hidden things brought to light, or, the discord of the grand quakers among themselves discovered in some letters, papers and passages written to and from george fox, james nayler, and john perrott : wherein may be seen the cause and ground of their differences and falling out and what manner of spirit moved and acted each of them. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1678 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a91777 wing r1357 wing r1358 estc r182700 13574857 ocm 13574857 150231 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a91777) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 150231) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 799:18 and 1616:7 or 2237:4) hidden things brought to light, or, the discord of the grand quakers among themselves discovered in some letters, papers and passages written to and from george fox, james nayler, and john perrott : wherein may be seen the cause and ground of their differences and falling out and what manner of spirit moved and acted each of them. fox, george, 1624-1691. naylor, james, 1617?-1660. j. p. (john perrot), d. 1671? rich, robert, d. 1679. [4], 44, [1] p. printed for francis smith ..., london : 1678. correspondence between quakers in jamaica and barbados, compiled by robert rich. this item appears at reel 1616:7 as wing f1842 (number cancelled in wing 2nd ed.), and at reel 799:18 as wing (2nd ed.) r1358; the errata sheet appears separately at reel 2237:4 as wing (2nd ed.) r1357. publisher and place of publication from colophon. reproduction of originals in the henry e. huntington library and art gallery, british library, and friends' library (london, england) (r1357) errata: p. [1] at end. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -jamaica. society of friends -barbados. society of friends -controversial literature. 2007-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-08 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-09 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-09 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion errata . page 3. l. 10. after the word saying , read , i in the spirit of bearing did answer thee in these terms , saying , viz. p. 4. l. 15. after cost insert and charge ; p. 10. l. 8. for we r. us ; p. 12. l. 35. f. boiled r. bolted , p. 13. l. 10. r. name ; p. 17. l. 34 after pope r. and , p. 19. l. 20. f. salutation r. salvation ; p. 21. l. 13. af . thee r. in the lord ; p. 23. l. 38. af . and r. of ; p. 25. l. 18. f. the r. that ; ib. l. 31. r. leopard ; ib. l. 35. r. cast ; p. 26. l. 3. r. harwood ; l. 5. af . of r. fallen ; l. 7. r. bitter ; l. 31. r. those ; l. 35. r. well doing ; l. 37. r. matters temporal and spiritual ; l. 38. r. reason ; p. 27. l. 4. r. power ; l. 5. r. as ; ib. r. life ; l. 12. r. are ; l. 13. r. because the ; l. 15. f. lang r. long ; l. 27. r. the ; l. 31. f. general r. john ; p. 28. l. 1. r. that ; p. 31. l. 14. f. yourr . our ; p. 32. l. 6. af . these words magistrate in , in s . his just ; l. 16. r. the ; l. 23. f. g. h.r. g. f. l. 27. f. falling r. fallen ; p. 33. l. 8. r. he ; p. 35. l. 29. f. jane r. james ; ib. f. g. f.r. j. p. p. 36. l. 21. r. also ; p. 38. l. 22. af . j. p. r. was ; p. 39. l. 1. after these in s . things ; p. 41. l. 7. r. found ; p. 43. l. 1. f. few r. five ; l. 40. f. they r , thou ; p. 44. l. 28. after fallen insert here . london , printed for francis smith at the elephant and castle in cornhill . 1678. some queries to all the teachers and professors of christianity to answer fox, george, 1624-1691. 1666 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40254 wing f1908a estc r29432 11132614 ocm 11132614 46373 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40254) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46373) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1423:28) some queries to all the teachers and professors of christianity to answer fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. s.n., [london? : 1666] signed: g.f. imprint suggested by wing. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -england. conduct of life -early works to 1800. christian life -quaker authors. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion some queries to all the teachers and professors of christianity to answer . query i. where did ever the christians in the primitive times set up dancing-schools and fencing-schools , and send their youth to learn to dance and fence , as those called christians have done since the primitive times ; let us see where such things were practised in the scriptures by the true christians ? query ii. where was any instruments of musick allowed of god to be invented and used by the jews to themselves , but unto the lord ? indeed david used them as unto the lord , and danced before the ark of the lord ? but what 's the use and end of all the musick and dancing in christendom ? was not the melody the true christians made in their hearts to the lord ? query iii. where did the primitive christians invent playes and shews , as those called christians have done since the apostles dayes ? query iv. whether any of the jews under the old testament ever invented playes and shews to get money by them , as those called christians do now ? we desire you will produce your rule and example out of the old or new testament , among jews or christians , for these things ? query v. where did the jews or christians in the apostles dayes set up or use bear-baitings , bull-baitings , cock-fightings , nine-pins and bowls , and cards and dice , and such like sports and games , as those called christians do now , to make themselves merry withal , and to spend their pretious time away , and call it pastime , and rejoyce , and stir up wantonness in people ? shew scripture for these things , seeing you profess it your rule ? are not those that live wantonly upon earth , and in pleasure , dead while they live ? are not those that rejoyce to rejoyce in the lord ? query vi. where did the christians in the apostles dayes make and use matches at foot-ball , and wrestling , and appoint horse-races , and hunting for pleasure , and such like , and so glory in their own strength , and abuse the creatures ? are not these things contrary to the practice of the holy men , who rejoyced and gloried in the lord ? shew us your rule in the holy scriptures for these things ? query vii . whether all these playes , games , shews , sports , and other vain exercises , countenanced in christendom , do not spoil and corrupt youth and men , and ruin them in person and estate ? and doth not amos say , wo to such that chant to the sound of the vial , and invent to themselves instruments of musick , like david ? amos 6. g. f ▪ surely the magistrates of nottingham are blinde ... fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a84814 of text r177305 in the english short title catalog (wing f1923a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 5 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a84814 wing f1923a estc r177305 45789318 ocm 45789318 172627 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84814) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 172627) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:24) surely the magistrates of nottingham are blinde ... fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for thomas simmons ..., london : 1659. title from first line of text. signed: g.f. [i.e. george fox]. imprint from colophon. reproduction of original in: friends' library (london, england). eng society of friends -england -doctrines -early works to 1800. broadsides -england -17th century. a84814 r177305 (wing f1923a). civilwar no surely the magistrates of nottingham are blinde as though they had never [...] scriptures, have they cast a man into prison for saying the s fox, george 1659 881 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 c the rate of 11 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion surely the magistrates of nottingham are blinde as though they had never read scriptures , have they cast a man into prison for saying the scriptures wer● not the living word ? surely they might have understood what scripture signifies by all this time of teaching , for writings is not living , nor doth not endure for ever , but the thing written of doth , that is the word . surely by all this teaching they might not have been so ignorant of scripture , which saith the scriptures are the words of god , exod. 20. and my words saith christ , and he that addes to these words saith john , in the revelation , or takes from these words , the plagues shall be added to him , and his name shall be deminished out of the book of life , rev. the last . so mark , the scriptures of truth , which cannot be broken , are the words of god , and christ his name is called the word of god , rev. 19. and they that had a perfect understanding from the very first , took in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which they had seen and believed from the beginning , who were ministers of the word , luke 1. surely nottingham inquisitioners had they not been mad in their blind zeal , they would not have persecuted a man for speaking truth according to scriptures , who neither regards the scriptures nor the law of man , who hath contemptuously disobeyed two warrants ; surely you would be mighty cruel if you had power ; did you never read that the scriptures saith christ is the word , and the word is god ? is not he the living word ? and the word is immortal ; are writings immortal ? what would ye have done to john if he had been under your power , who tels you christs name is the word of god ? and tels you , the revelation is words ? what would you have done to peter ? who tels you the word is immortal , and all things are upheld by the word of his power ? and are all things upheld by the scriptures , is that your logick ? read heb. 1. and is it not said the scriptures must be fulfilled ? and is it not the living word , which fulfills the words ? and what would you have done to luke that tells you many of the ministers of the word took in hand to set forth in order a declaration of the things believed among them from the very first ? nay , doth not some of your old translations call the scripture a catologue ? and some again calls it a story , and yet you call it the word ? how many names have you given it here ? it is called scriptures of truth , holy writings which were learned of god , and given forth by the spirit of god , that is according to the scriptures which are the words of god ; and wil you say writings are god , or writings are christ who is called the word ? will you set the scriptures in the room of god , and give them his name ? as you may read , joh. 1. have you not lost your understanding ? are you not blind that cannot distinguish writings , weh is scriptures , from christ , & god , but put them in their place ? surely you are far off from spiritual things , while you do not understand natural things , have you not read that john saith in the beginning was the word , and was writings in the beginning ? you want the word to give you an understanding to know a fulfiller , and that which is to be fulfilled ; a fulfiller is the word , and that which is to be fulfilled is the words and outward types and figures and changeable things : so who is in the word , he is in the unchangable which was in the beginning , in whom the scriptures end , christ , and the just mens spirits both ; so the word is called the word of reconciliation , but he doth not call the scriptures so , but the scriptures are called a declaration , and in many places called words , which are to be fulfilled and cannot be broken , and this is the cause that all christendom is on heaps about scriptures , they wanting the word that doth fulfill them , to reconcile unto them , and unto god , and unto them that gave them forth ; so are not the babes born again by the immortal seed , the word of god ; but you remain in the mortal , where the jars and strifes are about words , the things of god not being known by natural men . g. f. london , printed for thomas simmons at the bull and mouth near aldersgate . 1659. the ancient simplicity as it was once witnessed unto by george fox. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1661 approx. 2 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40113 wing f1741 estc r29857 11213698 ocm 11213698 46834 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40113) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46834) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1441:89) the ancient simplicity as it was once witnessed unto by george fox. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. s.n., [london : 1661] at end: this letter was written to a friend the 24 of the 7 moneth, 1661. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -pastoral letters and charges. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the ancient simplicity , as it was once witnessed unto by george fox . friend be wise and meek , and if any weakness thou shalt see in any , put on comliness on the uncomly part ; and take heed of judging rashly , but mind the vniversal spirit , and that which tends to love and edification : for love edifies , and there is no edification , but in the love which is out of the strife : and bearing grudge , against any one , take heed of that ; for that which doth overcome the evil in any one , is patience , love , and suffering ; and he that doth wrong , the lord will repay it . it is love that makes up breaches , but striving about words makes them wider ; therefore take heed of strife , least the canker enter into thy breast , and raise up an evil eye , and eat out the good , and keep thy spirit restless out of the love of god. therefore that mind , and live in that which keeps thy spirit in quietness , and peace with god and friends ; looking at the witness of god in every one , and answering the witness of god in every one , from a lover of thy soul. this letter was written to a friend , the 24. of the 7. moneth , 1661. and now stands a witness against that spirit of enmity and bitterness , which broke forth against john perrot . george fox . an epistle to all planters and such who are transporting themselves into foreign plantations in america &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1682 approx. 3 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40172 wing f1805a estc r27999 10325414 ocm 10325414 44851 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40172) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 44851) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1384:12) an epistle to all planters and such who are transporting themselves into foreign plantations in america &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. printed for ben. clark, london : 1682. signed: g. fox. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -colonization. society of friends -missions. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an epistle to all planters and such who are transporting themselves into foreign plantations in america . &c. my friends , that are gone and are going over to plant , and make outward plantations in america , keep your own plantations in your hearts , with the spirit and power of god , that your own vines and lillies be not hurt . and in all places where you do outwardly live and settle , invite all the indians and their kings ; and have meetings with them , or they with you , so that you may make inward plantations with the light and power of god , the gospel ; and the grace , and truth , and spirit of christ ; and with it you may answer the light , truth , and spirit of god in the indians , their kings and people , and so by it you may make heavenly plantations in their hearts for the lord , and so beget them to god , that they may serve and worship him , and spread his truth abroad ; and so that you may all be kept warm in god's love , power , and zeal for the glory of his great name , that his name may be great among the heathen or gentiles ; and ye may see over , or be over-seers with the holy ghost , which was before the unclean ghost got into man and woman . so with this holy ghost you may see and over-see that the unclean ghost and his works may be kept out of the camp of god : so that his camp may be holy , and all the holy may come into it ; and he who is holy , may walk in the midst of you his camp , and be glorified in and among you all , who is over all , and worthy of all glory from everlasting to everlasting , blessed and praised for evermore . london , 22. 9th month , 1681. g. fox . from the rising of the sun , even to the going down of the same , my name shall be great among the gentiles : and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name , and a pure offering : for my name shall be great among the heathen , saith the lord of hosts , mal. 1.11 . the lord raigneth , let the earth rejoyce , let the multitude of the isles be glad ; let every thing that hath breath praise the lord , for the lord taketh pleasure in his people ; he will beautifie the meek with salvation , psal . 97 , and 98. and psal . 149 , and 150. london , printed for ben. clark in george-yard in lombard-street , 1682. something by way of query to the bishops courts, which we the people of god, called quakers, never yet received an answer to. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1671 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a84812 wing f1909 estc r229271 45789317 ocm 45789317 172626 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84812) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 172626) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:23) something by way of query to the bishops courts, which we the people of god, called quakers, never yet received an answer to. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n.], [london : printed in the year, 1671. attributed to george fox by wing. place of publication suggested by wing. reproduction of original in: friends' library (london, england). created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -england -doctrines -early works to 1800. broadsides -england -17th century. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2007-10 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion something by way of query to the bishops courts , which we the people of god , called quakers , never yet received an answer to . chansellor , why do you not come to church ? give a reason why you will not come ? i demand of thee the kings patten , with his seal , and his hand , and his armes , for keeping thy court , before i speak to thee any more ; for many keep courts and shew not their authority , and by that i may be brought into bondage : so i will see thy patten , with the kings seal and hand , and armes . and secondly , i would know the reason of thee , why thou and you forsook us near about twenty years ago , and left your church ? that by this time i might have been turned heathen , a turk , or a jew , and my soul might have been lost for thee and you . for who hath watched over me and been my keeper about these twenty years ? but you have left me , i have neither sermon , nor exhortation , nor epistle , nor colect , nor gospel , nor even-song , nor homily , nor mattin , from you ; though the lord god hath been my watcher over me , and my overseer , who is now my teacher . and do you think that the lord will not require his fock at your hands which you left almost twenty years to the wolves and dogs , to tear our fleece , and flesh , and to destroy the sheep ; and then will he require the fleece , if he require the sheep and his flock , which you have left to wolves and dogs , to tear the fleece off the back of them ? for how have anabaptists , and independants , and presbyterians torn the flesh off the backs of the sheep , and prisoned the sheep to death : and you in the time of persecution neither sent epistle , nor colect , nor exhortation , nor gospel , nor even-song , nor homily , nor mattin to the sheep , nor mattered not them , nor cared for them . for if a man hire a man to keep a flock of sheep , and have so many delivered into his hand , and the hireling shepherd have so much a year , will not the master or the lord require both sheep and fleece of the hireling shepherd if he see a dog , or a wolf , ( which may be calling the usurping power ) come to worry the sheep , and he fly away in the time of persecution , is not this an hireling that flies , because he is an hireling , and doth not care for the sheep , and worse than david who defended his sheep from the bear and the lyon ? and so if the shepherd suffer any of the sheep to be worried , or feece to be torn off , will not the master or lord require both his fleece and sheep of the shepherd ? so read jacob to laban . for doth not the lord say , he will require both the fleece and flock ? so consider and judge your selves in this case , and do not ask me a reason why i do not come to the church but answer me this , why you left me as a sheep to all the wolves ? for we have the kings speech , and declarations , and promises , and words of a king for liberty of conscience , that none should call us in question if we live peaceably under his government . therefore what have you to do to call us in question contrary to the kings speech and declaration , and word of a king , we being peaceable ? as you may read his late declaration , and there is an act that four may meet , so i may meet with my own family by the act of parliament . and so if you will give me a reason why you for sook us , and prove all your practice , worship and religion by scripture , and whether or no paul , and the apostles , timothy and titus the bishops , had tippets , hoods , rayles , altars , surplices in their worships ? and whether timothy and titus , which were called bishops , were called gracious lords , as your bishops are ? and whether to be called so is not a breach of christs command , who said , the gentiles were called gracious lords , but it should not be so among his disciples ? and whether or no john baptized christ in a font , and signed him with the sign of the cross ? and whether he had a god-father , or god-mother , yea , or nay ? and whether or no those several thousands that peter baptized , whether he baptized them in a font , and signed them with the sign of the cross ? and whether had all these god-fathers , and god-mothers ? and whether or no the eunuch , when philip baptized him , did he it in a font with the sign of the cross ? and if so , who were their god-fathers and god-mothers , and where stood the font , and who commanded the cross ? answer me these things by scripture , and convince me by scripture of these things , for we are to search the scriptures whether these things be so as you speak , and try all things , and hold fast that which is good . and we are to lay hands on no man suddenly , nor presume above what is written ; thou knowest this is scripture ; read the corinthians and the other epistles . and whether or no the apostles , or christ , or timothy , or titus had paritors to summon in people to hear them , and if they would not hear them , and come to their meetinging place , excommunicate them before they were of their religion , or know what it was , and before they had convinced them by sound doctrine , and good conversation ? and whether excommunication be not to such as be of their church , and know their principles , and which doth some bad thing for which they are excommunicated and put out of their assemblies ? and is this reason to excommunicate such as were never of their church , and do not know their principles or doctrine , nor cannot be charged with a bad conversation in any particular , and before they be convinced by sound doctrine , or good conversation concerning your religion and worship ? and is this reasonable to excommunicate those that you ran away from , and lest to the devourer , before you seek to bring them in again by sound doctrine or good conversation ? answer these things , yea , or nay . g. printed in the year , 1671. for your whoredoms in the city of london, is the hand of the lord stretched forth against thee, and the sword of the lord god drawn to hew thee down ... fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40188 of text r215499 in the english short title catalog (wing f1823a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 4 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40188 wing f1823a estc r215499 99827357 99827357 31775 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40188) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 31775) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1908:7) for your whoredoms in the city of london, is the hand of the lord stretched forth against thee, and the sword of the lord god drawn to hew thee down ... fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [london? : 1660] signed: g.f., i.e. george fox. title taken from first lines of text. imprint supplied by wing. reproduction of the original in the british library. eng christian literature -early works to 1800. warnings -early works to 1800. a40188 r215499 (wing f1823a). civilwar no for your whoredoms in the city of london, is the hand of the lord stretched forth against thee, and the sword of the lord god drawn to hew t fox, george 1660 837 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion for your whoredoms in the city of london , is the hand of the lord stretched forth against thee , and the sword of the lord god drawn to hew thee down . ye airy spirits , ye high mindes , ye treacherous hearts , ye whores and whoremongers , the god of glory is risen , the sword is drawn . ye chaffish mindes , the plagues of god is to confound you all . ye proud , ye are for the fire which cannot be quenched . ye proud and lofty , and high-minded , are an abomination : it goes before the fall . ye lustful ones , the plague and dread of the lord is to come upon you , who are up in the air , clouds without water , trees without fruit , in your lusts burning , filled with unrighteousness . one tempts another with your beauty , which is vain ; with your apparel , the fashions of it , which your lusts doth increase , which under judgement must be brought , with the terrible god , which is a consuming fire to the proud . and the day of the lord shall burn the wicked ; plagues and vengeance of god be poured forth upon the whores , and upon the whoremongers , and upon the wicked , who burns your selves in your lusts , and brings the plagues of god upon you . oh you stink before the lord , oh you are noysome ; the noysome smell of your flesh stinks , which burns . ye corrupted ones , plagues , wo and misery is to come upon you all , in whom that nature lives contrary to the light : the works of darkness are seen ; you cannot hide your selves from the secrets of the lord , but he sees your works , your actions , your deeds . and the light in all your consciences , shall answer gods judgments , and make you to confess his judgements just , his wrath just , his vengeance just , his plagues just , his destruction just . and this is the word of the lord to you , and answered shall be in every one of your consciences , in the day of the lords slaughter . a witness against all ungodliness . the lord god of heaven and earth is not worshipped . to idolatries are you given , and to pleasures and wantonness , and to pride ; so on going without the fear of god , making images , and so delighting in the works of your own hands , making likenesses of things that be in heaven , of angels ; and making likenesses of things that be in the sea , and making the likeness of things that be on the earth , of men and women , and creatures , and of the stars , sun and moon ; so follows your own inventions , taking pleasure in the works of your own hands , given up to idolatry , in the day-time , found in pleasures , sporting , and in wantonness , which the lord sent his apostles to cry against , who was in the same spirit that gave forth the scriptures : therefore we having the same spirit , do cry out against such things now , as moses and the prophets , who received the law from god . so that the spirit of the lord is grieved now , to see the images of men and women made of stone and wood , set up and down ; and the likenesses of other creatures , of horses , bulls , birds , fowls in the air , and fishes in the sea and rivers , and creeping things of the earth . and this is found in the inventing minde , in cain's nature , where the pride , strife and envie is . i am the light of the world , and doth lighten every one that comes into the world , faith christ the son of god , the covenant of life and peace . if you take heed to this light that comes from the lord jesus , and in it walk , you will come to see the lord jesus , the saviour of your souls , from whence this light comes , who is the way to the father . but if you hate the light which comes from the lord jesus , and will not bring your deeds to the light , with the light to be proved , this is the condemnation , the light , faith christ : which light if ye did love it , would bring you to worship god , and to turn from your inventions , which all is to be condemned with the light , which feedeth the light , wanton , fleshly minde . g. f. a vision concerning the mischievous seperation [sic] among friends in old england keith, george, 1639?-1716. 1692 approx. 6 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-02 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a47196 wing k230 estc r13532 12936900 ocm 12936900 95769 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a47196) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 95769) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 717:24) a vision concerning the mischievous seperation [sic] among friends in old england keith, george, 1639?-1716. fox, george, 1624-1691. 7 p. printed and sold by will. bradford, philadelphia : 1692. signed, p. 5: g.f. "collected and arranged under this false title by george keith, for an evil purpose, to pass off as george fox's."--smith, j. friends' books, v. 2, 26. "a general epistle against separation" [p. 5] has caption title. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -england. 2005-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-09 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2005-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a vision concerning the mischievous seperation among friends in old england . printed and sold by will. bradford at philadelphia , 1692. a vision concerning the mischievous seperation , in old england dear friends & brethren , as i was at prayer in my chamber upon the twenty third day of ●he twelfth month , in the year 1678. and making inter●●ssion to the lord for friends , his people , that the lord would be pleased to preserve th●m from this rough and foul spirit that was risen up ; and the lord did answer me in my prayer ▪ that this spirit was risen up for the tryal of hi● people , in the life , and light , and power , and grace , and truth . and i saw more than can be expressed in words ; for it was risen for to try them , and that they might keep in th● power of the lord , and in their habitations . and so , when the lord hath tryed his people , and their singleness to him , and when this spirit hath spent its strength , and gone the way of all that hath risen before it , then they may see how all things work together for the good of them that love god. and therefore stand fast in the liberty where-with christ hath made you free , in his light , grace and truth , and power , and spirit , and faith , to christ , from whence it comes , christ your rock and foundation , that cannot be shaken , and in whom is your election , life and salvation . so that all may stand to christ their lord and master , to be ordered by him , with his glorious gospel , which is not of man , but from heaven . for i saw all friends as if they were bedewed from heaven , and they sate as in a valley , and wet with the dew of life ; and the other hard dead spirit was floating a top with the words of truth , which spirit is for the tryal of his people , of their standing singly in the life , to god , upon their own foundation . so as i was at prayer , the lord answered me , that this spirit of j. s. j. w. and their company , were raised up for the tryal of friends , their standing to god ; for it was high , and friends were low , in the power and spiri● of god , and wet with dew and sate in the valley , and will rise when their height will fall ; and therefore friends are to stand to god. g. f. a general epistle against seperation . dear friends and brethren ; in the lord jesus christ , in whom you have all peace and life ; and in him there is no division , nor schism , nor rent , nor strife , nor seperation ; for christ is not divided , and there can be no seperation in the light , grace , faith and holy ghost , but unity , and fellowship , and communion ; for the devil was the first that went out of the truth , and seperated fro● it , and tempted man and woman to disobey god , and to go from the truth into a false liberty , and to that which god forbad . and so , it is the serpent now that leads man and woman into a false l●berty , the god of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from which man and woman must be seperated by the truth , and then for christ the truth to make them free , and then they are free indeed ; and then they are to stand fast in the liberty in which christ hath made them free ; and in him , as i said before , there is no division , nor schism , nor rent , nor seperation , but peace , and life , and reconciliation to god , and one to another ; so that in christ male and female are all one ; whether they be male or female , jew or gentile , bond or free , they are all one in christ ; and there can be no schism , rent or division in him , nor in the worship of god in his holy spirit and truth , nor in the pure undefiled religion that keeps from the spots of the world , nor in the love of god that beareth and endureth all things , nor in the word of gods grace ; for it is pure , and endureth forever . many , you see , have lost the word of patience , and the word of wisdom , that is pure , and peaceable ▪ and gentle , and easie to be intreated ; when they are gone from the ●ord of patience , then we have seen their own patience q●ickly worn out , when they turn from the word of wisd●m that is pure , and peace●ble , and gentle , and easie to be intreated , then they run into the wisdom that is below , that is earthly , sensual and devilish , and very uneasie to be entreated ; they are gone from the love of god that ●eareth all things , and endureth all things , and thinketh no evil , and doth not behave it self unseemly ; then they cannot bear , but grow brittle , and are easily provoked , and run into unseemly things and vaunteth it self , and is puffed up , and is rash , heady , high-minded and fierce , and becomes like sounding brass , or a tinkling simbal ; and this is contrary to the nature of the love of god , which is kind , and endureth all things , and beareth all things . and therefore all dear friends and brethren , dwell in the love of god ; for they who dwell in love , dwell in god , and god in them , and keep in the word of wisdom , which is gentle , pure and peaceable , and the word of patience that endureth and beareth all things ; and this word of patience the devil , and the world and all his instruments can never wear out , it will wear them all out , and was before they were , and will be when ●hey are gone , the pure holy word of god , by which all gods children are born again , and feed on the milk of the word of life , and grow by it . and so my desires are , that you be all of one heart , mind , soul and spirit , in christ jesus . amen . you may read this in your monethly and quarterly meetings . bednell green , near london , the ●5 . 10. mo. 1686. the end . something concerning silent meetings fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40255 of text r26721 in the english short title catalog (wing f1909a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 2 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40255 wing f1909a estc r26721 09527479 ocm 09527479 43495 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40255) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 43495) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1331:20) something concerning silent meetings fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. s.n., [london? : 1657] signed: g.f. reproduction of original in the huntington library. eng society of friends -apologetic works. society of friends -customs and practices. a40255 r26721 (wing f1909a). civilwar no something concerning silent meetings. fox, george 1657 342 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion something concerning silent meetings . concerning silent meetings , the intent of all speaking is to bring into the life , and to walk in , and to possess the same , and to live and enjoy it , and to feel god's presence , and that is in the silence , not in the wandring whirling tempest part of man or woman ; for there is the flock lying down at noon-day , and feeding of the bread of life , and drinking at the springs of life when they do not speak words ; for words declaring is to bring people to it , and confessing god's goodness and love , as they are moved by the eternal god and his spirit , and so all the ravenous spirits that are from the witness of god in themselves , cannot be still , cannot be silent , it is a burthen to them ; so cannot keep at home in their own houses , but are the hunters before the lord like nimrod the first builder of babel ; for god confounded them , for they went out of the stillness and quietness , and like unto the jews that went from the law of god , then they gadded abroad , and changed their wayes , and so did not see their salvation ; then were they like unto the apostate christians , who inwardly ravened from the spirit , of god ; so is gone from the silence , and stilness , and from waiting upon god to have their strength renewed , and so are dropt into sects , and heaps among one another , and so has the words of christ and the apostles , but inwardly ravened from the still life , in which is the fellowship atteined to in the still life , in the spirit of god , in the power of god which is the gospel , in which is the fellowship when there is no words spoken . g. f. a paper to friends, and others, against the pomps of the world, followed and used by many tradesmen in their vocations, contrary unto many of their suerties [sic] promises and vows. fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a84803 of text r213321 in the english short title catalog (wing f1876a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a84803 wing f1876a estc r213321 45789315 ocm 45789315 172624 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84803) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 172624) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:21) a paper to friends, and others, against the pomps of the world, followed and used by many tradesmen in their vocations, contrary unto many of their suerties [sic] promises and vows. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by john bringhurst ..., london : 1682/3 [i.e. 1683] signed: london, the 2d. of the 11th month, 1682. g.f. [i.e. george fox]. imprint from colophon. reproduction of original in: friends' library (london, england). eng society of friends -england -pastoral letters and charges -early works to 1800. broadsides -england -17th century. a84803 r213321 (wing f1876a). civilwar no a paper sent forth into the world from them that are scornfully called quakers, declaring the grounds & reasons why they deny the teachers o fox, george 1659 1589 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 b the rate of 6 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2007-10 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a paper to friends , and others , against the pomps of the world , followed and used by many tradesmen in their vocations , contrary unto many of their suerties promises and vows . friends , stand in the eternal power of god , witnesses for the eternal god against the devil and his works , and the world , and the lusts , and pomps , and vanities of the world , which world the devil is god of . now , there is a saying by the godfathers and godmothers ( so called ) that they do promise and vow , &c. to forsake the devil and all his works , the pomps and vanities of this wicked world , and all the sinfull lusts of the flesh , and vow for children , that they will not follow them , nor will be led by them ; but forsake them all . but do not we see , that many that say so , run into all or many the lusts , and pomps and vanities of the world ? and are not such offended at those tradesmen that cannot trim their cloaths and apparel according to the pomps and lusts , and fashions of the world , which pass away ? but such tradesmen that stand as witnesses in the power and truth of god , against such pomps , lusts and vanities of the world , cannot fulfill the peoples minds , in them : and therefore they are offended at them . but did god make man and woman with these pomps vanities and lusts of the world ? or how came they into them ? no , god did not make man & woman with these pomps vanities & lusts of the world . but when man and woman forsook the living god , and disobeyed him , and followed the serpent , satan & the devil ; then he filled them with these pomps , and lusts and vanities of the wicked world , which the devil is god of . so they fell from the righteousness , and holiness and image of god ; and disobeying and transgressing the command of god ; and going from god , and following the serpent , he hath filled them with pride , envy , malice and hatred one against another ; and with the lusts and pomps of the world . and they are grieved and vexed one against another , when they cannot have such pomps and vanities , as others have , and think much at such , and envy them that are in pomp and pride , beyond them or above them . and this pride , pomp and lust , the devil , hath begotten into man and woman , in the fall from god . and so it had a beginning in man and woman , and must there have an end , if ever they come to god . and they that stand faithfull witnesses for the eternal god , in his eternal power and truth , are witnesses against all this pride and pomp and vanities of the world , and lusts of the flesh , and the devil and his works , and cannot please them , nor satisfy them in their pomps pride and lusts of the world , which are of the devil , and not of god , though it might bring them in much gain ; yet they in their pomp and pride are offended , and very angry with them , that cannot satisfy their minds in them . for , the apostle saith , the lusts of the flesh , the lusts of the eye , and the pride of life , is not of the father ( mark , not of the father ) not of god the father , the creator of all , that takes care for all , who is the lord of all . now if the lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye , and the pride of life , be not of the father ; who is it of then , but of the devil , the god of the world which lyes in wickedness ? now how comes this lust of the eye , & pride of life , and lusts of the flesh into man and woman ? seeing it is not of the living god the father , it came by the devil , when man and woman transgressed the command of the living god , and obeyed the serpent , and so fell from their innocency , and the image of god in righteousness and holiness . so then the devil the god of the world , filled them with the lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye , and the pride of life , which is not of the father . so this had a beginning in man and woman when they went from god , and disobeyed him , and transgressed his commandment , and not before . so they stand in the eternal power of god , and christ , who hath renewed them up into the image of god , that man and woman was in , before they fell ; they stand witnesses against the lusts of the flesh , and the lusts of the eye , and the pride of life ; and the god of the world , that hath filled man and woman with these things , and hath begotten these things into them . so these tradesmen that are gods witnesses , and cannot satisfy , nor fulfill , nor please , the lust of the eye , and the pride of life , nor lust of the flesh , which is not of the father , but of the god of the world , the devil , whom christ destroyed and his works ; who through death destroyed death , and the devil the power of death . and so christ's witnesses and followers do stand witnesses in his power and truth against the devil and his works , and the pomps and vanities of the wicked world . these are sealed certain witnesses in gods eternal power and truth , against all that which is not of the father , but of the devil : and also are witnesses for that which is of god the father , and his son jesus christ , and for his glory , and for his honour , and his praise . but they that are in their pomps and vanities , and followers of the god of the world and his works , & the lusts of the flesh , the lusts of the eye , and the pride of life , do hate and persecute them that stand witnesses against such things . and they who are in their pomps , will hardly imploy those that stand witnesses against them in their pride and pomps . so that these tradesmen can hardly get any trading amongst them , whilst they stand witnesses in god the father's power and truth against those who are in those pomps and vanities , and in that which is not of the father . and in so doing they know that they keep clean consciences to god ; and know , and are assured that his blessings rest upon ●hem , who will bless them with blessings from above , and the blessings beneath . and they are witnesses for god , who hath his upper springs , and his nether springs to refresh them , which enables them to stand faithfull witnesses for the living god their father : to whom be glory for ever ; whose glory is over all the works of his hands ; who is worthy to be served , worshipped and honoured for evermore , amen . london , the 2d . of the 11th month , 1682. g. f. and therefore it is good for all , to wait patiently upon the lord ; for some of you do know , when truth first broke forth in london , that many tradesmen could not take so much money in their shops for some time , as would buy them bread and water ; because they withstood the worlds ways , words , fashions and customs ; yet by their patient waiting upon the lord , in their good life and conversation , they came to answer the truth in people's hearts and consciences . so there rises a belief in people , that friends would not wrong them in any thing : so that at last the lord did increase his blessings , both inwardly , and outwardly upon his people . and therefore , let none murmur nor complain ; but wait in patience and faithfulness , upon the lord , who is both god in heaven , and in the earth , and all is the lords , who can fill you both with his temporal and spiritual blessings . therefore all walk worthy of them in truth and righteousness ; that whatever ye do in word or deed , it may be done to the praise and glory of god . g. f. london , printed by john bringhurst , at the sign of the book in grace-church-street , 1682 / 3. concerning daily sacrifices and offerings fox, george, 1624-1691. 1688 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40139 wing f1765a estc r220227 99831649 99831649 36114 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40139) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36114) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:2) concerning daily sacrifices and offerings fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [london : 1688] signed at end: g.f., i.e. george fox. imprint from wing. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng christian life -early works to 1800. christianity -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion concerning daily sacrifies and offerings . the priests under the law daily offered sacrifices ; but christ our high priest need not daily , as those priests , offer sacrifice for his own sin , and then for the peoples , ( heb. 7.16 , 28. ) for christ did once offer up himself , who is made , not after the law of a carnal commandment , but after the power of an endless life , who is set down at the right-hand of god , and so cannot be offered as an offering and sacrifice any more , who abolished the changeable priest-hood , with all its offerings and sacrifices , by the sacrifice and offering of himself once for all . and so it is said , i am come to do the will of god ; to take away the first , namely priest-hood and covenant-offerings , and establish the second , by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus , ( mark ) christs body is offered up once for all , heb. 9.10 . and so christ is entered into heaven it self , not that he should offer himself often , as the high-priests did , for then must christ often have suffered , but he hath put away sin by the sacrifice of himself once for all ; so christ was once offered to bear the sins of many , and unto them that look for him , shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation , as in heb. 9.25 , 26 , 28. so here you may see christ is not often offered up as a sacrifice , or an offering for the sins of the whole world , then had he often suffered : but after christ had offered up one sacrifice for sins for ever , he sat down at the right-hand of god ; and by this one offering christ hath perfected forever them that are sanctified . so here you may see , it is one offering , and one sacrifice , once for all , not offering christ many times , nor often . and in hebrews , 12.12 , 14. the priests under the law , they offered offerings , but christ offered up himself , who had power to lay down his life , and take it again , so it was not priests that offered christ up ; for after christ had offered up one sacrifice and one offering for sins , by which offering and sacrifice he perfected forever them that are sanctified , and sat down at the right-hand of god , who ever lives to make intercession for his people . and christ saith , offerings and sacrifices thou wouldest not , but a body hast thou prepared me , to do thy will ; by the which will we are sanctified through the offering up of the body of jesus christ once for all , as before , and so he did not often offer up his body as a sacrifice for all , for then must he often have suffered , as before ; but now once ( mark once ) hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself , and not by offering or sacrificing of himself often ; for as it is said , christ having somewhat to offer , that is , he offered up himself , his body , once for all sins , and the daily sacrifice , and made an end of the daily sacrifices , as in dan. 9. wherein you may see he caused the daily sacrifices and oblations to cease , when he was cut off , not for himself , but for the people , who by one offering and sacrifice of himself , ended the daily offerings and sacrifices . and therefore all are to look unto him the one offering and sacrifice once for all . david saith , the sacrifices of god are a broken spirit , and a broken and contrite heart , and these are the sacrifices that god will not dispise , psal . 51 . 1● . and david said , let my prayer be set before thee as incense ( mark as incense ) and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice ( mark as the evening sacrifice ) now here you may see , david saw beyond the outward offerings and sacrifices , for he desires that his prayer might be as incense , and his lifting up hands as the evening sacrifice , psal . 141.2 . and solomon saith , that the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the lord ; but the prayers of the vpright-hearted is his delight , prov. 15.8 . here you may see , you that are wicked , your prayers and sacrifices are not accepted , and to do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the lord then outward sacrifices , prov. 21.3 . so here you may see , it is not offering sacrifice only with a company of words , nor outward things , but a practizing judgment and justice . and christ saith to the outward jews , that were in their outward offerings and sacrifices , and their long prayers ; christ said unto them , i will have mercy and not sacrifice , and bid them go learn what that meaneth : for the lord said , i desired mercy , and not sacrifice , and the knowledg of god more then burnt offerings , mat. 9.13 . hos . 6.6 . so here you may see mercy and the knowledg of god is beyond outward offerings and sacrifices . for as the apostle saith , christ hath loved us , and hath given himself an offering and sacrifice for us to god , for a sweet smelling savour , ephe. 5.2 . so you may see christ hath given himself an offering and sacrifice for us to god , and the saints now do not offer up christ , who hath already offered up himself ( mark himself ) but they are to present their bodies a living sacrifice , holy acceptable to god , which is their reasonable service . this the apostle writ to the church of christ the romans , which same is the duty of all christians . and the apostle saith to the church of christ the hebrews , by him ( namely christ ) let us offer the sacrifice of praise to god continually , that is the fruit of our lips , giving thanks unto his name , and do good and communicate , for with such sacrifices god is well pleased : for even christ our passover is sacrificed for us , as in 1 cor. 5.7 . and peter , in his general epistle , told the church of christ , that they were built up a spiritual houshold , a holy royal priest-hood , to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god by jesus christ , ( mark by jesus christ to god. ) now all the true christians are a royal priest-hood , and a spiritual houshold , and with the spirit they are to offer up spiritual sacrifices ; these are they that are accepteble to god by jesus christ in the new testament and new covenant ; so the apostle did not say they should offer up jesus christ , but offered sacrifice to god by jesus christ ; for christ had offered up himself once for all . and you may see how the jewes , when they forsook the lord , they joyned themselves to baal peor , and did eat the sacrifice of the dead , which was forbidden of the lord , and provoked him to anger , that his plague broke out upon them , as in psal . 106.28 , 29. g. f. how gods people are not to take the names of the heathen gods in their mouths, nor follow their customs nor learn their waies, &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1687 approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a84791 wing f1844 estc r229086 45789314 ocm 45789314 172623 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84791) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 172623) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:20) how gods people are not to take the names of the heathen gods in their mouths, nor follow their customs nor learn their waies, &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) [s.n.], london : printed in the year 1687. signed: g.f. [i.e. george fox]. imprint from colophon. reproduction of original in: friends' library (london, england). created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -england -doctrines -early works to 1800. days -names -early works to 1800. broadsides -england -17th century. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-01 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2008-01 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion how gods people are not to take the names of the heathen gods in their mouths . nor follow their customs nor learn their waies , &c. thus saith the lord to the house of israel , learn not the way of the heathen , and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven , for the heathen are dismayed at them , for the customs of the people are vain , &c. for they are altogether brutish and foolish : their stock is a doctrin of vanities . thus shall ye say unto them , the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth , even they shall perish from the earth , and from under these heavens , jer. 10. pour out thy fury upon the heathen , that know thee not , and upon the families that call not upon thy name , &c. for they have eaten up jacob , and devoured him , and consumed him , and have made his habitation desolate : but the lord is the true god , he is the living god , and an everlasting king at his wrath . the earth shall tremble , and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation , jer. 10. 25. here you may see they that follow the vain customs of the heathen , and learn their waies , and follow the doctrin of their vanities , are foolish and brutish , and such worship the gods that are made with hands , which made not the heavens and the earth , and all such gods the lord saith shall perish from the earth , and from under these heavens ; as you may see these that learned the way of the heathen , and followed their vain customs and doctrines of vanities , and were foolish and brutish , and were dismayed at the signs of heaven , and these are such that eat up jacob , the second birth , and seek to devour him , and consume him , and to make his habitation desolate . so the jews the children of israel were not to learn the waies of the heathen , nor their vain customs , nor to follow their doctrine of vanities , for they were foolish and brutish that did so : and the portion of jacob , the second birth , is not like them , for the lord is his portion . the lord said to the children of israel in the old testament , and old covenant , in all things that i have said unto you be circumspect , and make no mention of the names of other gods , neither let it be heard out of thy mouth , exod. 23. 13. now here you may see gods people were to make no mention of the names of other gods , namely the gods of the heathen that were made with hands , neither were they to be heard out of their mouths , for he saith , the gods that made not the heavens and the earth , even they shall perish from off the earth , and from under these heavens , jer. 10. 11. and god's people were not to learn the way of the heathen , nor follow the vain customs of the people : for they are altogether brutish and foolish , and their stock is a doctrin of vanities : and therefore god's people in the old testament , were wholly forbidden such things , but they were to serve and to fear the lord god. the old pagan saxons , in their idolatry , brought in the names of the daies after their gods ; and these called christians have retained them to this day ; and yet they say the scripture is their rule , for their faith and practice , and yet their practice is quite contrary to the scripture , and the command of god. the first day of the week , the idolatrous saxons worshipped the idol of the sun , from whence came sunsday or sunday . the second day of the week they worshipped the moon , from whence came munday or moonsday . the third day they worshipped the idol of the planet , which they called tuisco , from whence came tuesday . and from their idol woden , came wodensday , called wednesday . and from their idol , thor , came thursday . and from their idol friga , came friday . and from their idol satur , came saturday . and the heathen called mars the god of battle , and from thence they called the first month march. and venus they called the goddess of love and beauty , and from thence they called the second month april . and maja a heathen goddess , called flora , and chloris , were called the goddesses of flowers , unto maja , the heathen idolaters used a sacrifice , from thence was the third month called may ; and upon the first day of may they used to keep floras feast to the two goddesses of flowers ( to wit ) flora and chloris . flora was a strumpet in rome , that used on the first day of may to set up a may-pole at the door to entice her lovers ; from whence came may-poles to be first observed . and from the heathen goddess juno , is the fourth month called ●●●e . and in honour to julius caesar , a roman emperour , they called the fifth month july . and the sixth took its name august in honour to augustus caesar . and september , october , november , and december , are called from the latines . and one janus ; a king of italy , was for his wisdom pictured with two faces , and whom they honoured as a god , and from this name janus was the eleventh month , called january . and saturnus , pluto , febeus were called the gods of hell , whom the heathen said had the rule of the evil spirit there ; and from pluto , febeus was the twelfth month , called february . now here you may see how the christians call the daies , and many of the months after the heathen gods and goddesses , and not after the scriptures , which in the beginning called them the first , second , third , fourth , &c. and called the months , first , second , &c. to the twelfth . and the lord commanded the jews his people , as is said before , in all things i have said unto you be ye circumspect , and make no mention of the names of the other gods : neither let it be heard out of thy mouth . now all you that profess christianity , how do you obey the lord , and are circumspect , who make mention of the names of other gods & godesses , & are so often heard out of the mouths of you and your children , and to keep them up in the memory both in your mouthes and childrens , ye put them in your almanacks lest ye should forget them ; and yet you say the scripture is your rule , and yet disobey both the command of god and the holy scriptures of truth , and are often angry with , and deride the people of god in scorn , you call quakers , because they do not call the months and daies after the heathens gods and goddesses , but do call them according as the holy men of god in the scriptures of truth have first called them , and cannot call them after the idolatrous heathens gods and goddesses , nor mention their gods and goddesses names , as you do , without the breach of the command of god , as in exod. 23. 13. and the scriptures of truth . the lord saith , i will cut off the names of the idols out of the land , and they shall no more be remembred , zach. 13. 2. and the lord saith , i will take away the names of baalim out of her mouth , and they shall no more be remembred by their name , hos . 2. 17. g. f. london , printed in the year . 1687. to the people of uxbridge fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40301 of text r29434 in the english short title catalog (wing f1959). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 9 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40301 wing f1959 estc r29434 11132634 ocm 11132634 46375 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40301) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46375) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1423:30) to the people of uxbridge fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. printed for thomas simmons, london : 1659. signed: g.f. reproduction of original in the british library. eng society of friends -pastoral letters and charges. christian life -quaker authors. uxbridge (middlesex) -moral conditions. a40301 r29434 (wing f1959). civilwar no to the people of uxbridge. fox, george 1659 1792 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 b the rate of 6 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2008-07 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion to the people of uxbridge . friends , your conditions is grieved and lamented over , your want of the life of god , and barrennesse of his power amongst you , whose leane soules are seen , whose barrennesse , and ba●re● womb appeares , who little thirsts after the living god , whose wildnesse , wantonness , and negligence of the everlasting salvation appeares ; yet full , like sodom and gomorrah , being full of that which is wicked and profane ; the streets of your town will manifest it . o people , where is your salvation , and what assurance have you of that , and of your eternal inheritance , where nothing that doth defile , enters ? o are ye come to examine , and see whether christ be in you , or no , that wickedness , profaneness , unrighteousness , ungodliness , filthiness , might go out of you ? for if christ be found within you , the strong man goes out that has kept the house , and defiled the heart , and the body , and the mind , and that prisoned the soule ; if christ be felt within , there 's the soules bishop . o people , i am grieved with your abominations , and filthiness , and unsavouriness , and untowardness , and your unsubjected state to the life and power of god ; if you do not repent , and that your mindes be not changed to serve the living god in spirit , which mortifies sinne and corruption , the earth will vomit you out , who has cumbred it , and destroyed the creatures of god on your filthy ungodly lusts , and that you have served and pleasured . o i am weary of mine adversaries saith the lord , i am weary of your abominations , ye have loaded the just , and pressed it as a cart with sheaves , your hearts are gross and fat ; with your tongues , you have talked of god , but your hearts has been farre off , after your own ends : your younger children , boyes and people are full of lightness , wildeness , folly , and vanity , and envie , and mocking , scorn and derision , ( which is not a good savour in your streets ) stubborness , and untowardness , and profaneness , and wildeness , more like esau's and ishmaels stock , then isaack's and jacob's ; your old men are not sober , nor solid , nor grave , and so they are not good patterns to the younger : so ye are all more like heathens then christians , empty of the good , full of the forgetfulness of god , and out of his fear , as though there was no god , as though ye had never heard talk of god , nor scripture , nor christ ; but this saying is fulfilled , the teachers have not profited the people at all , jer. 23. but like people , like priest . but what a teacher is he that must serve this people ? who must be the prophet , or the priest , that must fit such a people ? surely he must be such a one as teaches for filthy lucre , and bears rule by his meanes , that will devine for money , that will preach peace to them , while they put into their mouthes , such as mindes earthly things , who serves not the lord jesus christ , but their own bellies , that has such fruites in the streets : but such as seeks for their gain from their quarter , and the price , never lead people to the lord , but lead them into the earth , and to be like themselves , and they live like beasts and swine , as you may read , jer. 5. mic. 3. ezek. 34. esai 56. jer. 23. rom. 13. matthew 23 , whose fruits declares it . and away with the profession of god with your lips , while your hearts are farre off ; and away with your making a trade of the scriptures , christs and the prophets and the apostles words , which many suffered death for giving them forth ; and away with your lukewarmness , and away with your carnal formality , and away with your doctrines and traditions of men , which perishes in the using of them ; and away with your singing of davids quakings , and tremblings , and fastings in meeter , and come to sing in the spirit ; and away with your hour-glass preaching , and hypocritical praying , and your old mass-house worship , which is called steeple-house or church , and come to the church in god , 1 thess. 1. and to worship god in spirit ; john 4. and the lord is come to teach his people himselfe by his spirit , and to bring them off from all the worlds teachers , and churches , and wayes , to christ , the way to himself , and he doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world , that all through the light might believe ; and every one believing in the light which hath enlightened them , they shall become the children of the light ; but they that hate the light that doth enlighten them , they hate christ , and that condemnes them : and that 's the light that lets the drunkard see he should not be drunk , and the curser that he should not curse , nor swear , and the thief , that he should not steale ; and that the cosiner should not cosen , nor cheat , nor wrong , nor defraud ; and lets the profane see he should not profane ; and lets the envious man see he should not envie , nor fight , nor quarrell , nor lie , nor commit adultery ; that 's the light which discovers that : not to look after a woman to lust after her , that 's the light that saith so , which if ye love the light , it will let you see all your evill thoughts , words and actions which be wrought out of god , and turn you from them ; and coming into the light , your works will be wrought in god , and your words will be from him , and so good : that is in every one of your bosomes that will judge you , and condemn you acting contrary to it , and reprove you ; which if you consider it , and hearken to it , it will turn your minds to the lord god ; but if you hate it , it will be your condemnation . therefore now while you have time , consider and prize it , for this is the day of your visitation , and salvation profered to you : and with the light , with which you see your sin , which christ jesus hath enlightened you withall , with the same you may see your salvation , christ jesus , from whence it comes , to save you from your sin . and people , that which may be known of god is made manifest within you , which god hath shewed unto you , that when you do the thing which is not convenient , not righteous , but worthy of death , by that of god in you ye can tell ; and while your minds is reprobate from that , ye are all strangers from the life of god , and the covenant of promise . and friends , the light ye must feel in your own hearts , to give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ , 2 cor. 4. and all the children of the lord , shall be taught of the lord ; esai . 54. and ye must come to know the anointing in you , to teach you , 1 john 2. and the kingdome of heaven ye must know within you , luke 17. and that's it which never consents to sin . and ye must come to know the new covenant , the law in your minds , and in your hearts , by which ye need not say to one another , know the lord , but that all might come to know him , from the greatest to the least , that witness the law of god put and written in your minds and hearts , that you may come to witness the lord is your god , and ye his people . repent , lest you come to say you had time , when it is past ; so from a lover of your soules , and your eternal good . g. f. come , away with your self-rghteousness , and your feigned humility , and your will-worship , and your carnal-security , and take heed of drunkenness , and filthiness , and profaneness , and scoffing , mocking , scorning , and derision , for such who lives in such things , and acts such things , shall never inherit the kingdom of god ; and away with that you call your sacraments , and your sprinkling infants , and come to christ the substance , and come to the spirit , that you may be baptized into one body , that you may come to possess the things the scripture speaks of . the very mist of the aire is among you , and so are so light , and vain , which are the prince of the aires fruits , and the priests who has long preacht for his mouth ; but if ye put not into his mouth , see if he turn not against you , and you shall not keep him long : so look unto christ jesus to teach you , who said , learn of me , who is the way to the father , who hath enlightened you , that with the light you may see him , who is the bread to feed upon ; but if you hate it , then you feed upon husks . this is to be read among the people of uxbridge london , printed for thomas simmons , at the bull and mouth , near aldersgate , 1659. an epistle to all christians, jews, and gentiles shewing how that god dwells not in their temples made with hands. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1682 approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40170 wing f1803a estc r220233 99831655 99831655 36120 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40170) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36120) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:7) an epistle to all christians, jews, and gentiles shewing how that god dwells not in their temples made with hands. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for john bringhurst, printer and stationer, at the sign of the book in grace-church-street, near cornhil, london : 1682. signed at end: g. fox. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -doctrines -early works to 1800. christian life -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2008-07 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an epistle to all christians , jews , and gentiles . shewing how that god dwells not in their temples made with hands . thus saith the lord , heaven is my throne , and earth is my footstool ; where is the house that you will build unto me , where is the place of my rest ? this the lord said unto the jews that built the temple . isaiah , 66.1 . and solomon saith , the heaven of heavens cannot contain god , how much less the house that he built ? 1 kings , 8.27 . and the same in the 2 chronicles 6.18 . and again , steven saith to the jews high-priest , when he was examining him , though solomon built an house for the lord , howbeit the most high dwells not in temples made with hands ; for heaven is gods throne , and earth is his footstool ; what house will ye build me , saith the lord , or where is the place of my rest ? hath not my hands made all these things ? ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears , ye do always resist the holy-ghost , as your fore-fathers did , so do ye . now here all may see , that it was the stiff-necked and uncircumcised hearts and ears , that were the persecutors , as in the next verse , that did resist the holy-ghost ; and therefore their bodies , in that state , were not like to be temples of the holy-ghost : as in 1 cor. 6.19 . and therefore these persecutors that did resist the holy-ghost , which comes from the father and the son , were the cryers up of the outward temple : they were not like to see god , as steven did , who dwells not in temples made with hands ; and heaven to be his throne , & earth his footstool , who resisteth his holy spirit that proceeds from him , by which god is seen and known . and the apostle paul saith , god that made the world , and all things therein , seeing that he is lord of heaven and earth , dwelleth not in temples made with hands , neither is worshipped with mens hands , as though he needed any thing , seeing he giveth to all , life , and breath , and all things , and hath made of one blood all nations of men , for to dwell on the face of the earth , &c. that they should seek the lord , if happily they might feel after him , and find him , though he be not far from every one of us ; for in him we live , and move , and have our being , &c. acts 17. so you may see here are many witnesses before mentioned , that god that made the world , and all things therein , who is lord of heaven & earth , dwelleth not in temples made with hands , but as the prophets , christ , and the apostles say , heaven is gods throne , and earth is his foot-stool . mat. 5.34 , 35. so all come to know god , who hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth ; he gives to you all , life , and breath , and all things ; i say , all to know him by his spirit which he poureth upon all flesh , heaven to be his throne , and earth to be his foot-stool ; yea , all that dwell upon the face of the earth , know the earth that you dwell upon , and walk upon , to be gods foot-stool , and heaven to be his throne , who is lord of heaven and earth , who gives you breath and life , and poureth his spirit upon you , or in you , joel 2. and acts 2. that with his spirit you may know the day is come that joel spoke of ; & that with his spirit you may all know , that god hath poured his spirit upon you , or in you , that with it you live in god , and move in god , and have your being in god , who is lord of heaven and earth , and heaven is his throne , and earth is his foot-stool , upon which face of the earth you dwell , and walk ; and so all to see and know that ye are the temples of the living god , as god hath said , i will dwell in them , and walk in them , and i will be their god , and they shall be my people , 2 cor. 6.16 . and levit. 26.12 . and thus saith the lord who dwells not in temples made with hands , but the saints that are lead by the holy-ghost , are the temples of god and his holy-ghost ; for the lord saith , the children of israel & judah had provok't him to anger with the works of their hands . the lord saith , for this city ( to wit ) jerusalem , and the temple , hath been to me a provocation of my anger , and of my fury , from the day that they built it , even unto this day ( to wit ) jerusalem and the temple ; that i should remove it from before my face , ( saith the lord ) and destroy it , &c. jer. 32. so you may see here , that such as resisted the holy-ghost , were crying up outward jerusalem , and the outward temple who were the stiff-necked persecutors , and uncircumcised in hearts and ears , as you may see in the prophets time , and in isaiah's time , and in christ's , steven's , and the apostle paul's time ; and such uncircumcised in hearts and ears , that are persecutors , that did , and do resist the holy-ghost now , are crying up outward temples , and imprisoning , and persecuting , and spoiling the goods of people now , because they will not give money to mend their temples or churches , of such as make no use of them , and yet they say , the gates of hell shall not prevail against their church ; and yet dayly want repairing , either by reason of weather , storms , or thunder . and though the lord tells them by his prophet , and steven , and his apostles , that god that made the world , and all things therein , dwells not in temples made with hands , but heaven is his throne , and earth is his foot-stool , and he is the lord of heaven and earth . and saith of his people in these words , what ? know you not that your bodies are the temples of the holy-ghost , which is in you , which you have of god. and again , for ye are the temples of the living god ( as god hath said ) i will dwell in them , and walk in them , and i will be their god , and they shall be my people , and i will be a father to you , and ye shall be my sons and daughters , saith god almighty . jer. 31.33 . and therefore all that receive the holy-ghost , know your bodies to be the temples of the living god , and his holy-ghost and heaven to be gods throne , and earth his foot-stool , and that you dwell and walk upon his foot-stool , and that you do live and move , and have your everlasting being in god , who dwells not in temples made with hands , but god dwells and walks in you his temple , and he is your god and father , and you are his people , and the sons and daughters of god almighty . so that every one may truly say , i live and move and have my being in god , and heaven is his throne , and earth is his foot-stool , which i naturally dwell upon and walk upon ; and spiritually in god i live and move , and have my being to his praise and glory , who is lord of all , both in heaven and earth , from everlasting to everlasting , blessed and praised for ever , amen . one god and father of all , who is above all , and through all , and in you all . ephes . 4.6 . all people know god the father so to be . the 4th . of 7th . month , 1682. g. fox . london , printed for john bringhurst , printer and stationer , at the sign of the book in grace-church-street , near cornhil , 1682. our covenant with god and with all men is peace and life and light and salvation fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40220 of text r26718 in the english short title catalog (wing f1871b). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40220 wing f1871b estc r26718 09527458 ocm 09527458 43492 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40220) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 43492) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1331:19) our covenant with god and with all men is peace and life and light and salvation fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. printed for thomas simmons, london : 1660. title from first lines of text. signed: g.f. reproduction of original in the huntington library. eng society of friends -apologetic works. oaths -religious aspects. a40220 r26718 (wing f1871b). civilwar no our covenant with god and with all men is peace, and life, and light, and salvation to the ends of the earth, ... fox, george 1660 1341 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 pip willcox sampled and proofread 2008-02 pip willcox text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion ovr covenant with god and with all men is peace , and life , and light , and salvation to the ends of the earth , which is our testimony to all men upon the earth , and is not to destroy mens lives , but to save them , which covenant destroyeth the devil and his works , the author of all murderous plots and treachery , betrayers which is under the devils kingdom , out of the truth and innocency and the covenant of light and life , which we have with god and all people , which seperates from sin and evil , and destroys it ; and in that is our peace , which is the covenant , in which is no murderer , nor plotter , nor contriver , nor betrayer , so in that we seek the peace of all men , and have all men in esteem , and the good of all men , in that we deny our selves and glory in the cross of christ , the power of god , which crucifies us from the world and their ploters and worldly things , and carnal weapons , and warrs , into spiritual weapons and war , with which we war , with the devil and his works , which led people from god . but to plot and confederate , or to raise insurrections , or to gather riotous meetings , or taking up arms outwardly , we utterly deny , and it is not our principle , nor is it in the covenant , for it is out of the covenant , and life , and peace with god and the light with men , though we cannot wear to this ; for he that hath all power in heaven and earth given to him , commands us not to swear at all , by heaven nor earth , nor any other oath : but saith , in all your communication let your yea be yea , and your nay nay , whatsoever is more is evil , and to this is our nay , and so let the punishment be of yea or nay as for an oath : and our yea is yea to that which is good , and nay nay to that which is contrary . the lord god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son into the world , who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him , and that all power and thrones , and rule and government should be subject to him who is lord of lords and king of kings : and the lord saith this is my beloved son , hear ye him , this is the prophet which moses saith like unto him that god would raise up , whom the people should hear , whom we do hear that speaks from heaven . at sundry times and in divers manners god spake to the fathers by the prophets , but now in these last dayes hath spoken to us by his son , which is the heir of all things , upholding all things by his word and power , that hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him as he saith himself , who ends the prophets and the iewes power , and authority and the law , among whom was the oath and swearing , and first covenant : and not only frivolous oaths but true oaths , that endeth the strife and destroyeth the devil the authour of it ; which the apostle brought as a similitude , the substance of it we do enjoy ( that is to say ) christ iesus to whom the angels must bow : and his command to us is , swear not at all , who saith he hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him ; but in all your communications keep to yea and nay , that are his disciples and his messengers and ministers , observe it , as iames 5. so if we love him we keep his commandments and do the thing that he commands , but if we say we love him and keep not his commandment , we are lyars and do not the thing commanded us : and we do know them that love him and keep his commandments , in them dwelleth the love of god , and them that say they love god , and keep not his commandments are lyars : and our yea is yea , and our nay is nay in that doctrine of christ who is the end of oaths in the law and first covenant , who are of the promise that remains , and are out of the promises of men that changeth : and we are out of covenants with men that doe change , and in the covenant of god with him that remaineth and doth not change , and cannot be broken , and in it is our yea , and our yea is yea in it , and our nay is nay in it , and if it be not so found among you and all people upon the earth from us , let us suffer as much for the breaking it , as for breaking an oath ; for our life is in christ iesus , who was before murderous plots were , that destroyes the devil the author of them , and our nay is against all murderous plotters and contrivers against the king or any of his people , or any man upon the earth , & we would have him & all men to be saved , and come to the knowledge of the truth , christ iesus , and that is our yea , for whose cause and sake we do suffer , and this we will seal with our lives and estates and all , for which cause and testimony we have suffered all this while in estates and lives . beyond sea in holland the powers of the earth and magistrates that knows our friends cannot sweare for conscience sake , does not force them nor impose fines upon them , neither imprison them who keeps to yea and nay according to christs doctrine . and christ iesus saith swear not at all , mat. 5. and iames saith above all things my brethren swear not at all iames , 5. but let your yea be yea , and nay nay , for whatsoever is more cometh of evil . and in turky paying tributes people may have their liberty to worship their god , and paul had his liberty to preach in his own hired house at rome where the emperours seat was , acts. 18.13 . though we paying our taxes are plucked out by the haire of the head from prayer out of our houses , and not suffered to pray together , as the heathen would not suffer daniel , and so this is contrary to the apostles who said pray every where , who met together in their several houses , and went from house to house , acts 2. .46 . and this was the practice of the church in the primitive times which we observe , who were to edifie one another , and exhort one another , and build up one another , and pray for one another , and they was not to be tyed to one place , synogogue or temple , which the iews were only , but some times they met on mountains and hills , and sometimes in houses . and the church was in aquilla and priscillas house , 1. cor. 16.19 . there was a meeting set up in the primitive time . g. f. london , printed for thomas simmons at the bull and mouth near aldersgate , 1660. a way to prevent the indignation and judgments of god from coming on a kingdom, nation or family commended to the consciences of all concerned. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1682 approx. 8 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40322 wing f1987a estc r220305 99831724 99831724 36191 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40322) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36191) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:20) a way to prevent the indignation and judgments of god from coming on a kingdom, nation or family commended to the consciences of all concerned. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for john bringhurst, printer and stationer, at the sign of the book in grace-church-street, near cornhill, london : 1682. signed at end: g.f., i.e. george fox. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng conduct of life -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 robyn anspach sampled and proofread 2008-02 robyn anspach text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a way to prevent the indignation and iudgments of god from coming on a kingdom , nation or family ; commended to the consciences of all concerned . first , all you vintners that sell wine , that keep taverns or such like houses ; and all you inn-keepers , and you that keep victualling-houses , ale-houses , strong-water-shops , &c. see that you never let any man or woman have any more wine , ale , strong drink , brandy or strong waters , or other strong liquors , than what is for their health and their good ; in that they may praise god for his good creatures . for every creature of god is good , and ought to be received with thanksgiving . but if you do give or let men or women have so much wine , brandy , strong liquors , strong beer or ale , till they be drunk or to make them drunk ; 1. you destroy the good creatures of god. 2. you destroy them , that have not power over their lusts , no more than a rat or a swine , who will drink till they are drunk . 3. you are a great cause of ruining them in their healths , purses and estates , ( their children and families ) in feeding of them in their lusts , by letting them have more than doth them good ; which also tends to bring god's iudgments upon you , to your own ruin and destruction . for many when they are full of wine , beer or strong liquors , then they will cry for musick , pipe and harp , and it may be their whores also : and so in this , you that suffer or allow such things , are nursers of debauchery and corrupters of them , and of your own families also . and also such men , when they are full of wine or strong liquors , and have destroyed the creatures , by taking more than doth them good , then they are got to that height that they are ready to quarrel and abuse , or kill or destroy one another ; & sometimes kill other people ( who do them no harm ) as they are walking or travelling in the streets or high-ways . for when they are overcome by strong liquors , then are they fit & do ly open to all manner of wickedness . and though you think by selling or letting people have wine or strong liquors more than doth them good , or is for their health , the more they drink , the more gain you think it brings you ; and the more you vend your goods , the more profit you get : ah poor sellers ! do not you think , that god with his all-seeing eye doth behold you and your actions ? and cannot the lord soon bring a blasting upon all your undertakings and such vngodly gain and profits , and whatsoever you have gained by your covetousness and from the lusts of others , through which they do destroy their estates , children & families ? will not this bring destruction upon you and your unrighteous gain , which you have gotten by feeding their lusts ? for that which feeds the destroying lusts , must needs be the destroyer ; and the profit of that will not be gain to you in the end . for are not you sensible , how many , after they have spent their estates or part of them , they will run into your debts for wine or strong liquors , yea , such as you let have more than did or doth them good ? and is not this the cause , that many break by trusting , and other ways as before mentioned ? trust should be with that which is trusty , which doth not wast or destroy ; and such god will bless . and therefore take heed of letting any man or woman have any more wine or strong liquors , than what is for their nourishment , health and good . see what a dreadful wo the lord pronounced against them , that rise up early in the morning , that they may follow strong drink , that continue until night , till wine inflame them : then they call for the harp and the viol , the tabret and the pipe , &c. but such regard not the work of the lord , neither consider the operation of his hands : a sad state ! wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine , and are men of strength to mingle strong drink . and therefore all are to shun such things ; all are to be sober , and to mind and fear god , that they may escape these woes : as you may see in isaiah , chap. 5. and therefore all vintners and such as sell wine , with ale-houses , inns and victualing-houses , who sell ale , brandy and strong liquors , never let any one have any more than doth them good , and is for their health ( as is said before ) so that all may eat and drink the good creatures of god to his praise and glory ; which drunkards and gluttons cannot , nor they who let them have the creatures of god in excess or immoderately , till they are drunk and surfeited , for such do feed themselves without the fear of god. secondly , let all who go under the name of christian families , train up their children in the fear of god , and keep themselves in the fear of god , that they may keep all their servants and families in the fear of god ; out of all loosness and wantonness and vanities and excess , and from all drunkenness , fornication , whoredom or vncleanness , and vnrighteousness , and all vngodlyness ; that they may keep out of all those things , that displease or dishonour the lord god. and do not nourish up the lust of the eye , nor the pride of life , nor the lust of the flesh ; for if you do , you nourish up that which is not of god the father . and therefore to shun all these evils , and to depart from them , and keeping in the fear of god ; this is the way to bring the blessing of god upon a land , kingdom , nation or family . g. f. god will destroy them which destroy the earth , revel . 11.18 . drunkenness makes a man worse than a beast , and makes a strong man weak , and a wise man a fool. this testimony and warning was and is owned and subscribed by ( many ) vintners and others , concerned in the trades and callings before mentioned , who were present at the reading of the manuscript . london , printed for john bringhurst , printer and stationer , at the sign of the book in grace-church-street , near cornhill , 1682. queries concerning tythes to the priests and bishops fox, george, 1624-1691. 1663 approx. 5 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40237 wing f1889a estc r29431 11132610 ocm 11132610 46372 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40237) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46372) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1423:27) queries concerning tythes to the priests and bishops fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 broadside. s.n., [london? : 1663] signed: g.f. imprint suggested by wing. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends. tithes -england. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion queries concerning tythes to the priests and bishops . i. was not tythes to be paid to the levites which had no lot amongst the rest of the tribes ? and was not the decayed widows , and fatherless , and strangers , which had no lot , to have part with the levites in their lot ? and so eat , and drink , and praise the lord together , the tythes being the lords . ii. and did not christ come to end the levitical priesthood that took tythes ? and did he not end tythes , and the command that gave them , and also the law by which the priesthood was made ? and so did not christ put down all ? iii. and was not tythes called a heave-offering , and a shake-offering , and a wave-offering ? and did not christ by offering up himself once for all the off●rings , end all ? not onely the offerings of bulls and goats , but the heave an● shake-offerings of tythes ? and if so ; then do not they that hold up the heave-offering of tythes , and wave-offering , deny christ come in the flesh , and offered up once for all ? iv. did any receive tythes , or pay tythes , but only the jews , by the command of god ? or had ever the gentiles priests a command to receive tythes , or the people of the gentiles to pay them to them ? or are we outward jews ? or are they the outward priests and levites to whom we must pay tythes now ? v. or if you hold that tythes are not to be paid jure divino , as you formerly pleaded , but by the law of the nation , then do you make that law not to be of god , and so not being jure divino , is it not jure diaboli , and from the corrupt nature and power ? and how can that be called civil right , which is not civilized by the power of god ? vi. and if you say the law commands them to be paid to god and holy church ; will you say the priests and bishops are god and the church ? would not this be ridiculous ? seeing the poor hath no part , the widow and stranger hath no part , according to the law of god ; and that though the jews were as the stars of heaven , and the sand of the sea , yet the decayed widows and fatherless , who had no lot , were to have their lot with levi of the tythes , that there might not be a begger amongst them . vii . and after christ jesus had ended the first priesthood , offerings and tythes ; and they that were believers in him , called christians ; was there not another provision made for the poor amongst the christians then tythes ? as you may see in the first conversion , and the first ages of christianity , that there might not be a begger among the christians , according to the gospel order , and law of jesus , as you see in the acts , from the counsel of the apostles , when they said , chuse you seven men , fearing god , hating covetousness , full of the holy ghost , to be set over the christians at jerusalem , to see that nothing be lacking among them ; and if nothing be lacking , all is well . viii . did christ give any such command either among the christian jews , or christian gentiles , that they should receive or pay tythes ? or was there any mention of tythes among the christians for several hundred years after christ ? and was not the first paying of them in england , for praying of peoples souls out of purgatory ? ix . and hath not christ said to his ministers , freely you have received , freely give ? and doth not the apostle say , he coveted no man , silver , nor gold , nor apparel , that he might be an example to all that came after him ? and also said to timothy and titus how bishops should be qualified , not covetous , not greedy of filthy lucre ? and so here have not the teachers and priests of christendom forsaken that order of jesus , and the apostles , who take tythes of peoples estates , and will not preach without them ; and also take away the tenths of them they do not preach to ; and if they will not pay them , sue them , and cast them into prison ? and would not such , if they had been in the apostles dayes been ridiculous , who serve not our lord jesus christ , but their own bellies ? and if they were not justifiable then , how are they now ? g. f. a distinction between the new covenant and the old and how that in the old covenant the jews priests lips were to preserve the jews peoples knowledge: but in the new and everlasting covenant christ the high-priest, is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, and he filleth the earth with the knowledge of the lord god; and the earth being full of the knowledge of the lord god, then there is no want of it in the eath. and christ the high-priest, he doth not only fill the earth with knowledge of the lord god, but covereth the earth with the knowledge of the lord, as the waters do the sea; so the earth shall not be seen. so then it may be seen, that the substance in the new covenant is far beyond the figure in the old covenant. read, hear, see, perceive and understand, receive and possess. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1679 approx. 11 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40161 wing f1795a estc r220232 99831654 99831654 36119 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40161) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36119) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:6) a distinction between the new covenant and the old and how that in the old covenant the jews priests lips were to preserve the jews peoples knowledge: but in the new and everlasting covenant christ the high-priest, is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, and he filleth the earth with the knowledge of the lord god; and the earth being full of the knowledge of the lord god, then there is no want of it in the eath. and christ the high-priest, he doth not only fill the earth with knowledge of the lord god, but covereth the earth with the knowledge of the lord, as the waters do the sea; so the earth shall not be seen. so then it may be seen, that the substance in the new covenant is far beyond the figure in the old covenant. read, hear, see, perceive and understand, receive and possess. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [london : 1679] signed and dated at end: g.f. [i.e. george fox]. swarthmore, the 4th moneth, 1679. printed in two columns. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t -relation to the old testament -early works to 1800. bible -criticism, interpretation, etc. -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2008-07 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a distinction between the new covenant and the old ; and how that in the old covenant the jews priests lips were to preserve the jews peoples knowledge : but in the new and everlasting covenant christ the high-priest , is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge , and he filleth the earth with the knowledge of the lord god ; and the earth being full of the knowledge of the lord god , then there is no want of it in the earth . and christ the high-priest , he doth not only fill the earth with the knowledge of the lord god , but covereth the earth with the knowledge of the lord , as the waters do the sea ; so the earth shall not be seen . so then it may be seen , that the substance in the new covenant is far beyond the figure in the old covenant . read , hear , see , perceive and understand , receive and possess . it is written in the prophecies of isaiah ( the 11th chapter ) where speaking of the peaceable kingdom of christ , that was to come , he saith , they shall not hurt , nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord , as the waters cover the sea. so this was a prophecy of that day to come ; it was not in the dayes of isaiah . but mark , in that day ( when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord , as the waters cover the sea ) in that day there shall be a root of jesse , which shall stand for an ensign of the people , to it ( to wit , this ensign ) shall the gentiles seek , and their rest shall be glorious . now many of the gentiles have found this glorious rest , and this ensign ; and to this ensign do the people gather , and cannot forsake it ; and all the warryers in the world cannot pluck down this ensign , nor take it from the people with their carnal weapons . now this is the day of christ in his new covenant of light , life and grace , in which the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord , as the vvaters do cover the sea [ mark ] the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord. so then the earth is not empty , when it is full of the knowledge of the lord. and the knowledge of the lord shall cover the earth ; it shall not only be full of it , but it shall cover the earth , so as the earth shall not be seen . as the vvaters do cover the sea , that when you are in the sea , you cannot see any land or earth ; so shall the knowledge of the lord be in the new-covenant . for the lord saith , i will write my laws in their hearts , and put them in their minds , that they shall not need to say unto one another , know the lord , for all shall know me from the greatest unto the least . and they shall not need every man to teach his neighbour , saying , know the lord. now mark , if there be no need to say one unto another , or unto their neighbour , know the lord ( for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord ; and the knowledge of the lord shall cover the earth , as the waters do the sea , in the new covenant of light , life and grace ; so that the earth cannot be seen ) then there is no need of the priests , or teachers lips to preserve the peoples knowledge ; for that was only used in the old covenant under moses ; and whilst he was read the people was under the vail . and therefore christ abolished the first priesthood with his vail , who had his tythes for his work and service , whose lips were to preserve the peoples knowledge ; that was the people of the jews , that particular nation . but christ in the new covenant is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge ; so that in this day of christ , the root of jesse shall stand up as an ensign for the people ; and the gentiles shall seek to it , to wit , the nations , which many have found . and god hath given christ for a new covenant to the jews , not according to the old , and for a covenant of light , to enlighten the gentiles also , who is god's salvation to the ends of the earth : that so in this day of christ ( and salvation ) who is a high-priest , holy and harmless , and separate from sinners , made higher then the heavens , who is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge ; he takes away the vail of moses , and takes away the vail and covering , that hath been spread over all nations . so it is christ that fills the earth with knowledge , and that the knowledge of the lord shall cover the earth , as the waters do the sea ; so that in this knowledge , to know god and christ jesus whom he hath sent , is eternal life . so this high-priest , christ jesus his work is beyond the jews high-priests , whose lips were to preserve the jewish nation 's knowledge ; for christ the treasure of wisdom and knowledge fills the whole earth with knowledge ; and covers the earth with the knowledge of god , as the vvaters cover the sea , in his day of the new-covenant . and are not these the days of the new covenant , and the gospel , which is not according to the old ? and then what will all you priests ( that are made at schools and colledges ) and bishops do in this day , with all your fat bishopricks and parsonages , when that people need not be taught by you the knowledge of the lord ? nor need the people send their children to schools and colledges , to learn there the arts , and how to teach people the knowledge of the lord , when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the lord , and covered with it , as the waters do cover the sea , in the days of this new covenant : so then there will be no need of your teachings . and if you come to receive this day in your time , then would not you forsake your fat benefices and personages , and return unto people their tythes , and confess , that christ , who is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge , in the new covenant saith , freely you have received , freely give ; and this commandment of the lord of lords is not to be broken ; and say , there is no need in the new covenant to teach people to know the lord ; no , not from the least to the greatest of them . for god hath written his law in their hearts and put it in their minds , in the days of this new covenant ; and they are god's people , and he is their god , and they all know him from the greatest to the least of them : so that this new covenant is not according to the jews old covenant , amongst that particular nation of the jews , who had a tribe of priests and levites , whose lips were to preserve the peoples knowledge , for which they had their tythes . but christ is come in his new covenant , and hath taken away the first covenant , and abolished it , and dissannulled the commandment that gave him his tythes ; and establishes the second and everlasting covenant , where all shall be taught of god , and saith to them that declared this new covenant , and preached his gospel , freely you have received , freely give ; and they were to go and declare this without bag or staff. so in the new covenant they had no need of purse , silver , bag or staff ; for they that preached the gospel lived of the gospel . so the gospel of life and salvation is good news and glad tidings , being preached to and in every creature under heaven ; and the grace of god which bringeth salvation , hath appeared unto all men to teach them : and christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world , with the life in him , the word , by which all things were made to believe in , and to give them knowledge . so this high-priest is he , that filleth and covereth the earth with the knowledge of the lord , as the waters cover the sea , so that the earth shall not be seen ; and so he both gives and preserves the peoples knowledge . and in these days of christ , in his new covenant , god poureth out his spirit upon all flesh , to instruct , teach and lead them , by which spirit sons and daughters way prophesie , and the old men may dream dreams , and the young men and hand-maids and servants may see visions by the spirit which god hath poured upon them , & hath given them a spiritual knowledge , & which spirit reveals the things of god unto them , and leads them into all truth . for in the old covenant the lord poured out his spirit upon the house of israel , and gave them of his good spirit to instruct them , though they rebelled against it ; but in his new covenant , which is not according to the old , he pours out of his spirit not only upon the jews , but upon all flesh of other nations , as well as the jews , that all flesh may see the glory of god , and see their salvation . for the lord saith , in isa . 49.26 . all flesh shall know , that i the lord am thy saviour and redeemer , the mighty one of jacob. and again , in isa . 40.5 . the lord saith , every valley shall be exalted , and every mountain and hill shall be made low , and the crooked shall be made streight , and the rough plain ; and the glory of the lord shall be revealed , all flesh shall see it together , for the mouth of the lord hath spoken it . and is not this the gospel day of christ in his new covenant ? and must it not be fulfilled ? but your mountains and hills must be laid down , and your crooked wayes and natures must be made streight , smooth and plain , before this glory of the lord be revealed , and that all flesh come to see it . and in luke 3.6 . it s said , all flesh , where he speaks of the fulfilling of isa . 40. how all flesh shall see the salvation of god. again , isa . 66. 18 , 26. the lord saith , all flesh shall come to vvorship before me : and the lord saith , it shall come to pass , that i will gather all nations and tongues , and they shall come and see my glory , and i will set him for a sign among them , speaking of christ . and the lord saith , his peoples wilderness shall be like eden , and their desart as the garden of the lord , isa . 51.3 . and are not these the days of the new covenant , and to be fulfilled ? swarthmore , the 4th moneth , 1679. g. f. to the flock of christ every where to be read in their assemblies. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1681 approx. 6 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40297 wing f1955a estc r215514 99827368 99827368 31786 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40297) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 31786) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1908:9) to the flock of christ every where to be read in their assemblies. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for benjamin clark in george-yard in lombard-street, bookseller, london : 1681. reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng christianity -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion to the flock of christ , every where to be read in their assemblies . grace , mercy and peace be multiplied among you all from god the father , and the lord jesus christ who is the fountain of all : and god who hath called you by his grace , and gathered you to be a people by his power and spirit to his son christ jesus , your holy heavenly spiritual head , life , rock , and foundation . now that you may all walk in christ jesus and abide in him your vine , and in him you will all bring forth heavenly fruit , to the praise and glory of god. christ saies , in me ye have peace , in the world ye have trouble ; and therefore keep out of the spirit of the world ; let not the spirit of the world come into you ; for if ye do , ye go into trouble both inwardly and outwardly . but if ye keep in christ , who is not of the world , you keep in your heavenly peace and region : for he that hath the son of god , he hath life ; and therefore keep in the life in christ : and he that hath not the son of god , is in old adam in death without life . and without me ( saies christ ) ye can do nothing : without his grace , his light , his truth , his gospel , his power , his spirit , his faith , ye can do nothing : and if christ be not in you , you are reprobates : and if he be in you , and you in him , you are in your election , and in the seed , in which all nations are blest . and therefore my friends and brethren , both males and females , keep and walk in the seed in which all nations are blest , which bruises the head of the serpent , and destroys the devil and his works , which brought misery and the curse upon all nations . so that in this holy seed you all may be the children of the kingdom of god that stands in righteousness and power , and joy in the holy ghost ; i say , in the righteousness of christ before unrighteousness was ; and in the power of god , before the power of satan and dragon was ; and in the peace of god , that passes all the vnderstanding of the world , and was before the god of the world was ; and in the holy ghost , which was before the unclean ghost got into man and woman . and so that you may all come to walk in the new covenant of light which was before the prince of darkness was , and life , that is over death , and before death was . here in this you will know your heavenly region to walk in , which will keep you out of all the worlds unruly waies and actions , and ungracious words and languages , that all your words be season'd with the grace of god , that hath brought your salvation , that you may edifie the hearers , and your conversation may be in heaven . and keep in the cross of christ the power of god , that keeps you crucified to the world , that is , dead to the world ; and the world dead and crucified to you . for if you do not keep in this power of god , which was afore the world and its god was , to keep you crucified to the world , but let in the spirit of the world , you let in his god which will crucifie the good in you , and you come to crucifie to your selves the son of god afresh , and put him to open shame . therefore keep that killed and crucified with the power of god , the cross of christ , which did and would crucifie the just and then you keep alive in the power of god , and alive in christ jesus , and he is alive in you and you in him . and now , all friends and brethren , that your meekness , your temperance , and your gentleness and sobriety , and tenderness and moderation may appear to all men , that your light may so shine that they my see your good works , and glorifie your father which is in heaven . and ye being the salt of the earth , you will make all savoury : therefore take heed of losing your salt , lest you be trodden under the feet of men. and keep out of the restless , discontented , disquieted spirit of the world about the government : for you know it has been alwaies our way to seek the good of all , and to live peacably under the government , and to seek their eternal good peace and happiness in the lord christ jesus : and to lay our innocent sufferings before them who have suffered as lambs and sheep , and made no resistance ; but have prayed for them that persecuted us and despitefully used us ; and hated us , according to the command of christ . 