1685-1686.—George Fox tarries in London, labouring in the service of
Truth—removes to Epping on account of his health—writes an
epistle to Friends—returns to London—writes a paper concerning
order in the Church of God—and a warning to backsliders—assists
in distributing money raised for sufferers by Friends in
Ireland—writes an epistle to the king of Poland, on behalf of
Friends of Dantzic, who suffer imprisonment for conscience’
sake—a paper concerning judging—looks diligently after Friends’
sufferings in London, and obtains a general release of
prisoners—writes an epistle to Friends, many having been
recently liberated from prison—another on a similar occasion—an
epistle to Friends to keep in the unity in the Truth—another to
remind them of the evidence and seal they had received of their
meetings for discipline having been set up in the power and
spirit of God—a paper concerning the state of the true Church—a
paper respecting the “falling away” foretold by the apostle
Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 3—a paper showing how the Lord, in all ages,
called the righteous out from amongst the wicked, before he
destroyed the latter.
After I had been some weeks at South Street and Enfield, in which
time I had several meetings with Friends, I returned to LONDON.
Amongst other services I found there, one was to assist Friends in
drawing up a testimony to clear our Friends from being concerned in
the late rebellion in the West, and from all plots against the
government: which was delivered to the chief justice, who was then
going down into the West with commission to try prisoners.
I tarried some time in London, visiting meetings, and labouring
among Friends in the service of truth. But finding my health much
impaired for the want of fresh air, I went to Charles Bathurst’s
country-house at EPPING-FOREST, where I stayed a few days. While I
was there it came upon me to write the following epistle to
Friends:—
“DEAR FRIENDS,
“Who are called, chosen, and faithful in this day of trial,
temptations, and sufferings, whom the Lord by his right hand hath
upholden in all your sufferings (and some to death) for the Lord
and his truth’s sake. Christ saith, ‘Be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world; in me ye have peace; but in the world ye have
trouble.’ The children of the Seed, who are heirs of the kingdom,
know this is true. And though ye have trials by false brethren,
Judases and sons of perdition, that are got into the temple of
God, and exalted above all that is called God, whom the Lord will
destroy with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his
coming: and though ye be tried by powers or principalities, yet
there is nothing able to separate you from the love of God, which
ye have in Christ Jesus. In that love dwell, which bears all
things and fulfils the law; in which edify one another, and be
courteous, kind, and humble; for to such God giveth his grace
plentifully, and such he teacheth. And pray in the Holy Ghost,
which proceeds from the Father and the Son; in it keep your holy
communion, and unity in the Spirit, the bond of peace, which is
the king of kings’ heavenly peace. In that you are all bound to
good behaviour, to keep peace among yourselves, to seek the peace
of all men; and to show forth the heavenly, gentle, and peaceable
wisdom to all, in righteousness and truth, answering the good in
all people in your lives and conversations (for the Lord is
glorified in your bringing forth spiritual fruit), that ye may eye
and behold the Lord in all your actions; that his blessings ye may
all feel to rest upon you.
“Whether ye be the Lord’s prisoners for his name and truth’s sake,
or at liberty, in all things labour to be content, for that is a
continual feast; and let no trouble move you; then ye will be as
Mount Sion, that cannot be removed. In all things exercise the
word of patience, which word will sanctify all things to you.
Study to be quiet, and do the Lord’s business that he requires of
you, and your own, in truth and righteousness: and whatsoever ye
do, let it be done to the praise and glory of God in the name of
Jesus Christ. All they that make God’s people suffer, make the
Seed suffer in their own particulars, and imprison the Just there.
Such will not visit the Seed in themselves, but cast it into
prison in others, and not visit it in prison. You may read that
Christ saith, such must go into everlasting punishment. That is a
sad punishment and prison. All such as become apostates and
backsliders, that crucify to themselves Christ afresh, put him to
open shame, and trample under feet the blood of the Son of God, by
which they were cleansed, and then come to be unclean; such
grieve, vex, quench, and rebel against, the Spirit of God in
themselves; and then rebel against them that walk in it. Such are
unfaithful to God and man, and are enemies to every good work and
service of God: but their end will be according to their works;
who are like unto the earth, that hath often received rain, but
brings forth briars and thorns, which are to be rejected, and are
for the fire.
“Therefore, dear Friends, in all your sufferings feel the Lord’s
eternal arm and power, which hath supported you to this day, and
will to the end, as your faith stands in it, and as you are
settled upon the rock and foundation Christ Jesus, that cannot be
removed; in whom ye have life and peace with God. The Lord God
Almighty in him give you dominion, and preserve you all to his
glory; that in all your sufferings ye may feel his presence: and
that when ye have finished your testimony, ye may receive the
crown of glory, which God hath laid up for them that fear and
serve him. Amen.”
G. F.
The 15th of the 7th Month, 1685.
Having spent about a week in the country, I returned to LONDON,
where I continued about two months, visiting meetings, and labouring
to get relief for Friends from their sufferings, which yet lay heavy
upon them in many parts of the nation. Several papers also I wrote
relating to the service of truth, one of which was concerning order
in the church of God, which some that were gone out of the unity of
Friends much opposed. It was as follows:—
“Among all societies, families, or nations of people in the world,
there exists some sort of order. There was the order of Aaron in
the Old Testament; and the order of Melchizedeck before that,
after whose order Christ Jesus came; and he did not despise that
order. God is a God of order in his whole creation, and in his
church: and all believers in the light, the life in Christ, that
pass from death to life, are in the order of the Holy Spirit,
power, light, life, and government of Christ Jesus, of the
increase whereof there is no end. This is a mystery to all those
disorderly people, who have written and printed so much against
the order which the Lord’s power and Spirit hath brought forth
among his people. And you that cry so much against order, is it
not manifest that you are gone into a land of darkness, and of the
shadow of death, into disorder, and where the light is as
darkness? Is not this your condition seen by all them that live
and walk in the truth, whose conversations are according to the
gospel of life and salvation?
“The devil, Satan, dragon, the first and second beast, the whore
and false prophets, and their worshippers and followers, are all
out of the truth, abode not in it, nor in the order of it; and the
truth is over them all. In Salem is God’s tabernacle; and his
tabernacle is in Shiloh; these are far beyond the tabernacles of
Ham. (Ps. lxxvi. and lxxviii.).
“All the figures and shadows were and are comprehended in time;
but Christ the substance is the beginning and the ending. And all
trials, troubles, persecutions, and temptations, came up in time;
but the Lord’s power which is everlasting, is over all such
things; in which is safety.
“The black world of darkness lieth in wickedness, and by its
wisdom knoweth not God, that made the world and all things
therein; for the god of the world and prince of the air ruleth in
the hearts of all that disobey the living God that made them. So
the God of this wicked world hath blinded the eyes of the infidels
or heathen; so that by their wisdom they know not the living God.
“In the Old Testament the Lord said, ‘With all thy offerings thou
shalt offer salt.’ (Lev. ii. 13.). And Christ saith in his new
covenant, ‘Every one shall be salted with fire, and every
sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt
have lost its saltness, wherewith will you season it? Have salt in
yourselves; and have peace one with another,’ Mark ix. 49, 50.
“We have received the earnest of the Spirit, which is the earnest
of the inheritance, that fadeth not away. For God poureth out of
his Spirit upon all flesh. It is God’s Spirit which is above our
natural spirit, by which alone we do not know God; for it is by
the Spirit of God that we know the things of God. And the Spirit
of God doth witness to our souls and spirits, that this Spirit of
God is the earnest of an eternal inheritance. ‘God opens his
people’s ears to discipline, and commands that they turn from
iniquity. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days
in prosperity and their years in pleasures; but if they obey not,
they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without
knowledge,’ Job xxxvi. 10-12. So the disobedient that do not turn
from their iniquity have not this prosperity and pleasure, but die
without the knowledge of God; and their ears are shut to this
discipline, which God opens to his people.”
