to be void of common understanding and destitute of naturall affections know nothing but naturally o o Rom. 1.21 23 24 25 28 31. 2 Cor. 4.4 6. Eph. 2. i 2 3. 4.17 18 19 1 Thes 4.5 1 Tim. 4.1 2. Tit. 1.16 as a bruit p p Rom. 1.31 Jude 10. beast My Wife and Babes are lately come down to live at Dover Town but she being there absent now from me I can onely in my own name salute thee and thy Husband If thou hast any freedom to write to me I should be glad to hear from thee And so in my Light and Life I rest From my innocent and every way causeless Captivity in Dover-Castle this first day of the week being the 18. day of the 3d. month 1656. Thine as thou art one in love and obedience to that true light that now in much brightness and clearness shines in the hearts of the washed purged redeemed sanctified and justified sons of God reproachfully called quakers IOHN LILBVRNE The Copy of the forementioned second Letter take in these following words Dover-Castle the 25. of the 3d. month 1656. For Robert Barrington one of the members of the meer outside imitating without life or power VVater-Baptists Congregation in Dover in Kent Robert Barrington BEsides those many and wrangling Encounters and Assaults that I have of late had from several of thy meer outside Form which they profess without life or power true Administrator or right Subject having also perverted that sometimes Ordinance or Divine Institution of God VVater-baptism from its primitive forerunning end of Christ the real sum and substance of all Shadows Figures Rudiments outside-Ordinances and Types yea and of all the Prophets whereof John the Baptist was one Administrations to make it now all in all as though damnation were the absolute portion of him that hath by faith never so much communion in the spirit with the souls true spiritual food the spiritual Jesus Christ the true and real light of the world or of all falne mankinde if he be not water-dipt in your meer empty outside vain traditionall humane invented as you use it form which you falsely and untruly call Baptism I say I have besides all aforesaid from thee of late received by VV. S. one of thy own Congregation a Message to this very effect That by my turning Quaker as we are commonly called I had denyed the faith And therefore although my late condition or that first beginning of growing measure to which through riches of mercy I have attained to hath much required of me a silent still quiet home-dwelling patient waiting r r Esa 30.7 15 18. Act. 1.3 4 5 8. Luk. 24.49 2 Pet. 4.10 11. upon God as having the declaration of a promise of blessedness annexed to it to be upon all those that so do rather then to spend my then present stock or attained to portion in running out in Pen-contests and controversies though for truth but notwithstanding now to take away thy reproach from the truth and thy ordinary and continued blasphemy as my often information tells me by thy self cast upon it I do hereby truly tell thee I have of late within these very few dayes been in spirit much compelled meerly for the truths sake to which according to my measure to the very death I am bound as I am called to bear witness to to indeavour to vindicate it from the said reproaches And whilesâ— I was strongly meditating with the Rock of my strength the Lord Jesus Christ the pure inlightner of my soul is handed out unto me a necessity to revise anew for the Press my foregoing Declaration unto which by way of part of an Appendix I have had much impression upon my spirit to insert a few substantial lines unto thee in it in truths behalf purely flowing from the dictates of that measure of Light life and power now brought forth and born up in my understanding by which I am in a measure enabled truly and really to know s s Luk. 24.44.45 comp with Joh. 20.21 22. Act. 1.3 4 5.8 2.4 11.34 35.38.43 44 45 46. But see 1 Cor. 2.10 11 12 13 14. Eph. 4.10 â—â— â—3 3. 1 Joh. 8.10 27. 5.20 2 John 7.8 the things of God as they are in Jesus and by which I am guided at this present time thus further and substantially to express my self to thee Robert Barrington viz. That the very first Principle of all true Religion is the Light of Christ without the real knowledge embracing and being guided by which I do here in the strength presence and power of the Lord my light and life aver thou knowest nor canst not truly know without it any thing of God at all no no more then the devills know a a Matt. 8.28 29. Mark 1.23 24 25. 