and was a Peace-maker and he preacht in his Life and Conversation as well as his Words And he travelled with me from Maryland through the Wilderness and through many Rivers and Desperate Bogs where they said never English Man nor Horse had Travelled before where we lay out at Nights and sometimes in Indian Houses and many times were very hard put to it for Provisions but the Lord by his Eternal Arm and Power did support us and carry us through all Dangers Blessed be his Name for ever And he was an Elder and a Pillar in the House of God and the Name of the Righteous shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance but the Name of the Wicked will Rot. He was a Man Endued much with the Wisdom of God and in it had a Care of the Welfare of the Church of Christ to keep in Peace out of Strife and Contention and laboured with the Apostates and Back-sliders to turn them to Christ and his peaceable Truth So that they might Study to be Quiet and keep in the Unity of the Spirit which is the Bond of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord's Peace And much more I might write concerning our Dear Brother in the Lord I knowing him very well and his Travels and Service in the Lord's Power and Truth and so doth the Church of Christ among whom he will be missed But he is gone to his Rest and the Lord by his Eternal Arm and Power is able to Raise up others in his place The 13th of the 9th Month 1690. G. F. The Testimony of Friends in Cumberland COncerning that Faitful Servant of the Lord John Burnyeat belonging formerly to Pardsay-Meeting in Cumberland he was born at Crabtreebeck in the Parish of Lows-water in the said County his Parents were of good Repute and his Education was according to his Parentage The Lord visited him in his young and tender Years and inclined his heart after good things whereupon he gave himself to Reading the Scriptures that thereby he might be informed of those things that made for his Soul's Peace and going from one Man to another who were counted Men of Experience yet found no true Satisfaction until it pleased the Lord to send his Ministers to turn his Mind to the Invisible Word of Life which he gladly received into his heart and came to Wait in Humiliation to feel the Operation of it So that he was brought forth Early in the Day of the breaking forth of God's Light and Power in our Age when it pleased God to Visit many People in divers Nations of the World and to make known his Everlasting Truth in the North-Country which Day of Light and Truth and Grace many waited for and were in a readiness to Receive with Ioy and Gladness of Heart amongst whom this our Dear Friend J. B. being called by Grace to the Knowledge of the Lord his Truth and Power and receiving the same in Love Faith and Obedience he came to Witness the Effectual working thereof to his Sanctification and so became a Vessel of Honour fitted for his Master's Use even Christ and learned to Rule his own House well in washing first the Inside and the Outside appearing clean also Then his Light began to shine before Men to the Glory of God that called him And this being first done in him and for him to his particular peace and satisfaction in the Lord 's Eternal Truth then the Lord opened his Mouth in a few words in much tenderness which tended greatly to the comforting of his People he always being careful to wait for the Motion of the Word and to keep close with it whereby he grew in his Gift and was drawn forth to visit Friends in this County where we dearly loved him He was faithful in the discharge of his Duty when called to give Testimony against the Hireling-Priests in the Steeple-Houses to gather People from the Mouths of those Greedy Shepheards that feed themselves and not the Flock and did not profit the People at all And for these things he suffer'd Imprisonment a long time under a severe Goaler in a close nasty place For the Lord sent him forth in his joyful opening Power and Spirit to preach glad Tidings of Salvation by Christ Iesus sometimes to the Spirits in Prison and to them coming out of Prison and entring into the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God and to them who walked stedfastly in that Glorious pure Liberty he that hath an Ear to hear let him hear whereby he was a blessed Instrument in the Hand of the Lord both for Convincing and Converting to God and for the Refreshing Comforting and Strengthening of them in the Faith Grace and Truth that they might be built on the Rock Christ the Foundation for all the Chosen of God in him throughout all Generations that Man might answer the End for which he was made even to Glorify God who is worthy of Glory and Praise for ever He was a Man of an Excellent Spirit and of deep Experience in the things of God and Mysteries of his Kingdom which were richly made manifest unto him And it was his Delight to be Meditating therein whereby his Experience was daily increased unto the Conclusion of his Days He was a Man tender of God's Glory and Earnestly sought the spreading and propagating of the Truth The Lord made his Travels successful and he saw the Fruit of his Labour and the Lord blessed him with the Fruits of his holy Spirit whereby he became well qualified for the Work of the Ministry a Nursing Father lending a hand of help to the feeble of the Flock and comforting the Mourners in Sion For his Doctrine did drop as the Dew and his Speech as the small Rain He was a Pattern of Righteousness to the Young Generation over whom he was very Tender and to the Aged he could give Counsel so that God made him a strong Pillar in his Church and cloathed him with Divine Wisdom that he was capable of speaking a Word in Season to all which was as a Nail fastned in a sure place He was one of the Lord's Worthies in his day of a quick Sight and clear Discerning of a strong Arm and skilful Hand whose Bow abode in strength and carried the Arrows to the Mark aimed at like as the Men of Benjamin that could sling Stones to a Hair's breadth so he fixed Judgment upon the head of the Transgressor And his Arrows returned not in vain particularly against that Wicked Spirit of Separation where-ever he met with it He was often concerned in Testimony against those that profess the Truth and Way of God and yet did incline to suit themselves to the vain Fashions and Customs of the World as Inlets to a wrong Spirit and became evil Precedents to others especially Young People that are too much employed in their Minds with foolish Dresses and Fashions that never knew the weighty Work of Truth and Power of God in their Hearts to work a Change
And then will you feel the holy Dew abide upon your Spirits throughout your Age that will preserve you from withering your Leaf from fading and so your Fruit shall be ripe in due season and not be untimely brought forth in that which will not endure For that in which we have believed will endure for ever The Heavenly Power which God hath revealed in our Hearts and made manifest for a standing Foundation that 's sure for ever upon which as you all abide stedfast the Gates of Hell with all the power of Darkness shall not prevail against you but you shall be able to withstand him and keep your Habitations in the Dominion thereof and dwell in Peace upon the Rock of safety in the midst of all Storms and sing for joy of Heart when those that forsake this Rock shall howl and lament for vexation of Spirit For the Lord God will bring his Day and his Power over all and upon all that fly to any shelter or seek any other defence that have once known his Truth and he will be unto such as a Moth and as Rottenness and their Strength he will waste and their Garment and Clothing he will destroy and their Beauty and Glory he will cause to fade though they have been as a beautiful Flower in the head of the fat Valley yet will fading come upon them even dryness at the Root and withering and decaying upon the beauty of their Blossoms And therefore let all keep unto that and in that which will not decay come to nothing nor never be turned into Darkness but abide in its vertue and glory in and by which the Lord hath visited you and through which his Day hath dawned upon your Souls the Morning whereof you have known bright and clear as without Clouds in which you have seen the Son in his Glory to appear unto your Souls with his Heavenly healing warmness and vertue Now Friends this is that which for ever is to be kept too that the Day may be known to increase in the light and glory of it in its own clearness without mixture not mixing with it your own Wisdom Thoughts or carnal Imaginations which do prove such Clouds where they are suffered to arise that they bring Darkness over the understanding and make the Day cloudy and dark and so occasion wandering and to some turn the very Eye-lids of the Morning into the Shadow of Death And through such things hath the Enemy so prevailed over some that he hath brought them again into the Night of Everlasting Darkness and Confusion ere they have been aware whither he would lead and thus as a Man void of Understanding over whom the Whorish Woman hath prevailed and so led down to the Chambers of Death have many followed those Steps that have taken hold on Hell where Misery is sure to be met withall Dear Friends that which preserves from these Dangers is that Arm and Power which God revealed in the beginning by which as we are Witnesses he redeemed our Souls out of many afflictions And therefore let it be every ones care to wait for a clear and sensible feeling of that same Power in its own pure Nature to spring in all your Hearts every Day and then will your delight be so in it and your acquaintance in a clear Understanding will be so with it that you will never be deceived so as to take any other for it Then to your comfort will your Heavenly Peace spring under the Power and Government of him that is the Prince of true Peace and so will your Hearts be made truly glad and weighty and ponderous and not to be carried about with every Wind For in this is the true and sure Establishment of the Soul with Grace in the Covenant of Life for ever and these are they whose Peace is of a standing nature who are not given to change But this I have always observed that where there is an uncertain Spirit or Mind though in some states into which at times they may come they may have Peace and feel some Refreshment yet for want of constancy and stedfastness which is preserved through a true watchful and diligent attendance upon that which doth not change which is sure for ever they lose their Habitation and their state of Peace and come to be tossed in their Minds and afflicted in their Spirits and also are the occasion of tossing affliction and distress unto others who not being aware may sometimes be in danger to suffer with them when they fly from the Word that should uphold as it was with Ionah in the days of old And therefore it is good for every one to have their Hearts established with Grace and in the Grace wait for a settlement that under the pure teachings thereof they may be preserved from going into those things that will procure Woe and so shall every ones State in that which is good be more and more constant and then will there be a growing and going forward and not backward For that which doth occasion any to linger or draw back is Carelesness Unbelief and Disobedience and in such the Lord's Soul doth take no pleasure And therefore in that which doth not change all live by which all changeable and mutable Thoughts and Imaginations and Desires will be judged down and the spring of Life over all will slow and the First will be the last for in that the Beauty and Glory doth stand for ever And all that abide not in it to grow in the vertue thereof whatever they have been at the best will be but as a fading Flower in the head of the fat Valley as it was with Ephraim the Lord will take no delight in them but reject them and cast them out as such whose Beauty is gone whose Gold is become dim and whose Wine is mixt with Water And so as reprobate Silver shall they be esteemed even of Men because the Lord hath rejected them So the Lord God keep and preserve you all in that which was from the beginning and will endure unto the end that in that ye may flourish and grow as the Lilly of the Valley and the Tree by the Rivers of Water This is the desire of my Soul for you all who truly love you in the love of God wherein I remain one with you and am London the 10th of the 3d Month 1677. Your Brother in the Truth J. B. Let Copies of this be sent to New-England Virginia Maryland and Barbados Upon the 2d of the 10th Month 1677. ONE Oliver Morross an Informer came into a Meeting in Mahuntleth in Mountgomery in Wales where Iohn Burnyeat in the fear of God was speaking unto the People and Preaching the Gospel of Peace and Salvation unto them for their good as he had received from the Lord the said Oliver Morross Informer with several Constables and many other Rude People came twice into the Meeting to break up the Meeting and made a great disturbance But
