Now I'll begin from what thou'st seen,
Or what thou said'st this day;
As by thy wisdom thou hast seen
How all my Bible lay.

After part of this Communication was given, that the ponderings of Joanna's heart were answered, Joanna said that the Light of the Lord broke in so strong and clear upon her, that she said she saw the Foundation was laid clear in the Fall; and if men took away that Foundation, it was like taking the foundation of a house: that if you go and dig round a house, and dig away all the foundation that it stands upon, where would your house be? must it not fall to the ground ? And is it not likely to fall upon those that digged away the first foundation? Just so, Joanna saith, is the Bible. If you take away the Foundation the Lord laid in the Beginning, and the Promises he made in the Fall, you destroy your Bibles, like the house

"Now, Joanna, thee I'll answer:
Thou dost say the Wisdom's thine;
But 1 tell thee, I'm thy Master,
And the Wisdom it was mine.
For I'll appear to answer here,

The Parable thou hast made,
They'll find in wisdom is so clear,
That men are all misled.
If they will say another way-
"Our Bible is not so:
"Nor the Foundation so don't lay."-
What thou'st compar'd it to,
I tell you plain, you sons of men,
The Parable goes deep,
And perfect true, you all shall know;
For so the end shall break.
Upon you all the house would fall,

If you go on this way
To undermine the every wall,
Where the foundation lay;
You cannot stand, I say to man,
A house to throw down so,
Because upon you it would fall,
That every soul doth know.
So now to man the same I'll come
My Bible stands the same;

THE OLD PROPHET'S DECEIT.

And the Foundation I have laid,
To free the sons of men.
But if you say another way-
It shall not stand so here:
"This Foundation we'll takeaway,
"Because well baffle her."
Then I'll appear to answer here:
Upon you it must fall;
The guilt of Man I cannot clear,
I now do tell you all.
So I'll end here and say no more,
But thou must ponder on,
Till all the mysteries I shall clear,
For to be given to man."

15

Here ends Sunday night, September 23, 1804.Taken from Joanna Southcott's mouth, by me,

JANE TOWNLEY,

Monday, September 24, 1804.

JOANNA has been reading, since the morning, through the first Book of Kings, and began the second; but could by no means help her feelings being provoked with the perverseness of men, after the great promises the Lord had made them, and the extreme grandeur the Lord had filled the kings with, and the promise he had made them, if they continued in his statutes; and the threatenings pronounced against them, if they departed from them. But with what perverse hearts they did depart, one king after the other, though they were warned by the prophets, what judgments should follow them, if they did depart from them; and yet they continued worse and worse. The more Joanna reads her Bible, the more she is convinced, that nothing will free men from sin and sorrow, and bring them to happiness and union with God, till the Power of the Devil is destroyed, which is the root of all evil. But one thing Joanna was afraid for herself, whether she did not commit sin in her heart, concerning the old prophet's deceiving the young prophet. 1 Kings, xiu. For Joanna could not help thinking, the old prophet should have died as well as the young one; as, in her opinion, he appeared the greatest transgressor; because he deceived the other with the lie.

"Now Joanna I shall answer thee. Thou sayest thou fearest in thy heart, thou hast committed sin; because thy judgment was not like the judgment that I sent at that time. But as thou sayest in thy heart, the old prophet seemed most to blame, by telling the lie knowingly; and the young one did it innocently; yet he suffered for his disobedience, and the other's lie. Now I shall answer thee this from the Fall: for this is the way I shall clear all my Bible. Therefore I will not blame the anger that arose in thy heart against the old prophet, for deceiving the young one; and let no one blame the anger that ariseth in thy heart, to condemn Satan for betraying the Woman: for all these things stand in my Bible, to shew the likeness of the Fall, in men and devils. For as the old prophet deceived the young one, so did the old serpent, which is the Devil, deceive the Woman. But know, MY COMMAND was given to the young prophet; and my command he disobeyed; therefore my honour could not save him, though the other lied unto him. But dost thou think nothing followed the old prophet after, to punish him for what he had done? I tell thee, Yes; but should I have slayed them both in one day, then I could not bring it to the Type of the Fall. But now I shall bring it close to the Fall; for in perfect manner Satan betrayed the Woman, and lied unto her; therefore I do not blame thy an ger at all. And now I shall go on with the Fall,

Just as the man to him did come
The prophet did appear.
That told the lie unto the man;
But Satan's arts were there,
For to betray, I now do say,
And then the man did blame:
For I do tell thee, every way
He tries for to condemn.

THE OLD PROPHET'S DECEIT.

So at the first he there did burst,

Like the old prophet stood,
And then the Woman did condemn;
And this I shall allude,

The fault on him, as thou hast done

The Woman felt the blow,
And so did Man in sorrow stand;
But now you all shall know,
My anger here doth now appear,
I tell thee, just like thine:
The old prophet thou canst not bear,

And this is now MY MIND;
Though on the first my fury burst,
As man did disobey;
But now at last he shall be cast,
That did with lies betray.
So do not fear thy pondering here,
That thy thoughts run to sin,
Because in anger thou didst appear
To see what he had done
For to deceive; though he believ'd
The words he spoke were true,
And so that day he fell away;
His death before your view
Did surely come that day to man,
The shadow of the Fall:
But Adam's life I did prolong-
For now I tell you all,
Had he died then, just like that man,
Satan would ME defeat;
Therefore his life I did prolong,
Though dead to knowledge great
Adam came first; so men did burst
In knowledge dead to ME.
That like the Fall, I tell you all,
The prophet there did die;
So I'll go on, from Types, to mari,
Till I have plac'd all through;
Thy pondering heart they must command
For all's before my view;
What's in thy mind, they all shall find,
Is strongly work'd be ME;
Therefore the ponderings of thy heart
They all must hear and see.
So I'll go on from man to man,
As thou didst ponder here:
The ways of all thou didst condemn
That did in vice appear;
Ungrateful men to thee were seen,
Thou judgest, from the first,
What Promise great I made to Man,
From David at the first;
Yet he began to fall by sin,
But sorely did repent;

C

17

Yet Solomon did after come,
That was in wisdom sent;

And yet that man thou didst condemn,

In falling so from ME,

After such Blessings I had sent.
I now shall answer thee,
That every way, I now do say,
I surely have tried Man
In Blessings great without deceit,
But now the whole discern.
Did he abide; did he confide,
Strong in his MAKER there?
Though at the first in prayer did burst,
A house he built ME there;
But see the man, how soon he came
To fall away from ME.
And wisely here thou dost discern,
These things would always be,
While Satan reigns, thou dost maintain,
And I'll maintain it too;
See every Blessing of the men,
Bring all before thy view.
When Blessings there they did appear,
They did not ME obey;

When Judgments sent they'd ne'er relent,
But still in sin did lie;

Then how can Man the trial stand,
Bring all before their view?
To judge my KINGDOM is at hand,
And Satan rule men so,

His power so strong to work in Man,
What Kingdom could it be?
The Woman's Promise you condemn,
But now my Bible see;
I tell you plain, ye sons of men,
You've plac'd my Bible wrong;
And, from the judgment you do draw,
You never do discern

How Man at first in sin did burst,
And how he did go on;
And how I tried them every way,
To see if they would turn.
My Blessings first I there did place
To David, all may see;
And Solomon the same did come,
But wander'd soon from ME;
Then Judgments next I soon did fix,
Yet Man went on the same.
So love or anger would not do,
For men despis'd my Name,
Whatever way I them did try;
But now I'll try once more,
I know the Evil where't doth lie,
I'll rid him from the shore.