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Show :n, A u t H o R's r: 1 F E. .V~'l..l. c his living TVirneffes in and to an Evil Generation. So prays yfrour F~~ndand .~ • Brothel through the many Tribulations that lead to theRe and tngdom ' of God. William Penn. In this Year he again viflred the Meetin~s of his ~riend~ in the fi!efl_ern ;.,1::Y$: Partt of England; wflere hC baa good SerVIce, and h1s Teibmony Was effet .. 1rnP,mo{ tual to the Information of many. . . H b . &£land. > In the Year qc6,heremoved wi~h hisFamtlytoaconvement a aanon, ·• 17°6 - about a Mil~ from Bret~tford, and etght from London, where he dwe~t fom.e ~ Years; and fre uently attended the Meeung at Brentford, wh1ch his »r~cford. F · ds as well flor the Jlccomodation of hts Famtly, as the General Servrct 0£1:he,; Perfwafion, then firR appoin~ed ~o be held_there ~nee a Month. 1 h Year 1 07 He was unhapptly mvolved m a Suit of Law wuh the ~ Ex:C~to~r of a ~erfon who had been formerly hts Stev;ard, ~gainft whofe He u unblppl· .Demands he thought both Conf~unce and Juftrce required h1s Ende~vours IJmvolvtd m to defend himfelf. But hts Caufe, (though many thought htm aggneve~) _s,mof L~•· was attended with fuch Circumftances, as that the Cour~ of Chancery d~d ot think it proper to relteve him, wherefore he was obltged to. dwell m 1708 ~be Old Bmly within the Rules of the Fleet, fame ~art both of thts and the ~ next'enfiling Year. until fuch Ttmeas the Matter 10 Dtfpute was accommo· daN~w although !he In]ir"'ities of old Age began to vi fit him, and to _Ieife~ ~ his Abilities of continuing his Service_ in the Work of the .Mmiftry Wtth ~11 His 11/f »,.. wonted Alacrity ; yet he travelled, as hts S~rength and Health ~auld admu. ,,;Is in rbe \nto the Wefl of England, as alfo the Counties of Btrkt, Bucktngbam, Surry JV~r~oftbe 'and other Places. , .. ~ M.inifh:1• ln the Yeat qto, The Air near London not bemg agreeable to hts dec~t· •· 1710• - • ·ng Con/litution he took an handfom Seat at Rufocomb near Twyford m ~ 'l:uckingbamfbire: where he had his Refidence during the Remainder of his "to Rulhcomb Life I.7IJ· • 1~ the Year 1711, The Works of an Ancient Friend of his, J_obn Bankf, r....rv:...:.J being ready for the Prefs, he d!ctat.ed to a. Pe~fon that wrote tt from hiS fiW Prefut,'o Mouth (as he walked to and fro wath hts Cane m his ~and, and gave ~ccafio~al Jo~,!:~~~ Anfwers to other Matters intervening) the follo~tng Pref~ce, wh1~h bemg l'Jt.l'i"<l' the !aft Piece he ~ubli!hed, and ob!ervable for ttS Conetfe and Ptthy Ex· ,zahli.fo'd. preffions, we here mfert ; .,., ... Tb, 'Preface to John Banks's <journal FritRd!y Reader, ' THE Labours of the Servanll of God ought always tobe precious ' in the Eyes of his feople, and for that Reafon, the ve.ry Fr_agmenu ' ot their Services are not to be 1oft, but gathered up for Edificatton; ~md ' that is the Caufe we expofe the following Di[cou1jes to publick Yttt11; ' And I hope it will pleafe God to make them effeaual, ro fuch as feriou.f· ' ly perufe them; fince We hav.e always found the Lord ready to fecond ' the Services of his Wort bier, upon theSpiritr of the Readert, not fuffering ' that which is his own to go without a Vouder in every Confcience,. I ~ mean thofe Divine Truths it has plea fed him to reveal among his Ch.il· ' dten by his own ble.ffed Spirit, without which No Man can ri1,htly perwv~ ' tbe Things of God, or be tr11ly SpirituaUy-Minded, which ir Life and Pe~ct. ' And this indeed is the only Beneficial t.'vidence of Heavenly Trutbr, whtch ' made that ExcelJent .A.po/1/e fay in his Day, We 1;,,1ofiJ that we nrc of Go~, , ' tmd that the whole Worlliierb in Wickednifs: For in that Day, True Reb- ' gion and undefiled before Gotland the Father, confifted in vifiting tbe Ftt- : ther!efr and Widows in tbeir Jlffiifliom, and keeping unfpoued frJ'V:~J Vox.. I: : World,. not onlY~ Godly Tradition of what others have ~njoycd, bot rl'le 6 Ex_p~nmental !n;oy"!tnt and Knowled&e thereof, by the Operation of the D1vrne Power tn thetr own Hearts, wh1ch makes up the lnward Jew a d : .Acc~~n:plijh'd Chri.flifn, wh_ofe praife is not of Men but of God: Such a~e , Cbrifl~anr of Chn~ s mak.mg, t_hat can fay with the Apofile, lt is notv.:e , tbar hve. b!ft ~bnfltbat hverb m tu, dying daily ro Self, and rifing u through Fatth 1n the Son of God, ro Newneji of Life Here Form t: p : bo~s to ~ealiry, .Memdry £0 Fe~ling1 _Leuer tO Spirit, :ui Form to Po:;? wh1ch bttnj:S to the Regenerdtron wahout which no Man can inherit h' : Kingdom of Go~; and by which he is ~na~le~ in every Efiate ro cry, Abb: , £.atbtr. Thou 1t fee a. great deal of _thiS 1~ the .fo~lo~ing Author's Wri-ttngs; and that he nghtJy began wJth a Juft D1fbnfhon between T. · : TVijJom and the Fame ofWijliom, w~at was of God, and taught of God , and_of Man, an~ taught by Man, wh1ch at heft is a Sandy Foundation fo; " Reilg1on to b~ ~utlt upon, or rather the Faith and Hope ofMan in Refe-rence to Reilgron, and Solvation by it. And oh that none who k · : Profeffion of. t~e Di_fpenfation of _the Spirit,' maY build befide rhe ,r:J~rk , of Jef~ Cbrijl m theJt ~wn Souls, m Refer:nce to his Prophetical, Priejlly , and Krn~ly Office, In ~h1ch Reg~rd God h1s Father gave him as a tried , Stone, E~ea and Prec1ous, to bmld by and upon : Concerning which rear , and Glonous '!r.uth, we do moft humbly befe~ch the Almighty, w~o is God of the Spmu of aY F!tjh, the Ft11her of Lrght and Spiriu to d ' and eftahlifh all his Vifited and convinced Ones that they n{3y g groun " an Holy HouJe and B~ti!ding to the Lord ; fo fbaJi Purity Peace and (7;w.l!p .• ~bound in the Hpufe and Sanctuary that behatf\ pitched 'and not hlffn.anry , Now as to t~1s worthy Man, th~ Author of the fo1Jowing Trearifes, 1 , h9pe I may wtthout Offence fay, h1s Memorial is ble!fed, havin" known him above forty four Years, an heavenly Minifler of Experimenra/k.ti"g ·on ' of a found Judgment and pious Practice, valiant for the Truth upo1n 1rh • ; Earth, and ready to fe~ve all in the Love and Peace of the Gofpel. H: '" y.':tS amongfi: the. firft tn Cumbt':ltmd that received the Glad Tydin of 1t, and then ret~d1ly gave up, wuh other Brethren, to declare to otfen ' what the Lord had done for their Sou/$. 1 ~ • T~us I firft met h_im, and as I received his Teflimony through the Savour ofLtfe, fo I was ktndly accepted and encouraged by him in the Ber f f : ~he Bleffid Teflrmony 9f tb: Light~ Spirit, Grace and T1·11th ofCbrifi i1 : t~e mward Parts, re_provmg, Inftruatng, reforming and redeeming thofe S 1 : from the Evil li} tbe ~or!d that were obedient thereunto: Here hew~~: Strength to my Soult tn the early Days of my Convincement. to ether : wi_th. his Dear and faithful Friend, Brother, and fellow Trav;ller; John W,(k!nfon of Cumbtrland, formerly a very zealous and able Independe t 6 ftlmijler. n , ' And_ as I hope this Piece of Labour of out .Ancient Friend anJ Bro-. !ber.wtll find Accept~nce every wheFe among God's People. So I ho e ; It Will. be more efp.eetally acc~ptable in the North, wbera he begJn agd ~ h~d hts . early Serv1ces; and tn. the Weft, where they were Wirneffes of .. hts Care to preferve good Order m the Church. ~ ~ Now, Rea.d~r, b_efore 1 ta~e_ my Leave of thee, let me advife thee ro ~ hold thy Reltgron, In the _Spmt, w.J:~ther thou prayeji, praifcjl, or min0 , trtfl to others; Go forth In _the. Abtl1ty God giveth thee, prefume not ,to , aw~ken thy ~eloved bef(lre bu Trme; Be not thy ouJn in thy Performances, but the LOrd t; and thou fhalr not hold the Truth in Unrigbtro11fnift ; a'stqo many do, but according.to the Oracle of God, that will nev~ . , Lea~c nor forfake the~, who Will take Counfel at it, which, that all , Gods Peopl~ m~y do, IS _aud hJth long been the earn eft Defire, and fer· vent Suppltcauon of theus and thy foithfoJ! Friend in the Lord Jefus ~ Chtt!l. - London 23t1 of the 12th Month 1711• IV. Penn. In |
