A TRUE BELIEVER'S Testimony Of the WORK of True Faith Who hath believed in CHRIST JESUS the True LIGHT Who Enlighteneth every One that cometh into the World that all men through Him might believe Wherein are many Excellent things held forth which through Faith in the Light are seen learned and certainly believed c. and are profitable for all to reade With a Visitation to the Called of God every-where By a Servant of the Lord Geo. Rofe London Printed for Rob. Wilson in Martins le Grand near Aldersgate 1661. To the READER Reader VVHosoever thou art that shalt reade this little Book Be it known unto thee that I have not given it forth in any desire to appear unto men to be a setter forth of Books but in the Innocency and simplicity of my heart as it was upon me from the Lord who moved me thereunto by his own Spirit and Power else I should not have set my Pen to Paper to appear in Print So if thou readest in Innocency and simplicity of heart thou mayest see that my End is to manifest the living Truth of God and to establish many in the Faith which if thou truly desirest after then have regard to the Light which Christ hath enlightned thee withal that thou mayest reade with a sound Mind and a good Understanding weighing and considering seriously as thou readest and not making light of it and then thou mayest come to understand those things which thou never understoodst and to see the Faith in Jesus Christ who is the true Light and Truth by which we are carried through Nations and upheld in all Conditions both by Sea and by Land having the Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom after which we earnestly press and labour to bring People to for which sake all the Kingdoms of the World are against us But we do assuredly believe That the Truth shall overcome them And though we have nothing on our parts but the Truth of our God to uphold us against all our Enemies who are as the stars of Heaven in multitude yet they shall fall and dye away and waste as the Dew and every Mouth shall be stop'd and every Power confounded which riseth up against us and the Truth of our God in which we live and in which we have believed which if thou desirest to believe in fear not though thou maist meet with Difficulties but believe in the Truth and true Light and thy Faith shall give the Victory Farewel G. R. A True Believer's TESTIMONY of the Work of True FAITH c. AFter that from my Childhood I had often both desired and sought after the Lord in sighs and groanings and many tears and strong cryings the Lord in his own time manifested Himself to me by the Light which enlightens every one that comes into the World that all through it might believe in which Light I came to see my self when I first believed in it and when I first came to hear it speak in my heart and to own it I came to hear the Word by which Faith comes for it preached Faith unto me and by Faith in it I came to see all that ever I did and to have all my sins brought into my remembrance and set in order before me by the Light which comes from Christ the Author of Faith who enlighteneth every one that cometh into the World that all through Him might believe By Faith in the Light I came to see Judgement kindled in my heart and the thoughts and intents and purposes of my heart revealed and to own the Judgments of God upon all that ever I did and that God was Just Holy and True in all His Wayes and in all his Judgments By Faith in the Light I came to see if I forsook not the vain course of life in which I lived the Wrath and Judgments of God abode upon me By Faith I came to see how all the world live in wickedness and ignorant of the true God not knowing the way of Eternal Life By Faith I came to see all the World With its Ways and Worships are to be denied they acting all they do in that nature and with that spirit and mind which transgresseth and is without the Faith and out of the Light and that which is out of the Faith out of the Light cannot please God for out of the Faith none can please God By Faith I came to see where the Enemie of Man's soul lodgeth and how he dwells in the hearts of all Transgressors to turn the purposes of every heart unto Evil and to corrupt the thoughts of every mind By Faith in the Light I came to see the Judgment of the World and the Prince of the World judged and cast out By Faith I came to see the Seed which is immortal which through Faith it hath pleased the Father to reveal in me and Thousands of his Sons Daughters which by Faith he raised from the dead through his own Spirit which makes us to differ from all the World By Faith I came to see the Image of God renewed in his Seed which Seed is Christ one in the male and one in the female who is the Lamb of God which was slain from the Foundation of the World which God is raising in many Sons and Daughters to work out that nature which hath transgressed that the Sins may be taken away and the Transgressions blotted out By Faith I came to see that no one is in the Covenant nor in the Promise which is Life Eternal who are not come to believe in the Light and to witness the Word of Faith in the heart and in the mouth to give them Victory over every evil Temptation every evil Lust every evil Desire every evil Thought and Word which the Light checks and reproves for By Faith I came to see that it is the true Light which enlightens every one that comes into the World which manifests every ones evil and reproves the evil of every heart and checks for every evil word work thought and deed and that this Light is spiritual and eternal and never changeth but is the same though when man or woman changes their Obedience it changeth its Administration it preacheth the Gospel truly in them even the Day of the Vengeance of God to that which transgresses and Peace Love and Good-will to every one that obeyeth and worketh Righteousness both to the Jew and likewise to the Gentile without respecting or accepting any person but witnesseth the Truth in all as in the sight of God By Faith I came to see that the Light which enlightneth every one that all men through it might believe is the very ground of the knowledge of all Good and is indeed the very Life of God it self in which his Seed is known in which God hath placed the Promise not only to live ever but that all that believe in it might live by it Because I live therefore I will that ye live also And this is
