His Bleffings upon them ; which is the fervent 1686. Defire of, Your faithful Friend in the Love and The 24th of the fecond Month, 1686. THOMAS ELLWOOD, After this, I do not find he writ any Thing 1688. (only fome private Letters in his Decades) but . lived retired till the Year 1688. In which Time of Privacy (as fitteft for it) he began a Work which he did not finifh till many Years after, and that was, The Life of David King of Ifrael, in Verfe; which he began for his own Diverfion, not thinking then of printing it, and carried it on to the End of the third Book. But then the Prince of Orange landing, and the Revolution following, the Nation being in Arms against King James; the Noife of Guns, and Sound of Drums, &c. fo difturbed his Meditation and gentle Mufe (which like the Halcion, breeds in calm Weather) that his poetical Genius left him for a Time, and he thereupon left his Work, for above twenty Years; of which more hereafter in its Place. And here he retired again for two Years; fo that I find nothing to remark of him, either publick or private, but fome private Letters, till the Year 1690. When John Raunce and Charles Harris of Wiccomb in that County, publishing A Memorial (as they call'd it) for the prefent Generation, and alfo for that which is to come; Bb 4 being 1690.being an Account from Wiccomb concerning the Difference, &c. This, Thomas Ellwood anfwered in a Book intituled, The Account from Wiccomb (lately published by John Raunce and Charles Haris) examined, and found falfe. And a Warning thereof given, to all fuch well-meaning Perfons among the People called Quakers, as through perJonal Affection, Want of Confideration, or Weakrefs of Judgment, have been betrayed, or may be in Danger to be betrayed by them, or any other in the fame dividing Spirit with them; and led afide from the Way of Truth, into a Separation from the People of God: For whofe Recovery and Prefervation this is written. Which begins thus: . * For your Sakes it is, O ye much pitied Ones, more than for any Weight in the Account itself, or Worth in the Authors of it, that I have thus taken Notice of it. For indeed, as foon as I had perufed it, I felt a compaffionate Concern fpring in my Heart on your Behalfs, and a Direction in Spirit to open fome Paffages therein, and relating thereto, to you, that ye might be preferved from being taken; or, if in any measure taken, might ⚫ be refcued and delivered from the Snare, which the Enemy of your Souls, and of allRighteoufnefs, hath made Ufe of thefe Men to et, to entangle, entrap and catch you by. And to the true Witnefs of the holy God, in every one of your Confciences, who retain any honeft Breathings after the Lord, and the Way of Holinefs, do I recommend this { my Undertaking, and the Sincerity of my Intention 6 Intention herein.' Wherein he difcovered their 1691. Deceit, as to their Separation; and that it was not for Confcience, but from a libertine Spirit, to lay wafte the good Order in the Church, as their Actions manifefted: Of which he gave fome Inftances, not to their Advantage. But their Works have made them manifeft. The next Book he published, was in 1691, viz. A Reply to an Anfwer, lately published, to a Book long fince written by W. Penn, Intituled, A brief Examination and State of Liberty fpiritual;" both with respect to Perfons in their private Capacity, and in their Church Society and Converfation. Which Book was written, or at least published by W. Penn, in the Year 1681, to distinguish between true and falfe Liberty, little underftood by fome, and too frequently abused by others: Liberty from Sin, not to fin; to do His (God's) Will, and not our own; as W. Penn expreffes it. Which true fpiritual Liberty, being ' abused by fome in the Profeffion of the Truth, (as our Friend T. Ellwood obferves in his Preface) Who under Pretence of being left to that Liberty in themselves, and to their own Freedom therein, both took Liberty to do fuch Things as were inconfiftent with that true Liberty, and with the Principle of Truth which they profeffed; and defpifing thofe ufeful, good and neceffary Helps and Means which the Lord hath provided, and furnished His Church and People with, for the preventing and keeping cut fuch Disorders, Evils and Scandals, as the unruly Nature of Man, thro' < fuch 1691. fuch a Miftake of true Liberty, might and would bring in; did reject the Counsel, Ad'monition or Reproof of their Brethren, with What hast thou to do with me? Leave me to my own Freedom. To reclaim, if it might be, thofe who are thus deceived, and prevent others from being fo, the Author being preffed in Spirit for Zion's Sake, and for the Peace of Jerufalem; and having a deep Senfe (as bimfelf expreffes) of the working of the Enemy 'of Zion's Peace, to rend and divide the Heritage of God, did write the forementioned · Treatife for the Eftablishment of the Faithful, Information of the Simple-hearted, and Reproof of the arrogant and high-minded.' Which ftriking at the falfe Liberty and Pretences of the feparate Party, it seems it had Jain on their Stomachs undigefted these ten Years, and then came forth an Answer to it by J: H. (fuppofed to be John Hog, one of the Separates about Hull.) This Anfwer our Friend T.Ellwood undertakes, and replies to in a pretty large Book; in which he fhews what is meant by true fpiritual Liberty, in W. Penn's own Definition, which he defends; fhews their Abufe of it, anfwers their Arguments, or rather Cavils against it, in Behalf of their falfe libertine Spirit and Practices, which too many ran into to their own Hurt, and Separation from the Church, the Body of Chrift, whereof He is Head; faying, in the Preface, 'The God of Truth knows, I have no other End in this 'of of it, against the flanderous Suggestions, falfe 1691. Charges, and wicked Infinuation of the Ad- ~ 'verfaries; to lay open their deceitful Deal'ing, and to remove (as the Lord shall enable me) the Stumbling-blocks which they have laid in the Way of the Weak, whereby they * have caused fome to fall into Misapprehensions and hard Thoughts of Friends, without Cause. And I befeech the God of Mercy to open the Understandings, and clear the Sight of all thofe, whofe Simplicity has been betrayed by the others Subtilty, that they may fee and escape the Enemy's Snares, and return to the true Fold, from which they have been led aftray.' To which I never heard of any Rejoinder; only fome private Letters past between J. Hog and T. Ellwood about fome Paffages in it. • His next were two Broadfides, the first (in 1692) viz. T. Ellwood's Anfwer to fo much of Leonard Key's late printed Sheet as relates to him. Which Paper of L. Key's was intended moftly to excufe their fhutting Friends out of their Meeting - house at Reading. But therein taking Occafion to flant at fome Paffages in T. Ellwood's Answer to the Account from Wiccomb, gave our Friend Thomas an Occafion, not only to open that Matter further, but alfo to lay open their Deceit in Relation to that Affair, as well as L. Key's and his Party at Reading. To which I refer the Reader. The Second was in 1693, viz. Deceit dif covered, and Malice manifefted, in L. Key's late Paper |