For more on the life of Anne Wentworth, click here for her entry in the Biographical Summaries.

A True Account of

ANNE WENTWORTHS

Being cruelly, unjustly, and unchristianly

delt with by some of those people called

ANABAPTISTS,

OF THE

Particular opinion, and all the cause she gave,

and what she hath done.

Who would never appear in publick, but forced to declare the tender mercies

of God, and cruelty of man; that will not heart truth if it were to save her life

or soul, having tendred by all just and legal ways, but they reject and refuse

to hear her, when so weak as a dying woman.

Also her discovering the two Spirits which are in the World, and her giving

warning of what ere long will surely and suddenly come to pass.

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil

against you falsly for my Names sake.

Rejoyce, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so persecuted they

the Prophets which were before you. Mark 5. 11, 12.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Printed in the year 1676.

An Evening-Mourning hath brought a Morning-Song

of high Praises unto God alone.

Here is a case that cannot possible be brought to an end without coming into the publick view of the World, though it is so contrary unto my nature, that I would rather suffer unto death than be in any publick way; but am constrained now, & thrust out by the mighty power of God, who overpowers me, that I must no longer confer with flesh and blood, and yield to my own reason of my weakness, foolishness, and fearful slavish nature, that am daunted with a look of any terrible, fierce, angry man; and it is worse than death to me to see them, for it is as wounds and gores in my sides: But he who ruleth in the Heavens, and overpowreth all flesh, and can subdue Kings, and turn the hearts of all men as he doth the Rivers of water; the Lord of Life, the great Jehovah, he hath been stirring me up, and provoking me above this 6 months to do this, with a promise that he will go before, and allay all my enemies for me, and bids me not fear, neither be dismayed at so great a multitude, but put on the whole armor of God, the shield of Faith, and Helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; and being girt about with truth, fight a good fight of Faith, with this promise, that he which overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my Son, which includes daughters as well as sons: Which now will be tried whether I be a daughter of the seed of Abraham, a true child of God, born from above, and then all the promises belong to me, as well as to all his children; And except we be born again we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Nothing of moral virtues, or honest just dealings with men, or any thing of our own righteousness, or civil education, will give us admittance there; nor no manner of form of Religion, without the power, light and life of holiness and truth in the inward parts, without being washed in the blood of the Lamb Christ Jesus, and purged and cleansed from all our filthiness, and have that pure and undefiled Religion, we are nothing accepted with God; therefore it doth behove us to examine our hearts, and try our ways, and turn unto the Lord; and know whether God be in us of a truth, or no, and to redeem the time, because the days are few and evil that we have here to live: And the time is short, and eternity long, either eternal joys, or eternal flames. When we have all acted our part upon the stage, then out of the World we must be gone; and if we have not been true labourers in Christ’s Vineyard, walking in truth, and making our call and election sure here, then it will be sad with us there, where there is no returning back again, nor no remembrance of him in the grave: The living they praise thee, the dead cannot, and God will not be mocked, but whatsoever we sow, that shall w reap, and be rewarded according to the deeds in the flesh; for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil, Eccles. 