for God in their Professions p. 163. 17. A True Relation of the cause of his Imprisonment by the Magistrates at Harwich p. 193. 18. His Faith touching 4. Particulars Demonstrated 1. Concerning Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World 2. Concerning Justification 3. Concerning the Resurrection 4. Concerning Everlasting Glory and Eternal Misery p. 208. 19. Englands sad Estate and condition lamented p. 212. Several Epistles to Friends who are gathered into the Light of Life 1. A General Epistle and tender Greeting sent unto the Flock of Christ Pag. 230. 2. An Epistle to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity p. 241. 3. To the Called of God who believe in the Light of the Lamb. p. 245. 4. The Breathings of true Love from the Immortal Seed in the Prisoner for the Lord unto his People p. 250. 5. To the Tribulated Fock of Christ in Bonds or elsewhere Salutation p. 263. 6. Touching compelling of Engagements p. 267. 7. That none can hinder the Determined Will of God p. 269. 8. Concerning his laying down the Body p. 270. 9. For the Common-wealths men both in the Parliament and Army p. 272. COMPASSION TO THE CAPTIVES WHEREIN Is shewn unto them the Way of God Which is but one which is not known in the many Sects and Opinions that are in the dark World but in the Light which comes from Christ which condemns the World with its deeds So they that live in the many Sects and Opinions their wayes are seen and denied by the Children of Light who dwell in Him who is the Way the Truth and the Life With something in plainness to the Officers and Souldiers of the Armies in General in England Scotland and Ireland Also a strong and terrible Alarm sounded out of the Holy Mountain against the Inhabitants of the Earth Given forth for the Innocent Seeds sake which is scattered abroad in the dark World By me who suffers for the Testimony of Jesus and keeps the word of his Patience in the common Goal of Edmonds Bury in the County of Suffolk where I have suffered above forty nine weeks through the envy and cruelty of Sions Oppressors I am known to the world by the name George Fox the Younger London Printed for Robert VVilson at the Black-spread-Eagle and VVind-Mill in Martins le Grand 1662. Compassion to the Captives Wherein is shewn unto them the Way of God which is but one which is not known in the many Sects and Opinions which are in the dark World But in the Light which comes from Christ c. THerefore this is unto you in whom there is any desires to know the way of the pure God who are scattered abroad in the dark World and are yet groping in the dark in the many Sects and Opinions Jam. 4.3 You ask and receive not because you ask amisse you have been wandring from Mountain to Mountain and from Hill to Hill but yet you have found no resting place for you have sought in your own wills and have run in your own imaginations and have not at all considered what it was that guided you but in darkness ye have walked and ye know not whither 1 John 2.11 and ye have joyned some with one Sect and some with another and in your own wills have contended each of you for your Opinions and yet ye have not been satisfied in your minds many of you whither that was the Truth that ye contended for or not for doubtings have oftentimes arose in your minds and you have been many times struck with fear and then you have sometimes in tenderness desired that you might know the way of God aright and ye have been some of you brought somewhat down and then you have been afraid to run into those evil Practises which formerly you have acted and delighted in Yet this hath been but for a time for ye knew not what that was that struck you but in your Imaginations you have consulted and then in your own wills you have sate down and said within your selves that you would never act such wickedness again but this being in your wills you have not found Power to resist the Temptations of the wicked one Neither have you found any Power over your lusts for by them you have been drawn away Jam. 1.14 and so have run into the same wickedness again and then some of you have been ready to despair and other times you have accounted God an hard Master as the slothful servant did Mat. 25.18 24 25. for you are yet in the same Nature and Practice that he was in for your Talent also is hid in the Earth and your earthly minds are above and rule and you are subiected by the Powers of the Earth so that those weak desires that yet remain in you towards â—he lâ—â—ing God are greatly oppressed by the Earth and kept in Bondage and Captivity by the Powers thereof and Leanness and Barrenness is in your Souls now while you continue thus striving in your own wills or imaginations profess what you will you cannot have any true Peace nor rest in your minds neither can you receive any satisfaction to those desires which are real after God I say while you thus act Therefore consider your wayes speedily and hate not the Covenant of God nor contemn his Promise any longer Now this is the Promise of the Lord speaking of his servant whom he hath chosen even the Son of his Love saying I will give him for a Covenant to the People and for a Light to the Gentiles that he may be my Salvation to the ends of the Earth Isa 42.6 49.6 And Christ Jesus the Son of God saith I am the Light of the World John 8.12 And John who was a true Minister of Christ and bore witness of him saith He lighteth every man that cometh into the world John 1. chap. 9 v So you have all received a Light from Christ and this Light shineth in Darkness but the Darkness cannot comprehend it And this is the Condemnation of the World that Light is come into the World and men loved Darkness rather than Light because their deeds were Evil And he that doth Evil hateth the Light neither will he bring his Deeds to the Light lest it should reprove them John 3.19 Therefore you that desire to know the Way of the Pure God be not high-minded but repent and come down to the Light of Christ in your Consciences that is the Light which shews you Sin and Evil and this the Way Christ Jesus the Light he is the Way to the Father and no man cometh to the Father but by him Joh. 14.6 Therefore as the Light appears in you to shew you the Evil of your doings take heed to the Light and wait in it that you may see Condemnation pass upon that which hath led you into the Evil of the World and that you may come to be sensible of a guide to your minds to guide you out of the Evil that so the Cross
Gods appearance within you by drawing your minds into the visible changeable things and yet the Lord in love to his own Seed hath spared you so mind the Lords long patience and forbearance which hath been great towards you for his Seeds sake in you which breathes and thirsts after his Righteousness and cannot be satisfied without his life and presence And truly friends my love is exceeding tender and large towards you in whom there is such a pure tender Seed stirring and my desire is who have seen the emptiness of all Profession without the life that you might come to witness the Seed satisfied in you with the Pure Power and Life and Virtue of the Living God which hath suffered long in you and hath not been satisfied by reason of your disobedience unto the Light Therefore in Tender Bowels of Love and Compassion unto you I do freely declare unto you all The New and Living way which hath been from the beginning which is CHRIST JESUS the true Light which lighteth every one which cometh into the World whereby every one of you believing in the Light may come to receive a particular satisfaction from Christ from whence the Light doth come Friends The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall but you have transgressed and gone from the manifestation of Gods Spirit in your own particulars and so it is impossible for you ever to profit in the things of God or come to receive a particular satisfaction until you come to own that and believe in that which you have transgressed and gone from which was given you to profit withall and to lead you into the substance which giveth satisfaction Now the manifestation of the Spirit doth shew unto you your runings and willings and actings and strivings that ye have been in whereby ye could never obtain satisfaction unto that in you which breathes to do the Will of God now you must mind that which makes manifest these things unto you and as you take notice of that which is the Light and wait in it you will come to feel it drawing you into stilness and coolness and quietness of spirit and then with the Light you will come to discern the subtilty and the motions thereof which have oft beguiled you by drawing you from quietness and stilness into the Airy imaginations whereby he hath tossed and unsetled your minds and as you waite in that which doth make manifest which is the Light and believe in it you will come to feel something arising in you in Power to Judge and condemn the subtilty as that stirs in you to draw you from waiting upon God and then you will come to know and feel the spirit of Judgement and burning placed in you to purge you and as you wait in the Judgement in patience and stilness you will come to hear the still voice that is spoken of in the Scriptures saying This is the way and shewing it unto you and when you see the way as you wait in that which shewes it unto you then you will come to hear the Command in Power saying unto you walk in it and then you will come to know your Teacher which cannot be removed into a corner and so here the path of the just ye will all come to know and witness in your selves which is the shining Light which shineth more and more until the perfect day for as you all wait in that which calls for stilness and silence to the flesh and the motions thereof ye will come then to see more Light and so ye will come to witness what David spoke to be true who said to God In thy Light shall we see Light and then the just which hath been long oppressed and burthened in you will begin to spring and as you believe and wait in the Light your minds being staid in it you will come to feel God's Living Power working and opperating in you condemning and removing that in you which hath oppressed and burthened the just and so by God's pure Power as you wait and continue in it you will come to feel and witness the just holy Seed raised up in you from under that which did oppress and burthen it and here you will feel the captive come out of captivity by the Gospel which is the Power of God and the Prison door set open and the Prisoners set at Liberty And then as you wait in the Light you will come to feel God's pure Powerful Presence and Life and Virtue runing through you which will refresh the Seed which is tender and give satisfaction unto it and so as you all wait low in the fear of God watching in the Light that nothing may get up in you to boast and glory which is not of God you will then feel your love exceedingly encreased towards the Pure Living Truth of God and your whole delight will be to walk in the Truth in Righteousness and Holiness without which no man shall see the Living God and as you all walk in the Light obeying it you will come into the Pure Fellowship and Communion and Unity of the Saints and then you will feel the Life which is the Blood of Jesus Christ cleansing you purging and purifying you from all Sin and so as every one of you abide in the Faith feeling it and standing in the Power of God that will purifie your hearts and give you victory over the World and then you will come to receive a particular satisfaction from Christ the Power which is the Author and ground of the Saints Faith and you will feel God's Spirit and Power and Life as you dwell in it drawing and leading you into whatsoever he requireth you to do and as you all wait and are still in that which doth discern the thoughts and the intents of your hearts and makes them manifest unto you you will clearly come to discern the Subtilty and the motions thereof which would draw you to act such things as the Lord doth not require you to act So all take heed to that which discerns the thoughts and intents of your hearts for this is a measure of the Word of Life which is quick and powerful and as you all wait in it you will feel it to be so for you will feel it dividing the precious in you from the vile and this is the Ingrafted Word which is able to save your Souls So this is not written to feed the carnal mind in any but it is written for your sakes who are truely breathing and thirsting after God's Righteousness and cannot be satisfied without it that so you may all come into the true Light wherewith you are enlightned and that you with it may come to see how you have been tossed and tumbled up and down by the Subtilty of the Serpent in those things which could never give you true peace nor satisfaction and that now through believing in the Truth and Obedience of the Spirit you may all