G. F.
When I had been about two months in London, I was sent for to my son
Rous’s at KINGSTON, to visit a daughter of his, who at that time lay
very sick; but recovered. Whilst I stayed there I had several
meetings with Friends; and returning by HAMMERSMITH, stayed the
First-day meeting there, which was large and peaceable. Having
visited Friends thereabouts, I came back to LONDON again, being very
intent upon the business of getting redress for suffering Friends.
In this and other services I continued at London, till the latter
end of the 11th month; save that I went to visit an ancient Friend
at BETHNAL-GREEN, with whom I tarried three or four days. While I
was there, I was much exercised in the sense of the enemy’s working,
to draw from the holy way of truth into a false liberty, and so into
the world’s ways and worships again. And the example of the
backsliding Jews coming before me, I was moved to write the
following as a warning to all such:—
“You may see, when the Jews rebelled against the good Spirit of
God, which he gave to instruct them, they forsook him and his law,
way, and worship, and went a whoring after Balaam’s ways, and
became like the wild ass’s colt, snuffing up the wind, as in Jer.
ii. 24. And in Jer. iii., see how Judah played the harlot under
every green tree, and upon every high mountain: and therefore the
Lord divorced Judah, as he had divorced Israel, when she forsook
his way and followed the ways of the heathen. Though the Lord had
fed them to the full, yet they forsook him, ‘they committed
adultery, and assembled themselves together in harlots’ houses,’
Jer. v. 7. ‘And with their whoredom they defiled the land, and
committed adultery with stocks and stones,’ Jer. iii. 9. Here you
may see, when they forsook the living eternal God, they followed
the religions and worships of other nations, whose gods were made
of stocks and stones, which the Jews worshipped, and committed
adultery withal. When they forsook the living God, and his way and
worship, they forsook the worship at the temple at Jerusalem, and
followed the heathen’s worships in the mountains and fields; so it
was called adultery and whoredom to join with other religions and
forsake God; as in Jer. xiii. 27.
“And now, if the children of New Jerusalem that is above, should
forsake the worship that Christ in his New Testament set up (which
is in Spirit and in truth) and follow the worships of nations,
which men have set up, will not they that do so, commit adultery
with them, in forsaking God’s worship, and Christ, the new and
living way?
“In Jer. xliv., ye may see how the children of Judah provoked the
Lord against them, by worshipping the works of their own hands,
and following the gods of the land of Egypt. In this they
committed adultery, forsaking the living God, their husband, and
his worship; and there ye may see God’s judgments pronounced
against them to their destruction. And what will become of those
that forsake the worship in Spirit and in truth, which Christ set
up, and worship the works of their own hands in spiritual Egypt,
and follow spiritual Egypt’s will-worship, which they invented?
May not this be called whoredom in them that forsake Christ, the
new and living way, his pure religion, and his worship, that he
hath set up? And they that forsake the Lord’s way, and his worship
that he set up, and follow the world’s ways and worships that they
set up, do not they, whose way they follow, become at last their
enemies? as in Lam. i. See how the Jews forsook the Lord’s way and
worship, and doted on their lovers (the Assyrians, &c.) and with
all their idols they were defiled; and how they did not leave the
whoredoms brought from Egypt, and how they were polluted with the
Babylonians’ bed; as ye may read in Ezek. xxiii. When they forsook
the Lord, his way and worship, and followed the way and worship of
the heathen; then it was said they went a whoring after other
lovers, and committed adultery with them.
“Ye may see in Ezek. xvi. the state of the Jews was likened unto
that of their sister Sodom, and how they had played the harlot
with the Assyrians, and committed fornication with the Egyptians,
and had increased their whoredoms in following their abominable
idols. And therefore the Lord carried away the two tribes that
forsook him into Babylon; as you may see in Ezek. xvii. 20. And
they that forsake Christ, the new and living Way, and the worship
of God in Spirit and in truth, which Christ set up in his New
Testament, go into captivity in spiritual Babylon.
“In Hosea ii., see how he discovers the whoredoms and idolatry of
the Jews, who forsook the Lord, and compares them to a harlot. And
in chap, viii., the destruction threatened against the Jews, for
their impiety and idolatry. In chap. ix. also, the distress and
captivity of the Jews is threatened for their sins and idolatry.
And again they are reproved and threatened for their impiety and
idolatry, Hos. x. This was for forsaking the Lord and his way, and
following the ways of their own inventions, and the ways of the
heathen.
“Doth not Isaiah say, ‘That the Lord would visit Tyre, and that
she should commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world
upon the face of the earth;’ and therefore the Lord threatened
destruction upon her, chap, xxiii. And in chap. lvii. see how the
Lord reproved the Jews for their whorish idolatry, and said, ‘Upon
a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; even thither
wentest thou up to offer sacrifices. Thou hast enlarged thy bed,
and made a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed, where thou
sawest it.’ This was a joining to the heathen’s religions, altars,
and sacrifices, and a forsaking of the Lord’s altar and
sacrifices, which he commanded in the law; and therefore that was
committing whoredom with the heathen, and going into their beds
from the living God that made them. And now in the New Testament
God having ‘poured his Spirit upon all flesh,’ that by his Spirit
all might come to be ‘a royal priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ;’ all that err from the Spirit
of God and rebel against it, are not like to offer spiritual
sacrifices to God; the sacrifice of such God doth not accept, no
more than he did that of the heathens, or of the Jews, who
rebelled against his good Spirit, that he gave to instruct them.
“And ye may see in the xviith, xviiith, and xixth chapters of the
Revelations, the punishment of the great whore, Babylon, the
mother of harlots; and the victory of the Lamb, and how he calleth
God’s people out of Babylon; for ‘in her was found the blood of
the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon
the earth.’ There ye may read her judgment and her downfall. This
whore are they, that are whored from the Spirit of God, and so
from God and from his holy worship in spirit and in truth, from
the pure, undefiled religion, that keeps from the spots of the
world, and from the new and living way, Christ Jesus; these are
whored from the Spirit of God into false religions, ways, and
worships, and so have corrupted the earth with her abominations.
But her judgment and downfall are seen, over whom Christ hath the
victory; and the marriage of the Lamb is come, glory to the Lord
for ever! And God’s pure religion, and pure worship in Spirit and
in truth, Christ hath set up, as it was in the apostles’ days.
Hallelujah!”
G. F.
I soon returned to LONDON, but made no long stay there, my body not
being able to bear the closeness of the city long together. While I
was in town, besides the usual services of visiting Friends, and
looking after their sufferings to get them eased, I assisted Friends
of the city in distributing certain sums of money, which our Friends
of Ireland had charitably and very liberally raised, and sent over
for the relief of their brethren, who suffered for the testimony of
a good conscience; which money was distributed amongst poor,
suffering Friends in the several counties, in proportion as we
understood their need.
Before I left the city, I heard of a great doctor lately come from
Poland; whom I invited to my lodging, and had much discourse with
him. After I had informed myself by him of such things as I had a
desire to know, I wrote a letter to the King of Poland on behalf of
Friends at Dantzic, who had long been under grievous sufferings. A
copy whereof follows:—
“_To John the Third, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania,
Russia, and Prussia, Defender of the city of Dantzic, &c.
Concerning the innocent and afflicted people, in scorn called
Quakers, who are now fed with bread and water in Bridewell of
the aforesaid city, under close confinement, where their
friends, wives, and children, are hardly suffered to come to
see them._
“O KING!
“The magistrates of the city of Dantzic say, that it is thy order
and command, that these innocent and afflicted people should
suffer such oppression. Now this punishment is inflicted upon them
only because they come together in the name of Jesus Christ, their
Redeemer and Saviour, who died for their sins, and is risen from
the dead for their justification; who is their Prophet, whom God
hath raised up like unto Moses; whom they ought to hear in all
things in this day of the gospel and new covenant; who went astray
like scattered sheep, but now are returned to the chief Shepherd
and Bishop of their souls, 1 Pet. ii. 25. ‘Who has given his life
for his sheep, and they hear his voice and follow him;’ who leads
them into his ‘pastures of life,’ John x.
“Now, O King! I understand that thou openly professest
Christianity, and the great and mighty name of Jesus Christ, who
is King of kings, and Lord of lords, to whom is given all power in
heaven and in earth, who rules all nations with a rod of iron.
