This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

[Note: Francis Howgill and Edward Burrough once traveled together to Ireland, according to the Lord’s instructions to both, to preach the true gospel. They were very successful, reaching many people, and then they were arrested and expelled back to England. This appears to have been written when they were in detention in Dublin, awaiting their transport back to England. He is writing to those who they had just convinced and set up in silent meetings in the weeks before their arrest. It serves as an excellent statement of what happens in the spiritual journey: from the touch, to the tribulation, and the kingdom, and then the union.]

To all of you who believed the report, and who received the testimony, and to whom the word of the Lord came in power, to the turning of you, in any measure, from darkness to light, our souls’ wish and desire the multiplying and abounding of the grace and love of God in you and among you; that thereby, you may grow in union and favor with God, and into the fellowship with all the Children of the Light; and may be nourished as newborn babes, by the milk of the word, which endures forever. And truly, though we are now separated from you in the body, we are present with you in spirit, not ceasing in prayer to God for you; but with heart breathings to Him, our souls are poured out at the throne of Grace on your behalf that your faith may not be made void, knowing your state and condition; being full sensible of your weakness to resist temptations of the enemy, but young and tender in the experience of the way and operation of God; and unacquainted with the wiles of Satan, who will not cease in seeking whom he may devour, and whom he may lead aside in the bypaths of iniquity, from the obedience and faith in Christ Jesus; that shipwreck may be made of those good desires now begotten in you, through the ministry of Christ sent to you; by whom a good work has begun in you, which will bring forth the redemption and salvation of your souls, if you abide in the patience, enduring the cross and sufferings unto the end.

And dear friends, this charge, in the name of the Lord, we lay upon you; that in the fear of the Lord, you meet together, waiting in the patient hope, in the Light which leads out of the night and out of all the works of darkness, unto the day, glory, and rising of the Sun of Righteousness that all clouds and veils may be removed and the night of darkness and stumbling may be wholly finished; that as Children of the Light, and of the day, you may walk, bringing forth fruits of righteousness, to the glory of God; being judged in the flesh, and condemned as men in the flesh, and changed, from its nature of transgression and disobedience, into the Divine nature of God, and into the likeness of the Father; that from this time forward, as a people redeemed by Him, and saved by Him, you may serve Him in newness of life, by the Spirit of his Son; who dwells in you, as you dwell in the Light.

May the Lord God Almighty preserve you, to the finishing of your course with joy, in the way of the Lord; that you may know as you are known; and victory may be given you over death, hell, and the grave; and that through the war you may partake of the crown immortal, which fades not away. Therefore be faithful in obedience to the will of God, made manifest in the Light, which condemns the evil, and chooses the good. Daily become subject to the cross of Christ, taking up his yoke and burden, which kills and crucifies the fleshly man, with his affections, desires, and lusts; that being slain to all mortal, you may reign immortality over all your enemies inward and outward; against which you are to war, even against spiritual wickedness in high places, and against exalting thoughts and imaginations. Therefore put on the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gird yourselves with his power; and be low in heart, and subject to the Father in all things; and be not high-minded, but fear; and stand in awe, and sin not; neither flee from the cross of Christ, but let it be your rejoicing; and let love abound among you, even the love with which you are loved by the Father; being of one heart, and like minded with one another, and forgiving one another, and humbly reproving one another, if any are overtaken with a fault.

Wait for discerning, to have salt in yourselves, to know and savor one another in the spirit, and operation, and working of it; that being sensible, and feeling one another’s conditions in the spirit, you may speak to the informing of one another, to the building up on one another, in the precious faith. But be slow to speak, and swift to hear; and do not feed each other’s sensual wisdom, which is the serpent’s seat. For words without knowledge darken counsel, and betray simplicity. But take heed to the measure of the Light of Christ, and be watchful in it; having the loins of your minds girded up, as obedient servants, waiting for the will of God; to be doers of his will from the simplicity and sincerity of the heart. Be watchful, for fear that the tempter by imaginations presents himself in a way and voice, like the way and voice of the True Shepard; and thereby the simplicity is ensnared, and your way and savor is lost, and darkness and clouds come over you; and so deceit strengthens itself; and takes an offence in Christ Jesus. The last end of which will be worse than the beginning, and the way of truth will be blasphemed; and the grace of God will be turned into lack of restraint; and the door of Life will be shut against them. But be upright hearted; and single minded unto the end; for he who overcomes shall eat of the hidden manna. Rev 2:17, John 6:31-35.

