hath lost his Image the holy heavenly Image of the Father of Spirits is driven out from his presence dwels in the Land of darkness and confusion under the Government of the Prince of the Power of the Air who rules in and hath power over all the Children of Disobedience Now this should be mans work even to return to the Father to come back out of the prodigal lost state to the Fathers house where there is sufficiency and fulness of true Bread and Water of Life to satisfie every hungry and thirsty Soul The Way whereby a man must come the Truth wherein he must be renewed and the Life wherewith a man must be quickned is Christ the Son of the Living God and he must know him as the Son of the Living God and feel him revealed in him and received by him and so walk in him the Way in him the Truth in him the Life if ever he come to the Father He must not rest in the description of things but feel and know receive and walk in the Thing which by the Spirit of the Lord hath been often formerly and is still described in what words and by what means the Spirit pleaseth But to receive all the descriptions of him that were formerly given forth or all the descriptions that are now given forth that will not do but the Soul that will live by him must receive him and feel the ingrafting into him the holy Root the living Word of Gods eternal Power and must feel this Word ingrafted into his heart so that there be a real becoming one in nature and Spirit with him And then he is truly in the Vine in the Olive-tree and partakes of the vertue and sap thereof he abiding therein and walking in the Spirit Life and power thereof Now hear a man walks not nor cannot walk in the oldness of the Letter but in the newness of the Spirit only Paul notwithstanding all his knowledge of the Scriptures walked but in the oldness of the Letter before Christ was revealed in him And those in the Apostles dayes who had got the form of godliness but turned from and denied the power they walked but in the oldness of the Letter Yea the Church of Sardis for the most part and the Church of Laodicea who had received the right order and ordinances and the true descriptions of things and though they were full and rich and wanted nothing they walked but according to the oldness of the Letter and not in the newness and power of the Spirit of Life But alas how far are many who pretend to Christ in this day from this state who never came so far as to walk in the oldness of the Letter from a true understanding thereof but have only learned and continued to walk in the oldness of their own apprehensions and conceivings upon the Letter Can these in this state possibly understand Truth or know the inward spiritual precious appearances thereof either in their own hearts or others Surely no. Why so Why this is the reason because the measure the appearances of Truth either in themselves or others by their own old apprehension and conceivings upon Scriptures concerning Truth which is not the proper measure of it Now all such are yet in darkness let them pretend what they will and grow never so high in knowlerg exercises and experiences after this manner and so the best zealousest and most knowing of them in this state are but blind leaders of the blind and thus going on shall most certainly fall into the Ditch of perdition O that men could feel that which makes rightly sensible and might lay it to heart For no man can confess Christ how then can he receive him and walk in him but by the holy Spirit And he that knoweth not the Spirit rightly knoweth not Christ rightly and he that doth not know him rightly doth not confess him rightly and none can know him rightly but by the revelation of the Father inwardly The mistery must be opened within or there is no true knowing The mistery of deceit is discovered within and the mistery of Life is discovered within also And though the heart of man in the unregenerate estate is deceitfull above all things and despeartely wicked and no man of himself can search or know it yet that is not the state of the true Jsraelites whom God hath cleansed and taught to deny themselves daily but they have boldness before that God who hath searched them and removed from them the iniquities which he found therein Yea whoever witnesseth Christ revealed within shall find him revealed within for this very end to destroy the works of the Devil there and he is a powerfull Saviour of the Soul from sin and a powerfull Destroyer of the works of the Devil within Now concerning reading the Scriptures mind this It is said of the Jews that when they read Moses or in reading the Old Testament the vail was upon their heart which vail is done away in Christ 2 Cor. 3.14 15. O consider seriously is the vail done away from thee Dost thou read the Scriptures with the unvailed eye dost thou read in the Anointing in Christs Spirit in the pure heavenly Wisdom of the divine Birth It was promised of old that God would take away the face of the covering cast over all people and the vail spread over all Nations Dost thou witness this Promise fulfilled to thee dost thou know the difference between reading the Scriptures with the vail on thee and with the vail off Are the Scriptures opened and unlocked to thee by the key of David so that thou readest and understandest them in the Light
of War those were only Tythes of the Spoil and not by a Command And Christ was according to the Order of Melchisedeck who puts an end to War and destroyes the Devil its Author and redeems out of the Earth And although we are many thousands yet there is not a Beggar among us neither do we read there were any Beggars in the Primitive-Times which Church denyed Tythes and said The Priesthood was changed that took them together with the Law by which they were set up and also the Commandment which gave them So they who take Tythes and they who pay them are both Anti-christs and deny Christ to be come in the Flesh XII Of the HIGHER POWER Moses who had the Law saw over all Transgression and before it was he saw the state which Adam had in the Garden before he Fell he saw his state in the Fall and how Death reigned from Adam to Moses who received the Law which Law passed over all Transgression which Law did answer to the Witness of God in all which was a Command to people that they might not sin and that they might be kept from sin and so from Death which raigns from Adam to Moses which Law passeth over both sin and Death And this was the Higher Power higher than the Transgression which answereth to the Witness of God against the Rebellions which Witness is true holy righteous and equal which Law is just holy and good a true Measure and just Weight this is called the Higher Power this was added untill the Seed came which is Christ and this Law they were to hear even Moses To whom Wisdom was given to make the Pattern and to set forth Figures and Shaddows under the Law till Christ should come Of which Moses said The Lord will raise up a Prophet like unto me him shall ye hear in all things And when Christ himself came he put an end to all those Types Figures and Shaddows and changable things for in him there is no Shaddow who is called Gods Righteousness So the Law was in use untill the Seed came and Moses who had it said God shall raise up a Prophet like unto him and now he is come which we hear to wit the Seed who is the end of all the Prophets who Prophesied of him and so He is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believe So Believers are Members of the true Church of which Christ is the Head So Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to every one that believeth Which Christ purgeth his Floor and burneth up the Chaffe commeth with his Fan Baptizeth with his holy Spirit and Fire and bringeth his Wheat into his Garner And Christ is the end of all Oaths which were under the Law and which was before the Law viz. of Oaths which put an end to strife among Men. XIII Of the KINGDOM of CHRIST how it is held up and how not The Kingdom of Christ is not held up by Carnal Weapons for saith Christ My Kingdom is not of this World therefore his Servants fight not Now all you that profess your selves to be Christians and bringers of glad Tydings yet ye are Fighthers with Clubs and Swords about Religion you are not the Servants of Christ who are fighting for an Earthly Kingdom for in Christs Kingdom we must fight with Spiritual Weapons in Patience and Long-suffering