THE BANNER OF LOVE Under Which The ROYAL ARMY is Preserved and Safely Conducted Being a Clear and Perfect Way out of Wars Contentions With A Short TESTIMONY unâ—â— the VVAY of PEACE Given forth for the Edification and Comfort of all that Truly fear God Written by the hand of One who bears Good Will to all Men WILLIAM SMITH LONDON Printed for Robert Wilson at the Sign of the Black Spread-Eagle and Wind-Mill in Martins Le Grand 1661. THE Banner of Love Under which The ROYAL ARMY is Preserved and Safely Conducted THE Loving Kindness of the Lord God is abundantly made manifest and with the Cords of it the hearts of many are drawn unto him and made willing to Love Serve and Obey Him and to Deny what is contrary to him and to Follow his Leadings to come into more Acquaintance with Him whereby there is a true Tenderness begotten which doth earnestly Thirst after Him and there is nothing so Dear as His Love and for His Love the World is Denied the Thirst is more and more increased after God and presses after more Communion with His Love and in the Breathings the Love opens and the Streams thereof reach the Thirsty and with the sweet Savor of it the Thirsty is Refreshed and it becomes exceeding Pretious and in it Strength is Renewed and the Bones are made Fat and so the breathing Babe is Nourished and this Fountain is Freely Opened that all that Thirst may come and all that Hunger may be partakers of the Love of God and in the Light of Christ it is obtained For it is given of God to seek those that are out of the Love and to bring them into the Love and as it appears to discover that which Separates from the Love the mind Turning unto it the Judgement takes hold and that which separates from the Love is Denied and upon the Cross crucified and the power removes it out of the way whereby there is Ease given to that which is Oppressed and the wâ—y is cleared of that which Separated from God and so the Light Leads out of the Earth and all Earthly things and Leads up to God the Fountain of Eternal Love in whose Pure Presence the fulness of Joy is found And as the Light is believed in so is the Translation wrought and the Power puts off the Old and makes all New and a Birth comes to be Born that is of God and it loves the Father and delights to do His Will and the Father spreads his Love over it for a Banner by which it is Protected and Preserved in its Growth and Increase and what it makes War against the Love is a Banner over it and the furious Beasts are thereby Stopped and also driven back and that which Presses after Communion with God it goes forward and the Banner of Love is Spread over it and this is the great Battel to be Fought and unto it hath the Lord God gathered a Remnant and orders them under His Banner by which they are Encouraged to make War in Righteousness and in Love to overcome their Enemies and in Patience to silence the foolish and gainsayers and of the Immortal Seed is this Royal Army Born and they are Conquerours through Him that loves them and spreads his Banner over them and their Weapons are Love and Patience by which they overcome and they do not think ill to their Neighbors but Love their Enemies and are Ready to do Good to those that are contrary minded and they would have all come to the Love of God that they might be saved and what the Father Leads them unto His Love Constrains them to follow and when they are Persecuted the Love Constrains them to Bless and in Patience they Endure it and seek no Revenge upon it but overcome Evil with Good and this is the Royal Army of the Lamb who are Born again and redeemed out of the World and their Union is with that which was before the World therefore are they Persecuted and Evil entreated by the World who are Separated from the Love which they are partakers of and over whom it is spread for a Banner and they have nothing in their hearts but Love and Good Will to all men And this is an Army that the Lord God hath gathered and is gathering from amongst the Earthly Warriors whose strength is in the Horse and his Rider and the Lord God puts into their hands the Spiritual Weapon and with it they go forth to Battel and they seek to Save mens Lives and not to Destroy them their Weapon is Stretched forth to cut down the Proud Lustful Nature from whence all Warrs arise and so to bring People to the Meek and quiet Spirit and to Live Peacebly with all men And this is not like the Aliens Army who are strangers unto that Spirit that Leads into Love and Good Will and to do Justly and walk Humbly with God it is quite of a contrary Nature The Aliens Army draw their Swords and kill one another the Royal Army have put up their Swords and would have all men Saved and who needs to fear such an Army whose Banner is Love And their Weapons Good Will There need no Horsemen and Strong Armies to oppose them nor Prisons to quiet them for they are Marching under the Banner of Love and in Love Meet their Enemies and Quench their Fury and whatever can be done against them Love is their Banner and with it they are wonderfully Preserved and as any thing arises to turn them back the Love Protects them and is a sure Refuge for them and with it they stand Armed and the fiery darts are quenched and though the wicked may strike Exceeding soare yet doth the Love Defend and