or elocution; and which the carnal mind can never conceive an adequate idea of by all the reasonings of flesh and blood, or penetrations of human wisdom.

The wise, the scribe, the disputer of this world, may imagine and contend, in ignorance and darkness; but can never in that state have the living knowledge and experience of these things; while they that endure the day of trial, continue with Christ in his temptations, drink his cup, and abide his baptisms, his agonies and death, thus resting from all their own works, come to the true christian sabbath, and therein worship God in spirit and in truth, in the pure, living experience of that sacred, awful, reverential silence which is known in heaven. These know what is meant by the smoke of the incense which continually ascends up before God, from the angel's hand, and from the golden altar for ever; and are in good preparation to witness and understand the remaining wonders-the soundings of the angels, the measure of the temple, the leaving out of the outward court, the woman clothed with the sun, the dragon's tail, and many other deep mysteries, which are never clearly understood but as he that hath the key of David opens them. But, as far as needful, he fails not to open them to all who follow him in the regeneration, wheresoever he leadeth them; who are redeemed from the earth, and from among men. These shall stand with him on Mount Sion, and, having their Father's name written in their foreheads, shall sing the new song, receive the blessing of those who obey his commands, have a right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city. They shall rest from their labours, and their works shall follow them.

Great part of the Revelations, as well as other mysterious scriptures, is livingly known in the work and progress of regeneration, and therein found very pertinent and descriptive, in regard to the many exercises, pangs, probations, and deliverances, which attend the soul in its seasons of refinement, and gradual renovation. And all this hinders not, but well consists, with the more outward meaning and fulfilment of such parts of sacred record, so far as they really respect things outward but I am firm in the faith, that many are musing and gazing after outward fulfilments, to the very great and some

times injurious diversion of their minds from the only work and fulfilment of many passages, which they may ever properly expect to experience.

The scripture is a sealed book; it is abundantly wrapped up in parable, metaphor, and mystery: yea many, very many things in it, which men whose minds are outward will read and understand of outward things, are mainly meant of internal operations, discoveries, and overturnings, which God in his dealings with the soul, leads it along through. "He that hath an ear, let him hear," is a very proper intimation, and is therefore often repeated, that the mind may be directed to an inward hearkening, in order to a right understanding: for many have eyes, but see not; and ears, but hear not. The eye and ear that sees and hears divine things rightly, must be divinely opened. Many are blind because they think they see; and deaf, by reason of their confidence that they hear. Christ's coming was and is, that those who see and hear may be made blind and deaf; and that the blind and deaf may see and hear: and blessed are these who are made blind and deaf by him; for it is as needful to true seeing and hearing, to be first made blind and deaf, as wounding is necessary to healing, and killing to being made alive. He that will be wise, must first become a fool that he may be wise, and he that will see and hear, must first become blind and deaf.

Oh! it is a great thing to know that eye and ear closed, that ever sees and hears amiss, and to keep them steadily shut up; and the single eye and ear properly open. Keep to that in thee, O inward traveller, that shuts the wrong eye and ear, and opens the right; then wilt thou be in the number of such as our Lord pronounceth blessed, saying, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear."

CHAPTER VII.

66

6th month 12th. I HAVE divers times lately very clearly seen the great folly of thinking ourselves of much importance, either in religious society, or in the world. How would it seem, how would it sound, to a truly humble mind, to see one professing himself to be a meek and humble follower of the Lamb, get into a noted place of concourse, and utter himself thus: "I am a great and good man, and the Lord has given me great influence and authority. I am very meek and lowly; but he hath lifted me up. He hath rewarded my faithfulness and humility with great power and great sway. I have a right to be heard. I am heard, and can be heard; and when I speak, others give way, for indeed they know who and what I am, and they ought to give way?"

