blind concerning that religion, as to think (if they think about it at all) that such brutish creatures, as these Collegians are, can be Ministers of Christ in that condition; being commonly promoted brand-new, as it were, out of that mint wherein they are coined, not in the

Story's Defence of the Naked Exhibitions of the image of God, but of the Adversary; from

mankind, through Christ, as through or under a veil, so as to communicate of his goodness and virtue to a humble and silent mind, to heal and instruct him in things pleasing to himself and proper for the conduct of man in his pilgrimage through this present world, and lead him to the next in safety?'

"This, coming immediately upon the instance she had given, took with her and the company; who readily granted it might be so, and some of them knew it; and this conversation seemed agreeable to us all."—Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 133.

Conversion of the Indians.

hearer, and is the Truth, the refreshment is chiefly thereby, rather than by the form of words or language, to all that are in the same Spirit at the same time. And this is the universal language of the Spirit, known and understood in all tongues and nations, to them that are born of him. But in order to the convincement of such as know not the Truth; for the begetting of Faith in such as do not yet believe therein; for the opening of the understanding, by the form of doctrine, and declaration of the necessary truths of the gospel and kingdom of God; intelligible language, uttered under the immediate influence of the Spirit of Truth, is indispensably necessary, as also for the edifying of the Church, the Body of Christ, in general."

Ranters.

they that acted or said any thing, how ridiculous or absurd soever, but God in their bodies; and he, not being subject to any law but his own pleasure, whatever he acts or says is good: So that when they were rude, immoral, and ridiculous, in words or practice, sometimes going on their hands and feet on the ground, barking and grinning like dogs, they said, See how God laughs thee to scorn; blasphemously charging their own wickedness and folly upon the Almighty.

As to the conversion of the Indians, of all—Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 177. or any nation or nations, to the Truth, I believe the Lord will call them, after the power of Antichrist is overthrown; but it seems to me, that learning, or the historical part of religion, "THE Ranters. That they held absurd and or their own language (which is very barren blasphemous opinions: That God had taken of pertinent words), will not be much instru- their souls out of their bodies into himself, and mental in it; but the Word of Life, whose he occupied the place in their bodies where divine and life-giving intellectual speech, is their souls had been; so that it was no more more certainly known in the mind, will tender their hearts, in a silent state and retirement, by means of some instruments that the Lord will raise up and qualify for that purpose; who shall not confound them with a long fruitless history of needless things; but when the Lord shall send forth his Word, the light of the Gentiles, the quickening Spirit of Jesus, into and upon any of them in holy silence, or in prayer, their minds shall be directed to the Spirit himself, as the present object of their faith, obedience, and love, and Author of their present joy and salvation; and so believing in the light, shall become children of that light and day of God, and heirs of eternal life in him: And then the histories in the Bible, the prophecies of the prophets of God, and the fulfilling of them; the evangelical account of the Conception, Birth, Life, Doctrine, Miracles, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Glorification, Mediation, Intercession, and Judgment, of Him who is the Substance of all, and that true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world; will be the more clearly received by the Indians, when the Almighty shall think fit to acquaint them therewith."-Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 163.

666

And they frequently come into our meetings, and rant, sing, and dance, and act like antics and madmen, throwing dust in the faces of our ministers when preaching: and though they profess the Truth, and are called Quakers, and have meetings of their own as we have, yet they have no discipline or order among them; but deny all that as carnal and formal, leaving every one to do as he pleases, without any reproof, restraint, or account to the society in any thing, how inconsistent soever with civility, morality, and religion; and are in mere anarchy: And therefore we bear witness against them in word, writing, and practice; we being settled under the most concise, regular, and reasonable constitution of discipline that ever was established in the world.

"And as they go under the name of Quakers, How Sermons in a Language which we do not as the world calls us, and often come into our

understand, may nevertheless Edify.

"THE third day following, we had a meeting at Myrion with the Welsh Friends, on the 15th, among whom I was much satisfied: for several of them appearing in testimony in the British tongue, which I did not understand; yet being from the Word of Truth in them, as instruments moved thereby, I was as much refreshed as if it had been in my own language; which confirmed me in what I had thought before, that when the Spirit is the same in the preacher and

Maintenance for the Clergy in New England

could not be without Compulsory Laws.

