A RELATION IN Part of what passed through a true and faithful Servant and Handmaid of the Lord, Mary Page, when she lay upon her bed of Sickness, as followeth. With an Exhortation to all Friends to wait, to dwell in the Cross of Christ Jesus, given forth by the same Spirit, though through another Vessel.
DEar Friends, we cannot but communicate part of the inlargedness of spirit which remains upon us to our great refreshing, which flowed forth in the eternal power, through the handmaid of the Lord Mary Page, Wife to William Page of Wellingborough in the County of Northampton, when she lay upon her bed of sickness at Warwick, where she had been (and then was) a Prisoner, during the space of one year, eleven moneths and upwards, for the Testimony of the Name of the Lord; which faithful Testimony she had sealed with her blood, to the joy of all that beheld her innocent passage in the power of the eternal God. Oh! Dear Friends, we can express but little of what our eyes did see, and our ears did hear of the enlargedness of the pourings forth of the Spirit of the Lord through his Handmaid; who in great power exhorted all to be faithful in abiding in the Covenant of Light, and to be truly obedient in the meek, lowly, humble, and self-denying Spirit of our Lord Jesus, that in the pure love & Righteousness of God all the dear Babes and Children of our Father might live in pure union with the Lord, and one with another, to bear a bold and faithful Testimony for the Lord, what ever become of the body, it would be well every way, both to the inward and outward man, and to the praise and glory of the Lord for ever. And many times when she ended her Exhortation, she poured forth her spirit in supplication to the Lord, with great fervency. ‘Oh! thou powerful God who is the searcher of all hearts, behold thy Handmaid, and if there be any thing that is not upright [Page 2]before thee in the heart of thy Handmaid, make it known unto me thou searcher of Hearts, for thou knowest I delight to stand approved in thy sight in all my ways; for thou art my dear Father, and hast not failed thy Handmaid in what ever thou hast called me to unto this day; but thy Presence hath attended me and comforted me through every trial, and besetment, that the enemy of my Soul hath compassed me about withal. Oh! blessed God how hast thou kept and preserved me to thy self, and through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ hath made me to trample upon the enemy of my Souls peace: Therefore, in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ doth my Soul praise thee O my God for my preservation, in the power and authority of thy spirit, to bear my faithful Testimony for thee my God, all my days untill I have finished my course in thy will, Oh Lord my strength and life for ever and ever. And dear Father look upon thy poor oppressed ones that have no life, but in thee; Oh how do they cry in the sence of their misery; Lord help o [...] we die: Oh! Lord thou knows their necessities, and their wants are not hid from thee whose Righteousness without thee is as filthy rags; therefore do they cry unto thee, nothing will satisfie them but thy presence: Oh! powerful Father raise up thy own begotten in the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, to reign over all its besetments, that the Mourner may rejoyce, and the bowed down head may be lifted up, and every hungry and thirsty Soul satisfied with the bread and water of Life, which thou freely handest forth by the hand of our Mediator Christ Jesus our Lord; not for any thing that we have done or do, but for thy own name sake, that all flesh and boasting may be laid in the dust, and all Crowns cast down before thee, that thou alone may have all the glory, whose right it is over all saith my Soul, for ever and ever: and yet notwithstanding that all we have, or receive is in thy free mercy in Christ Jesus, yet this giveth not any liberty to sin: Oh! Lord thou knowest, but rather engageth us that are born again, to abhor our selves and to stand upon our watch diligently, that the enemy may not enter with any of his wiles to cause us to abuse thy Grace and free mercies, which thou hast so freely manifested to us in the name of the Lord Jesus, when we had not any power to help our selves: therefore doth my soul with the souls of thy dear and faithful Children cry unto thee to keep us pure in thy holy power, that in meekness and true sincerity of heart we may wait upon thee, and he obedient in what ever thou calls us unto, even to the loss of Husband, or Wife, or Children, or what ever else thou requirest, if it be to the laying down of the outward man for thy glorious Truth; it will be well every [Page 3]way with all that have not any comfort or help but in thee, thou everliving God, to whom be all Glory and Honour for ever. And holy glorious Father of life, bless and preserve all thy people that make mention of thy holy and eternal truth, here and here away, and all my fellow Prisoners, with all thy suffering memb [...] every where, and my dear Husband and Children, God bless and preserve them, and take care of them; Oh! my God do well for them every way, in keeping them faithful with my own soul unto the end of our days, whether they be few or many, thy will be done. Oh! thou holy eternal God keep thy dear Children from whence I came; Oh! Lord then knows how dear they are to me, but I commit them wholly to thy care Oh my God; whom I know certainly will never fail them that are of an upright heart, and cannot be satisfied but with thy living eternal presence in the Lord Jesus, to whom I commit them all if I never see their faces in the outward any more; I know it will be well both with me and them, as we give up unto thee, to be ordered according to thy will, our little time we have here to be upon the Earth; to the glory and honour of thy great name, thou everlasting glorious Father of life, to whom alone it doth belong, saith my soul with the souls of all thy beloved and faithful Children and servants that thou hast chosen to glorifie thee, who alone is God over all blessed for ever, and for evermore.’