12.14. And to take up any profession of Religion, or walk in any form without the power of truth, and speak with the tongue of men and Angels, and have not Charity, it is but as sounding Brass, or a tinking Cymbal; and if we give all our goods to the poor, and our bodies to be burned, and have not Charity, it profiteth us nothing. And what this gift of Charity is, all may read, in I Cor. Chap. 13. and see how far most are wanting in this excellent gift of Charity, and how few minds the Scriptures in the spiritual meaning thereof, or are able to understand them: or how can we be except we have the same Spirit to unfold them, and give us to understand, or else they are as a sealed Book, for the Letter killeth, but the Spirit quickeneth and maketh alive, and for want of the Spirit of God, to open this Sealed Book, makes so many false interpreters of them, and many resisting them to their own Destruction; that never had the Spirit, the Anointing of the holy one, which teacheth us all things, who can inable us to do all things; and without him nothing at all as we out for without the Spirit of God be in us, of a truth, that teacheth us to deny all ungodlyness, and worldly Lusts, and Pleasures, and Vanitys therof, and lead us into all truth; we are Blind, Miserable, and Naked, and the Scripture saith some may be Preachers to others, and yet themselves cast away, and this is sure that all the World is in this State, either Sinners or Saints, Believers or unbelievers, in Christ or out of Christ; for betwixt these there is no medium or middle State, it is not minded that profession we put on, and what People we walk with, but have we put on Christ, and walk with him, and our Garments Clean, unspotted, from the Pollution of the World, for though there be thousands and millions of People, and many sorts of Professors crying up, Lo here is Christ, and lo there, and all ready to say Christ is in us, the hop of Glory, and we are his People, the Church of Christ, is Christ divided, how can this be, when he and his Church are but one, his beloved Spouse is Ingrafted, Knit, and Joyned unto him, all his Saints and he are one, and cannot be separated or undone, and all sorts of Religion or people whatever, yet there is but two Spirits in the World, nor never was, nor never will be, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the Devil, the good Spirit, and the bad, the Children of Light, & the Children of Darkness, & let us all profess that we will, yet we are one of these that hath either the good or evil Spirit in us, either Children of Light, or Children of Darkness; and Christ saith many are called and few are chosen, and his flock is a little flock, few in number, a small remnant, and Strait is the Gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life, and few doth find it, in comparison of the great multitude that goes the broad way, yet he hath reserved unto himself many thousands that hath not bowed the knee to Baal; but these two Spirits that was from the beginning will remain to the end of the World, and they were always at War one with another, being set against each other, but Satan rages most when his time is short, being now upon his last Legs, and will be Chained up ere long for a time, and half a time: now he hath made war to purpose with all the Strength he can, to fight against light and truth, in a weak, Foolish, despised nothing, a worm of no might or strength, but in him who is my Lord and Master, and Law-giver, the great Jehovah, my King, who sees how truth is fell in the street and equity cannot enter, and it despiseth him to see men trample upon truth, a wound and bruise my heel, and now he will raise truth up more bright to break their Head, they have kicked against the Pricks, and burthened themselves with a burthensome Stone, so they would not bare at first, but tread so hard upon it, and truth as a Cammamile grows so strong to overcome them all at last, for what is so strong as truth, dying men are not, for they are rotten reeds, and shall wither as the grass, and be soon cut off, but truth liveth and abideth for ever; now they have tryed all their strength and done all they can, they are lighter then Vanity, and will appear as they are, but dying, angry Men.

