Righteousness he alone shall wear that faithful to the end do persevere and I know it was his great desire that he might walk so as to obtain that Crown and I am satisfied the Lord hath answered his desire many of his sweet words and expressions which he spake cannot be remembred which is a trouble to me that they were not taken notice of but my Exercise being very great That I could not remember many of them and being the Lord hath been pleased to strip me of him which was the greatest outward Comfort and Support that I had I desire that I may be willing to submit to the Will of the Lord and that my Will may submit to his Will and that I may not offend him for as it is said If ye love any thing more than me ye are not worthy of me so he is able to make up all our Losses as we stand faithful to him and though my Loss be great in parting with such a dear Husband yet I firmly believe his Gain is great and he is at rest from all the Troubles and Incumbrances of this World for many are the Tryals and Exercises that we meet with here in this troublesome World and therefore it is my great desire that I may be preserved thro' them all and that the Lord alone may stay and anchor my Soul that in all Tryals and Exercises I may look unto him for help and wisdom to walk as becomes his Truth and to order all things to his Glory and that I may wait for Council from him to be ordered and guided by him alone and so return him the Praises and the Honour who alone is worthy of all Honour and Glory for ever and evermore Susanna Padley Northcave the 28th of the 10th Month 1687. A Short Account of B. P. his Expressions in the time of his Weakness taken in writing from his Wifes own Mouth c. HE took his sickness in the 17th of the 6th Month 1687. and continued till the 25 of the same having long before had a sence upon his spirit that his time in this world might not be long often declaring the same to his Dear Wife and the day after he took his illness he spoke as Concerning his two Children on this wise That the Lord would preserve and keep them and that they might if they lived live to Honour his Name or otherwise if it might seem good in his sight that they might be taken away in their Childhood before sin was too much rooted in them On that day or the day following several of his Neighbours came to visit him his Dear Wife being by he said It is well for them that can say on their dying beds their sins and iniquities are blotted out At another time a friend coming into see him he said my Dear Love is to thee and to all friends and I desire you may be watchful and diligent in attending Meetings often declaring his great Love to Friends At another time he said If the Lord have any further work for me to do I desire I may be found faithful and if not I am well satisfied in his will And afterward the pain and sickness being very sharp upon him he said O Lord I pray thee lay no more upon thy servant then thou gives him patience to bare and I pray thee that thy afflictions may be mixt with mercy His Wife weeping being under very great Exercise because of his Affliction he said unto her O why do'st thou weep thou must not do so for keep but to the Truth and fear not but all will be well And the very day before he dyed he got up in the forenoon and several friends as also Neighbours and Relations came in to see him and he being under a deep sence of Gods love unto his Soul begun to declare amongst them but few of his words is remembred but there having been some words given out by some of the worlds people where he lived while he was in the work and service of the Lord abroad visiting Gods Heritage that he had Mony for Preaching therefore he spoke on this manner It is not for any outward thing we Travel neither is that by us lookt at nor any mans Silver or Gold sought or coveted after but it 's for the Gainâ—ng of Souls for said he we have suffered the loss of our goods scoffings and scornings and imprisonment so that it may appear it hath not been the looking at any benefit of any Mans Goods or Estates that hath â—een in our eye but for performing the will â—f the Lord and now it hath pleased him to â—isit me with great weakness so that I am not â—ike to continue many days here but I am â—ell satisfied and whether they will hear or â—orbear I shall be clear in the day of the â—ord and although his weakness was very â—reat and even to the Eye of outward reaâ—on as a spent Man yet he was helped to his â—nees and was never heard to be more powerâ—ul in prayer which was for all from the King upon his Throne even to the beggar upon the dunghill to the Admiration and Astonishment of the Beholders and after that few words proceeded from him but weakned very fast and the next day being 25th of the sixth Month 1687. he finished and hath left a good Savour behind him and the Righteous surely shall be had in everlasting remembrance alalthough the Memory of the wicked shall rott Elizabeth Leaper Her Testimony concerning Benjamin Padley who dyed the 25th of the 6th Month 1687. MY Testimony Concerning this my dear Friend B. P. is as followeth that he was a Man whom the Lord had endued with true Wisdom as also a spirit of true discerning and therein did he in his day act for the Lord and for his Truth and People and freely gave himself up with his whole substance to spend and be spent Oh the remembrance of this my Friend is very precious unto me and I am made many times to bless the Lord and to praise the name of Jacobs God in that he hath made me very sensible he had fitted and prepared him and made him a fit vessel for his Masters use who called him into his vineyard and I am made to say surely he was a faithful Labourer therein therefore doth my Soul believe he hath received his reward even a Crown of Glory which can never be taken from him yet I cannot but many times even mourn because of the want I with many more feels of him whom the Lord raised up to be as an instrument in his hand many a time to speak a word in due season unto me when under great exercises and besetments many ways and not only so but he could read my condition and was made willing to bare a part of my burthen yet my sorrow is not as those who sorrow without hope being fully satisfied he had kept the saith finished his course and laid down his head in
