travelling towards the Land of rest promised of the Lord to them to be obtained and enjoyed by them and they do and have sojourned strangers in these Nations over whom thou art called to Rule and appointed chief Governour this 7 years and greatly are and have they been afflicted and oppressed and even trodden down through unjust Judgment and unrighteous dealing by the Rulers and Inhabitants of the Land and all the dayes of thy Father the late Protector they were held in great captivity and bondage and unrighteous men made them a prey and layed heavy yoaks of cruel sufferings upon them and daily increased their task and something thy Father did for them in their journey of great distress yet but a little of what the Lord required of him and what the Lord looked for that he might have done for power was in his hands given him of the Lord but he was not fully obedient and therefore was the Lords hand stretched out somewhat against him and his Family and he was smitten of the Lord and suddenly taken away in Judgment for he hearkened not to the Counsel of the Lord concerning that people neither did fully relieve them from oppression but slighted many warnings from the Lord the day of his visitation passed over and death took him away in disobedience while this people were yet under great oppressions for he left above a hundred of them in prisons unjustly suffering for â—â—righteousness sake and not for evil-doing and in this he fulfilled not the Will of God but left his name and glory somewhat stained because of these things and though the Lord chose him and shewed love unto him and gave him power over his enemies and made him an Instrument in his hand to break down great oppressions yet he was not obedient to the end to do my will saith the Lord but left something undone which he was truly called unto Now this innumerable people that is come and coming up as aforesaid are them called Quakers and this Aegypts Land is that great darkness ignorance and wickedness and false ways and worships in the Apostacy and fleshly bondage to sin and death which all the world and kindreds and multitudes that are unconverted to God lives and walks in and that Land of rest promised to which they travel is the peaceable and quiet dwelling with the Lord free from the heavy oppression of sin and iniquity and cruelties of men and free in the exercise of their pure Consciences by the Spirit of the Lord as it shall move and lead them into all truth and their sojourning as strangers is their denying and despising the world and all its glories and walking in the daily Cross of Christ whereby they are crucified to the love and respect and renown and honours of the world and are come out of kindreds tongues and people counting the reproach for Christ great riches not respecting men but the Lord altogether in all things and also their suffering unrighteusly false imprisonment and spoiling of their goods for righteousness sake this is their sojourning as strangers And that something that thy Father did for them is he released many of them divers times out of prisons where they were unjustly cast and he signified sometimes his displeasure against them that made them suffer and shewed love to them in hearing their innocent cause with some respect thereunto and that which he did not which he might have done is he took not away Tithes that cause of great oppression to many nor the unrighteous laws wholly as he ought to have done and as the Lord required of him And know thou from the Lord that this same people are the people of the Lord and beloved of him and as dear to him as the apple of his eye and his presence is with them and he leads them as a flock by his Spirit into all truth and who shall bless them shall be blessed but he that acts against them shall not prosper but be smitten of the Lord for their cause will the Lord plead in his Judgments and avenge them of their enemies and the dread of the Lord God shall fall heavy upon the heads of their persecutors and though they are hated of all men and are under great afflictions yet are they a Just people and innocent seeking the good of all men and are peaceable towards all and receiving all manner of wrongs and evil and speakings against them by ungodly men but they render to no man evil for evil but bless them that curse and do good to their enemies and bears all things from all men in long suffering and patience for they are learned in the practices of doing and suffering of the holy Apostles and Prophets and are of the seed of Abraham who was the friend of God and they were thy fathers friends and are not enemies to thee nor to righteous Government but wishes well unto thee in the Lord and that thou may not be destroyed in wickedness but be established in righteousness and peace in thy Government to rule in Gods authority over all wicked men that may seek thy hurt and we desire for thee that the Lord may give thee wisdom a perfect understanding and the Spirit of just and sound Judgment to Judge righteously in all things and to settle the Government in true Judgment that the principle of God in every man may answer to it in defending and preserving and protecting all that walk in truth and righteousness and being a terrour to all evil-doers for for that end is rule and government ordained of God amongst men to be a praise to all that do well and a terrour to all that do evil and now the Lord having suffered it to be brought to pass that thou art set up in thy fathers stead to be