Part 5 (1/2)

”I have said that whosoever wors.h.i.+ps G.o.d by hearsay, as others tell him, and knows not what G.o.d is from light within himself; or that thinks G.o.d is in the heavens above the skies, and so prays to that G.o.d which he imagines to be there and everywhere, but from any testimony within, he knows not how nor where: this man wors.h.i.+ps his own imagination, which is the Devil. But he who is a true wors.h.i.+pper must know who G.o.d is and how He is to be wors.h.i.+pped, from the Power of Light s.h.i.+ning within him, if ever he have true peace.”

”Hence,” he continues, ”a report is raised, and is frequent in the mouth of the teachers, that I deny G.o.d. Therefore, first, I shall give account of what I see and know Him to be; and let the understanding in heart judge me.”

Winstanley then endeavours to formulate his theistic views and beliefs in a series of questions and answers, from which we feel compelled to quote the following:

”_Q._ What is G.o.d?

”_A._ I answer, He is the incomprehensible Spirit Reason;[63:1]

who as He willed the Creation should flow out of Him, so He governs the whole Creation in righteousness, peace, and moderation.

And He is called the Father, because as the whole Creation comes out of Him, so He is the life of the whole Creation, by whom every creature doth subsist.

”_Q._ When can a man call the Father his G.o.d?

”_A._ When he feels and sees, by experience, that the Spirit which made the flesh doth govern and rule king in his flesh. And so can say, I rejoice to feel and see my flesh made subject to the Spirit of Righteousness.

”_Q._ But may not a man call Him G.o.d till he have this experience?

”_A._ No: for if he do, he lies, and there is no truth in him. For whatsoever rules as king in his flesh, that is his G.o.d....

”_Q._ But I hope that the Father is my Governor, and therefore may I not call Him G.o.d?

”_A._ Hope without ground is the hope of the hypocrite. Thou canst not call Him G.o.d till thou be able in pure experience to say thy flesh is subject to Him. For if thy knowledge be no more but imagination or thoughts, it is of the Devil, and not of the Father.

Or if thy knowledge be merely from what thou hast read or heard from others, it is of the flesh, not of the spirit.

”_Q._ When then may I call him G.o.d, or the Mighty Governor, and not deceive myself?

”_A._ When thou art by that Spirit made to see Him rule and govern, not only in thee but in the whole creation.... Wait upon Him till He teach thee. All that read do not understand; the Spirit only sees truth, and lives in it.”

Winstanley subsequently explains his views at considerable length. True knowledge, he contends, comes from within, not from without. ”The whole Scriptures,” he maintains, ”are but a report of spiritual mysteries held forth to the eye of the flesh in words.” The Gospel he explains to be ”the Father Himself, that is, the Word and glad tidings that speak peace inwardly to pure souls.” The writings of the Apostles and the Prophets he regards as ”the report or declaration of the Gospel, which are to cease when the Lord Himself, who is the everlasting Gospel, doth manifest Himself to rule in the flesh of sons and daughters.” Concerning Baptism he says: ”I have gone through the ordinance of dipping, which the letter of the Scripture doth warrant, yet I do not press anyone thereunto, but bid everyone to wait upon the Father, till He teach and persuade, and then their submitting will be sound. For I see now that it is not the material water, but the water of life; that is, the Spirit in which souls are to be dipped, and so drawn forth into the one Spirit; and all these outward customs and forms are to cease and pa.s.s away.”[65:1] As regards prayer, he contends that no one should pray ”until the Power within thee gives words to thy mouth to utter, then speak, and thou canst not but speak.”[65:2]

It is, however, in a subsequent pamphlet, _The New Law of Righteousness_, that Winstanley more fully expounds this characteristic Quaker doctrine, and summarises his deeply philosophic views concerning silence as the necessary precursor of all true prayer, as follows:

”All these declare the half-hour's silence that is to be in Heaven (Rev. viii. 1). For all mouths are to be stopped by the power of Reason's law s.h.i.+ning within the heart. And this abundance of talk that is amongst people by arguments, by disputes, by declaring expositions upon others' word and writing, by long discourse, called preaching, shall all cease (Jer. x.x.xi. 34).

”Some shall not be able to speak, they shall be struck silent with shame by seeing themselves in a loss and in confusion. Neither shall they care to speak till they know by experience within themselves what to speak; but wait with a quiet silence upon the Lord, till He break forth within their hearts, and give them words and power to speak.... Men must leave off teaching one another, and the eyes of all shall look upward to the Father, to be taught of Him. And at this time silence shall be a man's rest and liberty; it is the gathering time, the soul's receiving time: it is the forerunner of pure language.... He that speaks from the original light within can truly say, I know what I say, and I know whom I wors.h.i.+p.”

Somewhat later he continues:

”None shall need to turn over books and writings (for indeed all these shall cease too) to get knowledge. But everyone shall be taken off from seeking knowledge from without, and with an humble quiet heart shall wait upon the Lord, till He manifest Himself: for He is a great king, and worthy to be waited upon. His testimony within fills the heart with joy and singing. He first gives experiences; and then power to set forth these experiences. Hence you shall speak to the rejoicing one of another, and to the praise of Him who declares His power in you. But he that speaks his thoughts, studies, and imagination, and stands up to be a teacher of others, shall be judged for his unrighteousness, because he seeks to honor flesh, and does not honor the Lord.”

He then somewhat mystically continues:

”Behold the Annointing, that is to reach all things, is coming to create a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein Righteousness shall dwell, and there shall not be a vessel of humane earth but it shall be filled with Christ. If it were possible to have so many buckets as to contain the whole ocean, every one could be filled with the ocean, and being put all together it would make up the perfect ocean which filled them all. Even so Christ, which is the spreading power, is now beginning to fill every man and woman with Himself.

He will dwell and rule in everyone; and the Law of Reason and Equity shall be Christ in them. Every single body is a star s.h.i.+ning forth of Him, or rather a body in and out of whom He s.h.i.+nes; and He is the ocean of power that fills all. And so the words are true, the Creation, mankind, shall be the fulness of Him that fills all in all. This is the Church, the great Congregation, that, when the mystery is completed, shall be the mystical body of Christ, all set at liberty from inward and outward straits and bondage. And this is called the holy breathing that made all new by Himself and for Himself.”

We think we have now dealt sufficiently with Winstanley's exposition of the theistical doctrines subsequently adopted, and almost in their entirety, by the Society of Friends. In a later chapter (Chap. XVI.) we shall show how far he himself modified his earlier views. And in the succeeding chapter we shall briefly lay before our readers the practical and fundamental social changes Winstanley deemed demanded by the dictates of Reason, as forming the necessary first steps towards laying the foundations of ”a new Earth and a new Heaven wherein Righteousness, or Justice, shall dwell.”