Word ruleth not in him; for whosoever hath known the Word, and abideth therein, hath the Father, because the word of Truth beareth witness of the Father; and whosoever is born of God will keep his commandments.

worn, not through design of injury, or fear hath not charity, he is a liar, and the living of any, but as a modish and manly ornament. I burnt also my instruments of music, and divested myself of the superfluous parts of my apparel, retaining only that which was necessary, or deemed decent. I declined the public worship, not with a design to join myself to any other sect; for I was rather apt to conclude, from what I had observed, that these manifestations were peculiar to me, and that there was not any people I might properly associate with; and also, I was induced to believe, that one day I should be obliged to oppose the world in matters of religion, but when or how that should be brought to pass, I did not foresee.

Remaining in a still and retired state, and the Book of Life being opened in my mind, I read what the Lord himself, by the finger of his power, had written, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah opened there; and the Scriptures of truth, written by Moses and the prophets, the evangelists and apostles of Christ, were brought to my remembrance daily, when I did not read them, and made clear and plain to my understanding and experience, so far as they related to my own state, and also in a general way; though I lusted not to know any mystery or thing contained therein, other than the Lord, in his own free will and wisdom, thought fit to manifest.

Hear, O ye mountains, and give ear, O ye cedars of Lebanon, the Lord, the light of Je rusalem, the life of saints, hath put a song of praise in my mouth, and caused me to rejoice in the valley of Jehoshaphat. I was in the desert, and he led me forth by the power of his right hand; I was fallen, and he stretched out his arm, and set me upright; yea, I was dead, and, behold, he raised me from the grave. I was also an hungered, and he has fed me with the bread of his everlasting covenant. I weakly fainted in the way; but the King of the holy mountain revived me by the word of his promise. He has laid my foundations with beauty, with precious stones of divers colours; and the superstructure is all glory.

Fear not, ye of low degree; for with our God there is no respect of persons: fear not, ye little ones; for he showed you his loving. kindness of old; and with him there is no shadow of turning. Awake, awake, ye who sleep in trespasses and in sins; for the trum pet sounds aloud in the city of our King: be raised, ye dead, and stand upright before As the nature and virtue of divine truth in him; for he is true and faithful who sent forth creased in my mind, it wrought in me daily a his Word. Conquer, O conquer, thou holy greater conformity to itself, by its own power; love of God, those who in ignorance oppose reducing my mind to a solid quietude and thy mercy. Smite thy people with great silence, as a state more fit for attending to the thirst, O Lord God of mercy, that they may divine Word, and distinguishing it from all drink abundantly of the waters of thy salva. other powers, and its divine influences from tion. Make them hungry, O Life of the just, all imaginations and other motions: and being daily fed with the fruit of the Tree of Life, I desired no other knowledge than that which was thus given me.

On the afternoon of the 21st day of the eleventh month, 1689, silence was commanded in me, though not by me, in which it was given me to remain till the evening; and then that Scripture, John xiii. 10, was brought to my remembrance; which I began to write, and proceeded, as things opened in my mind, and in manner following:

that they may eat abundantly, and be refreshed by the bread of life everlasting. Call them from the husks of outward shadows, and feed them with thy hidden manna and Tree of Life. Take from them the wine of the earth, which they have abused to abomination, and give them the fruit of the living Vine at the Father's table. Wash them in the laver of regeneration, by thy holy Spirit; and cleanse them by thy righteous judgments, that they may retain thy love. Consider their weakness, O Father of mercies; for they are flesh and blood, and cannot see through the veil into thy holy habitation. Rend the veil of carnal wisdom in the earthly mind, thou wonThe washing of the feet signifies the cleans-derful Counsellor, and display thy glory in its ing of the ways; and those who are washed full perfection. Dissolve the great world of in the laver of regeneration, will walk in pride, covetousness, drunkenness, lying, curs. clean paths, and bring forth fruit according to ing, oppressions, filthy communications, and the nature of the Tree of Life. Such will whoredoms; and establish righteousness and walk in faith, love, obedience, peace, holiness, peace for evermore. righteousness, judgment, mercy, and truth. And whosoever saith he is of the Father, and

"Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not, save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit."

