bodies are bolted up in the Rocks Caves of the Earth yet our spirits you know none can limit nor confine to any place And we do behold your order and stedfastness of your Faith and Labour of love and are daily refreshed in all the faithful-hearted Oh dear hearts the remembrance of the least of you is precious Oh! the Rivers of tears that have distilled from our eyes whilst we do think upon you for joy because of your growth and flourishing in the Truth Oh! you are Virgins indeed who have Oyl in your Vessels and your Lamps burning and are clothed with the long white Robes of Righteousness and are adorned with the Ornaments of pure beauty and glorious brightness abundance of you to our joy and comfort and we do pray night and day That every Babe of our Heavenly Father's begetting may prosper even as we desire our own souls should prosper and that every one may be kept out of incumbrances and use the World as if they used it not but every one's mind spirit heart and soul may be exercised in the Eternal by the Power of God out of the earthly and out of the visible out of the carnal and perishing things of this life so as to trust in it into the heavenly into the spiritual into the invisible into that which never changeth fadeth nor waxeth old where every one may dwell in the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord for in the presence of the Lord is fulness of joy and at his right hand is pleasure for evermore Oh that every one may be emptied of your selves and unbottomed of your selves that you may build wholly upon the sure foundation and anchored so fast upon the Rock of Ages that neither the swelling Seas nor the foaming Waves nor stormy Winds though they beat vehemently may ever be able to remove you Oh dear Brethren in the life and power you may feel the issues of Love and Life which stream as a River to every soul of you from the hearts of us that are wholly joyned to the Fountain Glory and everlasting Praises be given to his holy Name Our whole souls spirits hearts and minds are given up to serve the Lord in whatsoever he requireth of us as he shall make it manifest unto us And we do blesse his Name for ever that he hath found us worthy of so high a calling as to bind Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of Iron Our prayers are continually for the advancement of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus throughout the whole Earth for the gathering of the Seed of the Elect of God and for the raising of it up over the Seed of the Serpent in power and great glory to bear rule and to have dominion over the whole World that the Kingdoms of this World may become the Kingdoms of our Lord Jesus that he may rule in his Princely Power and reign in his Kingly Majesty whose Right it is that the knowledge of the Lord may cover the Earth as the Water covereth the Sea that all the Children of the Lord may be taught of the Lord and be established in Righteousness that so the Mourners in Sion may rejoyce and the heavy-hearted in Jerusalem may be right glad The Lord God of Power hasten it for his own Name 's sake and for his Elects sake that lye in captivity under the hands of the dark powers of the Earth either spiritual or temporal Amen Amen saith our spirits Dear and precious Friends and Brethren pray for us that we may finish our Testimony to the glory of God and to the praise of his holy Name and to the comfort of all that love his appearing and to our own eternal salvation and to the shame and confusion of all that hate the Lord Jesus and persecute his Truth So in the pure Unity of the Covenant of Light Life Peace Love and everlasting Righteousness do we take our leaves of you all at this time hoping and believing we shall see your faces once again before we go hence and be no more seen Dear Friends pray for us Though we were in many straits and hardships by reason of the oppression yet whilst our minds were staid upon the Fountain we saw no want but our tender Father whose heavenly eye was ever over us saw our necessities sent his right dear and precious Servant and just and faithful Steward Daniel Baker to administer to our Necessities both spiritual and temporal he came not in his own time will nor strength but in the Will and Time Strength and Power of the Almighty God at whose presence the Mountains were removed the tall Cedars were made to bow the strong Oaks to stoop Oh wonderful He went to the Lord Inquisitor the Popes Deputy to demand our lawful Liberty which would not be granted unless he and we would write to Messaena or Legorn to some English Merchant to be engaged for four thousand Dollers Which Proposition being out of the Covenant of Light we durst not stoop to it but our dear Brother in Christ Jesus offered his body for our Liberty but it would not be granted nothing would serve but one to engage for four thousand Dollers to be paid if ever we come into these parts again Then in obedience to the Lord he offered up his Life for our Freedom but all would not serve the Will of our God be done Oh dear Friends greater Love was never heard of than for a man to lay down his Life for his Friend Oh! it is worthy to be recorded in remembrance of him for ever here he came up and down to administer to us with his Life in his hand time after time So the Lord God of Power reward him double into his bosome for ever Oh! how did he refresh our souls spirits minds and bodies through great trials which is never to be forgotten Written in the Inquisition at Malta in the 11th Month of the year 1661. By us Ka. Evans S. Cheevers Who have suffered for the living Testimony of Jesus and his pure Innocency in Bonds Tryals and Tribulations more than three years to this day A short Relation of some more of their exceeding great Tryals and Temptations NOw in short time after we were taken Prisoners we were stung with Flyes called Muskatoes in our faces our heads as we lay in our Beds that were swollen as if we had the small-Pox so that all people were afraid of us save the English Consul they thought we had been unclean persons so that a Friar told Sarah he saw an evil Spirit in her face which was a great tryal they could not sleep in their beds in the house they were so tormented and we were told that they had seen them that did pray and preach every day were burnt for Witches in a short time and they would keep us to see our lives conversations and so they have And glory be to our God they cannot lay guilt to our charge but are made to confess
Way And they asked Whether she did see his Presence and hear his Voice And she said she did hear his Voice and saw his Presence And they asked What he said to her And she said the Lord told her she must go over the Seas to do his Will And they asked How she knew it was the Lord And she said He bid her go and his living Presence should go with her and he was faithful that had promised for she did feel his living Presence So they went away Two dayes after they came again and called for me and offered me the Crucifix and told me the Magistrate commanded me to swear that I would speak the Truth And I told them that I should speak the Truth for I was a Witness for God but I should not swear for a greater than the Magistrate saith Swear not at all but let your yea be yea and your nay nay for whatsoever is more cometh of evil But said they You must obey the Justice and he commands you to swear I said I should obey Justice but if I should swear I should do an unjust thing for the just Christ said Swear not at all And they asked me Whether I did own that Christ that died at Jerusalem I answered We owned the same Christ and no other he is the same yesterday to day and for ever And they asked me What I would do at Jerusalem I said I did not know that I should go there but I should go to Alexandria and they said What to do and I said to do the Will of God and if the Lord did open my mouth I should call them to Repentance and declare to them the day of the Lord and direct their minds from darkness to Light Then they asked me Whether I did tremble when I did preach And I told them I did tremble when the power of God was upon me And they asked Whether I did see the Lord I said God was a Spirit and he was spiritually discerned That day that we were had from the English Consuls to the Inquisition the Consuls Wife brought us meat to eat and as she past by me I was smote with an Arrow to the heart and I â—eard a voice saying It is finished she hath obtained her purpose I did not taste of her meat but went aside and wept bitterly The Consul did affirm to us the night before that there was no such thing as to ensnare us intended but it was in us as fire and our souls were heavy even unto death for many dayes before we saw in a Vision of our going there to prison and we said Pilate would do the Jews a pleasure and wash his hands in innocency He required a sign of me if we were the Messengers of God and the Lord gave me a sign for him that stuck by him while he lived The same day it was he called me and told me the Inquisition had sent for us and they had Papers from Rome and he did hope we should be set free which was a lye For he knew there was a room prepared for us And there came a man with a black Rod and the Chancellor and the Consul and had us before their Lord Inquisitor and he asked us Whether we had changed our minds yet We said Nay we should not change from the Truth He asked What new Light we talkt of We said no new Light but the same the Prophets and Apostles bare testimony to Then he said How came this Light to be lost ever since the Primitive times We said it was not lost men had it still in them but they did not know it by reason that the night of Apostacy had and hath overspread the Nations Then he said If we would change our minds and do as they would have us to do we should say so or else they would use us as they pleased We said the Will of the Lord be done And he arose up and went his way with the Consul and left us there And the man with the black Rod and the Keeper took us and put us into an inner room in the Inquisition which had but two little holes in it for light or air but the glory of the Lord did shine round about us After the Consul came with tears in his eyes and said he was as sorry as for his own flesh but there was some hopes in time and so he went away but never had peace while he lived He would have given up the thirty pieces of silver again but it would not be received the Witness was risen much in him but slavish fear possest him This was upon the sixt day of the Week and our stomacks were taken away from all meat The next second day came a Magistrate two Friars the man with the black Rod and a Scribe and the Keeper to the Inquisition to sit upon Judgement and examined us apart concâ—rning our faith in Christ The Magistrate would have had us to swear and we answered No Christ said Swear not at all and so said James the Apostle He asked if we would speak Truth We said Yea. He asked Whether we did believe the Creed We said we did believe in God and in Jesus Christ which was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered at Jerusalem under Pilate and arose again from the dead the third day and ascended to his Father and shall come to judgement to judge both quick and dead He asked How we did believe the Resurrection We answered we did believe that the just and the unjust should arise according to the Scriptures He said Do you believe in the Saints and pray to them We said we did believe the Communion of Saints but we did not pray to them but to God onely in the Name of Jesus Christ He asked Whether we did believe in the Catholick Church We said we did believe the true Church of Christ but the word Catholick we have not read in Scripture He asked If we believed a Purgatory We said No but a Heaven and a Hell The Friar said We were commanded to pray for the dead for those that were in Heaven had no need and they that were in Hell there is no redemption therefore there must be a Purgatory He asked If we believed their holy Sacrament We said we never read the Word Sacrament in Scripture The Friar replyed Where we did read in our Bibles Sanctification it was Sacrament in theirs He said Their holy Sacrament was Bread and Wine which they converted into the Flesh and Blood of Christ by the virtue of Christ We said they did work Miracles then for Christ's virtue is the same as it was when he turned Water into Wine at the Marriage in Canaan He said If we did not eat the Fâ—esh and drink the Blood of the Son of God we had no Life in us We said the Flesh and Blood of Christ is spiritual and we do feed upon it daily for that which is begotten of God in us can no more
live without spiritual food than our temporal bodies can without temporal food He said That we did never hear Mass We said we did hear the voice of Christ he only had the words of eternal Life and that was sufficient for us He said We were Hereticks and Heathens We said they were Hereticks that lived in sin and wickedness and such were Heathenâ— that knew not God He asked about our Meetings in England And we told them the truth to their amazement And they asked Who was the Head of our Church We said Christ And they asked What George Fox is And we said He is a Minister of Christ They asked Whether he sent us We said No The Lord did move us to come The Friar said We were deceived and had not the faith but we have all virtues We said that faith was the ground from whence virtues do proceed They said If we would take their holy Sacrament we might have our liberty or else the Pope would not leave us for millions of Gold but we should lose our souls and our bodies too We said the Lord had provided for our souls and our bodies were freely given up to serve the Lord. They askt us If we did not believe Marriage was a Sacrament We said it was an Ordinance of God They askt us If we did believe men could forgive sins We said none could forgive sins but God onely They brought us that Scripture Whose sins ye remit in earth shall be remitted in heaven We said all Power was Gods he could give it to whom he would that were born of the eternal Spirit and guided by the same such have power to do the Fathers Will as I answered a Friar also in the City of Naples and they were silent the Power greatly working We asked them wherein we had wronged them that we should be kept Prisoners all days of our lives and said Our innocent blood would be required at their hands The Friar said He would take our blood upon him and our journey into Turky too We told him the time would come he would find he had enough upon him without it They said The Pope was Christ's Vicar and we were of his Church and what he did was for the good of our Souls We answered The Lord had not committed the charge of our souls to the Pope nor to them for he had taken them into his own possession glory was to his Name for ever They said We must be obedient We said we were obedient to the government of Christs Spirit The Friar said None had the true Light but the Catholicks the Light that we had was the spirit of the Devil We said Wo to him that calleth Jesus accursed Can the Devil give power over sin and iniquity then he would destroy his own kingdom He said We were laught at and mockt at â—f every one We said What did become of the mockers It was no matter He said We did run about to preach and had not the true Faith We said the true Faith is held in a pure Conscience void of offence towards God and man and we had the true Faith And he said There was but one Faith either theirs or ours and ask'd us which it was We said Every one had the true Faith that did believe in God and in Jesus whom he had sent but they that say they do believe and do not keep his Commandments are lyars and the truth is not in them He said it was true but he did thirst daily for our blood because we would not turn and urged us much about our Faith and Sacrament to bring us under their Law but the Lord preserved us They said It was impossible we could live long in that hot room So the next week-day they sate in Council but Oh how the swelling Sea did rage and the proud waves did foam even unto the clouds of Heaven and Proclamation was made at the Prison-Gate we did not know the words but the fire of the Lord flamed against it K. my life was smitten and I was in a very great agony so that sweat was as drops of blood and the Righteous One was laid into a Sepulcher and a great stone was roll'd to the door but the Prophecy was that he should rise again the third day which was fulfilled But the next day they came to sit upon Judgement again but I say in the true Judgment they sate not but upon it they got up unjustly above the Righteous and upon the same they sate a Child of Wisdom may understand and they brought many Propositions written in a Paper but the Friar would suffer the Magistrate to propound but few to us for fear the Light would break forth But they ask'd how many Friends of ours were gone forth in the Ministry and into what parts We told them what we did know They said All that came where the Pope had any thing to do should never go back again We said the Lord was as sufficient for us as he was for the Children in the fiery Furnace and our trust was in God They said we were but few and had been but a little while but they were many Countries and had stood many hundred years and wrought many Miracles and we had none We said we had thousands at our Meetings but none of us dare speak a word but as they are eternally moved of the Lord and we had Miracles The Blind receive their sight the Deaf do hear and the Dumb dâ— speak the Poor do receive the Gospel the Lame do walk and the Dead are raised He asked Why I look'd so whether my Spirit was weak I said Nay my body was weak because I eat no meat it was in their Lent He offered me a Licence to eat flesh I said I could not eat any thing at all the terrors of death were strongly upon me But three nights after the Lord said unto me about the eleventh hour Arise and put on your clothes I said When wilt thou come Lord He said VVhether at midnight or at Cock-crow do thou watch My Friend and I arose and the Lord said Go stand at the Door And we stood at the door in the Power of the Lord I did scarce know whether I was in the body or out of the body And about the twelfth hour there came many to the Prison-Gate We heard the Keyes and looked when they would come in They ran to and fro till the fourth hour and the Lord said he had smote them with blindness they could not find the way And we went to bed where I lay night and day for twelve dayes together fasting and sweating that my bed was wet and great was our affliction The tenth day of my fast there came two Fryars the Chancellor the man with the black Rod and a Physician and the Keeper and the Friar commanded my dear Friend to go out of the room and he came and pull'd my hand out of the bed and said Is the Devil so
