than all their wisdome and so they came to know that in Judgement to their woe which they refused in mercy for their salvation And as it was then so is it now the wisdome of men is received for the Doctrine of salvation and the Doctrine of Gods salvation is accounted foolishnesse and delusion and cast aside as a thing of naught by the wise of this world who account it not worthy to have a room in their hearts nor in the Nation and they that have received in their hearts who believe and obey it they have made laws to banish out of their Native Countrey but the time is coming and very nigh at hand that you shall know in terrible Judgments that your wisdome was but foolishnesse and that which you are labouring to exalt is that which God is appeared to cast aside and destroy and that which you are labouring to destroy and pull down is that which God is risen in spirit in the hearts and souls of his people to set up and now you shall certainly know whose Counsel shall stand and we have told you before but you would not believe the report of the spirit of truth therefore the arm of Gods salvation is not revealed in you which now he is making bare before you and all Nations that you may know you have refused his Counsel and slighted the day of your Visitation and rejected the spirit of truth that would have gathered you and the power that would have preserved you from the hands of all your enemies both within and without which you shall see and know is able to preserve all those that put their trust in it and to deliver them out of the hands of all their enemies so far as it shall make for his glory and the good of our souls And if he shall farther suffer us to be-tried to the laying down of our lives for his Name sake his will be done and let our God glorifie himself with his own which way he pleaseth and if we drink deeper of the cup of suffering it is but the same our Lord hath drunk and the baptisme he hath been baptized with but the dreggs thereof shall his and our enemies drink for ever For saith he that lifts up his hand to heaven and lives for ever If I whet my glittering sword and my hand take bold on Judgment I will render vengeance to my enemies and will reward them that hate me I will make my arrows drunk with bloud and my sword shall devoure flesh and that with the bloud of the slain and of the Captives from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy Rejoyce O ye Nations with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance to his adversaries mark and will be merciful unto his land and to his people therefore blessed blessed of the Lord are you his people that suffer for his name sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad Deut. 32.41 42 43. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you on their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified 1 Pet. 4.14 And are we called to glorifie our God then let him have the glory due to his great and glorious name for this is a high and glorious honourable calling above all the glories of the world above the glory of Kings Princes and Emperours this is the glory wherewith the Son glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies his again for he hath given them his word and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world but are sanctified through the belief of the truth which the world hates John 17.14 And how did the Son glorifie the Father Was it not in doing his will and bearing witnesse to his truth And every one that is of the truth heareth his voice and because we hear his voice and do his will in bearing witnesse to the truth therefore are 〈◊〉 hated persecuted and spoyled by those that are not of the truth for he that had the Languages was not of the truth but said What is truth Mark that for the Languages gives not the knowledg of the truth but truth was that which he that had the Languages gave sentance against And so it is now in all those that believe not in the true light that shines in their hearts which gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ All that are in the truth are in that which was before the many Languages were which began at Babel and without coming to the truth there must end but being sanctified by the truth serves the truth in its place to manifest the confusion of Babel that is in the curse taking counsel and not of the Lord and making themselves a name in the earth these were scattered over the face of the earth But the gathering out of the Confusion and the Curse is in the Name of the Lord that confounds the Wisdome and Counsell from beneath that is earthly sensual and devilish and the Language is in the Confusion cannot lead into the true knowledg of God and the unity in his Spirit but the word that was in the beginning leads up to the Father out of the earth where man was driven out of the Curse out of the Tongues and Languages in the Confusion where man was scattered out of the wisdome from beneath and selfish counsel of his own heart out of the names in the fall and alienation into the Name which is the power and life of the Son of God that only knows the Father and reveals him Mat. 11.27 and not Tongues and Languages but the spirit and life of Jesus that the Father hath sent into the world to do his will and where he is received he is the Covenant of light and promise of the father to the Gentiles to them that receive him by believing in his light he is elect and precious 1 Pet. 2.7 but unto them which be disobedient that is which believe not the stone which the builders disalowed the same is made the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence against which many have split themselves who were once high and mighty in the earth by disalowing him that made Heaven Earth to rule and reign in the Consciences of his people whom he calls out of darknesse into his marvellous Light Who are a Chosen Royall Priesthood peculiar to the Lord that he should act them by his spirit to shew forth the praises due unto his great and glorious Name And why should men be so unreasonable as to disalow the Lord of life that hath quickened our souls to live in them and rule in them and do his Fathers will which way or how he pleaseth seeing we are not our own to do our own will but are bought with a price to do the will of him that