Therefore, O king, it seems hard to us, that any who openly
confess Christ Jesus (yea, the magistrates of Dantzic do the
same,) should inflict those punishments upon an innocent and
harmless people, by reason of their tender conscience, only
because they come together to serve and worship the Eternal God,
who made them, in Spirit and in truth; which worship Christ Jesus
set up sixteen hundred years ago; as we read in John iv. 23, 24.
“I beseech the king, that he would consider, whether Christ in the
New Testament, ever gave such a command to his apostles, that they
should shut up any in prison, and feed them with bread and water,
who were not conformable in every particular to their religion,
faith, and worship? Where did the apostles exercise such things in
the true church after Christ’s ascension? Is not this the doctrine
of Christ and the apostles, that his followers should ‘love their
enemies, and pray for them that hate them and persecute and
despitefully use them?’ (Matt, v.)
“Is it not a shame to Christendom among the Turks and others, that
one Christian should persecute another for the doctrine of faith,
worship, and religion? They cannot prove that Christ ever gave
them such a command, whom they profess to be their Lord and
Master. For Christ says that his believers and followers should
‘love one another,’ and by this they should be known to be his
disciples. And did not Christ reprove those who would have ‘fire
to come down from heaven,’ to destroy them who would not receive
him? and did not he tell them, ‘they did not know what spirit they
were of?’ Have all who have persecuted men, or taken away their
lives, because they would not receive their religion, known what
spirit they were or are of? Is it not good for all to know, by the
Spirit of Christ, what spirit they are of? For the apostle says,
Rom. viii. 9, ‘If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.’ And 2 Cor. x. 4, ‘The weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but spiritual,’ &c. And ‘We wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against spiritual wickedness,’ &c. Thus we see, that
the fight of the first Christians, and their weapons in the days
of the apostles, were spiritual.
“Now would not the king and the magistrates of Dantzic think it
contrary to their consciences, it they should be forced by the
Turk to his religion? Would it not in like manner seem hard to the
magistrates of Dantzic, and contrary to their consciences, if they
should be forced to the religion of the King of Poland? or to the
King of Poland, if he should be compelled to the religion of the
magistrates of Dantzic? And if they would not be subject
thereunto, that then they should be banished from their wives and
families, and out of their native country, or otherwise be fed
with bread and water under strict confinement?
“Therefore we beseech the king with all Christian humility, and
the magistrates, that they would order their proceedings in this
matter according to the royal law of God, which is, ‘to do unto
others as they would have others do unto them,’ and ‘to love their
neighbour as themselves.’ For we have this charity, that we hope
and believe, that the King of Poland and his people, with the
magistrates of Dantzic, own the writings of the New Testament, as
well as of the Old; and therefore we beseech the king and
magistrates to take heed, that their work of imprisoning an
innocent people, for nothing but their meeting together, in
tenderness of conscience, to serve and worship God, their Creator,
may not be contrary and opposite to the royal law of God, and to
the glorious and everlasting gospel of truth.
“We desire the king, in Christian love, earnestly and weightily to
consider these things, and to give order to set the innocent
prisoners, our friends, called Quakers, at liberty from their
strict confinement in Dantzic; that they may have freedom to serve
and worship the Living God in Spirit and in truth, to go home to
their habitations, and follow their trades and calling, to
maintain their wives, children, and families. And we believe that
the king, in doing such a noble, glorious, yea Christian work,
will not go unrewarded from the Great God who made him, whom we
serve and worship, who has the hearts of kings, and their lives
and length of days in his hands.
“From him who desires that the king and all his ministers
may be preserved in the fear of God, and receive his Word of
wisdom, by which all things were made and created; that by it
he may come to order all things to the glory of God, which God
has put under his hand: that both he and they may enjoy the
comforts and blessings of the Lord in this life, and in that
which is to come, life eternal. Amen.”
G. F.
London, the 10th of the 3rd Month, commonly called May,
1684.
“_Postscript._—The king may please to consider, that his and all
men’s consciences are the prerogative of God.”
After this I went to ENFIELD, where, and in the country around,
several Friends had country-houses, amongst whom I tarried some
time, visiting and being visited by Friends, and having meetings
with them. Several things I wrote in this time, relating to the
service of truth; one was “Concerning judging:” for some, who had
departed from the truth, were so afraid of its judgment, that they
made it much of their business to cry out against judging. Wherefore
I wrote a paper, proving by the Scriptures of truth, that the church
of Christ has power and ability to judge those that profess to be of
it, not only with respect to outward things relating to this world,
but with respect to religious matters also. A copy of which
follows:—
“CONCERNING JUDGING.
“‘The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned; but he that is spiritual judgeth
all things (mark all things); yet he himself is judged of no man,’
1 Cor. ii. 14, 15. So the natural man cannot judge of those things
he receives not, for they are foolishness to him; but he is
comprehended by the spiritual man, and his foolishness, and is
judged, though he cannot judge the spiritual man.
“‘Do not ye judge them that are within?’ saith the apostle (this
power the church had, and hath,) ‘therefore put away from amongst
yourselves that wicked person.’ Did not this wicked person, think
you, profess and plead for liberty for his wickedness, and his
freedom, as he was a Christian, who was looked upon as a member of
the church?
“The apostle saith, ‘For I verily, as absent in body, yet present
in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present,
concerning him that hath done this wicked deed,’ 1 Cor. v. 3, 12.
Here the apostle judged, though afar off, and set up judgment in
the church against false liberty, under what pretence soever it
was.
“And the apostle saith, ‘Dare any of you, having a matter against
a brother, go to law before the unjust, and not before the
saints?’ Here the saints, the church, are to judge of things
amongst themselves, and not for the unjust to judge of their
matters. ‘Do ye not know the saints shall judge the world?’ So the
saints are to judge the unjust, and not the unjust to judge their
matters.
“And farther, the apostle saith, ‘If the world shall be judged by
you (to wit, the saints,) are you unworthy to judge the smallest
matters amongst you?’
“It is thus clear that the saints have a judgment given them of
Christ, by his power and Spirit, light and wisdom, to judge the
world, and not to carry their matters before the unjust, but to
judge of them amongst themselves; and if they carry them before
the unjust, they show their unworthiness of the saints’ judgment.
“Again, ‘Know ye not that we shall judge angels? (and angels are
spirits) how much more things which pertain to this life?’
“‘If ye then have judgment of things pertaining to this life, set
them up to judge who are least esteemed in the church,’ 1 Cor. vi.
4. Here it is clear the church of Christ has a judgment in the
power and Spirit of God, not only to judge in things that pertain
to this life, but also to judge of things between brethren,
without brother going to law with brother before unbelievers;
which was a fault, and to be judged, if they did so.
“But also the saints have a judgment to judge angels that kept not
their habitations; and the world. As in Jude, ‘He judged the
angels that kept not their habitations, their first state.’ Did
not he judge in divine matters here? He judged the state of Cain,
and Balaam, and Core, and such Christians as were in their steps,
and were gone as far as they, though they professed themselves
Christians? Here again he judged in divine matters; and of their
states and beings, who stood in the divine principle, and who were
fallen from it.
“The apostle saith, ‘Try the spirits, and believe not every
spirit,’ 1 John iv. Here again was a judgment in divine matters;
and he judged such as went out from them; these, whilst they were
with them, had sight of things and openings; but when they went
from them they went from the anointing; and therefore he exhorts
the saints to keep to the anointing. Such as went from them that
had the anointing, came to be the seducers and false prophets that
went into the world.
“John had a judgment to try sacrifices, and distinguished Cain’s
from Abel’s; and, by the Spirit of God, knew which God accepted,
and which he did not accept, 1 John iii. 12. Paul judged and tried
such messengers and apostles, and transformers of themselves like
to the apostles of Christ; and would have the church to try such,
and have the same judgment that he had, 2 Cor. xi.