behold they threatned us with Irons and Halters for preaching the Light so boldly and they said None ought to preach but Prelates to a Bishop as they use to say in England Now their Lord Inquisitor so called and the Magistrates were kept moderate towards us and gave order we should have Ink and Paper to write to England But we were hindered still and we do believe they would have set us at liberty had it not been for the Fryars it was they that wrote against us still to the Pope and to the Inquisitor and we told them so They sought three quarters of a year to part us before they could bring it to pass and when they did part us they prepared a Bed for Sarah and their own Catholicks lay upon the Boards that had not beds of their own When we were parted the Lord would not suffer me to keep any money I knew not the mind of God in it Their Fryars came and said We should never see one anothers faces again but the Inquisitor should send me my food But the Lord would not suffer him to send it Sarah did send me such as she could get near three weeks time Then the Fryar came and askt me what I did want I said one to wash my Linnen and something hot to eat I was weak He sent to Sarah to know if she would do it for me She said she would And by that means we did hear of each other every day The Fryar said You may free your self of misery when you will you may make your self a Catholick and have your freedom to go where you will I told him I might make my self a Catholick and have a name that I did live when I was dead and said he had Catholicks enough already he should bring some of them to the Light in their Consciences that they might stand in awe and sin not He said He would lose one of his fingers if we would be Catholicks I said it was Babylon that was built with Blood Sion was redeemed through Iudgment They would have had me to set a Picture at my beds head for a representation I askt them if they did think I did lack a Calf to worship And whether they did not walk by the Rule of Scripture The Fryar said They did but they had Traditions too I said if their traditions did derogate or dissent from the fundamentals of Christ's Doctrine the Prophets and Apostles I denied them in the Name of the Lord. He said They did not I askt 〈◊〉 where they had their Rule to burn them that could not joyn with them for Conscience He said St. Paul did worse he gave them to the Devil and that they did judge all damned that were not of their Faith And he askt whether we did judge them so I said No we had otherwise learned Christ I askt him why they did bind that which the Lord did not bind and set tyes chains and limits where the Lord did not as in meats and drinks or in respect of dayes or times which the Apostle called beggarly Elements and Rudiments of the world and forbidding to marry a Doctrine of Devils said I. He could no tell what to say but told me That St. Peter was the Pope of Rome and did build an Altar there and the Pope was his Successor and he could do what he would I denied that and said We never read any such thing in Scripture for Peter Christ's Apostle had no money to build Altars he himself did offer Sacrifice upon the Altars made without hands And he said We were but a few and risen up but late and they were many and had stood Fourteen hundred years and God was a lyar if they had not the true Faith for he had confirmed it to them by a thousand miracles I said the few number and the little Flock is Christ's Flock He askt if we were then all the World said he I said Our Faith was from the beginning Abel was of our Church and the World by Wisdom did not know God He went to Sarah with the same Temptation and she told him also that Abel was of our Church He said Abel was a Catholick and Cain and Judas were so She said Then the Devil was a Catholick and she would not be one He threatned her and told her how many they were She said Daniel was but one and if there were no more but she her self she would not turn but took her fingers and shewed them if they would tear her joint-meal she did believe the Lord would enable her to endure it for the Truth So they went from one to another thinking to entangle us in our talk but we were guided by one Spirit and spake one and the same thing in effect so that they had not a jot nor tittle against us but for righteousness sake Our God did keep us by his own Power Holiness out of their hands honor and praises be given to his powerful Name for ever He the said Fryar came to me another time like a Bear robbed of her Whelps and told me If I would be a Catholick I should say so otherwise they woâ—â—â— use me badly and I should never see the face of Sarah again but should dye by my self and a thousand Devils should carry my Soul to Hell I asked him if he were the Messenger of God to me He said he was I said What is my sin or wherein have I provoked the Lord that he doth send me such a strait Message He said Because I would not be a Catholick I said I deny thee and thy Message too and the Spirit which spake in thee the Lord never spake it He said that he would lay me in a whole pile of Chains where I should see neither Sun nor Moon I said He could not separate me from the Love of God in Christ Jesus lay me where he would He said He would give me to the Devil I said I did not fear all the Devils in Hell the Lord was my Keeper though he had the Inquisition with all the Countries round about on his side and was alone by my self I did not fear them if there were thousands more the Lord was on my right hand and the worst they could do was but to kill the body they could not touch my life no more than the Devil could Job's He said That I should never go out of that Room alive I said the Lord was sufficient to deliver me But whether he would or would not I would not forsake a living Fountain to drink at a broken Cistern And they had no Law to keep us there but such a Law as Ahab had for Naboth's Vineyard He curst himself and called upon his gods and went forth and as he was making fast the door he put in his hand at the hole of the door and said Abide there Member of the Devil I said The Devil's Members did the Devil's Works the Woes and Plagues of the Lord would be upon
required a sign of me when we were at his house if we were the Servants of the Lord God I gave him a sign from the living God and my Friend gave him another from the Lord to his shame and destruction for ever I askt him whether that was not true we spake to him he said it was but how should he help it I said Thou art a condemned person and standest guilty before God yet nevertheless repent if thou canst find a place He smiled upon the Scribe in deceit but his lips did quiver and his belly trembled and he could scarce stand upon his legs He was as proper a man as most was in the City and full and in his prime age Oh! he was consumed as a snail in a shel which was a sufficient sign for the whole City if their hearts were not harder than Adamants He said How should he help it he might have helpt it but he was as willing to prove us as any of them all He was sworn upon his Oath to protect the English and their Ruler bid him let us go about our business and said we were honest Women and then he might have let us go before we were under the black Rod. Then he went to Sarah with the Dollar she told him she could not take the Money but if he had a Letter for us she should be free to receive that He said he had not any He askt her What she did want She said the Lord was her Shepherd she could not want any good thing but she did long for her freedom He said That you may have in time He told us We should have Ink and Paper to write but when he was gone they would not let us The next time we heard of him he was dead We could have rejoyced if he had died for Righteousness sake for the Lord delighteth not in the death of a sinner The Friar was gone to Rome and they said he must stay there till we came There was great working to send us thither but the Lord did prevent them that they could not send us thither Then the Lord did work to bring us together again after so long time we had been parted There were five doors between us with Locks and Bolts but the Keeper had not power to make them fast but as Sarah could undo them to come where I could see her but could not speak to her for there were them that did watch us night and day yet she being moved of the Lord did come to my door by night she must come by the Friars door he and the Doctor of Law were together and they did set a trap to take her in many did watch about the Prison and would complain Then she was lockt up again but they had no peace in that till the doors were open again then we did sit in the sight of each other to wait upon the Lord so that our voices were heard far the Magistrates would hear and bow to it sometime then the complainers were weary and did work to have us brought together and we did wait and pray and the Magistrates would come in and look upon us many times but would say nothing to us There were of divers Nations brought into the Inquisition Prisoners and the Friars and the rest that were great would go in their way to make Christians of them and we were made to stand up against them and their ways and deny them in the Name of the Lord and to declare the Truth to the simple-hearted continually if we did suffer death for it We could not endure to hear the Name of the Lord blasphemed nor his pure way of Truth perverted nor the ignorant deceived They did write all they understood of what we spake and sent it to the Court-Chamber before the Inquisitor and Magistrates but the Lord did blast it with the mildews of his wrathful indignation and burnt it up with the brightness of his Son and we rejoyced in our God but still our burdens continued very heavy and our righteous souls were vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked and the pure Seed of God was prest from day to day that our spirits did mourn and our hearts were grieved because of the hardness of their hearts and their rebellion against their Maker who was so gracious to them to suffer them so long in all their abominations and waited to be gracious to them and knockt at the door of their hearts calling for Justice Mercy and Humility but behold Oppression Cruelty and Self-exaltation notwithstanding the Lord did strive so much with them and sent so many undeniable Truths and infallible Testimonies of the coming of his Son to Judgement and so clear a manifestation of the way to eternal Salvation given forth of his own mouth by his eternal Spirit and having us for an example who were kept by his Power and Holiness they had not a jot nor tittle against us but for righteousness sake though they had winnowed and fanned us so long glory honour and praises be given to our God for ever O they would not let us know of any English Ship that came into the Harbour as near as they could but the Lord would make it manifest to us we had a great working and striving in our Bodies but we knew not what it meant the arrows of the Wicked did fly so that my soul was plunged and overwhelmed from head to feet and the terrors of the unrighteous had taken hold of us and the flames of Hell compassed us about then the Lord appeared unto me in a dream and said There were two English Friends in the City which did plead for our Liberty in our behalf and he had taken all fear away from them and made them bold And in a little while after the Magistrates sent for us forth and askt us whether we were sick or whether we did want any thing and were very tender to us and said we should write to England and bid the Scribe give us Ink and Paper he said he would but he was so wicked he did not They did not tell us of any English that were there but there was one Francis Steward of London a Captain of a Ship and a Friar of Ireland which came to the City together for what we know and they did take great paines for us and went to their Ruler and the Inquisitor and to several Magistrates and Friars and the new English Consul with them and wrought much amongst them that all were willing to let us go save the Inquisitor they said and he said He could not free us without an Order from the Pope But we had many heavy enemies besides which would not be seen but they obtained the favour to come and speak with us which was a great thing in such a place They sent for us to the Court-Chamber and the English Consul askt us If we were willing to go back to England We said if it were the will of
