what end they were created even for them to serve his body and his body to serve his soul and his soul to serve his Creator in the body and as he thus stood in the fear dominion and wisdome of his Lord all things were blessed unto him and all things were clean and pure and being guided by the pure holy Spirit of his maker is counselled as in the beginning and hath a law-giver as at the first but when once he gave ear unto the voyce of the Serpent who was more subtile than any beast of the field consented to eat of that which was forbidden him that he should not touch to eat even of the tree of knowledge of good and evil let him which readeth understand he had liberty to eat of every tree but that all being good and that also for all that which God made was good and blessed but for food it was not to be eaten of nor touched And as I said when man once had transgressed the righteous Law of his Creator he lost his glorious Dominion he had and the pure Spirit of the Lord by which he was covered departed from him so that he was naked without a covering then shame entred in upon him and so he went to make unto himself other coverings then those which he had in the beginning to hide himself but all in vain So all the professors in the world who are not covered with the holy Spirit of the Lord may read and see what they are doing for this is truely your state and condition feeding upon your own knowledge which is forbidden and feeding thereon are thereby set on work to make unto your selves other coverings then that of the holy Spirit of truth and righteousnesse So read and consider when Adam had once done so the Lord cast him out of his Garden and he lost his dominion which he had and God placed Cherubins at Eden gate which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life so that men could never enter again that way but through death even the death of that nature and wisdom which he fed on which was of the earth and is earthly sensuall and devilish So read and consider whether you witnesse this yea or nay And so man being drove out of the earth the curse entred and the Serpent became head in him and he that was the sonne of God before and was guided by him in all his actions became the son and servant of the Devil and a bondslave unto corruption and thus was the Lamb slain even the just seed of God became oppressed in him even as a Cart that is loaded with sheaves which before bore rule in him wholly yet the Lord having regard to the works of his hands and his bowels being moved with pity towards them his mercy being over all the works of his hands took not his holy seed from him but made a Covenant with man that the seed of the woman should bruise the Serpents head which was become head in man then which promise was witnessed and fulfilled in Abel who was righteous and was accepted the seed of God bearing rule in him and the seed of the envious one was brused which reign'd in his brother Cain and so being one with the holy seed became a sufferer and suffered by the seed of the evil one in his brother and here was the first persecution and from that day unto this hath the just suffered by the unjust the seed of the Bond-woman persecuting the seed of the free-woman which kept the Commandements of God So here all men may read and see what stock and generation they are of and what seed is head in them for one of the two beareth rule in every individual man upon the face of the whole earth where the seed of the woman is head there is peace humility meeknesse long-suffering patience temperance love to all bearing and forbearing praying for enemies and suffering and enduring all things not having confidence in the arm of flesh nor yet a helper in the earth not seeking revenge but committeth its innocent cause to God knowing that vengeance belongs only to him praying for enemies doing good to those that despitefully use them and this this only is the life of the true christian for in him alone this holy seed of God beareth rule and hath dominion for they are the peace-makers but where the seed of the Serpent beareth rule there lust reigneth from whence cometh all warre strife contention and debate and this was Cains nature even to kill and murder who was a Vagabond drove from God yet he built him a City and called it by the name of his son and so from this stock hath risen oppression and murder and getting of possession in the earth and this was the fruit and effect of that seed which from him sprung for which cause the holy Spirit of God was grieved from day to day until it had repented him at the heart that he had made man which caused Noah to preach unto them righteousnesse but they rejected his counsel and would not be warned but they continued eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage all in the lust and unclean nature which crucified the just and so continued until the day of wrathful unresistable vengeance and flood of Gods indignation brake out upon them And thus in all ages have those in whom this seed of enmity hath borne rule provoked the holy God to wrath against them yet he forbore with them until they had filled up their measure of iniquity in which time he sent his holy servants the Prophets to warn and forewarn them of the wrath which was due unto the transgressors and still as they did reject the councel of the Lord and his tender reproofs they felt his heavy hand in the end for he hath said his Spirit shall not always strive with man though men may as they did then seek by their own strength policy and wisdome to build them a Tower to reach up unto Heaven but God confounded their design for neither by that way nor by that meanes could they ever bring their purpose to passe and from that stock came and sprung all the divisions upon the face of the earth one building this thing and the other that thing and all in the confusion being confounded and dispersed in their understandings by the wise God though vain man may think by such meanes to build him a Tower to reach up to Heaven but such are the thieves and the robbers which climb up another way then Christ spake of who came not in by the door which is the light the onely and alone true way to God and there is not another but men are so hardened and their understandings so darkned through the deceitfulnesse of sin that though these things are plainly written and spoken of in the Scriptures yet they cannot perceive them the book being become to them a book that is sealed which one
to shine as his own elect and chosen people as the Stars in the Firmament and many shall desire to be joyned unto you yea the day hastneth apace That ten shall lay hold of h m which is a Jew and say we will eat our own bread and drink our own drink only let us be called by thy name yea this and much more which is hard to be uttered either by tongue or Pen shall be the portion of him who is of the true circumcision which is made without hands who worships God in the Spirit a City and habitation is prepared for them whose builder and maker is God wherein the Lamb shall be their Light and they shall walk in it for ever and ever Therefore come all away to the light which is the true door into the new and Heavenly Jerusalem wherein no unclean thing can or ever shall enter thereby by the light must ye come to be cleansed which is the blood of the Covenant which is freely shed abroad for the cleansing of all the sons of Adam therefore trample it not under your feet as the blood of a dead man and count it not an unholy thing for by it alone were all the Saints of old cleansed and it did not serve them onely to talk of but were truly purged purified and made clean by it and so witnessed Justification and Sanctification in this life without which they never could for except you come to witnesse your souls cleansed from sin and sanctified with the blood of the everlasting Covenant you cannot be justified by God for God justifieth no unclean thing and remember it is written That without holinesse no man shall see