TO THOSE that sit in COUNSEL For Ordering the AFFAIRS OF THE NATION c. A Visitation by one of the LORDS SERVANTS Called a QVAKER LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1659. To those that sit in Counsel for 〈…〉 the affairs of the Nation c. A Visitation by one of the Lords Servants called a QVAKER FRIENDS THE Lord will visit his Seed in righteousnesse that the Nations of the earth may know and see that its the determination of the Lord to exalt his Son upon the holy hill of Sion to Rule and Reigne in the Kingdoms of men untill all principalities and Powers are subdued and brought subject to his righteous Government the borders whereof shall reach from one end of the earth to the other and of the increase thereof there shall be no end And whosoever will not bend and bow to his righteous Scepter he will Rule them with an Iron Rod he will shake and overturn all the powers of the earth and scatter the wicked in their Imaginations he will turn the wisdom of the wise into foolishnesse and bring the understanding of the prudent to nought he will arise unto the prey he will gather the Nations he will assemble the Kingdoms and upon them will he pour out the vialls of his wrath then will he return and give his people a pure Language even the Language of Canaan where songs of deliverance shall be sung and everlasting peace and rest shall be known even in the Prince of peace who is now appearing the second time without sin unto salvation And the prince of this World must be Judged and all those condemned by the Everâ—asting Light of the Son of God that obey not the everlasting Gospel now again to be preached to all Nations even that Light which is in the World but the World knows him not which shineth in the hearts of all men in the darknesse and giveth them that believe in it and follow it the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and brings them that are turned to it out of darknesse into the light of life from under Satans power into the power of God In such glory and excellency of power shall Christ Jesus the Light of the World appear that the Nations of them that shall be saved shall be gathered to the brightnesse of his appearance even those that love the light and bring their deeds unto the light to be tryed by the spirit of Judgement whether they are wrought in God through which all the redeemed ones must passe even through the sirey tryal that they may be purified and all their drosse done away and consumed that they may be a pure and holy people unto the Lord for ever a people of his praise the converts of righteousnesse that must inhabit the holy City of our God into which no unrighteous thing can enter where shall be peace and fulnesse of Joyes for evermore But with the wicked it shall not be so with them Wo and misery shall be their portion for ever even to such as obey not the Gospel of God but account the blood of the Covenant the life of Christ the Light of the world an unholy thing such as will not return at the reproofs of the Lord but cast his Counsel behinde their backs that continue the servants of sin unto death shall for ever have their portion with hypocrites in that lake that burns with fire and brimstone they that hate and will not turn to the Light shall know the torment of everlasting burnings their worm shall not dye their fire shall not be quenched Therefore let all men every where while it is called to day repent and return at the reproofs of the Lord which are the Instructions of life that so they may not perish but be saved in the Lambs light of Life The Master of the house is risen Strive therefore to enter while the door is open Neglect not the day of your visitation least you be for ever shut out of Gods Kingdom the time hastens the Spirit of the Lord is grieved and shall not alwayes strive with men Though ye have eaten and drunk in his presence and he hath taught in your streets yet ye would not hearken to his voyce Depart therefore ye workers of Iniquity shall the Lord say I know you not And now yee that are the Rulers and people of these Nations Know that our God is the mighty God of Jacob a God gracious long suffering and of great goodnesse who hath wrought wonders for the deliverance of his people out of captivity and bondage his promise being unto the Seed in whom we are the called of the Lord for whose sake the Lord hath lengthened out the exceeding riches of his love and unutterable mercies to the people of these Nations to the end that if they would yet at length after so many overturnings return and own the Lord Jesus Christ the light of the world to be their King and Lawgiver on whom the government is laid whose right it is to reigne in whom Reformation and Liberty is known even that wherein the Truth makes us free They might in him be the beauties of holiness the glory of Nations even the first fruits of the first resurrection from the dead forms and worships of the World which are abominable in the sight of the Lord yea they have been so long dead without the Spirit of life that they even stink in the nostrills of our God who is the living God and the dead praise him not Many have been the opportunities put into the hands of those in authority in these Nations to do the work of the Lord in their generations but alas they standing not in the Counsel of the Lord have had a prize put into their hands but have not had hearts to make use of it which shall be reckoned to their accounts in the day of the Lord Nay in stead of doing the work of the Lord which is to break the bonds of the wicked and to let the oppressed go free to punish and to be a terrour to evil doers and to encourage those that do wel they have for the most part strengthened the hands of the wicked against the Just which hath long cryed for Justice and righteousnesse in the earth they have formed terrible weapons against the Lords people but they have not prospered they have sought deep to hide their counsells from the Lord they would not have him to reigne over them unto whom all power and authority in heaven and earth is given but have taken counsell with the ungodly to put the Heir of life to death to crucifie and destroy his appearance in themselves and in his chosen ones unto whom all the Nations of the Earth must bow he who hath been from the beginning to the Greeks foolishnesse and to the Jewes a stumbling block at which the Great ones in the wisdom of the World which knows
