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thee and the woman? Then, if I put it, I must fulfil it: if I spoke it, I must accomplish it; and, as the woman's right, I must come in power and glory to avenge her of her adversary, and bruise his head. Because the power is not in her to fulfil the promise I made; and, therefore, it is I the Lord, that spoke the word at first, must fulfil it at the last. But, as the promise was made to the WOMAN, in her form, as her right, it must be pleaded and fulfilled: for, as I have placed all things after the manner of men, that is placed amongst mankind, so, in like manner, I have placed the scriptures. But let no man exercise himself in things that are too high for him; nor think more highly of himself than he ought to think; therefore I told thee of the title of the bookHere is wisdom; let him that hath greater answer it; but what wisdom canst thou see in him, that is thy accuser?

And now I shall answer thee further, from his saying, if I permitted Satan to deceive thee once, he might deceive thee often, and be deceiving thee now. Here is folly in the man, to suppose I should permit Satan to go on to deceive thee, because I permitted it to try thee, and to confound men and devils in the end. Know what I told thee-Satan was the great accuser of the brethren; and so, in like manner, he accused thee; that when I justified thee, Satan condemned thee; and therefore I permitted him to try thee. And so I have told thee of Job; when I justified him, Satan condemned him; and in like manner were his accusations against Abraham; that if he was put to the trial of what was not for his own happiness, he would not obey my commands; therefore I said I would tempt Abraham, to try him if he would obey. Here I have shewn thee concerning the just, why I permitted them to be tried in various manner: Jacob was tried by his bro

ther, and by his father-in-law, and by various ways; and Joseph was tried: and, I have told thee, that Satan is by all in accusations, as he was by Job. saying, Let them be tried, and they would depart from ME, or murmur against ME. Therefore, to confound the adversary, in all ages the best of men have been tried in various ways.But now I know the thoughts of thy heart: thou sayest within, a man like Hann will condemn my ways, in suffering the just to be tried, to please the adversary of mankind. To thy thoughts I answer; it is not to please him, but to shame and confound him, when I come to make up my jewels in man; for Satan's pleading would be like the angels that fell; and this hath been his pleading, -Let men be tried, and they would rebel." Therefore I have permitted the best of men in all ages to be tried by various ways and temptations; some by afflictions and disappointments in this life, to prove the love of men, that, though they suffer for a while, they do not rebel in heart against ME. And now I tell thee, it is impossible for any man of true wisdom, that hath any belief in the scriptures, to condemn my ways and my wisdom, in trying thee to prove thee, before I ordered thee to publish to the world. And now I ask thee, to what use was my trying and proving Abraham? Was not the heart of the man known to ME, before I tried him? But could his adversary be confounded, before I had proved him? Now perfectly so was Satan's working to condemn thee, when I justified thee; and so is his working in mankind; and this was known to ME before; therefore, to confound thine accusers, I permitted Satan to try thee. But he that condemns my followers, that I have permitted to be tempted and tried, must condemn every just man upon earth. Little do men know in what manner was Satan's working concerning the prophets; or what made Jeremiah

ery out in the bitterness of his soul that I had deceived him, and he wished for death; little dost thou know what made Peter sink, when he launched into the great deep: he saw ME walking upon the sea; and, had not Satan worked fears in him, his faith would have kept him up, knowing, if I had power to walk on the sea, I had power to keep him from sinking. And now I ask thee, what power tempted Peter to deny ME, after he had said, If I die with thee, I will not forsake thee? And yet, thou knowest, he denied ME, when I suffered Satan to tempt and try him. Therefore let no man say I do not suffer the just to be tried: for the type of Job is deep for all. And let meu discern to whom I spoke, when I rebuked Peter, and said, Get thee behind ME, Satan; for thy words are an offence unto ME: thou savourest not the things which are of God, but of men. Did I speak this to Peter, as a man, or to the adversary, that was tempting him? Was not my answer to the devil, that he should tempt him no more, but leave Peter to submit to my will? Could men understand, from my gospel, the manner I rebuked the tempter, when working upon Peter, and how I spoke to him on the seas, and how all the holy men of old were tried, they would not marvel, that I tried thee; neither by wisdom can they condemn my ways; for where is my servant, or where is my chosen, that was never tried, and tempted by the devil?

And now come to the scriptures, that I have answered and explained to thee. Where is the man, by wisdom, that can explain why all these types and shadows were placed, and why the Knowledge of the scriptures was concealed from the understanding of men? This by wisdom they cannot do. But was all put in a straight line for men to understand, then Satan's words would have been true in the temptations of the

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fall, that men were placed as earthly gods, to have all knowledge given them; but this, I have told thee, will not be, till I come to destroy his power, and reveal the mysteries, that are concealed from man; then will the words of the prophets be fulfilled, for the knowledge of the Lord to cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea; and then will my wisdom and my decrees be made manifest and known unto all men; and what now shineth in darkness will then be made bright as the noon day sun; because darkness will be done away, and the true light will shine to man. And now come to Hann's remarks on my severity."

He says, "If Joanna is to be believed, her visiting Spirit, which is her husband, is a very hard master, and exceedingly severe. - What I wish the reader to notice is the severity of Joanna's husband."

The above remark Hann hath made on the command given to me concerning my trial, in the book called What manner of Communications are these, pages 5-10.

THE ANSWER OF THE SPIRIT.

"My inquiry is first to thee, whether thou judgedst any severity in ME, from the command that I gave thee? Didst thou not judge it right in thy heart, if thou disobeyed, for ME to take from thee the promise of blessings, that I had made to thee, and for ever to be lost to the great happiness, that I said I was coming to establish, if perfect obedience was found to do my will? Didst thou judge my commands were harsh, or severe, in what I had commanded? In thy heart thou answerest, no; but thought thou shouldest justly merit my displeasure, and lose the blessings I had promised, if thon wouldest not obey my command in so trifling a thing. This was thy judgment, that stands in print; but thou

never saidst that thou judgedst ME harsh, or a hard master, or severe, in giving a command to thee. Then now let him that reproves answer, whose heart, or whose spirit is most likely to be led by the Lord, to be willing and obedient to his commands, and condemn themselves, if they break it; or who is most like the devil, in his temptations in the beginning, and the hardened manner that men have went on to commit sin, and condemn the Lord for punishing them for the evil of their sin? And from a judgment like his, the scriptures have been marked with contempt by the Atheists and Deists; and in their Jikeness is his heart; for, it is impossible for any man to mark my giving a command to be hard and severe, as he hath marked it, without condemning his Creator, in the beginning, as Hann hath condemned ME; for, whether a man condemneth by parables, or whether he condemneth in plain terms, the condemnation is the same. Know, in parables I spoke, when I condemned the Jews; and so in parables hath he condemned the scriptures throughout. Now come to his other observation."

Hann says, "If we read the 14th and 15th pages of What manner of Communications are these, we shall find the bridegroom charged with leaving his bride; and that without any provocation, and suffering the devil to throw her into the greatest agonies and torments imaginable; and it was a long time before he returned, and then not without vollies of prayers and floods of tears this is a little repugnant to conjugal

affection."

THE ANSWER OF THE SPIRIT.

"Now I shall shew thee plainly, from his own words, as I told thee of parables, that stand by the prophets, to shew the iniquity of the house of

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