of Christ in me did let me see the Abominations of the Priests practices and did speak against their way of sprinkling Infants and said I should never stand as a God-father for any nor never did whereat a man Swore at me and said It was pity any one did it for me but I said I mattered not if they had never done it for I was never the better though I had never heard any one speak against the things nor did not until many years after And so that which is now my Guide is the same which was in the beginning before the Sin and no other Foundation I never knew neither can another Foundation be laid in any than that which is already laid which is Christ within the hope of Glory and he saith I am the Light come unto me and suffer little Children to come unto me for the Kingdom of God is of such as come to him meek and low in Heart who saveth from Sin And certainly I never knew the Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace until I became again as I was when I was a little Child And how hard it is to come again into that simple innocent state when degenerated from it let Gods Witness in the Couscience answer Therefore is this written that you may not shut up the Kingdom of Heaven from your Children Secondly Take heed how you cause or suffer your Children to Babble many vain words with their Tongues with a delight to hear them prattle when there is no need for thereby afterward the Tongue becomes an unruly Member set on fire of Hell Jam. 3. 6. as I found and bore the fierce Indignation of the Lord for and many little Children would not come to speak so many vain and evil words which corrupt the good Manners if they were not much provoked thereunto and seeing People delight to hear them speak the most crasty words which are from the subtilty of the Serpent and many send their Children abroad among other wild People or Persons to have them learn subtilty and crast to speak their words from and how to be hardy or too hard for others by subtil Words and Lyes also in buying and selling and when they have learned it say They can live any where and that they can shift for themselves and live by their Wits and forecast which indeed oft-times to deceive others and yet there 〈◊〉 such a plain honest simple Principle in some that they can never be brought into such subtil words nor into so many words as others though they themselves have much endeavoured to attain it but they have been more plain and simple and the Lord preserveth the simple Psal 11. 6. and such sometimes could not defend their own cause but were pleaded down when their cause was just by others that had learned more of the Serpents subtilty which the Vengeance of God will one day come upon when the Lord avengeth the cause of the oppressed And in this I have had also much experience for when I was a Child I saw much into the vanity of needless words and was very backward a long time in speaking and in that and some other things much differing from other Children and many thought I would have been a fool 〈◊〉 they call it 〈…〉 the foolishness of God and therefore oft-times much means was used to cause me to speak and many Provocations long together and yet not at all scarce make me speak one word for I saw then it was needless and could not ask one how he did when I saw he was well nor answer that which was needless and when I was a little grown up and sent upon any small Errand I should deliver my Message in very few words that people thought I would be never like a man and about ten years of Age my Father in the flesh would sometimes send me to Market and it was long before he and all others could make me ask any more then the price he did allow me to sell at or if he did not set me a certain price then I should resolve of a price in the mind according as I saw the Market and so I often sold with the cheapest being loth to take too much and therefore was often esteemed and called a Fool and Dunce but it had been easier for me if I had never been drawn out of that state when I was taught of God to do unto others as I would be done unto and was fearful to strike any one but rather gave way to them that struck me and so was by many of my equals abused and it was hard for me to take away the life of any Creature and pleaded much against it with my Father and Mother when they commanded me to do it though it was but to kill a young Dog or Cat or the like my Life in me was grieved to do it and much was I forced to harden my Heart before I could do any such thing though commanded by my Parents which may be a warning to all Parents that they be not the cause of the hardning of their Childrens hearts and then say of them they are hardy Lads for that which har dens the heart seperates from God who is Love and from Christ who comes to save the Life and so the Sacrifice of God is not known which is in the broken Heart but the Lord is with the humble and the broken hearted And you should all take heed of provoking your Children to many words for all flesh should be silent before the Lord and their words and yours should be few seasoned with salt that they might minister grace to the Hearers for God sitteth in Heaven unto whom an account must be given for every Idle word and according to every word that a man shall speak shall he be judged Therefore let the fear and dread of the Lord God be before your Eyes that you bring not your Children into the Condemnation by speaking more then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of plain simple Truth in few Words left the Lord God of Heaven and Earth requite it of you in the day of his firce Wrath when you will not be able to answer him one of a Thousand and left you bring your tender simple Babes to be Children of the Devil and then it be not in your power to bring them back out of that state again but they dye in their sins upon whom the Wrath of God abideth Therefore as you love and tender their good both of Soul and Body see that you keep and in all things bring them to Gods Witness in them and that will judg and reprove them for any Evil they have done and will keep them more out of all Evil then you by any other Reproof can do and will answer your chastizing for any Evil to be just when done in the true Moderation not exceeding the Offence committed nor proceeding from the least motion of the wrathful nature in you mark that Thirdly take heed of provoking your
King and to know and receive and abide in and be led by the Spirit of Truth which the World cannot receive John 14. 17. And to know that Truth which God desireth in the inward parts where Wisdom is to be known Psal 51. 6. And is not the Word the Truth John 17. 17. And is not Christs Name called the Word of God Rev. 19. 13. And did not Moses say The Word was in the Heart And is not the Word there as a Hammer and like Fire Jer. 23. 29. And doth not that Word sometimes pierce and divide in the Heart and is it not there quick and powerful Heb. 4. 12. And is not Christ the Power of God 1 Cor. 1. 24. And did not he say I am the Light John 8. 12. and I am come a Light into the World John 12. 46. And did not he that was sent of God bear witness of the Light and say That it was the true Light or indeed the Light and Truth which lighteth every man that cometh into the World that all men through him might believe who was in the World John 1. 6 7 8 9 10. And did not he himself say Believe in the Light John 12. 35. And is not this he which is the Truth whom God hath given for a Light unto the Gentiles Isa 49. 6. And is not this he whom the Princes of this World hath not known 1 Cor. 2. 8. who was from everlasting when there was no Deeps nor Fountains of Water neither yet Mountains nor Hills Prov. 8. 24. And is not this he that is given for a Leader and Commander to the People Isa 45. 4. who will break the Yoke of the Oppressor Isa 9. 4. even him that is the Light whom they that walked in Darkness have not seen Isa 9. 2. who endeth the Strife with burning being born unto such as know and preach the Light Shall not his Name be called the wonderful Counsellor the mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace the increase of whose Government and Peace shall have no end who shall sit upon the Throne and establish Judgment and Justice henceforth even forever Isa 9. 6 7. Is not this he at whose Name every Knee shall bow unto whom the gathering of the People shall be And are not the Kings to be brought unto his dwelling Isa 60. 11. And shall not the Kings of the Earth bring their Glory and Honour unto his beautiful Habitation Rev. 21. 