not God have stumbled and have been broken veâ— shame and confusion hath and shall follow all those that joyn themselves to Babylons builders which are in their own inventions which is in the transgression and alienation from God who reject and set at nought Christ Jesus the chief Corner Stone whose building is in spirit and truth a City whose Maker and Builder is God in whom we trust That little stone cut out of the Mountains without hands and so contemned by the Worlds builders is laid to the foot of the Images set up in all the Earth before which Dagon shall fall Bell and all the Gods of the Heathen the great devourers of Corn and Wine and the fat things of the earth shall be confounded and perish and they that have made them and trust in them shall be like unto them and no Image though the head and face thereof be of Gold and Silver shall stand in the earth but the Image of our God in Christ Jesus who is the expresse Image of the Father made manifest in the Saints in Righteousnesse and true Holinesse where the reformation into the likenesse of Gods image is to be known Christ in us the hope of Glory But alas alas the leaders of this people have caused them to erre and to worship the Golden Image of the Beast even a thing of nought yea and his image that in truth and simplicity must appear hath been marred more then any by this crooked and perverse generation of men who are in the subtilty wherein the enmity stands against the seed of God in the flesh they are which lusteth against and persecutes that birth which is of the spirit which doth the will of God A horrible thing hath been committed in the land they have forsaken the Lord the fountain of living waters and have hewen out unto themselves broken cisterns that will hold no water The Priests have spoken lies in the Name of the Lord and the people love to have it so being made drunken with the golden cup of the whores â—ornications that they have reeled and staggered to and fro from one form inâ—o another and never knew a forming again into Christ Jesus nay they have even made agreement as it were with death and helâ— to slay and bury the just and have prevailed with the rulers of the people for a Commission even by a Law to seal the Sepulchre that the witnesse of God the Lamb slain from the foundation of World in the transgression of man from the life in God may not rise again to trouble and torment the World which lyeth in wickednesse and to execute righteous judgements upon the workers of iniquity this is he that the World hates because their deeds are evil And amongst other bad Laws of this Nation that burthens the conscience of the just which the sufferings of Gods people have declared to the Rulers of these Nations those for payment of Tythes are most abominable and unjust was ever the like heard of that theft oppression and wickednesse should be maintained by a law amongst a people called a Christian Common-wealth the Priests of the Nation which come not in by the door into the sheep-fold are theeves and robbers having stollen the words of Christ the Prophets and Apostles in their conversations denying the life and power yea and not singly and onely so but bringing forth the divinations and inventions of their own brains which are dead and raven from the spirit of life that such wares and merchandize should be inforced upon a people at so dear a â—ate whether they will or no like them or not they must pay for them as the blood of many of the Lords people and the barbarous spoyling of their goods doth sadly witnesse in this Nation Is not this unjust and even a rape upon the Consciences of Men I am sure of it it is that the Lord hates and his wrath is kindled and burns like an oven against this wicked generation of men that will not have the Lord to be the Teacher of his people those from whose lies and lightnesse abomination is gone forth into all the Land that the people perish for want of knowledge yea and the blood of the slain shall be required at the hands of those that have a power given them and do not remove and destroy all the high places of Baal those stumbling-blocks set up that have caused thousands to erre from the pure worship of God which is in spirit and in truth and have commiâ—ted abominable whoredoms with the Gods of the Heathen even those inventions and likenessles that men in their corrupt natures wills and wisdoms which is out of the sear of God have set up acted and worshiped which manifests it self to be a deceiver for the comers thereunto are not cleansed and saved from their sins they are not made perfect but plain to all the children of light that these worshippers wax worse and worse which is the character of deluded persons They do not confesse that Christ is come in the flesh for they live in the lusts of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life and this is the spirit of Antichrist they are of the World therefore the World loves them and hears them but us it hates What was the error of Balâ—am was it not the setting up of stumbling-blocks to the people of Israel for the wages of unrighteousnesse and was Balâ—am a false Prophet and can these be true that are lovers of themselves seek their own honour and praise of men and make merchandize of souls for unjust gain what can the highest professor among them all without the spirit of liâ—â— which is able of iâ—self to lead into all