9 month , 21 day , 1681 . g. fox . 1 epistle of peter , c. 2. for ye were as sheep gone astray , but are now returned unto the shephard and bishop of your souls . for even hitherto ye are called : because christ hath suffered for us , leaving us an example , that ye should follow his steps , who did no sin , neither was guile found in his mouth . who when he was reviled , reviled not again ; when he suffered , he threatned not , but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously . and he that will love life and see good daies , let him refrain his tongue from speaking evil , and his lips that he speak no guile . london , printed for benjamin clark in george-yard in lombard-street , bookseller , 1681. a vvarning to all in this proud city called london to call them to repentance least the wrath of the lord break out against them; this is the day of your visitation if you will own it. fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a84836 of text r211903 in the english short title catalog (thomason 669.f.17[82]). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 4 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a84836 wing f1982 thomason 669.f.17[82] estc r211903 99870575 99870575 163329 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84836) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 163329) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 246:669f17[82]) a vvarning to all in this proud city called london to call them to repentance least the wrath of the lord break out against them; this is the day of your visitation if you will own it. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [london : 1654] signed at end: george fox. imprint from wing. annotation on thomason copy: "march. 30. 1654". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng god -wrath -early works to 1800. london (england) -history -prophecies -early works to 1800. a84836 r211903 (thomason 669.f.17[82]). civilwar no a vvarning to all in this proud city called london to call them to repentance, least the wrath of the lord break out against them; this is t fox, george 1654 709 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a this text has no known defects that were recorded as gap elements at the time of transcription. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a vvarning to all in this proud city called london to call them to repentance , least the wrath of the lord break out against them ; this is the day of your visitation if you will own it . vvo unto thee o london , ( so called by name ) who hast made a profession of christ ; but hast cleared thy self from christ , who lives in the affections of lusts , for who are christs have crucified the flesh , with the affections and lusts ; your pride stinks before the lord , your glory and renown must wither : plagues , wo and misery , and vengeance from god , is coming upon you all , you proud and lofty ones , who have been the adversaries of god , your profession stinks before the lord , pride and hardheartedness abounds , cruelty and oppression grows & abounds in your streets , and such are you that would know meanings to the scriptures , and cries for meanings , meanings , and which lives in your conceivings , which must be scattered from the lord god , and from the life which gave forth the scriptures , for you have here cleared your selves from the life which was in them which gave forth the scriptures , for the life which gave forth the scriptures , hews down pride and oppression , and envious ones , and lusts hardheartedness , which thy streets are ful of : and o london thou art full of inventions , and full of images and image-makers , pictures , glassed hoods , vails , and round atire like the moon ; let the life which gave forth the scriptures search thee , and judg thee , and bring thee under conedmnation , for these things art thou guilty of , o how doth all excess abound , and pride and lusts , and filthiness , which stinks before the lord god , and the smell of it is come up amongst his children , plagues , plagues , plagues , is to be poured upon thee ; how beautiful art thou in thy colours , and in thy changeable suits of apparrel , and thy dainty dishes , dives like , who was turned into hell ; the life which gave forth the scriptures , shall judg thee eternally , and the life it lyes upon thee judging thee : over all the heads of the wicked , heads of the oppressors , heads of the proud , the devil is king ; wo is pronounced from the life of god upon thee , who hath drawn out his sword , to hew thee to peices , and to thresh thee ; to scatter you all as chaff with the wind , to burn you as stubble with the fire , the mouth of the lord hath spoken it ; this is the portion of all the wicked . to the just and them that fear the lord i say , come out of her ways lest you be consumed with her , that you may give judgment upon the whore , that sits upon so many waters , least you be partakers of her plagues , hearken to god and hear him ; for the rod of god is over you , and you must come under it , for your whoredom and for your pride and oppression , and hypocrisie and desembling , the lord will find you all out , for his mighty day is coming , to all your consciences i speak ; which hath been convinced but hath not repented , torment , torment , the fire is kindled , wo unto you all ; plotters to do mischief , who are not single to god : wo unto you all stubborn hard hearted ones , the life which gave forth the scriptures lyes upon thee , judging thee , and this is the word of the lord to you all , to that in all your consciences i speak , which will witness me , and condemn you , who live in these wicked practises . march .30 . 1654 george fox . a short epistle to friends to keep in the power of god in their peaceable habitations over the troubles of the world. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1678 approx. 10 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a84811 wing f1905a estc r177304 45789316 ocm 45789316 172625 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84811) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 172625) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:22) a short epistle to friends to keep in the power of god in their peaceable habitations over the troubles of the world. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [swarthmore : 1678] signed: swarthmore, the 6th of the 12th moneth 1678. g.f. [i.e. george fox]. reproduction of original in: friends' library (london, england). created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -england -pastoral letters and charges -early works to 1800. broadsides -england -17th century. 2007-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-10 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2007-10 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a short epistle to friends to keep in the power of god in their peaceable habitations , over the troubles of the world . all my dear friends and brethren , who are gathered by the light , grace , and truth , and power , and spirit of jesus christ , to him the head over all , by whom were all things created , so the first-born of every creature , and the first begotten from the dead ; follow him in his resurrection , that you all may be partakers of it and life everlasting , and may sit together in heavenly places in christ jesus , who is over all , the first and last , and in him you have peace , who is not of this world , for in this world there is trouble ; and the world did and doth hate christ , yea and his light , grace , truth , power and spirit ; and therefore it is no marvel if the world do hate christs members that do follow him in his light , grace , truth , power and spirit , and so with it receive him in them their life and salvation , and so he that hath the son of god hath life ; who is the fountain that filleth all that wait upon him , with his heavenly blessings and riches of life from christ the rock and foundation , that cannot be shaken , though the rocks and foundations of the world may be shaken , and cloven in pieces , and the pillars of the earth may reel and stagger , and all hypocrites and sinners may fear , but they that fear the lord , and wait upon him , shall be as mount sion that cannot be removed , for the lords power is over all , by which he keeps his people to the day of salvation . and therefore all you that have this keeper , the power of the lord through faith unto the day of life and salvation , need none of the slumbering keepers or watchers ; for the lord was the keeper of israel , who neither slumbered nor slept , till israel forsook the lord , and then they set up slumbering and sleepy watchers and keepers , like the apostate christians , who have forsaken the power of god to keep them , and then they are soon shaken . and therefore , friends , you that do know the power of god , in which the kingdom of god stands , you know your keeper , through the faith which jesus christ is the author of , which stands in his power , and not in words ; and so your faith standing in this power it will keep you out of the words of mens wisdom and above them . and the golden lamp in your tabernacle all is to have to burn with the heavenly oyl , which you have from christ your high priest , being returned to him , the great shepherd and bishop of your souls , who will bring you , his sheep , into his safe fold , who gives unto his sheep eternal life , and his sheep shall not perish , neither shall any pluck them out of his hand . though men may pluck hypocrites and apostates one from another , but christ saith no man is able to pluck his sheep out of his fathers hand . and therefore all feel the hand that hath brought you out of spiritual egypt where christ hath been crucified , to christ , and in his new covenant of light and life , as the jews were brought out of egypt in the old covenant , which christ hath abolished , and makes all things new ; so that all may be grounded on him who was the foundation of all the holy prophets and apostles , and of all the holy men of god to this day . and therefore consider who it is that abides in the tabernacle of god , and dwels in his holy hill , it is the faithful and the upright , which holy hill is a safe place for all the upright . as the lord said , in the last dayes the mountain of the lords house should be established on the tops of the mountains , and should be exalted above the hills , and all nations should flow unto this stablished house : and here the lord does teach his people that comes up to the mountain of the house of the god of jacob ; so all mountains , houses , hills and teaching will be shaken , but the mountain of the lords house shall be established in the last dayes , as the prophet said , which is the dayes of christ . is not this the stone that became a great mountain , and fills the whole earth , which smote and broke to pieces the iron , clay , the brass , silver and gold which were as mountains ? and this stone which becomes a great mountain , and sets up a kingdom which shall never have an end , is not this the kingdom of christ , which christ saith , except a man be born again he can neither see the kingdom of god nor enter into it ? and therefore , friends , all you that do know his kingdom that stands in power , in peace and joy in the holy ghost , over the power of the evil , and all the unclean ghosts which keep them in their first birth , and lead them into all evil , as the holy ghost leads them into all truth . and so dear friends and brethren , that know this rock , this stone , this foundation , the house of god , that is stablished upon the lords mountain , above all other houses , hills , mountains and teachings in the world , where god doth teach his people , and stablish them upon christ jesus the living rock and foundation and living way : and so though there may be troubles without , and troubles within , yet if you wait upon the lord he will renew your strength . and the children of god they are set for signs and wonders ; for as it is said , lo the children that thou hast given me they are for signs and wonders . and therefore , friends , keep your habitation in christ jesus , in whom you have peace ; for all the rude talkers , and vain disputers and janglers , which cankers and rusts , goes out of the peaceable truth ; and that that is torn , and will dye of it self , must not be fed upon , but the life must be fed upon , and that which gives you life eternal . and the lord did not build his zion , and his outward jerusalem with blood , in the old covenant , for they that did build their zion and jerusalem with blood , made their zion a field , and their jerusalem an heap ; so if this practice was forbidden in the old covenant , much more in the new , who think to build zion and jerusalem with blood and iniquity , for such has not been zions children , nor jerusalems that is above , who shed mens blood concerning religion church and worship ; for christ rebuked such that would have had mens lives destroyed , and told them , they knew not what spirit they were of ; so they that do not know what spirit they are of , they are not like to build up gods zion and jerusalem . for christ said , he came to save mens lives , and not to destroy them ; for the worlds god was the destroyer of mens lives , which christ came to destroy him and his works , and to save mens lives and souls also . and so , dear friends , let the love of god which is shed abroad in your hearts , cast out all fear ; and keep in the name of jesus , in which you are gathered , which is above every name under the whole heaven , in whom you have all life and salvation , and his presence among you , whose name is a strong tower , and christ is a rock to hide your selves in , and his spirit to cover you , which is a covering sufficient enough for you , and wo will be to them that are covered , but not with his spirit , they may fly to the rocks and mountains to cover , and hide them , which will not be sufficient , for the rocks will rend , and the mountains will be removed , such may run down into spiritual egypt for strength , where christ was crucified , like the jews in the old covenant that ran into outward egypt from his spirit , but all was in vain . and therefore trust in the lord , who has preserved you by his glorious light and power to this day , that you may be settled upon the seed christ jesus , which is over all that within and without that is contrary to it , and bruiseth the head of the serpent , that hath been between you and god , so that in christ the seed you have peace with the lord god , life and dominion , and election , and salvation , who redeems out of the curse , and fear of men , or that makes the arm of flesh his strength , and not the arm of god ; and therefore the arm of the lord being your strength , christ your rock and salvation , then you need not fear what man can do unto you ; for all gods children are dear and tender to him , whom he hath begotten again by the word of god to be heirs of his kingdom , he feeds them with life eternal , and the milk of his word , which word lives and abides and endures forever , and is alwayes full and plentious of milk to nurse and nourish up all god's children to eternal life , to inherit his kingdom , and the world which is everlasting , which christ is the ruler of , the heavenly spiritual man ; and therefore they that be in him , must be new creatures ; for all the old creatures are in old adam . and therefore my desires are , that you may all be settled in christ jesus , who was dead , and is alive again , and lives for evermore , a prophet , councillor , a priest , bishop and shepherd , a circumciser and baptizer , a living rock and foundation forevermore , the beginning and ending , the first and last , the amen ; sit down in him , and he in you , in whom you have peace with god ; amen . g. f. swarthmore , the 6th of the 12th moneth 1678. concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus and such as are ashamed to confess him before men, and call not on the name of the lord, &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1684 approx. 7 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40145 wing f1772a estc r220228 99831650 99831650 36115 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40145) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36115) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:3) concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus and such as are ashamed to confess him before men, and call not on the name of the lord, &c. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed for thomas howkins in george-yard in lumbard-street, london : [1684] signed and dated at foot: g.f. [i.e. george fox]. the 26th. day of the 10th. month, 1684. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng preaching -england -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2008-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion concerning such as have forbidden preaching or teaching in the name of jesus , and such as are ashamed to confess him before men , and call not on the name of the lord , &c. here you may see who , and what they were , that forbad the apostles to preach or teach , or speak in the name of jesus , and what christ saith of such that are ashamed to confess him before men ; and what judgments come upon those families , kingdoms or nations , that do not call upon the name of the lord : and they that do not call upon the name of the lord , and know him not , are such as devoureth jacob , the elect and beloved of god. and yet the lord poureth out of his spirit upon all flesh , that with the spirit they may know god , and call upon his name , joel 2. acts 2. the jews and their priests said unto the apostles , and threatned them , that ye speak henceforth to no man in this name jesus , acts 4.17 . and they said again ( in verse 18. ) to the apostles , that they should not teach in the name of jesus . and in acts 5.28 . they again said , that they should not teach in the name of jesus , [ mark ] not to teach in the name of jesus . and in verse 40. they said again to the apostles , that they should not speak in the name of jesus , [ mark ] not so much as to speak in the name of jesus . and yet the apostle said , with the heart man believeth , and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation . and if thou confess with thy mouth the lord jesus christ , and that god hath raised him up from the dead , thou shalt be saved , rom. 10.9 , 10. and the jews , which were the greatest outward professors , agreed , that if any man did confess that he was the christ , they should be put out of their synagogue , john 9.22 . and many of the chief rulers believed on him , but because of the pharisees , they did not confess him , namely christ , lest they should be put out of their synagogue , john 12.42 . so here were them that did believe , both rulers and others in christ , but they were afraid to confess christ , lest they should be excommunicated , or put out of their synagogues . and christ saith unto his disciples , whosoever shall confess me before men , him will i confess also before my father which is in heaven : but whosoever shall deny me before men , him will i also deny before my father which is in heaven , mat. 10.32 , 33. and luke 12.8 . so here you may see they that do confess christ before men , are confessed by him before his father , and they that deny him before men , christ will deny before his father . and john saith , every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god , and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ is come in the flesh is not of god : so here you may see that it is the good spirit of god that doth confess his son to be come in the flesh , 1 john 4.2 , 3. here you may see the two spirits , that which is of god , and that which is not of god , the good spirit , and the bad spirit . and , who confess not that jesus christ is come in the flesh , is a deceiver and an antichrist , and so not in the spirit of god nor christ , 2 john 1.7 . and the apostle saith , prove your own selves , know ye not your own selves , how that jesus christ is in you , except you be reprobates ? 2 cor. 13.5 . and so if they have not the spirit of christ , and if he be not in them , then they are reprobates , and so none of christ's . and the apostle saith to the colossians , christ in you the hope of glory , and they warned every man , and taught every man in all wisdom , that they might present every man perfect in christ jesus : so then christ must be in his people , and they must be in him , col. 1.27 , 28. and christ before pontius pilate witnesseth a good confession , 1 tim. 6.13 . this was before his persecutor , so must all the followers of the lamb confess him before men to the glory of god the father , and not be ashamed of christ their life , light and salvation , redeemer , mediator , prophet , bishop , shepherd , leader , counsellor , way and door to god , and the author and finisher of their faith , and heavenly rock and foundation , and the captain of their salvation , and not to be ashamed to meet in his name , who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him , lest he be ashamed of you before his holy angels , and his father which is in heaven : and therefore in his light , spirit , grace , truth and faith , see and hold christ your head , who bruiseth the serpents head , and reconcileth you to god , in whom you and all nations are blessed , and have rest and peace , amen . pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not , and upon the families that call not upon thy name , for they have eaten up jacob , and devoured him , and consumed him , and bave made his habitation desolate , jer. 10.25 . these were the persecutors of the faithful . and david saith , pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee , and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name , for they have devoured jacob , and laid waste his dwelling place , psal . 79.6 , 7. these were the persecutors of god's elect. yet god setteth the poor on high from affliction , and maketh him families like a flock , psal . 107.41 . and god setteth the solitary in families , and bringeth out those which are bound with chains : but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. psalm 68.6 . the 26 th . of the 10 th . month , 1684. g. f. london , printed for thomas howkins in george-yard in lumbard-street . concerning the upright and good conversation of the saints in christ and in heaven fox, george, 1624-1691. 1682 approx. 5 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-iv tiff page image. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40150 wing f1776a estc r220231 99831653 99831653 36118 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40150) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36118) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2126:5) concerning the upright and good conversation of the saints in christ and in heaven fox, george, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) printed by john bringhurst, printer and bookseller, at the sign of the book in grace-church-street, london : 1682. signed at end: george fox. reproduction of the original in the friends' house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng christian life -early works to 1800. heaven -christianity -early works to 1800. 2007-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-02 pip willcox sampled and proofread 2008-02 pip willcox text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion concerning the upright and good conversation of the saints in christ and in heaven . david saith , the wicked have drawn out the sword , and have bent their bow , to cast down the poor and needy , and to slay such as be of an upright conversation : their sword shall enter into their own heart , and their bow shall be broken . here is david's judgment upon such , that cast down the poor and needy , and do slay such as be of an upright conversation . but whoso offereth praise , glorifieth me , saith the lord ; and to him that orders his conversation aright , will i shew the salvation of god. so all that will see the salvation of god , first to see your conversations to be ordered aright with the light , power and spirit of god ; for the apostle saith , by the grace of god we have had our conversation in the world , &c. so now are all by the grace of god to have their conversation preserved from the wickedness of the world , which grace brings their salvation . and the apostle saith to the ephesians , how that we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh , fulfilling the desires of our flesh , and of our mind ; and were by nature the children of wrath , even as well as others : and therefore he exhorts them , to put off concerning the former conversation the old man , which is corrupt , according to the deceiptful lusts , and be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind , and only let your conversation be as becomes the gospel of christ , &c. that ye stand fast in one spirit , with one mind , striving together for the faith of the gospel ; for our conversati is in heaven , from whence we look for the saviour , our lord jesus christ , who shall change our vile body , that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body . so here the apostles and the saints had put off their former conversation according to the world , whose conversation was in heaven , where are all the true saints or christians . and the apostle exhorted timothy , and said , be thou an example of the believers in word , in conversation , in charity , in spirit , in faith , in purity : which is a good corversation to be followed . and the apostle saith to the hebrews , let your conversation be without covetousness ; & be content with such things as ye have : for the lord hath said , he will never leave thee nor forsake thee . and james saith in his general epistle , who is a wise man , and endew'd with knowledge among you ? let bim shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom , for where envying and strife is , there is confusion , and every evil work. now this good conversation must be shewed forth in practice . and peter in his general epistle admonishes the church to be as obedient children , not fashioning your selves according to the former lusts in your ignorance , but as he which hath called you is holy , so be ye holy in all manner of conversation [ mark , all manner of conversation ] forasmuch as ye know , that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things , a● silver and gold , from your vain conversation , received by tradition from your fathers , but with the precious blood of christ , as of a lamb without blemish and without spot , &c. and likewise ye wives be subject to your own husbands , that if any obey not the word they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives , while they behold your chaste conversation , coupled with fear , &c. having a good conscience , tha● whereas they speak evil of you , as of evil doers , they may be ashamed that falsly accuse your good conversation in christ . here you see the true christians conversations were in christ , which all christians are an● ought to be ; and they whose conversations are in christ jesus , are grieved and vexed with the filthy conversations of the wicked , as just lot was . george fox . london , printed by john bringhurst , printer and bookseller , at the sign of the book in grace-church-street . 1682. copies of some few of the papers given into the house of parliament in the time of james naylers tryal there, which began the fifth of december, 1656 rich, robert, d. 1679. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a34463 of text r27916 in the english short title catalog (wing c6080a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 26 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 5 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a34463 wing c6080a estc r27916 10264696 ocm 10264696 44767 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a34463) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 44767) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1380:25) copies of some few of the papers given into the house of parliament in the time of james naylers tryal there, which began the fifth of december, 1656 rich, robert, d. 1679. tomlinson, william. fox, george, 1624-1691. 8 p. s.n., [london? : 1657?] copies of the testimonies of robert rich, william tomlinson, and george fox at the trial of james naylor. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. eng naylor, james, 1617?-1660. trials (blasphemy) a34463 r27916 (wing c6080a). civilwar no copies of some few of the papers given into the house of parliament in the time of iames naylers tryal there, which began the fifth of decem rich, robert 1656 4978 6 0 0 0 0 0 12 c the rate of 12 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2006-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-01 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-05 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2006-05 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion copies of some few of the papers given into the house of parliament in the time of iames nayders tryal there , which began the fifth of december , 1656. to the speaker of the parliament of england , these to be read . friends , act nothing cōtrary to that which doth cōvince you , though bound with an oath , although you bring your selves in never so much disgrace in breaking your agreement ; for in such a case you may reject the counsel of god against your own knowledge , and so appearing to please the world that looks upon you , the unjust acts against the just ; herein you 'l do despite to the spirit of grace , wilfully acting that which he knows he should not : so here comes mans condemnation just from god ; therefore before you do act consider ; and before you do give sentence fear ; for blasphemy proceeds from the root of transgression ; and see that you be first out of it before you of it do judge : there is no blasphemy in the light which is truth . and to witness the light is not blasphemy . and to witness the prophets life , and the apostles life that had the life of jesus made manifest in his mortal flesh . and to witnesse the life of god , and god dwelling in man , is not blasphemy . and to witnesse the second adam , the lord from heaven , and as he is , so to be in this world , is not blasphemy ; but not to witnesse this , and to be in the transgression , he is in the root that will blaspheme ; and for a man to say he witnesses these things , and himself in the transgression , he blasphemes , and is the synagogue for satan , who did transgresse , and not abide in the truth , who is in the transgression . now it is not because men can speak the scriptures of truth , therefore they are able to judge of blasphemy ; for the jews could speak the scriptures of truth , but judged the truth blasphemy ; now if you would know what 's blasphemy , this is blasphemy , and these were out of the life of the truth that judged the life blasphemy ; and you do not read that any that was in the life of christ , did whip , banish , prison , put to death any for blasphemy ▪ alas ! here is blasphemy heard all up and down the streets , men professing what they are not : now the jews which had the scriptures , and out of the spirit of christ , did put to death for blasphemy : now with this examine and judge your selves , that you may not be judged of the lord : although darius could not change after sealed , yet 't was much grief to him : consider what act that was , and law that was not to be changed after sealed . and consider herods oath against iohn baptist , and the counsel and chief priests against christ for a blasphemer . is christ in you ? now where is this councel and chief priests against him ? it is better to judge of things which you truly understand , pertaining to this life ( but that you cannot ) till you come to the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world , and so leads into the kingdom of god and christ that is not of this world ; for there is a kingdom of the world which is not become the kingdom of christ , which is in the transgression ; and there are the blasphemers in the transgression of the life which the scriptures of truth is given forth from , which judges the truth blasphemy . now wait in the light that you may receive the wisdom of god which comes from christ , by which all things was created , that with it you may come to use the creatures with the wisdom by which they were created to the glory of god . i know the lord is striving , that innocent blood you bring not upon your heads , and hath opened your understandings for to see more then at the first ; and in many of you hath he wrought a noble principle of tendernesse and moderation , in which if you abide faithful to act what it requires , the arm of the lord you will see revealed , and great things brought to pass ; and so will you be clear ( whatever becomes of the innocent ) in the day of gods visitation when he makes inquisition for blood ; you whose understandings the lord hath opened and moved to plead the cause of the innocent ; be faithful to god ; be your talent never so small , take heed of hiding it , least your sin become greater then you will be able to bear . it concerns no man farther to judge then he is judged , and is in the truth . this in tender love to all who are of an upright heart that sits in parliament , from robert rich. there was several copies of the letter given to particular members , besides this little paper given to many that had not the letter . in a letter of mine given to the speaker this morning ( which i desire may be read amongst you ) is written at the latter end thereof these words , viz. if i may have liberty of those that sit in the parliament , i do here at their doore attend , and am ready out of the scriptures of truth , to shew , that not any thing james nayler hath said or done is blasphemy , or worthy either of death or bonds . these were delivered the 15. of december , being the eleventh time the whole house had set about this businesse ; so when i had given the speaker the letter , i waited at their door from the time they first sate till they arose , and then i departed in peace . robert rich . to you that sit in parliament , who own the scriptures , are these ●●r , what is writtten aforetime is written for our admonition , 1 cor. 10. 11. quaery 1. whether those that said god was their father , and crucified him so : blasphemy that spoke the truth , were not 〈◊〉 , and of their father the devil , yea or nay ? read ioh. 8. 41. & 44. 2. whether lyars , covetous or proud men are not the synagogue of satan ? and if such say they are the children of god , or christians , whether ( by the scripture ) that be not blasphemy ? read rev. 2. 9. 3. whether the lyar doth not hate him that abides in the truth ? read 1 ioh. 3. 12. and there see why cain slew abel . and as it was then , is it not so now ? doth not he that is born after the flesh persecute him that is born after the spirit ? read gal. 4. 29. 4. whether they that have the spirit of christ jesus in them , punisheth the body , or puts any to death for words true or false ? and did not christ come to save life and not to destroy it● read mark 34. matt. 13. 29 , 30 iohn 8. 11. 5. whether christ jesus hath not been a stumbling stone , and a rock of offence throughout all generations ? read and see isa. 8. 14. & 18. luke 2. 34. 1 pet. 2. 7 , 8. luke 20. 17 , 18 , 19. matt. 13. 55 , 56. luke 5. 30. & 33. ( read these scriptures over and did not the very disciples of christ oft stumble and were offended at him ? read over these scriptures and consider them well , matt. 26. 8. to the 14. ver. & the 31. ver. matt. 28. 17. ioh. 6. 60. luke 24. l 1 , 15 , 16 , & 37. ver. ioh. 11. 39 , 40. joh. 20. 15. lu. 24. 32. and did not the prophets do many things that the wisdom of the flesh might count foolishness , and to be rediculous ? read isa. 20. 2 , 3. ier. 13. 3 , 4 , 5 , &c. ezek. 4. 1 , 2 , 3 , &c. & ezek. 12. 5 , 6. acts 21. 12 , 13. ios. 6. 6 6. vvhether the lord in all ages hath not tried the children of men ? read psal. 11. 4 , 5. rev. 3. 9 , 10. and whether the day be not approaching that will try every mans work ? 1 cor. 3. 13. and whether all men be not either the children of god or of the devil ? and whether by their fruits they are not made manifest ? and whether those that are the children of god be not lead into moderation , gentlenesse , patience , mercifulnesse , meeknesse , love , &c. and whether the devil leads not his into wrath , envy , hatred , emulation , varience , strife , & c ? so in this thing you will make your selves manifest which spirit leads you , and whose children you are . search the scriptures , and see if these things be not so . robert rich. after the tares appeared , then came the servants of the housholder and said unto him , wilt thou that we go and gather them up ? but he said , nay , lest while ye go about to gather the tares , ye pluck up also with them the wheat : let both grow together until the harvest , matth. 13. 26. &c. this is the doctrine of christ iesus our lord . such care hath christ jesus of the wheat , that he will not that his servants pluck up the tares until the harvest , the end of the world , lest they pluck up the wheat with them ; this is his wisdom , but some men pretend such care for the wheat , that they will have the tares pluckt up before the harvest ; this is their wisdom . now minde whose wisdom you follow , and whose doctrine you obey ; for you can do christ iesus no service in going contrary to his own doctrine , though some may think they do , ioh. 16. 2 , 3. they shall think they do god service when they are killing his servants , mistaking them for his great enemies , for else they would not kill them to do him service . my desire is , that you may be found in the counsel and doctrine of christ iesus , which is safe , and keeps from that danger of shedding innocent blood . will. tomlinson . you have called him a blasphemer , we desire that you would publish what his blasphemy is , that we may know it and take heed of it . christ iesus himself was called a blasphemer , because he said , i am the son of god ; and saith iohn , 1 ioh. 3. 2. now are we the sons of god . w. t. the neer relation between christ jesus and his father being owned by him , was counted in him blasphemy , because he said , i am the son of god . take heed lest the neer relation between christ and his members whom he calls brethren , be not now counted blasphemy where it is owned . and consider these scriptures . now are we the sons of god through christ , saith iohn , 1 ioh. 3. 2. if a son then an heir of god , saith paul , gal. 4. 7. if sons , then heirs , heirs of god , and joint-heirs with christ , rom. 8. 17. him that overcometh will i make a pillar in the temple of my god , and i will write upon him my new name , saith christ jesus , rev. 3. 12 , 13. he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches . if you be able to see these things , do ; but if not , take heed what you do , least you bring innocent blood upon your own heads . there 's none able to judge of these things before the lusts of the flesh , and the lusts of the eyes , and the pride of life be judged and overcome in them , and the love of the world . that 's blasphemy for a man to say he is a jew or a christian , and is not , but still is in the old nature , that was a murderer from the begining ; he blaspheams the name of god , rev. 2. 9. for god hath no such children in the new covenant . as it was then , he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit , so it is now , gal. 4. 29. but he that is born after the spirit never persecutes him that is born after the flesh . w. t. friends , your hands have hitherto been held from shedding of blood ; consider what it is that hath withstood you , and kept you from it , and do not go on to strive any longer against the lord ; but remember david how glad he was that he was prevented from blood , when he was going with a full resolution , and the thing was gone out of his mouth to destroy the house of nabal , 1 sam. 25. 22 , 32 , 33. blessed be the lord god of israel ( saith he ) which hath sent thee this day to meet me , and hath kept me this day from coming to shed blood , and this was but the blood of a wicked man . so friends consider , and strive not against the goodnesse of the lord , which hath hitherto withstood you , and kept you off from shedding of blood , and that with little force . it will be no grief of heart to you that you have not shed blood , but to shed it may lie heavier upon you then yet you are aware . to let the tares ( if tares ) alone with the wheat , according to christs own doctrine ; this will not repent you , because it is his own command ; but under pretence of plucking them up , to pull up one of the least of his lambs , this will be a burthen too heavy for you to bear ; and though you may think you do god service therein , yet he accepts it not . to seek the harm of one that would not hurt an hair of your heads , consider whence this is , and what acceptance this would have with god , seeing he saith , he that toucheth you ( the innocent lambs ) toucheth the apple of mine eye ; therefore touch not mine anointed , do my prophets no harm , saith the lord ; and blessed be their work who are made tender of them , for what 's done to one of the least of those that belong to christ , is done to him . william tomlinson . they are very confident , who kill christs lambs , to do god service , that those they kill are not his lambs , but his enemies , else they would not kill them to do him service ; for they could not think it service to god to kill his children : yet see how far their confident zeal is mistaken , while they think they kill his enemies , they kill the children of the kingdom . thus it happened to christ , the zealous jews were very confident he was a blasphemer , and seducer of the people , and therefore they durst say , his blood be on us , and on our children ; upon the same account the members also of christ alwayes suffer , as blasphemers , as hereticks , as seducers of the people . you are now upon this danger , and trial of your spirits . now why is it that in this confident zeal they kil his children , taking them for enemies ? it is ( saith christ iesus ) because they know not the father nor me , ioh. 16. 2 , 3. now examine your selves you that are for killing , or hurting ; do you know the father ? do you know the son ? have you communion and fellowship with them ? is the son begot in you ? is he formed in you ? are you come into his innocent nature ? if not , your confidence and zeal will deceive you , and you stand in that nature that will kil children for enemies ; for you cannot know them til you know his nature brought forth in you . and if his nature be once brought forth in you , you wil finde a saving spirit raised up in you , not a destroying spirit ; for christ and every measure of him is a saviour , not a destroyer ; and so from christ the saviour spring up many saviours , obad. v. 21. he that is the destroyer and persecutor , is yet in the old covenant , hagar , he is but the son of the bond-woman ▪ which is yet in bondage with her children , and is to be cast out , gal. 4. 22 , to the end . and if ever you come to witness the new covenant , and the law of god writ in your hearts , and the nature of christ formed in you , you will finde the persecutor in you cast out , and that it enters not the kingdome ; for there 's nothing hurts nor destroyes in all gods holy mountain , isa. 11. 9. wil. tomlinson . was not the appearance of christ when he was born glorious , when that the voyce was cryed hosanna to the highest ? was not this to the astonishing of the beholders , and amazement of the world ? did it not stir up all chief priests , and herod , was not he puzled about his birth , and they troubled at his coming ? did not the chief priests and rulers gather against him who was full of grace and truth ? did not the glory of him shew it self forth when he went up unto jerusalem , when the high voice was spoken , and the songs to him sung , the strength ordained out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ? and was not jerusalem the highest place of worship ? and did not the strength which was ordained for the babes and sucklings , set the priests and rulers on rage against christ , that they crucified and slew him ? and did not that make herod and pilate friends in the highest place of worship ? did not he say , and tell his disciples , hee would come again , the hosanna , him that was cryed glory to the highest ? and did not he come again to his apostles according to his promise , and make his abode with them , and sup with them ? did not the apostles say to the saints that christ was in them the mysterie , the hope of glory ; and if he was in them , the body was dead because of sin ? did not the apostle say , examine yourselves , prove yourselves , know you not that iesus christ is in you except you be reprobates , [ mark ] iesus christ in you , the emmanuel , the saviour , the lamb of god , the hosanna ; is not his appearance in the spirit as glorious in his second coming , as it was at his first ? is it not as much to be admired in the world as it was ever ? answer these things , and satisfie your selves : to the light wherewith christ jesus hath enlightned you all , i speak , that with it you may see when you act against him where he is manifested . to prison them contrary to the just is to make them to grow , and to banish them is to shame your religion , and not to own the thing the scripture speakes of , and to put them to death , is to destroy your selves . george fox . whether or no you will suffer christ to have as much honor in the earth , and the world , as the devil hath ? where christ is manifested , whether or no he shall not have more honour , or as much , where he is manifested ? and whether or n●… it is offence to bow to man , or to kneel before a iudge in the world ? whether the● be offensive to the world , amongst the world , to bow before such , and among such the truth is not in ? and whether or no it would not be offence to such , to bow to christ where he is manifested , and persecute such as do bow where the thing is in the truth ; whether or no such a thing may not be done in the truth , and bee a figure to all the bowings of the earthly powers which be out of truth , which hath reigned above the seed of god ? an example to you all : therefore take heed and consider , before you act any thing or judge , lest god judge you afterward , for be assured he will . whether bowing in the truth may not bee a figure , that the seed of god shall rise , and reign above the earthly powers , and they shall bow to it ? and how know you but such things as these may bee tryalls to you , whether you will persecute another , for taking that which is acted among you to your selves , in another way different from this ? now come to do as you would be done by , and do not persecute that in another that is acted in the world , though it be professed otherwayes in the intent , and come to the true measure and weight : and act nothing in your own wils , nor out of the counsel of god , to judge the just upon earth in this world , the just you 'l be judged by , that is of the world to come , without end . i receive not honor of man ; whether or no if any do persecute the seed , which doth take the honor of god , which is over the world and it they themselves do take the honor of the world , that persecutes the contrary . are these things judged with a just measure , and weighed with an equall ballance , yea or nay ? george fox . did not christ wash the disciples feet ? did he not do that as a pattern and example to those that came after him , that they should do so to one another ? have you washed one anothers feet ? have ye anointed one another with oyle that stumble at these where they are acted ? are not these the expressions of love to one another ? and are not these things to be acted amongst the disciples of christ ? are not these things wonders amongst you that do not wash one anothers feet , that be out of the example of the lord ? did not the disciples wash one anothers feet according to christs example ? were not the prophets feet washed ? did not peter desire his head to be washed ? do not wonder and strange at these things where they are practised : were not the saints to salute one another with a holy kisse ? and was not peter to be carried whither he would not ? was there not a time that he girded himself ? and is it not the prince of the air that rules in the children of disobedience , if it be not the prince of peace and the lamb of god ? and is it not an expression of love and honor where there is the washing of one anothers feet ? and for the washing or kissing of feet , it is but an expression of love and humility ? and is not this a patern and example to all you to judge you all how far short ye are of washing one anothers feet , or kissing one anothers feet ; and do not wrong one another about these outward things , but to come to know the seed of god , which bruiseth the serpents head , which would destroy and set one at enmity with another ; that crusheth down these outward things , and reigns over these outward things ; which seed of god comprehends all strife , and comprehends the world ; which seed the promise and blessing of god is to ; in which seed is the unity , and not the enmity , for that is it which is bruised with it . therefore do not shew your selves in enmity against these actions , where they are acted in the seed of god in righteousnesse , not in the world , out of the enmity ; not as justifying the wicked in these things , nor condemning the righteous . minde consideration before you do judge of such as are moved to act these things , whether or no they be not examples to you all , to try you all , whether or no you will persecute , or lift up your hands against such ; and an act whereby you may search your selves , and see how far short ye come of a disciple : and come to that good in you all , that is of god , that with it you may overcome , if there be any thing that is evil , and the heaping the coles of fire upon that which is the adversary : and whether or no there be not such things to be acted in righteosunesse and simplicity , as washing the feet of the disciples , or that some may be carried whether they would not go ; and if any should kisse the feet , or wash the feet of another in love and simplicity , is that such a crime ? and for jesus and christ , and the prince of life and peace ; if jesus christ be within , the second adam is witnessed , god with us , which is jesus ; and be not offended with this , if any do witnesse the state reconciled to god , who hath witnessed the state drove from god , the first adams state , who witnesses the second adams state , the emanuel , god with us . again , now be not ye offended at this , least you do manifest your selves to be in the first adams state , driven from god , not witness jesus christ , god with you , reconciled to god again . but if you stand against this , it shews your selves to be in the transgression , standing against the emanuel , which is god with us : be not hasty in acting these things , but examine and consider before you do act . except ye see signes and wonders ye will not believe ; but this is come to pass that the scriptures might be fulfilled , that saith , the time will come , that they shall think they do god good service when they kill you . remember the scripture which saith , his face is more marr'd then any mans , isa. 52. 14. and whether this be not the same that gave his cheeks to the smiter , and opened not his mouth ? and see now who they are that have spit upon him ; but what evil hath he done . notwithstanding all these warnings , yet on the 17. day of the tenth moneth , the major part of the house pronounced sentence on him . finis . to the pope and all his magistrates and the protests here they and all christendom may see the moderation of the heathen emperours to the christians in the 650 years before there was a pope, signified by their letters following in the behalf of the christians liberty which will rise up in judgment against the popes and their emperours and his magistrates and most of the protestants, as here you may see in the reading of their declarations and the straitnesse of the orders of those called christians now, and the largeness of the heathens then, as concerning liberty in the spirit to worship god : and also here you may see the heathen were more moderate to the christians then the christians, so called, are to one another : taken out of the ten persecutions. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1661 approx. 33 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40302 wing f1960 estc r29527 11164827 ocm 11164827 46478 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40302) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 46478) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1423:31) to the pope and all his magistrates and the protests here they and all christendom may see the moderation of the heathen emperours to the christians in the 650 years before there was a pope, signified by their letters following in the behalf of the christians liberty which will rise up in judgment against the popes and their emperours and his magistrates and most of the protestants, as here you may see in the reading of their declarations and the straitnesse of the orders of those called christians now, and the largeness of the heathens then, as concerning liberty in the spirit to worship god : and also here you may see the heathen were more moderate to the christians then the christians, so called, are to one another : taken out of the ten persecutions. fox, george, 1624-1691. hadrian, emperor of rome, 76-138. antoninus pius, emperor of rome, 86-161. 16 p. printed for thomas simmons, london : 1661. at end: published by george fox. letters are attributed by fox to hadrian, antoninus pius, marcus aurelius, constantine, maximiam and sabinus. reproduction of original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng freedom of religion -history. religious tolerance. 2006-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-03 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-05 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2006-05 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion to the pope and all his magistrates and the protestants , here they and all christendom may see the moderation of the heathen emperours to the christians in the 650 years before there was a pope , signified by their letters following in the behalf of the christians liberty , which will rise up in judgement against the popes and their emperours , and his magistrates , and most of the protestants , as here you may see in the reading of their declarations , and the straitnesse of the orders of those called christians now , and the largenesse of the heathens then , as concerning liberty in the spirit to worship god , and also here you may see the heathen were more moderate to the christians , then the christians , so called , are one to another . taken out of the ten persecutions . london , printed for thomas simmons , at the sign of the bull and mouth near aldersgate , 1661. the letter of adrian the emperor to minutius fundanus . i have received an epistle written unto me from serenus granius our right worthy and welbeloved whose office you do now execute ; therefore i think it not good to leave this matter without further advisement and circumspection to passe , least our subjects be molested , and malicious sycophants boldned and supported in their evil ; wherefore if the subjects of our provinces do bring forth any accusation before the judge against the christians , and can prove the thing they object against them , let them do the same and no more , and otherwise for the name onely , not to impeach them , nor to cry out against them ; for so , more convenient it is , that if any man will be an accuser , you to take the accusation quietly and judge upon the same ; therefore , if any shall accuse the christians , and complain of them as malefactors , doing contrary to the law , then give you judgment according to the quality of the crime ; but notwithstanding whosoever upon spight and maliciousnesse shall commence or cavil against them , see you correct and punish that man for his inordinate and malicious dealing . this was written above 500 years before there was a pope , or universal bishop in rome . the epistle of antonius pius to the commons of asia . emperor and caesar , aurelius , antonius , augustus , arminius , pontifix maximus , tribune eleven times , consul thrice , unto the commons of asia , greeting , i am very certain that the gods have a care of this , that they which be such shall be known , and not lie hid , for they do punish them that will not worship them more than you , which so sore vex and trouble them , confirming thereby the opinion which they have conceived , and do conceive of you ; that is , to be wicked men , for this is their joy and desire , that when they are accused , rather they covet to dye for their god then to live , whereby they are victorers , and do overcome you , giving rather their lives then to be obedient to you , in doing that which you require of them ; and here it shall not be inconvenient to advertize you of the earthquakes which have and do happen among us , that when at the sight of them you tremble and are afraid , then confer your case with them , for they upon a sure confidence of their god , are bold and fearlesse , much more then you , who in all the time of this your ignorance , both do worship other gods , and neglect the religion of immortality , and such christians as worship him , them you do drive out and persecute them unto death ; of these and such like matters many presidents of our provinces did write to our father of famous memory heretofore , to whom he directed his answer again , willing them in no case to molest the christians , except they were found in some trespasse prejudicial against the empire of rome ; and to me also many there be , which write signifying their mind in like manner , to whom i have answered again to the same effect and manner as my father did ; wherefore if any hereafter shal offer any vexation or trouble to such , having no other cause , but onely for that they are such , let him that is impeached be released , and discharged free ; yea although he be found to be such ( that is a christian and let the accuser sustain the punishment , &c. this was written about 500 years before there was a pope , on universal bishop in rome . marcus aurelius antonius , emperour to the senate and people of rome . i give you hereby to understand what i intend to do , as also what successe i have had in my wars in germany , and with how much difficulty i have victualled my camp , being compassed about with seventy and four fierce dragons , whom my scouts descried to be within nine miles of us , and pompeianus our lieutenant hath viewed , as he signified unto us by his letters ; wherefore i thought no lesse , but to be over-run , and all my bands of so great multitude , as well my vaward mainward , as rere-ward , with all my souldiers of ephrata , in whose host there were numbred of fighting men , nine hundred seventy and five thousand ; but when i saw my self not able to encounter with the enemie , i craved aid of our country gods , at whose hands i finding no comfort , and being driven of the enemy unto an exigent , i caused to be sent for those men which we call christians , who being mustered were found a good indifferent number , with whom i was in further rage then i had good cause , as afterwards i had experience , by their marvellous power , who forthwith did their endeavour , but without either weapons munition , armour , or trumpets , as men abhorring such preparations , and furniture , but onely satisfied in trust of their god , whom they carry about with them in their consciences ; it is therefore to be credited , although we call them wicked men , that they worship god in their hearts , for they falling prostrate upon the ground , prayed not onely for me , but for the host also which was with me , beseeching their god for help , in that our extremity of victuals and fresh water , for we had been now five dayes without water , and were in our enemies land , even in the midst of germany , who thus falling upon their faces made their prayer to a god unknown of me ; and there fell amongst us from heaven a most pleasant & cold showr , but amongst our enemies a great storm of hail mixt with lightning , so that immediately we perceived the invincible hand of the most mighty god to be with us ; therefore we gave those men leave to professe christianity , least perhaps by their prayer we be punished with the like , and thereby make my self the author of such hurt as shall be received by the christian profession ; and if any shall apprehend one that is a christian onely for that cause , i will that he being apprehended , without punishment , may have leave to confesse the same , so that there be no other cause objected against him , more then that he is a christian , but let his accuser be burned alive , neither will i that he confessing , and being found a christian , shall be inforced to alter the same his opinion by the governor of any of our provinces , but left to his own choice ; and this decree of mine i will to be ratified in the senate house , and command the same publiquely to be proclaimed and read in the court of trajanus ; and that further from thence it may be sent in all our provinces by the diligence of varatious governour of our city of polione ; and further we give leave to all men to use and write out this our decree , taking the same out of our copy , publiquely in the common hall set forth . this was written about 480 years before there was a pope , or universal bishop . emperour and caesar publius licinius galienus pius fortunatus augustus , unto dionysius to pina , and to demetrian , and to all other the like bishops , the bountiful benignity of my gift . i have willed and commanded to be proclaimed through the whole world , to the intent that such which are detained in banishment for discipline sake may safely return home again from whence they came , and for the same cause i have here sent to you the example of my rescript , for you to peruse and to enjoy , so that no man be so hardly to vex or molest you , and this which you may now lawfully enjoy hath been long since by me granted , and therefore for your more warrant in the same , i have committed the exemplar hereof to the custody of aurelianus cirenius my chief steward , where you may fet the copy to see at your pleasure . this was written in the behalf of the christians about 390. years before there was a pope in rome . the copy of an epistle of constantinus sent to his subjects inhabiting in the east . victor constantinus maximus augustus , to our loving subjects inhabiting throughout the east parts sendeth greeting . the thing it self which in the sure and most firm law of nature is contained , doth give unto all men ( even as god hath ordained the same ) sufficient perseverance and understanding , both of such things as man ought to foresee , as also what things presently he ought to meditate , neither is there any thing therein to be doubted , of such which have their minds directed to the scope or work of perfect understanding ; so that the perfect comprehending of sound reason , and the perseverance thereof , be compared with the knowledge of god , being the true and perfect virtue ; whereof let no wise man be troubled , although be sees divers men of divers dispositions ; for wisdom which springeth of virtue , cannot abide or acquaint her self with fond idiots , unlesse that ( on the other side ) the malice of perverse litherness prolong her daies , and cause the same idiocy to survive ; wherefore assuredly the crown and price of virtue lyeth open unto all men , and the most mighty god ordereth the judgement of the same : i undoubtedly ( as manifestly as possible is ) will endeavour my self to testifie and confess unto you , all the hope which is in me ; i think verily that the emperours which before this time have lately been , even for their tiranny had the empire taken from them , and my father onely exercising and used all meekness and lenity in his affairs , calling upon god the father with great devotion and humility , hath been exalted to the same , and all the rest as men wanting their wits , and in comparison as savige beasts , rather did give themselves to like cruelty , then unto any lenity and gentleness towards their subjects , in which tiranny every one for his time being nosuled , utterly subverted the true and unfallible doctrine , and so great malice was there kindled in their breasts , that when all things were in peaceable tranquality , they made and raised most cruel and bloody intestine or civil warrs ; it is credibly informed us , that in those dayes apollo gave answers , but not by any mans mouth , but out of a certain cave and dark place , ( saying ) that he was much disquietted by those that were the just men and livers upon the earth , so that he could or would not for them declare a truth of such things as others demanded , and hereby it came to passe that such false divinations were given from the golden tables in apollo's temple , and in this thing did his prophetical priest complain of , when he took up again the hair of his head that others had contemptuously cast down ? and that the neglecting of his divination was the cause of so many evils amongst men ; but let us see what was the end hereof ; we now boldly and without all fear invocate and worship the omnipotent god. when i was a child i heard that he which then was chief emperour of rome , unhappy , yea most unhappy man , being seduced and brought into errour by his souldiers , curiously enquired who were those just men upon the earth that apollo meant , and one of his priests which was near about him , made answer that they were the christians ; this answer hereupon unto him being as delectable as honey unto the mouth , drew the sword given unto him to be revenged upon evil doers and malefactors , against the professors of the irreprehensible sanctimony and religion , and straightway he gave forth a commission ( to bloudy homicides as i may well call them ) and gave commandment to all the judges , that they should endeavour themselves with all the cunning they had , to the devising of more grievous and sharper punishment against the poor christians ; then , then i say , a man might have seen how greatly the honest professors of that religion were molested with cruelty , and daily suffered no small injuries and contumelies , and that also they suffered and sustained the same with such temperance , as though they had had no injuries done unto them at all , which temperance and patience of theirs was the cause why the furious citizens were the more mad and raging against them ; what fires , what tortures , what kind of torments were there , but they without respect either of age or sex were inforced to feel ? then did the earth without doubt her self bewail her children , and the round world which containeth all things , being sprinkled and imbrued with their bloud , made doleful lamentation for them , and the day it self provoked for to mourn was made amazed for them , but what is this to purpose ? now the very barbarous nations rejoyce for their sakes , which received and harboured them when they were afraid and fled from us , keeping them as it were in most loving and amiable captivity , and they saved not onely their lives , but also were a defence for their religion ; and now also the roman nation remembreth , and hath before their eyes this blame and spot , which the christians that were of that time worthily gave unto them , when they by them were banished ( as unfit members of their common wealth ) amongst the barbarous people ; what needeth to make further rehearsal of the mourning lamentation which the heathen people themselves throughout all the world made for the pitiful murder and slaughter of them ? after that it came to passe , that they which were authors of all these mischiefs died also , and were committed for their reward to the most filthy and horrible dungeon of hell , they being so intangled with intestine and civil wars , left alive neither name nor kinsman of their own , which thing undoubtedly had not chanced , unlesse the wicked devinations of apollo's oracles had deceived and bewitched them ; to thee therefore now i pray , oh most mighty god , that thou wilt vouchsafe to be merciful , and pardon all the east parts , and inhabitants of the same , being oppressed with calamity , and that by me thy servant thou wilt of thy goodnesse help and relieve the same ; and these things rashly crave i not at thy hands , oh lord most mighty , and holiest god of all , for i being perswaded by the onely oracles , have both begun and also finished wholesom and profitable things ; and further , by the bearing and shewing of thine ensign , have overcome a mighty and strong host , and when any necessity of the common-weal ( to my charge committed ) requireth thereunto ( following those signs and tokens of thy vertues ) i boldly go forth and fight against mine enemies ; and for this cause have i sacrificed my-soul unto thee , purified and cleansed both with thy love and fear ; yea truly , thy name do i sincerely love , and thy power do i reverence , which by many tokens and wonders hath shewed and confirmed thereby my belief and faith ; therefore will i do my endeavour , and bend my self thereunto , that i may re-edifie thy most holy house , which those wicked and ungodly emperors , have with so great ruine laid waste ; thy people do i desire to bring and establish in firm peace and tranquillity , and that for the publick utility of all the inhabitants of the earth , those which yet erre , and are out of the way , enjoy the benefit of peace and quietnesse with and amongst the number of the faithful sort , for i trust the restitution of the like society and participation may be a means to bring them also that erre into the perfect way of verity ; let no man therefore be grievous one unto another , but whatever man thinketh best , that let him do , for such as are wise ought throughly to be perswaded , that they onely mean to live holily , and as they should do , whom the spirit of god moveth to take their delight and recreation in reading his holy will ; and if others wilfully will go out of the way , cleaving to the synagogues of false doctrîne , they may at their own peril ; as for us we have the most worthy house , or congregation of gods verity , which he according to his own goodnesse and nature hath given us ; and this also we wish unto them , that with like participation and common consent , they may feel with us the same delectation of mind ; for this our religion is neither new nor newly invented , but is as old as we believe the creation of the world to be , and which god hath commanded to be celebrated with such worship as both seemed and pleased him ; but all living men are lyars , and are deceived with divers and sundry delusions ; thou o god for christ thy sons sake , suffer not this wickednesse again to root , thou hast set up a clear and burning light , that thereby as many as thou hast chosen may come unto thee , these thy miracles approved the same , it is thy power that keepeth us in innocency and fidelity , the sun and the moon run their appointed course , neither yet in ranging wise wander the stars to what place of the world they list themselves , the dayes , years , months and times keep their appointed turns , the earth abideth firm and unremovable at thy word , and the wind at the time ( by thee directed ) stormeth and bloweth , the streaming watering flouds ebb in time according as they flow , the raging sea abideth within her bounds and limits , and for that the ocean sea stretcheth out her self in equal length and breadth with the whole earth , this must needs be wrought with some marvellous workmanship of thine own hand , which thing unlesse it were at thy will made and disposed , without all doubt so great difference and partition between would ere this time have brought utter ruine and destruction both to the life of man , as to all that belongeth to man beside , which for that they have such great and huge conflicts amongst themselves , as also the invisible spirits have ; we give thee thanks o lord most mighty , god of all gods , that all mankind hath not been destroyed thereby ; surely even as greatly as thy benignity and gentleness is manifested by divers and sundry benefits bestowed upon us , so much also is the same set forth and declared in the discipline of thy eternal word to those that be heavenly wise , and apply themselves to the attainment of sincere and true vertue ; but if any such there be that little regard , or have but small respect unto the consideration thereof , let them not blame or lay a fault in others that do the same ; for that physick whereby health is obtained , is manifestly offered unto all men ; now therefore let no man go about to subvert that which experience it self doth shew ( of necessity ) to be pure and good ; let us therefore altogether use the participation of this benefit bestowed upon us , that is to say , the benefit of peace and tranquillity , setting apart all controversie , and let no man hurt or be prejudicial to his fellow for that thing wherein he thinketh himself to have done well , if by that which any man knoweth and hath experience of , he thinketh he may profit his neighbour , let him do the same , if not let him give over , and remit it till another time , for there is a great diversity betwixt the willing and the voluntary embracing of religion , and that when a man is thereunto informed , & counseled ; of these things have i made a more large discourse , than indeed the scope & mediocrity requireth , especially because i would not have my faith ( touching the verity ) to be hid , for that i hear there be some which complain the old accustomed haunting of their temples , and that the power of such darknesse is cut off and taken away , which thing surely i would take in better part , were it not that the violent rebellion of flagitious errour were so fixed in many mens hearts , whereby they thirst after the utter subversion of the common-weal and empire . this was written about 300 years before there was a pope , or universal bishop in rome . the copy of the emperial constitution of constantinus , and licinius , for the establishing of the free worshipping of god after the christian religion . not long agone we weighing with our selves , that the liberty and freedom of religion , ought not in any case to be prohibited , but that free leave ought to be given to every man to do therein , according to his will and mind ; we have given commandment to all men to qualifie matters of religion as they themselves thought good , and that also the christians should keep the opinions and faith of their religion ; but because that many and sundry opinions by the same our first licence spring and increase through such liberty granted , we thought good manifestly to add thereunto , and make plain such things whereby perchance some of them in time to come may from such their observance be let or hindred ; when therefore by prosperous successe , i constantinus augustus ; and i linicius augustus came to mediliolanum , and there sat in council upon such things as served for the utility and profit of the common-weal , these things amongst others we thought would be beneficial to all men , yea and before all other things we purposed to establish those things wherein the true reverence and worship of god is comprehended , that is , to give unto the christians free choice to follow what religion they think good , and whereby the same sincerity and celestial grace , which is in every place received , may also be embraced and accepted of all our loving subjects ; according therefore unto this our pleasure upon good advisement and sound judgement , we have decreed , that no man so hardy be denied to chuse and follow the christian observance or religion , but that this liberty be given to every man , that he may apply his mind to what religion he thinketh meet himself , whereby god may perform upon us all his accustomed care and goodnesse ; to the intent therefore you might know that this is our pleasure , we thought it necessary this to write unto you , whereby all such errors and opinions being removed , which in our former letters being sent unto you in the behalf of the christians are contained , and which seem very undescreet and contrary to our clemency may be made frustrate and annihilate ; now therefore firmly and freely we will and command , that every man have a free liberty to observe the christian religion , and that without any grief or molestation he may be suffered to do the same . these things have we thought good to signifie unto you by as plain words as we may , that we have given to the christians , free and absolute power to keep and use their religion ; and for so much as this liberty is absolutely given of us unto them , to use and exercise their former observance , if any be disposed , it is manifest that the same helpeth much to establish the publique tranquillity of our time , every man to have license and liberty to use and chuse what kind of worshipping he list himself ; and this is done of us onely for the intent that we would have no man to be enforced to one religion more than another ; and this thing also amongst others we have provided for the christians , that they may have again the possession of such places in which heretofore they have been accustomed to make their assemblies ; so that if any have bought or purchased the same either of us or of any other , the same places without either money or other recompence forthwith and without delay we will to be restored again unto the said christians ; and if any man have obtained the same by gift from us , and shall require any recompence to be made to them in that behalf , then let the christians repair to the president , being the judge appointed for that place , that consideration may be had of those men by our benignity ; all which things we will and command that you see to be given and restored freely , and with diligence unto the society of the christians , all delay set apart ; and because the christians themselves are understood to have had not only those places wherein they were accustomed to resort together , but certain other peculiar places also , not being private to any one man , but belonging to the right of their congregation and society ; you shall see also all those to be restored unto the christians , that is to say , to every fellowship and company of them , according to the decree whereof we have made mention , all delay set apart ; provided that the order we have taken in the mean time be observed , that if any , taking no recompence , shall restore the same lands and possessions , they shall not mistrust , but be sure to be saved harmlesse by us . in all these things it shall be your part to employ your diligence in the behalf of the foresaid company of christians , wherby this our commandment may speedily be accomplished , and also in this case by our clemency the common and publick peace may be preserved ; for undoubtedly by this means , as before we have said , the good will and favour of god towards us ( whereof in many cases we have had good experience ) shall alwayes continue with us ; and to the intent that this our constitution may be notified to all men , it shall be requisite that the copy of these our letters be set up in all places , that men may read and know the same , least any should be ignorant thereof . this was written about 330 years before there was a pope or universal bishop at rome . maximinus the emperor in the behalf of the christians . amongst other things , which for the benefit and commodity of the common-wealth we established , we commanded to reform all things according to the ancient laws and publique discipline of the romans ; and also to use this policy , that the christians , which had forsaken the religion of their forefathers , should be brought again to the right way , for such phantastical singularity was amongst them , that those things which their elders had received and allowed , they rejected and disallowed , devising every man such laws as they thought good , and observed the same , assembling in divers places great multitudes of people ; therefore when our foresaid decree was proclaimed , many there were that felt the penalty thereof , and many being troubled therefore suffered many kinds of death ; and because we see yet that there be many which persevere in the same which neither give due worship unto the celestal gods , neither receive the god of the christians , we having respect to our accustomed benignity , wherewith we are wont to shew favour unto all men , think good in this case also to extend our clemency , that the christians may be again tolerated , and appoint them places where again they may meet together , so that they do nothing contrary to publick order and discipline ; by another epistle we mean to prescribe unto the judges , what shall be convenient for them to do ; wherefore according as this our bountiful clemency deserveth , let them make intercession to god for our health , common-weal , and for themselves , that in all places the state of the common-weal may be preserved , and that they themselves may be able safely to live within their bounds . euseb . lib. 6. cap. ult . this was written about 340 years before there was a pope or universal bishop in rome . sabinus the emperors chief officer wrote his pleasure in this wise . the majesty of our most gratious and soveraign lords the emperours hath lately decreed with special diligence and devotion , to induce all men to a uniform life , that they which seemed to dissent from the roman custom by a straying manner of living , should exhibit to the immortal gods their due and proper worship ; but the wilful and obstinate mind of divers so much and so continually resisted the same , that by no lawful means they might be revoked from their purpose , neither made affraid by any terror or punishment ; because therefore it so came to passe , that by this means many put themselves in peril and in jeopardy ; the majesty of our soveraign lords the emperors , according to their noble piety , considering that it was far from their princely majesties , that such things should be , whereby so many men and much people should be destroyed , gave me in charge that with diligence i should write unto you , that , if any of the christians from henceforth fortune to be taken in the exercise of their religion , that in no no wise you molest the same , neither for that cause do you judge any man worthy of punishment , for that in all this time it hath evidently appeared , that by no means they might be allured from such wilfulnesse ; it is therefore requisite that your wisdom write unto the questor , captains and constables of every city and village , that they may know it not to be lawful for them to do contrary to the prescript of this commandment , neither that they presume to attempt the same , euseb lib. 9. cap. this was written about three hundred and thirty years before there was a pope or chief bishop at rome . published by george fox . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a40302-e100 great vol. page 37 in the third persecution , an 140 notes for div a40302-e230 page 37. anno 140 in the 3d. persecution . notes for div a40302-e430 page 46. anno 175 in the 4th persecution . notes for div a40302-e620 pag. 97. in the eighth persecution of the 10. anno 263. euseb . lib. 7 , cap. 13. notes for div a40302-e760 page 91. about an. 350 in the 10th persecution . notes for div a40302-e970 page 77. about an. 319. in the tenth persecution . notes for div a40302-e1110 pag. 74 : in the tenth persecution . anno 318. notes for div a40302-e1230 pag. 74 : about anno 318. in the tenth persecution , a short relation concerning the life and death of that man of god, and faithful minister of jesus christ, william simpson, who laid down his body in the island of barbadoes the eight day of the twelfth month, m dc lxx 1671 approx. 30 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 8 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a60091 wing s3618 estc r10632 13783605 ocm 13783605 101794 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a60091) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 101794) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 850:6) a short relation concerning the life and death of that man of god, and faithful minister of jesus christ, william simpson, who laid down his body in the island of barbadoes the eight day of the twelfth month, m dc lxx fortescue, william. hooton, oliver. fox, george, 1624-1691. hooton, elizabeth, ca. 1600-1672. simpson, william, 1627?-1671. going naked a signe. 15, [1] p. s.n.], [london? : 1671. signed on p. 8: william fortescue. sections written and signed by fortescue, oliver hooton, george fox, and elizabeth hooton. "going naked a signe / william simpson": p. 14-15. probable place of publication from wing. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng simpson, william, 1627?-1671. society of friends -biography. 2006-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-12 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-01 pip willcox sampled and proofread 2007-01 pip willcox text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a short relation concerning the life and death of that man of god , and faithful minister of jesus christ , william simpson who laid down his body in the island of barbadoes , the eighth day of the twelfth month , m dc lxx . my father , my father , the chariots of israel , and the horsemen th●●●of , 2 kings 2. 12. and i heard a voice from heaven , saying unto me , write , blessed are 〈◊〉 dead , which dye in the lord , from henceforth , yea , saith the spirit , they may rest from their labours , and their works do follow th●● rev. 14. 13. printed in the year 1671. a short relation , &c. merciful hath the lord been to us of this island , beyond expression , in sending his faithful servants amongst us time after time , early , yea , and now of late , preaching deliverance to us who were captives , and under the region and shadow of death , turning us from darkness to the light , and from satans power to the power of god ; being as lights set on a hill , publishing the acceptable year of the lord , to the penitent , and the day of vengeance of our god on the rebellious , both within and without ; which is now fulfilled and fulfilling in this day of his power , wherin his people are a willing people , let his will be what pleaseth him ▪ here on earth as it is in heaven ; though there be them that do murmur at it as in the dayes of old , saying to the lord , depart from us , we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes : still imagining that the lord delays his coming , according to his promise , which is , without sin unto salvation ; and are still pleading for the devils work , which is sin ; although that is it which separateth from the lord , and hindereth the will of the lord to be done on earth ( or whilst they are in this world ) which is , that they should be sanctified ; but let such know , that after this life , his will will be justly done on them whether they will or no , though now they may resist the holy ghost , as their fathers did of old ; and they which are not obedient to his call and voice ( which his sheep do hear and follow ) whilst here , denying him before men , he also will deny them before his father , and the holy angels . i do not question but that it will be granted , that the call of the lord is to depart from sin , and not to joyn to that which separates from god. then if we hold sin the term of life , we shall find that its wages will be death . we cannot serve two masters : if we serve sin , we are free from righteousness , neither is there fellowship between light and darkness , or christ and belial ; for they are contrary and opposite in all things , insomuch that the fruits of either are clearly descerned by the children of light , who are not of this world , neither of darkness , though they once were , but are now of the day , and are light in the lord , being turned thereto by his faithful servants , speaking by the same spirit that of old said , come ye , oh house of israel ! and let us walk in the light of the lord. this as my testimony , i write to those that have been convinced of the truth , declared largely by that man of god , william simpson , who hath bestowed much labour on us , that this may stand as a witness against my self , or any that have received the truth declared by him , if we depart from it : which that we may not do , let us all watch , knowing assuredly , that it is only they that continue to the end that shall be saved ; as this faithful warrior ( yea , and more than a conqueror ) hath done , who is entered into his rest , having received an immortal crown of an eternal weight of glory ; the spirit of the lord bears true witness in me to the truth of the same this moment . and for the farther confirmation of the same , i shall instance something concerning his end ( which was miraculous ) i being with him the time that he kept house in his sickness , and to his grave . on the third day of this instant ( being the sixth day of the week , he powerfully preached the word of the lord , and made effectual supplication to him by prayer ) at the house of katherine norton ) it being the fifth meeting that he had been at that week , and last publication of the gospel of peace , except nigh the hour of his death , which was so powerfully done , that it is beyond my utterance , especially considering the low estate of his outward man ; which confirmeth his last declaration to be no less than a miraculous voice immediately from heaven ( as indeed it was ) that we might then have said , ( and now do ) that he being dead , yet speaketh the wonderful things of god : from which meeting ( as aforesaid at k. n s. ) he with his yoke-fellow , john burneyat , went to the house where richard clarke now lives , who kindly received them ; and that night our dear friend , william simpson was taken very ill with a feaver , so that the outward man grew weaker and fainter every day more than other , and the inward man was renewed with might ( to our great rejoycing ) as appeared by his often making melody to the lord with rich rejoycings ; so that though we sorrow for him , yet we sorrow not as those which have no hope : being witnesses of the glory of the lord which did surround him to the last . and , his care was much over the flock of which the lord by the holy ghost had made him an overseer , as appeared by his words to his ( and our ) beloved john burneyat , that morning , who signified to him , that he had freedom to stay with him if he desired it ; but dear william answered him , saying , all will not be well except thou be there ( meaning mens meeting that day , and the general meeting on the morrow ) with other words to that effect . now for the service of truth , these two faithful stewards had separated themselves ( outwardly ) but having bemoaned each other , like turtle doves that miss their mates , they resolved in the will of the lord to enjoy each others company so much as they could , yet with williams consent john went to town that day . and on the eighth day of this month he grew very weak and faint in body , and with being removed ( according to his desire ) he fainted away , not speaking nor knowing us , as he afterward said : and seeing us to be sad , he asked , if he had given us any words in the time of his fainting , that might offend us ? but we satisfied him that he did not , neither did he , for indeed he was harmless in all things , and was become as a little child , for not one froward or hasty word proceeded from him , neither was he any thing less than a perfect man , who feared god and eschewed evil ; yea , he walked before the lord and was perfect , insomuch that the lord hid not from him that which he hath accomplished on him , for in the forenoon the lord shewed him in a vision that he would take him away ; and giving a start , he gave us to understand the same , saying , it lyes very hard upon me , it is fixed in me , relating the thing that he had seen ; and i observed , that the pangs of death seized on him at that instant , which might be about the eleventh hour : and being desired to keep his bed ( because moving of him caused him to faint ) he gave us an innocent look , like a babe ( as he was ) lying still submitting to what we said , whose innocent looks and behaviour caused tears from some , which he beholding was trobled , speaking to us tenderly , that we should not be grieved , &c. and towards evening he grew so weak , that he spake very inwardly , so that we could scarcely hear him ; and after that manner he spake much of , and to the lord , praising him wonderfully , but with a very low voice . and after a while we perceived that he did not know us , saying , friends , be noble , and do not hinder me in my passage , for i am an innocent man. and being asked whither he would go ? he said , i must pass away . and by what else he spake at that time , we surely know that his heart was wholly fixed upon the lord : for had any evil been in him , something of it would have shewed it self at such a time , yet this holy man of god did not , neither spake he at any time any word unbecoming the truth , which he once more powerfully preached . between the sixth and seventh hour he lay very still and silent , and one came there ( who hath been invited to meetings but never came ) and taking him by the hand , asked him how he did ? who answered , i am a very sick man. and looking towards the man , william simpson was on a suddain endewed with the power and spirit of the lord , by which he marvelously preached the glorious gospel of our lord jesus christ about a quarter of an hour , sweetly praising and magnifying the lord ; which was so contrary to our expectations , that it caused great amazement , with trembling and tears ; who held forth powerfully the doctrine of perfection and freedom from sin on this side the grave , and that friends should be valiant for the truth upon earth , and that they should not again be entangled with the yoak of bondage ( which brings imperfections ) but to stand fast in the liberty wherewith christ had made us free ; that every bond and yoak may be broken , that that which is pure of the lord god might go free in all ; that god might be glorified and honoured , and we preserved in the day of tryal which must come upon all flesh ; and so to grow from grace to grace , and from strength to strength , and from one degree of holiness unto another , that a daily growth may be witnessed in all ; ( further saying ) oh friends ! it is the life that the lord looks at ; for , he that hath the son hath life , and he that hath not the son hath not life . examine your selves ; no son , no life ; without the son , without life , &c. and thus he declared wonderfully and often , glorifying and praysing the lord after this manner ; oh all that is within me , praise and magnifie the lord god , who is worthy for ever and ever of all glory ; and everlasting prayses to the god of my life , who is only worthy , and lives over all , is above all , god blessed for ever . amen . and after this sort did he often ascribe living praises to the god of his life , &c. and in his declaration he said , that what he had spoken , was laid upon his spirit by the lord so to do , &c. when he had spoke a word not plain , he repeated it again , and so went forward until he had finished his last testimony with supplication : continuing sensible unto the last . richard clarke asked him , if he knew him ; and william answered , that he could not tell . but when he told him his name was richard clarke , the candle being brought near , william wrung him hard by the hand and spake no more . and about the tenth hour of the night he departed this life like a lamb , and the next day his body was carried to the bridge-town ( it being general meeting day ) nigh which he was buried in a garden belonging to richard forstal , being honourably accompanied thither with several hundreds of friends . this relation , i hope , will give content to his son ( who i have heard him speak off ) and all friends who may enquire after him , for as he lived , so he died , preaching the word of the lord in the demonstration of the spirit and power ; and many seals are in this island , confirming the gospel that hath been ministred by him and his fellow-labourer . and as for the sufferings of this just man william simpson , his being often in perils by his own country-men ( who honour not their prophets ) whipt , stockt , stoned and imprisoned : such bonds and tribulations have attended him , yea , as much as any man ; most towns and cities bear record for him in england and scotland . he hath been a man of sorrows , and acquainted with grief , and was made perfect through sufferings ; who is ceased from his labours , and is entred into his rest. written in barbados , the 10th , of the 12th , month , 1670. by one of the least of the flock of christ ; whose name is , william fortescue . here are a few lines more concerning our dear friend and brother william simpson . the righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away , and none consider that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come , isa . 57. 1. the glorious day of god everlasting is dawned , and the light of his excellency hath shined by the glory of his heavenly virtue , through the thick clouds of darkness , which hath long been as a vail over the hearts of the people of the nations ; during which time the world was as a wilderness that was untilled , and brought forth thistles , thorns and briars , in stead of corn , wine and oyl ; but since it hath been the good pleasure of the lord of the whole earth , to manifest the glory of his spirit of burning by the operation of life , which appeareth through the light to burn up the briars and thorns , and to sow his good seed . he hath sent forth painful labourers to gather the harvest of the earth ; for his seed hath long been sown in the heart of man ; and how can he expect any thing now but fruits ; and he hath sent his servants into many nations , kingdoms and countries , some whereof have been raised from death to life by the ministration of the glorious gospel , and have brought fruits to the praise and glory of god almighty . now those whom the lord hath been pleased so to send forth he hath not sent them empty , nor without the enjoyment of his heavenly presence , but hath endued them with the operation of the power of his divine spirit , even the spirit of wisdom and vnderstanding , of righteousness and true judgement . and among the many regions , kingdoms and countrys , the lord hath been pleased to visit this island of barbados , whereunto he hath sent his servants time after time , endued with the powe● of his spirit , to convince its inhabitants of the evil of their wayes , and many thereby are gathered into the way of gods covenant , of life and peace . everlastingly blessed be the name of the lord who hath remembred us in these remote parts of the earth ; and amongst the many that he hath sent , he hath sent two of his faithful servants , with the ministry of his everlasting gospel , whose integrity and innocency hath appeared in the likeness and image of god almighty , to the convincing of many of the way of gods truth , whereby the most high hath been pleased to enlarge the assemblies of his people , by drawing nearer unto himself those that were afar off ; for the gathering of whom , the lord of heaven and earth hath made the two aforesaid , his fathful servants ( viz. ) william sympson , and john burneyat , very instrumental in his hand , to declare the light of the eternal day in the demonstration of the spirit of love and tendrness ; who faithfully have dealt plainly with all people , without respect of persons , as the lord commanded them ; and they have not been as idle-labourers in the vineyard , but they have been willing to spend and to be spent , for the advancing and exalting of the power and truth of the most high god in the hearts of men . now that which caused me more particularly to write this unto you ( to whose hands soever it may come ) is somewhat to signifie something concerning that renouned servant of the lord , and faithful follower of the lamb , william simpson , who hath walked in faithfulness unto god , and followed the lamb through many tribulations , and washed his robes , and made them white in his blood , and hath not loved his life unto death , but hath fought the good fight , and by faith hath overcome ; and hath run the race that was set before him , and hath finished his course , and hath obtained a crown of life and glory , and is set down in the kingdom of heaven , in the place of everlasting rest , with abraham , isaac and jacob , and with the saints of the most high for ever . and truly friends , i cannot but give testimony that he was an innocent man ( as himself also said , when he was near his last breath . ) i have sometimes known him in our native country , and then did his life sound forth his innocency : and having been here more than four months , the same state of innocency was found in him , even unto the day that it pleased the lord to take him from amongst us , to reign with him in eternity . and as the lord alone had made him a preacher of his word , in the way of righteousness , in the time of his life , ( as men of a right understanding can sufficiently evidence ) so likewise in the same hour of his death , he did wonde●fully declare of the great work of the lord , and of his compassion to all people , and having concluded said , that what he had said , was laid upon him from the lord. and he said unto those that were with him , that he was an innocent man , and desired them not to be troubled , but to let him go . and now he is entred into everlasting rest , in a heavenly habitation , having laid down his head in everlasting peace in the glorious state of eternity , where he doth rest from his labours and his works do follow him , beyond the reach of all the tyrants of the earth , who can never come there except they repent : but their day will assuredly have an end , and they must come to judgment before the lord ; and then let the stout-hearted amongst them stand up in the might of his strength , and gird up his loyns like a man , and contend with the almighty if he be able to answer him , when he calls to an account for the deeds done in the body : and where is he that knows his latter-end ? or whether this may be his last day here or nay , as the two aforesaid faithful servants of the lord have many times reminded all people here , to remember their latter end , and to strive to make their calling and election sure with the lord , and not to grieve the good spirit of the lord , by following vanity and excess of ryot , or whatsoever would hinder their passage to the kingdom of heaven , where life and salvation is attained : where the soul of our d●ar brother aforesaid , doth rest in peace and glory for ever , as i do assuredly know by c●rtain and infallible testimonies . i was with him sometimes in the time of his being sick and weak ; and the night before his departure was with him all night , when his spirit rejoyced in the lord , and his soul did behold the salvation of god ; then could he not forbear to sing praises to his maker , as did evidently appear at sundry times ; and his faithful companion and fellow-labourer in the ministry of the gospel of salvation , ( viz. john burneyat ) was also with him almost all the time of his being sick , and although he could not but mourn with us at the parting with so dear and faithful a friend and companion ; yet we could not but also rejoyce with him , to behold the excellency of the glory which he , ( to wit ) the soul of our dear brother , entered into , when the mortal was put off , to enter with immortality into the joyful place of felicity and heavenly consolation , with the spirits of just men and angels in the heavenly jerusalem , there to reign with the highest for ever . where now thy soul doth rest in quiet peace , since that thy labours here on earth did cease . by faith in christ thou hast obtaind a crown transcending glory of the worlds renown ; for thee in heaven is prepard a throne , to live for ever with our king alone . in life thou wast obedient unto him , and hast obtaind a royal diadem . the cross thou didst embrace , despise the shame , and preach'st the the gospel in his holy name . when in thy native country , wast a sign , to preach red●mption unto jacobs line . for all the proud and lofty ones shall say , that a true prophet warned them that day . and happy they , if they in peace had known , gods word , through thee proclaimd , from him alon ; for that in life thou didst the truth maintain , through death a crown of life thou dost obtain . thou dearly love'st the way of lifes infusion , and lived'st therein unto thy last conclusion . th●n to the throne of life thou didst ascend , where life eternal never shall have end . w●itten in barbados the 16th . of the 12th . month , 1670 , by oliver hooton . this william simpson , who was a faithful servant and prophet of the lord to the nations , in which he went through great tribulations and sufferings ; who went into many steple-houses , and declared against their false worships ; and was often imprisoned for the truth , and under-went cruel and hard sufferings by the goalers . he went three years naked and in sackcloth , in the days of oliver and his parliament , as a sign to them , and to the priests , shewing how god would strip them of their power , and that they should be as naked as he was , and should be stript of their benifices . all which came to pass after king charles the second came in . and moreover he was made oftentimes to colour his face black , and so black they should be and appear so to people , for all their great profession ; and so it came to pass . and then when it came to pass he was made to put on his clothes again , who was made before many times to go through markets , to preists-houses , and to great mens-houses , and magistrates-houses , and to cambridge , stark naked . and the mayor of cambridge put his gown about him , being sensible there was somthing in the thing . and he was made to go through london naked ; and this was all before the king came in . and he was obedient unto the heavenly command , and often ventured his life and it was given up : who many times did receive many stripes upon his naked body with thorn bushes , so that when his service was done , freinds were forst to pluck the thorns out of his flesh : but he was caried over all by the mighty power of god , i say over all his persecutors : and the lord brought the things upon them , for which he went as a sign , who was moved by the lord to go to barbados , where he finished his dayes . he was bred and born in lancashire , and there first received the truth . g. f. and this is my testimony for our dear b●oth●r william simpson , who went naked for a sign against the professors and their unjust dealings before the king came in . and many sore blows he bore on his naked back , with staves , wands , and hedg-bindings ; he bore a testimony against their profession and standing ; and through the most part of england he went , and now hath he laid down his body in barbados , where god made him serviceable in his truth there to preach the everlasting gospel ; so them that sate in darkness , he brought to the light ; and them that sate in death , he brought to life . this is my testimony for him . elizabeth hooton . going naked a signe . oh church of england ! this is unto thee , who livest in oppression and cruelty , pride and covetousness ; a day of misery is coming upon thee , thy nakedness and shame is coming upon thee as an armed man , from which no man can hide thee , neither hills nor mountains shall be able to hide thee in this the day of the lord , neither shall the clefts of the rocks preserve thee from the day of the lords controversy with thee ; thy nakedness and thy shame is near to come upon thee , from it thou shalt not fly : oppression and cruelty hath been as a staff for thee , but the lord is arisen to break thy staff of oppression , and thou shalt be left naked , though thou hast seemed to be the glory of the nations with thy deceitful covers , but now thou shalt be left naked , and nations shall be ashamed of thee . howl and weep ye teachers , for the lord is gathering his people from you , and ye shall devour his flock no more . the day is coming upon you , that none shall buy your wares any more , ye marchants of babylon : all your scarlet colour the lord our god is coming to take off : then your nakedness shall appear to many nations , and you shall sit as a widdow , and ther shall be none to comfort you ; distress and anguish shall take hold upon you , and pain as a woman in travell , and is not able to bring forth , so shall your misery come upon you : the decree of the lord is gone out against all unrighteousness , he will surely reward every one according to their works , for as a troop of robbers lye in wait for a man , so a company of preists by consent lye in wait to murther the innocent lambs of god , and for their sakes the lord is risen in his mighty power to break the bonds of wickedness , and to set the oppressed free , for the lord hath heard the groaning of his seed , and he is risen to deliver , to bring it out of captivity , and from under the taskmasters , where his seed hath been long oppressed by unreasonable m●n : but the lord will spare no longer , but he will reward the oppressors double into their bosoms , and his seed he will deliver . oh howl and weep ! your day is far spent , night is coming upon you that you shall not have a vision , nothing shall be left to cover you : as naked shall you be spiritually , as my body hath been temporally naked in many places in england , as a sign of the nakedness and shame that is coming upon the church of england , who liveth in oppression and cruelty , and all who lift up a weapon for her shall fall in the shame with her , which will assuredly come to pass ; so all sober people consider your ways , and turn to the light which comes from iesus , that with it you may be gathered unto the lord from the false teachers to the teachings of the lord , from the false worships to the worship of the lord in spirit and in truth ; for a necessity was laid upon me from the lord god of life and power to be a sign : but before i was given up to the thing , it was as death to me , and i had rather , if it had been the lords will , have died than gone on in this service ; but when the word of the lord came unto me saying , go on and prosper ; it was sweet unto me as the honey and the honey comb. and blessed , saith christ , are they that are hearers of my word , and keep it . william simpson . the end . babel's builders unmasking themselves as appears by the following paper from barbadoes, (promoted by george for his party, and subscribed by eighty two of them.) with a letter of g.f.'s, g.w.'s, &c, in answer thereunto; and observations thereupon. also, a false prophecy of that lying prophet, solomon eccles. published for undeceiving the simple, and in abhorrence and detestation of the principle and practice contained in the said paper; they being of an evil tendency, and contrary to the doctrine of christ and his apostles, or of any sincere-hearted protestants, or true christians this day. by t.c. crisp, thomas, 17th cent. 1681 approx. 44 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a35006 wing c6948 estc r214946 99826987 99826987 31399 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a35006) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 31399) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1882:28) babel's builders unmasking themselves as appears by the following paper from barbadoes, (promoted by george for his party, and subscribed by eighty two of them.) with a letter of g.f.'s, g.w.'s, &c, in answer thereunto; and observations thereupon. also, a false prophecy of that lying prophet, solomon eccles. published for undeceiving the simple, and in abhorrence and detestation of the principle and practice contained in the said paper; they being of an evil tendency, and contrary to the doctrine of christ and his apostles, or of any sincere-hearted protestants, or true christians this day. by t.c. crisp, thomas, 17th cent. fox, george, 1624-1691. eccles, solomon, 1618-1683. whitehead, george, 1636?-1723. 16 p. [s.n.], london : printed in the year, 1681. t.c. = thomas crisp. reproduction of the original in the friends house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng 2004-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-12 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2005-01 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion babel's builders unmasking themselves , as appears by the following paper from barbadoes , ( promoted by george for his party , and subscribed by eighty two of them . ) with a letter of g. f's , g. w's , &c. in answer thereunto ; and observations thereupon . also , a false prophecy of that lying prophet , solomon eccles . published for undeceiving the simple , and in abhorrence and detestation of the principle and practice contained in the said paper ; they being of an evil tendency , and contrary to the doctrine of christ and his apostles , or of any sincere-hearted protestants , or true christians this day . by t. c. thus saith the lord of hosts , hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you ; — they speak a vision of their own hearts , and not out of the mouth of the lord. jer. 23. 16. thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee , and they have not discovered thine iniquity — but seen for thee false prophecies . lam. 2. 