I say if serving of God peaceably and quietly with Reverence and Godly Fear be good in the Sight of God How can those answer the turning the Edge of the Sword of Iustice upon them before the great Jehovah who put that Sword into their hands and if so Why are the poor peaceable People of God that are no Turkish slaves but the free born Commoners of England thus enslaved Why must the Sword of Oppression thus be suffered in the hands of Richard Brown instead of the sword of Iustice Why are the several Justices of Peace in the several Counties of England thus suffered to disturb the Peace of the Innocent Lambs of Jesus in their peaceable Meetings And if any man shall ask me the reason why I question these things I must Answer them in the words of Little David in that 1 Sam. 17. 29. What have I now done is there not a cause Is not that great Goliah of our times defying the Host of the Israel of God that Rome-bred Monster Persecution Is it not now vaunting it self against both the Cause and People of God Is it not now pulling down those that cannot drink drunk go like Anticks Spot and Paint Whore and Rant Rend and Tear Swear and Forswear Is not this a Cause why the People of God who will evidence themselves so to be now to stand up for Purity Piety Peace Mercy Truth and Iustice and in such a time as this boldly Couragiously Manfully to fight the Lords Battel and to lay about them with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God Joh. 6. 17. and chiefly and more frequently to meet together and with a peaceable gentle holy violence come with great Zeal into their several and respective Meetings to pray to the Lord and set their shoulder to the Work as one Man to offer an Holy Violence to the Throne of Grace that God would let King Charles see what he hath done for him and also what he doth expect from him that so the End of his faithful Subject in casting that into his Treasury may be effected To which purpose it shall be my request to all my Brethren that they would both privately and Publickly Meet at their Publick Meetings to cry Mightily to the Father by the help of the Spirit in the Name of his Son King Iesus that he would Assist King Charles in that needful work of Self-Examination and due Consideration Not forgetting the Great the Mighty and the Noble of the Land nor thee Richard Brown although thou art so cruel But to remember also all Iustices of Peace yea and all the Nation in general that are thus bent against Gods People with such a spirit of bitterness that God would let them see how they requite the Lord for his Benefits bestowed upon him and them and to them in doing so much for him their King To which purpose that it may be the more Effectually done I say to them all as I do to Henry Den about Swearing in my Fannaticks Testimony against Swearing in Page 45 that they would call for and crave the assistance of all in that Page mentioned that so they may if possible have one Word of God from the ablest of their Learned Men for their thus imprisoning and abusing the Fock of God or any man else for their worshipping their God because they cannot worship with them I say again I would have every soul be fully satisfied herein before they proceed farther that so they may have the Word of God for their Warrant as a Foundation of their Faith herein for saith the Apostle Rom. 14. 23. Whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin For Faith is the full perswasion of the heart of Man grounded upon the Promises of God and wrought in us by the Spirit of God So that if thou hast not a Word of God for thy Warrant as a Foundation of thy Faith herein thy Faith is no more Faith but Fancy and therefore have a care Soul who ever thou art though never so great I say again in the fear of the Lord have a care that the Lord say not one day to you that are thus found persecuting his People for worshipping him not at all harming you as once he said by his Prophet to Israel of old Isai. 1. 12. Who hath required this at your hands Why have you Ensnared Inslaved Imprisoned and evilly Intreated my People when I have done so much for you when I have given you so much Liberty so much Freedom so many Priviledges and Injoyments and can ye not suffer the Members of that Body of which my Son Iesus is the Head no Liberty at all When King Charles wanted his Kingdoms Wealth Liberty Subjects Armies Arms Ammunition Magazines and Store-houses Sumptuous and Fair Buildings Parkes and Chases Meadows Fields and Pastures Ships and Shipping with all that He hath and all that He doth enjoy and all this He hath by His own shewing again and again from the hands of our Father that Loved us and gave his Son to Die for us yea He hath what He hath from the hands of our Father who is so to us by Promise not onely by Creation but also by Regeneration and Adoption yea we have his Word for it 2 Cor. 6. 17 18. And by his assistance have performed the conditions and I have his Seal for my Son-ship Ephes. 1. 13. and through Mercy I speak not Parrot-like but what I have through Grace seen and known felt and looked upon and handled that I declare it is that which giveth me boldness now Acts 4. 