And Christ said to his Disciples who would have had fire to come down from Heaven to consume those that were contrary to them as it was in the dayes of the Prophet Elias That they knew not what spirit they were of So they who destroy Mens Lives and doth not save them they are not according to the mind of Christ nor the way of Christ but are under the Condemnation of it neither do they know what Spirit they are of And so they who are Spiritually wise cannot commit their Souls Bodies nor Spirits into the hands of such XIV Concerning Teachers Prophets Pastors Bishops Presbyters c. Teachers Prophets Pastors Presbyters and Bishops ought not to be such as are given to filthy lucre nor covetous nor given to wine nor strikers nor brawlers nor covetous of earthly things nor to teach for filthy lucre nor to contend about words and fables and vain Phylosophy and beggarly Rudiments and Traditions and Doctrines of men nor their Commandements neither ought they to compel People to observe Dayes Meats and Drinks nor such like things nor to bear Rule by their Means nor they ought not to be such who seek their gain from their quarter such were forbidden and such as teach for money and handfulls of Barly and pieces of Bread and such as teach for lucre were forbidden and opposed by the true Prophets Teachers and Apostles and such as wore long Robes and were called of Men Master and followed and loved Salutations in Markâ—ts and the uppermost Roomes at Feasts and such like all such are out of Christ and against such Christ himself cryed Woe woe who said Ye have one Master even Christ and ye are all Brethren And that it should not be so among them as it was among the Gentiles And so all they who have the Scriptures of Christ of the Apostles and Prophets and not in the Power and Spirit that gave them forth and do not obey it which reproves them that they may come into it but stop their Ears and shut their Eyes against it such are like the Pharisees these cannot worship God in the Spirit neither can they pray in the Spirit nor sing in the Spirit but quench it and burthen it and vex it These are out of the Fellowship of the Spirit and out of the Fellowship of God the Father of Spirits Those erre not knowing the Scriptures nor the Power of God And such go hither and thither to change their Way and go from the Spirit of God in their hearts which would lead them to Christ the Way the Truth and the Life So all such who have the Form of Godliness and are not in the Power and Spirit in which they were in who gave forth the words such are to be denyed And the true Praying is in the Spirit and the true Worship true Praysing and true Singing must be in the Spirit So they who grieve and vex the Spirit and quench it they cannot Worship God in the Spirit XV. An Exhortation to all Christendom to mind the Grace of God to wit the Light All ye People in that part of the World which is called Christendom come to the Light wherewith Christ hath enlightned you that with it you may see your Salvation and may know Christ you Teacher the Captain of your Salvation and the Grace which comes by him which brings your Salvation which Grace teacheth us which Grace is sufficient in weakness and temptations which brings the Salvation and by it we are saved And this Grace teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly and
learned Christ would not that have been against Joel's Prophesie but Paul did not so for he cites the Law and saith as also saith the Law But the Priests are blind and cannot see what the Woman is that was not permitted under the Law nor under the Gospel to speak For the Law did not forbid Miriam and those Women that Prophesied and were Prophetesses Judg. 4.3 4 5 6. Luke 2.36 And was it not a Woman that was sent by Christ that first did preach his Resurrection to his Disciples they that would stop Christ from sending Women now who are witnesses of his Resurrection they be of another spirit and also they are of another spirit then Moses was of who said he would that all the Lord's People were Prophets and were all the Lords People Men and no Women amongst them it appears that Moses would not stop any either Male or Female among the Lords People but the Priests and many more are of another mind but that mind is not the mind of Christ and therefore we matter it not what it either leads to say or affirm seeing they will be wilfull And seeing it is written in the first Language of Greek out of which the English was translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word signifies both Man and Woman and in Latine hic haec homo which doth signifie both man and Woman and in John 1.1 9. where it is said The Word which was with God was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world which word Man signifieth both Man and Woman and as it maketh no difference in the enlightening neither doth it in their speaking But that the simple may not be deceived by them many things have been and are written for their sakes more then for the sakes of such opposers who go after their own deceived heart and will not be warned and so the Lord lets many of them alone to whose righteous Judgments I leave them who will plead with them for what they have done against him who by their Sophistry and subtil Insinuations have turned aside the simple out of the way of Truth W. D. CONCERNING The SUM or SUBSTANCE OF OUR RELIGION Who are called QUAKERS And the Exercise Travels of our Spirits therein THIS is the Sum or Substance of our Religion to wit to feel and discern the two Seeds the Seed of Enmity the Seed of Love the Seed of the Flesh the Seed of the Spirit the Seed of Hagar the Seed of Sarah the Seed of the Egyptian womb the holy Seed of Israel and to feel the Judgments of God administred to the one of these till it be brought into bondage and death and the other raised up in the Love and mercy of the Lord to live in us and our Souls gathered into it to live to God in it Now when the Light of Gods holy Spirit breaketh in upon man and his quickning vertue is felt then life enters into that which was slain and there is a desire begotten in the heart to travel out of the Egyptian state into the good Land that the Soul which came from God might return back again to him out of the sinfull wandring miserable lost estate and might live and walk with him in the purity vertue and power of his own Life and Spirit But then the other birth strives for its life and Pharoaoh the King of Egypt takes part with his Egyptians against Israel and there is no help to the poor soul but as God pours out his Judgments upon that hard nature and spirit in man which is of the Birth of the Flesh and receives the influences and strength of its father which harden it against the true Seed And now what a condition is this poor Soul in the Light of Gods Spirit giveth it the sence of its state and the quicknings of Life make it sensible of its bondage there are also some desires and longings after deliverance but this doth but provoke the Enemy and the Soul being yet in his Territories and under his power he dealeth the more hardly with it increasing its burdens and oppressions daly And O the out-cries of the Soul in this state how is its spirit pained anguished and vexed within it so that it could almost many times chuse rather to lie still in Egypt then undergo the heavy burdens oppressions fears and dangers that it daily meets with in this state Yet there is a Secret hope springing up in the heart from the true Seed which often encourageth it to trust him and wait upon him who hath visited in his pure ministration of Judgment For this is felt many times as the Soul is made truly sensible by the Lord that the Judgment is not to the Seed not to Israel but to Pharaoh and his Egyptians and by every stroke of Gods wrath upon them the Seed is eased and its deliverance working out And so at last when the Judment is finished in the Land of Egypt the strength of Pharaoh and his Egyptians broken their first-born slain out comes Israel out of the Dark Land out of the House of Bondage to travel towards its resting place Then the Paschal Lamb is known and fed on yea it is because of the Blood of the Lamb sprinkled upon the Door-posts that Israel is passed over and saved in the day of Egypts visitation O who can read this truly that hath not felt and been a living witness thereof But now when the seed is come out of Egypt there is not the end but