"ONE part of the scheme of religion invented by the Preachers among the Presbyterians and Independents, is, that a Preacher unprovided with a living, or wanting a better, goes and preaches a sermon, or more, to the people he would beget into a good opinion of himself; and, if they like him, he must first have a call

Friends, we went to Boston: near which, on a green, we observed a pair of gallows; and, being told that was the place where several of our Friends had suffered death for the Truth, │ and had been there thrown into a hole, we rode a little out of the way to see it; which was a kind of pit near the gallows, and full of water, but two posts at each end, which had been set there by means of Edward Shippen, of Philadelphia, a reputable Friend, formerly of Boston; who would have erected some more lasting from that people to whom he hath preached, monument there, with leave of the magistrates, but they were not willing; since it would too frequently and long bring to remembrance that great error of their ancestors, which could not now be repaired; so that he had only leave to put down those posts, to keep the place in remembrance, till something further might be done, at a time when it ruight be less ob

noxious.

before he can be their settled minister: The meaning of which is, that he may have an opportunity to bargain with them for so much a year as they can agree, before he will obey the call, so as to be their settled Preacher; and, when the price is fixed, the leading Elders give him security for payment, and they raise it by subscription: But the Preachers in that country being dry and formal, and the people cold in "While we sat on horseback by the pit, we their love, many townships were silent, and no were drawn into right silence, by the awful, yet voice of calling heard from them; so that the life-giving presence of the Lord, which there Preachers multiplying, and many of them wantgraciously and unexpectedly visited us together, ing employment and maintenance, they, and and tendered us; which so raised our minds, their friends, influenced the legislature (which though in deep humility before the Lord, over are usually of their own sect, as most numerous that evil Spirit which murdered our Friends in that country) to make a law, 'That the (yet too much alive in Boston), that for my own inhabitants of each town within that province part, the inhabitants were no more than as the should be provided with at least one able, dust in the streets as we rode through among learned, orthodox minister, to dispense the Word them and though they gazed upon us with of God to them; which minister shall be suitably looks denoting the old Apollyon yet alive in encouraged, and sufficiently supported and them, yet we could see them as far below that maintained, by the inhabitants of such town; Divine Truth we faced them in, as the Earth is with provision for levying proportionable rates the Heavens; remembering that where Truth upon such as should refuse to pay, &c."'hath suffered, Truth will triumph in all the Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 209. Faithful, and will arise one day in glory to the utter condemnation, shame, and confusion of all his enemies."―Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, P. 195.

Sinless Perfection.

"THEN said the Priest, but most perversely, as an enemy of all righteousness, 'Yea, that is true; we are to be made free from sin, but not Fear of the Indians still remaining in Story's in this life.' Then Samuel Jennings asked the

Time.

Priest, since he had acknowledged a freedom from sin, but not in this life, When, where, and how must it be effected, since no unclean thing can enter the Kingdom?'

"To which he replied, 'We are drove to a necessity to confess, it is not done in Heaven; and in this life it cannot be; therefore it must be at the very point of death, as the soul departeth from the body.'

"We were informed by some of our Friends and the people there, that in the late Indian wars, the country, for above one hundred miles farther north-east, formerly inhabited by the English, was at this time laid waste, by the prevalence of the Indians; one of whom, in these last wars, being able to chase several English; whereas, formerly, it was much more on the contrary. Many houses had been laid "Well, then,' said I, 'let us see thee split waste and ruined; and the owners were at this a hair, and show what distance there is between time beginning to return, but many not yet bold the utmost point of time and the beginning of enough to lodge out of some garrison; several eternity for if done in the last point of time, it whereof were in those parts, being only the is in this life; and if not till its entrance into strongest dwelling-houses, most commodiously eternity, then the unclean thing enters the kingsituated in the country places, impaled with dom; which is already granted cannot be. small trees, sharpened like stakes at the upper ends, and higher than the Indians could climb over, and the houses fortified with embattlements of logs at two of the reverse corners, so as that thereby they could command each end and each side, by shot from thence."—Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 197.

Where, then, is this freedom? Which question Samuel Jennings, pressing upon him, he then affirmed, 'The soul is cleansed from sin in its way between earth and heaven; for there is,' said he, 'a considerable space between.'