14. london , printed in the year , 1681. the preface . the intent of the publication of this ensuing paper and letter , &c. is not to reflect or reproach in general the people called quakers , or in contempt of their principle : for god hath a people among them , many of whom have long been reviled and falsly accused and slandered , because they have conscientiously refused to conform to prescriptions without conviction , and are therefore termed separates , stubborn , cains , judases , apostats , and what not , that may make them odious to honest people ? but this is to manifest the apostacy and innovasions of a few of them that are of the foxonian sect , which love preheminence , and term themselves the body and elders , and the church , and presume to give laws and orders to others to conform to , or else be accounted infidels , rebels , &c. when it is evident the cause of their rage against them ( they call separates , &c. ) is , because they will not rebel against the light in their own hearts : so it 's those that pretend themselves the church , elders , &c. that would cause the people to rebel , therefore may be said , they are like jeroboam the son of nebat , who made israel to sin . also g. f. &c. have manifested themselves to be lo here 's ( which christ commanded should not be gone after ) as appears by their letter herein , produced and pretended as a disowning that paper or judgment , but doth chiefly endeavour to stifle it from going abroad , because it manifests their confusion . and that g. f.'s &c. universal spirit they so often mention , is not that which peter had , acts 10. 24. which accepts all that fear god , and work righteousness , but they hedg up the way to acceptance with god , and leave no entrance , but by their forms of men and womens meetings ; contrary to christ , who said , i am the way , &c. also they ascribe that to their orders and meetings , which the scripture ascribes to christ. and g. f. &c. are so fond of proselytes to their orders and meetings , that notwithstanding this paper and judgment is so repugnant to their pretended foundation-principle , yet they give not a word of sharp reproof to it in all their letter ; as the apostle to the galatians , who hath bewitched you ? but they , instead thereof , give high commendations : therefore with sorrow it may be said , as formerly of literal jerusalem , so now of jerusalem from above , her adversaries are the chief , her enemies prevail ; and blindness is in part hapned to israel . this hath the lord suffered to come to pass , that no flesh should glory in his sight . therefore be humbled and fear before him , for their presuming that they are god's people , and that they have his wisdom and power with them , therefore they conclude what they do act as the body or church , is of god , and must stand as his will and counsel , and for want of his power ( which alone makes his people willing ) they fly to their pretended church-power and authority , and , saul-like , desire to have honour before the people ; but what power theirs is , on which they ground their authority to proceed against the dissenters from their prescribed forms of meetings , &c. hear isaac pennington's judgment , that power therefore in the church which spares the hypocrites ( who can easily comply with an outward conformity in worship without feeling an inward life and virtue ) but lights heavy on that which is tender and shy in matters of worship , that is not the true church-power , at best but a counterfeit of the true. the lord god preserve and deliver us from those of the spirit of gehazi , who falsly use the master's name , when he never sent them . even so , amen , saith t. crisp. at a quarterly meeting at ralph fretwell's house in barbadoes the 23d day of the tenth month , 1680. the sum of the testimony this day born amounts to this : that there is this day a choice to be made , viz. whether friends will cleave and abide unto the universal spirit of the living god , and each give up their whole concerns ; with which spirit the faithful have unity ? or , whether they will give up unto the judgment unto their own particular , or particulars only , with which the judgment general of the meeting have not urity ? after very many testimonies given , to the further opening of the question , the judgment underneath was written , being voluntarily subscribed unto by each particular of this meeting , or by their order their names were hereunto put . i desire to give up my whole concern , if required , both spiritual and temporal , unto the judgment of the spirit of god in the men and womens meetings : as believing it to be more according to the universal wisdom of god , than any particular measure in my self , or any particulars with which the men and women̄s meetings have not unity . subscribed by men 39. women 43. total 82. the party that sent the above-said , writes thus , viz. this paper hath been promoted in sundry other meetings since , and subscribed : some few have refused : in abhorrence whereof other perswasions have posted it . here follows the letter of g. f. &c. to the quarterly meeting at barbadoes touching the said paper ; whereby it may be seen how , and wherein they own or disown it . now dear friends , if this order or judgment should come into the hands of any apostates or opposers , they would make ill work with it , and say that we set up an arbitrary power over mens consciences and properties , and an implicit faith and submission , without inward conviction * ; and that we divided the measure of god in a particular , from the universal spirit of god in other particulars in men and womens meetings . and as for subscribing unto such an order or judgment , they would say , it was like the scots covenant ‖ ; and as tho the measure of the faith and spirit of god in themselves , was not agreeable to the universal spirit and faith in the men and womens meetings ; and that if they should go from the measure of faith and spirit of god in their own particulaers , and to give up both their spiritual and temporal concerns to the universal spirit in men and womens meetings . this would be the way to bring them all from the measure of the spirit in their own particulars . for how can the men and women in the universal spirit receive that which is not given up from the universal spirit : therefore all must be left to the universal spirit in their own measures thereof ; and as for the stubborn and wilfull , that are against men and womens meetings , the universal spirit cannot receive that . and all are to give up to the universal spirit of god in their own particulars , in which spirit they have unity and fellowship without outward subscription , and to be led by the same spirit to see their names written in heaven in this gospel-day of light and life , and this is and was the saints testimony in the new-covenant of light and life , and their heavenly subcription , which is above all outward subcriptions both among the jews and professors , for one ties them below , and the other ties them above . and for any to say they desire to give up their whole concerns both spiritual and temporal unto the judgment of the spirit of god in men and womens meetings , as believing it to be more according to the universal wisdom of god , than any particular measure in my self , or any particulars . now this would make the belief which is in the light , and the measure of the spirit in their own particulars , not one with the universal spirit in the said meetings . and as for those that the men and womens meetings in the universal spirit of god have not unity with , they are erred from their own measures of the spirit of god ; but the universal spirit of god has unity with the least measure now , as it was in the apostles days , who kept every one to their own measure ; which was both the great rule and line of the new creature in the believers and saints then , and so with that the universal spirit in the apostles and elders then had , and now have unity . and therefore , dear friends , we know your care and tenderness of truth , and that you aim at the best things * , and have had much to do with some loose spirits there : and therefore our desires are , that you would stop this paper from going any further , lest some should get copies of it , and spread amongst bad spirits ; and keep in the general tender spirit of god , that in love you may answer the measure of the spirit of god in them that are convinced by it , and in them that err from it . and the man of god must not strive , but be gentle towards all . and so concluding with the apostle's tender advice , 1 cor. 1. 10. now i beseech you , brethren , by the name of our lord jesus christ , that you all speak the same thing , and that there be no divisions amongst you , but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind , and in the same judgment . and phil. 2. 2 , 3. fulfill you my joy ; that you be like-minded , having the same love , being of one accord , of one mind . let nothing be done through strife , or vain-glory , but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves . and 1 pet. 3. 8. finally , be all of one mind , having compassion one of another , love as brethren : be pitiful , be ▪ courteous . now as for your subscription to an outward tie , be above such things ; forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of christ , written not with ink , but , with the spirit of the living god ; which spirit hath given you life , and will bring you to the city of the living god , the heavenly jerusalem , and to the general assembly and church of the first-born , which are written in heaven , &c. london the 20th of the 4th month , 1681. your dear friends and brethren in our lord jesus christ , in whom you have peace , life , and salvation . george fox . alex. parker . geo. whitehead . now by this letter of g. f. &c. they either condemn the aforesaid paper , or not : if they condemn it , then these three particular persons condemn the judgment of the universal spirit of god ( as they call it ) in the men and womens meetings : if they do not condemn it , then they fall in with them in contradiction to their first principles . but it is observed , that they rather dislike the wording it , than the matter of it , and would have it believed that those measures in particular persons which men and womens meetings have not unity with , they are erred from their own measures of the spirit of god , and are stubborn , wilful , and the like . thus do they condemn the conscientious refusers , and greatly magnify the authors of the said paper , and do fully assert their authority . as for their advising against such subscriptions , it may be observ'd that their reasons are , lest apostats or opposers ( as they call them ) should make ill work with it , and say such and such things as do clearly follow from it . not that these three men are against the substance or doctrine couched in the subscribed paper ; but they are afraid to give the world ( that which some have long seen ) such a clear instance of their apostacy from their former principles ; and their ambition in having all the quakers subject to them : for these men and womens meetings must do nothing which does not agree with the judgment of g. f. and his elders . let all sober men judg of the turnings and twinings that are to be discovered in these two papers , that from barbadoes , and that from london ; and how inconsistent they are with themselves , and their first principles . a● for the aforesaid paper from barbadoes , wherein is exprest the judgment of the quarterly meeting , i take it to be neither according to scripture , nor the principles of truth ! and first , for scripture ; by it you make void the new covenant , or law written in the heart . of which it is said , heb. 8. 11. they shall not need to teach every man his brother , saying , know the lord ; but all shall know me from the least to the greatest . and john 2. the anointing which you have received of him , abideth in you , you need not any man to teach you , but as that teacheth , &c. but your judgment contradicts these , ( viz. give up your whole concern , spiritual and temporal , if required , unto the spirit of god ( as you say ) in men and womens meetings , believing it to be more according to the universal wisdom of god , than any particular measure in your selves , &c. but the scripture saith , none know the things of god but the spirit of god. and how shall any one know what the meeting requires is according to the spirit of god , if not by a measure of it in themselves ? it is also said , if our heart condemn us , god is greater : but if that condemn us not , then have we confidence towards god. for if it please god to reveal any thing to any particular , and the general deny or disown it , then that particular must deny that revelation , and give up to the general . according to this doctrine i cannot see how the church should ever be restored out of the apostacy , unless god first reveal himself to the general ; which seems to be contrary to his way of manifestation to this very day : for what must john have done with his revelations and message to the asian churches , sardis and laodicea , who had a name to live , and were dead ? and said , they were rich , and encreased in goods , and wanted nothing . they thought well of themselves , and had but few names left , ( not the generality ) yet were mistaken , and apostatized , and reproved by a particular . now , according to your judgment , john , and the few names , ought to have given up to the general , and not to his particular revelation . also all the reformations since the apostacy , have been begun by particulars , and opposed and persecuted by the general ; therefore it is not , as you say , most agreeing to the wisdom of god , to cleave to the judgment of the general , but to the particular manifestation ; although the judgment general have not unity therewith . for if a particular may reprove the general , surely he ought to cleave to his particular measure for his own belief and practice , although the general have not unity therewith : for what is not of faith , is sin , much more what is contrary thereto . for if any meeting require any one to do or believe contrary to their own measure : whoever obeys them , becomes therein a servant to these persons or meetings ; for it is said , his servants ye are , whom ye obey . hereby you call such men , or meetings , your master , or father , which is contrary to christs command . o friends , strain not at gnats , and swallow such camels ! which the 82 seem to me to have done . secondly ; that it is against the principles of truth , is plain enough , and needs no proof : for by that we are taught to be guided by the manifestation of god's spirit in our hearts , to speak and act , as thereby instructed , and that the judgment of truth through a part of christ's members , cannot become a bond on others further than their understandings are illuminated thereby . these two positions the judgment aforesaid seems to contradict . also read e. b. & i. p's works , or any ancient friends , they all direct to the light in our own hearts or consciences , as the only and sufficient guide and leader ▪ but you not only contradict scripture , and friends testimonies , but have given such an unlimited power to meetings , and not contented to give that to men which never before was given , since protestantism , but to women also , in which the scripture is silent ; or what it says is rather against their having any power or rule , but to be subject . nay , this unlimited power was one of the heavy weights in the pope's yoke , that made it so uneasy to england in times of popery ; neither can i find that ever in england the pope , or any church , gained this point by all their stratagems , wars , &c. as you have granted , ( viz. spirituals and temporals . ) the christian state is said to be a glorious liberty , but your judgment makes them slaves and vassals , and will cause any understanding men to avoid submitting to such a church that hath so unlimited a power ; 't is much safer submitting to a church which makes the scripture their rule ; for there one may know what they may or can require of one , but yours ( after one hath given up spirituals , &c. ) may still require more without measure , if you pretend or stamp such requirings with the name of the universal spirit of god , as experience teacheth hath been too frequent . what is become of all our protesting fore-fathers , according to your judgment ? for you seem to have acquitted rome of all their blood , and yet they had not only the judgment of the generality of the church , but of the magistracy and law of the nation against them , which was of greater authority than your womens meetings , for which there is no precept , precedent , nor law , but against . i am ashamed that after all this light and knowledg pretended , any should make such a long stride towards rome , which now is very unseasonable ; for if but one more such , i know not but you may both too soon meet and imbrace each other . but if any say we mistake you , you do not give up to the meeting , but to the spirit of god , &c. but w. pen's address , &c. and other testimonies , i think answer that , viz. a man may falsly believe , as the true church believes : and if i believe only , because she believes , and not because i am convinced in my own understanding and conscience , my faith is false , tho hers be true . p. 146. also e. burrough saith , every one is to mind the teachings of the spirit of christ in himself , for to that he is to stand or fall . p. 852. now that which further aggravates and makes this judgment the worse , is , that it should come from such persons as g. f. &c. writes , the 82 subscribers to be , viz ▪ manifestly declared the epistle of christ , written with the spirit of the living god , which spirit hath given you life , and will bring you to the city of the living god , &c. high-grown christians , or g. f. &c. highly mistaken ! thus what you have done seems to be to the dishonour of truth , and contrary to what you once professed : for the sufficiency of light in your own hearts was that gospel you received , and they preached at first , for all to cleave to , and abide by , & give up to . but now to give up to the requirings of others , altho contrary to that ; what more like another gospel ? therefore i beseech you mind the exhortation , if we , or an angel from heaven bring any other gospel , than that you have received , let him be accursed . and avoid all such questions as these are , and the propounders thereof , for they are but foolish questions , yea , worse , and will gender to strife ; therefore let no men ( nor women especially ) rule over you , neither receive their traditions for doctrines , further than manifested by the truth in your own hearts , and in the scriptures . are ye so foolish as to believe that the requirings of men and womens meetings , without scripture-evidence , or manifestation by the light in your own hearts , can give you acceptance with god ? when as christ said to them that said they had prophesied , and cast out devils , and done many mighty works in his name , depart , i know you not , &c. and think you such unwarrantable requirings , and implicit giving up , can stand you in stead ? nay , this perswasion cometh not of god , but , as was prophesied in scripture , some shall arise from among your selves , speaking perverse things . remember from whence ye are fallen , and return to the measure of truth in your own selves , and arise and depart from such judgments , for fear it be fulfilled on you , as was said against some of old , when they knew god , they glorified him not as god ; they became vain in their imaginations , and their foolish hearts were darkned : therefore i pray be not so soon moved and tossed up and down by these windy , arbitrary and implicit judgments of men , who have mens persons and orders in admiration , because of advantage ; for such serve not christ but themselves : but mind the truth in your own hearts , and according , as the apostle said , let every one be fully perswaded in his own mind . you must answer for your selves to god , when it shall be said , who required these things at your hands ? will any men or women , or outward written orders , have greater force than moses and the prophets ? nay ; but as many as are led by the spirit of god are the sons of god ; this spirit , christ said he would send , should be in them . think me not your enemy , because i deal plainly with you : for it is in love to truth ( and abhorrence of arbitrary and unlimited power , and implicit , blind and unacceptable obedience ) that i write to you , desiring the lord may open your understandings to know his will , and what is acceptable ; and i recommend you to the spirit of grace in your own hearts , which is able through faith in christ , to preserve you blameless and harmless in this crooked generation ; to god alone be glory and dominion for ever . friends , mind the good sermon of christ on the mount ; also the sound exhortations in the epistles of paul and peter , &c. which , as in faith read and considered , may be helpful and useful to the man of god in words and works . forasmuch as the foregoing letter of g. f. &c. to barbadoes was produced , as a proof of their denial of the said paper , i have read it , and observe this therefrom , that they are more afraid of its publication , than ashamed of the matter ; and do more object the subscribing the paper , than owning the principle : as appears by their words , if it should come into the hands of opposers , &c. they would say we set up arbitrary power , and implicit faith , &c. which are the plain tendency thereof . but it is needful to know what they mean by the universal spirit , being that is so often mentioned . i take it to be the opinion or judgment of the ruling party ( or foxonians ) among the quakers ; because they exclude those who oppose their orders , as being apostats , and gone out from the universal spirit . also i take this spirit of theirs not to be the universal spirit of god , but a private selfish spirit of their own : because they say , as for the stubborn and wilfull that are against men and womens meetings , the universal spirit cannot receive that . now those they term stubborn , &c. are not against men and womens meetings , but differ about the form and power thereof ; they are only against women having meetings apart from the men , when they have no business requires it : not against them in cities , great towns and places where they live near together , and occasions require ; but only in counties where they live remote from each other , and have no business . also about the form of marriages , &c. for these persons , who they say are against meetings , do , and are willing to use them on necessary occasions . this is the state of the difference , and the case of those persons g. f. &c. terms apostats , bad spirits , &c. g. f. &c. say , the universal spirit cannot receive that . i shall shew by testimonies of other friends , that notwithstanding differences , yet christians ought to receive each other , and walk in love as brethren . e. burrough says , every one was to walk in that measure of truth they had attained to ; and notwithstanding their difference in judgment , whether in cases substantial or ceremonial , yet they were still to be in love and unity . p. 809. and every one to mind the teachings of the spirit in himself . hereby you may see that e. b. could receive in love , and walk in unity with such as differed in cases substantial : which is as high a difference as any about womens meetings . also w. pen says ( address to protestants , p. 70. ) i cannot see how such men can excuse themselves from great presumption , &c. who deny those persons to be members of christ's church , that in conscience refuse to subscribe any other draught than their lord hath given them . then how can g. f. &c. excuse themselves , who say , those that be against womens meetings the universal spirit cannot receive ? unless g. f. &c. prove that such dissenters have had their form of womens meetings from their lord. g. f. &c. must admit them members of christ's church , or prove they refuse that which the lord hath given them ; or else g. f. &c. are inexcusable , and condemnable by their own owned testimonies . also 2 pet. 1. 5. give all diligence thereunto : add to faith , vertue , knowledg , temperance , patience , godliness , brotherly-kindness , love : for if these things be in you , and abound , ye shall not be unfruitful , nor barren , &c. — wherefore give all diligence to make your calling and election sure : for if you do these things , ye shall never fail ; for an entrance shall be ministred unto you into the everlasting kingdom . now i appeal to any sober christian , whether all these qualifications may not be in one , and yet conscienciously dissent from a form of womens meetings , as used and ordered by g. f. if it can be , as i am sure it may be , that one may be so qualified and assisted by god's spirit , as to attain these vertues expressed by the apostle peter , and not comply with g. f's womens meetings ; then a sure entrance is made into the everlasting kingdom , and they are received by the universal spirit of god : therefore g. f's , &c. spirit , is not that of god , nor of e. b. or i. p. nor the spirit of christ and his apostles , for they said , judg not ; and that the tree was known by its fruit. but g. f. &c. will judge and condemn for evil , and gone from the spirit , although no evil fruit appears . also , where evil fruit does appear , as in this their judgment , yet he can say to them , because they own his form , and womens meetings , we know your care , and that you aim at the best things . so that to give up to his orders , tho contrary to their own measures , is by him termed the best things , and they are manifestly declared the epistle of christ , writ with the spirit of the living god , &c. whereby he seems to place more virtue and power in conforming to his orders of womens meetings , than in all faith and fruits of the spirit , expressed in the scripture . and where-ever g. f. mentions the universal spirit , i take him he means the spirit that set up these meetings , and persecutes all such who cannot for conscience sake conform to his womens meetings . now christ said , whatever ye would another should do to you , that do unto them : love thy neighbour as thy self , &c. this is the universal spirit , to desire no more liberty nor charity from another , than one would be content to allow them ; and impose no more on another , than one would have them impose on ones self . g. f. &c. once cried for liberty of conscience ; none must perform any worship , but taught and led thereinto by the light in their own hearts : but having gathered a people to themselves , now ( say they ) submit to your elders : and if not conform to his orders for conscience sake , then , wilful , stubborn , out of the universal spirit and truth , and all that is good , &c. also it appears that the subscribers of the paper , and g. f. &c. do differ ▪ for g. f. &c. say , this would make the belief which is in the light , and the measure of the spirit in their own particulars , not one with the universal spirit , &c. indeed so it does : for there be many that believe in the light , and measure of the spirit , and its sufficiency , not one with g. f's &c. imposing spirit , which he calls universal , but against it ; altho the true universal spirit of christ , and in all his , hath now , as formerly , unity with the least measure in any member , tho for conscience sake they may be of a differing apprehension in some things ; and therefore saith the apostle , he became all to all , weak , or strong ; and said , bear one anothers burdens , and bear one with another ; and therefore he condescended to baptize , and circumcise , to win over , and endeavoured the encrease of their faith and understandings ; not blind conformity before convincement , but said , if any be otherwise minded , god shall reveal , &c. as their faith increased , so should their obedience . the spirit , the apostle was in , could receive those that differed in judgment and practice in some things , and did not say they were erred from their measures ; and if against womens meetings , that the universal spirit could not receive them , but were careful not to offend the weak ; would deny themselves that which was lawful , for the benefit of the weak : therefore not of g. f's , &c. pretended universal spirit . now g. f. &c. letter is so jumbled together , seemingly disowning , and yet owning the paper too : but take them either ways ; if they disown , then that manifests a difference ; if they own it , then they plainly manifest themselves to be what the dissenting party have objected against them many years , ( only g. f. &c. have imperiously and wrongfully born them down ) viz. that they do in their actings contradict their principles and doctrine ; that is , they ( as the pharisees ) say , and do not : for it is evident by the whole scope of their letter , that they only are dissatisfied with the wording of it , and afraid of its publication , knowing they cannot justify it , and that it is that they have been charged for practising these many years , and for this cause many have and do dissent from them , whom they term , — gone from the power of god , and opposers of the order of the gospel : setters up of standards against truth : and many other names & marks of sons of perdition ; when they have nothing else against them , only not submitting to g. f.'s orders without conviction : for g. f , &c. do not at all contradict the principle , only the subscribing to it ; nor deny but their meetings have such power , or ought to be given up to , only would insinuate that it is done from the universal spirit of god : and all who do not so believe and act , the universal spirit cannot receive , &c. but all that fear god , beware of such men , who be thus given to change , and believe and act so contrary to what they say and pretend ; and notwithstanding the good words of the apostles in the latter end of g. f's letter , which be found ; and had they kept themselves to their primitive testimony and sound doctrine , as in scripture , there had not been this separation : but having followed the devices of their own heads , with fair words and speeches beguile the many simple ones ; but now their folly is made manifest , and that they have only a form of godliness , but deny the power thereof ; from such turn away . and it is better to be by such accounted separates , than for their favour to deprive your selves of the benefit of your own measures of light and life , according to which all shall be at last judged . what is here afore-wrote , is not as a full answer or detection of the depths of satan , and mystery of iniquity that is couched under , or lies hidden in this judgment asserted in the paper from barbadoes , and the seeming answer of dislike thereto , given by g. f. &c. but only as a mite from one , and according to present ability , to manifest his detestation of all such principles and practices . the aforesaid judgment being publickly read in gracechurch-street-meeting , with a protestation against it , that it would be printed unless disowned by them , and as a stop to the printing of the same , and in vindication of g. f , &c. this letter or answer was produced , which indeed is more subtilly worded , but denies not , nor disowns the principles therein , neither refuses nor denies to receive what is in that judgment given up to them ; but i doubt not but that there will be some of greater ability , who shall contribute much more to the uncovering her who hath long sat as a queen , and deceived many , yet says , i shall not see widowhood nor sorrow ; because her children are many and mighty , through the power they have received from that beast on which she rides , and will suffer none to buy nor sell in their market , but who receive her mark in their forehead or hand . for notwithstanding their judgment is such bare-faced popery , and so contrary to their pretended principles , yet observe how g. f. &c. treat the authors , viz. we know your care and tenderness for truth , and that you aim at the best things , and are manifestly declared the epistle of christ , written with the spirit of the living god , which will bring you to the city of the living god , &c. and not one reproof in all , only caution for fear of its publication , &c. but when we consider the names and terms which are given to others that profess the same faith , and agree in all things , except as aforesaid , viz. something about womens meetings , and some forms of marriages , &c. they for this consciencious forbearing to practise such things as they have no faith in , are termed apostats , departed from the truth , such as the universal spirit cannot receive , &c. by all which we may see how they would hedg up the way to god , and leave no door to come in by , but g. f's . forms ; nay , not only so , but tie up or limit god , that if he reveales any thing to any particular , he must give up all to the general , and if they have not unity with it , must cleave to the general against that particular measure of knowledg or manifestation in himself ; but i think hereby is plainly manifested , that there be such innovators as w. rogers hath mentioned in his book , viz. the christian quaker distinguished from the apostate and innovator , which title c. taylor says is notorious blasphemy . but hereby it not only appears that the title is proper , and no blasphemy : but also that there was just cause for w. r's ▪ writing that book ; for the cause that those , they call apostates , separate from them , is not out of any dislike or denial of the principles of truth ( altho they say all that oppose them be gone from truth ) but in opposition to their usurping authority over peoples consciences in religious matters , and requiring conformity to their orders , before , or without conviction . this is the chief cause of all their hard speeches , and false accusations against j. s. j. w. and those they term apostats and separates , and say , in the name of the lord they resolve to give battel where-ever they meet that spirit . but others are resolved in the spirit of the lamb not to bow to their image , having seen that they should , as they have done , manifested themselves to be what they are , even empty clouds . the lord open the understandings of all the simple-hearted among them , ( as i believe there be many ) and preserve all blameless and in love , that they may have no just cause to speak evil of you : but separate from such who have a form of godliness , and high swelling words of church-power and gospel-order ( which they have made to themselves , and are bowing to , even the work of their own hands , as appears by the fore-going and following lying prophecy of sol. eccles ) and have your minds girt up towards the lord , and your conversation as becomes the gospel , in meekness and fear , not terrified by their high swelling words ; and seeing the evil effects of forsaking the teaching of the lord by his spirit , to give up to men and womens meetings , and orders , beware lest you be carried away with the error of the wicked , and fall from your own stedfastness ; but endeavour to grow in grace , and in the knowledge of our lord jesus christ , to whom alone be obedience and glory for ever : which is the desire of my heart , as for my self , so for all that desire to follow the lord , and that we may be kept from idols . amicus veritati . here follows the false prophecy of s. e. taken out of his letter which he ( accompanied with two eminent friends and espousers of g. f. and his party ) delivered to j. s. who is still alive , notwithstanding his predicting the contrary several years ago . o john story , what hast thou done against the lord , & thy own soul ! thou hast divided the heritage of god ; and the good ordinances which christ jesus hath set up in his church hast thou contemned , especially womens preachings , and womens meetings ; therefore will the lord throw contempt upon thee ; and if thou dost not repent speedily , miserable will be thy end . o how hast thou lost thy place and dignity which thou had amongst the saints in light ! and now to be numbred amongst the rebellious ! if ever thou find mercy with the lord , go home to the north with speed , and break up the divided meetings , which thou and john wilkinson have been instrumental to divide from the body of the lord jesus christ. the anger of the lord is chiefly against thee ; and thou art bound with two bonds : for the church and brethren have bound thee on earth , and thou art surely bound in heaven ; and this is the testimony of jesus to thee , neither shalt thou be able to get from under these bonds , till thou art reconcil'd to the brethren . hast , o haste to the work above said , lest the wrath of the lord over-take thee before it be done , and be reconciled to george fox , who is god's friend , and the servant of the living god , and great apostle of jesus christ. — haste away to the north , for thy time is short , and go quickly thou and thy brother , if possible you may bring again to the body of jesus christ , those ye have scattered , lest their blood be required at your hands — arise quickly , and be going , for this is the word of the lord to thee , viz. that this year shalt thou ( john story ) die , because thou hast taught rebellion against the living god. 1st day of the 1st month , 1677. solomon eccles . reader , observe what this s. e. delivers in the name of the lord , viz. 1. their womens preachings and womens meetings are the good ordinances which christ hath set up in his church . 2. that being reconcil'd , ( i. e. submitting ) to g. f. &c. is the only way to find mercy with the lord. 3. g. f. &c. ( who call themselves the body of friends ) these he terms the body of jesus christ. 4. that great lye he delivered as the word of the lord , this year shalt thou ( john story ) die , 1677 , who was then very ill , and not like to live , but is now alive and well , altho above three years since . this is here inserted , that all who read or hear it , may fear , and beware of taking the name of the lord in vain , as these so frequently do , and of having mens persons in admiration ; as this s. e. and others have done by g. f. as appears by the titles they have given him , viz. one greater than moses : a prophet indeed , &c. it was said of christ , that he was in the world , and the world was made by him , and the world knew him not : so it may be said of this true prophet , whom john said he was not ; but thou shalt feel this prophet one day as heavy as a milstone upon thee , and altho the world knows him not , yet he is known . again , they stile g. f. the father of many nations , whose life hath reached through us thy children , even to the isles afar off ; whose being and habitation is in the power of the highest , in which thou rules and governs in righteousness , and thy kingdom is established in peace , and the encrease thereof is without end . these , and many more have been given him , which he hath received . now these things are covered , excused , or justified : but if any conscientiously dissent from their ceremonies , they shall be persecuted with rigour and false accusations . o was ever greater partiality , and respect of persons manifested from any pretending to christianity ! and if trees may be known by their fruits , these are evil ones : therefore , dear friends , come out from amongst them , be ye separate , and touch none of these unclean things : for such principles and practices are the brats of babylon ; and happy shall those be who dash them against the stones ; but , wo to them that give suck , nourish , or countenance them . the end . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a35006-e540 * what more true ? ‖ but g. f. g. w. &c. do not say so . * contrary to s. crisp , who said , the paper was not only ill worded , but he believed 't was ill meant what higher testimony can be given to the saints and servants of the most high god , than g. f. g. w. & a. p. give the authors and subscribers of this wicked and ungodly paper ? the spirit of envy, lying, and persecution made manifest for the sake of the simple hearted, that they may not be deceived by it : being an answer to a scandalous paper of john harwoods, who in words professeth god, but in his works doth deny him, as may appear by what is herein written / g.f. fox, george, 1624-1691. 1663 approx. 44 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 10 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40262 wing f1916a estc r28399 10585932 ocm 10585932 45283 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40262) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 45283) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1384:23) the spirit of envy, lying, and persecution made manifest for the sake of the simple hearted, that they may not be deceived by it : being an answer to a scandalous paper of john harwoods, who in words professeth god, but in his works doth deny him, as may appear by what is herein written / g.f. fox, george, 1624-1691. smith, william, d. 1673. 17 p. [s.n.], london : 1663. untitled letter, addressed "dear friends," signed: william smith. reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng harwood, john. society of friends -apologetic works. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-08 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-08 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the spirit of envy , lying , and persecution , made manifest : for the sake of the simple hearted , that they may not be deceived by it . being an answer to a scandalous paper of john harwoods , who in words professeth god , but in his works doth deny him , as may appear by what is herein written . g. f. and there shall in no wise enter into the holy city any thing that defileth , neither whatsoever worketh abomination , or maketh a lye : but they that are written in the lambs book of life , rev. 21. 27. london , printed in the year , 1663. a paper of lyes and slanders i have lately seen of john harwoods with his name at it , which he calls a true and real demonstration why he denyed the authority of george fox , which truly the lyes and the slanders are so manifest false reports , that he hath gathered up , to all men that he hath directed his book to , considering the unclean actions of the person , which are out of and below civil men , may convince all what a kind of person he hath been for several years , which is not like that such an unclean spirit that runs into such unclean actions that came into the open view of the world , when he would have taken away a womans life , and the woman his , about uncleanness , in the face of a country , and in the sight of the world ; and they that believe such untrue narrations , are the same unclean spirits of his , whose actions , practice , carriage , have been such which are a shame for modesty to mention , and he so loathsome and unclean , not fit to come among sober people , and is not worth the heeding what he saith . but somthing is written to his paper , that none of the simple might be deceived that knows him not , nor his carriage , nor his practice , who hath dishonoured god , and his people , and gone into those things , which are out of the bounds of civil men , such an unclean spirit , the unclean spirits may cry up such an unclean spirit to be their teacher . john harwood , first , thou sayest the truth of god among friends thou never didst d●sown . oh impudencie that thou shouldst be so impudent ! didst thou own the truth of god amongst friends when thou acted thy uncleanness ? thy word is never , i never disowned , sayst thou , but in the fear of the pure god , i declare it ; wast thou in the fear of god , when thou runs into uncleanness ? did not thy fruits manifest quite contrary at the sessions , that thy practice denyed both god & his people ? was it not time to turn thee out from the assembly of the righteous , when thou hadst turned thy self from the life and truth : the life turned thee out ; now thou makes a noyse amongst some like unto thy self : and did not thou dishonour god and his testimony , and christ and his righteousness , when thou went into such unrighteous actions ? and then when thou hadst done thou runs reviling and slandering , and scandaling and scribling against friends , when they could not own thee in thy unclean actions , who never went to the justice , nor to the sessions , to clear truth ; & confess to them thy abominable actions , how thou hadst dishonoured god and his truth , and owned thy condemnation amongst them , and how thou had abused his truth . and whereas thou charges g. f. of capital offences , which are offences unto death by thy unclean spirits judgment , and there thou pourests out thy envy and malice , which no other fruit can be looked from thee , but it will fall upon thine own head , & whoever joyns with thee in this work , they will fall with thee in the same pit . and thou goest about to clear thy self from prejudice and enmity , and fathers thy lies and slanders upon god : oh blasphemy , wickedness and impudency ! and thou sayst , g. f. hath been searching after the failings and offences of others to publish them . this is one of thy lyes . but where the offences and failings are , and a changing from them , and the people forsake their offences and failings , that is owned , and that no uncleanness might be amongst us , nor enter into the camp ; if there be any , we search that we may find it out . but in this thou hast made thy self manifest , that would not have offences and failings judged , for he that sins openly is to be reproved openly . and thou sayest the publication of these things ( of thy lyes & slanders and false reports ) is at the just hand of god and mine . thus thou impudently and blasphemously joyns thy self with god in publishing thy lyes and slanders . and first thou sayest , g. f. calls himself the son of god , &c. and this thou calls a crime ; thy actions and fruits hath manifested whose son thou art , and thy self to be ignorant of the scriptures and the spirit that gave them forth . and as for the esteem of thee , it was never much valued , though g. f. & many other friends , did exhort thee , that thou might have been preserved , as a civil man , & been kept out of these things , which were below many of the world. another of thy lyes , that g. f. should set up himself in the high place , and throw down others . this is another of thy lyes , for it is the lord that set him up , and not man , and such wicked unclean spirits as thine is , he doth not own , and such unclean spirits as thou art , are not gods inheritance ; for i do judge and am above all such , and ever was , and ever shall be . and so thou art one fallen into the divers temptations , and hurtful lusts , but thy heart is given up to the same which is come up to open view . and what ado hast thou to talk of god , and his divine glory and his truth , and his people , whose fruit hath manifested the uncleannesse of thy spirit . what ado hast thou to take gods name in thy mouth , that hates to be reformed ? for korah when he gainsayed moses , he gainsayed the law , when he went from truth ; and such instruments as thou art , hast dishonoured the lord , more then ever thou hast honoured him , and his people , and his truth and therefore thou ragest against them that have lived in it , and have kept their garments clean . and such as thou art said christ was a devil , though they could find no seam in his garment . and what dost thou talk of israel who hast gone from that which did convince thee , and now become a railer , and false accuser , and impudent ? and thou hast been led into open prophaness , which god brought to light , that the very earth could not bear thee , but judge thee ; and therefore dost thou think that his people would receive thee ? thou art far off from the fellowship of them ; if thou hadst intended to have got in amongst the fellowship of the saints in light , and the heirs of the gospel whose conversation is in heaven , thy way had been to have gone to the magistrates , and the sessions , and the countrey , and have preached thy condemnation for such things , in which thou hadst run out beyond modesty to speak of ; and i know none but thee , and such as thy spirit are , to usurp over the consciences of people , and enthrone themselves with thy unclean spirit , who hath long burdened the righteous seed but it is risen and will ease it self , and shake you off , like dust and chaffe , and brambles for the fire . and whereas thou speakest of legal prescriptions , and to enjoyn to the performance of external forms and practices . this is thy self , and i.p. that man thou exalts so , which prescriptions and external forms we judge , and therefore ye rage , and god hath abased , and will abase , and your end is seen and manifested ; and thou goest and pretends to teach others , and cannot keep thy self as a man , and thou pretends so much peace and love , and manifests so much envy as thou utterest in thy paper . and thou speaks of g. f. to clear himself if he can amongst friends , and he is clear among true friends . thou art denyed amongst all true friends , thou hast nothing to do to come amongst them : and before thou saidst it was a true and real demonstration . and so then if he can clear himself ( thou saist ) ; here thou questions my own work againe . thou saist that g. f. sent a paper with his own hand to it to several churches , into several countreys for friends to nominate and appoint such as were esteemed , that they might sit in the place of magistracy , and to send their names to london to be presented to the present power to be comm●ssionated by them . thou saist , this may truly signifie that i had an end to my self , to exalt my self in the government of the nation , in getting up them to sit in justice , and i would set my self over them , &c. there is not a word of this true , for i was not in london when the paper was sent , neither was it ordered by me , neither sent out by me , neither was i at london till after it was sent forth , neither did i know of the paper till after it was sent forth . and thus thou and all people may see thy wickedness and envy ; and the intent of the paper , as friends told me , which i beleeve and know it was the time of great sufferings and persecution ; when sufferings were laid before the parliament , they told they knew not how to remedy it , and they told friends that they might nominate some sober men in the countrey that would not persecute them , and to have them sent up to the parliament , and this was the intent of friends sending down that paper which thou malitiously makes use of , in rendring friends odious , and me to be the author of it , who knew not that it was forth , till it was forth . and thou saist , a letter went forth in g. f's . name , with his hand at it , for all that had been souldiers and officers in the army , that had been put forth upon the account of truth , they might send up their names to london , to be presented to the present power , that they might be restored into their respective places , and there were many among them that could not take up a carnal sword ; and so see where this man would have led these people ; if he had accomplished this thing , friends had been found in actual armes at this powers coming in , it might have caused ruine and destruction of many of the innocent : and this is clearly evident of his usurping the external government . this is altogether false , and proceeds from an envious , malicious , lying spirit , and a blood-thirsty spirit , the same that acted uncleannesse with a woman , and then would have hanged her , and her thee , for which cause thou wast denyed , and art denyed . but as for a paper given forth for the souldiers giving in their names , which we had many , and others we had not which were written to , to lay them with others sufferings before the parliament , but not for them to go into their places again , and to take government , that was utterly denyed , and to bear arms again , that was never in my heart , neither do i believe it was in their hearts , when that , that thing was laid upon many of them , and was invited to go to take up arms again into their places , but never intended by me nor them , as i said before ; and this lye and slander thou hast uttered forth to manifest thy wickednesse , and further thy malicious spirit . and as for john hall , what was writ unto him in a private paper , it was from the womans own mouth ; and therefore thou shouldest have judged thine own wickednesse , for that concerned thee , and so it was not report : and this is another of thy lyes , who art raging in hell , and art there digging deep . and as for jane stoaks , she is sufficiently known , and what her actions have been ; and thou sayest , g. f. would not suffer her to be assisted in going to rome , this is another of thy lyes , for i was not at london at that time , neither did i speak to her when she went , but was in lancaster prison , for thou wouldst not suffer her to be assisted in her journey , sayest thou ; and for this lye and slander of thine , thou scoffingly saith , g. f. must come downe upon his knees , which was in a goale neer 200 miles off when she went , neither did i here of her going till a great while afterwards ; and thus thy envy is made manifest : and thou sayest , g. f. sent george bayliff into france , who dyed in prison , who confest no command from god to go in hisservice , neither did he know any particular place to go to into france ; and this is another of thy slanders and lyes , for he had spoken to gerrard roberts of it before , and gerrard hath told me of it since , who afterwards came to me in kent , where we spake of it together : and thou sayest , that g. f. contrary to the principle of truth , vindicated and justified the practise of water baptisme in humphrey wooldridge , who baptized a woman , and because i would not utterly deny humphrey's wrong , and deny him , and judge him out from amongst friends , as thou didst , who made a discord amongst friends , who simply did such a thing once , and no more , and here thou thinkest thou hast spyed a great fault , but doest not look into thine own house , who art before finding fault , and judging others for seeking into failings , and here thou hast condemned thy self out of thine own mouth again , to the grief of many friends , who so impudently made a strife amongst them in judging him . and thou sayest , g. f. when he was at london , takes upon him the place of god , and orders those he accounts ministers in his will , and sends them to the several meetings about london , and thither they must go , whether they have a command or motion of god to go or no , and in his absence leaves one to order the rest in his place the first dayes , who orders either by word of mouth , or by a piece of paper . answ . and this is wickednesse and lyes again , and because thou wast judged out , and hath been often judged , and few or none could ever hardly own thy going to any meeting , for when thou wast at the best state , tender friends could scarce beare thy spirit , many complained to me of thee , and because thou wouldest run up and down in thy will i crossed thee , and severall were moved so to do , as being a man hardly to be trusted , which since thy actions have manifested themselves ; and therefore like ham , thou seekest for nakednesse if thou couldst find any , nay worse than ham , for he laid open that which was , and thou layest open thy lyes , that thou mayest further make manifest thy selfe , that all may judge of thee , for we do meet together it s known , and every one takes their motion , and that hath been long that meetings was not set up by me , neither do i allow any in my absence , neither do i send papers to them , for by the power of god in themselves and the spirit they and i do know what order is ; but thou disorderly man hath gone out of that , and grieved the spirit by which thou art eternally judged , and judged by it out of the fellowship of it . and thou sayest , g. f. sent milburey smith into the ministry , and bid her go and be a mother in israel , when she was with a bastard-child , and after brought it forth . answ . this is a lye , for i never bid her be a mother in israel , neither did i bid her go into the ministry ; for the first time i saw her i found her in kent , and when i saw her and i enquired of her , and told edward burrough , i did not like her , and spoke of her turning back to her place , and i do not believe she was with 〈…〉 and as for i. p. unity and amity , that which was written to it will stand , whether thou or whoever opposes , and they which judges it knows not the eternal power , and the life of god , and none doth it but such as are puffed up like thy selfe , and sows this in their ranting up and down , and like the untimely figs , and like the corn upon the house top ; and thus against the anointed of the lord do you bend your tongues , and who said the seed is fallen ; therefore ye cast up the mire and dirt ; and if i. p. have no better proselites nor disciples than thou , and if thou be the mouth of them , and the maintainer of his cause , it is sufficient for all the sober and temperate that fear god to manifest his end and thine . and g. f's book to the jews ( the title of which is , the honour amongst the jews ) doth not speak of the hat in prayer , which thou & others have perverted my words from that intent to which they were spoken , who wilfully and wickedly would make that which is written to them to another intent , to be for you to pray with the hat on , for them to hold up the rotten principle of the ranters , for my book speaks of putting off the hats to magistrates . and so you would bring all men to sit like a company of women , & so you would bring all into a form under the penalty of a curse ; for j. p's . law was never call'd in , which many observes , like a company of women sits covered , of whom thou learned it , of the woman not of the man , and so it is your law and your curse that we oppose , who stands in our liberty in the power of god before hats was ; it is not the hat that will cover thy adulterous spirit , which thou hast taken up from j. p. which i have no unity withall , for my unity stands in the power of god before hats was ; but what is to be said to such a one , that casts all reverence , and fear , and vertue behind thee , and gone into scandals , slande●s , and lyes , and makes them thy refuge ? and my practise manifests that i am as i was , and in that which will never change the seed it selfe , he that can read it may : and the fellowship which stands in hats , and thy unclean actions , and carnal things , and your forms you set up , and would thrust it in among friends , with the power of god before hats was , is denyed ; and these are more of thy lyes , in saying i would impose and set up external practises amongst the lords free people , that is your own conditions , that would th●ust in your venemous and idolatrous practises amongst us for as i said before our practice was in the power of god before your outward things were , and thy unclean actions and practices , and thy unclean things which hath been related in papers . and for saying that i said the power of god had remitted thy adulterous practice , i bid thee wait in that which did condemn it , that the power of god might arise for to remit , and instead of waiting , thou takes up all the lyes and slanders that thou canst , and so publishes thy spirit , but i am known to god ( whom thou hast dishonoured ) and manifested in the hearts of his people , whom thou hast disgraced . and what testimony hast thou but lyes and slanders , and strengthens thy self in thy wickednesse , and so thou covers over thy lyes with god , and christ , and testimony , and now thy wickednesse boyls in thy heart . and as for thy scornings and scoffs , saying , he is shifting from place to place , from city to city , and countrey to countrey , to shun a prison and persecution . this is more of thy lyes and slanders , for i am known to the lord , and am in his power , and do as i am moved in it , and the shifting and shrinking is thy own state from place to place , who hath run into these intolerable wickednesses , and prophanenesses , and to cowardlynesse when thou wentest from truth into thy immodest carriages and practices . and others they went where they were moved . but that evil spirits like thy self watches for evil , and feeds upon lyes and evil thoughts , thy judgemen● , which will fall heavy upon thy head , and theirs in the end , and what thou sowest , that thou shalt reap to thy self a heavy burden . and thou saying i sent thomas richardson to ely , and refused to go my self , and friends desired it . this is false , for thomas richardson was not with me , he was 100 miles off me , for thomas richardson would go as he was moved ; neither did i know that he was there , till he was in prison , and he had been there , and i sent to him , if he were moved he might go , but i did not know that he was there , till he was in prison . and as for ely friends , there were many of them with me at a meeting , and i had places to go to , and this is thy envy and wickednesse , and there are no friends that did ever desire me ; when i came to answer them , when they 〈…〉 satisfied . and as for saying t. r. burdens the seed of god , thou mayest for shame stop thy mouth , for the light of salvation is thy condemnation ; so it s the savour of death unto death to thee , which is the savour of life to another , and that i beleeve thomas richardson will never deny ; and thou that hast lyed and slandered me , i do not beleeve thou wilt speak truth of him . and here are more of thy lyes in saying i sent papers to virginia , to slander john parrot , and jane stoakes , in a reviling manner , setting his servants at work , and this is a judas-like spirit and work , mark his end . the like same spirit said , i had sent papers to thomas thurston against jane stoaks , and elizabeth harris , and when thomas thurston came , he manifested their lying spirits , who said he had not received any letter from me ; but where deceitful spirits run up and down among friends , their tongues preaching one thing , and their lives another , i deny them and shall write after them , as i am moved of the lord god , and deny them if they do not return by repentance . and whereas thou saist g. f. caused john fritwell and christopher gilbourn , and james nailor and others , to go down upon their knees afore him , and to make their confession , and to own judgement upon that which was charged against them . all people can tell in the bull and mouth , whether i spoke to james nailer to fall down upon his knees there ; by that they may judge of fritwel and gilbourn : for if james nailer , or any else did , or do condemn upon their knees before the lord , that which they have done against him , in dishonouring of him and his people , i shall never deny it , not call it idolatry , for if john harwood had done so , gone among the justices , and in the countrey , and amongst the lords people whom he had grieved , and condemned what he had done and acted , and scandalized the truth , it had shewed a penitent heart , and tenderness , and something like the truth , and that would have preserved truth , and not have dishonoured . but instead of doing so , he is grieved at them that did do so ; far off of acknowledging , far off of such an humble mind , as kneels down , sits upon his breech with his hat on his head in prayer , and so like a numb thing without sence and feeling of the spirit . in this capital crime thou speaks of , which thou must judge and condemn , thy actions and practise , and all these things thou had wickedly acted , thou hadst better have judged and condemned , but esau could not find repentance , though he sought it with tears . and the seed of god doth condemn all that is contrary to it , & such actions & practises as thine , it s set atop of the head of them . an ●as so● thy envy , & malice , & raging , because i have written against the high places & pulpits , & says i allow of such like places in our meetings ; there are no such things like a pulpit in our meeting , let all friends judge of this , if there be any such thing like unto a pulpit , for where friends stands , other friends stands and sits upon them , and this is one of the capital crimes as thou calls it . and because when friends go to marry , they were to publish it sometimes before in their meetings , and because it was to be laid before the men friends , & women friends to have there approbation before they take one another , this shews a changable spirit & a fallable . oh the adulterous spirit cannot abide to come to the light , what if it be declared at the market place , for thou art afraid of the light who art out of tru●h . and friends , who are moved of the lord god to go together , whom the lord joynes in the honourable marriage , in the undefiled bed , this we do according to the practise of the saints of the most high , publish it to them that be in the power , and spirit , in which power and spirit there is order , which power of god and spirit of god is before thy defiled bed was ; & as for the speaking of it in meetings , & and laying it before mens meetings , & womens meetings in london , who loves wholsomness , this is no contradiction , but it is one with the former , which thou scoffingly calls order ; but thou would do what thou doest in the dark , where thou art & canst not abide the light ; and therefore declare it in mens meetings , & womens meetings , that is to stop unclean spirits like thine , who declared it in the meeting at the peel , & the woman declaring nothing , & then runs into the country , & committing adultery with another woman is thy order and forme thou gets disciples into ; and therefore to speak it in men and womens meetings amongst friends in the truth , this we own to keep down such evil spirits as thine , they being in the truth , that the thing be done in the light , but thou that hates the light hast loved the darknesse , and so thou hast fellowship in it . and as for john moone , he is owned , & thou wast never to be compared to him nor his ministry , and that which thou hast spoken of him i believe is like the rest , for i have not spoken to him about that thing , but i believe its like the rest of thy lyes . and as for m. f. thou a●t not worthy to take her name in thy mouth , a vertuous woman , when thou sayest , being shut up in a room neer newgate several houres ; this is thy malitiousness , wickednesse , for there was her son in law , and her daughter was passing to beyond the seas , where they had something to speak together , where several friends desired to come in and could not , because i had some businesse to speak with them before they went beyond the seas , which was the occasion of stopping of some friends ; and this is like thy reports at elizabeth trotts house , thy false reports : and as for her being weary of my company , or questioning any such thing , or questioning me or she , this is like thy rest , and i believe she will tell it thee to thy face , for what is to be looked for from thee , & what thou hast acted , with that same line thou measurest others , an innocent people , and a righteous people , and thou that hast no other stuffe to feed people , but such stuffe as this is , with thy surmising and evil jealousies , to judge others to be like thy self ; but truth is clear and is over all , who art like cumberland and purseval in thy words , but worse in thy practise , but the seed is atop of all your heads , and they that will feed upon such things will sink themselves . and as for g.f. going up and down to reproach and revile the innocent , & to warn friends not to receive him , these are all lyes , or any where else have done the same , these are all lyes , but deceit i judge where-ever i find it , and ever did , and ever shall , but in the will of the lord i doe it , and his honour & glory i seek , but these have been thy words , to envy , hate , slander , raile and accuse these many years , but i am in the spirit and life , and in the life that ever was that never falls , nor never will fall , that never changes , nor will change ; and what dost thou talk of israel , and saints , and meekness , and love , when thou art in thy lyes and slanders , and false reports , and uncleannesses ? but thou and such as thou art hast cast off meekness , and trampled upon love , and cast away pitty , whose fruits declare thy prophaneness , for g. f's . spirit hath shewed the restoring the lost sheep of israel , but such spirits as thine and yours have driven many back to the world , with your fierceness in the devouring nature ; and as for thy denying g. f's . authority , and others , thou sayest , which is like thy self , they should have set down their hands to a paper , that they might have come to light , thy denying is nothing worth , for when thou wentest in to the adulterous spirit , and into the uncleannesse , who never was redeemed out of it , but gets it in the hypocrisie , what thou professes of god , but denyed by the power and life , and so thy testimony is dead , and thy works for the fire , and the power which i have received is from the lord , and not usurped , by which i deny all unclean spirits and actions , and the power that i am in , is owned with the spirit of god in every man ; and this is to satisfie all people of your testimony , because i judge thy uncleannesse , and unclean spirit , and unclean actions , and then they will cry they have no great honour of thee , neither the lord nor his people , nor sober men ; and g.f. never struck at the life of god , but always struck at the unclean spirits , and thy unclean actions ; nay , there are other things that i judge besides the hat , thy nasty , dirty paper , which is a shame to modesty to mention . and i. p's , hath sufficiently manifested it self , and the end of it where it is run , and his paper which is not for modesty to mention , forth in writing ; and we know what life he had , the fruits of it hath manifested it self discovered , and these thou calls vertuous , but is one of the seven sins which solomon speaks of , for that which is excellent , and vertuous , and glorious , g.f. always loved , and self honour he alwayes denyed , there are thousands in the life can witnesse it ; but thy self honour which thou and others seeks and speaks of so much , and the spirit of saul is entred into many of you , and a worse , and g.f. is in the spirit of god , the seed that never fell , nor changeth , and all your briars and thorns , and slanders , and scandals , and lying reports , the seed that he is in and of , was before they were , and will stand when they are gone , and he is in his strength , and the glory of the lord , by which the lord hath cloathed him withall , and his eye is opened , and his ear is opened ; and all who hear god , and fear god , their ears and eyes are over your lying tales and wonders ▪ and when thou hast raked up all thy lyes together , thou saist this is a true and faithful testimony , which is as false as can be ; and g.f. sought to preserve the life in i. p. but that thou and he kicked against it ; and surely i.p. may be ashamed of thee , he is sad and grosse indeed , if he set up thee to be his factor . for did not he pretend to go to preach the gospel at barbadoes , and did not he go into the earth . and the son and the heir g.f. ever owned , but immodesty and undiscreetnesse his soul , and heart , and mind , and spirit was ever against , and denyed self-interest , and the glory that fades , who exalteth the lord , and the lord of life and glory is risen , which comprehendeth all such dirty spirits as thine is , and the zeal of the lord shines over them , and will stain all your glory of your fleshly spirits , and utterly overturn them , for the lords government is set up , and the heavenly authority over you all , in the hearts and consciences of his people , and such spirits as thine are , cannot bring them into traditions , nor into the beggarly and outward rudiments . and is not you that exalts both hat and man , and his outward traditions , that is thy exalting , and so justifie thy own unclean actions in essex , which are not fit to be mentioned . who neither thee , nor thy practises , which are so bad , nor hardly fit to be mentioned ; who by the truth and the spirit of the lord god , are judged for ever out of the assembly of the righteous ; but this is written that no simple ones might take thy lyes and slanders for truth , and for tru●hs sake ( who art unfit to be taken notice of ) for truth clears it selfe , and the seed is over all what any can speak against it . and it seems there are some others thou hast with thee , that watches for evil , and goes from the spiritual food , and are watching for evil to feed upon , but they have got none here , but hast invented much thou hast for them to seed upon , and thou hast no true guide in thee , no● these that holds thee up , nor testimony of god , nor power to call thy self to account for thy actions , who hath sold thy self to work wickednesse , which all will fall upon thy own head , and there are no friends in the truth of god , will give any credit to thee in what thou writes or speaks , that are modest , o● are in the wisdome of god. and as for gilbert laity and gerrard roberts and john bolton , they are men of more moderation , and gravity , and vertue , and fidelity , as seeing thy practice , & knowing thy spirit and conversation ; and if they see any of thy papers , they are able to judge of them , without any further examination or tryal , as knowing what an evil person thou hast been , of an evill life and conversation : and gerrard roberts sayes he knows nothing of it , though this paper was answered long agoe to that , what i had of it , most of thy lyes and slanders before thou published it in print , who by this thinks to vilisie with thy slanders and lyes ; but this is but to manifest thy self , and to sink thee more into the pit of darkness ; for truth is over thy head and all these things , and clears it self , and the seed reigns , christ ever was , of which i am in the one light , before the world began , and doth not matter what any slanderous spirit can say or do of me . and all friends , keep your habitation in the seed of god before these things was , for lying , slanderous , unclean spirits , i do and ever did judge , and can do no otherwise , i have unity with none of them , take them who will , for that i ever denyed them , and do , and shall have a witness in every mans conscience that is pure , and in the day of their downfall and condemnation , of the lyar , and the slanderer , and false accuser . and a great deal of lyes and slanders are in thy paper , which are not worth the mentioning nor writing over , which the seed runs over them all ; for though there be judases and false brethren , and such as causes the truth to be evil spoken of , and seeks to sow discord amongst brethren , and to cast slanders and false reports , and lyes to vilifie the righteous , the innocent , and the pure , and the spotless , whose garments are pure , and clear , and lives an undefiled life . this is no new thing to see such appear now , for they were of old for condemnation ; and so it stands upon them , though they rise up against the righteous , and mount up to heaven among the stars , and so fall down to the earth into hell ; this condemnation of them was ordained of old . the light is gone over them , in which is our fellowship . g. f. dear friends . the life and power of god , in which ye are raised , and by which ye are nourished and refreshed , is the 〈◊〉 foundation which shall never be rased our , for it is laid of god , and no man can lay another ; and ye that feel the life and power of god in your selves , ye feel christ the salvation , righteousnesse and wisdome of god , and so ye by the power of god are kept and preserved in sincerity and integrity to god , and thereby comes to be established upon the rock , which the gates of hell cannot prevail against , nor all the fiery darts of the wicked touch ; and in the power of god ye being gathered and established , ye stand and live in that which scatters the clouds , and keeps your eye clear to the lord god , by which power ye see in a good understanding through all the spirits and powers which worketh in the darknesse , and by the power are preserved out of the● , and set above them , where ye reign as kings in the immortal seed of god , by which the serpents head is broken and his seed destroyed ; and this is the true freedome in the son , who dyed and suffered , and is risen again in life , and brought life and immortality to light , in which life and light ye are the children of the most high god , and heirs of the everlasting kingdome of god , where ye have a sure portion in the joy , and peace , and blessing of god , in which sit ye down and keep your habitation , and the god of life and peace , and endless love , be with you all , and cloath you with the garment of everlasting praise , that in all things ye may give him the glory , who lives for evermore . and dear friends , be ye all watchful in the light by which ye were and are convinced , for the times are perilous times , yea , and that amongst such as professe to one truth , and by declaration speak the same words ; and such there are crept in amongst friends in the truth , who by fair words and seeming appearances seeks to subvert the simple minded , and to beguile the unstable souls , and so would beget a dislike in the hearts of friends , against such as godhath raised and exalted in his heavenly power , life , and wisdome ; and such papers there are in print , which are published by john harwood against g.f. wherein he hath slanderously reported of him , and falsly accused him ; and if any such papers come amongst you , or that ye may hear a report of them , let not your minds be hasty to believe , that what is so reported is truth , but weigh the matter in the savoury life , and you will feel that it came from a very bad spirit , and not worthy of any acceptation amongst friends that live in the savour of truth , but is to be judged , condemn●d , and cast out . and all that live in the truth and the savour of it , will find a sufficient answer in themselves , by which they may receive their satisfaction . and this is signified unto friends , that no lyes nor slanderous reports may rest upon the truth , nor remain upon the innocency of gods anoynted , but with the true spirit of judgment they may all be cleansed out from amongst the heritage of god. and friends , all that abides in the truth doth certainly know that g.f. was raised by the mighty power of god , and hath not preached himself , but christ jesus the lord , and himself a servant for jesus sake ; he is a living witness of the resurrection of the just , not handling the word of god deceitfully , nor using flattering speech at any time , but in simplicity and godly sincerity he hath spoken in christ the everlasting seed ; and his word hath not been yea and nay , but from the beginning his word and his preaching hath been unchangeable , and he the same in the truth , without any variablenesse , and he is grown up in israel in the mighty power of god , and is cloathed with the heavenly wisdome of god , where his life is hid from the eyes of his accusers ; and they that love the truth , and abide in it , do know that he hath ever been dear and tender over the good in all , and hath judged the evil with righteous judgment ; and though there be many risen , which would weaken his testimony , as if it was not what it had been , yet all that have received his testimony , and continue in his doctrine , have a more sure evidence concerning his life , then to be shaken or moved at the report of false accusers , which in the light is seen to be that spirit which strikes at the life it self , and so would kill and take possession , which spirit is to be judged by all friends in the truth , and the souls of such pitied who with it are ensnared ; for the day of the lord is to pass upon it , and it shall suddenly with●r and perish , and come to nought ; and all that give up their belief unto it , and therein doth abide , they shall fall as leaves from the tree , when the vertue retires into its root . but as for g.f. the lord god hath exalted him , and the glory of the lord rests upon him , and all that have received his testimony in the love of it , and the testimony of such as preaches the same word , and therein doth abide , even the same glory in their measures doth rest upon them , and a sure defence is stretched over it , and the storms of restless clouds shall never blast it , nor the waves of the troubled sea slow over it , the lord hath spoken it . and this is manifested unto friends in love to the everlasting truth of god , not setting up a man , or throwing down a man , but in all things giving the power preheminence , and in dearness to the vessel that is filled with the excellency of that treasure , and also beating down the prince of the power of the air , the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience ; knowing in the counsel of the lord god , that whatsoever such spirits pretend to , or in what likenesse soever they do appear , yet the deceivablenesse of unrighteousness is lodged in the root : and therefore my dear friends , of all such beware , and love the word of truth , and live in it , that in love , meekness , and peaceableness , ye may feel your rest in the bosome of the lamb ; and the blessing of the lord god be upon you for ever . william smith . the end . let this go only among friends . a testimony concerning the life, death, trials, travels and labours of edward burroughs that worthy prophet of the lord who dyed a prisoner for the testimony of jesus, and the word of god, in the city of london, the 14th of the 12th month, 1662 / [by] f.h. howgill, francis, 1618-1669. 1662 approx. 55 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 14 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a64451 wing t809 estc r34657 14545998 ocm 14545998 102563 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a64451) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 102563) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1075:2) a testimony concerning the life, death, trials, travels and labours of edward burroughs that worthy prophet of the lord who dyed a prisoner for the testimony of jesus, and the word of god, in the city of london, the 14th of the 12th month, 1662 / [by] f.h. howgill, francis, 1618-1669. whitehead, george, 1636?-1723. coale, josiah, 1632?-1668. fox, george, 1624-1691. [2], 25 p. printed and are to be sold by william warwick, london : 1662. signed: fran. howgil. includes contributions by george whitehead, josiah coale and george fox. imperfect: pages stained and with print show-through. reproduction of original in the huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng burrough, edward, 1634-1662. quakers -biography. 2004-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-12 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2005-01 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a testimony concerning the life , death , trials , travels and labours of edward burroughs that worthy prophet of the lord who dyed a prisoner for the testimony of jesus , and the word of god , in the city of london , the 14 th of the 12 th month , 1662. f. h. london , printed , and are to be sold by william warwick , 1662. the life and death of edward burroughs that worthy prophet of the lord , &c. shall days , or months , or years wear out thy name , as though thou hadst had no being ? oh nay ! shall not thy noble and valiant acts , and mighty works which thou hast wrought through the power of him that separated thee from the womb , live in generations to come ? oh yes ! the children that are yet unborn , shall have thee in their mouths , and thy works shall testifie of thee in generations , who yet have not a being , and shall count thee blessed . did thy life go out as the snuff of a candle ? oh nay ! thou hast penetrated the hearts of many , and the memorial of the just shall live for ever , and be had in renown among the children of wisdom for ever ; for thou hast turned many to righteousness , and shall shine as a star of god in the firmament of god's power , for ever and ever ; and they that are in that , shall see thee there , and enjoy thee there , though thou be gone away hence , and can no more be seen in mutability ; yet thy life , and thy spirit shall run parallel with immortality . oh edward burroughs ! i cannot but mourn for thee , yet not as one without hope nor faith , knowing and having a perfect testimony of thy well-being in my heart , by the spirit of the lord ; yet thy absence is great , and years to come shall know the want of thee . shall i not lament as david did for a worse man than thee , even for abner when in wrath he perished by the hand of joab without any just cause , though he was a valiant man ? david lamented over abner , and said , dyed abner as a fool dyeth ? ( oh nay ! he was betrayed of his life ) even so hast thou been bereaved of thy life by th● hand of the oppressor , whose habitations are full of cruelty . oh my soul , come not thou within their secret , for thy blood shall be required at the hands of them who thirsted after thy life ; and it shall cry as abels , who was in the faith ; even so wert thou ; it shall weigh as a ponderous milstone upon their necks , and shall crush them under , and be as a worm that gnaweth and shall not dye : when i think upon thee , i am melted into tears of true sorrow ; and because of the want that the inheritance of the lord hath of thee , my substance is even as dissolved : shall i not say as david said of saul and jonathan when they were slain in mount gilboa , the beauty of israel is slain upon the high places : even so wast thou stifled 〈◊〉 nasty holes and prisons , and many more , who were precious in the eyes of the lord : and surely precious wast thou to me , oh dear edward , i am distressed for th●● my brother ; very pleasant hast thou been to me , and my love to thee was wonderful , passing the love of women : oh thou whose bow never turned back , neither sword empty from the blood of the slain , from the slaughter of the mighty ; who made nations and multitudes shake with the word of life in thy mouth , and wast very dreadful to the enemies of the lord , for thou didst cut like a rasor ; and yet to the seed of god brought forth , thy words dropped like oyle , and thy lips as the honey-comb . thou shalt be recorded among the valiant of israel , who attained to the first degree through the power of the lord , that wrought mightily in thee in thy day , and was worthy of double honor , because of thy works sake ; thou wast expert to handle thy weapon , and by thee the mighty have fallen , and the slain o● the lord hath been many ; many have been pricked ●o heart through the power of the word of life , and coales of fire from thy life come forth of thy mouth , that in many a thicket , and among many bryars and thorns it ca●e to be kindled , and did devour much stubble that cumb●●ed the ground , and stained the earth . oh how certain a sound did thy trumpet give ! and how great an al●rm didst t●ou give in thy day , that made the host of the uncircum●●sed grea●ly distressed ! what man so val●ant , though as goliah of gath , would not thy valour have encountered with , while many despised thy youth ! and how have i seen thee with ●hy sling and thy stone ( despised weapons as to war with ) wound the mighty , and that which hath seemed contemptible to the dragons party , even as the jaw-bone of an asse , with it thou hast slain the philistines heaps upon heaps , as sampson . thou hast put to thy hand to the hammer of the lord , and has● often fastened nailes in the heads of the lambs enemies , as d●borah did to sisera ; and many a rough stone hast thou polished and squared , and made it fit for the building of god ; and much knotty wood hast thou hewed in thy day , which was not fit for the building o● god's house , oh thou prophet of the lord , and shalt for ever be recorded in the lambs book of life , among the lords worthies , who have followed the lamb through great tribulation , as many can witness for thee from the beginning ; and at last hath overcome , and found worthy to stand with the lamb upon mount sion the hill of god , as i have often seen thee , and thy heart well tuned as a harp , to praise the lord , and to sound forth his great salvation , which many a time hath made glad the hearts of them that did believe , and strengthen their faith and hope . well , thou art at res● ; and bound up in the bundle of life ; and i know tears was wiped away from thy eyes , because there was no cause of sorrow in thee : for i know thou witnessed the old things done away , and there was no curse but blessings were poured upon thy head as rain , and peace as a mighty shower , and trouble was far from thy dwelling , though in the outward man trouble on every side , and hath had a greater share in that , fo● the gospel sake ( though a youth in thy time ) th●n many besides : but now thou art freed from that , and h●st obtained a name through faith , with the saints in light. well , hadst thou more to give up then thy life for the name of jesus in this world ? nay ; and to seal thy testimony committed unto thee with thy blood as thou hast often said in thy day , which shall remain as a crown upon thee for ever and ever . and now thou art freed from the ●empt●tions of him who had the power of death , and art freed from thy outward enemies , who hated thee because of the life that dwelt in thee , and remaineth at the right hand of god , where there is joy and pleasure for evermore in the everlasting light , which thou hast often testified unto , according to the word of prop●esie in thy heart , which was given unto ●hee by the holy ghost , and art at rest in the perfection thereof , in the beauty of holiness ; yet thy life and thy spirit i feel as present , and have unity with it , and in it , beyond all created and visible thing● , which are subje●t to ●utation and change ; and thy life shall enter into other● , to testifie unto the same truth , which is from everlasting to everl●sting ; for god hath raised , and will raise up children unto abraham , of them that have been as dead stones , whose po●er is almighty , great in his people in the midst of their enemies . this same edward burroughs was born in the barrony of kendal , in the county of westmoreland , of honest parents , who had a good report among their neighbours for upright and honest dealing among men , who brought up edward in his youth in learning and good education as the countrey doth afford . he was a very understanding boy in his youth , and his knowledge and understanding did far exceed his years : he had the spirit of a man when he was but as a child ; and i may say , grey h●irs was upon him when he was but a youth ; for he was cloathed with wisdom in his infancy ; for i had perfect knowledge of him from a youth . he was inclinable from his youth upwards , to religion , and the best way , always minding the best things , and the best and nearest way of worship to the scriptures of truth , and always did accompany the best men , who walked in godliness and honesty , insomuch i have often admired his discreet carriage , and his great understanding of the things of god : he was never known to be addicte● to any vic● or malignity , or bad behaviour , neither followed any evil course of life from his childhood , but feared the lord , and walked uprightly according to the light and knowledge received in all things . in his natural disposition he was bold and manly , dexterous and fervent ; and what he took in hand , he did it with his might ; loving , kind and courteous , merciful and flexible , and easie to be entreated . his whole delight was always ●mong good people , and to be conferring and reading the scriptures , and little to mind any sports or pastimes , which there is an infidency unto in youth ; but his very strength was bended after god , and was separated ( i may say ) from his mothers womb , and fitting for the works sake whereunto he after was called . and when it pleased the lord to raise up the a●cient horn of salvation among us , who were reckoned in the north part of england , even as the out casts of israel , and as men destitut● of the great knowledge which some seemed to enjoy ; yet there was more sincerity and true love among us , and desires ●fter the living powerful presence of god then was among many in that day , who seemed to make a great flourish , who ran into heaps and forms , but left the cross behind them , and indeed were strangers to it ; god out of his everlasting love did appear unto us according to the desire of our hearts who longed after him , when we had turned aside from the hireling shepherds t●nts , we found him whom our souls loved , and god out of his great love , and great mercy , sent one unto us immediately by his power , a man of god , one of ten thousand , to instruct us in the way of god more perfectly , who laid down the sure foundation , and declared the acceptable year of the lord ; who indeed made the mourners to re●oice , and the heavy hearted glad , which yet was terrible to all hypocrites , and all formal profession ; which testimony reached unto all our consciences , and entered into the inmost part of our hearts , which drove us to a narrow search , and to a diligent inquisition concerni●g our st●te , which we did come to see through the light of christ jesus which was testified of , and found it to be even what it was testified of ; and the lord of heaven and earth we found to be near at hand ; and as we waited upon him in pure silence , our minds out of all things , his dreadful power and glorious majesty , and heavenly presence appeared in our assemblies , when there was no language , tongue nor speech from any creature ; and the kingdom of heaven did gather us , and catch us all as in a net , and his heavenly power at one time did draw many hundreds to land , that we did come to know a place to stand in , and what to wait in , and the lord did appear daily to us , to our astonishment , amazement , and great admiration , insomuch that we often said one unto another with great joy of heart , what , is the kingdom of god come to be with men ? and will he take up his tabernacle amongst the sons of men , as he did of old ? and what , shall we that were reckoned as the outcasts of israel , have this honor of glory communicated amongst us , which were but men of small parts ▪ and of little abi●i●i●s , in respect of many oth●rs as amongst men ? howbeit , thus it seemed good unto the lord to choose the weak things , and the foolish things of this world , as to the aspect of me● , that no flesh might glory , that no man because of his parts might glory , or because of his streng●h or wisdom might glory , but that the glory which is his might onely be given to him ; unto whom be the glory of all his works for ever and ever , amen . and from that day forward our hearts were knit unto the lord , and one unto another in true and fervent love , not by any external covenan● , or external form ; but we entered into the cove●ant of life with god , and that was as a strong obligation or bond upon all ou● spirits , which united us one unto another ; and we met together in the unity of the spirit , and of the bond of peace , treading down under our feet all rea●oning , questioning , debating and contending about religion , or any part or parts , or practice or practices thereof , as to any e●ternal thing ; and we waited at time and times , as god did grant u● opportunities , and the more we had a●d could obtain from our necessary occasions of this present life , the better we were , and the more we were confirmed and strengthened in our hope and faith ; and holy resolutions were kindled in our hearts as a fire ▪ which the life kindled in us to serve the lord while we had a being , and ●o make mention of his name and power whilst we did live , and to hold forth that testimony which was committed to us , in the sight of men and nations , by doctrine , by practice , by a holy conversation ; and mightily did the word of god grow amongst us , and the desires of many were after the name of the lord. oh happy day ! oh blessed day ! the memorial of which can never pass out of my mind . and thus the lord in short did form us to be a people for his praise in our generation . howbeit after all this and much more , which time would fail me to write of , ( neither is the purpose of my spirit bent that way at this time ) we did come through very great tribulations , extream distresses , great perplexity , and passed out oftentimes hungry , and hard put to it both within and without ; yet such wa● our love to the lord , and such fervency in our he●rts , that we rather chused to dye , and to undergo every difficulty , than to dishonor or deny the name of christ in the midst of suffering ; because of that taste that we had of his goodness and immortal life revealed in our hearts , this young man of whom i am speaking , had his share , though but a youth at that time , of 16. or 17. years of age , because of the truth which crossed all the worlds way ; his nearest relations , even his own parents cast him off as an alien , and turned him out from their house , as not to have any part or portion therein as a son , nay , not so much as a hired servant , which this young man bore very patiently , without murmuring or complaining , having a taste of that then , which was better than all the world ; and through conversing with his people , and among them , the spirit of the lord came upon him , and the spirit of wisdom and understanding entered into his heart , and the spirit of knowledge and sound judgment came to be seated in his reins , and the spirit of prophesie came upon him like as it did upon many more , through the holy ghosts power and operation ; and he spake of the wonderful things of god amongst them that believed , and was one of the first among us which the lord opened the mouth of , to shew forth his praise , and to speak of the things of his kingdom to as many as he met with , who waited for the consolation of israel , for the riches of the gentiles , and to as many as desired and hoped after eternal life : at last the lord singled him out , & commanded him to go forth into countreys unknown to him , as he did some more besides , upon whom he laid a necessity to preach the gospel freely , without money , without price , without tythes , augmentations , gifts or rewards , and in that he was as faithful a man , none exceeding him in his generation ; for those things were an abhorrency to his heart ; & where he met with any such hireling shepherds , & deceitful workers which had gull'd the nations , and cheated the people for dishonest gain , and kept them in blindness , the indignation of the lord was kindled in his heart , and the sword of the lord was very sharp in his hand ; and whomsoever he met with which walked after this sort , they were sure to feel the weight of his weapon , and the force of his blow , by which many have been deeply wounded , that they have grinned like dogs on him , as greedy dogs indeed , because of their present wound & blow that he did give them ; and though he was but young in years , yet he was full of fortitude and true valour : the lord often times when he exercised him in such war as this , hath filled his qui●er full of polished shafts , and made his bow to abide in strength , and he was as dextrous and as ready handed , as any that i knew in his day , against the dragon and his power , against the beast and his followers ; and indeed he was very even-handed , and had a special good arm , and seldome mist the mark : god had fill'd his mouth with arguments , so that he hath often made a breach , a breach in the face of an host. and it was my lot ( which i cannot but say fell in a good ground ) to be his companion and fellow-labourer in ●he work of the gospel , whereunto we were called for many years together : and oh ! when i consider , my heart is broken ; how sweetly we walked together for many months & years ! in which we had perfect knowledg of one anothers hearts , & perfect unity of spitri , not so much as one cross word , or one hard thought of discontent ever rose ( i believe ) in either of our hearts , fo● 10 years together , but our souls were bound up in unity and peace , having the frame of our hearts bent after one and the self same thing , to wit , the propagation of that truth by which liberty was obtained , and salvation received through jesus christ the true light of the world , seeing through his light ●he whole world to lye in wickedness ; a necessity laid upon this person of whom i am speaking , being constrained by the spirit of the lord , by which he was made an able minister of the everlasting gospel , to preach repentance , conversion , salvation and remission of sins ; and accordingly he went forth in ●he name and power of the lord jesus the saviour of mankind , and was an able minister of the glad tydings of salvation , in many , or most parts of this land ; and also he travelled thorow again and again , the whole nation of ireland , and in some part of scotland , and some part of flanders ; and his ministry ●as made effectual through the almighty power of god , in turning many from darkness to light , and from the power of satan to god ; there are many thousands who are living in the body , and alive in the truth , who can in the spirit of the lord bear testimony to the power and verity of his ministry , in many countreys where he travelled ; for he laboured much in divers places , even in the heat of the day , though he began early in the morning ; and in the beginning of his travels and labours , it was his share to break up rough places and un●illed ground ; & to walk amongst many bryars and thorns , which scratched , and pricked , and teared ; and travelled with some other , not without great opposition ; and he often trod the pathes and wayes which had not been occupied in the truth ; and where darkness had the dominion , and was as a covering , he brake through as an armed man , not minding the opposition , but the victory , and the good of all souls ; though to my knowledg his sufferings and trya●s hath not been small , nor his exercise a little , on the right hand , and on the left , in travels often , often times buffered , sometimes knocked down by unreasonable men , who had not faith , loaded with lyes , slanders , calumnies and reproaches , often in weakness , yea in deaths often , in watchings , fastings and temptations often ; in straits and necessities ; in perils among rude multitudes , in perils in idol-temples , in perils in streets and markets , where the lord did move him often to go in the beginning of his time ; besides the exceeding weight of service from weeks end to weeks end , in so much that he had seldome many hours of repose ; and of●en suffered by those spirits who lost their first love , and rose in opposition . he was very diligent and faithful , true-hearted and valiant , and the yoke at last came to be easie unto him , though no ease at all in the body as to the outward man ; for he made the work of the lord his whole business , without taking so much liberty unto himself , or about any outward occasion in this world , as to spend one week to himself ( to my knowledg ) these ten years : he had ventured himself often for the bodies sake ; and a great care i know was in his heart , that them that he had ministred unto , and others that had believed in the same truth , might thrive and prosper , and might walk as becometh the gospel of jesus christ. he was of a manly spirit in the things of god ; he hath engaged himself often upon the lords account singly in great disputes , when there were many opposers ; he hath stood in the door , and in the gap , against all his enemies , for the worthy name of god , and taken the whole weight of thing● upon his o●n shoulders , that others might be eased , though often to ●he weakening , and almost destroying of the outward man , yet doing all in love to the lord , and for his peoples sake ; he did it with chearfulness , and it was a grief to him if any opportunity was missed of doing good : he was a man of no great learning in natural tongues , which men so much applaud ; yet indeed his heart was full of matter , and his tongue was as the hand of a ready scribe and yet he had the tongue of the learned , having had experiment of the work of the lord , and being acquainted with many conditions which god had carried him through , he could speak a word in season unto all who declared their conditions unto him ; of otherways in his publike ministry he was very plausible and elegant in his speech , & indeed had the tongue of a learned orator to declare himself to the understandings & consciences of all men with whom he conversed , by which many received great profit , and their understandings came to be opened ; for his words ministred grace to the heare●● , and his words were forcible and very pleasant , as apples of gold in pictures of silver . this young man of whom i am speaking , was one of the first ( with some others ) who came to the city of london , where he met with no small opposition both from professors of divers forms , and also prophane , who heeded no religion at all , and the way of truth seemed contemptible , and without form or comeliness to them all , which made the opposition so great , and the labour so hard , that notwithstanding it pleased the lord to reach unto the consciences of many , and many were prickt to the heart , so that they cried out , what shall we do to be saved ? and god made his ministry very effectual to the conversion of many in the city of london , whereby a great change was wrought in the hearts of many , & many hundreds brought to know the lord their teacher , which are as seals unto the word of life through him unto this day . and many hundreds , i may say thousands , heard the lively word of god declared by him , and were convinced of the way of truth , though still remaining in the disobedience to that of god in their own hearts unto which he declared ; and many have lost their day which they had of hearing and receiving the things of god ; for now he is taken away which might have been a help unto them while they had time ; and all such are not worthy of him . he continued in this city very much at time and times , betwixt eight and nine years together , preaching the word of god , and speaking of the things of his kingdom to all that looked after it ; and great watching , travel , and exercise in the work of the lord ; and his earnest desire was , that all might have come to know god's salvation , and the redemption of their souls . and his great diligence was known unto many , that his only rejoicing was in the prosperity of the work of the lord , and the encrease of faith amongst them that did believe ; and his heart was much drawn towards this city ; and often times hath he said to me when suffering did come for the gospel sake , which he knew would come , i can freely go to that city , and lay down my life for a testimony of that truth which i have declared through the power and spirit of god : which in the end indeed came to be his share , and will for ever be his crown , who loved not his life unto death for the testimony of our lord jesus christ. and in the same year 1662. being pressed in his spirit to go visit them who were begotten unto the faith of god's elect at the city of bristol , and in divers other counties , at divers meetings , and divers particular friends , he took his leave of them , saying unto very many , that he did not know he should see their faces any more ; exhorting them all to faithfulness and stedfastness in that wherein they had found rest for their souls : and said to some , i am going up to the city of london again , to lay down my life for the gospel , and suffer amongst friends in that place , as having some sence of his suffering before . and a little after his return to the city , at a publike meeting which the people of the lord have kept these many years , to hear and speak of the things of god to edification , at the bull and and mouth near aldersgate , by certain souldiers under the command of richard brown then general of the city of london , he was violently plucked down , and haled away in a barbarous manner , and carryed to the guard , and so committed to newgate , not for evil-doing , but for testifying unto the name of the lord jesus , and for the worship of god , as though this were become a great crime worthy of bonds , and ( at last ) death ; he was had to the sessions in the old baily , and his accusers were witnesses against him , and them that had abused him violently , their testimony was received as good proof against him . and at last after two or three sessions , he was fined by the court one hundred mark , which at last was reduced to twenty mark , and to lie in prison while payment ; where he continued a pretty long season , above 8 months , with 6 or 7 score prisoners be●ide , upon the same account , many being shut up among the felons in nasty places , and for want of prison-room , the natures of many were suffocated and corrupted , till at last many grew vveak , sickned , and dyed . at last this same young man grew vveak , and though a special order from the king was sent to the then sheriffs of london , for the release of him and the rest that were left in prison , yet such was the enmity of some of the rulers of the city , that they did what in them lay to obstruct the execution of the order , that he should not be released : and so weakness grew upon him daily , though in much patience he was carried through all . in the time of his sickness he was very fervent in prayer ( and that often , both day and night ) unto the lord as concerning himself , and also his people ; and at several times he spoke several precious words from the sensible feeling of god's spirit in his heart , and said , i have had the testimony of the lords love unto me from my youth ; and my heart hath been given up to do thy will : and he said , i have preached the gospel freely in this city , and have often given up my life for the gospels sake ; and now lord rip open my heart , and see if it be not right before thee . another time he said when he had a little ease , there is no iniquity lyes at my door , but the presence of the lord is with me , and his life i feel justifie me . another day afterwards he said , thou hast loved me when i was in the womb , and i have loved thee from my cradle , and from my youth unto this day , and have served thee faithfully in my generation . and he spoke to friends that were about him , to live in love and peace , and love one another . and at another time he said , the lord taketh the righteous from the evil to come ; and he prayed for his enemies , and for his persecutors , and said , lord forgive richard brown , he may be forgiven . and though the distemper and the disease was violently upon him , yet he was preserved sensible ; and in the morning before he departed this life , being sensible of his death , he said , now my soul and spirit is centered in its own being with god ; and this form of person must return from whence it was taken : and after a little season he gave up the ghost , and dyed a prisoner , and shall be recorded , and is in the lambs book of life , as a martyr for the word of god , and the testimony of jesus , for which only he suffered , and gave up his life , whose death was precious in the eyes of the lord. but now he ever liveth with god , and his works follow him , and labour● shall testifie of him in generations to come ; and thousands beside my self can bear witness , his life and death was to the praise , glory and honor of the grace of god ; unto whom be the glory of all his works for ever and ever , amen . and oh thou city of london ! who hast been a professing city of the name of god and christianity so many years , must it be said of thee as christ said of jerusalem , that a prophet cannot perish out of thee : oh how many warnings hast thou had ! and how dost thou remain in obdurateness and impenitency ! oh! thou art not worthy of those heavenly tydings of salvation which hath been proclaimed in the midst of thee these many years , by this faithful messenger of god deceased , with many more , who is taken away in judgement unto thee , because many of thy inhabitants despised and set at nought that in which the blessedness of all nations consisteth . oh how is thy gold become dim ! and how is thy glory stained ! how is thy countenance marred ! how is all thy profession become dead , and thou like a withered tree without sap ! the symptomes of death are upon thee ; your sun is set , your glory is passed away ; night is coming , and darkness is surrounding you , and you shall have enough of da●kness , and your pathes and ways shall be filled with it , because you have hated the light , and would not have him who is the light of the world , to rule in your hearts ; but hath chused darkness rather than light , because your deeds are evil , and in the end thou shalt be made to see , you have chosen lying vanities , and have taken pleasure in the flesh , and have forsaken your own mercies . repent , repent ( if any can find a place ) while it is called to day , lest you be shut up in everlasting darkness , and truth be hid from your eyes for ever . take warning , cease from persecution and afflicting the lords people , who desire to live quietly and peaceably , and to worship god in truth and righteousness , with a pure heart : it is too too much that you have done already ; the suffering and death of many innocent righteous men , who have suffered these winters past , will lie as a load upon your city in summers to come . remember what god did to amaleck the first of the natio●s , and to moab when israel would have passed to their own land an● countrey that god had promised them , and have eaten their own bread , and drank their water , and have passed on peaceably ; but they rose up and fell upon the poor , and upon the hindmost and weak ; god was glad ●o force his way , though it proved the ruine of amaleck , and the misery of moab . we would gladly walk on our way to the promised land wh●ch belongs to the saints in light ; we would eat our own bread , and drink our water and what we needed , and keep our consciences clear ( in our generation we must ) to that which god hath promised ; and if we cannot have a way , god will make one for us ; and that you that set your selves against the lord , in the end shall be sure to know and feel , though we shall never lift up carnal weapon , nor drawsword , neither use bow nor spear ; for god hath taught us to love our enemies ; and out of these things we are come , and to the end of wars , and to be for it ; yet god's purpose shall