I was silent before the Lord, as a child not yet weaned; he put words in my mouth, and

those I had been conversant with before I knew the truth, I wrote also some other things, as they were from time to time presented in my mind, without any search or labour.

[The following aspirations show that he experienced the ebbing of the divine life after seasons of enjoyment of which he has spoken.]

I sang forth his praise with an audible voice. I called unto my God out of the great deep; he put on bowels of mercy, and had compassion on me, because his love was infinite, and his power without measure. He called for my life, and I offered it at his footstool; but he gave it me as a prey, with unspeakable addition. He called for my will, and I resigned it at his call; but he returned me his "O Lord, take pity on a perishing soul, own in token of his love. He called for the borne down under a multitude of vile affecworld, and I laid it at his feet, with the tions, trodden under foot by the insolence of crowns thereof; I withheld them not at the the wicked one. I faint under the yoke, O beckoning of his hand. But mark the benefit thou most faithful and true! and have no hope of exchange! For he gave me, instead of but in thee. earth, a kingdom of eternal peace; and in lieu of the crowns of vanity, a crown of glory. They gazed upon me; they said I was mad, distracted, and become a fool; they lamented because my freedom came. They whispered against me in the vanity of their imaginations; but I inclined mine ear unto the whisperings of the Spirit of Truth. I said, what am I, that I should receive such honour? But he removed the mountains out of my way, and by his secret workings pressed me forward.

[At another time he penned the following prayer :]

My heart is weary with sighing under troubles, and my pains increase. When shall my day come, O redemption of the just! and when shall I see the seal of my salvation?

"O work in me the law of everlasting love, and fix my boundaries there for ever and ever. O thou, who saidst unto the worlds, Be ye finished, and it was so; say unto my soul, Be thou perfect, and it shall be done.

"Purify me, O God, by the judgments of thy right hand, and let thy mercies ever be before me: raise me, that I may praise thee in the firmament of thy power: humble me, that I may exalt thy name in the midst of the nations."

"O Almighty, incomprehensible, and infinitely merciful Lord God, forasmuch as none can enter into thy rest, unless he be regene- A deep consideration entered into my mind, rated and renewed, I humbly beg, in the name concerning the states of many persons in the and for the sake of thy Son Christ, that thou national way of worship, as also among the wilt be pleased to wash me in the water of dissenters from it; some of whose preachers life, and purify my polluted soul with the holy I had occasionally heard, particularly Dr. fire of thine infinite love; that I may live in Richard Gilpin of Scaleby-castle, an able thee, and walk in the living way of truth, physician and an ancient celebrated preacher love, peace, joy, righteousness, holiness, tem- among the Presbyterians; and I had observed perance, and patience, so long as thou art many others who seemed to have sincerity pleased to continue me in this garden of la- and good intentions in their respective modes bour. And be my strength, O my righteous-of worship. Hence a question arose, whether ness! that I go not astray from thy paths, it might not be through my own fault, for through the frailty of this earthly tabernacle; want of the true knowledge of God in myself but give me daily the bread of life, which heretofore, that I did not enjoy his presence thou freely holdest forth to the hungry all the among them, as I had done, through his day long. And inasmuch as none can eat of grace, since I had been visited by the Lord, this bread, but those who hunger and thirst and drawn into retirement by the comforts of after righteousness, give me a fervent desire, his secret presence? Upon which I deterO my salvation! and a saving faith, a living mined to go again and see, whether the good faith, to lay hold on thy most certain promise; presence of the Lord would be manifested in that I may be made partaker of the glory me there, as alone in my retirements. The that is laid up for thy servants in thine ever-place I went to was that called St. Cuthbert's, lasting habitations." in the city of Carlisle; there being usually prayers and a sermon there in the afternoon of the first-days; but not with that pomp, noise, and show, as at the cathedral, and