Presence may go along with them and his Arm may defend them and his Glory follow after them to be their Re-reward And the Spirits and Life of all the Children of the Promise the Heirs of Eternal Salvation He upholds who give themselves up unto Him and to the Appearing of his Glory and the Light of His glorious Gospel which shines in their hearts that they may be unto Him as the Tower of Sion and the Bulwarks of Jerusalem in them hath the Star arisen which hath shined from the North and is broken forth in the Darkness of the Night and is shining towards the South it rises in the East it looks towards the West and there is no place for its going down The Lord hath Multitudes of People He gathers them as the Bands of the Earth He suffers the Nations to afflict them for a season He chastizeth with the Rods of Men that He may prove them all for His Glory And yet a little while and the Rage of the Heathen shall sink He correcteth his People for their Good and chastizeth them for their Peace-sake that He may build up his Nation which He hath visited and establish his Seed which he hath gathered and multiply his People Thy Throne O God endures for ever and the Scepter of thy Righteousness who lettest not Sufferings and Tryals to come upon the Seed which thou hath chosen and the People which thou hast visited to destroy them but to establish them that when thou hast tryed them as Gold they may be established and fitted for thy use that they may be humbled and all fear before thee and wait upon thee that thou mayest renew us all from day to day and night after night in thy Life to do thy Service to fit all thine to Glory and Praise and Honour immortal for thy great Name thou art spreading over all the Earth By Faith it was given me to see wherein the Worship of the true God consisteth and how He must be worshipped in the Spirit and in the Truth which the Father seeks such to worship him as worship Him in the Spirit as worship Him in the Truth and in the true Light which enlighteneth every one in which none can see the VVorship but who come into the Faith and into the Humility and into the Fear and into the Waiting and into the Zeal for God which bows the heart before God and the heart being bowed then the Consideration is come into and the Inquirings into the Knowledge of Life and the sinking down to feel the Spirit which brings the Truth into Remembrance and also brings to be still and quiet and wait in stilness and quietness and silence then God is seen and felt and his Life which gives the Creature to feel after God who comes to be felt in his Life which enlighteneth the Creature and gives the Creature liveliness to wait for the renewing the strength and God reveals his Word his Power and his Requirings in the Creature which works in the heart and in the reins and runs through the mortal body and is weighty in operation to give Power and Dominion to the Creature to the end that it may have full power and strength to resist the Assaults of the Devil and to have its mind staid in stilness and quietness and silence and waiting for the Love and Vertue and Mercies of God which being felt then the Lord is admired and bowed unto this is VVorship to bow before the God of Heaven that all that 's in Man may be bowed down and submitted under the Life and Power then he worships he boweth down to the higher Power his soul abhors all defilements his thoughts are staid on God his heart is kept tender and open and he is refreshed in the Enjoyment of the Life and of the feeling of the Presence of the Lord and of his Power by which the Creature comes to admire the infinite Love and Mercies of God and the Riches of his Grace that after so long living in disobedience the Lord should reveal his Power and make known the Riches of his Grace to such a Creature that hath been as altogether unworthy but the Lord hath done it for his Seeds sake in Man which never consented to or took pleasure in sinning but hungred and thirsted after God and breathed after God and moved in the Creature towards the Lord even while the Creature was yet subject to vanity and for the Seeds sake the Lord is merciful full of compassion long-suffering and slow to Anger and blessed are all they that turn unto Him in the obedience of His Seed and in the Faith of His Son they shall see his Mercies know his Presence feel his Life Power and Spirit which bows and brings to worship God By Faith it 's seen that none are more sensible of the feeling of the Presence of the Lord than when they are still and quiet and wait in silence and stilness even when met together and when alone for by Faith many are come to see that the Lord is very near and that they feel his Presence when they wait upon Him and his Life breaks forth in his tender Love to the great refreshing of the soul and quickning of the Creature this takes away weariness and leanness from the soul and removes the multitude of vain Thoughts which have lodged in Man so that though they may often appear yet they become stilled as though they were not for when any thing appears contrary to the Will of God the Light is near and ready to administer Judgment upon it and to give the Creature to apply its mind to Judgment through which God redeems out of the Incumbrances and reveals his Noble Spirit of Life which stills the Thoughts and the Desires and Affections which would raise Lust and War in the flesh so that Man comes to wait out of himself and out of his own thoughts and imaginations in the Life the Promise it self where it feels the Riches of the Love and of the Mercies and of the Grace and of the Power which brings into the Glory and into the unspeakable Life and Love where the mortal body becomes filled with Immortality and Life which swallows up mortality in Victory and Conquest and Dominion and the delight of all mortal fading things and this hath made me bold and confident in the Lord of my Life to give up my whole strength for the witnessing forth the Truth through Faith which by Faith is received of God even through the Nations by Sea and by Land as the Lord requires which I account Eternal Salvation though for it I suffer many things but all is good and for good By Faith it 's seen how exceeding good it is to wait upon the Lord and to be still and silent before Him and in all things to eye Him and fear Him then the Incumbrances come to be taken away and the Darkness and Doubtings dissolved and Courage and Boldness for God received which