13. and will give it me at the day of Judgement 1 Iob. 4. 17. And although we are his peaceable and quiet Subjects by the appointment of our Father yet he careth not for us but is desirous to be rid of us and no Roome fit for us in all his Territories but a Prison and in these Prisons the Dungeon and that by many thought to good for us too although we never deserved such things at his hands I am sure he promised us better things and that upon conditions too the which on our parts were never yet broken nor never shall be let him deal with us however he pleaseth yet our peaceable Meetings are broken and our Forms and Accommodations in those Meetings broken to pieces Demollished and burned and that by the Rude Rabble and should we were it our Principle be but half so Tumultuous as these are that at every turn have to do with us we should then be looked upon as very dangerous Persons such as there might be some colour of Imprisoning but blessed be the Lord we are not such and yet are and have been Imprisoned and in Kent several have been Haled away to Maidestone who now lie there and our Brother Crosse who a short time before with his own hands presented a moderate and an honest Petition into the Kings Hand in order to the procuring a Liberty according to the Kings Promise
not sparing the Flock also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away Disciples after them c. Such whom he telleth us do lie in wait to deceive Ephes. 4. 14. And thus we evidently see the Devil hath his Civil and his Ecclesiastical Instruments his Spiritual and his Temporal Engines that if he cannot get men to relinquish the Wayes of God by a Persecuting Hand then he striveth what he can to poyson them with False Doctrine Errours and Heresies and the one he endeavoureth to do generally at all times the other but when he hath a Commission So that it may be said to Persecutors yea and to the Devil himself as once the Lord Christ said That he nor they can do nothing except it be given them from above John 19. 11. For as the Devil must have his Commission Signed before he or his Instruments can Act any thing against Gods People So Secondly he is Limited for ye shall have Tribulation ten Dayes ten Dayes is his time Limited And as I said before I Judge and that upon an Experimental Account that this Text is meant Really and Actually that it shall be performed So I fear that some that have Experienced it so to be have and do own it strictly in the Sence of Ten Natural or Artificial Dayes following one successively after the other consisting of twenty four hours a piece or else they would not have made so much haste out of Prison as they did some by Swearing and others by Engaging to the Dishonour of that God they serve the Blemishing of his Truth and the Disencouraging and stumbling of weak single-hearted Souls and the great burthen of their Brethren under the same Sufferings For we are not to Limit the Holy One of Israel how long his ten Dayes shall last or in what Sence it is meant Some through Mercy lay above ten Weeks and had ten Moneths been added to those ten Weeks and ten Years to those ten Moneths they durst not in the least have entertained a Thought to have gained their Enlargement to the Dishonour of their Master by Swearing to King Charles contrary to the Law of King Iesus who saith Mat. 5. 34. Swear not at all As to the ten Dayes Imprisonment we know it possibly may be some Years as the Apostle Paul was who had worn out two Years at Rome after he had appealed to Cesar where the story of the Scripture leaveth him under Bonds Acts 28. 30. But Gods time of Deliverance is the best time for deliverance through Mercy some have had it and therefore I am Desirous that others should wait for it But this was and is the great Confidence and Comfort of some of Gods People that the Devil is Limited as to his Power as well as to his Time He can go no farther than his Bounds For all that he hath is in thy Hand said God to the Devil Onely upon himself put not forth thy Hand Job 1. 12. And Satan appeared before the Lord a second Time Job 2. 3. And the Lord said unto Satan Hast thou considered my Servant Iob who still holdeth his integrity although thou movedst me against him without a cause From whence I for my own part have great cause to Rejoyce yea and I do Rejoyce in that Causelesly I and others of our Judgement were haled to Prison and injuriously Printed as Traytors and that by the Good Hand of our God upon us our Innocency is cleared and we cleared without Fees I say again it was the Good Hand of our God upon us and we must to his Praise acknowledge it But to our Matter The Devil hath done what he can to Iob and yet Iob holds his Integrity But the Devil will not so leave him for saith the Devil Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his Life put forth now thine hand and touch his bones and his flesh and he will Curse thee to thy Face And the Lord said unto Satan Behold he is in thy Hands but save his Life Here is a new Commission and a new Limitation whence we may still take notice of the Providential Care that the Great God hath of his poor Faithful Ones for saith our Saviour Are not two Sparrows sould in the Market for one Farthing and not one of them shall fall to the Ground without your Heavenly Father But the very Hairs of your Head are all numbred pray mind it are all Numbred Fear ye not therefore ye are of more Ualue than many Sparrows Doth God take care for Oxen 1 Cor. 9. 