hath made her self ready and the way of the Lord is pleasant to you and his commands are not grievous no unclean thing can passe over nor no Lyons whelps can tread therein but it is called the way of holinesse where only the ransomed of the Lord do walk even your mountain is established upon the top of all hills and all Nations shall flow unto it Sing praises for ever for the kingdome of endless peace is come which passeth understaning and of glory which no mortall eye can behold and of life which no flesh can live in Oh my beloved come up hither and I will shew you what God hath done for you he hath rebuked the Sea and driven back the floods of waters which compassed you about he hath scattered your enemies with a whirlwind and he hath given you to feed upon the flesh of Kings and of Captaines Can you call to mind the doings of your God and his marvellous works brought to passe and not cry out in praises for evermore O drink and be refreshed and eat and be satisfied for ever and let your soul delight it self in fatness the planting of the Lord you are and his own purchased possession he hath separated you from the womb and hath called you out of kindreds and ye are the Royall seed of the off-spring of the Lord Almighty and all Nations shall call you blessed And O thou North of England who art counted as desolate and barren and reckoned the least of the Nations yet out of thee did the branch spring and the Star arise which gives light unto all the Regions round about in thee the Son of Righteousness appeared with wounding and with healing and out of thee the terror of the Lord proceeded which makes the earth to tremble and be removed out of thee Kings Princes Prophets did come forth in the name and power of the most High which uttered their voyces as thunders and laid their swords on the neck of their enemies and never returned empty from the slaughter Though I be as by the waters of Babylon in a strange land and as a Pilgrim and Stranger destitute but not forsaken as dying but behold I live yet if I forget thee let my right hand forget her cunning and let my name be blotted out of the book of life O how I love the holy seed which in my eye is precious no man can hinder my boasting of thee for I am sealed among you in the Record of eternal life to bee read among you in the light where I am known to you and where my unity stands with you in the love and life which never changes and you are my mother and my brother and sister who doth the will of my Father Our God is a consuming fire and his habitation is compast about with dread and terror The Heathen shall see and fear and the inhabitants of the earth shall tremble our God is everlasting burnings and it is tempestuous round about his throne and he reignes for evermore and though thou be despised and set at nought and counted as the off-scouring of all things and the scorn of the Heathen yet thy King reigns upon Mount Sion and if he utter his voice all flesh shall tremble and before him thy adversaries shall fall and thy persecutors shall be confounded for thou shalt never be forgotten of thy God but with his arm wil he defend thee and compass thee about and thy seed shall be increased and thou Ierusalem shalt be made the praise of the whole earth for among you is laid the sure foundation and the tryed stone Christ Jesus the light of the world upon whom you have believed which unto the Nations is a stumbling stone but unto you precious bring in your testimony and set to your seal is there salvation in any other but in him who is the light of the world nay there is no redemption wrought but by him nor no deliverance but through him his is the Kingdome the Power and the glory and he is become all in all and you are no more of this world but are of the chosen generation and of the royal Priesthood a people Redeemed unto whom there is none like among the thousands of Israel and Iudah whose God is the Lord whose Saviour is the Prince of Righteousness who covers your heads in the day of Battel and smites your enemies in the hinder parts and wounds them in the fore-head And now my beloved let his name be had in remembrance for evermore and let his praises be declared throughout Ages to come and walk you worthy of his everlasting love wherewith he hath loved you more then your brethren let his name be exalted by righteousness by purity and by a blameless life and bring forth the fruits of righteousness and peace and let yout light shine forth into the world and your good works abound plentifully for you are as a City set on a hill and as a lighted candle to shine abroad and are created unto good works Let faith hope love and unity be increased among you and let mercy and judgement and equity flow down and be established for ever never to be removed Let joy and long-suffering and meekness and temperance spring out and be you perfect as your heavenly father is perfect Stand upon your watch Tower and bee not shaken nor drâ—w 〈◊〉 aside to follow any other Gods nor to bow to any 〈◊〉 Image nor joyn your selves to strangers and mingle not your seed with the adulterous generation nor take not nor give not in