through Him might believe Mark through Him who lighteth every man that cometh into the World John 1.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. and God is Light 1 Joh. 1.5 and God and Christ are One Joh. 10.30 1 Joh. 5.7 So you that be turned from the Light which shews you sin and evil mark what you are turned from you are turned from the Way and from the Truth and from the Life and from the Covenant of God and from the Power of God and from the Word of God and so from God and Christ from whence the Light doth come and into the Darkness you are turned and gone and the Prince of Darkness ruleth in you Eph. 2.2 that so you cannot find any power over your own perverse Wills nor over your Lusts nor over any Sin there being gone from the Light in your own particulars in which Light if you believed and waited in it you would receive power to overcome sin but you not believing in the Light you believe in him who leads you from the Power of God into sin and there he perswades you that you must live in sin so long as you live upon the Earth and you have believed and received this Doctrin of him and you teach it to others and so are become the Devils Ministers and so you deny the end for which the Son of God was made manifest which was to destroy the Works of the Devil and to take away sin 1 Joh. 3.8 Mat. 1.21 and yet many of you feed your selves with hopes of Life and Salvation but your hopes are vain and will perish be not deceived God will not be mocked for such as you sow such shall you reap Gal. 6.7 8. Ye that live after the flesh fulfilling the lusts thereof you shall surely dye if ye repent not speedily Rom. 8.13 and you that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption The day of the Lord hasteth greatly wherein you must give an account unto him who will judge you righteously and reward you according to your deeds done in the Body and all you who have been slothful and have hid that in the Earth which the Lord gave you to profit withal you will be turned into utter darkness Mat. 25.30 John 12.35 Therefore while you have the Light believe and walk in it lest thick darkness come upon you even such darkness as may be felt the day of your Visitation prize lest the things that belong to your peace be wholly hid from your eyes Consider there is a time when the Candle is lighted and when you may see if you search with it what is in the house but mark this time will not alwayes continue with the wicked for the Candle of the wicked shall be put out Prov. 24.20 Yea the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with man Gen. 6.3 Therefore cease from your dark imaginations which several of you have got into for whosoever followeth the imaginations and thoughts of his own heart which all who believe not in the Light do they run on in darkness and know not whether they go and such are under the wo putting darkness for Light Light for darkness calling the Spirit of Truth the Spirit of Error and the Spirit of Error the Spirit of Truth Isa 5.20 as all the world do who lye in wickedness and hate the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the Word which Light reproveth you for your wickednes and this Light you call a Spirit of Delusion and Error and you say that those who are guided by it are deluded and led into Error Oh! take heed of Blasphemy against the pure God who is Light Mark the Spirit of Error what it is and what it leads into it is that which abode not in the Truth and it is a Murderer and was so from the Beginning and they who walk not in the true Light they walk and are guided by this Spirit and some by it are led to murder some to steal some to be drunk to swear to lye to cheat and cozen one another to fight to game and some it leads into vain laughter foolish jesting corrupt communication cursed speaking wantonness lust whoredom fornication and into covetousness which is Idolatry into pride variance strife railing back-biting envy wrath and malice false accusing the Innocent and into all manner of ungodliness into feigned love self-seeking dissimulation hypocrisie and feigned flattery and to hate the very appearance of Truth Eph. 4.29 and 5. Gal. 5.19 20. Now examine with that which reproves you for sin in secret and it will let you see that you bring forth many of these cursed Fruits before-mentioned and so are deluded and guided by the Spirit of Error now the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World comes from the Spirit of Truth and that is the Truth and it witnesseth against all these evil deeds before-mentioned which are out of the Truth and they who believe in the Light which makes manifest sin and evil and wait in it they receive power from him from whence the Light came John 1.12 to abstain from evil and to overcome sin and evil and this I witness and that Spirit which tempts the Creature to evil is the Spirit of Error So we who believe in the true Light which is the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth which is given to every man to profit withal 1 Cor. 12.7 we by it are led out of Error and Delusion into the perfect Truth of God and to act those things which are well-pleasing in his sight Mat. 11.29 they being learned and wrought in the Light which comes from the Son in whom the Father is well pleased Joh. 3.21 and this true Light in us is our Guide and Teacher and this brings us who wait in it to understand the Scriptures of Truth which was given forth from the Spirit of Truth and it brings us into that which the Scriptures speaks of into the Life and Power of God and to witness that which the World talks of for they will talk of Faith in Christ Jesus though they witness not what they speak but we who believe in the Light are made by the power of God Children of the Light and we witness Faith in Christ which Faith purifies our hearts and gives us victory over the World Act. 15.9 1 Joh. 5.4 and the Light leads us into meekness into soberness and love unfeigned into holiness and uprightness into sound and pure Judgement into Mercy into Patience when we are reviled and persecuted and at all times into long-suffering and Truth in the inward parts to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us yea it leads us who abide in it into all Truth Joh. 16.13 and this is not of our selves for it is the free Gift of God who freely gave his Son for a Covenant of Light which ligheth every man that cometh into the World and we who have received the Gift
of God the Light by the Gift we are brought to bring forth these fruits which are contrary to those which the Spirit of Error leads the Children of disobedience to bring forth Gal. 5.22 23. For although we the Children of Light are accounted to be in Delusion and Errour Gal. 5.22.23 yet it is but by you who bring forth the Cursed fruits which the Spirit of Errour leads you to bring forth so in the Light Life and Power of God we stand over all false Accusations and Reproaches and Persecutions and in the patience of Gods Lamb we bear them all and our love goes forth to your Souls who wilfully oppose your selves and we declare unto you that the long-sufferings of the Lord towards you is to draw you to Repentance Rom. 2.4 and I have directed you to that which will shew you what you ought to repent of Therefore consider your wayes speedily all you that forget God lest he tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you Psal 50.22 for verily this I declare unto you in the presence of the Lord that if you go on and continue in stubbornness and Rebellion against the Pure God and despise his love and reject his counsel and still refuse to hearken to the Light of his Son in your Consciences which reproves you for Sin and is freely given to you to lead you out of Sin unto God if you wilfully do not resist it Mark when the measure of your iniquity is filled up then will he arise upon you at unawares in his fury Wrath Indignation Mat. 24.50.51 and his eye shall not at all pitty you but he will bring his Plagues and Righteous Judgements upon you which shall consume you both root and branch if you will not be gathered in the day of his long patience and forbearance which is the day of your Visitation wherein you may come to know the things belonging to your peace if you do not wilfully resist the Power that is offered and committed unto you But if you resist the Power then the Lords righteous Judgements will assuredly come upon you and you will receive to your selves Condemnation and if you continue in your wickedness until the day of your visitation be past then shall the Light in all your Consciences which hath oftentimes shewed unto you your evil deeds arise and witness to the Judgements of God that they are just Zek. 2.7 so whether you will hear or forbear Remember you are warned in your Life time By a Friend to your Souls and a Lover of the Creation of God GEORGE FOX the Younger A few Queries to such Professors as stumble at the Light the Word the Kingdom and Spirit of God within and tell People that none can be free from Sin in this Life and yet say that they own the Scriptures 1. Qu. ARE not all by Nature Darkness and doth not the Light shine in Darkness yea or nay 2. Qu. Can any come to see themselves to be Darkness but with the Light which shineth in the Darkness yea or nay 3. Qu. Is there any way to come out of Darkness and Death and to receive Life and to be made Children of the Light but by believing in and following of Jesus Christ the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World yea or nay 4. Qu. Must not all be turned from Darkness to Light and from Satan's Power to the Power of God before they can receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified yea or nay 5. Qu. Can any come into the true Faith which purifies the heart and gives victory over the world without which none can please God but by hearing the Word of God yea or nay 6. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the Word of God and is not Christ the Light the Author and Finisher of the true Faith which saves and justifies yea or nay 7. Qu. And is not the Word nigh in the Mouth and in the Heart that men may obey it and do it and is not Christ the Light the Word that Prophet which all that hear him not are to be cut off yea or nay 8. Qu. And is it not Christ the Word which discerns and reveals the thoughts and intents of the heart and is not he the ingrafted Word which is able to save the Soul and is not he the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation and is sufficient which hath appeared unto all men and is not he the Word of God's Grace which is able to build up and keep from falling which People are to be commended unto yea or nay 9. Qu. And is not God Light and is not the shining of him in the hearts of People which gives them the knowledge of himself in the face of Jesus Christ yea or nay 10. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the hope which purifies as God is pure which Anchors and stayes the Soul to be known within are not People tossed like a Ship in a tempest without an Anchor till Christ the Hope be felt within to stay and Anchor them and is not Christ within the Hope a Mystery which hath been hid from Ages and Generations and are not all they in the reprobate state who know not Christ within them yea or nay 11. Qu. And is not God's Kingdom Light and is it not like a little leaven that is hid in Meal and as a grain of Mustard-seed that is sown in the Earth and like a Pearl hid in the Field or like good Seed sown in the Field both on stony thorny high-way and good ground and is not the world the Field where the Seed of the Kingdom is sown and is not the world in mans heart so is not Gods Kingdom within men yea or nay 12. Qu. And is not the manifestation of the Spirit given to every man to profit withal and do any worship the Father of Truth aright but those that worship him in the Spirit and in the Truth and is not the Light the Truth yea or nay 13. Qu. And is not Christ the Light that Word which reconciles to God and is it not he that must open the understandings of men before they can understand the Scriptures and are not People in Errour and in jangling and strife about the Scriptures till Christ the Light the Spirit of Truth the Power of God from whence Scriptures were spoken be known and owned to guide and lead them yea or nay 14. Qu. And is not this the Cause of so many Sects and Opinions and Divisions as are and of such strivings as are about Scriptures and Religions because People know not or own not the Spirit of Truth from whence Scriputures were spoken forth to lead and guide them and is it not like that People should run into Sects and Opinions and Divisions and Strife if they know not or own not the Spirit of Truth to guide and lead them and if the Spirit of Truth were known and owned to
it from the voice of Strangers and no more to follow Strangers but to return unto the Lord with all your Hearts and to submit your selves unto him in all humbleness and lowliness as the Light teacheth and that you may all come to know your own measures and abilities which God hath given you for he giveth to every one according to their abilities and that you may all keep down to your own measures and none of you to be exalted above his measure but all there to wait to see the Wisdom of God revealed in you that so you may grow in Wisdom and Power and Strength and Might in the knowledge of God who reneweth their strength that wait upon him So here is your Power and Strength to resist Temptations All to wait in the Light which comes from Christ unto whom all Power is given For in the Light you will see Temptations as they arise and waiting in the Light ye will receive Power from him from whom the Light comes to withstand the Temptations and to overcome the Tempter as he overcame who is gone before even Christ Jesus the Word of God who was before the World was who overcame the World he is the same that ever he was he changeth not and they that believe in him and wait in his Light they receive Power to overcome the World and them he redeems out of the World and they are not conformable to the Fashions and Customs and Wayes of the World but they are transformed by the renewing of their minds and their minds and affections are set upon Heavenly things so as you wait in the Light you will see the worlds Words and Fashions and VVayes all to be burdensom to the seed of God and if you love the Light you will know and find that Power present by which you will be made able and willing to cast off every weight and burden as they are seen with the Light and giving up in obedience to the Light keeping in the Cross you will find peace in your measures and you will see the Lord present to water and refresh that of himself in you and to cut off and purge out whatâ—oever oppresseth and hinders the growth of his own Plant in you and so you will become fruitful in your places and measures unto the Lord and he will take delight in you and feed you with food convenient according to your growth and necessities and he will be your God and you shall be his People and Sheep of his Pasture and you shall grow into the Covenant and he will take away you stony hearts and give you new hearts and write his Law therein and you shall know his Teachings Heb. 8.10 11 12. and he will be merciful unto you and forgive all your iniquities and you shall know the Blood of the Covenant which shall cleanse you from all sin 1 Joh. 1.7 and you shall know the Son and he shall make you free Joh. 8.32 36. and he will reveal the Father unto you and you shall be no more barren nor unfruitful but the VVilderness shall become a fruitful Place and the barren Land a fruitful Field and the parched ground shall become a place of pleasant Springs Isa 35. and the Lord God and the Lamb will take delight in your Feasts and make their abode with you These things will the Lord in his time accomplish and ye shall know them and be witnesses of them if you will indeed hearken unto his Voice and obey it and keep his Covenant and return unto him with all your Hearts and submit your selves to the Light of his Son in all your Consciences and then you shall be hid in the Day of the fierce VVrath of the Almighty which he is bringing upon the heads of the ungodly for although he hath long forborn them yet the cry of his Elect is not forgotten Luke 18.7 for now his long sufferings towards them shall be turned unto their everlasting contempt for even now is he arising to take vengeance upon the Oppressors of his righteous Seed and wo unto all those that are found in the Army of the Dragon for he shall be taken with the false Prophet and all those that have received the mark of the Beast and they all shall be cast into the Lake that burneth for ever this is the second Death Rev. 20.14 15. and this is the Portion and Reward of all those that are found fighting against the Lamb therefore you that are warned of the destruction which is speedily to come upon those that have cast the Law of God behind their backs and crucified the Son of God and are yet fighting against his Kingdom the Light in their Consciences condemns them eternally Stay not but come out from among them lest partaking of their sins ye also partake of their plagues Rev. 18.4 which are their due and now to be brought upon them take heed that you delay not for the Judgement hasteth greatly but if you refuse to hearken unto the Counsel of the Lord and resolve to go on in your own wills and imaginations and reject the Light of his Son in your Consciences which he hath given you to lead you out of your own wills and imaginations and so give your strength unto Strangers then will those desires which are yet in you towards the living God soon dye and you will grow more dark and wax stronger in your imaginations and you will become enemies even to the very appearance of Truth and your hearts will become hard and you will be found guilty of the blood of the Son of God and you will wax worse and worse 2 Tim. 3.13 and so you will grow fit for the Plagues and Judgements of the righteous God and the blood of his Son will cry for vengeance against you as Abels did against Cain Gen. 4.10 and the Lord will hear the cry thereof and will pour forth his Judgements upon you and then shall the Light in all your Consciences arise and witness to the Judgements of God that they are just and it shall let you see that you were warned of your destruction often times by it and that â—ou had a time given you to repent in Rev. 2.21 and then you shall be made to confess that your destruction is of your selves So in love to your souls I have written this in which your present condition which is miserable is plainly declared unto you and the way to come out of it by Christ Jesus the Light and the Priests who have long deceived many of you are here laid open in plainness and such as act in their own imaginations by imitating those who dwelt in the Life of what they professed also what you have gathered and gained all this time you have been making a Profession of God is here declared and the end thereof and what you shall attain unto if you will diligently hearken unto the Voice of God and obey the Light of his Son in all your