part according to our measures and we do press forward towards that which is perfect He then said We were good Women but yet there was no redemption for us except we would be Cathlicks Now the Lord said Fear not Daughters of Sion I will carry you forth as Gold tryed in the fire And many precious Promiâ—es did the Lord refresh us with in our greatest extremity and would appear in his Glory that our souls would be ravished in his presence I had the Spirit of Prayer upon me but was afraid to speak to the Lord for fear I should speak one word that would not please him And the Lord said Fear not Daughter of Sion ask what thou wilt and I will grant it thée whatsoever thy heart can with I desired nothing of the Lord but what would make for his Glory whether it were my liberty or bondage life or death wherein I was highly accepted of the Lord. The Room wherein I was separated was near the Chancery where all the Bishops Courtiers did resort and would come into the Inquisition Courts and I had work amongst them daily they would come on purpose to their condemnation some would be smitten and run as if they hunted and some would be set on fire and cry Caldere caldere and fuoco fuoco and many would pitty us because we were not Catholicks the Friars would say We might be Catholicks and keep our own Religion too and we should not be known we were Catholicks except we were brought before a Justice of Peace We askt if we should profess a Christ we should be asham'd of But as for the poor Workmen they were willing to do any thing for us and were diligent to hear us the Witness of God in them did answer to the Truth There were many eyes over them had it not been for the great opposition there were hundreds would have flown to the Truth And because I said I did talk with G.F. he the Friar asked Whether G. F. did bring me money to maintain me in prison I said No but though I was abâ—ent in body yet I was present in spirit and was refreshed in him and in hundreds more besides They said I had seen Revelations and had talk'd with G. F. and he was God's Revelation Sarah said Christ was God's Revelation He said she came under the Haltar for saying Christ was God's Revelation She answered Paul said As soon as it pleased God to reveal his Son in me I did not consult with flesh and blood but immediately I went and preached him and is not Christ God's Revelation then He said Who denied that What they would have done to Sarah if they had taken her forth we know not but the Lord did work so wonderfully that night for the preservation of her poor soul out of their net that he is worthy to be glorified for ever The next time he came to me he came in Sheeps clothing but he had a Wolf under his Gown he gave me words as soft as Butter and as smooth as Oyl when he had a Sword in his heart and a Spear in his hand when they speak most fairest then beware of them He desired us we would not think so hardly of him as if he were the Author of all our wrongs and troubles he was not he said but would do any good he could for us were it with his blood But we thought he had been the chiefest that cast the poor man in Prison but he was the man that hope him out without any punishment at all though the Inquisitor did say he should be severely punished I told him he did well he would have peace in it and would never have cause to repent it He did entreat us he might not bear all the burthen We told him of many wicked things he did act against us and of his lying and cruel words He bid us take no notice what he did speak But we did feel his spirit that what he spake he would do if he had not been chained I did use to tell him My conscience was not seared with a hot iron I was not past feeling At last he was so weary of coming to us he did entreat the Inquisitor he might not come to us any more the Judgment of the Lord did follow him so it was like to kill him When we were partted the Lord did work mightily for us and we were kept by the Power of the Lord over our Enemies and were bold for God's Truth and did make war with them in Righteousness so they could not gain-say us in the Truth So that Scripture was fulfilled The wicked mouthes must be stopped and they were put to silence praises be to our God and were made to confess or say Of a truth God was in us our God was a consuming fire to them they were not able to stand in his presence but they would howl and make a noise like dogs and cry Jesu Maria and flie as people driven by a mighty rushing wind the Power of the Lord did pursue after them like a sword that Scripture was fulfilled which saith Christ came not to send peace on earth but a sword to cut down his Enemies the Lord was on our side and did take our part and did fight for us and did tread down our Enemies under our feet that they could not hurt us Mighty was the Work of God daily our tongues cannot express it they did work day and night with their Inchantments and Divinations Sorceries unclean spirits crying and foaming insomuch that we could take little rest day or night sometimes but the Lord was with us and did work mightily by his Power and kept us over them in the Life of the Son of God My Pâ—ison was nigh to the Palace and to their Worship that I could be heard of both and it was laid upon me of the Lord to call them to Repentance and to turn to the Light wherewith they were enlightned vvhich vvould lead them out of all their wicked Wayes Works and Worships to serve the true and living God in Spirit and in Truth the Power did raise the Witness in many and troubled them they did sigh and groan and some did stay to hear me so long as they durst for there were many did watch and it was upon pain of death or at least to be imprisoned As was the poor English-man that did come and speak to me whom they hall'd down violently and put him in prison but the Lord delivered him for his Love And we were parted One Year but great was the Work of the Lord and great was the Power to carry it on He was not wanting to us glory be to his Name but did give us Words Wisdom according to our Work So that Scripture was fulfilled which saith on this vvise Ye need not premeditate afore-hand what to speak or what to say for it shall be given you of my heavenly Father what ye ought to speak that the Enemies shall not
you come to love it and to have your minds staid upon it you will feel the Incomes of God's Power to administer condemnation upon the transgressor that keeps the pure Seed in bondage in you For Sion is redeemed through Judgement and her Converts with Righteousness Paul saith If thou believest in thy heart the Lord Jesus and confessest with thy mouth that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth unto Salvation And we do believe and see and taste and handle of the good Word of Life and have received the Spirit of Truth to lead us into all Truth and doth bring all things to our remembrance without any visible thing And Paul wrote to the Galatians saying My little Children of whom I travel in birth till Christ be formed in you Where Christ is formed within there needs no form without the outward form is called an Earthen Vessel or an Earthen Tabernacle or an Earthen House but Christ Jesus is the express Image of his Fathers Glory or Substance which is Light and Life Now the Image of Christ is a pure and a holy Image a meek and a Dove-like Image an innocent and a Lamb-like Image a righteous and a glorious Image Christ in you the hope of Glory saith the Apostle to the Saints The Lord our God hath given to every man a measure of the manifestation of his own Spirit to profit withal which is the Light in the Conscience the true Teacher of his People it is the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation that appeareth to all men and it teacheth all that come to believe in it and to love and to be guided by it to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to walk soberly righteously holy and godly in this present world and it will deal plainly with every one none need to fear being deceived by that in them which doth condemn them for sin and evil But they that live in Pride are deceived already they that live in Covetousness are deceived already and they that live in Lusts or Drunkenness are deceived already or in Lying Swearing Adultery or Idolatry are deceived or in Hypocrisie and Deceit Hard-heartedness or Cruelty they are deceived already for those you know are fruits which do proceed from a deceived heart being corrupted for want of knowledge My People perish for want of knowledge saith God He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his and he that hath the Spirit of Christ ought himself to walk as Christ walked Now Christ was no Persecutor he never imprisoned any nor ever put any to suffer but He and the holy Prophets and Apostles were made to suffer as evil doers this we know The Day of the Lord is hot and terrible against all sin and iniquity and that nature from whence it doth proceed and We are a WO for all them that are laying up of a Fuel for it This is God's Truth whether you can receive it yea or nay I am ready to seal it with my blood if the Lord shall call me to it Whosoever shall interpret this Paper before the Lord Inquisitor so called I charge thee in the Name of the living God as thou wilt answer before his dreadful presence to interpret it word by word as it is written without adding or diminishing Katherine Evans THe Friar then came to me and askt me why I did not work I said unto him What work dost thou do He said he did write I told him I would write too if he would bring me Pen Ink and Paper and I would write Truth He said He would not that we should write for St. Paul did work at Rome and we might get nine or ten grains a day if we did knit that is three half-pence I told him if we could have that priviledge amongst them that Paul had at Rome under Caesar which was a Heathenish King we would have wrought and not have been chargeable to any Paul lived in his own hired house two years with a Souldier to look to him and had Friends of the same Occupation to work with him and could send where he would and whosoever would come to him might and he taught them in the Name of the Lord Jesus and no man forbad him So I askt him Whether he knew the holy War of God yea or nay if he did I told him he then did know we could not be without exercise day nor night Then his mouth was stopped and he spake no more to me of work But though our affliction of body was very great and our travel of soul was greater yet we did knit Stockens and gave to them that were made serviceable to us and did make Garments for the poor Prisoners and mended their Clothes which had need and were made helpful to them all to their condemnation that did persecute us But we could not work at the Friar's will nor any mans else but as we had freedom in the Lord. As I was weak in my bed the Friar came to me and said We did deny the Scriptures I told him they did deny them we did own them and hold them forth thou dost know it He was in a rage because I said they denied the Scriptures and bid me eat my words again and threatned death upon me I said Christ Jesus was the Light of the World and had lighted every one that cometh into the World which Light is our Salvation that do receive it and the same Light is the Worlds Condemnation that do not believe in it Then he said He would lay me in Chains where I should neither see Sun nor Moon They say The Father hath almost killed you said he but I will kill you quite before I have done He had a Book in his hand and he did study in it I told him he did comprehend the words in his carnal mind and he was wroth and said he would give me to the Devils to be tormented I said I deny the Devil and all his works and workers Some would come unto the Prison upon their Saints dayes and ask us what day it was We did answer We did not know neither did we observe dayes nor times months nor years Then answer would be made It was St. Joseph's day or some other Saint and St. Joseph should punish us that night because we did not observe his day We answered We did know the Saints to be at peace with us and we did not fear them We further said Paul did call it beggarly Elements and Rudiments of the World to observe days times months and years and their mouthes would be stopt for a time Then came the Friar another time and told me it was seventeen dayes to their Christmas and said the Virgin Mary conceived with child that day being the same day he spake to me on as if she did go with child but seventeen dayes And he said the next day was Lady Ann's day the Virgin Mary 's Mother a
Saint Then as I was crying to the Lord in Prayer because of our long-suffering and our strong travel and labour and no fruit as did appear the Lord said unto me Be not grieved though Israel be not gathered the seed of Malta shall be as the stars of the sky for multitude That which ye have sown shall not dye but live Glory be to the Name of the Lord for ever A Copy of a Writing from their hands sent in pursuit after the Friar MALACHY THou saidst thou wouldst try whether we had the true Spirit yea or nay and thou hast tryed day and night but thou never tryedst the right way the Seed of God is not tried with deceit lying hypocrisie nor cruelty But if thou hadst turned in with thy mind to the Light of God in thy Conscience thou wouldst soon have known us or had the Love of Christ been shed abroad in thy heart thou mightst have comprehended us or hadst thou found the Ballance of the Sanctuary of the true Tabernacle which God hath pitched and not man thou mightst have weighed us or hadst thou laid Judgement to the Line and Righteousness to the Plummet thou mightst have fathomed us or couldst thou have opened the Book of Life thou mightst have read us 〈◊〉 hadst thou gone into the House of Israel thou mightest have had fellowship with us c. Contrary to our wills were we cast in amongst you and have given our Testimony for the Lord and called you all to Repentance and have forewarned you of the evil the Lord â—s bringing upon you but you have slighted the day of your Visitation and have done despite to the Spirit of Grace and have cast many hard speeches and false aspersions upon the Truth and the Messengers thereof and the Lord will visit for these things and you have blinded your eyes that you will not see and stopped your ears that you might not hear and hardened your hearts that you might not understand lest you should see with your eyes and hear with your ears and understand with your hearts and turn to the Lord and be converted and he should heal you Oh that you had known in this your day what had belonged to your peace but now it is hid from your eyes The desire of our souls is That every one may repent that can find a place and what ever you have done to us we desire it may not be laid to your charge for we count our selves happy that we were found worthy to suffer for tâ—â— Name of the Lord. Written in the Inquisition-Prison in the Isle of Malta Katherine Evans Sarah Cheevers Behold victorious Hymns and Songs and Praises all in Verse The same sprung from the Seed of life its perfect Righteousness OH Lord my Life is given up thy Truth for to declare O Lord keep thou me in thine Arms and guide me in thy Fear Thy Bow is bent thy Sword is drawn thine enemies to deface Thy fire 's kindled against all those that will not Truth imbrace Thine Arrows which are sharp and keen upon their heads shall fall Thy double-edged Sword also to cut them down withal So plague the Heathen and correct the People in thy Wrath That they may fear and dread thy Name and come to know thy Truth Throughout the World so large and wide thy Truth thou dost declare Thy saving health for to enjoy by thy Light doth appear Thou dost send forth thy Messengers glad-tydings to proclaim To call the hungry forth to feed on thy Lamb being slain Feasts of fat things thou dost prepare the hungry for to feed And cloath the nak'd with garments fair that want and stand in need Heaven's Glory is appearing its Brightness shineth forth Over all Nations it's clearing the Lord's Eternal Truth Every one that 's in darkness under its shadow lye May come forth into the Brightness out of obscurity O Lord teach me thy perfect Wayes that I may walk therein And lead me in the Path of Life and cleanse me from all sin How gracious is the Lord our God and kind to Israel With us he doth make his abode his Presence doth us fill So that we are not desolate nor yet distrest with woes Because the Lord doth take our part and doth confound our foes Every one that is opprest and cast in danger deep If that in God they put their trust he will them safely keep Right dear and precious to the Lord are all his little ones That suffer for his holy Name he will avenge their wrongs And in his Wrath he will destroy his Enemies so stout And suddenly will make a way and lead his Servants out And he himself will them restore to Joy and Comfort both And will preserve them evermore because they do him love But as for men of corrupt minds whose wayes defiled are The Lord will visit with all kinds of Judgments and not spare He will pursue them with his Sword and cut them to the ground That do reject his holy Word his Plagues shall them confound Because that they do not obey his Mercies and his Grace Which he so free to them doth give if they would them imbrace But as their Fathers did so they requite the Lord with wrong And persecute thy Messengers and make them suffer long Because that they the Truth declare as Scripture telleth plain That Christ himself the Lord 's own Heir is come and he will reign Both Lord and Prince and King also throughout the World that 's wide And Antichrist will overthrow and Babel in her pride It 's not their golden Candlesticks nor Lamps that be so many That can shine through the Clouds so thick to give a Light to any To lead to a true resting-place where they may still behold The Beauty of God's glorious Face more bright than fined Gold Thou seest O Lord what man hath done for to exalt himself Against the Lord thy blessed Son who is our saving health They have changed his glorious Form and Image that 's so bright And fashion'd it like sinful man corrupted in thy sight Arise O Lord arise in haste and punish for these things These men that have sought thy disgrace that they might reign as Kings Over thine own Inheritance contrary to thy Will To keep them still in ignorance without knowledge or skill But now the God of Pow'r is come to raise up Sion bright And to build up Jerusalem in all the Heathens sight The Gates of Hell shall not prevail though they be wide and strong Against the gathering in of all that to the Lord belong All Glory Honour Laud and Praise be to the Lord of Might Who hath made known in these our days his Way his Truth his Light Concerning the Cross of Christ which is not a visible sign or a piece of Wood but the invisible and immortal Power of the Lord God and his Wisdom unto Salvation to and in all them that believe is the same Christ the Power of God and the