OH feel the Bowels of Enlarged Love which the Lord God Almighty hath opened in me towards thee and hath laid it weightily upon me to visit thee with a tender visitation of love and also to lay open some of the snares and stratagems of the Enemy whereby he kept me in bondage many Months and some Years But the Lord in his tender mercy and infinite compassion hath redeemed me out of them all and hath set me free to worship him in spirit and in Truth unto whom my soul doth at this time and for ever desire to return everlasting glory and endless praises and thanksgiving who alone over all is worthy for ever and ever For after he was pleased in his endless mercy to bring me into the Wilderness into a place of want into a bewildred state into a wantfull state and into a sense of the Necessity I had of seeking after a Saviour the Enemy through hearkening to his deceitful voice kept me long wandring here before I could get thorow or arrive within the River-banks of Canaan yet can I truly say the Lord brought me not hither to starve me but to try me for he never left me nor forsook me but he dayly pursued me with mercy and followed me with his loving kindness he fed me with the Manna from Heaven and caused me to drink of the Rock that followed me which Rock was a shelter unto me and that Rock was Christ which dayly begot a longing desire in me of being redeemed out of that bewildred state and of coming to the full enjoyment of that living refreshment which my Soul at times and seasons was made partaker of for truly I have many times felt such living refreshments from the hand of the Lord both when I have been amongst the Assemblies of Gods People and also when alone in secret Places when my heart hath been kept low in his fear and when in the sincerity of my Soul I have waited upon him in a true Resignation to his Will that my Soul as it were hath been overjoyed and then whilst I have been thus pleasing my self with those Joys and take a Rejoycing in those Refreshments then hath the Enemy com'd in with those Perswasions and said Thou art now come to the full Enjoyment of thy desire thou art now come to arrive within the Blessed Land for which thou so earnestly travelled for and thou may now take up a rest here for thou need never fear of being deprived of these Enjoyments or of being driven back out of the Land wherein thou art arrived yea these and many more stumbling Blocks hath the Enemy cast before me whilst I was in this Blessed Exercise and through lending an Ear and hearkening to his deceitful Voice in taking up a false Rest which the Lord hath never ordained for me I have been led backward into the Wilderness and the Veil hath again been brought over me and the thick Clouds of Darkness hath covered me and the Mercies of the Lord hath been withdrawn from me and he hath as it were for a Season hid his Face from me so that I have sometimes been ready to say Surely this is Aegypts Darkness and to take up a Lamentation for want of the enjoyment of his presence which I did enjoy whilst I was obedient to him and in the deep sence of these my Wants and of the necessity of the saving Power and Salvation of the Lord God Almighty hath my Soul been bowed down under great Weights and Burthens beseeching him that he would again appear and rend away the Veils and take off all Coverings and let me feel of his wonted Goodness and of the fresh Incomes of his Love and Mercy which formerly I had been partaker of for in the sence of these Wants hath my Soul with David been ready to say Lord hast thou forgotten to be gracious wilt thou be favourable no more O then did he Answer me and say My hand is not shortned at all that I cannot save neither is my ear heavy that it cannot hear buâ— thy Sins hath separated betwixt thee and me through hearkening and lending an ear to the Enemy in taking up a polluted Rest therefore turn from the evil of thy ways and I will still have Compassion on thee and appear to save in all Troubles and carry thee thorow all thy Exercises and Tryals which I will suffer to come upon thee and set thee as a Pillar in my House that shall never be removed O then his Words were strength to my soul and more desired by me than my necessary Food and now can I truly say the Lord is become my chiefest delight and the object of mine eye he is the God of my Salvation therefore will I trust in him and not be afraid though he was angry with me his anger is turned away though in a little wrath he did his face from me yet with everlasting loving kindness he will have Mercy on me And now the Lord having brought me out of the Wilderness out of a Place of Want into a Land of Plenty and given me to drink of the River of his pleasure which is set open and freely tendred to all that will come he hath taught me not to sit at ease and take up a Rest as the Enemy would have perswaded me for though the Enemies be subdued that were within the Borders and that hindred me from arriving within the Blessed Land yet GOD hath shewed me there are yet many Enemies within the Land which if there be not a continual Watch kept will come suddenly upon me and drive me out This is the Philistine Nature which will dam up the Wells of Jacob which will stop the Passage of the Fountain of Life from running into my Soul there are the Pleasures of the World and the Cares of this Life and all vain Traditions and Customs of Men which must be forsaken and Sufferings both of Body and spoyling of Goods Scoffings and Scornings Revilings and evil Entreatings which they that will live godly in Christ Jesus must endure And now the Lord having set before me Life and Death I will rather chuse to suffer affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a Season for when I lay wallowing in my Blood and nothing but Wounds and putrifying Sores and when the Priest and the Levite passed by and regarded me not nor none could speak a word of Peace to my Soul O he was the good Samaritan Who took me up and had Compassion on me he was the skilful Physitian who knew my Infirmity and poured forth Balm from Gilead upon all my Wounds and healed me of mine Infirmities O therefore hath he engaged me to love him and to give up all for him and to follow him thorow the Loss of all things yea to give up my Life for his sake if he should require it at my hand and it is but all what I owe unto him it is but the sacrifice of
famine they did abound with plenty and how much more may thou being a Just man and faithful to God bring a blessing upon thy self and upon thy own house and now here is the sum of all these lines contained To love thy Neighbour as thy self aend to do unto all men as thou would they should unto thee to love mercy and to do justly and walk HVMBLY with thy GOD Which if thou truly observe and do the Lord will plant thee as a Tree by the River side and as a Lilly by the Water courses which neither toyl nor spin yet feed and grow and is beautifully Arrayed for Solomon in all his Glory was never Arrayed like one of these And now I have cleared my Conscience in doing the message of the Lord faithfully according to the Ability which he hath given me and if the Lord should call me to visit in general as he did to thee in particular I desire that I may never be slack but ever ready to answer his requirings and do his will in all things and I pray God set it home upon thee that it may answer the end for which it is sent that I may cast my bread upon the waters and after many days find it and so unto that power which is only able to save to the uttermost all that will come unto it do I commit thy Soul with my own and all that have any desires of righteousness in them and I desire with all my Heart and Soul that we may for ever be kept upright before the Lord unto the end of our appointed time That when he is pleased to put a period to our days when time unto us on this side the grave shall be no more that we may give up our accounts with joy and lay down our heads with peace where none can make us afraid and where our bread for ever may be sure and our water