/ 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 m}t atfe 
 
 OF 
 
 STEPHEN CRISP, 
 
 WITH 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM HIS WORKS. 
 
 BY SAMUEL TUKE. 
 
 " Religion next to her o-wn light and energy on tbe minds of 
 men, has aot a more popular argument in her favour than the 
 lenience and constancy of her afflicted confessors." 
 
 Besse. 
 
 Y©3R3K: 
 
 PRINTED ASD PCBLISHED BY W. ALEXANDER AND SON, 
 
 CASTLEGATB J 
 
 SOLD ALSO BY HARVEY AND DARTON, W. PHILLIPS, AND 
 
 W. DARTON, LONDON ; 
 
 AND CHRISTOPHER EEXTHAM, DUBLIN. 
 
 1824. 
 

 € 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Letters from Stephen Crisp to several persons, and from 
 
 J, Parnel, W. Penn, and others, to him 1 
 
 Journal written by himself 25 
 
 Review of his works, viz : 
 No. I. A Word of Reproof to the Teachers of the 
 
 World 109 
 
 II. A Description of the Church of Scotland 110 
 
 III. & IV. Letters to the Mayors of Colchester Ill 
 
 V. An Epistle concerning the present and succeed 
 
 ing Times. .. 117 
 
 VI. Some Harvest Meditations 122 
 
 VII. A Plain Pathway Opened 123 
 
 VIII. A Backslider Reproved 139 
 
 IX. A Letter from Germany to Friends 142 
 
 X. Glad Tidings to all the Mourners in Germany. . 143 
 
 XI . An Epistle to Friends in Colchester 146 
 
 XII. An Answer to T. Loddington 14TJ 
 
 XIII. An Epistle to Friends 151 
 
 XIV. Translation of two Epistles to Friends at Am- 
 
 sterdam 1 52 
 
 XV. Epistle on meeting at set Times ,.- 153 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 XVI. An Alarm to Spiriitual Egypt 155 
 
 XVII. Address to the Magistrates of GroniDghen... 212 
 
 XVIII. Lamentation over Groninghen 215 
 
 XIX. Address to the Baptists in Holland 232 
 
 XX. Testimony concernng Edward Graunt 234 
 
 XXI. An Epistle when a Prisoner 235 
 
 XXII. Epistle to Friends 239 
 
 XXIII. in the North 244 
 
 XXIV. in the Eastern parts 247 
 
 XXV. Another Epistle to Friends 247 
 
 XXVI. To the Rulers and Inhabitants in the United 
 
 Provinces 252 
 
 XXVII. Epistle to the Princess Elizabeth 271 
 
 XXVIII. to Friends at Ipswich 2S3 
 
 XXIX. of Tender Counsel and Advice ... 286 
 
 XXX. to Friends at Dantzick S07 
 
 XXXI. A Babylonish opposer of Truth reproved ... 313 
 XXXII. An Epistle to Friends in Norwich 314 
 
 XXXIII. in Amsterdam 317 
 
 XXXIV. A Faithful Warning and Exhortation ib 
 
 XXXV. An Epistle to Friends 347 
 
 XXXVI. A Tender visitation to French Protestants . . 353 
 
 XXXVII. Epistle of Tender Love to all the Churches 
 
 throughout the World 374 
 
 Extract from a Sermon 403 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 When I undertook to make a selection 
 from the Works of Stephen Crisp, it was my 
 intention to prefix to it a Biographical Notice, 
 drawn from the Journal which he has left of his 
 own life, and from some other documents, in a si- 
 milar manner to those Notices of members of the 
 Society of Friends, which have been already 
 presented to the public by my late revered Fa- 
 ther. But on making the attempt, I found that 
 there was little in the Journal which could 
 with propriety be omited ; and that it was so 
 excellent as a whole, and so characteristic of 
 the simplicity, piety and talent of the Author, 
 that it could not, with justice to him or to the 
 reader, be curtailed or combined with any 
 thing of my own. 
 
 It is not unusual with those who write 
 Memoirs of themselves, to dwell with too much, 
 particularity on those events in their history 
 which are of little interest toothers ; and the 
 editors of such productions have more fre- 
 a 3 
 
Yl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 quently to exercise a friendly discretion in the 
 omission, than in the addition of circumstances,. 
 But the sketch which Stephen Crisp has left of 
 his long and laborious life, is chiefly the history 
 of Ins religious course — of the means by which 
 he was led to the knowledge of what he be- 
 lieved to be Truth — and of the labours in 
 which he was engaged for its promotion. He 
 has not told us the name of his parents— the 
 period of his birth — the manner of his educa-. 
 tion, or given us any particulars of his family. 
 Nor has he mentioned more than two of 
 the occasions, on which he underwent im- 
 prisonment or other sufferings, for his stead- 
 fast adherence to the principles which he 
 had embraced, and which he so zealously 
 adyocated. There is here an indication of 
 that truegreatness of mind, which distinguishes 
 the Christian hero. He is engaged in a great 
 and arduous conflict; and he forgets, in the 
 importance and glory of his enterprise, the 
 little incidents which affect chiefly his own 
 case or distinction. 
 
 In supplying, through this Introduction, a 
 
 few of the particulars which he has omitted, 
 
 I purpose to notice very briefly some of the 
 
 principal incidents of his life, and to indulge 
 
 in a few observations on his character and 
 
INTRODUCTION. Til 
 
 writings, which have been suggested in." the 
 course of the pleasant task, which I have beea 
 induced to undertake. 
 
 Stephen Crisp was born at Colchester, in 
 the year 1628; where, by the incidental men- 
 tion of his parents, at page 53 of his Journal, 
 it appears they were living in the year 1C59. 
 From the date of his wife's death, and the 
 number of years which he mentions they 
 had lived together, it is inferred that he 
 married in the year 1648, at the- age of 20. It 
 does not appear from his Journal, or any other 
 source, whether he was brought up to or fol- 
 lowed any business or profession. But from 
 the time which he appears to have had in his 
 youth for religious pursuits, and the almost 
 entire devotion of his time to these objects, 
 after he became a Minister of the Gospel, I 
 am inclined to think that he had not any secu- 
 
 The very feeling account which he has given 
 of his own childhood, affords a striking 
 instance of early religious impressions, not of 
 a temporary kind, but exercising from year to 
 year a strong influence on his conduct. The 
 course of his reflections at a very early pe- 
 
Till INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rlod of life, bespeaks an unusual developement 
 of mind ; and, when only from ten to twelve years 
 of age, he appears tohave entered with earnest- 
 ness, into the religious discussions of the day. 
 and he says, he went with " as much diligence 
 and cheerfulness to the reading and hearing 
 of sermons, as other children* went to their 
 play and sportings." 
 
 It is not certain in Avhat religious profession 
 lie was educated ; but I incline to think, from 
 his having mentioned that he found out the 
 meetings of the Separatists when he was seven- 
 teen, and from some other passages in his Jour- 
 nal, that he was brought up in the profession 
 of the established Church. 
 
 As he approached to manhood, the love of 
 pleasure appears to have obtained a tempo- 
 rary and partial ascendancy over his mind ; 
 but, during a considerable portion of this pe- 
 riod, he seems to have devoted himself zea- 
 lously to the improvement of his understand- 
 ing, by reading, and by the observation of 
 men and things. For a time, however, he 
 says, that he took pleasure in the company of 
 the wicked, and, in many things, became like 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 them ; but, during this time, the Spirit of 
 Christ struggled within him, which preserved 
 him from many of the gross evils in which his 
 companions indulged. And, after two or 
 three years continuance in this state, he was 
 brought deeply to mourn that slavery and 
 captivity of sin, under which he laboured ; 
 and was made willing to do any thing 
 which would enable him to overcome 
 evil. 
 
 Under these feelings, he appears to have 
 joined the Baptists; and though, for a short time, 
 he was again drawn into evil company, he soon 
 returned to his religious pursuits ; and I ap- 
 prehend it was at this time that be became a 
 teacher of a separate congregation, as noticed 
 in the testimony respecting him of Colchester 
 Monthly Meeting. He still found that he 
 wanted a power which was not to be obtained 
 by the compliauce with any outward forms, 
 or by the mere performance of religious 
 rites. 
 
 There is a lively description of his state at 
 this time, in a Sermon delivered by him in the 
 year 1688 :— 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " I had fasted and prayed in my younger 
 years, and spent time in bearing, reading-, and 
 meditation, and did all in my own power to 
 mend my state, but I could not mend it ; and 
 as I grew up in years, sin and corruption more 
 prevailed, and I came so far as to believe that 
 there was no help, and that if God did not 
 help me, I was undone to all eternity. I many 
 times wished that I had never been born ; I 
 went to ministers and meetings, and to all 
 sorts of separate people, and to all manner of 
 ordinances, and to all kinds of means, to mend 
 this bad heart of mine; to see if I could ob- 
 tain a power that would get me victory over 
 my corruptions ; but my arm was never so 
 long as to reach thereunto. It was far out 
 of my power and reach." — See page 426. 
 
 He was under these impressions when James 
 Parnel visited Colchester in 1655. Stephen 
 Crisp was then twenty seven years of age. Of 
 the effect of this young man's preaching upon 
 him, and of the influence of the principles he 
 was then led to imbibe, with the various and 
 deep conflicts into which his mind was intro- 
 duced, his own Journal furnishes a very strik- 
 ing and affecting relation. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 I insert among the Letters at the close of 
 this introduction, one, of which the original 
 is at Colchester, from James Parnel to his 
 convert. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance "which 
 I may be allowed here to mention, 
 that the Society in the counties of 
 Cambridge, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, 
 was first raised and became very numerous, 
 principally through the labours of three 
 instruments, James Parnel, William Caton, 
 and George Whitehead, neither of whom 
 had attained the age of twenty years. 
 
 Despised and persecuted as were the peo- 
 ple who held the principles which Stephen 
 Crisp had now embraced, he appears not 
 to have hesitated in his choice of them, 
 as soon as he believed them to be con- 
 sistent with truth, and calculated to promote 
 his progress in righteousness. And from this 
 period to that of his death, the steadfastness of 
 his character was remarkable ; and no doubt 
 appears to have arisen in his mind as to the 
 correctness of theprinciples of the Society of 
 Friends, to which he had then attached himself. 
 
XII INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For a few years, lie appears to have been 
 diligently engaged in the affairs of the Society, 
 in and about his native place ; but, though much 
 occupied in private ministrations both spiritual 
 and temporal, it does not appear that he acted 
 in the capacity of a public Minister of the 
 Gospel until the year 1659, about four years 
 after his convincement. At this period he 
 believed it his duty to visit Scotland, to bear 
 ■witness, as he says, "to the Name of the Lord 
 to that high professing nation." 
 
 From this commencement of his public la- 
 bours, he was engaged, with but little inter- 
 mission, in the great work to which he 
 had been called ; and he was soon not be- 
 hind the chief labourers of that active 
 day, in endeavouring to spread the know- 
 ledge of Christ, and of that redemption from 
 the power of sin in this life, which is alone to 
 be attained by an experimental acquaintance 
 with his Spirit. 
 
 He was eminently useful in strengthening 
 and confirming the infant Society. He ap- 
 pears to have visited the meetings of Friends 
 in every part of the nation ; and the interest 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 which he took in the welfare of each particu- 
 lar part — the discernment and judgment with 
 which he was favoured — and the spirit of 
 meekness and Christian charity which accom- 
 panied his zeal, led him to be very highly 
 esteemed, and looked upon as a Father in the 
 Church. His Epistles, some of which are ad- 
 dressed to particular places or districts, and 
 others to Friends in general, a very small part 
 indeed of which have been printed, strikingly 
 exhibit him in this pastoral character ; and 
 there was perhaps, with the exception of 
 George Fox, no individual who had upon 
 him a greater share of the weight and charge 
 of the the New Society than Stephen Crisp.* 
 
 The cause in which he had embarked, 
 and the course of his labours, exposed him 
 to considerable sufferings. Joseph Pes&e 
 mentions him, amongst many others, as being 
 imprisoned in Essex, between the years 
 1656 and 1659. In the course of his journey 
 into Scotland, whilst engaged in prayer in 
 the meeting at York, he was violently pull- 
 ed down, and haled out into the street by 
 the Mayor of the city. 
 
 See the Letters, page 6 to 2t. 
 
 b 
 
AIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It appears from his Description of the 
 Church of Scotland, "that he received many 
 gross insults during the course of his public 
 ministrations in that country ; and he particu- 
 larly mentions the behaviour of the people of 
 Dalkeith, where, he says, " had not the soldiers 
 appeared as a stop to their murderous pur- 
 poses against him, their works of mischief had 
 more appeared." 
 
 In this year 1659 persecution against the So- 
 ciety ran very high, and the treatment of those 
 who were imprisoned was so cruel, that many 
 died in consequence of it. A remarkable in- 
 stance of Christian feeling was afforded on this 
 occasion, by the brethren who were at large. A 
 paper was addressed to the Parliament, signed 
 by 1 (30 Friends, of whom Stephen Crisp was one, 
 imploring that they might be allowed to take 
 lac places of their friends, in the filthy holes 
 and dungeons where they were perishing ! 
 
 In the following year, on a visit to Friends 
 in {he North of England, he was imprisoned 
 in the County of Durham, in consequence of 
 being at a meeting at Norton, and, on the well 
 known ground of a scruple against oaths, re- 
 fusing to iake the oath of allegiance and supre- 
 macy ; and in the same year he appears, with 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 many others, to have been very inhumanly 
 treated at Cambridge, by a mob of students and 
 others, who attacked them whilst meeting in 
 their own "hired house for the purpose of wor- 
 ship. On this occasion an address was pre- 
 sented to King Charles II. signed by 29 of the 
 chief sufferers, among whom is to be ob- 
 served the name of Stephen Crisp.* 
 
 * The foUow«ng extract fnoffi this document may serve to 
 show the spirit of the times : and may also serve to stimulate 
 our gratitude for the privileges which the Society has now 
 long enjoyed, under the government and legislature of this 
 country, and for the altered tone of feeling towards the 
 Society, which prevades the public mind. 
 
 *' On the second day of the 5th month, as we were 
 gathering together to a general Meeting, at the usual 
 place there being our own hired house, a tumult of scholars, 
 lewd women, townsmen, and boys, gathered also about the 
 meeting-place; not content with the former injuries, 
 insolencies, and indignities, acted and expressed toward the 
 Lamb's followers, about a month before, neither ashamed nor 
 afraid to do the same things again, though the Heads and 
 Governors both of Town and University were made acquainted 
 with the former riot, but rather encouraged, in that their t'e- 
 served punishment was delayed. Some of them, prepared 
 with excess of drink, that they might forget all humanity, 
 and shew no mercy, suffered none to pass them without 
 some abuse or other ; stopping and thrusting us to and fro, 
 throwing some down, or throwing dirt or filth upon their 
 elothes, or in their faces ; and also beating some hack 
 again, and not suffering them to go into the Meeting, 
 mingling much scoffing, reviling, and threatening, with 
 the rest of their mis-usages ; and not ceasing there, 
 
 b 2 
 
x *l INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the year 1661, Stephen Crisp was taken 
 from a meeting which he was attending in a 
 private house at Harwich, and committed to 
 prison, the Justice writing his mittimus before 
 lie had taken his examination. In the follow- 
 ing year the Major of Colchester broke up a 
 meeting at which Stephen Crisp was present, 
 and committed him to prison. In 1663 
 lie was again imprisoned at Colchester, during 
 which he wrote two letters to the Mayor 
 
 fell upon us in our peaceable meeting, as we were waiting 
 upon the Lord in fear, striking at those they could reach, 
 flinging at others, and making an hideous noise, with scoffing, 
 laughing, railing, shouting, knocking, drumming upon the 
 boards, and sometimes throwing wildfire and gunpowder into 
 the meeting, to drown the sound of that which was spoken to 
 us in the name of the Lord; and continually exercising them- 
 selves in one act of mischief or other, to make a disturbance, 
 and weary us out of the place. And when they saw they 
 could not do it by all those means, they brake and battered 
 down the doors and walls next the street, with bolt hammers 
 and other engines ; and though we reminded them of the 
 King's declaration, wherein he promised liberty to tender con- 
 sciences, at his first coming into England, and shewed them 
 the unlawfulness of their doings, assaulting, breaking in upon 
 us, and beating us in our own hired house, they called us 
 rebels, and pretended the King's order for what they did ; 
 and ran violently upon us, and used us as if our lives were all 
 at their mercies, haling, thrusting us out, and striking both 
 men and women, (though not lifting up a hand against them,) 
 
INTRODUCTION". XYil 
 
 of that town, from which extracts will be 
 found in this volume ; and as it appears 
 that, at the time of the letter which is placed 
 first in the collection of his works, he had 
 been forty-eight weeks in confinement, and the 
 latter is evidently addressed to a new Mayor, 
 there is little doubt that this imprisonment 
 was for more than a year. In the year 1868 
 he was imprisoned at Ipswich; the occasion or 
 duration I cannot ascertain. One of his most 
 
 ■without any pity or respect to age or other condition, with 
 clubs, great splinters, and pieces of the doors, and other tim- 
 ber. And though tbey that entered the house beat us with 
 so much cruelty, yet would not their Outguard let us pass, 
 till they also had satisfied their bloody minds in beating us 
 again, so that very many of us were sorely hurt and bruised. 
 Twenty-two had their bloodshed: and one so lamed that he 
 was left behind, unable to walk abroad ; and a woman almost 
 killed by their cruel usage. And besides this, some of us lost 
 our hats, and many of us had our clothes rent, and much be* 
 spattered and bedaubed ; and yet our persecutors were not sa- 
 tisfied with all this. When they had driven us from the house, 
 and cleared the streets of us, they returned and quite battered 
 down the rest of the walls and bays on each side of the meet- 
 ing-house, next two entries, and laid it all open to the 
 streets ; then sought and hunted up and down the meeting- 
 house again for us; and them they lighted on did very much 
 abuse ; and assaulted an Alderman's house where some of us 
 lodged, and beat the man of the house at his own door, and 
 departed not so long as it was light." Bes&e vol. i. p. 86. 
 
 b3 
 
XVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 valuable Tracts the "Plain Pathway Opened/' 
 is dated from the County Gaol at that 
 place. In 1670 he was taken at a meeting 
 at Horsley-down,* in London, and fined 201. 
 which was most probably obtained by dis- 
 traint, as it does not appear that he went to 
 prison on the occasion. 
 
 In the early periods of the Society, there 
 was a considerable number of persons who had 
 embraced its principles, in the United Pro- 
 vinces,and in some parts of Germany. William 
 Ames, William Caton and John Higgins had 
 been chiefly instrumental in planting the So- 
 ciety there ; but the watering of it devolved for 
 many years upon Stephen Crisp. And he was 
 eminently instrumental in confirming and 
 increasing the Society in those parts, during 
 the severe persecutions which attended its 
 professors in almost every place.§ 
 
 * The Meeting-house at this place was shortly after pulled 
 down by order of the King [Charles II.] in Council! ! 
 
 ^ Meetings appear to have been established at Dantzick, 
 Embden, Hamburgh, Cresheim near Worms,- Amsterdam, 
 Rotterdam, Gonda, Hoorne, Leyden, Alckmaer, &c. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XlX 
 
 He visited the Low Countries, first in the 
 year 1663 ; a second time in 1697, when, in 
 company with Josiah Coale r he says, they 
 spent about three months in visiting the 
 Churches. It is probable that, during this 
 journey, he was at most if not all the places 
 on the Continent where Friends were settled. 
 During each of the years from 1669 to 1674 
 inclusive, he spent a considerable time in visit- 
 ing various parts of the United Provinces, 
 and some places in Germany, where a consi- 
 derable number of persons were suffering per- 
 secution for their adherence to the principles 
 of Friends. In his visit in 1669, he was able 
 to speak freely in public, in the Low Dutch 
 language. He was engaged in the establish- 
 ment of Meetings for Discipline ; and he ob- 
 serves, that he found at that time the care of 
 the Churches in those parts particularly laid 
 upon him. From the period of his first visit 
 in 1663, to the last in 1685, he visited the 
 United Provinces thirteen or fourteen times. 
 And in the interval of those visits he kept 
 up, by writing, a frequent correspondence 
 with the Friends in those parts, much to 
 their satisfaction and edification; as appears 
 by letters from William Caton and others, 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 addressed to Stephen Crisp, the origi- 
 nals of some of which are yet pre- 
 served. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that, though he 
 repeatedly visited the places where persecu- 
 tion was the hottest ; had intercourse with 
 those who were in prison ; and expostulated 
 boldly,* in persou and by letters, with Ma- 
 gistrates and other persons in authority ; he 
 does not appear to have received any personal 
 injury, or to have been imprisoned, in the 
 course of his foreign labours. In several in- 
 stances, he was successful in obtaining a re- 
 laxation of those edicts under which his friends 
 suffered so severely ; and he appears, in most, 
 if not in all instances, to have commanded 
 the respectful attention of those whom he 
 addressed. 
 
 His ' Address to the Magistrates of Gronin- 
 ghen," his " Lamentation over that City," and 
 his " Address to the Inhabitants of Holland," 
 from which considerable extracts will appear 
 
 * See his own Journal, pages 64. 68. 72. 73. 83, &c. 
 and Nos. 17. 18. 26. of his Works. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXI 
 
 in this volume, prove how well qualified he 
 was to defend the principles of religious 
 liberty, and how just were his views in regard 
 to the true interests of nations. 
 
 On several trying occasions in the early pe- 
 riod of the Society in England, he took an 
 important part, and particularly on the occa- 
 sion of an opposition which arose about 
 the year 1C80, to the establishment of the 
 Discipline, or of any forms or order in the 
 Society.* Several of the printed Epistles, 
 from which extracts are made in this volume, 
 refer to this occasion; and that entitled, " An 
 Epistle of Tender Love and Brotherly Advice 
 to all the Churches of Christ," contains an in- 
 teresting account of the establishment of the 
 Discipline ; and very ably exposes that dispo- 
 sition which, under the pretence of higher 
 spirituality, disdains all regulations, and con- 
 tends for that independence in society, which 
 Robert Barclay has justly said is a contradic- 
 tion in terms. 
 
 
 * It was in reference to this occurrence, that William Penn 
 wrote his" Liberty Spiritual," and Robert Barclay his mas- 
 terly book, " The Anarchy of the Ranters." 
 
XXU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Stephen Crisp was far from confining his la- 
 bours in this cause to his printed Epistles. He 
 visited many of the places where opposition 
 prevailed, and laboured with affectionate 
 earnestness, in public and private, to restore 
 those who had wandered, and to stop the pro- 
 gress of the evil; and some remakable in- 
 stances of reclaiming those who had been led 
 astray, were the fruits of his labours, and of 
 those of his fellow helpers. 
 
 Although he mentions in his journal, that 
 in the Autumn of the year 1676, he finds him- 
 self less able to travel than he had been before ; 
 yet it appears to have led to very little inter- 
 mission of his religious labours; for he says he 
 passed that winter in visiting the churches in 
 Essex and Suffolk, and being sometimes in 
 London. 
 
 The manner in which he mentions the death 
 of his wife, in 1683, is very instructive. Great as 
 was the trial, he dwells less upon the privation 
 he was then called to bear, than on the mercy 
 of God, which had allowed her to continue so 
 long with him, 35 years, and to be so great 
 a comfort to him in all his afflictions. It is 
 evident by a passage in his Journal, page 56. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XX1I1 
 
 that they had children ; but whether any of 
 them were living at this time, I cannot as- 
 certain. 
 
 His second marriage, which took place in 
 the year 1685, appears to have been the source 
 of much comfort to him during the two years 
 which his second wife was permitted to live 
 with him; and her death in 1687, when his 
 bodily infirmities were increasing, afforded a 
 fresh proof of that patient resignation to the 
 Divine will, of which he was so remark- 
 able an example. Neither afflictions nor the 
 decay of strength, could separate him from 
 that love of God in Christ Jesus which had 
 prompted his arduous labours. His" zeal was 
 unabated, but his services were, from this pe- 
 riod, chiefly devoted to the city of London, 
 and his own neighbourhood. 
 
 John Field, who wrote a Preface to the -Works 
 of Stephen Crisp, says, that "Although in the 
 latter part of his time he was unable to travel 
 much, yet was he very diligent in frequenting 
 Meetings, and preaching the Gospel therein ; 
 and to exhort friends to brotherly love, pro- 
 voking to good works, and pressing them to 
 diligence, and an exemplary conversation; and 
 
XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to train up their youth and children in that 
 "way of plainness and simplicity, that became 
 the humble disciples of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 It appears that he was in London, in the 
 latter part of 1688, during the time of the great 
 revolution of Government. Sewel mentions 
 that, in this year, when King James was anxious 
 to bring the Roman Catholics into power, and 
 with that view encouraged the appointment of 
 Dissenters to the office of magistrate, an offer 
 of this appointment was made to Stephen Crisp, 
 which he refused. From this proposal we 
 may perhaps infer, that be was in easy circum- 
 stances, and generally esteemed. 
 
 The instructive Journal of Stephen Crisp 
 closes with the year 1G89, in which he again 
 visited London, and exerted himself with 
 others to obtain the suspension of the penal 
 laws, by which the Society had suffered such 
 severe persecution. 
 
 In the years 1690 and 1691, he spent consi- 
 derable time in London ; and it is evident from 
 some of his Sermons preached in these years, 
 and which were taken down and afterwards 
 published, that his mental powers were in no 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 degree enfeebled. In 1692 he again visited 
 London, to return no more. John Field gives 
 the following account of his peaceful and tri- 
 umphant close : 
 
 " On the 24th of the 6th month, 1692, being 
 under much bodily weakness and pain, he was 
 visited b j his ancient friend and brother Geo. 
 Whitehead ; who gave this account of the same, 
 as the substance of some words spoke by Stephen 
 Crisp, viz. ' I see an end of mortality, yet can- 
 not come at it. I desire the Lord to deliver 
 me out of this troublesome or painful body. If 
 He will but say the word, it is done ; yet 
 there is no cloud in my way. I have a full 
 assurance of my peace with God in Christ 
 Jesus ; my integrity and uprightness of heart 
 are known to the Lord, and I have peace and 
 justification in Jesus Christ, who made me so, 
 (that is, upright to God.) Dear George, I can 
 live and die with thee; and my dear love is 
 with thee, and to all the faithful in the Church 
 of God.' 
 
 " On the 27tb, being the day before his de- 
 parture, Stephen Crisp said, ; I hope lam ga- 
 thering,' (as his expression was understood,) ' I 
 hope, I hope ;' being then scarcely able to speak 
 
SXV1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 out his words. G. W. near parting from him, 
 asked him, Dear Stephen, wouldst thou any 
 thing to friends V After some pause, Stephen 
 Crisp gave his answer, viz. 'Remember my 
 dear love in Jesus Christ to all friends.' 
 
 departed this life, and died in the Lord, at 
 .Wandsworth, in Surry, about six miles from 
 London, to which place he was carried for 
 the sake of the air, from the house of William 
 Crouch, in London, in a litter, to W. C's house 
 there. And being very weak, was accom- 
 panied by several friends on foot with the 
 litter, lest there should be any want of 
 assistance. 
 
 { " And after his decease, his body was 
 brought to Grace-church Street Meeting- 
 house, in London, where, on the one and thir- 
 tieth, a great number of Friends and others 
 met to accompany his corpse to the ground ; 
 and many living testimonies were borne there, 
 by faithful brethren, unto the Truth. And 
 then his body was borne on the shoulders of 
 his friends and brethren that loved him for 
 Truth's sake, unto the burying ground at 
 Bunhill fields, and there interred. And seve- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXV11 
 
 ral testimonies were also borne there at the 
 grave to the Truth, for the sake of those that 
 yet remain ; and that all might love and live 
 in that which makes lovely and living unto 
 G&bd and in his sight ; and persevere in dili- 
 gence and faithfulness in the Lord's work and 
 service, and keep to that power, and under 
 the government of that Spirit, which only is 
 sufficient to enable us to follow the steps of 
 them that followed Christ ; and that we might 
 run our race with cheerfulness, finish our 
 course with joy, lay down our heads in peace, 
 rest with the Lord for ever, and have a 
 place in that kingdom which will never fade 
 away." 
 
 The reader of the Journal of S. Crisp, and 
 of the selection of his Works here presented to 
 the public, will not require much aid in form- 
 ing a correct view of his character; but the 
 following extracts from the Testimony of the 
 Friends of Colchester, given after his decease, 
 contains some particulars relative to him 
 which are not to be obtained from the other 
 sources already mentioned ; and being drawn 
 by those who knew him intimately, can 
 hardly fail to be agreeable to the reader who 
 c 2 
 
XXVUl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 lias become interested in the subject of these 
 
 Memoirs. 
 
 "He bad," says this Testimony, "a large 
 understanding given to him, not only in spi- 
 ritual, but also in temporal things, by which 
 he was very serviceable to many widows and 
 fatherless, and others, as divers can testify, be- 
 ing very ready and free to assist them ; and as 
 he had freely received, did freely give ; and 
 was therein not only serviceable to Friends, 
 but also to others of his neighbours. 
 
 " He was zealously and conscientiously af- 
 fected for the peace and prosperity of Friends 
 in every place ; and for that cause diligently 
 laboured amongst them. And when he was 
 not able to travel much by reason of his dis- 
 tempers, as in former days, he continued 
 chiefly in this town of Colchester, and in the 
 city of London, in the Lord's work and 
 service, as long as strength and ability of 
 body lasted. 
 
 "He was of a constant, firm, bold mind and 
 spirit, against all those that secretly or 
 openly sought occasion to make rents and 
 divisions among us in the churches of Christ; 
 
INTRODUCTION* XXlX 
 
 and laboured diligently to preserve the simple- 
 hearted from being betrayed by their snares 
 and cunning insinuations ; exhorting them, 
 as did the Apostle, to mark those that cause 
 divisions, and to avoid them, and to keep in 
 the unity of the Spirit, and in the sense of 
 the Grace received ; that all might grow up 
 in it, into a further discerning of the myste- 
 rious workings of the enemy that goes round 
 about, and tries every way, to see whom he 
 might devour. 
 
 " He had a gift of utterance beyond many, 
 was sound in judgment and doctrine, and very 
 convincing to the understandings of many 
 that heard him; for which cause, his testi- 
 mony was affecting to many that were not of us, 
 who would come to hear him when he was 
 with us. And he would often call to people 
 to come and try the sufficiency of the grace 
 of God ; that a measure of it was committed to 
 them, and whether it was not able to save 
 from sin, yea, to the utmost, all such as re- 
 ceived and obeyed it. He divided the word 
 aright, and turned many from darkness to 
 light. Many mourners have been comforted 
 by him, and many tender-hearted helped, 
 through their inward exercises and conflicts of 
 c 3 
 
XXX iNrilOBUCTION. 
 
 spirit, and he has been a strength to them in 
 their spiritual warfare ; but his testimony was 
 as a sharp two-edged sword, to the rebellious, 
 obdurate, and hard-hearted, to the piercing 
 through them many a time : and his very out* 
 ward countenance hath sometimes struck to 
 the hearts of some, as some have since con- 
 fessed. And some that have gotten into a 
 spirit of enmity, have been made, through the 
 power that did accompany him, to come and 
 acknowledge the hurt which that spirit had 
 done them, and that the Lord was with him. 
 
 "And at taking his last farewell, when be was 
 about to leave us, he was, for several meetings 
 before his departure, mightily opened in his 
 spirit, in our public meetings, desiring to be 
 clear of the blood of all, (as he several times 
 of late said he was,) labouring to speak to the 
 states of all, and also to Friends services to 
 which they were called in their day : to keep 
 Truth's testimony clear from all unrighte- 
 ous actions, that might be committed by those 
 that lived not in that they made profession of, 
 and to set judgment over them; saying, if we 
 ceased to separate between the precious and 
 the vile, the vile would over-run us. Also he 
 took notice of, and rejoiced in, the love and 
 
IJfTRODUCTIOy, XXXI 
 
 unity that had been, and was among us, ex- 
 horting and counselling of us to be and con- 
 tinue in the same mind, keeping the unity of 
 the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
 
 " He was beloved of his friends, his towns- 
 men and neighbours, and left or had not many 
 enemies, at least more than apostates and 
 false professors of the Truth; who forsaking 
 and turning their backs on God, no wonder 
 such are envious, and opposcrs of his servants, 
 
 " He was very tender and helpful to divers, 
 who have been of late called forth into a 
 public testimony, and into the same work 
 wherein he was himself employed by his 
 great Lord and Master, Christ Jesus ; being 
 very tender and ready to help forward that 
 which he found to come from the motion of 
 the Seed of Life in any, and would speak a 
 word in season to such. And his last testi- 
 mony in our Yearly Meeting on that account, 
 is worthy of remembrance. 
 
 "And in his last being among us, he would 
 be very weighty in his visits in our private 
 families, and much and often dropping some 
 weighty discourse among us, for our edifica- 
 tion, furtherance, and growth in the Truth. 
 
XXX11 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "For all which works' sake, he was much 
 esteemed, and was worthy of double honour; 
 and we doubt not but is clothed with a large 
 share of that honour, glory, and immortality 
 with our God, which is the portion of all 
 those that faithfully serve and honour the 
 Lord in their day, as he did." 
 
 The principal Works of Stephen Crisp, with 
 his journal and some other Manuscripts, were 
 collected and published in the year 1694. 
 There were prefixed to the collection, a Pre- 
 face by John Field, Testimonies of Colchester 
 Meeting, of the Second-day Morning Meeting 
 in London, and of the Yearly Meeting of Am- 
 sterdam. Several of the pieces in this collec- 
 tion have been separately printed and exten- 
 sively circulated, especially the "Plain Path- 
 way Opened," and the "Advice to Friends, re- 
 specting the present and succeeding Times:" 
 and the whole collection has been lately re- 
 printed in America. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that all that is 
 valuable in the writings of Stephen Crisp, is 
 given in the selection contained in this volume. 
 The design has not been to take all which A\as 
 in itself valuable, but that which was likely 
 to be interesting to readers in general of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXX111 
 
 Society of Friends, and thereby to attract the 
 attention of our younger members to those 
 substantial Truths of which we are making 
 a profession, and which appear to be so 
 clearly stated and ably supported, in the works 
 of this Author. 
 
 If I am not misled by a certain affection for 
 the writers of the period in which Stephen Crisp 
 lived, the reader of the selections which are here 
 presented to him, will not find him a dry or 
 uninteresting writer. He speaks on the most 
 important topics which can engage human 
 attention ; and to the ear which is open to 
 hear, he will not, I believe, fail to speak in- 
 structively and consolingly ; nor will he be 
 found without much of that simple eloquence, 
 which flows from a clear and lively mind, 
 firmly persuaded of the matters which he de- 
 clares, and affectionately earnest to impress 
 them upon those whom he addresses. There 
 is very little quaintness in his style ; and, 
 though not laboured, it has much of the ner- 
 vous force which marked the best productions 
 of that day. His writings bespeak talents, and 
 a turn of mind which might have rendered him 
 conspicuous in the ranks of polemical learn- 
 ing, and might have led him to honourable dis^ 
 .tinction in the world \ but like many others 
 
xxxiv introduction; 
 
 his contemporaries, not less favoured than 
 himself with natural understanding, he chose 
 the way which was every where spoken 
 against; and despised the shame connected 
 with the new profession. 
 
 It is observable that Stephen Crisp rarely 
 touches upon points of mere speculative theo- 
 logy. His great aim appears to have been to 
 bring those whom he addressed, to the con- 
 sideration of their own actual state, and to point 
 out to them the Spirit of Christ as the enlight- 
 ener of the conscience ; by their co-operation 
 with which, they would be enabled to subdue 
 the corrupt inclinations of the natural mind — 
 be redeemed from actual sin in this life — and 
 derive a well grounded hope of being made par- 
 takers of that precious atonement, purchased 
 for us by the outward sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 
 
 They who differ from him in sentiment and 
 external practices, will not fail to perceive, in 
 the whole course of his life and labours, that 
 his religion produced, in an eminent degree, 
 those genuine fruits, the love of God and of 
 his neighbour, on which, our Saviour said, 
 " hang all the law and the prophets." This 
 feature of love, earnestly seeking the spiritual 
 good of others, though often united with very 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXV 
 
 plain and forcible reproof, is not less conspi- 
 cuous in his private letters ; of which many 
 are preserved, and of which a specimen is 
 given in the close of this Introduction, with 
 some others addressed to himself. 
 
 Whilst speaking of his Works, it may be 
 proper to mention, that about two years after 
 StephenCrisp's decease, a volume of Discourses, 
 said to have been delivered by him at various 
 times in London, was published, and had an 
 extensive sale. The Preface stated that they 
 had been taken down in short hand by a per- 
 son not connected with the Society, who 
 attended the Meetings where they were deli- 
 vered. He invites any who are dissatisfi- 
 ed with their genuineness, to call upon him, 
 and state their objections ; and in a future vo- 
 lume he repeats the invitation, and states that 
 no one has yet expressed to him any doubt of 
 the correctness of the Discourses. Many edi- 
 tions of them have been printed * ; and it 
 seems fairly presumable, that, if their genuine- 
 ness had been doubted by the Society at the 
 time of their appearance, there would have 
 been then a public disavowal of them. The 
 
 * A new edition of the whole of the Sermons, 32 in number, 
 has lately been published by W. Alexander and Son, York, 
 
XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 reader of the Sermons who is acquainted with 
 Stephen Crisp's writings will not, I think fail, 
 to observe a striking accordance between them, 
 both in matter and style. 
 
 In these observations on the genuineness of 
 the Sermons, it is not intended to convey a sen- 
 timent in favour of the practice of taking down 
 the discourses of our ministers. But these 
 having been taken down by a person not of 
 our society, who did not consider the practice 
 improper ; their preservation seems to afford a 
 valuable testimony to the Truths most surely 
 believed and taught by the Society, in the 
 earliest times ; and it is rendered the more 
 important from the attempts which have been 
 made to misrepresent the views of the early 
 friends, as to some fumdamental points of 
 Christian doctrine. A copious extract from 
 one Sermon, which is stated to have been 
 preached by Stephen Crisp, in the year 16S8, 
 is inserted in this selection. 
 
 I am aware that it would not be difficult to 
 find in the works of Stephen Crisp, and those of 
 many of his contemporaries, passages which, 
 if written in the present day, would be consi- 
 dered as indicating a want of Christian charity. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXVH 
 
 But in judging the conduct of men of other 
 times, it is material to take into account 
 the circumstances by which they were sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 The Society of Friends arose during a period 
 "which w ill ever be remarkable in the religious 
 history of England. Notwithstanding the 
 time which Protestantism had then prevailed, 
 much of the bigotry and intolerance of Popery 
 remained ; and we had a licentious Court, and 
 a superstitious People. The light of a better 
 day was just breaking in upon the country ; 
 and though there probably were among all 
 classes individuals whose eyes were more 
 fully opened, the greater number appeared, 
 like the man in the Gospel whose sight 
 had been partially restored, only to see "men 
 as trees walking/' Great religious inquiry 
 and agitation prevailed ; and men were run- 
 ning from one form and doctrine to another, 
 and contending for the various schemes 
 to which they attached themselves, with that 
 dogmatic violence which is so frequently the 
 attendant of imperfect knowledge. 
 
 Some, however, could find no rest in these 
 speculations, and were led to see the irt- 
 d 
 
XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 reader of the Sermons who is acquainted with 
 Stephen Crisp's writings will not, I think fail, 
 to observe a striking accordance between them, 
 both in matter and style. 
 
 In these observations on the genuineness of 
 the Sermons, it is not intended to convey a sen- 
 timent in favour of the practice oftaking down 
 the discourses of our ministers. But these 
 having been taken down by a person not of 
 our society, who did not consider the practice 
 improper ; their preservation seems to afford a 
 valuable testimony to the Truths most surely 
 believed and taught by the Society, in the 
 earliest times ; and it is rendered the more 
 important from the attempts which have been 
 made to misrepresent the views of the early 
 friends, as to some fumdamental points of 
 Christian doctrine. A copious extract from 
 one Sermon, which is stated to have been 
 preached by Stephen Crisp, in the year 1688, 
 is inserted in this selection. 
 
 I am aware that it would not be difficult to 
 find in the works of Stephen Crisp, and those of 
 many of his contemporaries, passages which, 
 if written in the present day, would be consi- 
 dered as indicating a want of Christian charity. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXV11 
 
 But in judging the conduct of men of other 
 times, it is material to take into account 
 the circumstances by which they were sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 The Society of Friends arose during a period 
 which will ever be remarkable in the religious 
 history of England. Notwithstanding the 
 time which Protestantism had then prevailed, 
 much of the bigotry and intolerance of Popery 
 remained ; and we had a licentious Court, and 
 a superstitious People. The light of a better 
 day was just breaking in upon the country ; 
 and though there probably were among all 
 classes individuals whose eyes were more 
 fully opened, the greater number appeared, 
 like the man in the Gospel whose sight 
 had been partially restored, only to see "men 
 as trees walking." Great religious inquiry 
 and agitation prevailed ; and men were run- 
 ning from one form and doctrine to another, 
 and contending for the various schemes 
 to which they attached themselves, with that 
 dogmatic violence which is so frequently the 
 attendant of imperfect knowledge. 
 
 Some, however, could find no rest in these 
 speculations, and were led to sec the in- 
 d 
 
XXXV111 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sufficiency of all outward rites and ceremo- 
 nies — that the great doctrine of the Gospel 
 is the regeneration of the human heart ; and that 
 the only means and way to attain to it, is that 
 light or grace which, comes by Jesus Christy 
 and which sanctifies, purifies, and brings to 
 Him, by whom alone the entrance is minis- 
 tered into the heavenly kingdom. (See "page 
 337.) Amongst those who adopted these sim- 
 ple views of the nature of Christianity, the 
 Society of Friends were at least conspicuous ; 
 and they were of course very obnoxious to all 
 who were placing dependance upon external 
 rites, or, who were supporting religious insti- 
 tutions, as the mere instruments of secular 
 advantages. Even persons of piety, who were 
 attached to the ceremonials of their respective 
 churches, viewed the Quakers as a set of dan- 
 gerous innovators, and as the enemies of reli- 
 gion. Nor were the zeal and plainness with 
 which they thought it right to expose what 
 i they esteemed the corruptions of the Christian 
 church, calculated to allay that asperity of 
 feeling which was every where excited against 
 them. 
 
 It was the un&appiness of that day, that good 
 men did not know one another. It was not, 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX 
 
 like the present, a time of ease and concord ; 
 it was a daj of struggle and conflict. So im- 
 perfectly was the right of religious liberty then 
 understood, that whilst each party contended 
 for its own right of judging, each also, when it 
 obtained power, denied the right to others.* 
 
 A considerable degree of enthusiasm was 
 engendered ; the strongest passions of men 
 were called into action ; and the strength of 
 those who were engaged seemed proportioned 
 to the occasion. 
 
 The early Friends were certainly not ex- 
 empt from the influence of surrounding objects 
 and circumstances. Their view of the 
 standard of Christian requirements was far 
 beyond that of the day in which they lived; 
 and, fully persuaded of its correctness, and of 
 the omnipotence of Truth, they evidently ex- 
 pected that it would very speedily expel error 
 
 * Bishop Taylor's " Liberty of Prophesying," and Lockes' 
 Letters on Toleration, both of which appeared at this period, 
 prove how superior were those great men to the prevailing 
 sentiments of the age ; but, influential as were their works, I 
 cannot but attribute the rapidprogress of light upon the subject 
 of religious liberty, in a great degree, to the persisting demand 
 made for it, by the Society of Friends. And it is deserving of 
 notice, that when the Society came to have considerable power, 
 in Pennsylvania, the rights of conscience were fully recognized, 
 and extended to all. 
 
 d 2 
 
Xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and corruption, and establish its own gentle 
 dominion in the earth. 
 
 Man's expectations of results, are as hasty 
 as his life is short ; and even the apostles of 
 our Lord appear to have fallen into this error 
 of hasty anticipation, in regard to the progress 
 which the religion of their Divine Master 
 should make in the world. But He to whom 
 a thousand years are as one day, directs the 
 course of events by laws according with His 
 own infinite goodness. 
 
 If then, whilst the views of the Society in re- 
 gard to War, to Oaths, to the union of secular 
 and religious matters, and to the simple nature 
 of Christianity, thus exposed them to persecu- 
 tion and proscription from the various parties, 
 who were struggling in that day for political 
 and religious ascendency ; it would be sur- 
 prising indeed, if their history afforded no 
 instances of indiscretion or enthusiasm.* But 
 
 * A man may be said to be enthusiastic whenever bis 
 feelings mislead his jndgment. It is observable, that there is 
 nothing which the World more easily forgives than errors of 
 this kind, with one exception, and that is in regard to religion. 
 A man may be an enthusiastic soldier — an enthusiastic poet — 
 an enthusiastic lover — and may carry his enthusiasm on all 
 these points to- very absurd lengths, without offence to the 
 world : but he whose love for his Maker and Redeemer 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xli 
 
 they sustained their Testimonies with a noble 
 constancy ; their religion, in an eminent degree, 
 bore the fruits of love to God and love to men ; 
 and he that has well studied their character, 
 and has a mind capable of estimating moral 
 excellence, will not judge them by the oc- 
 casional asperities of manner, so common in 
 the controversial writings of that age, or by 
 some acts in their history, which we at this 
 day may deem unjustifiable; and overlook those 
 labours of love, those fights of affliction, those 
 sufferings unto death for the testimony of a 
 good conscience, and that forgiveness of the 
 grossest injuries, which are inscribed on almost 
 every page of their early history.* Liberality of 
 
 absorbs his soul, and, who, acting upon an imperfect judg- 
 ment, is led to any erroneous views or expectation, commits, 
 in the Court of the World, the sin unpardonable. There is, 
 let it be remembered, such a thing as too little, as well as too 
 much zeal ; and it is worthy of remark, that where religious 
 enthusiasm is so severely censured, religious indifferency does 
 not rank in the catalogue of offences. 
 
 * It may not be improper to mention herea single instance 
 out of many, which might be adduced of Christian meekness. 
 On one occasion, when the Meeting at Colchester was 
 broken up by troopers with swords and great clubs, whilst a 
 trooper was beating one of the sufferers with his sword, the 
 blade coming out of the hilt and falling to the ground, the 
 friend took it up and gave it to the soldier again, saying : " I 
 will give it thee up again. I desire the Lord may not lay this 
 day's work to thy charge." 
 
xlii INTRODUCTION-. 
 
 feeling has indeed made a great progress since 
 the period we are speaking of ; yet, much as we 
 rejoice in the change, we cannot esteem the 
 candour and courtesy which now prevail 
 among the various professors of the Christian 
 name, as affording so strong an evidence of 
 that " Faith which worketh by love," as were 
 the labours, the patience, and the forgiving 
 temper, excmplied in the conduct of our early 
 Friends. 
 
 We are not indeed to forget that the Epis- 
 copal Churches of England, Ireland and Scot- 
 land boasted, about that time, some of the most 
 illustrious names in the galaxy of Christian 
 Worthies — Usher, and Beveridge, and Leigh- 
 ton, and Taylor, and Cudworth, and Tillotson ; 
 nor must we forget the not less excellent names 
 of Owen and Baxter. If we add to these 
 the names of Fox, and Barclay, and Penn, and 
 Crisp, some would probably startle at the alli- 
 ance ; but we trust all these Worthies have long 
 since forgotten their earthly discrepancies, 
 and learned to tune their harps together, to 
 the praise of their common Redeemer — 
 hymning, 
 
 u Him first — Him last — Him midst, and without end." 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 In page 252, No. 26. Instead of " From the Original 
 Manuscript of a Bookin Dutch" read " From the Original 
 Manuscript of a Book Translated into Dutch. 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 The originals of the following letters are in the 
 -collection of Manuscripts belonging to Colchester 
 Meeting. My friend James Barker, of that place, 
 to whom 1 am indebted for a diligent search among 
 those records of the olden times, very justly observes, in 
 a letter relative to Stephen Crisp, that "his written 
 remains evince him to have been a man very actively 
 engaged in promulgating the doctrines of Truth, 
 under circumstances of great outward opposition, 
 persecution, a^d, at times, personal danger — in keep- 
 ing up an extensive correspondence with the early 
 and distinguished instruments in the same gi'eat 
 cause — that he watched over them and the general 
 affairs of the Society with an anxious solicitude and 
 vigilance ; and endeavoured, wherever danger ap- 
 peared, to encourage, to caution, to warn, as the 
 circumstances which gave occasion to his concern 
 required; and it is equally evident that he possessed 
 a corresponding influence, esteem, and love, in the 
 minds of his Friends." The first letter which I shall 
 give, is from James Parnel, to Stephen Crisp, which 
 must have been writen in the year 1Q55. Though 
 the phraseology is peculiar, the sentiments are im- 
 portant and interesting 
 
 Friend, 
 
 In that stand, and unto it keep thy mind, 
 which lets, thee see thy foes to be of thy own 
 
 A 
 
2 LETTERS. 
 
 house : thine imagination is an enemy ; thjr 
 wisdom is an enemy ; that which hath been 
 tby darling is now thy greatest enemy ; there- 
 fore now sacrifice up thy darling, and give up 
 unto the death, that the just may be raised to 
 life, and the righteous Seed may be brought 
 forth to reign, and be thy head, and so will 
 the head of the serpent be bruised. And this, 
 in thy measure, thou comest to read, as in the 
 light thou dwellest low, which manifests unto 
 thee thy condition; for whatsoever makes 
 manifest is light ; and that is the eye which 
 must be kept open, which, in the children of 
 the world, the god of the world blinds ; by 
 this the children of the Light the god of the 
 world see, and so the tempter is known, re- 
 sisted, and denied. So with this eye set thy 
 watch constant ; and let not the fool's eye 
 wander abroad, which draws out the wander- 
 ing mind after the visible objects ; but stand 
 in the warfare, not giving place to the enemy 
 nor his delusions ; but be content to become 
 a fool, that all selfish thoughts may be judged ; 
 and wisdom thou wilt receive from Him that 
 giveth liberally, and upbraideth not, to dis- 
 cern and know the enemy's wiles s for in the 
 cross to thy will and hasty mind ? the gift of 
 God is received ; therefore, it is said, he that 
 believeth maketh not haste ; be not. therefore s 
 
LETTER'S. 3 
 
 ■weary of the yoke ; for in faith it is made 
 easy, and the impatient nature crucified, and 
 patience hath its perfect work. 
 
 Therefore be still in the measure of light 
 which exerciseth thy mind unto God, and 
 will nothing ; but let thoughts be judged, and 
 the power of God work, that He may be seen 
 to be all. And by this alone principle thou 
 mayest be led and acted forth in the cross 
 unto the carnal, and the denial of self, in par- 
 ticular and in general ; and weigh not what is 
 displeased, when God is pleased, for then 
 thou givest no just occasion, but the enmity 
 is in the world. But that which leads to walk 
 towards God in faithfulness, that also leads 
 thee to walk towards man with a conscience 
 void of offence.; so to that keep thy mind, and 
 be not hasty to know any thing beyond thy 
 measure; for there Eve lost her paradise : but 
 lie down in the will of God, and wait upon 
 his teaching, that He may be thy Head ; and 
 so thou wilt find the way of peace, and dwell 
 in unity with the faithful, though of the world 
 thou be hated: for in God is peace and 
 well-being. 
 
 James Parnel. 
 a 2 
 
4 LETTERS. 
 
 From S. Crisp to J. R, 
 
 Fni end John R 
 
 I am sorry I have the present occasion of 
 writing to thee, and would have foreborne, if a 
 necessity had not been upon me for the 
 Truth's sake, and for thine ; for I have a deep 
 sense of thy danger, and that thou art in the 
 way to dishonour thy testimony ; for I am in- 
 formed by several who love thee well, that 
 they believe thou art run into about three 
 hundred pounds debt, to set thyself up as a 
 public shop-keeper. Whether they Lave 
 dealt will thee about it or no, I know not % 
 but alas, John ! what is (he rise and spring of 
 this, and what will the issue be? Sink down 
 into that which gives a discerning, and thou 
 wilt find a secret mistrust, mixed with an 
 earthly lust, and a crafty carrying it on, under, 
 a shew of Truth : that thereby some other 
 things propounded, might the better proceed, 
 or be carried on, to (he making t elf somebody; 
 and this ground is cursed for ever, and so 
 will the fruit be. O! consider, is this tilting 
 thyself fir thy testimony, and the keeping 
 thyself from entanglements in thy warfare I 
 Or is it not rather a making use of the Name 
 
of the Lord, and of Truth, to plunder others 
 by fair means (or words), to get a visible 
 estate into thy hand ; and then thou may be 
 plundered of it by foul means. It is an easy 
 matter to preach and incur fines, when thou 
 knows others' goods must bear the loss ; thou 
 art on the surest side, and then if it be taken 
 away, at last a whining complaint of suffering 
 for Truth's sake, must serve instead of paying 
 thy debts, as it hath done too many already. 
 
 Dear John, I wish thou would yet take my 
 counsel, and send every friend their goods 
 home, with the money for what thou hast sold 
 of theirs, and take thee to thy employment 
 where God blessed thee, and in which thou 
 grew up ; and stand ready at the Lord's call, 
 that if he please to make any public use of 
 thee in his church, thou may be free from 
 worldly entanglements; and if not, be content 
 with thy daily bread, both inwardly and out- 
 wardly ; and seek to adorn the Gospel thou 
 hast preached, by a holy, simple, and righte- 
 ous conversation ; without which, preaching,, 
 believing, and profession, and all the highest 
 terras men can imagine, are all in vain, ami 
 mil end with an evil savour. 
 a 3. 
 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 I have written these things, in love to thee 
 and the precious Truth, in which my life stands, 
 although it is often bowed down, to see so 
 many abuse the profession of the holy Truth; 
 serving themselves thereupon, and not caring 
 to keep up the reputation of it ; but venturing 
 the glory of God, the reputation of his 
 people, yea, and their own souls also, for the 
 reaching af(er their earthly and corruptible 
 ends and purposes, -which they have pro- 
 pounded to themselves. I might enlarge, to 
 shew the many evil consequences attending 
 this practice, but hope by what I have written 
 thou wilt consider the rest, and still account 
 me thy friend in the Truth, 
 
 S. CRISP. 
 
 TkelZth of (he Qffi Month, 1678. 
 
 From Stephen Crisp to William Perm*. 
 Dearly beloved in the Lord I 
 
 My soul salutes thee, in the fellowship of 
 that life that reigns over death and darkness, 
 in which is the kingdom we seek ; and nothing 
 enters this kingdom, but what is born of this 
 
LETTERS, 
 
 life immortal ; and that we may be kept in it 
 to the end of oar days, is the humble prayer 
 of thy true. and real friend and brother, in this 
 heavenly relation, in which thou may feel my 
 iegrity in a few words. 
 
 in 
 
 Dear William, I have had a great exercise 
 of spirit concerning thee, which none knows 
 but the Lord ; fur my spirit hath been much 
 bowed into thy concern, and difficulty of thy 
 present circumstance ; and I have had a sense 
 of the various spirits, and intricate cares, and 
 multiplicity of affairs, and they of various 
 kinds, which daily attend thee, enough to 
 drink up thy spirit, and tire thy soul ; and 
 which, if it is not kept to the inexhaustible 
 Fountain, may be dried up. And this I must 
 tell thee, which thou alio knows, that the 
 highest capacity of natural wit and parts, will 
 not, and Cannot, perform what thou hast to 
 do, viz. to propagate and advance the interest 
 and profit of the government and plantation; 
 and at the same time to give the interest of 
 Truth, and testimony of the holy name of 
 God, its due preference in all things : for to 
 make the wilderness sing forth the praise of 
 God, is a skill beyond the wisdom of this 
 •world. It is greatly in man's power to make- 
 
8 LETTERS. 
 
 a wilderness into fruitful fields, according to 
 tbe common course of God's providence, who 
 gives wisdom and strength to be industrious ; 
 but then, how he who is the Creator, may have 
 his due honour and service thereby, is only 
 taught by his Spirit, in them who singly wait 
 upon Him. 
 
 There is a wisdom in government that hath 
 respect to its own preservation, by setting up 
 what is profitable to it, and suppressing what 
 may be a detriment; and this is the image of 
 the true wisdom ; but the substance is the 
 birth, which is heavenly, which reigns in the 
 Father's kingdom till all is subdued, and then 
 gives it up to Him whose it is. There is a 
 power on earth, that is of God, by which 
 princes declare justice, this is the image; and 
 there is a power which is heavenly, in which 
 the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords, doth 
 reign in an everlasting kingdom, and this is 
 the substance. By this power is the spiritual 
 wickedness in high places brought down ; be 
 that is a true delegate in this power, can do 
 great things for God's glory, and shall have 
 his reward, and shall be a judge of the tribes; 
 and whosoever else pretend to judgment wiil 
 seek themselves ; beware of them ; the tim^s, 
 
Iettehs. 9 
 
 ere perilous. All men pretending to be be- 
 lievers, have not faith in the Lord Jesus ; thou 
 hast a good comprehension of things, wait 
 also to receive a sound judgment of men. 
 
 I hope thou mil bear this my style of 
 "writing to thee,- my spirit is under great 
 weight at the writing hereof, and much 1 
 have in my heart, because I love thee much. 
 I cannot w«ite much at present, but to lettuce 
 know I very kindly received thy letter, and 
 was glad to hear from thee, and always shall; 
 and my prayer io God is for thee, and you 
 all, that you may be kept in the Lord's pure 
 and holy way ; and above all for thee, dear 
 W, P. whose feet are upon a mountain, by 
 which the eves of many arc upon thee : the 
 Lord furnish thee with wisdom, courage, and 
 a sound judgment ; prefer the Lord's interest; 
 and He will make thy way prosperous. 
 
 For my part, I have not been at London 
 since the last Yearly Meeting, till now. I 
 was last year at the Yearly Meeting at Am- 
 sterdam, and there taken with a fit of the Stone; 
 it lasted three weeks; and in the winter follow- 
 ing, it pleased the Lord to call from me my 
 dear wife. As to my body, I grow very crazy 
 
10 LETTERS. 
 
 and weakly ; can neither ride, nor very well 
 go on foot. A mile is a great journey for me ; 
 but am in good courage and confidence con- 
 cerning the main business 1 am continued for, 
 namely, for the service of my God and his 
 dear people. Our country, at and about 
 Colchester, is very quiet; while other meet- 
 ings are laid by for fear, ours is continued 
 by faithfulness, and is exceeding large, and 
 pretty many lately convinced, to my great 
 comfort. Our dear friend Gertruyd continues 
 at my house yet, and is a careful nurse to me. 
 I know her dear love is to thee ; and many 
 times have I heard breathing desires go forth. 
 of her to the Lord on thy behalf, from a 
 weighty sense of the concern that is upon 
 thee. She is at Colchester, but intends to 
 come up to the Yearly Meeting. 
 
 Well, dear William, I might write long ere 
 all were written that lives in my heart towards 
 thee; buiyin summa,I\ovethee well, and salute 
 thee dearly in that which is unchangeable, in 
 which I remain 
 
 Thy true friend, 
 
 S. CRISP. 
 London, 4th of the 3rd Month. 1684. 
 
LETTERS. II 
 
 From William Penn to Stephen Crisp. 
 
 Dear S. Crisp, 
 
 My dear and lasting love in the Lord's 
 everlasting Truth reaches to thee ; with whom 
 is my fellowship in the Gospel of peace, that 
 is more dear and precious to my soul, than all 
 the treasures and pleasures of this world. 
 For when a few years are come, we shall all 
 go the way whence we shall never return. 
 And that we may unweariedly serve the 
 Lord in our day and place, and, in the end, 
 enjoy a portion with the blessed that are at 
 rest, is the breathing of my soul. 
 
 Stephen, we know one another, and I need 
 not say much to thee ; but this I will say, thy 
 parting dwells with me, or rather thy love at 
 my parting. How innocent, how tender, how 
 like the little child that hath no guile ! The 
 Lord will bless that ground. I have also a 
 letter from thee, which comforted me ; for 
 many are my trials, yet not more than my 
 supplies, from my Heavenly Father, whose 
 glory I seek, and the renown of his blessed 
 Name. And truly, Stephen, there is work 
 enough, and here is room to work in : surely 
 God will come in for a share in this planting 
 
12 LETTERS. 
 
 work, and that leaven shall leaven the lump in 
 time. I do not believe the Lord's providence 
 had run this way towards me, but that He 
 has a heavenly end and service in it: so with 
 him I leave all, and myself, and thee, and his 
 dear people, and blessed Name in the earth. 
 
 God Almighty, immortal and eternal, be 
 with us ; that in the body, and out of the body, 
 we may be his for ever ! 
 
 I am, in the ancient dear fellowship, thy 
 faithful friend and brother, 
 
 WILLIAM PENN. 
 
 My love dearly to friends, especially ia 
 folland, Co 
 in the Lord. 
 
 From Stephen Q isp, to a Friend unknown. 
 
 Dearly Beloved, 
 
 In the Lord, my soul salutes thee, as one 
 who is brought into my remembrance, by that 
 spirit that doth often bow me to thy burdens, 
 which, I know, are not a few r . 
 
LETTERS. 13 
 
 Dear heart, it is nothing but the day that 
 expels the night, and the day star brings the 
 hope thereof : therefore, my dear friend, for 
 as much as it hath pleased God to cause this 
 star to appear, and that thou knowest thine 
 eye hath seen it; be not discouraged because 
 of clouds, but know that the day is at hand. 
 And as concerning all Satan's buffetings, 
 know and consider, that though they are 
 never so many and strong ; yet they are but 
 like the waves of the sea, and they are limited. 
 Feel thou an habitation in that which limits 
 them, and rest in patience ; and possess thy 
 soul in that, and it will be well in the end : if 
 there were no trials there would not be so 
 much need of patience. Dear heart, feel my 
 love, which is beyond words. 
 
 So, with my dear love to thy husband, M. 
 and Anna, &c. I rest thy true friend, 
 
 S. CRISP. 
 
 From, Stephen Crisp to J. 1. 
 
 Dear Friend J. T. 
 
 It hath been some time in my heart to visit 
 thee with a few lines, to express that true love 
 
 B 
 
14 LETTERS. 
 
 that I have had to thee ever since I knew 
 thee ; which love hath been the cause of my 
 dealing so truly and plainly with thee from- 
 time to time ; for 1 have always had an eye 
 and desire to thy preservation in that Truth 
 of which thou wert convinced. And I have 
 always taken notice, that thy progress in the 
 Truth hath beei made harder and more diffi- 
 cult to thee, than it is to many, by reason of 
 thy natural temper, which is forward and 
 unstable, and hath been mixed with a zeal to 
 get forward and to attain to high things; 
 whereby the enemy, sometimes, hath taken 
 his advantage upon thee to thy hurt. And 
 then the tender love of God hath again visited 
 thee, and shewed thee thy hurt; and thou hast 
 been sensible that the Lord's hand hath been 
 over thee for good ; and this hath broken and 
 melted for a season : but the enemy, who is 
 always on his watch, hath sought, even out of 
 that tenderness, to lift up thy mind into the 
 conceit of some great attainments again; and 
 the;, the former tenderness hath been, as it 
 were, shut up and closed ; so that neither tlie 
 true working of that power, nor the love and 
 tender counsel of thy friends and brethren, 
 could be discerned for a time ; which hath 
 been a grief and exercise to us, the Lord 
 
BETTERS. 15 
 
 knoweth. Yet, notwithstanding, the love we 
 have borne to thee hath not ceased ; but for 
 my part, I can truly say, that, from time to 
 time, I have had an inward travail upon my 
 spirit how to do thee good, and I thank God 
 my labour of love hath not been in vain to 
 thee ward. 
 
 Dear Jacob, I was exceedingly refreshed 
 In the account I received from dear G. D. 
 that thou wert open-hearted to friends, and 
 that a tender love was in thy heart, working 
 thee into more unity than formerly. Well ? 
 dear friend, nothing saves us but love, for 
 God is Love ; and nothing redeems us but 
 righteous judgment administered in that 
 love: and where this love is retained in the 
 heart, and this pure judgment dwelt in, such 
 must needs have fellowship one with another; 
 for there all are kept meek and humble, and 
 they have nothing nor an > body to exalt, but 
 only by the Name in which they find the 
 salvation. 
 
 Now, dear Jacob, let me tell thee, I do 
 not believe that'all thy temptations are over- 
 passed, or that thy enemy hath given over 
 his seeking to winnow thee ; and therefore^ 
 m2 
 
16 LETTERS. 
 
 there is a great necessity for thee to keep 
 upon thy watch ; and when thou feels most of 
 the inflowings of joy, then to be most low, and 
 careful to keep thy heart open to the Lord 
 and to his people ; and so shalt thou retain 
 that which is given thee: whereas, if thou 
 give way to that which leads into exaltation 
 and much talking, thou may talk it away, and 
 then be dry and empty in thyself. The nature 
 of the true Seed is, first to take a deep root 
 downward, and then to bring forth its fruit 
 upward. Therefore, let thy soul affect the 
 inward, invisible rooting and growth of 
 Truth, more than the outward appearance ; for 
 where there is an inward growth to God ward, 
 it is seen and discerned by the spiritual eye 
 that God hath opened in his children ; by 
 which we do appear lovely, amiable, and 
 comfortable to each other ; and in this it is 
 that the lasting fellowship stands. For if I 
 speak with the tongue of men and angels, and 
 want this, the life of the Seed will be bur- 
 thened and oppressed in them in whom it is 
 risen ; though others, whose life stands in the 
 affection, may be greatly joyed and lifted up 
 thereby: but this will never bring to God> 
 nor add any to the body of Christ, nor edify 
 his Church. Therefore I have always found 
 
LETT EH S. IT 
 
 it safe, to keep something in the storehouse 
 for ray own food; and to break only that 
 bread to others that was given me for that 
 purpose. And the same that I have learned by 
 experience declare I unto thee, because I love 
 thee; and I hope thou wilt be sensible of my 
 love, and receive these lines as a token of it ; 
 and remember my dear love to thy w fe and 
 daughter. Tell her, I am giad to hear good 
 news of her, and, if thou writes to me, let me 
 hear how it goes with he She - now come 
 to years of understanding, and knows the 
 leadings of the Light in her own conscience, 
 what she may do and speak, and what not; 
 and as she is obedient thereunto, she will find 
 peace in her own bosom, be a comfort to you, 
 and will appear lovely to all her friends. 
 
