The course of Life of Abigal Bently
I was born at Wike in the Parish of Barstel April ye 23d 1722
my Parrents was of the Church of England and brought me up in the
same, as far as I can remember my first thought of being saved was thro’
hereing my Mother speak with another what time Children begun to be anser
able for Sin and they thought at Seven-years, this had such an
impression
on my mind that I often went alone and wish’d God wou’d let me die before that
time for then I took it for granted I should be saved, when I was about Seven
Years I began to be afraid of dying, my Parrents strove to preserve me as far
as
there circumstances permitted them, in my Eleventh year I was sent to live
with a Neighbour where I heard and saw all sorts of bad things
had not our
dear Saviour had a perticular Hand over me I should have been ruined in Soul
and Body, when I was there they
sent me into a Feild to work where I was
so cold that I had no feeling of Hands nor Feet nor could I come to any
House, all on a sudden it
came in my mind that God could warm me and I grew
directly warm this was the first time I know thot God could here us or know
or know any thing of us after some time I left this place and removed into a
nother place that was more agreable, here I took much to reading and intended
to be very good, but amidst it all I ataind to no satisfaction but a
constant
condemnation follow’d me with every thing I did, so far her own wordswriting
about this time she began to hear Mr
Igham and when the societys of
the Brn was sitled she was one of the first of that number when
the
S Srs Oconomy was seteld at Oxhaire she after some time had
leave to be one of them where she continued for some timea while but her being
of a very Leagal turn made it very heavy for her amidst
of the Sisters
*In the year 42 Novbr ye 13 she was reciev’d into the congregation
and as it coud not be perciev’d that she got any satisfaction in
her Heart the Labours thought it more proper for
her to go and
live with two or three Sisters who’ was under the Brns care which
she took very much to heart and could hardly be persuaded to do as
was however thought for the best and she took it
so very near that
it brought on a violent sickness for us she her self
express & it
coud never bear to be Defard of the fellowship of living in the
midst of Sisters, and yet at the same she was in her heart very
dry and her being so very self righteous was made it very heavy
for her to fell as a Sinner depart alone upon our Saviour and
this has been ameans of her course being some what heavy in the
Congregation, and so she continued removeing for some time from place
to place to place by the direction of the
Brn when at last she got
leave to go and live with some Sisters at the Home where she at began to feel a little more of her self and was brought
in to very great concern about her Salvation but as she was
once coming from a meeting this verse was perticularly aplyd to
her Heart, Out of pure grace unmerited, Salvation show’rs
on our Head Merely because the Lord had dy’d, Because a Lamb
was Crucify’d,
Are we invited to possess a Throne, Before the
World was made ordaind our own, and she was from this time made
sure of her Election * when the Choir House was
begun at Fulneck
she with some others Out of the Oeconomys got leave from BriardMortimer to remove with them to that in Pudsey, but here it
she did not spend her
time so chearfully as could have been wish’d
for she lost many happy hours for her own heart thro’ looking so much
at others and being so very
strict with her self she could not
easily look over things that some times accord amongst her compan
ions, yet at the same time we cannot denigh but as to her
true
Heart to her Choir and the Congn we was fully persuaded which
show’d it self evedintly on various occasions, in the year 1754where in 54 she had the grace to be
July The Diciple and Diecpless pay’d a visit to the Congn and this
the earnest request of the Sister of that Ocemomey to come into
the Choir House at Fulneck the Diciple took it into con
sideration and it was made out that the said Oeconomy
should
be entirely broken up, and so she with the rest of her Sisters
came here into this House where she continued very chearfull
for some time and cou’d not express her self enough of
the joy
She felt that she was now got to her right home, but thro’
her very strict way of thinking she brought her self into manygreat heavyness and deprivd her self of the Holly Communin for some
time she spoke with her
Laboures in avery open hearted manner
of her whole situation and it was plain to be percevd that she
must be dealt with perticlar love and tenderness which her Labours
show’d to her at at that time and it was a great means of bringing
her to a clearness again in her Heartin the year 1763complan
ing much of a pain in her Head she was advisd to a Cold Bath
which removed the pain in her Head but soon after it was percived
that the desorder
seteld upon her Loungs and she was much
troubled with a voilent Cough, but in a short time
grew better again
and it was made out that she shou’d go for some time into the
Childrens OeconomyWashahi Wash Kitchen where she showd the
greatest faith fullness, but thro’ the desorder in her Lounge she
was oblig’d to be
taken back again, and she her self believd that it
would prove a means of her disolution thus she continued in a pritty chearful
way and was made use of as an over seer in a Work Room and it
was the greatest favour to her to do any thing for her Choir
and never
thought any thing too much but on the contrary lookd upon it as the
greatest grace and favour, Sepbr ye 16thshe had the favour to be
added amongst the company of Intercessers which prov’d a pertic
lar blessingfor her own heart that she had the favour to have
an hour to speak with our in a Perticlar manner for her own and
his
Peoples cause, it was plain to be percevd amidst all her faults
and wants that her heart was truly connected with our
Savr
and atached to her choir, but the Sinner track being not always
clear to her interupted her in that tenderatachment to his Person
in beginning of Octbr s she took entirely
to the Sick room where she
spent her time cheerily in fullness when at any time she was spoken
with she always complaind of hernot feeling herself in that near connection Sinner like connection with our Savr as she thought
she shoud have
