WHO are scattered up and downe the face of the earth through their Re­bellion against the Lord, and for the breaking of his Commandements, and Statutes which he cammanded them by his servant Moses, which the Lord sent to bring their fore-fathers out of Aegypt, Deut: 4. Therefore now hear­ken O Israel unto the Statutes and judgements which I teach you, for to doe them, that yee may live, verse the 1. your eyes have seene what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: For all the men that followed Baal-peor the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you, verse 3.

When Israel was a Child, then I loved him, and called my Son out of Aegypt, saith the Lord, Hosea, 11.1. And Da­vid saith, Thou hast brought a Vine out of Aegypt: thou hast cast out the Heathen and planted it. Thou preparest roome be­fore it, and diddest cause it to take deepe Roote, and it fill'd the Land. Psal: 80.8, 9. But now O Israel, is that fullfilled up­on you, which Moses the servant of the Lord foretould of you, Deut. 4.18.19. who was sent to bring Israel out of Aegypt, who said, when thou shalt beget Children, and chil­drens children: and shall have remained long in the Land, and shall corrupt your selves, and make a graven Image, or the likenesse of any thing: and shall doe evill in the sight of the [Page 2]Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger, I call Heaven and earth to witnesse against you this day; that you shall soone utterly perish, from off the Land whereon ye goe over Jordan to possesse it. Yee shall not prolong your dayes upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the Nati­ons, and yee shall be few in Number among the Heathen, whether the Lord shall lead you, and there you shall serve Gods, the worke of mens hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor heare, nor eate nor smell: which is now fullfilled upon you this day, as verse 25, 26, 27, 28. Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah by all the Prophets, and by all the Seers, saying, turne you from your evill wayes, and keepe my Commandements, and my Statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your Fathers, and which I sent to you by my Servants the Prophets: notwithstanding they would not heare, but hardened their necks, like to the necks of their Fa­thers, that did not believe in the Lord their God: but rejected his Statutes, and his Covenant, 2 Kings 17.13 14.

And therefore the Lord hath rejected all the Seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of the spoilers, (for he rent Israel from the House of Da­vid and Solomon) and they made Jeroboam the Son of Nebat King, 2 King 17.23. and ver. 20, 21. So the Lord hath re­moved Israel out of his sight, as he said by all his Servants the Prophets; for saith the Lord unto Jeremy: though Mo­ses and Samuel stood before me, yet my minde could not be to­wards this people, cast them out of my sight, and let them goe forth, Jerem: 15.1, 2. So Captive into Babylon are ye car­ried, and cast out from the sight and presence of the Lord, and turned backe into Aegypt and Sodome you are: And there are you worshipping the Host of heaven: according to the words of Moses, Deut. 4.15, 16, 17, 18, 19. Though the Lord hath often called you by his servants the Prophets, as he did Jeremiah when he made him goe down to the Potters house, and shewed him the vessell that was made of clay, was mar­red in the hand of the Potter, so he made it againe another vessell, as it seemed good to the Potter; Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying Oh house of Israel cannot I [Page 3]doe with you as this Potter, saith the Lord. Behold as the clay is in the Potters hand: So are yee in my hand, Oh house of Israel, as you may read Jeremiah the 18. throughout the whole Chapter.

Therefore heare the word of the Lord, thou who art cal­led Mannasseth Ben Israel, (who art come into this English Nation with all the rest of thy Brethren) which is a Land of gathering, where the Lord God is fullfilling his promise, who hath said, for a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercy will I gather thee, Isai: 54.7, 8. And this is full­filled in our day. And the Rod which Isaiah Prophecied of which should come forth out of the stem of Jesse, and the branch that grows out of his Roots, & the Spirit of the Lord rests upon him, the Spirit of wisdome and understanding, the Spirit of Councel and of Might, the Spirit of Knowledge, and of the feare of the Lord, Isaiah 11. And with righte­ousnesse doth he judge the poore, and reprove with equitie for the meeke of the earth. And he doth smite the earth with the Rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips doth he slay the wicked, and he is set up an Ensigne for the Nati­ons, and he assembles the out-casts of Israel: and gathers to­gether the dispersed of Judah, from the foure corners of the earth, and this is fullfilled in this our day in this Nation; glo­ry and prayses be to the living and faithfull God for ever­more. Therefore you who from the Lord is turned and gone astray, see from whence ye are fallen, from the living and true God, are yee driven and seperated. If thou wilt returne Oh Israel saith the Lord, returne unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations from before me, thou shalt not remove; and thou shalt sweare, that the Lord liveth in truth, in judge­ment, and in righteousnesse, the Nations shall blesse themselves in him, and in him shall they glory, Jerem: 4.1, 2.