3. 11 12 5.2.5 6 7. Luk. 4.33 34 35.41 8.27 28. 10.17 Act. 16.16 17 18. 19.13 14 15 16. Ja. 2.19 acknowledge and confess or then the high Priests the Scribes and Pharisees or Iews did know that put Christ to death who not only had the Scriptures commonly and publikely read amongst them but also many of them beleeved the words spoken by the sound of the flâ—â—hly mouth of Christ and yet not minding the measure of Christ within them he tells them plainly they were of their Father the b b Act. 13.26 27 28. ch 3.12 13 14 15. 4.1 2.5 6.11 12.17 18. and 5.17 18.21.28.40 6.13 14 15. and 7.1.37 38.51 52.54.57.59 compared with Joh. 1.32 33. 5.16.18.24 25.28 29.32.38 39 40.46 6.56 57.60.63.66 7.26.28.31.45 46.49 8.26 27 28 29 30 31 32 to 48. devil And therefore I further lay down this as a positive Position which through the strength of God I shall not only be able by the Letter or Witness without me viz. the Scripture or Declaration c c Luk. 1.1 Acts 1.1 10.37 13.32 15.35 17.23 20.27 1 Cor. 15.1.3 Gal. 1.16 1 Joh. 1.3.5 Rev. 19.13 of the word of God clearly to maintain against the ablest man whatsoever that speaks with a tongue that can or shall oppose it but also to lay down my very life by vertue of that measure of living power or life already raised up or dwelling in me for the defence of it That is to say That the very principle of all true religion is without the knowledge of which no man whatsoever can truly know himself or his own corrupt heart which is above the knowledge of d d Jer. 17.9 10. 11.20 Gen. 6.5 8.21 Deut. 11.16 1 Sam. 16.17 and 1 Chron. 28.9 29.17 2 Chr. 32.31 Psal 7.9 10 3.6.11 14.1 44.21 64.5 6 7. 139.1 Prov. 16.1 2. Rom 8.27 1 Joh. 2.20.27 ch 1.5 6 7. 4.20 Rev. 2.23 3.7 Joh. 16.6 7.11.27 and 1 Cor. 2.11.14 15 16. Eph. 5.8.13 Heb. 4 12 13. man or
this Light the true real and only infallible c c Esa 3â— 20 21. 35.8 Ioh. 1.9 6.7 8 13 15 25. Rom. 8.6 7 8. Heb. 8.8 9 10 11. 16.16 20. Ioh. 2.20.27 5.20 Rev. 7.17 guide of every true Christian is condemnation before the Lord to all and euery one of those that so d d Ioh. 3.19 20 36. 5.38 48. 7.7 8.21 24 47 51. 9.5 Heb. 10.28 29. 12.25 Act. 7.37 ser Iob. 24.13 16. contemn and despiseth this onely alone and true guide the light of Christ in the soul This I send unto thee at the present thus in print without sending it in writing to thee at all because although much disturbance or outside trouble of late I have had by the blasphemous Scriblings sent unto me by and of thy brother Ieremiah Elsreath who after he had sent me in writing his 31. confused and ignorant quaeries c. in his after-daring and greatly provoking Letter the 19th of the first moneth last by-past he requires my Answer c. in writing to them boastingly saying to me c. I shall answer you all and upon desire procure the approbation of a sufficient number of hands to make the his said Answer a generall act And although he had a particular Reply to his Answer to deceased in Colchester Goal Iames Paâ—nels fourty three quaeries to the Water-Baptists of Fenstanton in Cambridge c. recorded in that excellent and very much usefull Book of his called the VVATCHER pag. 32 33 34. and a particular Answer to his own thirty one quaeries and that from an able and savoury soul commonly called Richard Hubberthorne which I did write out fair in my own hand and sent it to your Congregation by my faithfull Friend Luke Howard where with much ado long since I have understood it from him c. he got it publikely read but yet for any thing I can hear thy brother Ieremiah Elsreth keeps it privately and closely in his pocket and dare not be a man of his word to answer it or Reply upon it but is as I hear going to sea as formerly he hath done to take the wages of unrighteousness again for preaching out of his old bottle the lying frothy inventions of his own corrupt and meer carnall heart to a company of Sea men aboard a Man of War and therefore seeing he is likely to persevere in not performing his said solemn Promise given under his own hand and seeing thou thy self to Luke Howard as he hath often told me declaredst by thy own mouth to him thy avowing Jeremiah Elsreths foresaid thirty one quaeries in the last of which he calls the Doctrines of declaring God within and Christ within and Spirit within and Baptism within