The conversation of mankind being generally upon trifles, not worthy of the thought of rational creatures, tending much more to vice than to virtue; and my mind being a little therefore I rather chose it. Being seated renewed by the influence of the divine truth, I was much in silence and alone: and what thoughts I had being upon other objects than

there, as I had been often, and my mind retired inward, to wait upon the Lord, as he himself had taught me, the Lord would not

own that worship by his sensible presence, At the time king William the Third was though in himself omnipresent, nor me in subduing Ireland, some persons and families, that place; but my mind became filled with retiring from the inconveniencies and harddarkness, and overwhelmed with trouble, to ships of the war, came into England, and so great a degree, that I could hardly stay till among others an Independent teacher, and the time was over. But lest I should do a with him a youth, his son; who being in thing which might be looked upon as in- want, requested charity; and coming to my decent, I continued to the end, and return-father's house in Carlisle, where I then was, ing to my chamber in trouble, and I went not I gave him half a crown; which being more among any of them any more. Though I than he expected, or had received, as he said, thus declined all outward worship, or that from any other person in town, he took occawhich was called so, determining to follow sion thence to enter into discourse concerning the Lord wheresoever it might please him to some points of religion, and civilly asked of lead me; yet I found universal love, good me, what form of worship I attended? I rewill, and compassion in my mind, to all sorts plied, I had formerly frequented the national of people, whether Protestants of different worship, according to my education; but then, denominations, Romans, Jews, Turks, or and for some time before, had declined it, as heathens. But I observed their several reli- also all other outward forms, keeping retired gions, or what they accounted so, every man in my chamber, on the usual days appointed for himself, to be mostly the effect of educa- for that purpose. And when he heard this, tion, tradition, or chance. For he who is he asked if his company the next Lord's day, born and educated among the Protestants of as he called it, might be acceptable, for the any sect respectively, is such: he who is national worship was not agreeable to him; born and educated among the Romans, is a I gave liberty, and he and his son came Roman; and so of all the rest, till by acci- accordingly to my chamber, where I was dent, or interest, they change from form to sitting alone in silence, waiting upon the form; or sometimes, though more rarely, Lord.

through the inward convictions of the Holy After a civil reception, and short pause of Spirit of God, they obtain a right understand-silence, he began to magnify the great proviing and worship him in truth. Therefore I dence of God, in re-establishing and advanc stood still, and waited for the further leadings ing that people, meaning the Independents of the Lord, and the evidence of his presence, what to do, or where to abide; though the Protestants, in general, especially the national church, were still nearer to me than any other

sect.

Thus, the world, in general, appearing to me dead with respect to the true knowledge of God, notwithstanding the truth of some notions they held in relation to matters of fact and literal interpretation, and as walking statues, I did not then see that the Lord God had any collective body of people at that day, who truly worshipped him, according to his own institution; or that any one on earth knew some things, which the true and living God had been pleased, of his own free grace, and which I could neither ask or think of, to communicate unto me; though I found, in due time, I had been in this point mistaken, as the prophet of old, who thought he had been alone, and all Israel departed from the Lord.

and Presbyterians, who had been so much hated, persecuted and suppressed, now to be made the chief instruments of deliverance, restoration, and reformation to the right way of the Lord, and to his own glory.

As he spoke, I observed he himself was not upon the true foundation, nor acquainted with the mind of the Lord on that account; but spoke from his own imagination and partiality to his own sect, as he and they desired it should have been; his mind natural and carnal, and his views outward, toward the power and dominion of this world, as the Jews were at the time of the appearance of Christ among them; and as soon as he came to a period, finding my mind filled with the sweetness and meekness of divine truth, I replied,

"The divine providence is indeed great over the children of men, and apparently over this nation and her dependents at this day; and the necessity of a right and thorough reformation is very great, and in the proper As the life of the Son of God prevailed in time and way of the Almighty, will be brought I became more and more innocent, hum-to pass. But it will be neither by the means ble, loving, and charitable to the poor; to nor instruments now in your view; for all whom I gave money according to my ability, the contenders, one against another, by deand without ostentation, or expectation of re-structive force, are of one spirit divided against ward: one instance of which I think proper itself, under different forms and views, in to relate, it being attended with some particu- which the strongest will advance themselves lar circumstances. and their own way; but cannot by such

me,

means, reform either themselves or others, as they ought to do in the sight of God, who does not approve or countenance violence, bloodshed, and unrighteousness in one sect, and condemn the same things in another; and will therefore bring about that right reformation, by instruments of a different kind, and by another means and way: as it is written, 'Not by might, nor by power; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.""

