our day hath brought mighty things to pass which many will not believe though it hath been often declared It hath wrought the same Works now as it did in the Apostles days in teaching to deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and also to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2.12 And there be many Witnesses that have been raised from the Dead or out of the Spiritual Death who do declare of it who were once dead in Trespasses and Sins But the Goodness of the Lord hath led them to Repentance and raised them to Life Now the Reason why many will not believe is because they love their Evil Deeds Therefore they hate the Light and will not bring their Deeds to it lest by it they should be Reproved For this is the Condemnation That Light is come into the World and Men love Darkness rather than Light and such have ignorantly called the Light Darkness But they that love the Light and know what it is they do bring their Deeds to it that they may be made manifest that they are wrought in God John 3.19 20 21. For the Light makes all things manifest yea the hidden things of Esau are made manifest by the Light My Advice and Counsel to thee is in the Fear of the Lord Bring thy Deeds to the Light if ever thou intendest or desirest to be Everlastingly Happy Let not the Enemy of thy Soul deceive thee any longer For it is better to Suffer Affliction with the People of God than to injoy the Pleasures of Sin which are but for a season though they be never so much applauded by the Sons and Daughters of Men. Such as Men sow they must reap They that sow to the Flesh must of the Flesh reap Corruption and they that sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting Gal. 6.7 8. Consider well those words ye Proud and Haughty Ones and be no longer joyned to the Spirit of this World For the Lord God hath a Controversie against it And he hath determined the Downfal of the Man of Sin which many have witnessed already fulfilled in themselves And the Lord is now fitting and preparing them for himself For it is not the Devil 's right to rule in Man But it is the Lord 's right alone to rule there and he will have no Sharers with him in his Government Let none put the Day of the Lord afar off for this is the Day of the Lord And unless thou knowest him to rule in thee now who alone can destroy the Devil and his Works thy believing he shall rule hereafter if Satan continues to rule in thee here will stand thee in little stead fot that Belief will not purifie thy Heart and it is only the pure in Heart that can see God Mat. 5.8 Heb. 12.14 For Christ Jesus was made manifest for this very End that he might destroy the Works of the Devil 1 John 3.8 And although the Men of this World have set themselves in Opposition against this Truth of the Lord and have pleaded for the Continuance of Sin and therein for the Devil's Power yet we know in whom we have believed and in the Light of the Lord they are seen and their Fruits have made manifest whose Servants they are For his Servants they are to whom they obey whether of Sin unto Death or of Obedience unto Righteousness Rom. 6.16 And tho' many of them have promised or others have promised for them to forsake the Devil and all his Works and to keep God's Holy Will and Commandments all the days of their lives yet they are ready to cry out Blasphemy when they are told Whosoever is born of God doth not commit Sin tho' they are the plain words of Scripture 1 John 3.9 So Zealous are they for their Master's interest Reader if thou art one who hath been taught for Doctrine Mens Precepts as too many now are let me perswade thee to come to the Witness of God in thee and try which is the best Teacher For that Inward Teacher teacheth safe and sure neither can it be removed into a Corner And if thou turn'st to the right hand or to the left thou shalt hear a Word behind thee from this Inward Teacher saying This is the Way walk in it Isa 30.21 This is the plain Man's Path wherein though a Fool in the Worlds esteem he shall not err Isa 35.8 What tho' the Lord leads his People in a way contrary to the Wisdom of the World which makes them the Scorn and Derision of the World Be not discouraged for how can it be otherwise it being the same way which the holy Men of God walked in in Ages past But our Rejoycing is this The Testimony of a good Conscience And we do know as God's faithful Servants did of old The Reproaches for Christ are greater Riches than any there are in Egypt's Land which is a Place of Darkness But we have known the Lord to Redeem us out of that Bondage and deep Captivity and now we can sing Praises and Thanksgivings unto our God who is over all both in Heaven and in Earth blessed for ever and for evermore Friendly Reader I have here out of Love and Good Will to thee and to all Mankind declared unto thee the Goodness of the Lord unto my poor Soul that thou mayst be incouraged to walk in the Light of the Lord which he hath made manifest in this our day For it concerns thee most to know the Lord's Work in thy day that thou mayst have a sense of the Operation of the Power of God on thy Heart before thou goest hence O let not the Enemy of thy Soul prevail with thee to plead for the continuance of Sin term of Life Did Men but know how they do thereby advance the Kingdom of the Enemy of their Souls they never more would open their Mouths on Sins behalf unless they are like those of old who said We have made a Covenant with Death and with Hell are we at an Agreement Isa 28.15 For they who deny Perfection or Freedom from Sin deny the very End and Purpose for which Christ came and was manifested in the Flesh which was to destroy the Works of the Devil 1 John 3.8 which all who profess Christianity do agree is Sin And his Name was therefore called Jesus because He should save his People from their Sins Mat. 1.21 Not In their Sins mark that thou Unbelieving Professor Why should this be thought Impossible seeing All things are possible with God Mat. 19.26 It was the Command of the Lord to Abraham Walk before me and be thou perfect Gen. 17.1 And to incourage him thereunto he brings it in with these words I am the Almighty God The holy Apostle said Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the Lusts of the Flesh Gal. 5.16 And I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me Phil. 4.13 And As many as are led by the Spirit of God