 So no more, but my true and unfeigned 
 love to you all. I rest thy friend in truth, 
 
 STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 From William Caton, to Stephen Crisp. 
 
 Amsterdam, 9th of lit h Mo. 1662, 
 
 Dear Brother, 
 
 With the salutation of dear and tender iove 
 -do I dearly salute thee, having a sense upoa 
 
18 LETTERS. 
 
 my spirit, of the joy and delight, which thy 
 soul hath in the work of our Heavenly Father, 
 in which we have been exercised for some 
 years ; and for as much as the Lord hath 
 made it prosperous and successful in our 
 hands, therefore can we rejoice in the fruit of 
 our labour, even as I perceive thy soul doth. 
 
 Thine dated the 20th of 10th month, I have 
 received ; and thou may be assured it was glad 
 tidings to me, to hear of the prosperity of my 
 Father's work, in our native country, in such 
 a season as this, wherein the faith and patience 
 of many of the Lord's chosen ones is tried, 
 through their great tribulation; which, I 
 hope, in the Lord's due time, will be brought 
 to a period. In the mean time, my soul re- 
 joices in their faithfulness and stability ; and 
 it is a matter of joy to me to perceive they 
 are, in theijr trials, like unto mount Zion, which 
 cannot be moved. 
 
 O ! what cause have we to praise and mag- 
 nify the Lord, who, through his eternal power, 
 bath brought such wonderful things to pass 5 
 which we have been eye witnesses of ! there- 
 fore let us declare them freely to the sons of 
 mes, that thereby we may shew forth the 
 
LETTERS. W 
 
 praise of the God of our salvation, who is 
 making up his jewels in this his day : yea, the 
 fan is in his hand ; and He will, without 
 doubt, thoroughly purge bis floor ; — the chaff, 
 that will He consume, and the wheat shall be 
 gathered into his garner ; and we, together 
 with the rest of his reapers, whom He hath 
 sent forth, shall see the travail of our souls, 
 and be perfectly satisfied in the will and work 
 of the Most High ; who is Lord of Lords, and 
 King of Kings, God over all, blessed forever- 
 more ! 
 
 Friends were glad to perceive the continu- 
 ance of thy determination about thy coming 
 over; and I hope will be more glad when 
 they see thee. It is likely the number of 
 Friends here, may be less than thou mayest 
 expect ; nevertheless I hope there will be re- 
 freshment to be found for thee when thou 
 comest, in some who long to see the time of 
 thy coming ; yet I think it will not be good 
 coming till the ice be more dissolved ; which 
 I hope will be shortly, if this thaw continues. 
 It was refreshment to me to hear of thy refresh- 
 ment with the dear brethren whom thou met 
 accidentally at the Meeting thou wrote of ; 
 and it was glad tidings to me, to hear of the 
 
SO LETTERS. 
 
 effectual door opened in the places where thou 
 hast been ; which I know was also matter of 
 refreshment to thy soul. 
 
 Things here with us are pretty well and 
 still at present, as in reference to the Truth ; 
 and our little small meetings continue pretty 
 peaceable for the most part ; and the good- 
 ness and loving-kindness of the Most High is 
 very large unto us ; for which we have cause 
 to praise the Name of the Lord, so long as we 
 have a being. 
 
 Remember my dear love to thy wife, and to 
 our dear and faithful friends in and about 
 Colchester and elsewhere. The dear love of 
 my dear wife, though thou art outwardly un- 
 known to her, is to thee; and so is the love of 
 our dear sister Gertrie and her husband. This 
 is the substance of what I think at present to 
 communicate to thee, hoping to see thee here 
 shortly, if the Lord permit. Farewell. 
 
 Thy dear brother in that which many waters 
 cannot quench, 
 
 WILLIAM CATON. 
 
LETTERS. 21 
 
 Extracts from a Letter fiom William Caton 
 to Stephen Crisp. 
 
 Amsterdam, the 1st of 5th Mo. 1664. 
 
 « S. C. And my dear Brother. 
 
 "In the bowels of endeared love, do I dearly 
 salute thee and thy fellow prisoners; as also 
 the rest of Friends, of whose faith and pati- 
 ence, fidelity and constancy, health and wel- 
 fare in the Lord, I am right glad to hear ; the 
 more at this day, because Satan, in and with 
 his instruments, is exceeding busy to move 
 the righteous from their stability? and to be- 
 tray the simple from their simplicity, and to 
 terrify the upright in heart with his raging 
 cruelty. But of a truth the Lord is good to 
 Israel, and rich in mercy unto all his chosen." 
 
 " Thy large and acceptable letter, dear 
 Stephen, I have finally received, after much 
 expectation ; but am now well satisfied with 
 the reason thou hast given, wherefore it came 
 no sooner., I perceive Friends' exercise 
 there, through the severity of the unreason- 
 able and ungodly, is not yet at an end. Well, if 
 it yet be longer perpetuated for the further 
 purifying and trying of the Lord's chosen, I 
 
22 LETTERS. 
 
 Lope it will tend to the glory of God, and to 
 the furthering of their salvation." 
 
 " Thy letter came so well furnished with 
 remarkable passages, I thought it therefore 
 expedient to translate the substance thereof; 
 accordingly I did, with passages out of the 
 other letters, to the end that Friends in other 
 parts might understand the same so much bet- 
 ter, as now I know they will ; it being commu- 
 nicated to them in their own language." 
 
 <; I was glad to hear that you had now and 
 then some liberty, notwithstanding the Mayor's 
 severity." 
 
 " This day there hath been a man at our 
 house, who is one of the brethren in Hungary, 
 of whom I suppose thou hast heard, who hath 
 escaped with his lite, and is freed out of those 
 parts ; who gives a very sad relation of the de- 
 plorable state of that country, and the parts 
 where the wars are. The greatest part of 
 the brethren are ruined, several of them kill- 
 ed, others taken and carrried away captives by 
 the Tartarians, with their wives and little 
 ones. It seems the Tartarians, who assist the 
 Turks, that broke in upon them in that part 
 
LETTERS. 23 
 
 of the country, were exceeding barbarous, yea> 
 "worse than the Turks themselves ; and there, 
 fore was the misery which came upon the 
 country, and the inhabitants thereof, the 
 greater. As for the Turks, they seem to pre- 
 vail much, and to have brought the Christians' 
 army (so called) into great straits already ; and 
 as to outward appearance are like to overcome 
 much of that dark country, where the Emperor 
 hath kept his seat; so that it is thought that 
 both lie and his nobles will be forced to flee, 
 as well as the poor and ignoble. The sense of 
 the Turks thus prevailing, brings dread and 
 fear upon many, who know not a refuge in the 
 Lord ; but as to us who have felt and known 
 the arm of the Almighty, we can acquiesce 
 and rest satisfied in the will of our God, in 
 whose hand we are. And as to us, who are 
 given up to suffer according to the will of God, 
 it is little whether we suffer by the Turks or 
 the Tartar Christians, that are in the Turkish 
 nature, by whom we sutler daily; but blessed 
 be the Lord, in that He doth not forsake us, 
 nor leave us comfortless in our suffering ; and 
 therefore is it so much the more easy to us." 
 
The following Extracts from a Letter ■written by Robert 
 Barrow, may serve to show the place which Stephen 
 Crisp held in the estimation of tiis Society, in his declining- 
 years. It was addressed to him and George Whitehead. 
 
 King's Well, near Aberdeen, \5th o/Utli Mo. 1691. 
 
 " My dear Brethren, being formerly, in my 
 travels and proceedings upon Truth's con- 
 cerns, used to write to dear G. F. who hath 
 finished his day in peace and heavenly re- 
 nown : and believing that the same God of end- 
 less mercy hath made you rich partakers of 
 the same universal grace, that he had, with an 
 universal eve over all the Church ;" "so this 
 is to let you know that. I have been throughout 
 the most part of this nation, to visit Friends 
 and Meetings tisercin ; and, blessed be the 
 Lord ! I find things generally well, in unity 
 and good order, which makes Friends travail 
 both easy and comfortable. And about Aber- 
 deen and somewhat Northward of it, there is 
 a fine openness, many of late convinced, and 
 hopeful to continue. And though I am but a 
 weak instrument, and have no fellow traveller, 
 nor outward companions, yet, blessed be the 
 Lord ! I have had a very comfortable journey; 
 and though it is the winter season, that I have 
 sometimes travelled before day, and after, yet 
 the Lord hath given me health in ail weather." 
 
 " So, my dear Friends, let your prayers be 
 to God for me, lhati may abide in God's fear, 
 and stand in his counsel." 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 STEPHEN CRISP, 
 
 ^ITI^e AN ACCOUNT OP HIS CoNVINCEMENT, TRAVELS, LA- 
 BOURS, and Sufferings, in and for the Truth. 
 
 Written by Himself. 
 
 O ! all ye saints, and all ye inhabitants of 
 the earth, let the name of Jehovah be famous 
 among you, for there is no God like unto 
 Him; and let his mercies and judgments be 
 remembered and recorded from generation 
 to generation: for infinite is his goodness; 
 and his loving kindness unspeakable. And 
 although no man can fully recount his loving- 
 kindness to him reached out, yet let all men 
 testify of his goodness, and declare of his 
 mercies, by which He is engaging the sons of 
 men to Himself, and winning and gathering 
 again the scattered to the true rest. And there- 
 fore well said David, " I will remember the 
 years of the right hand of the Most High; I 
 will remember the works of the Lord : surely 
 I will remember his wonders of old. I will 
 
26 THE LIFE OF 
 
 meditate of all thy works, I will talk of thy 
 doings." Psalm lxxvii. 10-12. And who 
 can feel his goodness, and partake of his love, 
 but it will constrain a testimony to Him? 
 And in the sweet remembrance of his manifold, 
 innumerable mercies, I am even overcome. 
 For my whole life hath been as a continued 
 series of mercy and goodness ; and, all my 
 days, hath He been my Upholder: when I 
 knew Him not, He was nigh unto me; yea, 
 when I rebelled against Him, He ceased not 
 to be gracious ; His covenant stood with his 
 seed Christ : and for His sake He spared me. 
 His long-suffering and patience was extended 
 towards me ; else I had been cut off in the 
 days of my gainsaying. But O ! well may I 
 say, He is a God gracious and merciful, long- 
 suffering and patient, full of compassion. O ! 
 let this his Name be proclaimed to the ends of 
 the earth; and let the ears of the heathen be 
 opened to hear the sound of his praise. 
 
 And surely the Lord hath had an eye of 
 tender compassion upon me, from the day 
 that he formed me, and hath appointed me to 
 his praise, and to witness forth his goodness ; 
 for so soon as I can remember, and so soon as 
 I was capable of understanding, he made me 
 to understand that which consented not to 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 27 
 
 any evil, but stood in my soul as a witness 
 against all evil; and manifested that I should 
 not lye, nor steal, nor be stubborn, nor be 
 disobedient, but should behave myself in 
 meekness and quietness ; and set truth before 
 me, as that which was better than falsehood ; 
 and this same witness, even in the days of my 
 childhood, ministered peace and boldness unto 
 me, when I hearkened to the counsel of it; 
 but there was a contrary nature and seed in 
 me, that was of this world, and not of God; 
 which inclined unto evil, and unto the way 
 and manner ol this evil world, as most of all 
 suiting the carnal mind; and an eye began to 
 open in me that saw what was acceptable 
 •with man, rather than what was well pleasing 
 to God. 
 
 And that eye being daily ministered unto by 
 the various objects and examples of vanity, a 
 delight sprung up in that which was evil; and 
 my senses became exercised with vanity, by 
 which the pure seed became oppressed and 
 grieved from day to day, and began to cry 
 out against me ; and condemnation began to 
 be stirred up in me ; and fear entered, where 
 before no fear was, and (he pure innocency 
 ■was lost. And then, having at any time done 
 c2 
 
28 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 or spoken any evil, then the light, or pure 
 principle in me, would manifest it to me, and 
 shew me, that I ought not so to have done ; 
 and I felt condemnation, which how to escape 
 I knew not. But then the evil spirit that led 
 to transgress, would always stand ready to 
 help in this need; and sometimes stirred up 
 the subtilty in me, to plead a reason for what 
 I had done, or a provocation, or a good intent, 
 or else to deny, or at least to mitigate the evil 
 of my deed ; and so to stop the mouth of the 
 witness of God, and to see if I could escape 
 the condemnation of the witness of God, and 
 procure my own peace. But alas ! this was 
 a miserable help ; for the light would often 
 shine through all this, and quell my reason- 
 ings; and shew me, when I was but a child, 
 that in the pure reason that is from God, there 
 is no reason for any evil, let provocations, 
 temptations, or examples be what they can. 
 or will; and so was I often stripped from all 
 my reasoning and coverings. 
 
 And then I learned another way to get ease 
 from the judgment, and that when I was very 
 young, about seven or eight years old : I 
 would use, when judgment overtook me for 
 evil, to yield that it was so, and therefore 
 thought I must do something to please Goa 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 29 
 
 again; and so, hereupon, I learned to pray, 
 and to weep in secret, and to covenant with 
 God for more watchfulness; and so then I 
 thought, for a season, I was as one unburthened 
 from my weight. Yet this best state was ac- 
 companied with many doubtings and ques- 
 tionings, whether my evils were blotted out, 
 or not ; especially when I saw that I was again 
 overtaken by the evil spirit, and led into evil 
 thoughts, words, or actions; for the witness 
 cried, even then, to have my whole mind given 
 up to the Lord ; and that in thought, word, 
 and deed, I should serve Him ; but I knew not 
 that it was from God. Yet this I knew, that 
 I wanted power to answer the requirings of 
 that in me, which witnesseth against evil in 
 me; and this I lamented day and night. 
 
 And when I was about nine or ten years 
 old, I sought the power of God with great 
 diligence and earnestness, with strong cries 
 and tears ; and if I had had the whole world 
 I would have given it, to have kaown how to 
 obtain power over my corruptions. And 
 when I saw the carelessness of other children, 
 and their profaneness, and that they did 
 not, that I could discern, think of God, nor 
 were in trouble^ though they were far more 
 c3 
 
30 
 
 THE LIFE OP 
 
 ■wicked than I, in their speech and actions; 
 Ah Lord! thought I, what will become of 
 these ? seeing so heavy a hand is upon me, I 
 can find neither peace, nor assurance of thy 
 love. 
 
 Then the enemy would tempt me to rest, 
 and be quiet, in that it was better with me 
 than with others; and my reason wrought 
 strongly to make up a peace to myself herein. 
 But the pure witness followed me, and left rac 
 not, but pursued me night and day, and broke 
 my peace faster than I could make it up ; for 
 my mind was in my own works, and I could 
 see no further. I heard talk of a Christ 
 and Saviour, but O ! thought I, that I knew 
 Him. 
 
 My ear was lent to the discourses and dispu- 
 tations of the times, which were very many; 
 and one while I let in one thing, and another 
 while another. Sometimes I heard men dis- 
 pute, That God sees no sin in his people ; then 
 I said, Surely I am none of them ; for He 
 marlceth all my transgressions. Otherwhile, 
 men talked of an election and a reprobation 
 of persons before time; and that I considered 
 diligently, and thought, if that were so, and I 
 
STEPHEN CBI&P. SI 
 
 could get so many signs and marks of an elect 
 soul, as might bring me to quiet, then I would 
 keep it; and not be so tossed as I had been. 
 
 Then I grew a very diligent hearer and re- 
 garder of the best ministers, as they were re- 
 puted ; and went with as much diligence and 
 cheerfulness to reading, and to hearing ser- 
 mons, as other children went to their play and 
 sportings. And when I heard any one treat upon 
 that point of election, and how a man might 
 know if lie were elect; and would lay down 
 signs of a true believer, and signs of an elect 
 soul, then I would try myself in their measure, 
 and weigh myself in their balance, and so ga- 
 ther up a little peace to myself, rinding such 
 things in me as they spoke of for signs; as, a 
 desire against sin, — a loathing myself for sin, 
 — a love to them that were counted the best 
 people, — a longing to be rid of sin, $c. But, 
 alas! here was yet but the blind leading my 
 poor blind soul. This was not the balance of 
 the sanctuary; and when I had gotten a little 
 peace and quietness, and thought to hold it, 
 alas ! it would soon be shattered and broken ; 
 and when God's pure witness arose in me, that 
 I must be weighed in the true balance, O ! 
 then I found I was much too light ; then an- 
 
32 THE LIFE OF 
 
 guish would again kindle in me, and a cry 
 was in me : O! whither shall J go ? and what 
 shall I do ? that 1 might come to a settled state, 
 before I go hence and be seen no more. 
 
 In this woful condition, the thoughts of 
 death would bring a dread over soul and 
 body ; and trembling and horror were often 
 upon me, fearing that I was set apart for a 
 vessel of wrath for ever, and must bear the 
 fiery indignation of God for ever. And oh! 
 that word, for ever, would often be terrible to 
 me, but how to prevent it I knew not ; for 
 now I began to perceive my own insufficiency, 
 and my want of God's power, and that it Mas 
 not in my own power to keep myself out of 
 sin, and that the wages of it was death ; so that 
 I was in a great strait, sometimes thinking I 
 had better give over seeking, and sometimes 
 thinking, If I perish I had better perish seek- 
 ing ; and here the good got the upper hand for 
 a season, and I became a diligent seeker, and 
 prayer, and mourner, and would often find 
 out the most secret fields and unusual places, 
 there to pour out my complaints to the Lord. 
 
 When I was but about twelve years old, my 
 general and constant cry was after the power 
 by which I might overcome corruptions; and 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 55 
 
 although I heard the teachers of those times 
 daily saying, "None could live -without sin," 
 and heard the doctrine of perfection holden as 
 a dangerous error, }et that did not abate ray- 
 cry : though indeed it did often -weaken my 
 belief of obtaining; and so made my prayer 
 almost faithless, and hence without success, 
 But I knew that without the power of God I 
 must perish, let them say what they could : 
 and I could not reckon myself saved while I 
 was captivated with the corrupt and rebellious 
 nature, let them all say what they could ; for I 
 remembered the words of Christ, He that com- 
 mitteth sin, is the servant of sin; and that f 
 knew was I, In this iron furnace I toiled 
 and laboured, and none knew my sorrows and 
 griefs, which at times were almost intolerable, 
 that I wished I had never been born, or that 
 my end might be like the beasts of the field ; 
 for I counted them happy, since they had no 
 such bitter combat here as I had, nor should 
 endure that hereafter, which I feared I must 
 endure after all : for I did see my misery, but 
 I saw no way to escape. 
 
 Then I thought I had best not keep my 
 misery so close, but disclose it to some that, 
 may be, might help me ; but well might I 
 say, miserable comforters I found them all to 
 
34 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 be; for then they would bid me apply the 
 promises by faith, and suck comfort out of 
 the Scriptures; and tell me of the apostle's 
 state mentioned in the 1th of the Romans, 
 and tell me it was so with him, and yet he 
 was a servant of Jesus Christ ; and such like 
 deceitful daubings as they had daubed them- 
 selves with, in like manner dealt they with 
 me; not considering that the apostle called 
 that a wretched and an undelivered state, as I 
 might well do mine. 
 
 But all these ihings took but little place in 
 me; my wound remained unhealed, and He 
 that wounded me, and was able to have healed 
 me, was nigh me, and I knew Him not; for I 
 went groping in that dark and dismal night of 
 darkness, seeking the living among the dead, 
 as many more did ; but it was so dark, that 
 we that did so, could not see one another. 
 And as for the priests and professors of those 
 times, the most of them would boast of expe- 
 riences, and of the seal, and of assurances 
 of the love of God, and what comfort they 
 enjoyed by thinking or meditating on the 
 suffering of Christ for their sins, &c. Alas! 
 thought I, I could think of these things as 
 well as you; but my wound still remains 
 freshj and I see that I am as one of the cruci- 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 35 
 
 fiers, while I love sin, for which He died ; 
 and my soul longed after some other kind of 
 knowledge of Him, than that which was to be 
 attained by reading; for I saw that the worst, 
 as well as the best, could attain to that; and I 
 durst not lean upon them so much as I had 
 done. 
 
 Then I began to be somewhat more loosened 
 in my mind from the priests, (though I left 
 them not wholly,) but now began to find out 
 the meetings of those then called Separatists, 
 and to hear their gifted men, so called, whose 
 doctrine I took notice, savoured more of zeal 
 and fervency, than most of the priests' did; 
 neither did I see them so covetous to make a 
 gain of preaching, not yet being come to see 
 how they coveted greatness and applause of 
 men; but I was often affected with their 
 preachings, though still the former bond was 
 upon me, and they jet strengthened it: to 
 wit, that if I were not elected, I could not be 
 saved ; and how I might know, no man could 
 tell me to my satisfaction. So the fear of this 
 would often dash my comfort; and then I 
 began to take notice of the loose walking of 
 such Separatists, yea, even of the teachers 
 among them; that they were not yet redeemed 
 
26 THE LIFE OF 
 
 from foolish jesting, from idle words, from 
 anger and passion; but sometimes broke out 
 brother against brother, and so ran out to 
 parties, and to breaches and schisms, and 
 rending their churches, which they often both 
 built and pulled down ^ith their own hands. 
 I also saw how inconstant they were, some- 
 times letting in one doctrine, sometimes ano- 
 ther, tossed with winds. But not a word could 
 I hear how I might obtain power over sin. 
 Over some sins and some lusts I had obtained 
 it, but over all I had not ; and nothing else 
 would satisfy me. 
 
 Then I began, when I was about seventeen 
 or eighteen yesrs of age, to seek yet further; 
 and hearing of a people that held forth, The 
 death of Christ for all men, I went to hear 
 them; and after some time I came to see that 
 there was more light, and clearer understand- 
 ing the Scriptures among them, than among 
 the former: so I began to be conversant with 
 them, and frequent in their meetings, and 
 came to be established in their belief: That 
 there was a dear Son of hope, and may or 
 means of salvation prepared for all people, 
 and none positively, by any eternal decree, ex- 
 cluded, as by name or person, but as unbeliev- 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 37 
 
 crs and disobedient. This ministered comfort 
 awhile; and I set myself to believe, and to 
 get faith in Christ, and to reckon myself a 
 believer ; and found it a hard word, even too 
 hard for me, though I cried aloud many times 
 to have my unbelief helped; yet when I saw- 
 sin prevail over me, Alas! said I, where is 
 that faith that purifieth the heart, and giveth. 
 victory ? mine is not such. 
 
 Then would the pure witness of God, arise 
 and testify against me for my sin; and the 
 more my understanding was enlarged, the 
 sharper was my judgment; and now it grew 
 so sharp, that I knew not how to endure it so 
 well as I had done in my childhood; but the 
 rou^h and rebellious nature being now ^rown 
 strong, and I in the prime and strength of my 
 youth, and seeing how others spent their time 
 in pleasures and vanity, a secret lust and 
 desire kindled in me to partake of their cup; 
 yet for a time I was kept in, as with a bit; 
 and rather took delight to take notice of the 
 varieties of wits and inventions, that had been 
 in foretime, which I found by books, being 
 much given to reading ; and so I gathered many 
 sayings and sentences of wise philosophers 
 
 D 
 
38 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and sages, and in part obtained the knowledge 
 of many ages gone before me. 
 
 These things I thought were as an ornament, 
 lifting me for discourse, and for the company 
 of wise men. And, alas ! all this while self 
 stood uncrucified, and all that was gotten was 
 but sacrificed and offered up for the obtain- 
 ing a reputation to self, which should have 
 been kept in the cross; yet this served me 
 awhile to feed that unwearied, searching, 
 seeking soul of mine withal ; and many things 
 that I met with became as a life unto it for a 
 season; and I began to bless myself, that my 
 time was no worse spent. And, in this time 
 I found two drawings, one strong drawing 
 and inducement was into the world, wholly 
 to give myself up to the pleasures, delights, 
 and vanities of it; and another drawing was 
 unto godliness, watchfulness, seriousness, &c. 
 And I, poor man, knew not what to do, as to 
 religion. 
 
 I felt a religious inclination in me, as I had 
 done from a child ; and could have been well 
 content to have taken up some form of reli- 
 gion, but was sore discouraged, because I 
 could see none of them hold forth that which 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 39 
 
 I wanted, either in their life or doctrine, to 
 wit, power over corruptions; without which 
 I knew religion would be in vain, and not 
 answer the end for which I should take it up. 
 So I desisted from taking up any form, and kept 
 in the wild field of this world, and wandered 
 up and down, sometimes to one sort of people, 
 sometimes to another; taking a sharp inspec- 
 tion into their lives and doctrines, though I 
 confess I left my own garden undressed, until 
 many noisome weeds overgrew it. Thus I 
 began to lose my tenderness of conscience 
 which I had had, and began to take pleasure 
 in the company of the wicked; and in many 
 things to become like them, and came to be 
 captivated more than ever, with mirth and 
 jollity, and oft would sing when I had cause 
 to howl and mourn. I also fell to gaming and 
 pastime, and presumed upon the mercy of 
 God, and had a secret belief, That God would 
 one day manifest his power, and bring me out 
 of this slate: therefore I had often a dread upon 
 me, of running so far into wickedness, as some 
 others did ; and was kept from many gross 
 evils that my companions ran into: and herein 
 was the infinite goodness of the Lord manifest, 
 which, when I came to see it with a true eye, 
 broke my heart; yea, my heart and soul 
 j)2 
 
40 
 
 THE LIFE <XF 
 
 praiselh the Lord for his mercy, who kept 
 me when I knew Him riot. 
 
 Though the provocations and temptations 
 were many, that did attend me ; yet out of 
 divers abominations was I preserved: and I 
 must say and acknowledge, as the Lord said 
 to Abimelech, it was the Lord who preserved 
 or kept me. So this course of life went on 
 for a season, about two or three years, until a 
 weariness came npon me thereby; for many 
 times, in the very midst of all my mirth, the 
 hand of the Lord would be heavy upon me, 
 and his righteous judgment would kindle itt 
 me, and put a stop to my course; and then 
 would I lament me in secret, and sometimes 
 complain to others of my sore captivity and 
 slavery to sin ; and often would I be arguing 
 and conferring with them that were counted 
 experienced Christians, how peace and assu- 
 rance might be attained. Some would say, 
 by reading and applying promises; but that 
 way I had tried so often, and so long, that it 
 took now but little with me : for I saw I was 
 in another state than that unto which the pro- 
 mises were made. Others said, the only way 
 was to be obedient to the commands and ordi- 
 nances of Jesus Christ, and to be conformable 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 41 
 
 to the primitive saints, in walking in church 
 order and communion, where every one had 
 the strength of many, and all the church were 
 bound to watch over every member. 
 
 To these counsellors I hearkened, and was 
 willing to do any thing, to find the power, con- 
 cluding that reproach should not keep me back. 
 So I took up that ordinance, as they called it, 
 of water baptism, expecting then to have found 
 power more than before. And my will wrought 
 strongly to bridle and keep down that airy 
 part and sinful nature, and for a season I strove 
 to uphold and maintain myself to be in a bet- 
 ter state than before, though the virtue thai 
 should sanctify and wash me I did not feel, 
 my mind being abroad; and the reasons that 
 kept me were not the operation of the pure 
 love of God in my heart, and his grace pre- 
 vailing in me, to teach me, but rather an eye 
 to the reputation of my religion, and that I 
 might not seem to have run and acted all in 
 vain. 
 
 These reasons held me but for a season, before 
 the temptation grew too strong for my will; 
 and the devil entered his own ground, and 
 prevailed upon me, and led me captive into 
 
 a3 
 
42 THE LIFE OF 
 
 sin and evil, and drew me into vain company, 
 and vain sports, and delights, and pastimes 
 again, as before. So I sufficiently saw that I 
 wanted what I had wanted before; that I had 
 grasped at a shadow, and catched nothing but 
 wind; and that my baptism was short of 
 John's, who did indeed baptize with a baptism 
 of repentance, and prepared the way of the 
 Lord, and made his path straight. But mine 
 did not so much ; and therefore was still 
 more short of the baptism of Christ, in which 
 the fire was to be found, that should burn up 
 what was offensive to God, and grieved his 
 Holy Spirit, and that should then fill me with 
 his Spirit, which takes delight in nothing that 
 is corrupt. This baptism I saw was wanting, 
 and therefore a dissatisfaction began to grow 
 up in me, both of myself, and of my way ; and 
 I testified unto the elders, so called, of the 
 church, that God would shortly overturn all 
 our worships and religions, which stood in 
 outward and carnal things, and would make 
 known some way higher than them all, that 
 should stand for ever. 
 
 When they enquired what that way should 
 be, I confessed I knew not, but waited to see 
 what it might be. And about those days 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 43 
 
 many exercised themselves in talking and 
 discoursing of a people called Quakers, after 
 whom I listened; but though I hearkened 
 •with great diligence, I could hear no good 
 report of them, but much harm; and many 
 false and wicked lies were cast upon them : 
 only this I. took notice of, that they suffered . 
 cruel mockings, and grievous sufferings pa- 
 tiently. Now I did expect, that when the 
 way of God was made manifest, it would be 
 hated and persecuted ; yet I thought that that 
 should not at all deter or affright me from 
 owning it, and walking in it, if once I knew 
 it. But forasmuch as I heard they held per- 
 fection in this life, that was a thing the old 
 wisdom of the serpent could not reach nor 
 join with, but I reasoned against it strongly, 
 in that dark, fallen wisdom, in which many 
 are still fighting against the Lamb and his 
 innocent life, saying in their hearts: Rule 
 Thou in heaven if Thou will, for on earth 
 Thou shalt have no place, no not one soul to 
 bear rule and sovereignty over. And I can 
 but pity thousands who are fighting Satan's 
 quarrels in this matter; but having faithfully 
 laboured with them in my generation, 1 leave 
 them that are wilful and stubborn opposers, 
 who will in no wise receive that which is 
 
44: THE LIFE OP 
 
 perfect in this life, to receive the wages of 
 imperfection in the life to come. But I say, 
 in this same fallen wisdom did I reason divers 
 waj'S, too many now to name, against the 
 truth, the fame whereof I had heard, as the 
 Scriptures speak, While I zoas in death and in 
 the way of destruction. 
 
 A messenger of this truth I had not seen ; 
 hut longed much to see one, wishing night and 
 day, that our parts might be visited by them, 
 as I had heard others were; and, at length, 
 the Lord sent his faithful servant and messen- 
 ger of his everlasting Gospel, James Parnel, 
 to our town of Colchester, about the fourth 
 month, 1655, and in the 27th year of my age, 
 who came in the name and power of the Most 
 High God; in which he turned many to 
 righteousness there, as he had in other coun- 
 tries before; of whom some remain, and many 
 are fallen asleep. 
 
 When I saw this man, who was but a youth, 
 I, knowing not the power nor spirit that 
 was in him, thought to withstand him, and 
 began to query and seek discourse with him ; 
 but I quickly came to feel that the spirit of 
 sound judgment was in him; and the witness 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 45 
 
 of God arose in me, and testified to bis judg- 
 ment, and signified I must own it, as being just 
 and true ; and I the same day and hour testi- 
 fied, that all our rods of profession would be 
 lost or devoured by his rod ; alluding to that 
 of Moses, and the magicians of Egypt; which 
 is and certainly shall come to pass. 
 
 So that day I went to a Meeting, and heard 
 him declare the everlasting Gospel, in the 
 name and authority of the Lord, which I could 
 not, with all my wisdom and knowledge, with- 
 stand; but was constrained to own and con- 
 fess unto the Truth. And here, at the very 
 first of my convincement, did the enemy of 
 my soul make trial to slay me, and that after 
 this manner: seeing my wisdom and reason 
 were overcome by the truth, I could not there- 
 with withstand it ; therefore I received the 
 truth, but held it in the same part with which 
 I had withstood it, and defended it with the 
 same wisdom by which I had resisted it, and 
 so was yet a stranger to the cross that was to 
 crucify me. And I was at liberty in the dis- 
 coursative spirit, to lay out my wits and parts 
 for the truth ; but I soon felt my sacrifice 
 (though I offered the best my earth would 
 afford) was not accepted, but something els© 
 
46 THE LIFE OF 
 
 was still called for; and a cry was in me 
 which called to judgment; and the earth that 
 bad long covered her slain, began to be 
 moved, but not jet removed out of its place. 
 Great were the strugglings of my thoughts, and 
 a great desire was kindled in me how I might 
 comprehend the truth in my understanding, 
 as I had done the doctrines and principles of 
 other religions ; but all my labour therein was 
 to no purpose, for a death was determined 
 upon that wisdom from the Lord; sol saw 
 my labour in vain, my fishing could catch 
 nothing, all that night, while I wrought in the 
 dark, and had not the guidance of the Light. 
 
 So, in this state, I continued a month or two; 
 but then a swift sword uas drawn against 
 that wisdom and comprehending mind, and a 
 strong hand gave the stroke; and I was hewn 
 down like a tall cedar, that at once comes 
 down to the ground. 
 
 But then, O the woe, misery, and calamity 
 that opened upon me! Yea, even the gates of 
 hell and destruction stood open, and I saw 
 myself nigh falling thereinto ; my hope, and 
 faith, and all fled before me, I had no prop 
 left roe to rest upon. The tongue that had 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 47 
 
 been as a river, was now like a dry desert; 
 the eye that would, or at least desired to see 
 every thing, was now so blind, that I could 
 see nothing certainly, but my present undone 
 and miserable state. Oh! then I cried out in 
 the bitterness of my soul, what hath all my 
 profession profited me ? I am poor and 
 blind and naked, who thought I had been 
 rich and well adorned. Then saw I the well 
 favoured harlot btript, and brought into re- 
 membrance before God; and her judgment 
 was come, and how to escape the fire of the 
 vengeance which broke forth, I knew not. 
 Oh! how doleful were my nights, and sorrow- 
 ful were my days ! my delights withered even 
 in wife and children, and in all things, and 
 the glory of the whole world passed away 
 like a scroll that is burnt with fire; and I 
 saw nothing left in the whole world to give 
 me any comfort : my sun lost his light, and 
 my moon was darkened, and the stars of my 
 course were fallen ; that I knew no more how 
 to direct my way, but was as one forsaken in a 
 howling desert, in the darkest night ; and when 
 I saw what God had done, (for I believed it was 
 His doing,) I was ready to cry : I am forsaken 
 for tvcr, and ?iczer was sorrow like nJue ; 
 
48 THE LIFE OF 
 
 my wound is incurable, and my sickness none 
 can heal. 
 
 Alas! neither my tongue nor pen can ex- 
 press the sorrows of those days, in which I 
 sat me down in silence, fear, and astonishment, 
 and was encompassed with sorrow and dark- 
 ness; and I knew none to make my moan 
 unto. I heard of joy and salvation, but could 
 scarcely think that ever I should be a partaker 
 of it. I still wanted that living faith, which 
 the apostle said, was of the operation of God, 
 who raised up Jesus, the true seed ; which 
 seed I still felt groaning in me to be delivered 
 from the burden of sin, and from the oppres- 
 sion of the carnal mind. After long travail, 
 strong cries, and many bitter tears and groans, 
 I found a little hope springing in me, that the 
 Lord, in his own time, would bring forth his 
 seed, even his elect seed, the seed of his cove- 
 nant, to rule in me; and this was given me, 
 at a time when a sense of my own unworthi- 
 ness had so overwhelmed me in sorrow and 
 anguish, that I thought myself unworthy of 
 any of the creatures, forasmuch as I was out 
 of the covenant of God ; and hereupon was 
 tempted to deny myself of them. 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 49 
 
 Then did the hope of the resurrection of 
 the just spring in me; and I was taught to 
 wait on God, and to eat and drink in fear 
 and watchfulness, shewing forth the Lord's 
 death till He should come to be raised to live 
 and reign in me ; so then I waited as one who 
 had hope that God would be gracious to me ; 
 yet something in me would fain have known 
 the time how long it should be : but a faithful 
 cry was in me, which called that to death ; 
 and, upon a time, being weary of my own 
 thoughts in the Meeting of God's people, I 
 thought none was like me, and that it was but 
 in vain to sit there with such a wandering 
 mind as mine was, while, though I laboured to 
 stay it, I yet could not as I would. At length, 
 I thought to go forth ; and as I was going, 
 the Lord thundered through me, saying: That 
 which is xveary must die: so I turned to my 
 seat, and waited in the belief of God, for the 
 death of that part which was weary of the 
 work of God ; and grew more diligent in seek- 
 ing death, that I might be baptized for the 
 dead; and that I might know how to put off 
 the old man, with his deeds and words, and 
 imaginations, his fashions and customs, his 
 friendship and wisdom, and all that apper- 
 tained to him. And the cross of Christ was 
 
50 THE LIFE OF 
 
 laid upon me, and I bore it : and as I became 
 willing to take it up, I found it to be to me, 
 that thing which I had sought from my child- 
 hood, even the power of God ; for by it, I was 
 crucified to the world, and the world to me, 
 which nothing else could ever effect. 
 
 But O ! how glad was my soul, when I had 
 found the way to slay my soul's enemies i O ! 
 the secret joy that was in me in the midst of 
 all my conflicts and combats : I had this con- 
 fidence : if I but take up the cross, I shall 
 obtain victory; for that is the power of God, 
 through faith, to salvation; and as I have 
 found it so in some things, so I shall do in all, 
 in due time. 
 
 Then the reproach of the Gospel became 
 joyous to me; though, in those days, it was 
 very cruel to flesh and blood, yet I despised 
 it, and that for the joy that was now set before 
 me ; of which I had some hope I should, in 
 time, be made a partaker, if I abode faithfuL 
 And that was my great care night and day, to 
 keep so low and out of the workings of my 
 own will, that I might discern the mind of 
 God, and do it, though in never so great a 
 cross to my own. Yet the enemy of my soul 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 51 
 
 followed me close and very secretly ; and, 
 taking notice how willing I was to obey tbe 
 Lord, he strove to get up into the seat of God, 
 and to move as an angel of light, to betray 
 me, and to lead me into something that was 
 like the service of God ; and many sore con- 
 flicts did I meet withal, before I was able in 
 all things to distinguish between the workings 
 of the true Spirit and power, from that which 
 was but transformed; but, forasmuch as I had 
 now surely tasted of the love and goodness of 
 Ood, I trusted in Him, and committed the 
 keeping of my soul unto Him in singleness of 
 heart; and manifold and daily were his deli- 
 verances made known to me, beyond all re- 
 count or remembrance of man ; for which, O 
 my soul! praise thou the Lord for ever, who 
 cared for thee in thy infancy, and kept thee 
 in the days of thy distress. 
 
 So the more I came to feel and perceive the 
 love of God, and his goodness to flow forth 
 upon me, the more was I humbled and bowed 
 in my mind to serve Him, and to serve the 
 least of his people among whom I walked. 
 And as the word of wisdom began to spring 
 in me, and the knowledge of God grew, so 
 I became as a counsellor of them that were 
 e2 
 
52 TNE LIFE OF 
 
 tempted in like manner as I had been ; yet 
 was kept so low that I waited to receive 
 counsel daily from God, and from those that 
 were over me in the Lord, and were in Christ 
 before me, against whom I never rebelled, nor 
 was stubborn ; but the more I was kept in 
 subjection myself, the more subject were evil 
 spirits made to me, and the more I was ena- 
 bled to help the weak and feeble ones. So 
 the eyes of many came to be upon me, as one 
 w itli whom counsel and understanding in some 
 measure was. 
 
 And the church of God in those days in- 
 creased, and my care daily increased, and 
 the weight of things relating both to the out- 
 ward and inward condition of poor Friends 
 came upon me; and being called of God and 
 his people to take the care of the poor, and to 
 relieve their necessities as I did see occasion, I 
 did it faithfully for divers years, with diligence 
 and much tenderness; exhorting and reprov- 
 ing any that were slothful, and encouraging 
 them that were diligent, putting a difference 
 according to the wisdom given me of God, 
 and still minding my own state and condition, 
 and seeking the honour that comes of God 
 only. And a cry was in me to keep on my 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. Od 
 
 spiritual armour; for all enemies were not yet 
 put under my feet. 
 
 So I kept my watch, not knowing well 
 where the enemy might appear ; but after a 
 while I found his appearance once more to 
 be very sharp, and that upon this occasion. 
 About the year 1659, 1 often felt the abound- 
 ings of the love of God in my heart; and a 
 cry to stand given up to his will, which I 
 thought I was, not knowing or foreseeing 
 what the Lord was intending to do with me, 
 but his eye saw farther than mine ; this love 
 and tenderness, and bowels of compassion, 
 wrought so in me, that it extended even to all 
 men on the whole face of the earth, so that I 
 cried in spirit, O ! that all men knew Thee and 
 thy goodness! And upon a time, as I was 
 waiting upon the Lord, his word arose in me, 
 and commanded me to forsake and part with 
 my dear wife and children, father and mother,, 
 and to go and bear witness to his name in 
 Scotland, to that high professing nation. Bat 
 when that came to pass, I found all enemies 
 were not slain indeed ; for the strivings, smug- 
 glings, reasonings, and disputings against the 
 command of God, that I then met withal, 
 cannot be told @r numbered. 
 e 3 
 
54 THE LIFE OP '- 
 
 O! bow I would have pleaded my own 
 inability, the care of my family, my service 
 in that particular meeting, and many more 
 things; and all that I might have been ex- 
 cused from this one thing which was come 
 upon me, that I thought not of, or looked not 
 for. But after many reasonings, days and 
 weeks by myself, I thought it best to speak of 
 it to some of the faithful elders and ministers 
 of this everlasting Gospel; not knowing but 
 they might discourage me, and something 
 there was that hoped it ; but contrarily, they 
 encouraged me, and laid it upon me to be 
 faithful. So then I gave up, and acquainted 
 my dear wife therewith, which began me a 
 new exercise, the enemy working in her 
 strongly to stop me. But in much patience 
 was I kept, and in quietness ; and went and 
 visited friends' meetings about Essex, and 
 part of Suffolk, chiefly to see them, and to 
 take my leave of them ; and in some meetings 
 the Lord would open my mouth in a few 
 words to the refreshing of friends ; but I 
 rather chose silence, when I might so. The 
 winter drew nigh, and something would have 
 deferred it till next summer ; but the Lord 
 shewed me it must not be my time, but his 
 time. Then I would have gone by sea, but 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 55 
 
 the Lord withstood me, and shewed me, it 
 must not be my way, but his way ; and if I 
 would be obedient He would be with ine, and 
 prosper my journey, otherwise his hand would 
 strike me. So I gave up all • and pretty 
 much with cheerfulness, at last, I obeyed; and 
 about the end of the seventh month I went 
 forth, and visited the Churches of Christ. 
 
 As I went along in Lincolnshire and York- 
 shire, I quickly perceived that the Lord was 
 with me more than at other times ; and my 
 journey became joyful, and the more so, in 
 that though I were but weak, poor, and low, yet 
 God gave me acceptance among the elders of 
 his people ; and, in every place, my testimony 
 was owned, and divers were convinced of the 
 everlasting truth : then I marvelled, and said : 
 Lord, the glory alone belongs to Thee, for 
 Thou hast wrought wonders for thy Name's 
 sake, and for thy Holy Seed's sake. I got 
 into Scotland in the ninth month, that year, 
 and travelled to and fro that winter on foot 
 with cheerfulness. Many straits and difficul- 
 ties attended me, which I forbear to mention, 
 it being the time of the motion of the English 
 and Scottish armies, upon which succeeded 
 the revolution of government, and the bringing 
 
56 THE LIFE OF 
 
 back of King Charles the Second into Eng- 
 land. Well, about the 11th or 12th Month, 
 I returned and travelled into the West, to 
 Westmorland, part of Lancashire, and so up 
 to the southward ; and in about five or six 
 Months 7 time, was, by the good hand of God, 
 brought home to my wife and children, and 
 relations; in all my journey having been 
 sweetly accompanied with the presence of the 
 Lord ; and his power often filled my earthen 
 vessel, and made my cup to overflow : Praises 
 for »ver be to his Name^ saith my soul. 
 
 In all my journey I lacked not any thing 
 that was good for me ; but as it was my care, 
 in singleness, to serve the Lord, so was the 
 tender care of the Lord over me ; and He sup- 
 plied me with whatever was needful in my 
 journey ; yet, all along, a secret hope did live 
 in me, that when the present journey should 
 be accomplished, I should be freed from this 
 service, and have liberty to return to ray call- 
 ing and family ; but contrarily it proved, for 
 when I had been at home a few days, it lay 
 upon me to go up to London, to visit the bre- 
 thren and Church of God there. So I went? 
 in great fear and dread of God, to that city ; 
 and having continued there a few days, de- 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 57 
 
 parted northward again, at the commandment 
 of the Lord, and found my ways prosperous 
 wherever I went ; and great encouragement 
 did I daily receive from the Lord, who blessed 
 my labour of love; that, besides the peace and 
 joy I felt in myself, I saw the effect of my la- 
 bour, and the travail of my soul in divers 
 places made manifest, by divers being turn- 
 ed from darkness to light, and from serv- 
 ing the evil power unto the power of God. — 
 But still trials attended me ; and a prison be- 
 came my portion, nigh two hundred miles 
 from home, and great and grievous threaten- 
 ings were breathed out against me ; and the 
 same spirit which wrought in the persecutors, 
 both in their cruelty and subtilty, strove to 
 work in me also. 
 
 But I cried to the Lord, and He helped me, 
 and my faith failed me not, but I fulfilled my 
 service and testimony ; and at length was deli- 
 vered, and several thousands more, by a public 
 proclamation from the King ; and I then re- 
 turned to my house, after about eight months 
 absence; and my heart was set to serve the 
 Lord, who had been good unto me : yet the 
 hope of being freed from this kind of service, 
 lived long in me, for I found the work every 
 
58 THE LIFE OP 
 
 day more weighty than another, many false 
 spirits rising up, and transforming themselves 
 into the likeness of Truthj who were enemies 
 to the life of Truth, who were the worst ene* 
 mies of all. And I saw that Zion's enemy, 
 who could no other way prevail, was now try- 
 ing, if by a false pretence of holiness and obe- 
 dience, he could deceive and beguile the sim- 
 ple : but I cried to God, to give me a discern- 
 ing heart, and an understanding to compre- 
 hend the snare of the enemy, and that I might 
 be a help to the weak ; and He did so: and 1 
 saw the foundation struck at by the enemy, 
 and 1 grew zealous for the Lord and his house, 
 and testified freely against the secret deceits 
 of the enemy ; but this occasioned me yet 
 more exercise and sorrow too ; divers who 
 saw not the depths of the workings of Satan, 
 judging my zeal and fervency against that 
 contradictious spirit to be needless. 
 
 But in meekness and patience, the Lord 
 kept me out of the warring and striving mind ; 
 for I dared not strike them whom I knew to be 
 my fellow servants, but them that pretended to 
 be so, and yet served and promoted another 
 interest. Them I often wounded with the 
 weapon God had given : and they that came 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. Dif 
 
 to love the judgment, were sealed, but many 
 perished in their rebellion and stubborness. — 
 And the Lord arose and blasted the work of 
 the enemy, and opened the eyes of many that 
 were darkened ; and they came to see the end 
 of that which had been the troubler of Israel ; 
 and peace, unity, and true love were restored in 
 all our borders. Then was my joy full, and 
 my cup did overflow with praises and thank- 
 fulness to God, who had had regard to his 
 heritage and people, and had delivered them 
 from the devices of the wicked one. For my 
 soul grew daily in love with Zion, and there was 
 nothing in all the world so desirable to me, as the 
 prosperity of the Gospel, and the spreading and 
 publishing of His Name and Truth through the 
 earth ; and so this love constrained me to tra- 
 vel with great diligence from country to coun- 
 try, to make known what God had done for 
 my soul, and to publish the day of the Lord, 
 yea the day of redemption, in which the cap- 
 tivity of the spiritual Israel should be brought 
 back ; which did prove glad tidings unto 
 many, who received the report and believed 
 it. They came to behold the revelation of the 
 holy, powerful arm of God, to their soul's sa- 
 tisfaction ; and, in most parts of England where 
 I travelled, I found a daily adding to the 
 
60 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Church, such as were like to be saved ; and 
 hereupon my joy increased, and I began to be 
 more freely given up to the work and service 
 of God, and to the ministry of the Gospel. 
 
 And about the year 1663, I was moved to 
 cross the seas, and to visit the seed of God in the 
 Low countries, which I did with cheerfulness ; 
 and though in an unknown land, and with an 
 unknown speech, yet, by an Interpreter some- 
 times, and sometimes in my own tongue, I 
 declared the truth to the refreshing of many, 
 and to the bringing back of some from error; 
 and having accomplished that visit, I returned 
 in peace to England. 
 
 And after a while, being required of God, 
 I again went down into the north conntry, la- 
 bouring in the word and doctrine with great 
 diligence and fervency, along, or near unto 
 the sea coast, and so down to Newcastle, and 
 something beyond ; and being led by the 
 Spirit, I came back another way, more east- 
 ward through the land ; and found, all the way, 
 the plant of God's renown flourishing and 
 growing, Meetings enlarged, and the hearts of 
 Friends enlarged in love to me, and mine to 
 them. Then being returned,^ great weight 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 61 
 
 came upon me, concerning the great city of 
 London, greater than ever before ; and I went 
 up full of might and power, and did daily (as 
 the Lord opened my mouth, and ordered me) 
 warn them of the abominations and wicked- 
 ness that ran down among them like a stream, 
 and declared the judgments of God at hand 
 upon them, for their great wickedness ; which 
 followed speedily, both by war and fire, and 
 many more calamities. 
 
 After this, about 1667, it was required of me 
 again to go into Holland, and my dear com- 
 panion, Josiah Cole, went with me ; and we 
 travelled to and fro, and visited the Churches 
 about three months, and returned. Then went 
 I again down into the north of England, my 
 heart being abundantly drawn out towards 
 the noble seed of God in those parts ; and my 
 love and tenderness of heart towards them, 
 made all travel, and labour, and perils easy ; 
 because I still saw the tender plants of my 
 Heavenly Father, in a thriving and growing 
 way or condition ; and I felt the virtue of life 
 daily springing in me, -which was given me to 
 water the heritage and garden of God. And 
 so soon as I was clear, I returned, having, 
 still more and more, the care of the Church of 
 
 F 
 
02 THE LIFE OF 
 
 God coming upon me, which constrained me 
 to diligence, and to be as swift as I might be ; 
 that £0 I might be as serviceable as possible in 
 my generation, and might keep myself clear 
 of the blood of all men, which I found to be 
 no easy or slight work. 
 
 Being safely returned, and finding the pre- 
 sence and power of the Lord yet leading me 
 to and fro from country to country, I was obe- 
 dient thereunto, not of constraint now, but of 
 a willing mind ; counting his service a free- 
 dom, feeling myself freed from the cares of 
 this life, having now learned to cast all my 
 care upon Him. After one or two years tra- 
 vel thus in England, the Lord laid yet more 
 of the weight and care of the affairs of his 
 people in the Low Countries upon me, and I 
 found drawing towards them ; and in the year 
 1669, 1 went over and visited the Meetings, 
 obtained divers new Meetings, and they set 
 up a men's Meeting among them, to see to the 
 good ordering and governing of the affairs re- 
 lating to truth and Friends. And this time 
 did it please the Lord to open my understand- 
 ing abundantly, that I began to declare, in 
 their own tongue, the things that God had 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 63 
 
 committed unto me to minister; and several 
 received the everlasting Gospel, and were 
 brought to feel the power of God, by which 
 they are saved from the world, and the pol- 
 luted ways therein. Then, while travelling in 
 those provinces of Holland, Friesland, and 
 Groningen, &c. I was moved to pass into 
 Germany, to which I gave up in the fourth 
 Month that same year ; and, by the way, met 
 with many perils and dangers, by reason of 
 the horrible darkness, popery, cruelty, and 
 superstitions of those lands and dominions 
 through which I travelled, so that sometimes 
 it was as if my life were in my hands, to offer 
 up for my testimony ; but the Lord preserved 
 me, and brought me, upon the fourteenth day 
 of that Month, to Griesham, near Worms, 
 where I found divers who had received the 
 everlasting Truth, and had stood in a testi- 
 mony for God about ten years, in great suffer- 
 ings and tribulations, who received me as a 
 servant of God ; and my testimony was as a 
 dew upon the tender grass unto them. I had 
 five good Meetings among them ; and divers 
 heard the truth, and several were reached and 
 convinced ; and Friends were established in 
 the faith. 
 
 f2 
 
64 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 It was also Justin an hour of temptation and 
 time of trial among them, that the Lord had 
 cast me there, for the Prince of that land, call- 
 ed the Palsgrave, had imposed a fine upon 
 them for their Meetings, to wit, four rix-dollars 
 the year for each family, which they (for con- 
 science' sake) not paying, he sent an order to 
 take the value in goods ; whereupon his un- 
 reasonable executioners came and took away 
 the treble value ; but Friends suffered the spoil- 
 ing of their goods with great joy and glad- 
 ness, and counted it a happiness that they 
 were counted worthy to suffer for his Name's 
 sake, who had called them to the knowledge 
 of his blessed Truth, and to bear a testimony 
 in that dark desert, to the light of the Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
 So I went to Heydelburgh, to the Prince of 
 that land ; and had a good opportunity with 
 him, and laid before him the danger of his 
 proceeding on in persecution. He heard me 
 with a great deal of friendliness, and dis- 
 coursed things at large with me; and in seve- 
 ral things promised it should be better, as it 
 did also after come to pass. So, having finish- 
 ed that service in Germany, I returned ; and 
 being come into the Low Country again, I 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 65 
 
 went to Groningen, where divers had believed 
 in the Name of Jesus the Light of the world ; 
 whom, when I had visited in the power of 
 God, and strengthened in the faith, I left, and 
 returned through Friesland to Amsterdam. 
 Here, by reason of my now speaking in their 
 own language, Meetings grew exceeding 
 great ; and many strangers came flocking in, 
 and a great openness I found in the country ; 
 but being required of the Lord to come to 
 England, I left them to the word of that grace 
 which they had received of God, which was 
 able to keep them ; and came over into Eng- 
 land in the latter end of the year. 
 
 I went towards London, in order to visit the 
 Churches in the western parts of England, 
 whose faces in the outward I had never seen, 
 though I had long desired it. So passing 
 from London, I went through Berkshire and 
 Wiltshire, having many precious Meetings 
 with the Lord's people. I came to Bristol, 
 where I found a people, among whom my soul 
 was greatly refreshed; and I stayed with them 
 about a week or nine days. Then, in a true 
 sense of the Eternal Power, in which the true 
 fellowship always stood, we took leave one of 
 another ; and I departed, and travelled that 
 p 3 
 
66 THE LIFE OF 
 
 winter with my companion in tbe Gospel,* 
 Samuel Cater, through Somersetshire, De- 
 vonshire, and Cornwall, to the Land's End of 
 England, visiting the Churches in those parts 
 to our mutual comfort. And I returned by 
 Plymouth, visiting the southern sea coast, even 
 to Portsmouth. Then, passing through Hamp- 
 shire and Surrey, came to London, and so to 
 Colchester again, to the gladdening the hearts 
 of God's heritage in that place ; many of 
 whom have, with me, many a time rejoiced 
 and given thanks to Him that liveth and 
 reigneth forever, for my preservation through 
 all perils and dangers, and the multitudes of 
 deliverances, of which I was daily made a 
 partaker. 
 
 Being moved of the Lord, I appointed a 
 Meeting at a place called Chelmondiston, 
 where divers had received the truth and tes- 
 timony of God through me his servant ; and 
 there a priest who once, two years before, had 
 betrayed me to the ruler, and had gotten me 
 into prison, now procured a warrant to have 
 me cast into prison, and so I was in the first 
 Month, 1670, in Ipswich Gaol ; being com- 
 mitted to the said Gaol for being at a Conven- 
 ticle, (so called,) upon the Statute of the 14th 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 87 
 
 of King Charles, which saith : " If a person be 
 convicted of a Conventicle, he shall pay some 
 sum of money not exceeding five pounds, or 
 lie in prison some time, not exceeding three 
 months." And the Judge of Assizes, R. Rains- 
 ford, in his haste and passion, not regarding 
 the law, but his own will, committed me to lie 
 in Gaol until I would pay five pounds ; but 
 afterwards being convinced of his error, he 
 wrote an order for my release at three month's 
 end. 
 
 Being released, I was drawn forth in the 
 love of God, again to cross the seas, about 
 the fifth Month, 1670, and went to Holland, 
 to visit the remnant there that had believed, 
 and to strengthen their faith ; and for some 
 weeks I preached the Gospel in divers cities, 
 unto the inhabitants and strangers, who came 
 in great numbers oftimes to Meetings, hearing 
 there was one that spake in their own lan- 
 guage ; and many were reached, and some 
 overcome by the power of Truth ; and the 
 hand of the Lord was with me in a blessed 
 manner, to the refreshing of my soul, and fill- 
 ing my vessel ; and the overflowings of my cup 
 made many glad. 
 
68 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Then, about the seventh Month, a concern 
 arose in me to travel eastward, and to visit 
 those dismal dark countries in the lower parts 
 of Germany, and the borders of Denmark and 
 Sweden, where the Lutheran Religion bears 
 sway, and darkness and wickedness in the 
 strength of it. O ! the weight and burden I 
 felt many times, as I travelled through their 
 towns and cities, where it might well be said, 
 none did good, none considered their ways, 
 none thought upon the name of the Lord as 
 they ought to do, but all manner of wicked- 
 ness abounded ; among whom I and my com- 
 panion, Peter Hendricks, were as signs and 
 wonders, because our manner and conversa- 
 tion, our words and discourses, carried nothing 1 
 but judgment to them ; and sometimes we gave 
 them books and papers of Friends, which we 
 left with them. And though the rage of many 
 kindled against us, yet the Lord made way for 
 us, and we had a safe and prosperous voyage* 
 and came to Hamborough, and had a Meeting 
 upon a first day with those there who were 
 convinced, and then went down into the duke- 
 dom of Holstein or Holsatia, belonging to the 
 kingdom of Denmark. 
 
 Having travelled two days' journey, about 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. C9 
 
 seventy English miles from Hamborough, we 
 came to Frederickstadt, where we found the 
 brethren met together to wait upon the Lord, 
 upon the fourth day of the week, who receiv- 
 ed us joyfully. With them we sat down, and 
 were refreshed in the fellowship of that blessed 
 Gospel, which is ordained for a blessing to 
 all nations, tongues, and kindreds, who believe 
 and obey it. After that we gave notice of a 
 Meeting publicly in the city, to be on the 
 sixth day, unto which many of the city came; 
 and particularly the Skout, or chief Magistrate 
 of the city, and the Messenger, or Sergeant of 
 the city ; and the power of God was much 
 manifest among us; and much brokenness there 
 was among the people, and they received 
 the doctrine of truth with much love and ten* 
 derness. 
 
 On the first day of the week, in the morn- 
 ing, we had a Meeting again with the brethren, 
 and such as were convinced, and a great open- 
 ness was among us from the Lord ; and in the 
 afternoon we had another public meeting, at 
 which were about a hundred people, and 
 every one's mouth stopped ; for though li- 
 berty was given for objection, yet none was 
 made. 
 
70 THE LIFE OF 
 
 These things troubled the minds of some 
 professors and teachers, who had enmity in 
 their hearts against the truth, insomuch that 
 two of them came towards evening, and de- 
 sired a dispute with me, which being granted, 
 about forty or fifty persons came in to hear ; 
 and for an hour or two, we spake together, 
 and the power of God was over them, and 
 they were divided between themselves ; which 
 when the more moderate saw, he went away ; 
 but the other, one Eppinhooft, stayed till he 
 made his folly manifest to most that were in 
 the room, in particulars too large here to re- 
 late. So truth stood over them, and the city 
 was in a tender, cool^ and loving frame, and 
 divers were added to the Church, and to the 
 faith which saveth ; and the city hath remain- 
 ed in such a frame ever since, and hath been 
 visited by divers brethren, as Thomas Green 
 and William Penn, who have had good 
 Meetings amongst them to their mutual re- 
 freshment. 
 
 So on the second day of the week,we met toge- 
 ther early in the morning-, and committed each 
 other to God, with prayer and supplication ; 
 and they accompanied us to the Jider, which 
 runneth by the city ; and there we parted in 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 71 
 
 that love which never changeth,and set our faces 
 again towards Hamborough, whither we came 
 safely the next day. After we had visited 
 Friends there, we took boat and came over 
 the Elbe ; and, by waggon, came to Bremen, 
 where we left several books ; and so we passed 
 back to Oldenburgh, and thence to Embden, 
 where, upon a first day of the week, it lay 
 upon me to go to an assembly of the ministers, 
 (a kind of Baptists,) at which, after one Hert 
 Jansen had preached, and the prayer time was 
 over, (for they speak no words in prayer, but 
 all kneel down, and are silent, every one pray- 
 ing in his own mind as seemeth good to him,) 
 I say, after that, I stood forth and spake in the 
 Dutch tongue about half an hour, exhorting 
 them to come to God's witness, that they 
 might feel judgment set up in them to cleanse 
 them, and to prepare them for the Lord, &c. 
 
 After this, the preacher stood up again, and 
 vindicated and maintained by Scripture what 
 I had said, exhorting them to receive my ex- 
 hortation. The same evening divers people 
 came together at the house of one Remelkie, a 
 poor maid, who had neither hands nor feet ; a 
 devout woman, who sought after the way of 
 God, and received us gladly to her house,where 
 
72 THE LIFE OF 
 
 I was moved to declare the truth of God 
 among them ; and after that we had some 
 words by way of dispute, and parted lovingly. 
 The next day, divers of them came again to 
 us and kept us company ; and about mid-day 
 we parted very friendly. I, with my compa- 
 nion, took shipping for Delfe-Siele, and so we 
 came to Groningen, and had a meeting with 
 Friends, to our mutual refreshment ; and 
 thence came to Lee Warden, where the Fries- 
 land Lords had a law to put Quakers in the 
 Bridewell for five years, that should dare to 
 come into their province of Friesland : by 
 which law they had taken three Friends of 
 Amsterdam, and put them in prison. They 
 had also made an order that no Quakers 
 should go in to visit them ; which having un- 
 derstood, the zeal and love of God sprang in 
 my heart, and set me over them and their 
 wicked law ; and I took a pen and wrote to 
 their Lord President, and told them they had 
 done worse than heathens ; and seeing they 
 had made a law to imprison all Quakers, there 
 was I and two more with me, were come to 
 visit the prisoners, and desired liberty to do 
 so ; for we feared God more than them and 
 their law ; and were come to fulfil our 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 73 
 
 Christian duty to our brethren, whom they 
 had so unjustly cast into prison. 
 
 The President carried the letter to the 
 Council, but the Lord limited them, and they 
 let it pass by, and did not lay hands on us. So 
 we appointed a Meeting in the city; and, after 
 having tarried there several days, we went to 
 Workum, and took shipping for Amsterdam, 
 and came there on the first day morning, about 
 the beginning of the ninth Month. 
 
 Being come again to Friends in Holland, we 
 had many precious Meetings together in divers 
 cities, as Alkmaer, Haarlem, Rotterdam, &c. 
 And a young man having heard in Switzer- 
 land, where he lived, that he had a brother in 
 Holland turned Quaker, in his zeal came 
 down, thinking to turn him ; but the truth 
 prevailed upon him, the first and second days 
 he heard it declared ; so that he owned it, and 
 became obedient to the cross, the first week 
 he was there, to the great comfort of Friends, 
 and most'of all of his brother. So, having tra* 
 veiled through the Meetings, and visited 
 Friends, in the tenth Month, I committed them 
 to the Lord, and to the word of his Grace, 
 and returned again to England ; and was to 
 
 G 
 
74 THE LIFE OP 
 
 and fro visiting the Churches in London, 
 and in divers parts of the nation, for three or 
 four months. 
 
 At this time, I understood that divers ex- 
 alted spirits were gotten up among them that 
 had believed in Friesland, who began to set 
 forth strange doctrine among Friends, and 
 sought to unsettle the minds of them that had 
 newly received the faith amongst them, and 
 had begun to seduce them from their Meetings, 
 and to wait upon, and to mind strange motions 
 and imaginations, which had been the ruin of 
 many in former ages, who were not arrived at 
 discerning. So the zeal of God moved in me 
 against that spirit, and the love to the tender 
 seed drew me again over the seas, which was 
 of great service to Friends and the truth. 
 Thus I laboured greatly to inform the minds 
 of Friends, of the depths of that ranting spirit, 
 and whither it would lead, and where it would 
 centre ; having had long experience of it here 
 in England. 
 