can separate In which Light and Life do I salute thee my dear Husband with my Children wishing you to embrace Gods love in making his Truth so clearly manifest amongst you whereof I am a Witness even of the everlasting Fountain that hath been opened by the Messengers of Christ who preach to you the Word of God in season and out of season directing you where you may find your â—aviour to purge and cleanse you from your sins and to reconcile you to his Father and to have unity with him and all the Saints in the Light that ye may be fellow Citizens in the Kingdom of Glory Rest and Peace which Christ hath purchased for them that love him and obey him What profit is there for to gain the whole World and lose your own Souls Seek first the Kingdom of God the Righteousness thereof and all other things shall be added to you Godliness is great gain having the promise of this life that now is and that which is to come which is fulfilled to me who have tasted of the Lord 's endless Love and Mercies to my soul and from a moving of the same love and life do I breath to thee my dear Husband with my Children my dear Love salutes you all my Prayers to my God are for you all that your minds may be joyned to the Lighâ— wherewith you are lightned that I may enjoy you in that which is Eternal and have community with you in the Spirit He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit one heart one mind one soul to serve the Lord with one consent I cannot by Pen or Paper set forth the large Love of God in fulfilling his gracious Promises to me in the Wilderness being put into Prison for God's Truth there to remain all dayes of my life being searched tryed examined upon pain of death among the Enemies of God and his Truth standing in jeopardy for my life until the Lord had subdued and brought them under by his mighty Power and made them to feed us and would have given us money or clothes but the Lord did deck our Table richly in the Wilderness The Day of the Lord is appeariâ—â— wherein he will discover every Deed of darkness let it be done never so secret the Ligâ—â— of Christ Jesus will make it manifest in every Conscience the Lord will rip up all coveringâ— that is not of his own Spirit The God â—f Peace be with you all Amen Written in the Inquisition-Prison by the hand of Sarah Cheevers for the hand of Henry Cheevers my dear Husband give this fail not I do not well remember that this was one of the surprized Letters A Letter to a Kinswoman of S. C. S. P. MY dear Kinswoman I dearly salute thee with thy Husband and thy tender Babes I am not unmindful of thee nor of thy Love that thou shewed'st to me I know thou shalt not lose thy reward thou hast found refreshment in it for it was of the Lord My Burthen was weighty for the Lord I â—ould have fled the Cross but praises be to â—he Lord that kept me to it that I might â—ot lose the Crown I was straitned in it till I gave up to it Praised be the Name of our God for ever Amen Stand fast in the Lord â—et none take thy Crown The God of Power preserve and keep thee low and single in his fear pressing forward to the price of an interruptible Crown of Glory Peace and Rest â—ut of all strife Keep to the pure Life watch the Enemy keep thy mind staid in the measure of God's Grace that is able to make thee wise unto salvation and to give thee an inheâ—itance with the rest of the Children of Light My tender lamb fear and dread the living God keep in his presence go not out to let in the Enemy to break thy peace and to darken thy understanding and to vail over the pure from beholding thy Saviour Incline thine ear to him give up to a daily Cross to thy own will Stand single empty wait upon the Lord to be fill'd with his Fulness let him be all thy treasure ask of him he giveth liberally Believe and thou shalt receive his Promise is large I have found it so Having nothing yet enjoying all things I have â—asted handled and felt of his everlasting Love and indurable Riches my life is rapt up in it I have found Him whom my sâ—â—â— loveth Oh! what might I do to set hiâ— forth He is the choicest of ten thousands therefore doth my soul love him My life is given up for him his Truth for to declare Lord guide me in thy path and keep me in thy fear Amen My dear Aunt My dear love and life is with thee and I do embrace thee in the Arms and Bosom of my Eternal Fathers love with thy dear Husband and little Ones Another in the same Paper to Friends MY dearly beloved Sisters Friends of Truth I dearly salute you in the Light Life and Love of our God which is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost wherein I do rejoyce and have union with you My Life is given up to serve the Lord. Oh how my soul travels for the Seed of God's Kingdom to be sown throughout all Nations for the gathering in of Christ's scattered Flock and for the destruction of sin and Satan For our God is weighing the Mountains in Scales and the Dust in an equal Ballance He is pulling down the mighty and raising the meek humble lowly he is feeding the poor and hungry with good things but the rich he sends empty away My dear Babes and Lambs feed of the sincere Milk of the Word of Life that you may grow up in it and wax strong in spirit to praise the Lord and to glorifie him who is worthy Be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might seek him earnestly call upon him continually let your whole Meditations be staid in him alway Seek him earnestly deny your own thoughts and words give heed to the Light bring all your deeds to it give up all that is contrary to be slain stand single empty naked before the Lord that you may be filled with the Streams of his everlasting Love Oh my dear hearts our God is full of love stand not back press forward let nothing hinder you the Lord calls for you My Son give me thy heart The Promise of our God is as large to you as to any if you can believe your straitness is in your selves For God is a full Fountain abundance of love runs forth to them that can trust him I can witness it in the barren Wilderness he caused streams of living Water to break forth I cannot express it it is so large therefore doth my soul thirst after you my dear Ones the love of God is to you My dear Sisters I have you in my remembrance and do pray to my God and your God that you may be enlarged in your measures
of amongst his faithful Flock and endued with so much power to come into such a place as this not the like in all Europe by their own report and all others and to stop the mouths of Lyons and to trample upon the heads of Serpents Scorpions and Vipers of the Earth and they could not hurt thee their stings are taken out of their heads and out of their tails Glory Honour and everlasting Praises be given to our God for evermore of all that know him for he is worthy And the Lord bless thee and thine for ever Amen and encrease thy strength and multiply thee abundantly in every good Gift and Grace and prosper all thy undertakings that thou mayest be approved for ever before the King of Saints in the General Assembly of the Most High and stand before the Throne of his Majesty with joy unspeakable and full of glory Amen Amen saith our spirits Dearly beloved pray for us that we fall not nor fail whereby our Enemies may have any advantage to rejoyce and say We served a God that could not save us and called upon a God that could not deliver us as if we were like them to call upon stocks stones pictures and painted walls and dead things that cannot see hear nor speak through their throats We do beseech thee to tell all our dear Friends Fathers and Elders the Pillars of the spiritual Building with all the rest of our Christian Brethren that we do desire their Prayers for we have need of them HOw strong and pow'rful is our KING To all that do believe in him He doth preserve them from the Snare And Teeth of those that would them tear We that are sufferers for the Seed Our hearts are wounded and do bleed To see th' Oppression Cruelty Of men that do thy Truth deny In Prisons strong and Dungeons deep To God alone we cry and weep Our sorrows none can learn nor reade But those that in our path do tread But He whose Beauty shineth bright Who turneth darkness into Light Makes Cedars bow and Oaks to bend To him that 's sent to the same end He is a Fountain pure and clear His Chrystal Streams run far and near To cleanse all those that come to him For to be healed of their sin All them that patiently abide And never swerve nor go aside The Lord will free them out of all Captivity Bondage and Thrall LEt E. C. know that his Exhortations I do dearly imbrace and do witness it to be an eternal Truth I have had large experience of it the Lord hath carried me on in much difficult service so that many times the way hath been stopt up that to the eye of Reason I could not have a way made either by Sea or Land Oh! if thou didst but know what experience I had of the mighty hand of the Lord in making a way thou wouldst wonder Once my way was stopt and my persecution was so hot that I sate in a Field all night to wait upon the Lord to make way for me to do the work he laid upon me I could not get lodging for money in the Town nor City it was at Salisbury where I was whipt in the Market And the next morning I went through the City by the Watchmen and they took no notice of me Wheresoever the Lord did send me into what Land or City or place soever if they did put me out never so oft he would make me go till I got victory save in the Isle of Man there was a Souldier came to my Bed side with a naked Sword and took me by the Arm and hall'd me out of the Bed at the tenth hour of the night and carried me on Ship-board When I put on my clothes I did not dare to rise That place lies upon me yet and I have motions to Edinburgh in Scotland I was never there The Lord did make me to do him service to almost all the mighty men in England and Ireland insomuch that I cryed oft to my God saying Lord what wilt thou do with me that am so foolish to go to such wise men If I were wise I did not care if thou didst carry me to the end of the Earth The Lord said The foolish things must confound the wise and he would carry me before the mightiest men in all the earth to bear his Name before them and I should have victory wheresoever I went And I do believe the Lord and we both are made willing to wait the Lord's time which is a time of peace and joy safety and happiness And we do bless laud praise and magnifie his holy Name that he sent so heavenly a Messenger to relieve strengthen comfort and refresh us in our great necessity which is a mercy beyond expression all Friends that do understand it will say so Glory and everlasting praises honour power and dominion be given to our eternal Lord God for evermore of us and all that know him Amen Amen saith our Spirit Oh true and Faithful Brother into the Arms of everlasting Power and Holiness Strength and Mightiness Purity Righteousness do we commit thee to be kept and preserved and prosperously carried on in thy Journey The powerful blessing peace joy and happiness of the Majesty of the Most High God go along with thee to preserve and protect thee for ever Amen Amen Pray for us dear Heart that we may recive strength to overcome that we may sing the Song of Moses and the Lamb and the Redeemed of the Lord Amen Dear Heart it is hard for us to part with thee thou wilt feel it The Will of our eternal Father be done In the pure Unity of the blessed Spirit of Light Life Joy Peace and everlasting Glory do we here take our leave of thee at this time hoping to see thy face again with joy in our Lord's time O dear Heart our hearts souls spirits and our whole lives go along with thee The pure Peace of our God rest upon thee Amen Dearly salute us to all Friends for they are dear and precious to us indeed Farewel farewel dear Heart farewel Dear Heart THou hast cleared thy Conscience towards us in the sight of God and man if here had been many Friends what could have been done more concerning us than thou hast done Thou hast stood in great jeopardy ever since and thy life hath been sought for much We have felt it and cryed night and day to our heavenly Father to preserve thee and safely deliver thee Whatsoever we do suffer we desire the Will of our heavenly Father to be done in all things If the Lord doth stir up the Earth to help the Woman it is his own free love and upon that account we shall receive it and not upon any other This they spake concerning the Money I left with them and for their necessities And the Lord did appear unto me in a Vision of the night and smote me on the arm and said Look there is
the Pope he will not hurt thée where he stood in the room as one forsaken of God and man this was at the English Consuls when there was some fear upon me concerning him Now here is a Roman in the Prison which came hither upon some account he is a Doctor of Law and differs from them in many things but they are all of one spirit He doth constantly affirm that the Pope hath sent an Order to set us free and he saith they are liars and false blasphemers if they do say the Pope sent any such Order as they speak of They do meet every day concerning us we do feel them some would have it one way and some another and so they cannot agree because they do act contrary to the Will of God the Lord sets it all on fire and hath burned all that they have done these three years concerning us Now where they will look a Reward of their charges we do not know the wise are taken in their own craftiness and the subtile in their own snare There have twelve of them sate in Judgement upon us three years and some have struck hard at our lives so that we have been even at deaths door I have lain very weak three weeks at a time There are many for us as far as they do dare The Lord sayes there were two with the Inquisitor for us and did plead much with him I did see it in a Night-Vision The English Consul which is dead was with us two several times after we were in the Inquisition he said he would lend us five pounds when we did want but when our Money was near done we were made to rejoyce greatly and could not take any of any one We did not know the mind of the Lord in it but had we had Money we had not known the mighty Power of God Now we are able to trust the Lord where-ever he shall carry us without money We do question the Money in the Consul's hand it will be hard for him to part with it Our life is with thee A few Lines to D. B. OH our dear and faithfull Friend and Brother begotten of our heavenly Father right dear and precious in his sight and beautiful before his presence Dear Heart we do glorifie our God in our hearts souls and spirits who hath called chosen and elected thee to come up to the help of him against the Mighty and hath carried thee along in so weighty a work and hath prospered thee therein praises be given to his blessed Name for ever who hath inclosed thee in his Bosom and Chamber of his Everlasting Love and hath hid thee in his private Pavillion where them that would hurt thee cannot find thee because of the shadow of his Almightiness under whose defence thou art kept safe and he doth carry thee upon the Wings of his Power so that the Mountains do become plain before thee which we do clearly see in the Light Eternal Honour and Glory be to his Name for ever who is called Wondeâ—ful Counsellor the Mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace in whom we have fellowship and unity one with another and none can hinder Dear heart we do dearly embrace thy sweet Exhortations thou being sensible of the instigations of Satan who hath winnowed us with every bait winding and twining sleights that he hath Praises be to our God for ever who hath perserved us and prevented him The Enemies being busie with their Temptations to have us enter into their Covenant thereupon I was moved to write these following words which I communicated to their hands with the former Paper viz. BEhold the Word of Life arose in me saying this morning Keep to Yea and Nay I will confirm my Covenant unto thée These Words were spoken to the true Seed that shall inherit the Kingdom the same you know is but one in Male and Female And so the blessing of my Life rest upon you and be with you in the same even in that which hath no end neither fadeth away yea and my Spirit saith Amen Dear Lambs read within be refreshed and the God of Life Peace encrease the same multiply your strength abundantly Amen Malta 10th d. 11th m. 61. D. B. Another Paper from them to my hand DEar and precious heart in the Eternal Covenant of Light and Life of our God do we salute thee and dearly embrace thee Oh! what hath the Lord made thee unto us far more precious than we are able to express and great will be thy Reward for thy faithfulness to the Lord and thy dear and tender Love to us and thy diligent care of us Oh! thou art the Messenger we have cried long for to our Heavenly Father saying How long O Lord How long will it be before thou wilt send thy Messenger whose feet are beautiful coming upon the Mountains bringing glad-tydings of great joy to us thy poor Captives Now hath the Lord our God answered us at large Praises Praises be to his Name for evermore Oh! how are our souls refreshed and our spirits supported and our hearts comforted our minds rejoyced and our bodies strengthned thou canst never do greater service to the Lord our God than to come into such a place as this is to offer up thy dear Life in ransoming us Great was the Power that brought thee and great is the Power that doth uphold thee and mighty is the Strength which doth preserve thee and great will be thy Reward Thy labour of Love we do bear Testimony cannot be forgotten nor thy Faith unfeigned put out of remembrance it is written in the Book of Life for ever and it will be registred and read in the House of Israel eternally The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it and he will perform it Farewel in the Lord. By us Katherine Evans Sarah Cheevers OH our dearly Beloved precious Friend and Brother right honourable indeed for ever We dare not look out at thy departure because we stand in the will of our Maker The blessing of the Almighty be upon thee for ever and make thee flourish in all thy endeavours Thou art called by the Name of Daniel Baker in the midst of thine Enemies thou art in the hand of thy Maker And this the Lord hath spoken where-ever thou dost come thy Glass shall not be broken until thy Sand be run Oh! this day is this Prophesie fulfilled in our sight When they have done dealing treacherously they shall be dealt treacherously withal the Lord doth steal in upon them Praises be to his Name Dear heart salute us dearly to thy dear and precious Wife with all dear Friends in the Covenant of Grace Peace Dear heart farewel farewel K. E. S. C. Another Letter from Sarah Cheevers to Friends in Ireland to be read among the Assemblies of Saints in Light OH all ye righteous Ones whose dwellings are on high in the Fulness of beauty holiness and glory whose Name and Fame reacheth
