THE RIGHTEOUSNES OF GOD to MAN, wherein he was created; With a discovery of the fall, by the strength and subtilty of the Serpent: And of the recovery of Man, by the seed of the Woman, which brui­ses the Serpents Head.

ALSO, A Declaration against the Beast and his followers, who act by his power; And a Warning to the people not to joyn with the Beast, nor to uphold the Harlot, least you be taken with the Beast and the false Prophet, and cast into the Lake toge­ther alive, and there be none to deliver you.

A few words to O. C. And to the Officiers and Souldiers of the Army in general.

WITH, A true Declaration how I lived before I knew the truth, and how I came to know the truth, and overcame deceit.

Given forth for the simples sake, that they may learn Righteousness; and to know him whom God hath given to be a Covenant to the People, and a light to the Gentiles, and his salvation to Redeem his seed from the ends of the earth, and all that come unto God by him, shall in no wise perish, but have eternal life; But he is a stumbling-block, and a Rock of offence to the Nations; and blessed are they who are not offended in him.

By a sufferer for the righteous seed sake, in the common Goal of Ed­monds Bury in Suffolk, who is called GEORGE ROFE.

LONDON, Printed for Giles Calvert at the Black-spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls, 1656.

The Righteousness of God to Man, wherein he was Created; with a Disco­very of the Fall, by the strength and subtilty of the Serpent, and of the Recovery of Man, by the Seed of the Woman, which bruises the Serpents Head.

