word in season in the needful time But now has the Lord appear'd to comfort the Mourners in Sion and to give Beauty for Ashes the Oyl of Joy for Mourning and the Garment of Praises for the spirit of Heaviness Isa 61.3 Therefore lift up your Heads ye mournful Travailers who have been weeping as Rachel for her Children and refused to be comforted because they were not Jer. 31.15 For the Comforter is now come even the Spirit of Truth which leads into all Truth all those that are willing to follow him who saith I am come that you might have Life and that you might have it more abundantly John 10.10 and he will lead you by a Way you know not where you shall not Err. Life from God the Fountain of Life and Glory is now come and is entered into the Witnesses the Graves are opened the Dead is raised and they that hear his heavenly Voice their Souls live unto him This is the new Birth which the Apostle speaks of on this wise My little Children of whom I travail in Birth again until Christ be formed in you Galat 4.19 Here the Apostle travailed for the bringing forth of that holy Birth which is conceived by the holy Ghost and is born of the Water and of the Spirit and is made a new Creature in Christ for sayes he If any man be in Christ he is a New Creature But Nichodemus a Ruler of the Jews who came unto Jesus by Night reasoned carnally on this manner How can a Man be born which is Old can he enter again into his Mother's Womb and be born How ignorant was this Teacher of Israel concerning the Work of Regeneration it was a sealed Book and a Mystery unto him as it is to many Wise Professors and Night walking Nichodemus's of this Age who though they pretend to high things yet stumble at that which should open their Understandings and give them a true Discerning betwixt that which is born of the Flesh and that which is born of the Spirit but are yet in the dark and their Understandings vailed by reason of Sin and Transgression which stands as a Partition Wall unremoved and the old man with his Deeds not put off nor the new man the second Adam put on which bears the heavenly Image and being gone astray and alienated from the Life of God in themselves they become not acquainted with that which should work a Change in their Hearts not withstanding all their Profession of God and Christ in Words whilst in their Works they deny him Now the birth of the flesh is known by its fruits which is Envy Wrath Murder and Persecution of that Birth that is born after the Spirit hath been so even from Righteous Abel to this very day for Cain who was the first that was born of a Woman envyed his Brother Abel and slew him because his Brother's Sacrifice was accepted and his rejected whose innocent Blood from the Ground on which it was spilt cryed in the Ears of the Lord for Vengence as doth the Blood of the Innocent People of God this day cry unto him who will render Judgment and Vegeance upon the Enemies of his Righteous Seed and People who have sacrificed unto and worshipped the Lord their God according to his Commands and the Requirings of his holy Spirit in their Hearts And Ishmael the Son of the Bond Woman who was born after the Flesh and is in Bondage with her Children he was a Mocker and Mocked Isaac who was the true Seed and Heir of the Promise so all those now who are of Abraham's Faith are of the true Seed and inherit the Blessing and Kingdom prepared for them before the Foundation of the World And again you may read how Esau the first birth who was a prophane man and sold his Birth-right for one Morsel of Meat he set himself against Jacob the second Birth who was of the true Seed and righteous Line unto which the Promise and Blessings did descend and appertain So here people may see how that after man had transgressed and forsaken the Lord he fell short of the Blessings of God and in that state the first birth which was of the Earth earthly and sensual was rejected with its Offerings and Sacrifice so it is the second birth which is after the Spirit that obtains the Blessing And Haman an Informer against Mordecai was of this corrupt seed birth of the flesh whose Off-spring as well as himself has been persecuting the Members of the true Church Seed of God for these many hundred years unto this very time and all about Religion Sacrifice and Worship so that our Persecutors who have been rending and tearing like Dogs and Bears and persecuting people for their Non-conformity and different Perswasions about Religion may see their Off spring and who was their Captain and General in this wicked Work whose Spirit is alive though his Body be dead and it will deceive them in the end And Wo and Misery will be the Portion of all such if not prevented by timely Repentance at unawares when 't will be too late to call unto the Hills and to the Mountains to fall upon them and cover them from the Presence of the Lord and to hide them from his dreadful Majesty and fierce Indignation which is kindled against all the Enemies of his chosen People who are unto him as the Apple of his Eye and no Way will be found to escape his terrible Judgments For such as every one sows such must they reap and they that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption but they that sow to the spirit shall of the spirit reap Life Everlasting Gal. 6.8 And if they who are and persist in Cain's nature and Esau's spirit seek a place of Repentance with Tears as they did they shall not find it but shall be like Cain who was a Fugative and a Vagabond in the Earth being driven out from the Presence of the Lord and said My Punishment is greater than I can bear Oh! that people would but consider what they are a doing and to whom they yield their Members Servants to obey and follow that Exhortation of the Apostle Rom. 6.13 Yield not your Members as Instruments of Unright cousness unto sin but yield your selves unto God for the Wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life Now this Gift of God is freely extended unto all Mankind in and by which he calls and excites to Purity and Holiness and to turn to him and forsake Sin which makes the Separation and to come out of Ungodliness and all Uncleanness The Call of the Lord has reached unto all but the Apostle saith Have they not all heard yes verily their sound went into all the Earth and their words to the end of the World Rom. 10.18 but all have not obeyed the Voice of the Lord. Oh! why will ye stand idle in the Market-place pleading for and contending about outward
AN INVITATION OF LOVE To all who Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness to come and take of the Water of Life freely without Money and without Price With a Word of Advice to such as are Asking the WAY to SION and are Weeping with their Faces thither-ward Together with A faithful Warning to the Inhabitants of BABYLON to come out of her lest partaking of her Sins ye also come to partake of her Plagues By Isabel Yeamens And I heard a Voice from Heaven saying Come out of her my People that ye be not Partakers of her Sins and that ye receive not of her Plagues Rom. 18.4 Printed in the Year 1679. TO THE READER Friendly Reader WHen in the weighty and deep Meditations of my Heart I beheld the States and Conditions of such as are inquiring the Way to Sion and have some tender desires begotten in them after the Lord and the Knowledge of his Way my Life was abundantly drawn forth in the Love of God with living breathings unto him in whom all Fulness dwells that of the Manifestation and free Dispensations of his Love Life all such may come to feel and receive and to take heed of sleighting the Day of their tender Visitation whilst the Lord secretly calls unto them by his good Spirit in their Bosoms lest the Night overtake them wherein no man can work And in the Sense of the Universal Love of God extended unto All Mankind I was constrained in my Spirit to commit these following lines to publick view as finding my Burden unremoved until I was made willing to communicate the same which I have done with as much brevity as I could with clearness hoping the ponderous Reader and such whom it chiefly concerns may not be distasted at the simplicity of the Srile or my want of Eloquence in expressing my self in things of this nature having herein hinted at divers things which I have experienced through the free Love of God to my Soul which seeming but little and low things yet may not miss of some service for the stirring up of the simple-minded to make a diligent search how the Case stands betwixt God and their Immortal Souls who thereby coming to see their Conditions and their Neglect and Disobedience in not answering the Lord's Requirings according to the Manifestations and divine Discoveries of his Light and Grace in their Hearts may come to redeem their Mis-spent Time which is irrevocable and take up a Holy Resolution by the Assistance of the Grace of God to redeem their Time to come by a Godly Righteous and Sober Conversation in the Fear of the Lord and by taking heed to this pure Principle of Light and Life may come to be enabled thereby to perform that Duty and acceptable Service which the Lord requires of them and receive the Reward of the Profitable and Obedient Servant is the Desire of my Soul And that none may sleight the Day of small things but be faithful to what little measure the Lord commits to them and thereby to become worthy of more So not desirous to be tedious or to undertake great things I recommend the Reader to the following Lines whose Mind I desire may be possessed with seriousness and with the Fear of the Lord when exercised in reading of things relating to Eternity so shall such reap Benefit hereby and answer the End of my Labours and Travails which is the Well-being of their IMMORTAL SOULS This is chiefly intended for the Northern Parts of this Nation where many are thirsting afresh after the Truth although ignorant of it and that such may be informed of the Way thereto and reap Everlasting Life by it is my Soul's Desire Isabell Yeamans An INVITATION of LOVE to all that Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness c. TO all you who are ignorant of the Way of Life and Salvation and are seeking the Living amongst the Dead Tombs and Sepulchres and are wandring in the Night in the dead Forms and empty Professions Will-Worships and Traditions of Men which are set up held and performed in man's Will and in man's Time and not in God's Time nor according to his Mind and Will and therefore are an abomination unto him Now that all such may be informed aright my Testimony and Exhortation in the Fear of the Lord is That he is not there but is arisen and ascended far above all Heavens the Stone is roled from the Door of the Sepulchre and the Grave-Clothes are left behind the Watch-men of the Night could not hold him nor the Grave contain him Oh! look not for him where he is not to be found as the Angel said to Mary Magdalen and the other Women He is not here he is risen and they declared his Resurrection John 10.17 Matth. 