rather the beginning of its Travels Pharaoh and his Egyptians with their Horses aâ—d Chariots may pursue again and even overtake and there may seem no way of escape or help to the Soul but only to stand still hope in the â—ord and wait to see his Salvation Then shall the Sea be divided which stopped Israels course and Pharaoh with his Egyptians the Enemies of the soul in this appearance of dreadful opprssieng power be destroyed and seen no more Yet in the willdernes in the passage through the entangelements to the holy Land there are many straits trials and sore Enemies to be met with who will strive by open force and also with enchantements to betray Israel yeâ— there is a part yet unbrought down yet unwrought out at which they will be striving to enter the mind And as Israel forgets his God walking out of his Counsel hearkning to that which his ear should be shut against and so joyning to the contrary Seed the Plagues the Judgments the Indignation and wo will be felt by him and many Carkases may fall there So that there may be a great outcry in the heart Who can stand before this holy Lord God shall we be consuming with dying yes there is somewhat must be consumed with dying Yea if a man came so far as to witness dominion and victory over his Souls Enemies the evil Seed brought into death in him and a possession and inheritance in the pure rest
of Life yet if that part be not kept in the death if there be not a praying and watching to the Preserver of Israel in the pure fear and humility the Enemy will be sowing to the Flesh again he will be getting some of his corrupt Seed into the heart again if the Soul do but sleep and become negligent and so corruption will take root again and the contrary Birth grow up again and the Foxes break into the Vineyard and spoil the tender grapes So that this is our Religion to witness the two Seeds with the Power of the Lord bringing down the one and bringing up the other and then to witness and experience daily the same Power keeping the one in Death and the other in Life by the holy ministration of Gods pure living Covenant And so to know God in this Covenant in this Covenant which lives gives Life and Keeps in Life and to walk with God and worship and serve him therein even in his Son in the Light of his Son in the Life of his Son in the vertue and ability which flows from his Son into our Spirits this is our Religion which the Lord our God in his tender mercy hath bestowed upon us And indeed we find this to be a pure living and undefiled Religion before God daily witnessing his acceptance of it in and through his Son whose Name is here known and confessed worshipped and honoured according to the very heart of the Father This may be further illustrated and perhaps made more manifest to some by a Scripture or two The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary one to the other saith the Apostle Gal. 5.17 Here are the two Seeds the Seed of the Serpent the Seed of the woman whose striving and fight is in man when God awakens the Soul the one whereof hath a nature a desire or lust contrary to the other Now as the one of these prevails in any heart so the other goes down As the one gains Life and Power so the other is brought into Death and Captivity so that this is it every one is to wait for after they once come to the sensible knowledge and experience of these two to feel the Flesh brought down the lusts of it denied the Judgments of the Lord administred to it that so the other may come up to live thrive and prevail in the Soul and so the Soul witness Salvation and Redemption under its shadow Thus Sion is Redeemed with Judgment and her Converts with Righteousness Isa 1.27 What is Sion Is it not the holy Hill of God whereon his Son is set King to reign whereon the holy City is to be built and God to be worshipped in Spirit What condition is Sion in when God visits her to redeem her Is she not laid wast desolate lying in the dust as Psal 102.13 14. Well how will God redeem her Zion shall be redeemed with Judgement and her Converts with Righteousness By bringing Judgements upon that which keeps her under upon her Enemies the contrary Seed God redeems her and by bringing forth Righteousness the righteous Life and Spirit of his own Son in those whose minds are turned to her whose faces are set Sion-ward thus God redeems her Converts Yes yes it is truly felt and witnessed The living Righteousness of Christ revealed in the heart and having power there sets free from all unrighteousness which was there before And then when the unrighteous one is cast out and the righteous one is revealed and the Soul united to him and receives virtue and power from him then he becomes a Servant of Righteousness and doth not commit sin but doth righteousness And he that doth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous 1 John 3.7 For how can it be otherwise when the righteous Life is revealed and brought up into dominion in him How can the same righteous Spirit and Life revealed in the members as was in the head but live and act after the same manner in the members as it did in the head O that men were turned to that which would give them the certain knowledge and sensible experience of this Now this is exceeding comfortable and precious to them that are in the true travel towards it much more to them that enjoy it This is the sum of all even to know and experience what is to be brought down into death and kept in death what to be brought up out of the grave to live to God and reign in his dominion and what to be kept in subjection and obedience to him who is to reign Now to experience it thus done in the heart the Flesh brought down the Seed of Life raised and the Soul subject to the pure heavenly Power whose right it is to reign in the heart in and by the Seed this is a blessed state indeed for here the work is done here the Throne of God is exalted and his King reigns in righteousness and peace and all his Enemies are under his feet and this Soul this true Israelite this redeemed one may wear the white Robe and serve God in righteousness and holiness without fear of his Enemies keeping in and to the Covenant which ministers Life and Power abundantly all the dayes of his life For that was to be the outward state of the outward Israel keeping to God in the outward Covenant and it is to be the inward state of the inward Israel keeping to God in the inward Covenant which is a pure Covenant of life and Peace of all inward and spiritual blessings and mercies in Christ wherewith the Souls are blessed that are obedient to God and walk humbly with him in this Covenant And I beseech you to consider O tender people who are grieved because of sin and corruption in your hearts and would fain witness victory and dominion over it in the Name and Strength of the Lord Jesus Christ whom did that prophesie of Zachary Luke 1.71 72 74 75. concern what was that holy Covenant who were to be so redeemed who were the Israel that was to inherit this promise All the Promises are yea and amen in Christ to the Israel of God Why should not the Israel of God hope to enjoy this even so to be acquainted with Gods holy Spirit and to wait upon him that they may witness it granted to them that they being delivered out of the hands of their Enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him whose eyes are piercing and behold no iniquity all the dayes of their lives Surely they who witness that promise mentioned Isa 35.8 fulfilled to them cannot fall short of this And truly the Children of the New Covenant can never come throughly to live to God till they witness the inward Circumcision of the Heart so as to love the Lord with all the Heart and Soul Deut. 30.6 Now where it is so the Devil or Lust can find no place of entrance