IN the Beginning God Created every Creature, and saw that the work of his hands was good; God is good, and all Creatures in Heaven and Earth, and the Seas, and all them, and all that in them was, was made in the beginning by the Word of God; and all proceeded from God, and was good; and God created man in his own Image, and made him good; and of him who was good he made the Woman, and she was one with the Man, and they were good; and God placed them in the Garden, wherein he lived and walked; and Adam was the Son of God, and lived and walk­ed with God in the habitation of God, and God made him Lord over all the works of his hands, and gave him dominion over every Creature, that they might serve him; and in the wisdome of God, while he walked with God, he ruled over the Creatures of God; and in the Garden, God gave him e­very Beast,, and Fowl, and Fish; and out of the earth, he cau­sed every Hearb and every Tree to grow, and there was no bar­renness among them, for their Seed was in themselves; and the Tree of Knowledge he also made which was good but not for food, and therefore God forbad Man to eat of it; and made a Law with Man, that in the day he eat thereof, he should [Page 2]die; and God gave Man of every Tree that was good for food, to be his food, and Man had power to rule, and ruled over e­very Creature, and walked with God in the place of his dwel­ling, where there was no iniquity nor evil; and the Serpent was more subtil than any Beast of the field, and fell from God, and became a lyar, Gods enemie, and he knew that God had said to Man that he should not eat of the Tree in the midst of the Garden, (the Tree of Knowledge of good and evill) and he talked with the Woman concerning it, and what God had said unto them of it; and she knew the Command of God that they were not to eat of it, nor to touch it, and in the day they eat thereof, God promised they should die; and the Serpent who was a Lyar, said they should not die, and of the fruit which was not good for food gave the Woman to eat, and was con­ceaved in the Woman, and got power over the Woman, and she did eat, and entered into him who was the power of death, and acted by his power and deceaved the Man, so they both fell from God, first the Woman was deceaved then the Man, and here the Serpent got power, and slew the Lambe; and the World was set in Mans heart, and here Man lost his power and purity from being the Son of God, and was as God, but not of God, but had entered into the knowledge and taste of evill, and fell from God, and became a likeness as God; and here was the founder of Images and the ground of Imaginati­ons, and death, and hell, and the grave had power over Man, and shame came upon Man, and their garment was taken away, and nakedness appeared, and fear entered, and Man became fearfull to see God, but God fulfilled his promise which was righteous, and death came upon them, and in the Curse were they driven out from God, to till the earth, which was accursed for their transgression sake, and labour and pain were they cur­sed to be in, and God cursed the Serpent above every Beast of the field, and drove the cursed out of the Garden, and set a flaming Sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life, and that the cursed should not enter the Garden, and promised the seed of the Woman to bruise the Serpents head, which was known in Abell, whom Cain who was brought forth in the Curse, slew, him who was not in the Curse, but [Page 3]knew the seed of the Woman which God had promised to bruise the Serpents head, and knew God and walked righteously with God, and was accepted above Cain, who was in the Curse, unto whose Sacrifice God had no respect, through he offered that which was good, but not in the good, so out of the faith, so to him it was sin, and he did not well, and sin laid at his door: and God gave another seed in Abells stead, Seth, in whom the seed of the Woman was known, and the Serpents head brui­sed, and the World destroyed, and the Lambe raised to Life, which in him and his seed took away the sins of the World; and Enoch walked with God, and God took him, and Noah and his Sons walked in the faith of the seed of the Woman, and they and their Wives were saved, with the Male and with the Female of the Creatures, which were not destroyed with the old World, who lived in the delight of beauty, and pride, and lust, and were builded upon the Serpent, and therein all flesh was corrupted, and they run a whoring after the thoughts of the immaginations of their own hearts, which was evill conti­nually, for which the wrath of God was kindled against them, and in his fury he swept them away in the flood of his Indigna­tion; but God respected the seed which walked in truth, and saved them from the destruction which he brought upon the wicked; and made a Covenant with Noah, not to drown the earth any more, nor to