ever And also have we not good reason to turn from you when you turn from Christ the true Light that gives the true knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesns Christ 2 Cor. 4.6 For the want of obedience to the which Light you come to erre and stray from the way of God and are as you say in the lost state like lost sheep and no marvel when you will not hearken to the voice of the true shepherd and bishop of the soul and they which do you persecute and so will not receive the knowledge of the truth your selves and enter into the kingdome nor suffer those that would as much as lieth in you you shut the kingdome of heaven against men as did the chief Priests and Scribes and Pharisees of old therefore woe is to you that ever you were born alas for you how will you be able to stand in the dreadful terrible day of Gods righteous judgment that is coming and speedily hastens upon you who are found opposers of the work of the spirit of truth even that spirit that the Apostles and Disciples of Christ were Ministers of that is it that leads into all truth into which the good shepherd is gathering his sheep wherein is witnessed the perfect gift that leads out of sin and imperfection the gift of the spirit of faith that overcomes the spirit of the world that leads into bondage and so come to witness the glorious liberty of the sons of God 2 Cor. 4 13.3 17. which is in the spirit for where the spirit of the Lord is received there is liberty from what from the bondage of sin and corruption not in sin and the lusts of the flesh as many would have it but in the spirit that leads out of sin and mortifies the lusts of the flesh as the Scripture saith Walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh Galat. 5.16 which you Priests cannot believe though the Scripture saith it you are not come to the spirit of faith that overcomes the world who say we can never be free from sin while we are upon earth hath not he dominion over sin that doth not fulfill the lusts of the flesh as it is written Galat. 5.24 they that are Christ have crncified mark the flesh with the affections and lusts these that are Christs did witness a victory over sin who lived and walked in the spirit and the law of the spirit of life in Christs Jesus made them free from the law of sin and death Mark these were such that walked in the spirit and were the sons of God who ceased from sin for it is written John 8.34 he that committeth sin is the servant of sin that is not one of the sons of God that is made free indeed for know ye not that to whom ye yield your selves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness for when ye were the servants of sin mark before Christs words that is committed sin ye were free from righteousness but now being made free from sin and become servants to God ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life Rom. 6 16 20 22. then there was a freedome from sin in the Apostles dayes as they bear testimony in the spirit of God and we who believe their testimony and are come to the same spirit and cannot but bear the same testimony according to our measure receiving him in the same spirit of faith do receive the same power to become the sons of God Now seeing there was a freedome from sin in the Apostles time who witnessed his glorious appearance to put away sin and that he had done in them the work he came into the world to do that is to destroy the works of the Devil how comes it to pass now that this Doctrine of the Apostles can find no more place in this generation of priests and people it is because they love darkness more than light and their lusts and evil deeds more than the life of righteousness and so would perswade the people that there is no such life of righteousness to be brought forth here on earth as the Apostles spake of and witnessed and the Scriptures bear testimony to so it doth clearly appear what kingdome you are of and whose servants you are that cannot cease from sin beguiling unstable soules mark these the Apostle saith are the false teachers that being in damnable heresies who through Covetousness and feigned words make merchandise of you 2 Pet. 2 14.2 1.3 who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness that cannot cease from sin mark but plead for it terme of life these are they that beguile the unstable and strayed sheep whose hearts are exercised with covetous practises cursed children which have forsaken the right way and are gone astray like lost sheep following the way of Balaam the son of Bozor who loved the wages of unrighteousness to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever because they hate the light and love darkness more than light it justly becomes their portion And who is he that will be so wicked as to say we ought not to turn from these who prove themselves to be in the way of Balaam both in life and Doctrine a company of miserable sinners that cannot cease from sin being erred and strayed from the right way that leads out of sin therefore bring another Doctrine to plead for it and turning the Doctrine of truth into another meaning to uphold your contrary practice and cover your life that the Apostle bare testimony against whose Doctrine was from the gift of the spirit of truth which saith every good giving and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights James 1.17 and as many as come to this good and perfect gift receive it and are taught by it are led into the good old way of truth and righteousness which is the perfect leadings of the perfect spirit of God into his perfect life by which the command of God comes to be kept which saith Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect Matth. 5.4 8. and the Apostles said they kept his commands and did that which was right in his sight but you priests and people that are erred and strayed from the good and perfect way cannot keep his commands nor do that which is right in his sight for it is impossible you should till you come to the good perfect gift of God and because it is impossible with you you think it is so with all but that which is impossible with you is possible with God and all who do receive him the perfect gift of Gods power and walk in it are come to witness the dominion of the son of God which is over sin hell and death and so becomes the sons of God that can do nothing
against the truth but for the truth But you that call your selves Ministers of Christ that have not received the perfect gift of God that cometh from above which is for the perfecting of the Saints you are not sent of God and cannot profit the people at all and are but intruders into that you understand nor and cannot do the Lords work but are making a trade of felling the Apostles words and Christs words and the Prophets words being ignorant of the word of faith in the heart and in the mouth which they preached which is the Gospel that is hid to those that are lost and gone astray by erring from the way of life which the Minister of Christ is to turn the people to that is from the darknesse to the light which you that God never sent hate and say it is natural and from the power of Sathan unto God which you that have not received the gift of God cannot believe is able to destroy the works of the Devil while you live upon the earth so you are wholly ignorant of the power of the kingdome of God that is come and will consume the Antichristian wherein the will of God is done in earth mark that as in heaven and this you pray for yet believe against or else you must believe it is the will of God that men should live in sin as long as they are on the earth but the Apostle saith the contrary in these words this is the will of God even your sanctification 1 Thess 4.3 and they who are come to the gift of the spirit that sanctifies cannot but bear testimony to the salvation of God through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth 2.13 but you that have received your gift from your fountains of Oxford and Cambridge which are beneath and cometh from the corrupt nature that stands in the fall and degeneration estranged from the Covenant of life erred and strayed from the right way which is the gift of the spirit and are in the way