end, and repent, you vain mortal men! for you know not how foon that difmal trump may overtake any of you, Are ye ready? Are ye prepared? Have you the wedding-garment? Are you of them that have fuffered with him, being dead and buried to selfwill, pride, envy, revenge, and the lufts of this ungodly world, and rifen with him in the life, glory, and raiment of the refurrection?' If fo, where are your fruits? If you are not, (as ye are not, I affirm in God's name) then where is your authority for these evil fruits you bring forth, fcoffing, mocking, jangling, disturbing and bawling against us, ftirring up the fcum of the multitude to abufe us? Confider, before it be too late, who is your master in all these things, and whofe fervants you are, in whose name and errand you go, and what fpirit fets you thus to work against fo glorious a principle, and fo harmless a people, who not being contented with lifeless worships, human faiths, and mere traditional religions, cry to the God of heaven to appear and operate in their hearts, and teach them, by his own holy fpirit, to be his disciples and children, according to his promise, yea, though it crofs the world's life, fpirit, customs and fashions; and therefore cannot longer ferve God in the oldness of the letter, by mere imitation, or, after the manner of the loofe Chriftians of this world, only with outfide performances, but "in the newness "of the spirit, in the immediate leadings and guid"ings of the Holy Ghoft," according to Rom. viii. 14. though they were never fo much made a reproach and by-word, and be encompaffed about with lofs and danger. I fay, have a care of resisting, reviling and disturbing these poor people, these believers, these affertors, these followers and children, of the light of JESUS, begotten again of the everlasting day of righteousness, left you treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous fierce judgments of God, and your portion be appointed you in that day with the workers of iniquity for ever.

And

And as I warn you to forfake your vain, frothy, envious, and contentious courses, fo do I exhort you, in God's fear, to unfeigned repentance; and invite you, in love, to the true peace of confcience, even that confcience which is fprinkled from unbelief, hatred, malice, and all ungodlinefs, which is only obtained by an humble and fincere walking in the light of the Son of God, as 1 John i. taking heed to, and not despifing, this holy and fpiritual appearance of Chrift within, to dethrone Satan, and destroy fin, and to bring in his own everlasting righteousness, as the Jews did Jefus, whom they only knew after the flesh, crying out, "Is "not this the Carpenter's fon? this fellow; and if "thou art the Chrift, or Son of God, fhow us a fign, " and tell who fmites thee, and come off from the "crofs, and fave thyfelf." I fay, cavil not thus at the light of Chrift in your confciences; defpife not his fufficiency with your carnal mind, neither turn his grace, mercy, and forbearance into a profane prefumption, and bold tempting of the living God, for then very woful will your end be. Behold, read, ponder, and meditate on the latter end of this poor man! let his cafe be both a warning and vifitation, to all that oppose the light of Chrift within, and the children of it, that you may confider your latter end, find mercy, and be faved. When I read the narrative of his dying condition, O my heart was much broken before the Lord; and I could not but reverently magnify his glorious power, mercy, and truth, that had wrought fo ftrange, fo great, and fo bleffed a work for his name's defence, his people's vindication, and, I hope, for the poor man's foul too! O let him have the glory for ever; for who is like unto him, in heaven or in earth, whose goings are in the deep, and whose ways are past finding out, but in his own time!

And truly, pity rofe in my foul towards all you whofe day is not over, and a fecret ftrong groan to God, that you might all fee your folly, and repent, before you go hence, and be no more feen.

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This

This man I have known many years, being one whom he hath often opposed in publick meetings. His main stroke was against the doctrine of "Christ, the "true light, enlightening every man that comes into "the world, with a divine and faving light:" the fufficiency and univerfality of this to falvation, he conftantly and refolutely withstood; not furiously, madly, and frothily, like outrageous mockers; as some still too evidently and frequently fhew themfelves against us; but with great external fobriety and gravity, as well as zeal; reasoning, after his manner, and not bawling against us. Nor was his converfation fcandalous, but honeft and exemplary in worldly things towards men, for aught that I ever heard upon enquiry. So that his prefent convictions, as they were not the effect of any affrighting difcourfe, infinuations, or befetments of ours in his fickness, neither could they be interpreted to be any trouble for a diffolute life, in which he might be thought to condemn himself generally and confufedly nor yet did his remorse only arife from the way of his oppofing us, as if he ftill retained his judgment; but the very ground of the whole trouble and exercise of spirit, for which he was willing to fee any of us, and utter the foregoing pathetical expreffions, "was his gainfaying us, the people called "Quakers, in the way of our faith and worship;" and fo much his own words teftify. Let all take heed of the reviling thief's ftate upon the cross, left they enter not into the paradife of God for ever.

