I did formerly apply myself to pray to the Lord, morning and evening (besides other times), believing in my heart, that it was the will of the Lord I should so do. And this was my condition then :-sometimes I felt the living spring open, and the true child breathe towards the Father; at other times I felt a deadness, a dryness, a barrenness, and only a speaking and striving of the natural part, which I, even then, felt was not acceptable to the Lord, nor did profit my soul; but apprehending it to be a duty, I durst not but apply myself thereto.

Since that time,-since the Lord hath again been pleased to raise up what he had formerly begotten in me, and begun to feed it, by the pure giving forth of that breath of life which begat it (which is the bread that comes down from heaven daily to it, as the Lord pleaseth freely to dispense it), the Lord hath shown me that prayer is his gift to the child which he begets; and that it stands not in the will, or time, or understanding, or affectionate part of the creature, but in his own begetting, which he first breathes upon, and then it breathes again towards him;-and that he worketh this at his own pleasure, and no time can be set him when he shall breathe, or when he shall not breathe; and that when he breathes, then is the time of prayer, then is the time of moving towards him, and following him who draws. So that all my times, and all my duties, and all my graces, and all my hopes, and all my refreshments, and all my ordinances, are in his hand, who is the spring of my life, and conveys, preserves, and increases life of his own good pleas

ure.

I freely confess, all my religion stands in waiting on the Lord, for the riches of his Spirit, and in returning back to the Lord (by his own Spirit, and in the virtue of his own life), that which he pleaseth to bestow on me. And, I have no faith, no love, no hope, no peace, no joy, no ability to any thing, no refreshment in any thing, but as I find his living breath beginning, his living breath continuing, his living breath answering, and performing what it calls for. So that I am become exceeding poor and miserable, save in

what the Lord pleaseth to be to me by his own free grace, and for his own name's sake, and in rich mercy. And if I have tasted any thing of the Lord's goodness sweeter than ordinary, my heart is willing, so far as the Lord pleaseth, faithfully to point any others to the same spring; and not discourage or witness against the least simplicity, and true desire after God, in them. But where they have lost the true living child, and another thing is got up in its stead (which, though it may bear its image to the eye of flesh, yet is not the same thing in the sight of God), and where this nourisheth itself by praying, reading, meditating, or any other such like thing, feeding the carnal part with such a kind of knowledge from Scriptures, as the natural understanding may gather and grow rich by; this, in love and faithfulness to the Lord and to souls, I cannot but testify against, wherever I find it, as the Lord draweth forth my spirit to bear its testimony.

And this I know, from the Lord, to be the general state of professors at this day. The Spirit of the Lord is departed from them, and they are joined to another spirit, as deeply and as generally as ever the Jews were; and that their prayers and reading of the Scriptures, and preaching, and duties, and ordinances are as loathsome to the soul of the Lord, as ever the Jews' incense and sacrifices were. And this is the word of the Lord concerning them. Ye must come out of your knowledge, into the feeling of an inward principle of life, if ever ye be restored to the true unity with God, and to the true enjoyment of him again. Ye must come out of the knowledge and wisdom ye have gathered from the Scriptures, into a feeling of the thing there written of, as it pleaseth the Lord to open and reveal them in the hidden man of the heart.

This is it, ye are to wait for from the Lord; and not to boast of your present state, as if ye were not backslidden from him, and had not entered into league with another spirit; which keeps up the image of what the Spirit of the

Lord once formed in you, but without the true, pure, fresh

life.

From a faithful friend and lover of souls.

To E. TERRY.

I. P.

FRIEND,

If the Lord hath extended favor to thee and shown thee mercy, I therein rejoice on thy behalf.

Thy desire, that what thou wrotest may be looked upon as nothing, and that no contest may be raised from it, I am content fully to answer thee in; nor do I desire to have any advantage against thee, nor art thou at all disparaged in my thoughts by what thou hast written, but it is in my heart as nothing, and my love flows to thee; for I take notice of thy seriousness, and what I have unity with in this letter, and overlook the other.