But no the vision of Isaiah the Son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the dayes of Vziah, Jo­atham, Ahaz and Ezekiah Kings of Judah, is fullfilled upon you, heare Oh heavens, and give eare Oh earth, for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The Oxe knoweth his owner, [Page 4]and the Asse his Masters Crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider, Isaiah 1.1, 2. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me saith the Lord. I am full of burnt Offerings of Rams, and the fat of beasts, and I delight not in the blood of Bullocks, or of Lambs, or of hee Goats. When yee come before me who hath required this at your hands, to tread my Courts; bring no more vaine oblations; incence is an abomination unto me; your new Moones, and Sabboths, and cal­ling of assemblies, I cannot away with it, it is iniquity even your solemne meetings, and your appointed feasts my soule hateth, they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to beare them: and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when you make many prayers, I will not heare: your hands are full of blood Isaiah 1.11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Heare the Lord God testifies against you, and the abomination of your worship, and heare you are found worshipping the ima­gination of your own hearts, and the host of heaven which the Lord God declares against; this is fullfilled upon you this day; and heare you are seperated from the true and living God and his worship, and knows him not so much as the Ox knowes his owner, or the Asse his Masters Crib there­fore cease from your abomination, and turne to the living God, and him dread, and him feare, who is the dread of all Nations, at whose presence the mountaines shall melt, and the hills be removed, and the Rocks rent, who is a consum­ing fire to the wicked; now is he risen who shakes terribly the earth, and brings downe all the loftinesse of man, and the haughtinesse of men, and the Lord alone is to be ex­alted in this his day. Therefore hearken diligently that your soules may live, and give not your money, for that which is not bread, nor your labour for that which perisheth: but hearken to the pure Law of God in your hearts which Moses taught Israel.

