WHEREAS the Bap­tists had a Letter of mine in their Hands, which some Years past I sent to one John Wright, which hath been lately printed and cryed about the Streets; and the Publisher of the said Letter hath taken the Liberty at the Time of printing it to add the following Lines of his own in the Front of it, Viz.

[Page 2] ‘A Letter from John Hammett to John Wright, giving an Account why John John Hammett turned from the Baptists to the Quakers; also why he turned back again: Wherein are discovered the Devices and Temptations of the Devil. Published from his own Hand Writing, for a Caution and Information to all unsteady Professors.’

Though I don't determine what Designs the publisher of the said Letter had, in inventing and publishing this Addition, but rather choose to submit the Conside­ration of it to others; yet I shall venture to say, that the Addition it self is in seve­ral Respects very unfair, and in Fact an absolute Falshood; for the Letter to which the above mentioned Addition refers, gives not the least Account why I turned from the Baptists to the Quakers, and why I turned back again, as the Publisher in his Addition so possitively affirms it to do: Neither was there any such thing in Reali­ty; for I had not turn'd to, or join'd with the Quakers till some Years after the writing of the said Letter: Neither did I ever turn back again to the Baptists, or had any Inclination so to do, since I turned to, [Page 3] or joined with the People called Quakers.

And though the said Letter is now pub­lished almost Six Years since the Date of it, as may be seen by the Letter it self, yet those who read the said Addition (who are not acquainted with my present Stati­on) will readily conclude, from the Man­ner of it, that at the Time of its publica­tion I was with the Baptists, (as when the said Letter was written;) and if so, the Conclusion must be, that I publish'd the said Letter and Addition my self; when­as at the time of the Publication of the said Letter, and some Years before, I was separated from the Baptists, and joined to the People called Quakers.

And tho' I am not angry with the Bap­tists upon Account of the said Letters being published, nor upon any other Account whatsoever, but sincerely desire their Sal­vation, and have always behaved my self like a peaceable Christian towards them; yet I think a modest Defence of my self, when I apprehend my self so much obli­ged to it, can't but be excusable: And therefore I shall farther endeavour so to do, by publishing the Relation following; wherein I intend in a brief Manner, to set forth how I came to withdraw from the Baptists Communion: and how I was pre­vailed [Page 4] upon to join with them again; also how I came to separate my self from them, and join my self to the People called Quakers.