to the ends of the Earth to the astonishment of the Heathen and the amazement of the Ungodly to the preparation of all Nations to appear before the dreadful Presence of our Lord God Almighty to be stript of all false coverings and to be left without excuse Glory and Praises be to our God for ever Amen who hath made us eye-witnesses of his mighty Work and helpers together with you according to our measures to the chaining down of the Powers of darkness and to the defacing of that painted Harlot Mystery Babylon with all her Lovers to the utter overthrow of Antichrist with all his wicked Kingdom Amen The day is dawning the Sun of Righteousness is arising over all Nations for to make a clear separation to gather in his own Flock and to scatter the proud in the imaginations of their own hearts to feed the hungry to heal the sick and to bind up the broken hearted to cloath the naked to visit the spirits in prison and comfort the Mourners in Sion to cause the heavy-hearted in Jerusalem to rejoyce Oh my dear Friends who are precious in the sight of our Heavenly Father partakers of his Divine Nature living Stones and holy Assemblies wherein dwelleth the fulness of God Almightie's Power and Strength Riches Glory Wisdom Counsel Knowledge and Understanding he is the Rock of Ages the sure Foundation the Ark of the Covenant of the Promise of everlasting Blessedness Amen My dear and precious Ones whom my soul loveth my heart delighteth in you and my spirit rejoyceth greatly because of the excellency of God's Almightiness amongst you so that you are a dread to the Nations Kings Princes and mighty Men of the Earth shall bow before the Power of Almighty God by whom we stand and all shall be brought under the Foot-stool of Christ his Government and he alone shall reign in Righteousness and rule the Nations in Judgement then shall the cry of the Poor be heard and the sighing of the Needy be eased and the yoke of Wickedness be broken and the Oppressed shall be set free the Image of Christ restored and the Image of that subtile Serpent defaced destroyed and utterly cast down for ever Amen so saith my spirit Glory honour laud and praise be given to our Lord God Almighty for ever Amen A sweet Salutation is this from the breathing forth of my pure Life to the same Life in my Spirit joyning in my measure a sufferer for the Seeds sake Glory to the Lord who hath counted me worthy Farewel farewel my dear hearts My dear Yoke-mate K. E. dearly salutes all Friends Oh ye holy Assemblies whose hearts are wholly joyned to the Lord I with you in the Life and Power of the Almighty God do travel for the raising of the Seed and the gathering in of the lost Sheep of the House of Israel Oh! blessed be the Day wherein the Lord called me and counted me worthy to suffer for the Seeds sake Praise praise the Lord for me ye blessed of the Lord in whom the living Praises are found in the living Fountain of God Almighty the Fulness that filleth every empty soul in the Streams of Love Life Light Strength Riches Immortality and Eternal Glory So Truth Joy Peace and everlasting Blessedness remain with you all for ever Amen My Life is given up for the Service of the Lord Bonds Chains Bolts Irons Double-doors Death it self is too little for the Testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God so the Seed be gathered it is but a reasonable Sacrifice Bonds and Afflictions betide the Gospel of Christ He that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution it is an evident token My dear Friends my Light my Life my Love hath perfect Union in the Eternal Spirit of the living God and remains with you all for ever Fathers Elders Pillars Nursing-Mothers in Israel true Israelites indeed in whom is no guile My dear Salutation and breathing forth of my Eternal Father's Love is to all the breathing Seed begotten of the Heavenly Father Peace Mercy and Truth be multiplied among you all for ever Amen Pray for us that we may have boldness over our Enemies to fulfil the righteous Will of our heavenly Father and be kept faithful in his Will for ever Amen Streams of Love and Life flow from a living Fountain to you all my dear Friends Our Love remaineth ever with you all Amen Present this to the hand of L. C. L C. Thou Nursing-Mother in Israel peace be to thee for ever Amen Thy dear Brother Daniel Baker in the Covenant of Life in obedience to the Lord hath visited us to the amazement of our Enemies Glory be to the Lord for ever Amen He hath been a faithful Steward indeed worthy to be had in remembrance in the Book of Israel for ever Amen Whatsoever for the Truth we suffer our Reward is with us and our innocent Life will clear us Amen Written by me Sarah Cheevers a Prisoner in the Inquisition for the clear Testimony of the Lord Jesus This 11th Month of the year 1661. NOw after I had received these Papers though not through little straits and difficulty with jeopardy of my precious Life which my God sweetly through all preserved Glory to his Name my heart was as it were overcome with the loving-kindness and salvation of the living Lord and in his savory Life my mouth was filled with thanksgiving and praises to my God and I said in my heart on this wise Who am I O Lord or what was my Father's House or what is the Land of my Nativity that I a poor afflicted and despised Worm should be raised up to see and perceive what mine eye mine eye in thy Eternal Power and pure Life beholds Oh my God! thou hast known the innocent travel of my Soul which I right-well know the same is not hid from thee even from the day of my birth unto this moment through no small trials and tribulations and through the exercise of manifold temptations yet behold my Life is preserved at this time And Oh my heart my mind my soul my spirit in thy pure undefiled Life and Vertue blesseth thy Name thy pure Name which thy Virgins love and live in and in the same they glorifie thy Beloved and the Wings of thy Majesty overshadoweth them and their delight is under the secret shadow of thy Almightiness blessed be thy Glory blessed be thy undefiled Power blessed and magnified be thy pure Wisdom and let the same be so even in the Tabernacles of the Just for ever Thou Lamb of Immortality the Thrones the Kingdoms and Eternal Dominions are thine and over all thy Throne is and shall be exalted and thy Lambs behold thy Glory and thy Majesty in this the day of thy terrible and glorious â—ppearance Wisdom Riches Glory Power Might and Dominion everlasting with Eternal Salvation over all to thy Name Amen saith my spirit in the Life which is was and for ever shall be the same
which liveth and abideth for ever and fadeth not away In the same I commend thy dear tender Lambs to be preserved according to the unsearchable Wisdom and Counsel of thine own heart to thy everlasting Renown and Glory and their Eternal comfort and joy and felicity with thy Saints and Angels in the Light of thy Countenance and in everlasting remembrance in the powerful and Eternal Kingdom of Immortality if I be no more in this World when this body is gone to its place according to thy Eternal Purpose and Decree in thy Eternal Counsel so be it saith my spirit yea and Amen saith my soul which blesseth and magnifieth thy Eternal Name inasmuch as thou hast so far fulfilled thy living Word of Prophesie and not only so but much more also in the desire of my heart in the behalf of thy dear tender suffering and long-suffering Seed of thine own Bowels for which be innumerable Praises Wisdom Salvation Glory and Dominion to thy holy Name Amen Amen MY right dearly well-beloved Friends of Eternal Life of the Church of the first-born of the living God which is the Pillar and ground of Truth of which Christ Jesus our Lord is the alone and only Head Peace be unto you in him who is arisen in his pure immortal Life and hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Word of his Power and his Eternal Gospel of Peace which is not hid from us but it 's clearly manifest in us by his coming who ariseth with healing in his wings Glory Dominion living endless Praises Immortal to his Name now and for evermore and let all the upright in heart with my precious life say Even so Amen Dear suffering and long-suffering Lambs ye know that as I came in the eternal Love and Peace of Immanuel God's Lamb to visit and serve you and minister to your necessities the which in the same Life and Peace and in the integrity and uprightness of heart and in its pure innocency my God knoweth and behold I call your Life that 's manifest in you in which is our perfect Unity as Members of one Body to bear me record That I have endeavoured in the good will of my God to perform the same and verily the hand and blessing of Almighty God is with me and hath blessed me and so my reward is with me and my work hath been manifest before me even in the Light of his Countenance that liveth for ever and this Scripture is fulfilled in me also The Father worketh hitherto and I work So my dear Friends I have honestly and nakedly before the Lord cleared my Conscience so far concerning you on your behalf which is my reasonable service and so I leave the same to the liviâ—g Testimony of the Lord Jesus which you hold and for which I am satisfied and in the behalf of the whole body of God's Elect you have so long suffered So the Eternal God of Power Dominion and Glory of Heaven and Earth consolate support and strengthen you to the end that your Testimony may be finished with joy to his everlasting praise to whom only it belongs and so my Spirit in the Light and Life Immortal saith Even so Amen Farewel dear Lambs I am your true Brother D. B. Joseph was not made known to his Brethren the first time though his Bowels yearned towards and over them till at last he could no longer forbear crying out with tears saying I am Joseph your Brother and little Benjamin the youngest he dearly loved you know This 5th day of the Week and the 30th of the 11th Month 1661. So farewel and feel the Well-spring of Life When my face you do not see Wait in the Eternal Life and then remember me This and many other Papers was communicated to each others hands which are seen meet not to be added hereunto with the jeopardy of my life and what else did attend us but magnified and for ever blessed be the living Lord and his Goodness Wisdom and Salvation who prospered his Work and Workers in his own Life of lasting Righteousness through and over self over all that which must dye and go to its place Amen DANIEL Here followeth somewhat relating to the Travel and Service of D. B. which he hath freedom to give forth for the Truth 's sake and Friends satisfaction THE intent of the Spirit of the Lord within my heart and mind stirring me up to write somewhat concerning my travel from my Native Country Kindred and Father's House being freely given up to serve the Lord his Truth and People in the Power and Gospel of God I having no imposition or necessity at all laid upon my Conscience as from any mortal man but certainly it was a pure necessity from the living God of Heaven Earth many of his faithful Servants Messengers Sons and Daughters that were and are as dear and precious to me as my own life may bear me record on the Lord's behalf unto the truth of what I write on this wise and surely in the Counsel everlasting the thing was hid from me then whether ever I should return to my Native Country or not However in the love and favour of God and in his fear set up within my heart was I given up with my body also offered as a living Sacrifice which was but my reasonable sacrifice to give a sound to the Nations afar off of the mighty Day of our God and his blessed Truth the Light of Jesus manifest in every Conscience in which Light we have most assuredly believed unto salvation And verily the Power and pure Presence of his Eternal Strength was with me through many hardships trials and tribulations the right-hand of the hiding of his Power did sweetly guide strengthen support me even as it did and doth his Lambs whom he so sends forth as among Wolves in his Dove-like Innocency harmlesness and wisdom which are as wise or rather wiser than the Serpents And this Scripture have I well witnessed fulfilled whilst travelling from one Nation to another People as my Father did in the ancient dayes And on this wise with three more Brethren so freely given up with one consent in the behalf of the Gospel everlasting that is now preaching again to the Nations Tongues and Kindreds We set forward the 16th of the third Month and we sweetly parted with our right dearly beloved Friends Brethren Fathers and near Relations that were flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone and from all our outward Acquaintance and Native Country in the Will Love and Spirit of our God in the same day from Gravesend we set forth and at the end of forty four dayes we arrived at Legorn in Italy where we gave a certain sound of our innocent Service and Message of Salvation and of its Life and Blessedness coming upon the Nations as a weight either to condemnation or justification as the same is received or rejected among them And thus as we had opportunity among