marriage with them but keep your selves from the Idols of the heathen be not defiled with them but abide in your strength you know where it lies by which you may work good and be preserved from evil and you need not that any man teach you for you are taught of God and are far from oppression Ye children of light worship your God for ever who is light and in him is no darkness at all who is the same and changes not whose mercy endures for ever Be followers of the Lamb as undefiled Virgins and let your soul scorn the glory of Babylon and Aegypt for ever for you are not your own but are bought with a price no more to serve your selves but the Lord of Israel for ever Put on your Armour and gird on your Sword and lay hold on the spear march into the field and prepare your selves to battel for the Nations doth defie our God and saith in their heart Who is the God of the Quakers that we should fear him and obey his voice Arise arise and sound forth the everlasting word of war and judgment in the ears of all Nations sound an Alarum and make their ears to tingle Our Enemies are whole Nations and multitudes in number of a rebellious people that will not come under our law which ariseth up against us and will not have our King to reigne but tramples his honour under foot and
TO THE CAMP OF The Lord IN ENGLAND TO all you called chosen elected and beloved of the Lord who are of the circumcision made without hands of the feed of Abraham who are Jewes indeed nor after the flesh but in the spirit unto whom belongs the euerlasting promise and couenant whom God hath and is fulfilling in you so establishing with you We your fellow-Citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem which is the mother of us all and of the same body and of the same seed and same birth begotten and brought forth by the immortall word of life which lives for ever do send greeting and doe embrace you in the arms of our beloued who is and is to come God blessed for ever you who are called Quakers who are so not onely in word nor in shew but in life and in power whom God hath called and chosen to place his name in and to take up his habitation among above all the families of the Earth the Tabernacle of God is with you and his dwelling-place is among you and only among you is God known and his name is great in your Assemblies We who are of the same root and off-spring doth bring in our witness and doth set to our seale That God of a truth is with you and among you and he is the God of the living that answers by fire he is I am and there is none besides him the first and the last the beginning and the end of all things Praise him for ever yee redeemed of him lift up your heads your Redeemer is come clap your hands and shout for ioy and let the everlasting praises of God be in your mouths for ever and ever Exalt yee his name above all Gods and glorifie him in the sight of all the Heathen and let his marvellous works stand upon Record from generation to generation Wonderfull hath his work been among you and that my soule knowes right well You that were scattered in thecloudy and dark day and were a prey for the wild beasts of the Forrest and were driven away as lost sheep in the wilderness hath God gathered into the fould to lay down by the springs of living water in fat pastures for evermore Your bread is sure and your waters never failes a feast of fat things is made unto you of wines well refined the Lord is become the Lot of your inheritance and the portion of your Cup for ever Your Crowns have you laid down at the feet of the Lamb and your lives and liberties have not been dear unto you and let this never repent you for now the Lord will exalt you and Crown you with immortall glory The everlasting day star is risen among you which gives light unto the Nations and the light of the Sun is as the light of seven dayes and there is no need of a candle in your dwelling but the Lamb is the light thereof faire as the Sun and clear as the Moon yea it is he which was dead and is alive and behold he lives for evermore Praise him all ye people praise ye him ye holy Host let all that hath breath praise him for ever VVho can expresse his Noble acts and who can declare his wondrous works Oh my soule is ravished and my heart is overcome let me speak that I may be refreshed and let me declare his wonders among all people The Lord is our King our Judge and our Law-giver and our Rock of defence Just is he in his Judgements who hath avenged us of our Enemies Mercy and Judgement meet righteousnesse and peace doth embrace each other Rejoyce for evermore ye Saints of the most High and tell it to your Children that they may tell it to another Generation what hath the Lord wrought among you and what hath his hand brought to passe Salvation is come and plenteous Redemption and the dead hath heard the voyce of the Son of God and liveth Let sorrow and mourning fly away and be ye comforted ye that have mourned and be ye refreshed ye that have been weary for God hath opened the everlasting fountain and the streams runs pleasantly which refresheth the City of our God He is come and his reward is with him