up Errour in truths stead and give judgement against Christ who is the truth and Life of whom we testifie and confesse him before men and that with boldnesse in his power and we are not ashamed of the Gospel but beares witnesse of it to be the Power of God and necessity is laid upon us so to do and we cannot be silent but as the Lord gives utterance we are constrained to make mention of his Name and to declare his Truth from day to day And we do not take thought concerning men that rise up against us neither heed them as to what they can do unto us therefore let not the preaching of the cross of Christ offend you neither stumble at that stone any longer least it fall upon you and grind you to powder for our Testimony is unto the Name of Jesus and that there is not Salvation in any other name and this is known in the light which is manifest from him that lets all see the need of salvation for this is your great want who are from the light you want Gods Salvation and so remains in your sins and in your lusts from whence wars and contentious do arise And this is Truth unto you all people and do not count us your enemies because we tell it you in plainnesse and labours for you that you might come to the knowledge of it and besaved by it And though we have born much from you and suffer much by you yet this is our care for you that you may be saved and our desires to God for you that he would not lay to your charge what you do unto us and we stand innocent before the Lord in all things that have been done unto us or intended towards us and we seek not Revenge upon any man and though Truth be counted Heresie by such as are yet in darknesse yet we know the power of it and the salvation in it and after that way now called Heresie so worship we the God of our Fathers Therefore all people behold and see what your way is and go not on to your own destruction but cease from evil and let not envy and malice lodge in your hearts nor strive not in your wills against the Truth of God for he is establishing the throne of his glory and who art thou that contends against him It were better for thee to be still and quiet and meddle not in things too wonderful for thee but let that alone which concerns the most High Therefore all people in time your wayes consider and proceed no further in that which is evil which tends to persecution and destruction but all take warning from the Lord and all turn unto him before the day of his fierce wrath come for if you neglect the light of Christ in your consciences you neglect your Salvation and if you turn against the appearance of God in his people and conspire against the Just and murder the Innocent God will finde you out and the hour of his judgement will come and his wrath will abide upon you for ever So all mind the Light of Christ within you that is manifest from God unto you that you may depart out of evil and be led unto God from whence the Light comes that you may come to discern the things of God and understand that which belongs to your peace for all that the Lord hath gathered in this day of his mercy to make known in them his wonderful works in his mighty power they walk in Gods fear stand in his Counsel and knows all things in their place and what is of God they honour what is of man they cannot own for God hath raised his own Seed that cannot consent to any custom or fashion or tradition of the World but testifies against them all and we are born of the Seed which hath no part in the World and in the power of it we are redeemed out of the World therefore we cannot conform to the World neither in custom fashion or tradition nor we cannot exercise our selves in any thing we are convinced of to be contrary to the Truth and this is all that you have against us because we answer a conscience void of offence towards God and man and walks in obedience to the teachings of God which doth not answer your vain minds which are puffed up so you cannot receive the pure language of Truth but rejects and scorns it and are angry and if you be not bowed unto and spoken unto according to your customs then you are offended and so you fret your selves in the pride of your hearts because we cannot answer your vain minds in your Customs Fashions and Traditions and this is the great offence you take at us which provokes you to anger and fills you with wrath and indignation against us when we walk simply in the Truth of God and do not give offence to any in the Truth speaking or in not moving or bowing to any mans person to have it in respect for such things are out of Truth and where they are practised the leading of the Spirit is not known so you that are in those things you are in the vain customs of the Heathen follows your own wills and satisfies your vain minds in your lust which grieves the Spirit of God and we cannot own them nor be conformable unto them we dare not speak any other Language but thou to a single person knowing it is the spirits Language and hath been from the beginning and the Scripture declares of no other We cannot put off our hats and bow unto the persons of men knowing that he who respects persons commits sin and is convinced of the Law to be a Transgressor and we know that when our hat is on our head it is where it ought to be being given for a covering unto that part so we cannot move it or put it off in honour to any man but as our freedom is in God for we have denied such things in obedience to God and we cannot return again into them to be intangled with them but stands in the freedom of God into which we are redeemed by his mighty power and we see all these things to be vain which are practised in the World and are not after the Spirit but after the Flesh and from the heart which is deceitful and desperately wicked and we cannot joyn with them nor be conformable unto them for conscience sake for we are set free by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and we know them to be works of darknesse and so we testifie against them and we have the answer of a good conscience therein and peace with God and in this we rejoyce that we have not at any time suffered as evil doers but for the Testimony of a good conscience in simplicity and Innocency in the sight of God who upholds us in his arm and preserves us in his power from the wrath of