I shall give a brief and short account as possible may be, of the reason of the Publication of this, and absolute necessity for it, and could not be avoided, if it had been a thing that could possible a been ended in private, then it should never become publick by any will of mine, if men were not so out of all reason; as I find some not to be satisfied, with all my yielding my Body, to lay that as the ground, and as the street for them to go over, yet that will not satisfie nor content them, as now they have proved it themselves, unless my Soul bow down also unto them, which can never be done to satisfie man, I am contented to yield up my Life, but the Life of my Soul, that precious Jewel is kept in my Fathers Hand, and it is not possible to pluck it out of my Father’s hand, that to struggle and wrastle with me, to spend my Life out it is in vain, when my Soul is set upon the Rock, and that they can never gain, but Soul oppression is far greater then Bodily oppression, that it can be no longer born to blind the Spirit of God too hard and long, makes it a last break out into a flame: by this all may understand here is a matter of war in hand between these two Spirits, and I must confess all the cause I gave, and what I have done, and how this war begun, and how it came to rise so high, and grow so hot, that it cannot be ended or taken up in private, but must come into the open field of the World to be tryed and sought out, and all see whether truth or men be strongest, and which the Victory got. The ground and rise of all this sprung from a work that I have done, which I must confess, and never deny it, but utterly deny it to be any will of my own, but was commanded of God my Father to declare his goodness, and exalt his name alone, and make his power and Faithfulness known how he is a God gracious and Merciful, hearing the crys and Prayers of the destitute and afflicted, and all his chosen elect ones he will own, but this was not for the honour of Man, that it could not be born nor never will by any unregenerate one, that knows not what it is to be born again, but are yet in their Sin, but they have helped to purge it well and make it grow, that all the seed of Abraham, the Spiritual inlightened Saints will receive it, and what Spirit it is writ with they will discern and know, the work tends only to give an account of my Faith, and the hope that is in me, to whomever shall ask me, and speak the way: the Lord led me in a wilderness of affliction for many years, to humble me, and prove me, and see what was in my Heart, and to do my Soul good, and declare my great and wonderful experience of the appearance of God and his Mercys to me from time to time, and to give him the Praise who is worthy of all praise honour and glory for ever and ever more: this is the substance of what I have suffered and been persecuted for, which may seem incredible at the first reading, how could any suffer for such a thing, but have but patience to read a little further, and then you will see how truth will answer you, for if truth did not stand in the gap, I durst not appear in publick, when my potent enemys and persecuting adversarys are yet alive, and may disprove me if I speak not truth, but I have nothing but truth to face them with, and can put it to all their Consciences, whether I did ever give them any cause to be angry or offended with me before this work begun, or since, but all what from it sprung, and the reason why it did so highly offend and disturb them, I could no way help, for though they could not bare truth, yet the Lord would have me speak truth, and the more they dashed at it, and beat the poor weak instrument for it, the more the Lord of Life, who was the Agent, confirms it, and in the close now gives his reasons why he would have this work done, and chose such a week, foolish, despised Woman as I, and to satisfie all strangers that may read this, why it was so great a sore to professing men, in speaking the way as the Lord led me, and declaring my experience as he taught me, and required to have recorded by me for the honour and glory of his own name, this lay in the way as the stumbling stone to give offence to man for all my afflictions, sorrow, suffering, heart-breaking grief was from my nearest Relation, and being an Anabaptist Church-member they fall upon me, and could not bear the truth to be spoke of their Brother, when the Lord knew he was that before he called and commanded me to do this work, and had took up that form of Religion before we were married to each other; and I know nothing to the contrary, but that he may be their Brother who do so freely own him, he being a moral honest, just-dealing man as any of them, and no disparagement to none to say he is an honest, just-dealing man; for is not moral and honesty and formality, the top and height of most professers of Christianity: I do not say all, nor judge none, but wish the most may not be found so, and by report, all are not come up so far as my Husband is; for I know no gross sin that he is addicted too, nor never heard he was before he took up that form of Religion, to wash his body in water, the outside of the cup and platter, which stood in the least need, when his soul was never yet washed from the filth of his inbred natural corruption; but the same spirit he brought into the World with him, yet remains to this day, and he keeps that as his dellilah and pleasing delight, to satisfy himself in all his won will, without being born again; for I dare be bold to affirm that he never yet knew the new birth, the life of the new man; nor they must be no Saints or Christians in deed and in truth, nor know the new birth themselves, if they take him to be one that is born again, and examine but his carriage to a Wife this 23 years, not his carriage to the World before men, for that is fair enough: but what is it in secret, that God hath seen all along, and is angry at: and all the hopes I have, that the Lord doth this out of love to his soul, because he follows him so close, seeing so stout an Oxe and strong Leviathan, that cannot be bended with less, no smaller cords will bind so lofty an high spirit, to put an hook in this tongue, and bore his jaw, and if the Lord should by this open his blind eyes, and soften his hard heart, and humble his proud spirit, and bring him down to the foot of God, that he may find mercy, and his soul live, and not die, when I shall not be an unfaithful for obeying the voice of my heavenly Husband, in answering his call, and submitting to his will, after I had spent out all my natural strength of body in obedience to satisfy the unreasonable will of my earthly Husband, and laid my body as the ground, and as the street for him to go over 18 years together, and keep silent, for thou O Lord did’st it, and afflicted me less than I deserved, and now the Lord sees my Husband hath as much need of this as I had of his so great a scourge and lash to me: it is as meet, and needful, and necessary for him, if he belong to God, as his natural appointed food; and I can shew no greater love to his soul than in being faithful to God and his Word, and keep his Commandments; for what love is this for his brethren to blind his eyes, and harden his heart against God and his Word, and to encourage and heighten his spirit, which needed none, and to help forward with my affliction: but I pray God to forgive them, for they have done they know not what: and I have so much love for him, that I wish his soul as well as my own, and would rather see him a convert, a new man, if I begg’d my bread with him, than to see him made Lord Mayor of London, and remain with this spirit; for I had better be a Coblers wife of a mild meek nature, and have the spirit of God in him, and knows the life of the new man, than to be the greatest mans wife in the world, of such a terrible spirit, and put on a form of Religion for a cloak to hide it from the world, which too many take up for a cover-flut.