cut off all flesh by the floods of water, and set his bow in the clouds for a sign unto generations per­petually; and Noah and his Sons was blessed and had power o­ver all Beasts and creeping things, and the Fishes in the Sea, and all that moved upon the earth was given into their hands; but Ham in whom the Serpent had his seat, did that which was evill, and upon his Son Canaan the Curse entered, and against his off-spring the Curse prevailed, and they were not accepted among the seed, but were driven out before the seed which was blessed, Exod. 34.11. and Lot who was of the seed was saved from being destroyed with Sodome; and his Daughters who were in the faith of the seed, were saved from being destroyed, yet they did evill, they consulted with the Serpent, and fed up­on the Tree of Knowledge, and brought forth a seed in the Curse which was accursed, whose off-spring is accursed unto [Page 4]this day, Gen. 19.34. Numb. 24 17. Exod. 34.11. And A­braham who was the Father of the faithful, receaved the pro­mises of God unto the seed, and that in Isaac all kindreds of the earth should be blessed, and with Jacob did God establish his Covenant, that he made with Abraham, and blessed him and gave his Brethren to be his servants, and sustained him with all that was good in the earth, and he was of the seed, and was Ruler over all his Brethern, (as of Ishmael and Esau, and their off-springs) but lives and raigns with God for ever, and to his seed is the blessing for ever: and God promised that his seed should multiply and be a great people and reach to the ends of the earth; And Moses was of the seed, who chose rather to suffer affliction with the People of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season, by whose hand God wrought won­derfully, and delivered his seed out of the house of Bondage, and out of the Land of Egypt, and caused the waters to stand on heapes, till the seed went over and was preserved, and deli­vered out of the hands of their oppressors, and overthrew Pha­roah and his Host in their sight; (and them who were deliver­ed out of Egypt, who were not faithful to the seed, God cut off in the wilderness, and brought plagues upon them that mur­mured,) and thus God wrought wonderfully by the hand of his Servant Moses, whom he spake unto face to face, and promised that he would raise up a Prophet of his Brethren, like unto him, and him the People should hear; and them that will not hearken to the words of this Prophet, which God com­mands to speak, God will require it at their hands; and unto David who was of the seed, a man who walked in righteous­ness, according to Gods own heart; God promised that out of his Loyns, and of his seed, he would raise up a Saviour of the People, which was fulfilled in the daies of Herod the King; and in Bethalem in Judea the Citie of David, was the Saviour born according to the promise, and there was the seed born; Jesus a Saviour of his People from their sins: who is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a signe to be gainesaid; who was and is a gin and a snare, and a stumbling block, and a rock of offence to the Nations, and blessed are them who are not offended in him, in whom is the promise to [Page 5] Isaac fulfilled; and in him is all the Nations and kindreds of the earth called and blessed; and before him went the voyce of one crying in the wildernesse, Prepare yee the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, which was prophesied of by Isaiah, and he was the voyce of the living God, sent to prepare the way of his Son, and John witnessed that he himself was not the light, but that Christ Jesus was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world; and there was the fulfilling of the promises spoken by Isaiah, 42.6, 7. and 49.6.9. And in those dayes God gave his Son to be his salvation, to redeem his seed from the ends of the earth, and this Son of God is to be heard and submitted to, and every one that will not submit to his government, which is to eternity, shall be cut off and pe­rish for ever. And now all people return to the Lord God, and listen to the light of his onely Son in your consciences, which shews you sin and evil, which God hath given to redeem all that believe in it; and all that receive the light Christ Jesus, the onely begotten Son of God, they receive power to become the sons of God. He came unto his own, and his own received him not; to them he was a stumbling-block, because they believed not in him: but all that believed in him, or that do believe in him, to them he is the great power of God unto salvation. The Lord God loved the world, and gave his onely begotten Son a light to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the prison-house, and is the gift of God, and leads captivity cap­tive, that as many as believe in him should not perish, but have eternall life; and this