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the Lord delayeth the time of his coming. Be not as they that said "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die."

'The apostle tells the Ephesians, that unto him this grace was given-" to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ," (Ephesians iii. 9). Read and understand every one with the light which comes from Christ the mystery, which will be your condemnation, if ye believe not in it. This is to all, who stumble at the work of the Spirit of God, the manifestation of it, which is given to every man, to profit withal. Come, ye professors, who stumble at it, let us read the parables. A sower went forth to sow; and some seed fell on the highway-ground, and some on stony ground, and some on thorny ground: the Seed is the word, the Son of man is the seeds-man. He that hath an ear, let him hear." (Mat. xiii.) Now look, all ye professors, which ground ye are? and what ye have brought forth? and whether the wicked seedsman hath not got his seed into your ground? "He that hath an ear, let him hear." And come, read another parable, of the householder, hiring labourers to go into the vineyard, and agreeing with every man for a penny (Mat. 20). Every man is to have his penny, the last that went in, as well as the first: and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen. "He that hath an ear, let him hear." There is a promise spoken to Cain, that if he did well he should be accepted, (Gen. iv. 7). And Esau had a birthright, but despised it. Yet is it not of him that willeth (Rom. ix. 16); but by grace ye are saved, (Ephes. ii. 8). And stand still, and see your salvation, (Exod. xiv. 13.) And ye that be children of light, put on the armour of light, that ye may come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that henceforth ye be no more children tossed to and fro." (Ephes. iv. 13).

And the Lord said, he would make a covenant, by writing his law in peoples' hearts, and putting his Spirit in their inward parts; whereby they should all come to know the Lord, him by whom the world was made. Now every one of you mind the law written in your hearts, and this Spirit put in your inward parts, that it need not be said to you, know the Lord; but that ye may witness the promise of God fulfilled in you. But,' say the world, and professors, if every one must come to witness the law of God

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written in their hearts, and the Spirit put in the inward parts, what must we do with all our teachers? As we come to witness that, we need not any man to teach us to know the Lord, having his law written in our hearts, and his Spirit put in our inward parts. This is the covenant of life, the everlasting covenant, which decays not, nor changes not and here is the way to the Father, without And here is the which no man cometh unto the Father.

everlasting priesthood, the end of the old priesthood, whose lips were to preserve knowledge: but now, saith Christ, Learn of me, who is the high-priest of the new priesthood. "And," saith the apostle, "that ye may grow up in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, in whom are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." So we are brought off from the old priesthood that did change, to Christ, to the new priesthood, that doth not change; and off from the first covenant, that doth decay, to the everlasting covenant that doth not decay, Christ Jesus, the covenant of light, from whom every one of you have a light, that ye might believe in the covenant of light. If ye do not believe, ye are condemned; for light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. "I am come a light into the world," saith Christ, "that whosoever believeth in me, should not abide in darkness, but have the light of life." (John xii. 46). And, "believe in the light, that ye may be children of the light." But ye who do not believe in the light, but hate it, because it manifests your deeds to be evil, ye are they that are condemned by the light. Therefore while ye have time prize it: seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is nigh; lest he say, time is past; for the rich glutton's time was past. Therefore while time is not quite past, consider and search yourselves, and see if ye be not they that hate the light; and so are builders that stumble at the corner stone: for they that hated the light, and did not believe in the light, did so in ages past. "Í am the light of the world," saith Christ," and who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world:" and he also saith "learn of me, " and of him God saith, "this is my beloved Son, hear ye him: " here is your teacher. But ye that hate the light do not learn of Christ, and will not have him to be your king, to reign over you; him, to whom all power in heaven and earth is given, who bears his government upon his shoulders, who is now come to reign; who lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and who will give to every man a reward, according to his works, whether they be good or evil. So every man, with VOL. I.

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the light that comes from Christ, will see his deeds, both he that hates it and he that loves it. And he that will not bring his deeds to the light, because the light will reprove him, that is his condemnation; and he shall have a reward according to his deeds. For the Lord is come to reckon with you, and he looks for fruits; and now the axe is laid to your root, and every tree of you that bears not good fruit, must be hewn down, and cast into the fire.' G. F.

Having staid sometime in London, and visited the meetings of friends in and about the city, and cleared myself of what services the Lord had at that time laid upon me there, I left the town, and travelled into Kent, Sussex and Surrey, visiting friends in those counties, amongst whom I had great meetings; and many times met with opposition from baptists and other jangling professors, but the Lord's power went over them.