be fulfilled , and he hath ways enough to plead the cause of his people , and he will do it , and wo to all their enemies . and do you cry ou● of popery because of cruelty and persecution ? and will you be found in the same footsteps , and in the same nature ? oh! let it never be said nor thought , that ever the church of god or true christians did drink the blood of the saints , or cast them into prison ; for that is babylon the mother of harlots , that doth so . therefore be informed and warned ; set not bryars and thorns in battel against the lord , neither stubble before devouring fire ; for if you do , a consumption will come upon you , and your name and memorial shall rot , dye , wither , and melt away as snailes ; and glory shall rest with , and upon the heads of the sufferers of christ for ever . by one who hath chosen rather to suffer with the people of god called quakers , than to en●oy the pleasures of sin for a season , or to be reckoned as a prince amongst the uncircumcised , fran. howgil . reading the 22. of the 12. month 1662. and as for e.b. our dear brother and companion in travel , suffering and consolation for the everlasting gospel● sake in his day , his testimony lives with us ; he was a preacher of righteou●ness , and one who travelled for the redemption of the creature from under the bondage of corruption , and proclaimed liberty to the captives in the power and authority ●f god , and therein was a true witness against oppression , and all the antichristian yokes imposed in the night of apostacy ▪ upon the persons and consciences of people ; and truly and valiantly he held forth the liberty of conscience , and vindicated it to the great men of the earth , in things appertaining to god in matters of religion and worship , against the persecution and compulsion ( which had its original ●nd rise from the power of the beast , which hath made war against the righteous seed ) that men might be left free to the guidance of the infallible spirit of god ( which is not to be limited ) in these matters , and not be compelled nor brought under the corrupt wills of men , nor their fallible judgements nor invented forms in these cases : and the name of this mini●●er of righteousness is written in the l●mbs book of life ; and all the enemies of his life can never be able to blot it ou● , nor extinguish his memorial . oh! the remembrance of his integrity , uprightness and sincerity , hath deep impression upon my heart ; & that tender love and affection in god's truth which he was filled with towards all the upright , ( who are lovers of peace & unity in the lord ) is never to be forgotten by u● who are yet remaining in the work of the lord , and the everlasting gospel , for which he hath left a glorious testimony , the glory of which shall never be extinguished , but thousands shall praise the lord our god because thereof ; yea , even the seed that 's yet in the lower parts of the earth ( where darkness covers it ) and the child that 's yet unborn in many , that 's curiously framed in the mothers womb , w●ose members are written in the book of god , shall glorifie the lord on his behalf . and this testimony many have already concerning him , that though his body be dead , his spirit liveth in the immortality of that life that is immutable , and shall never dye nor wax old , and is felt among the righteous , who walk in their integrity and constancy to the lord. and this faithful servant of the lord , and valiant souldier of the lamb ( as in his day was evidently apparent ) as to live to him was christ , to dye was gain : and though in his time many were the sufferings and aff●ictions which his life went under , and his upright spirit suffered by , both from his open enemies and persecutors in the world ( because of the valour and courage for the truth of god ) and from deceitful and transforming exalted spirits , which burthen the holy seed ; but now his life is caught up above them all ( and is out of their reach ) in the transcendent and unspeakable glory , in the everlasting habitation and firmament of god's power , where he hath shined ( and doth shine ) among the stars , that have kept their habitations , as one that hath turned many to righteousness , and that hath overcome by the blood of the lamb , and the word of his testimony , with those holy prophets and martyrs who rejoice over babylon and her abominations ( in whom their blood is found ) and against whom he was a faithful witness and valiant warrier , whose living and absolute testimony therein , god hath blessed , made prosperous , and wil fulfil to the uttermost . and though he be ceased from his labours , his works do follow him , which wil be had in living remembrance and precious esteem among the upright , when his persecutors shall be broken and laid low in the desolation and ruine of babylon ; and all that continue in enmity and deceit , and all the deceitful spirits that have burthened his righteous soul , shall fall , and their blossome wither and come to nought . and if any of his persecutors or oppressors be yet so impenitent and obdurate as to triumph and be elevated in an exalted or prejudiced spirit , because of his death , and in their exaltation and pride of heart say , he was taken away in judgment , or in wrath . to such in gods fear i answer , that thousands of the servants of the lord are of another perswasion , not questioning but it was in gods tender love ( as to his own particular ) that he was removed out of the earthen vessel , in which he ( though a man as in the prime of his years ) endured great travel in his time for the truth 's sake , and the gathering of many into the way of the lord , and in which his travel was the greater ( when the time of his dissolution drew near ) to be dissolved , because of his suffering ( and the extremity of his sicknesse occasioned thereby ) which many others were partakers of , who suffered persecution and imprisonment by unreasonable men in this city of london , for the cause of god and of a good conscience , as chi●fly for their meeting together fingly in the worship of god. but this i testifie in the lord , as in him i have felt , that his being removed , was in judgement from the lord against his persecutors , who desired and sought his destruction ; and what they have done against him hath greatly added to the fulfilling of their iniquities , that the blood of the righteous which cryes for vengeance may be avenged to the utmost upon them who would not suffer the righteous to have a being amongst men , nor lay to heart their being taken away from the evil to come . and they who in a byassed or prejudiced spirit of enmity are lifted up because of his decease , they were not worthy of him , nor of his testimony , and they have cause to mourn and lament amongst those that have pierced the just , and slighted and despised the messengers of truth and righteousnesse , whom god hath therein honored , and god will debase such , and their vain glory unto the dust , and exalt the testimony and life of his faithful witnesses over all their heads . but we who have been well acquainted with the deep suffering of the righteous seed , and with the worth of true unity , in the weighty body and spirit of christ , and therein do behold the glory and compleatnesse of the city of our god , which is at peace within it self , cannot but prize the ministers of righteousnesse , and every member of the same body ; and oh how blessed and precious is the memorial of the righteous in our eyes ! and how deeply is my soul affected with that comfortable communion , and those many and living refreshments that we have enjoyed one with another , even with him and others , who have finished their course ! well , however in this i am satisfied , that though we be left in travel , and our days have been days of affliction and suffering for christ and the gospels sake , ( as in the world ) yet in him whom the prince of this world hath nothing in , we have peace , being come into communion with the spirits of just men , who are the family of god , written in heaven , and called by one name both in heaven and earth , and the god of life is their portion , and his glory is the rereward of his called , and chosen , and faithful ones , who have dealt their bread to the hungry , and brought the poor to their house , even to the habitation of the righteous , where the living bread is received , and the heavenly mansions lived in , and enjoyed by all who abide in the truth , and retain their first love , and habitation therein , in which true fellowship is enjoyed , and the prosperity of the elect seed known : blessed be the name of our god for ever and ever . g●orge whitehead . london the 12 th day of the first month , 1663. a testimony of truth concerning the servant of the lord , and minister of jesus christ , edward burroughs . friends , a necessity is upon me , and i am even constrained and pressed in my spirit to bring in and give my testimony concerning my beloved brother before-mentioned , that it may remain and stand upon record for ages and generation● to come . and this first i say and declare unto all people unto whom this shall come , that he was a man endued with the almighty power of god which lived and reigned in him ; ●nd the treasury of pure , divine , heavenly wisdom was opened in him , &c. and understanding ( in the things that relate unto god's kingdom of peace and righteousness , and in the things that concern the everlasting peace and well-being of all mankind ) was plentifully manifested unto him by the good spirit of god , which ( i may say ) he had received in a plentiful measure : and this many can testifie unto , and his own writings which remain upon record , will in a large measure manifest the truth thereof . and this spirit dwelt plentifully in him , so that thereby he wa● able to instruct many in the way of life , peace and true holiness ; and if any were afflicted in spirit or mind , by reason of the wiles of the enemy of their souls , or if they met with any difficulty in their journey , as they passed from death to life , he was a man able ( through the large experience that he had of the dealings of the lord , and also of the wiles of satan , having followed the lamb in the regeneration ) to administer a word in season to their refreshment and comfort , and for their establishment in the most precious , holy faith ; and this i know the witnesse of god in thousands must and shall testifie unto , who are the seal of his ministry . and moreover he was a man that was able ( through the wisdom and blessed gift of god that was in him ) to convince and stop the mouths of all gainsayers of the truth , which he ( with us ) professed and lived in . and it is well known unto many , that he was never backwards , but always ready and willing to appear in a way of publike conference , as in vindication of ( and against any that should oppose ) the blessed truth of god which he held and professed , and also to manifest the grounds and reasons wherefore , we deny ( and dissent from ) the national prie●ts of the world , ( and their traditional ways of worship ) and the hypocritical professors thereof , who have not the life and substance of what they profess in words . and these things ( it is well known unto many ) he was oft exercised in ; and he did not go about in corners , nor creep into dark places hiddenly nor secretly , but preached the truth of god , and doctrine of our lord jesus christ boldly and openly , even upon the house tops , and his valour for god's truth on earth , was well known unto many , and his voice was as the sound or ratling of the charriots of god's host upon the tops of the mountains , and was oft uttered forth in the name of the lord , even like thunder , and the voice of the son of god was uttered forth through him , by which the dead was raised ; the witnesses are now alive , let them bring in their testimony , that the truth hereof may be confirmed . his doctrine dropped as the oyle of joy upon the spirits of the mourners in sion . his life extended it self as a sweet stream into the hearts of the children of light that thirsted after righteousness : he was one of the cloud of witnesses that dropped down the dew upon the tender plants of god. he pleaded the cause of the innocent suffering seed , and earnestly contended with the powers of the earth of all sorts , in the behalf , and for the freedom of the suffering people of god : he fore prophesied unto them that were in authority in the days past , of their destruction , and of their overthrow , because of their deceitfulness to god , and their false and cruel , treacherous and merciless dealings towards his people , who had made many fair promises both to god and man in the time of their adversity , that they would grant free liberty of conscience in things relating to the worship of god , and that oppression should be removed , and the like ; but in the time of their prosperity , when they were waxen fat , and grown great , and lived at ease and in pleasures , then they forgot god , and regarded not to perform their engagements neither to god nor his people ; for which cause the lord cut them off in hi● sore displeasure , and brought an utter desolation upon them , according to the words of his servants , and this prophet of god lived to see their desolation come , ( which was sad to behold ) and his prophesies was fulfilled in his own days . and he also warned the present rulers of this nation to take heed of walking in the steps of them that are gone before . and for these things , and for the publishing of the truth of god , and for bearing his testimony with boldnesse against all oppression and cruelty , he was hated of the men of this gener●tion , but chiefly by some of the rulers of the city of london : he sealed his testimony with his life in bonds ; and so they have wilfully brought innocent blood upon themselves , and heavy will it lye upon them in the day of account ( which greatly hastens ) wherein the lord god wil make inquisition for the blood of the innocent , and reward every man according to his deeds ; then wil his blood be upon you as the blood of a thousand men ; and how wil you bear your sentence from the lord of hosts , because you will be found guilty of the blood of his prophets , messengers and servants , which he sent unto you in love to your souls , to forewarn you of the evil which greatly hastens to come upon you : yet notwithstanding you have done all these things , and the cry of innocent blood hath been heard so loud amongst you , yet have you hardened your hearts and go on in stiff-neckedness , and persist in your cruelty towards the servants of the lord that are left behind , and are found casting them into prison : oh wo is me for you ! where will a place be found for you in the day of the lord ? or what covering will you hide yourselves under ? or how wil you appear before the righteous god of heaven and earth ? have you no consideration in you of your latter end ? or else do you believe that the lord sees not your cruelty towards his people , that you will not answer his requirings , which is to do justly , and love mercy , and walk humbly with the lord , and to do unto all men as you would they should do unto ? surely if the consideration of these things was in your hearts , or if you had any regard to keep your consciences clear in the sight of god herein , you could never do as you have done . wherefore consider these things , and lay them to heart , and repent speedily , lest you sin your day away , and place of repentance there cannot be found : for this i tell you plainly , that it is in vain for you to strive against the lord , or to seek to stop or hinder his work which he hath begun ; for he will be too strong for you , and he will make you bow and bend to his own name and power , whether you will or no. and though he bear with you long , and suffer you long , yet his long-suffering wil come to an end ; and though you should be permitted to fulfil your envious wills and lustful desires so fa● as to banish , or kill , or destroy us from off the earth , yea all of us who are now in being , ( which i do not believe ever shall be ) yet would god raise up another people by the same power and spirit in and by which we stand , which should be a terror unto you , and should possess god's everlasting kingdom ( which is not of this world ) over your heads . and in the time of his outward weakness he was heard to say , that though this body of clay must return to the dust , yet i have this testimony that i have served god in my generation , an● that spirit which hath lived , and acted , and ruled in me , shall yet break forth in thousands ; and my faith is , that it shall be indeed even so ; for we have found him a true prophet amongst us , and ●o the nations . and this also near his departure he was heard to desire of the lord , that if it were possible , to forgive brown , &c. and so let all friends be encouraged to wait upon the lord in the feeling of the same spirit that was in him , ( which we know is the saints comforter ) that thereby you may be carried through all tribulations and persecutions with chearfulness , that in the end you may all receive the crown of everlasting righteousness with him and the rest of the saints of the most high god , and holy prophets and apostles of our lord jesus christ : and so the lord god almighty of heaven and earth be with you all , and keep you all in faithfulness unto the end , amen . my brother dear the lord hath call'd away , that in this world he should no longer stay : who was to many an instrument of good , while in the body ( in god's great power ) he stood . for many were from darkness by him turned unto the light , in which they were confirmed by the power and doctrine which to them was preached by him , through which god's true witness was reached , in their dark hearts , where satan long had reigned , over whom ( through god's great power ) victory 's gained . he was a valiant souldier of the lamb , and faithful to the lord did always stand , till with his life he seal'd his testimony , ( a london-prisoner ) as it 's known to many . but now in peace with god he is sate down , and hath with christ an everlasting crown of immortality , life and lasting joy , which never shall from him be took away . he was intrusted with the hidden treasure in a large , and in an abundant measure , which he dispensed to the lambs of god ; but to the wicked he was a scourge and rod. he fed the babes and children with the word , which to the wicked was a piercing sword : before him stil god's enemies did fall ; he never turn'd his back to them at all . but now he hath thus finished his course with joy and peace , yet 's life we do not lose : for oh dear brother , thy life i stil do feel remaining with me , else i could not wel remain behind thee with true satisfaction , because 't would turn upon me with reflexion . for truly can i say , my heart is fill'd with sorrow great , and grief is not expell'd : for oh ! the sence of my dear brother's love remains upon me , and shall never move . but herein is my soul greatly refreshed , that thy good savour and thy name is blessed , and shall remain in ages yet to come , when visibles standing now ; is past and gone . but oh my brother dear why soul did love thy life , which not●ing was , nor is above : for all t●ings it transcended , as to me ; in my esteem there 's nothing like't can be : because it stood in that eternity which always wil remain , and never dye : and ages yet to come shall tast thereof , and call thee blest , in whom it was brought forth . he was a man in whom gods power reigned , through faith , in which he a great vict'ry gained over death and hell , the grave and power of sin . and all things that were centered therein . he was a man in whom the fulness dwelt of grace and virtue , was by many felt to live in him , and speak in gods great power , and he descended as a sweet plenteous shower , which did refresh the garden of the lord , the plants that met together with one ●●cord on god to wait , refreshment to receive , and afterward in love to take their leave . he was a man that was upright in heart towards god and man , and hated all deceit : and what he was to god , there 's few do●h know , neither can my tongue or pen declare or show : but this i say , he was ● men of god , and in the light of righteousness he stood . what might i say of this my precious friend ! my soul lov'd him entirely to the end ▪ and stil his life is felt amongst the lambs who in the light and power of god doth stand : here he is read , here he is felt and known amongst the faithful , who with him are one . his savour's good , my life 's therewith refresht ; his name is now , and ever shall be blest . and now my brethren dear , and sisters all , in this be you refresht both great and small . although our brother outwardly be gone , yet hath not god the lord left us alone ; for his almighty power is with us stil , which in the light of life you all may feel to your refreshment and eternal joy , which no man in this world can take away . here is our peace , herein our joy lasts stil , in which my love is to you all , farwel , and this is my testimony for that man of god who hath been a blessing to the lord in his generation , and also to this nation : and in this i have eased my spirit , and am clear in my conscience in the sight of god , having done that which was my duty to do . josiah coale . a testimony of g. f. concerning e.b. his name is chronicled in the book of life ; a righteous plant , pure , chaste , clean : who can tax him for oppressing them , or burdening them , or being chargeable to them ? who through the sufferings hath finished his course and testimony , who is now crowned with the crown of life , and reigns with the lord christ for ever and ever . and in his ministry in his life-time , he went through sufferings by bad spirits , who never turned his back on the truth , nor his back from any out of the truth ; a valiant warrior , more then a conqueror , who hath got the crown through death and sufferings , who is dead , but yet liveth amongst us , and amongst us is alive . g. f. the end. the quaker disarm'd, or, a true relation of a late publick dispute held at cambridge by three eminent quakers against one scholar of cambridge ; with a letter in defence of the ministry and against lay-preachers ; also several quæries proposed to the quakers to be answered if they can. smith, thomas, 1623 or 4-1661. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a60564 of text r18877 in the english short title catalog (wing s4227). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 70 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 13 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a60564 wing s4227 estc r18877 12440041 ocm 12440041 62083 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a60564) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 62083) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 298:9) the quaker disarm'd, or, a true relation of a late publick dispute held at cambridge by three eminent quakers against one scholar of cambridge ; with a letter in defence of the ministry and against lay-preachers ; also several quæries proposed to the quakers to be answered if they can. smith, thomas, 1623 or 4-1661. whitehead, george, 1636?-1723. allen, william, d. 1686. fox, george, 1624-1691. [32] p. printed by j.c. ..., london : 1659. the three quakers are george whitehead, william allen and george fox. they are disputing with thomas smith. attributed to thomas smith. cf. nuc pre-1956. reproduction of original in friends' library, london. imperfect: imprint date torn; film also lacks: questions propounded by george whitehead and george fox / richard blome. eng society of friends -england. a60564 r18877 (wing s4227). civilwar no the quaker disarm'd, or a true relation of a late publick dispute held at cambridge by three eminent quakers, against one scholar of cambrid smith, thomas 1659 13094 26 5 0 0 0 0 24 c the rate of 24 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2003-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-06 john latta sampled and proofread 2003-06 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-08 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the quaker disarm'd , or a true relation of a late publick dispute held at cambridge by three eminent quakers , against one scholar of cambridge . with a letter in defence of the ministry , and against lay-preachers . also several quaeries proposed to the quakers to be answered if they can . london , printed by i. c. and are sold neer the little north-door of s. pauls church . 1659. the preface before i set down the particulars of this dispute , it seems not amiss to premise ( as an introduction to it ) what passed between this scholar and the forementioned george whitehead before it . in may last this scholar walking over the palace yard about his necessary occasions , chanced to see a great multitude of people over against westminster hall compassed with souldiers in red coates . drawing near , he heard whitehead preaching against universities , learning , and tithes , and the clergy ; and askt some of the red-coates whether he might speak a word ? they answered they could not tell . whereupon he crowded up to whitehead and askt him the same question , who said no , no . another souldier that stood neer him , said , hold thy tongue or i le stop thy mouth . so the scholar held his peace , till w. had done his railing , against the priests . then the people cryed out with one voice , let the gentleman speak , let the gentleman speak . whereupon the scholar stood up , and used such arguments in few words against w. ( in answer to which , w. said nothing ; but another q. stood up and prayed ) that all the people showted . notwithstanding which the q. going on in his prayer , the people made an hideous shriek to disturbe him . the quakers all desired the s. to quiet them telling him they were his followers and sons of ishmael . at length the people ( seeing that none of the quakers would attempt to answer the scholars argument , desired him to come away ; lest the q. should do him a mischief . so he left the quakers , and with ●im came all the people , leaving a few souldiers and about a douzen quakers at their exercise . the day following , and severall dayes after the s. went to seek the quakers at the said house , but found none , and never yet heard that any of them met there since . but upon aug. 25. 1659. the same s. having been all the afternoon ( from one a clock till four or five ) in st. johns coll. library turning over arabick and other mss. returning home wearied his nearest way , unexpectedly saw the same whitehead preaching in the quakers common meeting-house . so he went in , desired leave to speak : and ( when whitehead had done ) confuted his doctrine . next day , considering how apt silly women were to be led away captive by such deceivers , he sent this following note to the major of cambridge , hoping in the conclusion to reclaim his wife , who is a quaker . whereas george whitehead preacher to the quakers in cambridge deliver'd in his sermon among them yesterday , 1. that they are not hereticks , and 2. that they teach no other doctrine but what abraham and christ taught ; and 3. afterwards said , that the scriptures are not the word of god . i am ready this day ( at any hour or place ) to prove the forementioned doctrines very false , and 2ly . to defend those 3 arguments that i urged against him yesterday , by showing that he neither did , nor can answer any thing to them : and 3ly . to prove by divers other arguments , that 't is a damnable sin for him ( or any such man ) to preach , and a damnable sin for any man or woman to hear him . t. s. chr. coll. aug. 25. 1659. hereupon the major sent for whitehead , who ( before him ) wrote down these following positions ; which he said he would defend against t. s. at what time , and place , the major should appoint . 1. that we called quakers do not open a door to damnable heresies . 2. that we called quakers are not hereticks : because 3. we do not teach any heresy , and 4. we walk not in the steps of hereticks . 5. that the bible is not the word . these things i will defend against the contrary affirmations of t. s. george whitehead . then he caused these three positions to be writ saying , he would defend them also . 6. the scriptures doth not say , if any man say he hath no sin he deceives himself . 7. i deny that this is truth [ if any man say he hath no sin he deceives himself ] as concerning the saints . 8. 't is not a damnable sin , for me or any such man to preach , and for any man or woman to hear us . on saturday night aug. 27. t. s. wondring that he heard nothing of the time and place of meeting , went to the major to ask what was resolved , who answered , that the aldermen were not willing it should be in the town-hall ; so that if there were any dispute at all , it must be in the quakers common meeting house , but that severall aldermen were not willing there should be any dispute , and that he himself would not advise t.s. to dispute . whereupon t. s. resolved not to dispute against the minde of the corporation . next day aug. 29. between 12 , and 1. a clock came this following summons to t. s. from w. friend , t. s. this is to certifie thee , that according to our agreement when i was with thee , i am willing to give thee a meeting . and seeing that no other place is appointed , i intend to be at our meeting place ( over against sidney colledge-gate this day about the 1. or 2d . hour in the afternoon . where i may expect thy appearance , according to thy promise to me , first to produce thy arguments , &c. subscribed g. whitehead . cambridge this 29th . of the 6th moneth . 59. superscribed for t. s. at that place called , &c. immediately the same person received another summons from mr. james alders beginning thus . sir , i was called this morning to mr. major , and there i was told that 't is the desire of the quakers to meet you , at their house of meeting ; they begin to think you are afraid to meet them , &c. notwithstanding these t. s. continued in his chamber , till a messenger came from mr. alders to tell him , that the quakers were met and reported that t. s. did not dare to come . thereupon he went and found g. fox preaching . esteeming it not lawfull to hear him , he left the room , but entred again , as soon as sermon was done . then there was some debate where t. s. should stand , and because the q. would suffer him to take no place but where he should be compassed with quakers ( as g. whitehead was also ) he stood where they appointed him . the dispute . as soon as t. s. had taken his place , g. w. made a long speech to tell the people the occasion of that dispute : and that the questions to be discussed were these . 1. whether it were a damnable sin for him to preach and 2. a damnable sin for any to hear him . and charging t. s. with folly for saying that whitehead was an heretick , and yet confessing that t. s. knew not all w's . opinions . t. s. interposed only this , mark the word all . i may truly say you hold heresies , if i know only some . when he had done . t. s. said thus good people ; you come not hither to hear sermons and speeches but a dispute . this man hath troubled you with a long discourse wherein he concludes that i must begin at the latter end ; which of what consequence it is , all you that have skil in any trade or science know as well as i. i shall not trouble you with many words , but ( in short ) shall only entreat you to hear him again , i le read to you his own paper . george whitehead is this your hand or is it not . w. i acknowledge it my writing . s. i le read his hand-writing , so t. s. read it ( as , t is set down before ) and then askt the people whether he should take the propositions in order as they were placed in whiteheads paper or not . who answering yea yea. he began thus . 1. that we called quakers do not open a door to damnable heresies . 2. that we called quakers are not hereticks . against this your first position i dispute thus . he that writ this book opens a door to damnable heresies ( holding forth a printed book in his hand , entituled ishmael and his mother cast out . ) you writ this book , therefore you open a door to damnable heresies . whitehead replyed , i deny it . s. what do you deny ? w. that you spoke last , i do not open a door to damnable heresies . s. that is my conclusion : you should deny one of the premises . here s. gave him the book to look on : and then askt him whether he were the author of that book or not ? w. i did not write it all : for there is somewhat scribled in it . s. true , here are some things writ on the back-side : i le charge you with nothing but what is printed . were you the author of all that is printed in this book ? your name is printed both in the beginning midst , and end of it . w. about three years ago i and four more writ it between us . s. i pray tell me plainly whether you l own it or not . if you l not own it all , then tell me what you will own , what not . otherwise when i have proved it a most wicked book , you may disown it , and so all my discourse fall to the ground . 't is no pleasure to me to speak , or this people to hear vain words . if you will not own it speak . but you may as well disown to morrow all that you say to day ( telling us that words are but wind ) if you disown that which you have printed and affixt your name so oft unto . w. well . i will own it , prove what thou canst. s. all papists open a door to damnable heresies . you who writ this book are a papist . therefore you who writ this book open a door to damnable heresies . fox , wisper'd ( but loud enough ) mark the major is vniversall . whereupon some of the people cryed , down with that black fellow that prompt's behind , but s. said , no let them alone . what do you answer ? w. i deny . i deny . s. what do you deny ? major or minor ? w. that you spoke last . s. repeated the argument again and w. denyed the conclusion . s. if you go on to deny my conclusions i shall do nothing but repeat my syllogismes : for my syllogism proves my conclusion . w. repeat it then . here w. allen a quaker interposed and made a speech to tell the people that he did not like this way of disputing and bid t.s. dispute plainly without logick and syllogismes , and vaine termes . s. whitehead was the first that mentiond major and minor , and used a syllogisme tother day to prove scripture was not the word of god fox said that the major was universall . it seemes they both understand well enough what belongs to a syllogisme . and i think i have not spoke a word which the meanest here doth not understand , and that this way of dispute is liked best by all : if not let them speak . people . t is very well , very well . we like this way of dispute best of all . s. my argument is this , all papists open a door to damnable heresies , you who writ this book are a papist , therefore you who writ this booke open a door to damnable heresies . alderman blackly . this s. doth nothing but say the same thing again and again . w. i am no papist . s. you deny my minor : which i prove thus . he who refuseth to take the oath of abjuration is a papist . he who writ this book refufuseth to take the oath of abjuration . therefore he who writ this book is a papist . w. i deny all popery . s. a papist will say so too . i might charge you with many popish doctrines ; but now i only ask whether you will take the oath of abjuration , or deny one of my propositions ? f. here fox who had interposed severall times before made a long discourse to prove that 't was unlawfull for a christian to swear . s. did let him run on to the end , and let w. speak after him . then askt whether any more of that party had ought else to say ? all being silent t. s. replied . s. i came not hither to dispute with fox or allen ; but since you are resolved to dispute three of you against one , i shall reply to you all ( yea if there were three hundred , if you speak but one at once ) which of my propositions do you deny major or minor ? for you must deny one unless you 'l grant the conclusion that he is a papist . f. prove that 't is lawfull to swear . s. that is another question : which i le prove at any seasonable time when ever you shall desire me : but this is no fit season ; for we must now stick close to the questions before us . people . yes do so . do so . here the majors wife entreated t. s. to lay aside whiteheads book and dispute from scripture . well quoth he i will for a while : so he gave the book to her , and taking a bible said . s. turn to 2 cor. 5.20 . where you have these words , now then we are embassadours for christ . from which words i prove that 't is an appropriate ministry ; proper to some only , not common to all : and therefore that every christian man and woman is not an embassadour of christ , as you g. w. told the people tother day . i frame my argument thus . he who pretends to be an embassadour of christ and hath no commission to show , but what all the damnable hereticks in the world do or may show , that man opens a door to damnable hereticks . but you pretend to be an embassadour of christ and have no commission to show , but what all the damnable hereticks in the world do or may show . therefore you open a door to damnable hereticks . w. i deny that , prove it . s. what do you deny ? w. i deny that i open a door to damnable heresie . here almost all the company laught , shouted , stamped and hissed . and the quakers asked t. s. if he was not ashamed of his followers . he answered , that none of them were his followers ; for he came alone , and brought not one with him : that it was their meeting-house , and therefore more likely to be their followers . so after s. ( at the quakers request ) had entreated the people to be quiet , he asked w. s. do you profess your self to be an embassador of christ , or do you not ? w. yea i do . s. then that you may understand my argument the better ( for i perceive you do not yet ken it ) i 'll illustrate it by a similitude . suppose we being not at peace with spain , twelve men should go hence to the king of that nation , and tell him that they are all sent embassadors to him from the parliament of england . he asks them for their commissions . one of them shows him his commission in parchment : and the other 11 tell him they have a commission , but he must beleeve them on their words for they cannot show it . every one of them exclaiming against this man who showes his commission , and against the other for counterfeits : crying aloud , that he himself , and he alone is the true embassador , though he have nothing to prove it by , more then the other ten false . in such a case would you not say that these 11 are knaves ? answer . w. and f. and all the rest stood still and said not a word . s. if it be an heinous sin for any man to pretend a commission from an earthly prince or parliament , when he hath none indeed to show , shall not his crime be incomparably more grievous , his condemnation unspeakably more dreadful , who pretends one from the king of heaven when he hath none to show ? w. i have a commission . s. show it . here w. stood mute : and the people said he was wont to call the clergie dumb dogs ; but now he was dumb himself . s. let us hear or see what your commission is . distinguish that commission which you say you have from that which all the damnable hereticks in the world do or may produce for themselves . here w. made a long speech to the people . to which s. replyed , s. you have told us a long storie , whereof i can make neither head nor foot . i am sure it concerns my argument no more then if you should tell us , they are now selling apples upon the market-hill . tell us , or show us what is your commission . w. i have my commission from christ . s. i do not well hear what you say ; but i think you told us of another commission the other day from that which you speak of now . w. i told you then , that i had it from the power of god , and now that i had it from christ . s. they differ . for moses had his commission from the power of god , yet had it not from christ : who gave no commission to any before the twelve apostles . fox . christ and the power of god are all one . s. well , we will not discuss any impertinent questions . whether they be one or not , you do not answer my argument . 't is this . he who pretends to be an embassador of christ , and hath no commission to show , but only a talk that he is sent from christ ; he hath none to show but what damnable hereticks do or may show . but you pretend to be an embassadour of christ , and have no , &c. w. did ever any heretick pretend a commission from christ ? s. yes dav. george , socinus , arius , and all the hereticks i ever read of . w. they could not prove it by the effects as i can ; that is , show the people that were converted by them . s. yes they could . arians converted a nation of infidels to christianity ( which is more then you pretend to ) and his opinions spread so far among them who before his time were orthodox , that in short time 't was said , all the world seemed arian . w. but did the hereticks live good lives ? s. 't is confessed by all the ancients that arius and his followers did , by st. austin that pelagius did : and i remember no sect-master that did not . if you have no commission to show but this , you see that all damnable hereticks do or may show the same : and so my conclusion remains firm , that you open a door to damnable heresy . w. no . i have proved my commission sufficiently , and you have brought nothing against it . s. let the people judge of that . you and i come not hither to be judges in our own cause . w. you should prove me an heretick : which you do not go about to do . s. i shall do that when i come at it . 't is the second question . we are not yet come so far ; we are yet but at the door of your house . i am proving that you open a door to let in hereticks . a man may , open the door of his house to let them in , and be none himself . w. i 'll prove that i am none my self , and that from scripture . s. you come hither to answer , and not to oppose ; but since ( contrary to the rules of dispute ) you resolve to do both at once , i 'll give you leave ; come let us hear your argument . w. 't is taken out of 2 pet. 2.1 , 2. but there were false prophets also among the people , even as there shall be false teachers among you ; who privily shall bring in damnable heresies , even denying the lord that bought them , and bring upon themselves swift destruction . s. ( mark destruction and damnable twice applied to heresie in one verse ) w. and many shall follow their pernicious wayes , by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of . hence i prove that i am no heretick . observe here , hereticks are those who deny the lord that bought them ; i do not deny the lord that bought me ; therefore i am no heretick . s. i deny your major . all hereticks do not deny the lord that bought them . the apostle there instances in one sort of false teachers , the worst , who would even deny the lord . observe the word even : here is a special brand put upon them . it follows not hence that none are false prophets , none false teachers , or ( as you would have it ) none hereticks , but those who do deny the lord that bought them . prove that . prove your major . w. i have christ within me ; and therefore i do not deny the lord that bought me . s. you do not prove your major . i beleeve you do not understand my answer , i 'll explain it . suppose a man lying here sick unto death , will you prove that he is not sick at all , because he hath no plague-sore upon him , or hath no consumption : because he hath not this or that , or a third disease , therefore hath he none . there be many sorts of hereticks ( the apostle here mentions damnable heresies in the plural ) as there be of diseased persons . some deny the lord that bought them , others not . 'till not follow , that because you are not of one sort of these , therefore you be not of the other . prove your major if you can ; if not , give me leave to argue against you from this very text . whitehead , fox , and all the rest here stood silent . s. well , beloved , from this very text that he hath brought to prove he is no heretick , i will demonstrate ( which i am sorry that i must do , but you see he thrusts me upon it ) that this man is the most damnable heretick that ever was in the world ; and that since this epistle was first writ 't was never so litterally and plainly fulfill'd in any person as in him this day . [ here the people fecht a deep sigh . ] hear the words again , the two first verses . there were false prophets also , &c. i begin my argument from those very words you inlisted on , even denying the lord that bought them , the worst of hereticks . he that writ this book [ ishmael , &c. ] even denyes the lord that bought him . you writ this book . therefore you even deny the lord that bought you . w. i deny the major . s. i 'll read a few lines of it , and then prove my major ; you write this against mr. townsend minister of norwich . in your second page are these words , christopher atkinson , iames lancaster , george whitehead , and tho. simonds now in norwich goal for their errors and miscarriages — thee priest townsend — thou dreamer — thou deceiver — witch — o thou blinde guide , thou enemie of god — without christ and his knowledge , and in antichrist . w , is the word witch there ? s. thou wouldst bewitch the people with thy lies , p. 3. after these and many more such good words , he comes p. 10. to speak against the b. trinity , and hath this passage , p. 10. the three persons thou dreamest of ( speaking to mr. t. ) which thou wouldest divide out of one , like a conjurer , are all denyed , and thou shut up with them in perpetual darkness for the lake and the pit . here the multitude held up their hands and cryed god bless us ! s. see here he saith that he who asserts the three persons in the ever blessed trinity is a dreamer and a conjurer , and that that man shall be damned with that trinity . fox . we do not deny god therefore we are no hereticks . atheists deny god , therefore they are hereticks . s. this man will be opponent again . atheists are no hereticks . f. are not atheists hereticks . s. no . atheists are worse then hereticks ; but they are not hereticks . from these words in whiteheads book now read , i argue thus , he who denies the three persons in the b. trinity , and calls him dreamer and conjurer who asserts them , saying that a man who saith there be three persons in the trinity , shall be shut up with them in perpetuall darkness for the lake and the pit , that man is an heretick even denying the lord that bought him . but you g. whitehead deny the three persons in the blessed trinity , &c. fox here made very long discourse against the trinity . s. beloved you see i let him speak all he can say , i do not disturb them in their speaking as they do me , i am willing to hear him or any of them , speak all they can for themselves , but i confess it grieves me to hear them speak against the b. trinity , and i had far rather hear them talk of somewhat else then make declamations against almighty god . i answer , that nothing of this your speech is to the purpose . what do you answer to the argument ? i repeat it again . he who denies , &c. fox run on in another discourse against the three persons . s. i came not hither to hear you to repeat a deall of stuff out of paul beast [ who writ against the trinity . ] i came hither to dispute . if you l answer my argument , do . if not , say you cannot . f. prove that there be three persons . s. i will . f. but prove it out of scripture . s. i will so ( 1 iohn 5.7 . ) there be three that bare record in heaven ; the father , the word , and the spirit , and these three are one . f. prove that there be three persons . s. i will . allen . prove them to be three persons plainly without logicall termes and vain philosophy , that we may all understand thee . s. i will , if the father , son , and h. ghost , be three hee s , then they are three persons ; but they are three hees . f. what do you mean by three hee s ? s. three things that may be pointed at , he , and he , and he . f. i do not like that argument . s. i would fain give you an argument that you should like , are you three persons who dispute against me this day , or are you not ? f. yea we are three persons t is plain . s. give me now any argument that pleaseth you to prove it ; and by the very same argument i le prove that there be three persons in the b. trinity . f. we are in three places and therefore three persons . s. the father , son , and h. ghost , have been in three places , and therefore are three persons . at the baptisme of christ while jesus came up , the h. ghost came down ; in the same moment , one ascended out of the water , the other descended to the water , matt. 3.16 , 17. and jesus when he was baptized , went up straightway out of the water ; and loe the heavens were opened unto him , and he saw the h. spirit of god descending like a dove and lighting upon him . and loe a voice from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased . in this verse is mention of god the father in heaven , god the son coming out of the water , and the h. ghost descending on this side heaven like a dove . f. prove there were three persons . s. i do it thus , if christ was coming up out of the water while the h. ghost was coming down to the water , then they were in severall places , but christ was coming up out of the waters , while the h. ghost was coming down to the water . therefore they were in severall places . f. they have not flesh and bones as we have . s. what then ? i did not promise to prove them to be men , or you to be angels or gods ; but them to be persons : like you only in personality . f. persons have flesh and blood as you see we have . s. i prove that all persons have not flesh and blood . if god should send this day three angels from heaven to prove the truth of christian religion against you , who deny it ; and one of them should stand at one end of your meeting house , another at the other end , and a third in the midst preaching . would you not say that these three angels were three persons ? yet they have not flesh and blood . speak , would you say they are three persons , or would you not ; all stood mute , at length one of them said that angels are not persons . s. till me what you mean by a person and i le prove that angels are persons . f. a person is a subsistence , we three are three different susistences . s. so are the father , son , and h. ghost , if they were in different places , they must needs be different subsistences . you see my argument stands firm , notwithstanding your objection i pass to another argument . he who denyes the bible to be the word of god , saying that to assert scripture to be the word of god , is one of the deceitfull imaginations which the priests of this generation have deceived the people with ; that man is an heretick ; but you deny the bible to be the word , and tell mr. townsend that to assert it , is one of the deceitfull imaginations which the priests of this generation have deceived the people with ; therefore you are an heretick , see here your own book , p. 1. lin. 1. in stead of answering this argument about the word of god , they started back to the former about the trinitie : and fox said f. they cannot be three persons because they were not visible in severall places , i can see that man , and he can see the other . s. if christ was man , and the h. ghost was in the form of a dove , then they were both seen . f. prove that they were seen in severall places . s. christ was seen when the h. ghost was not seen : therefore they both were seen in severall places , one in the water , the other out of it . f. prove that they were seen . s. if many beheld them both , and this their seeing was upon record ( we saw , and they who see it bare record , and we know that our record is true ) then they were seen . but many beheld them at once ; and this their sight was upon record . f. the h. ghost could not be seen . s. if he was in the form of a dove , then he could be seen : but he was in the form of a dove . f. not in the form of a dove , but he was in the likeness of a dove . whereat some laughing , he answered again that he was seen , but not visible . s. then he was visible and invisible . f. yea. s. then contradictions may be true at once , then you may be a quaker and no quaker , a papist and no papist , an heretick and no heretick . hereupon alderman blackly who is a quaker said to t. s. i think 't is time now to leave off . s. i think so too : when he saith contradictions may be true at once . f. i pray take notice all of you that this book [ ishmael and his mother cast out ] about which so much stir hath been , was not writ by me but by this man , pointing at g. whitehead . s. true , but you defended it , i came to dispute him , if i had known of your disputing i would have brought one of your books . the end . a letter sent to mr. e. of taft four miles from cambridge a year since , to which no answer hath been returned . sir , § 1. since you had not so much patience as to hear me t'other day , nor would suffer your daughters to tarry , i now make use of my first hour of leasure to write to you part of that which you might have heard me speak then : hoping that you and they ( whom i look on as having more breeding then any other his auditors that i saw ) will not believe him , whom his friends generally call the tinker , upon his bare word ; but like those noble bereans , acts 17.11 . with readiness of minde search the scripture whether those things were so . 2. i guess at the breeding of most of his followers by this passage ; one of the chief of them , viz. daniel angier ( who invites him to that town , entertains him in his house , lends him his barn for a meeting place ) when i charged him in that place with maintaining that god was a body , ( viz. that he had hands , feet , a face , &c. like one of us ) saying that he contradicted me in my churchyard , after i had preacht the contrary from iohn 4.24 . he told me plainly before all the people , when he saw his ring-leader t. would not defend it , that i lyed ; whereas my whole parish are ready to witness the truth of what i said . 3. but to the purpose , i shall in this paper follow that method which the t. commanded me ( though i desired the contrary ) shewing first his false doctrine , and then prove 't is a dangerous sin in him to preach ( as he did publikely , and in the people to hear him . 4. he said in his sermon that god would lay before us at the day of judgment 4 books , viz. the book of his remembrance , 2. the book of the creatures , 3. the book of the law of moses , 4. the book of the gospel . by the book of the creatures , he said , he meant this or that cup of bear , or pot of wine whereby a man is drunk , the timber in the wall , &c. 5. i answer , that 't is impossible god should set these ( this book ) before us at the day of judgement , because the scripture saith , 2. pet. 3.10 . that the earth , and the works therein shall be burnt up . if all these shall be burnt up , how shall they be laid before us , pots and cups , &c. had he said that the conscience should represent these things unto us , he had spoken sense , but he made the conscience a witness at that bar , and not a book . 6. when i told him that christians should not be judged at that day by the book of the creatures , but the gospel ; he answer'd that he did not take his auditory to be christians , but unbelievers , and in his sermon i heard him utter these words , i know that the most of you are unbeleevers . 7. formerly i have wondred that most of his followers were sad melancholly persons , not looking nor behaving themselves like other folk ; hereafter i shall never wonder , if i see or hear they are mad : for such speeches as these are dreadful and very uncharitable ; tending to no other end , but to make good people run out of their wits , if they have not more then to believe him . for i pray consider that an unbeleever is an infidel , that is , either a jew , or a turk , or a pagan or an atheist : persons who shall be damned as sure as that god is true , mar. 16.16 . with whom 't is unlawful for any christian to marry , 2 cor. 6.14 . now if this famous preacher should descend to particulars , come to you and your three children , and say to each singly , thou art a jew , and thou a turk , thou an atheist , and thou a pagan , i am confident you would be ready not only to say , but ( if urged ) to swear that he did you a world of wrong . and you cannot but think the rest of the company in that barn as ready to profess the same as you . 8. but supose most of them had been unbelievers , yet 't is impossible that he being a stranger , and having never seen half those faces before could know it . for nothing can be the object of any mans knowledge , but that which is as certain as any thing can be . 9. s. paul calls those saints , and beloved of god , to whom he wrote , he never called them unbelievers , though some of them were as bad as any of the people in your barn . see rom. 1.7 . 1 cor. 1.2 . 2 cor. 1.1 . ephes. 1.1 . phil. 1.1 . col. 1.2 . 10. and ( as i told him ) all the protestants beyond the seas call their auditors in their sermons , fideles , that is beleivers : and he is the first man that ever i read or heard of , who preacht among a company of people who were all baptized and professed christianity , and yet called them unbelievers or infidells . entreat him from me to consider that of our saviour , matt. 7.1 . judg not , that ye be not judged ; or that of st. paul which was the first place i urged against him , 1 cor. 13.1 . though i speak , with the tongue of men , and of angels , and have not charity , i am as sounding brass , or a tinkling cimball . 11. i askt him what scripture or reason he had to prove that christians are to be judged at the great day , not only by the gospell , but also the law . he cited iam. 2.12 . and said , that the law of moses , was there called , the law of liberty . i beseech you consult the place , and judg , you 'l finde that not the law , but the gospell is there meant , quite contrary to this mans purpose , which i would prove by the context , if i thought it worth the while . this same law is called the perfect law iam. 1.25 . now the law of moses is never termed the perfect law in the new testament , for it could not make the comers thereunto perfect , heb. 10.1 . but the gospell is termed liberty , gal. 5.1.13 . stand fast in the liberty , &c. you have been called unto liberty . by which name the law is no where called in all the holy scripture . for the more ample confutation of this his doctrine and exposition i pray read gall . 4. from the 19th . verse to the end of that chapter . 12. these and severall other strange passages in that little of his sermon that i heard ( with confuting whereof i shall not trouble you now , because my leasure is not much , and i intend this paper chiefly to a better purpose ) made me sadly think on that place of st. peter ( at the end of his 2d . epistle ) that there be some things in st. pauls epistles hard to be understood , which they that be unlearned , and unstable wrest , as they do other scriptures to their own destruction . 13. one of those hard places i take the tinkers text to be , 1 thes. 4.16 . which i did not know to be his text till next day : otherwise i should have told him that his sermon ( as far as i could hear my self , or gather by others ) did not come any nearer to that text then to those words , abraham begat isaac . 14. before i leave him let me mind you of two passages which he used to me severall times , and leave you to judg , whether he who spake those words often in that auditory can be a good christian , or a man in his right wits . first , he called me frequently fool , and giddy pated fellow , &c. concerning which , see matt. 5.22 . whosoever shall say to his brother racha ( t is a syriack word signifying giddy-pate ) shall be in danger of the councell and whosoever shall say thou fool , shall be in danger of hell fire . 15. hear what st. iames saith , 1.26 . if any man among you ( though he be a wandring preaching . tinker , for you must give me leave to call him so , till i know what other name he hath ) seem to be religious and bridle not his tongue , that mans religion is vain . i shall not take upon me to censure him . i told him that i had not called him any such name , nor did i think it fit , but i le entreat him to consider what st. iude saith 9.10 . that when michaell the archangell disputed with the devill about the body of moses he durst not bring against him a railing accusation , but said , the lord rebuke thee . so that if he had been an archangell , and i a devill , he should not have used me ( when he had nothing to answer ) as he did . michaell durst not — see what follows . these speak ●vill of those things which they know not , but what they know naturally , as br●●● beasts in those things they corrupt themselves . 16. this minds me of his 2d . passage which i before hinted , viz. his sayin● severall times that logick was hell bred and came from hell . a way ( quoth he ) to oxford with your hell bred logick . either this man knowes what logick is or he knowes not : if he knowes not what it is , and railes against it , he incurre● st. iudes censure speaking evill of those things which he knowes not , &c. and i must , entreat him to remember the sad words of 2 pet. 2.12 . that those who as naturall bruit beasts made to be taken and destroyed , speak evill of those things which they understand not , shall utterly perish in their own corruption , and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness . if he know what logick is , then he knowes t is a greek word which signifies rationall , rom. 12 , 1 , or rather the right way of arguing , which he reproved me for not knowing , in his first words to me . now to blame me for not knowing how to argue ; and at the same time ( almost in the same breath ) to blame me for discoursing logically , that is ( if he understand himself ) for knowing how to argue , is to speak contradictions . and he that will do so and defend it , is no fit man to be a preacher , nor to talk with any rationall man , much less to be followed by any wise person . 17. and i pray ask any man in the world that knowes what logick is , whether it doth not put a difference between a man , and a beast : which proposition i affirmed and he severall times denyed but would not let me prove it . he saying 't was sin that put the difference , whereas nothing but sin can turn him , ( who in one of his books , saith , if you would go to christ , go as filthy as you can ) or any other man into a beast . 18. i shall leave his logick , when i have told you , that i am ready to prove , whensoever you desire me , that christ used logick in every discourse in the gospell , and the apostles in every epistle ; and that without logick 't is impossible for any man to understand , much lesse to interpret , either the epistles , or gospells . 19. thus much briefly concerning the t 's errours publisht in the barn tother day , i could name more ( for he delivered much falsity in those few words that i heard ) but i hope this will suffice to let you see clearly , he is not such a true preacher as you have lately took him to be . for sure if you had not took him to be excellent , you would not have stood up in the barn severall times to defend him , and rebuke me , who offered not to speak a word till all where coming out . and if you had not done so , but would have had half the patience to have heard me as you had for the tinker , i would not have troubled you with this paper . without which ( as the case stands ) i know not how to perform that promise which you forced me to make before them all of satisfying you some other time ▪ 20. and now i proceed to the 2d . generall head which i promised to prove viz. that 't is a dangerous sin in him to preach , as he did , and in the people , to hear him . i argued to him thus ; to do that which god strictly forbids all holy men both under the old and new testament , is to commit a dangerous sins . but to preach publickly as he did being not ordained , is to do that which god ●rictly forbids all holy men both under the old and new testament , therefore the doing it is to commit a dangerous sin . 21. for the old testament , i proved that all gods people who were not ordained or consecrated to be priests , were forbid to meddle with any sacerdotall office , num. 18.22 , 23. ex. 28.1 . and as by these two places so by two examples of gods dreadfull judgment upon vzza and vzzia , who offended against this law . vzzia though he were a king ( and so you 'l say might take more upon him then any subject ) was withstood by the priests , and forbid to burn incense before the lord . while the censure was in his hand , the leprosy arose in his forehead , and continued there , as a brand upon him , as long as he had a day to live , 2 chron. 26.16 . &c vzza did but put forth his hand , to take hold of the ark , to stay it from falling , while the oxen shook it , and presently the anger of the lord was kindled against him , and god smote him dead upon the place , 2 sam 6.6 , 7. to which add the judgments that fell upon cora and his company , who for offering incense were swallowed up alive by the earth , num. 16.3.39 , 40 upon ieroboam and his family , who for setting up priests of the meanest of the ▪ people , who were not of the sons of levi , 1 kin. 12.13 . had those fearfull curses denounced against them , c. 14.10 . i will take away the remnant of the house of ieroboam , as a man takes away dung till it be all gone him that dyes of ieroboam in the city shall the dogs eat , and him that dyes in the field shall the fouls of the air eat , for the lord hath spoken it ▪ 22. for the new testament i urged heb. 5.4 . no man takes this office to himself , unless called of god as was aaron . for there be evangelical priests and altars , as well legal , which appeares , heb. 12.10 . and in many other places of that epistle . christ was faithfull in all his house , as was aaron , heb. 3.2 . and if he was so faithfull in his house , that is the church , then he appointed some to minister , as well as aaron did . as aaron made legal priests , so christ evangelical ministers . as aaron had an altar , circumcision , and the passover , so christ , the lords table , baptisme , and the eucharist . 23. when he ascended he gave some apostles , some prophets , some evangelists , some pastors and teachers , for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the ministry , &c. till we all come in the unity of the faith ; that is , till the end of the world . he gave some pastors , therefore not all . every man may not take upon him to be a pastor , nor a prophet , because christ appointed onely some , eph. 4.11 . 24. nor is there any thing more evident in all the book of god , than that there ought to be a distinction of sheepheards and flocks , learners and teachers , some that are charged with the cure of souls , others that are charged to attend and obey , heb. 13.17 . some that are separated from the affaires of this life , that they may give themselves wholly to reading , 1 tim. 4.5 . to exhortation to doctrine , and therefore are to be partakers of other mens temporals , that others may be partakers of their spiritualls : others to plow , and sow , and harrow the ground , and use other lawfull trades , working with , their hands the thing that is good , that they may have to give to him that needeth . 25. i beseech you to lay aside passion , and consider some day when you retir● from your worldly affaires , whether it be possible , that that power which at fo●● severall times , upon four severall occasions , our blessed saviour did mentio● and give to the apostles , could expire with their persons . some things o● great concernment he mentions but once in all the scripture ( as upon wha● heads chiefly we shall be examined at the day of judgment and the speech tha● he will then make mat. 25.34 . ) and when he who was the wisdome of the father , names a thing not only four times , but upon four notable occasions , can you imagine that matter a trifle , and intended only for some very few years ? the thing which i mean , is the power not only of preaching the gospell , and administring the sacraments , but also of remitting , and retaining sins , which was mentioned by christ . 1. upon occasion of st. peters confessing him , promising , and foretelling that he would enstate it upon the apostles matt. 16.19 . 2ly . upon occasion of exemplifying that necessary truth , that the cheif end of christs coming into the world was to save that which was lost , matt. 18.11 . he speaks of the institution of this power as evidently instrumentall to that design , 3ly . immediately before his final departure out of this world , he enstated them initially in this ghostly power ioh. 20.21.22 . with significant ceremonies and important circumstances , saying , as , my father hath sent me , so send i you . he breathed on them and said , receive the h. ghost . lastly immediately after his ascention , sending the great promise of his father , luk. 24.49 . t is absurd to think that this power thus insisted on by christ , thus given to the apostles , was to expire with their persons ; especially considering that at his bestowing it on them , he promised to be with them , to the end of the world , matt. 28.20 . 26. i hope you l not wonder i mention this power which our saviour gave his ministers of remitting and retaining sins ; when i believe this very tinker arrogates it to himself , as well as the power to preach . for in the midst of our forementioned dispute about his false doctrines , he breaking out into very many impertinent di●erting questions ( as asking me when i was converted ? what were the signes ? ) at length he demanded what were the particular sins which i confessed to almighty god when i last received the body and blood of iesus christ ? as if i were bound to confesse my private sins , not only to him ( when , as i told him , god hath not made you my confessour ) but also to the meanest of all the vulgar in the country . 27. but to proceed . the apostle asks rom. 10.15 . how shall they preach unles they be sent ? he puts the question , as if he should say , what man in his wits can think it lawfull ? who that hath read one leafe either of the law or gospell ? 28. considering the examples not only of vzza , and vzzia , under the old testament , but in the new of matthias : who had been as well as any man else , a witness of the doctrine , and life , and miracles , of our b. saviour , yet was not by any thought fit to be termed an apostle till he had a speciall call to that office act , 1.23 . 29. 2ly . considering that ioseph sirnamed barsabas , was a witness to all this as well as matthias , yet never exercised the apostleship ( though it seems the church of christ esteemed him fit for it ) because he was not ordained thereto ; ●nymore then many others who where educated in the schole of christ as well ●s the best . 30. 3ly . considering that the most blessed iesus himself , the only begotten son of god , often profest that he came not without being sent io. 17.8.18 . nor preacht any thing , but what he heard , nor did any thing , but what he was commanded : and this in a time when there was confessedly very great necessity of reformation . and then with what face ( other then brazen ) can any man now justifie the doing these things of himself , who neither pretends that he is the son of god , nor yet that he seeth such a necessity of reformation . 31. lastly considering that not only those christians who lived neerest the times of our saviour ( who probably might know more of his institution than t is possible we at this distance should ) but all succeeding ages for 1600. years have had a clergy and a discipline ; certainly , sir , we have sins as great as any of them , the old sins to mortifie ( i heartily wish to god we had no new ones too , then unheard of ) and therefore certainly we stand in as much need of physicians as any of them did ; of all the blessed remedies and wholesome medicines against them , which our good god hath appointed . 32. i might adde many other places of scripture , as 2. cor. 5.19 . god hath reconciled us to himself by christ jesus and given to us the ministery of reconciliation . now then we are embassadours for christ . wherein i entreat you to observe that he saith , committed to us the ministry of reconcilation , here then is an appropriate ministry not common to all the vulgar . we are embassadours . t is limited to some few by vertue of a commission . all cannot be embassadours the church is a body , and all cannot be ears , or eyes , 1. cor. 12.14.15.16 . 33. but i must not omit the answer which your friend made to , rom. 10.15 . he said he was sent by the church of christ at bedford . to which i replyed . 1. that , that which he called the church of christ at bedford , could not send him , or give him power to preach , &c. because nothing can give that which it self hath not . that church consisting only of women and a few lay-men is not in indeed a church of christ ; none of them hath power to preach or administer the sacraments , and therefore none of them can give the tinker power to preach and administer the sacraments . 34. 2. the church of antioch was in all probability very numerous in those dayes when miracles were ordinary , and three thousand were converted in one place at one sermon : and yet in all the scripture you shall not find by any word , the least sign that those many people who were thus converted at antioch did joyn together in church-duties and ordinances ( as the lords supper , which the primitive and best christians received every day act. 2.42.46 . and the people of your town have not desired , as i hear , these fourteen years ) untill barnabas and paul had been with them . when these two who were ordained ministers of the word came unto them , then ( and not till then ) were the christians at antioch termed a church . act. 11. from . the 20th . verse to the 27th . 35 i confess 't is both lawful and laudable for private christians to endeavour the conversion of any that be indeed infidels or unbelievers to the truth of the gospel , or to teach children or servants the catechisme , &c. ( and if this tink●● had done no more , staid at bedford , and taught his family the lords prayer , the apostles creed , the ten commandments , and the doctrine of the sacraments , which things few of his followers in these parts can endure to hear of : or if he had followed s. pauls advice , 1 thes. 4.11 . studied to be quiet , and done his own business , i should have nothing to have said against him ) 't is lawful for private christians to do what they can to convert jews , or turks , or heathens , or atheists , that is , to prepare stones for the building of the church ( as the antient ecclesiastical stories tell us that frumentius and aedesius did in india , and the captive maid in iberia ) but after they be converted , after they are baptized , to unite these together and make up a building , to assemble them in an ecclesiastical bodie , to usurp the pulpit and that power which our saviour distributed , when he said all power is given to me both in heaven and earth , go ye therefore and preach : this is such a piece of presumption as we read not in the acts of the apostles ( nor in any other ecclesiastical story that i have seen ) that any of the primitive christians were ever guilty of . but all this your t. hath been guilty of , and much more . for he hath not only intruded into the pulpits in these parts , and caused the people of your town to hate their lawful minister , [ mr. iohn ellis sen . ] but ( as he told me ) encouraged them to proceed so far as to cudgel him , and break open the church doors by violence . i wonder what example or precept in the scripture he hath for this . when he hath read tit. 3.2 . i desire him to see his doom , 1 pet. 4.15 . where {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , ( that is one that thrusts himself in to preach in another mans parish against his consent ) is reckoned by the h. ghost among no honester men then a thief and a murderer . this will be a sad text for him , when the books shall be opened before him at the great judgement day . 36. and here i give you under my hand what i professed to the t 's face , that if i could see any reason to draw me out of the true ancient catholick and apostolick church into which i was baptized ( whereof the church of england is the soundest part , as i am ready to make appear against the papists , and all other new and old schismaticks and hereticks their confederates ) if i say , i could see any reason to draw me out of that church into your schisme , who encourage the tinker to preach , i see not what should stop me from running into the worst sect in the world ; from being an anabaptist , or ranter , or quaker , or antiscripturist , or what not . 37 give me leave to tell you a storie , ( you gave the tinker leave to tell you several of things done at bedford ) t is out of s. augustines notes on iohn 1.2 , 3. all things were made by him . s. austin saith , that a manichee & another being troubled with flies , and disputing , one of them said , he thought that our good god could not be the creator of such troublesome insects . why then replied the other , who made the bee which is somewhat bigger , and hath a sting ? he yielded that the devil made it . from a bee they proceeded to a locust , from a locust to a lizard , so to a bird , to a sheep , to an oxe , to an elephant , to a man . and thus was the silly man deluded into a perswasion that he himself was not gods creature . just such a dreadful conclusion do most of these people make , who think it lawful for a tinker , ( or a man not ordained ) to preach , are they not ready to pull down the church walls to mend the high wayes ? ( you know who desired it . ) to take the bells out of the steeple , and carry them in butter-panniers to london , and sell them , ( you know who did it . ) do they not cry that sacraments are needless , meer empty ceremonies ? preaching foolishness ? paul and barnabas , the sons of the prophets , bablers ? are they not ready to cry down faith for a fancy ? all clergie-men as limbs of antichrist ? devotion as an emasculating trick of machiavel . in a word if these men may prevail , down go presbyters as well as bishops , universities , schools , hospitals , all thoughts of god , all reverence to his word , and all that is holy . and instead of these , in rusheth carneades's philosophy , that gain is godliness : and then the poorest hireling in the town will soon have as much land as you , or your heir . for men will turn from being an orderly common-wealth to be a community of bears tygers , to delight in tearing and devouring each other ; from living in civil conversation , they come to joyn hands in that grand piracy , wherein the stronger swallow up the weaker , upon no other pretence of right or reason imaginable , but because they are the stronger : saying with the atheists , wisd. 2 . 1● . our strength is in the law of iustice , and that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth . 41. but i see this paper swells above the ordinary extent of a letter and therefore i shall draw to a conclusion , when i have spoke to one particular , which is the common talk of this county , viz. that one of your daughters being troubled in mind you sent for this tinker to quiet her conscience . 42. sr. i know you are a man of so much prudence , that if her or your temporall life were shaken with a palsy , or the title to a parcell of your visible estate questioned by some potent-man ; you would not think it enough to employ a cheap atturney or an ordinary agent , or send for some country dame to administer her kitchin physick , but the ablest counsellors and the skilfullest doctors should be posted to , and exceeding much wariness and diligent attendances made use of : and all thought little enough . for truly a mans life and health , and sometimes his estate is worth all this : and in some cases it needs it all . but then , i beseech you , do you beleeve your immortall soul ( for which jesus laid down his precious bloud ) the only triflle and toy about you ? are there not a thousand dangers , and a million of difficulties and innumerable possibilities of miscarriage ? and how then comes it to passe that you think a tinker or mean ignorant person can serve here ? if a man or woman , be sick saith st. iames 5.14 . let him send for the presbyters of the church and let them pray over him . 't is needfull certainly to have such guides ( st. iames knew which were best ) to steer the vessell when a stormy passion or a violent imagination ( despair or presumption ) transport a man , to awaken his reason , and quicken his devotion . 43. and truely considering how like beasts of the heard , men , both of high and low degree do live in this age , t is but reason that there should be a deal of retirement and initiation , industry and instruction to educate such a person , to tame the beast within him , to subjucate his lower soul , to enlighten his naturall and ●ctuate his spirituall powers , to clear his eyesight that he may have a plain prospect of those gaities which the worldling dotes on , and a true sense of the realities above to instruct his understanding and judgment that he may be able to resolve the many abstruce and intricate cases of conscience , to confute the infinit● company of impudent hereticks and gainsayers ( which st. paul notwithstandin● your anger looks upon as the preachers duty tit. 1.9 . ) to prepare him for so high and difficult an employment . 44. i would now use some arguments drawn from reason and common sense to prove t is unlawfull for this tinker to preach ; but supposing that you believe scriptures to be the word of god , i think such arguments needless . 45. remember that he who commits ieroboams sin , doth justly incur ieroboams punishment , and to hear such a person as ieroboam set up , is to commit ieroboams sin : for if such men had no hearers , no applauders , they would soon lay preaching aside ; to hear him then is to partake of his sin , which the apostle bids us beware of rev. 18.4 . eph. 5.7 . besides , he that hears such throwes his soul unnecessarily upon temptations and out of the promise of gods blessings , for no blesing is promised to any , but while he is doing that which god commands : now he commands us to hear our sheepheards io. 10.1 . to hear moses and the prophets , matt. 16.31 . and those that sit in moses chair , matt. 23.3 . but never commanded us to hear the lowest of the people , or men not ordained . to this i might add that the flock must be under an oversight . act. 18 . 23.-20.28 . 1 pet. 5.2 . 1 thes. 5.12 . heb. 13.17.24 . a mans own pastor hath a more speciall dispensation of the grace of god , eph. 3.2 . and a pastors more especial tye to his flock than another , argues that they are more especially tyed to him . he is appointed to feed them ; they therefore to hear him . 46. i shall commend you to the work of gods grace when i have entreated you to consider the words of our saviour , iohn . 10.5 . the sheep of christ will not hear the voice of a stranger , but will fly from him . the sheep here , are those who shall stand at the right hand of jesus in the day of judgment , mat. 25.33 . ( as the t. confessed when i urged this text against him ) and that by a stranger is meant an intruder into the sacerdotall office appears by comparing this place with , num. 16 . 40-1.51-3.10-18.7 . and with other texts where this word is interpreted to be one that is not a levite one not ordein'd by imposition of hands as the preachers were , not only in the first and best times of christianity , 1. tim. 4 15-5 . 22-2.22-3.10.6.13.14 . 2. tim. 1.6 . tit. 1.5 . but also ever since , in all places all ages till this . 47 and now , sir let me beseech you for gods sake , for christs sake , for his churches sake , for your reputation sake , for your childrens sake , for your countrys sake , for your own immortall souls sake , to consider these things sadly and seriously : not to think a tinker more infallible then the pu●● spouse of christ , the church of all ages mentioned in your creed , but to search the scriptures 〈◊〉 canon whereof you receive meerly upon the authority of that church and to foresee what will be 〈◊〉 sad consequence both to the souls and bodies and estates of you and your children in following 〈◊〉 strangers , entreating you to peruse also this enclosed printed paper against lay-preachers , i bes●●● the lord to give you and yours understanding in all things : remaining . your faithfull servan● in christ jesus , caucat . may . the examination and tryall of margaret fell and george fox (at the severall assizes held at lancaster the 14th and 16th days of the first moneth, 1663, and the 29th of the 6th moneth, 1664) for their obedience to christs command who saith, swear not at all also something in answer to bishop lancelot andrews sermon concerning swearing. fox, margaret askew fell, 1614-1702. 1664 approx. 64 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a38972 wing e3710 estc r20823 12117593 ocm 12117593 54376 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a38972) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 54376) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 66:17) the examination and tryall of margaret fell and george fox (at the severall assizes held at lancaster the 14th and 16th days of the first moneth, 1663, and the 29th of the 6th moneth, 1664) for their obedience to christs command who saith, swear not at all also something in answer to bishop lancelot andrews sermon concerning swearing. fox, margaret askew fell, 1614-1702. fox, george, 1624-1691. 34 p. s.n.], [london : 1664. place of publication from wing. pages 3-6 are supplied in manuscript. reproduction of original in british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng andrewes, lancelot, 1555-1626. trials -england. 2000-00 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2001-08 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2001-09 tcp staff (michigan) sampled and proofread 2001-09 tcp staff (michigan) text and markup reviewed and edited 2001-11 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the examination and tryall of margaret fell and george fox ( at the severall assizes held at lancaster the 14th and 16th days of the first moneth 1663. and the 29th of the 6th moneth 1664. ) for their obedience to christs command who saith , swear not at all . also something in answear to bishop lancelot andrews sermon concerning swearing . thus have you made the commandment of god of none effect by your tradition , mat. 15. 6. printed in the year , 1664. owe allegiance and obedience to the king of kings christ jesus , who hath commanded me not to swear at all . judge . that is no answer , will you take the oa●h or will you not take it ? m. f. i say i owe allegiance and obedience unto christ jesus , who commands me not to swear . judge . i say unto you that 's no answer , will you take it or will you not take it ? m. f. if you should ask me never so often , i must answer to you the reason why i cannot take it , is because christ jesus hath commanded me not to swear at all , i owe my allegiance and obedience unto him . then one of the justices that committed her , said , mrs. fell you may with a good conscience . ( if you cannot take the oath ) put in security that you may have no more meetings at your house . m. f. wilt thou make that good , that i may with a safe conscience make an engagement to forbear meetings , for fear of losing my liberty and estate ; wilt not thou and you all here judge of me that it was for saving my estate and liberty that i did it , and do i not in this deny my testimony ; and would not this defile my conscience . judge . this is no answer , will you take the oath ? we must not spend time . m. f. i never took an oath in my life , i have spent my days thus far , and i never took an oath , i own allegiance to the king as he is king of england , but christ jesus is king of my conscience — then the clerk held out the book and bid her pull off her glove and lay her hand on the book . m. f. i never laid my hand on the book to swear in all my life , and i never was at this assize before , i was bred and born in this county and have led my life in it , and i was never at an assize before this time , and i bless the lord that i am here this day upon this account , to bear testimony to the truth . — then they asked her if she would have the oath read , she answered , i do not care if i never hear an oath read , for the land mourns because of oaths . judge . then the judge cryed take her away , then thy took her civilly away , and asked her if she would give security that she would have no more meetings . m. f. nay , i can give no such security , i have spoken enough for that . then george fox was called before judge twisden , being a prisoner the goaler brought him in . judge . what do you come into the court with your hat on , and then the goaler took it off . g. f. peace be amongst you all , ( and said ) the hat was not the honour that came down from god. judge . will you take the oath of allegiance george fox . g. f. i never took oath in my life . judge . will you swear or no ? g. f. christ commands we must not swear at all , and the apostle ; and whether must i obey god or man judge thee , i put it to thee . judge . i will not dispute with thee george fox , come read the oath to him , and so the oath was read , and when it was read , give him the book said they , and so a man that stood by him held up the book and said lay your hand on the book . g. f. give me the book in my ltand , which set them all a gazing , and as in a hope he would have sworn ; then when he got the book in his hand , he held up the book and said , this book commands me not to swear if it be a bible i will prove it ; and he saw it was a bible , and he held it up , and then they pluckt it forth of his hand again , and cryed will you swear , will you take the oath of allegiance yea or nay . g. f. my allegiance lies not in oaths , but in truth and faithfulness , for i honour all men , much more the king ; but christ saith i must not swear , the great propher , the saviour of the world , and the judge of the world , and thou sayest i must swear , whether must i obey christ or thee ; for it is in tenderness of conscience that i do not swear , in obedience to the command of christ and the apostle , and for his sake i suffer , and in obedience to his commands do i stand this day ; and we have the word of a king for tender consciences , besides his speeches and declarations at breda ; and dost thou own the king. judge . yes , i own the king. g. f. then why dost not thou own his speeches and declarations concerning tender consciences , to the which he replyed nothing but george said it is in obedience to christ the saviour of the world , the judge of the world , before whose judgment seat all men must be brought , that i do not swear , and am a man of a tender conscience , and then the judge stood up . judge . i will not be afraid of thee , thou speaks so loud thy voice drowns mine and the courts , i must call for three or four cryers to drown thy voice , thou hast good lung . g. f. i am a prisoner here this day for the lord jesus , that made heaven and earth , and for his sake do we suffer , and for him do i stand this day , and if my voice were five times louder , yet should i sound it out and lift it up for christs sake , for whose cause i stand this day before your judgment-seat , in obedience to christs commands , who commands not to swear , before whose judgment-seat you must all be brought , and give an account . judge . sirrah will you take the oath . g. f. i am none of thy sirrah , i am no sirrah , i am a christian , art thou a judge and sits there to give names to prisoners , thou ought not to give names to prisoners . judge . i am a christian too . g. f. then do christian works . judge . sirrah thou thinkest to frighten me with thy words , and looked aside , i am saying so again , g. f. i speak in love to thee , that doth not become a judge , thou oughtest to instruct a prisoner of the law and scriptures if he be ignorant and out of the way . judge . george fox , i speak in love to thee . g. f. love gives no names . judge . wilt thou swear , wilt thou take the oath yea or nay . g. f. as i said before , whether must i obey god or man judge ye , christ commands not to swear , and if thou , or ye , or any minister , or priest here will prove that ever christ or his apostles after they had forbidden swearing , commanded men should swear , i will swear , and several priests being there , yet not one did appear . judge . george fox will you swear or no. g. f. it is in obedience to christs commands i do not swear , and for his sake we suffer , and you are sensible enough of swearers , how they first swear one way then another , and if i could swear any oath at all upon any occasion , i should take that , but it is not denying oaths upon some occasion , but all oaths according to christs doctrine . judge . i am a servant to the king , and the king sent me not to dispute , but he sent me to put his laws in execution , wilt thou swear ? tender the oath of allegiance to him . g. f. if thou love the king , why dost thou break his word , and not own his declarations and speeches to tender consciences from breda , for i am a man of a tender conscience , for in obedience to christs commands i am not to swear . judge . then you will not swear , take him goaler . g. f. it is for christs sake i cannot swear , in obedience to his commands i suffer , and so the lord forgive you all . and so the mighty power of the lord god was over all . the appearance of m. f. the second time being the 16th day of the aforementioned moneth 1663 / 4. jud. 1. mrs. fell you stand here indicted by the statute , because you will not take the oath of allegiance , and i am here to inform you what the law provides for you in such a case , viz. first , if you confess to the indictment the judgment of a premunire is to pass upon you , secondly , if you plead you have liberty to traverse . thirdly , if you stand mute and say nothing at all , judgement will be passed against you , so see what you will chuse of those three ways . m. f. i am altogether ignorant of these things , for i had never the like occasion , so i desire to be informed by thee , which of them is the best for me , for i do not know , and so several about the court cryed , traveise , traverse . judge . if you will be advised by me put in your traverse , and so you have liberty untill the next assizes to answer your indictment . m. f. i had rather according to thy own proposal have a process , that i might have liberty untill the next assize , and then to put in a traverse . judge . your traverse is a process . m. f. may not i have a process , and put in my traverse the next assizes , i am informed that was the thing that thou intended that i should have . judge . you shall have it . m. f. that is all i desire . — then a clerk of the crown office stood up and whispered to the judge and said it was contrary to law , and said i must put in my traverse now . judge . i would do you all the favour i can , but you must enter your traverse now . m. f. i acknowledge thy favour and mercy , for thou hast shewn more mercy then my neighbours hath done , and i see what thou hast done for me , and what my neighbours have done against me ; and i know very well how to make a distinction , for they who have done this against me they have no reason for it . judge . i have done you no wrong , i found you here . m. f. i had not been here but by my neighbours . judge . what say you , are you willing to traverse . m. f. if i may not be permitted to have that which i desire ( that is ) longer time , i must be willing to traverse till the next assizes , and that upon this account , that i have something to inform thee of , which i did not speak on the last time when i was brought before thee : the justices which committed me , they told me they had express order from above , but they did not shew me the order , neither indeed did i ask them for it , but i heard since that they have given it out in the country that they had an order from the counsel , others said they had an order from the king. — the sheriff said there was express order ; and also justice fleeming said there was an order from the king and the counsel , so the country is incensed that i am some great enemy to the king , so i desire that i may have this order read , that i may know what my offence is that i may clear my self . judge . i will tell you what that order is , we have express order from the king to put all statutes and laws in execution , not only against you , but all other people , and against papists if they be complained of . m. f. will that order give the justices of peace power to fetch me from my own house , to tender me the oath . judge . mrs. we are all in love , if they had an order believe they had one . m. f. if they have one let them shew it , and then i can believe it . judge . come , come , enter the traverse . m. f. i had rather have had more time , that i might have informed the king concerning these things . judge . you may inform the king in half a years time , so now let us have your friend called up . then after she was gone down , the judge called her back again and said , if you will put in bail you may go home , and have your liberty till the next assizes , but you must not have such frequent meetings . m. f. i will rather lie where i am , for as , i told you before , i must keep my conscience clear for that i suffer . the 16th day of the same moneth g. f. was brought before the judge the second time , where he was a little oftended at his hat , being the last morning before he was to depart away , and not many people . judge . the judge he read a paper to him which was , whether he would submit , stand mute , or traverse , and so have judgment past ; he spake these and many more words so very sofily and in baste , that g. f. could not tell what he said . g. f. desired it might be traversed and tryed . judge . take him away , then i will have no more with him , take him away . g. f. well live in the fear of god and do justice . judge . why , have i not done you justice . g. f. that which thou hast done hath been against the command of christ. this with much more was spoken which could not be collected . and then g. f. was called up . the 29th day of the 6th moneth in the year 1664. at the assizes holden at lancaster , m. f. brought to the bar , the indictment read to the judge , come will you take the oath . m. f. there is a clause in the indictment , that the church-wardens informed of something which seemeth , that that should be the ground or first occasion of this indictment , i desire to know what that information was , and what the transgression was by which i come under this law. judge . mistress , we are not to despute that , you are here indicted , and you are here to answer , and to plead to your indictment . m. f. i am first to seek out the ground and the cause wherefore i am indicted , you have no law against me except i be a trangressour , the law is made for the lawless and trangressours , and except i be a transgressour ye have no law against me , neither ought you to have indicted me , for being that the church-wardens did inform , my question is , what matter of fact they did inform of , for i was sent for from my own house , from amongst my children and family , when i was about my outward occasions , when i was in no meeting , neither was it a meeting day ; therefore i desire to know what this first foundation or matter of fact was , for there is no law against the innocent and righteous , and if i be a transgressour let me know wherein . judge . you say well , the law is made for transgressours , but mistress do you go to church ? m. f. i do go to church , judge , what church , m. f. to the church of christ. judge . but do you go to church amongst other people , ye know what i mean. m. f. what dost thou call a church the house or the people , the house ye all know is wood and stone , but if thou call the people a church , to that i shall answer ; as for the church of england that now is , i was gathered unto the lords truth , unto which i now stand a witness before this church was a church , i was separated from the general worship of the nation , when there was another set up then that which is now , and was persecuted by that power that then was , and suffered much hardship , and would you have us now to deny our faith and our principles which we have suffered for so many years ; and would you now have us to turn from that which we have born witness of so many years , and turn to your church contrary to our conscience . judge . we spend time about those things , come to the matter in hand , what say ye to the oath and to the indictment ? m. f. i say this to the oath , as i have said in this place before now , christ jesus hath commanded me not to swear at all , and that is the only cause and no other ; the righteous judge of heaven and earth knoweth , before whose throne and justice ye must all appear one day , and his eyes sees us all and beholds us all at this present , and he hears and sees all our words and actions ; and therefore every one ought to be serious , for the place of judgment is weighty , and this i do testisie unto you here , where the lords eye beholds us all , that for the matter or substance of the oath , and the end for which it was intended ; i do own one part and denies the other , that is to say , i do own truth and faithfulness and obedrence to the king , and all his just and lawful demands and commands ; i do also deny all plotting , contrivings against the king , and all popish supremacy and conspiracy , and i can no more transgress against king charles in these things , then i can disobey christ jesus his commands , and by the same power and vertue of the same word , which hath commanded me not to swear at all , the same doth bind me in my conscience , that i can neither plot nor contrive against the king , nor do him nor no man upon the earth any wrong ; and i do not deny this oath only because it is the oath of allegiance , but i deny it because it is an oath , because christ jesus hath said i shall not swear at all , neither by heaven , nor by earth , nor any other oath ; and if i might gain the whole world for swearing an oath i could not , and what ever i have to lose this day for not swearing of an oath , i am willing to offer it up . judge . what say you to the indictment . m. f. what should i say , i am clear and innocent of the wronging any man upon the earth as my little child that stands by me here , and if any here have any thing to lay to my charge , let them come down and testifie it here before ye all ; and if i be clear and innocent you have no law against me : then colonel kirby and the sheriff whispered to the judge , and i looked up and spoke to colonel kirby , and said let us have no whispering , i will not have so many judges one of one side , and another of another , here is one judge that is to be judge , and the judge said no no i will not hear them ; and then i calsed to colonel kirby , and said if thou have any thing to lay to my charge , or to speak against me come come down here and testifie against me , and i said the judge represents the kings person and his power , and i own that . judge . jury take notice she doth not take the oath . m. f. this matter is weighty to me , whatsoever it is to you upon many accounts , and i would have the jury to take notice of it , and to consider seriously what they are going to do ; for i stand here before you upon the account of the loss of my liberty and my estate . secondly , i stand here in obeying christs commands , and so keeping my conscience clear , which if i obey this law and king charles commands i defile my conscience and transgresseth against christ jesus , who is the king of my conscience , and the cause and controversie in this matter , that you all are here to judge of this day , is betwixt christ jesus and king charles ; and i am his servant and witness this day , and this is his cause , and whatsoever i suffer it is for him , and so let him plead my cause when he pleafeth . and the judge said to the jury are ye all agreed have ye found it , and they said for the king. m. f. then spoke to the judge , and said , i have counsel to plead to my indictment , and he said he would clear them afterward in arrest of judgment ; so the court broke up that time , and after dinner when they came again , they intended to have called us at the first , and they had called g. f. out and was calling of me , and i stepped up to the bar and desired the judge that he would give us time till the next morning to bring in our reast of judgment , and the judge said at the first we should and i was stepping down to go my way , and the judge called me back again , and said mistress fell you wrote to me concerning your prisons that they are bad and rains in , and are not fit for people to lie in , and i answered , the sheriff doth know and hath been told of it several times ; and now it is raining if you will send to see at this present , you may see whether they be fit for people to lie in or no ; and colonel kirby stood up and spoke to the judge to excuse the sheriff , and the badness of the room , and i spoke to him and said if you were to lie in it your selves you would think it hard , but your minds is only in cruelty to commit others , as william kirby here hath done , who hath committed ten of our friends , and put them into a cold room where there was nothing but bare boards to lie on , where they have laid several nights , some of them old ancient men above threescore years of age , and known to be honest men in their country where they live , and when william kirby was asked why they might not have liberty to shift for themselves for beds , he answered and said they were to commit them to prison , but not to provide prisons for them ; and we asked him who should do it then , and he said the king : and then the judge spoke to him and said they should not do so , they should let them have prisons fit for men , with several more such like words ; and then at that time we were returned to our chambers again , the next day we were called about the 10th hour , and i stood up to the bar , and said i had counsel there and named them that the judge might assign them to speak , and i said i had two or three words to speak before them , and i said i did see all sorts of prisoners that did appear before the judge received mercy , what the law would afford them ; but we desired only to receive justice and law , and the judge said what are we hear for else ; so i stepped down and the lawyers spoke and shewed the judge severall errours , and defects , and places of contradiction , and confusion in the indictment ; at which the judge seemed to give ear to some of them , others he seemed to wave , but he made a pause and a stop , and seemed dissatisfied , and then called g. f. and so then when he came to plead , and bringing that by which his indictment was quite quenched , and then they put the oath to g. f. again the judge spoke to the lawyers , and said he would consider of those particulars they had spoken to , and he would speak to his brother twisden before he passed judgment upon me ; but if i do pass judgment you may have a writ of errour and the lawyers answered him again , will you pass a erroneous judgment my lord , so after they had called the grand jury , and tendered g. f. the oath again , they returned us to our chambers , and when they had drawn another indictment of g. f. and found it , they called us again in the afternoon , and g. f. pleaded to his indictment and entred his traverse , when he had done the judge spoke to me and said , if such a word had been in , which was not in mine , but it was in g. fs. ( and yet it was neither of those words , by which his indictment was quashed ; ) but if that had been in mine he said he would not have passed sentence , but being that it was not there he passed sentence of premunire , then i stood up and told him that he had said to my counsel , that i might have a writ of errour to reverse it , he said i should have what the law would afford me , so i said the lord forgive thee for what thou hast done , and this law was made for popish recusants , but ye pass sentence but on few of them . margaret fell. the last assizes holden at lancaster the 29th of the 6th moneth 1664. i george fox being called before the judge , was put amongst the fellons and murtherers , and there stood amongst them above two hours , the people , and the justices , and judge gazing upon me ; and there they tryed many things before the judge , and they called me to the bar , and then the judge causted me to be brought , and he then caused the jury to be called , and then he askt the justices whether they had tendered me the oath at the sessions , and they said they had , and the judge caused the book to be given to the justices for them to swear , they tendered me the oath according to the indictment , and some of them would have refused , and the judge said he would do it to take away occasion , that there might be no occasion ; and when the justices and jury was sworn , the judge askt me whether i had not refused to take the oath the last assize , and i said i never took an oath in my life , and christ the saviour and judge of the world saith swear not at all ; and the judge askt me whether or no i had not refused to take the oath the last assizes , and i answered , the words that i said to them was , that if they could prove either priest , or teacher , or justices , that after christ and the apostles had forbidden swearing , that afterwards they commanded that men should swear , i would swear . the judge said he was not at that time to dispute whether it was lawful to swear , but to enquire whether or no i did refuse to take the oath . georg. those things as concernining plotting and the popes forreign powers , &c. contained in that oath i utterly deny . the judge . said , i said well in that . george . i said to them again as before , that if they could prove that after christ and the apostle forbad swearing , that again they commanded to swear , i would swear , but christ and the apostle commanded not to swear , therefore i should shew forth christianity , for i am a christian. the judge askt me again , whether i had denyed the oath , what did i say ? george . what would thou have me to say , i have told thee before what i have said . the judge askt me if i would have those men to swear that i had taken the oath . geo. would thou have those men to swear that i have refused to take the oath , at which the court burst out into laughter ; i asked them if this court was a play-house , where is gravity , and sobriety , for that did not become them , and so the indictment being read , i told the judge i had something to speak to it ; & i askt him whether all the oath was not to be put into the indictment , and he said yes , why then said i here is ( pretended to be derived and his heirs and successours ) left out , and i askt him whether the oath was to be put to the kings subjects and he said yes . i answered , why am not i put in as a subject , but the word ( subject ) left out of the indictment which is in the oath , and so makes it not the same oath , jury take notice of it , but the judge said i must speak to the jury , at which words the judge read the oath , and found it was as i had said , so he stood up and said he could put the oath to me , or any man in the court , and so they began to be disturbed in themselves also the justices ; and there began to be a murmuring against the clerks , and the judge he got up and began to cover the errour , so i askt whether the last eleventh day of january the sessions was kept at lancaster , which they call munday , and whether or no the sessions was not on that they call tuesday the twelfth of january , all people take your almanacks , and see whether any oath was tendred , g. f. the 11th of january , whether the sessions was not upon the 12th and the clerks and people lookt their almanacks , and saw it was the 12th and the judge askt whether the 11th was not the first of the sessions , and they answered there was but one day , and it was the 12th and the judge said then it was a great mistake ; and then all the justices was struck , and some of them could have found in their hearts to have gone off , and said they had done it on purpose , and said what clerk did it , and a great stir was amongst them . and then i spoke to the jury how that they could not bring me in guilty according to that indictment , and the judge said i must not speak to the jury , but he would speak to them , and said they might bring me in guilty i denying the oath ; then i said what should you do with a form then , and do not go according to it , then you may throw the form away , and then i told the jury that it lay upon their consciences as they would answer the lord god before his judgment-seat , before whom all must be brought , and so the judge spoke to me , and said he would hear me afterwards any reasons that i could alledge wherefore he should not give judgment against me , and so he spoke to the jury , and i bid him do me justice and do justice , and so the jury brought in for the king guilty . and i told them then the justices had forsworn themselves and the jury both . and so they had small cause to laugh as they did a little before , and to say i was mad , and before i had brought forth my reasons i stood a little while , and the judge said he cannot dispute , but then the people said he is too cunning for them all , after i had brought forth my reasons , how contrary to their own indictment they had done and sworn , and brought me in guilty ; oh the envy , and rage , and malice , that was among them against me and lightness , but the lord confounded it all , that abundance of it was slain , and so i told them i was no lawyer , and the judge said he would hear me what i could alledge before he did give judgment , and so i cryed all people might see how they had forsworn themselves , and gone contrary to their own indictment , and so their envy and malice was wonderfully stopt , and so persently m. fell was called , who had a great deal of good service amongst them , and so the court broke up near the second hour , many more words was spoken concerning the truth . and so in the afternoon we were brought up to have sentence passed upon us , and so m. fell desired that judgment and sentence might be deferred till the next morning and we desired nothing but law and justice at his hands , for thieves had mercy , and i desired the judge to send some to see my prison being so bad , they would put no creature they had in it , it was so windy and rainy , and i told him that colonel kirby who was then on the bench said i should be lockt up , and no flesh alive should come at me , and most of the gentry of the country being gathered together , expecting to hear the sentence , but they were crost that time , so i was had away to my prison , and some justices with colonel kirby went up to see it , and when they came up in it they durst scarcely go in it , it was so bad , rainy , and windy , and the badness of the floor , and others that came up said it was a jakes house , i being removed out of the prison which i was in formerly , and so col. kirby said i should be removed from that place ere long , that i should be sent unto some fecurer place , for he spake to the judge in the court , saying , he knew that the justices would joyn with him , but the judge said after i have past sentence i will leave him to the jaylor and how i was not a fit man to be converst with , none should converse with me , and all the noise amongst the people was that i should be transported and so the next day towards the 11th hour we was called forth again to hear the sentence and judgement , but m. fell was called first before me to the bar , and there was some counsellours pleaded , and found many errours in her indectment , and so she was taken by , after the judge had acknowledged them , and then the judge askt what they could say to mine , and i was willing to let no man plead for me , but to speak to it my self and though m. fell had some that pleaded for her , yet she spoke as much her self as she would , and though they had the most envy against me , yet the most gross errours was found in mine , and before i came to the bar i was moved to pray , that the lord would confound their wickedness , and envy , and set his truth over all , and exalt his seed ; the thundering voice answered i have glorified thee , and will glorifie thee again , and i was so filled full of glory , that my head and ears was filled full of it ; and that when the trumpets sounded & the judges came up again , they all appeared as dead men under me , and so when i was to answer to the errours of the indictment , seeing that all the oath as he said himself was to be in , i told him there was many words of the oath left out , which was ( pretended to be derived , and his heirs and successours ) and i bid them look the oath and look the indictment , and they might see it , aud they did , and found it according to my words ; and i askt them whether the last assizes holden at lancaster was in the 15th year of the king , which was the 10th day of march , and they said nay it was the 16th year ; then said i look your indictment , and see whether or no it is not the 15th year , and then they were all of a fret both judge and justices , for it was the 15th in the indictment ; then the judge bid them look whether m. fells was so or no , and it was not so : i told them i had something else to speak concerning the indictment , but they said nay , i had spoken enough , so the indictment was thrown out , so i told them that they had small cause to laugh as they had done a little before , for they might see how the justices and the jury was sorsworn men , and so i bid him do me justice , and he said i should have law , and the judge said i was clear from all the former , and he started up in a rage and said but he would proffer the oath to me again ; i told him they had example enough for swearers and false swearers , both justices and jury yesterday before their faces , for i saw before mine eyes both justices and jury had forsworn themselves , who heard the indictment , and so he askt me whether i would take the oath , i bid him do me justice for my false imprisonment all this while . for what had i been prisoner all this while for , for i ought to be at liberty , then he said i was at liberty , but i will put the oath to you again : then i turned me about , and cryed all people take notice this is a snare , and all was mighty quiet , and all people was struck and astonisht , and he caused the grand-jury to be called , for he had called them before when i was there , when he saw they would be overthrown , and the jury would fain have been dismist , but he told them he could not dismiss them , for he had business for them , and they might be ready when he called them , and i felt his intent , that if i was freed he would come on again , so i lookt him in the face , and he was judged in himself , for he saw that i saw him , so he caused the oath to be read to me again , and caused the jury to be called , and then when the oath was read he askt me whether i would take the oath or no , and the jury standing by , i told him i never took oath in my life , and he bid them give me the book and i bid them give it me in my hand and i opened it , and he bid me swear , and i told him the book bid swear not at all , again he bid me swear , and i told him the book said i should not swear , and held it open to them , and said by the book i would prove that men should not swear . and if they would prove after christ and the apostle had forbidden swearing , that afterwards they commanded to swear , then i would swear , for i was a man of a tender conscience ; and if they had any sense of a tender conscience they would consider this , and the judge askt me whether i would take the oath , and bid them give me the book again , i told them ye give me the book to swear , and the book saith i should not swear at all ; and so you may prison the book , the judge said he would imprison george fox , i answered nay , you may prison the book , which saith swear not at all , and the sheriff and the judge said the angel swore in the revelations , i answered , i bring forth my first begotten son into the world saith god , let all the angels in heaven worship him , who saith swear not at all , and the judge said often he would not dispute , and so then i spoke much to the jury how that it was for christs sake , that which i did ; and therefore none of them to act contrary to that of god in their consciences , for before his judgment-seat they must all be brought , and for all those things contained in the oath , as plots and persecuting about religion , and the popes power , &c. i denyed them in my heart , and i am a christian , and shall shew forth christianity this day , and it is for christs sake that i stand for it is lotish shabim be coldabor , and they all gazed , and there was a great calm , and they took me away , but there was many more words both to the jury and to them . then in the afternoon we was called again , where i stood among the thieves a pretty while with my hat on , at the last the goaler took it off , and when i was called to the bar the jury brought in guilty for the king , and the judge askt me what i could say for my self . i bid them read the indictment , i would not answer to that i did not hear , and as they read , the judge bid them take heed it was not false again , and they read it so amazedly , that when they spoke to me i did scarcely understand what they said , and the judge askt me what i would plead , i told them i desired to have a copy of that indictment , and to have some time to answer to it , for the last i had but lately , and never heard it read but once , and then in the court , and so the judge askt me what time i would have , and i said till the next assizes , and the judge said i should , then he askt again what i would plead , i told him i was not guilty at all of denying swearing , swearing obstinately and wilfully , and those things contained in the oath as jesuitical plots , and forreign powers , &c. i utterly denyed them , and he said i said well in that , and the judge said the king was sworn , the parliament was sworn , and the justices and he was sworn , and the law was upheld by oaths ; i told them they had sufficient experience of mens swearing , had not the justices and jury forsworn themselves , and had they not read the book of martyrs , how many of the martyrs suffered because they could not swear , both in the ten persecutions , and in bonners days , and the judge said i would the laws were otherwise , then i said our yea is yea , and our nay nay all along ; and if we transgress our yea and nay let us suffer as they do that do break an oath , and so to deny swearing is not a new thing in obedience to christs command , and i said this we had sent to the king who said it was reasonable , and so after several more words i was had away to my chamber being ( as i was before ) to answer to the indictment , and so the truth and power of the lord god was glorious over all , and many spirits was crost grievously in their envy and malice . there was many things spoken both to judge , jury ; and people , which were too large to mention . and so the judge told margaret fell her sentence , and i lie upon a new indictment . g. f. something in answer to bishop lancelot andrews sermon concerning swearing , being one of his sermons upon the third commandment , the place that he trea●s upon is in jer. the 4th the words are these : and thou shalt swear the lord liveth in truth , in judgment , and righteousness . and further , to prove the lawfulness of swearing , he brings deut. 6.13 . isa. 45.23 . — psal. 63. and last ver . and how abraham sware . gen. 21.24 . and isack sware , gen. 26.31 . and jacob sware . 