through Him might believe Mark through Him who lighteth every man that cometh into the World John 1.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. and God is Light 1 Joh. 1.5 and God and Christ are One Joh. 10.30 1 Joh. 5.7 So you that be turned from the Light which shews you sin and evil mark what you are turned from you are turned from the Way and from the Truth and from the Life and from the Covenant of God and from the Power of God and from the Word of God and so from God and Christ from whence the Light doth come and into the Darkness you are turned and gone and the Prince of Darkness ruleth in you Eph. 2.2 that so you cannot find any power over your own perverse Wills nor over your Lusts nor over any Sin there being gone from the Light in your own particulars in which Light if you believed and waited in it you would receive power to overcome sin but you not believing in the Light you believe in him who leads you from the Power of God into sin and there he perswades you that you must live in sin so long as you live upon the Earth and you have believed and received this Doctrin of him and you teach it to others and so are become the Devils Ministers and so you deny the end for which the Son of God was made manifest which was to destroy the Works of the Devil and to take away sin 1 Joh. 3.8 Mat. 1.21 and yet many of you feed your selves with hopes of Life and Salvation but your hopes are vain and will perish be not deceived God will not be mocked for such as you sow such shall you reap Gal. 6.7 8. Ye that live after the flesh fulfilling the lusts thereof you shall surely dye if ye repent not speedily Rom. 8.13 and you that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption The day of the Lord hasteth greatly wherein you must give an account unto him who will judge you righteously and reward you according to your deeds done in the Body and all you who have been slothful and have hid that in the Earth which the Lord gave you to profit withal you will be turned into utter darkness Mat. 25.30 John 12.35 Therefore while you have the Light believe and walk in it lest thick darkness come upon you even such darkness as may be felt the day of your Visitation prize lest the things that belong to your peace be wholly hid from your eyes Consider there is a time when the Candle is lighted and when you may see if you search with it what is in the house but mark this time will not alwayes continue with the wicked for the Candle of the wicked shall be put out Prov. 24.20 Yea the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with man Gen. 6.3 Therefore cease from your dark imaginations which several of you have got into for whosoever followeth the imaginations and thoughts of his own heart which all who believe not in the Light do they run on in darkness and know not whether they go and such are under the wo putting darkness for Light Light for darkness calling the Spirit of Truth the Spirit of Error and the Spirit of Error the Spirit of Truth Isa 5.20 as all the world do who lye in wickedness and hate the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the Word which Light reproveth you for your wickednes and this Light you call a Spirit of Delusion and Error and you say that those who are guided by it are deluded and led into Error Oh! take heed of Blasphemy against the pure God who is Light Mark the Spirit of Error what it is and what it leads into it is that which abode not in the Truth and it is a Murderer and was so from the Beginning and they who walk not in the true Light they walk and are guided by this Spirit and some by it are led to murder some to steal some to be drunk to swear to lye to cheat and cozen one another to fight to game and some it leads into vain laughter foolish jesting corrupt communication cursed speaking wantonness lust whoredom fornication and into covetousness which is Idolatry into pride variance strife railing back-biting envy wrath and malice false accusing the Innocent and into all manner of ungodliness into feigned love self-seeking dissimulation hypocrisie and feigned flattery and to hate the very appearance of Truth Eph. 4.29 and 5. Gal. 5.19 20. Now examine with that which reproves you for sin in secret and it will let you see that you bring forth many of these cursed Fruits before-mentioned and so are deluded and guided by the Spirit of Error now the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World comes from the Spirit of Truth and that is the Truth and it witnesseth against all these evil deeds before-mentioned which are out of the Truth and they who believe in the Light which makes manifest sin and evil and wait in it they receive power from him from whence the Light came John 1.12 to abstain from evil and to overcome sin and evil and this I witness and that Spirit which tempts the Creature to evil is the Spirit of Error So we who believe in the true Light which is the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth which is given to every man to profit withal 1 Cor. 12.7 we by it are led out of Error and Delusion into the perfect Truth of God and to act those things which are well-pleasing in his sight Mat. 11.29 they being learned and wrought in the Light which comes from the Son in whom the Father is well pleased Joh. 3.21 and this true Light in us is our Guide and Teacher and this brings us who wait in it to understand the Scriptures of Truth which was given forth from the Spirit of Truth and it brings us into that which the Scriptures speaks of into the Life and Power of God and to witness that which the World talks of for they will talk of Faith in Christ Jesus though they witness not what they speak but we who believe in the Light are made by the power of God Children of the Light and we witness Faith in Christ which Faith purifies our hearts and gives us victory over the World Act. 15.9 1 Joh. 5.4 and the Light leads us into meekness into soberness and love unfeigned into holiness and uprightness into sound and pure Judgement into Mercy into Patience when we are reviled and persecuted and at all times into long-suffering and Truth in the inward parts to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us yea it leads us who abide in it into all Truth Joh. 16.13 and this is not of our selves for it is the free Gift of God who freely gave his Son for a Covenant of Light which ligheth every man that cometh into the World and we who have received the Gift
guide and lead them would it not lead and guide them out of Sects and Opinions and Divisions and Strife and would it not bring People to be of one heart and of one mind and into Unity with God and one with another and with the Scriptures yea or nay 15. Qu. And doth not Christ the Light the Spirit of Truth for Sin Condemn Sin in the flesh and must not that be owned which makes manifest reproves and Condemns Sin in the flesh before the Ministration of Life and Peace can be witnessed yea or nay 16. Qu. Is not the Unity of the Spirit the bond of Peace and must not People come into Unity with the Spirit before they can come into true Peace and doth not the Spirit of Truth reprove men for Sin who live in it so must not People come out of Sin before they can come into Unity with the Spirit and so into true Peace or hath the Spirit any Unity with Sin or is there any true Peace to the wicked who live in Sin yea or nay 17. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the Word the Rock of Offence and the stone of stumbling unto the disobedient in whom the Prince of the Power of the Air ruleth but is he not Elect and precious to them that believe and obey him and is it not he that ruleth in them and leads and guides them in the way of Peace yea or nay 18. Qu. Do not as many as believe in the Light receive Power to become the Sons of God and are not those the Sons of God who are led by the Spirit of Truth and are not those that do not believe in Christ the Light nor are guided by the Spirit bastards and not sons and are they not condemned already who do not believe and is not the Light their Condemnation yea or nay 19. Qu. And shall not Darkness yea great Darkness come upon them who do not believe and walk in the Light and shall not they stumble and fall and be broken yea or nay 20. Qu. And shall not they who believe and walk in the Light be made Children of the Light and be kept from stumbling and falling and shall not they have fellowship with the Father and the Son from whence the Light comes and one with another and doth not the blood of Christ cleanse them from all Sin yea or nay 21. Qu. Can any have fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Saints in Light but those that walk in and are guided and led by the Light of Christ Jesus which he hath enlightned them withal yea or nay 22. Qu. Can any deny themselves before they see themselves and can any man see himself but with the Light which Christ hath enlightned him withal which makes manifest Self and can any be Christ's Disciple but he that denies himself and takes up the Crosse and comes after Christ the true Light and are not all they thieves and robbers which come before Christ the Light and are not such enemies to the Crosse of Christ and is not the Crosse of Christ the Power of God and is not the Crosse and the Preaching of it foolishness to the wise of this World and is it not a stumbling block to such as in words professe they know God but in works deny him yea or nay 23. Qu. And they that commit Sin and cannot cease from Sin are not they of the Devil and are not they the Servants of Sin and so free from Righteousness and have they not eyes full of Adultery who cannot cease from Sin are they not adulterated and whored from the Life of God and though they promise liberty to themselves and others yet are not they servants to corruption and do not they live in the flesh and are they not dead while they live and so out of the true Faith and can such please God yea or nay 24. Qu. And they that believe in and obey Christ Jesus the true light doth not their faith stand in the Power of God and doth it not purifie their hearts and give them victory over the World and do not they who witness in the Life the manifestation of the Son of God also witness that he destroyes the works of the Devil and takes away their Sin and makes an end of transgression and changes their Nature which was subject to Sin and makes them partakers of his Divine Nature and throughly purges and sanctifies them with his Living Truth and doth not that make them free from Sin and so make them servants of Righteousness and doth not that make vessels of honour fitted for the Masters use and are not such dead unto Sin and alive unto God and can such live any longer in Sin and having mortified the deeds of the Body through the Spirit shall not they live but not to themselves but to God and are not these Christ's and have they not crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof yea or nay 25. Qu. Shall any man see the Lord without Holiness and ought any to name the Name of Christ but those that depart from Iniquity and is that the Faith of God's Elect which doth not purifie the heart nor give victory over the world but is without the works or is not this dead Faith and but the Faith of Devils and shall any be saved or justified by this Faith yea or nay Consider of these things ye Professors who stumble at the Light and tell People that none shall be free from sin in this Life 26. Qu. And when is the time and where is the place and what is the name of it if not in this Life that men shall be made free from sin answer plainly that I may see how much ye differ from the Papists in this particular or do ye believe that corruption and that which is imperfect shall enter into Heaven and inherit in corruption yea or nay Answer these Queries in plainness according to the Scriptures if ye be able if not then submit unto the true Light which will let you see your thoughts your darkness your unstableness and ignorance of the Scriptures and repent and believe and wait in the true Light that you may come out of your thoughts and darkness and unstableness and ignorance into that which the Scriptures declare of to feel Christ the Saviour from whence the Light doth come to redeem and save ye from sin and to keep ye out of your own thoughts inventions and imaginations that so your minds may come to be stayed and settled in the Power of the Lord which moves against sin By one who witnesseth God Christ the Light the Word the Spirit of Truth and these are one and the Kingdom of God within me and so am come to the thing that the Scriptures testifie of which was before Scripture was in whom the Scriptures ends and the Tabernacle of God is witnessed with men and his presence is felt which filleth Heaven and Earth and the Heaven
