MOst dearly and well beloved Friends, Brethren, and Sisters whom the Lord hath gathered to be a People, to be to the praise of his Name, who once were not a People, but were scattered as among the Tribes, and a certain dwelling place we knew not, but went mourn­ing as a Dove without a mate, saying, Where is our Souls beloved? and when we were almost out of hope, then the Voice out of the excellent Glory was ut­tered, and a Light began to shine in the midst of Darkness, even when we were ready to say, We must now dwell in the house of mourning, and the shaddow of death must be our habitation for ever: Then, in an acceptable time, when it was with us, as if it were neither night nor day, but in the even-tide, then the Light ap­peared, and he was lifted up who hath drawn our hearts after him, even Christ the Light of the world, the Saviour of all that believe and follow him; this was he that we had heard and spoken much of, yet then were strangers to him, though he was nigh unto us, and spake with us, shewing unto us our lost and and undone estate; and sometimes made our hearts burn within us: But now, blessed be the Lord, who by the Light which he hath caused to shine in our hearts, he hath shewed us our selves, our sins, and he who is the father of them, and hath, and is opening the Mysteries of his Kingdom, which consists in Righteousness and Peace, for such a dwelling we wanted: And he hath, and is making known a measure of the Spirit, even of that same Spirit which raised up Jesus from the dead, in the hearts of his People; and this is that Gift that is Eternal Life, given of the Father to rescue, and redeem, and save lost man, from the power of Death, to bring him out of the house of Bondage and deep Captivity, into the glorious Liberty of his only Son, who said, Father, I pray thee, let all those whom thou hast given me, be where I am; these alone reign and triumph in the Life Eternal over Hell and Death. Oh Friends! surely we were that Multitude that was an hungry, which now our Lord Jesus hath caused to sit down, and satisfieth us with the Bread of Life, many times and of­ten, that now we can say, The Son of God is come and hath given us an under­standing, whereby we know him that is true, even the true God, and Eternal Life, who is become our Leader and our Guide, even to us who once went astray, as sheep w [...]out a Shepher [...] but how by his Spirit, we are brought to the shep­herd and Bishop of our souls, and now is he leading us in the way of righteousness, and is teaching us according to his Promise, who said, All the Sons and Daugh­ters of the Lord shall be taught of him, and he is gently leading the weak and ten­der ones, in a way that they did not know, which hath caused them to admire the goodness, power, and mercy o [...] the Lord, who, in the greatest trials, hath been with them, and secretly hath upheld them, and them delivered many a time, out of the snares of the enemy of their souls. By him we have seen the mountains re­moved and the very high hills laid low, at the sight of w ^ch we somtimes were ready to faint, saying in our hearts, We shall never get over them, then hath he made the Mountains as a Plain, and the Hills as the low Valeys: Thus he hath pre­pared an even path for the just and upright ones to walk in. Therefore fear not, neither be d [...]smayed, ye called▪ chosen, and Beloved of the Lord, though your Enemies be many and mighty, and appear as the sons of Ahab did to Israel, and you seem to them as Grashoppers; of this be ye sure, our God never chang­eth, but is the same unto his people, yesterday, to day, and for ever; who delivered David out of the mouth of the Lyon, and out of the paw of the Bear, and in the name of the Lord he ove came the great uncircumcised Philistim. The Lord also preserved his Servant Daniel in the Lyons Den, and Job in his greatest tryals, and Jonah in the Belly of a Whale, and Paul in his dangerous Voyage at Sea▪ he also by his power brought Israel through the Sea, as upon dry land▪ and gave them food from Heaven in the Wilderness, he was as a Cloud to them in the day time, and as a Fire to give them light in the night season. Oh great is the Lord, and greatly to be feared, and admired in all his Saints, who is dreadful and mighty in power, who doeth all things according to his pleasure: The Earth is his, he framed it, and the great and wide Sea he hath made, and by his power he ruleth it▪ he brings the Wind out of his Treasure, and then the Sea is troubled, then he speaks the word, and it is still again. Oh ye children of the Lord, have we not seen of his wonders, and been eye witnesses of his mighty works? hath he not heard our cry, in the day of our d [...]stress, and given ear to our complaint? Yes, he hath heard from his Holy Habitation, and hath answered in loving-kindness; he also satisfieth the poor, and refresheth the needy with his presence, who without him cannot live, nor be satisfied with any thing but the Bread of life, that comes from him; and for those he spreads a Table, and feeds them, though they are as in a wilderness, and giveth them bread that the world knows not of. Well my Friends, Did the Lord hear and answer our cries in the dayes past? when we were as Ephraim, bemoaning our selves, and as David, thinking we were cast out of his sight; yet did we look to that which was holy, which God had manifested in us, and back again into the world we could not go, neither would the shadows of the Heavenly things satisfie us, but the substance, that we earnestly desired: And now the Lord, by the light of his Son▪ hath made known himself unto us, and hath let us see, that he hath waited long to be gracious, and hath watched over us as a tender Father; and since