Unto you the Officers and Soldiers of the Armies, in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

REmember, how at the beginning of the late Wars in theſe Nations, that many of you were of the loweſt of the People, according to the account of men: and you were poor and contemptible in the eyes of your Enemies, who diſdained and ſcorned you, and thought ſoon to have made a prey upon you: But I bear you Record, that then many of you had a zeal for God, and againſt his Enemies; and according to your knowledge ſome of you acted faithfully for a time; and then ſome of you had a deſire to grow in the knowledge of God, and to act for him; and ſome of you were come ſo far as to ſee the Prieſts to be Enemies to the Truth, and ſuch as deceived the People; and your Zeal waxed hot againſt them and their Idolatry, ſo that you robbed them of their abominable Attire which they had cauſed the deceived People to provide them (to wear in the time of their Idolatrous Worſhip) and ſome of you did help to break down their Images and Altars which were in the high places where they worſhipped: And thus far • ou did that which was right in the ſight of God; and you ſaw that the Prieſts laid heavy burdens upon the People, Mat. 2.3, 4. and oppreſſed them greatly, in forcing them by an unjuſt Law to give them the tenth of their Labours, and you ſaw ſeveral Laws which were made and upheld by the wills of (Tyrants in theſe Nations) to be contrary to the Law of God: And then you Promiſed and Vowed unto God, if he would deliver your Enemies (which then were many and great) into your hands, that then you would take off that great Oppreſſion, which by unjuſt Laws were laid and continued upon the People; and that thoſe Laws concerning Oppreſſion and conſtraining men to Worſhip contrary to their Conſciences, ſhould be regulated or diſannulled, and made of none effect; and that all men ſhould have their Liberty to Worſhip according to what they knew; and that none ſhould Tyrannize over the Conſciences of their Brethren, to compel them otherwiſe; but that all ſhould have their Freedom and Liberty therein: Theſe things you Promiſed and Engaged to do; and you cauſed many People to Engage to be True unto you, and to ſtand firm with you, that ſo you might recover their Liberties and outward Rights, and bring them out of Bondage in which they were (then) held Captives by their Enemies; and upon this Account the People furniſhed you with Money and VVeapons, to War againſt their Oppreſſors; and you cryed then unto the Lord in your Diſtreſſes, and he was pleaſed to hear you, and he ſmote your Enemies with Terror and Fear, and overthrew all their wicked devices, and fruſtrated all their deſigns, and brought to naught all their miſchievous plottings againſt you; neither ſuffered he them to ſtand in the day of Battel before you (becauſe they truſted in their own ſtrength) but he gave them into your hands for a Prey, and whom ye would ye ſlew, and whom ye would ye preſerved alive; and you ſpoiled them, and they became Servants and Bond-men unto you, and you ruled over them as it is at this day: Thus God by his own Power delivered them into your hands, and preſerved you in the day of Battel, and was ſeen mightily amongſt you, and wonderfully delivered you out of their hands, and gave you outward reſt and eaſe from your outward Enemies; and your Name became a Terror and an Aſtoniſhment unto the Nations about, when they heard of thoſe Acts, which God had wrought by you. But now the love of the Lord unto you, and the day of your Diſtreſs by you is forgotten; and your Vows and Promiſes which you then made unto God and Man, are neglected and ſlighted by you; for as great or greater Oppreſsion and Burdens yet remain upon the People, as were then, and now many of you are poſſeſſed of your Enemies Houſes, and Lands, and Goods, and ſome of you are waxen rich through the ſpoil of your Enemies, and the greatneſs of your Pay, and ſome by doing Violence; and ſo through your Riches and abundance, many of you are grown high-minded and proud; and many of you through idleneſs and fulneſs of the Creature are grown exceeding wanton and luſtful, and now run on in the common pollutions of the world, and ſome of you are grown exceeding covetous, and are become grinders of the faces of the Poor, Iſa. 3.15. and defrauders one of another; and many of you now are ſeeking and contriving (in your own Wiſdom) how to grow greater, and to excel others in earthly Riches and Honour; and to eſtabliſh your ſelves there by the ſtrength of the arm of fleſh; and ſome of you are boaſting of you ſtrength, and valour, and ſtoutneſs, Jer. 9.23, 24. and are oftentimes telling how you killed, and wounded, and took, and deſtroyed your Enemies; and this is oft done by you, when you are devouring the Creation upon your ungodly luſts, and when you are gaming and ſpending away your precious time in vanity; and here you remember not how God by his own Power delivered them into your hands, neither give you him the Glory; but aſcribe it to your own strength and wiſdom, and boaſt in the Creature, and ſo forget the Creator; and ſo that ſimplicity and tenderneſs that was once in ſome of you, is deſtroyed and murdered by the luſts of the fleſh, which are highly exalted in you; and that Zeal (that was once in ſome of you for God, and againſt his Enemies, and thoſe unjuſt Laws which by them were made and upheld) is now loſt, and your ears are not open unto the cry of the Oppreſſed, whom once you promiſed to ſet free from their Oppreſſions; but now ſome of you are become upholders of, and pleaders for thoſe Laws and Cuſtoms which formerly you cryed againſt, and ſtrengthners and upholders of ſuch as oppreſs tender Conſciences, though once you pretended that you fought for the Liberty of Conſcience, and now by thoſe unjuſt Laws (which you ſaw to be contrary to the Law of God) do many ſuffer in theſe Nations, ſome Impriſonment, and ſome the ſpoyling of their Goods, ſome becauſe they cannot pay the Prieſts Tythes, for if they ſhould, they muſt deny the unchangeable Prieſt, which took not Tythes, but aboliſhed the firſt Prieſthood, and diſannulled the Commandement that gave Tythes unto them that were of the firſt Priesthood, which was a figure of him that was to come; but now is he come who is the ſubſtance and ſum of all Types and Figures, even the everlaſting High-Prieſt which changeth not; ſo the firſt Prieſthood is changed, and the Law is changed alſo: Heb. 7.12. Therefore they that witneſs the unchangeable Prieſt, they deny the changeable Prieſts, and for Conſcience ſake cannot uphold them; and ſome ſuffer Impriſonment for Declaring and Publiſhing the everlaſting Truth (as they are moved of the Lord) in the Markets, & Aſſemblies, and Congregations of the People, and ſome of late time have been Stock'd and Whipp'd, and ſome wounded and deſpitefully uſed for the ſame; and ſome, when they have been peaceably met together (in the fear of the Lord to wait upon him) in their own houſes, or upon their own ground, or ſome of their Brethrens, not being troubleſome outwardly to any man, they have been then and there abuſed, & ſome have been violently haled away to the Magiſtrates, who without ſhewing them any Law which they had tranſgreſſed, hath forth with ſent them to Priſon, and ſome have been ſtoned, and kicked, and buffeted, and ſpitted upon, and mocked; and ſome have had their doors and windows broken, and they ſcarce permitted to abide in their own houſes: And theſe things have been acted, ſome of them by the Prieſts, and ſome by the Rulers and Souldiers, and rude multtude, who are ſtrengthned in ſuch actions, and ſuffered ſo to act by the other; and ſome of the ſervants and choſen ones of the Lord have lately been caſt ſome into Priſons, & holes, and dungeons, and there have lain until the outward man hath periſhed; and many of the Children of the moſt high God, are yet in Priſons in this Nation, for witneſſing forth the pure Truth of God, and not for the breach of any juſt Law: neither could our Perſecutors, when we have been brought before them, ſhew any Law which we had tranſgreſſed; (when ſome of us have demanded this of them, that if they had any Law againſt what we had acted, that they ſhould read it to us) not withſtanding this they have ſent us to Priſon again, and there cauſed us to be kept and ſome of late time, as they have been going peaceably to viſit and relieve the ſervants of the Lord who are impriſoned in this Nation, they have not been permitted, but have been ſtopped by the way; and ſome of them have had their money taken from them, and then forthwith they have been ſent to Priſon, and there are kept; and ſome have been Fined and Impriſoned, for entertaining or lodging of the Servants and Children of the Lord, who have come peaceably and for peace to their houſes; and ſome lately hath been preſented, and money hath been demanded of them, becauſe for Conſcience ſake they could not go to the Steeple-houſes, to hear the hireling Prieſts and Deceivers on the firſt dayes of the weeks.

Now conſider theſe Practices, how contrary they are to the Vows and Engagements which you have made and taken, and contrary to the Liberty which once you pretended unto: I have not written theſe things unto you becauſe I am a ſufferer; for I neither look for help or expect deliverance from you; neither are my ſufferings weariſome or grievous unto me (becauſe I know I ſuffer in innocency) neither do I look for any help; or have I any helps in the Earth; but theſe things was I moved to write unto you that you may conſider how you have neglected and ſlighted that which you Promiſed to do, when you were in your diſtreſſe and trouble, if God delivered you out of them (who now hath delivered you) and that you may ſee how you have rewarded evil for the good that the Lord hath done for you; and how you have not onely lyed unto Man, but unto God.

So come down to the Light of Chriſt in all your Conſciences (unto which Light all the Powers of the Earth muſt bow) and with it ſearch your hearts, and try your wayes, and it will ſhew you your back-ſlidings and the evil of your doings; and repent ſpeedily, and do your firſt works, and return to your firſt Integrity, and do violence to no man, neither accuſe any falſly; and be content with your Wages, and ſubmit your ſelves unto the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the World, that with the Light you may ſee the violent and falſe Accuſer judged and caſt out of you; that ſo with the Light which makes manifeſt your preſent eſtate, you may be brought out of the Fall, and out of the Loſſe which you are yet in: But if you refuſe to return unto the Lord (who hath ſo marvelouſly delivered you out of the hands of your Enemies) & to pay your Vows to him: Verily the living God will ariſe and ſet free the oppreſſed, and deſtroy their oppreſſors, by his own Power and outſtretched Arm, and not by you, neither ſhall you have the honour of it; and he will caſt you off, and by his own Power will he bring you down, and deſtroy you, and root you out. Remember how he lately by his Mighty Power brought down and deſtroyed thoſe that Rebelled againſt him; and even as he caſt out them becauſe they oppreſſed his Righteous Seed, ſo alſo will he caſt out you (if you repent not ſpeedily) becauſe you have not wholly followed his Counſel, to deſtroy, and break down, and root out whatſoever did oppreſſe his People; but now he hath given you deliverance, and eaſe from your Enemies, you have forgotten the day of your Calamity (wherein you cryed unto the Lord for help) in which day you were oppreſſed by your Enemies alſo; and now ye are ſet down in eaſe and fulneſs, and regard not the cry of the oppreſſed, but you your ſelves are become oppreſſors alſo; ſo what you did act for God in the time of your trouble ſhall not be once named or mentioned unto you, becauſe you continued not faithful unto the end; but in your back-ſlidings and unrighteouſneſs (wherein you have delighted) you ſhall periſh, and you ſhall receive your reward with the unrighteous. And ſo remember you are warned of the deſtruction that is to come upon back-ſliders and ungodly men; if you periſh your blood be upon your heads, I am clear of it, having cleared my Conſcience unto you; and verily my deſire is (God is my witneſs) that you might return unto the Lord with your hearts, and break off from your iniquities by true Repen • ance, that ſo he might heal your back-ſlidings, and that you might come to know the Salvation of your Souls; now your Power to act righteouſly is in the Light which comes from Chriſt (who is the Wiſdom, and Power, and Righteouſneſs of God) unto whom all Power is given, and he hath given unto every one of you a meaſure of his Light, which if you love, and believe, and wait in it, as it ariſes in you, that is your Teacher to teach you the Truth, and to guide you to God, who is Light, and if you walk in the Light, then ſhall you have fellowſhip with the Children of Light; but if you hate and reject the Light which ſhews you Sin and Evil, that is your Condemnation from God, John 3.19. and from the Saints in Light Eternally.

This from the motion of the Lord in me, who for ſeveral years was amongſt you and had a great zeal (as ſome of you once had) againſt Tyrants and unjuſt Laws, by which the people were & are greatly oppreſſed; and in that time I ſuffered much hardſhip (as to the outward man) and was oft in jeopardy of my life, as many of you have been: which I was willing then to endure and to paſs through, for the ſuppreſſing of Tyrants and unjuſt Laws, which by them were made and upheld: But the Lord, hath called me out from among you, & hath made me a Souldier in the Army of the Lamb, who ſhall overcome all his Enemies; although for a time he ſuffer like a Lamb, yet he will ariſe like a Lyon upon his Enemies at unawares, and he will tear, & tread down, and conſume, and deſtroy them, and none ſhall be able to deliver out of his hand. I am now a ſufferer alſo for the everlaſting Truth, and not for the breach of any known Law; and thus the Rulers in this Nation (who perſecute the Innocent) reward me evil for good: but in the Power of the living God, I ſtand a witneſs againſt all Perſecutors and Tyrants, who ſeek to make a prey upon the lives of the Righteous, by which Power I am preſerved out of their hands, and kept above all ſufferings (and time, and place) which they are permitted to inflict upon me for a time for the tryal of my faith; but my cauſe is the Lords, and he will plead and revenge it. Remember from whence you are fallen.

G. F.

A Strong and terrible Alarm ſounded out of the holy Mountain againſt the Inhabitants of the Earth, &c.

WOe, wo, unto you Rulers, Prieſts and People, who live without the fear of God, and do hide your abominations in hypocriſie and diſſimulations; you are got into ſeveral Sects and Opinions, and there ſome of you have long made a Profeſſion of God with your tongues and lips, but your hearts are removed far from him, ſo that your Profeſſion ſtinks in the Noſtrils of the Almighty; and he loaths and abhors your Preaching and Praying; for you are weighed, and you are found too light, your coverings are too narrow, they will no longer hide you; for now you are ſearched with the true Light, which makes you manifeſt, and rips off your coverings, ſo that your nakedneſs appears, the day hath made you manifeſt; and now is the Light riſen, and with it you are ſeen to be out of the Life of Truth; yea, you are found to be the greateſt Enemies to the life that be upon the earth; for you Murther it in the particular, and you hate and perſecute it whereſoever it is brought forth; yea, and in all its appearances you ſeek to ſuppreſs and murther it. Remember your fore-fathers cryed, Not this man but Barrabbas, and your cry and Practice is ſeen to be the ſame in nature now; for the Robber and Murderer is ſet free, and hath his Liberty in and among you; and in you and by you, is the Son of God cryed againſt and murdered; yea, ye are the betrayers and murderers of him, and his blood you are guilty of, and it cryeth for vengeance againſt you unto the Lord, who hath long forborn you; and becauſe his Judgements were not ſpeedily executed upon you, you have ſtrengthned youe ſelves in your wickedneſs and imaginations, and have provoked the Almighty to wrath, and have not conſidered that his long-ſuffering towards you was to have drawn you to Repentance; but the day of your Viſitation you have deſpiſed, and have hated the Light of his Son in your Conſciences, which hath often ſhewed you your Evil Deeds, and ſo have trampled, the blood of the Covenant under your feet, and have done deſpight unto the Spirit of Grace, and hath choſen to follow the vain imaginations of your own hearts, and have contemned the Counſel of the Lord, and would not that he ſhould reign over you; for which cauſe his Iudgements linger not againſt you, but are ready to be poured forth upon your heads, even upon you, who have ſold your ſelves to work abomination in the ſight of the Lord, and are worſhipping in the houſe of your Imagery, and have joyned, and are become one with the great Whore of Babylon, who hath made her ſelf drunken with the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jeſus; but now is ſhe come in remembrance before the dreadful and terrible God, and now ſhall both ſhe and her Lovers be Plagued and tormented together.

Therefore you Nobles and Rulers, Captains and Mighty men, Prieſts and People, High and Low, Rich and Poor, Bond and Free, who hath committed Fornication with her, awake to the Iudgement, and behold your King, the old Dragon, which is the Divel and Satan; for he is come forth and deceives you, and he is come to gather you to the Battel of the great Day, which is at hand; for the Harveſt is ripe, and the Winepreſs is full, and your Fats overflow, and the meaſure of your Iniquities is great, and now will God be avenged on you, who will bring you all down unto the valley of Diſciſion, even there ſhall the Day of the Lord be upon you, which will be a day of pain and anguiſh, a day of blackneſs and gloomineſs, and of thick darkneſs unto you that have ſlain the Witneſs of God, and have made merry over him; your mirth is almoſt at an end, and inſtead thereof ſhall be mourning and bitter Lamentation, which ſhall come upon you in one day; and now is the day of Vengeance proclaimed, now is the Trumpet ſounded forth, behold the LYON roareth: Therefore, Oh! all ye Inhabitants of the Earth, fear and tremble before the living dreadful God, and dread ye his Name, for now is he ariſing in his Glory and Majeſty, 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 the Serpent, the Subtilty, the Devil (which abode not in the Truth) he appeared likewiſe in you, and begot a hurrying and a confuſed noiſe in your minds, and then preſented many things unto you, and ſtirred you up to do them, that ſo he might draw ye from hearkening unto the Light (wherein you ſhould have waited to have heard and known God's Voice and Counſel, and to have ſeen and heard what God had required at your hands) and thus the Subtilty, which is the Devil, who was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the Truth, ſought to draw you from the Light (which is the Truth) that ſo he might murder the Righteous Seed, which God had begotten in you, (unto which Seed the Promiſes are) Now your minds being drawn from the Light, which convinced you of ſin, you entred further into ſin, and then you could not find any power for to reſiſt ſin, becauſe you went from the Light which ſhewed you your ſin, wherein ye ſhould have waited to have received power againſt ſin, and then the Seed ſuffered in you, by the ſin which ye were entred into exceedingly; and trouble increaſed more and more in your minds, (this hath been the condition of ſome of you) and then the Subtilty drew you into reaſonings and conſultings what to do, that ſo the burden which you felt, and the trouble in your minds might be removed: So ye hearkning unto the Subtilty, he then preſented ſeveral things unto you to be done, ſome of which once were commanded by God to be done by them unto whom the Command came; and ſo the Subtilty perſwaded you, that you muſt do thoſe things likewiſe, before ye could have peace, and witneſs the burden and trouble removed, which ye felt; So he haing drawn you out of the ſenſibleneſs and feeling of the Light and Power of God, your underſtandings became wholly darkned, as unto the Counſel of God, and then theſe things which the ſubtil enemy preſented, exceedingly pleaſed the affectionate part in you, and ſome of you he perſwaded to act ſuch things as God never commanded any to act; and ſo ye going from the Light (which never changeth) and hearkning unto the Subtilty (which leads into changeableneſs) here ye began to run into Sects and Opinions, and Heaps, and Parties, and Diviſions; yea, here is the ground and riſe, and beginning of all Sects and Opinions in the world, peoples going from the Light and Power of God, which leads into the Subſtance, and into oneneſs of mind, and hearkning unto the Subtilty, which leads but into the likewiſe of Truth, and into ſelf-ſeparation and Diviſions, and changeableneſs of mind; and when the Serpent had drawn you into ſeveral Opinions and Practices in your VVorſhip, then he fed you with knowledge, that ſo each of you might be able to plead and contend for your Opinions and Practices; and then he begot a ſtrong, hot, haſty will in you (which hath been called Zeal for God, whereby he drew you into hot contentions one with another, and ſo by little and little he raiſed up a ſecret envy and prejudice in you, one againſt each other, till at length ſome of you brake forth into rage, and ſcorn, giving one another ſcornful Names.

And thus the Myſterie of Iniquity wrought in many of you, until the Seed grew weak in you, (as to your feeling) and became as a dead thing unto you, being thus ſtrangled in you, by your going from the Power, into thoſe things that the Power of God never moved, or drew you to act, (but the Serpent, which abode not in the Power) So then you were not ſenſible of ſuch a burden indeed, as ye were once ſenſible of, when the Seed which God had begotten in you, was more quick and lively, and then the Subtilty perſwaded you, that now you were right, becauſe you felt not ſuch a burden and trouble in your minds as you once did; and then a joy ſprung in you for a time, and then the Subtilty perſwaded you, that you were now entred into the VVork, and Service, and VVorſhip of God; and that he had given you ſome reward, becauſe you were not ſenſible of ſuch a burden, & trouble in your minds as ye were before you acted thoſe things in your VVorſhip; and thus the Subtility beguiled ſome of you: But this condition continued not long with you, for God's eternal VVitneſs (which ye had as it were ſlain, and made merry over it) that aroſe and appeared in you again, for the Seeds ſake, and diſturbed and broke that falſe peace, and joy, and perſwaſion, that you were got into, (through tranſgreſſing [and going from] that which is pure of God in you, and acting thoſe things in the Tranſgreſſion, which God never required at your hands) and then with God's witneſs, the Light, you ſaw your ſelves wrong again, and the Light judged you for your forwardneſs, and then you begun to loath thoſe Practices in your worſhip, which before you delighted in, and then ſomething you came to feel ſtirring in you again, which was not ſatisfied, but breathed, and groaned, and cryed unto the Lord; and then you were in a fine tender condition again; But then the Subtilty ſoon appeared in you again, and preſented ſome other new things unto you, and called thoſe which he had formerly led you into, old, empty, weak and beggerly things, and thus he wrought in the ſubtilty, to draw you from hearkning unto that which made manifeſt your Condition unto you; and thus he hath drawn ſome of you into moſt of the Sects and Opinions that be in the World, and through them, and thus in the ſubtilty hath he wrought in you to ſave his head, (or life) for he knew that if you had hearkned unto the truth of God as it appeared in you, and had obeyed it, that then God's Power would mightily have been made manifeſt in you, whereas the Seed immortal would have been raiſed up in you, which would have bruiſed his head.

