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praise, and many have blessed the Lord God, that ever he sent me forth in this service; yea, with tears have many praised him. For all coming to have a concern and care for God's honour and glory, that his name be not blasphemed, which they profess; and to see that all who profess the truth, walk in the truth, in righteousness and holiness, which becomes the house of God, and that all order their conversation aright, that they may see the salvation of God; all having this care upon them for God's glory, and being exercised in his holy power and spirit, in the order of the heavenly life and gospel of Jesus, they may all see and know, possess and partake of the government of Christ, of the increase of which there is to be no end. Thus the Lord's everlasting renown and praise is set up in every one's heart that is faithful; so that we can say the gospel order established amongst us is not of man, nor by man, but of and by Jesus Christ, in and through the Holy Ghost. This order of the gospel, which is from Christ the heavenly man, is above all the orders of men in the fall, whether Jews, Gentiles, or apostatized christians, and will remain when they are gone. For the power of God, which is the everlasting gospel, was before the devil was, and will be and remain forever. And as the everlasting gospel was preached in the apostles' days to all nations, that all might come into the order of it, through the divine power, which brings life and immortality to light, that they who are heirs of it, might inherit the power and authority of it; so now, since all nations have. drunk the whore's cup, and all the world hath worshipped the beast, (but they, whose names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, who have worshipped God in spirit and truth, as Christ commanded,) the everlasting gospel is to be and is preached again, as John the divine foresaw it should, to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. This everlasting gospel torments the whore, and makes her and the beast to rage, even the beast that hath power over the tongues which are called the original, to order them, by which they make divines, as they call them. But all that receive the gospel, the power of God, which brings life and immortality to light, come to see over the beast, devil, whore, and false prophet, that darkened them and all their worships and orders, and come to be heirs of the gospel, the power of God, which was before the beast, whore, false prophet, and devil were, and will be when they are all gone and cast into the lake of fire. And they that are heirs of this power and of this gospel inherit the power which is the authority of this order, and of our meetings. These come to possess the joyful order of the joyful gospel, the comfortable order of the comfortable gospel, the glorious order of the glorious gospel, and the everlasting order of the everlasting gospel, the power of God which will last forever, and will outlast all the orders of the devil, and that which is of men or by men. These shall see the government of Christ,

who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him; and of the increase of his glorious, righteous, holy, just government there is no end; but his government and his order will remain: for he who is the author of it is the first and the last, the beginning and ending, the foundation of God, which over all stands sure, Christ Jesus, the Amen.

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Being returned to London, I staid some time, visiting Friends' meetings in and about the city. While I was in London, I went one day to visit him that was called squire Marsh, who had showed much kindness both to me and Friends. I happened to go when he was at dinner. He no sooner heard of my name, but he sent for me up, and would have had me sit down with him to dinner; but I had not freedom to do so. Several great persons were at dinner with him; and he said to one of them who was a great Papist, 'here is a Quaker, which you have not seen before. The Papist asked me, whether I did own the christening of children?' I told him, 'there was no scripture for any such practice.' 'What!' said he, 'not for christening children!' I said, 'nay.' I told him, 'the one baptism by the one spirit into one body we owned; but to throw a little water on a child's face, and say, that was baptizing and christening it, there was no scripture for that.' Then he asked me, whether I did own the Catholic faith?' I said, 'yes;' but added, that neither the pope nor the Papists were in the Catholic faith; for the true faith works by love, and purifies the heart and if they were in that faith that gives victory, by which they might have access to God, they would not tell the people of a purgatory after they were dead. So I undertook to prove," that neither pope nor Papists, that held a purgatory hereafter, were in the true faith." For the true, precious, divine faith, which Christ is the author of, gives victory over the devil and sin, that had separated man and woman from God. And if they (the Papists) were in the true faith, they would never use racks, prisons, and fines to persecute and force others to their religion, that were not of their faith. This was not the practice of the apostles and primitive christians, who witnessed and enjoyed the true faith of Christ; but it was the practice of the faithless Jews and Heathens so to do. But,' said I, 'seeing thou art a great and leading man among the Papists, and hast been taught and bred up under the pope, and seeing thou sayest," there is no salvation but in your church;" I desire to know of thee, "what it is that doth bring salvation in your church? He answered, "a good life." And nothing else?' said I. "Yes,' said he, good works! And is this it that brings salvation in your church, a good life and good works? Is this your doctrine and principle?' said I. Yes,' said he. Then, said I, neither thou, nor the pope, nor any of the Papists know what it is that brings salvation.' He asked me, what brought salvation in our church? I told him, 'that which brought salvation to the church in the apostles'