life is in himself, who is the seed of God; who redeems all them that believe in the light, and walk in the light, which is of himself into himselfe, out of the curse, out of the world, out of the fall into Paradise from whence man fell; and from under his power who is the strength of the fall, to serve him, to follow him, to walk in his light, to receive the light of life, and makes them of the seed which hath power to come through the Cherubims and the flaming sword, into the Garden unto the Tree of Life, and to eat of it and live for ever. But all you that live in pride and idlenesse, and lust and uncleannesse; the light in your consciences shewes you, that you are not of the seed, for the seed of the woman keeps the commands of God, Rev. 12 17. [Page 6]and all that is not of the seed, shall not enter into the Garden, nor cannot come neer the tree of life, nor have no right to it: so you are in the enmity of the wicked one, and shall never enter into the inheritance of the righteous. And all you hireling teach­ers, you that preach for hire, and divine for money, and live in ungodly covetousness, which is Idolatry, and tell people that they that minister at the Altar, should live of the Altar, and that they that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel, the light in your consciences also lets you see that you are not of the seed, nor know not the seed, but are in the enmity of the wick­ed one against the seed, and are not sent by Christ the seed to minister to the seed, nor do not minister at the Altar, nor live of the Altar; but your ministery is to them who are proud and co­vetous, wicked ones like your selves, who are not the Altar, and on them you live and know not the Altar, and your preaching is not the Gospel; if it were, then you would live of the Gspel, and not of the world: But the ground and effect of your preaching, stands in the love of mony, and to tell that people cannot be freed from sin in this life, and so preach that which the Apostles prea­ched not, and sow that which is accursed, and the love of mony is the root of all evill, and you live of the world and not of the Gospel, and you are chargeable to the world, and oppress the people who are not of the Gospel, and are out of the life of the Ministers that the Gospel sent forth, who freely received and freely gave: But your preaching is not free, but for gifts and re­wards, the wages of unrighteousness, as the false Prophets ever was: and herein you are to perish, as they did, who are out of the life of the seed, as you are who are their off-spring, which is accursed for ever. And all people that desire to know the truth of God, and that your souls should be redeemed from under the power of the Divel, return to the light of Christ, which shews the seed of the Serpent, and the works of the Divell, and the wic­kedness that is acted by his power in you, that with the light you may be brought to know a difference between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the Woman, which is promised to bruise the Serpents head; and search and examine with the light of Christ in you, with it to see were you are, and how fat you are redemed out of the curse, and out of that nature wherein the [Page 7]evill doer lodges, over which the curse hath power; the fruits that is brought forth by the seed of the Serpent, are cursed fruits, and proceed from a cursed ground, and are brought forth in the curse, and the actors of them are to perish under the curse and wrath of God; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and pride and covetousness, and swearing, and drunkenness, and all manner of uncleanness, and sporting, and gaming, and fighting and quarrelling, and mocking and scoffing, and scorning, and all manner of prophaness, are the fruits of the Serpent, and are brought forth by his seed, which is in the curse alienated from God in the kingdome of darkness, over which the seed of the woman hath power it to destroy: And this seed is known by them who are guided by the light of truth, which leads into all truth, and to deny the Serpent who is deceit, and the leader of the wicked in deceit; and the children of light doe by the power of Christ the light, follow the seed of the woman, and doe receive the light of life, and know the enmity put between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, and know the li­ving God, and obey him in his light, and by his power deny the Divell the Prince of death, and differ from him and his fruits, and are acquainted with his wiles, and know his motions to evill, and deny them, and know a difference with God from him who is Gods enemy, and know the worship of God in spirit and truth, and differ from them who pretend to worship him in their wills by traditions of men, and imaginations from the Scriptures, and not in spirit and truth, which worship God doth not accept.