And when she had done, a Friend asked her how she did? She said, I am weak, but I would go home. What to thy Eternal home? She smiled and said, yea, when it pleaseth my Heavenly Father. Her tender and loving Husband being there with her drew near unto her, and she in much love stroked him on the face with her hand, when tears trickled down his cheeks; but after a little time put him from her; and Friends weeping by her, she said, give me up freely into the armes of my Heavenly Father: And she spoke no more but within a little time finished her course with joy, and laid down her body in peace near to the fourth hour in the morning the 17. day of the tenth Moneth, 1665.
We who were with her when she finished her days and are witnesses of what is here written, and of much more that passed through our dear Sister; we are much pressed in our Spirits that this might be sent amongst Friends▪ that you might be comforted as we have been very largly in the time of her weakness in the body; yet God renewed his life (we may say) hourly in her, to her great refreshment, and also to all that came about her, and [Page 4]to us who was much with her all the time she lay weak in body. Whose Names are under written,
- Bridget Nichols.
- Hanna Whitehead.
- Anne Clabin
- Elizabeth Nichols.
An Exhortation to all Friends to dwell in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
ANd I in some measure being sensible of the sore travel and deep exercises that this Handmaid of the Lord passed through with joy and a willing mind to serve the Lord in all true obedience, what ever she endured outwardly; and she hath often said that would be enough to her; and I cannot but desire that I may wait upon the Lord to finish my days in the same faithfulness, dwelling continually in the pure self-denying life; and also exhort all who have in any measure tasted of the goodness and tender mercies of our God to wait to dwell in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will lead perfectly into the way of self-denial, where for ever as we dwell and walk, we shall lay down our heads in peace in the appointed season of our God, as his dear servant and faithful handmaid hath now done.
Oh! you dear and tender ones, wait ye diligently upon the Lord, that you may feel a true growth in the same life; for I know right well it was ever the desire of the soul of the Handmaid of the Lord, who is now gone to rest with him, that all might partake of the same comforts and true refreshings that she was comforted and refreshed with; yea, and much more abundantly it hath often been her cry unto the Lord in the earnest desire of her soul and spirit, that all the Children of the Lord might be filled with his blessed eternal Presence: But dear Babes it's known unto you all, as you wait diligently upon the Lord in the light of his Son, you will see that it's through great tribulation that the Kingdom is to be entred; therefore you dear ones, let the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ be willingly taken up unto all self and every [Page 5]selfish desire: Oh! let not the cumbers of this World, nor the delights nor pleasures thereof (I dearly beseech you) hinder you of this blessed peace and large possession which is laid up in Christ Jesus our Lord, for all those who is willing to deny themselves, (mind that, we must deny our selves) and take up the Cross unto every selfish action, word and thought, and take no liberty, because the Lord is and hath been large in his loving kindness, and tender mercies unto us. Oh! let not the profession or shew, or likeness satisfie any of us, for surely that will stand in no stead, when trials come and exercises are felt on every hand; Oh! then it's known unto you my dear and tender Friends that there is nothing can then stand but what is assuredly built upon the Rock of Ages; so in tender bowels of love I entreat and beseech you let not lukewarmness be found in any of you, for that is loathsom to our God: Oh! wait, yea wait ye diligently upon the Lord; yea, watch and pray continually least at any time ye enter into temptation: Oh! the danger that there is on every hand, and the by-paths that the enemy lieth ready to lead into continually; surely when I behold them, the sight thereof makes me ready to tremble, least I should at any time be betrayed and drawn aside from the Presence of the pure God; and surely I know no other way to walk in safety, but in the daily Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will lead truly all that are willing to walk therein into the way of selfdenial, and then assuredly Friends as we are established or wait upon the Lord to be established therein, nothing can harm us. Oh! let the Cross be as dear unto us now as ever, and let not the wisdom of flesh any ways hinder us, or any thing whatsoever prevent us for walking therein. Oh! let not any thing that hath been done by any of us, suffered or passed through in any exercise or trial whatsoever for the name of our Lord Jesus and his blessed truth sake, be accounted of any value by us, for surely if it be it will stop our passage and become a great hindrance of our entrance into the Land of rest, so it's good for us all to press forward on our journey, leaving all behind as a thing of nought, that we may feel the incomes of Gods pure precious life daily, that thereby our strength may be renewed in him day by day; for as the Manna in the days of old could serve