A RELATION OF THE Labour Travail AND SUFFERING Of that faithful Servant of the Lord Alice Curwen Who departed this Life the 7th Day of the 6th Moneth 1679. and resteth in Peace with the LORD Here is the Patience of the Saints here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus Rev. 14.12 The Souls of the Righteous are precious in the Eyes of the Lord and they shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance Printed in the Year 1680. Something of Alice Curwen's Testimony which did lie upon her to declare some few dayes before she departed out of the Body she spoke for one to come to write and there was one that did come and did purpose to write but the Lord's Power and Presence was so with her that the Friends that were with her were so broken into Tenderness that there could nothing be written but there was one Friend which was present with her at that time which did remember something of what she did speak as followeth whose Name is Anne Martindall AND I can truly say my Heart was greatly affected and much broken in hearing of that powerful Testimony which dear Alice Curmen did bear for the Lord and for his Eternal Truth and in the Sense and Consideration of that blessed heavenly Power which did run thorow her at that time my Spirit is often tendred as before the Lord and truly many of her Words are past out of my Memory The first time I did see her she had been sick about five dayes and she seemed 〈…〉 but I went again 〈…〉 very sick that 〈…〉 continued that Night yet she was very sensible and desired me to sit up with her and so I did stay all that Night in which time she did utter many precious Words which I cannot call to mind she said That she felt nothing upon her but all was clear for she said I do not know that ever I did any thing that did offend the Lord if it was but a Hasty word or a Thought but I was reproved for it and I was willing to lie low and wait upon the Lord until he was pleased to arise again And she spoke much of the Goodness of the Lord towards her how that He had been with her at all times and in all places Some asked her If she did think that she should not get over it To which she answered I do not know what the Lord has to do but I am freely given up to do his will whatever it be Life or Death I am as clear as a Child this she spoke several times and desired that the will of the Lord might be done And after she had lain a while she said I have something in my Mind to speak if the Lord will enable me and she spoke forth with a Heavenly Melody and so spoke a long time but I do remember very few of her words but she said The Lord is on his way and he will go on Conquerings and to Conquer and he will carry on his great work which he hath begun And she often desired Friends to be faithful and follow the Lord fully and said That she would have none to go before nor none to stay behind nor to turn aside either to the Right Hand or to the Left but follows the Lord your Leader wheresoever he goes for she had 〈…〉 Sense upon her of the 〈◊〉 know the Truth 〈…〉 with us in a great 〈…〉 were sold it for the Preferment of this World which will perish and past away and yet they can come in with us and sit down in Meetings and have their Clothes made like the World's Fashions and like their order and speak their own Words but the Lord will blow such away with the Whirlewind of his Wrath but those that are faithful Travailers in the work of the Lord the Lord will preserve though they may meet with many Tryals and Besetments both inwardly and outwardly And she desired That all would let their Light shine and none to put it under a Bushel or under a Bed but all stand faithful for the Lord in your Day and then you need not be afraid of Death but it will be as easie to you as it is to me Truly she was so filled with the Lord's blessed Power and living Presence that the Sense of her Sickness was many times taken from her and she did often say Truly Friends I have little Pain upon me only weak and many a time she did lie singing and did make a sweet Melody to the Lord when she uttered very few words except on this wise Oh my Heavenly Father how hast thou filled my Cup and made it to overflow for I can do no less but even praise and magnifie they holy eternal Name and so she often desired That the Will of the Lord might be done whether it was Life or Death and said For to me to live is Christ and to dye is Gain and many such like precious words which she did speak which I cannot call to mind She spoke many very clear weighty things concerning the Virgins and their Lamps and exhorted all to be diligent and to know Life and Virtue in themselves to feed upon for she said The time will come that Words will cease and Life shall more arise and many more weighty things she did speak and said if she did live she must declare it and if she did dye she must leave it as a Testimony for the Lord she often desired Friends to be faithful to the Lord and follow the Lord fully as Deborah and Baruk did which if all had stood faithful what a blessed Day would it have been ere now So when she had declared and spoken what was upon her Spirit she had some ease and so continued about two hours and she spoke very much of her Off spring and said She desired nothing more concerning them then that they may Fear the Lord and then they will never Want And then towards the latter end of the Night she had an extream great Pain in her Head which was very hard to bear yet in all this time she did not utter one unpatient word but was like a patient Lamb and said Friends breathe to the Lord for me that he may lay no more upon me than I am able to bear that I may not offend this good God and immediately she did breathe forth in Prayer to the Lord then she had a little Ease and lay still as if she had been in a Slumber and a little after she said I have been in the Deep and I had something to speak but I could not So she did grow weaker and weaker but she was sweetly carryed through it to the End This was declared of this faithful Servant of the Lord who said She would have none to mourn for her when she was gone The Names of them that were with her Mary Nelson Marvell Fallbery Alice Cobb Rebecca Reckly Anne Martindall Thomas Curwen the elder Thomas
