THE REV. MR. POMEROY. 69 may now pursue a noble line of conduct: throw off T SEA ther fits Now the ct of then 10 1358 trath there ARP four SIR, MR. POMEROY'S ANSWER. Oct. 4, 1804, Though I have neither time nor inclination to answer the many strange letters I have received respecting J. Southcott, that you may not suppose me capable of treating any gentleman's letter with contempt, I take the first opportunity to assure you, that, (except one just received,) I have no letters, or writings whatever of, or belonging to, that deluded, ungrateful woman. She herself knew this near two years-since, so that to charge me with having any of her papers now, is to deceive the public, and wantonly to traduce my character. As to the menacing part of your letter I wish to observe, that though it is impossible to produce what I am not possessed of, I shall be ready at all times, and in all places, to bear my testimony to what appears to me to be the truth; to vindicate my aspersed and injured character, and to maintain my opinion, with respect to the farrago of sense and nonsense, of scripture and blasphemy, contained in her pretended prophecies; that such incoherent matter never could proceed from a sound mind, or from the pure spirit of wisdom. You are pleased to sign yourself my sincere friend and wellwisher; prove the sincerity of your profession, by exerting your influence to restrain her, and her printer, from the malevolent employment of exposing and vilifying my name, in such an unprecedented, and illegal manner, in direct violation of her own solemn promise; and by prevailing on her to desist from publishing, with such misrepresentation and shocking perversion, the confidential conversation, which at the earnest request of her friends, and out of compassion to the disordered state of her mind, I was induced to permit her to hold with me. In short, Sir, if you are possessed of a christian spirit, or even of humanity; if you have any regard for her, or her cause, you will immediately exert your interest and authority to prevent this unhappy woman from disgracing her own pretensions, and violating the laws of God and man, by thus continuing to add to the irreparable, and inconceivable injuries she has already done to the respectable name, and sacred character of Sir, yours, &c. J. P. P. S. You will excuse my answering any future letters. ------ TO THE REVEREND J. POMEROY, REV. SIR, The Lord hath commanded me, once more, to write unto you from the words of Samuel, the following texts: First Book of Samuel, 15th chapter, beginning at the 22nd verse, to the end, "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the com THE REV. MR. POMEROY. 71 mandment of the Lord and thy words; because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now,, therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, the Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So fur Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord. Then said Samuel, bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, as thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. bur sacr For f rones to P. And Sa muel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in And Sa the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Dicef Israel." And now I shall send you the words of the Lord given to Joanna and sent to me, as I had sent her a copy of your letter to me, which she submitted to the wisdom of the Lord; who graciously speaks to her, the same as he did in times of old, like one man jected speaking to another. But whether you believe this mue or not, the consequence is to yourself. I believe it, ast re Com 1 1 and the whole world will be made to believe it, I am afraid, to their sorrow; and, perhaps, the pride displayed in your letter, so enslaves your understanding, that you can neither believe it, nor the true sense of your Bible. Here are the words of the Lord to your blasphemy against him, and your abuse to Joanna: "Now let the words of Samuel be sent to Poméroy, in my NAME, the LIVING GOD, and thus shalt thou say unto him, The anger of the Lord is kindled against you, because you have disgraced the LIVING God, and mocked and despised all his words; therefore, they that honour ME, I will honour; and they that despise ME, shall be lightly esteemed; for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry; for you have rejected the words of the Lord, to give unto him the honour due unto his Name; therefore I have rejected to give honour to him; and he shall know it is I the Lord have spoken by thee. And now I will speak to him, in his own words. He said the Lord had no work to do, but he could find instruments to work by; now I have found instruments to work by, for thee to carry on my work; and as he saith, that work is blasphemy, a farrago of nonsense from the Devil, let him find instruments to work by to clear himself and come against thee. I have chosen for myself twenty-four, to be judges for thee; and let him choose twenty-four to come against thee; then if they can prove it to be a farrago of nonsense and the works of the Devil, thou shalt publicly ask his pardon in every paper, and the books that are against him shall be totally destroyed. So let him see I shall do him justice; and now with justice let him act. He is at liberty to gain ministers, and appeal to the bishops to gain them for him, or he is at liberty to gain other men, but he cannot have one of those ministers that the printed letters were sent to, who returned them back; but of all others he may choose for himself twenty THE REV. MR. POMEROY. 73 three to come with him; for I do not desire him to come alone, so many men against one; but let there be an equal number. But as he hath disgraced MB the LIVING GOD, and betrayed the trust I told thee to put in him, and who burnt the truth that was in his hands, he must appear to answer for himself in November. If he can be ready by the middle of November, thee and thy friends shall be ready also to meet him in London, to have the cause fairly tried for SEVEN DAYS. Then if he and his friends can join together to prove it a farrago of nonsense coming from the Devil, thou and thy fren's shall fall before him; then let him say, he hath put a stop to the works of the Devil; but if he finds it like the days of Pentecost, and they are all convinced the Calling is of God, then let him say, "blessed be the rod of the Lord! for how fatal must my end have been, if I had gone on in persecution against the Lord, and doing despite unto his Spirit! I know I could never appear before him; for if I tremble to meet a woman I have injured, how shall I tremble to meet a God whom I have mocked and despised, and set at naught all his councils, counting the words of the Lord unholy things?" For he must know if thy calling be of God, it is he that is committing the blasphemy that cannot be forgiven without sincere repentance; therefore he must appear to answer for himself, lest I destroy him and his house; neither shall he put it off to a future day; for in November, this very year, shall every thing be tried and proved; so let these words be sent unto him in print with the other ers; and he must send a satisfactory answer immediately to Sharp." These are the words of the Lord to Joanna Southcocr, given this day, Thursday, 11th of October, 1804, taken from her mouth by me, Witness, K JANE TOWNLEY. |