If thou wilt hearken to the voyce of the Lord thy God, to keepe his Commandements and his Statutes, which are written in this booke of the Law, and if thou turne unto the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soule, for this Commandement which I command thee this day, [Page 5]is not hidden from thee, neither is it farre off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, who shall goe up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that wee may heare it, and doe it: neither is beyond the Sea, that thou shouldest say, who shall goe over the Sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may heare it, and doe it; but the Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest doe it. Deut. 30.10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Thereforne returne to the Law and to the Testimony, Isa. 8.20. if they speake not according to this word, it is because is no light in them, that so you may witnesse this Scripture fullfilled, The people that walked in darknesse have seene a great light, they that dwell in the land of the shaddow of death, upon them hath the light shined, Isa. 9.2. Moses the Servant of the Lord saith; The Lord thy God will raise unto thee a Prophet from the middest of thy brethren, unto him shall yee hearken. And the Lord said unto mee, Deut. 18.15.18. I will raise them up a Prophet like unto thee; and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speake unto them all that I shall command him: and it shall come to passe, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speake in my name, I will require it of him. Therefore as yee love your Eternall peace, hearken to the Prophet which the Lord hath raised, who saith goe not forth, but saith the word is nigh in thy mouth, and in thy heart, as Moses did; And if ever you come to know the true and living God, you must hearken to this Prophet which calls your minds to within, for by this doth the living God teach his people himselfe. But this Law, and this Testimony hath been sealed up from you, according as Isaias prophecyed, Isa: 8.16. And therefore hath he been for a stone of stumbling, for a rocke of offence to both the houses of Israell, for a ginne and for a snare to the inha­bitants of Jerusalem. And therefore hath many among you stumbled and fallen, and been broken, and snared and taken. And David saith, The mouth of the Righteous speaketh wis­dome, and his tongue talketh of Judgement: the Law of God is in his heart, none of his stepps shall slide, Psal. 38.30, 31. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the Counsell of the un­godly, [Page 6]but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doth he meditate day and night, Psal. 1. The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soule; the Testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple, Psal. 19.7. So to the sure Law and Testimony turne your minds, that it may be unto you a Lampe unto your feete, and a light unto your pathes. And the dayes are come which the Prophet Jeremy prophecyed off; Behold the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israell, and with the house of Judah; not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers, in the dayes that I tooke him by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my Covenant they brake, al­though I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Is­raell, Jer. 31.31, 32, 33, 34. after those dayes, saith the Lord, I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, say­ing, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least, even unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. And the Lord by the Prophet Ezekiell saith; Therefore will I save my flocke, and they shall no more be a prey: and I will set up one Shepheard over them, and he shall seed them, even my servant David, and he shall be their Shepheard: and I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a praise amongst them, I the Lord hath spoken it, Ezek: 34.22, 23, 24. And the Lord saith by Isaiah the Prophet; Because yee have said, we have made a Covenant with Death, and with Hell wee are at agreement, when the over-flowing Scourge shall passe through: it shall not come unto us; for wee have made lyes our refuge, and under falshood have we hid our selves.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold I lay in Sion for a foundation a Stone, a tryed Stone, a precious Corner stone, a sure foundation; he that beleeveth shall not make hast; Judge­ment also will he lay to the line, and righteousnesse to the plum­met, Isa. 28.15, 16, 17. And the haile shall sweepe away the refuge of lyes, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place, [Page 7]and your Covenant with Death shall be Disanul'd, and your agreement with Hell shall not stand, when the over-flowing Scourge shall passe thorow; then shall you be trodden downe by it. Therefore now that ye may escape the over-flowing Scourge, and be hid in the Day of the Lords feirce wrath; turne to the Lord God, who calls you, who waites to be gracious to you, and give over making a Covenant with Hell and Death, and of making lyes your refuge, for that will not stand in this the Day of the Lords pure appearing. For the tryed stone is risen, the sure foundation who layes Judgement to the lyne, and righteousnesse to the plummet, and nothing will be accepted of him, but that which is pure and just. Therefore to the pure light and Law in the in­ward parts turne your mindes, which shewes you your e­vill deeds, and makes manifest sin, and evill, and shewes you the thoughts of your hearts (which is vaine) that lodg­eth in you. This will rip you up, and lay you open, and make all the deceit of your heart appeare, that which none can accuse you of, which you act in secret, this will reprove, this teacheth in secret, and is alwayes present, when you are upon your beds, this is present, where ever you goe, or what ever you are about, from this you cannot fly, this is the voyce which calls behind you, this is the way walke in it. Here you will come to drinke of the still waters of Shiloe, which goe softly, which the Lord spoke of to Isaiah the Prophet, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloe which goeth softly, and rejoyce in Rezin, and Remaliahs Sonne; Now therefore the Lord bringeth upon them the waters strong and many, even the King of Assyria, Isa: 8.6, 7. And David saith; Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our secret sinnes in the light of thy Countenance, Psal: 90.8. And againe he saith, He that dwelleth in the se­cret place of the most high, shall abide under the shaddow of the Allmightie, Psal. 91.1. So here is your way to know the living God, if ever you know him to your peace, and no o­ther way or name under heaven, shall any one ever know him by. Therefore now to the Law and to the Testimony [Page 8]written in your hearts, the word which is nigh in the heart, which Moses speaks of; here keep the fast to the Lord; For this is the fast which he hath chosen, to loose the bonds of wick­nesse, and to undoe the heavie burthens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and to breake every yoake. Then shall thy light breake forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedi­ly: and thy righteousnesse shall goe before thee; and the glo­ry of the Lord shall be thy Rereward. And if thou draw out thy soule to the hungry, and satisfie the afflicted soule: then shall thy light arise in obscurity, and thy darknesse be as the noone day. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfie thy soule in drought, and make fatt thy bones. And thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a Spring, whose waters failes not. Isa: 58.6.8, 9, 10, 11.

Therefore Israell arise and shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, for behold the darknesse shall cover the Earth, and grosse Darknesse the people: But the glory of the Lord shall rise upon thee, Isa: 60.1, 2. So this is the Day of thy Visitation, awake, awake, Stand up, oh Jerusalem, which hast drunke at the hand of the Lord the Cup of his fury, thou hast drunken the dregges of the Cup of trembling, and wrung them out. And yet there is none to guide thee amongst all the sonnes which thou hast brought forth, neither is there any that taketh thee by thy hand of all the sonnes that thou hast brought up, Isa: 51.17, 18. And the Lord hath seene this, and wondered that there is no intersessor. There­fore hath his arme brought Salvation unto thee, and his righteousnesse hath susteined thee. And the Redeemer is come to Sion, and unto them that turne from transgressi­on in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for mee, this is my Cove­nant with them, saith the Lord, my Spirit which is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed; nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth for evermore, Isa: 59.20, 21.