sorrow doubtings and fears filled your hearts Now as there are several conditions among you so also here are several things spoken unto each condition therefore you must mind the VVitness of God in your selves which makes manifest unto you your several conditions and that will let you see what of these things that are here written properly belongeth to each of you which is my desire that you may receive for my tender love in the Lord Jesus Christ is unto all your souls who truly breath after the Lord desiring your eternal good and that you may be brought into the enjoyment of that Life and Power and Presence which only can give satisfaction unto your immortal Souls Therefore as you tender the good of your own souls eternal Peace Cease hunting abroad in your imaginations and leave off wandring from Mountain to Hill and from Hill to Mountain where several of you have even wearied your selves for very vanity have not found a resting place and return Home Retire your minds inward unto that which oft springeth in you giving you the sensible knowledge and feeling of your particular conditions and putting you in remembrance of the dealings of God with you in times past for that which thus springeth in you is the Gift of God which is given you to profit withal Oh Friends turn not from this Gift in your selves as you have done for by your turning from this pure Life when it hath visited you by its oft putting you in remembrance wherein you went wrong you have come to loose the sensibleness of your condition and the enemy of your Souls thereby hath gotten great advantage against you and then you have been drawn and led by him into that which could not profit you Therefore all mind that Gift of God in your selves which maketh you sensible of your present conditions and which oft begetteth true desires in you to do the Will of God and which hath brought some of you into lowliness of mind and to walk humbly with the Lord in his pure Fear for some time For if ever you come to witness the true desires of your souls satisfied and you established in true Peace you must receive the living Principle of God in your own particular Vessels which Principle I call the Light it being a proper name for it because it maketh manifest all things that are justly reproved and whatsoever doth make manifest the same is Light But I shall not desire to tye up any of you to give this Principle of Truth only the name of Light for if you come to believe in it and receive it in the love of it and walk in obedience to its drawings leadings and requirings I shall not matter if you call it the Truth or the Gift of God or the manifestation of the Spirit of God or the Grace of God or the ingrafted Word or the manifestation of God or Christ or a measure of the Eternal Being or Fulness or Divine Nature or any other name which may truly be given unto it But this is that which I desire That you all may receive the thing it self which hath so oft made manifest your conditions unto you and sometimes brought you into brokenness of Spirit Object But some may say When we have had our conditions made manifest unto us and when we have been brought into brokenness of spirit and have had tender desires begotten in us towards God to do his VVill it hath oft been either when we have been reading the Scriptures or hearing them Preached or read by others and therefore we believe the Scriptures have done these things to us rather than any thing within us Answ Friends I shall not deny but that your conditions have been made manifest unto you and that you have been brought into brokenness of Spirit and have had true desires begotten in you to do the Will of God sometimes when you have read or heard the Scriptures read or Preached unto you But this I say unto you It was not the Scriptures that did these things but it was the Gift of God in your own hearts at that time as I shall plainly declare unto you Mark Thus it was when you have read or heard others read or speak such words of the Scriptures of Truth as were suitable to that condition you were then in or which did declare against such things as you were guilty of mark then hath the Witness of God arose in you sometimes and plainly spoke to your understanding part and convinced you that you were guilty of such things as were spoken against in such a Scripture as you read or heard yea it was the measure of God's Truth in your own Vessels that hath so made manifest your particular conditions unto you and hath perswaded and overpowered you and made you believe and sometimes confess particularly that thou wert the man or woman or child that was guilty of that or hadst need of that which thou then didst read or hear that the Scripture declared against or of And when the Power of God hath thus wrought in you at that time when you have heard or read the Scriptures you have sometimes indeed been brought into brokenness of Spirit and render desires have been begotten in you towards the Lord And the Lord hath also appeared unto some of you sometimes in the Night season or as you have been about your labour or otherwise and some of you have felt his pure Power working in you whereby your understandings in some measure have been opened and your conditions plainly made manifest unto you and much tenderness hath been begotten in you even when you have neither heard nor read any thing outwardly but the pure operation of the Spirit and Power of Truth in some of you hath done these things and wrought your minds into lowliness meekness and quietness And then hath the pure love of God been felt in some measure whereby your souls have been refreshed So Friends the Holy One is neither by you to be limited to the Scriptures nor yet from the Scriptures in any wise as to his appearance to his Creatures but you are to learn to wait in the measure of his Grace which hath appeared unto you and you are to watch in the Light for his further appearance unto you And as you come to wait upon the Lord in his pure Fear and Dread you will feel your minds wrought into stilness and so you will come to hear the pure Voice of God and Christ who are one and become acquainted therewithal and his love you will feel arising in you whereby you will be constrained to obey it when or where-ever you come to hear it and then you will see the Lord is not to be limited either to time or place or means outward but you will see that he manifesteth himself to his Creatures even when and where and howsoever he pleaseth And truly Friends As concerning these things which the Lord hath suffered to come
in your Forms without Power neither Flee the Cross any longer but wait in the True Simplicity to feel God's hand of Tender Love which he reacheth sorth to and manifesteth in you to lead and guide your minds into his Pure Worship which is in the Spirit and in the Truth Oh People This is the Worship that he will set up He will be LORD and LAW-GIVER in the Consciences of his People and those that will not be content that EMANUEL should Reign over them he will Slay them with the Sword of the Spirit The words of his Mouth Oh! Hearken hearken a little and stand still that you may hear the voice of the True Shepherd in your own hearts who calleth for Truth in the Inward Parts he will discover what lodgeth Within and He will shew you the Way wherein you should walk and he will let you see what the Cross is unto and He will teach you when you are alone in your Beds or where-ever you are if you will receive Him who giveth you Life and Breath whose gentle Reproofs and Instructions are the Way of Life Therefore you in whom the Breathings and Desires after the Lord are Consult not with Flesh and Blood neither reason against the Cross but submit to every Appearance of God's Power in you which appeareth to Crucifie the Fleshly Birth and Nature which hath stood and doth stand in Rebellion and Emnity against the Pure and Precious Life and Requirings of the Lamb of God that so that Mind which is at enmity against God and that Nature in you which is Disobedient to his Commands in Spirit may come to be Crucified that so there may be a Change Inwardly felt and witnessed by the working of the might Power of Christ in your Inward Parts and then the Desires and Breathings which are Begotten in you after Righteousness they will be strengthned and the Teachings of the Almighty will be truly known and you believing in the Power you will receive Power to obey and Practice whatsoever the Lord shall make known unto you by his Spirit to be his Will and Requirings Oh People Let the Dread of the Lord Seize upon your Spirits in this the Day of his Power wherein he is Trying Sifting and Winnowing the Nations and wait to feel that Life arise within you which beareth Testimony against all evil within and without that so ye may become more and more acquainted with the Teachings Drawings and Leadings thereof that thereby you may be drawn and led out of those things which have kept your Souls in the Death hindred you from enjoying the Pure Peace of God And this know and consider that all that come to witness their Souls raised out of Death and brought to enjoy the Peace of God they must Believe in the Life of the Quickning Spirit which is the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven who for Sin Condemneth Sin in the Flesh and appeareth in the Inward Parts of man to work out Sin and Transgression which hath Separated from God and so to make clean the heart and inside of Male and Female Oh People This is the Work of Christ the Son of God even to make manifest and destroy the Works of the Devil and so to reconcile man unto God by the Virtue of his own Life which he gave a Ransom for many and blessed are all those that believe in the Life of the Son of God and feel and know it manifested in their mortal flesh for they shall witness the Power of it to make all things new and so their Souls will come up in the hand of God and his Peace will be Received and Enjoyed Oh People Wait to know and feel this Work of Christ within you that so you may be made able to Stand in the Judgement and to Endure the Tryal and that you may be Hid from the Wrath of the Lamb which is nigh to come upon the Rebellious Oh! Consider this Those that are his Followers they come thorow many Tribulations and their overcoming their Enemies is by His Blood not by a talk of it but by the Virtue and Power of it sprinkled in their Hearts which washeth and maketh them White Clean and without Fault before God Oh People my Bowels yearn my Bowels yearn towards you whose Desires in any measure are after the Lord O that you would now Return with all your hearts unto Him and obey the Voice of his Power in you then should you be made able to stand and endure the fiery Tryal which is come and coming Oh! the Day hastens wherein all Profession that is not grounded in the Life and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ whatever the shew of it be it will be so shaken that an utter Blasting and withering shall come upon it and for that cause the Lord doth and will yet suffer great Tryals to come both upon the Professors and Possessors of his Name that so his Children the Possessors may be manifested unto all and discerned from all that are but Professors though never so fair and seemingly Covered For all Coverings but what is of the Power and Spirit it self shall be too Narrow and all that are not Covered with the Spirit and Power of Emanuel their Shame and Nakedness shall appear more and more This is the Testimony which the Spirit and Word of Truth giveth therefore He that hath an ear to hear let him hear before the day of his Visitation be wholly past and the things belonging to his Peace he hid from his Eyes For yet a little while and the Voice shall be He that is filthy let him be filthy still For the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with Flesh but his Plagues and Indignation shall be poured out upon such as will be gathered in the Day of his Patience long Forbearance and Free-Love and He or She that Loveth Father Mother Husband Wife Children House or Land Liberty Honour or any Thing more than the Life of the Lamb shall be counted not worthy of him and plainly manifested so to be Read this who can and he that can receive it let him For the Time draweth nigh that these Sayings must be fulfilled Printed the 13th of the Second Month 1661. GEORGE FOX the Younger SEVERAL EPISTLES To FRIENDS Who are GATHERED into the Light of Life A General EPISTLE and a tender Greeting sent unto the Flock of Christ who meet together to Worship the Father and the Son in the Spirit of Truth to be read in the Fear and Wisdom of God amongst them DEAR and tenderly beloved Friends and â—hildren of the most High God who have felt and tasted of his eternal Word of Life and have been acquainted with the workings and operations thereof whereby you are begotten again unto a lively Hope and are brought to know that Life which you were alienated from and that Covenant of Promise which ye were strangers unto Oh Friends unto you is my Love in the Lord Jesus Christ exceeding great
Gods appearance within you by drawing your minds into the visible changeable things and yet the Lord in love to his own Seed hath spared you so mind the Lords long patience and forbearance which hath been great towards you for his Seeds sake in you which breathes and thirsts after his Righteousness and cannot be satisfied without his life and presence And truly friends my love is exceeding tender and large towards you in whom there is such a pure tender Seed stirring and my desire is who have seen the emptiness of all Profession without the life that you might come to witness the Seed satisfied in you with the Pure Power and Life and Virtue of the Living God which hath suffered long in you and hath not been satisfied by reason of your disobedience unto the Light Therefore in Tender Bowels of Love and Compassion unto you I do freely declare unto you all The New and Living way which hath been from the beginning which is CHRIST JESUS the true Light which lighteth every one which cometh into the World whereby every one of you believing in the Light may come to receive a particular satisfaction from Christ from whence the Light doth come Friends The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall but you have transgressed and gone from the manifestation of Gods Spirit in your own particulars and so it is impossible for you ever to profit in the things of God or come to receive a particular satisfaction until you come to own that and believe in that which you have transgressed and gone from which was given you to profit withall and to lead you into the substance which giveth satisfaction Now the manifestation of the Spirit doth shew unto you your runings and willings and actings and strivings that ye have been in whereby ye could never obtain satisfaction unto that in you which breathes to do the Will of God now you must mind that which makes manifest these things unto you and as you take notice of that which is the Light and wait in it you will come to feel it drawing you into stilness and coolness and quietness of spirit and then with the Light you will come to discern the subtilty and the motions thereof which have oft beguiled you by drawing you from quietness and stilness into the Airy imaginations whereby he hath tossed and unsetled your minds and as you waite in that which doth make manifest which is the Light and believe in it you will come to feel something arising in you in Power to Judge and condemn the subtilty as that stirs in you to draw you from waiting upon God and then you will come to know and feel the spirit of Judgement and burning placed in you to purge you and as you wait in the Judgement in patience and stilness you will come to hear the still voice that is spoken of in the Scriptures saying This is the way and shewing it unto you and when you see the way as you wait in that which shewes it unto you then you will come to hear the Command in Power saying unto you walk in it and then you will come to know your Teacher which cannot be removed into a corner and so here the path of the just ye will all come to know and witness in your selves which is the shining Light which shineth more and