24. and shall he not have a habitation in the Hearts of the Children of men in whom God doth come to dwell And may not this Truth and Power of God preserve the King Qu. 2. Again if the Kings Throne be upheld by Mercy and not by Cruelty nor Persecution whether then it be not good for the King to shew Mercy And how sadly even as it were without Mercy or Pity to Old or Young Widdows or Fatherless did several Thousands lately suffer by Imprisonment and divers wayes only concerning things which to them were matters of Conscience And should the King be perswaded moreover to break his Promise and restrain Liberty of Conscience and so thereby ruinate many Families impoverish many that now live well honest and comfortable and cause Children to starve in the Streets and Old People to perish with Hardships and Abuses and many more to lose their Lives in Prisons as some have done already who can lay down their Lives for Christs sake and that not for any Evil in the least done or intended by the said Sufferers but only truly and purely in matters of Conscience to God and whether this would not be unmerciful The third Query upon the same ANd is it not said in some of that part of the Book of Common-Prayer which is in it appointed to be read once a Year or upon that day called Ashwednesday Cursed are the unmerciful and should any man be first perswaded to be unmerciful and so brought liable to the Curse and then they themselves to curse him once a Year who cause him to be unmerciful and it may be much endeavour to make he himself say Amen to the Curse against himself and so curse one another And is it not dangerous for any man to come under the Curse and to be unmerciful lest God shut up his Mercy from him Therefore whether Mercy and Pity doth not become the King that therewith his Throne might be upheld And whether all the wise men he hath with all his Bishops and his armed men with all strength and Wisdom else whatsoever be able to uphold his Throne without Gods Mercy and if he would alwayes receive Mercy from God to have his Throne alwayes upheld thereby Whether it be not meet if not needful for him alwayes to shew mercy and to let all people but especially Gods Servants have Mercy from him or at least so much right as the Lord himself hath given them which is to Worship him in Spirit and serve him in that which purgeth the Conscience from dead works that they may serve the living God Heb. 9. 14. And seeing the King hath promised as aforesaid that such shall not be disquieted therein and whether these lines are not written for his good and in love unto the King 3. And seeing the same that said I am the Truth who was in the beginning with God Prov. 8. 30. said likewise By me Princes decree Justice Prov. 8. 15. Qu. 3. Then whether he be not the Power of God who said so And if so that he be the Power of God and that thereby Princes decree Justice or that which is just then what Power is that by which Princes decree Injustice And whether it be not Injustice for the King to be perswaded to break his Word and Promise and which Power are those men in that would have him do so seeing Christ is the Power of God by whom Justice is decreed And is it not just for the King to be as good as his word and may not all such as would have him break his promise remember That Lying Lips become not a Prince Prov. 17. 7. Moreover according to reason Whether many of them that do so much endeavour to have the King act contrary to his word or make void his promise by restraining sober honest Persons from the Liberty of their Consciences in spiritual matters and duties of prayer to the God of Heaven and waiting upon the Lord in his true service and fear of his holy Name whether such as these would be contented themselves to be restrained from the Wicked Liberty of their fleshly Lusts though that was never so openly promised them and so to be kept from all Whoredom Drunkenness and Swearing and such other works of Darkness wherewith they serve the Devil And can such be willing that all Boyes and all sorts of People as often as they see a Whoremonger or a Drunkard then all cry out presently A Whoremonger A Whoremonger or A Drunkard A Drunkard as they are that such
he left a good savour behind him for even such as were not Friends in the Prison where he dyed were made to speak well of him he was so innocent in his Conversation towards all People William Jenings South-hampton the 11th of the 12th Moneth 1682. The Testimony of Nicholas Gates concerning Humphry Smith DEar Friends Brethren and Sisters in Christ Jesus and all tender hearted People to whose hands thess Testimonies of our dear Friend Humphry Smith may come these few words arose in my heart to signifie concerning him I having had good experience of his Labours and Travails in the preaching of the Gospel of Christ Jesus with many more who were often comforted and refreshed in the sence of the Lords blessed Power which attended him in the living Testimonies he did bear concerning that Gift of God which is to be known in man he was a faithful Labourer in the work and service of the Lord and a patient Sufferer under the many Tryals that did befall him in his day he never murmured at the Exercises that he met withal through Wicked and Vnreasonable men he constantly testified of and unto the Light of Christ in the inward parts of men and women directing all to that of God in their own hearts affirming with the holy Apostle who said That which was to be known of God is manifest in man He was very powerful through the help of the Lord to the convincing of many and turning them to the Light of Christ in themselves his Testimonies yet live in the hearts of many though he be outwardly removed from us and many have cause to praise the Lord in that he raised him up with many more Brethren and Sisters to testifie of and concerning the Light of Christ within man by which we are made nigh unto the Lord who were afar off To whom be Praises and Thanks-giving forever Nicholas Gates senior Alton the 10th of the 12th Moneth 1682. James Potler's Testimony concâ—rning Humphry Smith GOd having raised up Humphry Smith with many other Brethren to publish and make known his Name in this the Land of our Nativity after a long and tedious Night of Apostacy and though the Name of the Wicked shall Rot yet the Righteous shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance and many are the seals of his Ministry that were begotten to a lively hope in Christ Jesus through the Word of Life in him besides the many Testimonies left upon Record by him which though he be taken away yet live in the hearts of many bearing Testimony that he was of God and that his Word dwelt plentifully in him yet I being a Sufferer with him for more than a years time in that streight noisom Prison at Winchester and in my measure sensible of his faithfulness to God in that work and service which God had called him to I say the Love of God in my Heart to his Truth and to my deceased Brother constraineth me to give in my Testimony in few words with others of my Brethren to the many Testimonies left by him That he was a man that loved the Lord with an upright heart and that it was as Meat and drink to him to do the will of God delighting more in it than in his daily Food being diligent and laborious in his day and time desiring to spend and be spent for the Gospels sake He was a man very bold and valiant for the Truth and for the Testimony thereof suffered many sharp and hard Imprisonments in several Prisons in this Nation besides very much cruel and inhumane Usage by Wicked and Unreasonable men He was released out of Prison that time which I was Prisoner with him but was afterwards taken from a Meeting at Alton where much of the Lords heavenly Presence was manifested through him by a company of rude Souldiers and had before some Magistrates and committed to the same Prison at Winchester again where after he had been continued some time it pleased the Lord to visit him with sickness which with much patience he passed through yet in all the Lord was good unto him and preserved him in Peace and Contentedness and Submission to his Will magnifying the Name of his God through all being kept sensible and in good and perfect Memory to his decease JAMES POTTER Winchester-Prison the 8th of the 12th Moneth 1682 Edward Waldren's Testimony concerning Humphry Smith I Hearing that the Work and Testimonies left upon Record of that true and faithful Servant of the Lord in whose work and service Humphry Smith was found unto the last are printed in one Volumn I found much stirring and freedom to write this Testimony concerning him that it might be inserted in the Book he being a man that I greatly loved having Acquaintance with him and by him first convinced of the unchangeable Truth and Way of the Lord through the powerful Operation of the Spirit and Word of God that dwelt plentifully in the heart of this faithful Servant of God who loved not his Life to the Death for his Testimonies sake by which he overcame and was found faithful to the end which he finished with joy as by his last words spoken to some Friends doth manifestly appear a little before his decease or laying down of the Body in this close strait nasty stinking Prison or County-Goal