Curwen the younger Thomas Cobb Thomas Curwen HIS TESTIMONY Which is in behalf of his Wife's Testimony which she did bear faithfully for God and for his Eternal Truth ever since she was Convinced and her Heart and Mind turned from Darkness to the Light of Jesus Christ and from Satan's Power to the Power of God who did serve the Lord in Fear and rejoyced with Trembling whilst Breath and Life remained And Blessed are the Dead that Dye in the Lord they do Rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them AND this I can say to the Praise and Glory of our God That she did Dye in the Lord for she did Praise and magnifie the Name of the Lord and was freely given up to dye and the Lord's Presence was with her which did carry her up above her Weakness in the Flesh and though she be dead and her Body return to the Dust yet her Spirit is alive where Hell Death and the Grave can never seperate us Glory to our God forever who is the God of the Living and not of the Dead and the Living Praise the Lord the Dead in the Grave of Sin cannot For the Wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life and blessed are they that know the Gift of God and have their Minds exercised in it or else it had been better for them they had never known it but as their Minds are exercised in the Gift of God they come to witness Redemption from Sin and Death and come to witness Eternal Life where the Redeemed of the Lord do rejoyce who are redeemed out of the Earth and have a Habitation in Heaven and the Redeemed do sing Praises and Halelujahs to the Lord God and the Lamb forever and for evermore over Death Hell and the Grave for he is risen whom the Grave could not hold Glory to our God forever to whom all Power is given both in Heaven and in Earth and he will rule all with his Iron Rod everlasting Praises forever be given unto his holy blessed Name the Lamb of God who was slain from the Foundation of the world by whom the world was made who was dead but he is alive whose Name is called The word of God who was in the World and the World knew him not And ye will not come to me saith Christ that ye may have Life who hath given us Life Breath and Being that we may live to his Praise and to his Honour and Glory forever who is worthy who is worthy forever and for evermore saith my Soul And this I can say concerning my dear and loving Wife who was dear and tender over me to serve me in any thing that might do me good either for Soul or Body and the Consideration of her endeared Love to me doth often times come very fresh into my Remembrance which doth break my Heart into much Tenderness which doth cause me to write these few Lines concerning God's Testimony which she did bear for his Eternal Truth And I can truly say She was given me of the Lord who was a Meet Help for me who did live Husband and Wife about Thirty Eight Years who was my true Friend and Companion in Tribulation who did keep the Word of Patience in the Day of Tryal and in the Hour of Temptation and did bear the Burthen in the heat of the Day without Murmuring or looking back to the Flesh-Pots of Egypt but did Rejoyce in Tribulation Know ye not saith the Apostle that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope and this Hope maketh not ashamed because we have obtained the End of our Hope which is Salvation to be as Walls and Bulwarks And now we can say to the Praise and Glory of our God That now is Salvation nearer than when we first believed And when a measure of the Spirit of Grace was manifested to her and she did feel the Operation of it working in her Heart and was led and guided by it Oh! how she did improve her Talent for the Lord and for one Talent he gave her more and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ did teach her to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly and Righteously and Godly in this World and she did grow in the Grace of God from Strength to Strength and from Grace to Grace and her Affections were not on things below but on things above for her Treasure was in Heaven where neither Rust nor Moth could corrupt nor Thieves break through and Steal and the Lord was her Portion who is the Portion of the Righteous And when she was got into the highest Form of Profession she was very Zealous in her Way and Form that when the Truth came she was ready to receive it who did receive it with great Joy and Gladness of Heart and said Now I have found him whom my Soul loves which was my Desire which the blind watch-men could never know in reading of the Scriptures of Truth She had much comfort in reading of David's Psalms which was much Refreshment to her to sound forth Praises to the Lord and she did sing with the Spirit and with Understanding and she was almost alwayes Praising the Lord and magnifying his holy and blessed Name and when she could not speak she put her Hands together and did lift them up unto the Lord and did Praise the Lord in her Heart And when the Lord did send her forth to preach the Everlasting Gospel she did not reason with Flesh and Blood for the Lord's Power and Presence was with her wherein she did sound forth his Praises to the Nations and did declare of the Wonderful Works which the Lord had done for the Sons and Daughters of Men And she was not ashamed to confess the Name of the Lord before men who was brought several times before Magistrates and Rulers and was cast into Prison and was set in the Stocks and brought to the Whipping-Post for her Testimony which she had to bear for the Lord and for his Eternal Truth for she did follow Christ Jesus fully who was the Captain of her Salvation and did make War in Righteousness with the Beast and the False Prophet and her Captain did never fail her in time of Need but did go before her and did tread down her Enemies as Ashes under her Feet and the Lamb did get the Victory Glory to our God forever who did plead the Cause of the Innocent and did put a Word in her Mouth in every needful time and the Lord was with her and his Eternal Arm and Power did cover her Head in the Day of Battel And she did often pray to the Lord and said Lord let me injoy thy Presence and I desire no more and the Lord did hear her Cry and did answer her Desire for the Love of God was so large unto her which is more than I can express Glory and Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord. And she had great