never failing and that with Paul we may conclude and say We have fought a good fight we have kept the faith and funished our course and henceforth there is laid up for us a Crown of Righteousness and not for us only but for all the Righteous for the Crown of Glory he alone shall wear that faithful to the end persevere So this with dear love to thee is all at present from thy ever loving brother Benjamin Padley North Frodingham in Houllderness in Yorkshire 20th of â—th Month 16â—â— The Copies of part of two Letters to his Brother John Padley at London The First Letter Dear Brother AFter our dear Love to thee these may let thee know That I received thine which I suppose came by the hand of John Yates but it was but two weeks since yesterday and it did rejoyce me greatly to hear from thee but more especially to hear how it was with thee for I can truly say it is that which my Soul has and doth travel for that we may be preserved in Uprightness before the Lord unto the end of our days for blessed be his Name his Tender Care has been over us and his Compassion has been toward us in the days of our Minority and in the time of our Youth that though he was pleased to strip us of our Faithful Parents and to leave us destitute of a Habitation yet he never forsook us but his provident hand has gone along with us and taken care for us beyond what we could ever have expected that with Jacob we may say The Lord hath fed us all our Life long and now it is the desire of my very Soul and Spirit that we may walk worthy of those Mercies and Blessings that the Lord hath bestowed upon us and that we may truly answer the end for which he hath thus visited our Souls in faithfully performing that Duty and Service which the LORD hath called us unto and requires of us and herein will the Lord be glorified by us and our Souls will receive the everlasting Reward that will countervail all our Labour and Exercise so into his hand do I commit our Souls together with the Souls of all his Faithful Children every where who is only able to preserve and keep us unto the end of our days Benjamin Padley Northcave 20th of 1st Month 1687. The Second Letter Dear Brother MY Dear Love is unto thee desiring thee may enjoy thy Health as thro' the Lords Mercy we do at present and not only so but inward Peace Comfort and Satisfaction I do daily witness and feel in my own particular and Truth doth grow and prosper amongst us which is Matter of great Joy and Comfort unto my Soul and it is the breathing Desire of my Spirit that the Lord may preserve thee with my own Soul and the Souls of our Dear Friends and Brethren in the Truth in Uprightness before him unto the end of our days c. Benjamin Padley Yorkshire the 29th of the 11th Month 1689. A Copy of a Letter to his Brother John Padley at London Beloved Brother THe Salutation of my Endeared Love doth reach unto thee in that inseparable unity and fellowship which length of miles or distance of place cannot separate as we dwell and abide in that blessed Truth which the Lord hath convinced us of and not so only but through his great mercy and loving kindness hath brought us into obedience in a pretty large measure to the requirings of it and it is the very desire and Travel of my Soul and Spirit that we may be ever kept and preserved in the same obedience to the end of our days that as the Lord hath been pleased to give unto each particular of us a Tallent to profit with all that we now may be truely and faithfully exercised for the improvement of it to the glory of God and to the benefit and advantage of our immortal Souls that when the Lord is pleased to call us to an account that we may appear before him with joy and receive the answer of Well done into our bosomes and this will be more cause of joy and gladness unto us than though we could gain the whole world and want this And now my Dear Brother by this thee may understand that I have received thine baring date the 26th of this month as also two that my Wife received before I came home the reading of which hath greatly gladed my heart as also the account that I had of thee by our dear Friends John Whitehead John Bouram and Robert Lodge which all did give me a very good account of thee and I can truely say it did abundantly rejoyce me to hear of thy welfare and prosperity every way but more especially of thy growth in the Truth in which I pray God preserve and continue thee with my own Soul and every one whom he hath called that his work may prosper in us and that we may stand as living witnesses for him in our age and generation amongst those whom he hath placed us for blessed be the name
SOME FRUITS OF A Tender Branch Sprung from the Living Vine Being A COLLECTION Of Several Sound and Godly LETTERS Written by that Faithful Servant of God Benjamin Padley WITH Diverse Living Testimonies to that Innocent Life in which he walked and continued to the End of his Day London Printed for Tho. Northcott in This is my Testimony concerning my Deaâ— Husband Benjamin Padley whâ— departed this Life the 25th of thâ— 6th Month 1687. being in thâ— 29th Year of his Age. WHo the Lord hath been pleased to separate from me whom my Soul haâ— true Union with and many sweeâ— Opportunities we had together and we have often rejoyced together when we did behold the Wonderful Kindness of our God and now the Lord hath been pleased to separate him from me and take him unto himself I can say of a Truth he was a dear and loving Husband unto me and a true Lover oâ— all that feared the LORD and it was that which his Soul delighted in the Prosperity oâ— the Truth and would say many times he could even spend his Time continually in waiting upon the Lord and freely leave all outward things to go abroad to Answer the Will and Requirings of the Lord and he was one that was not idle in that Work and Service which the Lord called him to but his great Care was That he might be faithful in what the Lord required at his hand and that he might neither be too forward nor too backward but â—o fulfil the Work of the Lord faithfully and â—is great desire was that Friends would be â—ery diligent in meeting together and not â—nly so but that they would be diligent â—nd watchful when they were met together â—o wait upon the LORD and not be â—othful but to consider for what end they â—et together that the Lord might be honourâ—d by them and that they might receive the â—enefit and Comfort which they all do receive â—hat is watchful and obedient and his Mind â—as as I may truly say clearly weaned from â—ff all Worldly Things and set upon things which is above for he was freely given up â—o the Will of the Lord to his disposing to â—ispose of him as he see good for as he â—id declare to me on his dying Bed If the â—ord have any further Work or Service for â—e to do I desire to be faithful and if not â—am very well satisfied and so the Lord hath â—een pleased to take him unto himself and â—ow he hath received a Crown of Joy and â—hough I find it a great Exercise and Tryal to â—art with such a dear Husband and one whom â—ny Soul with his and many dear Friends more â—ere often refreshed together in the presence of the Lord but since it is his