chief Ruler amongst men this the Lord God Almighty requires of thee as thou hopes to prosper and be blessed in this life and to enjoy life Eternal when this world is passed away and this is the Word of the Lord God unto thee be humble meek and lowly in heart and exalt not thy own horn nor seek not this worlds honour but seek the Lord with thy whole heart and let Justice and true Judgment and righteous Government which is according to the Law of God be set up and exalted in the Nations and come to know in thy self the Dominion and Authority of the Lord God over sin and transgression and to keep down and condemn all that which is contrary to God in thy own heart and that will make thee a dread and a terrour to men and Nations and then the Lord will be thy Crown and his people will rejoice in thee and lift up their hearts to God for thee if thou throw down and abolish all unrighteous lawes and decrees which have been set up in the days of ignorance and yet stands wherereby the Lords dear Children are afflicted and oppressed at this day and establish such a Government
on in faithfulness to the end and in that day when thou was raised up when the fear of the Lord was before thy face and thy heart was towards him and thou was but little in thine own eyes then was it well with thee and the Lord blessed thee and made thee honourable and his people had love towards thee and desires for thee that thou might have been as a helper to the poor and a father to the faithful and a preserver of the upright from unreasonable men and an easer of the oppressed a taker away of every oppressive bond and it was not once thought concerning thee that the hands of the ungodly would have been strengthened against the righteous under thee or that such grievous and cruel burthens and oppressions would ever have been laid upon the Just and acted against them in thy name and under thy Dominion as unrighteously have come to passe in these three years as a large testimony might be given and this thy suffering of such things is thy transgression and thou hast not requited the Lord well for his goodness unto thee nor fulfilled his will in suffering that to be done under thee and in thy name which the Lord raised thee against to break down hadst thou been faithful to the end Again consider and let it move on thy heart not to exalt thy self nor to be high minded but to fear continally knowing that thou standest not by thy self but by another and that he is able to abase thee and give thee into the will of thy enemies when soever he will and how the Lord hath preserved thee sometimes wonderfully and doth unto this day from the murderous plots and crafty policie of evil men who seeks thy evil and would rejoyce in thy fall and in the desolation of thy family and countries how have they and do they lay snares for thy feet that thou may be cut off from amongst men and die unhappily and be accounted a curse and yet to this day he hath preserved thee and been near thee to keep thee though thou hast hardly known it and the Lords end is love to thee in all these things and yet a little longer to try thee and that thou might give him the glory O that thy heart were opened to see his hand that thou mayst live unto him and die in him in peace and beware least hardness of heart possesse thee if thou slight his love and so be shut up in darkness and given to the desires of thine enemies and left to the counsels of treacherous men who may seek to exalt thee by flattery that they might the better cast thee down and destroy thee and blot out thy name in reproach and make thy posterity a People miserable but now O consider and let it enter into thy heart for thou hast not answered the Lord but been wanting to him for all this and hast chosen thy own way and glory rather then his and not fulfilled his counsel in raising thee for the bonds of crueltie are not loosed by thee and the oppressed is not altogether set free neither is oppression taken off from the back of the poor nor the Laws regulated nor liberty of pure conscience altogether allowed but these Dominions are filled with cruel oppressors and the poor groans every where under their heavy hand of injustice the needy are troden down under foot and the oppressed cries for deliverance and are ready to faint for true Justice and Judgement the proud exalts himself against the poor and the high minded and Rebellious contemns the meek of the earth the horn of the ungodly is exalted over the Lords heritage and they that are departed from iniquity are become a prey to oppressors and the cruel hearted deals cruelly with the innocent in these Nations and such whom the Lord hath freed in their consciences from false worships and Teachers and from the wayes of sin and death are made slaves and greedily preyed upon by unjust men through casting into prisons and dungeons and unjust fines and Illegal proceedings and beatings and abusings and woundings and bruisings hard to be expressed and large to be declared even the hands of many of the people over whom thou art set to rule are full of blood merciless and cruel and neither fears God nor are subject to the just rule and Government of men and the mouth of many of thy subservant Rulers and Governours that have their power from thee are as the teeth of young Lions and the upright and harmless are devoured and made a spoil by them through policy and oppression both in their persons and estates if I perish I must speak the truth my life is not dear to me for the