he answered Yea have ye never read Out of the Mouths of Babes and Sucklings thou hast perfected praise Mat. 21. The same Power which so affected the Hearts of those Little Ones to make them cry Hosanna did affect the Author of this little Book when he was but a Little One in a Spiritual Sense newly delivered out of the Power of Darkness and brought into subjection to the Power of God The feeling of the cleansing Operation whereof in his Heart constrained him to bear his Testimony to it as in this little Treatise may be seen Which is now published that Generations yet unborn may be invited thereby to bow to the same Power and to admire the Excellency and Greatness of it which he did Experience in the Morning of his Day when it was writ And as the Sun of Righteousness did arise higher and higher in his Heart by the Light and comfortable Warmth of the same was he guided and strengthened to go on in the Spiritual Journey from one step to another till his Mouth was opened by the same Power to bear Witness of it in the Assemblies of the Lord's People and to call and invite Others to retire inward that they also might come to Experience the Work of this divine Power in their own Hearts And that such as were come thereunto might watch and wait for the stirring and arising of this mighty Power in its further Strength and Glory which is able to overcome all other Powers both within and without In his Testimony he was Zealous because his Heart was zealously affected therewith And when any who profest to know the Work of this heavenly Power turned from and acted against it his Concern was great for such labouring to bring them to a sense of their Evil if by any means they might be recovered Which to many proved effectual His Service in the Church of Christ especially amongst the Meetings both Monthly and Quarterly to which more particularly he belonged hath a living Remembrance in the Hearts of many Members thereof And the sense of his absence hath deeply affected the Spirits of some of them His Love was to all the Sons and Daughters of Men But especially to the Flock and Family of God the Witnesses of this Power of Jesus their Saviour amongst whom his Heart was open and his Life went freely forth In their Converse was his delight and he would often say The Friendships and Converse of the World was a great Hurt to Friends and drew their Minds too much out Which thing he kept clear of And tho' he had Dealings and Concerns in the World as well as others yet was always watchful against the Spirit of the World which leads from God In the latter part of this good Man's days it was my Lot to come into so near a Relation to him as to be his Wife who was a very kind tender and open-hearted Husband to me By which means I had the Opportunity to have a Relation of the Course of his Life And he hath oft-times exprest how the same Power which in the following Sheets he exalted at the beginning had carried him through all Exercises which were not a few When he had Goods taken from him for his Testimony to the Truth he has said that the inward Joy he felt in that he was counted worthy to Suffer for the Truth he profest was beyond what he could speak And having been a Prisoner with other Friends for the Truth 's sake about the space of Two Years he took delight to speak of that time often mentioning how mightily the Lord was with them and how good a time it was He would say many times If People did but know the Pleasure of Godliness they would not live in the Earth as they did But said he nothing but God's Spirit can mortifie the Flesh And oft would he mention that place Rom. 8.13 If ye live after the Flesh ye shall die But if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body ye shall live And he would say He had felt the mortifying Work of it beyond what he could have thought and that over that wherein his greatest Besetment was he had obtained a perfect Conquest For which he offered the Thanksgiving and Praise to God's Everlasting Power who not only begins the Work of Redemption but is able to carry it on and finish it to the perfecting of his own Praise which he accepts out of the Mouths of Babes and Sucklings Little Ones which incourages me thus to appear in the publishing of this little Book that it may go forth for the Incouragement of all the Weary and such as are heavy-laden with the Burden of their Iniquity that they may come to find rest to their Souls as this faithful Witness did Who when he lay on his dying Bed was kept quick and living in his Spiritual Senses and had a sutable Word to every one's State that came to him and would often clap his Hand on his Breast and say All is well here The day before he departed many Friends visiting him he spake sensibly to all and in great Expression of Love took his leave of them And taking his leave of a Child who wept he said Do not Cry I am well my Peace is made with the Lord. If thou Cry Cry that Iniquity may be brought down and Righteousness brought up The Power and Strength of God is with me I am going the Way of all Flesh I am going before and others must follow after So he laid down his Life in the feeling of that Power which at the beginning of his day he bore Witness to Which I here mention for the comfort of those who are kept by it through Faith unto Salvation and for the Inviting Others to come to feel the Work of the same VVhich I felt to be my Stay and Strength in the parting with so near and dear a Relation And as the Children in the Temple cried Hosanna so the Multitude of the Disciples also did Rejoyce when Jesus came riding on the Asses Colt bringing that into Subjection which before had been at Liberty saying Blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest Luke 19.38 For which some of the Pharisees would have had him rebuke his Disciples ver 39. To whom he answered If these should hold their Peace the Stones would immediately Cry out ver 40. Which causes me thus to cast in my Mite to the Praise of him that lives for ever Who told his Followers Because I live ye shall live also John 14.19 Who is the Alpha and Omega the Beginner and Finisher of the Work of Faith by his own Power which this his faithful Servant was a Witness of Concerning whom I was pressed in Spirit to write this short Testimony without which I could not be clear in the sight of the Lord. Mary Baker The 31 st of the 10 th Month 1697. THE Power of God
