Joanna Southcott. le StraJl~`e Effects of Faith.

96)
Book, I promise to insert in the next, provided
do not hear too much contradiction by men, for
me to hold a 'controversy with. Therefore, no
giere ear, 0 heave~s! and thou be a toni ~edJ
earth! the Lord hath a controversy wIth hi
people.
,.,.,....,.~--.,..~..I"'-'.,.~.---~
L,..~'-'-'---~--~~
Joanna Southcott.
le StraJl~'e
March 29, 1801.
Effects of Faith.
SECOND PL UT.
PRICf.--toSubscribers ----.
on-Subscribers - Rd.
I
1IUST beg to as ign some rea 5, why my
\Vritin~s are poken 0 much in ;e. f.
erse is
an addition to wortl , and so is mine to t1 Bible:
Ver e gives an echo, and it is the voice of the
Lord echoing back to man. Consider how many
were the songs of olomon-and. mine i indited
by a greater than Solomo .
I shall commence thi part with the mystery of
he FaU, and how it wa' explained.
ver the earth the darknc it i gone,
othing but d'lf ncs in tht' on of men;
, nd how my BioII.' will they all explain,
For all dark :lyings to bc brou~ht to Ii 'ht 1
) say the. BiWc'tj co\"ercd from mcu' si&ht,
Left to men's wisdom imply to e. plain;
T
nu by men's wisdom j. pl' It 1 dOIlt'.
But now I ask th e, arc tilt n' jUlll!;ments true l
And now I'll bring it plainer to thy yit'w:
As all men differ in the'· "lit!
l.or.
ring me he man t..
. 11 : . I (tilt clear,
That all gainsayel I e .1 II \ C
lDd ;
There's nut that man stands 011 the car Ily ground.
o
50
Then in jud~ment men don't all agree.
My c. I d jUl
till mu t ~ealed bc;
AI,d I tel \H \"l' n en they must aive it up·
I'll cbu e another jf that an drop~
I
Thc mi?ht) Cvun clioI' now I'll surely be;
The prJ 'e' (f I eacl', Ihat e\'ery one hall see •
And wltCII m' In''u ,m doth oeain to rcian I
'Ti then my 'Blbl~~J will 'oon e~p'ain: l:>'
A stone of .stumbling jt hath al\Vay~ been,
Rock of detence I ay i conung on.
The t mple-ga e I II no v throw open wide'
And with t!Je jl:\\ els \ ill auorn the Bride; I
F?r as a bnd,egroom cloth hi bride prrparc
'''!tho co,t]y Je~1" Is, whom he dot I adore,
So with all thing' I now will furn! h thl'c'
Ou~ of thy chamber d~ckeu tl10U ~halt b;;
As III thy cloet thou'rt duected there
Bring torth th j wei- I do bid thee \\'~ar;
~h~y. ay thou'rt black, but Ft thy jC\\ els fail'.
'1 hi I the Bride 1 SaId before I'd chuse
All black, bllt comely; let them hell' th nm s.
As thou enquir'st th perf('ct vay to know,
peeper and deeper shall ny Spirit go.
In thc beninnin a urel) w:. my war,)
To make m.in happ', perfect lil,.e hI 'Lord'
In my 0 'n illla"p I cr 'at d mun
'
But litt! lowcr"'th. n t le angcls 'then;
Lord of th~ ~arth I ur Iy did him make,
And erery h"mg cr atur for his sake;
And as alonc hc was not bappy thl're
I made th<: woman to complete It hC;t>,
That they III earthly ble ,in!!"l mi ·ht abou I,
And to posll'rity it mi"ht rc"'oun<l
~ut.then the temptcr oon did find the way
'1 hell' peace und hal pine s for to 'rtra ;
So that the grounu \as cur ed 11' mal '. sake 1
B,ecau 'e that he my OVCDant die l brf'ak.
FIrm a the he:\\'cns Illy promi-e en~r . tuod'
I did ,mal c all thing, and pronollnc'd th m' od,
And In the (irst plac\' "ave them all to man;
Butnow the other III t 'ry come~ 011.
Becau e on Auam I did ea t a sit p,
I ;cll thee now the Ill." te") I C!' deC}l;
"ben he awoke, andaw Ih \\om' n Iher
He W ll.maz'd; complete his earthl • car' ';
Or yet, T a:, complete his earthly bl.ss,
And at that tllllC a per;ect paradi e.
•
But now 1 t II lh e that tby pen gal'S eep"-!
Clobe to the woman did the serpent creep,
Advant a of her wcakne s he did take;
Theref< re in her I'll rC'a' th serp nt's neck.
en I thc h Ipmate did for man pr pare,
(Go back to Edet" al d y u'n find it here;
For full a, lerpy are th s ns of men.)
'fhi \Va the way he helpmate rst began;
for in the n-ardcn he rlici and al ne;
An Ill'\' th othcr my. t 'I' COhie on.
Out of his sl> 0 dl<1 the man awake;
He sa\ the \' \an, and \\ ith joy partake;
Be clllI'd hl' ,oman, as he came fro man.
'" ell' 0)' ill-re!l.S'd the sorrows ~oon came on;
Bee' u~e the tempter he was tudying then
Ho\\ to destroy tho happy son of men.
IllS dark H1trivance it lid lie in hell;
Against the woman did hi malice swell ;
And man he envy'o for the woman" uke,
Re olv'd by art IdS happin
to hreo
Then as a serp I t did to her appear;
lIe knew a mun 'auld un·l: frightcn bel';
Theil as a coward he did lir t be~in,
And 0 h urely did in hca..en the me.
Bl'call~e hi malice 1'0 e again t the ~on:
But as hi malice 1'0 against tho 'two,
I'll in the \ oman all my wond r:>.d .
Are your wa' s equal now, y on of men,
For to clInde-mn the thing that I ha\'e dunc?
"'.1 not the woman imply left alone,
When ~ubtilel the poi lOU erpent came?
And by h r 'eaJ..nes· ~be wa 0 n be~ray'd,
'Ti ju t in Ill' that I should break 111 had.
Did man refu e to take the fruit he gHse,
r ju,tif' her how he was deceiv'd ?
No-but upon I cr he did ca t the blal~e.
Bring forth your argument, ye SOIlS 01 men,
A by your wi 'dum you can never spe
" hy in the woman ,'ry tr th houl.d be.
Had yOll ne'cr ~to()p'd to cat the frUlt at first,
ou Ul'ver ,lOul ha\'c tooped at the In t.
But now In) fluck 1'1 I :\u then~ by a ch!icl,
Till all iii c lamh : rl' )\'ou~ht II to my tuld;
And thcn m . k n;r Oln .\ all l;('gin to rei an.
l.ut dee\oO"r my~terie I :\ III soon e~p am;
Fur liS in 1 ell the Arts (ltd fir't oeglll,
To bla~t tl.e pleasure tl t were cuml'lg on,
o now in h
1\ I ay It I the same;
I ,ee men' arrows duil
I lIlcrease;
I'll hange thc .cc es al; bring to perfect peace;
But yet my thun~er IUU bcfure roe roll,
,\I
G2
!lg
To break in pieces th most stubborn sout
From Cain llnd Abel I ~hall next lTO on,
For to .'plain the further tall of man;
And then the mountain in the balance comes.;
The little IHlls I weigh'd them in.th calc;
J n<l perfectly explain'd the wom~n's fall.
llut now from Cain anu Abel let you ee
How soon the man like atan came tp Ix- ;
:1"or then the tempter did like fury come,
l\lore like a lion, when hl:' tempt>d man'
For wh 'n the hepherd he did fir t appear,
Tb iller of thr ground laid vengeance there j
So the poor heep "Ne simply left a]onr,
1:heir. sbephrrtlmurller'd by his brother's hand;.
l,h? tiller of the ground was tled away:
1 hmk on the horror that comes in one dayPour out hiS vengeance on the sons of men.
oW,to m('n' con-cience I will all appeal,
If he J not make this world a perfrct hell r
By thehort time he did b('"in to reilTn
o
Fast as the lightning did his fury run ,
Pour out hi fury on the SOlIS ot me~.
What angui h mu t the parent now endure
N,0. f'~Iend to comfort, but their souls d pairt t
1111510 my heart I urcly telt for maD,
Rcpl'nt myself J c"cr did him form
• ad griev'.<.1 my pirit to the very h~art;
But for ne honour .it could not depart;
Because that eltan dId my promise claim'
TheR aU ~ "ise, Oh, all ye sons of men';
'My promISe grc t is turn'<.1 the otller wa)',
T~ tho c that will but my comman<.1s obey."
.
lIere fallou" w/'tll
7&a8
ullv,tentwl/ally omitted in Part the Firs{.
The WOJ:ds that were said to me that the Lord
would begm rk
' same promise
l·C. all, and make the
to me as Herod dId to the damsel-wltate,:er I ask
" to theJI.a!fW til!! kingdom," allOutd be givel~ to me ~
my .P~tItl~ll was, that :atan may be cast down.
Christ s kmgdom e tablished, our land delivered
from the. hands of Our enemies and all nation
brought m.
, .
ow thou say'st, thyself bast ended
o~ I au weI", () I all it be ;
,
, nation J'Il defend it
foreigu enemy.
53
Thinl. upon thy fir t amusingWhy IS it tho'u al t .tul~ll?led now?
Va it not too gr at apll·\t
To the Romi5h baml' to bow?
for I \,ill hale a strong armyJews and Gentile hall agre ,
Ann my 'pirit aoe. before them,
1 \\ ill gain the "I~tor ", '
Thouah I may awhIle deler It,
Yef I'll not, ·ill. this give o'er;
Wby is thy mind 0 greally puzzled?
1 hall face the foes once morc.
AU man's ri"hts I am rene\ ing;
Can this ~ve a jl st offence?
'Those that CTjuri cl in my rnin,
Now's th~ time I'll r compcnc'.
l'or my ~ef\'ant I'll ~waken,.
And their hearts III fill WIth 100e~
They shall find they're not forsakcll
By their hca,roly Lord above. .
In hea\el\ the armour's n[)w preparing
That my oldier tl\(.'y ~hnll wear;
But the bre, t-platc oe befor them,
They have nothing now t~ fear, _
'Then my sword I egin .to glttterAnd I'll put it ill tl.elr h' nd;
They shall hear the words I'll utt r,
\ 'hen I giv th
m command.
A' ow be stron!!, and ~ and co rageo I ,
You have l~othing for to fear;
But remember 1Ierod's promi e
To the dam 1 he did wear:
To t Ie half of all my kingd III
I will freely give to thec;
All the words that thou hu t . poJ.. n
For is nation, 0 shall be,
By thy q\le tions and thyansw rs
Thou ha t 1 leased )1 E so \';c1l,
That l'l! now stand by IllY ~rn'al\ti,
And assua"e the wrath of hell,
For in conqu~ring now I'll 'ol\qucr
All the blnody whores of Home;
All their gods of gold ancl iii· > ,
Everyone I will pull dow I.
For the Protestunt pn fl' . iou,
Which I e,'er did a<.1 re,
I will no\\' awake tbi'S nnti 11
For to JO\'e ~ E en nn r...
5
5~
When they're in the field of battle,
Then my thunder it hall roll;
VLen the roanna 'llns do rattle,
I will so~nd fl' m p(lle to pole.
Then I'll shout befote my army,
They have nothin" for to fear;
For my glory goe before them;
Their deliverance then draws near.
Though this while 1 have kept silence,
That their folly they may see,
Trusting to their combin'd armies,
And they did not trust in ME.
Men they'll find are fal 'e and treacherous,
There can nq trust be put in man.What is it that makes thee silent,
And for to put down thy .pen?