the Lord it was opened in my Heart by the invisible Power of the living God the vertue of which I felt and the Springs of Life being witnessed I was moved to write of the Dealings of the Lord with me and of my Travels and of my Testimony in writing since I went from my outward Being and what I had received from Friends in writing of the good Success and Blessing and Presence of the invisible God who moves in secret and is now come to reward his People openly Everlasting Holy Praises be breathed forth and sounded out unto the Lord our God for all his Mercies for they are manifold at this day therefore doth my Soul in secret bless his holy Name who alone is worthy And whilst I questioned in my Mind Why I should write fearing the Subtilty of the Enemy and also not minding to keep Copies of several Papers that had been written yet as I waited patiently to see my Clearness it was said in the secret of my Heart What thou hast kept write but I fearing said within my self Why should it be known and the Answer was For the Encouragement of them that hereafter may put their Trust in the Lord and then I was made willing to write as followeth IN the year 1660. I hearing of the great Tribulation that the Servants of the Lord did suffer in Boston in New-England of cruel Whippings of Bonds and Imprisonments yea to the laying down of their natural Lives four Friends being Hanged there for their Testimony to God's blessed weighty Truth against a Wicked Generation which remains there until this day I at the hearing of their Patient Sufferings my Heart was broken and my Spirit deeply affected with Admiration of the Goodness of the Lord who bears up the Spirits of them that truly fear him and are willing to give up all that is near and dear and to follow the Lamb whithersoever he leads and my Spirit was comforted in the blessed invisible Power but it was said in the secret of my Heart That I should travail in that Nation and see that Bloody Town of Boston at which my Heart was exceedingly broken and I cryed unto the Lord with many Tears and said O Lord what shall become of my little Children and of my poor Husband he being then in Prison for Tythe and I mourned many dayes in a sense of my Inability yet at that time I could truly say Thy blessed Will be done let me enjoy thy Presence and keep me in thy Heavenly Power and I desire no more so the thing was weighty upon me but I kept it unto my self not knowing how it would be brought to pass considering in my mind the Lord might try me whether I would give up or not and as I found a Willingness the thing was made easie and the Burden taken away whereupon I thought the Lord would accept my Willingness and it was hid from me for a season but I can truly say in my measure and that to the Praise of God that I hid the Word of the Lord in my Heart until it was as a Fire in me till I had declared it and I then told it to my Husband the Power being fresh in me and the Love of God filled my Heart in which I had true Unity with Friends in New-England and I told my Husband That the Lord would deliver him out of Prison and that we must travail in another Nation together and there bear a Testimony to God's blessed Truth which is broken forth in this Day of his Power wherein he is making his People willing And though we were then and are at this day the least of many of the Lord's People yet his Strength hath been manifested in Weakness for which we have cause to bless his holy Name whilst we have a day to live So the thing rested in my Heart many Moneths and Years and then the Lord delivered my Husband out of Prison in which time my little Children were grown up all except the youngest which the Lord took away from me then the Springs of Life opened in me and the time was come that I might no longer hide it in my Heart but make it known to Friends which after I had done so in opening my Heart a little to some Friends the thing seemed harder to me to get through than before in which time I was in a great strait but the Lord appeared and it was said secretly that If I did go I should feel my Reward from the Lord in my own Bosom then I having this Testimony sealed in my Heart I laboured with my Husband day and night to know his Mind because it was much with me that we were to Travail together but he did not yet see it to be required of him at that time but gave me Liberty in Obedience to the Invisible Power though the thing was hard because it was shewed me at first that we should Travail together but the Lord made me willing to leave all that was near and dear to me and I went on my Journey towards London and after some time had with Friends there I made Preparation to go to Sea and having got my Bed and Clothes on board the Ship it pleased the Lord in whom was and is my Trust to send my Husband to go along with me and so we took shipping together and were thirteen Weeks in our Passage from London to Road-Island belonging to New-England and I can truly say I did not know what I might do for all there were in an Uproar Killing and Burning and Murdering and great Distress was upon the Peoples Minds and I said in my Heart The Lord that hath brought me out of my Native Country lead me whither thou wilt let me but enjoy thy Power and feel thy Presence and I desire no more So we stayed a few dayes in that Island and were refreshed with Friends and we heard of a new Law that was made at Boston against the People of God called Quakers which Law was as followeth viz. It was ordered at their Court at Boston and the Authority thereof That every Person found at a Quakers Meeting shall be apprehended Ex Officio by the Constable c. by Warrant from a Magistrate or Commissioner and shall be committed to the House of Correction and there to have the Discipline of the House applyed unto them and to be kept to work with Bread and Water for Three Dayes and then released or else shall pay Five Pounds in Money as a Fine for such an Offence to the Collony and all Constables neglecting their Duty in not faithfully executing this Order shall incur the Penalty of Five Pounds upon Conviction And then it opened in us in the Springs of Life That We must travail thither and break in upon their new Law in which we were willing to bear our Testimony with the rest of Friends to God's blessed weighty Truth against this Generation that remain there unto this day that so with