Will to call â—im from me I desire to be satisfied with the Will of the Lord and that I may not murmur against the hand of the Lord but be willing to give him up being well satisfied that my Loss is his great Gain and even return Praises unto the Lord who orders and disposes of all things as he sees good and as Job said The Lord gives and the Lord take away blessed be the Name of the Lord for he alone it is that knows what is best for us and so I desire to be satisfied with his Will for he alone doth work wonderfully beyond the Expectation of either Man or Woman 〈◊〉 for when I consider how wonderfully he was pleased to carry my dear Husband thro' his great Exercise and what Patience he bore iâ— with it caused me to bless the Lord for it for he bore it with great Patience and the Lord was pleased to raise up his Spirits wonderfully to the refreshing and satisfaction oâ— my Soul and many more The day beforâ— he was taken out of the Body several Neighbours and Friends came in and he desired hiâ— Neighbours to stay and sitting a pretty whilâ— to wait upon the Lord he opened his Moutâ— in Exhortation to them to fear God and depart from Iniquity and he spake many precious Words to them in declaration and aâ—so went to Prayer which to see his Weakness made us to admire and it was to thâ— admiration of them that were there present for it was the wonderful Work of our God for to all outward Appearance his Strengtâ— was almost spent but the Lord was pleaseâ— to raise up his Spirits very wonderfully bâ—â— many of his Expressions cannot be remembred but this he spoke which is remembred â—am glad said he to see so many of your faces â—hought I should not have seen so many of you 〈◊〉 I have done being the Lord hath been pleased 〈◊〉 visit me with sickness so that I am brought so â—â—ak that I am not likely to continue many â—â—ys here but I feel nothing but all is well â—â—d when we were looking for help for him from â—â—an he said I have a Physitian the World knows 〈◊〉 of and while he lay sick when I had â—â—en weeping besides him he would say O â—â—oy dâ—st thou so thou must not do so keep but to 〈◊〉 Truth and fear not but all will be well and â—ould say at nights Go to bed and take thy â—â—t and be not troubled about me And when â—â—iends came to see him he would say My â—â—ar Love is with you and remains with you all â—nd I know his dear Love was to all that â—â—ved the Truth and it was that which his â—â—ul travelled for the prosperity of and Sions â—lory and the Lord was pleased to call him â—â—â—th into his work and service abroad to â—â—sit Friends and to bare his Testimony for â—â—e Lord and his desire was That he might â—â—ar it faithfully and that he might be enâ—â—ed with Power from on high and so speak 〈◊〉 the Spirit gave him Utterance and the â—â—rd was pleased to endue him with a good â—â—derstanding and much knowledge and of a â—â—nd delivery so that the hearts of many â—â—re drawn near unto him and he was drawn â—â—ar unto many and many sweet Refreshâ—â—nts we had together and many sweer Meetings and Opportunities we had to the Refreshment of our Souls and many hearts were made glad and my soul with his hath many a time been truly comforted together in the Lord so that to part with such a dear Husband and one who I had much comfort in I find it a hard thing to undergo for he was a Man of great Service and might have been if the Lord had seen good to have spared him my Loss is great and many I do believe will find a Loss of him besides but this is comfort to me that the Lord was with him and the Lord had drawn him off all worldly things and surely had fitted him for himself and now hath taken him out of this troublesome World and so he hath finished his Course with Joy and hath received the Crown which is laid up in store for all the faithful ones for as Paul said The Crown of
peace with the Lord where all sighing and tears of sorrow comes to be wiped away so that although our loss and the want of him be great yet surely its his gain and in this shall my soul and spirit be comforted I well remember when the Lord was pleased to raise a Travel in my soul for Sions prosperity and laid a constraint on me to cast in my mite into his Treasury amongst my Brethren and Sisters at that very time was he made instrumental to the helping me forward and after sometime it was laid on me with my dear Sister and Companion Mary Frost to visit Friends in Cumberland and laying it before him being under a True Sence of our own weakness youth and tenderness Oh! How he encouraged us saying Travel on in your innocency and in a sence of your own weakness without the Lord and I do believe he will be with you and make your journey prosperous which time was the last time we see his face his delight was to take the weaklings by the hand and to encourage the good in all wherever it appeared for his care over the Flock of Christ was great and I have heard him often say where he saw a backwardness or slackness in meeting together to wait upon the Lord Oh how it wounded and grieved his spirit within him often stirring Friends up to diligence and faithfulness in serving God Oh the Remembrance of his innocency together with the Lamb-like Nature which mine eyes beheld to appear in him is very pleasant unto me and the many sweet and comfortable expressions which dropped like Honey from his Lips unto my Soul when under great distress the Consideration of it breaks my Heart and Melts my Spirit into Tenderness before the Lord Oh the sweet Councel my Soul received from him when in a mournful state it was even as marrow to my bones and as strength unto my sinews so that I have been made to bless the Lord that ever it was my Lot to see his Face and although it was not ordered so to be for me to see him in the time of his weakness being many Miles distant as also under weakness of body yet at the first hearing of his sickness I was made sensible he might be taken away which at the first came very nigh me but after sometime I was made to say Lord thou has now fitted him for thy Kingdom therefore Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord for they do Rest from their Labour and their works do follow them and surely thou art taking the Righteous away from the evil to come so being fully satisfied of his well being as also hearing the report of some good friends who were with him near the time he finished of his comfortable end I dare not repine as believing his life was hid with Christ in God and I do feel this time as at many other times servent breathings in my heart and a cry run through my Soul unto the Lord that he will still raise up many more to bare a faithful Testimony to his Name and Truth even as I do believe this my friend did in his young and tender years and it 's my full belief he 's now rejoycing amongst the valiants of Israel who hath not only proved Conquerors but more than Conquerors so what shall I say more but even leave all to the disposing of him whose mercys are over all the works of his hands with True breathings unto the Lord not only for my own Soul but for all his whole flock and Family that 's left behind every where that we may so spend the