Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld Joh. 1.9 Drunkard thou hast a Light given thee which comes from Christ and that is the Light which lets thee see that thou shouldst not be drunk so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation which is the Light Swearer and Lyar and Fighter and Quarreler thou hast a Light given thee which comes from Christ who saith Swear not at all and with this Light thou seest thou shouldst not swear nor lye nor fight nor quarrel for the Light in thee witnesseth against these things so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation the Light Scoffer Scorner Mocker Railer cursed Speaker foolish Iester vain Talker Couzener and Cheater the Light that shines in thy Conscience though thou canst not comprehend it Joh. 1.5 because thou art darkness it is pure and eternal and never consented unto evil but stood and stands a VVitness for God against all evil Mark this Light this pure VVitness oftentimes hath appeared and doth appear unto thee and in thee and lets thee plainly see that thou shouldst not act any of these evils before mentioned and it often checks and reproves in secret when thou dost so act so here thou hast learned what Condemns thee which is the the Light Eph. 5.5 13. Proud one Wanton one Lustful one Covetous one who art an Idolater Backbiter Whoremonger Gamster Sporter and Prophane one who walkest on in laciviousness and excess of the Creatures in Revellings Banquetings and abominable Idolatries and whoever thou art that acts any manner of unrighteousness whatsoever it is sin and it is of the Devil but the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld that is the Son of God who is made manifest for this very end that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Joh. 3.8 and He mark the Son of God hath given thee a measure of his Light and that is the measure of his Light in thee which lets thee see that thou should not act any of these abominations before-mentioned but it oft appears in thee to convince thee of thy evil deeds and reproves thee and judgeth thee for thy wickedness so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation which is the Light which makes manifest unto thee thy abominations And thou who makest a Profession of the Saints words but art found to be out of their Life and in thy dark carnal mind and imaginations run'st into their words the Scriptures and calls them the VVord of God and thy Rule and the way to know God and yet thou livest contrary to the Scriptures and art out of the knowledge of God whom to know is life eternal Mark the Light wherewith thou art enlightned withal it comes from Christ who lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld and his Name is called the VVord of God Rev. 19.13 and he is the way to God and no man knoweth the Father save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him Mat. 11.27 and this Light which comes from the Son of God oftentimes appears in thee and shews thee that thou art out of the Saints Life though thou profess their VVords and the Light lets thee see that thou art a Thief and a Robber and art climbing up another way in thy imaginations than by the Door Joh. 10.1 which is Christ from whence the Light doth come and this Light in thee which makes manifest to thee thy condition it oftentimes confounds thee and thy imaginations which thou hast raised out of thy dark mind concerning the Scriptures which were given forth in the true Light and the Light oftentimes convinceth reproveth and judgeth thee of and for thy hypocrisie and dissimulation and feigned love and humility and will-worship and lets thee see that thy worship is not that Worship which the Lord requireth for that is in the Spirit and in the Truth which God requireth Joh. 4.22 23 24. and thou being out of the Light not being guided by it art out of the Spirit for the Spirit is Light and the Light is the Truth and so out of the true Worship in the false worshipping thou knowst not what so here with the true Light thou art condemned and so hast learned but thy Condemnation Therefore all People both young and old high and low rich and poor bond and free who yet live in any of these evil deeds before-mentioned mind that which makes manifest your evil deeds unto you which is the measure of the pure God which he hath given you to profit withal and this measure in you convinceth you of sin and reproves you for it now mind to stand in that which doth convince for that is the Power and as you stand and believe in that which doth convince you it will lead you into true Repentance never to be repented of for it will bring you to repent of and to forsake all your evil deeds and hard speeches Jud. 15. which you will see in the Light which never consented unto sin that you have acted and spoken against the living God so believe in the Light which shews you sin and evil and wait in the Light as it ariseth and appears in you to shew you your estates and conditions now if you believe in the Light and wait in it you will come to receive Power from Christ from whence the Light doth come to overcome evil and to withstand the Tempter when he appears to tempt you to evil and the Light believing in it will preserve you out of the evil and lead you out of the death and loss that ye are in unto Christ the life and Saviour of the Soul But if you hate the Light which shews you sin and evil you hate Christ for I am the Light saith Christ John 8.12 and if you hate the Light you hate the way to the Father for I am the way to the Father saith