And now, my dearly beloved friends and brethren, who have hearkened to the holy reproofs of this inftructing light of JESUS in the confcience, and by it been redeemed from the wickedness of this world, and taught in deep and heavenly things, and made, through your cheerful obedience, to partake in measure of the great falvation of God, though it hath been through very many bitter exercifes, and deep tribulations of body and spirit; O! what caufe have you to keep covenant with the Lord, to abide in your heavenly habitation, in a living faith, ftedfaft hope, and con

ftant

ftant patience to the end; cafting your care upon him, and committing your cause and concerns to him, who is not only able, but willing and ready, to fuccour you, and maintain the glory of his own famous and honourable name, deeply concerned in you. O! let us dwell with him for ever, that his Holy Spirit may more and more enliven us, his power ftrengthen us, and his great wisdom conduct us through the work of our day; it is true, "That many are the troubles "of the righteous," but, bleffed be our God for ever, " he will as certainly deliver out of them all."

And though we want not the evidence of his Holy Spirit, that his own right arm gathered us, and that we are his people, bought by his blood, redeemed by his power, and made partakers of his divine life; yet it ought to be no finall evidence of the Lord's goodnefs, and therefore both matter of comfort and confirmation to us, that he hath constrained a teftimony to his own bleffed light within, and us his poor defpifed people, (that have believed in it, and, above all the families of the earth, contended and fuffered for it) out of the mouth of an old and conftant opposer of both, and that upon his dying-bed too, when no fears nor flatteries, no gains nor temptations from men, justly can be thought to have prevailed upon him, but the powerful workings only of that very light he had fo long refifted: this fmote him in fecret; this made his dying-bed uneafy, and proved its own sufficiency upon him, awakening his confcience, opening his understanding, breaking his heart, and drawing a very plain, tender, and fincere confellion from his mouth! O bleffed be the name of our God for ever, who is a God glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders for them that commit their caufe to him.

And whatever were his provocations to us, I can fay it, in the fear of God, my heart was much more filled with pity than displeasure towards him; and this very repentance is both an effectual anfwer of my prayers, and a plain accomplishment of my prophecy,

P 4

with

with fome more of my brethren: for as I often earneftly, and more than ordinarily of late, defired of the Lord this poor man's convincement and repentance, and that with an unusual tenderness of spirit, even when he was strong in his gainfayings; fo have I frequently told him, in the name of God, and presence of many people, at our meetings, (when he came on purpose to withstand us) That God would plead with him, by his righteous judgments; and that the time. would come, wherein he fhould be forced to confefs to the fufficiency of that light he then opposed; and to acknowledge that God was with us, of a 'truth' all which, bleffed be the name of the Lord, is fulfilled, by the foregoing narrative; where he confeffeth himself a Saul, defires forgiveness, teftifies to us that we are the Lord's people, and prays for our increase. Thus hath our God vindicated his glorious

name.

Nor do I infift on this fo much, as if we had been hitherto barren of the like inftances that might encourage us; for a great volume would not contain what we could fay, of the living and dying teftimonies given by great and harsh oppofers to this bleffed way of God we are turned unto: but forafmuch as this man was fo lately, and fo publickly, a gainfayer, and fo generally known of thofe that frequent our meetings to have been fuch; and for that it was his own defire, as well as that the cafe is extraordinary, and that the Lord's honour, and many mens fouls, are concerned, therefore is this published. And I pray God, with my whole foul and fpirit, that it may be a warning to all oppofers, of what fort foever, that they gainfay not themselves into eternal deftruction (for none of their weapons fhall ever profper; the Lord hath faid it;) but that they may turn unto the light of Jesus in their own hearts, and follow the reproofs and inftructions of it," whose ways are ways of purity, and all his " paths are peace;" for he visits the creatures to lead out of fin, which is the only cause of trouble: and my defire farther is, that we, who have believed therein,

may