After I had been in Communion with the Baptists for almost twenty Years, and my self with the rest of my Brethren be­ing as zealous for supporting and main­taining the outward Figures now common­ly practiced, as the Jews were for the Ceremonies of Moses, and also as censori­ous against all those who conformed not exactly to us, as they were against their Fellow Christians who conformed not to them, at length it pleased God to put it into my Mind to enquire into my spiri­tual State; and an Eye was opened in me to see, that notwithstanding my zealously pleading for, and diligently performing those outward Symbols, yet according, to their proper Nature, they brought forth only an outward, lifeless Religion, and pro­ved far from being the Means of inward spiritual Grace, as they are generally cal­led and esteemed to be: Also I came to apprehend, that the Spirit of Christ is the only Means of inward and spiritual Grace. And when I came thus far to my self, and to the Exercise of my Spiritual Senses, I clearly discern'd, that for a long Time I had been feeding on the barren Mountains of a formal, lifeless Religion, and upon [Page 5] the Prodigal's Husks, that could not fill his Belly nor mine; the Apprehension whereof brought a great Concern and Ex­ercise upon my Spirit, greatly desiring to attain to a more inward spiritual Religion, whereby I might be made a true and ex­perimental Witness of the saving Work of Grace, and of the Offices and Performances of Christ which I had read of in the Scrip­tures; and that my Soul might be brought into Union and Communion with God, and be daily fed and nourished with the Bread and Water of Life, and to enjoy the Ma­nifestation of the Life giving Presence of Jesus Christ, &c. Then I enquired into the outward Institutions, (that is,) whe­ther they were substantial Things in them­selves, and of a durable Nature, or whe­ther they were originally intended figura­tively to guide the Minds of People to the more inward spiritual Dispensation of the Gospel, and then to expire in Point of Obligation, like the legal Ceremonies; and I came to this Conclusion, that the latter was intended: And this I well re­member, that as I grew less outward and formal, I grew more inward and spiritual, and experienced a more near Acquaintance with God; whereby I began to be weaned from these outward Performances. And not enjoying that spiritual Life and Satis­faction among the Baptists which I desir'd [Page 6] and longed for, I was constrained to with­draw from them. And some Time after, as I was considering where I might find a People amongst whom I might enjoy what I wanted, it pleased God to encline my Mind towards the Quakers, and ac­cordingly I went two or three Times to their Meeting: And when the Baptists understood that I was enclining towards the Quakers, they came often to visit me, and some of them, I must confess, treated me with a tender Spirit; but the Generality of them carryed themselves far otherwise; for they were almost continu­ally filling my Ears with the Sound of my being led away by Satan, and that those inward Workings were nothing but diabo­lical Delusions; also often repeating and applying to me abundance of the most dreadful Denunciations in the Scriptures, and representing the Quakers in several Respects to be a delusive, erronious Peo­ple. By this Means I was brought into great Confusion; for when I look'd to­wards the Quakers, who I was sensible made a more religious and spiritual Ap­pearance than any others, my Mind and Affections inclined towards them; but the many Prejudices which I was filled with against them, together with the heavy [Page 7] Cross that I must unavoidably take up, and the frightful mountainous Difficulties that lay in my Way, greatly discouraged me from going forward; whereupon I was afraid to go to their Meetings, or much to enquire into their Principles: And when I look'd back on the Baptists, I consider'd that I had been in Unity with them almost twenty Years, and during all that time there arose no Difference be­tweeen them and me; which I found had begotten a great Affection towards them: And on the other Hand I dreaded to make them my Enemies, who had so long been my Friends; whereupon I found a great Difficulty to separate my self wholly from them, and join my self to the Quakers, with whom I never had any religious Ac­quaintance; whereupon I drew to this Conclusion, neither to go to the Meetings of the Baptists or Quakers, and knew not but that I should spend the Remainder of my Days in this lonesome separate State: And being brought into many Dif­ficulties in several Respects, I began to be weary of my Life, and especially when I found my Mind inclining toward the Qua­kers; insomuch that those divine Draw­ings became more terrible than Death it self. Sometimes I feared I should lose my [Page 8] natural Understanding; for I could neither eat, drink, or sleep but very little for se­veral Days and Nights together, whereby I was in Time reduced almost to a Con­sumption, and thrown into a very great Inflamation; and in my Distress sometimes petitioned the Lord rather to take my Life from me than to encline me toward the Quakers; at other Times the Enemy would tempt me to put an End to my temporal Life, to get rid of my spiritual Troubles; and sometimes I was very near being over­come by him, but it pleased the Lord in great Mercy to restrain me; and in time I was quite tired out with this miserable Condition, and began to look back and confer with the Flesh and the World, and often strove against those divine Convicti­ons, until it pleased God to withdraw those Influences from me; and then in that dark and bewilder'd State I look'd back with the Eyes of my carnal Reason, which cannot comprehend the Things of the Spi­rit of God, and to which the Wisdom of God seems Foolishness, and began to ima­gine those divine Visitations and Workings to be the Delusions of Satan; being there­unto greatly forwarded and assisted by the Baptists, who were my only Companions, and almost continually filling my Ears and [Page 9] Thoughts with Abundance of Discourse of that Nature; so that by this Means I began to be in an easy quiet Frame again, in respect of my latter Difficulties; and the Baptists being now sensible what their diligent Endeavours had effected, they were under Encouragement of my returning to their Communion, and altered their Man­ner of Treatment, carrying themselves very loving and courteous towards me; which begat Thoughts in me of joining with them again: And as this Inclinati­on prevailed, my Affection towards the outward Performances increased likewise, which caused me to speak favourably of them again, whereby I soon recovered re­spect again, not only from the Baptists, but also from others of other Denominati­ons, some of whom also used their zealous Endeavours to disencline me from the Quakers; and being therewith greatly plea­sed, I endeavoured strongly to oppose all Thoughts that would come into my Mind against the outward Figures, and also to cherish and strengthen all Inclinations to­wards them; till at length I had got a great Esteem of them again; and being thereunto often perswaded, I was again united to the Baptists Communion, and [Page 10] not long after I writ the Letter before men­tioned: And when I had spent some Time in Unity with the Baptists, I was by the unanimous Approbation of the Meeting re­stored to my former Station of a Minister, and so continued for a considerable Time; till at length I began to observe, that ever since I was re-united to the Baptists Com­munion, I had sat down contented and easy under formal, lifeless Principles and Performances, and had not enjoy'd that in­ward Spiritual Life which some Time before I had a Taste of, and that my Un­derstanding and Apprehension grew more dark and carnal, the Lord having some Time before withdrawn his divine Light, by which my spiritual Eye discerned, and left me to the Exercise of my humane Reason; so that my Apprehensions of spi­ritual Things were formed and determined accordingly.

