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and burn up their chaff with unquenchable fire, that is, sin and corruption, which is got into man and woman by their transgression; but Christ gathereth his wheat into his garner. So all that are baptized with Christ's baptism, their wheat is in God's garner; and no spoiler can get into God's garner to meddle with the wheat there, though they may be permitted to meddle with the outward goods, &c. Now as I was speaking in the power of the Lord, and the people were greatly affected therewith, on a sudden the constables, with the rude people, came in like a sea; and one of the constables said to me, Come down; and he laid hands on me. I asked him, art thou a Christian? we are Christians. He had hold on my hand, and was very fierce to pluck me down, but I stood still, and spake a few words to the people; desiring of the Lord, that the blessings of God might rest upon them all. The constable still called upon me to come down, and at length plucked me down, and bid another man with a staff take me, and carry me to prison. That man had me to another officer's house, who was more civil; and after a while they brought in four friends more, whom they had taken. I was very weary and in a great sweat; and several friends hearing where I was, came to me in the constable's house; but I bid them all go their ways, lest the constables and informers should stop them. After a while the constables had us almost a mile to a justice, who was a fierce, passionate man; who, after he had asked me my name, and his clerk had taken it down in writing, upon the constable's informing him, that I preached in the meeting, said in an angry manner, Do not you know, that it is contrary to the king's laws to preach in such conventicles, contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England? There was present one-- Shad, (a wicked informer, who was said to have broken jail at Coventry, and to have been burnt in the hand at London,) who hearing the justice speak so to me, stepped up to him and told him that he had convicted them on the Act of the 22nd of king Charles the second. What! you convict them? said the justice; yes, said Shad, I have convicted them, and you must convict them too upon that Act. With that the justice was angry with him, and said, You teach me! what are you? I'll convict them of a riot. The informer hearing that, and seeing the justice angry, went away in a fret, and so he was disappointed of his purpose. I thought he would have sworn somebody against me, whereupon I said, Let no man swear against me, for it is, my principle not to swear; and therefore I would not have any man swear against me. The

justice thereupon asked me, if I did not preach in the meeting; I told him, I did confess what God and Christ had done for my soul, and did praise God; and I thought I might have done that in the streets, and in all places, viz. praise God and confess Christ Jesus; and this I was not ashamed to confess. Neither was this contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England. The justice said, the laws were against such meetings, as were contrary to the Liturgy of the Church of England. I said, I knew no such laws against our meetings; but if he did mean that Act that was made against such as did meet to plot and contrive, and raise insurrections against the king, we were no such people, but did abhor all such actions; and did bear true love and good-will to the king, and to all men upon the earth. The justice then asked me, if I had been in orders; I told him no. Then he took his law-books and searched for laws against us; bidding his clerk take the names of the rest the mean time: but when he could find no other law against us, the clerk swore the constable against us. Some of the friends bid the constable take heed what he swore, lest he were perjured; for he took them in the entry, and not in the meeting. Yet the con stable, being an ill man, swore that they were in the meeting. However the justice said, seeing there was but one witness, he would discharge the rest; but he would send me to Newgate, and I might preach there, he said. I asked him, if it stood with his conscience to send me to Newgate for praising God, and for confessing Christ Jesus; he cried, conscience! conscience! but I felt my words touched his conscience. He bid the constable take me away, and he would make a mittimus to send me to prison when he had dined. I told him I desired his peace, and the good of his family, and that they might be kept in the fear of the Lord; so I passed away. And as we went the constable took some friends' word that I should come to his house the next morning by the eighth hour. Accordingly I did go with those friends; and then the constable told us, that he went to the justice for the mittimus after he had dined, and the justice bid him come again after the evening service, which he did; and then the justice told him he might let me go.. So, said the constable, you are discharged. I blamed the constable for turning informer, and swearing against us; and he said he would do so no more. Next day the justice meeting with Gilbert Laty, asked him if he would pay twenty pounds for George Fox's fine; he said no. Then, said the justice, I am disappointed; for being but a lodger I cannot come by his

fine, and he having been brought before me, and being of ability himself, I cannot lay his fine on any other.

After I was discharged, I went up into the city: and the same week the sessions coming on, where many friends were concerned, some as prisoners, and some on trials of appeals upon the conventicle act, I went to a friend's house not far off, that I might be in readiness to assist those friends with counsel, or otherwise, as occasion should offer; and I found service in it. But as my spirit was concerned on behalf of friends, with respect to their outward sufferings by the persecutors without, so an exercise also came weightily upon me at this time, in the sense I had of the mischievous working of that adulterated spirit, which being gone out from the heavenly unity, and having drawn out some that professed truth into enmity and opposition against friends, endeavoured to trouble the church of Christ with their janglings and contention. And as a further discovery of the working of that seducing spirit, and a warning to all friends to beware of it, I was moved to write the following epistle, directed thus:

To all the elect, faithful, called and chosen of God, who are the flock and heritage of God, who have been acquainted with the dealings of the Lord, and have kept your habitations in his life, power, and truth, being built upon the holy and heavenly rock and foundation, Christ Jesus, who was the foundation of the prophets and apostles; which foundation stands sure.