So take notice how the Lord's love, the Light, hath followed you, and checked, and reproved you for your haſtineſs and forwardneſs, and hath ſhewed unto you the emptineſs and deadneſs of all the profeſſion and worſhip that ever you have run into.

And ſometimes when you have been brought into lowlineſs and tenderneſs; by the Power of the Lord which hath ſmitten you, then the Lord hath opened mighty things in you unto his Seed, which breathed and thirſted after his Righteouſneſs, and could not be ſatisfied without it, and then the Serpent hath wrought in you again in the ſubtilty, to lead you from that which opened, and from the pure, and ſo lead you up in the boaſting Nature, to hold forth thoſe things in the fleſhly Principle which the Lord opened unto his own Seed; and thus he hath kept you out of the Life and Power of Truth, and he hath filled ſome of you with ſtrange imagimations, and expectations concerning God and Chriſt, and his appearance without you; and ſo all along he hath ſtrove to keep you from minding 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 come to witneſs a particular ſatisfaction, and that you may come to feel the pure Image of the Holy God reſtored in you, even his everlaſting Righteouſneſs, his Power, his Wiſdom, his Life and Glory raiſed up in you, to have Dominion, and to rule over all the earth, and to ſubdue it; that ſo the pure God of Life and Virtue might be glorified in your mortal Bodies, and that you might all come to feel and witneſs an everlaſting habitation of Reſt, and Peace in him; who is worthy of all Honour, and Praiſe, and Thankſgiving, and Dominion for evermore, Amen.

Now ſome of you who have been antient Profeſſors, will ſay to us, If we ſhould joyn to you, we muſt lay down all then that ever we have profeſſed; and what, have we been Profeſſors ſo many years, and yet have to begin all aagain? Have we known nothing of God all this time? this is hard.

To this I anſwer, Friends, if you come to joyn to the Truth, you muſt then lay down, and leave, and forſake all that, which you have held up and practiſed in your own wills, which you were never led or required to hold up or practice by the Spirit of Truth; but I do know and own, that there was a pure living Principle of God, oft ſtirring in you, in your Profeſſions; by which Principle of God, you oft ſaw that you were wrong, and that you did that which was not well-pleaſing the ſight of God in your Profeſſion; for that Principle of God in you, the Light, judged and condemned you for many of your actions which you acted; and ſometimes the Lord's Witneſs brought you into a tender low condition; and then opened things unto the Seed in you, but you not taking heed to the Light, to be the guide and ſtay of your minds, you continued not long in that condition, but you conſulted with the Subtilty (which drew you from God's Witneſs) what you ſhould do, and ſo waited not in that, which brought you into tenderneſs to receive God's Counſel in that; but you took Counſel of the Serpent, and your own Hearts, and ſo ran into things which God never required at your hands, and therefore God had no regard unto your Worſhip, becauſe it was not in the Spirit, and in the Truth, you not being guided therein by the Spirit of Truth; So unto that which was in the Beginning you muſt all come, which is Chriſt the true Light, who hath enlightned you; and you muſt learn of Him, who is the Light of Life, the VVord, and the Power, by which all things were made, and are upheld, and you muſt be ſubject unto the meaſure of Him in you; and this his Meaſure, if you ſubmit to it, that will bring you to ceaſe from your own wills and works, and to wait in ſilence and patience, to ſee and feel Chriſt the Power of God, to work all your works in you, and for you; and if you own the Light, that will plainly ſhew unto you how God formerly appeared unto you, and how you went from his appearance; ſo the Light will own that which God opened unto you at any time, but it will deny and condemn your own imaginations, which you mixed with that which God opened unto you; and ſo unto this Witneſs of the Lord you muſt all come, and believe, and wait in that, which will ſeparate the precious from the vile, before that can be ſatisfied in you which breaths after God.

So my tender love and compaſſion is unto that in you which is not yet ſatisfied, but doth truly hunger and thirſt after the Life and Power of Truth; and my Soul doth travel for freedom and ſatisfaction of that Seed, and I ſuffer with it, and bear many things for its ſake, for I have true Unity and Fellowſhip with that in you, and I know it, and am known of it; but I cannot have Unity with many of your Practices, which ye have been in, becauſe they have cauſed the Seed in you, (with which I have Unity) exceedingly to ſuffer; you not being guided and led into them by the Spirit of Truth; and ſo againſt all ſuch Practices I do bear witneſs in the Spirit of Meekneſs, and I labour in the Spirit of Love, to turn Peoples minds unto the manifeſtation of the Spirit of Truth, which is given to every man wherewith to profit.

So all People, feel that, and mind that, and hearken unto that which oft riſeth in your hearts, againſt Luſt, againſt Covetouſneſs, againſt Pride, againſt vain and needleſs words and thoughts, and againſt all evil in its appearance; and as you all mind this Principle which moves and ſtirs in you, againſt all evil, you will feel it divide your good words from your bad words, and good thoughts from bad thoughts, and good deeds from bad deeds; and that which divides betwixt theſe, and ſhews you the difference of them, this is the Word which Moſes and Paul wrote of, which is nigh in the mouth, and in the heart; Yea, this is the Word of Reconciliation, which reconciles to God; this is the ingrafted Word, which is able to ſave the Soul.

Now you being turned to this Word, even to that which diſcerns the thoughts and intents of your hearts, as ye wait in this, let the Subtilty appear never ſo ſubtilly to draw your hearts after any thing, or into any Practice, which the Lord requireth not of you, then this Word, which is the Power, it will make it manifeſt unto you, and it will ſtop you from entring into any ſuch Practices, if you wilfully reſiſt it not; and believing and waiting in this Word, it will not ſuffer you to ſpeak any haſty unſavoury words, or word, and then ye will come to be truly ſenſible of a bridle to the tongue, without which all Religion is vain; and this Word, ye taking it to be your guide, it will bring you into ſavoury ſound words, ſeaſoned with the Grace of God; and ſo as your words, and actions, and lives, come to be ordered by this Word (Chriſt the Power of God) they will reach unto the Witneſs of God in every one where ye come; and if ye will hear this Word, and regard it, and not reſiſt it, it will work true Faith in you, by which you will feel your hearts purified from ſin, and ye will feel it giving you Victory over the World, within and without; and if ye keep in this Faith, ye will not make haſte, for ye will feel the Eternal Light (which is the Life of the Word) calling and drawing you out of the hasty nature, into ſoberneſs, ſtilneſs, and quietneſs, and meekneſs of Spirit, and ſo ye will feel your ſtrength renewed in the Lord, as ye all wait upon him in his Light; and all believing in the Light, ye will not come into condemnation; and as ye all wait in that which diſcerns and reveals the thoughts and the intents of your hearts (which is the Word of Power) this alſo will divide between your good thoughts and your bad thoughts, and the good motions and the bad motions, which you will ſee ſtirring in your minds; and if you hold faſt the Word of Truth, it will preſerve and keep you out of the bad thoughts and motions, and it will joyn you unto the good, and ye will come to feel the operation of the Spirit, and Life, and Power of God in you, to ſhake, and overturn, and work out that ground (which hath been in you) from whence the bad words, and bad thoughts, and bad motions have aroſe, which have burdened the oppreſſed and tender Seed in you, which you never could witneſs ſatisfied with all that ever you have performed; but as ye all believe, and wait in this unchangable meaſure of God, you will come to feel the burden taken off the Seed; and ye will come to feel and witneſs more true durable peace and ſatisfaction in one hours waiting upon God, than ever you felt and witneſſed in all the words that ever you have heard from any man or woman in all your lives, or in all your Practices, that ever you have practiſed (before you were brought to wait upon God in his Gifts, which he hath given you to profit withal) although in thoſe things which we have practiſed, I know ye have had a great joy appearing in you for a time, but it was not durable nor laſting; for when God's true and faithful Witneſs, (the Light) appeared and ſhewed you how that God never required thoſe things at your hands, which you had practiſed, then your joy and peace withered and came to an end, which you appeared ſometime to have in thoſe Practices; and if at any time ye came to feel ſome little peace, and joy, and refreſhment, through what God opened to the Seed in you, when by his Power ye were brought into ſome tenderneſs, ye ſoon loſt this alſo, by going from that which brought you into the tenderneſs; But as you all come into the Obedience of the Spirit, and abide in it, this will bring you into the ſeaſoned Life, and then ye will come to feel and witneſs pure peace, and joy, and refreſhment, and ſatisfaction, which will laſt and abide for ever with you, if ye abide in the Spirit; and then ye will be made willing to lay down and deny all that which ye have been acting, which ye never were led and guided to act by God's Pure Holy Spirit; and to deny all ſuch alſo, as would draw you to act that which God requireth not at your hands.

So take heed of ſuch as daub with untempered morter, and heal deceitfully, who will ſpeak peace, when there is no true peace, (but the pure Witneſs of God condemns) for ſuch, with good words and fair ſpeeches, deceive the hearts of the ſimple, keeping them ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth; and theſe through covetouſneſs and feigned words, make merchandize of poor People, for they have a Form of Godlineſs, but they deny and reſiſt the Power, and therefore from ſuch turn away.

And all mind that, and feel that, and be ſubject unto that, which for ſin condemns ſin in the fleſh, and then you will feel the Spirit of Judgement, and Burning, and Righteouſneſs, through which the Seed is redeemed, which Seed is Heir of the Kingdom of God; So all wait in the meek, lowly, quiet Spirit, that ye may come to witneſs this Holy Seed, which delights to do the Will of God, (by the power and Life of God) raiſed up in you, ſatisfied, and brought forth out of captivity.

And look not out, nor ſtrive after great and high things beyond your meaſures (for that puffs up, and leads into confuſion and dark imaginations) but all wait and be ſtill in the meaſure of God's Light manifeſted in you, that ſo you may come to feel him revealing his ſecrets and myſteries unto the Babes, which cannot live or be ſatisfied without him.

God is making known that, and ſtirring that in the hearts of People (throughout the World) which doth and ſhall confound and overturn all the Wiſdom of this World, and the ſubtilty of the Serpent (from whence all the Worlds Wiſdom aroſe) and therefore the hand of the Lord will be terrible and heavy upon the diſobedient, who diſobey and tranſgreſs that which he hath put into their Hearts, (whereby he is opening a mighty underſtanding in the People) But the everlaſting Bleſſing, and Peace, and Joy, and Glory of the Lord over all ſhall ariſe, and reſt upon all thoſe that joyn to, and believe in, and obey that Word which is nigh, in the mouth, and in the heart.

By a Labourer in the Power of Truth (which doth make free) for the Deliverance and Freedom of the Righteous Seed. George Fox, the younger.

An Exhortation to Families, who have deſires to ſerve the Lord God in their ſeveral places, that they may all learn in the Light of Chriſt Jeſus, the Wiſdom and Power of God, who is the true Teacher.

O Ye Fathers and Mothers, ſtand in the pure fear of the Lord, and wait in his Light, that ye may receive his living Wiſdom, and live in it, that ſo ye may be ordered by it, and with it order all things to God's glory, and bring up your Children in the fear of the Lord, watching over them in the ſeaſoned ſavoury Life of God, not ſuffering them to live in wildneſs, nor idleneſs, nor vain talking (unreproved;) but in the ſober, meek Spirit, and in the Authority of God's Lamb, reprove them, and that will reach the Witneſs of God in them, and correct them in the Fear, and Wiſdom, and Freedom of God, in the Patience; and follow not their fooliſh wills, neither correct them in your own wills, nor in haſtineſs, raſhneſs, or paſſion; for if ye do, then that will uſe the Rod, which is to be beaten with the Rod of God, and that will make your Children more ſtubborn and wicked, and this will offend God; but ſtand ye in God's Counſel, and diſcourage nothing in your Children, but evil, and let them have that which is meet, just, and reaſonable, and no more, that none of God's Creatures be waſted; and be ye patterns and good examples (in all holineſs, gravity and uprightneſs) unto them, and let them have ſufficient liberty to go to godly Meetings, and rather ſtir them up and encourage them to go to ſuch, than hinder or diſcourage them; and keep your minds out of them unto the Lord, and let your love to them be in the Lord, that ſo ye may feel his Bleſſing coming upon you and them.

And all ye Children, who have Parents, honour (and be obedient unto) them, in the Lord, and mind the Light of Chriſt (in you) and that will not ſuffer ye to be wild, nor wilful, ſtubborn, nor vain, but it will check and reprove ye for all evil, and if ye will own its reproof, and believe and wait in it, it will lead ye out of all evil, and it will bring ye into ſoberneſs and meekneſs, tenderneſs and innocency, and preſerve ye in it, and it will bring ye to know and remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth, and it will reveal God's Power and Wiſdom in ye, whereby ye will be kept in true order: So ſuffer not your minds to follow vanity, neither walk in ſtubbornneſs towards your Parents, (nor others;) I warn ye in God's fear, leſt he ſhorten your dayes, and cut ye off by his righteous Judgements; but mind his fear, and wait therein, that ye may feel his Grace, and be taught by it, and be obedient unto it, and then ye will feel the Mercy and Bleſſing of the Lord.

And all ye that are Maſters and Dames, wait in the true Light, that ye may feel Chriſt the Power and Wiſdom of God, to be your Maſter, that ſo ye may rule in your Places, in his Fear and Wiſdom; and lay no more upon your Servants, than ye would be willing ſhould be laid upon you, if ye were in their places and conditions: (Mark that) and forbear threatning them, and be not haſty to turn them away, if they be willing to abide with you; but in Patience and Meekneſs ſhew them their Place and Service, and therein teach them, if they know it not, and let them have for their Service, that which is convenient, juſt and reaſonable, that they may have no juſt cauſe to murmur or complain; and keep out of covetouſneſs, leſt that hinder you from giving them ſufficient liberty (who deſire it) for going to the Meetings of the People of the Lord; and if in the Wiſdom of God ye ſee freedom to turn any away, give them ſufficient warning, that they may provide themſelves other wayes, for this is juſt and reaſonable; and be not haſty nor raſh with them, nor run into jangling with them, but if ye have cauſe to reprove them, let it be in the Fear and Wiſdom of God, in the Freedom and Authority of the Truth, and that will reach unto the Witneſs of God in them; ſo be not High-minded, but fear, and be patterns unto them in the lowly, meek and quiet ſpirit and bear with the weak, and forgive them that treſpaſs againſt you, and render not evil for evil to any, but overcome evil with that which is good, and live in that which overcomes evil, that ſo the Truth of God may be exalted over all.

And all ye that are Servants, live in the Fear of the Lord, and wait in his Light, and be obedient thereunto, and alſo be obedient (in your places) unto thoſe that are your Maſters and Dames (according to the Fleſh) not onely to the good and gentle, but alſo to the froward, ſerving them in Faithfulneſs and Uprightneſs of Heart, doing what ye do for them, as diligently, faithfully and willingly, as ye ſhould do any thing to the Lord, for this right in the ſight of God; and take heed that none of God's Creatures be loſt, or waſted under your hands, through your neglecting them, or ſlothfulneſs in your places; & do not falſly accuſe any, or ſpeak evil behind any one's back, thereby thinking to get the favour or love of any, or upon any other account, for that is evil; and be as diligent in your places, when your Maſters or Dames are abſent, as when they are preſent, for this is juſt and right; and be not ſtubborn nor wilful, neither uſe many words to your Maſters or Dames, and if you know not well how to perform your ſervice aright, then in true humility be willing to learn, and take heed of High-mindedneſs and Pride, or of being wiſe in your own eyes; and when you have any ſpare time allowed ye, (being free from outward imployment) ſee that ye ſpend it in the fear of the Lord, in waiting upon him in his Light, that ſo all vain talking; corrupt Communication, fooliſh jeaſting, and all vanity may be kept out of; and give ye not way to that mind which is unſtable, which would be oft ſhifting, and going from place to place, for this is not right in the ſight of God; but wait in the Light, that ye may be ſtaid, and ſetled in your minds; and if ye ſee freedom in the fear of God (mark that) to go to another place, then give your Maſters or Dames ſufficient notice of it; and if any of you, who know the Truth, come to be moved of the Lord to go to any place in his ſervice, be faithful to the Lord, and when your ſervice which he required of you is done, then return to your places again (except it be otherwayes ordered in the Fear and Wiſdom of God) and be diligent in your places, doing the ſame that ye would others ſhould do unto you in the like condition; and mind the Lord in all things, and above all things, and be faithful unto him, and he will be your reward.

And all ye Fathers, and Mothers, and Children, and Maſters, and Dames, and Servants, who have the Creatures of God to buy or ſell, or to Exchange, live in the fear of the Lord, that ye may feel his Wiſdom to guide you in your trading, and do not ſpeak better or worſe of the Creatures then you know them to be, thereby to get the greater gain, for that is Idolatry, it ariſing from Covetouſneſs; but wait to feel God's Spirit to bridle your tongues, and uſe but few words in your trading; and if ye ask a queſtion therein, do it in ſimplicity, and keep in the Light which is equal, that when ye offer or ask a price for the Creatures, it may be in equality; and let that be your rule, and not the price of the Market, except that be equal, that ſo ye may reach the equal principle one in another; and then ſtand to your word, and here your yea will be yea, and your nay will be nay, and ſo you will be kept in the Doctrine of Chriſt, with his Light, out of all Evil; and ye abiding in the Light, it will bring ye to do to every one, as ye would be done unto; and take heed that ye ſtir not up the impatient, crooked, diſorderly Nature, one in another, with your words or actions; but bear one with another, and forgive one another, and when ye tell each other of a fault, do it in the Fear and Wiſdom, and Meek Spirit of God's Lamb, that ſo ye may reſtore each other therein; and when ye have any convenient time, aſſemble your ſelves together in the Name and Fear of the Lord, and wait every particular in the Meaſure and Gift of God in you, which is given ye to profit withal; and all wait together in the Light, and believe in it, that ye may be Children of the Light, and therein watch unto Prayer, and one over another, and this will beget ye into unfeigned love; and walking in the Light ye will have true unity, and fellowſhip one with another, and the blood (which is the Life) of Jeſus Chriſt you will feel cleanſing you from all Sin, and ſo ye will come into the unity with God. Alſo, to feel his Word, his Power, and Wiſdom (in you) by which all things were created and made, and are upheld, that therein ye may be ordered in the particular, and that therein ye may uſe and order all God's Creatures, to his Glory; and then all falſe Weights, and Meaſures, and Wayes, and Worſhips will be deſtroyed, and then ſhall Truth, Equity, Righteouſneſs, and true Order and Mercy proſper, and run down as a River: So let your Faith ſtand in Chriſt Jeſus the Light, and Wiſdom, and Power of God, and then true Worſhip, true Weight, true Meaſure ſhall be ſet up and eſtabliſhed, and then ſhall the Lord be exalted over all the works of his hands, and ſo ye will feel his bleſſing; unto him belongeth the Dominion and Honour, for he is worthy of it for evermore, Amen.

By George Fox, the Younger

The Words of the Everlaſting and True Light, Who is the Eternal Living God, and the King of Saints, which he gave unto me his ſervant, to declare unto the Inhabitants of the Earth, and unto all ſuch as have any true tender deſires in them after Righteouſneſs, and Truth.

HEarken, O ye Nations! and give ear ye Inhabitants of the Earth: Thus ſaith the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, whoſe Name is the Light, I am the Lord, and there is no other that can ſave; I the Light Created all things, and formed and made you all of the duſt, and I breathed into you my Light, my Life, that ye with it ſhould have been guided, and led in my Wiſdom, to have ordered all things which I have Created, and to have ruled over them all, that I in you might have been honoured and exalted over all the works of my hands, which I the Light Created; But from me the Light ye have departed, and ye have hearkned unto the Subtil Serpent, which is the Devil, (who abode not in me the Light, the Life, the Truth, which Created all things) whom I have curſed above all the Beaſts of the Earth, who is the Seed of Enmity; and ye hearkening unto him, he hath begotten you into Enmity againſt me the Light; and ſo hath begotten and led you into the Curſe, and ſo he is become your Father and Leader, whom I have curſed, and all that ye bring forth and act in him. I have curſed, becauſe it ſtands in the Enmity againſt me the Light; yet I the Light have looked upon you, and pittied you, becauſe of the loſs that ye are come into, and the darkneſs that is come upon you all, through your departing from me the Light.