from the inward work of the Power and Life of Christ in the heart which as so held cannot save any But whoever feels the Light and Life of Christ revealed in him and comes into union with God there-through he feels the work of Regeneration of Sanctification of Justification of Life and Redemption and so comes to reap benefit inwardly and to partake of the blessed fruits of all that Christ did outwardly Yea he that is thus one with Christ in the Spirit cannot exclude himself nor is excluded by God from the advantage of any thing nor every thing Christ did in that body of Flesh This indeed is the main thing to witness Salvation wrought out in the heart to witness the eternal Power and Arm of the Lord laying hold on the Soul to save it and not only laying hold on it to save it but to witness the working out and the effecting of the Salvation as really in the Substance as Israel of old did in the shadow For as they witnessed Moses and Joshua outwardly so the true Israelite the inward Israelite the spiritual Israelite is to witness that which is the Substance of these even the Son of God revealed inwardly Now they were not saved outwardly by a baâ—e outward believing that Moses and Joshua were sent of God to save them but by following them in faith and obedience to what from God they required So to the inward Israel Christ is given for a Leader and Commander who appears to the distressed embondaged Soul in Egypt brings out of Egypt and so leads on towards the good Land and into it Now as the Soul followes as the Soul believes in his Appearances and obeys his voice in the holy pure Covenant of Life so he works out the Redemption thereof But as unbelief and disobedience gets up and the heart is heardened at any time against his Voice and Counsel and the ear open to the temtaptions of the Enemy the Redemption thereby goes backward and the distress and captivity returns again This is witnessed known and experienced by ever true Traveller towards Sion Therefore the main thing requisite is to abide in the sence of the Redeemers Power as also in waiting for his motions and apperances and in the Faith and Obedince thereof For sin gathers strength and is brought forth by letting in and giving way to the motions thereof and so also Holiness and Righteousness is brought forth and getteth ground in the mind by harkening and giving up to the stirrings and movings of Gods holy Spirit Therefore it is of great necessity to every true Traveller to come to a right understanding and distinguishing of these and then that the heart be kept with all diligence because out of it are the issues both of life and and death And most happy is he who knows the issues of death stopped and the issues of Life opened and whose spirit is naked and open before the Lord for Life to spring up in him and issue forth through him at its pleasure O it is a precious state to witness Captivity led Captive by Life and the power of Life reigning over it And truly there is as real deliverance witnessed inwardly by those that wait upon the Lord and are faithfull to the leadings of his holy Spirit as ever there was by the Jews outwardly in their faithfull following Moses and Joshua and Christ is as truly an Healer of his People in this ministration of Life to them by his holy Spirit as ever he was an Healer of Persons out wardly in the dayes of his Fesh That with the other Miracles which he wrought then was but a shadow of what he would work and perform inwardly in the day of his Spirit and holy Power and shall he or can he to those that faithfully wait upon him fall short in the one of what he shadowed out in the other Nay surely it was the intent of his heart and he will not fail to perform it to save to the very utmost all that come to God by him and abide in his holy pure righteous living Covenant Here is the skill of Christianity to abide in him and here the living Virtue and pure Power is felt which overcometh all but nothing can overcome it but Victory Dominion Glory Majesty and Power is sung unto him who is King of Saints who reigns in righteousness and who establisheth Peace and Truth within his Borders A few words concerning the the Principle of Truth What it is How it may be discerned and how it may be purchased and possessed QUest 1. What is the Principle of Truth Answ It is the Light which reproves and makes sin manifest Whatsoever doth make manifest is Light Wherefore he saith Awake thou that sleepest arise from the dead c. Eph. 5.13.14 There is no other way of awaking out of sleep and arising from the the dead but by the Light which makes sin manifest And O how pretious is that Light Quest 2. How may the Principle of Truth be discerned Answ By its piercing quickning nature which discovereth it self in its appearances and operations For it appears and works not like mans reason or like motions of his mind which he takes into his understanding part but it appears and works livingly powerfully and effectually in the heart Mans reason is corrupt dark impure since the fall and in the hand and under the power of the wicked one It s nature is to hide and cover sin not to discover it Now the Light of the Law which discovers sin ariseth not hence Who can bring the clean pure light of the Law out of the unclean impure Reason of man The Light indeed may shine in the Darkness but it is no part of it but of another nature and descent It is from Gods Spirit and given to man in his love unto him to lead him out of his dark wayes and spirit into the pure Spirit and way of Holiness For the Light which discovers sin is all holy and pure like the Fountain from whence it comes Now a man that is acquainted both with Reason and with this Light he can distenguish the Nature and operations of both For there is a great difference between TRUTH held in the Reasoning part and TRUTH held in its own Principle It is very powerful in the one it effecteth little in the other In the pure quickenings of Life this distinction is perceived and also held Therefore our advice is to all men to retire from all mortality that they may come to feel the Spring of Life in themselves and something springing therefrom into them to quicken them and to wait to have their understandings opened and kept open by that that so they may receive retain and not again lose the capacity of understanding the things of Gods Kingdom Quest 3 How may this Principle Seed or Pearl be purchased and possessed Answ By dying to a mans own wisdom and will There is not another way For the Light is wholly contrary
clash against the Truth as it is made manifest in others And indeed the Lord hath shewen me in Spirit several times that they themselves are guilty of that very charge and that he will so implead them at his Judgment Seat which they cast upon us even of denying that Christ which died at Jerusalem to be the Christ For he that owneth the words of Scripture as he apprehends or conceives them in the reasonings of his mind and doth not wait to have them revealed in the Spirit keeping out of his own reasonings and conceivings and waiting patiently till the Lord open the thing in the Spirit he setteth up his own conceivings or an Image in his mind of the mind of the Spirit but misseth of the thing it self which alone is known in the Spirit by them who wait upon the Spirit there to receive it and are not hasty to set up their own reasonings and imaginations concerning the thing in the mean time No man can in Truth call Jesus the Lord but by the Spirit But any man that is any thing serious and weighs the Scriptures in the natural part may so learn to acknowledge his coming into the World and that he is Lord and King c. and may thus call him Lord yea and kindle a great heat in his affections towards him but all this out of the Life out of the Spirit is but mans Image which he forms in his mind in his reading the Scriptures and observing things therefrom But the true calling Jesus Lord is from the feeling of his eternal Virtue in the Spirit and finding the Scriptures opened to him by the Spirit in a Principle which is above the Reason comprehends the Reason and confounds and brings it to nothing Again There is no true Knowledge of Christ no living Knowledge no saving Knowledge which hath the eternal Virtue in it but that which is received and retained in a measure of Light given by God to the Creature in the Faith which is the Gift in the Grace which is supernatural and spiritual whereas the resoning part is but Natural And such as have received the Spiritual understanding know it to be distinct from the Natural and we experimentally find a very clear distincttion between Scriptures searched out by the reasonings of the mind and so practises drawn therefrom and Scriptures opened by the Spirit and felt in the Life Now that Professors generally have not received their knowledge of Christ from the Spirit or from Scriptures opened it the Spirit and so know not the thing but only such a relation of the thing as mans reasoning part may drink in from the Letter of the Scriptures is manifest by this In that they are not able