and Law within c. to be monstrous and Satanicall Doctrines And seeing thou perseverest upon all opportunies with a spirit of gall and wormwood to reproach persecute and blaspheme the truth of God as it is in Jesus truly professed by those savoury souls that thou callest quakers I am therefore by the measure of God dwelling in my soul at this time thus compelled and thus enabled to write to thee requiring thy answer to these my lines to thee that so as God shall come in with renewedness of strength and ability into my soul according to his e e Esa 40.28 29 30 31. recorded promise I may in the face of the Son endeavour before the sons and daughters of God for to manifest my faith to be founded upon the sure Rock of Ages the Lord Jesus by replying upon thee and so stop thy and thy said brothers blasphemous mouths against the pure truth of God And therefore as a witness bearer to this I subscribe my name as known unto thee to be only From Dover-Castle this 25. of the third month 1656. Iohn Lilburns FINIS
be the servants of y 1 Cor. 7.23 men but to glorifie him both in body and z 1 Cor. 6.20 see chap. 3.16 17 2 Cor. 2.5.15.17 c. soul and therefore his grown up servant Paul declares himself to be no man pleaser avowing himself that if he were a man-pleaser he should nor could not be the servant of a Gal. 1.10 see 4.3.9 10.11 5. 1 Col. 2.8.30.22 Christ And therefore the same Apostle by the infallible spirit of the Lord requires the Spiritual Subjects of this Spiritual King Jesus to present their bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which saith he is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world the kingdom of the prince of darkness but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minde that ye may prove what is that good acceptable perfect will of b Rom. 22.1 2. God and therefore when any man becomes a spiritual Subject of this Spiritual King Christ and dwells in him he becomes a new creature old things in him are past away and all things in him are becom c 2 Cor. 5.17 new spiritual savory yea even his very thoughts his words are found few and divine his behaviour righteous and solid his deeds upright and free like God from all respect of d Mat. 3.34.37 39 40 41 45 46 48. 6.25 31 32 33. and 7.12 13. and 23 3.5 6 7.8 9.10 Mark 12.14 Luk. 20 21. Act 10.34 35. Deu. 10 17. Esth 3.2 5 6. Job 32.21 22. Prov. 10.20 28.21 Rom. 2.11 and 1 Cor. 2.16 and 15 33 Gal 2.6 Eph. 4 29. and 5.4 and 6.9 Phil. 2 5. Col. 3.5.8 15.16 4.6 1 Tim. 1.10 6.3 4 5 6. 2 Tim. 1 7.13 and 4.3 Tit. 1.9.17 and 2.1 2.8 Jam. 2.1 to 10. and 5.12 and 1 Pet. 1.15 16 17. and 4.12 and 2 John 9 10 11. persons and although there be such a perfect and absolute contrariety betwixt all the laws constitutions of these two Kings or Masters and a continuall and perpetuall war betwixt the Subjects thereof yet the weapons of the warfare of Christs Spiritual Heavenly and glorious Kingdom handled and used by his Servants and true Subjects who although they do walk in the flesh yet do they not war after the flesh and therefore their weapons of warfare are not carnall but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of e 2 Cor. 10.3 4 5. Christ The Armour of Proof of these Spiritual warring Subjects and Souldiers of this spiritual glorious King is to have their loynes girt about with truth having on them the Brest-plate of righteousness and their feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace above all taking the Shield of Faith wherewith they shall be able to quench the fiery-darts of the wicked and taking the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of f Eph 6.13 14 15 16.17 God which Spiritual Sword or Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper then any two edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight who is this Spiritual sharp Sword or eternall and everlasting Word of God that indures for ever but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to g Heb. 4.12 13. do With which Spirituall Sword this spiritual conquering Lord and King pricked and wounded to the very heart three thousand of his enemies at once by the Ministration of his single Spiritual Souldier the Apostle Peter which made them bitterly to cry out for a Plaister and a Physician to heal and cure h Act. 2.37.41 them which spiritual Sword is the only and alone weapon that this glorious conquering spiritual King useth to fight withall against all enemies the powers of the Prince of Darkness of this world and with which only and alone he conquereth and i Rev. 1.16 and 2.12.16 and 19.15.21 Hos 6.7 overcometh carnal Weapons of any kinde whatsoever having no place nor being of no use at all in his spiritual Kingdom for his Subjects are to love their enemies to do good unto their haters and to resist or requite their evill with k Matt. 5.39 40 44 45 56. good and to dwell in love towards all men as the God of love himself dwells in l Gal. 6.10 and 1 Thes 3 12â— 5.14 15. 