28.7 Where 't is manifest that the first Witnesses that were commissionated and that by the Angel of the Lord to preach the Resurrection of Christ Jesus were Women who as it s written returned with Fear and great Joy and could not but declare what they had seen and heard concerning the Lord Christ though yet it seemed to some yea of the Disciples themselves who were afterwards convinced of the Truth of those Women's Testimonies as idle Tales as it seems to many in this Age because the Resurrection is held forth and born Testimony unto by Women but blessed be the Lord he hath raised up many both Sons and Daughters to be living Witnesses this day of his inward and spiritual Appearance and Power of his Resurrection and Ascension So look not for him in the Shadows and Forms without the Power and Substance nor be satisfied with the hearing of him by the hearing of the Ear or a notional Traditional Knowledge without the saving Knowledge of Power for until you come to know his Power and Life in your selves to save you from Evil you are not come to the Substance but are still running from Mountain to Hill as Sheep having no Shepherd seeking living Bread in desolate places and hewing unto your selves Cisterns that will hold no Water an Evil which the Lord complain'd of among the Children of Israel saying Ye have forsaken me the Fountain of Living Water and hewn unto your selves Cisterus that can hold no Water So come ye off the Mountains of Esau into the low Valleys where the Springs of Life you may feel and come into the Valley of Jehosaphat where the Lord pleads with all flesh by Sword by Fire that through his deep Judgment for Sin and Transgression through true Acknowledgment and Repentane the Valley of Achor may be known to be a Door of Hope to the Transgressors and by this Hope through Faith come to receive Christ in you the Hope of Glory who is the Resurrection of the Just unto Life and of the Unjust unto Condemnation the first begotten from the Dead and the first born of every Creature and now glorified with the Father the Creator of all things who made the Heavens and the Earth the Sea
which is the Way of Life as one well experienced and testified in his day The Commandment is a LAMP and the Law is LIGHT and the Reproofs of Instruction THE WAY OF LIFE Prov. 6.23 This is that Lamp and that Light of which David testified saying Thy Word is a Lamp unto my Feet and a Light unto my Paths Psalm 119.105 He also said The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul and is that Word of which he said Wherewithal shall a Young Man cleanse his Wayes by taking heed thereto according to thy Word Which Word Light Law Lamp Grace Spirit c. with many other Names and Denominations are one and the same in nature and quality though proceeding from the holy Spirit and Power in the holy Men of God under several Names and Appellations according to the various Effects Dispensations Manifestations and Operations of it in their Hearts as when it manifesteth unto man the Evil of his Wayes it is properly called Light and as it judgeth and condemneth for Sin and Evil it may be called a Law-giver and a Judge c. this is able to deliver and set free from the Power of Sin and Death and to bring lost man to God again It was sufficient under every Dispensation for the Recovery and Salvation of Mankind as it was obeyed and believed in by which the Righteous Seed and Holy Men of God found Acceptance with the Lord and knew that they pleased him and walked with him as Enoch did and were made perfect as Abraham was to whom the Lord said Walk thou before me and be thou perfect Gen. 17.1 But is now manifested in these latter days in a more Glorious and Evangelical Appearance wherein the Lord has fulfilled his Promise of old and is pouring forth of his Spirit upon all Flesh and is causing his Sons and his Daughters to prophesie and to declare of his wondrous Works and now Christ Jesus is manifesting himself in his inward and spiritual Appearance of Light in the Hearts and Consciences of all men who is come a Light into the World that whosoever believes on him might not perish but have Everlasting Life and in this Manifestation of his Spirit he is calling and inviting the Sons and Daughters of men Behold says he I stand at the Door and knock if any man hear any Voice and open unto me I will come in and sup with him and he with me Rev. 3.20 It is the Voice of my Beloved that knocks saying Open unto me for my Head is filled with Dew and my Locks with the Drops of the Night Song of Sol. 5.2 The Disobedient and Rebellious will not entertain him in their Hearts but he is pierced