CHAPTER XI (2)

I was also moved to give forth the following epistle to Friends, to stir them up to be bold and valiant for the truth, and to encourage them in their sufferings for it:—

“All Friends and brethren everywhere, now is the day of your trial, now is the time for you to be valiant, and to see that the testimony of the Lord doth not fall. Now is the day for the exercise of your gifts, of your patience, and of your faith. Now is the time to be armed with patience, with the light, with righteousness, and with the helmet of salvation. Now is the trial of the slothful servant, who hides his talent, and will judge Christ hard. Now, happy are they that can say, ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, and he gives the increase;’ and therefore, who takes it from you? Is it not the Lord still that suffers it? For the Lord can try you as he did Job, whom he made rich, whom he made poor, and whom he made rich again; who still kept his integrity in all conditions. Learn Paul’s lesson, ‘in all states to be content;’ and have his faith, that ‘nothing is able to separate us from the love of God, which we have in Christ Jesus.’ Therefore be rich in life, and in grace, which will endure, ye who are heirs of life, and born of the womb of eternity, that noble birth, that cannot stoop to that which is born in sin, and conceived in iniquity; who are better bred and born; whose religion is from God, above all the religions that are from below; and who walk by faith, by that which God hath given you, and not by that which men make, who walk by sight, from the Mass-Book to the Directory. Such are subject to stumble and fall, who walk by sight and not by faith.

“Therefore mind him that destroys the original of sin, the devil and his works, and cuts off the entail of Satan, viz., sin; who would have by entail an inheritance of sin in men and women from generation to generation, and pleads for it by all his lawyers and counsellors. For though the law, which made nothing perfect, did not cut it off; yet Christ being come destroys the devil and his works, and cuts off the entail of sin. This angers all the devil’s lawyers and counsellors, that Satan shall not hold sin by entail in thy garden, in thy field, in thy temple, thy tabernacle. So keep your tabernacles, that there ye may see the glory of the Lord appear at the doors thereof. And be faithful; for ye see, what the worthies and valiants of the Lord attained unto by faith. Enoch by faith was translated. Noah by faith was preserved over the waters in his ark. Abraham by faith forsook his father’s house and religion, and all the religions of the world. Isaac and Jacob by faith followed his steps. See also how Samuel, with other of the Lord’s prophets, and David, by faith were preserved to God, over God’s enemies! Daniel and the three children by faith escaped the lions and the fire, and preserved their worship clean, and by it were kept over the worships of the world. The apostles by faith travelled up and down the world, were preserved from all the religions of the world, and held forth the pure religion to the dark world, which they had received from God; and likewise their fellowship was received from above, which is in the gospel that is everlasting. In this, neither powers, principalities, nor thrones, dominions nor angels, things present, nor things to come, nor heights, nor depths, nor death, mockings, nor spoiling of goods, nor prisons, nor fetters, were able to separate them from the love of God, which they had in Christ Jesus.

“And Friends, ‘quench not the Spirit, nor despise prophesying,’ where it moves; neither hinder the babes and sucklings from crying Hosanna; for out of their mouths will God ordain strength. There were some in Christ’s day that were against such, whom he reproved; and there were some in Moses’s day, who would have stopped the prophets in the camp, whom Moses reproved, and said, by way of encouragement to them, ‘Would God, that all the Lord’s people were prophets!’ So I say now to you. Therefore ye, that stop it in yourselves, do not quench it in others, neither in babe nor suckling; for the Lord hears the cries of the needy, and the sighs and groans of the poor. Judge not that, nor the sighs and groans of the Spirit, which cannot be uttered, lest ye judge prayer; for prayer as well lies in sighs and groans to the Lord as otherwise. Let not the sons and daughters, nor the hand-maidens be stopped in their prophesyings, nor the young men in their visions, nor the old men in their dreams; but let the Lord be glorified in and through all, who is over all, God blessed for ever! So every one may improve his talents, every one exercise his gifts, and every one speak as the Spirit gives him utterance. Thus every one may minister as he hath received the grace, as a good steward to him that hath given it him; so that all plants may bud and bring forth fruit to the glory of God; ‘for the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit withal.’

“See, that every one hath profited in heavenly things: male and female, look into your own vineyards, and see what fruit ye bear to God; look into your own houses, see how they are decked and trimmed, and see what odours, myrrh, and frankincense ye have therein, and what a smell and savour ye have to ascend to God, that he may be glorified. Bring all your deeds to the light, which ye are taught to believe in by Christ, your Head, the heavenly Man; and see how they are wrought in God. Every male and female, let Christ dwell in your hearts by faith, and let your mouths be opened to the glory of God the Father, that he may rule and reign in you. We must not have Christ Jesus, the Lord of life, put any more in a stable, amongst the horses and asses; but he must now have the best chamber, the heart, and the rude, debauched spirit must be turned out. Therefore let Him reign, whose right it is, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, by which ye call him Lord, in which ye pray, and have comfort and fellowship with the Father and with the Son. Therefore know the triumph in it, and in God and his power (which the devil is out of), and in the seed, which is first and last, the beginning and ending, the top and cornerstone; in which is my love to you, and in which I rest—

“Postscript—And, Friends, be careful how ye set your feet among the tender plants, that are springing up out of God’s earth; lest ye tread upon them, hurt, bruise, or crush them in God’s vineyard.”