the Children of Israel no more but for the day, no more will now the feeding of the eternal food yesterday serve the true child for to day; therefore there is a [Page 6]great necessity for us to wait diligently upon the Lord to receive every day from his own hand, of the bread which never faileth, those who are willing to wait upon the Lord to feed thereon; but truly the enemy lieth so exceeding near to draw forth the mind into one thing or other, that if we keep not diligently upon our watch, that the fear and dread of the Lord God may be truly placed in our hearts and be continually before our eyes. Oh! the looseness of life yea and lightness of words and foolish actions, if liberty be taken that the enemy will draw into I can say it of a truth to the grief of my soul, but my dear and tender Friends, do but consider a little, and in the cool of the day you will hear the true birth cry, and feel it sorely grieved, because of its great oppression and great want, yea and because its ready to be famished with hunger, for surely there is not any thing that can satisfie the true child, but the streams of the love of our God which runs freely unto it, except it be damm'd from it by our yielding to the enemy of our souls peace, for want of true watchfulness to the light of the Lord Jesus, and not walking in the daily Cross; but surely its the desire of my soul that I may walk in the daily cross of our Lord Jesus Christ whilst I am, and I know it was the true desire of the soul of the servant of the Lord who is gone to rest with him, that she might all her days wait and walk therein, that she might follow the Lord in the leadings of his pure pretious life, what ever became of her body, and as for her own soul (I can say of a truth) her desires were really for all Gods dear and tender Children. Oh! you dear and tender ones the true breathings of my life is truly unto the Lord for you, as for my own soul likewise, whose breathing thirstings, and true hungrings hath been after the Lord, that they might be continued, and that we might dwell together in the true poverty of our spirits, and then our wants will be known unto the all-seeing God, and he will relieve according to every necessity, and then shall we travel on our journey with chearfulness, submitting to our God in all things, with joy and a willing mind, to bear forth our faithful testimony for him in what ever he calls unto, having our eye continually set towards him, and to know the eye to self truly put out: Oh surely Friends this is the way to eternal rest, and there's no other besides it: So ye dear and tender babes wait ye diligently to walk therein, that the Lord our God may be glorified; surely this was [Page 7]the very end for which we were called and gathered out of the pollutions of the World, that we might serve our God in truth and singleness of heart, and not that we should count the Cross of Christ of no value, or that we should return again to any manner of thing which we were gathered from, or take liberty to the flesh, or the desires or delights thereof, more then at the first, when our faces were turned toward our maker, but that the same dread and fear of the Lord should be placed in our hearts, for assuredly the Cross is the same, and the power is the same, and the Word is the same, which saith, seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof, and all other things shall be added unto you. Oh! you dear ones what need is here of having an eye to self, surely we may be willing that that should be put out, and that the Lord our God may be glorified in all that we do, and we his Children comforted, and in his dread and pure fear preserved whil'st we have a being, and then assuredly shall we lay down our heads in peace (as our dear Friend and the true Handmaid of the Lord hath done) in the appointed season of our God; so to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, where the desire of my soul is to dwell I commit my self and you all therein to walk, dwell and abide, wherein is our true safety, and our soul satisfying life poured forth abundantly, that when it is felt, we can s [...]y I know in the authority and strength of the Almighty; O man where is thy strength or power now, or what can it reach unto, surely here are we foulded up in the armes of our God, where none that seek to destroy can reach us, and as we dwell here, there's not any can touch a hair further then our God permits them; surely what ever comes to us here, it's but for the trial of our faith and patience, and then surely saith my Soul, I will dwell with my Redeemer, I will not part from him, what ever the body suffers, I will follow the Lord in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will lead me truly to deny my self, and then my God cannot deny his own as I wait singly upon him therein: So the Lord God of Heaven and Earth keep me to watch unto him, and to wait in the true and naked simplicity of my heart upon him: and you dear ones; the same breathings unto the Lord my God is for you all, that in the power and blessed authority of his own life, we may for ever be bound up together in the unity of his blessed eternal Spirit, to the Glory, Honour and Praise of the name of our God, [Page 8]and to the exalting of his pure, e [...]rnal, blessed truth, saith the Soul and Spirit of your Friend, and a Brother to all that is born or waits to be born into the pure self-denying life of our God.