ye are of God Oh Friends see that your Lamps be trimmed and that ye have Oyl in your Vessels for the Day of the Lord is near when he will pour out his Wrath upon the Heathen that know him not nor call not upon his Name in Righteousness and therefore Friends do we write unto you in a living Sense and in the Tenderness of our Spirits that ye may be exercised in the Gift of God every one in your several places and none to hide the Lord's Money in the Earth nor to account him a hard Master for indeed he is exceeding good unto all that in the Simplicity of their Spirits seek after him blessed be his Name forever and evermore And if it be your Freedom let Friends at New-York and at Flushen as ye see convenient see and read this Epistle in their Meeting for our dear and unfeigned Love is unto you all more than we can here declare And we cannot but return Praise and Thanksgiving unto the Lord who raised his own Witness in you to receive our Testimony though we be the least of many of the Lord's People and truly the Remembrance thereof is exceeding precious blessed be the Name of our God forever and for evermore We are here waiting for our Passage to Barbadoes and we desire you if you have a convenient Oportunity to let us hear from you and to write to Barbadoes for it is our Joy and the Joy of all that truly Fear the Lord to hear from one another and not only to hear but to feel one another in the Life and Power of God's eternal Truth So in the true Sense of the Love of our God wherein our true Comfort and Consolation stands we remain in the eternal Spirit of Truth which hath made us free from the Law of Sin and Death eternal Praises Praises forever and for evermore be rendred and returned unto the Lord God of our Life who is worthy forever and for evermore Amen in which we remain Your Friends in the Vnchangeable Truth of our God THOMAS ALICE CURWEN From Newport in Road-Island the 9th of the 5th Moneth 1676. To Friends at New-York in New-England FRIENDS IN that Love of our God which caused us to leave our Native Country and all that was dear and near unto us and come and visit you and in Obedience we came and we are well satisfied in the Lord and refreshed one in another as you your selves very well know and we wrote to you from Road-Island and earnestly desired to hear from you to Barbadoes which made us greatly to wonder that we did not receive one Line from you we did expect to hear from you in writing by Lewes Morris but indeed we can truly say That if our Exercise be great yet the Lord is with us who will not suffer us to be tryed but he also brings us through by the Arm of his holy Power and so the Righteous can Rejoyce Everlasting Holy Praises be unto the Lord our God forever and for evermore So that which is chiefly in our hearts at this time is That we may all serve the Lord in Fear and Rejoyce in Trembling and with the Holy Man of God we can sing of the Judgments of the Lord and also of his Mercies and so shall we all dwell together in the holy Fear low in our measures where we offer up unto God a living Sacrifice well-pleasing in his sight So mind our dear Love to Friends at the Gravesend and Long-Island and Oyster-Bay and let them know that the Love of our God which is shed abroad in our Hearts reaches to the Seed and breathes for the Preservation of its Off-spring that we may be comforted in our Travails concerning you for we are very certain that our Testimony is true for the Lord for he rewards us an hundred fold into our Bosom for we have had great Service in this Island and the Lord hath given unto our two Talents two more for which our Souls bless the Lord Let all that feel his holy Power rejoyce with us for the Work of the Lord goes on and Prospers in this Island since our coming hither he is turning back the Wisdom of the Wise though they laid many Baits and Snares for the Innocent yet the Snares are broken and we are delivered and Truth prospers over the Heads of them that do oppose Everlasting holy Praises be unto the Lord our God who carries his Lambs in his Arms and prospers his own Work Here is a great openness in this Island and the Lord is working secretly in Peoples Hearts though they little know it who it is that smites them So dear Friends when you have read this Epistle which is a Salutation of our Unfeigned Love you may read it in your Meeting and let Friends at Gravesend Long-Island and Oyster-Bay see it for you are all as one to us whose Hearts are Upright to God Our dear Love to Matthew Pryer and his Family to Mary Willis and her Family and Alice Crabe and her Family and to John Dickson and his Family and to Friends about Flushen and Jamaco to Hugh Couperwhete and his Wife and though we cannot remember their Names yet in that Unchangeable Love that can never be forgotten in which the Lord refresht our Immortal Souls when we were together do we dearly salute you all and do bid you all Farewel And if it be in any of your Hearts to write a few Lines to us ye may write to London for we should be glad to hear from Friends at so great a distance and how things are but we do not know at present when we shall go Home but in the Will of the Lord we stand who hath given us good Success Holy Praises be to his Name forever and evermore saith your Friends From Oliver Hutton's at Barbadoes the 12th of the 12th Mon. 1676. Thomas Alice Curwen There was a Widdow-Woman in Barbadoes that had Negro's to her Servants who were convinced of God's Eternal Truth and I hearing of them was moved to go to speak to the Woman for their coming to our Meetings and when I did speak to her she did deny me and then I did write to her as followeth Martha Tavernor I Cannot pass by but in Love write to thee for in Love we came to visit thee and to invite thee and thy Family to the Meeting but thou for thy part art like him that was invited to work in the Vineyard and went not And as for thy Servants whom thou callst thy Slaves I tell thee plainly thou hast no right to reign over their Conscience in Matters of Worship of the Living God for thou thy self confessedst that they had Souls to save as well as we Therefore for time to come let them have Liberty lest thou be called to give an Account to God for them as well as for thy self So in thy old Age chuse rather as a good Man did that both thou and thy whole Family may serve
