When the meeting was ended, and I had visited Friends, I came out
of the city to my inn again. The next day, being Second-day, we set
forward towards the borders of England.
As we travelled along the country I espied a steeple-house, and it
struck at my life. I asked what steeple-house it was, and was told
that it was Dunbar. When I came thither, and had put up at an inn, I
walked to the steeple-house, having a Friend or two with me.
When we came to the steeple-house yard, one of the chief men of the
town was walking there. I asked one of the Friends that was with me
to go to him and tell him that about the ninth hour next morning
there would be a meeting there of the people of God called Quakers;
of which we desired he would give notice to the people of the town.
He sent me word that they were to have a lecture there by the ninth
hour; but that we might have our meeting there by the eighth hour, if
we would. We concluded to do so, and desired him to give notice of it.
Accordingly, in the morning both poor and rich came; and there being
a captain of horse quartered in the town, he and his troopers came
also, so that we had a large concourse; and a glorious meeting it
was, the Lord's power being over all. After some time the priest
came, and went into the steeple-house; but we being in the yard, most
of the people stayed with us. Friends were so full and their voices
so high in the power of God, that the priest could do little in the
house, but quickly came out again, stood awhile, and then went his
way.
I opened to the people where they might find Christ Jesus, and
turned them to the Light with which He had enlightened them, that
in the Light they might see Christ who died for them, turn to Him,
and know him to be their Saviour and Teacher. I let them see that
the teachers they had hitherto followed were hirelings, who made the
gospel chargeable; showed them the wrong ways they had walked in the
night of apostasy; directed them to Christ, the new and living way
to God, and manifested unto them how they had lost the religion and
worship which Christ set up in spirit and truth, and had hitherto
been in the religions and worships of men's making and setting up.
After I had turned the people to the Spirit of God which led the holy
men of God to give forth the Scriptures, and showed them that they
must also come to receive and be led by the same Spirit in themselves
(a measure of which was given unto every one of them) if ever
they would come to know God and Christ and the Scriptures aright,
perceiving the other Friends to be full of power and the Word of the
Lord, I stepped down, giving way for them to declare what they had
from the Lord to the people.
Towards the latter end of the meeting some professors began to
jangle, whereupon I stood up again, and answered their questions, so
that they seemed to be satisfied, and our meeting ended in the Lord's
power, quiet and peaceable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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