When we came to the meeting, being a little late, it was full gathered; and I went among the throng of the people on the forms, and sat still among them in that inward condition and mental retirement. And though one of their ministers, a stranger, began to speak to some points held by them, and declaim against some things held by others, and denied by them; particularly predestination as asserted by the Presbyterians; yet I took Upon this the stranger was much broken not much notice of it. I did not doubt but in spirit, and the tears ran down his beard, like all other sects, they might have something and dropped upon his knee, as he sat by me; to say, both for their own and against the opinand after that being filled with love, the same ions of others; yet my concern was much which had reached him from my spirit, he em- rather to know whether they were a people braced me in his arms, rejoicing that he had gathered under a sense of the enjoyment of met with me, but said no more on any reli- the presence of God in their meetings; or, gious subject. Soon after he departed, and I in other words, whether they worshipped saw him no more. the true and living God, in the life and na

I now proceed with the account of my fur-ture of Christ, the Son of God, the true ther progress. In writing the last paragraph and only Saviour: and the Lord answered of a piece, the people called Quakers were my desire according to the integrity of my suddenly, and with some surprise, brought to heart. my mind; and so strongly impressed on my For, not long after I had sat down among remembrance, that thenceforward 1 had a them, that heavenly and watery cloud oversecret inclination to inquire further concern- shadowing my mind, brake into a sweet ing them, their way and principles. abounding shower of celestial rain, and the It was sometime in the fifth month, in the greatest part of the meeting was broken toyear 1691, when an opportunity was present-gether, dissolved and comforted in the divine ed. The occasion of it was some concerns presence of the true, heavenly Lord; which was that I had in the west parts of Cumberland, divers times repeated before the meeting ended. when lodging at an inn kept by one of that In the same way, by the same divine power, profession, on a seventh-day night, and in- I had been often favoured before when alone, quiring of him concerning some points of and when no eye but that of heaven beheld, their religion, I perceived no material differ- or any knew, but the Lord himself; who, in ence between his sentiments and mine, in the infinite mercy, had been pleased to bestow so particulars then asked after; and he also per- great a favour. ceived I was nearer them than he or perhaps And, as many small springs and streams, any other had thought, for I had formerly descending into a proper place, and forming opposed the same man in some things, which a river, become more deep and weighty; even gave him occasion to inform me of their meet-so, thus meeting with a people gathered of the ing, to be held the next day, at a country living God, into a sense of the enjoyment of village called Broughton. his divine and living presence, through Jesus As I had been desirous to be rightly in-Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the formed concerning that people, and to see world, I felt an increase of the joy of the salthem as in truth they were, I was pleased vation of God; and the more, by how much I with the opportunity; and the next morning now perceived I had been under the like misthe Friend and I set forward toward the meet- take as the prophet of God of old; but now ing. He being zealous to have me further was otherwise informed, by a sure evidence informed and convinced of the truth of their way, spake of many things as we rode along, and with a good intent: but my mind being composed, and its attention directed towards God, who knew I wanted only to see the truth, and not to be deceived, I could not take any distinct notice of what the Friend said; which he perceiving, after some time desisted, and said no more. And then we rode some miles together in profound silence; in which my mind enjoyed a gentle rest and consolation, from the divine and holy presence.

and token; by the witness of the divine truth, in which no living soul can err, or be deceived; being self-evident and undeniable in all those who truly know him.

Our joy was mutual and full, though in many tears, as in cases of the deepest and most unfeigned love; for the Friends there being generally sensible I was affected and tendered with them, by the influence of the divine truth they knew and made profession. of, did conclude I had been at that time, and not before, convinced and come to the know.

ledge of the way of truth among them; and their joy was as of heaven, at the return of a circumstances, before I should openly declare penitent; and mine as the joy of salvation from God, in view of the work of the Lord so far carried on in the earth; when I had thought, not long before, there had scarcely been any true and living faith or knowledge of God in the world.