always it will do, if the Soul gives not its Strength to the Darkness) there will be fuch a painful Travail found in the Soul, that will even work upon the outward Man; fo that oftentimes, through the Working thereof, the Body will be greatly fhaken; and many Groans, and Sighs, and Tears, even as the Pangs of a Woman in Travail, will lay hold upon it; yea, and this not only as to one, but when the Enemy (who, when the Children of God affemble together is not wanting to be prefent, to fee if he can lett their Comfort) hath prevailed in any Measure in a whole Meeting, and ftrongly worketh against it, by fpreading and propagating his dark Power, and by drawing out the Minds of fuch as are met, from the Life in them; as they come to be fenfible of this Power of his, that Works against them, and to wrestle with it by the Armour of Light, fometimes the Power of God will break forth into a whole Meeting; and there will be fuch an inward Travail, The Travail while each is feeking to overcome the Evil in them- crown'd felves, that by the ftrong contrary Workings of thefe with a vicoppofite Powers (like the going of two contrary Song. Tides) every Individual will be strongly exercised, as in a Day of Battle; and thereby Trembling and a Motion of Body will be upon moft, if not upon all: Which, as the Power of Truth prevails, will from Pangs and Groans, end with a fweet Sound of Thankf giving and Praife. And from this, the Name of The Name Quakers, i. e. Tremblers, was firft Reproachfully caft whence i upon us, which, though it be none of our choofing, sprung yet in this Refpect we are not ashamed of it; but have rather Reafon to rejoyce therefore, even that we are fenfible of this Power, that hath oftentimes laid hold of our Adverfaries, and made them yield unto us, and joyn with us, and confefs to the Truth, before they had any diftinct or difcurfive Knowledge of our Doctrines; fo that fometimes many at one Meeting have been thus Convinced: And this Power would fometimes alfo reach to, and wonderfully

work

torious

of Quakers

Yet Silence

but Words

work even in little Children, to the Admiration and Aftonifhment of many.

§. IX. Many are the bleffed Experiences, which is no Law; I could relate of this Silence, and Manner of Worship; may follow. yet do I not fo much commend and speak of Silence, as if we had a Law in it to fhut out Praying or Preaching, or tied our felves thereunto; not at all: For as our Worship confifteth not in the Words, fo neither in Silence, as Silence; but in an boly Dependence of the Mind upon God: From which Dependence, Silence neceffarily follows in the first Place, until Words can be brought forth, which are from God's Spirit. And God is not wanting to move in his Children, to bring forth Words of Exhortation or Prayer, when it is needful; fo that of the many Gatherings and Meetings of fuch as are convinced of the Truth, there is fcarce any, in whom God raiseth net up fome or other to minifter to his Brethren; that there are few Meetings that are altogether filent. For when many are met together in this one Life and Name, it doth most naturally and frequently excite them to pray to, and praise God, and ftir up one another by mutual Exhortation and Inftructions; yet we judge it needful, there be in the first Place fome Time of Silence; during which, every one may be gathered inward, to the Word and Gift of Grace, from which he that miniftreth, may receive Strength to bring forth what he miniftreth; and that they that hear, may have a Senfe to difcern betwixt the precious and the vile, and not to hurry into the Exercise of these Things, fo foon as the Bell rings, as other Chriftians do. Yea, and we doubt not, but affuredly know, that the Meeting may be good and refreshful, tho' from the fitting down, to the Rifing up thereof, there hath not been a Word as outwardly fpoken; and yet No abfolute Life may have been known to abound in each particuNeceffity lar, and an inward Growing up therein and thereby; tho' from yea, fo as Words might have been spoken acceptably, the Life, at and from the Life: Yet there being no abfolute Ne

for Words,

Times.

cellity

ceffity laid upon any fo to do, all might have chofen rather quietly and filently to poffefs and enjoy the Lord in themselves. Which is very fweet and comfortable to the Soul, that hath thus learned to be gathered out of all its own Thoughts and Workings, to feel the Lord to bring forth both the Will and the Deed, which many can declare by a bleffed Experience. Though indeed it cannot but be hard for the natural Man to receive or believe this Doctrine: And therefore it must be rather by a fenfible Experience, and by coming to make Proof of it, than by Arguments, that fuch can be convinced of this Thing; feeing it is not enough to believe it, if they come not alfo to enjoy and poffefs it. Yet in Condefcention to, and for the Sake of fuch as may be the more willing to apply themselves to the Practice and Experience hereof, that they found their Understandings convinced of it, and that it is founded upon Scripture and Reason; I find a Freedom of Mind to add fome few Confiderations of this Kind, for the Confirmation hereof, befides what is before mentioned of our Experience.