Thus saith the Lord, where is the bill of your mothers [Page 9]Devorcement, whom I have put away; or to which of my Creditors is it to whom I sould you. Behold, for your ini­quities have you sould your selves, and for your transgressi­on is your mother put away. Wherefore when I called there was none to answer, is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeeme; or have I not power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke, I dry up the Sea, and makes the Rivers a Wildernesse. I Cloth the Heavens with blacknes: and makes Sackcloth your covering The Lord hath given mee the tongue of the Learned, that I should know how to speake a word in season to him that is a weary, Isa: 50.1, 2, 3, 4. Thus saith the Lord, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom my Soule delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth Judgement to the Gentiles. A bruised reed shall hee not breake; and the smoaking flax, shall he not Quench: he shall bring forth Judgement unto truth; he shall not faile, nor be discoura­ged; till he have set Judgement in the Earth: and the Iles shall waite for his Law, Isa: 42.1, 2, 3, 4.

Therefore to this pure Law turne your minds, and waite, for this is hee which brings Salvation, unto Jewes and Gen­tiles: the Elect obtaines deliverance. I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my Mountaine, and mine Elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. They shall not build, and another inha­bit; they shall not plant, and another eate. For as the dayes of a tree, are the dayes of my people, and mine Elect shall long enjoy the worke of their hands, Isa: 56.9.22. Therefore feare the Lord God, and give over looking out­ward, for now the Lord is gone forth as a mighty man, and his Jelousie is stirring up like a man of warre. And now is he Roaring against his Enemies: I have long hol­den my peace, saith the Lord; I have been still, and refrai­ned my selfe: now will I cry like a travelling woman. I will destroy and devoure at once, and I will make waste, Mountaines, and hills, and dry up all their hearbs, and I will make the Rivers Islands, and I will dry up all their [Page 10]Pooles, and I will bring the blind by a way that they know not, and I will lead them in pathes that they have not knowne, and I will make darknesse light before them, and crooked things straight; and these things will I doe unto them, and not forsake them; and they shall be tur­ned backe: They shall be greatly ashamed that trust in graven Images; that say to the moulten Images yee are our gods. Heare yee deafe, and looke yee blind, that yee may see, this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your eares. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon mee, because the Lord hath appoynted mee, to preach good tyding to the meeke; hee hath sent mee to bind up the broken-hearted, to pro­claime libertie to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaime the accepta­ble yeare of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God: and to comfort all that mourne, to appoint unto them that mourne in Sion, to give them beauty for ashes, and the oyle of Joy for mourning, the garment of prayse for the Spirit of heavinesse, that they might be called the trees of righteousnesse, the planting of the Lord; that he might be glorified.

And now is the Lord God planting, and now is he ga­thering unto his Sheep-fould; where there is but one Shep­heard. The Lord is well-pleased for his righteousnesse sake; and now is he magnifying his righteous Law, and making it honourable: and fullfilling his promise, and teaching his people himselfe, by the pure Law written in the heart, Isa. 42.13, 14. and so forwards, & Isa: 61.1, 2, 3.

Therefore to this Law turne your minds, to the pure light in your consciences, that you may come to witnesse the Word of the Lord fullfilled that came to Jeremiah; For loe the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will bring againe the captivitie of my people Israell, and Judah, saith the Lord, and I will cause them to returne to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall possesse it. And these are the words which the Lord spake concerning Israell, and concerning [Page 11] Judah. For thus saith the Lord, we have heard a voyce of trembling, of feare, and not of peace: Aske yee now, and see whether a man doth travell with Childe. Wherefore doe I see every man with his hands on his loynes as a wo­man in travell, and all faces are turned into palenesse. Alas for that day is great, so that none is like it: It is e­ven the time of Jocobs trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to passe in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will breake his yoake from off thy necke, and will burst thy bonds; and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him; But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King, whom I will raise up unto them, Jeremy 30.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Behold the Dayes come saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall raigne and prosper, and shall execute Judgement, and Justice in the Earth, and in his dayes Judah shall be saved, and Israell shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousnesse, Jeremy 23.5.6.