that we cannot easily be moved Though the Winds do blow and the Waters swell and toss and the unestablished be driven to and fro and so afflicted in their Spirits yet this Rock abides for a Habitation and Being of Safety unto all them that keep firm thereunto and so do abide near in their Spirit unto the holy Power thereof they find the living Spring of that Grace from the same in their Souls that the World cannot take away whose Treasure the Thief cannot steal nor the Moth waste for its Heavenly and kept by a Heavenly Hand And such who mind this will be ready to offer up their Earthly Substance and also themselves into his Hand and Will out of which no Man is able to pluck And surely in this Day there is no true Rest nor Satisfaction to the Souls or Spirits of Friends but as they get hither in the Faith with their Hearts and Spirits And when we are here spiritually oh this holy Shield how doth it defend Oh the holy Rock how do we sit under the shadow of it Oh the holy Ioy that the Dwellers upon this do feel in their Spirits though the Tempest be great Oh the God of Heaven keep us all in the holy sense of this that our Spirits may be born up from sinking under our Exercises in the Trial that so we may all glorify him in our Day Dearly Beloved you tender suffering Children whose Hearts are tender of God's Glory and therefore are willing to give up your selves and your all for his Name 's sake that you may be of that number who following the Lamb whithersoever he goes and not loving your Lives unto Death that may stand with him upon Mount Sion My Heart and Soul is knit unto you and you are near me and in the unity of the antient Life I feeling Love abundantly to flow unto you you have had a proof of the sincerity of my Love of old unto you And truly you that stand in your innocent Testimony faithfully do ingage my Heart still more and more in Love unto you Oh the tender meltings of my Spirit in the sweetness of the Love of God in which I reach you and rejoyce with you in your Ioy which all the Wrath of Man cannot put a stop unto I know your Hearts are at ease and your Spirits free and the Weights and Burdens from off you who are freely given up to suffer though in these Bonds outwardly But there can be no such spiritual Portion received by any that shrink from their Testimony in this Day of Trial. For the Word is true for ever They that suffer with him shall reign with him He the Captain was made perfect through Sufferings he must be followed by all that come in the fulness to pertake with him of his Glory And such who draw back and would find a place of Safety for themselves to escape their Sufferings for their Testimony though they should fly to the uttermost parts of the Earth the Lord's hand will find them out and there will not only be a holding back of the Portion but a spiritual Pain will overtake where the Heart is tender and because thereof uneasie will every ones place be unto their Spirits And therefore my dear Friends keep in the Faith and Word that Iustifies and then will you reign in the Seed that 's heir for ever wherein you will Overcome and Inherit and be Conquerors and so Triumph with the Lamb that must have the Victory before whose Feet the Crowns of all the Mighty must be laid down unto whom the Kings of the Earth and all Flesh must bow in him we trust his Heavenly Kingdom we wait for and pray for the coming of that even such as are our Enemies by the power thereof may be Converted unto God and so have an Inheritance with us in that Kingdom that hath no End That so Mankind might rest together in that Hope that makes not ashamed where the Love of God might be shed abroad in all Hearts by his Spirit Thus God is filling the Hearts of his Children with good Will towards all The Lord keep us therein for ever Dear Friends by this know that I am well and am now come to have a share with you of the Sufferings that attend for the Gospel's sake I have been three Weeks a Prisoner here in the Marshalsee of Dublin So in the true Fellowship of the Gospel am a Partaker with you both of the Sufferings and Consolation that attend us for the Testimony thereof I remain From the Marshals in the City of Dublin the 25 th of the 6 th Month 1683. Your Brother I. B. Dublin the 19th of the 6th Month 1685. Dear J. Banck UNTO thee with thy fellow-Prisoners who suffer for the blessed Testimony of that precious Truth in which we have believed doth the real and tender Affection and Love of my Heart and Soul flow forth at this time and in the sweetness and peaceableness of that which is our Life do I dearly salute you and in the unity thereof tenderly greet you all whose Hearts are kept up in that and under the holy conduct of it for which you suffer In this have we our unity which in it self lives and reigns over all and shall reign in its own pure Dominion and Dignity even the Power of our Lord Iesus Christ to whom Principalities and Thrones and Dominions must be subject It is for the Testimony of him you know that you suffer to wit the Testimony of Iesus which you have received from him by his Spirit and thereby have it sealed in your Hearts Though many do not understand the weight and certainty of your Testimony for which you suffer and therefore may look lightly upon it yet you who are enjoyers of the Power and so have received the Spirit of Iesus which is the Spirit of Prophesy and so his Testimony therein you feel the Weight of it and know the Certainty of the Testimony for which you suffer and so in your Sufferings have your Peace and Iustification And therefore my dearly Beloved in the Lord see that you all hold that fast in all your Hearts in the inward rich Possession of it for which you suffer that you may feel your Reward with you and your Comforter in you to bear up your Spirits over all your Sufferings and so you will have a Satisfaction in your selves that whatever others say or may think of your Sufferings and the reason thereof you know within your selves that it is for the Truth and its Testimony that you suffer and for the keeping of your Consciences clear in the sight of God And so in the hidden Man of the Heart you rest in quietness in that hidden Life which you receive from Christ and here is your Peace and Comfort which no Man can take from you no nor Man knows of it but such as are in Fellowship with you who live in and love the same Testimony And therefore those that know
not your Reward your Crown nor your Peace cannot reach to take it a way and that is our Joy that we have a Crown and Inheritance that is out of their sight and so out of their reach Oh therefore let all take heed that through carelesness or looseness of Spirit or any other thing you be not beguiled or betrayed from that to the losing of it while you are suffering for it You know my Friends it is possible such things have been even in our Age that while some have been suffering for the Truth they have been betrayed from the Truth and the Innocency and Simplicity of it in their Hearts and so have lost the Truth even that for which they were called to suffer For you know it is an inward thing and must be held in the inward unity of the Mind in a spiritual Fellowship and if there be not a care even while we are in one thing doing for the Truth in the outward in the inward we may lose it and our Justification by it and then whither shall we go for our Peace and Recompence The God of my Life give you all Wisdom and Fear and fill you with holy Reverence that you may still stand in awe before him and be watchful over your spiritual Path and the Feet of your Souls and Minds that you may invisibly tread in the invisible way of Peace and Righteousness And Dear Friends live in Peace and Love together amongst your selves and in a holy solid Life before all Men keeping out of the Spirit of the World in all things that as it is upon a Religious Account that you suffer you may appear in all other things to be Religious Men or otherwise you know the Truth cannot be honoured by your suffering For if Men that suffer for or upon the account of Religion appear not to be Religious Men this overthrows the Glory and Beauty of their Religion and brings it into Dis-esteem amongst Men And therefore did Christ command that our Light should shine before Men by their seeing of our good Works c. And Dear Friends have a care of provoking one another unto any thing that is Evil but endeavour to stir up and provoke one another unto Love and good Works that you may build up one another therein and so help to bear one anothers Burthen and fulfill the Law of Christ that you may all be kept up together in the Iustification and Peace And so Dear Friends my Heart's Love being unto you I send these few lines as a Testimony thereof by which you may know you are in my remembrance in the Love of God and my Heart hath an honourable Esteem of your Testimony and your Sufferings in Righteousness for the same I desire to be remembred to Friends in the Country both below Carlisle and above and Friends in the City to Io. Carlisle and Family with the rest My Wife 's dear Love is to you all My Love is with you Farewell From your Friend I. B. Dublin the 12 th of the 8 th Month 1685. Dear Friends IN the universal Spirit of Life and Truth and of Righteousness and Peace doth the tender Affection and pure Love of my Heart flow forth and reach unto you all who are true Lovers of the Power and the Holiness of the same wherein alone it is that we bear the Image of him whose Name is Holiness and his Nature and Being is Purity so that in that only we do draw and may draw near unto him and have Fellowship with him and enjoy his Presence who is our God our Life and Salvation And therefore in the Unity of that whereby we have been quickened and through which we Live unto him that hath quickned us do I exhort and beseech you all to mind with Reverence his secret and sweet Visitations by his Holy Power upon your Spirits in your Hearts that you feel that to appear there and so through the brightness of its appearing to destroy him whose coming is after the Working of Satan with all Power c. and with all Deceivableness of Unrighteousness in them that Perish And not only to appear and destroy him and his Works but also to abide with you and dwell in you and so make you his dwelling-place And then you being Watchful shall not Watch in vain because the Lord then will be your keeper and then as one said of old He keeping the City the Watch-man watcheth not in vain Thus you may see it fulfilled in your own Hearts unto your own Souls and so have Comfort and Confidence with Holy David and with him Live above the fear of Evil though you might walk through the Shadow of Death as he said because of the Lord 's being with you And therefore Friends see that you all be mindful of him in his Appearing by his Power and Spirit of Grace in your Hearts and let him have Room there and not to be straitned or thronged up or oppressed for he delights to dwell alone there and have the whole Heart to himself and at his own disposing that he may Fill it with that which he takes Pleasure in and in which he only may be Glorified and Honoured And therefore doth he require the Heart saying My Son give me thy Heart And Christ Commands That we should Love him with all our Hearts c. So as I said let him have room in your Hearts and take heed that with this World the Spirit of it Nature of it and Love to the things therein your Hearts be not filled and so taken up that there be not room for him whose coming is with such Glory and Fulness that he fitls all that are rightly poor and empty with that Fulness Richness and Glory that there can be no want to them that have him for their Portion and Inheritance and so keep single in their Hearts before him But where the Heart is filled with Delight in or desire after other things out of the Covenant of God which is out of his Favour there the Lord will not have delight to Dwell there is not room nay he will not have delight to appear there because it will be his Grief and an Oppression unto him Was it not so of old when he took up his Complaint against both Iudah and Israel As you may see Amos 2. how the Lord pleads with them and threatens them what he would bring upon them for their Sins that he reckons up against them and withall to aggravate their Crimes as he might justly do he also reckons up and tells them what he had done for them how he had destroyed the Amorites for their sakes brought them out of the Land of Egypt led them in the Wilderness given them the Land of the Amorites to Possess raised of their Sons to be Prophets and their young Men to be Nazarites But saith he unto them Ye gave my Nazarites Wine to Drink and commanded my Prophets saying Prophesy not behold I am pressed under
