likelihood of recovery, with your wife's safe delivery. But my chiefest rejoycing for you all is, your reality to the things you have received from our ever-loving Father, which is the living Jesus in a bodily form; this is a riddle to your elect brethren, even through the whole world, unless it be to a few. Oh! blessed are you that you are of that number, unto whom it is in some measure unfolded; for by this means you are delivered from all carnal bonds of outward forms, and are sate down in peace through inward enjoyments, which none can take from you.

Brother, I shall be careful in what your motherin-law requireth. Thus not naming any more, but my tender love to all you that enjoys this truth, I commit you to the most High, and remain eternally yours in all righteousness,

JOHN REEVE.

P. S. My wife's kind love to you all.

The Prophet Muggleton's Blessing to Mrs. Elizabeth Dickinson of Cambridge, dated August 28, 1658.

Dear Friend, in the eternal Truth, Elizabeth Dickinson, my Love remembered unto you and your Husband, as being in the same

Faith also.

I AM very well persuaded of your eternal happiness, and I would willingly say unto you, as our Lord did in another case to the woman that was troubled with a bloody issue, who said within herself, that if she could but touch his garment, she should

be made whole; and according to her faith it was unto her, for she felt in herself that she was healing of her plague, and not only so, but she had assurance of everlasting life, which was far beyond the health of her body. Which faith of hers did draw virtue out of our Lord, which made him to say, that virtue was gone out of him; and he looked round about to see her that had done this thing, and he said unto her, daughter, thy faith has made thee whole, go in peace, and be whole of thy plague; as if our Lord should say it was her own faith that did fetch virtue out of him, and it was her own faith that did heal herself; as if he had no hand in the thing, he was but the object of her faith; it was her faith that did draw that from the object; and so it is with you, John Reeve and myself, the chosen Witnesses of the Spirit, we having the commission and burden of the Lord upon us. We are made the object of your faith, and as your faith is strong in this commission of the Spirit, so shall the virtue flow from it to your eternal rest and peace, so that you shall be perfectly whole as to the relation to the fears of eternal death, as that woman was in her body of the bloody issue; and your faith being in me, as the object in relation to the commission of the Spirit, it is your faith will make you whole; for my faith is in you concerning your eternal happiness. Let yours be in me, and you shall fare no worse than I do; for you shall have the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul, as well as I; and that you may be sure, I do declare you one of the blessed of the Lord to all eternity. But as for those fears that do arise in you from the weakness of your nature, or from a distemper in nature, I cannot promise you deliverance from it, but it is very probable that the assurance of eternal life will mitigate

and weaken the other. I thought good to write these few lines unto you for farther confirmation of your eternal happiness after death.

No more at present, but rest your faithful friend and true prophet of the Lord,

LODOWICKE MUGGLETON.

An Epistle from the Prophet Muggleton to Christopher Hill, dated January 2, 1660. This concerning Claxton to be given with Care to his loving Friend, Christopher Hill, at Maidstone in Kent.

Loving Brother, Christopher Hill, in the Spirit of this Commission, and to all the rest of the Believers of this Commission at Maidstone in Kent, I send greeting.

I WOULD have you to seriously mind and consider these lines as follows.

There hath of late days happened a great deal of difference between some of the believers of this commission here in London, and Lawrence Claxton ; whereby the believers have complained to me, that Lawrence Claxton hath carried himself so proud and lord-like over others that have been of a lower comprehension than himself; likewise he hath been so full of filthy covetous avarice, which hath not had so much as the very colour or show of natural righteousness in it. So I, taking these things into consideration, did send my daughter to tell him, that if he did exercise his spiritual pride any more, that I would

take away his commission from him; which he at the first did seem very scornful at, as if he could stand by virtue of John Reeve's words without me, as did afterwards appear; but yet concerning my daughter's words concerning my authority, he did seem hypocritically to submit, and to acknowledge himself to be but a servant unto me, and unto the believers of this commission. But it hath appeared since to be otherwise, and that there was a cursed pride that lay in his heart; and for that purpose he hath written a book, called The lost Sheep found; where in the latter part of that book, he hath proudly exalted himself in John Reeve's place; for he hath quite excluded me out of the commission; so that there is none now but John Reeve and he that hath the spiritual commission; therefore you shall find in that book, and more especially in the epistle of that book: whereas he doth call it very often our commission; so there is no true confidence, as he says, but in our commission: his meaning is John Reeve and himself, for he hath quite excluded me, and hath gotten himself into John Reeve's chair and place; therefore I would have you seriously to mind and peruse that part of the book which doth treat upon the commission. For I suppose you have the books sent unto you, as well as others have; there you shall find a great deal of spiritual pride assuming to himself those high titles which never did belong to him, neither did John Reeve, nor I, ever give to him; which books of his, with other words and passages that hath happened of late, hath made an everlasting difference between us two in this world; therefore I would have you, and all the believers of this commission, to understand, that I have utterly disowned that part of the book, that doth treat of the commission; and for that pur

C

pose I did send my daughter to burn some of them before his face.

Likewise I have utterly disowned Lawrence Claxton, for ever being a messenger or bishop, or servant any more unto this commission. Neither shall I own any thing that he shall say or do in reference to this commission. Therefore I do exhort you, and all the rest of the believers, not to stumble or stagger in your faith concerning Claxton, as if your happiness of eternal life did depend upon believing of him to be a messenger or a bishop; for though he should be cut off to eternity, yet is the foundation of God sure and true; that is the commission of God, as it was given to John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, by voice of words from God; but as for Claxton, he had his commission from man; therefore man can take it away again; for he hath stood all this while but by my assistance, and at my will and pleasure. Therefore as long as he kept himself in obedience as a servant unto this commission, he had my authority and assistance on his side also.

I did bear with many infirmities of his nature, but this spiritual pride of his hath been much like unto the lost angel, which thought himself as fit to rule and govern as his Maker was; nay, more fit, and therefore he would have been in God's room and place, that he might have governed the holy angels. So likewise this Lawrence Claxton, not thinking it enough to be saved by this commission, or to be a bare messenger or servant to it, but hath, angel-like, aspired so high as to get into John Reeve's chair or place, and so he is now become the chief commissioner, which, is far above a servant or messenger; therefore he doth very often in that book call it our commission, as if John Reeve and he were the only