of fallen nature and its gifts and these gifts can never lead out of the fall up to God because they are but from beneath and cannot bring to the knowledge of God nor his truth for Pilate had the natural gift of Tongues as Latin Greek and Hebrew and by it he could not know the truth but said to Christ what is truth John 18.38 so you that have received your gift from beneath knows not the mind of the spirit which is the mind of Christ which the Apostles by the spirit had but you study to make a message of your own according to your own mind and imagination and when it is made you must have money for it because you came not by this art of Sermon-making without money and although you should be but bunglets at this trade and not masters of this art yet if you can get a shop and set up the people must be compelled to pay you though they abhor your work and this makes your trade so much in request and truth so much persecuted but must we buy your imaginations because you bought your art this is not equal nor just nor ever ordained of God as his Ordinance yet we submit our selves in suffering patiently till the Lord take off this oppression and break this yoke Was it ever heard of in any age that people were compelled to buy chaff to eat when they might have wheat for nothing had not the Prodigal more liberty among the swine than we have among such as accout themselves sheep of Christ for he might eat the husks freely though it satisfied not his soul till he returned to the fathers house where he had bread enough freely and we who are come to the Fathers house and have bread sufficient cannot spend our money for that which is not bread and our labour for that which perisheth but on the contrary to exhort all to seed upon the bread that is living that comes down from heaven and giveth life unto the world Joh. 6.33 and this is the gift the Father of life hath given and blessed are all they that do receive it But from your fountains of Oxford and Cambridge doth flow forth a spirit of persecution and strife against the truth as we by sad experience have felt and witnessed for these several years whereby many of us have lost our lives by long imprisonment and cruel usage which that spirit hath occasioned by stirring up the people and Magistrates to fulfill their wills and if we should say this spirit were of God we should lye against the truth but this is the wisdome that descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual and devillish this cometh not down from above and therefore it opposeth that which doth For the Doctrine of the Apostles of truth is this 1 Pet. 4.10 Let every man as he hath received the gift minister the same one to another not for money but as good disposers or stuards of the manifold grace of God Now if any who have received the good and perfect gift of God that cometh down from the Father of Lights in obedience to the spirit of truth goes to communicate of his gift to others then he is counted an offender by that spirit which came from Oxford and Cambridge and the Lords of that spirit and Priesthood have made a Law against it even against that which the Lord Jesus doth command by his eternal spirit in his Apostles which they and his Disciples did practice and must practice notwithstanding all opposition Can you be so ignorant as to think your law shall bind his spirit from ministring in whom and where he pleaseth Can you stop the Sun that it may not go its course If not consider what will become of them that strive against their maker and the work of his eternal spirit Do you think that he that hath received the gift of ministration from above will be stopped by your Law which is from beneath If you measure that spirit with the wisdome from beneath you may think so but we have received another spirit than that of Oxford and Cambridge for that spirit hath been stopped by the commands of men because its commission is but from man so man commands them to be silent and they are so because they be the Ministry of the powers of the Nation who gives them their Wages so the National Ministry are but the servants of the National power as it doth appear for vvhen the powers changed the Ministry changed except they turn vvith the time as for the most part they do and lick up their own vomit again as it is clear to most people they have done of late How did they cry out against the Common-prayer some years ago to be such an abominable thing as not fit to come into their mouths but now rather then lose a fat Benefice they can swallow it down Surplice and all Doth it not appear now who preach for money We told you
which God in his dreadful power did condemn cast out and destroy in us But while we did submit to it in our selves then we could submit to it in others for when death reigned deceit was honourable but when life came death was destroyed deceit denyed truth exalted and God honoured and our souls saved and so in Gods salvation we standing Men and Devile cannot prevail against us Now if you persecutors could believe this then you would know it were in vain to strive against us for in so doing you strive against the Lord and must needs reap destruction but on the contrary if we did not know these things brought forth in us by the mighty power of God then we might believe it were in vain to resist your wills and suffer the losse of our lives goods and liberties not knowing for what For what would it profit us to suffer for that which could not save and deliver our souls from eternal death When we were in deceit we could not suffer for the truth because the truth did suffer by us and in us but now coming into the truth deceit is denyed and cast out into the world and there rageth at us in all deceivers who are deceived that think to stop the way of the Lord and the work of his spirit in England Therefore we chuse to suffer with the truth being sure we shall reign with the truth over all that is against it for that power that hath and doth free us from the enemy within in his due time will deliver us from the enemy without and from the hands of all that hate us that we may serve him without sear of them in righteousnesse and true holinesse before him without controul of men all the dayes of our lives And therefore Infallibly knowing our selves to be led and acted by the spirit of the Lord God in the obedience of his will we do also know as well that all our enemies who oppose persecute and oppresse us except they repent shall all be destroyed and perish eternally and therefore how can we but pity your condition pray and mourn for you in secret that if it be possible you may come to the truth and be saved before it be too late and then we can neither pray nor mourn for you when you have sealed your destruction with our blood it will be too late for you because you have had such warning before-hand from the spirit of the Lord in his servants then the voice of our blood which is pretious in the sight of the God of heaven will cry loud for vengeance against you How long holy and true before thou aveng our blood dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth Rev. 6.10 Woe woe from the Lord God of power to all blood-thirsty Rulers Judges and Magistrates who hunt after blood persecute and condemn the innocent who doth not resist you in you is the resurrection of the unjust and cruel muthering spirit which is risen and alive to fill up the measure of iniquity and cruelty to bring to remembrance before the Lord all the bloud that hath been shed in your great City Babylon and woe for ever will be to those that are found acting in that murthering spirit for upon that spirit will the Lord render vengeance in flaming fire for all the righteous blood that hath been shed upon the earth And the woful dreadful terrible day of your destruction who are in that nature draweth nigh wherein you must suffer punishment for every evil thought and wicked word and action against the innocent who suffer for the obedience of his will as done unto himself Matth. 