MAN Driven out of the Earth and Darkness By the Light life and mighty hand of God Where in plain and simple truths are brought to light that so the cause of stumbling may be taken from before the eyes of the Rulars and all sorts of professors in Herefordshire that out of their minds such things may be removed which hinder them from the love of the truth and that their understandings may be opened and receive the truth which makes free and believe in the light Wherein is something related of the wonderful power of God in the work of redemption and restauration with a plain self denial by him that takes up the dayly Cross Written as a visitation of free and tender love to the captivated seed of God in them who to him are not yet restored from their friend who is now a servant of Jesus Christ and suffers for the testimony of a pure conscience in this filthy stincking wicked abominable Prison being the Common Gole and house of Correction at Winchester called of men Humphery Smith London Printed in the 11 th month 1658. Behold the Lord worketh wonderfully every morning he bringeth his judgments to light he hath brought me back from the grave and saved my soul from hell and set my feet upon a Rock THe living truth of the Lord God which he hath revealed in me by the mighty operation of his word of life which living eternal truth being my life and shall last for evermore and be as a standard of the most high lifted up to all the scattered weary soules that they may flow unto it and have it to be unto them a place of refuge defence to fly unto in the day of distress and by it come to be made free and in it worship the God of the spirits of all flesh and feel it in the inward parts according as the Lord requireth by which truth man comes to be sanctified for the word that liveth and abideth for ever is truth which comes to be ingrafted into them who believe in the light and in it wait for the promise of the Father even that spirit of truth which the world cannot receive for they know it not it being in Gods wisdome hid from the wisdome of the world who know not him that may be felt after and found who is neer unto every one of you whose measure of light in you is it you are all to know by it to come to know the eternal power and godhead as they did who had not Scriptures Rom. 1.19 For the light of Christ in you is that which is to give the knowledge of God 2 Cor. 4.6 who hath asuredly revealed his son in me and led me in the straight way to life eternal and the injoyment of the truth which is immortal the which being to me a pearl of great price and more precious then a thousand Rivers of Oyle And that none may be hindred from receiving of this which I have most assuredly found to be more excellent then the royalty of Diadems or the excellency of the most purest Gold or the most renownedst glory beauty or riches that the natural eye can behold and that all who breaths after divine refreshings and the rest that never shall be shaken and the attaining to the covenant of life and peace may come to be gathered into the one fold of blessed happiness and rest upon the rock of ages and never more be moved henceforth and for ever And that if possible all murmurings and reasonings concerning me or what I was may be taken out of the minds of all people of all sorts and that all jelousies whisperings and heart burnings in the wrathful nature may be passified and cooled with the overspreading stremes of Gods free love which truely is shed and groweth in my heart and stremeth forth as a well-spring of life toward the seed that is yet oppressed in them among whom sometime I walked in darkness and wallowed in unrighteousness afterwards stood up as a tall Cedar in the height of profession preaching great high things dayly unto others where by the I was admired by many hundreds who thereby came not to receive power to overcome their sins neither yet attain to that which the souls of many of the thirsted after whom since I have often mourned over in pitty and in the bowels of my fathers love to the seed in bondage in them from whom I have been long and far absent in body And that none of them by looking and wondring at me or any thing tat hath befallen me may stumble thereby at the light or truth it self or be thereby kept from receiving the living truth or from giving heed to that which all the wise master-builders refuse nor that they by looking at what I was before I received and lived in the truth and at that which justly came upon me for my former rebellion against the light nor at the judgements of God that come upon me within or without because of my unwillingness to follow him who said I am the light follow me and said He that will not leave father and mother wife and children goods or lands for my sake is not worthy of me and he that will not deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me is not worthy of me and what a cross it was for me to leave what I did let that of God in all that then knew me judge but I say that none of them who were Colonels Captains Justices Professors nor people by looking out at any thing concerning me may not be withheld from receiving the truth and so kept from that which is the way to the father and the door to the rest for evermore Therefore hath it lay long of late years and often upon me and that from the hand of the Lord to lay