And I the Eternal God have ſent him, who was glorified with me before the World was, by whom I made the World, who is not without me, nor I without him, but he is in me, and I in him, and He and I, and the Spirit that proceed's from Us, are one Being and Subſtance. (Mark) I the Eternal God have ſent him into the World, who was glorified with me before the World began, and he is called my Son, becauſe he is the Expreſs Image of my Glory, and bears my Name, the Light, the Life, the Truth, which is but one, and he is my Love unto you the World; and that is he that lets you ſee the Enmity and darkneſs that ye are in, and how years departed and gone from Me the Life; and for this end I have ſent him a Light, that ye all through him the Light might believe, that ſo he who ſhews you your Sins, your Enmity, your Darkneſs, ye believing in him, might receive power to come out of it, and that he might ſave you from the curſe which ye went into, when ye hearkned to the Serpent, whom I have curſed, who is become your Leader.

But I have ſent you the Light to be your Leader, to lead you from the Serpent, and out of all that which he hath led you into. (Mark) out of Enmity againſt me, out of Darkneſs, and ſo out of all unrighteous words, and deeds, and thoughts: And I the Eternal God have given my Son, the Light, power to plague, and to judge, to condem, and to deſtroy all thoſe that will not hear him (the Light) who makes manifeſt unto you your unrighteous words, deeds, and thoughts, which the Serpent hath led you into; and becauſe ye live in theſe, I cannot have fellowſhip with you, nor reveal my ſecrets unto you, but my anger is kindled againſt you; but if ye would hearken unto my Love, the Light, which lets you ſee all that ever you have done, and own him to be your Leader, and receive him, and give up your ſelves to be guided by him, then you ſhall feel his Power in you, (which I have given him) to lead you out of Enmity, and Darkneſs, and the curſe, and out of all Sin, which was the cauſe of the curſe, and ſo to deſtroy that Nature in you, which the Serpent hath begotten ye into, and to beget you again into the Nature of himſelf; the Light, in whom I am well pleaſed, and then my anger would be turned away from you, and I ſhould have fellowſhip with you again, as I had in the beginning, and the Serpent's head ye ſhould come to witneſs bruiſed (who drew and led you out of me the Life) & the Tree of Life, which I ſhut you from (becauſe of your diſobedience, ye ſhould come to know it) and to feel it, and to feed upon it again, and I ſhould delight to do you good.

But (O ye diſobedient) ye are from this, becauſe ye deſpiſe Me, my Son, my Spirit, who are one, who are Light and Life, which is not far from you; for I the Light give unto every one of you Life, and Breath, and you and all things are upheld by me, the Light, whoſe preſence filleth Heaven and Earth; and I have long ſpared you, and my patience and long-ſuffering towards you hath been exceeding large; but you in your imaginations have put me a far off, and ye will not own me, the Light, the Life in you, becauſe my appearance in you hath been, and yet is to make manifeſt Sin and Evil in you, and to check and reprove you for it, and to call you out of it; and therefore you are offended at me; and you whom the Serpent, the Prince of the Power of the Air hath led out of me, into airy imaginations, you ſcorn me, the Light in you, and count me a low, poor, weak thing, not worth the taking notice of, becauſe I have been patient towards you, and have tenderly, meekly, and lovingly made manifeſt unto you Sin, and Evil, in its appearance, and hath reproved you for Evil gently; therefore you have diſobeyed me, and diſhonoured me, and called me a Natural Light; and ye have ſaid, I the Light am not able to ſave thoſe that believe in me; and many of you have got my words, which I the Light ſpoke in my ſervants of old, and ye in the Enmity, give other meanings to my words, and ſo with my words mixed with your own meanings and imaginations, ye fight againſt me the Light and Life within you, and ſo againſt my Children, which bear Teſtimony of me, the Light, who lighteth every one that cometh into the World; and theſe your iniquities I have long born, and you have grieved my Spirit, which haah long ſtrove with you, and I the Life have been oppreſſed in you, and by you: But verily, my Spirit ſhall not alwayes ſtrive with you, neither will I the Light, alwayes bear your iniquities; for verily, I the Lord God Almighty, (who am the Light, which have made manifeſt your iniquities unto you, which ſome of you call Natural, and ſay, that thoſe who are led and guided by me the Light within, which makes manifeſt Sin, that they are guided by a ſpirit of Error and Deluſion.) [Mark] I will make you know your blaſphemy, and you ſhall know and feel to your Everlaſting deſtruction, (if you ſpeedily repent not) that I the Light [which lets you ſee Sin, and reproves you for it] am Spiritual, and am the Spirit of Truth, who leads all thoſe that receive me out of all Error and Deluſion, into all Truth: and i'le make you know, that I the Light am a conſuming fire, which none can quench; for now will I the Light and Life ariſe, who have ſo gently reproved you for ſin, and called you out of it, and have ſo long ſuffered in you, and by you, as a Lamb, yea, I will ariſe, and eaſe my ſelf of my adverſaries; I will not ſpare any that will not own me, the Light, but I will overturn you all, without reſpect of Perſons, and I will give to every one according to the fruits of their doings. I matter not what name ye are called by, whether it be King, Protector, Prince, Duke, Lord, Iudge, Iuſtice, Parliament, Prieſt, Lawyer, gathered Churches, Army, Gentry, mean Men, or Beggars, (Mark) I the Light made you all of one blood, I formed you all of the duſt, I breathed into you the breath of Life, I gave you the Light to lead you, & to order you, and that ye in it ſhould have walked and ordered all things to my Glory; but many of you have ſlighted me, the Light in you, & would not take Counſel of me, nor be ordered by me, but have choſen to follow your own hearts luſts, and have taken counſel of the Serpent, & have choſen him to be your Leader, & in his Wiſdom ye have walked, and by him ye have been ordered, and by him ye have ordered things to the diſhonour of me, the Light, whom many of ye call Natural. Mark, I the true Light will ariſe, and will plague and torment all you that diſobey me, and will not turn at my reproof; I will bring ſuch heavy judgements upon you, as have not been felt; I will be a ſwift witneſs againſt all the wicked; I the Light will ſtop the mouths of vain talkers, I will confound the wiſdom of wiſe men, I will make diviners mad, I will bring down the high lofty ſpirits of men, I will make ye bow unto my Name, the Light; you ſhall feel it is not Natural nor weak (as ſome of you have ſaid of it) for it ſhall break you to pieces, and all your Profeſſion and Wiſdom, which is out of the Light, I the Light (in you) will confound it all, i'le break all Sects and Opinions, and gathered Churches (ſo called) which are not in me; I the Light in you, will take away all Peace from the Earth, yea, i'le bring you to your wits ends, i'le burn your Heavens, all your Joy, your Peace, your Righteouſneſs, which ſtand in the Power of Darkneſs; I the Light in you will conſume it all; i'le burn Heaven and Earth, i'le burn within in and without, i'le ſtrike with aſtoniſhment, with fear and amazement, with madneſs and deſtruction; i'le bring Plagues within, and Plagues without, until I have conſumed all you mine Enemies, who will not own me, the Light within: I the Light will overturn Kingdoms and Nations, and Rulers of all ſorts, and Armies, and gathered Churches, which will not own me, the Light in them, to guide and lead them.

Wo unto the Murtherers, Whoremongers, Thieves, Cheaters, Swearers, Lyars, Hunters, Gameſters, Vain-talkers, and all workers of iniquity, who hate me, the Light, who have made manifeſt your abominations, and reproved you for them: I have been preſſed with your iniquities, but I the Light will ariſe upon you, and if ye will not hear and return ſpeedily, i'le fall upon you, and grind you to Powder; and all, both high and low, rich and poor, Profeſſors, or not Profeſſors, and all time-ſervers, who will not own me, the Light in you, and return to me the Light, I will make no difference of you, becauſe of your names or places, but I will break you to pieces like a potters veſſel, i'le tread you like mire and clay in the ſtreets, and i'le make you know, that I the Light (which lighteth every man which cometh into the World, that all through me ſhould believe) am the true Eternal God, which Created all things, and that by me, the Light, all things are upheld, and that there is not another beſide me that can ſave; for I will famiſh all the Gods of the Heathen, and deſtroy them, and thoſe that worſhip them, and will not repent and turn unto me the true Light, i'le make a ſhort work, I will cut it ſhort in Righteouſneſs, and I the Light will be exalted over all the Earth, and i'le prove my ſelf to be ſtronger than all in this Generation.

And all you who are ſcoffers and ſcorners, who ſcoff and ſcorn at my children, who in this the day of my Power, have trembled at my Word: Mark, i'le make you aſſuredly to tremble and quake; yea, you who have deſpiſed me, the Light, and have ſcoffed at my workings in my People, I the Light in you will make you to drink the cup of Trembling, and ye ſhall not be able to reſiſt it, and then ye ſhall know that I the Light am he that will work, and none ſhall be able to ſtop me, yea, I the everlaſting light will wound, & none be able to heal; I will kill, and none ſhall be able to make alive: Therefore conſider what I ſay, before the day of your viſitation be wholly paſt, and return unto me, the light in you, and repent, leſt my long patience come to an end, and ſo I deſtroy you utterly.

Now all people, in whom there are any true tender deſires after Truth and Righteouſneſs, I the true Light in you did beget them, and if ye will hearken unto me, the Light in you, I will let you ſee all that which doth oppreſs thoſe deſires in you; and I will not onely ſhew you that which doth oppreſs thoſe deſires in you, but I the Light (if ye will receive me, and learn of me) will teach you to deny, and to reſiſt all that which is contrary unto me, which doth oppreſſe that which I have begotten in you; and if ye will believe, and wait in me, the Light, I will give you Power 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.

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 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 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 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 of Heavens cannot contain him; Glory to him in the Higheſt. GEORGE FOX, the younger.

Honeſt, Upright, Faithful, and plain dealing with Thee, O Army of the Common-wealth of England (ſo called) without flattery, in true unfeigned Love to Thee; with ſomething more particularly unto the Officers of the Army, and thoſe that joyn with them in the outward Government of this Nation: Wherein Truth, Uprightneſs, and Equity is declared for; and Deceit, Wickedneſs, Oppreſſion, and Tyranny, is declared againſt.

AT your firſt going forth, there was a true honeſt Principle, which ſtirred in the hearts of many of you, which convinced you of ſin in the particular; and it alſo ſhewed you the deſperate Wickedneſs, Cruelty, Tyranny, and Oppreſſion, which was upheld by unjuſt and unrighteous Laws and Rulers, whereby the honeſt People were much Oppreſſed; and in ſeveral of you there aroſe a true Zeal againſt this Abomination, and then I know your lives, and what you had, were not dear to ſome of you, but were freely given up to do your Nation ſervice, in breaking down that Oppreſſion and Tyranny which was brought upon it by the Enemies of God, and it; and then a mighty courage and boldneſs aroſe in many of you, againſt Oppreſſion and Oppreſſors, and the Lord appeared with you againſt them, becauſe they were his Enemies, and ſought to deſtroy the very appearance of Truth; and then many of you were low and tender, and the hearts of ſuch People as had honeſt deſires in them, and breathed for Liberty, they were much affected with you, and the Cauſe you declared for, and vowed and engaged to be true and faithful unto; and then the Lord appeared with you in the field, giving you mighty Victories over your Enemies, that ſo he might make way for his living Truth to be ſpread, which was then ſtirring in his People; and the Lord weakned his Enemies before you, and ye ſaw his mighty hand therein, and his mighty Work (in overturning thoſe his Enemies) proſpered in your hands (for he made you inſtruments therein) until he had ſcattered his Enemies, and then he gave you power and opportunity to accompliſh that you had vowed and engaged to do, and which his Light in your hearts had ſhewed you, that you ought to have done.

But you not keeping to that which firſt appeared in you, and made you ſenſible of the Oppreſſion that was upheld by the unrighteous Laws, Lawyers, and Rulers; an earthly ſelfiſh Spirit, got up in many of you, which exceedingly encreaſed Covetouſneſs and Pride in you; and then the greatneſs of your Pay, and the ſpoyl of your Enemies, and idleneſs, and the fulneſs of the Creatures, began to be more delightful to many of you, than the Liberty you once declared for; and then ſome among you began to ſee how deceit and hypocriſie crept in amongſt you, and appeared againſt it; but you whoſe hearts went after your covetouſneſs and ſelf-ſeeking, ſoon ſtopt them, either by threatning them, or by advancing them into greater places, or by turning them out of the Army; and thus you began to back-ſlide, and then deceit began to wax ſtrong among you, and ſeveral of you began to ſettle your ſelves in the Earth, and in your Enemies Eſtates, and then you little regarded the Oppreſſion that others ſuffered under, you being at eaſe your ſelves; and thus the Enemy beguiled you, and deceit wrought in you, even as it did amongſt ſome of the Sects and Opinions; for in many of them there was a true Principle of God ſtirring once, which convinced them of their own ſins, and alſo ſhewed the cruelty, wickedneſs, and deceit of the Biſhops and Prelates, and others, and cauſed them to witneſs againſt ſuch; but they not keeping to the meaſure of God in them, a worldly, carnal, deceitful Spirit encreaſed in them, and then they ſoon began to ſettle themſelves in another form, (without the Life and Power of God) which was as bad in the nature and ground of it, as that they had witneſſed againſt, only it had another Name.

And in the ſame manner have ye acted; for ye going from the meaſure of God in you, which ſhewed you the cruelty of the Oppreſſors, which ye had fought againſt; ye ſoon began to ſettle the ſame thing in the nature and ground of it, among your ſelves, which you had ſought againſt in others, only (in deceit and hypocriſie) you gave it another Name.

And then truly great Wickedneſs encreaſed among you, (which made the hearts of the righteous ſad) even the ſame as abounded among your Enemies (whom God overthrew for their Wickedneſs) yea, for then many of you ran into Hunting, Hawking, Bowling, Horſe-racing, Drinking, and other vain Games, and Sports, and Luſts, and Exceſs, and Pride, both in your Diet and Apparel; and your behaviour was grown ſo lofty, (many of you) that you became a burden to all honeſt-hearted People, who once had an honeſt love going forth towards you; but this your Wickedneſs cauſed their love to wax cold towards you, and many who were true Friends, became aſhamed of you, becauſe of your back-ſlidings.

And you raiſed up the ſpirit of enmity and bitterneſs in your Enemies more and more againſt you, by theſe things which you ran into; yea, you gave them great advantage by your back-ſlidings, and ſome of you ſaw theſe things many times with God's Witneſs; but ye not keeping to God's Witneſs in you, deceitful fears aroſe in you, which ſtopt the mouth of Truth in you, when you ſhould have witneſſed againſt the Wickedneſs that was amongſt you; and your fears were, leſt you ſhould have been turned out of your Places, and upon this account, deceit was grown ſo ſtrong among you, and treachery, that ye durſt not ſpeak your minds one to another, for fear ye ſhould be betrayed one by another, and ſo turned out of your places: And thus deceit and a ſlaviſh ſpirit poſſeſt ye, even until you had loſt your Dominion and Authority over your Enemies; and then many of you became afraid to do that which was juſt (many times) leſt your Enemies ſhould be more diſpleaſed with you; and in deceit ye bowed, (many of you) even to your Enemies, and ſought more to pleaſe them, than to do that you had engaged to do; and then you turned out many of your Friends, and took in many of your Enemies, and mixed your ſelves with them; yea, you turned out many of your faithful Friends, only for coming into the Life and Obedience of that which many of you profeſſed in words, and pretended once that you fought for the Liberty of.

O Army! this is plain Truth to thee, without flattery; and thus falſhood overſpread you, until the honeſt Principle that once ſtirred in you, was almoſt deſtroyed, and then ye little regarded the ſufferings of the Innocent, nor the Oppreſſion that was in the Land, but ye rather ſought to eſtabliſh your ſelves in the honour and fulneſs of this World; but (poor creatures!) ye could not ſettle your ſelves in a peace there, for your Enemies dayly plotted againſt you; and had 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 S • 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 in their Worſhip; and then again in the Parliaments time ran to them, and cryed them up, begging a Law to ſettle Church-government, (as they call'd it) and then in the late Protector's time cryed them up, and Petitioned unto them with many feigned flattering words, and begged a Law of them to ſettle them in their Worſhip; now theſe are the deceitful workers, who teach for filthy Lucre, and are time Obſervers, who through covetouſneſs and feigned words, makes merchandize of the People; and theſe quench the Spirit, and deſpiſe Prophecying, and change with the Times and Governments, let them be never ſo contrary; and theſe are neither true to God nor man, but are men-pleaſers, and ſuch ſerve not the Lord Jeſus, but their own bellies; and theſe wanting the Power of God, run to the Rulers for an outward Power to uphold them; theſe are whored from the Life of God in their own particulars, and theſe ſeek to ſtop the Life of God where ever it appears; therefore take heed of upholding or ſetting them up by an outward Law, leſt you become the Beaſt [mark that] which carrieth the Whore, which is to be taken with the falſe Prophet and the old Dragon, (the Father of all unrighteouſneſs) and caſt alive into the Lake.

Now the true Worſhip and Religion which ſtands in the Spirit, and in the Truth, muſt be ſet up, and eſtabliſhed, and upheld by the Power immortal, and not by an outward Law.

But let your Law ſtop that in (all whereever it appears) which wreſtles with fleſh and blood, and fights with the creature about Religion; for this Spirit could never make manifeſt the true Worſhip and Religion, neither would it ſuffer others to do it, who had the Spirit of God, if it could ſtop them by an outward Law or force; ſo that which fights, wreſtles, and ſtrives with the Creatures about Religion, is not for Chriſt, but is ante againſt Chriſt and the Apoſtles, who wreſtled not with fleſh and blood, but with the Power of Darkneſs, and with the Spiritual Wickedneſs in high places; that ſo Wickedneſs and Deceit might be deſtroyed in the Creatures, and that the Creatures might be preſerved; and their Weapons were not Carnal, but Spiritual.

But they that cry out to the Rulers for an outward Law to uphold their Worſhip and Religion, they War not with the Spiritual Weapons, but with the Carnal, and theſe deſtroy the Creatures, but cannot deſtroy the Wickedneſs; and theſe have quenched the Spirit in their own particulars, and theſe would quench it in others, and will not ſuffer him that hath ſomething revealed unto him, to ſpeak, but cry to the Magiſtrates, or to the rude multitude, for help, and ſo flee to their Carnal Weapons; and thoſe being ſtirred up by their Teacher, ſome of them oft-times beat thoſe that have the Truth to declare in their Synagogues, and hale them out, and rail on them, and ſpit upon them, and ſometimes Buffet, Stock, Whip, Impriſon, and mangle the Creatures, and ſo mar and deface the Workmanſhip of God; and this hath been the work of Antichriſt in all Ages when Truth hath appeared againſt Deceit; and ſuch cannot truly ſay, Truth hath prevailed on their parts, when they have thus Beaten, and Haled, and Stocked, and Whipped,, and Impriſoned the Creatures; but Violence there at that time hath prevailed, by which they that have had the Truth to declare, oft-times have been ſtopped from ſpeaking it.

So let none do Violence to one anothers Perſons or Eſtates, but let your law take hold on them that would do ſo; but let th • m alone in their Profeſſion, and then it will ſoon appear who is in the Truth, and who are Miniſters of Chriſt, and of the Spirit; for thoſe that are in tht Spirit of Truth, will aſſuredly prevail over them that be in the Spirit of Deceit; and this will be manifeſted ſoon, if there be no Violence done to them who be in the Spirit of Truth, thereby to ſtop them from ſpeaking the Truth, and then the Truth will reach unto the Witneſs of God in Peoples Conſciences; and then many who could nor diſcern the Truth while there were ſuch ſtrivings and fightings with the Creatures, will come to ſee and feel it; and then Truth ſhall prevail, and deceit ſhall fall whereever it be, and what covering ſoever it hath got, it ſhall be ript off; and he that is in the Spirit of Truth, and abides in it, ſhall overcome all falſe ſpirits.