more until the perfect day for as you all wait in that which calls for stilness and silence to the flesh and the motions thereof ye will come then to see more Light and so ye will come to witness what David spoke to be true who said to God In thy Light shall we see Light and then the just which hath been long oppressed and burthened in you will begin to spring and as you believe and wait in the Light your minds being staid in it you will come to feel God's Living Power working and opperating in you condemning and removing that in you which hath oppressed and burthened the just and so by God's pure Power as you wait and continue in it you will come to feel and witness the just holy Seed raised up in you from under that which did oppress and burthen it and here you will feel the captive come out of captivity by the Gospel which is the Power of God and the Prison door set open and the Prisoners set at Liberty And then as you wait in the Light you will come to feel God's pure Powerful Presence and Life and Virtue runing through you which will refresh the Seed which is tender and give satisfaction unto it and so as you all wait low in the fear of God watching in the Light that nothing may get up in you to boast and glory which is not of God you will then feel your love exceedingly encreased towards the Pure Living Truth of God and your whole delight will be to walk in the Truth in Righteousness and Holiness without which no man shall see the Living God and as you all walk in the Light obeying it you will come into the Pure Fellowship and Communion and Unity of the Saints and then you will feel the Life which is the Blood of Jesus Christ cleansing you purging and purifying you from all Sin and so as every one of you abide in the Faith feeling it and standing in the Power of God that will purifie your hearts and give you victory over the World and then you will come to receive a particular satisfaction from Christ the Power which is the Author and ground of the Saints Faith and you will feel God's Spirit and Power and Life as you dwell in it drawing and leading you into whatsoever he requireth you to do and as you all wait and are still in that which doth discern the thoughts and the intents of your hearts and makes them manifest unto you you will clearly come to discern the Subtilty and the motions thereof which would draw you to act such things as the Lord doth not require you to act So all take heed to that which discerns the thoughts and intents of your hearts for this is a measure of the Word of Life which is quick and powerful and as you all wait in it you will feel it to be so for you will feel it dividing the precious in you from the vile and this is the Ingrafted Word which is able to save your Souls So this is not written to feed the carnal mind in any but it is written for your sakes who are truely breathing and thirsting after God's Righteousness and cannot be satisfied without it that so you may all come into the true Light wherewith you are enlightned and that you with it may come to see how you have been tossed and tumbled up and down by the Subtilty of the Serpent in those things which could never give you true peace nor satisfaction and that now through believing in the Truth and Obedience of the Spirit you may all
come to witness a particular satisfaction and that you may come to feel the pure Image of the Holy God restored in you even his everlasting Righteousness his Power his Wisdom his Life and Glory raised up in you to have Dominion and to rule over all the earth and to subdue it that so the pure God of Life and Virtue might be glorified in your mortal Bodies and that you might all come to feel and witness an everlasting habitation of Rest and Peace in him who is worthy of all Honour and Praise and Thanksgiving and Dominion for evermore Amen Now some of you who have been antient Professors will say to us If we should joyn to you we must lay down all then that ever we have professed and what have we been Professors so many years and yet have to begin all a-again Have we known nothing of God all this time this is hard To this I answer Friends if you come to joyn to the Truth you must then lay down and leave and forsake all that which you have held up and practised in your own wills which you were never led or required to hold up or practice by the Spirit of Truth but I do know and own that there was a pure living Principle of God oft stirring in you in your Professions by which Principle of God you oft saw that you were wrong and that you did that which was not well-pleasing the sight of God in your Profession for that Principle of God in you the Light judged and condemned you for many of your actions which you acted and sometimes the Lord's Witness brought you into a tender low condition and then opened things unto the Seed in you but you not taking heed to the Light to be the guide and stay of your minds you continued not long in that condition but you consulted with the Subtilty which drew you from God's Witness what you should do and so waited not in that which brought you into tenderness to receive God's Counsel in that but you took Counsel of the Serpent and your own Hearts and so ran into things which God never required at your hands and therefore God had no regard unto your Worship because it was not in the Spirit and in the Truth you not being guided therein by the Spirit of Truth So unto that which was in the Beginning you must all come which is Christ the true Light who hath enlightned you and you must learn of Him who is the Light of Life the VVord and the Power by which all things were made and are upheld and you must be subject unto the measure of Him in you and this his Measure if you submit to it that will bring you to cease from your own wills and works and to wait in silence and patience to see and feel Christ the Power of God to work all your works in you and for you and if you own the Light that will plainly shew unto you how God formerly appeared unto you and how you went from his appearance so the Light will own that which God opened unto you at any time but it will deny and condemn your own imaginations which you mixed with that which God opened unto you and so unto this Witness of the Lord you must all come and believe and wait in that which will separate the precious from the vile before that can be satisfied in you which breaths after God So my tender love and compassion is unto that in you which is not yet satisfied but doth truly hunger and thirst after the Life and Power of Truth and my Soul doth travel for freedom and satisfaction of that Seed and I suffer with it and bear many things for its sake for I have true Unity and Fellowship with that in you and I know it and am known of it but I cannot have Unity with many of your Practices which ye have been in because they have caused the Seed in you with which I have Unity exceedingly to suffer you not being guided and led into them by the Spirit of Truth and so against all such Practices I do bear witness in the Spirit of Meekness and I labour in the Spirit of Love to turn Peoples minds unto the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth which is given to every man wherewith to profit So all People feel that and mind that and hearken unto that which oft riseth in your hearts against Lust against Covetousness against Pride against vain and needless words and thoughts and against all evil in its appearance and as you all mind this Principle which moves and stirs in you against all evil you will feel it divide your good words from your bad words and good thoughts from bad thoughts and good deeds from bad deeds and that which divides betwixt these and shews you the difference of them this is the Word which Moses and Paul wrote of which is nigh in the mouth and in the heart Yea this is the Word of Reconciliation which reconciles to God this is the ingrafted Word which is able to save the Soul Now you being turned to this Word even to that which discerns the thoughts and intents of your hearts as ye wait in this let the Subtilty appear never so subtilly to draw your hearts after any thing or into any Practice which the Lord requireth not of you then this Word which is the Power it will make it manifest unto you and it will stop you from entring into any such Practices if you wilfully resist it not and believing and waiting in this Word it will not suffer you to speak any hasty unsavoury words or word and then ye will come to be truly sensible of a bridle to the tongue without which all Religion is vain and this Word ye taking it to be your guide it will bring you into savoury sound words seasoned with the Grace of God and so as your words and actions and lives come to be ordered by this Word Christ the Power of God they will reach unto the Witness of God in every one where ye come and if ye will hear this Word and regard it and not resist it it will work true Faith in you by which you will feel your hearts purified from sin and ye will feel it giving you Victory over the World within and without and if ye keep in this Faith ye will not make haste for ye will feel the Eternal Light which is the Life of the Word calling and drawing you out of the hasty nature into soberness stilness and quietness and meekness of Spirit and so ye will feel your strength renewed in the Lord as ye all wait upon him in his Light and all believing in the Light ye will not come into condemnation and as ye all wait in that which discerns and reveals the thoughts and the intents of your hearts which is the Word of Power this also will divide between your good thoughts and your bad thoughts and the good
of God the Light by the Gift we are brought to bring forth these fruits which are contrary to those which the Spirit of Error leads the Children of disobedience to bring forth Gal. 5.22 23. For although we the Children of Light are accounted to be in Delusion and Errour Gal. 5.22.23 yet it is but by you who bring forth the Cursed fruits which the Spirit of Errour leads you to bring forth so in the Light Life and Power of God we stand over all false Accusations and Reproaches and Persecutions and in the patience of Gods Lamb we bear them all and our love goes forth to your Souls who wilfully oppose your selves and we declare unto you that the long-sufferings of the Lord towards you is to draw you to Repentance Rom. 2.4 and I have directed you to that which will shew you what you ought to repent of Therefore consider your wayes speedily all you that forget God lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you Psal 50.22 for verily this I declare unto you in the presence of the Lord that if you go on and continue in stubbornness and Rebellion against the Pure God and despise his love and reject his counsel and still refuse to hearken to the Light of his Son in your Consciences which reproves you for Sin and is freely given to you to lead you out of Sin unto God if you wilfully do not resist it Mark when the measure of your iniquity is filled up then will he arise upon you at unawares in his fury Wrath Indignation Mat. 24.50.51 and his eye shall not at all pitty you but he will bring his Plagues and Righteous Judgements upon you which shall consume you both root and branch if you will not be gathered in the day of his long patience and forbearance which is the day of your Visitation wherein you may come to know the things belonging to your peace if you do not wilfully resist the Power that is offered and committed unto you But if you resist the Power then the Lords righteous Judgements will assuredly come upon you and you will receive to your selves Condemnation and if you continue in your wickedness until the day of your visitation be past then shall the Light in all your Consciences which hath oftentimes shewed unto you your evil deeds arise and witness to the Judgements of God that they are just Zek. 2.7 so whether you will hear or forbear Remember you are warned in your Life time By a Friend to your Souls and a Lover of the Creation of God GEORGE FOX the Younger A few Queries to such Professors as stumble at the Light the Word the Kingdom and Spirit of God within and tell People that none can be free from Sin in this Life and yet say that they own the Scriptures 1. Qu. ARE not all by Nature Darkness and doth not the Light shine in Darkness yea or nay 2. Qu. Can any come to see themselves to be Darkness but with the Light which shineth in the Darkness yea or nay 3. Qu. Is there any way to come out of Darkness and Death and to receive Life and to be made Children of the Light but by believing in and following of Jesus Christ the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World yea or nay 4. Qu. Must not all be turned from Darkness to Light and from Satan's Power to the Power of God before they can receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified yea or nay 5. Qu. Can any come into the true Faith which purifies the heart and gives victory over the world without which none can please God but by hearing the Word of God yea or nay 6. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the Word of God and is not Christ the Light the Author and Finisher of the true Faith which saves and justifies yea or nay 7. Qu. And is not the Word nigh in the Mouth and in the Heart that men may obey it and do it and is not Christ the Light the Word that Prophet which all that hear him not are to be cut off yea or nay 8. Qu. And is it not Christ the Word which discerns and reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart and is not he the ingrafted Word which is able to save the Soul and is not he the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation and is sufficient which hath appeared unto all men and is not he the Word of God's Grace which is able to build up and keep from falling which People are to be commended unto yea or nay 9. Qu. And is not God Light and is not the shining of him in the hearts of People which gives them the knowledge of himself in the face of Jesus Christ yea or nay 10. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the hope which purifies as God is pure which Anchors and stayes the Soul to be known within are not People tossed like a Ship in a tempest without an Anchor till Christ the Hope be felt within to stay and Anchor them and is not Christ within the Hope a Mystery which hath been hid from Ages and Generations and are not all they in the reprobate state who know not Christ within them yea or nay 11. Qu. And is not God's Kingdom Light and is it not like a little leaven that is hid in Meal and as a grain of Mustard-seed that is sown in the Earth and like a Pearl hid in the Field or like good Seed sown in the Field both on stony thorny high-way and good ground and is not the world the Field where the Seed of the Kingdom is sown and is not the world in mans heart so is not Gods Kingdom within men yea or nay 12. Qu. And is not the manifestation of the Spirit given to every man to profit withal and do any worship the Father of Truth aright but those that worship him in the Spirit and in the Truth and is not the Light the Truth yea or nay 13. Qu. And is not Christ the Light that Word which reconciles to God and is it not he that must open the understandings of men before they can understand the Scriptures and are not People in Errour and in jangling and strife about the Scriptures till Christ the Light the Spirit of Truth the Power of God from whence Scriptures were spoken be known and owned to guide and lead them yea or nay 14. Qu. And is not this the Cause of so many Sects and Opinions and Divisions as are and of such strivings as are about Scriptures and Religions because People know not or own not the Spirit of Truth from whence Scriputures were spoken forth to lead and guide them and is it not like that People should run into Sects and Opinions and Divisions and Strife if they know not or own not the Spirit of Truth to guide and lead them and if the Spirit of Truth were known and owned to