9. Doth God take care for Sparrows And will he not take care for you if you in his strength stand firm to his Requirements O ye of Little Faith God gives his Servants Gifts and Graces and God requires an Improvement of those Gifts and Graces that so he may have the Glory of them And therefore the next thing considerable in the Text is That the Devil shall cast some of you into Prison ten Dayes that you may be Tried mind it Souls it is that you may be Tryed And now Friends look to your selves you that were not willing in times of Prosperity to keep close to the Words of Christs Patience will hardly with Patience lie in a Prison or a dark Dungeon in this hour of Temptation that shall come upon all the World to try them that dwell upon Earth to try those that live upon the Earthly Vanities of the Earth upon Creatures and Creature Comforts I say look to it for I am verily perswaded and that by the Word of the Lord that God hath yet a finer seive to bring his people thorow And as I said in my Fannaticks Letter in page 19. God is now going to gather Congregations out of Congregations and Churches out of Churches Oh! how many are there that have already fallen through this Course Seive and these no mean Ones neither This little Ridling time me-thinks it seems to me like the Dragons Tail spoken of Rev. 12. 4. That drew the third part of the Stars after it and cast them to the Earth cast them into the World again for their earthly Mindednesse I could wish that such souls would seriously consider the danger they are in from Heb. 6. 6. Oh consider this all ye that forget God lest he take you away and there be none to help Psal. 50. 22. Christ is now sitting as a Resiner and Purifier of Silver Mal. 3. 3. And he will purifie the Sons of Levi and purge them as Gold and Silver that they may offer an Offering in Righteousness He is now at work with his Fullers Soap and how can they be cleansed that will not endure the scouring Water of Persecution Therefore know that if ye will not endure the Heat of the Furnace if ye will not hold out the Tryal if ye will not trust to the Refiners skill and wait his Leasure if yea will Leap out of the Fire if you will shrink thus
herein that when thou gavest an Alarm to Oxford Wallingford Banbury or any other of the Kings Quarters whether thou didst not as well therein mind thy Friends of their Duties as well as thou didst desire to put the Kings Friends to hardship and upon Difficulties And finding so much cause for it as I do occasioned partly by the Rigour of others in places of Authority in other parts as well as by thy cruelty to those our Friends who are as good Friends to Kings Charles as those with such Eagerness thou didst formerly put to such hardship Imprison and hang up I have I say good reason upon this account to say what I have said And if thou seem to take Exceptions at my saying we are as good Friends to King Charles as those thou so dealt withall To this I shall answer and let thee know that thou art a far greater Enemy to King Charles the Second herein then thou wast to his Father King Charles the First King Charles the Second and the Duke of York in thy so hastily hanging up and making such Havock of his Friends at Abington or else where But to speak in the Language of David though in another case 1 Chron. 21. 17. As for these poor Sheep what have they done Pick and chuse take the Offenders if thou findest them such and hang them up if thou judgeâ—â— meet but 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 Suffer for nor with the Guilty nor the peaceable with the violent I say again that thou didst never do the King nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 greater Myschief in the height of all thy fury against them and their Friends then thou doest King Charles the Second 〈…〉 God 's People their Liberty when they should 〈◊〉 their several and respective Meetings praying to the Lord yea and crying mightily to the great Iehovah for his assistance and help to be showred down upon him that as he hath given him such a Benefit as to enjoy himself again in this Land of his Nativity that so God would enable him to make sutable Returns for such Benefits bestowed considering the great Danger of the neglect of it that will redound both to him and his people as I shewed him in my Fannaticks Mite cast into the Kings Treasury as in the whole discourse of it is evident and not onely so but also to pray for the great Council that are now going to Sit that God would blesse it both to the King and his People and that what they do they might be directed by the Lord so as that they might be a Blessing both to the King and his People to the setting a period to these Oppressions that are upon the Free-born People of England who several of them have been and are Imprisoned without any Just and Legal Cause and that the Oppressor might cease out of the Land and that there might be no more leading into Captivity and that complaining in our Streets might have an End that the Alarm of War and the sound of the Trumpet might be banished our borders that so the People of the Land might beat their Swords into Plow-shares and their Speares into Pruning-hooks that all may act out of a Principle of peace with them who some of them onely are Fighting the good fight of Faith that so they may lay hold of Eternal Life the Weapons of whose warfare are not Carnal 2 Cor. 10. 