residue of our time even as I do believe this my Friend of whom I am speaking did that so the reward of the Righteous we may all receive when time on this side the grave shall be no more So unto him who hath been our preservation unto this day and is able to make up all our wants and raise up unto himself many faithful and living witnesses doth my Soul return Glory and Honour with humble and holy thanksgivings having cleared my self and eased my spirit and so remains a Traveller for Sions prosperity and a well wisher to all Elizabeth Leaper DEar Benjamin Padley was one of the Sons of William and Elizabeth Padley of Northcave in the Eastriding of Yorkshire who in former days with many others in whom true desires towards God were begotten was travelling and seeking the Kingdom in Forms and Observations zealously following them that cryed Lo here and lo there in whom the true Birth being not satisfied with any empty husk when it pleased the Lord in his great Mercy to cause his day to dawn and to visit a Remnant that sate mourning in darkness with the Manifestation of his everlasting Light and to send forth faithful Witnesses and Messengers of the Gospel of Peace and Reconciliation in Christ Jesus the Light of the World and the only way to the Father Then I say the said William and Elizabeth his Wife were the first in these parts that received the said Messengers and their Testimony and became faithful Followers of him whom the Father hath sent to gather in his scattered flock to wait for his teaching and to worship him in Spirit and Truth and through much Tribulation in Patience they endured to the end and did not deny him before Men for any Suffering as Imprisonment spoyling of Goods c. with the latter whereof more especially the Widow and Samuel their eldest Son were tryed by Means of Thomas Forge a prophane Priest who was much retained in Williams days but after his death break forth in great Rage and Cruelty against the Widow and Fatherless but most especially after Elizabeths death against the said Samuel who by means of the said Priest and his adherents suffered twice 20 l. fine for Friends meeting in his house to worship God which with other sufferings when he had endured by wicked men for his love to God and his Truth and People he was taken away in peace out of the World and his next brother William stood up in his place in the same Testimony who met with the like usage from the same wicked priest who shut him up in Prison where he remained till the death of his said Adversary and not long after he being taken out of the World also this dear Benjamin came in to the place where his Parents had finished their course And in deep Humility and Zeal towards God and servent love to him and to all that walked in the Truth he did continue a considerable time before his mouth was opened to bare a Testimony of the everlasting Truth of God in the Assemblies of his People and after he was raised in the Power of Truth to bare a Testimony of it I do verily believe he did not go before the motion of Life nor stretch beyond it nor speak of what he lived not in â—either did he aspire into high Notions nor seek to illustrate
his Testimony with high words and expressions but sound plain and weighty his declaration was in the demonstration of the spirit power of God which reached the seed and when he received the aboundings of the heavenly gift that in the overflowings thereof he could Minister and offer the living Sacrifice on the Spiritual Altar and sind acceptance yet he grew not rich and full nor wise in his own conceit but was kept low and humble in a deep sence of the dayly need still to wait on God for the renewings of his mercys and the fresh openings of the springs of life and love from him to help forward in the Spiritual Travel and to persevere to the end and hereunto he did much exhort and stir up friends where he came and to constancy in meetings and to watchful diligence therein that all might come dayly to receive and truly to enjoy that wherein the True blessedness is He sought not worldly riches tho he was a man not slothful in business but in dustrious yet above all seeking the Kingdom of GOD and the Righteousness thereof and the Lord gave him his hearts desire and withheld not from him what his Soul Travelled for for he helped him on his way to the end and Ministred living Consolation to his Soul when all visible things ceased to be any more to him And now his course is finished and his work is done and his reward is everlasting where none can add thereto nor take therefrom and being sensible of this I can Truely Testify that I do not write these things in any vain Ostentation to set up the Nâ—â—â—â—â— of a Creature but for the sakes of those that yet remain That all may be stirred up whom the Lord hath visited with the like mercy in the day of their visitation to give all diligence to make their Calling and Election sure seeing none of us knows at what time our end may be but that which is most weighty upon my Spirit whereby I have been drawn to bring in this Testimony is to provoke and stir up all the Children of the Lords People every where to be True followers of their parents in the Lords way in every thing that is good O the joy and comfort to the Souls of all that Love the Lord to behold the Children of Faithful parents that Truely loved and feared the Lord now walking in the same way and striving for the same immortal Crown and Oh the grief and sorrow of heart to be Children of Good parents loose and prophane Or to turn aside from the way of the Lord wherein they have been instructed Oh great will be the Condemnation of all such if they do not speedily return and therefore my earnest desire and Travel is that my Children and all the Children of the Lords faithful servants and people great and small may be hereby Admonished and put in Remembrance by the good Example of this young Man and his Brethren whose Memorial is blessed who Truely followed their good parents in faithfulness to God in doing and suffering what the Lord required of them and the Eternal God of power who helped their parents through all he call'd them to did not fail these young Men their Children but was their helper to the end and I believe is and ever will be a sure Rock to all that chuse and abide in his way from Generation to Generation And I dearly beseech all young people Children of the Lords servants not to count it enough to get and Comprehend into Notion what ye have heard from your parents or others and so to follow them only in the outward form and profession of Truth Oh but wait in the Light to feel the Spirit and power of God to work in you to judge work out and Crucify the worlds Nature in you and to renew you in your hearts and spirits according to his Holy and Heavenly will that so of him who certainly knows the hearts of all ye may be owned and approved which that all the called of the Lord both Old and Young may truly attain unto is the earnest desire and spiritual travel of your Brother and Companion in that which abides for ever Sebastian Ellythorpe THis Testimony remaineth in my heart and hath been as a Concern upon my Spirit many days concerning