Christ who is the Light Joh. 14.6 and if you hate the Light you hate the Truth and you hate the Life for I am the Truth and the Life saith Christ the true Light who lighteth every man that cometh into the World Joh. 1.9 and 12.46 and if you hate the Light you hate the Covenant of God for I will give him for a Covenant to the People and for a Light to the Gentiles saith God Isa 42.6 and 49.6 and if you hate the Light you hate the Power for all Power is given unto me both in Heaven and in Earth saith Christ the Light Mat. 28.18 and if you hate the Light you hate the Word of God and so you hate God and Christ who are One John 10.30 Mark for in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God all things were made by it and without it nothing was made that was made in it was Life Mark in the Word was Life and the life of the Word was the Light of men and John a man sent of God bare witness of the Light that all men
in your Forms without Power neither Flee the Cross any longer but wait in the True Simplicity to feel God's hand of Tender Love which he reacheth sorth to and manifesteth in you to lead and guide your minds into his Pure Worship which is in the Spirit and in the Truth Oh People This is the Worship that he will set up He will be LORD and LAW-GIVER in the Consciences of his People and those that will not be content that EMANUEL should Reign over them he will Slay them with the Sword of the Spirit The words of his Mouth Oh! Hearken hearken a little and stand still that you may hear the voice of the True Shepherd in your own hearts who calleth for Truth in the Inward Parts he will discover what lodgeth Within and He will shew you the Way wherein you should walk and he will let you see what the Cross is unto and He will teach you when you are alone in your Beds or where-ever you are if you will receive Him who giveth you Life and Breath whose gentle Reproofs and Instructions are the Way of Life Therefore you in whom the Breathings and Desires after the Lord are Consult not with Flesh and Blood neither reason against the Cross but submit to every Appearance of God's Power in you which appeareth to Crucifie the Fleshly Birth and Nature which hath stood and doth stand in Rebellion and Emnity against the Pure and Precious Life and Requirings of the Lamb of God that so that Mind which is at enmity against God and that Nature in you which is Disobedient to his Commands in Spirit may come to be Crucified that so there may be a Change Inwardly felt and witnessed by the working of the might Power of Christ in your Inward Parts and then the Desires and Breathings which are Begotten in you after Righteousness they will be strengthned and the Teachings of the Almighty will be truly known and you believing in the Power you will receive Power to obey and Practice whatsoever the Lord shall make known unto you by his Spirit to be his Will and Requirings Oh People Let the Dread of the Lord Seize upon your Spirits in this the Day of his Power wherein he is Trying Sifting and Winnowing the Nations and wait to feel that Life arise within you which beareth Testimony against all evil within and without that so ye may become more and more acquainted with the Teachings Drawings and Leadings thereof that thereby you may be drawn and led out of those things which have kept your Souls in the Death hindred you from enjoying the Pure Peace of God And this know and consider that all that come to witness their Souls raised out of Death and brought to enjoy the Peace of God they must Believe in the Life of the Quickning Spirit which is the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven who for Sin Condemneth Sin in the Flesh and appeareth in the Inward Parts of man to work out Sin and Transgression which hath Separated from God and so to make clean the heart and inside of Male and Female Oh People This is the Work of Christ the Son of God even to make manifest and destroy the Works of the Devil and so to reconcile man unto God by the Virtue of his own Life which he gave a Ransom for many and blessed are all those that believe in the Life of the Son of God and feel and know it manifested in their mortal flesh for they shall witness the Power of it to make all things new and so their Souls will come up in the hand of God and his Peace will be Received and Enjoyed Oh People Wait to know and feel this Work of Christ within you that so you may be made able to Stand in the Judgement and to Endure the Tryal and that you may be Hid from the Wrath of the Lamb which is nigh to come upon the Rebellious Oh! Consider this Those that are his Followers they come thorow many Tribulations and their overcoming their Enemies is by His Blood not by a talk of it but by the Virtue and Power of it sprinkled in their Hearts which washeth and maketh them White Clean and without Fault before God Oh People my Bowels yearn my Bowels yearn towards you whose Desires in any measure are after the Lord O that you would now Return with all your hearts unto Him and obey the Voice of his Power in you then should you be made able to stand and endure the fiery Tryal which is come and coming Oh! the Day hastens wherein all Profession that is not grounded in the Life and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ whatever the shew of it be it will be so shaken that an utter Blasting and withering shall come upon it and for that cause the Lord doth and will yet suffer great Tryals to come both upon the Professors and Possessors of his Name that so his Children the Possessors may be manifested