Goe and proclaime these words towards the North, and say, Returne thou back-sliding Israell, saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you; for I am mercifull saith the Lord, and will not keepe anger for ever, Jeremy 3.12.

And now that the Lord calls you, turne to the Lord that you may come to say, Surely after that I was turned I re­pented, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea even confounded, because I did beare the reproach of my youth, Jeremy 31.19. Deut: 30. Returne yee back-sliding Children, and I will heale your back­sliding, saith the Lord: behold we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God: truly in vaine is salvation ho­ped for from the hills, and from the multitude of moun­taines: truely the Lord our God is the salvation of Israell. And now is the Lord risen, and his light is shining, and the Gentiles come to his light, and the Kings to the brightnesse of his rising, they all gather themselves together, they come [Page 12]together, thy sonnes shall come from farre, and thy daugh­ters shall be nursed at thy side. The eyes of the blind shall be opened; the eares of the Deafe shall be unstopped, then shall the lame man leape as a Hart, and the tongue of the Dumbe sing; for in the Wildernesse shall waters breake out, and streamings in the Desart, and the parched ground shall become a poole, and the thirsty land, Springs of water, and the habitation of Dragons, where each lay, shall be grasse with reeds and rushes, and an high way shall be there, and a way that shall be called a way of holinesse, the uncleane shall not passe over it, but it shall be for those the way-fareing men, though fooles shall not erre therein, Isa: 35.5, 6, 7, 8. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the Deafe that have eares: let all the Nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled; who among them can declare this, and shew us former things, let them bring forth their witnesses that they may be Justi­fied; or let them heare and say it is truth, Isa: 43.8, 9. Therefore turne to the Lord, that your deafe eares may heare, your blind eyes see, and the lame may leape like an Hart, and the dumbe sing. And you who are erred and gone astray from the Lord returne, that you may know your habitation to be in the Lord; for Cain who went from the Command of the Lord, was driven out that day from the face of the Lord, he was hid, and a fugitive, and a vagabond he is, and knowes no habitation. And so is all the untoward Generation, who from the Lord God is turned. I taught Ephraim also to goe, saith the Lord, taking them by their armes, but they knew not that I healed them: I drew them with the coards of a man, and with the bonds of love. And I was to them as they that take off the yoake that layd on their Jawes, and I laid meate unto them, Hosea 11.3, 4.

Now the free grace of the everlasting God, is offered to you this day, and therefore returne to the pure light, and Law written in the heart which is Spirituall, just, and good, and by that let your minds be guided and led up to God, [Page 13]who is light, who hath said I will be a light to Israel. There­fore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among the fat ones leannesse, and under his glory, he shall kinde a burn­ing, like unto the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his holy one for a flame, and it shall burne, and devoure his thornes, and his Briers in one day, Isa. 10.16, 17. And this Scripture ye shall witnesse full­filled, and therefore repent and returne speedily to the light, which now shines in your Consciences, which shewes your sin, and evill, which will turne your minds toward the li­ving God, and lead you into the way of truth. And by no o­ther way under heaven shall ye ever know the true and li­ving God; for the time is come which Isaiah Prophecied of, Isa. 2.2, 3. And it shall come to passe, in the last dayes saith the Lord, that the mountaine of the Lords House, shall be established in the top of the mountaines; and shall be exalted above the hills, and all the Nations shall flow un­to it. And many people shall goe, and say; come ye and let us goe up to the mountaine of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us of his wayes, and we will walke in his pathes, for out of Sion shall goe forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Therefore to the Law that goes from Sion, which the Lord God hath written in the heart; and to the word that goes from Jerusalem, which is nigh in the heart, and in the mouth, for the Lord is exalted, he dwelleth on high, he hath filled Sion with judgement, and righteousnesse, Isa. 33.5. Sion shall be redeemed with judgement, and her converts with righteousnesse, Isaiah 1.27. verse.