"Then said Samuel Jennings, This is such a little Presbyterian purgatory as I never heard

Roman Catholic Trick practised in Maryland. "THERE was then a romantic paper handed about, falsely relating, 'That in Holland had lately been observed by some travellers a certain great stone by the way-side, with this inscription, Blessed is he that turns me over; upon which the travellers essayed to do it, but could not; and many people being about it trying, but in vain, till there came one unknown, in the form of a little boy of about four years of age, and making the crowd give way, turned the stone with ease; under which was found a letter pretending to be wrote by the Lord Jesus Christ, intimating that he purposed to come shortly to judgment, and strictly commanded the keeping of the Sabbath, and that they should baptise their children.

of before.' And though the Preacher had ately after, there started up one of the same hitherto seemed to have command of his passion, meeting and took place; and when he had done, yet upon this he grew very angry; for we then another, and after him, another; and then one exposed him to his own people."-Journal of of them prayed: and so the meeting concluded the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 216. in this kind of hurry, to my very great oppres sion and exercise for the weight of the service of the day was laid upon me; but I could not have any time to discharge it for those praters, who had no authority in the Truth to meddle at that time. For I would not break in upon any of them, but rather chose to sacrifice my peace than break through a settled order, that no one shall interrupt another in his public service; which, though very good in itself when rightly applied, is but too often attended with bad consequences, by the unseasonable interpositions, sometimes of forward, ignorant, selfseeking, and self-advancing pretenders; at other times, of wilful, designing, antichristian spirits, who start up on purpose to disappoint the real service of the true and qualified Ministers of God, the edification of his people, and convincement of mankind, by their divine and spiritual ministry for which the Lord, in his own time and way, provide an effectual remedy; which hath not yet fully appeared in this dispensation, for want chiefly of a due application. Nevertheless these, being reproved by some of the faithful Elders after this meeting, made their excuses, as not seeing me come into the place; by which it appeared they were guided therein by the sight of their eyes, and not by the mind of Christ, of whom it is written, He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of his ears: but that reproof did not relieve me from under the load of oppression, or afford any consolation to my mind." Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 241.

"Copies of this forged letter were industriously spread about in Maryland, and in those lower counties and territories of Pennsylvania, not without some suspicion of priest-craft; for about that time some of them went about, as tinkers in their trade, asking the people if they had any children to christen? And those who Iwould pay for it, might have them made as good members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, as the Priest was able, for so much money, tobacco, or other reward or barter, as they could bargain for but the work going on slowly and heavily, there wanted something to quicken the zeal of the people; and to that end this miraculous event was reported before-hand, as the most proper messenger to prepare the way of the Priests before them: and that which was to have made the people's neglect in the case the more to be dreaded, such as should be negligent herein were not to thrive in the world; for neither their cattle, hogs, corn, or any thing else, were to prosper.

"The Priests of Maryland, whence this report and paper came, had it read in their churches in which also they had another end, viz. to overawe the inconsiderate people into the practice of sprinkling their children, the invalidity whereof had, all over those parts, been so lately before exposed, as no ordinance of Christ, but a Popish remain."—Journal of the Life of THOMAS STORY, p. 238.

:

[Prayer efficacious, only through Faith.]

FORMERLY when I had asked help in prayer, instead of looking for that help, and relying on it, I strove to help myself, and stripped to fight my adversary. Many of these battles I have fought, but never gained any credit by them. My foe would drop his head sometimes by a blow I gave him, and seemed to be expiring, but revived presently, and grew as pert as ever. I found he valued not an arm of flesh, but made a very scornful puff at human will and might. Often when a fire broke out in my bosom, the water I threw on to quench it, only proved oil, and made it burn the faster. The flame of anger would continue in my breast, till its materials were consumed, or till another fire broke One wave of trouble e'erwhile passed off, because another rolled on, and took its place. One evil often drove another out, as lions drive out wolves; but in their turns, my bosom was "I WENT to a monthly meeting at Frankfort, a prey to every wild beast in the forest. Or if about nine miles from Philadelphia; and being a quiet hour passed, it proved but a dead calm; late by an accident, a Welsh Friend was speak- my heart had no delight in God, a stranger yet ing when I went in; and, before be concluded, to heavenly peace and joy.

Story's Complaint against Forward Speakers in the Quaker Meetings.

out.

I was under a great concern to appear in tes- "At length, after years of fruitless strugtimony as soon as he had done: but immedi- gling, I was shewn the Gospel method of ob

taining rest, not by working, but believing. A of Jewish but of Christian parentage; not strange and foolish way it seems to Nature, and sprung from Levi, though a son of Abraham; so it seemed to me; but is a most effectual no sentinel of Moses, but a watchman for the way, because it is the Lord's appointed way." camp of Jesus.". -BERRIDGE'S World Un-BERRIDGE'S World Unmasked, p. 91. masked, p. 194.