“The apostle Peter judged Ananias and Sapphira, and the thoughts
of Simon Magus, who would have been a worker of miracles for
money. Was not all this judgment in divine matters? And the
apostle Paul judged the preachers of circumcision, both in the
Romans and Galatians. For it was the faith and liberty of those
preachers to preach up circumcision, though it was a wrong faith.
Did not the apostle here again judge in divine matters?
“James judged in matters of faith, and manifested the living faith
from the dead one. He also judged in matters of religion, the vain
from the pure religion, and distinguished them.
“Paul judged of the false brethren, that would spy out the liberty
of the true; to whom he would give no place by subjection, no, not
for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with the
saints; as in Gal. ii. Did not the apostle here judge in divine
matters? and he judged concerning the matters of the gospel when
some came to pervert them with another gospel, and said, ‘The
gospel which I received is not of man, neither was I taught it,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ,’ Gal. i. 12. So here was a
judgment to distinguish the gospel of Christ from all other
gospels, which were accursed, which are after man, received and
taught of man, and not by the revelation of Jesus Christ, Gal. i.
And he had a judgment to know, ‘who made the gospel chargeable,
and who kept it without charge.’
“He set up a judgment in the church that the believers should not
be unequally yoked; and to see when men had a communion in the
light, and when they had it in the darkness; when with Christ, and
when with Baal; with the believer and unbeliever; with the temple
of God and with idols: as in 2 Cor. vi. Did he not set up a clear
judgment here in divine matters in the church?
“And the apostle judged such libertines as through their knowledge
could sit at meat in the idol’s temple; who through their
knowledge and liberty caused the weak brother to perish, for whom
Christ died. These, it is like, did profess it was their faith and
their liberty; yet they did not keep in the unity of the true
faith, but went about to destroy it, 1 Cor. viii.
“Peter gives judgment upon the angels that sinned, and were cast
down into hell; upon the state of the old world, and of Sodom, and
the state of the false prophets then amongst them, that could
speak great swelling words of vanity; and whilst they promised
them liberty, they themselves were the servants of corruption. And
had not Peter here a judgment in divine matters? These were such
whose work was to bring into bondage, and these were like the dog
and sow that were washed; which shows that they have been washed,
but were turned into the mire again. The apostle Paul had a
judgment upon such as, with their fair words and men’s wisdom,
deceived the hearts of the simple; and upon such as ‘served not
the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, and were enemies to
the cross of Christ.’ He had a judgment and discerning who lived
in the cross of Christ, and who did not; and exhorted all to live
in the cross of Christ, the righteous power of God, that slew all
deceit, and the deeds of the old man, agreeably to Christ’s words,
‘He that will be my disciple, must take up his cross and follow
me.’ Was not here a judgment again in divine matters, of such as
walked in the divine power, and such as did not?
“Christ sets up a judgment in his seven churches, and commends
them that did keep in his judgment, and had tried them which said,
‘they were apostles,’ who might pretend they were sent of God and
Christ, and were not; but the church of Christ had found them
liars. Christ commended this judgment of the church of Ephesus,
because they had ‘not borne with them that were evil, but had
tried those false apostles:’ and Christ commends this church, for
they had ‘hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which he also
hated:’ and had not these Nicolaitanes sprung from Nicolas, one of
the deacons? and were not these become a sect of Christians?
though they might talk and preach of Christ, yet Christ hated
their doctrine.
“Christ saith to the church of Smyrna, ‘I know the blasphemy of
them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are of the
synagogue of Satan.’ So the church is to have a judgment upon
these blasphemers, and to distinguish the Jews in the Spirit from
such as are not, but of the synagogue of Satan.
“To the church in Pergamos Christ saith, ‘I have a few things
against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrines
of Balaam,’ &c., and ‘also them that hold the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.’ Now, these that held the
doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, were got
into the church, and might look upon themselves to be high
Christians, and take great liberty to go into Balaam’s doctrine,
and Nicolas’s doctrine, which was hated by Christ; but the church
was to keep a spiritual and divine judgment upon the heads of all
these.
“To the church of Thyatira, saith Christ, ‘I have a few things
against thee, because thou sufferest the woman Jezebel to teach,
which seduces my people,’ &c. Here was a suffering, which should
have been a judgment by Christ’s Spirit, upon that Jezebel, which
was erred from his Spirit, and so from Christ. Such as these were
high preachers. And is not the church to beware of suffering such
now, lest they come under the reproof of Christ, for not passing
judgment against the false teacher and seducer?
“The church of Sardis ‘had a name to live, but was dead, and her
works were not found perfect before God.’ There is a judgment to
be set up in the church, to judge all imperfect works, and such as
would have a name, but not the nature; a name to live, but are
dead. All the members of Christ’s church must be in Christ, living
members, and live to his name. This church had a few names that
had not defiled their garments, that did walk in white; but such
as have a name to live, but are dead, whilst they are in the dead
state, cannot walk in white, nor judge in divine matters.
‘Behold,’ saith Christ, ‘I will make them of the synagogue of
Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I
will make them to come, and to worship before thy feet, and to
know that I have loved thee,’ Rev. iii. 9.
“And to the church of Laodicea, that was ‘neither cold nor hot,’
but lukewarm; ‘I would thou wert cold or hot: I will spew thee out
of my mouth, because thou saidst thou wast rich, and wanted
nothing; when thou wast wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and
naked.’ Now this was for want of living in the Power and Spirit of
Christ. These could talk of high experiences, and great
enjoyments, but were naked, miserable, and blind; so lived not in
the power, and Spirit, the light, and righteousness of Christ, by
which they might be clothed, and have the eternal riches. So the
church of Christ had a spiritual judgment given to them that are
faithful in his power, and Spirit, and light, to judge of temporal
things, and the things of this life; and to judge of eternal and
divine things and states; of angels and wicked men, and such as go
from truth; and of the states of election and reprobation; yea,
and of the devils who are out of truth; these being in Christ
Jesus, who is the First and Last, from whom they have the eternal
judgment, to judge eternal, spiritual, and divine things; and in
this Word of power and wisdom, by which all things were made, and
by which all things are upheld, to order all things to God’s
glory, and to judge of all things in righteousness.
“The apostle judged, and set up a judgment in the church, of
gifts, of prophecies, of mysteries, of faith, and of giving the
body to be burned, and of giving goods to the poor, and of
speaking with tongues of men and angels; and yet, if they had not
love, all this was nothing, but as a sounding brass and tinkling
cymbal. Therefore they are to be tried by the fruits of the good
Spirit, which is love. So here the apostle not only judged himself
in divine things, but set up a judgment in the church in those
spiritual and divine matters.
“The apostle James judges of fountains, and of fig-trees, of the
wisdom from below, and of the wisdom from above, and of the fruits
of both, James iii. And Paul judged in divine matters when he
said, ‘The Spirit spake expressly, that in the latter times some
should depart from the faith,’ 1 Tim. iv. And he judged in divine
matters, when he judged all those teachers that were high-minded,
and had got the form of godliness, but denied the power; and
termed them like unto Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses,
coming out of outward Egypt; as these with their form of
godliness, oppose Christ and his power, that brings them out of
spiritual Egypt now. Was not he a judge here in divine matters,
who judged such as had gotten the form of godliness, but denied
the divine power? 2 Tim. iii.
“When the apostle said, ‘the priesthood of Aaron was changed, and
the law was changed, and the commandment disannulled, that gave
them their tithes,’ did not he judge here in divine and spiritual
matters? and was not the law spiritual, which served till the Seed
came?
“Did not the apostle judge in divine and spiritual matters, in the
sixth of the Hebrews, where he saith, ‘Let us go on to perfection,
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and
of faith towards God, and of the doctrine of baptisms, and of
laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of
eternal judgment: and this will we do, if God permit,’ &c. And
does not the apostle judge here, ‘that it was impossible for those
who were once enlightened, and tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were partakers of the Holy Ghost, and had tasted of the good word
of God, and of the power of the world to come, if they shall fall
away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame?’ Heb.
vi. Were not these spiritual, eternal, and divine matters and
states, that the apostle judged of? and have not the saints the
same judgment given unto them in the same Spirit? Have not the
apostles and the church a spiritual judgment to judge of prophets,
mysteries, faith, apostles, angels, the world, and the devil? And
is not this judgment given them of God in divine matters, besides
the judgment given them in matters pertaining unto this life?