 Thus the power arose among Friends ; and 
 they began to note such as were disorderly 
 and unruly, and to call them to an account ; 
 ami took great pains with them, to regain and 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 75 
 
 recover them out of the snare of the devil ; 
 making many journies and visits to them, 
 which proved not ineffectual, divers being 
 helped and brought back. Howbeit, some were 
 hardened, and waxed worse and worse, and 
 turned against the power ofGod,into enmity and 
 opposition against Friends, so that a necessity 
 was upon Friends to clear themselves and the 
 truth, of them and their evil works ; and the 
 more so because we saw that the mind in 
 which they were so vainly puffed up, was 
 fleshly, as afterwards appeared. So Friends 
 called them to their general men's Meeting, 
 but they refused to come ; then Friends jour- 
 neyed to them time after time, to warn them, 
 and to exhort them to turn again to the truth, 
 which they were fallen from ; but when no 
 counsel would take place with several of them, 
 Friends put out a paper against them for the 
 clearing of the truth. 
 
 And after these things I came for England 
 again, in the fourth Month, 1671, and travelled 
 through several counties, being much rejoic- 
 ed to see the peace, unity, and courage that 
 were among the people of God 3 after the sore 
 persecution that had been among them: and 
 passed up to London, and so back again to 
 g 2 
 
76 - THE LIFE OF 
 
 Colchester. Here, having a sore sickness, nigh 
 unto death in appearance, it came upon me 
 to go into the North country, to visit the 
 churches in Yorkshire and Bishoprick, &c. 
 where I had not been of three or four years, 
 by reason of my being much beyond the seas; 
 but the love of the Lord abounded in my 
 heart unto those dear friends northward ; and 
 I was pressed in spirit till I had cleared 
 myself of all things that lay upon me in my 
 own country. And upon the 3\st of the Sth 
 Month took my journey forward, and, going 
 through the isle of Ely, found dear Samuel 
 Cator, who was pressed in spirit to visit friends 
 in Scotland, and so became my companion as 
 far as Newcastle. 
 
 Through several places we travelled, to the 
 refreshment of ourselves and many more ; and 
 the Lord delivered us out of the hands of the 
 ungodly informers, who were then very alert 
 throughout the nation, on account of the new 
 act which was made to fine us for speaking in 
 Meetings, Twenty Pounds the first time, and 
 Forty Pounds a time after. This law made 
 them greedy in all parts ; but in all places 
 they were, through the wisdom and power of 
 God, frustrated; and though the winter was 
 
STEPHEN CRISP, 77 
 
 very sharp, and my body now through much 
 affliction very infirm, yet was I marvellously 
 supported through that journey. Having 
 parted with my honest companion at New- 
 castle, I turned westward, and came southward 
 another way than I went; and so to London 
 again ; and, after having visited friends, I re- 
 turned to my outward habitation again at 
 Colchester, to the joy of my poor wife and 
 friends, who had longings for my return, as I 
 had to see their faces ; which desires, the Lord 
 to our comfort answered, about the twelfth 
 Month, 1671. 
 
 Having continued visiting friends to and 
 fro, the fore part of the year, about Midsum- 
 mer I took shipping for the Low Countries 
 again, to visit the flock of God, where I la- 
 boured and travelled about three months in 
 Holland and Friesland, in the time of that 
 great consternation and confusion that was 
 upon them, by reason of the great and sudden 
 progress the king of France did make upon 
 the United Provinces: and though the founda- 
 tions of their pomp, power, and glory were 
 then shaken and ready to be overturned ; y-e.t 
 I saw the foundation of Satan's kingdom stand 
 very fast among them; and the people, instead 
 g 3 
 
78 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of turning to the Lord by unfeigned repen- 
 tance, grew worse and worse, and debauched 
 themselves by drinking, gaming, and sport- 
 ing; and the burthen thereof came upon me, 
 and I was made to cry out against them in the 
 power of the Most High, and warn them to 
 repent, and put away every man the evil of 
 his doings. Also I wrote down the counsel 
 of the Lord as it was manifest in me, shewing 
 them the cause of their misery, and where 
 their remedy must be. And I caused it to be 
 printed, and made public to those countries ; 
 and many copies Avere given to the chief 
 rulers and commanders; so I cleared my 
 conscience in the sight of God concerning 
 those nations for that time, and left the na- 
 tion, returning for England about the eighth 
 Month, 1672. 
 
 After having been sometime at my own 
 home, and having visited friends in divers 
 counties, I went to London and parts adja- 
 cent, preaching the everlasting Gospel, and 
 witnessing the grace of God in Jesus Christ, 
 which shined forth to gather the elect seed 
 out of the house of bondage and darkness. 
 And the Lord was with me daily, to the rejoic- 
 ing of thousands, and to my daily encourage- 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 79 
 
 ment: for by his mighty power were many 
 strong oaks bowed, and many subtil foxes 
 prevented of their prey, and many wandering 
 sheep brought home, who had for a long time 
 longed to find the fold of rest; and whose 
 souls will ever live with my soul, in his cove- 
 nant, to praise Him world without end. 
 
 Having spent about six months in this 
 manner, I found it upon me from the Lord, 
 again, to pass over the sea, and to visit divers 
 places where truth had been little or not at 
 all sounded; and, in particular, that hard- 
 hearted city of Embden, in East Friesland, 
 where one John William Hasbert, a Doctor 
 of Physick, received me with great cheerful- 
 ness ; and I had a meeting in his house upon 
 the first day of the week, about the latter end 
 of the First Month, 1673 ; where many people 
 of divers persuasions did hear the truth de- 
 clared, in great plainness and simplicity; and, 
 after some time, those that were convinced, 
 were drawn in love to God to assemble toge- 
 ther, to worship God in spirit and in truth 
 and in the silence of that fleshly wisdom that 
 can speak when it listeth, and say what it 
 listeth. 
 
80 THE LIFE OF 
 
 At the first, they sat down, about ten per- 
 sons, in vHasbert's house, to wait upon the 
 Lord : and when this was noised about the 
 city, the wicked one stirred up the priests 
 and rulers against them ; and they stirred up 
 the rude and ignorant people to assault them, 
 mock, reproach, and revile them; and the 
 rulers fell quickly to fining, imprisoning 5 
 threatening, and banishing those weak and 
 tender plants, in almost an unheard of manner. 
 They banished some sixteen or twenty times, 
 spoiling all they had, save their clothes, and 
 at last, fell upon them also ; taking away their 
 coats, hats, gloves, aprons, &c. &c. and driv- 
 ing them through the streets almost naked, 
 aboard the ships that were to carry them 
 away; all which and much more, by the 
 mighly power of the Lord, did these innocent, 
 harmless lambs bear with great patience and 
 quietness, and were not dismaj^ed at all at these 
 cruelties; for the Lord had regard to his 
 Name and to their innocent cry, and supported 
 them, and doth support them ; and they have 
 found it true, that they that wait upon the 
 Lord, have renewed their strength. Blessed 
 be the Lord for ever ! 
 
 So returning thence from Holland into 
 Friesland, I continued about three or four 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 81 
 
 months, and published the glad tidings of 
 salvation, in their own tongue, to all that had 
 an ear to hear; and about the same time were 
 divers great pillars, both as to state and reli- 
 gion, shaken ; and divers of those who had 
 been in great places in government were con- 
 vinced, and their understandings were opened 
 concerning the way of truth, and began to 
 struggle and contend for it in that wisdom 
 that was from beneath. These I faithfully 
 warned and counselled in the love of God, 
 not to seek to comprehend the truth, but to 
 wait in lowliness to be comprehended by it, 
 and gathered into the precious life thereof. 
 But O ! the cross, the offence of the cross, they 
 could not bear with, but sought divers ways 
 to satisfy themselves with owning the doctrine 
 and words of truth, and loving friends who 
 walked therein ; but they came not down to 
 the simplicity of the Gospel, (excepting one 
 of them,) nor to be separated from the world, 
 nor from those things in which the world's 
 fellowship stands ; though they were brought 
 to confess the way of truth, and to cry out of 
 the load that lay upon the soul. Howbeit the 
 sound of their convincement did tend to the 
 advantage of the Gospel, for many came to 
 meetings, and that of the most honourable; 
 
82 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and some were convinced, of divers ranks, 
 qualities, and persuasions, especially in Rot- 
 terdam, where meetings then grew very large, 
 and truth came to have a good esteem, in 
 the hearts of many who had hated it and us 
 without a cause. 
 
 So, after I had spent three or four months in 
 those parts, and found myself clear, I returned 
 for England, against the General Meeting in 
 the fourth Month, 1674. I then travelled 
 with great diligence through divers counties, 
 and went again to Bristol, and visited the 
 churches in many parts of England, to my 
 and their great refreshment; and the Lord 
 was with me, and gave me utterance and wis- 
 dom as I stood in need ; for He kept me poor 
 in spirit and low in mind, and I knew that 
 my dependance was upon Him alone, who 
 knew well how to order both me and my 
 service; and who gave me judgment to rebuke 
 gain-sayers, and to stop the mouths of them 
 that opposed themselves. So I continued till 
 about the fourth Month, 1675, at which time 
 I understood the former openness did continue 
 in the Low Countries; and I was drawn in 
 the love of God again to go over thither, to 
 visit them, and to behold their order ; which 
 I did to my great comfort, and found the 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 83 
 
 noble plant flourishing, and a living testimony 
 opened and raised up in divers of them that 
 had believed; and they spake of the goodness 
 of God in their congregations, warning all 
 men that they might turn to the Lord by 
 unfeigned repentance, and that they might 
 wait to see his salvation. 
 
 And hearing of the great sufferings of 
 friends at Embden, I went thither to visit 
 them, and hearing of a law they had published 
 of Twenty-five Pounds fine for every one that 
 should harbour a friend in his or their house ; 
 I desired to see it, and took it, and wrote a 
 book to their hard-hearted rulers and priests, 
 and answered their wicked mandate with 
 sharp and sound judgment, and caused it to 
 be delivered among them; and the power 
 came over them, and they laid no hands on 
 me, nor did me any harm, though I was pub- 
 licly in their city two days, and known by 
 many of them. After this their fury abated, 
 and friends began to have some more freedom 
 than formerly. 
 
 About the eighth Month, 1676, having tra- 
 velled through the Provinces, and visited 
 many places and cities, I returned in the will 
 
84 THE LIFE OP 
 
 of God to my own home; finding my body 
 much decayed and disabled from travel and 
 labour more than formerly; yet satisfied in 
 the will of God, who laid no more upon me, 
 than He gave me ability to perform ; and as 
 He hath always been abundant in goodness to 
 me, so He is to this day, Blessed be his Name 
 for ever! And this I can say, my delight is 
 to do his will; and my joy is that He hath 
 counted me worthy to bear his Holy Name 
 and testimony among the sons and daughters 
 of men. And O ! that all men would fear the 
 Lord, and walk in the way of his righteousness, 
 that they might come to have the evidence 
 and testimony of his goodness in themselves ! 
 
 I passed that winter in visiting the churches 
 in Essex and Suffolk, and sometimes in Lon- 
 don, where it pleased the Lord to appear with 
 me for his Name and tender seed's sake, to 
 the convincement of several, and strengthen- 
 ing of many : Glory be to Him alone for 
 ever ! 
 
 The winter being over, I again felt draw- 
 ings to pass over sea; finding a particular 
 care and charge laid upon me concerning 
 those parts, in which the Lord had given me 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 85 
 
 great encouragement ; and I saw that I had 
 not laboured in vain : Praises be to his Name ! 
 
 About the first Month, 1677, I took ship- 
 ping for Holland, where I found friends very 
 well and in good order ; and their men and 
 women's meetings were become a delight to 
 them, as having not only enjoyed the Lord's 
 presence in them, but having also seen the 
 great benefit that had come thereby, and the 
 ease they had from the weights that had for- 
 merly lain upon them. Having several times 
 visited their Meetings in Holland, I went over 
 into Friesland, to Harlingen, where many 
 Friends of that country met me upon a first 
 day; and we had two precious and large 
 Meetings ; and many professors came to hear, 
 who had nothing to say against the testimony 
 of truth. 
 
 So, having seen friends there, and finding 
 myself disabled for long journies, I returned 
 for Holland, and having staid there with 
 great joy and comfort in seeing truth's pros- 
 perity, about the latter end of the third Month 
 I came back for England, and passed for 
 London, where I was most of that summer 
 and in the parts adjacent. And then the Lord 
 
86 THE LIFE OF 
 
 put it into my heart again to visit the Meet- 
 ings round about Colchester where I lived, 
 which, with much pain and trouble of body, 
 though with much joy in spirit, I accom- 
 plished, and found Friends in most places 
 well ; and where I found the subtile, crafty 
 serpent seeking to scatter and to divide God's 
 heritage, I reproved it with great plainness 
 and confidence in the Lord, who had shewed 
 me the mystery of that iniquity ; and how 
 the enemy of truth sought to cover himself 
 with truth's words; and, under pretence of 
 leaving all to the Power, would usher in 
 a spirit of liberty to lay waste the blessed 
 testimony of God, and scatter his people out 
 of the good order into which the Gospel (the 
 power of God) had brought them. 
 
 ner I continued at and about home most of 
 that winter, waiting upon the Lord to be led 
 and guided in my service and testimony ac- 
 cording to his will: for I found that though, 
 through long experience, my senses were 
 exercised in the service of God and the 
 churches, jet I had nothing to trust to, as a. 
 guide or leader, how and after what manner 
 to minister in the church of Christ, but the 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 87 
 
 same that led me in the beginning, even the 
 immediate operation of the power that brings 
 forth, in the will of God, all things suitable to 
 their season, that the glory might be to the 
 power, and the praises to Him that gives it, 
 for ever and for evermore. 
 
 And afterwards, the winter being over, the 
 Lord renewed my strength, and having fur- 
 ther service for me to do, gave me ability. 
 
 And about the first Month, [answering to the 
 third Month, N. S.] 1678, 1 found some powerful 
 drawings in the love of God to go down once 
 more into Yorkshire, where I had had much 
 service for the Lord, but had not now been 
 there for about six or seven years. So I went 
 down to Hull, and visited the churches about 
 Holderness, and Hull, and Beverley, Malton 
 and York, in all which places I saw the glory 
 of the temple of my God shine forth in great 
 splendour, notwithstanding all the rage of the 
 adversary ; and I had a precious service in 
 every place; and the hearts of many were 
 opened, and the souls of many dear friends 
 were truly refreshed, and the Bread of Life 
 was plentiful among us, to our mutual joy and 
 rejoicingj in this journey. My soul was greatly 
 h 2 
 
So THE LIFE OP 
 
 comforted to see so many of the ancients, and 
 honourable men and women abiding in their 
 places, and growing up in the house of God 
 as fellow-helpers in the Gospel with us; so, 
 after about seven weeks tarrying in those 
 parts, I committed them to the grace of God, 
 and returned for London to the Yearly Meet- 
 ing, where, having tarried a week or two y I 
 returned and set things in order in my own 
 house. 
 
 After a while I again crossed the seas, and 
 went to labour in the little vineyard there, to 
 my great refreshment ; and going over about 
 the fourth Month, 1678, continued there till 
 about the ninth Month of the same year, in 
 which time the Lord laid it upon me to go up 
 southward, to divers cities upon the Rhine, 
 where several had received a notion of the 
 truth in a talkative mind, but were not come 
 to a sense of the cross and dyings of Christ 
 Jesus, nor to a separation from the foolish 
 and vain customs and salutations that are in 
 the world. I spake with several of this sort 
 of people at Cleeves and Wesell. At the 
 latter place I had a meeting upon a first day, 
 about the harvest time there, where several 
 heard the truth declared in the plainness and 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 89 
 
 simplicity of the Gospel; and a love was 
 begotten in them. But O! the cross, the 
 cross, that was and is very hard to that mind, 
 that- would fain inherit both kingdoms ! Great 
 struggling there was by divers of them, to 
 argue themselves into a liberty to abide in 
 the customs of the world, and to walk in and 
 obey the light of the Lord Jesus also. But 
 in vain was all that labour, and ever will be, 
 for the disciple must be as his Master; and 
 He sought not nor received honour of men : 
 and having answered the witness for God in 
 them, I was not studious how to feed their 
 curious inquiring minds concerning things 
 beyond their state and condition ; but parted 
 with them in the love of God, and true breath- 
 ings to the Lord, for the bringing forth, in the 
 Lord's due time, what He had begotten ; and 
 so I committed them to the grace of God, and 
 returned into Holland, where it pleased the 
 Lord to visit me with sickness for several 
 weeks. 
 
 Finding myself clear of all those parts for 
 the present, I caused a boat to be prepared 
 and brought to the door of my lodging, and I 
 lay down in it, being very weak, and so was 
 conveyed to Rotterdam, where my strength 
 h 3 
 
90 THE LIFE OP 
 
 was so much renewed, that I went into their 
 meeting on the first day, and, for about half 
 an hour, declared the truth of the Gospel 
 among them, exhorting to a steadfast abiding 
 therein unto the end. Shortly after I got 
 into the packet boat for England, and so to 
 my own house, still remaining very weak, 
 and freely given up in the will of God, that if 
 my service were ended, I might lay down my 
 head in my own habitation, after all my trials 
 and travels. But the Lord was pleased to 
 restore me ; so that I was able to go and ride 
 about and visit the meetings about home, and 
 also got twice to London in that winter, where 
 my joy was to behold the brethren that live 
 in the unity of that power, that shall bruise 
 Satan and his work under foot, and lay waste 
 his kingdom. So having visited some of the 
 assemblies of the Lord's people in Hertford- 
 shire and other places, and cleared myself of 
 what lay upon me in the city, I returned to 
 my place in the will of God, remaining as a 
 servant waiting to be ordered, and as a child 
 waiting to be fed of Him who is the Father 
 and Fountain of all my mercies, blessings and 
 deliverances ; to whom be the glory for ever- 
 more* 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 91 
 
 The next summer, finding no necessity lying 
 upon me as formerly, I went not over sea; 
 but after the general meeting was over, it lay 
 upon me to visit friends again at Bristol and 
 thereabouts, being at that time under a deep 
 sense of some great exercise that the church 
 of God was in, by reason of some who, under 
 a pretence of exalting the power, sought to 
 make void the wholesome order and govern- 
 ment which the pure power had led us into, 
 crying down formality and men's orders, &c. 
 And when I came there, I found that this 
 licentious spirit had hurt many, and grieved 
 many more; and a weight came upon me; 
 and I laboured in the power of the gift that 
 the Father had bestowed upon me, in meek- 
 ness and patience, dealing with every one hi 
 sincerity, labouring to shew them that were 
 concerned, whither the tendency of that work 
 would reach, even to the throwing down of 
 that hedge that God had built about his heri- 
 tage, and laying waste the work of the power 
 under pretence of crying up the power itself; 
 and by crying down men's orders, would draw 
 from the Gospel order, and from the blessed 
 fellowship that was in it. 
 
 And it pleased the Lord to give me an 
 
92 THE LIFE OP 
 
 open door among them, and many were 
 tender, and became more watchful ; though 
 others, in the meanwhile, made but an ill use 
 of all the tender dealings in the love of God, 
 and sought thereby to strengthen themselves. 
 After about twenty days I returned, and came 
 to London ; and towards winter, I returned 
 homeward, where I continued in the peace of 
 God, having my blessed reward with me, 
 which no reflections of the adversary could 
 take from me. And I was exercised, accord- 
 ing to my ability, in visiting the assemblies 
 of the Lord's people in Essex and Suffolk, 
 where it lay upon me ; and in helping and 
 assisting the Lord's People according to my 
 ability, both in their spiritual and temporal 
 concerns, as the Lord God of my life gave me 
 an understanding : for I gave up the ordering 
 of my spirit unto Him ; and He opened me in 
 many things relating to the affairs of this 
 world, that I might be as a staff to the weak 
 in those things, and might stand by the 
 widow and fatherless, and plead the right of 
 the poor. In all which, I sought neither 
 honour nor profit, but did all things freely, as 
 I received of God : and He whom I served 
 was my reward, so that 1 lacked nothing. 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 03 
 
 Therefore who would not praise the Lord, 
 and who would not trust in his Name ? 
 
 When the winter was over, I went again 
 to London, and into Hertfordshire, and places 
 that way, visiting the flock of God, and 
 staid till our General Meeting was over, and 
 then found drawings to visit the little remnant 
 beyond the seas, in Holland and Friesland, 
 and continued among them, and in those 
 parts, about three months. In this time ft 
 came upon me, in the great love of God, to 
 visit a little innocent remnant that had be- 
 lieved in the Lord Jesus Christ, and professed 
 his name, in Crevelt, in the land of Meurs, 
 who, for their testimony^ had suffered many 
 things and grievous, and been several times 
 banished from house and home, and made to 
 wander with wife and children to seek har- 
 bour or shelter in strange cities and places. 
 These I found now returned to their dwellings, 
 and was joyfully received by them, and much 
 refreshed by them ; beholding their faith and 
 courage, and their steadfastness in the testi- 
 mony they had to bear for the Lord. I 
 tarried with them about three days, and had 
 several precious public meetings in the city } 
 
94 THE LIFE OP 
 
 and sounded the day of the Lord's tender 
 visitation in the ears of many of the inhabi- 
 tants, who generally behaved themselves in 
 great sobriety and moderation, neither mock- 
 ing nor scoffing, nor evilly intreating us. 
 
 It is rare to find a people so moderate in 
 those parte, which are in the borders of the 
 dark Romish religion, and as it were inter- 
 mixed with it. But I speak it to their praise, 
 no man evilly intreated me, and the Lord's 
 power was over all ■ for which we blessed and 
 praised his Name. And having comforted 
 and strengthened them that had believed, 
 I did commit them to the grace of God, 
 and left them, and returned again to Holland 
 another way, through the Spanish Nether- 
 lands ; where I saw great abominations and 
 idolatry, and worshipping and praying to 
 images, &c which grieved my soul ; and I 
 could not but declare against it in 'several 
 places, as the Lord made way. And being 
 come back to Holland, I soon made way for 
 my return home, and cleared myself of the 
 meetings in Holland, and took shippiug for 
 England, and got home on the eleventh of 
 September, 1680, 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 95 
 
 And soon after it pleased God to visit me 
 with a sharp fever, which brought me in ap- 
 pearance nigh to the grave; in which His 
 presence was with me, and supported me, and 
 refreshed my soul many a time, so that death 
 was not terrible to me ; but I found myself 
 quietly given up in the will of God ; whether to 
 live or die I was contented. But after about 
 ten days the fever was abated, and I per- 
 ceived my days would be yet added unto ; in 
 which I was well satisfied, having a constant 
 resolution fixed in my soul, whether my 
 days be few or many, to spend them in the 
 service of God and his dear people, who 
 are to me, as my mother, my brother, and my 
 sister, yea, as my own children ; finding a 
 natural love in my heart to all my father's 
 children, and a true love to the brotherhood. 
 And my God hath put it far from me to 
 despise the cause of the poor, or to respect the 
 rich in judgment; but, according to the gift 
 and understanding given me, I have walked 
 with a straight foot in the gospel ; the honour 
 of all, with the praise of all which belongs 
 alone to Him that hath wrought it ; yea, his 
 own work praiseth Him, and shall praise Him, 
 who is worthy, both now and for evermore. 
 
96 THE LIFE OF 
 
 And after it pleased God to restore me to 
 a measure of health and ability, I spent the 
 following "winter in visiting the Meetings 
 about Essex, and went to Yarmouth and Nor- 
 wich, where I had not been for many years ; 
 and I beheld the work of the Lord arising 
 again in that great city, and many were 
 made tender, by the powerful impression of 
 the word of God. And having stayed there- 
 abouts in Norfolk about a month, I returned 
 again in peace, rejoicing in the prosperity of 
 the Lord's work, and came by Ipswich, and 
 so home. 
 
 Shortly after it came into my heart, in the 
 workings of the love of God towards his 
 people, to take a journey once more into 
 Yorkshire, which proved to the mutual re- 
 freshment of me and many more ; for coming 
 to York a few days before their Yearly 
 Meeting, I went to Scarborough, whereby 
 many Friends, both of Whitby and Burling- 
 ton, and the country round about, had oppor- 
 tunity of coming to me, now when I, through 
 bodily weakness, could not go to them, as I 
 had formerly done ; and much service I had 
 for the Lord and his people there, both in 
 some particular cases, and also in the general 
 and public testimony of the Gospel. Then 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 97 
 
 returning to York, and staying there a few 
 days with them, at their general yearly meet- 
 ing, I went thence to Hull, and into Holder- 
 ness, and tarried thereabouts till about harvest 
 time ; and then finding myself clear of those 
 parts, I returned to York, and thence to Lon- 
 don: and after some days and weeks stay 
 there returned home. 
 
 By this time, I "was again overtaken with 
 great pains of the Stone and other distempers, 
 which brought ray body very low ; and little 
 was expected by any, but my departure. 
 And I found myself given up to the will of 
 God, which I knew was best of all ; and if my 
 service in this world was at an end, I was 
 content to leave it; and if the Lord of the 
 great household had more work for me, I 
 knew He could and would raise me up : and 
 so He did in his own time; and I grew again 
 able to go abroad, and got to our quarterly 
 meeting in the tenth Month, and then after to 
 visit friends in Harwich and Ipswich, and 
 some other places, but was for the most part 
 of this winter, 1681, about my own dwelling 
 at Colchester, where I saw my desire in 
 part answered, concerning several who were 
 brought to the acknowledgment and profession 
 
yo THE LIFE OF 
 
 of the truth, whom I hope the Lord will 
 build up by his power, and by the operations 
 of his Spirit; for He alone can give the 
 increase, to whom the glory and praise alone 
 doth belong. 
 
 The next year, 1682, having spent the sum- 
 mer mostly about home and in London, about 
 harvest it came into my heart, in the dear love 
 of God, to go visit his church and people 
 again, at and about the city of Norwich, that 
 I might be a means of strength and refresh- 
 ment unto them, in the sharp trials and suf- 
 ferings that I was sensible were then coming 
 upon them, to try their faith and patience. 
 And the same day I came into the city, I went 
 to their meeting ; and there came one called 
 a Justice, with constables and the informers, 
 and a great rabble of wild and ungodly men, 
 who seemed as if they would devour us, and 
 haled me, with about a dozen friends, to their 
 Judgment-hall, where the Mayor and Alder- 
 men met : and divers practices were used to 
 insnare me, and bring me into bonds; but the 
 Lord God of my life was with me, as in for- 
 mer days, and gave me courage and wisdom, 
 by which all their snares were broken. 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 99 
 
 Not having bad opportunity to clear myself 
 yet in public, I went the first day was a week 
 following, after I had visited some country 
 meetings, to their meetings in the city, where 
 the Lord appeared wonderfully to bind and 
 limit the adversary; so that the meetings 
 were very large that day, both before noon 
 and after noon, by reason of country friends 
 coming thither, and abundance that were not 
 friends: and all was quiet and peaceable, for 
 which we gave thanks to God, who we knew 
 was the Author of it, and had set his Divine 
 power as a hedge about us for his Name's 
 sake. And I saw in the light of the Lord, 
 that the friends there were as soldiers, with 
 their armour on, well prepared for the ap- 
 proaching conflict, which came forthwith 
 sharp upon them, after I was come from 
 them ; which they have borne and suffered 
 with great faith and courage, to the glory of 
 the Lord, and the confounding of their adver- 
 saries; and the Lord hath appeared with 
 them and for them, both supporting them in 
 their sharp sufferings, and sometimes giving 
 them some intermissions thereof; so that they 
 are kept alive to his praise, that hath quick- 
 ened and preserved them. 
 
 i 2 
 1 Lof.C. 
 
100 THE LIFE OF 
 
 And having finished what was upon me 
 there, I returned home, and continued at and 
 about home that winter, and was visited with 
 some weakness of body ; and in the spring, 
 found drawings upon me once more to visit 
 the flock of God in the Low Countries. So I 
 went first to London to the yearly meeting ; 
 where, though the enemy had opened his 
 mouth wide to devour us, and much persecu- 
 tion was raised against our peaceable assem- 
 blies, and we were often deprived of the 
 benefit of our meeting places, yet none could 
 deprive us of the Lord's power and presence, 
 which was evidently manifest amongst us; 
 and the blessed fellowship of life was felt and 
 witnessed to our great joy and consolation; 
 for which high praises were offered up to 
 God, through Jesus Christ, in the humility of 
 our souls. 
 
 The yearly meeting of London being over, 
 I went with divers brethren of Dantzic, Am- 
 sterdam, and Friesland, towards Holland, to 
 be at the yearly meeting there at Amsterdam, 
 which is three -weeks after ours in London. 
 And taking shipping at Harwich, we arrived 
 safely at Rotterdam, where having visited 
 friends, we passed together to Amsterdam, 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 101 
 
 where a pretty many friends from divers parts 
 were come together ; and we had a precious 
 and comfortable meeting, in the unity of the 
 spirit, and in the bond of peace, which made 
 our hearts glad, and tended to confirm the 
 weak and feeble ones, and to the establishing 
 the testimony of truth in the hearts of them 
 that had believed in Christ Jesus. And my 
 God gave me understanding to open the mys- 
 teries of his kingdom, according to their 
 capacities, to our mutual joy and refreshment. 
 So our dear friends, and brethren, and sisters, 
 departed to their several habitations and tes- 
 timonies, to Dantzic, Holstein, Hamborough, 
 and Friesland, &c. encouraged in the work 
 of the Lord, and strengthened in the inward 
 man. 
 
 Soon after friends were departed, it pleased 
 God to visit me again with a very sore fit of 
 the Stone-collick, which brought me very low 
 in the outward man ; and it continued so with 
 me several weeks, with some small intermis- 
 sions ; so I was wholly disabled of visiting the 
 meetings at Haerlem, Alkmaer, and in Fries- 
 land, &c. Continuing so weak, and finding 
 myself clear, in the sixth Month, 1683, I set 
 my face again homeward, and the Lord made 
 
102 THE LIFE OF 
 
 my -way prosperous. And while I was upon 
 the seas, I voided the stone that had so long 
 been an exercise to me, and by the good hand 
 of God I was brought home ; where in a short 
 time, I had a greater exercise to be tried 
 withal ; for it pleased the Lord to call away 
 from me my dear wife, who had been indeed 
 a meet help, and a faithful and loving wife to 
 me, about five and thirty years, and had with 
 a firm faith trusted in God, and had her eye 
 to Him in all our sufferings, trials, and tribu- 
 lations, and had seen before her departure 
 how all had wrought for good unto us, and 
 was satisfied in his will. And in this exercise 
 I found the good hand of God bowing my 
 spirit to his will; and I murmured not, but 
 praised his holy Name, that had let her con- 
 tinue so long with me, and had made her so 
 great a comfort to me in all my afflictions. 
 And hereby doth the Lord work, to the fitting 
 and preparing of my spirit, to give up all 
 things visible and mortal, that at last mor- 
 tality may be swallowed up of life ; and that 
 I, and all his dear people, may see this work 
 perfected, is my earnest travail and labour. 
 
 After my dear wife's departure, I found the 
 Lord still with me, supporting me in his 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 103 
 
 blessed work which He had called me unto ; 
 and my eye was unto Him to guide my way. 
 And in the latter end of the year 1684, I 
 received an opening in the truth, that the 
 Lord would give me another wife, to be both 
 a comfort and a careful nurse to me; but 
 about the same time, I saw that the Lord had 
 a service for me beyond the seas in the sum- 
 mer coming. So I went first to London, and 
 having stayed there the yearly meeting, and 
 been consolated and refreshed by beholding 
 the glory of God that from day to day ap- 
 peared, and in beholding the love and unity 
 that increased among the brethren, I then 
 went over to Holland, accompanied with my 
 dear friend, whom I had seen would be given 
 me to wife, and divers other friends both of 
 Holland and England; and the Lord pros- 
 pered our way; and we came there to the 
 yearly meeting, where we found the old enemy 
 had been trying his old stratagems, to lay 
 stumbling-blocks in the way of the weak, and 
 had caused some to stumble and fall. A spirit 
 of enmity had gotten up very high, and pre- 
 tended that their matter should be heard at 
 the yearly meeting ; and so it was, and the 
 love of God wrought wonderfully for their 
 restoration, which, after several days labour, 
 
104; THE LIFE OF 
 
 was so far effected, that they with joy and 
 thanksgiving came back, and laid by all their 
 weapons of war and contention, and were 
 again brought to a tenderness towards God 
 and his people, to our mutual joy and re- 
 joicing. 
 
 While I was in Holland visiting the meet- 
 ings there, I heard that a door was opened for 
 the truth, in a little city in Friesland, called 
 Mackum, which I had long desired; so I 
 went thither, and preached the everlasting 
 Gospel amongst them, where I was received 
 with great kindness ; and the witness of God 
 was reached in several, and a love raised to 
 the truth, which in the Lord's time will bring 
 forth good fruit. 
 
 Then returning into Holland, and having 
 cleared ourselves of what lay upon us there, we 
 did in the sixth Month, 1685, return for Eng- 
 land ; and in some time after, we signified to 
 our friends and brethren what was in our hearts, 
 in relation to marriage, which was approved 
 of unanimously among them; and in the 
 Lord's due time, which was upon the first of 
 eighth Month, 1685, we took each other in 
 marriage, and found the Lord with us in it, 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 105 
 
 blessing his own work ; and He hath indeed 
 manifested, that we are of God's joining; and 
 He hath made us a blessing in his hand one 
 to another, and true yoke-fellows, both in 
 respect of our own affairs, and in the affairs of 
 his church and people. For all this, I find 
 my soul engaged to speak good of his Name, 
 to bless Him, and praise Him, and to say, 
 with his servants of old, His mere?/ endures for 
 ever,- for indeed she was a woman beyond 
 many, excelling in the virtues of the Holy 
 Spirit with which she was baptized ; as she 
 shewed forth both in life and doctrine, which 
 made her to be a sweet savour throughout the 
 churches of Christ, and a pattern of patience 
 and holiness, discharging her place as a tender 
 and watchful mother to her children, and as a 
 careful and loving wife to me. 
 
 But alas ! as the greatest enjoyments of tem- 
 poral blessings have their end, so it happened 
 unto me ; for it proved the pleasure of the 
 Lord to try me, whether I could part with, as 
 well as receive this great mercy ; for in the 
 beginning of the year 1687, she fell into 
 bodily weakness, and continued so two or three 
 months; and upon the ninth of the third 
 Month, she slept with the faithful in the Lord, 
 
106 THE LIFE OP 
 
 in a perfect resignation to his will, making at' 
 blessed end, to my great joy and consolation: 
 for although it was hard to flesh and blood to 
 part with so precious a companion, and to be 
 left alone in my old age, accompanied with 
 many infirmities of body, yet the feeling of 
 fellowship with her in the joy into which she 
 is entered, gives me great satisfaction, know- 
 ing well that her portion is with the righteous, 
 and her eternal inheritance is amongst the 
 just, where sorrow, snares, and temptations 
 cannot come. 
 
 After she was buried, I went up to London, 
 and conversed among the brethren three 
 months, where the Lord was pleased to bless 
 my service unto many ; and I then returned 
 to Colchester, where 1 continued great part of 
 the winter following. In the year 1688, I 
 went up again to London, and visited meet- 
 ings thereabouts, as I found it upon me, and 
 also some meetings at my return in Essex and 
 Suffolk. 
 
 About the eighth Month, I went again to 
 London, and was there in the great revolution 
 of government; and sometimes, as I was of 
 ability of body, laboured with other friends. 
 
STEPHEN CRISP. 107 
 
 "with the parliament that then sat in the year 
 1689, to get those penal laws by which friends 
 and others had suffered, to be suspended; 
 and by the good hand of God an act was 
 passed for that purpose, which hath proved 
 greatly to the ease of tender consciences. 
 And after the yearly meeting of friends in 
 1689 was over, I returned again to my habita- 
 tion, and continued there the whole winter, not 
 being able to travel by coach as I had done, 
 many infirmities growing upon me; yet I 
 found daily renewing of strength in the 
 inward man, and the word of the Lord lived 
 in my heart, to the refreshing of my soul, and 
 the souls of many tender babes that lived and 
 grew by the milk of it; and in this is my fel- 
 lowship with the living, and my labour, tra- 
 vail, and prayer, that all may be kept in the 
 feeling of it ; for this living word abideth for 
 ever. 
 
 After this, he spent his time mostly in Col- 
 chester and London, in the service of truth, 
 and finished this life the 28th day of the sixth 
 Month, 1692. 
 
A REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 The Works of Stephen Crisp were col- 
 lected and printed in one volume, small 
 Quarto, and are as follow, viz. 
 
 No. l.«A Word of Reproof to the Teachers 
 of the World" written in the year 1657. — 
 9 pages. 
 
 This Work is a strong invective against the 
 system of the Hierarchy — against the perse- 
 cuting and vicious character of many, who 
 assumed the office of Christian Ministers— and 
 against the doctrine which they upheld, of 
 the impossibility of being preserved from sin 
 in this life. 
 
110 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 No. 2. " A Description of the Church of 
 Scotland, with a Word of Reproof to the 
 Priests and Teachers, and Officers therein." 
 tS;c. 1660. — 31 pages. 
 
 Most of the complaints made against the 
 English Church, in the former book, are made 
 ngainst the Church of Scotland. Formality 
 and a persecuting spirit, are strongly repre- 
 hended ; and several doctrines which the Au- 
 thor considered to be erroneous, are discussed 
 at considerable length, and with a good deal 
 of that asperity of feeling, which marked the 
 polemical discussions cf that day, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. Ill 
 
 No. 8. " A Letter to the Mayor of Col- 
 chester." 1664. — 9 pages. 
 
 No. 4. "Another Letter to the Mayor of 
 Colchester" 1664. — 3 pages. 
 
 These letters were written from the prison 
 of Colchester, where the first states, that the 
 Writer had been confined 48 weeks for his re- . 
 ligious principles. The first letter appears to 
 have been addressed to a Magistrate, who had 
 just entered on his office. After pointing oat 
 forcibly, the folly and injustice of attempting 
 to coerce conscience, he thus addresses him in 
 the conclusion of his letter. 
 
 "Whereas it is now come to thy lot, to bear 
 the burthen of government of this numerous 
 people, I cannot but exhort thee to wait on 
 God for wisdom how to go in and out before 
 them, and to put on bowels of mercy and com- 
 passion, and let not the weapons of cruelty be 
 found in thy habitation, nor the devisings of 
 mischief against the innocent, be found in thy 
 heart : for if there be this, I tell thee, in the 
 Name of the Lord, that all those devices shall 
 fail, and not bring to pass the effect intended 
 by them, and shall in the end leave a curse 
 
112 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and withering upon thy name, and a blasting 
 upon thy blessings. 
 
 "Thou art now the third Mayor in this town, 
 since some of us were committed to prison, for 
 no other thing than being at a peaceable 
 meeting of the people of God. And one 
 leaves them bound, and another leaves them 
 bound ; and now it is the work that lies before 
 thee, to unloose the unjust bonds of the inno- 
 cent, and to ease and not aggravate the afflic- 
 tions of the afflicted, which will be a work 
 acceptable with the Lord. And in so doing, 
 thou wilt, as thou oughtest to do, weaken the 
 hands of the ungodly, and be a refreshing to 
 the sober sort of people, who are weary of be- 
 holding such grievous persecution, even such 
 as suffer little of it. And this is the way 
 wherein thou and thy house may be blessed. 
 So I have cleared my conscience to thee in 
 true love, and my reward is with the Lord ; 
 and if my advice finds acceptance with thee, 
 I have, as I said, my end. But, however, I 
 am content in my portion, which is my inhe- 
 ritance in life and immortality, with them that 
 are sanctified through faith in Christ ; on the 
 trial of which faith, I suffer bonds, and 
 have done these 48 weeks, in the Moat-hall, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 113 
 
 in Colchester ; -where I remain a lover of th y 
 soul, a friend to just power, and obedient to 
 all good and wholesome laws, but a witness 
 against unrighteousness. 
 
 "The 1st of the 8th 
 
 Month, 1664. S. C. 1 ' 
 
 The second letter is written in the same 
 manlj and Christian strain. — It appears to 
 have been addressed to the same Mayor ; and 
 the greater part of the letter is contained in 
 the following extract. 
 
 "Such who are come to be fixed upon a 
 principle of religion, which is certain and 
 immutable, unto which the Scriptures of truth, 
 and the testimony of their own conscience 
 bear them witness, thou must not think that 
 they can be so easily turned aside from that 
 unto which they were so hardly, and with so 
 much inward travail and labour, brought ; for 
 many have known a goiDg through a vale of 
 sorrow and tears, before we were thus esta- 
 blished; and the testimony of our religion is 
 not a light thing, that we took up at the plea- 
 sure of man, and can lay down at the will and 
 k3 
 
114 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 pleasure of man. Nay, it's not thy frowns 
 nor threats, thy imprisonment nor amerce- 
 ments that can deter us, nor weigh down the 
 weight of that which is so weighty, that we 
 can depend the safety of our immortal souls 
 upon it, which is the weightiest matter of all. 
 
 u And therefore, friend, consider in coolness, 
 what a work thou hast lift up thy hand to do, 
 and in what power thou dost it; and whether 
 it be able to hold to the completing thy pur- 
 pose, or nay. Did ever any tight against God 
 and prosper? And did not the work of all 
 persecutors prove fruitless, to the shame of 
 them that have been exercised therein? 
 Therefore cease thy works, and be still a 
 little, and see if thou canst find out any mat- 
 ter against us, except in the matter of our 
 God. And if that be the matter, I tell thee, 
 thou hast a people to deal withal in this town, 
 whose God and worship is dearer to them 
 than their natural lives: and if thou shouldst 
 so shut them up, and deprive them of that 
 comfort to their outward man, which God 
 allows, and nature requires, as to bring any 
 to the laying down their lives for their testi- 
 mony, yet the thing thou strikest at, would 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 115 
 
 still flourish more and more, and the assem- 
 blies of them that fear the Lord, will yet 
 daily increase ; and so thy purpose, and theirs 
 that so much prompt thee on to this work, 
 will be frustrated; and then anguish and 
 vexation will begin to take hold on thee, and 
 he that is thy greatest backer in this work, 
 must stand by himself, and thou by thyself, 
 and ye shall not be able to help one another, 
 and he and thou will have a reckoning to make, 
 that will be too heavy for you. 
 
 "Friend, this, in true love to thy soul, was 
 upon me from the Lord, to write to thee, and 
 I do heartily desire it may be as tenderly re- 
 ceived as it is written ; then will the effect be 
 good to thee, which is the desire of me, who 
 am thy friend, though thy prisoner. 
 
 s. a" 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 117 
 
 No. 5. " An Epistle to Friends concerning 
 the Present and Succeeding Times." With a 
 Postscript. 1666. — SO pages. 
 
 This is a strong and affectionate exhortation, 
 to those who were united with the Writer in 
 religious fellowship. It calls their attention 
 to the grounds of their union with each other, 
 and of their separation from the world — to the 
 temptations and difficulties to which they 
 were peculiarly exposed — and to the fruits 
 which were brought forth by those who were 
 steadfast in their profession. In conclusion, it 
 states the Writer's impression of further trou- 
 bles which were coming upon England, and 
 that the Lord's judgments would ere long shake 
 a great part of what is called Christendom. 
 
 He warns the Society, under such circum- 
 stances, not to join themselves to any party, 
 how much soever it might seem favourable to 
 its views ; but to keep its dependence upon 
 that Rock which all the shakings of the world 
 could not move. 
 
 The following extract from the early part 
 of this epistle, will show the apostolic care 
 which the Writer felt for the young Society. 
 
118 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " But you, O my friends ! who had fellow- 
 ship with us in the deep travails of our begin- 
 nings, and did come to Truth the same way, 
 and have known the power and virtue of it, 
 many times overcoming you in your inward 
 man, which hath made you cry out, Lord, 
 evermore give us of this Bread ; and hath 
 made you as a watered garden — O Friends! 
 how shall I express or signify unto you those 
 longings, those ardent desires, and earnest 
 breathings of my soul, that you, even you, 
 might abide to the end of all trials, and tribu- 
 lations, and adversities ; and might inherit 
 that crown of immortality that is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord ; and might not by any means 
 be bereft thereof. This is singly my travail in 
 body and spirit, that you might be kept and 
 preserved out of all the subtil snares of the 
 w icked one, who hunts for the soul even of 
 those that have believed. And therefore, in 
 dear and tender love, 1 have a few things to 
 write to you, for the clearing of my conscience, 
 and discharging of my duty in the sight of the 
 Lord ; and the Lord give you all a tender 
 and an understanding heart, that both you and 
 I may yet have cause daily to praise the Lord, 
 inthe glorious light of his salvation, which He 
 hath manifested among us, by the revealing of 
 
OF STEPHEN CIUSP. 119 
 
 his Son Jesus Christ ; to whom belong domi- 
 nion, honour, and glory, for ever. Amen. 
 
 11 And first, dear Friends ! it is in my heart 
 to put you in remembrance of that by which 
 we were called and convinced, which as a 
 foundation principle was laid in and among 
 you ; and it being unchangeable and unalter- 
 able in itself, doth therefore admit of no 
 alteration or change in those that are rightly 
 kept to it. 
 
 " It was a light which arose in our hearts ; 
 and shined forth from God, the Father of 
 Lights, carrying in its appearance the nature 
 and property of God, both in its condemning 
 evil, which the enemy had sown or planted in 
 us ; and owning, allowing, and justifying 
 every thing that was good and honest, just 
 and equal ; even those thoughts in our hearts, 
 which were of turning towards the Lord, and 
 seeking his righteousness. These thoughts 
 were justified and encouraged by the Light, 
 and all the contrary discovered and judged, as 
 they were brought to it to be tried. 
 
 " Now this Light did our souls rejoice in, 
 as they had good cause, though it took away 
 
120 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 our former rejoicings. Our pleasure in va- 
 nities and iniquity died ; our glory in this 
 world withered ; our friendship with the sons 
 of men decayed ; and we stood in the light, 
 and saw all these things, and were not sorry 
 at them, but waited daily to see these things 
 more and more brought to pass : neither 
 was there a permitting our thoughts to go out, 
 how we might prevent those damages, or repair 
 those losses; but the cross of Christ was in- 
 deed our glorying or rejoicing ; and the hope 
 that was before us, did make us despise the 
 pleasures, treasures and honours, friendship 
 and delights of this world. 
 
 " And in those days, you grew into a feel- 
 ing of the heavenly joy, where the hundred- 
 fold was witnessed in your bosoms ; and the 
 zeal of the Lord was kindled by his own 
 Spirit in you, against whatsoever this light of 
 Jesus in the conscience did witness against ; 
 and the Lord beheld your integrity, and blessed 
 you, and multiplied you, and added to your 
 strength and stature. And then did the fruits of 
 this glorious work abound among you, in three 
 more general and special effects ; by which ef- 
 fects, or by their continuance among you, let all 
 now come to search and try themselves, that 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 121 
 
 so, dear Friends, those that have continued 
 faithful in them all, may persevere in like 
 manner to the end. And those who upon true 
 search do find that they have failed, and fallen 
 short in all or any of them, may make haste 
 to repent, and to turn to that which was the 
 Root of them all, that they may not be found 
 as fruitless and withered branches, in the day 
 that cometh ; lest they be cut off, and utterly 
 consumed, and blotted out from among the 
 living branches of the Vine. For a day cometh, 
 that Truth will look into the fig-tree for fruit, 
 and leaves will not defend it from the curse 
 and blasting. 
 
 " The three especial fruits that did spring 
 forth from this blessed Root, and were and 
 are to continue and increase in us, and among 
 us, to the end, are these : 
 
 " 1. Purity, manifested in a godly conver- 
 sation. 
 
 " 2. Unit?/, manifested in dear and tender 
 love one towards another. 
 
 " 3. Faithfulness, manifested in bearing a 
 constant and faithful testimony to the things 
 we had received and believed, though it were 
 unto great loss and suffering." 
 
 L 
 
J22 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 This Epistle has been several times printed 
 by itself, and is now in print. 
 
 No. 6. U A Word in due Season, or some 
 Harvest Meditations. 1666. — 6 pages. 
 
 This tract extends a very severe reproof to 
 the people, for the superstitious and riotous 
 practices which generally obtained during 
 harvest. It notices particularly the custom 
 of shouting in the fields — the making of lords 
 and ladies in harvest fields — and the singing 
 of filthy and abominable songs. It warns also 
 against inordinate eating and drinking — re- 
 commends that the portion of the poor in the 
 field should be remembered — and that, at the 
 time of Harvest, when the people are taking 
 in the fruit and increase of their fields, they 
 should mind the fear of God, which would 
 keep them in the remembrance of Him, 
 from whom every good gift cometh ; that 
 so it may be good to them, and they may 
 receive it with humility and thankfulness : — 
 none to murmur because it is no more, and 
 none to glory because it is so much ; but all 
 to be contented, and to mind that which lets 
 them see the blessing. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 123 
 
 No. 7. "A plain Path-way opened.'" 1668. 
 — 23 pages. Written in the Ipswich County 
 Jail. 
 
 This work is stated, in the title page, to 
 be for the answering all doubts and objections 
 which do arise against the Light and Truth 
 in the inward parts, &c. &c. 
 
 It is a practical address to the simple hearted 
 Christian ; and, appealing at once to the expe- 
 rience of such, in regard to that Light which 
 manifests to their minds what is right and 
 wrong, recommends an experimental ac- 
 quaintance with its leadings, as the best an- 
 swer to all the doubts, objections, and cavils 
 which had been raised respecting it. 
 
 Even those who do not exactly agree with 
 the author, will, I think, be constrained to 
 acknowledge, that there is much to admire in 
 the pious and affectionate earnestness of the 
 following passages; 
 
 a All you that have been hurried and 
 
 tossed with doubts and questionings about 
 
 the Truth, come, hearken to the counsel of 
 
 God at this time, once more sounded forth 
 
 l 2 
 
124 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 unto you from his Spirit, by a servant of Ills 
 without you, and answered by the measure of 
 his good Spirit within you, which hath the 
 same voice and cry in you, for obedience to 
 what is made manifest of God in you. Obey 
 the Light, and thou shalt see daily more of it, 
 till it breaks forth as a morning unto thee, and 
 till it shines unto a perfect day ; yea, a day of 
 gladness and rejoicing to thy poor distressed 
 soul. 
 
 O! arise, thou that sittest sorrowing, and 
 thou that art crying out in secret, because of 
 the bonds and fetters that arc yet upon thee ; 
 arise, arise, I say, in the name of the Lord 
 God of Sion, who draws nigh to thee by his 
 quickening Spirit; and hearken to his voice, 
 who saith to the prisoner, Come forth; and 
 to the bowed down, Arise; and to the feeble 
 ones : Put on strength, and follow me, and 
 obey me; I will confound your foes, and 
 break the strength of your enemies. As I 
 have done for my people, who have forsaken 
 all to follow me, and obey me, so will I do for 
 you. And if ye in uprightness walk before 
 me, and keep my covenant, as they have done, 
 no power or strength of the enemy, within or 
 without, shall be too hard for you. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 125 
 
 And when the Lord doth thus arise in your 
 souls, and stir up his pure witness — when his 
 arm awakens in you, and his pure Light 
 breaks forth ; O ! what consolation is it to 
 you; and how have many of you seen your 
 vain doubtings expelled ; and a clear con- 
 vincement hath prevailed upon your spirits 
 concerning the way of God. At such a time, 
 you have begun to resolve to follow the Lord 
 in his pure way of holiness, thus opened to 
 you in the Light, though to the loss of all ; 
 and though it be to the bearing of your part 
 of the great reproach, that lies upon them that 
 love Him more than their lives. And at such 
 a time there was felt a secret joy, in a hidden 
 ground, in your souls and the seed of the 
 kingdom that had been long buried, began to 
 spring up in you; in which seed your souls 
 felt some touchings of that heavenly life and 
 joy, which, for the time, exceeded all things 
 that this world could afford. 
 
 And whensoever you come to feel this re- 
 freshing dew upon your souls, then take heed 
 and wait singly in the sense of it; keep your 
 eye to the joy that is now set before you in 
 Christ Jesus, the seed; for if you lat your 
 minds wander, and your eyes gad abroad, 
 l 3 
 
126 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 there will be objects on every hand to lead 
 you out from your soul's beloved, and to bring 
 you to defile your hearts, and make yourselves 
 an unfit place of residence for Him who is 
 holy and pure, and "who will not dwell nor 
 take delight in a polluted temple; but will 
 withdraw Himself, as He did from Israel of 
 old, and from their temple, when it was pol- 
 luted and profaned. 
 
 "And besides, when your minds are taken 
 hold of, by any of the corruptible things of this 
 changeable world, there will presently kindle 
 a desiring, longing, and lusting after the enjoy- 
 ment of those things, though contrary to the 
 will of God; and then, next, the reasoner and 
 consulter gets' up in thee, and starts a ques- 
 tion — May not I enjoy the Lord and this? 
 May not I keep in the way of truth, and yet 
 do this or that thing which my heart desireth ? 
 And though it be not perfectly according to 
 the truth made manifest in me, yet I will have 
 my will, my lust, my desire satisfied but this 
 one time, and that is not much, saith the con- 
 sulter ; and this is but a small matter, there are 
 others that do greater things than this. 
 
 e Such like reasonings enter the mind) and 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 127 
 
 yielding to tbem grieves and vexethtbat good 
 and righteous, tender Spirit that moved in 
 thee, and brings a weight and oppression upon 
 the pure in thee; and that withdraws itself 
 again from thee, in which thy light did arise 
 unto thee ; and so a night comes upon thee. 
 For where the serpent can bring any to make 
 a question of obeying the truth, he is as ready- 
 to frame an answer, as to beget the question. 
 But his answer always comes with a liberty 
 and persuasion to disobey, as it did to Eve in 
 the beginning. And when, transgression is 
 finished, then death enters upon thee with its 
 dark power, and manifold sorrows pierce 
 thy poor soul. Though the fruit was desira- 
 ble to be eaten, yet now it is eaten, thou canst 
 not come at life, to eat of that too, though 
 thou desirest it ; but art driven out, and kept 
 out with a Jlaming sword that turns everyway 
 against thee. 
 
 " And here is now a ground laid for doubts 
 and questionings of a higher nature than be- 
 fore, to arise in thee ; for before thou doubtedst 
 of the Truth itself, whether it were the Truth ; 
 but now, having tasted of it, and received a 
 convincement of it, and yet let forth thy mind 
 from it, after other lovers, and thy ears after 
 
128 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 the voice of the adultress, and so caused the 
 pure light to withdraw from thee, through thy 
 rebellion. Now thou desirest thou mightest but 
 see again what thou hadst seen, and feel again 
 what thou hadst felt; but thou hast doubts and 
 fears that thou slialt never see, nor feel, nor 
 enjoy the like again. And now thou wishest, 
 O, that thou hadst stood in the cross to thy 
 own will, and that thou hadst denied thy- 
 self, that thou mightest not thus have lost the 
 sight and sense of thy soul's beloved! And 
 now thou seest by woeful experience, whence 
 doubts and fears, and sorrows do arise ; even 
 from thy joining with the enemy, who brings 
 forth reasons against the obedience to the 
 
 " And therefore now hearken to that which 
 remains in thee. Though darkness and sor- 
 row do encompass thee, yet there is something 
 remains which gives thee a sense of thy state 
 and condition, and makes thee to know thy 
 loss and want. Hear the voice of this, and 
 this will humble thee, and bring thee into true 
 brokenness of heart, and contritedness of 
 spirit ; and as thou comest to know that state, 
 then thou hast something to offer to the Lord 
 of his own preparing, which will be far more 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP, 120 
 
 acceptable to Him, than a multitude of words, 
 and performances, and duties, so called. And 
 as thou, in the true lowliness of mind, dost 
 come before the Lord, and ofFerest up this 
 offering, God will hear in heaven, and will 
 answer the cry of the poor and needy soul that 
 cannot be satisfied without his presence ; and 
 He will remember his mercies of old, which 
 never fail, for his Seed's sake, which is not yet 
 brought forth in thee. 
 
 " And when God doth again shine forth 
 unto thee, and make his power known, thou 
 must expect it to be in j udgment, because of the 
 transgression thou hast gone into, that He may 
 consume that in thee, which led thee into sin 
 from his pure law, which is light; for Zion is 
 redeemed by judgment. And therefore take 
 heed lest thou be offended at his appearance ; 
 take heed that thou limit not the Holy One; 
 but, if his appearance be with more sharpness 
 and bitterness to the carnal part than before, 
 it is but just it should be so : It is the Lord ; 
 let Him do what He will. He sees more cause 
 now than before, by how much more thou hast 
 sinned against his goodness ; but bow to his 
 judgments : Bear his indignation, as Micah 
 said, because thou hast sinned against Him*-** 
 
ISO REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Micah, vii. 9. And as thou yieldest to his 
 righteous judgment, thou wilt know the com- 
 ing to the midst of them, in which, the mercy 
 is remembered and made manifest. 
 
 "And therefore the hasty and impatient) 
 that fly the judgment as soon as it begins a 
 little to appear in them, they never find the 
 true deliverance ; but get ease another way, 
 which lasteth but for a moment. But they who 
 come to know a thorough work wrought in 
 their earth, and the floor thoroughly purged, 
 they come to know the true and lasting peace 
 to their immortal souls. And although this is 
 not obtained by ease and liberty to the carnal 
 mind, which must die, yet the end crowns all 
 that hold out to it; they are the saved ones, 
 as Christ said, Mark xiii. 23. And they find 
 the returning with sheaves, as the Prophet 
 said, Psalm cxxvi. 5, 6 : — They that sow in 
 tears, shall reap in joy. They went forth, said 
 he, with weeping, and bearing precious seed, 
 but they shall return with joy, and bring 
 their sheaves. And as Christ said : They that 
 forsake father and mother, wife and children, 
 house or lands, yea, or their own lives, for 
 my sake, shall have a hundred-fold in this time, 
 and in the world to come, life everlasting. For* 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. IS1 
 
 saking and self-denial hath always been the 
 way to life, and to true blessedness; and is the 
 way unto this day. 
 
 " Therefore lay aside all consultations that 
 are against thy obedience to the gift of God 
 in thy heart, which reproves sin in thee ; and 
 give not way to vain and needless doubts about 
 it; but as thou findest that thou hast been 
 condemned and judged in thy disobeying of 
 it, now try and prove whether, by taking up 
 thy daily cross, and obeying it in thy words 
 and actions, and in all things, thou dost 
 not find the answer of sweet peace and joy. — 
 And when thou shalt find it so, then will there 
 be no more room for doubts and questionings 
 against thy obeying of it ; but as any questions 
 or doubts do arise in thee, or shall be cast in 
 thy way by any without thee, thou wilt feel 
 the answer of it in thyself to thy refreshing: 
 and so thou wilt come to witness the effectual 
 operation of it daily in thy soul, to work thy 
 change and translation out of thyself, into it- 
 self; and so thou wilt come, not only to know 
 the light in thee, (for that one may do and pe- 
 rish, For this is the condemnation, that light 
 is come, and not loved,) but thou wilt know that 
 thou art in the light, and walkest there with 
 
132 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 God, and in the holy fellowship, where thou 
 feelest the Lord near thee in his light ; and 
 his reward is with Him. 
 
 " And so coming to walk and dwell in the 
 light, thy conversation is now in heaven, as 
 the saints' of old was ; and thy unity is wit- 
 nessed with the Father and the Son, as theirs 
 was, who said : If zee walk' in the light, as He 
 is in the light, we have fellow ship with Him ; 
 but if any said they had fellowship, and walked 
 in darkness, (which all sinners do, for sin is 
 the work of it,) such, they said, were liars. 
 And such as walk in the light, as He is in the 
 light, such come to know the blood that 
 cleanseth and washeth from sin, and from all 
 unrighteousness. And such as feel this work 
 wrought in them, are brought into such a 
 knowledge of the blood of Christ, that they 
 need not doubt about it, nor have the occasion 
 to raise a question where it is, or what it is, or 
 what the efficacy of it is ; for having the work 
 and witness of the blood in them, this forth- 
 with resolves all doubts that would arise. 
 
 "And so likewise, those that come to know 
 the light in all things to be their guide, to 
 lead out of darkness, and sin, and imperfections, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 133 
 
 and to bring into the innocent and blameless 
 conversation which becometh saints; and so 
 come to know their footsteps directed before 
 the Lord ; such have done doubting and ques- 
 tioning about perfection ; for such see that 
 which is perfect to be come, and they, from 
 the belief which they have of attaining it, are 
 labouring to conform themselves unto that 
 rule, and endeavouring after it: not as the 
 carnal professors, who say they labour after a 
 conquest over their sins, with a belief they 
 shall never attain it while they live ; but they 
 so run that they may attain ; and they have 
 the true hope in them, which they that have, 
 are purifying themselves, as He is pure. 
 That is their hope, as John said: He that 
 hath this hope in him, purifieth himself as 
 God is pure ; that so, even as He was in this 
 present world, so they may be also. And so 
 here the substance will come, and will cause 
 the shadow to flee, and will answer all thy 
 doubts and questions far beyond what argu- 
 ments can do. 
 
 "And when thou comest to know this state, 
 and to receive the white stone that hath the 
 name within, thou wilt then be without doubt 
 or fear, given up in the will to God, to do and 
 
 M 
 
131 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 to suffer all things, according to his blessed 
 will. And here is the true and perfect rest to 
 thy soul, whoever thou art, that art now labour- 
 ing in the iron furnace of thy own thoughts 
 and doubts, in which the more thou givest 
 thyself up thereto, the darker thou art, and 
 the fuller of doubts; for they will beget and 
 multiply one another : and the more thou rea- 
 soncst against obeying God's witness in thy 
 heart, the less able thou art to obey it; but the 
 little strength that God gives thee, thou con- 
 sultest it away ; and, then, when thou wouldst 
 be strong, thou becomest feeble ; and when 
 thou wouldst in some measure obey, thy own 
 consultations stand in the way, and hinder 
 thee; and the more thou increasest in know- 
 ledge in this state, the more thou increasest 
 thy sorrow and condemnation ; so that some- 
 times thou art ready to wish thou hadsi never 
 known so much of Truth." 
 
 "O! how my soul pities you whose state 
 this is ; arsd I have a great sympathy with 
 your sorrows ; and in bowels of tender love am 
 I drawn forth to reach out a hand to help 
 you, as one that hath obtained mercy to know 
 deliverances, and to witness the way of it; and 
 have the testimony of God in my heart, to 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 133 
 
 witness forth the coming of the Saviour to the 
 poor and needy souls, to the relieving of them, 
 and comforting of them. And my soul's desire 
 is, that your bonds might be broken, and your 
 souls might escape. But this I say, in the 
 name of the Lord, to you all, there is no way 
 for your deliverance, but each of you giving 
 up in single obedience to that faithful and true 
 witness of God which stirs and moves in thee 
 against thy sins. And therefore wait thou 
 to feel thy mind and will subjected there- 
 unto, that thou mayest feel thyself to be one 
 of those willing people in this the day of 
 God's power; and cease from thy reasonings 
 against thy obeying the truth, and from say- 
 ing thou canst not, thou wantest power, and 
 when God gives thee grace, then thou wilt 
 obey. These sayings are in vain : for though 
 it is true that none can obey the Lord but by 
 his grace and power given unto them, yet 
 He hath made his grace, even that which 
 bringeth salvation, to appear unto all men, as 
 in Titus ii. 11; and it hath appeared unto 
 thee, and in thee to whom I write, and is a 
 reprover in thee ; and thou must turn to that 
 which smites thee, and then thou turncst to 
 the grace of God; for it is his grace that 
 strives with thee, to lead thee out of the evil 
 m 2 
 
136 REVIEW OF THE WOIUtS 
 
 that it reproves in thee, and so out of the 
 world that lies in the evil, up to God from 
 whence the grace cometh. For whosoever 
 do give up to the drawings of the good 
 spirit of God that moves in them, and in obe- 
 dience thereto do deny themselves of their 
 own wills, and lusts, and evil desires and 
 pleasures, such want not power, but feel Him 
 near to them who works the willingness first, 
 and then the deed according to his pleasure j 
 and so the glory comes alone to be His. 
 
 "And then thou knowest the mystery of the 
 cross, and how it is the power of God, which 
 all that reject the cross, complain for want of. 
 And so, as long as thou livest in the cross, 
 thou livest in the power, and thy obeying 
 is easy, and all things are possible to thee 
 through it; and as long as thou art daily 
 dying to that which is corruptible, thou feelest 
 the more life, and joy, and pleasure in that 
 which is everlasting; and thy desires grow 
 more and more fervent, after a full and perfect 
 enjoyment of it in the pure unity of spirit. 
 
 "And those desires growing strong in thee, 
 it grows a lighter thing to thee to part with 
 that which hinders, though it be thy bosom 
 
OF STEPHEN CEISP. 13.7 
 
 sin : thy Dalilahs and darlings, all must go, 
 for the love thou hast to Truth. And such 
 only as have this love, and continue in it, are 
 counted worthy to be heirs of the kingdom of 
 God; for so long as any thing is hugged 
 and loved besides the Lord, if the Lord sho Id 
 manifest his love to thee, thou wouldst play 
 the harlot, and abuse his mercies, and cleave 
 to thy old lovers, as Israel of old did, that 
 were after the flesh. 
 