even he for whom we have waited this is he who is our life our peace and our exceeding great reward the light of the world our Saviour but the worlds condemner our peace but the worlds torment glad tidings glad tidings the acceptable year is come praise ye the Lord ye Sons and daughters of Sion beautifull is your dwelling place and aboundeth with pleasant fruit for you are digged and pruned and enclosed a Garden of lovely branches let the wonders of the Lord never be forgotten nor his works neuer passe out of your remembrance for he hath wounded and healed killed and made aliue raised the dead and slain the liuing brought out of captiuity and bound with chains gathered and scattered brought low and exalted saved and condemned all this hath your eye seen and your ear heard and the Heavens and the Earth hath been burned as a scroule and the indignation of the Lord you have born But the winter is past and the summer is come and the Turtle dove and the singing of Birds is heard in our Land O magnifie his name for ever you are made vessels of honour wherein the everlasting treasure abideth which never waxeth old the voyce of the Bridegroom is heard among you and how can you have any more sorrow instead of weeping reioycing and instead of heauinesse of heart fullness of euerlasting joy the Lord hath fulfilled his promise and made good his word and his Law and Couenant is with you and from you doth the Law goe forth and the powerfull word of life and death soundeth out of your dwelling and you are Gods only witnesses to testifie of him in the presence of all Nations some of you by suffering and some by declaring Oh endless loue and life and riches an eternall Crown is upon your heads and your suffering which hath not been a little is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is and shal be reuealed I speak to you who hath an ear to hear my soule and heart is comforted in you in the midst of my burdens and sufferings who is separated from you outwardly yet ioyned and united to you by the Spirit which is unlimited which all Nations doth comprehend yea I behold your beauty a far off and my heart is ravished withit and I am sick of love let his works praise him for ever which hee hath wrought for his dwelling is with you in the light unto which no mortall eye can approach The new Ierusalem is come down from Heaven and no unclean can enter but you are made white with the blood of the Lamb and purged as silver and purified as gold in the burning and unto you an entrance is given and the way is prepared and the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife
despises his law and his statutes and counteth his subjects as slaves and bond-men Stand upon your feet and appear in your terror as an Army with banners and let the nations know your power and the stroke of your hand cut down on the right hand and slay on the left and let not your eye pitty nor your hand spare but wound the lofty and under foot the honourable of the Earth and give unto the great Whore double and give her no rest day nor night but as she hath done so let it be done unto her and give her double into her bosome as she hath loved blood so give her blood and dash her children against the stones and let none of the Heathen nations nor their Gods escape out of your hands nor their images nor idols but lay waste the fenced Cities and tread down the high Walls for we have proclaimed open War betwixt Michael our Prince and the Dragon Your Captains are mighty men and your leaders are skilled to handle the sword and they are riding on before you Arise worm Iacob and fear not but thresh the mountains to dust for God hath given thee the power of thy enemies to tread upon and they shal flie before thee shalt fall by thy sword there is none too strong for thee nor no inchantment against thee but thou art blessed blessed world without end Therefore all ye Lambs of my Father and ye Camp of the Lords Host wait upon him to fulfil his Will for he hath put into your hearts to make war in righteousness against the beast the false Prophet and cursed be every one that riseth not up to the help of the Lord against the mighty the Beast is mighty and the false Prophet is great and they keep the Nations under their power But O thou Beast and thou false Prophet you shall be tormented together thou Beast upon which the false Prophet sits whom thou upholds by thy Law and defends by thy unrighteous power thy power is limited and it shall betaken from thee and thou shalt be overcome and the Lamb shall get the victory and into the pit and lake of fire shall you be turned to have your resting place And thou false Prophet which hath deceived the Nations and scattered the inhabitants thereof and builded by fraud and daubed with untempered morter thy Judgment is past upon thy head already and the Decree of our God is sealed against thee thy smoke shal ascend for ever and ever and of thy sin there is no forgiveness nor of thy torment no remission Over you do we and shall for ever rejoyce and sing and over your God and your King the Dragon that old Serpent cursed be he and his memorial for ever Ye Lambs of