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the event either consistent or satisfactory to himself: that his judgment was dark, intricate, and confused, but trusted that the Lord would make clear this mystery."

In this manner they drew their judgments stumbled and confused; and I must say that the trial of their faith was very great; because my letter tried them to the utmost, to say the Lord had love and pity for the man; and yet to take him out of the world in such manner, before he had acknowledged the truth. This, with the lines in the pages before mentioned, they could no ways make consistent with each other; and I by no means wonder that they were stumbled; as there are mysteries concealed from them. But what they know not now, they will know hereafter. Yet there were others who drew a different judgment, which will appear in the next book. I was then ordered to bring together from.the books where ******* stands on conditions, and where he stands without conditions.

The First Book of Strange Effects of Faith, 9th page, are these words given in 1795, in answer to Mr. L's giving it up:

"Now tell him plain he's not the man;

For 'tis by

that it must be done

Back to the Church the standard all must come."

"Here discern, I told thee, without any conditions he was the one man that thy writings would be brought to light by, before ever thou hadst written a line to him, to know what he would do. Here let men discern, what was spoken as an assurance that should be done by him was done by him; for he was the Standard of the Church, as being a Minister of the Church: and here let men discern, when thy writings were published, according to his direction, it was the church mi

nisters that were first awakened, to join with him; but here the standard in him began to fall, when the others began to stand; but then discern the standard was great. Now come to the words I said before, in the 8th page:

"But, O, thrice happy is the man
That doth begin and will go on,
Till every curtain be drawn back,
To know and prove if I do speak."

"Here he stands on conditions, whether he. would go on or not, till every thing was tried and proved; for every curtain being drawn back meaneth, every thing must be made clear to mankind. And now discern how great were the promises made to him, if he had stood stedfast to the end and these promises were spiritually to be honoured by the Lord; which he fell from, to gain the praise and applause of men; and that way he lost them both: because the applause and praise of men he never can gain, to say he acted wisely at the last, when he fell back, however prudent he acted at the first. Here let men discern the beginning of these two pages, which I have pointed out to thee: the one without conditions, that thy writings would be brought to light by him; the other was on conditions, if he went on to the end.

Page 14, given in 1796:

I say the fruit shall surely fall:

Let

stand and hear his call;

And now a Moses let him be,

Or else my judgments all shall see.
Then all together you may feast,

And all together fast.

I'll bring a mystery in the end,
That shall for ever last."

"Here let men discern, he stands on conditions of being compared to the likeness of Moses, who began and went on to the end; therefore I said I would bring a mystery in the end that should last for ever: and there is a mystery of

that no one hath clearly understood, in what manner his calling was at the first; and how great where the promises, if he stood to the last. But this is known unto all, how he fell back, by the temptations of the devil and the persecution of men; and let men see in what manner I worked with thee, how I afflicted thee, how I threatened thee not to raise thee up, before thou hadst brought to light the hidden things that were done in darkness, concerning *** **; which he thought, as all the power was in his hands, he should conceal it from mankind, by destroying it; and gain his honour by disgracing thine, when he joined with the multitude to do evil, to publish to the world that thou wast led by the devil. Thus he thought to gain his honour with men ; and this honour I took from him.

"Now come to the 41st page, given in 1796: let men discern the depth of the words

"Let the sons of men beware

That she be not denied ;

More fatal now than Adam's fall
"Twill happen to the man,"

"Here thou sayest in thy heart,

per

fectly obeyed at first, and did not deny thee any thing thou requiredst of him. Therefore thy inquiry is, whether that fatal fall compared to Adam now alludes to him? To thy inquiry I shall

answer:

"Know, in the first place, how great was his calling, if he stood stedfast to the end; and how great were my decrees for Adam, had he stood stedfast to obey my commands: but Adam was betrayed by the subtlety of the serpent; and through his fall the curse was pronounced upon the serpent; and the promise was then made, in the fall, for ME to die for the transgression of man, to cast out the devil, that betrayed the woman, which appeared in the form of a serpent at first; and know I have told thee, the time is at

hand that I am coming to free the fall, and bring in the redemption of man; and I have already told thee, from the subtlety of the devil, how he would work another way, as he worked in my Gospel, to bring the fall of man like the fall of the angels, to worship him for the great power he would have told them he was invested with; and what honour and power he would give to men, if they would fall down and worship him. And therefore the fall of Adam is not so dangerous to the human race, as is now supposed. by men. ** 's fall,

"But I shall answer thee of * as thou sayest he obeyed in part; and stood stedfast till thy writings went out by him. His fall is from that honour he would have gained from God and man, had he stood stedfast to the end of thy calling.

"And now discern in what manner he hath acted where he stands on conditions.

Page 42.

"For in the dark the light doth shine;

Your eyes are dazzled here:

And will you shudder at the thought,
To see the mystery clear?
Or will you, like the Jews of old,
Keep seals upon the tomb?
Or will you bribe the keepers here

The truth may not be known?
Then sure to others I'll appear;
In the highway I'll go."

"Here let men discern he stood on conditions: and, like the inquiry made of him, perfectly so hath been his conduct; because, thou knowest, like the Jews of old, he kept back the seals that were put in his hands.-But now I ask thee, what seals were put in his hands at that time, for him to deliver up? For, thou knowest, this was but the second letter I ordered thee to send to him, in 1796, after he had contended with thee in ******'s house, concerning the Marriage of

the Lamb; so that this prophecy was then sent him, of what he would do, if, like Adam, he fell back. And let men discern in what manner he tried to bribe the keepers of the knowledge of the truth; not with money, but with words, every way to work upon thy feelings, and the feelings of ****** likewise, to gain his end, thinking the truth should not be known; but now discern, the keepers here could not be bribed; because the truths that were known to thee, known to **, and to others, I or

dered should be brought forward and made pub lic, while the witnesses were living. But now I ask thee, if these things could be brought for ward, to be clearly pointed out to men after his death, if they had not been brought forward and proved by his life? Therefore, let no one marvel that I called forward thy trial, to have the witnesses appear, while he was living; and ordered thee not to wait till thy trial was called forward by thy enemies. Let men discern in what manner thy trial stands between him and thee; so that, in the end, men of wisdom will clearly discern how the light shined in darkness, when his eyes were dazzled that he could not see the light. But here let men observe in what manner I placed ******* with thee at first, as one man to be a helper with thee, to bring the work to light; and know what I told thee the likeness would be in the end: for as Adam and Eve were placed together temporally; so, in a spiritual sense, I placed ******* and thee together: and know, my promises were made great to the man, if he stood stedfast till every truth was tried and proved; to stand with thee, and by thee; but hadst thou understood the meaning of these words. Page 60.

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"As was the first, so is the last;
For Adam stood alone.

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