his Church did charge it to be Blasphemy for any to say That Man could do contrary to the Will of God and when it was offered to be proved in an hundred places of Scripture and more where the Will of God was manifest and that Men did contrary to it for if it were not so we should not have Sin committed for in the Scripture all sorts of Sin are forbidden After this was offered he still affirm'd it And further discoursing of what benefit the Reprobate could have by the coming of Christ he said the Devil had a benefit by it but being much desired to shew wherein he could make nothing out Iames Barry makes a Boast of his Hearers most of them being in a state of Grace but if they be not founded upon better Principles than these they are far from being in a state of Grace and Happiness Therefore in Charity we desire they may look to their standing and not to be setled upon such unsound Principles as Iames Barry the Independent Minister as he calls himself labours to settle them in which is opposite to God's Free Grace which brings Salvation Iames Barry also with some of his Hearers did account it an Errour in the Quakers to own Immediate Revelation and said they did disown it Now seeing it is so that the immediate Spirit of Christ and its Immediate Revelation is denied by him we demand of him how he came to be a Minister and whence he hath his Ability and that Knowledge of God he pretendeth to have and from whom he hath received his Gospel that he Preacheth It s evident enough not from Christ for indeed it is not like his nor him who would have gathered the Children of Jerusalem as a Hen gathereth her Chickens and they would not therefore were they rejected because they would not be gathered The Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3. 6. They were made able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit and verse 5. saith Their sufficiency was of God and Gal. 1. 11 12. the Gospel which Paul Preached It was not after Man for he neither received it of Man neither was taught it but by the Revelation of Iesus Christ Eph. 3. he declares That he was made a Minister according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto him by the effectual working of his Power and Peter saith 1 Pet. 4. 11. If any Man speak let him speak as the Oracles of God if any Man Minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified c. Now how is this Ability received from God if not by his Spirit and therefore he gave different Gifts of the Spirit for the work of the Ministry and by that they were opened and inlarged and made able But Iames Barry denying this from whom hath he his Call and whence hath he his Gospel and Ability If he saith from God We desire to know how he received it being not by the Spirit he having denied that and if it be not by the Spirit it cannot be from God For what a Man receives of Spiritual Benefit it must be by the Spirit either immediately or mediately by its working through an Instrument Therefore let him make out how he comes by his Call Ability and that Necessity he pretends to be upon him for the Divine Spirit being denied it must be from Man or else from his own corrupt Heart for Self-interest which is most probable that he might get Gain and live upon the People For it is evident his Necessity is not the same that was upon the Apostle 1 Cor. 9. 16. He owns not his way of receiving it nor doth follow his Example in Preaching it And to his Hearers this Advice we give Consider well your State and whether you profit under his Ministry or no For of old they that ran and the Lord did not send them did not profit the People for he denying Revelation by which the Father and the Son is savingly known no other Knowledge is come to without it but by Hear-say which is not that Knowledge Christ speaks of which is Life Eternal And for your satisfaction read the following Scriptures Mat. 11. 27. Christ saith Neither knoweth any Man the Father but the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him So Christ is positive that no Man knows God but by his Revelation Mat. 16. 17. Christ saith it was the Father that Revealed him unto Peter and Gal. 1. 15 16. There you may see the Father Revealed his Son in Paul 1 Cor. 2. 10. The Apostle speaking of the great things God had prepared for them that love him saith God hath Revealed them unto us by his Spirit and in Eph. 1. 17. you may see how the Apostle prayed for the Saints That God the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of Glory would give unto them the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of the Son and 1 Cor. 14. 30. he saith If any thing be Revealed to another that sits by let the first hold his Peace Here you may see that from the Testimony of the Holy Scripture which your Minister said should be the Standard to try every thing by in the true Church Revelation was expected and to be given way to in the Church and by the Apostle was prayed for that God would give the Spirit and Revelation unto the Church for he knew they could not Worship Pray Preach nor Sing aright without it And what Is this accounted an Error now by your Minister or you Where is your Standard Will you not come to the Scriptures nor to the Spirit neither Where is your Bottom and Foundation that you Build upon What 's your Root that bears you You have got a foolish Builder he will not follow the Example of Paul a wise Master-Builder 1 Cor. 14. 15. Paul said He would pray with the Spirit c. and sing with the Spirit c. Eph. 5. 18. There the Apostle exhorts them To be filled with the Spirit and Rom 8. 26. he saith They knew not what to pray for as they ought but the Spirit helped their Infirmities c. And Christ in the 4 th of Iohn saith That God is a Spirit and they that Worship him must Worship him in Spirit and Truth and such doth the Father seek to Worship him Now let your Minister clear these things up to you how in your Church or Families either he and you denying Revelation can Worship aright Preach Pray or Sing aright and by what you have Ability and know what to Pray for without the Spirits help What! are you so strong of your selves in your Self-Ability that you do not need that which the Apostles and all true Christians sought the help of and could not do without Nay it was that by which they knew what to Pray for and therefore they waited for its Assistance And Paul said he would Pray with
which he doubts not but we will make good upon occasion Thou in answer say'st Thou knowest our Practice well enough Which if true and if so bad as thou endeavourest to make People believe of us why hast thou brought none of them to make good thy Charges against us And as for our Principles thou say'st Thou never heard'st we had any Then thou must needs be ignorant of our Way and Religion And therefore in thy speaking evil of it thou speakest evil of things thou understandest not and so art of that Generation spoken of 2 Pet. 2. 12. And as for our Faith and Principles they have been published to the World both by Words and Writing they have not been hid in a corner so that any that had a mind to concern themselves against us and yet as wise Men would not judge without an understanding lest like thee they should speak evil of the things they did not understand might easily be informed what our Principles are However we are a People that believe in the Lord Iesus Christ and that the Father sent him into the World to lay down his Life a Ransom for all Men that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have Eternal Life That he was Crucified without the Gates of Ierusalem and so became a Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World And that after he had suffered and was buried God the Father Raised him again by his Eternal Spirit after which he shewed himself unto many Witnesses and then Ascended into Heaven and is Glorified with the Father with that Glory he had with him before the World was made And we further believe that he is the Light of the World and that he ought to be followed according to his own words Iohn 8. 12. and That he lighteth every Man that cometh into the World according to Iohn 1. 9. and that this Light wherewith he lighteth every Man all ought to believe in that they may be Children of the Light according to Iohn 12. 36. And so we believe in his spiritual Appearance according to his Promise who said He would pray the Father and he should send them another Comforter even the Spirit of Truth according to Iohn 14. 16 17. and this was his own Spirit for he is the Truth and of this the Saints were Witnesses as the Apostle saith Gal. 4. 6. And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts crying Abba Father And thus was Christ in the Saints the Hope of Glory according to Col. 1. 7. And thus believing and witnessing the Truth of the Scripture we wait upon God for his Spirit that we may worship him therein according to the Institution of his Son Christ Jesus as in Iohn 4. 23 24. and that we may pray with the Spirit and sing with it according to 1 Cor. 14. 15. For the Apostle exhorted the Saints To be filled mith the Spirit Eph. 5. 18. and the Saints were to Pray in the Holy Ghost Jude 20. So our Faith stands in the Power of God which is that the Apostle laboured that the Saints Faith might stand in as thou may'st see 1 Corinth 2. 5. believing that there shall be a Resurrection both of the just and unjust they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation according to Iohn 5. 