'Many foundations have been laid since the apostles' days, by such as have gone from Christ, the true and sure foundation; and their foundations have proved rotten, and come to nought; and they themselves have come to loss. And many, since the day of Christ, and the truth hath appeared in this nation, have come out, and have had some openings and sights, and come among us for a time; and then gone out from us again: who have been the comers and goers, like such as were in the apostles' days. Such have had an outward profession of the truth, and such have gone from the true foundation, Christ Jesus, and so from the heavenly society and unity of the saints in light. And then they set up foundations of their own and having a form of godliness, but out of the power thereof, out of the order thereof; such have turned to janglings and vain disputings. This sort of spirit you have been acquainted with, who have kept your habitations in Christ

Jesus, the first and the last. And you are not insensible of the scurrilous and filthy books of lies and defamations, which have been spread abroad in this nation, and beyond the seas, against the faithful: and it is very well that the Lord hath suffered them to publish their own shame in print, that truth's enemies may be discovered, that their fruits and spirits have appeared and manifested themselves both in print and otherwise. And I do believe, that the Lord will yet suffer this spirit, that it shall so publish forth its fruits, to its public shame and nakedness, to professor and prophane, and to all sober, moderate, and innocent people, that its shame and nakedness shall more fully appear. And though for a time it hath been hid and covered with the fig-leaves of an outward profession, and sometimes with fawning and flattering words (as at other times it hath discovered itself by rough, lying, and defaming words ;) yet the Lord God will blast all such vain talkers, that do not walk in the order of life, truth, and the gospel. And therefore ye that are faithful, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ bath made you free in his government: it is upon his shoulders; he bears it up; of the increase of it, and of its peace there is no end. For all the quarrellers against his order and government are without him, and without his heavenly, spiritual government and peace. And therefore, ye faithful ones, who have had the trial through many persecutions, imprisonments, spoilings of goods, you know that there is a crown of glory laid up for you and you that suffer with Christ shall reign with him in his kingdom of glory; and ye that die with Christ shall live with Christ in the eternal life, in the world that hath no end. Who have gone through the sufferings without, and within, by false brethren, by comers and goers, that have caused the way of truth to be evil spoken of, and have been the persecutors of the faithful with their tongues (though they have not had power to do it with their hands.) And by printing and publishing their lying, defaming books against the faithful, they have stirred up the magistrates and priests, who were willing to get any occasion to speak evil of the right way, and precious truth of Christ, by which his people are made free such had better they had never been born. But God hath brought them to light, and their fruits and ravenous spirit is seen, savoured, and known; who are become Judases, and sons of perdition, to betray Christ now within (where he is made manifest) to the priests, magistrates, and prophane, as Judas did betray Christ without to the priests. and Pilate: though some of the magistrates and sober.

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people do see their envy and folly, and that they have more malice than matter against the faithful. But the Lord will consume this Judas, or son of perdition. The Lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of his coming. And so let all the faithful look unto the Lord. And let that wicked son of perdition know, though he may be got as high as Judas without (who was partaker of the ministry with the apostles), the Lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming. That is his portion. So the brightness of the Lord will destroy him, and the spirit of his mouth will consume him. And when he is destroyed and consumed, there will not be a son of perdition to betray Christ in his people, and his people, that live and walk in Christ, who hath all power in heaven (mark, in heaven) and in earth given to him; and with his holy and glorious power he limits and orders: so that nothing shall be done against his people, but what is suffered for their trial and for their good, neither by apostates, persecutors with the tongue, Judases, sons of perdition to betray, or the outward powers to imprison, or spoil goods: all these are limited by Christ's power, who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him. And every one's faith is to stand in him and his power, and rejoice in his power, and see the increase of his righteous, holy, heavenly, spiritual, peaceable government, in which the glorious, holy order of life is lived and walked in, by all his sons and daughters and in his spirit is the holy unity and bond of peace. Though ye be absent in the body or flesh one from another, yet al joving and rejoicing, being present in his spirit, and beholding in the same spirit your spiritual order, unity, and fellowship, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ Jesus, who is steadfast for ever, the first and the last, whose presence is among his people, and who is their head. Here is heavenly Sion known, and heavenly Jerusalem, and the innumerable company of angels (which are spirits) and the spirits of the just men made perfect. Here is the general assembly, or general meeting, and a general, heavenly, holy and spiritual joy and rejoicing, lauding and praising the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, that lives for evermore. Amen.'

London, the 14th of the

8th month, 1683.

'Read this in your assemblies amongst the faithful.'

G. F.

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