( 65 ) fer you to Joanna's writings. The purport of my letter to you, was to demand the writings and letters you had of her's, which she innocently lodged in your hands, thinking that if ever you declined her cause, you would honourably return them; but I must say, you have entirely deviated from that principle by not doing it; and must further add, that when her Trial comes, you will most certainly be called upon to give an account of that stuff, as you term it, which you amused yourself with burning of. My Sister has sent to desire me to remind you of a letter she sent you in 1796 or 1797, which contains these words A Judas HE shall be to ME If he doth ME deny; No comfort in this world he'll have, And tremble for to die. He must be found an empty sound, I ask the bishop how he'll look On such deceitful men ? I have further to add, the time above alluded to we are to expect; but the day nor hour no man knoweth, not even the angels in heaven; but that the Lord will come upon them as a thief in the night; and that you, and all mankind might turn unto HIM whilst the gates of mercy are open, and be ready to meet HIм at his Coming, is the sincere wish and prayer of, Sir, yours very respectfully, (Signed,) JOSEPH SOUTHCOTT. No. 9, Trinity Street, Bristol. Monday, July 23, 1804. Joanna had a restless night, but towards the morning fell asleep, and lay between sleeping and waking till the postman rang the bell, with a letter from Mr. Foley. She was waked by the bell, and told Underwood, that, whether she was awake when the words were spoke, or whether she dreamt it, she does not know; but they were these words, "In forty days, fatal destruction should happen to England." She was faint, but comfortable: after that Mr. Foley's letter was brought her, which gave her great pleasure. She then was answered to the words, or her dream" O England, England! ten years have I warned thee, ten years have my judgments been upon thee, and though the poor have perished in thy streets, and all the land hath been oppressed, yet thou art like the anvil that is hardened to the stroke; thy teachers are blind guides; thy priests are polluters of the sanctuary: woe unto those who go in unto them; for they will not enter in themselves, nor suffer those who are entering in to go in. I had one Shepherd, that began in the Spirit, but the shepherds have murdered him; for he was like Ephraim, as a cake not baken; the Assyrians destroyed his strength; and the pride of the clergy testified in their hearts against him: O how weak is Taylor's judg ment, to wish thou mightest never trouble Pomeroy more! Let her reflect on the days that are past, how wrong she judged my ordering thee to send him that letter; but now let her see the justice of its being sent. Now from this day let no man persuade thee; let no man advise thee; let no man say, I wish the Lord would act another way; but all say, not my will, but thine be done, O Lord; and then I will make their bliss complete: but I will be avenged on those Shepherds that mocked Pomeroy; for they have been as serpents in the way to sting him; they have robbed him of his honour; they have robbed him of a good conscience; they have robbed him of the peace of his mind. Because he was like Ephraim, as a cake not baken; therefore, they had power to destroy his strength: but let him not say with Adam, the woman thou sendedst unto me beguiled me and I did eat, or tempted me to do evil; for I now tell Pomeroy, if he had continued, as he began, to follow on to know the Lord, and to be clear in judging before he began to condemn; in blessing, I would (67) have blessed him; in multiplying, I would have: multiplied him, and his seed should have been from generation to generation, till time was no more. For in that manner was the letter sent unto him, the promises great, and the threatenings severe; the promises great, if he continued on to know the Lord; the threatenings severe if he drawed back. And now reflect on Pomeroy's words, what he said unto thee in Taylor's house, how greatly the clergy at Exeter plagued him, that he could not go into a coffeehouse, nor into company where the ministers were, but they would be wearying him with words, that he was the prophet, and that it was he that supported thy hand; so to shun the ridicule of men, he published to the world that thy God was a devil; but he shall know and tremble too before that God, whon he called a devil. So the very way he went to save his life, he hath lost it; for the comfort of his life is destroyed in this world; and without bitter repentance, his soul must perish; for as he rejected thee, and THY MASTER before thee, therefore THY MASTER he cannot come to, unless he repent in dust and ashes: but they that tempted him to this