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
sometimes been should now suffer that people with whom the power of the Lord is to be persecuted and thy name to be a cloak for it how many in all parts of this Nation have been and are at this day grievous sufferers under cruel bondage concerning tythes that great abomination and idol and cause of heavy groanings the bodies of many just men violently surprized and cast into Goals and prisons unjustly and some illegally their cruelly suffering the loss of their liberties and the enjoyments of their families and honest Assemblies and others have their goods spoiled and made havock upon almost to the ruine of families by unreasonable men through unjust Judgement and cruel dealings of some in Authority for so much unjustly challenged by the Priest or impropriator it may be they distress five times so much to the great shame of the government of a Christian Nation as may appear in a Book called the cry of the oppressed and how many are ready even to faint under the hard oppression of maintaining hireling Teachers and idol Temples many for that cause also being unjust sufferers in bodies and estates by cruel imprisonment and spoiling of goods the very cry of this oppression reaches unto heaven against thee who suffers it and against the idol shepherds who are the ground of it who makes a prey upon Gods heritage and the Lord God will be avenged upon them and they and their staff shall utterly perish wo unto them and to the idol worships of which the Land is full which they uphold which causes the hearts of the righteous to mourn because of the seed of God which is in captivity under them again many are unjust and woful sufferers because they cannot swear on this or that occasion though in all causes they speak the truth and do obey Christs commands even such are trodden upon by unjust fines charged upon them and imposed oppressions the example of which never went before many parts of this Land is witness of this and this is by the corruptness of some that bear rule under thee who rules not for God as they ought but turns the sword of justice and doth unjustly thereby and grieves the Lord and dishonours thee Again some suffer long and tedious imprisonments and others cruel stripes and abuses and danger of life many times from wicked men for reproving sin and crying against the abomination of the times which the Scriptures also testifie against in streets or Temples or other places some having been sent to prison taken on the high way and no evil charged against them and others committed being taken out of peaceable meetings and whipped and sent to prison without transgression of any Law just or unjust wholly through the rage and envy of the Devil and such who have perverted Judgement and Justice and some in prisons have suffered superaboundantly from the hands of the cruel Gaolers and their servants by beatings and threatnings and putting irons on them and not suffering any of their friends to visit them with necessaries and some have died in the prisons whose lives was not dear to them whose blood will be reckoned on account against thee one day and many more other wayes have suffered grievous things as banishments out of Towns and whipping and stocking and grievous unjust abuses and none of these for evil doing but for good even because they cannot bow to the Devil but are redeemed out of the world and therefore the world hates them and some have suffered hard cruelties because they could not respect persons and bow with Hat or knee and from these cruelties canst thou not altogether be excused in the sight of God being brought forth in thy name and under thy power consider friend and be awakened to true Judgement let the Lord search thy heart and lay these things to mind that thou may be an instrument to remove every burthen and may at last fulfill the will of God are they nothing to thee that such things should be brought forth under thee O be awakened be awakened and now seek the Lords glory and not thine own least thou perish before the Lord and men nay if men would give thee * honour and high Titles and princely thrones take it not for that which would exalt and honour thee in the world would betray thee to the world and cast thee down in the sight of the world and this is Gods word to thee what shall the whole Nation be perjured men and thou the cause of it and wilt thou transgresse by building again that which thou hast destroyed then shall the Lord and his light in every conscience bear witness against thee let it not be but deny thy self and thou wilt find the Lord honouring thee give heed unto my words and understand my speech be not exalted by man least man betray thee the Lord give thee an understanding in this and guide thee in his Councel and the rather above all things let thy heart be stirred up in thee for the Lord for now is he setting up the dominion of his Son which never shall have an end and thy Dominion must bow under it and all the Dominions of the earth or else be confounded and broken to pieces the glory of the Lord is revealing and thine shall be vailed before it and the glory of all flesh shall fall therefore strive not openly nor secretly against his way for it shall prosper there is no enchantment against us nor any formed weapon that can prosper knowest thou not that the King of Righteousnesse might command thousands of his Saints to avenge him