18.6 In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me And again ved 10. But who so shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me mark it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea And take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones who cannot Bow to mens Inventions and Traditions set up in the wills of some men and pulled down in the wills of other men but we are come to the standing worship in the Will Power and Spirit of God that abides for ever which men and devils shall not prevail against though some may stretch forth their hands to vex certain of the Church as Herod did Acts 12.1 because he saw it pleased their enemies the Jews but it pleased the Lord to make an example of him and he was eaten with worms that it might be a warning to all self-conceited ambitious proud highminded persecuting Rulers and Magistrates in the ages to come And if Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Mat. 25.41 be the portion of those that do not visit the little ones his brethren in prisons and dungeons and nasty holes where they are cast for the testimony of his truth what shall be the reward and portion of those that cast them in and throng them together to the destruction of their lives for want of fresh aire that they may be murthered in secret without Judgment or Mercy but alass for you the cry of their innocent bloud will find you out both actors and consenters and bring you to open Judgement for your secret wickednesse And if God do not openly appear in terrible Judgment against you for these things then you may say Tush God seeth it not or that he hath forsaken the earth or that he is not mindful of those that diligently seek him but we know and you shall assuredly know you have touched his annointed ones and offended his little ones and despised them slain his Prophets and done despight unto his spirit of grace Therefore vvoe is me for you vvhat vvill you do in that day that is nigh at hand Who shall deliver you from the stroke of his vengeance Who shall save you from his fierce wrath Alas alas Who can utter the misery or declare the terrible Judgments that is to come upon Babylon and all her Merchants and persecuting Rulers and Governors that are found alive in her sin when God shall render vengeance for all the bloud that is found in her and they in the bloud Woe upon woe misery upon misery plague upon plague is coming upon thee O Babylon thou mother of Harlots and abomination of the earth Oh happy are you ye Inhabitants of Sion blessed yea for ever blessed be the day in which that love was manifessed to your souls that hath gathered and brought you out of the City of confusion Mistery Babylon the great Though you may lose your mortal lives for a testimony against her yet you have cause to rejoyce for ever that you are made worthy to follow the Lamb and fill up the measure of his sufferings and so receive an exceeding weight of glory
LAMENTATION OVER ENGLAND FROM A true sight and suffering sense of the lamentable Wickedness of such Rulers Priests and People that are erred and strayed from the way of God and follow too much the devices and desires of their own hearts offending against his holy Laws limiting the Holy one of Israel making the devices of their own hearts a Law to insnare the Innocent that worship the Father in spirit and truth Whereby all Persecutors may in pity to their souls truly consider what way they are in and whether it leads and whose work they are doing and what the Scripture saith will be the reward of Oppression and Cruelty By M. W. Evil shall hunt the cruel man to destruction I know that the Lord will avenge the afflicted and judg the poor Surely the righteous shall praise thy name and the just shall dwell in by presence Psalm 140.11 12 13. Printed in the Year 1664. Impartial Reader IF thy heart be upright towards God thou canst not but love his truth in the inward parts which teacheth thee to speak the truth and do the truth and to deal plainly with all men and not to call evil good nor good evil nor put light for darkness nor darkness for light but to deal justly with all men and walk humbly with thy God and then thou needst not fear the threats nor frowns of any man who is but dust but wilt fear the Lord and give glory to him that made heaven and earth the sea and the fountains of water in exalting his name above every name and his commands above the wills of men in bowing thy heart and soul to the obedience of his spirit that his everlasting kingdome of righteousness may be set up in thee that the blessed government of his Spirit thy soul may be subject to then thou canst in truth say the kingdom of God is come in power and great glory then the Idols of gold and silver and the glory of the work that perisheth thou wilt cast to the Bats of the night that cannot behold the Sun and to the Moles of the earth that know not him that gave them breath then canst thou declare what the Lord hath wrought and sound forth his praise to the ends of the earth then will the voice of the good shepherd of Israel be joy to thy heart strength to thy sinews marrow to thy bones and thy soul shall feed in the fat pastures and thy dwelling shall be in the hill of Gods delight even Sion that shall never be removed into which the Father of life is gathering his own seed out of all Nations Tongues and Languages to dwell with him in the unity of his spirit and to have fellowship with him in his life that his coming may be witnessed in the ten thousands of 〈…〉 the world and to destroy the will of the flesh and make his great slaughter of all that which hath rebelled against him and cannot be subject to the law of his spirit but resists and is a law warring in the flesh and that nature which slew the Lamb from the foundation of the world yet offereth a sacrifice but could never please God and they that please God could never please it therefore were they and are they persecuted and suffer by it and so spiritually overcome and reign over it so our kingdome is not of this world but over the spirit of this world neither can it be shaken by the powers of this world but by its power doth shake the world and shall over turn that foundation on which the wickedness is built that the blessed foundation of the Prophets and Apostles may be revealed before all Nations which is Christ Jesus the Light in which the saved in all nations shall walk and in which if thou that readest this dost not walk thou canst never witness Gods salvation but if thou