not a falling into Sin but a falling into Affliction Secondly He perverted that Scripture 1 John 1.8 If we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in us Thirdly He urged that the Apostle Paul said When he would do Good Evil was present with him and how to perform that which was Good he found not Fourthly He alledged that All Men have their Failings and the best of Men their Infirmities as may be read in the Scriptures instancing David and others The Perversions of these Scriptures I may well call Satan's Props for he propped up his Kingdom in me a great while by them and so begat me into the World's belief That there is No Perfection here no Freedom from Sin to be expected on this side the Grave And then I began to make merry over the Witness of God in my self But the Lord did not leave me there but in tender compassion visited me and his holy Witness began to arise again in me and to strike at those Props which the Enemy had set up in me And this holy Witness said that unless I was regenerated and born again I could not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Then I began to see there was nothing but Purity and Holiness could stand before the Lord For all things are naked and bare before him And then I cried out for a Deliverer one that could redeem me from that which was too great a Burden for me to bear as one once said A wounded Spirit who can bear Prov. 18.14 But I could then see no way of Deliverance but being exceedingly troubled I went from Mountain to Hill from hearing this sort of People to the other But among them all there was none did speak Peace to my weary Soul nor could unless I could have had Peace in my Sins which I could not For all of them cryed out No Freedom from Sin on this side of the Grave But I felt a necessity for it else I could not injoy Peace with the Lord which made me still cry out for a Deliverer In this great distress being turned with my Face Sion-ward and inquiring the way thether I was at length through the abundant Goodness of the Lord who led me inclined to go to a Meeting of the People called Quakers where I did hear a Servant of the Lord declare that That which reproveth and condemneth a Man in himself for Sin and will not let him go on in Sin without reproof is the Light of Christ who is the Light of the World which enlightneth every Man that cometh into the World that all Men through him might believe and so come to be saved from Sin And that this Light which doth convince of Sin Obedience being yielded to it will redeem out of Sin and preserve and keep from Sin And I having a Witness for God in me it did testifie to the Truth of what was declared and I was then by it convinced that That was the Way of God and Those were the People of God But I thought I saw a Lion in the Way and that there was a great Cross to be taken up Yet I found if I could be delivered from that which was so great a Burden to me I could be contented to undergo a great deal From that time forward I still kept to the Meetings of the People of the Lord who are at this time distinguish'd by the Name Quakers as the People of the Lord were in Ages past called Christians Which Name is now given to Drunkards and Swearers and all manner of prophane Persons and by the Sons of Belial one to another so that the Name Christian is become a reproach amongst them that are called Heathens through the Blasphemy of those that have covered themselves with the Name Christian but do not live the Christian Life Now keeping to the Meetings of the Lord's People I did there hear many Declarations testifying to the Power of the Lord what it had wrought for his Servants in this Age and likewise what he do for all those who are faithful and obedient in this day of his Power Yet still Sin remained in me and that was my great Weight and Burden But now knowing where Strength and Power was a Secret Hope wat raised up in me and a Belief that All things are possible with the Lord. So I committed my Self and Cause to the Lord having had Experience that my own Strength was altogether in-sufficient For when the Judgments of the Lord have been upon me I have often made large Promises in my own will that I would resist the Enemy when he came but I could never prevail by my own strength or any thing set up in my own will while that was standing But now having listed my self under an another Commander my old Master was enraged and comes with his usual Boldness and Confidence to demand Entrance and being denied he makes use of his former Weapons but was disappointed and driven back by the Power of the Lord Glory be unto his holy Name for ever For I keeping or rather being kept to that which did make it manifest to me to be Sin it furnished me with this Weapon against him viz. Walk in the Spirit and thou shalt not fulfill the Lust of the Flesh And so the Enemy was chased away by the Spirit of the Lord who had lifted up a Standard in me against him And he being thus put to flight there did arise Joy unutterable in my Soul feeling the work of the Lord begun in me And so continuing faithful and obedient to the Lord he hath by his mighty Power redeemed me from that which once I did believe I could never be redeemed from Praises Praises be given unto the Omnipotent God who reigns for ever For that which formerly was so pleasant and delightful to me and was as my Meat and Drink is now become hateful and abominable in my thoughts Glory be to the Lord for ever whose Mercy is over all his works and is not to be forgotten by those that have tasted of it Yet the Enemy would not leave me so but going up and down like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour he comes and presents his Temptations again though the main Pillar of his Kingdom was broken down in me So now he goes another way to work and sets before me the difficulty and straitness of the Way I was to walk in For my nearest and dearest Relations would be great Enemies to me and would slight and contemn me whereas before I was well beloved and esteemed by and amongst them and they were ready and willing to do me what kindness they could And if I would now turn fool at last and disoblige my Friends and so leave my Wife and Children to the Mercy of the World who would pity me For he that takes not care for his Family is worse than an Infidel And said the Enemy if thou wert of any other Religion but a Quaker thy