then who are looking for the Resurrection of your Saviour with the eye of the first Adam which is natural and to come without you know you that your eyes will fail you and your expectations be in vain for him whom you look for is a spirit and invisible to all but to the Spiritual man And While you are looking for his coming to be hereafter the spiritual man can tell You he is already come and converseth with him daily and this is the reason that the Saints and Servants of Christ who do his Will can endure stocking stoning mocking cruel whipping and tedious imprisonment Why Because they have seen conversed with Jesus who by his power enables them to suffer what man can do unto them He that hath an ear to hear let him hear But thou maist say unto me Is there no other Resurrection of Christ then what is in man And are we not to look for the coming of Christ and the Resurrection of our Bodies also at the last day For an answer to this Friend consider that the resurrection of Christ without was there where he had been entombed or buried and there was he to rise again that so a testimony thereof might be given to the unbeliever and as encouragement and strengthening to the Faith of those that did believe therein Now Friend so it is Christ is risen in his Saints and hath appeared unto them there even as he rose from the Grave and appeared to his Disciples and others without and though thou wouldst give large money to us to make false Reports of his Resurrection yet we cannot but must tell you all Christ is risen from the grave of our souls where he was once buryed with earthly-mindedness and the cares of this World but the Grave being able to hold him no longer he is come forth and is manifest to thousands in this age who at first when he appeared to them without to wit in carnal Ordinances they knew him not but he being now come in spirit according to his promise we cannot but declare it unto you being the things which our ears have heard our eyes seen and our hands handled of the Word of Life that so ye might have fellowship with us And thou who lookest for the resurrection of thy carnal body I shall not contradict thee in thy faith nor do I deny the resurrection of the body nor shall I say to thee any other thing then what Paul said to to the Corinth THOU FOOL That which thou sowest is not quickned except it dye and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain perchance of wheat or some other corn but God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him First come to the life of Jesus in thy self and when thou canst say Now I live yet nor I but Christ liveth in me thou shalt better understand the Resurrection of the Body For the natural man discerns not the things of God because they are spiritual Then and not till then thou shalt know the first and second Resurrection A Friendly Call to all Notionists Separatists and high Professors of Religion in what form soever or out of form to come down from their Pinacles of imagination lest they fall and rise no more Friends Come all down from your seats you sit in slippery places and are in great danger and peril of your lives who though you have had many Allarums to call you away you are still asleep in spiritual pride or airy notions without life What do you mean Will you suffer the Angel of false light to be your guide whilst the glorious light of Christ and glad tydings of the everlasting Gospel declared almost every where in the Nation to pass by you and take no notice of it I cannot but pitty your souls seeing the great delusion you are in Poor hearts you are got too high to sit in safety for the God of Heaven and Earth will dwell with none who are not poor in spirit and tremble not at his Word I say if you would have the Lord to dwell with you you must all become Tremblers O remember that self-exaltation was the fall of Lucifer that Angel of false Light and so will be the fall of all who are not meek and lowly in heart and abide not there It 's the Devil's Work to elevate the mind of man above his measure and that he may accomplish it he perswades the man he can shew him all things in a Mystery and set him where he may see beyond the reach of others on a sudden deluding him with this old bait That he shall be as God knowing good and evil Thus he deluded Eve and so he will do every simple heart who keeps not in the pure fear of the Lord but goes forth to hear the voice of the stranger For had Eve kept to her measure and been contented therewith the Devil could not have beguiled her but she going forth was by a temptation mislead and so lost her innocent state and her true Guide within her And now the Serpent being the subtillest of all the Beasts of the Field and perceiving that man is eager of knowledge and desirous to comprehend all things in himself in a mysterie it being too low a thing for so noble a creature to go out for knowledge he sets himself in the seat of God and exalteth himself in man lifting him up also above the pure Seed of God which lyes buryed in man and sets at naught poverty of spirit perswading him he is beyond the first Principles of Religion and above the Doctrine of the Cross and that he is now at rest in God when indeed and in truth poverty of spirit the man hath peradventure never yet known nor the true fear of the Lord neither or if he hath he is made to believe that there are higher things to be known then the mystery of the Cross and so suffers