tience, on the other side, doth enable a man to bear mountains of troubles, that is, many great troubles, and not sink under them, as many of this world doth. Faith in the true God doth enable and cause a man to love God so that faith, love, and patience are the three virtues that doth adorn a man or woman's life, and makes it peace. These three virtues I know you have had ever since I first came acquainted with you, which caused me to say I loved you more than other common believers of this commission of the Spirit, you following my advice in all things more than any womankind of this faith, nay, more than my own daughter's, which caused my daughter Sarah, which you knew very well, to express these words to a company of women at a woman's labour, that you, when your name was Anne Hall, were the beloved disciple of her father of all the women in London. The words were true enough, though I never did express it to any person myself. Indeed this cold weather is very unfit for you to take any journey, or to go into the cold air at this present. You give us some good hopes that your cough is breaking away, and that your nature is sound and strong still, and that, about the latter end of March, you do not question but you shall come to London; which doth increase our hopes to wait with patience. So with my love, and my wife's love, remembered unto yourself in particular,

I take leave, and remain your friend in the eternal truth,

LODOWICKE MUGGLETON.

London, February 3, 1687.

Postscript. My love with my wife's love remem

bered to Mr. Whitehead, and his wife, and to Priscilla and Mary Whitehead, and give her thanks for her kind token she sent me by Thomas Ladd. Our love to all friends there with you.

A Copy of a Blessing wrote by the Prophet Lodowicke Muggleton to Mr. John Mellford, of Braintree, bearing date from London, April 12, 1687.

Loving and kind Friend in the true Faith, John Mellford,

I DO understand you do truly believe the doctrine of the true God, the Man Christ Jesus, and how God became flesh, and dwelt amongst men upon this earth. This is the greatest mystery of all unto this world; and the second mystery is like unto it, how the devil became flesh, and dwelt amongst men, here upon earth. Upon these two standeth hell and heaven; and in the true knowledge of them both doth arise peace of mind, joy of heart, and the assurance of everlasting life; and on the contrary, the ignorance of both, not knowing these two great mysteries, doth arise the fear of hell and the fear of a devil, that hath no being at all in their sins, and of their eternal torments; which devil is that worm of man's conscience, that doth kindle a fire in the mind of man, which will never be quenched, because the worm of man's conscience doth never die in the body of man to eternity : upon these two dependeth all those wonderful secrets of God's council, which he hath revealed to the fathers of old, as Enoch, Moses, the prophets, the apostles, and to us the witnesses of the Spirit, as is

declared in all our writings, which I do perceive you do truly believe them; else why did you ask a blessing of me by words of mouth; but that will not serve your turn now, but you would have it in writing. But I knowing you are capable to understand more than you have yet read in our writings, I shall inform you yet a little farther of these great secrets of God's dealing with men. First, He doth chuse and ordain some particular man, and doth furnish him with revelation to declare unto the people what the true God is; he did to Enoch, and he declared it unto the fathers of old; and all that did believe the books of Enoch, they were as a parliament to enact it as a statute law to their children, from generation to generation for ever; and so it was with Moses and the prophets, and Christ and the apostles. Secondly, That great and vast difference that there is between the seed of reason's heaven, which they do imagine, and the seed of faith's heaven, which they are fully assured of. Things, that though the prophets and apostles hath declared in several of their writings of those great and wonderful mysteries of God becoming flesh, and God manifest in flesh; yet in all their writings, from Enoch to Moses' writings, nor the prophets writings, nor the apostles writings, nor Christ himself, when he was upon earth, did ever declare or make known not plainly, nor clearly, that great mystery of the devil becoming flesh, and dwelling amongst men to the end of this world, and to eternity: I say, no writings of prophets or apostles hath made known this great mystery of the devil becoming flesh, but John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton, whom God chose in the year of the world 1651, as our writings doth declare. And now, dear friend, I do not question but you do understand these things I have written to

you before, and by your faith you have set to your seal, in believing that God hath chosen me the last prophet and witness of the Spirit, that God will ever send while this world doth endure. This for your farther satisfaction and assurance of your eternal happiness in the world to come, when our God shall come in the clouds of Heaven to raise the dead, then shall we, that die in the faith of the true God, rise first to meet our God in the air; and because my faith hath no doubt in it, I do pronounce you, John Mellford, one of the blessed of the Lord to eternity, both in soul and body, and that you and I, and all true believers of this commission of the Spirit, that doth hold out to the end of their life, shall arise spiritual bodies, like unto the glorious body of our God, in whom we did believe in, and that we shall be capable to enter into the clouds of Heaven; for they shall come down, and receive us, and carry us up to that place, where we shall be glorified, as our God, the Lord Christ Jesus, was after his resurrection. This, with my dear love, and my wife's, unto yourself, and to all our friends there with you, I take leave, and remain your friend in the true faith of that one personal God, which did die, and hath redeemed us from that second death, which the reprobates, the seed of the serpent, must suffer, where the worm of conscience shall never die, nor the fire of conscience shall never be quenched to eternity.

April 12, 1687.

LODOWICKE MUGGLETON.

A Copy of a Blessing wrote by the Prophet Lodowicke Muggleton to Thomas Ladd, of Braintree, bearing date from London, July 15, 1687.

Loving and kind Friend in the true Faith, Thomas Ladd,

I PERCEIVE your desire is very earnest that I should give you a blessing in writing, you being not content with the blessing by word of mouth, because you have seen or heard of the blessing I gave to those two virgins in writing, which you know very well, and of Mr. Mellford's blessing, in which he did, as it were, wrestle with me, as Jacob did with God, that would not let him God go, except he would bless him: so I would willingly have put him off with the first blessing, by word of mouth; but he would not be satisfied with that: I did plead against it; so that he prevailed with me to give it him in writing. Likewise you know, when I was there with you, you pleaded with me to give it you in writing; but I gave you_no encouragement that I would do it; neither did I absolutely deny it, but was silent, and was glad I did escape so. But since I came to London, I understand that you have chosen Mrs. Delamaine and Priscilla Whitehead to intercede for you in this matter; so that they have prevailed with me to give you the blessing in writing. Therefore, that I might satisfy your strong desire, I shall say as followeth: I have had several testimonies of your faith, both in your discourse, your words and actions, of your strong faith in the true God, and in me, his true prophet; and this faith of yours will bear you into