DEAR MISS TOWNLEY, May the 29th, 1804. In what wondrous manner is the Lord now working, to bring every shadow to the substance and yet it is in so easy a manner as though all came by chance. But I remember how deeply it was said to me years agone, that all these times, seasons, and chances, were ordered and ordained by the Lord. From the newspaper that you sent me, of an advertisement being put in the paper by my friend, who desires the religious Society for the Suppression of Vice to examine my books and writings, and to point out every false doctrine they contain; or, if on the contrary they should be found true explanations of the Bible, the society must feel it a duty to make every laudable effort to spread the knowledge of her books in the world. When I had read the advertisement, I was ordered to look the paper over, and found a trial in the court of King's Bench, May 24th, the King v. William Cobbett. It was an Information filed, ex officio, by the attorney general against Mr. Cobbett, for an alledged libel on Lord Hardwicke, the lord lieutenant of Ireland; Lord Redesdale, lord high chancellor of Ireland; Mr. Justice Osborne, one of the puisne judges of the court of King's Bench in Ireland; and Alexander Marsden Esq. under secretary in the civil departinent in Ireland. I was ordered to take out this part of the trial: "I beg leave to say, gentlemen of the jury, that the question for you to try, is the quo animo with which this writing has been published. It compli ments the private virtues of Lord Hardwicke, but it points out his defects as a political character. It in culcates the most loyal principles, and execrates rebellion throughout. His object is clearly to excite the vigilance of the well affected of both countries, in order to secure them from the dreadful conse quences of sudden insurrections, and the calamities An awefill Week occasioned by it, such as unfortunately took place in Ireland, in the month of July last." After I had copied these words, I was ordered to mark the letter sent me, the same day, of the eight men that are printing a Book against my Writings. -Now I shall give the Communication that was given to me, in answer to the above "In all thy Writings I have gone from Types and Shadows; and this year I have told thee that the Types and Shadows shall stand together. Now in the newspaper, that thy friend points out thỷ Writings and Books to be examined by the Society, the libel against Hardwicke stands. Now I tell thee, no men, by all the learning they can invent, can bring thine as a libel against man; because thou hast done all in my Name, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, who feareth no man's person; and thou hast done all by my command; so if they indict thee, it must be for a libel against the Lord, whose private goodness to mankind thou hast pointed out through all thy writings; but the public threatenings are pointed out to man the same. So here is the libel that men must try, not as against man, but as against ME, whose Private Virtues' are all unknown to man, I tell them plain that hard they'll feel my rod. My public threatenings are throughout your Land; To bring the Trial, you say the Truth you'll see, My private footsteps and my Love for man To prove from whence it came, and see all clear; For that's the way my Jury now shall bursts Before my Jury, and I'll cast them there; To know from whence the libel now doth come. And that they'll find, I'll prove it in the end." These last words were given to me, in answer to the letter you sent me, the same day with the newspapers, of the men at Stourbridge, that are now printing a book against my writings, which is so clearly explained, if my writings are of God, they are printing against the Lord; but if my writings are not of God, men shew no love to his honour to let me go on in his Name, to say the Lord saith, if they can prove the Lord hath not spoken by me; and that is as equally impossible for man to do, without searching into every truth, and trying them the way the Lord hath commanded them to be tried, as it is for a man that is stark blind to judge of colours. Neither can any man judge colours in the dark, yet in the dark they pretend to judge them, but are afraid to come to the light, fearing their deeds should be reproved. This Communication I am ordered to send to you to have it put in print with all speed. I am ready and willing to stand every trial to prevent the Judgments that threaten us, and that hang over our heads.-I shall give you part of the letter I received from my friend: "There is a book now in the press, printing, and where seve ral heads have been engaged in it, that are attacking yourself, your writings, and your abettors."-In answer to myself, no man can injure my character without he doth it by falsehood and lies: for my character will bear the strictest scrutiny as to any thing the world can lay to my charge; but as to my writings, and from what Spirit they come, I am ready to stand the trial. If they can be proved from any Spirit, but the Spirit of the living Lord, I will freely give them up, and burn the whole. But I cannot suffer my judgment to be so easily imposed upon as to believe such wondrous wisdom, council, and truth, can come from any Spirit but from the God of Wisdom and of Truth, before it is tried by the touchstone of truth, and then the Lord will make the truth clear before them. Then how can men pretend to judge of things they know nothing about? For none but them that have searched into my writings can be judges of the truth they contain; and as to the manner of the writings that men condemn, it is but the fulfilling the Scriptures; for it is written, The wisdom of God is foolishness to men-and the wisdom of man is foolishness with God; and this truth is plain and easy to be understood, as men so foolishly pretend to explain the hidden mysteries of the Bible by their own wisdom; and they have explained it so many ways that the Bible can have no meaning or explanation at all by the wisdom of men for the wise men, the learned, and the good men, have drawn so many judgments different from each other, that they have made the Bible like a rope of sand, that cannot join together; and so they make their own wisdom, that will soon break in sunder. But the foolishness of God is wiser than all the wisdom of men, like a threefold cord, that cannot be broken. As soon as I had written these words, from my own observation, I was answered in the following lines: |