After I had tarried two First-days at Swarthmore, and had visited Friends in their meetings thereabouts, I passed into Westmorland, in the same work, till I came to John Audland’s, where there was a general meeting. The night before I had a vision of a desperate creature, that was coming to destroy me, but I got victory over it. And next day in meeting-time came one Otway, with some rude fellows. He rode round about the meeting with his sword or rapier, and would fain have got in through the Friends to me; but the meeting being great, the Friends stood close, so that he could not easily come at me. When he had rode about several times raging, and found he could not get in, being limited by the Lord’s power, he went away. It was a glorious meeting, ended peaceably, and the Lord’s everlasting power came over all. This wild man went home, became distracted, and not long after died. I sent a paper to John Blaykling to read to him, while he lay ill, showing him his wickedness; and he acknowledged something of it.

From hence, I went through Kendal, where a warrant had long lain to apprehend me; and the constables seeing me, ran to fetch their warrant, as I was riding through the town; but before they could come with it, I was gone past, and so escaped their hands.

I travelled northwards, visiting Friends’ meetings, till I came to Strickland-Head, where I had a great meeting. Most of the gentry of that country being gathered to a horse-race, not far from the meeting, I was moved to go and declare the truth unto them; and a chief-constable, that was there, also admonished them. Our meeting was quiet, and the Lord was with us; and by his word and power, Friends were settled in the eternal truth.

From hence we passed into Cumberland, where we had many precious living meetings. After we had travelled to Gilsland, and had a meeting there, we came to Carlisle, where they used to put Friends out of the town; but there came a great flood while we were there, that they could not put us out; so we had a meeting there on First-day. After which we passed to Abbey-Holm, and had a little meeting there. This is a place, where I told Friends long before, a great people would come forth to the Lord; which hath since come to pass, and a large meeting is gathered to the Lord in those parts.

I passed hence to a general meeting at Langlands in Cumberland, which was very large; for most of the people had so forsaken the priests, that the steeple-houses in some places stood empty. And John Wilkinson,[54] a preacher, I have often named before, who had three steeple-houses, had so few hearers left, that, giving over preaching in them, he first set up a meeting in his house, and preached there to them that were left. Afterwards he set up a silent meeting (like Friends,) to which came a few; for most of his hearers were come to Friends. Thus he held on till he had not past half a dozen left; the rest still forsaking him, and coming to Friends. At last, when he had so very few left, he would come to Pardshaw Crag (where Friends had a meeting of several hundreds of people, who were all come to sit under the Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching,) and he would walk about the meeting on First-days, like a man that went about the commons to look for sheep. During this time I came to Pardshaw Crag meeting, and he with three or four of his followers, that were yet left to him, came to the meeting that day, and were all thoroughly convinced. After the meeting, Wilkinson asked me two or three questions, which I answered him to his satisfaction; and from that time he came amongst Friends, became an able minister, preached the gospel freely, and turned many to Christ’s free teaching. And after he had continued many years in the free ministry of Jesus, he died in 1675.

I had for some time felt drawings on my spirit to go into Scotland; and had sent to Colonel William Osburn of Scotland, desiring him to come and meet me; and he, with some others, came out of Scotland to this meeting. After the meeting was over (which, he said, was the most glorious one he ever saw in his life,) I passed with him and his company into Scotland; having Robert Widders with me, a thundering man against hypocrisy, deceit, and the rottenness of the priests.

The first night we came into Scotland we lodged at an inn. The innkeeper told us, an Earl lived about a quarter of a mile off, who had a desire to see me; and had left word at his house, that if ever I came into Scotland, he should send him word. He told us there were three drawbridges to his house, and that it would be nine o’clock before the third bridge was drawn. Finding we had time in the evening, we walked to his house. He received us very lovingly; and said, he would have gone with us on our journey, but he was previously engaged to go to a funeral. After we had spent some time with him, we parted very friendly, and returned to our inn. Next morning we travelled on, and passing through Dumfries came to Douglas, where we met with some Friends; and thence passed to the Heads, where we had a blessed meeting in the name of Jesus, and felt him in the midst.

Leaving Heads, we went to Badcow, and had a meeting there; to which abundance of people came, and many were convinced; amongst whom was one, called a lady. From thence we passed towards the Highlands to William Osburn’s house, where we gathered up the sufferings of Friends, and the principles of the Scotch priests, which may be seen in a book called The Scotch Priests’ Principles.