“And had not they judgment to discern the true gospel from the
false? and all such as had a profession of the form, and did not
live in the power? and such as spoke the things of God, in the
words that man’s wisdom did teach? which things of God were not to
be spoken in the words which man’s wisdom taught, but in the words
which the Holy Ghost taught. Therefore did not the apostle exhort
to know the power, and that their faith might stand in the power
of God? for the kingdom of God stands not in word but in power.
“Had not all the prophets a divine judgment to judge in divine
matters? as Jeremiah, when he judged the prophets. Ezekiel also
judged all such as came with a pretence of the Word of the Lord,
using their tongues, and saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord, when the
Lord never spoke unto them;’ as in Jer. xxiii. Exek. xiii., and
many other places might be instanced. Did not he judge Hananiah,
who prophesied falsely? and did not this Hananiah pretend to speak
the Word of the Lord to the priests and people? as in Jer. xxviii.
“Did not Isaiah judge in divine matters, when he judged the
watchmen and the shepherds? Isa. lvi. Did not Micah judge in
divine and spiritual matters when he said, ‘he was full of power
by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment?’ Did not he judge of
priests, prophets, and judges, though they would lean upon the
Lord, and say, ‘Is not the Lord amongst us, and no evil can come
unto us;’ yet did not he let them see their states and conditions,
and divide the precious from the vile? Mic. iii. And so the rest
of the prophets. You may see they judged for God in his divine
matters, ‘who served him, and who served him not; and who lived in
truth, and who not;’ and likewise the apostles. And this divine,
spiritual, and heavenly judgment was given of God to his holy men
and women.
“They that judge in God’s divine matters, must live in his divine
Spirit, power, and light now, as they did then; which spiritual
and divine judgment Christ has given to his church, the living
stones, and living members, that make up his spiritual household;
to try Jews, apostles, and prophets; to try faiths and religions,
trees and fruits, shepherds and teachers; and to try spirits. So
the living members have a living, divine judgment in the church of
Christ, which he is the Head of, the Judge of all.
“Nay, the church has a power given them, which is farther than a
judgment: for what they ‘bind on earth, is bound in heaven by the
power of God: and what they loose on earth is loosed in heaven by
the power of God.’ This power has Christ given to his living
members, the church.”
G. F. to Friends.
The 20th of the 12th Month, 1685-6.
I came back to LONDON in the 1st month, 1686, and set myself with
all diligence to look after Friends’ sufferings, from which we had
now some hopes of getting relief. The sessions came on in the 2nd
month at Hicks’s Hall, where many Friends had appeals to be tried;
with whom I was from day to day, to advise and see that no
opportunity were slipped, nor advantage lost; and they generally
succeeded well. Soon after also the king was pleased, upon our often
laying our sufferings before him, to give order for the “releasing
of all prisoners for conscience’ sake that were in his power to
discharge.” Whereby the prison-doors were opened, and many hundreds
of Friends, some of whom had been long in prison, were set at
liberty. Some of them, who had for many years been restrained in
bonds, came now up to the Yearly Meeting, which was in the 3rd month
this year. This caused great joy to Friends, to see our ancient,
faithful brethren, again at liberty in the Lord’s work, after their
long confinement. And indeed a precious meeting we had; the
refreshing presence of the Lord appearing plentifully with us and
amongst us.
After the meeting I was moved to write a few lines, to be sent
amongst Friends: the tenor whereof was thus:—
“DEAR FRIENDS,
“My love is to you all in the holy Seed, Christ Jesus, that
bruises the serpent’s head, and destroys the devil and his works;
and who hath all power in heaven and in earth given him. Let every
one’s faith stand in Him, and in his power, who is the author and
finisher of your faith. And now for you, who have been partakers
of his power, and are sensible of it in this day of his power,
that is over darkness and its power; by whose power the hearts of
the king and rulers have been opened, and your outward
prison-doors set open for your liberty, my desires are, that all
may be preserved in humility and thankfulness, in the sense of the
mercies of the Lord; and live in the peaceable truth, that is over
all; that ye may answer God’s grace, and his light and Spirit in
all, in a righteous, godly life and conversation. Let none be
lifted up by their outward liberty, neither let any be cast down
by suffering for Christ’s sake; but all live in the Seed (which is
as wheat) which is not shaken, nor blown away by the winds and
storms, as the chaff is. Which Seed of life none below can make
higher or lower; for the children of the Seed are the children of
the everlasting, unchangeable kingdom of Christ and God. In Christ
Jesus, whom God hath given you for a sanctuary, God almighty keep
you, in whom ye have life everlasting, and wisdom from above,
which is pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full
of mercy and good fruits; that all now may be exercised in, and
may practise this wisdom in holy lives and conversations; so that
this wisdom may be justified of all her children, and they
exercised and preserved in it in this day of the power of Christ,
in which all his people are made a willing people, to serve and
worship God in Righteousness and holiness, in Spirit and in truth.
“Let none abuse the power of the Lord, nor grieve his Spirit, by
which you are sealed, and kept to the day of salvation and
redemption; but always exercise yourselves to have ‘a good
conscience, void of offence towards God and towards all men,’
being exercised in holiness, godliness, and righteousness; and in
the truth, and in the love of it. All study to be approved unto
God in innocency, virtue, simplicity, and faithfulness, labouring
and studying to be quiet in the will of God. ‘And whatsoever ye do
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus; giving
thanks to God the Father by him;’ that he who is over all, may
have the praise for all his mercies and blessings, with which he
hath refreshed his people, and by his eternal arm and power hath
kept and preserved them to this day; glory to his name over all
for ever. Amen!
“Christ hath called you by his grace into one body, to him the
holy Head; therefore live in charity, and in the love of God,
which is the bond of perfectness in his body. This love edifies
the body of Christ; which body and all his members are knit
together, and increased with the increase of God, from whom they
receive nourishment. For by one Spirit we are all baptised into
one body, and have been made all to drink into one Spirit, in
which Spirit the body and all its members have fellowship with
Christ, the head, and one with another. The unity of this Holy
Spirit is the bond of peace of all the living members of Christ
Jesus, of which he is the spiritual Head, Rock, and Foundation. In
the midst of his church of living members, Christ exercises his
spiritual prophetical office, to open to them the mysteries of his
kingdom. He is a spiritual Bishop to oversee them, that they do
not go astray from the living God that made them; a Shepherd that
feeds them with bread and water of life from heaven; and none is
able to pluck his sheep out of his hands. He is a Priest that died
for them, sanctifies them, and presents them to God; who ruleth in
their hearts by the divine faith, which he is the author and
finisher of. His living members praise God through Jesus Christ,
in whom they have life and salvation, who reconciles them to God,
that they can say they have ‘peace with God through Jesus Christ;’
and so praise God through him that was dead, and is alive again,
who reigns over all, and liveth for evermore, blessed for ever;
Hallelujah. Amen!
“Greet one another with a holy kiss of charity. Love or charity
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things. It envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up, nor doth it behave itself unseemly. It rejoices not in
iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Charity is not easily
provoked, and thinks no evil, but suffereth long and is kind.
Charity never faileth. I say, greet one another with this holy
kiss of charity, and peace be with you all, that are in Christ
Jesus, your life and salvation.”
G. F.
The 30th of the 3rd Month, 1686.
I remained most part of this year in LONDON, save that sometimes I
got out to BETHNAL-GREEN for a night or two, or as far as ENFIELD
and thereabouts amongst Friends, and once or twice to CHISWICK,
where an ancient Friend had set up a school for the educating of
Friends’ children; in all which places I found service for the Lord.