Immortal So dear hearts let the living Measure of the Eternal Father of Life and Power and Wisdom be your continual Stay and Habitation that so if any shall come among you that are out of the true savour and feeling of the Life in themselves and shall act or speak any thing among you that is out of the Life that ye then may not be drawn out of the savour and feeling thereby but wait ye singly in the innocent patient long-suffering Spirit of Christ and that will preserve you out of the fretting and murmuring and thoughts and reasoning and out of the enmity and it will keep you settled and quiet and in Unity with God and with all who abide in his Life and this will reach the Witness in them who are turned from it into the rambling unsettled state and if ye feel the Seed burdened then wait in the true Patience in the fervent Love to the Truth and then the Lord's Counsel you will know and his Wisdom you will receive and his Power you will feel whereby as you are obedient thereto the burden will be removed and the evil will be judged that caused the burden and the Seed will be refreshed and the Unity of the Faith will be known and the weak there will be preserved and so the Peace will be Witnessed and the Truth will be adorned and its Enemies shall be ashamed Oh my Friends dear is the everlasting unchangeable Truth of God unto me which he hath made known in and among us in this his Day and dear and precious are all ye unto me who abide in it for therein is no Schisms nor Parties nor Rents nor Envy for who goe into those first goes from the simplicity of the naked Truth in which they that abide in it the Patience and Forbearance and Unity is felt by them and such as go out of it must feel the Judgement but all who abides in the Faith shall not come into Condemnation So the LORD GOD Almighty of Heaven and Earth preserve and keep you all in Patience in Innocency in Uprightness and in Obedience unto the living measure of his Power manifested in you Amen Now Friends that which ministreth unto the Seed Immortal know that Ministration in your selves for that is profitable and that is durable and fadeth not away and let the exercise of your minds be in that which is living of God when you are met together and at other times that so ye may be kept out of that which comes to an end in the feeling of the Power of an endless Life that so the Seed of Life may be raised up in you all and ye established in it to live in it for ever in which Seed the end of words is witnessed Oh Friends there cannot be another Truth or Power or Saviour Preached unto you that you are to mind than that ye have already heard and felt but the same you are to wait to feel an enlargement in Therefore be valiant for the Lord and prize the worth of his unchangeable Truth and watch and be diligent that his Spirit of Life and Power may quicken you and that his Virtue and Nourishment may be felt and lived in whereby Fruits of Eternal Righteousness and Praises over all may be given unto him and that ye may be preserved fervent unto your first Love in him whose Eternal Day is dawned and broke forth of Salvation of Life of Power of Immortality Glory Eternal Praises everlastingly be rendred unto Him from the meek lowly quiet peaceable Spirit which is risen and arising in his Babes and tender Plants whereby he stayes and settles and satisfies them even in the day of Tryal and in the day of Prosperity I am your Dear and tender Friend and Brother in the Power of God in which I labour for the gathering of the Seed for the bringing into and keeping in the Unity of the Spirit which is the bond of Peace George Fox the younger TO THE Called of God Who Believe in the Light of the LAMB To be read in their Assemblies in the Pure Dread of the Lord. DEar Children and People of the Eternal God who have known the working of his Mighty Power and have been exercised in the Operations of his Eternal Spirit whereby he hath begotten your minds out of the world in a great measure and hath brought you into a feeling of his Eternal Presence which filleth Heaven and Earth wherein is the Joy unspeakable unto them that are reconciled to God by the Lord Jesus Christ the Immortal Word Friends you unto me are exceeding precious and my Desires and Breathings to the Lord for you are exceeding strong that ye may be preserved in the sence and feeling of the Power of an endless life and that you may be all kept in the true Faith and obedience of the truth which lives for ever all minding to answer its requirings in every particular and waiting to feel its Springings arising in you whereby you may feel it quickning you up to God that so your Faith and trust and Confidence may onely stand in him who is able to deliver For Friends this know the Lord will assuredly try you to the uttermost and you must come through the fire which will consume your enemies Therefore dear Babes be stedfast in the Lord according as he hath made manifest himself unto you and wait and watch in that measure of his Life in you which onely is able to keep your minds and hearts out of the Earth and the things thereof and as ye singly wait upon the Lord you will feel the growth of that Birth in you which is not of this world which can endure the fire Oh my Friends wait to feel your growth and Translation into this Birth which doth the will of the Father naturally this is the Seed unto which the Promises are this is the Elect which obtains and cannot be deceivid this is the Heir of the Kingdom without end this will God Crown with Victory when the measure of it's Sufferings is fulfilled this Seed must work through all it's Enemies and work them under it's feet Oh! wait in the Eternal Power to feel and witness it in the particular and be patient till God bring forth his Work outwardly Look not out neither be dismayed at the strange transactions of the times but look to the Lord who onely can save by what means he pleaseth and let the Lord alone to appear as he pleaseth onely be you watchful that when he appears you may be ready for his appearance and watch in the Light which will give you clearly to see his appearance and what he requires of you that so living obedience unto him may be yielded Oh Friends Take heed that the things of this World draw not away any of your hearts Remember it is them that are redeemed from the Earth that must Reign in and with the Lamb upon the Earth Take heed that your love stands not in any thing or
motions and the bad motions which you will see stirring in your minds and if you hold fast the Word of Truth it will preserve and keep you out of the bad thoughts and motions and it will joyn you unto the good and ye will come to feel the operation of the Spirit and Life and Power of God in you to shake and overturn and work out that ground which hath been in you from whence the bad words and bad thoughts and bad motions have arose which have burdened the oppressed and tender Seed in you which you never could witness satisfied with all that ever you have performed but as ye all believe and wait in this unchangable measure of God you will come to feel the burden taken off the Seed and ye will come to feel and witness more true durable peace and satisfaction in one hours waiting upon God than ever you felt and witnessed in all the words that ever you have heard from any man or woman in all your lives or in all your Practices that ever you have practised before you were brought to wait upon God in his Gifts which he hath given you to profit withal although in those things which we have practised I know ye have had a great joy appearing in you for a time but it was not durable nor lasting for when God's true and faithful Witness the Light appeared and shewed you how that God never required those things at your hands which you had practised then your joy and peace withered and came to an end which you appeared sometime to have in those Practices and if at any time ye came to feel some little peace and joy and refreshment through what God opened to the Seed in you when by his Power ye were brought into some tenderness ye soon lost this also by going from that which brought you into the tenderness But as you all come into the Obedience of the Spirit and abide in it this will bring you into the seasoned Life and then ye will come to feel and witness pure peace and joy and refreshment and satisfaction which will last and abide for ever with you if ye abide in the Spirit and then ye will be made willing to lay down and deny all that which ye have been acting which ye never were led and guided to act by God's Pure Holy Spirit and to deny all such also as would draw you to act that which God requireth not at your hands So take heed of such as daub with untempered morter and heal deceitfully who will speak peace when there is no true peace but the pure Witness of God condemns for such with good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple keeping them ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth and these through covetousness and feigned words make merchandize of poor People for they have a Form of Godliness but they deny and resist the Power and therefore from such turn away And all mind that and feel that and be subject unto that which for sin condemns sin in the flesh and then you will feel the Spirit of Judgement and Burning and Righteousness through which the Seed is redeemed which Seed is Heir of the Kingdom of God So all wait in the meek lowly quiet Spirit that ye may come to witness this Holy Seed which delights to do the Will of God by the power and Life of God raised up in you satisfied and brought forth out of captivity And look not out nor strive after great and high things beyond your measures for that puffs up and leads into confusion and dark imaginations but all wait and be still in the measure of God's Light manifested in you that so you may come to feel him revealing his secrets and mysteries unto the Babes which cannot live or be satisfied without him God is making known that and stirring that in the hearts of People throughout the World which doth and shall confound and overturn all the Wisdom of this World and the subtilty of the Serpent from whence all the Worlds Wisdom arose and therefore the hand of the Lord will be terrible and heavy upon the disobedient who disobey and transgress that which he hath put into their Hearts whereby he is opening a mighty understanding in the People But the everlasting Blessing and Peace and Joy and Glory of the Lord over all shall arise and rest upon all those that joyn to and believe in and obey that Word which is nigh in the mouth and in the heart By a Labourer in the Power of Truth which doth make free for the Deliverance and Freedom of the Righteous Seed George Fox the younger An Exhortation to Families who have desires to serve the Lord God in their several places that they may all learn in the Light of Christ Jesus the Wisdom and Power of God who is the true Teacher O Ye Fathers and Mothers stand in the pure fear of the Lord and wait in his Light that ye may receive his living Wisdom and live in it that so ye may be ordered by it and with it order all things to God's glory and bring up your Children in the fear of the Lord watching over them in the seasoned savoury Life of God not suffering them to live in wildness nor idleness nor vain talking unreproved but in the sober meek Spirit and in the Authority of God's Lamb reprove them and that will reach the Witness of God in them and correct them in the Fear and Wisdom and Freedom of God in the Patience and follow not their foolish wills neither correct them in your own wills nor in hastiness rashness or passion for if ye do then that will use the Rod which is to be beaten with the Rod of God and that will make your Children more stubborn and wicked and this will offend God but stand ye in God's Counsel and discourage nothing in your Children but evil and let them have that which is meet just and reasonable and no more that none of God's Creatures be wasted and be ye patterns and good examples in all holiness gravity and uprightness unto them and let them have sufficient liberty to go to godly Meetings and rather stir them up and encourage them to go to such than hinder or discourage them and keep your minds out of them unto the Lord and let your love to them be in the Lord that so ye may feel his Blessing coming upon you and them And all ye Children who have Parents honour and be obedient unto them in the Lord and mind the Light of Christ in you and that will not suffer ye to be wild nor wilful stubborn nor vain but it will check and reprove ye for all evil and if ye will own its reproof and believe and wait in it it will lead ye out of all evil and it will bring ye into soberness and meekness tenderness and innocency and preserve ye in it and it will