something before your eyes O ye rulers professors and people of Herefordshire and thereabout endeavouring thereby to remove any cause of stumbling by reason of what I was or of any false reports raised upon me whereby the whole truth of God might be evil spoken of And this have I waited long to declare among you either in words writing or print though thereby shame might come upon my former course of life when I lived in all manner of sinne and iniquity except it were actual adultery fornication and murther and though also hereby contempt may come upon all that great profession I was in when I preached dayly in the Sinagogue or upon all that I then spoke or preacht out of the innocent life of God or if hereby at present sufter I reproch as it is like I may by many yet the reproch of Christ is greater riches to me then the treasuer-glory and preferment of England And first concerning my call out of the world or my going out from my house countrey and outward imployment The light of Christ which condemns the evil deeds comes from him who calleth his out of the world
me from all the worship of the world and gave me to see the abominations of all the prayers of the wicked and the invalidity of all the worships of all mankind who are out of Gods Covenant and the operations then upon me by the terrible hand of the Lord and the strivings that were in me can never be declared and then did the Lord command me to follow him in obedience to his will to declare against all unrighteousness of men Which I saw in the light of life to be in Priests Rulers and people and I then saw clearely in the eternal light and foresight of God the hardships cruelties whippings imprisonments and dungeon and many such things which since in part have been upon this body fulfilled as may be read in severall of my bookes read the true Rule and at that time did the povverfull life of God so much break through me with such unspeakable love that I was even willing to leave all and walk with God But then contrary to Paul I reasoned with flesh and blood that I should be esteemed a madman and that people vvould not beleeve me and that I was not fit many such things then the word of the Lord was spoken in me saying vvho is it that openeth the mouth is it not I the Lord then vvas my bowels even turned within me with the constraining power of Gods eternall love and I began to be vvilling but when that vvas a little over The tempter being neer I reasoned concerning my wife and children how they should be provided for and presently the promise of the Lord was that they should be cared for and his promise vvas to me that he who converteth souls to God should shine as the Starres for ever and when I had received them vvords into me I vvas overcome vvith the refreshings of God and at the present made vvilling to undergo all tribulations if in my whole life I did convert but one soul to God seeing and feeling the redemption of one soul to be so pretious the vvhich then grew so strong in me that I was scarce able to retain from present actuall obedience to God therein but when I looked at my outvvard things and how first to settle that in order then was I by temptations made afraid that it vvas a delusion or something of the Devil tansformed as an Angel of light and then between both I was in much trouble and distresse not knowing vvhat to do having not then known any callâ—d Quakers nor any such operations in any man in those dayes yet that could hardly prevail to make me beleeve it was a temptation but at last reasoning about outvvard things I then resolved not to leave them but to minde the things of the vvorld and not obey that vvhich called me out of the world And to write in short at last I did strive and joyne withall the powers of darknesse that I could and used all means possible to drive the power of God from me and the thoughts of him and his works out of my minde but woo was me after for it and it had been but just if his Spirit had never strived more with me but left me to be cut off for ever and to remain in the horrible pit of darknesse and surely it was for the good of others that the Lord did spare me some whereof may now with me rejoyce for evermore For when all was too little to overcome the mighty power of God in me then did the love of the world prevail and even thirstings for the love of it to come in to my heart to drive out the love of God at last I with it against God prevailed though the living power of God was so great that the Devil the Flesh and the world was scarce able to overcome it for a time and so I have seen Children Wife Farmes and Oxen to hinder from the Kingdom of God but that which hindred most was the love of outward goods so it it was but just with God to take that at the last out of the way and if he had swept all away in his Anger as from Job he had done me no wrong But when I had thus in a cursed manner overcome the striving of the sweet and lovely Spirit of Truth yet was I not quiet but much troubled and in a sad condition which I was not able to hide from the vvorld who said I was going mad seeing me so changed into sadnesse but of all this and much more I durst not then speak a word to any creature And now mark vvhat for my rebellion did justly follow My outward goods which I then loved more then Christ became as a prey and a spoyle to unreasonable men