by their Iniquities and as a Lamb slain without their Door and as killed all the day long as to them though in himself he lives to judge them He made his Grave with the Wicked and with the Rich in his Death Isa 53.9 But the Lord beholds the Proud afar off who think they know enough and are fat and full and want nothing when they are miserable and naked and bare and want all things but the Humble he teacheth and dwells with the Contrite in Heart for it is in the Heart and Consciences of Men and Women where he ought to dwell and it is his Prerogative to sway the Scepter there although the old Usurper of Authority called the Devil and Satan by his Stratagems and Insinuations has gotten a large Room and open Entertainment in the Hearts of the Children of Disobedience so that the Inn is taken up with other Guests the vain Delights and Pleasures of the World and no room is left to entertain the Lord of Glory but he is as laid in the Manger and turned out of Doors and his small Appearance sleighted and rejected by the Ungodly But now is the Prince of Peace come and is arising in his gloryous Power to dis-throne the grand Enemy of man's Happiness and to discover his many Snares Baits and Temptations which he has laid suitable to the Propensity and Inclination of the Creature to betray the Simple-minded and to draw forth the Heart and Affections after his Inventions thereby to enslave and imbondage the Creature in Sin and Iniquity and to plunge it therein until the Custom of it comes to take away the sense of the Evil of it and then perswades the poor Captive There is no Freedom from it nor no Perfection to be attained on this side the Grave and here he labours to keep them under his Power whilst in this Life knowing that after Death Judgment comes and as the Tree falls so it lies and that there is no Repentance in the Grave and here he obtains his End which is the Eternal Destruction of Men and Womens Souls for he laid the Foundation of his Kingdom in the Heart of Man and Woman by a Lye through which Sin entred and by which he upholds his Kingdom to this day in all the Disobedient and Rebellious But in the Light of Christ Jesus which discovers all the Deeds of Darkness is he clearly seen and his rotten Foundation which was grounded upon a Lye begins now to shake and reel and the Down-fall of his Kingdom is now seen to approach by them whose Eyes the Lord has opened But as for those who despise this Inward and Evangelical Appearance of Light and Grace and call it Natural or the Check of a Natural Conscience and a thing Insufficient though obeyed to Salvation nay many will not stick to call it Dia bolical whoever they be that are in this state I am bold to affirm and testifie That the same Power call it what they will that secretly checks and reproves for Sin and Evil in the Cansciences of Men and Women the same in the Day of Account shall set the Sins of the Wicked and Disobedient in order before their Eyes and shall be their Judge in that Day and as a Stone that shall grind them to Powder and on the contrary to those that love it and obey it will be the Joy Comfort and Everlasting Salvation of their Immortal Souls Now the Reason why people hate the Light is very evident from Christ's own words who saith This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and men love Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds are Evil for every one that doth Evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his Deeds should be repreved John 3.19 20. But he that doth Truth loves the Light and brings his Deeds to it that they may be proved and tryed that they are wrought in God Now the Serpent in his Subtilty is the same at this day that he was in the Beginning who in direct Opposition to the Command of God told Adam and Eve That in the day they did eat of the Forbidden Fruit they should Not surely dye but should be as Gods knowing Good and Evil and here was the Temptation laid under the presentation
himself saying I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live this is he to whom all the ends of the Earth are to look for Salvation he is the Shiloh the peaceable Saviour who is now come according to Jacob's Prophecy upon his dying Bed saying The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Law-giver from between his Feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the People be Gen 49.10 which Scepter of Government is long since departed from Judah therefore Shiloh is come Now the spiritual Scepter is deliver'd unto him who without Respect of Persons is holding it forth unto all Nations Kindreds Tongues and People that his Government may be set up and his Scepter sway in their Hearts whose Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom and of his Dominion there shall be no End upon whose Shoulders the Government is set and the Nations of them that are saved must walk in the Light of the Lamb who is come to take away the sins of the world has brought a Remnant through their Belief in and Obedience unto the Light of Christ to the knowledge of his saving Power which brings out of the dead Forms to the living Substance which gives true Satisfaction to the Soul And such cannot but say unto and