I think it meet to give a short account how I come to do this work, which did occasion such a stir about me to afflict me for it, that all strangers may be made to enquire into it, and know what it is; after 18 years I had been my Husbands wife, and (indecipherable word) consumed to skin and bone, a forlorn sad spectacle to be seen, unlike a woman; for my days had been spent with sighing, and my years with crying, for day and night the hand of the Lord was heavy upon me, and my moisture was turned into the drought of Summer. When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long, having a Hectiff Fever, which came by so great oppression, and sorrow of heart; and wanting vent, and smothering it so long in my own brest, grew so hot, and burnt so strong, that I was past all cure of man, and given over by them, and lay at the points of death, being bowed together my infirmity of 18 years, and could, in no wise lift up my self: then at that inch and nick of time the great Physitian of value came, the good Samaritan passing by, and seeing me lye wounded, and bleeding to death, even as it were a last gasp: then he spake as he did to the woman, Luke 13.11. and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity; and he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God: and I was as immediately restored as she; but men will not suffer me to glorify God, though I am commanded of God so to do: but they persecute for it, and wound and pierce me again for making mention of his name, and oft and many a time since by their violent misusing and abusing of me, brought me to the gates of death, and laid me as one dead and slain, for bearing my witness for him: but now at their door will it lye for stopping my mouth, and quenching of the spirit, and so afflicting me, ready to dye when I should magnify the name of Jesus, that in his name, through faith in his name, yea the faith which is by him, gave me perfect soundness in the presence of you all; and this was not done in a corner, neither am I a stranger in London, but in and about the City an hundred that were eye-witness, that knew my body was so, but there is a greater witness in Heaven; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and these three are one; who knows how all that weakness came, and why it could not be cured by man, and I was not raised up for naught by such a powerful hand, nor for this end, that my Husband and his Brethren should always afflict and oppress me, and abuse me at their pleasure, and not suffer me to speak of the things of God; and for any other discourse, I am very low of speech, and they binding me from that, I am as a silent woman: but how their ways have pleased God in so doing, and how he hath accepted and liked of all they have said and done in so sore afflicting me, since the time of my healing the third of January 1670. since which time this work begun, at which time he called me to come and follow him: and as sure as he is God, and I his little one, and as sure as he did heal and raise me up at that time, and set me to do this work without any will of my own, so sure will that same King Jesus, who was crucified upon the Cross, that poured oil into my wounds, and joy and gladness into my heart, and light and life into my soul: He it is, I say, that will bring it to light in the face of the world, he will make it known how he is angry at what he sees was done, and men sheathing their swords in my bowels, and wound me so deep after he had healed up my wounds: for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known: and now there is no way but one, it cannot be avoided, there is no help for it, but it will come to the Worlds hearing, without you can blot out of those words, Luke 12. 2. 3. for the decree is gone forth and cannot be reversed, nor called back what the God of all wisdom is now resolved to do, and of his own good will hath revealed, and set such a poor unworthy despised worm as I know by going down into the deeps, and entring into the sanctuary of the Lord, and crying mightily unto my God with a loud and bitter, lamentable voice to know his end, and there he gave me to understand, that I wish all pride, covetousness, vanities, pleasures of the world, scorn and contempt, false accusing, and fierce despising might be all laid aside: and now another spirit be found that would consider and lay it to heart: and fall to mourning and weeping, and great lamentations in City and Countreys for the great abominations that brings down judgments upon our heads, and brings to desolation, and prepare to meet the Lord in his fiery tryal, and fierce indignation, which shortly and suddenly will come, which I could tell what it is, and how I come to know what the Lord Jesus will do, and the reason why he is so highly provoked to come forth in anger; but because there is so great a despising and setting me at naught, and not at all understanding me aright, and I hasting to be as short as I can in this paper, I shall now forbear: but whoever hath any thing to accuse me of, or say against me before that time of my healing, there is none that can or will say more against me than I will confess and speak against my self; and since that time of my close retiring with the Lord, and suffering persecution, I will leave it unto him to speak for me, which in time he will make manifest unto the World, having neighbours and others can speak: I am not a woman spending my time in the pleasures and vanities of the World, and what my manner of life and conversation is, that is seen and known; and if the Lord spare my life a little longer, he will enable me to give sufficient proof to the world, that all and every word these my persecutors hath spoken against me since the beginnings of this work, it all sprung from that evil spirit which is the Father of lies, and was so from the beginning: for their saying I was deceived, and deluded, and full of notions, whimsies, and