in Winchester to the which I this day and time belong and am a Prisoner under the sentence of Praemunire for nothing else but obeying the Doctrine and Command of Christ Jesus because for conscience sake only towards God I cannot Swear at all Humphry was the first in scorn called a Quaker that ever had a publick Testimony for God in the Town of Andever it being a great Meeting in which by his powerful clear Testimony several were convinced though he was then opposed by rude Souldiers Not long after he was cast into this Prison some of those that were convinced by his Testimony that had a love raised to the Lord and some knowledge of his Way and Truth some of these in Andever being thereby led forth to visit Humphry in Prison both Priests and Professors began to stir and be in a rage against and at the breaking forth of Truth in that Town I then being weary of Priests and seperate Professors seeing their Pride Avarice Evil Lives and Conversations though under a specious pretence of God and Godliness but void of the saving knowledge of both I being sensible that this was my Condition and finding and feeling the Judgments of the Lord and the weight and burden of Sin and Iniquity being in the bondage of Corruption like them I had been among under all groaned to be delivered from under the weight and burden thereof into the glorious Liberty and Freedom of the Sons and Daughters of God and being unacquainted with the Way of the Lord or how to do his Will or to have any entrance into the Kingdom that consists in Righteousness Joy and Peace in the holy Ghost which
the Priests and Professors could not teach but were almost as ignorant as those that in time past had not heard of any such thing and void of the saving knowledge of Jesus the way of God and could not say that he was the Christ by it I then hearing that in this Prison was that faithful Servant of the Lord and having longing desire to see him went with some of Andever that used to visit him there being that day a Meeting in the Prison which day I hope shall never be forgotten by me nor that faithful and able Minister of the new Testament knowing that which only and alone is made alive by the Spirit and quickned and reached unto by the Ministers thereof which Humphry Smith was one to the turning of many from Darkness to the Light from the Power of Satan to the Power of God by which alone People come to receive Remission of sins and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified through the great Mercy and Loving-kindness of God was he an Instrument in convincing and turning me off and from the Worlds by-Paths and crooked Ways of the Wicked which were and are Darkness in which there is no Peace to them that walk therein to the Light of Jesus the Way of the Lord and Path of the Just which is a shining Light which shineth more and more to the perfect Day and to the fear of the Lord which ever was and is the beginning of Wisdom and will be forever to all that do abide therein a Fountain of Life to depart from the Snares of Death I have cause forever to praise the Lord in the behalf of this tender innocent faithful man to God's Truth and People his Memorial cannot pass into Oblivion by any that had a true knowledge of him dear Humphry Smith whose Health was impared him suffocated and visible Body destroyed by this bad corrupt Prison though thou wast here destroyed thou art greatly rewarded God having proved thee and found thee worthy for himself The Memorial of the Just is blessed the Righteous shall be had in Everlasting Remembrance and the Name of the Wicked shall Rot but they that were and are wise shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars forever and ever Edward Waldern Winton-Prison the 8th day of the 11th Moneth 1682. Humphry Smith's Testimony concerning his Father COncerning my dear Father who to his unspeakable gain but to my great sorrow and loss the Lord took from me to himself whilst I was young besides the natural and dutiful Remembrance of so dear a Father I and many others who knew him can say of him The Righteous shall be in Everlasting remembrance in which I may say by way of Introduction unto many who never knew him and have since received the Truth unto whom these his works may come for their encouragement to read them That the Lord of the Harvest who among other faithful Labourers sent him forth into his Harvest did sanctifie and prepare him to so good a work and prospered it in his hand so that many were turned to God by him notwithstanding the great Opposition of Malicious Cruel and Ungodly Men by whom he suffered more especially in Cromwel's time Imprisonment Dungeon Whipping and much Affliction and Hardships but being zealous for the glory of God and the good of Souls he valiantly endured it all and broke through the Ice-like hardness of envious Professors who having been first some-what warmed by that which formerly stirred up good desires in them after God but not keeping thereto became the sooner and harder frozen And as his diligence was great in this great work so was their Envy great in endeavouring to hinder him therein by many long and hard Imprisonments which brought great Sicknesses upon him yet upon all occasions he was given to Hospitality apt to teach and in his place taking care for the Church of God As his Admonition was tender so his Reproof was sharp not neglecting the one nor refraining the other but dealing with every one according to their Condition not sparing me his only Son any more than another having in his last Letter to me written a little before his Death these words among many tender Expressions And now although as I said before thou art my only Son yet if thou refusest the Instructions of thy Father and shalt reject the Counsel of God and not walk in Gods holy fear nor keep in the way of Truth then let the Judgment of Friends pass upon thee let the Law of God seize upon thy Conscience c. The last time I saw him was about a year before he dyed at which time he gave me such Advice and Warning as thereby I perceived I should never see him again so great a sight of things and men had he that I may truly say he had the necessary Gift of Discerning of Spirits with frequent Visions and Revelations from God by which he foresaw and prophesied of many things some whereof he saw fulfilled others are since and the rest will certainly be fulfilled in their appointed time some of them are herein extant dispersed among his Works which are now printed for thy benefit sober Reader it being agreeable to words he wrote to me in a Volumn of Books he caused to be bound for me That I should keep that Book safe and not spoiled any way that in years to come Ages may read and see my love to the Seed This in short I have written concerning him knowing there be many still living who have a larger Testimony in themselves concerning him And some who were his Fellow-Labourers in the Word and Doctrine whom he did and I do love and in Honour Prefer counting them worthy of double Honour some of them having more knowledge of him are able as they see meet to give a larger Testimony concerning him I shall conclude desiring that my self and all the Children of faithful Parents may walk in the good Way they walked in and not like that Generation mentioned Judges 2. 10. Who arose after the Death of Joshua and the Elders which knew not the Lord nor yet the Works which he had done for Israel but that we may follow the Lord fully and faithfully and he may raise up in us the same Love Zeal Diligence and Vallour as he did in our Parents is the earnest Desire of Humphry Smith Saffron-Walden in Essex the 13th of the 9th Moneth 1682. Dear Friends BE pleased to take notice that dear Humphry Smith was a man that suffered many long and crueâ— Imprisonments for his Love and Testimony he bore to Gods blessed Truth and People in his day which occasioned part of his Writings to be scattered about in Manuscript and not found till part of this Book was printed whereby some few of them are mis-placed as to the years in which they were written but the following Table of Contents will direct to the particular Heads of such collected