of his adversaries and to plead his cause against the rebellious all power is in his hand yea and the authority and dominion shall be in the hands of his Saints and every one that exalts himself against them shall be brought down not by an outward sword or might of man but by his out-stretched arm and all crowns that are mortal shall be troden down by him whose crown is immortal and never fades away therefore be wise and learned this is thy day as thou dealest or sufferest to be done with the Lords people so to thee it shall be done in that day when their Government shall outreach thine and be set a top of it as thou hopes for mercy from the Lord when his Kingdom conquers thee and thine Now deal favourably and relieve the oppressed boast not thy self though the Lord hath used thee in his hand but know that when he will he can cast thee a rod out of his hand into the fire for in his hand thou art if thou honour him he will honour thee otherwise he can yea and will confound thee and break thee and make thee weak as water before him his love through my heart breaths unto thee he would thy happinesse if thou wilfully contemn it not by exalting thy self and seeking thine own glory and hardening thy heart against the cry of the poor and this I was
and under it how can they stand for thee and thy Government or out of pure love be subject thereunto though be it known to thee that we the People of God doth not envy thy person or Government in the least neither hath purpose of seeking advantage against thee or it to hurt or betray you by secret plotting or turbulent arising as others may yet friend the want of our prayers to God for thee is worse to thee then the secret plotting of all wicked men And how can we mention thee in our prayers to God except it be to be delivered from thee who are dayly cruel and unjust sufferers by thee or because of thee as I have said or how can we be friends to that Government or subject to obey that power under which we dayly suffer such hard and cruel things as the loss of our liberty and estates and danger of life also let that light in thy own conscience Judge though for all these things we do rather pitty thee and desires thy repentance then conspires against thee or wisheth thy destruction yet oughtest thou to consider of these things with a humble heart and what a condition thou art in who is hated of the wicked with deadly hatred and not loved of the Saints because thou lovest not the Lord also it might make thy heart to tremble to consider how that thy Dominions are thus devided and the affections of the people thus dis-united and few of them thy real friends some having real offence given by thee wherefore they are forced to loath that Government which is unjust and others verily supposing of great wrong sustained from thee wherefore they are turned against thee Moreover besides all this greatly it may be suspected that even they in whom thou dost repose confidence who seems to cleave unto thee may not be altogether true unto thee though in appearance subject yet may have secret hypocrisie and hatching of evil in their minds if it were possible to uncover thy nakedness and some others also there may be who may make use of places under thee which may have no more affection to thee nor service for thee then while their own ends of great advantage are served under thee by their subjection to thy Government and now friend these things being justly considered and viewed by thee in righteousness how is thy Dominions as a broken vessel that cannot easily be bound up and as a bruised reed not to be confided in by thee and these several sorts of people being substracted out of the whole how few is it that thou wilt find that are thy real and faithful friends who may stand by thee in a needful time some out of envy cannot be subject to thee and others for the fear of the Lords sake cannot own thee in such a Government whereby the just suffers even all men are ready to stand afar off from thee and because thou hast denyed the people of God therefore cannot he be thy trust and verily thy state and the state of thy Dominions are truly to be lamented thou hast so much sought thy self that thou hast lost almost all people and their affections every one judging themselves to be the greatest sufferers under thee Ah consider for thou art but the head of a disjoynted body which may not easily be bound up to thee and thou art lost for lack of true knowledge for the Lord hath done many things for thee though thou hast not known it altogether and much less then knowest thou of those things which are eternal which belongs to thy peace it shewes thou ownes not the Lord who cannot own his people but rather counts them thy enemies and suffers all evil to be inflicted upon them and this is the greatest of thy misery in that the Lord hath been so good unto thee and thy promises so large towards him for the freedom of his people and yet all forgot and the Lords goodness not answered and his people made as slaves and bondmen under thee suffering the loss of liberty and even their birth-right priviledge in many parts of these Nations wherefore be awakened O man and sleep not totally in carelesness but remember thy self either to perform the good or at least to escape the evil which may suddenly come upon thee And this I have written to thee out of perfect love in the fear of God without the fear of any man or without any