and most unjustly on their parts was I by them deprived of it and the Lord also dryed up all my springs within that such a time after I knew that I was left without hope being in the horrible pit of Darknesse from God that I could neither pray nor beleeve but resolved that I was accursed from God for ever and that vvhich disobeyed was so and being in a sad miserable condition resolved to write a warning to all people that they may take example by me and never resist the Spirit as I had done but before I could write sinking down into the condemnation without murmuring against God knovving him to be just if he cast me into the nethermost hell for ever the Lord had compassion on me and lifted my soul out of the horrible pit and stayed me vvith his hand for a time yet aftervvards his afflictions follovved me in judgements within and much trouble in things vvithout vvhich my heart vvas so upon and yet for a long time I turned not unto the Lord that did smite that his hand might make whole though checks I had by his light in my conscience but strong vvas my vvill about it until the fierce judgement of the Lord did often break forth upon me vvith much astonishment of heart and horrible indignation not to be uttered vvith teares as streames of vvater from mine eyes night and day vvhen it came upon me vvith tremblings breakings vvhich broke the hardnesse of my heart and opened avvay to something in me vvhith then I dearly loved but going out agin from that I reasoned about my outvvards and not vvaiting to receive counsell from the Lord I vvent unto a rich understanding man in outvvard things vvhom I loved vvho may yet remember that I made my complaint unto that I vvas not able any longer to abide in the vvay of the vvorld vvhose counsell I then took and my ovvn vvill together and so sought to keep tvvo Kingdoms sometime longer and therefore much trouble follovved me vvithin and vvasting losse shame and destruction upon things vvithout But however I durst do no lesse then follow the Lord and be obedient unto him whatever losse I suffered or whatever shame or reproach I might undergoe though often times I
and from their imployments to follow him who putteth forth his sheep and thrusteth fourth labourers into the harvest and Abraham of whose seed I now am went out of his countrey and from his fathers house Gen. 12. and him God blessed and increased mightily and the Lord also called and thrust forth me who at last was obedient to the command of the God of Abraham and ever since his presence hath been with me and his mighty hand of power hath preserved me and his blessings have I found and the increasings of God have I received praises to the Lord God of life for evermore who hath called me by his word of power through his grace which did teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to obey his blessed will which was and is my sanctification in Jesus Christ who did also call Matthew from the receit of custome to follow him and Peter and John from their imployment of fishing and made them fishers of men and Paul also being called left his imployment of rent-making after a time and was obedient to the heavenly vision and those then became a wonder and a gazing stock to many yet they continued on travelling through many countries as I since have done preaching the word of God with boldness And one of these men who were called from their outward imployments said every man wherein he is called there abide and whereunto they were called they did abide and so do I and when the Priests and Rulers would have stopt their mouthes by their commands they said whether it be lawful to hearken unto God or man judge ye but these called Ministers of Christ did not say he that is a husbandman there abide for Noah was a husbandman yet a preacher of righteousness and Elisha a plowman and Amos a herdman neither did they say he that is a fisherman let him so abide neither did Christ say he that will be my disciple must follow his outward imployment or trade but he said he that will not hate father and mother brethren and sisters wife and children yea and his own life too cannot be my Disciple Luk. 14.20 and if not a Disciple much less a Minister of his But hereby neither Christ nor them Ministers of his neither I did or do intend to draw or perswade people to idleness or open a door for any such evil neither is there many who are called out of the worlds worships and required to leave their families and called to the ministry but that hereby it may plainly appear that the command and call of Christ to his work and ministery is to be obeyed though it be to the forsaking of house goods or lands for a minister of his said we have forsaken all and have not I done so and unto them who had forsaken all and unto all such was promised a hundred fold Mat. 19.17 18 19. And Heaven and Earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle of his word shall fail and truely I have found his promise true for a hundred times hundred-fold have I already received blessed be the Lord for ever But how contrary it was to my own will to fulfil the will of the Lord in leaving my imployment and outward business in the world let all them judge with the light who knew my conversation therein and saw my eagerness in the things of the world and contrivances therein beyond many men my heart being set in