29. Here we have given thee some account in short of our Faith Principles and Practice and proved them to be according to the Scripture whereby thou may'st see if Prejudice and Self-Interest do not blind thine Eye that Robert Lacky in turning from thy Teaching to Christ the true Light and his Teaching according to God's Promise under the New Covenant who said They shall be all taught of the Lord which according to our Principle we direct People to wait for it 's no unsafe way to Heaven nor as thou falsly accusest us a pursuing such ways as are directly contrary to holy Scripture which thou in some measure promisest thou wilt make appear but hast it yet to do Thou say'st Because thou art fully satisfied we cannot make this out therefore thou wilt shew him how he has incurred not only the Displeasure of God for the present but the Damnation of his Soul hereafter unless he repent and return by this his departure from the Religion he was bred in Ans. Thou may'st see thy Satisfaction is without ground as also thy confident presumption in thy passing such a Sentence upon him concerning his present and Eternal Estate And surely thy Iudgment herein is groundless rash and vain as all may see who have any true Christian understanding and discerning and do but observe what is brought forth under your Teaching in your Religion For we understand no Reason thou assignest for thy Iudgment but His leaving of your Religion which we have before proved he had good reason so to do And therefore neither he nor any other need be afraid of thy Threatning upon this account because from what is before written it is clear that there are great Defects in the Principles and Exercise of the Religion he was bred in if he was bred in yours and so not according to Christ's Institution as may be seen if compared with the Scripture and that there are no such Defects in the Religion he now embraceth but proved in the Principles and Exercise of it to be of Christ's Institution according to the Scripture And herein thy Challenge we have answered and endeavoured to make it appear both to thee and him according to thy demand But if thou hatest to be Informed it shall lie at thy own door and thou shalt answer for it thy self So it is plain he may have changed out of a Principle of Conscience and pure Love to God and his Soul and not out of Interest Humour Passion or Prejudice as thou seemest to accuse him And as for thy Assuring him upon thy Word that it is not for any temporal advantage that thou seekest to reduce him but only in love to his Soul as thou hast to all Mens as thou say'st Ans. We think he hath no reason to believe that thou and the rest of your Clergy have such a Love to the Souls of all Men as to be the only Reason of your coming amongst them to be their Teachers for your Practice which is a surer evidence than your Words speaks the quite contrary in that you do leave any People where you are to go to another place for an Augmentation and higher Preferment So that it 's evident it is not the good of People's Souls nor the Glory of God that chiefly moves you in this concern what-ever may be pretended to And so to the Consciences and Understandings of Wise Men we refer these things to be considered of with our Hearts desire to God for you all that he would open your Understandings and let you see the Errour of you Ways and
there but were too apt to look out at others These things he did often testify against as one having Authority being himself Redeemed out of those things by the Power of God His Innocent Deportment and blameless Conversation preached where-ever he came Gravity and Patience was with him Moderation in Meat Drink and Apparel having laid aside all superfluity of Naughtiness and received with meekness the Ingrafted Word all which were as Ornaments upon him and preached for the Truth abundantly as also did the many Living Testimonies he bore that flowed through him as Showers upon the tender Grass He was a True Labourer who spared not his Life unto Death and was willing to spend and be spent that he might gain upon the Sons and Daughters of Men to turn them from Darkness unto the true Light and from the Power of Satan unto God Oh! what shall we say of him He was a faithful Preacher of the Gospel not only in Words but in Life and Practice and his Memory shall Live for ever For his Labour and Travel both at home and abroad in Prison and at Liberty hath been such as cannot easily be forgotten by many who have reaped the benefit thereof For the Lord was pleased wonderfully to appear by him and sound through him to the awakening many to Righteousness and greatly encouraging all the Faithful amongst God's People In Sickness and other deep Exercises he was as a skilful Physitian to Apply that which was sutable unto all yea he was quick sharp and nimble on the one hand to Search as on the other hand to Cure heal bind up and comfort but unto the Hypocrites he was Dreadful and Terrible though he was a Man of large Bowels of Compassion Many an untrodden Path he travelled and passed through great Dangers both by Sea and Land in visiting Friends not only in England but also in Scotland Ireland Barbadoes New-England with thé Islands adjacent passing through Wilderness-places and dangerous Waters Through all which the Lord in a most wonderful manner preserved him with the rest of his Servants and from the hands of Wicked and Unreasonable Men who was ever near him for his Preservation both inwardly and outwardly And the Lord Cloathed him with Humility before all as became the Gospel he preached which he preached freely counting nothing near nor dear unto him to be parted with suffered or to be done but a willingness was wrought in him through the mighty Power of God who always strengthened him to do to suffer and to undergo all things whatsoever for his worthy Name 's sake And thô the Lord had bestowed eminent Gifts on him yet he would Condescend to the weak Capacities of all to reach to the Good in all that he might lay a Foundation to build upon He had the Word of Reconciliation committed unto him whereby he was made Instrumental to Reconcile many to God by Iesus Christ and one unto another And the Lord caused him to Triumph in Christ and made manifest the Savour of his Knowledge in many Places and his Ministry is sealed in the Hearts of many who are satisfied of his Faithfulness unto God who hath received him into his Rest. Now althô his Body be gone to the Dust yet his Spirit lives and that Word of Life which was his pleasure remains for our Comfort who are yet behind in that Pilgrimage which he hath past through and may be attended with the Temptations which he is deliver'd from who hath finisht his Days-work Whom the Lord raised up to shine forth as a Glorious Star in several parts of the Northern and Western World And his Mild and Grave Deportment did so well become his deliberate Ministry that it greatly hightned his Esteem amongst his Neighbours so that he was not without honour in his own Country And when at any time he came into Cumberland where he was born and educated his Neighbours would abundantly flock to the Meeting to hear him Yet he was far from Glorying in his Gift or desiring to be popular but would rather Restrain such who would applaud him he having Self in no Reputation He may be truly numbred among the Righteous who sought God's Glory and the Peace and Unity Flourishing and Prosperity of his Church which Christ is the Head of Much more might we say concerning him but shall attribute nothing to him but to the Lord ' s Power that did support him And now if Samuel had cause to Mourn for Saul and the Children of Israel wept thirty days for Moses much more cause have many now to mourn for the loss of so dear a Friend But though our Loss be great his Gain is beyond utterance who hath received the blessed Recompence of Reward for his Labours and Travels for all his Service and Suffering And having finished his Course and Time in this World is entred into Life and Happiness everlasting in the World to come And we pray the Lord of the Harvest to raise up other Labourers both in his Room and also in the place of others that have finished their Testimonies for God and Christ that God over all through Iesus Christ may have the Honor Glory and Praise from Generation to Generation who is blessed for ever Amen! Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace Psal. 37. 37. Broughton in Cumberland the 22d of the 2d mon. 1691. Philip Burnyeat John Tiffin John Bancks Tho. Laythes Tho. Dockwray Chr. Wilson Tho. Fletcher Rich. Head Chr. Story Peter Fearon Jonathan Bowman John Bowstead Thomas Wilson Ja. Dickinson The Testimony of several Women-Friends in Cumberland IN brokenness of Heart and tenderness of our Spirits we have this Testimony concerning our Dear Friend and Brother John Burnyeat That he was one of the Lord's Worthies chosen and fitted by him for his Work and Service and it was his whole Delight to do the Will of God so he came more and more to know of his Doctrine whereby he was made a good Instrument in the Hand of God for the Converting many from the Error of their ways to the way of Truth and Righteousness He was one on whom that Prophecy came to be fulfilled That Saviours shall come upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's For he well knew how to Divide the Word of God aright which dwelt plentifully in him as Deep Waters and the Well-spring of Wisdom as a flowing Brook so that he was often as Clouds full of Rain emptying himself at the Lord's Command causing the Seed of Life to spring whereby God's Inheritance was confirmed He was a Man of a Thousand clothed with Innocency and beautified with Humility Words are too short to set forth the Excellency of that Spirit by which he was guided Neither can we express fully what is in our Hearts concerning him Yet shall we Attribute nothing to him but to the Lord's Power that wrought effectually in him to the making him
to shine For he was an Instrument of Good to many making a Difference saving some with Fear pulling them out of the Fire hating even the Garment spotted by the Flesh being found in that pure and undefiled Religion of Visiting the Fatherless and widows in their Affliction and through the Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ keeping himself Unspotted from the World and therefore knew how to Save upon Mount Zion and Judge upon Mount Esau. Much might be written concerning him for we know the very Desire of his Heart and Bent of his Spirit was that God through his Son might Reign in the House of Jacob and the Kingdom might be the Lord's He abhorred the Appearance of Gathering to himself and had Self of no Reputation therefore the Lord honour'd him with his Divine Presence and made his Company althô dreadful to the Back-sliders yet very desirable unto many especially those who knew his Integrity and Zeal for the Exaltation of the Name and Truth of God in whose Hearts he was highly esteemed for his Works sake which shall follow him althô he be at Rest from his Labour being got to his desired Haven where the Wicked cease from troubling where the Weary be at Rest. And there the Prisoners rest together they hear not the Voice of the Oppressor for the Accuser of the Brethren is cast down Temptations cannot prevail an Over-coming is known by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their Testimony who have not loved their Lives unto Death And To him that overcomes saith Christ Iesus will I grant to sit with me in my Throne as I also overcame and am sate down with my Father in his Throne he shall not be hurt of the Second Death but with Abraham Isaac and Iacob and with all the Faithful in the Kingdom of God without ceasing sing Praises unto him who sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever-more who is Worthy O the great Loss we have of him How can we but Lament Yet it is his Everlasting Gain For he shall never Return to us but we may go to him And that Word of Life in which his Life was hid yet remains for our support which as we are careful to keep to will preserve us as it has done him to Enter into that Mansion of Glory the Lord hath in store for all the Faithful He was Dear unto us in the Lord with whom our Souls were bound up in God's Everlasting Covenant And thô his Body is gone to the Dust yet our Souls rejoice with many more in that we enjoy his Spirit and are come to the General Assembly and Church of the First-born and to God the Judge of all and to the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant and to the Blood of Sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel where our Ioy is full and our Spirits bowed and subjected to the Will of God where our Peace flows and the Life arises that fills our Hearts with Praises that Ascend as sweet Incense to the Lord God and to the Lamb who is blessed for evermore The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way Psal. 37. 23. And they that be Wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever Dan. 12. 