invite all who hunger and thirst after Righteousness To come and taste with us and see how good the Lord is for it is that which was from the Beginning which we have seen with our Eyes which we have looked upon and our Hands have handled of the Word of Life that we declare unto you that you also might have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ John 1.3 And the Spirit and the Bride saith Come and let him that heareth say Come and he that is athirst let him come and take of the Waters of Life freely Rev. 22.17 Oh! why will you spend your Money for that which is not Bread and your Labour for that which doth not satisfie your Souls who with the Prodigal have spent your Portion and are feeding upon the Husks in your Notional Self Performances and Imitations of true Religion Sacrifice and Worship But alas it is not the Profession Shew or Likeness of these things without the Possession of that Life and Power in which they are accepted of the Lord that will stand in stead in the needful time for 't is not a sight or shew of Food that will satisfie an hungry or travelling Man but Give me Bread sayes the hungry Soul or else I dye Oh! how doth my Spirit mourn for those who are seeking living Bread among the Husks where it s not to be found and are inquiring after their Souls Beloved and are running from one Watchman to another seeking the Footsteps of the Flock of his Companions and where he feeds them and causes them to lie down at noon day Come you that have been enquiring of the blind Watchmen of the Night I will tell you where we have found the Beloved of our Souls where you also must find him The Spouse of old sought him amongst the Watchmen yet found him not But sayes she when I had past a little from them then I found him whom my Soul loved Such was our inquiring Condition amongst the blind Watchmen of the Night who cryed Lo here and Lo there whose Trumpet gave an uncertain sound unto us and instead of Relief caused our Wounds to bleed afresh telling us Revelation was ceased and we must not expect God Christ in that inward and spiritual Appearance wherein he made known himself to his People in dayes past but we must apply our selves to this outward Ceremony and the other Ordinance c. and thus they smote us and wounded us But blessed be our God forever who turned us from them to the Light of Christ Jesus which gave us the knowledge of our Beloved and directed our Feet into the right Way even the Just Man's Path which is a shining Light and shines more and more unto the perfect day the Wayfaring Man though a Fool shall not err therein So it was by the inshinings of his Light Grace in our Hearts that we received the Discovery and Knowledge of our Beloved who is become the chiefest of ten thousand unto a Remnant as he was to the Spouse of old He is the Door into the Sheepfold and the true Shepherd who laid down his Life for his Sheep and whoever enters into this heavenly Fold of Rest and Peace must enter in by his Light who is the Door for whoever climb up any other way are Thieves and Robbers and his Sheep hear his Voice and the Voice of a Stranger they will not follow because they can clearly distinguish between the true Shepherd and the false Shepherds who whilst people put into their Mouthes cry Peace Peace and when not fed prepare War against them witness the many grievous Sufferings of Innocent People in Body Estate how many nasty Goals have been crouded full by their Cruelty how many Wives have been made Widows and Children Fatherless whose Cryes have pierced the Heavens and whose Complaint has entred the Ears of the Lord by their unrighteousness inhuman dealings with God's people And how have these Idol Shepherds who have sought the Fleece and not regarded the Sheep like Wolves and Bears rended the Goods of such as could not put into their Mouthes the impartial Reader and every unbyass'd Mind can well inform But the great and powerful Shepherd the mighty God hath taken Cognizance of these things and will surely call them to account and reckon with them in a Day that is come coming upon them wherein they shall be more and more made manifest that they are not sent of God nor true Ministers of Christ because they abide not in his Doctrine who said Freely ye have received freely give and if any shall ask How we know them we need go no further then the words of Christ who said By their Fruits ye shall know them for they are such who seek their Gain from their Quarter who feed with the fat and clothe with the Wool and love the uppermost Rooms at Feasts and Greetings in the Market-place with divers other Marks whereby we know them to be such as ran and God never sent them and their Doctrine to be erroneous and unprofitable But the Sheep of Christ's Pasture are clothed with the Lamb-like Meek Quiet and Suffering Spirit of Jesus who makes his Followers conformable unto himself that in all things we may be found followers of him in his Light and Grace who hath other Sheep which are not of this Fold whom also he said should be brought in that they may hear his Voice and there shall be one Sheepfold and one Shepherd John 10.16 And for those Sheep who are not yet gathered into this Fold doth my Soul travail that