Preserve and from it there goes forth a mighty Strength that Drives back the wicked One and overcomes him and under this Banner is Safety and in this Royal Army is Love and Good Will and to be Born into the Love there is Strength Received and the Enemy is Driven back and confounded and all that keep under the Banner they are kept from Danger For It goes before and Leads Forward and It also comes behind and is the Rereward so that the Army is Compassed about with Love and it is the Banner over them and Safely Conducts them in their travel and makes their Passage Easie so that they willingly go forward and march boldly in the strength of Love in which they are stronger than their Enemies and One falls at the Right hand and Another at the Left and as they would Stop for going forward the Love Wars against them and Overcomes them for there is nothing Stronger than Love It makes an Easie Passage and drives that back which stands in the way and whatever Rises it Falls again and the Armies of the Aliens are put to flight for in the Strength of Love One chases a Thousand and the Army of Royalty Marches forward and takes Possession and they are kept
under the Banner of Love and are ordered by it and it is a Bulwark for them that the Enemy cannot come any way to touch them And this is the Banner that keeps unto the End and who are gathered to it and travel under it their Strength is in it and their Diligence is to be kept Faithful and they stand Watchful left they should be drawn aside and thereby fall into Danger for the Enemy is near and if the Watch be not Kept he will Tempt and also Entangle and so bring the Hands to be weak and the Knees to be feeble and Draw the Mind to look at the weakness and then bring up his Army and place them in the way and they appearing Mighty in Strength he then draws into Reasoning which way they must be Overcome and if that cannot be seen Speedily then he draws to Consult which way to Escape them and if he take not there then he labors to drive Back again as if it were not possible to Overcome such strong Enemies in such a weak and feeble state but he is a liar therefore let none encline unto him though here he hath wronged many and hath secretly entised them from under the Banner of Love and hath drawn them out of the Order of Gods Royal Army But the Watchful are preserved in safety and walk in the strength of Love and believe that all things are possible and their Faith works by Love and in the Faith they go forward and by Faith in the Love they are made Conquerors and these are Free-born Children of the Living God who are gathered under the Banner of his Love and there fight against the World the Flesh and the Devil against Principallities and Powers and Spiritual wickedness in high Places and they stand by Faith and fight the good fight of Faith by which Victory is obtained and in the Faith that works by Love Flames are quenched Lyons mouthes are stopped And this is the Saints Weapon with which they go forth to Battel and in which they are made stronger than their Enemies and they are of the Royal Seed that God hath blessed and are true Followers of the Lamb and fight under his Banner and they must have the Victory for in the Love are all things ended and as the Lamb appeares and spreads forth His lovely Banner so unto him will the gathering be and unto His Royal Army there shall be a great Increase and they shall wax stronger and stronger and their enemies weaker and weaker and as the Gathering is unto Him and His Banner known so will Swords be beaten into Plowshares and Spears into Pruning Hooks and Wars will cease and Cruelty come to an end and Love will abound and the Banner of it reach over Nations and this is the Lord bringing to pass with His holy Arme and a lovely Army hath he Gathered and they willingly follow Him and His Banner over them is Love and under it they are Protected and safely Conducted and goe Forward in the strength of Love and all that withstands them must fall before them For the Lamb makes the way and His Royal Army follows Him and He exalts Himself upon his Throne and Establishes His own Government in Everlasting Righteousness and in His Royal Army doth His Purity shine His Meekness Patience and Gentleness is the Garment of their Praise and with His Vertuous Life are they beautified and their strength is in Him and under His Banner they abide and when He Leads they stand in readiness to Follow and so keep the good Order and He prepares the way and makes it Easie and though many Tribulations and afflictions come upon them yet he doth not forsake them but stands by them and His Lovely Banner covers them and with it He preserves them and He bears the Affliction with them and so upholds them in it and makes way through it and works Deliverance from it And this is the Lamb of Glory who Leads His Royal Army in the Way of Peace and He Proclaims His Peace on Earth and his Good Will towards Men and doth not Destroy Mens Lives but appears to Save them And the same Mind he begets in his Followers who are an Army of Peace as He is The Prince of Peace And yet they Fight His Battel under the Banner of his Love and their Warfare is not Carnal but Spiritual and in the Spiritual He sets up His own Kingdom and into it He Conducts His Royal Army and there gives