in Spirit and Understandind to distinguish the thing it self from the Garment wherewith it was cloathed though the Scriptures be very express therein Speak of Christ according to a Relation of the Letter there they can say somewhat but come to the Substance come to the Spirit of the thing come to the thing it self there they stutter and stammer and shew plainly that they know not what it is Now the Scriptures do expresly distinguish between Christ and the Garment which he wore between him that came and the Body in which he came between the Substance which was vailed and the Vail which vailed it Lo I come a body hast thou prepared me There is plainly He and the Body in which he came There was the outward Vessel and the inward Life This we certainly know and can never call the bodily Garment Christ but that which appeared and dwelt in the Body Now if ye indeed know the Christ of God tell us plainly what that is which appeared in the Body whether that was not the Christ before it took up the Body after it took up the Body and for ever And then their confining of Christ to that Body plainly manifesteth that they want the knowledge of him in Spirit For Christ is the Son of the Father he is the infinite eternal Being one with the Father and with the Spirit and cannot be divided from either cannot be any where where they are not nor can be excluded from any place where they are He may take up a Body and appear in it but cannot be confined to be no where else but there no not at the very time while he is there Christ while he was here on Earth yet was not excluded from being in Heaven with the Father at the very same time as he himself said concerning himself The Son of Man which is in Heaven John 3.13 Nor was the Father excluded from being with him in the Body but the Father was in him and he in the Father whereupon he said to Philip He that hath seen me hath seen the Father What did every one that saw that Body see the Father also Nay not so but he that saw Christ the Son of the living God whom flesh and blood revealed not but the Father only Mat 16.16 17. he saw the Father also O Frinds look to your knowledge of Christ and to your Faith and Knowledge of the Scriptures and to your Prayers also for it is easie missing of the living substance in all these and meeting with a shaddow which may please and make a great shew in the earthly part in the natural understanding and affections but satisfieth not the Soul or that which is born after the Spirit but still the cry there goes out where the Soul is awakned after Truth Substance Life Virtue from Gods Spirit in the Spirit which it alone can feed upon These four things following I am certain of which he that cometh into the true Light shall infallibly experience them there First That nothing can save but the knowledge of Christ even of that very Christ and no other who took upon him the prepared Body and offered it up at Jerusalem Secondly That no Knowledge of Christ can save but the living Knowledge Not a knowledge of him after the Letter which the carnal part may get much of and value it self much by but a knowledge of him in the Spirit which is only given to that which is begotten and born of the Spirit and only retained by that which abides and remains in the Spirit and runs not out into the fleshly reasonings imaginings and concevings about the things mentioned in the Scriptures Thirdly That that man who knoweth not Christ in Spirit nor keepeth close to him in Spirit but through darkness and misguidance of the spirit of deceit called the shinings of his Light his reproofs his checks for that which is evil and his secret motions to that which is good natural This man though he seem to own Christ never so much according to the Letter yet in Truth denies him Fourthly He that denies Christ in his knocking 's and visitations of him in his own heart and before men in the Truths which he holds forth by his Servants and Ministers of his Spirit him will he
these are the Deceivers and false Prophets that shall come in the last times they deny the means and when any witness they have received an unction from the holy one and need not that any man teach them but as the anoynting teacheth them of all things then they cry out these are Seducers and Seduced and so here they deny the Covenant of God and the Promise of God and shew themselves to be the great Seducers that draw from the Anointing and finding their spirits contrary to the Scriptures we cannot but deny them Jer. 31.33 Heb 11.8 1 Joh. 2 20 27. They are such Teachers that say Revelations are ceased and deny Revelations and so deny the Son for no man knows the Father but he to whom the Son reveals him and no man knows the things of God but the Spirit of God and he to whom the Spirit reveals them and the Apostle said It pleased the Father to reveale his Son in him and so he that denies Revelations denies both the Father and the Son and the Spirit these are the Priests who talk of Religion and have gotten a form to trade with and have received things by traditon but are ignorant of God and of the Spirit by which all Saints were ever guided and therefore we deny them Mat. 11.27 1 Cor. 2.11 Gal. 1.16 Phil. 3.15 Therefore all people consider what you do and hold up and worship for the Worship is but one and the Word is but one and the Baptism is but one and the Church is but one and the Way is but one and the Light is but one and the Power is but one but they that are without have many Teachers many Ways many Opinions and Judgments and many Sects but we have but one Priest which is over the houshold of God and therefore are all of one heart and soul Moved of the Lord written from the Spirit of the Lord for the cleansing of the Land of all false Teachers Seducers and Deceivers and Witches who beguile the people and Inchanters and Diviners and Sorcerers and Hirelings and which is for the good of all people that fear the Lord and own Jesus Christ to be their Teacher From them whom the world scornfully calls Quakers but quaking and trembling we own else we should deny the Scriptures and the holy men of God but the Scriptures we own and the holy men of God Therefore we deny all them who deny quaking If you say these things are frivolous things which you have taught us then we have been taught frivolous things all this while but we find all these things frivolous things wind and air and therefore we deny them All people that read these things never come ye more at the Steeple-house nor pay your Priests more Tythes till they have answered them for if ye do ye uphold them in their Sins and must partake of their plagues Some PRINCIPLES of the Elect People of God scornfully called QUAKERS By G. F. A Salutation of Salvation to all People throughout the Christian World that they may Enter in by the Door which is Christ the Light by which Every man is enlightened that cometh into the World by Christ the Light which is the Way to God and the Door by which they must enter into the Father from the World from Darkness and Death and its Power into Covenant with God by Christ the Door And this is the Light by which ye see all the evil Actions which ye have evilly acted and all the ungodly works which ye have ungodlyly commited and all the ungodly thoughts which ye ungodlyly have thought and all the hard speaches and ungodly words which ye have spoken The Light wherewith Christ hath enlightened you is that which maketh manifest all that is contrary to it The same Light maketh manifest the Saviour from whence it comes and it maketh manifest that Christ is the Covenant of Light and Life by which you come to have peace with God The same Light maketh manifest to you if you love it that Christ is the Mediator between you and God The same Light maketh manifest that Christ is the Offering for your Sins and the Sins of the whole World The same Light doth manifest that Christ is the way the truth and the Life and the word of God by which all things were made and Created And the same Light manifests that Christ is the Wisdom of God and Power of God and Sanctification and Justification and Redemption To Sanctifie Justifie and Redeem from that which the Light manifests to be Evil and that which lets and keeps in the seperation from God And this Light is within by which all these things are seen and you that love this Light you will se all these things Love mentioned Christ the Mediator Christ the Way the Life the