the true Shepheards fold with whom my soul resteth whether ever I behold you outwardly yet my heart is with you and I am one of your fold and I lye down with you under the shadow of the rock upon the Mountain which the beast cannot touch where we are safe from all our enemies and am to you wel known to be read in your hearts in the Record of the Lambs Book of Life and known only to the world by the name of Edward Burrough Written at Dublin City in Ireland To the Camp of the Lord in England TO all the seed of Abraham who are Iews indeed and Israelites in whom is no guile who are of the true circumcision made without hands Who are of the off-spring of David and of the Church of the first-born who are the first fruits unto God Ye royal off-spring of the Rock of Ages who have come out of the everlasting washing My dear Brethren called Quakers who have eaten your bread with fear and trembling whom your Brethren hath cast out Oh how I love you my soul is knit unto you my heart and life breaths after you I am one with you in suffering and in joy ye are the choicest of the Flock ye are the fairest of all the children which is brought forth Oh my beloved ones though I be among the Tents of Kedar as without where the Voice of the Lord hath neither been heard nor known it you I forget not if I do let the tongue cleave to the roofe of my mouth and let me never speak more in the Name of the Lord who is my life and the portion of my cup for ever Oh! what shall I say unto you none knows your beauty nor innocencie nor glory but them who are redeemed out of Kindreds and Nations and Tongues and People and Countries who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes For the name of my God and your God who is living and lives for evermore is in your foreheads you are his off-spring and the fruit that came out of the Eternal Womb begotten by the Eternal Word of life which lives for ever and are nourished at the eternal Table in the everlasting Mansion-house of my Father which is in Heaven None so fair none so beautiful none so glorious none so rich you are crowned with love for ever you are clothed with righteousness for ever you eat of the Tree of life which heals the nations and of the bread of life that nourishes you up for ever drinks of the living Waters which runs fresh beautiful and coole in it you are bathed and suppled and made white you are builded upon a Rock storms cannot move you tempests cannot make you afraid in this you have been and are like to be tryed Your Armour is righteousness on the right hand and on the left your City is free The Gates stand open day and night and a Wolf nor Lyon nor any beast can enter no not so much as a flying-Fowle Oh how goodly is thy Tents O thou seed of Iacob the Elect whom he hath chosen O how pleasant is your scituation The Tower of David Mount Sion stands sure and cannot be moved Oh! who is a people like unto you saved by our God that lives for ever His love is large he is kinde he is long-suffering he is faithful and keeps covenant and his Promises are Yea Yea He is the Amen the first and the last Come forth my dear brethren set forth his praise declare his name among the heathen publish his name among the Congregations let the earth be filled with his love and power that his Judgements may be declared and his Statutes that they sound in the ears of generations to come O ye that are convinced of the truth of our God wait in that which doth convince and keep your mindes to it love it and follow it whither it leads you and it will lead you to know the gift of God which leads to repentance from dead works to serve the living God who dwells in the immortal Light and take heed of looking back at the pleasures of sin you have formerly lived in but wait upon the pure light of Christ Jesus in patience that so you may see
Lord so much the more as you see the day is approached and the Harvest is great and the Vineyard of the Lord is great and large and but few labourers yea the Lord is enlarging his borders and spreading forth his everlasting truth and stretching forth his eternal arm over the Nations and opening the treasures of Heaven and bringing rain out of his Treasury to water the earth that hath been parched and dry and to make his plants to grow And so all wait that you may see the power and presence of the Lord in all your assemblies and see that there be no strife nor contention nor exaltation amongst you but all in meekness and quietness and long-suffering and forbearance even as the Lord hath spared and forborn you one submitting unto another even as you have heard and received when the word of the Lord came first unto you and he that will be the greatest shall be the least but all in meekness and lowliness of minde serve one another in love even as you have received and the everlasting God of life and power be with you all and make you grow in the living power and virtue of God to order all things in his wisdom as good Stewards of the manifold mercies of the Lord which you are made partakers of that he alone may be glorified throughout all the Churches of Christ Jesus every where And to you my dear