Doubtless this would sound very contrary to true humility; but is it not as contrary thereto, for one who professes himself to be a Christian, and to tremble at the word of the Lord, to think in the foregoing manner, as to speak so.. Oh! may my soul ever dwell in true abasement! And may every one that reads these lines carefully (not superficially) examine, and inquire at the oracle within, whether there is not a secret, lurking pride, in his or her heart; something, that in some degree would plume itself on account of some importance, and be ready at times to say or to think, "I am somebody, I am considerable." Now though many may never arrive to that height of arrogancy, as even to think of themselves as I have supposed one expressing himself, as above, yet many who have once been brought into sufferings and abasement, when they get a little ease, and begin to grow a little active, give way to an aspiring mind, and at length begin to think they are of some considerable importance; that they can speak pretty well, and to the purpose, and are therefore heard. Nay, they almost forget, without whom it is that they can do nothing, and are ready to VOL. I.-21

think they can do something for the cause of truth of themselves. The least degree of self-sufficiency, cuts off our dependance, in some degree, from the Lord, on whom alone it ought to be; and in such proportion as we presume to act in his cause independent of him, in the same proportion he will, in due time, confound us and our language. For the very beginning of this self-exaltation is the beginning of Babel. And he that gets up a considerable height in this activity and self-importance, does but climb up the tower of Babel, from whence he must come down, for God will have all the glory and blessed and happy is he that knows a being brought down, yea, down low, and there abiding; for until all and every degree of self-exaltation is entirely rooted out of our minds, we are not quite what God would have us to be; and his turning and overturning in us, is in order, if not resisted, thus to make us; and until we do, from the centre of our souls, give him all the glory, there remains in us a source of unhappiness, disorder, and confusion. O man! how great is the work of thy salvation; how many deaths thou hast to die, before that comes to reign in thee which lives for ever! for know thou, that thou canst never fully enjoy that life which is hid with Christ in God, until thou diest to thy own selfish life. It is he that loses his life for Christ's sake that shall find it; yea, our blessed saviour declares, "If any man hate not his own life, he cannot be my disciple:" and at this juncture of time I sincerely do so.

Lord God Almighty! carry on thy great work in my soul; bow every exalted imagination, and lay all that is not of thy own immediate begettings in me, level with the dust, that I may altogether, and at all times, hate my own life, with perfect hatred, until I come livingly to know that it is thy only begotten in whom thou art well pleased; and with no man further than he dies to himself, and lives, in the son of thy love, a life unknown to the benighted sons of Adam in the fall, and only faintly conceived of by thousands that have known a degree of renovation. Lord! when it shall please thee, awake them, arouse and alarm them, that they may arise from their lethargy, and be enabled to look and behold Jerusalem a quiet habitation, and be admitted, pure and perfect, into the communion and fellow

ship of her ransomed sons, where thou, O Most Holy, rulest God over all, and self-exaltation finds no admittance.

Having for some time past, felt drawings in my mind to pay a religious visit to Friends of Oblong and Nine-Partners Quarterly Meetings, and perceiving a like concern in my friend Daniel Aldrich, of our Monthly Meeting of Uxbridge, we laid our prospects before our brethren at home, and, obtaining their certificates of concurrence from our Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, I left my dear wife and family, in much heart-felt tenderness and affection, the 19th of the 7th month, and rode that night to my said friend Daniel's house, about nine miles; and next morning, taking our solid leave of his family, we got on our way between forty and fifty miles to Coventry, in Connecticut. 21st, we got to Litchfield, near fifty miles, and next day, the 22d, got to Friends' fifth-day meeting at New Milford,.. upwards of twenty miles, though we knew not that there was a meeting there of course that day, but the probability made us press on a little, so that we reached it seasonably : it was very small and silent. I suppose it not far from one hundred and thirty miles from my home to this meeting, and near all the way among Presbyterians, who used us civilly; and I have reason to believe there is much more openness and charity in many of their minds towards Friends than formerly.

Next day, 23d, had a meeting at Oblong. This meeting was open and favoured. I felt engaged to encourage some who I believe had felt something of the operation of the fiery furnace, to keep in it, and not give back, until it had purified and refined them.

On the 24th of 7th month, we were at the Valley meeting. I suffered the meeting through, under a close exercise, but could not find a way sufficiently open to attempt to clear my mind by public testimony. Thence we rode to my dear uncle Thomas Comstock's, a tribulated follower of the Lamb, a minister of deep experience. Staid all night with him; and on first day, 25th, were at Peachpond meeting, about two miles from his house, and ten from the Valley. The meeting here felt much to me like a pond of stagnant water. Lukewarmness and indifferency among them sensibly oppressed my