Now I know ye are not altogether ignorant, how that the lives and goods of ſeveral in this Nation have been made a prey upon by the Prieſts, who have robbed and ſpoiled both the Fatherleſs, Widows, and others; and have • mpriſoned ſeveral unto Death, by a Law made by the Popiſh Kings, and ſince ſtrengthened by thoſe that are called Proteſtants, concerning Tythes, and theſe before mentioned have ſuffered thus for not paying Tythes. Now Tythes in the Law given by the Command of God unto Levi, the changeable Prieſthood, (who was to have no inheritance among his Brethren) was for the maintenance of that Tribe, and alſo for rhe Fatherleſs, the Widows, and the Strangers: but Chriſt being come after the order of Melchiſedech, he is the everlaſting unchangeable High-Prieſt, (not made by a carnal Commandment, but by the power of an endleſs life; he offering himſelf up once for all, put an end to the changeable Prieſt-hood, which was made by a Law which gave them Tythes; ſo this Prieſthood and this Law was changeable, this Prieſthood could not continue by reaſon of Death; ſo this Prieſthood being changed and ended by Chriſt the unchangeable Prieſt, made by the power of an endleſs life, there was a neceſſity alſo of a change and end of that Law, by which the changeable Prieſts (who could not continue by reaſon of Death) were made, which gave them Tythes; then Chriſt the everlaſting High-Prieſt, made by the power of an endleſs Life, by the ſame Power he made Miniſters, and freely gave them gifts for the work of the Miniſtry, which was for the perfecting of the Saints; and in the power of an endleſs life ſent he them forth, ſaying, Freely ye have received, freely give; and into what houſe ſoever ye enter, and they receive you, ye may eat ſuch things as are ſet before you, for the work-man is worthy of his meat. Theſe were Work-men, and they firſt planted a Vineyard, and then ate of the Fruit thereof; firſt gathered a Flock, and then did Eat of the Milk thereof; ſowed Spirituall things, and reaped of their carnal things, unto whom they had ſown Spirituals; Preached the Goſpel, and lived of the Goſpel; theſe were not made Miniſters by the will of man, nor by an outward Law, neither received they their maintenance by an outward Law, nor compelled or forced any to pay them; neither robbed, or ſpoiled, or impriſoned they any that would not give them Maintenance; but they had a neceſſity laid on them to Preach the Goſpel, and they did ſo, and coveted no mans gold, or ſilver, or apparel; and theſe ſought not Peoples goods, but them; and their diligence and care was not to make the Goſpel chargeable, for having food and rayment, they were therewith all content; and they received it of ſuch alſo (mark that) as did receive them and their Teſtimony, and ſo oppreſſed no man.

But Paul foreſaw that after his departure grievous and ravenous Wolves ſhould enter, that would not ſpare Flock; and Chriſt propheſied of them alſo; and theſe entred before John's departure; and he warned the little Children (who had the anointing abiding in them) to take heed of them, for they were the Antichriſts, and and went from the annointing in the particular, and ſo from thoſe that were in it; and then the murthering ſpirit got up in theſe, and the World went after theſe who ſpared not the Flock, but killed thoſe that had the Teſtimony of Jeſus, which is the ſpirit of Propheſie; and theſe Antichriſts having loſt the ſpirit, being ravened from it in their own particulars, and having killed thoſe that were made Miniſters by the Spirit, who had freely received, and freely gave; then they ſet up their Schools and Colledges, there to make Miniſters by the will of man, and then made a carnal Law, whereby they had Tythes given them; for theſe had not freely received, neither would they freely give; ſo Tythes among the Gentiles were ſet up by the devouring, murthering ſpirit by a Law, by which Law they are yet upheld, (and not by God) and they that yet receive the Tythes, are found in the devouring, murthering ſpirit, (many of them) who have devoured many Peoples goods in this Nation, who could not for Conſcience ſake pay Tythes, and have cauſed ſeveral others to be kept in Priſon until Death for the ſame. And this hath been the work of Antichriſt, who hath the ſheeps clothing, the good words, but inwardly is the ravening Wolf.

And in this Work many of the Prieſts of England have been found of late, as is manifeſt by their Fruits; and they have the ſame unjuſt Law to oppreſs and deſtroy the innocent ſtill; notwithſtanding ſome of you have pretended and declared much to the contrary long.

Now many of the Prieſts, when we tell them of this their cruelty and oppreſſion, they will ſay, They are Miniſters of the Goſpel, and he that Preacheth the Goſpel, God hath ordained that he ſhould live of the Goſpel. Well, we ſay ſo too, That we are Miniſters of the Goſpel, and he that Preacheth the Goſpel, ought to live of the Goſpel (which is the Power of God) and ought not to have any outward Law to compel any to give him whereon to live. So this is that which we (who have learned to do unto all men, as we would they ſhould do unto us) would have, That he that Preacheth the Goſpel ſhould live of the Goſpel, and not on that which comes by the force of an outward Law; but the Prieſts Maintenance is contrary to the Maintenance of the Miniſters of the Law or Goſpel.

Therefore, firſt let there be no outward Law to hinder or reſtrain any People from hearing any whom they believe is a Miniſter of the Goſpel; nor yer to compell any to hear any one whom they believe is not a Miniſter of the Goſpel; for an outward Law can but reſtain or compel the outward man, but the heart none can reſtrain from Evil, nor compel to the good, but the Law and Power of God onely in the heart; therefore let there be a free Liberty for all people to meet concerning their Worſhip, provided that under pretence of meeting to worſhip, they meet not to Plot for the overthrowing of the outward Governours by an outward Power; for if that can be proved and made manifeſt, truly, then let ſuch ſuffer by an outward Law.

And likewiſe, let there be no Law to compel any one to maintain any Teacher, neither let there be any Law to reſtrain any one from giving any thing to their Teacher, (for this is but equal) ſo let the People have Liberty herein, that ſo this oppreſsion about the Maintenance of Teachers may ceaſe; And then it will ſoon appear whether theſe Prieſts be Miniſters of the Goſpel, and whether their Goſpel will maintain them; yea, or nay.

But many of the Rulers have ſaid, If we ſhould not provide Maintenance for our Miniſters, then Preaching would ſoon fall, and then many People would become Heathens.

I anſwer, He that is a Miniſter of Chriſt, the Power of God, which is the everlaſting Goſpel, a neceſſity is laid upon him to Preach the Goſpel, and wo be unto him if he Preach not the Goſpel: And he that is ſent forth by Chriſt, is not to take thought what he ſhall eat, or what he ſhall drink, or wherewithal he ſhall be cloathed; for his heavenly Father knoweth that he hath need of all theſe things, and provides them for thoſe that he ſends forth, (without an outward Law to compel it) that ſo they lack not any thing.

Now that Miniſtry which the forcing an outward Maintenance for it, will cauſe it to ceaſe, [mark] this Miniſtry never did any good or ſervice for God, nor ever can (that is God's Truth unto you) at the furtheſt; this Miniſtry hath but brought People to draw near unto God with their mouths, and to appear to honour him with their lips, when their hearts have been afar off, but this Miniſtry could never bring any into the true knowledge of God, and Chriſt, whom God hath ſent and freely given for a Covenant of Light; and without this knowledge, all People upon the Earth are without the Life Eternal, and ſo are Heathens, whatever they profeſs in words, though they may make long Prayers, and think to be heard in their much ſpeaking, as the Phariſees and Hypocrites did, whom Chriſt call'd Heathens; therefore conſider what a Miniſtry you have upheld, and do uphold.

So let that Miniſtry fall which cannot ſtand without an outward Law for to compel an outward Maintenance for it; for the Lord regards it not, but his hand is againſt it, and againſt that which would uphold it, and both muſt fall together.

So what is here declared concerning Religion, and the Maintenance of Teachers, and the like, it is in the Equal Royal Law of Liberty, which is, To love thy neighbour as thy ſelf, and to do unto all as we would be done unto.

And ſo if the ſpirit which we are led and guided by (who are called in ſcorn Quakers) be not able to prevail over that which we oppoſe in others as Error, then let us be manifeſted to be in the Error, and let us fall; onely let there be a fair Tryal, and let there not be ſuch beating, and haling, and tearing, and mangling, and ſtocking, and impriſoning of the Creatures as hath been; for where ſuch things have been acted, many have been ſtopped at that time for ſpeaking the Truth, yet notwithſtanding the Truth hath prevailed over all, and ſhall prevail. And if that can be proved againſt us truly, that we plot at our Meetings, or at any other time againſt the outward Governours, to overturn them by an outward power or force; then let us alſo ſuffer (as I ſaid before) by a juſt Law.

And if he that ſends us forth, will not provide Food and Raiment for us, then let us want; and if we cannot live of our Goſpel which we Preach, without an outward Law to compel us an outward Maintenance; and if our Miniſtry will not ſtand without it, then let us want whereon to live, and let our Miniſtry fall.

And let none be compelled to uphold another's Meeting-place (concerning their Worſhip) for that is Oppreſſion; but let every one uphold their own; and that ſort of Profeſſors that will not uphold the Place where they meet to Worſhip, let their Houſe fall, and then it will appear where the earthly Spirit lodgeth; for they that compel others to uphold another's place of Worſhip, do but cover and ſtrengthen the earthly Spirit; therefore let there not be ſuch havock made of Peoples Goods, as hath been of late upon many, who could not give to the upholding another's Meeting-houſe; for that is out of the equality, in the Oppreſſion and Tyranny.

So come into that which is equal, and keep in that, and that will bring you to act that which is equal and juſt unto all, and to break all outward Laws that are not equal and juſt, but tend to Tyranny and Oppreſſion; and truly there are many Laws and Customs in this Nation, whereby the Innocent are oppreſt; ſo wait to feel the Power of God, that ye may Rule and Govern in that, (for the Lord;) and feeling the Power of God, and keeping to that, it will bring you out of all deceit and tranſgreſſion in the particular, and ſo to ſtand over all deceit and tranſgreſſion in the general, and it will alſo bring you to judge righteouſly, without reſpect to perſons; and this will reach to the Witneſs of God in all Conſciences.

So wait to feel the higher Power to rule over the evil doer in the particular, and to know and feel the Authority of God there, and then ye will come to rule over all evil doers in the higher Power, even in the Authority of God, and then that of God in all Conſciences where ye come to Rule, ſhall anſwer to your Government.

But if ye give way to the evil doer in the particular, and let him have the Liberty there, [mark that] then that will cauſe the Juſt to ſuffer in the particular, and then the ſame will give way and liberty to evil doers without, whereby the Juſt without will come to ſuffer alſo.

Therefore keep to the Power of the Lord in your particulars, (you who have felt it) and that will bring ye to do Juſtice unto all, without partiality; and this will make you honourable in the hearts of the People, and then ſhall Righteouſneſs, Truth, Equity, Mercy and Juſtice, proſper over all, and be exalted; and all deceit, unrighteouſneſs, and unrighteous wayes ſhall be confounded. So remember, He that ruleth over men, muſt be juſt, ruling in the Fear of God.

A few plain Words to be conſidered by thoſe of the Army, or others, who would have a Parliament that is choſen by the voices of the People, to Govern the three Nations: Wherein is ſhewed unto them, according to the Scriptures of Truth, that a Parliament ſo choſen, are not like to Govern for God, and the good of his People. Alſo ſomething to the other part of the Army, and the New Committee, who turned out, or own the turning out of the late Parliament.

GReat are the cryings out of ſome of you of the Army, and the People of theſe Nations, concerning the diſſolving of the late Parliament, and it appears with a pretence of a very great Zeal, that you have for Liberty, Equity, and Juſtice, and the general good of the three Nations; and you appear in a great fear, that if the People loſe the enjoying of Parliaments, that then they ſhall loſe their Birth-right and their Liberty, both as Men, and as Chriſtians; and that Equity ſhall be laid aſide, and that the People muſt be Ruled over by a Tyrannical Power of rebellious men, whoſe Wills muſt be the Laws that the People muſt obey. But you ſay, if the Parliaments be choſen by the People, then in effect, the People make their own Laws to be Governed by, becauſe they choſe their Law-makers themſelves; and this is England's Birth-right you ſay, and it is juſt and equal that the People ſhould en • oy it; and if they do not, then the preſervation of the People of God you ſay is loſt, and all good Government will ceaſe, and the People will be made a Prey upon, and ſo the three Nations will be ruined at once; and therefore ſeeing ſuch things are like to come to paſs, if a Parliament choſen by the People be not upheld, ſome of you have ſaid, you will aſſert their Cauſe to the laſt drop of your blood.

Anſw. Friends, It's good to be zealouſly affected in a good Cauſe; and it's good that the zeal be according to knowledge; and it's precious to have the zeal moderated with the Wiſdom of God; Therefore I exhort you in that Life and Wiſdom which is of Chriſt, my Maſter, (who came not to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them) that you would mind the Dread and Fear of the Lord God, which is the beginning of Wiſdom; therefore be moderate, and in coolneſs conſider theſe things which I ſhall declare unto you, which in waiting upon the Lord, he by his Spirit of Wiſdom and Underſtanding opened in me, concerning the chuſing of Parliaments by the Voices of the People, and I know that you who truly deſire the good of God's People, and that Mercy and Juſtice might be eſtabliſhed by righteous Laws, (whereby Equity and Juſtice might b • done unto all, without reſpect of perſons) may clearly ſee with God's Witneſs in you (which will anſwer to my words) That you are not like to ſee your deſires fulfilled, by a Parliament that's choſen by the Voices of the People; mark the reaſons; Becauſe the greater part of the People that are admitted to chuſe Parliament men, are ſuch as do not truly deſire the good of God's People, whatever they may profeſs in words; therefore it being in their Power to chuſe whom they will among themſelves (as it is) becauſe moſt Voices carry it; they will chuſe ſuch men, as are like minded with themſelves; that's plain, and according to the Scriptures, for the World love their own, as ſaith John; and now for proof, that the greater part are not ſuch as deſire the good of the Lord's People, I would have you conſider, how that the Scripture ſaith, That the flock of Chriſt is a little flock; and Chriſt ſaith, Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it; but broad is the way that leadeth unto deſtruction, and many there be that walk therein; and though Iſrael be as the ſand of the Sea, yet but a remnant ſhall be ſaved: Now if ye believe theſe Scriptures, then may you ſee that a Parliament that is choſen by moſt voices, are not like to act for God, and the good of his People; and it hath been the complaint of the ſobereſt and honeſteſt men in ſeveral Counties, when they ſhould have choſen Parliament men, that they could not chuſe ſuch a man as they judged would act ſingly for the good of the People of God and the Country, becauſe they were over-voted by the wild diſaffected People, who ſometimes have been ſtirred up by their Prieſts, to vote for ſuch a man as the Prieſts knew would act for their covetous, oppreſſing ſelf-intereſt; and in ſome places ſome great proud men, who deſired to be in Authority, have feaſted the People, and ſent Gifts to them with flatteries, thereby ſtriving to get the People to vote for them, promiſing them to stand for their Liberties, when it hath been but to ſerve their own ſelf-ends, and thus the People have been deceived; and if at any time in ſome Counties and Places, the honeſt ſober People have choſen ſome honeſt-men to ſerve in Parliament, yet there being ſo many in the Parliament that have ſought their own Honour and Gain, that ſuch men as were honeſt, and would have made juſt Laws, and have acted for Equity and Liberty, they have been hindred; becauſe what is done in Parliament, is done by moſt voices alſo, and the honeſt party in the Parliament having been the leſſer party, have been over-voted alſo: The Light in your Conſciences will witneſs that theſe things are true.

And whereas it is ſaid, That it is England's Birth-right, that the People ſhould chuſe their own Law-makers.

I anſwer, Then many thouſands of men in England have been wronged of, and kept long from their Birth-right; for ſuch as are not Free-men of ſome Corporations, or have not Free-land of their own, are not permitted to chuſe Parliament men, (mark that) though they be far more honeſt and underſtanding men than many that are Free of ſuch Corporations, and have ſuch Land; ſo that it's but a part of the People that muſt chuſe Law-makers: And further, he that hath Free-land worth forty ſhillings by the year in ſeveral Counties, he may give his Voice in ſeveral Counties where his Land lyeth, for ſeveral Parliament men, when as he that hath Land but in one County, cannot have the ſame priviledge, though he be a far more honeſt man; and he that's a Free-man of that Corporation, that finds a Parliament man, or men, and hath Free-lands in the Country alſo, he may chuſe both in the one, and other; but he that is not Free of ſuch a Place, he may not have the like priviledge, though he be more honeſter than the other: And this aroſe from the ſame ground, that negative Voices aroſe from; and it hath been the Manner and Cuſtom of England, to call and chuſe many wiſe men, after the fleſh, and many mighty and Noble men (ſo called) to be Parliament men, that ſo we ſee the calling and chuſing of Parliaments in England, hath been exactly contrary to God's calling and chuſing: Read 1 Cor. 1.26. (and therefore ſuch Parliaments are not like to act for God, and the good of his People, but againſt them) But that which God hath called and choſen, ſhall confound and bring to naught the Wiſe, and the Mighty, and the Noble things (ſo called of the World) (and this the Lord will bring to paſs) that ſo no fleſh may glory in his preſence: Read 1 Cor. 1.27, 28, 29. And likewiſe the chuſing of Parliament men, according to the Cuſtom of England (which is called its Birth-right) ſtands in reſpect of perſons, and not in equality; for the rich, covetous, oppreſſing men, who oppreſs the Poor, they have the only power to chuſe Law-makers, and they will chuſe to be ſure, ſuch as will uphold them in their Oppreſſion; and the poor man that is oppreſſed, though he have no power allowed him to chuſe, yet he muſt be ſubject to the Laws which they make who are his Oppreſſors, or elſe he is accounted a Rebel; ſo what right think ye is the Oppreſſed like to have, when his Oppreſſors chuſe the men that are to be Judges of his Cauſe: and thus the rich men oppreſs the poor, and draw them before their Judgement ſeats, as they did in Jam • s his dayes, Jam. 2.6. Theſe things being conſidered, ye may ſee the unequalneſs and partiality that hath been in chuſing of Parliaments, according to England's Cuſtom, and how unlike it is that a Parliament ſo choſen ſhould make England a free Nation, ſeeing the great Oppreſſors of the Land (viz.) Prieſts and Lawyers, and the great wicked, covetous, perſecuting men, are ſo much concerned in the chuſing them; ſo that if Parliaments ſo choſen ſhould continue, the People of the Lord are not like to be ſet free from their Oppreſſion, (though Parliaments and Rulers have been made to do many good things by a Power which many of them ſcarce knew) but the Lord hath a further thing yet to do in the Nations, than either Protectors or Parliaments would ſubmit unto; therefore the Lord hath thrown them by, but they had firſt a day of tryal given them, and now is the Lord trying others: and if they will not do his Work, in breaking every yoke, and letting the oppreſſed go free, God will aſſuredly break them with a greater deſtruction than came upon thoſe before them. Therefore let your moderation be known unto all men, for the Lord is at hand; and thirſt not after blood, leſt the Lord give ye blood to drink; and we know that Kings, and Protectors, and Parliaments have made fair pretences, and have given themſelves fine Titles, and have pleaded that they had a juſt right to, and a neceſſity for their Authority, and ſought to get into the affections of the People by ſmooth words and large promiſes, to carry on their own deſign, but their hearts were not right before the Lord; and therefore he broke them, and their Titles; and know that the People that fear God, they matter not Titles and high Names, but they look for righteous actions to be brought forth; and many ſee that a Parliament that was choſe by the moſt voices of the outwardly rich People, were not like to act righteouſly; and therefore they are willing to wait to ſee what the Lord will do by others; and we ſee that People have been in great Blindneſs, in contending for Parliaments ſo choſen; ſo let this Wiſdom be learned and lived in, which is better than the ſtrength of fools, who oft periſh in their paſſion and folly.

And now Friends in the Army and Committee, that have turned out the Parliament, Dread ye the Lord God, and mind the equal, juſt, noble Principle of God in you, which hath ſtirred againſt Tyranny and Oppreſſion, and make it not your buſineſs to declare only for Freedom, as ſome before you did, and did not the thing they declared for; but in the Fear and Wiſdom of the Lord, go ye on to act for the good of all his Creatures; and ſeek not your own Honours, but ſingly do the ſame, both for your Friends and Enemies, that you would have them do for you, if they were in Authority as ye are; and until ye come to this, ye are not like to proſper; the Lord abhorreth the lying, flattering, double, deceitful tongue and heart; and the People alſo have been wearied with fair words, becauſe the actions have been wanting that ſhould have accompanied the ſaid words.

Remember how you have cryed out againſt the Oppreſſion of a forced Maintenance for Teachers, and now ye are tryed, and have Power given you to break that Oppreſſion down, which ſome of you I ſay have deſired others to do; therefore abuſe not your Power, but leave the People free to maintain their own Teachers; (mark) The Miniſters that Chriſt ſends forth, they have no need of you in this particular, as to provide Food and Raiment for them, for their Heavenly Father knows that they have need of thoſe things, and provides it for them without an outward Law to compel it, that ſo they lack not any thing; and that Teacher that will not conſent to this, he ſerveth not the Lord Jeſus, but his own Belly, and that is his God; and ſuch a one can never profit the People, and (mark) if ye ſhould take away Tythes, and Command by a Law any other Maintenance from us for Teachers, that would be the ſame Tyranny and Oppreſſion in the nature and ground of it, that Tythes were, and we muſt bear our Teſtimony againſt it alſo, and our Lives, or Eſtates, or both, muſt yet ſuffer; therefore if ye do thus, you leave Us in the ſame Bondage as before: And let Laws be provided, that are righteous, juſt, and equal, according to that of God in the Conſcience; and let ſuch be impowered to execute them that will hear and determine Cauſes freely, according to righteouſneſs; and let cauſes of difference between man and man be heard in every County, and when by plain proof of two or three witneſſes (without tranſgreſſing Chriſt's doctrine) it come to be manifeſted who have done the wrong, then let the Executioners of the Law be impowered to cauſe the party or parties, to reſtore for the wrong that is done according to Equity, that ſo this abominable Oppreſſion about the Law and Lawyers may be broken down; and thunder down all ungodly gamings, and ſhews, whereby the fooliſh wild People are cheated of their moneys, and ſpend away their precious time to the diſhonour of the pure God.