self-will, and under an hour of temptation, and all this, and a great deal more they said will all be found false, and no truth in it; for they might as well accused Abigail for saying her Husband was a churlish Nabal, and folly was with him, and have reproved Moses for writing that King Pharaoh was an oppressing King: what, will Moses disgrace a King, such great men of honour! and what, must Joseph speak of his brethren to dishonour them: will any discover a Haman that sure was a man of great parts, being so in favour with the King, and a poor Mordecai that wore sack-cloath, and none regarded shall be advanced: How can any proud man upon earth bear such a thing: but let all esteem of my Husband as he is a moral honest man, full of blind zeal, and hath the gift of his tongue, a man very fit for business and employment in this World; for he will not cheat or cosen any man, but if any call him a Saint, they bring a woe upon themselves, for woe unto them which call good evil, and evil good: and if he be a Saint, then I am a Devil, and all as he and his brethren faith, and then all they have done is well don, and the great Judge of Heaven and Earth, who knows all hearts, he will decide this, and pass sentence which he is most pleased with, and which he most accepts of , whether my work or their words and actions, for both do not please God, but one is condemned already, and he will cast out of his sight in the open field for the World, for that Book which I have suffered so deeply for, and was laid to my charge as a great heinous crime, to be all of my own wristing, and so it is,; but not at all of my own inditing, nor no mans help; and who the Author if it hath been tried, and comes now to be seen what descent it had, and who is the Father of it, that this large compass they have fetched in going about some years tormenting and afflicting me for it, and ends nothing is now brought into so short a cut, that all is ended in two words, that is in proving whether this was begun of God or the Devil, for one it was: and some said long ago they were sure it was begun of the Devil, and no doubt but it was of the Devil, and being he was so sure, and made no doubt of it, and now must he prove what he said, or else it will be proved that it was begun of God, and Satan hath made war against it ever since, and though it begun in much weakness, yet it will end in full strength, that the evil one shall not be able to overcome, for a child is not a man as soon as he is born, he cannot walk and talk as soon as ever he enters into the World, but gradually by degrees grows up to maturity, and at last becomes a man, so it is with a child of God that is employed in any work or service for the Lord, as they do not receive all their strength at first, but gradually, as they were able to bear, for every promise of God must be fulfilled, and he saith those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, and grow stronger and stronger; so this shall be the proof of it, whether it were begun of God or no, by the standing and growth of it, when the rain descended, and floods came, and the winds blew, and beat hard upon it, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock, and these great showers were as seasonable as rain upon my new mown-grass, to make it grow effectually, for the honour, and glory, and praise of God for ever more, to exalt his name, and make his power known: But no honour to oppressing Kings, and proud Hamans, no honour to any formal professing men, still all this time what they strugled so hard for, they have not got their will: Now whoever reads this, you may understand here is a Book of a week, foolish, despised womans writing, that she hath suffered and been persecuted night unto death oft and many a time for it, even to the Gates of death, not expecting to live, that its no less than a miracle that I am alive, or in my senses; when Solomon saith oppression will make a wise man mad, and yet such oppression above measure, so weak a worm I must bear, that the name of God might be magnified in feeling so great a power, and keeping me close unto himself, and preserving me in my sensed under so cruel oppression and great rage of man as I did appear, that whoever doth enquire into the truth of this case, and know my weakness, and how I was used, will say it was great indeed, and admire the power of God when they do hear: and whoever thou art that reads this, if thou be a Christian, or desirest to be one: if thou hast any love to God at all, or desirest to love God above all: if thou desirest with all thy heart to love, fear, and serve the Lord, and to be born again, and know the life of the new man, that thou mayest have eternal joys for evermore in Heaven; then do not dye unregenerate, or give thy self rest untill thou enquire and understand the true cause, the rise and bottom of all this, and come to see what the end of God is, and what he is about to do, who will act all his own pleasure, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who sitteth in the Heavens and rules the Nations, and all men are but as a drop of a bucket before him, and that he is a God that hath all power in his hand, he will have the world know; and be not now fleety in despising me, and deceive your own selves by thinking either moral honesty, or formality, or any thing of our own righteousness, or going as far as the five foolish Virgins, just to Heavens Gate, and yet could not enter into eternal bliss. O, great is the mystery of godliness, and new considereth or layeth it to heart, though all would have Heaven at the end, yet not willing to part with earth, or any dellilah, or beloved lust, few striving to enter in at the strait gate, as if Heaven were not worth suffering or taking pains for, but might be easily got; and I fear many are split upon that rock of formal profession which they rest and content themselves in, and had better never a