the earthly things being very fierce in labouring therein for the getting and increasing of the fruits of the earth as though I would have laid up treasure for many years which might have been good in its place if my mind had been redeemed out of it and my heart from the covetousness thereof but I say again it was much contrary to my strong will to leave these things and the love of them and much more that might be named and be taken from it with a hundred fifty pound loss and exposed to want hardships revilings imprisonments whippings stonings and all manner of cruel tortour that the sons of men might have power to inflict upon my body and for me that ruled over many and was respected by many to become a servant unto all and counted the off-scouring of all and be abused by any boy or the vilest person I meet and it was much contrary to my will to refuse that glory honour and preferment of the world which was offered me by the rulers thereof when I was beloved of them and hundreds more and when I preached among them in the Pulpits dayly and was then called of men Master like the hirelings of England who being in the curse cannot cease from sin 2. Pet. 2.14 yet I still refused their unrighteous gain and denyed all their gifts and rewards for the Lord in his mercy kept me out of them temptations though sometimes some that were then neer friends unto me would have perswaded me to have taken something of what was offered as to live upon but I durst not if I had wanted food or rayment but answered one Justice who was proposing me a free gift toward maintenance which might have been worth 100. l. a year or more seeing I left my imployment freely to preach dayly but I say I answered I shall rather go in Sheep skins and Goat skins and eat bread drink water and that little honest meek principal in me which then kept me from that and such temptations in due time led me to be ruler over much which before I had not power over therefore I say unto all it is good to be faithful to the little measure of God in the conscience For when I was but young and voyd of the knowledge of God or his way of holiness my mind ran much in the earth with a covetous care how to gain the riches thereof and even then did the hand or the Lord follow me and his witness in me did so judge and condemne me night and day for my evil that at last I was scarce able to do any thing in the earth or go upon it and then waiting to see what the reason was after many houres I saw clearely if I would leave the wickedness of the world and follow the Lord and trust him I might have peace and if not I was like to be cut off and then I left some sinnes and resolved to live more holy and began to pray and read and then I went to follow the Priests not knowing that in me which I was to hear and follow yet it secretly led me out of some evil and so into some peace and then my heart was exalted in the earth though I increased in a profession And when I was in the height of the worlds way and worship and expecting riches to increase even then in an unexpected time did the dread of the Lord fall upon me and his wonderful mighty power wrought exceedingly in me to break me off from all my waies and seperate
was afraid that this power of God in me would soon come to an end or fail from me and that then I might return to my outward Imployment with great shame and losse and that then instead of doing service for God I might bring a reproach upon his Blessed Name and my self thereby be a hissing stock to all men and they say I began to build and not able to finish and this also kept me back very much but such was the everlasting love of the Lord who is known in the wayes of his judgments that his hand was heavy upon me and his judgments increased in me that there was no way for me to escape but I must be obedient and bow under it or be cut off for every by it so that my bowels were often pained in me and it is like for many weeks had little sleep or bodily rest and sometimes knew not my wife and children that I seeled and heard breath in the bed by me but thought they were people that I should not be with and therefore one time after it was day I was rising and putting on my clothes in a sober manner and in meekness said surely I should not be here and my wife then laying hand on me easily perswaded me but I said I know not who I am with neither did I know her voyce at that time and sometime after having endured much I told she and my family with heaviness and tears that I was not able to endure it any longer and that I had abode with them in the way of the world so long as possibly I could and that I must give up my life to serve the Lord desiring them with tears to be content and in what I could I should be as careful for their good as ever I was and this is true and but little of what might be written For another time formerly the light of Christ in me which then I knew not did so condemne me and judge and trouble me in secret that it brought sickness upon me and thereby being weak expecting I should die I was then much troubled it lay much upon my conscience at that time that I had not in the time of my health gone to the steeple-house and in the fear of the Lord warned all people to repent and I was then much grieved because I thought I should die and not first in that thing discharge my conscience And so though I