 " And therefore think it not strange to be 
 brought through manifold trials, that thereby 
 thou mayst be purged, and prepared as a 
 bride, for the true Husband, Christ Jesus ; for 
 there are many that desire acquaintance witli 
 Him, but are not fitted for Him. They must 
 be washed first, and trimmed first, and must 
 put off the vile raiment first, and must come 
 to know the white linen put on; and while 
 this work is doing, what need of patience and 
 quietness of spirit is there ! what need of sub- 
 jection to the workings of that Holy Spirit 
 in all things ! that thou mayst not be setting 
 limits and bounds to that which must bound 
 and limit thee in all things ; nor say in thine 
 heart, If my trials were but so, or my exercises 
 so or so, I could then bear them ; but rather 
 m 3 
 
138 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 submit, ill all things, willingly to do and suf- 
 fer, and to be tried and exercised, even as it 
 pleases the Lord to order, or suffer thee to be 
 tried : and in all his dealings, say with the 
 good man, It is the Lord, let Him do what 
 He will with thee. 
 
 "And whosoever give up thus to Him, 
 though He slay them, yet shall they live; 
 though He wound them, yet He will [heal 
 them again. Therefore, learn patience and 
 stillness of mind ; for by taking thought, thou 
 canst add nothing in this work." 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 139 
 
 No. 8. A Backslider Reproved, and his Folly 
 
 This is a controversial Tract in answer to a 
 book written by one Robert Cobbet, who had 
 formerly been a member of the Society, and 
 "who, having left it, controverted the doctrine 
 of the Light of Christ. 
 
 Crisp certainly treats his opponent with 
 very little ceremony, and points out his in- 
 consistencies and contradictions in that acri- 
 monious style, which marked too much the 
 controversial writings of good men at that 
 period. The following extract from the 
 opening of the book may suffice as a specimen. 
 
 " It is not a new nor strange thing, to see 
 the old enemy of the Light, viz. the prince of 
 darkness, to be diligent in raising up as high 
 mountains and towers as he can, to keep it 
 from shining ; and as he can bring forth no 
 evil to man of himself, without some instru- 
 ment into which he gets an entrance, therefore 
 he is diligent in persuading and tempting 
 from the Light, even those that have seen the 
 appearance of it, and not become so subject 
 to it as they should have been; whose foolish 
 
140 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 hearts be darkens, and fills their minds with 
 vain imaginations; and then are they choice 
 instruments for his purpose, as bearing some- 
 thing more of his image (who himself abode 
 not in the Truth) than others. 
 
 "And such as these he always spurred on 
 in a blind zeal against the Light, as that which 
 was most destructive to his and their works 
 of darkness. And among this sort of instru- 
 ments, here is one Robert Cobbet, hath pre- 
 sented himself as an enemy to the doctrine of 
 the Light, though he is indeed but as one of 
 the meanest and shatteredest of that camp, and 
 hath attained to but a small measure of that 
 subtilty which this father and prince of dark- 
 ness doth use to furnish his children withal, 
 that are capable to receive it. But however, 
 what he hath, or thinketh he hath, he hath 
 adventured to present to public view; though 
 indeed it is as a rod for his own chastisement. 
 And I heartily wish there may be so much 
 sense left in him, that he may feel the smart 
 of it, and may amend, and leave off his folly 
 and blind zeal, and submit to that which com- 
 prehends him, his spirit, and works. For I 
 knew a time when he could not have believed, 
 that he should have been led to such a depth 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 141 
 
 of confusion, in opposing the Light, as now he 
 is; though he was never faithful to it as he 
 ought, but sought, in his fallen, corruptible 
 wisdom, to have comprehended it; but 1 desire 
 he may yet see a death upon that which hath, 
 unto this day, kept his soul in death and dark- 
 ness. And in oider thereunto, and for the 
 Truth's sake, I have written these few lines, 
 briefly to shew him and others his confusions, 
 contradictions, and absurdities; or at least a 
 few of those many which he hath uttered, and 
 printed in his book, called, A Word to the 
 Upright, Sj-c. 
 
 "And therefore, Reader, take notice, that 
 after his book called God's Truth attested, 
 was made public, and something was written 
 in answer thereto, shewing him how he con- 
 tradicted himself and the Scriptures too ; in 
 a seeming reply thereto, he published this, 
 called, 'A Word to the Upright,' which, he 
 saith, 'is to establish them in these erring 
 days, and to keep the young sprouts of the 
 nation from corruption in opinion;' which, 
 whether R. C. hath written a piece that is 
 likely to prove an establishing of the upright 
 from error, or to prevent the young sprouts 
 from corruption in principle or opinion, will 
 
142 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 more appear anon to the considerate reader, 
 when he hath rightly weighed the conse- 
 quences of letting in all his doctrines for 
 Truth, whether it will not render them more 
 like to distracted men, than principal Chris- 
 tians." 
 
 I cannot but regret that the good man 
 ever dipped his pen in the ink of controversy, 
 at a period in which the extreme difficulty 
 of conducting it in a truly Christian spirit, 
 reigned in full power. 
 
 No. 9. Ci A Letter from Germany to Friends, 
 exhorting them to diligence in Meetings" — 
 1669. — 4 pages. 
 
 This is a short, lively exhortation, evincing 
 the Writer's care over his Friends at home, 
 when absent from them. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 143 
 
 No. 10. " A Word of Exhortation, and a 
 Sound of glad Tidings to all the Mourners in 
 Germany, and the parts adjacent.'''' No date. — 
 12 pages. 
 
 This is an affectionate and practical address 
 to the com^erts in Germany, &c. amongst 
 •whom the Writer so often laboured. 
 
 He thus presses upon them the neceisity 
 of Christians abstaining from all sin. 
 
 " Now God hath appointed the death of 
 every sin and lust that liveth in your souls, 
 and hath appointed his Son Christ Jesus to be 
 the killer and destroyer thereof. And He 
 cometh to the earthly parts, not with peace, 
 but with a sword ; and when ye feel it cutting 
 off your pleasures, your delights, your worldly 
 friendships and fellowships, yea, your hope 
 and confidence, which stood on a sinful ground, 
 or a ground where sin also stood, you must 
 not be offended thereat, but wait in humility 
 to feel that you are the slain of the Lord, 
 which the prophet said should be many, in 
 his great and notable day. And fear not, for 
 He that kills you to what is old, shall raise 
 
144 REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 you up in Ihe new life of righteousness, that 
 never waxeth old. 
 
 u For as it ariseth in the particular, to rule 
 the whole man in the fear and pure wisdom of 
 God, that man ceaseth to act of himself, or 
 speak of himself, and is brought to wait upon 
 the good Spirit of God, to know what to do 
 and say, as the hand-maid upon the hand of 
 her mistress. And such the pure Spirit keeps 
 in a pure conversation without sin, for no man 
 by the Spirit of God is led into sin. And if 
 any come to live in this pure, sinless conversa- 
 tion, this differs from the sinful world, and so 
 shines over the world, and brings a night upon 
 their glory ; for this shining and beauty of ho- 
 liness, is answered by the measure of the grace 
 of God in all consciences where it shines : and 
 so, many come to be gathered to the brightness 
 of the arising of this righteousness, and be- 
 come subject to the love of it. And so shall 
 the borders of its garment be daily enlarged ; 
 and the borders of the possession of the wicked 
 one shall be daily lessened ; and the seed of 
 God shall possess the gates of his enemies, 
 according to his promise of old made by his 
 holy prophets. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 145 
 
 "And now, Friends, consider the place where 
 this alteration is to be wrought, where the 
 kingdom of the man of sin is to be destroyed, 
 and where the kingdom of Christ is to be set 
 up. It is within you that this great change 
 is to be wrought ; and a great power must be 
 felt to work it; for, in this case, in vain is the 
 help of man, without the Power of God. 
 Therefore that which leads to the knowledge 
 of the power, you must come to love and to 
 obey, which is the Light of Jesus Christ in 
 your consciences, wherewith Christ Jesus, the 
 free gift of the Father, hath enlightened every 
 one that cometh into the world ; which Light 
 doth discover to the soul, when the dark power 
 doth begin to stir and operate, to lead into 
 evil. And those that love the Light better than 
 their lasts, they come to take up the cross to 
 the lust, whatsoever it may be ; and, standing 
 faithful in the cross and denial of themselves, 
 they come to witness what the apostle said : 
 The cross of Christ is the Power of God, 
 through faith, unto salvation. 
 
 " And then when this cross is thus taken up, 
 and self thus denied ; then that soul is not 
 without the Power of God, which is the ground 
 of their faith. And the more they are herein 
 
 N 
 
146 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 subjected, the more power they have, and the 
 more cloth their faith increase ; and, being 
 obedient to the light of Jesus, the faithful and 
 true Witness of God, they feel peace and en- 
 couragement ; and a living hope doth sustain 
 such, as cast an anchor, till God makes a per- 
 fect work on their hearts. And here will arise 
 the great difference between your hope and 
 the hope of the hypocritical world : they hope 
 to be set free from the condemnation due upon 
 sin ; but you will hope and wait to be set 
 free from sin itself, which is the cause of con- 
 demnation and to be redeemed out of evil, 
 into the life of inuocency, that was before 
 sin was." 
 
 No. 11. " An Epistle from S. Crisp, to 
 Friends in Colchester.'''' No date.— 4 pages. 
 
 This is an earnest exhortation to his Friends, 
 to keep steadfast to their principles. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 147 
 
 No. 12. « An Amioer of S. Crisp to T. 
 JLoddington." No dale. — 9 pages. 
 
 This tract appears to have been written in 
 reply to some remarks of the person to whom 
 it is addressed, in conversations or letters 
 which had passed between them. 
 
 S. Crisp thus expresses himself on some im- 
 portant points of doctrine : 
 
 " I never said faith was a thing separate 
 from reason ; that is but thy own false sugges- 
 tion ; for we do desire that all who have 
 received of the like precious faith with us, 
 may be ready to give a reason of it to him 
 that asks it, as I shall be ready to do to thee 
 or any man, when asked thereof. In the mean 
 time, this is my testimony, that as man stands 
 in the fall, simply considered, as a vassal and 
 servant of the wicked one; in that state, his 
 reason, will, and understandings, are all cor- 
 rupted : and his affections are vile, and he an 
 enemy to God and Christ:— and, in that state, 
 he cannot see or understand the way of sal- 
 vation, nor the true reason of it, nor per- 
 ceive how it is according to the nature of 
 God; but, with that reason, judgment, and 
 n 2 
 
M8 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 will, he will strike at the appearance of the 
 true wny of salvation, as the wise of this world 
 ever did ; and as thou, according to the hard- 
 res. of tby heart, art still doing. But the 
 light hath always broken forth another way, 
 than their reason hath taught them to expect, 
 and so they were left in darkness, still groping 
 for the way, and changing and turning this 
 w.iy and that way, while others entered into 
 the kingdom, and they were shut out; which 
 is very near to be thy portion. 
 
 "Wherefore, friend, we say, that before the 
 way of the Lord can be acceptable to a man, 
 that is, before a man can receive that measure 
 of faith which God hath offered unto all men, 
 in that He hath raised up Jesus from the dead, 
 lie must know that of God in Him, to en- 
 lighten or clear his understanding, and to 
 rectify his reason, and reduce it from the 
 dark grossness in which he hath been ready 
 t3 call evil good, and good evil ; and yet used 
 his reason, as it was, to maintain this his 
 opinion. And as this enlightening principle 
 of God is known to work in him, and he is 
 giving up his will and judgment unto the 
 manifestation of the Light, then his reason 
 conies to be rectified, or reduced to its origi 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 149 
 
 nal principle of pure equity, in which lie 
 seeth that his reasonable sacrifice and service 
 to God, is to give up all that L he hath to the 
 Lord ; and thereupon he comes to wait for the 
 gift of his Spirit, to order him and his affairs? 
 that now he may live to God, and not to him- 
 self any longer. 
 
 "And when he comes to feel the gift of 
 God's Holy Spirit, working upon his spirit, 
 then thereby he hath a right understanding of 
 his duty, and believes that to be the will or 
 God ; and, so believing, this belief or faith 
 working in him by love, he becomes obedient : 
 and this kind of faith, though it be separate 
 from the corrupt reason of the world, that lies 
 in wickedness, yet is not separate from the 
 reason of an enlightened understanding, which, 
 through faith, doth receive a perfect evidence 
 of things which are not seen, and the sul>» 
 stance of things that are hoped for." 
 
 il And whereas thou hast fallaciously insin- 
 uated in thy paper, that I had denied the 
 Ascension of Christ, the Resurrection of the 
 dead, General Judgment,- these I turnback 
 again as falsehoods upon thy own headt some 
 of which are also wilful, because I testified s* 
 
150 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 far as I was required unto these things; espe- 
 cially unto that about the Resurrection : to 
 which I said, I did believe, that all both good 
 and evil, must have, or know, a day of resur- 
 rection. But if thou wilt not be satisfied with 
 a Scripture-like confession, but wilt be still 
 pressing to know with what body the dead 
 should rise ; then I say, concerning thy carnal 
 imagination of a body : Thou sowest not now, 
 that which shall be; what body shall be, 
 shall be as pleaseth God; and none knoweth 
 what that is, but He who knows the seeds that 
 must receive their own bodies from God. Go 
 learn what that means. 
 
 "And as to a General Judgment, I did ex- 
 press my mind, that God had appointed a 
 day in which He would judge the world by 
 the man Christ Jesus; whom He hath made 
 the Judge both of the quick and dead; and 
 I warned thee to take heed, that, in that day, 
 thou mightest have a name and a place among 
 the righteous: and now I do again exhort 
 thee to believe the least appearance of his 
 Light that now is, as well as is to come; for it 
 is by the Light that the works of darkness 
 shall be judged in that day, and so are they 
 now ; and this judgment of the Light the righ- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 151 
 
 teouslove; but the wicked and the rebellious 
 come not to it, but reject it." 
 
 No. 13. " An Epistle from S. Crisp to 
 Friends ." no date. — 6 pages. 
 
 This tract marks the continuance of that 
 Gospel love for the Church, and care over if, 
 for which the writer was so remarkable. It is 
 written in a fervid style, and with a sort of 
 apostolical authority. It directs that copies 
 of it be fairly written, and sent forth among 
 Friends in the East and North Ridings of 
 Yorkshire, to be read in their meetings. It 
 thus concludes : 
 
 "And this further, brethren, is in my heart 
 to signify unto you, that your joy may be 
 full, that, since my coming southward, I have 
 seen the prosperity of truth ; and the people 
 that God hath made willing, in this the day 
 of his power, are many. Glory be to the Lord 
 God of Zion, who turneth her captivity, and 
 restoreth again her inhabitants from far ! And 
 Truth hath a good savour in these parts; and 
 Friends are kept fresh and living ; and many 
 
152 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 in a readiness to go out in the Lamb's warfare, 
 to overcome violence with patience, and the 
 force of the enemy with faith, and to wait for 
 their saving through suffering; and they feel 
 the Rock that upholds, and the Anchor that 
 stays their souls, which hath never failed us, 
 nor ever will; but will last until adversity 
 cease, and tribulation come to an end, and 
 sorrows be no more; yea, until the kingdom 
 of our Lord be over all the kingdoms of the 
 earth, and his Name over every name, in 
 •Khich is your strength, and the strength of 
 your dear friend and brother, in the kingdom, 
 life, and patience of the Lamb, and holy seed." 
 
 No. 14. John Furley^s Translation of two 
 of S. Crisp's Epistles, in Dutch, to Friends at 
 Amsterdam." 1G67. — 5 pages. 
 
 These are Epistles of general exhortation,, 
 aud are directed to be read in the meetings. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRI&P* 153 
 
 No. 15. "An Epistle of S. Crisp to Friends 
 against such as cry out against the Form of 
 Godliness, as against meeting at set times, on 
 First days, #c." No date. — 6 pages. Placed 
 in the Works between 1669 and 1672. 
 
 The schism which prevailed in the Society 
 about this time and to which this letter alludes, 
 was for a time the source of great uneasiness ; 
 and few persons laboured more earnestly by 
 word and by letter to stop its baneful progress, 
 than S. Crisp. In this Epistle, he contents 
 himself with reminding friends of the concord, 
 love, and peace, which had been felt amongst 
 them, whilst they continued to be humble fol- 
 lowers of the Truth. 
 
 Towards the conclusion of the letter, he 
 thus expresses himself. 
 
 "Dear friends, the Lord knows the integYily 
 of my soul, and true love to you ; and that for 
 his glorious truth's sake, and for your sakes, I 
 write these things to you. O ! receive my 
 advice, hearken and hear, and let all self-wil- 
 ledness be borne down by the meek Lamb's 
 power, for it is that which gives life, and 
 restores, and heals and makes up breaches." 
 
154r REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 "Therefore lend not 
 you, unto that in any, or in yourselves, that 
 would, under pretence of formality in times 
 and places, draw you aside from the good 
 and blessed testimony of assembling your- 
 selves together, to wait upon your God. And 
 what there is in any of you, that would not 
 condescend unto each other as brethren, is 
 not of the nature of the true birth; but must 
 by it be subdued. And as that ariseth and 
 prevails in and among you, so will you again 
 feel the Lord ministering to his own in you ; 
 and your eyes will be open to see the wiles of 
 our subtle adversary more clearly, though he 
 may appear masked, with a show of more 
 holiness, with a promise of a further glory, 
 higher dispensations, new discoveries, yea, 
 and with a pretence of leading out of for- 
 mality into the power ; and many such like 
 baits and snares. My dearly beloved, beware 
 of such pretences, for he comes but to bring 
 you into a disesteem of what you have re- 
 ceived, and to draw forth the expectation 
 after something else; that so you might be 
 robbed and spoiled of your portion; and then, 
 when you come to a want in yourselves, 
 having lost the former, and missing the latter, 
 you will be tempted to end in the earth ; and 
 the latter end of such is worst of alU" 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 155 
 
 No. 16. "An Alarm sounded in the Bor- 
 ders of Spiritual Egypt." 1672. — 34 pages. 
 
 The great object of this work, which may, 
 I think, be considered as the principal work 
 of the author, is to support the doctrine of the 
 possibility and duty of Christians abstaining 
 from sin. The holding of this doctrine by 
 the Society, appears to have been the occasion 
 of much opposition, from many of the minis- 
 ters of religion of that day. Crisp considered 
 the views of his opponents as an apology for 
 sin — as lowering the standard of Christian re- 
 requirements, to the practice of those who 
 wished to be, at the same time, of the world 
 and of Christ — to serve God and Mammon. 
 He and his friends held the necessity of an en- 
 tire devotion to religion. Every thing with 
 them was to be made subservient to the one 
 great end; and this in the strictest sense. 
 They allowed no considerations of expediency 
 to modify their rule or qualify their obedience 
 — they believed that those who were thus de- 
 voted to God, were under the sensible guidance 
 of his Spirit, and were thus led into an entire 
 conformity to his will. They held, however, 
 that this entire conformity did not require 
 an abandonment of the world ; but that the 
 
156 IIEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 world was the allotted scene of Christian con- 
 flict. They were aware, that to support this 
 state, required a constant watchfulness. — And 
 as they attributed every good thought, and 
 the power for every good word and work, to 
 the operation of the Divine Spirit, no per- 
 sons were more free from boasting of their 
 performances, or more sensible of the great 
 Scriptural truth, that of themselves they 
 could do nothing — that to them, as men, 
 belonged indeed blushing and confusion of 
 face ; and that it was on Grace, and not 
 on Works, that their hopes for salvation 
 rested : even on that Grace by which the 
 blood of Jesus was shed for sinners — by which 
 He ever liveth to make intercession for us — 
 and by which the Holy Spirit is given, to 
 guide us into good and acceptable works, to 
 strengthen us to perform them, and to console 
 us under temptations and trials. 
 
 They held that a principal object of the 
 coming of Christ, was to redeem man from 
 the power of sin in this life ; and so to restore 
 him to the image of God, which had been 
 lost by the Fall. They thought that the im- 
 portant Scripture doctrine of the purifying 
 operation of Christ's Spirit on the heart, was 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 157 
 
 too generally neglected, and that many were 
 resting in the outward Sacrifice of Christ, 
 without experiencing that washing and sancti- 
 fication, of which the apostle speaks in writing 
 to the Corinthians, and without which, under 
 the figure of being born again, our Saviour ex- 
 pressly declares, we cannot enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven. They held that those who had 
 thus "put off the old man with his deeds, and 
 had put on the new man which is renewed in 
 knowledge, after the image of Him who creat- 
 ed him," were in a state acceptable to God 
 through Jesus Christ; that this state of accep- 
 tableness might be continued in, and all sin 
 resisted through the aid of the Holy Spirit, 
 whilst man continued watchful. Nevertheless, 
 they admitted that this state of abstinence from 
 sin, was compatible with the liability to fall, 
 and also with a growth in the knowledge 
 and love of God; — that there was the state 
 of a child, as well as that of tEe full stature 
 of the man, in Christ Jesus. Yet, so long as 
 obedience kept pace with knowledge, they 
 held the state to be acceptable, and in one 
 sense perfect ; as an infant may be said to be 
 perfect, though the powers of the future man 
 are imperfectly developed; and, as we speak 
 o 
 
158 JIEV1EW OP THE WOKKS 
 
 of a man, restored from disease to health, as 
 being well* although he is liable to future 
 attacks of disease. It is, I apprehend, in this 
 double sense of the word perfect, that the 
 apostle Paul, viewing the amazing extent 
 of the Christian science, if I may so speak, 
 declares himself not to have attained or to 
 be ahead)/ perfect ; and jet, in the same 
 letter, and almost immediately after,- applies 
 the f erm perfect to himself and some of those 
 ■whom he is addressing. "Let us therefore," 
 he says, "as many as be perfect, be thus 
 minded.'' 
 
 Yet I think it is easy to see how good per- 
 sons, practically agreeing in their views of 
 what Christianity requires from its disciples, 
 may be ranged on the opposite sides, in the 
 speculative dispute about Christian perfection. 
 
 Many differ on terms who agree in things / 
 and whether a state in which we have still to 
 
 the appellation of perfect, leaves abundant 
 room for discussion. It must however be re- 
 membered, that the perfection of h uraan beings, 
 is not the same as that of the higher order of 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 159 
 
 created intelligences — much less is it the same 
 as that of the Creator of ail. 
 
 Paul says, " There are bodies terrestrial, and 
 bodies celestial; and the glory of the celestial 
 is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is ano- 
 ther." On the same authority we learn, that 
 whilst in this terrestrial body, we groan and 
 are burdened — the spirit must struggle with 
 the flesh ; — and the life of the true Christian 
 is aptly spoken of as a continual warfare, 
 Christian perfection therefore consists in sup- 
 porting this warfare, and in the devotion of 
 "body, soul, and spirit" to obtain its glorious 
 consummation. 
 
 If there are any pious persons who cannot 
 reconcile the views taken of the subject in 
 the succeeding tract, with that state of hu- 
 mility which the highest Christian will feel 
 the most deeply, I would beg him not to be 
 offended by the severity with which our 
 author treats those, who contend for the im- 
 possibility of deliverance from sin in this life. 
 It was not a difference in terms about which 
 his zeal was kindled, but it was against that 
 laxity of Christian principle, which would 
 
160 IlEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 bring down the high standard of the morality 
 of the Gospel, to that of worldly convenience ; 
 or would substitute, for the spirituality of the 
 Divine requirements, the forms and ceremo- 
 nies of an external ritual. 
 
 I shall present the reader with considerable 
 extracts from this work, as serving to illustrate 
 the character and tenets of the author, and as 
 containing the most forcible arguments for 
 that view of the subject which he took, and 
 urged as the doctrine of the Society of Friends. 
 
 The following passages are taken from the 
 opening of the Book. 
 
 "Many are the devices of Satan, and great 
 is the subtilty which he furnishes his children 
 and servants withal, by which he seeks to 
 uphold his kingdom, pleading now a right to 
 that which he got by subtilty; and has taught 
 his whole family, that it is impossible for 
 any to be freed from under his service ; even 
 as if all men that are created of God, were 
 created to the service of the devil: and, 
 although he can make no man, yet that he is 
 able, after they are made, to keep them in his 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 161 
 
 service; yea, although their Maker does call 
 for them to serve Him : and so, by this suppos- 
 ed necessity, which is a doctrine well-pleasing 
 to the flesh, he keeps nations, kindreds, 
 tongues, and people, in bondage to his will."-! 
 
 "Certainly, there is no manner of slaves 
 so well contented with their bondage, as 
 Satan's are ; and therefore it is worth the con- 
 sidering, what right he has to reign over 
 mankind, and what work it is he gives his 
 servants to do, that is so well-pleasing unto 
 them, that they cannot endure to hear of being 
 set at liberty, as long as they have a day to 
 live. As for my part, I have considered wha*" 
 right Satan can claim to the government 
 which he has among the children of me:i? 
 reigning over kings and princes, priests and 
 people, from one sect to another, setting theru 
 all to work in blind zeal one against another; 
 yet all agreeing in this one question, to wit. 
 Is there any man or woman upon the earth, that 
 is set free from . under the reign of Satan, 
 that he can live without sin? or is it possible 
 for any to be so? The general answer is : No ; 
 we are all, and must be all his servants, all the 
 days of our lives. But some might say ; Seein«* 
 o3 
 
162 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 you are all fellow-servants, and that both you 
 and your work do belong to one master; why 
 then are you disagreeing with one another 
 about the work ? But O ! my soul longeth that 
 some might be awakened, once to consider, 
 and to bethink themselves, how they came to 
 this state and condition, and by what right and 
 authority their master keeps them in this 
 bondage, and whether it is not both lawful 
 and possible to come from under it." 
 
 " It would go beyond my present aim and 
 purpose, to trace this spirit, who is called the 
 Devil and Satan, the Dragon and Old Serpent, 
 through all ages since the beginning, to see 
 with how little truth, right, or equity, he came 
 up to reign among men. The understanding 
 reader of the Scriptures of Truth can see it 
 clear enough ; and it is a great wonder, and 
 one of the greatest that is in that part of the 
 world called Christendom, that there are so 
 many men, being men of knowledge in other 
 matters, and such as set up the Scriptures so 
 much as they seem to do, calling them the 
 Word of God, the Rule of Christians, the Light 
 of the World, the Guicfe of Life, &c. who go 
 with such a book in their hands, pleading for 
 
OF STEPHEN* CRISP. 163 
 
 Satan's kingdom, and for a necessity that it 
 must continue as long as there is a man upon 
 earth: whereas the Scripture, in substance, is 
 nothing else but as a declaration against him 
 and his government, and sheweth how he 
 ought to be forsaken, opposed, resisted, and 
 cast out ; and withal, how that primitive, pure, 
 and holy, and righteous law of that Spirit, 
 which is called God, and is holy, pure, and 
 blessed for ever, 'ought to be embraced, re- 
 ceived, and exalted in the whole creation. 
 
 "I say, this is a very great wonder, of which,, 
 and of the consequences whereof, the Chris- 
 tians, so called, have cause to be ashamed ; 
 yea, area reproach to the whole world: and 
 it is high time that some do arise for God ; 
 and the call is gone forth : 6 Who is on the 
 Lord's part?' Exod. xxxii. 26. Satan has 
 an innumerable host to plead for sin, some 
 with arguments, and some with cruel wea- 
 pons ; but who is on the Lord's part, that can 
 say; The Lord reigns in righteousness; and 
 iai truth He judges the earth, 
 
 " O ! all ye carnal professors of God and 
 Christ, in words, but who in works deny Him, 
 
16& REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 and say, that sin must stand and remain as 
 long as you live! be it known unto you, in 
 the Name of the God of Heaven, that where 
 sin remains, there Satan is prince and ruler. 
 And if that must remain as long as you live, 
 Satan desires it no longer; for he that will be 
 his servant in this life, must be his companion 
 in the world to come." 
 
 The author proceeds to notice several prin- 
 cipal reasons or apologies, urged by those who 
 opposed the doctrine of perfection. 
 
 "First, they say, That sin is rooted and 
 planted in the nature of man ; yea, so that a 
 man ?nust cease to be a man, before he can 
 come to cease from being a sinner. 
 
 u AnszjD. That man in his natural state is so 
 united with sin, as that he thereby is separated 
 from God, I do not deny ; and also that (here 
 is a natural inclination in man to commit sin. 
 ls also true; to wit, as long as they remain in 
 their natural state and condition." 
 
 came to be corrupted, you have heard was 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISPj 165 
 
 by man's joining with that spirit that was 
 fallen and cast out from God, and had only a 
 power in the darkness, and could not reign 
 over any thing, but over that which he could 
 draw from the glory of God into the darkness. 
 And God, who dwells in the Light, being 
 moved with infinite compassion, sent his Eter- 
 nal Son, who was with Him before the world 
 was, that He should be made partaker of the 
 same nature in which man was created ; that 
 by the virtue of the eternal power, He might 
 restore him unto God, and might minister unto 
 the spirits of all such, to whom this darkness 
 and corrupted state was a prison-house. And 
 this Jesus received not the nature of angels ; 
 that was not his work ; but He received the 
 seed of Abraham, which was in captivity, that 
 He might redeem it from captivity through 
 death : suffering under the weight of that 
 which oppressed the creature, and caused it 
 to groan after redemption : so that, although 
 it could not deliver itself, yet it might come 
 to be delivered through faith in Him, who is 
 mighty to save. 
 
 "And this Jesus, who was of the seed of 
 Abraham after the flesh, purifieth the nature 
 
166 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 of all those that join with Him: for the work 
 of Satan is to bri; g in corruption; and the 
 work of Christ is to destroy it, and instead 
 thereof, to bring in everlasting righteousness. 
 Now, where sin is remaining in the nature, 
 there the covenant with hell and death is not 
 broken, neither are such in covenant with 
 God; but are yet under the power of the 
 prince of the air, whatever they may profess. 
 And the death of Ciirist is yet of no value 
 unto them, because they are yet in their sin 
 and corrupted nature, unchanged, untrans- 
 lated : so that those that hold this plea for 
 Satan, That because he once got a place in the 
 nature of man, and has corrupted it, there- 
 fore sin must remain, so long as the life 
 or nature remains ; such are strangers to the 
 work of God, and to his power, by which He 
 worketh, and also to Christ Jesus, through 
 whom He works. And they have more faith 
 in the power of Satan, than in the power 
 of Christ, believing that Satan is more 
 able to keep the creature, and to hold fast 
 that which, by deceit and treachery,-he has 
 gotten in it ; than God, who made the creature 
 good in his nature, is able to restore it to his 
 first purity, that the creature might come to 
 serve Him in righteousness and holiness. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRtSP. 167 
 
 "And such as so believe, are no true Chris- 
 tians, nor true believers : but are standing in 
 the corrupt nature, that has unity with Satan, 
 and plead his cause; who is willing- that 
 his corrupt birth should live in man, as long 
 as he lives in the world : for he knows, that so 
 long no acceptable sacrifice can be offered up 
 to God; for you cannot bring forth a clean 
 sacrifice out of an unclean vessel; and as 
 long as nature is defiled, the works will b» 
 unclean that are wrought in that nature." 
 
 The second objection which the author 
 notices, is, "That never any man was freed 
 from sin, ever since sin first entered into the 
 world; and that therefore it is presumption to 
 expect such a thing in this life. 
 
 "Answ. If this position were true, that there 
 was never any man freed from sin, yet it 
 would be presumption to say, that God should 
 not be able to do that which He never did ; 
 and it is also presumption to conclude, that 
 never any man was freed. But if this position 
 be false, then not only the consequence is 
 false, to wit, that none can be freed ; but also 
 the argument itself is proved to be a lie, and 
 
168 REVIEW OF THE WOUKS 
 
 so is swept away, and a door is opened unto 
 all, that have more love to righteousness than 
 to sin, both to hope and to expect, that the 
 *ame work should again be wrought in and 
 for them, without presumption. Now, that 
 all men are sinners by nature, is evident; and 
 that some were changed out of that natural 
 state, is as evident ; so that the question is 
 only, Whether those that are translated out of 
 that sinful nature, remain sinful, yea or nay. 
 Which if they do, what advantage have they 
 beyond others, if they, after they are trans- 
 lated, must remain unfreed ? But I answer 
 with the words of the apostle, I Peter iv. 1. 
 'He that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased 
 from sin.' And here he spoke of such as 
 were yet in the body, but had suffered with, 
 and were made partakers of the sufferings and 
 death of Christ, by a dying to sin ; through 
 which every one must pass, before he can 
 come to the resurrection that is in Christ; by 
 which, said Peter, They obtained the answer 
 of a good conscience in the sight of God; which 
 he calls the baptism tluit saves. Now, some 
 having been partakers of that death, baptism, 
 and resurrection of Christ, by which they 
 came to cease from sin, and to have an answer 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 169 
 
 of a good conscience, without offence both to 
 God and man, which none that sin can have, 
 then may there some lawfully expect to come 
 to the enjoyment of the same state of freedom 
 and clearness, as well nOw as formerly, with- 
 out presumption. 
 
 "Secondly, I answer with the words of the 
 apostle John, 1 John iii. -9. 'He that is born 
 of God sinneth not, because his seed abideth 
 in him, and he cannot sin, for he is born of 
 God.' Now, whereas there have been some 
 that were born of God, and have been his 
 children, and they that were so, had overcome 
 the wicked one, so that he could not touch 
 them, but they had kept their garments white 
 and unspotted; and whereas some have been 
 freed from the law of sin and death; and that 
 some have walked unblameably and without 
 spot ; and have put off the old man with his 
 deeds, and known the new birth, and could by 
 the Holy Spirit call God Father; which things 
 are all manifest in the Scriptures of Truth, 
 which none can deny but those that will deny 
 the Scripture : — why then should any man 
 question that the same works of redemption, 
 should not now again be brought to pass? 
 
170 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 And therefore it is lawful to expect it without 
 presumption. This argument being confuted 
 by the experience of the saints." 
 
 "Further, let us consider what these strong 
 pleaders for sin have to fortify themselves 
 withal; they say, they haze the Scripture to 
 plead withal for sin, which certainly was 
 never the intention of the Holy Spirit, by 
 which it was given forth. But, say they, it is 
 written in 1 Kings viii. 46. e For there is no 
 man that sinneth not.' 
 
 ce Answ. This is very true, neither do I 
 plead, that any man is free from sin all the 
 days of his life, (except Christ,) but have con- 
 fessed they are all sinners by nature, until 
 they be changed; and besides, there it is but 
 spoken of a people that were under the law, 
 of which the apostle says, that it made nothing 
 perfect; but, said he, the bringing in of a 
 better hope did : but the Law did not purify 
 the comers thereunto, according to the con- 
 science; but when the offerers had offered, 
 there remained an evidence of sin in the 
 conscience ; but what is that to the Christians, 
 who are come to know a better hope, and the 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 171 
 
 blood that purifieth the conscience? For the 
 same apostle that said, the Law made no man 
 perfect, (under which Law Solomon was, as 
 also that people concerning whom it was 
 said, there is none that lives and sinneth not,) 
 this same apostle notwithstanding said, that it 
 was the bringing in of a better hope that did 
 it. And what ! are these fighters for sin, and 
 sin-pleaders become so zealous, that they will 
 rather deny the better hope, than cease from 
 sin? If not, then there is a possibility to be 
 made perfect by the blood of Christ, which 
 the blood of bulls and goats could not do. 
 
 " Another objection is brought forth, that 
 is, That the apostle Paul said, that sin lived 
 in him, and that the good that he would do, he 
 did not ; and the evil that he would not do, that 
 he did. 
 
 
 "Answer. That Paul knew the passing- 
 through such a state, is without question, and 
 is not denied ; but this does not prove at all, 
 that he never knew a better state ; or that he 
 never came to perfection : for in that place 
 he makes mention of three states. First, how 
 it was with him, when he lived without the 
 p 2 
 
172 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Law of God, in his liberty to fight against the 
 Truth; and he thought he might do many- 
 things against the Name of Jesus. Secondly? 
 He declares of his convincement, and how it 
 was with him then, when he knew he should 
 not do any more against the Truth ; and jct f 
 not being wholly changed, he did things 
 which he knew he ought not, by reason of sin 
 living and dwelling in him; and that state he 
 did not call happy Or blessed ; (as thesejblind 
 professors do at this day, that take up a rest 
 in this state, and say, they can never be re- 
 deemed out of it ;) for he, speaking of such a 
 condition, cries out for deliverance, calling 
 it a miserable condition; which plainly shew- 
 eth, that his eye was upon a further and bet- 
 ter state, unto which he also beareth witness; 
 saying, he was made free by the law of the 
 Spirit of Life, both from the law of sin and of 
 death ; in v. Inch time lie was yet in the body. i 
 
 " Now what reason have these pleaders for 
 sin to believe, that Paul was in all these three 
 states at once ? and if not, v hy not in the last ? 
 seeing the oilier two are but foregoing States, 
 leading to ihe third ; especially considering 
 the many other testimonies which he gives of 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 173 
 
 his being perfect, and of those that by his 
 ministry were brought to perfection ; saying-, 
 concerning himself. Timothy, and Sylvanus : 
 We can do nothing against the Truth. And 
 in another place he testifies, That he has fought 
 a good fight, kept the Faith, and finished his 
 course. Now, if it was finished, then there 
 was no more to run; and if the fight was fought^ 
 then the enemies were no more alive, as they 
 were when sin lived and dwelled in him. 
 Again he says, in another place, We preach 
 wisdom among them that are perfect. That 
 is, after the explication and sense of these sin- 
 pleaders — We preach wisdom among none, ex- 
 cept among those that are already departed 
 out of this world, and gone to heaven ! 
 
 " And again, As many of you as are perfect^ 
 be so minded. That is to say, after their ex- 
 plication — Let none be thus minded, before 
 they be dead ! Again at last, Dear Brethren, 
 be perfect, and of one mind, Sfc. But this, they 
 say, cannot be in this life. And again he says 
 to the Hebrews, You are come to the spirits 
 of just men made perfect, and to God the 
 Righteous Judge of all, $?c. But where were 
 these Hebrews? were they yetalive, or were 
 p3 
 
174 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 they dead? If dead, how came his epistle to 
 meet them ?" 
 
 "Another pleading is of that which is spoken 
 by the apostle, 1 John, i. 8. If we saj/ wc 
 have no sin, we deceive our seizes, and the Truth 
 is not in us." 
 
 " It ought to be well observed, that John 
 speaks there of a sort of men that were not 
 yet brought to confess their sins : and if such 
 came to that conceit and pride, as to say they 
 had no sins to confess, and so exalted them- 
 selves above the witness of God that reproved 
 them, then such deceived themselves. But if 
 these that are so sinful, come to own that 
 which brings them to a confession of their sins, 
 then God is faithful to forgive such their sins, 
 and to cleanse them from all iniquity. Now, 
 when this is done, to wit, when the creature 
 has confessed his sin, and God has forgiven 
 it, and cleansed him, what must then that man 
 say ? Must he then say, that he has his sin 
 still, when he has it not ? Must he say, that he 
 is filthy and defiled, when he is cleansed from 
 all that? This would be a lie; and if he should 
 be cleansed from all sin, he must certainly be 
 cleansed from lies ; and if it was his duty to 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 175 
 
 confess the work of the devil, when it "was 
 standing in him, which were his sins, may not 
 he now, being- cleansed, confess God's work, 
 that He has cleansed him. he being cleansed by 
 Him freely ? 
 
 " Must he therefore be cried out of for a 
 deceiver and heretic ? Who is so blind that he 
 cannot see, that it is as serviceable as needful, 
 and as lawful for a man that has known the 
 power of God to cleanse him, to confess that, 
 and to bear a testimony to that work, as it is 
 needful and lawful, when the devil's work is 
 manifested in him, to confess that — to bear a 
 testimony against that ? 
 
 " Yet, saith John to those that were tlius 
 washed, If zee say that we have not sinned, we 
 make God a liar. It is as much as if he would 
 say, That even those that are saved, must con- 
 fess to the power of God, by which they have 
 been judged for sin; and not to exalt them- 
 selves above it, as if they had never sinned, 
 seeing that the witness of God testifieth in all, 
 that they have sinned, and come short of tlie 
 glory of God. So that now the understanding 
 reader may see, that John hath not written here 
 of an impossibility of being delivered from 
 
176 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 sin, but absolutely the contrary ; namely, that 
 those that cannot say that they are without 
 sin, may come, by confessing their sins, to be 
 cleansed and made free from it ; yea, from all 
 that which is unrighteous. Yet some will say, 
 that the apostle in that place useth the word 
 we, as if he included himself ; as if he would 
 say at that time, If I should say, that I had 
 no sin, Sfc. 
 
 " Answer. This is no proof at all, because 
 the contrary is proved before, to wit, that he 
 had fellowship with God and Christ ; which 
 no man could have, that walked not in the 
 light, as He is in the light ; and such may as 
 well, by the same manner of speaking, prove 
 James to be a curser ; whereas he said, With 
 the tongue we bless God, and with it we curse 
 men, that are made after the image of God. 
 And many more such instances might be 
 brought forth, of the lamentations and com- 
 plaints of the prophets concerning the House 
 of Israel, which are translated so, in that man- 
 ner of speaking ; which does not prove at all, 
 that the prophets were guilty of such sifa 
 and rebellion, of which they complained. 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 177 
 
 " So having answered their chief objections, 
 ■which, thej draw out of the Scripture, by 
 which they endeavour to prove, That none 
 can be free from sin in this life, contrary io 
 Rom. vi. 22 ; I make haste to the third great 
 argument of these captives, which they lay 
 down against their own freedom. 
 
 " Thirdly. That is, That it is the will of God, 
 to let some sins remain in the best of his people, 
 to keep them humble thereby. 
 
 " Answer. If it be the will of God, that his 
 best servants should sin, then his will is done 
 when they sin. And what reason have any 
 men to be humbled and cast down, because 
 they have done the will of God? but rather 
 rejoice and be glad that the will of God is 
 done, and that their will is conformable to 
 the will of God — that the will of both can be 
 done together. This is a very easy way to 
 the joy of the Lord, if this brings to that sen- 
 tence, Well done, good and faithful Servant, 
 Sfc. But woe unto those that are given up to 
 believe this lie. 
 
 u But let these sin-pleaders but suppose, 
 that if God should stretch forth his power so. 
 
178 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 far in man, that it should destroy all the works 
 of the devil, and cast out sin ; and cause his 
 soul to take as great delight and joy in well- 
 doing, as ever it had in sin; and should plant 
 humility as naturally in the soul, as the devil 
 has planted pride in it — 
 
 '•' Then the question is, Whether this Power 
 that works this change, be not as able to keep 
 the creature in this condition, as to bring him 
 to it without any help of the devil or his 
 works ? 
 
 But they will say, To suppose a thing 
 tJiat is impossible, is either against reason or 
 presumption, 
 
 I answer, All things are possible with God, 
 except lo lie ; and as concerning this, it is 
 not only possible, but the contrary is impos- 
 sible, because God hath so often promised it, 
 to make a perfect work, and to finish his work 
 in all them that trust in Him. And for this 
 end is Christ Jesus come, That Me might de- 
 stroy the Devil and his works. And in the 
 parable He saith, When Me comes that is 
 stronger, Me shall bind the strong man, and 
 spoil his goods, and cast him out. This seems 
 as if Christ, who is the Stronger, had no need 
 of the devil, or his goods either, to keep his 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 197 
 
 people humble thereby. And the apostle said, 
 that they zeere kept by the Faith, through the 
 Power of God, unto Salvation.'''' 
 
 li But seeing you profess that faith is the 
 gift of God, we may well say, it is able to 
 cleanse the heart, and to give victory over the 
 world, and also over the devil and sin ; and 
 then there is no need of sin to keep us hum- 
 ble. For if humility was a fruit of sin, it 
 would not be so acceptable to God as it is ; 
 for the prophet says : He giveth his grace to 
 the humble, and dmelleth zoith such as are of 
 a contrite and broken heart. 
 
 u Again, if a few sins, yea, though they be 
 but a remnant, can keep men humble, then a 
 great deal of sin must needs make a man more 
 humble. So then let us plentifully sin, that 
 vie may plentifully be humble. But God for- 
 bid, that such doctrine or such teachers should 
 go unreproved ; for they have exalted the 
 work of the devil beyond the work of God. 
 And it is because such teachers have been 
 countenanced, that the people have been led 
 into so much blindness, ignorance, and hard- 
 ness of heart, and that people have wholly 
 
180 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 lost the hope and expectation of a day of 
 deliverance ; and have taken up a rest in a 
 sinful and slavish state." 
 
 "But blessed be the Lord God of heaven 
 and earth for ever; for He hath brought forth 
 his day of salvation, which many have longed 
 after, and are longing, and are in travail that 
 they might come to know it ; to whom a sinful 
 state is no resting place, but is unto them as 
 a strange land, in which they cannot sing the 
 songs of Sion ; but still have Jerusalem in their 
 remembrance, which is free-born from above, 
 longing after the day of gathering, that the 
 Lamb, and not the changeable priests and 
 teachers, may be their Light and Leader. 
 Unto such I say and testify, in the name of the 
 Lord God of heaven, lift up your heads, for 
 the day of your redemption draweth nigh ; and 
 deliverance shall come out of ' Sion, the city 
 of our solemnity.' Isaiah xxxiii. 20. And a 
 mighty voice shall be sounded forth from the 
 holy mountain, from the Lord of Hosts ; and 
 those that hear it shall live, and the dead 
 bones in the valleys shall be enlivened, and 
 the joy of that day shall be greater than the 
 joy of the harvest. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 181 
 
 " Now, how and in what manner these 
 things will be brought to pass, is a great dis- 
 pute among many, that are yet seeking in the 
 carnal wisdom to conceive and comprehend 
 spiritual things; and so they come to be scat- 
 tered and divided in their imaginations : and 
 therefore, in the mean time, those that are 
 become willing to sit down in quietness, in 
 the Light of Christ Jesus, that sheweth every 
 running out of the mind, they come to feel the 
 pure fear of God to be planted in their hearts ; 
 so that they dare not think their own thoughts, 
 nor speak their own words. And here is the 
 beginning of the true wisdom, by which wis- 
 dom it is given unto them, to understand those 
 things which they could not find out in all the 
 time of their travail and pains in the fallen 
 wisdom. 
 
 "And whilst they were hearkening after 
 the different voices of men, they never could 
 have a certainty; but now hearing Him by 
 whom God speaketh, who is manifest within 
 them, whom their ear is inclined unto within; 
 they come to know certainly that which they 
 know through the testimony of the Holy 
 Spirit, who alone is able to reveal unto those 
 that fear Him, the mysteries of God's king- 
 Q 
 
182 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 dora ; and He shuts them up from the wise 
 and prudent of this world. 
 
 "And therefore, you that desire to have an 
 understanding of these things, come down 
 from your high builded towers of knowledge 
 and comprehension, and sit down in that pure 
 Light, that brings a death upon the earthly 
 wisdom ; and become as fools, that you may 
 be wise : and that wisdom that is so received, 
 shall lead to know the number of the beast, 
 which the whole world, with all their acade- 
 mical wisdom, and all the sects, with their 
 inventions, are strangers unto at this day, and 
 are carrying about with them his name, and 
 the number of it, or his mark, by which they 
 are accepted among men, and yet do not know 
 what it is. But when they come to be wise 
 enough to know it, and honest enough to for- 
 sake it, then they will see, that the friendship 
 of this world comes to be broken, and the 
 enmity to work against the holy seed; and 
 the seed comes to arise and bruise the head of 
 the enemy, and to nail it fast to a cross till it 
 dies ; and then comes freedom — then there is 
 war no more — then there is peace on earth, 
 and nothing but good-will towards all men, 
 yea, to enemies. Then anguish and sorrow 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 183 
 
 flee away, and the perfect love of God casts 
 out fear, and there is death no more; but that 
 ■which is overcome by immortality. Blessed 
 and happy are all they that come to know that 
 state ; and blessed are they that believe and 
 wait to enjoy it; and blessed is that hope 
 which leads thereunto." 
 
 The remainder of the Treatise relates to the 
 duration of the reign of Satan among men, 
 in which he endeavours to explain the pro- 
 phecies of Daniel and John, still keeping in 
 view the great object of his Treatise, viz. the 
 doctrine of Redemption from] sin in this life. 
 Perhaps more may be learned from his brief 
 view of the prophecies of Daniel and John, 
 than from some more copious Commentaries. 
 
 He says : " There is yet one thing worthy to 
 be considered, of which mention is made in 
 the Scriptures of Truth ; in which it appears, 
 that in the beginning and setting up of the 
 reign of Christ, when the everlasting Gospel 
 was preached, and many thousands had be- 
 lieved and obeyed it, so that they came to be 
 witnesses of the kingdom of Christ; and when 
 Satan was cast out, dethroned, and put under 
 their feet, and some were made priests and 
 2 
 
184 REVIEW Of THE WORKS 
 
 kings to God — I say, after all these things^ 
 there came an apostasy from the faith, by 
 ■which all these things afore-mentioned were 
 brought forth ; and of that apostasy Paul 
 prophesied to the Thessalonians : and John 
 by the Spirit saw, how that Satan should get 
 a great dominion over men, by many change- 
 able means and ways executing his power;" 
 "and that the Almighty God had set and ap- 
 pointed a time, a certain time, to this dreadful) 
 dark, changeable government, and had given 
 John to know that it should last and continue 
 but One Thousand, Two Hundred and Three- 
 score days or years. And this is a set time, 
 and hath its beginning, and its ending; but 
 the kingdom of Christ, and also his Priesthood, 
 are both after the power of an endless Life. 
 
 "Now, seeing that this last power which 
 Satan has gotten, is but to continue his ap- 
 pointed time, why should any be his friend 
 so far as to say, that it must continue always, 
 and that it must never come to an end; and 
 that people no ways can get freedom from 
 under his tyrannical power." 
 
 "Come, take your books into your hands, 
 and read the number of the years; it is called 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 185 
 
 1260 days ; reckon after the reckoning of the 
 ancients, SO days to a month, and see whether 
 that does not make out 42 months ; and see 
 whether 42 months do not make a Time, 
 Times, and half a Time ; and see what things 
 are ordered to be in those different Times; 
 and see whether you can find out the begin- 
 ning of those Times, that so you may find the 
 end of them : for all those that had their con- 
 fidence in the number of the year 1666, are 
 now confounded, ashamed, and their hope is 
 frustrated. And now it is high time to wait 
 upon the Lord, to get an understanding and 
 knowledge which makes not ashamed. 
 
 " Now, the first thing to be considered, to 
 the opening of this thing, is, that the first 
 appearance against this man child, that was 
 born in heaven by a woman that was clothed 
 with the sun, and had her feet upon the moon, 
 and was crowned with the stars — the first, I 
 say, that appeared against this child, was a 
 great red Dragon. Mark, this was no sub- 
 stitute under Satan, but was Satan himself; 
 though he appeared in heaven, as you may 
 see, Rev. xii. 13; and he it is that has given 
 power to all those that have persecuted this 
 woman, or her seed; but as long as he was in 
 q 3 
 
186 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 heaven, he was no perfect persecutor; there 
 he had no power, but only to be an accuser of 
 the brethren, and therein be busied himself 
 night and day. But by this it is evident, that 
 there was a power over him, to which he 
 accused them, and so long they could not 
 sing: but when he was cast out with his 
 angels, then they sang: Now is salvation 
 come, and power, and the kingdom of our God, 
 and the power of his Christ ; for the accuser 
 of our brethren that accused them day and 
 night before our God, is cast down, Sfc. 
 
 "But then wo unto them that dwell on 
 earth, where Satan got his power, that is in. 
 the earthly ground. There he rules with great 
 wrath, anger and fury, and indignation, per- 
 secuting the woman, and the least appearance 
 of her seed ; and because he cannot do harm 
 enough of himself, he goes and makes for 
 himself a substitute, to wit, a beast with seven 
 heads and ten horns. Mark, just the number 
 •of his own heads and horns, only he came out 
 of the pit, and this out of the sea or waters, of 
 which waters you may read in Rev. xvii. 15, 
 * That they are peoples, tongues, languages, 
 and nations;' and out of them came this 
 strange beast p which Satan counted worthy to 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 1S7 
 
 have bis perfect power, because be knew that 
 he would do his work for him to purpose; 
 and be received his power for the space of 
 forty tv, o months. 
 
 "His first work was to persecute the saints : 
 Secondly, to set up tbe worship of the devil i 
 Thirdly, to bring the dread of this seven- 
 headed beast over the whole earth : Fourthly, 
 to blaspheme the name of God and his taber- 
 nacle, and them that dwell therein: And, 
 Fifthly, to make people believe, that there is 
 no overcoming of his power. And these 
 works are spread and carried on by three 
 unclean spirits, which came forth out of the 
 mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, 
 over all kindreds, nations, tongues, and people; 
 and there was none able to resist them, except 
 those whose names were written in the book of 
 the Life of the Lamb. And concerning them, 
 because they would not receive the mark of 
 the beast in their forehead or right hand, they 
 must be banished, and must not have liberty 
 to buy or sell; and those that would worship 
 nothing but a living substance, and not an 
 image, though it was alive, those must be 
 killed. 
 
188 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 "And when that sort were all killed and 
 banished, and the whole world brought, some- 
 times to worship the dragon, sometimes to 
 worship the beast that had just so many heads 
 and horns as the dragon himself; and then to 
 worship a little beast with two horns, that 
 came out of the earth ; and then to worship 
 the image of the old seven headed beast — 
 when I say, that all things upon the whole 
 earth were thus disposed, then was it as Satan 
 would have it; for now had every one sub- 
 jected himself unto his power, and received 
 that name or mark, or the number of the sub- 
 stitute, and admired his great power; and set 
 him up as the chief among men, whom none 
 could overcome, except some few that had 
 the Word of God itself, (for the other had 
 the Scripture,) and durst seal their testimony 
 against the dragon and false prophet with 
 their blood. 
 
 "And because these were but a few, and 
 were soon killed, they being dead, there was 
 a joyful and merry world; Satan was well 
 pleased, and they did send their gifts to one 
 another abundantly ; and those that had been 
 most busy, and serviceable to kill the wit- 
 nesses, (those that dared to speak of another 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISf. 189 
 
 kingdom or dominion, besides that of the dra- 
 gon and beast,) they had the greatest gifts. 
 And in those days there was no prophesying, 
 but in sack-cloth, and neither did that conti^- 
 nue long; but the prophets were killed ; and, 
 being dead, their dead bodies were kept above 
 the earth, and were more esteemed of than their 
 living testimony was, for that plagued all the 
 worshippers of the beast. 
 
 "So in such a time have the nations been 
 so long, that they are so used to the power 
 and reign of Satan, that they plead for it, as 
 if he had an undoubted right thereto. And 
 if Satan might speak himself, he would not 
 desire of the world to rule any longer than the 
 world alloweth him ; for they have forgotten, 
 that it is but to continue forty two months, 
 whilst the man child was caught up unto 
 God, and whilst his mother was in the wil- 
 derness ; and also, that it was to be expected, 
 that both should appear again in their ap- 
 pointed time. 
 
 "But whilst it was thus with the world, viz. 
 That the true Church was not to be found 
 upon earth, but was \fled away,as upon eagles' 
 wino-s. 
 
190 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 all, was caught up into heaven ; and that the 
 devil was in his place, the old serpent ruling 
 and giving his power to whom he pleased, to a 
 great beast, or little beast, or to a harlot, or to 
 any thing like him; and whilst great and 
 small, high and low, bond and free, did won- 
 der at his power, and were ready to worship 
 any one that had his power; let those whose 
 eyes are open, but consider in what a lament- 
 able state the miserable world then was, and 
 whether that abomination that made the world 
 desolate of God and all good order, was not 
 then set up in the holy place, where it ought 
 not. And was the world without a religion, 
 or without a profession of God and Christ in 
 those days? No: they bore a profession of 
 Christ who is unchangeable, in all their 
 changeable ways; and this was a time of 
 gladness to many. 
 
 "And they who rejoiced at the man child 
 being caught up to God, had many sorts of 
 religions ; and when they came to be weary 
 with one, Satan furnished them with another. 
 And when they had been exercised a long 
 time in the aforesaid worships of the dragon, 
 the seven headed beast, the little beast, and 
 of the living image, then there came forth yet 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 191 
 
 a deeper mystery of iniquity than before, the 
 mother of all these abominations : she shewed 
 herself not as a despised harlot, but as a queen, 
 decked with scarlet, purple, and precious 
 stones. And that very beast, which none 
 could overcome, but which the whole world 
 had wondered after, he himself must be under 
 her command, and must carry her up and 
 down upon the waters, which are peoples, 
 lands, tongues, and languages. And this har- 
 lot hath another design upon the poor blind 
 world. Mark — she comes with a preparation 
 to make all drunk, that they might not make 
 use of their senses, to bethink themselves 
 where they were; and that they might not 
 have any suspicion against any thing, she 
 furnishes herself with a golden cup, which 
 there was none that had any thing against it, 
 but every one could well receive it. 
 
 "And this was but to deceive them; for 
 any potsherd of the dunghill had been good 
 enough, to drink that out of, which she had 
 to give them. But she must give her drink 
 to kings and princes, and nobles and captains, 
 and merchants, and to all sorts of men. So 
 she proffered them her cup, and they have all 
 drunk." 
 
192 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 "They were drunk of abominations, and 
 the harlot was drunk of the blood of the 
 saints and witnesses of Jesus; and yet the 
 name of Jesus was still professed upon earth. 
 His name was not persecuted ; but those were 
 persecuted, that witnessed Jesus himself who 
 takes away sin. Such were persecuted ; for 
 she could not endure to hear, that sin, which 
 is an abomination to the Lord, should be taken 
 away, and that men should live without sin, 
 and be perfect; for if so, then she must be 
 childless, and as a widow, and must lose her 
 high place on the top of the beast; and then 
 men would not be so drunk of her cup, and 
 that would not tend to her advantage. There- 
 fore if any came to be witnesses of Jesus 
 himself, she drank the blood of such; but if 
 they would be content to drink her cup, and 
 so would please themselves wiih good and 
 precious words, and in the mean time drink 
 in her abominations, then they might live and 
 flourish as long as she nourished. 
 
 "But, alas! what do you think, who read 
 with understanding, was the state of the world 
 in those days? Was it not high time that 
 plagues, indignation, and vengeance should be 
 poured out upon this bloody harlot, and upon 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 193 
 
 the seat of the beast upon which she did ride, 
 and upon the whole earth, which had commit- 
 ted fornication with her ? Is it not high time 
 that the carpenters should come, Zach. i. 20, 
 to cut off these horns? for at that time the 
 power of darkness was spread over all, and 
 the will of Satan was done, and his one thou- 
 sand two hundred and sixty years were pros- 
 perous to his kingdom, and he did what he 
 pleased. And if any spoke against him, and 
 against his kingdom, he would have them 
 killed, and then his harlot would drink the 
 blood of such. And there was none left, 
 neither great nor small, neither bond nor free, 
 high nor low, neither young nor old, but had 
 submitted themselves all of them, and said: 
 Who is like him? None are able to overcome 
 him. — It is impossible to be made free from 
 under his power. — He must reign as long as 
 we live. — It is possible for us (cry they) to 
 overcome princes, kingdoms, and armies ; and 
 therefore zee go out and fight valiantly, and 
 many times zee get victory, and become con- 
 querors ; but to overcome sin, which Satan 
 has set up in us, that is impossible ; and 
 therefore it is vain to trouble ourselves about 
 it; and we will not do any thing concerning 
 
J94 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 it, seeing we have drunk in a faith, that it is 
 impossible to perform or accomplish it. 
 
 "And thus has the whole world been be- 
 witched, in the time when Satan has reigned. 
 And will he a:;d his servants make us believe, 
 that it must continue so always? though never 
 any other time was given him, but such as 
 was limited ; and, in the end of that time, we 
 understand there is a great alteration to come 
 to pass; to wit, That the Church, the true 
 woman, must come out of the wilderness again; 
 — the man child must come down again, and 
 appear upon earth, and rule the nations with 
 u rod of iron; and the harlot must be judged; 
 — that sorrow, death, and famine must come 
 upon her in one day ; and that ten kings 
 should agree together, to burn her flesh with 
 fire; and that the smoke of her torments should 
 ascend to heaven; and then must the dragon, 
 the beast, and false prophet, that had still 
 preached peace, though it was as abovesaid, 
 they must all be taken, whilst they are yet 
 alive hi this work and in their power, and bg 
 cast into the lake of the wrath of God, which 
 burnetii for ever; — and these princes, and 
 captains, and merchants, and inhabitants of 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 1&> 
 
 the earth, must howl and lament because of 
 this great alteration. 
 
 a And therefore, seeing that such a time is 
 lawfully to be expected, in which Satan, the 
 old serpent, may be thrust out of his domi- 
 nion, and that then the time of joy and re- 
 joicing will be for the upright, it is worth the 
 spending of our labour and time, to find out 
 that time ; that so it may not come over us, 
 and we see it not, and know it not, and so let it 
 pass by, as the Jews did; and so be doting and 
 wailing for it, as a thing which is yet to come, 
 as they do at this day, when almost two thou- 
 sand years are past, since the thing came to 
 
 4f Now, you know the Jews had a prophet, 
 who told them the time when the Messiah 
 should come, afo uiiand, to wit, Daniel, as you 
 may see, Dan. ix. 24, &c. where he told them, 
 that it was seventy weeks that were determined 
 upon the people, and upon the city, and that 
 the Holy One should be anointed. Now, this 
 was not such a great mystery to them; they 
 knew it was common to reckon a day for a 
 year among the prophets; so that that time 
 was but four hundred, fourscore and tea years 
 k 2 
 
196 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 that the visions should be sealed, and the daily 
 sacrifice taken away, the city be made deso- 
 late, and the anointing of the Holy One come 
 to pass, and the Messiah be slain for the sins 
 of the people. And since the time that the 
 command was gone forth to build Jerusalem 
 again, in which time the seventy weeks had 
 their beginning, is above two thousand years. 
 The city is since builded again, and also made 
 again desolate, and the daily sacrifice taken 
 away ; and the Prince of the people that then 
 came, viz. Titus Vespasianus, the Roman, has 
 destroyed the Sanctuary ; and the destruction 
 of it was vith an overflowing to the end of 
 the war: and yet all these things cannot con- 
 vince them, nor make them believe that the 
 Messiah is come, or that it was He whom 
 their forefathers have killed as a blasphemer. 
 
 "Now, that we, after such clear prophecies 
 of the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, 
 and dethroning ofthe devil, sin, and antichrist, 
 should not come to be surprised with the same 
 blindness and hardness of heart, let us have a 
 strict observation of the times; that we may 
 not fight against the appearance of Truth, and 
 put it far away from us, and say : The days 
 are not come yet, in which the pouring out of 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 197 
 
 the spirit can be witnessed ; and that the know- 
 ledge of God must cover the earth, as the 
 waters cover the sea ; and that the Gospel 
 must be preached again to those that dwell upon- 
 the earth ; and that the Lamb and his saints 
 must have the victory over the dragon and 
 his angels. For, such as put the day so far 
 from them, are in one and the same error with 
 the Jews, and do not understand the times 
 better than they do ; and so are persecuting 
 the true appearance of that which they seem 
 to expect and to pray for, as the Jews did, 
 because it does not appear in their way, to 
 answer their carnal expectations, who despise 
 the day of small things. But from such are 
 the mysteries of the kingdom shut up, and 
 are revealed unto those that fear the Lord. 
 
 " Now to understand these things, let every 
 one come to read the prophecies in a measure 
 of that Spirit by which they were given forth, 
 and as that same opens the prophecies; for, 
 without it, every one' understands only accord- 
 ing to his own fancy or private judgment. 
 The apostle said, There should come an Apos- 
 tasy from the Faith ; that is, from the true 
 Christian faith. Now, when was that ? And 
 who are they that are thus apostatised, or fallen 
 r3 
 
1C8 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 away ? Ask the Pope, and the whole Roman 
 Catholic Church, and they will tell you, that 
 ; the prophecy points at Martin Luther, Zuin- 
 glius, CTEcolampadhis, Calviiius, Menno Si- 
 moifis, and other heretics, that have rent many 
 nations from the true apostolic faith, and the 
 ancient Christian Church, the infallible foun- 
 dation and pillar of Truth, &c. 
 
 " Ask the Bishops of England, and the 
 Presbyters in Scotland, the Pfarherren or 
 Pastors in Denmark or Sweden, and Predicants 
 in the Low Countries, and they will tell you, 
 that this prophecy signifieth the general apos- 
 tasy from the apostolic faith and order in the 
 Church of Christ, to the Pope and popish ex- 
 ercises and Institutions over all Christendom. 
 
 "Again, ask them, Who among themselves 
 continue as yet in the true apostolical faith 
 and religion ? Then the Lutheran Pastors will 
 say, that we are ; and therefore, cry they, join 
 with us. No, say the Bishops in England, we 
 will prove, that the Apostolical Church had 
 Bishops, and that the apostle said, He that 
 desires the office of a Bishop, he desires a 
 good work ; and therefore we are they that 
 are the true Church, according to the first in- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 199 
 
 stilution. Then say the Presbyterians and 
 Dutch Predicants, The Bishops in the primitive 
 Churches were not such as you are, but such 
 as we are, whose care was over the flock; and 
 did teach and rule in ecclesiastical matters, 
 but not in Councils and Parliaments, as you 
 do ; therefore you are fallen from the primi- 
 tive state. 
 