And let the People of the Lord have their Liberty, to ſpeak his Word freely, where and when his Spirit leads them and gives them utterance; and let the Law take hold on ſuch as would wrong any man's Perſon or Eſtate.

And let the dread of the Lord be upon your Spirits; and wait in his Light, to receive his Wiſdom, that therein you may be ordered in the particular, and in it order all things to his Glory, that ye may remove all that which is ſtanding, which is contrary to the Will of God.

And meddle not to eſtabliſh Religion and Teachers by an outward Law, for verily if ye do, ye will be broken; let that alone to Chriſt, whoſe work it is: Conſider all that went before you of late years, that would be medling with ſuch things, the Lord broke them to pieces, and they were warned in their day, as ye are now. And let not your many Victories which ye have obtained, nor your being preſerved in ſo many overturnings (wherein ye have been made inſtrumental) nor your ſtrength, courage, nor wiſdom, puff ye up; for thus ſaith the Lord God, even as earthen veſſels are in the hands of a Potter, (who hath power to daſh them one againſt another, until they be broken, or to break them in pieces with another thing, that appears more weak than they) even ſo are you in my hand, ſaith the Lord, and I can confound your Wiſdom, and take away your Courage, and ſmite you with faintneſs, and dauntedneſs of Spirit, in the twinkling of an eye; therefore ſeek not your ſelves, for if you do, your day ſhall be but ſhort.

Remember you of the Army had Power once before to have acted for the good of your Nation; but the ſubtilty in ſome who ſought themſelves (whom God hath ſince blaſted) beguiled you, and (mark) ſome of you ſold your power for Commiſſions, and others for nothing but flattering words, & ſo betrayed your own integrity, and the Cauſe of your Country; & now you have power again, do not abuſe it; ſerve not the luſts nor the ſelf-intereſt of any man or men whatſoever, but ſerve the Lord and your Generation faithfully: Mark, if you conſent to deceit, and make an agreement with death, through fear or any ſelf-end whatſoever, God will break that agreement, and bring ſhame upon you for it. And Friends, there is a lofty, proud, ſelf-ſeeking Spirit yet amongſt many of you, which if you ceaſe not from, it will be the cauſe of your deſtruction; and truly, if you provoke the Lord to break you, it will be more heavy and terrible, than the breaking of thoſe that were before you; therefore let the Lord be minded, and linger not about things, but be valiant, and act faithfully for the juſt Liberty of all, without reſpect of perſons; and let revenge be forgotten, and this will overcome your Enemies, and make you truly honourable in the hearts of all People. This is your day, prize it, and let your deeds make it manifeſt to the People, that you have not ſought your ſelves, (in this which you have done) but the general good of all, and then you will need the fewer words to prove your Enemies lyars, who have accuſed you to be ſelf-ſeekers. And now wo is coming, both upon Teachers, Rulers and People that are in the good words, but out of the good deeds and Life; and the Eternal God, who is the Light, will break, ſhatter, confound and overturn, untill the good Life come up and be ſet on the top of all; and now the name of Truth only, will be too narrow a covering, for it is the nature of Truth it ſelf that will be able to cover, and to be a ſure hiding-place in this the day of the Wrath of the Lamb.

From a lover of the Truth of God, and all his Creatures, GEORGE FOX, the Younger.

For the PARLIAMENT of England and their ARMY (ſo Called.)

YOur day into darkneſs is turned; the Sun is gone down over you; you have had a large day, and Power given unto you, to have done the Will of God; but you have abuſed the Power, and ſlighted your day; and you have refuſed to do the Lord's work, and have ſought to ſerve your ſelves, and not the Lord; Therefore in Juſtice and Righteouſneſs, is the day wherein you might have wrought for God taken from you; and the thick dark night of confuſion is come upon you, wherein you are groping and ſtumbling, and cannot work; the Decree is gone out, and ſealed againſt you, and it cannot be recalled; you are not the men (as ye ſtand) in whom God will appear to work Deliverance for his People, and Creatures; (and yet deliverance ſhall come, but nor according to mans expectation) But as for you, ye have rejected the Counſel of the Lord, and grieved his Spirit, and he hath long born you; yea, you are departed from the Lord, and his preſence is departed from you; indeed he hath hewed with you (and if you had been faithful to the End, he would have honoured and proſpered you, and would have been your ſufficient reward) ye were his Ax, but you have boaſted your ſelves againſt him; therefore as you have Beaten and Hewed, and Broken others, Even ſo muſt you be Beaten, Hewed, and Broken; for you have grievouſly provoked the Lord; And if he ſhould now ſuffer that Tree, which ye have cut to fall upon you, and to break part of you it were juſt.

O ye Treacherous, Wilful, Proud, Self-ſeeking People, who have deſpiſed the Counſel of the Lord, and would not take warning though he hath ſent his Prophets and Servants early and late among you, ſome of whom you have impriſoned and deſpitefully uſed; what will ye do now? whom will ye now flee unto for help? ſeeing ye are departed from the Lord, & are now rending and tearing, biting and devouring one another, for proud ambitious ſelf ends; (Mark) if ye would now build again, the thing that you once deſtroyed, That ſhall not be able to hide, or ſhelter you from the wrath of the Lamb; that way whereby you think to ſtrengthen your ſelves, thereby ſhall you make your ſelves much weaker, and help forward your own deſtruction; you are now, but a rod, remember your end, which haſtens greatly; now breach upon breach, inſurrection upon inſurrection, overturning upon overturning, heaps upon heaps, diviſion upon diviſion ſhall there be, until he come to Reign, whoſe right it is; and all Nations muſt bow before him, elſe he will break them with his Iron Rod.

They that truſt in, or lean upon you for help, it is as if they leaned upon a broken Reed which is not able to help it ſelf, nor others; indeed you have been made to do many good things, but you would not go through with the work which God will have accompliſhed; and therefore are theſe things come upon you; Therefore tremble and dread before the Lord, ye who have been as ſtrong Oakes, and tall Cedars; for now ſhall your ſtrength fail you and you ſhall be weak, even as the weakeſt of men; but if you would yet believe in the Light, and truely ſubmit to God's Righteous Judgements, many of you might come to witneſs your Souls ſaved, in the day of the Lord; though many of your bodies are to be thrown by (becauſe of your grievous backſlidings) as not counted worthy to be the Lord's workmen.

There is a ſmall remnant yet among you (for whom my Soul breaths) who may be winnowed out; and if they will own the Judgements of the Lord, and truly and throughly deny themſelves, and follow his leadings, he will heal their back-ſlidings, and purge them; that ſo they may be inſtruments in his hand: But they that will continue with you, in your ſins, ſhall partake with you, of your Judgements.

The Rod of the wicked, ſhall not alwayes reſt upon the back of the Righteous; yet even as gold is tryed, ſo ſhall they be, that they may be White and without Spot, before the Lamb: but God will avenge their cauſe, and wo then will be to their Oppreſſors, and then ſhall the Majeſty, and Glory of the Lord fill his People (who have long been troden under) and they ſhall be the dread of all Nations, the zeal of the Lord of Hoſts ſhall perform this.

A Copy of this in Print was given to each Parliament Man, before General Monck came into London, with his Army from Scotland: And it is now reprinted that People may ſee that the Lord hath fulfilled already, many of the words which he gave unto his Servant and Prophet, to declare unto them, and that they may ſee, that there hath been a true Prophet's Meſſage among them, and that People may take heed that they ſlight not the Lord's Prophets as they did, whom he hath now broken.

11th Month (59) From one, who am made willing both to ſuffer, and to Reign with Chriſt; even to follow him whitherſoever he goeth, George Fox the Younger.

A Noble Salutation, And a Faithful GREETING Unto THEE Charles Stuart, Who art now PROCLAIMED KING OF England, Scotland, France, and Ireland.

I. Several wholeſom, ſound Exhortations, &c.

LET thy Moderation be known unto all men, for the Lord is at hand, whoſe preſence filleth Heaven and Earth; and let ſuch a Nobility appear in Thee, as to try all things, and to hold faſt that which is good; and either to read, or to hear with patience before thou judgeſt; for Wiſdom becometh a King, and true Reaſon, Solidneſs, and Patience, him that is a Ruler of the People. [Mark] The God of Heaven hath put into my heart to write unto Thee, and in tender love both to thy Soul and Body, to lay before Thee ſeveral things, whereby thou mayeſt come to ſee and conſider, how the mighty Hand and Juſtice of the Inviſible God hath been in theſe overturnings and changes, which have happened in theſe Nations of late years, therefore conſider theſe things; The Mighty God, the Everlaſting Father, He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, and the whole Earth is his, and the fulneſs thereof, and he Ruleth over the Kingdoms of men, and giveth them unto whomſoever he pleaſeth: Yea, he pulleth down one, and ſetteth up another, and there is no overturning or changing the Kingdoms, but it is either by his Commiſſion or Permiſſion; and the Lord doth not do any thing, neither ſuffereth he any thing to be done, unto perſons or Kingdoms without a Cauſe (though he may do whatſoever he pleaſeth) and who ſhall call him to an account? Yet all his doings are righteous, and his wayes are juſt and equal altogether: And it is for the unrighteouſneſs ſometimes of a King or Kings, and ſometimes of a People, and other times of both, that the Lord doth break, or ſuffer a Nation or Nations to be broken; and when he determines to break a People, or to change Governments (or to ſuffer ſuch to be done) in vain do men ſtrive to preſerve or uphold them? and the Lord may, and doth make whomſoever he pleaſeth his Inſtruments, for to do his determined Work; and when they have done his Work, then he may do whatſoever he pleaſeth with them; and many times his Inſtruments, when they begin his determined Work, appear very contemptible unto many: Yet ſuch ſpeak fooliſhly, and without underſtanding, who ſay, That ſuch Inſtruments are too weak and cannot prevail, ſeeing all power is in the hand of God, who can give Wiſdom, and Strength, and Courage, unto whomſoever he pleaſeth; Yea, ſo much as may accompliſh his Work; and he very oft-times, by that which appeareth fooliſh, weak, and contemptible, confoundeth and bringeth to naught that which appeareth to be Mighty and wiſe, that no fleſh ſhould glory in his preſence. And when his Inſtruments have done his Work (and he determines to break, or ſuffer them to be broken again) let them appear never ſo Wiſe, Bold and Mighty, yet vainly do they ſpeak, who ſay, Such a Wiſe, Bold and Mighty People cannot be broken, ſeeing the Lord can do whatſoever he pleaſeth; who ſuddenly can turn man's Wiſdom into folly, his ſtrength into weakneſs, and his boldneſs into dauntedneſs of Spirit. Now ſuch things as theſe O King, come oft to paſs, and none of them without a Cauſe; and they that are truly Wiſe, learn further, and get underſtanding through all theſe things: Therefore is true Wiſdom better than Strength, and a right Underſtanding is better than an earthly Crown: Therefore O King, wait to feel the noble Principle of Wiſdom, which God hath inſpired Thee withal; for there is a meaſure of it in Thee, though it hath been hid, and that meaſure is the Light, which Chriſt the Wiſdom of God hath enlightned Thee withal, which Light in Thee is that which never had fellowſhip with darkneſs in Thee, or its deeds, nor concord with the Devil or his Works; but makes manifeſt and reproves all ſuch things; which Light, being received in the love of it, and believed and waited in, man becomes a child of it, and ſo it gives him a good underſtanding, and opens an eye in him, whereby he comes to ſee the hand, and workings, and appearances of the inviſible God; and this Light is the free Gift of God, which is come upon all men; which being rejected, and a man not liking to retain it in his knowledge, he profeſing himſelf then to be wiſe, becomes a fool, and brings condemnation upon himſelf for rejecting that, which ſhould miniſter all things unto him pertaining unto Life and Godlineſs. Therefore O King, give all diligence to receive the Gift which God hath placed in thy heart, that ſo thou mayeſt be acquainted with Wiſdom, and that thou mayeſt be filled with moderation, gravity, and patience, and come to a right underſtanding and diſcerning, that ſo thou mayeſt rightly look upon things paſt, preſent, and to come, and ſee them as they were, are, and ſhall be.

II. Concerning the overturning of thy Father, &c.

COncerning thy Father, and thoſe that took his Part, There was an eminent hand of God in breaking them down, and bringing them under; and God did it not without a Cauſe; for the Iniquity in them provoked the holy God to anger, and the hight and pride of their ſpirits grieved and preſſed the Spirit of the Juſt God; and after he had a long time born with them, and warned them with his Eternal Light in their Conſciences, yet they repented not, but ſtill grieved his good Spirit by many provocations, and waxed higher and higher againſt him in diſobedience; his anger then was kindled againſt them, and his indignation waxed hot; and he aroſe in the fiery ſpirit of his jealouſie, to eaſe himſelf of his Adverſaries, and avenge himſelf of his Enemies; and becauſe the Living, Wiſe, Eternal God (who made all the Nations of the earth of one blood, and is no reſpecter of perſons) ſaw that thoſe that took part with thy Father, were generally (according to outward appearance) accounted the wiſeſt, richeſt, nobleſt, and ſtouteſt men (mark) and that they did glory in their Wiſdom, Riches, Nobility, Stoutneſs, and Strength, and vaunted themſelves over thoſe that were made of the ſame Blood; He (the living God) did then appear in contemptible Inſtruments, (as to outward appearance) as in Tradeſ-men, Plough-men, Servants, and the like, with ſome others, whom I know thy Father's Party made a mock at, and even ſcorned them as it were, and thought it too low and too baſe a thing, to engage War with ſuch a contemptible People; yet in ſuch, I ſay, did the Lord appear to carry on that Work which he had determined, even to bring down the loftineſs of man, and to ſtain the pride and glory of fleſh, and that thy Father's Party might have come to ſee that they were but men, made of the ſame earth and blood that others were: And the Lord God appeared mightily in thoſe his Inſtruments, giving them Wiſdom, Courage, and Strength to mannage a War againſt a far more Mighty and Wiſe People (as to outward appearance) than themſelves, and they prevailed daily againſt their Enemies: And the affections of the People run forth and inclined towards them: And God ſtruck thy Father's Party with dauntedneſs of Spirit, and turned their wiſdom backwards, and proſpered them not in the Field; but ſometimes cauſed them to Flee before their Enemies, and other times gave them into their hands; and yet they repented not, neither did they humble themſelves before the Lord; and ſome fretted and ſtrove, and ſome Blaſphemed and Curſed, even for madneſs, to ſee how they were Defeated; yet they ſtrove in vain, for God was againſt them, and they grew weaker and weaker, until they were even wholly ſubdued, and brought under their Enemies, and given into their hands for a Prey; That ſo they durſt not ſcarce act, or ſpeak any thing againſt their Enemies: And God ſuffered Thy Father to be delivered into their Hands: And thus the Lord ſtained the glory and pride of that People, which took part with Thy Father and Thee, by a low and contemptible means, as to outward appearance; Though I do verily believe, that thoſe in whom God did appear againſt thy Father, thy Self, and thoſe that took that part, did act ſeveral things againſt you, beyond their Commiſſion they had from God, yet he did permit them: And in ſeveral of them, who did engage againſt Thy Father and his Party, there was once a tender, honeſt, good Principle, in the day wherein they were low; and there were true deſires in ſome of them, after a juſt Liberty, both as appeartaining to Conſcience, and in things betwixt man and man; and they were truly ſenſible of many Oppreſſions that were in the Nations, both in matters of Religion, and in the Laws and Cuſtoms of the Land; and they cryed unto God when they were low, and Vowed unto him (and engaged unto man) That if he would deliver their Enemies into their hands, that then they would remove all Oppreſsions, and make the People of theſe Nations a Free People, and that they ſhould have their Juſt Rights and Liberties, both as Men, and as Chriſtians. Now after Thou hadſt alſo ſtroven againſt them (with a perfidious People, to wit, the Scots) and ye were defeated; the Lord gave their Enemies ſo into their hands, that they had as much outward Power in theſe three Nations, as they could deſire; and they alſo became a Dread and a Terror to ſome Nations about them: And they had Power and Opportunity to have removed all Oppreſsions out of the Land; but alas, Covetouſneſs and ſelf-ſeeking Luſts ſprang up in moſt of them, and leavened them; And when they had Reſt and Fulneſs; they forgot the Lord, who had raiſed them from a low degree; and they forgot the Oppreſsion of their Brethren alſo, and regarded not to pay their Vows to God and Man: But after a time the Chief of them got into thy Father's Houſes and Lands, and into Thine, and into ſome of thoſe that took your parts, and others they ſold, and ſo thereby became great in the Earth: And then their Luſts encreaſed, and they grew wanton againſt the Lord alſo, and boaſted themſelves over thoſe whom they had conquered; And ſome of them began to creep into thoſe Places and Things themſelves, which they had cryed out againſt in others; And ſo built and ſet up the ſame Thing in, and among themſelves, which they had thrown down, and deſtroyed in another; only in Deceit and Hypocriſie, they got other Names for them. Then ſeveral of the Army that were amongſt them, when they ſaw their Deceit and Wickedneſs; and that they did not intend the thing which they did pretend, durſt not for Conſcience ſake continue any longer amongſt them; but left them ſeveral years ago, and declared againſt them: And others ſince, that feared the Lord, were turned out by them; ſo that in a ſhort time many of them became greater Oppreſſors and Perſecutors, than thoſe whom they conquered, and ſo provoked the Lord to anger. Then the Lord raiſed up many Prophets and Servants, and ſent them amongſt thoſe who had acted thus treacherouſly; and ſome alſo wrote unto them, and laid their Abominations plainly before them, and ſhewed them wherein they had erred, and exhorted them to Repentance; and plainly ſhewed unto them what the Lord required at their hands: And ſometimes were made to Reprove them ſharply and plainly, and propheſied unto them, That the Lord would confound and break them to pieces one againſt another, and ſuffer them to be deſtroyed, if they repented not ſpeedily: but they would not hearken, but grew stiff-necked againſt the Lord and his People, and ſuffered many of them to be Oppreſſed, and their Goods ſpoyled, and ſome of them to be Impriſoned unto death in their Names: And thus they Rebelled againſt the Lord more and more, and boaſted of their Strength, and Wiſdom, and Valour, and ſo forgot how that it was the Lord that raiſed them up from a low degree, and gave them Power over their Enemies: And thus they wrought grievous provocations in his ſight, ſo that then the anger of the Lord was kindled againſt them; and as they forſook him, ſo he forſook them; and at length he gave them up to the Counſels of their own Hearts, becauſe they had rejected his Counſel: And then they began to divide and ſplit amongſt themſelves, and to betray one another for ſelf-ends; and their courage began to fail, and faintneſs and deadneſs of Spirit ſeized upon them; And having plunged themſelves ſo far in Covetouſneſs and Luſts, the Cloud of Error grew ſo thick upon them, that they could not ſee the Cauſe that they once were ſo zealous for: And when Confuſion fell upon them, and they groped like blind men, and knew not at what they ſtumbled; neither knew they for whom, nor for what to ſtand; but ſometimes cryed up, and engaged for one Thing, and ſhortly after cryed againſt it, and threw it down again; and ſome of them cryed for one thing, and others brought forth another thing; and ſo like Babel's builders (whom God determined to ſcatter) they acted; and their Eye being blinded, they wrought their own Destruction; and few of them ſaw it until it was come upon them; and them that did, were as men amazed, and knew not how to help themſelves. And thus the juſt hand of the Lord came upon an Hypocritical, Deceitful, profeſsing People, who in Words have made a great profeſsing that they knew God, but in Works they have denied him; and therefore hath the Lord taken away their ſtrength for the preſent, and turned their wiſdom backwards, and ſtained their glory, that they alſo might come to ſee what they were, and what the Lord did for them, and what they are fallen from, that ſo haply ſome of them may come to find repentance, and to be humbled under the Mighty Hand of God, and the Lord may heal their backſlidings, and may raiſe up his own Eternal Witneſs in them (the Tabernacle of David) which hath been fallen down.