1 Joh. 4.16 17. love and to be holy as God is m 1 Pet. 1.15 16. holy and perfect as he is n Matt. 5.48 perfect and therefore not in the least to draw temporal weapons against their enemies for among the true and real Saints of the Lord in the mountain of the Lord where the Lord himself is the inward and soul-teacher and instructer of his people and Subjects in his own waies there all the temporal swords are to be beat into plowshares and their earthly spears into pruning-hooks no more using of carnal swords or so much as learning of earthly war is to be exercised amongst o Isa 2.2 3 4 5. them but they are to walk in the pure holy peaceable light of the Lord which shal wil lead the sanctified justified and redeemed soul to advance or set up the innocent harmless peaceable lamb-like nature or seed of Christ to become Lord and King in the heart of and over the Lyon-like warring devouring and destroying-wicked nature of the serpent the devil satan within man yea in the Gospel-mount of God or the spiritual kingdom of Christ under the Gospel-dispensation the habitation of the true Saint of God The wolf shal dwel with the lamb and the leopard shal ly down with the kid the calf the young lyon the fatling together a little child shal lead them And the cow and the bear shal feed their young ones shall lye down together And the lyon shall eat straw like the oxe And the sucking-child shall play on the hole of the asp and the weaned child shall pui his hand on the Cockatrice Den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy p Esa 11. 6 7 8 9. 65.25 mountain saith God For the earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea Yea they shall be far from q Esa 54.14 66.11 12. Oppression Yea and violence shall no more be heard in the Land of the spirituall Kingdom inhabited by the spirituall subjects or true Saints of Christ nor wasting nor destruction within their borders but they shall call their wall salvation and their Gates Praise The Sun or borrowed
humane Lights or Rudimentall Ordinances shall be no more thy Light saith God by day neither for brightness shall the Moon give Light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting Light and thy God thy glory Thy Sun shall no more go downe neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting Light and the dayes of thy mourning shall be ended Thy people shall be all Righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified A little one shall become a thousand a small one a strong nation I the Lord wil hasten it in his r Esa 60.18 19 20 21 22. See ch 40.19 20 21 22 23 25 26. Rev. 7.14 15 16 17. 21.1 2 3 4 5.10.11.22 23 24 22.1 2 3 4 5. time In all which consideration I say I have now the faithfull and true witness in my own soul that the Lord himself is become within me the Teacher of my soul and inabler of me to walk in a measure of his pure wayes and paths yea and so clear a teacher within me is he already become unto me as that I with confidence beleeve my inward Teacher shal never now more be removed into a corner but is and shall be as a continual voice speaking in my ears This is the way walk in s Esa 30.20 21. see ch 24.18 19. 35.7 8. 42.2 3 4.7 44 3 5â— 7 54.13 Prov. 6.22 23. Ps 37.31 Deu. 18.15 16.18 19. 34.6 Jer. 24.7 31.31 32 33 34. and 32.14 15. Eze. 11.19 34.22 23.24 25 26.27 36.24 25 26 27. and 37.22 23 24 25 26 27 28. Joel 2.28 29. Matt. 11.27 Luk. 10.22 Joh. 1.5 9 12 3.21 6.41.45 7.37 38 39. and 9.5.39 10.7.9 16. 11.9 10.25.22.12.35 36 46.48 and 14.16 17 18 19.23 26. and 15.5.15 and 16 7 8.13 14.26 27 28. Act. 1.4 and 2.4 â—6 17 18. Rom. 10.7 8 9 10. Gal. 1.15 16. Heb. 8.7 8 9 10 11. and 10.16.19 20. and 1 Joh. 2.2.20.27 and 3.24 and 4.13 and 5.10 20 see Act. 17.27 28.31 and 26.16.18 Rom. 1.19.21 and 2.15 â—6 27 28 39. and 1 Cor. 7.19 and 2 Cor. 2.3 4 6. Gal. 3.3 5.5 6. 