the Lord and lay it to heart and there ponder these things in the coole of the day which if you do The grace of God will not be bestowed upon you in vain but through its pure teachings and vertue you will come to witnesse salvation to your souls and death swallowed up in victory and he that hath the power of it which is the Devil then will that saying be brought to pass O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory and will thank God with your souls bodies and spirits and serve him therewith as holy vessels sanctified to his use who hath given you the victory over all and living praise will issue out of your mouths not by constraint but willingly out of a pure heart for evermore to the living praise of him who hath redeemed your souls out of the horrible pit and set your feet upon a Rock even upon Mount Sion to live and Reign for ever And this is the true Salvation of God through Christ Jesus which thousands witnesse at this day in England and praise the Lord with one heart mind and soul continually which is their only joy and delight God only being witnessed to be their Judge King and Law-giver who hath saved them with everlasting Salvation from sin and uncleanness and are translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son and there live and delight only to walk to the praise and glory of the glorious God of all grace who hath thus bestowed his rich grace and mercy upon them which also is freely and richly tendred unto you O ye inhabitants of France therefore slight it not but draw nigh unto God and he will draw unto you for he is a God at hand and not afar off even unto them who call upon him with a simple heart and is a ready help unto such in time of need and you will witnesse him so unto you if ye embrace the riches of his grace mercy and goodnesse which is freely tendred to every individual of you without respect of persons Therefore call upon the Lord while he is neere least when you call he will not answer which is counsell of life unto you all which if you reject then hear what the Spirit saith ye shall have your portions with the wicked stiff-necked unbelievers and rebellious and your children shall enjoy the blessing for God of a truth will be glorified in many of them and you also if ye count not your selves unworthy of Eternal life which is richly and plentifully tendred unto you Therefore cease from all your Idol-shepherds and hireling-Priests which feed themselves and not the flock preach up sin as long as men live which shews they are imperfect Ministers and cannot make the comers thereunto perfect therefore I say cease from them in time least while the blind lead the blind ye both fall into the ditch for they are truly the Ministers of Satan and preach up his power to be greater than the power of God even to have more force to keep people in sin then the power of God hath to redeem from sin as hath already been said and so make the coming of Christ to be of no effect which was to redeem people from the Law which was added because of transgression up to God to live in his power which was before transgression was therefore saith the Apostle in what the Law could not doe in that it was weak God sending his own Son in the likenesse of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Mark this was the true end of Christs coming not to destroy the Law because the Law is righteous and layeth hold on the transgressor but he came to destroy the transgressions and so he redeems all who come unto him from the curse of the Law by destroying the works of the Devil in people that so the righteousnesse thereof might be fulfilled in them by the power of Christ Jesus and so they come to the Spirits of just men made perfect the seed of the Serpent being bruised and wholly destroyed in them by Christ the seed of God in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen and they who witnesse this witnesse the end of Christs coming and the new birth which is incorruptible of God which sinneth not and they who come to witnesse this know that the power of Satan is not greater then the power of God in Christ Jesus who saves his people from their sins and this is the only true living Ministry which is to the salvation of the soul and all who preach any other doctrine then this though we our selvs or an Angell from heaven let them be accursed therefore consider your doctrine who preach against perfection and for keeping men in sin as long as they live and then the Devil knows he hath them sure enough afterwards for the wages of sin is death out of which there is no redemption if the creature dye therein for as the tree falls so it lyeth And this is the truth of God to all the inhabitants of the Earth therefore high and low rich and poor bond and free be ye warned and while ye have time prize it and if ye call upon God who
heart and while you have time prize it before it be too late And know ye Protestants that it is onely the true Jew which shall have acceptance in his presence in that day even they who are of the circumcision of the heart who are covered with his holy Spirit and not with a name to live and are dead as it is with you at this day Therefore this visitation of love is sent amongst you that you may read and consider your condition and how you stand that ye may not plead ignorance in the dreadfull day of account which is even at the door and remember If God spared not the natural branches but cut them off who sinned he will not spare you for the soul that sinneth shall dye but he that turneth from his sins and doth righteousnesse shall live and there is no other Covenant or promise of God then this Therefore let not your Preachers deceive you any longer by telling you it shall go well with you though you live in sin and uncleannesse but turn to the light of Christ which condemneth you for all sin and give up to be guided by it and it will lead you to forsake your sins so will you find mercy else you will perish eternally which is the word of the Lord unto you all therefore I say again and again prize Gods love which is freely tendred unto you For a famine of the word of the Lord hath been amongst men and the vision hath failed which hath been the cause people have perished even because of ignorance Therefore come to Christ the light the wisdome of God that you may learn only of him and receive wisdome of him who maketh all them truly wise unto Salvation who come unto him and hear him so then their souls come to live and not before And take not this as an idle tale or story for though my message is not adorned with inticing words of mans wisdome or as mans wisdome teacheth yet know assuredly that if ye reject it it will be your condemnation and you will be left without excuse as I said If God spared not the natural branches when they sinned even they who were once truly grafted into the true Olive Tree surely he will not spare you who were never yet grafted into any thing but sin and corruption as plainly appeareth by your fruits of lightness vanity and vain glory and the deportment both of you and your women who goe in plaited haire and in gold and silver which was never the ornament of the holy women of God nor of Sarah but their ornament was that of the heart even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is with the Lord of great price and is only accepted of God and your own habit is nothing differing from all the vain and abominable in your Nation which the true Christians were not to do nor fashion themselves according to the former time of ignorance but were to be renewed in their minds and to be carefull in all things and to walk answerable according to the holy calling wherewith Christ Jesus had called them who had left them a pure example that they should follow his steps And saith the Apostle Be ye followers of me as I am of Christ But how ye do those things let the pure just principle of the Lord Jesus Christ judge in all your consciences Were you truly what you professe your selves to be in words would