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days, the same brought salvation to us, and not another; namely, "the grace of God, which" the scripture says, "brings salvation, and hath appeared to all men," which taught the saints then, and teaches us now. And this grace, which brings salvation, teaches," to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live godly, righteously, and soberly." So it is not the good works, nor the good life that brings the salvation, but the grace.' 'What!' said the Papist, doth this grace, that brings salvation, appear unto all men?' 'Yes,' said I. Then,' said he, 'I deny that.' I replied, 'all that deny that are sect-makers, and are not in the universal faith, grace, and truth, which the apostles were in.' Then he spoke to me about the mother church. I told him, the several sects in Christendom had accused us, and said, "we forsook our mother church." The Papists charged us with forsaking their church, saying, "Rome was the only mother church." The Episcopalians taxed us with forsaking the old Protestant religion, alleging, "theirs was the reformed mother church." The Presbyterians and Independents blamed us for leaving them, each of them pretending "theirs was the right reformed church." But I said, if we could own any outward place to be the mother church, we should own Jerusalem, where the gospel was first preached by Christ himself and the apostles, where Christ suffered, where the great conversion to christianity by Peter was, where were the types, figures, and shadows, which Christ ended, and where Christ commanded his "disciples to wait until they were endued with power from on high." So if any outward place deserved to be called the mother, that was the place where the first great conversion to christianity was. But the apostle saith, Gal. iv. 25, 26. "Jerusalem, which now is in bondage with her children; but Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she that hath an husband." ver. 27. Now this we see, that Jerusalem below, (which was the highest place of worship,) and all that be like her, in profession without possession, have more children than the free woman, that hath an husband, which is Jerusalem that is above, the mother of us all, that are true christians. So the apostle doth not say, outward Jerusalem was the mother, though the first and great conversion to christianity was there; and there is less reason for the title "mother" to be given to Rome, or to any other outward place or city, by the children of Jerusalem, that is above and free: neither are they Jerusalem's children that is above and free, who give the title of mother either to outward Jerusalem, to Rome, or to any other place or sect of people. And though this title [mother] hath been given to places and sects by the degenerate Christians, yet we say still, as the apostle said of old, "Jerusalem that is above, is the mother of us all;"

and we can own no other, neither outward Jerusalem, nor Rome, nor any sect of people for our mother, but Jerusalem which is above, which is free, the mother of all that are born again, become true believers in the light, and are grafted into Christ, the heavenly vine. For all who are born again of the immortal seed, by the word of God which lives and abides for ever, feed upon the milk of the word, the breast of life, grow by it in life; and cannot acknowledge any other to be their mother, but Jerusalem which is above.' 'Oh! (said squire Marsh to the Papist,) you do not know this man. If he would but come to church now and

then, he would be a brave man.'

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After some other discourse, I went aside with justice Marsh into another room, to speak with him concerning Friends; for he was a justice of peace for Middlesex, and being a courtier, the other justices put much of the management of affairs upon him. He told me, 'He was in a strait how to act between us and some other Dissenters. For, (said he,) you cannot swear, and the Independents, Baptists, and Fifthmonarchy-people say also, they cannot swear; therefore, (said he,) how shall I know how to distinguish betwixt you and them, seeing they and you all say, it is for conscience sake that you cannot swear?' I answered, 'I will show thee how to distinguish. They, or most of them thou speakest of, can and do swear in some cases, but we cannot swear in any If a man should steal their cows and horses, and thou shouldst ask them whether they would swear they were theirs? many of them would readily do it; but if thou try our Friends, they cannot swear for their own goods. Therefore, when thou puttest the oath of allegiance to any of them, ask them, "Whether they can swear in any other case, as for their cow or horse?" which, if they be really of us, they cannot do, though they can bear witness to the truth.' I gave him a relation of a trial in Berkshire, which was thus: A thief stole two beasts from a Friend of ours. The thief was taken and cast into prison, and the Friend appeared against him at the assizes. But somebody having informed the judge, that the prosecutor was a Quaker and could not swear, the judge, before he heard the Friend, said, "Is he a Quaker? and will he not swear? then tender him the oaths of allegiance and supremacy." So he cast the Friend into prison and premunired him, and let the thief go at liberty.' Justice Marsh said, 'That judge was a wicked man.' 'But (said I,) if we could swear in any case, we would take the oath of allegiance to the king, who is to preserve the laws that are to support every man in his estate. Whereas others, that can swear in some cases, to preserve a part of their estates if they be robbed, will not take this oath to the king, who is to preserve them in their whole estates and bodies also. So that thou mayest easily distinguish and put a difference betwixt us and those people.' Justice Marsh was afterVOL II.

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wards very serviceable to Friends in this and other cases; for he kept several, both Friends and others, from being premunired: and when Friends were brought before him, in time of persecution, he set many of them at liberty. When he could not avoid sending to prison, he sent some for a few hours, or a night. At length he went to the king and told him, He had sent some of us to prison contrary to his conscience, and he could not do so any more.' Therefore, he removed his family from Limehouse, where he lived, and took lodgings near James' Park. He told the king, 'If he would be pleased to give liberty of conscience that would quiet and settle all; for then none could have any pretence to be uneasy.' And indeed he was a very serviceable man to truth and Friends in his day.

We had great service at London this year; the Lord's truth came over all. Many who had been out from truth came in again this year, confessing and condemning their outgoings.

After I had staid some time in London, I visited Friends in Surry, Sussex, and other places that way, and then travelled northward, having Leonard Fell with me. We visited Friends till we came to Warwich, where many were in prison. We had a meeting in the town. I passed from thence to Birmingham and Badgely. At Badgely I had a large meeting. After which I passed through the country visiting Friends, till I came to Nottingham, where on the first day we had a precious meeting, but not without danger of being apprehended; the constables having threatened Friends.

I passed from thence, visiting Friends, till I came to Balby, and so to York Quarterly Meeting. A blessed meeting we had. Friends had in Yorkshire, seven Monthly Meetings before, and they were so sensible of the service of them, that they desired to have seven more added to them; for truth was much spread in that county. Accordingly in that Quarterly Meeting they were settled and established: so now they have fourteen Monthly Meetings in that county.

It being the assize-time at York, I met with justice Hotham, a wellwisher to Friends, who had been tender and very kind to me at the first.

After I had finished my service for the Lord in York, I passed into the country. As I went, a great burden fell upon me; but I did not presently know the reason of it. I came to a meeting on first-day at Richard Shipton's which was very large. There being a meeting the same day at another place, and the priest of that place, being misinformed that I was to be there, got a warrant, and made great disturbance at that meeting; of which Isaac Lindley gave me an account by the following letter:

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