bring ye to know and remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth and it will reveal God's Power and Wisdom in ye whereby ye will be kept in true order So suffer not your minds to follow vanity neither walk in stubbornness towards your Parents nor others I warn ye in God's fear lest he shorten your dayes and cut ye off by his righteous Judgements but mind his fear and wait therein that ye may feel his Grace and be taught by it and be obedient unto it and then ye will feel the Mercy and Blessing of the Lord. And all ye that are Masters and Dames wait in the true Light that ye may feel Christ the Power and Wisdom of God to be your Master that so ye may rule in your Places in his Fear and Wisdom and lay no more upon your Servants than ye would be willing should be laid upon you if ye were in their places and conditions Mark that and forbear threatning them and be not hasty to turn them away if they be willing to abide with you but in Patience and Meekness shew them their Place and Service and therein teach them if they know it not and let them have for their Service that which is convenient just and reasonable that they may have no just cause to murmur or complain and keep out of covetousness lest that hinder you from giving them sufficient liberty who desire it for going to the Meetings of the People of the Lord and if in the Wisdom of God ye see freedom to turn any away give them sufficient warning that they may provide themselves other wayes for this is just and reasonable and be not hasty nor rash with them nor run into jangling with them but if ye have cause to reprove them let it be in the Fear and Wisdom of God in the Freedom and Authority of the Truth and that will reach unto the Witness of God in them so be not High-minded but fear and be patterns unto them in the lowly meek and quiet spirit and bear with the weak and forgive them that trespass against you and render not evil for evil to any but overcome evil with that which is good and live in that which overcomes evil that so the Truth of God may be exalted over all And all ye that are Servants live in the Fear of the Lord and wait in his Light and be obedient thereunto and also be obedient in your places unto those that are your Masters and Dames according to the Flesh not onely to the good and gentle but also to the froward serving them in Faithfulness and Uprightness of Heart doing what ye do for them as diligently faithfully and willingly as ye should do any thing to the Lord for this right in the sight of God and take heed that none of God's Creatures be lost or wasted under your hands through your neglecting them or slothfulness in your places do not falsly accuse any or speak evil behind any one's back thereby thinking to get the favour or love of any or upon any other account for that is evil and be as diligent in your places when your Masters or Dames are absent as when they are present for this is just and right and be not stubborn nor wilful neither use many words to your Masters or Dames and if you know not well how to perform your service aright then in true humility be willing to learn and take heed of High-mindedness and Pride or of being wise in your own eyes and when you have any spare time allowed ye being free from outward imployment see that ye spend it in the fear of the Lord in waiting upon him in his Light that so all vain talking corrupt Communication foolish jeasting and all vanity may be kept out of and give ye not way to that mind which is unstable which would be oft shifting and going from place to place for this is not right in the sight of God but wait in the Light that ye may be staid and setled in your minds and if ye see freedom in the fear of God mark that to go to another place then give your Masters or Dames sufficient notice of it and if any of you who know the Truth come to be moved of the Lord to go to any place in his service be faithful to the Lord and when your service which he required of you is done then return to your places again except it be otherwayes ordered in the Fear and Wisdom of God and be diligent in your places doing the same that ye would others should do unto you in the like condition and mind the Lord in all things and above all things and be faithful unto him and he will be your reward And all ye Fathers and Mothers and Children and Masters and Dames and Servants who have the Creatures of God to buy or sell or to Exchange live in the fear of the Lord that ye may feel his Wisdom to guide you in your trading and do not speak better or worse of the Creatures then you know them to be thereby to get the greater gain for that is Idolatry it arising from Covetousness but wait to feel God's Spirit to bridle your tongues and use but few words in your trading and if ye ask a question therein do it in simplicity and keep in the Light which is equal that when ye offer or ask a price for the Creatures it may be in equality and let that be your rule and not the price of the Market except that be equal that so ye may reach the equal principle one in another and then stand to your word and here your yea will be yea and your nay will be nay and so you will be kept in the Doctrine of Christ with his Light out of all Evil and ye abiding in the Light it will bring ye to do to every one as ye would be done unto and take heed that ye stir not up the impatient crooked disorderly Nature one in another with your words or actions but bear one with another and forgive one another and when ye tell each other of a fault do it in the Fear and Wisdom and Meek Spirit of God's Lamb that so ye may restore each other therein and when ye have any convenient time assemble your selves together in the Name and Fear of the Lord and wait every particular in the Measure and Gift of God in you which is given ye to profit withal and all wait together in the Light and believe in it that ye may be Children of the Light and therein watch unto Prayer and one over another and this will beget ye into unfeigned love and walking in the Light ye will have true unity and fellowship one with another and the blood which is the Life of Jesus Christ you will feel cleansing you from all Sin and so ye will come into the unity with God Also to feel his Word his Power and Wisdom in you by
to resist all that which is contrary unto me and I will destroy all the works of the Serpent in you and bruise his head and I will purge out all your iniquities and forgive all your trespasses I will change your nature and I will make you new Creatures if ye will hearken unto me and obey me the Light in you and I will make you partakers of my Divine Nature and I will judge and condemn and consume all that in you which is contrary to my Nature if ye will abide in the Light and I will take away all Darkness and earthly-mindedness and I will reveal my secrets and mysteries unto my Seed in you and I will cause you to delight alone in me the Light of Life and I will feed you with the Bread of Life and ye shall drink of my Life and ye shall be satisfied and I will manifest my Power more and more in you and if ye will be faithful unto me and obey my voice and wait upon me the Light then I will make the crooked wayes strait before you and the rough wayes smooth and I will destroy the Power of Darkness within and without you and if ye will follow me I will lead you out of the World and Worldly cares into patience into meekness and into stilness and quietness of spirit and whatsoever you suffer for my Names sake I will be your exceeding great reward and I will be your dread and ye shall be the dread of Nations I will be your Glory and ye shall be the Glory of Nations and I will reign over you and ye shall reign over all the World in my Light and Life and Power and if ye continue in me the Light I will give you Dominion over all your Enemies within and without you and I will make them all bow before you and I the Lord God of Light and Life will be your Redeemer and Saviour your Rock your Shield and your Defence and if ye will wait in my Life it shall be your Life and I the Life will destroy the destroyer within and without you and I will bring you out of all trouble and restlesness and dissatisfaction and I will be your peace and your rest and your satisfaction and ye shall lie down in me the Light of Life and none shall make you afraid These things shall you come to witness in the work of your regeneration and much more than is here expressed if ye be faithful unto me the true Light in you who have no fellowship with any thing that is Evil and then I wil purge all Evil out of you and even as I am so shall ye be also yea I will work this work and perfect it in you if ye continue and abide in me the Light Now if any should say that here is nothing spoken of Christ in what I have here written I answer what I have here written is the words which the Father who is one with Christ the Son gave unto me to write in which words the true Christ is owned and a Testimony given of him and no other But further in the Fear and Wisdom of God for the satisfaction of the simple I do declare in plain words That I do believe in the true Christ the Lord of Life who was glorified with the Father before the World began and I do believe that he was in due time made manifest in that body of flesh who was called Jesus and that in him the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily who was supposed to be the Carpenter's Son whom the Jews Crucified without the gates of Jerusalem and I have remission of Sins through his blood who is the Lord of Life and he was buried but he is risen and Ascended and sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high This is the Christ I own who also was and is Crucified in Sodom and Aegypt by the rebellious yea he is Crucified afresh and put to open shame now by those that trample the blood of the Covenant the Light of Life under their feet and count it an unholy or a natural thing and such act despightfully against the Spirit of Grace and such Murther the Seed which keeps the commands of God and such will God the Light overthrow and burn to ashes as he did Sodom and Gomorrah but all that love and obey the true Light which is the fire shall be saved and preserved by it and shall remain unhurt but all that hate and disobey the Light in them that is their condemnation the Light These are faithful and true sayings and things also that must shortly come to pass and he witnessed Postscript READER WHo ever thou art be moderate and take heed of disobeying and despising the true Light for if thou dost thou disobeyest and dispisest the True and Eternal God who is Light and that is his Name whereby he is and will be known in this Age and Generation Therefore stumble not at the Light which lighteneth every one which cometh into the World for if thou doest thou stumblest at God his Name at Christ the Word by which all things were made and are upheld at the Door the Way the Truth and the Life at the Rock at the Elect Stone and these all are but one and if thou stumble at these what ever thou art thou shalt be broken But they that obey and believe the true Light they shall be made Children of the Light and shall be taught of God and shall walk in his Light G. F. A Word to the People of the World who hate the Light to be witnessed by the Light in them all VVherein is shewed unto them what the Light is which is the condemnation of the VVorld with its deeds and what the Spirit of Truth is and what it leads them into who are led by it and what the Spirit of Error is and what it leads them into who are led by it And also they are here exhorted to repent whilst they have the Light to believe and walk in the Light lest darkness come upon them and they into it be cast where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Also a few Queries to such Professors as stumble at the Light the Word the Kingdom and Spirit of God within and tell People that none can be free from sin in this Life and yet say that they own the Scriptures LIght is come into the VVorld and the VVorld hates it Joh. 8.12 and the whole World lyeth in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 And this is the Condemnation of the VVorld that Light is come into the VVorld and men loved the Darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil saith Christ Joh. 3.19 20. And every one that doth evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his deeds should be reproved But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the Light for whatsoever doth make manifest is Light Eph. 5.13 and Christ Jesus he is the true