evil have the greater sin; because they never acted in one step of virtue, but despised every virtuous step that was in him. I will set his good deeds, as well as his black deeds before them: he acted wisely to search out the truth; he acted wisely to offer to clear up the truth; he acted wisely to go to Nutcombe; he acted wisely to try the clergy; he acted wisely to have the writings sent to his house; he acted wisely to ask Dennis and his uncle to come to, his house, and offered to shew them thy writings and send for thee; but these, like Scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites, would neither enter in themselves, nor suffer him that was entering to go in; but as thou sayest in thy heart they fell upon him, as the greedy hounds fall upon a hare, and made him like a March hare, out of his senses, when compassed round by the greedy dogs of prey. And now by whom was this man beguiled? Out of his own mouth the truth must be made manifest; for he confessed it was the clergy that beguiled him to do evil; and made him tempt the woman to commit evil also, that she might fall from TRUE OBEDIENCE. So here is the fall changed; here is the scene changed. The woman is brought again to TRUE OBEDIENCE, and it is men and devils that are trying to tempt her to disobedience; but no man can prevail against her, and no weapon that is formed against her shall prosper, and every tongue that is against her shall fall for her sake; for here the old creation shall die, and all things shall begin anew so no longer let it be said the woman beguiled me, and I did eat; for he that eateth by the woman's directions, shall now eat of the Tree of Life and live for ever in MB; for then they shall eat of my Flesh and drink of my Blood; that meaneth, I will make their vile bodies like unto MY GLORIOUS BODY, and they shall drink deep into my heavenly Spirit, and they shall find joy in believing: for he that shall come, now will come, and will not tarry. O ye blind leaders of the blind, why did I tell you in my Gospel of My Second Coming? Why did the angels warn my disciples, that as in like manner they saw ME ascending, they should see ME descending? Why did all my disciples warn men of my Second Coming? And why did the prophets say, should be the desire of every nation, and the govern ment should be upon my shoulders, for of my King dom there should be no end? Heavens should be filled with my majesty, earth with my goodness, hell with my terrors? Answer ME, ye blind Shepherds, if all these Promises are not made in the Bible, by God through his Son, that he should reconcile the whole world unto God? Then have you not made your God the liar? Is not the devil now come in Man instead of the Serpent, to betray the Woman and condemn his Maker, that the Woman may never be your helpmate for your good? But how can the Woman be your helpmate for your good without my (99) Spirit to assist her, and without my strength to support her? For without ME she can do nothing, and without ME ye are all nothing; then why have ye turned back your letters? Why have ye refused my Spirit to redeem you from the Fall? For I now tell you all, till the fall of the Woman be freed, by her perfect obedience unto God and Christ, Man's Redemption can never take place. Tell ME, ye men that boast of learning,why the Fall came by the Woman's disobedience? And that Fall has been pronounced from age to age to this day, and that Fall came by the serpent, which was the devil speaking in him, which brought the Fall. Then why do you marvel, now I am come to redeem you from the Fall, I should come speaking through the Woman, to bring in the Redemption that was promised through Christ, as the Fall came by the Serpent? For that is the way I shall triumph over death, hell, and the grave. As the Serpent triumphed over the creation, and over the works of the Lord, when he brought the Woman to disobedience, so shall I triumph over hell, by the Woman's true obedience, and by her withstanding all the fiery darts of the Devil." A PART OF THE HISTORY OF JOANNA, WIIILE SHE CONTINUED WITH MR. WILLS *. "The next communication I shall give unto thee. concerning Wills; why I sent thee into his house; and why I recommended thee to live in the house. After Wills professed himself a Christian lover, too great thou judgedst for a married man; and thy soul trembled at the idea of his words, and determined to leave the house, prayers and tears were thy private companions, and thy resolution was fixed to leave the house. But know, I told thee I would be with thee, and nothing should harm thee; for in the fire I would be with thee, and in the water it Joanna's history while she lived with Mr. Wills, begins in page 18 of the book called " The Little Flock of Sheep.” |