unto them an Everlasting Inheritance in His Everlasting Kingdom which doth Recompence their Faithfulness And these are a Royal Army that Fight the Lords Battel boldly and yet dare not Destroy the Life of any but abide under the Banner of Love and there in Patience rest And He appears His own Cause to plead and makes them more than Conquerors through His own Love And these are a Peaceable People who are guided by a peaceable Principle that is of God and in Peace they obtain the Victory and the Lamb comes forth in His Power and takes the Dominion and sets up His own Government in the Kingdom of Peace And this is a Spiritual Work and it is His own not to be accomplished by any Carnal Weapon for that cannot Establish a Spiritual Kingdom and the Lamb's Kingdom is Spiritual His Government Spiritual His Royal Army Spiritual they cannot fight about an Outward Kingdom but mind the Inward Work and to be Kept with Him whose Kingdom is not of this World And so they come more into an Inward Spiritual Work and wait to know an Inward Spiritual Change whereby Christ is Revealed in Spirit and comes in his Power and Glory and takes his Right and Sets up his Kindom and in it Reigns and puts down all his Enemies under him and this is his Battel in which he appears to exalt his own Name in Dominion and in his Right he Reigns this day and he is the King of a Royal Army who are Strong in his Strength and Lovely in his Beauty and unto him alone they give the Praise and Glory Now all that are Striving and Warring and have it in their hearts so to do and thereby think to set up their Religion and their Observation or such as Expect a time in which Christ will appear Personally upon the Earth to Reign and have it in their hearts to cut off and destroy the contrary minded and so by Weapons of War Fight for His Kingdom and thereby exalt Him into his Dominion unto such sorts of People it is said Be still and quiet lest ye put sorth your hand to do Evil and so provoke the Holy One to anger and in your froward minds provoke one another and so kindle Wrath and Anger one in another From which comes all Wars and Contentions which is not the way that Christ appears in nor the path in which he leads His Royal Army Therefore let all men appear in the Moderation and cease from Warring and Fighting
God and to Love all the Children of God and this Flows out of a pure Heart servently and truly loves the least Babe and Succors and Relieves the Weak and Feeble And with this Garment are the Humble Cloathed and are very Beautiful and amiable and the Lord keeps them in his saving strength so that in Love they do abide and it increases more and more in them and in it they grow up to Perfection and when the Love is perfect all Fears with their Torments are cast out So that to Endure Afflictions is Joy and not worthy to be compared to the Glory of Innocency Revealed And this keeps close with God and girds up the Mind into perfect Union with him where the Life is felt and sed upon which doth truly satisfie the Desire of the Hungry and in this State there is Contentment and in Content there is perfect Peace and Joy So the Way of the Humble is the Sweetest Path and in Choosing of it there is great Reward for in it is Innocency found and there doth Love spring and abound and the Life is tasted in which Innocency is Increased and the growth of it is in a sweet pleasant valley where the streams hath their Constant Course and is alwayes touching and nourishing the Root which causes every Branch that partakes of the Sap to become Exceeding Fruitful and the Vesture is then made Glorious with which the Kings Daughter is Beautiful within and when the Darkness at any time works to draw out of the Humility and to betray the Innocency the Watch discovers it and the secret workings of it and in the Light it is seen to be of that nature which will defile the pure Innocency and near the Beauty of its holy Image so with the Light it is Judged and is not touched and from it Innocency is Preserserved and still springs in it s Purity and spreads it self more in its tender Life and beautifies the House of its Holiness and the Image of it is Love and in its holy Life is Unity and Peace The Mind that keeps Low feels it and waiting in the Humility it is Known in the Enjoyment of it and the Unity is with it and with all that are born of it Then the Love is like a fresh stream that cannot cease its Course nor stop its Flowings but must shed it self abroad and Embrace its own in the Unity and there is no habitation that yields the like Peace Blessed are they that are Born into the Love and Life of the Innocent Immortal Seed for they are Children of the Kingdom without End and are bound up in Unity and keep the Bond of Peace And here was the holy Order of Gods Creation before Transgression and it was Very Good in his fight and into this Order of Unity and Peace is the Lord God Restoring by the Resurrection of Life in which the Seed is known and its holy Order in the Unity and in its own Innocency it Creates Peace and hath its Ministration in its self and gives forth 〈…〉 requires whereby every Member is Supplied and the whole Body in Unity Nourished and Comforted and so grows up unto an holy Temple in the Lord which He fills with his Glory and hath the Preheminence and is