to shake terribly the Earth the noise of a Trumpet goeth before him which soundeth an Alarm Strong and Mighty is he there goeth a Sword out of his mouth and a Threshing instrument is in his hand wherewith he will cut down the tall Cedars and thresh the Mountains to dust A fire proceedeth out of his mouth also which shall devour and burn before him and none shall be able to quench it And the breath that cometh forth of his Nostrils shall scatter the Earth as the VVhirl-wind scattereth the dust yea terrible and dreadful will he be unto you wicked who live in the Earth you shall not be able to behold nor stand in his presence Therefore weep and howl and lament for the misery that is coming upon you for a total destruction is at hand yea the Lord hath decreed an utter overthrow of the Earth and the Inhabitants thereof for now shall his overflowing Scourge pass through the Earth and the Besom of his destruction shall sweep you away for your VVhoredoms and Murders and Idolatry and Drunkenness and Swearing and Lying and VVantonness and Prophaneness is come in remembrance before the dreadful and terrible God who will be avenged on you at once Rejoice ye Saints who are clad with Zeal and shout for joy you Sons of the most high God and sing ye Heavens and you that dwell therein for the Lord is risen ye are Witnesses thereof behold he cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to Iudge the Earth in Righteousness and to execute his Judgements upon his and our Enemies The Vials of his VVrath are made ready to be poured out upon them and his Indignation is waxen hot against them which shall burn and slay and consume them unto the end Glory Glory Honour and Dominion and Praise be given unto our King who liveth for ever for he is worthy to reign over all who was dead but now is he alive and liveth for evermore And he hath redeemed us from the Earth and hath brought us above the Earth to reign with him up the Earth Eternal Praises to our King for evermore who is above all and over all who was before the VVorld was and hath brought us to be before the VVorld to reign with him eternally above the VVorld and our Enemies are to be plagued and tormented in our presence and we shall rejoyce over the smoak of their torment which ascendeth for ever Now here is the joy and cause of our rejoycing who have followed the Lamb through great Tribulation and are brought above the Tribulations to dwell in the presence of the living God this is joy unspeakable and full of Glory which shall never have an end Hallelujah to our King for evermore Edmonds-Bury Common Goal the 22. day of the 7th Month 1656. By me George Fox whose natural Birth and outward being was at Charsfield in the said County of Suffolk A Visitation of Love unto all People in whose hearts there are any true honest tender desires begotten towards God and his Righteousness In what Sect or Opinion or Profession soever they be who are not in the Light especially unto such who have felt something of the workings of the Life and Power of God in them and yet notwithstanding have been led by the subtilty of the Serpent from the Life and Power of God into many Sects and Opinions and Forms which are without the Life and Power of God and herein the subtil workings and devices of the Serpent whereby he deceives the hearts of the simple is clearly made manifest Friends GOd the higher Power unto whom the soul is to be subject he only hath immortality and dwelleth in the Light and he is Light And he hath freely given his Son into the world by whom the world was made for a Covenant of Light and he is the true Light which lighteth every one that cometh into the world that all men through him might believe who is the VVord of God in whom is Life and that Life mark is the Light of men and the pure Grace of God which bringeth Salvation by which the Saints are freely justified hath appeared unto all men yea the the Eternal God of Truth hath appeared unto you in his Son Jesus Christ the true Light and with this Light hath God made manifest unto you your sin and evil deeds and with the measure of the Light of his Son in you sometimes hath he appeared in his mighty Power whereby he hath smitten you for your sins and evil deeds and he by his Power hath broken you into tenderness and brought you down into lowliness for a time and then by his unresistible Power thus working in you did beget a holy Seed from whence pure desires and breathings after God hath often arose in you which seed could not nor cannot be satisfied without Gods living presence Now ye not standing in the Power which convinced you and smote you and broke you into tenderness and brought you down and then begot a holy Seed in you from whence a pure unfeigned love to God hath oft sprung mark you not minding the workings and movings of this Power in you nor waiting in it for to receive counsel you entered into reasonings and thoughts which the subtilty which is the Devil presented in you and so ye hearkned not to Gods voice the power which had wrought so in you but you entred into reasonings with the subtilty which abode not in the power and this begot a questioning in you what that should be which had so appeared in you and broken you into such a tenderness and had wrought such a sudden change in you which you were not able to resist And ye going into the reasonings in your minds thus you turned from the pure Power of God and then sin which separateth from Gods presence which he by his Power worketh in you had in measure smitten and brought down in you arose again and got the Dominion in you and so you going thus from the Power wherein ye should have waited to have been preserved in the tenderness ye soon lost the tenderness and fear which the Power had wrought in you and then hardness of heart soon grew in you again and then the Seed which God had begotten in you which cannot be satisfied without his presence that began to be sorely oppressed in you by the sin which separates from Gods presence which got up more and more in you through your turning from the Power which ye once felt manifested and working in you against sin And then a grievous weight or burden came upon the Righteous Seed in you and then it began to groan and cry to God from under the burden and weight of iniquity that was upon it and then the Light appeared more brighter in you again for the Seeds sake which suffered in you and shewed you that you were wrong then the Light judged you for the wrong and then trouble came upon you and encreased in your minds and then
Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld Joh. 1.9 Drunkard thou hast a Light given thee which comes from Christ and that is the Light which lets thee see that thou shouldst not be drunk so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation which is the Light Swearer and Lyar and Fighter and Quarreler thou hast a Light given thee which comes from Christ who saith Swear not at all and with this Light thou seest thou shouldst not swear nor lye nor fight nor quarrel for the Light in thee witnesseth against these things so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation the Light Scoffer Scorner Mocker Railer cursed Speaker foolish Iester vain Talker Couzener and Cheater the Light that shines in thy Conscience though thou canst not comprehend it Joh. 1.5 because thou art darkness it is pure and eternal and never consented unto evil but stood and stands a VVitness for God against all evil Mark this Light this pure VVitness oftentimes hath appeared and doth appear unto thee and in thee and lets thee plainly see that thou shouldst not act any of these evils before mentioned and it often checks and reproves in secret when thou dost so act so here thou hast learned what Condemns thee which is the the Light Eph. 5.5 13. Proud one Wanton one Lustful one Covetous one who art an Idolater Backbiter Whoremonger Gamster Sporter and Prophane one who walkest on in laciviousness and excess of the Creatures in Revellings Banquetings and abominable Idolatries and whoever thou art that acts any manner of unrighteousness whatsoever it is sin and it is of the Devil but the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld that is the Son of God who is made manifest for this very end that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Joh. 3.8 and He mark the Son of God hath given thee a measure of his Light and that is the measure of his Light in thee which lets thee see that thou should not act any of these abominations before-mentioned but it oft appears in thee to convince thee of thy evil deeds and reproves thee and judgeth thee for thy wickedness so here thou hast learned thy Condemnation which is the Light which makes manifest unto thee thy abominations And thou who makest a Profession of the Saints words but art found to be out of their Life and in thy dark carnal mind and imaginations run'st into their words the Scriptures and calls them the VVord of God and thy Rule and the way to know God and yet thou livest contrary to the Scriptures and art out of the knowledge of God whom to know is life eternal Mark the Light wherewith thou art enlightned withal it comes from Christ who lighteth every man that cometh into the VVorld and his Name is called the VVord of God Rev. 19.13 and he is the way to God and no man knoweth the Father save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him Mat. 11.27 and this Light which comes from the Son of God oftentimes appears in thee and shews thee that thou art out of the Saints Life though thou profess their VVords and the Light lets thee see that thou art a Thief and a Robber and art climbing up another way in thy imaginations than by the Door Joh. 10.1 which is Christ from whence the Light doth come and this Light in thee which makes manifest to thee thy condition it oftentimes confounds thee and thy imaginations which thou hast raised out of thy dark mind concerning the Scriptures which were given forth in the true Light and the Light oftentimes convinceth reproveth and judgeth thee of and for thy hypocrisie and dissimulation and feigned love and humility and will-worship and lets thee see that thy worship is not that Worship which the Lord requireth for that is in the Spirit and in the Truth which God requireth Joh. 4.22 23 24. and thou being out of the Light not being guided by it art out of the Spirit for the Spirit is Light and the Light is the Truth and so out of the true Worship in the false worshipping thou knowst not what so here with the true Light thou art condemned and so hast learned but thy Condemnation Therefore all People both young and old high and low rich and poor bond and free who yet live in any of these evil deeds before-mentioned mind that which makes manifest your evil deeds unto you which is the measure of the pure God which he hath given you to profit withal and this measure in you convinceth you of sin and reproves you for it now mind to stand in that which doth convince for that is the Power and as you stand and believe in that which doth convince you it will lead you into true Repentance never to be repented of for it will bring you to repent of and to forsake all your evil deeds and hard speeches Jud. 15. which you will see in the Light which never consented unto sin that you have acted and spoken against the living God so believe in the Light which shews you sin and evil and wait in the Light as it ariseth and appears in you to shew you your estates and conditions now if you believe in the Light and wait in it you will come to receive Power from Christ from whence the Light doth come to overcome evil and to withstand the Tempter when he appears to tempt you to evil and the Light believing in it will preserve you out of the evil and lead you out of the death and loss that ye are in unto Christ the life and Saviour of the Soul But if you hate the Light which shews you sin and evil you hate Christ for I am the Light saith Christ John 8.12 and if you hate the Light you hate the way to the Father for I am the way to the Father saith Christ who is the Light Joh. 14.6 and if you hate the Light you hate the Truth and you hate the Life for I am the Truth and the Life saith Christ the true Light who lighteth every man that cometh into the World Joh. 1.9 and 12.46 and if you hate the Light you hate the Covenant of God for I will give him for a Covenant to the People and for a Light to the Gentiles saith God Isa 42.6 and 49.6 and if you hate the Light you hate the Power for all Power is given unto me both in Heaven and in Earth saith Christ the Light Mat. 28.18 and if you hate the Light you hate the Word of God and so you hate God and Christ who are One John 10.30 Mark for in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God all things were made by it and without it nothing was made that was made in it was Life Mark in the Word was Life and the life of the Word was the Light of men and John a man sent of God bare witness of the Light that all men