A SHORT TESTIMONY On the behalf of Truths Innocency Declared in Plainnesse and simplicity being done at the Command of the Lord God that all out of the Truth may see their way and proceed no further VVith a Discovery of the National Ministry whose Time now is and is no more By one who loves Truth and Righteousnesse and desires the Naticns Peace and the good of all people who amongst many Brethren is called a Quaker but known by the Name of WILLIAM SMITH LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the signe of the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1660. THe Truth of the Lord God endures for ever what it was in the beginning it is the same at this day and no man can lay another Foundation it is pure and the appearance of it is glorious it doth not joyn with evil neither hath any agreement with the works of darkness it sheds it self abroad in the hearts of all that believe in it the intents of all hearts it makes manifest and is a Reprover of the workers of iniquity it seeks nothing of this world neither joyns to the glory thereof it comes from God and seeks the glory of God and this is the sent of God who is true and no unrighteousness in him he comes forth from the Father and comes into the world not to destroy the world but to bear witness unto the Truth that all in the Truth might believe he is meek and lowly peaceable and gentle full of mercy goodness and compassion he loves his enemies and doth good to those that hate him there is no strife in him but a patient suffering and forbearing when he is reviled he revileth not again when he suffers he threatens not but as a Lamb he is led to the slaughter and neither cries nor lifts up his voyce in the streets he is come forth in his might and in his strength is risen to cut the work short in righteousness and to tread upon the high places of the Earth that man may know there is a God that ruleth in the Kingdoms of the World who is jealous of his glory and will not give it to another but in his right will reign who is King of Kings and of his Government there is no end his Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion is glorious and this he is establishing upon the top of all Mountains and exalting over the high Places of the Earth not with sound of Trumpets or the Alarum of War or the mighty Host of Men and Horses but with the out-stretched arm of his own Power that he hath made bare in the sight of all Nations he hath appeared in his Power and visited the Poor in this day of his Mercy and hath helped the Needy in their great distress he is come who hath been long waited for and he is now revealed who is the Salvation of God he hath chosen a People to delight in him and gathered a Remnant to make mention of his Name and to declare his goodness from day to day he leads them in his Power and orders them in his wisdom and they are given up unto him and are made willing to follow him he hath redemed them to himself and chosen them to be a peculiar People they are not of the world as he is not of the world but out of the world he hath gathered them and over the world he hath set them and they have no fellowship with it but testisies against it for which cause the world hates them not knowing the Life that is revealed in them for they are born again of the immortal Word which mortal man doth not know nor cannot comprehend in his earthly wisdom therefore doth the birth after the flesh persecute the birth born of the spirit who knows him not in his appearance nor cannot behold his glory who is full of Grace and Truth but hath alwayes turned against him and hated his appearance and could not believe that it was he and so hath persecuted and reviled him crucified and slain him and in whom he hath made himself manifest and chosen to delight in him they have been alwayes counted the off-scouring of the world as it is at this day and though we be hated of man yet bear we no evil to any but patiently gives our back to the Smiter and what is permitted we endure and counts reproaches great Riches and to suffer for righteousnesse sake more joy then to live in the pleasure of sin and though you strive against us yet we are preserved for we are born of the seed which is blessed for ever we abide in our Tents and rest in the strength of the Glory of our God and none can curse us therefore be at rest concerning us for you do not know us nor our Resting-place where we are set down and are preserved in perfect peace and are not in fear what man can do unto us and though we walk among you and in the midest of you we are not of you nor have no fellowship with you nor with the works that are brought forth by you for God hath redeemed us from amongst you chosen us to be a holy People unto himself that we may shew forth his Praise in walking blamelesse and harmlesse in the Land of Uprightnesse and in the Life of Innocency and we have nothing in our hearts but love to all pitying those that are our Enemies praying that God would give them Repentance unto life for we are followers of him who laid down his life for his Enemies and made himself of no Reputation unto the Crosse humbled himself that sinners might he saved and enemies reconciled unto God and this is his love to you all who would not have you perish and he hath begotten the same mind in us and our eye is toward him who is gone before us and he is a Leader and Commander unto us and we confesse to him alone who is the Lord of Glory and the Prince of peace who unto peace hath called us and in peace to rest that in peace we may conquer the Nations and in quietness overcome the People that delight in War and this is the Conquering Power unto which we are subject and this is the Captain of our salvation whom we follow and we have not used either Sword or Spear or looked unto the arm of flesh to be a defence unto us neither is it in our hearts so to strive with any or persecute any or destroy any People but in peace to rest until he plead our Cause and execute Judgement for us that all may behold that we are a People saved by the Lord whom we follow in obedience to do his Will and in his Power are made willing to go through good report and bad Report as deceivers and yet true as dying and yet we live and this day this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears and we do not speak it because it was the condition of Saints before us