Wisdom the Sanctifier the Redeemer the Offering for your Sins and the Sins of the whole World In this Light ye will have his Testimony and so he that believes shall have the Testimony and Witness in himself and so ye all being enlightened with this Light receiving it you receive Christ then you do not receive Darkness nor the Prince of Darkness And as many of you as receive Christ he will give you power to become Sons of God mark ye shall have power by which you shall know Son-ship to stand against sin and evil and become the Sons of God Now if you hate this Light and go on in sin and in evil thoughts and evil words works and actions and do not come to the Light which reproves you but love Darkness rather then Light it will be Your condemnation And this is the Light which maketh manifest to every one of you what you have done spoke thought and acted amiss and reproves you for it and if you love the Light you love Christ and you love your Saviour Redeemer Sanctifier and Offering for Sin And you see him who puts an end to sin and destroyes the Devil who brought it in and his Works he that destroyeth and brings in everlasting Righteousness in you But as above mentioned if you hate this Light and go on in sin and evil it will be your condemnation This Light is with you in your Labours and in your Beds and when you are about your Business Trades and Occupations shewing to you all your words and all your thoughts works and actions Which Light if you love it will lead you from the Old into the New Life and from the Alienation and Degeneration from God his Life and Image And with this Light you will see Christ a King to Govern you who hath all Power in Heaven and in Earth given to him And with the Light you will see him a Prophet to open to you and a Priest to offer for you to the Father and in this Light you will see more Light the same shining in your hearts it will give you The knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus your Saviour And
the Lord that he will bring such honour in the dust and that which he will condemn as unjust The Apostle saith That Women ought not to adorne themselves with gould silver pearls costly attire platting of the hair but to be adorned with a meek and a quiet Spirit which is in the sight of God of great price and the hidden man of the heart c. And if Christendom had minded this it had been more virtuous and more sober and less envious towards one about their Manners XXIV Concerning Objections of the World against the Preaching of CHRIST Object The World Objests and saith That some Preach Christ of Envy and some of Good-will and some of Strife and Contention And that Christ commanded to hear the Pharisees So we may hear say they our Teachers although they be wicked Answ He that hath the Form of Godliness and denyes the Power from such turn away The Apostle bid turn away from Envious men and Contentious men and men of Strife Although there was a time when the Name of Christ was first spread abroad in which time he permitted Envious men to spread his Name abroad But when his Name was spread abroad then he forbad such Envious and Contentious men to Preach and exhorted Timothy to withdraw from and avoid such for they could not bring People into the Power For Envious and Contentious men may Preach the Form and have it but they cannot bring People into the Power And so there came a time before the decease of the Apostles to turn away from such Now as to the hearing of the Pharisees this was before Christ was Offered up and before the fulfilling of the Law for they were Ministers of the Law and so people ought to do as they said but not as they did but when Christ was offered up he commanded them to Preach the Gospel and not to hear the Pharisees and it was the work of the Apostles to bring People to the end of the Law to the Seed into Gospel-fellowship into the Power of God which was before the Power of darkness was XXV Concerning BREAD WATER and WINE Bread Water and Wine are earthly and perishing things for the Bread and Wine which Christ gave at Supper in the Evening which the World takes at Noon those things Christ and the Apostle gave for a shewing forth and a remembrance of his death until he should come And after some of the Disciples had receiv'd it they doubted Whether he was the Christ or not And after the Apostle had given the Supper to the Corinthians in his first Epistle he bad then Examine themselves and so to eat in the remembrance of Christ But in the second Epistle he bad them examine themselves and try themselves whether Christ except they were Reprobates were in them or not Now they may be Reprobates who have taken the Bread and Wine and have had the Water They were Reprobates if Christ was not in them For Bread and Wine is not the Flesh and Blood of Christ which came down from Heaven which flesh whosoever eates lives for ever For People may eat of Bread made of Grain and may drink Wine make of Grapes and yet may dye Reprobates Now they were to take it in remembrance of his Death this was one State and than they were to come to dye with him and this was a nearer state than the taking of Bread and Wine in remembrance of his Death and then they were to arise with him and then to seek those things which were above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God but Bread Water and Wine are all earthly things and they are not Christ and they who have him they are not Reprobates neither do they need outward things to put them in mind of his Death whenas they are dead with him and risen with him to live with him But they who will not dye and suffer with him such live in the Old Nature and desire to have outward things continually to put them in mind of his Death and such live in Strife and Contention about outward things and shaddows and do not come to Christ the Substance who was before the world was made in whom there is no strife at all but only Life and Peace XXVI Of the SABBATH DAY The Jews they kept the Sabbath-Day a Type and Sign of Rest that both the Man-servant and Maid-servant and Strangers and all Cattel should rest within their Gates a sign of Christ who destroys the Devil the Author of Oppression and gives rest to Man and Beast and to the whole Creation and brings it again into that blessed condition which it was in in the beginning before the Fall Now as to the Saints Meeting together on the first Day of the Week this practice is not denyed but owned by us for who are come to the First Day as they Jews on the Last Day But there is more in the Word XXVII Concerning God-Fathers and God-Mothers and SPRINKLING of INFANTS Concerning God-Fathers and God-Mothers and Sprinkling of Infants and such like things the Scriptures make no mention yet the Scripture saith Repent Teach and Baptize XXVIII Concerning the Word TRINITY Of this word Trinitas there is no mention made in Scripture yet the Scripture speaks of Father Son and Holy Spirit and of Water Blood and Spirit and all these are one among us as in the Primitive time among the Apostles who gave no such outward Names to them as Trinity as the World now doth XXIX Concerning the MINISTRY They that receive from Christ they receive freely and they give freely they pray freely and preach freely and the Ministry is the gift of God and is to be exercised freely and of a free People of their earthly things it is to be Administred freely Heavenly men and bringers of glad Tydings of a Kingdom of which they are Heirs must Minister to the Eternal condition of People And this is the highest Love in the Life XXX Concerning Dayes and Times and Meats and Drinks The Kingdom of God consists not in Dayes Times Meats and Drinks and such like things but in Power Righteousness Faith and Joy in the holy Ghost and People ought not contend and Persecute one another about such things for the Apostles gave not any Commandment or Example that any should do so but on the contrary reproved them who did so and keep People in such things XXXI Concerning MARRIAGES Whom God hath joyned together let no man put asunder and those which he joynes he joynes with his Power even by his Immortal Power with a Band over and above the State which is in the Fall where Men joyn and put asunder about outward and earthly things and jangle and fight about them but this is all in the defiled Bed out of the honourable state which was in the beginning where there was no hardness of heart And Marriage in it self is not condemned but owned and among all them who are in the Power I say it is