A Declaration against the Beast and his followers who are by his power, and a warning to the people not to joyn with the Beast, nor to uphold the Harlot, lest you be taken with the Beast, and the false Prophet, and cast all into the lake together alive, and there be none to deliver you.

VVO unto them that are carried upon the Beast, and decree unrighteous Decrees, and by his power accomplish them: such hasten down to the pit in the way of perdition, by the strength of the Dragon, the Divell and Satan that old Ser­pent, who goeth about as a roaring Lion, and deceiveth the Na­tions, [Page 8]who by his strength and subtilty deceiveth the whole earth, and all that worship him they receive his mark in their foreheads, or in their right hands, and by his power make war with the remnant of the seed of the woman, who cannot worship nor bow down to the Beast nor his image, and seekes their lives to swallow them up quick, if by their power it might be, and to the uttermost of their power they proceed against the Lamb and his chosen, who follow him whithersoever he goeth, and by the power of the Beast, who hath received his power and seat from the Dragon; doe they who worship the Beast, perse­cute the Saints the tribe of the Lamb, and overcome them, and cast them into prisons and dungeons, and holes till they die; and some they scourge, and stock, and stone, and beat, and buffet, and spit upon, and hale out of the Synagogues to before Rulers, who have imprisoned them till their lives have been a ransome to have set them at liberty with the Lamb; and this Beast reignes over the whole earth, and gives power to the inhabitants of the earth for to accomplish his will to the utmost, that he might reign over all, and that the Lamb should not take away their sins; but that they should take and drink of the cup of abomination and filthinesse of his fornication to the bottome. But the Lamb will arise as a fierce Lion, and rule over the Nations with a rod of Iron, and dash all the inhabitants of the earth to pieces who worship the Beast, and give them the cup of the fiercenesse of his wrath to drink without mixture, and will reward the Harlot double according to her abominations and fornications, where­with she makes all nations of the earth drunk for her pleasure, and they fared delitiously with her; but her kingdom shall be­come a desolation for ever. The Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world, he is the light of the world, and lightneth every man that cometh into the world, by which light all nati­ons and tongues and people may see the Beast which makes war against the Lamb: the light of the Lamb Christ Jesus shews eve­ry one that they should not live in wickedness, and reproves eve­ry one that do commit evill; and the Beast lodges in man, and leads in evill, and warres in man against the light of the Lamb, and they who joyn with the Beast, they joyn with the father of all mischief, who leads in the way that is broad which leadeth to destruction, wherein all the world walks and wonders after [Page 9]the Beast, and worships him, and know not whither they goe; who if they goe on in wickedness, are to have their reward with the Beast and the false Prophet, who are to be cast into the lake alive, and there to be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And all people as you tender the good of your souls, return to the light of Christ in you, that by it you may learn what repentance is, and what the fear of the Lord is, and come out of Babylon from amongst the wicked, that you may be recived of the Lord, and joyn not with the Beast, nor hold not up the Harlot any lon­ger, lest you perish. If you joyn with such as call themselves Ministers, who have learned at Cambridge or Oxford, and call them the well-heads of Divinity, you uphold the Harlot, for in them places she hath her seat, and by her power are they Priests come forth, and are of her and taught by her, and have learned of her, the Harlot, Mystery, Babylon, which sits upon the waters, which rides upon the Beast, who lodgeth in the waters, you peo­ple are the waters, and in you the Beast lodges, which is one with the Harlot which makes war against the light of the Lamb in you, and with you do her Merchants trade, and to you doe her Mer­chants sell their ware, and of you do they take money, and there­with maintain themselves, and wives and children in pride and idleness, and none live higher in lust and pride, and fulness of bread than they, and hence you may see them to be an ill ex­ample to all that follow them, and by their lies and lightness do they make the people light and vain, and all that ever they doe or speak of the name of the Lord, it is in vain, and by it none learns righteousness, but the image of the Beast is upheld by them, and in them hath a mouth, & speakes great swelling words of vanity, by which the people are deceived, & none by them is turned from comitting all evill; but have been a long time learning, & not yet come to the knowledge of the pure truth, w ch is but one, wherein wayfaring men may walk & not err. And against you, O ye priests, is the strong arm of the Almighty stretched forth, which wil rout you out root and branch, and you shall have your portion with your King the Angel of the bottomless pit, who leads you now in your cursed practices, to preach for gifts and rewards, for which you have sold your selves to your King, who hath long led you after the reward of unrighteousness, and for it sets you on work to uphold his kingdom; and you by his power strive to the [Page 10]utmost so to doe, and go to your brethren who have received the same power, and they joyned with you, and persecute and impri­son them who freely are sent of the Lord to declare against such ungodly practices. But the Lord God is bringing forth his Nor­thern Army against you, who are fierce and terrible, and shall spread over the whole earth, and their Instruments are new, and have teeth, and shall dash down you and your King and your king­dome, and the breath of the living God shall consume you root and branch: this Army is strengthened by the Almighty God, and he is with them, and they fear not the Nations, for no sword can enter them, nor no weapon formed against them can prosper, nor the mighty men cannot hinder them; for the conquest is theirs, and all the Nations of the earth is but as a Potters vessell before them; for their leader is just, holy and true, and they are called and Chosen and Faithful, and are resolved to make an utter desolation of Antichrist and his kingdome, of whom you Priests are and he you seek to uphold and are against Christ in the wayes of Cain and Balaam, and your way is to perdition. Judas sold the Lamb of God to your Fathers, who slew him and bought a field with the reward of iniquity; and you sell the words that proceeded from the Lamb, and therein are swallowed up in ini­quity, and have purchased many fields with the mony you have had for his words whom your fathers slew, and your transgressi­on is exceeding much greater than Judasses, with the reward of whose iniquity there was one field bought, but you have bought many fields, besides what you have spent upon your lusts in main­taining your selves, and wives and children in pride and idleness, & fulness of bread, the sins of Sodom, by whom the Lord of life is crucified, and the plagues of God will be heavier upon you than upon Judas, who is gone before you to his and your home, and God hath already cursed your blessings, and your preaching is noysome in his sight, and your singing is loathsome to be heard which stands all in unrighteousness, for which the wrath of God for ever is turned against you and your seed, which will be swept away with the besome of destruction; yea already the whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth against you; and you all from the least to the greatest cannot escape it, and the fire which will devour you for your iniquities sake, and the blood of thousands who have perished under your Ministry, who were ever learning of you, and [Page 11]knew not the truth, is upon you, and at your hands God will require it: and all that trust to your teaching are like to be lost for want of knowledge: and in this I am a witness for God. And this I am ready to seal with my blood if I be cal­led to it.