secret or open envying of thee couldst thou but own the Lord he would be thy strength to forgive all thy iniquities and blot out thy sin and to defend thee from all thy enemies and above all things love Judgement mercy and truth and fear before the Lord and let not his people be thy bond-slaves who is more dear unto the Lord then all earthly glory is unto thee and if thou couldst own them they would own thee in the face of all thine enemies many times hast thou been warned and that from the Lord and thou shalt confess it when the Lords hand is upon thee and thou delivered into the will of thy enemies remember that I have told thee what the Lord hath shewed me happy art thou if thou canst receive it that peace may be unto thee and not war salvation and not condemnation renown and not dishonour which waits for thee except thou turn to the Lord Edward Burrough The Original of this was delivered to him in the seventh moneth 1657. To the Protector and Counsel A Servant of the Lord and to you a friend wisheth Grace and Wisdom the spirit of sound Judgement and the knowledge of God unto you that in all things true Justice and righteous Judgement may be brought forth and abound unto all people that you may be more honourable and may be made a blessing to your selves and this Nation and to generations after you but alas my friends how long shall Justice and true Judgement be neglected and the innocent deeply groan for want thereof how long shall it be ere the distressed cry of the unjustly afflicted enter into your hearts I say when shall your ear be bowed down to hearken to and consider of the guiltless cause of many of the faithful subjects who lies deeply afflicted through this Nation some under one cruel bond of oppression and some under another being most unjustly and wickedly imposed upon them by cruel men who perverts Justice and turneth true Judgement backwards and neither fears God nor regards men but contrary to Justice and the good Lawes of this Land as men without reason and natural affections to mankind doth act most illegally to the grievous oppression of many approved faithful subjects and the true knowledge and consideration hereof is enough to pierce the hardest heart and to vex the most patient mind and undoubtedly the fierce anger of the Lord is greatly kindled because of these things and even against your forbearance who seems to take little notice of such cruelties and in justice
wickednesse which was great in the sight of the Lord Oh remember this every one of you and come to the witnesse of God in you and be humble and meek and lowly and let the Lords fear be in your hearts and be of a tender spirit having your mindes exercised in purity in holinesse and in righteousnesse and exalt not your selves nor be lifted up in your hearts in the pride and vain glories and honours of this World least the Lord cast you down and make your name and posterity a reproach as he hath done many before you even for that cause was the generations of the Stewarts cast out and if you walk in the same steps and do the same things and become guilty of the same abominations and suffer the Children and Servants of the Lord to be persecuted as many are at this day some until death shall the Lord spare you nay he will cause you to feel his hand of judgement and bring you down with sorrow and he will vex you in his wrath and smite you with his rod more and more till you learn his fear and depart from all your iniquities and the Lord will deface your glory and pull down your crown and he will make you know that he is the Lord that doth whatsoever he will Wherefore humble your selves under the hand of God and search your own hearts and cast out the abhominations that vexeth the spirit of the Lord and suffer not the people of the Lords pretious flock to be devoured and made a prey to the wicked for because of this the rod of affliction cometh upon you and may suddenly break you to pieces but mind the seed of God in you which is oppressed and wait to know the power of the Lord which will redeem you out of sin and death and reconcile you to God and bring you into fellowship with himself to enjoy peace and rest for your soules that you may be made heires of the inheritance of an endlesse life and this would make you truly honourable and will be more satisfaction to you and joy and content and true rejoycing then all worldly crowns and worldly glories which will waste and consume away and leave you miserable and remember that you are now warned from the Lord God by whom I am moved to write this unto you in dear and tender love to you all and one day you shall witnesse it And as concerning the Quakers so called who are accounted as vile in the sight of men and are cast out of all power and place in the Nation being despised of all and also are reproached persecuted and imprisoned and all manner of evil and injustice unrighteously done and spoken against them by wicked and corrupt men in authority yet are they the Children and Servants of the living God and greatly beloved of him and are as dear to him as the apple of his eye and his power and presence is with them and the time is at hand that the Lord will make their persecutors fall and their enemies bow and tremble though now they suffer unjustly and are troden down as not deserving a place on the earth yet it is for righteousnesse sake and because they shew forth the image of the Father and not