For there shall be a day, that the watch men upon mount Ephraim shall cry, arise ye and let us goe up to Sion, unto the Lord our God, Ierem. 31.6. In those dayes, and in that time saith the Lord, the Children of Israel shall come, they and the Children of Judah together, going and weep­ing, they shall goe and seeke the Lord their God, they shall aske the way to Sion, with their faces thither-ward. Say­ing come, and let us Joyne our selves to the Lord, in a per­petuall [Page 14]Covenant that shall not be forgotten, Ierem. 50.4, 5. Now if you will know the way to Sion, turne your faces thither-ward, and turne your minds to that of God, which ioynes to the Lord; which calls your mind in, out of the visible and outward things, unto that which is in­ward, and invisible turne your minds, for God is an invisible God, and no mortall eye can behold him; and that eye which sees God, is invisible, and that eare that heares God, is invisible, and that which worships God, is invisible, and the house where the Lord God is worshipped, is invisible: and this you shall witnesse, to be the way to Sion, if ever you know it, or finde it. Thus saith the Lord, the Heaven is my Throne, and the earth is my Footstoole, where is the house that yee will build unto me, where is the place of my Rest, for all these things hath my hand made: and all these things hath been saith the Lord. But to this man will I looke, even to him that is poore and of a contrite Spirit, and trembleth at my word, Isa. 66.1, 2.

Now here you may see where the Lord will be worship­ped, not in outward Temples, or outward Synagogues made with hands; But the time is come, that the Lord will be worshipped in Spirit, in the inward man. Therefore cease from your outward Temples, and Synagogues, for the day is come, that the Idolls of Silver and Gould, which every one hath made for himselfe to worship, they must be cast to the moules, and to the Batts. Their Land also is full of Idolls, they worship the worke of their own hands, that which their owne fingers have made. Isa. 2.20.8. And he will cause their Idolls utterly to abollish. For the feare of the Lord is risen, and the glory of his Majesty, he who shakes terribly the earth is come; for the voyce of them that fly, and escape out of the Land of Babylon, doth de­clare in Sion, the vengence of the Lord our God, the ven­gence of his Temple: for Babylon is to be destroyed, because it is the vengeance of the Lord; and the vengeance of his Temple. Reade the fiftie and the fiftie-one Chapters of Je­remiah, and there you may reade at large the Controversie [Page 15]that the Lord hath with Babylon, and her Idolls. A voyce of noyse from the Citie, a voyce from the Temple, a voyce of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his Enemies, Isai 66.6.

And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keepe my Cove­nant, thou and thy seed after thee, in their Generations, and yee shall Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the Covenant betwixt me, and you, Gen. 17.11. And Moses the servant of the Lord, saith; And now, oh Is­raell, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to feare the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soule, to keepe the Commandements of the Lord, and his Sta­tutes which I command thee this day for thy good. Behold the heaven, and the heaven of heavens is the Lords thy God, the Earth also, with all that therein is, onely the Lord had a de­light in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circum­cise therefore the foreskin of your hearts, and be no more stiffe necked, for the Lord your God, is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God and mighty, and a terrible, which regard­eth not persons, nor taketh reward, Deut. 10.12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

And againe, when Moses prophecyed of the returne of the Captivity, Deut. 30. from the first to the sixth. And he saith, the Lord thy God will Circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soule, that thou mayst live. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Breake up your fallow ground, and sowe not among thornes: Circum­cise your selves to the Lord, and take away the foreskin of your hearts yee men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusa­lem, least my fury come forth like fire, and burne that none can quench it; Because of the evill of your doings. This Circumcision is not outward; Therefore to that which Cir­cumciseth the heart, turne your minds, to that which rents the heart, and plowes up the fallow ground, and washeth [Page 16]away the filth of the flesh, and taketh away the foreskin of your hearts. David cryed, Wash me thorowly from mine ini­quity, and cleanse me from my sinne, purge me, and I shall be cleane, wash me, and I shall be whiter then snow, Psalme 51. Oh Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickednesse, that thou mayest be saved, how long shall thy vaine thoughts lodge within thee? Jerem: 4.14. And it shall come to passe, that he that is left in Sion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is writ­ten among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughter of Sion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the Spirit of Judgement, and by the Spirit of burning. And this is the Circumcision, this takes away the foreskin, and plowes up the fallow-ground of the heart.