At length it pleased God to begin to open my Understanding in some spiri­tual Doctrines; and as I saw further, I spoke plainer, at which they were offend­ed, and said, I preach'd up Quaker Doc­trine, and if I went on, I would bring in Quakerism among them: I told them, I knew the Lord was inspiring my Mind with [Page 11] divine Understanding, and the more I search'd the Scriptures, the more I was con­sumed therein, and therefore could not be confined to such Doctrines as pleased them, but must perform my Duty according as the Lord would be pleased to open my Under­standing.

And now I was brought into a great Difficulty again, and considered what I had best to do; whereupon (though it may be my Weakness) I drew to this Conclusion, rather to be wholly silent than raise a Disturbance, and so continued for some Time: Then it was brought to my Con­sideration again what a dull, lifeless Frame I was in, notwithstanding my zealous and diligent Performance of the outward Ob­servations; and in this contemplative Frame the Lord was pleased to encline my Mind again towards the Quakers, very contrary to my Expectation or Desire, the Apprehension whereof greatly surprised me; for the many Difficulties that lay in my Way came into my Mind like an overflow­ing Inundation. The Baptists observing my melancholy distressed Condition, enquired the Reason of it, which I was free to in­form them; then they came often to visit me again, some treating me smoothly, and [Page 12] some roughly. I told them, I had now wholly committed my self to God for his Directions, and had a Faith and Hope rai­sed in me, that he would make me sensi­ble what his Pleasure was concerning me; that I had resolv'd to have no Regard to any mortal Creature, and intended not to be led by fair Means, nor driven by foul, and design'd not to be confus'd as I had been, and therefore desir'd them to be wholly silent, and let me alone. Then I kept several Days of Fasting and Pray­er to God for his Direction, that he would be pleased to discover to me, whether those Drawings proceeded from him or from Satan, the which I could not now distinguish to my Satisfaction; so that I was in great Fear and Trembling: I thought if this Inclination proceeded from Satan, I should be undone, If I went for­ward in Obedience to him; and if it was from God, I also trembled at the Thoughts of keeping back and being disobedient to him; therefore I concluded to keep my Mind in a still, quiet, passive Frame, re­solving to stand still, and neither step for­ward nor backward, but resign my self up to God, patiently to wait for his Appear­ance and Direction.

[Page 13]At length it pleased God to shine into my Heart by his divine, resplendent Light, to my great Joy and Satisfaction; and at the same Time renewed my Inclination to­ward the Quakers: And finding my Mind growing very uneasy and disatisfied again amongst the Baptists, I had Thoughts of going to the Quaker's Meeting; but cal­ling to Remembrance my former Misma­nagement, I thought I would now be more deliberate, and make no Alteration but on a more solid and thorough Examination.