believe and in it walk then wilt thou know this to be truth and love to thy soul from th◠friend A Lamentation over England from a true sight and suffering sense of the lamentable wickednesse of such Rulers Priests and People that are Erred and Strayed from the way of God c. TEnder love to all your Souls is the subject of this ensuing Treatise And your refusal to accept of so great love as the Lord God of life holds forth to you in this the day of his tender visitation is cause sufficient for this my Lamentation Oh England England and ye Rulers and Magistrates thereof Oh that you had prised this the day of your visitation Oh that you had hearkened to the voice of the truth in the mouths of the Prophets and servants of God who have finished their faithful testimony several of them with the laying down of their lives And that you had not despised and still do despise and persecute those whom he hath sent unto you Oh that the blood of his pretious servants did not lie at your doores which cries loud for vengeance in the ears of the just God of heaven and earth till he make Inquisition for it How many have been imprisoned till death for obeying the will of God And how hath their blood been mingled with their sacrifices when they have been peaceably met together in the fear of the Lord and in the dread of his power out of the fear of him that kills the body but in the love and patient nature of the Lamb that overcomes the wrath and saves the soul who is the highest power that the soul ought to be subject to who hath given it life breath and being and who can cast it into Hell fire if it obey him not And therefore you are very much mistaken in us who think to frighten us out of our Religion by persecution or killing the body it being that which the Lord hath raised up in us by his mighty power in the denyal of our own wills and so contrary to all mens wills that have not submitted to his power For when he appeared in his power to place his fear in our hearts then our flesh trembled and Immortality was brought to light through the Gospel which was the voice of the Son of God to our souls by which we came to hear and live which life is contrary and which voice is dreadful to the flesh and so we having felt the terrors of the Lord for sin and transgression do not at all fear the terrors of men which can but kill the body and when that is done can do no more Therefore friends you knew not what you did when you began to meddle with us and make laws against us and persecute us because we could not submit to your wills for had you known us you would not have begun such an ill work wherein you should have lost so much labour and gained so much dishonour and also incurr'd the wrath of God Had Nebuchadnezzar known the three Children as well before as he did after he would never have forced them
to worship his golden Image but after he came to know them be loved them and honoured them in the sight of his Nobles Princes Dukes and Counsellors confessing them to be the servants of the high God commending their faithfulnesse in yielding their bodies to the flames rather then they would serve or worship any God save their own God Then he saw his vain labour in forcing the servants of the most high God contrary to the commands of their God And will you shew your selves more unreasonable then a Heathen more blinder then those that knew not God and yet call your selves Christians and the Scriptures your Rule When Nebuchadnezzar had once tryed the three children of God to the laying down of their lives and found them faithful he was satisfied How many times have you tryed us by Imprisonment till death and spoyling of our goods by breaking up our Meetings beating innocent harmlesse people to death How many Cruel Barbarous Unhumane dealings have been used against us both before your Government and also since by you which we have walked through and in the furnace of affliction with the patience of the Son of God who hath kept our precious lives unhurt and brings us forth to his praise and yet cannot you see the Son of God with us whom you fight against Can you not see neither how little you do prevail against him and his spiritual work in us Though some of you can say We are a very confident people but if you could but see him that leads us who is the Captain of our salvation you would say We had good cause to be bold and valiant knowing our leader is not to be overcome nor those that follow him who are called and chosen and faithful which faithfulnesse Nebuchadnezzar did commend and honour And did he not do well in 〈◊〉 Yes you cannot deny Then as you have followed his example by indeavouring to compel us to fall down to your imaginary worship which I believe you will not justifie in him follow his example also in justifying the faithful children of God that would not obey his Commands to the dishonouring of the most high God who having tryed them blessed God for their faithfulnesse In this will Nebuchadnezzar stand in Judgment against all those who make unrighteous Decrees to compel men to disobey the commands of Christ except they follow his example in this that is to say the change of their minds and altering of their Decrees in Justifying the faithful servants of God in their pure obedience to him Objection But if it be said If we knew you to be the servants of the high God as well as Nebuchadnezzar knew the three children we would not make Laws nor Decrees to compel you to our worship being sure it would be but lost labour Answer Then all our sufferings and persecutions and hard usages from you is because you do not know us and whose fault is that ours or yours that you do not know us to be the children of God Whose fault was it that Saul the persecutor knew not the Church of God but made havock of the true worshippers were they to be blamed or he If he then you when he hearkened to the High Priests he persecuted the Disciples of Jesus but when he obeyed the voice of Christ he saw their deceit and believed the truth then he preached him and suffered with those he persecuted Now if you that persecute knew the truth you would know us that walk in it And have not we laboured even to the laying down of our lives that you might know it and be saved by it What could we have done more for you then we have to bring you to the knowledg of it Have we not suffered to the death in obedience to it that it might preach to you that we have found the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness thereof which is better then our lives for which righteousness sake we suffer and are blessed if we continue faithful to the end And this is the only true way that can be used as to you to convince your understandings that we are in the truth when we lay down our lives for it If we were unfaithful to our God and disobedient to his Spirit in obeying your commands that are contrary to the truth you had no reason to judge or think we were in the truth for had the three children been deceitful and obeyed the Kings command he had never knew them to be the servants of the high God that was able to deliver out of his hand And the deliverance that he saw was of their bodies from the flames that made him blesse the God of their lives but the deliverance that we witnesse