the Life and Death of my dear Friend Benjamin Padley for he was one that the Lord did bless and preserve in great weakness when he was in his tenderness and in his young years and seeking after the Knowledge of the blessed Truth as it is in Jesus and when he was weeping on his way and seeking the Lord inquiring the way to Sion having his face thitherward who travelled in pain as a Woman to be delivered and had a longing desire after the Lord God who could not be satisfied until he had met with him whom his soul loved and nothing would comfort him short of the Enjoyment of the presence of the Lord neither did he regard the Reproaches but patiently endured the Cross and despised the Shame And all for that Joy that was set before him which the Lord had given him a sence and a seeling of in his young days and in the Lords due and appointed time he did deliver him from under all that which was as a Burthen unto him as that Philistian Nature that was an Enemy unto Israel that would be casting stones into their Wells and would be damming up the precious springs of divine Life these things he knew and met with in his way but still his dependency was upon Christ the Beloved of his Soul who brought him out of the Wilderness and over the Red Sea and over Jordan and through the Ministration of Death and Condemnation which all must pass through before they come into Life and Peace with God and to be possessed of that Inheritance of Life and Salvation Peace and Rest in Christ that Canaan was a Figure of promised to Abraham and his Seed for ever of whose Off-spring and Race in those days are all the Faithful who is willing to leave their Fathers House and all their Kindred and all that is near and dear unto them among whom was this faithful Man who loved not his Life unto Death that he might save his Life unto Eternity this was before him and this was in Moses's eye above Aegypts Glory this was in Abrahams eye above his Native Country and above his Fathers House because they all had an eye unto the Recompence of Reward among whom was this faithful Man after that he had turned his back upon all the World and Aegypts Glory he grew valiant for the Truth and bore a living Testimony against the Abominations and all the Pride and Superstition and Idolatry thereof the sence whereof still remaineth and doth live with me though he be removed from us still the remembrance of him is Chronocled and Engraven in our hearts that it cannot easily be forgotten nor razed out of our
Remembrance the many sweet and living Testimonies that were given forth and that ran through him in the precious Extendings of Life and sweet Visitations wherewithal the Lord was pleased to visit him and to make him a Partaker of amongst the People of God of which I was an Eye and Ear-Witness and a partaker with him both in the time of the Ministration of Death and in the time of the Ministration of Life and Salvation and in his Exercises both spiritual and temporal but in all he was preserved in the meek and quiet spirit of the Lamb holding fast his Integrity in the ancient power of God and in the word of his patience who never failed him nor none of his faithful Children in the day of Tryal nor hour of Temptation though they be great and the troubles of the Righteous many yet the Lord is able to deliver out of them all as he hath done this my dear Friend where all sighing and sorrow doth fly away and where all tears is wiped away and all sorrows and pains cometh to an end and the troubler ceases troubling and the scorner ceases from scorning and the troubler of Israel doth not appear any more and this is our Joy and our Comfort that which maketh up our Loss in parting with so dear a Friend as he was in his day which was but short yet glorious for he was taken away in the flower of his age and in the strength of his youth I mean every way both bodily and spiritually for he had overcome the wicked one and the Word of God did abide in him and his presence did fill him until his Cup did overflow many times to the watering of the Heritage of God and now this is my desire That all to whom this may come may be Followers of Christ in his footsteps and according to his and many others that was holy Examples in their days of humility and self-denying and patience and long suffering and meekness and Brotherly kindness and charity suffering all things and bearing all things for the Name of Jesus and for the Word of God as he was given up to do and now is entred into Glory where he rests from his Labours and his Works do follow him and his Reward is with him for thus saith the Spirit Blessed is the dead which dye in the Lord for they rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them and the Name of the Righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance and shall be blessed among the Righteous but the Name of the Wicked shall rot These few Lines opened in my heart concerning my dear Friend whose Life was blessed and latter End Peace Now it is time to conclude and recommend this with the rest of Friends Testimonies to the serious Readers to whom this may come to the help and encouragement of them that are in Afflictions that they they may hold out to the end and be saved Iohn Richardson A Copy of a Letter sent to his Wife Dear Love THE Salutation of my endeared Love reacheth unto thee with my Children and I cannot but desire of the Lord That he would preserve you and keep you in his fear from day to day and give thee Wisdom and Understanding to order thy Family in his fear and dread and to be cheerful and trust in the Lord and he will not fail thee I am satisfied for blessed be the Name of the God of Heaven his Presence and Power is still with us and his Arm doth still surround us that we are carryed on with cheerfulness and freely given up to follow the Lord whithersoever he is pleased to lead us So my Dear I dearly desire thee be not troubled nor any way cast down in thy mind because of my Absence though things may go contrary to thy desire and expectation yet my Dear be incouraged and give up to the Lord and fear him and doubt not but all things will work together for thy good So unto the Lord do I commit thee with my Children and Family with my own Soul who I desire to preserve and keep us to his own Praise and Glory who alone is worthy over all for ever So my Dear I desire thee to remember my dear Love to all our Friends in general who is very dear unto me when I remember them especially those that are faithful So my dear Love with my dear Companion John Richardson salutes you all and bid you all farewel We are now at Rousby and doth intend for Whitby and so toward Burlington if the Lord permit So with my dear Love to thee I remain thy dear and faithful affectionate Friend and Husband Benjamin Padley From Rousby 16th of 8th Month 1686. Another Copy of a Letter sent to his Wife My Dear THe Salutation of my endeared Love at this time with many other times doth reach unto thee as also to my Dear Children and you are often in my Remembrance and my Soul is many times bowed down and my Spirit poured forth in Supplication before and in the presence of my God and yours that you may be