ye not be a witness against all the vanities and wickedness of the Nation and bear your witness for God against it all and so would be a sweet savour unto the Lord in your generation even as lights which are set on a hill But instead of this ye are one with them in all manner of evill whatsoever onely you differ in some external things in your worship seeming to cry against Idolatry and covetousnesse is in your hearts which is as great Idolatry as can be named and if you should speak against respecting of persons you are as much in it as they and as partial in all your wayes and any other abomination which is committed in the land may be as commonly seen and heard amongst you as amongst any other people in the Nation as swearing lying vain talk and foolish jesting whoring whatsoever that may be named pride and vain custome and the like and for a cover for all this you say you are saved by grace for shame shame shame cover your faces Are any saved by grace who are taught by it to deny all ungodlinesse and worldly lust and to live soberly and righteously in this present evil world and doth not who live in wickeedness and turn the Grace of God into wantonness or rather turn from it hath not the free grace of God appeared unto all unto Salvation as well as unto you as if a bear talk of being saved by grace would serve turn why may not all be saved as well as you seeing your fruit differeth nothing in substance and then you say you are saved by faith in Christ Jesus but vaine men shew your faith by your works for if it be the living Faith which gives victory over sin the other may also be brought into it by good works which are the effects of the only true and living Faith and so be converted unto it and be saved but your profession without a possession doth but adde the more unto your condemnation as you shall witness except ye repent for if only a saying you believe in Christ Jesus will save you why may not those you esteem different from you be saved as well as you seeing they will in the particular say it and affirm it as well as you and both your fruits in respect of life and conversation varie nothing at all Read and consider these things seriously and repent knowing that as the body without the spirit is dead so is Faith without works also dead Again I say in love pity to your immortal souls prize prize Gods eternal love which is freely tendred unto you all least you cry when it is too late Oh how have I slighted the day of my visitation and it be said of you as it was of Israel of old Oh Israel thou hast destroyed thy self for it is only the sins of a people or Nation which separateth them from God and brings judgements upon them or any Land that the inhabitants may learn righteousness but if they refuse to be warned thereby and harden their necks then will the Lord sweep them away with the Bosome of destruction Therefore lay it to heart for the sins of this land hath surpassed the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah who were made examples of Gods just judgements that others might take warning Therefore my bowels is truly moved in me towards you that you may not slight the day of your visitation but diligently hearken to the Lord which if you do he will soon subdue all your enemies for you and make you
also witnesse it so upon yours if ye come and submit unto Davids humble spirit of prayer and repentance which was the cause God did so delight in him above many for the humble and contrite spirit which David was of God will in no wise despise for he even confessed his sin and forsook it and willingly submitted unto the judgements of the Most High for it by which meanes he had acceptance with God And thy word saith he I have hid in my heart that I may not sin against thee for that is the dayly care of the honest heart least God should take his holy spirit from him for he prayeth continually that God would renew his dayly countenance upon him which made Davids heart more glad than those who had all the encrease of the earth so all you who take Davids words to sing and talk of deal faithfully with your own souls and see whether you are come to his spirit yea or nay and until then his word and penitent heart is your condemnation which you shall eternally witnesse to be true in the day that by Davids spirit ye shall be judged who said depart from me all ye that do wickedly and was made the song of the drunkard Truly Friends the Lord hath made my bowels as an open fountain towards you that you may no longer be of that generation which Solomon speaks of who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not purged from their iniquity I shall as being truly moved of the Lord thereunto lay these following things before you to consider seriously of as being things which every one who dare professe the name of Christ and Christianity ought truly to mind to the end they may not be only Christians in name but in nature which will only stand you instead in the dreadful day of judgement wherein God will appear with flames of fire to render vengeance to the wicked which day hastneth apace Therefore read and consider Whether Christ Jesus when he spake unto his Disciples saying Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect did not speak really as he meant And whether he would bid them be that which was impossible for them to be Secondly Read through the whole Scripture and see if you can read of any other Salvation but that which is from sin And whether or no that was not the promise of God unto Adam after he had sinned to wit that the seed of the woman should bruise the Serpents head which seed was Christ And whether this is not to be witnessed in every regenerate man or woman yea or nay And whether the Serpent be not head in all untill this be witnessed yea or nay For seeing the Scripture saith we are saved by faith in Christ whether is there any true faith which saves but that which gives true and perfect dominion over all sin And whether there be any other true faith which justifieth before God And whether this faith only be not the true faith of Gods Elect seeing the Scripture saith that God justifieth not the ungodly shewing that no unclean thing is justified before God And can any in truth say that they are justified but those who witnesse this faith by which the just liveth and obtaineth victory yea or nay Whether the free grace of God hath not appeared unto all men And whether all those who receive it and are taught by it are not led and taught to deny all ungodly lusts And whether they who are not thus taught by it are not of those who turn it into wantonnesse And whether it will not be their eternall condemnation yea or nay Whether Christ according to Johns true and faithful testimony which he bare of him hath not enlightned every man which cometh into the world And whether this Light doth not judge righteously for God against all sin in the consciences of all men And whether if they reject its reproofs it will not be their condemnation yea or nay And whether God hath not so promised that he would give Christ his only son for a Covenant of Light that he might be his salvation even to the ends of the Earth And whether any ever came to witnesse salvation but those that thus witnessed Christ a Covenant of Light to be their leader and teacher yea or nay Whether God hath not promised that in his new and everlasting Covenant all his people shall be taught of him And whether those who are yet looking at man for teaching be not out of this pure holy Covenant yea or nay Whether God hath not promised that he will live and walk in his people And whether they who do not witnesse it even their bodies to be the Temples of God be not the Temples of the Devil yea or nay Whether any are or can truly be said to be the sons of God but those who are led by the Spirit of God And whether any are true Christians but those who have put on Christ yea or nay Whether any are Christs but those who have the Spirit of Christ And whether any can witnesse