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Show The Rife and Progrefs VoL I. IV. They diretled People to a Principle in, thetflfelves, tho' not of them· felves, by which all that they aff'erted, Preached and Exhorted o.thers to,, might be wrought in them, and kn_own. t? them, through Expenence, to be t~ue:. Which is an high and dilhnguJfhl_ng Mark of the Trut!l of their :Minill:ry, both that they knew what they fa1d, and w~re not afra1d of com~ ing to the Teft. For as they were bo1_d from Cerramty, ~o ~hey required t:onformiry upon no Humane ~uthomy, but upon C?nv18:1oll, and the Conviaion of This Principle; \'l,lblch they afi'erted was IQ them that they preached. unto, and unto that theJ: direae~ them, that they miglu ~xamine and prove the Reality of thore Thi11gs whtch .rh_ey h~d affirmed of u, as to it's Manifdbtion and Work m M:m. And thts ts more than the many Miilifiers in the World pretended to. .They declare ~f. Religion, py many Things true, in Words, of Gvd, Cbrift, and. the Spmr.; if Holmefs and Heave11 ; that aU Men jbould Repent ond amend their Lzve~, or they wiD go to HelJ, &:C. But which of them all preten~ ~o fpe~k ~~ tbeJr own Kn.owledte tJtiJ Experience? Or ever direUed ·1o a Dtvme Pnnc1ple, or Agent, placed of God jn Man, to help him; and how to know it, .tnd wah to feel it's Power to work th:lt good and acceptable wm o_f _God in them. . . Some of them indeed h:1ve fpokc of 'he Spmt, and the OperationS of ft to SanCtification, and Performance of Worlhip to God ; but WbcrtJ, and i:Iow to find it, and wait in it, to perform our Duty to God, was yet as a M_yftery to l;>e declared by this farther Degree of Reformation. So that this People did not only in Words, more than equally preiS Repentance, Converfion and Holinefs, but did it knowingly and experimentally l and di( eEl:ed thofe, to whom they preached, to a fufficient Principl~; aod told them where it was, and by what Tokens they might know it, aud whicb. way they might experience the Power and Efficacy .of it to their. Souls Hap· pinefs. _ Whtch is more than Tbtory and Speculation, upon wh1ch moft o.tber MinHlers depend: For here is certainty; a Bottom upon which Man may boldly appear before God in the Great Day of Account. V: They reached to the Inward State and Condition of People, which is an. Evidence of the Vinue of their Principlo, and of their Miniftring from· it, and not from their own Imag~nation~, Glo!fes or Commems upon Scrip· ture. For nothing reaches the Heart, but what is from rbe Htart, or pierces the Confcience, but what comes from a living Coofcience. Infoi;J1ucb as it bath 'Often happened, where People have under Secrecy revealed theil· State or Condicion to fome choice Friends, for Advice or Eafe, they have been fo partirularly direll'ed in the Miniftry of this People, that ~hey have challenged theit Friends with difcovering_ their Secrets, and telhng their Preachers their Cafes, to whom a Word had not been fpoken. Yea, the veryThOughts and Putpofes of the Hearts of many have been fo plainly dereEled, that they h:ive, like ~Natboniel, cried out, of this Inward Appear· ance of Chrift, Thou art rbe Son of Go,f, thou art the King of Ifra.el. And thote that have embraced this Divine Principle, ha,•e found tb11 Mark of it's Truth and Divinity (that the Woman of Samaria did of Chrift when in the Flefh, to be the Meffiah) viz. It bad told tbe~ all tfJat ever rbey had done; fhown them theit In fides, the moll: inward Secrets of their Hearts, and laid Judgment to the Line, and Righteoufnefs to the Plummet;. of which Thoufands can at this Day, give in their Wirnefs. So that norbtng has been affirmed by this People, of the Power and Virtue of this Heaven~ ly Principle, that fuel\ as have turned to it have not found true, and more; and that one half had not been told to them of what they have feeil Of the Power, Purity, W'ifdom aad Goodnef: of Go4 therein. VI. The Auompli]hments with which this Principle-jined, even fome of the Meaneft of this People, for their Work and Service : Furnifhing fame of them with an Extraordinary Underftanding in Divine Things, and an ad·· mirable Fluency and Taking Way of Expreffion, which ga\'e Occafion to fome to wonder, faying of them, as of their Mafter, Is not this fuch tl ilk· chaniclts Son. How coTIJe He by tbU l.eorning? As from thence others took Occafion to fufpe8: and infinuate they were Jejr~its. in Difguife, who had tb.e VoL. I. 