31.33 . and abrahams servant sware , gen. 21.24 . and gen. 24.3 . & numb 30.3 . which saith he , an oath is to the lifting up of a burthen as to the entring of a bond. first , he saith an oath is to be used in solemn matters , and he brings these scriptures following out of the old testament to prove it , psal. 144.8 . numb . 30.3 . psal. 119.106 . psal. 15.15 . chron. 2.36,9 . ezek. 17.12 . psal. 110.4 . psal. 89.35 . kings 1.22,16 . lev. 5.1.1 chron. 15.15 . gen. 24.3 & 47.29 . secondly , for the nature of an oath he quotes 119. psal. 9 ver . & numb . 10. and last ver . thirdly , he speaks of the manner of an oath , and produceth for confirmation these scriptures following , deut. 12.8 . numk . 5.18 dan. 12.7 . rev. 10.5 . kings 1.8,31 . exod. 22.8 . — neh. 5.12 . numb . 5.19 prov. 29.24 . judg. 17.2 . lev. 5.1 . sam. 1.3,27 . kings 1.22,16 . gen. 25.33 . kings 1.1.43 . jer. 18.8 . first , as for all the above mentioned scriptures which he hath quoted in the time of the law , and before the law , and the angels swearing in the revelations , do not prove that christians may swear ; and we do grant ye the time before the law men did swear , and also the angel swore , but christ is come the first begotten whom god hath brought forth into the world , and saith , let all the angels worship him ; and this is my beloved son hear ye him saith god : and christ saith how that in the old time men was to perform their oaths to the lord , these were their true oaths which they were to perform and they were not to swear falsly , but to perform their oath to the lord ; so here christ in his doctrine lets them see the false oaths and the true oaths in the old time , and that was the true oath to swear by the lord , and to swear the lord liveth : and every tongue should swear , and abraham , and isaack , and jacob , and joseph , and the prophets sware , but christ is the end of the prophets , and doth fulfil the law , & reigns over the house of jacob , & joseph , & before abraham was , i am saith christ ; and so though they sware before the law and under the law , and the angel in the revelations sware , & the angel that sware sware by the lord as the oath was in the time of the law , and before the law , and this was the oath that christ minds them on in his doctrine here , that they were to perform to the lord , yet now mark his doctrine , which he himself lays down and commands , but i say unto you now swear not at all , &c. matthew 5.24 . in the hebrew language it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but let your communication be yea , yea , nay , nay , whatsoever is more then these cometh of evil ; in the hebrew its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and further proof , see how jamse lived in the same doctrine and practice , and held it forth to the 12 tribes which was the jews , who had the oath of god , and was to swear in the time of the law ; see his general epistle in the 5th chap. and also speaking in the second chapter of such as drove them before the judgment-seat , but in the 5th chapter this is his command above all things , my brethren swear not at all , neither by heaven nor by the earth , in the greek its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this you may call creatures or made things : but mark james goes further , and faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — nor by any other oath , but let your yea , be yea , and your nay , be nay , lest you fall into condemnation , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mark the danger now , and whether we have not ground enough in the fear of the lord god to obey christs commands and the apostles doctrines , lest we fall into condemnation an● evil , we have set some words down in the greek tongue , that those it most concerns may see the original , but the spirit is ours , and the commands of christ , and the apostles doctrine to be obeyed in what tongue soever it be written in , but we would query the thing with any , whether the apostle james who wrote to jews and not to gentiles , did not write in the hebrew tongue and not in greek , and if so , then his words to them in this particular are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the pricks , points , and accents , and the plain and naked interpretation of the hebrew word we have left for them it most concerns to adde . secondly , as for all the scriptures he brings against rash swearing , and false swearing , it would rejoyce our hearts to have the priests do that , and the magistrates punish it for a couple of railing priests come the other day and sware before our faces lightly and vainly , and justifyed it when they had done ; it would become magistrates and them better if they did not suffer an oath to be heard in the towns , or markets , or ale-houses , or streets , you that have power , not to suffer those things ; for you would have work enough to restrain such things , and such persons , and not to fall upon the innocent which in obedience to christs commands and the apostles doctrine cannot swear for conscience sake : for imprisoning such emboldens people to swear , and would it not be better for people , and would ye not shew forth more christianity to keep to yea and to nay in all their communications according to christs commands and the apostles doctrine . thirdly , there was bond in the old time by oath , but christ he looses from the bonds and brings to peace and liberty , and makes free , and saith , swear not at all : and so though we be in outward bonds , it is for christ jesus sake , and the word of god is not bound . fourthly , and though moses sware in the time of the law , and abrahams servants sware , yet christ the son saith , swear not at all and we are to hear him in all things the great prophet . fifthly , and as for the ceremonies of the oaths , christ is the substance of all ceremonies , that saith , swear not at all . sixthly , and though david sware , he that david called lord saith , swear not at all , and he is upon his throne . seventhly , and where he saith , thou shall swear by the lord , and swear the lord liveth , they were not to swear by them that were no gods , nor creatures , nor by the earth , nor by heaven , or by the hand , or by jerusalem ; now what are the oaths that all christendom swears , both papists and protestants ? whether it be the oath that was amongst the jews , and whether or no they practise the oath that they do now , and whether or no is that ceremony now used , if not , when did god alter it ; where about in scripture , and in what place of scripture is it that he sets this way and ceremony of swearing in christendom , both amongst papists and protestants , which is to swear by the book , and by the evangelists ? is this beyond the jews swearing , by the city , or by head , or by the temple which christ forbid , and not only those oaths , but the oath of god , which the jews was to swear by , answer these things . eightly , and as for zedekiahs oath to nebuchadnezar , and josephs oath to pharaoh , this was in the time that oaths were to be performed amongst the jews and patriarchs , and what is this to christs doctrine which forbids oaths , which oaths was before christ came . 9thly , and as for the oath of supremacy & the other , it is to acknowledge the king of eng. and allegiance to him , which things hath been manifest and practised by us , but not by such as sware allegiance to the kings father , and swore the one way and the other way , and hast not thou and many of you taken the oath against him , and such as have sworn one while for him , and another while against him ; how are they in allegiance to him that swears one way and another way ? and cannot there be in truth and faithfulness allegiance to the king without swearing ? for now how should we stand in allegiance to christ if we did not obey his commands the king of kings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for he commands us not to swear , but keep to yea and nay , and one of his great embassadours to nations that went with his message to the twelve tribes saith , above all things my brethren swear not at all , lest you fall into condemna●ion . tenthly , there were two states of oaths , the one was that people was to perform to the lord and swear , and the other was that god sware by himself concerning his son christ jesus , which when he came who fulfilled gods oath , he ended the other oath and saith , swear not at all , and calls the first oath the old time ; he fulfilled the truth , and let them see how in the time of the law false oaths were forbidden in the old time , and heathenish oaths were forbidden in the time of the law , for they were not to swear by baal , but they were to perform their oaths to the lord , which christ saith unto them , swear not at all , and so he ended that oath ; so there is no oaths before the fall , and there is no oaths in the restauration again by christ jesus but yea and nay , according to his doctrine , but amongst moses and the prophets , and in the old time before moses and the prophets men did swear , as abraham and isaack , &c. but he the great prophet is come that is to be heard in all things , and he the oath of god christ jesus stands and remains . eleventhly , the apostles speaking to the hebrews , swearing by a greater which was an end of controversie and strife amongst them , he brought this as a similitude , not that the hebrews should swear , for if he had , he had contradicted james which wrote to the twelve tribes his doctrine to them , which were hebrews , but he brought it as a similitude , that the oath which men swear by the greater ended strife ; but god not finding a greater then himself , he sware concerning his son which is christ , who ends the strife , who destroys the devil and his works , the author of strife ; for the oath in the time of the law ended the strife , but we see oaths now adays begins it , and why , the matter is because in christ jesus men do not live , who is the peace and gods oath . twelfthly , where as the bishop saith , that they hold in divinity that to swear of and by it self considered , is an act forbidden no less then to kill &c. ans. in the time of the law they killed and swore , but christ saith , swear not at all , and also he saith , love enemies ; and how do these agree to kill and to love enemies , and love one another , and if one strike thee on the one cheek turn the other to him . and this paralleling the magistrates executing justice upon malefactors ; as he that sheddeth mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed again : is not a paralleling with christs doctrine , who saith , swear not at all , for that may be done by witnesses , without oath , as thou maist read the scriptures in the old time , when oaths were denyed in the primitive time among the primitive christians , who were in christs doctrine , thou maist read how they did things by witnesses , as the apostle speaks in the mouth of two or three witnesses , &c. which place he instances of what was done in the time of the law , which was a statute of judgment among the jews , whosoever killeth any person , the murtherer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses , &c. but no oaths are mentioned here , num. 35. 30. with heb. 10. 28 read that throughout , and also deut. 19. 15. & 1 king. 21. 10. &c and many more scriptures might be alledged which you that have read scriptures are not ignorant of . now for the practice amongst the saints , see mat. 18. 16. christ who bids them keep to yea and nay , in that place lays down a practise to be used amongst them in matter of fault and transgression how it should be ended by two or three witnesses , read the words that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established , and what dost thou think that he would order them to swear , who had once forbidden it ? and read the 8. chap. of john and 17. ver . and we do not find that the witnesses againstchrist that he should speak blasphemy , mat. 26. 65. that they did swear , and also you may see in acts 6. 11 , 12 , 13. how they that were hired against stephen , no mention is made of their swearing , moreover you may see in 2 cor. 13. 1. the speech of the apostle amongst the saints , how he tells them of of his coming unto them in the mouth of two or three witnesses ; he doth not tell that he is coming to them with oaths in their mouths , mark , the apostle was an elder and had care of the churches . — and again the apostle that writes to tim. a bishop , an overseer of the churches , saith he , against an elder receive not an accusation , but before two or three witnesses . now he doth not say before two or three men that swears , for if he had he would have contradicted christs doctrine and james , 1 tim. 5. 19. & 2 tim. 2. saith the apostle to tim. the bishop , the things that thou hast heard of me amongst many witnesses , the same commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also . now he received this by witnesses , not by oath , and he was to commit it and not by oaths , and were not these the things that the whole church came to be ordered by ? and this was amongst the christians in the primitive times when oaths were ended , and many more things might be alledged which were two tedious for you to read . thirteenthly , and whereas he brings that objection of the anabaptists , which is that it standeth not with christian profession , but was tollerated as an imperfect thing under the law . ans. which objection of theirs we do not own , as we do not own the bishop for swearing ; for it was the way of the lord , and the way of the lord was perfect , and the commandment for swearing was good in it self , untill the time of christ who is perfect that ends the law , and people must live in him christ jesus and walk in him that saith , swear not at all , that ends the oath , and is the oath of god ; dost thou not read of a people in the galatians and romans that was turned back into the law , from the law of the spirit , and the apostle told them he that broke one point was guilty of all , and he brought them to the law of love which fulfilled the law . fourteenthly , and as for all the scriptures the bishop brings to prove that the christians sware in the primitive time they are nothing to the purpose , though the bishop say that christ admits of some swearing , which both his own words and the apostles contradicts ; christs words are , swear not at all ; and the apostles are above all things , &c. — and so he goes on and lets them see what was in the law , committing adultery was forbid under the law , but in the time of christ looking upon a woman and lusting after her was committing adultery . — and he sets forth in the justice of the law an eye for an eye , and a tooth for a tooth , and shews how that in the time of the law thou shalt not kill , and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment , but i say unto you , that whosoever shall be angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment ; and so he tells both swearing and killing to be in the old time , and said except the righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven . fifteenthly , and as to that of the apostle speaking in the 1 thes. 2. god was his witness that he did not make covetousness his cloak . answ. it were well if the priests could say so now , but this doth not prove that he swore , and there are many men that takes man to be his witness ; and that is not an oath , surely is it ? thou understands that ? and if this were an oath , why do you cast friends into prison ? sixteenthly , and that of the galatians chapter 1. 2. there is nothing in that place like unto an oath which he brings . seventeenthly , and as for the 2 or . 4. 23. verse , there are not so many verses in that chapter . — and as for the ephesians th 4th and 15th which he brings for christians to swear , which he says we are bound at all times to speak truth to our neighbours . answ. he doth not say we are to swear truth at all times , but to speak it at all times . eighteenthly , and that which he brings in acts 23. 3. how the apostle reproved the high priest , that caused him to be smitten contrary to law . answ. here the apostle was preaching the gospel and christs doctrine to them , to the priests that had the law and outward things ; this was nothing to the purpose , that the apostle should swear , or that christians should swear . — and in the 14th verse which he quotes . answ. those were the bad people that bound themselves with a curse , that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed paul that preached the gospel , this is nothing at all that christians should swear . nineteenthly , we say there were heathens oaths annd jews oaths which were to swear by the lord , which christ calls the old time , which they were to perform , which oath christ ends ; and saith , swear not at all , for in the time of the law the jews were to deny all false oaths , and heathenish oaths , and they were not to swear by baal , but the true oath which christ ends : and did not the christians suffer in the primitive times , because . they could not swear by the prosperity of caesar ; and was not that oath then imposed upon them ? and by the good fortune of the emperour , was not that another oath ? and did not many christians then suffer because they could not swear , read the ten persecutions which was a long time before the pope got up , and then did not the pope when he had got up over the churches , give forth both oath and curse , with bell book and candle ? and was not the ceremony of his oath to lay three fingers a top of the book to signifie the trinity ? and two fingers under the book to signifie damnation of body and soul if they sware falsly . — and was not there a great number of people that would not swear , and suffered great persecution , as read the book of martyrs but to bonners days , and its little above an hundred years since the protestants got up ; and they gave forth the oath of allegiance , and the oath of supremacy , the one was to deny the popes supremacy , and the other to acknowledge the kings of england ; so we need not to tell you of their form , and shew you the ceremony of the oath , it saith kiss the book , and the book saith kiss the son ; which saith , swear not at all , and so cannot allegiance be to the king in truth and faithfulness , as was said before without an oath , yea and more then many that swears . so you may see to deny swearing is no new thing , for it was the practise of the christians in former times to deny it , both in heathens and the times of popery before protestants ; and so it is in obedience to the command of christ that we do not swear in our loves to him , & if we say he is lord & master and do not the thing that he commands , that is but deceit and hypocrisie . and so rash and bad swearing that was forbidden in the time of the law , it was not that which christ came to fulfill , but true oaths , and the true types , figures , and shadows , and he saith , swear not at all . twentiethly , and as for acts the 13th there is nothing spoken of swearing , there as all people may read . 21thly , and whereas the apostle often speaks , and taking to witness a record upon his own soul by his rejoyeing in christ jesus , what is all this to swearing and taking an oath , or where did ever the apostle take a solemn oath , or command the brethren and churches to do the same ? for often he speaks of the witness our of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established . — and the bishop often brings the 1 cor. 15. 31. by our rejoycing which i have in christ jesus , i die daily ; this place cannot be brought for a proof that the apostle sware ; if so , when thou saist by thy meat thou art refreshed , and by the fire thou art warmed , and people tells thee thou must go by such a lane to such a town , they all swear then , do they not ? 22thly , as for the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bishop says its never used but in an oath only . answ. and what is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is it not ( truly ) as also the primitive word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies yea ? and is not that word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the aforementioned , 5th of matthew and 5th of james , where swearing is denyed — for is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in greek yea in english ; and is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in greek truly in english , and if every man that says yea and truly sweareth , then the bishop proves his assertion . — and is not there a difference between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 — so in meekness and love read this over in that from which it was sent . post-script . christ jesus who is the king of kings , and lord of lords , the beginning and ending , first and last , him by whom god will judge the world in righteousness . we quaery of you whether he or any of his apostles , after they had given forth a command that none should swear , but keep to yea and nay in all their communications , can any minister or teacher prove this in express words out of the new testament that they ever commanded to swear or did swear , that will satisfie , that will end all : but that we should be cast into prison for our obedience to christs command , by you that professes your selves to be christians , and own christ jesus as you say , is not right : and he commands you to love enemies if you did obey his commands , and love one another ; for they that are christians and own christ jesus they should love one another : for this was a mark by which they were known to be disciples learners of him . and so they that are lovers of him , own him and obey him and his doctrins , so though we do suffer here by you all the sessions or assizes ; we do commit our cause and you that do persecuters to the general assizes and terrible day wherein god will judge the world in rightconsness , by the man christ jesus whose commands we obey in tenderness ; and there we know we shall have true judgment without respect of persons , there our hats will not be looked at before the almighty , but the action and transgression , and who hath served god , and who hath not served him ; for christ hath told you before hand what he will say to them that visits him not in prison , where he is made manifest in his brethren : then what will become of them that casts them into prison for tenderness towards god , for obeying his dctring , and keeps to yea and nay in their communications according to his words — and so those things we leave to the general day , though we can say the lord for give you that deth thus persecute in if it be his will freely from our hearts , for we do you nor no man harm , but seek the good and peace of all men , and for this cause for obeying the truth we do suffer . g. f. the end . apokrypta apokalypta velata quædam revelata : some certain, hidden, or vailed spiritual verities revealed : upon occasion of various very prying and critical queries concerning god, the devil, and man, as to his body, soul, and spirit, heaven, hell, judgement &c : propounded to george fox, john perrot, samuel fisher : and after that (with a complaint for want of, and stricter urgency for an answer) re-propounded to edward burroughs : by two persons, choosing to notifie themselves to us no other way then by these two unwonted (if not self-assumed) titles, viz. livinus theodorus, and sabina neriah : which truths (as there inspired by the spirit of god) are here expired in love to the souls of men / from ... samuel fisher. fisher, samuel, 1605-1665. 1661 approx. 80 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 17 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a70039 wing f1047 estc r31513 12033731 ocm 12033731 52838 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a70039) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 52838) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1010:15 or 982:6) apokrypta apokalypta velata quædam revelata : some certain, hidden, or vailed spiritual verities revealed : upon occasion of various very prying and critical queries concerning god, the devil, and man, as to his body, soul, and spirit, heaven, hell, judgement &c : propounded to george fox, john perrot, samuel fisher : and after that (with a complaint for want of, and stricter urgency for an answer) re-propounded to edward burroughs : by two persons, choosing to notifie themselves to us no other way then by these two unwonted (if not self-assumed) titles, viz. livinus theodorus, and sabina neriah : which truths (as there inspired by the spirit of god) are here expired in love to the souls of men / from ... samuel fisher. fisher, samuel, 1605-1665. fox, george, 1624-1691. j. p. (john perrot), d. 1671? [4], 28 p. printed for robert wilson, london : 1661. first two words of title in greek characters. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng spiritual life -modern period, 1500 society of friends -apologetic works. 2007-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-04 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-09 john latta sampled and proofread 2008-09 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion αποκρυπτα αποκαλυπτα velata quaedam revelata : some certain , hidden , or vailed spiritual verities revealed . upon occasion of various very prying , and critical queries concerning god , the devil , & man , as to his body , soul , and spirit . heaven , hell , judgement , &c. propounded to george fox , john perrott , samuel fisher . and after that ( with a complaint for want of , and stricter urgency for an answer ) re-propounded to edward burroughs . by two persons , choosing to notisie themselves to us no other way then by these two unwonted ( if not self-assumed ) titles , viz. livinus theodorus , and sabina neriah . which truths ( as there inspired by the spirit of god ) are here exspired in love to the souls of men . from out of a hole in the gate-house at westminster , through an earthen vessel there imprisoned for the testimony of jesus , known among men by the name of samuel fisher . london , printed for robert wilson , 1661. these returns to the letter , and replies to the queries here ensuing , were in no wise written at first with any purpose of publishing them so generally as at the press : but with particular respect to the satisfaction of those two private querists onely , viz. l. t. & s. n. who have ( on their part ) so privily all along managed the matter of their enquiry , that we can truly say ( notwithstanding our express desires to them of such a thing ) we cannot learn to this very day , by any hint to us ( as from themselves ) distinctly either who , or what , or whence , or where they are ; their letters bearing no date from any sign or place , whereby we might be put into a capacity to come unto any outward cognizance of , or acquaintance with them ; and themselves not willing ( for ought i see ) to be known to us either by their faces , or by the places of their abode , but onely by these two ( i will not say hypocritical , but ) aenigmatical names of livinus theodorus , sabina neriah . but so it was , that they never sending at all for our answer to their queries to that person nominated by themselves , with whom it was left for them at their own request * , but about five or six weeks after it was made ready for them , propounding their queries all over again verbatim to e. b. together with not onely expressions of greater earnestness , and sharper eagerness after an answer , but also a letter of complaint against us three , g. f. j. p. s. f. as either nilling or neglecting , and not at all regarding to gratific our friends ( as they style themselves ) in a matter of so grand importance ; and lastly , they not yet coming , nor so much as sending to me for it , though in a letter left for them , and carried to them by their messenger , it was long since signified to them , that it lies by me for them , if they would either call themselves , or send for it to me by any that might signifie to me where any of us ( as occasion is ) may speak with either of them ; their messenger also intimating ( as i hear ) that their expectation and desire now is of seeing something printed as in answer to them ; i held it meet , in no less love to their souls ( who e're they are ) and even to the souls of all men , then to my own , to commit and commend this long since written reply in print to their or any other persons , whether private , or publick perusal , in such manner and form as hereafter follows . s. f. some certain , hidden , or vailed spiritual verities revealed , &c. friends , you , who ( tam masculiné , quam foemininé , and that ( as may well seem , at least to some ) mendaciter & fictitiè potius , quàm veraciter & sincerè ) subscribe your selves ( respectively ) by these two more latine , greek , and hebrew , then engl●sh names ( which are significative of a nature and state which your selves are short of ) of livinus theodorus , and sabina neriah . i have seen your thirteen queries propounded to g. f. j. p. and my self , or either of us , together with your ( seeming sympathetical ) preface to them , wherein ( after an acknowledgement of our ministry as such , whereby people may be brought into a posture or frame of spirit , in which they may be capable to receive the mystery of godliness , which ye believe also by the light within us , to be in a great measure elucidated unto us ) you express your selves in some other particulars in such wise , as gives me occasion ( by way of preface to my answer ) to premise something as to them . you intimate of the things exhibited to us in your questions , that they are matters of such weight , that the consideration thereof hath oft much reflected upon your spirits , so that you have gone sometimes to our assemblies in hopes to hear discourses of such like , as being of great concernment , and very pertinent for every one to know ; but though ye have heard us promising felicity and consolation in the creatures obedience , and threatning judgement and misery in its disobedience ; yet we never explicated ( so as to your satisfaction ) when , where , and in what manner they must of necessity participate of the one or the other . hereupon , and for other reasons by you alledged , viz. the profitableness of writing above verbal discourses , as in which things discussed are more subject to be obliviated , wrested , perverted , and the intellect more obnubilated , then in the other ( which all are reasons of little cogency ( if there were no other ) to enforce me to answer the curiosity of your itching minds in this case , sith i well know , that in the power and spirit of god , truth may be unfolded both much more , and to many more also , that are of open and honest hearts , in one hour by word of mouth , then it can by the writing of many days , to men , who have ( pruritum cognoscendi ) more desire meerly to know , then mind to do what good is already known : i say ( as you say also ) that ( causis superius ) you present to us the following queries in writing , in order to receiving a satisfactory answer in the same way of writing hoping it will not be offensive , sed potius cum delectatione accepta , ( but acceptum ye should have said , had ye heeded what ye wrote ) promising in case ye do receive our answer in plain , honest , down-right words , ye will be obliged not onely to acknowledge your selves to be our friends , but , us also to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and be ready to acknowledge the truth of our principles before , or to any that you shall hear oppose us . now truly friends , here are ( not a few ) very fair pretences and seeming shews of simplicity , but yet ( latet anguis in herbà ) there is an eye ( that is not evil neither , but pure and single ) which sees more of the serpent , then of the saint in all this , and in the queries that follow after it ; and more of that subtilty of the enemy , then of that simplicity that is in christ , whose meat and drink it was to do the wil made known , whilst the other feeds , no higher then on that dust of desiring to know , and discourse of those many truths , which he never minds , nor means that they shall have so much influence upon his heart , or dominion over him in his life , as to order him rightly according thereunto , in either the one , or the other : whereupon we could very well excuse our selves ( as to the lord ) if we should answer you no otherwise , then by answering you not a word : and for my own part , though it is not at all offensive to me ( if it never prove so to your selves ) yet ( as delightful as ye take it to be to us to be presented with your queries , wherein ye shew your own delight to be in minding things too high for you , or for any but such whose dwelling hath been long in the deep , before ye are truly come to be well acquainted with the first principles of the oracles of god within your selves ) i take as little delight in , as i do offence at your own , or any ones presentments of this kind , it being altogether as endless , as it 's easeless , and well-nigh as useless for us , as it 's utterly reasonless for you , or any to engage us to it , or expect it from us , that we ( who , howbeit ye , who come but sometimes to our meetings ( as ye say ) have seldom heard us have so abundantly opened the truth in those very points concerning god and man , as to his body , soul and spirit , heaven , hell , the holy city , the day of the lord , and the eternal judgement ; and so long directed people to that true light which onely gives the knowledge of all these very things ye enquire after ; and this not onely by our verbal discourses , but also in our books , which are extant in all places to the publike view of all persons ) should condescend to exercise our selves stil in writing the same o're and o're again , to gratifie every two or three single persons in private , in order to the feeding of every airy fancy , which would fain furnish it self for windy discourse thereof , with notions and comprehensions of those weighty truths of god , which it's fitter for wise men to wait in silence on the lord for the feeling the truth of , within themselves , in that light , out of which they can never be known , then in a flood of words to stand questioning and replying one to another about them , and which ( though it 's very pertinent , and also necessary , yet ) it 's not more pertinent , nor necessary for every one to know , then it 's necessary for every one , that would know them in truth , to know them by the manifestation of the spirit of truth , which leads into all truth , within himself , there being no dispensation nor administration either below or beyond that of the spirit in man , and the inspiration of the almighty , that gives that wisdom and understanding , whereby onely they , and all soul saving truths can be discerned : so that it may be truly said of christ ( the true light , who in measure enlightneth every man ) as in order to the knowledge of god , a man's self , and all other matters y● query about : si christum nescis , nihil est si catera noscis ; si christum noscis , nihil est si ●aetera nescis . ye have moses and the prophets within , viz. this written spoken , manifested in you , quod tibi ne vis fieri alteri ne feceris , and ( retro ) whatever ye would that men should do unto you , do ye even so to them ▪ this ( saith christ ) is the law , or moses and the prophets ; but if ye will not be admonished nor perswaded by moses and the prophets , neither will ye be perswaded by such of us , who were once dead in sin with you , but are now risen to life by the power of god , which is his light , and in the same sent to speak unto you from the dead . and as for your owning or disowning of us to any such , as before you shall oppose us , it 's little to us , if ye own us to be of the truth , unless ye come together with us into union with it ; for we know ( whether ye confess to , or deny us ) that we are of god , & that the world lieth in that wickedness that cuts off from him ; and that we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , such as hold forth that infallible everlasting truth of god , which hath very amply revealed to us of its secrets ; which truth needs no man at all to plead for it ( for it pleads both for it self , and for its children ) much less such as seem to side with it without in words , yet indeed resist the power of it in themselves : if ye be so wise as to submit to the teachings of it , ye shall be wise to yourselves , & to the salvation of your souls ; but if you sleight or scorn it , so as to seek or seem to be above it , ye alone must bear it , in the judgement of it . to conclude , though as one of this worlds fools may ask much more then many a wise man in christ may think fit to answer to ; so one that is a fool for christ , may answer much more truth then many of the wise men of this world may think fit to acknowledge to be satisfactory ; yet , that ye may not think , i say , that ye may not think we forbear to reply upon the account of any such difficulty or depth in your questions , as transcends the capacity of those ye dealwith , whom ye deem ( for all your owning them as above others ) not a little inferior to your selves , and that ( like the sluggard , who is wiser in his own eyes then seven men that can render a reason ) ye may not grow more prudent , then pudent , as many are apt to do in their own conceits , so as to judge them altogether unanswerable , if your questions lye unanswered altogether , in at least some more hopes of your conviction and conversion by us , then fear of your contradiction , or confutation of us , i return to your following queries , as hereafter follows . query 1. what is god really in himself , without any definition ? and in what did he dwell , and manifest himself before the foundation of the heavens and the earth was laid ? answer 1. god , as he is really in himself , is beyond all definition of ours at all , being not determined to his hic & hunc , as all created beings are , being ( as to time and place ) nec definitivé , nec circumscriptivé in either ; but , if speaking by way of such description as those have made of him , who have seen and known him , may , de facto ( as de jure , it ought to do ) amount to the satisfaction of your prying minds , which would fain be intruding into things which ye have not seen . i answer , god , ( whatever more he is , that 's nothing to us , quae supra nos , nihil ad nos , the secret things of himself , are onely to himself , whose mind in all things absolutely , who hath known ? but things reveal'd onely to us , to speak of , and to our children ) is really in himself , whatever he hath at any time , in and by his son , revealed himself to be , in and to his holy prophets , and children ; and whatever they in all ages ( as moved by him so to do ) have declared him to be , whether by word of mouth , or scripture : and so whatever ye there read , god is , that god is really , indeed , and in truth , ( viz. ) a spirit , light , love , that one , omnipotent , all-sufficient , spiritual , substantial , living , everlasting , infinite subsistence , which hath his own being of himself , and gives being , life , breath and all things unto all , in whom we and all mankind , who are his off-spring , both live , move , and have our being . howbeit , there is not in every man , no not in all those that read of him there , and can speak of him ; what they there read , the true knowledge of him so , or so to be ; for they onely truly know him to be this or that , who witness him truly to be this or that to , and within themselves ; & those know him not , who ere they are , that prate this and that of him ( like pyes and parrets , which may be taught verba nostra conari ) yet come not to find and feel him so to be , as they say of him , by feeling after him in his own light , by which he draws nigh to , and is not far from every one of us ; by which ( in ommbus aliqualiter , though not aequaliter ) in some measure , though not the same measure , he manifests something of himself in every conscience , and by which in , and to such as love him , and keep his commandments given out in the same , he manifests himself in such wise as he will not do to the world ; yea , in such wise that they can experimentally say he is so or so , by what they see concerning him , and are made fully sensible of in themselves ; in such wise that they have the witness of it in themselves , and can set to their seal , that god is , and that he is true , good , merciful , faithful , just , righteous in taking vengeance ; that he is a judge , a protector , a saviour , a redeemer , and whatever else he is said to be , even of a truth ; yea in such wise as to say with job , i know that my redeemer liveth : with mary , my spirit rejoiceth in god my saviour : with paul , we are saved by his grace ; christ liveth in me , &c. whenas whoever thinks or sayes he knows god , because he can say something of him at second hand , in a form of words , and the same truth ( perhaps ) which he reads written of god in their scriptures , who declare no more of him , than what their own eyes , ears , and hands , do see , feel and handle of him ( as we do , and they did , who wrote of old that holy scripture ) and yet know him not nigher hand , in that which is of himself , within their own hearts , even that by which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not onely whatsoever is known of god at all , but also whatever is to be known of him , or knowable at all , is manifested in him , rom. 1. 19. he deceives and mistakes himself ; and whate're he thinks he knows of god , he knoweth nothing yet of him , or of ought else , as he ought to know , therefore saith the wisdom of god , 1 cor. 1. 21. in the wisdom of god , the world by wisdom knew not god. and 1 john 2. 4. he that saith , he knoweth god ▪ and keepeth not his commandments , is a lyar , and the truth is not in him . and to such wise sayers and knowers as these ( and such were the scribes , who were ever scraping in the scriptures to find god , and his life ; yet never knew him at any time , nor saw his shape , because they heard not his voice , nor heeded his word in themselves , joh. 5 37. ) god saith , though ye say , god lives , yet as i live ye swear falsly . and why falsly ? was not that a truth , that god lives ? yes , but not a truth truly testified unto by them , ( any more then what is testified in foro hominum , in mens courts , by such as being not eye-witnesses thereof , have it onely by hear-say from others ) because they witnessed to it but in stoln words , which they had , and heard from such , who knew him to live , while themselves knew him not to live within themselves . whereas therefore ye query , what god really is in himself ? as god saith of himself , i am that i am ; so say i , deus est id quod est ; god is what he is : and if ye , who by your asking of u● , profess your selves to be yet ignorant of him , and so to worship ( if yet ye worship him at all ) an unknown god , as the wise athenians did , would know him in any measure , as he is really in himself ; my counsel to you is , to stand still in his own counsel , namely , his light in your own consciences , that in that you may be led forth into his life and likeness , even into the image of his son , the light of the world , the righteous , pure , meek , innocent , gentle , loving , peaceable , in offensive , merciful , compassionate , tender , patient lamb of god , that takes away the sin of it , who is the express image of the father , in that light that manifests him , and all things ( for whatever is manifest , is manifested by the light ) wait for his appearing in his own spirit and power to restore his own image in your hearts ; that as he appeareth , ye may appear with him in his glory , which is fulness of grace and truth , being transformed into his image from glory to glory , by the operation of his holy spirit , that as he appeareth , ye may be like him , and so see him as he is ; then shall ye know the lord , if ye thus follow on to know him , whose goings forth are prepared as the morning to meet those that meet him in his light , by which he shineth into our hearts , to give the light of the knowledge of his own glory , in the face of jesus christ . finally , in answer to the latter part of this your first query , i say , that light which god now is ( whom no such eye as you look after him with , who ask counsel of man only concerning him , and not of himself alone , either hath seen , or can see ) that same light he ever was : and in that light in which he now is , and dwells , ( which is unapproachable by every evil-doer , who hates the light , which is come into him to save him , neither comes into it , lest by it his deeds should be reproved , and which he who doth truth comes to , that his deeds may be made manifest to be wrought in god ) in that god was , and did dwell from everlasting ; and as the outward sun is not seen by any other natural light , save that which shines from it self in the outer world : so god neither is , nor can be seen by any other spiritual light save that which shines from himself , into the inner world of men's hearts : and in that light in which god doth now manifest himself , in the same did he manifest himself ( if yet it be proper so to ask , and so to answer , as concerning him ) before time was , and before there was any creature extant , to take cognizance of him by such a manifestation , even before the foundation of the heaven and earth was laid . qu. 2. whether is there a manifestation of god in every thing that hath a life , motion and being , in this outward creation ? and whether is a creature to expect ever to know god under any other dispensation or administration , further then by the manifestation of the spirit of god in him , which is given to , & c. ? ans . this second query stands in two parts , to the first of which i answer , yes , as 't is said , deo plena sunt omnia : est deus in nobis , agitante calescimus ipso : and not onely so , but also , quaelibet aquae guttula , quaelibet terrae globula , praesentemque refert , quaelibet herba deum . to the second , i answer , nay ; there is no other way , dispensation , or admininistration , in , or under which a creature is to expect to know god , further then by the manifestation of the spirit of god in him ; for it is written , rom : 1. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( that is ) whatever is to be known of god , is manifest in men , for god doth shew it in them . qu. 3. whether are the spirit of god , the spirit of man , and the spirit of the devil , three distinct spirits ? ans . yea , the spirit of god , the spirit of the devil , and the spirit of man , are three distinct spirits . qu. 4. whether be they essentially impregnated in man ? if so , when , and after what manner were the said spirits infused into him ? ans . in this query there is a fallacy , called , a bene divisis ad male conjuncta ; i. e. a question asked of many things together , which ( in some sense at least ) may be truly affirmed of some of them , but cannot be affirmed of them all : i answer therefore , they are not all three ( as your query seems to intimate ) essentially impregnated in man ; neither are they all three de esse homini ; for first , as to the spirit of god , a man may remain a man , i. e a man of the earth ( as to his essentials ) when the spirit of god which was once given him , is ( as david prayed it might not be from himself ) no less then totally taken from him ; therefore god's spirit is not essentially impregnated in man. and as to the spirit of the devil , man was ( quod esse ) truly and formally man , before the spirit of the devil did prevail to enter him , and will be so again , when that unclean spirit is again ejected and cast out of him , quod potest vel adesse , vel abesse , sine subjecti interitu quoad suum esse , hoc non est de essentia huic subjecto : that which may be differently , either in , or not in any subject , without the destruction of that subject , as to its essential being , is not essential to the being of it : but so may be either god's spirit , which is god's gift to man , after he is truly man , or the devil's spirit , which may be cast forth of man , and yet man truly remain man : therefore neither of these are essentially impregnated in him . as to the second part of this fourth query , wherein you ask , when , and after what manner the said spirits were infused into man ? it 's of so little consequence to know , that it 's well nigh as frivolous for one wise man to enquire after it , as 't is impertinent and unprofitable for another to resolve it ; and therefore as to the two spirits of god and the devil , neither of which two are essential to man ( as his own spirit ( in some kind at least ) may be said to be , of which there is more hereafter spoken ) i say onely this , namely , as to that of god , quaerendum est potiùs , quomodo in bono illo spirits ambulemus , quàm quomodo in nos d●…erit . and as to that of the devil , thus , quarendum est potiùs , quomodo ex malo isto evadere possimus , quam quomodo in nos invaserit . query . 5. what is the spirit of man in it self ? is it natural , yea or nay ? is it mortal or immortal ? and whether hath it a being distinct from the body ( when expired ? ) if so , how , and where , clearly demonstrate . qu. 6. whether is there a soul in man distinct from the said spirit ? if yea , what is it ? and where is its present scitnation in man ? ( plainly manifest it distinguishable ) and whether ( after the decease of a man ) it hath a being apart from the body ? if yes , where ? and whether in that state it be sensible either of consolation and happiness , or torment and sorrow ? and after what manner shall it enjoy the one , or have the other inflicted upon it ? qu. 7. whether is it possible for the soul of man to live without a body ? if not , into what body doth it betake it self ? or how is it propagated to eternity . qu. 8. what is its properties and operations ? and what were them souls spoken of in the revelations , which john said he saw crying under the altar ? and what is that altar ? and where did he see it to be ? and whether had them souls bodies ? if yea , what bodies were they ? ans . as to this fifth query , wherein you are busie , high-flown , cl●mbering , and over-curious in querying , what the spirit of man is ; and whether natural , mortal , or immortal ? and whether it hath a being when the body is expired ? if so , how , and where , &c. with which fift query , not onely the latter part of the fourth , but also the whole sixth , seventh and eighth ( wherein ye are as critically inquisitive , running out into various quirks , quiddites , and quomodities about the soul , as quae ? quid ? ubi ? qualis ? quando ? quibus auxilijs ? cur ? under which forms of querying , one pragmatical spirit may ask more questions then many wise men may find either while , or will , or good ground to reply to ) are so far co-incident , that one cannot be well clearly answered without the rest , i say thus , both unto it , and to the rest , viz that man ( as god at first made him ) was a creature consistent of these three , namely , body , soul and spirit ; each of which the apostle prayes on the behalf of them ( as in the saints ) that they might be kept blameless to the coming of our lord jesus * . each of which , though concurrent with the rest , to the compleat making up of that one compositum , or creature called man ( as god at first made him ) are yet distinct in themselves , and separable the one from the other . first , as for the outward earthly body , which was framed of the dust of the outer earth , into which dust , ( as into its first principle ) it must once return ; that is , but the earthly tabernacle , in which the soul , ( which is in truth more the man , than it is ) dwells , and hath its place of residence , and scituation for a time . as for the soul , of which i say it s so distinct from the body , and from the aforesaid spirit also , is that it 's possible to have a being , not only in conjunction with , but also after its separation from them both , of which you ask , where is it's scituation in man ? i answer , if ye query ( as ye seem to do ) of its local scituation , it is plainly scituated in the body , which is a receptacle fitted for it , and is the outward organ , which it animates , which , and in , and by which it acts , while it is in it ; which soul is that life of the body which is truly enough by the very philosopher defined to be , actus corporis organici , quatenus est organicum , whose definition of it is answer in part sufficient to your query concerning its properties and operations . 2dly , and if ye ask , whereabout , or in what part of the body the soul is scituated ? i say , it is quid totum in toto , & totum in qualibet parte , wholly in the whole , and wholly in every part of the body : but if ye ask after other then a local scituation , i say , the soul , which is by christ styled the man's self , and is so more than the outward carcase , ( compare matth. 16. 26. with luke 9. 25. ) and is a more noble part of the man than the other is ; it is scituated [ naturally ] between two natural ones , viz. the outward earthly body , and the inward heavenly spirit of man ; as it is [ spiritually ] between two spiritual opposites , viz. the impure corrupt flesh , and the pure incorruptible spirit ; which ( as contraries ) do lust in fallen man , the one against the other . and as to its having a being , a part from the body , after the decease of the body , or of the man , so far as to his outer body , i affirm it hath ; and though in your dark minds , ye doubt the possibility of its being without a body , and therefore feign a certain transmigration of it of necessity into some other body , when it comes to pass out of its own ; yet i deny , that as a meer pythagorean dream : it 's not necessary , that it must betake it self into some other body , when it departs from its own , in order to its propagation to eternity ; for it is immortal as to any utter annihilation ( howe're it may die by sin , from god , who is the truest life thereof , and so cease to be such a living soul , as at first he made it ) and because immortal , therefore i● its nature eternal , i. e. never ceasing to have same being or other , either good or evil to all eternity . and since ye ask , if so , where ? i answer ; if ye mean as to a local circumscription , it 's as improper as impertinent so to ask , sith the soul which is a spiritual body , and so ( as christ the second man , the lord that spirit also is ) a spirit as well as a body is not in loco circumscriptivé at all : but if by where ? ye intend ( as by the following words ye seem to do ) in what state , namely , a state of bliss , or a state of torture ; that may fall out to it indifferently , to be either so or so , according to that condition of distance and alienation , or of nearness and conjunction , that it stood in , to either god's spirit , or the devil 's , at the time of its departure from the body . and whereas it 's queryed , whether in that state of separation from the body , it can be sensible either of consolation and happiness , or torment and sorrow ? i answer , yes , why not ? ( it being a spirit ) as well as other spirits , viz. the devils , who were most afraid of going into their torment , when they saw themselves ready to be cast forth into the deep , out of the bodies of those two men whom they once possessed ; and the unclean spirit , which when he is cast out of man , whom he once acted in , to his own content and pleasure , walks through dry places , seeking rest , but finding none , unless he can re-enter into his house , out of which he was ejected : and the souls under the altar ( of which ye are more critical in querying , than i shall be careful in answering to that curious mind that would fain know what it cannot know , or if it could , it must not ; which souls are said to cry for vengeance on their adversaries , and therefore were sensible of the wrong sustained from them , and yet were souls , existent in an actual separation from , and without their bodies , being the souls of such whose bodies had been slain for the testimony of jesus . 3dly . as to the spirit of man , which is the best , highest , and most noble of the three aforesaid , which concurs to the constituting of man in his primitive perfection , it is that breath of life , which god breathed into his soul after he had formed him ( as to his body ) of the dust of the earth , whereby he came to be a living soul ; a soul that did partake of something of god's own life ; whereby it did live in his sight ; this is that living principle of the divine nature , which man did before his degeneration , and shall again after his regeneration , partake of ; in respect of which , he was , and shall be again ( as he takes heed to come into union with it , and thereby to recover to his first estate ) called the son of god , as adam was before he fell ; and in respect of which he is said ( principally ) to be made after god's own image , and to be the very image and glory of god ; this is that incorruptible , immortal seed of god , which whoever comes to witness himself brought forth into the likeness of , is said to be born of god , to be of god , to be the child of god , that doth righteousness , and sinneth not , which who so doth is of the devil : this is that breath of gods own immediate breathing into man , that spark of life from him , who is the eternal word , which was with god , and was god , in whom was the life , and his life was the light of men , which shineth in the darkness , in the dark places of their earthly hearts , who by the fall are gone out from it into the lust , but the dark soul comprehends it not : this is that heavenly part , or spirit of man infused into him from above , which lusteth against the corrupt flesh , and against that evil spirit that hath entred into him , that lusteth to envy : this is that which mounts upward , and strengthens such souls as stay by it to mount upward with wings as eagles , towards him from whom it comes , while the earthly part both tends and draws the soul downward , so that in respect of that spirit of man it may be most truly said of god in his first making of man , os homini sublime dedit , coelumque videre . this is that noble , royal , righteous , holy seed , which while man was at first born , made , created and planted after the nature and image of , he was said to be planted a noble vine ; wholly a right seed , till by being alienated , separated , and estranged from it into his earthly part , he became a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto the lord , a seed of evil-doers , that are never more to be renowned , unless they come again to be born of this holy seed , which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from above , of this spiritual part , or spirit in man ( which gives him the heavenly wisdom , which the wisdom of the flesh , that is from beneath , and but earthly , and animal , and diabolical , is enmity against ) and of this breath of life , or inspiration of the almighty , which gives understanding by which he comes again to be a tree of righteousness , a plant of the lords renown , the seed of the kingdom , the royal seed , that right seed , that holy seed , which is the substance of the oak when the leavs fall off the true man that god made , who in the doing of his will abideth ever , when the spirit of the lord shall have blown away all flesh , and all that mankind that is become the seed of the serpent , the generation of the viper , so that it shall wither as the grass , and come to nought as the flower of the grass , which to day is , and to morrow is cast into the oven : finally , such a living soul as man at first became , when god first breathed into him this breath of spiritual life , to live and dwell in his life , light and presence , when the souls that live in sin , and are alienated from his life through the blindness of their hearts , must die for ever , and ever perish from the light of his countenance . this spirit of man is the very principle of spiritual life to his soul , as the soul is the principle of natural life to his body ; whereby as that becomes a living body through the union of it with the soul ; so the soul respectively becomes a living soul , through its vnion with the said spirit . these three are the three principles , after which the man is respectively , and differently denominated , sometimes after the one , sometimes after the other , prout occasio requirit . in respect of the earthly body of which he is formed , man is denominated , 1 cor. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , earthly , and is said to bear an earthly image , and hath his name adam , accordingly , which by interpretation is red earth . in respect of the soul he is denominated animal , an animal man , soully , or but sensual ( as abstract from the aforesaid spirit , jude 19. these are they who are sensual , or ( as the greek word is ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i. e. animal , having not the spirit , 1 cor. 15. there is a natural body , or ( as the greek word is ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there is an animal body , 1 cor. 2. the natural man , or as the word is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i e. the animal man perceiveth not the things of the spirit ; so also james 3. the wisdom from beneath , which only the soul is capable of , without the said spirit , which gives that wisdom from above , which is pure , peaceable , &c. is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , earthly , sensual ; i. e. animal , and devilish . in respect of his spirit , and as he is denominated after that , which is in conjunction with the spirit of god , that imparts it to him , he is said to be a spiritual man , discerning the things of the spirit , which the animal man doth not , and discerning others who are but animal , while himself remains undiscerned , by them who are below him , 1 cor. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 1 cor. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . and as to your asking concerning the spirit of man , whether it be natural or no ? i answer , that it is natural , i. e. pertaining to the very nature of that man which god first created , and of the man of god which to that primitive nature is restored ; for howbeit it is of the divine nature , and so supernatural , as in reference to man in the fall , who is of the devils marring , yet to the constitution of such a man as god at first made after his own image , and glory , to partake of his own divine nature , it is natural : and though it is as natural to man instatu corrupto , to sin , and break the law of god , as for a natural bruit beast to drink in water ; yet to that man , who is god's image and glory , by participation of the divine nature , it is as natural ( as it was to christ , whose meat and drink it was to do gods will , as also it is to the meer natural man to eat and drink outwardly ) to observe his law : and therefore such as obey the law , are said by nature to do the things contained in the law that is by that nature which man was at first created after , which is the divine nature , which the saints are again according to gods promise partakers of , 2. pet. 1. otherwise , if ye speak of that nature of the devil , vvhich by sin man hath to himself contracted since his departure from the other , it is as contrary to that nature to do good , as it is contrary to the other to do evil ; and this is that nature by vvhich the saints themselves , till they vvere saved by gods grace , and quickned back again into the other , are said to be ( eph. 2. ) the children of wrath as well as other ; and those sinners vvho have lost the first nature , are said there upon to be without natural affection , i. e. without such bovvels of mercy , pitty , love , and compassion to their own flesh , and fellow-creatures , as they had vvhile they stood in the first nature . and vvhereas ye ask above in the fourth query of this spirit of man , as vvell as of god's and of the devil 's ; whether or no it is essentially impregnated in man ? i ansvver , that it is essential ; that is , pertaining to the very being ( and that constitutivé ) of the man aforesaid , viz. that man of god , vvhich vvas of gods first creating , or is of gods renewing back again into his own nature , image and glory ; yea , so , as that such a man cannot possibly be without it , though it is spiritual in it self , and so neither natural ( as is said before ) nor essential , either constitutive , or consecutive to the being of that man , that is in the transgression and alienation from god , and so degenerated from primitive manhood , into no better state than that of the beast of the field , which is his figure . and whereas ye query , whether the said spirit of man is mortal or immortal ? i answer , it is immortal , and neither mortal nor corruptible , but that immortal and incorruptible seed of god , even something of that living word , which is said to be made flesh , and to dwell in the saints , that is said to be ingrafted or put into man's heart , whereby he being begotten into the will of god , is said to be born of god , and the son of god ; which principle , or innate word , being received with meekness , saves that soul from sin , and so from the second death , as it stands in union and conjunction with it ; which word is called ( james 1. ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and is said to be made flesh , and to dwell in the saints , john 1. as their life . and whereas ye ask , whether this spirit of man hath a being distinct from the body , when expired ; and if so , how and where ? i answer , it hath a being distinct , not onely from the body , when deceased ; but from the soul also when expired ; which spirit is quick , powerful , and quickning ; and searching the soul in its secrets , and piercing so unto the marrow and reins , that all things are naked and bare before it , and nothing hid from its sight ; whereupon it is said of this spirit of a man , prov. 20. 27. it is the candle of the lord , searching into the inmost parts of the belly : this is that candle whereby the lord doth search jerusalem it self ; this is that spirit of a man of which it 's said , who knoweth the things of a man , save the spirit of man that is in him ? as none knoweth the things of god , but the spirit of god , and he to whom the spirit of god reveals them , which is onely to the spiritual man ; who by his union with that light of god in himself , which flowes from the life , comes to be god's own image and glory , which all his begotten ones do bear , whose glory is seen to be that of the son of god , which is fulness of grace and truth . and howbeit , the body and soul both may perish , as they seperate from this spirit , yet it lives and abides for ever , together with all that doth the will of god made manifest in it . this is that in respect of which , man regenerated by it , is man indeed , such a one as in reference to whom , man in the fall is but the beast of the field , as much falling short in the highest of his meer animals of the spiritual man , as the outward beast of the field doth of him who is meerly animal ; for man at his best estate , abstract from this , even every man is altogether vanity , and a lye ; yea , man in honor separated from that understanding which comes from this , is but as the beasts that perish : and men who seperate themselves from it in their sensual or animal understanding , so as not to have the spirit , must ( for all their airy notions in the sensual part ) once know themselves to be but beasts , or men by the halves ; this is that spirit of a man which is able to sustain and bear all his infirmities ▪ but if it be wounded by man's sin , who can bear it ? prov. 18. 14. this is that spirit of man that goeth upwards , and draweth the soul upwards toward god , from whom it is breathed into man ; when the spirit of the beast , or bruitish man goeth downward to the earth from whence it came , and draws downwards , even to the chambers of death , and the depths of hell. this is that , of which while ye ask how , and where it hath a being ( if so at all ) distinct from the body ? i answer in the words of wisdom it self , eccles . 12. that at the dissolution of the compositum , or whole man , which consists of the three aforesaid , each from the other , then the body returns to the dust from whence it came ; and the said spirit returns up to god that gave it : and that soul together with it , that hath stood in the counsel of it ; while that soul which the body dyes from , while they both lived together in sin dyes both from it , and from god that gave it , for ever ; and is left naked , and divested both of its own body , and its own spirit also , and lyes in separation not onely from both these , but also from god , and his good spirit tormented among all evil spirits for ever . query 9. what , and where is that heaven in which it 's said god doth dwell ? is it above the firmament , or must a creature wait to know it manifest in him , and not otherwise ? ans . heaven , is the highest place in either outward and local , or inward and spiritual scituation , and therefore it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . the heaven in which its said god dwells , is neither onely above the firmament , nor onely under the firmament , but both above it , and below it , and even every where ; where he manifests himself in his love and mercy , goodness , grace and glory : and as he dwells in no place , so as to be any where ( circumscriptively ) included , so in every place ; he is so , as to be no where at all excluded . so that if ye ask , whether it is above the firmament onely ▪ and not otherwise ? i say , no ; for it is also under the firmament , or else the son of man could not have been truly said to be in heaven ( as he is john 3. ) in that self-same juncture of time , wherein he was standing bodily , and speaking to nicodemus here on earth ; neither could the beast be said ( as he is , rev. 13. ) to blaspheme the saints that dwell in heaven , if they were not in heaven whilst here on earth ; for even he and his worshippers ( superstitiously ) adore whatever they deem to be above the skies , and blaspheme it not . likewise the apostles dwelling ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) was in heaven , phil. 3. whilst they were bodily here on earth . therefore heaven is as well under , as above the firmament ; yea , it is in very deed in his peoples hearts , in every humble , broken and contrite spirit . and whereas ye ask , whether a creature must wait to know it in himself onely , and not otherwise ? i say , not so neither ; for heaven shall be manifest , and known not onely inwardly in their hearts , who wait for it ; but outwardly also , to such as wait not for it within themselves ( as lazarus bosome was to the rich man's sight afar off ) so far onely as shall tend to the aggravation of their anguish , who shall see themselves shut out everlastingly from sharing in it . to conclude , the heaven , which is god's throne , god's house , god's tabernacle , and the place of his rest , where no lyon , nor any ravenous beast shall be ; where no lyar , nor unclean one , that works abomination , hath any place ; where none of the proud , prying , vulturous eyes can pierce far enough to discern the glory of it ; where no haughty fowles of the air , that are lifted up with the windy wings of their own lofty notions , no high-climbing capernaites , nor thieves and robbers , that are flying about aloft above the door , which is the light within , can ever sore high enough to enter , is not onely that high place , locally scituated above the skies , but that high and holy place also , of a low and humble heart , and a broken and contrite spirit , that trembles at his word ; there he delights to manifest himself , who is the high and lofty one , who inhabiteth eternity , and to make his abode , even in them who are meek and lowly , who dwell on high with him in the hill which he hath chosen ; whose hill is the highest above all the hills , whose jerusalem is his throne , when all the earth besides it , that are foes to him and it , must be as the footstool ; and as no more then ashes under the soles of their feet ; the mountain of whose house is now establishing on the top of the mountains , and exalting it self above all the hills ; so that all nations shall go up unto it ; while the proud and lofty dwel down below , in a low place : the way of life is above , where the upright walk , who are to have dominion over the wicked in that morning that is appearing ; who dwell in hell , which is beneath , and lie in the grave , and in the dust of the earth , where death gnaweth upon their intrals , and feedeth upon them as his prey . query 10. what is hell ? and where is it ? is it a certain local place ? or that , which through the creatures disobedience , is manifested in him ; and that there is no other ? answ . hell is the valley of jehoshaphat , i. e. of the lords judgment ( as the word is in english ) where with fire , and his sword he pleadeth with all flesh , where he easeth himself of his adversaries , and maketh his indignation known to his enemies , whither the lord comes like a whirlewind , to render his anger with fury , and his rebukes with flames of fire ; where the worm that eats in the intrals of the wicked never dies , and the fire is never to be quenched ; the place that is ordained of old by the lord , yea for the king it is prepared i. e. for the devil and his angels , the king of all the devouring crowned locusts , which come up in that smoke that ascends out of the bottomless pit , and darkens the sun and the air , whose name is abaddon , and apollion , i. e. ( in english ) the destroyer . the valley which is also called tophet , or the valley of the land of * benhinnom , tipified by that which was of old about jerusalem ; & is its figure , where men sacrificed their friends through the fire to the idol moleck , which was their god ▪ the pyle where of is fire and much wood , and the breath of the lord , which is his spirit in mens own evil consciences , like a river of brimstone doth feed , and kindle it : this is that valley of jehosaphat , to which ( as much a riddle and mysterie as it may seem to be , to say , come up to the valley ) all the heathen must be awakened and summoned to come up to account out of the dark cells of their own deceitful and desperately wicked hearts , even to that light , which is the least of seeds , and lies lowest under the lust of the world , which is got above it in mens hearts ; yet is in truth the greatest and highest power , and seat of judicature , which whoever resist and rebel against , receive to themselves damnation : this is as a burning within , kindled under all mens fleshly glory , of which ( mean while not denying it to be also a certain local place , as ye speak ) we affirm that it is within in the conscience of every malefactor , or impenitent rebel against the light , where the wrath of god is manifested against sin , and on the creature for its disobedience , where heathenish people , not liking to retain god in their knowledge , nor glorifying him according to what knowledge they have of him , but giving themselves over to vile affections , and to act things that are unseemly , receive ( mark ) within themselves ( as 't is said rom. 1. ) the just recompence of reward , that is meet for their works ; where , as every one whose work is found approved by the light that proves it , hath his rejoicing ( with that joy which the stranger intermeddles not withal ) in himself alone , & not in another , gal. 5. so every one , whose work is reproved by the same , must bear his own burden , which none can ease him of , or take off from him , whoever he is : and this is hell , which is the lake that burns with fire and brimstone , which is the second death , where the fearful , unbelieving , and abominable , have their part , who have no part , nor portion in gods holy city : and ( in answer to the last clause of your sixth query ) this i say is the manner of the consolation and happiness , or torment and sorrow , of which ye ask , after what manner shall the soul ( if it be sensible of either , out of the body ) enjoy the one , or have the other inflicted on it . query 11. what is it in man that must be made sensible of the joy of the one , through obedience , or the torment of the other through disobedience , since what god hath loved , he loves to the end , and the earth must return to the earth , and the spirit to him that gave it . ans . the soul of man is that in man , which when once departed from its body , which it 's the life of , and also from its a foresaid spirit , which is its life , must be made sensible of the consolation through obedience , or of the tribulation through disobedience , as it is written ezek 18. the soul that sinneth shall dye , though the seed of god ( had it kept its union with it ) would have kept it a living soul . so rom. 2. it is written , tribulation and anguish , indignation and wrath , must be upon every soul of man that doth evil ; but glory , honor , and peace upon every soul of man that worketh good , whether they be jews or gentiles . and this with a non obstante to your words of exception at the end of the query , viz. since what god hath once loved , he loves to the end ; which are neither the words of scripture , nor of the truth ; for there it 's said , having loved his own ( which are such onely , who own him in his love ) he loved them to the end ; and this we say is unchangeably so , although this is also as unchangeable a truth of god , who cannot change ; that having from everlasting hated the foreseen subjects of ungodliness , whom he afore unchangeably ordained to be objects of his wrath and condemnation , he hated them unto the end , for as immutably as he loves jacob , which is the righteous seed that is ever blessed ; he hates esau or edom , the seed of evil-doers , which is never to be renowned ; which because it is for ever the border of wickedness , therefore is it the people against whom god hath indignation for ever * . and this notwithstanding also your other words in the query , viz. seeing that the earth must return to the earth , and the spirit to god that gave it : for , as i said above , then doth the evil soul stand most nakedly open to its misery , and sensible of its torment , vvhen it 's divested of that body in which it took its pleasure , and of its spirit vvhich should , could , and vvould have led it once ( but novv it cannot , the gulph being fixed ) to those rivers of pleasure that are at gods right hand for evermore . and as for that soul that is found doing good , its most fully cloathed upon vvith its glorious house from above , and its joy and rest in god , vvhen it 's uncloathed of its house of clay , or earthly body , vvherein it dvvelt in bondage to , and vvas once groaning under the bondage of its ovvn corruption . query 12. what is that city that hath no need of the light of the sun , nor the moon to shine in it , & c. ? and where is its s●●tuation ? and what is that honor and glory , which the kings of the earth must bring into it ? and in what manner must they perform it ? also , how , and when shall they that are saved , be made inhabitants of it . answ . what need ye query this of us , if either ye heeded the light in you , which manifests all things in their proper seasons , to such as wait in it ; or if ye had wel heeded that very scripture either , out of which your query seems to be fetcht , and founded ? where ye may as wel read what that city is that hath no need of the sun to shine in it , as that it hath at all no need thereof , where it 's evidenced to be those saints of god that follow the lamb , who is their light , the new jerusalem which is above , the mother of all the free-born children of god , which is as a bride adorned for her husband , with whom the tabernacle of the lord is , and with whom he dwels ; and as for the scituation of it , is it not expresly said ( as in the vision it was seen ) that it comes down from god out of heaven ? therefore 't is a state here on earth , else also the kings of the nations could not be said to bring the glory of their nations into it ; i. e. to serve it with their glory ; for it is to come to pass , that the kingdom and nation that will not serve thee ( saith the lord , isa . 60. 12. ) shall perish , yea that nation shall utterly be destroyed ) whose glory that they are said to bring into it , or to serve it with , or minister to it withal , is not any of those unlawful , or sinful lusts , pleasures , or licentious liberties , wherein they glory as in their shame ( for as in maximâ libertate est minima licentia , so it 's said , that no unclean thing shall in any wise enter thereinto , neither any thing that desileth , or worketh abomination , or maketh a lie ) but their gain and substance , which the lord himself saith he will consecrate to the god of the whole earth , and to the service of his truth , as they before in their blind minds consecrated it to the service of their lord god the pope , and the setting up of his trashy traditions : for the lamb , who is the light of his holy ones , who are this city , is worthy to receive power , and riches , and wisdom , and strength , and honour , and glory , and blessing , and all created things ; for , for his sake they are , and were created , rev. 5. and for those that are with him on mount syon , who are called , and chosen , and faithful , who are his priests and ministers ( non nomine tantùm tenus ) not in name onely , as the popes and the worlds idol-shepherds are , but ( reapse ) indeed and in truth ; who , as the lord saith , isa . 6. 6. shall eat the riches of the gentiles , and in their glory boast themselves , improving the excellencies of the outward creation in wiser ways , and to much better uses and ends , than such drones as the popes divines , who have devoured the good of all lands , under a meer pretence of serving christ , in the service of their own lusts and bellies . and whereas ye ask , when shall those that be saved be made the inhabitants of it ? i answer , so soon as ever they are saved from the sin , which is that alone that slayes the soul , and seperates it from its part and portion there ; for blessed are they that do his commandments , they have right to the tree of life , and to enter in through the gates into the city , without the which are the dogs , who draw back from the truth , and lick up their old vomit ; who for all their dreaming that they eat and drink in the day while the lord's visitation passeth over them , shall yet wander to and fro for meat , and grud ge that they can never be satisfied ; and at evening when they awake , and see the sun is set upon them , they shall return , and grin like a dog , and go round about the city , but never enter to have any share in it , being clambered up above the door , which is the light. query 13. what are the chains in which the angels ( who kept not their first estate ) are reserved under darkness unto the judgement of the great day ? and where is the place of their confinement ? and what is the great day , and the judgement ? we pray you plainly demonstrate . answ . the chains which the angels who kept not their first estate , are reserved in , are the same under which men , who kept not their first estate , are also reserved under darkness , unto the judgement of the great day , & that is the darkness it self , into which they are both gone forth from the light , which was that habitation they both left , in which they were created to stand , as 't is said , the wicked are captivated in the cords of their own sins , and snared in the works of their own hands , viz. in the deceitful counsels of their own hearts , in their own corruptions , under the bondage of which the whole creation groans , and travels in pain together to be delivered ; out of which bonds , and chains , and fetters , snares , and sore captivity , there is no deliverance for men , who are all to come to judgement , but in christ , who opens the prison-doors , by that spirit by which he went and preached to the spirits which were in prison in the dungeon of egyptian darkness of old in the days of noah ; wherein they remain reserved unto wrath and judgment , which from the lord must first come upon them , as assuredly as ever they sinned , and as unavoidably as travel on a woman with child , which she cannot possibly escape ; and the place of their confinement is where-ever the said rebellions spirits are ; a place not of an outward , local consideration ; for although every spirit is in loco definitivé , and determined to his hic & nunc ( excepting god onely , who cannot be so ) yet a spirit cannot be said to be in loco circumscriptivè . and as for the great day , and the judgement thereof , it is the light of the lord , ( for the light he called day , and the darkness he called night ) and the judgement that the said light layeth to the line , and to the plummet , in every creature that hates and rebels against the light , which ministers condemnation on the transgressor , and reveals from god nothing but vengeance , tribulation , wrath , and anguish , perplexity and disappointment , wo , cursing , and vexation of spirit on every evil spirit , and on every soul of man that is found in evil doing ; the eternal judgement of which day of the lord , is over all the oaks of bashan , and cedars of lebanon , and pleasant pictures , and fenced towers , and high walls , and all mans glory and pomp , which hell now opens her mouth wide to receive & over every one , and every thing that is high and lifted up ; and there can be no declining the judgement of it so , but that ( to versifie to you back again in your own way of latine rime , wherein ye conclude your queries , and i my answer ) you must expect and know , that quod sibi quisque serit praesentis tempore vitae , hoc sibi messis erit , cum dicitur ito , venite . to all your queries above answered , you subjoin thes● two verses . non pudor est quaeri , quae nescis sivé doceri : qui scit laudatur , qui nescit vituperatur . to which i return , and so conclude as follows . non pudor est quaeri , nec quaerere , at usque teneri quaerendo , atque queri est pudor , & nescire doceri . qui fructu crescit scit , quamvis plurima nescit ; is quod scit nescit , qui tantum lumine crescit . qui bene scitque alitur , scit & ut sit gregibus altor ▪ qui malé non aliter , quam ut se scire hoc sciat alter . haud qui sitque satur , facit at qui quod scit , amatur ▪ is , sibi quod datur , per quemque opus hoc operatur : qui scit salvatur , sit at ut scit , & ut scit agatur ; qui sit laud atur , qui ne sit vituper atur . dixi. d omini ei s amuel ervus p iscator . astor . no shame to ask , nor be ask't , but to weary free answerers out with queryings , and to query the same o're , o're , and o're again concerning truths , which they are ever taught , yet never learning , he who knows little , yet bears fruit , knows much , no knowers know that they do know , save such ; such thrive , such know that they may be as mothers , some know but to be known to know by others ; no knower , but the doer of what 's known is lov'd , who works what 's given him as his own ; who knows is sav'd ( this i must needs acknowledge ) yet let him be , and acted be by 's knowledge ; who is what 's by him known's of worth and prais'd , who is not so 's worth nought , despis'd , disprais'd . s. f. what to themselves all men sow now , ( be 't good , or no ) that must each man reap then , when christ shall say , come , go. finis . page 9. line 28. for differently , read indifferently . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a70039-e210 * viz. robert wilson , who together with my self , was then , and is still imprisoned in westminster gatehouse ; where , and from whence also this present answer was written and given forth . notes for div a70039-e800 1 thess . 5. 23. * therefore is hell called by christ , matth. 5. 29 30. and by iames , iam , 3 : 6. in greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vallis hinnom quae alias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 topheth dicitu , ter : 7 : 31 : isa : 30 : 33 : * mal. 1. 4. the cry of the oppressed from under their oppressions, ascending up to him, who will rebuke the oppressor and devourer, and deliver the innocent some of the sufferings of the people of god, called quakers, concerning tythes and oaths, &c. : by the branches which are a new springing forth of the remainder of the bitter root of episcopacy, which yet remaineth unplucked up in the rigid presbytery ... benson, gervase, d. 1679. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a27405 of text r18287 in the english short title catalog (wing b1900). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 84 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a27405 wing b1900 estc r18287 12258018 ocm 12258018 57600 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a27405) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 57600) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 167:10) the cry of the oppressed from under their oppressions, ascending up to him, who will rebuke the oppressor and devourer, and deliver the innocent some of the sufferings of the people of god, called quakers, concerning tythes and oaths, &c. : by the branches which are a new springing forth of the remainder of the bitter root of episcopacy, which yet remaineth unplucked up in the rigid presbytery ... benson, gervase, d. 1679. fox, george, 1624-1691. [8], 33 [i.e. 40] p. printed for giles calvert ..., london : 1656. "to the reader" signed: g.b. "the grounds why tyths once commanded, are now denied; as also why oaths once used, are now laid aside" (p. [8]) signed: ger. benson. with a postscript by george fox, p. 38-33 [i.e. 40]. reproduction of original in yale university library. eng society of friends -great britain. tithes -great britain. oaths -moral and ethical aspects. a27405 r18287 (wing b1900). civilwar no the cry of the oppressed from under their oppressions; ascending up to him, who will rebuke the oppressor and devourer, and deliver the inno benson, gervase 1656 15554 33 0 0 0 0 0 21 c the rate of 21 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2003-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-10 melanie sanders sampled and proofread 2004-10 melanie sanders text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the cry of the oppressed from under their oppressions ascending up to him , who will rebuke the oppressor and devourer , and deliver the innocent . some of the sufferings of the people of god , called quakers , concerning tythes and oaths , &c. by the branches which are a new springing forth of the remainder of the bitter root of episcopacy , which yet remaineth unplucked up in the rigid presbytery . presented to publick view . eccles. 4. 1. so i returned , and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun , and behold the tears of such as were oppressed , and they had no comforter ▪ and on the side of their oppressors there was power , but they had no comforter . eccles. 5. 7. if thou seest the oppression of the poor , and violent perverting of judgement and justice in à province , marvel not at the matter , for he that is higher than the highest , regardeth ; and there be higher than they . london , printed for giles calvert at the black-spread-eagle at the west-end of pauls , 1656. to the reader . reader , christ jesus the true prophet saith , beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps cloathing , but inwardly they are ravening wolves : yee shall know them by their fruits , matth. 7. 15. and was ever such fruit brought fo●th in any age ? and in the 23 of matth. he cryes woe to the hypocrites ; and they were such as devour widows hòuses , and for a pretence make long prayer : and was ever such devouring of the houses of widows ? therefore shall they receive greater damnation . and peter in his 2 epistle , chap. 2. he discribes false teachers to be such as through covetousness , and with feigned words make merchandize of the people ; and was ever such merchandize made of the people ? now these and such like be the fruits of the corrupt tree , and of the false prophets , hypocrites , and false teachers : but the man of god doth flee such things , and doth follow after righteousness , godliness , faith , love , patience , meekness , i tim. 6. 11. and they who were ministers of christ , though they had power to eat and drink , i cor. 9. 4. the labourer being worthy of his meat : yet saith the apostle we have not used this power ; but suffer all things lest we should hinder the gospel of christ : for better ( saith he ) were it for me to die , than that any man should make my rejoycing vain : what then is my reward ? verily , that when i preach the gospel i may make the gospel of christ without charge , that i abuse not my power in the gospel , vers. 18. now these be the fruits of the good tree , and of the true ministers of christ , who saith by their fruits ye shall know them . now reader , with a single eye read the late practices , and some of the fruits of several of the most godly ministers ( as they are called ) in the northren parts of this nation : and let that of god in thee , which calls upon thee to do to all men as thou would be done unto , judge of them by their fruits , whose ministers they are : by their fruits ( saith christ ) ye shall know them : the true minister of christ he used not his power , to take what the power did allow him ; but thou shalt finde that many of these men who are called godly ministers , have not only used their power ( as they call it ) the law of the nation ) but abused their power , and in many particulars exceeded the law : the statute which speaks of treble damages , which is their power , which gives three pence for a peny , which is much , which were they but men , they would not exact , or take more than they call theirs : and were they christians , or ministers of christ , they would not seek their own , but every man anothers wealth , 1 cor. 10. 24 for the ministers of christ did not seek theirs , but them , 2 cor. 12. 14. for the children ought not to lay up for the parents , but the parents for the children : but these have made themselves manifest by their actions that they are no fathers , they are so unnatural ; but cursed children as peter speaks of , 2 pet. 2. 14. and now see the scriptures fulfilled and witnessed , which saith , call to remembrance the dayes that are passed , how that after ye received the light ye indured a great fight in afflictions , partly while ye were made a gazing stock , both by reproaches and afflictions , and partly white ye became companions of them which were so tossed to and fro , and such took joyfully the sooyling of their goods , knowing in themselves , that in heaven a better and more enduring substance was laid up for them : therefore ye despised ones , in whom , and upon whom the scriptures are fulfilled and fulfilling ; who have received the light wherewith christ jesus , the covenant of light and life , hath you enlightened , and in it believed ; cast not away your confidence , which hath great recompence of reward , for ye have nced of patience , that after ye have done the will of god , ye may receive the promise , i or yet a little while , and he that shall come will come , and will not tarry : now the just lives by faith , but if any man draw back , my soul shall have no pleasure in him , saith the lord , but ye are not of them who draw back unto perdition , but of them that believe to the saving of the soul ; in your unity is your strength , and in your faithfulness doth he rejoyce , who is one with you in his measure . g. b. the grounds why tyths once commanded , are now denied ; as also , why oaths once used , are now laid aside . tyths were a command and ordinance of god , and the first priesthood had a command to take tyths of the people according to the law , heb. 7. 5. but the first priesthood being changed , and the second priesthood witnessed , there is made of necessity a change also of the law , vers. 12. and the law being changed , and the commandment disānulled which the first priesthood had to take tyths , vers. 18. tyths of necessity must also be taken away . but it is said , that tyths now are not required as of divine right , but upon a civil accompt . to which it is answered , there is no law in this nation publick that doth give tyths , or require the payment of them to any parson , vicar , or minister , as they are called , upon such an accompt as civil . the law saying , tyths are due to god and holy church , 27 hen. 8. cap. 20. and where no law is , there is no transgression ; and are not they unreasonable men , that require that which the law ( which is reasonable ) doth not allow ? and if there were such a law , how could that law be wholsom , which should set up that which christ jesus the king of righteousness hath disannulled , or write again , the hand-writing of ordinances which he hath blotted out , and to his crosse nailed ? and yet the servant in his place , and who in the house was faithful was worthy of his wage , which was according to the law , and till the time of resormation . but the son is free-born who the heir is , and abides in the house for ever , whose the inheritance is ; and his gift is free , and all who of his gift are made partakers , who is the son of righteousness , they are free indeed ; for freely they have received , and freely they give ( who so readeth let him understand ) yet subjection to every ordinance of man for the lords sake i have learned . for the earth is the lords , and the fulnesse of it ; and therefore if any in authority do take the earth , or any part of it from me , and give it to another , i resist him not , nor any other whom he shall appoint , for ye must needs be subject , not only for wrath , but also for conscience sake , for so have i learned christ , to submit my self to every ordinance of man for the lords sake whose the earth is ; but to put forth my hand to give that which is the lords ( over which he hath made me a steward , and me commanded with my substance to honor him ) i dare not for conscience sake , give that which is the lords to uphold that which he hath abolished and disannulled , for that were to his dishonour : and yet by reason of oppressions the multitude of them , the oppressed cry , and the lord will hear the cry of the oppressed . for because of swearing the land mourneth , jer. 23. 10. yet the servant of the lord swore in truth , in righteousness , and in judgement ; but in the house for ever the servant abideth not , but the son abideth for ever ; who saith , swear not at all , but let your yea be yea , and your nay nay in all your communications , for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil : these things spoke jesus to his friends to whom all things that he had heard of his father he made known : but the servant knoweth not what his lord doth : the servant swore who abode not in the house for ever ; but the son who abides for ever , who doth the will of god , he testifieth what he hath seen and heard , and no man receiveth his testimony , who saith , swear not at all , but he that is of god , joh. 3. 32. and saith the beloved disciple , we have seen , and do testifie that the father sent the son to be the saviour of the world , but the world him hates because he testifies of it ; that the works thereof are evil , joh. 7. 7. he that receiveth the sonstestimony is come out of all oaths and strife the occasion of them , to the yea and nay in all his communications , and hath set to his seal that god is true , and every man alyar that denieth the testimony which god hath given of his son , as all do who are out of his doctrine ; but who abide in the doctrine of christ , their yea is yea , and nay nay in all their communications , and they do the will of god , who his commandments keep , and such shall never be ashamed , but freely they testifie to all of what they have seen and heard : and blessed are they that receive his testimony , in whose mouth there is no guile . and as to witness bearing to the truth , and of it before men , it is according to the doctrine of christ , matth. 18. 16. that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established ; and this was practised amongst the holy men of god , and amongst the saints as the scriputures of truth do declare , which were written for our learning . and of these things they are witnesses who have believed in him who is the light of the world , the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world : of which light he beareth witness , who is called ger. benson . a brief declaration of some of the oppressions and sufferings of those people the world in scorn calls quakers , in the nothern parts , who daily suffer the spoyling of their goods , and imprisonment of their persons , by reason they cannot for conscience sake pay tythes , and other customary dues ( as they are called ) oblations , obversions , easter-reckonings , mortuaries , and such like popish inventions ; so that they are daily drawn before the judgment seats , and required to answer the unjust demands of their accusers , upon their oathes , thereby endeavouring to ensnare them , who for conscience sake cannot swear at all , their souls being made subject to the commands of christ jesus , who saith , swear not at all , but in all your communication let your yea be yea , and your nay , nay , for whatsoever is more than these , cometh of evil . as likewise the names of several others , in other parts of the nation , who are sued for tythes . in the county of cumberland . graystock parish . richard peacock , for tyth of the value of 8 s. 4 d. had taken from him for richard gilpin priest of graystock , one mare apprized by those that took her away at 2 l. 6 s. 8 d. john slee , for tythes of the value of 6 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , one brass pot woth 16 s. the same , for tyth of the value of 14 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , five sheep worth i l. 2 s. 6 d. one of them being another mans . margaret slee widdow , and richard slee her son , for tyth of the value of 8 s. had taken from them for the said priest gilpin , four sheep worth 18 s. agnes buckbarrow , tho buckharrow , and rich. buckbarrow , for tyth of the value of 16 s. had taken from them for the said priest gilpin , one steare worth i l. 16 s. john mark , for tyth of the value of 6 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , seven pewter platters worth a 11 s. the same , for tyth of the value of i l. 3 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , one milch cow , worth i l. ios. john todhunter , for tyth of the value of 1 s 10 d. had taken from him for the said gilpin , one brasse potworth 10 s. the same , for tyth of the value of 4 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , another pot , and two pewter platters , worth 18 s. tho. slee , for tyth of the value of 8 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , two stone of wool worth 14 s. these were taken away by warrant from the justices , upon the oath of a man that lived five miles from some of them , and that knew not their goods , but swore what he heard reported . jo. bewley , for tyth of the value of 19 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , three brasse pots , and five pewter platters worth 4 l. 10 s. iohn sowerby , for tyth of the value of 6 b. had taken from him for the said gilpin , one pot worth 12 s. io: udall , for tyth of the value of 4 s. had taken from him for the said gilpin , one brasse pot , and one pan woth 13 s. 8 d. richard peacock , for tyth of the value of 1 l. 4 d. had taken from him for the said priest , one horse worth 2 l. tho. barker , for tyth of the value of 14 s. 2 d. had taken from him for the said priest , one horse worth 2 l. iohn goodhouse , for tyth of the value of 9 s. had taken from him for the said priest , one mare worth 2 l. all these suffered by the said gilpin , who is a chief priest in cumberland , and a tryar of others . caldb●ck parish , richard hutton priest . william stalker , for tyth of the value of 9 s. had taken from him by justices writ , for the use of the said hutton , two cows and two oxen worth 8 l. 10 s. richard williamsox , for tyth of the value of 5 s. 9 d. was imprisoned several months , and had taken from him , for the use of the said hutton , one heifer worth 35 s. richard nicholson , for tyth of the value of 10 s. which they say was due , had taken from him for the said priest , one cow worth 50 s. iohn nicholson , for tyth of the value of 9 s : had taken from him for the use of the said priest , one ox worth . 