 K And now at last what says Truth of these, 
 and all others who deny that faith which pu- 
 rifies the heart, and can cleanse the consci- 
 ence from sin, and can give victory over the 
 world ? This was the faith which Paul preach- 
 ed, that was nigh in the heart ; and therefore 
 all those that say, that the heart of a true be- 
 liever cannot be made clean, that he cannot 
 come to live without sin, nor to have a purified 
 conscience ; and all those that deny the word 
 of faith in the heart, and Christ to be the rule, 
 and set up another rule., and another faith, 
 and another foundation for it than the apos- 
 tle set up; all such are fallen from the faith, 
 and are not apostolic, but antichristian. And 
 when the man of sin comes to be revealed, they 
 will come to be revealed with him, and fall 
 with him, and with Babylon, the mother of 
 
£00 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 them all ; and great will be their fall in tbai 
 day. 
 
 et There is yet another prophecy of Christ, 
 in which He said : When you see the abomi- 
 nation of desolation standing in the holy 
 place, where it ought not ; then let him 
 that is in Judea flee upon the mountain ; let not 
 him that is in the field, go back to fetch his 
 clothes; nor he that is on the house top, 
 come down to talce any thing out of his house, 
 $,*c. Mat. xxiv. 15. And He further said, 
 Ver. 23, 24. Then if any man shall say 
 vnto you, JLo, here is Christ, or there, believe 
 him not, Sj-c. signifying plainly, that when 
 the abomination of desolation should be set 
 up, the people, notwithstanding, would not 
 be wanting in divers sorts of teachers of the 
 name of Christ. 
 
 " What were they made desolate of, by the 
 setting up of this abomination, seeing they 
 were not desolate of a profession of Christ in 
 divers manners ? They were desolate of the 
 power and presence of God in all their holy 
 places, (as they called them,) where this abo- 
 mination was set up ; even as Christ said to 
 the Jews, when they had made the house of 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 201 
 
 prayer to be a den of thieves ; then said He, 
 Your house is left unto you desolate. Mark, it 
 was not then desolate of people, of congrega- 
 tions, of religions, and worship; but it was 
 desolate of the presence of God ; for that was 
 not to be found there. So that abomination 
 which makes people desolate of the power of 
 God, by which they should have power over 
 their sins and lusts ; and which makes the mi- 
 nisters and teachers desolate of the Spirit of 
 God, by which they should have been led to 
 preach the Gospel ; this abomination has been 
 set up a long time, and made the people and 
 nations as a wilderness ; and this has been 
 since that time, that the Christian religion has 
 been carried on and maintained by the tradi- 
 tions of men. 
 
 (i Then came the poison to be poured out 
 into the Church ; and thereby it is come to 
 be so swelled and big, that it can comprehend 
 within it the tyrannical and persecuting 
 Princes, proud and rebellious Bishops, wicked 
 men-slayers and murderers, unclean, wanton, 
 and drunken people : they have all room 
 enough in it. And since that time it is counted 
 heresy, that any should make a profession of 
 being purified and cleansed j and from that 
 
202 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 time it may be reckoned, that the abomination 
 of desolation has been set up. And therefore 
 let us consider how long it is yet to stand, be- 
 fore Satan comes to be cast out, and the tem- 
 ple of God be cleansed, and the filth of abo- 
 mination be burned up, that the God of heaven 
 may again delight in his sanctuary, and that 
 the earth may not for ever be empty of his 
 presence ; but that He may be found of those 
 that seek Him, and be heard of them that are 
 mourning after Him. 
 
 "Now John saith, that this time of desola* 
 tion, was to continue a time, times, and half a 
 time ; that is, three years and a half, or three 
 times twelve months and six months; that is, 
 forty two months, or one thousand two 
 hundred and sixty days ; which times are 
 agreeing* together in one, and do perfectly 
 fulfil the time of the restoration of the Church, 
 and of the coming of the Righteous Judge, 
 whose right it is to rule over men ; for to Him 
 are the Gentiles given for an inheritance, and 
 the ends of the earth for apossession. And that 
 time doth also perfectly fulfil the time of the 
 power of the beast; for these times do all agree 
 together ; and as they had their beginning 
 about one and the same time, they must also 
 
OF STEPHEN CIUSP. 203 
 
 have their end shortly after one another, be- 
 cause they are like one another. 
 
 " Now to find out the end of those times, 
 the beginning must be first known. Now the 
 daily sacrifice was taken away long before 
 the abomination, that made the earth desolate, 
 was set up ; but from that time that both 
 should be fulfilled, said the angel to Daniel, 
 should there be one thousand, two hundred 
 and ninety days, that is thirty more than John 
 writes of. Now the abomination of desolation 
 was not set up in the time of Christ ; for said 
 He, When you shall see it set up, 3fc. speaking 
 as of a thing that was not yet come to pass; 
 and the Apostle said : There shall come an 
 Apostasy from the Faith ; which shews that 
 it was not yet come, neither did it come till 
 several hundred years after ; for the true 
 Christians suffered many cruel and_grievous 
 deaths for the Christian faith ; so that they 
 did not fall away, but endured to the end, and 
 were saved ; and so long the earth was not 
 desolate. 
 
 " But when that faith was lost, which did 
 support in sufferings, and that the Christian 
 religion, (which was the holy place,) came to 
 
20-t REVIEW 0.7 THE W0RK3 
 
 be corrupted by pride, covetousness, persecu- 
 tion and worldly pleasures, ease, and the de- 
 lights and honours of this world ; then the 
 abomination was set up, that made the earth 
 desolate. 
 
 " And reckon from that time, one thousand, 
 two hundred and sixty years, and add to it 
 these thirty years, of which the angel spoke 
 to Daniel, Dan. xii. 11, and see whether we 
 be not about the forty-five years, of which 
 there is made mention in the 12th verse, where 
 the angel having spoken of the one thousand, 
 two hundred, ninety years, adds, Blessed 
 is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 
 thousand, three hundred and thirty-five days : 
 signifying plainly, that there must be a time 
 of patience and waiting for the blessed 
 restoration, which was promised ; and that 
 that time of waiting should continue from the 
 one thousand, two hundred and ninety, till 
 one thousand, three hundred and thirty-five, 
 which are forty-five days or years ; and then 
 they are blessed that come thereunto. 
 
 " So he that hath wisdom, let him reckon ; 
 but this reckoning is not comprehended in 
 arithmetic, or the art of reckoning ; neither 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 205 
 
 can it be conceived by the -wisdom of this 
 world : but such as have the wisdom which 
 cometh from God, they shall understand ; and 
 it is to such I write." 
 
 "And by what is here said, it sufficiently 
 appears ; first, that this intruder or usurper, 
 called the Devil, Satan, Dragon, or Antichrist, 
 has no right to rule and to reign over man- 
 kind, all the days of their life : Secondly, 
 that his kingdom is a limited kingdom, and 
 was not to continue for ever : Thirdly, that 
 the limits of it have been revealed to several 
 of the servants of God : Fourthly, that the 
 appointed time of his governments is nigh, 
 come to an end : Fifthly, that there is a 
 blessed day and time to be expected after the 
 end of his reign : And sixthly, that none can 
 come to enjoy that blessed time and blessed- 
 ness, nor sing the song of joy and deliverance, 
 but those that patiently wait upon the Lord in 
 the days of tribulation ; and have that hope 
 to see the salvation which cometh out of Sion* 
 
 ft And therefore for conclusion, I shall say 
 this, that all those that feel themselves in bond- 
 age under this prince of darkness, in what 
 
20Q REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 manner soever it be, and are not willing to 
 remain so always ; let them but believe in 
 Him that sheweth you your bondage, and 
 wait in his pure light in your own consciences, 
 which discovers darkness and the prince of 
 it ; and then you will feel a hope to spring 
 up in you, that you may be delivered, as I my- 
 self have felt. 1 John, iii. 3. 
 
 " This hope v. ill lead to a daily washing 
 and purifying, and to a daily crucifying and 
 mortifying of thy earthly members. And as 
 this hope comes to work in thee, it will bring 
 thee to an experience of being delivered in 
 some particular things, and that will strengthen 
 thy hope of being delivered from more; and 
 so, at last a faith will arise in thee, perfectly 
 and thoroughly to be made free from sin. And 
 when thou art made partaker of this faith, then 
 the greatest and strongest bond of Satan is 
 broken ; for, through the unbelief of it, he 
 keeps his kingdom in man and woman. And 
 when this evil root of unbelief is taken away, 
 then his kingdom comes soon to an end, and 
 the government of Truth comes to be set up 
 in thee ; and so there comes a change to be 
 wrought in thee, both inwardly and out- 
 wardly ; and so cojnes his kingdom, who is 
 
OF STEPIIEX CRISP. 207 
 
 the intruder or usurper, to be lessened, first in 
 thyself, and then thou comest to see that change 
 in another ; and so it goeth forward, from one 
 to ten, and from ten to a thousand, and so 
 forth, more and more, until the inheritance of 
 the wicked comes to be wholly laid waste; till 
 Truth and Righteousness, and the reign and 
 government of Christ Jesus our Lord, come to 
 be set up in the earth ; which my soul longs 
 and travails for. 
 
 " And so, I know, it is with many more, for 
 whose sake this is written ; and as a testimony 
 against that proud and presumptuous genera- 
 tion of hypocrites, of what sort or name, or in 
 •what nation or kingdom soever they may be, 
 ■who not only have subjected themselves unto 
 this prince of darkness, and unto the power of 
 him who is called the Devil and Satan, but 
 ■who also pretend, that all mankind must do 
 so, and continue so all their days, and that 
 there is no remedy nor help against it ; and 
 so deny the power of God, and lead the peo- 
 ple to trust in a lie. But the day of the 
 Power of God is come, and the refuge of lies 
 is swept away; and the deliverance and vic- 
 tory of the LAMB is known unto many ; to 
 whom, and to the everlasting God, by the 
 
208 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 operation of the Holy Spirit in the hearts'" of 
 the redeemed, be sung everlasting praises, 
 thanksgiving, renown, honour and glory, and 
 dominion for ever." 
 
 A considerable Postscript is added to this 
 Work, from which I make the following ex- 
 tract : 
 
 11 Another great plea, which these sin- 
 pleaders bring, is this : If people can come to 
 perfection in this life, then they have no need 
 of Christ to be their Saviour ; as if the salva- 
 tion by Christ, and a perfect and pure life, 
 were inconsistent with one another. Ye fools 
 and blind, know ye not that all good and per- 
 fect gifts come from the Lord, and that none 
 can come to perfection, but by his gift ? And 
 if God be the giver, is it not then by grace ? 
 Where are works then ? But these pleaders 
 for sin, are as great strangers to the salvation 
 which is in Christ Jesus, as they are to per- 
 fection, otherwise they would see their igno- 
 rance. When Christ said to his disciples, Be 
 i/e perfect, as your Father which is in heaven 
 is perfect : that is as much as to say, (accord- 
 ing to the explanation of these people,) There is 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 209 
 
 your command ; when that is done, you Lave 
 no need of Me. 
 
 "And the apostle spoke Wisdom among them 
 that are perfect, but not such wisdom, or ra- 
 ther foolishness, as this, to persuade them, that 
 they had no need of Christ to be their Saviour 
 because they were come to perfection ; but, 
 on the contrary, he said, that he could do all 
 things; then he could be perfect; but not as 
 of himself, but through Christ that enabled 
 him. And those that come to a perfect state, 
 they know that their salvation is not of their 
 works, how good and pure soever they may 
 be, but merely by grace, through Jesus Christy 
 and in that respect of these three following: 
 observations. 
 
 a First, That it was the appearance of Christ 
 Jesus, who is the Power of God, that brought 
 them off from their sin and imperfection ; and 
 that they have not left them off of themselves, 
 but do own that it is the grace of God, as the 
 apostle did, Titus, ii. 11, 12. For the grace 
 of God that bringeth Salvation, hath appeared 
 vMo all men, teaching us, that, denying ungod- 
 liness and zeorldly lusts, zee should live soberly £ 
 righteously, and godly in this present worldL 
 s a 
 
210 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 So here you may see, that it is the appearance 
 of the grace of God that leads to perfection ; 
 and this perfection is not yet a perfect salva- 
 tion ; for those that have it, may fall from it 
 again, and so not be saved ; but those that en- 
 dure to the end shall be saved 
 
 "But, Secondly, it is Christ who is the pre- 
 server and keeper unto the end, of those that 
 trust in Him ; and the apostles testify, that 
 those that were delivered from the corruption 
 of this world, must know Him to be their 
 keeper, who had gathered them out of the 
 world ; and therefore said Jude in his epistle, 
 ver. 24. Now unto Him that ■ is able to keep 
 you from falling, and to present you faultless 
 before the presence of his glory, zoith exceed- 
 ing joy, 8fc. And Peter tcstifieth, 1 Peter, i. 
 5. You are kept by the power of God, through 
 faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in 
 the last time. And Paul testifieth, That the 
 keeping is by Jesus Christ. Phil. iv. 7. So 
 here you may see, that the bringing to the 
 state of perfection, and the keeping from fall- 
 ing from it again, are both the work of Christ ; 
 and yet this is not a perfect salvation, for 
 this does not put away the former sins. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 211 
 
 "But, Thirdly, whoever comes to perfect 
 salvation, he comes to know Christ to be an 
 offering for sin, and to obtain reconciliation 
 ■with God, and forgiveness of his former sins. 
 For all the holy conversation and perfection 
 of life, can be counted no more than his duty ; 
 and therefore he cannot obtain remission of 
 one of his former sins. But those that confess 
 their sins, and forsake them, such come to 
 forgiveness by Jesus Christ, and come to know 
 his blood cleansing them from all their former 
 sins ; and so they come to perfect salvation 
 by grace ; not by works, but by faith, that 
 works in the love of God, unto obedience; 
 without which, faith is but dead, and makes 
 no man saved, but those that have this true 
 faith and hope in them. They purify them- 
 selves, as He is pure. 1 John, iii. 3. And he 
 that has not this hope, does not purify himself, 
 neither does he believe that he can do it. And 
 by this we know the true believers from the 
 false ; and by this sinners are made manifest, 
 that cannot stand in the congregation of the 
 righteous. Psalm i. 5. 
 
 w So now let all the pleaders for sin stop 
 their mouths for ever, and let Satan stand for 
 himself, and plead his own cause ; and hence- 
 
212 KEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 forth do not despise and revile the innocent, 
 that are travailing and striving after perfection 
 with a faith to obtain it, as if they think to be 
 saved by their own works ; for we hope for 
 no other salvation, than that which is in and by 
 Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, who is 
 the first-born of every creature, who brings 
 many sons and daughters unto glory, but not 
 by leaving them in their sins ; for his name is 
 Jesus, and He saves people from their sins." 
 
 No. 17. " An Address to the Magistrates of 
 Groninghen" Date uncertain. — 4 pages. 
 
 This is a Christian persuasive against the 
 persecution which prevailed at Groninghem 
 against those who professed the principles of 
 Friends. It thus expostulates with the Ma* 
 gistrates. 
 
 " And whereas the Lord is pleased in this 
 your day, to visit a small remnant in your 
 city, with the knowledge of his everlasting 
 Truth, and to lead them to take up the cross,, 
 and deny themselves, and to leave the cus- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 213 
 
 toras and ways of this evil world, and to wait 
 upon God in the despised way of the Quakers, 
 so called ; what harm is this unto you ? What 
 evil have they done since, or what evil have 
 that people done to any prince or government 
 since they were a people ? What is this great 
 cry and noise made against us for ? Is it not 
 as in days past, if any man depart from ini- 
 quity, he makes himself a prey ; and he that 
 reproveth sin in the gate, for him they lay 
 a snare ? Why are the workers of iniquity so 
 moved? Ought you not to enquire of our ac- 
 cusers, when they come to you, what evil we 
 have done against God, or the wholesome laws 
 and liberty of the land, before you lay your 
 hand upon us ?" 
 
 After warning them against the influence of 
 their priests, &c. he thus states the necessity 
 which he and his friends felt of obeying God 
 rather than men, and the inefficiency of perse- 
 cution to deter them from their duty. 
 
 " The more you cause this people to suffer, 
 the more shall we be drawn, in the love and 
 power of God, to visit them, and your city for 
 their sakes ; for we durst do no other, being 
 commanded so of Christ, who is the Head of 
 
214 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 our Church. And if any the least member of 
 Him be in prison, in hunger, or want, and we 
 visit them not, He takes it as if He had 
 been so, and we had neglected visiting Him. 
 And this hazard we dare not run, for all the 
 frowns and threats of men ; for we know no 
 man, but Christ Jesus, shall ever receive power 
 to say, Go ye cursed, iyc. And it is not suffer- 
 ings and tribulations can now affright or deter 
 us from our service and testimony to our God ; 
 for we have learned in all states to be con- 
 tented. And if our tribulations abound for 
 the Gospel's sake, our consolation abounds 
 much more ; so that we can, in the strength of 
 God, give our back to the smiier, and turn the 
 other cheek, and our face to them that pluck 
 off the hair ; and, when all that is done, pray 
 for these our enemies, and do them good 
 against all this evil. And this we boast not 
 of, as of ourselves, but as the gift of God, 
 freely given unto us for Christ's sake, in whom 
 our sufficiency is." 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 215 
 
 No. 18. " A Lamentation over the City of 
 Groninghen." 1669. — 25 pages. 
 
 This address appears to have been excited 
 Tjy the rude treatment and persecution -which 
 the converts to the doctrine and practices of 
 Friends experienced in this place. 
 
 After describing and lamenting the sinful 
 state of the city, and earnestly recommending 
 repentance, he thus boldly proceeds. 
 
 " Thy rulers are like fierce young lions, 
 that roar because they are troubled, and think 
 to affright the lambs with their thundering out 
 threatenings. Thy priests are like the she- 
 bear that is robbed of her whelps, seeking 
 their revenge upon the innocent, and stirring 
 up the young lions as to a prey. Thy people 
 are like the wild beasts of the forest, which, 
 with a confused noise, are gathered together 
 to devour. Thy children run snarling to and 
 fro in the streets, tumulting and hallooing, 
 and uttering all mEnner of reproach and spite 
 against the innocent and harmless people, who 
 are departing from your ungodly course of 
 life, and are called out of your Babylonish 
 worships to be separated from you. 
 
216 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " O Friends ! consider, are these the fruits 
 of a Gospel ministry, and a well-governed Re- 
 public ? are not these tumults and uproars, a 
 shame to both priests and rulers, yea, and to 
 all the masters and fathers of families in your 
 whole city ? Doth it not appear you have lost 
 the good government that you ought to have 
 over the people, and the children and servants, 
 in your city and respective families ? O, con- 
 sider these things ! Whence comes uproar? Is 
 it not from the spirit of the Sodomists that tu- 
 multed the house of Lot ? And what was it set 
 Jerusalem of an uproar ? And what set other 
 cities in the acts of an uproar, but per- 
 secution ? And was not Gamaliel wise 
 enough to still the tumult, by persuading them 
 to leave persection, and leave the mat* 
 ter to God. O that you called Christians 
 were but so wise ! But, alas ! it hath grieved 
 my heart, while I was in your city, to see and 
 hear young and old, given up to an Ishmael 
 spirit, mocking and scorning, and deriding 
 the innocent; and to see how it is happened to 
 you in Groninghen, as it was in the rebellious 
 house of Israel of old — they that feared the 
 Lord, were as signs and wonders in Israel." 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 217 
 
 " And now all you rulers, priests, and inha- 
 bitants of the city of Groninghen, let me treat 
 a little more particularly with you, and en- 
 quire what is the reason you are thus moved 
 and driven on heaps, as you are. I know the 
 answer is : Here is a people in our city, that 
 men call Quakers, that in their life differ from 
 us ; and if we pipe to them, they will not dance; 
 and if we mourn, they will not lament : they 
 will neither rejoice in that in which we re- 
 joice, nor grieve at that at which we grieve ; 
 but in their worship, and in their manners, and 
 words, and all, they differ from us. Well, what 
 then ! what evil have they done to you or to 
 your city, or what have this people done 
 against any other city, where they have lived 
 and do live ? Alas 4 say men, they are every 
 where spoken against. Well 3 that is no rule 
 for you to hate and persecute them; know 
 you not the religion of the Apostles was every 
 where spoken against, yet it was the Truth ; 
 and after that way which men called heresy 
 worshipped they the God of their fathers ? For 
 the true Christian worship which Christ set 
 up, was to differ from that in the mount of 
 Samaria, and that at the temple of Jerusalem 
 too ; must Christ therefore be persecuted I 
 
218 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 <• O ! how blind and ignorant is this genera- 
 tion, that ye should again run into the same 
 error of the Pharisees, to condemn the old 
 persecutors, and prove new ones yourselves, 
 and persecute the same life, as it comes to rise 
 in any, to witness against you and your lusts, 
 as they and their fathers did ! and so ye ma- 
 nifest yourselves still to be of the same race 
 and stock, and to be born of the same estranged 
 flesh, that always persecuted such as were born 
 after the Spirit. And as they brought upon 
 them all the righteous blood that was spilt 
 from Abel to Zacharias, so you are about to 
 bring upon you and upon your children, all 
 the righteous blood from Abel to this day." 
 
 After alluding to the prophecy in the Apo- 
 calypse, relative to the reign of the beast 
 during 1260 years, and expressing his opinion 
 that the time was at hand, when Christ's king- 
 dom should be more conspicuous on the earth; 
 and that the power of man would be as unable 
 to oppose it, as to stop the ebbing and flowing 
 of the sea, or turn the sun or moon from their 
 courses ; the Author thus states, and comments 
 on, the grounds alleged by the Magistrates 
 for the persecution of the Quakers. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 219 
 
 "And now, friends, I come more particu- 
 larly to capitulate with you, the Magistrates 
 and people of Groninghen, having before me 
 four papers, all given out against a people 
 called Quakers, and appearing to come all 
 from one spirit, though it is sad to say and to 
 think, that men called Magistrates, and a city 
 called Christian, nay reformed, should have 
 such horrible work found therein as I found 
 in two or three days' stay in your city, and 
 find in your papers. And because two of 
 these papers come from you that are the 
 Magistrates, I think it good to say something 
 to them. First, the one is a sentence given 
 to several citizens, the other to some not being 
 citizens, whom you had imprisoned, in which 
 you have warned the citizens to meet no more 
 in such meetings as they have done, and the 
 other to come no more in the city to such 
 meetings, and both upon the threatening of 
 further punishment : and that the reader may 
 the better understand where this sentence and 
 threatening takes its rise, I shall set down the 
 sentence verbatim, and then Avrite something 
 to it by way of inquiry. 
 
 " The First complaint is unreverent beha- 
 viour: Secondly, that he is called a Quaker: 
 t 2 
 
220 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Thirdly, that he was lately at a Meeting : 
 Fourthly, that it was the more to divulge hurt- 
 ful and pernicious errors and spirit's drivings : 
 and upon these you say, that such forbidden 
 conventicles and dangerous sects must not be 
 suffered, but punished in a well governed 
 Republic; and therefore } r ou insinuate, that if 
 he comes any more at the Quakers' meeting, 
 he must be looked upon as disobedient and 
 rebellious, and be dealt with accordingly. 
 
 "Now, friends, to the first, What was the 
 unreverent behaviour? Did you shew them 
 a law which they would not be subject to? 
 Came they not at your summons, in which 
 they acknowledged you Magistrates ? And 
 stood they not attentively to hear what you 
 said ? Gave they not to you necessary answers 
 to your questions? But it seems they put not 
 off their hats — Was that an offence to you ? 
 Alas ! that men of understanding should no 
 more regard their reputations, than to take 
 offence at such a thing, when there is neither 
 law of God nor nations, nor of your own city, 
 that requires it. You should have made a 
 law first that they must do so, and then for 
 your part you had done like an Ahasuerus. 
 There was something to say for bowing, vis. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 221 
 
 the King's commandment, the King's author- 
 ity: — What ! Mordecai, wilt thou not bow ? the 
 King commands it. Well, but Mordecai cannot 
 bow if he dies for it; then you know who set 
 up the gallows — he that was angry because he 
 was not bowed to. 
 
 "Were not these things written for your 
 and our learning? ye never find in Scripture 
 that the Christians called it unreverent beha- 
 viour to have their hats upon the head ; and 
 the three children had their hats on in the 
 furnace : do ye think they put on their hats to 
 be cast into the furnace, or had they them not 
 on when they stood before the king? And 
 then this great king came to the mouth of the 
 furnace, and saw them walk with their hats 
 on. Why did not they pull off their hats to 
 the king ? But neither Christians nor heathens 
 have you for example in this matter, except 
 the apostate Christians in this time of the 
 reign of the beast, in which he hath set up his 
 worship instead of God's; but in this parti- 
 cular, I think the law is not yet made, that I 
 know of, that commands folks to put off their 
 hats ; and where there is no law, there is no 
 transgression. 
 
 t 3 
 
222 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " But what is the matter here is such offence 
 taken about the hat? Is there any worship 
 therein? If so, that belongs to God, and to no 
 man. Is there any honour therein ? If so, the 
 receiving honour from one another is that 
 "which hindered the Pharisees and Jews from 
 receiving the faith of Jesus, as you may read : 
 so what part is that in you which is so highly 
 offended ? Is it not come of the same line and 
 stock with Nimrod, that hunted before the 
 Lord, when he ought to have come after; and 
 Esau the profane man, that was wroth with 
 him that had the blessing, though he himself 
 had sold him his birth-right; and of the stock 
 of Haman, and Jezebel, and Nebuchadnezzar, 
 and Herod, and Nero, and Dioclesian, and. 
 Maximilian, and others that might be named, 
 among whom this principle of seeking wor- 
 ship and honour to themselves, halh stood 
 always high ; to whom the royal seed of God 
 could never bow. 
 
 *'And which think you now was the best 
 sort— Abel or Cain ? Nimrod, or the sons of 
 God that were in those days ? Jacob or Esau ? 
 Haman or Mordecai? Jezebel, or Elijah that 
 could not yield to her nor fear her ? Nebucbad- 
 -Bezzar, or Shadrach Meshach and AbednegoS 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 223 
 
 Christ and his disciples, or Herod and Pilate ? 
 who could not agree till they went to crucifying 
 the just; and then, the Scripture saith, they 
 were made friends ; then they could agree. 
 And Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Aurelius, Se- 
 nerius, Maximus, Deinius, Valerian, Au- 
 relian, Diocletian, what thiRk ye of these? 
 Were not they better that did not yield to them, 
 than they themselves were, and they that did 
 yield ? It may be you will say, Yea, but these 
 were heathens. To that I answer, that perse- 
 cution for conscience and religion's sake, and 
 forcing the conscience to the wills of men, is 
 one and the same work in itself, whoever doth 
 it; but it is two fold worse in one called 
 Christian, than in a heathen. For your being 
 called Christians or Christian Magistrates, gives 
 you no more power over other men's consci- 
 ences, than heathens had ; for that is God's 
 throne in mankind; and He will not give this 
 prerogative to any, but to his Son Jesus ; and 
 woe to them that rob Him of it, for He will 
 have his own glory, and spoil theirs too. 
 
 " Secondly, The thing is, he is one called a 
 Quaker. I answer, what crime is that, to be 
 called a Quaker — seeing the Quakers are 
 Jbiown through the world to be harmless^ and 
 
224: REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 clear of wronging any kingdom, land, or city, 
 or private person? Their principle is, to 
 fear God, and to do justly, and to keep their 
 conscience unspotted ; so this is neither crime 
 nor disparagement to be called a Quaker, but 
 rather a crown and rejoicing. For upon that 
 sort of men have always the blessing rested, 
 that trembled at the Word of the Lord, as you 
 maj- read. — And they that mock at trembling 
 and quaking shall know a day of hording and 
 lamenting, in which they shall tremble and 
 quake, and wish to die our death, though they 
 despise our life. And, besides, you have no law 
 against a man for being called a Quaker ; and 
 so here is no transgression yet. 
 
 " Thirdly, Tiie thing is^that he was lately 
 at a Meeting of the Quakers. Answer. Is that 
 a crime ? against what law is that ? And when 
 was it published, and in what book of record 
 can we find that law that forbids the being at 
 a Quakers' Meeting — seeing you are within 
 the compass of the Seven United Provinces, 
 that are spoken of so far, for granting liberty 
 of conscience ? If you are not of that mind, 
 why do you not publish yourselves to be of 
 another mind ? What ! have you forgot your 
 fathers and grandfathers already, that suffered 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP., 225 
 
 so deeply to purchase liberty of conscience, 
 and spent so much blood and treasure, and 
 implored the aid of foreign Protestant princes, 
 which was plenteously given them, that they 
 might, above all things, leave you this inherit- 
 ance ; to wit, liberty of conscience to meet toge- 
 ther and worship God as you were or should 
 be persuaded ? and now you are robbing and 
 spoiling one another of this inheritance. 
 
 " What, are you framing again the old rotten 
 pieces of Duke d' Alva's yoke, to put it upon 
 the necks of your brethren, to tell them what 
 Meetings they must go to, and what they must 
 believe, and what religion they must be of ? 
 O friends ! away with this work ; or else it 
 will make a stench in the nostrils of the na- 
 tions, and of your neighbours ; and, besides, it 
 will bring a curse a^nd a blasting upon you. 
 
 " Fourthly ', But then you say, this Meeting 
 was for the divulging and spreading of hurt- 
 ful and pernicious errors, and the Spirit's lead- 
 ing, &c. Now, friends, these words are either 
 true or false. If they are true that such things 
 are divulged at our Meetings, why do not you 
 or your teachers manifest what these pernici- 
 ous errors are, that people may know thenij 
 
226 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and how they are opposite to the Holy Scrip- 
 ture? For if you do not do this, your bare assert- 
 ing them to be so, will hardly carry authority 
 with it to make people believe it, except the 
 rude tumultuous rabble, that is readier to be- 
 lieve lies than truth ; and indeed your au- 
 thority may prevail further with them to stir 
 them up against the Truth, than it will to 
 keep them in the band of sobriety, and from 
 tilling the streets with tumults and uproars. 
 
 " But if you intend the sober sort should 
 believe you, then discover particularly what 
 these hurtful and pernicious doctrines are, and 
 how they are against the Scriptures of Truth ; 
 and if you cannot do it, set your priests at 
 work to do it: they have wages enough to en- 
 gage them to serve you, if they be not too 
 high for you ; and when you and they have 
 done that, we will have no more Meetings in 
 Groninghen, but will come over to you, and 
 take up your religion, if that appears to be 
 blameless and according to the Scripture : but 
 till this be done, we cannot believe men's 
 words, especially such men as, in contempt to 
 the Spirit's leading, persecute us for owning 
 the leadings of the Spirit. For shame, call this 
 word in again ! Were not all that ever were 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 22T 
 
 sons of God, led by the Spirit of God? And 
 did not the saints of old walk after the Spirit ? 
 And did not the Apostle teil them, if they did 
 so, they should live ? And what now ! must we 
 be persecuted for being led and guided, and 
 drawn, and constrained by the Spirit? O abo- 
 minable ! If you had been born of the Spirit 
 you could not have written so ; but being 
 born of the flesh, persecution is as natural to 
 you as it hath been to such in former ages ; 
 but the same spirit that persecutes us for the 
 leading of the Spirit, and mocks at us for the 
 witnessing of the Spirit, is that which perse- 
 cuted Christ Jesus, in whom this Holy Spirit 
 lived without measure, that now liveth in us 
 in measure : so we know we are not greater 
 than our Lord ; and if we patiently suffer for 
 his sake, He will plead our cause with our 
 enemies. 
 
 u But, friends, I do charge these words upon 
 you to be false, and do require you, in the 
 name of the Lord, to prove them true if you 
 can, and let us know what those errors are; for 
 I do absolutely deny the matter of fact where- 
 with you charge us, and that our meeting 
 then, or at any other time, is for any such 
 intent or purpose ; so we shall leave it in the 
 
228 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 sight of God and men, till we hear more par- 
 ticularly what hurtful and pernicious errors 
 are charged against us. 
 
 " And where you say such things may not 
 be tolerated in a well governed Common- 
 wealth, but ought to be punished, &c. do 
 you mean here your own Republic, that you 
 are so zealous to preserve in good order ? If 
 so, I ask if drunkenness, and swearing, and 
 ballad-singers, and rope-dancers, and mounte- 
 banks with their jests and mockeries, and all 
 such things as gaming and fighting, &c. if these 
 may be tolerated in such a Republic, nay coun- 
 tenanced ? Do not your streets swarm with 
 ballad-singers, and every one or two of them 
 gets several great meetings in a day ; some of 
 them singing such horrible, bawdy, filthy 
 things, as would I believe make the prostitutes 
 in Rome and Venice blush for shame; see 
 " Stemme V or man Jop" for one, with several 
 others that I found in your city. And is this 
 the Republic that is so well governed, that the 
 people of God may not innocently meet toge- 
 ther in it, to wait upon God, and to exhort 
 one another, and build up one another in the 
 faith of Christ, the Light, but they must be 
 punished ? 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 229 
 
 " O friends ! if either men or women had 
 not lost shame and modesty, such cursed, abo- 
 minable things could never be permitted in 
 your hearts to be sung. These things do not 
 shew you to be such a well governed republic, 
 but your judgment is turned backward ; and 
 while you seek to terrify them that do well, 
 you are the countenancers of all manner of li- 
 centious and ungodly persons,upon whom your 
 sword ought to lie. 
 
 " And as for your threatening, we have only 
 this to say, we shall do nothing in contempt of 
 you or your authority, and we hope we shall 
 not forbear the doing of any thing that the 
 Lord our God requires at our hands, knowing 
 that it is better to obey God than man, and 
 having learned of Christ, who said : I will tell 
 you whom you shall fear : Fear not them that 
 can only kill the body, and can go no farther, 
 but fear Him that can kill both soul and body, 
 and can cast them into hell. So our cause is 
 before the Lord ; let Him do with us or suffer 
 others to do with us as He pleaseth ; for his 
 will is good, and we are given up to do and 
 suffer his will. And if any men be our ene- 
 mies for the Truth's sake, we dare not but love 
 and pity them ; and when they know what 
 
230 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 they do, they will do so no more; and, in the 
 mean time, the Lord God of heaven support 
 us by his power and living presence, in 
 which is that life that we have hungered 
 after." 
 
 The Author then notices some scurrilous 
 and filthy songs, which had been sung about 
 the streets of Groninghen, and observes : " As 
 to us, we can well bear such things. Drunkards 
 made songs of David, and the rebellious of old 
 chaunted to the viol, and drank their wine in 
 bowls, but forgot the affliction of Joseph.' 1 
 
 Pie thus concludes his address : 
 
 " So, friends, I have, with as much brevity 
 as may be, touched on these things ; and what 
 I have written, I have written in an universal 
 love to you all ; and do desire, that I may hear 
 that you grow wiser and more considerate ; 
 and not like a company of mad people, run on 
 heaps, you know not wherefore ; but as you 
 are called Christians, and reformed ones too, 
 shew forth fruits of sobriety ; and if your 
 priests think that any in your city are deluded, 
 if they be spiritual, let them take their spiri- 
 tual weapons, and convince them in love and 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 231 
 
 tenderness; and not shew themselves so like 
 the shrine-makers at Epbesus, to cry, Ilelp^meti 
 of Israel! so they cry, Help, Sckout ! and, 
 Help, Burgher-masters ! and, Help, wild and 
 rude people, and boys in the street ! 
 
 " O ! shame of these things, and let your 
 priests buckle on their armour like men, and 
 maintain their church, and doctrine, and reli- 
 gion to be apostolical; and let us have liberty 
 to dispute in their synagogues every Sabbath- 
 day, as it was in the Apostles' time; and if any 
 on their part, or on ours, offer violence, let the 
 Schout lay his hand upon such. For methinks 
 it is a pitiful case, that you that are burghers, 
 shop-keepers, and merchants, and the like, 
 should be fain to help the learned Divines, so 
 called, in a matter of religion, and that you* 
 must use your civil power to defend them and 
 their religion, against their adversaries and 
 antagonists, when they come against them, with 
 nothing but arguments and Scripture, and such 
 like weapons. 
 
 " Consider these things, and stand still a little 
 in coolness; and God will open your under- 
 standings, and give you wisdom how to do in 
 this matter ; so as that the Lord may bless you 
 u 2 
 
232 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and your city, and you may all endeavour, in 
 your respective places, to stop the flood of 
 iniquity and wickedness, and so prevent the 
 curse of God, which otherwise hangs over 
 your heads." 
 
 No. 19. " Address to the Baptists in Hol- 
 land, with a Query for them to answer" No 
 date. — 4 pages. 
 
 This Tract appears to have arisen out of a 
 conference with several Baptists. 
 
 The question is as follows : 
 
 a That whereas the Apostle in his epistle to 
 the Ephesians, Eph. iv. 5, saith, There is one 
 Lord, one Faith, one Baptism ; I asked what 
 that one baptism was ? Whether the apostle 
 in this place did intend that baptism which in 
 Scripture is called the baptism of John, which 
 I confessed was with outward water, or whe- 
 ther he intended the baptism of the holy 
 Ghost, which in Scripture is called the bap- 
 tism of Christ; and I urging and pressing for 
 an answer, you told me you could not tell. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 233 
 
 u Now, friends, this thing is needful to be 
 known, both by you and us, and by all men; 
 therefore consider it: If thebaptismbebut one 
 and you be ignorant of that one, then have 
 you none, or as ill as none ; for if it be but 
 one, and you take up another thing in the 
 stead of that one, it is impossible it can pro- 
 duce that effect which the one true baptism 
 would do ; and consequently is as bad as 
 none. So search yourselves, friends, for by 
 your discourse you have given me ground to 
 suspect you are as much strangers to the one 
 faith, that gave the saints a victory over the 
 world, as you are to the one baptism that makes 
 clean the conscience, and is the answer of a 
 good conscience in the sight of God. 1 Ptlcr, 
 iii. 21. And where these two are wanting, 
 and their effects, there is nothing enjoyed or 
 known, that is profitable to salvation. And 
 though men talk of these things, and make 
 profession of them; yet where their fruits do 
 not appear, it is manifest the things themselves 
 are not there, but bare talk. So, friends, search 
 your hearts, and consider your ways, and turn 
 your minds to the Light of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who is the true Light that enlighteneth 
 every one that cometh into the world. And 
 as you wa : t in that, it will give you an under- 
 u 3 
 
234 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 standing in things you yet know not, and 
 make you able, in simplicity, to answer this 
 question, and also make you partakers of this 
 one baptism j which is my hearty desire for 
 you." 
 
 No. 20. ll A Testimony concerning Edward 
 Graunt" No date. — 3 pa* 
 
 iQ-es. 
 
 This is a short notice of an honest and pious 
 Friend, who appears to have met his end by 
 the violent abuse of a company of troopers, 
 who found him, with a few other persons, 
 quietly met together for the purpose of wor- 
 ship. As it is said, "the troopers came riding 
 upon them," I conclude the Friends had been 
 excluded from their house, and were assembled 
 in the street, as near to it as possible. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 235 
 
 No. 21. " An Epistle from Stephen Crisp, 
 when a Prisoner ." No date. — 4 pages. 
 
 This is almost a song of triumph. The pri- 
 soner seems to lose sight of his outward bonds ? 
 in contemplating the liberty with which God 
 had made him free. The style, particularly 
 of the Introduction, is highly figurative and 
 poetic. As the Epistle is short, I shall extract 
 it without curtailment. 
 
 " O ye lambs of the green pasture ! ye sheep 
 of my Father's fold ! ye who by the word of 
 life, are made acquainted with the power of 
 regeneration, and are born into the nature of 
 the Lamb's innocency, and grown up in the 
 virtue of sincerity — O, how glorious is your 
 appearance ! Mine eyebeholdeth, and my heart 
 is ravished; my soul shall praise the God of 
 ray life for ever and ever, on your behalf. 
 From the hill have I viewed you, and from the 
 high tower of my refuge have I looked on you. 
 My eye is opened ; and I see you the flock of 
 undented lambs, in whom my God is glorified. 
 O ! feed ye, and be ye nourished ; for your pas- 
 tures are enlarged, and your Shepherd's care 
 is over you. His arm is able to defend you 
 from every beast of the field. By day will He 
 
236 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 feed you in his pleasant pastures ; and by 
 night will He fold you in a fold of rest. 
 
 " O my beloved friends ! this is the day of 
 which wc have spoken, and in which not only 
 (he words, but the nature must be manifested. 
 And ye Mho bear the Lamb's image, and grow 
 in his nature, iirst being proved, shall be pre- 
 served and delivered; and in the day of trial 
 feel the word of patience; fur that stayeth the 
 thoughts, and keepelh satisfied in the present 
 state. And here is the glory of the saints, who 
 only of all the children of men, can glory in 
 tribulation, and can grow then in patience. 
 Now doth the glory of Sion's daughters ap- 
 pear to be within them ; and their strength is 
 a continual spring, whereby her sons arc armed 
 with power, to tread down change and altera- 
 tions, and dwell in the dominion over trouble. 
 Glory, glory, to the God of our strength, who 
 keepethus — who guardeth Israel — whoarmeth 
 his chosen ones, and leads them to the battle — 
 and keeps our Lead covered therein, that the 
 enemy cannot wound it 
 
 " And here, my dearly beloved brethren and 
 sisters, in the generation of our endless posteri- 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 237 
 
 ty, is my unity with you preserved. Though by 
 locks and bars I be separated outwardly from 
 you; yet, by the invisible Sowings of life, I do 
 reach you, and am felt by you, in that Eternal 
 Spirit which quickens and gives life to every 
 member of the Church of Christ. 
 
 " This present separation is for trial of our 
 faith, love, and patience, that through exer- 
 cise they may be perfected, and we all may 
 learn the heavenly and internal knowledge ? 
 sense, and feeling, one of another, by sinking 
 into, and waiting in the Spirit of the Father, 
 by which the whole body is knit and united 
 together : and whosoever knows us not in this, 
 is not truly of us ; for, as we have said, decla- 
 rations and prophecies must cease ; but the 
 Word which begets and gives life, abides for 
 ever ; and is the daily bread which is set before 
 the mercy seat, in the house of our God, of 
 which none may eat, but those who are sanc- 
 tified, washed, and clean, according to the Law; 
 and are witnesses of the offering that makes 
 atonement. And these may now feed toge- 
 ther, being nourished, and may grow strong, 
 as well as ever ; because the enemy cannot 
 rob you of your food and your water. 
 
238 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Therefore eat, O friends ! and drink abun- 
 dantly of the new wine, well refined. Let 
 your hearts be glad, and let your souls rejoice 
 in the promise ; for this is the day of the 
 Lamb's battle; and the day of his victory is 
 near at hand, wherein the carcases must be 
 buried out of sight, and all dead worship and 
 without life, put under; and the living worship 
 of the living God must be exalted more and 
 more. Therefore, rejoice ye, and I say again, v re- 
 joice. Let your hearts be strong, O my beloved 
 friends! and comfort ye yourselves therein, 
 and one another, and love one another. Let the 
 spirit of love abound in you, one towards 
 another, in how much ye see the enemy seeks 
 to discomfort you. 
 
 tl Mark the weak among you in true love 
 and compassion. Beware of the wiles of those 
 that are crafty, who seek to lead from the sim- 
 plicity of the Gospel. Keep your testimony 
 alive in all things wherein ye are required by 
 the Lord, and be not terrified at all that is or 
 may come to pass. And the God of Peace 
 and Power, of eternal Love and Truth, pre- 
 serve you all faithful to the end, to the ever- 
 lasting consolation of your souls, and glory of 
 his great Name j for the sake whereof He hath 
 
Gp STEPHEN CliiSP. 239 
 
 saved us, and delivered us, and will yet deliver 
 us : to whom be everlasting praises, and holy 
 thanksgiving, for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 "Stephen Chisp." 
 
 No. 22. " An Epistle from Stephen Crisp to 
 Friends ." No date. — 6 pages. 
 
 This is an Epistle of general advice, and 
 contains some excellent practical matter, as 
 will be evinced by the following extracts, vis. 
 
 " Dear Friends ! this is a certain saying, and 
 worthy to be believed: That all temptations 
 to evil, both inward and outward, of what sort 
 soever they be, do spring from that power 
 which God will in time bring down, and break 
 to pieces, for his Seed's sake. And they that 
 abide low in the lowly seed, shall behold their 
 deliverance with rejoicing, and shall bless the 
 God of their salvation for ever. But if any 
 one, in the hour of temptation, lifts up himself 
 above that tender principle that teacheth a 
 whole dependence upon God; then such an 
 one seems wise and strong in his own eyes, 
 but by and by falleth into the snare of the 
 
240 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 enemy ; and then sees bis own weakness and 
 folly, it may be when it is too late. Therefore 
 let every one be kept in the pure fear of God, 
 waiting daily to feel his strength renewed 
 through the Spirit of Christ, that worketh in us" 
 both the will and also the deed. And such as 
 have their sole dependence upon God in the 
 faith of his Son, take no care how to pass 
 through the trials and difficulties of their day ; 
 but, as children of a tender Father, they cast 
 their care upon God, who cares for them, for 
 his Name's sake, and brings them through and 
 over all, in his own time and manner ; and 
 then have such experience, and can speak a 
 word to the weary soul, from the sense of what 
 God hath done for them. 
 
 " So, dear hearts, now you know the way of 
 God, walk in it, with an upright and an hum- 
 ble mind ; and let your cries arise to God for 
 the planting and spreading his Name; and 
 let your life so shine in the beauty of holiness, 
 that the mouths of all Truth's enemies maybe 
 stopped ; and the sober inquirers after the 
 Truth, may be reached by your faithfulness 
 and innocency, which is the loudest trumpet 
 that can sound out God's praise in the earth. 
 And without this life, all preaching and tes- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 241 
 
 timony is to no purpose, but tends to the con- 
 demnation of them that make profession of 
 that they enjoy not. 
 
 " And, dear hearts, love one another with 
 the same love wherewith the Lord hath loved 
 you; which is that love that forgives tres- 
 passes, and covers offences. And hereby ye 
 will always have a sense of each other's life and 
 sincerity, and be tender over tbe good in one 
 another, and travail for one another's growth 
 and prosperity. For this love teacheth to lay 
 no burdens upon one another, but to help to bear 
 each other's burdens, as Christ Jesus hath 
 taught. And while this love dwells in your 
 hearts, there is no roomfor evil thoughts, nor for 
 jealousies, nor evil surmisings. But whatever 
 is seen in another that is not right, this love 
 constrains the one to deal uprightly with the 
 other ; and the other feeling the virtue of this 
 love, is constrained thereby to submit to the 
 word of exhortation for the Lord's sake, 
 and so both are comforted and refreshed 
 together. 
 
 " And, friends, wait diligently, daily to 
 feel the life of your testimony renewed in 
 your souls ; that ye may know the way of God 
 
242 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 to be still the new and the living way. And 
 this will keep you from fainting, by reason of 
 the length of time that ye bear the cross, and 
 sufferings, and reproach of the Gospel ; for 
 when your life and inward consolation is re- 
 newed, as well as your exercises and trials, 
 there can be no weariness. 
 
 "And this keeps out of all dead formality, 
 which all other professors fall into when they 
 have lost the life of their testimony, when they 
 retain a formal profession, which stands in 
 words and outward things, which neither 
 pleases God, nor brings comfort to their 
 souls. 
 
 " But you, dearly beloved, wait in diligence 
 for the dew of heaven, daily to water the plant 
 of God, that ye may be fruitful to Him that 
 hath planted you, and may receive his bless- 
 ings in your bosoms, in your families, and in 
 your meetings, and your souls may praise his 
 Name for ever. 
 
 " So, dear friends, the God of my life bless 
 you, preserve and prosper you, in his blessed 
 testimony, to which He hath called you; and 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 2i3 
 
 strengthen 3 r ou, and give you wisdom, so to 
 ■walk as ye have heard and learned from the 
 beginning ; that, in the end, ye may rest in 
 Him, with all the faithful. 
 
 " This is the earnest breathing and desire of 
 j/our Friend, in the fellowship of the Gos- 
 pel of Peace. 
 
 " Stephen Crisp." 
 
244 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 No. 23. " An Epistle from S. Crisp to 
 Friends in the North.'" J. Whiting's Catalogue 
 dates it 1670. — 6 pages. 
 
 This is an Epistle of general exhortation 
 and congratulation to Friends, on their being 
 preserved in " the faith and patience of 
 Jesus." 
 
 The Author had laboured much in the 
 North of England, and felt an apostolic care 
 over the converts. He thus exhorts them to 
 an entire devotion to God : 
 
 " And, dear friends and brethren, remem- 
 ber to keep holy the Sabbath of your rest in 
 Christ, which is now come, and see that you 
 rest from your labours, and from toiling your 
 spirits in the earth and earthly things ; and 
 whoever feels a burden, lay it off, whatever 
 it be, that ye may possess all things in the free 
 Spirit, that looks not at the value of any thing 
 in comparison of the Truth, remembering the 
 words of our Lord, That zohere the treasure 
 is, the heart will also be. So that those whose 
 heart is in a wife, in a husband, in children, 
 in trade, in riches, in house and lands, or 
 whatever else, so far that they cannot willingly 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 245 
 
 give them up for the Truth, these are such an 
 one's treasure ; and this treasure is in the 
 earth ; and the heart is there, whatever they 
 profess. And these things come to be gods 
 in the secret chambers, besides the Lord ; and 
 so his first and lasting commandment, who 
 said, Thou shalt have no other god besides 
 Me, is broken ; and this brings guilt and bur- 
 dens upon the soul, and then thou canst not 
 keep the spiritual Sabbath to God ; for no 
 burden must be borne thereon. But he that is 
 entered into the rest, is ceased from his own 
 works, as God did from his ; and such keep 
 the Sabbath holy. 
 
 {l So, dearly beloved, cast away that labour 
 and toil, which hath made some to walk un- 
 comfortably in the way, and some to faint and 
 fall from it; and lift up your hearts to God in 
 the faith, and give up yourselves and all things 
 to his will; and there comes an end of all your 
 cares, saving only to be found doing his will, 
 in your generation. 
 
 " And in this blessed service is my joy and 
 my fellowship with you, and all the faithful 
 in Christ Jesus, in whose love my heart is, at 
 this time, enlarged towards you, beyond what 
 
 x3 
 
246 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 words can utter. Yet having no new thing to 
 write to you, but the very same which we have 
 heard and learned from the beginning, to wit, 
 that glorious testimony of the resurrection of 
 life and of salvation, which God, through the 
 manifestation of his Son, hath committed unto 
 us to bear. In this blessed testimony I still 
 labour in the strength of the Lord ; and He 
 hath blessed me therein, and caused me, by 
 the operation of his Divine Love, to sound the 
 same Gospel unto several countries and nations 
 in the eastern parts of the world ; where a 
 door of utterance is opened unto me, and 
 many have believed and obeyed the Truth." 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 247 
 
 No. 24. " An Epistle from Stephen Crisp to 
 Friends in the Eastern parts." No date. — 
 3 pages. 
 
 This is an Epistle of affectionate caution. 
 
 No. 25. " Another Epistle from S. Crisp to 
 Friends." No date. — 5 pages. 
 
 This Epistle appears, from the following ex- 
 tracts, to have been written to a company of 
 Friends in some foreign country. The latter 
 part of the extracts affords a striking proof of 
 the tendency of persecution to promote, ra- 
 ther than to check, what it is intended to 
 suppress. 
 
 " In the fellowship of that pure Spirit by 
 which the Lord hath reached unto us, and 
 quickened us, and brought us from that sleep 
 and death of sin, and made us sensible of a 
 life that is eternal — in this holy fellowship, I 
 
248 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 say, doth my soul dearly salute you ; earn- 
 estly breathing unto God, who is our Foun- 
 tain, that He may daily multiply his grace, 
 mercy, and peace upon you, and in you all; 
 and may, by the influence of his good Spirit 
 and blessed presence, make up unto you, that 
 which others in England and elsewhere do 
 enjoy, and you want ; viz. the many precious 
 opportunities of being comforted together in 
 our general and large Meetings, and the large 
 Sowings forth of the Spirit in the ministers of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 " But, friends, the Lord our God can be 
 all, and will be all, in all unto you that trust 
 in Him ; and this know, you are often in our 
 remembrance, and that Spirit of Life that is in 
 us, doth often bring you to mind for good, as 
 members of the same body, nourished by the 
 same bread by which we live. And, my dear 
 friends, your testimony for God, in that howl- 
 ing wilderness, where Sion, our mother, and 
 all her children are yet in suffering, is very dear 
 and precious in the sight of God, and of me 
 his servant. I have, with comfort and refresh- 
 ment to myself and many brethren, been drawn 
 forth to speak of what I saw and felt among 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 249 
 
 you, as to your patient and joyful suffering 
 for the Gospel's sake, in -which you have 
 believed. 
 
 <c And now, dear hearts, go on in the name 
 of the Lord, till your testimony is accom- 
 plished, and let your trust be alone in God, 
 "who hitherto hath made way for you beyond 
 expectation; and will still take the care of 
 you, as a father over his children : and have a 
 care that nothing be suffered or permitted 
 among you, that hurts your testimony for God 
 and his blessed Name. O friends ! it is more 
 worth than our lives ; for this is the day in 
 which God is making known, through us, unto 
 the world, that there is a Power able to keep 
 them that trust in it, in the path of righteous- 
 ness and holiness. 
 
 (i And, dear friends, let none be weary of 
 tribulations, knowing that the glory of God 
 and the Gospel is thereby advanced ; and the 
 seed that is sown in this generation through 
 sufferings, shall come up in the next, in great 
 glory and dominion. Therefore be of good 
 courage ; your work, service, tribulations, and 
 afflictions, will never be forgotten. 
 
250 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " And, dear friends, I came lately out of 
 England, where there is the greatest addition 
 and increase of the Church of God, that ever 
 mine eyes beheld ; and the occasion of it, as 
 to the outward, is a certain law that is made 
 to plunder Friends* goods, for meeting and 
 preaching; 40/. sterling for preaching, except 
 the first time, which is 20/. ; and 20/. the house 
 where the meeting is, and 10s. every one that 
 meets. And hereupon many Friends have 
 been spoiled of their goods ; and their bold- 
 ness, steadfastness, faithfulness, and courage, 
 have astonished the nation from the greatest 
 to the least ; and many have believed ; and 
 many officers and magistrates choose rather to 
 suifer themselves, than to execute the law. So 
 that Truth's prosperity is very eminent in that 
 nation, and in Scotland and Ireland. There 
 is also a great increase : and remember, my 
 dear lambs, ye are the first fruits unto our God 
 in these countries ; that is your crown ; wear 
 it honourably, and suffer for the remainder of 
 the seed, in meekness and patience ; and com- 
 mit the work to God, who will break through 
 the nations in his great power, and will make 
 our innocency shine as the sun. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 251 
 
 " So, dear lambs, God Almighty preserve 
 you to Himself, and comfort and guide you as 
 a Shepherd, and feed and satisfy you with 
 heavenly refreshment. This is the desire of 
 my soul for you ; and I know it is your de- 
 sire. And I know God doth and will hear 
 the supplications and cries of his own ; and 
 in this confidence and faith, I remain your 
 true and real friend in the Gospel of Peace. 
 
 " Stephen Crisp." 
 
252 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 No. 26. "To the Rulers and Inhabitants in 
 Holland, and the rest of the United Provinces. 
 
 (From the original Manuscript of a Book in Dutch, 
 called, The Ground and Cause of the Misery of the 
 Netherlands.") 
 
 Although this Address may be considered 
 as of a local and temporary character, it con- 
 tains so much valuable matter, relative to the 
 connexion between the prosperity and virtue 
 of nations, that I shall make pretty copious 
 extracts from it. The Tract derives addi- 
 tional interest from the subsequent spoliations 
 to which the Dutch have been subjected, and 
 the strange downfall of their political power, 
 since that period, when the " high and mighty 
 Lords of Holland" were courted as allies, and 
 dreaded as enemies, by the principal govern- 
 ments of Europe. 
 
 He opens his Address with the following 
 lively description of the state of the people : 
 
 " O Holland, and the adjacent Provinces, a 
 renowned land, a land full of riches, full of 
 people, full of religions, and full of all ini- 
 quity ! O ! what lamentation shall I take up 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 253 
 
 over thee, O Netherlands ! My soul is afflicted 
 for thee, and my heart is rilled with sorrow 
 concerning thy state. How is distress and 
 anguish come upon thee ere thou art aware ! 
 And how are thy bowels filled with confusion 
 and distraction, breakings and shatterings on 
 every side. Thy wise men and rulers have 
 lost their ancient policy, and thy whole land 
 hath lost that unity in which thy glorying 
 was; and misery is broken in upon thee like 
 a sea, and there are no banks to keep it out. 
 Thy strong holds have been, and are still, but 
 snares to thee, and gins of thy own preparing, 
 wherein thou art catched and taken, and hast 
 none to deliver thee. Thy gold and money 
 is now no Saviour ; neither availeth it thee that 
 thou hast gotten great riches ; for that doth 
 but sharpen the force of thy enemies against 
 thee. Thy multitude of counsellors is now no 
 safety to thee, because they are broken in 
 judgment, and confounded and shattered in 
 their counsels, every man being joined to 
 his own faction, and seeking the promoting 
 thereof; thy allies stand afar off, to see what 
 will become of thee. 
 
 " O renowned land, of whose fame and great- 
 ness the whole world rung ; and all princes 
 
 Y 
 
254 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and potentates had an eye upon thy affairs 
 and prosperity, marvelling whereto it would 
 grow! how is thy glory stained — thy name 
 and fame decayed— thy beauty turned to 
 ashes— thy strength to weakness— thy unity to 
 confusion and tumults — thy dread to reproach 
 and shame; and the eyes of all potentates now 
 looking out at thy fall and desolation, which 
 hasteth upon thee! 
 
 " These tilings are greatly to be lamented ; 
 and yet is there a greater lamentation over 
 thee ; and that is, that few or none have laid 
 these things to heart, or sought out the cause 
 of this misery, or set a hand to remove it ; but 
 the nearer the plagues come, the more do 
 pride, looseness, and hardness of heart, fill thy 
 land, and cities, and people. Therein few or 
 none stand in the gap, few or none plead with 
 God by true repentance, and turning from 
 those abominations for which the mighty God 
 of heaven is come to visit thee ; but thy eyes 
 and mind are out at this cause and that cause, 
 crying out, this is a traitor, and that is a 
 traitor ; and one makes lies, another reports 
 and spreads them, and a third proceeds upon 
 that as upon afoundation ; and sojudgmentand 
 justice is turned backward, and your fingers 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 255 
 
 are made foul with blood, and your hands fall of 
 iniquity ; so that your sword cannot prevail, 
 nor your designs prosper, until you repent, 
 and turn to the hand that smites you. And 
 then, on the other hand, how are the eyes of 
 the people out at saviours upon the earth, feed- 
 ing yourselves with vain and windy hopes, to 
 rid yourselves from your calamity by this 
 means and that means, setting up one man, and 
 pulling down another, calling strangers to 
 your assistance, rather than making peace with 
 an offended God, whose anger is justly 
 kindled against you, because of your abo- 
 minations. 
 
 " Another great misery upon thee at this 
 time is, that thou hast few or none, to deal 
 plainly with thee, in this thy forsaken condi- 
 tion ; but thy teachers, who have been the 
 great stirrers up of this confusion, and makers 
 of parties within thee, are as blind seers that 
 can see no way for thy escape ; but are put- 
 ting you upon desperate designs, which tend 
 more to their own interest and advantage than 
 to yours ; so thinking to make an advantage 
 of your misery, and build their tower higher 
 with your ruin. And in place of telling you 
 how you were brought into this condition, and 
 y 2 
 
256 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 how you might come out, they are crying out,, 
 that they have been too much despised, and 
 their Church counsels too much inspected, 
 and their power too much limited and re- 
 strained ; and you have given too much liberty 
 for people to exercise their consciences in 
 matters of religion as they were persuaded, 
 though contrary to them and their prescrip- 
 tions so that if you will but serve them in 
 persecuting their opposers, though more up- 
 right than themselves; and if you will but set 
 them up, and put more into their mouths, they 
 will cry peace to you. O ! beware of such 
 blind guides, that see not the danger, nor the 
 way to escape it; but such have you too long 
 followed, O ye Netherlander ! until now 
 both the leaders and the led, the rulers and 
 the people, are fallen and falling into a pit" 
 together. 
 
 " And now that things are thus far gone, O ! 
 that there were yet but an ear to hear counsel, 
 that I might have hope concerning you, that 
 ye might yet turn to the Lord, and that He 
 might have mercy on you before utter ruin 
 hath laid you desolate. Yea, a travail is upon 
 me for you, that ye might be saved, if it be 
 possible, and the decree be not sealed against 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISF. 257 
 
 yon. And, however, that I may be clear in 
 God's sight, and free from the blood of all 
 men, it lies upon me to spread a few things by 
 way of counsel and consideration, before the 
 people of these countries., that the just prin- 
 ciple- in all consciences may be reached unto, 
 unto which I do appeal ; and they shall testify 
 in the day of judgment, in the face of all the 
 rebellious, that they were warned, and that 
 they rejected counsel." 
 
 He then calls their attention to some of the 
 causes of their condition, amongst which, he 
 enumerates the hypocrisy that prevailed in the 
 land — the loss of that simplicity which dis- 
 tinguished their forefathers — of that zeal and 
 fervency which formerly appeared for refor- 
 mation — and the rendings and tearings that 
 obtained amongst them on account of doctrine 
 and worship. He then points out the imper- 
 fect means which they were using for deliver-^ 
 ance, and thus proceeds t 
 
 " Consider what use is at this time made of 
 your low estate, that, instead of turning to the 
 Lord, whose heavy hand is upon you, and 
 passing by offences wherein ye have offended 
 
 ¥ 3. 
 
258 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 each other, and forgiving injuries, and joining 
 together in covenant with God, and one ano- 
 ther in love, as Christians ought to do ; — I say, 
 instead hereof, how is one taking advantage of 
 revenge upon another, and bringing forth mis- 
 chief and evil against his neighbour and his 
 brother, and by all means, true or false, some- 
 times seeking the ruin and destruction each one 
 of him that is against him, or hath injured him. 
 
 " This is not the way to healthy wounds, O 
 Netherlands! but is the way to make thy wounds 
 daily bleed afresh, and to give matter to thy 
 enemies to rejoice over you, who can so easily 
 rejoice and triumph one over another. 
 
 " Far better were it that ye did humble your- 
 sel ves.and forgive one another,and seek the pub- 
 lic welfare by banishing each one out of his own 
 bosom that traitor called wrakesucht, [revenge] 
 and enmity, which hath been the ruin of many 
 famous countries, and hath begun to ruin yours, 
 and will certainly ruin it, if not cast out ; for 
 self-interest always breeds contention, and con- 
 tention wrakesucht. But the universal love of 
 God, which teacheth, in the first place, to give 
 no occasion of offence, preserves all societies in 
 peace ; and had this universal love of God 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 259 
 
 prevailed in this land, things had not come to 
 the pass they are come to : but pride and 
 haughtiness went before a fall, and now are 
 the lofty fallen ; and they that have been long 
 contriving how to get into great honours and 
 dignities, are as in a moment fallen. O that 
 all that are concerned both in this falling and 
 rising, would consider the just hand of God in 
 these things ! but let none act in revenge 
 against his neighbour, nor his brother ; for ven- 
 geance is the Lord's, and He doth and will repay 
 it ; and if some magistrates must be turned 
 out because they have been exalted, let men 
 more humble, more wise, more fearing God, 
 and hating covetousness, be nominated in their 
 places; and not such as will but step into their 
 decaying glory, and withering dignities, and 
 there exalt themselves as they have done ; for 
 that is the way to bring down more judgments 
 and plagues upon this distressed land ; and 
 for it always to be unsettled and filled with 
 confusion. 
 
 (C It is worth the consideration of all men, 
 how the mighty hand of God is manifested in 
 this our age, in breaking the decrees and force 
 of men, and in overturning all devices which 
 are contrived of men, for the settling of their 
 
260 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 own interest; by which all men ought to learn 
 to take heed of binding, or seeking to bind, 
 the hand of the Almighty. When was there 
 more policy and counsel employed for the 
 settling of self-interest than was in England 
 against the present king ? And when men's 
 bands were at the strongest, then the Lord 
 confounded their counsels, and brought him 
 over them, whom they had most excluded. 
 Yet this served not the rulers of this land for 
 a warning, who trusted not so much in the 
 Lord for their establishment, if it were his 
 will, as in their own edicts and contrivances 
 to keep out the young prince of Orange ; and 
 how suddenly were all their bands and edicts 
 broken ! 
 