the Devil to delude and blind him Poor heart Thy delusion is strong indeed and thy condition most to be lamented Where dost thou find that the fear of the Lord is a low dispensation whenas man is to abide therein all the day long I say though it be day with man yea noon-day where the Flock of Christ are at rest yet the fear of the Lord is never to be left it being part of the Everlasting Gospel which the Angel preached saying FEAR GOD Rev. 14.6.7 What 's the reason Friends that you stand so far off and keep at such a distance from those that dwell in the Valley where the cross is dayly to be born so long as you have a vain thought to be subjected or a high look to be brought down Is it not because you think your selves higher and taller by the head and shoulders then your Brethren and that they are but dwarfs in knowledge in comparison to you Is it not because you look on the Cross to be a low attainment and that you
head with Notions and comprehending of Mysteries which were very pleasant and delightful unto me Thus I wandred up and down from one tree of knowledge to another and in many a by-path I trod seeking for rest but found none and though the Spirit of innocency often cryed in me Return return and come into the narrow-way which leads to life yet I flattered my self that I had been there already and that I was now come to the Borders of Canaan one while conceiving my self there and set down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom but by and by a branch from the old Root would arise in me and break forth into passion rash and hasty words and overturn all my Confidence again and give me to understand I was not in that Kingdom for that there was nothing of Pride or Passion self-conceit or vain laughter or foolish and idle talking and jeasting but giving of thanks and rejoycing in the Lord continually and that they who were in that kingdom were led by the Spirit lived in the Spirit and walked in the Spirit and were at rest in the Lord injoying the fellow ship and society of just mens Spirits Now that I was not here I was clearly convinced often and instead of enjoying this state I had the other set before me as my Condition and the Lord let me see how my poor Soul was be-wildred And then after 14 years wandring up and down I began to see and find my way out and not till then Then I saw my self at a loss and in the dark and was made to confess That if I had perished in the Wilderness yet the Lord was righteous in my destruction because that when he would have led me by the gentle motions of his Spirit and Light in me yet I Refused it and went forth to men chusing the tree of Knowledge and neglecting the tree of Life for my â—ood But blessed be the God of Israel who is not a barren wilderness to those that seek him in truth and singleness of heart He shewed unto me the way that I should walk in to wit The strait and narrow â—ath which leads to Canaan and that by a foolish people in the Worlds esteem was I directed the way to eternal life But after I was perswaded of the way to life and convinced of the truth as it is in Jesus and after the seed of the Kingdom began to stir in my earthly tabernacle and to take root to my heart then the Enemy came in the form of an Angel and set me on a suddain upon the Pinacle of the Temple where I was made to beleeve I saw over all the Children of truth and was ready to sit down there also But after the Lord in his rich Mercy had let me see my danger and how I had been misled by the Angel of false Light He directed me to the low valley there to abide and assured me that if I would be a true Disciple of Christ indeed I must take up the Cross daily and follow him and be obedient to his Light in my Conscience which convinceth of the most secret sin And now that I may bring in my Testimony to the truth which was once delivered to the Saints and which now is again made known to the Children of the most High and That I may set to my Seal to the Doctrine of the Cross I here Declare to all the Sects up on earth and to all people high and low Professor or Prophane That the despised people whom the scorners of this age call QVAKERS are the true Disciples of Christ Jesus viz. Such amongst them as are faithful followers of the Lamb and obedient Children of the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world By them is the Everlasting Gospel preached again to the Sons and Daughters of men and blessed are all those that hear and obey the sound thereof The glad tydings of Salvation I say is preached by them and whosoever he be that shall bring any other Gospel is disowned by all the true Disciples of Jesus and Sons of the Light They are the Sheep of Christ and amongst them is the true Shepherd of Israel known and he goes in and out before them To them and in them hath the Light of the world appeared and the life of men communicated himself and I must say I sate in darkness till I heard them These are they who having past through all forms are come into the power and are knit together into one body whereof Christ Jesus is head These are they who take up their daily Cross and follow him These are they who pass through great tribulation and through many and fiery tryals These are they who are the true Worshippers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth and love not their lives unto death These are they who are Redeemed from the Earth though upon it These are they that are