that I was to pass onward in the tender Love of our God he did the more constrain me I finding some unwillingness to leave him in that condition which was not a little cross unto me But in the heavenly Will and Peace of our God and joy of the Lord out of all visibles we parted asunder and it came to pass that he laid down his Body there in about two dayes after There being a Ship of Venice ready I embarqued on the same and had a good Passage through the Gulf of Venice After three Weeks were finished was I admitted together with the Ships company to receive Product or Admission to come into the City as their manner is and there I continued about eight dayes as a sign and wonder among many and gave somewhat of a sound of the Lord's Day in truth among them and from thence I travelled to Legorn and my face was as if it were set towards England I being alone as a Mourning-Dove in a desolate Wilderness Yet it came so to pass when I arrived at the same Port or City that the everlasting Love of my God did fill and overcome my heart and mine eye right dearly affected the same and verily the living Word and Commandment of my God sounded in mine ear and mine understanding was quickened in the Spirit of Life from God so that I was made willing and not to rebel against the Heavenly Voice And what if I testifie that mine eye saw the Angel of his presence which was expresly for me to give up and pass away from thence to visit his long-suffering Seed of Innocency shut up in the Inquisition in the Isle of Malta under the Popes Authority and to communicate to their necessities and verily the sweet Promise of the Lord entered and possessed my heart and my God made my way prosperous for in the Light of his Countenance he had often set these poor afflicted long-suffering Innocents before my face Wherefore my body and mind was freely offered up as my reasonable service to serve his Truth the least Member of it and so to the death of the Cross whereto I became obedient in uprightness of heart as if I should never see the face of my Kindred or Native Country more a Vessel of France being ready to depart from thence East-ward I embarqued thereon for the Isle of Cicilia to Masena and from thence to the Isle of Malta in a Vessel of the said Island and in my passage the Vessel did bear in to Syracuse where Paul abode three dayes in his passage to Rome after he had suffered shipwrack on Malta and at Syracuse I abode five dayes where I gave a sound of the Lord's Truth and Life And so we immediately sailed from thence and within twenty four hours we arrived at the Island of Malta and within some hours after I came upon the said Island I had admittance to the Pope's Lord Inquisitor to whom I delivered my Message in the Italian Tongue on this wise I am come to demand the just Liberty of my innocent Friends the two English Women in Prison in the Inquisition And he asked If I were related to them as a Husband or Kinsman and whether I came out of England on purpose with that Message And I answered I came from Legorn for that same end and he replied at last They should abide in Prison till they dye except some English Merchants or others that were able would engage or give obligation for the value of three or four thousand Dollers conditionally that they should never return again into those Parts On this wise was his reply divers times with the Consul and many others together and asunder but in the Name and Fear of the Lord God I withstood the same unchristian-like Demand and Cruelty in the Word Power and Travel of the Lord in his innocent suffering Lambs behalf albeit they daily threatned me with their Cruelty and Inquisition of darkness and followed me to and fro with their Officer and Black-rod and the Pope's Deputy would have bound me that I should neither speak good nor evil to any one while I was on the Island as the Consul said save to him neither to come to the Prison alone except the Consul came also with me or some of his Family at least But their Snares Bonds and Covenants in the Name of my God I defied because the Spirit of Life from the Lord gave me dominion through sufferings in spirit first over their unjust dark Impositions yea and in the same good Authority in the innocency and uprightness of my heart I travelled through and over the darkness over its works and ceased not to publish the end of my coming which they would not have known abroad and the sound of Truth and its dread and fame struck terror in their hearts that both high and wise great Men together with the popish Priests and Jesuites Knights them called of the Nobility of the Pope's Dominion of Spain and France and of many Nations they did not burthen themselves a little with my bodily presence my clear Testimony and Friends in general all which they defied and withstood as it doth appear by the words of Truth in this Treatse And thus it comes to pass among the Nations because we are not of this world as our Life and Testimony also is not for but against the same therefore we marvel not if the World hate us knowing its birth which is from beneath earthly and sensual persecuteth that which is from above heavenly and spiritual and so the Lord hath made me as a burthensome stone among them My heart blesseth his Name that wonderfully preserved me Yet some of them came to see somewhat of my Innocency About twenty four dayes I abode upon the said Island they daily continuing their Threatnings against me as aforesaid and many times attempted me to take my Passage to Cicillia or to some parts of Italy to produce the unreasonable and unchristian-like Obligation demanded by them but in the fear of God I with my dear Friends withstood them and they were freely given up rather to suffer than to hurt Gods Truth and People thus to gratifie them who as it doth appear the Spirit of the Lord God of Truth rules neither in Pope nor in any of his Lords Priests or Jesuites that exercise such Lordship over the Innocent long-suffering Heritage of the everlasting God The time hasteneth and behold it cometh to pass that the weight of eternal Vengeance is coming over them which the Man of Sin and his Sons of Perdition will not be able to bear For the doleful Cry of the Innocent that sighs and groans with tears hath long uttered its voice which hath ascended into the ears of the Most High who is higher than the Highest yet hath he respect unto the needy to uphold them yea and to such as are of an upright contrite lowly and trembling heart What if I should say the God of Love and
them for when we did fast in obedience to the Lord they were greatly troubled so the Keeper asked me whether we would not eat meat to morrow yea or nay I was smote that I durst not say but what the Lord will we shall do When the morning came there was a great Triumph amongst them and there sounded a Trumpet near us in reference to the Lord Inquisitor Immediatly the Word of the Lord came unto us saying We must not eat Bread nor drink VVater in thrée dayes nor I K. must not speak word in that time but be silent and sit upon the ground in the Inquisition with very little clothes on nothing upon our heads but ashes no stoken nor shoe on and the last day Sarah had nothing at all but one petticoat on and they kept much ado and said we would mort and go to the Devil because the wind blew very cold So in the end the Lord opened Sarah's mouth in Prophesie against their Superstition Idolatry and unclean conversation they came wondring and look'd upon us but could not tell what to say for we were very dreadful to them So the time being expired of our Fast the Lord opened my mouth in praises and with singing these Verseâ— following All praise to him that hath not put nor cast me out of mind Nor yet his mercy from me shut as I could ever find Infinite Glory Laud and Praise be given to his Name Who hath made known in these our dayes his strength and noble fame Oh none is like unto the Lamb whose beauty shineth bright O glorifie his holy Name his Majesty and Might My soul praise thou the only God a Fountain pure and clear Whose Chrystal streams spreads all abroad and cleanseth far and near The Well-springs of Eternity which are so pure and sweet And do arise continually my Bridegroom for to meet My sweet and dear beloved one whose Voice is more to me Than all the Glory of the Earth or Treasures I can see He is the glory of my life my joy and my delight Within the bosome of his Love he clos'd me day and night He doth preserve me clean and pure within his Pavill'on Where I with him should be secure and saved from all wrong My soul praise thou the Lord I say praise him with joy and peace My sp'rit and mind both night and day praise him and never cease O magnifie his Maâ—estie his Fame and his Renown Whose dwelling is in Sion hie the glory of his Crown O praises praises to our God sing praises to our King O teach the People all abroad his praises for to sing A Sion Song of Glory bright that doth shine out so clear O manifest it in the sight of Nations far and near That God may have his Glory due his Honour and his Fame And all his Saints may sing anew the praises of his Name And after I had sung the Lord commanded me to go to the Well in the Court and drink Water the first thing I took So in obedience to our tender Father and God of health and power we went and drank much Water in the sight of the Prisoners we were very dry and they cried out in their language saying We would kill our selves and go to the Devil S. washed her head in cold water and we never had so much as the snuff in our noses After that they did admire and said It was the Lord that did command us and preserve us if they should have done so they should have died So the Lord was glorified and we were comforted And many a time were we made a dreadful sign and wonder to them that it can never be forgotten Praises praises to our God who wrought it in our hearts K. E. For the hands of our right worthily beloved Friends RIght dear and precious Friends in the Eternal Truth and Covenant of Life and Immortality yea Right Honourable indeed who are strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Peace Love and Salvation with whom my soul is refreshed nourished and cherished day by day and my spirit is supported and my heart is comforted with the well-springs of Eternal Life that stream from the Fountain and Rock of Salvation for which my soul doth truly magnifie the God of Life that giveth Life with you my Eternal Friends according to my measure in which I dearly salute and imbrace you in the heavenly unity of divine vertue Praises praises to our pure holy and wise God and Father of the Eternal Fulness of all Blessedness who doth give me of the same richly to enjoy so that I do mount up with wings as an Eagle and do run and am not weary and walk and am not faint because I do see of the travel of my soul and am satisfied the Glory is the Lord's whose mighty Power doth the work yea everlasting praises laud honour and dominion to the Lord of lords King of kings over all Scepters Thrones Tongues and Languages for ever to rule and reign world without end Amen and Amen O precious and wel-beloved Brethren Fathers and Elders the Pillars of God's spiritual Building whom my soâ—l right dearly loveth yea verily the Lord our God hath not raised renowned honoured nor exalted you higher in the heart mind spirit and soul in any one member in all his whole Body than he hath in me according to my measure the God of my Life and sweet Salvation doth know that you have been and are in my thoughts of right dear remembrance so that my life hath not neither doth it seem dear to me to save you harmless ever since I first saw your faces God Almighty bless and preserve you out of the hands of unreasonable men and encrease and multiply his whole Church and People in strength life and power and add unto you daily such as shall be saved and number in his Israelites indeed in whose mouths there is no guile out of every Kindred Tongue and Nation both Jew and Gentile bond and free so many as are appointed Heirs of Eternal Salvation Amen Amen saith my spirit And the Lord keep you all in the Power Dominion and Authority over the Heathen and all the dark Powers that do corrupt the Earth for ever Amen Oh dear and worthy Friends I can do no less than put you in remembrance of our gracious Deliverance out of the Inquisition in our eternal Father 's own time and way and according to his own will none wrought it but himself that he alone may have the Glory Honour and Renown of his own mighty Work in the hearts of you and all the faithful-hearted and from Sea to Sea and from Island to Island yea verily the Voice is gone forth to the ends of the Earth to the praise honour and glory of the strength of our powerful Lord God and here is our joy and here is our Glory and here is our Crown that our pure holy perfect and wise God is magnified And is not our
scattered from all the rest of the Ships and could never see them again And so the Name of the Lord be magnified for ever over all whose Name is a strong Tower to all that can trust in him It is laid upon me to manifest the large love of God to us in our greatest extremity when we knew nothing but that we should be burnt for many dayes together Then in a Vision of the night I saw a large Room and a great Wood-fire in the Chimney and I saw the eternal Son of God sitting in a Chair by the fire in the form of a servant And likewise I saw a very amiable well-favoured Man-Child sitting in a hollow Chair over the fire it had no clothes on but a little fine linen about the upper parts it did not appear to be above three quarters old the fire did flame on every side of it yet the Child did play and was merry I would have took it up for fear it should have been burnt but he that sate in the Chair bade me let it alone I turned me about and I saw another heavenly Angel of God's presence standing a little wayes off it was not Gabriel and then he that sate in the Chair bade me take up the Child and it had no harm Let him that readeth understand And then I did awake and I called to my Friend Sarah and bid her she should not fear for the heavenly Host of God's Presence did follow us and as we do believe who can harm us though they did bind us to a stake yet shall they never have power to kindle fire upon us And Sarah answered she did know without our heavenly Father they cannot touch a hair of our heads And the Lord said However it be it shall go well with you And so we magnifie the Name of the Lord night and day and he is worthy to be praised for evermore Amen Ka. Evans There came to Malta whilst we were in the Inquisition twenty sail of Ships out of France and Spain to joyn with the Caveliers in Malta to fight against the Turks as the Keeper told us and the fear and dread of the Lord fell upon me and the Lord commanded me to prophesie against them and I cryed out daily saying God is angry God is angry and they cannot prosper go not forth to murther nor to kill one another Christ came not to destroy life but to save it This I told many as they were in hearing yet there was great triumphing and glorying in blood and in the strength of Pharoah all the time they were there And the night before they went forth I saw in a Vision a broad Tub of blood and it did run over on each side into the water and defiled it that I could have none to drink and I was exceedingly troubled in spirit And this did signifie their great slaughter and fight upon the Sea with the Turks and they returned with great loss and their joy was turned into sorrow and their mirth into mourning because they would not be forewarned Sa. Cheevers To the English Fryar Malachi THou art a bloody Persecutor of God and his eternal Truth and the Messengers thereof go whither thou wilt the righteous God will follow thee and find thee out dig never so deep thou canst not hide thy self from the Light Cruelty hard-heartedness vain-glory hypocrisie lying blasphemy pride unbelief all manner of wickedness lodgeth within thee thou in thy measure art the sinck of Hell thy mouth uttereth perverse things the poyson of Asps is under thy tongue thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity thou art for eternal burnings Thou saidst thou madest thy self a holy man having wit and learning so thou becamest a Prelate or a Bishop and studied Divinity fifteen years and by it thou camest by thy Ordination to be a Father of Learning a Saviour of Souls thou saidst thou hadst received vertue to remit sins and thou didst offer to take our blood upon thee and to save our souls and bodies and wouldst have us to pray in the name of such a holy Father as thou who art a Catholick and didst kneel down often and speak many bitter wishes that you were in the true Faith But glory be to the Name of our God for ever the Light did discover thee when thou camest under many false covers and colours thy lyes and blasphemies were manifested to us by the Light and by the Light judged and condemned and we preserved and justified O thou perverter of the pure way of Righteousness thou child of the Devil thou deceiver of souls the Lord will require the souls of the simple at thy hands thou hast caused them to err from the living God thou Lucifer thou shalt be cast down from thy seat with all thy whoredoms into the bottomless pit there to remain for ever Amen And the Lord Jesus Christ alone shall reign over all the powers of darkness unto the ends of the Earth and the powers of darkness discovered defaced and utterly destroyed with the brightness of his coming then shalt thou and thy kingdom with all your carnal weapons that you have formed to uphold you be thrown down and overturned and thou and all such deceivers as thou art shall be cast into utter darkness with the lyers unbelievers Sorcerers fearful blasphemers blood-thirsty there to receive your reward weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth for ever then shall you know with Dives one drop of cold Water from us whom you have afflicted for the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God will not stand you in stead to cool your tormented tongues for your Blasphemies Thou hast slighted the day of thy Visitation thou hast had line upon line and precept upon precept declared to thee of the good Word of God but thou hast made a mock and said it was a foolish thing thou didst want men of learning and wit thou hast learning and tongues Oh! dost thou not see thy folly Hath not God chosen the foolish things to confound the wisdom of the wise and to bring to nought the counsel of the prudent In the Light thou art known by the Light thou art judged and condemned Thy Gospel is carnal that doth uphold thy Kingdom Iniquity double-doors Chains Bolts Iron Whips Racks Halters Quarterings Cruelties Blood-thirstiness what wickedness is there that is not in your Kingdom you will cheat and cozen one another and will tolerate all manner of vice and say it is pardonable and will remit their sins if they will believe in you and pray in your name Thou wouldst have us pray by thy spirit after thee and say Mass and Pater noster and pray to Saints departed and thy Jesus and Mary with Beads and Crucifixes and cross our foreheads and chins Oh thou Antichrist wouldst thou have us turn from the Spirit of the living God which is pure and holy to pray to stocks and stones thy dead gods which cannot see nor hear nor