33 s. 4 d. tho. bewley , for tyth of the value of 14 s : had taken from him for the use of the said priest , a cow worth 40 s. iohn stricket , for tyth of the value of 10 s. had taken from him for the said preist , one cow worth 30 s. mungo ancock , for tyth of the value of 10 s : had taken from him for the use of the said preist , one heiser worth 26 s : 8 d. iohn pattinson , for tyth of the value of 8 s : 4 d. had taken from him for the use of the said priest , one cow worth 30 s. iohn askne , for tyth of the value of 3 s. 10 d. had taken from him for the use of the said priest , one cow worth 30 s. iohn bewley , for tythes of the value of 19 s. had goods taken from him for the use of the said priest worth 50 s. richard banks , for tythes of the value of 10 s : and 5 s. of it in another priests time , had taken from him for the use of the said priest , pans , pots , and pewter platters worth 21 s. thomas mark , for tyth of the value of 13 s : had taken from him by a justices writ from london , for the said hutton , three cows and two oxen , worth near 10 l. george rothery , for tythes claimed by the said priest , was cast into prison at carlile , and there lay for many months . and from several others was brasse , pewter , and other goods taken at under worth , and carried away at their own rating : these goods and chattle were taken and carried away by warrant from two justices , by which the priests servants entred into mens houses and fields , and took goods according to their own pleasure and carried them away , and the said priest caused some to be killed for his own use , and others to be sold , and the rest he kept . all these suffered by one preist . bolton parish , john forward priest . tho : porter , for tyth of the value of 6 s : 8 d : had taken from him for the said preist , or his farmers , one mare worth 2 l : 13 s : 4 d. iohn wilkinson , for tyth of the value of 4 s : had taken from him for the same , one cow worth 50 s. iohn pattinson , for tyth of the value of 6 s : had taken from him for the same , one cow worth 38 ● : or above . iohn vvilkinson , for tythes prized to a 11 s. by the priests tyth gatherers , who prized the like quantity in another mans hand but to 6 s : had taken from him by them 18 l. weight of brasse , and some pewter , and 100 sheaves of big barley , a great part of that he had : with which injustice some of the justices were acquainted , but no relief could be had . uldale parish , henry fallow-field priest . william caipe . for tyth of the value of 25 s : 10 d : which the priest demanded , had taken from him by the constable and the priest servants , by a warrant from the justices , one mare worth more than 3 l. tho : fell , for 10 s : 4 d : demanded by the priest , had taken from him by the said constable , and priests servants , one mare worth 45 s. iohn caipe , for 5 s : demanded by the priest , had taken from him by the said constable and priests servants , four sheep worth 13 s. mathew caipe , for 17 s : demanded by the priest , had taken from him by the same constable and priests servants , one mare worth 3 l. tho : fell , for 16 s : which the priest swore his tythes worth , had taken from him for the said priest , one cow worth more than 30 s. iohn caipe , for tythes had taken from him brasse at the will of the said priest upon his own oath ; and the said priest had sued many more at the law , and here is the fruit of his ministry . iohn fell elder , for tythes of the value of 23 s : had taken from him for the said priest , 176 pounds of wool . tho : fell , for tyth of the value of 10 s : had taken from him for the said priest , 27 l : of pewter . iohn caipe , for tyth of the value of 12 s : 8 d : had taken from him for the said priest corn and sacks worth 24 s. george scot , for tyth of the value of 9 s : had taken from him three sheep . tho : harrison , for tyth of the value of 9 s : 1 d : had taken from him for the use of george tyball priest of skelton , one pair of cart wheels worth 21 s : 6 d. iohn bank , for tyth of the value of 18 s : had taken from him for the said priest , one pot , one pan , five pewter dishes worth 26 s : 8 d. richard ireland of tho : close , for tyth of the value of 8 s : had taken from him for the use of iohn jackson , priest of hutton in the forrest , one caldron , one pot , one beetle , one pan , two pewter dishes , a pewter sawcer , and one salt-seller , worth 59 s : or more . mungo bewley , for tyth of the value of 14 s : had taken from him for the use of lady fletcher ( so called ) one mare worth 3l . henry loathaise , was sued at the county court , by james steward priest of westward for a tyth pigg , he having a sow which had six piggs , and recovered 10 s : for it , and a and a baliff came into the market and took a sack and one bushel of oates cumberland measure , worth 4 s. james barne , for tythes of the value of 12 s : had taken from him for the use of rowland nichols , priest of aiceton , corn and sacks to the value of 25 s. and upwards . matthew kirkbride , for tyth of the value of 12 d. being a very poor man , had goods taken out of his house worth 12 s. for the use of john pattison priest of kirkbride . peter head of pardsey , for the value of 12 s. had a horse worth 3 l. taken from him . widdow head of pardsey , for tyth of the value of 22 s. had two mares worth 6 l. 10 s. taken from her by a justices writ , for the use of iohn wind. mungo wilson of bugham , for tythes of the value of 7 s. according to the rate of the town , had taken from him by warrant from two justices , one cow worth 40 s. for the use of george fletcher called baronet , or his farmers . rich. whiney , for tythes of the value of 7 s. as aforesaid , had taken from him by the said warrant , one cow worth 37 s. for the use of the said fletcher or his farmers . will. allisin , for tythes of the value of 7 s. as aforesaid , had taken from him for the use of the said persons , one cow worth 36 s. anthony scrugham , for tythes of the value of 3 s. 4 d. as aforesaid , had taken from him , for the use of the said persons , one young colt worth 24 s. james wilson , for tythes of the value of 22 s. as aforesaid , had taken from him for the use of the said persons two oxen and one steare , worth 6 l. 10 s. or more . ellin emmerson , upon having but three geese , had one of them taken from her , for the use of george fletcher , called baronet . alexander stamper , for tyth under the value of 40 s. had taken from him for the use of john salkeld of threapland , two oxen worth 5 l. tho. walker , because he did not set out his tyth , had his whole crop of corn entred upon , and detained by the said salkeld , to the great disabling of him . leo fisher , for want of seven stouks of tyth bigg , had brasse and pewter taken from him , for the use of henry pearson , worth 20 s. though the said pearsons servants , took nine stouks of oates more than their due . john fell , for want of one stouk of bigg , had brasse taken from him worth 5 s. when the stouk of their own account , was but worth 7 d. george rothery , after he had suffered near twelve months imprisonment , because he could not pay tythes , valued at but 1 s. 9 d. had goods taken from him afterwards for the said tythes , worth 6 s iohn iredell , for want of nine stouks of corn , had oates and sacks taken away , for the use of gawen egglesfield priest of plimland worth 20 s. lamphigh parish , comfort starre priest . will. bowman , for tyth of the value of 16 s. had taken from him for the said priest , one cow worth 2 l. 6 s. 8 d. and two pewter dishes more , worth 8 s. 8 d. lorton . tho. head , for tyth of the value of 24 s. had taken from him by bayliffs by a justices writ , for the use of one iohn winder a tyth-monger ; two horses worth 7 l. or 8 l. which they keep , though they had taken the fourth part of the tyth before , and since he hath had taken from him for the said tyth , one cow worth 40 s. wigton . will. pearson , for tyth of the value of 2 s. 8 d. had taken from him for the use of one called lady fletcher , one horse worth 3 l. and for 3 s. had a ketle taken away worth 22 s. john richardson , for 12 s , demanded for her for tyth , had taken away , one cow worth 40 s. and some pewter dishes and yarne . graystock parish . john slee , for tyth of the value of eighteen shillings , had taken away one cow prised at forty shillings . the same , for twelve pence , had taken from him 3 pans , 3 pewter dishes , a small piece of pewter , and some wollen yarn , worth ten shillings . john mark the elder , for tyth of the value of seventeen shillings , had two cowes taken from him , prised at four pounds . john mark younger , for tyth of the value of twenty one shillings four pence , had taken from him one cow , one brass kettle , one pan , one plate , a cann , a pewter dish , and an ax , prised at fifty eight shill. four pence . john soverly , for tyth of the value of four shillings , had one table , and frame , and a chair taken from him worth ten shill. six pence . john todhunter , for tyth of the value of nine shillings eleven pence , had a load of oats and sack taken away , worth twenty shillings . widow buckbarrow and her two sons , for tyth of the value of eighteen shillings nine pence half peny , had taken away one cow , one brass pot , and a pan prised at two pound five shillings . john bewley , for tyth of the value of nineteen shillings six pence , had taken from him one horse worth two pound five shillings . widow slee and richard slee , for tyth of the value of eleven shillings two pence , had taken away two chaldrons , four pewter dishes , two pans , and a sack worth twenty eight shillings . thomas slee , for tyth of the value of seven shillings , had taken f●om him six pewter dishes , eight fleeces of wooll , and a bed coverled worth twenty shill. cuthbert hodgson , for tyth of the value of fourteen shillings , had taken from him one cow worth thirty five shill. john sowerby , for tyth of the value of fourteen shillings , had taken from him a mare well worth four pounds . caldbeck parish . john stricket , for tyth of the value of sixteen shillings , had taken from him one cow , worth fifty shillings . richard wilson , for a rate tyth of the value of one shilling farthing , had goods taken from him worth seven shillings . thomas hasken , for tyth of the valve of two shillings four pence , had goods taken from him worth six shillings eight pence . john hasken , for tyth of the value of twelve shillings seven pence , had goods taken from him worth forty shillings . john peacock , for tyth of the value of twenty two shillings two pence , had goods taken away worth thirty seven shill. george scott , for tyth of the value of fifteen shillings , had goods taken away worth eighteen shillings eight pence . john relfe , for tyth of the value of five shillings three pence , had taken from him as many sheep as were worth thirty shill. william slalker , for tyth of the value of eight shillings three pence , had goods taken from him worth twenty shillings . thomas mark , for tyth of the value of twenty two shillings four pence , had goods taken from him worth fifty four shill. john nicholson , for tyth of the value of twelve shillings eight pence , had goods taken from him worth forty shillings . richard scott , for tyth of the value of four shillings ten pence , had goods taken from him worth seven shillings . widow preslman , for tyth of the value of eight shillings three pence , had goods taken away worth twenty shill. three pence . thomas bewley , for tyth of the value of twenty eight shill. six pence , had goods strained worth three pounds six shill. thomas rickerby , for five pence half peny demanded for smoak passing up his chimny , had goods taken away worth two shill. six pence . other goods were taken from john pattison , richard williamson , and others , but the particulars we know not yet . brigham parish . william richardson , for tyth of the value of thirty shill. four pence , had one horse taken from him worth three pounds ten shill. henry johnson , for tyth of the value of thirteen shillings nine pence , had one horse taken from him worth two pound thirteen shill. four pence . john gill , for tyth of the value of thirteen shill. four pence , had one horse taken from him worth two pounds ten shill. cockermouth parish . richard nuckham , for tyth of the value of three shill. six pence , had a horse taken from him worth two pound thirteen shill. four pence . and also he had taken from him , two brass pots worth fourteen shill. six pence , because he could not for conscience sake contribute to repair the steeple house . deane parish . isabel head widow , for tyth of the value of twelve shill. had taken from her one cow , one heifer , and one stear worth at least five pounds , and for the like tyth this year , she had taken from her two mares worth six poundand above , these were taken by force of justices writs , though upon them no appearance was made , or judgement given . peter head , for tyth of the value of twelve shill. had a cow taken from him , and also a horse by colour of a justices writ , though no appearance or judgment was upon it ; for these and many other great and cruel oppressions , wilfrid lawson sheriff of cumberland ought to be called to accompt . christopher mauser , for tyth of the value of twenty four shill. ten pence , had taken from him for the use of patriciu● curwen , worth five pounds . caldbeck parish for richard hutton priest . thomas mark , for tyth wooll of the value of sevente●n shillings , had a horse taken from him worth fifty four shillings . the same also for other tyth of small value , had two ox●n and three kine taken away by colour of a justices vvrit , without appearance or judgement . john pattison , for tyth of the value of sixteen shillings eleven pence , had taken from him corn worth twenty five shill. six pence . richard scott , for tyth of the value of four shill. four pence , had two pair of shoes taken from him worth seven shill. four pence . john stricket , for tyth of the value of sixteen shill. four pence , had one cow taken from him worth three pound six shill. eight pence . thomas haskey , for tyth of the value of three shill , five pence , had a pair of cart-wheels taken from him worth seven shill. john haskey elder , for tyth of the value of fifteen shill. two pence , had corn & sacks taken from him to forty four shill. ten pence . william stalker elder , for the tyth of the value of fifteen shill. two pence , had corn and sacks taken from him worth twenty four shill. richard wilson , for tyth of the value of thirteen shillings , had a brass pot taken from him worth seven shillings . john nicholson , for tyth of the value of thirteen shill. four pence , had a cow taken from him worth forty shillings . john peacock , for tyth of the value of twenty shill , or thereabouts , had corn and sacks taken from him worth thirty shill. six pence . all these goods in caldbeck parish , were taken by warrant from justice barwis and justice fletcher , for the use of priest hutton . boulton parish . john pattison , for tyth of the value of twenty two shill. had one cow taken from him for the use of priest forward , worth fifty shill . john wilkinson , for tyth of the value of four shill. eight pence , had one cow taken from him for the use of the said priest , worth fifty five shill. penreth parish . taken from thomas midleton , one pewter dish worth three shill. six pence . robert dawson , three pewter dishes worth eight shill. peter tayler , two pewter dishes worth four shill. these were taken by an old priest , who was formerly ejected on pretence of easter reckonings . from robert dawson the clerk also tooke one pewter dish worth sixteen pence . threapland . thomas walker , for tyth of the value of twenty three shillings , had his barn locked up , and all his whole years corn seized upon , except nine bushels of oates which he had got out . and also a mare taken away under colour of a justices writ , though neither appearance nor judgement . richard robinson , for tyth of the value of thirty shillings or thereabouts , had goods and cattel taken from him worth twenty four pounds or thereabouts , by colour of a justices writ , without any due and legal proceeding thereupon . yorkeshire . james gurnel , for the value of five shillings tan pence pretended to be due to john wargent a priest ▪ and christopher wakefield an impropriator for tyths , had goods taken to the value of forty shillings , of which they returned back only two shillings six pence . robert everat , for the value of thirty one shillings , pretended to be due for tyths to robert brown and israel townend , and robert otter , had his horse taken away which was worth three pounds , which they got valued to fifty shillings and returned nothing again . john jayher , for the value of six shillings six pence pretended to be due unto thomas healey priest of haxey for tyths , had taken from him sixteen shillings four pence . alexander harland , for the value of three shillings pretended to be due to stother a priest for tyths , by order of two men in commission to do justice , was to have ten shillings , who granted their warrant to distrain for the same , and for that ten shillings they took away five sheep , and rendred nothing again . william sharp , for the value of sixteen shillings pretended to be due for tyths , and easter reckonings , as they called them , unto william cooper a minister so called , had a mare worth three pound six shillings eight pence taken away and prised to two pound thirteen shillings four pence , which being done , the said william sharp said he wanted sixteen shillings of his due , although the said cooper never answered him in the law . matthewr maire , for the value of fourteen shillings pretended to be due for tyths unto samuel pibard priest of owthorn , had goods taken away to the value of five pounds which they rated ●o fifty shillings , of which sum the bayliff said fifteen shillings remained , but was not received by the said matth. w. thomas agar , for the value of one shilling , one peny , pretended to be due for tyths unto william catlin priest of crambe and bart●n , had a mare taken worth four pound which they prised to three pound ten shillings , and took seventeen shillings for the said one shilling one peny . william thorpe , for the value of one shilling one peny pretended to be due for tyths unto the above said william catlin , had two cows taken which they prised to two pound out of which they took fifteen shall . six pence . robert bell , for the value of seven pence half peny , pretended to be due for tyths to the said catlin , had one cow taken , which they prised to twenty shillings , out of which they took sixteen shill. george matthew , for the value of two shillings , pretended to be due for tyths to the said catlin , had a horse taken which they prised to forty shillings , out of which they took nineteen shill. which was done by warrant from two men in commission to do justice . edward guy , for the value of two shillings nine pence , pretended to be due for tyths , and easter reckonings , as they are called , unto robert lowther priest of bentham , formerly called a malignant , had his goods taken to the value of thirteen shillings eight pence , and they said they must have more . richard guy , for the value of five shillings four pence , pretended to be due to alexander fetherston a priest , and for eight pence pretended to be due to william bells , clerk to the abovesaid robert lowther , he had a cow taken worth twenty seven shillings , and had nothing returned back . george bland , for the value of two pence claimed for tyths by the abovesaid robert lowther , had his goods taken to the value of sixteen shillings , and nothing was returned back : and for eight pence claimed by the foresaid william bells , he had also goods taken valued to fifteen shill. and nothing returned back . richard wickington , for the value of thirty four shillings eight pence , pretended to be due unto john norton a priest for tyths , had one horse , one mare , and two oxen worth eleven pounds taken and by them prised to six pound . john wilson , for the value of three pound ten shillings , pretended to be due for tyths to john silburn an impropriator , who valued the same by his son to four pounds four shillings , procured a vvarrant from two men in commission to do justice , for five pound six shillings , for which they took goods worth eight pounds fifteen shillings , which they valued to five pound ten shillings , and sold them for seven pound seventeen shillings eight pence , and returned nothing again . walter hall , for the value of thirty three shillings , pretended to be due to the said john silburn for tyths , which his son valued to be worth two pound thirteen shillings four pence , procured a vvarrant from two men in commission to do justice , for the sum of two pounds nineteen shillings four pence , for which they took goods valued by two indifferent men to seven pounds , and nothing returned . alexander harland , for the value of three pounds ten shillings , pretended to be due to john beamond priest for tyths , with two men more , was worth five pounds , whereupon two men in commission to do justice , gave order to pay six pound sixteen shillings , for which they di●trained two oxen , and one horse worth eight pound ten shillings , which they valued to six pounds . mich. simpson , a farmer of forty two pound in the year , was sued by charles kaine a priest , for tythes which happened of the said farm , which by his witnesses he proved to mount to the value of eighteen pound for one year , before judge parker at the assizes at york , which said judge gave judgment for trible damages against him , which comes to fifty four pound . william pearson , was sued by alexander metcalf , called parson of setterrington , for tyth which was worth about ten pounds , for which judge nudigate gave judgment for thirty three pound six shillings eight pence , of which nothing was abated . christopher hutton , for the value of four pound twelve shillings six pence , pretended to be due for tythes and charges to john pennil , priest of overhemsley , had two oxen distrained by warrant from two men in commission to do justice , which were worth seven pound , but by them valued at five pounds , of which they returned nothing back . jeff , nicholson , for the value of thirty four shillings pretended to be due for tythes unto lancelot hasel , titled minister of bulmer , had three fat kine driven away by colour of a warrant from two men in commission to do justice , worth eight pounds , which they valued to five pound ten shillings , and so sold them and never returned one penny . richard simpson , for one peny which william catline priest of crambe , proved due to him for tyth , distrained one cow worth forty shillings , which they valued to twenty shillings out of which they took fifteen shillings . john gothericke , for two pence which the said william catline , proved due to him for tyth , distrained one cow , worth thirty shillings , which they valued at twenty shillings , out of which they took fifteen shillings . john pickering , having four calven for which he offered the said will . catline what had been usually paid for such a number , which the said catline refused to take , demanding of him a tyth calfat four , which the said john pickering refusing to give him , the said catline summoned him before two men in commission to do justice , who notwithstanding ordered the said pickering to pay one shilling eleven pence which he proved due to him , and three shillings for charges . james cookson , for the value of seven shillings nine pence , which james williamson minister of crake proved before two men in commission to do justice , due to him for tythes , had a cow taken away worth two pound , which they prised to twenty six shillings eight pence , and restored nothing again . vvill . peart , for the value of twenty six shillings eight pence , which the said vvilliamson proved before two men in commission to do justice to be due to him for tyth , had two heifers worth three pound taken from him , and nothing restored to him again . volentine johnson , for the value of five shillings eight pence , which the said vvilliamson proved before two men in commission to do justice to be due to him for tyth , had a cow driven away worth two pound , which they prised to thirty shillings , and nothing did they render to the owner . josias cookson , for the value of twelve shillings nine pence , which the above named iames vvilliamson proved before two men in commission to do justice ; to be due to him for tyth , he had one heifer taken away worth forty shillings , and nothing rendred again . tho. scot . for the value of eleven shillings six pence pretended to be due unto leonard esh , an impropriator called , had goods taken from him worth six pounds , which they 〈◊〉 to five pound , and restored nothing to the owner again . thomas johnson , for the value of thirty four shillings pretended to be due unto james 〈◊〉 aforesaid , called minister of 〈◊〉 for tyth had a horse taken from him , for which he paid fifty two shillings before his 〈◊〉 was 〈◊〉 john walker , for the value of eighteen shillings four pence pretended to be due unto the above named williamson , for tyths , by order of two men in commission to do justice was ordered to pay twenty five shillings , which accordingly was paid to the said james vvilliamson . thomas thurham , for the value of sixteen shillings pretended to be due unto the above named vvilliamson , was ordered by two men in place to do justice , to pay unto the said williamson the sum of twenty three shillings , which was paid for him . thomas aldam , by the means of thomas rooksby priest of warmsworth , and thomas vincent of the same , was cast into prison at york the 15 day of the 3d month called may , 1652 , and there kept for about two years , and six months , in which time both the said parties sued him at the law , for not setting forth his tyths , he then being in prison . and at the assizes at york , the said thomas rooksby procured a judgement from richard nudigate ( called a iudge ) against him for sixteen pounds ten shillings for the tyth of eleven acres of wheat , rye , and barley ; ten acres of pease and oates , and twelve acres of medow in one year , the ground being worth but about five shillings the acre rent in one year , and the said thomas vincent likewise procured another iudgement from the said richard nudigate ( called a iudge ) against the said thomas aldam at the same assizes for the tyth of fourteen acrees of wheat , rye , and barley , and twelve acres of pease and oates for one year , the sum of eighteen pounds six shillings , the land being but worth five shillings an acre yearly rent ; and the bayliff ( called henry worrel ) levied the same upon the goods of the said thomas aldam , and took four oxen , seven kine , one stear , and one heifer , which they prised and valued to thirty pounds ten shillings , and sold by the bayliff that distrained them , which goods were since valued by neighbours to be worth thirty six pounds , and the said bayliff after distrained one mare , and one horse of the said thomas aldams , which were prised to five pounds ten shillings , and for that sum sold to thomas broughton one of the apprisers , who made merchandize with the spoyler for gain , and so the spoyle of thomas aldams goods is about his house ; the mare and horse cost thomas aldam about eleven pounds , which they valued and sold for five pounds ten pence . richard tomliason , for the value of eighteen pence or thereabouts for tyth hay , had one mare taken from him worth five pounds . sedbergh , and thereabouts . thomas blaikling , for tythes of the value of twenty shillings three pence , had a horse taken from him worth three pound ten shill. edward atkinson , for tythes of the value of nine shilling three pence , had a mare taken from him worth about four pound . richard speight , for tythes of the value of five shillings eleven pence , had a cow taken from him worth three pound . anthony vvillan , for tythes of the value of fifteen shillings , had a horse taken away worth above three pound . thomas vvillan , for tythes of the value of ten shillings three pence , had a mare taken from him worth four pound . george mason , for tythes of the value of five shillings , had a horse taken from him worth four mark . thomas banks , for tythes of the value of nineteen shill. six pence , had a horse taken from him worth above four pound . all the obove named parriculars , were taken for the use of richard atkinson , iames burton , and iames tompson , within the called parish of sedbergh . craike parish , iosias cookson , for tythes of the value of seven pence half peny , had judgment given against him by two justices to pay ten shillings costs , and the value of the said tythes . iames cookson , for tythes of the value of ten pence , had judgement given against him by two justices to pay ten shill. costs , and the value of the tythes . iohn vvalker , for tythes of the value of twelve pence , had the like judgement given against him to pay ten shillings costs , beside the value of the tythes . thomas iohnson , for tythes of the value of four shillings eight pence haf peny , had the like judgement given against him to pay ten shillings costs , besides the value of the tythes . these were decreed to be payd to iames williams●n , priest of craike ; but what goods he hath distrained for the same , was not known when this was given in . westmerland . edmond w●i●wel , for the value of six pence claimed by priest greenwood of hutton chappel , to be due to him for one year and a half , had a horse taken from him , worth two pound eighteen shillings four pence . iohn sutton , for tyth of the value of twenty one shill ▪ claimed by iohn winter priest of clifton , so valued by the priests servant , was ordered by two justices , to have three pound seven shill. 6d . levyed of his goods by distress , and six shill. eight pence for costs , and had two mares taken away worth six pound thirteen shill four pence . john wilkinson , for tyth of the value of thirty shillings , given in by oath of one witness ; and john wilkinson his son , for tyth of the value of thirty shill. without other oath than the priests owa , had kine taken away from john the son worth twenty pound , for the use of iohn vaux , priest of great musgrave . john wilkinson , for tyth of the value of thirty shillings , so est●mated by the justices without other proof , was ordered to have two pound fire shill. eight pence levyed of his goods , for the use of the foresaid priest vaux , and a cow was taken away for it worth five pound , though a son of the said iohns tendered the money . iohn fallowfield , for tyth of the value of fifteen shillings , as the priests own witnesses estimated , had taken from him , for the use of peirce burton , priest of morland , by warrant from the justices , one of them the priests brother , one mare and a foal worth five pound , and the priest sent one to offer back eleven shill. eight pence , as the fellow that came said . henry lycock , for tyth of the value of two shillings , as was claimed , had taken away for the use of the said priest burton , one caldron worth eighteen shill. iohn tompson , for tyth of the value of sixteen shillings , so estimated by the servants of him that demanded it , had taken from him a horse worth fifty shillings , for the use of christopher lister , and the man that took the horse , sent word to iohn tompson , if he would not come and lose the horse , he might come and fetch more . william hebson , for tyth to the value of three pound nine shillings four pence , had taken goods to the value of seven pound , for the use of nicholas mawson . more taken from him for repairing the steeple-house , two shillings , his rate by sesse being six pence . william halme , for tyth to the value of twenty three shil. had goods taken to the value of forty four shill. more taken for six pence sesse , for repair of the steeple-house , to the value of two shillings four pence . thomas alexander , for tyth to the value of twenty pence , had goods taken to the value of five shillings . more , for three pence seffe for repair of the steeple-house , to the value of two shillings six pence . iohn smith , for tyth to the value of four shill. six pence , had goods taken to the value of eight shill. tho. wharton , for six pence sesse for repair of the steeple-house , had taken to the value of two shill. henry lycock , for tyth to the value of twenty six shill. had goods taken to the value of three pound . more , for tyth to the value of two shillings , had a kettle taken to the value of twenty shill. richard smith , for tyth to the value of five shillings six pence , had goods taken to the value of seventeen shill. iohn wilkinson , for nine shillings three pence , had goods taken to the value of twenty two shill. alice vvilson , for eight shillings , had goods taken to the value of sixteen shill. edmond vvhitewel , for four shill. six pence , had goods taken to the value of nine shill. annas tarne , for ten shillings , had goods taken to the value of twenty four shill. musgrave parish . iohn vvilliamson , for tyth estimated at thirteen shillings , had one cow taken away worth five pound , for the use of the priests farmer . iohn vvilliamsons son , for tyth of the value of thirty shill. proved by one witness to be due from his father , and other thirty shillings by the paiests own oath , had four cows taken away worth twenty pound , and nothing offered to be returned , and the cows driven away where the owner could never see them again . these were taken for the use of the said priest musgrave . laneasbire . robert vvidder , tho. leaper , robert stons ; these three being inhabitauts of the county of lancaster , were sued and run to an outlary in vvestmerland , having no knowledge of it till upon the outlary they were apprehended , and carried to lancaster goale , where they have remained above sixteen months ; the suit was brought in the name of ralph ashton stiled baronet , and thomas vvitherington stiled knight , for refusing to pay tythes to iames schoolcrof priest of caton . richard mires , because for conscience sake he could not pay tythes to tho. shaw priest of aldingham , was imprisoned in the goale of lancaster , and there remained many months . richard ashburner , for tythes of the value of twenty three shillings four pence , as the priest pretended , had a horse taken away worth four pound ; and for tythes of the value of twenty shillings , as he pretended , had taken away a cow worth fifty eight shillings four pence , for the use of tho. shaw priest of aldingham : and ten dayes afterwards , the said priest brought a writ against the said ashburner , and laid him in the goale at lancaster , where he has remained many months . john lawson , and several others , were sued by the priest of lancaster , and had their goods taken away and trible damages given to the priest . william greenbanck , for tyth to the value of six pound , or thereabouts , which by one james baleman and james whitehead , was sworne to above eleven pound , had goods taken from him for the use of thomas whitehead , called minister or parson of halton in lancashire , to the value of twenty two pound and upward . janet dickenson , a poor woman who hath nothing to live upon but her hand labour , who have farmed about one rood of ground , the tyth whereof was valued to eight pence , for which the said tho. whitehead sued her in the exchequer at westminster , to answer which suit she travelled near two hundred miles ; in which court he declared against her for tyth of twenty seven acres of corn and meadow . alice weodhead of clown in darby shire , for tyth to the value of twenty one shillings , had goods taken to the value of five pound . durham . iohn richmond , had cattle worth forty pound or thereabouts , taken from him by colour of a warrant from commissioners sitting at newcastle , as was pretended but never shewed to him , for the use of one vvildbore , who was long since cast out of the vicarage at heighington for scandal and insufficiency , by commissioners sitting at newcastle , which cattle were driven to durham , and there sold for twenty pound , and not one peny offered back , when the sum they demanded was but a small part of it ; and though the said iohn richmond ( knowing the said commissioners had no power to give any judgement for tythes to the said priest ) went to the sheriff george lilburn for a replevit , the said lilburn refused to grant it ; and thus they joyn hand in hand to make their oppressions remediless , yea even for those themselves call scandalous . vvilliam richmond , and thomas richmond , by the same illegal warrant , had cattle of a great value driven away for the use of the said ejected priest , though they were never served with the warrant . yorkeshire . thomas aldam , prosecuted in the common pleas for tythes by thomas rooksbie , a called minister of vvarmsworth , who lately had the spoyl of his goods . iames tennant , nichol . row , iohn metcalfe , prosecuted in the chancery for tythes . henry bayley , anthony wilson , sued in the exchequer for tyth . richard robinson , alexander hebblethwaite , iames corney , now prisoners in the fleet , because for conscience sake they could not swear about tyths , ionas smith , john somerson , now prisoners concerning tythes . thomas aldam , william ratliffe , anthony wilberfosse , william sikes , thomas scot , william simpson , michael simpson , gervase benson , edward atkinson , have been prisoners concerning tythes . lancashire . william greenbanck , ianet dickenson , thomas comin , thomas atkinson , iames taylor , richard rooper , richard britton , alexander rigg , iohn burrow , lawrence newton , george garnet , william pull , richard weaver , iohn wayman , william wayman . edward comin , gregory cockerham , sued in the exchequer for tythes . robert widder , thomas leaper , robert stout , richard ashburner , robert walker , richard mires , thomas hill , have been imprisoned concerning tythes . cumberland . iohn dixon , iohn fearon , iohn gill , matthew robinson , iames wilson , william richardson , sued in the upper bench for tythes . george rothery , richard williamson , have been prisoners concerning tythes . westmerland . william cartnel , richard sill , sued in the exchequer for tythes . iohn foothergit , william hebson , thomas atkinson , edward robinson , henry ward , thomae robertson , thomas wright , have been prisoners concerning tythes . durham . martin richmond , john richmond , john greenwel , will ▪ foster , sued in the exchequer for tythes . john richmond , nichollas pickering , have been prisoners concerning tythes . nottinghamshire . william cleater , now in prison in the fleet , because for conscience sake he cannot swear about tyth . robert mawlam , sued in the exchequer for tythes . glocestershire . walter clement , reynold williams , william watkins , walter summers , thomas hill , william wooley , thomas dooding , elizabeth dorney widow , mawrice smith , john taylor , william coxe , sued in the exchequer for tythes . buckinghamshire . richark marks , walter mabley , richard hunt , thomas harvey , sued in the exchequer for tyth . suffolk . george sherwin , william wawn , john smith , john simpson , sued in the exchequer for tyth . bedfordshire . james taylor , sued in the exchequer for tyth , hertfordshire . john blindell , sued in the exchequer for tyth . summersetshire . thomas darley , sued in the exchequer for tyth . wiltshire . david hale , john ioy , and charles barret , sued in the exchequer for tyth . oxfordshire . richard church , imprisoned for tyth . middlesex . richard davies , sued in the exchequer for tyth . robert dring , hath been imprisoned for tyth . iohn askew , is sued in chancery for tyth . kent . samuel fisher , abiezar boykin , sued in the exchequer for tyth . sussex . richard prat , sued in the exchequer for tyth . leicestershire . edward moggleson the elder , edward moggleson the younger , sued in the exchequer for tyth . norsolk . robert iacob , sued in the exchequer for tyth . these with divers others , ( whose names may hereafter be published , with the names of those by whom they are unjustly vexed , if they go on in their persecution of the innocent ; ) are sufferers for tyth as is aforesaid . clerks wages and repair of steeple-houses . ri●hard peacock , had taken from him one wooden vessel worth eighteen pence , because he could not pay twelve pence , which priest gilpins clerk demanded for wages , though he hired him not . thomas barker , had taken from him one pan worth one shilling , because he could not pay six pence , which the said priests clerk demanded for his wages . iohn mark , had taken from him one pan worth twelve pence , because he could not pay six pence , which the said clerk demanded , &c. iohn dixon , had taken from him five power dishes and one brass pot worth sixteen shillings , or more , because he could not for conscience sake pay ten shillings , which was demanded of him for repairs of a steeple-house . iames wilson , had taken from him three pewter platters worth seven shillings . mungo wilson , had taken from him one platter , worth five shillings . richard whiney , had taken from him two platters worth three shill. anthouy scrugham , had taken from him one pot worth two shillings three pence ; because for conscience sake they could not pay money towards repair of the steeple-house at brigham . william iackson , had taken from him six pewter platters , and one pewter cup worth nine shillings , because he could not pay money towards repair of a steeplehouse at lonswater . thomas flatcher , had taken from him one pewter platter worth twelve pence , because he could not pay four pence to the clerk of lowswater steeple-house . iohn tyson , had taken from him one pewter platter worth nine pence , because he could not pay four pence , which the said clerk demanded . william fletcher , for the like , had one pewter cup taken away from him . ioha pattisen , had taken from him by the clerk of boulton , one pan worth five shillings six pence . concerning swearing . richard peacock , because for conscience sake he could not swear , was fined at the county court by the sheriffs officers twenty shillings , for which the bayliffe took from him one mare worth thirty shillings , though he appeared at the court , and was ready to do any service he could . michael nicholson , because he could not swear , was fined , at the earle of northumberlands court , ( so called ) ten shillings , for which the bay list took away one sack , two sheets , two pans , and two pewter dishes worth seventeen shill. william pearson , because he could not swear being fined ten shillings at the county court , had taken from him by the bayliffs one cow worth about forty shill. the same william pearson , because he could not swear , was fined at the earle of northumberlands court , ( so called ) and the bayliffs took from him one mare and foal worth three pound . matthew kirkbride , because he could not swear , was fined at the sheriffs county court , for which the bayliffs took away the very bedding wherein himself and wife lay , she being big with child and near to be delivered , and some sacks , yarn , and corn , which they had provided for her maintenance , worth about thirty seven shillings , and left them not wherewith to cover themselves in the midst of winter , and sir wilfrid lawson ; ( so called ) the sheriff , being acquainted with it , and asked whether he would own such things to be done , and to his use , he answered yes , and that he should not expect to be remedied at his hands ; oh hard hearted and inhumane cruely ! iohn peacock , because he could not swear , was fined at the county court , the sheriff being present , twenty shill. for which the bayliffs took away one mare worth thirty shillings . iohn stenton , because he could not swear , was fined ten shillings , at the called earle of northumberlands court , at mashdale , by iames pearson steward , for which the bayliff took away two tanned hides , and half a bend , worth to be sold twenty six shill. hugh tickel , because he could not swear , was fined ten shillings at ullock court , for which one kettle was taken from him worth fourteen shill. thomas piele , because he could not swear , was fined at cockermouth court six shillings right pence , for which a brass pot , one pan , and a wooden vessel worth ten shillings , were taken from him . christopher wandsor , because he could not swear , was fined at wurkington court , twenty shillings , for the use of patri●ius carwen called baronet , for which his bayliffs took away one horse worth three pound ten shill. william stamper , because he could not swear at the sheriffs county court , was fined twenty shillings , for which one mare was taken away for the use of the said sheriff , worth three pound ten shillings . leonard scott , because he could not swear , was fined at the sheriffs court , and after he was dead , the bayliffs took away pewter , brasse , and iron for it , though all his goods fell much short of paying his debts , which his eldest son had undertaken to discharge . the aforesaid wilfrid lawson high sheriff , charged his bayliffs to return the names of those people called quakers , for jurers who were to answer at his court at i●ell , which they did , and there they fined some ten shillings , some twenty shillings , some forty shillings , and some other greater sums , as in particular , mungo scott three pound thirteen shillings four pence ; and some of the landlords threaten them with the forfeiture of their lands , which they hold of them by copy or customary tennant right , because they say they deny to do their suit and service ; and all this is because for conscience sake they cannot swear , and trangresse the plain command of christ , though any service for the good of the country they are willing to perform , and will be faithful without an oath ; and for the keeping of their consciences clear , though in the outward they be for the most part poor , yet with joy they can suffer the spoyling of their goods , and give their backs to the smiter . john fell , because he could not swear , was fined at io. dalstons court at vidale , and had an ewe and lamb taken away for it worth five shillings , tho. fell , because he could not swear , was fined at the said court , & had an ewe and lamb taken away for it worth 6s . 8d . io. caipe , because he could not swear , was fined at the said court , and had a sheep taken worth four shillings tho. fletcher , because he could not swear , was fined at wilfrid lawsons mannor court ( who is now the high sheriffe ) forty shillings , and for it had thirty one shillings four pence taken away . the same the next court after was fined for not swearing six shillings eight pence . he also the next court following was fined twenty shillings for not swearing : for these two later fines the said lawson caused his bailiffe to take away a great kettle ▪ and a web of white kerfie worth thirty six shillings . iohn dixon , because he could not swear , was fined at the said lawsons court , and another time for not appearing when he was in prison for the testimony of a good conscience , was also fined , and for which he had taken away one brass pot , and two pewter dishes worth sixteen shillings . durham . geo. burdon of easington , because he could not swear , was fined by the sheriff , and had thirteen shillings taken from him . and divers others for the same thing were fined in like maner . yorkeshire . richard robinson , alexander hebblethwait , iames corney , because they could not for conscience sake swear and give in their answers to the bill of complaint of richard atkinson of garsdale , iames burton of dent , and iames tompson being for tythes , were committed prisoners to the fleet by robert nicholas , and others the called barons of the exchequer , where they yet remain in prison . nottinghamshire . william cleater is now prisoner in the fleet upon the same account ▪ at the suit of one dove williamson , a called minister ; which said williamson had one of his leggs shot with a canon bullet , he being in one of the late kings garrisons . g. b. his queries concerning tythes , &c. 1. when there was no king in israel every one did that which was right in his own eyes , iudg. 17 6. was it so yea or nay ? 2. when there was a king in england , did he well in suffering divers of his subjects to be imprisoned without any cause shewed : and when for their deliverance they ▪ were brought before his justices , there to undergoe and receive according to the laws of the land , no breach of any law being proved against them , and yet they returned back to severall prisons without being charged with any thing to which they might make answer according to the law : and were they the kings friends that advised so to doe , yea or nay ? 3. whether did the parliament well to lay before him in the third year of his reign in the petition of right , that , and other things imposed upon his subjects , contrary to the lawes and their just liberties , as a grievance , and to desire from him , that all his officers and ministers should serve him according to his laws & statutes of his realm as they tendered his honour , and the prosperity of his kingdome : and did the king well when he said , let right be done as is desired , yea or nay ? 4. whether the statutes of england be a part of the law of england ? and whether is the law of england a rule in it self both for magistrates and people to walke by , yea or nay ? 5. whether the law of england be the higher power , or the judges and lawyers opinions , which may be gained for money ? and whether are the justices the masters of the law or the ministers of the law ? 6. whether he is subject to the higher power who lives and walks according to what the law requires ; or he that follows the opinions and inventions of men , when in plainnesse the law requireth one thing , and their opinions and inventions are another thing ? 7. whether is he a faithfull minister of the law , and fit to judge of mens lives , libertie , and estates , who writes one thing , and mean and does another , who takes an oath to judge according to the law , and yet quite contrary to the law commands mens persons to be imprisoned , and their goods to be taken from them ? 8. whether do the justices act according to the●r commissions or patents , who passe judgement against the peoples liberties and estates where there is no law of the nation to warrant such their judgments : but on the contrary the law of the nation saith in express words , it shal not be lawful for any so to do ? 9. whether is he the minister of god yea or nay , that feigneth or suggesteth a lie , or owneth or joyneth with such as he knoweth doth feign & suggest lies , to the end they may have a pretence or colour to draw people before their judgment seats ( which they call courts of equity ) which if the lies which is the foundation of many bills of complaint , were taken away , they then had no colour of action in such courts ; neither is there any law of this nation to warrant such actions , as is confessed in severall of their bills of complaints ? 10. from whence is that law , and for what end was it given , that is not equall ? and is that equal which is not iusts , ors equitys which is not lawfull ? 11. whether is the proviso in a statute , a part of the statute , yea or nay ? if nay , why was it inserted ? if yea , then they that act contrary to it , are convinced of it as transgressors . 12. whether were not the courts temporall and the courts spirituall two severall jurisdictions , and so accounted and adjudged by the late kings and parliaments of england ? and whether had not the late kings and parliaments power to make lawes , and to declare what was law yea or nay ? and was it not declared in expresse words by the king and parliament in the 24 hen. 8. chap 12. that rights of tythes , oblations and obventions , the knowledge whereof by the goodnesse of princes of this realm , and by the lawes and customes of the same , appertaineth to the spirituall jurisdiction of the realm . 13. whether is the statute of the 2 , 3 , edw. 6. chap. 13. of force yea or nay ? if yea , is it not therein provided and inacted , that if any person do substract or withdraw any manner of tythes , obventions , profits , commodities , or other duties , or any part of them , contrary to the true meaning of the said act , or of any other act heretofore made , that then the party so substracting or withdrawing the same , may or sha●l de convented & sued in the kings ecclesiasticall court , by the party from whom the same shal be substracted or withdrawn , to the intent the kings judge ecclesiasticall shall and may then and there to hear and determine the same according to the kings ecclesiastical lawes , and that it shall not be lawful unto the parson , vicar , proprietory , owner , or other their farmers or deputie , cōtrary to this act ; to convent or sue such with-holder of tythes , obventions , or other duties aforesaid before any other judge than ecclesi●sticall , yea or nay ? if nay , then why are the people punished as transgressors of that law which is repealed ? and if yea , then why are the people convented and sued for with holding their tythes , &c before the temporall judges , and in the temporall courts , contrary to the said act ? 14. whether doth not he or they who give their opinions and make it their practice to convent and sue men in the temporall courts of this nation the people thereof for substracting and with-drawing their tythes ▪ oblations and obventions , &c. and say it is lawfull for them so to do , give the law the lye . and are these ministers of the law who gives the law the ly , who say it shall be lawful when the law saith it shal not be lawful ? are not such unreasonable men ? & do not such go about to make the law of none effect through their traditions , and set up for self-ends their own opinions and inventions in stead of the lay , yea or nay ? 15. whether is it not provided in the statute of 32 hen. 8●cap . 7. in these words , viz. provided alwayes that the last act shall not extend nor be expounded to give any remedy , cause of action , or suit in the courts temporall against any person or persons which shall refuse or deny to set out his or their tythes , or shall detain , with-hold , or refuse to pay his tythes or offerings , or any parcell thereof , but that in such cases the person or party being ecclesiasticall or lay person , having cause to demand or have the said tythes or offerings , & thereby wronged or grieved , shall take or have their remedy for their said tythes o● offerings ; in every such case in the spirituall courts according to the ordinance of the first part of this act , and not otherwise . and doe not such whether ecclesiasticall or lay persons otherwise , who sue people for tythes and offerings in temporall courts for the same , answer yea or nay ? 16. whether there is any transgression where there is no law ? and whether there is or ought to be any trebble dammage adjudged , where and when no tythes are due ? and if there be no law of the nation to warrant the temporall judges to try the right of tythes , the law saying that the tryall therof appertaineth to the spiritual jurisdiction by the laws & customs of the realm : then how can it be lawful for the temporall judges to give judgement in their temp●rall courts for treble damages , or any jury to find treble damage for not dividing , setting forth or not paying their prediall tythes , o● or for taking or carrying away the same before the tenth part of the same be divided or set forth , when there is no law of the nation to authorize them to heare or determine of the right of tythes who are temporall judges in their temporall courts . 17. whether do such justices and juries who act contrary to the aforesaid statute , or any other , tender the honor and prosperity of the nation , or serve the chief magistrate thereof according to the lawes and statutes thereof ? and if not , is not their crime as great as their predecessors , who suffered for such things ? and are not they inexcusable before god and man , who have condemned others for so doing , and now do the same things ? answer yea or nay . read and understand , weigh and give advice ye learned councell of the nation , as you are called , for according to your deserts will your reward be , whosoever of you these queries under your hands in writing shall answer according to truth , and return to any of the people called quakers . was there ever such merchandize made of any people since the world began as these fals teachers have done in our age before mentioned ? was there ever such oppression and such heavy burdens laid upon any people since the world began as these false priests and teachers have done in our age that the reader may find before mentioned ? have they not out stript all the burdens , all the grievous burdens of the pharisees which they themselves will not touch with one of their fingers ? was there ever such devouring , ravening by all the false teachers since the world began as these do in our age , which take a way the peoples goods , cattel , horses , sheep , oxen , platters , kettles , plow-geare , and what they can lay their hands on for a prophet , spoyling peoples goods , and making havock of them ; who can but say the measure of iniquity reaches to the full ? was ever people made a prey upon and devoured by the false teachers in all the ages past since the world began , as they are by the false teachers in this our age , which makes a prey upon the people , devours them , and treads upon them , that are fed , and eats the fat , cloaths with the wool ? was ever people so bitten wth , the teeth , and prepared war against since the world began , as they are in this our age ; who cannot put into the mouthes of the fals teachers , which brings the people all on heaps , who would pluck the skin off their flesh , and bite them with their teeth ; whiles they put into their mouthes they cryed peace unto them , but they are fallen in the night , whose doth appear oppression , violence , and spoyling the goods of people , hath not the hearts of the simple been long deceived by such , and doth not the folly of these now appear unto all men ? and are not manifest that have the love of money that teaches for filthy lucre , who pierce themselves through with many hurtfull lusts , who have the love of money which is the root of all evill ; which things the man of god must flye : marrk how many prisons have been filled in this nation by them for the love of money , yea how many have been prisoned to death , witnesse lancaster , colchester , york and exceter , such as are prisoned to death which the priests are raging against , was ever balaam so mad who loved the wages of unrighteousness , who was in the error , as are the teachers in this age , who are so greedy of gifts and rewards ; nay , if men will not give it them , they wil take it by violence , & summon them up into courts , upper bench , exchequer , chancery common pleas , to answer before the barons of the nation , and there cause poore men to come up ; these priests some for 4 or 5 shillings , some for less , two hundred miles poor labouring men , and thus they use them without any pity or compassion , and if they wil not pay them , takes their pots , or kettles , or platters , priest sends to take them away , or plow-gear . was ever the like heard in all ages since the world began ? are not these they that makes the gospel of the lord jesus christ chargeable ? and are not these things a shame to all christians , that their teachers should make such fruits manifest , nay their colleges at cambridge , where they make their ministers , have caused some to be cast in prison for not paying them their tythes . here the mother and her sons both make havock ; one was prisoned at york till he died for not paying tythes ; prisoned another to death by priest shaw , for not paying him tythes . now if these things doe not shame all christian magistrates and rulers , what will , that have not a feeling in them with these sufferers ? and if this be not a dishonor to truth and the gospel , what is ? and christ who sends forth his teachers freely as they receive so to give . now if you cannot see that you and such teachers are contrary to christ and his apostles , the god of the world hath blinded your eyes , and you are such as jeremy speaks of in the horrible and filthy thing , the priests bear rule by their means , and the people love to have it so : but what will you do in the end thereof ? never did so much nakedness appear in any age you read of , as doth in this age among them , which are not wotthy to have the name of teachers of truth , which generations to come will be ash●med of since the days of the apostles in this night of apostasie and darkness : hath the false teachers got up tythes , yea and of the people will have treble damage if they will not pay them , by whose means many come to lose almost their whole estates , having it taken from them for the priests . the apostle shewed that tythes were taken away , and the command disan●lled by which they were payed , and the hand-writing of ordinances blotted out . george fox . finis . caines bloudy race known by their fruits, or, a true declaration of the innocent sufferings of the servants of the living god, by the magistrates, priests and people in the city of westchester, who lives in a profession of god, christ, and the scriptures, as their forefathers did, who slew the prophets, persecuted christ and the apostles, as is declared in the scriptures of truth, &c. hutchins, anthony. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a31781 of text r20269 in the english short title catalog (wing c208a). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 93 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a31781 wing c208a estc r20269 12116507 ocm 12116507 54331 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a31781) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 54331) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 760:14) caines bloudy race known by their fruits, or, a true declaration of the innocent sufferings of the servants of the living god, by the magistrates, priests and people in the city of westchester, who lives in a profession of god, christ, and the scriptures, as their forefathers did, who slew the prophets, persecuted christ and the apostles, as is declared in the scriptures of truth, &c. hutchins, anthony. howgill, francis, 1618-1669. sale, richard. fox, george, 1624-1691. [5], 54 p. printed for thomas simmons ..., london : 1657. signed p. 47: anthony hutchins. preface signed: f.h. [i.e. francis howgill]; pp. 21-22 are by richard sale and pp. 42-44 by george fox. reproduction of original in bodleian library. eng society of friends -england -westchester. a31781 r20269 (wing c208a). civilwar no caines bloudy race known by their fruits, or, a true declaration of the innocent sufferings of the servants of the living god, by the magist hutchins, anthony 1657 18880 16 0 0 0 0 0 8 b the rate of 8 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2004-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-02 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-04 melanie sanders sampled and proofread 2005-04 melanie sanders text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion caines bloudy race known by their fruit or , a true declaration of the innocent sufferings of the servants of the living god , by the magistrates , priests and people in the city of westchester , who lives in a profession of god , christ , and the scriptures , as their forefathers did , who s●●w the prophets , persecuted christ and the ●postles , as is declared in the scriptures of truth , &c. they persecute him whom thou hast smitten ; and they add unto the sorrow of them whom thou hast wounded , psal. 69. 26. bloady men hate him that is upright ; but the just have care of his soul , prov. 29. 10. remember the word that i said unto you , the servant is not greater then his master ; if they have persecuted me , they will persecute you also ; if they have kept my word , they will also keep yours , joh. 15. 20. blessed are ye when men shall evile you , and persecute you , and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake , rejoice , and be exceeding glad , for great is your ye ward in heaven , for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you , matt. 5. 11 , 12. london , printed for thomas simmons , at the sign-of the bull and mouth , neer aldersgate , 1657. to the reader . reader , amongst the many sad objects of pitty and commiseration which these dayes afford and do bring forth here is one not of the least , where thou may behold the sad and woful sufferings of many of the dear and precious servants of the lord , who have denied themselves and the glory of this world , that so they might be followers of christ , and doers of his will , that so they might receive peace with the father through jesus christ , who hath called us to suffer for his names sake , and be conformable unto his will , that so the crown of glory may be received , which is laid up for all them that keep the faith , and doth not deny it , nor him in whom-they have believed , before men , as these cloud of witnesses and faithful suffererers have done , who have kept the faith , and confessed him before men , and among such also where the devil hath his throne , and rules as king ; and by his unrighteous scepter hath the rulers of chester acted , as the discourse hereafter will manifest , wherein thou may see the image of the father in the sufferers , and of the lamb , who was dumb before the shearer , and opened not his mouth : and in this after written thou may see the scriptures fulfilled , as it is written by the prophets , they eat my people as men eat bread , and they chop them in pieces as flesh ; for the caldron and the time which christ spoke of is come , that they that kill you shall think they do god service , & all these things they wil do unto you for my names sake , and they shall shamefully entreat you , & cast you into prison , & speak all manner of evil of you falsly for my names sake ; but blessed are they who are not offended . and in those blood thirsty inhumane magistrates ( so called ) who have done all this violence and cruelty , thou may also read the image of the devil brought forth , for their works that they have done and wrought are of him ; and as christ said to them who would have been counted holy , who said god was their father , but their works manifested them to be of the devil , and he was their father who abode not in the truth . and that which makes the violence & cruelty more intollerable of these men , is , because they profess themselves to rule for god , & are christian magistrates , but their actions that they have brought forth will christ never own , for he came not to destroy mens lives , but to save them ; neither did he ever set up any such rule as to slay his servants , nor any such magistrates who are a terror to them that do well , and therefore they must be recorded among the adversaries of the lord ▪ whom the lord will dash to pieces . what! is this the reformation brought forth in their city , imprisoning them that reprove sin in the gate , and set drunkards at liberty ? oh preposterous and prodigeous cruelty ! in the time of the king , and in the time of the bishops , never such presidents of cruelty was found , and this hypocritical generation will be lesse excusable then they , they in ignorance , but these in the day , when light is declared abroad , and have been warned ; they never professed liberty of concience , but these do ; they never professed toleration or protection unto any but them that conformed to them in all things , but these do . oh england ! is thy sun set when it was but new risen ? and utter ) darknesse coming upon thee again ? and must this be fulfilled upon thy rulers , and among them , they are all evening . wolves , who devour so greedily , that they gnaw not the bones till the morrow ? oh unheard-of cruelty ! unparelell'd wickednesse ! violence is broken forth into a rod , and now smiteth the just in great cruelty , and the innocent in great rage ; but all these things are recorded and taken notice of by him who weighs all things in an even ballance , and will scatter the wiced and ungodly as chaff , and as dust shall they be blown away ; but all the stripes , reproaches , sighs , tears , and sufferings of the upright will he reward , when their enemies shall sink as a stone into the sea , and be overwhelmed in the pit of everlasting vengeance , wo and misery , which ▪ is prepared for the old dragon , the devourer and all his seed and race for ever , who would not have righteousnesse to rule , nor innocency to live , but subtilty and craft , pride and arrogancie , in which the kingdom of the devil stands , and envy , murder and oppression , and he that hates his brother is a man-slayer . and when thou hast read over this discourse and sees the envy , wickedness , and madness , and cruelty of these rulers , their spirit thou will see , and cannot but abhor as detestable , and may truly say , while such bear rule , the land cannot but mourn ; but the mischief they have hatched shall fall upon their own pate , and peace shall possesse the reins of the just , and the heart of them that have suffered shall rejoice and be glad in him who hath counted them worthy to suffer for his names sake , and great shall be their reward , for they shall reign with him for ever and ever over all their enemies , and shall trample them down under their feet ; which if thou believe , and in patience endure and suffer with them that suffer , thou shalt rejoice with them that rejoice , in the joy which is unspeakable and full of glory , and know the dominion which is everlasting , when all those unrighteous powers and dominions shal come to an end ; and all that endure to the end , and keep the faith , this shall see fulfilled ; and the lord is hastening it for wiekedness is near at the heighth , and then his wrath shall consume his enemies , and they shall melt away that hate the lord . f. h. caines bloudy race known by their fruits . first , under edward bradshaw , mayor ; richard hubberthorne coming into chester city about the 29th . of the 9. month , 1653. the occasion of his coming at that time was to visite a brother in the truth , who was for the truths sake a prisoner in the county-goal , his name was iohn lawson ; so he ( richard hubberthorn ) being in the house , where he lodged all night peaceably , not giving the least occasion of offence to any but was writing in a book he then had of his own ; so as he sate writing came in richard golborne a lawyer , and took his book from him , and gave him envious and threatning words , and went his way , and informed edward bradshaw mayor what a dangerous fellow was in the town , and caused him to be brought before the magistrates into the pentice ; so when they and the chief priest had examined him , and finding the law not by him transgressed , he being clear in all things from the least breach thereof , they caused him to be put a-part into another room , until they had devised wicked and unlawful devices against him ; for this was the time when the lord first tryed them how they could bear the sincerity and plainnesse of the innocent truth and gospel of christ , which was then beginning to spread abroad in the nation ; which truth , and the servants thereof , doth onely seek the honor which comes from god , and doth only give the honor to god ; and doth not seek that honor which comes from men , neither can give that honor which men seek one of another ; and for this cause was the wrath of the magistrate lifted up , until they had lost both the knowledg of the law , and of reason , who in their wrath sent him into prison , no breach of the law being found by him , only by the information of richard golborne , who had broken the law in taking his goods from him , contrary to all the laws of this nation ; only this they said they imprisoned him for , because he could not promise them to go out of the town when they commanded him . but festus who was a ruler amongst the heathens , he well might be called noble , for to him it seemed unreasonable to send a prisoner , and not to shew the causes of offence that was laid against him : but these magistrates which say they are christians , they manifest themselves to be void of understanding , sence , and reason , having sent many to prison without so much as signifying a just occasion against them . so when r. hubberthorn had suffered about three moneths imprisonment , he was called before a sessions , and they finding nothing against him , again asked him if he would go forth of the city , which if he would , they said he should be set free ; which he denyed to promise them , and stood in the authority of the almighty over their deceit , being they could lay nothing to his charge ; then their wrath arose , and commanded him to be put into prison , and kept close that none should come to him ; all which the keeper obeyed for about eight dayes ; and then the mayor and the rest of his brethren joyned together to make a passe to send him from constable to constoble , into lancashire ; but when the lord had tryed them to the full , then they broke their order which was sealed with seven seales , and he was onely brought forth of the city , and set free . thomas holme coming into this city , had a meeting in the same about the nineteenth day of the first month , 1653. where he and many more were met together to wait upon the lord in a house in the same city ; then thomas holme spake as he was moved of the lord , edward bradshaw then mayor , being informed thereof , sent one of his servants , and commanded him to bring tho. holme before him ; so he committed him to prison to the common goal for the city , where he was kept about six weeks , in which time he was much abused and beaten by robert emis●ne , keeper of the prison , who is a common notorious drunkard . before tho. holme was released , edward bradshaw sent samuel elcock unto him , to know if he would promise him to depart the city , which if he would , he might be released ; who said he could make no such promise . now tho. holme having a letter by to him , which was sent him from rich. hubberthorne , directed edward bradshaw , he gave it to samuel elcock to give it as directed , who did ; so when ed. bradshaw had read over the letter , he said that tho. holme should be whipped , and ( as we are informed ) had a man in readinesse to do it , he thinking all this while it had been tho. holme which writ it to him ; so thomas yarwood hearing what was intended against tho. holm , and understanding it was because of that letter , went to edward bradshaw , and said , friend , tho. holm did not write that letter to thee , it was rich. hubberthorne ; but tho. yarwood not dossing his hat , edward bradshaw committed him to the stocks , where he was kept about an hour and a half at the least ; then the next day after tho. holme was committed as aforesaid , edward bradshaw sent for rich. hickock and edward morgan , they being two that was at the meeting the day before , and committed them to prison upon the twentieth day of the first month , 1653. and kept rich. hickock fifteen weeks , and edw : morgan nine weeks . elizabeth levens , and jane waugh , coming to this city to visite their brethren in prison , and as they were passing peaceably through the streets , were tooke up by a drunken man , and brought before edward bradshaw , and by him committed to prison , who were a great part of their imprisonment kept in a stinking place , where for the most part thieves and murderers are kept ; the whole time of their imprisonment was about five weeks , who when they were released , were sent from constable to constable , as vagabonds , into their own countrey . anne fara coming to this city , was moved to go to a steeple-house , and spake unto the priest , she was much abused by the rude multitude , and by them took before edw. bradshaw , and by him committed to prison for many dayes . richard hickocke was moved to go to a steeple-house in the city , where was a high-priest , called samuel eaton , who when he had ended that he called his sermon , rich. hitkock spake some words to the people , but they pulled him down , and did much abuse him ; yet neverthelesse edw. bradshaw committed him to prison , and commanded the keeper to put him into a dark stinking room , where he saw a snake , and other venemous creatures ; it is such a place that none is put into at any time but such as are condemned to dye , and therefore is called the dead mans room ; and likewise edw. bradshaw commanded irons to be put on him , all which his commands were executed to the highest degree of malice that might be ; in which condition he was kept 13 weeks and upwards , and it 's believed by some , the priest and he together intended to destroy the outward man , though he had a wife and many small children ; such is their cruelty , had they not been prevented by george minshall , one of the protectors servants , who coming to the town at the time of the general sessions holden for the county , and hearing of their usuage of him , was moved with pitty , and fetched forth a habeus corpus , and brought his body before the judge for the county , out of the hands of those bloody and cruel men , to answer the law , who finding no just cause of imprisonment proved against him , and being moved with pitty towards him , understanding how cruelly he had been used by them , did freely release him , to their shame and trouble . tho. yarwood was moved to go to the steeple-house , and stood till the priest had done what he had to say , and then he spoke to the people , but he was haled forth , and ill abused by the baser sort , and brought before edward bradshaw , and by him committed to prison , where he was kept most part of two days ; he being a souldier , & under command , his officer sent to him to know why he had imprisoned his souldier , and fetcht him out of prison ; edward bradshaw sent him word , he came in amongst them with a laudable voice , and disturbed the assembly before the minister had done , though he spake not till the priest had done , as before is said . john owen being in his own house , following his lawful imployment there was a stone flang at his window , and missed it ; then he and his men went off the table they sate on , which was close to the window , who were no sooner off the table , but a great piece of a brick-stone was flang through his glasse-window , which broke it in pieces ; and had not he and his men ( as is said ) come from the window , it might have killed some of them , it came with such force into the house ; so he seeing who threw it , took the stone in his hand to edward bradshaw , and shewed him the stone , and who it was that threw it into his house , and brake his window , as is said , who said , do you come to complain before a magistrate in such an unreverent manner ? and said , i will neither heare your cause , nor right you ; and with his own hands christ him forth of his doors , and charged him to come before him no more . the innocent sufferings of the servants of the lord in chester city , under richard bird , mayor of the same . edmond ogden being moved to go to a steeple-house , spake not a word until the priest had done , and then spake some words to the priest to make good what he had said ; but he was drawn forth into the street by the hair of his head , and then sent to prison by richard bird , and kept nine weeks . richard bird sent for edward morgan forth of his own house , and committed him to prison , when he had not spoke to any , nor to this day knows what he was imprisoned for , onely it was reported by some he did it because edmond ogden had been at the steeplehouse . at another time rich. bird caused edw. morgan to be taken out of the street , who neither said or did to any , yet he caused him to be put into the grate , where for the most part thieves and murderers are put . mary endon came to this city to see her husband , who was in bonds for the truth , she was then moved to go a steeple-house , and asked the priest a question ; but she was exceedingly abused by the people , and taken before rich. bird , and by him committed to prison , where she was kept four dayes . william sarrot passing through the street with a piece of cloth , john poole called to him , and asked if he would sell his cloth , who said , yea ; john poole asked him his price , he said , so much the yeard ; john poole said he would have it ; william sarrot , hearing him say so hastily he would have it , said , friend do not mistake thy self , i ask so much the yard ; john poole said , thou lyest , thou asked me so much an ●ll , but william denyed it , and said as before ; then iohn poole struck him very ill , and thrust him out of his shop , and kept his cloth , though his wife and mother would have had him to have given him his cloth again , they being ( its very like ) sensible how it was ; but he would not give him his cloth again , but said he would teach him to be a quaker , many people cryed out against him for so doing , but for all that was said to him , he was shameless , and would not part with the cloth . so william sarrot , came and informed some of his friends , who had him go to the mayor , and inform him thereof , who did , the mayor was high with him , because he could not give him that honor he expected from him , but in the end did send for john poole , who came , and as soon as he was come , the mayor and he went a-part , and discoursed a while ; but when they returned to vvilliam , the mayor said to vvilliam , unless he would put off his hat ▪ to him , he would do him no justice , but would send him to prison for coming before a magistrate so unmannerly ; but in short , he sent vvilliam sarrot to the common goal , and not in the least reproved john poole , who would have cheated him of his cloth . so the third day after vvilliam was put in prison , the mayor sent for him forth to his own house , where pool had sent the cloth ; so when vvilliam sarrot saw his cloth upon the table , he said , friend , is this cloth of so much the ell , as pool said he would have it for ? the mayors wise said it was better worth ; then the mayor gave vvilliam his cloth again , and discharged him , paying his foes ; he denyed to pay any fees ; then the keeper took him to prison again ; but when he saw he would pay him no fees , he turned him forth without . the innocent sufferings of the people of god under william wright , mayor of chester city . sarah adgit , and margret vvood , coming to this city , were moved to go to a steeple-house ; sarah spake a few words when the priest had done ; margret spake not in the steeple-house at all ; they both were taken before vvilliam vvright , and by him committed to prison , and kept above four weeks , though ( as aforesaid ) one of them spoke not at all in the steeple-house . upon the 8th day of the first month , richard sale was moved of the lord to come to the city , and to go to a steeple-house , where the judge for the county , and many more of the city and countrey were assembled , and nathaniel lancaster priest , found in the steps of the scribes and pharisces , who in the highest place of the assembly was found , exalting himself as their teacher . so richard sale stood so long as he could , and opened not his mouth , until at last the burden of the word of the lord burned as fire within him , that contrary to his own will he was forced to speak ; but before he could utter many words , he was violently halled forth as their manner is , and committed to the county gaol for one day , and then by the same power that committed him was released for that thing ; so the law being satified , he went to his own house . then upon the second day of the second moneth , 1656. richard sale , being commanded of the lord , to come to chester citty , and by the lord commanded to reprove sin in the gate , he being in the liberty of the county , about glovers-stone , he then was pulled by violence into the liberties of the city , and delivered to one of the mayors officers ; so he was taken before william wright major , who committed him to prison : demand was made what he was committed for ; answer was given , for speaking before the judges ; though he had as aforesaid satisfied the law , for that before , and yet for the same thing was committed to prison again , and there kept in a most cruel manner 33 weeks , in all which time he might not be suffered to have a little fire , though none of their charge , he being in a cold open room , and the coldest time in all the year , such was their cruelty , then at last they released him privately without any tryal at law . the innocent sufferings of the people of god in chester cicity , under peter leigh mayor of the same , who in a most cruell , bloody , and mercilesse manner hath executed his power against them . upon the ninth day of the tenth month , 1656. edward morgan had a servant wrought with him , whose name was william fletcher , who had stole a peece of leather from him , which was worth two shillings , or thereabouts ; edward being informed thereof by one of his servants , called thomas edwards ; then edward morgan asked fletcher , why he stole his leather from him ? fletcher denyed it , and did begin to quarrell with him : insomuch that another of edward morgans servants , went and informed peter leigh mayor , ( unknown to edward ) the mayor sent for them both , who came before him , the first word that the mayor spake was to edward morgan , asking him , if he was not a freeman of this city , being he came so unreverently before him , and farther said , are not you sworn to be obedient to magistrates ? he answered , what i do is contrary to my own will in obedience to the lord : the mayor said , the scripture saith , honour thy father , and mother : edward said , i honour my father in that i am obedient to that of god in my conscience : then the mayor said to edw. that unless he would put off his hat , he would not hear his cause , so edw. came away , and the man that stole his leather escaping punishment for stealing , because he whom he stole it from could not in conscience put off his hat . vpon the fifteenth day of the tenth moneth , 1656. peter leigh mayor commanded edw. morgan to come before him , who ( as it will appear hereafter ) had laid a snare to entrap him , because he had escaped imprisonment before , when he was before him last , seeing he would not put off his hat : the mayor had sent for rich. bird , ( formerly mayor ) who was an approved man for his purpose , to persecute the innocent without a cause , and john johnson as bad as he ; so they being met together in the pentice , sent for edw. morgan , ( as aforesaid ) pretending to punish him that stole his leather if he desired it : here all may see how unfit these men are to be magistrates , for they that know any thing pertaining to the law , know this , that a magistrate in his place ought to be a terror to him that doth evil , and is upon all occasions to use his utmost endeavour to find them out , and them to punish according to their offence , and in so doing becomes a terror to them . nay further , if any man hath so much respect to him that hath transgressed the law , as to conceal it such a time as the law sets down , according to the offence , he makes himself equal transgressour with him that hath transgressed : now these magistrates are so far from this , that they told edw. morgan , that if he desired the thief to be punished they would punish him ; so ignorant are they of their places , that because edw. morgan did not desire it from them , they did not punish him for stealing ▪ but this was but their pretence to ensnare him , as their actions hereafter will appear . then the mayor asked him , if he was not a perjured fellow to come before them so unreverently , and many such like words he used , but ( in short ) according to their design on him , they began to cast how to bring him under their law , there being a bench at the lower end of the room ; edw did sit down : tho. robbinson one of the sheriffs called to him , and said , dost thou know where thou art ? and told him that was not a place for such fellows as he to sit on , and said , he should be taught better mannors : for they would put a bridle on his head , and many such like unsavoury words he used , not worth repearing over , so in the end , they got john taylor , john knowles , and john whitley to swear against edward morgan . to wit , he said his conscience told him , he could not bow to deceit , so this was the ground for which they committed him to prison , because he could not bow to deceit , and made a warrant which was signed by john johnson , and rich. bird , the sum of which was , that edw. morgan misbehaved himself before the mayor , so to prison edward was sent straight way , but he that stole his leather found favour from them and was not punished at all for stealing , though he confessed so far to the stealing of it , that of himself he brought part of the leather back again to ed. morgan , but not by any constraint of either mayor or justices ; so now that for which they sent for edward morgan hath fully appeared . now ed. morgan lying in prison , as is said , many as he dealt with in things belonging to his trade , understanding the grievous wrong he had done him , went of their own accord , unknown to edw. morgan , unto peter leigh mayor , to desire edwards enlargement from him , the mayor told them in a fawning hypocryticall manner , he did not desire to keep him in prison , and told them it was rich. bird , and john johnson that did commit him , they seeing how uncivilly he behaved himself before me ; and said , if they would release him , he would be content therewith ; this the mayor did say in the hearing of many witnesses . then david bathow who was one that heard him say so , went to rich. bird , and told him what the mayor had said , when ric. bird had heard him tell what the mayor had said to them , he did deny that he was cause of it , and said that he had rather have gone 20 miles another way , then have gone about any such thing , when the mayor sent for him ; and farther said , he did not desire any poor man should be kept in prison ; & said farther , if any man would but come and passe his word for his good behaviour , he would undertake to prevail so far with mr. mayor , as to procure his enlargement , and likewise said if any man would come , and passe for him as is said , he would pass his word to him he should never be troubled for so doing . vpon the 21. of the tenth moneth , 1656. some of those that had been with the mayor before , went to him again about the same business , but he would not suffer them to speak with him , but sent them word by his door-keeper that they should attend him upon fryday , it being the three and twentieth of the tenth month , and bring a surety with them , and he should be released : so as they were appointed they came to the pentice , and brought a surety with them , as the mayor had appointed them to do , now the mayor and many more being present , they made known their businesse to them , so they said as they had before ( not knowing ) there was any to passe for him , that if any would passe for his good behaviour , he should be released , or else not : then the man spoke , and said , he would passe for his good behaviour ; when the mayor and the rest heard that any would passe for him , they then denyed to release him upon sureties , unless edw. morgan would come himself ▪ before them , and desire it with his hat in his hand , if so , then they would release him upon sureties , or else ( some of them said ) there he should rot ; so they were all dismissed . now any who are in the least measure turned to the light wherewithall christ jesus hath enlightned them , may see their deceit , for at the first the mayor said it was john johnson , and richard bird that committed him , and he could not release him , because they did it : rich. bird said , what they did was by the mayors appointment , but both said , bring a surety to passe for his good behaviour and he should be released ; but when a surety came , none would release him , unlesse he would come before them with his hat in his hand , and desire his enlargement of them himself , or else some of them said , he should rot there ; but in the end all were made manifest to be lyars , for upon the second day of the first month — 56. after he had endured eleven weeks imprisonment , the mayor sent a constable to the keeper of the prison to release him privately , it is beleeved , because the general sessions for the county drew neer , least their actions there should have been made publick . in the time of edw. morgans inprisonment as aforesaid , he sent a modest letter to peter leigh mayor , by the hands of deborah maddock , she finding him in the pentice , did deliver the letter ; he asked her from whence it came ? she told him ; he said , what dumb spirit hath set them on work now ? then the mayor said unto her , that such huswifes as she was fitter for the stocks , or to be ducked in a cuck-stool , then to carry letters , and come before magistrates to deliver them so unreverently ; she said , there is no respect of persons with god ; the mayor called for a constable , and sent her into little ease , the hole in the rock , where she was kept about 4 hours . richard sale , being a freemans son of this city , went to peter leigh mayor , to demand his freedom , as in right it could not be denyed him , upon the one and twentieth day of the tenth month ; the mayor asked him his name ; he told him , the mayor said , i thought you had been in prison long enough to have learned better manners , but seeing you have not ; i will teach you some if i can : rich. sale answered , evil words corrupt good manners , and thou hast heard none from me yet ; the mayor said , he would teach him to com with more reverence before magistrates , and called for a constastable , but being none ready , he sent him to a constables house ; the constable asked the man that brought him , what he must do with him , he said , bring him to prison : r. sale said , thou received no such orders ; then the constable went to the mayor himself , to know what he must do with him , so when he came back , he came to r. sale , and said , if he would promise him not to trouble the town any more , neither meddle with their ministers , he might go his way ; but he denyed to condition with him at all , who when he could get none , let him go without . vpon the 4th day of the 11th month , 56. it being the first day of the week , rich. sale , as he was waiting upon the lord in a meeting in chester , then was commanded of the lord to go to a place in the city called the minster : so he comming there , he met john glendall priest , and was moved to speak to him ; there passing by a constable , one told the priest thereof , the priest bad the constable take rich. sale to the mayors house , and keep him there untill he came to him : so the constable being ignorant of his place , did take him as the priest commanded him , and there kept him a great while , but the priest came not , as he said he would : for to them it is a light thing to lye : then at last rich. sale was taken before the mayor , who asked him , why he disturbed the ministers of the gospel ? ●he answered , he did not disturb any ministers of the gospel ; then the mayor demanded of him sureties , for the keeping of the peace : he told him he had not broken the peace , therefore he denyed to put in sureties to keep that he had not broken , so the mayor commanded him to be put into prison untill the next day ; so the next day he sent for him forth of prison , and gave order he should not be brought before him , but put into little ease , the hole in the rock , where he was kept about 8 hours , it being a very cold day , in which place he could not sit , kneel , stand nor lye , yet before they would let him forth , they would have had him to have promised them not to have disturbed their ministers nor magistrates , or else they said they must not loose him forth . but he denyed their propositions and was made rather willing to give his body up to be murdered by them , then to yeeld to their wills . then to cover their cruelty , they said he pulled priest glendals cloak from off his back , when he did not so much as touch any part of his garments ; unless they meant it by laying open the fruits of his ministery , and pulling off his cloak of hypocrisie ; and if so they meant , we shall not say against it : then peter cowsnock being in the town , and seeing how the mayor had used edw. morgan , and rich. sale , it lay upon him of the lord to go to the mayor , and to speak to him concerning his usage of them as is said ; so upon the 5. day 11 month 56. the mayor , and sheriffs , and many more being met together in the pentice , he went in amongst them , and spake to the mayor his message once and again ; the mayor seemed as though he heard him not : the mayor then spake to a man that stood by him , who came immediately and plucked peter cowsnocks hat from off his head , and flang it down , then the mayor turned towards him , and asked him , how he came before him so profanely with his hat on ? peter told him the occasion of his coming ; he received from them many scornful and reprochful words ; likewise some of them threatned to whip him , others to put him into little ease , the hole in the rock which is worse , then at last he pulled forth a pass with a letter , both from some of the council of state , his pass shewing that none should interrupt him in his journie to the isle of man , from whence he came ; yet for all this did wil. street , and will . haywood say to the sheriff , he might do well to search him for letters , it being ( as they said ) in his power ; so he being ready to execute their malice did , and took divers writings from him of great concernment , which he could never to this day get any of them again ; now let any man judge whether this was not a contempt against those of the councel of state , that made him his pass ; now this is certain , had he not had that pass , they would have don to him , as afore is said , for against him their malice was as great as against any other which they have acted much cruelty against ; for two or three times constables were sent to anthony hutchins house to charge him he should neither entertain peter cowsnock nor his son , but their message was by him little regarded in that thing . upon the 20th day 11 month 56. richard sale was moved of the lord to come to chester , it being the 3d. day of the week , as he was passing to a friends house he met with one of the pharises called william haywood , and said to him , the serpent lives upon dust , and dust is the serpents meat : he then asked rich. sale if he was god , and many such like tempting questions ; but he shut him out , and would not answer to his vain questions at all : there standing by hamnet kerkes a shoo-maker in the same city , who began to kick and push rich. sale to and fro , and offered to strike up his heels , but missing of his end , stroke richard over the face , he turned to him the other side , then hamnet kerkes stroke rich. sale over the face with such violence that he bruised his left eye exceedingly , who when he had don so went to the steeple house worship , r. sale followed him to the door , but their worship not being ended , he staid in the grave-yard , untill the priest had done ; so when people came forth he spake these words , friends , let the usage of my body this day bear witness for god , and against you that your worship is not the worship of god , but of the scribes and pharisees ; and then when the mayor came forth , rich. sale cryed for justice and judgement from him for the wrong he had done him in the street , and shewed him his face , how he was used ; but instead of justice and true judgement , he commanded one of his officers to take him to prison , who did : the mayor sent word to the under-keeper to put him in little-ease the hole in the rock , who did as he was commanded , but he could not lock it , unlesse ( as he beleeved ) he must either bruse his body or soar face , he being moved with pity towards him , took him to prison again , and said he would go to the mayor , to know why he was sent to them , being they had nothing to do with that prison ; so he abode in prison till within night : then there came either one or both sheriffs , and five constables , as the keepers wife said , who took him forth of prison , and violently thrust him into the hole in the rock ; and hamnet kerkes who had bruised his face , did thrust in his head with much cruelty , and said he hoped it might be good for him hereafter ; so in this condition they kept him three hours , and then released him , the man telling him which did release him , he must not have released him yet had he not a boy to put in . upon the 11th . day of the 12th . month , 1656. peter leigh mayor , and many more , as justices , aldermen , & sheriffs , all of this city of chester , was then passing through the street towards the common-hall of the same city , to a customary feast they there hold yearly , and before them went blowing a company of pipers , which were ( as i was informed ) sent for from shrewsbury by peter leigh mayor , to play the day before , before him to a customary horse-race , holden yearly without the city-walls ; but this is certain , peter leigh mayor , put by one of their exercise-days , or days of worship , set up and allowed on according to his own principles , to follow these pipers to this horse-race ; such is his zeal for god now come to , which so long he hath made a large profession of . so they all as aforesaid went along the street , following the pipers , as men void of either fear towards god , or shame towards men . thomas yarwood seeing them , was moved to speak a few words in much tenderness and pitty towards them ; the sum of what he spake was onely this ; he exhorted them to mind in what true christianity stood , which was in true holiness , in the fear of the lord . and vviliam ince ( one of their justices ) said , he said well , and for saying well , the mayor commanded one of his officers to put him in the stocks , who was about to do it ; then the mayor thinking them to be too good a place for such an offence , sent word he must not be put in there , but into little-ease in the rock ; so there they put him , and kept him five hours ; he being a weak and sickly man , his knees were bruised very much , that of some vveeks he did not recover the hurt he got there for disturbing pipers ; for none can say wel , but such cursed fire-brands of hellas those are disturbed , and all that takes pleasure in them . upon the seventh day of the first month , 1656. vvilliam simson was moved of the lord to come to this city of chester ; and being in a friends house , the burden of the lord did fall upon him concerning the market ; and waiting a while after he had felt the burden , there came in rich. sale , who did partake of the same burden with him ; so they both together went into the market , and declared through most of the market ; then rich. sale was taken up , and put into little-ease , the hole in the rock , where he was kept above five hours . in this time vvilliam simson had been declaring in the streets , and after that had been in the county-goal with some friends who were then prisoners for the truth , and was come from them , and was passing thorow the street , intending to have gone to a friends house , but as he passed , was took up by a constable , and brought before the mayor , who commanded him to be put into little-ease , rich. sale being released , and there was kept four hours . upon the 8th . day of the first month , 1656. vvilliam simson was moved of the lord to go to a steeple-house called iohns , where he stood peaceably amongst them until the priest had done , and was coming forth of his high place , then did he utter these words , to wit , friend , wo to him that is covered with a covering , and not with my spirit , saith the lord ; which words were no sooner ended , but violent-hands were laid on him , and he haled forth ; then a constable took hold on him , and took him before peter leigh mayor , who asked the constable if he had spoken within time ; the constable said he had not ; then the mayors vvise took upon her the place of a magistrate , and asked the constable if the minister had said his prayer , he said he had ; but for all this the mayor commanded that vvilliams simson should be put into the stocks , in which place he declared the vvord of the lord in much power : the mayor seeing people gather about him ( or being thereof informed ) did send for him forth of the stocks , and commanded he should be put into little-ease in the rock , where he was kept some nine hours , and when he was released , was not suffered to come into the town , though it was late in the night-season ; such entertainment they give to strangers in the city of westchester . then the next day in the morning it lay heavy upon william simson to go to peter leigh mayor , to demand of him in much meekness , to shew him what law he had broken , telling him it was the magistrates place to convince him of the law he had broken , being he had suffered so much hardship under him the two foregoing dayes ; the mayor gave him no answer to that , but queried of him who sent him to this city : william answered , he was moved of the lord ; the mayor said , by what spirit ? he said , by the measure of his spirit which he hath manifested in me . the mayor said , it was by the spirit of the devil : there standing by thomas robbinson , one of the sheriffs of the city , who was stirred up with envy and cruelty to such a height , that he ( thomas robbinson ) did strike william simson over the face with such a violence , that the blood burst forth in the presence of peter leigh , mayor , and john taylor a constable , yet did the constable ( its like ) by the mayors order , pull him who had his blood drawn , forth off the shop , and took him , and put him into little-ease , who bled all-along the street , which is one of the longest streets in the city , and some more , and after he was put into the hole , to the great astonishment of the people , who many of them cryed out of them ( shame ) for using him so barbarously . now let any sober-minded man judge what a magistrate peter leigh is , and who he bears the sword for , and turns the edge against , when a man for demanding ( after he is punished ) to know that , which was the mayor or magistrates place and duty to have told him , before he had punished him , what law he had broken ; and yet instead of shewing him the law , suffered the law to be broken in spilling his blood , and the shedder of blood not punished , but punishes him whose blood was shed , as is declared . upon the same day after that william simson was released out of little-ease , as aforesaid , he went to a friends house where rich. sale was come , who that morning was moved to come five miles to that city ; so both being moved of the lord , went into the streets with much boldness , and declared against their deceit and cruelty , until a constable came and took them to the mayors house , who when they came there , were not admitted to come before him , but he sent word to the constable he should put them into prison , richard sale he put into little-ease , where he was kept four hours , and william simson he put into the city-goal , where he was kept seven days . thus saith the lord , i will make my people as signs and wonders in this wicked and adulterous generation , and they shall see it , yet they shall not believe , but trust in the imaginations of their own hearts , until they sink down into the pit . this is a true declaration of the manner of my being a sign in the city of chester , as i richard sale was moved of the lord ; and it i declare for the satisfaction of the innocent ; to remove all occasion of stumbling out of the minds of any which might lend an ear to the wicked one , to think or conceive that i was mad ; but what i did was in obedience to the lord , whose commands and ways are strange unto the children of darkness , and was and is a true sign of the state and condition that all men are in who are erred from the light , being in the dark night of apostacy . the manner is as followeth . vpon the 3. day of the week , being the 10th . of the first month , 1656 there being a monthly meeting of priests in the city , for they have a custom for every new moon to observe a day of worship ; so upon one of their new-moon-days i was commanded of the lord to be asign in the city , the burden of which i had born for the space of 6. weeks ; the command of the lord coming unto me upon the 2. 