When such Seekers, who wearied with empty Forms, look toward uniting with us as a People, and behold active Members among us depart in their customary Way of Living, from that Purity of Life, which under humbling Exercises hath been opened before them, as the Way of the Lord's People, how mournful and discouraging is the Prospect! And how strongly doth such Unfaithfulness operate against the Spreading of the peaceable, harmonious Principle, and Testimony of Truth amongst Mankind!
In entering into that Life, which is hid with Christ in God, we behold his peaceable Government, where the whole Family are governed by the same Spirit, and the doing to others as we would they should do unto us, groweth up as good Fruit from a good Tree; the Peace, Quietness, and harmonious Walking in this Government is beheld with humble Reverence to him who is the Author of it; and in partaking of the Spirit of Christ, we partake of that which labours, and suffers for the Increase of this peaceable Government among the Inhabitants of the World; and I have felt a Labour of long Continuance, that we, who profess this peaceable Principle, may be faithful Standard-bearers under the Prince of Peace, and that nothing of a defiling Nature, tending to Discord and Wars, may remain among us.
May each of us query with ourselves, have the Treasures I possess been gathered in that Wisdom which is from above, so far as hath appeared to me?
Have none of my Fellow Creatures an equitable Right to any Part which is called mine?
Have the Gifts, and Possessions received by me from others, been conveyed in a Way free from all Unrighteousness, so far as I have seen?
The Principle of Peace in which our Trust is only in the Lord, and our Minds weaned from a Dependance on the Strength of Armies, hath appeared to me very precious, and I often feel strong Desires, that we who profess this Principle, may so walk, as to give just Cause for none of our Fellow Creatures to be offended at us; that our Lives may evidently manifest, that we are redeemed from that Spirit in which Wars are. Our blessed Saviour in pointing out the Danger of so leaning on Man, as to neglect the Leadings of his Holy Spirit, said, Call no Man your Father upon the Earth; for one is your Father which is in Heaven, Mat. xxiii. 9. Where the Wisdom from above is faithfully followed, and therein we are entrusted with Substance, it is a Treasure committed to our Care in the Nature of an Inheritance, as an Inheritance from him, who formed, and supports the World. Now in this Condition the true Enjoyment of the good Things of this Life is understood, and that Blessing felt, in which is real Safety; this is what I apprehend our blessed Lord had in View, when he pronounced, Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.
Selfish Worldly-minded Men may hold Lands in the selfish Spirit, and depending on the Strength of the outward Power, be perplexed with secret Uneasiness, lest the Injured should sometime overpower them, and that Measure meted to them, which they measure to others. Thus selfish Men may possess the Earth; but it is the Meek who inherit it, and enjoy it as an Inheritance from the Heavenly Father, free from all the Defilements, and Perplexities of Unrighteousness.
Where Proceedings have been in that Wisdom which is from beneath, and inequitable Gain gathered by a Man, and left as a Gift to his Children, who being entangled by the same Worldly Spirit, have not attained to that Clearness of Light in which the Channels of Righteousness are opened, and Justice done to those who remain silent under Injuries: Here I have seen under humbling Exercise of Mind, that the Sins of the Fathers are embraced by the Children, and become their Sins, and thus of the Days of Tribulation, the Iniquities in the Fathers are visited upon these Children, who take hold of the Unrighteousness of their Fathers, and live in that Spirit in which those Iniquities were committed; to which agreeth the Prophecy of Moses, concerning a rebellious People; They that are left of you shall pine away in their Iniquities, in your Enemy's Land, and in the Iniquities of their Fathers shall they pine away, Lev. xxvi. 39. and our blessed Lord in beholding the Hardness of Heart in that Generation, and feeling in himself, that they lived in the same Spirit in which the Prophets had been persecuted unto Death, signified, That the Blood of all the Prophets which was shed from the Foundation of the World, should be required of that Generation, from the Blood of Abel, unto the Blood of Zacharias, who perished between the Altar and the Temple, Luke xi. 51.
Tender Compassion fills my Heart towards my Fellow Creatures estranged from the harmonious Government of the Prince of Peace, and a Labour attends me, that they may be gathered to this peaceable Habitation.
In being inwardly prepared to suffer Adversity for Christ's Sake, and weaned from a Dependance on the Arm of Flesh, we feel, that there is a Rest for the People of God, and that it stands in a perfect Resignation of ourselves to his Holy Will; in this Condition, all our Wants and Desires are bounded by pure Wisdom, and our Minds wholly attentive to the Counsel of Christ inwardly communicated, which hath appeared to me as a Habitation of Safety for the Lord's People, in Times of outward Commotion and Trouble, and Desires from the Fountain of pure Love, are opened in me, to invite my Brethren and Fellow Creatures to feel for, and seek after that which gathers the Mind into it.