At LONDON, I spent my time amongst Friends, either in public
meetings (as the Lord drew me) or visiting those that were not well,
and in looking after the sufferings of Friends. For though many were
released out of prisons, yet some remained prisoners still for
tithes, &c., and sufferings of several sorts lay heavy on Friends in
many places. Yet inasmuch as many Friends, that had been prisoners,
were now set at liberty, I felt a concern upon me, that none might
look too much at man, but might eye the Lord therein, from whom
deliverance comes. Wherefore I wrote an epistle to them, as
follows:—
“FRIENDS,
“The Lord, by his eternal power, hath opened the heart of the king
to open the prison doors, by which about fifteen or sixteen
hundred are set at liberty, and hath given a check to the
informers; so that in many places our meetings are pretty quiet.
My desires are, that both liberty and sufferings may be sanctified
to his people, that Friends may prize the mercies of the Lord in
all things, and to him be thankful, who stilleth the raging waves
of the seas, allayeth the storms and tempests, and maketh a calm.
Therefore it is good to trust in the Lord, and cast your care upon
him, who careth for you. For when ye were in jails and prisons,
the Lord did, by his eternal arm and power, uphold you, and
sanctified them to you (and unto some he made them as a
sanctuary), and tried his people as in a furnace of affliction,
both in prisons and spoiling of goods. In all this the Lord was
with his people, and taught them to know that ‘the earth is the
Lord’s and the fulness thereof;’ and that he was in all places;
‘who crowneth the year with his goodness,’ Psal. lxv.
Therefore let all God’s people be diligent, and careful to keep
the camp of God holy, pure, and clean, and to serve God and
Christ, and one another in the glorious, peaceable gospel of life
and salvation, which glory shines over God’s camp; and his great
Prophet, Bishop, and Shepherd is among, or in the midst of them,
exercising his heavenly offices in them; so that you his people
may rejoice in Christ Jesus, through whom you have peace with God.
For he that destroyeth the devil and his work, and bruises the
serpent’s head, is all God’s people’s heavenly Foundation and Rock
to build upon; which was the holy prophets’ and apostles’ Rock in
days past, and is now the Rock of our age; which Rock and
Foundation of God standeth sure. Upon this the Lord God establish
all his people. Amen.”
G. F.
London, the 25th of the 7th Month, 1686.
Divers other epistles and papers I wrote this year; one of which was
an exhortation “to Friends to keep in unity in the truth, in which
there is no division nor separation;” it was thus:—
“DEAR FRIENDS AND BRETHREN IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST,
“In whom ye have all peace and life, and in whom there is no
division, schism, rent, strife, nor separation; for Christ is not
divided: there can be no separation in the truth, nor in the
light, grace, faith, and Holy Ghost, but unity, fellowship, and
communion. For the devil was the first that went out of the truth,
separated from it, and tempted man and woman to disobey God, and
to go from the truth into a false liberty, to do that which God
forbade. So it is the serpent now that leads men and women into a
false liberty, even the God of the world, from which man and woman
must be separated by the truth; that Christ the Truth may make
them free, and then they are free indeed. Then they are to stand
fast in that liberty, in which Christ hath made them free, and in
Him there is no division, schism, rent, or separation; but peace,
life, and reconciliation to God, and to one another. So in Christ,
male and female are all one; for whether they be male or female,
Jew or Gentile, bond or free, they are all one in Christ. And
there can be no schism, rent, or division in Him; nor in the
worship of God, in his Holy Spirit and truth; nor in the pure and
undefiled religion, that keeps from the spots of the world; nor in
the love of God that beareth and endureth all things; nor in the
Word of God’s grace, for it is pure and endureth for ever.
“Many, you see, have lost the Word of patience and the Word of
wisdom, that is pure, and peaceable, and gentle, and easy to be
entreated: then they run into the wisdom that is below, that is
‘earthly, sensual, and devilish,’ and very uneasy to be entreated.
They go from the love of God that beareth all things, endureth all
things, thinketh no evil, and doth not behave itself unseemly:
then they cannot bear, but grow brittle, and are easily provoked,
run into unseemly things, and are in that, that vaunteth itself,
are puffed up, rash, heady, high-minded, and fierce, and become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; but this is contrary to the
nature of the love of God. Therefore, dear Friends and brethren,
dwell in the love of God; for they who dwell in love, dwell in
God, and God in them. Keep in the Word of wisdom, that is gentle,
pure, and peaceable, and in the Word of patience, that endureth
and beareth all things; which Word of patience the devil, and the
world, and all his instruments can never wear out; it will wear
them all out; for it was before they were, and will be, when they
are gone, the pure, holy Word of God, by which all God’s children
are born again, feed on the milk thereof, and live and grow by it.
My desires are, that ye may all be of one heart, mind, soul, and
spirit in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
G. F.
Soon after this, finding those apostates, whom the enemy had drawn
out into division and separation from Friends, continued their
clamour and opposition against our monthly, quarterly, and yearly
meetings, it came upon me to write another short epistle to Friends,
to put them in mind of the “evidence and seal they had received in
themselves by the Spirit of the Lord, that those meetings were of
the Lord, and accepted by him,” that so they might not be shaken by
the adversaries. I wrote as follows:—
“MY DEAR FRIENDS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
“All you, that are gathered in his holy name, know, that your
meetings for worship, your quarterly, monthly and other meetings
are set up by the power and Spirit of the Lord God, and witnessed
by his Spirit and power in your hearts; and by the Spirit and
power of the Lord God they are established to you, and in the
power and Spirit of the Lord God you are established in them. The
Lord God hath with his Spirit sealed to you, that your meetings
are of his ordering and gathering, and he hath owned them, by
honouring you with his blessed presence in them; and you have had
great experience of his furnishing you with his wisdom, life, and
power, and heavenly riches from his treasure and fountain, by
which many thanks and praises have been returned in your meetings
to his holy, glorious name. He hath sealed your meetings by his
Spirit to you, and that your gathering together hath been by the
Lord, to Christ his Son, and in his name: and not by man. So the
Lord hath the glory and praise of them and in them, who hath
upheld you and them, by the arm of his power, against all opposers
and backsliders, and their slanderous books and tongues. For the
Lord’s power and Seed doth reign over them all, in which he doth
preserve his sons and daughters to his glory, by his eternal arm
and power, in his work and service, as a willing people in the day
of his power, without being weary or fainting, but strong in the
Lord, and valiant for his glorious name and precious truth, and
his pure religion; that ye may serve the Lord in Christ Jesus,
your Rock and Foundation, in your age and generation. Amen.”
G.F.
London, the 3rd of 11th Month, 1686-7.
A little after it came upon me to write something concerning the
state of the true church, and of the true members thereof, as
follows:—
“_Concerning the Church of Christ being clothed with the Sun, and
having the Moon under her feet._
“They are living members, living stones, built up a spiritual
household, children of the promise, and of the Seed and flesh of
Christ; and as the apostle saith, ‘Flesh of his flesh, and bone of
his bone.’ They are the good seed, the children of the everlasting
kingdom written in heaven; and have put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
They sit together in heavenly places in Christ, are clothed with
the Sun of Righteousness, Christ Jesus, and have the moon under
their feet, as Rev. xii. So all changeable things, that are in the
world, all changeable religions, worships, ways, fellowships,
churches, and teachers in the world, are as the moon; for the moon
changes, but the sun doth not change. The Sun of Righteousness
never changeth, nor goes down; but all the ways, religions,
worships, fellowships of the world, and the teachers thereof,
change like the moon.
“The true church, which Christ is the head of, which is in God,
the Father, is called ‘the pillar and ground of truth,’ whose
conversation is in heaven; this church is clothed with the Sun,
Christ Jesus, her head, who doth not change, and hath all
changeable things under her feet. These are the living members,
born again of the Immortal Seed, by the Word of God, who feed upon
the immortal milk, and live and grow by it. Such are the new
creatures in Christ Jesus, who makes all things new, and sees the
old things pass away. His church and all his members, which are
clothed with the Sun, their worship is in Spirit, and in truth,
which doth not change; which truth the devil, the foul, unclean
spirit, is out of, and cannot get into this worship in Spirit and
in truth. Their religion is pure and undefiled before God, that
keeps from the spots of the world, &c., and their way is the new
and living way, Christ Jesus. So the church of Christ, that is
clothed with the Sun, that hath the moon and all changeable
religions and ways under her feet, hath an unchangeable worship,
religion, and way, an unchangeable Rock and Foundation, Christ
Jesus, and an unchangeable High Priest; and so are children of the
New Testament, and in the everlasting Covenant of Light and Life.