Do not strive with each another, neither judge each other, in whatever you do not see in the Light; but keep at home in your own conditions, waiting until judgment is perfected in victory, and your redemption is brought forth. Though you have trouble in the world, and suffering and reproaches from it; yet in Christ shall you have peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For your present troubles, and sufferings, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in you. Coming through the same entrance of tribulations with us, you shall be made partakers of the same life, and glory, and inheritance, to rejoice, and sing the song of the Lamb for evermore, over the beast, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.

All of you, whether masters or servants, parents or children; whatever calling or condition, walk as becomes the gospel of Christ Jesus, in all holiness, and purity, and humility in your conduct; and be examples of righteousness to each other, that in your several places you may honor Him who has called you, by works of faith and righteousness; that thereby the mouth of those who wait for your halt of progress may be stopped; and by your good works God may be glorified in the sight of your enemies. For the gospel preached to you was not to lead into words only, but into life and power, and our unity stands with those who are in the life and power; and we shall never be ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Therefore dear children, be diligent in the Lord’s work, and steadfast in watching over your own hearts in particular; and watch over one another in general for good, and not evil; that you may grow up into one body, members of one head, joined by the Spirit to Christ Jesus, who is the Light of the world; upon whom you have believed to your salvation, if you continue in the faith. And your rock of defense and salvation, has become the stumbling stone, and rock of offence to the princes and to the rulers. Beloved, truly our bowels are troubled for you, not being ignorant of the very purpose of Satan; who has now stirred up his agents, thinking to make void your faith and belief, and even to slay the child [within] while he is young: but our confidence in the Lord in this is strong, that He will preserve you to his praise, and the little seed shall never be forgotten of Him; but though it was sown in weakness, it shall arise, and spring, and be raised in power to the torment of all the Lord’s enemies.

You whose hearts God has touched, and who have entered into the way, look not back at any glory left behind; but freely give up all, and press on in the straight way, through the death of the enmity upon the cross; and as you deny yourselves for Christ, so will your reward be from Him manifold. Dwell in the judgment until the ground of all unrighteousness is removed; and so eternal peace be manifested to the seed of immortality. Do not look back at hardships or at the multitudes of temptations; but mind the Light, which is the whole armor of God, whereby you will receive strength to overcome all your enemies; and the Covenant of God will be established with you, in which you will receive the blessing in all things, and will know how to use all things to the glory of God; seeing his pure presence in all his blessings. Stand always in the cross to the carnal, and your understandings will be kept open and clear, to receive the pure teachings of the Father; and his wisdom from above will grow in you; and the wisdom of the earthly will die. If you abide in the Light that is from the beginning, you need no one to teach you; but by the anointing which you will receive, you will be taught all things in the way of God perfectly; and so stand witnesses for the Lord, and against all the world and its deceits. Beware of the love of the world; and of the bad ground; and of the envious man, for fear that he sow tares among the good seed, and so you become corrupted, and the just principle in you is betrayed; and so Satan exalts himself above the measure of God’s Spirit revealed in you; and so you perish in the arguing. But our hearts hope better things of you, even your growth into the inheritance with Christ; to reign with Him over the world, in the incorruptible inheritance; that we may reign together in one heart and mind, one with another. And truly herein will our joy be increased, in the midst of our troubles and sufferings, to hear and understand of your faithfulness and obedience, in the faith of the gospel declared unto you.

To the Grace of God, upon whom you have believed, we do commit you, in the bowels of everlasting love and pity, with tenderness of soul and spirit, to be kept in the power of God unto the day of salvation. The eternal presence of the Lord God, the Everlasting Father be with you all. Amen, Amen.

We are yours in the Lord and are fellow prisoners for the testimony of Jesus, which we hold, known to you, and not to the world.