for evil doing and will not their sufferings lie upon you for many hundred have suffered cruel and great things and some the losse of life though not by yet in the name of the Protector and about a hundred at this present day lies in holes and dungeons and prisons up and down the Nation and some at this time are sick nigh unto death whose sufferings cries for vengeance and the Lord heareth the cry wherefore save your selves and let the innocent be delivered and the cruel bonds of oppression broken and the exercise of a pure conscience go free without persecution and then the Lord will turn away his anger and cease to smite you with his rod which hath been upon you and he will give you peace and make you blessed if you come to be lead by his spirit into all truth and though these innocent Lambs of Christ suffer thus under this present power yet are they not enemies to you but are friends to your persons and families and pitties you and loves you and desires well for you in the Lord that you may repent and be healed and even that your hearts may be opened to receive refreshments to your souls and that you may be established in righteousness and truth over all your enemies and may not be confounded nor your posterity brought into reproach which is hastening upon you and though our love be disputed we accounted hateful in your sight and looked upon with derision yet we bare all things in patience truly desiring your returning and repentance and not your destruction but if these doleful sufferings of the Lords poor Lambs be continued by this present power it will destroy you and undo you and break you and confound you and the Lord will not cease to smite you with his rod of sharp rebukes and he will make you know his Peoples cause shall not be unpunished Oh did you but know how hundreds have and do suffer how the bodies of some have been tortured by stocks and cruel whippings and how some lies sick in stinking holes and dungeons on the ground or a little straw at best ten or often more in a prison together and sometimes their own friends not suffered to come to visit them with necessaries Oh did but your eyes behold or your hearts perceive the greatness of the cruelty which some of the Lords dear servants and your faithful friends undergo it would make your hearts ake and your spirits to tremble and all this is done in the name and under the Authorty of Protector therefore how should the Lord but lay it to your charge and afflict him and his family he will make you know there is a God that can do whatsoever he will and that life and death are in his hand and all creatures are as clay in the hand of a potter and he rules in the Kingdoms of men and pulleth down one and setteth up another according to his pleasure but if the love of God be with-holden from you it is because of disobedience to him and your transgression Wherefore be obedient to him and love his wayes and judgements that he may make you more happy with a Crown Immortal that never fades away and remember once more the Lord hath warned you by a Friend unto you in the Lord E. BURROUGH Written the 1. day of the 7. month called Sept. 1658. Copies of this were delivered to divers of his Children and Kindred the day before he died To thee Richard Cromwel called Protector of these Nations is this moved of the Lord God of heaven and earth to be written for thy Instruction from him THere is a great mighty Innumerable people come coming up out of Aegypts Land
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
which is justly according to God in which righteousness and truth Justice and true Judgement may run down and all the contrary may be stopped and chained and limited and confounded and then that which thy father left undone the Lord will fulfil through thee and doing these things the Lord would make thee truly honourable and happy and blessed in this life and in the life to come but in doing the contrary the Lord will make thee a curse and take thee away in his Judgements and thy name shall be left a reproach to ages for ever and if thou do rule in oppression and cruelty and suffer the innocent to be destroyed for want of true Judgement then shall thy dayes be fewer then thy fathers if thou be disobedient to him the Lord shall cut thee off and thy memorial shall rot and this is the Word of the Lord God to thee And as for this afflicted sojourning people they desire nothing to thee but truth peace righteousness no more of thee but Justice Justice and true Judgement and that they and their little ones which to them are brought forth may sojourn in peace and quietly pass through the Nations till they come up to the Land of Promise and they may not carry away of the glory nor riches of this world with them nor seek great places of honour from thee nor be hurtful to thee nor the people nor to mankind in their sojourning only what the Lord Commands them that they must do and what he forbids that they must not do for they have chosen the Lord to be their Leader and to give him their obedience in all things and thy Government so far as it is according to God they will not destroy nor rebel against but are true friends thereunto subject in all things and if thou walk with the Lord and chuse him for thy Counsellor and abase thy self and altogether exalt him and preserve his people that fear him then shalt thou prosper and thy name shall be greater then was thy fathers the numberless