manded in

. X. That to wait upon God, and to watch before To wait and bim, is a Duty incumbent upon all, I fuppofe none watch Comwill deny; and that this alfo is a Part of Worship, the Scripwill not be called in Queftion: Since there is fearce ture. any other fo frequently commanded in the Holy Scriptures, as may appear from Pfalm xxvii. 14. and xxxvii. 7, 34. Prov. xx. 22. Ifai. xxx. 18. Hofea xii. 6. Zach. iii. 8. Mat. xxiv. 42. and xxv. 13. and xxvi. 41. Mark. xiii. 33, 35, 37. Luke xxi. 36. As i. 4. and xx. 31. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. Col. iv. 2. 1 Theff v. 6. 2 Tim. iv. 5. 1 Pet iv. 7. Also this Duty is often recommended with very great and precious Promifes, as Pfalm xxv. 3. and xxxvii. 9. and Ixix. 6. Ifai. xlii. 23. Lam. iii. 25, 26. They that wait upon the Lord fhall renew their Strength, &c. Ifai. xl. 31. Now, how is this Waiting upon God, or Watching beforek, aby this Silence, of which we have spoken?

Which

Which, as it is in it felf a great and principal Duty ; fo it neceffarily in order both of Nature and Time preecdeth all other. But that it may be the better and more perfectly understood, as it is not only an outward Silence of the Body, but an inward Silence of the Mind, from all its own Imaginations and Self-cogitations; let it be confidered, according to Truth, and to the Principles and Doctrines heretofore affirmed and proved, that Man is to be considered in a two-fold Refpect, to wit, in his natural, unregene-. rate and fallen State; and in his fpiritual and renewed Condition: from whence arifeth that Diftinction of the Natural and Spiritual Man, fo much used by the Apostle, and heretofore fpoken of. Alfo thefe two Births of the Mind, proceed from the two Seeds in Man refpectively; to wit, the good Seed and the evil: And from the evil Seed doth not only proceed all manner of grofs and abominable Wickednefs and Profanity; but alfo Hypocrifie, and those WickedWickednefes nees, which the Scripture calls fpiritual: because it are fpiritual. is the Serpent working in and by the Natural Man in

Whence

arife, that

Things that are/piritual, which having a Shew and Appearance of Good, are fo much the more hurtful and dangerous, as it is Satan transformed and transforming himself into an Angel of Light. And therefore doth the Scripture fo preffingly and frequently (as we have heretofore had Occafion to obferve) thut out and exclude the Natural Man from medling with the Things of God, denying his Endeavours therein; tho' acted and performed by the most eminent of his Parts, as of Wisdom and Utterance.

Alfo this fpiritual Wickedness is of two Sorts, tho' both one in Kind, as proceeding from one Root; yet differing in their Degrees, and in the Subjects allo fometimes. The one is, when as the Natural Man medling with, and working in the Things of Religion, doth from his own Conceptions and Divinations affirm or propofe wrong and erroneous Notions and Opinions of God and Things spiritual, and invent Super

whence all Herefics did

True Chri

confifts not.

Superftitions, Ceremonies, Obfervations and Rites From in Worship; from whence have fprung all the Herefies and Superftitions, that are among Chriftians. (pring è The other is, when as the Natural Man, from a meer Conviction of his Understanding, doth in the Forwardness of his own Will, and by his own natural Strength, without the influence and leading of God's Spirit, go about either in his Understanding to ima gine, conceive, or think of the Things of God, or actually to perform them by Preaching or Praying. The firft is a Miffing both in Matter and Form; The fecond is a Retaining of the Form without the Life and Subftance of Chriftianity; because Chriftian tianity, Religion confifteth not in a meer Belief of true Doc- wherein it trines, or a meer Performance of Acts good in themfelves; or elfe the bare Letter of the Scripture, tho' fpoken by a Drunkard, or a Devil, might be faid to be Spirit and Life, which I judge none will be fo abfurd, as to affirm: And alfo it would follow, that where the Form of Godliness is, there the Power is alfo; which is contrary to the exprefs Words of the Apoftle. For the Form of Godliness cannot be faid to be, where either the Notions and Opinions believed are erroneous and ungodly, or the Acts performed evil and wicked; for then it would be the Form of Ungodliness, and not of Godliness: But of this further hereafter, when we fhall fpeak particularly of Preaching and Praying. Now, tho' this laft be not fo bad as the former; yet it hath made Way for it: For Men having first departed from the Life and Subftance of true Religion and Worship, to wit, from the inward Power and Virtue of the Spirit, fo as therein to Act, and thereby to have all their Actions enlivened; have only retain'd the Form and fhew, to wit, the true Words and Appearance and fo acting in their own natural and unrenewed Wills in this Form, the Form could not but quickly decay, and be vitiated. For the working and active Spirit of Man could not contain it self within the Simplicity and Plainnefs of Truth;