guide and lead them would it not lead and guide them out of Sects and Opinions and Divisions and Strife and would it not bring People to be of one heart and of one mind and into Unity with God and one with another and with the Scriptures yea or nay 15. Qu. And doth not Christ the Light the Spirit of Truth for Sin Condemn Sin in the flesh and must not that be owned which makes manifest reproves and Condemns Sin in the flesh before the Ministration of Life and Peace can be witnessed yea or nay 16. Qu. Is not the Unity of the Spirit the bond of Peace and must not People come into Unity with the Spirit before they can come into true Peace and doth not the Spirit of Truth reprove men for Sin who live in it so must not People come out of Sin before they can come into Unity with the Spirit and so into true Peace or hath the Spirit any Unity with Sin or is there any true Peace to the wicked who live in Sin yea or nay 17. Qu. And is not Christ the Light the Word the Rock of Offence and the stone of stumbling unto the disobedient in whom the Prince of the Power of the Air ruleth but is he not Elect and precious to them that believe and obey him and is it not he that ruleth in them and leads and guides them in the way of Peace yea or nay 18. Qu. Do not as many as believe in the Light receive Power to become the Sons of God and are not those the Sons of God who are led by the Spirit of Truth and are not those that do not believe in Christ the Light nor are guided by the Spirit bastards and not sons and are they not condemned already who do not believe and is not the Light their Condemnation yea or nay 19. Qu. And shall not Darkness yea great Darkness come upon them who do not believe and walk in the Light and shall not they stumble and fall and be broken yea or nay 20. Qu. And shall not they who believe and walk in the Light be made Children of the Light and be kept from stumbling and falling and shall not they have fellowship with the Father and the Son from whence the Light comes and one with another and doth not the blood of Christ cleanse them from all Sin yea or nay 21. Qu. Can any have fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Saints in Light but those that walk in and are guided and led by the Light of Christ Jesus which he hath enlightned them withal yea or nay 22. Qu. Can any deny themselves before they see themselves and can any man see himself but with the Light which Christ hath enlightned him withal which makes manifest Self and can any be Christ's Disciple but he that denies himself and takes up the Crosse and comes after Christ the true Light and are not all they thieves and robbers which come before Christ the Light and are not such enemies to the Crosse of Christ and is not the Crosse of Christ the Power of God and is not the Crosse and the Preaching of it foolishness to the wise of this World and is it not a stumbling block to such as in words professe they know God but in works deny him yea or nay 23. Qu. And they that commit Sin and cannot cease from Sin are not they of the Devil and are not they the Servants of Sin and so free from Righteousness and have they not eyes full of Adultery who cannot cease from Sin are they not adulterated and whored from the Life of God and though they promise liberty to themselves and others yet are not they servants to corruption and do not they live in the flesh and are they not dead while they live and so out of the true Faith and can such please God yea or nay 24. Qu. And they that believe in and obey Christ Jesus the true light doth not their faith stand in the Power of God and doth it not purifie their hearts and give them victory over the World and do not they who witness in the Life the manifestation of the Son of God also witness that he destroyes the works of the Devil and takes away their Sin and makes an end of transgression and changes their Nature which was subject to Sin and makes them partakers of his Divine Nature and throughly purges and sanctifies them with his Living Truth and doth not that make them free from Sin and so make them servants of Righteousness and doth not that make vessels of honour fitted for the Masters use and are not such dead unto Sin and alive unto God and can such live any longer in Sin and having mortified the deeds of the Body through the Spirit shall not they live but not to themselves but to God and are not these Christ's and have they not crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof yea or nay 25. Qu. Shall any man see the Lord without Holiness and ought any to name the Name of Christ but those that depart from Iniquity and is that the Faith of God's Elect which doth not purifie the heart nor give victory over the world but is without the works or is not this dead Faith and but the Faith of Devils and shall any be saved or justified by this Faith yea or nay Consider of these things ye Professors who stumble at the Light and tell People that none shall be free from sin in this Life 26. Qu. And when is the time and where is the place and what is the name of it if not in this Life that men shall be made free from sin answer plainly that I may see how much ye differ from the Papists in this particular or do ye believe that corruption and that which is imperfect shall enter into Heaven and inherit in corruption yea or nay Answer these Queries in plainness according to the Scriptures if ye be able if not then submit unto the true Light which will let you see your thoughts your darkness your unstableness and ignorance of the Scriptures and repent and believe and wait in the true Light that you may come out of your thoughts and darkness and unstableness and ignorance into that which the Scriptures declare of to feel Christ the Saviour from whence the Light doth come to redeem and save ye from sin and to keep ye out of your own thoughts inventions and imaginations that so your minds may come to be stayed and settled in the Power of the Lord which moves against sin By one who witnesseth God Christ the Light the Word the Spirit of Truth and these are one and the Kingdom of God within me and so am come to the thing that the Scriptures testifie of which was before Scripture was in whom the Scriptures ends and the Tabernacle of God is witnessed with men and his presence is felt which filleth Heaven and Earth and the Heaven
it not been just with the Lord to have suffered your Enemies to have destroyed you because of your grievous back-slidings and wickedness O consider it consider it while ye have time and prize the Lord's loving kindness that he should yet spare you and yet give you time to repent And seeing the Lord hath shewed you your back-slidings with his eternal Witness in you and hath begun to frustrate the designs of those that would have cut you off in your back-slidings and ye confess some of you that you are willing to take shame also to your selves wherein you have back-slidden therefore seeing it is thus all mind that of God in you which sheweth you your back-slidings and believe and wait in that to feel that nature judged and destroyed in you wherein all this Wickedness and Deceit hath lodged and keep in the fear and dread of the Lord God that so ye may receive his pure Wisdom whereby ye may be ordered in the particular and that ye in God's Wisdom and Fear may come to Rule in your places for God to be a terror to evil-doers and an encouragement to them that do well And take heed of a selfish earthly spirit in the particular and of the Honour and Glory and Gain of the World for that the Lord is against Oh! there is a strong deep root of it in many of you which the Spirit of Judgement and burning and the Ax of God is to destroy therefore wait to feel its Work in you O Army in thee was I several years together in which time I saw the mighty appearance of God with thee even in the time of the outward War and when the War was ended I left thee in obedience to the appearance of the living God unto me who called me out of thee by his Powerful Word in my heart through which he hath sanctified me and hath brought me into the life of that Truth which I and many of you in the Army professed in Words And I can truly say in the Fear of the Lord That my love hath been and yet is tender towards you for the good of your souls and I have seen your conditions and have considered them in the Spirit of the Lord and I cannot flatter any of you but must deal plainly and truly with you and all People Truly in many of you there is an exceeding lofty proud covetous deceitful nature and in others of you there is a lofty proud lustful devouring wanton vain nature though many of you I know have felt a measure of the Power of God yet verily ye have so back-slidden that iniquity hath gotten a strong hold and root in most of you therefore ye must keep down to the Witness of God in you which searcheth your hearts and will let you see what is there that so the Lord 's righteous Judgement ye may all feel and own it upon that nature in you which is contrary to the living God for if ye keep not to the Spirit of Judgement I know whatever you have declared in words that a selfish Spirit will get up more and more to act in you And verily Friends if you keep not your minds to the measure of the pure God in you a secret boasting will be ready to get up in you of what you have done and then you will soon forget where you are and your minds will run further and further into your Commissions and into your great Houses and Lands which many of you have got and others minds will run into your Souldiers places and ease and idleness and these things will beguile you if take not heed and you will soon forget the Oppressions then that others suffer under and if ye should do thus verily the Lord God would soon overturn you and break you to pieces Therefore all wait in the Light which shews you sin and evil that so by it ye may be brought to deny your selves and to come out of the loftiness that ye have been in into the true humility which goes before the true honour and come into moderation both in your Diet and Apparel and in all things and this would answer the Witness of God in all People and that being answered it would beget again a love in them towards you which you lost when you went into the excess Therefore be sober and watch in the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ which he hath enlightned you withal and believe in it that so ye may be preserved by it out of the deceitfulness of this World and that ye may be kept faithful in your places for the preserving of the outward Peace and Liberty of the Nation while ye feel a Freedom in that which convinceth you of evil for the bearing a carnal Weapon and know the manifestation of God's Spirit in you and wait to feel the motions of it and be obedient thereto and this will bring you to do violence to no man nor to accuse any falsly but it will bring you out of all such things if you keep to it and it will make you to be content with such wages as may find you Food and Raiment and things necessary and convenient for your Places and this you would then be worthy of So know the Lord hath a mighty Work to do therefore wait in his Light that ye may be kept truly sensible of your Places and go not beyond them but keep in the Fear of the Lord and wait to know what God requireth of you in your places lest the Lord cast you out So remember you are warned and it is in tender love to your Souls This following more particularly concerneth the Officers of the Army and Rulers of this Nation than the Army in general Take heed of raising or continuing War with other Nations in your own wills for to get your selves a Name and to get their earthly Treasures as some of you have been instruments to do for the Lord's hand hath been and yet is against that and he will not prosper you therein therefore be you warned and know that this is a warning unto you from the Lord God and seek peace and eschew evil and learn to do well that the Blessing of the Lord ye may come to feel and that this destroying of Creatures about Religion and the Honour and Gain of this World may cease And take heed how ye meddle with Religion for that hath split and broken many Rulers before you therefore set not up one Sâ—ct and throw not down another by an outward Law and force for that is wrong and the Lord is against that but wait in his Light to receive his Counsel that so ye may be kept in God's Wisdom and that therein ye may be instruments in the hand of the Lord for the keeping of the outward Peace of these Nations which are under your Command And take heed of hearkning unto such who in the King's time cryed him up and ran to him to give them a Law to settle them