is of our souls from etenel death which is far greater and more glorious yet you cannot see it but if your spiritual eyes were open as his fleshly eyes was then you might see a greater deliverance in the spirit then he saw in the flesh and would have as great or greater cause to blesse the God of those you in scorn call Quakers as the King Nebuchadnezzar had to blesse the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego though he be the same God over all blessed for ever Yet his appearance in this the great and notable day of the Spirit is that in which the riches of his love is and shall be made manifest which was promised to the ages to come which now is come of which the Apostles and Disciples of Christ were the first-fruits but now is the day of the whole Harvest of the earth begun in which the Lord is gathering in unto himself his Elect seed in all Nations Lands and Countries even from the one end of the earth unto the other that they may worship in spirit and in truth and be established in righteousnesse and the Mountain of the house of the Lord be prepared in the top of the mountains and be exalted above the hills where all Nations shall flow unto it out of which shall go forth the Law and the word of the Lord from this Jerusalem and they shall break their Swords into Plough-shares Mark the day of the breaking of Swords is begun and their Spears into Pruning-books and Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither learn to fight any more And this is the day that is dawned and blessed are they that walk in it but wretched and miserable are all those that despise it and persecute those that walk in the light of it casting them into Prisons Holes and Dungeons because they cannot submit to their corrupt wils nor worship the Imaginations of their Wise men which they teach for Doctrine and give forth for a Prescription of a Religious Worship contrary to the practice of Christ and his Apostles whose Worship stood in the Spirit But I believe if all you that resist us knew in what our Worship did stand you durst not oppose that power that hath gathered us and made our
world that both Priests and People live in with the filthy unclean lusts of the flesh that they may keep Gods holy will and Commandements that the Priests and people for the most part say they can never keep here and walk in the same all the dayes of their lives and if this ought to be done as you say and is possible to be done by the power of God as I say then let the Priests bring forth one out of all the Parishes in England that they by their ministry have taught and brought into this perfect life which they have made the people promise and vow that the Children shall perform when they come to age Now if they have and still do make the people promise and vow That the Children shall do that which all the Priests in England cannot do then in all just reason the people should have the Tithes but if the people do not performe this vow and bring forth this life and the Priests and Bishops to help them then what is all your Religion worth that have not God a bridle for your tongues that promise and break it that vow solemnly before the Lord and not perform it You may very well say you are a generation of miserable offenders and there is none of you doth good as it doth appear no not one And yet you Priests would have a reward for teaching the people to profit when you cannot bring one of all your Flock that hath done that which you say and they promise and vow they ought to do First you ought to do your Work before you require your Wages but you take the reward first so you are herein more cunning then Balaam for you are sure of the reward though you never do the work and most of you are not ashamed to say it can never be done here yet you still take the Wages Can this be any other than the wages of unrighteousness to be paid for deceiving the people keeping them ever learning and never able to bring them to the knowledge of the truth but ever would be paid though never do the work therefore you are unprofitable servants and no Ministers of Christ and therefore we cannot follow you who deny the light of Christ within and so you choose the darkness for that will not reprove you for your unprofitable works and they which walk there cannot see your deceit therefore you love the darknesse more than the light and the wages of unrighteousnesse more than the truth which is the perfect gift of God given to profit withall and this is the reason you cannot profit the people because you have not received the perfect gift of God that the Apostles and Ministers of Christ did receive and do receive which was given for the perfecting of the Saints for the edifying of the body of Christ and they I believe spake truth when it was said by Paul that he spake wisdome among those that were perfect and that they that were sanctified were perfected for ever and the Scripture bears testimony of some that were sanctified So these could shew the fruits of their Ministry that they did perform that which they received the gift of God to do these did not receive the tenths of mens labours yet they did their work but you receive the tenth and say the work can never be done here if the work be to be done in another world what have you to do to take wages here but indeed you are like to have none of us in this world except you can do your work in this world but the Apostles and Ministers of Christ through the power of their gift brought men to the keeping of the commands of Christ who said Matth. 5.48 Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect and you priests make the people vow and promise to perform and is it not his will that this command should be kept on this side the grave if not why do you make the people promise to do it for he that forsakes the Devil and all his works and keeps Gods holy will and commandments shews forth and witnesseth a perfect life But if you have taught the people to promise and vow that which they nor you can never perform then you have led the people into errour and if it be not errour then you are erred from the spirit the gift of God by which the people should be perfected and the body of Christ edified being that your Ministry hath brought forth no such fruit and its like never will Therefore consider with your selves what cause those that love your souls have to warn you and deal plainly with you that if it be possible you may see your error and come to that spirit that leads into all truth for it s not possible for you to cover your selves but the eye which God hath opened in the children of Light doth see you and the woful sad miserable lamentable estate that you are in woe woe unto you weep and howl for the misery that is coming upon you what an account can you give to the Lord for all the souls that have perished under your cure who have not made with all your wisdome and skill one soul perfectly whole but still have laboured to keep them ever learning where they can never be able to come to the knowledge of the truth Woe woe unto you that ever you were born to be an occasion of such a great destruction in undertaking that which you have no spiritual skill in had you received the word of Life from the Lord the word would have