“Now all, that profess the Scriptures both of the New and Old
Testament, and are not in Christ Jesus, the apostle tells them,
they are ‘reprobates, if Christ be not in them.’ Therefore these,
that are not in Christ, cannot be clothed with Christ, the Sun of
Righteousness, that never changes. They are under the changeable
moon, in the world, in the changeable things, changeable
religions, ways, worships, teachers, rocks, and foundations. But
Christ, the Son of God, and Sun of Righteousness, doth not change;
in whom his people are gathered, and sit together in heavenly
places in him, clothed with Christ Jesus, the Sun, who is the
mountain, that filleth the whole earth with his divine power and
light. So all his people see him, and feel him both by sea and
land. He is in all places of the earth, felt and seen of all his.
And Christ Jesus saith to the outward professors, the Jews, ‘I am
from above,’ ye are from below, ‘ye are of this world.’ So their
religions, worships, ways, teachers, faiths, beliefs, and creeds
are made by men, and are below, of this world that changeth like
the moon. You may see their religions, ways, worships, and
teachers, are all changeable, like the moon; but Christ, the Sun,
with which the church is clothed, doth not change, nor his church;
for they are spiritually minded, and their way, worship, and
religion is spiritual, from Christ, who is from above, and not of
this world. Christ hath redeemed his people from the world, and
its changeable rudiments, elements, and old things, and from its
changeable teachers, faiths, and beliefs. For Christ is the author
and finisher of his church’s faith, who is from above, and saith,
‘Believe in the light, that ye may become children of light;’ and
it is given them not only to believe, but to suffer for his name.
So this faith and belief is above all faiths and beliefs, which
change, like the moon. God’s people are a holy nation, a peculiar
people, a spiritual household, and royal priesthood, offering up
spiritual sacrifice to God, by Jesus Christ; and are zealous of
righteous, godly, good works; and their zeal is for that which is
of God, against the evil which is not of God.
“Christ took upon him the seed of Abraham; he doth not say, the
corrupt seed of the Gentiles: so, according to the flesh, he was
of the holy seed of Abraham and of David; and his holy body and
blood was an offering and a sacrifice for the sins of the whole
world, as a lamb without blemish, whose flesh saw no corruption.
By the one offering of himself in the New Testament or New
Covenant, he has put an end to all the offerings and sacrifices
amongst the Jews in the Old Testament. Christ, the holy Seed, was
crucified, dead, and buried, according to the flesh, and raised
again the third day; and his flesh saw no corruption. Though he
was crucified in the flesh, yet he was quickened again by the
Spirit, and is alive, and liveth for evermore; he hath all power
in heaven and in earth given to him, and reigneth over all; and is
the one Mediator between God and man, even the man Christ Jesus.
“Christ said, ‘He gave his flesh for the life of the world:’ and
the apostle says, ‘His flesh saw no corruption:’ so that which saw
no corruption he gave for the life of the corrupt world, to bring
them out of corruption. Christ said again, ‘He that eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: for my flesh is
meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And he that eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.’ He that
eats not his flesh and drinks not his blood, which is the life of
the flesh, hath not eternal life. As the apostle saith, all died
in Adam; then all are dead. Now all coming spiritually to eat the
flesh of Christ, the second Adam, and drink his blood, his blood
and flesh gives all the dead in Adam, life, and quickens them out
of their sins and trespasses, in which they were dead; so they
come to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, living
members of the church of Christ, that he is the head of; are
clothed with the Sun of Righteousness, the Son of God, that never
changes, and have the changeable moon under their feet, and all
changeable, worldly things and inventions, and works of men’s
hands. These see the people, how they change from one worship to
another, from one religion to another, from one way to another,
and from one church to another; and yet their hearts are not
changed. The letter of Scripture is read by the Christians like
the Jews; but the mystery is hid: they have the sheep’s clothing,
the outside, but are inwardly ravened from the Spirit, which
should bring them into the Lamb’s and Sheep’s nature. The
Scripture saith, ‘All the uncircumcised must go down into the
pit:’ and therefore all must be circumcised with the Spirit of
God, which puts off the body of death, and sins of the flesh, that
came into man and woman by their disobedience, and transgressing
of God’s commands. I say, all must be circumcised with the Spirit,
which puts off the body of death and sins of the flesh, before
they come up into Christ, their Rest, that never fell, and be
clothed with Him, the Sun of Righteousness.”
G. F.
Towards the latter end of this year I went to KINGSTON to visit
Friends there; and stayed some time at my son Rous’s. I wrote there
a paper concerning “the falling away” foretold by the apostle Paul,
2 Thess. ii. 3, as follows:—
“The apostle saith that there must be ‘a falling away’ first,
before the wicked one, that man of sin, the son of perdition, be
revealed, which betrayeth Christ within, as the son of perdition
betrayed Christ without; and they that betray Christ within,
crucify to themselves Christ afresh, and put him to open shame.
Before the apostles died, this man of sin, the son of perdition,
was revealed: for they saw antichrist come, and false prophets,
false apostles, and deceivers come, having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof. They saw the wolves dressed in the
sheep’s clothing, and such as went in Cain’s, Korah’s, and
Balaam’s way, and Jezebel’s; and the whore of Babylon, the whore
of confusion, the mother of harlots, and such as were enemies to
the cross of Christ, that served not the Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own bellies. These Christ saw should come, and said, ‘If it
were possible, they should deceive the elect;’ and commanded his
followers not to go after them. The apostle said, ‘Turn away from
such;’ and Christ and his apostles warned the church of Christ of
such.
“And now, in this day of Christ and his gospel, after the long
night of apostasy from the light, grace, truth, life, and Spirit
of Christ Jesus, the son of perdition, the wicked one, the man of
sin, is revealed again; and the inwardly ravening wolves in
sheep’s clothing, and the spirit of Cain, Korah, Balaam, Jezebel,
the antichrists, false prophets, and false apostles, and such as
are enemies to the cross of Christ, who serve not the Lord Jesus,
but their own bellies; and crucify Christ to themselves, and put
him to open shame. This spirit have we seen in this gospel-day of
Christ; but Christ will consume them with the Spirit of his mouth,
and destroy them with the brightness of his coming. But God’s
people, whom he hath chosen unto salvation in Christ from the
beginning, ‘through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth,’ stand stedfast in Christ Jesus; and are thankful to God,
by and through his Son, their rock and salvation, who is their
happiness and eternal inheritance.
“The apostle saith, ‘Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now
returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.’ So when people
are returned to Christ, their Shepherd, they know his voice, and
follow him; and are returned to the Bishop of their souls: then
they believe in him, and receive wisdom and understanding from
him, who is from above, heavenly and spiritual. Then they act like
spiritual and holy men and women; and come to be members of the
church of Christ. Then a spiritual care cometh upon the elders in
Christ, that all the members walk in Christ, in his light, grace,
Spirit, and truth, that they may adorn their profession of Christ;
and see that all walk in the order of the Holy Spirit, and the
everlasting gospel of peace, life, and salvation. This order keeps
out of confusion; for the gospel of peace, the power of God, was
before confusion was. And all the heirs of the gospel are heirs of
its order, and are in this gospel, which brings life and
immortality to light in them; by which all may see their work and
service in it, to look after the poor, widows, and fatherless, and
to see that nothing be lacking; and that all honour the Lord in
their lives and conversations.
“When the whole house of Israel were in their graves and
sepulchres, and were called ‘the scattered dry bones,’ yet they
could speak, and say, ‘their bones were dry, their hope was lost,’
or they were without hope, ‘and they were cut off.’ They were
alive outwardly, and could speak outwardly. So that which is
called Christendom may very well be called ‘the scattered dry
bones,’ and they may be said to be in their graves and sepulchres,
dead from the heavenly breath of life, the Spirit and Word of
life, that gathereth to God. Though they can speak, and are alive
outwardly, yet they remain in the congregations or churches of the
dead, that want the virtue of life. For the Jews, whom God poured
his Spirit upon, and gave them his law, when they rebelled against
the Spirit of God, and turned from God and his law, came to be dry
scattered bones, and were turned into their graves and sepulchres.