 " Therefore, how had all men need to stand 
 in awe, and to fear before the Lord ; and everj 
 one to act quietly in his own sphere, without 
 having regard to self-interest, and endeavour- 
 ing to establish it by deep and crafty con- 
 trivances, and without having an eye to 
 what shall be, except they knew the counsel 
 of the Almighty therein. Therefore, O Prince, 
 rulers, and people I be wise, sober, and watch- 
 ful ; and fear and dread the living God, who 
 sees all your thoughts and purposes; and s<t 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. ZOl 
 
 many of your purposes as are contrary to his 
 holy, pure, and righteous will, He will either 
 prevent and bring to nought, or else suffer to 
 come to pass to the hurt and sorrow of the 
 purposers thereof. And in both He will glo- 
 rify his Name, and make the inhabitants of 
 the earth, both high and low, to know that 
 He is God, and that there is no God besides 
 Him, that can pull down and set up at his 
 pleasure; and that arrogancy, pride, and 
 cruelty, and oppression, are no more pleasing 
 to Him in one man's name or appearance, than 
 in another : and that no throne can be esta- 
 blished but in righteousness ; nor any counsel 
 or government prosper but what is grounded 
 upon Justice and Truth, which is the foundation 
 of every thing that is fast; and what is not 
 built thereupon is easily shaken and removed? 
 as experience hath always taught, and doth 
 teach : therefore saith wisdom, Prov. viii. 15, 
 Bj/ me Kings reign, and Princes decree 
 justice, 8?c. and happy is that king, prince} 
 and ruler, who takes wisdom for his guide, and 
 the fear of God, which is the beginning thereof, 
 for his counsellor." 
 
 After expostulating with the Burghers who 
 were engaged in the defence of their cities 3 for 
 their vicious conduct, he says : 
 
262 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " Consider also, if it be not high time to 
 leave off wickedness, and not multiply ^espe- 
 cially when death stands by the door ; and in 
 the grave there is no work. And let none say : 
 Our city is strong, our burghers are valiant, 
 our commanders are true and faithful ; for if 
 all these things be so, yet these cannot save 
 you ; for the hand of the Lord is above and 
 beyond all these things ; and his hand is upon 
 you for your sin and iniquity; and from it can 
 no man protect nor deliver you ; read Psalm 
 cxxvii. 1. Except the Lord keep the city, the 
 watchmen watch in vain ; and how can you 
 expect the Lord to be a keeper of your cities,, 
 when you are daily filling them with those 
 things that are abominable in his sight ? May 
 He not justly cast you out as a reproach and 
 shame before your enemies, who exceed them 
 all in profession ; and yet daily increase your 
 sins and wickedness. O ! repent, repent, and 
 cease to do evil ! and cleanse your hearts and 
 purify your hands, ye double-minded, or else 
 the hand that is lifted up against you, will 
 lay you waste, and none shall be able to de- 
 liver you. 
 
 " In the next place, consider what you are 
 doing, all you who are daily raising tumults 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 263 
 
 and insurrections in the bowels of this dis- 
 tressed land, breaking the bounds of all order 
 or moderation, stoning, plundering, and kill- 
 ing, and evilly entreating whom you please ; 
 yea, your rulers themselves, upon the bare sug- 
 gestions of every idle and unruly tongue. What 
 do you think will be the effect of these things ? 
 How shall your fastings and prayers procure 
 a blessing from the righteous God, while 
 your hands are full of blood and cruelty, dis- 
 order and misrule. Is this you that used to 
 be crying out, to those who, for conscience' 
 sake, could not in some things be subject to 
 the commands of rulers, but rather exposed 
 themselves to patient suffering — O ! ye must 
 be subject to magistrates ; ye must not rebel 
 against authority, nor be seditious ; and such 
 like. 
 
 " Where now is your zeal for the authority 
 and for the magistrates ? Doth it not appear 
 that deceit and hypocrisy have lodged in the 
 secret chambers of your hearts ; and now is it 
 not manifest that ye regard neither magistrates 
 nor authority, but the bringing to pass your 
 mad and monstrous wills ? raging as madmen, 
 without either bounds or order; tossed like a 
 sea, one while one way, another while another, 
 
264 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 without any stability ; by which you are a 
 shame both to your religion and government, 
 and a grief to all that have the fear of God be- 
 fore their eyes. 
 
 " Were it not better that every one rested 
 in quietness and in peace, waiting upon God, 
 to see Him bring down and set up at his plea- 
 sure; and discerning of God, (who is the 
 Fountain of wisdom to endue your Prince and 
 Rulers with wisdom,) how to remove evil men 
 out of authority, and to place better in their 
 places, and you to continue in obedience to 
 the power of God, wronging no man, and 
 abusing no man ? Would not this be a speedier 
 way to bring down a blessing upon you, and 
 your land and government, and to stop the 
 proceedings of your enemies, than by filling 
 the land with tumults and uproars, with vio- 
 lence and cruelties. To that of God in all con- 
 sciences I speak; let that answer me. 
 
 " And now the bands of government are 
 broken among you, and must be again made 
 up, or else you must inevitably perish. Let 
 every one, both high and low, consider what 
 government in itself is ; that so ye may, from 
 the true original thereof proceed every one to 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 265 
 
 know your place in the creation, both how to 
 rule and to be ruled. 
 
 " The apostle Paul saitb, The powers that 
 be, are of God ; but that power by which a 
 magistrate becomes a tyrant, or a subject be- 
 comes a rebel, that is not of God, but of Satan, 
 who is the author of evil ; but the power that 
 is of God leaves neither ruler nor subject to 
 the liberty of their own will, but limits both 
 to the will of God ; so that the magistrate hath 
 no power to command evil to be done, because 
 he is a magistrate ; and the subject hath no li- 
 berty to do evil, because a magistrate doth 
 command it ; but both must be subject to the 
 supreme power of God, if they will be happy, 
 for that is the ground of happiness. Now this 
 power as it is in God, is incomprehensible, 
 and without limit or end ; but as it is manifest 
 in the sons and daughters of men, it is the pale 
 and limit that stands between all good and 
 evil actions ; and all good that is done, is done 
 in it, and all evil that is done, is done with- 
 out it. 
 
 " And this power stands in all men, as a 
 fixed, settled principle to rule them, and to 
 give them law in every action and word, what 
 z 
 
266 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 they must do, and what they must forbear ; 
 and he that acts by and within the compass of 
 this, lie hath no cause to fear the power of the 
 magistrate, because he hath unity with it ; for 
 his sword is his praise, and a terror to those 
 that do evil. And therefore God, who is a 
 God of order and peace, hath made known 
 this just and equal principle, called Power, 
 Wisdom, Light, Truth, Justice, &c. in every 
 man, both high and low, that men might live 
 in order and in peace upon the face of the 
 earth. 
 
 tl By this the Ruler knows it is not good to 
 be fierce, cruel, or injurious : and also that 
 if he were a Subject, he would not be so done 
 unto.. By this the Subject knows he ought not 
 to be stubborn, rebellious, or treacherous; 
 and that if he were a Ruler he would not be 
 so done unto. So, as long as this blessed 
 principle of God is submitted to both by rulers 
 and people, so long they are a blessing, com- 
 fort, and strength, one to another, and not 
 longer. For the power in the Ruler is one 
 with the power in the Subject ; and whosoever 
 turns from the power, the power turns against 
 him, and the unity is broken j and instead 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 26T 
 
 of peace and tranquillity, there is discord and 
 trouble. 
 
 u Therefore happy and blessed are the prince 
 and people, who are both subject to the higher 
 power, which is the power of God ; for such 
 feel perfect love and unity one with another, 
 and the prince commands in obedience to 
 God, and the subject obeys for God 1 s sake, 
 and not out of fear ; and a government and a 
 rule builded upon this foundation, and kept 
 here, shall always prosper. Here no man 
 seeks to vassalize his fellow creature to his 
 own will, and no man counts obedience to his 
 lawful Prince a vassalage ; but both serve 
 God ia their several places with cheerfulness. 
 And how happy would such a nation be, and 
 such a people ! and how ought every one to 
 labour to attain to the knowledge and obe- 
 dience of this power, which made all things 
 good, and keeps all in good order ! 
 
 " This, this alone, O Netherlands I can 
 heal thy wound, and cure thy breach. This 
 is that which can drive away thy enemies, 
 and reconcile thee with thy friends and bre- 
 thren ; and until this blessed power of God be 
 z 2 
 
2*)0 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 I|ad in more esteem in thee, thou canst not be 
 healed. 
 
 te To this alone belong the titles of Groote, 
 Uoogen, Moo gen, Achbaer, Src. [great , high, 
 mighty, SfcJ] and not to frail and sinful 
 men. And such as have taken these titles 
 upon them, or do still take them, the hand 
 of God is and will be against them ; 
 and will make them know, that out of this 
 power they are neither Hoogen, nor Moogen, 
 nor Achbaer, but full of breakings and con- 
 fusion : and this pride and exaltation hath 
 been one cause of thy wound. And if thou 
 shouldest be made whole on one side, thou 
 wilt break out of another ; and if thou hadst 
 no enemies, thou wouldst prove thy own der 
 stroyer. Therefore whoever hath an ear, let 
 him hear the voice that calls for truth, and 
 righteousness, and judgment, among you ; and 
 when ye are willing to hear the Lord, then He 
 ■will hear you, and not before. And so, in the 
 mean time, while his voice and power in you 
 as slighted and despised, he will despise and 
 slight all your fasts and prayers ; yea, and all 
 your labour and toil to settle yourselves either 
 in religion or government, shall be in vain. 
 And this shall you know from the Lord, when 
 
OF STEP MET* CRFSP. 2C9 
 
 He bath fulfilled Ii is purpose upon you, and 
 laid waste the heritage of the rebellious, and 
 brought you down to lowliness and to repen- 
 tance, and to confess unto Him, and to his 
 power, which is over all, blessed for ever. 
 
 " So, friends, thus far have I cleared myself, 
 and dealt faithfully with you, and warned you 
 of the causes of your evils ; and whether you 
 will hear or forbear, the Lord will one day 
 make you know that he Hath raised me upas 
 a watchman to your country ; and that I have 
 seen the evil coming upon you, and have 
 faithfully warned you of your evil ways, both 
 now and before at divers times, as may be 
 seen in my complaint over Groninghen? 
 printed in the Year 1669. And well had it been 
 for those Netherlands, if they had taken coun- 
 sel then ; then had these evils not come 
 upon them. 
 
 "And now I am again drawn forth in the 
 love of God, once more to write unto you, 
 though I would willingly have forbom writ* 
 ing at such a time as this, if I might have been 
 clear in God's sight. And glad should I be 
 that you had an ear to hear while yet the day 
 'lasteth ; and let none be offended at the plain- 
 z 3 
 
270 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 cess of my dealing -with you ; for it is high, 
 time to speak plainly ; destruction is at the 
 door, and it is not my work to flatter you, nor 
 to adyance any party or faction among you, as 
 the most of your manifold foolish scribblers at 
 this time do, by their pasquils and pamphlets; 
 •which tend more to increasing your misery, 
 and kindling up more animosities and feuds 
 among you, than to taking away either the 
 cause of thy misery, or to the healing of thy 
 breach, 
 
 " And for my part, I have learned not to 
 fear man, nor to seek the favour of any party 
 or faction ; but to answer the witness of God 
 in all menVeonsciences, is my aim and desire. 
 And so, hoping there is yet a people in thee, 
 O Netherlands! whose day is not yet over, 
 and to whom the word of prophecy and coun- 
 sel may not be sent to make your ears deaf, 
 your eyes blind, and your hearts fat ; but that 
 it may tend to the bettering and amendment of 
 life ;— I say, hoping there is such a people, I 
 leave this my testimony, to be read by them 
 in the fear of the Lord, and to be improved to 
 3ijs glory and their comfort. And for the rest, 
 who cannot endure sound counsel and re- 
 .iproofsj but persist in their iniquity, and bar- 
 
 
-OF STEPHEX CRISP. 271 
 
 den their hearts against the Lord and his 
 Truth, and against the testimony of his ser- 
 vants, such shall be forced to endure his 
 plagues and judgments, until they are con- 
 verted or consumed. And to conclude, I say 
 with Malachi, both to priests and people: 
 They shall find the day of God to be as a fiery 
 oven, and all that do not lay his zcord to hearty 
 shall be as fuel. Read Mai. ii, 1, 2. iv. 1." 
 
 No. 27. tl An Epistle from Stephen Crisp, 
 to the Princess Elizabeth in Germany." No 
 Date. — 7 pages. 
 
 So much of the matter of this Epistle is of 
 general application, and affords so favourable a 
 specimen of the plain, but not uncourteous ad- 
 dress, of a Christian minister to a person of 
 rank, that I venture to think the whole will be 
 acceptable. 
 
 " In that love lhat is universal and free in 
 its own flowings forth, am I at this time drawn 
 forth to visit the beloved seed of God, with a 
 tender salutation, which will be better felt and 
 understood in that tender, lowly seed of the 
 
272 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 
 kingdom, than it can be read or comprehended 
 in the sensual or carnal comprehending wis- 
 dom of this world. Therefore my desire is, 
 that with an inward retired consideration, thou 
 mayst consider what I have to say, which I 
 was desirous, and did hope to have signified 
 unto thee by word of mouth; but am hindered 
 at present, through weakness and inability of 
 body, and other urgent concerns for the pre- 
 cious Truth's sake, (of which I am a servant,) 
 which do not admit of so long a journey, 
 nor of any long stay at present in these parts. 
 Neither could I be clear in God's sight, with- 
 out signifying somewhat of that which is upon 
 me concerning thee. And I pray God thou 
 mayst have a sense of the depth of that love 
 from whence it springs. 
 
 " Well, my friend, for a long time hath a 
 love wrought in my heart to your family; and 
 great pity wrought in me many years since, 
 in consideration of the distresses of the years 
 of your childhood ; and a secret joy was in me, 
 when it pleased God to end those long German 
 wars, and to restore you in some measure to 
 your former dignities and capacities, wherein 
 you were made capable of serving God in your 
 j*f negation, who had been so gracious to you. 
 
X)F STEPHEN CRISP. 273 
 
 And when I heard thatlhy brother Charles had 
 laid his hand upon God's little heritage in the 
 Palatinate, it grieved my soul for his sake ; 
 and I was drawn to go to him at Heydelburg ; 
 and, in great meekness, and fear of God, to 
 warn him of God's displeasure, which I felt 
 kindled against him. And this was about the 
 year 1669 ; and I was constrained to tell him 
 that as he had stretched out bis hand against 
 God's heritage, the Lord would stretchout his 
 hand against his, if he did not cease persecut- 
 ing the Lord's people for their conscience to- 
 wards God. And O, that he had taken counsel 
 in the day of his visitation! 
 
 "And when I heard that thou didst receive 
 several under thy protection, who were ex» 
 pelled and banished from other places, though 
 I knew their root and ground to be that which 
 would not abide in the day of trial, yet I did 
 rejoice on thy behalf, as believing that it sprang 
 from a tender principle in thee, which was 
 willing, as far as thou knewest, to receive dis- 
 ciples in the name of disciples ; and I did hope, 
 that in time thou mightest come to have a 
 disciple's reward ; and that thou mightest, in 
 the end, come to know the revelation of that 
 loot and foundation which hath been the 
 
274 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Slock of Ages, to the righteous in all 
 generations. 
 
 " And according to this hope, a travail was 
 in my spirit for thee before the Lord, that He, 
 by his Divine Power, might open thy under* 
 standing, to see beyond, and over the offences 
 and stumbling-blocks, that some, pretenders to 
 high things, had cast in thy way; and might 
 learn thereby to cease from man and men, and 
 their words and ways, and might be brought 
 to the holy anointing in thyself, through faith 
 in Christ Jesus, the quickening Spirit ; that 
 by it thou mightest be taught to know the un- 
 changeable Truth, and how to walk therein 
 with a steadfast and upright heart before the 
 Lord, to his glory and honour, and to the good 
 example of those committed to thy care and 
 charge. 
 
 61 And now, according to the inward travail 
 of my soul, a day of visitation is come upon 
 thee from the Lord ; and his secret and Divine 
 power hath reached thy heart, and hath as it 
 were shook the earthly foundations ; that that 
 which cannot be shaken might be manifested. 
 And in this tender visitation of God to thy 
 souk, doth my soul rejoice ; but my joy is 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 275 
 
 mixed with fear and with a godly jealousy, 
 lest thou shouldst, notwithstanding, be beguiled 
 of the inheritance prepared for the faithful. 
 And therefore, that I may clear my conscience 
 in God's sight, and answer the tender opera- 
 tions of love, which I feel in my heart towards 
 thee, let me exhort thee to faithfulness to the 
 love of God, so manifest unto thee. 
 
 " And, First, I say with the prophet : Despise 
 not the day of small things, nor the Branch 
 that springs out of a dry ground; for He 
 whose visage is more marred than any man's, 
 is the Fountain of Treasure to them that believe 
 and obey Him. For although the Truth doth 
 not appear in such forms, styles, and methods 
 and with such drest up articles, confessions, 
 and creeds, as the divers invented ways of men 
 have done, whose mountains have all of them 
 had hands, first to make them, and then to de- 
 fend them ; yet this stone which is cut out of 
 this mountain, and without hands, will in time 
 break down the images, the carved, the graven, 
 and the molten work of men's hands; and then 
 increase and fill the whole earth. 
 
 " Therefore, I say again, despise not the 
 simple, plain appearance of the Light of Christ 
 
276 REVIEW OF THE WOItKS 
 
 in the conscience, as a low thing, and a mean 
 dispensation; for through it is the knowledge 
 of the Father and of the Son, unto eternal life, 
 in all them that believe and obey it : and those 
 that say it is a low and mean thing, let them 
 first learn to be obedient to it, in all its requir- 
 ings, reprovings, and discoveries. And this 
 •will stop the mouths of all opposers, who are 
 finding fault with it, as low and mean, and yet 
 walk not up to it. 
 
 " Secondly, Beware of that which would 
 exalt itself in the vision of heavenly things, 
 and take the vision for a possession, as too, 
 too many have done; but in times of openings 
 and discoveries, keep low, and be of a plain 
 and single heart before the Lord. For vision 
 is for encouragement, and not for exaltation. 
 But whosoever makes images of those things 
 which they have seen in heaven, will also bow 
 down to them, and endeavour to make others 
 bow too ; and thence comes a worse Babel, and 
 a w r orse idolatry, than that which is set up 
 among them who never yet saw into heaven, 
 and so only can make images of tilings oh 
 earth, and bow and cause others to bow there- 
 unto. Therefore, if the Lord enlarge thy sight 
 of Divine things, by his Divine, pure Spirit 
 
OF STEPHEX CRISP. 277 
 
 and Light in thy inward parts, walk humbly 
 before Him, in lowliness and fear, that thou, 
 mayst feel his gentle leadings, to lead thee 
 into the enjoyment and possession of what thou 
 hast seen ; that thou then mayst witness forth 
 his praise to the sons and daughters of men. 
 
 " Thirdly, Beware of thy own will, which 
 would run hastily forth after those things 
 which, in and by the will of man, cannot be 
 attained ; but watch diligently to know thy 
 own will subject to the will of God in all 
 things ; for it is not lawful for us to will those 
 things of ourselves, which are good in them- 
 selves; but to possess our souls in patience, 
 supported in faith, believing that, in God's 
 due time, we shall reap, if we faint not. And 
 if the saints had need of patience to wait for 
 the promise, when they had done the will of 
 God, how r much need have such to be patient, 
 and to watch the hasty will, who would have 
 the promise, and the power, and peace, and 
 rest, &c. when they are yet far short of having 
 done the w ill of God ! 
 
 "And Fourthly, Let no man deceive thee, 
 either by puffing thee up, or casting thee 
 down; for it is the Lord that knows the heart, 
 2 A 
 
278 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and not only knows it, but discovereth it ; and 
 bis discovery is true, and ought to be believed* 
 And no better or worse is any one's state, tban 
 just so as it is represented to them by the pure 
 Divine Light of Christ Jesus, in their own 
 consciences. And whoever represent them 
 better or worse, are deceivers, or mistaken 
 guides. 
 
 " This is the standard of true knowledge 
 and judgment, that we all must make use of 
 to believe, and be subject to, whenever we 
 would take a true measure of ourselves. This 
 is He that said to some : / have a few things 
 against thee, and to others, / have a many 
 things against ihee,SfC And this is the Minis- 
 ter of the tabernacle of God that is with men, 
 whodealsoutto every one their proper portion, 
 according to their state, and present condition. 
 This is the voice of the Son, by whom God 
 now speaks, and whom all must hear ; and they 
 that hear Him live. He hath power to cast 
 down and to raise up, to wound and to heal, 
 to kill and make alive ; and so hath no man. 
 Therefore wait upon Him with an upright 
 mind ; and wherein thou hast at any time 
 been unfaithful, He will shew it, and give thee 
 repentance unto life, and healthy backsliding, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 279 
 
 and at last shew thee the consolation of her 
 whose warfare is accomplished. But it must 
 be accomplished in thee first, and that by his 
 Divine assistance, and through pure judg- 
 ment ; for Sion was always redeemed with 
 judgments, and her converts with righte- 
 ousness. 
 
 " Fifthly, Beware of the friendship of this 
 world ; for it is destructive to the work of God, 
 and is oppressive to his seed ; and when his 
 seed cries to Him, from under the oppression 
 of the spirit of this world, the Lord will hear, 
 and visit thee in judgment for his seed's sake; 
 and thou wilt want that inward comfort thy 
 soul desires. For in the world's friendship, 
 lodgeth very hiddenly the real enmity against 
 Qod. So that when we came but to break off 
 from the outward forms and tokens of the 
 world's friendship, the enmity wrought 
 mightily against us ; but the Lord hath crown- 
 ed his faithful seed and people, with domi- 
 nion and power, and slain the enmity, and led 
 captivity captive : glory be to Him for ever 
 and ever ! 
 
 " And for this cause is the love of God shed 
 abroad in thy heart, that it might overcome 
 2 a 2 
 
2S0 REVIEW OF THE WOIlfcS 
 
 the enmity, and that wherein it lodgeth ; that 
 thy soul might reign, through a death to the 
 world and its glory over the world, and over 
 the spirit that rules in it ; and might tread 
 down the vanity and emptiness thereof, in the 
 dominion of the just ; not regarding, but de- 
 spising the shame and reproach that belong 
 to the Gospel, and the present tribulations 
 that may attend it ; which are but for a mo- 
 ment, as knowing that they work for the faith- 
 ful, a far more exceeding weight of glory. So 
 keep thy eye to the recompense, and to the 
 crown, which God the Righteous Judge shall 
 give in that day ; when sheep and goats, 
 lovers of this world, and lovers of Christ more 
 than all, shall be separated one from another ; 
 and the world's lovers shall perish with the 
 world, and Christ's true lovers shall reign with 
 Him for evermore. 
 
 Sixthly, Let thy power which God hath 
 given thee in the earth, shine forth in righte- 
 ousness, in mercy, and in truth ; for, for that 
 end art thou called, to set forth a good exam- 
 ple in the administration of justice, and easing 
 the oppressed ; encouraging them that do well, 
 and being a terror to all evil doers. For that 
 end is power in thy hand, that the giver of it 
 
 at 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 28t 
 
 may be honoured ; and them that honour God, 
 God will honour. Therefore wait for wis- 
 dom's voice, by whom princes decree justice in 
 the earth, and she will be thy great counsellor. 
 And know this, that the glorious power of 
 God, by which thy heart and soul is enlight- 
 ened and quickened, comes not to destroy 
 rule and order in the earth, but to establish 
 justice and righteousness, and take away op- 
 pression and violence, and the hard heart ; 
 that his name may be feared and dreaded on 
 the earth by the sons of men ; and his power 
 over all may have dominion. 
 
 * Thus, dear friend, have I in simplicity 
 and uprightness, discharged what lay upon 
 me in great plainness and openness of heart ; 
 desiring the Lord God Almighty may be thy 
 director in all things, and that thou, in the inno- 
 cent seed of Life, mayst be able to understand m 
 thy day, the things of thy peace, and mayst be- 
 come an instrument of his praise in the earth, and 
 for the setting forth his great name ; and in 
 the end, mayst have thy portion with the re- 
 deemed and sanctified believers and mem- 
 bers of that holy Head, Jesus Christ, forever- 
 more. 
 
 2 a3 
 
282 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " So I remain a lover of thy soul, and of 
 the souls of all men, but especially of such 
 who are come to a travail in Sion's travail; 
 among whom give the salutation of my tender 
 love to the Church of Holland, and so many 
 as in measure are made partakers of the pre- 
 cious faith that is in Christ Jesus our Lord ; in 
 whom farewell. 
 
 " Stephen Crisp."* 
 
 * The reader of the foregoing Epistle will be interested in 
 knowing how it was received by 'the illustrious person to whom 
 it was addressed. During the progress of this work 
 through the press, I have obtained a copy of the original 
 letter from the Princess Elizabeth, in reply to the address of 
 Stephen Crisp ; which I here insert. It affords additional 
 testimony to the well-known piety and humility of that emi- 
 nently Christian Princess. 
 
 -Erom the Princess Elizabeth Palatine of the Rhine, 
 to Stephen Crisp. 
 
 " The 2nd of May. 
 '-" Your good wishes for our family, and intentions to 
 come and see me, are very acceptable. What could not be 
 performed this time, may be m another -season; and in thfe 
 -mean while, I shall endeavour to practise .your lessons, as 
 4Sod shall afford me strength. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 283 
 
 No. 28. "An Epistle from Stephen Crisp, 
 to be read in the Women s Meetings of Friends 
 in Ipszcich. 1674. — 5 pages. 
 
 ; This Epistle contains some useful advice, for 
 the regulation and general conduct of the 
 Meetings held by Women Friends, for the 
 Christian care of their own sex. 
 
 It was probably written during the 
 writer's Travels in Holland and the Nether- 
 lands, where he passed nearly the whole of 
 the year 1773, and several months of the year 
 1774. 
 
 "Thave been out ofmy'native country above 19 years, and 
 knew not what passed there. If my brother did refuse pro- 
 tection unto godly persons, it is ill for him; but the better for 
 them to have no share in the desolation of that poor, ruined 
 country. God will gather all that live in obedience to Him, 
 where and when He pleases. 
 
 "" I recommend to your prayers, one that loves all that 
 love the Lord Jesus Christ, named your unknown friend ie 
 Him, 
 
 "" E«ZABE*H. T 
 
284 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 The following extract is not less adapted to 
 the present than to past times. 
 
 " And ray friends, above all things, live 
 in the fear of God, and in love and tenderness 
 one towards another; and let not the enemy 
 that lies in wait to destroy, break the band of 
 your peace ; for while ye keep the peace of 
 God unbroken, ye can communicate one to 
 another of the gifts and grace of God, and so 
 will daily feel a being the better one for ano- 
 ther ; which will beget a dearness and esteem 
 in you one towards one another. And in that 
 dearness and tenderness meet together about 
 the Lord's work, seeking with one consent to 
 exalt the name of the Lord, and to honour it 
 above your own merits. And let none seek 
 exaltation ; but know this, that the humblest 
 and most self-denying, is most highly honoured 
 of God, and fittest to do Him service ; and 
 they that are most long-suffering and patient, 
 are most like to Christ the Head ; and in 
 such his virtue will shine, and so make itself 
 known. 
 
 " And, friends, have a care in your Meet- 
 ings, to give due honour unto every member 
 in the body, remembering none are useless \ 
 
DP STEPHEN CRISP. 2S5 
 
 but stir up one another in their proper service 
 in the house of God, and let not the foot be 
 troubled that it is not a hand, nor the hand 
 that it is not an eye; but every one give 
 thanks, that by the grace of God you are what 
 you are ; and be faithful in your place and 
 service, that ye may witness a growth. And 
 in your meeting together, wait to feel the 
 rising of the Life, and opening of the wisdom 
 of God in one another. And let that speak 
 and propound things needful and necessary 
 for your welfare, and the welfare of the 
 Church." 
 
286 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 No. 29. " An Epistle of tender counsel and 
 advice to all that have believed the Truth every 
 where, to exhort them to faithfulness there- 
 untor 1680.— 21 pages. 
 
 This, and several succeeding Epistles, prove 
 that the paternal care which the Writer had 
 over the Society ,was in no degree diminished 
 in his advancing years. 
 
 I shall make copious extracts from this 
 Epistle. The sound Christian advice which 
 it conveys, deserves to be very seriously con^ 
 sidered in these days of ease and prosperity. 
 
 After an Introduction, full of Gospel love, 
 he thus proceeds : 
 
 " Although my outward man is so far de- 
 cayed, that I cannot travel so much as I used 
 to do, insomuch, that I know that many of you, 
 among whom I have travelled in the Gospel of 
 our Lord Jesus, will see my face no more ; yet 
 my travail in spirit is not lessened, nor my love 
 to you. the Lord's people. But my cries are 
 day and night to the Lord, that ye may be 
 preserved blameless unto the day of his com- 
 ing ; and that ye may be armed with power, 
 and furnished with wisdom, and may be pre- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 287 
 
 pared with every good gift of the Spirit, to 
 stand against the wiles and subtle workings of 
 Satan your adversary, who is upon his watch, 
 w hich way he may destroy you, and spoil you 
 of the lot of your inheritance, prepared for 
 you in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
 
 " My dear friends, I would not have you 
 forget, that there are many ways to weaken 
 and to darken you, which must all be watched 
 against ; therefore walk circumspectly, keep- 
 ing your eye in your head, waiting to feel 
 your strength renewed daily. For, be assured, 
 your trials and temptations will be renewed ; 
 and if you be destitute of the heavenly daily 
 bread, there will be a daily weakening, which 
 will appear by your being overcome by such 
 things, as once you had a power to stand 
 against, which is a great grief to behold in 
 many. 
 
 " And now I come to warn you of a few 
 things that have for some time lain upon me, 
 to send among you ; which I do, in faithful- 
 ness, recommend to the pure witness of God 
 in all consciences, not as if I judged any ; but 
 this I must tell you, there is one that judgeth, 
 and will give an answer in every one that 
 
ESS REVIEW OF THEWORKS 
 
 listens to Him, by which they may know how 
 far any of these things have prevailed upon 
 them ; and he that jndgeth, will also, by judg- 
 ment, deliver them that are caught in Satan's 
 snares, if they do hearken, and submit to his 
 leadings. 
 
 " First. Take heed, my dear friends, of 
 holding the Truth in a bare formality, satisfy- 
 ing yourselves that you havefor a long time own- 
 ed the Avay of Truth, and the assemblies of the 
 Lord's people, and appeared as they have done 
 in all outward things, and have hereby obtain- 
 ed the repute to be one of them ; and under these 
 considerations any sit down at ease, as to the 
 inward man, unacquainted with the inward 
 travails, either for thyself or others ; uncon- 
 cerned whether the noble plant grows, either 
 in thyself or others. 
 
 "O my friends! this is a dangerous state, 
 yea, more dangerous than my tongue or pen 
 can declare ; though, so far as to clear myself, 
 and warn such, God will give me utterance. 
 Therefore consider how thy poor soul is be- 
 guiled in this condition ; for, in the first place, 
 thou art deprived of that daily enjoyment 
 which others do enjoy, in waiting upon the 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 289 
 
 Lord; they feel his refreshing presence, 
 which either fills them with joy and comfort, 
 or else opens their understandings in the light 
 of a certain knowledge of, and testimony 
 against, such things as yet stand in the way, 
 and hinder the joy of his salvation from them. 
 
 a But thou that sittest in a dry formality, 
 without an inward travail upon thy spirit, thou 
 knowest neither of these things, but goest on 
 in the dark, not knowing whither thou goest ; 
 and so, in the length of time, thou being such a 
 stranger to the powerful workings of Truth 
 in thyself, it grows to a question with thee, 
 whether others do witness any such powerful 
 workings, yea or nay ; for every thing that is 
 not experimental, is liable to question : as he 
 that never saw, knows not what seeing is, and 
 he that never smelt any thing, he knows not 
 what smelling is: so he that through long con- 
 tinuance in this formal manner of going to 
 Meetings, continues still unacquainted with 
 the power, will at last be easily made to 
 question whether there be such a power or not. 
 
 " And, in this state, the dark power will 
 work insensibly, and prevail upon thy spirit, 
 and fit thee for his own purpose, and will mi- 
 2 B 
 
290 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 nister a secret liberty into thy mind, and a 
 looseness, even as to the form itself, by degrees ; 
 and so will prepare thee against a time of some 
 sharp, smart trial that will come to try thee, 
 either in having something, or parting with 
 something, which may be had or parted with, 
 whether thou wilt turn thy back on Truth. 
 And when this time of trial comes upon thee, 
 then the strength and advantage that the ene- 
 my hath gotten upon thee, in the time of thy 
 lukewarm, loose profession, is made manifest; 
 then thou art in great straits for a season. If 
 the temptation be in having a wife, or hus- 
 band, or a portion, or legacy, or gaining a 
 suit at law, or recovering a debt, or such like 
 tilings, — and the things cannot be had without 
 letting the testimony of thy profession fall ; 
 O ! what struggling is there in thy soul to 
 obtain the thing thou desirest ; and yet wouldst 
 fain be reckoned a friend still, and art loath to 
 be publicly numbered among backsliders and 
 apostates. 
 
 " And so, if the temptation and trial comes 
 on the other side, in parting with any 
 thing which thou lovest, for thy profession's 
 sake, as thy wife and children, thy liberty, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 291 
 
 thy money, tby cattle, thy house and land, or 
 what else may be dear to thee ; O ! how doth 
 self work to save itself; and loath it is to part 
 with the name and reputation of a friend 
 of Truth, and as loath to part with any of these 
 things for the Truth's sake ; not feeling the 
 hundred-fold in this time, which Christ spoke 
 of, nor the life everlasting either. 
 
 " Here is a day of great difficulty and dis- 
 tress, which is come, and is coming upon many 
 of such careless professors ; in which they do 
 stand in need of the help of the Divine power 
 of God to support them, and to give them 
 victory ; but, alas! they are estranged from it; 
 and now the form will not support them in 
 the hour of this great trial ; but the flesh and 
 blood's consultings are grown strong for want 
 of living in the daily cross ; and that nature 
 cries aloud in the ears of thy soul, which thou 
 hast indulged and suffered to live. And if 
 thou considerest the Truth, and weighest the 
 testimony of that against thy own will and 
 desire, then thou easily seest which is of most 
 weight with thee; for a false weight, and false 
 balance, and false judgment, is got up in the 
 time of thy careless profession ; and then the 
 old deceiver comes in, and tells thee, thou 
 2b2 
 
292 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 seest no evil in it, or at least not so much as on 
 the contrary side; so that of two evils, it is 
 wisdom to choose the least. 
 
 li And such like reasonings fill thy mind, 
 till at last, thy will being strong, and thy un- 
 derstanding darkened, thou takest up a resolu- 
 tion to hazard thy soul, and to part with thy dry, 
 withered testimony, which thou hast for along 
 time borne without life, and embrace the price 
 that is bidden for it, as Esau and Judas did ; 
 and so sellest the Truth which thou once fol- 
 lowedst ; and deliverest it, as much as in thee 
 lieth, into the hands of its enemy, to be mocked, 
 and reproached, and trampled upon. And 
 this is the fruit and effect of a long careless- 
 ness and remissness, which thou thoughtest 
 once would never have come to this. 
 
 "And when the servants of the Lord have 
 declared what sad effects such negligence 
 would produce in time, thou hast been apt to 
 bless thyself, and to reckon thou wouldest 
 never run so far out, as publicly to bring re- 
 proach upon the way thou professedest ; but, 
 alas ! thou little knewest that thy soul's enemy 
 was all that while but preparing thee against 
 theday of thy greatest trial, and, as it were, un- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP, 293 
 
 arming thee against the day of battle, that he 
 might the more easily overcome thee. But 
 now thou seest thou art fallen, when others 
 being tried by the same temptations, stand 
 and abide in their testimony ; and so mightest 
 thou also, if thou hadst waited upon God as 
 thou oughtest, in diligence, for the renewing 
 of thy strength. 
 
 " But now, alas ! miserable man or woman, 
 what wilt thou do ! Thy cloak is now pulled 
 offj thy fig-leaf profession is rent; and thou 
 hast now but two ways, and well if there be 
 so many, to wit, to turn thy mind from the 
 object of thy delight, to the Truth which thou 
 hast sold for it ; and by repentance, and through 
 judgment, to wait to see if God will be merci- 
 ful to thee or not, and to spend thy days in 
 sorrow and mourning, and to give up now at 
 last to that work thou so much before 
 slightedst; or else to take the other way, and 
 that is, to go on in thy rebellion against the 
 Light of Christ Jesus, and add sin to sin, until 
 the custom of sin may take away the sense of 
 judgment. And so thou may st grow to a fleshly 
 ease, and give over caring for thy future well- 
 being; and, like the beast that perisheth, set 
 2 b 5 
 
291 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 tliy heart upon Ibe things of this life for a little 
 season, and then cometh the end. 
 
 " Thus thou who wert once called of God 
 to an inheritance in his Light, must now have 
 thy portion in the utter darkness; and thou 
 that wcrt once called 1o have been a vessel of 
 honour, art now become a vessel of wrath 
 fitted for destruction. O! my soul laments 
 the condition of such; and glad would I be, if 
 any of these careless professors of Truth might 
 be awakened before it be too late." 
 
 "A Second thing that lies upon me to warn 
 you all of, my dear friends, is, to watch against 
 the spirit of this world ; lest it drink up your 
 spirits too much in an eager and greedy pur- 
 suit after the things of this world, which hap- 
 pens to several in divers manners, to their 
 great hurt and damage; and the snare lies deep 
 and hidden, under a subtle covering. For 
 Whereas it is the duty of every man to take 
 care for his family, and to be diligent in the 
 calling God hath set him in, and to improve 
 such opportunities as God pleasethto put into 
 his hand; here the subtle enemy works to 
 make the care immoderate ; to turn the dili- 
 gence to slavery ; and the improving oppor- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 293 
 
 tunities which God gives him, to a finding and 
 searching out of opportunities, .sometimes by 
 indirect courses, and sometimes to the prejudice 
 of thy neighbour ; and all to try to satisfy a 
 greed v desire after the heaping up of treasure 
 in this world. And, through the earnestness 
 of the affection that kindles daily more and 
 more, after these things, a man comes, in time, 
 to have the increase or decrease of these things 
 to be the objects of his joy or sorrow, and then 
 he is miserable ; for joy or sorrow are the 
 highest faculties of the mind, and ought to be 
 pitched upon the highest objects, and not 
 upon transitory things under the sun, by which 
 neither love nor hatred can be known. 
 
 " But, alas ! how are many cast down at 
 losses, and lifted up at profits and gains! O 
 my friends ! take heed of this fickle and un- 
 certain stale, for while some have too much 
 set their minds after the things of this world, 
 they have erred from the faith, and have 
 placed their trust in uncertain riches ; and 
 when they have taken their wings and fled 
 away, their hope hath gone with them. There- 
 fore, I beseech you, dear friends, have a care 
 of suffering your spirits to be sharpened and 
 
296 REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 set on edge about these outward things ; and. 
 take heed of enlarging your trades and trafficks 
 beyond your ability, and beyond your capacity ; 
 for both these evils have been the ruin of some : 
 for every one that hath ability, hath not capa- 
 city for great things, and every one that bath 
 capacity, hath not ability ; and where either 
 of these are wanting, such ought to be content 
 with such low and mean things as they 
 are capable to manage, and able to reach, and 
 not to bear themselves too much upon the one, 
 and then seek by indirect means to make the 
 other answerable. For no man knows the 
 issue beforehand ; and therefore, even in these 
 things, every one ought to wait to know the 
 guidance of the Lord, and to be subject unto 
 his will, though in a cross to their own ; as the 
 apostle said concerning them that said : We 
 will go to yonder city, and we will buy and 
 sell, and get gain. Which were all lawful 
 things in themselves; yet for this, saith he, 
 you ought to have said, If the Lord will. So 
 he that saith, I will increase my trade, and en- 
 large my adventures, that my gain may thereby 
 be enlarged ; even in this he ought to say, If 
 the Lord will. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 207 
 
 " O friends ! wait to feel the governing hand 
 of God in these things, to govern you in your 
 affairs, that so He may realty be acknowledg- 
 ed by you the Lore of earth, as well as heaven, 
 the ruler of your tradings and dealings, as well 
 as of your religion and profession. 
 
 " Thirdly. And, friends, I desire you re- 
 member that the crown of our profession was, 
 that our YEA WAS YEA, and our NAY 
 WAS NAY, and so it is still with all the 
 faithful followers of the Truth ; though too 
 many have let in a false liberty since their first 
 convincement, and have not that respect to 
 their words which they ought to have ; to the 
 great dishonour of God, and grief of the 
 righteous, and wounding their own souls. O ! 
 my friends, let this be amended by every one 
 that hath been overtaken in it, as you regard 
 the honour of God, your own prosperity, and 
 the good of others. For many stumblings 
 have hereby been laid in the way of some who 
 had been near to Truth, and they have fallen 
 and been lost ; but they that laid the stumb- 
 lings, will not be found clear of their blood ia 
 the day of the Lord's inquisition," 
 
298 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " Therefore the ways to prevent all such 
 miscarriages, are to be taken notice of, and 
 in the first place, that none run themselves 
 into necessities by indirect courses ; neither 
 by overcharging themselves in trading, nor in 
 buying more than they are able to com- 
 pass — nor by suretiship, which makes a sup- 
 posed debt, though uncertain, and therefore 
 the more dangerous, because it may come upon 
 you at unawares, before you are prepared for 
 it. These things ought in wisdom to be pie- 
 vented aforehand. 
 
 " Also every one that upon a just occasion 
 doth borrow 3 and doth pass his word upon 
 the reputation of Truth, by promise, bill, or 
 obligation, ought, at the same time, to have 
 something in his eye of most certainty, by 
 which he shall be enabled to perform his 
 word, and not to trust to returns of adventures, 
 increase of crops, gains of trade, or others 
 keeping their word with him, or any such like 
 uncertainties ; for if any do so, they may be 
 in this snare of being unfaithful to their pro- 
 mise before they are aware. But although 
 there is a kind of uncertainty in all these 
 things below, yet where a man's truth and pro^ 
 fession lies thus at pawn, and must be fetched 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 299 
 
 home or forfeited, there ought, as I said before, 
 to be something most certain in such an one's 
 eye, by which he may save his word ; as mo- 
 ney that he knows to be at his demand or goods 
 in possession, or lands that are free, and can 
 be engaged if the worst come ; for you will 
 find more peace in conscience, and a better 
 answering of Truth, to make a new engagement 
 of land or goods, than to break an old engage- 
 ment of your truth and profession." 
 
 "Fourthly. And, friends, the next thing that 
 lies upon me, is in respect unto such as have been 
 brought up and educated amongst us, and are 
 grownup, and do make profession of the same 
 way and truth in which they have been edu- 
 cated. That all such may take heed that they rest 
 not in a bare educable form of the Truth, with- 
 out having regard to their inward travail of 
 the soul, and to their growth in the power of 
 godliness. For the snare of their soul's enemy 
 lies deep in this matter ; and his working is to 
 draw their minds into the world, while their 
 bodies and public profession remain amongst 
 friends ; and to keep them at ease and liberty 
 from the daily cross, and from the crucifying 
 power, by which they should travail, to sub- 
 due that nature in themselves that is grown up 
 
300 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 in their youth, as well under this profession as 
 under any other, where the power is not minded 
 diligently. 
 
 " And by this., means many are and remain 
 unfitted for the Testimony of Truth, wanting 
 to be rooted and grounded in it, through an 
 experimental warfare in their own particulars. 
 For, my friends, I say unto you in the word 
 of the Lord: Except ye be horn again, ye 
 cannot see the kingdom of God ; and if ye 
 cannot see that, what availeth it what you see ? 
 For all sight, vision, and opening of things will 
 not save nor deliver your souls in the day of 
 trial that will come upon you for the trial of 
 your faith ; and then, if your faith be such an 
 one as stands in words and terms, though never 
 so true, yet it will fail you in that day ; and you 
 will not be able to stand. 
 
 " Therefore, dear friends, sink down in 
 lowliness and humility, and wait to feel the 
 power revealed in you, which was revealed 
 in us in the beginning ; and join your minds to 
 it, in a living faith, that you may come to ex- 
 perience its condemning power, to judge every 
 vain thought and exalted desire, and every 
 idle word and evil action ; that so, by the pure 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 301 
 
 judgment of Truth, you may come to witness 
 a cleansing and a subduing of that nature, which 
 lusteth unto disobedience of the righteous law 
 of God in your hearts. And as that nature is 
 kept under the daily cross, it will weaken and 
 die daily in you ; and the weaker it is made, 
 the more you will feel of the powerful quick- 
 enings of the word of God in your souls; and 
 a tender life will spring up in you, to your 
 great comfort, that will be tender of the glory 
 of God, and of the honour and reputation of 
 your profession." 
 
 u Therefore prize your time, and examine 
 yourselves, what reason you have in your- 
 selves, to make profession of the name and 
 way of God, more than that you were educated 
 therein, and brought up to it by your parents, 
 guardians, or masters. Have you ever felt the 
 heavenly virtue of it overshadowing your 
 souls? And if you have, do you retain and 
 keep the savour of it still upon your spirits? 
 Do you feel yourselves possest with that awe, 
 fear, and reverence of the Lord's presence, 
 which the Lord's people felt in the beginning 
 of their day, and the faithful do still feel ? Is 
 the inward enjoyment of the life of Truth a 
 greater joy to you than all your outward en* 
 2 c 
 
302 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 js>ymcnts ? If so, then you will not sell it nor 
 part with it, for any tiling in this world. And 
 the testimonies which such do bear for the 
 Truth, will not be traditional, but from a sen- 
 sible convincement in themselves; so that they 
 will be able to say : These things have we re- 
 ceived from the Lord; and they are the testimo- 
 nies of God manifst to us in the Light of 
 his Son, Christ Jesus, ia whom we have 
 believed. 
 
 " O friends ! how will this drive back the 
 storm of temptations that will come both in- 
 wardly and outwardly, in a time of trouble I 
 How many are there, who, for want of this 
 experimental assurance in themselves, have 
 been brought to great questionings and doubt- 
 ings, and knew not whether to go back- 
 ward or forward ; and many have halted and 
 staggered; and some have fallen, and rise no- 
 more, to the ruin of themselves and others. 
 Therefore, my dear friends, trust not to the 
 resolutions of your own spirits, without a sense 
 of the power, nor to a receiving the Truth by 
 your education; but ail wait to be made living 
 and true witnesses of the rising of the power 
 in your own hearts, and the carrying on of the 
 work of the power in yourselves, to the rege- 
 
 ! 
 
©F STEPHEN CRISP. 303 
 
 derating you, and bringing you to that birth 
 thattrusteth in nothing but in the Lord alone, 
 and hath Him for its support in the greatest 
 exercises; then shall ye stand and remain, 
 and be a generation chosen of God, to bear 
 his name and testimony, and to commit it to 
 the next generation. 
 
 " And, friends, let the brotherly love that 
 was sown in your hearts, as a precious seed in 
 your first convincement, continue and increase 
 daily : that, as ye are made partakers of one 
 hope of salvation in Christ Jesus, so ye may 
 continue of one mind and heart, according to 
 the working of his Spiritin you ; having a ten- 
 der respect one for another, as children of one 
 Father, and as such as feed at one table. For 
 Christ hath ordained, and doth ordain, in all 
 his Churches, that we should love one ano- 
 ther — that we should shun all occasions of 
 offence and grief — that we should walk or- 
 derly, and as becomes his holy Gospel; that 
 "we may be an honour thereunto, and a strength 
 and comfort to one another. This is our great 
 ordinance, our new commandment, which was 
 also from the beginning, and will always abide 
 the same through all generations. Therefore, 
 my friends and brethren, let tiie fruits of sin- 
 2 c 2 
 
504 REVIEW GF THE WORKS 
 
 cere and brotherly love abound amongst you, 
 both in word and deed; and let none be 
 wanting in fulfilling the Law of Charity, 
 without which all profession will be but like 
 sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 
 
 " But if this law be kept to, the life of reli- 
 gion will be felt, and each one will thereby be 
 taught their duty and charge concerning ano- 
 ther, and know how to comfort in charity, to 
 admonish in charity ,to reprove in charity,and 
 also to receive all these in charity : and this 
 will exclude for ever all whispering and tale- 
 bearing, and bring every one to deal plainly 
 and uprightly with every one ; not sufFeringsin 
 to rest upon the soul of thy brother, but to 
 deal with him quickly, plainly, and tenderly, 
 even as thou thyself woaldst be dealt withal. 
 And however this kind of dealing be taken, 
 thou shalt not miss of thy reward ; but thy 
 peace will remain with thee. For while 
 friends' eyes are fixed upon the power of God, 
 as their guide and leader in all these things, 
 and their design is simply God's glory, the 
 clearing their own consciences, and the good 
 of theirbrother, they will not be discouraged 
 in their undertakings; for they know the 
 power will certainly come over whatsoever 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 505 
 
 -opposetli it; and this will keep your minds 
 quiet and free from disturbances, when you 
 see men, and things, and parties arise against 
 the power, knowing that the power is an ever- 
 lasting Rock. But as for those things that 
 appear against it, they are but for a season. 
 in which season patience must be exercised, 
 and the counsel of wisdom stood in ; and then 
 you will be kept from staggering, or from scat- 
 tering,by all the fair shews the spirit of oppo- 
 sition can make. 
 
 "For they that do enjoy the life and sub- 
 stance, and feed daily of the bread that comes 
 down from heaven, have a quick sense and 
 discerning of things that are presented to 
 them ; and do know them that are of the earth 
 earthly, by their earthly savour, from those 
 that are of the heavenly, with their heavenly 
 savour. They know what feeds the head and 
 the wit, and carnal reason, and what will nou- 
 rish the immortal soul ; and so come to be 
 fixed ; and are not ready to feed upon unsa- 
 voury food, nor to be easily tossed, nor to be 
 troubled at evil tidings, nor can they be drawn 
 after one thing or man by an affection, nor set 
 against another man or thing by a prejudice,- 
 but the true balance of a sound judgment, set- 
 2c3 
 
306 BEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 tied in the Divine knowledge, according to 
 the measure that the Father hath bestowed, 
 keeps such steady in their way, both in re- 
 spect to their own testimony and conversa* 
 tion, and also in respect to their dealings with 
 others, 
 
 "O my dear friends! in such doth the 
 Truth shine; and such are the true followers 
 of Christ, and they are worthy to be followed, 
 because their way is as a shining light, shining 
 on towards the perfect day. And in this sure 
 and steady way, my soul's desire is, that you 
 and I may walk, and continue walking, unto 
 the end of our days, in all sobriety, truth, jus- 
 tice, righteousness, and charity ; as good ex- 
 amples in ourday, and comfortable precedents 
 in our end, to them that shall remain ; that 
 so we may deliver over all the testimonies of 
 our Lord Jesus unto succeeding generations, 
 as pure, as certain, and as innocent, as we re- 
 ceived them in the beginning; and in the end 
 of all ©ur labours, travails, trials, and exercises, 
 may lay down our heads in that Sabbath of rest 
 ■which remains always for the Lord's people. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 307 
 
 No. 50. " An Epistle from S. Crisp to 
 Friends at Dantzick. 1680. — 4 pages. 
 
 I present this excellent Epistle to the reader 
 uncurtailed. 
 
 " Amsterdam, this 19th Fifth Month, 1680. 
 
 " Dear Friends, 
 
 " In the fellowship of that life that was be» 
 fore death was, do I dearly salute you, praying 
 to the God and Father of Life, that ye may 
 livingly be made sensible of the increase of his 
 power, grace, and virtue, from day to day ; 
 that as your trials and tribulations abound, you 
 may really feel that seed in yourselveSj for 
 whose sake the trials and persecutions come ; 
 for it was and is the seed birth of life, that 
 was and is persecuted and afflicted in all agea, 
 as it is said : Against thy holy child Jesus 
 have they done all these things. For you 
 know, my friends, that before this birth in som* 
 measure did appear, you were at peace with 
 the world, and the world with you ; but whea 
 ye were turned from darkness to light, then th« 
 dark power began to work against you^ a»d 
 
308 REVIEW OF TKE WORKS 
 
 
 it doth still work, and will work so long as its 
 hour lasteth. 
 
 "And what is the work thereof? Is it not 
 to draw or drive you again to darkness, from 
 the light to falsehood — to hypocrisy from 
 truth — to death from life; all which, in the 
 light of life, you comprehend and discern ; 
 and by the operation of that love to God, 
 which He hath shed into your hearts by the 
 Spirit of his Son, you are upholden and pre- 
 served in your testimony unto this day ; and by 
 the faith which God hath given you, you have 
 the evidence of things you do not yet see, and do 
 enjoy the substance of the things you hope for, 
 even immortality and eternal life ; the first-fruits 
 -whereof, as an earnest, are revealed by his 
 Spirit in your inward parts. And by this faith 
 it is that we know God will put the Seed's 
 enemies under his feet, both inward and out- 
 ward, according to his promise. But, friends, 
 it is not the part of him that is a true believer 
 to make haste ; but to leave the times, seasons, 
 ways, and means, to the Lord alone, whose will 
 is to be done in earth as in heaven ; and shall 
 be done over all his enemies. 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 309 
 
 "Therefore, dear friends, stand given up in 
 the will of jour God, who hath chosen and 
 called you to make known his Name and power 
 in you, and to let all his enemies know that He 
 is able to support his children in the greatest 
 exercises ; by which his Name, indue time, by 
 others shall be acknowledged, as it is among 
 you this day ; for whose sake others have for- 
 merly suffered and laboured. 
 
 " And, dear friends, keep your eye to the 
 power of God, to which all things are possi- 
 ble; and look not too much upon the power of 
 death and darkness ; for if you do, you will 
 be captivated in the natural sense, and so will 
 be weakened ; but being diligently waiting 
 upon God in the light of his Son, in whom He 
 hath appeared to you, you will be so confirmed 
 in the faith of his power, that you will be able 
 to believe beyond what your natural sense can 
 comprehend. And then will you feel the life 
 of the true Christians in all ages of Christen- 
 dom, in which they have overcome and tram- 
 pled upon all manner of sufferings, and even 
 death itself : for, alas ! my friends, what is this 
 life — what is this breath — what is this time 
 that we have here on earth — but something 
 
310 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 given us of God, wherewith He hath ordained 
 that we should glorify Him? 
 
 " And if we love this life, and the things of 
 it, so much as not to part with it and them for 
 his Name's sake, then arc we unworthy of 
 Him ; but, my friends, you have seen how 
 the Lord your God hath dealt graciously 
 witli you ; and hath not, in a long time of suffer- 
 ing, permitted the fierce waves to devour 
 you; but that both you and your testimony 
 are kept alive unto this day, by a secret Di- 
 vine power : and it shall live, and outlive 
 your adversaries. Therefore be of good cou- 
 rage : the cause in which you are engaged is the 
 Lord Jehovah's, who will arise for his Name's 
 sake, in his own time, way, and manner. So 
 you need not to take care how worm Jacob 
 shall arise ; your care is only to be faithful 
 to what God hath made manifest to you, to 
 keep your consciences free, though you 
 should be bound ; that your witness may 
 live, though you should die : the Lord knows 
 how to raise his seed, and to support his 
 servants. 
 
 et And, my friends, this I must say unto you, 
 that, since I came hither, I have been truly 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 311 
 
 fefreshed in the account I have had out of your 
 letters; and my heart is drawn forth in tender 
 love to you : and were my body able to sus-? 
 tain travel as it hath been, I should, I believe, 
 come to see your faces ; but I am much de* 
 cayed in body : howbeit my spirit is at liberty, 
 through the grace I have received of God, in 
 which I both rejoice and suffer with the flock 
 and heritage of God every where. And this, 
 my dear friends, I lay upon you in the Name 
 of the Lord, even the same that our Lord hath 
 laid upon us all, to wit, that ye love one ano- 
 ther with sincere love ; and that ye be of one 
 mind, in all humility, bearing each other's bm> 
 dens, and washing each other's feet, when need 
 requires; and be a strength one to another, 
 according to the ability which God hath 
 given you, that so none may be lost by means 
 of any one's laying stumbling-blocks in their 
 way; but that if any will wilfully turn back, 
 and cause the offence of the cross to cease, for 
 the sake whereof you suffer tribulation, their 
 condemnation may be wholly upon their own 
 heads, and you may be kept perfectly clear 
 of their blood. So the God of peace, and of 
 mercy, be with you, and multiply his blessing 
 
S12 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 upon you, and shine into all your souls, in the 
 glorious manifestations of his presence, to your 
 joy and comfort. Amen. 
 
 * Your friend and brother in the tribulations 
 and patience oj Christ, the Head of the true 
 body, which is his Church. 
 
 u Stephen Crisp." 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 313 
 
 No. 31. " A Babylonish Opposer of Truth, 
 by the Truth reproved. 1681. — 15 pages. 
 
 This Tract is stated to be in answer to "An 
 impertinent paper sent abroad by Thomas 
 Crisp." The Writer of this paper was one of 
 the leaders who opposed the establishment 
 of the Discipline, as limiting the operation of 
 the Spirit in each member, and leading to an 
 implicit subjection, or blind obedience to the 
 ruling party (which he calls Foxonians) in 
 the Society. 
 
 The paper appears to have been devoted to 
 this point, and to have contained several mis- 
 representations of the conduct of the Society. 
 
 The Writer, it appears, attributes the esta- 
 blishment of that order in the Society, which 
 the Discipline was intended to preserve, to 
 ambitious motives, and to a Popish spirit. 
 From the manner in which he has done this, 
 our Author considers him as intending to fa- 
 vour the opinions which at that time pre- 
 vailed, that the Society was in a secret confe- 
 deracy with the Church of Rome, and so en- 
 couraging that persecution which its mem- 
 bers had so unmeritedly suffered as Popish 
 Recusants. 2 d 
 
314 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 It is probable tbe Reply might be useful at 
 the time it was published ; but it contains 
 little that is interesting to a modern reader. 
 
 No. 32. " An Epistle from Stephen Crisp 
 to Friends in Norwich. 1682. — 5 pages. 
 
 This Letter appears to have been written in 
 a time of persecution : and the following ex- 
 tract will not. I think, be unacceptable. 
 
 " He that hath given you to believe in his 
 Name, will also give you power to suffer j 
 that so, through patient enduring your part in 
 the sufferings and tribulations of tbe body of 
 Christ, ye may plentifully partake of the joy 
 and glory that is afterwards to be revealed. 
 For as many of you as abide faithful in the 
 time of these light afflictions, will see a far 
 more exceeding weight of glory brought 
 forth, and shall feel your share and portion 
 in it. 
 
 " TLerefjre, my dear friends, look not out 
 at Satan nor his instruments; but comprehend 
 them in the light of your Saviour; and you 
 will see them limited as the sea, that thus far 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 315 
 
 shall they go, and no farther. And so far as 
 they have power to go, let no man grudge it, 
 but acknowledge, as our Lord did in the day 
 of his sufferings, when brought before Pilate : 
 Thou couldst have no power at all against me, 
 except it zcere given from above. So keep 
 your eye to that which is above all Herods, 
 Pilates, Judases, and the High-priests, to the 
 Eternal Power by which you were called of 
 God, to bear a testimony for his Name in your 
 day. And as long as ye feel this power sus- 
 taining you, ye cannot be weary ; but rather 
 rejoice, yea, leap for joy ; considering the crown 
 of your calling, and that ye are counted wor- 
 thy to suffer for the name's sake of Him that 
 died for us, and that is risen again, and reigu- 
 eth for evermore. And if we suffer with Him, 
 and abide faithful to the end, we know that 
 we shall reign with Him for ever ; and not 
 only so, but even in this life. He will make a 
 way and deliver his people, and crown them 
 with victory, after their sufficient trials. 
 
 " And as concerning the outward goods and 
 sustenance of this life, dear friends, observe 
 the command of our Lord, to take care but for 
 one day at once, and He will give sufficient 
 for that. For his purpose is to wean you from 
 2 d 2 
 
316 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 the visible dependencies, that ye may, with 
 the more brightness and clearness, embrace 
 the true riches. Therefore it will be good for 
 every one to contract all their outward affairs, 
 into as narrow a compass as may be, and to 
 owe to no man any thing but love, and to 
 let that have a free passage, even to their per- 
 secutors; that so, with a clear and a free 
 spirit, you may behold all things here below, 
 without joy in their increase, or sorrow 
 in their decrease ; giving up yourselves 
 and yours into the hand of God, who cares for 
 you, and who hath not let forth the wrath of 
 man upon you in his anger, but for the trial of 
 your faith, which is more precious than gold 
 or outward goods. And as for tbem, the loss 
 will be rewarded in this time, a hundred-fold, 
 besides an inestimable treasure laid up in 
 heaven. 
 
 " So God Almighty keep you low and ten- 
 der of his glory, and furnish you with patience, 
 wisdom, and with every good work." 
 
OF STEPHEN CIUSP. 317 
 
 No. 33. "An Epistle from S. Crisp to 
 Friends in Amsterdam. 1684. — 3 pages. 
 
 This is a short Epistle of Christian caution 
 and advice. 
 
 No. 34. " A Faithful Warning and Ex- 
 hortation to Friends, to beware of Seducing 
 Spirits, fyc. 1G84. — 17 pages. 
 
 This is an important and valuable Tract. It 
 refers to the schism which had taken place in 
 the Society, and shows the origin and objects 
 of the establishment of the Discipline. 
 
 The Author ably traces some of the cause* 
 of the corruption of primitive Christianity; 
 and warns his fellow members against those 
 " devices of Satan," which he states to have 
 been so fatal to the primitive Church. 
 
 I have made copious extracts from this 
 Epistle, 
 
 S .9 3 
 
Si8 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " Dear Friends, 
 
 u You know how (hat God in his infinite 
 love hath visited us with a very glorious day, 
 in which his Sun of Righteousness is so risen 
 upon us, that the heavenly warmth thereof 
 hath quickened and enlightened us, and made 
 us to sla d up and serve Him in our day and 
 generation ; and the virtue of that blessed life 
 in Christ Jesus, being revealed in the souls of 
 them that have truly believed, hath given them 
 g; : eat power over death, and hath made them 
 able to grapple with Satan in all his divers ap- 
 pearances, and to overcome him. So that which 
 "way soever he hath hitherto sought to eclipse 
 the glory and brightness of this great and no- 
 table day of the Lord, he hath hitherto been 
 frustrated in his purpose, and his instruments 
 bave been made ashamed of their work ; for 
 all that are true children of the day, do find 
 that their standing is by faith, and not by 
 knowledge; and are, by their faith, kept in a 
 boly dependence upon the power of Him that 
 -can overcome all things, and bring them un- 
 der. So that whatever doth arise against the 
 Truth, the faith of there, that are in it lets them, 
 "^•yen in the beginning of it, see to the end of 
 
OF STEPHEN "CRISP. 319 
 
 it, and gives them a certainty in themselves, 
 by which they are settled in patient and quiet 
 waiting to see the thing they believe brought 
 to pass; and this is their victory, even their 
 faith : and they who dwell in this faith are not 
 "weary, neither do they faint iu all the various 
 exercises they meet withal by the way ; but 
 can endure contradiction without discourage- 
 ment, knowing that whatever it is that riseth 
 up against the power and purpose of God 
 shall in time be laid low. 
 
 " And this is the same faith that was once 
 delivered to the saints in the primitive days, 
 when Christjthe Resurrection and the Life, was 
 preached unto them ; in whom they believed, 
 and by whom they were enabled both to do 
 and to suffer what his will was, and to with- 
 stand the torrent and sea of contradictions they 
 then met withal. And the word of God grew 
 mightily ; and their zeal and courage grew 
 for the Name of God ; so that no stratagem 
 ■devised against them could prosper, as long 
 as they kept in the simplicity of the Gospel, 
 and held their faith which they had in a pure 
 conscience. Here were their great fortifica- 
 tions, that made them so prevalent and immu- 
 table, viz. simplicilj/ and cleanness of mindj 
 
S20 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and as long as these continued, tbey continued 
 of one heart and mind', glorifying God, and 
 building up one another, and comforting one 
 another, and were as epistles written in one 
 another's hearts. 
 
 "Now when Satan saw that it was impossi- 
 ble to stop this glorious work of God by all 
 he could do, by stirring up the priests and 
 rulers against them, but that their strength was 
 in the Lord, they standing in their simplicity 
 and purencss of mind ; then the adversary 
 sought out ways, means, and instruments, how 
 to disturb their progress, by drawing one or 
 other among themselves from that simplicity 
 of the Gospel of Christ, in which they had 
 been of one heart, and had believed and prac- 
 tised the same things without vain disputations; 
 and having found some unstable souls fit for 
 his purpose, he wrought powerfully in them 
 to move questions, which had a tendency 
 to draw others forth to striving about the 
 question. 
 
 a Then one would have it thus, and the 
 other would maintain it to be so ; neither of 
 them minding whether the question itself tend- 
 ed to the use of edify ing the Church ; but a great 
 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 321 
 
 stir was quickly raised, and that about some few 
 Jewish rights, and about some right and wrong 
 descents of genealogies; one would prove it 
 thus, and the other so. And here was a door 
 opened to let in the carnal wisdom, to be the 
 weapons of this war, by which the pure inno- 
 cent minds of many were corrupted, and some 
 whole households subverted ; which, when 
 Satan had thus far prevailed, he went on fur- 
 ther, and gave courage to some of these his 
 high-minded, heady, unruly servants, to go 
 abroad throughout the Churches, and preach 
 up these his questions as doctrines, and to 
 seduce and draw away all they could from the 
 simplicity of the Gospel. 
 