III. Concerning Thy coming ſo far into Power again, &c.

NOw obſerve the hand of the Lord in thy coming ſo far into Power again, and thoſe who took part with thy Father & Thee. Firſt, conſider the cauſe of it (in the fear of the Lord) and thou wilt find that it is becauſe they unto whom God gave ſuch Power over you, were not faithful unto God, as hath been ſaid before, but grieved the Spirit of the Lord with their hypocriſie from day to day, talking for Liberty, but behold they brought forth Oppreſſion, and ſo became worſer than you that went before them, who did not Profeſs ſo much for Liberty in words: And this I know, that if they had been faithful unto the Lord, thou and thoſe called thy Friends, could not have come over them thus as ye have done; Therefore let no man deceive thee, by perſwading thee that theſe things are thus brought to paſs, becauſe the Kingdom was thy own proper right, and becauſe it was with-held from thee contrary to all right; or, becauſe that thoſe called Royalliſts are much more righteous than thoſe who are now fallen under thee; For I plainly declare unto thee, that this Kingdom, and all the Kingdoms of the Earth, are properly the Lords, and that he may and doth give them unto whomſoever he pleaſeth; and whenſoever he pleaſe, he may take them away again, and give them unto others; and when he doth thus, it is not contrary to right: And this know, that it was the juſt hand of God in taking away the Kingdom from thy Father and Thee, and giving it unto others; and that alſo, it is now the juſt hand of the Lord to take it again from them, and bring them under Thee; though I ſhall not ſay, but that ſome of them went beyond their Commiſſion againſt thy Father, when they were brought as a rod over you, and well will it be for thee, if thou becom'ſt not guilty of the ſame tranſgreſſion now thou art brought over them; and this conſider, that thoſe who are call'd thy Friends, who were conquer'd, have humbled themſelves but little under the hand of the Lord, but are ſtill found to be in great tranſgreſſions; and alſo conſider the manner how this thing hath been wrought, and carryed on, concerning the bringing in of thee again, that ſo there may be no fleſhly boaſting; for the thing is plainly diſcerned by them whoſe eye is ſingle, and I ſhall declare it unto thee: Mark; The Army having acted ſo deceitfully, the luſts and gain of the world blinded their eye, and they having ſo far provoked the Lord, untill his Decree was ſealed againſt them, and he had determined that they ſhould be broken; after they had ſplit among themſelves, and turned from one thing to another, and knew not where to reſt, and the Lord ſuffered ſome of them to riſe up from among themſelves to deceive the reſt, and ſo they through diſſimulation (in profeſſing to ſtand for thoſe who had ſo eminently ſtood againſt thy Father and Thee) got Power to weaken and turn out thoſe that were really againſt thee, (as diſturbers of the Good Old Cauſe, as they termed it) and ſo by little and little ſtrengthened thoſe that ſtood for thee; and thus the deceived blind men provided a Rod for themſelves, and ſo by little & little wrought themſelves under it, and it is juſt upon them; For the rod is for the fools back. So let this be conſidered, that this was not carryed on by the ſtoutneſs of thoſe that ſtood for thee, nor yet by a viſible plain down-right dealing, but rather through the hidden myſtery of deceit, which was ſuffered to work againſt thoſe whom God had determined ſhould be broken, that ſo by the ſame way whereby they had deceived others, which was by pretending to ſtand for that which they did not intend: I ſay, even by the ſame way, they in the end ſhould be deceived themſelves: So let none glory in what is done concerning this thing, as if it were done by their Valour or Wiſdom, though I can truly ſay, the hand of the Lord hath permitteed theſe things, and that for the Cauſe before mentioned, and he will be glorified in all theſe Overturnings.

IV. Concerning the great danger thou art in, in thy coming in, &c.

ANd alſo, conſider the danger that thou art in, in thy coming in as King of theſe Nations, for it is exceeding great as things ſtand; and this hath been much upon me to lay before thee, and it is in tender love both to thy Soul and Body; for I plainly ſee that if thou ſhouldſt come in upon the account of the People called Presbyterians, if thou ſhouldſt refuſe to bow to what they would ſet up, or if thou ſhouldſt not ſatisfie the ungodly covetouſneſs of their Prieſts, there is ſeveral of them would be ready to ſerve Thee as they did thy Father, if they were permitted. And if thou do come in upon the account of thoſe People called Old Royalliſts, (Mark) truly, though I do believe they would abhor ſuch a thing as to ſell Thee, yet the iniquity of many of them is ſo great, and there is ſo much Swearing, luſts and vanity amongſt them, that except they repent, they are not like long to proſper, but the hand of the Lord will aſſuredly break them alſo. And furthermore conſider, there are a deceitful People in theſe Nations, for there are many thouſands that now appear highly for Thee in words, that if they could ſee a likelihood of a change, they would appear as much or more againſt Thee: Therefore conſider thy ſtanding, and be not high-minded, but fear, and take heed leſt thou fall; and never go about to Engage the People unto thee by Oaths, leſt thou cauſe many to forſwear themſelves; for truly this People, a great part of them are a perfidious People, as they have manifeſted themſelves, who one while have ſworn for a King and Parliament, and ſhortly after, they have ſworn againſt a King, ſingle Perſon, or Houſe of Lords; and ſhortly after they have ſworn or Engaged for a ſingle Perſon again, and called one another Lords; and a little after they have turned againſt that Government, and cryed up a Parliament again; and now the ſame People are generally crying up a King again; And truly thoſe Rulers who have impoſed ſo many ſeveral Engagements upon the People, they have done exceeding evilly therein: And how abominably have theſe dirty, deceitful, covetous Prieſts acted in all theſe changes? O it is hard to utter their deceit! who one while they have prayed for a King & Parliament, and when they ſaw the King was likely to fall, and that he was no wayes likely to maintain them, then they turn'd againſt him, and prayed only for the Parliament, and aſſerted their Authority, and curſed them that would not go out to help againſt the Mighty. And ſhortly after when Oliver Cromwel had turn'd out the Parliament, and ſet up himſelf, then they cryed up (and prayed for) him, and many of them began to aſſert his Authority to be juſt; and when he died, many of theſe Prieſts began to addreſs themſelves to his Son, & fawned upon him, that he might provide for their god, which is their belly, and they appeared to be ſorrowful for his Fathers death, and blaſphemouſly termed him the light of their eyes, and the breath of their Noſtrils; and they told Richard that God had left him to carry on that glorious Work which his Father had begun ; And ſome of theſe Prieſts compared Oliver to be like unto Moſes, and Richard to be like unto Joſhua, who ſhall carry them into the promiſed Land ; But ſurely theſe blind Prieſts are yet in Aegypt, the land of Darkneſs, and there are like to die except they repent. And ſurely thoſe that made Oliver, Chancellor of one of their Ʋniverſities, they hoped he ſhould have continued longer in his place than he did; But it is manifeſt that they are ſuch as the Prophet ſaid, Night ſhould come upon them, and they ſhould have no Viſion. And how ſoon did ſome of them turn for a Parliament again, when the Army turned out Richard? And when George Booth made a Riſing, and they thought there would be a turn, then ſome of them cryed out againſt the Parliament, and began to curſe ſuch as would not go out againſt them ; And when George Booth was taken, then many of them began to Petition to the Parliament, and to excuſe themſelves, that they had no hand in that riſing; And now they are generally crying up, and praying for thee, and all this is for their bellies; therefore if thou wilt believe them, and truſt to their prayers, thou art worthy to be deceived by them; And all that will uphold them in that ſtate they are in, and compel others to maintain them, they are not like to proſper, for the hand of the Lord is againſt them, and that Scripture is fulfilled upon a great part of theſe Nations, like Prieſts like People, who are given to covetouſneſs and deceit, and will turn and appear for any thing that is for their gain; Yet this I teſtifie in the Lord, that ſuch Miniſters as the Scriptures of Truth own, I own; And ſuch a Maintenance as Chriſt allowed his Miniſters to take, I have unity with; And I know, that ſuch as are his Miniſters, will be there-withal content, but ſuch Miniſters as will not, they ſerve not the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but their own bellies, and ſuch I cannot but declare againſt. Therefore now O King be Wiſe, and cleave unto the Lord with thy whole heart, and he will teach thee to love thy Enemies, and to do unto all men as thou wouldſt they ſhould do unto thee, if they were in thy Condition, and thou in theirs; and this is the Way for to proſper; and this will Engage the Lord for to ſtand for thee; and alſo it will reach the witneſs of God in all People, and thou wouldſt become honourable in their hearts; and hereby they would be engaged and drawn unto thee more than by Oaths or force of Arms; But if thou wilt not hear, and do the thing that is juſt and right in the ſight of the Lord, then will the Lord appear againſt thee; and when thou haſt filled up thy meaſure, thou ſhalt be aſſuredly broken; and then ſhalt thou know that God hath ſpoken unto me. Since the writing of this before it could be delivered, we have ſeen a Declaration put forth by Thee, by which in part this is anſwered, which as this and the reſt comes to be fulfilled, the Lord will bleſs & proſper Thee. And if thou doſt not ſpeedily ſeek to ſtop this abounding ungodlineſs which flows in this Nation (and which hath much increaſed ſince there was a likelihood of thy being brought in) verily an evident hand of God ſhall come upon thee, which thou ſhalt not in any wayes be able to eſcape. Therefore conſider it ſpeedily, for verily, the Mighty God is greatly diſpleaſed by reaſon of the great waſting and ſpoil that is made of his Creatures, in a way of rejoycing and triumphing concerning thee; O how is the Devil, the deſtroyer, let looſe in this Nation! and the ſtreets thereof become like unto Sodom; and Peoples mouths are filled with Oaths, and bitter Curſings; And they go ſtammering and ſtaggering becauſe of Drunkenneſs, and ſober People that fear the Lord can ſcarce paſs in the ſtreets without being ſcoffed at, threatned, or having violence done unto them, by thoſe that appear for thee, who bitterly will curſe, and wiſh that which they call the Pox and Plague upon us, and the next words cry out and ſay, God ſave King Charles: Oh conſider theſe things, and ſeek to ſtop them, leaſt they become thy burthen! And alſo when we have been peaceably met together to wait on the Lord, and to hear and declare the everlaſting Truth, we have been abuſed, and part of our Houſes and Windows broken, and ſome of us knockt down and torn, as though they would have pulled us limb from limb, and our blood drawn, knocking us down without reſpect had to Age or Sex, & this they ſay thou wilt bear them out in, and they expect an order, they ſay ſhortly from thee, either to baniſh or hang us all; and in thy Name was I commanded and fetcht out of a Meeting at Harwich, upon the firſt day of this week, and haled to priſon without being examin'd, and without a Mittimus; and this was, becauſe I was made in the Dread and Power of the Living God, to cry aloud againſt the Curſing and Rudeneſs, which I then heard and beheld amongſt the People in the ſtreets; and I was made to utter theſe words and ſay, Wo, wo unto the Rulers and Teachers of this Nation, who ſuffer ſuch ungodlineſs as this, and do not ſeek to ſuppreſs it: And for this was I put in Priſon, O King, for theſe things will the Lord God viſit, and if thou ſeekeſt not to ſtop them, thou wilt feel God's hand for it; Verily I declare unto Thee in the fear of the Lord, I never heard of, nor beheld ſo great prophaneneſs, as I have done within theſe few weeks paſt: Oh! it is hard to utter how much Wine and ſtrong Drink hath been devoured in waſte, by Peoples drinking of healths unto Thee! ſome upon their knees, and ſome otherwiſe, even until ſome have been ſo drunk, they could neither ſpeak or go right; and what abundance of Wood hath been waſted and devoured in making of great Bon-fires (as they call them) which they have done as they ſay to rejoyce becauſe of Thy coming; Yea even ſuch great Fires have been made upon this account, that they have been dangerous both unto Cities and Towns; and ſuch noiſes have been heard of late in Cities and Towns, as ſcarce ever have been the like, by ſhooting of Guns both great and ſmall, and by ringing of Bells, and by People ſinging and laughing, and ſhouting like riotous mad men, and the Streets in ſeveral places ſtrown with flowers, and the like; and this is done in rejoycing concerning Thee: And what abundance hath been devoured in Feaſting, and Banqueting, and abominable rejoycings? And alſo, conſider in what great need poor People are of ſuch Creatures as have been thus devoured, and conſider what can be the end of all theſe things; now the Lord is my witneſs, when I have ſeen and felt this ungodlineſs, a tender pity hath aroſe in me towards Thee, becauſe I have beheld the danger that Thou art in, which is exceeding great: Let no man deceive Thee by perſwading thee, that Thou art in a ſafe Condition, becauſe the outward ſtrength of the Nation appears to be at thy Command; For conſider this, Oliver Cromwell, and his party had as much of that ſtrength, (or more once) as Thou haſt now, and thoſe called thy party, were faln as much under them, as they are now under Thine; And yet conſider how their ſtrength was taken from them, and how it vaniſhed away like ſmoak: Yea, the Lord is righteous and powerful, and if he ſpeaks but the Word, it muſt be fulfilled, and there is no People too ſtrong for Him; for all Nations in compariſon of Him, are but as the drop of a Bucket, and as the ſmall duſt, which his breath ſcattereth as he pleaſeth; and truly, God is highly provoked, therefore take heed what thou doſt.

V. Concerning Religion, and the ſpirit of Perſecution.

ANd as concerning Religion, I exhort and warn Thee, in the Name and Fear of the Lord, to take heed that thou bind not the Conſciences of any, and that thou ſuffer no other means to be uſed about Religion, but what the Apoſtles uſed; for all this killing, and impriſoning, and perſecuting about Religion, the Lord abhors it; Yea, the Papiſts killing, and impriſoning, and perſecuting of the Proteſtants, and the Proteſtants killing, and impriſoning, and perſecuting of the Papiſts, and others about a Form of Religion, theſe things are of the Devil, the deſtroyer, in them both, and not of Chriſt, who came not to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them: And conſider, Cain was the firſt Murderer about Religion, who ſlew Righteous Abel, and Cain was for it a Vagabond: And the Vagabond Jews perſecuted Chriſt and the Saints; and the Saints, ſince Chriſt ſuffered without the gate by him and for ſinners, uſed no perſecution about Religion, but Chriſt ſaid, that inwardly ravening Wolves ſhould come: And Paul propheſied, that after his departure, grievous and ravening Wolves ſhould come, who would not ſpare the Flock; and before John dyed he ſaw them come, and ſaid to the Saints, Little Children, ye have heard in the laſt times, that Antichriſt ſhall come, (mark) even now (ſaid he) are there many Antichriſts already come, whereby we know that it is the laſt time: So mark, theſe Antichriſts killed thoſe that held the Teſtimony of Jeſus, which is the Spirit of Propheſie: And here the Whore adulterated from God, got up, and ſhe drank the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jeſus, and the Kings of the Earth committed fornication with her, and drank her Cup; And ſhe ſate upon Nations, Kindreds, Tongues, and People; So all this impriſoning, and killing, and whipping, and ſtocking, and ſtoning, and mangling of the Creatures about Religion, is practiſed among the Heathens, and the Antichriſts, the Apoſtatized Chriſtians, who are gone out from Chriſt, and the Apoſtles Spirit and Doctrine; for they wreſtle not with fleſh and blood, but with Principalities and Powers, and Spiritual wickedneſſes in high places: So they fought againſt Spiritual wickedneſs, and not againſt Creatures, and the Weapons of their warfare were not Carnal but Spiritual, (mark) they uſed no impriſoning, ſtocking, whipping, stoning, hanging, burning, baniſhing, or mangling of the Creatures, to perſwade or turn them to their Religion; neither did they uſe any other force (to turn people to the pure Religion) than that which proceeded from the Inviſible Power of God's Eternal Spirit in them, which ſtruck at the Spiritual wickedneſſes, and the evil thoughts and imaginations which were exalted in People above the knowledge of Chriſt; and ſo they ſought to bring the wickedneſs into Captivity, and not the Creatures; but to bring them into Liberty, by turning them from Darkneſs to Light, and from Satan's Power, into the Power of God; and them that had known the Truth, and turned from it, and became Hereticks, after the firſt and ſecond admonition (if they would not hear) they rejected, knowing that ſuch were condemned in themſelves. But they did not give order to kill ſuch, for that had been the way to have ſent them head-long (as one might ſay) unto Hell: And as for ſuch as withſtood the Apoſtles, and would not receive the Goſpel, but oppoſed the Truth and themſelves, after they had gently and patiently dealt with ſome, and taught and inſtructed them concerning the Kingdom of God; and reproved and warned others, and they would not receive them and their Teſtimony, they turned from them unto others, and left them unto the righteous judgement of the Lord, which was to be revealed in flames of fire upon thoſe that would not obey the Goſpel; but they did not perſecute any, nor uſe any outward force with any about Religion; neither did they give any command for ſuch a thing; and to preſerve in the Truth ſuch as were come to it, they uſed patience, meekneſs, long-ſuffering, and ſound Doctrine; and kept them, and commended them unto the ingrafted Word (which was nigh in their hearts and in their mouths) the which was able to ſave their ſouls; and did not threaten to perſecute them if they did not turn out of the Truth: Therefore, they that perſecute about Religion, are not for Chriſt, but Antichrists, that is, againſt Chriſt. So take heed, that Thou doſt not ſet up perſecution about Religion, upon any pretence whatſoever, nor tolerate it; For the Lord God hath brought forth a People in theſe Nations, and will bring forth more, that cannot, nor may not bow unto any other thing in their Worſhip, than unto the Name of Jeſus, whoſe Name is called the Word of God: And if Thou oppreſſeſt this People, the Lord wil aſſuredly take away Thy Power, & avenge their Cauſe; (mark that) for he careth for them; And verily, we have not another to truſt in, than the Name of the Lord, and we know that to be a ſtrong Tower, which is able to preſerve us; and we know, That he will not ſuffer any thing to come upon us, but what ſhall work for his glory and our good. But theſe things are ſpoken unto Thee, that Thou mighteſt fear the Lord, and mighteſt not pull judgement upon thy own Head.

VI. Concerning what Government and Governours the People of the Lord (called Quakers) ſtand for, and what they ſtand againſt, &c.

THis I declare in the Truth and Preſence of the Lord, and I know, there are many thouſands in theſe Nations, that are of the ſame mind with me, that it is not for the Name, that may be put upon a Government, that we either stand for, or againſt; but it is a righteous Government (according to the higher Power, which is according to that of God in every man's Conſcience) which we ſtand for, and earneſtly deſire after, both in things appertaining to God and man; And we, for our ſelves deſire no greater Liberty, either in things Religious, or in things Civil betwixt man and man, than we deſire all others might enjoy: And if ſuch a Government as this be ſet up, then if he that is Chief, in taking care and ſeeing that Juſtice may be done to all without reſpect of perſons, if he be called a King, a Judge, a Protector, or a General, we ſhall not be againſt either or any of the Names; Or if the care and trust be laid upon more, if they be called by the Name of a Parliament, or a Council, or a Committee, or King and Parliament, or any, we are content, and ſhall willingly ſubmit unto Righteouſneſs from them, or any of them as our duty. And it is that which is unrighteous (which is called a Government, wherein Oppreſſion, Partiality, and Cruelty is exerciſed, either in things relating unto conſcience in matter of Worſhip, or in things civil betwixt man and man) that we stand againſt; and if ſuch a thing be ſet up and called a Government, and if the chief in it be called a King, or a Judge, or a Protector, or a General, or a Parliament, or a Council, or a Committee, or King and Parliament, we cannot ſtand for any of the Names, nor ſubmit unto the unjuſt things commanded by them, any other wayes, than through a patient ſuffering under it; And this according to the ſtrength of the Lord, we ſhall be willing to do.

VII. How we reſolve in the ſtrength of the Lord, to ſtand for that which is righteous, and againſt that which is unrighteous, &c.

THe way how we ſhall ſtand for the Righteous Government and Governours, is, by yielding all due lawful obedience unto them and their Commands; and by labouring in the Power of the Lord, to bring down, and to keep under the evil luſt in People, which is the cauſe of all Wars, and Rebellions, and Tranſgreſſion: And, as much as in us lies, we ſhall endeavour to live peaceably with all men, and perſwade others unto the ſame; And ſo, by a Godly Converſation, we ſhall be patterns unto others: And this will be an adorning of good Government, and Governors, and a help unto them; And this we reſolve in the ſtrength of the Lord to do.

Alſo, the manner how we ſhall ſtand through the Power of the Lord againſt that which is unrighteous (though it be called a Government, and againſt unrighteous Governours) is, by bearing our Teſtimony againſt them in the Power of the Lord; and by yielding no other obedience to them, than in ſubmitting patiently to ſuffer and endure, whatſoever puniſhment the Lord ſhall ſuffer them to lay upon us: And this ſhall turn againſt them daily, and weaken them, and bring ſhame upon them; For Perſecution, is to them that perſecute us, a token of Perdition; but unto Us of Salvation, and that from the Lord.

VIII. Concerning a Government and Governours, wherein there may be ſomething ſeen to be good, and ſomething bad, &c.

ANd as concerning a Government or Governours, wherein there may be ſomething good, and ſomething bad; This I ſay in ſuch a caſe, whatſoever is good in either, we ſhall be ready through the Lord's ſtrength to ſubmit unto, and own, and we ſhall labour to preſerve and cheriſh that: And as the Lord ſhall move us, we ſhall be willing to ſhew the Governours in plainneſs what is wrong in them, and in the Government; and if they refuſe to hear us, and afflict us, we ſhall in patience yield our Bodies to ſuffer under that which is bad in either; however, we ſhall diſcountenance it, and labour through the Power of the Lord in a Spiritual Warfare to deſtroy it, that ſo it may further appear, that we are not againſt Magiſtracy, but for it, (it being God's Ordinance) and that we are only againſt that in Magiſtrates and People, which would, and which doth defile and pollute the place of Magiſtracy.