might write much by what is written may appear to the meek and sober minded that the Lord did not onely call but also thrust me forth of the world into his harvest and this was of God and the operation of his powerful word which called me out of the world and hundreds since by the word of his power through me have been gathered out of the way of the world and received the earnest of the rest eternal and many converted unto Cod and wo be unto them vvho openly oppose me in this the Lords work I now am in which he hath thus called me unto and let none think that I did wilfully neglect my outward imployment neither let any one think that I left my family as not regarding them nor that I stay much out of that countrey for any by end for the words are true a Prophet is not without honour save in his own countrey and in his own house and those that did since seek to stop my mouth did not well Concerning my publike preaching and something of what followed That none may stumble thereat and say we called Quakers are such who change from one thing to another and so what we hold nor to be regarded but I say those that have no changes are not come into the fear of God Psal 55.19 and the fear of the Lord is to depart from evil and they that departeth from evil are become a prey but such were clensed and changed from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3.18 and grew in grace and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ and what I did or said then was in a great zeal and real intent to do good neither did I covet mens silver for it neither was it my end to make a gain thereby though much was freely offered me more then I intend to make mention though I received it not so that therein I was not much found in covetousness but when judgment came upon me as before mentioned I gave up that preaching and said at the last meeting I had then which was at Stoke-bliss that my mouth was stopt at that present but if ever the Lord should open my mouth again I should preach indeed and it is so prayses to the Lord for ever who hath indeed opened my mouth and since I was no longer rebellious and the living truth of Jâ—sus Christ do I declare and bear testimony to his name where ever I come as his spirit moveth me And let none hereby think that I now glory in what was then my shame for though I had a great zeal then for God it being not according to knowledge on the Cross of Christ which crucifies to the world and all its vain customes the which cross being then left behind which is the power of God so the love of the world which is enmity to God remained in me and the root of iniquity not then removed out of my heart therefore fruits of disobedience in secret were still brought forth which the world took little notice of but I had one neer me which did let me see all that ever I did and reproved me for vain glory and having the praise of men and the love of the world and so my preaching did not bring souls home to God though I informed their minds of many things vvhich many ignorant people knevv not before and so though much love vvas in many yet this brought not forth fruits of obedience unto God and so all came to little for the people remained in their sins and received not power to come out of it neither came they out of the fashions and customes of the world not to be seperated from the unclean neithâ—r did they come to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ which purifies the heart stands in the pure conscience and respects no mans person for unto that I was not then come my self and so their faith and mind was vain being then in our sins Therefore let none think that I now justifie any deceit hypocrisie or secret evil that then was in me or practised by me for in the presence of the Lord God I do openly declare against it all and that spirit that acted me therein but I own that simple thing which then encouraged me to do good out of an honest intent and that kept me out of covetousness and from receiving of gifts And I openly declare against all cruel unjâ—st and ungodly actions and words and all that filth which I wallowed in before I was a zealous professor as it is known to many
ungodly persons how I was once as wicked as mâ—ny of them whom I warn all to repent otherwise they cannot escape the damnation of Hell And I utterly deny and declare against that blindness and hypocrisie I was in when I followed the Chief Priest from one Idols Temple to another who were chief in the Serpents wisdom deceiving me and many more and taught me that knowledge which came from the Devil who said Ye shall be as gods knowing Gen. 3.5 And in that knowledge in which every man is bruitish Jer. 10.14 from them hirelings I increased which puffeth up and increased my sorrow as before was mentioned for by that Serpents subtilty which I learned from them without me I fought against and resisted that which was holy in me Therefore I declare in the Name of the Lord God that all the hireling Priests do more harm than good and shall never bring people to receive the power of God but lead them into subtilty and further off from the knowledge of that of God in them Romans 1.19 And as true as the Lord God liveth upon their death-beds shall both Priests and people witnesse this to be true And it s also as true that I write this without any prejudice to any of their