The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers. William Sewel
prevailed, that at length he was set at liberty again: though I find that once he was whipt for a crime laid to his charge, of which he gloried publicly. And when Cromwell had usurped the supreme power, Lilburn made bold to charge him, both by word of mouth, and by writing, with falseness and tyranny; and he went on at that rate, that Cromwell, foreseeing that if this man continued thus to expose his doings, he should not be able to maintain his credit and authority, ordered him to be taken into custody, and impeached of high treason. When Lilburn, thus accused, appeared at the bar, he behaved himself with that undauntedness, and so defended his cause, that he seemed less to plead for his life, than for the freedom of his country; and, boldly answering what was objected to him, said that what he had done was not only no high treason; but the government was such, that no high treason could be committed against it; and that therefore all true Englishmen were obliged to oppose the tyranny that was exercised. He also said that having been once in favour with Cromwell, he might have attained to great preferment, if he would have been quiet; but that he having thought this unlawful, it was now resolved to have his life taken away; which he did not fear, because he asserted a good cause. Thus vigorously Lilburn pleaded, and he defended his cause with such strong arguments, that the jury brought him in not guilty, notwithstanding the endeavours of the judges to the contrary.
Now, though according to law, he must have been set at liberty, yet Cromwell would not consent to it, but kept him prisoner: and because he indeed feared him, as one that would weaken his government, he ordered him to be carried from one prison to another; till at length he came to be confined in the castle of Dover, in which town lived Luke Howard, mentioned before; who thereby having occasion to speak with Lilburn concerning religion, gave him such convincing reasons for his professions, as prevailed upon Lilburn to receive the Truth; as he himself signified in a letter he writ to his wife; who having visited him in prison, afterwards writ to him this following exhortation.
‘My dear,
‘Retain a sober patient spirit within thee, which I am confident thou shalt see shall be of more force to recover thee, than all thy keen metal hath been. I hope God is doing a work upon thee and me too, as shall make us study ourselves more than we have done.’
These words were so acceptable to Lilburn, that repeating them in his letter to her, he answered thus, after many other passages.
‘O, my dear love!
‘I am deeply already entered into my part of it: the mighty power of God enable thee to get in too, and also to go through thine, and effectually to go cheerfully and willingly along hand in hand with me, which would render thee abundantly more amiable, lovely, and pleasant in mine eyes, although thou wert then clothed in rags, than thou couldest be to me in the drawing back, or standing still where thou wast when I last saw thee, though therein thou wert clothed all over with rich and outwardly glistering earthly diamonds, and in the greatest of earthly prosperity. I am sorry thou art so straitly put to it for money; but to live upon God by faith, in the depth of straits, is the lively condition of a Christian. O that thy spirit could attain unto this, according to thy desire in thy letter, and my own present frame of spirit!——I now can contentedly feed savourily upon bread and cheese, and small beer alone, for saving of money. And for my liberty, about which thou so weariest and spendest thyself, as thy letter acquaints me thou dost, I can say to thee, that I am in my present temper of spirit, ready really with Peter, at the sight of the glorious transfiguration of Christ, to say, it is good being here. For here in Dover Castle, through the loving-kindness of God, I have met with a more clear, plain, and evident knowledge of God and myself, and his gracious outgoings to my soul, than ever I had in all my lifetime, not excepting my glorying and rejoicing condition under the bishops.—And now submissively and heartily I can say, the will of my heavenly Father be done in me, by me, and for me; in whose will I leave thee and thine, with all thy and my friends, and rest
Thine in the strength of
renewedness of true love,
JOHN LILBURN.’
From Dover Castle, the place of the present enjoyed delightful dispensation of the eternal, everlasting love of God unto my soul. The 4th of the Tenth Month, 1655.
Whilst Lilburn was prisoner here, Cromwell, as it seemed, would have released him, if he would have signed a declaration that he would never draw a sword against his government. But Lilburn as yet not being fully convinced, that to refrain from the use of the carnal sword, was the duty of a true Christian, refused; thinking that though G. Fox had signed such a declaration, yet this did not become him, because he did not perfectly approve that point of self-denial. But however, continuing in faithfulness, to persevere in respect of that knowledge he had already attained to, he became, in process of time, such an asserter of the true Christian life, that in a paper, which at his desire was given out in print, he expressed himself thus:
‘I have now the faithful and true witness in my own soul, that the Lord himself is become, within me, the teacher of my soul, and enabler of me to walk in a measure of his pure ways and paths; yea, and so clear a teacher within me is he already become unto me, as that I with confidence believe my inward teacher shall never now more be removed into a corner; but is, and shall be, as a continual voice speaking in my ears, “This is the way, walk in it:” by which divine teaching, I am now daily taught to die to sin, and led up by it into living power, to be raised up, and enabled to live in a pure measure of righteousness; and by which inward spiritual teachings, I am, I say again, led up into power in Christ, by which I particularly can, and do hereby witness, that I am already dead, or crucified to the very occasions, and real grounds of all outward wars, and carnal sword-fightings, and fleshly bustlings and contests; and that therefore confidently I now believe, I shall never hereafter be an user of a temporal sword more, nor a joiner with those that so do. And this I do here solemnly declare, not in the least to avoid persecution, or for any politic ends of my own, or in the least for the satisfaction of the fleshly wills of any of my great adversaries, or for satisfying the carnal will of my poor weak afflicted wife; but by the special movings and compulsions of God now upon my soul, am I in truth and righteousness compelled thus to declare; that so I may take away from my adversaries, all their fig-leaf covers, or pretences, for their continuing of my every way unjust bonds. And that thereby, if yet I must be an imprisoned sufferer, it may from this day forward, be for the Truth as it is in Jesus; which Truth I witness to be truly professed and practised by the savouriest of people called Quakers.
‘And to this my present declaration, which I exceedingly long and earnestly desire to have in print, and for which I know that I can cheerfully and assuredly lay down my life, if I be called to witness the truth of it, I subscribe my name,
JOHN LILBURN.’
From my innocent and every way causeless captivity in Dover Castle, the place of my soul’s delightful and contentful abode, where I have really and substantially found that which my soul many years hath sought diligently after, and with unsatisfied longingness thirsted to enjoy: this present First-day of the week, being the 4th of the Third Month, 1655.
It sufficiently appears by this, that Lilburn did not think that this declaration would procure his liberty; and he guessed not wrong; for before he was released, Cromwell died. Lilburn being then discharged from his confinement, continued steadfast to the doctrine of the Truth he had embraced, and died at London in the year 1660. But being advanced in the time, I go therefore back a little, and intend in the sequel to give a more circumstantial description of Cromwell’s death.
And thus I conclude this book with the year 1655, in which year there was a plot of the royalists against Cromwell; and in Nottinghamshire they had already surprised some places; and towards the West the city of Salisbury. The young king, (Charles,) was now come from Cologne into Zealand, to be the nearer if the attempt succeeded. But his time of ruling was not yet come; for the cavaliers were soon forced to give way to the power of Cromwell: and the design being thus squashed, king Charles returned to Cologne. In the meanwhile, Cromwell, to raise his esteem abroad, sent a fleet, under admiral Penn, to the West Indies, and another, under the command of admiral Blake, towards the Mediterranean sea.
THE FOURTH BOOK. 1656–1658.