Therefore to that which Circumciseth the heart, turne your minds to within; for that is not Circumcision which is outward, but that is Circumcision which is of the heart: And wee are the Circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and have no Confidence in the flesh, and this, if ever you know the true & living God, you shall beare testimony too, to be truth and love to your soules.

Therefore to the pure Law of God written in the Inward parts turne your minds, that so you may come to love the Lord with all your heart, and be Circumcised with the Cir­cumcision made without hands, which washeth away the filth of the flesh, and takes away the foreskin of your heart, and changeth your natures; for this is that which avayleth, even the new Creature.

And for your Sabboths which yee looke upon to be out­ward, this likewise you must come to know to be within; for them that escapes from the sword, which hath been car­ried away unto Babylon, must know, their rest, and their dwelling-place to be in the Lord For the Lord God of your Fathers hath sent unto you his Messengers, rising up betimes, because he had compassion on you, and on his dwel­ling-place. But you have mocked the Messengers of God, [Page 17]and despised his words, and abused his Prophets, untill the wrath of God rose against you. Therefore hath he brought upon you the King of the Chaldees, who hath slaine the young-men in the house of your Sanctuary, and hath had no compassion. And all the vessells of the house of God, and they have burnt the house of God, and broken downe the walls of Jerusalem, and all to fullfill the word of the Lord, untill the Land had enjoyed her Sabboths: For as long as shee lay desolate, shee kept Sabboths, as you may reade in the 2 Kings 36. And now is the time come, and accomplish­ed, that your enemies are to be punished, and yee may come to know your Sabboth, and your rest in the Lord; For loe, the dayes come saith the Lord, that I will bring againe the captivitie of my people Israell, and Judah, and I will cause them to returne to the land that I gave to your forefathers, and they shall possesse it. For I know the thoughts that I thinke to you, saith the Lord, even, the thoughts of peace. Then shall you call upon me, and yee shall goe and pray unto mee, and I will hearken unto you, and yee shall seeke mee and finde mee, when yee shall search for mee with all your hearts.

In those dayes, and at that time, will I cause the branch of Righteousnesse to grow up unto David, and he shall exe­cute Judgement, and Righteousnesse in the Land; In those dayes shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safe­ly, and this is the name wherewith he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousnesse. For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man, to sit upon the throne of the house of Israell, Jerem: 33.16, 17. This is he that is the Lord of the Sabboth. And when thou comes not to turne away thy foote from this Sabboth, and call this Sabbath a delight, then shalt thou delight thy selfe in the Lord, and he shall cause thee to ride upon the high place of the Earth.

Therefore turne to the Lord God, who is the rest of his people, and turne your minds to the measure of God in you, by which the Lord God leades, and teacheth, and guides his people, and there you will come to know and finde the true Sabbath, and rest to your soules. For with stammering lips, [Page 18]and another tongue, will he speake to this people, to whom he said, this is the rest, wherewith yee may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, and yet they would not heare, Isa: 28.11, 12.

And now is that fullfilled which Hosea spoke of in the 2. and 11th verse; I will also cause all her mirth to cease; her feasts, her new Moones, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemne feasts. And all your outward washings, and carnall Ordi­nances, and Sacrifices, is the Lord weary of, they are abomi­nation unto him; he that killeth an Oxe, as if he slew a man, he that sacrificeth a Lambe, as if he cut off a doggs necke, he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swines blood, he that burneth Incense, as if he blessed an Idoll. Yea they have Chosen their owne wayes, and their soule delighteth in their abominations, Isa: 66.3.

Sacrifice and offerings thou doest not desire, mine eares hast thou opened: burnt-offerings, and sin-offerings, thou hast not required; and David saith, O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy prayse: for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit, a broken, and a contrite heart, O God, thou oest not despise, Psal: 51.15, 16, 17. For I the Lord love Judgement, I hate Robbery for burnt-offerings, I will direct their worke in truth. And I will make an everlasting Covenant with them, Isaiah 61.8. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, then said I, loe I come, in the volume of thy booke it is written of me, I delight to doe thy will Oh God: yea, thy Law is within my heart, Psal: 40.7, 8.

