you have the better ground to give sentence, and read my letter. And as for that Finch you spake of, I do remember you and he were once at my house, and the man was much troubled in mind, and did buy some books; but that did not satisfy him without the blessing; for, said he, I would have all things that might give me satisfaction and peace of mind. I told him I could give him no sentence of blessedness, except he did believe in me that I had such power; which after a while discourse he said he did believe : upon which I gave him the blessing, in which he did continue (as I did hear) several years, and he himself did rejoice in it, and did boast of it.

As that woman that came in the coach with me, when I came to your house, as you may remember it, none being in the coach but she and I, she asked, if I went any further than Braintree; I said, no. She asked, to whom there? I said, to your house, naming your name. Then she asked, if I did not know one Finch? I said, I did. Then she mistrusted that I . was the man that had given this Finch the blessing; for the woman had great troubles of this world upon her at that time, besides the fear of a worse trouble after death; for, said she, would I could meet with that man that blessed Finch, to bless me; for Finch, said she, was in a sad condition in his mind, and low in the world heretofore; but, said she, he is now cheerful, and saith, he is sure he shall be happy hereafter, and did thrive in this world. He was asked, how he came by this peace? He said, by the blessing of that prophet Mr. Whitehead believed in.

This and much more did the woman speak concerning Finch, as we rode in the coach; but I took no notice that I was the man; but was glad to hear that Finch had found such peace of mind.

But it seems by your letter, that now he is turned back again to the Quakers, and hath sold his books to John Lad, and doth request a meeting with him, thinking himself so strong now he is at the brink of the pit of destruction eternal, as the push of a little finger will shove him into the pit of eternal destruction; for he doth practice the same thing as those did in the apostle Paul's time, as in Hebrews vi. whọ did fall back from that faith they had in his doctrine. Observe what judgment the apostle gives upon those, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the power of the world to come; if such fall away, it is impossible for them to be renewed by repentance. That is, it is impossible that they should have true repentance again, that would restore them to the same peace again that they had before; but in the room thereof they will assuredly be damned to eternity.

This is the case of this man; for he was enlightened by believing in me, and received the Holy Ghost, in that he received the blessing; and he tasted of the good word of God in reading those books, and of the powers of the life to come, in that he rejoiced in the peace he received in that faith for a season, as aforerelated; but now it seems he is fallen from that faith he had in this commission of the Spirit, and sold the books, not for want, but for contempt, as not worthy to be looked into by him: he hath despised the blessing which he once rejoiced in, as Esau did his birth-right, and hath sold all his interest to heaven, for to trust to the motions of reason, the light within him, the Quakers mess of pottage, for salvation; for there is no salvation in their principles; if there had,

why did he not keep to them before? Doth he think to find rest there now? Surely no.

Therefore, if this man be guilty of this great fall, as I suppose he is, it had been good for him that he had never been born; but he cannot help it; for it is a dangerous thing to be an hypocrite to God, and to his own soul; for a true prophet represents the peace of God here on earth.

This man is like one of those branches Christ speaketh of, John xv. 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire. This Christ spake unto his disciples, he being the true vine, and the believers of him were the branches; he knowing that some that pretended to believe in him that had no true faith, therefore brought forth no fruit, nor did not continue in that faith to the end: so it is with every true commissionated prophet; he is the vine that God hath placed in his vineyard in this earth, and the believers of this prophet are the branches, and by faith they are ingrafted into this vine; and those branches that bring forth fruit of faith, and love to God, and abide in the vine, it bringeth forth new fruit of peace and joy to the end. But those withered and dried branches, which do not abide in the vine, are to be cut off, and cast into the fire of hell: or, as the fig-tree that had leaves upon it, seeming to be a good tree, but when Christ came to eat of the fruit, he found none; therefore he cursed it to wither and die, never to bring forth fruit more to eternity. I have had great experience of such like branches as these since the time of my commission.

Written by me,

LODOWICKE MUGGLETON.

London, December 31, 1679.

A Copy of a Letter written by the Prophet Lodowicke Muggleton to Mr. George Gamble, in Cork in Ireland, bearing date the 12th of January, 1678.

Loving and kind Friend in the true Faith, George Gamble,

I HEARD a letter of yours read, dated the 19th of December 1678, to our friend Mr. Delamain, of the great troubles you are in, concerning the affairs and dealings of this world. I was sorry, and grieved in heart to hear it; but, considering in myself, that it is a common thing, especially in these troublesome days of late years, for men that are incumbered with great affairs and business in this world, to fail, and bring trouble upon themselves. It is grown a common thing, in these late years, as if it were a thing in course in this world. All men have trouble to get a little food and cloathing, let it be ever so small; it cannot be had without care and trouble. But where incumbrance is, and great profit, it creates great losses, and so great trouble. Those things doth befall both to saint and devil sometimes; so that the peace which this world gives is taken away almost from all men, both saint and devil.

As to the troubles of this world, both of the losses and crosses, you must wade through it as patiently as you can do that moral righteousness between man and man, in these matters of the world, as you would have others do unto you; and you shall have that peace of mind as moral righteousness will afford; but as for that peace which the world cannot

give, which is that peace of God which passeth all understanding, which I perceive you have tasted of, in that you have believed this third and last record of the Spirit. I have had several testimonies, in your letters, of your faith in the true God, and in me his true messenger; and this faith of yours will bear your up into everlasting life; for this doctrine of the true God, and the right devil, the knowledge of these two, their forms and their natures, the one giveth the soul the assurance of eternal life, and the other frees the son from the fear of any devil, or eternal death, which many can witness at this day. It is life eternal to know God as he is, which no man in this world at this day doth, but those who have believed our report. God hath hid these things from the world, and hath revealed them only to his chosen messengers; for the world is so blind that it counts it a needless thing to know God in his form and nature: but, blessed be the God of heaven, that hath blinded their eyes, and hath opened our eyes, to see by faith, that God hath both form and nature, in that he created man in his own image and likeness; for all the comfort of prophets, apostles, and saints, lieth in the knowledge of God's form and nature: his form is brighter than the sun, swifter than thought, yet a glorious spiritual body, in form of a man from eternity; and that this glorious, spiritual, heavenly body, in fulness of time, transmitted itself in the virgin's womb, and became a pure natural body, the Child Jesus, God manifest in that flesh; or more fully, God became flesh, and dwelt among men so that eternity became time, and time became eternity again; and immortality became pure mortality in that body of Christ Jesus. And as immortality became pure mortality, so pure