Am I not the King Of Glory?
And they eiz'd my royal grace,
And my pel 'on they attended
To a much ecurer place.What is i.t that doth thee puzzle?
Was it not in Gethsemane ?
Why dost thou so trangely wonder?
There the soldiers seized ME'
With swords and stav s they did surround me;
nd that all of them shall see ;Vhile my soldier ob erved silen~e,
Peter rew the sword for 111 E.
I will reason no no longer,
But c~~e on to Calvary:
All m.r friends were mov'd with pity,
~hlle my foes were sati tied.
So It wa , when 011 mount Calvary,
I for man my life laid down;
B1,It I'll come again in glory,
A a lamb that's newly slain.
I have ans,~ r'd thy petition;
But tho~ It say, that is not all ;
In the SCTJptur~s t~ou may' t read it,
Satan doth lIke, lightning fall.
What ha,·c I to answer farther?
Every nation to call in'
Th' he~'l\"~nl. pillal"ll ball be shaken.
, lUt IS It confus'th thy mind?
At tll time the earth halltremule
And th: Bridegroom's "oice thc):'l1 1Ie3rThou Inay t end and go lloiarther'
t that time ~hou'lt not be here;
But thy or.s and daulThtel tanding
011 tbi vel') spot \\ ill be;
And the day that they hay long'd for,
,vith rapturou joy they then will see."
Nov. 1794, dreamt I wa at a cloor, and saw
th moon hi 1_ yery bright. I likewi e aw a whole
train of men in on; cloak , ridin . softl T through
the air, soon after I saw the whol heaven full of
m n ndino' \ iftl after them. Those that were
bef(;re be u an to move their pace, when they saw
the other e COl e so swiftly after hem. Th whole
11eav , weI' t' vererl with men; and one man Tode
thrlJugh aU the 1"Ql1ks t07.vards 1~e. I t~ought
oth rs beheld It a well a" n. y elf, and saId they
l1erer a\ uch 'jf..h in their lIve ; but J said that
I h· d before the war broke out; al d then awoke.
'fhi 'Dream was answered me in the following
wanner.
" Tlpn now thi dream I'll a.n wer -unto thee:
The train of men, in their 10n tT cloak to be,
At II t appear'd, and slow1 . on to move,
S, ,luwl 011, tim thou Ji st, tand anti gaze;.
oon at "1' t at ap Jear'd a many more,
Or t\\ Ice tt e num '1' h
(fir -t appear;
In haste they rode, tne annie;, tbey 'er full,
1'1 e hca\'en cover'd, and tbou coul,l' t not t '\1
Who wa~ the ,IAN that cro 'd the ranks all tough,
And rode so very ha!lty to thy \'ie\\'.
Then now th my tery 1 to thee hall show:
'fhe ar' t1" t 'd tir.;t ride on so low
DisplH
ulnc~ of mal kind below;
Their cloak do cover, and no danger' nea.r
Thrtr pa sing s ,it I th rough the very air;
But no founda ion hll.v~ t!H'y there to tand I
For quickly after come the h -ty train ~
Thr} mov'd heir pace wheu dangers dl
o will it be with all the sons of t>1I ;
1 hey'll 1I1.ove t 1 il' pace when dan
d
But as u 1 ~ .. r le ha t;' on to tl. (',
The )[
of GOD I a 'twill
be;
And know, thes dan~rs t It' I
nigh at hand,
And therefore to thee he will 11' Iy com
for all these \'sions ill be .n llIe land;
A"
6
Beeau e the 'ars most dreadful will abound;
And in this land you'll hear the dreadful sound.
They arc preparing, yet it is but low;
What' coming on, I ay, they do not kno ;
Their cloaks do cover, for they trust in man,
And on the Lord they do not all acpcnd ;
But on the Lord they surely all must lean,
If e'er my army comes to join with them;
And then their work it will be done in haste'
Con~ider well, Illy arm' rode 0 fast,
'
Thi ,was tby dream, tbat lowly came at first,
But In the end the army was ill haste."
I judged the substance past; but it is said to me
the substance is to fOllow.
'
I now shall mve an account of the Seven Stars
which were e.'plained to me in the followinO' lOan~
nero They were the seven mysteries of God: The
fIr t was, when he made man; the second, when
be ma?e the woman; the third, the promi e of red~rn~tlon; the fourth, the Angel appearing to the
VU!?lll l\Iary; the fifth, Chri t' birth; the sixth,
Chn t' death; the seventh, his revealing the se
crets to a woman, as one standing alone.
.. For a sparro on the house
Thou-say' t thou tand'st alon "
And ilh tbee to assi t in oug;ht, ,
The Lord ell knows thou'st none.
With Adam first this was the ca e'
F'or he did stand alone'
'
And "ith hiJll to as it in'ought
The Lor~ well knew he hatll~one.
A h pmate then I did prepare
Bone of hi bone to be;
,
h
awoke, and found her there
Appear'd a mystery.
'
Vhen by tile fall he as seduc'd
'
Anu out of Eel n nt
lie llW his folli
hen 'too lat
Yet ,he d' ore repent;
,
But hi· repentance
in vainThe fatal die wa c t;
•
nd he no pardon could obtain For all his joy did bl t.
•
here' anuther m lery'
s
not 1 . conceal;
n
57
·or the :Mes iah promis'd then
His <kaJly wound- to heal.
But how it then should be perform'cl,
Adam be did not know;
Hi' days were ~pent in orrow great,
Hrs son b~oulJht on his woe.
From acr to !l<Te"it \yas conceal'd
IIow"this h7,uld be perform'd,
ntil the Angel did appear
And did the 'irgin warn,
'l'h Holy Gho t bould on her come;
The pOlVcr ot the Most High
Shoul,d over shadow from above,
.
Appeal"d a my tery.
Though all the Prophets propheSIed
Thi' thing should sU)'ely bc,
But in what n\anner \l'a' not clear,
Appear'd So mystery
Unto the unbelieving Jews,
When Christ their k.ing was born i
Therefore they all d pised him,
And did receive with scorn ;
But when he in the temple came,
imoon tbe child did know;
For God had warned him befort',
Anu he did fiBd it so :
The manner he should be brought ill)
The very day and hour;
And when he aw th babe appear,
He felt the Saviour's power;
Therefore wi th raptures he was fill'd
To see the holy child;
But yet from him it wa conceal'd
Idow they his life beguil'd,
But here'~ another mystery,
Tha
hall not concelll,
That
he died upon the cross,
He did the nati')ns heal.
~ow think upon his dyi~lg words,
" 'Tis finish'd," he dId cry;
But what was l'ini 'h'd at that time
Appears a mystery.
Now to the Prophet thon must tUrD.
To discern the mysteryOh! thou desire of nations, comels now fulfill'd in thee.
What is it \jOW confus'th thy heal! ?
6t why thy pen put down?
•
5
58
Hast thou not wearied heaven with ~ye.rsJ
Th£'St truths might be made known?
Then at what art thou stumbled now,
For rhou these truths hast penn'd ?
For thou hast \\'earil'd heaven .with prayer
To God's beloved Son;
That he will come and intercede
His servants' wounns to heal, '
And chain down Satan in his pla~,
That doth my ser~ants foil.
Didst thou not come to ME in prayer,
When threatenings were applied?
Had I been there, like Mary spoke,
" My brother had not died."
But here the words do puzzle thee,
As thou aid'st they'd obey,
If I would let them know my willl\Iy ('rvants cannot stay:
Then now the meaning is the same,
For if they do ME obey,
They sure shall live for evermore,
And that's most certainly.
'ow thou bast ended with the sixth,
Tht! seventh I'll begin,
That doth appear a mystery
Unto the sons of men.
As all these word do verify,
How can this thing e'er be,
That all the secrets of the Lord
Shall be reveal'd to thee.
Yet so they'll find it certain is,
The trulh I'll make so clear;
I'll leave no room for man to doubt,
When I have ended here:
For then they'll find the little lump
Shall sUI'ely lump the leaven.
And they shall find a single star
Is joined to the seven.
But do not think I've ended here,
Or thou thy work hast done;
For all the mysteries of the stars,
Thcy' are not yet made known.
0\' back to Adam tbou must &0
For he as sure the first
. .
pass'd through,
And when the whole thou
1 byself must be the last.
thou tK-ar' t record of thyself.
~·U sa)'
• POt true j ,
hast
The servant is not greater sure,
Nor can his wonls be so ;
For if thy 1a er wa denied
By hi own chosen rdce,
JIow can thy \\ord::. be c' r applied
In rheSt' dark e il day ?
When unbelief so much abounds,
Fallh on the earth there's none;
Like Abraham'~ let their faith be tried,
Who olfer'd up hI "on.
Where IS the man that would obe' ,
The acrlfice prepare?
It surely I not God's command;
His tauh wvuld tagg r there.
.And yet they say there's but one ftlitb~
The faith luI that must be;
So trong a faith on earth there's not.
As I have found in thee.
Thy faith is to the utmost tried,
By men and devil here;
But when my pr )mise is applied,
It keeps Ihee froln de::.pair..
•
And though I've put thee off SO 10n&1
Yet till thou dost obey,
Thinking my word I shall perf<tIra,
Though I so long delay.
"'This is the language of lhy beart.
That, from my written word,
Declltreth none shall be deeei....d
That trustcth in the Lord.
50 flhall it surely be to thee.
Thou shalt not be deceiv'd ;
Because I kno thy inmost soul,
How strong thou dost belieVtf·
.
Though some have laughed thee to scom,
And others did thee blame,
Thy steadfast heart doth still obey,
And thou art still the same.
Therefore I'll own thee for the bride;
Thou art the EVENING !IT.4-ll;
By thy appearance all shall know
That night is coming near.
Th MOil. I "!'TAR is gone lind p
The sun hi course hath run;
The nening star-doth DO arpea r,
. Anet night is ~()nllng on.
Then in the night the stars "iD shilll1,
4nd in
~b
_list ire
Ie
B~
D,
61
60
But by l1i \\eight the wi Ic it waS pull'd ~n,"n­
Which never shall di\'idcd be,
I know my prophet' in a pri on bound,
,And in t!lC'ir hc rt· Ihn!'" l~w for him do f c1;
I'll break ml11)l-.md, a t.l dld by Ihe \\'heel.
It wa hi. wci9,ht that !>hool-. the earlh all lbroughDeep i tht' \i~i .. uruught UlIlO th . \ic\'.
But to th, uwn drcn."l-thou ha I ur forgot
Wl.ether'th( .:1. ;ro .. l/o
the ground or not:
No, 110, T t 11 thee 'tis Coil ~al' 'frolll I~ce;
Thou III I ,t g. 011, and I \\ ill "uide I bc \ ay.
Thc ,on. ot men \I ill pull III \"Cll lreunce down;
For ~aint an.1 !>inner now do bring It on;
I ay tb y'r ickly as they are lukewarm."
rtil the "hole arc le. \,en'd.
A
was the fir t, so i th last;
For
am stood a1 nc;
Hi helpmate dJd not strenrrthen him
But ur "y pulled him d~wn, :
'
So \\'(;uld th friends have donc by thco
If lh lU IJadt thrm obey'd ;
•
But now the \I' man' conqucring ced
hall break the 5er~eJ t's head:'
c
!