6.15 Phil. 3.3 Col. 2.11 3.11 3.11 1 Tim. 4.10 Tit. 2.11 12. 1 Joh 1.5 6 7. it By which divine teaching I am now daily taught to dye to sin and led up by it into living power to be raised up and inabled to live in a pure measure of Righteousness and by which inward spiritual teachings I am I say again led up into power in Christ by which I particularly can and do hereby witness that I am already dead or crucified to the very occasions and real grounds of all outward wars and carnal sword-fightings fleshly buslings and contests and that therefore I confidently now believe I shall never hereafter be an user of a temporal sword more nor a joyner with those that so do And this I do here solemnly declare not in the least to avoid persecution or for any politick ends of my own or in the least for the satisfaction of the fleshly wils of any of my great adversaries or for satisfying the carnal will of my poor weak afflicted wife but by the special movings and compulsions of God now upon my soul am I in truth and righteousness compelled thus to declare that so I may take away from my adversaries all their fig leaf-covers or pretences of their continuing of my every way unjust bonds And thereby if yet I must be an imprisoned sufferer it may from this day forward be for the truth as it is in Jesus Which truth I witness to be truly professed and practised by the savouriest of people called quakers And to this my present declaration which I exceedingly long and earnestly desire to have in print and for which I know that I can chearfully and assuredly lay down my life if I be called to witness the truth of it I subscribe my outward name From my innocent and every way causeless captivity in Dover-Castle the place of my souls delightful and contentful abode where I have really and substantially found that which my soul many yeers hath sought diligently after and with unsatisfied longingness thirsted to in joy this present first day of the week being the 4th of the 3d. month 1655. IOHN LILBVRN the new or inward spiritual name no man knowes but he that hath it AN APPENDIX TO This second Edition of my foregoing Resurrection Declaration AN Appendix to this second Edition of my foregoing Resurrection Declaration directed to the serious and single-hearted Reader whom I desire to let know that in my reading of my own foregoing lines in the first Impression I found divers mistakes or errors committed by the Printer the greatest of which I judged to be in the very last line of it in the Date of the Yeer which he hath made 1655. but in my Copy it is 1656. which with all the rest of the mistakes that I can finde I have with my own hand amended in a printed Book and sent it up again the second time to be impressed And being it was my former order it should have no Title page at all but the Title printed close in the very same page that the matter begins in that so the Reader might have it at as cheap a rate as its possibe by the Book-seller to be afforded him And being I finde in the second Impression there will be two or three pages of white paper I am therefore extraordinary desirous to fill them up at least with two late Epistles which I judge very pertinent for my old affectionate and faithful though stumbling and offended at me friends to see and read that so they may more fully see and read that I have not of late taken up my present principles without grounds and foundations in the Rock of ages the Lord Iesus Christ that eternal and everlasting word of God and divine and heavenly light of the world or fallen and sinful man in whom was and is life and the light was and is the life of a Ioh. 1.4 man which light or life is the living quickning holy or tender part of man VVhich everlasting word of God by whom all things were b Ioh. 1.1 2 3. made I aver is the divine and true light that in measure inlightneth the soul of every man whatsoever that cometh into the c Ioh. 1.9 and 8.12 and 12.36.46 world and is that reproving judging and condemning witness of God and for God that resides in the dark hearts of Iew and Greek circumcision and uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond and free where the light Christ is all and in all and died for d Ioh. 16.7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 26. chap. 3.19.36 and 8.24 Col. 3.10 11. Eph. 1.23 and 4.6.10 Rom. 5 8.1â—