From the house of the Sergeant at Arms in Dublin, the 24th of the 12th month 1655

Francis Howgill

Edward Burrough

Revival in Ireland?
William Edmundson, The Irish Hammer

This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

“This is an hour the power of darkness is let loose to try the faith of those who dwell upon the earth; and he is let loose for a season. Blessed are those who hide themselves under the shadow of the Almighty, and under the wings of Christ Jesus, who is given for a redeemer, a savior, and a preserver of men, that the wicked one touches them not. Now the devil rages, because one stronger than he who rules in the world has come, and has begun to dispossess the strong man, and bind him, and cast him out. Now he rages and stirs up all the temptations, within and without, and all his instruments to join with him, to make war for him; in order that Christ may not rule; who is the heir of all things, and given for a leader, and to be the head of the body his Church, in which He alone has a right to rule; because the Lord of the whole earth, yes of heaven and earth, has put all power into his hands, to bind and to loose; to bring out of captivity, and to lead captivity captive. That life and immortality may again inhabit in the sons of men. That truth and righteousness may predominate. That mercy and love may sit on the throne. That salvation may take hold on the ends of the earth, and this power be made known from sea to sea. That all who wait for Him and love his appearance now when He is made manifest, may rejoice in goodness and life, and may be made glad as Zebulun and Naphtali beyond Jordan, in the days of old, upon whom sprung up a marvelous light. That the whole earth may be filled with his praise and glory, which has been filled with darkness, violence, and cruelty, in the time of the devil and antichrist’s reign, which has been long and great in the earth. So that the hearts of the sons of men have been corrupted, and they have gone backward from the Lord; and have degenerated into a strange nature; and have brought forth evil and corrupt fruit like that of Sodom. Those who do evil are not ashamed, neither do they blush, but have become impudent through long habit of evil, and hard and impenetrable; upon whom the hammer of the Lord must come, and His indignation poured on.”

–Francis Howgill

From Appleby Jail, the place of my rest, where my days and hours are pleasant unto me, the 4th of the 5th month, 1664

The Day of the Lord

The Journal of George Fox
1656-1657
“On to Scotland”

“There were two Independent churches in Scotland, in one of which many were convinced; but the pastor of the other was in a great rage against truth and Friends. They had their elders, who sometimes would exercise their gifts among the church members, and were sometimes pretty tender; but their pastor speaking so much against the light, and us, the friends of Christ, he darkened his hearers; so that they grew blind and dry, and lost their tenderness. He continued preaching against Friends, and against the light of Christ Jesus, calling it natural; at last one day in his preaching he cursed the light, and fell down as dead in his pulpit. The people carried him out, laid him upon a grave stone, and poured strong waters into him, which fetched him to life again; and they carried him home, but he was, spiritless. After awhile he stripped off his clothes, put on a Scotch plaid, and went into the country among the dairy-women. When he had stayed there about two weeks he came home, and went into the pulpit again. Upon which the people expected some great manifestation or revelation from him; but, instead of that, he began to tell them what entertainment he had met with; how one woman gave him skimmed milk, another buttermilk, and another good milk. So the people were obliged to take him out of the pulpit again, and carry him home. He that gave me this report, was Andrew Robinson, one of his chief hearers, who came afterwards to be convinced, and received the truth. He said he never heard that he recovered his senses again. By this people may see what came upon him that cursed the light, which light is the life in Christ, the word; and it may be a warning to all others that speak evil against the light of Christ.”

–George Fox

The Journal of George Fox
1655-1656
“Further Ministry and Lancaster Jail”

“While I was in prison here, the Baptists and fifth-monarchy-men prophesied, that this year Christ should come, and reign upon earth a thousand years. And they looked upon this reign to be outward; when he had come inwardly in the hearts of his people to reign and rule; these believers would not receive him in their hearts. So they failed in their prophecy and expectation, and did not have the possession of him. But Christ has come, and does dwell and reign in the hearts of his people. Thousands, at the door of whose hearts he has been knocking, have opened to him; and he has come in, and does sup with them, and they with him; the heavenly supper with the heavenly and spiritual man. So many of these Baptists and monarchy-people became the greatest enemies to the followers of Christ, but he reigns in the hearts of his saints over all their envy.”