come to Mount Sion and to the City of the living God and to the innumera 〈…〉 of Angels and to the Spirits of just and 〈…〉 and to the General Assembly of the fir 〈…〉 se Names are written in Heaven These are 〈…〉 who are Sons of God and are led by the infallible spirit into all truth These are they who are joint-Heirs with Christ whose fellowship is with the Father and the Son in the Spirit and they shall Reign with him for ever and ever Glory be to his Name for evermore Friend by these I say was I directed to obey the light in my Conscience which convinceth of sin when nothing else can and to which they direct all men who are in the dark to follow In so doing was I brought out of darkness into his marvelous Light Glory be to the Light and to the Laâ—â— for evermore Thus I have given thee a short account of my journey so far and now can boldly say with David My hearts is fixed my heart is fixed and I have nought to do now but to give thanks and to follow the Lamb of God whithersoever he goes And now Friend let me ask thee Is the Lord the desire of thy soul And dost thou pant and breath after him as the Hart doth after the Water-brooks Is truth in the inward parts the thing thou would have And art thou indeed and in truth a true seeker of the Kingdom and restless till thou findst it Then let me advise thee Seeke the Lord where he may be found to wit in thy own heart for that it his Temple and there will he dwell if thou be upright I say the tabernacle of the Lord is with men and there only will he be found Scourge then out those Buyers and Sellers that dwell there suffer not the House of God to be a den for Thieves and Robbers to reside in for whilest thou givest entertainment unto them the Lord will not make his abode with thee Put therefore the evil thing out of thy Camp that so thou mayest receive
and that as long as they live they cannot be free from corruption and these sit down without hope and shall never enter But yet notwithstanding there is encouragement enough for the faithful Traveller when he remembers that there were two to wit Caleb and Joshua who were true Spyes and that notwithstanding the multitude of false Spyes that went forth to view the Land these as faithful Witnesses For God brought in their Testimony and said Let us go up at once and possesse it for we are well able to overcome it And these for their faithfulness to the Lord notwithstanding the false Spyes ill report of the good Land were brought to possess the Land which flowed with Milk and Honey but the rest perished in the Wilderness for their unbelief and their children were wanderers there fourty years Now Friend It is observable and very remaakrble That Caleb and Joshuah who did enter had another spirit then the false Spyes had and followed the Lord fully to wit the Spirit of Faith which overcomes the World and all the Enemies therein to the soul of men so that the Believer and his Seed shall possess the holy Land when all the unbelievers shall perish in the Wildcrness Numb. 14. And as for the glory of this holy Land or New Jernsalem of which Canaan was a Type and the Riches thereof none wil doubt but all Will confess the Land is good though some say too good to be obtained here or possessed in this life I say as to this I cannot but bring in my testimony and declare They are all false Spyes and false prophets that say the Enemies of mans soul are not to be overcome in this life and that the holy life is not attainable for he that gives Victory over one sin which I witness will give victory over all sins if I and thou be faithful Warriers in the Army of the Lamb I say our Captain is able to make war wth the Enemy and not onely give us victory but also an entrance into the Holy of holies within the vail here where no false prophet can enter but him who is the Priest for ever after the order of Melehizedeck Therefore friends go chearfully on your way in believing the Enemy is as well before as behind look not back neither turn to the right hand nor to the left but press forward and in due time you shall reap if you faint not 'T is the Faith of the Saints which overcomes the World and all difficulties which the honest Traveller shall find in his Journey towards the holy Land And that none may be discouraged that he meets with troubles and tryals let him remember The greater his tryals are the stronger had his Faith need be and the bitterer his Travels are the sweeter will his Rest be If some of the Servants of the Lord have through experience said That the sufferings of this present life are not worthy the glory that shall be revealed what will they be able to say when in is revealed It is better to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Therefore let us proceed on our journey with unwearied minds and in the strength and power of the Lord make war against all the Enemies of our Souls following our Leader and in the end we shall be more then Conquerors And because there are many pretenders to holiness who with fair speeches do deceive the hearts of people and by enticing words of mans Wisdom seduce many a well-meaning and honest-hearted Traveller who is ever and anon ready to question whether his way be right I do advise thee as thou lovest life and tenderest the true rest of thy weary soul keep close to thy Leader whose voice is low speaking in thee saying Go not forth wander not for this I declare That whilst thou art unturned to thy Guide within