the true Baptisme but such who have received the Spirit yea or nay Whether there be any other Baptisme needful unto Salvation but this to wit by one Spirit into one body by the Holy Ghost and by fire And whether all other sprinklings are nothing but traditions of men yea or nay Whether the true Christians did not come to witnesse Christ in this life to be wisdome justification and redemption yea or nay Whether Christ in the Saints was not the onely hope of their glory even to live in them as he did in God and through which they came to have fellowship with the Father And whether they who came to witnesse this were not sanctified throughout in body soul and spirit yea or nay Whether Christ did not give himself for his Church that he might purge and sanctifie it and present it to the Father without spot or wrinkle or any such thing And whether any can come to be true members of this Church but those who come to witnesse a true purging in this life seeing the Scripture saith the Church is in God to whom no unclean thing can be united And whether all who say they are members of the Church of Christ and doe not witnesse this to wit a cleansing be not lyars yea or nay Whether the true Ministers of Christ Jesus do not preach freely as they have received freely And whether they who preach for hire gifts and rewards or yearly maintenance are not Ministers of Satan yea or nay Whether any can be truly said to be the Ministers of Christ Jesus but who are sent by him and called immediately by his voyce unto his work And whether all others are not of man and by the will of man who run and are not sent yea or nay Whether such men who say they can never be freed nor put off the body of sin as long as they live
A Seasonable Warning To such who profess themselves MEMBERS OF Reformed Churches INTO What Forme soever gathered or where-ever scattered over the face of the whole earth but most especially to France and the parts adjacent With a few remarkable QUERIES c. Given forth in love to all souls a tender visitation of breathing desires of good to the whole Creation by a friend thereof CHARLES BAILY LONDON Printed in the Year 1663. try your spirits and there is no difference between you and those you seem to deny for in nature ye are one in pride and hypocrisie envy malice and cruelty drunkenness swearing lying whoredom deceit and whatsoever is evill and were the power in your hands ye would be more cruel then those ye seem to complain of and in the ground there is no difference between you for ye have lost your suffering spirit which was once amongst you at the first and are grown as vaine in your Imaginations as any of the heathen of the Nations Therefore repent repent ye also and think not in your hearts that it will serve your turns to say you are reformed while iniquity and abomination is in your inward parts and are not at all reformed from that to wit iniquity though ye say ye are saved by faith in Christ ye are found wholly out of that spirit and doctrine which leadeth To do unto all men as ye would others should do unto you as your fruits hath proved some of you casting out of the Synagogues or Temples as the Jews did and as is foretold should be done unto my servants Therefore be ye warned in time and remember how the Jews came under the reproofe of the Just when they said they were Abrahams children whilest they were Of their father the Devil whose works they did and do you not think but your evill deeds are as abommable as theirs they boasted as well as you they were the children of my Covenant while you and them trample the Blood thereof under your feet for which cause a curse came upon them and shall also come upon you if ye repent not and take not warning in time while my hand is stretched out towards you for good that ye may live and not die in your sins for if you die in your sins Where I go ye cannot come saith Christ Jesus the Light of the world who is the Covenant of God given for Salvation unto the ends of the earth and untill ye come to this Light ye are far from being children of the Covenant as ye pretend but in Covenant with Hell Death and the Devill pleading for sin as long as you live which is the Devils Kingdom and for so doing ye give men great sums of money yearly which is an abominable thing to the Lord God Almighty And then you say you are Christians by Baptisme and the like sprinkling a little water upon the face or head of a child and thereby have an entrance into the Church and yet will not admit the same to the Roman-Catholicke though their Water hath as much vertue as yours and the child of the one believeth as much as the other and both when they grow up are in one nature which sheweth plainly you are ignorant of the one onely true Baptisme which washeth away sin and corruption and gives a true entrance into the Church which is in God the ground and Pillar of truth into which no unclean thing can have an entrance for it is a spiritual House built with living Stones elect and precious Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone who gave himself for it That he might present it to God without spot or wrinkle or any such thing And this is the true Church and Baptism which gives an entrance into it and the true saith which once came and takes the possession So read and try and prove your selves If Christ be not in you ye are reprobates professe what you will and if Christ were in you The body would be dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness but how far you are from this let the Light of Christ Judge in you therefore repent that ye may find mercy and think not that God will have respect unto your persons no more then he had respect to those who said They were Jewes and were not for because of that he said he would spue them out of his mouth and seeing he spared not the natural branches but cut them off the root because of transgression do you think he will spare you Nay verily The soul that sinneth shall die saith God for he spared not the Angels who kept not their first estate but hath reserved them under the chaines of darkness untill the Judgement of the great day And let these things be a seasonable warning unto you for it was so and is so that he which is a Jew outwardly is not the true Jew neither is he a Christian who beareth the name outwardly and hath not the nature of Christ all such are an abomination to the Lord. You are so far from being leavened into his nature which only maketh a Christian that if any one come amongst you and say he hath the Spirit of God he is had in great derision amongst you and is laughed at to scorne though the Apostle saith He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his and all who were Baptized with the true Baptisme they received the Holy Ghost So read consider and try your selves what state you are in and do not think that the nature of Christ is changed since the Apostles time nay it is all one though many have the name and are out of the nature You fall a quarelling and killing one another about their words this was not the nature of Christians for they were the sons of God led by his pure Holy Spirit which was Gentle meeke and easie to be intreated full of long-suffering and mercy even to enemies and ready to do good unto all in which spirit walking they did not fulfil the lusts of the flesh but in it conquered and had dominion over sin Hell and the Devil though a time of warfare they came to witness before they came unto this state as all the Saints and holy men of God ever did witness the travel of the children of Israel through the wilderness into the land of rest which is the true Type of all the travel of the faithfull for they came to witness the true Baptisme as it is written They were all Baptized into Moses under the Cloud who was a true Type of Christ and because of unbelief many did not enter because they received the false report and believed they should never overcome their enemies which things relate all unto the true spiritual warfare of every true Christian which did believe and entered and possessed the land of rest which is the true Sabbath and it is written He that believes hath entered into rest ceased from sin which is