As touching disputes, indeed, I have no love to them: Truth did not enter my heart that way, nor do I expect to propagate it in others that way; yet, sometimes a necessity is laid upon me, for the sake of others. And truly, when I do feel a necessity, I do it in great fear; not trusting in my spear or bow, I mean in strong arguments or wise consid erations, which I (of myself) can gather or comprehend; but I look up to the Lord for the guidance, help, and demonstration of his Spirit, that way may be made thereby in men's hearts for the pure seed to be reached to, wherein the true conviction, and thorough conversion of the soul to God is witnessed. I had far rather be feeling Christ's life, Spirit, and power in my own heart, than disputing with others

about them.

Christians that truly fear the Lord, have a proportion of the primitive Spirit; and, if they could learn to watch and wait there, where God works the fear, they would daily receive more and more of it, and in it, understand more and more the true intent and preciousness of the words of the

Holy Scriptures. He that will truly live to God, must hear wisdom's voice within, at home, in his own heart; and he that will have her words made known, and her spirit poured out to him, must turn at her reproof. Prov. i. 23. Indeed, I never knew, and am satisfied that none else can know, the preciousness of this lesson, till they are taught it of the Lord.

There is one thing more on my heart to express, occasioned by thy last letter, which is this: I have more unity in my heart and spirit before the Lord, with the Puritan state, than with the churches and gatherings which men have built up and run into since. Indeed, men have enlarged their knowledge and comprehension of things; but that truth of heart, that love, that tenderness, that unity upon truth's account, which was then amongst them, many have made shipwreck of, and do not now know the state of their own souls, nor truth in the life and power of it. This principle of life and truth was near me, as well as others; yea, with me in that day; but I wandered from it into outward knowledge, and, with great seriousness, into a way of congregational worship, and thereby came to a great loss; and at length, for want of the Lord's presence, power, and manifestation of his love, was sick at heart. But now, the Lord, in great love and tender mercy, having brought me back to the same principle, and fixed my spirit therein, I discern the truth and beauty of that former estate, with the several runnings out from it; and find what was true or false therein, discovered to me by the holy anointing, which appears and teaches in that principle. And, friend, it is not a notion of light, which my heart is engaged to testify to; but that which enlivens, that which opens, that which gives to see, that wherein the power of life is felt. For truly, in the opening of my heart by the pure power, was I taught to see and own the principle and seed of life, and to know its way of appearance; and so can faithfully and certainly testify, that that which is divine, spiritual, and heavenly, is nearer man than he is aware, as well as that which is earthly and selfish.

O friend! if thou canst not yet see and own the principle and seed of Christ's life and Spirit, nor discern his appearance therein; yet take heed of fighting against it; for, indeed, if thou dost, thou fightest against no less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

I. P.

TO A NEAR RELATIVE.

DEAR

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation; it is the glad tidings of freedom from sin, of putting off the body of sin by the circumcision and baptism of the Spirit, of being delivered out of the hands of our spiritual enemies, that we may serve God (without fear of them any more), in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.

The ministers of the gospel are those, who, in the Spirit of Christ, by the gift and inspiration thereof, preach these tidings to the poor and needy, to the captives, to those that groan under the pressure of the body of corruption.

The gospel, through the great mercy of God, I have, at length, heard preached; and I have not heard man, but the voice of my Beloved; whose voice is welcome to me, though in the meanest boy, or most contemptible female. For in Christ, there is neither male nor female; nor should his Spirit, which is not limited to males, be quenched in any. And though thou, through prejudice, call this speaking of the Spirit through servants and handmaids, prating, yet the Lord can forgive thee; for surely, if thou knew what thou didst herein, thou wouldst not thus offend the Lord;-extolling preaching by man's wisdom, from a minister made by man, for gospel preaching, and condemning the preaching of persons sent by God, in the immediate inspiration of his Spirit. I am confident, if, without prejudice, and in the fear of God, thou didst once hear such, thou wouldst not be able to forbear saying in thy heart, It is the voice of God, of a truth. But that which hath not the sheep's ear can never own the voice of the true Shepherd.

Vol. III.-46