but as we are witnesses of it through the leadings of the same Spirit for you are not ignorant how many bad reports hath been raised and spread abroad concerning us crying Report and we will Report and so have Reports been spread in the Nation of the Quakers rising and cutting Throats which are bad Reports yet we have gone thorow them in Patience having no guilt upon us concerning them but stand clear before the Lord our God and in our innocency are justified in his sight How are we counted Deceivers by the wise Generation and yet we are born into the Truth and walk in the Truth and live the life of Truth and we know the freedom that is wrought by it and we have the seal of Gods Spirit which hath revealed it in our inward parts and this we go through in the leadings of God in whom we have peace how often hath death been threatned to us by unreasonable men and yet we are preserved in the power of God and live before him and thus do we walk as a despised and an afflicted people and yet we are led through all and in the Power of God walks upon the top of all and stand over all those things and heed them not for our delight is in the Lord our God and in his righteous Law we meditate day and night that our minds may be exercised unto him in that which is pure of him that gives us peace with him seals assurance of his everlasting love unto us So we mind not who are against us or what is reported concerning us or how we are counted in this World but we mind the light of Christ manifest in our Consciences and in the light our Minds are exercised and with the light all evil Thoughts are judged and we are justified before our God though the world be against us taking Counsel what Course to take with us and many fretting themselves about us yet we do not frowardly strive with any man but follow peace with all men and in peace we are preserved when our Enemies are confounded and over-turned by the Arm of God Behold and see ye Despisers what a work is this how can you believe when it is declared that God should plead the Cause of his Chosen People and make bare his Arm for his innocent Lambs and by his invisible Power to over-turn the mighty Councels of men when neither Sword nor Spear hath been on our side nor any thing without us hath appeared for us then hath our God been neer at hand and a present help he hath been unto us and with his out-stretched Arm he hath from time to time delivered us from the wrath of unreasonable men and thus we have experienced his everlasting loving kindness and his wonderful Works we are made to declare amongst the Children of Men that all may know there is no God like unto our God unto whom alone we look and our eye is towards him and we cannot joyn with weapons of War nor with any Party who is striving with them but we set all men aside in the Work of our God and cannot meddle with other mens matters but looks unto the Lord and cries unto the God of our strength and our eye is single to him and our expectation is from him alone and he hath never failed us but hath appeared to deliver us and in the strength of his own life hath wrought our Works for us and with the Arm of his Salvation he hath saved us unto whom be Glory Dominion and Praise for evermore Now all People see and Consider what is the ground that you appear so full of Enmity against a People that neither threatens you nor appears against you nor bears no evil will unto you Is it because you are in fear of your persons and that we seek to destroy you from off the Earth Then let the Offence cease and be quiet in your Minds for we stand clear before our God and in our Innocency are Justified in his sight and neither our Hearts nor Hands have joyned nor can joyn with such a Work Therefore be not afraid where no Fear is nor be not Envious from groundless Jealousies but mind the Light of Christ in your Consciences and wait to receive the Love of God in it that you may cease from anger wrath malice or bearing evil will unto a People who walks innocently before the Lord and towards all men And that which troubles you and is a terrour to you and brings fear upon you it is your own consciences for there is your trouble terrour and fear and it will terrifie you and fearfulnesse will surprize you who are in the hypocrisie for it is the same that passed through Aegypt of old and wrought mighty signes and wonders upon Pharaoh and all the Aegyptians who stood in their hard-heartednesse and would not obey the Lord nor let Israel go though God sent Moses to lead them out of Aegypt and from under Pharaohs power yet he withstood the Lord and his heart was hardened against the mighty God until every house was searched and the first-born was smitten and died and then there was a cry amongst the Aegyptians and great fear was upon the Land and then was the time come in which Israel should be set free you must read that can for he that wrought then is working at this day to break off the yoke that the oppressed may be set free and he will not leave a House amongst you but he will passe through it smite the first-born in it that his Seed may come forth from under your cruel oppression And this I have received of the Lord and declares it in the Authâ—â—ity of God that all may dread before the Holy One of Israel and if your enmity arise towards us concerning the Law of our God which in our hearts he hath written and is holy Just and good and that you cannot receive Truth as it is made known unto us by the Revelation of Jesus Christ Then be still in your mindes and wait to receive Counsel from God and be not rash nor forward in an envious spirit but be coole and moderate that you may receive an understanding in the things of God for we dare not deny the Truth which God hath made manifest in us whatever you can do unto us and if Truth offend you then are we clear from the offence for Truth gives not offence but the wicked one takes offence at Truths appearance and so the offence comes of your selves and the wo is to you who takes offence at the Truth and turns against the little Ones that are borne into the life of it and offends them by your cruelty and oppression Therefore let it be well considered what Truth is and who they be that are come to the knowledge of it and walks in it that whiles you are warring and fighting about that which you call Truth ye be not ignorant what Truth is and so set