to resist all that which is contrary unto me and I will destroy all the works of the Serpent in you and bruise his head and I will purge out all your iniquities and forgive all your trespasses I will change your nature and I will make you new Creatures if ye will hearken unto me and obey me the Light in you and I will make you partakers of my Divine Nature and I will judge and condemn and consume all that in you which is contrary to my Nature if ye will abide in the Light and I will take away all Darkness and earthly-mindedness and I will reveal my secrets and mysteries unto my Seed in you and I will cause you to delight alone in me the Light of Life and I will feed you with the Bread of Life and ye shall drink of my Life and ye shall be satisfied and I will manifest my Power more and more in you and if ye will be faithful unto me and obey my voice and wait upon me the Light then I will make the crooked wayes strait before you and the rough wayes smooth and I will destroy the Power of Darkness within and without you and if ye will follow me I will lead you out of the World and Worldly cares into patience into meekness and into stilness and quietness of spirit and whatsoever you suffer for my Names sake I will be your exceeding great reward and I will be your dread and ye shall be the dread of Nations I will be your Glory and ye shall be the Glory of Nations and I will reign over you and ye shall reign over all the World in my Light and Life and Power and if ye continue in me the Light I will give you Dominion over all your Enemies within and without you and I will make them all bow before you and I the Lord God of Light and Life will be your Redeemer and Saviour your Rock your Shield and your Defence and if ye will wait in my Life it shall be your Life and I the Life will destroy the destroyer within and without you and I will bring you out of all trouble and restlesness and dissatisfaction and I will be your peace and your rest and your satisfaction and ye shall lie down in me the Light of Life and none shall make you afraid These things shall you come to witness in the work of your regeneration and much more than is here expressed if ye be faithful unto me the true Light in you who have no fellowship with any thing that is Evil and then I wil purge all Evil out of you and even as I am so shall ye be also yea I will work this work and perfect it in you if ye continue and abide in me the Light Now if any should say that here is nothing spoken of Christ in what I have here written I answer what I have here written is the words which the Father who is one with Christ the Son gave unto me to write in which words the true Christ is owned and a Testimony given of him and no other But further in the Fear and Wisdom of God for the satisfaction of the simple I do declare in plain words That I do believe in the true Christ the Lord of Life who was glorified with the Father before the World began and I do believe that he was in due time made manifest in that body of flesh who was called Jesus and that in him the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily who was supposed to be the Carpenter's Son whom the Jews Crucified without the gates of Jerusalem and I have remission of Sins through his blood who is the Lord of Life and he was buried but he is risen and Ascended and sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high This is the Christ I own who also was and is Crucified in Sodom and Aegypt by the rebellious yea he is Crucified afresh and put to open shame now by those that trample the blood of the Covenant the Light of Life under their feet and count it an unholy or a natural thing and such act despightfully against the Spirit of Grace and such Murther the Seed which keeps the commands of God and such will God the Light overthrow and burn to ashes as he did Sodom and Gomorrah but all that love and obey the true Light which is the fire shall be saved and preserved by it and shall remain unhurt but all that hate and disobey the Light in them that is their condemnation the Light These are faithful and true sayings and things also that must shortly come to pass and he witnessed Postscript READER WHo ever thou art be moderate and take heed of disobeying and despising the true Light for if thou dost thou disobeyest and dispisest the True and Eternal God who is Light and that is his Name whereby he is and will be known in this Age and Generation Therefore stumble not at the Light which lighteneth every one which cometh into the World for if thou doest thou stumblest at God his Name at Christ the Word by which all things were made and are upheld at the Door the Way the Truth and the Life at the Rock at the Elect Stone and these all are but one and if thou stumble at these what ever thou art thou shalt be broken But they that obey and believe the true Light they shall be made Children of the Light and shall be taught of God and shall walk in his Light G. F. A Word to the People of the World who hate the Light to be witnessed by the Light in them all VVherein is shewed unto them what the Light is which is the condemnation of the VVorld with its deeds and what the Spirit of Truth is and what it leads them into who are led by it and what the Spirit of Error is and what it leads them into who are led by it And also they are here exhorted to repent whilst they have the Light to believe and walk in the Light lest darkness come upon them and they into it be cast where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Also a few Queries to such Professors as stumble at the Light the Word the Kingdom and Spirit of God within and tell People that none can be free from sin in this Life and yet say that they own the Scriptures LIght is come into the VVorld and the VVorld hates it Joh. 8.12 and the whole World lyeth in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 And this is the Condemnation of the VVorld that Light is come into the VVorld and men loved the Darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil saith Christ Joh. 3.19 20. And every one that doth evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his deeds should be reproved But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the Light for whatsoever doth make manifest is Light Eph. 5.13 and Christ Jesus he is the true
emptiness of the water outward and let them see that it is the Baptism inward with the holy Spirit and with Fire which saves and brings to the answer of a good Conscience And that no Form is to be minded any further then the Power is felt to lead into it or then the presence of the Lord is witnessed in it And thus the Lord by his pure Life hath gathered Thousands out of the Forms before mentioned and I do believe that he will yet dayly gather more and more into the Power which is endless Therefore all you who are yet left in any of those forms before mentioned or any other or out of Forms who have retained any thing of the former Tenderness and Smiplicity which was begotten in you by the appearance of the Lord And all you who are brought to see your backslidings and are now brought to feel any true desires and thirsting after God renewed in you my tender love reacheth forth unto you all in the Life Power and love of God wherewith I am loved and in which I am preserved Oh! that I could feel you bound up and established with me in the unchangable Truth of God where satisfaction and Peace is received and where nothing can make afraid Oh! that ye would freely yield your selves obedient servants unto the Righteousness of God which is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness of men Mark that is the thing which you must become obedient unto God's Righteousness which appeareth in you against all unrighteousness And all wait in that which moves against Sin for that is the Power of God which you must be turned unto and receive before you can receive the remission of Sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by the Faith which Christ Jesus the Righteousness of God is the Author and finisher of And Friends you must all mind the present manifestation of the Power of God and what it now draweth and leadeth unto For if you should now run into those things wherein you have formerly enjoyed something of the presence and Life of God yet if you feel not the pure Power of the Lord God now drawing you into them deadness will come upon you more and more and the tender desires that are renewed in you towards the Lord will be destroyed Oh! consider this the day of the Lord is far broke forth in Light and Knowledge and he is yet making it brighter and brighter unto them that truly wait upon him yea he is leading them by the hand of his love from one degree of Grace and Faith and Knowledge unto another and changing them from glory to glory And he is powring from vessel to vessel that the dregs may be left by themselves Yea he is sifting and winowing that the Chaff and the dross may be taken away and so the Seed which standeth approved may be made manifest And he is bringing thorow the fire and thorow the fire because the day hasteneth and draweth nigh in which he will make up his Jewels and consume the chaff and the dross Therefore look not back neither be afraid of the rage of man seek not to save your selves by bowing to his Will but look to the Lord who declareth unto you what your thoughts are and gird up the loins oF your minds and watch and be sober and hope to the end all you who through patience and experience are come to know any thing of the true hope which maketh not ashamed And Friends concerning Faith and the Promises of God there hath been much Profession and talk