persons but in love to all peoples souls do I warn all them hireling Priests in Herefordshire and elsewhere to leave deceiving the people for absolutely the people are deceived by them and forced to maintain them too who may be warned of them by what I have learned by experience from them having tryed them and their wayes to the utmost and have much experience of them more then many countrey people whose souls I truely love and therefore this I write And I declare against that which ruled in me in the time of ignorance and perverseness and acted me in cruelty or oppression towards any person or to wrong defraud or insult over any one in tyranny either by word or action or wherein I abused or smote with envy which is of the Devil Either man or Beast and that whereby I was led into any manner of hypocrisie or double-mindedness or any manner of evil whatsoever which was unjust in the sight of God though not seen by man or any secret evil that then lodged in the dark corners of the stony heart then in me whereby any thing did arise in me or proceed from me which was contrary to the humble meek innocent upright life of the Lamb of God who is now come and hath taken away the sin of the world and is pure humble meek and lowly whose life and power of love constraineth me to declare openly against all that which vvas done or said by me in envy either openly or secretly against any creature for there is nothing done in secret that shall not be made manifest And let all who knew me before vvho are saying I was an honest man be warned of the like evill and leave it considering that if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and sinner appear for many did look upon me to be either a godly or an honest man yet am I made willing to let open shame come upon all that vvhich then vvas in me contrary to the Righteousnesse of God for he alone is to be exalted and the transgressor is to be ashamed Psal 25.3 And every mouth shall be stopt and every one stand guilty before God and the shame and nakednesse of all both Priests and Fathers and People shall appear as much as mine vvhen Gods vvitness in them arise though they cover it for a time by deceitfull flateries promising liberty but are as deeply the servants of corruption as I vvas And I do affirm in the presence of the Lord God that there are a generation of professors who follow Sermons and have gathered themselves into outward Forms vvho are grown up into a profession and knowledge in the Letter vvho are further off the Life of God than the Publicans and Harlots and are grown into pride hypocrisie secret deceit arrogancy and covetousness and some of them for a time denied the Priests and then for their own ends got into their places and so are more abominable than they and the tree of Knowledge they feed upon but the good savour of pure obedience unto God in all self-denial they have cast behâ—nde their backs and are become an ill savour among all men and the Lord God vvill visit them for these things and in the Day of his fierce Wrath vvill all such vvant a hiding-place and vvhen the day of howling and astonishment come upon them as it hath passed upon me then shall they know that the sinners in Sion shall be afraid and horrible fearfulness shall surprize the hearts of the hypocrites and then shall they finde that God vvill not be mocked though thâ—y deceive themselves vvith vain hopes vvhich shall perish vvith all such professors if they repent not and strip themselves bare from all their false coverings vvhich in the day of the Lord vvhich â—hey put afar oft vvill certainly be all too narrovv For because of the greatness of my profession vvithout the povver that overcomes all sin therefore vvas the Wrath of God the more upon me and I never came to receive pardon for sin nor povver over it nor to receive thâ— life of thâ— Son of God until his judgements had confounded all that Wisdom vvhich I hâ—d leaâ—ned from and among the Pâ—iests and professors And this is absolutely true and may be a warning unto all thâ—m And all that is herein declared of the Strivings in me and judgements of God which came upon me is very short of what it was Neither indeed can it be ever declared being then confounded both within and without not having any man to be a director unto me nor then to guide me in Go is wisdome neither did any man bring me into that condition nor lead me through it but even the Lord alone in whose judgements I now rejoyce for evermore but this especially would I have all people that then knew me to consider that at that time when I was in distresse I knew not well what I should do or speak among men neither what I should be being become a fool for Christs sake and my wisdome being confounded and my understanding brought to nothing Read 1 Cor. 1.1.9 vers 27. And so that was true which I writ in that book in Answer to Edmond Skip wherein I said that we were but in measure leaving of the world and entering into a little of that which is Eternall at which time before mentioned I was brought to be silent from my publike preaching and waited on the Lord vvith a few foolish contemptible ones in the eyes of the world at which time having lost my earthly wisdome and not received that measure of the pure wisdome of God which since he hath given me whereby to order all my vvords and actions in prudency and moderation