in the Night Rev. 3.3 Behold I come as a Thief blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame Rev. 16.15 So now all may see that there must be a waiting and there must be a watching that ye may stand in the Evil Day that you may resist the Enemy of your Souls therefore put on the whole Armour of God that you may withstand the Evil put on the Armour of Light that you may be able to quench the fiery Darts of the Devil Rom. 13.12 So now all that come to know the Covenant of God and to walk in obedience to his Law that he writes in the heart and puts in the mind that every man need not say to his Neighbour and Brother Know the Lord for they shall all know him Jer. 31. Heb. 8. These I say must come to the waiting and watching in the Light which Arms against the Devil and his fiery Darts that you may come to be established in Righteousness for all the People of God shall be taught of God and established in Righteousness and far from Oppression Isa 54.14 15. Joh. 6.45 Now who comes to know this Promise fulfilled must come to know the waiting in the Light the Armour of God that ye may know an VNCTION from the Holy One by which ye may know all things as the Saints did I Joh. 2.20 27. who were anointed in their Souls by the Eternal Spirit and the Anointing which they had received of God abode in them which taught them all things so that they needed not that any man should teach them but as the same Anointing taught them all things which were true and of it is no lye and as it taught them they were to abide in Him And now all that come to wait and receive the Knowledge of these things need not any to teach them but all shall be taught of God and established in Righteousness so that they will not need any man to teach them Glory in the Highest A Visitation to the Called of God every where FRiends I consider the former dayes when God first made known unto us his Son to be a Light unto us to enlighten us and every one that cometh into the World which manifested unto us all that ever we had done and judged Transgression in us in all its appearances then we believed in it and had Grace for Grace manifested and Faith revealed from Faith to Faith so that the Light being believed in in which the Hope of Eternal Life came to be seen and laid hold on then was the Love strong which ran forth towards die Lord and his Truth and the breakings into true Tenderness and into the true Fear and Humility and the real-heartedness for God came to be seen and felt in which the bringing out of the World came to be seen and the true Zeal for God so that through obedience in the Faith to the Light nothing was too dear to be forsaken and parted withal and a true enquiring into the state and condition there was to see how it was between God and every Soul and then in the Light both Words and Actions came to be weighed and an enquiring into the Worlds wayes of Deceit and Words to deny them their Wayes and Words and their corrupt Language Oh! the heart-breakings that were in that day and the revealings of Secrets and the manifesting God's Power which begat into the true Cross and truly to cross that mind and nature which had transgressed both in thought word and deed So that the Lord arose in the Glory of his Majesty to shake terribly the Earth and to abase the flesh and lay low the glory of man as thousands can witness then earthly Enjoyments and Riches and Preferments came to be lightly esteemed on and cast off yea all of them that did let or hinder Then strong was the Love of God and mightily did his Power work to bring out of all things which were contrary to the Lord and to the rooting out every Plant which the Heavenly Father had not planted In this day Friends could ye wrong any Was not every one's care to be found innocent just upright and harmless having your Consciences exercised pure and void of offence towards God and man could ye then at all bow to the World or to their Wayes Worships Manners Words or Performances could ye then partake with them almost in any thing at all was not this a precious day and a day of Love could ye not endure all thing in this day and suffer all things and bear all things and was any thing too hard then to do or perform did not your Souls even hate all the corrupt delights of the Sons and Daughters of men in that day when the Zeal and Power of God broke forth could any temptation of the wicked ensnare you was not the Light present to judge and condemn every temptation and through its Judgement to deliver you Oh! the Beauty and the Glory of that day when God shook the Heavens and made the Earth to tremble and brake stony hearts at his pleasure and overturned Babylon as a thing of naught and brought forth many Sons and Daughters unto Glory my heart is broken within me when I call to mind this day wherein God did valiantly and wrought excellent things How were the hearts of many drawn after him how did their Love flow forth how were they gathered by God how quick was the Lord to execute Judgement and Justice and to set up his Truth in the hearts and to confound the wisdom of all flesh He gathered thousands in his Love to deny themselves and all their own Wisdom and Knowledge and to become as little Children yea as new Born Babes to wait at the breasts of Consolation that they might learn both what to do and what to speak yea in that day the Lord made of a little one a thousand and of a small People a strong Nation so that nothing was too hard for him to do When I saw it I was glad and trusted in the Lord who in that day fitted many to his Service and for his Honour and Glory for then he was swift in executing Judgement upon the World and in casting out the Prince of this World so that he setled many to wait upon him and it was their delight to do his Will for his Love constrained them and he was with them in their Assemblies and blessed them when they waited in stilness and silence then were their tears as a Fountain and the dropping down of their eye-lids as the dew of Heaven Oh! how precious it is to dwell in the tender Love of the Lord then they thought the time long until they were come together and they waited in silence until the Heavens dropped down dew and their Consolation came from God so that none waited in vain who waited in the Lord for the Mountains melted at his presence the Earth trembled the