unto all and discerned from all that are but Professors though never so fair and seemingly Covered For all Coverings but what is of the Power and Spirit it self shall be too Narrow and all that are not Covered with the Spirit and Power of Emanuel their Shame and Nakedness shall appear more and more This is the Testimony which the Spirit and Word of Truth giveth therefore He that hath an ear to hear let him hear before the day of his Visitation be wholly past and the things belonging to his Peace he hid from his Eyes For yet a little while and the Voice shall be He that is filthy let him be filthy still For the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with Flesh but his Plagues and Indignation shall be poured out upon such as will be gathered in the Day of his Patience long Forbearance and Free-Love and He or She that Loveth Father Mother Husband Wife Children House or Land Liberty Honour or any Thing more than the Life of the Lamb shall be counted not worthy of him and plainly manifested so to be Read this who can and he that can receive it let him For the Time draweth nigh that these Sayings must be fulfilled Printed the 13th of the Second Month 1661. GEORGE FOX the Younger SEVERAL EPISTLES To FRIENDS Who are GATHERED into the Light of Life A General EPISTLE and a tender Greeting sent unto the Flock of Christ who meet together to Worship the Father and the Son in the Spirit of Truth to be read in the Fear and Wisdom of God amongst them DEAR and tenderly beloved Friends and â—hildren of the most High God who have felt and tasted of his eternal Word of Life and have been acquainted with the workings and operations thereof whereby you are begotten again unto a lively Hope and are brought to know that Life which you were alienated from and that Covenant of Promise which ye were strangers unto Oh Friends unto you is my Love in the Lord Jesus Christ exceeding great
not for Conscience sake satisfie his covetous and unrighteous desire but chose rather to suffer than to come forth by yielding to such a horrid oppression yet were we willing to have given him to the full value of all the things we made use of in the Chamber and it being the highest room in a lofty Tower and all the Windowes open it was not fit for men to Lodge in by reason of the Wind and Rain beating in until we had gotten them Glassed without any charge to the Sergeant and we had so little of his in our Chamber that we offered this to wit that if two reasonable men would prise the things we would pay him for them and give him the Things also or if he would not stand to that then we would give him two shillings and six pence a week for the time we had been there We also told our Keepers that if we denyed to give them any thing that they could recover by Law the Law was open but they ought not according to their own Law to keep us upon that account but to tutn us out and then take their course at Law And so we demanded our Liberty several times but notwithstanding all this the Sergeant detained us still And the day before the PARLIAMENT Adjourned our Names in a List with other Prisoners in his Custody was given in to the Parliament who notwithstanding their Act of Indempnity and Oblivion and their former Order for our being forthwith Released and set at Liberty they made another Order That it should be Referred to the Kings Privy Counsel to consider of us and to give such Order touching us as to our Liberty or to continue under constraint as they should find Consistent with the Publick Peace and the mean time we are to remain in the Sergeants Custody so by this Order we are still detained and nothing is yet done by the Privy Council touching us Now let the Reader consider how unreasonably and contrary to Law we have been used who have been kept seventeen Weeks in this Prison and never brought to any examination Besides the time that I was kept in Harwich Now if the PARLIAMENT had rightly weighed and considered the matter when they Ordered the thanks of the House to be given to the Mayor and Magistrate of Harwich for their care in that business touching us truly they might have found more cause to have reproved them for their folly than to have given them thanks For if it had been true that we had made some Disturbance at Harwich as it is said in the Order for our Release yet if the Magistrates of Harwich had rightly understood their duty and if they had not been blinded with the mad zeal of Persecution they might have seen that it belonged to their place to have ended the matter of a disturbance and not to have troubled a Parliament with such a frivilous thing But it is certain that Persecutors in all Ages were blind And what a thing is this cannot three Justices of the Peace so called nor a Parliament determine in the matter of a Disturbance if it had been so that we had made one which we did not but that such a thing â—s that must be turned over to the Kings Privy Council to be considered of or is it because they would keep the innocent in Prison and are ashamed to bring them to an examination having nothing justly to charge them withal I leave this to be answered by that of God in all who shall read this And seeing there have been many false Reports touching the cause of our imprisonment and also that some of our enemies have reported that we may come out of Prison if we will it was upon me to publish the manner of our Imprisonment and of our being kept and by whom that the truth of the matter may plainly be seen which being truly considered People may see that it is even now