3. Broughton in Cumberland the 22th of the 2d Month 1691. Margaret Fawcet Jane Wilson Margaret Head Jane Hall Mary Wilson Mary Bowman Sarah Fallowfield An Account by Way of Testimony concerning our Dear Friend and Brother Iohn Burnyeat WE will leave to others the Account of his Birth and Convincement that were his Neighbours and Kindred and shall speak of him only as some of us knew him from an Intimate Fellowship in divers Services for above Twenty Years He was a Choice and Seasoned Vessel of Christ the special Workmanship of his Power and Wisdom by which he was effectually qualified for the Ministry of his Everlasting Gospel throughly furnished may We say to every good Word and Work God called him unto Deep and Large in his Gift reaching what was seasonable to every State in Judgment sound free in Utterance Zealous for Holiness severe against Unsound and Dividing Spirits Most tender to Penitents and returning Prodigals affectionate to the Brethren und careful over the Flock of God that they might Answer their Heavenly Call and grow in the Truth Of a grave and steady Temper yet sweet Hardy in his Constitution and Undaunted and Unwearied in Mind He was the Father of many Children in Christ who through his Ministry were begot again to a Living Hope and the Builder up of more through the same in the pretious Faith of God's Elect. For this he often Travelled through this Nation and sometimes Scotland and the Plantations in America but Ireland in a more peculiar manner both at his first Entrance upon his Ministry and of latter Years where he Married and chiefly resided and where he laid down his Head in Peace with God and Love to his People and good Will to all men being about the 59th Year of his Age and is entred into Eternal Habitations to praise the God of his Mercies in the Living Family of the Spirits of the Just for ever He was indeed a Man of an Excellent Spirit and Divine Understanding from God and deep in the Knowledge of the Heavenly Mysteries of the Kingdom of God and also of the Depths Wiles and Subtil Workings of Satan wherein he lies in wait to beguile the Children of Men and the Lord many times opened him in his Heavenly Wisdom to declare of them that those who had regard to God and the Peace of their own Souls might be preserved out of Satan's Snares He was an able and powerful Minister of the Gospel of Salvation a Strengthener of the Weak and an Incourager of the Upright and Sincere-hearted to continue to the end But he was indeed dreadful to the Hypocrites and Rebellious and all the Opposers and Gainsayers of the Truth A skilful Marks-Man yea one of the Lord's Worthies of Israel a Valiant in the Camp of the Lord and an Undaunted Warrier in his Holy Host and his Bow abode in strength and Wisdom was given him to direct his Arrows to the very Mark so that the Sturdy were wounded the Meek were comforted the Tender in Spirit refreshed And was by the Lord made Instrumental to wound that Self-separating and Dividing Spirit thad had for want of Watchfulness in the Divine Light and Faithfulness to God's Spirit and Truth in the inward parts prevailed over some who notwithstanding in a disguise and under specious pretences endeavour to sow the Seeds of Dissension Discord Separation and Division among the Gathered of God And the Lord blessed his Labours greatly and so preserved him in a Holy Conversation and in a meek tender bearing healing Spirit that he promoted both
by Doctrine and Practice that holy Truth he professed and was a Preacher of and made full proofs of his Ministry in many Lands and Countries and at the great City of London where he was made Instrumental to the Good and Comfort Refreshment and Edification of many and was Valiant there as in other places in the time of Trials Sufferings Storms and Persecution And he was also a great Incourager of the Good in Young and Old and as a tender Father and loving Brother to those who were young in their Testimonies for the Truth and would rather help a Young Branch to strengthen it in its growth than to bruise or hurt it in any measure This short Testimony we Dedicate to his Memorial that shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance for his Name is Written in the Lamb's Book of Life where none can blot it out Our Brother our Friend and our beloved Companion in the Heavenly Fellowship with whom some of us have some-times Travelled in England and Ireland upon divers Services for the Truth 's sake and Blessed was our Labour of Love together He was an Apostle among the Chnrches of Christ and he is a fixed and bright Star in the Firmament of God's Heavenly Power and Kingdom for ever O Friends you that knew him know the Loss of him in the Church of Christ with other Faithful Brethren since departed worthy of double honor concerning which sad Providence we have this to say to you It points plainly to us the Evil that is to come upon the Wicked and Unfaithful and the great Calamities that are at the Door The Lord fit us all for them that we may find an Interest and Sanctuary in the Truth above the Reach of this Evil World which they will want that do not prefer it above the chiefest Ioy. London the 10th of the 11th Month 1690 1. Stephen Crisp. Charles Marshall William Bingley John Field Francis Stamper Jasper Batt William Penn. Benjamin Antrobus John Vaughton Benjamin Bangs Samuel Waldenfield John Butcher A Testimony of several Friends in Ireland in whose Hearts it sprung and who gave it forth in the behalf of our Dear Brother Iohn Burnyeat AS for our Dear Friend and Worthy Brother in the Lord John Burnyeat late of Dublin deceased whom some of us have known many years we have this Testimony in the Truth concerning him viz. That he has been steadfast in the Lord's Work an able Minister of the Gospel and faithful Lobourer who had a Word in Season to Minister to the several Conditions of Friends and People dividing the Word aright a Strengthener of the Weak and a free Feeder of Christ's Lambs and Sheep with the Food he had freely received to the Comforting many His Testimony for the Power of Truth and Righteousness was clear many were Convinced by him His Conversation was so heavenly and becoming the Principle of Truth he was a Preacher of that we know no one that can truly Charge him with any thing that might spot his Profession or Ministry He was a Man excellently well qualified for the Work whereunto he was called of God the Lord having endued him with a large Measure of his Spirit He had great Openings and Discoveries of the Mysteries of God's Kingdom he had also the Tongue of the Learned and was fitted for every good Word and Work the Lord employed him in His Qualifications were beyond many and thô little in himself yet in the Lord a Mighty Man of Valour In all times of Suffering and Exercise he failed not to be in the Front he was a Valiant in Israel and a Pillar in the House of God He did Sympathise with the Afflicted seeking the good of others and above all the Honour and Prosperity of Truth was in his Eye When he took his Wife amongst us how Careful and Circumspect was he of Truth 's Honour and the Concord and Unity of Friends and Brethren And where he came among Friends he would not be Idle but did often Visit the Sick and Comfort those that were in Distress or Affliction For indeed he was a true Servant to all honest Friends as well the Poor as Rich and would freely Administer of his outward Substance to such as stood in need He was meek and gentle and of a healing Spirit and it was the unspeakable Love and Mercy of God to us in this Nation and particularly this City of Dublin to order his outward Abode and Settlement amongst us By whom many were Convinced of the Truth and turned from the Evil of their Ways and the Peace of the Church the Unity and Fellowship of Friends Increased He was one of the Archers of Israel who could shoot to an Hairs-breadth to the wounding of the Hairy Scalp of the Wicked one and the putting of the Lord's Enemies to Silence He was a Messenger of Glad Tidings and directed us to the blessed Light that God had caused to shine in our Hearts when we were Strangers to it yea then did it Appear as a Witness for the Lord against all Ungodly Practices It was a Day of Glad Tidings to many when the Lord made him one of his Trumpets to us to sound his Gospel to the reaching God's Witness in our Hearts Oh! that it may not be forgotten by any of us who have been turned to God! He had a true Love for all Tender-Hearted Friends and travelled for their Growth and Prosperity in the blessed Truth not only in these Three Nations but also in the Western Islands and America to the turning many to the blessed Way of Life and Salvation as by following Accounts will appear He was a true Pattern of Godliness and Piety in an humble meek and in-offensive Conversation Apt to Teach Ready to give heavenly Advice and Instruction a good Example in all things An Early Comer to Meetings and a diligent Waiter therein Many times he would sit a pretty while in Silence not being forward to speak Reverently waiting upon the Opening of the heavenly Life like the good Housholder spoken of to bring forth of his Treasury things both New and Old He was deeply Experienced in the Work and Service of the Lord and was a great Comfort and Support to many in their great Sufferings and hard Exercises and did mightily Strengthen and Encourage Friends in their several places of Abode Twice during the late Troubles he visited Friends in Munster and in this Province of Lynster unto whom he was very open and had large Meetings for in many places the World's Teachers were fled and left their Flocks Many times in the Publick Meetings he would bear a faithful plain and clear Testimony against Superstition and Idolatry and against that Loose Wicked Blasphemous and Unclean Spirit that many gave up to be led by As soon as the way was open to the North he visited Friends there Now after the Death of his Wife he had some Intentions to go for England and sent his Son thither but seeing the Troubles of Wars coming
up a Separate Meeting and so had withdrawn themselves from the rest of their Brethren and broken the Christian Fellowship which thing when understood by the Brethren there assembled was a grief unto them And thefore under the sence thereof and in that Brotherly Love with which their Hearts were filled towards them were there Two Epistles writ from the Meeting one to I. S. and I. W. warning and advising them as Heads and Leaders in that Sedition and Schism to endeavour to break up that Separate Meeting and to be Reconciled unto their Brethren before they did go abroad to offer their Gift And the other was writ to the Meeting as Advice unto them to Return to their former Fellowship with Friends and lay that Separate Meeting down and joyn with their Brethren in the Unity of the Truth c. But all this did not prevail with them but still they grew higher and harder and went on in the strong Resolutions of their Wills Only there were divers Particulars that were for a time concerned in that Opposition and Separation whose Understandings the Lord opened so that they did see the Snare of the Enemy and returned and under a sense of the Lord's Iudgments did give forth divers Testimonies in Writing against that Spirit by which they had been Seduced with a Confession of the Errour they were led into and so returned into the true Fellowship and Unity with the Church of Christ and were received with Gladness Glory to the Lord who is the Saviour and Healer of his People who now heals and saves by his Word as he did of old I. Burnyeate A Paper of John Burnyeat's that came to hand since his Works were Printed The 27th Day of the 8th Month 1677. IN the Morning as I was Laying upon my Bed and my Soul greatly Afflicted under the View and Consideration of the State of things as it was among Friends in the City of Bristol and some parts adjacent because of the great Contention and Opposition and when I was under the Exercise and my Life appeared Grieved even until my Soul was brought into sore Anguish at times and Grief to see how Hard some were and Unruly and Obstinate In this Travel of Spirit my Heart being bowed I said within my self and before the Lord and unto him I matter not what I be nor how much I be Abased For we must pass through good and bad Report as the Faithful in former times did And