One night I dream~d was on a high place; and
thefe were two road llllt alld two wao'o'ons Q'ol'nO'
bf
' 0
0
0
e ore ~e; one. of them wa so heav laden, that
t]~e we~ght of It broke down the path, and the
hI h hIlls were thrown do\\'n to the bottom. I
though~ I had a waggon heavy laden m elf and
, a~ gomg on the ame hill in another path: but
when I saw the waO'aon before mewa o'one;o the
bottom, I wa afraid; but the hor es c~mino' fast
. m ' waO'O'on'
0
after me
" I w.a J:Jorce d to go on with
but c.annot tell how I came down the hill, ~y re~
mel:'her ~hat the other path was brou n t from
a llll~h hIll to a low vall y, and the w~leel·rl\ts
was ltd away.
All lands are in darkne s at present; but as
know the ellll of all things is at hand, and
it i a clear as the 'noon-cla)' sun that the Bible i fulfilling, that all hath happened together,
I shall now ~i\'e my readers th lleaning of our
aviour' ,ords, when he a.d," . the days of
" oah an 1 Lot, 0 ohall the comil'lg of the Son
" of _lall be.
In the da,'s of oab they were
full of unbelief; and in the flays of Lot the same;
and 0 th yare now' but th ~ ubstance of the
day of oah is in Genesi , chap. vi. \\·here it is
written, "1 t repented the Lord that he had made
man; 'not that the Lord repented that he had made
man. Here i' a t 1ystery that n en do not discern.
And the Lord aid, ' I "'ill destroy man, whom I
" have created, from the face of the earth, botla
" n an and bea. t;' for it griev d him to the heart
that he had made man. But \Va man destroyed?
You must an wer, no.
Touh was not de troyed,
nor his son ; and by them the world was again increa 'ed to as large a number as before. Then
here i8 a mystelY beyond the depth of human comprchcn ion, which I never di cern< d; und of myself
~ann~)t explain, nor can < '. ll)' n by leJ.rning; for
m thiS m ' tery, man r plL 'I' ed ill t wonderful
manner: though it gi\ >th room for men to say,
the Lord did not do as he said; a' the\" feared to
give their God the lie; but wasjt n an the)' would.
J
6'2
Now I will throw open my Bible to men. It repented the Lord that he had made man so ubject
to the arts of atan, ann that he had given him
snch power over man; and therefore he cau ed the
ark to be erected, for the pre ervation of man in
the ({reat ao(\ tenible day of the Lord. Now man
V3
;) far from being de troy ed, .that the Lord
cau 'e ~l astoni. hing buildirlg, for the reception of
mal nd ~)ea 't, whaT? he said he would destroy.
'\' ... L I I tim extraordlDary manner were man and
beast presen'ed. The Lord was grieved to the
heart, to see how tht: powers of darkne s were
working man's destruction; but as the deluge overthrowed the workers of iniquity, so shall the deluge overthrow the powers of darknes . for that is
the man the Lord will (e troy It c;me first by
.water, but now it will be by blood. For as the
ark was made to presen'e man, 0 shall the ark of
th.e New Covenant pre erve man at la t; but it
,vlll. not pre erve those that do not believe in
CI.lfI t,. as the full redemption for man. Now it i
saul of all beasts th~t were pre erved, they hould
come to the ark of oah; so all that will be no\'
preserved, must come to the ark of the eW Covenant, and call to their remembrance the words of
he,G~ pel, wherein our Saviour assureth them of
l.!)elJ' full redemption in hi blood, and sheweth the
8J~n8 that ~\'er~ set before them to lift up their
) ads, for thelf redemption draweth near: that
meaneth a full redemption in the blood of Christ.
, Now tho~e that beheve as Noah believed the
lelugecl,would come: that meaneth, that the whol
~orld WIll underO"~ a great change; and the sword,
like the deluge, III go 0 'Cf the land till it doth
~ st.ro~·thosethatdonotcometoChristand believe
~n h!D1 for full red~mptiou. t hose th~t do believi
10 hm a the.SaVlOUfofmanki , will be preserved,
a oah as tn the ark, ",he t e man of sin will be.
cut off fJ
We face of th earth, an. that U
6::3
the de
it. The
Lord created all thino's in heaven
and earth; the heaven he creat~c1 for hi
throne, the earth for man, and hell for tallen
angels; and these must all have thcir fixed
bounds, when Christ 'ometh to pre erve 11 an,
as he did [ oah, and lay the a,'e to the toot,
which root is the devil; and he is th p root of ev ry
evil; for it is said to m , that \\"hat I hu\'e b en
ordered to do, by sealing np of man, is a much
greater preservation for man than oah's ark wa .
Now marvel not thatthedeyil wa called man, when
he called the Prince of Glory, 'j)el'.l/ God a1 d
man, because he took man's nature upon him; and
flO was the devil, 'Very man olld ler.11 de'clL, 'when he
entered into the heart of Judas. Thi I 'hall c.-plain more clearly at another time; but this i~ a.
clear type of the last da,,' ; and those days are nigh
at hand. The earth wa never made for fallen ange's, nor for the man of sin; therefore be assured
he will be destroyed from off the f:lee of the earth.
This i what our Saviour meant by aying, "As
" the days of oah, so will the coming of the Son
"of [an be." Here I shall come to the day of
Lot, and shew you what our Sa"iour meant hy
that,; but first I hall come to Sodom and Gomorrah. The ins of Sodom were men ullited
in evil; and this is the type of men and <1 \,il ;
for as he entered into the htart of J mias, so he entereth into the hearts of men; as lin ( id into t e
herd of swine, and they ran iolentl) down the
steep, and were dwaked in the and; an I a will
~any now, that are so do ely joined with the de\'11 as the men of Sad om were.
All this stand as
a type of .the }ast days. In eve!'y age of the
world men have committed the sin 'ith melt,
when they use violence one against another; and
this was done, wben they destroyed the Proph ts,
and crucified the LORD of Ll to'E; and thl"; y JU
must COil ider wa not done, before the de ,il en-
'Gel:"
6~
4
tered into tl e heart of J urIas; ther fore our S ~
vioor said, "it should be more tolerable for
U Sodom and GOlllorrah, in the day of judo'ment,
than for them;' for they declared their ins and
hid them not; woe unto th ir : ouls! but the e
sin of cruelty will 11('\' r be committed, without
man being as 'closely Ui ited with the de\'il a the
Sodomites were to ach other. And now the
time draweth near, that lich mCn will be destroyed, a Sodam was; for as the angels came to Lot
in disguise, :wd L~t judged them men; so the
ang ~s of the Lord are come, to warn all men the
ni~ht is far spent ·and the day is at hand, that
all these thino's will be fulfilled"'· and tho e that
belie\'c,. like Lot, will be prese;ved, as he was,
when the fire of the L01'(l s anger will can ume the
other. For you are to can ider it i written in
I aiah, the .day of vengeance w~s in his heart;
and 0\11' anour aid, "Offence mu;st first ari e;
but woe unto the land because of offences.' Persecution I know will ari e and all ,vill come a it
as aid of odom and G~morrah. ow in 'every
aae of the world sin as bad as of 'odom have been
commit.tcd, by killin~ of the Prophet, crucifyinoo.ur anour, and putting the _" postle to death . an~
since t~lO e da ' , the l\lartvrs have suffered b the
same I.n~Menand d.evils were united against theholy
laws of Go~; as theIr's were temporal, so all their sins
persecutIOn were spiritual: for he that \Va born
after t.h~ flesh, per cCllted him that was born after
the sr~nt; and'this hath been done by men in every
~ge ?f the world. But now the spirit of prophecy
IS gn-en .to a woman, there will be many women
that are 1.n .heart and life. joined to the powers of
darkne s, JOIned .to~e!her!n persecution a~ainst the
. ?ma~; men 'lll.JolD Ith men, and women will
J?tn ~ Ith women, lD persecution, that do not belIeve, 0 persecute those who do believe till the
an r of the Lord be kindled to destroy tilem. So
will end like the days of _T bah and Lot. B~t
were you to uppo e it t be as the da:s of r oal
and Lot you must say there "in remain but one
just mal; l;pon arth, ~nd the greate't part of the
world IllLl·t be Sodol11ite : But tlla :Ill not be
the case; for \ h n the Sill of pe 'secl1lion abound::t,
grace will much more abound.
't
I know the things that I have pll bti hed are hard
to be unfler tood, and full a hard to be 'elieved,
which makes some man'el at them, and cast vaiou con tnt tions upon them. S )me say, they
see no prophecie in them; tl I' " that it is f\'Om
the devil; whilst s me attribute it to fallen angel ; and others conceive it a frorn my elf alone,
a serting that all III foreknowledg i drawn from
the Bibl ; and that I am out of my' n es. I hall
an w r "ery one according to their different
words.
Those that e no prophecie in them, do not
under'tand wha they read; tl e book is full of
prophecies throughout; the letter I sent to the
minister., and what w 'ritten in 179~, are rleep
of prophec ',and peak of all nations in distress
and wtlr: the shadow i begun, and the sub tance
i hast nino' on; but I cannot make the blind to
see, till it plea e the Lord to reveal to them the
truth; and if they ca.nnot see it any other way,
the Lord vill open their eye by the truth.
ow I shall anSwer tho e who say it is from the
devil. If atan is divided aO'ain t himself, how
tAen can hi!'! kingdom stand? And how came Satan
to know in 1792 what the Lord would do upon the
earth,- when it i oucealed from the angels in hea'en, till the Lord i plea cd tO'di do e it to them,
a.nd to send them do vn to warn mankind thereof?
But if I, uy the spirit of the deYil, anl become a
rue believer in Christ, b" hat spirit is the world
become unbeli ers in the go pel of Christ and
I
66
tbeir.Bibles~ believing that their Bibles willl1e\'er
be .fulfille~1 m any othe~' way than their judgments
POID~ ~ut!', And th~t IS no way at all; for- while
one IS mclmed t~ t~11S way, and another is inclined
!o that? no man's Judgment can be true; 0 it is
Impossible to fulfil th~ Bible to 'the juclgments of
~en; and t?erefore It must be fulfilled to the
.1udgme~t of God. Bu~ ,~,here is the man that
knows hIS ~ecrees? For .It IS written by the Pro·
~hets, ".In t~1e latter days t.he Lord will do mar·
H
vellou.s thlDgs amongst them; the wisdom of
tqe \VIse men shall pensh; the ullderstandinO' of
" the prudent men shall be hid;" then how ~an
men tell ,how to ful~l their Bibles, seeing their understandmgs are hid? Who by searchinO' can
find out qud? or who can find out the Al~iO'hty
to perfectIOn ? Yet the world is led to believe they
can, from ~helf knowledge and learning, find out
the. m~stenes of the Bible, which no man can
mamtam by a~guments that their Bible is true, if
they ,have wisdom to find it out. Now I ask
h~nklOd, by what spirit they are led to believe
t I~gs contrar~' to the Bible, and say I am led 'to
believe the Scnptures, consistent with the truth
there~f, by !he spirit of the devil? _fay not be
that sltt~th 10 the heavens laugh, to hear the folly
of mankmd, whom the Lord hath pronounced
d~ad as .~o every knowledge and perfection of
~m, saymg he is ali"e to all the knowledge of
God, ~ontrary to .t~e written word of God, which
·the dIfferent opinIOns of mankind verify and
~rove ? So .Iet God be true, and every man a
liar, who salth he can fulfil his Bible by learnin '
~ud let those who say I am led by the devil, ro~;
It. b~ .the word of God, if they can, and will
gIve It up.