'OJ th~ 'Pe6pl~ ca!l'd Qu~kers. the .Reputation of Learned Men for :ln A • ]eaft Ground of Truth for any fuch Refl.ellio~c paft, tho th~re w.a~ not the known, the Places of their Abode the' K' : ~n that thea Mmtfters are VII. That they came forrh Lo ~ d ~r ~nare and Education. ChriRians did, attd not by the H~ip 0 0 f V(Pf:1d, w~f< Hated, as the Primitive mer Reformations in Part have don :Bt .Y 1 Oom or Power, as for· Tbh- f'!ople were b;olfgbt fo~tf, in the Cr~r .ut. tn a,l~ Thins•. it may be faid, Wor · d C .n .r 'Js' lll a !.JOntradtBton to the Wayr thor !;; G!::~ombe~/J tGhisdWorld; yea, againfl Wind and Tide' VI I. 1 ;ore 0 • • ' pofe themfelves to s~:;: ~d Dejign 10 tbemJelver rn thH Work, thus to extJnd Children, Ho11jc ~~nd L:nf0:{d; 1f0 ~pend, :t~d be fpent: Leaving Wife with their Lives in their Hand~ b i a t ~t ca.n e accownted dear to Men, Primitive Mejfagc, revived in rhei e g&. ~atlh tn Jeopardy •• r.o. declare this of God, viz. t p!tm, Y the Good Sptnt and Power That God is Light, and. in Him tf 11, Dtr~n if. U his Son a Light into rbe World, to En!it.b;en ~ J.t o _.; anj that be btU fent and that they that fay tb( httVe F iJ lh. a . en JR or er to Salvot1on; mtd People, and yet r.oa/k in'Y Dnr/me} 0:-2 1P.wzf{iji.Gh~· and are HH 0Jildre11 their Omfiiences, and after the Vani:; oi ;h7: w:,M e .;.~nee(/ tbedLigbt in the Troth. B11t that aU fuch !. b L. l ' ey 1e, an do not and wolk iii the Light, as God is L~;b~, eth:g ~~//~fbr~~gr, th;j{ fnu£s. to it, foould clcanfe them from aU Sin. Thus John I ehv'n rip n Son, J, 5, 6, ]- ' 4, 19. C • 3· 20, 2 I. I Joh11 rnJ~, fnb:lf :hneoB~~~h~~ ~f~~.a:'J/~~ Pa~ence.in fuffering for their Telti• in(f B :c L d ' at Jome11mes unto Death hy &at vbs, .!Uhl.flflg_s. ong an Crowded lmprifonment.r and Noifom v' - .rour o1 t em m New·E 1 d d · h tfJ H. • 'J' ungeons: ~r Preo:/i"C a':J:ncft rho~ Peopl~.n1,lftde; n:Z1;:£n~;e ::d''J{i:c;};~fP/11 ers an equepratJ01U of their Goods tmd EHatet al/nojl · l1 P. un· eajily to be expre.Jfet/1 and lifs to have been endured hut hy th~fe ~bat b:~~ :t: f;.pport ~ a Good ~~d Glor~ou: Caufe; rt/u[tng Deliverance by any intlire[l 'is or tans, as_ O;ten 11s 11 was offered unro them. . · That the~ d1d1 not ~nly, not fbow any Difpofirion to Rrotn e when ~t wMas at any Thi1me In theu Power, but forgave their Cruel Enemie;.' Shew .. tn1c ercy ~o I o[c that bad none for them. ' I. '.fhelr Plaznnifs with thofe in Authority, like the Ancient Pro bets · no~ fha~tn~ to tell.them to their Faces, of their Private and Publick PSins ~ T" t ;rr .rophectes ro them of their AfHiCt:ions and Downfal, when in th~ 1 o_ thetr Glory •. Alfo of fame National Judgments, as of the Pia u~ an ~re of London, .m exprefs Terms ; and likewife particular Ones t! di: ve~ . erfecutors, which accordingly overtook them; and were vf!fy remark .. ~b .. e 10 the Places where they dwelt, which in Time may be made Publick ror the Glory of God. Th1n, Reader, thou .Jee/1 thU People in their Rile, Principles, Miniftr and'j/Prog~efs, hoth thetr General and Particular Teflimony; by r.obicb tho! may he mformed, how, an~ upon what Foot theyfprang, and become fo ,011 ... fidernkle .a !~ople. It re'!'~ms next, that I ]hew alfo ihcir Care, ConduEt, ~nd Dli~L~hne, as a Chnfi1an and Reformed Society that they might be ound LlYLng up to their own Principles and Profeffio~. .And rbis, tbe ra· ~!Jer, httiUije they have hardly fuffired more in their Cbarafler from the VnJllfl Cb~rge of Error, than by the fa!fe Imputation of Diforder: Which Cn· limmy md~ed has not failed to foUow all the TriJe Steps tbot were roer made to ~eforma.u~n, and under which Reproach none fuffered more th1n the Primiuvc Ch~tfttans themfelves, t!Jat wrre the Honour of Chrifiianiry, ond the Great LightS an4 Examples of rbrir own and formding Agu. ~ T 2 CHAP. |