of those things amongst you But now the day is appearing which will try all Professions and every one's work must come to Tryal Therefore consider your Faith and the Ground Author and effects of it For there is a dead Faith and a living Faith and a ground for both Now the living Faith hath Jesus for its Author and the power of God for its Ground and its effects declare it to be the living Faith for it works in them that have it by love unto the purifying of their hearts and it is their victory over the world These were the effects of the living Faith in the Saints of old and it hath the same now as they can witness who have received it Now there is a Faith which stands but in Words not in the Power and this is a dead Faith it cannot work it purifies not the heart it gives not victory over the world nor access to God as the living Faith doth Oh Friends Labour not to content your selves with a dead Faith but wait that you may hear the leaving Word by which the living Faith comes Now a man may declare of the Word of Life as the Scriptures do and many may believe the words to be true and profess the same and yet if they receive not the living Word or VVitness in their own hearts their Faith will prove but a dead Faith and they will have but words for its ground but they that hear the VVords of Truth declared or read them and then feel the living VVord arising in themselves witnessing to the words that they have read or heard that they are true over-powering them to believe the same or if the VVord of Life speaketh to any ones understanding when words outwardly are not spoken and they be over-powered by the Word to believe the same such come indeed to feel and know how the living Faith cometh and is wrought And they come also to see that this Faith stands in the Power of God and not in words and that Jesus who saveth from sin is the Author of it And all that come into this state if they wilfully turn not from the Power they will feel their Faith increased in and by the Power and the effects of it will daily come to be manifest which will be an evidence unto them to prove that it is the living Faith for they will feel it giving them access to God Oh ye Professors I speak what I know and witness and without this Faith you cannot please God And concerning the Promises of God this know The Promises are unto the Seed Not unto Seeds as of many but unto the Seed which is One which is Christ So all that come to have right unto the Promises of God they must come to be of the Seed unto which the Promises are Now it is the Word of Life which begetteth unto God and brings to be of the Seed which is the Heir of the Promises of God Therefore wait in the appearance of the Word of Life that by it you may be begotten into the nature of the incorruptible Seed and become born of it that so you may be made meet to be partakers of the precious Promises Oh that ye would hearken diligently and obey and your Souls should live The Lord's hand of tender love and pitty is stretched forth towards you Oh! be not rebellious any longer lest he cease striving with you
not for Conscience sake satisfie his covetous and unrighteous desire but chose rather to suffer than to come forth by yielding to such a horrid oppression yet were we willing to have given him to the full value of all the things we made use of in the Chamber and it being the highest room in a lofty Tower and all the Windowes open it was not fit for men to Lodge in by reason of the Wind and Rain beating in until we had gotten them Glassed without any charge to the Sergeant and we had so little of his in our Chamber that we offered this to wit that if two reasonable men would prise the things we would pay him for them and give him the Things also or if he would not stand to that then we would give him two shillings and six pence a week for the time we had been there We also told our Keepers that if we denyed to give them any thing that they could recover by Law the Law was open but they ought not according to their own Law to keep us upon that account but to tutn us out and then take their course at Law And so we demanded our Liberty several times but notwithstanding all this the Sergeant detained us still And the day before the PARLIAMENT Adjourned our Names in a List with other Prisoners in his Custody was given in to the Parliament who notwithstanding their Act of Indempnity and Oblivion and their former Order for our being forthwith Released and set at Liberty they made another Order That it should be Referred to the Kings Privy Counsel to consider of us and to give such Order touching us as to our Liberty or to continue under constraint as they should find Consistent with the Publick Peace and the mean time we are to remain in the Sergeants Custody so by this Order we are still detained and nothing is yet done by the Privy Council touching us Now let the Reader consider how unreasonably and contrary to Law we have been used who have been kept seventeen Weeks in this Prison and never brought to any examination Besides the time that I was kept in Harwich Now if the PARLIAMENT had rightly weighed and considered the matter when they Ordered the thanks of the House to be given to the Mayor and Magistrate of Harwich for their care in that business touching us truly they might have found more cause to have reproved them for their folly than to have given them thanks For if it had been true that we had made some Disturbance at Harwich as it is said in the Order for our Release yet if the Magistrates of Harwich had rightly understood their duty and if they had not been blinded with the mad zeal of Persecution they might have seen that it belonged to their place to have ended the matter of a disturbance and not to have troubled a Parliament with such a frivilous thing But it is certain that Persecutors in all Ages were blind And what a thing is this cannot three Justices of the Peace so called nor a Parliament determine in the matter of a Disturbance if it had been so that we had made one which we did not but that such a thing â—s that must be turned over to the Kings Privy Council to be considered of or is it because they would keep the innocent in Prison and are ashamed to bring them to an examination having nothing justly to charge them withal I leave this to be answered by that of God in all who shall read this And seeing there have been many false Reports touching the cause of our imprisonment and also that some of our enemies have reported that we may come out of Prison if we will it was upon me to publish the manner of our Imprisonment and of our being kept and by whom that the truth of the matter may plainly be seen which being truly considered People may see that it is even now as it was in the Prophets dayes of old For Judgement is now turned backward and Justice standeth afar off Truth is fallen into the Streets and Equity cannot enter yea Truth faileth and he that departeth from Evil maketh himself a prey and the Lord hath seen it and it displeaseth him because there is no true Judgement Isaiah 59.14 15. and as they did in the dayes of Amos even so do this Generation yea They now turn Judgement into Wormwood and leave off Righteousness in the Earth they hate him that rebuketh in the Gate and abhor him that speaketh uprightly Therefore will the Lord break forth like fire Amos 5. Lambeth-house the 21st of the 7th Month 1660. G. F. HIS FAITH Touching Four Particulars DEMONSTRATED I. Concerning Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World II. Concerning Justification III. Concerning the Resurrection IV. Concerning Everlasting Glory and Eternal Misery Written for the satisfaction of some tender consciencious Persons who had heard false Reports of Him and others of his Judgement touching the things above Written First AS concerning Iesus Christ that was supposed to be Joseph the Carpenter's Son who as concerning the Flesh was Crucified and put to Death at Jerusalem between two Thieves upon the Cross at Mount Calvary I do believe he was the Son of God and that that very Body that the Souldier pierced was the very Body that was prepared by the Father for Christ the true Saviour to come in to do the Will of the Father that sent Him And I do believe that by the Grace of God he tasted Death for every man that as many as believe in and obey him whose Soul was made an Offering for sin might have Eternal Life through him who gave his precious Life a Ransom for many Secondly I do believe that no man can be Iustified by the Works of the Law nor by any VVork of his own but He or She that is Iustified in the sight of God it is freely by his Grace through Faith in Christ Iesus who creates such unto Good VVorks which God hath ordained that they that are justified should walk in Now God through his Free Love hath made Me a Witness of true Iustification And I testifie in the Lord That it is not my Works that Iustifie me but it is the LORD alone who worketh my Works in me and for me according to his own good pleasure who loved me before I loved him and manifested his Love to me in the Covenant of Light whereby he drew me after himself and gave me strength to obey and follow him in the manifestation and drawings of his Love which whilst I did reject I was justly condemned of the Lord and could not witness Iustification in that State although I sought it and talked much of it as many Professors now do but GOD who is rich in Mercy and Love shewed me how he had given me Power and Ability to receive his Truth in the Love of it through which I am now Saved and Iustified Thirdly Touching the Resurrection It is a