joyfully the spoiling of their Goods who were scoffed and mocked at and said That Bonds and Imprisonments were their portion and it was for their Testimony which they held as thou mayst read at large in the Scriptures of Truth who hast nothing now against us but concerning the Law of our God and there ye go about tocatch us as they of Old did Daniel but oh Priest read what became of these Informers and of those that informed against the three Children thou blind Guide which Christ cryed We against and said They were whited Walls and painted Sepulchres and wore long Robes and loved to be called of men Masters and that they loved the upper most Romes at Feasts and greetings in the Markets and further he said that By your Fruits your are known and so it is this day Wo unto you said he for ye lay heavy Burthens upon the People and ye shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men ye neither enter in your selves nor suffer others Therefore saith Christ Jesus Wo unto you And if thou ask how I know these things I tell thee plainly it is by the invisible Light which shines in my Heart which manifests all things as it is written in the Scriptures of Truth and this Light was in the beginning will be when all visible things shall have an end to which thou shalt be turned to give account of all thy Deeds done in thy Body all thy Life time and of all thy hard Speeches against the Servants of the living God therefore turn to it and let it search thy Heart and believe in it for this is my living Testimony for God that it will deceive no man but it will bring the hidden things of Esau to Light and believing in it and obeying it it will lead out of Sin Therefore Repent pray unto the Lord that he take thee not away in the midst of thy Sins lest thou go down into the Pit out of which there is no Redemption And as for our Names and Place of abode it is in Lancashire in a little Village called Beaklife in the Parish of Alldingham where we were haled to Prison by such a proud Priest as thee because we could not bow in this our day no more than they could do in dayes past but the Lord shortned that Priests dayes and we do witness Christs words fulfilled in this our day where he said That it should come to pass that the Devil should cast some into Prison But blessed be the Lord who has delivered us and we are at this day and time free of all the Goals in the World therefore do we warn thee that thou come not upon thy Neighbours in pretence of a Fine for us for we have to satisfie of our own and according to the Act ye are to fetch it where we live whose Names are here set down Thomas and Alice Curwen And that further We do declare what the Lord hath done for us in the inncency of our Hearts we Bless and Praise the Lord Oh my Soul bless thou the Lord that has witnessed that Scripture of Truth this day fulfilled in my Ears where Christ Jesus said That men should speak all manner of Evil against us for his Names sake and that falsly Rejoyce said he and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven Oh Praises Praises saith my Soul with many Thousands more that God hath redeemed from Death to Life And to his blessed Name be Everlasting holy Praises and that for evermore saith a Friend in the Truth of God though the least of many Who am known unto men by the Name of Alice Curwen Huntingdonshire For the Priest at Godmanchester the 21st of the 11th Moneth 1677. Friend YEsternight I spoke to thee as thou passedst by thou wentst away laughing like the rest of thy Brethren making merry over God's Witness in thee which is the Grace of God which appears at this day as it did in the Apostles dayes and unto all them that believe in it and obey it it works the same effect everlasting Praises be sounded out unto the Lord our God at this day for his blessed Appearance saith my Soul who is come the second time without Sin to save them that believe Everlasting Holy Praises be sounded out aloud saith my Soul in secret unto the Lord for all his Mercies and that for evermore And truly Priest for I do not know thee by any other Name my Spirit is grieved when I do see any of you or where-ever I do meet with you that you should take upon you the charge of Peoples Souls and to teach them the Way of the Lord and in all my Travels I find no men so light and airy as you Priests are who wear your long Robes and by Christ's words as you may read in the Scriptures and by the Spirit of Truth which God hath manifested in my particular do I see you to be them which Christ cryed Wo against therefore is the Word of the Lord as a Sword in my Mouth against the Mystery of Babylon and the Merchants of her also for the Lambs War is begun and as it is written in the Scripture of Truth The Beast and the false Prophet makes War against the Lamb and his followers but God shall take the Beast and the false Prophet alive and cast them into the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone forever and evermore and the Lamb and the Saints shall get the Victory And so my Soul blesses the Lord that I have lived to see this day wherein the Scriptures are fulfilled for it is the Lords day therefore I desire thee in love to thy immortal Soul to prise the day of thy Visitation for I could not be clear till I had eased my Spirit who am a Friend to thy Soul and truly loves all Men and Women also with that Love that God hath loved me withal Who am known by my Name Alice Curwen Huntingdonshire My Dear Friends Thomas Alice Curwen I With many more are glad to hear of the Arrival of John Grove his Ship and we hope you are all safe you are often in my Mind but more your Innocent Lives and Conversation amongst us which shewed clear also your great Labour of Love amongst us which will not be forgotten in the Hearts of the Faithful and I hope will not go without its Reward The Lord God of our Life preserve us in these Times of Troubles which are at this time amongst us of which I do believe you will have a full Account I am straitned for Time at present so cannot enlarge only my dear Love with my Childrens is to you both desiring that we may be all kept in his blessed Fear to our Lives end So my dear Friends Farewel Barbadoes the 7th of the 5th Mon. 1677. Your Loving Friend Elizabeth Griffin Dearly Beloved Thomas Alice Curwen YOur good wills towards me and my Wife when you were with us we cannot forget And truly