it not been just with the Lord to have suffered your Enemies to have destroyed you because of your grievous back-slidings and wickedness O consider it consider it while ye have time and prize the Lord's loving kindness that he should yet spare you and yet give you time to repent And seeing the Lord hath shewed you your back-slidings with his eternal Witness in you and hath begun to frustrate the designs of those that would have cut you off in your back-slidings and ye confess some of you that you are willing to take shame also to your selves wherein you have back-slidden therefore seeing it is thus all mind that of God in you which sheweth you your back-slidings and believe and wait in that to feel that nature judged and destroyed in you wherein all this Wickedness and Deceit hath lodged and keep in the fear and dread of the Lord God that so ye may receive his pure Wisdom whereby ye may be ordered in the particular and that ye in God's Wisdom and Fear may come to Rule in your places for God to be a terror to evil-doers and an encouragement to them that do well And take heed of a selfish earthly spirit in the particular and of the Honour and Glory and Gain of the World for that the Lord is against Oh! there is a strong deep root of it in many of you which the Spirit of Judgement and burning and the Ax of God is to destroy therefore wait to feel its Work in you O Army in thee was I several years together in which time I saw the mighty appearance of God with thee even in the time of the outward War and when the War was ended I left thee in obedience to the appearance of the living God unto me who called me out of thee by his Powerful Word in my heart through which he hath sanctified me and hath brought me into the life of that Truth which I and many of you in the Army professed in Words And I can truly say in the Fear of the Lord That my love hath been and yet is tender towards you for the good of your souls and I have seen your conditions and have considered them in the Spirit of the Lord and I cannot flatter any of you but must deal plainly and truly with you and all People Truly in many of you there is an exceeding lofty proud covetous deceitful nature and in others of you there is a lofty proud lustful devouring wanton vain nature though many of you I know have felt a measure of the Power of God yet verily ye have so back-slidden that iniquity hath gotten a strong hold and root in most of you therefore ye must keep down to the Witness of God in you which searcheth your hearts and will let you see what is there that so the Lord 's righteous Judgement ye may all feel and own it upon that nature in you which is contrary to the living God for if ye keep not to the Spirit of Judgement I know whatever you have declared in words that a selfish Spirit will get up more and more to act in you And verily Friends if you keep not your minds to the measure of the pure God in you a secret boasting will be ready to get up in you of what you have done and then you will soon forget where you are and your minds will run further and further into your Commissions and into your great Houses and Lands which many of you have got and others minds will run into your Souldiers places and ease and idleness and these things will beguile you if take not heed and you will soon forget the Oppressions then that others suffer under and if ye should do thus verily the Lord God would soon overturn you and break you to pieces Therefore all wait in the Light which shews you sin and evil that so by it ye may be brought to deny your selves and to come out of the loftiness that ye have been in into the true humility which goes before the true honour and come into moderation both in your Diet and Apparel and in all things and this would answer the Witness of God in all People and that being answered it would beget again a love in them towards you which you lost when you went into the excess Therefore be sober and watch in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ which he hath enlightned you withal and believe in it that so ye may be preserved by it out of the deceitfulness of this World and that ye may be kept faithful in your places for the preserving of the outward Peace and Liberty of the Nation while ye feel a Freedom in that which convinceth you of evil for the bearing a carnal Weapon and know the manifestation of God's Spirit in you and wait to feel the motions of it and be obedient thereto and this will bring you to do violence to no man nor to accuse any falsly but it will bring you out of all such things if you keep to it and it will make you to be content with such wages as may find you Food and Raiment and things necessary and convenient for your Places and this you would then be worthy of So know the Lord hath a mighty Work to do therefore wait in his Light that ye may be kept truly sensible of your Places and go not beyond them but keep in the Fear of the Lord and wait to know what God requireth of you in your places lest the Lord cast you out So remember you are warned and it is in tender love to your Souls This following more particularly concerneth the Officers of the Army and Rulers of this Nation than the Army in general Take heed of raising or continuing War with other Nations in your own wills for to get your selves a Name and to get their earthly Treasures as some of you have been instruments to do for the Lord's hand hath been and yet is against that and he will not prosper you therein therefore be you warned and know that this is a warning unto you from the Lord God and seek peace and eschew evil and learn to do well that the Blessing of the Lord ye may come to feel and that this destroying of Creatures about Religion and the Honour and Gain of this World may cease And take heed how ye meddle with Religion for that hath split and broken many Rulers before you therefore set not up one Sâ—ct and throw not down another by an outward Law and force for that is wrong and the Lord is against that but wait in his Light to receive his Counsel that so ye may be kept in God's Wisdom and that therein ye may be instruments in the hand of the Lord for the keeping of the outward Peace of these Nations which are under your Command And take heed of hearkning unto such who in the King's time cryed him up and ran to him to give them a Law to settle them
sought not Peoples goods but them and their diligence and care was not to make the Gospel chargeable for having food and rayment they were therewith all content and they received it of such also mark that as did receive them and their Testimony and so oppressed no man But Paul foresaw that after his departure grievous and ravenous Wolves should enter that would not spare Flock and Christ prophesied of them also and these entred before John's departure and he warned the little Children who had the anointing abiding in them to take heed of them for they were the Antichrists and and went from the annointing in the particular and so from those that were in it and then the murthering spirit got up in these and the World went after these who spared not the Flock but killed those that had the Testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of Prophesie and these Antichrists having lost the spirit being ravened from it in their own particulars and having killed those that were made Ministers by the Spirit who had freely received and freely gave then they set up their Schools and Colledges there to make Ministers by the will of man and then made a carnal Law whereby they had Tythes given them for these had not freely received neither would they freely give so Tythes among the Gentiles were set up by the devouring murthering spirit by a Law by which Law they are yet upheld and not by God and they that yet receive the Tythes are found in the devouring murthering spirit many of them who have devoured many Peoples goods in this Nation who could not for Conscience sake pay Tythes and have caused several others to be kept in Prison until Death for the same And this hath been the work of Antichrist who hath the sheeps clothing the good words but inwardly is the ravening Wolf And in this Work many of the Priests of England have been found of late as is manifest by their Fruits and they have the same unjust Law to oppress and destroy the innocent still notwithstanding some of you have pretended and declared much to the contrary long Now many of the Priests when we tell them of this their cruelty and oppression they will say They are Ministers of the Gospel and he that Preacheth the Gospel God hath ordained that he should live of the Gospel Well we say so too That we are Ministers of the Gospel and he that Preacheth the Gospel ought to live of the Gospel which is the Power of God and ought not to have any outward Law to compel any to give him whereon to live So this is that which we who have learned to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us would have That he that Preacheth the Gospel should live of the Gospel and not on that which comes by the force of an outward Law but the Priests Maintenance is contrary to the Maintenance of the Ministers of the Law or Gospel Therefore first let there be no outward Law to hinder or restrain any People from hearing any whom they believe is a Minister of the Gospel nor yer to compell any to hear any one whom they believe is not a Minister of the Gospel for an outward Law can but restain or compel the outward man but the heart none can restrain from Evil nor compel to the good but the Law and Power of God onely in the heart therefore let there be a free Liberty for all people to meet concerning their Worship provided that under pretence of meeting to worship they meet not to Plot for the overthrowing of the outward Governours by an outward Power for if that can be proved and made manifest truly then let such suffer by an outward Law And likewise let there be no Law to compel any one to maintain any Teacher neither let there be any Law to restrain any one from giving any thing to their Teacher for this is but equal so let the People have Liberty herein that so this oppression about the Maintenance of Teachers may cease And then it will soon appear whether these Priests be Ministers of the Gospel and whether their Gospel will maintain them yea or nay But many of the Rulers have said If we should not provide Maintenance for our Ministers then Preaching would soon fall and then many People would become Heathens I answer He that is a Minister of Christ the Power of God which is the everlasting Gospel a necessity is laid upon him to Preach the Gospel and wo be unto him if he Preach not the Gospel And he that is sent forth by Christ is not to take thought what he shall eat or what he shall drink or wherewithal he shall be cloathed for his heavenly Father knoweth that he hath need of all these things and provides them for those that he sends forth without an outward Law to compel it that so they lack not any thing Now that Ministry which the forcing an outward Maintenance for it will cause it to cease mark this Ministry never did any good or service for God nor ever can that is God's Truth unto you at the furthest this Ministry hath but brought People to draw near unto God with their mouths and to appear to honour him with their lips when their hearts have been afar off but this Ministry could never bring any into the true knowledge of God and Christ whom God hath sent and freely given for a Covenant of Light and without this knowledge all People upon the Earth are without the Life Eternal and so are Heathens whatever they profess in words though they may make long Prayers and think to be heard in their much speaking as the Pharisees and Hypocrites did whom Christ call'd Heathens therefore consider what a Ministry you have upheld and do uphold So let that Ministry fall which cannot stand without an outward Law for to compel an outward Maintenance for it for the Lord regards it not but his hand is against it and against that which would uphold it and both must fall together So what is here declared concerning Religion and the Maintenance of Teachers and the like it is in the Equal Royal Law of Liberty which is To love thy neighbour as thy self and to do unto all as we would be done unto And so if the spirit which we are led and guided by who are called in scorn Quakers be not able to prevail over that which we oppose in others as Error then let us be manifested to be in the Error and let us fall onely let there be a fair Tryal and let there not be such beating and haling and tearing and mangling and stocking and imprisoning of the Creatures as hath been for where such things have been acted many have been stopped at that time for speaking the Truth yet notwithstanding the Truth hath prevailed over all and shall prevail And if that can be proved against us truly that we plot at our Meetings or at any other
Thy coming so far into Power again c. NOw observe the hand of the Lord in thy coming so far into Power again and those who took part with thy Father Thee First consider the cause of it in the fear of the Lord and thou wilt find that it is because they unto whom God gave such Power over you were not faithful unto God as hath been said before but grieved the Spirit of the Lord with their hypocrisie from day to day talking for Liberty but behold they brought forth Oppression and so became worser than you that went before them who did not Profess so much for Liberty in words And this I know that if they had been faithful unto the Lord thou and those called thy Friends could not have come over them thus as ye have done Therefore let no man deceive thee by perswading thee that these things are thus brought to pass because the Kingdom was thy own proper right and because it was with-held from thee contrary to all right or because that those called Royallists are much more righteous than those who are now fallen under thee For I plainly declare unto thee that this Kingdom and all the Kingdoms of the Earth are properly the Lords and that he may and doth give them unto whomsoever he pleaseth and whensoever he please he may take them away again and give them unto others and when he doth thus it is not contrary to right And this know that it was the just hand of God in taking away the Kingdom from thy Father and Thee and giving it unto others and that also it is now the just hand of the Lord to take it again from them and bring them under Thee though I shall not say but that some of them went beyond their Commission against thy Father when they were brought as a rod over you and well will it be for thee if thou becom'st not guilty of the same transgression now thou art brought over them and this consider that those who are call'd thy Friends who were conquer'd have humbled themselves but little under the hand of the Lord but are still found to be in great transgressions and also consider the manner how this thing hath been wrought and carryed on concerning the bringing in of thee again that so there may be no fleshly boasting for the thing is plainly discerned by them whose eye is single and I shall declare it unto thee Mark The Army having acted so deceitfully the lusts and gain of the world blinded their eye and they having so far provoked the Lord untill his Decree was sealed against them and he had determined that they should be broken after they had split among themselves and turned from one thing to another and knew not where to rest and the Lord suffered some of them to rise up from among themselves to deceive the rest and so they through dissimulation in professing to stand for those who had so eminently stood against thy Father and Thee got Power to weaken and turn out those that were really against thee as disturbers of the Good Old Cause as they termed it and so by little and little strengthened those that stood for thee and thus the deceived blind men provided a Rod for themselves and so by little little wrought themselves under it and it is just upon them For the rod is for the fools back So let this be considered that this was not carryed on by the stoutness of those that stood for thee nor yet by a visible plain down-right dealing but rather through the hidden mystery of deceit which was suffered to work against those whom God had determined should be broken that so by the same way whereby they had deceived others which was by pretending to stand for that which they did not intend I say even by the same way they in the end should be deceived themselves So let none glory in what is done concerning this thing as if it were done by their Valour or Wisdom though I can truly say the hand of the Lord hath