So Christendom, that is turned from the grace, truth, and light of
Christ, and the Spirit, that God poureth upon all flesh, they are
become the scattered dry bones, are in their graves and
sepulchres, and are the congregations or churches of the dead,
though they can speak, and are alive outwardly.
“Christ saith, ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly.’ He gave his flesh for the life of
the world. And he saith, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’;
and, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto
the Father but by me.’ Christ is the quickening Spirit. All being
dead in Adam, are to be quickened and made alive by Christ, the
second Adam. And when they are quickened and made alive by him,
they meet together in the name of Jesus Christ their Saviour, who
died for their sins, and is risen for their justification; who was
dead and is alive again, and liveth for evermore. All whom he hath
quickened and made alive (even all the living) meet in the name of
Jesus, who is alive, and He, their living Prophet, Shepherd, and
Bishop, is in the midst of them; and is their living Rock and
Foundation, and a living Mediator between them and the living God.
So the living praise the living God through Jesus Christ, through
whom they have peace with God. All the living have rest in Christ,
their life. He is their sanctification, their righteousness, their
treasure of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, which is
spiritual and heavenly. He is the spiritual tree and root, which
all the believers in the light, the life in Christ, that pass from
the death in Adam to the life in Christ, and overcome the world,
and are born of God, are grafted into; even Christ, the heavenly
tree, which beareth all the spiritual branches or grafts. These
meet in his name, are gathered in him, and sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, their life, who hath quickened
and made them alive. So all the living worship the living God in
his Holy Spirit and truth, in which they live and walk. Into this
worship, the foul, unclean spirit, the devil, cannot get; for the
Holy Spirit and truth is over him, and he is out of it. This is
the standing worship, which Christ set up in his new covenant. And
they that are quickened by Christ are the living stones, living
members, and spiritual household and church, or congregation of
Christ, who is the living head and husband. They that are made
alive by Christ are a living church, have a living head, and are
come from the congregations or churches of the dead in Adam, where
death and destruction talk of God, and of his prophets and
apostles, in their wisdom that is below, earthly and devilish; in
the knowledge that is brutish, and in the understanding that comes
to naught. For what they know is natural, by their natural
tongues, arts, sciences; in which they corrupt themselves. This is
the state of the dead in Adam: but the quickened, they that are
made alive by Christ, discern between the living and the dead.”
G.F.
Kingston-upon-Thames, the 12th Month, 1686-7.
While I was at Kingston, I wrote also another paper, showing “that
the Lord, in all ages, called the righteous out from amongst the
wicked, before he destroyed them;” after this manner:—
“Noah and his family were called into the ark, before the old
world was destroyed with the flood. And all the faithful
generation, that lived before, were taken away, and died in the
faith, before that flood of destruction came upon the wicked old
world.
“The Lord called Lot out of Sodom, before he destroyed and
consumed it, and the wicked there.
“Christ said, ‘It cannot be that a prophet perish out of
Jerusalem:’ and he said, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest
the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth
her brood under her wings! and ye would not,’ Luke xiii. 33, 34.
And he said to the Jews, ‘Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I
will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall
slay and persecute; that the blood of all the prophets, which was
shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this
generation; from the blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias,
which perished between the altar and the temple. Verily, I say
unto you, it shall be required of this generation,’ Luke xi.
49-51. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your house is left unto
you desolate,’ Matt. xxiii. 34, &c. Christ told his disciples,
that the temple at Jerusalem should be thrown down, and there
should not be one stone left upon another, that should not be
thrown down, Matt. xxiv. 2. Also, that he must go to Jerusalem,
and ‘suffer many things of the Jews, elders, and chief priests,
and be killed, and raised again the third day,’ Matt. xvi. 21. And
Christ said, ‘When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies,
then know the desolation thereof is nigh.’ He foretold, that the
Jews should fall by the edge of the sword, and should be led away
‘captive into all nations; and Jerusalem should be trodden down of
the Gentiles,’ Luke xxi. 20, 24.
“Here you may see, how Jerusalem was often warned by Christ, and
how often he would have ‘gathered them, but they would not,’
before they were scattered over or into all nations, their houses
left desolate, and their temple and Jerusalem besieged with
armies, destroyed, and thrown down. And though the disciples and
apostles of Christ did meet, with the elders and church, at
Jerusalem, after Christ was risen, yet Eusebius reports in his
_Ecclesiastical History_, that the Christians at Jerusalem had a
vision, or a revelation to depart out of Jerusalem. Being
forewarned also by Christ, that when they should see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, its desolation was nigh; and that the
temple should be thrown down, and not one stone left upon another;
it is said, that the Christians did depart out of bloody
Jerusalem, before it and the temple were destroyed by Titus, the
emperor, who besieged it with his armies. He was of the Gentiles,
and destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, as Christ had fore-spoken
to his disciples, because of the wickedness of the Jews, and the
innocent blood that they had shed in it. So the Lord called his
people out of bloody Jerusalem, before he destroyed it.
“And it is said, that Titus destroyed the temple and Jerusalem
about forty-two years after Christ was crucified, and risen again;
and that with so great a destruction, that the Jews never built
the city again, nor the temple (as Sodom was never built again,
nor the cities of the old world.) But the Jews for above these
thousand years have been, and are a scattered people in all
nations to this day; and Christ (whom they crucified) and his
doctrine, is preached, and set over them; and the Gentiles, whom
they hated, have received, and do receive him and his doctrine,
and praise God for it through Jesus Christ. Amen.
“God called his people out of Egypt, after he had poured out his
ten plagues upon the Egyptians; when he had destroyed the
first-born of Egypt, then the Lord brought his people out of
Egypt. And after the Lord had clearly brought his people out, he
destroyed Pharaoh, and all his hosts and chariots.
“John says, he heard a voice, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people,
(to wit, out of Babylon, the false church), that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for
her sins have reached to heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities,’ Rev. xviii. 4, 5, Here ye may see that God called his
people out of spiritual Babylon, before he destroyed her, and cast
her down, to be utterly burnt with fire, ver. 8, 9, 21.
“Was not Nebuchadnezzar’s empire thrown down and ended by Cyrus
and Darius, who were of the seed of the Medes, before Cyrus and
Darius gave forth their proclamation for all the Jews to go into
their own land, out of Babylon’s captivity? And was there not a
prophecy of Cyrus, ‘that he should subdue nations, and that the
Lord would loose the loins of kings before him, and break in
pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron, and
open the two-leaved gates; and that the gates should not be shut?’
And the Lord said, ‘This is for Jacob, my servant’s sake, and for
Israel mine elect,’ Isa. xlv. Was not this fulfilled in Cyrus’s
and Darius’s time? For did not then the Jews go out of captivity
into their own land, Ezra i. 2-4; vi. 1, 12; Isa. xliv. 28; xlv.
13. Was not this prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled when the children of
Israel came out of Babylon? Were not the Assyrians, that carried
away the ten tribes, subdued? and the Babylonians, that carried
away the two tribes, were they not subdued in the days of Cyrus
and Darius, in whose days the ‘loins of kings were loosed, and the
two-leaved gates of brass and iron were opened?’ and had not
Israel and Jacob their liberty by them in their days, to go into
their own land?
“And here in England, was it not observed, that most of the honest
and sober people were turned out of the army, and their
commissions, offices, and places taken from them, because they
could not join with others in their cruelty and persecuting? And
others laid down their commissions themselves, and came out from
amongst those persecutors, before they were overthrown and brought
to confusion. All that are wise, see these things, and learn by
such examples and way-marks to shun such bogs. The righteous are
safe, that keep _in Christ_, their everlasting sanctuary, that
changes not in whom they have rest and peace with God. Amen.”
G.F.
Kingston, the 29th of the 12th Month, 1686-7.