–George Fox

_____

In the Old Testament, Zion was a hill just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in Israel.

In the New Testament, Zion is the Presence of God.  The Lord rules in Zion, the Lord rules in the Presence of God.  If His people are purified, the Lord rules in His people through the Presence of God.  Glory to God in the Highest!

Psalm 110: 2:  “The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”

Micah 4: 7:  “And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.”

Hebrews 12: 22:  “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.”

Zion is My Home
Upon Mount Zion Shall Be Deliverance
Jacob will remain Jacob until he is Broken
Wearing a Rough Garment
The Babylonish Church
The Fire of the Lord

English Counties and Towns visited by George Fox

George Fox:  An Autobiography
Edited by Rufus M. Jones

Chapter XIV
“Labors, Dangers and Sufferings”
1661-1662

“Many ways were these professors* warned, by word, by writing, and by signs; but they would believe none till it was too late. William Sympson was moved of the Lord to go at several times for three years naked and barefooted before them, as a sign to them, in markets, courts, towns, cities, to priests’ houses, and to great men’s houses, telling them, ‘So shall ye be stripped naked as I am stripped naked!’ And sometimes he was moved to put on hair-sackcloth, and to besmear his face, and to tell them, ‘So will the Lord God besmear all your religion as I am besmeared.’

“Great sufferings did that poor man undergo, sore whippings with horse-whips and coach-whips on his bare body, grievous stoning and imprisonments, in three years’ time, before the King came in, that they might have taken warning; but they would not, and rewarded his love with cruel usage. Only the mayor of Cambridge did nobly to him, for he put his gown about him and took him into his house.

“Another Friend, Robert Huntingdon, was moved of the Lord to go into Carlisle steeple-house with a white sheet about him, amongst the great Presbyterians and Independents there, to show them that the surplice was coming up again; and he put an halter about his neck to show them that an halter was coming upon them; which was fulfilled upon some of our persecutors not long after.”

“About this time we had an account that John Love, a Friend that was moved to go and bear testimony against the idolatry of the Papists, was dead in prison at Rome; it was suspected he was privately put to death. Also before this time we received account from New England that the government there had made a law to banish the Quakers out of their colonies, upon pain of death in case they returned; that several of our Friends, having been so banished and returning, were thereupon taken and actually hanged, and that diverse more were in prison, in danger of the like sentence being executed upon them. When those were put to death I was in prison at Lancaster, and had a perfect sense of their sufferings as though it had been myself, and as though the halter had been put about my own neck, though we had not at that time heard of it.”

“But I told them that the whore was alive in them, and was not burned with God’s fire, nor judged in them with the same power and Spirit the Apostles were in; and that their looking for Christ’s coming outwardly to set up His kingdom was like the Pharisees’ ‘Lo here,’ and ‘Lo there.’ But Christ was come, and had set up His kingdom above sixteen hundred years ago, according to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s prophecy, and He had dashed to pieces the four monarchies, the great image, with its head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and its feet part of iron part of clay; and they were all blown away with God’s wind, as the chaff in the summer threshing-floor.”

* people who professed faith in Jesus Christ

The Journal of George Fox
Naked and Barefoot
Gleanings from George Fox
The Second Coming
Glorified in His Saints

This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

“The knowledge of Christ is not literal, traditional, or fleshly, nor can it be received by the natural understanding; but it is spiritual, and the understanding must be given by God which receives it. “He has given us an understanding, that we may know him who is true.” 1 John 5:20. A man may read scriptures, hear sermons, etc., and thereby gather a knowledge into the old understanding: but neither this understanding into which the knowledge is gathered, nor the knowledge itself that is gathered, are spiritual, but fleshly, and so cannot save. He who comes once to receive an understanding from Christ, and to have the knowledge of Christ poured forth from Christ into his heart, knows the difference between that and the understanding into which he gathers things. The knowledge of Christ after the letter, (and a faith in him answerable to such knowledge), will not save; but a man must know him in that Spirit, life, and power in which he lived, if he is firmly established in hope to be saved by him, (2 Cor 5:16-17).