thee or art listening to the loud Voice and found of big Words without as I have been thou canst finde no rest though thou travel hard to obtain it A Word concerning the Resurrection THE Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared unto many among whom I am come to give you notice though a most unworthy Messenger That he is now come to exalt his Son in his saints and set him upon his holy hill glory for evermore But many there are who with Martha do look for the Resurrection at the last day without and so put the day of his Resurrection in them far from them as believing no such thing and saying How can this be when in the mean time Christ lyes slain in some of them and others are so far from the holy Life of Christ that they are dead in trespasses and sins and some twice pluckt up by the roots neither knowing their Saviour within them nor Without them Art thou one that knowest nothing of the resurrection of Christ in thee then know that thou art not to look out to a day without thee for the resurrection of Christ but in Spiritual Sodomand Aegypt where he lyes still crucified art thou to expect his resurrection to wit in thy own wicked heart Christ before his resurrection from the Grave told Martha and said I am the the Resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and that he that liveth and believeth in him should not dye Dost thou believe this Arise then thou that art asleep in thy grave of sin fleshly ease or carnal delights and hearken to the voice of the Son of God in thee live for he who called Lazarus out of his grave of earth being naturally dead to life again will raise thee also and call thee out of thy spiritual grave of sin and denth if thou hearken to his Voice and obey his Call in thoe Christ Jesus after his resurrection appeared unto many of his Disciples with out them and they knew him not he being spiritual and after he had by many signal Testimonies made himself known unto them to be Jesus a Cloud received him out of the sight of those that stood looking after him Whereupon it was told them by two men who were in white that said To men of Galilee why stand ye here gazing The same Iesus which hath been taken up from you into heaven shall in like manner come again to wit in a Cloud for so he went up Now this Friend is a Mystery to the wise and learned men of this World oh that they knew it That the light of the World and life of men should come in a cloud but so it is and they are utterly ignorant of this mysterie though to the children of Light it is made manifest and revealed by the Spirit They can tell you that as Christ's first appearance to the World was in the flesh and the fleshly eye saw him so his second appearance is in Spirit and no fleshly eye can behold him he being now a spirit You
a blessing enjoy the good and live for evermore Thine for the Truths sake THO. FORSTER THE CONTENTS 1. THat God is now known by his Name Light as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that God's First dayes work in the dark Soul of Man is the creating of Light 2. That man true Guide is within him Or the Light of Christ in Man is the true guide of the Soul 3. A word of Reproof to all that say The Light of Christ in man is natural carnal or an insufficient Guide 4. A word to all that say Revelation is ceased and that the Saints must not expect such glorious manifestations now as were in the primitive times With a few Queries for the enlightning the blind Eyes of such as say That No man hath the infallible Spirit now 5. Counsel to him that feels the wright of sin and groans for deliverance but yet complains for mans of power 6. A word of Hope for the Persecuting Magistrate if his day of Grace be not already past also some it is 7. A view of false Doctrine and a Reproof to false Teachers who beast that they have the Original and yet are ignorant of the Word of Life and quickning Spirit within 8. Direction for all those that wait for the coming of their Saviour and how they may know him when he appears 9. Encouragement to the weary Traveller whose journey is towards Canaan To follow the Light and Lamb of God to the Holy Land of Rest But not to go before it 10. A Word touching the Resurrection and who they are that are risen with Christ and shall reign with him And by whom 〈◊〉 is seen in his spiritual appearance and where A GUIDE TO THE BLIND Pointed to That God is now known by his Name LIGHT as heretofore by his Names Jehovah Elohim I am c. And that Gods first dayes work in the dark Soul or little world of Man is creating of Light THE Message which the beloved Disciple of Christ hath declared to the Saints is this That God is â—â—ght and that in him is no darknesse 1 Joh. 1.5 This also is my Message unto thee God is Light and whatsoever is to be known of him is manifest in man Rom. 1.19 To thee then who art still in the dark and knowest not this truth or if thou knowest it obeyest it not to wit the Light within Thou I say art not yet come to the first dayes work of God in the dark Chaos of thy own heart for the same way doth the Lord proceed with his creature Man in the creation of him to good works as he did with the whole Universe to wit First bring him out of darkness into his marvelous light God when he made the World created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without form and darkness was upon the face of the deep And in this state is man in his first Creation through the fall