 " And these were so prevalent as to bewitch 
 and betray many ; so that they were embold- 
 ened to withstand the true apostles, in that 
 glorious work in which Christ Jesus had em- 
 ployed them. So that now a great deal of 
 their work was to warn the poor flock of Christ 
 of these wolves in sheep's clothing, and to give 
 out testimonies of their own sincerity, and 
 against these deceitful workers ; and to open 
 and unfold the mysterious working of that 
 evil spirit, and how it wrought cunningly to 
 make void the offence of the cross, that they 
 
322 review or the works 
 
 
 might carry on the name and outward profes- 
 sion of Christianity, with more reputation and 
 less reproach than at the first ; for this was the 
 design, to get the Christians into a false li- 
 berty, and to loosen their hearts from that sin" 
 cerity and watchfulness which was taught them 
 in the beginning. And to what a height the 
 subtle serpent carried on his work in that day, 
 you may read at large in the Scriptures of 
 Truth ; and what sad and woful work it made 
 in Corinth, in Galatia, in Smyrna, in Thyatira, 
 and in Laodicea, and also in Achaia ; and what 
 sorrow and labour it cost the good Apostles, 
 and how the good Spirit was grieved by these 
 things, and the hearts of the righteous made 
 sad thereby. 
 
 Yet the enemy had, in those days, another 
 stratagem as bad as all the rest, whereby he 
 sought to lay waste the work of God ; for after 
 the Gospel came to spread abroad, and 
 many were convinced, both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, many Greeks also came to acknowledge 
 the Truth, who had been great seekers after na- 
 tural wisdom, and had sought to fathom natural 
 causes and effects, and had studied many cu- 
 rious arts, and philosophical strains and me- 
 thods, which suited well with their heathenish 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 323 
 
 worship and religion, forthemto endeavour to 
 find out the benevolent or malevolent influences 
 of Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, or the other of the 
 gods whom they worshipped. But when they 
 came to the acknowledgment of the one only 
 true and living God, the Creator of all, and 
 of Jesus Christ whom He had sent, then they 
 found their curious arts needless, and their 
 books fit for nothing but the fire ; and they 
 burnt in one city as many as were worth 
 50,000 pieces of silver. But, alas ! the spirit 
 that made use of them was not burnt in several, 
 but wrought cunningly to bring in many of 
 those their tricks and quirks among the poor 
 believers, and endeavoured to make them be- 
 lieve they were such knowing men and had such 
 rare things to make them acquainted with, far 
 beyond the Apostles. And then they went 
 to work with the opposition of science, as they 
 falsely called it ; and then things must be 
 questioned and disputed that had not a philo- 
 sophic or natural reason, to demonstrate to 
 the senses or understanding ; and hereby was 
 the faith of some made void, and many were 
 spoiled of their sincerity and uprightness by 
 these vain deceits, and then came in looseness 
 in conversation. Then a Nicholas with his 
 lianterism — a Jezabel with her pretended 
 
354 REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 loose and wanton prophecies — a Balaam with 
 his covetous design upon the people, might 
 find some to side with them ; for the holy 
 tye and covenant of their religion of bearing a 
 daily cross was broken: but, alas! alas! the 
 effect of these things was very lamentable. 
 
 " And, dear friends, having briefly touched 
 at these things, and before you set these pro- 
 ceedings of Satan against the Truth among the 
 primitive Christians, I now come to tell you 
 in great plainness and sincerity what hath for 
 some months lain upon my mind relating to 
 this subject, and concerning the day in which 
 we live, and the Dispensation of that everlast- 
 ing Gospel which is now preached again unto 
 us, in which we found the very same blessed 
 effects as they did. For when we had believed 
 therein, it brought us into great simplicity, 
 and into cleanness of mind, and into an un- 
 feigned love and unity one with another; and 
 from what parts or countries soever we came, 
 we all spake the same things ; and the quirk- 
 ing, querying, disputing ^it, was brought 
 down, and cast out from among us. 
 
 " Though we could query and dispute the 
 opposers that were without in defence of the 
 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 325 
 
 Truth, yet we had then no such occasion 
 among them that professed Truth; for we 
 were of one heart, and mind, and judgment; 
 and, in that universal love, we laboured to 
 build up one another in our most holy faith, 
 and to publish and make known the blessed 
 Name of Jesus, in whom we had believed; 
 and many were daily added to the Church, 
 and came to partake of the same faith and of 
 the same love, and grew into the same simpli- 
 city of mind, wherein we found a harmonious 
 rejoicing in spirit whenever we saw one ano- 
 ther. In this state did the Truth preserve us; 
 and our faith was firm in that name and power 
 by which we were called, that the Lord 
 would go before us, and prosper us in his bless- 
 ed way ; in which He caused our souls to take 
 great delight, and take up the daily cross cheer- 
 fully, and deny ourselves for the sake of Him 
 that had called us. 
 
 " But the old Enemy of Truth envied this 
 our tranquillity quickly, and began to work in 
 some -where he found a ground to work in, and 
 sought to lead them from the simplicity of the 
 Truth, and to exalt their minds in the sight of 
 things opened by the Truth. And so these did 
 not abide in the tender fear of God, and in the 
 2 E 
 
326 KEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 humility of the innocent Seed, but flew up in 
 airy notions and imaginations, some into a 
 false liberty, and others into strange imagina- 
 tions of their own growth to some high state; 
 and so grew heady and unruly, and were har- 
 dened against exhortations, rather judging 
 themselves fit to teach, than to be taught. 
 And these drew several after them through an 
 affection that was not subject to the cross; and 
 became an occasion of offence and stumbling 
 to many who were enquiring after the way of 
 the Lord, and a great exercise and sorrow to 
 such as kept in the travail and labour for Sion's 
 redemption. 
 
 " But those that abode in the faith, knew that 
 the power in which they had believed would 
 arise, and crush down and bruise under that 
 lofty, airy spirit, and all that abode in it, and 
 did not repent and return to their first love, 
 and do their first works. And according as 
 we believed it came to pass, and their works 
 with which they sought to amuse and astonish 
 the nations, were confounded and brought to 
 nought ; and divers that did adhere and cleave 
 to that spirit, were lost and scattered, and 
 grew into profaneness and uncleanness, and 
 shove against the Power of God, that wrought 
 
OF STEPHEX CEISP. 327 
 
 in his people, to reclaim and regain them ; till, 
 at length, the very Power of God turned against 
 them, and cut them off who had been the 
 troublers. 
 
 " Yet did not the Serpent leave off attempt- 
 ing to betray the innocent ; but found out 
 other instruments fit for his purpose, whom he 
 raised up under pretence of some new disco- 
 veries, accompanied with a voluntary humili- 
 ty, and a seeming self-denial ; when, indeed, 
 the design was to exalt self and man's work, 
 wit, and reason, above the Eternal Power of 
 God, and through feigned pretences to obtain 
 a dominion over the heritage of God ; and to 
 impose and obtrude upon them things which 
 were not taught by the living Spirit of Christ 
 Jesus in themselves,nor had been received by 
 doctrine or message from the true spiritual 
 labourers in the Gospel. By which means 
 the minds of many were betraj'ed, and they 
 were exercised in contending about some 
 outward signs or tokens of their separation ; till 
 the weighty matter they should have minded, 
 viz. how to be kept in the love of God, and in 
 the heavenly unity ^ was in many lost and for- 
 gotten ; and instead thereof, a secret root of 
 bitterness grew up, and a hatred against the 
 2 e 2 
 
328 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 prosperity of the Church of God, and the 
 faiilrful servants and ministers of it ; insomuch 
 that they lost the very sense of God's blessed 
 presence amongst us, and reckoned He had 
 forsaken us. 
 
 " And thereupon many ofthem also forsook 
 us, and were as another people ; and were puff- 
 ed up with great expectations of our downfall, 
 and their own exaltation ; and began to 
 spread their design of separation into other 
 nations, to the hurt of many who were de- 
 ceived by them. So that the tender love of 
 God, that had wrought in the hearts of the 
 faithful labourers and ministers of the Gospel, 
 to the gathering them out of the world, now 
 wrought again effectually, to gather many of 
 them out of this self-separation ; and with great 
 patience and long-suffering, did we travail and 
 labour with many. And the Lord beheld our 
 sincerity and care, and blessed his work in 
 our hand; so tbat the eyes of many were 
 opened to see the crafty snares by which they 
 were entangled ; and power was given them 
 of God, to break through and testify against 
 the crafty wiles of them that had deceived 
 them. And the Lord arose in his great and 
 mighty power, in and among his people, and 
 set an eternal judgment on the head of that 
 
OF STEPHEN cms?. SaS 
 
 spirit, and its work of dissension and separa- 
 tion that it had wrought ; and it could then 
 proceed no further, but withered and came to 
 nought : and those who wilfully resisted the 
 offers of the love of God, and of his people, 
 they grew more and more corrupt, and perish- 
 ed wholly from the way of the Lord, and the 
 society of his people, and turned back, some 
 into the world's worship and religions, others 
 into the gross pollutions that are therein. 
 
 " And the Churches of Christ, who stood 
 faithful and true to the leading of his Spirit, 
 came to have rest from that extreme labour 
 and travail which they had lain several years 
 under, by reason of these things j and God ful- 
 filled the prophecies of divers of his faithful 
 servants, who by their faith had seen, and by 
 the spirit had testified at the beginning of that 
 spirit's work, what the end of it should be; for 
 many there were who saw, that it was from the 
 earth, and thither it would return ; and there it 
 was swallowed up, and all its substance. Then 
 did the souls of the faithful give glory and ho- 
 nour to God, in whose hand is power and domi- 
 nion ; and He reigns on high in his strength^ 
 and is King of saints, and the defence of his, 
 Sion, now, henceforth, and for evermore. 
 8 e. 3. 
 
OOO REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " These exercises put and stirred up all tire 
 faithful to great vigilance and watchfulness, 
 for the keeping the enemy out for the future, 
 at least, as much as in them lay. And those 
 that were faithful and ancient friends, both 
 men and women, found it incumbent upon 
 them to meet together to watch over the flock, 
 and to see to the conversations of them who 
 professed the Truth, that it might answer their 
 professions ; and where the contrary appeared, 
 to deal with them, and to reclaim them if 
 possible, or else to deny therm, and to clear 
 Truth and Friends of them and their disor- 
 derly courses. And in this good work the 
 Lord blessed them, and shewed his presence 
 among them, and gave them wisdom and un- 
 derstanding ; and they took care of the widows 
 and fatherless, of the poor and afflicted families 
 among them ; and had the care upon them con- 
 cerning marriages, that none might come to- 
 gether in a disorderly manner, but that all 
 things might be clear on either side, and the 
 consent of parents might be obtained before 
 marriage; and that all things might be kept 
 in good order, and savoury irt the sight of God 
 and men. 
 
 " And divers epistles were written from seve- 
 ral elder brethren, for their encouragement and 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 331 
 
 direction in this good work ; for we knew it 
 was God's work, and would tend to the limit- 
 ing of loose and unruly Spirits, who sought 
 liberty more than sincerity; and sensuality 
 more than Christ's government, and their sub- 
 jection to the Divine Power of God. And 
 when some exalted spirits came to see unto 
 what this work would tend, they took offence 
 thereat, and sought to weaken the hands of the 
 faithful friends in this good work, under pre- 
 tence, That all must be left to the witness of 
 God ; and if people did not find judgment in 
 themselves for what they did, they must not be 
 judged by others ; being themselves gone 
 from Truth's judgment and hardened. Then 
 they cried out of innovation and imposition, 
 and such like.. 
 
 "And hereupon were many again seduced 
 and subverted, and drawn away from their 
 steadfastness in the Truth, and began to ap- 
 pear against the good order of the Lord's 
 people, and to reflect upon the godly care 
 that lay upon them, with unhandsome and un- 
 savoury speeches and writings, till a secret 
 root of bitterness and enmity got into several 
 that had been convinced. And, in this root, 
 the enemy wrought with great craft and 
 subtilty, to draw them from the blessed unitv 
 
oJZ REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 that is in Christ Jesus, the true Head of the 
 true Church, and brought them into many jea- 
 lousies and groundless fears of an apostasy ; 
 while, in the mean time, he drew them so far 
 to apostatize from their first love and first 
 works, that they proceeded to expose friends, 
 both in particular and in general, to the re- 
 proach and scorn of the world, as much as in 
 them lay. 
 
 " All which was borne and suffered with 
 much long-suffering and patience ; and a 
 great travail lay upon many to endeavour for 
 the reducement of them that did thus oppose 
 themselves ; for we knew our sincerity, and 
 knew that the Lord would stand by us, and 
 bless our work and labour of love, and blast 
 their work of enmity ; and their striving 
 against the Lord, and his blessed work in the 
 hand of his innocent people, would not, nor 
 could prosper. We doubted not at all, but He 
 that had stood by us, and helped us from the 
 beginning, would still stand by us, and give 
 his Truth and people the victory over every 
 tongue and pen that rose up in judgment 
 against us ; as He hath done to this day; and 
 their work is manifest, and they can proceed 
 no further* Blessed be his Name for ever, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 333 
 
 " Now, dear friends, I have made this brief 
 relation of the fore-mentioned passages, that 
 they who are young in the Truth may see, 
 and they who are older may be put in mind, 
 how the old adversary of Truth hath already 
 wrought in this our day,, and what hath been 
 the end and tendency of his work in all his 
 various appearances, even as in the primitive 
 days, to stop the bright shining of the Gospel, 
 if he could. And whereas he is not able to do 
 that, his next work is to see whom he may 
 devour; that is, whom he may so ensnare and 
 entrap with his subtle baits and gins, as that he 
 may, first, draw them from the simplicity of 
 the Truth; next, into anexaltedness in knowr 
 ledge ; then, into prejudice and enmity against 
 those that stand in the way to hinder their ex- 
 alted notions ; and by this time he hath taught 
 them to break the law of charity, and to think 
 evilly of the upright, and to disestecm the 
 blessed unity and fellowship that is in the 
 Truth ; and then they are fitted for schism 
 and separation, upon one specious pretence or 
 another. Therefore how watchful ought every 
 one to be, for the keeping out this destroying 
 spirit, which hath brought several already to 
 that enmity and defiance to the Truth and 
 people of God, that, if it had been told them. 
 
334: REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 in the days of their tender convincement, they 
 would have been ready to say with Hazael : 
 Is thy servant a dog, that he should do these 
 things ? 
 
 " And, friends, know this for certain, that 
 Satan is still working, and seeks to winnow 
 you ; and where there doth remain, after a long 
 convincement, a lightness and an airiness in 
 any, such are easily driven with his pernicious 
 winds ; and to this purpose he hath stirred up 
 some in several cities and countries, such as 
 he knows are fit for his purpose, who never 
 knew a real mortification upon that earthly 
 sensual wisdom that is from beneath ; but have 
 too much saved that alive in themselves, which 
 God did, in their first convincement, pass a sen- 
 tence of death upon. And these, as they cannot 
 reach to a partaking of the life of Truth in 
 themselves, no more can they reach or attain 
 to the hidden mystery of the unity that the 
 Lord's people have one with another in that 
 life of Truth ; but another life and a power 
 they have; and in it they grow head-strong 
 and fierce, despisers of them that are born of 
 the Spirit ; yea, they grow in wisdom from 
 one degree to another, but it is neither pure 
 nor peaceable, gentle, nor easy to be entreated. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 335 
 
 By their fruits ye may know them ; for, from 
 this wisdom are they often found starting some 
 subtle and abstruse questions, to amuse the 
 minds of the simple, and to cause the weak in 
 the faith to err, and to draw away the unstable 
 souls after them, as if they had brought forth 
 some new discoveries ; and then here is work 
 for disputing wits ; by all which the minds are 
 drawn farther and farther from the true watch- 
 fulness, that becomes those who have such an 
 enemy to deal wiihal. 
 
 " Hence it is that all those janglings are 
 sprung about the forbidden fruit, what it was, 
 and whether good for food, or not good for 
 food; upon which some have closed with that 
 primitive and first error, with which Eve was 
 ensnared, and have judged it good for food; 
 yea, and have fed upon it too, till their know- 
 ledge hath grown greater in the evil than in 
 the good. Hence it is that another starts 
 questions about the mortality or immortality 
 of the soul. Another, of the state of the soul 
 after the death, of the body, whether it abides a 
 singular essence, or ceaseth to have any singu- 
 lar essence or being. Another about the state 
 of the body after death. Another about how 
 many bodies one and the same soul may, or 
 
336 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 must have, at sundry times. Another, how 
 long the wicked men or angels must endure 
 the wrath of God for rebellion. Another comes 
 forth and says, There is no such thing as wrath 
 or anger in God, and all that is written thereof 
 in the Holy Scriptures is but metaphorically 
 spoken. And many more such like phantasies 
 and doting questions, doth this birth bring 
 forth of the trial of your faith and steadfast- 
 ness in the Truth, by which the enemy is, as I 
 said, trying and winnowing, to see where he 
 may meet with his own, and may deceive and 
 draw away some from the faith and unity, 
 and teach them some other way and doctrine 
 besides the narrow way of regeneration. 
 
 ei Now, my dear and well 'beloved in the 
 Lord, you are witnesses unto this day, in how 
 great simplicity and plainness of speech we 
 have preached the Avord of God among you, 
 from the day the Lord sent us forth to this 
 day. We came not unto you with enticing 
 words, we needed not logical nor philosophi- 
 cal demonstrations ; for our testimony had 
 the demonstration and evidence of the Spirit 
 of Truth in your hearts ; and our words, or 
 the word of God in our mouths, hath not 
 altered nor changed unto this day, but re- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 337 
 
 mains the same as it ever was. The great 
 doctrine of the Gospel was and is Regenera- 
 tion, without which there is no entrance. The 
 only means and way to attain it, was and is 
 that light and grace that comes by Jesus 
 Christ: and sanctifies, and purifies, and brings 
 to Him, by whom the entrance is ministered 
 into the kingdom. These things have we de- 
 clared ; and these things ye have believed : 
 and in this faith are many of our faithful bre- 
 thren fallen asleep, and their precious souls 
 are at rest with the Lord. And herein if ye 
 abide steadfast to the end, ye shall do well. 
 
 "And as concerning all such who seek to 
 trouble any of your minds with the things 
 above mentioned, or any subtle and crafty ques- 
 tions, keep you your habitations in the power 
 of God, and you will daiby come more and 
 more to discern the tendency of them ; how- 
 it is a spirit that works against the cross, and 
 seeks to cause the offence of it to cease, that 
 they might bear a profession of Truth, and live 
 in a loose conversation, without controul or 
 judgment; and you will see them come to 
 nous-lit, like others before them. 
 
 2 F 
 
538 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " And for the carrying on this kind of liber* 
 linism, divers strange notions are hatched and 
 spread about, to corrupt the minds of whom 
 they can ; for Satan, who is the author of 
 them, knows well how to apply them to the 
 advancement of his own kingdom ; and for 
 the easing or rather hardening the consciences 
 of such who receive these things, that they 
 may thereupon shake off the sense which some- 
 time they had of the righteous judgment of 
 God, and slight the judgment of his people, 
 and give the reigns to their lusts and passions ; 
 and yet all the while make a profession and 
 outside appearance among the innocent people 
 of God. 
 
 <c O friends ! these are the blots and spots 
 that are among us ; these are they by whose 
 means the holy Name of God is blasphemed, 
 and his blessed pure way evil spoken of by 
 many, and the hearts of the upright made sad 
 from day to day : these are such as cost the 
 apostle tears when he writ, I told you of them 
 before, and now tell you weeping ; they are 
 enemies to the cross of Christ. These cause 
 the feet of some to stumble, and others to pe- 
 rish from the way of the Lord ; and yet, all 
 the while, carry a secret bolster under them to 
 
OF STEPHEN CIlISP 339 
 
 bear themselves upon, having let in a belief or 
 supposition, either that there is no such zerath 
 and judgment to be expected from the hand of 
 God, as hath been largely spoken and written 
 of by the prophets, Christ, and his apostles, 
 and all the faithful ministers of the Gospel 
 unto this day; or, if there be zerath and 
 judgment to be revealed, it mil be but for a 
 time, and then they shall be restored to glory 
 and happiness : or, if they fall short of a due 
 fitting and preparing for the kingdom of God 
 on this side of the grave, it is no great matter; 
 for they shall have other opportunities even 
 in this world hereafter, when they shall be born 
 in other bodies. 
 
 " Some few secretly bolster themselves up, 
 and endeavour to possess others, with the suppo- 
 sition or notion of the finite punishment of wick- 
 ed men and devils in the world to come ; as 
 where the Holy Scriptures mention, everlast- 
 ing fire — the sin against the Holy Ghostnever 
 to be forgiven in this world, nor in that which 
 is to come — eternal judgment — vengeance of 
 eternal fire — the smoke of their torment shall 
 ascend up for ever and ever, Sfc. as plainly de- 
 clared by Christ and his holy apostles and 
 2 f 2 
 
340 REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 Gospel ministers, these they limit to only 
 ages. 
 
 " Another bolsters himself up with a belief, 
 that if he doth evil, his hell is only here in his 
 own conscience; but, when he leaves the world, 
 till things will be as if they had not been, and 
 the soul shall die with the body, and suffer an 
 annihilation as well as the body, or shall be 
 swallowed up out of all particularity , as a drop 
 of water into the sea, so then what matter. 
 And this is the evil seedsman, sowing these 
 cursed seeds of fleshly liberty and ranterism, 
 even in our day ; and hath prevailed upon 
 some to their destruction ; and they that are se- 
 duced, as the apostle saith, do wax worse and 
 worse, seducing whom they can by these their 
 pernicious ways; the consequences whereof are 
 woful and lamentable to consider, and have 
 cost me and many more great sorrow and 
 grief." 
 
 " And, friends, to you who have not known 
 the depths of Satan, I have a few things to 
 offer to your serious consideration. First, 
 You know in what manner you were con- 
 vinced, and how your understandings were 
 opened, and you were brought to the acknow- 
 
t)F STEPHEN CRISP. 34 
 
 ledgment of the Truth. Was it not by the 
 shining of that true light of Christ Jesus in 
 jour souls, which, by its inward working, 
 shewed you that your souls were made subject 
 to a power of darkness, that had defiled them, 
 and made them unfit for God to dwell in and 
 to take delight in ? Then you saw what a con- 
 trariety and disproportion there was between 
 the pure Light and your impure souls ; where- 
 upon judgment from God was manifest for the 
 curbing, limiting, and destroying of that 
 power, which had thus defiled the minds and 
 consciences. 
 
 " And when ye came to believe this judg- 
 ment to be the very judgment of God, ye sub- 
 mitted to it, as right and due unto you; and 
 as ye thus submitted to it, ye quickly found 
 some power to withstand the temptations af 
 the dark power that had captivated you. And 
 did you not then feel your souls somewhat eased, 
 and a hope raised, that as ye abode faithful 
 unto that Light, you might obtain power tv 
 withstand your soul's enemy in all his appear- 
 ances ? So that the faith that was delivered 
 unto you in the beginning, was, that your souk 
 should be so sanctified, fitted, and piepared, 
 as to become a habitation for God, and that 
 2 ¥ 3 
 
342 REVIEW 01? THE WORKS 
 
 He would so strengthen you, that ye should 
 be able to stand against Satan and his power 
 who sought to defile and destroy the soul. 
 And they that have been diligent and kept 
 tliis faith, have found it to be a shield and de- 
 fence in the times of their trials and tempta- 
 tions. So that they have found victory by it ; 
 and their souls have come to know a deliver- 
 ance from under the enemy's power, and 
 have received ability to serve the Lord, and 
 have felt the blessed freedom and liberty in 
 the Truth, which they so much desired and 
 longed fur. 
 
 " Now, wherefore hath all this work been, to 
 redeem the soul, and to convert it, and change 
 it from under the dark power, and to bring 
 it under the heavenly and glorious power of 
 Christ Jesus ? I ask them that have known this 
 work. Was it only for a few days or years, 
 that we are to continue here in these bodies? 
 Or was it not the effect of the eternal love of 
 God in Christ, that in Him our souls might, be 
 eternally happy ? I know such as have truly 
 known this travail, do know the soul to be 
 more worth than the value and worth of the 
 T>iiole world,, and they are not liable to the 
 
 d 
 
OT STEPHEN CRISF. 343 
 
 seducements of such as "would undervalue the 
 soul. 
 
 " Bui, alas ! there are too many that never 
 knew what it was to travail for souls, neither 
 in themselves nor in others ; but have re- 
 ceived a sight and knowledge of things at a 
 distance, in a speculative way, as lookers on. 
 And these having grown up into a profession 
 by a sight, without a real work in themselves, 
 are very ready to be seduced, and to seduce 
 others : and, wanting the substance that never 
 waxeth old, are always itching after some new 
 1hing, which for a time seems to be delightful 
 to them, till a newer thing is presented ; and 
 then they are for that also ; and so are always 
 gadding and changing their v. ays, till at last 
 they are, by the mastering subtlety of their 
 soul's enemy, who hath power in sucli unstable 
 minds, led back again into the world, or into 
 divers sects, heats, and opinions, that are of 
 the world : and a false liberty gets up in them, 
 in which they grow heady and stubborn, and 
 look upon ever} r one that seeks to reclaim them 
 as their enemy. And they let in hard and bit- 
 ter thoughts against them ; and the enemy 
 -fills them with prejudice; and in that slate 
 dhey seek for the failings of others, and feed 
 
344 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 upon them as bread to strengthen themselves; 
 and so grow more and more estranged from 
 the innocent life that is in Jesus, and that He 
 hath given for food for the children of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 " O ! this is a sad condition ; and I have often 
 with deep sorrow lamented the state of some 
 to whose hands peradventure this may come? 
 when I have seen what a good beginning they 
 have made in the way of God, and have been 
 as pleasant plants, and hopeful to bring forth 
 much fruit to the honour of God, and comfort 
 of his people, and especially to the comfort 
 and salvation of their own immortal souls: 
 and yet who, after some good progress made in 
 the Lord's May, for want of a diligent watch- 
 fulness and keeping close to the daily cross 
 and the self-denial, have laid themselves open 
 to the spoilers, who have cunningly got an en- 
 trance into them ; some in the affectionate 
 part — some in the wise reasoning part — some 
 through sowing the seeds of prejudice—and 
 some one way, and some another; and 
 have beguiled them of the simplicity, and 
 drawn them from the sincerity, that is in the 
 Truth ; and so they have both lost their first 
 love, and their first work also. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 345 
 
 " And of these some are so far dead, that 
 they have lost ail sense and feeling of that love 
 of God that worketh in the hearts of his peo- 
 ple, for the regaining of them ; and to such I 
 shall say little, but tell them, My soul shall 
 mourn for them in secret, until the Lord easeth 
 my spirit concerning them. Bat for the rest 
 "who do yet retain something of a love to the 
 Lord's people, and have sometimes an ear yet 
 open to hear counsel ; to these I say, God 
 hath put it into my heart to warn you, that ye 
 strengthen those things that are ready to die, 
 before the Lord appear against you for your 
 hard words and hard thoughts ; and come 
 .down in humility, and feel after the first ten- 
 derness and brokenness of heart which once 
 you felt, and hold a fast to the Lord." 
 
 " And, friends, let me use yet one argument 
 more with you, to persuade you to turn into 
 the unity and fellowship of the Truth and 
 power of God, in which ye sometimes took 
 delight with us to walk in it; and that is an 
 argument from your own experience, to wit, 
 the feebleness that hath fallen upon many of 
 you, since ye departed from the heavenly 
 unity with your ancient friends and brethren. 
 
346 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 What a decay of strength and courage in the 
 bearing forth the several testimonies for the 
 Name of Christ, as they were received from 
 the beginning ; and, by the faithful followers 
 of Him, are to this day kept and accounted of, 
 as of more worth than a little outward liberty 
 or estate, or such like. 
 
 "But O! my friends, how is this tye loos- 
 ened ? And how is fleshly reasoning gotten up 
 to shun the cross, and the sufferings that attend 
 the Gospel, and an unreadiness in many to 
 give up themselves for his Name's sake. So 
 lhat they are as if they had lost their spiritual 
 armour, and their fervent zeal and love to the 
 Truth, and the testimonies of it, which once 
 were dearer to them than their all in this tran- 
 sitory world. And it is indeed impossible 
 that the love to God and his Truth should re- 
 main in its former strength, when the love to 
 the brethren decays. They came together, 
 and they will go together. And the want of 
 this love to God and to his people, is the 
 ground of declining Truth's testimony, and 
 using indirect ways to shift and shun the suf- 
 ferings that come for Truth's sake ; by which 
 the hands of Truth's enemies are strengthened, 
 and many stumbling-blocks have been laid in 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 347 
 
 the way of the weak. I beseech you to con- 
 sider these things, and lay them to heart, 
 while there is a day and opportunity to return 
 to your first love, and to your first zeal for the 
 Truth." 
 
 No. 35. " An Epistle from Stephen Crisp 
 to Friends." 1685. — 4 pages. 
 
 This is too good and too short to admit of 
 curtailment. 
 
 " Dearly beloved friends and brethren in 
 the everlasting fellowship, that stands in the 
 Spirit of Christ Jesus, our one Head, I do at 
 this time dearly and tenderly salute you, in a 
 fresh and living remembrance of the precious 
 unity and joy in the pure Spirit of Life, in 
 which we have been mutually refreshed toge- 
 ther in years past ; when I, according to the 
 will of God, travelled and laboured among you 
 in my younger days with great consolation, 
 rejoicing greatly in beholding your order and 
 unity in the blessed Truth, in which ye pros- 
 pered, and were as an army with banners in 
 
348 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 the Lamb's host, who went forth conquering 
 among you, and defending and preserving 
 you, by his Almighty Power, from the mani- 
 fold snares of Satan, that were laid for your 
 feet. But you that are ancient can remember 
 with joy, how you were kept steadfast and un- 
 movable in the holy path of life, and in the 
 blessed concord ; being of one heart and mind, 
 bent to serve the Lord and his blessed Truth. 
 I say, the remembrance of these things is pre- 
 cious to me, and to you who retain the 
 simplicity of the Gospel of Christ our 
 Saviour. 
 
 "And, dear hearts, as ye have met with many 
 assaults to break your blessed unity, so it is 
 not to be expected, but that still your great 
 adversary will go about, seeking whom he may 
 devour. And he, knowing that your strength 
 is not in yourselves, but in that Seed of life 
 that hath in all ages broke his head, and over- 
 come him in and for the faithful ; therefore his 
 work is to draw from that Seed, and from that 
 sweet dependency upon it, into some strange 
 ground, where you may be removed from your 
 strength, and be made a prey to his net. And 
 therefore, as that Seed is meek and lowly, if the 
 adversary can but exalt any into the contrary 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 349 
 
 property, they are prepared for him. And as 
 that Seed is not of this world, if he can draw any 
 into the spirit of this world, they are prepared 
 for him. And as that Seed is patient and long- 
 suffering, if he can draw any into haste and 
 passion, they are prepared for him. 
 
 " And as that Seed made himself of no re- 
 putation, and sought not honour in this world, 
 if Satan can but draw any to affecting repu- 
 tation and honour, they are prepared for him; 
 and from hence come grindings, heart-burn- 
 ingSj back-bitings, jealousies, and mistrust — 
 which gender strife and contentions — which 
 break out into schisms and rents, under vari- 
 ous pretences — which give room for the cor- 
 rupt wit and wisdom that is from beneath, to 
 raise disputes and janglings, that are not of 
 God, but of the lusts ; the ground of wars and 
 contentions, which are hurtful to those con- 
 cerned in them. But in Christ Jesus is our 
 peace and tranquillity, in whom we have 
 grown up to be a Church and body, to his 
 honour and glory, and to our salvation ; in 
 whom we rejoice together, and have dominion 
 over the works of the wicked one, in the par- 
 ticular, and in the general ; and, by His power, 
 have seen the counsels of the disobedient 
 2 G 
 
350 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 brought to nought many a time ; and He is 
 the same still as ever He was. Therefore be 
 ye not discouraged at any work of the enemy, 
 which you see appearing; but keep in the 
 Lamb's patience, and have faith in the Lion of 
 the tribe of Judith, and be assured that his 
 work in your hand shall prosper, as ye abide 
 in his Spirit, which is unchangeable and in- 
 vincible. 
 
 '•' And, dear friends, as concerning your 
 present exercises that ye labour under, through 
 discontents of some amongst you, let none 
 faint in their minds, as if some strange thing 
 had happened to you : let none be overcome 
 with a zeal beyond sound judgment, but re- 
 member that the dominion belongs to the meek 
 and innocent seed ; which will guide you to be 
 tender and condescending to the brethren of 
 low degree, and to keep inviolable the law of 
 charity, and to heal the broken and wounded, 
 and to restore that which is hurried out of the 
 way by temptation ; making a difference be- 
 tween the tender hearted, and the wilful, and 
 heady, fierce despisers, who are easily known 
 by their fruits. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 551 
 
 " And, dearly beloved, this is a windy day, 
 or a day of winds, in which that which is in 
 itself chaff will be blown away ; and what the 
 North wind doth not remove, will be driven 
 with the East wind ; and what persecution 
 doth not cause to start presently, the winds of 
 dissension and seducements will drive away : 
 and many are lost already, and many more 
 will be lost, who have lost the innocent and 
 beautiful love that first shined among us, and 
 made us amiable to one another. These having 
 lost their first love, it is no marvel if the first 
 works decay also. 
 
 " And hence come the self-love, and shun- 
 ning the cross, and a desire after the worldly 
 and fleshly liberty, in which many are entan- 
 gled, and become enemies to the cross of 
 Christ, and seek to make the offence of it to 
 cease ; by which' an enmity doth arise against 
 them that bear it, though it works under other 
 specious pretences, whose end will be accord- 
 ing to their woik, and the day will declare and 
 make it manifest. 
 
 " So, dear friends, in bowels of dear and ten- 
 der love, having a little opened my heart unto 
 you, as a remembrance of that ancient and 
 2 g 2 
 
'52 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 lasting love that hath abounded in my soul to 
 you from the beginning, I bid you farewell in 
 the Lord ; and the God of Power keep you in 
 the unity of his Spirit, and in pureness and 
 cleanness of mind, serving the Truth, with 
 one heart and mind ; and keep down the cap- 
 tious wit, and carnal reasonings, and disputa- 
 tion for mastery in all your assemblies. And 
 let the Divine sense rule your affairs, and the 
 wisdom that conies from above, which ye may 
 know by its being peaceable, as well as pure ; 
 and those that trust in this gift, need not strive 
 nor be hasty, but wait in faith, and exercise 
 their patience the appointed time of the 
 Father ; and they shall see the desire of their 
 souls, and be satisfied. So the God of Power, 
 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, keep and 
 support you by his Divine comfortable pre- 
 sence, and direct you in his heavenly wisdom, 
 to do his holy will in your day and genera- 
 tion, is the hearty supplication of 
 
 Your sincere and faithful friend and brother, in 
 the kingdom and patience of Christ Jesus, 
 
 u Stephen Crisp*" 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 333 
 
 No, 35. " A Tender Visitation in the love 
 of God, unto those people called French Pro- 
 testants, zoherever they are scattered, in this 
 time of tribulation and persecution, raised 
 against them by those called Roman Catholics, 
 about matters of Religion." 1GS8.— IS pages. 
 
 The intercourse which our Author had held 
 for many years with the Continent, made him 
 better acquainted Avith the state of religious 
 parties abroad, and probably more interested in 
 the circumstances of the French Refugees, than 
 might otherwise have been the case. 
 
 The whole of the letter will, I think, be read 
 with interest. 
 
 " Friends, in the movings of God's love in 
 my heart, I write unto you; and my prayer to 
 God is, that He may, by his invisible power, 
 open your hearts to receive a word of counsel 
 which might tend to your eternal happiness. 
 
 "It is evidentthatyouaregreat sufferers, and 
 the fame thereof reached over many lands and 
 countries, and hath occasioned many to take 
 notice of your hard measure, and to compas- 
 sionate your state and condition, and to reach 
 2 g 3 
 
354: ItEVlEW OF THE WOftKS 
 
 out a hand of charity to your relief and assist- 
 ance, which is indeed a real fruit of true 
 Christianity, and a duty that all Christians 
 do owe one to another; yea, to do good to 
 all men, and especially to the household of faith. 
 
 " And in this charity, I am drawn forth to 
 visit you in these days of your distress, with 
 these few lines of counsel and advice, which if 
 you receive in sincerity, and with an humble 
 mind, ye shall do well, and may reap some 
 ^benefit by it. 
 
 " And first of all, let your minds be seriously 
 'exercised, to consider what is the cause of 
 your sufferings, and why the Lord hath per- 
 mitted these days of trial and hardship to 
 -come upon you. And, by the way, take no- 
 tice, I dare not take upon me to be a judge 
 over you, and to conclude that God is always 
 angry with a people whom He permits to fall 
 under great sufferings ; no, far be it from me, 
 for who hath suffered more than God's dear 
 children in^liis world ? Neither is suffering a 
 certain token of being the children of God, 
 for many suffer because they have provoked the 
 3U>rd to anger by their disobedience to Him; 
 sand others suffer for the trial of their faitii 
 
OP STEPHEN CItlSP. 355 
 
 and that they may be thereby the more puri- 
 fied and prepared, either to bear witness to his 
 holy Name on earth among the children of 
 men, or to possess his heavenly kingdom, into 
 ■which nothing that is not purified and cleans- 
 ed can enter. 
 
 "Now to which of these causes shallbe ascrib- 
 ed your present sufferings, is best to be known 
 and found out by the light of Truth in your 
 own hearts and consciences. And doubtless so 
 many of you as will please to sit down and 
 seriously to consider 3-our ways in time past, 
 will come to an understanding how it stands 
 between God and your own souls ; for the 
 Lord hath a faithful and true witness in tire 
 consciences of every one of you, that hath re- 
 gistered your doings from your childhood ; 
 and this will bring to your remembrance how 
 you have walked before the Lord in the days 
 of your prosperity and liberty in your own 
 nation, when you sat under your own vines 
 and fig-trees ; how short you came in answer- 
 ing the loving-kindness ©f God — how little 
 that light of understanding was prized, which 
 God had bestowed upon you more than the 
 rest of your nation. 
 
S56 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " This will shew you that it was as abomi- 
 nable in the sight of God, for you to bow 
 down and serve the lusts and passions of your 
 own evil hearts, as it was for your neighbours 
 to bow down and worship their images of 
 stocks and stones. This will bring to mind 
 the luxury and wantonness, the strife and emu- 
 lation, that was among many of you, and how 
 great a part of you pleased yourselves with a 
 formality of religion, something differing from 
 the rest of the nation; though your lives and 
 conversations differed little from others, but 
 too much liberty was taken to looseness and 
 vanity, and to the lusts and concupiscence of 
 the flesh. These things were a grief to the 
 Spirit of God, while ye called upon Him in 
 words, and dishonoured Him in your lives. 
 and gave your adversaries occasion to speak 
 evil of you, and of your religion; insomuch 
 that it hath been the common report of stran- 
 gers and travellers for a long time, that there 
 was little difference to be found in the lives 
 and conversations of Prostestants and Papists 
 in France, till the day came they went to their 
 several worships. 
 
 " O friends ! where was the talent of know- 
 ledge all this while? For as you knew better 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 357 
 
 than others, and that more light had shined 
 unto you ; so should your conversations liave 
 shined forth beyond others in sobriety, in tem- 
 perance, and in the fear of the Lord, to the 
 honour of his holy Name amongst his enemies ; 
 and this would have stopped the mouths of 
 gainsayers, more abundantly than all thescho- 
 lastical and critical arguments formed by force 
 of logic and rhetoric, or philosophy, either 
 could or ever did. 
 
 " Now, friends, -when Ihese things come to 
 be brought up in your remembrance by God*s 
 remembrancer in your consciences, shewing 
 you your mis-spent time in days past, it will 
 work you into humility, and prepare your 
 hearts to say With Saul : Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do? And the Lord will draw nigh 
 to you in a strange land, even to as many as 
 seek Him diligently ; for all lands are alike 
 to Him ; and in every nation, and among every 
 people, those that fear Him and work righte- 
 ousness, are accepted with Himthrough Jesus 
 Christ our Lord ; for He teacheth the humble, 
 saith 
 ways. 
 
358 HE VIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 u And I must tell you, friends, the reason 
 why you are still such strangers to the inward 
 and Divine teachings of God, is, because you 
 are not humble enough, nor poor in spirit 
 enough, and so do not know the necessity nor 
 want ye have of it ; but are heaping up 
 teachers to yourselves, that may please the 
 itching ear, and so are diverted from a dili- 
 gent hearkening to the voice of God, who is a 
 reprover in your own hearts. In the next 
 place, it is expedient for you seriously to con- 
 sider the cause for which your great sufferings 
 come upon you ; it may be you will say it is, 
 because you cannot for conscience sake sub- 
 scribe certain articles, nor perform and prac- 
 tise certain things, which yci believe to be 
 contrary to the mind of God, &c. 
 
 Ci You say well : but, my friends, if consci- 
 ence must be hearkened to in these respects, 
 pray why is there not as great need to answer 
 it in your whole lives and conversations ? So 
 far as our consciences are illuminated, it is by 
 the light of Christ, who lighteth every one 
 that cometh into the world with the true Light; 
 and so far as conscience is guided by this 
 Light, and men suffer themselves to be go- 
 verned by such an illuminated conscience 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 359 
 
 they arc kept from every thing that offends" 
 God, by the same law of conscience, which is 
 light : for the same light that convinceth my 
 conscience, that it is sin to bow down to an 
 idol, or worship a crucifix, the same convinc- 
 eth me in my conscience, that it is a sin to 
 lie, to swear, to commit fornication, yea, to 
 speak so much as a vain and idle word, or to 
 let any evil communication or foolish jesting 
 proceed out of my mouth. 
 
 "What a blessing would this be to you, and 
 what peace of conscience would it bring into 
 your bosoms, if this ride were observed in 
 your whole life and conversation ! and surely 
 the reason is the same; for if the dictates of 
 truth in the conscience be, as you confess, to 
 be followed in one thing, why not in all, espe- 
 cially so far as we are equally illuminated 
 and convinced ? And I would ask which of 
 you is not as completely and fully satisfied in 
 respect to your conscience, that drunkenness, 
 swearing, lying, hypocrisy, pride, &c. are 
 contrary to the holy will of the pure God, as 
 bowing to an image or crucifix, or subscribing 
 any superstitious articles whatsoever. And 
 the same light of truth which discovereth the 
 one, discovereth. the other, as the apostle 
 
360 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 saith : Whatsoever is reprovable is made ma- 
 nifest by the light, for that which maketh 
 manifest is light. 
 
 "But, by the way, I must put you in mind 
 of a diversity of working in the consciences 
 of men, for all men do not make scruple of 
 conscience in matters of religion from one 
 and the same ground and cause: for if they 
 did, all would be of the same mind with Christ 
 and his apostles and the primitive believers, 
 who, while they had their consciences all 
 governed by the Spirit of Christ Jesus, con- 
 tinued together and were of one heart and 
 mind. But there are three things principally 
 that divert men's consciences from this uni- 
 versal rule of holiness, faith, and charity, and 
 by these three means, people come to be led 
 from the holiness, divided in their faiths, and 
 broken in their charity; and I shall touch, 
 briefly upon these three, that so the searching 
 inquiring soul may be somewhat helped to 
 find, whether any of them have the rule and 
 government of his conscience or not. 
 
 "1. The first is Education. 
 "2. Worldly Interest. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 361 
 
 "3. The subjecting of the conscience to th^ 
 government of other men, and thereby being 
 made liable to their interest and passions. 
 
 " For the first, Education — it must be con- 
 sidered in a twofold consideration, good and 
 bad ; for good education hath a great preva- 
 lence - upon the mind, as to doctrines, princi- 
 ples, and forms and modes of worship; but 
 it doth not, alone, convey from the tutor to 
 the pupil, the life and virtue of religion; 
 that must be done by the immediate opera- 
 tion of the power and Spirit of Christ. And 
 therefore it is the duty of every one, how good 
 soever their education hath been, and how 
 sound soever the principles are, that they have 
 received, to wait for this Divine operation in 
 their hearts, to season and sanctify them, and 
 to fit them to bear a testimony to the truth 
 which they have learned in words and terms ; 
 or else they will grow up in a formal, dead 
 profession, and will want the oil in their own 
 lamps, although their tutors might have it. 
 And such, for want of the true life and virtue of 
 religion in themselves, may make conscience 
 of this or that form and mode of religion, in 
 which they were educated ; and may stand 
 in a profession of such or such doctrines and 
 2h 
 
£62 REVIEW OE THE WORKS 
 
 principles; and yet maybe never the better 
 lor them as to the great and main end, namely, 
 the sanctification of the soul, and reconciliat- 
 ion with God, "which the most sound doctrines 
 and principles alone will not do. 
 
 '•And as to bad education, and being, tutored 
 and nursed up in the dark and erroneous ways 
 of the world, that fallen man hath invented ; 
 this makes a conscience too, though corrupt 
 and defiled through the darkness that is in them 
 and their teachers. They grow stiff in. their 
 error, and set it up for truth, putting their 
 darkness for light, and walking by the light 
 of (he fire of their own kindling, crying, Thus 
 did our fore-fathers, and pleading antiquity 
 for a cloak for error; which makes it not the 
 better, but the worse. .And these deceived 
 consciences have commonly this property, 
 that they will endeavour to make every one's 
 conscience like their own, which if any cannot 
 yield to, they are for destroying their bodies, 
 which shews they are children of the de- 
 stroyer, and do his works; of whom Christ 
 our Lord prophesied, when he said, They 
 shall think they do God service when they kill 
 ycu. And still these will tell you it is their 
 conscience ; but by their works is manifest 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 36*3 
 
 what it is that hath the governance of such 
 consciences; not the sweet Spirit of Christ 
 Jesus, but the force of a corrupt education, 
 nourished and strengthened by the daily mo- 
 tions of Satan. 
 
 "Another thing that seeks to take the go- 
 vernment of some men's consciences, is worldly 
 interest. These are men of no settled hearty 
 religion, but allow themselves a latitude to 
 square their ^consciences and professions to 
 their worldly profits, pleasures, and advan- 
 tages, and so are a sort of Christians without 
 the cross of Christ ; and consequently no dis- 
 ciples of Christ. For He said, Unless a man 
 take up his daily cross, and deny himself, he 
 cannot be my disciple. But how hard is it for 
 such men to make conscience to keep or to 
 act according to a good conscience, where 
 worldly loss or damage, either in their profits 
 or pleasures, presents. What screwing and 
 windings do they make to form their consci- 
 ences to look another way. What seeking out 
 of arguments and carnal reasonings, to make 
 themselves believe otherwise than they really 
 do believe; nay, sometimes forcing themselves, 
 for their interest, to profess that which they 
 do not, nor cannot believe. And this is a 
 
S6i REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 great abomination in the sight of God ; and 
 such are oftentimes shut up in darkness, and 
 given over to a reprobate mind, because for 
 worldly ends they choose the darkness rather 
 than the light, and come to have their portions 
 iu it. 
 
 " The third thing is, where men give over 
 their consciences to the regulation and govern- 
 ment of others. These may be said to be men 
 without the exercise of their conscience ; for 
 they have not the use of it, nor do stand in a 
 capacity of accepting any illuminations by 
 the working of God's Spirit ; but are bound 
 as slaves and vassals to him, to whom they 
 have subjected themselves, and receive their 
 precepts by the teaching of that man, though 
 he be never so bad. And of this God com- 
 plained of old, saying : Their fear towards me 
 is taught by the precepts of men. Then it 
 seems they should have been taught of God, 
 But, alas ! what a condition are those souls in, 
 and how uncertainly do they go on, that have 
 giyen themselves over to another to govern 
 their very thoughts, their faith, their living 
 and works ! If he errs, they must err too ; if 
 he falls into the ditch, they must fall in top - ? 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 353 
 
 nay, and this it not all, for he himself is not 
 his own, nor the Lord's freeman ; but he is bound 
 under somebody else, as much as thou art un- 
 der him, and he again under another, and so 
 on. So that error, darkness, and blindness, 
 spread over all ; and all are wandered from 
 that Spirit which Christ hath sent, according 
 to his promise, to lead his people into Truth, 
 whom, He said, the world could not receive ; 
 and now it is manifestly true, the world will 
 make any shift rather than come to the teach- 
 ings of his Spirit; yea, will pin their faith 
 upon the sleeve of a priest or a monk, although 
 they know them to be so far from infallibility, 
 that they see their failings daily, in pride, co- 
 vetousness, luxury, wantonness, and hypo- 
 crisy, and that these are such as are not able to 
 preserve themselves out of the snares of Satan* 
 
 u Who would think tiny man of understand- 
 ing could be so blinded, as to imagine that 
 such can absolve them of their sin, who can- 
 not keep out of it themselves ; but are over- 
 come by the temptations of Satan, and by their 
 own lusts and concupiscence, -and must have 
 ^another to absolve them, and another agaimfar 
 "diin^-and so, forth. 
 
 £ K-3 
 
366 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 " All ! where is the pure light of Christ in 
 the conscience all this while, that should guide 
 and rule the conscience of the one and the 
 other, to teach them how to keep their con- 
 sciences void of offence towards God and 
 man ? O that men would hearken to this, and 
 let it have its proper office in their consci- 
 ences, unto which God hath appointed it. 
 This would nourisl) and strengthen every good 
 thing that hath been planted by good educa- 
 tion ; and bring that good which is held in 
 notion to flourish in virtue. This would work 
 out any evil thing that hath been sown by bad 
 education ; and make it die and wither. This 
 would teach you to lay by all worldly interest, 
 and dedicate yourselves to the Lord, hence- 
 forth to be taught and guided by Him: and 
 Christ Jesus, by his Light and Spirit, would 
 so open your understandings, that He would 
 make you wiser than your teachers in the 
 great mystery of regeneration, without which 
 all worships, religions, confessions, absolu- 
 tions, yea, alms and prayers, will stand a 
 man in no stead : for except a man be bow 
 again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
 
 "Now, friends, you that are in sufferings, 
 and are scattered to and fro in many nations, 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 367 
 
 upon the account you cannot for conscience 
 sake conform to that religion which you be- 
 lieve to be idolatrous, what can be a more pro> 
 per exercise for your minds, than to examine 
 your own souls, to see what it is that hath been, 
 your leader and guide in this your refusing to 
 conform? Whether it were your education, 
 or any worldly interest or dependencies upon 
 any, or whether it were some overmuch sway 
 and prevalency that any man or men have 
 had upon your consciences ; or lastly, whether 
 i> hath been the light of the Word and Spirit 
 of Christ shining in your hearts, and illumi- 
 nating your understanding, to see the error 
 ^ind idolatry of the nations ; and that, in ten- 
 .derness of conscience towards God, and in 
 obedience to his grace and Truth, you chose 
 rather to forsake your native country, and 
 your worldly enjoyments, than to defile your 
 consciences, and sin against that light anci 
 grace, which the Father of JLights had be- 
 stowed upon you. 
 
 " Now those of you that find it thus wifh 
 you, what a comfort will it be in all your 
 adversities, when you feel the evidence o£ 
 ; God's witness in your consciences, testifying 
 your sufferings to be upon this account ! Ajui. 
 
S6S REVIEW OF THE W0RK3 
 
 who good will it be for you all to follow tire 
 -leadings and guidings of it in all things, and 
 Tsee if there be not yet many things remaining in 
 'and among you, that are as contrary to that 
 light and grace in your hearts, and as burden- 
 some to your souls, and that keep you from 
 reconciliation with God ! And the more you 
 «xercise yourselves in trying and proving 
 your words and actions by this light in your 
 own souls, the more clearly you will see a neces- 
 sity of reforming your ways in the sight of 
 "God, and for you not to rest satisfied that you 
 have obeyed it in one thing, butto labour and 
 travail in the daily cross, till all things that 
 stand in opposition to the holy will of God be 
 subdued in you ; that so you may not lose the 
 Teward of what you have done. For it is not 
 faithfulness in one particular will serve our 
 turns, but, as Moses said when he prophesied 
 -of Christ, It shall come to pass, that that soui 
 ~which zo ill not hear Him in all things shall 
 he cut off. Therefore the way to make peace 
 with God, and reconciliation, is, to follow the 
 'Lord fully, as did Joshua, that is, to leave off 
 and forsake every thing that is evil in your- 
 selves, as well as the idolatry that is in others 
 ■which they would ha^ve brought you to joio. 
 miih them- in* 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. SCO 
 
 " Iii the next place, I would put you upon 
 a serious consideration, what effect jour pre- 
 sent suffering condition hath wrought in you 
 towards your sanctification ; for it is the work 
 and business of a true Christian soul to be 
 bettered by every condition, and most of all 
 by sufferings, which are permitted of God, for 
 the slaying and crucifying all that in his peo. 
 pie which is contrary unto Him; that they 
 may be as gold purified in the furnace of tri- 
 bulation. Now it will be of great profit to 
 you to come to a search in yourselves how this 
 work of mortification is carried on, and to en* 
 quire whether that vain and airy mind that too 
 much prevailed upon you in your own coun- 
 try, which led you out to fashions and customs, 
 be not yet alive in you; which puts you upon 
 such great haste to fashion yourselves to the 
 fashions of the nations where you are scat* 
 tered, and of conforming to their ways ancl 
 manners. 
 
 u O ! my friends, if a true sense of your states 
 did remain upon your spirits, how would it 
 make you grave and weighty, and bring you 
 into sobriety in words and actions ! by which 
 the nations where you live might see that it 
 was from a sound principle of religion and 
 
>70 
 
 REVIEW OP THE WORKS 
 
 godliness, that you have denied tbe supersti- 
 tion of your own country, and not barely 
 for a different form of religion, which makes 
 men no better, one form than another ; for you 
 may remember that the Apostles and primitive 
 Christians had not fellowship with those that 
 held the same form with themselves, if they 
 denied to be subject to the power of godliness. 
 And indeed that is the life of religion, and the 
 crown of all sufferings upon the account of 
 religion, when the sufferers in the time of their 
 sufferings feel in their souls the virtue and 
 life of Him for whose Name they suffer, sup- 
 porting them in their afflictions, and also pre- 
 serving them from the pollutions and defile- 
 ments of the world. Thus it was with the dis- 
 ciples of old, who in a time of persecution 
 were scattered over Asia, Cappadocia, and 
 Bithynia. They carried along with them the 
 sweet savour of life ; and it is said, that the 
 Word of God grew, or increased mightily ; 
 for, alas! what advantage hath a Protestant over 
 a Papist, if both remain subject to the prince 
 of the power of the air, who hath his rule in 
 the hearts of the children of disobedience, of 
 what sort or profession soever they are. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 37i 
 
 " Therefore let me persuade and beseech 
 you, in the tender love of God, not too much 
 to look upon that little reformation which you 
 have; bat look at, and consider how much is- 
 yet to be reformed, before you can come to be,, 
 as you know you ought to be, answerable to 
 the holy, pure mind of the holy pure God, 
 with whom, and in whose eternal pure pre- 
 sence, 3-ou desire to have your eternal portion 
 and inheritance. And although this be not 
 obtained by works, but through grace, yet all 
 that are truly subjected to the grace of God, 
 are led by it to deny all ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts, and to live righteously, and so- 
 berly, and godly, in this present evil world. 
 Tit. ii. 11. So examine yourselves, and see 
 how your lives and conversations answer the 
 grace and light of Truth, which, through Christ 
 Jesus the Fountain of Light and Truth, is com- 
 municated to you ; and accordingly you may 
 find a true judgment arise in your own souls, 
 how it stands with every one of you in the 
 sight of God. 
 
 " There is one thing more that lies upon me 
 to put you in mind of, and that is, to move you 
 to an humble thankful mind to the Lord, that 
 He hath in this the time of your afflictions 
 
372 IiEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 opened the hearts of so many kings and 
 princes to receive and succour you, and of so 
 many people to relieve your necessities; which 
 indeed is a great mercy. The consideration 
 whereof may be a great motive upon your 
 spirits to trust the Lord, and to serve Him in 
 your places where you are cast, and to en- 
 deavour yourselves to answer his love and 
 kindness towards you ; that his mercies and 
 goodness may oblige your hearts to love the 
 Lord more than all; and this will more and 
 more open the hearts of all that love the Lord, 
 to minisfer to you in such tilings as you need, 
 both temporal and spiritual. 
 
 " And truly, friends, I have with grief many 
 a time beheld you as a people under great 
 trials, and had wished your trials had wrought 
 a better effect upon you than they have yet had. 
 And there came a necessity upon my spirit to 
 Visit you with these few considerations, in the 
 pure love of God, hoping they will meet with 
 many among you that will receive this visita- 
 tion in the same love in which it is sent unto 
 you. And I pray God it may do you good, 
 and have an effect upon your hearts, for your 
 spiritual advantage. Hut if any among you 
 should despise it, and cast good counsel be- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 373 
 
 hind their backs, and cavil either at the mat- 
 ter or style, such will but hurt their own souls, 
 and not me ; neither shall I, that I know of, be 
 concerned thereat, but with grief for their 
 sakes, having faithfully discharged that which 
 lay upon me to you-ward ; and my reward is 
 with the Lord ; and his Spirit teacheth me to 
 love all men, and to labour for the good of all 
 men, as knowing it is not the will of God that 
 any should perish, but that all men exery 
 where should repent, and come to the know- 
 ledge of the Truth, and be saved. 
 
 " Stephen Crisp. 
 
 " Colchester, the 17th 
 llth Month, 1688." 
 
 2 i 
 
374 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 No. 37. K An Epistle of Tender Love and 
 Brotherly Advice to all the Churches of Christ, 
 throughout the world, $c. 1680. — 23 pages. 
 
 This is the last Epistle of our excellent 
 Author, which I find printed. It contains a 
 review of the progress of the Society, the in- 
 stitution of the Discipline, and the means and 
 spirit by which alone it can be advantage- 
 ously conducted. It may be considered as a 
 farewell address to the Churches, among which 
 he had so long laboured ; and, though he notices 
 in itthe decay of his bodily powers, it evinces 
 the maturity of his intellectual and Christian 
 character. He seems already upon the verge 
 of that perfect day, which is the summit of the 
 good man's hope and experience, 
 
 I present the Epistle uncurtailed to the 
 reader. 
 
 " Dearly beloved friends and brethren, ga- 
 thered out of the world by the Eternal Arm 
 a;id Power of the mighty God, to bear his 
 holy Name in your generation ; my love and 
 life, in the fellowship of the universal Spirit, 
 salutes you all ; and my prayer to God is, that 
 you may be kept steadfast and unmovable in 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. S75 
 
 the grace of God, and in the communion of 
 his Holy Spirit; that ye may bring forth fruit 
 in abundance, according to the abundant mercy 
 and grace bestowed upon you, to the glory of 
 God, and to your mutual joy, comfort, and 
 edification. 
 
 " And that you may so do, let your eye be 
 kept daily to the Lord ; and behold, and take 
 notice of the wondrous works that He hath 
 wrought in you, and for you, since the day ye 
 were first quickened by his immortal Word, 
 and stirred up to seek after Him, and to wait 
 upon Him ; how good and gracious He hath 
 been to you, in bringing you from the barren 
 mountains, where your souls languished for 
 the heavenly nourishment — where you knew 
 not the Lord, nor one another, but were with- 
 out a comforter, or any to sympathize with 
 you in your mournings. O how hath He pitied 
 your groan ings, and had compassion on your 
 sighings ; and brought you into acquaintance 
 with those that were in the like exercises ! and 
 then He taught you to believe on Him who 
 was able to help you. And those that were 
 thus taught of the Father, and felt his drawing 
 cords of love prevailing upon them; these came 
 to Christ their Saviour, and in Him began to 
 2 \2 
 
376 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 feel a unity one with another, in the faith you 
 had received in Him; whereby you believed 
 He would give you of his Spirit, to teach and 
 guide you in the way of truth, righteousness, 
 and peace. 
 
 " And thus was the foundation of your holy 
 communion laid ; and a lively hope raised in 
 each particular soul, that He that had begun 
 this blessed work would carry it on ; and this 
 hope made you that ye were not ashamed to 
 make a public profession of his Name before 
 the world, but cheerfully to take up his cross, 
 and deny yourselves of your former pleasures, 
 friendships, and delights of this world. This 
 hope hath been your support in many sharp 
 trials and bitter combats, which you have had 
 withthe enemy of your souls' peace within, and 
 with the enemies of God's holy way and 
 Truth without. And in all your conflicts, 
 you have found Him nigh at hand, to put forth 
 his power on your behalf, as you have de- 
 pended upon Him for his assistance ; and by 
 these experiences of his goodness, your faith 
 hath been strengthened. And by the same 
 Word of Life that quickened you, many more 
 have been reached unto, so that you have seen 
 a daily addition of strength in the particular, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 377 
 
 and also an addition to your number, to your 
 great comfort and encouragement. And many 
 Lave come to wait upon the Lord among you ; 
 and many are daily enquiring after the way to 
 Sion, with their faces thitherward. These things 
 are worth your remembrance, and serious con- 
 siderations, that you may look upon these 
 great mercies, as obligations upon jour souls, 
 to walk humbly before the Lord, and to be 
 devout and fervent in your testimony for 
 that God who hath thus done great things for 
 you. 
 
 " And, friends, consider of the great works 
 that this mighty arm of the Lord hath brought 
 to pass in the general, as well as in the par- 
 ticular. How many contrivances have been 
 framed, and laws and decrees made, to lay you 
 waste, and to make you cease to be a people I 
 and how have the wicked rejoiced thereat, for 
 a season, crying, i Ah, ha, thus would we have 
 it ! they art all now given up to banishments, 
 to imprisonments, to spoils and ruins ; now let 
 us see if that invisible arm they trust in, can 
 deliver them^ O friends ! how hath your God 
 been your support in the midst of all these 
 exercises ! and when He hath pleased, how 
 hath He quieted the sharpest storms, and 
 2 i 3 
 
378 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 turned back the greatest floods and torrents 
 of persecution that ever you met! and how 
 hath lie confounded his and your enemies, 
 and brought confusion upon the heads of them 
 that sought your hurt ! Were not these things 
 wrought by the power of God ? Did your 
 number, your policy, your interest, or any 
 thing that might be called your own, contri- 
 bute any thing to these your great preserva- 
 tions and deliverances? If not, then let God 
 have the glory ; and acknowledge to his praise, 
 these have been the Lord's doings, and are 
 marvellous in our eyes. 
 
 " Again, dear friends, consider how the 
 wicked one hath wrought in a mystery among 
 yourselves, to scatter you, and to lay you 
 waste from being a people, as at this day J 
 How many several ways hath he tried, raising 
 up men of perverse minds, to subvert, and to 
 turn you from the faith, and from the simpli- 
 city that is in Christ Jesus our Lord — and to 
 separate you from that invisible Power that 
 hath been your strength — and to separate you 
 one from another ; and, by subtle wiles, to lead 
 you into a false liberty above the cross of 
 Christ ; and sometimes, by sowing seeds of 
 heresy and seditions, endeavouring to corrupt 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 379 
 
 the minds of whom they could, with pernicious 
 principles. But O ! how have their designs 
 been frustrated, and the authors thereof con- 
 founded and brought to nought ! and how 
 have you been preserved, as a flock under the 
 hand of a careful shepherd, even unto this 
 day ; which ministers great cause of thanks- 
 giving unto all the faithful, who have witnessed 
 the working of this preserving power in their 
 own paticular. 
 
 " Also, my friends, it is worth your consi- 
 derations, to behold how that, by this invisible 
 Power, so many faithful watchmen are raised 
 up upon the walls of your Sion, that in most 
 of your Meetings, there are men and women 
 upon whom God hath laid a concern, to be 
 taking care for the good of the whole, and to 
 take the oversight upon them, to see all things 
 kept in good and decent order, and to make 
 due provision for the comforting and reliev- 
 ing the necessities of the needy and distressed, 
 that nothing be lacking to make your way 
 comfortable. And these have not been, nor 
 are brought under this charge by any act of 
 yours ; but God hath raised up Pastors aud 
 Teachers, Elders and Deacons, of his own 
 election and choice, and bowed their spirits 
 
380 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 to take upon them the work and service to 
 which they are appointed for the Lord's sake, 
 and for the body's sake, which is the Church ; 
 to whom it may truly be said, as in the 20th 
 chapter of Acts, ver. 28. Take ye heed to the 
 Jloch of God, over which the Holy Ghost hath 
 made you Overseers, 8?c. And such ought to 
 be hearkened to in the discharge of their trust, 
 as those that must give an account to Him 
 that called them, and gifted them for their 
 several works and services in the Church. 
 
 " And by these ways and means hath the 
 Lord established among you a heavenly go- 
 vernment, and built as it were a hedge about 
 you, that ye may be preserved from genera- 
 tion to generation, a people fitted for the 
 glory that is and shall daily more and more 
 be revealed among and upon the faithful, who 
 delight in that power that called them to be 
 saints, and to bear a profession for the holy 
 Name of God, against the many names and 
 ways that men, in their changeable minds, have 
 set up ; that the Name of the Lord alone may 
 be exalted. 
 