number of this now distressed people will be unto thee a strength and stand by thee in thy day of trouble and defend thee and thy just Government and their hearts shall cleave to thee and thou shalt prosper for their sakes and none of thy enemies shall shall have power over thee to destroy thee though many may seek for thy life Wherefore my friend awake awake and now consider the day of thy visitation is present and thy fathers is past and now thou hast a time to gain unto thy self everlasting honour and renown or otherwise to leave thy name a curse and a reproach for evermore do thou hearken to the voice of the Lord and fear his dreadful Name and bow before our God that made Heaven and earth who rules in the kingdoms of men and pulleth down one and setteth up another at his pleasure and as he will and he will make thee know that he lives and reigns over all and doth whatsoever he will and if he smite thee none shall heal thee and if he wound thee none shall comfort thee Therefore take him for thy Counsellor and beware of the wicked counsels of men for thou hast many enemies and they would rejoice to see thy fall and if the lord be not on thy side thou cannot long stand but if thou be obedient to him and preserve his people and break down all oppression then thy enemies shall fall and thy foot shall tread them down and the terrour of the Lord shall be upon all that hate thee but thus shall it be done unto thee if thou be disobedient to him and reject his Counsel by his servant I am thy Friend and a lover of thy Soul and seeks thy happiness in this world and in the world to come known to many by of the name of EDWARD BURROUGH The Original of this was delivered to him a few days after he was proclaimed Protector To Richard Cromwel Protector so called FRIEND THou being chief Magistrate of these Nations and Dominions belonging thereunto Carry thy self wisely in the fear of God and take heed of being lifted up but be low and grave and temperate then thou wilt foresee dangers that would happen to thee and come upon thee and not a plot or act against thee but wisdom foresees live in that mind the humility of Moses the meekness of Moses and the humility that Solomon the King speaks of who sayes That before honour was the humility Prov. 15. And keep on thy own leggs in the power and strength of the Lord waiting for his wisdom from above by which all things were made and created with which wisdom thou mayest be ordered to Gods glory and all thou hast under thy hand to his glory that with it thou maist feel the blessing of the Lord God of glory and life with thee whereby thou maist come to see the Law of God and counsel and wisdom and strength from him and understanding and knowledge that with the Law of God received of him thou maist come to answer the principle of God in every man which Law of God the higher Power goes over all transgressors and with that order the Creation which will let thee see as it did Moses that meek man before any transgression was the first transgression upon the earth this Law the higher power to which the Soul must be subject the which is a terrour to the evil-doers a praise to them that do well is higher then all the transgressors evil-doers upon the earth and a terrour to them that do evil which Law and higher Power answers the Principle of God in every one that do evil which goes from that of God in them Now this is for the praise of them that do well for them that do well are led by the Spirit of God and such lives in the power and this Law was not made for the righteous but for sinners and transgressors now there is no sinner nor transgressor upon the earth but first goes from the principle of God in his own particular then he goes out of the fear of God and loses his Wisdom and Counsel and such will turn the sword backward against the righteous which the Law was not made for and by such hath all the righteous upon earth suffered and such hath been all the persecutors upon the earth from the foundation of the world that is first gone from the principle of God in their own selves and have been in authority they have persecuted the just and turned it against the just and made a prey of such as reproves in the gate yea they that departs from sin and evil comes to be their scorn and these were they that made men offenders for a word and compelled others to do such things which they could not but sin against their own Consciences and against the Lord and such the Lord soon cut down and cut off and swept
forth the more is the Government unhappy and accursed and the sooner will the Lord overthrow it and bring it to a desolate end and therefore my Friends let this great enemy to your persons government and whole Nation to wit persecution for conscience sake be speedily removed least the anger of the Lord break forth against you and repentance be too late for this know in all ages the Lord stretched forth his hand and in his time he quickly avenged himself for his peoples sake after their innocent sufferings born by them for a season and he is the same and changeth not and the same will he bring to pass therefore I say again be awakned and let that deadly enemy be removed out of the land as you tender your own safety and honour and the glory of the Name of the Lord and his peoples peace even this very enemy to wit persecution for conscience sake for it doth and will obstruct all your good purposes at home