A few words to O. C. and to the Officers and Souldiers of the Army in general.

TO thee Oliver Crumwell, thus saith the Lord, I had cho­sen thee amongst the thousands in the Nations, to execute my wrath upon my enemies, and gave them to thy sword with which I fought for the zeal of my own name, & gave thee the enemies of my own seed to be a curse and a reproach for ever, and made thee an instrument against them, and drove many of them out before thee, and thou hast taken the spoyl of them, and many have I cut down by my sword in thy hand, that my wrath might be executed against them to the utmost; and therein for a time thou was zealous, and then I was with thee for my seeds sake: but thou art fallen from thy first inte­grity, and in the spoyl of my enemies art exalted, and art set up in the glory of the world, which is not pleasant in my sight; for therefore drove I my enemies out, and ruined them before thee, that my seed might be set at liberty, and have its freedom in the Nations to worship me: But now thou re­wardest me not with good for the good I have done to thee; but in thy name and by thy power doe my pure seed suffer, and tyrants rule over my people; and by thy power and in thy name doe they persecute them, and imprison them unto the death, and have spilled the blood of my innocent people to sa­tisfie their corrupt desires. But surely I will visit for these things, and much doe they lie upon thee; and if thou lettest tyrants get rule in thy name, and by thy power, on thee and thy seed will I require the blood of the innocent that hath been shed in these late dayes under thy government, and will de­liver [Page 12]my people by my own power, and thou shalt know that I have spoken to thee when I visit for those sufferings of my people, then thou shalt not be able to plead ignorance, but shalt know that thou hast been warned of them, and that I gave thee a time to repent.

ANd all you Officers of the Army from the highest to the lowest, and all Souldiers, know, that God drove out his enemies before you; not for your sakes, but for his own name sake, which long hath been polluted by the heathen; and them that God overthrew in his wrath, it was for his own seeds sake that they might have their liberty, and not for your sakes who are turned against the Lord and his seed, and are exalted in the pride of life, and in the same glory wherein the enemies of God were who are drove out and made a curse and reproach for ever. Remember how God wrought in the dayes of old for his seeds sake, and how he delivered his peo­ple Israel out of the land of Egypt, not by the strength of flesh and blood, but by his own power, wherewith he hath o­verthrown the multitudes of Horses and their Riders, and de­livered his people, and them who were delivered out of E­gypt, who in the wilderness turned from the Lord, he there cut off: and you are turned into the same Idolatry for which they were cut off. Your hearts run a whoring af­ter other lovers then God; you eate and drink and rise up and play, you are exalted in pride, and glory in your own strength, and do not give God the glory for what he hath done for you, but follow the example of the Kings of Babylon, to whom God gave power that they should destroy his enemies. And remember what God did to Nebuchadnezzar, who had grea­ter power than you, for his power reached over the whole earth, and whom he would he let live, and whom he would he slew. And after that he was exalted, & gloried in the strength & pride of himself ( Dan. 4) & gave not God the glory, and God drove him out from amongst men, and changed his heart from mans, and gave to him a beasts heart, and wetted him with the dew of heaven, and he was fed with grasse till seven times [Page 13]passed over him, and till he knew that the Lord god reigned. And hence you may see how God resisteth the proud; and here you may see that neither the strength of flesh, of men nor horses, can deliver the proud out of the hand of the Almighty God, who will reign over all. And remember Belshazzar how he made a feast, and drank wine in abundance, and how God cut him off, and gave his kingdome to Darius the Midian, be­cause he was weighed and found too light, Dan. 5. And here you may see your figure, and know that you are in the same nature, and are too light. And remember how the Kings of Assyria spoyled the Nations, and beat down their idols: and to do this, God gave them power that they should execute his wrath upon the heads of his enemies, though for doing it they had not a reward with the righteous, Isai. 1.37. But the As­syrians gloried in their own strength; and in blasphemy did Rabshakeh come up against the Lords anointed, and gloried for the King of Assyria in the multitude of his Chariots, and they trusted in their own strength, and in the pride of their hearts came up against the seed of the living God; and God delivered his own seed, and sent his Angel who smot the Assyrians, & cut off an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and thus God de­livered his people by his own power, and not by the strength of man. And thus God slew and cut off his enemies, and aven­ged his quarrell against his adversaries, whom he had made in­struments in times before to cut down his enemies, and when they were lifted up in pride, then God abased them; & when they gloried in their own strength, then God cut them down. And all you while you have time spend it not in vanity, and glory not in pride, nor trust in your own strength, for if you do, surely God wil abase you & cut you off, for you are not greater than them whom God hath cut off for so doing. And every one fear the living God and dread his name, and live not in pride and vanity, and use not violence to any man, but be content with your wages, for God will reward you according to your works, and will surely punish you if you oppresse his people, and all that you take by fraud God wil judge you for, and while there is yet a day given you to repent in, take heed [Page 14]how you despise it, lest God cut you off in your iniquities, and your perish; and know this, that God will deliver his own seed out of the hands of tyrants, though his people for a time doe now suffer in innocency by you and your power, and the powers of the earth; yet a time of deliverance will come, and woe to them that are their oppressors or that joyn with them that doe oppress them, for they shall receive a re­ward according to their works, and God will deliver his peo­ple himselfe, and they shall reign over all their enemies for ever and ever. And in the assurance of this hope and confi­dence I rest where man cannot make me afraid.