filthy Hole the 16th day of the 11th Moneth 1658. by me that have him to be my Life who is a man of Sorrows that of men am called Humphry Smith MAny Dayes and Nights and Times and Seasons for many Weeks and Moneths of late Years have many deep and serious Considerations been in me and many Meditations in my Mind and Heart in the true fear of the living God and often times in quietness waiting on the Lord God of Abraham hath my Spirit had secret and private yet plain Conference with the Lord concerning the Teachers and Leaders of the People even the Hireling Priests of England and other Nations and the Followers of them And when I have weighed all in an equal Ballance I have found that it hath been in pure Love to the Souls all Mankind and without Prejudice or Envy to them their Bodies or Persons as they are the Creatures of God and the eternal Witness of God in his Covenant of Life hath and doth and will justifie me herein forever And when I have looked back upon the Teachers and seen what a stir and a noise is made among them about God and Christ and Faith in his Blood and Redemption and Justification by him and all proceeding from that nature in them which is at Enmity with God And when I have seen how many Thousand Thousands and Hundreds of times ten Thousands following of them and Contending Fighting Stoning Whipping and Imprisoning for them and are guided or rather blinded by them And when I have seen what care is taken for them and to uphold them by the great Rulers of the Nations even Protector Council Parliaments and Justices besides many Thousands of bruitish People that are stoning and fighting for them that they might be upheld and maintained yea even in Excess and Fulness from the Peoples hard Labours And when I have seen how many Hundred Thousand Pounds every year they have received from the People And when I seen that notwithstanding all this the People are still in Transgression and so under the Wrath of God and yet know not how to come out of their Sin which separateth from God but that many Thousands dye in their Sins and many more are pleading for Sin and many end their dayes in a Bed of Torment gasping strugling grovelling and raiging in unquietness under the horrible Terrors of the unutterable fierce Indignation of the Wrath of the Almighty and so go down into the Pit forever as many have done not knowing a resting place in the peaceable stillness of God's Covenant of Life and Peace Oh! when I say I have beheld and deeply considered these things and many more which might be named and seriously pondered them in my Heart from a true sense of God's Pity to the precious Souls of all Mankind and from a true Understanding of the Terrible Woâ—s VVrath Horor and Perplerity of Spirit that then comes upon such who thus due in their Sins not reconciled to God even then hath my heart been broken within me and mine Eyes as Fountains of Tears and a sad Lamentation night and day hath come upon me and a true Mâ—â—rning for the slain of the People who thus are cut off from God and separated from the Land of the Living O Wo is me because of these things my Soul hath been oppressed and my Spirit grieved and to the Lord alone hath a grievous Cry ascended up and I have said Oh that I could Mourn and Weep yet more in secret because of these things And when I have looked upon the Priests and People I have seen plainly and truly from the Lord God That the Spirit of Error and Ignorance in them hath been and is the very cause of all this Disorder Soul-Perishing state that is in and upon the Sons of men and their continuance therein then hath my Spirit said within me The Soul that sinneth it must dye but the Lord will require their Blood at the hands of those that have caused them to Err And the Lord hath said unto me concerning these Priests and Teachers My hand is against them And when I have looked farther back and considered them who were made Ministers by a known Law of God that they were declared against by the Spirit of Prophesie and that they were such Shepherds that could not understand being greedy and could never have enough Isa 56. 10 11. and that they were bruitish Pastors Jer. 10. 21. and as Murderers and Troops of Robbers and that the Lord had cursed their Blessings and made them base and contemptible in the Eys of the People Mal. 2. Then said I Ah! what state then are these men in who are not made Ministers by a Law of God neither yet sent forth by Christ Mat. 10. but are out of his Doctrine Mat. 23. and so Enemies unto him being known by their Fruits Mat. 7. 15 16. and are made Ministers by the Will of men and upheld by carnal corrupt Laws and the Imprisoning of hundreds that are come out from them that we may not partake in the Plagues with them who are seen to be of Babel Rev. 18. 4. in whom is found the Souls of men and the Blood of all the Saints from Abel unto this day and they have been upheld by the devouring of Widdows Houses the robbing of the Fatherless the spoiling of the Goods of Hundreds the Imprisoning of many until Death the Rifling and Robbing of whole Houses as may be witnessed in the County of Kent by a Paper entituled A Horrible thing and the Record of Sufferings for Tythe and many other parts in the Nation And when I have beheld these things I have said in mine Heart Those Ministers or rather Deceivers are far short and much worse than them in the Prophets dayes who were made Ministers by a Law of God though they became as Robbers and Murtherers And then have I also lamented the hard hearted blindness of many Rulers in these dayes who have been worse in their persecuting of those who from the Spirit of God do declare against these Ministers made by the Wills of men than the Rulers in the dayes of the Prophets who did not so Persecute them that declared against those who were made Ministers by a Law of God And surely I have said did not these Priests bewitch the Rulers that they cannot obey the Truth Gal. 3. And so cause them to obey them or be as it were Slaves or Pack-horses to them even making their boast in Print that they are still spurring on the Magistrate as Richard Baxter Priest of Kidderminster hath written But I say were not the Magistrates blinded by them and therefore uphold them by their corrupt Laws even giving them Treble Damages they would soon fall and come to nought for they are already fallen under the Magistrates and come creeping to them in the Serpents Wisdom upon their Bellies which is their God for more Dust or Earthly Treasure Money Goods and Earthly things But the Bishops
said You have we aried me with your Sacrifices And so say I to you now you have wearied the Lord with your Words and yet many are saying Wherein have we we aried him I say in this have you wearied the Lord in that you say such as do Evil are Good in the sight of God Mal. 2. 17. Therefore thus I declare unto you who are yet in your Sins meeting together in the Idol Temples Your Service is not the Service of the true God neither is your Worship that which the Lord accepteth for he accepteth none but the Worship in Spirit and in Truth not in one high Place or other but your Worship is in some High-Place Idol-Temple or Steeple-House where all manner of Viperous Beasts are round and unsanctified Persons meet together who commit all Abominations and live in all manner of Filthiness and yet lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us no Evil shall come unto us Whereas they are an evil and an adulterous Generation adulterated from the Spirit of Truth in which the true Worship stands and are ignorantly worshipping in a Temple made with Hands in which God dwellcth not neither is his Power there received to overcome the Sin and so the People are wearying themselves for very Vanity and travelling to bring forth Death and labouring for that which profits not neither do they come to meet the Lord in the way of his Judgments nor find the Path of Life where the Unclean can never come neither yet do they know the Bread of Life nor drink his Blood that cleanseth from all Sin nor come to be translated into the Kingdom of the Son of God but remain in that Ground which was eursed by reason of man's Rebellion Gen. 3. 17. Heb. 6. 8. which Ground being not removed with the mighty Power of God the Blessing cannot be received nor the Understanding opened to know and receive that which the Natural Man perceiveth not the Eyes of their Minds being darkened through the Ignorance that is in them the Vail being over the Heart when that is read every day of their Worship which discovers Sin but makes nothing Perfect which Worshippers did and do Crucifie him that comes to take away the Sin But now he is come who hath forever perfected those that are sanctified and he that sanctisieth and they who are sanctified are all of one But they that are not sanctified are not of the one but are in the many Opinions in the Lusts of Ignorance and Wayes of Unrighteousness being not come to the one Faith which purifieth the Heart nor to know the one Baptism one Church one Way one Truth one God the Father of him who is the one Light which lightneth every man that cometh into the Wâ—rld of the which Light which is but one there is given a measure to every one of you which Light shineth in Darkness though not by it comprehended which Light will let you see that you your selves are out of God's Covenant in the World's Worship not reconciled to God upholding Idol Temples and Heathenish Customs with Bells and such things which the People of God never used but did and do deny forever and exhort you and all others to leave worshipping the Beast or upholding that which is not the true Worship of the true God practised by men of Sin in Steeple-Houses every First-Day Wherefore all People every where leave your Idolatry which you have learned and received by Tradition from the former Papists and Heathen who worship the Work of their own Hands and bow down to their own Inventions as you long have done and for this many Hundred Years have been learning and yet are not come to the Truth neither to believe in it but remain in Unbelief and Ignorance and your long time of Ignorance God winked at Acts 17. 