known, without the power of truth, light and life of holiness; for I can speak by sad experience, for 20 years being a dark, blind, formal professor, what a dry, barren soul I had; and yet thought I was as zealous, and strong, formal professor as any; and for 7 or 8 years a formal Church-member, eat up with blind zeal, and my soul starve for hunger and hear hath been blind formality acted to purpose, to the top and height of it; for if they had been spiritual enlighten’d ones, they would have searched out the matter to have known whether it were truth or no I spoke, and not have fallen upon me as they have done; if they had been of that pure Religion, and undefiled, as the Apostle James speaks of, and have had their eye of Faith open, they would a scorned to have wronged and abused me so, had they been Christians in deed and in truth, really born from above of that holy seed, they would rather a torn their own flesh than pierced and wounded me so deep, when I had been for 18 years such a woman of sorrow, and acquainted with grief, and from man could have no relief; but the Lord Jesus, who see all my sorrow, and heard all my cry, seeing me bleeding to death, of his own good will took pity and healed up my wounds, and would not let me dye, and when he lays his commands upon me to declare his goodness, and make his power known for the honour and glory of his own name: But because man could not have honour no more than King Pharaoh, they fall to wounding, piercing, and sore oppressing me again. O, was ever such a thing heard or read, that professing men should use a (???) weak woman so, that had been spent out with sorrow, and almost dead, and give them no other cause than speaking truth, and obeying the voice of God, who knew I had been 18 years under as hard a task-master as ever the children of Israel were, and had cried as hard unto God as ever they did, and they were not more spent out with sorrow than I was, and may so without any offence to God, that Pharoahs heart was never more hard than some that are the Anabaptist Church members; and because the Lord brings this to light, his brethren have given me an ill reward, therefore I must enjoyn and engage all Saints that reads this, as they love God, his way and truth, and would promote the purity of the Gospel, and have Jerusalem become the praise oft he whole earth, and Zions walls to be built, and light and truth ushered in, and King Jesus sit upon Mount Sion, that they will not give themselves rest until they have enquired out the truth of all this, being enough yet living to speak that knew both my Husband and me from our youth, and are no strangers to both our natural tempers: And speak now all friends and foes all the worst and every thing you know, spare not, but speak all you can that have against me in all that time of 40 years of my life before my healing, and when you have spoke all you can that you can, I will not justify my self in none, but confess and speak more against my self than any one else will or can when they have all done: and let now Thomas Hicks and William Dix draw up their Bill, and all the rest of my Husbands brethren what it is they have to charge me with of all they have against me in misbehavior in life and conversation, or neglect of my duty to their Brother, in not obeying of him from the first day of my Marriage unto the day of my healing, compleat 18 years the third of January, 1670. For whatever any have to charge me with, must be in that time, for what hath been said or done to me since, will not help them at all, for the same Jesus which healed and raised me up from the grave, the same Isreal’s God, which is m Lord and my God, he will reprove them to their faces, that since that time, in all they have said and done, he doth except of none, and in all that time of all my sorrow and suffering, some of these that now rise up to own my Husband for their Brother, and so abuse me, I never had heard on them before: therefore all Saints consider this, and do not neglect your duty, but know whether I speak truth or no, and be sure to answer the mind of God, to inform your selves of all the cause I gave, and of all I had done, and how it was with my soul and body, and what was my condition why my Husband brought three men to me that did fright, and amaze, and astonish me to see, knowing no cause I gave them, nor what I had done more than his work to make them come and whet their tongues as sharp swords, and their teeth as spears and arrows, and distress my Soul so by speaking things so false, and laying things to my Charge, I knew not the least Sin in offending God, no more then the Child unborn, but I do confess I did highly offend man, as ever did proud Haman when he could not bring his wicked design to pass, to destroy all the Seed of the Jews, and nothing they said or laid to my charge but what lay against this Work, therefore this day came, the 13. of February 1673. Did the Lord cast this thing between them and me, which said truth was one, and who did the wrong, and who he was most pleased with, and how he liked of what was done, and if I be his little one he will me own, and this unto the World make known, for he will as soon deny himself to be God, as such a thing to hide: for there was either the truest piece of Hypocrisie, Formality, and Idolatry, which was abominable in the sight of God, that he will set up standards for the World to see how his anger was kindled then, and ere long he will blow it up into a Flame, so as all Formality and Hypocrisie shall tast and fill, and for it smart (???) for such formal acting, to would and pierce me so deep to the Heart, and be so blind to take the wrong side, to set against the weak Woman that could hardly Live, only strong in the Lord, and to take the part of such a man that had so high a lofty Spirit, that the Lord was angry with, and reproving him for being such a terrible oppressing King to rule so over