for he hath prepared a way and a means for the Salvation of all that they might be saved For he so loved the world that he hath given his onely begotten Son into the world that all through him might believe for he is the Covenant of God even a Covenant of Light unto all Nations that he might be his Salvation unto the ends of the earth This testimony John did bear of him that he was the true Light which enlightens every man which cometh into the world and as many as receive him and believe in his name even in the Light to them he giveth power to become the Sons of God which is another birth then yours Which is of the flesh and will of man Read and consider you that desire Salvation unto your souls for it is the visitation of Gods eternal love unto you for I am truly constrained by his pure Spirit hereunto therefore whether you will hear or forbeare I shall be a sweet savour unto God Even in them which believe and in them which perish But my hearts desire is that ye may come into the Covenant of God and be saved even to be taught led and guided by him for the way is plaine and it is but one in all even the Light which reproves for sin maketh manifest all the deeds of darkness though never so secret for saith the Apostle whatsoever makes manifest is Light he that comes to that which makes manifest cometh to Christ for saith he I am the Light of the world I am the way No man cometh to the Father but by me So come to the Light and then you will come to the Way the Truth and the Life this will be more then a bear name unto you life truth even truth in the inward part which God onely accepteth out of which all profession is vain therefore he which comes to the Light comes to the truth and comes to know the teachings of God as it is written All thy children shall be taught of me and great shall be their peace so in the Light you will witness the teachings of God which is his holy Covenant with his people I will write my law in their hearts saith God and put it in their inward parts the law is Light saith Solomon and if you come to turn to the Light you will witness the same I will live in them and walk in them saith God Marke this is the holy true and everlasting Covenant of God to his people and this the true Christians came to witness even their bodies to be the Temples of God through the Spirit and God dwelleth with no unclean thing neither dareth such a one plead for sin as long as he liveth for they are sanctified and made fit for their Masters use not having only the forme of Godliness but the life and power and they who had the form without the power were to be turned from it which power is the Light which cometh from Christ and leadeth up to God and the Saints were Saints in Light for they were sanctified by it which was the will of God And as saith the Apostle this is the will of God even your Sanctification this is no new Doctrin but the good Old Way which God hath prepared even for his Ransomed ones to walk in in which path the way faring men though fools shall not erre therein for the way is Light as saith the Apostle if ye live in the Light and walk in the Light as he is in the Light then have we Fellowship with God and one with another Mark fellowship with God this Light leadeth unto in which the Saints fellowship onely stood which brought them to the knowledge of God and he which said he knew God and walked in darkness was a liar for the darkness comprehendeth not the Light which is the only habitation and Covenant of God so as you come truely to confess your sins you will witness the Blood of Christ to cleanse you from all unrighteousness but if you say you have not sin before you come to this and say it is done away in Christ then you are lyars and the truth is not you no more then it is in them who say they have not sinned as you come to witness the Blood of Christ and its vertue you will witness these sayings to be true and faithfull not onely to be talked of but to be witnessed in you and untill you come here you are perfect strangers unto the several states and growths the true Christians came through in their Warfare there was little children young men and old men for saith John I write unto you little children that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours onely but also for the sins of the whole world Marke He freely offered up himself for all And by this we know that we know him if we keep his Commandements He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandements is a liar and the truth is not in him Marke the true Christians state is life And consider what state and nature you are in and whether ye keep Christs Commandement yea or nay for these things are of great weight and concernment unto you even you that have taken up the name but are out of the nature And againe saith the Apostle Whose keepeth his Word in him verily in the love of God perfected hereby know we that we are in him Marke by this they the true Christians knew that they were in Christ because they kept his word and he which dwelleth in him ought to walke even as he walked are you here nay your consciences witnesseth to your faces the contrary therefore forbeare the name untill you witness the life else the greater will be your condemnation which is the Word of the Lord unto you all therefore be ye warned in time And againe saith he A new Commandement I write unto you which thing is true in him and in you because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth Marke againe they did witness the darkness past and the true Light to shine which Light giveth the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ which treasure saith Paul we have in Earthen vessels this treasure even the Light they the true Christians witnessed in them and walking in it had fellowship with it and one with another For God is Light and he which liveth and walketh in the Light liveth and walketh with God and witnesseth a true translation as Enoch did and is not seen Because his life is hid with Christ in God and this is a true translation from death to life which is the true Christians life and he which saith he is in the Light and hateth his brother is a liar and is in darkness even untill now he which loveth his brother dwelleth
mouths as you desire to be accepted of God and no longer say you Sing to the praise and glory of God and the comfort of your own souls when your Singing is to the dishonour of God such sacrifices are an abomination unto the Lord But whoso cometh before him though never so simple Yet if he have clean hands and a pure heart even he who speaks the truth from his heart shall and will be accepted of him for it is truth in the inward part God onely delights in without which there is no acceptance Were not they condemned of the Lord by the Prophet Who came before him as his people did and heard his word and it was unto them as a very lovely song yet their hearts being after their covetousness availed them nothing and you never yet came so far as this to wit to delight to hear the word of the Lord which is like a fire and a Hammer as hath been said but instead of it ye call the letter the Word whereas the letter saith Christ is the Word yet if you were come to hear the word of God and do it not all would availe you nothing And you to take Bread and give it one to another and call it a Sacrament which word you have no where in the Scripture neither was such a thing ever commanded to Drunkards Swearers Liars and the like but to those who in faithfulness of heart had forsaken all to follow Christ he brake bread amongst them and gave it them as a signe of his true Body and bad them do it in remembrance of him untill he came and when the substance came againe amongst them there was no more need of any outward shadow or figure which thing they did really witnesse shortly