truth sake many who should have judged in true Justice and righteousness the cause of the poor have been as bryars and thorns to insnare and pierce the just man and have perverted Judgement and turned it backward equity have hardly had place to enter most of the prisons this day in all thy Juridictions have and doth testifie the unjust judgement and the great oppressions and cruelties of some in Authority who have used or rather abused thy name and made it a cloak for their hard-heartedness O my heart is troubled and my bowels pained at the remembrance of this how doth the poor cry under the heavy hand of oppession and the needy lament for want of true Judgement and the oppressed groan for want of deliverance and these things are thought upon by the Lord though not considered by thee as they ought to be and because of this will he arise to plead the cause of the innocent against him that is too strong for him and will dash to pieces his enemies and break the jawes of the devourers and the righteous shall not alwayes be a prey to the teeth of the ungodly O Friend when wilt thou consider the oppression of the poor and hearken to the cry of the oppressed within thee and without thee when shall it enter into thy heart this cause of the unjust sufferings of the Lords people from which thou canst not altogether be excused for it is acted in thy name though not by thee O let thy ear be opened unto the cryes of the oppressed in the prisons and let the cause of the innocent come before thee and let thy heart be pierced at the consideration of these things which are come to pass in thy dayes contrary to the expectation of many and see if it be not contrary to thy own promises sometimes vowed by thee let the light of Christ in thy own conscience answer and some of the multitude of the grievous oppressions of which the Land is full hath been laid at thy door and brought unto thee but scarcely found an entrance upon thee and this aggravates the crime of thy transgression in that thou knowest of these things wonderful is it to consider that even thou with whom the power of the Lord hath
believe without any further knowledge that daily advantage they seek against thee by subtil conspiracies and secret plottings of maliciousnesse in their evil hearts seeking by all means if it be possible how to be avenged and not sliping any advantage how to revenge themselves and the cause of their King and of these scattered under thy Government is not a few but rather the greater number who thus stands in affections to thee with no better purpose of good towards thee then to destroy thee by any means if it were in their power and to take away thy Name in reproach such is the cruelty and desperatenesse of some of them their own lives are not dear unto them to take away thine I have felt the strength of their rage against thee which carries them above sence or fear to forego any danger that they might see their desired end of thee their malice towards thee is so seated in their wrathful hearts that it cannot easily be quenched I know the Lord hath cursed them and their endeavours to this day and thou hast had dominion and power given thee of God to bruise them and to break them to pieces and what thou hast done unto their King should not be reckoned against thee by the Lord if now thou wert faithful to what he requireth of thee for because of the wickednesse of that generation which was grown to the full did the Lord raise thee up as a plague upon them because of their unrighteousnesse oppression and tyranny and they were made as slaves and bondmen under thy power and without the Lord can they not at any time do any thing against thee but what and if for thy wickednesse in the sight of God he should make them instruments in his hand to accomplish his wrath upon thee even like as he made thee once his instrument to overthrow them and such hath been the Lords doings even to overthrow his enemies one by the other and to use the wicked as a rod in his hand to break them one against another like potsherds and by that which comes to passe in these Nations thou seems no lesse then to tread in their steps and in a measure already goes on in their way in oppressing through Tyranny or suffering it the people of God whose cause the Lord will assuredly plead against thee one day who now suffers under thee in patience and who can tell the purpose of the Lord or what he may bring to passe concerning this thing in raising up the wicked to be a plague to wickednesse and in suffering the oppressors to overthrow oppressions this is by me in love to thee in sencerity declared and by thee with soberness and in the fear of God it is to be considered Again there is another people scattered through all these Dominions who is not thy friends nor wishers well unto thee or thy Government who secretly murmures against thee and envies thee and even seekes God against thee and thy Government which they judge to be not according to God and bowes not to it in love though they are forced to submit for a time hoping continually if not hatching other wayes of Rule and Government to the overthrow of thee and thine and these are more honest and upright and just in the sight of the Lord then the former and indeed they are not nor their purposes accursed of the Lord for many of them have been sufferers and faithfully served their Nation with perfect purpose of freedom to the Lords People and they have at this day perfect zeal for God and for his wayes though not