preserved in holy fear and dread and that he may give thee Wisdom and understanding and strength and ability to order thy Children and to nurture them in the Fear of the Lord and keep them in Subjection as much as in thee Lyes and stand in the Dominion of Truth over them and thy servants and wait for Wisdom and Councel from the Lord to guide and order thee in all things that thee art concerned in And my dear be not too careful in driving on thy business too eagerly and keep thy hands off as much as thou possibly canst thou knowing thy own unfitness and the weakness of thy Constitution and although things may sometimes not go so well on as thou wouldst have them yet I would have thee be careful that thou lettest not thy mind out to fret and grieve at them but stand in the Counsel of God that he may give thee directions to order all things aright and to keep out of extreams on every hand But let thy Moderation appear in all things and let a moderate care be had in all things that nothing be willfully lost or wasted And so unto the Lord who is only able to preserve and prosper thee in all things do I commit thee with the rest of my family and my hope and confidence and whole belief is stedfast in him as ever that as we do keep faithful to the Lord and his Truth and desires to be found in that and to abide in that which will bring Honour to his Name The Lord will multiply his blessings upon us and we shall be as Monuments of his Mercy and his presence will be with us and his provident hand will be seen and felt in the ordering of us in all things to his glory and to our mutual Joy and Comfort And blessed be his great and Mighty NAME that hath not been wanting to me since I was
called from thee but his presence I have and do enjoy from day to day unto this very day and his counsel he hath not hidden from me in those things which he hath concerned me in but his provident hand hath greatly appeared to me in ordering of me in my Journey and answering my desire greatly beyond my Expectation for I have met with a Companion four or five days ago and I hope we are like to continue together a pretty while longer our minds being both inclined one way before we did know any thing one of another and I hope and am satisfied that it will be good for me for the Lord is felt and witnessed to be with us in our Spiritual Exercise to the ordering of us in his fear and wisdom and many sweet and precious Opportunities has be given us to the uniting us to himself and one unto another and hath drawn us into a Spiritual Acquaintance and Society one with another unto whom my Soul gives Glory and Honour who is alone worthy for ever and ever I desire thee remember my dear Love to all our Friends in general and let me have two or three Lines from thee by some of our Friends that goes to the yearly Meeting at York to know how it is with thee for I hope I may get thither and shall be glad to hear that it is well with thee so desiring this may find thee with thy Children in good health as through the Lords Mercy I am at present and in the Sense of the Lords Goodness toward us and his Care over us I do still remain and in that dear and unfeigned Love which length of Miles or distance of place cannot separate do I dearly salute thee and bid thee farewel and doth remain in the unchangeable Truth thy truly loving Husband Benjamin Padley From Hansworth Woodhouse near Sheffield 28th of 3d. Month 1687. A Copy of a Letter sent to a Brother of his in America Dear Brother I Dearly salute thee in the Fear of the Lord in which I desire we may both be preserved all the days of our appointed time After my dear love presented unto thee hoping these will find thee in good health as I am at present blessed be the Lord and therefore I desire thee to sink down into Gods pure fear and let his pure dread and Holy Awe be continually upon thy heart and that will guide thee in the path of Righteousness and order thee aright in all things it will be as a Cloud by day as and of a Pillar fire by night to lead thee Thou knows in the days of our Childhood when we were left without Father and Mother the Lord took care of us and provided well for us that we have not suffered want nor hardships as many Children have done and when thou went first over into that Country in which thou now art thou wast then in a Sence of thy own weakness and littleness and wast as it were reconciled unto the Will of God and when thou wast in this State then thou wast safe and the Lord prospered thee in all thy undertakings and many People became thy Friends and thou didst get the love of many but now I fear thou hast lost the feeling of that which was then thy preservation and now thou art lifted up in thy prosperity and so forgets the Lord that made thee and hath given thee Breath and Being and so in Bowels of love to thy Soul do I write this to thee and not for any ill will I bear to thee the Lord knows my Heart but that thou might come to the Consideration of these things and for time to come let them be amended or else assuredly the hand of the Just GOD will be for ever so I dare not but warn thee in the Fear of the Lord and whether thou wilt hear or forbear I shall be clear concerning thee for I will assure thee I have besought the Lord with Tears many times concerning thee and this I am perswaded through Gods mercy that his love is still towards thee and he still waits to be gracious unto thee and to shew mercy unto thee if thou wilt return unto him therefore I desire thee in bowels of love to thy Soul do thou hearken to his voice and return to him with thy whole Heart and Soul and in Gods Fear sit down under his righteous judgments and wait in patience until he is pleased to appear and reveal himself unto thee and he will throw down the mountains of iniquity and cause the Hills of Transgression to fall before him he will make the Crooked ways straight and the rough places plane he will throw down the partition which the enemy hath built betwixt him and thy soul and he will make room for himself to dwell and make his abode with thee and so I desire that thou and I and all that makes mention of the Name of the Lord may depart from evil for thus saith the Lord Let all that makes mention of my Name depart from evil And therefore it is a weighty thing and we have great need to eye the Lord in all things and stand continually in his Councel that he may be our leader and our guide to the end of our days and therefore let us with one accord Humble our Souls before the GOD of HEAVEN and sit in the dust and with rended hearts cause our Crys to pierce through the Heavens and ascend up to him that sits upon the Throne of Glory and he will hear our Crys and answer the desires of our Souls if in the fervency of our hearts we pray unto him and so I desire that we may be preserved in the fear of the Lord and therefore in resignation to the Will of God do I commit my Soul with thine and the Souls of all our Brethren and Sisters and all our dear and near Relations every where and the Lord preserve us and the Lord keep us and protect us and guide us continually in his pure Fear and holy Awe that that may be the stay of all our minds unto the end of our appointed time that the God of Heaven may be our Portion and the Lot of our Inheritance that in the end of our days we may lay down our heads in peace where none can make us afraid and where our Bread for ever may be sure and our Water never failing that we may Exalt the Name of the Lord in the Land of the Living and return living Praises and everlasting Thanksgiving unto his Glorious Name for worthy is he over all to be praised and honoured everlastingly above all for ever and for evermore So no more but my dear Love to thee and Good Will toward all Men I rest and remain thy dear Loving Brother and eternal Lover of thy Souls Welfare Benjamin Padley North Frodingham in Houllderness in Yorkshire 20th of 3d. Month 1678. Another Copy of a Letter sent to a Brother of his in America Endeared Brother