then when I was thus gone down into the Grave of Self-denial where I thought I could Lye and be Troden upon the Lord God signified unto me by his Holy Spirit on this wise Though thou be willing so to be yet will not I be Troden under and further said There are some of them that are as Dead Men before me because they have lifted up their Heel against me and have rejected my Word and slighted or set at naught my Reproof And further the Lord God signified unto me That the Spirit of Core and Balaam had entred which would shut Truth out of Doors and pluck Christ from his Throne and lead away the Minds of People after their own Inventions to worship the Works of their own Hands And He further signified unto me how that the Plague of Leprosy and sore Judgment of Hardness of Heart was upon them and they had lost their Beauty and were not sit to come nigh the Altar of the Lord nor to be in the Lord's Congregation and that he would Decide the matter And further he signified to my Comfort There was a Priest to stand between the Living and the Dead with a Holy Censer and pure Incense to make an Atonement and the Eyes of all the Tender and Sensible were to be towards him that they might Receive the Law from his Mouth and that his Lips might preserve their Knowledge And further there was something also of the Spirit of Cain which did appear had Entred even that which did Envy Abel's Acceptance When I had seen these things from the Lord and it was shewed me I should speak forth the Matter unto the People my Heart was wonderfully broken within me And I cried and said Wo is me must I be the Messenger to carry this Message unto this People And when I was under this Exercise the Lord did signifie unto me If I Delivered his Word Faithfully then should I Deliver my own Soul but if not I should Die for it my Life should go for theirs Then did the Dread of the Lord's Word and his Majesty strike me down and made me willing to be given up without any more Reasoning Blessed be the Lord for ever who both gives the Word and Power to Deliver it J. B. AN ABSTRACT Of some of Iohn Burnyeat HIS LETTERS TO HIS Brother T. A. of LONDON Which is a Continuation of his Travels for the last Eight Years of his Life being all his own Hand-writing Dublin the 28th of the 8th Month 1682. I Am arrived here safe from Cumberland and was at all those Meetings I had appointed in Westmorland viz. I had a large Meeting at Camsgill on the third day of the Week it being the General Meeting it was a most pleasant day the Meeting out of doors very large Friends so generally came in And indeed the Lord's Power was with us my Heart greatly enlarged unto Friends The fourth day following I was at Sedber the Meeting without Doors by the Meeting-House the Doors being shut up by the Officers but quiet and large The fifth day I was at Grayrig sixth day at the Hight first day at Swartmore and on the third day at Hawkes-head and had a blessed Meeting my Heart was comforted The fourth day we had a great Flood hindred me from getting home that day but got to Keswick in Cumberland and fifth day got home to our Meeting at Pardsay and was also there the first day where the Lord enlarged my Heart to clear my self heartily that day The third day I was at the Mens-Meeting where the Lord was richly with us Everlasting Glory be to him for ever The fourth day early I came down to Whitehaven several Friends came with me but the Ship being ready could not stay So went on Board and the next day in the Evening arrived safe here at Dublin where all is well I left all our Friends well in Cumberland Dublin the 13th of the 9th Month 1682. It greatly pleases me to hear of Friends in England and how it is with them this Trying day For as we love the Truth and one another therein we have a Concern upon us for one another and for the Truth in General And therefore I delight in the Truth 's prevailing and in Friends prospering therein The Lord stir up all concerned in their Places to be Faithful that none may shrink in the Day of Trial c. Last Week was our Half-Years-Meeting many Friends here and a blessed Season we had through the enriching Vertue of the Lord's
me to this Prison The Professors have left their publick Meeting-Places The Bishop of Dublin sent for them and they Consulted together and with Consent returned this Answer That they would forbear The Bishop also sent for A. S. and did to him require the same of Friends but A. S. told him We could not forbear to Meet to Worship God c. So in the end the Bishop said If we would meet we must take what did follow c. However I hope it will work for the honour of Truth The Lord preserve Friends faithful and valiant I hope God has a Remnant that will stand in the Trial Though if Sufferings do come hard it may cause some to turn their Backs Let the Lord order as he pleaseth I know no better way than to endeavour to be prepared for Sufferings Dublin the 9th of the 7th Month 1683. We are satisfied that the Lord's Hand is in all these things and doubtless he hath a purpose to Magnifie his Arm and thereby to Exalt his own Name and pretious Truth in the End and in his so doing his People shall be Comforted and receive the Reward even every One that endures unto the End And truly as our Eye is unto him in our Exercise we feel still a Ground for a sure Hope that abides as an Anchor sure and stedfast by which we are held that we cannot be driven away In this is our Comfort when we seem as to the outward as if we had no surer Place than upon the tossing Waves of the Troubled Tempestuous Sea all uncertain no stedfastness nor stay for Rest unto any in Looking out And therefore I often think I am satisfied it 's God's way thus to blow upon the Nations with the Breath of his Displeasure that all the Waters for the People are Waters may be Tossed together and that they may be made Restless and driven on Heaps and into Confusion and so become a Sea into which Babylon as a great Milstone must fall to make her perpetual End Even that Mystery Babylon spoken of of old that hath so prevailed and made the Nations drunk and gone over Peoples and Languages not one People only and all that partake with her in her Sins must partake with her in her Plagues and Iudgments And therefore is the Lord calling out of her but her Sins her Delights and Delicacies many are unwilling to part with and that 's the Reason why many stay there that do not think themselves within her Borders But the Nations are drunk with her Wine and know not what they are doing for their Understanding is lost O! the sadness of that day my Soul of ten doth view it but the Greatness of their Sin doth draw it down upon them which is come into the View and Remembrance of the dreadful God! And therefore may all the Righteous Rojoyce who truly feel Redemption out of her and are come through Christ the Seed to be Sons and Daughters of Zion and so Heirs of the peaceable Ierusalem that 's built upon the Rock and Foundation that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against We are here still detained Prisoners and have of late writ to the Major but he answered He would not set us at Liberty without an Order from the Deputy Then we wrote to him and A. S. and S. C. did go to him and he was very kind to them and told them He had a greater Love for us than any other Dissenters because he believed that we did mean honestly Dublin the 16th of the 8th Month 1683. I am now clear'd of my Imprisonment we wrote to the Deputy a few Lines which he carried to the Council After which he sent his Secretary to the Recorder of the City with his Order for our Release which was very full and clear without any thing demanded of us I have not heard that Friends in any part of this Nation are medled with We enjoy great Favours at the Hand of the Lord O! that we may walk worthy thereof for ever and be mov'd thereby to a Sense of what our dear Friends in England still suffer and then will the Mercies we live under be rightly valued Dublin the 9th of the 12th Month 1684. I have been through all the Meetings in Ulster and did return home but the third day this Week I had a blessed time amongst Friends and found things in the main very well I had large and peaceable Meetings which is a Mercy I desire the Lord may so sanctifie unto us as that we may walk worthy of them while they are afforded us and when he sees meet to order it otherwise we may be prepared I have been but little at home of late and know nothing but that I may go next Week forth of Town again towards the other end of the Nation Dublin the 17th of the first Month 1683 4. I came home this day I have been through the most of the South and Western Parts and have had a good Journey and Friends generally well and all our Meetings peaceable Dublin the 21th of the first Month 1683 4. In my last I hinted that I was but newly come home from visiting Friends in the South-end of the Nation and so from the Province-Meeting at Castle-Dormant I came home on the second day and an appointed Marriage was to be on the third day which was accordingly and abundance of People there was so that we had a good Opportunity and the People generally well satisfied so that a very great Report of Recommendation is abroad through the City concerning our Order and Method and the Gravity and Solemn Manner of our Accomplishing of it It 's greatly our Comfort when that in all our ways we honour the Truth I have had a busie Winter in Travelling and prosperous and now I see nothing but I shall have Liberty to stay a while at home The Lord is good to us and orders things to our Comfort and we are comforted in him and one in another blessed be his Name for ever Dublin the 9th of the 3d Month 1684. It is just the time of our Half-Years-Meeting and there are many Friends in Town We had a very large Meeting and very quiet and well And things in the general very well amongst Friends as relating to Truth We have Cause to be Thankful to the Lord for his Mercies and Comforts we enjoy who is the Author of all Mercies and Comforts sanctifying all things rightly to them that fear and love him through the sanctifying of their Hearts by his Word that keeps bears up and upholds O! the Lord keep all our Hearts stayed in this and then will all things work together for good according to the antient Saying Crabtreebeck in Cumberland the 12th of the 6th Month 1684. I left Dublin sixth day was a Week I have some intent to go over into Scotland but am not yet certain of the time but do hope if the Lord preserve me in my Liberty to Return
