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Show The Rife and Progrefs VoL.L his Behaviour: Very Temperate, Eating little, and Sleeping LeiS, though a~~~;' ~:rft~";d and So'ourned among us: And as he lived fo he died; feeling the fame Eternal Power, that had raifed and prefcn•ed him, in his bfi Momen1s, So full of Affurnnce wa~ he, th::u: he Triumphr over Dea!h; and fo even in his Spirit ro the ldt, as lf Death \_"'ere .hardly wa:n~ Nonce, or a mention : Recommending to fame of us wHh ~1m the Dtfparch and Difperfion of an Epiftle juft before given forth by h1m to the Churches of Chrift throughout rhe World, and his own B~oks: ~ut above all! Frien~s; and of all Friends, thofe in lre/tJ~d and Amenca, twtce O\'er, Saymg, .Mmd poor Friends in Ireland and Amenca. And to fame thar came in ::md enquired how he found himfelf, he :In· fwered, Never heed, t!Jt Lord's- Power :H over aU Wtaknefs and D~atb; tb~ Seed Rtigns, BlejJed he the L ord: Whtch was about Four or FH'C H?urs before his Departure out of this World. He was at th_e great Meen~gs near Umb11rd-jtreer, ,on the Firft Day of the Week , a~d tt was rhe Thnd_ following about Ten at Night when he left us 1 bemg at the Houfe_ of JJ. Goidney in the fame Court. In a good old Age he went, aft~r h:avmg lived to fee his Cbildrens Children in the T,-utb to many Gtll&roflom. He had the Comfort of a £hort Illnefs, and the Bleffing of :t clear Se~fe to the Iaft: And we may truly fay, with a M1n o_f God of 01~, that be1'!g D_e~d, be yet Jpedet1J; And though now abf~nt m Body, be u pref~nt m Sp,_rzt: Neirher Time nor Place being able to mterrupt the Comm:-m10n of Satn_ts. or diffolve the Fellow!hips of the Spirits of the Ju{t. H1s. Works pr~tfe him, becaule they are to the Praife of Him that wtought by ht_m; for whtch hiS Memorial is and {halt be Bleffed. I have done, as to thts Part of my 'Preface, when I have left this !hort Epitaph to his Name, Many Sons- have dtmc Vu·woujly in this Day; but, Dear George, TI1ou excellcfl tbt111 ..d.U. CHAP. VI. Containing Five fever a! Ex_bortation_s, _f"_irft, General, r~min'Jin__g this Pecplt of their Primitive Tntegrtty and SJmplW!Y· Suondly, 1n Partuula~, to tbe Miniflry. Thirdly, to tbt YoungCon\'tnced. Fourthly, to the Cbddren of Friends. F1[rbly, to tbflje tba_t art yet Strange~s _t,o this- People_ ~nd Wa)', to u:bom this Book, (and that tt t~lll Prrf•ct tom rts for"!er Ed1110n) may come. .AU tbt Jeveral Exhortations accommodated ~o tlmr fevcral ~taU.& and Condititms; that aU may llnfwer the End of Gods Glory and thezr ow11 Salvati(m. AND now, Friends, you that profefs to ~alk in t~e.\:Vay that this Bleffed Man was 1ent of God, to turn us ~nto, fuffer,} befeech you, the Word of Exhortation, as well Farbtrs as_ Chr!dren, and Elden as Toung Akn, The Gloryof this Day, and Foundatron of the Hope tha~ ha~ n~t made us a!hamcd. fince we were a People, you know is th~t blcfied Punctple of Light and Life of Chrift which we ptofefs, and D,trea all People to, as the gteat and D1vme Jnftrument and Agt11t of Mans Conve~fi~n to God. It was by this that we- were firU Touched, and effeCl:ual~y mhght~ ned as to out Inward St:tte; which put us upon the Confideranon of our Lat~er End, caufing us to fet rhe Lord before our Eyes, and to Num~r our Days that we might apply our HelrtS to Wifdo~. In that pay we Judged not after the Sigbr of tl)e Eye, or after the Heanng of tbt Ear, b_ut accord~ ing to the Light and Senft this Bleffed Principle gave us, fo we JUdged and atled in Reference to Things and Perfons, our felves and others; yea, to~ wards God our Mlker. For being quick'ned by it in our Inward Alan! we could e:~fi\y difcern the Difference of Things, and feel what was R1ghr, and what was Wrong, and what was Fit, and what not, botb in referen~e to RtligiorH and Civil Concerns. That being the Ground of the Fellowfh~f of al\Sa[nts., it W:lS in th.at our FeUowfbip ftaod. In this we defired to bave"J S~nfe of one another, aCted towards one