1. day of the 11. month , as i was passing along the east-gate-street with candles in my hand , it being the 4. d. of the week , the word of the lord came unto me , saying , return again , and light up one of thy candles , and carry it in thy hand into the streets of this gity , and say , behold ye despisers , and wonder , for the lord is working a work in this your day , though a man declare it unto you , yet you will not believe it . and they shall say unto thee again , what art thou mad to come with a light candle into the street at mid-day . and thou shalt say unto them again , what use is all your candle-light for now who are in the night of apostacy ? now the light of the son of god is come , which hath given his people an understanding to discern betwixt things that differ ; and the temple now is witnessed , which neither needeth the light of sun , moon , or candle , for the lord god and the lamb is the light thereof , and no more use it all your candle-light-worship for now , then my candle is in your streets at mid-day . so i having undergone the terrors of the lord for my disobedience , was now made willing by his power to do what i was commanded of him , being that he would not free me from the same . and on the third day aforesaid , i lighted up a candle , and went into the street , and was to have gone into the steeple-house amongst them at their new-moon-worship , but i was prevented by a rude multitude , and strucken by a professing woman , who hath strucken others of the lords messengers , and slat dirt in the faces of some of them , and yet by the priests in this city , and other professors , is accounted a religious woman , ( her name is kathern hinde ) and my candle was pulled forth of my hand , and i ill abused ; but i declared the word of the lord in much power , until i was taken up by the sword-bearer , and delivered to a constable to be brought into prison , where i was kept about a week ; the same corrupt will which imprisoned me , sent for me forth , i neither being convinced , accused , nor examined what law i had broken , but turned me out privily , whose actions would not abide the light to discover them . from him who is a sufferer for the testimony of the truth , richard sale . now while rich. sale and william simson were in prison , as aforesaid , they sent two several letters to peter leigh mayor , to put him in mind of his unjust dealing with them , but the bearers of both he caused to be put into little-ease for many hours , though neither of them knew what was written in the letters , having not heard them read over . upon the next third day of the vveek after vvilliam simson was released forth of prison , he was moved of the lord to go into a steeple-house in the city , where many people were assembled , where he stood peaceably among them until the priest had done ; then another priest stept up , and desired the people to stay the ordinance of baptism , which was the sprinkling of an infant , in which discourse he laboured to confirm that to be an ordinance of god , and the child thereby made a member of a visible church : vvhen he had done this discourse , vvilliam simson desired priest nab in moderation to clear those things by scripture , to wit , that the church of god is visible , and sprinkling of infants is an ordinance of god ; but no answer could he get from him , but was ill beaten by the people , and thrust forth of the doors ; then the priest came forth , and passed by him ; he desired the same thing of him , that so the people might be satisfied ; but he would not answer , but the hireling fled because he was an hireling , and went into an house ; then vvilliam simson spake a few words to the people in the street , but a man shortly took hold on him , and put him into little-ease , the hole in the rock , where he was kept eight hours , or thereabout . upon the third day of the fourth month , 1657. edward morgan being peaceably at his outward imployment , there then came joh. fletcher , who was il drunken , & a notorious common drunkard known to be all the city over ; this fletcher came and called edw. morgan cuckold , and his vvife a vvhore in the presence of many people , and railed so on edw. that he could not in quiet follow his imployment ; then at last edward went to peter leigh mayor , and informed him thereof , and told him he was now at his shop ill drunk ; the mayor said to edward , will you swear he is drunk ? he said , nay , what need i to swear when the man is to be seen ? said the mayor , i will order you both , and called for a constable , and called edward morgan a perjured fellow , for his unreverent coming before him , and straightway sent him into little-ease for no other cause then as is said , for complaining of a drunkard who had abused him , but the drunkard was not at that time questioned . many being sensible how it was , and saw edward punished , and the drunkard go free , cryed out against it ; and their cry coming to the mayors ear , three dayes after he sent for the drunkard , and sent him to prison until he had drunk a pot or two of strong drink , and then released him , little-ease being too course a place for a drunkard . and now let all honest hearted people judge if ever the like thing was done by any christian magistrate , as he professeth himself to be , yea , or by heathen magistrate either , that a drunkard should go free , and he that was abused by him , and made complaint against him , should be punished because in conscience he could not doss his hat when he made his complaint . he that justifieth the wicked , and condemneth the just , even they both are abomination to the lord . edmond ogden coming to a meeting of the people of god in chester city one first day , and another man came with him of cains generation , into the town , and was with him when the constable took edmond up , yet they suffered the other man to go , and took edmond ogden before peter leigh mayor , who committed him to the stocks , where he sate about half an hour , and then taken and put into little-ease four hours , or thereabout . upon the 10th . of the 4 month , 1657. it being the 3. day of the vveek , richard sale was moved of the lord to come to chester city , and to go into pepper-street , where he found it his place to abide , and there fate down , and within a short space after there were carryed forth a dead corps out of richard golbornes house , and two priests going before it ; and as they passed by him , he was moved to charge them in the name of the living god to make good their practice by plain scripture , and shew by it where ever any of the apostles or holy men of god preached any funeral-sermons ; but they returnd him no answer ; then he was made to declare against them and their practice , they being found out of the doctrine of christ , and practice of the holy men of god : then there following after them a company of proud ungodly ones , he was made to cry out from the burthen of the lord , against their pride , covetousnesse , violence , and oppression , which many of them lived in ; and was made to declare that all their worship and sacrifices offered up in that nature they lived in , was but as a smoke in the lords nose all the day long : then one ionathan goldson being more cruel then all the rest , though one of the chief pillars of the pharisaical church , came out of the company in great rage , and laid violent hands on him , calling him rogue and giving him many more unsavoury speeches , holding his hand up many times , as if he would have strucken him , and gnashed upon him with his teeth , and took him to a constable , and he brought him before peter leigh mayor , & he ordered him to be put into little-ease , who did with much cruelty , where his body endured the strength of four men before they could get the door to lock ; in which cruel place they kept him four hours , neither his friends nor others being admitted to come to him ; but by the power of the living and unchangeable god , he was preserved without pain , declaring his word in much power , to the confounding of all gain-sayers . then when he was released , the constable offered to take hold on him , thinking he was unable to stand ; but he denied his help , and was made in the power of god to go as well as before , though his knees were all bruised , and did swell ; and then the constable charged him to go home , and trouble the city no more ; but he refused his charge , and passed into the city again , where he staid all night . then the day following he was moved to go to peter leigh mayor to demand what law he had broken , and told him it was the magistrates place to convince the transgressor if a transgressor , what law he had broken , and then to punish him according to the transgression committed , but the mayor called for a constable , and said he was not subject to authority , or words to that effect ; he said to him , if thou wert a magistrate of the law of god , or any law or statute in this nation , i could own thee in thy place , but thou art a magistrate of neither , but of thy own corrupt will , and the hands of the wicked are strengthened by thee : then the constable came , the mayor gave him order to bring him out of the town from constable to constable , ( as the constable told him ) so out of the city he was brought by two constables , but after them he passed into the city again , in at the same gate he was brought forth at , and passed by the mayors shop , and went to a friends house . then the latter part of the same day rich. sale was passing neer newgate in the same city , and there meeting him ionathan goldson , who as he passed by him said , friend i exhort thee to repentance for the wrong thou didst me the other day , ionathan having a ruler in his hand offered to strike r. sale , and said , sirrah hold thy tongue , or i will make thee thou rogue ; rich. asked him if such words as these proceeded from a christian conversation , yea or nay ? but he said , sirrah , if thou wilt not hold thy tongue , i will put thee into this lake , there being by a dirty lake ; with that ionathan did thrust rich. violently from him , then rich. declared the woes of the living god against him , and all who were of the like profession with him ; then with another thrust ion. gave him , his hat fell off his head into the lake ; then richard going to take up his hat , ionathan struck at one of his legs , thinking thereby to have laid him along in the lake , but it was ordered he kept his feet , and when he was through the lake , he was made to stand still to be a witnesse for god and against him , it being from the lord cleared to him , that the fruit of his ungodly profession must farther be manifested ; so rich. standing on the other side of the lake as is said , the hypocrite ran for stones , and flang them into the lake to plash him , and with him came two or three boyes , who were hewing stones for him ; so he and the boys joined together , and were made brethren in iniquity , and set up laughters , and made a great hubub and stir , and plashed him so with the dirty lake water , that the fore part of his body was wet from the head to the feet ; but in all this time r. sale was made to stand still , and bade the people that saw his usage , take notice if any such actions as these ever proceeded from a christian conversation ; telling them , that they that were publicanes and harlots were neerer the kingdom of god then he ; then ionathan goldsons wife ran behind rich. sale , and took up clods of dirt , and flang them at his bare head , sometimes hitting him on the face ; insomuch that he was exceedingly besmeared with dirt ; all this while he was made to stand still not offering any violence : then in the sight of many people ionathan his wife did take up dunghill durt in her hands , daubing it upon his face and mouth , as if a man had been daubing a clay wall , so that his head , face , shoulders , and hands were all besmeared with her most barbarous usage of him , and in this condition he was moved to go thorow the streets , and up to the mayors shop , and informed him who they were that had used him so , and the cause for what they did it ; not that he desired any revenge on them , knowing his revenger liveth , but to try if he would be partial in respecting persons in judgement , and likewise in the city to lay open the truth of their ungodly profession ; then the mayor did appoint him to come the next day , when he and the rest of his council were met in the pentice ; so he came away , and declared down the streets in much power , and when he had cleared his conscience he went to a friends house , and in some measure made him clean , and then returned forth of the town to his own house . the next day as peter leigh mayor appointed him , he came to the pentice , and spake to the sword-bearer to go and acquaint the mayor , that according to his appointment the day before he was come , and ask him if i must come to him , the sword bearer brought him word again from the mayor , he must not come to him unlesse he had witnesses to swear , so r. sale staid in the outward pentice till the mayor came forth , and then said unto him , friend , i am come according to thy appointment , to wait for justice and judgment , but the mayor bade him either bring in his witnesses upon oath , or else he said he could do nothing ; this the mayor said though he himself were an eyewitness how he was used ; now this mayor must have witnesses to swear , or he cannot lawfully proceed to punish them that transgresseth the law ; then i would fain know by what law he hath acted , and leave it to any sober man to judge , when he hath judged and commanded soar and grievous punishments to be inflicted , when neither he hath convinced them of any law they have broken , neither any accused them , neither he himself examined them , nor never required any to swear against them , and yet tortured , imprisoned , and banished them , but now to do justice against any that hath evilly entreated , and shamefully abused the innocent , and harmless people of god , he cannot by no means unless witnesses be sworn , though as is said , he saw how shamefully he was used himself ; but the lord god liveth before whom he shall answer for these things , and true judgment shall pass against him , and none be required to swear , ( but to proceed ) the mayor went into the steeple house to a lecture sermon as they called it , the righteous spirit being grieved in rich sale , he was made to stay untill they had done their worship , and when the priest came forth he said , behold ye priests the fruits of your ministery , how that i had like to have been murdered in the streets by a professing man and his wife of your church : but wo to you that build up sion with blood , and ierusalem with iniquity , for the dreadful hand of the living god is stretched forth against you : then he was violently pulled down from the place where he stood , and halled away ; then as he went he informed the people how the mayor had appointed him to come for justice , but when he came was denyed of the same , because he would not bring people to swear ; therefore is justice perverted by him , and judgment turned backward , for instead of doing him justice , the mayor sent him into little ease , the hole in the rock , by two officers , but they seeing it could not be locked , but judged it would either bruise his face or limbs , they being not so cruel as some others , took him forth again , & put him into the city gaol , where he remained above 2 hours , & then came a constable with another man and took him forth of prison , and brought him into little ease again ; but they likewise found it such a cruell place , it could not be locked unless as they beleeved they must lame him , they only reared a block of wood to the door , and said they would go to the mayor , and inform him , that if he would have any put in there that was in mans stature , the place must be made bigger unless he would lame them , so in that place he was kept five hours ; and when he was let forth he was charged straitly to keep him forth of the city ; but the next day he came to the city again , notwithstanding all the threats of his enemies . vpon the 19th day of the 5. month 57. rich. iones was coming to a meeting of saints in chester city , and was by a constable taken up , and his horse taken from him , and he let go : then when the meeting was broken up he went to look after his horse , and with him went edmund ogden , the constable took them before the mayor and iohn ratcliff recorder ; who asked them many vain questions , but in the end committed them both to prison , where they were kept untill the next day in the evening , and then released . vpon the 4. day 7. month 57. richard scostrip coming to this city was moved to exhort people in the street to repentance , and was then taken up and brought before peter leigh mayor , who asked him from whence he came , he told him from yorkshire ; then the mayor asked him if he knew in whose presence he was , he told him yea , he was in the presence of the lord ; he said , i will teach you to know you are before a magistrate , and straitway sent him into little ease in the rock , where he was kept about two hours . then the next day rich. scostrip was moved to reprove sin in the gate , when he had said what he had given him to say , he went his way with an intention to depart out of the town , he being clear of the same , and was gone as far as the gate of the city , but was fetched again by a constable , and put into the house of correction , who gave the man that kept the house strait orders to keep him to hard labour , where he was kept part of four days , and then released , and not at all called before any magistrate , neither when he was committed to prison , nor when he was taken forth of prison : such are their laws in this city . upon the 28th . day of the 7th . month , 1657. i anthony hutchins did then send a true declaration of some of the innocent sufferings of the saints in chester , to peter leigh mayor , by the hands of iohn owen , the mayor sent him into the house of correction , and kept him two days . upon the seventeenth day of the eighth month , 1657. there was at peters steeplehouse in chester , a sermon , ( as it s usually called ) to the hearing of which many people did assemble themselves , and the more , in regard this was the day that they in the city made choice and elected new officers , as mayors , sheriffs , &c. and it being said to be a free place where any may come to hear , rich. sale came in amongst the rest , and stood as peaceably , and gave as good heed to what was there said , as any there did , and against what was spoken , did not utter a word ; yet notwithstanding a man came to him , and by violence pulled him forth , and put him into the house of correction , who at the end of three dayes was released by the command of richard minshal , who was newly elected mayor . now observe , for not going to their assemblies we are by them reproached , and accounted as hereticks , then if any of us go , and take that liberty which the true church allowed , 1 cor. 14. 20. 30 , 31 , 32. then are we cast into prison as breakers of the law , and disturbers of their ministers ; then will they say , cannot you come and be quiet , and take what you like , and let the rest alone ; and let our ministers alone and you need not be thus imprisoned ; and now richard sale came , as is said , and stood as civilly as any did , and neither spoke against their minister as they call him , nor any other , and yet ( as is said ) was not suffered to stay , not only so , but sent to prison . now whether these proceedings be lawful and honest , i leave it to the reader to judge . there hath been much more sufferings of the innocent people of god ( the saints ) in this city of westchester , which is not here mentioned , these being , sufficient to shew what fruits the proud , covetous , hireling-priests have brought forth in the same . and now i shall give you a true description of this little-ease , or hole in the rock , so often in this book spoken of , which peter leigh mayor hath made the executioner of his cruelty , madness and folly , against the innocent and harmless people of god . surely the wrath of man shall praise the ; the remainder of wrath shall thou restrain . it is a hole hewed into the rock , the bredth and cross from side to side , is 17. inches from the back to the inside of the great door , at the top , 7. inches ; at the shoulders 8. inches ▪ at the brest 9. inches and an half ; from the top to the bottom , one yeard and half ; now to take in the height of that as their malice puts them on , they have draw-boards which shoot over crosse into the two sides , to a yeard height , or thereabout . now let any sober-minded man in this nation judge if such inventions as these were ever invented by any that feared god , to torture their fellow-creatures in , for not putting off the hat , or speaking to a priest in the street sound and sober words , or for desiring to have the law shewed them they have broken , when they have endured much punishment , and have not known for what ; and instead of shewing them the law , themselves have broken the law in drawing their blood , and put them into this hole when they have done ; or for disturbing pipers with saying wel ; or for calling for justice when their faces have been bruised ; or for exhorting people to repentance ; or for reproving sin in the gate ; or for delivering a meek and sober letter ; or for desiring a priest when he hath done , to clear what he hath said by scripture ; or for complaining of a drunkard ; or for passing quietly through the streets to a meeting , to wait upon the lord ; all which things before mentioned , which this is a short relation of , hath been done by the command of peter leigh mayor of the city of chester , and suffered by the innocent people of of god in this little-ease , or hole in the rock ; to the truth of which , lest any should doubt , as they might do if they were not witnessed to by some , they being such unheard-of cruelties as never were acted by any who profess themselvs to be christian magistrates , nay , nor by the worst of heathen magistrates that ever i read of ; and i being an eye-witness to most of them as they were executed upon the innocent , shall be ready ( if called thereunto ) to answer to the truth of them , anthony hutchins . you that be magistrates in the city of chester , who hath thus acted with prejudice against the people of god , and servants of god , you have turned your sword backwards against the just , and ye have not been a praise to them that do well , but your fruits and actions have been a shame to men that four god , & to modesty , & them that own true justice and equity ; you make men offenders for words , and you persecute them that reprove sin in the gate , and they is made a prey upon by you ; you have provided a torturing place , a squeezing pressing place , for such as declare truth amongst you ; you are become rebels against the truth ; truth is fallen in the streets , and equity cannot enter , the door to that is shut ; ye become abominable amongst men , your doings the lord hath taken notice of : ye are boisterous and perverse , yea , envious in the persecution of the lords servants , and the lords presence hath been amongst them in all their sufferings , yea in the greatest of your cruelty : can you be proud , and boast when you have done , that you would have all to see your peevishness , the beholders by , that ye may be upon record brought . doth not your fruits and actions before mentioned , dishonor the place of a magistrate ? we number not the just with the wicked , nor the godly with the profane , but put a difference . what have you gotten by all your actions ? but shewed forth your spirits , whereby they are tryed not to be the spirit of christ nor the apostles , who saith , love your enemies , but you persecute your friends ; the lord forgive your persecutions , persecutors were ever blind , you have manifested the end of your religion in this the day of the lord , and the fruits of your teachers , and the end of your profession , and the order and government of your church and ministry , as before-mentioned declares , besides all the abuses the people of god ( the saints ) have had in their meetings , which was never rebuked by the magistrates . george fox . upon the 28. day of the 6th . month , 1657. i sent a copy of all these things before-written , save only some which have been acted against the innocent since , and likewise some things which were acted before , which was not then in remembrance , which is added in this to peter leigh mayor of chester city . the direction that i writ in the beginning , was to this effect , that if he , or any other who was therein concerned , could object against the truth of any thing therein written , they might do it before i went on with what i intended , wch intent of mine was to print the book , though at that time i denied to certifie them so much ; but the bearer thereof peter i eigh mayor sent into little-ease in the rock , but i heard nothing from them until the eighth day of the 7. month , and then the mayor sent for me up to the pentice by two constables , and when i came in before them , i found peter leigh , mayor ; john ratliffe , recorder ; edward bradshaw , justice of peace , the two sheriffs , and many more then present ; the mayor asked me if i had seen that book , it lying before them , which was the same i sent him , as aforesaid ; i said i had . he asked me if i wrote that name at the latter end thereof , which was my own name . i said i did not ; but i told him i had gotten it written fair over after one that i had writ . then he said , do you own it ? i said i did . he asked me if i read it over . i said i had . then he gave me many threatning words . then i asked them whether committed the greater evil , they that act cruelty , or they that write down cruelty when acted by another ? the recorder said , who must judge of that ? i said , let that of god in your own consciences judge whether committeth the greater offence . the recorder said , many a one hath had their ears nailed to the pillory for a lesse offence . i said , if he deserved to have his ears nailed to the pillory that writ these things down , what did they deserve that acted them ? then they gave me threatning words . i told them i desired no favor from them , but that i might have fair plea in the face of a court ; and if i had transgressed the law , i was willing to suffer by it . likewise i told them , i judged it not equal they themselves should be judges in their own cause . one of them said they would not , twelve men should judge it ; but the recorder said twenty four men should judge it . then the mayor said i was a railing fellow . i turned to the people , and asked if any of them heard me rail since i came , he said i did in the book . i told him if i should say such words to them as paul said to elimus , they then would say i railed , though truth might be written , and names and titles might be given to men answerable to their actions , as paul said to elimus , whose name was elimus , yet paul called him a child of the devil , and an enemy to all righteousnesse ; but i said , i had used no such words to them . the recorder said paul might say , so to elimus , who was a sorcerer i said all the priests in england which preach for hire , and divine for money , are sorcerers , for thereby the right ways of the lord comes to be perverted . the recorder said i must not judge them : i said , their practice judged them . then i charged them concerning their hard usuage of my friends in that little-ease , or hole in the rock : and asked them , where they ever read of such a prison as that wch bruised mens bodies in such a cruel manner , & told them the law hath so much respect to men ( though transgressors of the same ) as to provide large prisons to secure their bodies in , and not such holes as these to presse and bruise them in , or words to this effect . i told them i could see drunkards and swearers passe up and down the streets , but i heard of none of them that was put into that place . the mayor told me if i saw such things , i might come and inform him thereof , and then see if he did punish them : i said , so i might get the same reward which edward morgan got , who came and complained to thee of a man that was ill drunk , and had ill abused him too , and thou caused him to be put into little-ease , and suffered the drunkard and quarreller to passe unpunished . many more questions and answers passed betwixt us , which i omit to make mention of here ; but ( to be short ) they put me to this issue , either to put in sureties to appear before them the next quarter sessions holden for , and in the city , or to go to prison ; but to put in sureties i refused , knowing my self to be clear from the breach of any law , and they themselves to be guilty , according as it 's written in the foregoing relation : so into the common gaol for the city i was brought upon the eighth day of the seventh month , 1657. i demanded a copy of my mittimus , and used all the means i could , which stood in my freedom , but could get none , though the recorder said i should have one . so when i had been in prison about four weeks , the general sessions at this city for the county was holden ; so my body was by a habeus corpus removed out of the city goul to answer the law before the judges for the county , and before them i was brought upon the nineth day of the eighth month , after i had lain in prison ( as is said ) 3● . days : so coming before the judges , as is said , they demanded of the recorder the causes of my imprisonment ; so the mittimus by which i suffered , was read in the court ; the substance contained therein , was , that i had writ a book of libels , wherein i reproached peter leigh esq ( for so it was written ) and other magistrates and ministers in the city of chester . to which i make this short answer , libels are things which are scattered , and not owned , which are full of lyes and scoffs , and their whole intention is to reproach and revile them they are directed against ; now so far as i know , things written and scattered upon this account , are libels : now this i sent to peter leigh mayor , cannot have any colour to be called a libel , for i writ my name to it when i sent it , and likewise i had not fea●●●red any of them at all , when i sent that to him , i owned it before them all , as is said in my examination , i put them to it to disprove any thing i had written , if they could , which was the ground i sent it to them for , that if they would object against it , they might , before i went on with what i now have accomplished , but they did not convince me of any thing i had written , to be false , neither could they ; besides my intent therein was neither to reproach nor revile them , or any one of them ; for i writ nothing therein but the truth , and the truth never reproached or reviled any man ; for if any act those things that are not just , and of a good report , or hath used violence , or acted cruelty against any man , and the truth of these things be written down , and published abroad , and they who have thus acted , come thereby to be reproached , he that writes down the truth brings not the reproach , but he that doth the thing which is not right , brings the reproach upon himself . but to proceed , my mittimus being read , the judge asked the recorder if he could prove against me any matter of fact ; he said , a deal , but not any thing which could prove any such a thing against me as matter of fact . the judge spake a great deal to shew him wherein i was wronged , and then did release me , and set me free : so when i was cleared , before i went from the bar i spoke to the recorder in the hearing of the judges and the whole court , these words , viz. i would have the recorder before you all ( if he can ) to disprove any one thing i have written ; but before them all ( as is said ) he was silent , and could not : so to the whole court it plainly appeared i was wrongfully imprisoned . righteousness exalteth a nation , but sin is a reproach to any people . anthony hutchins . a relation of the sufferings of friends in cheshire , because that for con science-sake they could not pay tythes and other things ; and where any thing hath been returned back , is mentioned , as i have bad knowledge . great budworth parish , ephraim elcock priest . thomas buckley for tythes of the value of 12. s. had a horse taken from him for the use of the said priest , worth 4. l. as the men of the world judged . george veakin for the value of 4. d. ob . which he claimed for smoke-penny , and easter reckoning , had one brass pot taken from him worth 8. s. and likewise the said geo. veakin for the value of 6. d. which they demanded for two years payment to their priest , according as they in their wills had sessed him , tool from him work-tools ( being a wheel-wright by trade ) worth 7. s. runkorn parish , william finmore priest . henry burtonwood for tythe of the value of 5. s. had taken from him one cow worth 2. l. 13. s. 4. d. for the use of the said priest abovesaid . and at another time henry burtonwood for tythe-corn of the value of 2. l. 1 s. 1. d. had taken from him 〈◊〉 cows and one heiser stirk , which were sold for about 7. l. for the use of priest finmore abovesaid . john burtonwood for tythe wool and lamb of the value of 8. s. 3. d. had taken from him two yong beasts , which they sold for 1. l. 5. s. thomas boulton , for tythe-corn of the value of 13. s. had taken from him corn worth five pound , for the use of henry brooks . sisly cleaton had taken from her one warming-pan worth 6. s. for tythe-flax , and she had none , being sued at law , and cast by a false oath for the use of coll. brook . widow royle for tythe-corn of the value 1. l. 3. s. had taken from her one cow worth 3. l. 10. s. for the use of coll. hen. brooks . and likewise taken from her one load of beans , nothing being demanded ; and likewise she had one bed hilling taken for tythe too , for coll. brook . frodsam parish . widow millner for tythe-corn of the value of 2. l. 10. s. had taken from her one mare and one cow , worth 7. l. 10. s. & likewise for tythe-oats of the value of 11. s. had taken from her one colt worth 2. l. besides she lay in prison 7. weeks for the same thing , for the use of earl rivers . thomas hill for tythe-corn of the value of 1. l 10. s. and for which he suffered 14. weeks imprisonment had taken from him five load of wheat out of his field worth five pound for the use of earl rivers . james brown for tythe-corn of the value of 1. l. 10. s. had goods taken from him worth 5. l. 13. s. 4. d. by valuation , for the use of earl rivers . william sarret for tythe-corn of the value of 1. l. 6. s. 8. d. had goods taken from him worth 5. l. 10. s. besides the said william sarret was imprisoned for the same thing seven weeks . james brown for tythe of the value of 13 s. 4. d. according unto their own valuation , had taken from him one yoke of oxen worth 7. l. wilinslow parish . iohn brereton priest . thomas ianney for tythe-corn of the value of 7. s. 6. d. had taken from him one mare , out of which they took trebble damage , and returned the remainder back for the priest abovesaid . thomas janney for tythe-corn of the value of 16 s. 6 d. had taken from him for the said priest , two young cows better worth then 6. l. thomas ianney again for tythe-corn of the value of 1 l 8. s. valued by the abovesaid priests servants , had taken from him by justice writs one yong horse worth 4 l which makes up his three years suffering ; and now for this year 1657. the priest hath gotten an order for trebble damage from two justices , by whose writs all hath been done abovesaid against tho. ianney . thomas pots for tythe-corn valued by the abovesaid priests servants to 1. l. 6. s. 8 d. had taken from him by justice writs two heifers which they sold for 3. l. 10 s. john worthington for tythe-corn of the value of 3. l. 6. s. had taken from him by justice writs , one mare , and one young horse , which were thought to be worth 12. l. for the use of the said priest . richard burgges for tythe-corn of the value of 19. s. by the priests servants , had taken from him by justice-writs , two kine worth 5 l. richard burgges for tythe-corn valued by the priests servants to 16. s. had taken from him one yong heifer worth 2 l. 6 s. 8 d. lawrence pearson for tythe of the value of 8 s. had taken from him one horse worth 3 l. anne ianney of handford , for tythe of the value of 13 s. had taken from her one cow and one heifer , which were thought to be worth 6. l. taken by one robert finy a constable , who denyed to shew any order from any in authority to do the same ; most of this crueity hath been done by writs from two justices , viz. thomas standley , and thomas brereton , being servants to this priests lusts . mobberley parish , robert barlow priest . thomas heald for tythe-corn of the value of 14 s. 6d . valued by the priests man , had taken from him one heifer , which was thought to be worth 1 l. 13 s. 4. d. hugh strettle for tythe-corn of the value of 11 s. 6 d. had taken from him by two justice writs , two sacks of oats worth 1 l. 8 s. and the constable of the town being troubled at it , asked the priest how he took so much , seeing he professed not to take trebble damage of any : the priest answered , that it cost him so much in justices dinners , and their men , and for warrants , and for a judgement : so this scripture is fulfilled , the heads judge for reward , and the priests teach for hire , and the prophets thereof divine for money , yet will lean upon the lord . and so this is the measure the people of god receive of both magistrates , priests , and their people , until the lord arise and plead the cause of the innocent against him that is too mighty for him . clarks wages , and repair of steeplehouses . thomas buckley had taken from him a brass pot worth 10. s. because he could not pay 7 s. 2 d. to the repair of a steeple-house . thomas buckley had taken from him a 11. measures of oats worth 1 l. 2 s. 8 d. because he could not for conscience sake pay the clarks , and to the repairing of the steeplehouse , being their demand , was 17 s. at peever . henry burtonwood had taken from him goods worth 5 s. because he could not pay 2 s. to the repair of the steeple-house at runkorn . henry burttonwood likewise at another time had goods taken from him being four pewter-dishes , because he could not pay 2 s 6 d. to the repaire of the abovesaid steeple-house . elli● boulton had taken from her four pewter-dishes , and a pewter bowle , and one pot , and one candlestick , worth the sum of 1 l. 3 s. because she could not pay 3 s. for the repair of the steeplehouse at runkorn . widow royle had taken from her one brass pan , and one pot , and a dripping-pan , worth 2 l. 10 s. because she could not pay to repair the steeplehouse at runkorn . james brown had taken from him one double flaggon , and a plow-chain worth 6 s because he could not pay 2 s. for the repair of the steeplehouse at frodsham . thomas hill had taken from him one pot worth 16 s. because he could not pay 2 s. for the repair of a steeplehouse at frodsham : and likewise at another time taken from him one pot worth 6 s. because he could not pay 1 s. for the repair of the steeplehouse abovesaid . william sarret had taken from him one pot worth 12 s. because he could not pay 2 s. 6 d. for the repair of the steeplehouse at frodsham . iohn burtonwood had taken from him one skellet worth 5 s. because he could not pay 2 s. for the repair of a steeplehouse . thomas ianney had taken from him one pewter dish which cost 5 s. because he could not pay 6 d. to the repair of an idols temple at wilinslow . thomas janney because he could not pay to the repair of a bell , and repair of a steeplehouse , had taken from him four joynt-stools worth 6 s. 8 d. thomas pots had taken from him one brass pot and a skimmer worth 10 s. although he was free to pay all they demanded of him but 2 d. thomas another time had taken from him one coat , which they sold for 1 l. because he could not pay 6 s 9 d. to the repair of the steeplehouse at willinslow . john worthington had taken from him by justice vvrits , one brass pan , and two pewter dishes worth 1 l. because he could not pay 7 s to the repair of the steeplehouse at willinslow . john worthington had taken from him one pair of cart vvheels bound with iron , because he could not pay 12 s. to the repair of a steeplehouse at wilinslow . richard burges had taken from him one brass pan worth 17 s. because he could not pay 3 s. for the repair of a steeple-house at wilinslow . at another time richard burges had taken from him a gun which cost 10 s. because he could not pay 6 s. to repair the steeplehouse abovesaid . robert millner had taken from him three pewter dishes worth 7 s. because he could not pay 2 s. to the repair of the steeplehouse abovesaid at another time from robert millner one gun worth 9 s. because he could not pay 2 s. for the repair of the steeple-house . robert pearson and his son taken from them two pewter dishes worth 3 s. 4 d. because they could not pay 2 s 6 d. for the use abovesaid . james harrison had his coat taken from him because he could not pay 2 s. 8 d. which upon their account was due for another man to pay for the repair of the steeplehouse at vvilimslow . robert pearson and his son had taken from them one brass pan worth 12 s : because they could not pay 3 s : 4 d : to the use abovesaid : john falkener because he could not pay to the repair of the steeplehouse at vvilinslow , had goods taken from him worth 5 s : 2 d : for 1 s : 4 d : thom●● lieuzley had taken from him one pot worth 16 s : because he could not pay 6 s : to the repair of the steeple-house at runkorn : concerning swearing . thomas leuzley because he could not swear , had a cow taken from him worth 2 l : 10 s : besides , suffered six vveeks and five dayes imprisonment for the same thing : and likewise seven of these friends above mentioned , to wit , john vvorthington , thomas janney , thomas pots , richard burge● , robert millner , james harrison , edward alcock , suffered the spoyling of their goods to the value of a 11 l : 10 s : 8 d : for but passing to a meeting so far as their own vvarrant expressed , but two full miles distant from their habitations : and this was done by an order from two justices , edward hide , thomas standley , and it hath been often laid before the justices at several sessions ; but still they pervert justice : tho : burrowes in the parish of budworth , for tythe of the value of 1 l : 3 s : had taken from him one heifer worth 3 l : 10 s : so by their fruits you may know them , ( as christ said ) and their folly ( yea rather their abounding wickedness ) begins now to be made manifest unto all men , and the testimony of truth will shortly be fulfilled upon them , which hath been declared against them ; as a troop of robbers wait for a man , so a company of priests murther in the way by consent , hos. 6 : 9 : and they spoile mens goods , and punish mens persons , as men that are without mercy , which have never learned of the father , to be merciful as he is merciful , but are more cruel then the heathens , or any that went before them , so that as the lord hath said , they will become a shame , and a perpetual reproach unto all generations shortly . the end . several papers some of them given forth by george fox; others by jame [sic] nayler, minister of the eternal word of god, raised up after the long night of apostacy to direct the world, to wait for the revelation of jesus christ, and to turn their minds to the true light, that they may be reconciled to god; of the world is not worthy, and therefore doth hate, persecute, and whom inprison them, under the name of quaker[s]. gathered together and published by a. p. that the truth may be spread abroad, and deceit be discovered. wherein the plain, honest, and sober conversation of the saints in fear and trembling, is justified, against the idle bablings of formal professors ... and of all sorts of persons, under pretence of civility. also the priests of england, with their imaginary doctrines and worships discovered to be the grand enemies of jesus christ; and the true worship of god in spirit and truth made manifest. ... with a word to the people of england ... fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40250 of text r218791 in the english short title catalog (wing f1904). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 94 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 21 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40250 wing f1904 estc r218791 99830354 99830354 34805 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40250) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 34805) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2090:10) several papers some of them given forth by george fox; others by jame [sic] nayler, minister of the eternal word of god, raised up after the long night of apostacy to direct the world, to wait for the revelation of jesus christ, and to turn their minds to the true light, that they may be reconciled to god; of the world is not worthy, and therefore doth hate, persecute, and whom inprison them, under the name of quaker[s]. gathered together and published by a. p. that the truth may be spread abroad, and deceit be discovered. wherein the plain, honest, and sober conversation of the saints in fear and trembling, is justified, against the idle bablings of formal professors ... and of all sorts of persons, under pretence of civility. also the priests of england, with their imaginary doctrines and worships discovered to be the grand enemies of jesus christ; and the true worship of god in spirit and truth made manifest. ... with a word to the people of england ... fox, george, 1624-1691. naylor, james, 1617?-1660. aut parker, alexander, 1628-1689. killam, john. aut parnell, james, 1637?-1656. aut 40 p. s.n.], [london : printed in the year, as the world accounts, 1654. a.p. = alexander parker (cf. smith). place of publication from wing. includes letters signed by john killam and james parnell. reproduction of the original in the john rylands university library, manchester university, manchester, england. eng ledgard, thomas -early works to 1800. society of friends -apologetic works -early works to 1800. quakers -england -early works to 1800. a40250 r218791 (wing f1904). civilwar no several papers; some of them given forth by george fox; others by jame [sic] nayler, minister of the eternal word of god, raised up after th fox, george 1654 18919 23 0 0 0 0 0 12 c the rate of 12 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2005-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-03 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-04 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-04 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion several papers ; some of them given forth by george fox ; others by jame nayler , minister of the eternal word of god , raised up after the long night of apostacy to direct the world , to wait for the revelation of jesus christ , and to turn their minds to the true light , that they may be reconciled to god ; of the world is not worthy , and therefore doth hate , persecute , and whom inprison them , under the name of quakers : gathered together and published by a.p. that the truth may be spread abroad , and deceit be discovered . wherein the plain , honest , and sober conversation of the saints in fear and trembling , is justified , against the idle bablings of formal professors ( the wicked fashions and heathenish customs of this nation ) and of all sorts of persons , under pretence of civility . also the priests of england , with their imaginary doctrines and worships discovered to be the grand enemies of jesus christ ; and the true worship of god in spirit and truth made manifest . also the occasion of divers scandals concerning the scriptures , baptism , lords supper , resurrection , magistracy and ministry , cast upon them by the priests , removed . with a word to the people of england , who in several forms have long flattered themselves with their ministry ; churches , and ordinances ; but upon tryall , are found to be the synagogues of satan , persecuters of the truth , and enemies of the gospel . and a few queries propounded to tho. ledgard of newcastle , or any of those he ranks with himself , under the notion of anti-quakers . printed in the year , as the world accounts , 1654. to the reader . there is a paper for the press , given forth by george fox , wherein all may see , that forms of religion , ordinances , as they are called , and observations , where into people are led by the searchings of wisdom , and the light of their reasons and vnderstandings from the letter of the scripture , are nothing but the worship of the first nature , the sacrifice of caine , which god doth not accept : and that the worship of god in spirit , is not known to such , neither indeed can be , for to that eye it is hid ; and the revelation of jesus christ , and of the deep things of god by the spirit , is a mystery to them not understood ) which is intended , if the lord please ) to be made publick as soon as this is finished . p a. to all who love the lord jesus christ , mercy and peace be multiplyed unto you . who have been scattered abroad in the cloudy dark day from mountaine to mountaine , and worshipping that which they know not , following the imaginations of others , which they spake from the divination of their own braine , and not from the mouth of the lord ; shepherds that fed themselves , and cloathed themselves with the wool , and sought after the fleece , and so made a prey upon us , and do upon the people ; but god , as he promised , saith he , i will gather my sheep from your mouthes , and seek them which have been scattered in the cloudy dark day , hath gathered us , an doth feed us upon the mountaine in a good pasture ; and so we witness the promise of the lord fulfilled : and as the lord said ; i will seek that which was lost , and bring again that which was driven away , who hath one shepherd jesus christ ; herein do we witness the lord fulfilling the scriptures in us ; and i witness the lost sheep is found : and the lord hath brought back again that which was driven away : and here do we deny all the teachers of the world , who speak a divination of their own brain , and not from the mouth of the lord ; for who spoke from the mouth of the lord , denyed them then ; so do we by the same word : and we deny all them that seek for gain from their quarters , which are greedy dumb doggs , as the scripture saith ; and all those who take the peoples money , and sell the letter , which was spoken forth freely . for isaiah that spake from the mouth of the lord , he denyed such things , and bid all come freely without money , and without price , to hear the voice of the lord , that their souls might live , and to make with them an everlasting covenant , even the sure mercies of david : and this covenant i do witness , therefore i deny ; with the same word wherewith they spake , the same things the scripture denyeth , and all those that bear rule by their means , and hirelings which preach for hire , and prophesie for money . for jeremy , who had the eternal words , denyes such things . micha denies such things ; and jesus christ who was the word , said , the hireling would fly , because he is an hireling : and this word the lord hath made manifest , which gathers our hearts together up to god , and opens to us the scriptures , whereby we see the deceits of the priests of the world , now , of the same generation and nature , and acting those things there is no scripture for , which the holy men of god did not practice . and for taking tythes in the old time , levi , which was to receive tythes , the strangers , the fatherless and widows , were to come and eat , and be filled within his gate ; but this was according to the law ; and here you see , the priests of the world do not act according to the law , in which were types and figures of christ ; and when christ was come , those he sent forth were not to have a bagg , nor a stick to defend them , nor two coats , nor brass , nor silver ; but freely ye have received , freely give : the workman is worthy of his meat ; so they neither walk according to the law , nor the gospel , therefore we deny them : and the ministers of jesus christ , which went into the world , they had no portion of the world , but whipping , stocking , prisoning ; but them that were gathered out of the world in the eternall word , which met together , and were of one heart , one minde , one soule , to such they say , if we minister unto you spirituall things , is it a great thing if you minister to us carnall things ? but this was spoken to them upon whom the end of the world was come ; and this i do witness , what the scripture doth say : god commanded an outward temple , circumcision , the sabbath , given as figures and types , and shadows of jesus christ ; so when jesus christ , the substance was come , and when he was crucified and risen , who believed in him , preached his resurrection , and so went up and down in the synagogues , and into the temple , reasoning and disputing with them that held them up , to bring them out of the figure , up to jesus christ , who was the substance ; so all which were gathered together in the substance , met together , and then the church was in god , and they denyed the outward temple , which god commanded , being made the temples of god ; and denied circumcision outwardly , being circumcised with the spirit ; and denyed the jewish sabbath outwardly , and observing daies ; for he that believes is entred into his rest , and hath ceased from his own work , even as god did from his . and all those now , who have received jesus christ the substance , who is the head of the church , deny all types and figures of him , and do witness the scriptures fulfilled . and jesus christ who is the chiefe shepheard , the bishop of their soules : and jesus christ who is the mediator between god and man , being made manifest in them , makes them all of one mind , and one heart , and to deny the priests of the world , who profess him in words , and act those things he forbids . first , for sprinkling of infants , and telling people they baptize them into the faith , into the church , which there is no scripture for ; but the baptism by one spirit into one body , this we own : and the church is in god , as paul and silvanus , and timotheus write to the church of the thessalonians , which was in god . and they tell people of a sacrament , for which there is no scripture ; that we do deny , and them ; but the supper of the lord we own , the bread that we break is the body of christ , the cup we drink is the blood of christ , all made to drink into one spirit . and the singing of psalmes , after their manner , we deny ; for they sing davids tremblings , quakings and roarings ; this they have turned into meeter , as if we should see one of you lying roaring , crying , till your eyes should grow dim , and watering your bed with your teares , and we should turn it into meeter , and make a rime of it , and take it , and go among a company of ignorant people , and say , let us sing to the praise and glory of god , o lord , i am not puft in mind , i have no scornfull eye , when they are puft in minds , and have scornfull eyes : and when they read the psames , they keep on their hats ; and when they sing them , they keep off their hats ; here they worship the work of their own hands : all such practises we deny : but we will sing with the spirit , we will sing with grace , we will sing with understanding , praises , praises unto the lord god on high . and they speak a divination of their own braine , and not from the mouth of the lord ; and such the lord sent his prophets to cry out against ; all these now who study a divination of their own brain , and speak not from the mouth of the lord , we do deny : and all who are made ministers by oxford and cambrige , bred up with learning , and so made mininsters by the will of men , and speak natural languages , as hebrew and greek , and say that is the original , which a natural man may learn , and the natural man knowes not the things of god , and all such we do deny ; for paul was brought up at the feet of gamaliel , in the jewish religion , but that did not make him a minister of jesus christ ; for he declares , that he was not made a minister by the will of man , nor of man , neither by man , but by the will of god , and all such i own , who stand out of the will of man , denying all carnal ends : for this ministry draws up to god out of the world , and doth not respect any mans person , but ministers to that which is in prison . but those teachers which are made by man , say , the letter is the light , the letter is the word , the four books , matthew , mark , luk , and john , is the gospel , when the letter saith , christ is the light , and god is the world , and jesus christ is the glad tidings which was promised , the lambe of god which taketh away the sins of the world , and this we witness to be fulfilled ; all they that are in the light are in unity ; for the light is but one , and who know the light are in unity ; all who know the word , which is a mystery , are come to the beginning , are sanctified by the word , and clean through the word ; for this word is a fire , burning up all corruption , as an hammer beats down all high minds , high nature , that the pure seed may be raised up , as a sword cuts to pieces , and divides asunder the precious from the evil , and makes a separation inwardly and outwardly from uncleanness ; and this is the word of reconciliation , that reconcileth together to god , and gathers the hearts of his together , to live in love and unity , one with another , and lets them see how they have been strangers and aliens from the life of god ; the light doth , and the word draws from under the occasion of all laws outwardly , working out that silthy nature which the outward law takes hold on ; so walking in the spirit , there is not a fulfilling the lusts of the flesh ; and the spirit is but one , which baptizeth into one body , which we do witness , praise be to the lord , to be fulfilled . and whereas we are a people accused to raise up a new war , it is false : for dwelling in the word , it takes away the occasion of wars , and gathers our hearts together to god , and unto one another , and brings to the beginning , before war ● was ; for the ministers of god , which had the word of reconciliation to draw them from the occasion of all wars , working out that nature that occasions warre , said , whence do wars arise ? even from the lusts , therefore all dear people , who love the lord jesus christ , and the appearance of jesus christ in your souls , be not talkers of the truth , nor followers of the blinde guides , but mind the pure light of god in you , which shews your sin and evil , and how you have spent your time , and shews you how your mindes goe forth , and every carnal thought ; and if you love that light , you love christ , and walking in the light in measure , there will be no occasion of stumbling , for all stumbling is being disobedient , and wait to finde the word in you , as the scripture saith ; not to fetch it from above , nor from beneath ; but what saith it ? it is nigh thee , in thy heart , for with the heart man believeth , and with the tongue confession is made unto salvation : and abiding inwardly in the light , it will let you see one another , and have unity one with another , and the teachers of the world to be the ministers of the letter . and whereas we are accused for going into steeple-houses , it was the practice of the apostles to go into the synagogues , reasoning and disputing about the scriptures shewing them the substance , and told them that god did not dwell in temples made with hands , neither was he worshipped with mens hands : stephen saith , the most high dwels not in temples made with hands , and for witnessing forth the substance , was stoned to death ; but these were types of jesus christ and the saints , and who were made the temples of god , denied all outward temples . but the ministery now which doth profess jesus christ , holds up these outward synagoguess as moses which was a type of christ , which was a servant , ann faithful in his house ; the deceit after him got into his place and was called of men , masters , which sat in his seat , which pretended justice ; and did not ; and that was the time before christ was sacrificed up , he came to fulfil the law , and not to break it : but he cryed , woe unto them that were called of men masters , and had the cheifest place in the assemblies , and laid heavy burthens upon the people , and paint themselves with the prophets words . but when jesus christ was sacrificed and risen , his ministers preached his resurrection ; they did not hold up the types and figures then , but held forth the substance , jesus christ ; and all who were gathered together in the substance , were of one heart , one mind , one soul , and met together , and exhorted one another , and builded up one another in the most holy faith , and all building is in that which is holy ; and this faith i witness , which is but one , and all are one that are in it , if ten thousand , which purifies the heart , stands in god , glory and honor to the highest ; and whom jesus christ made ministers , he made them not masters ; but said , be ye not called masters , neither call any man upon earth master , for ye have one masters , even jesus christ . but the teachers of the world , who in words profess the lord jesus christ , are called of men masters , and lay heavy burthens upon the people , goe in long robes , having the cheifest place in the assemblies , standing praying in the synagogues ; and them that did so , christ jesus said , their prayers were heathenish ; which shews they were never taught of him , for they abide not in his doctrine ; and he that abides not in the truth is of the devil : and here they shew themselves neither to follow jesus christ the example , nor the apostles as an example , but take the scriptures to trade withall . and all those which jesus christ , the prophets and apostles do deny , we deny . when the apostles spake to the saints , he bade them , take heed to the light that shined in a dark place , till the day dawned , and the day-star arose in their hearts : and as the light appeared , so they exhorted one another ; for there were false prophets , and false teachers among the people , which with feigned words and covetousness , made marchandize of them , who had forsaken the right way , following the waies of balaam , going in the way of caine , whose sacrifi●e god did not accept . now all people that love the lord jesus christ , you may see all the teachers of the world there going after the waies of balaam ; for then that doctrine crept in , which is scattered over the world , and the apostles saw certaine creeping into house : , leading silly women captive , laden with sin , and divers lusts , which were ever learning , and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth , which he describes ; they were lovers of their owne selves , covetous , proud , heady , high-minded , selfe-willed , incontinent , truce-breakers , false accusers , fierce , despisers of those that are good ; lovers of pleasures more then lovers of god ; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof : as jannes and jambres withstood moses , so do these ; men of corrupt minds , reprobates concerning the faith ; but they shall proceed no further , their folly shall appeare to all men . now the apostle bids , from such turn away ; though once he said , some preach christ of envy , some of strife and contention , some of good will , though their intention was but to adde affliction to his bonds ; yet he rejoyced in it . and that was a time when few did believe that that was the christ , so that his name was spread abroad , he did not matter what they were ; but when his name was spread abroad , and many got the forme , and had not the power ; such were antichrists , and were denyed by them who had the power , and so they are now . and all people consider ( you have been long hearers and learners ) if you be yet come to the first principle of religion , to that which turns the mind to god . all whose faith doth not purifie , they are reprobates concerning the faith . so aske any priest or people , whether they shall overcome the body of sin , as long as they are upon the earth ? they will say , no . therefore their seeming faith i deny , for faith purifies the heart , and gives the victory over the world ; and this i owne , and you have put off the body of sin , by the circumcision made without hands ; and whilst we were servants of sin , we were free from righteousness , but god be thanked , who hath made us free from sin , to serve god in righteousness , in the newness of the spirit , and not in the oldness of the letter . and whereas we are accused for not owning magistracy ; justice we own for conscience fake ; for that which is in the conscience , loves equity , and righteousness , and justice , and leads out of all evil , and uncleanness : for let every soule be subject to the higher power , for all power is of god , and the powers of god our soules are subject unto ; for he that resisteth that resisteth the ordinance of god ; but who lives in drunkenness , in pride , in covetousness , murder , lust and uncleanness , their soules are not subject to the higher power , but resist it , and that nature we do deny , and justifie that which cuts it down : we own , honor , and sut up , and honour all men in the lord , but as for respecting persons we deny , for he that respects persons , commits sin , and is a transgressor of the law , for to respect a proud man , because he hath a gold ring on his finger , and fine apparell , such respects we deny , for the scriptures deny the same ; and to set up a great man which hath abundance of earth , joyning field to field , and land to land , and respect such above the poore , this is an evil eye ; for god cryes wo unto such , for god hath made all of one mould , and one blood , to dwell upon the face of the earth , and he is no respecter of persons ; and who are in the faith of the lord jesus christ , it is without respect of persons , for it is but one , and makes all one , one seed , one soule , one heart , one minde , in one god , father of all , over all , blessed for ever : and this we do witness praised be the lord , to be fulfilled , which all the holy men of god did witness forth , a good conscience , and therefore we have a cloud of witnesses which are recorded in the scriptures . and whereas we are accused for our uncivill speeches , which the world calls uncivill and railing , as because we thou people , and say thou to the particular , and you to a number . the scriptures witness , that all the holy men of god evermore practised the same , thoued one , and yeaed many , thoued kings , thoued god , thoued christ , and thou o lord of heaven and earth ; and therefore who art thou , o proud flesh , that thou art exalted ? dost not thou , thou god , and thou christ , in thy prayers ? and wouldst thou be yeed ? here shews the sonne of perdition himselfe , and is exalted above all that is called god in thee ; and the language of god is not kown with thee . and as for the customes and fashions of the world , bowing and making obeysance with cap and knee , which man and women have done one to another , which lived without the feare of the lord , we deny ; but we honour all men in the lord with our soule , and with our hearts , and who look for these things outwardly , there is a fleshly principle , for these things may be done and are practized , and the heart full of envy ; therefore all these fashions we deny . and touching good-even an good-morrow , which are customes of the world , spoken without feare of the lord we do deny : but good to all men we wish , and the good day , that they may be brought into it , and that they may see the happy day : but the fashion and customes which the fleshly and heathenish nature holds up , and when it 's crossed in its wayes and customes , rageth , and is mad , we deny ; and that nature which holds all these things , we deny . for the god of power , light , and glory , hath raysed up a light in his people , and gathered their hearts together to himselfe , and hath discovered unto them the vanity of all things wherein they have lived and shewed them his way and truth , where they should walke and gloryfie him , and serve him in holiness and newness of life ; and with eternall food , and bread of life , doth he feed us , whereby we become wonders to the world , as he hath raised his seed to his praise and glory , and is adding dayly to his church , and the strong man bowes himselfe , and the keepers of the house tremble , and the powers of the earth shake , and the glory of the lord is rising , and is risen , which terribly shakes the earth , that the idols of gold and silver are cast away , and god alone loved , who is lord of heaven and earth ; and the works of the lord are strange and wonderous , as ever was , as the scriptures witness . when daniel heard the voyce , he fell downe and trembled , and his strength and breath was gone . and paul , when he heard the voyce , he fell down , and trembled : and habakkuk , when he heard the voyce , his lips quivered , his belly shooke , rottenness entered into his bones , that he might rest in the day of trouble . and david when he heard the voyce of god in the holy temple , and his prayers came before him , the earth shooke , and david his flesh trembled . and work out your salvation with fear and trembling . now these workings are strange to them , where the strong man keeps the house , and who are in the earth ; but who are rising up out of the earth , witness the power of the earth to be shaken ; and who are raised up out of the earth , witness these things , and have a cloud of witnesses to witness them , passing through the same doore , to the same rest , and so we witness the scriptures , and the power of them , and them to be fulfilled , and fulfilling ; praises , praises be unto the lord god almighty for ever . we witness the happy day of the lord is come , the good and happy day , and glad tidings to soules ; the day of christ , praises , praises be unto him for ever , all yee children of the lord , praise the lord for ever , sing praises unto the lord for evermore . this is the day of salvation , and the everlasting gospel , glad tidings is come into soules , free pardon of sin by jesus christ , who is come to take away sin , and to destroy the works of the devil , this do we witness , the scriptures fulfilled by god alone , therefore deny all the ministers of the letter . g f. canst thou prove in all the scripture , that god commanded any of his to salute any by the way , or to take his name in vaine , or to use any other heathenish customes , but god , christ , the prophets and apostles commands ? the contrary god saith , thou shalt not take my name in vain , nor bow to any creature . christ saith , salute no man by the way . the prophet saith , salute no man by the way , & if any salute you , answer him not again . and the apostle saith , bid godspeed to none , but such as abide in the doctrine of christ , and have both the father and the son : for he that bids him godspeed , is partaker of his evil deeds . god saith , thou shalt not do after the manner of the heathen . and christ saith , every idle word shall be accounted for at the day of judgement ; and by thy words thou shalt be condemned . now thou that art offended at any for obeying the commands of god , christ , the prophets and apostles , shewst thy selfe to be no christian , but a heathen , and wilt neither obey the commands of god thy selfe , nor suffer them that would , but strives to uphold such costomes , as god never commanded , but are set up by the world , and used without the feare of god . now how art thou exalted , thou man of sin , who wilt both dishonour god thy selfe , and would compel thy brother also , to act contrary to his conscience ? what place would thou leave for the throne of christ ? i. n. truth cleared from scandalls . having heard of divers untruths cast upon me by some of the priests in their high places , though i stand onely to the lord in the respect of my self ; yet least any that love the truth should be led on to speake evil of the things they know not , i shall lay open the truth , as it is in me revealed : touching those things whereof i have bin falsely accused . 1. concerning jesus christ , who is the eternall word of god , by whom all things were made and are upholden , which was before all time , but manifested in time , for the recovery of lost man ; which word became flesh and dwelt amongst the saints , who is the same yesterday , and to day , and for ever ; who did , and doth dwell in the saints ; who suffered and rose agine , and ascended into heaven , and is set at the right hand of god , to whom all power is given in heaven and in earth ; who filleth all places ; is the light of the world , but known to none , but those who receive and follow him , and those he leads up to god , out of all the wayes , works and worships of the world , by his pure light in them , whereby he reveales the man of sin and by his power casts him out , and so prepares the bodies of the saints a fit temple for the pure god to dwell in , with whom dwells no uncleane thing ; and thus he reconciles god and man , and the image of god , which in purity and holiness is renewed , and the image of satan , which is all sin and uncleanness , is defaced ; and none can witness redemption , further then christ is thus revealed in them , to set them free from sin : which christ i witness to he revealed in me in measure , gal. 1.16 . 2 cor. 13.5 . col. 1.27 . 2. concerning the scriptures , that they are true declaration of that word which was in them , that gave or spake them forth , and are of no private interpretation ; but were given forth to be read and fulfilled in the saints , as they were given forth by the holy ghost , without adding or diminishing , and was not given forth for men to make a trade upon . to get money by ; but as they are ; they are profitable for doctrine , for reproof , for correction , for instruction in righteousness , that the man of god may be perfect ; throughly furnished unto every good work : but they who tread in the letter , and are ignorant of the mystery , deny all perfection , and none can rightly understand the scriptures , but they who read them with the same spirit that gave them forth , for the naturall man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god ; for they spiritually discerned . 3. concerning baptisme , the true baptisme is that of the spirit , with the holy ghost , and with fire , baptized by one spirit into one body , not the washing away the filth of the flesh , but the answer of a good conscience towards god , by the resurrection of jesus christ ; without which , no other baptisme can save us , they being but figures or shadowes , but this baptisme of christ is the substance , whereby we are baptized into his death ; and those who are baptized into christ , have put on christ . 4. concerning the lords supper ; the true supper of the lord is the spirituall eating and drinking of the flesh & blood of christ , which the spirituall man onely eateth , and is thereby nourished up unto eternall life ; without which eating , there can be no life in the creature , profess what you will ; and all who eate of this bread , and drink of this cup , have reall communion with christ the head , and also one with another , as members , and are all of one heart , and one mind , a compleat body in christ . now the world who take onely the outward signes , and are not brought into a discerning of the lords body , eate and drink damnation to themselves , and so become guilty of the body and blood of christ ; and calls this a communion , but lives in envy , strife and debate , fighting , and going to law one with another for earthly things . 5. concerning the resurrection . that all shall arise to give account , and receive at the last day according to their works done in the flesh , whether good or evil ; these bodies that are dust , shall turn to dust , but god shall give a body as pleaseth him ; that which is sowne in curruption shall be raysed in incorruption ; it is sowne a naturall body , it is raysed a spirituall body : and as we have borne the image of the earthly , so we shall beare the image of the heavenly . but flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdome of heaven ; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption , for we shall all be changed : but they who cannot witness the first resurrection , within themselves , know nothing of the second , but by heare-say : and therefore say some of your teachers that christ is in heaven with a carnall body ; now that christ , who is the first fruits shall be there with a carnall body , and the saints with a spirituall body , is not proportionable . 6. concerning magistracy , that it is an ordinance of god , ordained for the punishment of evil doers , and an encouragement of them that do well . where justice and righteousness is the head , and ruleth without partiality , that land is kept in peace ; and those who judge for the lord , i honour as my owne life ; not with a flattering honour of putting off the hat , and bowing the knee , which is the honour of the world , having mens persons in admiration , because of advantage , for selfe-ends , but from my heart , for conscience sake , as to the power which is of god , and not to mens persons : for the scripture saith , he that respects persons , commits sin . and the apostle commands the saints , not to have the faith of our lord jesus christ , the lord of glory with respect of persons : and saith , such are partiall in themselves , and become judges of evil thoughts . and saith paul , let every soule be subject to the higher powers : for , saith he , there is no power but of god : the powers that be are of god , not of man ; and whosoever resisteth , resisteth the ordinance of god ; & therefore subject for conscience sake . and therefore , though the prophets and saints were often sent to pronounce judgement against unjust men , who had the power committed to them , and did not judge for god , but for selfe-ends ; yet they never attempted to raise any violence against them , but used all means to perswade them to do justice , love mercy , and walke humbly with god , that they might be established , and the wrath of god turned away from them : for those that be of god , cannot rejoyce in the destruction of any , but would have all to turn to god and finde mercy . 7. concerning ministry , the true ministry of jesus christ hath alwayes been , and are still such as came not by the will of man , but by the will of god : neither are they fitted for that worke by any thing of man , but by god alone ; for the true ministry is the gift of jesus christ , given for the perfecting of the saints , and need no addition of humane helps and learning , but as the worke is spirituall , and of the lord , so they are spiritually fiued onely by the lord . and therefore he chose heardsmen , fishermen , and plowmen , and such-like : and as he gave them an immediate call , without the leave of man ; so he fitted them immediately without the help of man ; and as they received the gift freely , so they were to give freely : and when ever they found any of the false ministery , that taught for hire , they cryed out against them , and pronounced woes against them , and shewed them that they lay in iniquity , because they thought that the gift of god could be bought and sold for money . and christ calls them hirelings , and saith they care not for the sheep . and micah cryes out against the priests that taught for hire , and saith they build up sion with blood , and jerusalem with iniquity . and ieremy cryes out against the priests in his dayes , that bare rule by their means , and calls it an horrible thing , and saith , that from the least to the greatest , they are all given to covetousness . esay cryes out of such in his dayes , and calls them greedy doggs , that can never have enough ; and saith he they all look for their gaine from their quarter . and peter saith of such in his days , that they through covetousness make merchandise of the people , who have hearts exercised with covetous practises who have forsaken the right way , and have followed the way of balaam , who loved the wages of unrighteousness . and jude cryes , wo unto them for they go one in the wayes of cain , and run greedily after the error of balaam for reward : but those that were sent out by christ , counted it their reward to the gospel without charge ; neither ever had any set means , but went about having no certaine dweling place ; never was masters , but servants to all for christs sake : never went to law for tythes , or any other earthly thing , but suffered persecution ; and as alwayes he that was after the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit ; even so it is now . all people , try your priests by the scriptures , and never think to heare the word of the lord from their mouthes , who walke contary to the scriptures ; for such were never sent of god : for had they been sent of god , they would abide in his doctrine . and john saith , such hath not god but he that abides in the doctrine of christ , hath both the father and the son : and if there comes any to you , and bring not this doctrine , you are forbidden to receive them into your houses , or bid them god speed , for if you do , you are partakers of their evil deeds . and unto the wicked , saith god , what hast thou to do to declare my statutes , or that thou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth , seeing thou hatest to be reformed . j. n. the worship of the saints and of the world , how they differ . you selfe-willed professors and you conceited hypocrites , lament , for your woe and misery is coming ; you who dissemble with god and man , and deceive both your selves and others , away with all your curious minds , which feedeth on the aire , and are so light , and which feedeth upon your dainty dishes , and novelties ; you are above the cross , and so the earthly will is sed and fleshly desires . woe unto you self-conceited ones , which gaddeth abroad to change your wayes ; death doth feed upon death , and death doth speak death , and all is death ; the letter is death , and the carnall mind is death . the lord hath said , the seed of woman shall bruise the head of the serpent ; and people will talk of it without them . but o man and woman , doth not death reigne in thee ? while the carnal mind reigneth , death reigneth ; and the seed of the serpent is head in thee , it god have not bruised him in thee ; and dust is the serpents meat : you must all see it in your selves . whatsoever is seen is dust , all your outside profession is dust , which you have got out of books and sermons ; and your latine , greek and hebrew , and all which is outward is dust , and all your glorious gospel-notions is dust , and your gold and silver is dust , and fine apparel is dust , and all the worlds glory the mind feedeth on is dust , all the worlds profession and worship , which is not in spirit and truth is dust . if the head of the serpent be not bruised in thee by the seed of the woman , thou wilt see these to be so , for the pure worship is not without , but within . the worlds church is without them , carnal lime and stone , and their call is outward , a carnall bell , and a carnal man speaking the carnall letter , to carnal minds , for carnall money , and carnal ends . the saints church is in god , and the father of our lord jesus christ . the worlds assembly is without them ; a company of earthly minds meet in a steeple-house . the saints are brought to the general assembly of the first-born , and to the innumerable company of angels , and to the spirits of just men made perfect , and to god the judge of all . the worlds teachers are of the letter without , a proud man , called of men master , and hath the chiefest place in the assemblies , going in long robes , loving greeting in markets , the highest roomes at feasts , all which christ forbid . the saints teacher is within them , ye need not that any man teach you , but as the anointing that you have received teacheth you of all things , and is true , and is no lye , and even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in it . the worlds law is without them , in the command of the letter , and they break the command , and so it is death . the saints law is within them , written in their hearts , and they are all taught of god , from the greatest to the least ; and shall no more teach every one is neighbour , saying , know the lord , for they shall all know him . the worlds light is without them , a chapter , or a verse which was other mens light , left upon record . the saints light is within them , you have a light that shineth in a dark place , to which you do well that you take heed , untill the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts . the worlds word is without them , and they take the letter for the word , when as the word is invisible . the saints word is within them , the word is nigh thee , in thy heart , and in thy mouth , and doth sanctifie them , and is sharper then a two edged-sword , dividing asunder , and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart . the worlds witness is without them , which is the letter , and it bears witness against all the practice of the world . the saints witness is within then , he that believeth hath the witness within himself . the worlds baptism is without them , sprinkling of infants , for which is no command or example in scripture . the saints baptism is within , baptized with one spirit into one body , and are made all to drink into one spirit . the worlds communion is without them , taking a little bread and wine , which is carnall , and cals that a communion , but are separated in spirit , and are not of one heart and one mind . the saints communion is within them , in spirit , written in one anothers hearts , and though absent in flesh , yet present in spirit . the worlds touchstone is without them , and they try the liuing by the dead , the spirit by the letter . the saints touchstone is within , whereby they try the spirits whether they be of god or no ; every spirit that confesseth jesus christ come in the flesh , is of god ; and he that confesseth him in truth , hath him , and the father also . the world is ruled by outward rules & all goeth from the rule . the saints rule is within them , christ who ruleth in them , and is the head of the body . the worlds record is without them . the saints record is , within them ; the spirit that god hath given into them , is their record . the worlds sabbath is without them , and they have no rest but in a form without . the saints sabbath is within , where christ is come to give them rest , and they are ceased from their own works . the worlds psalms are without them , and they sing davids quakings and tremblings , wastings , prophesies , prayers and tears , weeping till his eyes grew dim ; he watered his couch with his tears , and they turn these into meeter , and say , let us sing to the praise and glory of god ; when it is altogether to his dishonour . the saints psalms are within , and they sing with the spirit , and with the understanding also . the worlds guide is without them , in the traditions and precepts of men , which leads from god . the saints guide is within them , the spirit , and they are the sons of god , who are guided by the spirit of god . the worlds temple is without them , which was builded for the idolatrous worship . the saints temple is within , ye are the temple of the living god , and he doth walk in them , and dwell in them , and they know and can witness god dwelling in them . the worlds prayers are without them , and the power thereof stands in outward words ; and they ask and have not , because they ask amiss , that they may spend it on their lusts . the saints prayers are within , by the spirit , which teacheth in all conditions what to pray for , and helps the infirmities , with sighs and groans which cannot be uttered ; and they ask in the name of the son , and are heard in whatsoever they ask , and thereby is the father glorified , for they ask in faith , nothing wavering . all you who read these things , read your selves where you are , whether you be within among the saints , or without among the world . the condition and portion of the people of england , who have long flattered themselves with the church , ministry , and ordinances , but upon tryall are found to be the synagogues of satan , persecuters of the truth , and enemies of the gospel of christ . the lyon hath roared , tremble all you beasts of the field . the trumpet hath sounded , let the beast prepare himself to battel , for the great day of sions recompence is at hand , and woe to all her enemies . i have heard a voice of woe and terror , to come upon all the inhabitants of the earth ; repent all you inhabitants of the earth , the sword of the lord is furbished against you to make a grievous slaughter ; houle , woe and misery , all sorts of people , who have preferred your own wils , lust pleasures , before the pure law of god : houle you sodomites , and belly-gods of the earth , who have given up your selves to fulness of gluttony , and all excess of riot : feeding without the feare of god , sporting in the day time ; living like fed horses , spending the creatures upon your lusts , which were never made for that end : woe unto you , you fat swine , the swine of sodom are found among you : and the plagues of sodom are nigh at hand . woe unto you , for now is the lord come to require his corn and his wine which he gave to feed the poore and hungry , which your lusts have devoured ; the wants of all poore in the nation cry out against you , you have exceeded all that ever went before you , and you shall exceed in misery . woe unto you proud and lustfull lofty ones that are lifted up in your own eyes , and have set your selves above the feare of god , which teacheth humility , you plainly appeare to be children of the devil , who is the father of all pride and self-exaltation ; you bear the image of the serpent , you speckled ones , who have painted your selves in the various colours to make your selves seem glorious in the eyes of others , that they may bow and worship . wo unto thou , that hast set thy self in the seat of god , thou art weighed and found wanting , thy pride is for the fire , and thy honour for the dust , for now is the lord coming to enquire after his wool and flax , which he gave to cloath the naked of all sorts , with which thou hast decked the serpent and spent upon thy lusts , thereby to set thy self in the seat of the almighty , woe , woe , woe unto thee thou that art exalted as high as heaven , yea into gods throne ; but thou shalt be cast down to hell , the lamb is risen to rule the nations . woe unto the covetous cruel oppressers , who lives upon dust , you grinde the face of the poore , and oppress them that are fallen , your measures you have filled , and you have heaped up abundance against this day of wrath . the fire of the almighty is kindled , and it shall never be quenched till it hath devoured and burnt up you and your heaps , and made you a curse to the generations that shall come after . woe unto the envious serpents that seek to devour the innocent , that make a prey upon them that depart from iniquity , you are the head of the serpent that must fulfill what is spoken of you , and you now shew the enmity that god hath put between the two seeds , now thy rage is come , the seed is come whose heel thou art bruising , who shall bruise thy head , thy time is as short as thy rage is great . rejoyce all you that suffer it that the scriptures may be fulfilled . woe unto you scorners , you sons of hagar , you sons of bondage to the works of the devil , scorning , backsliding , false accusing , slandering and evil speaking ; you are brought forth by the egyptian woman , and are in egyptian darkness , and you cannot see that your are in the works of the devil , and by him you are put on to act against christ , in his saints . but now is the son of the free-woman brought forth ; to whom the heritage belongs , and you shall be cast out among the heathen , and ungodly , and judgement is coming upon you , in which you shall be not be able to stand : woe unto you swearers and lyers , under whose tongues lyes the poyson of aspes , which you vent out as you are moved by your father the devil , against the holy and dreadfull name of the almighty , the land is filled with this generation , and hath long mourned because of you : who can pass in streets or markets , that feare the lord , and their hearts not be broken to hear it ? do not all places abound with vain oaths , and lying idle words ? never was nation like to this in these things , so that any who will not use these idle words and oaths , is known in the streets as they pass , and not esteemed worthy to live in the nation ; and thus not onely with all the common sort , but also with many that are in place of authority to punish such things , and yet those are not afraid to call themselves christians : shall not the lord be avenged on such a people as this ? woe unto you that live upon deceit in your weights and measures , by your sleighty words arising from the serpents wisdom , which makes a prey on the simple : and when you have got great estates , you say , god hath given you them ; you are set up above them who are made poore by you ; now is the lord come to search you out , and you shall restore for your theft four-fold . woe unto you that have had power in your hands to 〈◊〉 these things but instead of using the sword to scatter the works of iniquity , have turned the edge of it against such as the lord hath called out of these things , and sent them to call others out , left they partake of the plagues that are to come upon those who are found in them . woe , woe unto the blind guides who have called your selves christ's seedsmen , and now that the lord of the harvest is come to look for fruits , here is no better fruit to reap but such as these ; and that among such as you call saints , and the churches of christ : and now that the heir is appearing , you are stirring up the powers of the earth how to destroy him , left you be called to account for your great care to feed your own bodies , and heap up carnall things , and the little care for the soules of christs flock . now shall you not escape , your day is near at hand . who could have believed that england would have brought forth no better fruits then these , now after such deliverance , as no notion else can witness ? oh tell it not among the heathen , left you strengthen the hands of the enemy , and occ●sion the wicked to blaspheme the name of the god of hosts , who is reported to be among us , and hath subdued all our enemies , and hath delivered us thus farre . awake , awake , all sorts of people , can you say you have not had power in your hands against these abominations ? but now that you have not proved faithfull in the promises to the lord , in the day of your feares ; therefore is the lord coming to call to account all sorts of dissemblers and oppressers , and by his own right hand to get himself the victory . and now woe unto you that have known to do well , and had it in your power , but have not done it , woe unto you that have taken counsel at your owne wisdome , and multitudes , and not at the spirit of the lord , and have strengthened your selves by your riches . woe unto your fruitless trees , you have long been digged and pruned , but no fruits ; you have long cumbred the ground . woe unto you that are at ease in sion , houl , woe and m●sery ; tremble ye women that are at ease , strip you , make you bare , pu● off your pride , and pu● on ashes , turn your musick into wayling your feasts into fasting , and bitter lamentation , and 〈◊〉 the lord , if there may be hope for your souls in the day of his fierce wrath that is coming upon the earth : while you have time , improve it . j. n. several queries to be answered by tho. ledgard , or any of those he ranks with himself , under the name of anti-quakers . 1. did not god create man and woman perfect in his own image without sin ? 2. did not the first sin make a separation betwixt god and man ? 3. whether is there any other way to unite god and man into spirituall communion again , but by being separated from the works of the flesh , sin , and uncleanness , and being redeemed into his first estate ? 4. was not that the end for which christ was manifest in the flesh , that by taking away sin , he might restore man into his first estate in which he was created in the image of god without sin ? 5. whether any can witness the work of redemption perfected in them , while they commit sin ? 6. whether any unperfect , unclean , and sinfull one , shall enter into the kingdom ; yea or no ? 7. was not that the end for which the scriptures were written , to warn all to turn from sin to holiness ? 8. shall not god justly judge every one as he finds them , at the day of judgement ; they that have done good , into life eternal , and they that have lived in sin , into everlasting fire ? and whether do you look for a purgatory to cleanse you from your sins , between the day of death and the day of judgement ? 9. whether a christian have ground to believe , and ought to wait for it , that he shall be redeemed by the second adam , into that estate which he lost by sin in the first adam ? 10. are not all that are servants of sin , out of the covenant , and under the power of darkness , and in the kingdom of the devil ? 11. is there any promise in scripture due to any , who have not confessed and forsaken their sins ; but all the plagues written in the book , are to fall upon that generation of evil doers ? 12. was it not the onely end why all the true ministers of christ , both now and ever , were begifted and sent into the world ( to wit ) to call people out of sin , and to perfect the saints in holiness , and to present them perfect to god ? 13. whether all those who both by life and doctrine , encourage people to abide in that condition of sin , imperfection ; and separation from god ( which christ came to take away , and so to unite god and man again ) do not oppose the work of mans redemption , and withstand the onely end of christ coming , and so are ministers of anti-christ , and labour to uphold the kingdom of the devil ? now all you who plead for sin in your selves or others , consider these things , and see if you do not withstand the love of god , in giving jesus christ into the world , to clense from all sin , all that believe in him , and so to present you to the father without spot or blemish , and so you are the greatest enemies to your eternall salvation . how will you stand before the lord at that great day , who would have gathered you out of your sin , but you would not , but have joyned with the devil to uphold the wall of separation between god and you ? woe unto you , ye whited walls . j. n. all people and professors consider where you are , and from whence you are fallen , you that plead for sin , and say , none can be set free from sin while they are in this world ; you plead for a house for satan in you , while you are here , and where will you have him cast out , or what fellowship can you have with god , while the serpents head is in you ? you are separated from god , and know not , for what communion hath light with darkness ? god is light , and he that dwels in god , dwelleth in light , and in him is no darkness at all ; but while you live in sin , you are in darkness , and the god of this world hath blinded your eyes that you cannot see , and having blinded your eyes that you cannot see , he leads you captive at his will , and you are willing to be so , and you do not believe that ever you shall be otherwise ; you are servants to sin , and you take pleasure in it ; you are in the flesh and sin , and have made a covenant with hell and death : you are resolved to serve the devil , and please your selves while you live , and you will repent at your death : you have forgot that your times are in the hand of the lord , and that this is the day of grace and repentance , which you turn into lasciviousness , and wantonness ; you make it plainly appear , that you love your lustfull pleasures and filthiness more then god : you that are friends of the world , are the enemies of god , you that love the world , and the things of the world , the love of the father is not in you . how can you say you love god , and follow the lusts of your flesh ? for whom you love , him you follow . christ saith , if you love me , follow me , keep my commandements : and those who follow him , he leads them out of all the waies of sin , into the waies of purity and holyness , and so he is the way to the father , for without holiness none can see god , for he is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity , and no unclean thing can stand in his sight . where will you , where will you appear , you blind creatures , whom the devil hath deceived , you that follow the prince of the aire , who rules in the children of disobedience , bringing forth fruits of sin and unrighteousness , having your conversation in the earth , and earthly things , following your corrupt wills and pleasures : and yet you will profess you love god , draw near him with your lips , own him in words , but the devil in practice . o horrible hypocrisie , canst thou deceive god ? shall not the righteous judge find thee out , and reward thee according to thy works ? thou are deceived , who thinkst to be heir of two kingdoms : thou wilt have pleasure of sin here , and thou sayest thou hopest to be heir of the kingdom of heaven too : but the hope of the hypocrite shall perish . remember thy father dives in whose steps thou walkest , and the same way leads the same end . the lord saith , the wicked shall be turned into hell , and all than forget god . but the devil in thee saith , thou mayest live in sin , and have thy thoughts in the world , and mayest enter into the kingdome of heaven too . now , who must be lyer , whether god or thee ? o vain man , was it not sin that separated god and man at the first ? and thinkest thou to be restored again as long as sin stands in thee ? man was not created in sin , but pure and holy in the image of god , and while he stood here , he had communion with god , and had the pure wisdom of god communicated to him , by which he was able to see into the wonders of god , and to give names unto all living creatures : but as soon as he had sinned , he was stript of all , that he became naked , and was thrust out of paradise , and was cursed from the lord ; yea the ground was cursed for his sake , and all this because of sin , which thou thinkest so light of , and art so loath to part with , so odious is sin in the pure eyes of god who is holy ; and didst thou but know thy condition , as thou lyest in sin , in the first birth , a childe of wrath , and one to whom all the curses in the book of god are due , thou shouldest tremble at sin , and not plead for it , wherein thou shewest thy self plainly a servant of the devil , and plead'st for his image and kingdom , and were it not that he had blinded thine eyes , thou mightst see where thou art , when thou abusest the goodness of god , that because he hath left the sins and fallings of others upon record , to the end they should be warnings to all that come after , not to do the like , and these thou mayst muse on to incourage thee on in thy sin and filthiness : and because god is mercifull to pardon sins , at what time soever they repent , therefore thou art incouraged to live in thy sins the longer unrepented of : now all who are not plainly blind , may see whose child thou art , for the apostle saith , know ye not that the long suffering of god leadeth to repentance ? it doth so to the children of god . but whose child art thou ? that scripture is fulfilled in thee , which saith because judgment is not specily executed upon evil doers , therefore their heart is set in them to work wickedness ? and thus , thou makest the mercies of god a cloak for thy unrighteous actions : and yet thou wilt talke of a redeemer , and of faith in christ : but o friend , where is this redeemer witnessed , whilst thou art yet in thy sin , what art thou redeemed from , who art in bondage to thy lusts ? and what is thy liberty thou art redeemed into , while thou art a slave to satan , and at his command ; those who are redeemed , are see free from sin , and the servitude of sin ; but thou servest sin , while tho u obeyest the motions of sin : then where is thy freedome ? canst thou witness christ died for thee , and thy sin still alive ? how wilt thou witness his death in thee , or thy self dead with him ? how hast thou put on christ , who art clad with sin , the saints who was dead with christ ? and saith paul , how can you that are dead to sin , live any longer therein ? and saith , those that are dead with christ , are free from sin ; and become servants of righteousness : and saith he , now being made free from sin , and become servants of god , ye have your fruit unto holiness , and the end everlasting life : but while thou livest in sin , thy fruit is unholy , and the end is death ; who are redeemed by christ , are redeemed from the earth and earthly things , up to god again , from whence they are fallen ; out of every kindred tongue and people , and nation , are made unto god kings and priests , to reign above sin on earth , and are made conformable unto his image again , which they had lost by sin ; but what conformity is there in thee , while thou livest in sin ? thou art not like him , but like the devil ; for every sin is the image of the devil , who sinned from the beginning ; and while thou committest sin , thou holdest out his image in thee , who is thy father , and thou his son , begotten in his own likeness . and christ told the scribes and pharisees , who professed themselves the children of god , but lived in sin , that they were of their father the devil ; for his work they will do , for every sin is the worke of the devil . and saith john , he that commits sin as of the devil ; and saith , for this purpose was the son of god manifested , to destroy the works of the devil : whosoever can witness the son of god manifested in them , can witness sin destroyed ; but if thou say thou canst witness christ manifested in thee , and yet commit sin , thou art a lyar : for , saith john , whosoever abideth in him , sinneth not ; whosoever sinneth , hath not seen him , neither known him ; for he that saith , i know him , and keepeth not his commandements , is a lyar , and the truth is not in him . and faith the holy ghost , whosoever is born of god , sinneth not , for his seed remaineth in him ; for he that is begotten of god keepeth himself , that the wicked one toucheth him not : and saith plainly , in this are the children of god made manifest , and the children of the devil ; whosoever doth not righteousness , is not of god , neither he that loves not his brother . god in all ages hath known his by their obedience , but thou sayest , thou must live in disobedience , or else thou canst not live in the world , and yet thou wouldest he accounted one of his too . but where is thy marke by which thou art known , from the world ? those which are god's , are marked , and known from the world , and therefore hated of the world , but thou art in friendship with the world , and whosoever is a friend of the world , is the enemy of god . now thou that canst conform to the worlds waies , words , and worship , and yet would be accounted one of god's too ; o thou deceiver , thou deceiver , thou deceivest but thy self , and men like thee ; thou canst not deceive the lord . take heed , repent , halt no longer between god and the world ; if thou wilt owne god , thou must disowne the world , and the world will disowne thee ; thou canst not have both , for whilst thou art striving with both , thou hast right to neither ; for all things were made for the son , both in heaven and earth , and he is heir of all , even the fulness of all , and in him are the treasures of wisdome laid up , and there is no receiving any thing without him ; witness the son , and witness all ; but no further then thou canst witness him , no further canst thou witness real possession , but seedeth on wind , words , shews , and shadows , and art deceived by the devil , that old serpent , who makes large promises , but hath nothing to perform , but deceit : for all the promises are yea and amen in christ , they are all to the seed which is the son , and to him are all the promises in the scriptures ; for he that hath the son hath the father also , and such are made free by the son : but while thou art a servant to thy lusts , tho art in sin , and art farre from a free man . now search the scriptures , and see if ever thou finde one promise to thee , whilst thou art in this condition , but that the devil deceives thee , and leades thee to steal the promises that were given to the saints , who was risen out of thy condition : but thou hast no right to them , but all the plagues and woe written , are thy portion : as thou liest in sin ▪ thou shalt drink the dregs thereof , and wring them out , except thou repent . queries . 1. vvhether jesus christ be not that covenant of light spoken on in the scriptures , promised by the father to enlighten and lead all that will owne and follow him out of the dark world , up to god , the father of lights , yea or no ? 2. whether that be not the light of christ which enlightens the conscience , witnessing there against all sin and unrighteousness , which convinceth and sheweth the deeds of darkness , and exerciseth the conscience in purity and holyness of all that will follow and obey it , or no ? 3. if you say that be not the light of christ , then how is christ the light of the world ? and how doth he lighten every one that cometh into the world ? and how do you distinguish between the light of christ , and that which you call a naturall light ? and doth the light of christ enlighten the creature any other way then by shining into the conscience , yea or no ? 4. whether the light of christ be not a sufficient guide to all who receive and follow it , to bring out of darkness unto the father , and reveal him to the creature , without adding to it any other humane helps , and was not he given to all the ends of the earth for this very end , yea or no ? 5. whether those that are in scripture called the children of light , be not onely such as are gathered out of darkness by this light , and into it , walking in it in measure ; and those which are called the children of darkness , be not such as whose understandings are darkened , by following the prince of darkness , to seek out other lights from their imaginations , setting up persons , forms , customs , times , dayes , places , letter and other visible carnal things to get light from , which are not the spirit of christ , yea or no ? 6. whether it was not by the same light of the spirit of christ , that all the holy men of god in all ages were inspired , had their revelations , and by which they spake forth what is written in scriptures , in a mystery to all the children of darkness : and whether the light of christ be not the same now , that ever it was , to every one that have received in their serveral measures , yea or no ? 7. whether all those who are not onely ignorant of this light , but also enemies to it , rendering it , under odious terms , as unable to lead out of darkness , be not ministers for the prince of darkness , and against christ the true light , and so are ministers of anti-christ , and upholders of the kingdom of darkness , which christ came to destroy , yea or no ? more queries . 1. vvhether can the scriptures be read and understood by any other spirit then that which gave them forth , yea or no ? 2. whether that spirit be excluded from manifesting it self in the saints now , in the same power and manner as formerly it hath done , yea or no ? 3. whether that spirit where it is , be not infallible , and judge of all truth , and all deceits in its measure , as it is manifested , yea or no ? 4. whether those who have not the spirit , which is the infallible judge , have any true ground to pass the censure of ex-communication , or to judge of blasphemy in others , yea or no ? 5. whether that which is spoken by that spirit where it is , be not the very word of god , yea or no ? 6. whether the spirit of the world , by their carnal laws , grounded upon humane wisdome and reason , have any power from god to judge that spirit where it is ? and have they not in all ages , when they have attempted it , passed the censure of , blasphemy upon it , and so it hath suffered , yea or no ? 7. whether that spirit be not at unity in it self , all that speak by it , speaking one and the same things , each in their measure ; and doth it not speak the same things now , that ever it spoke in the holy men of god ? and whether all that are guided by it , be not brought into one and the same way to the father , and his worship in spirit , yea or no ? 8. whether giving heed to any other spirits , whatever they pretend , be no : the way to delusion , and to lye open to be seduced into rent , schisme , and heresie , yea or no ? 9. whether any who have not this infallible spirit in themselves , which is the onely light , and guide , and judge , be fit and able to teach others ? or did the lord ever send out any to teach who hath not this spirit , yea or no ? certain queries to all you prophets that prophesie for hire , and all you priests that teach for money and bear rule by your means ; and all you shepherds that seek for your gain from your quarter : answer these , for they are given forth for the generall good of all people . 1. q. vvhether you will own jeremiah to be a true prophet , which cryed against the priests that bare rule by their means : and whether you will justifie these that bear rule by their means which jeremiah cryed against ? 2. whether you will own the prophet i say to be a true prophet of the lord , which the lord sent to cry against them that sought for their gain from their quarter : and whether you will hold up these shepherds which seek for their gain from their quarter now , as he cryed against them ? 3. whether you will own ezekiel to be a true prophet of the lord , which the lord sent to cry against the shepherds , which fed themselves with the fat , and cloathed with the wooll , and made a prey upon the people : and whether you will justifie these shepherds that seek for the fleece now , and for the woll , and the fat , and make prey upon the people , which ezekiel cryed woe against ? 4. whether you will owne micha to be a true prophet of the lord , which the lord sent to cry against the hireling priests and prophets , that preached and prophesied for money , and whether you will justifie these things now , which the lord sent him to cry woe against then ? 5. whether you will justifie such as jesus christ cryed woe against , which was called of men master , and had the chiefest places in the assemblies , and stood praying in the synagogues , and laid heavy burdens upon the people , and loved salutations in the markets ; and whether you will justifie these things which he cryed woe against ? 6. whether you will justifie sprinkling infants , seeing there is not a word of scripture to prove it ? 7. whether you will justifie singing davids psalms , his quakings , prayers , and tears ; and his condition turned in rime and meeter , and sung in the world , yea or no ? 8. whether ever any of the apostles or ministers of god did receive tythes after christ was risen , yea or no ? 9. whether ever any of the disciples of jesus christ , or believers that believed in him , after he was risen , did pay tythes according to the old time , after the substance was come , yea or no ? 10. whether these be not the teachers spoken of , which stand rayling in the pulpit , and are in envy , and sue men at the law , and are proud and covetous , be not them which goe in the way of caine ; and through covetousness make merchandise of the people ? and are they not to be cryed against now , as paul and peter did then ? 11. whether these be not the teachers that seek for great augmentations , and great benefits and tythes , be not as they which the scripture speaks of , which run greedily after the error of balaam , who perished in the gain-saying of cora , seeing the apostle said , he covered no mans silver nor gold , nor apparel , but wrought with his hands , that he might be example to all that followed him ? 12. whether they do abide in the doctrine of christ which compels people to swear , or the doctrine of the devil ? when christ saith , swear not at all , but let your yea be yea , and nay , nay , whatsoever is more , is evil . 13. whether the outward temple was to be held up after christ was risen , yea or no ? seeing stephen was stoned to death for witnessing against it ? 14. whether a man shall be made free from the body of sin , while he is upon the earth , yea or no ? 15. whether you will own that christ which said , be not ye called of men , master ? or whether you will be called of men , master , and so deny that christ ? 