after but you are breaking bread all the dayes of your lives and never witness him come as they did Even the second time without sin unto Salvation who are pleading for sin as long as you live and Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians speaketh unto them of it who did also abuse it and therefore in his next Epistle he tels them and bids them Try and prove themselves if Christ were not in them they were reprobates So read with moderation and consider If all were reprobates who did not witness Christ in them little will it availe you to take bread and wine and eat it in imitation of what Christ did to his Disciples which thing was neither commanded them nor any who live in sin but the true followers of the lamb did and do shew forth the Lords death in eating and drinking and in all their actions and their moderation appeareth unto all men which sheweth forth both his death and life in them So they brake their bread from house to house with singlenesse of heart which is the thing the Lord delighteth in above all sacrifice whatsoever and such came to witness Christ in them to be their life and all in all and this witnessing in deed and in truth is a true regenerate state and Christians life which is more then to talke or taking a little water and sprinkling it upon the face of a child say it is a seal of the Covenant and an entrance into the Church which is but a Popish trick and invention to deceive the hearts of the simple feeding them with a name but not of the nature which thing hath been sufficiently spoken of already Neither is there any one example in the Scripture for such practise Search and so read and consider what you are a doing for it is high time for of a truth the mighty and terrible day of the Lord is at hand Wherein all shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body whether good or evil Therefore be ye awakened and repent and think not that a man or Minister made in the will of men that can preach unto you about an hours space by the houre glasse once or twice a week will serve your turn which thing is a stink and a shame to all who are true Christians and sheweth plainly that such have not the unlimited Spirit of God which cannot be limitted to a glasse time or place but speaketh in whom he will where he will and as long as he will And this was the true order amongst the Saints in their assemblies not to quench the Spirit of God but the Spirit of the Prophets were subject unto the Prophets so that if any thing was revealed to one that sat by the first was to hold his peace and they might all Prophecy one by one and were not forbidden that all might be edified and did not maintaine an hireling to speak unto them about an hour and if any were moved to speak in that time to call it a disturbance and insolence nay nay in these your fruits and practices you have not so much as a forme of godlinesse much lesse the power as you your selves confesse you have not the Spirit of God which is the power in all the true Christians and was the fruits and effects of the true living Faith without which they could not please God even the Faith which layeth hold on the promise of the Father which is that the holy Spirit even the comforter should come unto them which should lead them into all truth and shew them things to come And this doth all come to witnesse who come to know the onely one and true Baptisme which is by one Spirit baptized into one body which doth not only serve to the washing away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God even purified from dead works whereby they come to serve and worship the living God in Spirit and in truth and such onely doth he seek to worship him So come away out of all the beggarly Elements which are to perish in the using to serve the Lord in newness of mind without which all your profession and Religion is but in vaine for then and not till then will ye come to witness a bridle to your tongue which bridle ye must come to witness in you even the light which condemneth you for every idle word and action and all the works of the flesh which are these envy pride malice covetousnesse whoredom railing back-biting evil speaking drunkenness gluttony uncleannesse and all uncharitableness and they who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Gal. 5.19 Therefore go ye not forth for the Kingdome of Heaven is in you saith Christ and as you come to give up to his pure Light you will be levened into its own nature and so be made partakers of it which consisteth not in word but in power holinesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost which is the desire of my soul that you even my Countreymen may be made partakers of that ye may witness your conversation to be in Heaven and be no longer sayers but doers of the pure holy will of God that ye
in these did the true Ministers of Christ glory and did not get into a place there settle themselvs at their own wil to preach to this or that people but as the Lord did send and direct them they were to go whether in life or in death bond or prison yea wo were to them if they did not doe it and again they preached to the people nothing but what they had seen tasted and had handled of the word of life and that only did they minister unto others but if you should preach nothing but what you did witnesse in this nature which every true Minister of Christ ought to doe and no more then you might stop your mouths and indeed untill then it would be a thousand fold better for you so to doe for your condemnation would not be so great if you did not presume thus to teach the people the knowledge of God and his holy wayes but did sit down and labour with your own hands for your livings for of a truth you doe but adde to your condemnation in this state you are in as your fruits manifest to your faces Can you look upon your assemblies not blush and be ashamed to see the fruits of your ministry in pride lust and ambition dressed more like antiques than sober moral men ful of vain talk and foolish jesting swearing lying and all manner of vice is to be found amongst them even amongst your constant hearers whom you call Reformers of Religion but what they are reformed from in nature let the pure light of Christ Jesus judge in all their consciences as it doth for God against them and you and I am sure it sheweth that they differ nothing in nature from the common practise of the Nation but rather through them and their ungodly practises cause the good way of God to be evil spoken of And this O ye Priests is the manifest and evident fruits of your work and labour but the free and true ministry of Christ Jesus was for the perfecting of the Saints and the edifying of the body untill they all come to a perfect man into the measure and stature of the fulnesse of Christ who was and is head of their body unto which no corrupt nor prophane member can be joyned and thus your ministry differeth from the true yea even as much as light from darknesse the one teacheth and leadeth out of all sin and the other teacheth that there can never be a freedome from sin in this li e though the Apostle said ye being made free from sin became the servants of righteousness for while ye were servants unto sin ye were free from righteousness so there was the fruits and effects of the true ministry and the fruits and effects of the ministry of Satan is so far from this that they preach up sin for term of life as hath been spoken of already Therefore O ye Priests be ye warned of the Lord God of life and cease thus from deluding the people and let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good that he might have to give to him that needeth And this is counsel of life unto you all O ye Protestant Priests in France I say cease from stealing other mens words and making merchandise of them to others but come to the light your selves that ye may hear and learn of Christ your selves and then if he pleaseth to send any of you forth to open the blind eyes and turn the