4. That they in their Meetings might also Pray for their Enemies and them that hate them and despitefully use them and for thy Self O Richard Brown that God would shew thee what thou art now doing that the Lord Christ would cause thee to hear a Word from Heaven saying Richard Richard why persecutest thou me I am Iesus whom thou Persecutest O what Benefit would this be O Richard Brown to thy poor Soul I say again what a Benefit would it be to thy poor lean languishing sick Soul to find thy Self to become a Preaching Paul of a Persecuting Saul Didst thou but know the Efficacy of the servent Prayer of a Righteous Man though poor though mean though despica ble in the Eye of the world though unlearned as to Humane Learning yet a Prayer of such a man accompanied with Faith and made to the Lord in the Name of Jesus Christ by the help of his own Spirit that helps our Infirmities that Spirit that is from the Lord and knowes the Mind of the Lord that makes Intercessions to the Lord with Sighs and groans that cannot be uttered and he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the minde of the Spirit because he maketh Intercession for the Saints according to the will of God Rom. 8. 26 27. And now O Richard Brown consider with thy self seriously what harm such a Prayer would do thee the King or his People nay consider with thy self and that seriously too whether thou dost not do evilly in what thou doest do in that thou blockest up the Meetings of Gods People such as thou hast nothing at all against in the least but as to the matter of their God I say again and again yea and I could wish with all my Soul that I had but such a voyce as that I could but speak it so as that thy Soul might be truly sensible of it that we are some of us an Innocent harmless People such whom thou nor any man as to actions of violence or any manner of ill will either to the King or his People in the least unless it be for wishing and desiring the same thing to King Charles the second thy Self and all his Subjects as once our aged Brother Paul did to King Agrippa Acts 26. 29. I would to God that not onely King Charles and thou O Richard Brown but all that are Englands Subjects this day were altogether as to my Principles both to God and man as I am And now O Mayor I would have thee seriously to consider what my End intended in this my Giving thee this Alarm is and if thou doest not know as I fear thou doest not in the singleness of my soul I shall let thee know it is not for any Revenge I bear thee for God is my witness I lie not I do it not for any such End but that if possible thou mightst make a right Improvement of it and that thou mightst for the time to come even quit thy Self like a Man yea that thou quit thy Self as thou pretendest thy Self as a Christian that so thou wouldst in the Spirit of Love Meekness and Moderation if thou hast it instruct persons that are out of the way and not to cause them to say of thee as the Indians said of the Spaniards that were once so cruel to them That if a Spaniard went to Heaven they did not desire to come there Yea I say I shall let thee know that as the Lord Christ intendeth not a destruction to that Soul that he requireth his Church should be delivered up unto Satan but that it should be for the
begg thee in the fear of the great Iehovah to consider thy Condition what it is and how the Case standeth with thee the which that thou mayst the better do the Premises being duly weighed Consider 1. What thou wast 2. What thou art 3. What thou shalt be to all Eternity Secondly Consider seriously 1. What thou hast done 2. What thou art now a doing 3. What thou shalt do to Eternity And Thirdly Consider 1. Where thou hast been 2. Where thou art 3. Whither thou shalt go to Eternity O I beseech thee in Gods fear Consider thy standing thy breath is in thy nostrils as well as others and God may as soon send his Messenger Death to thee as to another for the Lord will abhor the Bloody and Deceitful man Psal. 5. 6. For saith the same Prophet Psal. 55. 