and abroad It eats away the affections of all good people from you and it eats out your strength and valour and it consumes the weakness of all your enemies verily it is an enemy that will work your destruction speedily both in this world and in the world to come that of God in ye all shall witness me in the day of the Lord I am your Friend and these things do I write as a Friend unto you as to warn you of that secret enemy so much reigning and rebelling in this Nation which indeed may work a greater distruction upon you then any forreign invader and this in time you may witness to your grief and sorrow if something by you be not done to suppress it all health and peace I wish unto you in the Lord and thus far am I clear from the blood of you and all men come life or death EDWARD BURROUGH The several Copies of this was delivered to Oliver and his Counsel in the 12th month in the year 1657 Oh! OLIVER HAdst thou been faithful and thundred down the deceipt the Hollander had been thy subject and tributers and Germany had given up to have done thy will and the Spaniard had quivered like a dry leaf wanting the vertue of God the King of France should have bowed under thee his neck the Pope should have withered as in winter the Turk in all his fatness should have smoaked thou shouldst not a stood trifling about small things but minded the work of the Lord as he began with thee at first sober men and true hearts took part with thee Oh! take heed and do not slight such least thou weaken thy self and not disown such as the Lord hath owned thy dread is not yet all gone nor thy amazement arise and come out for hadst thou been faithful thou shouldst have crumbled Nations to dust for that had been thy place now is thy day of trial take heed of joining hands with the wicked against the innocent but hear the voice of God and that will keep thee from hardness of heart and mind the Law of God with which thou maist answer that of God in every one and his fear and his dread to be in thy family and that thou maist come to break the jawes of the wicked that rends the innocent and that thou maist be eyes to the blind and legs to the lame and an help to them that cannot help themselves and take heed that any of thy servants that be under thy dominion of quenching the Spirit or limiting the Holy one but wait for the Wisdom of God that with it thou maist order all to Gods glory and all his creatures by which Wisdom they were created and made and that thou maist find the blessing of the Lord God with thee and take heed of flatterers and take heed of wild light spirits that will speak thee fair but mind sober men for there is mischief in many minds but if thou be kept in the power of God and live in it thou wilt live over all and stop and cross and tread under the intents of wicked men and take heed in any thing they be not thy executioners for now thou hast time prize it A lover of thy Soul and thy Eternal good and for establishing Peace and Righteousness amongst the people G. FOX The Original copy of this was delivered to him the 11th month in the year 1657. Dear Friend BE still and in the Counsel of God stand and that will give thee wisdom that thou maist frustrate mens end and calm mens spirits and crumbel men under and arise and stand up in the power of the Lord God the Lambs authority and fear not the face of man but fear and dread the Lord God then his presence and wisdom and counsel thou shalt have to throw down the rubbish and quell all the bad spirits under thy dominion and fear them about thee live in the Lords power and life then to thee he will give wisdom and the pure feeling thou wilt come into whereby thy Soul will be refreshed and it will be thy delight to do the Will of God and thy meat and drink as thou in the pure Eternal Power Counsel Will and Wisdom of God dwells things all will be made plain before thee and to thee from the Lord God in what thou doest for the Lord God thou shalt have peace and the blessing and in that so doing all the sober true hearted people will be one with thee in travels sorrows and pains and then in that a blessing from the Lord will come upon thee will abound to thee and cover thee as thou lives and art kept in the power and dread of the Lord God of Heaven and earth where Wisdom is not wanting nor peace lacking but peace enjoyed and counsel and instruction from the Lord God given and the helping arm and hand that stretcheth over all the Nations in the world thou wilt feel it and with that thou wilt come to break down all mens ends that they have to themselves and the worships that men invent and images they have set up for the arm of the Lord helps the righteous by his hand he carries the Lambs which arm is turned against the wicked stretched over them and the hand of the Lord is against them that do evil in which hand the Soul is and brings it into peace therefore live in the power of the Lord God and feel his hand that is stretched out over the Nations for a mighty work hath the Lord to do in other Nations and their quakings and shakings is but entering So this is the Word of the Lord God to thee and a charge to thee from the Lord God in the presence of the Lord God live in the power of the Lord God of Heaven and earth that will make all Nations to tremble and quake for those be Gods enemies that be out of his power and counsel and be thou faithful to God singlely without respecting any mans person but