another, and all Men. in Love, Pi11tb[~tln(fs and Fear. ' In feeling of the Stirrings and Motionr of this Principle in OUf He:trrs we drew n~ar to the Lo!d, and waited to be prepared by it, that we migh; feel, D,-a.wmgs and fHow~g_s- be} ore tlle appro~cbeJ. tb~ Lord in Prayer, or 0 • pe~ d QUt Mouths m Mmiftry. And tn our Beginning and Ending with Thu fiood our Comfort, Service and Ed;_filation. And a.s we raQ fatter or fell fhon, we m:tde ~urthens for our felves to bear; our Setv'ices finding in our felvc£a ~ebuk~ mftead of an Accept:Incc, and in lieu of Wei\ done, who . ba1 rctpurcd tbJs at )'CUr Hands-? In that Day we were an E¥ercifed People our veq Countenances :md Deportment declared it. • Care for others was then much upon us, as well as for our felves 1 efpeci~ aHy of the roung Convinced. Often had we the Bunhen of the Word of the Lord ta o.ur Nti,thbcurs, Reltaions and Acquaintance i and fometimes Strangers- alfo. We were in Travellikewife for one anothers Prefervation· Not ~eeking, but fhunning Occafions of any Coldnefs or Mifunderfl:anding ~ treattng one anothe~ as thofe that ~lieved and_ felt God prefent. Which kept our Converfatton Innocent, SertoiiS and We1ghty; guarding our fHves againft the Cares and Friendfhips of the World. We held the Truth in the Spi ~it of it, and not in our own Spirits, or after our own Will and Af· fe8:tons. . They were bowed and brought into Su'bjeel'ion, in fo much that it wu V1~ble to them that knew us. We did not think our felves at our own Difpofal, to go where we Lift, or fay or do what we Lift, or when we Lilt. Our (ibeny ftood in the Liberty of the Spirit of Truth; and no Pleafure, no Profir, no Fear, no Favour could draw us from this retired ftriU and watchf~lframc. \Ve were f() far from feeking Occ:1fion of Co~pany, that we JVotded them wh:tt we could; purfuing our own Bufinefis with Mode· ration, infield of medling with other People's Unneceffarily. ' Our Words were Few and Savoury. our Looks Compofed and Weighty, and our whole Deportment \'ery Obfervable. True it is, that this Retired and ftria Sort of Life from the Liberty of the Converfation of rhe World~ expofed us to the Cenfures of many, as Hlllllourifls, Conceited and Self~ righteous Perfona, e' c. Bur it was our Preferv:ltion from m:tny Snares to which others were continually expofed, by 1he Prevalcncy of the Luft of rbe Eye, rhe Lull of the Flefh, and the Pride of Life, that wanted no Ocq.Hons or Temptltions to excite tbem abroad in the converfe of the World. I cannot forget the Humility and Chofle Zeal of that D:ty. 0, how con~ ftant ar Meetings, how Retired in them, how Firm to Truth's Life, as well :JS Truth's Principles! And how Entire .:and United in our Communion a9 in.deed became thofe that profefs one Head, even Chrift Jefus the Lord. ' ThH being the Teftimony and Example the Man of God, before~menti.: oned, was 1ent to declare and Leave amongft us, and we ha\'ing embraced the fame as rhe .Merci[11l Vifit•tion of God t6 us, the Word of Exhortation at this Time is, Tbnt we lOntinllt to be found in the Way of this Tefli· ntony, with aU Zeal and Inugriry, mtd Jo much the mort, by bow m11eb tbe Day dr au n b near. And fir it, as to you my Beloved and much honoured Brethren in Chrilt, that are in the Exercife of the Miniftry : 0, feel Life in your Minifiry r Let Life be your Commiffion, your Well-Spring and Treafury in all fu_ch Occ:rfions; elfe, you well know, there can bo no begetting to God, Iince nothing c:tn quicken or make People ~live to God, but rhe Life of God: And it muft be a.Miniftry in and from Life, that enlivens any People to God. We have feen the Fruit of all other Minifiers, by the few that arc turned from the £\'il of their Ways. It is not our Parts, or .Alfmory, the Repetition of former Openings, in our own Will. and Time, that will do God's Work. A dry DE>Clrinal Miniftr"y,"however found in Words, can reach but the &r, and is but a DNam :It the Bdt: Ther.e is another Soundnefs. th1t |