without form and darkness is upon him But when the Spirit of God moved upon the Waters and said Let there be Light there was light and the Light he called Day and the Darkness he called Night and the Evening and the Morning were the first Day Now consider Friends all you who disown the Light calling it natural carnal darkness and insufficient to guide you What do you judge of your present state and condition Are you not like the Chaos And is not your little World without form and void And is not darkness upon the face of your deep imaginations until the spirit of God move upon your Waters of instability and his Light spring forth in your understandings from his holy Spirit Oh that you who reject the Light would consider this that you are so far from rest that you are not yet come to the first dayes work of God in your own hearts How can you say as the Disciples and followers of Christ do That it is God that worketh all his works in you and for you How can you number your selves amongst the children of Light when you refuse the Light to work in you and rebel against it Have you not read in the holy Scriptures That Christ did not work many miracles in his own Countrey because of the peoples unbelief there I do not say he could not work them but this I affirm The Lord compels none to serve him in the dark but when he hath enlightened man with his own Light with which he enlighteneth every man that cometh into the World man is at his choice whether he will follow and obey the light yea or no I say the Lord doth not force the Will of man to obedience but woes him and beseecheth him to be reconciled knowing the great misery which will justly and inevitably follow the rebellious and disobedient soul Oh! that I could perswade all men to obedience that so they may eat of the Tree of Life which by transgression man is falne from and which he cannot touch lest he dye And now let none say that he is not enlightened or that he wants power upon the penalty of condemnation for ever for the Lord requires nothing of man but what he hath given him full power to do all power in heaven and in earth being in the Son and this Son of power is freely offered to every man that will receive him For God so loved the world that he gave his own Son to dye for lost man that he might live I say he is freely given a light to the Gentiles and a Guide to them as well as a Glory to his people Israel and none are excluded who are willing to come unto him And thou that deniest the Light Whose workmanship art thou And whose Works are wrought in thee Are they not Works of darkness and thou the son of perdition Oh! suffer not the Devil any longer to delude thee by his evil Instruments and to work his works in thee but endeavour thou to be made light in the Lord for thou wert not made to serve the Devil but to be a Temple for Gods holy Spirit to dwell in Mans true Guide is within him Or The Light of Christ in Man is the true Guide of the Soul PAUL that eminent Apostle of Christ and Son of the Light hath declared That whatsoever is to be known of God is manifest in man as is said already Rom. 1.19 Let none then say Lo here or lo there but if they should hear what our Saviour Christ faith Go not after them nor follow them for the kingdom of God is within you Luke 17.21 Now if the Kingdom be within then of necessity must mans guide be there also That Christ is the Light and Guide of man see Joh. 1.9 Joh. 14.6 and that he is in his Saints read Col. 1.27 And in Rom. 8.10 the Apostle saith If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin and again If the spirit of him that raised up Iesus from
come to the truth nor be led by the Spirit of Truth for the Children of God are all guided by the infallible spirit so long as they be faithful followers of it and they live in the spirit and walk in the spirit and talk in the spirit and act in the spirit all which is a Riddle to thee and impossible for any to open unless he have the gift of Faith to believe in the mighty Power of God which is the Son of God Friend whosoever thou art that art of this perswasion I must declare unto thee from the Lord Thy Faith is but Faney thou art still in Aegypt and like to perish in the Wilderness O be perswaded to search the Scriptures and to believe in Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of the Faith of his Disciples of Whom thou art none as thou now stands forbear thou to make mention of the holy and infallible Spirit of Truth which in their several measures all possess who are taught of God until thou are freed from the spirit of Error and come out from the fleshly apprehensions of the Divine Truth to see the infallible things of God by the eye of living Faith and if you come to know the Lord his truth your rotten foundations must be removed and your Faith built upon the Rock of Ages Dost thon think that because thy heart is filled with unbelief of the mighty Power of God and because thou knowest not the secrets of the Lord revealed unto thee in regard thou art not come into his fear that therefore the Lord doth not reveal his secret to any No no thou are miserably deluded and bereft of the right use of thy understanding by Satan and his Minister for know thou the Lord is as merciful now as ever as good now as ever and as free to reveal himself and his secrets unto those that fear him now as ever he was Canst thou be ignorant of this That the Lord reveals his secrets to them