a reasonable Service and all nothing in comparison of what he hath done for my soul and I desire with all my Heart and Soul that I may for ever be kept and preserved in this holy Resolution that I may count nothing too dear to part with for the Lords sake who is worthy over all to be worshipped served and obeyed praised glorified honoured and exalted of me and of all that have tasted of his Mercy and knows how good he is both now for ever and for evermore And now dear Brother the Lord laid this weightily upon me to lay open before thee if happily thou not being fallen into these snares might be preserved out of them or if fallen into them that thou might see how to be redeemed out of them again and therefore I entreat thee as one having Charge of thy soul that thou slight not the day of thy Visitation until it be overpast but while it is called to day hearken and turn not away thine Ear from the Counsel of the Lord nor harden not thine heart against Instructions nor cast not his Reproofs behind thy back lest thou provoke the Just God to anger and cause him to withdraw his good 〈◊〉 from thâ—â— for of a Truth God will not be mocked but he said I will be glorified in all that draw near me And they that make a profession of him in Words but in Works deny him he will glorifie himself in destroying of them as he did Nadab and Abihu who offered a strange Fire unto him for he hath said His Spirit shall not always strive with Man but the Candle of the wicked shall be put out O who can express the Misery of that Man O sad and deplorable is his Condition Oh! It even causes my heart to relent and my Spirit to bleed within me to consider the miserable sad and lamentable Estate of that Man or Woman whom God hath ceased striving with and whose Candle is put out Oh surely utter Darkness will be their Portion for ever Woe and Misery bitter and anguishing Pangs shall take hold of them as of a Woman in Travail when they shall be cast into utter Darkness never more to behold the Brightness of the Glory and Excellency of our God And therefore dear Brother in the sence of these Miseries which shall assuredly come upon all that will not Obey the Counsel of the Lord do I entreat thee for the Lords sake and for thy poor Souls sake be obedient to his Counsel and give Attention to his Call for the Bowels of his Love yearns towards thee and he still waits to be gracious Oh therefore embrace his Love and wait for his Appearance though he may appear as an Enemy yet it is but to destroy sin and therefore fly not at his appearance to hide thy self as Adam did when he had transgressed his Commandment but wait for his coming to destroy sin in thee for therefore must he first appear before thou can be a sit Vessel for him to dwell in and then thou wilt come to witness the saying of the Prophet fulfilled which he prophesied of in the days of old saying The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King and he will save us so Mark he is first to be known as a Judge and a Condemner of Sin in the Members and to take away that which makes a separation betwixt him and thy soul and then must he be known a Law-giver to give Laws and establish Laws and Commandments in the hearts of his People and here also comes another Scripture to be fulfilled which God promised in the days of old saying I will write my Law in their hearts and put it in their inward parts and I will be their God and they shall be my People and then as there is an obeying of these Laws and a keeping of these Commandments which the Lord hath given unto us and written in our inward parts then do we witness him to be our King who will save us and bring salvation with him And blessed be his Name for ever who is not awanting this day unto them that really fears and obey him for the Fountain of his Mercy is open and the Sluces of the River of his pleasure is drawn and the Flood-gates is set wide open and the Call is gone forth to all the World and the Sound thereof to the ends of the Earth Come you that will come come he that is a thirst and he that hath no Money come buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price Oh this is the Love of our God! Oh what manner of Love is this wherewith he hath loved us that he should thus freely tender his Mercy unto us who hath not deserved it at his hands Oh surely it may well engage all who have felt of these his Mercies and drank of this blessed Fountain for ever to love him and never to let him pass out of our Remembrance O that it might for ever be as a Seal upon all our Souls and as a double engagement upon our Spirits for ever to wait upon him in the true Poverty of our Spirits and in the true Nothingness of our selves before him to bow at the Foot-stool of the Throne of his Grace and there pour forth our Supplications day and night before him beseeching him that he may never withdraw himself from us but for ever let us feel of these his Mercies and be Partakers of these his Blessings that in the Eenjoyment of the same our Souls may be daily obliged and daily feel fresh occasion of returning Glory and everlasting high Praises and Thanksgiving unto him who over all is worthy is worthy for ever And now my Brother there is still something livingly ariseth in my heart to lay before thee that I may be clear as to the discharging my Conscience in Obeying the will of the Lord in faithfully doing that which he commanded me and that I may not do the work of the Lord deceitfully he also having many times brought into my remembrance the charge which he gave unto his Prophet when he sent him to forewarn the Children of Israel in the days of old saying If thou forewarn them of their evil in speaking the things which I command thee and they turn not from the evil of their ways then shall they dye in their iniquities and their blood shall be upon their own heads but if not they shall dye in their wickedness but their blood I require at thy hands Now these are the things which I have to lay before thee 1st That thou let not thy mind out into the earth in striving to gather great riches for many times pride doth attend that spirit that as soon as people are grown rich and full as to the outward then do they come to be exalted and puffed up and look for Honour and Esteem in the world saying in their hearts I am full and entire lacking nothing when they are naked blind