AND COUNSEL Given forth by JOSEPH SLEIGH Of the CITY of DUBLIN In the time of his Sickness TO HIS CHILDREN And since his Death it being thought fit for the Service of others also therefore it was ordered into Print that other Children c. may have the Benefit thereof Printed in the Year 1683. Advice from a Father in the time of his Weakness of Body unto his tender Children My dear Children REmember your Creator in the days of your youth in your young years before the Enemy of your Souls draw your Minds out into the Wickedness and Ungodliness of the World to defile your Hearts and Minds with the Wickedness and Profaneness there of and so harden your Hearts in Sin and Ungodliness which will bring Wo and Misery upon your Souls and anguish of Spirit and bitter Lamentation and provoke the Anger of the Lord against you This is the work of the Destroyer of Souls the Devil who goes about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour And no sooner Children grow up to years of understanding but this Enemy comes to tempt them and draw them into evil and into those things which are contrary to the pure Mind and Will of the Lord some into one thing and some into another according as they are naturally inclined some to Wildness and Rudeness some to Pride some to Stubborness and Self-conceitedness some to one vanity and some to another This is the work of the Destroyer Therefore my Children my Advice to you in tender love is that you wait upon the Lord in the stilness and coolness of your Minds in the silence of all flesh or fleshly thoughts or cogitations that you may receive Wisdom and Strength from the Lord to withstand the Enemy of your Souls For as it is written in the Scriptures of Truth They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their Strength for none are able to overcome the Enemy but they that know the renewing of his Strength for of your selves as Christ said you can do nothing and an overcoming there must be or else no entring into that Rest which is without end My dear Children you have immortal Souls that shall never die but shall be sensible either of everlasting Joy and Felicity with the Lord and with the Godly in Generations past in the Kingdom of unspeakable Glory for evermore or for ever feel the Anger and Indignation of the Lord with the wicked and ungodly in the Hell of eternal Wo and Misery which is a deplorable state And as there is but these two states for the Soul to remain in after Death the one Joy and Comfort the other Wo and Misery so there are but two ways the one is the streight and narrow way that leadeth to Life the other the broad way that leadeth to the Chambers of Death So you see there is but one way to Life eternal even the streight and narrow way although you will see many ways in the world one saying this is the way another sort saying nay but this is the way and so various sorts of Religions in the world every one crying up their several Notions to be the way to the City of Peace and Rest which upon your viewing of it in your Minds may raise doubts and cause some Considerations in your Minds And from the considering of things you may reason within your selves Here are many sorts of Ways and Religions in the world and all pretend to be the right way and how shall we do to know the one right way amongst those many ways for there is but one right way and we may spend all our days in running from one Religion to another to find the right way and may miss of it at last and so lay down our heads in Sorrow Answer Christ saith he is the Way the Truth and the Life and it is said in the Scriptures of Truth that Christ enlightens every one that comes into the world And when Christ talked with the Woman at the Well of Samaria about Worship and the place of Worship there being at that day a difference between the Samaritans and the Jews about the place of Worship as appears by the Womans words to Christ when she said Our Fathers worshipped in this Mountain and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship Christ says Woman believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father Ye worship ye know not what we know what we worship for Salvation is of the Jews But the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth Joh. 4.20 21 22 23 24. So this is the true way to worship the Father set up by Christ Jesus the Shepherd and Bishop of the Souls the spiritual Worship which is to continue And Paul saith what may be known of God is made manifest in man And Christ forbids to run after those who turn peoples minds outward to look for the way to the Kingdom saying lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdom of God in within you Luk. 17.21 Now if the Kingdom be within of necessity must mans Guide be there also as the Apostle says Try your selves prove your selves know ye not how that Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates So here is Christ the way to the Father near in your Hearts to guide teach admonish and reprove and to justifie those that are his faithful followers So if you want Counsel you may wait in the coolness and stilness of your Minds and Counsel you will receive If you be like to faint in your travel Christ the way will be as the Shadow of a mighty Rock in a weary Land If you be thirsty he will be to you as a Well of Water to refresh your Souls If you hunger he will feed you with the Bread of Life and clothe you with his Spirit And if you keep the word of his Patience he will preserve you in the hour of temptation But it may be objected and said How shall we know the Teachings of Christ by his Spirit in our hearts from the Suggestions of the Enemy of our Souls which is also a Spirit Answer That which reproves thee in secret for evil committed by thee when no eye it may be saw thee is the Spirit of Truth which leads into all Truth and Righteousness and leadeth those who give up to be led by it into the paths of Holiness without which none shall see God as faith the Scriptures of Truth and condemns evil thoughts when they arise in the Creature before they come forth to actions and leads men to deny all Ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live godlily and soberly in this present evil world and teacheth people to be true to God and also to man