that fear him Or that the secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him Psal. 25.14 Or Prov. 3.32 That his secret is with the Righteous And Amos 3.7 That the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants Friend There is no way to come to the knowledge of God but by the Revelation of the Son of God in us witnessing with our spirits whose children we are And all that I shall say further to thee herein is this My soul shall weep in secret for thee and and thy Teachers who have caused thee to err they themselves not knowing the truth by saying Revelation is ceased when there is no other way to know God by A Word of Counsel to him that feels himself loaden with his sins and groans for deliverance but complains that he wants power ART thou laden with the burthen of thy sins And dost thou mourn in secret praying to God for case and pardon Or Art thou black with lying in the mire and filthy pollutions of this World so that thou art ready to say From the crown of my head to the sole of my foot I am full of wounds and putrified sores and would fain be made clean Art thon possest with the spirit of error and ignorant of the truth of God And wouldst thou be acquainted with the Spirit of God to guide thee into all truth and lead thee into the path of holiness Wouldst thou be freed from the spirit of pride self-love passion and emulation towards thy Neighbour Art thou covetous of gain and earthly-minded and dost not do to another as thou wouldst be done unto wanting the Royal Law of Love to be thy Rule Art thou possest not onely with one evil spirit but Legions and seest no power to resist the least assault of the Enemy Then be thou counselled by one who hath felt the weight and burchen of most of these evils and seen deliverance in a measure to own the light in thy conscience and that will open unto thee a door of hope and shew thee a Fountain where Judah and Jerusalem Jew and Gentile Christian and Heatheu Profane and Professor high and low rich and poor may wash in and be made clean yea and from all their filthiness may they be cleansed And if thou do so viz. own the Light in thy conscience and obey it it will lead thee to holiness And thou that complainest for want of power against sin I tell thee and do affirm unto thee whoever thou art Thou hast power unless with the unjust Steward thou hast buryed it in thy corrupt heart and made no improvement of it and the Lord for thy unsaithfulness hath taken it from thee and given it to him who hath been a better husband of his gift then thou hast been For this I say That the Lord hath given a Talent or measure of himself to every one to profit withal which is his light in every conscience the which whosoever doth not improve shall have it taken from him and he be cast into utter darkness for there is a day vvhen the Candle of the Wicked shall be put out and he shall have no light to vvalk by though he seek it and that vvith tears Remember Iudas and be vvarned by him to be faithful to thy Master and to obey him even whilst the Light shines upon thee and would guide thee least thy repentance be too late as his was and thou be with him called a Son of Perdition but if thou obey the Light in thy conscience which convinceth thee of sin I declare unto thee as a Word from experience of the mighty Power of God and of its powerful working there That it will not only give thee power against gross corruptions but against vain thoughts and idle words and though thy sins be red like crimson they shall be as Wool and as red as scarlet they shall be as white as snow Be willing therefore and obedient and thou shalt eat the good of the Land but if thou refuse and rebel thou shalt be devoured with the Sword The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Some Hope left for the persecuting Magistrate of England if his Day of Grace be not past already PEradventure thou mayest say unto me I have been a Civil Magistrate and a great Persecutor of the Saints 〈◊〉 the Most High God who have few or none on earth to plead their cause how shall I find mercy from the Lord for I am the greatest of sinners That when the Servants and Messengers of the Lord have come into our Cities Towns Villages or Market-places to preach repentance and declare against sin and to bring the glad tydings of the Gospel into our quarters where it was never preached before I have not been so sober unto them as the Gadarenes were to Christ who when he came to cast out unclean spirits and to do them good they entreated him to depart out of their coasts but I instead of entreating have compelled
are wearing the crown Friends let me be plain with you How came you into the fear of the Lord Did that which brought you in lead you out again Surely no the Work of the Lord is perfect and stands for ever and the true Members of Christ Jesus call not this high or that low but they know that if any man will be great amongst them he is to be servant to all I say the Members jar not nor clash not one against another but there is a most sweet harmony in the body without any discord at all the highest doth not say to the lowest I have no need of thee nor the lowest doth not say so to the highest But friends is it not because you have felt the Cross too heavy for you to hear having once taken it up and laid it down again Or is it because you would shun judgement which you must come to again and love it too before you can meet with the Lord