brethren and fellow-labourers unto whom the word of Reconciliation is committed and are in the work and Ministry of our Lord Iesus Christ and are made partakers of the everlasting Gospel of peace which unto you is given to declare Lift up your voyces blow the Trumpet sound an alarum out of the holy mountain proclaim the acceptable yeer and the day of vengeance of our God Gird on your sword upon your loins put on the tryed Armour and follow him for ever who rides upon the white Horse and is clothed with the same who makes war in righteousness Ride on ride on my beloved brethren and fellow-souldiers make all plain before you thresh on with the new threshing instrument which hath teeth beat the mountains to dust and let the breath of the Lord scatter it make the heathen tremble and the uncircumcised fall by the sword the Lord of hosts is with us and goes before us Spare none neither Ox nor Asse neither old nor young kil cut off destroy bath your sword in the blood of Amaleck and all the Egyptians and Philistines and all the uncircumcised and hew Agag to pieces break the Rocks cut down the Cedars and strong Oaks make the Devills subject cast out the unclean spirits raise the dead shut up in prison bring out of prison cast in your nets lanch into the deep divide the fish gather the good into vessels cast the bad away binde the Tares in bundles cast them into the fire the Angel with his sharp sickle is come the Angel of the everlasting Covenant is come thrust in your sickles reap the earth the word of God is come that divides let all flesh keep silence divide the Word rightly feed the Lambs and Babes fill the hungry stop the Lyons mouthes feed the fat and the strong with plagues and judgements declare his name publish his eternal truth which shall stand for ever Eternal life is come glory to him for ever Silence all disputers and diviners for ever trample upon all the chaff and dung and mire for ever which all the wisdom of the World feeds upon Greater is he that is in us then he that is in the World Oh my beloved ones although I am the lowest and weakest among many of my brethren yet the eternal power of God is my shield for ever the Lord of hosts is with us There is a Crown which none can take away to all who have denyed all yea it is on your heads the dread of God is with us and truly dear brethren we cannot say that we fished and catched nothing for many vessels are sull nor we have not travelled and laboured and brought forth winde as the false Prophets do for we have the seals of our Ministry which shall be witnesses for the Lord in generations to come Not unto us O Lord but to thy name be glory for ever who hath done and doth all for us and in us who is our strength our glory our Crown of rejoycing all the day long for his hidden treasure is brought forth and made manifest in earthen vessels unto him be eternal living praises for ever And so all dear brethren members of the same body of Christ Jesus by which we are set free from sin in the liberty life and power in which you are made free stand as witnesses for the Lamb and for the holy Nation for the royal Seed of the true Israel of God that it may be brought out of captivity to serve the Lord in the land of the living and the eternal God of power and life of endless rich love and mercy be with you all and prosper his own work in your hands that he alone may be glorified unto whom be eternal insinite praises who is our life our King God blessed for ever and ever And to you all my dear brethren and sisters who suffers in bonds and prisons and dens and holes and suffers the Enemy to plow long furrows upon your backs in patience and suffers stocking whipping buffetting beating and cruel mocking and stripes and chains and fetters whom the world is not worthy of even as they did unto our Master of whom we bear witness of and hath the witness in our selves even so do they unto us But the servant is not greater then his Lord and therefore we that are baptized for the dead and stand in jeopardy of our lives often we have a cloud of witnesses which endured the same and therefore the same baptism and the same cup must be drunk by all that follow him Well my dear brethren your sufferings I know and I know he of whom you bear witdess bears up your heads who hath called you thereunto above all that which is done unto you as you stand in his will and counsel well as dear brethren and companions in the same tribulation and kingdome and patience of the Saints as witnesses of the same faith as they were which are gone before you you are made partakers of the same it is made manifest and revealed in you by the same God in which faith they had power and you have power and endures as they did and as he did even the contradiction of sinners Well our God is on our side and takes our part and therefore my own bowels in patience endure God will bring forth your righteousness as the Sun and your Enemies shall be ashamed and I know and you also know it is for the advantage and the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ and endure in patience and long-suffering and look not out and the Lord in due time will