and Demonstration of Gods holy Spirit or is thy own understanding and will at work of it self in searching into the Scriptures If the wrong birth the wrong wisdom the wrong understanding be at work it can gather but that which will feed and strengthen it self and if thou beest not in Christ and dost not read in Christ the vail is not taken away from thee for the vail is only done away in him but thou readest and walkest in the oldness of thy apprehensions upon the Letter and not in the newness of the Spirit and so knowest neither the Scriptures nor the Power of God what ever thou professest to men or dreamest concernning thy self For it is no other indeed Thy knowledge thy apprehensions thy faith thy hope thy peace thy joy being out of the compass of the pure living Truth in which the Substance the vertue the kernel of all is comprised and comprehended for ever are but as so many dreams O that men that are any whit tender and have any sincere desires in them towards the Lord could read that one Scripture Psal 43.3 4. sensible and experimentally O send out thy Light and thy Truth let them lead me let them bring me unto thy holy Hill and to thy Tabernacles what did not David know how to go to the Hiâ—l and Tabernacles of God without a particular sending forth of Light and Truth from God to lead him thither Then may men go unto the Altar of God unto God their exceeding joy and witness his Hill and House their dwelling-place when God by his Light and Truth sent forth from him into them leads them thither The Scriptures are words whose chief end drift and service is to bring men to the Word from which the Scriptures came And when men are there then they are in the Life of the Scriptures and witness the fulfilling of the Scriptures even the executing of the righteous judgments of God upon that spirit mind and nature in them which is contrary to his image and the fulfilling of the Promises and sure Mercies which belong to Christ the Seed and to them who are gathered into and abide in Christ the Seed Here 's the Covenant the new Covenant That which is said or those things which are said concerning the Covenant in the Scriptures are but descriptions of the new Covenant but Christ within the Hope of glory the Spirit within the Fear within the Power of Life within breaking down and reigning over the power of sin and death so that the Lord is served in the dominion and power of his own Life in righteousness and holiness before him out of the fear of sin and death all the dayes of our lives so that captivity can lead captive nor break the Souls peace no more nay not so much as make afraid those that keep their Habitation on Gods holy Mountain here is the Covenant indeed the strength and vertue whereof is witnessed in the Soul as the Soul feels the power of Life revealed in it and is made subject by the power to Christ who reigns in righteousness love mercy and Peace in the hearts of those whom he redeems out of the earthly nature and spirit up to the Mind and Spirit of his Father And here the Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs the pure Songs the Song of Moses the Song of the Lamb are sung to the Father of Spirits to the Redeemer of Israel which never were sung nor can be sung in any part of Babylon but all those Songs are but Dreames of the night which will be turned into howling and bitter lamentation when the whore that which hath whored from God and is not in the wisdom of his Spirit what ever she may pretend is stripped and the nakedness of her Profession and Religion with all her Duties and Ordinances as she calls them made manifest Concerning the GOSPEL MINISTRATION IF the Gospel be not a Ministration of Words or Letters but of the Spirit Life and Power and if it was the intent of God that men should not stick in Word or Testimonies concerning the things but come to the thing it self and live in the Sons Life and Power and feel the Son living in them Then they are greatly mistaken who think to gather a Rule to themselves out of the Testimonies and Declarations of things in the Scriptures and do not wait upon the Lord to receive the Spirit it self to become their Rule Guide and Way For these are all one The Truth is the Way The Truth which lives and abides in the heart where it is received and entertained is the Way the Rule is the Guide For God is one There are many names but the thing is one The Life the Power the Wisdom in the Father Son and Spirit is all one yea they themselves are one Perfectly one not at all devided or separated but where the Father is the Son is and where the Son is the Spirit is and where the Spirit is there is both the Father and the Son who tabernacle in man in the day of the Gospel And where these are there that is which is to be preferred before all words which was afore them and is in Nature Spirit and Glory above them He that hath the Son hath Life even the Life Eternal which the words testifie of He that hath the Son hath him which is true and he that is in the Son is in him that is true and abiding there cannot be deceived but he that is not there is deceived let him apprehend and gather out of the Scriptures what he can O how is God glorified and how is Redemption and real Salvation of the Soul witnessed in this dispised Dispensation of Truth which God hath held forth in these latter dayes Blessed be the Name of the Lord who hath hid this pure dispensation of Life from the eye of the prudent worldly wise part in every man revealing it only to the babish simplicity which is of his Son and which lives in him and by him Concerning Christs being manifested without and His being also manifested within and how both are owned by them that know the Truth IT is objected against us who are called Quakers That we deny Christ and look not to be saved by him as he was manifested without us but look only to be saved by Christ in us To which this is in my heart to answer to such as singly desire satisfaction therein We do indeed expect to be saved yea and not only so but do already in our several measures witness Salvation by the revelation and operation of the Life of Christ within us yet not without relation to what he did without us For all that he did in that Body of Flesh was of the Father and had its place and service in the Will and according to the Counsel of the Father But the knowledg and beliefe of that since the dayes of the Apostles hath been very much held in the unrighteousness and in the separation
deny before his Father in Heaven O I beseech you do not trifle about these things for they are exceeding weighty lest ye perish from the way for missing of the Saviour ye must needs also miss of the Salvation O that ye knew your state as God knows it to be and as it is certainly known and felt in the measure of his Life and holy Spirit by those whom God hath gathered together and whose eyes he hath opened and preserveth open there Glory be to his Name therefore Yea Glory Glory Glory and everlasting Praises be sung to him throughout all the holy Land ye in the very heights of Sion by the Souls of the Redeemed from henceforth and for evermore Amen whose Mercy Love Grace Wisdom Power and rich Goodness remaineth and endureth for ever by and in which the Redeemed live to his Praise who have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb whose Blood they know what it is and none else knoweth it but they who feel the sprinkling and virtue of it Lo this is our God we have waited for him and how can we but be glad and rejoyce in his Salvation O let all that live by the breath of thy Power and drink of thy Streams sing praise unto Thee and exalt thy great and wonderful Name for ever and ever A brief Testimony for Truth by Tho. Tayler I Shall add somewhat of the Testimony which is written in my heart by the finger of Gods Spirit concerning the People called Quakers Indeed they have met with many reproaches and sore oppositions many wayes since they were a People but notwithstanding all their Bow abides in strength and the hands of their arms have been made strong against the wicked one with all his devices in his several kinds of instruments and their Light is still the same and their God the same who blesseth them from day to day even in the midst of all the revilings slanders persecutions and curses which they have met with from men without and in the midst of