Friends I Could not be clear without the Tender of my true Love unto you both whose Labour of Love Service and daily Travels for the Lord's Truth in this Place will never be forgotten by a Remnant and the Lord's Reward I know is with you to whom belongs all Praise Honour and Glory both now and forever and for evermore Amen saith your Friend Thomas Freatwell Dear Friends Thomas Alice Curwen IN the Unchangeable and Everlasting Love of God do I dearly salute you both I have received a Letter from you which was very acceptable to me in the reading of which I was sweetly consolated and refreshed and your Love to us all I cannot nor I hope shall not forget Oh! the many precious Meetings and Opportunities which we enjoyed when ye were with us the Remembrance of which was precious but the glorious Presence of God which we enjoyed was much more precious Oh! the goodness of the Lord God is Unutterable who continues his Love to us daily and accompanies us with his living Presence at all Times and in all Places as we abide low in his Fear and are found faithful in his Work and Service Oh! my Soul's Desire is That I may be kept low before him forever And my Friends I hope your Prayers to the Almighty will be for the same The Lord's Truth doth prosper mightily and his Power is over this whole Island though the Devil doth Rage in his Instruments mightily even at this present time more than ever before as I think and such Threatning Times against the poor Innocent Lambs as have not been known and only because of the Prosperity of God's blessed Truth in this little Island But we fear not man but are greatly encouraged to go on in the Work of the Lord and be Valiant for God until Death for I am perswaded here is a little Remnant whose Trust is in the Lord that doth not regard any of their Threatnings and Unrighteous Laws which are lately made if they were ten times greater than they are and I believe We shall have the Victory through the Power of the Lord as we abide stedfast in the Unchangeable Truth of our God though many that are not faithful to the Lord God but let their Testimony fall who are the fearful and unbelieving may lose the Crown of Eternal Life And your Love to our Family was very large and I am right sensible of it in the Sence of which I am refreshed at this present and so in the same Love do I dearly salute you And so with my Love to all Friends I remain Your Loving Friend in the Everlasting Truth of God Robert Thorp An Epistle to Swarthmore Meeting DEar Friends at Swarthmore Meeting to whem is my true Love and I have an Honourable Esteem in my Heart for you all who keep to your first Love and retain your Integrity to this day which is a blessed Day indeed of the Breakings-forth of the blessed weighty Truth which we breathed for in the dayes of our Infancy Oh! what shall I say to stir up your pure Minds that ye may travail forward that none may stand still nor none may go backward for this is the Day of God's spiritual Israel's Travel God has made me a living Witness and therefore my dear Friends as one that has been nursed up there can I not at this time contain my self but in a living Sense of the dayes past when we waited together for true Israel's Hope And Oh! how is my Spirit bowed down in the weighty Power of the blessed Appearance of the Breakings-forth of the weighty Truth in the dayes of our Infancy in that Meeting which I so dearly love and truly honour in the Lord though the breakings out at first of the Power of the Living God was very Dreadful and very Terrible yet oh my Friends I cannot but ease my Spirit a little at this time being loaded with the Power of the Lord which causes me to write And oh what shall I say of the blessed heavenly Melody and the spiritual Songs yea the new Song that God hath put into our Mouthes Oh! endless Praises saith my Soul with you my dear Friends with whom I would be glad that I might sit down with you once more that we might sing together of the Mercies of the Lord and of his pure Judgments in this our day as poor David did And oh how am I affected in my Bowels for an Opportunity that we might be comforted together but I do not see my Service over that I may come to my Place of Abode in the oatward for I can truly say that I have not taken up another and I am as a Weaned Child at this time and the Desire of my Heart to God is That these few dayes I have to spend may be in his blessed Truth which is more to me than all the World therefore let none of you question in your Minds my coming home for when I have done the Will of God who am one of the least of the Lord's People I shall be willing to come into the North and sit down with you and wait upon the Lord who hath brought me thus far towards my Native Being and yet my way is shut up that I cannot come Home Oh my Dear Friends breath with me to the Lord for the Prosperity of this great Work which the Lord hath made me Instrumental in though but weak and little yet blessed be the Lord who appears strong and weighty in every needful time though in weak Instruments let his Name be purely Praised and had in Everlasting Reverence from Age to Age and from Generation to Generation saith my Soul which is Immortal and that for evermore So as I began in a Sence of the Love of God and in his weighty Power in that do I dearly salute you and bid you all Farewel and remain as one of God's Flock and that Family where we were begotten to God for which my Soul shall bless the Lord whilst I have a Day to live Huntingdon-shire the 29th of the 11th Moneth 1677. Alice Curwen My Dear and Well-beloved Friends Thomas Alice Curwen MY dear Love is to you both and by this you may know that we received your Letter from Barbadoes the which indeed was very acceptable to us and I was refreshed thereby I carried it to our General-Meeting at Oyster-Bay and it was read in the Men Womens Meeting and I know many were truly glad to hear of your Well-fare and the Prosperity of Truth My Dear Friends you are often in my remembrance and the remembrance of your Savoury Life is very pleasant unto me for I am a Witness with you That the Glory of the Lord often filled his Temple when we were together and the Lord 's Eternal Love is not wanting to his People that wait upon him in the Uprightness of their Hearts for he openeth of his pure Fountain and refresheth his own though many are the Exercises of his