hath a good place amongst sober People Though the Professors who shrink and hide we are informed do rail against Friends they do seem as if they were given up to hardness of heart and so set in their blindness and hardness as to go on till the Rod come upon them For they do not lay any thing so to heart as thereby to be brought off from the evil Errour of their hard and prejudiced Minds It doth appear that they envy Friends good and are offended that we do not flie into holes as they do But as for Friends they are very cheerful and we have had a very blessed Season and kept in Unity Peace and Concord in our Meetings and Concerns and the Lord 's good Presence pretiously with us to our Comfort and Consolation And blessed be the Lord he is not wanting unto us both to sanctifie our hearts and also to fill them with his Spiritual Mercies and to Contribute of his other Mercies and Blessings whereby he may make our days pleasant unto us that with Gladness and Joy of Soul we may serve and praise him who is worthy for ever Amen! Dublin the 4th of the 6th Month 1685. Yesterday I came home having been through the South-end of the Nation and between six and seven weeks away and have had a very comfortable Journey amongst Friends and peaceable Blessed be the Lord for his Mercies towards us Dublin the 6th of the 7th Month 1685. I am glad to hear that things are so still and quiet in England and that Friends have some little breathing time of ease from their sharp persecution It is the Lords mercy towards us but our Innocency is that which must speak for us and if we loose that our defence would depart from us and then there would be none to fly unto for vain is all help from below Therefore it will be our happiness to rest quiet with our Faith in him for he is able to preserve who promist them of old he would give them favour in the eyes of the King of Babilon And it had been their safety to have trusted in his word but in their taking of their own way they brought Ruin upon themselves and so will all do now whose eye is not unto the Lord to stay their minds upon him but look out to follow their own Contrivances I know the Truth will keep out of all such things if Friends be careful to keep under the Conduct thereof But if fleshly Reasonings prevail in the Unbelief then the Eye goes out and the Mind into the haste so the Patience and Long Suffering is lost and the Hope and Faith let fall Then the Creature can neither trust in the Lord nor stay rightly for his Time and Season Our Meetings are very quiet and peaceable which is a Mercy we greatly value and our Hearts in the Lord's Truth are at rest and that 's our Comfort Both there and here and where-ever we are it will be our place to be prepared for Sufferings that 's likely to be our Portion for the Truth And it is but as it has been of old If any will live Godly in Christ Iesus he must suffer Persecution I am ready to go out of Town to visit Friends in the County of Wicklow Dublin the 19th of the 7th Month 1685. I am sorry that so much Occasion of Offence should be given to some Friends here by some that take Liberty there viz. at London by running back into such things as the Truth Condemns and so to be Encouragers of Pride and Vanity that will grow too fast to the drawing down of the Displeasure of the Lord upon Man And therefore I would have Friends to stand in that which is plain and keep to the Cross in their Trades and Dealings and Cloaths and in all things that they may remain standing Witnesses for God in Righteousness against Pride and all the Vanity of the World for therein will stand our Safety for ever I desire that we may live up to the Truth in all Things that the Blessing may attend us And indeed we had need to be Circumspect For every Lawful Thing is not Expedient because there may be an unlawful Liberty strengthened thereby The Lord keep us all in his Wisdom truly Lowly and Humble that we may still honour him in all things and remain a People through our Day to his Glory For if upon us in our Day we let the Spirit of the World prevail to the overthrowing of our own Testimony what Example and Footsteps shall we leave to them that come after us I am full and could say much for my Heart is concerned to hear them who themselves are not so good as they ought to be strengthen themselves by bad Examples For though some may be slow to mind that which is good so as to learn Good from the Example thereof yet they are quick to take Encouragement from the Contrary Dublin The 18th of the 9th Month. We have had a comfortable Season this Half-Years-Meeting quiet and peaceable and in Love and Unity among our selves so that we have cause to be truly thankful unto the Lord for that Mercy amongst all other Mercies we Enjoy from his blessed Hand Dublin the 29th of the fourth Month 1686. Though the World be full of Tumults Disquietness and Amazements yet blessed be the God of our Salvation who hath brought us into a Degree of that Rest which the Distresses that are from below cannot Reach So that there is something known to Retire unto for a Sanctuary that the World knows not neither can the Destroyer come into it Therefore our Safety is always to keep our Interest therein that we may have our Priviledge unto our Mansion there and so rest in the Time of Trouble where no Hurter nor Destroyer can come The Lord's Power is to be admired loved and believed in for ever who gives us blessed Seasons and Calms and Quiets It 's true for ever the Winds and Seas must obey him blessed are all that put their Trust in him Fears and Restlesness doth possess the Hearts of many but for our parts we have an Eye unto the Lord and know he hath a hand in ordering of or suffering all things for Ends best known unto himself and therein we Rest. And I desire that the Lord by the Indwelling of his Power in our Souls may still so keep and preserve us in that Simplicity and Godly Sincerity wherein we may always know one another and be a Comfort one unto another in the plainness and simplicity of that blessed Truth that saves and sanctifies from all Unrighteousness and Unites unto God and brings into near Fellowship one with another For this is that which sanctifies fits and prepares the Heart of Man for every good Vertue and settles and composes his Nature not only for heavenly Mercies and that he may receive and enjoy them but also for his Station in this World and the Enjoyment of Temporal Favours that he may
receive and enjoy them with a Blessing and in true Comfort and also be a Blessing and a Comfort in his place unto all concern'd This is the Happiness and Advantage that is to be witnessed through the Working and Indwelling of that Eternal Power which God Almighty has Revealed in the Hearts of his People in this Day as there is a faithful Minding of and Subjection unto it in the true Love of it And sure many there are which if they knew the comfortable Effects of it would not abide under its Condemnation as they do But it is as it was said of old They will not believe though a Man should tell it unto them Dublin the 6th of the 11th Month 1688. The Account of the Death of my dear Wife will be come to hand before this which is no small Exercise to me But though my Loss be great in having her Remov'd from me yet I believe it is her Gain For she has been under great Weakness and Exercise of Body a long time however this I can say she bore her Exercise beyond Expectation and told some Friends She believed she was kept the longer because I was so unwilling to give her up And I must confess it was hard that it could not easily be got to and that for several Reasons but when I saw that it must be so I was made willing for her Exercises took hold of my Spirit The Morning of that day she did depart she said to me She was afraid her Passage would be hard I told her I did hope not She was under a great Exercise of Pain but bore it with wonderful quietness and sate under it as one waiting for Deliverance and very sensibly spake to me a little before her Departure So she went away like a Lamb without so much as a Groan We lived Comfortably together her Nature was Good Kind and Courteous she was Merciful very Confiderate and of a good Understanding she will be greatly missed in this place for Friends had a good Love and Esteem for her and I have Experience and know that many who seemingly might exceed in Appearance will come far behind Dublin the 7th of the 12th Month 1688. We are pretty quiet here at present but Peoples Hearts are like the troubled Waters no stay nor settlement cannot tell what way to go to be satisfied or quiet in their Minds only they that know the Truth may rest there and be quiet under the Covering of it otherwise it would be mighty uneasie I did intend for Cumberland but at present Friends could not well bear my going away neither have I freedom in my self So I rest in my place waiting the Time and Season for it Dublin the 13th of the 3d Month 1689. Our Half-Years-Meeting is over where were Assembled many Friends and Brethren from divers Parts of the Nation according to our usual manner We enjoy our Meetings peaceably and quiet generally over the Nation and in most Places our Meetings are large and many People come in and all People have their Liberty in the Free Exercise of their Consciences in Matters of Religion And as for Friends and Truth they are in good Esteem both with High and Low The Lord's Care and Mercy over us hath been largely manifest and Friends do learn great Experience of the Preservation of the mighty Arm of the Lord in this Great Day of Trial which is upon this Nation yet to our Joy and Comfort Friends are carried over it in the Faith of the Son of God and have been preserved miraculously even beyond our Expectation in several places where their Trials have been very great and the Dan gers as to appearance dreadful yet Friends have kept to their Habitations trusting in the Lord and following their lawful Concerns and Business At this Half-Years-Meeting our Hearts were made more than ordinarily glad to see one anothers Faces in such a time as this and the Lord's Power and Presence was with us that Crowns our Meetings And in the sense and sweetness of the same are the most of our Friends and Brethren this Day gone towards their outward Beings in the Peace of God and in great Love and Unity which did pretiously abound amongst us in this our Meeting throughout all our Concerns and Affairs The fourth day next I am intended to go into the Country towards our Province Meeting and do think to visit Friends e're I return Wexford the 5th Month 1689. I have had a very comfortable Journey among Friends and for the most part very large Meetings beyond my Expectation and very peaceable viz. On the third day at Tipperary and fourth day at Iohn Fennels But at Tipperary I had like to have been got hold of by the Rapperies and lost my Mare but I got away and escaped and rode back into the Town Last first day we had a very large Meeting at Edward Goodings it was their Monthly Meeting This day we have a Meeting here to morrow at Samuel Watson's and the fifth day at the Meeting that belongs to Lambs-Town I think Carloe-Monthly-Meeting is next first day I intend to be there Dublin the 12th of the 8th Month 1689 Friends as far as I can have account are in the General pretty well in Health and at Liberty and our Meetings quiet and peaceable and so are all others for ought I know But many in the Country under Sufferings as in respect to the Loss of their Goods by reason of the Wars this Land is greatly attended with However our Friends their Eye is to the Lord who doubtless suffers not all these things to come to pass without a Cause but to be a Chastisement for the sinfulness of the Children of Men. O! that all would take warning to keep out of that which provokes him to Displeasure that his Hand might be removed And truly that which is our Comfort and Stay in the midst of all is the holy Presence of his Power that attends our Meetings from the Evidence of which we receive our Satisfaction that the Lord is well-pleased with us And this is that which bears up our Spirits in the time of Exercise Dublin the 25th of the first Month 1690. I had the Opportunity this last Winter to go through Friends both in Leinster and Munster which was a great Satisfaction both to me and them Friends are generally well and our Meetings are full and we enjoy them in quietness as formerly and the Lord's Presence is with us to our great Comfort which is valued by all that are rightly sensible of it as a great Mercy Dublin the 21th of the 6th Month 1690. I have been visiting Friends in the North and had an acceptable and comfortable Season amongst them and found them very chearful It is still to be lamented that Sin and Wickedness should so abound but the Lord doubtless will plead with all that grieve him in his own way and time though he be Long-suffering And therefore it will be our Happiness to