 " And, dear friends and brethren, I entreat 
 you, that the considerations of these great and 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. S81 
 
 weighty things which God hath wrought for 
 you, and among you, may have that deep and 
 weighty influence upon your souls, that ye 
 may find yourselves engaged to answer the 
 love and mercy of God in your lives and con- 
 versations, and in all you have to do in this 
 world ; that ye may shew forth the honour of 
 God in all things — that the light which hath 
 sinned in you, may shine forth through you 
 unto others, -who yet sit in darkness — that all 
 men may know by your innocent and harmless 
 conversations, and by your close keeping to 
 the Lord, that ye are a people who are assisted 
 and helped by a supernatural Power, which 
 governs your wills, and subjects them to his 
 blessed will ; and that guides and orders your 
 affections, and sets them upon heavenly and 
 Divine objects; and gives you power to deny 
 your own private interests, where they hap- 
 pen to stand in competition with the interest 
 of Truth. For these, and these only, will be 
 found the true disciples of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who can deny themselves, take up a 
 cross daily, and follow Him in the guidance 
 of his regenerating Power, which brings death 
 upon self, and crucifies the old nature, with 
 its affections and lusts, and raiseth up a birth 
 in you, that hath a holy will and desire to 
 
OVZ REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 serve the Lord, and do his will on the earth. 
 And such as these are instruments in the hand 
 of God for Him to work by, and to do works 
 of righteousness, of justice, of charity, and all 
 the other virtues belonging to a Christian life, 
 to the houour of God, and for the comfort and 
 benefit of his church and people. 
 
 "And all you, dear friends, upon whom the 
 Lord Jiath laid a care for his honour, and for 
 the prosperity of the truth, and gathered you 
 into the good order of the Gospel, to meet 
 together to manage the affairs thereof; take 
 heed that you have a single eye to the Lord, 
 to do the Lord's business in the leadings of his 
 Spirit, which is but one, and brings all that 
 are given up to be governed by it, to be of 
 one mind and heart, at least, in the general pur- 
 port and service of those meetings ; although, 
 through the diversity of exercises, and the 
 several degrees of growth among the brethren, 
 every one may not see or understand alike in 
 every matter at the first propounding of it. 
 Yet this makes no breach of the unity, nor 
 hinders the brotherly kindness, but puts you 
 often upon an exercise, and an inward travail- 
 ing, to feel the pure, peaceable wisdom that is 
 from above, to open among you ; and every 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. SS3 
 
 one's ear is open to it, in whomsoever it speaks ; 
 and thereby a sense of life is given in the 
 meeting, to which all that are of a simple and 
 tender mind, join and agree. 
 
 u But if any among you should be contrary 
 minded in the management of some outward 
 affair relating to the truth, this doth not pre- 
 sently break the unity that ye have in Christ, 
 nor should weaken the brotherly love, so long 
 as he keeps waiting for an understanding from 
 God, to be gathered into the same sense with 
 you, and walk with you according to the law 
 of charity. Such an one ought to be borne 
 with, and cherished, and the supplications of 
 your souls will go up to God for him, that 
 God may reveal it to him, if it be his will; 
 that so no difference may be in understanding, 
 so far as is necessary for the good of the 
 church, no more than there is in matters of 
 faith and obedience to God. 
 
 <; For, my friends, it is not of absolute neces- 
 sity that every member of the church should 
 have the same measure of understanding in 
 all things ; for then where were the duty of 
 the strong bearing with the weak ? then, 
 where were the brother of low decree? where 
 
SSi REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 would be any submitting to them that are 
 set over others in the Lord? which all tend to 
 the preserving of unity in the church, notwith- 
 standing the different measures, and different 
 growths of the members thereof. For as the 
 spirits of the prophets are subject to the pro- 
 phets, so are the spirits of all that are kept in 
 a true subjection to the Spirit of life in them- 
 selves, kept in the same subjection to the sense 
 of life given by the same Spirit in the church : 
 and by this means we come to know the one 
 Master, even Christ, and have no room for 
 other masters, in the matter of our obedience 
 to God. 
 
 "And while every one keeps in this true 
 subjection, the sweet concord is known, and 
 the oil is not only upon Aaron's head, but it 
 reacheth the skirts of his garment also; and 
 things are kept sweet and savoury, and ye love 
 one another, from the greatest to the least, in 
 sincerity, and, as the apostle saitb, without 
 dissimulation ; and this love excludes all whis- 
 perings of evil things, all back-biting, tale- 
 bearing, grudgings, and murmu rings; and 
 keeps friends' minds clean one toward another, 
 waiting for every opportunity to do each 
 other good, and to preserve each other's repu- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 385 
 
 tation ; and their hearts are comforted at the 
 sight of one another. And in all their affairs, 
 both 1 elating to the church and to the world, 
 they will be watchful over their own spirits, 
 and keep in the Lord's power, over that na- 
 ture and ground in themselves, that would be 
 apt to take an offence, or construe any word 
 or action to a worse sense than the simplicity 
 thereof, or the intention of the other concerned, 
 will allow of. 
 
 "And whereas it may often fall out, that 
 among a great many, some may have a differ- 
 ent apprehension of a matter from the rest of 
 their brethren, especially in outward or tem- 
 poral things, there ought to be a Christian 
 liberty maintained for such to express their 
 sense with freedom of mind, or else they will 
 go away burthened; whereas, if they speak 
 Iheir minds freely, and a friendly and Christian 
 conference be admitted thereupon, they may 
 be eased, and oftentimes the different appre^ 
 hension of such an one comes to be wholly 
 removed, and his understanding opened, to 
 see as the rest see. For the danger in society, 
 doth not lie so much in that some few may 
 have a differing apprehension in some things 
 from the general sense; as it doth in this, 
 2 K 
 
383 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 namely, when such as differ, do suffer them- 
 selves to be led out of the bond of charity, 
 and labour lo impose their private sense upon 
 the rest of their brethren, and to be offended 
 and angry if it be not received. This is the 
 seed of sedition and strife, that hath grown up 
 in too, too many, to their own hurt. 
 
 "And therefore, my dear friends, beware 
 of it, and seek not to drive a matter on in 
 fierceness or in anger, nor to take offence into 
 your minds at any time, because what seems 
 to be clear to you, is not presently received ; 
 but let all things in the church be propounded 
 with an awful reverence of Him that is the 
 Head and Life of it; who hath said, Where 
 tzco or three are met in my Name, I will he in 
 the midst of them. And so He is, and may be 
 felt by all who keep in his Spirit. But he that 
 follows his own spirit, sees nothing as he ought 
 to see it. Therefore let all beware of their own 
 spirits and natural tempers, as they are some- 
 times called; but let all keep in a gracious 
 temper. Then are ye fit for the service of 
 the house of God, whose house ye are, as ye 
 keep upon the foundation that God hath laid ; 
 and He will build you up, and teach you how 
 to build up one another in Him. And as 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 387 
 
 every member must feel life in themselves, and 
 all from one Head, tins life will not hurt itself 
 in any, but be tender of the life in all ; for by 
 this one life of the Word, ye were begotten, 
 and by it ye are nourished and made to grow 
 into your several services in the Church of 
 God. 
 
 "It is no man's learning, nor artificial ac- 
 quirements ; it is no man's riches, nor great- 
 ness in this world ; it is no man's eloquence 
 and natural wisdom, that makes him fit for 
 government in the Church of Christ, unless 
 he, with all his endowments, be seasoned with 
 the heavenly sail, and his spirit be subjected, 
 and his gifts pass through the fire of God's 
 altar, a sacrifice to his praise and honour; 
 that so self ma}' be crucified and baptized in 
 death, and the gifts made use of in the power 
 of the resurrection of the Life of Jesus in him. 
 And when this great work is wrought in a 
 man, then all his gifts and qualifications are 
 sanctified ; then they are made use of for the 
 good of the body, which is the Church ; and 
 they are as ornaments and jewels, which serve 
 for the joy and comfort of all who are parta- 
 kers of the same Divine fellowship of life, in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord. And thus come many 
 2 k 2 
 
388 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 to be fitted and furnished to ffood works, 
 which are brought forth in their due seasons, 
 for edification, and building up the weak, and 
 for repairing the decayed places, and also for 
 defence of them that are feeble, that hurtful 
 things may not come near them. 
 
 "O friends! great is the work the Lord 
 hath called you to, and is fitting you for, ttho 
 innocently wait upon Him. And the Lord 
 hath opened my heart unto you ; and laid it 
 upon me, to exhort and beseech you to have 
 a care ye quit yourselves as ye ought, in what 
 God requires of you. And for the more par- 
 ticular expressing what lies before me in the 
 matter, I shall set down a few particular ob- 
 servations, for your benefit and advantage. 
 And my soul's desire is, that ray labour of love 
 may have a good effect in all your bosoms, 
 that God may be honoured thereby. And, 
 friends, ye know the chief business to which 
 ye are all called in your particular men and 
 women's meetings, is under these two heads, 
 Justice and Charity; the first, to see that 
 every one hath right done him, and the other 
 to take care there be nothing lacking to the 
 comfort of the poor, that are made partakers 
 of the same faith with you. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. SS9 
 
 "And when ye meet about these things, 
 keep the Lord in your eye, and wait to feel 
 his power to guide and direct you, to speak 
 and behave yourselves in the church of God, 
 as becomes the peaceable Gospel. And be- 
 ware of all brittleness of spirit, and sharp 
 reflection upon each other's words ; for that 
 will kindle up heats, and create a false fire. 
 And when one takes a liberty of a sharp word 
 spoken out of the true fear and tenderness, it 
 oftentimes becomes a temptation to another; 
 and if he hath not a great care, it will draw him 
 out also, and then the first is guilty of two 
 evils ; first,being led into a temptation, and then, 
 secondly, he becomes a temptation to others. 
 
 "Therefore all had need to be upon their 
 watch, neither to tempt nor to be tempted ; 
 and let none think it a sufficient excuse for 
 them that they were provoked, for we are as 
 answerable to God for evil words spoken 
 upon provocation, as without provocation; 
 for, for that end hath the Lord revealed bis 
 power to us, to keep and preserve us in his 
 fear and counsel in the time of our provoca- 
 tions. And therefore, if any man, through 
 want of watchfulness, should be overtaken 
 with beat or passion, a soft answer appcasttk, 
 2k3 
 
390 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 wrath, saith the wise man; and therefore swell 
 a time is fittest for a soft answer, lest the 
 enemy prevail on any to their hurt, and to the 
 grief and trouble of their brethren; for it is 
 the proper duty of watchmen and overseers, 
 to spare the flock, that is, let nothing come 
 nigh them that will hurt them, and wound 
 and grieve them. Nay, the good apostle was 
 so careful over the flock of believers, that if 
 there were any doubtful matters to be disputed 
 of, he would not have them that were weak in 
 the faith at such disputes, much less ought; 
 them that are weak to see those that are strong 
 descend from their strength, and go into the 
 weakness where they are not able to bear; 
 for that is certainly the weak that cannot 
 bear. Those that really live in the strength 
 and power, they can bear even burdens for 
 them that cannot bear their own. 
 
 "The apostle, in the place before mentioned, 
 when ho sent for the elders of Ephesus to Mi- 
 letus, and left a charge with them, before he 
 sard, Take heed to the Jlock of God, he said, 
 Take ye heed to yourselves. And indeed we 
 are none of us like to discharge ourselves well 
 towards others, but by -taking heed to our- 
 -selvos, to be kept in that sober, innocent framo 
 *€ spirit, wliich the Truth calls for» 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 391 
 
 "In the nest place, ray dear friends, when 
 je are called upon in point of justice, to give 
 a sentence of right between friend and friend; 
 take heed that neither party get possession 
 of your spirit aforehand, by any way or means 
 "whatsoever, or obtain any word or sentence 
 from you in the absence of the other party, 
 he not being yet heard. There is nothing 
 more comely among men, than impartial judg- 
 ment. Judgment is a seat where neither in- 
 terest nor affection, nor former kindnesses, 
 may come. We may make no difference of 
 the worthiness or unworthiness of persons in 
 judgment, as we may in charity; but in judg- 
 ment, if a good man, being mistaken, hath a 
 bad case, or a bad man a good case, accord- 
 ing to his case must he have sentence, 
 
 " It was a good saying : He that judgelh 
 among men, judgetfi for the Lord, and Hz 
 will repay it. Therefore let all be done as 
 unto the Lord, and as ye are willing to an* 
 swer it in his presence ; and although some 
 may for a time be discontent thereat, yet in 
 time God shall clear up your innocency as 
 the sun at noon-day ; and they that kick at 
 sound judgment, will find but hard work of 
 it, they do but kick against that which will 
 prick them ; and however such, through their 
 
392 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 wilfulness, and their abounding in iheir own 
 sense, may hurt themselves, jet you will be 
 preserved, and enjoy your peace and satisfac- 
 tion in the discharge of your consciences in 
 the sight of God. 
 
 "And as concerning practical charity, ye 
 know it is supported by liberality; and where 
 liberality ceaseth, charity waxeth cold, yea, 
 so far ceaseth. Where there is no contribu- 
 tion, there is no distribution; where the one 
 is sparing, the other is sparing; and therefore 
 let every one nourish charity in the root, that 
 is, keep a liberal mind, a heart that looks upon 
 the substance that is given him, as really be- 
 stowed upon him for the support of charity, 
 as for the support of his own body. And 
 where people are of this mind, they will have 
 a care of keeping back any of God's part; for 
 He hath in all ages, in a most singular manner, 
 espoused the case of the poor, the widow, 
 and fatherless; and hath often signified by his 
 prophets and ministers, a special charge upon 
 rich men that had this world's goods, that 
 they should look to it that they were faithful 
 stewards of what they possessed, and that they 
 might be found in good works, and might not 
 surfer their hearts so to cleave to uncertain 
 riches^ as to neglect the service God had givea 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 39% 
 
 them the things of this life for ; either to give 
 them up when called for, in a testimony fur 
 his worthy Name, or to communicate of them 
 to those that were in necessity. 
 
 " Now as concerning the necessities of the 
 poor, there is great need of wisdom when ye 
 meet together about that affair; for, as I said 
 before, though the worthiness or unworthiness 
 of persons is not to be considered in judgment, 
 yet in this it is. And you will find some that 
 God hath made poor ; and some that have 
 made themselves poor; and some that others 
 have made poor ; which must all have 
 their several considerations, in which you 
 ought to labour to be unanimous, and not one 
 to be taken up with an affection to one person 
 more than another, but everyone to love every 
 one in the universal Spirit, and then to deal 
 out that love in the outward manifestations 
 thereof, according to the measure that the 
 Lord in his wisdom working in you, shall mea- 
 sure forth to them. 
 
 " And as to those who, by sickness, lameness, 
 age, or other impotency, are brought into po- 
 verty by the hand of Providence, these are 
 your peculiar care and objects pointed out to 
 you, to bestow your charity upon ; for by 
 
394 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 them the Lord calls for it ; for as the earth is 
 the Lord's and the fulness of it, He hath by 
 his sovereign power commanded in every Dis- 
 pensation, that a part of what we enjoy from 
 Him, should be thus employed. The Israelites 
 were not to reap the corners of their fields, nor 
 to gather the gleanings of the corn or vintage, 
 it was for the poor. And in the time of the 
 Gospel, they were to lay apart on the first day 
 of the week, a part of what God had blessed 
 them with, for the relief of those that were in 
 necessity ; nay, they did not confine themselves 
 in their charity to their own Meetings, but 
 had an universal eye through the whole church 
 of Christ ; and, upon extraordinary occasions, 
 sent their benevolence to relieve the Saints at 
 Jerusalem in a time of need. 
 
 " And all that keep in the guidance of the 
 same universal Spirit, will make it their busi- 
 ness to be found in the same practice of cha- 
 rity and good works. To do good, and to 
 communicate, forget not, saith the apostle. 
 So they that forget not this Christian duty, 
 will find out the poor's part in the corners and 
 gleanings of the profits of their trades and 
 merchandizes, as well as the old Israelite did in 
 the cornel's and gleanings of his field ; and in 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 395 
 
 the distribution of it, will have regard to com- 
 fort the bowels of those who are, by the Divine 
 providence of God, put out of a capacity of 
 enjoying those outward comforts of health, 
 and strength, and plenty, which others do en- 
 joy. For, while they are partakers of the same 
 faith, and walk in the way of righteousness 
 with you, submitting themselves patiently to 
 the dispensations of God's providence towards 
 them, they are of your household, and under 
 your care, both to visit and to relieve, as mem- 
 bers of one body, of which Christ Jesus is 
 Head ; and he thatgiveth to such poor, lendeth 
 to the Lord, and He will repay it. 
 
 " But there is another sort of poor, who 
 make themselves poor through their sloth and 
 carelessnes, and sometimes by their wilfulness ;• 
 being heady and high-minded, and taking 
 things in hand that are more than they can 
 manage, and make a flourish for a season, and 
 then, through their own neglects, are plunged 
 down into great poverty. These are a sort 
 the primitive churches began to be troubled 
 withal in the early days of the Gospel ; for 
 the apostle took notice of some that would not 
 work at all, and sharply reproved them, and 
 said, They that would not work, should not 
 
596 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 eat. And these are commonly a sort of busy- 
 l>odies,and meddlers with others' matters, while 
 they neglect their own, and run into a worse 
 way than the unbelievers ; while they profess 
 to be believers, yet do not take a due care for 
 those of their own household. 
 
 u The charity that is proper to such, is to 
 ijive them admonition and reproof, and to con- 
 vince them of their sloth and negligence; and if 
 they submit to your reproof, and are willing to 
 amend, then care ought to be taken to help 
 them into a way and means to support them- 
 selves. And sometimes, by a little help in this 
 kind, some have been reclaimed from the 
 snares of their souls' enemy. But if they will 
 not receive your wholesome counsel and ad- 
 monitions, but kick against it, either in their 
 words or actions, friends will be clear of such 
 in the sight of God ; for it is unreasonable in 
 them to expect you should feed them that will 
 not be advised by you, because they break 
 the obligation of Society, by their disorderly 
 walking ; for our communion doth not stand 
 only in frequenting Meetings, and hearing 
 Truth preached ; but in answering the blessed 
 principle of Truth, in life and conversation, 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 397 
 
 and therein both the rich and the poor hive 
 fellowship one with another. 
 
 *' There is another sort that are made poor 
 by the oppressions and cruelties of others. 
 These oppressed poor, cry aloud in the ears 
 of the Almighty; and He ^vill in his own time 
 avenge their cause. But, in the mean time, 
 there is a tenderness to be extended to theirij 
 not knowing how soon it may be our turn; 
 and if there be need of counsel and advice, 
 or if any applications can be made to any 
 that are able to deliver them from the oppres- 
 sors ; in such cases, let all that are capable, be 
 ready and willing to advise, relieve, and help 
 the distressed. And this is an acceptable work 
 of charity ; and a great comfort to such in 
 sharp afflictions ; and their souls will bless the 
 instruments of their ease and comfort. 
 
 " And, my dear friends, as God hath ho- 
 noured you with so high and holy a calling, to 
 be his servants and workmen in this his great 
 and notable day, and to work together in his 
 power, in setting forth his praise and glory in 
 the earth, and gathering together in one the 
 scattered Seed in this and other nations ; O ! 
 let the dignity of your calling, provoke and 
 2 L 
 
3f8 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 encourage you to be diligent attenders upon 
 his work and service you are called to; and let 
 not your concern in the world, draw you from 
 observing the times and seasons appointed to 
 meet together. But you that are elder, set a 
 good example to the younger sort, by a due 
 observation of the hour appointed, that they 
 that come first one time, may not by their 
 ljng staying for others be discouraged, so as 
 perhaps they may be last another time. But 
 when the time is come, leave your business 
 for the Lord's work ; and lie will take care 
 your business shall not suffer, but will add a 
 blessing upon it, which will do more for you, 
 than the time can do that may be saved out of 
 his service. 
 
 " And when ye have to do with perverse, 
 and froward, or disorderly persons, whom ye 
 have occasion to reprove and to rebuke for the 
 Truth's sake, and you find them stout, and 
 high, and reflecting upon you, then is a time 
 for the Lamb's meekness to shine forth, and 
 for you to feel your authority in the Name of 
 Christ to deal with such an one 5 and to wait for 
 ■the pure and peaceable wisdom from above, 
 to bring- down and confound the earthly wis- 
 dom. And in this frame of mind you labour 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. JSV 
 
 together, to pull the entangled sheep out of 
 the thicket, and to restore t h at w Inch is gone 
 astray, to the fold again, if you can ; but if 
 you cannot, yet ye save yourselves from the 
 guilt of his blood ; and if such do perish, his 
 blood will be on his own head. But, on the 
 other hand, if ye suffer their perverse spirits to 
 enter, and their provocations to have a place in 
 you, so as to kindle your spirits into a heat 
 and passion, then you get a hurt, and are in- 
 capable to do them any good ; but words will 
 break out that ay ill need repentance, and the 
 ■wicked will be stiffened and strengthened 
 thereby, and you miss the service that you did 
 really intend. 
 
 " Therefore, dearly beloved, keep upon 
 your watch ; keep on your spiritual armour ; 
 keep your feet shod with the preparation of 
 the Gospel of peace, and the God of peace be 
 with you, and crown your endeavours with 
 good success, to your joy and comfort ; and 
 will bring up Lis power over your adversaries 
 and opposcrs more and more, to which many 
 shall bow and bend in your sight ; and will 
 bring shame and confusion upontherebellious, 
 who harden their hearts and stiffen their necks 
 against the Lord, and his Christ, and king- 
 2l2 
 
400 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 dom; which He will exalt in the earth, not- 
 withstanding all that Satan and all his evil in- 
 struments can do to hinder the growth and pro- 
 gress of his blessed Truth ; for of the increase 
 of the government and of the peace of tho 
 kingdom of Christ, there shall be no end. 
 
 "And, now friends, having cleared my con- 
 science of what lay upon me for some time, to 
 write unto you by way of remembrance, and 
 as the exhortation of my life unto you, I re- 
 main travailing in spirit for the welfare of 
 Zion. And although the outward man decays ; 
 yet in the inward man I am comforted in be- 
 holding daily the great things that our God 
 hath done, and is still doing, for them that 
 have their sole dependence upon Him. So I 
 commit you to the grace of God, for your 
 director and preserver in these and all your 
 several services unto which God hath called 
 you ; that, by the operations of his mighty 
 power, ye may be kept blameless and un- 
 spotted of the world, to his honour, and your 
 comfort, and to the universal comfort and 
 edification of the Church ; that so praises and 
 thanksgiving may fill your hearts and mouths, 
 your families and your meetings ; for He is 
 worthy, who is our Tower, our Support, the 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 401 
 
 Lord of Hosts, tlic King of Saints, to whom be 
 glory, honour, and renown, through this and 
 all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 " From your friend and brother in the com- 
 munioti and fel lotus hip, in the Gospel of 
 peace and purity ', 
 
 " Stephen Crisp." 
 
 London, the Ibth of 
 the 1th Month, 1690. 
 
 2l 3 
 
402 ItEVIEW OF THE WOIIKS 
 
 Besides (be printed Works of Stephen Crisp 
 now enumerated, and which have been given in 
 the order in which theyare arranged inthevo- 
 lume of his Works published soon after his 
 decease, there is a very lively Memoir of 
 James Parnel, prefixed to the works of that 
 extraordinary young man, and of which mj 
 Father availed himself, and made extracts 
 from it, in his Biographical Notice of James 
 Parnel. 
 
 Stephen Crisp was also the Author of a little 
 work somewhat in the style of Bunyan's Pil- 
 grim's Progress, entitled, " A Short History of a 
 Long Travel from Babylon to Bethel ;" the ori- 
 ginal of which, in his own Land writing, is still 
 extant in the collection of Colchester Meeting. 
 And it appears from the Testimony of the Year- 
 ly Meeting of Amsterdam, respecting S. Crisp, 
 that he published two letters relative to the 
 persecution in East Friesland, which are not 
 collected in his Works. 
 
 J. Whiting notices these two Letters, under 
 the title of, "The Outcry against the Persecu* 
 lion in Frizeland, in two parts:" He also men- 
 tions "A new Book for Children to learn in, or 
 Little Primer, 24mo." written by " Stephen 
 Crisp and others." 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 403 
 
 The following Sermon is slated to have been 
 Preached by Stephen Crisp, at Devonshire House 
 Meeting- House, on the 11th of 3rd Month, 1688. 
 (0. S.) See Introduction, p. xxxvi. 
 
 THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT. 
 
 WHEN God gave forth his law on Mount 
 Sinai, which Israel was to hear and to obey, 
 the first and great commandment was : Thou 
 shall have no other gods before Me. Here is 
 the sum and substance of ail true religion 
 that ever was upon the earth to this day ; all 
 the commandments, all the precepts, pro-, 
 phecies, and all the dealings of God with his 
 people from that day to this, have been all 
 contained in this short precept : Thou shalt 
 have no other gods before Me. 
 
 And as long as Israel stood in obedience to 
 this commano, their blessings were multiplied 
 upon them, their good things were increased 
 from day to day. The Lord was with them 
 as long as they were willing to be his people. 
 He appeared as their God, and as their De- 
 fender; wrought their deliverances, fought 
 
404 REVIEW OF THE W0RE9 
 
 all their batiks for them, gave them domi- 
 nion and strength, courage and wisdom ; 
 ministered out of his treasury all good tilings 
 unto them; for the great care of God Al- 
 mighty was with all his people. He had 
 regard to them, and visited them at all times, 
 to keep thorn from idolatry : 1 am, saith He, 
 a jealous God ; take notice of Me to be so; 
 I am jealous of my Name ; if thou wilt be 
 mine, Thou shall have no gods but Me. 
 
 And all the precepts about offerings and 
 sacrifices, ami making atonement for sinners, 
 and the divers services and worship, the va- 
 rious offices iu the temple and sanctuary, they 
 were all outward means appointed of God, to 
 keep this outward church iu an inward con- 
 formity to the command of God. This com- 
 mand was written on tabies oi"sto\e, and these 
 tables were laid up in the Ark of God, and 
 all this pertained to the First Covenant, and 
 typed aiei figured out the Dispensation of 
 the New and Eve lasting Covenant, that God 
 would make with his people, not like unto 
 the old: How not like it? Not like it in the 
 outward shadows, the types and shadows of 
 things ; but He.would bring forth the substance 
 of ail those shadows and types, and would 
 
OF STEPHEN CHISP. 405 
 
 alter the form and outward appearance of 
 things : For, as God is unchangeable } so is 
 his law unchangeable. 
 
 Moses saith, the first and great command- 
 ment is : Thou shall have no other gods before 
 Me. This was put into the stone tables. 
 Christ Jesus saith : The first and great com- 
 mandment is, Thou shall love the Lord thy 
 God with all thy soul, and zcilh all thy mind. 
 (Matt. xxii. 27.) This is put into the tables of 
 the heart. So here is a difference bctweenthe 
 first commandment by Moses, and the first 
 commandment by Christ; they both acknow- 
 ledge the first and great comma;. d to be the 
 subjecting of the creature to Him that made 
 him, as his God, that he may serve only the 
 Creator, and may love Him with his whole 
 heart. The Jew could prove this by his stone 
 tables, and Christ proves this by the fleshly 
 tables of the heart ; for there the creature is 
 bound to love the Lord with his whole heart> 
 and to serve Him only: Him only shall thou 
 serve. 
 
 Nov/ here the Jews' law is brought over to 
 the Christians*, in the greatest point of religion 
 that ever was preached; shuts out all idolatry, 
 
406 KEVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 all supersiliion, all variety of religions, all is 
 shut out by (bis commandment; ami the 
 Christian thai hath thelaw written in his heart, 
 according to the New Covenant, he can go as 
 readily to it and read it, as ever the Jew could 
 go to his stone tulle, and read the law there ; 
 you cannot deny that if there be a thing writ- 
 ten and engraven in my heart, I can go as 
 readily to it as I can go to any book or table, 
 though I have the keeping of it : but the Jews 
 had not the keeping of the law ; for generally 
 it was laid up in the Ark of God. 
 
 Now friends, that which lies upon my mind 
 to speak to you at this time, and that out of 
 the great love that I have to all your precious 
 and immortal souls, as God hath had love to 
 mine, is, that you would all consider and weigh 
 in the fear of the Lord, whose presence is 
 among us, v hich of you, and how many of 
 you, are come to the obedience of this com- 
 mandment ! I do not doubt that the most of you 
 can say all the Commandments y but a happy 
 people are you if you can do one, I dare pro- 
 nounce that soul, a blessed soul, that can per- 
 form this one commandment, that can or dare 
 stand befo re his I Faker and say : O Lord! I 
 love Thee with all my heart \ with all my soul. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 407 
 
 and with all my might; my love is withdrawn 
 from all other things in comparison of Thee; 
 there is nothing in this whole world hath a 
 place in rn j mind, but it is in subjection to the 
 love of Thee. 
 
 Here is the first and great commandment ? 
 the unchangeable law, the law that was good 
 in Moses's days, and good in Christ's days, 
 and it holds good in our days ; and indeed it 
 is such a definitive law, that the breakers of 
 it can neither be good Jews, nor good Chris- 
 tians. There is an absolute necessity lies 
 upon us, of abstracting and drawing away our 
 minds and souls from all other gods, from all 
 images, and other dependencies and trusts, that 
 people are naturally liable to trust to ; and to 
 have their whole confidence set upon the 
 Lord : but alas ! with grief of heast I speak it, 
 there are but very few that as yet have known 
 the right giving forth of the law ; and there 
 are fewer that are subject unto it. This law 
 was not given forth at first without thunder 
 and lightning, and a terrible noise, and the 
 mountain smoking, (he that hath an ear to 
 hear, let him hear.) insomuch as Moses himself 
 said, he feared greatly, and he quaked exceed- 
 ingly, because of the thunder of the Almighty, 
 
408 JIEVIEW OF THE WOllKS 
 
 and of the mountain that smoked and burned 
 with live, so that Israel could not draw nigh. 
 
 Now I say, there are but a few that have 
 come to the knowledge of the giving forth of 
 this law, that have certainly known those 
 thunders, and that terrible work that the Lord 
 of the whole earth makes, when he comes to 
 setup his law; for a great many that have 
 come mail to it, and might have heard and re- 
 ceived the words of the law of God, they have 
 gone backward ; they have done like unto the 
 Jews of old ; though they had suffered much, 
 and gor.o through much, and had seen the 
 wonders of the Lord, how he had led them 
 and delivered them, yet when it came to this, 
 that they must hear the voice of God, they 
 said : We cannot bear it ; we cannot endure it ; 
 we have devised for ourselves an easier way: 
 for the voice of thunder and dreadful noises 
 put them into terror, and quaking ; and trem- 
 bling, and great dread came upon them. But 
 we have found an easier way, say they. What 
 is that easier way ? Go thou, said they to 
 Moses, and hear thou what the Lordsaiih, and 
 come thou and tell us ; thou shall he a mediator 
 between us ; let God speak unto thee, and do 
 thou speak the same to us^andwe will hear thee. 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 409 
 
 Tims the Jews that were not come beyond 
 the law of God written on tables of stone, they 
 would not come (o receive it in their hearts, 
 as the Christian must; so Moses received the 
 lazs) from the mouth of God; and he was faith- 
 ful as a servant in the house of God ; and he 
 ministered forth the law of God, his precepts, 
 statutes and judgments, and testimonies; and 
 he made the Jews a book of laws for all of them 
 to walk by, from the highest to the lowest ; 
 showing how they should act in criminal mat- 
 ters, and do justice between man and man; 
 and what they should do in the worship of 
 God ; and what they should do towards the 
 priest, whose lips should preserve knowledge 
 for them ; and so he brought up a form of re- 
 ligion, but his work was according to the 
 precepts of God ; and he brought them into 
 the form of national religion, and government, 
 and national laws. And so Moses and the 
 priests ruled over them, and the priest offered 
 sacrifice for them, and made atonement for 
 them; and Moses enquired of the Lord, and 
 asked counsel for them, and taught and in- 
 structed them; and what became of all this at 
 last ? When this was done, the priest made 
 atonement for sin, but he could not pluck away 
 the guilt of one sin : There remained the 
 2 M 
 
410 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 conscience of sin, after he had made his offer- 
 ing". And Moses taught them the counsels of 
 God, and the commands of God, but be could 
 not bind their hearts to the obedience of them; 
 for he declared openly against them, that they 
 were a rebellions and stiff-necked people, 
 notwithstanding they had a law without them. 
 
 Indeed time would fail me to run through, 
 the manifold miscarriages of the church of 
 the Jezvs, in respect of their idolatry, in re- 
 spect of their contempt and rebellion, both to 
 God and his servant Moses, who was to teach 
 and to guide them : I say, the time would fail 
 me to mention the manifold miscarriages that 
 happened among this people, who had a law 
 rmd religion without them, and a teacher 
 without them. 
 
 Now, in the fulness of time, it pleased God, 
 in sending his Son Christ Jesus, to raise up a 
 Prophet like unto Moses, in respect of faith- 
 fulness, though higher in respect of dignity; 
 for Moses was fait lift/ 1 in all his house as a 
 servant, but this man was faithful as a Son in 
 his own house ; in the house that He was heir 
 to : that house wherein He was a King, a Priest, 
 a Prophet, and a Ruler. When the Lord sig- 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 ii 
 
 nified, by the spirit of prophecy, the coming 
 of the Just One, he signified to the people 
 that his ministry should not be as that of Aaron; 
 the people should not have their religion 
 without them, and their laws and precepts 
 witiiout them, and their priests without them, 
 and their worship and church .without them ; 
 but that they should have it all within them: 
 / will write my law in their hearts, I will 
 put it into their inward parts ; then they shall 
 be my people, and I will he their God, and they 
 shall not forsake me. 
 
 Your fathers broke my old covenant, but I 
 will make a new covenant in the latter days ; 
 a new covenant, not like that your fathers 
 broke : they brake the law without them ; hut 
 I will write my law in their hearts. This Pro- 
 phet who is like to Moses, He shall teach my 
 people, He shall be a leader to them, and guide 
 them in the way they are to go, and shall be a 
 Captain for them, to lead them to salvation ; 
 and it shall come to pass, in the day that I do 
 this, if there be any (hat will not hear Him, 
 he shall be cut off from among the people. 
 That is the judgment which comes upon the 
 contemners of the Gospel, upon them that will 
 not hear Christ Jesus; they shall be cut off from 
 2 m 2 
 
412 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 the people. From what people ? from the 
 people of God ; they shall have no part of the 
 privileges that are enjoyed through Christ ; 
 they shall be cut off from the benefits that 
 others reap by their faith in Christ. 
 
 So that now we are to expect the operation 
 and working of a ministry, that leads people 
 to an inward religion, a heart-religion ; where 
 the heart is fixed entirely upon the true and 
 living God, as the object of their dependance 
 and trust, and they have no other. This is a 
 strange word to flesh and blood. What ! no 
 other dependance but on the invisible God ? 
 Flesh and blood, and sensuality, can never come 
 to this : this is a religion that hath been hid 
 from ages and generations, and will be hid from 
 all ages that ever shall be in the world, where 
 sensuality prevails. What! will you have me 
 to place my whole dependance for the comfort 
 of my life here, and of the life that is to come, 
 the other life — to have my dependance upon 
 an Invisible God — that Invisible Power that 
 made me, and created the world? How is it 
 possible for me to sequester myself, and draw 
 myself off from all visible objects ? I must 
 trust to this, and trust to that. Flesh and 
 blood can never attain to this, with all the wit 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP, 413* 
 
 and reason it hath ; it can never separate it- 
 self from idols : they are little children, they 
 are children of another birth, born of another 
 seed, that keep themselves from idols. 
 
 Friends, idolatry is a great deal more com- 
 mon, I find, than most are aware of. Am I 
 commanded to love the Lordwitk all my heart, 
 and soul, and mind, and might? What is left 
 when the whole is taken away ? If God hath 
 my whole heart, what have I to bestow upon 
 the world? What love, what affection, what 
 eagerness, what fervency can I bestow upon 
 the world, or any object in the world, when 
 my whole heart, and soul, and mind, is gone 
 before, is <rone toward the Lord ? 
 
 and the second is like unto it, that is : Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Here 
 it is that the law and the prophets, faith, creeds, 
 prayer, religion, and worship, all that ever 
 was in the world, all are comprehended hi 
 this : Thou shalt love the Lard thy God with 
 all thy heart, soul, and strength, mid thy neigh- 
 bour as thyself. So what need is there for us; 
 to be disputing about religion, about this tenet r 
 and the other tenet; this text, and' the otlies 
 2e3 
 
414 RI.Y1I.W 07' THE WORKS 
 
 text? For my part, I should only desire for 
 you to understand this iext, and I should not 
 doubt your going to heaven. Here is the sum, 
 here is all at once, here is the quintessence 
 of all religion, of all types, shadows, figures, 
 ceremonies, and priesthood, and all that ever 
 was or could be named and practised in the 
 world ; all is brought to this : The heart given 
 up to God — our love set upon Him. 
 
 What! is this. sufficient ? Avillsome say; tins 
 ■will make you a good moral man ; but what is 
 this to the Christian religion ? You may be led 
 into error, and become a heretic for all this. 
 
 How can this be, that I should not be of a 
 sound faith, but led into error and heresy for 
 ail this? When people let in error, and heresy, 
 and unsoundne ss of faith, where do they let 
 it in ? Do they not let in the principles of 
 error and heresy into their hearts ? I believe 
 this, and that, and the other error ; it comes 
 into the heart, and hath a seat in the heart. 
 But how can we let it into the heart, when 
 the heart is given up to God f Cannot I keep 
 out error and heresy, if I give up my heart 
 and soul to Him? Cannot i trust Him with all? 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 415 
 
 This kind of talk of error and heresy, hath 
 come among men that have had the keeping 
 of their own souls ; they have taken their own 
 souls into their own hands, and have ordered 
 their religion themselves, or have employed 
 somebody to order it for them ; and a great many 
 of them have met together to make creeds, 
 and catechisms, and confessions, and ortho- 
 dox doctrines, that might certainly be pro- 
 fessed and subscribed to. So afterwards some 
 have come and found fault with them; and 
 then they must have a Council to try them ; 
 then these go oft" and are laid aside, and others 
 are given in the room of them ; so that these 
 men have set up for themselves. These would 
 not be under the government and prescription 
 of God, as children under the government of 
 a father, but they will set up religions them- 
 selves, and say to the rest of the world : If yoa 
 own any thing contrary to our principles, yok 
 are a heretic, and being a heretic you are to 
 be rooted out and cut oft'. Do not you read 
 in the Scripture, that whoever hears not the 
 Prophet that was to come into the 'world shall 
 he cut off ? What ! will not you hear Christ 
 speak in the church ? Will not you hear 
 Christ speak I The church cannot speak with* 
 
416 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 out a head ; if you will not hear the Church, 
 you shall be cut off. 
 
 All their barbarous and inhuman cruelties, 
 martyring and dungeoning people, come from 
 their making faiths themselves; and of all 
 things nothing is more desperately v.icked, 
 and they did not know it. The heart is de- 
 ceit fid above all things, and desperately 
 wicked : icho can know it ? Men know not how 
 proud and arrogant they themselves are, and 
 yet they would be ordering the hearts, and 
 minds, and consciences of others; and out of 
 this hath sprung all superstition and idolatry, 
 because men wonld not give up their hearts 
 to God : TI.ou shall hare no other gods 
 but J\Je. This commandment is great in it- 
 self, strict in the terms: Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy 
 neighbour as thyself. Their neighbours could 
 not see with their eyes ; therefore they would. 
 be destroying one another,, 
 
 But, blessed be God, who is now bringing" 
 forth true Christianity, upon its old basis and 
 foundation, whereon it was placed at first; for 
 Christianity hath been jostled oiF from its first 
 foundation - for, instead of loving God with; 
 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 417 
 
 all their hearts, and loving their neighbours 
 as themselves, they hated them : now this is 
 the day, O friends ! the weight of it is great, 
 this, I say, is the day wherein God is bringing 
 Christianity upon its old foundation. 
 
 I would not have you think that I am here 
 judging our forefathers, that are fallen asleep, 
 that therefore they are gone to perdition, be- 
 cause they saw not this day, and lived not to 
 see that benefit of it m hick we enjoy. I am far 
 from it. This was the thing that they believed 
 and prayed to God for ; they did not see this 
 day outwardly, but they saw it by faitfr. 
 When I was a child, I remember the people 
 of God, when they met three or four together, 
 they would rejoice in the hopes of what they 
 foresaw; they gave thanks to God for the 
 blessed days that He would bring forth, though 
 tkey could not tell when. They did say and 
 believe, that God would scatter the fogs and 
 mists, and bring fortk a happy day, wherein 
 his people should have the gift of his Spirit; 
 when they saw the impositions and persecu- 
 tions of those times, when they that did not 
 conform and comply, were cast into prisons, 
 dungeons, and gaols: Well, it will not alwavs 
 be thus, said they ; there is a day coming where- 
 
418 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 in the Lord will set his people free from all the 
 jokes of oppression, and from the oppressor. 
 
 Indeed my soul did rejoice in hearing the 
 prophetical sayings of those good men ; and I 
 thought I might live to see that day. Blessed 
 be God, that hath preserved my life to this 
 day, and to this hour, to enjoy what they 
 prayed for ! They prayed to God to scatter 
 the mists and fogs, that they might no longer 
 cloud and darken men's minds, and hinder 
 them from enjoying God's teaching. Blessed 
 be God ! that wc are now in the enjoyment of 
 the prayers of the faithful, that left the world 
 before we were in it. Now the day is come 
 that they prayed for, and enquired after. 
 
 How strangely d'oththe man talk, will some 
 say, concerning the Christian religion ! The 
 Christian religion is all England over ; go to 
 any meeting in London, except one, and they 
 will tell you they are Christians. I would to 
 God they were ; that is the worst I wish for 
 them all. But wiry should we talk of the 
 Christian religion, without the Christian life ? 
 Except we find that amongst them, what sig- 
 nifies the name and profession of it ? And the 
 Christian doctrine is wanting in many places 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 419 
 
 ioo. There are many in this city urging this 
 very command, of loving God with all their 
 hearts, and their neighbours as themselves, as 
 fervently as I can do, or any body else ; and 
 yet they will tell you, in the next breath, that 
 no man in London, or in the world, can do 
 this ; no man can possibly love God with all 
 his heart; never a man can be found that can 
 perform such an act, as to love his neighbour 
 as himself. Not every neighbour, but some 
 one choice associate he may pick out, that he 
 can love, and bear with his infirmities and 
 affronts, and lore him as himself. Lore thy 
 neighbour, that is, every body, that there may 
 be a good-will for all people throughout the 
 whole race of mankind : Peace on earthy 
 good-will towards men: this is the fruit of 
 the Gospel. Christian words will not make 
 the Christian religion, there must be a Chris- 
 tian life ; but where shall we find that, or 
 seek it ? 
 
 I know not, I have nothing to do to judge 
 any body, but there is One that judgeth who 
 it is that liveth the Christian life, and who 
 doth not? Who is this? I answer, The 
 Head of the Christian Church. Why, is 
 JJ* here ? Yes,tbe Head of the Christian Church 
 
420 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 is here, and He speaks and gives sentence; if 
 you have an ear you may hear Him, if you will 
 turn your mind inward, for He is an inward 
 minister ; every one of yon, if you will turn 
 your minds inward, He will tell you whether 
 you live a Christian life, and what kind of a life 
 it is you live: if there be a drunkard here, let 
 him ask whether his life be a Christian life ; 
 will a man go away ignorant; from this pface, 
 and have no answer? If there be a drunkard 
 here, let him ask inwardly in his own bosom : 
 Lord ! is my life a Christian life ? I dare affirm 
 on God's behalf he will have an answer : No ! 
 my life is not a Christian life, but a shameful, 
 beastly life, a brutish one. 
 
 Who told you that the Head of Christians, 
 Christ Jesus, is present ? — Christ Jesus, is He 
 present? — How came He here? He ascended 
 up into heaven such a day, say they, how 
 came He here? Let Him be ascended up into 
 heaven, yet He is not so ascended into heaven 
 as not to be here also. How should He fulfil 
 his promise, if He be circumscribed in heaven 
 or earth ? How should He make good his pro- 
 mise, if, when two or three are met together 
 in his Name,, He is not in the midst of them? 
 Here are now many more than two or three 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 421 
 
 met together in the Name of Christ, and that 
 hope for acceptance with God, through the 
 Mediator. Christ Jesus: if you think that there 
 are two or three met together in this place in 
 the name of Christ, it follows that Christ is in 
 the midst of them. 
 
 I know not wbat^ow may enjoy, some may 
 possibly say, 1 do not find any such presence 
 of Christ : I hear of the presence of Christ in 
 the Sacrament, and I have heard talk of the 
 presence of Christ at a meeting; but I have 
 been at many a meeting, and I never found 
 such a presence of Christ. 
 
 Can you read the Scriptures ? Yes, I can 
 read the Scriptures as well as you, but that 
 cannot give me a sense of it ; I do read the 
 Scriptures and believe it ; but what signifies 
 my reading the Scriptures concerning the pre- 
 sence of Christ, if I have not a sense of it r 
 I have been at many a meeting, but never had 
 the sense of such a Divine presence as you talk 
 of — nor it may be at the Sacrament neither. 
 What is the reason thou hast no sense of it: 
 If thou wilt take my counsel, and turn thy 
 mind inward, and enquire whether the thing 
 I speak of be truej whether there be suds a 
 2jj 
 
422 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 voice as I speak of, (hat will tell thee what 
 thy state is; if thou wilt be true to thyself, 
 ihou ma vest know the Divine presence, and 
 thou mayest hear Christ speak. 
 
 The sonl hath got eyes, and ears, as well 
 as the body. What eyes doth the Apostle 
 mean when he saith : The god of this world 
 hath blinded the eyes of them thai believe not, 
 lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, 
 -.. ho is the image of God, should shine unto 
 ihem? If the soul hath eyes and ears, as 
 well as the body, it can hear and sec like the 
 body: as <hc bodily eye can see visible things^ 
 so the eye of the soul can see things that are 
 invisible, and heavenly. You can hear my 
 voice outwardly, and you may hear the voice 
 of Christ inwardly. I have known some that 
 have been so afraid of hearing ill of them- 
 selves, that they would not enquire ; some 
 have been so guilty in their own consciences, 
 that they have been afraid of hearing ill, that 
 they would not enquire about themselves. So 
 it is inwardly ; some have been so conscious 
 that their life and conversation is not what it 
 ought to be — lhat their life isa sinful life, that 
 they dare not bring it to the question. It 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 423 
 
 •would certainly have been told them : Thy life 
 is not a Christian life, thou must mend thy 
 life, before ever thou comest lo have peace 
 with God. If this should be thy portion and 
 mine, that upon search we should find our con- 
 dition bad, what harm is it? 
 
 I would put one question to thee, be serious 
 in considering of it : — We are all children of 
 wrath by nature, none of us differ about that, 
 and that unless we be born again, we can~ 
 not enter into the kingdom of God. The 
 question is, whether I am one of those or not ? 
 Suppose upon enquiry it be discovered to me 
 that I am not, that is bad enough ; this is 
 hard, but not so hard as it is true: this is the 
 thing which I would have you consider: — Am 
 not I in a better case to know that I am in a 
 natural slate, than to go on and perish to 
 eternity ? As long as there is life, there is hope ; 
 as long as a man is upon the earth, and taking 
 care for his soul, and enquiring about the 
 state of his immortal soul, if his soul is not in 
 a good condition, is it not better for him to 
 know it, and to seek for a cure ? For no 
 greater infirmity and infelicity can is upon 
 man, than to have some occult and hidden 
 2n2 
 
424 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 disease, that lie cannot be made sensible of; 
 for this wastes and spoils him, and he cannot 
 be persuaded to look out for a remedy : so it 
 is inwardly, if a man be ignorant of his con- 
 dition, and go on to his dying day and hour 
 and does not seek after a remedy, this man 
 perisheth wilhout all peradventnre. 
 
 When you are in this enquiry, be content 
 to be controlled; be willing to have the truth 
 spoken, though it be against yourselves. I 
 might instance in divers things what I have 
 spoken of. If a man be satisfied that his life 
 is not a Christian life; I say, if the swearer 
 or liar, if the proud peison, or the effeminate, 
 as soon as they come to be satisfied that their 
 life is not a Christian life, that they now live, 
 what can this man expect ? What counsel 
 should we give him, and what coumel should 
 he take ? I will go on in the way that I am in. 
 What! after thou knowest thy life is not a 
 Christian life? God forbid: wilt thou go on 
 and perpetrate sin upon sin, and heap up 
 wrath against the day of wrath ? I am a sinner, 
 my life is unchristian, I make account to live 
 in sin, and die in sin. Is this good policy l 
 Consider another text which our Lord spake; 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 425 
 
 If ye die in yodr sins, zchither 1 go, ye can- 
 not come. 
 
 . O Friends ! lay these things to your hearts. 
 What have I to do but to tell you that the 
 love I have in my soul for you all, makes me 
 desire in my heart that you may be saved I 
 This is the will of God, that you might all be 
 saved, and come to the knowledge of the Truth. 
 Blessed are they that know the Truth, the 
 Truth as it in Jesus. Truth in the inward 
 parts, hath a speaking voice; and if thou 
 hearken to it, it will tell thee thy stale is not 
 what it ought to be. Canst thou believe the 
 Truth when he tells thee so,thatthy state is bad, 
 and that thou art like to go to eternal destruc- 
 tion, unless there be repentance and regenera- 
 tion to prevent it ? Canst thou believethis doc- 
 trine, when it sounds in thy own heart ? If thou 
 canst not believe it, unbelief will be thy ruin,. 
 
 The Spirit of Truth is come to convince 
 the. world of sin, because ihey believe not in 
 Christ; He tells them their condition, and 
 they will not believe Him. The Spirit of 
 Christ convinceth men of sin, and they believe 
 Him not. The Spirit of Truth convinceth- 
 thee of thy sin, but thou believest Him not.. 
 2n3 
 
426 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 Thou lovest thy pleasure and thy profit, and 
 thine honour ; then thou lovest not God with 
 all thine heart, and then thou art not a Chris- 
 tian, but out of covenant with God. Art thou 
 sensible that thy condition is bad ; were it not 
 best to get it mended ? After we are convinced 
 of our own sinful state, is it not our best course 
 to seek to have it mended ? Who shall mend 
 it ? saith one — I have done all I can to mend 
 my life, and I cannot mend it» 
 
 I had concluded so in my younger years ; 
 I had fasted, and prayed, and spent time in 
 hearing, reading, and meditation, and did all 
 in my own power, and all to mend my state ; 
 but I could not mend it : and as I grew up in. 
 years, sin and corruption more prevailed, and 
 there was no help ; and I came so far as to 
 believe there was no help, and that if God 
 did not help me, I was undone to all eternity. 
 I many times wished that I had never 
 been born ; I went to ministers and meet- 
 ings, and to all sorts of separate people, 
 and to all manner of ordinances, and to 
 all manner of means, to mend this bad 
 heart of mine, to see if I could obtain a power 
 that would get me victory over my corrup- 
 tions ; but my arm was never so long as to 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 427 
 
 reach thereunto j it was far out of my power 
 and reach. 
 
 Many have sought to get this power of re- 
 forming their hearts and lives, to attain it by 
 their own hands, by their own endeavours, 
 but they could never do it ; they could never 
 better their condition, nor bring forth fruit 
 worthy of amendment of life. I wish that 
 every one was come to that pass, that they 
 knew not which way to turn them, that they 
 were come at last to their wits r end; they will 
 come to it sooner or later — the sooner the 
 better. I have done all I can, I can do no 
 more ; I am at my wits' end, and I know not 
 what to think concerning my eternal state, 
 I know not what to judge of it; I strive 
 against my lusts and corruptions, but, for all 
 that, they prevail upon me; temptations come 
 before me, but I cannot conquer them. O ! I 
 am glad when people are come to that pass, 
 that they know Hot what to do, but despair of 
 their own arms, of their own strength, and their 
 own wit, and despair of all other help in the 
 world : I am glad of that. * 
 
 But I am not preaching up despair of God's 
 grace and mercy ; for let me tell you, when 
 
428 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 men despair of tbeir own doings, and of all 
 outward means and helps, then they are fit 
 objects for the mercy of God, and not till 
 then: When the Lord looked, and saw that 
 there was none to save and deliver, then His 
 own arm brought salvation. God will not 
 save until then ; God will not reveal his power 
 until men have done with their own power; 
 they will never trust God, while they think 
 they can do something for themselves. All 
 the forms of religion, of the .several people of 
 this nation, will do them little good without 
 the power. 
 
 What is the meaning of that principle, \o 
 have such masses, and prayers, and per- 
 formances ? What is the meaning of it ? Let us 
 search to the bottom. They say we are sin- 
 ners, when we pray to God for his blessing, 
 and for salvation by Christ ; there is this at 
 the bottom, they think these duties and per- 
 formances will be very helpful to their state, 
 Helpful towards the knowledge of it ; to speak 
 plain English, these are their gods. If I speak 
 of profane and wicked people, I would say 
 their lusts are their gods ; but when I speak 
 of righteous people that are mere formalists, 
 then I say their duties, as they call them, are 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 429 
 
 Iheirgods: when they bave done all, they 
 can do nothing for them, and then they have 
 no gods at all, then they are godless ; and if 
 God doth not help them, they are undone to 
 all eternity. 
 
 When poor creatures are cast out, as it were, 
 into the open field, to the loathing of their 
 persons— When I passed by thee, saith the 
 Lord, and saw thee polluted in thy own bloody 
 I said unto thee, live. When I passed by 
 thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time 
 was a time of love, and I spread my skirt over 
 thee, and covered thy nakedness ; yea, I sware 
 unto thee, and entered into covenant with 
 thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest 
 mine. What ! was it a time of love when I 
 was such an object in my own eyes, that I 
 thought I was the most miserable creature in 
 the world, one that could not make a good 
 prayer, nor dispute for religion, nor perform 
 any duly ; a poor creature cast out into the 
 open field, to the loathing of my person, hav- 
 ing lost all that I had gained. My name was 
 from among the living; my days were passed 
 over in sorro.v ; and I said, There is nothing 
 but darkness, and death, and misery for me. 
 I used all means, and tried all things, saving 
 
4S0 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 only a living trust in God, a trust in God 
 alone, and that flesh and blood cannot do : 
 flesh and blood cannot know Him, therefore 
 flesh and blood cannot trust in Him. Alas! 
 said I, I cannot trust in the Lord, I cannot 
 east my soul, and all my concernments, my 
 fame and reputation in the world, I cannot 
 cast all upon the care of the Almighty; I can- 
 not know Him, nor trust in Him. How can I 
 do it? Nobody can do it ! They that know 
 my Name, saith the Lord, they will put their 
 trust in Me : never a truer word was spoken ; 
 l)«t how they should know God, and trust in 
 Him, says some one, I know not. 
 
 When thou comest once to this pass, to be 
 r.t thy wits' end, and not know which way to 
 turn thee, nor to whom to run for help, or to 
 ask counsel for thy soul's welfare; when thou 
 art come to the end of all, and without hope, 
 then God reveals himself by his Son Jesus 
 Christ. Christ the Son of God is known by 
 our coming to Him ; but none can come unto 
 Christ, except the Father which hath sent 
 Him, draw him. When thou hast done with 
 thy gods, and thrown away thy idols to the 
 bats and moles, then thou wilt find the Lord, 
 and thou, wilt cry out : O that God would 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 431 
 
 have mercy upon me, and lift up the light of 
 his countenance upon me ! I am a poor miser- 
 able creature ! 
 
 There are many that make such a whining 
 and complaining, that they take a pride in 
 their very complaints, their hypocrisy is so 
 great. I have known some that have prided 
 themselves in wording their condition, and 
 expressing their miserable case before the 
 Lord : but suppose thou canst not speak at 
 all, but feelest thyself miserable, thou canst 
 not express thy condition ; at such a time as 
 this God was drawing thy soul to Christ Jesus, 
 the Mediator of it. I have heard of a Medi- 
 ator, and that there is Balm in G Head for me, 
 that there- is a Physician there, that there is 
 one Physician, even Jesus Christ, the Mediator 
 of the New Covenant. Thou hast sinned 
 against Him, and grieved Him, yet He stands 
 with open arms for thee, ready to receive thee, 
 and embrace thee. Where stands He? He 
 stands at the door and knocks; it is a small 
 matter, one would think, to let Him in: (Rev. 
 iii. 20.) Behold, I stand at the door and knock, 
 and if any man hear my voice, and open the 
 door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, 
 and he with Me. Here is good news for a 
 
452 
 
 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 hungry soul, if any such be here. Christ the 
 Mediator, stands at (he door and knocks ; He 
 •will come in and sup w it h thee, if thou opencst 
 to Him; then we sha!l meet with the Lord's 
 Supper: This is the Lord, 1 to ill wait for 
 Him ; He will bring his bread with Him, the 
 Bread of Life, and the W lie of his kingdom ; 
 and the Lord's Supper will be celebrated with- 
 out cav lling and jangling. 
 
 Now because we will not pervert the Scrip- 
 ture, I would have 3011 that understand books, 
 read what Commentators of this and former 
 ages say upon this text ; whether they do not 
 give it as their opinions, that tins knocking at 
 the door, is Christ calling the soulbyhis grace ; 
 and that this door is the door of the beait, 
 where Christ is calling the soul by his grace 
 and Spirit, to let Him in by faith. This is their 
 judgment and sense, and their sense is mine, 
 and I believe the genuine sense of this text; 
 that Christ would have people think He is 
 near to them, and would have them open 
 their hearts, and receive Him by faith ; for to 
 be a Saviour to them. 
 
 No! that, saitb flesh and blood, I cannot 
 bear ; I cannot consent to have Him for my 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 423 
 
 Saviour. I will not let Him in, for He is like 
 Micuiah to Ahab, He never spake good con- 
 cerning me ; for, if i have Him for my Saviour, 
 I must part with my lusts and pleasures : if 
 there be any other Saviour, I will try, and not 
 meddle with Him. He will spoil all our 
 mirth and good society ; He will tell me that 
 of every idle word that I shall speak, I must 
 give an account thereof in the day of judg- 
 ment. What ! do you think that I can like 
 such a Saviour ? that I can live with such an 
 one as will call me to an account for every 
 word I speak ? and that, if I speak one idle 
 word, judgment will come upon me? No, I 
 will try one and another, rather than accept 
 of Him upon such terms. I am one that am 
 joined to such a church, and enjoy such and 
 such ordinances, and such helps; I am in 
 covenant with God, and under the seals of 
 that covenant; I am baptized, and do partake 
 of the Lord's Supper, which is another seal of 
 the covenant : I hope it will go well with me. 
 
 I will go something farther. Another saith 
 he must have a mediator : I Mill go to the 
 Virgin Mary, and offer something to her, 
 and pray to her. Saith another, I will g to 
 
4*1 It E V 1 E w o V T 1 1 1 5 \V O It K s 
 
 Saint James, and Saint John, and other Saints 
 to intercede with God for me. They must 
 have some mediator. This is the twisting 
 and twining of the sons and daughters of men, 
 to keep out Christ the Great Mediator, who 
 came into the world for this purpose, to de- 
 stroy the works of the devil. Alas ! I have no- 
 thing left but my bare life and living in this 
 world ; I have nothing left me but some 
 Utile desire I had to please God ; and that 
 he will never judge and condemn me for. 
 : iy fake dealing, and buying and selling 
 e this, and con- 
 •v discoursing of things 
 ■ ; a ! my carnal fsiendshio/^r the 
 y vain fashions ; all this is cor- 
 li i! ; these He came on purpose 
 y : He came to destroy both the devil 
 ■ ' h works. 
 
 What ! can a man live in the world and 
 never join with the devil? never sin at all? 
 never do any thing that the devil would have 
 ftim to do ? There is no perfection in this world ; 
 no living without sin here. Then I am sure 
 there is no unity with Christ here; and if 
 there, be no unity with Christ, then there is 
 none with God the Father. What will become 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP* 435 
 
 of thee now ? What will all the pleaders for that 
 opinion say now ? There is something stands 
 between God and me, and I shall never have 
 peace. And what is that ? It is sin. I would 
 have my sin taken away, else I had better 
 never have been born. Canst thou remove 
 sin out of thy heart? I have tried, but I can- 
 not do it ; I have heard of Christ the Mediator 
 of the New Covenant; He saith, He came into 
 the world, and that for this purpose He was 
 manifested, that He might destroy the works 
 of the devil. Now sin in my heart is the 
 devil's work, I will see if He will destroy that 
 for me ; I will trust and rely upon Him, and 
 see if his great power can destroy it in me. 
 
 Here people come rightly to believe in Him 
 that God hath sent, and to trust in Him ; and 
 He will take them in, and like a Surgeon He 
 will open their hearts, and let out their corrup- 
 tions, though there hath been never so much 
 rottenness; and He will heal them, and purify 
 them, and pardon them, though they have 
 been never so wicked, if they come to Him, 
 When thy sins are set in order before thee, 
 then thou criestout: O wretched man that 
 I am ! who shall deliver me from this body of 
 death ? Is it God that hath thought on me, 
 2o2 
 
436 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 and waited to be gracious, and bath borne my 
 sins long ? How wonderful is his patience 
 towards me ! All these things working in the 
 soul, tend to beget a love to God, and fervent 
 desires after being cleansed and purified from 
 sin, and earnest prayer to the Lord, to make 
 the holy fire to kindle, that would burn it up. 
 The more the soul trusteth in Christ, the more 
 doth this heavenly fire burn up our lusts ; 
 and then a man feels a great change in his 
 mind. The things, saith he, that I delighted in r 
 are now grievous to me ! I hope I shall never 
 be found in those things again ; my mind is 
 now taken off them. Who took it off ? Didst 
 tfiou not strive before to take it off ? I did, but 
 I could not do it. 
 
 There are many, I believe, in this assembly 
 before the Lord, that are my witnesses in this 
 matter, that when they came to Christ the 
 Mediator, He changed their minds, and He un- 
 tied the devil's fetters. They were tied to 
 their sins and lusts ; but He hath unloosed 
 them. They are ashamed of those things that 
 they formerly took pleasure in. What fruit, 
 saith the Apostle, had you in those things, 
 whereof you are now ashamed ? So I say^ 
 What pleasure have you in sporting, and gam- 
 
OF STEPHEN CRISP. 
 
 437 
 
 ing, and drinking, and company-keeping? 
 What pleasure have you to think on your wan- 
 ton discourses ? What pleasure in pride and 
 vanity ? What pleasure in wrath and bitter- 
 ness of mind? And what pleasure in malice 
 and envy ? What pleasure have you in these 
 things whereof you are now ashamed? So far 
 as you are convinced, you are ashamed to 
 think of them ; I am ashamed to think that the 
 devil at such a time, by such a temptation^ 
 should prevail over me. 
 
 I would to God you were all come to this ? 
 to be ashamed ; that you might remember your 
 past evil "ways and actions, with sorrow and 
 shame. There is a secret joy in this : surely 
 it is better to be ashamed than to continue in 
 impudence. God hath wrought this change 
 at last ; and who shall have the glory of it ? 
 God shall have the glory of it, for his own 
 works will praise Him. What men do, many 
 times they do for their own praise ; but when 
 they are at their wits' end, and know not what 
 to do, they cast themselves upon their Maker r 
 to see if He will have mercy upon them ; if 
 not, they must perish ; then, for what He dolh ? 
 He gets the glory and the praise. 
 
4S8 REVIEW OF THE WORKS 
 
 There are some here, that are bound to 
 praise God while they have a day to live, for 
 what He hath done for them. They could 
 never have loved God with all their hearts ; 
 but they would have continued strangers to 
 God ; and the devil would have led them cap- 
 tive at his will; — they would not have loved 
 God with all their hearts, had not God first 
 Shed abroad his love upon their hearts, and 
 constrained them to love Him: it is He that 
 hath first loved them, and wrought in them 
 both to zcill and to do, of his ozcn good plea- 
 sure. Whatsoever we are, we are by the grace 
 of God ; this grace is magnified in them that 
 believe and obey the Gospel. My friends, 
 v. e know there is so much peace and pleasure 
 in the ways of God, so much soul-satisfaction 
 in walking with God, and in loving Him with 
 all our hearts, that I should be glad if every 
 one of you were of the same mind, and had 
 experience of it. We labour diligently for 
 this purpose, and we would set before you 
 these two things. 
 
 First, How we may come to know our miser- 
 able state by nature. 
 
 And, What a blessed and happy state they 
 are in, that have been converted and changed j 
 
OP STEPHEN CRISP. 439 
 
 that have been translated out of the kingdom 
 of darkness, into the kingdom of God's dear 
 Son. 
 
 Consider your state by nature is evil; we 
 hope that many of you believe the reports of 
 the Gospel, concerning the goodness of the 
 Lord, his great love in sending his Son into 
 the world, to seek and to save you that were 
 lost ; and that you believe in Him. And we 
 are persuaded, that by the foolishness of 
 preaching God will save some of you, that 
 you may be his redeemed ones, and trust to no 
 other Saviour ; For there is not any name 
 under heaven, but the Name of Jesus, by which 
 you can be saved. He only can take away 
 the sins of the world ; his Spirit, which he pro- 
 mised to send into the world when He was 
 leaving it, searcheth the heart, and trietii 
 the reins. Now I dare proclaim that Holy 
 Spirit, to be the Spirit of the God of heaven, 
 that now sees what resolution thou art of, and 
 what thou art now proposing to do; whether 
 to go on in sin, or to return to God. This I 
 can speak without blasphemy ; it is God's 
 Spirit that searcheth the heart, and knoweth 
 thy thoughts and purposes, and convinceth 
 thee of thy sin. God hath sent his Son Christ 
 
440 JtEVIEW OF THE WORKS, &C. 
 
 Jesus into the world to enlighten you, that by 
 his light you may see Him, and that by his 
 Grace you might receive Him, and that by his 
 
 To Him I commit you all, and th^se words 
 that we have spoken in the evidence and de- 
 monstration of the Spirit, according as He 
 hath wrought in us. 
 
 fini s. 
 
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