30. But now Light is come in which God is calling to you and all men every where to Repent and forsake your Idolatrous Worship which by you a sinful Generation is practised in a Steeple-house one day in seven and Catn's Nature remaining in the inward parts from the which Idolatry all that sear the Lord God of Abraham are now to come from the Uncleanness of that Worship which is upheld by the Heathen for verily the Hand of the Lord God Almighty is stretched sorth against it and them Wherefore all People turn your Minds to the Lord God of Life who dwelleth in his People and not in Temples made with Hands and hath given to every one of you a measure of the true Light of his Son which Light in you will let you see your secret Sins and will teach you and shew you plainly of the Father if you love it and come to be led by it to do God's will so may you come to worship the Lord God of Life in Spirit and in Truth with the Children of the Light and of the Day which hath dawned upon many who need not any man teach them but are all taught of the Lord Glory and Honour and Everlasting Praises to his blessed Name forever and ever Amen Given forth as a Testimony against all Idolatry and Heathenish-Worship from the true Love of God the Father in pity to the Souls of them who have Eyes and see not and Ears and hear not that they may come forth of Darkness to follow Christ Jesus the Light of the World who is bringing the Blind by a Way that they know not Isa 42. 16. Therefore is this to go abroad among all People and read in Steeple-Houses Streets Market-places private Meetings and Families that all may consider what they have been doing in the dark Ezek. 8. 12. By a Servant of the Living God a Sufferer for the Testimony of his Name in the Common Goal and House of Correction at Winchester Humphery Smith The 4th Moneth 1658. Man driven out of the Earth and Darkness By the Light Life and Mighty Hand of GOD Wherein plain and simple Truths are brought to light that so the cause of Stumbling may be taken from before the Eyes of both Rulers and all sorts of Professors in Herefordshire c. Also something related of the Wonderful Power of God in the Work of Redemption and Restroration With a plain Self-denyal by him that takes up the daily Cross Behold the Lord worketh wonderfully every Morning he bringeth his Judgments to light he hath brought me back from the Grave and saved my Soul from Hell and set my feet upon a Rock THE Living Truth of the Lord God which he hath revealed in me by the mighty Operation of his Word of Life which living eternal Truth being my Life and shall last for evermore and be as a Standard of the Most High lifted up to all the scattered weary Souls that they may flow unto it and have it to be unto them a place of Refuge and Defence to fly unto in the day of Distress and by it come to be made Free and in it
the Lord who gave her a Son that knew the Lord and ministered before him being yet a Child but the Sons of Ely the Priest were Sons of Belial and knew not God like the Priests of England 1 Sam. 14. and 2. 18. And David a man after Gods own Heart was a deaf man and heard not and as a dumb man that openeth not his Mouth being dumb with Silence and held his Peace even from good until his Heart was hot within him and the Fire burned then he spake with his Tongue Psal 38. 13 14. Psal 39. 1 2 3. 9. and afterwards he said Thy Word have I hid in my Heart which Word is as a Fire that I might not sin against thee and so that which keepeth from Sin is hid in the Heart and that Word David said was a Lamp to his Feet and a Light unto his Paths which Word he kept and loved the Law of the Lord which is written in the Heart and so was made wiser than his Enemies and had more understanding than the Ancients and all his Teachers Psal .. 119. 10 11. vers 42 43 50 67 81 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105. And all the Prophets of the Lord were led guided and directed by the Spirit of Christ which was in them both in their Actions which sometimes were as Foolishness and Madness in the Eyes of the Professing Jews and also in their Words which sometimes were as Thunder against the ungodly though they were the Rulers of the People and their Words were so Terrible against them that professed Godliness and lived in unrighteousness that Amaziah the high Priest said of one of the Prophets who spake in the dread of the Lord That the whole Land was not able to bear his Words Amos 7. 10. And Amaziah the Priest of Bethuel being not able to bear the Word of the Lord therefore he falsly accused Amos of conspiring against the King Amos 7. And from the Spirit in them did the Prophets with boldness declare against the Wickedness of the Rulers of the People saying to the poluted City Thy Princes are Rebellious and Companions of Thieves they love Gifts and Rewards and judge not the Fatherless nor the cause of the Widdow and suh as these are the Adversaries and Enemies of the Lord upon whom he will be avenged and all them that trouble his Servants Isa 1. 23 24. 2 Thes 1. 6. And it is just and right for the Friends of Christ to declare against the Enemies of the Lord and those that decree unrighteous Decrees and write grievousness which they have prescribed and turn aside the Needy from Judgment and take away the Right of the People that they may Rob the Fatherless against these is the Hand of the Lord stretched out and they are to bow down under the Prisoners and fall under the slain Isa 10. 1 2 3 4. and saith the Prophet Wo to the filthy and poluted City her Princes are roaring Lyons her Judges are evening Wolves her Prophets are light and treacherous her Priests have poluted the Sanctuary Zeph. 3. 1 2 3 4. and many more such expressions they used which was not Railing but sound Words in the fear and dread of the Lord read Amos the first and second Chapters And from the Spirit of Truth in them did they also declare even against such as were the Teachers and Leaders of the People and were made Ministers by a Law of God which Law was then in force and those Ministers departing out of the way and corrupting the Covenant like the Priests of England therefore the Lord made them as he will these who deny the Way the Light base and contemptible in the Eyes of all the People because they also have been partial in the Law Mal. 2. 8 9. and against such did and do the Servants of the Lord declare they being such Shepherds that cannot understand but are blind ignorant dumb greedy Dogs these are the worst of Dogs Isa 56. 10 11. and by such is the horrible thing committed Jer. 5. 30 31. And the Pastors are become bruitish Jer. 10. 21. Therefore hearken not unto them Jer. 27. 13 15 16. verses also read Jer. 23. and Ezek. 34. For as Troops of Robbers wait for a man so the company of Priests murther in the way by consent Hos 6. 9. And one of the chief of that number is John Hodder Priest of the Parish called Haychurch in the County of Dorset and there was a People the Heads thereof judged for Reward and the Priests teached for Hire and the Prophets divined for Money is it not so in England Mich. 3. 11. and saith the Prophet O ye Priests this Commandment is for you I will send a Curse upon you and corrupt your Seed and spread Dung upon your Faces even the Dung of your solemn Feasts hearken ye Priests of England Mal. 2. 1 2 3. And this was and is sound Doctrine which the itching Ears of the false Teachers of our dayes cannot endure to hear being found themselves such cursed Children that cannot cease from Sin that were to come in the latter dayes 2 Pet. 2. 14. and those Words and many more to the same effect were they guided by the Spirit of Christ the Light in them to speak and from that Spirit they declared against the Rulers Priests and People who had the Law or Letter and Moses Writings without them yet were Enemies to the Spirit of Truth within But the Prophets searched diligently to see what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them did signifie 1 Pet. 1. 11. So that the Spirit of Christ was in the Prophets which testisied unto them and was their Rule and Guide And when Christ came who is the end of the Prophets and the Law he also declared against the same generation as the Prophets did and we do and he said They were of their Father the Devil who did his Works notwithstanding they had the Scriptures and the Oracles of God and were of the place of holy Worship and were zealous and strict therein even against them did Christ proclaim many Woes Mat. 23. for the Word of God had no place in them neither could they hear it John 8. 37 43. but in Christ the Light did all the fullness of God dwell Col. 1. 19. 2. 9. And so he that had the fullness of God within him was counted a Deceiver a Blasphemer denyed and crucified by them that had the Oracles of God without them and read the Prophets every Sabbath-day yet knew not their Voices Acts 13. 27. which prophesied of him whom they knew not when he was come who is the Light And now we do bear witness that the Light is come as did Isaiah 60. 1 2 3. though Darkness covers the Earth and gross Darkness the People yet in him that is the Light doth the fulness of God abide and no man cometh to the Father or fulness of God but the Son who is Light And