IX. Concerning Plotting, or uſing a Carnal Weapon, and from whom we expect Deliverance, &c.

ANd I further teſtifie in the Lord, that I do not intend, neither have I any ſuch thought in my heart, either to plot for, or againſt Thee, or any other upon the Earth; for I do not expect deliverance by a carnal Sword; and yet I know, deliverance ſhall come with, or without the help of man; and in vain have been, and ſhall be, all the ſtrivings, compellings and murderings about Religion, Church and Worſhip; for man may as well ſay to the Sun in the Firmament, Stand thou ſtill; Or to the Sea, Be thou dryed up, as hinder one jot of the Lord's mighty workings in this his day; for, his Work, yea, his ſtrange work ſhall be brought to paſs, and mine eye ſees it, and not any mortal ſhall be able to hinder it. And into the belief of this, I know that the Lord hath gathered ſeveral thouſands into the ſame mind with me, that are called by the name of Quakers; and we could deſire, (if it were the Will of God) even that all men were of the ſame mind: And thoſe that are otherwiſe minded, we ſhall leave them unto the Lord, to do what he pleaſeth with them: And we are freely given up unto the Will of God, and we have committed our Cauſe unto Him, and He ſhall bring it to paſs, that ſo it may plainly be made manifeſt, that we are a People ſaved by our God, from whom we expect deliverance: And he hath made us willing to wait, until he bring it to paſs: And this we are confident of, that the Everlaſting Goſpel; which is the Power of God, ſhall again be Preached unto all Nations, Kindreds, Tongues, and People; and that the Whore of Babylon, the Beaſt and his Horns, and his Names, which have prevailed againſt the Bodies of the Holy People in the night of Apoſtacy, ſhall ceaſe to prevail againſt the Saints; and that Babylon and her Merchants ſhall be thrown down and confounded; and then ſhall the Saints of the moſt High poſſeſs the Kingdom. And we do believe, that God will overturn, and overturn, until he hath brought to paſs the thing that he hath decreed, which is, to eſtabliſh Righteouſneſs in the earth, and then ſhall there be Judges as at the firſt, and Counſellors as at the beginning; and Kings ſhall become Nurſing-Fathers, and Queens ſhall become Nurſing-Mothers, and the Kingdoms of this VVorld ſhall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ; and hereof we have an aſſurance in the Spirit of Truth, and yet we never expect to know Chriſt after the fleſh to reign, but he ſhall reign over all the Earth, whoſe Kingdom is an everlaſting Kingdom, and all Powers ſhall ſerve and obey him, who is King of Saints.

X. Concerning Revenge, and what may follow if it be ſought, and what if not, &c.

TAke heed of ſeeking Revenge; O let not the Enemy of thy Soul, within or without, get Thee into Blood: Vengeance is the Lords, and he will repay it: Therefore wherein thy Enemies went beyond their Commiſſion againſt thy Father, or any that took his Part, leave that unto the Lord, who will reward every one in Righteouſneſs, according to their deeds done in their Bodies; And conſider how far Chriſt was from ſeeking or deſiring Revenge, when they murdered him as concerning the fleſh, who ſaid, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Oh mind that Spirit, and conſider he was greater than thy Father, and he was free from all Tranſgreſſion; and wherein thy Enemies did evil in any thing againſt thy Father or Thee, and thoſe that took your Part, freely forgive them, and render not evil for evil unto any man, but overcome evil with that which is good. O King, this were the way for Thee to be eſtabliſhed in peace, and ſo to end thy dayes: Oh that thy Heart were thus inclined! that Mercy, and Righteouſneſs, and Peace might be found to reign in Thee, and that Mercy might Triumph over ſeverity; then might'ſt thou proſper, and many of thy Enemies, and alſo of thoſe that are called thy Friends, might be converted unto God, and ſo ye might be united in true love one unto another, and this were better than conquering by force. And conſider this, there are many that acted againſt thy Father and Thee, whom the Lord intends good towards, though I know, that ſeveral of them through Covetouſneſs and Envy, have done exceedingly wrong in many things: Yet conſider, how Chriſt taught his to pray, Forgive us our treſpaſſes, as we forgive them that treſpaſs againſt us; And I do verily believe, that if they turn unto the Lord, and truly humble themſelves under his hand, and believe in the Light of his Son, and obey him, that he will freely forgive them all their Tranſgreſſions. But if thou reſolveſt to avenge thy ſelf, and thoſe called thy Friends which have ſuffered, and to keep under thoſe which are now fallen under Thee, by a heavy yoke, either in matters of Worſhip, or otherwiſe, I know it will exaſperate the ſpirits of many againſt Thee, and it will raiſe up the deſperate aggravating part in man, and ſo the thing may kindle again in the murdering Spirit; And the Lord may ſuffer it to break forth into blood, which if it ſhould, it may be the ſadeſt time that ever thou yet ſaweſt; for this I know, and do ſtedfaſtly believe, that after God hath tryed his People, he will aſſuredly bring an overflowing ſcourge upon this Nation, and many ſhall fall and periſh by an eminent hand and judgement of the Lord, except they repent ſpeedily: And verily, there is but a little ſpace given to prevent this great Judgement and Deſtruction; becauſe the Lord hath already born long, and his patience hath been exceeding great, and he hath ſent many of his Servants and Prophets to warn this Nation and others, and many thouſands have believed us, and are gathered into Peace with us, notwithſtanding they ſee a great Judgement to come upon the Earth; and though many have believed us, yet alas, the far greater part hath either beaten, or impriſoned, or ſcoffed at, or ſlighted and rejected us, or the Teſtimony which we hold; and ſome have ſpoyled our goods, and impriſoned ſome of us to death, and ſome of us have been killed for the Teſtimony of Jeſus, and the Word of God; And ſo, many in the Nations are waxed worſe and worſe; And when the Lord hath ſmitten ſome, they have revolted more and more; and when he hath raiſed up others, and given them proſperity, they have then fed themſelves without fear, and forgot the Lord, and waxed wanton againſt him. Therefore ſeeing people will neither hear the Prophets of the Lord, nor regard the Light of his Son in their Conſciences, which checks and reproves for ſin and evil in ſecret, nor turn to the Lord when he ſmites them, nor regard his Truth when they have proſperity, the Lord will leave ſtriving with ſuch a People, and bring ſudden deſtruction upon them, and deliver his choſen as he did juſt Lot. So, we are given up to the Will of the Lord, and do patiently wait for his mighty appearance to deliver us, who have long been a ſuffering People, who have ſuffered both by Parliaments, Army, Protectors, and by thoſe called thy Friends alſo; yea, we have ſuffered, and been moſt cruelly entreated, even by Rulers, Prieſts, and People, Profeſſors and Prophane, becauſe we could not joyn unto the evil in either, but we have been made to reprove them for it, and to exhort them unto that which is good; and ſo we muſt yet do, ſo long as we find the Lord requiring it at our hands, though for it we be hated and perſecuted unto death; yet knowing that it is without cauſe on our part when we ſuffer, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, in all our ſufferings; and our lives are not dear unto us, that we may finiſh our courſe with joy, and our Teſtimony for the Lord, which he hath given to bear, though it be ſealed with our blood; for we certainly know, that the Lord is our reward in whatſoever we do or ſuffer for his Names ſake.

And now O King, as thou expects the Bleſſing and Preſence of the Lord with Thee in thy Government, Fear and Dread his Preſence, by ſtanding in awe of his living Witneſs, the Light, which he hath placed in thy Conſcience to guide and direct Thee in all thy wayes, that his wrath may be turned away from Thee, that ſo this Scripture might not be fulfilled upon the People of this Nation, God gave them a King in his anger, and he took him away in his ſore diſpleaſure. But if it ſhould prove ſo, I ſhall have peace, for I am clear of thy blood, in as much as in plainneſs I have let Thee ſee how things have been, and how they may or ſhall be, and wherein thy danger ſtands, and how that Righteouſneſs only eſtabliſheth the Throne. And my deſire is, if it be the Will of God, that thou mighteſt conſider them in the Principle of Life and Wiſdom, and thereby come to be preſerved and ſaved from that Deſtruction, which in God's Eternal Light I ſee Thee in great danger of.

Thus in Innocency and Truth, and in Uprightneſs and Sincerity of heart, I have freely declared unto Thee what was laid upon me, and it is in true, tender, and unfeigned love, both to thy Soul and Body: And that this is true, God is my Witneſs, and the Witneſs of himſelf in thy Conſcience ſhall anſwer unto it; unto which I leave and commend Thee, from which thou canſt not hide thy thoughts: So to the Lord God of Life be Glory, and Dominion, and everlaſting Praiſes over all, to whom it doth belong, Amen.

Given forth in Harwich Goal in Eſſex, the 16. day of the 3d. Month, called May, 1660. Where I ſuffer for the Teſtimony of Jeſus, through the envy of the Devil, who is the falſe accuſer of the Brethren.

POSTSCRIPT.

THough this Treatiſe was more eſpecially laid upon me, to write it unto the KING, and therefore to him was it directed; yet I could not but publiſh it, becauſe its ſervice reacheth ſo far in ſeveral Particulars, unto thoſe alſo, that have been engaged in the late Wars on both ſides; as in declaring the Mighty Hand, and working of the Inviſible God therein, and for what cauſe theſe things have been ſuffered, and how they have been effected; which being truly conſidered, may cauſe many to bow before the Lord, and henceforward ceaſe rejoycing, in the deſtroying one of another, and rather admire the Lord's mighty and ſtrange workings, whereby he hath taken away the cauſe of boaſting (in the Arm and Wiſdom of fleſh) on both Sides; that ſo, none might glory, but in the Lord: And many other things are declared in this Book, as a Teſtimony, both againſt Hypocriſie and Prophaneneſs; and what God will do, if Repentance be not come unto ſpeedily; and alſo, the Innocency, and Juſt, and Equalneſs of the Way, and Order of the Truth, and ſuch as live in the Life of it, both in many things appertaining to Religion, and in things Civil, is here Demonſtrated; with many wholeſom Exhortations tending to Righteouſneſs and Peace, and the ſafety both of King and Nation; and the contrary witneſſed againſt, which may be of great ſervice to many, if they in the Fear of God will read it, and receive his Witneſs in them, the Light of Chriſt, which will anſwer to the Truth; and for no other auſe do I Publiſh it, but that (if it be the Will of the Lord) Truth and Peace may be encreaſed (which this directs unto) and that Violence, and Wars (which this bears witneſs againſt) might ceaſe, and that ſo God may have the honour of all, unto whom it doth belong.

From the Counſel and Nobility of the Royal Seed, the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah, the Everlaſting King of Righteouſneſs, who reigneth in George Fox, the Younger.

A Coppy of this was delivered in Writing by Richard Hubberthorn, into the Kings hand at White-Hall, the 4th. day of the 4th. Month, 1660. And this may be of ſervice to any of thoſe called Royalliſts (or others) if they in Moderation will Read it, and for that Cauſe it is upon me to ſend it abroad in Print.

Honeſt, Plain, Down-right-Dealing WITH THE PEOPLE CALLED Epiſcopal-Men, and Presbyterians. In this Seaſonable ADVICE given unto them, and their TEACHERS. FRIENDS,

YOu both pretend in Words to be Friends to the KING, now let your actions ſhew forth the ſame, leſt ye (in this Cauſe concerning the King) be found like thoſe who in words profeſſed to know or love another King, but in Works denyed him, Tit. 1.16. Therefore, labour not to perſwade the King to ſet up either of your Forms of Worſhip in this manner, (mark) as to compel by outward Force all others to conform thereunto, or elſe to perſecute them; for if you do thus, and if the King ſhould hearken unto either of you, and fulfill either of your wills in this particular, (mark) you to whom he ſo conſents unto, would ſhortly be made manifeſt to be the greateſt Enemies to the King in the Nations: And not only the Kings Enemies, but Enemies to your ſelves alſo, even to the endangering of the deſtruction both of the King and Your ſelves; for if the King ſhall ſet up either of your Forms, and compel all others thereunto, or elſe Perſecute them; (mark) you two are ſo inverate one againſt another, and have acted already ſo cruelly one againſt another, that thus it will be with you, (mark) you that the King ſo ſets up, will ſeek to avenge your ſelves, and to Lord it over the other, Mat. 5.44, 46. and neither of you are able to ſuffer in patience, (and to forgive your Enemies) as the Miniſters of Chriſt were to do, Mat. 6.15. that ſo which-ſoever of you were put under the other, you will be watching to Plot both againſt the King and them that are ſet over you; and if you that are put under, can but get an advantage againſt the other, which-ſoever of you it be, (mark) even the Mercies of you would be cruelty towards thoſe that kept you under. And if either of your Forms ſhould be ſet up, as before mentioned, you who be ſet up in that manner will be in great danger of being deſtroyed, and that for theſe reaſons.

Firſt, Becauſe it is not owned by the Lord, that any ſhould ſet up a Worſhip, and compel others to it by outward force or Perſecution; and this is the way in which either of you would proceed, if ye had Power, and thereby you would Engage the Lord againſt you and your Worſhip; for the worſhip which he owns, is in the Spirit and in the Truth, John 4.23, 24. and nothing but the Power of his Spirit can compel thereunto; and they that rebel againſt this Power in matter of Worſhip, are for it to be puniſhed thereby.

Secondly, Becauſe the Lord hath decreed to remove Oppreſſion and Perſecution, and to judge and blaſt that ſpirit which hath exerciſed cruelty againſt the Saints, and to ſet up Righteouſneſs, and to give his People their juſt Liberty to worſhip him according to the leadings, and requirings of his Eternal Spirit in them; (mark) and if either of your Forms ſhould be ſet up (as before mentioned) it would ſtrongly oppoſe this Decree of God which cannnt be broken, and therefore it would engage the Lord to deſtroy you.

Thirdly, If one of you be ſet up, and ye be impower'd by the King to compel by outward force all others to your Worſhip, or elſe to Perſecute them; (mark) this will exaſperate the ſpirits of moſt of the other Sects againſt the King, and you that ſhall be ſo ſet up; and it will engage all them of the Sects that are in the fighting nature, and can uſe a carnal Weapon for their own defence, to joyn together as one man againſt the King, and either of you that he ſhould ſo ſet up. Therefore if you would be true Friends either to the King, or your ſelves and your Nation, labour not with the King to eſtabliſh either of your Forms (or any other) as before-mentioned; but if ye own CHARLES STUART to be King; be content that HE may Rule over all as one, keeping the outward Peace among you all, by providing juſt Laws to puniſh any that would hurt any mans Perſon or Eſtate upon any unjuſt account whatſoever, or any that ſhall run into open prophaneneſs, Mat, 7.12. and be content that others may have as much Liberty to Worſhip their God in that way they are perſwaded to be right, as ye deſire to have in that ye think is right; and lay by all theſe Carnal Weapons, as Priſons, Fires, Gallows, Stocks, Whips, and all outward violence, and uſe none of them (mark) about compelling to a Worſhip,: 2 Cor. 10.4. But you that are Teachers, come forth with your Spiritual Weapons (if you have them) and ſmite at the Spiritual Wickedneſs that is Exalted in the Creatures, if ye be able, wreſtle with that, and not with the Creatures; and if without uſing outward force and compulſion, ye can plant a Vineyard (as the Apoſtle did) then eat of the fruit thereof, Eph. 6.12. and if ye can thus gather a Flock and keep them, then Eat of the Milk thereof; and if ye can ſow Spirituals then reap of their Carnals that receive you and your Teſtimony; and if you be ſent forth by Chriſt, then you will not lack any thing, Luk. 22.35. but if you dare not come to this tryal, then it will plainly appear that you are ſuch as ſerve not the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but your own bellies; and that you are not ſent of God, but run, and he hath not ſent you; and ſpeak, but he hath not ſpoken unto you, and therefore you cannot profit the People, Jer. 23.32. (mark) And if the outward Peace be kept by the Kings Law, that ſo none may do violence to any man's Perſon or Eſtate, then you need not fear if you be in the Spirit of Truth, 1 Joh. 4.4. but that ye ſhall overcome them that are in the Spirit of Error, and make them manifeſt when they do oppoſe you, Acts 6.9.10. but if you dare not come to this Tryal, then it will plainly appear that you are in the Spirit of Error, and ſuch as cannot ſtand except they be upheld by the Powers of the Earth.

Again, and if God ſhould ſuffer this, that either of you could prevail thus far with the King, as that he ſhould ſet up either of your Forms, and give you a Law to compel or Perſecute outwardly, (mark) thereby you might make many hypocrites, who might pretend to joyn unto you, (to ſave • heir 〈◊〉 or Eſtates) until they could find an opportunity to deſtroy you; but by all your outward force, you can never convert any unto God; for it is Chriſt, the Immortal, ingrafted Word, which is onely able to convert unto God; and it is the work of the true Miniſters to turn People from Darkneſs to Light, and from Satan's Power unto the Power of God, Acts 26.18. and to direct them to the Word which is nigh, in the mouth, and in the heart, Rom. 10.8. and to commend and keep them to that; and to exhort them in meekneſs to receive the ingrafted Word, which is able to ſave their Souls, Acts. 20.23. Jam. 1.21. 2 Cor. 10.4. and they muſt not uſe any Carnal Weapons to do their work withal, but Spiritual: Therefore if you would be counted Chriſt's Miniſters, lay by your Carnal Weapons, and uſe them no longer about Religion; neither preſs the King to ſet up or uphold either of your Forms of Worſhip by outward force (as before mentioned) leſt thereby you become Inſtruments to deſtroy the King, your ſelves, or the Nation.

So though King CHARLES be accounted and ſuffered to be Head in things between man and man, yet let CHRIST JESUS the everlaſting King, be accounted and ſuffered to be Head of his Church, that ſo He may have that which is due unto him, Eph. 5.23. & 4.13. Col. 1.18. and this were the way for the true Church and the King, and theſe Nations to proſper; and the way for the falſe Church, the falſe Prophets, and all Plotting, Uſurping ſelf-intereſted men to be confounded.

And this is the deſire of me, who am a ſufferer for Righteouſneſs ſake, contrary to any Law of God, or known Law of the Nation. GEORGE FOX, the Younger. From my Chamber (the place of my confinement) in Lambeth-Houſe, (the 14th. of the 4th. Moneth, 1660)

where I have perfect Peace with God through Jeſus Chriſt, in whom I have true Liberty as a Son, according to the appointment of the Father.

I cannot flatter any, but muſt ſpeak the naked truth unto all; and I ſeek the Peace of my Nation, and the good of all men; and I cannot fight with any Creature, but I can fight with the Spiritual Wickedneſs, though it be in the High Places.

A Few Queries to the Teachers of the Epiſcopal Society, (ſo Called.)

Qu. 1. WHo was the firſt Inſtitutor, (of a man to be Supream Head of the Church next and Immediate under Chriſt, and) of Arth-Biſhops, and Lord Biſhops, and from whence had they their Original? Did not theſe things ariſe ſince the Apoſtacy? and have they not been Practiſed by the Apoſtatiſed Chriſtians, ſince the Antichriſts went out from the true Apoſtles? Or were theſe things Practiſed by the true Apoſtles? Or did they confeſſe any more than one Head of the Church? Or that to them there was any more than one Lord? And was not that Head and Lord Jeſus Chriſt? Col. 1.18. And whether they that make, or confeſſe other Lords, or another Head of the Church than Chriſt, do not walk according to the courſe of the Gentiles, which know not God, and contrary to the Command of Chriſt, and the Practiſe of the true Apoſtles? 1 Cor. 8, 5, 6. ſeeing Chriſt ſaid to his Diſciples, the Gentiles exerciſe Lordſhip one over another, but it ſhall not be ſo with you (mark that) for he that will be greateſt amongſt you, let him be ſervant unto all, Mat. 20▪ 25, 26, 27. And where was any of the true Apoſtles or Miniſters of Chriſt, called Lord-Biſhops or Arch-Biſhops? Or where was there any King in their time, called the Supream Head of the Church next unto Chriſt? Or where did they propheſie that it ſhould afterwards be ſo among the Saints? Or is not this rather a part of the Cup of Fornication, which the Whore of Babylon, hath cauſed the Kings of the Earth to drink in the night of Apoſtacy, yea or nay?

Qu. 2. And who was the firſt Inventer of Surplices and Tippits (as they are called) did the true Apoſtles and Miniſters of Chriſt uſe any of them in their Worſhip? Or had they Organs and Singing Boys dreſſed in White, going, and Singing in their Worſhip? From whom had all things their Original? And are any of theſe things required of the true Worſhippers, which the Father ſeeks, who Worſhip him in the Spirit and in the Truth, John 4.23.24. (if they be, prove it by Scripture) Or are they not come up ſince the Apoſtacy? and are they not Practiſed amongſt the Will-Worſhippers, yea or nay?