We lay one night at Farnham, were we had a little meeting, and the people were exceeding rude, but at last the Lord's power came over them. After meeting we went to our inn, and gave notice that any that feared God might come to our inn to us; and there came abundance of rude people, and the magistrates of the town also and some professors. I declared the truth unto them, and those of the people that behaved themselves rudely the magistrates put out of the room. When they were gone, there came up another rude company of professors, and some of the chief of the town, and they called for faggots and drink, though we forbad them; and were as rude a carriaged people as ever I met withal. The Lord's power chained them that they had not power to do us any mischief; but when they went away, they left all their faggots and beer which they had called for into the room, for us to pay for in the morning. We shewed the innkeeper what an unworthy thing it was, but he told us we must pay it; and pay it we did. And before we left the town, I writ a paper to the magistrates and heads of the town, and to the priest, shewing them and him how he had taught his people, and laying before them their rude and uncivil carriage to strangers that sought their good.

Then leaving that place we came to Basingstoke, a very rude town, where they had formerly very much abused friends. There I had a meeting in the evening, which was quiet, for the Lord's power chained the unruly. At the close of the meeting I was moved to put off my hat, and to pray to the Lord to open their understandings; upon which they raised a report, that I put off my hat to them

and bid them good night, which was never in my heart. After the meeting, when we came to our inn, I sent for the innkeeper (as I used to do), and he came into the room to us, and shewed himself a very rude man; I admonished him to be sober and fear the Lord; but he called for faggots and a pint of wine, and drank it off himself, and then called for another, and called up half a dozen men into our chamber. Thereupon I bid him go out of the chamber, and told him he should not drink there, for we sent for him up to speak to him concerning his eternal good: and he was exceeding mad, rude and drunk. When he continued his rudeness and would not be gone, I told him the chamber was mine for the time I lodged in it, and I called for the key; and then he went away in a great rage. In the morning he would not be seen, but I told his wife of his unchristian and rude carriage towards us.

After this we passed through the country till we came to Bridport, having meetings in the way. We went to an inn there, and sent into the town for such as feared God to come to us; and there came a shopkeeper, a professor, and put off his hat to us, and seeing we did not the like to him again, but said thou and thee to him, he told us he was not of our religion; and after some discourse with him he went away, his wife (who came with him) being somewhat loving. Then went he and stirred up the priest and magistrates against us, and after awhile sent to the inn to us, to desire us to come to his house, for there were some would speak with us, he said. Thomas Curtis was then with me, and he went down to the man's house; where when he came the man had laid a snare for him, for he had gotten the priest and magistrates thither, and they boasted much that they had catched George Fox, taking him for me. When they perceived their mistake, they were in a great rage, yet the Lord's power came over them, so that they let him go again. Mean while I had an opportunity of speaking to some sober people that came to the inn; and when Thomas was come back and we were passing out of the town, some of them came to us, and said the officers were coming to fetch me; but the Lord's power came over them all, so that they had not power to touch me. There were some convinced in the town that time, who were turned to the Lord, and have stood faithful in their testimony to the truth ever since, and a fine meeting there is there.

Passing from hence we visited Portsmouth and Pool, where we bad glorious meetings; and many were turned to the Lord and at Ringwood we had a large general

meeting, where the Lord's power was over all: and at Weymouth we had a meeting; and from thence came to Dorchester, and so to Lyme, where the inn we went to was taken up with mountebanks, so that there was hardly. any room for us or our horses. In the evening we drew up some queries concerning the ground of all diseases, and the natures and virtues of medicinable creatures, and sent them to the mountebanks; letting them know, if they would not answer them, we would stick them on the cross next day; this brought them down and made them cool, for they could not answer them; but in the morning they. reasoned a little with us, and we left the queries with some friendly people, that were convinced in the town, to stick upon the market-cross. And the Lord's power reached some of the sober people in that place, who were turned by the light and spirit of Christ to his free teaching.

Then travelled we on through the country till we came to Exeter; and there, at the sign of the Seven Stars, an inn at the bridge-foot, we had a general meeting of friends out of Cornwall and Devonshire, to which came Humphry Lower, and Thomas Lower, and John Ellis from the Land's End, and Henry Pollexfen, and friends from Plymouth, Elizabeth Trelawny, and divers other friends. A blessed heavenly meeting we had, and the Lord's everlasting power came over all, in which I saw and said, that the Lord's power had surrounded this nation round about, as with a wall and bulwark, and his seed reached from sea to sea; and friends were established in the everlasting seed of life, Christ Jesus, their life, rock, teacher and shepherd:

The next morning after the meeting, major Blackmore sent soldiers to apprehend me, but I was gone before they came; and as I was riding up the street, I saw the officers going down; so the wolf missed the lamb, and the Lord crossed them in their design, and friends passed away peaceably and quietly. The soldiers examined some friends after I was gone, what they did there; but when they told them they were in their inn, and had occasions and business in the city, they passed away without med. dling any further with them.

From Exeter I travelled through the countries, taking meetings as I went, till I came to Bristol, and was at the meeting there. After the meeting was done I did not stay in the town, but passed up into Wales, and had a meeting at the Slone, and so passed through the country to Cardiff, where a justice of the peace sent to me, desiring I would come up, with half a dozen of my friends to his house; so I took a friend or two and went up to him, and he and his

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