Greatness of thy strength prevail against the Almighty If so then mayest thou stand in thy Wayes O City of London but if not thy Misery will be great and who shall bemoan thee in that day or pity thee in the time of thy Distress Forasmuch as thou hast refused the counsel of the Lord and rejected the voice of his Servants in the midst of thee and hearkened not to his Word in thy own Bowels but also slighted the many VVarnings of the Lord by his Servants who were sent of him in love to thee that thou mightest come to serve him and not thy own Pleasure proceeding on from Year to Year like a monstrous Woman who regardeth not the Voice nor Person of Husband nor Friend Oh! what shall be said unto thee Must thou needs be left for Desolation And must thou be left as a Woman forsaken Will thy Lovers help thee in the Day of Trouble or thy delightsom Pleasures preserve thy Heart from Judgment or thy glorious Riches hide thee from the burning Torments If thou lovest thy Wages of Vanity more than God and thy Hearts lust more than thy Maker and wilt not turn speedily from it to seek the Lord in thy Heart then mayst thou post on as thou art going hastily to the Pit and with much eagerness to the Gulf of Misery where none can help thee And then will thy Feasting be turned into Famine thy Beauty into Dust thy Glory into Shame and thy Honour into Contempt as thou hast seen it come to pass upon others whose Glory and Strength was as great as thine by whom thou hast not taken warning by a thorow and speedy returning unto the Lord with all thy Heart Therefore will God search thee and judge thee according to what is found in the midst of thee and thou shalt be awakened in the day of God's anger and be sensible of the Torment when it cometh For though God hath also tryed thee with giving thee thy Hearts desire yet hast thou not been thereby humbled and though the Lord hath visited thee in loving-kindness yet hast thou walked loftily nay moreover thou hast taken occasion thereby to be the more exalted and art going in the Steps of them that the Lord so lately for such things overturned before thee that it cannot yet be forgotten And dost thou or the Rules in thee think to establish your selves by acting such things for which God overtured many mightier then you Therefore O City think not to establish thy self by Blood nor to be setled by way of Revenge for though some men may have done some things unjust against some of you and others so that God may justly by you scourge them sore for it yet wherein you do it in the way of Revenge or to Avenge your own cause or to set up your selves in Self-ends like them before you therein God will also find out a Scourge for you And this I have seen that the Great men of the Earth stand in slippery places and their great strength before the Lord is as Smoke before the Wind. My counsel is therefore That thou fear the Lord and turn from the Way thou art in and let thy Judges know that the Lord will judge them and let thy Rulers understand that the Lord will rule over their Strength and Wisdom and let thy Teachers perceive that God is come to teach his own Children And let the Kings Heart be upright before the Lord in this the day of his Tryal and time of Visitation from God the shortness or length thereof being hid from him over whom God ruleth as it pleaseth him who is cutting his Work short in Righteousness Therefore let all thy Inhabitants O thou great City from the highest to the lowest take good heed unto their Wayes and the Intents which are in them for the Lord seeth the Secrets of all your Hearts H. S. ANd that thou mayst not altogether disesteem of this Vision concerning thee and that thy Wise men may not esteem it as a thing of nought which is published for thy good and brought forth for thy Warning and declared to set before thee thy state at hand that thou mightest be warned before-hand and come to find something in thy self whereby thou mightst stand in the day of Tryal and endure in the hour of Trouble or otherwise Gods Servants might seal up the Visions and Revelations of God in the Book of Secrets and treasure them in the enlightned Chambers of the Heart where God is revealing his Secrets to those that fear him Therefore shall I write what hath been formerly shewed most whereof being come to pass and the rest hasteneth In my former Vision in the dayes of the former Rulers I saw on a Hill many Trees together standing which were both great and tall but they were very old and of a long standing and many of their lofty Boughs were broken and battered and many hanged downward which pressed down the Trees and they were old withering and decaying and had not grown a long time and were but as a Wonder to the Beholders though they had been of great account and the chief Trees among or over the rest and it was so that I beheld them much even with admiration to see such Trees in such a state which was more to this purpose than is here exprest and I beheld until all these Trees were rooted up out of the Earth and so overturned every one and their dead Bodies lay in a confused manner and were fallen one upon another and the Ground upon which they stood was broken up and then there was some room and liberty and Light came in and I walked and looked every way both upon the Light and the great Desolation of these great Ones The Interpretation whereof may be read by such as can but see And though this great overturning befell those great tall and strong Trees and that light came into that Ground over which those fruitless Trees stood yet I beheld round about and near unto it much Briars Brambles and Thorns in abundance which covered the Earth and it was such Rubbish that it was never like to be fit for any thing but to have a Fire kindled among it and it was so thick and so strong that there was no passing in nor through it but only where the narrow Way was and there also those Briars would catch on every side and he that passed through must stoop very low And what those Briars and Thorns were let those Brambles read who covered the Earth with their Multitudes in Raging Swearing Cursing Shouting Roaring and Drinking the Health as they call it of their King at his coming And near unto the place of the Destruction of those great Trees was there a Child in great Desolation in a close place where it had been a long time and was not like yet to be released but remained in want and misery which mine Eye pitied and in Irons and my Heart was sadned for it and the
and so may it be well with all you as ye are faithful to God in the suffering state and so enjoy his Presence thus also with you for evermore may it go well Shall I now therefore return to Exhortation and Admonition with desires of tender Love towards you that you all in patience may stand and look to the Lord whom we have and have none other in Heaven to hear our Cry nor in Earth that truly commiserateth our Cause nor hath Power like him to help Dear Friends he knoweth our Intents and seeth how it is with us he hath given to many of us an heart to say Lord if thou shouldst suffer us to perish we will not leave thee and whatever become of us we dare not deny thee before men for thou hast called us and we are thine even thine own whom thou hast chosen Let your desires be forever thus unto the Lord and wait upon him continually and let your Eyes be more upon the Lord than upon those things which in this day of Tryal are suffered to come to pass by him which he can also turn for his own Glory and your Everlasting Comfort And Friends this know that as your Minds are upon and much caring how to preserve the temporal things the weight of them will lie upon you and stop the Springs of better Treasures but as your Minds are towards the Lord a great case and satisfaction will be come unto you And Friends Murmur not that this day is come for it may be there was need of it even amongst us and it may be ye are more yet to be redeemed out of the earthly part and transitory things and question not but this will be for good and as for Tryals since this cloud was up I have even drunk deep with you of the inward sufferings yea more than is convenient to mention but the Lord hath kept my feet upon the Rock and with all the Upright I sing Praises to his Name And now be tender one to another you may read the Figure God is bringing you near together and Aegypt is thrusting you out by reason of the Torment that is upon them and a Land of Rest is before you and from the presence of the Lord they cannot Banish us nay nor what they would neither for God is on our side though they have yet something more to do and when every mans Work is over he shall certainly receive his Reward from God either good or evil and then as the Apostle saith of the Wicked They shall be punished with everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Presence 2 Thes 1. 