Then I set my self again to examine into the Baptists Principles and Perfor­mances; and the more I searched the more Cause of Disatisfaction I discover­ed; for I plainly discerned, that the Ten­dency thereof was to lay the Soul down, and lull it asleep on lifeless Principles and Performances, and many of them were such as I could not stand by or maintain. Then I thought I would enquire into the Quakers Principles; but I soon found that the Prejudices which I had received from the Representations of Keith, Bugg, Hox, Fal [...], and others, greatly unqualified me for an Impartial Enquiry. Then I considered that these were all their pro­fest Adversarys, and it may be they may [Page 14] misrepresent them; and I was the rather inclin'd to think so, because I had then by me a Book of Keith's, writ against the Quakers wherein I found he plainly owns in one part what he denies in another, affirms, and then contradicts himself; and from this Piece of absolute Confusion and Self-contradiction I was instructed to lay by all Prepossessions and Prejudices, and enquire of themselves, whom I thought best know their own Principles▪ I got some of their Books, which contain'd a Declaration of their Principles, and in my impartial Enquiry I found them grosly misrepresented; for their Principles were all substantially proved by the Scrip­tures, and that the proper Tendency of them was to promote a spiritual, pure, and holy Life, and to bring the Souls that are led by them into Unity and Communion with God, and to set forth the Power and Glory of the Gospel Dis­pensation. And though I once thought this People to be the most weak and ig­norant of all, I found them in spiritual Understanding and Experience to be the wisest of all; and admir'd my own for­mer Ignorance, in Comparison of that admirable Understanding I found amongst [Page 15] them. Then I set my self to enquire in­to their Constitution, Orders and Disci­pline, and found the Conclusion far be­yond my Expectation; for tho' I have read the Constitution, Orders and Disci­pline, of most of the reformed Churches in Europe, yet I can truly declare, that I believe this People in all Respects to be the most harmonious, religious, and perfect, of any religious Body of People on the Face of the Earth: So that the more I saw the more I admir'd, and said in my Heart, Is this the People that are so despised by all, that all Denominations of Christians, though greatly opposing one another, yet all combine against this People? The Reason I appre­hend to be in part, that their Principles and Constitution are built on the Wis­dom of God revealed unto them by his Spirit, that searcheth the deep things of God; and others beholding them with the Eye of humane Reason, which can­not understand the Things of the Spirit of God, and to which the Wisdom of God seems Foolishness they cannnot be com­prehended until a spiritual Eye is open­ed in them that behold them; and also their Principles and Constitution tending above all others to exalt the Kingdom of [Page 16] Christ, and to destroy the Kingdom of Satan, he fills the World with Prejudices against them; and because they are not of the World, but are chosen by Christ out of the World, to testify that the Works thereof are evil, therefore the World hateth them. Then I could be­hold them and say, How goodly are thy Tents, O Jacob, and thy Tabernacles, O Is­rael! And yet the many great Difficul­ties that lay in my Way, detained me among the Baptists. At length, one Morn­ing as I was in the Baptists Meeting, I found an exceeding powerful Visitation of God, strongly enclining my Mind, and the inshining Light of Christ directing me towards the Quakers; so that I could hardly sit out the Meeting. This Visita­tion conquered all carnal reasoning and fleshly Conference, and raised in me a fix­ed Resolution, in the Strength of the Lord, to bear the Cross and despise the Shame, and come what would, I would no longer delay, but give up to the Di­vine Influence; and in the Afternoon I went to the Quakers Meeting, where I observed the solid grave Composedness, and humble Deportment of the People, who plainly discovered their Minds were [Page 17] given up to the Business their Ministers declared they were met for, (that is,) to worship God in Spirit and Sincerity.

I had not come long to their Meetings, being emptied of Partiality and Prejudice, but found what I long'd to enjoy, to my great Joy and Satisfaction, which was the Crown and Glory of all, that God was ma­nifestly among them, making their Meet­ings and Worship refreshing and strength­ening to the Soul; whereby I was prevail­ed upon to join my self in spiritual Unity with them, and can truly declare, for the Encouragement of all other religious En­quirers, that the Lord upon a spiritual Account, hath fully satisfied me for all the Troubles and Difficulties I have pass'd through: To whom, for all his Blessings and merciful Dealings towards me, be rendred as His Due, and my Duty, Thanks­giving, Glory and Praise, for ever, AMEN.