a Wife, and bow her so low down, and when she is called to follow God, to exalt his Name, then so many of his Brethren fall to afflict me, and deal so unjustly, and bring me before their Church, and proceed as far against me as they can to blind his Eyes, and harden his Heart, and double my task; to be sure that God is no more pleased at all with this, then he was with King Pharoah, we will let them know at last, for though I have been made drunken with affliction, but not with Wine, yet now the Lord hath taken out of mine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of his fury, that I shall no more drink it again, but he will put it into the hand of them that hath afflicted me, and said to my Soul, bow down, that we may go over, and was not content that I had laid my Body as the ground and as the street to them that went over, read the 3 last verses of Isaiah 51. And see now if any thing of scorn and contempt of me can keep of or prevent what the Lord of Life, the King of glory will do, let your Bill of charge you draw up against me, be as big as you will, if it be not made before the year 1670. then I need not fear or care; being here is a Bill of charge drawn up against all you hath had a hand in afflicting and dealing with me since 13 of February 73. that you are called to answer before the great Judge, before whom we must appear at the great Judgment day, to give an account of all the deeds done in the flesh, whether good or evil, and he is judge whether I have wronged you, or you have wronged me; who knows every thing, even the thoughts of the Heart, he doth see, and here is a charge he writes against you, the want of the gift of Charity, and since February 73. Charges you with Labouring with all your might and strength to force my Conscience, and would make a rape of my Soul, to have it bow down to you, and is unsatisfied as the horsleach with al my Bodily sufferings, that doth not content you to see that lost, but still faith five, you would have my Soul lost also: you must throw me into so deep a Pit, that the Lord might bring me with double advantage out of it, you must make the Fiery Furnace seven times more hot to Purge a way all filth and dross, and make more pure Gold for others to see no hurt my Soul got, for the Son of God hath been with me all this while, that Men and Devils cannot my Soul beguile, you must shut me up in Prison ‘in a Lions Den, that I might have all my food send down from Heaven, and now I have for 6 Months been hid as one out of the World, and with Manna seed, and seen such wonders in the deep, that I must no more return into the World again, but close unto God keep, and forbid any coming at me, but such as come in Love, and are comfortable refreshing Company, for uncomfortable ones I have had enough, and desire no more knowledg of their ways, but shake off the dust of my feet against them, and my peace shall return to me again, and let me not see no more of the Faces of my Persecuting Enemys, but let them labour all to get to Heaven through that strait and narrow gate which leadeth to Life, but come no more at me, they having left such a sting of the Serpent behind, and made my wounds so deep, that I must carry them to my Grave then blame me because I cannot see, and let them but stay away until they have broken down that wall of defence, which is set as walls and bulwarks for to defend me from them that hath fought so hard against me without a cause, let them now break that down which made all this stir, and wholly destroy it root and branch, from the beginning to the ending, by proveing it not to be of God, and when they have done so, they shall not need to come to me, but I will make hast to go to them, to learn the way to Heaven; and in the mean time trouble me no more, but keep their Brother, and in their form make much one of another, until the Lord comes forth with a Shout of his Voice, to give their forms such a shakes as will break them all to Pieces, and set them to War one with another, Oh all Nations, fear and dread this great God of Heaven, who can quickly fend his Judgments down upon our heads, and except ye return and repent he will quickly come to do such a thing as never yet was done, all may be satisfied that I have no counsel of Man or agony Creature upon Earth, for I know no Man that is willing that God should Plead my cause, or that the Lord should discover Proud, Impious, hard hearted Men, and lay open Hypocrisie and formality, and look upon a poor weak despised Woman, that is trampled under the feet of men, rather then God should do such a thing to own a Woman and disgrace a Man, they would rather have her Soul and Body lost and damned to all Eternity, as they have proved it themselves in what they have done to me: If all Professors had been Saints, when such a work could never a been, nor if there were no dark formal ones, there would have been none to a warred against that which is for the Honour of God, but not for the honour of Man, to exalt the name of God, and abase proud man to stain the glory of all Flesh, for he will not give his glory unto another, and this is for the hour of God to declare his goodness, and make his power and faithfulness known, that he hath pleaded the cause of a poor desolate, despised woman against Men and Devils, he hath prevailed with the high and mighty one that saw all her sorrows, and heard her Crys when men was mad, and against her railed, who pleads the cause of his own elect, that cry unto him day and night, he hath accepted her mourning, and heard the voice of her roaring, and her prayers, sighs, and groans ascended up to heaven for a memorial before him, O all Saints be glad and rejoyce with me, when you hear how the great Jehovah hath turned my mourning into singing, Hallelujah, all honour, glory, and praise, might, and dominion, be for ever and ever more unto him given, not unto man, but unto God alone, for ever more, Amen.