Qu. 3. And who firſt invented this for a Baptiſme, (viz.) that a Teacher ſhould Sprinkle a little water on a Childs face, and make a Croſs on its forehead, with his finger; and that there ſhould be God-Fathers, and God-Mothers (as they are called) to name the Child; from whom had all theſe things their Original? Did the true Apoſtles Practiſe theſe things? Or are they not come up in the night of Apoſtacy? And why do you call thoſe that name the Children, God-Fathers, and God-Mothers? Hath God any Fathers or Mothers? Anſwer to every particular in plain Engliſh according to the Scriptures, that poor People may ſee your Ground, and Foundation, and Rule for all theſe things; And do you believe that any can be free from ſin in this life, and keep Gods's holy Will and Commandments? If not, then how dare you enjoyn thoſe that you call God-Fathers, and God-Mothers, to Promiſe and Vow theſe things in the Childs name, (mark) that it ſhall forſake the Devil and all his works, (mark that) the pomps and vanities of this World, and all the ſinful luſts of the fleſh, and that it ſhould keep God's holy Will and Commandments? now if you ſay, they may forſake all theſe things, and keep God's Holy Will and Commandments; then will it not overthrow what you Teach your ſelves at other times? and if People do not or cannot forſake the Devil and all his works, the pomps, and vanities of this wicked World, and the ſinful luſts of the fleſh, and keep God's Holy Will and Commandments; then do you not cauſe them you call God-Fathers, and God-Mothers, to Promiſe and Vow lies and impoſſibilities in Childrens Names?

Now Anſwer theſe things in Plainneſs and Moderation, without fleeing to your Carnal Weapons; and be not like thoſe, that inſtead of anſwering, have raged, and perſecuted thoſe that have Queried them. There are many things more appertaining to your Worſhip which I cannot own to be Right; but I would ſee, how you will get through theſe things, and what ſatisfaction you are able to give concerning theſe few, and then as the Lord moves, you may hear of many things more which are to be Queried.

The 22d. of the 4th. Month, 1660. From a Faithful Souldier of the Army of the Lamb (which muſt get the Victory,) for whoſe Teſtimony I ſuffer in Lambeth-Houſe. George Fox, the Younger.

THE Teſtimony of God To thoſe Rulers, Teachers, and People of this preſent Age, where the Headſhip of the Church is given to Man, and to ſuch as ſtrive to have it ſo, and to thoſe that ſet themſelves in the ſeat of God, by taking upon them, that which properly belongs to God and Chriſt, who are one. Wherein God's Controverſie with them is plainly Demonſtrated, Opened, and given by the Spirit of Truth, which is made manifeſt in that earthen veſſel, which is called George Fox, the younger.

HEarken O ye Kings, and Give ear ye Rulers, Teachers, and People of all ſorts (who are ſtriving againſt the Spirit of God in its workings:) The Lord's Controverſie is great this day, and few there be that rightly underſtand it; Therefore are ye confounded, broken, and breaking one of another, and cannot be healed, until you return to, and receive and obey that which will ſhew you with what God's Controverſie is: Therefore conſider this, The inſpiration of the Almighty giveth underſtanding, Job 32.8. Yea, the life of the Immortal Word, which is the Light of men, John 1.4. giveth to underſtand the mind of the Eternal God; Therefore to the Light which the Word hath enlightned you withal; Take heed, John 1.9. for that is the faithful Witneſs of God, and to that in you all (who ſhall hear the Teſtimony which God hath given me to bear) ſhall I be made manifeſt; for that ſhall anſwer to the words of the moſt High, which I have to utter; Therefore let all fleſh be ſilent, that Truth may take place, and that the words of the Holy One may be heard and received.

Thus ſaith the Lord God, My Controverſie hath not been, nor is not with man, any further than as he is departed from me, and joyned to, and become one with the man of ſin, that wicked one, the Son of Perdition, who is exalted in man, above me the Eternal God, and oppoſeth me, and ſitteth in my Temple, ſhewing himſelf to be God, in taking upon him that which properly belongeth unto me, for he commands and leads them with whom my Controverſie is, into whatſoever and whitherſoever he pleaſeth, and they are become ſubjects unto his Kingdom, ſo that they will not that I ſhould Reign over them: but they have taken Counſel of my Adverſary, who hath taught them alſo to take (as it were) my Honour (which I will not give to another) unto themſelves; and ſo they are become one with my Adverſary: And by his Power they alſo (in many things) have ſet themſelves in my stead, in taking upon them to do things which did properly belong unto me, and they in thus doing, have ſlighted and rejected the thing that I have done; and thus the Abomination which maketh deſolate, ſtandeth in the place where it ought not; For which cauſe I will viſit, ſaith the Lord God.

And now You with whom God's Controverſie is, (who have given the headſhip of the Church to man) that you may further ſee your Error. (Mark) and conſider theſe things, It did properly belong to the Mighty Eternal God, to Ordain a Head for his Church, and he unalterably Ordained one Head thereof, which is Chriſt, the ſecond Adam, the Lord from Heaven, the quickening Spirit: Yea, he gave him to be Head of the Body, which is the Church, the fulneſs of him that filleth all in all, that he in all things might have the preheminence, in whom all fulneſs dwells, Col, 1.18, 19. Epheſ. 5.23. and 1.22, 23.

And by the appointment of the Father, he giveth forth all the Laws and Ordinances which his Church (that is the Congregation of the Righteous) are now to obſerve; and whoſoever will not hear him in all things, and follow his leadings, and obey his voice, are to be cut off; For all Judgement is committed unto him, John 5.22, 27.

But many of you who (in ſeveral Nations) are called Chriſtians (with whom the Lord's Controverſie is great, unto the diſhonour of God) You have taken upon you to Ordain other Heads of the Church then Chriſt, and they ſhall give forth Laws and Ordinances for the Church to obſerve, and they that will not hear your Heads, and obſerve their Laws and Ordinances, you will cut them off, or Perſecute them; and in thus doing you have ſlighted and rejected the thing that God hath done, and ye have ſet your ſelves in his ſtead; And this is a great Cauſe of God's Controverſie with this Age, and until this abomination be removed and broken down, God will remove and break down all in whomſoever it doth reſide, and all ſuch as would uphold it, whatſoever their names be called; For whoſoever will ſtrive to uphold that Authority in themſelves or others, which properly belongs to God and Chriſt (who are one) ſhall not be able to ſtand in this the day of God's Controverſie; neither can the Nations be ſetled in true Peace, until that be given up to Chriſt, which properly unto him belongs, and is his Right; for though the Lord hath long born with great patience, yet now the time haſteth, that the Heir muſt be Poſſeſt of that which the Father hath given unto him, and they that will not freely give up to him his due, muſt be broken.

And now, O England, to Thee I ſpeak (mark) this did not ſerve to end the Controverſie of God with Thee, when thou didſt take the Headſhip of the Church from the Pope, and gave it to the (outward) King; Neither did that end God's Controverſie with Thee, when thou didſt take it from thy King again, and gave the Nature or Power of the Headſhip (though not the Name) unto an Aſſembly of Prieſts called the Synod, whom thou Authorizedſt to give forth directions and Ordinances for the Church to obſerve; and if after thy long Changing of it thus, one from another, Thou now give it to thy (outward) King again, (as many in thee ſtrive to do) this will not end God's Controverſie with thee neither; For theſe things do not at all anſwer the intent of God; for the Lord will not own, that a King ſhould be called the Supream Head of a Church, no more then he will own that a Pope ſhould be ſo called; Neither will he own any to exerciſe the Office of Headſhip in his Church, but Chriſt onely, Whom he hath given unalterably to be the Head thereof; Therefore whether it be Pope, King, Prieſts, or any others, that will not ſubmit to Chriſt, and own Him alone to be the Head of the Church, muſt be ſlain by the Sword of his Juſtice; Therefore O England, Take heed what thou doſt, and provoke not the Lord yet further againſt thee in this particular; for, until the Headſhip be wholly given up to Chriſt, God's Controverſie cannot ceaſe.

And furthermore, it doth properly belong unto God and Chriſt (who are one) to make and Ordain whomſoever they Pleaſe to be Miniſters; and thoſe Miniſters are to follow thoſe orders and directions, and to declare thoſe words unto the People (and not what they will themſelves) which the moſt High gives unto them; and they are to go to ſuch places as He ſends them unto, to declare His Will; and they are to receive that for their Labour which He alloweth them, and they are to abide in thoſe places, obſerving thoſe orders and directions which he gives unto them; and they are not to remove, but at His pleaſure, and as He gives them freedom, or by His order, which they muſt obſerve.

But in theſe things alſo, Man hath ſet himſelf in the ſtead of God; For men in theſe Nations have made, and ſome yet do make and Ordain whomſoever they pleaſe to be Miniſters, and thoſe Minſters are to follow thoſe orders and directions, and to ſpeak thoſe words to the People which Man giveth unto them, (and alſo they may in ſome things ſpeak more if they will) and they are to go to ſuch places as man ſends them unto, and there to declare that which man in his will hath preſcribed and ſet down; And they are to receive for this their Labour that which man alloweth them (with what more they can get to ſatisfie their greedy minds) and they are to abide in thoſe places, obſerving thoſe orders and directions which man gives unto them, and they are not to remove but at man's pleaſure, by his order, or as he gives them Freedom.

And thus hath man, even the man of Sin, ſet himſelf in the ſtead of God, and would force all to bow unto him; and ſo man in this ſtate hath rejected the Will of God, and his Work; for ſuch a one whom God makes a Miniſter, and ſends unto places to declare his Will (unto the People, as he hath received it from God) ſuch a one is counted a Vagabond and a diſturber of the Peace, and Perſecuted by ſuch as are exalted in their fleſhly minds, above the witneſs of God; And for this cauſe alſo is God's Con • roverſie with Nations, and they cannot be eſtabliſhed in true Peace, until they give unto God and Chriſt, that which to them belongs, (which they have held from God by uſurpation) therefore whether it be Popes, or Kings, or Parliaments, or any other men that will aſſume this to themſelves which alone belongs to God and Chriſt, they muſt and ſhall be broken, let their ſtrength be never ſo great: For the Lord (who is Mighty) will take to himſelf this his proper Right in making Miniſters which ſhall obſerve his Will, and he will provide for them, and ſuch as are made by man he will Confound; Therefore O Nations, take heed what you do, and run not your ſelves any more into theſe things, leſt you further increaſe God's anger againſt you.

And as Chriſt is the Au • hor of the true Faith and not man, ſo he is the Defender of it, and not man; Therefore that Title muſt be given unto Him, and not unto man, or elſe God's Controverſie cannot ceaſe.

Again, it is God's proper Right to give Laws unto man, Iſa. 33.22. For there is one Law-giver, who is able to ſave and to deſtroy, Jam. 4.12. And the Law is not made for the Righteous, but for the unrighteous, 1 Tim. 1.9. And the Law is to go forth of Zion, Mica. 4.2. Iſa. 2.3. Now in this particular alſo, man hath ſet himſelf in the Seat of God, and ſo hath diſhonoured the one Law-giver, by ſetting up many Law-givers, who not being guided by the pure Spirit of the Lord, have made Laws contrary to the Will of God, whereby the Righteous have been Puniſhed and Oppreſſed. Now in this particular, man hath exceedingly corrupted his wayes; for which cauſe God's Controverſie is exceeding great; And until man ſubmit to the one Law-giver in this particular alſo, (who is able, both to ſave and to deſtroy) God's Controverſie cannot ceaſe; for the Law which God gives, is not againſt the Righteous, but againſt the unrighteous.

But how are the Laws of theſe Nations like to be ſuch, (let the witneſs of God in all you anſwer) ſeeing by man it is given into the hands of man in ſuch a manner as it is to make Laws? (Mark) Have you not read in the Scriptures of Truth, that the Flock of Chriſt is a little Flock, Luke 12.32. And that, though Iſrael be as the ſand of the Sea, yet but a remnant ſhall be ſaved, Iſa. 10.22. Rom. 9.27. And again, ſtrait is the way, and narrow is the Gate that leadeth unto Life, and few there be that find it; (mark that) becauſe broad is the way and wide is the Gate that leadeth to deſtruction, and many there be that go in thereat, Mat. 7.13, 14. Now mark and conſider theſe things, ſeeing that the Righteous are fewer in number then the unrighteous, and that the Law-makers are choſen by the moſt voyces; (and that of the richeſt People outwardly) how are the Righteous like to be preſerved in outward freedom by the Laws that are ſo made? Doth not the World love his own, John 15.19. And will it not provide for its own Life and Liberty? And is the life and Liberty of the Righteous one with the world, (Read Wiſdom, the 2. Chap.) Will not that which is for the freedom of the one, be for the bondage of the other? Oh! the Lord hath beheld this abomination, and his Soul abhors it, and his Controverſie is with the Nations, becauſe of the grievous Oppreſſion, Oaths, & Violence, which fills the Earth partly by this means; Oh! how do the rich oppreſs the poor, and draw them before the Judgement ſeats? Jam. 2.6. And how do the haughty vaunt themſelves over the meek? And how is Judgement turned backward? For he that departeth from iniquity maketh himſelf a prey to this Generation, Iſa. 59.14, 15. And though ſeveral overturnings have been, yet is iniquity ſtill at a great height, and increaſeth exceedingly; And what will it advantage a Child to flee from a Bear and joyn to a Lyon? Verily the day is come, wherein there is no hiding place of ſafety for the Righteous, but purely in the Name of the Lord, and bleſſed are they that alone truſt therein. For the help of the meek ſtandeth in the Name of the Lord, (Pſal. 124.8. Hoſ. 13.9.) And happy are they that abide in it, for the day will be terrible and dreadful unto all that have not a habitation in the Name of the Lord the King of Saints; For Violence and Oppreſsion ſhall come to the full, and then ſhall the Lord Roar out of his Habitation, and he ſhall ſtrike the Inhabitants of the Earth with Aſtoniſhment, and Faintneſs, and Deadneſs of Spirit, ſhall ſeize upon the mighty men, and weakneſs and fear upon th • ſtrong and bold of the Earth; for the Lord will appear in his mighty Power to take the Kingdom, and to relieve the oppreſſed, and to help the needy, and they ſhall be ſtrong in him.

Be wiſe therefore O ye Kings, and learn Wiſdom ye Iudges and Rulers of the Earth, Return unto the Lord and ſerve him with fear, Tremble before the Glory of his Preſence, and Kiſſe the Son, leſt he be angry and you periſh by the way; For his wroth ſhall ſuddenly burn, & then, bleſſed are all they that truſt in Him, (Read Pſal. 2.) Therefore ſtrive not with the Lord any longer, by withholding his Right from Him, but give unto him his due, and reſign up to him and his anointed the things that he doth require, for the Lamb muſt get the victory, and he muſt have the Preheminence in all things, yea, he muſt be the Supream Head in all Spiritual things, and the only Law-giver to his People; yea, he with the Higher Power muſt ordain and ſend forth Ministers and Labourers into his Church, Vineyard, and Harveſt, for he only can fit them for the work, and not man; and he will take care that they ſhall not lack any thing, (Luke 22.35.) For the Earth is the Lord's, and the fulneſs thereof, (Pſal. 24.1.) And he will conſtrain People with his love (which is better than outward force) to give his Miniſters Food and Raiment when they have need thereof, and they will be contented there-withal, 1 Tim. 6.8. Therefore meddle not with theſe things any more, I warn and exhort you in the Love of God: For it belongs not unto you, but unto God and Chriſt, who are one, and let Chriſt only be acknowledged to be the defender of the Faith, who is able to perform that Office to the full, which man is not.

And let the one Law-giver be minded and owned in man, to give forth Laws to puniſh Tranſgreſſors, that ſo the Judgement may be the Lord's and not man's, for ſo it ought to be; and he that Ruleth over men, muſt be Juſt, ruling in the Fear of God, (2 Sam. 23.3.) And they that Fear the Lord and hate Covetouſneſs, ought to be Judges and Rulers (Exod. 18.21.) to ſee and take care that the Law of God be put in due execution, judging righteouſly, without reſpect to perſons, (Prov. 24.23.) doing to all men, as they would they ſhould do unto them, keeping out of Bribes and Gifts, that the eye may not be blinded, (Exod. 23.6, 7, 8. And ſuch Rulers as theſe, will the Lord ſet up and Honour, unto whom he will plainly ſhew his Righteous juſt Law, which he wil have executed upon Tranſgreſſors, and men ſhall be ſubject unto them for Conſcience ſake, and they only ſhall be a terror to evil doers, and encouragers of them that do well, and they ſhall be guarded with Righteouſneſs, and the Lord ſhall bleſs them with the dew of Heaven, and they ſhall ſend forth a good ſavour into the Earth, and then ſhall the Inhabitants of the Earth learn Righteouſneſs; For Judgement ſhall run down as Water, and Righteouſneſs as a mighty ſtream; for the Judgments of the Lord ſhall be rightly executed, and ſelf-ends ſhall be denyed; and then ſhall Praiſes, Dominion, Honour, and Obedience, and all that is the Lord's, be yielded unto him the King of Saints; And until this come to paſs, God's Controverſie ſhall not ceaſe: But there will be Breaking, and Overturning, Oppreſſing, and Spoyling, and Inſnaring one of another, and they that come uppermoſt, and will not give unto the Lord his due, but ſet themſelves in his Seat, whatſoever words they profeſs, or let them appear never ſo ſtrong in the arm of fleſh, yet they ſhall be broken down with diſhonour; and Plagues and Torments ſhall be the Portion of the Hypocrite that bows to deceit; and Babylon muſt fall and periſh; for ſtrong is the Lord which judgeth her, (Rev. 18.8.) And in vain do men ſeek to eſtabliſh themſelves in that which the Lord is againſt, and wo will be unto them that are found in the State of Capernaum and Edom, (Read Obediah 3.4. Mat. 11.23.)

And now ye Rulers, Teachers, and People, remember you are warned, and it is in true love to your Souls and Bodies, therefore Repent whilſt you have time left you, that you may be ſaved, though it be ſo as by fire; and ſpeedily reſign up to the Lord, that which properly belongeth unto Him; for verily, the day dawneth apace, which ſhall reveal that man of ſin more and more, who hath ſet himſelf in the Seat and ſtead of God, whom the Lord ſhall conſume with the Spirit of his Mouth, and aboliſh and deſtroy with the Brightneſs of his coming, (2 Theſ. 2.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.) And the day of the Lord ſhall even ſo come as a Thief in the night; And when the wicked ſhall ſay Peace and ſafety, then ſhall come upon them ſudden deſtruction, even as the travel of a woman with Child, which by no means can be eſcaped, (1 Theſ. 5.2, 3.)

Be ſtill O ye Saints of the moſt High God, keep clear of Babylon, take heed of being enſnared dy her, cleave not to her flatteries in any wiſe, but follow the Lamb whitherſoever he leadeth you; and hold faſt the Word of his Patience in the true Integrity of your hearts, that ſo ye may ſtand and endure the Tryal to the end; and whatſoever you ſuffer for the Teſtimony of God, you ſhall have a full reward for it, if you faint not: This in the Word of the Lord, is unto you.

Lambeth-Houſe, the 28th. of the 4th. Month, 1660. POSTSCRIPT.

ANd if I could write no more, yet this is the Teſtimony of Truth, to the Rulers, Teachers, and People of this preſent Age (in what Nation ſoever this may come) Mark, you muſt all come to the Light of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt (the Lamb of God) who hath enlightned you, that with the Light you may come to ſee what is contrary to the mind and will of God, both in your Laws, and Governments, and in the conſtitutions thereof, and in your Miniſtry, and Worſhip, and in the conſtitutions thereof, and in all your Converſations; And that which you ſee with the Light, to be contrary to the mind and will of God, (in any of theſe things before-mention) you muſt deny, and give it up to be conſumed by the Spirit of Judgement and burning; and you muſt give your full conſent that the Lamb of God (the Light of the World, the ſecond Adam, the Lord from Heaven, the quickning Spirit, who is one with the Eternal Father) may have the preheminence in all things; And that he may Rule in you all, over you all, and lead and guide you all, in all things, before you can witneſs that God's Controverſie with you is fully come to an end; And all them of the Nations that are ſaved, muſt walk in the Light of the Lamb: Therefore let every particular in their ſeveral ſtations, come to a true honeſt ſearch ſpeedily, and caſt off, and deny that which the Light will let you ſee that God is againſt, that ſo haply God may ſtay the mighty Judgement (which otherwiſe must come) which is nigh at the door, which will ſweep away the ungodly.

Theſe are faithful and true ſayings, and things which muſt ſhortly be fulfilled; therefore, bleſſed will every one be, that will hear and obey the Counſel of the moſt High; for the day of the Lord draweth nigh.

And now ye Rulers, if ye reſolve to build up that which God hath thrown down by an out-ſtretched Arm; and if you ſtrive to eſtabliſh your ſelves in that which God's Controverſie hath been, and yet is againſt, you will undo your ſelves for ever; for you will engage the Lord againſt you, who aſſuredly will be too ſtrong for you, and break and confound you, as oppoſers of his mighty work; therefore take heed what you do, the Lords decree ſhall stand.

George Fox, the younger.