Truth the which they may confesse in words but in deeds deny do more from the letter of Scriptures then the vagabond Jews the sons of Sceva the exorcists could do who would cast out Divels in the name of that Jesus whom they knew not but as Paul preached who was a witnesse of the life and power in himself that casts the unclean spirit out of the Creature if they have a Gospel let them freely preach it as the truth of the Gospel directs or let them that hires them 〈◊〉 them their wages And let not such an invented Idol of preaching any longer devoure by by a Law so many hundred thousand pounds a year in the land and shed the blood of the innocent I deny not the preaching of the Gospel but own it and such as are able Ministers of the New Testament which are not of the Letter but of the spirit but such merchandize upon the letter of the Scriptures I utterly deny Yet verily I dearly own the Scriptures of truth and in my measure witnesse a unity with the spirit that gave them forth which shews to every member his place and part in the body and how and when to speak the word in due season which is the rule and order of
Saints But some may say Hath not the Lords presence been amongst these people They may plead that they have eaten and drunk in his presence yet workers of iniquity ye must depart I know you not saith the Lord. And it may be granted that sometime since the war began in the Nation when they 〈◊〉 could forsake all for that measure of truth they then knew when in straits they had not an arme of flesh to trust to when this day they knew not what to do the next they ceasing from man and waiting upon the Lord in singlenesse of heart for councel he did oftentimes appear in deliverances according to and beyond their and our expectation even so long as Israel followed the Ark of Gods covenant the Tabernacle of Testimony where the Councel of the Lord was known they went up to battel and prospered but when they went out of the Councel from the witnesse of God then they fell by the hand of their enemies there are many in this Nation that in a measure did begin in the spirit that will end in the flesh And salt that hath loft its favour what is it good for but to be east to the dunghil Come all again to know and follow the Tabernacle of God which is with men the witnesse of God in every particular which shews men the way they ought to walk in and therein they shall prosper Were all those that were in times past of their own accord joyned to Baal-peor to be destroyed from amongst the people of the Lord And is the zeal of those in authority in this Nation once so eminent for the beginning of reformation â—liberty after so many revolutions deliverances ingagements and experiences of what is good and what is evil now so cold for the Lord of Hosts as not to remove and make void all those bad laws that joyn people to or maintain false worships or other wise burden and grieve the Conscience of the Just and asmuch as in them lies restrain the free operation of the spirit of life in Gods people and bindes them as it were to seek for the living amongst the dead How long how long will men halt between two If God be God then follow him if Baal be God follow him no man can serve two masters God and mâ—mmon Verily the Lord will not be mocked and the Rulers and people of this Nation must not much longer stagger at the work of the Lord but in faithfulnesse follow him in the work of Reformation and Liberty in Truth or else those that have the present opportunity given into their hands which is very great shall be broken in pieces as those that have consulted with flesh and blood and asked not Counsel of the Lord but gainsayed the Spâ—â—â— of our God which worketh in his Saints and servants and cryeth out for Reformation which must have free Liberty to manifest it self without the restraint of mans Laws or else the Father of spirits will manifest his power to break the opposers to pieces even as a potters vessell for he will ease him of his adversaries and avenge him of his enemies the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it the Decree is gone forth and the execution hastenes Despise not prophecyings quench not the Spirit which burns like a fire against the wicked and shall not cease untill they be utterly consumed Verily the burden of the Lord is great in this matter and the blood of the slain cries lowd for Justice upon the oppressor yea the dumb creatures cryes out against cruelty and the spirit saith How long Lord how long shall it be ere Truth and righteousnesse shal be brought forth in the earth where the Lord must reigne yea the whole Creation groans to be delivered from the bondage of Corruption and shall not the God of the whâ—â—◠〈◊〉 do just yea verily he wil perfect deliverance for his people and make speedy inquisition for the blood of the slain and take an account of all the cruel sufferings and oppressions of his faithful witnesses and servants And all this will the Lord require at the hands of those in power in this Nation that have had and now have a DAY to remove cruelty tyranny and oppression from amongst this people and do not prevent his judgements by a speedy and diligent going on with the Lords work required of them and that in faithfulnesse and uprightnesse of heart to the Lord. That just and Righteous Laws may be established and executed in the earth answering the witnesse of God in all men that righteousnesse may run down as a river and Justice and true Judgement as a mighty stream to the terror of the evil doers and to the refreshment and joy of those that fear the Lord in the land whose fear is not taught them by the precepts of men as much of the Nations is whereby most of the people are swallowed up The eight moneth 1659. This in the Lords fear do I give forth and testifie who am a Lover of Righteousnesse and a Friend to the peace and welfare of the Nation JOHN ANDERDON THE END