23. But thou O Lord shalt bring them down into the pit of Destruction for bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days But what man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may see good Depart from evil and do good seek peace and pursue it For the eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous and his Ears are open to their Cry But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil to cut out their Memorial from off the Earth And should the Lord take thee away in this cruel inhumane merciless violent bloody-minded Condition what would become of thee to Eternity for as Death leaveth a man so Iudgement shall find him If Death put a man into the hole of the Earth a cruel an inhumane a merciless a violent a bloody-minded man so shall Iudgement find him Consider I beseech thee that the Fruits of the Spirit are love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness meekness and tempearnce Gal. 5. 22. whilest the Works of the Flesh some of which are manifestly these hatred malice wrath strife envyings murthers the living in any one of which will exclude a man from Heavens Glory Gal. 5. 20 21. And that thou mayest see what I really intend in this my Alarm I shall after the thundring out of Gods Iudgements against Oppression and tyrannical Oppressors I shall I say in Christian Love lay before thee some flashings of pure and glorious Gospel-Light to the refreshing thy soul and to the enlightning the eyes of thy understanding that so thou mayst if thou art willing to it even be recovered out of thy sad condition For as I said in the beginning of my Discourse from Isaiah the first so shall I begin my Conclusion and say to thee and to all Tyrannical Persecuting Spirits Your hands are full of Blood therefore wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before the Lord cease to do evil learn to do well seek Iudgement relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless and plead for the widows And then come and plead with the Lord and if ye so do though your sins were as scarlet they shall be as wooll though they be as crimson they shall be as snow For God is a merciful a loving and a tender-hearted God to poor sinful souls who if ye will believe himself saith As I live I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth but that the wicked turn from his ways and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die O house of Israel Ezek. 33. 11. For if the wicked will turn from his all sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die All his transgressions that he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live Ezek. 18. 21 22. For The Lord is long-suffering to us-wards not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance 2 Pet. 3. 9. O then Richard Brown and all persecuting and violent spirits in the fear of the Lord be perswaded by the Lord to cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will ye die O Mayors of London and Iustices of England For I tell you again and again that I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth wherefore turn ye your selves and live Ezek. 18. 31 32. See the willingness of an offended God to be friends and at peace with an offending soul nay he thinks much of every minutes time that ye spend before ye come to him For hear how he crieth out by that Wise man saying How long I pray mind the tearms How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and ye scorners delight in scorning and fools hate knowledge Turn ye at my reproof And what then may some Poor Ignorant Malitious Envious Cursing Swearing Rending Tearing Persecuting soul say What shall we have upon our Returning Behold this thou shalt have I will pour out my Spirit upon you I will make known my words unto you Prov. 1. 22 23. I will give you my Spirit that shall lead you into all truth John 16. 13. whose operation in you will produce other effects then Envying Slandring and casting into Prison Strong-holds and Dungeons for the fruits thereof are Love Ioy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Meekness and Temperance So that if your sins were never so Red though they be of never so deep a dye yet forsake them and the Blood of a Crucified Iesus shall cleanse you from all sins 1 John 1. 7. For he is the Propitiation for our sins and not for ours onely but also for the sins of the whole World 1 John 2. 1 2. Therefore take that good advice from the Lord given by his servant Peter to those Iewes that were the Actual Betrayers and Murtherers of the Lord Christ Act. 2. 38 39. Repent ye therefore and be Baptized every one of you in the Name of Iesus Christ for the Remission of Sinnes and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost Which Holy Ghost or Spirit of Truth will lead you into all truth and will make a clear discovery of Truth from Error of Light from Darkness I can through mercy say it will do so I have found it and it is the desire of my soul that you and all the men of the world should find and know it And this is one and the great and main cause why I write this Alarm that so thou mightest be made sensible of what thou hast done and what thou hast to do For for my own part I my self have been as Zealous as thou canst be and had I had but as much Power as thou now hast I do really believe unless Conscience had flown in my face I should have done as much as thou hast done And I knowing thy conditon by mine own and by comparing my past with my present Condition I could do no less in Christian love than what I have done For