and to deal honestly with all men and to do to every one as they would have every one do to them And this good Spirit teacheth Children to be dutiful to their Parents and teaches Servants to serve their Masters faithfully not as eye-servants but as knowing there is an All-seeing Eye that sees all things It leads into all good and is the Author of all good and as the Beams of the Sun that shines into our houses comes from the Sun and draws to the Sun again being its Center so this measure of Divine Light that proceeds from the Sun of Righteousness shines into the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of men and directs by the Beams or Rays of its Glory to Christ the Fulness so brings people into the Nature of Christ and so such become true born Christians born of the Spirit and led by the Spirit into that which is sober and of a good report and into that which adorns Christianity to wit a good Life and a blameless Conversation for that 's true Religion that visits the Fatherless and the Widow and keeps themselves unspotted of the World mark that But the wicked Spirit the Enemy of mans Good and Happiness leads into all manner of Wickedness leads Children to disobey their Parents to be false to their Masters to be false to their Neighbours to be headdy and high-minded lovers of Pleasure more than lovers of God leads to Strife Envy Malice Murthers Adultery Theft and all manner of evil in order to destroy the Soul And so by this my dear Children you may know the right Spirit from the wrong as a Tree is known by its Fruits and a Fountain by the Water it brings forth Can a Fountain bring forth both sweet Water and bitter as saith the Scripture by way of question So in short the one leads into all good and the contrary into all evil And these Ministers that direct peoples Minds to the measure of Light and Grace in their own hearts and teach people to love the Light and obey the Light that they may be Children of the Light and to wait in that which manifests Sin and Evil and be subject to its leadings and guidings that Power may be received to overcome Sin and Evil that so the works of the Devil may be destroyed and a Victory in the Dominion of the Spirit and Power of Truth may be known over all Sin and Uncleanness that Christ may rule and reign in your hearts these are the Ministers of Christ whose Kingdome is Love Peace and Joy to the Soul and that this was the end of Christs coming to destroy the work of the Devil and to present men to the Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing and that nothing that is unclean enter the Kingdom of Heaven as saith the Scripture and direct people to Christ the Bishop and Pastor of their Souls that they may witness Power from him to overcome the wicked one and so bring not only to the Form of Godliness but to the Power also and for their Service and Labour of Love desire no mans Silver or Gold or Apparel but bear their Testimony according to the Scriptures against those that preach for hire and divine for mony and seek their gain from their Quarter and eat the Fat and clothe with the Wool and prepare War against those that will not put into their Mouths whose God is their Belly whose Glory is their Shame who love and seek earthly things and live in Pride and Idleness upon the Sweat of poor mens Labours and matter not what become of their Souls and preach up Sin term of Life and do not obey Christs Commands who said to his Ministers when he sent them out freely you have received freely give and as the Spirit said through the Prophet every one that is thirsty come and buy Milk and Wine without mony and without price I say these Ministers as hold forth this Doctrine as aforesaid in a pure Life and Conversation in the movings of his Spirit are the Ministers of Christ as aforesaid But they that tell people they must sin term of life and it is impossible to overcome the Devil but people must live in sin so long as they live in this world and it cannot be otherwise contrary to the Scripture which saith If we walk in the Light as he is in the Light then have we fellowship one with another and the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin and John bore testimony of Christ that he was the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world and his Name was called Jesus because he was to save his people from their sins not in their sins for all sin is of the Devil and they that plead for sin plead for the Devils Kingdom and are his Ministers and not the Ministers of Christ for Christ and his Ministers preach'd up Holiness and Righteousness and Innocency and endeavoured to bring man up into that state in which man was before he fell The first Man Adam was of the earth earthly but the second Man was the Lord from Heaven a quickening Spirit as saith the Scriptures to renew and quicken man who was dead from God by reason of Disobedience and brings man again into that state and image that he was in before he sell and so into that love and unity with his Maker which he had in the beginning before Sin was and before there was any Preachers up of Sin and Disobedience term of Life For the first that preached up Disobedience to Gods Commandments which are holy and good was the Serpent the Devil the Enemy of mans Happiness and he did it under a pretence to please that Mind that would fain have Liberty to Evil saying they should be wise as Gods