healed them so there would have been some fruit to God if some had perished who had refused to hear or have been instructed by you you might have been clear of their bloud but the people have heard you and do hear you and if they come not you punish them and yet alas all spotted with Leprofie and there is as you and they say no foundness in you but all over polluted with wounds and putrified sores are not you judged out of your own mouths by your own confession before the people and then to cover your shame and errour you make the people believe it is not ever possible to be otherwise here Oh miserable comforters to a sick soul If the people did but see your deceit what would become of you but the Lord God of Life is making your deceit manifest daily by the light which you hate and all the children of Light see it who are taught by his spirit and therefore cannot but pity your poor miserable souls Alas what will you do when none shall buy your Medicine any more how will you look the people in the face in that day which hastens exceedingly for Sions sake you must sly to the rocks the mountains to cover you but they shall not be able for the mountains shall tremble in that day and the hills shall melt before the Lord and the glory of his
I cannot believe this record saith the blind guide and his followers then saith Christ for if ye believe not that I am be what he the true light ye shall dye in your sins then saith Jesus again unto them I go my way and ye shall seek me and shall dye in your sins whither I go ye cannot come Mark that ye despisers and haters of the light ye despise and hate Christ and ye that will not follow him the light here in this world shall not follow him hereafter into the glory of the world to come but shall dye in your sin and perish eternally Consider this ye despisers of truth there is but a breath betwixt you and eternal destruction ye haters of the light the eternal word by which you breath move and have a being who plead for sin and the deeds of darkness to live in them for tearm of life read your portion that live and die in sin and consider what he hath said that cannot lye if you will not live the life of the righteous being manifested unto you in the day of visitation you cannot dye the death of the righteous nor shall your last end be like unto his because he hath called and you refused he hath stretched out his hand of mercy and you will not regard ye have set at naught all his counsel by his messengers he hath sent unto you and would none of his reproof by his light in your consciences the spirit of truth that he hath sent to reprove the world of sin therefore saith he that cannot lye I will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh and when distress and anguish cometh upon you then shall you call but I will not answer you shall seek him early but shall not find him Pro. 1.24 25 26 27. therefore because the spirit of truth hath said it you that are in that capacity cannot dye the death of the righteous who shall in Gods peace that he hath laboured after with all men lye down and in his everlasting habitation dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil for the upright shall dwell in the land that the envy of Cains spirit shall not nor cannot banish them out of and the perfect shall remain in it These be a people whose life the blind guides could never yet see in all ages because they dwelt not in their land which is the land of darkness where Cain said he should be hid from the face of God therefore all his generation loves this land of darkness naturally to this day it being the land of their nativity where their fathers City is built out from the presence of the Lord and the blessing of the light of his countenance in that land of the valley of the shadow of death where the sitting down is in darknesse and the Prince of the power of darknesse bears rule there teaching his children and subjects to plead for his kingdome of liberty in the flesh which natural desires and lusts of the flesh being brought forth is the life after the flesh that cannot please God the old mans life in the curse in whom the seed of the serpent the subtilest beast is head and makes war in the old enmity against the seed of the woman of which is the spiritual or the birth after the spirit that the birth after the flesh persecutes and hates as Cain did who was of that wicked one and slew his brother and wherefore slew he him because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous 1 John 3.12 therefore it is no marvel that the children of light are hated of the world that lyeth in wickednesse and pleads for it and hates the light and pleads against it for he that hateth the light abides in darknesse and loveth not his brother and it s written whosoever hateth his brother is a murtherer and ye know that no murtherer hath eternal life abiding in him and where eternal life is not abiding there is Cains nature dwelling and from that nature ariseth the persecutor that doth not well in doing the things he ought not to do and so fin lyeth at his door And woe unto the wicked it shall be ill with him saith the spirit of the Lord for the reward of his hands shall he given him Isaiah 3.11 For the wicked shall be cut off from the earth and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it Proverbs 2.22 Therefore let all that have yet a day prize it and make your calling and election sure in this the day of Gods love and tender visitation to your souls and think not to say in your hearts did not the thief upon the Crosse dye the death of the righteous yes and did he not live the life of the righteous yes he lived by faith though it might be but the last hour he being then called at the last hour to believe in Christ the light of the world he followed him by faith in him and bore a glorious testimony for him when most of his Disciples had forsook him and the blind guides laugh'd him to scorn and wagged their heads at him then he who was faithful reproved his fellow that was as blind as his guides and chief priests so the priests and the thief and the elders were all in one spirit of envy mocking and despising the truth and chose the murtherer and the thief of which spirit they were of before the truth the son of God which spirit he that believed did rebuke and that was a good work in that hour when few durst own him but yet more then all this he confessed him to be a king and that a heavenly one too before the face of his enemies and before the whole world justified the righteous son of God and said he had done nothing amisse which proved his enemies the chief priests murtherers and in such a time when he was in his lowest estate when he said My God my God why hast thou for saken me then did he honour him by his faith which preached God had not forsaken him but had given him an everlasting kingdome and did not doubt but he was able to bring his soul that believed into his kingdome therefore said Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdome and so received him before the face of the world as a faithful witnesse to the death who entred into the glorious paradice of God that his precious faith had fitted him for in that short time And if in so short a time faith in the power of God can bring forth such a glorious work what wretched wicked miserable unbelieving sinners are they who say they be in Christ the son of God yet do not expect to be saved from their sin and set free from their iniquity all the dayes of their life these make but a bad confession of the work of faith which is not to the glory of God the Father that hath sent his son to take away the