as it was in the Prophets dayes of old For Judgement is now turned backward and Justice standeth afar off Truth is fallen into the Streets and Equity cannot enter yea Truth faileth and he that departeth from Evil maketh himself a prey and the Lord hath seen it and it displeaseth him because there is no true Judgement Isaiah 59.14 15. and as they did in the dayes of Amos even so do this Generation yea They now turn Judgement into Wormwood and leave off Righteousness in the Earth they hate him that rebuketh in the Gate and abhor him that speaketh uprightly Therefore will the Lord break forth like fire Amos 5. Lambeth-house the 21st of the 7th Month 1660. G. F. HIS FAITH Touching Four Particulars DEMONSTRATED I. Concerning Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World II. Concerning Justification III. Concerning the Resurrection IV. Concerning Everlasting Glory and Eternal Misery Written for the satisfaction of some tender consciencious Persons who had heard false Reports of Him and others of his Judgement touching the things above Written First AS concerning Iesus Christ that was supposed to be Joseph the Carpenter's Son who as concerning the Flesh was Crucified and put to Death at Jerusalem between two Thieves upon the Cross at Mount Calvary I do believe he was the Son of God and that that very Body that the Souldier pierced was the very Body that was prepared by the Father for Christ the true Saviour to come in to do the Will of the Father that sent Him And I do believe that by the Grace of God he tasted Death for every man that as many as believe in and obey him whose Soul was made an Offering for sin might have Eternal Life through him who gave his precious Life a Ransom for many Secondly I do believe that no man can be Iustified by the Works of the Law nor by any VVork of his own but He or She that is Iustified in the sight of God it is freely by his Grace through Faith in Christ Iesus who creates such unto Good VVorks which God hath ordained that they that are justified should walk in Now God through his Free Love hath made Me a Witness of true Iustification And I testifie in the Lord That it is not my Works that Iustifie me but it is the LORD alone who worketh my Works in me and for me according to his own good pleasure who loved me before I loved him and manifested his Love to me in the Covenant of Light whereby he drew me after himself and gave me strength to obey and follow him in the manifestation and drawings of his Love which whilst I did reject I was justly condemned of the Lord and could not witness Iustification in that State although I sought it and talked much of it as many Professors now do but GOD who is rich in Mercy and Love shewed me how he had given me Power and Ability to receive his Truth in the Love of it through which I am now Saved and Iustified Thirdly Touching the Resurrection It is a
of Christ may be known and submitted unto by you and that through the Cross Righteousness may be learned and obedience brought forth unto the living God For as you wait in the Light ye will see what that is that hath oppressed your Souls and as you come to own that which appears in you to cross your own wills and wait in it you will come to see Death pass upon that which hath kept your Souls in Death and your Souls will be refreshed and your desires which are real and simple after God will be strengthened but you must wait in the Light which makes all things manifest Eph. 5.13 and it will let you see that your way to Peace is through the War and through the Judgment and Christ's words you will witness to be true who said I come not to send send Peace on the Earth for as you come to wait in the Light ye will see the Earth disturbed and the Thunders of the Lord ye will come to know and the Earthquakes and the Famine and the War and the Pestilence and these are the beginnings of sorrow Mat. 24.7 8. but all these things must come to pass and blessed are they that are not offended in him Mat. 11.6 for the Fire and the Sword you must all know and come through before you come to know the Peace which is in the Lamb of God for by Fire and Sword will the Lord plead with all Flesh and what cannot stand there must be consumed But at these things be not troubled but wait in the Light which makes them manifest and in it believe and the Power of the Lord you shall find present with you as in patience you wait upon him to carry you through whatsoever he calls you unto And this I declare unto you all The way is strait that leadeth to Life and few there be that find it Mat. 7.14 For except you stand in that Power which God hath given you and in it deny your selves and take up the Cross ye cannot be Christs Disciples Now your Power is in the Light which comes from Christ who hath enlightned you waiting in the Light with it you will come to see the emptiness of all the Profession that is in the world And you that have followed the Priests as you come to own the Light and wait in it with it you will see them to be the Deceivers and to be in the steps of those that the true Prophets Christ Jesus and the Apostles cryed against and you will see them to be such as commit the horrible and filthy thing in the Land and so in the steps of those which the Lord sent Jeremiah to cry against Jer. 5.30 31. and they are such as Preach for hire and Devine for money Mic. 3.11 and feed with the fat and Cloath with the Wool and make a prey upon the People Ezek. 34.3 8. and they seek for their gain from their quarters Isa 56.11 and while you put into their mouths they cry Peace unto you but put not into their mouths they will prepare War against you Mic. 3.5 for if you give them not Tythes they will sue you at the Law such as were in these Practices Micah Ezekiel and Isaiah cryed against such stand praying in the Synagogues have the chiefest Places in the Assembles and Greetings in the Markets and are called of men Master and such Christ cryed wo against Mat. 23. 