all the temptations inward trials and afflictions also which are often met with inwardly Yea we know him to be our God and cannot but trust him having found him to be faithfull to us hitherto and knowing his nature to be such that he cannot but continue his loving-kindness and faithfulness to all who are gathered by him in to his holy inward spiritual Covenant of Life and Peace and who dwells with him therein And truly we are fully satisfied and at rest in him and cannot desire another then he who hath redeemed our Souls from death given us Life brought us out of the Pit wherein was no water into a large place set our feet upon a rock a rock indeed and establisheth our goings in the path of holyness working all our works in us and for us by his Spirit and Power Yea we have the Witness in our hearts even the Witness which never erred nor can deceive which testifieth to and with our spirits our Sonship so that we do not imagine our selves sons from apprehensions upon Scriptures but we feel our selves sons in the true sensibleness and know who David is and reap and inherit the sure mercies of David daily O blessed be our Father O blessed for ever be the Father of Life who feeds who nourishes who waters Who refreshes with the Bread of Life and with the pure living water his Lambs his Babes his plants his tender ones of whom he is daily tender and who are daily tender of his Name and Honour And if any man preach another God then he who creates anew in the true Light and therein puts forth his arm of Salvation Death and Destruction and the Curse are his portion from the hand of the Lord. THE Conclusion GLorious was the Estate of the Church before the Apostacy for Purity of Doctrine for holy Order and Discipline for Love to God one to another and to all men even of Enemies for Faith in God for the Presence and Power of his Spirit among them insomuch as the unbeliever coming among them might find his heart and state reached to and be forced to confess and report that God was in them of a truth for singleness and uprightnesse of Heart meekness and innocency of Spirit and Conversation for zeal for God and his Truth suffering the spoiling of their Goods Imprisonments Stripes and many other wayes both from the Heathen and also from the professing Jews who had been the Church once O what shall I say concerning the beauty and loveliness of that State Ye that would know it O wait to feel it in that which giveth the true sence of it But over this glorious State came a dark thick corrupt night wherein the Kernel was lost and the Shell defaced wherein the House which had been swept and garnished became again recovered and possessed by the wicked spirit And how great hath this darkness been O what a kind of Church hath appeared in the World wherein the spirit of Enmity hath dwelt and acted in men under the Name of Christianity So that instead of loving and seeking the good of Enemies they are ready to rend and tear one another for every little difference and will be Lords over mens Faith requiring men to Practice things in Religeon before the Spirit of the Lord teacheth them so to do which the Apostles did not For though they had from God the express knowledge of what was Truth and could certainly instruct and build men up therein yet they were not Lords over mens Faith but if men were otherwise minded then according to what they knew and taught they could wait and bear with them bidding them walk so far as they had attained and God in his due time would reveal the rest also O that men were come to this Spirit again Then they would be Christians indeed and then they might be known to be Christs Disciples by their loving the Brethren and fellow-Disciples But without this love mens Religion is but as a tinkling Cimbal making a noise and sound of somewhat but not having the true Nature or Virtue of Religion in it Now will it not be a glorious Day when the Spirit of the Lord cleanseth away this thick darkness and causeth the Light of his pure Truth to arise and appear again Why there is such a Day to be wherein the true Church which was reproached and driven into the Wilderness is to come out of the Wilderness again and her Witnesses stand on their feet again and her Seed to spring up in the Power of Life following the Lamb who marcheth on fighting with the Sword of the Spirit the words of his mouth conquering and to conqeur thereby the corrupted Antichristian World even as he did at first the corrupt Heathenish World The Lord will purifie his Temple and cleanse the World by the Plagues of his Angels which he hath prepared making way for the beauty of his Truth and the Church of his gathering wherein he
will bring forth his Righteousness wherein his Power shall appear wherein his Presence shall be made manifest wherein that which shined before in the Primitive Church shall shine again in this new-reared Building of his insomuch as men shall be forced to say This is the Church of Christ indeed God is here of a truth This is the Gosple-Jerusalem indeed which is built upon the holy Hill of Sion in which Innocency Righteousnesse Truth Love Sweetnesse Peaceablenesse and the gentle Nature and Spirit of the Lamb lives and reigns and the Lord bless thee O Habitation of Justice and Mountain of Holiness Now of a truth this Work is begun The times of refreshment are come from the Presence of the Lord. The Lord hath heard from Heaven pitiying the cries of his Seed and hath visited their Souls causing the Light of Life even the pure Light of the everlasting Covenant to shine upon their Tabernacles But whoever would know these things and partake of them must come in at the Door by the Guidance of the Spirit through the Light which is with him And he that would enjoy the full Light even the shinings forth of the Sun at noon day must begin with its glimmerings even that in the heart which discovereth and draweth out of the corrupt state of the World towards the Father O hear and live Do not dispute about it but wait to feel it upon the feeling of it despising the shame and taking up and enduring the Cross and so bearing the reproach and sufferings of Christ in thy Age and Generation And as thou obeyest thou shalt know of its Doctrine but out of the pure Faith and Obedience there is no true sound deep-rooted knowledge but all of that kind must be parted with for the knowledge which is of the Faith and which is made manifest and increased in the Obedience which knowledge is of a far more excellent Kind and Nature Then that which thou art to part with for it The Lord guide thy Mind and stretch forth his Hand to help thee who from the least touch of a true Nature and Spirit desirest after the pure Truth and Way of eternal Life Amen This Testimony here held forth is faithful and true and I know the Witness of God in many hearts will answer to it and happy is he that maketh a right use of it For so doing his Soul will not fall short of the pure living Truth nor set up any thing else for Truth which is not Isaack Penington THE END John 10.1 2 Pet. 1.20 21. Jer. 23.28 John 1.1 Jer. 2.4 8. Ezek. 1.3 John 1.14 Rev. 19.13 Heb. 4.12 13 Luke 1.73 19.15 John 16.13 Rom. 18.14 Mat. 11.15 Mat. 13.11 Mat. 3.11 Ephes 4.5 6. Rom. 6.3 1 Cor. 12.13 2 Cor. 5 17. John 6.54 55 56 57. Acts 4.32 1 Cor. 10.16 1 Cor. 10 21. 1 Cor. 11.29 1 Cor. 2.14 1 John 3.17 Rom. 8.6 2 Tim. 3.5 1 Pet. 3.12 Jam. 5.5 6. Pro. 15.8 29. Ex. 40.12 13. Luke 1.3 Hab. 1.13 Mat. 12.34 Job 14.4 Gen. 3.15 2 Sam. 2.22 1 Sam. 5.22 Isa 1.13 14 15 16 17. Mark 16.25 Amos 3 7 8. Am 7.14 15. Gal. 1.11 12. 1 Cor. 1.17 18 19 c. Chap. 2. 2 Pet. 1.21 Act. 2.4 c. Acts 20.33 1 Thes 9.6 as in Act. Act. 24 5.6 Act. 22.22 Witness the Town of Cambridge the Wel-head Rom. 7.14 Rom. 4.15 Rom. 8.1 Gal. 5.23 Rom. 8.8 2 Sam. 23.3 Pro. 28.15 16. Pro. 25.28 Pro. 29.10 Isa 14.15 James 2.9 Hos 4.18 Hester 3. Dan. 1.3 Isa 23. Isa 5.27 28. Psal 82.1 3. Zeph. 3.3 Hos 4.18 Mar. 6.17 c Hest 3.8 Rom. 13.3 4. Exod. 4.10 11 12 13. Acts 9.5 6. 2 Thes 2.4 Jam. 4.1 2 3. 2 Cor. 5.16 17. Gal. 6.14 Col. 1.18 Mat. 20.25 26 27. 1 Cor. 12.12 13. Acts 4.32 Rom. 6.4 5. Rev. 19 Rom. 13.7 1 Kings 19.9 Am. 7.24 25 Deut. 32.3 Deut. 37.5 Mat. 13.55 56 57. Rom. 8.5 Phil. 2.9 10 11. Psal 149.8 Rev. 13. Rev. 14 5. Rev. 18.6 Mat. 20.25 Prov. 22.7 1 Cor. 9.19 Prov. 1.23 Prov. 16.4 Luke 16 10 20. Acts. 17.25 James 2.6 Esth 3. 2 Pet. 2.12 Jude 10. Gen. 1.27 Gen. 5.24 Lvke 4.18 Mat. 10.11 Rev. 21.27 1 Cor. 15.5 John 8.13