What the God of all wisdom will do, for now it is too late when the decree is gone forth and cannot be reversed, that no railing or fearce despising, or any more hard usage of me will not prevent, no nor all the men in the world cannot hinder or stop what the God of Heaven, the great and mighty Judge of Heaven and Earth is purposed to do, and of his own good will hath revealed, & let such an unworthy poor despised worme as I know, and do not now deceive your selves, to suppose that he is coming to give peace on earth, for I tell you nay, but rather division, for he saith, I am come to send fire on earth, and what will I if it be already kindled, Luke 12.49. It is already kindled, but how will you bear his hottest wrath, if you be not prepared with your loins girded about with truth, and your lights burning, and ye your selves like unto men that wait for the Lord when he will return from the Wedding, that when he commeth, and knocketh, ye may open unto him immediately, for blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching, verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth, and serve them, and if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants, Luke 12. 36, 37, 38. Be ye therefore ready, for the Son of man cometh at an hour when we think not on, as a thief in the night, and no man knoweth the day and hour but the Father only; but he will come in an hour when we are not aware of, therefore let us all prepare to meet the Lord lest he cut us in sunder, and appoint us our portion with the unbelievers, where there will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth: Let us rather fell all, and part with our own righteousness, and all our own wisdom, and become a fool for Christ, and be nothing in our own eyes, but poor, empty, hungry beggers, that so he may fill us with that hid treasure in the Heavens, that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth, for where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also, a portion in heaven is worth ten thousand worlds, to have a stock of grace there in that heavenly Country, is better than the richest Merchant here, if we have not laid up indurable riches there which never fadeth away, but abideth for ever: this doth not come to the view of the World with eloquence of speech, nor any artificial dress, but in plainness of speech, in its own Mothers tongue, not sew forth and adorned with the wisdom of men, for I have no help of any creature to advise me herein, no none but the great Creator for my Counsellor and Teacher, being willing to spend and be spent for Christ so he may be but all in all, and I nothing at all, if he be honoured, and I abased, he alone exalted, and all flesh laid low and abased before him, who is King of all the Saints, and that light, and truth, and purity of the Gospel may break forth and thine yet more and more abundantly, until Jerusalem become the praise of the whole earth, and he sit upon Mount Sion, and rule the Nations as with a rod of Iron, so he gain, though I lose, if his Kingdom increase, and Satans Kingdom decrease, I have my end, who am given as a thank-offering unto him, to walk in his Laws, and keep his Statutes, and to abide in his Courts for ever and evermore, Amen.

ANNE WENTWORTH

From the house of my abode this ten years in Kings-Head Court in White-Cross-Street near Cripple-Gate. Writ and ended in my retirements between God and my self all alone, June 26. 1676.