knowing good and evil and by giving way to that Sin-pleasing Doctrine Death came over their Souls So these Priests or Teachers that preach up Sin and Disobedience term of life they may see their original the Serpent and if they repent not but continue in their obstinacy and evil serpentine Doctrine they will come with him under the Curse and Indignation of God as the Serpent did So my dear Children have a care of these Deceivers and rather chuse with good Moses to endure affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season for they that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution As I have given you some marks before of false Ministers which are Teachers of the false Church so here is another mark that you may be certain of to be a mark of a false Church and that is Persecution about Religion for the true Church never did persecute but was persecuted and suffered persecution in all ages by the false Worshippers who had the Form of Godliness but denyed the Power from such we are commanded to turn away So dear Children where ever you see this mark you
of his age AS for our Friend and Brother who is taken hence before us I have this to say of him That ever since I knew him being about fourteen years past since I came to live in Dublin I was sensible his Love and Reality was so much to the blessed Truth he professed as to prefer it before any man or thing he was concerned in For he loved the Honour of the Lord and his pure Truth which never consented to any sin or evil which caused me to have a very near love to and unity with him He stood a faithful Witness in his day according to his Call and Measure against Deceit in Professor and Prosane yet a great Lover of the faithful and desirer of Unity amongst Brethren I never perceived him apt to differ with any about outward things which he accounted trifles in the comparison of the heavenly Riches which I am sensible he much prized and loved to see others prosper therein for my own part in all my Intimacy with him which was very great as I can remember I always found him zealous for Truth his Behaviour being sweetned with the Spirit of Truth he lived and deceased well and was in the long and tedious time of his Sickness born up by the Truth he loved in much comfort and patience waiting the Lords appointed time for his Deliverance into eternal Rest And still his remembrance liveth in my heart and that he is entred into eternal habitation of Rest is sealed in my Spirit and doubtless it 's a good motive and encouragement for the faithful to persevere in well doing to the end that the Crown of eternal Life may be their portion which is not only laid up for him but for all the righteous that love Christs appearance He left his antient Mother and five Children Orphants behind him which he carefully and wisely discharged himself towards as to his outward estate and he having left good Councel and Advice to his Children given forth in Manuscript in the time of his Sickness his said Mother desired it should be put into print which was unanimously agreed to by Friends of our Mens Meeting in Dublin for the Service of them intended and others that may reap benefit thereby The Righteous are taken away from the evil to come and few lay it to heart And though the Lord has taken so servicable a Member from us yet he can raise up more and I hope will whereby his Name and Truth may be honoured upon the Earth not unto us not unto us but unto the Name and Power of the Lord over all be Praises and Renown who is worthy for ever and ever Amen Honest Joseph I loved him very dear For to the Lord of Life he had true fear His Truth he lov'd and all the Righteous Seed But fallers back did make his heart to bleed In sorrowful dolour for the Truths renown That such backsliders had defac'd its Crown Within themselves which made the weak to stumble ' Gainst such blocks the blind's apt to tumble He loved the blind shou'd not be led astray And erring folks be brought to th' right way He loved the Light and brightness of its ray That shined in his Soul of its clear day His Understanding and his Love thereby To God and man was good entirely That God his Honour and that man true Peace He did desire to his very Race But such as of this happiness did bereave Just was his Sorrows and 's Judgments grave To bring them to a sense of their own state T' amend their ways before it was to late His Zeal was well intended for their well And 's Love to God ' gainst whom they did rebel But he is gone to that eternal Bliss Of never ending Joys and so to cease From man who 's breath 's so short that they In little time shall have no more a day His care for Truth and for such souls as these Was very great that they might have true peace And that Gods Name might ever honor'd be And all the saving Truth might love like he His holy Zeal his virtuous Spirit so clean Doth speak aloud what he therein did mean Though fallers back by his zeal has bin crost He did desire not one soul should be lost This is my Testimony of his mind Which by a strict scrutiny I find Tho' he with evil actors could not bear Yet ' gainst the Truth to act he had great fear His Body 's gone yet Praise is left behind So young and real for Truth I desire to find More Joseph's bough over the wall to spread And to the wicked be as great a dread His Counsel to 's Babes doth partly show That of his Spirit I write that I did know And that for all that are now left behind That with his Zeal for Truth any fault may find I do desire for them and all mens parts They may live and dye and have deserts Like him I do through Truth so much commend Who to the truth and mankind was a friend So or the Truth we Self must come to hate That hinders us from a more happy state To love live in truth through all our days By me and all Truths lovers be the praise A S.