altogether according to knowledge yet some of them are not far from the Kingdom of God though they seek it not wholly in the right way nor looks onely with a single eye yet doth not the Lord hate them altogether because of their integrity towards him and zeal for him who some of them have suffered imprisonment for truth and righousness sake as they have wholly thought and their suffering hath not been altogether slighted by the Lord and these are they known by name of the fifth Monarchy of whom there is more then a few with them that wishes well unto them who will rise up for them rather then for thee many of whom propounds well in their minds though they have not power to effect it because their intent is not altogether according to the Lord yet are many of them free from that whereof thy self is guilty and some of them are cast out and wholly rejected without any just cause as they suppose and these things have grieved their spirits and not onely kindled their rage and envy but moved their sincerity and honesty against thee wherefore they are not thy friends but rather thy enemies and would not stand by thee or with thee in thy need but rather I suppose would arm themselves against thee and thy power who highly charges thee as they suppose justly too with unfaithfulness and such like for they see that is not accomplished which hath been promised by thee but the contrary even one finger is become as heavy as was once the loynes and their spirits are grieved against thee for such causes and who knowes but that the Lord may take the occasion to trie thee and prove thee by them for their hearts are high against thee and thy Government and that upon good ground as they sincerely think Again there is through thy Dominions a People gathered and gathering dayly by multitudes who are called and chosen of him and faithful to him who hath owned him above all things and whom he hath owned and will own in the sight of the whole world and will encrease them to a numberless number according to his promise and even those the Lord is making many who are redeeming out of the world into the Government and Kingdom of Jesus Christ and these thou knowest are great and grievous sufferers by many hard and cruel oppressions from those who are in authority in thy Government even unjust imprisonment and fines and burthensome taxations in many things hard to be expressed and they undergo grievous persecutions under thy Government and wholly unjustly in the sight of God and also are cast out of all power and place in it and almost out of all subjects priviledge too many of them being counted as vile amongst men though they are not so in the sight of the Lord Justice and righteousness and true Judgement they cannot have in all these Nations not from thy self nor subservant Judges of whom hardly can their cause be heard but are deprived of their proper right and of subjects freedom in Judicatories and exposed to all wrong that may be by unjust men through unjust Judgement and these things are not unknown to thee and therefore art thou inexcusable in the sight of the Lord and guiltie of their sufferings in his presence who hath power to prevent it but doth it not and these thus suffering in thy Government
when they are layed before you for you do not relieve the oppressed neither doth remove oppressors as you ought to do and as the Lord requireth of you what hath the abundance of this worlds glory and its treasure quite overcome and stollen away your hearts wholly from all sence and feeling of the unjust sufferings of your brethren who have in times past as faithfully as your selves served their Nation with their lives and estates to the purchasing of this peace and freedom out of the hands of tyrants and such may now justly claim the benefit of this peace and freedom and to have a part with you therein even by birth-right and by purchase and also by promise from some of your selves but alas while they have waited for it and thought peaceably to enjoy the same under you are many of them entrapped into as great bondage as ever if not more woful and unjust and they are unjustly imprisoned and unreasonably fined and every way oppressively dealt withall and are even spoiled in their persons and estates their lives often in danger being through great injustice become a prey to their very enemies who now takes occasion to revenge their former cause because of their faithfulness for the Commonwealth against them and all this is done while you look on and no way shewing your dislike to these things wch strengtheneth greatly the hands of evil doers to add to the bonds of the afflicted yet are you without excuse for you are not wholly ignorant of these things for the knowledge of them hath often been layed at your doors yea and the very cry of these oppressions and cruelties reacheth through the whole Land to the wounding deeply of all people that fears God to know so great injustice and oppression brought forth upon the innocent and faithful people by some so far entrusted as having the Law committed to them which they pervert and turns Judgement backwards and the greater is the wound because you who have power to stop and prevent these things should no more regard to set at liberty the unjust sufferers and to render Judgement upon those as thus perverts true Justice by whom the Land is filled with violence whereby the name of the Lord is greatly dishonoured and the Government greatly reproached in many parts of the world why because the