THE BISHOP'S ANSWER.

"The Bishop of ➖➖➖, is obliged to Mr. Sharp for the offer of his Prints, but desires to be excused from accepting them. They are fine engravings, and he wishes Mr. Sharp shewed as much judgment in his religious opinion as skill in his profession. House, May

30th, 1804."

To such a conduct Mr. Sharp thinks it proper to add this observation, that a Bishop had a serious duty to perform, which was to let his judgment be founded on the truth, and nothing but the truth. As the Bishop had the Book, containing a hundred pages, only one day, no man of reason can feel either his reproof or censure, if he would not give himself time to examine. If any sensation could at all operate on the mind of Mr. Sharp, it could only be that of pity, to see a dignitary of the church so disgrace himself as a man; for there are persons in very humble stations of life, who would be ashamed of such rudeness: and he still wishes this Bishop may at last feel it a duty to set a pattern of humility. From his having not paid a due respect to his high station, his name is omitted.

DEAR MISS TOWNLEY,

May the 27th, 1804.

You are ordered to put in print the letter I sent you the 24th, on the Fast, and the letter I sent you in answer to the two letters you sent me, that came from Leeds. I am ordered to send you some of the contents of the two letters I received together; the one in derision, that men may see the answer given to men, that can so boldly trifle with the Lord. I shall here give you the letter.

6. MADAM,

London, May the 1ft, 1804.

"I suppose you will be greatly surprised at the receipt of this.-I am a person who has read many of your publications as well as others in connexion with you, I remark in a book intituled, an Epistle to the Chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge,-it is there said in page the 8th, amongst other things, you can and

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have told and revealed secret thoughts and conversations of persons, which was acknowledged to be true by Mr. Eastelake, of Exeter, and before seven others. Now, Madam, a gentleman and myself would gladly become converts to your doctrine, if you can convince us by some extraordinary proof of your mission from God to us, by answering this letter without the gentleman or myself giving you any directions of our names or places of abode. A letter to either of us will be received with thanks.-Speedy answer will be esteemed a favour."

But

At the receipt of this letter my heart burned with indignation, to think that man could so presumptuously trifle with the Lord, to think he would answer such impertinent enquiries, which made me expect no answer, as you saw in my letter. now I am ordered to put the letter in print, and the answer to it, with some lines of the other letter, that men may see the different answers, and know that the Lord will not be mocked by man:

The Letter from the Friends, in part :

"JOANNA,

66

Oh, our dear sister! glory and honour and NG power be ascribed to Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever, who by you has subdued and sealed the final doom of our great adver sary the Devil, and thrown open the gates of glory and eternal life and happiness to a lost and sinful

world."

As these two letters came together, so the answers are placed one after the other. So all must be published as I have sent them to you.

(Signed,)

JOANNA SOUTHCOTT.

DEAR MISS TOWNLEY,

May the 26th, 1804.

When I saw the letter you sent me, of the two men that wrote to know if I could find out their

names and places of abode, without their directions, as I had found out what was in Mr. Eastlake's heart concerning me, this insolence I did not know the Lord would condescend to give any answer to, as it is mocking and trifling with the Lord; yet the Lord condescended to answer it to me, though not to them. That this was a shadow of what the substance would follow. For men will want to have idle curiosity gratified-" As I have told thee, all must come to the likeness of my Gospel; and the manner men acted with ME they will now act with thee; and know, when they mocked me, and smote me, they said in derision, Prophesy who it is that smiteth thee; and when they sent me to Herod they wanted to see my miracles; when on the cross the thief in like manner derided me; and the people said, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him. But none of this impertinence in man was answered by ME; for if they did not believe, by what was done before, they would not believe by any miracles then; but say, as they had said before, it was miracles from the devil, who had given me the power; therefore I gave up without answering them a word. And now I am in the Spirit to thee, their mocking is the same; but if thy writings were from the devil, this is a curiosity he might find out, as his agents are every where. But as thy writings are from ME, the LIVING LORD, such im- . pertinent enquiry I shall never answer; for if all the truths that are in thy writings, and the wondrous manner all his brought round, will not convince them, I shall not answer this insolence of men, to convince them any other way; but to tell them to appear before my judgment seat, and then their insolence will be answered, when my angels come to strike the death warrant unto them, as it did to the two men that said thou wast the devil, and they would go to Leeds to see thee; and to the devil I sent them both, by a sudden stroke of death.