Presence and before him shall the Hills Fly yea the Sea also shall Fly and Iordan shall be Driven back that his Ransomed may pass on his Redeemed People may Enter into their Rest. Oh! theresore let us Cleave unto the Lord our Saviour and so sollow Christ our Redeemer who can cut a passage through the great Deep let us not be dismayed at any thing that may rise up in our way to oppose us so long as our Leader is with us and our blessed Rock attends us and we feel our dwelling within the Munition thereof our Bread will be sure and our Water will not fail and our Hearts will not be barren nor our Souls will not be faint but we shall grow through the blessing of Israel's God and Live when with all their cunning the enemies of the Truth have contrived our overthrow For there is nothing can hurt us more in the Trying Day than want of Faith in God's Power and Arm of strength which never failed them that put their trust therein And therefore my dearly Beloved with whom my Soul is bound up in the Covenant of Life wherein I have Unity with you and can say although you bear the Burden yet my Heart is concerned for you and also with you in your Godly concern and Testimony for which you Suffer and therefore cannot you be forgotten by me For as we Love the Truth and the Holy Testimony thereof for which you Suffer and are in Bonds in Spirit we are often as Bound with you and fellow-feelers of your Burthens And furthermore we cannot propose to our selves any other than e're long to be Sharers with you to be Partakers of the like Sufferings Trials and Exercises and therefore still it is our safety to be Prepared in our Hearts and into the Will of God to be given up to Do or Suffer for his Name 's sake For our days do seem to be like the Days of Old wherein the Apostle said they were Killed all the Day long and accounted as Sheep for the Slaughter If we look into the Scriptures we have a Cloud of Witnesses and so through what was Written aforetime which was Written for our Learning we may have Comfort and our hope Strengthened and so be Encouraged to Trust in the Lord our Strength and in whom our Hope is And now it is still to be our care as Lambs or Sheep to Live in Innocency and so as Lambs to Suffer for our Innocency and for our Testimony which we are called unto and surely I often consider what more Innocent Practice can we ever be found in than in our Peaceable Meetings to Wait upon the Living God and to Worship him in his peaceable Spirit by which our Hearts come to be cleansed of all Evil and our Spirits gathered into the Peace and Love of God in which we Love God again and not only so but have our hearts filled with Love and Good will towards all Men in the Peace and Sweetness of which we are enabled to Pray for the Good of All even our Enemies And if this must be misinterpreted and our Righteous and Godly Intents counted a Transgression of the Law and a Breach of the Peace I do not know what such who so do can call Innocency For surely every one whose Heart is rightly Exercised in this Godly Duty which the Living God calls us unto must needs be Innocent before God and in that Frame of Spirit wherein we cannot nay dare not desire the Hurt of any but as the Truth ariseth Pray for all Men both for Rulers and People Thus I know under the Exercise of the Righteous Power of Christ in our Meetings are our Hearts qualified and then if we must Suffer for Well doing under the name of Evil-doers we shall be happy and may satisfy our selves with what Christ of old said The Servant is not greater than his Lord For if they accounted him a Blasphemer and said he had a Devil and so Persecuted him we may well look unto him and Comfort our selves in following such an Example And therefore be ye Comforted you Faithful Sufferers with Christ and for him and Comfort your Hearts in the Recompence of Reward which is with God for you and wait for the Spirit of God and of Glory that it may rest upon you And never look out for your Cause is Good it is that which God hath called you unto and you are happy in your Nobility and Valour and whosoever shrinks from their Innocent Testimony in this matter will suffer Loss in their Inward Condition for if any draw back such shall know the Lord will not go with them nor have any Pleasure in them nor be their Comforter but Reprover And therefore my Soul desires that all may be Valiant for the Truth and stand in the Power thereof unto what the Lord hath called unto that so you may be together as a City set on a Hill that cannot be hid For though the Foxes have Holes and the Fowls of the Air have Nests yet remember what Christ said to the Man that said he would follow him And so the Lord give you all Valour and Strength and Enrich you with true Patience which the Tribulation worketh into in the right Exercise that so you may all grow up into the true Experience and so into the Hope which makes not ashamed that the Love of God may be shed abroad in your Hearts every day by his Spirit which he hath given you And then will you all feel a dwelling in his Covenant and in his Peace And so in this Covenant Peace and Love I very dearly Salute you all and in it do I still remain Your Friend and Brother I. B. Castle-Salem in the West of Ireland the 30th of the 10th Month 1682. J. B's Epistle to Friends in Glocester-Prison Dear Friends UNTO you who are Faithful Sufferers in that City with the rest of the Faithful in that City and Country who in your Hearts are given up to Suffer for the holy Name of the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour who hath Called and Redeemed Chosen and given you Hearts not only to believe but also to suffer for his Name 's sake and thus hath counted you worthy as Vessels of his Choice unto you all I say in the Name and Love of Christ Jesus our Lord I send Greeting and with-all the tender Salutation of my Soul and Spirit in that near Affection and holy Union into which by the power of the Holy Ghost we have been gathered and united So that as Members of that one Body into which we have been Baptized by that one Spirit wherein the true access unto God doth stand we have our Fellowship together and so drink together into that one Spirit and are refreshed with the Water that flows from the living Rock that followed Israel of Old who is the Rock of our Age the stay of the Generation of the Righteous in this Day that upon which we have our sure standing so
Who do not profit the People at all who from time to time stand up to teach them and yet they remain in their old Nature not changed from their former Conversation Oh cease Seeing no Fruit is brought forth to God by all your labour Is it not for the love of Mony that you Teach And do ye not seek after the Fleece more than the Flock And do ye not go from one place to another for Rewards Let that of God in your Consciences answer Is not this it which blinds your Eyes that ye do not see what Generation ye are of when you read the Scripture Which testifies who they were that persecuted and who they were that suffered Persecution then in the Apostles days Search the Scriptures and see whether the Persecutors or they that were persecuted were the Saints of God in those Days And whether the way be not the same now in these our Days yea or nay From a Lover of your Souls who is a Sufferer in outward Bonds in the Common Goal in Carlisle for the Truth 's sake J. B. The INNOCENCY OF THE Christian Quakers MANIFESTED The Truth of their Principles and Doctrine Cleared and Defended from the loud but false Clamours base Insinuations and wicked Slanders of Iames Barry Published for the general Satisfaction and Benefit of all who simply desire to know and embrace the TRUTH He that hideth Hatred with lying Lips and he that uttereth a Slander is a Fool Prov. 10. 18. I have not sent these Prophets yet they ran I have not spoke to them yet they Prophesied Ier. 23. 21. Therefore Night shall be unto you that ye shall not have a Vision and it shall be dark unto you that ye shall not divine and the Sun shall go down over the Prophets and the Day shall be dark over them Mic. 3. 6. Prove all things hold fast that which is good 1 Thess. 5. 21. SEveral Papers having past between some of us the People called Quakers of the City of Dublin and one Iames Barry of the same who calls himself an Independent Minister occasioned by his often abusing and frequent reflecting upon us and our Principles as Erroneous in his publick Preaching and sometimes in private Discourse and an account thereof coming to divers of us by several Persons some notice we took of his said Reflections and accordingly sent to him by way of Admonishment but did not pursue it not looking upon it so very material for us to concern our selves with him only returning his false Aspersions upon himself he being reputed a Man so addicted to Rail against divers sorts of People at last were necessitated by the many Informations brought us of his continuing his abusive Reflections upon us and many desiring to see and hear us together that they might be satisfied whether it was so as he had said or no and accordingly sent to him and desired him to give us a publick Meeting and there to make good his Accusations or otherwise to acknowledge the wrong he had done us therein But in answer to our so just and reasonable a Demand he sent a scurrilous Paper wherein he both greatly abused us and the Evidence we had quoted to him as also several of our Friends and their Writings in general terms tho' to this day he hath not produced to us one Sentence out of all their Books that he doth charge to be erroneous yet had the confidence to bid us call in all such Books and let them be burned by the Common Cryer and deny the Authors of them and withall denying he had so said as we were informed We thereupon further examined our Evidence who still affirmed what he had declared as aforesaid was truth And we also having the substance of the matter in two chief points viz. That we denied the Resurrection and Salvation by the Coming of Christ witnessed by another of his Hearers who declared he had heard him so charge us to which we returned him an Answer giving him an account how that we had examined the said Evidence again and that he stood to his said Information and also how that another Person testified as before-mentioned with several Certificates from other Persons of other Abuses and wicked Accusations he had cast out against us We therefore did renew our Demand unto him viz. To give us a Meeting and then appear to make good his said Charges if he could against us and that we would then also appear to vindicate our Principles as laid down either by us or our Friends whom he had so abused whose names he had inserted in his first Paper After a long time he sent us another Paper wherein he tells us that by our method he perceives we are not like to appear in publick to discourse Principles c. and in a boasting way tells us that we will not vouchsafe him the least ground imaginable on which to bottom a hope that we and he shall come to grapple in a publick Contest and so proceeds still in the denial of some of the matter in charge already proved not failing to renew his Reflections upon us and our Principles Now when we had received this boasting Paper of his by which one might think that he on his part should not fail to grapple in publick we returned him Answer seeing he denied some part of the Charge as laid down and made him this offer as a moderate expedient to give him a Meeting and that the Witnesses and he might come face to face and that they might have liberty before the People to declare their matter of Evidence which they had to offer and we to lay down our Reasons why we were dissatisfied and then he to say what he could to clear himself and when all had said what they had to say to the opening of the matter we would quietly leave it to the Consciences of the People to judge and believe as they should find the Justice of the Case in their own understandings and this being done we offered to proceed to discourse with him about those three Principles viz. The Resurrection Iustification and Perfection in Sanctification as to Degrees attainable and further about particular Election and Reprobation of Persons and also offered to dispute with him Principle for Principle so long as might tend to Edification c. And for this end we demanded a Meeting and desired an orderly and peaceable Auditory of sober People that gravely in the fear of God we might go through those things in our Discourse to our Satisfaction and their Edification c. And further offered our largest Meeting house for an Accommodation to the Meeting if he pleased or otherwise we would submit to go to any other convenient place of his appointing and left it to him to make it as publick as he thought good c. Some time after he received this he sent us another scurrilous Paper filled up with Reflections not only upon us but also upon the People that