the Head unto whom all the Members are subject and He binds them up in the Bundle of Life and makes them partakers of his Divine Nature in which they are truly One and his Love constrains them to love Him and to love one another and hereby they are perfectly known to be his Disciples and his Chosen Inheritance and He ordains Peace for them and gives it to them and men cannot take it away from them and they in the Love and Life and Peace of the Seed Rejoyce together and are comforted one in another So in the Humility the Seed of Honour springs and reveals its Innocent Life and spreads abroad the Glory of its Renown and all the little Babes it covers with its own Innocency and cloathes them with a Garment of Righteousness whereby they are translated into the Heavenly and stand adorned with Purity and Chastity and profess the Treasure of Wisdom and Life And this is the Cause that the Lord God will plead and who abides faithful in it shall receive their Reward and shall come to the End of their Testimony in Peace and Joy and shall meet with a Portion to answer their Tribulation and this Testimony doth truly spring from the Innocency and in Meekness and Humility is given forth and unto the Innocent reacheth in the Love and Life of Unity that unto it the Gathering may be and every one may feel it in the Increase and therein grow up into the measure of the statuâ—e of the Fulness of Christ for as the Fear abides upon the Heart so is the Mind kept down and low and walks in the Humility in which 〈…〉 there is safety and when at any time it is lifted up and exalted by any Wile of the Enemy and that there is a departing out of the Fear and a going from the Path of Humility then comes Trouble and Sorrow and as the Light is minded the particular state is opened and it is seen what is uppermost and bears Rule in the Heart and by diligent waiting the present Condition opens more and more so that the Book of Conscience and the things that are written therein are made manifest and they are discerned with an Understanding and it is seen what the Union is with and if it be not Innocency in the True Love and Unity the Light Reproves it and Judges it and the Judgment being waited in the Innocency springs and encreases and in the midst of Judgment Mercy reaches to it and in the Mercy it grows and comes into Dominion then is His Mercy known over all His Works and in the Mercy Love and Unity is preserved So nothing is more safe than for every one to be minding their own House and see how their own Family is provided for that every Particular may in themselves feel Good Order and their own Habitation keep in Peace and Quietness which gives true Satisfaction and Contentment and every one will then feel the Good Order of the Body in Unity and will Enjoy their Peace and daily Consolation and this is Exceeding sweet and precious and more to be desired than whatever is beside it that the Innocent Life of the Holy Seed may reign and that it may be the Garment of all that this day bear Testimony unto God's living Truth So will the Glory of its Renown spread over the Nations and the Beauty of its Holiness shall still ravish the Hearts of many and the Lord God Everlasting whose Love is without End He will certainly plead with all that stand in the way and break down the High Mountains that are proudly exalted and He will feed the innocent Babes and increase their strength and make each one stronger than the strength of Enemies and who walks in the way of the Humble they do know that God will not spare the Proud neither withhold his Grace from the Humble but He will lay down the one and exalt the other for he will have the Seed to Reign and in this holy Birth of the Immortal Seed an Immortal Inheritance is possessed wherein the Blessing and Joy and Peace is obtained which doth constrain to give up the Body and Spirit to glorifie God and all that abide Faithful with God and walk in their own measures received He will Replenish them with his Goodness and satisfie them with Marrow and Fatness for He will bless the Humble and crown the Innocent with Glory and Renown for ever The Day of the Lord is glorious in which He hath gathered a People to walk in his Fear and to follow Him in the Path of Humility where He teacheth them and makes them to understand His Precepts and He fills them with his Love and spreads it over them and keeps them under the Shadow of it where they rest in the Feeling of his Presence and thereby their Hearts are Enlarged to Him and His Love Constrains them to keep a Conscience void of Offence and neither to sin against Him nor to do any Violence unto Men but to walk soberly and peaceably and to behave themselves in Love and Tenderness unto All People and in the One Spirit hath the Lord gathered them and in the One Spirit He hath bound them up and they are His People and He is their God and dwells amongst them and walks in them and the Prince of Peace orders them and they are His Royal Army in whose Love and Life they stand in Unity and give up their Bodies and Spirits unto God that his own Will may be done and the Intents of his own Heart performed and his own Name therein glorified WILLIAM SMITH From Worcester County Goal being there a Prisoner for Obedience to the Command of Jesus Christ Second Month 1661. THE END