permitteed these things and that for the Cause before mentioned and he will be glorified in all these Overturnings IV. Concerning the great danger thou art in in thy coming in c. ANd also consider the danger that thou art in in thy coming in as King of these Nations for it is exceeding great as things stand and this hath been much upon me to lay before thee and it is in tender love both to thy Soul and Body for I plainly see that if thou shouldst come in upon the account of the People called Presbyterians if thou shouldst refuse to bow to what they would set up or if thou shouldst not satisfie the ungodly covetousness of their Priests there is several of them would be ready to serve Thee as they did thy Father if they were permitted And if thou do come in upon the account of those People called Old Royallists Mark truly though I do believe they would abhor such a thing as to sell Thee yet the iniquity of many of them is so great and there is so much Swearing lusts and vanity amongst them that except they repent they are not like long to prosper but the hand of the Lord will assuredly break them also And furthermore consider there are a deceitful People in these Nations for there are many thousands that now appear highly for Thee in words that if they could see a likelihood of a change they would appear as much or more against Thee Therefore consider thy standing and be not high-minded but fear and take heed lest thou fall and never go about to Engage the People unto thee by Oaths lest thou cause many to forswear themselves for truly this People a great part of them are a perfidious People as they have manifested themselves who one while have sworn for a King and Parliament and shortly after they have sworn against a King single Person or House of Lords and shortly after they have sworn or Engaged for a single Person again and called one another Lords and a little after they have turned against that Government and cryed up a Parliament again and now the same People are generally crying up a King again And truly those Rulers who have imposed so many several Engagements upon the People they have done exceeding evilly therein And how abominably have these dirty deceitful covetous Priests acted in all these changes O it is hard to utter their deceit who one while they have prayed for a King Parliament and when they saw the King was likely to fall and that he was no wayes likely to maintain them then they turn'd against him and prayed only for the Parliament and asserted their Authority and cursed them that would not go out to help against the Mighty And shortly after when Oliver Cromwel had turn'd out the Parliament and set up himself then they cryed up and prayed for him and many of them began to
Truly many of you have mightily provoked the Lord unto anger and grieved his Spirit in this particular Mark in your applying Promises as you have termed it for many of you have stollen the words which declare of the Promises which are to the Seed of Life and you have applyed them unto the wrong Seed or Birth yea you have gathered the good words out of the Scriptures that were written unto them who were born again of the incorruptible Seed and you have applyed them unto your selves in the corruptible unregenerate state and when you have done thus the Witness of God in your own Consciences hath oft arose and condemned you and broke the false peace joy which you had created to your selves by stealing the Saints conditions and experiences and applying them to your selves calling them yours and saying it was so with you when it was not yea many of you have said your sins were washed away in the Blood of Christ and that you were freely justified in the sight of God by his Grace and your Teachers also have told you it was so yea they have Preached peace unto you because you put into their mouths even while you lived in your sins But the pure Grace of God hath appeared in your hearts and condemned you And when you have been thus judged by the Witness of God your false peace hath been broken and then some of you have run to your Teachers who had cryed peace unto you and daubed you up with untempered Morter and told them your conditions how you were condemned in your selves and how you had lost the peace and joy that you formerly had and how judgement was felt in the room of it Then some of your blind Guides have told you that that was the Devil that condemned you and brake your Peace and thus they have brought themselves under the Wo Putting Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness and then they have told you you must apply the Promises and act Faith as they call it upon the Promises in the Scriptures and keep unto them And thus they have sought to daub you up again and to draw you from the pure Spirit of Judgement and some of you who have received their words have then strove against the pure Witness which condemned you and counted it the Tempter and have laboured in your wills to get from under its pure Judgement and to force your selves into a belief and perswasion again that those things to wit the Promises belonged unto you And thus have you fought against the Witness of God and denied its Testimony and strangled it and so got into a false peace again but others of you have been kept more sensible of its judgement and have not dared to deny it because you have seen that ye were not fit for the Promises for you have seen with the Light that you were out of the condition which is required of such as come to be partakers of the Promises Now it hath been a great saying among many of you That you must act Faith upon a bare Promise in the Scriptures as your Teachers have taught you and they have told you That Abraham believed God upon a bare Promise and so must you Oh consider this well The Word of the Lord came unto Abraham saying unto him Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward And again the Lord spake unto him saying I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing and Abraham believed God in these Promises and others and he obeyed him So Abraham's Faith was reckoned unto him for Righteousness and he was called the Friend of God because he believed and obeyed him Now if you were come to hear the Lord speak unto you as Abraham did then you ought to believe whatever the Lord promised unto you that he would perform the same But if you only get these Promises or others out of the Scriptures and then apply them unto your selves and say you believe it is or shall be so with you as it is expressed in those Promises and yet you never heard the Lord say any such thing unto you Mark you do but deceive your selves for such a belief or acting of Faith upon the Promises as you call it will never be accounted unto you for Righteousness Neither will you come to find such Promises so gotten fulfilled unto you by the Lord. And you are also to consider this That many of the Promises in the Scriptures were given forth upon Conditions and except you come to witness the conditions fulfilled in you by the Power you are not like to witness such Promises made good unto you And also there are some Promises spoken of in the Scriptures which naturally belong to the Immortal Seed that were by the Lord given forth unto it without expressing any conditions because the Seed is free and doth the Will of God naturally Now all that come to have right to such Promises and to witness them fulfilled unto them by the Lord they first must be converted into the nature of the Seed by the working of the Immortal Word in them Therefore you that have true desires after the Lord wait to feel the work of the Word of Life in your own hearts that so by it you may be made meet as I said before to be partakers of the Promises Verily Friends Many of you have much to pass through before you can come to feel and witness the Lord ministring his precious Promises of Life and Peace freely unto you Oh! He waiteth to be gracious unto you yea he hath long waited Oh! That you would now turn unto him in the drawings of his Power and Life and cease willing and running and striving in your own wills and wayes and wait to be guided and led by his Spirit into those things which he requireth at your hands Oh Friends It is the inside it is the inside that must be cleansed for whilst that is polluted and unclean the Lord regardeth not the Worship It is he that searcheth the heart and tryeth the inward parts you cannot hide any thing from him For he beholdeth all your goings and actings and thoughts Now I know many of you will oft make large confessions of your sins but Friends there is a further thing to be minded Mark you must also come to forsake them or else you cannot find the mercy Therefore hearken diligently unto the call of the Lord and believe and wait in that which makes manifest sin and calleth you out of the same for this is holy and consenteth not unto sin it hath no fellowship with darkness nor concord with the Devil Now this is the living Truth by this you may know it mark it is contrary to whatsoever is not of the Truth and it opposeth evil in the very appearance thereof Oh that you would hearken unto this and receive this in the love of it when it appeareth in you that so by the
fetched over some of our Friends to the Meeting but the Officers would not suffer them to go over but charged them in the King's Name to come back and carried them before the Magistrates who commanded that they should forthwith be set in the Stocks and they were so and there were kept for some hours And thus the Magistrates of that Town encouraged the rude People against Us by their unjust proceedings Now it is usual with the Magistrates of that Town to suffer such as come to their Steeple-house-worship to come or go over the water upon the first Day of the Week And about a Month before on the first Day of the Week the MAYOR being informed that some of our Friends were coming over he with some other Officers of the Town went down to the water-side being bent against the Innocent but when the Boat came on shore it appeared that they were other People who were going about their occasions and when they saw the Mayor they said unto him We made bold to come over he answered them It was well enough I thought said he you had been QUAKERS and thus did he manifest his partiality in the sight of many in that Town so notwithstanding the Rulers cruelty in causing about forty of our Friends to be forced back and setting two in the Stocks as afore-mentioned we that were in the Town peaceably assembled our selves together in the fear of the Lord to wait upon him and for near about the space of two hours I had liberty to Preach the Gospel to the People being filled with the Power of the Lord but within a short time after the space afore-mentioned there came a great company of rude Sea-men with others of the Town and the house being filled before with peaceable People these rude ones could not easily get in but when they saw that they could not get well to me because of the press of People some of them then cursed me bitterly biding that they call the Pox and Plague upon me others crying out hang him Rogue hang him and another conspiringly said Let us get a Halter which is a long Rope and therewith pull down the House upon the Rogues others cryed out The King is coming now who will hang or banish you all it being a little before his coming Now when I heard and saw this great ungodliness the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon me and I was filled with his unresistable Power in which I was made to utter these words saying Wo wo unto the Rulers and Teachers of this Nation who suffer such ungodliness as this and do not seek to suppress it then went some of the multitude and accused me to the Magistrates who presently came and commanded the chief Constable and some others to fetch me out who forthwith pressed in and in the King's Name commanded me to go with him and so he brought me out of the House into the Street where the Rulers stood amongst the rude multitude then he that was MAYOR said hastily Which is he which is he some answered This is he pointing towards me then said the MAYOR to the Constables Take him and put him into Prison then said I to him if I have done any thing worthy of death or bonds I shall not refuse either but I desire Thee to shew me what Law I have transgressed if thou be able which thou oughtest to do before thou sendest me to Prison that I may know for what thou sendest me thither he said I should know that afterward but he would neither let me know my Accusers nor could he shew me any Law I had broken neither would he tell me for what cause he sent me to Prison nor did he at all examine me but commanded the Constables to take me away so I was forthwith haled to Prison without a Mittimus And Robert Grassingham whose outward being was at Harwich being at the Meeting out of which I was haled he innocently in tender love went along with me to Prison and as he went in the street he seeing the rude multitude thronging me said to the Constables You ought to see the Peace kept and not to suffer the rude People to abuse the Prisoner or words to this effect So some time after I was imprisoned there was a Mittimus sent to the Goalor signed by Miles Hubburd Mayor Anthony Woolward and Daniel Smith wherein I was falsly charged with causing a tumult in that Burrough and disturbing the Peace thereof and thus they sought to cover their Persecution by false accusing of the Innocent whom the Lord acquits but the rude cursing tumultuous Peace-breaking People whom they had let up and strengthned by their unlawful proceedings had nothing done unto them but were let go free yet all this did not satisfie their persecuting Spirit but they further proceeded in their cruelty and accused both me and Robert Grassingham to the PARLIAMENT Now as for R. G. I know nothing that they could pretend against him except they were displeased with his going with me to the Prison as afore-mentioned nor did they in the least charge him to his face with any thing but the MAYOR some time before that did say unto him in the hearing of several Friends If I could but get you out of the Town then could I deal well enough with the rest of the QUAKERS but the Lord hath a Seed in that Town which fears not the rage of man though one of their Brethren through the cruelty and unlawful proceedings of those Rulers be taken From them at present So the PARLIAMENT upon the receiving of their false Information issued forth an Order for the bringing up of R.G. and Me A true Copy thereof is as followeth Munday May the 21th 1660. The House being informed that two QUAKERS that is to say George Fox and Robert Grassingham have lately made a disturbance at Harwich and that the said George Fox who pretends to be a Preacher did lately in his Preaching there speak words much reflecting on the Government and Ministry to the near causing of a a Mutiny and is now committed by the Mayor and Magistrates there Ordered That the said George Fox and Robert Grassingham be forthwith brought up in Custody and that the Sheriff of the County of Essex do receive them and give his assistance for the conveying of them up accordingly and delivering them into the charge of the Sergeant at Arms attending this House Ordered That the thanks of this House be given to the Mayor and Magistrates of Harwich for their care in this business William Jessop Clerk of the Commons House of Parliament So after they had kept me ten nights in Harwich Prison the Sheriff of Essex with several armed men came for me with the Order afore-mentioned so a great company of men with Halbards fetched me out of the hole wherein I was put which was not four Yards long nor so broad as long and these men would not suffer me to speak with the