faithful subjects cannot enjoy their birth-right priviledge as they ought according to the Law of God and man for their equals yea their inferiours have exalted themselves above and are become oppressors of the free born people divers ways doth these hainous oppressions cruelties abound upon the innocent and not for evil doing but for the exercise of their pure consciences towards God for many hath been taken travelling on the high way and some out of peaceable meetings and some out of their Innes and friends houses and by some wicked men in authority without shewing just cause therefore have just innocent men been whipped or stocked or imprisoned or other cruelties done unto them and yet the transgression of no just Law truely charged against them neither have been convicted of any evil doing but they have suffered wholly innocently onely through the malice and will and pleasure of their enemies who have taken occasion without any just offence at all to stock and whip and imprison many of the true and faithful subjects and this hath not been done in secret but openly in many parts of this Nation and you have had information of these things that you should have been awakened to true Justice Judgment and this the Lord requireth of you though the guiltless sufferers have born all these things without complaining yet ought you to have Judged justly according to their deeds such as caused such cruelty and unjust sufferings that for time to come the like might not have been brought forth but the free subjects might live in Peace and rejoice under the Government and all perverters of Judgment and Justice might stand in awe and be afraid so should you be a praise to ages after you and likewise many who are at this present remaining in prisons in divers parts of this land some upon one false accusation and evil surmizing and some upon another for a good conscience sake the cause of whom hath often bin laid before you which seemed for the present to have some entrance upon you yet little is brought forth by you as ought to be in that cause for though none of any such doth complain unto you who have and doth unjustly suffer yet the Lord doth require you to set the oppressed and falsely imprisoned at liberty and to bring true Judgment forth upon their persecutors also there is another suffering great and grievous growing upon many if it be not prevented many faithful and approved men are dispossessed of their freedom which truly belongeth to them by the law of God and man in divers Cities and corporations because for conscience sake they cannot swear by kissing the book and laying the hand upon it according to the vain tradition in such causes formerly used though to deal justly towards God and man in their craft and science they are bound by the Law of God yet because they will not swear and so break Christs Commands are they threatned and their windows shut up and dis-priviledged of their trading whereby they should maintain themselves and families in the Creation and this one thing tendeth to the destruction of many as in this world and no little hurt will thereby grow to the whole Nation in a generation of time and it is required of you by the Lord to prevent these sufferings though many can forgo their own freedom in this world and their lives also rather then break the least Command of Christ and thus are many faithful people made a very prey to their enemies and in divers manners it is brought forth upon them for many also suffers deeply in the house of correction for reproving sin and others are grievously spoil'd in their estates because for conscience sake they cannot pay to maintain a professed Minister or uphold a Steeple-house for it is a common thing for a Priest to take or have it done four or five times so much by distress as any way he can prove a pretended due and many other sufferings there are which are only for conscience sake as because some cannot put off a hat to a Magistrate or the like which gives an ill savour to the Government in which they are acted without reproof Ah my Friends be awakened to Justice and true Judgment to relieve such unjust sufferers and to throw down all such hainous oppressions and oppressors that the Lord may yet make you and your Government blessed after his long suffering to you which hath been great for Justice and true Judgement in a Government is the happiness thereof and the foundation for a long continuance and on the contrary cruelty and injustice and oppression being brought
away and often when things are young they are tender but when they grow up into prosperity they grow wanton and forget the Lord therefore friend live in Gods Wisdom if thou wilt reign in his power and strength then none shall touch thee and all them that fear God will be on thy side and take thy part and be one with thee in all thy sufferings yea till death And friend let no wilde raw flatterers that will be lifted up by gifts rewards or high places bear any Offices for such to thee will be a burthen at last and will clog thee and flatter thee for their own ends shake off such spirits from thee and let no Judges or Justices or Priest be authorized that will persecute men for Religion for such are not in the mind of Christ not the Apostles for they wrestled not with flesh and blood nor watred with it but with the principalities and powers and rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places Eph. 6. 