6 7. And they are such as go in Cain's way in envy and run greedily after the way of Balaam and such Peter and Jude cryed wo against 2 Pet. 2. 14 15. Jude 11. they having hearts exercised with covetous practices being proud boasters heady high-minded lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God having eyes full of adultery which cannot cease to sin and for Doctrin they teach that their Hearers cannot be free from sin in this Life and so plead to uphold the Devil's Kingdom and through their subtilty beguile unstable souls leading silly women captive laden with sins and carried away with divers lusts ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth 2 Tim. 3.2 4 5 6 7. and through covetousness and feigned words they make merchandize of the People having a form of Godliness but denying the Power thereof 2 Pet. 2.3 and of such the Apostle bad beware and from them turn away And you that have left the Priests and are got in your own wills and carnal imaginations somewhat nearer the Saints practice imitating what they did who were in the Life of what they professed as you come to own the Light and wait in it with it you will see that which you have acted that it was but the self-separation and that you took it from the Letter and never received a Command from God for it but what ye did it was as ye imagined to imitate those who had a Command once from God for what they practised But they knew when those things which stood in the figure were to have an end and to pass away and they knew the end of all things to be at hand and they grew into him who is the fulness of all things Eph. 4.13 but these things you never knew who have been acting in your own wills and imaginations for you never yet came to know the Life of Truth and so that Joy and Delight which you had at any time in the hight of your Profession it withered and your practises in your Profession which stood in the beggarly Elements and carnal Washings and Observations wherein some of you have been exercised they have waxen-old and wearisom unto you These things as you come to Believe and wait in the Light you will see to be true and that yet you are ignorant of him who hath established the Law of Commandements contained in Ordinances and you will see that you have been the Theeves and Robbers who have been climbing up another way than by the Door CHRIST JESUS and you will see in his Light as you wait in it that you must come to loose what you have gathered in your own Wisdom and Imaginations and that your Building must fall because it was not builded upon the Rock and you will see how you have been daubed with untempered Morter and that your Labour hath been in vain because ye were not builded by the Lord and that your Wisdom must be turned into Foolishness and so to the Beginning you must all come to the Light of Christ in all your Consciences and to learn to wait in it that a true and a sure entrance into the way of God you may find thaye henceforth be no more tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrin by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive you but that you may now come to know the Teachings of God and to be subject to his Teachings and to obey his Voice and to know
assert his Authority to be just and when he died many of these Priests began to address themselves to his Son fawned upon him that he might provide for their god which is their belly and they appeared to be sorrowful for his Fathers death and blasphemously termed him the light of their eyes and the breath of their Nostrils and they told Richard that God had left him to carry on that glorious Work which his Father had begun And some of these Priests compared Oliver to be like unto Moses and Richard to be like unto Joshua who shall carry them into the promised Land But surely these blind Priests are yet in Aegypt the land of Darkness and there are like to die except they repent And surely those that made Oliver Chancellor of one of their Vniversities they hoped he should have continued longer in his place than he did But it is manifest that they are such as the Prophet said Night should come upon them and they should have no Vision And how soon did some of them turn for a Parliament again when the Army turned out Richard And when George Booth made a Rising and they thought there would be a turn then some of them cryed out against the Parliament and began to curse such as would not go out against them And when George Booth was taken then many of them began to Petition to the Parliament and to excuse themselves that they had no hand in that rising And now they are generally crying up and praying for thee and all this is for their bellies therefore if thou wilt believe them and trust to their prayers thou art worthy to be deceived by them And all that will uphold them in that state they are in and compel others to maintain them they are not like to prosper for the hand of the Lord is against them and that Scripture is fulfilled upon a great part of these Nations like Priests like People who are given to covetousness and deceit and will turn and appear for any thing that is for their gain Yet