all know me saith the Lord from the greatest to the least for I will write my Law in their Hearts and put my Fear in their inward Parts saith the Lord God Almighty Therefore Oh Priest I tell thee plainly 't was to a Feast that thou wast invited and the Lord is sending out into the High-wayes and Hedges to call in all and even to compell them that will not come that so his House may be filled that so all may be lest without excuse as he was that had not on his Wedding Garment who was Speechless for the Day is come that that whcih is seen in secret must be declared openly And therefore in the invisible Light we are moved to write unto thee seeing thee in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ which lighteth every man that cometh into the World which hath long shined in Darkness but now the commanding Power of the Lord is gone forth and he hath commanded Light to shine out of Darkness and it shines in Peoples Hearts and will shine more and more untill the Perfect Day for which a Remnant can bless the Lord and sing Praises to his Name and unto the Lamb for evermore who was slain from the Foundation of the World but is now alive and lives forever and evermore and rules in the Hearts of the Upright And therefore in the invisible Light as I was waiting upon the Lord my Heart was truly opened to write unto thee seeing thee to be one of them that shut the Kingdom of Heaven against men that will neither enter in themselves nor suffer others Therefore saith Christ Jesus Wo unto you ye Whited Walls ye Painted Sepulchres ye Blind Guides and indeed you are so and lead the Blind and a Pit of Darkness is before you Therefore is our Advice unto thee and to all whom it may concern That ye turn to this invisible Light and as you wait in it and abide with it it will preserve your Hearts and Minds to God and ye shall not fall into the Pit And if thou enquire of us What is our Way We tell thee plainly Christ Jesus the Light of the World who said I am the Way the Truth and the Life he that believeth in me out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water And He even Christ Iesus the Power of God is the Original and not Hebrew Greek and Latin which the Jews set over his Head when they Crucified him as it is in these dayes and as is said before he is our Way and he is the Hope of our Glory and we are not ashamed to confess him before men for if we should not confess him before men but be ashamed of him as too too many are then he will not confess us before his Father in Heaven Therefore Oh Priest we warn thee that thou cease giving thy Meanings to the Scriptures Thou mayst read thy Doom in the Revelations He that Adds or Diminishes God will add unto him the Plagues written in that Book THOMAS ALICE CURWEN An Epistle written to Friends at Thickets and Clifts Meetings at Barbadoes the 20th of the 1st Moneth 1676. TO you Friends of the Thickets and Clifts Meetings and to all whom it may concern in the Love of God that truly opens our Hearts do we write unto you to stir up the pure Mind and to raise up that Love that brought us unto you even the Love of God that first begat us by the Word of his Power that we should be as the first Fruits unto God and this makes us to Cry many a time in the secret of our Hearts both in Meetings and out of Meetings Oh! how great is thy Loving kindness O Lord Oh that the World knew it And in the feeling of it we can truly say as one did Oh! that all the Lord's People were Prophets that they might speak one by one that all might be comforted and that the Lord would enlarge Japhet to dwell in the Tents of Shem then there would be no complaining for want of Power but the Lord would open even the Windows of Heaven and pour out Blessings upon you that ye shall not have room to hold it in but the Overflowings of it you would feel in your own particulars and when you were thus filled you would bless the Lord you would cry unto others to come away taste feel how good the Lord is for his Mercies endure forever to them that fear him and wait upon him And therefore Friends we beseech you think it not hard to keep your Meetings apart for the Blessing of the Lord is as truly witnessed in Meetings apart both in Men and Womens Meetings and though Women be the Weaker yet he hath laid Help upon one that is Mighty Oh! Praises Praises saith our Souls forever for evermore who feel his Power in our Hearts at this time And therefore do we write unto all that may be concerned in it That ye beware of that Spirit that was in the Children of Israel in the days of old for the Lord knows right well before whom we stand who knows the Innocency of our Hearts and Spirits that we judge no mans Person nor hint at no Particular the Lord knows but we have heard some say That it was well in the Beginning when there was not so many Meetings and we say the same But Friends consider we beseech you all for our Spirits are bowed down in a Sence of the Work of the Lord in this Island and therefore ye that have known good dayes in your Infancy rest not there but come to your Growth to a Young mans state and to an Old mans state for according to the manner of men in Twenty Years time we come to our Growth much more in the Work of the Lord can we come to teach others And therefore look not back as the Children of Israel did who fainted in their Minds because of their long Travel but take heed of that Spirit that would not have many Meetings nor to have Truth to spread for the Enemy lies near that would betray the Simplicity Therefore thus saith the Lord in our Hearts this day as he did unto Moses in dayes past Speak unto the Children of Israel that they go forward for this is the Day of the Lord's Appearance spiritually he is bringing out of Aegypt by a strong Arm and blessed is every one that helps on the Work and puts his Shoulder to it So faint not Friends in your Minds nor be not weary for the Work is the Lords and he will carry it on it shall Prosper and God prospers it in this Island Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord our God can our Souls truly say who feel the Work of the Lord to Prosper and therefore we say again Let none faint in the Day of Tryal for that 's a Testimony that their Strength is small And therefore Friends be Bold and Valiant for God's blessed Truth and take no thought but wait