we knew him to be our God, he hath been good unto us, and hath appeared for us, in rebuking our adversaries, and in driving back and over­coming our Enemies within and without: And when the Dragon hath been hath been wrath with us, his people, which he hath gathered and [...] up in his holy Seed, then he hath caused the Earth to help us, and to drink up the Fl [...]ods that the Dragon hath cast out of his mouth, on purpose to drown us. Therefore fear not, O Daughter of Zion, whose dwelling is outwardly as in Sodom or Baby­lon, and thou at some times hast been ready to say, Thy God hath forgotten thee, and the Lord hath forsaken thee, because thou hast been derided of the wicked, and hast been the Song of the ungodly all the day long, and in departing from ini­quity thou art made a prey; thou hast been even as a Chased Roe, or as a Sheep alone, that no man taketh up; and thy enemies have been many, that have compassed thee about, and pursued thee as Pharaohs Host. Yet now arise Oh Zion, for thy light is come, and thy Glory is risen, and thy enemies are men, and not God, and their Horses are flesh and not spirit: therefore fear not man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for what is he before the Lord, when he stretcheth forth his hand for the sake of his own Seed, when he calls them from the East and from the West, and saith to the North give up, and to the South hold not back? then who can hinder the purpose of the Lord, who doth whatsoever pleaseth him. Therefore all ye tender Ones, and ye feeble of the Flock, who are afraid of miscarrying, and cry because of your weakness, and of the strength of your Enemies within and without, and are ready to say in your hearts, we shall never hold out to the end, and this, even the thoughts of it, is your greatest grief; for you matter not what you may suffer, so you may hold out to the end, that your God may be honoured, and his Truth, or which you are made partakers, advanced, and many that yet are scattered, into it may be gathered, by it to be set free from the pollutions of the world; this I know you heartily desire. Oh ye tender Ones, whosoever ye are, lift up your Heads, and let not your ponderous thoughts cause you to droop; for in weakness is God ordaining strength, and out of the mouths of his Babes shall come perfect praises, and power from him alone shall be received by the faithful, to answer his requirings; For all our sufficiency is of and from the Lord, and they that wait on him shall renew their strength. This I am a witness of: Therefore now let Israel trust in the Lord, and know him to be all their stay, waiting diligently in the meek and quiet spirit upon him, so shall they never be confounded: For this is the day, wherein God is separating the Chaff from the Wheat, and is put­ting a difference between them that fear him, and them that fear him not; and them that Swear, and them that fear an Oath, though against the last of these, even against those that fear an Oath, a grievous Law is made and now is the cry, We have a Law, and by it you shall suffer, surely this is not added, because of trans­gression, which the ancient Laws were, but because there is a people that cannot transgress the Law of their God, therefore there is a cry, Its not for our profit to let these abide in our Land. But this let all know, That the Lord hath called us to be a people, and hath gathered us into his innocent life of righteousness, and to this day hath been our Defence, when our Enemies were many. And this also is a great cry against us, because we meet together, to wait upon, and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth: Therefore are we persecuted, carried before Ma­gistrates, and cast i [...]to Prison; so that now it is with us, as it was with the People of God in the days of old, when the snare was upon Mizpeh, and a spread net upon Mount Tabor. Notwithstanding all this, ye dear Children of the Lord, meet together in Gods Name, Fear and Authority, having the loines of your minds girded up, and your hearts fixed on the Lord, and none forsake the Assemblies of the faithful, neither let in the fear of Man, who can kill the body and can do no more; for many of you hath the Lord deeply tried, and many of our brethren have laid down their lives, as the faithful▪ Martyrs of Jesus, giving glory to the name of the Lord; and we know that the Lord was no hard Master, but hath given us power according to our trials, and in Prisons he hath been and is with us; therefore let none be troubled because of the Law for Banishment, neither let your faith fail, because of the great and wide Sea: but now stand still and see the salvation of God, which is to be revealed to those that faithfully follow the Lamb wheresoever he goeth. Be stedfast, and unmovable, alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord, committing your cause to him, waiting in the meek and quiet spirit upon the Lord, his counsel to receive, that as the heart of one man, with one consent, ye may worship, and bless, and praise the Almighty God in the sense of his love; so his blessing will rest upon the whole Camp, and his invisible Power will be your Shield in the greatest tryals, you to defend and preserve in peace with your God; this my soul greatly desiers. This as a token of my love unto you (by the breath of Life) for the stirring up of your pure minds, and that none may fear those things which they may suffer, but that your trust may be in the Lord, and your strength in the mighty God. Thus having none other way to express what is in mine heart towards you, but in writing, I bid you Farewel.

Let this be Read in the Fear, Dread and Wisdom of God, in the Meetings of the Children of the First-born.