people from darknesse to light and from Satans power to God then obey his voyce and go forth freely and preach as he hath given you freely so will ye profit the people though this manner of call will be contrary to your own wills and against mens wills ye come to preach to and till you come to witnesse this only holy and true call I say again and again as from the Lord God of life cease and be still and let the people alone until the Lord send labourers amongst them for the Vineyard is only his to send into it to labour who he only will appoint thereto and he which goeth and is not sent is but a thief and a robber which is the word of the Lord God unto all Priests of this Nation Therefore cease cease and repent that ye may find mercy for the blood of one man if it be laid to your charg will be too heavy for you to beare which assuredly ye must for many if ye refuse to hearken unto the counsell of God which he in the infinitenesse of his love tendereth unto you for know the end of the true Ministry is to bring people unto God and on him alone to wait for teaching which is his Covenant and promise to bring people to be sensible of the gift of the holy Spirit of God in themselves and the Apostle said every man hath a manifestation of the Spirit given to him to profit withall which being turned unto to profit is a sufficient teacher of it self such need not mans teaching any more and so people come to know their bodies to be the Temples of God through the Spirit which dwelleth in them and so they come to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit which are love meekness long-suffering patience and the true reconciliation by Christ Jesus between God and man the enmity being slaine upon the Crosse and of twaine one new man is witnessed and so peace comes to be witnessed with God and not before and untill the new creature be witnessed all availeth nothing but the true and everlasting Ministry of Christ Jesus bringeth the creature unto this and none else by which and in which the creature comes to bring forth naturally the fruits of the Spirit as he did the fruits of the flesh before which was nothing else but lust and uncleannesse and filthinesse of life So give up to be taught by him in this the day of his Almighty power Therefore let this be a warning unto all Priests Let God alone with his own work for he needeth no mans wisdome to help him for the best of your stuff you have is but compacted with your own natural wisdome which you must all loose before you can come to know God For man by wisdome knows not God neither can the natural man discerne the things of the Spirit for they are spiritually discerned therefore ye must all come to the teachings of the Spirit of God your selves before you can come to teach others These things are plaine and manifest unto every one who is not wilfully blind and drunk with prejudice therefore consider Paul had more to lose of this kind then most of you have yet he said he counted it gaine to lose it all to gaine Christ and let him be your example who reasoned not with flesh and blood but immediately obeyed the Heavenly voice I speak this unto you in love and some of you the Lord may
make Instruments in his glorious worke in this the day of his power if ye reject not his loving counsel and visitation of love which to you is tendred in particular O ye Priests of this Nation to whom this is sent But if ye reject his counsel and will have none of his reproof then hear what the Spirit of the Lord saith the Lord will make you examples of his wrath above many and that is a word of truth unto you all that ye may truly be warned and repent before it be too late And I warne you as from the Lord God of Heaven and earth that ye be not Instruments of stopping this from passing amongst the people by rejecting it or casting an odium upon it thereby to incense the peoples minds against the truth of God and things that do belong to your peace which if you do better were it that a milstone were hanged about your necks and you cast into the midst of the Sea then you should hinder the least from receiving this testimony for Gods dreadfull and terrible day is at hand in which he will render to every one according to the fruits of his own doings both Priests and people for every one shall give an account of himself to God and every one shall die for his own iniquity Therefore againe and againe I say be ye warned and if ye Priests or any of you shall hearden your hearts against this visitation of love from the Lord which is sent amongst you by esteeming that you are the true Ministers of Christ and the spiritual weaponed men then come forth openly into the field and make it appear by answering the Queries which are propounded unto you in this book that ye may through it come to understand and the truth may yet be made further manifest in the eyes of all And this proffer do not slight least the people grow jealous of you but this I say in love to your immortal souls happy will ye be if ye receive the love of God in it and submit unto his holy will and receive his counsel and be advised betimes for the fruits of your Ministry doth testifie to your faces that it is not of God for if it were it would turn the people from the evil of their wayes and from Satan to God My little children saith Paul of whom I travail in birth againe untill Christ be formed in you Mark the words and consider them Christ was to be formed in them and this was the true Saints and Christians life to witnesse him to rule and Reigne in them for saith Paul I live yet not I but Christ in me so in the Saints was the only hope of their glory and without this all are without the true hope and God in this world which is the unregenerate state where the new birth and creature is not witnessed nor known but are captives unto sin and Satan lust and uncleannesse but where Christ is witnessed the body is dead because of sin and the spirit is life because of righteousness And blessed are they who witnesse this in deed and in truth such are the true Israelites in whom there is no guile which the Lord of glory delights in but abhorreth all faire sayers and not doers such shall have their portion with the hypocrites and unbeleevers for ever but whosoever heareth the sayings of the Lord and doth them he is like unto a wise man which built and founded his house upon a Rock which the stormes could not move and they are Heirs of happinesse for evermore world without end Crowned with the faithfull for ever Many are called but few are chosen even only those who are faithfull therefore I say againe through the Spirit blessed and happy are they world without end And that many of you might come to enjoy this eternal blessed and happy end I could lay down my life were it required of me Consider will a call save you nay Therefore consider what will it availe you to gaine the whole world and lose your own souls for the transitory pleasures of this fading world O let it never be but embrace mercy while it is freely tendred unto you and ye will enjoy an incorruptible Crown which the Lord hath in store for all who forsake all corruptible things for his sake And these are words and counsel of life unto you all which springeth from the true fountain of life and love which you will come to witness And truly friends there is no life but through death nor no Crown but through the Crosse nor no victory but through War and tribulation of the Lamb And consider the Lamb was slaine from the foundation of the world and the world is set in mans heart And the whole world lyeth in wickedness saith the Apostle for it is in you the Lamb is slaine even in spirituall Sodom and Aegypt Behold a Mistery read and consider spiritually called Sodom and Aegypt even idleness and fullnesse of bread and adultery and the like and this crucifieth the just in you daily and if ever you turn to the Light of Christ in you you will witnesse my words to be true and will come to mourn over him whom we have pierced even as a man