speak The Lord said formerly and doth say now Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image or the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath c. Cursed be thy Images and thou that teachest people to fall down to worship them Thou sayest this is Moses Law He that despiseth Moses 's Law dyeth without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy that trampleth under foot the blood of the Covenant and counteth it an unholy thing wherewith he was sanctified and hath done despite to the Spirit of Grace Thou art he Malachi the Lord saith thou art a cursed Reprobate Depart from me thou worker of iniquity I know thée not Thou sayest thou wouldst chain our arms because we could not bow at thy commacd We said our necks with our whole bodies for the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God which we give forth among you we were ready to seal it with our blood glory be to the Lord God Almighty who called and counted us worthy to suffer for his Name-sake and gave us power over thee thou crooked Scorpion if thou hadst known that Power that did restrain thy hands and thy feet from shedding our blood thou wouldst have known whose Servants we were but thou art in the Reprobation with Cain Judas and bloody Herod thou wouldest have us call thee a holy Father and thou sayest Whosoever sins ye remit on Earth they should be remitted in Heaven and yet thou saidst none could be assured of their Salvation in this life and thou asked us about a Purgatory we knew no such place The Scripture speaks of a Hell and a Heaven in which the souls of the Righteous should enter into when they depart â—he body where is joy and rest for evermore but the souls of the wicked into everlasting torment Thou saidst thou couldst prove a Purgatory in Maccabees we know no such place but we know it speaketh of a woman that had seven sons which because they could not forsake the Law of the living God their tongues were cut out Art not thou a lyer didst not thou say thou wast a Remitter of sins and a saviour of souls and yet they must dye in their sins and go to Purgatory Oh thou blind guide thou art to be denied dost not thou see thy own confusion If any sin against God you then give a Pardon but if any offend you Oh the Rackings Halterings Strapado's Chains Bolts Irons your cruelty doth exceed what we do testifie you have sold your selves to work wicked Abominations you wear defiled garments to deceive the simple-hearted and say there is virtue in them and think it an honour for them to kiss your defiled garments The Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter days there should be seducing spirits teaching lyes in hypocrisie the Doctrine of the Devil to abstain from marriage and meats which God hath created for the preservation of the Creation but if a man commit Adultery with a woman and come and confess to you you will pardon him Oh horrible Blasphemy there is none can forgive sins but God only If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the Propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world When Nathan came to David to tell him of his sins the faithful Witness in his own Conscience which did convince him he was a sinner made him cry out I am the man that hath sinned against the Lord. Nathan was a true Prophet of the Lord to convince of sin but not pardon sin If Noah Daniel and Job were in that City they should save but their own souls alive for their own righteousness Oh! how do you dare to pervert the holy Scriptures which by so many infallible Testimonies were given forth by the Spirit of the living God For the Scriptures are of no private interpretation but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost and they are profitable for Doctrine Uses and Reproofs that all whose minds are turned to the measure of the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation that hath appeared in all to teach and lead out of sin and to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live righteously and godly in this present evil world they come to have the Scriptures fulfilled in them as they were in them which gave them forth for they lived in the life of the Scriptures their lives and what they did declare was Yea and Amen and they were guided by one Spirit and they spake one and the same thing as the Light did lead them for the Light is a perfect guide into all truth and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart of every one and is a discerner of spirits it shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehends it not The Light will discover every deed of darkness it is the faithful and true Witness of God which he hath given to every one a measure to profit to convince to reprove to instruct to condemn to justifie And those that receive the Light in the love thereof to them he doth reveal his everlasting loving-kindness and make known the Mysteries of his Truth and Counsel The willing and obedient shall eat the good of the Land but those that refuse and rebel the Sword of the Lord shall devour The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it and his zeal will perform it Every one that loveth the Light will bring their deeds to the Light that they may be approved of the Light that they are wrought in God for to the Light of Christ all must come and whatsoever hath been done in secret shal be made manifest when the Book of every ones Conscience shall be laid open then shall every ones heart be made manifest by the Light and shall receive every one according to their deeds done in the body they that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but they that sow to the Spirit shall reap life everlasting For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord who is the Light of the World that lighteth every one that cometh into the World that all men through him might believe He is the true Light and Life of men God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son into the World that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have life everlasting This Life is in the Son he that hath the Son hath Life O Friends and People of all sorts turn in your minds to the Light within which will shew you your conditions and how you have been seeking a Saviour without in the many wandrings from hills to mountains crying Lo here and Lo there when he is nigh you calling you to return to him that your sins may be pardoned and you reconciled
room for one night and a part of the day following and then had liberty to go into the yard but as a Prisoner in which time the Turks shewed friendship unto me one Antient man especially of great reputation who desired that I might come unto his house which thing being granted he courteously entertained me And further it came to pass about four or five dayes after my confinement there came an Irish Friar with a Guard accompanying him from Jerusalem unto me it being twenty miles distant and discoursed with me concerning the things of God's Kingdom At first he seemed in words as though he would have shewed friendship unto me but the poyson of Asps was under his tongue for when he could not prevail over me nor others with him in way of discourse about the things of God he then said that was not the business he was sent about but he had divers things to propound unto me from his brethren the Friars at Jerusalem as followeth which he would do 1. Whether I would promise when I come to Jerusalem that I would visit the Holy Places as he called them as other Pilgrims did 2. And give such sums of money as is the usual manner of Pilgrims 3. Wear such a sort of habit as is the manner of Pilgrims 4. Speak nothing against the Turks Laws 5. And when I came to Jerusalem not to speak any thing about Religion And thus they strove to make their hold strong to keep me from Jerusalem but all was in vain for I not conforming unto them but standing in the Will of the Lord to do as he might order me they then the next morning took me and set me upon a horse and with a Guard both of Horsemen and Footmen with the aforesaid Irish Friar I was brought from thence back to Joppa and was imbarqued the same day in a Vessel with one Popish Father as a Guard bound for St. John de Acra or Ptolomais but in our Voyage a very strong Wind arose upon us wherby the Vessel was near to sink and then the Popish Father in a distressed condition cryed out and beat his face with his hands and would have me to pray for them the poor Seamen threw their Goods over into the Sea to lighten the Vessel and they lost their Helm great was their dammage yet through the mercy of the Lord our lives were preserved and came safe to the place whither we were bound yet great was the enmity that arose in the Friars in that place whereby their children would hardly receive me though I was willing to give to the utmost for what necessaries I had occasion for which I had done before as they also knew yet by reason of the Fryars and Jesuites enmity at the present many of their party feared to receive me neither did I know a place outwardly where to lay my head with safety nay not so much as upon a stone unless the Lord did wonderfully preserve me which in my heart I did believe he would do whereby I remained content in my spirit without any murmuring and began to walk out of the City it raining to lie down in the field for what I knew but there came a French Merchant called Sur-Rubie whom the Lord after my exercise had prepared to receive me a man that I had never seen before that I knew of who friendly took me unto his house as I was passing along where I remained above twenty dayes and he would often speak unto me saying Surely it was the Lord's doing his receiving of me for said he my own Country-men when they come to me they are little to me but thee I can willingly receive The old man would admire the Lord's doing in this thing and did believe I was sent of the Lord and he did love me exceeding much but the Friars had so far prevailed with the Consul that in 20. dayes time I could not be received into a Vessel for to go towards Jerusalem so that I knew not but to have gone by Land yet it was several dayes Journey and I knew not the way no not so much as out of the City besides the much difficulty there is in going through the Country beyond my expression yet I not looking at the hardships but at the heavenly Will of our Lord I was made to cry in my heart Lord thy Will be done and not mine and so being preparing to go and taking leave of the tender old man he cryed I should be destroyed if I went by Land and would not let me go but the next morning he went unto the Consul and spake unto him earnestly that I might have liberty to go by Sea to Joppa for before the Consul had given order to the contrary the Friars also did speak to the Consul very much to hinder me being I could not conform to joyn with them and said I would turn Turk and be a Devil yet the friendly old man appeared and in my behalf opposed them and through the Lord 's great goodness liberty was obtained for my return back to Joppa by Sea contrary to the wills of the Friars who thought to have sent me back again out of those parts for within about three or four dayes a Vessel being bound for Joppa I entred therein and in about a dayes time arrived there where some Friars also who went along in the same Vessel sought to hinder me from going to Jerusalem but I going ashoar before them payed for my passage and so went on my Journey alone where having met with many people in the way peaceably passed by me untill I came about six miles and then I met with three men two of them riding upon Asses and the other going on foot they asked me for money one of them holding his Gun to my breast and another of them put his hand into my pockets took some things out I not resisting them but stood in the fear of the Lord who preserved me for they passed away and he that took my things forth of my pockets put them up again taking nothing from me nor did me the least harm but one of them took me by the hand and led me a little on my way in a friendly manner and so left me So I passing through the like dangers through the great love of God which caused me to glorifie his blessed Name I came though in much weakness of body unto Ramlah or Ramoth Gilead and going through the Town I was known having been there before two men of the said Town Adherents to the Friars which before had opposed me arose and laid hold on me and hurried me in a violent manner towards the place in the Town in which before I had been kept prisoner but as they were abusing me there came two Turks and threw them violently from me and took me from them one leading me by one arm the other by the other arm and in that manner brought me to one of their Houses of
so but also a sensible feeling not only of the tryals sufferings in part of these innocent Lambs but also of the Consolations of each other as fellow-Members of the infinite Body of which Christ Jesus the Lord is both King and Head in whom be endless dominion and pure glory and eternal salvation Amen And so I being as it were constrained to publish the acceptable Words that sound and savor of pure innocency and clear truth for the Elect's sake in the same Love and Life I am the more free hereunto even as a Child that differs but little from a servant as I am in the Fathers Love Power and Grace of Life fitted to serve the undefiled Life of the least in the Kingdom of Blessedness and to administer comfort or what else I have received from the Eternal Fountain or Fulness for the use or service of either body mind soul or spirit of my own flesh or family seeing no man ever hated his own Flesh and he is worse than an Infidel that provideth not for his own Family especially them of his own House This is a sweet Salutation to Gods Elect Church in England and Ireland RIght dear precious and Heavenly Ones whose Beauty shineth bright and at whose Name the hearts of the Heathen do tremble We who through the everlasting Mercies of our God are Members of the same Body and are held in strait Captivity and hard Bondage for witnessing forth the same Testimony and Covenant of pure Light Life and Truth of our God with you dear and faithful Ones indeed We here in the same Covenant of pure Love and bowels of tenderness do dearly salute and imbrace you all glorifying and praising our eternal Father for you all who hath counted us worthy to partake of the fellowship and sufferings for the Bodies sake with you in tribulations fiery tryals manifold temptations fastings watchings heats and colds and cruel threatning and persecutions perils by Sea and perils by Land standing in jeopardy of our lives year after year and looking every hour day and night for many Weeks together when we should be brought out to Execution but though Proclamation was made and they came up to the very Gate with a Drum and Musquets to fetch us out to destroy us yet the Lord God of everlasting strength who in the deepest of all dangers and greatest extremity when all hopes were past did but blow upon them with the breath of his nostrils and they did fly as dust before the Wind for which we do intreat all Friends to glorifie our God on our behalf for never did the Lord our God work greater Deliverance for any than he hath done for us from time to time who are the least and weakest for what we know that ever the Lord our God sent forth in so great and weighty a work