6 7 8 9. But Friends it is safe for you all to dwell in your own Tents and mind the Lord and let your love be towards him above all things and in all things that you do wait to feel his Counsel and Guidance and trust him forever for great is the work of the Lord yea I have even looked for this day that the Cry of the innocent may reach unto Heaven and as I have said the sound thereof reach over Europe that Kings may come to be crowned with Honour and Judges decree Righteousness and true Judgment may stream forth as Water and Righteousness as a living stream that Thousands and Thousands of Thousands may slock to our Fold as Doves to the Windows that the Nations of men may bow under the Scepter of Righteousness and the Powers of Darkness shut up forever Behold O Friends yea stand still and see the fall of Babel the Destruction of the Whore and the Torment of the Beast for though Hell hath enlarged her self yet this we know the Lord liveth who scatters the Powers of Darkness Oh! what more shall I say who come to the dwelling-place of its unutterable Power may feel the unsearchable things of God And Friends let not the Enemy prevail through Unbelief for there Israel fell in the days of old and there is no greater danger than that of Unbelief But consider that you have something still to resist and seldom ever more than now and you have a spiritual Enemy to war with which flyes not but as he is resisted and in the time of your weakness and inward trouble is his time to prevail if ever and if thou canst stand then full easie mayst thou walk when Refreshings come and with delightsomness mayst thou persevere when the Cloud is over and this know that a Storm lasteth but for a time and Winter is but for a season and the Night remains not always nay the four hundred and thirty years had an end and the Bounds of the Seas are set and happy is he that always looketh unto him that ruleth over them for though when the Waves swelled even the Disciples were ready to think he cared not if they perished yet he intended better things for them and when for the Life's sake they cryed unto him he soon and easily abated the Rage both of Wind and Sea and then the sweetness of a Calm is prized Dear Friends I need not open the Parable unto you but even rather say The Lord be with you even every one of you beyond all that I can write and the Lord strengthen you and keep you stedfast in the Faith and refresh your Souls and minister more strength virtue and comfort unto you all every where for evermore Amen This is chiefly intended for all the imprisoned Servants of God and them yet at liberty and to be read among them with a good Understanding in that which gives it distinctly in the fear of God Humphery Smith Chalfont in Buckinghamshire the 13th of the 11th Mon. 1660. To Nâ—w-Englands pretended CHRISTIANS Who contrary to Christ have destroyed the Lives of men Having seen something of yours called by you an Appendix whereby you would justifie your selves in Whipping Imprisoning Banishing Killing and making Spoil of whole Families I being weak of Body and in Bed the strength of the Lord arose in me from the which was given forth that which followeth THe Lord God will answer you with that which you shall never be able to resist from the which you shall never be 〈◊〉 to fly neither shall your Coverings defend you but God will visit in secret and the Almighty will rain Snares upon you and all your strong holds in one day and that suddainly in a moment will the Lord God scatter and confound with all your strong Reasons and your Weapons which you have gathered together against the invisible God and his Servants like your Fathers in the dayes of Old Isa 41. 21. these with all your Weapons of War against the Lamb and the suffering seed shall be broken in the midst of you and Death will overtake you and Gods Righteous Judgments will enter within your dwellings and a day of blackness from the Throne of God will come upon you and his Anger with Bitterness will be poured forth upon you as a mighty Storm which
which cometh on a suddain and as a Whirlwind which none can stop and as the mighty unmerciful raging Waves of the Sea which none is able to resist even so shall the day of your Calamity come which is hastning as the lighting whose breaking forth all your fleshly Wisdom shall never be able to hinder Behold I have heard a Voice of Terror from the Lord against your Unrighteous Proceedings and the day of Gods Vengeance is in his heart and who should stand to plead with him Behold ye Thorns the Lord our God is a consuming fire and before him you cannot stand for your Sins have reached up to Heaven and your Iniquities are come before the most High and your grievous blood-thirsty actions are spread over Nations and Gods witness in thousands who are not of us but rather yet against us do rise up in their hearts against you and when you are awakned you will be filled with Anguish and a Cup of Astonishment from the Righteous God of Truth will be poured forth unto you and as sure as you have thirsted after and drunk deep of the Blood of Gods chosen though despised of men so certain shall you have Blood to drink and Trembling Horror Amazement will most absolutely come in that day which approacheth as a Thief in the Night and then shall your Bowels be ripped open and your inside Coverings broken and then shall your Hearts be rent with Perplexity and Amazement shall come over you as a Cloud of the Night and the hand of the Almighty will find out your secret lurking places and then shall ye know that the Lord our God doth and will plead the Cause of his People and avenge himself on his and their Enemies and then shall ye know that ye have risen up against the Lamb who is sometimes silent from pleading his own cause who though dumb as to answer the mighty Ones of the Earth yet faithful in suffering according to the will of him who ruleth over all and then shall ye know that though no answer at all were written unto your dark pretended Coverings yet shall you then feel an answer near unto you and the sound of Gods Terrible Voice shall be heard in the midst of you and form the dreadful Noise of his War shall you never be able to cover your selves with all your Writings Printings nor Declarations though never so strong from the prudency of the Earth for God hath cast all that behind his back and in the day at hand shall you most absolutely come to know it so to be For behold my heart is indeed rent and God hath opened in it the secret Counsel of his Will and his Purpose concerâ—ing you whose Decree shall never be changed which is sealed against the evil doer And 〈…〉 or Evil-doer who have done worse then 〈…〉 selves a Reproach amongst me◠〈…〉 the People O horrible and Wicked Cruâ—lty and Mercilâ—ss Tyranny which is found in the midst of you Is this the fruit of your Profession And has the Spirit of Truth led you to do these things Do not even the Nations stand and look at you And do not the Upright in Heart mourn in secret because of your Sins Ah! who could have believed that you would have done such things And do you think now to stop the Mouthes of People by publishing your strong Reasons Nay this is plain in my heart that all whatsoever you Print Publish or Declare shall never give satisfaction to the meek just Principle of God which remains in the Spirits of many Thousand Thousands in the Nations round about you And if your called An Appendix with the rest of your Writings were never answered by us and if we therein should lay our mouthes in the dust forever yet this we know that the holy One of Israel the Righteous God of Truth will plead our cause and execute Judgment in his fury and avenge the Blood of his Saints and help the man of low degree against him who is too strong for him and to the Lord God of Righteousness we commit our Cause and the Innocency of our dear Brethren and in Gods blessed will I rest and am satisfied in respect of his love unto his Jewels though but as Fools to the World and in respect of his answering of you acording to the fruit of your own wayes And behold ye