This is the offering the Lord accepts, this is the sacri­fice the Lord delights in, the knowledge of God, the keep­ing of his Law, the fullfilling of his will. Therefore to the Lord God turne, for obedience is better then sacrifice, and to hearken, then the fatt of Rammes: and in the obedience to the pure measure of the light and Law of God, you will come to know the inward washing and cleansing, and so come to answer the Lord, who saith, Wash you, and make [Page 19]you cleane, put away the evill of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to doe evill, learne to doe well, seeke Judgement: Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord, though your sinnes be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wooll: if yee be willing and obedient, yee shall eate the good of the Land: but if you refuse and rebell, yee shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, Isa: 1.16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Therefore give over your outward washings, your out­ward observances and Ceremonies, and carnall ordinances, they are beggarly and filthy, the Lord abhorres them; your Temple, and your Synagogues, that is outward, your Cir­cumcision that is outward, your Sabbath, that is outward, your burnt offerings and sacrifices which is outward, your calling of assemblyes and solemne Feasts; For all those things saith the Lord, doth my soule hate. For behold the Lord will come with fire, and with Chariotts like a whirlewinde, to render his anger with fury, and his re­bukes with flames of fire: for by fire, and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slaine of the Lord shall he many, Isa: 66.15, 16. For behold the whirlewinde of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirle-winde, it shall fall with paine upon the head of the wicked, the feirce anger of the Lord shall not returne untill he hath done it, untill he hath performed the intent of his heart; in the latter day yee shall consider it, Jerem: 30.23, 24.

Therefore Consider this yee that forget God, least I teare you in peices, and there be none to deliver; now you have time prize it, this is the day of your visitation, wherein the Lord God hath visited you, and called you, and shewed you the way of peace, which shall be an eternall witnesse for the living God against you, if yee rebell against it; for Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornnesse, is as iniquity and Idolatry, and if yee reject the word of the Lord, hee will also reject you. So turne to the Lord who calls you, why will yee dye, that so you may come to know the living [Page 20]and true God, who desires that all should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, who calls, Turne a­gaine O Virgin of Israell, turne againe to the Cities, how long wilt thou goe about O back-sliding daughter; for the Lord hath created a new thing in the Earth, a woman shall com­passe a man; but to you this is a mystery, and to all who are running abroad, whoreing in your Imaginations; therefore to that which calls your minds to within turne, that so you may come to witnesse your Law to be inward written in the heart, and your Covenant new, which cannot be bro­ken. And this is the Covenant which the Lord made with Abraham, And your Temple to be spirituall, which is made of living Stones, Elect and pretious, and your Cir­cumcision to be inward of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter; That so you may come to offer the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, which is the sacrifice God ac­cepts, and to be obedient to the measure committed to you, which is better then your outward sacrifice. And so that you may not onely be the Jew outwardly, and so be found to be the Synagogues of Sathan, but that you may be the Jew in­wardly, whose praise is not of men but of God. And when you come to know this condition, then will you know your King when he comes; and this is the way that is set before you, and by no other way shall you ever come to know the true and living God.

And so as Moses said to your forefathers, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing, and cursing, therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. That thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayst obey his voyce, and that thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life, and the length of thy dayes, that thou mayst dwell in the Land which the Lord sware unto your Fathers, to Abraham, to Isa­ack, and to Jacob, to give them, Deut: 30.19, 20.

I charge thee Manasseth Ben Israell, as thou wilt answer it before the living God, that thou let this be read and pub­lished among thy Brethren, and to goe abroad among them where they are scattered.

Given forth from the Redeemed seed from Babylon, and Aegypt, by the mighty power, and out-stretched Arme of the Lord, to which power all Nations shall bow, and trem­ble, who for an Ensigne is set for the gathering of the Nati­ons together, who desires the good of all soules, and waites for the Redemption, and the bringing backe out of Captivi­tie of the whole seed: which the promise and Covenant of the Lord is too, That they to us may arise out of Babylon, Sodome, and Egypt, and with us serve the Lord in the land of the living. And this shall answered be with that of God in all Consciences.

The figures, and the types, and the shaddowes are ceased, the Lord God is departed out of them, and the Substance of them is come, the holy Seed is risen the substance thereof, the Lord hath sent the strength of his rod out of Sion, who is the Covenant of light; to open the blind eyes, and bring out the prisoners out of prison, and them that sit in Darknes out of the prison-house, that they may sing a new song unto the Lord, and his prayse from the end of the Earth. And the day of the Lords power is come, in which he makes his peo­ple willing, and as many as receives him, to them he gives power.