but all things are possible with him who made and created all things It is he alone which carrieth on his own Work by his own mighty Power and the glory shall be his own for evermore Amen Oh our dearly beloved Friends did you know but the third part of the Afflictions the Lord our God hath carried us through you would say The Lord hath wrought as great a Miracle in our preservation as ever he did in raising Lazarus out of the Grave And in the greatest of our afflictions we could not say in our hearts Father would thou hadst not brought us hither but cryed mightily to our God for Power to carry us through whatsoever should be inflicted upon us that the Truth of our God might not suffer through our weakness And the Lord did hear us and answered us in righteousness and carried us on with all boldness and made our fore-heads as Flint our brows as Brass in the faces of our Enemies that whensoever we were brought forth upon tryal all fear was taken away that we stood as Iron-Gates and Castle-Walls in the faces of our Enemies so that they said we would fain be burned but we answered No we would not willingly be burned but if our heavenly Father doth call us to suffer in that kind for his Name sake he will give us power to go through it and we have great cause to believe it for our Lord God never called us to do any service for him but he gave us power and made way for his own Work glory and praise be to his holy Name for ever Dearly beloved Friends marvel not why Israel is not gathered in all this time it is not for want of labour nor travel nor grief nor pain fasting nor mourning nor weeping nor love to their souls but it is because of the great Oppression For here are a willing people but they dare not until the Lord make way for them Truly Friends we have not been idle since we saw your faces nor have we had much ease to the flesh but do travel night and day for Sion's prosperity and perfect joy and for the reparation of Jerusalem and her pure praise though our sorrows are deep and our afflictions grievous yet we do wait with patience to reap the peaceable fruits of righteousness and enjoy the benefit of our uprightness Praises be to our God for ever he hath kept us by his power and holiness that our Enemies have not one jot or tittle against us but for the Truth of our God and that we could not joyn with them so they would not suffer us to have one line of refreshment but stript us out of all so that we could not expect one drop of mercy favour nor affection but what our heavenly Father did distil upon us from his living presence and work for us by the operation of his own Arm of strength and power But dear Friends though a long Winter and many sharp and terrible Storms have past over our heads so that we cannot express our Sorrows so likewise we cannot declare our Joys Oh! in the midst of all our afflictions our God did draw nigh unto us and did speak comfortably unto us with many sweet and precious Promises and did never suffer his faithfulness to fail us nor was he wanting unto us in Visions and Revelations Oh! how doth he appear in his Glory Beauty and Brightness so that our souls are ravished and wrapped up with his living presence and glory many times so that we do not dare to look out at our long-sufferings nor tryals but do press forwards towards the fulness of Joy and Blessedness which our eternal Father hath prepared for all them that love him and walk in obedience to him and we know the deeper our sorrow is the greater our Joy shall be and the heavier our Cross the weightier our Crown as we abide faithful And we do believe that neither principalities nor powers nor sufferings nor imprisonment nor persecution nor life nor death shall be able to separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour Amen Dearly beloved Friends though our
Long-suffering dwels in such and verily their sacrifice is acceptable in his bosom that liveth for ever and I am a living Witneâ—s that the sweet Testimony innocent Sufferings of these his long-suffering Lambs is right dear and precious in his eye which is the Light of his Countenance and so it is not otherwise but the same in oneness with his people concerning them And so in the endless mercy blessing and peace of our God we parted and I came away with the love and peace of my God within my heart having the answer and living testimony of a good Conscience and in the wisdom of God brought away these their Words and Writings which testifieth somewhat of their Sufferings and Faithfulness unto the Lord his Truth People which I right-well know cannot be shut out of the Record of Life eternal unto which I bear Record again that they have been and are a sweet savour unto the Lord God of Faithfulness and so their Reward which attends the same is not only with them but with all the Sons and Daughters of truth and innocency that are so travelling in their Long-sufferings which are but light and momentary in competition to the eternal weight of Glory which afterward is to be revealed in the same that suffered in all generations even from righteous Abel unto this day of our God to whom be Wisdom Glory Salvation and everlasting Thansgivings aâ—d Dominion for ever Amen saith my soul and spirit even so Amen And it came to pass in the third Month of the year 1662. also after my God had well preserved me in my passage and in his work and service from Malta to divers places in Italy till I came to the Straits mouth of the Mediterranean Sea at the place called Gibralter it was the pleasure of the Lord God to suffer the Wind and Weather to continue contrary well nigh about thirty dayes in which season I suffered many Trials and Tribulations in spirit having little or no Rest in the same because of the Vision and Words of the Everlasting which sounded often up to my understanding even as the roaring of a Lyon which mine eye saw and mine ear heard also in the year 61. when I was a Prisoner for the pure Word and Testimony of God and his Truth in Worcester City Jayl before I departed England and the place was the high Mountain of Gibralter that stands within the King of Spains Dominion which was the subject of the Vision and often as I cast mine eye upon the scituation of the place the pure Life and Power of God's eternal Presence did arise up in me in the word of life so that I saw clearly that some great exceeding weighty service for his Name and eternal Truths sake was to be done by me which was so terrible and dreadful to me when as I entred into reasoning so that I was brought down even to the jaws of death in dust and ashes and as Jonah turned his back upon Nineveh the same temptation attended me also to my wounding before I could give up for I fled often from the place to escape with my life from among such an unreasonable and bloody generation and the Lord would not be intreated to let such a bitter Cup pass unfulfilled but behold with the sound and stroak of his eternal Word his Spirit of Life became awakened quickned and mightily revived in me in his Wisdom over all fear of the Nations of men and the same brake through the snares and bonds of death and over destruction and the true Seed that mourned cried Not my Will but thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven and so it was a hard thing to part with little Isaac which is received again in the Covenant of promise of Life and that was offered up which fled so often but at last was caught in a thicket When the Ships of divers Nations attempted to pass through but the God of heaven whom the wind and sea obeyeth suffered them not but they knew not what the matter was which was revealed within my heart as the displeasure of God was against them to humble them also as I told them often by words and writings to clear my Conscience albeit they strove being perplexed in their minds and attempted often to wit seven or eight times in about twenty one dayes and could not pass but about two or three Leagues and on this wise it happened it would either prove calm and then the currant would drive them back into the Straits again sometimes and otherwhile Storms and Tempests would scatter them as a figure of Pharoah and his Hoste of Egyptian darkness so that the Chariot-wheels mine eye saw struck off so that they drove but heavily within and without and at last I gave out among them that God had service for me to do at that place and my Life was given up to do his Will if I never saw my Native Country Kindred or Fathers house at all any more and therefore the pleasure of the Lord in his mighty Power had made me willing also gave me dominion through and over the Bonds and Snares of Death and Destruction as it were to lay down my precious Life that I may take it again together with the body which through his righteous judgements he had prepared to perform the good pleasure of his Almightiness for his Truth and Names sake Now the heavenly Voice was often sounded within my heart on this wise saying O Jerusalem cut off thine hair and furthermore to gird sackcloth on my loins as to the Prophet Jer. 7.29 and so I became obedient in the singleness and innocency of my heart unto the God of Heaven and of my Life as a dreadful Sign against the whorish Church of Rome and against all her Heads Horns throughout the world And I then signified to the Master of the Ship in which I was a passenger how that I did believe that God would soon give opportunity for the Fleet of Ships to pass away after this service of God was performed and after I had used many perswasions to the end that he might suffer my body on that wise to be cast among the wicked idolaters lyars and murtherers Isa 57.20 which are like the troubled Sea So the Ship-master let my Body be on this wise cast over board from the Ship God having provided a Whale to swallow up that which fled from his presence so often and so it happened that it was upon one of their called Holy-dayes or Saints dayes namely the day called Holy-Thursday So I being cast on dry land passed through their streets directly until I came into the Mass-House or Idolaters Temple among the Idolaters where I found the Frier or Priest at the High Altar down upon his knees in his white Surplice adoring of the Host which is a Chalice or a piece of Bread which they called the real Substance of the body of Christ after their unclean spirit of
darkness hath muttered some words over it which they call Consecration and after I had stood a season viewing this Idolatry with the indignation of the eternal God set up within my heart against the same I turned my back-part upon the Priest and his dead god and dumb Idols at the high Altar and in the holy Commandment of Life eternal my face was set towards the people and I beheld them a certain season in the power of God in which I stood I saw the multitude of ignorant People upon their knees also worshipping the dark inventions and Imaginations of their sottish Leaders and blind Guides and they know not what and in the Lord's time which mine eye had a circumspect heed unto I then spread forth mine arms and stript off my Vesture and rent the same from top to bottom in divers pieces and cast them from me with indignation and then I took my Hat off my head which was the uppermost covering of the outside of a man and cast the same under my feet and stamped upon these things and the nakedness appeared with the sack-cloath covering to their astonishment and then with a clear voice I sounded Repentance three times gave testimony as the sound of a Trumpet among them that the Life of Christ and his Saints was arisen from the dead and so passed away sounding the same words of the Lord's Message with Repentance through the streets as it were flying from the Idols temple and from Idolatry and Idolaters until I came to the Sea side and there was I moved to kneel down and pray and give thanks to the living Lord who had so wonderfully preserved me in doing his pleasure and good will on earth and he suffered no man to touch or do me harm And the next day following the Lord God gave opportunity accordingly as I had let the Ship-master know I believed would come to pass and it was so and all the Fleet did partake of the blessing but how many of them rewarded me men of my own Nation to whom I also continued a sign which they spake bitter things against the Lord my God saw the same and smote them with rebuke and astonishment in his displeasure who in his wise determinate Counsel ordained me for many dayes nights to be tryed on this wise and to fall among divers temptations afterwards the which as a mighty Host surrounded and beset me on every hand immediately after I had done his good will in his all-sufficient power and strength Thus the Enemy with his subtilty in a mystery was suffered to compass me about to steal away my peace and reward with my God in whom the same is hid and then I was in a blessed condition though sometime vailed for a little season and then the Fathers Countenance was hid from mine eye and therefore was I troubled Yet blessed are ye when you fall among divers Temptations saith one and verily they were even as thorns in my flesh yea as Messengers of Satan suffered to buffet me for a season even as the Servant of God witnessed who was wrapt up into the third Heaven What if I should somewhat testifie so was it with me lest I should be exalted above measure so that I was made to bow and fall upon my face and cry day and night to the Lord of Eternal Life that had respect to the tears of the Innocent and bowed the strength of his Arm to support the Lowly And so his Almightiness gave ear to the sighs and groans of my distressed state and had respect unto the voice of my mourning as a Dove or Pelican in the Wilderness and verily his Grace I found sufficient to save and preserve my Innocency in its sweet life of holiness to the Lord through all this and that which letted Salvation to his Name Amen So his strength is made perfect in weakness even so it is in truth in which I set to my seal of my right-hand that God is true in which Life I give thanks to his Name of Power and Defence the which over all Nations is to be exalted in the hearts of his Saints as in the ancient dayes yea and much more abundantly in the Light of his bright-shining Countenance in which his eternal and excellent Glory and pure dreadful Majesty for ever hath his holy habitation to whom be endless Dominion with Praises living and everlasting over all Amen Written in Newgate this 5th Month the 18th day 1662. where he suffereth Bonds together with many Brethren of Truth for one and the same Testimony of the Lord Jesus not for evil doing or speaking but against the same For we suffer because we cannot otherwise but meet together in the Name and Fear of God neither swear at all neither by Heaven nor by Earth nor by any other Oath Mat. 5. Jam. 5.12 D. B. A Copy of a Paper which was written in the Spanish Tongue and delivered the same day that I was upon the service directed as followeth viz. For the Governor and Inhabitants of Gibletore in the Kingdom of Spain BEhold behold the great day of God is come and of his wrath and of the wrath of his Lamb is come and the hour of his Judgements is come Wherefore Oh Inhabitants of the earth Repent Repent Repent and fear God and give Glory and Honor to him that made Heaven and Earth and the Fountains of Waters Wo wo wo to the Inhabitants of the Earth And I heard another Voice from Heaven saying Come out of her my People that ye partake not of her sins that ye receive not of her plagues These are the words of the Power of Christ that is contrary to the false Church Behold behold Plagues Plagues Plagues are coming upon the Church of Rome and upon her Heads in England and in all parts of the World And the Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth and he saith unto me the waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are Peoples Nations Multitudes and Tongues c. These Words with a Paper in Latine with honest Words of Truth was delivered with many more Scriptures in their own Language that they may read understand repent and cease from Idolatry and from all Ungodliness that the Blessings of Eternal Life might arise through Judgements and have room among the Nations to the eternal glory and renown of the Lord God over all who is blessed for ever Amen A brief Account of their further Tryals and how God at last by his Almighty Power effected their Deliverance and brought them again into the Land of their Nativity THe second month the year 1662. at the time of their Feast called the Resurrection of Christ on the first day we spake to the Keeper to buy us some meat not knowing but we might have eaten it in the time of their Feast yet it had been laid upon us to fast most times when they did feast which did torment