Designs Oh England England How oft hath the Lord God smote thy Rulers and Mighty and Proud men how oft hath he laid their Honour in the Dust Yea how oft hath he Overturned and Confounded thy Mighty men even thy Men of War with thy Princes Nobles and Captains of Thousands Hundreds and Fifties O how oft hath he Overturned thy Governments and Changed thy Governours But how few of them have so regarded the Out-goings of the Lord in all these things as they ought to have done And how few of them have rightly Weighed and Considered the Causes for which the Lord hath brought or suffered so many Changes in the Land Or have those who saw the Causes that provoked the Lord of Hosts thus to Act lalaboured so to remove them as they ought to do or might have done Nay assuredly they have not for the Lusts of this World and the Pride of Life hath blinded the minds of most and such who have seen what their Duty was the honour of this World and that cursed Self-interest hath stopped and hindred most of them from doing those things which they saw they ought and which they had opportunity also to have done Oh! how have the new Governours in almost every Change of late cryed out of the Tyranny and great Oppression of those whom they did Succeed And how have most of them Vowed unto God Declared to and Promised the People That they would remove the Burdens and Oppressions that the fore-going Rulers had Laid and Continued upon them But alas very few of them have regarded their Vows Declarations and Promises either to God or Man but in Treachery and Deceit have they gone on serving themselves and their own Lusts and not the Lord nor their Generation faiâ—hfully For although many of them have been very large in Promises and Good Words whereby they have long sought to Deceive the hearts of the People yet it is but very Little that hath been done for their true Liberty because that wicked Spirit which seeketh to make it self great by the Ruine of others hath Ruled and doth yet Rule in the hearts of many Rulers this is of the Devourer and Destroyer who cannot forgive Enemies but cryes out of Rebellion and Treason labouring to exasperate the Spirits of others that so occasions may be gotten if possible against them thereby to bring them under and keep them in Bondage Oh England England Such is thy Sad Estate and Condition that several of thy Rulers are and have been as roaring Lyons even greedy to Devour and many of thy Teachers have been and yet are like Troops of Robbers robbing and spoyling of many of thine Inhabitants Oh! How have most of thy Priests Temporized and Daubed with every Power as they have come up in the many Changes How have they encreased Envy Wars and Destructions amongst thy Rulers and People How have they one time Cryed up and Prayed for the same Thing which at another time they have Cryed down and Prayed against Oh! Who shall ever believe them Their god is their Belly and who is it that many of them would not joyn unto if thereby they might be upheld in Pride Idleness and Fulness How oft would they Change again and again And what Idolatry is there that many of them would not run into for their Bellies sake Ah poor Nation Are they not yet striving to kindle a Flame within thy Bowels Hath not the Lord divided them And are they not labouring with all their might to Divide and Rend thy Inhabitants yet more and more Yea surely and it is just with the Lord to suffer it to be so because of the greatness of their Abominations which are daily encreased Ah poor Land How art thou overspread with Wasters and Spoylers who like Caterpillars devour thy Pleasant Fruit. Oh! the Whoredoms and Idolatries that are daily committed and acted in thee Who can Declare them Oh! thy Chief City thy Chief City that Bloody City Can its Abominations be Parallel'd in the Earth Surely it hath exceeded Sodom in Wickedness The Lord is very Angry with a great part of its Inhabitants and his Vengeance is nigh to come upon them Wo unto you Whoremongers Drunkards Gluttons Swearers Cursers Blasphemers Cheaters and Idolaters Wo unto you Proud Wanton and Prophane Vain Persons Wo unto you Mountebanks Stage-Players Bear-Baiters Gamesters and all manner of Abominable Workers and you that Build up Towers Scaffolds and vain Heathenish Representations and such like and make and garnish Images to draw Peoples minds after Idolatry and for your cursed Gain and Lusts in pretence of Honouring your King Oh! How are People drawn into Gazing and Wondring after these Abominations It grieveth the Righteous Soul to behold such great Wickedness Oh! You Wicked and abominable Workers Devourers of the Creation The Lord God will meet with you in a time when ye are little aware of Him He 'l Stain your Pride Vain Glory and Idolatry and give you your Portion amongst Devourers except you speedily Repent and your Abettors Strengthners and Helpers forward of such Ungodliness that do it knowingly and Delighters therein The Lord will not acquit you He 'l smite you for these things and that right soon Oh! Ye Idolatrous People Do you think that the Lord God of Pitty and Patience suffered your King to hide himself from his Enemies in an Oak for that end that ye might Devour his Creatures in making an Idol of it Is this the use you make of that which you say was God's Mercy towards you Is not this the way to turn those things that might have been Mercies to you into Plagues and Judgements Oh! How do you Dayly provoke the Lord against Your selves and your King Oh! You Wicked Workers How dare you make Representations of Destruction and Ruine How dare you make a Sport of such things Verily your Provocations are great wherewith you provoke the Just God And it will be Just with him to bring Ruine Desolation and Destruction upon you and your City Verily great is the Judgement that is nigh you and your sins draw it on you apace Do you think that the Lord cast out Back-sliders Hypocrites and Vnfaithful men to set up and establish Idolaters and open Prophane Persons Nay surely Therefore Tremble ye Wicked Workers and Howl ye Prophane Idolaters for the Mighty and Terrible day of the Lord is near to break out upon you Thus saith the Lord God I 'le Scatter I 'le Scatter I 'le Split Divide and Separate I 'le Break and Dash to pieces and none shall be able to Gather Bind up or Ioyn together For mine Anger is kindled and my Jealousie shall burn till I have devoured mine Enemies saith the Lord. Therefore ye People of Enland that yet live in wickedness who have not wholly sinned out the day of your Visitation To you I now speak You that feel the Lord yet striving with you O Return Return speedily unto the Manifestation of his Spirit whereby he
strives with you to shew you your abominations and to draw and lead you out of the same O be not still Stiff-necked but hearken to the Word of the Lord which sheweth you the thoughts and Intents of your Hearts and hearken and be obedient to the Call thereof that so by its Power you may Hasten out of Babylon both Young and Old Rich and Poor High and Low Noble or Ignoble Professor or Profane who yet are there For the Lord's Controversie is great with Babylon her Merchants and Inhabitants and he will not much longer spare but he will suddenly smite and none shall be able to hinder his stroak Yea yea he will wound and none shall be able to heal For the measure of her Iniquities Idolatries and Whoredoms are nigh full and the Wine of her Fornications hath caused the Fatts to overflow and she is come up into remembrance before the Lord the Just God who will Plague her and all her Merchants and Inhabitants according to their Abominations whereby they have grievously provoked Him Therefore come out of her whilst Mercy and Time is offered lest you perish with her in her Judgements which the Lord is Strongly and Swiftly bringing upon her Oh England England A day of Sorrow and Calamity is coming upon many of thy Inhabitants I have long been sensible of it even a day of such Breaking Confusion and Judgement as hath not been for a long space For thy People have wearied out the Lord with their Iniquities and grieved his holy Spirit with their Abominations dayes without number Oh England England The Lord hath a Precious and Holy Seed in thee Yea He hath a Remnant which he hath Raised by his Power to and for himself which are exceeding precious in his sight and these a great part of thine Inhabitants have Shamefully entreated and grievously Oppressed and Persecuted And they have Patiently born the same and have laboured in the Life of Innocency and Spirit of Emanuel to Inform thy Rulers and People in the Things that are Just and True and have shewn them the Wayes which have and do Displease the Lord and have Exhorted and Warned thy Inhabitants Time after Time But notwithstanding their Doctrine Lives and Conversations have manifested their Innocency and Uprightness of Heart before God and Man Yet have many of thy Rulers Priests and People Oppressed them more and more Some Spoiling their Goods others Imprisoning their Bodies in filthy Holes and Dungeons till several of them have Sealed their Testimony for the Lord with their Blood which cryeth for Vengeance in the Ears of the Almighty and the Lord hath heard the Cry thereof and hath looked down and beheld the Actings of the sons of men and he is near to Visit Yea the Lord hath beheld and doth behold the Snares that have been and are laid for the Innocent who have no other Helper but him alone and therefore they have Committed their Cause unto Him who shall bring it to pass Yea he hath taken Notice how several of thy Rulers have combin'd together and endeavoured to Force His Babes to Violate his Royal Law and to Break his Command who saith Swear not at all to Uphold and Obey theirs which is Contrary to his Yea He hath taken Notice of the Cruel Sufferings and great Temptations of his People who many of them are yet Imprisoned and both their Bodies and Estates threatned to be Destroyed by some evil men if they will not break the Royal Law and Commandment of Christ which he hath placed in their hearts to Obey and Do. Oh! The Lord hath seen the Partiality and Evil Intents of several of the Judges and Rulers of this Land who have had Power to let the Innocent go free and yet keep many of his Ministers and Servants many of which have outward Estates Prisoners in many places although they have no more against them than against those whom they have turned forth which is nothing else but for their Obeying the Command of Christ in them who this day saith unto his People Swear not at all as he said to his Disciples formerly and for meeting together and Speaking and Praying in his Name for the Edifying Comforting and Building up one another in their most holy Faith The Lord hath also taken notice that when some of the Rulers might Relieve the Innocent and let the Oppressed go free they will not and then to cover themselves they will say They cannot act contrary to the Law But when a Ruler will act that which he hath no Law for he can then plead a Prerogative Royal for that and thus are the Innocent Lambs of Christ made a Prey upon Oh! the Oppressions of his People and others are great this day in thee O Land and the Crying of the Fatherless the Widows and the Needy is come up before the Lord God of Compassion who will thorowly plead the Cause of his People and the Poor and Needy of the Land Oh England England I have oft heard and treasured up what the Lord hath said in me concerning thy Inhabitants but now must I declare it in the Appointed Season Thus hath the Lord spoken in me for a long time concerning thy Inhabitants saying The People are too many the People are too many I will thin them I will thin them Mark that is He will make them fewer for they cumber the Ground And the Spirit of the Lord hath oft signified unto me for a long time That an Over-flowing Scourge yea even an exceeding great and terrible Iudgement is to come upon thee O Land and that many in thee shall fall and be taken away in the Judgement and the Spirit of the Lord signifieth unto me that the time draweth nigh and that the Decree of the Lord is so firm that though some of the Lords Children and Prophets could appear so as to stand in the Gap yet should not that alter his Decree onely in the Righteousness of the Lamb they shall be hid and saved from his Wrath whatever may be done to any of their Bodies but his fierce Wrath and Indignation shall be poured forth upon the Ungodly and a great Desolation and Destruction shall there be for he will overturn and overturn till he hath dis-throned and thrown down the Man of Sin and exalted and established the Kingdom of his Dear Son over all the Kingdoms of the World and the Kingdom and Dominion and the Greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven shall be given to the Holy People the Saints of the Most High whose Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom and all Dominions shall serve and obey him who is King of Saints Behold ye Despisers and Wonder This is the Work which the Lord will accomplish by his own Power though you will in no wise believe it but you shall feel even both Hypocrites and Prophane that the Lord is able to bring to pass the thing that is in his heart And you now think to set up and establish your