in peace Peradventure thou thinkest thy self some wise man in knowledge and so hast been accounted in thy generation and for thee to become a fool or to come back again after so great a profession of Christ as thou hast made would be to thy dishonor and shame would cover thy face If thus thou reasonest know this Thou art thy own Enemy and thou lovest the praise of men more then the glory of God or the salvation of thy own soul And since you cannot deny but the poor receive the Gospel the rich are sent empty away with all their words of mans Wisdom How comes it to pass that the plain and naked Truth of God preached in power and practised in simplicity is of no more account amongst you Friends be not deceived in your selves for you cannot deceive us The Light of Christ Jesus in us hath discovered you all to be out of the way who own it not Are you sent of God who cry Lo here or low there as some of you do and creep into Chambers and private places there speak with your doors shut Is this in times of freedom like the practice of the true Ministers of the Gospel who preach the glad tydings thereof to all inviting all and beseeching all to receive it that so all might come in or be left without excuse Can any of you say you preach the everlasting Gospel by the Revelation of Christ Jesus in you Or do you not confess your selves to be fallible and such as preach from a large comprehension of what you have heard or read peradventure from H. N. or Jacob Behem c Is what you preach of God And are all your springs in him If yours be the everlasting truth of God come forth and declare your Message to all for truth seeks no corners The Kingdom of Heaven is like a draw-net which being cast into the sea receives all that comes in but treasures up none but the good fish if then you would be Fishers of men come to the sea-shore stand in an open place and cast in your Nets into the seas of Confusion of this World prick people to the heart by your powerful Ministration and convince thousands of their Errors Heresies and false Opinions which they received and suckt in by the false prophets and Ministers of Antichrist as the true Ministers of Christ in the primitive times did and still do But if you doubt whether yours be the true Gospel or another My counsel to you is CEASE to declare it in the Name of the Lord for nothing shall profit the hearers but what is declared in the eternal Spirit of God without doubting Wait in silence then until you have received power from on high which when it is received and declared shall put to silence the gain-sayers and stop the mouth of the evil doers Friends for the Seed's sake in you I desire to speak therefore suffer me though a fool to be free with you Have you known the fools state which all that will be truly wise must come to if not hasten thither apace for mans Wisdom is foolishness with God and and keeps him truly in that which is but folly Oh! What will all thy carnal Wisdom though in a mystery and high notions avail thee so long as thou art got above that which leads to true Wisdom and makes wise unto salvation those that are fools for Christ Are you those that have got in thorough the strait Gate and do you walk in the narrow path which leads to life and which few find Or are you not indeed those who have striven for a time to enter but could not Take heed you be not left out Have you bid Farewel to the friendship of this World to the manners fashions vain customs and delights thereof Or are you not still alive in them all Have you born the cross till every idle world and vain imagination be slain and crucified Or are you not those who have felt it too heavy to bear and so laid it down again Are you as Beacons upon a Hill And do you give light to all that see your conversation Or have you not put your light in a dark Lanthore not suffering it to shine forth lest you your selves should be discovered Are you not those who preach and hear from a large comprehension but your selves far from the life of what you hear or speak Have you the power as well as the words of truth Or are you uot those who have lost the power you once had as the Devil hath done and retained the notion onely which he is the supporter of Are you indeed and in truth arrived at the dispensation of Love as you pretend or third degree of the holy life as you call it which loves its Neighbours good as its own and stoops to the meanest Babe in Christ as well as walks with the grown man Friends the Well of Life lyes low and you must dig deep to find it high words without the power are as the blustering winds which do more harm then good but its the still low voice where God is heard and the sheep of Christ follow it 'T is true the Doctrine of the Crosse was once in my esteem but a low and mean dispensation and the disciples thereof as I thought in a pitifull and sad condition but this was in the time of my exaltation with you when I had got above the pure and meek seed of Jesus which was kept under in me but blessed be the Lord who hath brought down the Mighty from his Seat and set me on the Rock of ages On which if ever you know stability you must be brought which Rock Christ which followed the Israelites the wilderness and refreshed them wh 〈…〉 Rock is the food of Angels as well as every hungry soul If any of you h 〈…〉 this bread you know that in the m 〈…〉 of famine you shall have enough a 〈…〉 that your water is sure coming out the rock if so I