hath purchased us unto himself and not to the will of any man in the first nature as in things appertaining to God for there the elder must serve the younger for Jacob had the blessing and we cannot serve two Masters that is to say the Will of God and the Will of man when contrary to God and thus we who keep in the innocency and cannot please men to displease God are grievous sufferers and some even unto death where many thousand hearts are made sad and many thousand spirits Mourn in secret Oh that ever such wickednesse should be upon recod to posterity that the harmlesse innocent people of England should be banished out of their Country for waiting upon the Lord that hath redeemed their souls and praying to their God that made heaven and earth What a people redeemed by the precious blood of the Son of God imprisoned and banished and spoyled by their Neighbours and Countrymen and yet call themselves Christians Christ never yet owned any such that imprison banish and kill their brethren for worshipping their heavenly father And dare any that have any fear of God before their eyes say we are not Christians if so what Christians are you that banish your brethren Christ our elder brother never taught you that practice nor any of his Apostles or Disciples gave you that example but on the contrary said and commanded to love one another for John saith 1 Joh. 3.10 In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his brother so it is manifest in whom the envious nature dwelleth that slew his brother because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous and this is the nature of all persecuters and such as banish their brethren for righteousness sake which you see the Scriptures saith are not of God And can any be so blind as not to believe that the Lord will visit for these things and stretch out his hand over the Nation in terrible Judgments that shall overtake all you that put far away the evil day and cause the seat of violence to come near and then how will you be able to stand in Judgment wâ— Lord shall reward every man according to his works and if you should receive the same things at the hand of the Lord as we receive from you would you not think it a sore judgment then why cannot you in judgment remember mercy and think upon the afflictions of Joseph for though rewas sould by his brethren for a bond-man into Egypt yet the Lord was with him and he became ruler over the whole Land And though his sayings pleased not his brethren for the which they hated him without a cause yet the Lord loved him and blessed him with a double portion And now the Shepherd of Israel is leading Joseph like a flock and doth not his waies and sayings please you what is the matter is it not because the ways of the Shepherd of Israel are not as your ways therefore his sayings are not acceptable nor his testimony believed in the mouths of the people of his flock and the sheep of his pasture And wherefore doth not his ways please you because you love darkness more then light and the lusts of the flesh more then the life of righteousness this is that which is natural to the flesh and therefore no new nor strange thing to us for we know that seed can bring forth no better fruit and therefore it inherits not the promise for the promise is to the seed that was and is disalowed of men that is it that is chosen of God and precious for the believing in and obedience of we are disalowed and hated as our brethren were in former ages but mark this ye persecuters of our age the hated of men was and is blessed of God He that was sould and separated from his brethren being try'd was found faithful upon whose head the blessing came Joseph was sould and Jesus was sould Joseph had rule over Egypt and Jesus over the World who is become the head of the corner and shepherd of the soul and leads Joseph like a flock who is the glory of Israel that shines forth for our salvation and blessed are they that walk in his light which is the way that pleaseth not the world that lieth in wickednesse loves their evil deeds but is the way that pleaseth the Lord which he hath blessed with â—m everlasting blessing that it should prosper for ever 〈…〉 ones do walk and the redeemed of the Lord out of a◠〈…〉 For the Lord our God is one and his way is one who hath 〈…〉 be one sold and one shepherd out of whose hand his sheep shall not be 〈…〉 Job 10.16 Into whose Fold we witnesse a gathering blessed 〈…〉 that hath gathered us and by his eternal spirit of life hath quicke 〈…〉 into a blessed hope that nothing shall be able to reanove us wh◠〈…〉 in this faith And therefore what if the Heathen rage 〈…〉 a vain thing and the Kings of the eartâ—â— themselves◠〈…〉 the Lord and his Anointed And what if the 〈…〉 blow and the storms oâ— the wicked bear and the 〈…〉 the unâ—odly swel and death and hell combin'd and take counsel together against us yet saith he that lives for ever I have seâ— my King upon 〈…〉 of Sion and blessed are all those whose souls are subject to his Law that he hath with in their hearts to his spirit in their inward parts for it is the law of the spirit of life that the law of the spirit of strife envy shall never prevail against though it may be formed and new moulded yet it shall noâ— prosper nor accomplish the end of those that made it And therefore is there not a cause to take up this my limentation over you O ye Rulers and Magistrates of England why will you die O ye people by 〈…〉 the paths that lead to destuction when the Lord stretcheth â—â—ch his kind of mercy to receive you into his covenant of life why will 〈◊〉 chuse your own way and despise the path of peace and rest to yoâ—â—â—â—â—ls and why do you disdaâ—â— the noble immortal seed that the father or 〈…〉 sown for your salvation that of which except you be born again your souls perish for ever 〈…〉 do you flight the leadings and teâ—ch 〈…〉 spirit of truth in the inward parts which is the 〈…〉 up teachers to 〈◊〉 selves conformable to your own 〈…〉 â—able to your wills 〈…〉 deceive your souls and one day you shall know that these things 〈…〉 and that you have hated and persecuted your best friends even dear friends to your souls who are 〈◊〉 willing to lay down 〈…〉 a testimony to that truth by which your 〈…〉 to be 〈◊〉 And the Lord is our 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 in his truth that we desire 〈◊〉 destâ—â—â—â—tion of any neither in 〈…〉 but the good of 〈…〉 our enemies might come 〈…〉 be fâ—â—â—ed And 〈…〉 ofâ—â—â— prayer 〈…〉 for 〈…〉 may not 〈…〉 day of visitation 〈…〉 that belong to their everlasting peace be 〈…〉 to destruction for ever And it is not 〈…〉 that I have 〈…〉 of the 〈…〉 to 〈…〉 of God 〈…〉 for 〈…〉 the soul 〈…〉 on in the 〈…〉 leads 〈…〉 that the spirit of love and life presseth to 〈◊〉 a 〈…〉 and reprove the evil practice and 〈…〉 And 〈…〉 O ye 〈…〉 not 〈…〉 be 〈…〉 are 〈…〉 〈…〉 but a sufferes by your 〈…〉 Christ Jeâ—â— M. W.