mourneth over his only begotten son for truly untill you come here ye remain guilty of the blood of the Son of God and all mankind upon the face of the whole earth And these few words was I moved of the Lord to write unto you that ye may consider well your state and read within your selves with the Light whether it be so or no So God Almighty open and pierce through your understandings that ye may perfectly come to see and comprehend with all Saints what is the mistery and love of God in Christ Jesus concerning you and all mankind which is the true desire of him who is ready to lay down his life for his vilest enemies And seriously consider whether the world stands not yet whole in you which is truly to be destroyed even by fire as truly as the old was by water and untill this be witnessed the just in you suffereth for it is the just that suffereth by the unjust in the particular as well as in the general Ponder these things well and truly weigh them and the just in you will answer to my words from whence they come and to what end they are spoken and so will ye find mercy and not till then professe what ye will for except ye witness Christ risen in you all Preaching and Profession is in vaine whatsoever These are perfect and true sayings and will stand a witnesse against you for ever if ye reject them for if you will or dare come to your tryall it will be manifestly proved that you are not the true and faithfull Ministers of Jesus Christ neither by Call Maintainance nor manner of worship as Preaching Praying or Singing Baptisme or any other thing which is used or taught by you or amongst you
took and gave another to read and said I pray thee read it and he said I cannot for it is sealed and he gave it to another and said I pray thee read it and he said I cannot for I am unlearned so to learned and unlearned it is a mistery And truely I freely declare unto all the sons of men that there is none that can open the seals thereof neither is there any found worthy in Heaven or in Earth but Christ Jesus the Lamb of God the Light of the World who hath enlightned every one which cometh into the World and till men come to give up to be led guided and directed by this pure Light in all their words and actions the mysteries of the Kingdome of God nor godlinesse they will never come to know nor understand for the vail is over their hearts and until it be rent and taken away by the power and vertue of the Light they run on as the Jews doe in darknesse and know not at what they stumble for though the mistery of godlinesse be great yet it is but one to all and in all either Jew or Gentile even God manifest in the flesh the Emanuel God with us even with men and in men and this is the Mistery of Mysteries which the Apostle said hath been hid from ages and generations which was Christ in them the hope of their glory and without this be witnessed there is neither true hope nor true glory though men talk of hope yet it is but the Hypocrites hope which perisheth and will never bring them to glory no farther then the earthly which is but grief and vexation of spirit but he that hath and is truly possessed with the true and living hope abiding in him purifieth himself even as Christ is pure even from all earthly affections either of glory honour or riches wisdom or any other earthly thing being given up in all things to seek the true honour and glory which cometh from God onely though for so doing he may and is accounted a fool poor and simple and rejected by those who possesse onely the false hope who seek the riches honour and praise of the Kings and Princes of this world which are the manifest fruits and effects of their hope And thus is Christ become the true riches of the soul and the creatures glory whereby he comes to tread all other things under his feet and counts them but as drosse and dung in comparison to it So here all may prove and try their hope by its manifest and apparent opperations in brief the one hoping this and that power will be the chiefest that they may have accesse unto it to maintain their Church and Religion and the other desiring that God onely may have and take the dominion and that he alone may rule and reign because he knoweth it is in God and the gates of Hell can never prevail against it therefore matters not nor fears any outward strength because his strength and hope is in God alone who purifies and makes clean all who hope and put their trust in him by the power of his own seed in them to rule and reign which bruiseth the seed and head of the Serpent for ever and conquers the last enemy and such onely come to witnesse the true and living birth which is of God which sinneth not and comes to be restored into the same glorious state and condition as Adam was in before he fell And this is the substance of all words and also it is the end of Christs ministring even to bring people unto this by which they come to know as I have said the promise of God fulfilled to wit the seed of the woman to bruise the Serpents head and their bodyes to be Temples and habitations of God through the Spirit and he to live and walk in them as he hath promised but the ministry of Satan is to preach up sin as long as men live by which means he may keep his Kingdome for he hath no other Kingdome but it Therefore let men professe what they will in word he matters not as long as he hath his Dominion in their hearts and his head unbruised there where he sitteth as God even in the Temple of God and this is the abomination of desolation amongst the sons of men which is to be made desolate in this the day of Gods Almighty power in which the mistery of the Man of sin shall be fully revealed and made manifest and the Kingdome of the most High shall be established with men and in them And this great and glorious work shall not be by might nor by force of men but by the arm and Spirit of the Almighty God whose power shall be evidently made manifest to free and set at liberty the sons of men from the bonds of sin and corruption that they may no longer be Satans bond-slaves I say all such shall come to witnesse this who shall cleave to the Lord with sincerity of heart in this the day of his gracious love unto the sons and daughters of men but those that reject his love and will none of his reproof shall witnesse and also feel his power in wrath and dreadful vengeance who will assuredly render unto them according to their deeds and so much the more as they have slighted the day of their visitation and rather believed Satan and his messengers that his power is greater to keep them in sin and bondage than Gods was to deliver them though the Scripture it self which they seem to professe beareth witnesse against them And the Apostles Ministry was to open the blind eyes and to turn people from darknesse to light and from Satans power unto God and they who believe in this Ministry and receive it in the love thereof they come perfectly to know as they are turned from darkness which is the power of Satan unto light which is the power of God and witnesse in deed and in truth the power of God greater to deliver from sin than Satans power is to keep in sin therefore the unbeliever and Satan and his Ministers shall all be taken and cast into the lake of Brimstone and Fire and be tormented for ever and ever and the little stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall become a great mountain and cover the whole earth for ever and shall grind all his enemies to powder for God Almighty hath determined it and his Decree is unalterable Therefore O thou Nation of France in particular I warn thee as one whom God hath warned and constrained so to do that thou stand not in the stubbornnesse of thy heart against the Lord and his Anointed in this the day of his power but submit unto him by repentance and forsaking of thy sins that thou mayst find mercy else he will teare thee in pieces and none shall be able to deliver thee out of his hands which is his eternal word unto you all Therefore lay it to