“[All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no man knows the Son but the Father, neither does any man know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. Mat 11:27. The Father and the Son are only known through revelation, by the son revealing him; for the Son and the Father are one. Because what may be known of God is revealed in them; for God has shown it to them, Rom 1:19; not reading about God, not hearing someone talk about God, for God and Christ are known by only revelation in your heart, where you hear him and see him teach you about sin, righteousness, and himself.]”

–Isaac Penington

The Babylonish Church
Thumbnail Biography of Isaac Penington
Resisting and Receiving God’s Spirit, Experiencing His Teachings

This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

From Fox’s Journal:

(Fox Speaking.) To one meeting came a great man, a priest, and many professors*; but the Lord’s power came over them all, and they went their way peaceably. There came a man to that meeting, who had been at one before, and raised a false accusation against me, and made a noise up and down the country, reporting, that I said I was Christ; which was utterly false. When I came to Gainsborough, where a Friend had been declaring truth in the market, the town and market people were all in an uproar. I went into a friendly man’s house, and the people rushed in after me; so that the house was filled with professors, disputers, and rude people. This false accuser came in, and charged me openly before the people, that I said I was Christ, and he had witnesses to prove it.  This accusation put the people into such a rage, that they could barely keep their hands off me. Then was I moved of the Lord God to stand up upon the table, in the eternal power of God, and tell the people, ‘that Christ was in them, except they were reprobates [sin still lives in them]; and that it was Christ, the eternal power of God, that spoke in me at that time unto them; NOT that I was CHRIST.’ And the people were generally satisfied, except the false accuser, a professor, and his own false witnesses. I called the accuser Judas, and was moved to tell him that Judas’s end should be his; and that that was the word of the Lord and of Christ through me to him. The Lord’s power came over all, and quieted the minds of the people, and they departed in peace. But this Judas shortly after hanged himself, and a stake was driven into his grave. (From Matthew  27:5, Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.)

[* A professor, in the days of George Fox (1624-1691), was someone who professed Jesus Christ–not necessarily someone who had a relationship with Jesus Christ.]

Josephus on John the Baptist

George Fox, 1624-1691

This is from The Missing Cross to Purity:

(Letter #2)

Friends,

The children of the devil,
how expert are they in evil, in all deceit in his kingdom;
and yet they may speak of the things of God;
but no vulturous eye or venomous beast ever trod in the steps of the just,
though they may talk of the way.
For those who have their conversation in this world,
and only mind the things of this world,
profess godliness in vain.

But the children of God,
who are conceived and begotten of him, are not of this world,
neither do they mind only the things of this world,
but the things which are eternal.

But the children of this world do mostly mind the external things,
and their love is in them,
and the others live by faith;
the one is sanctified by the word, the other painted with the words.

The children of God are pure in heart, not looking only at the outside.
The favor of the world and friendship with it is enmity to God.
Man may soon be stained with it.
Oh! Love the stranger, and be as strangers in the world, and to the world!
For those who followed Christ in his cross,
they were strangers in the world,
and wonders to the world,
and condemned by the world;
and the world did not know him,
neither does it know those who follow him now.
So, marvel not if the world hates you;
for the world lies in hatred and wickedness.
Whoever loves this world, are enemies to Christ;
and whoever loves the Lord Jesus Christ,
and have him for their Lord over them,
they are redeemed out of the world.
The world would have a Christ, but not to rule over them;
the nature of the world chains down Christ in man,
until Christ has subdued that nature in man.
While the nature of the world rules in man,
oh, the deaf ears and blind eyes, and the understandings,
that are all shut up among them, with which they judge!
But those who love the Lord Jesus Christ,
do not mind the world’s judgment, nor are troubled at it;
but consider all our brethren, who have gone before us.

When you think you are past all crosses,
when the trial does come,
you will find a cross to that will
which meddles with the things of God presumptuously;
that man may live in joy, but the spirit is in bondage.
Do not rejoice in the flesh, but rather in the spirit,
which crucifies all fleshly boastings.
If the fleshly will be fed, then carelessness comes up,
and they fall into flatness, (from the spirit),
and are mindless of the Lord God;
such are soon up and down.
The serpent tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit,
and she took and gave to her husband,
and so they fell under the serpent’s power, and the creatures,
out of the power of God, which would have kept them in dominion.
And so, Adam and Eve, and the serpent, all went out of truth.
And Eve eating of the tree of knowledge,
she had knowledge and wisdom after the fall,
but not in the dominion, in the power of God.
But the seed Christ, who was in the beginning,
bruises the serpent’s head, and he is the wisdom of God.