"
fi n ow I shall answ~r those who say, it is from
a en ~ngcls, who Wish to gain themselves in fa\-our With God • Th'IS t 0 me IS
. as great an error as
f
67
the. former; for then the division must have taken
place in hell ~1ready. ~ut can fallen ~n~~ls, af~e~
rebelling agam t God 111 heaven, and' JOll1lOg With
the devil, work in the hearts of men upon earth to
break the commands of God, ever think to gain
tbemselve in favour with God again? This to me
is unlikely in the first place; in the secouJ m?re
unlikely, to think by mocking of Goo, by comll1g
as an angel of light, pretending he is the maker
and judge of an men, and that all power in hea\'en,
earth, and hell, is his, should ever gain him in favour
with God: I say, this appear sq improbable to me,
that if the fallen angels th'nk it, they must have
lost their senses, as well as t eir glory. I conceive,
therefore, tho e thoughts to be the production of
-a weaker head, to judge it came from fallen augels, than mine to judge it came from God; for
I cannot build my faith upon any such sandy
foundation.
Now I shall answer those who ay, I am, or
shall be out of my sense. This I grant is true;
for out of my senses proceed all my writings; and
so far from any sense or knowledge I hav~ of myself, .so high as the heavens are ab(H"e the earth,
and how much farther the' will 0"0, I cannot tell;
but this I know, they are gone so far, that they
never will come back to the senses of men, while
they are of so man)' diflerent opinl0ns.- 0 jud
will give up his cause to a divided jury; and
must be no judge of my own cause, if I give it
up to a divided people: For the first minister I
ever spoke tu on t1 e subject said, it was from God;
the second, that it was from the devil; the third
fll,iuister said, the latter gentleman had not shewn
hIS em.e in what he had spol en; the fourth declared, that it was not fJ:om the devil; and if not
of God, it was uf myself.; other mini ters said, it
was the disorder of a confused brain; and this
disorder had so increased over the land, that every
12
69
6
one feIt the fatal effect thereof: and I feel it to
'sorrow; for the truth of all my \Vritln~s lie" befO~'e me; and I kno\1 I mu t go through \ il report, and throllo·h good report, through h )[ our, alld
through di honollr a counted a fool yet makilltr
ome wi. e: The bees gather honey from th bittere t herbs; an 1 thos . \I hose mind '0 de p, vill
~et wisdom from my foolishness, should it prore
from the devil, as some insin uate; bu t if of God,
as I judge it is, it will strengthen their faith to
stand in t11e e,'il day, and o'ire them courage and
t~lith .to stand cwailist all the wiles of the devil;
for it i by ftith ye must bo aved, I have already
told you, and I now again tell yOll, the end of all
thing is a.t 11<-nd ; by which is meant, that Satan's
killgdom i to b de'ltro~'ed; that all nations will
be called in; the fulfilment of the Gentiles, and
the calling in of the Jews.
ow I will answer those who sa , if nw writ~ngs are not of G()d, the~ are blasphemy. I grant
Jt, and give credit to their wi dam; for it i writt A, IVoe itt/to tltem that say, the L01'd with. ~ !zen
h~ hath i/Ot spoken,. but he that hath 1ll.!J u:ord, let
fum speali lJl!} ,"ord /aithfuU.!J, saith tlte Lord. Hea'en i' n y \ 'itne , I ha'e pol'en it faithfully iu all
I have written; but as our 'aviour ~aith, The" 'ind
hlm~eth ,,;(here it listcth, and ye hellr the sound theJ'e~f, hut wmlOt tell from 'WheJlct .it cometh, or 'It:hiIe/' it goeth, so is ei..ef!J one that is born of the
pirit j (J1ld per/ectiy it hath heen often ~o to me;
r can I tell from whence it cometh or whither
j~ goeth,
judge the spirit to be of God, from
the truths. of my writing', and the manner they
re poken; yet lea\'e the world to enjoy th ir opiniOll, and I to enjoy mille, till the truth. is proved,
hic-h it c.rr~ainly will; +'01' when the public have
pas e~l then JII{igmen t on them, then will the Lorn
convlDce tOt"m, whose judgment was right, am'
TIl
uu
wI
O::le was ~. ·9.D
Now I hall an weI' tho e who ay, it rs pre
sumptuous bla.'phem. And thi i the greate~t
pre umption man can spt'ak, t? ay h~ knoweth It
is bla. phemy: for he. mu t .J~d 0'(': ~1f!1 If m~r
than man, and have a hIgh 0p1l11On of hi own WISdom, who will tal'e upon him to assert, he kno;veth it i~ not of God, Gut presumptuous blasphemy
of my ·elf. Let that man or woman make my
writi;1O'
false ' which with all their boasted wisdom
b
.•
they cannot do; for I ha ,'e no v Gy me wntll1g
for years past, which will prove. the ~ruth of .my
words' be ides w hat I have put 10 prmt, predicting wl~at is hastening 011, a~ld which ~ few y~ars,
will fulfil; and many men wIll be convll1ced ot he
truth, that all cometh as I toreteI. And what a
proud, conceited tool must I be, to say f myself:
I ha\'e more knowl dge than·the learned, and can
tell them better than they know, from my 0 n
wisdom!
hall I ay I know it tram philo ophy,
and do not understand one planet'? Sh 11 I say i
kno.", it from divinity, and never tudied the Bible in my life any further than I thought necesiiary for my own alvatiun?
ball I ay I know it
from other men's works, when I put no belief in
any man's judgment but the proph ts and apo tIes,
and those who were in pirecl by the Lord? Shall
Isay I had the spirit of wi dam giveu to me, when
I never had any talents to boast of in my life, and
was considered by all my wordly wi e brothers and
sisters the simplest of my father shouse? And I
always deemtd myself the same: but the Lord
hath chosen the weak foolish things of this world,
to confoulld the great and miO'hty.
I must intreat my charitable christian readers
to keep my first buoks by them, till they see the
end of the ten year mentiuned therein, in page 31,
which was turned to the ten day, in page 34 ;
\his was in \ 792, and the ten years will elapse in
802;
80
they cannot judge clearly of my pro-
70
pheeies till t ey do ee the ten years fulfilled, when
it will be evident to them. The reasons a ig'ned to
me for putting it in print the beginning of the
century-is, the hand of the Lord will be close after
to fulfil thew. Very extraordi:nary- and trange
events will take place in two years, and more extraordinary in four; but if fatal events, it i unbelief will bring them on; for I now tell all men,
that peace and plenty, love and harmony, will ne·ver abound in our land, until men are.wishing- for
Christ's I ingdom to be established: thel1 the Lord
will begin to change our scene of sorrow into happine ,which you will see in page 51, on the fall
of man. A few year will convince you of the
truth of m writings: the hadow is pa t.• the substance is ha&tening on; weigh deep the lines that
follow the fa,ll of man. But some will say, can
5u(:h ~ prOll1l e be ~ade to a woman? I grant it
11lYvt~nou to be beheved; yet remem bel' the fir t
}HOlm e that was made to the woman and then
u \\ ill not man'el it hould be the la 'to Consic1er how great was the promise made to Abraham
that in his obedience all the earth should be bles :
.ed; and t1~o~o-h, that promise is not yet fulfilled,
~ am of opllll,on It certainly will: But will you say
It en>r was fulfilled? then I aGswer, it wa in an
an-t,e before I was born, and in an age I never read
o .
.1 sl~all n~w answer thos'e who say, I go on as my
mll1d IS deranged. I grant it; and so did all the
prophets of old. Their minds were 60 deranged
hat Toah was judged an old fool and Lot th~
same. I ~101l1d fill my book witl; how the prohets w~re Judged deranged, if I were to tnter ino the hst of them. But the deranO'ed senses of
the prophet and the apostles and the ·words of
Our. Sav~our, 1lave so f'ar (IeranO'ed
' my sense as to
believe m tllem. I~l ow must ~ oah's sensts be
, deran b
O'ed' h en h e t'ound no man belie, ed him (
r
•71
yet .he persevered to go into the ark.
And what
strong infusion must take place in hi head, when
the heavens O'athered blackne s, and tho e who
judged his building the ark to be the strange effects of faith, found it the fatal effect of faith.
And how mu t Lot's sense be deranged, when he
saw the strange effects of hi faith, be.in o· judU"ed
by his own sons an 'old fool, become the fa~i eft~cts
ofunbelief to those who mocked him, when they sa,v
the fire come down from heaven? How mn this
senses be then deranged, when he saw his mockers
destroyed? And how must my en es now be der~nge.d, when I ee the straI1O'e effects of my faith
kmdlmg all over the la.nel, and bringing the fatal
effects of unbelief over all lands? Can my senses
top here, without believing, that he who hath begun his strano'e work, will in the end shew his
darlino- attrib~Ite; and go on froll~ conquering to
~onqu~r, untIl lIe hath brouo'ht forth judo-ment
mto vIctory; for mercy i his daI'lino' attribute
judgment i his ~trange work: and stranO'e to m~
i ::til before me. How men'. enses can be'=' deran u '~d, w~en they ce tl~e Sun is ri en, and sa the daylight IS not broke; m what a elr am, or what a leep
must such men, euses be derange' ! and so they
may go on untz!. they see !he evening star appear,
and the sun beo'm to set 111 dai+ne s. 'Vilt they
then say, I h~"e passed In day in leep; and it is
too late to afise and be doing; I will wait the ef':feets of another day? But let uch remember that
at midnight wa' a cry; and the brielegroo'~1 appeared; and you sleeped away the day, wherein
you ought to ha'~e got your oil ready, and your
lamps prepared. 0 mall ages of the world we may see
the strange effects of faith, and the fatal effects of
unbelief. And this our Saviour, and all his Discip!es, warned us would be the end; the foolish virgms and the wise. For wisdom teacheth us to fear
the rod, and he that appointed it; but f01ly teachu
7~
eth us to despi~e low things, and climb to l1igh ones;
as the seed of ""oah,' ho, becau e they had been
favoured in their forefathers, by being pre ervecl in
the ark when the world was drowned, thought by
their wisdom that they coul<.l build ca ties in the
air, to climb to hea 'en, and 0 be pre er 'ed, if another deluge should come.; Dot con ideriHo' that the
.ark wa built b the command of God, and they were
building bJ their own wis-dom, vhose wi dom the
Lord soon confounded, by dividin o ' their language.
And now it is the same; men have built too high
in their own wi dam; and the Lord hath divided
theirc: speech and opinions. There was not l}lore
difference in tono-ues and langnaoe , to stop their
building of the tower of Babel, thaJ'l. there are different opinion now about my writings. Then on
whosejudo'ment halllfixlnyfaith?onthi man'?
01' on that ma 1'. ? or on the Lord 0
lifi and 0'10ry, who hath commanded II to have alt in ourselves, and to judge for ourselve, and not for
another?
~ ~hall now re~1y to those who say, if I judge my
wntmgs to be of God, I mu t think m Tself a great
favourite of he::l\'en. I ans~er that 1 always condered we were great favourite of heaven or our
Bibles could never be true. Can any on~ reflect
for a moment, and see what the Lord hath done for
man in very age of the 'vorld? what car and cone rn he hath taken for him' sufferinO' his Son to
lea c hi Father's throne, and' trip hims~lf of all but
love; to change the godhe:l.(l into manhood! and
tnce his life from the manO' I' to the era . is it
po sible he would have done~all this for our ~akes,
had we not be n great favourite of heaven? For
hat mu t the Holy Trinity f!'el! CouJd the Son
uirer, and the Fath~r, not? Can we suppa e that
the be en1 host ~ld not suffer pain, to see the
on of G ,the Pnnce of Glory, sweating drops
of blood, ompasse l"ound by men and devils;
';
treated, ith infamy in Pilate's hall, and offered up
as a malefactor upon the cross? Can re believ
that he suffered all thi for our ake" and not consider Oll\' elves favonrite of he' vtn? Should a
king ay he would yellture hi . life aud fortune for
bis subjects, who were near hi' heart, would
it not be an unjust r turn for them to bay, he did
not love them? Should they nut rather a , his
love hath kindled ours, we ire 0Te t ly in tlavour
with 0111' 50\' reign; ther fore we will hazard our
lives for him? I 'ow let your thoughts go deep and
you will perceive that the creature i a great favourite with hi Creator. . Jan is a great favourite
with God; fur the Lord saith, J.fy 'delio'ht shalt hI!
'fl)ith the sons of men; and our Sa\'iour saith, R
that do/II, the 'wilt oj' my Father, the same is my
mother, my h1'otlu:1', and my siJ'/er,' th~n are we
not great favourites of heah.ll? At what do )'e all
marvel! Our Saviour said, fP71llt I say unto you,
1 soy unto at!; God is a faithful reziJarder of th£m
that diligentLy seek him. Th'is was my deep mediunion froID my early age, which made. me judge
we were favourites of heaven, and caused me to
love and fear him. If you weigh these things deep. '
ly, I think you will join ,~th Jt1e in opinion. Can
you suppose the Lord hath shewn his love so far to
man, and that he will leave him before he hath
completed and fulfillea all the promises he hath
made? What you 0 much marvel at, his reveal
ing himself to a woman, is the least mystery,
when you trace your Bibles back; for all the Bi.
ble is man'ellous: you will find so it began; and
10 it 'Will end.
Now I shall come to the purpose. What a
wonder does this appear, that the secrets of th~
Lord should be revealed to a woman I A wonder
10 great to many, that they canuot belie\-e it.
nd was not th~ first as great a wonc1er as the last,
he.n the Lord caused a deep sleep u pOJ;J. man, awl
75
74
ook one 'f hi bones to complete his happin
and'i f' robhed of hi purpose, words and promi
by the arts of hell, by th woman and the tree of
1<l1owl dge that he placed in the garden of Eden?
If au weigh this deep"', you \ViI) ~ e llothill!4 more
to wonder at th wOlllan' brino'in<r you tht knowleclge of the good fruit, than l~er brfho'in<r you lie
knowledge of the evil. But all is a ~ystery" And I hall put the my 1<'. y here:
Ask I f the ll-arned th is call clt'a r '
If SQ, their ta!l·nt thl'y n U.t shl'~(}
III wisclom bngllt that il> divine.
Out of the rlUl>t I made at first
My perfect image there:
1 breltth't~ !n hlln, 'it plain was seeR,
My pm!, uright and clear;
And 101 d b If IV, ou all shall know
I did my likenes' mtlkl-.
)
J t,ook a bonl' Irom hUll, 'twas known,
~() mah' hi. bhs complete;
This I (lid do, believe It rrue
Though man' did it deny' '
It was the' bone I t ok frolD'mto
Bruu~h~ fatal <bt'ny..
Tllen hrre a wheel Jx>yond your skiU
To answer roy demand;
Tlll,' man or ME dcceiv'd must be,
~£ that my word don't stand.
U It do not, (perceh'e your lot)
Tb~n I must surely err,
'
And like thy p«>n the full of man
M.lIst Jilll to ri.e no more.
But If I do, (Lclic\'e it true
My word I shall make o;od )
It was the bune I took fro~ m~ll
Should b~ak the erpent's head.
.And that at ~ast my word at first J
I surely Will c'lDJplete.
The \\Ol~lan ne'er brought Oil the curse,
But dId the serpent cheat:
A my tery here tbere's none can clear
llecall.c the [lies go ,deep'
But I'll appear to answer he:e
• And make the m}stery out.:'
, If my readers say th
I will i
ell
'
,
o them. in th wa it j explained to me, as c1
as the noon day sun. But some readers will sa •
~an we believe the Lord will cond '~cend to spea,k.
in so familiar a manner to uust ancl a hest 1 answer, how familiar did the angel appea,r to"Ab~a­
ham and Lot, when they came to them III disgUise
as men? and how fa~iliar did our, ,viour appear
in disO'uise to his-<liscil>les? I could flll'a volume
with clle freedom of the Lord with 'men:' Angels
must first cetme to the similitude of men, before
men can arise to the similitude of angels; ~ignify­
inO' that ann'els must stoop'to the imperfections of
0'
0
c:'
f
men before :.men can, arri ve to the pe1'lecuol1 s 0
anO';ls' aud there can be no perfection in men, ti~l
o are
' aU of one mmd;
,
they
for every m~n"sway 18
clea.n in his own eye~; but the Lord welgheth th
spirit. Now I ha\,(' promised to give up my cause
to the opinion of twel \'e n~inisters, if t~1ey are of one
mind; and tiH they are, I am the Jud~e mys:lf,
that the ame pirit that in<lited my_ \! I'1!JnCT, mpired all the prophets throughout th ~b,le; ~nd
if I err they did the same; for one SpHlt lllspir d
the wh~te. \Vhoe\'er den the truth of this, l~t
them 1mnO' forth the{r arO'llment , and shew theu
.stranO'
rea~ons' and I wilfbrin ,CT f rth mine, uch
b '
d ' as
no man shall be able to an wer me one \VOl' III a
thou and: For the Lord hath a contro 'er \ Ith
his people', therefore now l"'
U'i\' ear, 0 heaven! and
• 1
be thou astonished, 0 earth' for the wonder ot t le
woman is come unto men. If there be a ly 'en, e
-or understandinO'
in them, thev
cannot rea(l ov r
o
"
these two volun1fs without won,:a and (mazer e
jf they judge it is uett from God-that a oman
hath life and senses to be a mocker ~t iod; a deceiver of man; and a defier of all the po ver' 0 h I,
de pi 'ino' him as being the author of a~l ou~' 1111. • y:
but there is hc:lp 1lUd upon Que tl,a I' 1111 0 '1 t • to
keep us from all h' power. !Jut on wha pow l'
, 1 , if.J
itlillg with the Lor ,to Y
x2
71
76
at all my writings eame from him, when the
Lord hath not poken. As to men, they ee I nei.
ther regard their mile, 1101' fear their frown 'neither am I disma ed by their words, but say' with
Da\,id, " If I am vile, I shall stW be viler; and if
t have brought you wondrous thinO's at fir t I
shall bring you far more wondrous tbi~gs at
last-
Till Adam's woncler wiil begin,
And so I say 'twill ~nd \ ith men:
Till Adam here will all appcar,'
To sec thl' bOl'le of man;
In every 5elll my mind reveal,
And give it to your hands,
t
;e-
s:er?:.
be truth of
So if a Pr-ophet is dcnied,
Then ~ay tne witch is come,
Who can loretd what wi I befalI'm je~t1ng now with man;
After th ir manner I do speak,
As 1 have often done;
But soon my fury it will break,
And to the purpose come;
And then yl. u'll find I am no witch,
r'( r do tbe line ilgrec;
J3ut \\ ben my hand begins to touch,
y ur ~vltcbcrajt you will sec;
Thl;lt one another you"-e bewitch'd,
And ODe another blame;
But when my fingers )OU do touch,
I'll put you all to shame.
So boast no more of your great store,
Till you can make it good;
And let yonr oaths 'bout me be O'Cf,
They're fallen on your own head.
1 warn'd you all it so would fall,
And you cli4 noL belicve,
Can no one judge from whence the calli
"Yourselves .you did deceive;
So now take care, I warn you here.
Of what is hastening on,
That if the sword doth l)OW appear.
The famine next will come.
,As in the paper was.decreed,
You'll find it come from heaven;
And if your oath make my heart bleed,
Then no,v the lump l'Uleaven,
That i, to fall upon you all,
And vengeance now I'll take;
for if your moCking still gGeS 0llt
l<
I.am .sorrr to disappoint my readers, by not in.ertIng Ill, thiS book all I promised in the la t· but
wh~t use ~ my pu bli~h 'ng what the world d~ not
1>~iJe\'e, till 1 have cOllvine d mankind from the
Blule, and put to silence the tonO'ues of foolish
people, who do not eli ,cern what ~hey read, and
,,!hat th6jT profes to be Judges of? I marvel at the
8!mple peeches I hear from some; how it is postb,le, tllat a people in a christian land can be so
'Votd ~f understanding, as to say, I have kepta jour.
nal ?t W~lat has happened for eight years, and now
ut1n J>flnt as prophecie'; then I mu t have shot
eyo.n , the m~rk, and overshot myself; for they
are mf~rmed m my firs,t p~r~, that I have placed
etters 10 the hands of nllnIsters statinO" w-nat
;f,uld je th~ events of years, and that tl~e truth
to fio\~e. If I have published lies, is it not easy
~ n out ,.the truth, by rlemanding who thO$e mi.
nlsters .are r If rent e teliinO', then let them say ·1
~m an Impostor, Every ci~cumstance which
ales t~ 1792, I have living witnesses_ to prove I
ro!e In) 792, and never had the seals in my posseaIon'
.
' on. the world ~y
f
l ' «) I have not 1m
ed
m
t
he Lord is 11'1
ge; a:nd I can clear
Y
The unbelieving world, tha mocked my writings
la t year, are noW fulfilling the very effects I said
would t'oHow the han·est. I was then cursed by
buyer -and seller; both farmers and tradesmen
boa ted of the plenty, and called me fool and old
wi ch' said that I deset ved to be hanged for tellin u ' th~m they would he di appointee l ) and perfectly
informing them what etfects would follow the har..'est, ancL- they are HOW fulfilling my words. I shall
answer such fools according to their folly.
ve-sa.id and done-
)11 sceptre I will shake.
7Iy rod before doth no v appear,
And threatens now by man,
That they will e the harve t clear,
Or el~e the rod hall come;
.And so 'twill fall up n you all,
If yOll do not relent.
.
Then see the witch that you did call,
To hang was your intent:
• ut now see clear, the danger's ncar;
To turn the other ~.\'ay;
.
You have more reason now to fear,
Than see the judgment-day.
I said in Spring it would begin,
And you woul~ see it in Lent;
And as the shadow's now begun,
Be wise, or you'll repent.
For deep Yo<1'1l see the mystery
Of all was said before;
And mark from me what I did say,
And 1\Iay ill soon be here;
Then you may see your d tiny
To hasten fast in lay.
Your fortune-teller, as despis'd.
And tobe put away;
The Spirit you have try'd to quench,
And prophecies despis'd.
Reflect, in lay what you did ay,
And now you may grow wise;
Or lay 'twill be, you all will see,
A fatal May for man,
If you in confidence agree
The Prophet to condemn;
Then you shall see your destiny,
What I will put away;
And every mystery will come round,
As I before did say.
Let May appear, my hour is near
To turn it back on man;
Then for the powers I bid you pray,
•The hcads now of your land.This I'll explain another time:
But tell. you thi of lay.
You all Will see lIch destiny,
To judge what I do say
Is spoke one year, aftd not appear
Another hastening on
'
For 11:& to make the mysteries clear,
ADd prove from whence they come.
7!>
ould they discern how I do warD,
No leal ning can appear,
To shew I !>hall brin~ on th~, torm,
And every danger s near.
I dreamt I aw"a large ca tIe building, with large
bow, indow and boards before them. I thought
the \ inu rose high, and carried the hoards up in the
air, and th t they fell back again in the same pla~e.
lsaid they must be fa tened to make them remalD.
" My hoUbc is building now a-new,
My scaffolds I hall plaCE, .
The boards must keep the storms and rain,
For they shall want no ala's;
For my partition mu t be strong,
The glas will never do ;
You'll !>ee the time before 'tis long,
I'll bring it to thy vie v.
Stron~, firm partitions you must build,
Which stones cannot destroy:
I say the t rms are risina high,
For tho e tbat don't enjoy
It. steadfa 't aud unsh ken faith
For to rely on ME;
'Fatal scenes are coming on,
Tbat every oul shall ee.
For every proud and scornful neart
I certain will bring low;
For fatal years are coming on,
That every soul hall know.And when thy writings are brought forth,
They'll say this is the year
That I pronounc'd my just decrees,
And England sure hall fear.
The last year I my threatenings sent,
With cold and hunger too;
But now~tis chang'd the other wayI'll bring it to thy view:
Tbe weather mild, my miles descend,
And now 'tis just the same;
Man with hill Maker does contend,
But does not know my nam~.
Sin in your land does still abound,
As I have said before;
If Satan's come for to condemlh
Tilen sinners sure may fear
But if 'tis I tha do 1epro\'e;
I bid mankind awake;
For if that they do slight my love,
Myac:eptre 1 thaU abake."
80
Compare the three chapters ofJoel toge'fi1er, be..
ginning with thefir t-" Hearthis, 'e old men, and
"all the inhabirant of the land; hath thi, h en in
U your day, or in the day
of your forefather ?"
Now look back on all the reconts of' histor " and
our Bibles, and see ifall thing have ever happened
together as they now are. Were I to go t 'ollo,h the
chapters which relate to the Jews at that til11~, and
whatisforJewsaild Gentiles now, lsholiid take up
too much of your time; but I shall come to the
purpose. When the Lord was doing any extraordinary thing in the land, it was to bring about
some strange acts, and some extraordinary e\'ent
was to take place. Now compare th words of our
~aviour w,ith the words of the propLet Joel, and see
1f such thmgs have happened in the day of your
forefathers, as have within half a century. Nation
hath risen against nation, city aO'ainst city; five
]lations have been divided aO'ainstthem elv 's within thespaceoffortyyears; war'and rumour ofwars
perplexities and distresses of nations, and almost
the fear ofa famine, which we have heald from a·
~roa~ and a~ ho~e; and hath all this passed unnot~ced1' Men IrnpTlsoned for prophecie ; yet the spiIlt of prophecy doth not cease, but much more
abounds ~ and so do sorrows in all lands abound.;
then se~ If all .such things ha\'e ever happ'ened together 1D ~he days of your forefathers. Our Saviour
said, " 1 (,Orne not to destroy the law clnd the prophets, but to. fulfil them;" but were the prophets'
words ever fulfilled? yet Joel's words mu t be fulfilled, when the Lord cometh to pour out his Spirit
u~on all fl~sh. Compare those word with the worns
of our SavlOur- Ci When ve see all these thin l1 s lift
" up your h ea d s; lor
J:
"' our redemption draweth
b'
10!
CI nigh."
The word. of the Lord po ken by tne
Prophets, and the words of out Saviour and his
ApQstles, are .all fulfilling toge.tber.
Now the
81
prophet Amos, in chap. iii. vel'. 7, sa ' 5 - " Surely
"the Lord will do nothing, but he reyealcth h,1S
" secret unto his servants the prophets." But \VI~l
you say, the Lord hath not done it ~ Is t.here e~J1
in the city, and the Lord hath. n?t done I.t? Will
the lion roar where no prey IS!' The han hath
roared wh can but fear? The Lord hath spoken,
who c~n but prophesy? Bring the law and the
O'ospel tOCTcther' for as a chain is linked together,
tl
b
'
.
so they must be fulfilled together. I have glVen a
very short account of what is explained very
clearly.
The 5th of November, 1794, was explained to
me in the followin o ' mann]':
" A Mo es was a type of eh ri t, foretold
By all the Prophcts you ha\'c I eard of old,
Tovember is a sure and c rtlin ign
How it will cnd with all the humon kind.
The plot at first I' scmLled tba of 1ll'1I.
V here the infernal tlend docs ever l'W .4;
The arts of man I' semble all mankind
That to such master do their pirits bind;
And in the m,anner they have kept the day>
So in like manner all \\ill pa s away.
Some of you now regard it not at all ;
Defore that day all such must surely fall;
Some are like madmen drunken at that day,
And so like madmen !'ome will pass away;
Some sport with fire, and they do n t know
Of any reason why they've kept it so;
But yet with fire somc will pass away,
And bc consumed in that awful day;
Some sport with rockets mounting in the air,
The fire does sparkle, you may see most clear;
So will the fire sparkle from on higb,
And then too late for anyone to fly;
Others by ringing make the echo ~o\Jnd,
The clashing bells in every pari h rou~d;
While some thcir songs of loyalty do sing
In honour to their Savio' II', Lord, ancl King.
This is the different conduct of mankind;
And those the different an ers they hall finu.
For when the I tters were fir t blald abroad,
Tb n every ODe pu ued b' ditf< r nt ro",d;
1.
Sg
So wh n thy letters are first blaz'd abroad,
Then el try nc will ~e 'k hi different road:
They'JJ erk at first the truth for to find out,
But I will make it plain, the/ve noutrh t to doubt.
for in tbe bou e th~ risht man bore ~he name,
For whom the letter \I as \\IWIII bere it came;
Bpcau~e l-md Prv'lden c did order 0,
That the. the certllin truth I\ll~ht sllrely no\\';
. So when the 1"I"I.t man cometh unto thee,
Whom 1 hase mCI tlOH'rl .0 rrpcaredly,
.Thl·n tLe dark m)steriC' II ill uc broul-lht In lioht
And plainly ~hewn to each I ehever's ~igh t; '" ,
And then the dl~ercnt road they I ill pursl\£',
To pruve to mun that all my \\'l,rcls are true.
Some will in tran.port wait for tha~ glad day,
Vhen they their Kina in triumph surc shall see'
The hellvenly mu,ic ~vill EOund in their ear,
'
And they \\'llllong to see their Lord appear
In all his glory lor so bri ht to shine,
And eRg 'r I,ish Jor that appointed time;
WhIle IUk.ewa~m ~hri&ti.alls they will little care,
And say, If \Ie re tn Chn t, what shall we fear?
What farther hopes have we for to believe?
If we're in Christ, what more can we receive?
But such professor are lukewarm to me,
And much more hateful than the sinners be;
Because that they ~r~ loyal. to their king;
But lukewllrm Chnsttans WIll no honour brin...
The d~y apPulllt~d they hall never see,
o'
Nor. with thc BrIdegroom \\c!com'd in shall be;
Their lamps gone out, and I will shut the door'
The fooli h virgins hall not enter there.
•
OW ,to the wicked tl ou must quickly turn;
For tllere my anger. shall like fury burn.
:ow chang~ these hnes, and thou wilt quickly sct\
ow well WIth reason all thi doth agrce.
Ther fore let no one blame the Romish banils
~Ol' the m spiteful Jews, nor heathen lands:
or thc)" 111) elf so much I do not blame'
'
~causc they've never heard a Saviour's'namc'
ut th~ t~a1 do profess to know my name '
~lId by th~lr conduct do deny the same'
'
'
I hem of. hlgb tr. ~ n I WI'11 sure cpndemn,
~nd lay It heaVier on such sons of men' . .
Joor once my anger does begin to smok~
·
'
Then fi'urc su . b &Qui & hall··....L rlnk
beneath
my yoke.
R ow rom tlIls type a warning, do gi\'e
o
~ apay DOW begin ~o live. '
83
In 179'* I dreamt I was on a high place; but I
could not tell how I came there. I tl~ougl~t I was
in a large room, that hacl got two bow W111 lows,
out of one of \"hich I tllOught I looked, and s~w
the clou I working in a y 1',7 strange manner, WIth
a train hanging double, that had th~ appearance of
gunpowder' .and ~ most extra?nhn~r:: spt':t~~le
did the \ Qrh..lllg of tbe clouds m he... vcn e.xhlbl.t.
I was ordered to pen it, and it was explallled ill
the following manuel';
II This is thc '''NY In) tery of thy dream, .
Tlla working of lh' douds I st.all Qxpl?ln;
For in the hl'<iYCnS I sa' 'tis workin u hIgh;
But theltl' come' on another mystery;
Fur the dark train it mu~t to all b known,
The fury of lhl' Lord is co~ing down;
But hanging doubly surely Jt would b£',
And every Illition shall my fury e;
Y<'t us thou know'lOt not hull' thou dldst come there,
So all's a my ter), 1 to thl'\' Icclarc..
To know tl.e \I ill 01 God, how can It be?
Ifhou knoll/st \0 Ulan it 1 :1 mystery.
I a k of tbo e that do my pirit bht!ne, "
Am I not God, as yc ·tcrday the S.. ll) '1"
[TIle remainder I!f' thi~ dream lihall appear ill PorL III.]
In 1795 I drea.mt there were two boys sittin.g by
the fire' one of whom, hearir\g he W~'i to be kIlled,
turned him cit into a rabbIt; anel the were compelled to da h hi llead in pieces. I t.hQught tl~e
other bOll aid to me, you will not kIll me, will
)'ou? the Lord is too merciful, an,r you are too
pitiful. I thought [ took the boy. lip III my arm,
hugged him to my bl'east, and said, ~10; I woul~
sooner kill myself than hurt YOll. Stl\lple as th1S
dream may ai)pea~" ,'cry deep i the ~ealling. I
hall give the explanation in the folloW111g maimer:
Cl
Then now unlO lhl' p"rp"-c dlOU urt come;
J lit like the boy art' HoII Ill, sons or I.neo.
Thl'u knuw'sl that vllC IUI'll'd hun l'il tCl II. bea t,
When c1r1lth upon him, and hi !oenll'nCe cast,
"lHl"h made it e~y him lor to de.lroy.
llut now thou'rt come unto lhl: ulht:r boy;
L~
84
He saw the other did hefore bim <lie,
And then for mercy he did humbly cry;
He sought hy mercy; it he did obtain,
"hou huaa' t the cluld wben be did sore complain,
'T\\as 1 that Ull U~lll tl.is vision to tby view;
Just like thy dream I \ IIh man ind sball do;
yoI' such a humbl J now to ME do come,
If>ay, like thee, 1 have fre .Jv died for them'
My J.rm areopen"lOd 1 wld"<:mbrace;'
But \~oe to them who turn thel1l~elves to beasts}
for lIke th(' other they hall surely dieTo "ill th bea. t it i your common cry'
Thi_ is the Ian uage you have got below'
And kill the be. 5t \~hen anger you do show.
• And now lily anger shall begin to burn,
If men to l;c~ Is themselves they now do turn;
And to the I'Ighte()1I (.h~y are all a Je('p)
I tell lhee no\\, the IV .ed-rllb \\ ilf grow deep."
~lmple as thi dream may appear, it is deep and
welght,Y to the wholt: laud.
The following lines were explained to me, in
a.nswer to the eho en men di puting.
" But ~uch a mixture in the e men is found
A g~'ie\'('s my oul; 1 am pro\'ok'q to hear
Tbelf yole ; thl'ir bonds ssullder I shall tear
Not juin'd togl'lhcr, how can any draw?
•
Back~\'ard and forward now my plough must go.
Janglln~ toge-Ihl 1'; who can bold Ihe sull ?
I J.y, lh.e ploughman tlwy mu t think a fool,
T" I t hls Lullncks thus go in the plouO"h ;
~re'lk up thl' furrows 1 do a k thee ho~v ?
f~ou.know'bt.lhe s.ull, \~ill,.., out of the ground,
\\ hr.lI. s~ch a Jlmghng S In the harness found;
For It ahke the harne>s don't alTrel'
~.o man ,c<In plough the ground, 'tis known to thee,
'lill they rc took out, and oth('r are yok'd in;
Then to tho t \'ery purpose I \\ ill come:
For, as a. hu balldman I'll do the same'
Unle~~ their Illadn~s I can calmly tam~,
And 10 one harne they will all agree
. ~Iy plough is ready for to set them fr:e;
}or, as a husbandman I'll now appear
Break up the ground, and lea the faliows bare.
A man f ar I surrly now will be
And leave no foe without a victory."
85
The following lines were explained to me, when
J was ordered to end my firt letter to one of the
dignitaries of the church.
.
"
ow like the psalm I shall begm;
My OIlme shall fly abroad;
And let tbe heathen nalion hear
The sentence of the Lord.
So with thy letter now begin,
That thou mu t end t o - The souls of mRny he hall win,
If he my VOIce will heal'.
Ny word before 111111 they must come,
And let him wl'igh them deep;
for now my time i~ fully up,
If Enaland now due leep.
Out of :heir dream they n1tlst av{ake,
If II cy preserv'd will be:
My rod and ceptre Loth I'll shake.,
If men do not obey.
Grent is my promise if they do,
But threatening arc severe;
And they hall fil~d my words are true
Before l've ended here.
So with thy I t r now begin;
For I hall all men try;
And if they to the purpose come,
They'll urely find ME nigh.
Shock'd with surpri e he'll surely be,
A you thi day begin:
Another time I shall e:-plain
The meaning of the thing."
The Sunday after I had sent the letter, the reverend gentleman's text was from Hebrews, chapter iii. verse 7-" \Vherefore, as the Holy Gilo t
" sait11, to-day if ye wiii hear his voice, harden
" not your hearts," &c. When I can.e home, bejng full of doubts, I was answered" 0 thou of little faith, why dost thou doubt,
Because a1l1lJystl'rie thou can't not find alit?
I aid in bye-paths thou must fi· t ~(l through,
Unhang the gate', and o'er tbe s d('~ musl go;
Then in the gap I bade th(' for to come,
Or in my [\!ITY I should throw all down;
'1'h n in the gap I bid thee nowapp"ar,
Make up the breach, as loses dId before,
And from the text 1 said I'a fix it there.
86
'J'he Holy Ghost to th e is surely come,
fis he in. pire , it mu~t to all be known.
From place to place, and heart to heart J go,
And know before what e~'ery man ~vill do.
Out of his lMuth to-day he dId declare
That \"f!ry te. t that brinrTS the su.ulitance here i
for like the text I ny I'll ~urely'do;
lfnH'n "ill not obey, and own ME trul',
Provok'd to angt'r,'r hall oon be~ in;
If In n deny, \'hen tholl hJ t told my mind.
And now I tell thee, if thou do t draw back,
Thou anL! thy friends in pieces I shall br~ak;
But h~t t1IY friends wj~h thee in this agree,
Then by their faith prrscrved they hall be,
As all thy \1 riting, arr in a straight line:
And can they prove the writings arc not mine
No greater judge then they must appear
Thun thou wast of the ermon thou didst hear;
And that thou say'st thou didst not understa .~.
o. wilt110t jn tify, nor wilt condemn.
o to mankind I now do say the same,
If thl y'll not justify, they can't condemn;
And to thy judgment they mu t give it up,
And 'tis by thee the CUI'tUIIlS must fome back i
For be tbat preach'd it now the judge mu t be,
And now I tell thee so mu t it by thee,
If that thy writings they can't under 'tand,
l\ut say it is out of the reach of man,
To judge aright of tbinas that are too hiah,
Then to thyr.elf tbey al{must gi ve the ~aY."
l
One night I dreamt I saw men in the air, , ho
p.itched wi~h their hor es upon th6 earth; the hoI' es
tought ft~r~ously, and the men fought f lI"iously;
anu so fnghtened me that I awoke, and thono-Ilt
the Fren~~h would land; but I was answered in
the following manner:
.. 'Tis not the French, as thou dost now suppose;
The scarlet dye was On the soldiers' clothes,
And on thl' earth for battle firm thpy stood:
~hou kno~v'st my garments tht·/ \Iele dipt in blood.
No more ,Ill I3ethll.'hem doth the infant lay,
But nO,,".lD heaven my wondl'rs hall di play;
A place lor h r~es, when the Sun of God
Unto mankiild his coming fir twa knowJd;
And a the horse do the harne swear,
So lilt them know my chariot it ili near.
57
These heayenly yision shall t? all be hOl'il,
That in my chariot,I am ccmm<o,do,l\n:
,,'0 more in swaddhn!;s doth the IIlfant lay,
But now I'll come in glory'S bright ana)",
And a rile a\'iuurnowlllsure1Y,be
To those \1 ho put thei I' tru t ~Ione 111 Xl E.
But darkness o'er the earth \~,ll u~'e abound;
Yet you, enlighten'd land, hi,S pral e .rr ouud i
Trle !tlory of the Lord sha~11l1 thr~ 1'. r,
And his salvation ~hall be I~ the II I. '.
Conquelingto conqu<;:r I,wlll now bc~m:. "
Rrjoice, ye lands! \VII h JOy and ghldne!-s Ing.
This dream is deeper than any man can {)ossil>ly
imagine.
I shall here intrnc1uce a parabl~, that was interpreted to !11~ at th~ time CamplO~ w~ ~xecuted
for comnllttlllg a not, all(~ who was d I a" n to ~he
O'allo\v o'llarded by soldier'; \lear abou~ , hlC~t
~ime a mfil- tone W:i broken at the very mill where
the riot first commenced, which shook the earth
for four miles rOl1Jld, as report. then stated. It wa:i
explained to me in the followllJg manner:
" I said the thief with me did surely die,
When I wa mm ler'u on l\lount Calvary;
And now the sitrht much like it doth appear,
To let them kn~w my chariot-'\ heels are ncar.
The stone was broken at the mill, 'twas so,
It hook the ground, let all tl1e readers ~now~
The 'worels and spears thou w~ettcst a1lm 'iClln,
For to pre\rcnt the time is cOllllng on;
And know the sceptre I shall surdy sway,
And ave the soldiers who do IE obey:
That is, to act accorcling to my ..... ord,
And let them know that I alone am Lord:
A disaffected man they all call d NE,
Aud said the tribute I refus'd to pay;
rehen now for tribute I shall pay them all;
My sword and gun do loud for vengeance call.
That very man to Paradi e is come;
.
Unto the cross he brought 111 E back ~n.
And HUW my sword it bhall like fury ~mokl.',
The hearts of men I'll surely bow or. break,
Ju~t as the mill-stone did before the ume;
I 58'1 of all men they are totally bliud~
89
8
Or like thy si ter, hel\d-~trong wi dom gl"owtf,
And think their ods and they can rule alone,
When that the hearts of none they can command,"
ST. ATHAN ASIU '5 CREED
pm·aphrasea.
" The Fathel', on, and Holy Gho t, the e three
Make one true God in perfect unity;
The Father i the gi\'er of them all; ,
The 011 i the redeemer of t he fall r
The Holy Gh 't r1id to the Virgin come
To make the Trinity ag'ree in ON E.
The 'on did come, lIIan's nature to assume,
That man again might lJke his Maker come;
But here's a my'wry I'll to thee reveal,
That 1 no longer shall f\"Om thee conceal:
That Go D and l\1an must first united be
For to fulfil the. glorious Trin ty;
'fhe Trinity and Unity are one,
A perfect peace then made with God and man.
Another myl>t ry lie, still behind,
Tbat thou in no wa} out the truth can t find,
Which thou must gather from the Trinity,
Though join'd in one, inferior man mu t be.
These things that I to thee have now re\'eal'd,
Are from the wi e and prudent men concea}'d ;
Because the on of God, when here below,
Has said, to babes he would the mystery ~how,
One person of the Father is the Son,
Another of the Son i urely Man,
Al1I)ther of the Holy Gho t proceedThe woman's doom'd to break the erpent's heao.
Not of her'elf h" any thing could do,
But by the power of God these things arc true;
The Godhead of the Father and the on
And of the )-Ioly Ghost, these three are 'one;
The gl9'l'Y equal, and in maje ty
l\l~k~ one true God in perfect unity.
ThiS IS the faith that all men mu t believe
If they again will perfect be receiv'd ;
,
~or by the,chri tian faith we are compell'd,
'1 hat we \Yuh God and Christ be rccoDcil'd ;
T~ n ever man in Christ shall be maue lord
Of v"ry ble ing he doth here afford;
AIH~ woman b,y the Holy Gho t shall come
To full pertectlOD, equal itb the man;
B~n.e .9f his bone, and flesh like his beculne,
DlV1dlJlg sub -tance, but in heart as one;
'I~he &eetl thin' planted in the Yirgin's womb,
.. ot of henelf, dc>th to perfectiou come;
"Tor no perfection could there be in man,
Till by ~od's wisdom they were join'd as olle;
l\Iade belfS of God and Christ, and heirs of heaveD
Shall be their seed, when the who e lump is leaven'd.
So now your Saviour's words you plainly see,
They are made prrll"ct in this Trinity;
None is before nor after, neither then,
Becau e in God they a.rc all perfect men.
How can this Creed be e'er made out bv roan
What tbey do not believe nor understand l
To keep it un<lefil'd tllere no men do;
Then all must perish, if men's words are true.
But here's the mystery now made out by God,
When all shall keep it by his boly word."
I shall now explain the faith of Abraham, whep.
he went to offer up his son Isaac, in whom the
promise was made. But how could it be fulfilled,
when he was dead? would be the faith now a-day.
But here was Abraham's strong faith;
Let Abraham now appear:
By charity he follow'd ME,
Or else his faith would err.
Because of ME hi thoughts were biglt,
Or faith would soon been dead;
Be would have ~tumbled in the way,
When he to tb' altar led
His only son, to all was known
The promise there was made;
But when I bid him offer up,
Then faith must sure be dead;
The child be dead, the promiae fled,
And it must be in vain;
But charity was found in he
The promise to obtain;
Because he judg'd M.E as I\, God
That would not man deceive.
This way the gloomy path he trou"
In charity believ'd,
That if his on I did demand,
Another I'd prepare,
To bring it to the promis'd laud
That I bad said before;
And on my word he did depend,
And so did ME obey;
He judg'd ME faithful in·the .d,
And 50 went on his way;
lC
K
90
~,
And tben the altar did prepare,
And bound th • happy child.
But now the mysteries I ~hall clear:
" ~hen both t 'getber, mild
1 he on demands to s('e the lamb
.The father must pn'pare; .
Tbe father took and bound the son
To pro~e the lumb was ther~. '
"'bE:'n thi wa done, the voice was known
Whic~ did them both surprise'-:
'
Now, Aoraham, stay thy bloody hand
And ClUit about thlile eyes;
,
Lei go Ihe lumb, and Ia.ke Ihe ram'
llE:"s in the thicket cauoht·'
'
Then like tbM·lamb let n~pn 'become
The victory shull be wrought.
'
For Illy son Ihpy are fa t bound,
A 11<1 on th altar cast·
But Satan's doom mu t s~ come round
To be the ram at lu t.
nut here thy mind is puzzled now
And puztlinCT cloth appear;
,
Can atan e'er a ram be called?
I'll make the mystery <;Iear:
Compari on have alway been:
The serpent \\ as of M f
When 111 the wildernp \\1;5 seen
The brazen serpent, see;
,
A~d yet it was a type of ME;
[hen marvel n t 'tis so
Tbat I compar'd I,im to n'ram
That with my flock doth go:
For to defy and hunt my sheep,
And lead them all astray.