2. that they struck down which caused the enmity amongst people and they did not strike at the Creatures nor wrestle with them with flesh and blood with such they did not war withal concerning Religion and Christ when they would have had fire come down from Heaven to consume them that opposed him and them Christ rebuked them and told them they knew not what Spirit they were of and he said he did not come to destroy mens lives but to save them so all Judges and Justices and Priests that will have mens lives destroyed and war with flesh and blood and wrestle with that about Religion they are not of the mind of Christ and his Apostles the true Ministers for abundance of prisonment to death and blood-shed hath been in these Nations by the blind zeal of Magistrates Judges Justices Priests therefore that 's the cause the Lord hath turned them upside down that they stand not long because they fight against the righteous and the just and wrestle with creatures and flesh and blood such are not worthy to have the names of Magistrates nor Teachers as thou maist read And friend take heed of letting any Goaler bear Office that 's a drunkard prophane swearers as many of them is or letting people lye long in goales twenty or thirty together for such they learn badness together one of another and Goalers be bad examples to them that they are worse when they come out then when they went in And friend take heed of letting any Judges exact upon the people in the poor Countries where they come and their Courts by tricks but keep them all to so saying and so doing not saying one thing and doing another for they have made many people come up to them 200 miles and when they have come they have said they do not mean as they speak and this be their tricks as by their writs they must appear personally and then when they come they must appear by Attorneys or Counsellers when the poor man knows his cause well enough himself And friend take heed of holding up the Priests and them called Ministers and giving them means and maintenance for which they do not work least in thy name they sue the people and cast in prison till the death and so make thy name to become a cloak for their persecution for who sets them on work let them pay them their wages and whom they work for let them give them their meat and that will be like the Ministers of the Gospel and now thou being free of these things keep thy self so And friend here is a great talk of Religion and Ministry and Profession and Christianity but if thou did but feel that which we feel and see it would grieve thy heart so much pride and haughtiness and loftiness amongst people and hard heartedness that there is so many beggers cripples blind lame men and women and children on their knees women lying with children in their lapps up and down every corner in the streets and high wayes and Steeple house doors throughout this great rich City that never knew want and do not know many of them what to eat and drink and put on now if these things enter into thy ears and tenderness strike thee and thou consider thou wilt feel it Now there hath been a cry of the Jewes hard-heartedness that turned against Christ now friend consider the Jewes that took Tithes had a Store-house to put it in and the Tenths were enough for to relieve the strangers fatherless and widowes that there need not be a begger amongst them Now I say the Tithes of this Nation would give strangers fatherless and widowes and Priests enough both if they had Store-houses to put it in that there need not be a begger amongst them as there was not amongst the Jewes but then you must own Christ is not come in the flesh for these Tithes were set up since the dayes of the Apostles for they preached them not up but down as Heb. 7. but they have been preached up since the Apostacy when all the want hath been and before the Apostacy among the true Christians there was no want among them every one had for his necessity now look amongst all the Magistrates and Ministery hear and see how things are out of order though there should be never such true Lawes given forth yet putting them into such corrupt Magistrates hands they will never act them but wrest them and pervert them and turn them against the righteous and by that the just suffers And friend let none bear the office of Judge Sheriff Justice or Minister that 's headdy perverse and peevish for such often slay themselves by their envy and it eats out the good in them and they will be a burthen to thee and a grief both thou living in the Power and Wisdom of God the simplicity in thee will be burthened as it is in us and thou dealing in truth it will stand by thee and answer the Principle of God in every man for such causes many poor men to go away with sorrow and grief And let no man bear office whatsoever his office may be that would have honour before he have humility for such will more mind honours below earthly and favours of men then Justice and are out of Solomons steps who said before honour is humility And friend take heed of giving Titles to men nor do not learn to do it but mind Elihu that young mans counsel that spake to Iob that great rich man the Judge who said if I give Titles to man which he had not learned to give Titles to men his maker would soon take him away as thou may est read Iob 3d. and the last And friend it is a just thing for thee to make all those Ministers that have cast into prison abundance of the servants of the Lord God because they could not put into their mouths that for which they did not work for nor never hired and