events, before they came to pass, every year, from 1796 to 1800. But the standard for men to be clear judges, that they could not be deceived, was fixed by the wonderful vision I saw in 1794;* when I was told, that when twelve chosen men should meet together to break the Seals, then the Lord would make every crooked path straight before them, and the truth be as clear as the noon day sun; and such signs were then given me that should happen at that time, that no man could err. Now such justice and equity I have never yet found in man; and I can never believe it is in the devil, though some worldly-wise men are led to believe it; for he must have risen against him self; then how will his kingdom stand? Is Satan come to tell me that his whole nature is like the serpent when he appeared to Eve at first? For such he is represented throughout my writings; though some of my readers do not believe him so bad, but judge men are their own devil O, madmen and fools, how hath Satan bewitched you! what mad judgment have ye drawn! I grant the wind bloweth where it listeth, ye hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell from whence it cometh, or whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit; and so it is to me ; and I judge of the spirit by its truth, that it came from the Lord, as he saith. But some are so ignorant to judge my writings are of myself; I must be bold to say that they are both proud, vain and conceited, to think that dust and ashes could invent such writings as mine are; and bring all so close to the Bible, and so full of truths; which is more than all men on earth could do, if they had all Solomon's wisdom. So let no man give such merit or wisdom to me; for as distant as the heavens are from the earth, so distant are my writings from any knowledge, wisdom, or understanding of my own: and were I so proud and vain a fool to say it was of myself, I should judge the Lord would take my senses from me; so men of wisdom must see they come from a superior power to man, and placed by justice more than I *See Strange Effects of Faith, page 17. find in man. They have judged me without knowledge, according to the deceitfulness of their own hearts; but I have not so learned of Christ, as to mock God, and deal deceitfully with men ; and I should not have penned the manner of my life, if I had not been ordered, to convince mankind I was born for what I am. So a religious life I do not consider as any merit due to myself, but give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name,who gave me a heart to hate sin from my childhood: and yet to my shame, I have one ruling sin I cannot conquer; and that is a resenting spirit, where I have been used ill; but can venture my life for those who use me well. My readers may say, if I am a true Christian I ought to forgive every one. I answer, our Saviour said, if thy brother offend seven times a day, and seven times a day say he repents, thou shalt forgive him; and so can I freely. We are commanded to pray to the Lord to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us: now we cannot expect the Lord will forgive us our trespasses unless we repent; and by repentance I can forgive the greatest enemy. But though I bring scripture to clear myself, I do not justify myself in so strongly resenting a spirit; it is a sin that has mortified me ever since I began to write; I have often been compelled to act contrary to my own natural evil, and fight against myself; so I have nothing to boast of: it was the unbounded love of God who drew my heart to run after him, before I had any knowledge of him; so it is the Lord's goodness that hath made me what I am; but let no one say I am self-righteous; for I may say, blessed be the rod of the Lord, that crossed me in every thing in this world, that I might not set my heart upon it, but seek for happiness in him alone: it is the crosses, disappointments, and cruelties of this world, that made me seek all my happiness in the Lord; and I always found him a God hearing and answering prayer; and I have found the truth of his words for more than twenty years; the Lord never did deceive me, and he never will. But do my readers judge if I had not been acquainted with the ways of the Lord, before the Spirit of Prophecy was given me, that my faith would lead me to leave my work, spend my time and money, to write things that then seemed to me as unlikely to come true as the most distant thing? But I have found the truth of the Lord, concerning myself, for near twenty years before; so I judged concerning the nations, and the truths have followed for eleven years, as I have frequently observed in my writings; and as the past have come true, I judge the future all will take place, however unlikely it may appear; and the wondrous manner I have lately been restored from a sick bed confirms my faith. Here I have given a short account of the manner of my life, and find the world perfectly like the judgment I had found for years past. Now the world I bid farewell, The hearts of men, in chequer'd lines, For now the world I plainly see In colours black and white; Farewell, vain world, adieu to me, For God is my delight! into a gar Here I shall mention two particular instances that happened to me when a child, as they are explained by the Spirit. One was my reading about Peter's denying of Christ, which made me often go den of my father's, that was like a grove shaded by trees, at a small distance from the house; where I went in prayer that I might never do as Peter did, to deny Christ. The other instance was from an accident; I was sliding upon the ice on a large pond belonging to my father, when I came to the further end the ice broke and I fell in and went under,and must have been drowned, had not my father, who was in his barn threshing, seen me, and immediately ran to my relief, and he was obliged to break the ice to get me out. This simple thing I should not mention had it not been explained to me by the Spirit; and I have been wonderfully preserved from being drowned three times. Now I shall give the answer of the Spirit to what I have written of myself. "Now thou hast ended, I'll begin- To bring the Olive Branch of Peace. And so thy life they'll then trace back, That then may rest on Foley's head. So now men's mockery do not fear; |