Here followeth a true Declaration how I lived before I knew the truth, how I came to know the truth, and over­came deceit.

FOr many years together in my youth I lived after the man­ner of the Heathen, in pride and vanity, and sporting and gaming, and propanesse, and much wantonnesse, as the common prophane ones in the world now doe; whereby the Just, the light of Christ in me, was slaine, and the Covenant of God trode under foot by the power of the Beast; which guided me in wickedness, and oftentimes by that time I was twelve years of age, the witnesse of God the light of Christ in me did arise, and judge and codemne me for my wickednesse. And oftentimes I was smot by the witness of God, so that terror came upon me, that I have not known what to doe, but have been smot by the hand of the Lord into many fears of what should become of me here­after, [Page 15]and have often wept exceedingly in secret and in my bed, so that I have wetted much clothes with teares. But when I was among my kindred after the flesh, or among other heathenish company, the Beast acted so strongly, and led me so much, that I was ashamed to tell any what I ailed; but rather submitted to the power of the Beast, to joyn with the Heathen in wickedness, than to tell them that I had been in torment for my wickednesse.

And thus I went on in rebellion against the light of my con­science from time to time, though I knew by it I did not that which was right, and was condemned in my conscience for what I did daily contrary to the light: And one time I was smot with terror down to the earth, so that I cryed out exceedingly for a long time together, and lay with my face towards the earth, and could not for a time be comforted, terror was so great upon me. And yet for all this the Beast got up in me, and strongly acted me in the like wickedness for which the judgements of God had often been upon me, and I could not see any way how to escape the wicked­nesse which the Divell daily led me into, but gave my selfe to reading much in the Scriptures; and yet the power of the wicked one prevailed against me, so that I received no strength against him by the knowledge of the Scriptures, though the Scriptures shewed me in part what I should doe, yet the power against sin was not there to be found; but sinne got the upper hand and ruled over me, and therein I was led captive, and made a prey upon by the Divell who deceived me through subtilty. And when I had read and studied what I could in my own will for many yeares together, I could not find out a way to know God, nor satisfaction to my soul; but judgement followed me, and my thoughts accused me, and the light witnessed against me, so peace I had not found in all that ever I did seek out, but fear pursued me, and often in the night time, teares run from my eyes, and terror laid hold on me; so that I have been made to pray exceedingly; but I knew not to whom, but according as I had heard or read, but no answer I saw though I called out often; yet I knew not that God [Page 16]whom I called to, nor that Christ in whose name I thought I asked; but into a profession of God, and Christ, and godli­ness, I was led by the will of the flesh, though I was a stran­ger to the life of God and godliness: And in this profession not knowing the power of God, I walked neer three yeares, and wandred about therein to professors of the world like my self, and went to Priests where they preached, and heard them two or three times a week commonly and long toge­ther, and yet fear pursued me, and peace I could not find, though I sought it with tears often, yet the way of peace I knew not, but dissention and misery was in my paths, and the feare of God I lived out of, though then I lived in a profession, and was covered with much subtilty, so that the world could not see but that I lived orderly, and I was kept from many com­mon pollutions of the world, though the Beast acted me, and often would have led me into greater abominations than he did, had not the witness of God often brought judgement & terror upon me, and iudged deceit before it was acted. And in this profession of words I was at times exalted, and therein lived in pride and vainglory, and was lifted up in that know­ledge by which the witnesse of God was slain, and I led in great darkness: and when I was exalted most, then greatest darkness entred in upon me, in which profession I found no peace, neither could I, for wickedness was lined in, and the profession was