this I testifie in the Lord that such Ministers as the Scriptures of Truth own I own And such a Maintenance as Christ allowed his Ministers to take I have unity with And I know that such as are his Ministers will be there-withal content but such Ministers as will not they serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies and such I cannot but declare against Therefore now O King be Wise and cleave unto the Lord with thy whole heart and he will teach thee to love thy Enemies and to do unto all men as thou wouldst they should do unto thee if they were in thy Condition and thou in theirs and this is the Way for to prosper and this will Engage the Lord for to stand for thee and also it will reach the witness of God in all People and thou wouldst become honourable in their hearts and hereby they would be engaged and drawn unto thee more than by Oaths or force of Arms But if thou wilt not hear and do the thing that is just and right in the sight of the Lord then will the Lord appear against thee and when thou hast filled up thy measure thou shalt be assuredly broken and then shalt thou know that God hath spoken unto me And if thou dost not speedily seek to stop this abounding ungodliness which flows in this Nation and which hath much increased since there was a likelihood of thy being brought in verily an evident hand of God shall come upon thee which thou shalt not in any wayes be able to escape Therefore consider it speedily for verily the Mighty God is greatly displeased by reason of the great wasting and spoil that is made of his Creatures in a way of rejoycing and triumphing concerning thee O how is the Devil the destroyer let loose in this Nation and the streets thereof become like unto Sodom and Peoples mouths are filled with Oaths and bitter Cursings And they go stammering and staggering because of Drunkenness and sober People that fear the Lord can scarce pass in the streets without being scoffed at threatned or having violence done unto them by those that appear for thee who bitterly will curse and wish that which they call the Pox and Plague upon us and the next words cry out and say God save King Charles Oh consider these things and seek to stop them least they become thy burthen And also when we have been peaceably met together to wait on the Lord and to hear and declare the everlasting Truth we have been abused and part of our Houses and Windows broken and some of us knockt down and torn as though they would have pulled us limb from limb and our blood drawn knocking us down without respect had to Age or Sex this they say thou wilt bear them out in and they expect an order they say shortly from thee either to banish or hang us all and in thy Name was I commanded and fetcht out of a Meeting at Harwich upon the first day of this week and haled to prison without being examin'd and without a Mittimus and this was because I was made in the Dread and Power of the Living God to cry aloud against the Cursing and Rudeness which I then heard and beheld amongst the People in the streets and I was made to utter these words and say Wo wo unto the Rulers and Teachers of this Nation who suffer such ungodliness as this and do not seek to suppress it And for this was I put in Prison O King for these things will the Lord God visit and if thou seekest not to stop them thou wilt feel God's hand for it Verily I declare unto Thee in the fear of the Lord I never heard of nor beheld so great prophaneness as I have done within these few weeks past Oh! it is hard to utter how much Wine and strong Drink hath been devoured in waste by Peoples drinking of healths unto Thee some upon their knees and some otherwise even until some have been so drunk they could neither speak or go right and what abundance of Wood hath been wasted and devoured in making of great Bon-fires as they call them which they have done as they say to rejoyce because of Thy coming Yea even such great Fires have been made upon this account that they have been dangerous both unto Cities and Towns and such noises have been heard of late in Cities and Towns as scarce ever have been the like by shooting of Guns both great and small and by ringing of Bells and by People singing and laughing and shouting like riotous mad men and the Streets in several places strown with flowers and the like and this is done in rejoycing concerning Thee And what abundance hath been devoured in Feasting and Banqueting and abominable rejoycings And also consider in what great need poor People are of such Creatures as have been thus devoured and consider what
Mystery which the carnal mind can never comprehend but they that come to Witness a part in the first Resurrection which is Christ Iesus the Light of Life they in his Light may come to perceive the Mystery of the Resurrection but if Truth can be received and understood then it will appear and be manifested to such that I do not deny the Resurrection For I do verily believe that the hour is coming in which all that are in the Graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth They that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Condemnation But to fools that say That this Body of natural flesh and bones shall be raised I say That Body which is sown is not that Body that shall be but God giveth a Body as it pleaseth him yet to every Seed it s own Body Now there is the Seed of the Serpent and the Seed of Christ and they that can discern the Body of each Seed are not the Fools which are questioning how the dead shall be raised and with what Bodies