of his Glorious Truth and Gospel which is the Power of God and you have abode in his fear and singly given up to his will you have mightily been preserved and you have felt the hand of a tender Father upholding you and giving you Peace and content when you have lost much of this world and the honour and pleasures thereof for his Name sake Oh Friends He hath not been wanting unto you he hath seen your sufferings and hath looked upon your afflictions and hath ministred strength proportionable thereunto that you might not faint nor be weary Oh! let not his Mercies and Fatherly care and loving kindness be forgotten by any of you but let them for ever be had in remembrance so shall the reward be witnessed Now Friends the Lord hath suffered a Cloud and a Mist as it were to spread it self in these Nations whereby an evil savour is gone forth which by fire must be taken away in which he will yet further try his People that they may be as gold separated clearly from the dross and that they may indeed be truly gathered and redeemed from the Earth and all earthly things and that they may wholly look unto him for deliverance and know that he indeed is the alone refuge and hiding-place in the day of distress Therefore let all who know the Power of God retire inward and watch in the Light of the Lamb that you may feel the movings of the Life in your own Vessels and be kept in obedience to its drawings and leadings in this day of Tryal Temptation and Darkness which is spreading it self for a Moment mark that lest any of you be scattered for the Enemies work is anâ— will be to seek to draw you from your strength and true guide which where he attains it great will be the sorrow and loss of such Therefore my dearly beloved Friends who have tasted how good the Lord is in the tender bowels of Christ I beseech you be fervent in love to God and one towards another and be watchful in the Light and therein watch one over another and strengthen and comfort and encourage and build up one another in the work and service of the Lord And if any through the temptation of the Enemy hath at any time spoken or done any wrong to another even as God in Christ forgave you so freely forgive ye one another and be ye plain-hearted one to another and â—e ye reconcilâ—d in that which destroys all prejudice and purges out all hard thoughts that so the Unity may be witnessed in that Love which thinks no evil and the one Head and Master over all submitted unto and let the gathering be unto him alone that so the blessing may be multiplyed in and amongst you unto the Glory and Praise of him that gives the encrease And be diligent in Meeting together whilst you may in the Name and Power of the Lord and be watchful in the measure of the Life of God that you may feel your strength renewed and encreased in the inward man For Friends this is a day which will try every one's strength therefore dwell in the Power in which the true gathering is that ye may not scatter abroad for he that gathers not scatters abroad and he that goes from the drawings of the Power gathers not Now Friends as ye keep in the drawings and springings of the Invisible Life ye will be knit together in one Life and there will be no striving who shall be greatest but every one will be serving the Lord in their several places and measures and one another in Love and as this is abode in the weak in somethings and at sometimes may help the strong and the stronger in other things may help the weak Oh Friends be as Children of one Father dwelling in Innocency and Love together helping one another Be ye indeed as Members of one Body knowing that the nourishment to the several Members thereof comes frome one Head and considering that every Member hath not the same Office yet of exceeding Service as each moves and acts in true Love to the Body and therefore ought to be born and owned in their respective places and if any Member would act any thing that might hurt the Body or any part of it either through being out of the sence what is of Service to the Body or otherwise then if another Member or Members be made sensible of the same it or they are bound in Love to the Body to seek to hinder the same and in tender love to restore the erring Member that so the Body may be kept in true Order and every Member seeking the good one of another Oh Friends consider how the Members even of the true natural Body serve one another in Love how does one cover another how does one bear and strain and labour for the good of each other to help one another and how much more ought these things to abound in the Spiritual Body of which Christ is the Head And now that which chiefly lyes upon me at present to you is this That ye all in the feeling of the pure Life and Power of God may keep and that where there hath been any watching for advantage by any among you against one another or strife of words or prejudice or striving to Lord it one over another or strangeness one towards each other that these things be utterly laid aside and resisted for where these things or any of them take place they eat as doth a canker and devour the Babe which should inherit the Promises and receive the Blessing and that in tender Bowels of Love ye receive and embrace one another and that all whatsoever hath tended to the contrary in any may dye and be forgotten as if it had never been that so the Birth Immortal which hath been quenched in some may spring and grow in the Vertue of the Father that its strong cryes both in the Male and in the Female may pierce through the Clouds and reach unto the Father of Life and Power and wrestle with him until the Blessing be given abundantly yea until he make bare his Arm in the sight of his Enemies that the Oppressor may cease and the Land may be swept of evil doers that so a way may be made for the further spreading of his everlasting Name and Truth and for the exalting of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus over all the Kingdoms of the World Ah Friends the Unity the Unity in the Spirit the Love the Love from a pure heart is exceeding precious the yearning of Bowels one toward each other in the Lord the Faith the Patience the Watching and Breathing and Groaning and Sighing and Praying and Crying in the Spirit and Power of Emanuel is able to astonish the Heathen and to confound Armies and Powers that withstand the Kingdom of the Lord Christ and to cause Vengeance to come upon such as will not Repent and turn to the Lord in the day of
their Visitation even in the day of God's long Patience and Forbearance but set and bend themselves against the Lord and his Anointed Now Friends here is our strength and these are the Weapons which we must war withal against all this ungodliness that is come and coming up Therefore every particular hearken diligently unto the Call of God in the inward parts and wait in the meek Principle of Life that each may know and feel their own proper Gift or Gifts Weapon or Weapons and that every one may be kept sensible of the Teachings of the Captain of our Salvation that so ye may be expert in handling and using of it or them to the glory of him who hath called you to War against Babylon And dear Friends if any who love the Truth be yet further oppressed and their Goods spoyled by the false Prophet or Beast as many will be Oh! be ye tender-hearted towards such and know that the Earth is the Lord's and the Fulness thereof and they that follow the Lamb are redeemed from the Earth Therefore ye who know the Life dwell in it that your Redemption from all earthly things may be witnessed and that your Bodies and Estates may freely be given up to serve the Lord and one another whilst you are suffered to enjoy them Friends I know many of your Bodies and Estates have been and yet are so given up but these things I speak by way of remembrance to stir up the pure mind in all who breath after the Truth that love unfeigned may be maintained and encreased among you that ye may be all as Children of one Family dwelling together in Unity and Peace contented with the Will of the Father and be not at all discouraged or daunted because of the strength and malice and cruelty that is in the Adversary but be still and Patient in the Faith and stand out of all mortals in the sence of the Invisible Immortal Power of God and in that Meet oft together and visit one another whilst you may and be as Lambs amongst Wolves and the LORD our God shall appear for us and fight against our Enemies as he fought in the dayes of old against the Enemies of his Seed yea he shall confound our Enemies and bring them to naught and bring Liberty to his People when he hath tryed them to the full be Patient and doubt not though the Day must be hot yet it shall be but short for the Elects sake Watch and look not out He that will save his Life shall lose it but he that is willing to part with it shall find it eternally So the endless eternal Father of Life of Power of Wisdom of Peace of Love of Salvation gather and knit and unite you together and preserve and keep you in the melting Power and Love of the Lamb that ye may be as a Garden of Spices that your savour may be pleasant unto the Lord and unto all that breath after him in this the day of Tryal Amen Ah my dear Friends you have had a large and glorious day allowed you for the begetting and gathering of you into the precious Faith and the Unity thereof and many precious opportunities have you had for the assembling your selves together in the Name of the Lord and plenteously hath his eternal sweet Power and Life been manifested in and among you and as you have waited therein Oh! how have you felt the Blood of the everlasting Covenant the Life of Jesus purging and purifying your Consciences that therein you might hold the Mystery of that Faith which is your Victory over the World And now my Friends the Lord our God hath seen it good that ye may yet be tryed yea you must further be tryed your Faith your Strength your Patience must all be tryed and that by fire as I said before that a pure People you may be who stand and endure the Tryal unto the Lord yea a glorious People shall ye be whose beauty and splendor shall fill the Earth Therefore my dearly beloved in the Lord be watchful I beseech you and turn in and keep low in the feeling of the eternal Power in your own Vessels and know that every particulars strength lyeth there and ever particular will be tryed Therefore keep to your particular strength and be obedient to the Power in all its movings that so by it your minds may be drawn off all things that can or may change and come to an end and become wholly centered in the unchangeable endless Life of God Then my Friends nothing can harm you But verily if any of your affections be centered in Husbands Wives Children or any earthen Vessel or visible thing whatsoever so as that you cannot be willing to part with all if it be required at your hands then may your sufferings be great and dangerous unto you Therefore I beseech you be followers of the invisible Life of Jesus in all its appearances anddrawings that so by it you may be taught how to use all visible changeable things unto the Glory of the Lord whilst you are permitted to enjoy them And that you may be made willing to give up and to part with all yeâ— even with your lives also if you be called thereunto for the Tryal of your Faith or that your Enemies thereby may fill up the measure of their Iniquity and that Judgement may come upon them to the full And whilst you have outward liberty for the keeping your Meetings together be diligent therein as I said before and when any of you come to be hindred from such opportunities as you have enjoyed Oh! then be patient and wait upon the Lord for strength and if in any place it should come to pass that but two or three of you could come together neglect not that for if in the pure fear and love of God you be kept it will be profitable comfortable unto you And dear Friends you who are but weak in the Truth to you I now speak Take heed of looking out at any of us whom the Lord God hath drawn forth by his own Power and Love to declare his living eternal Truth unto you I say look not out at us as for strength or teaching but look to the endless Life in your selves which we have directed you unto in which your strength and satisfactory Teaching is for we may be removed far from you as to the outward but the Life and Power by which you and we stand abideth with and in you and we as to the outward may be bruised broken and slain for the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God which we hold But the Life and Spirit of God and the Lamb dwelleth for ever with you that believe in it and if ye crucifie it not to your selves there is none that can slay it And while you have Us or any of Us among you I exhort and warn you all and that in the Name and Authority of the Lord that ye look not