Children of men I cannot but proceed to declare unto you the Day which is near at hand and warn you all to strip your selves from your coverings and sit down ye People in Dust and Ashes and confess your Iniquities in secret unto the Lord before it be to late for great is the Wo which is coming upon you and that which I have heard concerning you is none other then a Voice of Terror O the Trouble Distress and Calamity that soundeth in my heart concerning you and from the Lord God will it be poured forth and exceeding deep shall you drink thereof and this shall you know to be true when the Whirlwind cometh from far and the shadows of the Night draw near when no hiding place will be found for the Hypocrite neither a refuge for the Evil doer And then as ye have not spared the despised of the World so will the Lord cast upon you and not spare O the Bitterness and Unutterable Torments which will then come but who amongst you will believe these things and who can entertain the Counsel of the Lord And are not your hearts yet hardened against Reproof And are not to be reproved for your Envy against Gods People Nay moreover are you not sometimes already reproved by him who seeth in secret and who searcheth the Intents of the Heart and maketh manifest unto man the Wicked Enterprises thereof and overturneth the Counsels of the Wicked but remembreth the Cause of the Needy and pleadeth the Innocency of the Upright in whose sight the Death of the Saints is precious and who pleadeth their Cause in the day of Trouble and will most certainly confound his Adversaries and scatter his Enemies as smoke is scattered with a mighty Whirlwind and in that day where then will your place be found And a seed there is which God will deliver from your hands and preserve from the Blood-thirsty men which shall grow up in the midst of you as a Lilly among Thorns and Gods blessing shall be upon them with whom my Life is And as the latter gleaning in the time of Harvest so shall the gathering of Gods Heritage be And what you have done will be for the advantage of the suffering Seed and for the Glory of God and much for your disadvantage and eternal Shame and endless Misery if you repent not And this you men of sin should know that inasmuch as you have taken away the Life of Gods Creatures and moreover Unjustly by an Unrighteous Law destroyed the Lives of his Servants therein may all men see that you are contrary to Christ and led by a Spirit
a People who had not a King to whom the Lord gave a King and seeing he gave them a King in his anger Hos 13. 11. and after took him away in his wrath or greater anger Q. 1. Whether then these people of our days being without a King did purchase themselves a King with Gold Silver or mortal Strength or did the Lord give the King unto them And whether the King did come to them to rule over them in his own Power strength wisdom and force of Armed men or did the Lord give or bring him to the People and that beyond and above and much more easier than he or the wisest Polliticians he had could perceive expect or believe 2. Query upon the same And whether or no the Lord was pleased or displeased with these People before the King came or rather was given to them of the Lord And whether the Lord was angry or pleased with the Governours and Government as it then stood and with the Army and the Ministry as they and it then stood And whether most if not almost all or wholly all the Rulers were not then Breakers of their Promises and Engagements which they had often made unto the People and one with another and might not God be justly Angry with Promise and Covenant-breakers 3. Query upon the same And whether the total Overturning the whole Government as it then stood and the Destruction of the Governours with Shame Scorn Ignominy Reproach and Loss of Honour Dignity Fame and Renown together with Riches Goods fair Buildings Lands Liberties and Life it self were not and will not remain a sure Testimony of Gods anger against them in which Anger he gave the People a King thus to execute his just Judgments in his anger And whether those things be Signs of Anger or not 4. Query upon the same And whether God was angry or pleased with the Souldiery and Army as they then stood seeing that before they could have their pay they were fain to swear for that manner of Government which they had so long and so often protested and fought against And may not the sense of Gods anger therein remain to this day upon many of their Consciences 5. Query upon the same And whether the Lord was then angry or not angry with the Priests and Leaders of the People and with the Ministry as it then stood especially with the pretended and esteemed most refinedâ—t of them whom some in scorn call Quakers much warned before hand and much declared against seeing they are alloverturned as from what they then stood in and were or at least seemed to be And seeing that many of them are turned from Hundreds a year whereby some are in distress some in great care how to live some faint to travel from one Country to another some being ashamed to shew their faces among People some faint to turn Hypocrites in denying their own Principles some lose their dearest Friends some faint to bow and creep like 〈◊〉 unto such that before they had in little esteem or 〈◊〉 some turn against that which themselves were in and 〈◊〉 â—gainst themselves like the wind that turns every way 〈…〉 and preach down and contradict that which before theâ— themselves were and so write and preach down themselves and contradict themselves and one another And many more things I might Query concerning them and as to their standing then and their state now and leave them or any for them who do now either own them or disown them as to their former standing when the King was given to answer for them or in their be half whether such things as these and much more which I say is justly come upon them seeing they rejected warning be Testimony and Signs of Gods anger or not 6. Query upon the same And whether those Rulers who now under the King and in the Name of the King have Imposed the things aforesaid and much more upon the Priests Rulers Souldiers and People and have executed those just Judgments of God upon those Promise-breakers and People that had not a King and took away the Liberties of many and that which was moreover even the Lives of some did do those things in love and pity unto them as they then stood or else in anger against them And if God was not then angry with the people how came those things to pass And if he was angry was not their Promise-breaking a great cause of his Anger And if the People now break Promise again is it not just if the Lord be in his Wrath with them again And if the King though he hath given him to be King should likewise break his Word and Promises may not the Lord justly be sorely displeased therewith as he was angry with the same things before and spared not the cheifest of them that did it 7. Query upon the same And if the People generally be as Wicked now they have a King as they were before or worse how then shall the ensuing Wrath of God be stopt or hindred now any more than his anger was then And is not Gods Power as great now as it was then And doth not he hate Wickedness and Promise-breaking as much now as he did then Or if the King whom the Lord hath given and these Rulers Souldiers Priests and People now under him shall break Promises as the other did and be as cruel and as hard hearted and as great Oppressors as the other Rulers and as full of Envy as the Souldiers Priests and People were in the time of the other Government when they had not a King whether then the Lord will respect Persons or the Persons of the Mighty in judgment And unto all these things here stated in brief let the just witness of God in all Consciences answer yea or nay 2. Seeing that Mercy and Truth preserve the King and his Throne is upheld by Mercy Prov. 20 28. And so seeing a King may be given in Anger to the People and in Wrath may be taken from them yet Truth may preserve the King and Mercy may uphold his Throne which thing is worth the Kings observing and all that truly love him Qu. 1. Whether now is it best for the King to keep to the truth of his Word and Promise or not seeing Truth preserveth the King And if Truth be a Preservation to the King whether Untruth and denying of the Truth be not destructive And now who are the Kings best Friends they that would have him keep to the Truth and live in the Truth or them that would lead him from it to do quite contrary to Christ that said I am thâ— Truth who said That Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my Words shall not pass away Luke 21. 33 And is not his Throne established forever and should not a Christian King take him for an Ensample And is it not good for the King to keep the Truth and not to sell it Prov. 23. 23. seeing Truth preserveth the