upon the Lord and if ye be called before Magistrates the Lord will put a word into your Mouthes that they shall not be able to gainsay And if it be so that ye suffer joyfully the Spoiling of your Goods ye shall come to witness That the Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness of it and they that Fear the Lord shall want no no good thing neither for Soul nor Body And if it be so that the Devil cast into Prison fear it not but in Patience possess your Souls for the Lord will bring thorow for we speak what we know for the Lord has delivered us out of Prison inwardly and outwardly and his Presence has been with us in all our Troubles and he has made us to sing in Prison and in the Stocks Praises be to the Lord God and to the Lamb forever sayour Souls But Friends we do not write this to make our Sufferings known but to encourage all to abide patiently that ye may come through as Gold purified for the Wicked are but like Waters and their Persecution is but like a Wave of the Sea and though they rise never so high yet it is our Faith in God That he that hath put a Limit to the bound of the Sea and hath said unto it Thus far shalt thou pass and no further and there shalt thou stay thy proud Waves Oh Friends bless the Lord with us for it is a Day of fulfilling Therefore O let Truth spread in every Particular let it take Root downward and grow upward and bring forth Fruit to the Praise and Glory of our heavenly Father And this we have to say That every Plant that he hath not planted shall be pluck't up and every Plant that his right hand hath planted he watereth it that it may bring forth more Fruit and in this is our heavenly Father Glorified and Well-pleased that we bear much Fruit Everlasting Praises be unto the Lord our God forever and evermore So with our Unfeigned Love we take leave of you and remain Your Friends in that which never alters nor never changes but remains forever do we Salute you all and bid you all Farewel Thomas Alice Curwen For the Mayor of Plymouth in Devonshire Friend Richard Tomes VVE do read in the Scriptures of Truth that in the Apostles dayes there was a noble Festus amongst the Magistrates Therefore do I write unto thee that thou be not stired up against a peaceable People that meets together singlely to worship God in Spirit in Truth for God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit in Truth and until People turn to the Spirit of Truth which is the Light within with which he hath lighted every one that comes into the World and he that hates this Light has it and though they may kick against it yet it stands a faithful Witness for God and whatever People may profess they never worship the living God acceptably for we know at this day that God hears not Sinners no more then he did in the dayes of Old and that the Prayers of the Wicked are abomination to him as well in this day as in times past but he that fears God and doth his Will them he hears and the Will of God is done in hearing and obeying the Light and by this did they witness in dayes past their Hearts to be Sanctified and this is it that we meet together for and we are but yet learning the Lord's Prayer and as we are willing to wait that the Will of God may be done in Earth as well as in Heaven the Lord has blest us and we shall spread over the face of the Earth and though Balaam and Balack would rise up to Curse Israel at this day yet this Testimony is in my Heart for God That he hath blest us and no man can Curse that which God hath blest And as we keep the Word of his Patience the Lord God will keep us in the Day of Tryal which shall certainly come upon all that dwell on the Earth and know not a Habitation in the God of Jacob for the Day is come which many would have seen wherein the Lord is bringing mighty Things to pass who reveals his Secrets to them that truly fear him the same which was in the Apostles dayes wherein the Everlasting Gospel was preached which is the Power of God unto Salvation and if any preach any other Gospel let them be accursed And this Gospel is a wonder to you and is hid from you and therefore ye perish in your Sins which separate you from the Living God and doth hinder good things from you who live in the pleasure of the Flesh and drink up Iniquity as the Ox drinks Water but now in the Latter Dayes the Lord is pouring forth his Spirit upon all Flesh his Sons and upon his Daughters and they do Preach and Prophecy in his Name and in his Name do wonderful things and it is a great Wonder to all the World who lies in Wickedness and therefore the People perish for want of Knowledge for the Lord would have gathered you in this Day as he would have gathered Jerusalem in the dayes of old but they would not be gathered and therefore they were left Desolate and the same is coming upon you if you do not speedily Repent for Jerusalem was destroyed who would not be gathered and then Lamentation Wo and Misery did fall upon them and remains upon them till this Day but the Lord hath gathered a Remnant into Covenant with himself wherein Jacob doth rejoyce and Israel doth dwell safely And therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed though many be Jacob's Troubles and the Afflictions of Joseph which is now as was in the Dayes of old and they that suffer for him they shall reign with him forever and for evermore and fit at his right Hand in his Throne of Grace and in his Kingdom of Glory forever and for evermore where we shall Sing and Rejoyce with the Lord God and the Lamb forever the Lamb that was slain in us in Sodom and Aegypt while the World had a Foundation in us who was dead but is now alive whose Name is called the Word of God which was in the Beginning as the Scripture doth declare 1 John 1. This was for the Priest of Ives Joshua Herning the 19th of the 10th Moneth 1677. I could not be clear in the sight of the Lord untill I had written a few Lines unto thee seeing thee come into our Meeting with the Constable and his great Staff and I heard thee say That thou wast an Informer I tell thee plainly it were better for thee to be a Hang-man for they do but execute others that by their Law are condemned to dye but many Informers have brought shameful Death upon themselves and Ruin upon their Families as it is on Record Indeed we confess we are a Suffering People at this day as they were that went before us who took