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And let this be a warning to men: Shall man contend with his Maker, and direct ME the way I shall prove my visitation to thee? The thing of Eastlake was for a convincing proof to thee, to know, in an extraordinary manner, I was come to visit thee; and as there was no appearance at that time, of what I told thee was hastening on, I permitted that thing to happen in the meeting, to convince them I was come to warn thee of what was hastening on, as I warned thee of what was in their hearts and minds concerning thee, that thou mightest have some clear assurance of my visitation unto thee. But that did not convince them, though they confessed the truth was told thee; yet they said, that truth came from the devil. And just the same would men say now, if I should answer the impertinent enquiry of these men.-Shall I answer? I know them not; let them depart from ME as workers of iniquity! Eastlake I know, and his heart and soul is known to ME; and though I reproved him I loved him; but these men, whose hearts are not mine, must go to their masters for their names; for their hearts are departed from ME, as workers of iniquity. Therefore my answer is, I know them not.-And I hear the language of thy heart: My soul come not thou into their secrets; so they and their names may perish together.

Can man so boldly trifle with his God,
To ask where Satan takes up his abode,
In every heart where he doth reign and rule,
1 say the writer must judge thee a fool;
If thou hadst power, to answer such a man,
Bring forth my Gospel and my ways discern.
So of their folly I shall end it here:

To tempt the LORD their GOD let men beware;
Because such men I never meant to know,
And at my Coming they will find it so—
And this to Turner I do bid thee send.

And now I'll come to answer for thy friends:
Their names and natures are well known to ME;
And at my Coming they their name will see

E

N°6

Enroll'd in glory with their Lord to reign.
In different answers I shall turn to men.

As different conduct in them doth appear:
So different answers they shall know and hear.
For those that mock my Spirit now in thee,
They all shall know the same they're mocking ME;
But those that do my Spirit here approve,
They in the end shall see my perfect love.
So now in peace their souls they may possess,
Because thy Trial I shall bring it first,
And then the other things will surely burst.
For I shall never act like men,

To let my judgments first come on
Before men's judgment doth appear,
For to condemn or for to clear;
And then behind they'll find my hand,
To bring my judgments on the Land;
If men in fury now appear,

They'll find my hand in fury here;
And if they careless now do sleep,
I say, like Pike, they'll howl and weep*.
But if with prudence men appear,
And say, the whole we'll now see clear;
Before our judgment we can draw,
The truth of all we'll see and know.
Then I shall act the same with man,
And they'll not feel my heavy hand;
Because, as men deal now with thee,
The likeness all shall see in ME,
To deal the same with every man→
And here's the warning to your Land.
For now to all I'll answer here,

As thou and Townley do appear:

In November, 1793, I dreamt that some straw had caught fire, and that the shop below was in flames.-Then I awoke with the hurry of my dream and thought I would go down stairs, to see if the servants had left a candle burning below, but being very sleepy I determined to consider it only as a dream, and go to sleep again. Yet 1 thought I would wait and sec; but it struck deeply upon me 1 should be too late, and the house would be burnt; so I got out of bed, and went to the top of the stairs, and I smelt a smoke; for the candles were falling down, they being on fire. The noise made me believe they might be bricks in the chimney. I then called up Mr. Pike and said, "the house was on fire." He said, "I was dreaming, for he knew better;" but he was at last convinced of the truth, which made him rise, and while I was returning to put on my clothes, he came down stairs, and made a most hideous noise and howling, and was almost suffocated. I quickly went to the maid servants, and was obliged to shake them, and when they awoke they told me, "I was dreaming;" one was in a passion; but I forced them out of bed, and then I went down stairs and was almost suffocated in passing to the street. After Mr. Pike had made his noise and cried "fire," I cried "fire," and went as far as the Guildhall to alarm the people.-See further particulars in p. 27, Warning to the World."