–George Fox

Francis Howgill, 1618-1668

From The Missing Cross to Purity:

Dear friends everywhere, who have believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, and are called with a holy calling to the great salvation of God, which is manifest in this the day of his power; keep your first love, and let not the threats of men, neither the frowns of the world, frighten you from that which you have prized more than all the world. Now the sun is up, and a time of scorching has come, and what has no root will wither; now every ground will be tried; and blessed is the good ground that brings forth the Seed which must inherit the promise.  O! let not the cares of this present life choke that which God has begotten; and, seeing the Lord has so marvelously wrought for us here, in the midst of great opposition, do not let your faith fail, nor your confidence in God; who delivered Jacob of old out of his adversity and Israel out of all his troubles; whose care is over his people now.

And having seen the emptiness of the world, and its ways and worship, let nothing blind your eyes again; and let not the things present, nor things to come, separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus; and pay no attention to those who draw back to perdition, but let it teach all the more diligence, to be as those who press after glory, immortality, and everlasting life. The way of God was ever hated by the world, and the powers thereof. Never heed the rough spirits, for their bound is set, and their limit known, but mind the Seed which has dominion over all; and forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, in which you have found God and his promise and power among you, and your understanding opened. O! Rather suffer all things, than let that go in what you have believed; for whosoever does, will lose the evidence of God’s Spirit in them; and their peace and joy will be lost. May the Lord God preserve you all unto the end faithful.

Your dear brother, for the testimony of Jesus,

Francis Howgill

Appleby Jail, the 10th of 3rd month, 1664

The Power of Christ to Overcome all Sin Within You.  (Letter XII)

FRIEND,

I have had of late some deep and serious thoughts concerning you, and a sense of you, as between the Lord and my own soul, yet I have not had anything to signify or express to you, until this morning. But something this morning sprang up in my heart, sweetly and freshly, which I had pure drawings to impart to you.

There was a quick sense of you upon my heart, and in that sense this cry was in me: – Oh! that you were acquainted with the pure, eternal power of the Lord, and might feel his outstretched arm revealed in you, and witness the faith which stands in that power; and in that faith, believe and wait for what God is doing, and willing to do, in and for his children.

“If you had faith,” said Christ, “but as a grain of mustard seed, you should say to this mountain, be you cast into the midst of the sea, and it should be so.” Indeed, the true faith, the pure faith, the living faith, which stands in the power, does remove all the mountains that are in the way, and makes the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways plain. If you had lived in the days of Christ’s flesh, and wanted outward healing, and had been willing to come to him for healing, but had not come with faith that he was able and willing to heal perfectly; might  not you have missed of that cleansing and outward health and salvation, which others met with? For, did not he say, “Be it unto you according to your faith?” And is not he the Physician of the soul and is not his skill to be trusted and believed in? He that hopes, and believes, and waits, and prays, and fights the good fight of faith, which gives victory over sin, Satan, and the world – he may possibly overcome; yes, he that wars lawfully, (that is, with the spiritual weapon, which is mighty through God,) he that wars with this only, and with this constantly, shall be sure to overcome. For, greater is He that is in the true believer, than he that is in the world. O that you might have experience of these things, and witness the manner of  Christ’s love and power displayed in you, and the victories and conquests that come by these, and the safety and peace which is under it! For, of a truth, we do not boast, but are witnesses of the majesty of God’s love and power, which we testify of. The Lord to enlighten and guide you, that you may obtain the desires of your heart; for, I really believe your desire is after holiness and after communion with the Father and the Son, and with the saints in light, Oh that you may be led into the true pure light of life, that there you may enjoy what in this kind you desire! This is from one, who singly, as in the Lord’s sight, wishes well unto you.

–Isaac Penington

Reading Jail,

27th of Eighth  Month, 1679

The Letters of Isaac Penington
From the Treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich