but as we are witnesses of it through the leadings of the same Spirit for you are not ignorant how many bad reports hath been raised and spread abroad concerning us crying Report and we will Report and so have Reports been spread in the Nation of the Quakers rising and cutting Throats which are bad Reports yet we have gone thorow them in Patience having no guilt upon us concerning them but stand clear before the Lord our God and in our innocency are justified in his sight How are we counted Deceivers by the wise Generation and yet we are born into the Truth and walk in the Truth and live the life of Truth and we know the freedom that is wrought by it and we have the seal of Gods Spirit which hath revealed it in our inward parts and this we go through in the leadings of God in whom we have peace how often hath death been threatned to us by unreasonable men and yet we are preserved in the power of God and live before him and thus do we walk as a despised and an afflicted people and yet we are led through all and in the Power of God walks upon the top of all and stand over all those things and heed them not for our delight is in the Lord our God and in his righteous Law we meditate day and night that our minds may be exercised unto him in that which is pure of him that gives us peace with him seals assurance of his everlasting love unto us So we mind not who are against us or what is reported concerning us or how we are counted in this World but we mind the light of Christ manifest in our Consciences and in the light our Minds are exercised and with the light all evil Thoughts are judged and we are justified before our God though the world be against us taking Counsel what Course to take with us and many fretting themselves about us yet we do not frowardly strive with any man but follow peace with all men and in peace we are preserved when our Enemies are confounded and over-turned by the Arm of God Behold and see ye Despisers what a work is this how can you believe when it is declared that God should plead the Cause of his Chosen People and make bare his Arm for his innocent Lambs and by his invisible Power to over-turn the mighty Councels of men when neither Sword nor Spear hath been on our side nor any thing without us hath appeared for us then hath our God been neer at hand and a present help he hath been unto us and with his out-stretched Arm he hath from time to time delivered us from the wrath of unreasonable men and thus we have experienced his everlasting loving kindness and his wonderful Works we are made to declare amongst the Children of Men that all may know there is no God like unto our God unto whom alone we look and our eye is towards him and we cannot joyn with weapons of War nor with any Party who is striving with them but we set all men aside in the Work of our God and cannot meddle with other mens matters but looks unto the Lord and cries unto the God of our strength and our eye is single to him and our expectation is from him alone and he hath never failed us but hath appeared to deliver us and in the strength of his own life hath wrought our Works for us and with the Arm of his Salvation he hath saved us unto whom be Glory Dominion and Praise for evermore Now all People see and Consider what is the ground that you appear so full of Enmity against a People that neither threatens you nor appears against you nor bears no evil will unto you Is it because you are in fear of your persons and that we seek to destroy you from off the Earth Then let the Offence cease and be quiet in your Minds for we stand clear before our God and in our Innocency are Justified in his sight and neither our Hearts nor Hands have joyned nor can joyn with such a Work Therefore be not afraid where no Fear is nor be not Envious from groundless Jealousies but mind the Light of Christ in your Consciences and wait to receive the Love of God in it that you may cease from anger wrath malice or bearing evil will unto a People who walks innocently before the Lord and towards all men And that which troubles you and is a terrour to you and brings fear upon you it is your own consciences for there is your trouble terrour and fear and it will terrifie you and fearfulnesse will surprize you who are in the hypocrisie for it is the same that passed through Aegypt of old and wrought mighty signes and wonders upon Pharaoh and all the Aegyptians who stood in their hard-heartednesse and would not obey the Lord nor let Israel go though God sent Moses to lead them out of Aegypt and from under Pharaohs power yet he withstood the Lord and his heart was hardened against the mighty God until every house was searched and the first-born was smitten and died and then there was a cry amongst the Aegyptians and great fear was upon the Land and then was the time come in which Israel should be set free you must read that can for he that wrought then is working at this day to break off the yoke that the oppressed may be set free and he will not leave a House amongst you but he will passe through it smite the first-born in it that his Seed may come forth from under your cruel oppression And this I have received of the Lord and declares it in the Authâ—â—ity of God that all may dread before the Holy One of Israel and if your enmity arise towards us concerning the Law of our God which in our hearts he hath written and is holy Just and good and that you cannot receive Truth as it is made known unto us by the Revelation of Jesus Christ Then be still in your mindes and wait to receive Counsel from God and be not rash nor forward in an envious spirit but be coole and moderate that you may receive an understanding in the things of God for we dare not deny the Truth which God hath made manifest in us whatever you can do unto us and if Truth offend you then are we clear from the offence for Truth gives not offence but the wicked one takes offence at Truths appearance and so the offence comes of your selves and the wo is to you who takes offence at the Truth and turns against the little Ones that are borne into the life of it and offends them by your cruelty and oppression Therefore let it be well considered what Truth is and who they be that are come to the knowledge of it and walks in it that whiles you are warring and fighting about that which you call Truth ye be not ignorant what Truth is and so set
up Errour in truths stead and give judgement against Christ who is the truth and Life of whom we testifie and confesse him before men and that with boldnesse in his power and we are not ashamed of the Gospel but beares witnesse of it to be the Power of God and necessity is laid upon us so to do and we cannot be silent but as the Lord gives utterance we are constrained to make mention of his Name and to declare his Truth from day to day And we do not take thought concerning men that rise up against us neither heed them as to what they can do unto us therefore let not the preaching of the cross of Christ offend you neither stumble at that stone any longer least it fall upon you and grind you to powder for our Testimony is unto the Name of Jesus and that there is not Salvation in any other name and this is known in the light which is manifest from him that lets all see the need of salvation for this is your great want who are from the light you want Gods Salvation and so remains in your sins and in your lusts from whence wars and contentious do arise And this is Truth unto you all people and do not count us your enemies because we tell it you in plainnesse and labours for you that you might come to the knowledge of it and besaved by it And though we have born much from you and suffer much by you yet this is our care for you that you may be saved and our desires to God for you that he would not lay to your charge what you do unto us and we stand innocent before the Lord in all things that have been done unto us or intended towards us and we seek not Revenge upon any man and though Truth be counted Heresie by such as are yet in darknesse yet we know the power of it and the salvation in it and after that way now called Heresie so worship we the God of our Fathers Therefore all people behold and see what your way is and go not on to your own destruction but cease from evil and let not envy and malice lodge in your hearts nor strive not in your wills against the Truth of God for he is establishing the throne of his glory and who art thou that contends against him It were better for thee to be still and quiet and meddle not in things too wonderful for thee but let that alone which concerns the most High Therefore all people in time your wayes consider and proceed no further in that which is evil which tends to persecution and destruction but all take warning from the Lord and all turn unto him before the day of his fierce wrath come for if you neglect the light of Christ in your consciences you neglect your Salvation and if you turn against the appearance of God in his people and conspire against the Just and murder the Innocent God will finde you out and the hour of his judgement will come and his wrath will abide upon you for ever So all mind the Light of Christ within you that is manifest from God unto you that you may depart out of evil and be led unto God from whence the Light comes that you may come to discern the things of God and understand that which belongs to your peace for all that the Lord hath gathered in this day of his mercy to make known in them his wonderful works in his mighty power they walk in Gods fear stand in his Counsel and knows all things in their place and what is of God they honour what is of man they cannot own for God hath raised his own Seed that cannot consent to any custom or fashion or tradition of the World but testifies against them all and we are born of the Seed which hath no part in the World and in the power of it we are redeemed out of the World therefore we cannot conform to the World neither in custom fashion or tradition nor we cannot exercise our selves in any thing we are convinced of to be contrary to the Truth and this is all that you have against us because we answer a conscience void of offence towards God and man and walks in obedience to the teachings of God which doth not answer your vain minds which are puffed up so you cannot receive the pure language of Truth but rejects and scorns it and are angry and if you be not bowed unto and spoken unto according to your customs then you are offended and so you fret your selves in the pride of your hearts because we cannot answer your vain minds in your Customs Fashions and Traditions and this is the great offence you take at us which provokes you to anger and fills you with wrath and indignation against us when we walk simply in the Truth of God and do not give offence to any in the Truth speaking or in not moving or bowing to any mans person to have it in respect for such things are out of Truth and where they are practised the leading of the Spirit is not known so you that are in those things you are in the vain customs of the Heathen follows your own wills and satisfies your vain minds in your lust which grieves the Spirit of God and we cannot own them nor be conformable unto them we dare not speak any other Language but thou to a single person knowing it is the spirits Language and hath been from the beginning and the Scripture declares of no other We cannot put off our hats and bow unto the persons of men knowing that he who respects persons commits sin and is convinced of the Law to be a Transgressor and we know that when our hat is on our head it is where it ought to be being given for a covering unto that part so we cannot move it or put it off in honour to any man but as our freedom is in God for we have denied such things in obedience to God and we cannot return again into them to be intangled with them but stands in the freedom of God into which we are redeemed by his mighty power and we see all these things to be vain which are practised in the World and are not after the Spirit but after the Flesh and from the heart which is deceitful and desperately wicked and we cannot joyn with them nor be conformable unto them for conscience sake for we are set free by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and we know them to be works of darknesse and so we testifie against them and we have the answer of a good conscience therein and peace with God and in this we rejoyce that we have not at any time suffered as evil doers but for the Testimony of a good conscience in simplicity and Innocency in the sight of God who upholds us in his arm and preserves us in his power from the wrath of