they shall come for they know all mankind will be found to be one of these Seeds and that every Seed shall have its own Body Fourthly Truly if I did not believe that there was a Glory to come more than what is here surely although the good Presence Peace and Consolation of God is in me and his Glory rests richly upon me yet I should think my self to be in a more miserable condition than very many but for the Glory that is set before me which Christ in me is the hope of which anchors and stayes my soul I am content to endure the Cross and patiently to bear the affliction and sufferings of this present Life not counting them worthy though ever so great to be compared to that Eternal Weight of Glory which I do believe shall be revealed and given unto me in the World to come And as I do stedfastly believe That there is a Glorious State to be entred into after this Life by all them that shall be found in the Immortal Seed wherein they shall be swallowed up of Life Glory and Immortality so I certainly believe that there is a Woful Dreadful Horrible State to be entred into after this Life by all them that shall be found in the Seed of the Serpent wherein they shall be swallowed up of Perpetual torment and Misery where the Worm dyeth not but shall gnaw everlastingly and the Fire goeth not out Westminster Pallace-yard Gate-house the 12th of the 1st Month 1661. A Prisoner for the Word of God yet a Free-man in the Lord Jesus Christ Glory to him in the highest George Fox the Younger ENGLANDS SAD Estate and Condition lamented IN THIS Just Complaint Taken up against the greatest part of her Inhabitants because of their great Abominanations and Treacherous Dealings both with God and Man for which Cause the Terrible and Righteous Judgements of the Lord are coming upon them and the Land Wherein is also contained some PROPHECIES and EXHORTATIONS OH England England The Abominations of the greatest part of thy Inhabitants who can declare them They have reached Heaven so as they are come up before the Lord the Jealous God and Wo unto that part of thy Inhabitants who have sinned out the Day of their Visitation and have wholly slighted the Day of God's Patience and long Forbearance and would have none of his Reproof but have altogether rejected the same and have made a mock at Sin and have sported themselves with their own Deceivings and Lusts and have gone a Whoring from under the God of their Lives Wherefore thus saith the Lord the only God I will make such become a Hissing and Reproach and my Anger they shall not be able to Escape because of their provoking Abominations and Treacherous Dealings both with Me and Man Oh England England How have and yet do a great part of thy Inhabitants rush into Idolatry and all manner of Profaneness and grievous Abominations even as the Horse and Mighty rush into the Battel How do they drink in Iniquity even as the Ox or Parched Ground drinketh in Water Oh! What manner of Lamentation shall I make for thee my Native Country Or What manner of Complaint may I take up against a great part of thine Inhabitants who have long sought and yet seek thy Ruine and Destruction Verily their Actions have declared them to be like the Inhabitants of Sodom Yea their sins have rendred them to be as bad as those of Gomorrah O they have Vexed the Righteous Soul Yea and they have grieved the Spirit of the Lord from Day to Day with their Unjust Conversations They have multiplyed their Transgressions and heaped up their Iniquities till they are become as the Sand on the Sea-shore without Number Oh! The Lord hath long striven with them yea he hath also long born their Iniquities he would have gathered them to himself out of their Abominations yea he would oft have healed them but they would not but they have stiffned their Necks and hardned their Hearts against the Lord and his Counsel day after day and have chosen their own wayes and works even to their own hurt and would by no means be reclaimed for when the Lord hath reproved them by the Light of his Son in their own Consciences and set their sins in order before their eyes they have stopped their Ears and closed their Eyes and wilfully Rebelled against the Power of God and trampled upon his Witness the Light in them as a thing of naught counting it not worth the taking notice of And when the Lord hath raised up Prophets Children and Servants and sent them out commanding them to lift up their Voices like Trumpets and to shew the People their Transgressions and to Preach Repentance and Amendment of Life Yea to warn and exhort them to turn from their Sins to God and to lay before them their great Abominations and to Prophesie what should come upon them if they would not turn from the evil of their Doings Oh! how have a great part of thy Inhabitants Scorned and Derided these Yea how have many of thine Inhabitants Beaten Whipt Stockt Stoned and Imprisoned some of these till Death for bearing their Testimony for the Lord against a crooked and perverse Generation who hate such as speak uprightly and abhor such as reprove Sin in the Gate that so it is even thus come to pass in thee O England That he that departeth from Iniquity maketh himself a Prey to this Generation of Evil doers whose hearts are set upon their Lusts Idolatry and grievous Abominations and the Lord hath beheld it it displeaseth him because there is no true Judgement for these Evil doers are all gone out of the way yea there is none of them that regard to do the thing that 's Just and Good any further than it may be advantagious to their own Corrupt