not of God (though it was like what the Saints had professed and lived the life of) as all the worlds profession is, who follows the Beast, who leads them in imita­tions of that which the Saints and servants of God did by command from God. And when I was about the age of twen­ty years old, when I was at the height of my profession, in which my soul found no rest, it happened that according to the will of God, there came some of his messengers (who were called Quakers) to the town where I lived in my empty pro­fession; ( Halsteed in Essex) wherein I was not satisfied, but went into the Market to hear the people called Quakers speak; who spoke there some few words which I did not then understand, though I had heard something of them in writing, [Page 17]and many slanderous reports; yet I was convinced in my con­science that they were the people of God: and the Scriptures witnessed that the people of God should be hated and perse­cuted, and all manner of evill spoken of them. So yet I was not at rest in my spirit, but desired to know the truth and the life of it. And soon after that time the Lord sent another of his Messengers who had a meeting in that town where I lived, and in, the forepart of the day came to the steeple-house, where I was hearing one of the worlds Ministers, who is cal'd William Sparrow, who had long deceived me with good words and fair speeches: and when he had ended his speaking, the Mes­senger of God spoke, and reached the witness of God in me, so I was drawn in love towards him, and the later part of the day went to hear him speak, and his words reached the witness of God in me, so that I was more exceedingly drawn out in love towards him, and heard more to my souls satisfaction that day, than ever before: and that of God in me, which often had iudged me, and brought feares upon me, owned his words, and owned him to be of God, and the seed of God in me was refreshed and grew, and shewed me how I had spent my time, and brought all the evil that ever I remember I acted, and laid it before me, and condemned me for it, which condemna­tion I was made willing to own, and therein did wait for the mercies of God, & the seed of God in me grew in strength, and shewed me what I should doe, and what I should leave un­done, and was my guide to guide me out of the former igno­rance and wickedness I had lived in, and was a Judge for God to condemn the ground of the most secret deceit in me; and shewed me the most secret deceit of the Serpent, and gave me power to withstand all wickedness; which before I owned the light of Christ, I had not power to withstand, the strength of the enemy had such power over me. And af­ter that God had shewed me the way of truth, and gave me power to withstand all evill, the Divel was exceeding wroth against me, and wrought exceeding subtilly to have destroyed that which was begotten of God in me; but the gift of God was plenteous, and grew, and shaked terribly the earth, and [Page 18]removed mountains', and rewarded the transgressor with judgement, and cast out the Prince of this world, and reign­eth for God going on conquering, and to conquer, and treads down all Gods enemies under his feet. And this is the free mercy and love of God that he hath revealed him­self to me by the light of his own Son, and hath made known his everlasting Covenant of peace to me, and hath redeemed my soul out of hell, and from under the power of the Divell into the glory of his own Son, to praise him in the beauty of holiness in mount Sion for ever, who hath called me by his own Spirit and power, to bear witness for his own name in righteousness, and hath given me his word to declare to the inhabitants of the earth; and his power to stop the mouthes of truths gain-sayers, and to confound the false Prophets, and make the Deviners mad, and to judge all hirelings and false teachers out from amongst the Saints.

This is the work which the Lor hath done for his seeds sake which dwells in me; which he hath raised to eternall life, to live and reign with him for ever. And it was his free love that he left a seed in me, else I had been to him as the Cities of Sodom and as the inhabitants of Gomorrah.

The world calls me George Rofe, but my name is written in hea­ven, and therein do I rejoyce.
From the common Goal of Emonds Bury in Suffolk, wherein I have suffered more than 40 weeks for the truth this last day of the 4 th moneth, 1656.
FINIS.

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