unreasonable men So in faithfulnesse we stand approved to God and is manifest to the measure of God in you all and before the Lord we stand Innocent neither seeking nor striving after any thing but the glory of God and the good of all people and we do not deny any thing in the truth therefore we are hated without cause nor we cannot own any thing out of the Truth therefore our sufferings are not grievous to us though we be kiled all the day long and counted as sheep for the slaughter and the eyes of all are upon us for evil yet we are preserved by an invisible power and our hearts are enlarged and our Tongues are unloosed to magnifie the God of our Salvation Therefore take warning all people and do not withstand Truth any longer nor proceed no further in your enmity against an innocent people for your folly will be made manifest if you go on in your way and still continue the yoke and the burdens upon us and have it in your hearts to spoil and persecute us who cannot for conscience sake submit to your customs nor allow your practises which arises from your own inventions So from high to low consider and what is past let it be sufficient and let it not be in your hearts to proceed any further in your wills against the Innocent that God may divert his judgements which will certainly fall upon your heads if you go on in your wickednesse and there will be no escaping the fiery wrath of the Almighty Let this warning reach unto you and take place in you all people that you may dread before the Lord and he that hath done wickedly do so no more and who doth intend any evil towards us let it not abide within you but cast out your evil thoughts and entertain them no longer and let not your Tongues be so perverse but know the bridle for them that you may not speak unadvisedly as many have done who have called light darknesse and Truth delusion and so have reviled and scorned us who are by the light guided and in the truth walk and let your moderation appear to all men that you may do unto others as you would have others to do unto you for you make such measure as you would not have measured unto you again so you are not come to the Law and the Prophets therefore your way is not good nor to be proceeded in any further but it is to be denied and cast off and departed from So be stayed in time and all mind the things that belong to your places and let him that Rules mind his place rule with diligence and make sweet wholsom Laws for the government of Nations that people therein may be protected from injury violence or any wrong and be ordered in peace and dwell in safty every man in his place and that sin may be cut down which does so much abound and all evil doers restrained from their evil wayes and the well doers encouraged in their holy walking that so true Judgement and Equity may abound in the Nations and Truth and Righteousnesse may Run among the people as a mighty stream and let him that serves serve with carefulnesse and mind his place that he run not beyond his Power and so pervert the issuing forth of wholsome Laws in their right course and turn them into a corrupted chanel Therefore let him that serves be careful that he stretch not himself beyond his line as many in the Servants place do at this day who act both beyond Law and contrary to the Law and so neither regards God nor man Let this be all denied and mind your-places in singlenesse that you may perform them with carefulnesse as unto God that both He that Rules and he that serves may be subject to the Higher Power which is of God and know that to be over all Powers that none may enter into his work or meddle with those things that are too high for you as many have done who have busied themselves and spent much time but never could perfect any thing but have been over turned and over-whelmed and none could be found to uphold them and this is the Work of the Lord and the out-stretched Arm of his Power that does all these things who appears to be the Salvation of a People that trust in him and to over-turn all those that conspire against them How did he deliver Daniel out of the Lions Den and Mordecay and the scattered Jews from the wickednesse intended against them and Shedrack Mesheck and Abednego out of the flames of the furnace and from the wrath of Babylons King And this is our God on whom we wait and whom we serve and worship and our eye is towards him and our expectations from him and his hand is not shortned towards us neither doth he fail us therefore our hearts are filled with joy and our tongues with praises and our spirits rest in hope for God hath made his Tabernacle with us and dwels among us and he is our God and we are his People in Truth and Righteousnesse O ye dear Children of Light whom God hath gathered in this day of his compassion and counts you worthy to suffer for His Name sake rejoyce and be glad for great is your Reward Lift up your heads in the strength of the Lord and walk in the power of his might that you may be preserved by him in faithfulnesse to him that the Crown you may receive which no man can take from you O let your souls rejoyce in him and all that is within you praise his Holy Name for there is none like unto him who is over all Gods and over all Kings sitting upon his Throne and judging right Let all bow before him and be subject to his Power that in peace we may lie down together and in rest be established by the Arm of his Salvation for evermore O thou Holy Righteous Seed thy day is come thy day is come thou Holy One thou art the Lamb thy day is come and victory thou wilt obtain thy Power is known that makes us rejoyce in Thee Thou art the King of Glory over all we are subject unto Thee and with one accord we praise thy Name and our voice we lift up to Thee Thou hast Redemed us and we are thine and in thy love we are overcome to thee Thou art the undefiled One and what we are we are in thee Thou art our life and we live in thee Thou glorious Birth we have been thy star and we worship thee and present unto thee a living sacrifice of holy praises everlasting glory and endlesse dominion for ever and ever O ye Ministers of England and Nations afar off your time now is and is no more you are not upright before God but are seeking your selves and are double-minded men you serve the times and not the Lord and you turn amongst the changeable things every man after his owne way having