~ow by t~e h~r~ he hall be caught;
Th tl~lckct s In the way:
If men like Abraham do beCTin
I will my son unbind; t> ,
The walls which Satan made so stroncr
Shall \I ith his horns come down. 0'
The wall of Jl'ri"ho ffiU t fall .
The ram' horns mu t appe;r:
But let the 'ound be known to all
'Ti~ I have poken it here.
'
I shall throw down. and now build up
That you may tand ecure'
' .
nd build upun a firmer hope'
Than you have stood belur~;
91
Because my mind I have c'nc al'd
From all the son of men;
But when the mystefll's arc re 'cal'd,
Then will your hopes be kilO 'n."
Now I have given you a ~hort account of Abraham' Faith; and what a type that wa' of the last
days. Our faith i what we judge of God; but as
~t is written, "False prophets shali arise and de" ceive many," I hall gi\'e you a short aCC&lIl1t of
what they are: They are those who prophesy out
of their own hearts, and have seen nDthing; and
den the true prophets
the Lord. E\ er man
that pretends to 'y thin o ' that will llot come to
pa 5, as it is writt( n," laketh himself a prophet,
., and propheieth out hi own heart, and decei\ eth
"aU that believe him." Too man false prophet
are already gone out into the world, who have prophe ied fal e thing and d ceit; whom the Lord
neither nt or commanded; yet they pret f 'n<l to
prophe y, and deceive man: there~y. 'Ih s I shall
explain more clearl. hereafter, and ,hew you, from
the written word of God, that true prophecies must
be O'iven, and t!1e Bible cl arl ' revealed to man. It
is not the sword of war that will open any man's
under tanding; it is the sword of the spirit that
rou t bring men to the knowledge of the I:.orcl;
or men would abide for ever in ignorance.
of
The following lines were written in answ~r to
men's sayin~, that the Jews would be converted;
and that many had pretended to prophesy, as 1
had done.
" Vain are their thoughts, to think that I
ShaH e'er COil vince thl'lll in the \lay
That their \'aln notiuns now suppose,
Which make mJ Gospel of no use.
What profit \\'a~ it lor to pen
What. never is of u r to \Den'
But hrre my Bible' . thrown aside,
inee naw my Spirit i denied.
M2
9~
Bring now the woman, Il;'t her cornc,
That \ ritcs or acts as thou ha t done;
1'h('o an impostor tholl halluc,
And ~ay another acts like thee.
o woman e\cr did a lime
To say a child wa eVf~r born
A Iar)' did the son of God;
'uch thin~ \I'll. ne\'er heard, n r linow'tl.
Now \ hrrl:'s lhl;' woman \\ill appear
To shc\v her elf the bride so cleal"? '
If such a thing was ever done,
I will no longer guide thy pen.
So all gain ayers now. tand still,
It i your God, it I his will
To vindicate the lawful bride,
To t:hew his Gospel is applied;
• And then as brides I'll make ye all,
That on my name for mercy call ;
ADd all alike I'll join to lin;
7i~ but a IIIl1rk that ye mi"ht see
That nil my Bible is made c!p.ar;
For like the Jews the Gentiles are;
It must come perfect to tbe word,
Or they'll deny it is from God:
NO\F 'tis come prrlect to the word;
Let Jews and Gentiles kno\Y the Lord:'
As I am coming to the conclusion of my Second
nook, I must beg the erious reader will wei 'h
deeply the First Book; and call bis attention to
what was said in 1796 (see page 14), and which was
$poken.in ~'e-rse. I must aJ 0 call his ClttentiOll to
the l$th page, and earne tly intreat him to weigh
EJeeply, what was spoken in the Psalms, page 20;
mark well the letter that follows and the cross
nnd dots for words, which, thouO'h he canllot read,
are deep and \Vei~ht)" and we~e ellt to •he mi~isters in wor~ls that are concealed from the publlc; and he WIll find there is concealed from him
what is hastening au, that he k ows no· more of
than the dot he cannot read; for the one is as
much concealed ~rom him as the otber, at present;
tm
9S
~ b~ tUU$t wait
the teo years are e pired; and
W~n he will dea ~ perceive the truth of the fir t
Jetter.
I have underst~ndiog, as well as you all. I
must beg our attention to the econo' Letter:
Unto whom have you <.lone de pite? either to the
Spirit of the Lord, PI' to me; if to me, no jud
JJ1ents Can foHow; but if t9 the Lord, th<,y cer..
t~inly will. For in all ap;e6 of the world,
hellmen mocked·the words of the Lord, the Lord
said, I will laugh at their calamitie', .and m~ck
when their fear cometh. Then you WIll perceIve
you have all seen through a g-Ju 8 darkly; and
iead the book. as a man vieweth his face in a glass,
and goeth away, forgettin~ what manner of man
he was, and is therefore obliged to return to the
I7Jass to recollect Ilis feature ; so vou must return to tbe Fir t Book, to recal the prophecies, if
you wish to be judge of what you read. The third
letter you are fulfilling, jf you could read the dots,
that stand in the place of words, where it i spoken
of and concerning Egypt; but, lik~ blind .men
judging of colours that will not bear the ~ay-hght,.
so many have judged of my writings, that when the
truth is come to light, their judgmentswilJ Dot bear.
I shall next call our attention to the contents
of page 26. Talk iJo more so proudly, lest your
pride should have a fall For some readers have
not discerned a word that they have read; while
others have weighed deeply, and have not exercised themselves in things too high tor them; desir~us of being more clear in their judgment, by
seemg more of it.
I shall conclude, by answering dlose who say,
my writings are the prod uction of some mini tel'
or another; and that I, like a fool, have signed y
name to other men's wo..k.i. At this so strange
4
an as ert'ion I annot but m~r\"e1; beinO' at a 10 s
to conceive, ho
any man. ,ho has r ad the
book throuo'h, can be so destitute of under'tand.
ing. H~, or they, fiU t dicern in what In oner
th ..y are put; he tr~th j, ,ea ' to .he found out j
and had it been OJ mtentlOn' to Impo e on the
)lic, I mu 't ha\'e hot con id rabl . beyond the
mark, and over hot my elf.
~y oul i pro'O'oked
o h ar what wrong con tructlOns some reader~
have put upon my writings." But barrrn mind, I like barren soil,
Mock the cultivator's toil.
Though you sow the cboic t e",d,
]t produc th chatrand weed;
So if chaff and weed appea.r,
I will burn the fallow bare,
ntil the' rOllnd i fit for wheat, '
And tlH'n you'll find your crops are great.
But, Oh! what rd hall I now OIl',
Wben eH'.Y blade of wheat I know
]s comp 'd round so full of weed,
Th<.>re is no room hr it to ureed 1
T1J<.>n if the Ice . so fa t do grow,
1\1)' wheat ffiU.t all be cbual-'d, I know,
uti I I makr my fallows bare,
And like a hu band man appear,
To cleanse ffij ground, ltnd burn the wet"d,
A .. d thrn Illy \\ ht"at I how will breed.
And!'t t~li yr'lr I wl1l11o (,11:
1. Illught but wel"<.l : the IV cI I'll burn i
Aud lI'hell 'our harve,t lloe appea.r,
mt,re comph tn of canty 'year;
Fe r full as canty I sec man ,
To speak Ihe truth, or judge my hand;
For if believer do apprar,
They'rr choak'd with Illockers e,very where.
Then I ,ill surely mock the whole,
And chonk thr harvest for you all;
Unlrss my rrvallt do uegm
To pull tbe w<;eds that now do spring
o very fast to chmlk thr btade,
o corn at harH't to be liad.
But now the mystrry I'll rxplain i
The word of God's the seed 1 meao,
No
95
at like the manna' comrs from heaven;
And angCl ~ ood to man i iv 1.1,. _
While in tl,Je \\ ildern S )OU stand,
And help ·you t the pr j!TIi 'd land,
That ou wtll find 1$ now belore,
And )OU may !ICC the Canaan' lUre.
The blades that I hell e call'd the wheat,
Are tho e tlmt judge the calli nO' great,
That,tht"y rom ... t n hull be free:
And Pharaoh was a tj pe of he.
The we<.>ds tho t do 0 trong appear,
Are unbeliever e" ry where,
That choak the heart, it cannot grow;
So here's the Go pel and the Law,
That I hall closely join in one;
And to the Gospel now I'll come.
The hu balldman doth now uPI ear,
To sow his seed both far and near;
And a the t nder bind s do spring,
The enemy the tares doth bring;
I saw his seed among t th wheat;
Then soon you'll find the harv t great;
For both together now may grow;
To "eed the tare' too oon I know
That all my wheat I mll t de tro)';
Then who my han 'st ca 1 njoy?
o both together let them pring,
Until my reapers do begin
For to cut down both wheat and tare;
Then I'll divide my harvr there,
And all the chaff it soon hall fly,
And all will find my har....est nigh;
For e....ery mystery I'll explain,
What is beyond the heads of men."
I shall finish this Book with remarking, that
the two pu blications I have produced, are as hard
to be understood, and as hard to be believed, by
the Gentiles, who are under the Gospel, as the
Old and New Testaments are by the Jews, who are
under the Law. In my next Book I shall throw
open the Bible, and br'loO' all thinO's to your remembrance, and come to the purpose with Jews
and Gentiles. And what has been omitted in thi
96
Book, I pr<7mise to insert in the nex:t, provided I
do not hear too much contradiction by men, for
J1'!e to hold a contra er'y with. Thertfore, nnw
gIve ear, 0 heavens! and be a tonishrd, 0
earth! the Lord hath a contr() ersy with his
people.
c::
;::::::: :;:;::"-~:J
:;: : ::;;;;
The Strange Effects
Joanna Southcott.
of Faith.
SECO D PART.
March !9, 1801.
I
MUST beg to assign some reasons, why my
writings are spoken so much in verse. Verse is
an addition to words, and so is mine to the Bible:
Verse gives an echo, and it is the voice of the
Lord echoing back to man. Consider how many
were the son~s of Solomon-and mine is indited
by a greater Ulan Solomon.
I shall comme~ce this part with the mystery of
the Fall, and how it was explained. .
LONDON:
1ftated by W.lf. aCRAM', ~villo-Street;and Id by Eo J. Fun.D, o.1a
IlllV Hl~mabury Court, Hlp Holbornj C. ABBOTT, oppoeite tbe LondOll
ppRUbCI, East Eoti of OIt1-1kreet; W. Tozu. Lembt!tb Road, St.
G.r&e· y..ld~; aIIo by W. SYMOIlIllr Guo Lane' anG tile Mila Byp
I.JUO." St. Sidwell'., Exeter; S. HlasT, Leeds; J. 'r.IIllDLEToN, y"rk j
_.LIe
CoMlltry-S~
StDarIiri.
(Price NiM-Pt1/tt.)
" Over the rarlh the darkness it is gone,
othing but darkness in the sons of men:
And how my Bible will they all explain,
For all dark sayings to be brought to light?
I .ay the Bible's cover'd from meo's sight,
Left to men's wisdom simply to explain j
And by men's isdom simply it is done.
But now I ask thee, are men's judgments true?
And now I'll bring it plainer to thy view:
As all men ditrer in their wrilinglt here,
Bring me the man that shews his judgment clear,
That all gainsayers he CUll no\. confound;
There's not that man stands on the earthly ground;
Then in judgment men don't all agree.
My SEALILD JUR. Y still must sealed be;
And by the TWELVE HEN they mUllt give it UI);
I'll choose another if that auy drop.
The mighty Counsellor now I'll surely be;
The Prince of Peace, that everyone shall see;
Wo~Alo
A
The Fourth Edition, printed in July••
181"'by W. MARCUANT, IngramCourt, LolldODo