16. whether that was the true christ that forbid these things ? and whether you will own that christ as an example to follow him , who is the way , the light , and the truth ? an exhortation to all people that have a desire to know the truth , that the truth may make them free . every one that hath a desire to know the truth , that the truth may set you free , mind the light of god in you , that shews you sin and evil , that which checks you when you do amiss , either when you lie or swear , or are proud or covetous , or oppress , or envy , or hate , or backbite one another , or use any deceit , there is something in you that will check you , and tell you that you should not do so , if you hearken to it , that which shews you your vain thoughts , and wandring desire , and wicked imaginations , if you hearken to that , and let it guide your minds , it will turn them within , and shew you how you have spent your time , and bring you to consider of your waies and your doings , that you may forsake that which is evil , and turn to the lord , that he may have mercy upon you : this light within , if you hearken to it , it will not suffer you to do any wrong to any man , but to do to all as you would be done by ; and obeying it , it will teach you to deny your selves of pride and covetousness , and oppression , and drunkenness , and lying , and swearing , and vain talk , and foolish jesting and all vain delights and pleasures whatsoever : and minding this light within , to be obedient to it , it will cross your earthly wille , and turn you out of the lust and filth of the flesh , and lead you out of all the worlds waies , and words , and customs , and fashions , and worships , and delights , and vanities whatsoever , and bring you to delight in the lord , to do his will , in yielding obedience to his commands , in what the light doth require of you to be done , that you may cast off the works of darkness , as this light within makes them manifest to you , this light within you will not suffer you to eat and drink , to make your selves wanton ; if you harken to it , and let it guide your minds , this light within will not let you wear apparel to make your selves proud , and burthen and oppress poor creatures , if you hearken to it : and here is your teacher ▪ this light , obeying it ; and here is your condemnation , this light disobeying it , this light is not without you , a chapter or a verse , but the light is within , as it was in them that spake forth the chapters : ye have a light , to the which you do well to take heed , as unto a light that shineth in a dark place , untill the day dawn , and the day-star arise in your hearts . take heed to that light , left ye be condemned by it : obeying it , it will shew you the way to salvation ; disobeying this light , it will condemn you . now you have time , prize it , and take heed of rejecting the counsel and admonition of the lord to your souls , as you will answer it before the lord , consider of it , and lay it to heart , this is the day of your visitation . freind , d. w. my love salutes that which is pure of god in thee , mind that light of god in thy conscience which checks and reproves thee for sin and evil ; and it will turn thy mind within , and shew thee the evil of thy doings , and tell thee plainly thou ought not to act in that which is evil , this is the light which christ jesus hath enlightened every one that comes into the world withall , and this light will not onely shew thee thy evil deeds , but it will shew thee the good way which thou ought to walk in ; yeilding obedience to this light , which discovers unto thee sin and evil , it will teach thee to deny that which is evil , as the light makes it manifest unto thee in measure , and this light which christ hath given to every one to enlighten thee withall , it will not onely teach thee to deny , that which is evil , but it will teach thee to act in righteousness , and to do unto all as thou would be done by ; loving this light , thou wilt bring thy deeds to the light , that the light may prove them , and here is thy teacher present with thee , obeying it the light , and hating this light which makes manifest sin and evil , here is thy condemnation eternally . now thou hast time prize it , and put not the day of the lord afarr off , for the time past is unrecoverable , the time to come is uncertaine , the time present is thine , now while time is , improve thy talent , which the lord hath given thee , that thou mayest receive the blessing , which is , well done , thou good and faithfull servant , thou shalt be made ruler over much : but on the contrary , if thou be negligent and sloathfull , and slight the mercies of the lord to thy soule , and hide thy talent in the earth , then thou art that sloathfull servant who said christ was an austere man ; for the lord hath given every one a measure to profit withall , then thou must receive thy portion , go ye cursed into hell prepared for the devil and his angels . now it is called to day , arise and put off the old man with his deeds , for the old man must be put off with his deeds in measure , before the new man can be put on with his deeds , which is after god created in righteousness , and true holiness , therefore in the feare of god worke while it is day , for the night comes when none can worke , it is said , rejoyce o young man in thy youth ; but know for all this thou must come to judgement . now friend consider what thou art a doing , and take heed of spending thy time carelesly without the fear of god , and the lord give thee understanding that thou mayest see what thou art doing , that thou mayest chuse the good and refuse the evil . from a friend to thy soule , and to all that love the lord jesus christ in sincerity , and in truth . this was i moved to write to thee , who am a prisoner of the lord in york castle , whose name in the flesh is john killam . all friends in your several measures , dwell and abide in that which is immortall of god in you , which is begotten by the ministry of the word , which is not of the world but leads out of the world , and crucifies the world , who in it dwells this doth witness , so all to the witness keep your minds , and upon it wait , and be attentive , that you all in the tenderness may be kept , and the witness preserved , waking and alive in you , that which witnesseth with the just and righteous pure god in you , against all deceits , hypocrisie , or self-ends in you , that herein you may be preserved every one in your measures faithfull to god , who hath called you , that herein you may grow out of the world , self , flesh , and the knowledge thereof , which all defiles and perisheth , into purity , righteousness and holiness , which condemns the world , that in the true favour and discerning you may grow to sever between the precious and the vse , the clean , and the unclean , the pure , and the unpure , that you may know and owne the pure life in one another , the pure language , and the pure voice , that true judgement may pass upon that which is contrary , least for want of favour and true judgement , you joyne with the unclean spirit which spots and defiles , staines and darkens the understanding , and then slothfulness gets up , and earthly mindedness , and self-endedness , and self takes its liberty , which all staines and dishonours the truth of god , the father of truth , from whence all truth proceeds . but woe from the lord will follow the careless slothful disobedient , rebellious one , who causes offences , so all in the presence of the living god , to the witness of god in you i speake , to feare the living god of life and power , and in it dwell , that in it you may be preserved ; low and tender your minds to the measure of light ; which manifests darkness , and what out of it ariseth , which is contrary to the light , drawes from the light , and so draws from god , that in the light this may be seen , judged , and condemned : and here you are kept in your measures and daily growth , out of the world , self , flesh , or whatsoever is of the same , that all things may be given up into his will who is god over all , and creator of all , whose owne all is , and here you are kept single and free , just upright and pure every one in your measures , in the continuall exercise in a growing condition , the witness being kept waking : but i do you all warne to take heed of setting up a false rest out of light in the carnality , in the form , without the life and power , painted with the word of truth ; catched in the comprehension & talked of , such feeds death in whom death raign , and such with the light which they are turned from , are seen judged and condemned , ignorance not to be pleaded . so all tender ones , who feare the living god , and abide to the light which opens , manifests , and discovers within , that upon it you may wait for teaching , and direction , looking out at any , but every one in particular , mind the light of the lord jesus ; which hath convniced you to be your guide and teacher in all things , bringing all your thoughts , words , and actions , to the light , by it to be tryed and proved , at it to ask councel and direction , and here god alone is teacher , orderer , and mighty counceller , who is the everlasting father and prince of peace and joy ; and here true judgement is set up , which keeps in the watch and the cross , and here true peace is preserved , which stands in obedience through the cross ; and herein true favour you grow , and in the discerning and the pure wisdome you grow , in your measures , received from the fountaine which orders all , and distinguishes between the precious , and the vile , and the two seeds , and what is of the one , and what is of the other , and what to owne , and joyne with , and what to deny & cross , as in particular , so in general , and here self is kept out , and judged out , and the false voice and false language ; or any thing which separates and leads out of the obedience , out of the cross , and out of the oneness ; so here in the cross you all are kept watching over one another , and building up one another , in that which stands out of the will , and out of words ; and puts an end to words , and here is the blessing , and in your meetings the lord will be seen present , manifesting himself by his power , and so you will know of a truth he is among you ; so all as tender your eternal happiness , and prise the love of god , take heed of setting up a rest or peace out of the cross , out of the obedience , for there you settle upon the lees , and crucifies the just one in you ; and all this is but in time , and will be destroyed by that which is out of time and done away , take heed of giving way to the earthly spirit , or hearking to the earthly voyce which draws the mind from the pure eternall into the earth and earthly things ; and visible fading created objects which adulterates the heart from god , and leads away the mind and affections from the eternall , and cumbers the same , begetting earthly care for store of fading things , which are in time and which time perisheth ; which keeps out of the obedience , smothers the light , and involves in darkness , darkning the understanding , and inslaves the creature , and brings into bondage to the earth and earthly things , and captivates and covers the seed in the earth , and here is the curse and wrath and plagues which to egypt and to egypt king is due , and all this comes by carelesness , not obeying in the measure of light , which leads the affections from below out of time to god the beginning and end of all time : in whom is fullness the living fountain of all goodness , eternall riches and treasures , & here is the liberty of the children of god , who from the earth are redeemed , and this liberty you come to know every one in your measures abiding in the cross , so that which is not eternall , but leads into the snares of death , which in darkness lies , which by the light is discovered by the word , which is a lampe to the feet , and a light unto the pathes ; but take heed of using your liberty as an occasion to the flesh , for that staines , and the flesh is apt to catch its liberty by that eye and eare which is outward and leads out into the motion out of the life , and this by the light is seen and judged and condemned , so all friends to that which is eternall of god i speak , that it you may mind , and in it dwell , the light which comes from god , who is eternall , that by it your minds may be kept out of the carnall , least while you imbrace the carnall you loose the eternall ; and so in the end loose both , for time ends all things that in time is . so god almighty of wisdom and power keep you in the pure feare and awe of himself the powerfull father , all of you tender and faithfull in your measures your minds up to him , he to be your guide in all things , who leads out of the way of error , that he in all things may be glorified praised and honoured , to whom all is due , even god over all blessed for ever . i rest a friend to your soules , whose joy and delight is in your soules eternall well-fare , which was the cause of now writing : one with the life in all which comes from the father . james parnell . 19. day of the 11 month . 1654. finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a40250e-240 ezek. 34.12 jer. 23.10 . ezek. 34.23 . jer. 23.16 . isa. 65.10 ▪ 11 , 12. isa. 55.4.2.2 , 3. jer. 5.30 , 31. mic. 3.11 . john . 10.13 . & 1.14 2 cor. 5.19 . deut. 26.12 . mat. 10.8.9 , 10. 2 cor. 11.24 . act. 4.23 . 1 cor. 9.10.11 1 cor. 9.10 , 11. gen. 17.11 . 1 chron 22.12 . exod. ●● . 13 , 14.17 . 18. acts. 21. ●7 acts 4.2 . 1. thes. 1.1 . ● rom. 2.23.29 . 2 cor. 6.16 , 17. col. 2.16.17 . gal. 4.10 . heb. 4.10 . 2 pet. 2.25 1 tim. 2.25 col. 1.26.29 . 1 cor. 12.13 . 1 thes. 1.1 . 1 cor. 10.15 , 17. psal. 6.6 . & 131.1 . 1 cor. 14.15 . col. 3 . 1● . 1 cor. 2.14 . gal. 1.14 . & 1.1 . 1 pet. 3.19 . john . 1.9 . john . 1.1 . gen. 3.15 . luke . 2.10.11 . jhon 1.29 . john 15.3 . jer. 33.29 . heb. 4.12 . 2 cor. 5. ●9 . eph. 2.12 . gal. 5.15 . jam. 4.1.2 mat. 23.16 joh. 20.21 . 1 joh. 2.10 . rom. 1● 8.10 . acts. 7.47 , 48 , 49. heb. ● 5. 〈◊〉 27. mat 23. ● . acts. 4 , 32. jude . 20. eph. 4.5 . mat. 23.8 . met. 23.6 , 7. 1 john . 3.8 . 2 pet. 1.1.12 . 1 pet. 2.1 , 2 , 3. jude 11. 2 tim. 3.3 to 9. phil. 1. ● . & 3.2 . heb. 6.1 2 tim. 3.2 1 ioh. 3.3 1 ioh. 5.4 col. 2.11 . rom 6.22 , rom. 7 6. rom. 13.1 . james 2.9 . & 5.2 . isa. 5.8 . acts. 17.25 . james 2.5 . heb. 12.1 . acts. 26.2.27 . psal 25.1 . 2 thes. 2.3 . john 21. ●● . iob 32.21 . exod. 20.5 act. 10.34 . rom. 12.2 . ier. 10.3 . iohn . 14.6 . rom. 7.6 . iohn 6.35 . act. 247. eccl. 12.3 . isa. 2.21.20 . dan. 10.7 . acts. 9.6 . hab. 3.10 . psal. 119.120 . eccl. 12.3 . heb. 12.1 . iohn . 10.1.2 . luke . 2.10 , 11. & 19.9 . 1 john 8.9 . 1 cor. 3.6 . notes for div a40250e-2180 exod. 20.5 , 7. luke . 10.4 . 2 kings . 4.24 . 2 john 9.10 , 11. ier. 10.2 . mat. 12.36 , 37. notes for div a40250e-2350 iud. 10. rev. 19.13 . 1 iohn . 1.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. 1 pet. 1.25 . iohn 1.14 . ephes. 5.30 & 1.21 , 22. iohn 8.12 2 thes. 2.8 . 2 cor. 6.16 . 1 cor. 3.16 , 17. 2 cor. 5.18 , 19. col. 3.10 . iohn 8 34 , 36. 1 iohn 1.3 , 5. 2 pet. 1.21.22 . deut. 4.2 . rev. 22.18 . tim. 3.16 , 17. 1 cor. 1.14.15 . iohn 3.11 . acts 1.5 . 1 cor. 12.13 . 1 pet. 3.2 . col. 2.12 . gal. 3.27 . rom. 6.3 . mat. 26.26 , 28. iohn . 6.51.53 , 54 , 55 , 56. 1 cor. 10.16 . 1 cor. 11.24 , 25. col. 2.10 . acts. 4.32 . 1 cor. 11.27 , 28 , 29. iohn . 5.20 . 1 cor. 15.38 . 1 cor. 15.42 , 43 , 44. 1 cor. 15.46 , 50 , 51. rev. 20.6 . phil. 3.21 . 1 cor. 15.20 . 1 cor. 15.47 col. 1.15 . rom. 13.3 . iude. 16. rom. 13.5 . iames . 2.5 . iames . 2.1 , 2 , 3 , 4. rom. 13.1 , 5. micah , 6.8 . 1 pet. 1.12 . eph. 4.11 , 12. 1 cor. 12.7 . pet 4.10.11 . gal. 11.11 , 12 , 16. mat. 10.8 . acts. 8.20 . john 10.13 . micah 3.10 . ier. 5.30 . & 6.13 . isa. 56.10 , 11. 2 pet. 2.14 , 15. 2 cor. 11.15 . iude 11. 1 cor. 9.16 , 17 , 18. 1 cor. 4.11 . gal. 4.19 . 1 iohn . 2.3 , 4 , 5.6 . iohn 9.10 . 2 iohn 9.10 , 11. psal. 50.16 , 17. notes for div a40250e-3560 gal. 6.11 . phil 3.18.19 . 2. cor. 3.5.6 . gen. 3.15 . rom. 8.6 . isa. 65.25 . 2 cor. 4.18 . jam. 5.23 . heb. 4.1 . 1 thes. 1.1 . heb. 12.22 , 23 , 24. 2 cor. 3.6 . mat. 23.6.10 . 1 john ●2 . 26 , 27. 2 cor. 3. ● . ier. 3● . 23 . heb 8 10.11 . 1 pet. 1.19 . deut. 30.14 . rom. 10.8 . 1 john . ● . 10 . 1 cor. 12.13 . col. 25 1 cor. 5.3 . 2 cor. 3.2 . 1 john 4.2 . 1 john . 2.23 . eph. 4.1 . 1 john 4.8 , 9.10 . heb. 4.10 , 11. 1 cor. 15. rom. 8.14 . 1 cor. 3.16 . 2 cor. 6.16 . jam. 4.3 . rom. 8.26 . john . 14.13 , 14. jam. 1.6 . notes for div a40250e-4470 gen. 1.27 . gen. 3.23.24 . 1 john . 1.3.6 , 7. 1 john . 3.5.8 . john . 8.34.36 . 1 cor. 6.9 . gal. 5.21 . 1 cor. 10.6.11 . mat. 25.13 . to the end . 1 cor. 15.22 . col. 1.13 . prov. 28.13 . & . 11.21 . ephes. 4.11 , 12 , 13. col. 1.28 . 2 thes. 2.3 . to the 11. ephes. 5.27 . mat. 23.27 , 28. the preface, being a summary account of the divers dispensations of god to men from the beginning of the world to that of our present age, by the ministry and testimony of his faithful servant george fox, as an introduction to the ensuing journal. penn, william, 1644-1718. 1694 approx. 166 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a54195) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 36281) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2052:15) the preface, being a summary account of the divers dispensations of god to men from the beginning of the world to that of our present age, by the ministry and testimony of his faithful servant george fox, as an introduction to the ensuing journal. penn, william, 1644-1718. fox, george, 1624-1691. [48] p. printed and sold by t. sowle, at the crooked billet in holly-well-lane, shoreditch, and near the meeting-house in white-hart-court in grace-church-street, [london : 1694] signed at end: vvilliam penn. caption title. imprint from colophon. signatures: a-m² . reproduction of the original in the friends house library, london. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng fox, george, 1624-1691 -early works to 1800. quakers -early works to 1800. 2005-07 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-08 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-09 john latta sampled and proofread 2005-09 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the preface , being a summary account of the divers dispensations of god to men , from the beginning of the world to that of our present age , by the ministry and testimony of his faithful servant george for , as an introduction to the ensuing journal . divers have been the dispensations of god since the creation of the world unto the sons of men ; but the great end of all of them has been the renown of his own excellent name in the creation and restauration of man : man , the emblem of himself , as a god on earth and the glory of all his works . the world began with innocency : all was then good that the good god had made : and as he blessed the works of his hands , so their natures and harmony magnified him their creator . then the morning stars sang together for joy , and all parts of his works said amen to his law. not a jarr in the whole frame , but man in paradise , the beasts in the field , the fowl in the air , the fish in the sea , the lights in the heavens , the fruits of the earth ; yea the air , the earth , the water and fire worshipped , praised and exalted his power , wisdom and goodness . o holy sabbath , o holy day to the lord ! but this happy state lasted not long : for man , the crown and glory of the whole , being tempted to aspire above his place , unhappily yielded against command and duty , as well as interest and felicity ; and so fell below it , lost the divine image , the wisdom , power and purity he was made in . by which , being no longer fit for paradise , he was expelled that garden of god , his proper dwelling and residence , and was driven out , as a poor vagabond , from the presence of the lord , to wander in the earth , the habitation of beasts . yet god , that made him had pitty on him ; for he seeing he was deceived , and that it was not of malice , or an original presumption in him , but through the subtilty of the serpent , ( that had first fallen from his own state , and by the mediation of the woman , man 's own nature and companion , whom the serpent had first deluded ) in his infinite goodness and wisdom found out a way to repair the breach , recover the loss , and restore fallen man again by a nobler and more excellent adam , promised to be born of a woman ; that as by means of a woman the evil one had prevailed upon man , by a woman also he should come into the world , who would prevail against him and bruise his head , and deliver man from his power : and which , in a signal manner , by the dispensation of the son of god in the flesh , in the fullness of time , was personally and fully accomplished by him , and in him , as man's saviour and redeemer . but his power was not limitted , in the manifestation of it , to that time ; for both before and since his blessed manifestation in the flesh , he has been the light and life , the rock and strength of all that ever feared god : present with them in their temptations , followed them in their travels and afflictions , and supported and carried them through and over the difficulties that have attended them in their earthly pilgrimage . by this abel's heart excelled cains , and seth obtained the preheminence , and enoch walked with god. it was this that strove with the old world , and which they rebelled against , and which sanctified and instructed noah to salvation . but the outward dispensation that followed the benighted state of man , after his fall , especially among the patriarcks , was generally that of angels ; as the scriptures of the old testament do in many places express , as to abraham , jacob , &c. the next was that of the law by moses , which was also delivered by angels , as the apostle tells us . this dispensation was much outward , and suited to a low and servil state ; called therefore that of a school-master , to point out and prepare that people to look and long for the messiah , who would deliver them from the servitude of a ceremonious and imperfect dispensation , by knowing the realities of those misterious representations in themselves . in this time the law was written on stone , the temple built with hands attended with an outward priest-hood and external rites , and ceremonies , that were shadows of the good things that were to come , and were only to serve till the seed came , or the more excellent and general manifestation of christ , to whom was the promise , and to all men only in him , in whom it was yea and amen ; even life from death , immortality and eternal life . this the prophets foresaw , and comforted the believing jews in the certainty of it ; which was the top of the mosaical dispensation , and which ended in john's ministery , the forerunner of the messiah , as john's was finished in him , the fullness of all . and god , that at sundry times and in divers manners had spoken to the fathers by his servants the prophets , spoak then by his son christ jesus , who is heir of all things ; being the gospel-day , which is the dispensation of sonship : bringing in thereby a nearer testament and a better hope ; even the beginning of the glory of the latter days , and of the restitution of all things ; yea , the restoration of the kingdom unto israel . now the spirit , that was more sparingly communicated in former dispensations , began to be poured forth upon all flesh , according to the prophet joel , and the light that shined in darkness , or but dimly before , the most gracious god caused to shine out of darkness , and the day-star began to arise in the hearts of believers , giving unto them the knowledge of god in the face ( or appearance ) of his son christ jesus . now the poor in spirit , the meek , the true mourners , the hungry and thirsty after righteousness , the peace-makers , the pure in heart , the merciful and the persecuted , came more especially in remembrance before the lord , and were sought out and blessed by israel's true shepherd . old jerusalem with her children grew out of date , and the new jerusalem into request , the mother of the sons of the gospel-day . wherefore no more at old jerusalem , nor at the mountain of samaria , will god be worshipped above other places ; for , behold , he is declared and preached a spirit , and he will be known as such , and worshipped in the spirit and in the truth . he will come nearer then of old time , and he will write his law in the heart , and put his fear and spirit in the inward parts , according to his promise . then signs , types and shadows flew away , the day having discovered their insufficiency in not reaching to the inside of the cup , to the cleansing of the conscience ; and all elementary services were expired in and and by him that is the substance of all . and to this great and blessed end of the dispensation of the son of god , did the apostles testifie , whom he had chosen and anointed by his spirit , to turn the jews from their prejudice and superstition , and the gentiles from their vanity and idolatry , to christ's light and spirit that shined in them ; that they might be quickned from the sins and trespasses in which they were dead , to serve the living god in the newness of the spirit of life , and walk as children of the light , and of the day , even the day of holiness : for such put on christ , the light of the world , and make no more provision for the flesh , to fulfil the lusts thereof . so that the light , spirit and grace that comes by christ , and appears in man , was what the apostles ministred from , and turned peoples minds unto , and in which they gathered and built up the churches of christ in their day . for which cause they advised them not to quench the spirit , but wait for the spirit , and speak by the spirit , and pray by the spirit , and walk in the spirit too , as that which approved them the truly begotten children of god ; born , not of flesh and blood , or of the will of man , but of the will of god ; by doing his will , and denying their own ; by drinking of christ's cup , and being baptized with his baptism of self-denial : the way and path that all the heirs of life have trod to blessedness . but alas ! even in the apostles days , ( those bright stars of the first magnitude of the gospel light ) some clouds ( foretelling an eclipse of this primitive glory ) began to appear , and several of them gave early caution of it to the christians of their time ; that even then there was , and yet would be more and more , a falling away from the power of godliness and the purity of that spiritual dispensation , by such as sought to make a fair shew in the flesh , but with whom the offence of the cross ceased : yet with this comfortable conclusion , that they saw beyond it a more glorious time than ever , to the true church . their sight was true , and what they foretold to the churches , gathered by them in the name and power of jesus , came so to pass : for christians degenerated a-pace into outsides , as days and meats , and divers other cerimonies . and which was worse , they fell into strife and contention about them , separating one from another , then envying , and , as they had power , persecuting one another , to the shame and scandal of their common christianity , and grievous stumbling and offence of the heathen , among whom the lord had so long and so marvellously preserved them . and having got at last the worldly power into their hands , by kings and emperors embracing the christian profession , they changed what they could , the kingdom of christ , which is not of this world , into a worldly kingdom ; or at least stiled the worldly kingdom that was in their hands the kingdom of christ , and so they became worldly , and not true christians . then humane inventions and novelties , both in doctrine and worship , crowded fast into the church ; a door being opened thereunto by the grossness and carnality that appeared then among the generality of christians ; who had long since left the guidance of god's meek and heavenly spirit , and given themselves up to superstition , will-worship , and voluntary humility . and as superstition is blind , so it is heady and furious ; for all must stoop to its blind and boundless zeal or perish by it : in the name of the spirit , persecuting the very appearance of the spirit of god in others , and opposing that in them which they resisted in themselves , viz. the light , grace and spirit of the lord jesus christ ; but always under the notion of innovation , heresie , schism , or some such plausible name . though christianity allows of no name or pretence whatever for persecuting of any man for matters of meer religion ; religion being in its very nature , meek , gentle and forbearing ; and consists of faith , hope and charity , which no persecutor can have , whilst he remains a persecutor ; in that a man cannot believe well , or hope well , or have a charitable or tender regard to another , whilst he would violate his mind or persecute his body for matters of faith or worship towards his god. thus the false church sprang up , and mounted the chair . but though she lost her nature , she would keep her good name of the lambs-bride , the true church and mother of the faithful ; constraining all to receive her mark , either in their forehead or righthand , publickly or privately : but indeed and in truth she was mystery babylon , the mother of harlots : mother of those that with all their show and outside of religion , were adulterated and gone from the spirit , nature and life of christ , and grown vain , worldly , ambitious , covetous , cruel , &c. which are the fruits of the flesh and not of the spirit . now it was that the true church fled into the wilderness , that is , from superstition and violence , to a retired , solitary and lonely state ; hidden and as it were out of sight of men , though not out of the world : which shows that her wonted visibility was not essential to the being of a true church in the judgment of the holy ghost ; she being as true a church in the wilderness , though not as visible and lustrious , as when she was in her former splendor of profession . in this state many attempts she made to return , but the waters were yet too high , and her way blocked up , and many of her excellent children in several nations and centuries fell by the cruelty of superstition , because they would not fall from their faithfulness to the truth . the last age did set some steps towards it , both as to doctrine , worship and practice . but practice quickly failed , for wickedness flowed in a little time , as well among the professors of the reformation as those they reformed from ; so that by the fruits of conversation they were not to be distinguished . and the children of the reformers , if not the reformers themselves , betook themselves very early to earthly policy and power to uphold and carry on their reformation that had been begun with spiritual weapons ; which i have often thought , has been one of the greatest reasons the reformation made no better progress , as to the life and soul of religion : for whilst the reformers were lowly and spiritually minded , and trusted in god , and lookt to him , and lived in his fear , and consulted not with flesh and blood , nor sought deliverance in their own way , there were daily added to the church such as , one might reasonably say , should be saved . for they were not so careful to be safe from persecution as to be faithful under it . being more concerned to spread the truth by their faith and patience in tribulation , than to get the worldly power out of their hands that inflicted their sufferings upon them ; and it will be well if the lord suffer them not to fall by the very same way they took to stand . in doctrine they were in some things short , in other things , to avoid one extream they run into another : and for worship , there was for the generality , more of man than god. they owned the spirit , inspiration and revelation indeed , and grounded their seperation and reformation upon the sense and understanding they received from it , in the reading of the scriptures of truth ; and this was their plea , the scripture was the text , the spirit the interpreter , and that to every one for himself . but yet there was too much of humane invention , tradition and art that remained both in praying and preaching , and of worldly authority and worldly greatness in their ministers , especially in this kingdom , sweden , denmark and some parts of germany . god was therefore pleased among us , to shift from vessel to vessel : and the next remove humbled the ministry , so that they were more strict in preaching , devout in praying , and zealous for keeping the lords-day , and catechising of children and servants , and repeating at home in their families what they had heard in publick . but even as these grew into power , they were not only for whipping some out , but others into the temple : and they appeared rigid in their spirits , rather than severe in their lives , and more for a party then for piety : which brought forth another people , that were yet more retired and select . they would not communicate at large , or in common with others ; but formed churches among themselves of such as could give some account of their conversion , at least , of very promising experiences of the work of god's grace upon their hearts , and under mutual agrements and covenants of fellowship they kept together . these people were somewhat of a softer temper , and seemed to recommend religion by the charms of its love , mercy and goodness rather than by the terrours of its judgments and punishment ; by which the former party would have terrified people into religion . they also allowed greater liberty to prophecy than those before them ; for they admitted any member to speak or pray , as well as their pastor ( whom they always chose , and not the civil magistrate ) . if such found any thing pressing upon them to either duty , even without the distinction of clergy or laity ; persons of any trade , be it never so low and mechanical . but alas ! even these people suffered great loss : for tasting of worldly empire , and the favour of princes , and the gain that ensued , they degenerated but too much . for though they had cryed down national churches and ministry and maintenance too , some of them , when it was their own turn to be tryed , fell under the weight of worldly honour and advantage , got into profitable parsonages too much , and outlived and contradicted their own principles : and , which was yet worse , turned some of them absolute persecutors of other men for god's sake , that but so lately came themselves out of the furnace , which drove many a step farther , and that was into the water . another baptism , as believing they were not scripturally baptised ; and hoping to find that presence and power of god in submitting to that ordinance , which they desired and wanted . these people made also profession of neglecting , if not renouncing and censuring , not only the necessity but use of all human learning as to the ministry ; and all other qualifications to it besides the helps and gifts of the spirit of god , and those natural and common to men ; and for a time they seemed like john of old , a burning and a shining light , to other societies . they were very diligent , plain and serious , strong in scripture , and bold in profession , bearing much reproach and contradiction : but that which others fell by , proved their hurt . for worldly power spoiled them too ; who had enough of it to try them what they would do if they had more ; and they rested also too much upon their watry dispensation , instead of passing on more fully to the fire and holy ghost , which was his baptism , who came with a fan in his hand , that he might throughly ( and not in part only ) purge his floor , and take away the dross and the tin of his people and make a man finer than gold. withall , they grew high , rough and self-righteous , opposing further attainment ; too much forgetting the day of their infancy and littleness , which gave them something of a real beauty ; in so much that many left them and all visible churches and societies , and wandred up and down , as sheep without a shepherd , and as doves without their mates ; seeking their beloved but could not find him , as their souls desired to know him ; whom their souls loved above their chiefest joy. these people were called seekers by some , and the family of love by others ; because , as they came to the knowledge of one another , they sometimes met together , not formally to pray or preach , at appointed times or places , in their own wills , as in times past they were accustomed to do ; but waited together in silence , and as any thing rose in any one of their minds that they thought savoured of a divine spring , so they sometimes spoke . but so it was that some of them not keeping in humility and in the fear of god , after the abundance of revelation , were exalted above measure , and for want of staying their minds in an humble dependance upon him that opened their understandings to see great things in his law ; they run out in their own imaginations , and mixing them with those divine openings , brought forth a monstrous birth ; to the scandal of those that feared god , and waited daily in the temple , not made with hands , for the consolation of israel ; the jew inward , and circumcision in spirit . this people obtained the name of ranters from their extravagant discourses and practices . for they interpreted christ's fullfilling of the law for us , to be a discharging of us from any obligation and duty the law required , instead of the condemnation of the law for sins past , upon faith and repentance , and that now it was no sin to do that which before it was a sin to commit ; the slavish fear of the law being taken off by christ , and all things good that man did , if he did but do them with the mind and perswasion that it was so . insomuch that divers fell into gross and enormous practices ; pretending in excuse thereof that they could , without evil , commit the same act which was sin in another to do ; thereby distinguishing between the action and the evil of it , by the direction of the mind and intention in the doing of it . which was to make sin super-abound by the aboundings of grace , and to turn from the grace of god into wantonness , a securer way of sinning than before : as if christ came not to take away sin , but that we might sin more freely at his cost , and with less danger to our selves . i say , this ensnared divers , and brought them to an utter and lamentable loss as to their eternal state ; and they grew very troublesome to the better sort of people , and furnished the looser with an occasion to prophane . it was about that very same time , as you may see in the ensuing annales , that the eternal , wise , and good god was pleased , in his infinite love , to honour and visit this benighted and bewildred nation with his glorious day-spring from on high ; yea with a most sure and certain sound of the word of light and life , through the testimony of a chosen vessel , to an effectual and blessed purpose , can many thousands say , glory be to the name of the lord for ever . for as it reached the conscience and broak the heart , and brought many to a sense and search , so what people had been vainly seeking without , with much pains and cost , they by this ministry found within ; where it was they wanted what they sought for , viz. the right way to peace with god. for they were directed to the light of jesus christ within them , as the seed and leven of the kingdom of god ; near all , because in all , and god's talent to all. a faithful and true witness and just monitor in every bosom . the gift and grace of god to life and salvation that appears to all , though few regard it . this , the traditional christian , conceited of himself , and strong in his own will and righteousness , and overcome with blind zeal and passion , either dispised as a low and common thing , or opposed as a novelty , under many hard names and opprobrious terms ; denying , in his ignorant and angry mind , any fresh manifestation of god's power and spirit in man in these days , though never more needed to make true christians : not unlike those jews of old that rejected the son of god at the very same time that they blindly professed to wait for the messiah to come ; because , alas , he appeared not among them according to their carnal mind and expectation . this brought forth many abusive books , which filled the greater sort with envy , and lesser with rage , and made the way and progress of this blessed testimony straight and narrow indeed to those that received it . however , god owned his own work , and this testimony did effectually reach , gather , comfort and establish the weary and heavy leaden , the hungry and thirsty , the poor and needy , the mournful and sick of many maladys , that had spent all upon phisitians of no value , and waited for relief from heaven ; help only from above : seeing upon a serious tryal of all things , nothing else would do but christ himself , the light of his countenance , a touch of his garment and help from his hand , who cured the poor womans issue , raised the centurions servant , the widows son , the rulers daughter , and peter's mother , and like her , they no sooner felt his power and efficacy upon their souls ; but they gave up to obey him in a testimony to his power , and with resigned wills and faithful hearts , through all mockings , contradictions , beatings , prisons , and many other jeopardies that attended them for his blessed name sake . and truly , they were very many and very great ; so that in all humane probability they must have been swallowed up quick of the proud and bosterous waves that swelled and beat against them ; but that the god of all their tender mercies was with them in his glorious authority , so that the hills often fled and the mountains melted before the power that filled them ; working mightily for them as well as in them , one ever following the other . by which they saw plainly , to their exceeding great confirmation and comfort , that all things were possible with him with whom they had to do . and that the more that which god required seemed to cross man's wisdom , and expose them to man's wrath , the more god appeared to help and carry them through all to his glory : insomuch that if ever any people could say in truth , thou art our sun and our shield , our rock and sanctuary , and by thee we have leaped over a wall , and by thee we have run through a troop , and by thee we have put the armies of the aliens to flight , these people had right to say it . and as god had delivered their souls of the warisom burthens of sin and vanity , and enriched their poverty of spirit , and satisfied their great hungar and thirst after eternal righteousness , and filled them with the good things of his own house , and made them stewards of his manifold gifts ; so they went forth to all quarters of these nations , to declare to the inhabitants thereof , what god had done for them ; what they had found , and where and how they had found it ; viz. the way to peace with god : inviting them to come and see and taste , for themselves , the truth of what they declared unto them . and as their testimony was to the principle of god in man , the precious pearl and leven of the kingdom , as the only blessed means appointed of god to quicken , convince and sanctifie man ; so they opened to them what it was in it self , and what it was given to them for : how they might know it from their own spirit , and that of the subtil appearance of the evil one ; and what it would do for all those whose minds are turned off from the vanity of the world and its lifeless ways and teachers , and ad-hear to this blessed light in themselves , which discovers and condemns sin in all its appearances , and shows how to overcome it , if minded and obeyed in its holy manifestations and convictions : giving power to such to avoid and resist those things that do not please god , and to grow strong in love , faith , and good works : that so man , whom sin hath made as a wilderness , over-run with briers and thorns , might become as the garden of god , cultivated by his divine power , and replenisht with the most virtuous and beautiful plants of god's own right hand planting , to his eternal praise . but these experimental preachers of glad tydings of god's truth and kingdom could not run when they list , or pray or preach when they pleased , but as the christ their redeemer prepared and moved them by his own blessed spirit , for which they waited in their services and meetings , and spoak as that gave them utterance , and which was as those having authority , and not like the dreaming , dry and formal pharisees . and so it plainly appeared to the serious minded , whose spiritual eye the lord jesus had in any measure opened ; so that to one was given the word of exhortation , to another the word of reproof , to another the word of consolation , and all by the same spirit and in the good order thereof , to the convincing and edifying of many . and truly , they waxed strong and bold through faithfulness ; and by the power and spirit of the lord jesus became very fruitful ; thousands , in a short time , being turned to the truth through their testimony in ministry and sufferings , insomuch as in most counties , and many of the considerable towns of england , meetings were settled , and daily there were added such as should be saved . for they were diligent to plant and to water , and the lord blessed their labours with an exceeding great increase ; notwithstanding all the opposition made to their blessed progress , by false rumors , calumnies and bitter persecutions ; not only from the powers of the earth , but from every one that listed to injure and abuse them : so that they seemed indeed to be as poor sheep appointed to the slaughter , and as a people killed all the day long . it were fitter for a volumn than a preface , but so much as to repeat the contents of their cruel sufferings from professors as well as from prophaine , and from magistrates as well as the rabble , that it may well be said of this abused and despised people , they went forth weeping and sowed in tears , bearing testimony to the precious seed , the seed of the kingdom , which stands not in words , the finest the highest that man's wit can use , but in power ; the power of christ jesus , to whom god the father hath given all power in heaven and in earth , that he might rule angels above , and men below ; who impowred them , as their work witnesseth , by the many that were turned through their ministry from darkness to the light , and out of the broad into the narrow way , bringing people to a weighty , serious and god-like conversation ; the practice of that doctrine which they taught . and as without this secret divine power there is no quickning and regenerating of dead souls , so the want of this generating and begetting power and life , is the cause of the little fruit that the many ministrys that have been , and are in the world bring forth . o that both ministers and people were sensible of this ! my soul is often troubled for them , and sorrow and mourning compass me about for their sakes . o! that they were wise , o! that they would consider , and lay to heart the things that truly and substantially make for their lasting peace . two things are to be briefly toucht upon , the doctrine they taught , and the example they lead among all people . i have already toucht upon their fundamental principle , which is as the corner stone of their fabrick : and to speak eminently and properly , their characteristick , or main distinguishing point or principle , viz. the light of christ within , as god's gift for man's salvation . this i say , is as the root of the goodly tree of doctrines that grew and branched out from it , which i shall now mention in their natural and experimental order . first , repentance from dead works to serve the living god. which comprehends three operations . first , a sight of sin. secondly , a sense and godly sorrow for it . thirdly , an amendment for the time to come . this was the repentance they preached and pressed , and a natural result from the principle they turned all people unto . for of light came sight ; and of sight came sense and sorrow ; and of sense and sorrow , came amentment of life : which doctrine of repentance leads to justification ; that is , forgiveness of the sins that are past through christ the alone propitiation and the sanctification or purgation of the soul from the defiling nature and habits of sin present ; which is justification in the compleat sense of that word ; comprehending both justification from the guilt of the sins that are past , as if they had never been commited , through the love and mercy of god in christ jesus ; and the creatures being made inwardly just through the cleansing and sanctifying power and spirit of christ revealed in the soul ; which is commonly called sanctification . from hence sprang a second doctrine they were led to declare , as the mark of the price of the high calling of all true christians , viz. perfection from sin , according to the scriptures of truth , which testifie it to be the end of christ's coming and the nature of his kingdom , and for which his spirit was given . but they never held a perfection in wisdom and glory in this life , or from natural infirmities or death , as some have with a weak or ill mind , imagined and insinuated against them . this they called a redeemed state , regeneration , or the new-birth : teaching every where , according to their foundation , that without this work were known , there was no inheriting the kingdom of god. third , to an acknowledgment of eternal rewards and punishment , as they have good reason ; for else of all people , certainly they must be the most miserable : who for about forty years , have been exceeding great sufferers for their profession , and in some cases , treated worse then the worst of men ; yea , as the refuge and off-scowering of all things . this was the purport of their doctrine and ministry ; which , for the most part , is what other professors of christianity pretend to hold in words and forms , but not in the power of godliness ; that has been long lost by mens departing from that principle and seed of life , that is in man and which man has not regarded , but lost the sense of ; and in and by which he can only be quickned in his mind to serve the living god in newness of life . for as the life of religion was lost , and the generality lived and worshipped god after their own wills , and not after the will of god , nor the mind of christ , which stood in the works and fruits of the holy spirit ; so that which they prest , was not notion but experience , no formality but godliness ; as being sensible in themselves , through the work of god's righteous judgments , that without holiness no man should ever see the lord with comfort . besides these doctrines , and out of them , as the larger branches , there sprang forth several particular doctrines , that did exemplifie and further explain the truth and efficacy of the general doctrine before observed , in their lives and examples . as , i. communion and loving one another . this is a noted mark in the mouth of all sorts of people concerning them . they will meet , they will help and stick one to another . whence it is common to hear some say , look how the quakers love and take care of one another . others less moderate will say , the quakers love none but themselves , and if loving one another and having an intimate communion in religion , and constant care to meet to worship god and help one another , be any mark of primitive christianity , they had it , blessed be the lord , in an ample manner . ii. to love enemies : this they both taught and practised : for they did not only refuse to be revenged for injuries done them , and condemned it as of an unchristian spirit , but they did freely forgive , yea , help and relieve those that had been cruel to them , when it was in their power to have been even with them ; of which many and singular instances might be given : endeavouring , through patience , to overcome all injustice and oppression , and preaching this doctrine as christian for others to follow . iii. the sufficiency of truth speaking , according to christ's own form of words , of yea , yea , and nay , nay , among christians without swearing , both from christ's express prohibition to swear at all . mat. 5. and for that they being under the tye and bond of truth in themselves , there was both no necessity for an oath , and it would be a reproach to their christian veracity to assure their truth by such an extraordinary way of speaking : but offering at the same time , to be punnisht to the full , for false speaking , as others for perjury , if ever guilty of it ; and hereby they exclude , with all true , all false and prophane swearing ; for which the land did and doth mourn , and the great god was and is not a little offended with it . iv. not fighting but suffering , is another testimony peculiar to this people : they affirm that christianity teacheth people to beat their swords into plough shears , and their spears into pruning hooks , and to learn war no more , that so the wolf may lie down with the lamb , and the lyon with the calf , and nothing that destroys be entertained in the hearts of people ; exhorting them to employ their zeal against sin , and turn their anger against satan , and no longer war one against another ; because , all wars and fightings come of mens own hearts lusts , according to the apostle james , and not of the meek spirit of christ jesus who is captain of another warfare , and which is carried on with other weapons . thus , as truth speaking succeeded swearing , so faith and truth succeeded fighting , in the doctrine and practise of this people . nor ought they for this to be obnoxious to civil government , since if they cannot fight for it , neither can they fight against it ; which is no mean security to the state : nor is it reasonable that people should be blamed for not doing more for others than they can do for themselves . and christianity set aside , if the costs and fruits of war were well considered , peace , with its inconveniencies , is generally preferable . but though they were not for fighting , they were for submitting to government ; and that , not only for fear , but for conscience sake , where government doth not interfere with conscience : believing it to be an ordinance of god , and where it is justly administred , a great benefit to minkind : tho' it has been their lot , through blind zeal in some , and interest in others , to have felt the strokes of it with greater weight and rigour than any other perswasion in this age ; whilst they , of all others ( religion set aside ) have given the civil magistrate the least occasion of trouble in the discharge of his office. v. another part of the character of this people is , they refuse to pay tythes , or maintenance to a national ministry , and that for two reasons ; the one is , that they believe all compelled maintenance , even to gospel ministers , to be unlawful , because expresly contrary to christ's command , who said , freely you have received , freely give : at least , that the maintenance of gospel ministers should be free and not forced . the other reason of their refusal is , because those ministers are not gospel ones , in that the holy ghost is not their foundation , but humane arts and parts : so that it is not matter of humor or sullenness , but pure conscience towards god , that they cannot help to support national ministers where they dwell , which are but too much and too visibly become ways of worldly advantage and preferment . vi. not to respect persons , was another of their doctrines and practices , for which they were often buffeted and abused . they affirmed it to be sinful to give flattering titles , or to use vain gestures and complements of respect ; tho' to virtue and authority they ever made a difference , but after their plain and homely manner , yet sincere and substantial way ; well remembering the example of mordecai and elihu , but more especially the command of their lord and master jesus christ , who forbad his followers to call men rabby , which implies lord and master , also the fashionable greetings and salutations of those times ; that so self-love and honour , to which the proud mind of man is incident , in his fallen estate , might not be indulged but rebuked . they also used the plain language of thou and thee to a single person , whatever was his degree among men. and indeed the wisdom of god was much seen , in bringing forth this people in so plain an appearance ; for it was a close and distinguishing test upon the spirit of those they came among ; shewing their insides and what predominated , notwithstanding their high and great profession of religion . this , among the rest , sounded so harsh to many of them , and they took it so ill , that they would say , thou me , thou my dog : if thou thouest me , i 'le thou thy teeth down thy throat , forgetting the language they use to god in their own prayers , and the common stile of the scriptures , and that it is an absolute and essential propriety of speech : and what good had their religion done them , who were so sensibly toucht with indignation for the use of this plain , honest , and true speech ? vi. they recommended silence by their example , having very few words upon all occasions : they were at a word in dealing ; nor could their customers many words tempt them from it ; having more regard for truth than custom , to example then gain , they sought solitude ; but when in company , they would neither use nor willingly hear unnecessary as well as unlawful discourses ; whereby they preserved their minds pure and undisturbed from unprofitable thoughts and diversions : nor could they humour the custom of good night , good morrow , god speed ; for they knew the night was good , and the day was good , without wishing of either ; and that in the other expression , the holy name of god was too lightly and unthinkingly used , and therefore taken in vain . besides , they were words and wishes of course , and are usually as little meant , as are love and service in the custom of cap and knee ; and superfluity in those as well as in other things was burthensom to them ; and therefore they did not only decline to use them , but found themselves often prest to reprove the practice . for the same reason they forbore drinking to people , or pledging of them , as the manner of the world is : a practice that is not only unnecessary , but they thought evil in the tendencies of it ; being a provocation to drinking more than did people good , as well as that it was in it self vain and heathenish . vii . their way of marriage is peculiar to them ; and is a distinguishing practice from all other societies professing christianity . they say that marriage is an ordinance of god , and that god only can rightly join man and woman in marriage . therefore they use neither priest nor magistrate , but the man and woman concern'd take each other as husband and wife in the presence of divers credible witnesses , promising unto each other with god's assistance , to be loving and faithful in that relation till death shall separate them . but , antecedent to all this , they first present themselves to the monthly meeting for the affairs of the church , where they reside ; there declaring their intentions to take one another as man and wife , if the said meeting have nothing material to object against it . they are constantly askt the necessary questions , as in case of parents , or guardians if they have acquainted them with their intention , and have their consent , &c. the method of the meeting is to take a minute thereof , and to appoint proper persons to enquire of their conversation and clearness from all others , and whether they have discharged their duty to their parents or guardians ; and make report thereof the next monthly meeting ; where the same parties are desired to give their attendance . in case it appears they proceeded orderly , the meeting passes their proposal , and so records it in their meeting book ; and in case the woman be a widow and hath children , due care is there taken , that provision also be made by her for the orphans before the said marriage ; advising the parties concerned to appoint a convenient time and place , and to give fitting notice to their relations , and such friends and neighbours , as they desire should be the witnesses of their marriage : where they take one another by the hand , and by name promising reciprocally after the manner before expressed . of all which proceedings , a narative , in a way of certificate , is made , to which the said parties first set their hands , thereby making it their act and deed ; and then divers of the relations , spectators and auditors set their names as witnesses of what they said and signed . which certificate , is afterward registred in the record belonging to the meeting , where the marriage is solemnized . which regular method has been , as it deserves , adjudged in courts of law a good marriage , where it has been disputed and contested , for want of the accustomed formality of priest and ring , &c. which ceremonies they have refused , not out of humour , but conscience reasonably grounded , in as much as no scripture example tells us , that the priest had any other part of old time , than that of a witness among the rest , before whom the jews used to take one another : and therefore this people look upon it as an imposion , to advance the power and profits of the clergy . and for the use of the ring , it is enough to say that it was an heathen and vain custom . and never in practice among the people of god , jews or primitive christans . the words of the usual form , as with my body i thee worship , &c. are hardly defensible : in short , they are more careful , exact and regular than any form now used , and it is free of the inconveniencies other methods are attended with . their care and checks being so many , and such , as no clandestine marriages can be perform'd among them . viii . it may not be unfit to say something here of their births and burials , which make up so much of the pomp and solemnity of too many called christians . for births , the parents name their own children , which is usually some days after they are born , in the presence of the midwife ( if she can be there ) and those that were at the birth , &c. who afterward sign a certificate , for that purpose prepared , of the birth and name of the child , or children , which is recorded in a proper book , in the monthly meeting , to which the parents belong ; avoiding the accustomed cerimonies and feastivals . ix . their burials are performed with the same simplicity . if the corps of the deceased be near any publick meeting place , it is usually carried thither , for the more convenient reception of those that accompany it to the ground they bury in , and it so falls out sometimes , that while the meeting is gathering for the burial , some or other have a word of exhortation , for the sake of the people there met together : after which , the body is borne away by the young men , or those that are of their neighbourhood , or that were most of the intimacy of the deceased party : the corps being in a plain coffin , without any covering or furniture upon it . at the ground , they pause some time before they put the body into its grave , that if any one there should have any thing upon them to exhort the people , they may not be dissappointed , and that the relations may the more retiredly and solemnly take their last leave of the corps of their departed kindred , and the spectators have a sense of mortality , by the occasion then given them to reflect upon their own latter end. otherways , they have no set rites or ceremonies on those occasions ; neither do the kindred of the deceased ever wear mourning ; they looking upon it as a wordly ceremony and piece of pomp , and that what mourning is fit for a christian to have at the departure of a beloved relation or friend , should be worn in the mind which is only sensible of the loss , and the love they had to them , and remembrance of them , to be outwardly exprest by a respect to their advice , and care of those they have left behind them , and their love of that they loved . which conduct of theirs , though unmodish or unfashionable , leaves nothing of the substance of things neglected or undone ; and as they aim at no more , so that simplicity of life is what they observe with great satisfaction , though it sometimes happens not to be without the mockeries of the vain world they live in . these things gave them a rough and disagreeable appearance with the generality ; who thought them turners of the world upside down , as indeed , in some sense they were ; but in no other than that wherein paul was so charged , viz. to bring things back into their primitive and right order again . for these and such like practices of theirs were not the result of humour , as some have fancied , but a fruit of inward sense , which god , through his fear , had begotten in them . they did not consider how to contradict the world , or distinguish themselves ; being none of their business , as it was not their interest , no , it was not the result of consultation , or a framed design to declare or recommend schism or novelty . but god having given them a sight of themselves , they saw the whole world in the same glass of truth ; and sensibly discerned the affections and passions of men , and the rise and tendency of things . what gratified the lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye and the pride of life which are not of the father , but of the world ; and from thence sprang in that night of darkness and apostacy , which hath been over people , through their degeneration from the light and spirit of god , these and many other vain customs ; which are seen by the heavenly day of christ which dawns in the soul , to be , either wrong in their original , or , by time and abuse , hurtful in their practice . and though these things seemed trivial to some , and rendered this people stingy and conceited in such persons opinions ; there was and is more in them than they were aware of . it was not very easie to our primitive friends , to make themselves sights and spectacles , and the scorn and derision of the world ; which they easily foresaw must be the consequence of so unfashionable a conversation in it . but herein was the wisdom of god seen in the foolishness of these things ; first , that they discovered the satisfaction and concern that people had in and for the fashions of this world , notwithstanding their pretences to another ; in that any disappointment about them came so very near them ; that the greatest honesty , virtue , wisdom and ability , were unwelcom without them . secondly , it seasonably and profitably divided conversation ; for making their society uneasie to their relations and acquaintance , it gave them the opportunity of more retirement and solitude , wherein they met with better company , even the lord , god their redeemer , and grew strong in his love , power and wisdom , and were thereby better qualified for his service ; and the success abundantly show'd it : blessed be the name of the lord. and though they were not great and learned in the esteem of this world ( for then they had not wanted followers upon their own credit and authority ) yet they were generally of the most sober of the several perswasions they were in , and of the most repute for religion ; and many of them of good capacity , substance and account among men. and also some among them neither wanted for parts , learning nor estate ; though then , as of old , not many wife , nor noble , &c. were called , or at least received the heavenly call ; because of the cross that attended the profession of it in sincerity : but neither do parts or learning make men the better christians , though the better orators and disputants ; and it is the ignorance of people about the divine gift that causes that vulgar and mischievous mistake . theory and practice , expression and enjoyment ; words , and life ; are two things . oh! 't is the penitent , the reformed , the lowly , the watchful , the self-denying and holy soul that is the christian ; and that frame is the fruit and work of the spirit , which is the life of jesus ; whose life , though hid in god the father , is shed abroad in the hearts of them that truly believe . oh! that people did but know this to cleanse them , to circumcise them , to quicken them , and to make them new creatures indeed ; re-created or regenerated after christ jesus unto good works . that they might live to god and not to themselves ; and offer up living prayers and living praises , to the living god , through his own living spirit , in which he is only to be worshipped in this gospel day . oh! that they that read me could but feel me ; for my heart is affected with this merciful visitation of the father of lights and spirits , to this poor nation , and the whole world through the same testimony . why should the inhabitants thereof reject it ? why should they loose the blessed benefit of it ? why should they not turn to the lord with all their hearts , and say from the heart , speak lord , for now thy poor servants hear . oh! that thy will may be done , thy great , thy good and holy will in earth as it is in heaven : do it in us , do it upon us , do what thou wilt with us , for we are thine and desire to glorifie thee our creator , both for that , and because thou art our redeemer ; for thou art redeeming us from the earth ; from the vanities and pollations of it , to be a peculiar people unto thee . oh! this were a brave day for england , if so she could say in truth . but alas , the case is otherwise , for which some of thine inhabitants , o land of my nativity ! have mourned over thee with bitter wailing and lamentation . their heads have been indeed as waters , and their eyes as fountains of tears , because of thy transgression and stiffneckedness ; because thou wilt not hear , and fear and return to the rock , even thy rock , o england ! from whence thou wert hewen . but be thou warned , o land of great profession , to receive him into thy heart ; behold at that door it is , he hath stood so long knocking , but thou wilt yet have none of him . oh! be thou awakned , least jerusalem's judgments do swiftly overtake thee , because of jerusalems sins that abound in thee . for she abounded in formality , but made void the weighty things of god's law as thou daily doest . she withstood the son of god in the flesh , and thou resisteth the son of god in the spirit . he would have gathered her as an hen gathereth her chickens under her wings , and she would not ; so would he have gathered thee out of thy life-less profession , and have brought thee to inherit substance , to have known his power and kingdom , for which he often knockt within , by his grace and spirit , and without by his servants and witnesses ; but thou wouldest not be gathered : but on the contrary , as jerusalem of old persecuted the manifestation of the son of god in the flesh , and crucified him and whipt and imprisoned his servants ; so hast thou , o land , crucified to thy self afresh the lord of life and glory , and done dispite to his spirit of grace ; slighting the fatherly visitation , and persecuting the blessed dispensers of it by thy laws and magistrates ; though they have early and late pleaded with thee in the power and spirit of the lord ; in love and meekness , that thou mightest know the lord and serve him , and become the glory of all lands . but thou hast evilly entreated and requited them . thou hast set at naught all their counsel , and would have none of their reproof , as thou shouldest have done . their appearance was too straight , and their qualifications were to mean for thee to receive them ; who like the jews of old , that cryed , is not this the carpenters son , and are not his brethren among us ; which of the scribes , of the learned ( the orthodox ) believe in him ? prophesying their fall in a year or two , and making and executing of severe laws to bring it to pass ; by endeavouring to terrifie them out of their holy way , or distroying them for abiding faithful to it . but thou hast seen how many governments that rise against them , and determined their downfal , have been overturned and extinguished , and that they are still preserved , and become a great and a considerable people , among the middle sort of thy numerous inhabitants . and notwithstanding the many difficulties without and within , which they have laboured under , since the lord god eternal first gathered them , they are an encreasing people , the lord still adding unto them , in divers parts , such as shall be saved , if they persevere to the end. and to thee ; were they and are they lifted up as a standard , and as a city set upon a hill , and to the nations round about thee , that in their light , thou may'st come to see light , even in christ jesus , the light of the world ; and therefore thy light , and life too , if thou wouldst but turn from thy many evil ways , and receive and obey it . for in the light of the lamb , must the nations of them that are saved walk , as the scriptures testify . remember , o nation of great profession ! how the lord has waited upon thee since the days of reformation , and the many mercies and judgments with which he has pleaded with thee ; and awake and arise out of thy deep sleep , and yet hear ( his word in thy heart ) that thou may'st live . let not this thy day of visitation pass over thy head , nor neglect thou so great salvation as is this which is come to thy house , oh england ! for why should'st thou die , oh land that god desires to bless ? be assured it is he that has been in the mid'st of this people , in the mid'st of thee ; and no delusion , as thy mistaken teachers have made thee believe . and this thou shalt find by their marks and fruits , if thou wilt consider them in the spirit of moderation . for , i. they were changed men themselves before they went about to change others . their hearts were rent as well as their garments ; and they knew the power and work of god upon them . and this was seen by the great alteration it made , and their stricter course of life , and more godly conversation , that immediately followed upon it . ii. they went not forth or preached in their own time or will , but in the will of god , and spoke not their own studdied matter , but as they were opened and moved of his spirit , with which they were well acquainted in their own conversion ; which cannot be exprest to carnal men so as to give them any intelligible account ; for to such it is as christ said , like the blowing of the wind , which no man knows whence it cometh , or whether it goeth : yet this proof and seal went along with their ministry , that many were turned from their life-less professions , and the evil of their ways , to the knowledge of god , and an holy life , as thousands can witness . and as they freely received what they had to say from the lord , so they freely administred it to others . iii. the bent and stress of their ministry was conversion to god , regeneration and holiness ; not schemes of doctrines and verbal creeds , or new forms of worship ; but a leaving off in religion the superfluous , and reducing the ceremonious and formal part , and pressing earnestly the substantial , the necessary and proffitable part ; as all upon a serious reflection must and do accknowledge . iv. they directed people to a principle , by which all that they asserted , preached and exhorted others to , might be wrought in them and known , through experience , to them to be true ; which is a high and distinguishing mark of the truth of their ministry ; both that they knew what they said , and were not afraid of coming to the test . for as they were bold from certainty , so they required conformity upon no humane authority , but upon conviction , and the conviction of this principle , which they asserted was in them that they preached unto , and unto that directed them , that they might examine and prove the reaality of those things which they had affirmed of it , and its manifestation and work in man. and this is more than the many ministries in the world pretend to . they declare of religion , say many things true ; in words of god , christ , and the spirit ; of holiness and heaven ; that all men should repent and mend their lives , or they will go to hell , &c. but which of them all pretend to speak of their own knowledge and experience ? or ever directed men to a divine principle , or agent , placed of god in man , to help him ; and how to know it , and wait to feel its power to work that good and acceptable will of god in them . some of them indeed have spoke of the spirit , and the operations of it to sanctification , and performance of worship to god ; but where and how to find it and wait in it to perform , was yet as a mistery reserved for this further degree of reformation . so that this people did not only in words , more than equally press repentance , conversion and holiness , but did it knowingly and experimentally ; and directed those to whom they preach'd , to a sufficient principle , and told them where it is , and by what tokens they might know it , and which way they might experience the power and efficacy of it to their soul's happiness . which is more then theory and speculations , upon which most other ministries depend ; for here is certainly , a bottom upon which man may boldly appear before god in the great day of account . v. they reached to the inward state and condition of people , which is an evidence of the virtue of their principle , and of their ministring from it , and not their own imaginations , glosses or comments upon scripture . for nothing reaches the heart , but what is from the heart , or pierces the conscience , but what comes from a living conscience . insomuch as it hath often happened , where people have under secrecy revealed their state or condition to some choice friends , for advice or ease , they have been so particularly directed in the ministry of this people , that they have challenged their friends with discovering their secrets , and telling the preachers their cases . yea , the very thoughts and purposes of the hearts of many have been so plainly detected ; that they have ( like nathaniel ) cryed out of this inward appearance of christ , thou art the son of god , thou art the king of israel . and those that have embraced this divine principle , have found this mark of its truth and divinity ( that the woman of samaria did of christ when in the flesh , to be the messiah , ) viz. it had told them all that ever they did ; showed them their insides , the most inward secrets of their hearts , and laid judgment to the line , and righteousness to the plummet ; of which thousands can , at this day give in their witness . so that nothing has been affirmed by this people , of the power and virtue of this heavenly principle , that such as have turned to it have not found true , and more ; and that one half had not been told to them of what they have seen of the power , purity , wisdom , mercy and goodness of god herein . vi. the accomplishments with which this principle fitted , even some of the meanest of this people , for their work and service ; furnishing some of them with an extraordinary understanding in divine things , and an admirable fluency and taking way of expression , which gave occasion to some to wonder , saying of them , as of their master , is not this such a mechanick's son , how came he by this learning ? as from thence others took occasion to suspect and insinuate they were jesuites in disguise ; who have had the reputation of learned men for an age past ; though there was not the least ground of truth for any such reflection . vii . that they rise low , and dispised and hated , as the primitive christians did , and not by the help of worldly wisdom or power , as former reformations , in part did : but in all things it may be said , this people were brought forth in the cross , in a contradiction to the ways , worship , fashion and customs of this world ; yea , against wind and tide , that so no flesh might glory before god. they could have no design to themselves in this work , thus to expose themselves to scorn and abuse ; to spend and be spent : leaving wife and children , house and land , and all that can be accounted dear to men , with their lives in their hands , being daily in jeopardy , to declare this primitive message , 1 jo. 1. 5. revived in their spirits , by the good spirit and power of god. viz. that god is light , and in him is no darkness at all ; and that he has sent his son a light into the world to enlighten all men in order to salvation ; and that they that say they have fellowship with god and are his children and people , and yet walk in darkness , viz. in disobedience to the light in their consciences , and after the vanity of this world , they lie and do not the truth . but that all such as love the light and bring their deeds to it , and walk in the light , as god is light , the blood of jesus christ his son should cleanse them from all sin. viii . their known great constancy and patience in suffering for their testimony , in all the branches of it , and that , sometimes unto death , by beatings , bruisings , long and crowded imprisonments , and noisom dungeons . four of them in new england dying by the hands of the executioner , purely for preaching amongst that people ; besides banishments and excessive plunders and sequestrations of their goods and estates , almost in all parts ; not easily to be expressed , and less to be endured , but by those that have the support of a good and glorious cause ; refusing deliverance by any indirect ways or means , as often as it was offered to them . ix . that they did not only , not show any disposition to revenge , when it was at any time in their power ; but forgave their cruel enemies ; shewing mercy to those that had none for them . x. their plainness with those in authority : not unlike the antient prophets , not fearing to tell them to their faces of their private and publick sins , and their prophecies to them of their afflictions and downfall , when in the top of their glory ; also of some national judgments , as of the plague , and fire of london , in express terms , and likewise particular ones to divers persecutions , which accordingly overtook them ; and which were very remarkable in the places where they dwelt , and in time they may be made publick for the glory of god. thus reader , thou seest this people in their rise , principles , ministry and progress , both their general and particular testimony , by which thou maist be informed how and upon what foot they sprung and became so considerable a people . it remains next that i shew also their care , conduct and discipline , as a christian and reformed society , that they might be found living up to their own principles and profession . and this , the rather , because they have hardly suffered more in their character from the unjust charge of error , than by the false imputation of disorder : which calumny indeed has not failed to follow all the true steps that were ever made to reformation , and under which reproach none suffered more than the primitive christians themselves , that were the honour of christianity , and the great lights and examples of their own and succeeding ages . this people encreasing daily both in town and country , an holy care fell upon some of the elders among them , for the benefit and service of the church . and the first business in their view , after the example of the primitive saints , was the exercise of charity , to supply the necessities of the poor , and answer the like occasions : wherefore collections were early and liberally made for that , and divers other services in the church , and intrusted with faithful men , fearing god , and of good report , who were not weary in well-doing ; adding often of their own , in large proportions , which they never brought to account , or desired should be known , much less restored to them , that none might want , nor any service be retarded or disappointed . they were also very careful , that every one that belonged to them , answered their profession in their behaviour among men , upon all occasions ; that they lived peaceably , and were in all things good examples . they found themselves engaged to record their sufferings and services ; and in case of marriage , which they could not perform in the usual methods of the nation , but among themselves ; they took care thal all things were clear between the parties and all others , and it was then rare that any one entertain'd such inclination to a person on that account , till he or she had communicated it secretly to some very weighty and eminent friends among them , that they might have a sense of the matter ; looking to the council and unity of their brethren , as of great moment to them . but because the charge of the poor , the number of orphans , marriages , sufferings and other matters multiplied , and that it was good that the churches were in some way and method , of proceeding in such affairs among them , to the end they might the better correspond upon occasion , where a member of one meeting , might have to do with one of another : it pleased the lord in his wisdom and goodness , to open the understanding of the first instrument of this dispensation of life , about a good and orderly way of proceeding ; and he felt an holy concern to visit the churches in person throughout this nation , to begin and establish it among them ; and by his epistles the like was done in other nations and provinces abroad ; which he also afterwards visited , and helped in that service , as shall be observed when i come to speak of him . now the care , conduct and discipline , i have been speaking of , and which is now practised among this people , is as followeth . iii. this godly elder , in every county where he travelled , exhorted them , that some out of every meeting of worship , should meet together once in the month , to confer about the wants and occasions of the church . and as the case required , so those monthly meetings were fewer or more in number in every respective county ; four or six meetings of worship , usually making one monthly meeting of business . and accordingly the brethren met him from place to place , and began the said meetings , viz. for the poor , orphans orderly walking , integrity to their profession , births , marriages , burials , sufferings &c. and that these monthly meetings should , in each county make up one quarterly meeting , where the most zealous and eminent friends of the county should assemble to communicate , advise and help one another , especially when any business seemed difficult , or a monthly meeting was tender of determining a matter . also these quarterly meetings should digest the reports of the monthly meetings , and prepare one for the county , against the yearly meeting ; in which the quarterly meetings resolve , which is held yearly in london ; where the churches in this nation , and other nations , and provinces meet , by chosen members of their respective counties , both mutually to communicate their church affairs , and to advise and be advised in any depending case to edification . also to provide a requisite stock , for the discharge of general expences for general services in the church , not needful to be here particularized . at these meetings any of the members of the churches may come if they please , and speak their minds freely , in the fear of god , to any matter ; but the mind of each meeting therein represented is chiefly understood , as to perticuler cases , in the sense delivered by the persons deputed or chosen for that service . during their yearly meeting , to which their other meetings referr in their order and resolve themselves ; care is taken by a select number , for that service chosen by the general assembly , to draw up the minutes of the said meeting , upon the several matters that have been under consideration therein , to the end that the respective quarterly and monthly meetings may be informed of all proceedings , together with a general exhortation to holiness , unity and charity : of all which proceedings in yearly , quarterly and monthly meetings , due record is kept by some one appointed for that service , or that hath voluntarily undertaken it . these meetings are opened , and usually concluded in their solemn waiting upon god , who is sometimes graciously pleased to answer them with as signal evidences of his love and presence , as in any other their meetings of worship . it is further to be noted , that in these solemn assemblies , for the church's service , there is no one presides among them after the manner of the assemblies of other people ; christ only being their president , as he is pleased to appear in life and wisdom in any one or more of them , to whom , whatever be their capacity or degree , the rest adhere with a firm unity , not of authority but conviction , which is the divine authority and way of christ's power and spirit in his people : making good his blessed promise , that he would be in the midst of his , where and whenever they were met together in his name , even to the end of the world. so be it . now it may be expected , i should here set down what sort of authority is exercised by this people , upon such members of their society , as correspond not in their lives with their profession , and that are refractory to this good and wholesom order settled among them ; and the rather because they have not wanted their reproach and suffering from some tongues , upon this occasion in a plentiful manner . the power they exercise is such as christ has given to his own people , to the end of the world , in the persons of his disciples , viz. to oversee , exhort , reprove , and after long suffering and waiting upon the disobedient and refractory , to disown them , as any more of their communion , or that they will any longer stand charged in the sight and judgment of god or men , with their conversation or behaviour as one of them , untill they repent . the subject matter about which this authority , in any of the foregoing branches of it , is exercised ; is first , in relation to common and general practice , and secondly , about those things that more strictly referr to their own character and profession , and distinguish them from all other professors of christianity ; avoiding two extreams upon which many split , viz. persecution and libertinism . a coercive power to whip people into the temple , that such as will not conform , though against faith and conscience , shall be punisht in their persons or estates ; or leaving all loose and at large , as to practice , unaccountable to all but god and the magistrate . to which hurtful extream , nothing has more contributed than the abuse of church power , by such as suffer their passions and private interests to prevail with them to carry it to outward force and corporal punishment . a practice they have been taught to dislike , by their extream sufferings , as well as their known principle for an universal liberty of conscience . on the other hand , they equally dislike an independency in society . an unaccountableness in practice and conversation to the terms of their own communion , and to those that are the members of it . they distinguish between imposing any practice that immediately regards faith or worship , ( which is never to be done nor suffered or submitted unto ) and requiring christian compliance with those methods that only respect church business in its more civil part and concern , and that regard the discreet and orderly maintenance of the character of the society as a sober and religious community . in short , what is for the promotion of holiness and charity , that men may practice what they profess , live up to their own principles , and not be at liberty to give the lie to their own profession , without rebuke . they compell none to them , but oblige those that are of them to walk suitably , or they are denyed by them : that is all the mark they set upon them , and the power they exercise , or judge a christian society , can exercise upon those that are the members of it . the way of their proceedings against such as have lapst or transgrest , is this . he is visited by some of them , and the matter of fact laid home to him , be it any evil practice against known and general virtue , or any branch of their particular testimony , which he , in common , professeth with them . they labour with him in much love and zeal for the good of his soul , the honour of god , and reputation of their profession , to own his fault and condemn it , in as ample a manner as the evil or scandal was given by him ; which for the most part , is performed by some written testimony under the partys hand ; and if it so happen that the party prove refractory , and is not willing to clear the truth they profess , from the reproach of his or her evil doing or unfaithfulness , they , after repeated entreaties and due waiting for a token of repentance , give forth a paper to disown such a fact , and the party offending ; recording the same as a testimony of their care for the honour of the truth they profess . and if he or she shall clear their profession and themselves , by sincere acknowledgment of their fault , and godly sorrow for so doing , they are received and looked upon again as members of their communion . for as god , so his true people upbraid no man after repentance . this is the account i had to give of the people of god called quakers , as to their rise , appearance , principles and practices , in this age of the world , both with respect to their faith and worship , discipline and conversation . and i judge it very proper in this place , because it is to preface the journal of the first blessed and glorious instrument of this work , and for a testimony to him in his singular qualifications and services , in which he abundantly excelled in this day , and are worthy to be set forth as an example to all succeeding times ; to the glory of the most high god , and for a just memorial to that worthy and excellent man , his faithful servant and apostle to this generation of the world. i am now come to the third head or branch of my preface , viz. the instrumental author . for it is natural for some to say , well , here is the people and work , but where and who was the man , the instrument ; he that in this age was sent to begin this work and people . i shall , as god shall enable me , declare who and what he was , not only by report of others , but from my own long and most inward converse and intimate knowledge of him ; for which my soul blesseth god , as it hath often done ; and i doubt not , but by that time i have discharged my self of this part of my preface , my serious readers will believe i had good cause so to do . the blessed instrument of and in this day of god , and of whom i am now about to write , was george fox , distinguished from another of that name , by that other 's addition of younger to his name in all his writings ; not that he was so in years , but that he was so in the truth , but he was also a worthy man , witness and servant of god in his time . but this george fox was born in leicestershire , about the year 1624. he descended of honest and sufficient parents , who endeavoured to bring him up , as they did the rest of their children , in the way and worship of the nation ; especially his mother , who was a woman accomplisht above most of her degree in the place where she lived . but from a child he appeared of another frame of mind than the rest of his brethren ; being more religious , inward , still , solid and observing beyond his years , as the answers he would give , and the questions he would put upon occasion , manifested to the astonishment of those that heard him , especially in divine things . his mother taking notice of his singular temper , and the gravity , wisdom and piety that very early shined through him , refusing childish and vain sports and company , when very young ; she was tender and indulgent over him , so that from her he met with little difficulty . as to his employment he was brought up in country business , and as he took most delight in sheep , so he was very skillful in them , an employment that very well suited his mind in several respects , both for its innocency and solitude ; and was a just figure of his after ministry and service . i shall not break in upon his own account , which is by much the best that can be given , and therefore desire , what i can , to avoid saying any thing of what is said already , as to the perticular passages of his coming forth ; but , in general , when he was somewhat above twenty , he left his friends , and visited the most retired and religious people in those parts ; and some there were short of few , if any , in this nation , who waited for the consolation of israel night and day ; as zacherias , anna and good old simeon did of old time. to these he was sent , and these he sought out in the neighbouring countrys , and among them he sojourned till his more ample ministry came upon him . at this time he taught and was an example of silence , endeavouring to bring them from self-performances , testifying and turning to the light of christ within them , and encouraging them to wait in patience to feel the power of it to stir in their hearts , that their knowledge and worship of god might stand in the power of an endless life , which was to be found in the light , as it was obeyed in the manifestation of it in man. for in the word was life , and that life is the light men. life in the word , light in men , and life in men as the light is obeyed ; the children of the light living by the life of the word , by which the word begets them again to god , which is the regeneration and new birth , without which there is no coming unto the kingdom of god ; and which , whoever comes to , is greater than john , that is , than john's dispensation , which was not that of the kingdom , but the consummation of the legal , and forerunning of the gospel times . accordingly , several meetings were gathered in those parts , and thus his time was employed for some years . in 1652. he being in his usual retirement to the lord upon a very high mountain , in some of the hither parts of yorkshire , as i take it , his mind exercised towards the lord , he had a vision of the great work of god in the earth , and of the way that he was to go forth to begin it . he saw people as thick as motes in the sun , that should in time , be brought home to the lord ; that there might be but one shepherd and one sheepfold in all the earth . there his eye was directed northward , beholding a great people that should receive him and his message in those parts . upon this mountain he was moved of the lord to sound out his great and notable day , as if he had been in a great auditory , and from thence went north , as the lord had shown him ; and in every place where he came , if not before he came to it , he had his particular exercise and service shown to him , so that the lord was his leader indeed ; for it was not in vain that he travailled , god in most places sealing his commission with the convincement of some of all sorts , as well publicans as sober professors of religion . some of the first and most eminent of them , which are at rest , were richard farnsworth , james nayler , william dewsberry , francis howgil , edward burroughs , john camm , john audland , richard hubberthorn , t. taylor , john aldam , t. holmes , alexander parker , william simpson , william caton , john stubbs , robert widders , john burnyeat , robert lodge , thomas salthouse , and many more worthies , that cannot be well here named , together with divers yet living of the first and great convincement , who after the knowledge of god's purging judgments in themselves , and some time of waiting in silence upon him , to feel and receive power from on high to speak in his name , ( which none else rightly can , though they may use the same words . ) they felt the divine motions , and were frequently drawn forth , especially to visit the publick assemblies , to reprove , inform and exhort them , sometimes in markets , fairs , streets , and by the high-way-side , calling people to repentance , and to turn to the lord with their hearts as well as their mouths ; directing them to the light of christ within them , to see and examine and consider their ways by , and to eschew the evil and do the good and acceptable will of god. and they suffered great hardships for this their love , and good-will , being often stockt , stoned , beaten , whipt and imprisoned , though honest men and of good report where they lived , that had left wives and children , and houses and lands to visit them with a living call to repentance . and though the priests generally set themselves to oppose them , and write against them , and insinuated most false and scandalous stories to defame them , stirring up the magistrates to suppress them , especially in those northern parts ; yet god was pleased so to fill them with his living power , and give them such an open door of utterance in his service , that there was a mighty convincement over those parts . and through the tender and singular indulgence of judge bradshaw and judge fell , who were wont to go that circuit , in the infancy of things , the priests were never able to gain the point they laboured for , which was to have proceeded to blood , and if possible , herod like , by a cruel exercise of the civil power , to have cut them off and rooted them out of the country . especially judge fell , who was not only a check to their rage in the course of legal proceedings , but otherwise upon occasion , and finally countenanced this people ; for his wife receiving the truth with the first , it had that influence upon his spirit , being a just and wise man , and seeing in his own wife and family , a full confutation to all the popular clamours against the way of truth , that he covered them what he could , and freely opened his doors , and gave up his house to his wife and her friends , not valuing the reproach of ignorant or evil minded people , which i here mention , to his and her honour , and which will be i believe , an honour and a blessing to such of their name and family , as shall be found in that tenderness , humility , love and zeal for the truth and people of the lord. that house was for some years at first , till the truth had opened its way in the southern parts of this island , an eminent receptacle of this people . others of good note and substance in those northern countrys , had also opened their houses with their hearts , to the many publishers , that in a short time the lord had raised to declare his salvation to the people , and where meetings of the lord's messengers were frequently held , to communicate their services and exercises , and comfort and edify one another in their blessed ministry . but least this may be thought a digression , having touched upon this before , i return to this excellent man : and for his personal qualities , both natural , moral and divine as they appeared in his converse with brethren and in the church of god ; take as follows . i. he was a man that god endued with a clear and wonderful depth , a discerner of others spirits , and very much a master of his own . and though the side of his understanding which lay next to the world , and especially the expression of it might sound uncouth and unfashionable to nice ears , his matter was nevertheless very profound ; and would not only bear to be often considered , but the more it was so , the more weighty and instructing it appeared . and as abruptly and brokenly as sometimes his sentences would fall from him , about divine things , it is well known they were often as texts to many fairer declarations . and indeed it showed beyond all contradiction that god sent him , that no arts or parts had any share in his matter or manner of his ministry ; and that so many great , excellent and necessary truths as he came forth to preach to mankind , had therefore nothing of man's wit or wisdom to recommend them . so that as to man he was an original , being no man's copy . and his ministry and writings show they are from one that was not taught of man , nor had learned what he said by study . nor were they notional or speculative , but sensible and practical truths , tending to conversion and regeneration , and the setting up the kingdom of god in the hearts of men , and the way of it was his work. so that i have many times been overcome in my self , and been made to say , with my lord and master upon the like occasion ; i thank thee o father lord of heaven and earth , that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent of this world , and revealed them to babes , for many times hath my soul bowed in an humble thankfulness to the lord , that he did not choose any of the wise and learned of this world to be the first messenger in our age , of his blessed truth to men ; but that he took one that was not of high degree , or elegant speech , or learned after the way of this world , that his message and work he sent him to do , might come with less suspicion or jealousie of humane wisdom and interest , and with more force and clearness upon the consciences of those , that sincerely sought the way of truth in the love of it . i say , beholding with the eye of my mind which the god of heaven had opened in me , the marks of god's finger and hand visibly in this testimony , from the clearness of the principle , the power and efficacy of it in the exemplary sobriety , plainness , zeal , steadiness , humility , gravity , punctuality , charity and circumspect care in the government of church affairs , which shined in his and their life and testimony that god employed in this work , it greatly confirmed me that it was of god , and engaged my soul in a deep love , fear , reverence and thankfulness for his love and mercy therein to mankind ; in which mind i remain , and shall , i hope , to the end of my daies . ii. in his testimony or ministry , he much laboured to open truth , to the peoples understandings , and to bottom them upon the principle , and principal , christ jesus , the light of the world , that by bringing them to something that was of god in themselves , they might the better know and judge of him and themselves . he had an extraordinary gift in opening the scriptures . he would go to the marrow of things , and show the mind , harmony and fullfilling of them with much plainness , and to great comfort and edification . the mistery of the first and second adam , of the fall and restoration , of the law and gospel , of shadows and substance , of the servant and sons state , and the fullfiling of the scriptures in christ , and by christ the true light , in all that are his , through the obedience of faith , were much of the substance and drift of his testimonies . in all which he was witnessed to be of god , being sensibly felt to speak that which he had received of christ , and was his own experience , in that which never ers nor fails . but above all , he excelled in prayer . the inwardness and weight of his spirit , the reverence and solemnity of his address and behaviour , and the fewness and fulness of his words , have often struck , even strangers , with admiration , as they used to reach others with consolation . the most awfull , living , reverent frame i ever felt or beheld , i must say was his in prayer . and truly it was a testimony he knew and lived neerer to the lord than other men ; for they that know him most will see most reason to approach him with reverence and fear . he was of an innocent life , no busie body , nor self seeker , neither touchy , nor critical : what fell from him was very inoffensive , if not very edifying . so meek , contented , modest , easie , steady , tender , it was a pleasure to be in his company . he exercised no authority but over evil , and that every where and in all ; but with love , compassion and long suffering . a most merciful man , as ready to forgive as unapt to take or give an offence . thousands can truly say , he was of an excellent spirit and savour among them , and because thereof , the most excellent spirits loved him with an unfained and unfading love. he was an incessant labourer ; for in his younger time , before his many great and deep sufferings and travels had enfeebled his body for itinerant services , he laboured much in the word , and doctrine and discipline in england , scotland and ireland , turning many to god , and confirming those that were convinced of the truth , and setling good order as to church affairs among them . and towards the conclusion of his travelling services , between the years seventy one , and seventy seven , he visited the churches of christ in the plantations in america , and in the united provinces , and germany as his following journal relates , to the convincement and consolation of many . after that time he chiefly resided in and about the city of london , and besides the services of his ministry which were frequent and serviceable , he writ much both to them that are within , and those that are without the communion . but the care he took of the affairs of the church in general was very great . he was often where the records of the affairs of the church are kept , and the letters from the many meetings of god's people over all the world where settled , come upon occasions , which letters he had read to him , and communicated them to the meeting that is weekly held there for such services , he would be sure to stir them up to discharge them , especially in suffering cases . showing great sympathy and compassion upon all such occasions , carefully looking into the respective cases , and endeavouring speedy relief according to the nature of them . so that the churches and any of the suffering members thereof , were sure not to be forgotten or delayed in their desires if he were there . as he was unwearied , so he was undaunted in his services for god and his people , he was no more to be moved to fear than to wrath. his behaviour at darby , litchfield , appleby , before oliver cromwell at launston , scarborough , worcester and westminster-hall , with many other places and exercises , did abundantly evidence it to his enemies as well as his friends . but as in the primitive times , some rise up against the blessed apostles of our lord jesus christ , even from among those that they had turned to the hope of the gospel , and who became their greatest trouble ; so this man of god had his share of suffering from some that were convinced by him , who through prejudice or mistake run against him , as one that sought dominion over conscience ; because he prest by his presence or epistles , a ready and zealous compliance with such good and wholesome things , as tended to an orderly conversation about the affairs of the church , and in their walking before men. that which contributed much to this ill work , was in some a begrudging of this meek man , the love and esteem he had and deserved in the hearts of the people , and weakness in others , that were taken with their groundless suggestions of imposition and blind obedience . they would have had every man independent , that as he had the principle in himself , he should only stand and fall to that and no body else ; not considering that the principle is one in all ; and though the measure of light or grace might differ , yet the nature of it was the same , and being so , they struck at the spiritual unity , which a people , guided by the same principle , are naturally led into : so that what is an evil to one , is so to all , and what is vertuous , honest and of good report to one , is so to all , from the sense and savour of the one universal principle which is common to all , ( and which the disaffected profess to be ) the root of all true christian fellowship , and that spirit into which the people of god drink and come to be spiritually minded , and of one heart and one soul. some weakly mistook good order in the government of church affairs , for discipline in worship , and that it was so prest or recommended by him and other brethren : and they were ready to reflect the same things that dissenters had very reasonably objected upon the national churches , that have coercively pressed conformity to their respective creeds and worships : whereas these things related wholly to conversation , and the outward ( and as i may say ) civil part of the church , that men should walk up to the principles of their belief , and not be wanting in care and charity . but though some have stumbled and fallen through mistakes , and an unreasonable obstinancy , even to a prejudice ; yet blessed be god , the generality have returned to their first love , and seen the work of the enemy , that looses no opportunity or advantage by which he may check or hinder the work of god , and disquiet the peace of his church , and chill the love of his people to the truth and one to another ; and there is hope of divers that are yet at a distance . in all these occasions , though there was no person the discontented struck so sharply at , as this good man , he bore all their weakness and prejudice , and returned not reflection for reflection ; but forgave them their weak and bitter speeches , praying for them that they might have a sense of their hurt , and see the subtilty of the enemy to rend and devide , and return into their first love , that thought no ill. and truly , i must say , that though god had visibly cloathed him with a divine preference and authority , and indeed his very presence exprest a religious majesty ; yet he never abused it , but held his place in the church of god with great meakness and a most engaging humility and moderation . for upon all occasions , like his blessed master , he was a servant to all ; holding and exercising his eldership , in the invisible power that had gathered them , with reverence to the head and care over the body : and was received only in that spirit and power of christ as the first and chief elder in this age ; who , as he was therefore worthy of double honour , so for the same reason it was given by the faithful of this day ; because his authority was inward and not outward , and that he got it and kept it by the love of god and power of an endless life . i write my knowledge and not report , and my witness is true , having been with him for weeks and months together on divers occasions , and those of the nearest and most exercising nature , and that by night and by day , by sea and by land ; in this and in foreign countrys : and i can say , i never saw him out of his place , or not a match for every service or occasion . for in all things he acquitted himself like a man , yea a strong man , a new and heavenly minded man. a divine and a naturalist , and all of god almighty's making . i have been surprised at his questions and answers in natural things ; that whilst he was ignorant of useless and sophistical science , he had in him the foundation of useful and commendable knowledge , and cherisht it every where . civil beyond all forms of breeding , in his behaviour . very temperate , eating little , and sleeping less , though a bulky person . thus he lived and sojourned among us , and as he lived , so he died ; feeling the same eternal power that had raised and preserved him in his last moments . so full of assurance was he , that he triumpht over death ; and so even to the last , as if death were hardly worth notice or a mention : recommending to some with him , the dispatch and dispersion of an epistle , just before written to the churches of christ , throughout the world , and his own books ; but above all , friends , and of all friends , those in ireland and america , twice over . saying , mind poor friends in ireland and america . and to some that came in and enquired how he found himself , he answered , never heed , the lord's power is over all weakness and death , the seed reigns , blessed be the lord : which was about four or five hours before his departure out of this world. he was at the great meeting near lombard-street on the first day of the week , and it was the third following about ten at night when he left us ; being at the house of h. goldney in the same court. in a good old age he went , after having lived to see his childrens children to many generations in the truth . he had the comfort of a short illness , and the blessing of a clear sense to the last ; and we may truly say , with a man of god of old , that being dead , he yet speaketh ; and though absent in body , he is present in spirit ; neither time nor place being able to interrupt the communion of saints , or dissolve the fellowships of the spirits of the just . his works praise him , because they are to the praise of him that worked by him ; for which his memorial is , and shall be blessed . i have done , as to this part of my preface , when i have left this short epitaph to his name . many sons have done virtuously in this day , but dear george thou excellest them all. and now , friends , you that profess to walk in the way , this blessed man was sent of god to turn us into , suffer i beseech you the word of exhortation , as well fathers as children , and elders as young men. the glory of this day and foundation of the hope that has not made us ashamed since we were a people , you know is that blessed principle of light and life of christ which we profess , and direct all people to , as the great instrument and agent of man's conversion to god : it was by this we were first touched , and effectually enlightned as to our inward state , which put us upon the consideration of our latter end , causing us to set the lord before our eyes , and to number our days , that we might apply our hearts to wisdom . in that day we judged not after the sight of the eye , or after the hearing of the ear , but according to the light and sense this blessed principle gave us ; we judged and acted in reference to things and persons , our selves and others , yea , towards god our maker . for being quickned by it in our inward man , we could easily discern the difference of things , and feel what was right , and what was wrong , and what was fit and what not , both in reference to religion and civil concerns . that being the ground of the fellowship of all saints , it was in that our fellowship stood . in this we desired to have a sense one of another , acted towards one another , and all men , in love , faithfulness and fear . in the feeling of the motions of this principle we drew near to the lord , and waited to be prepared by it , that we might feel those drawings and movings , before we approached the lord in prayer , or open'd our mouths in ministry . and in our beginning and ending with th●● , stood our comfort , service and edification . and as we run faster , or fell short we made burthens for our selves to bear ; our services finding in our selves a rebuke instead of an acceptance , and in lieu of well done , who has required this at your hands ? in that day we were an exercised people , our very countenances and deportment declared it . care for others was then much upon us , as well as for our selves , especially the young convinced . often had we the burthen of the word of the lord to our neighbours , relations and acquaintance ; and sometimes strangers also , we were in travail for one anothers preservation : not seeking , but shunning occasions of any coldness or misunderstanding , treating one another as those that believed and felt god present . which kept our conversation innocent , serious and weighty , guarding our selves against the cares and friendships of the world. we held the truth in the spirit of it , and not in our own spirits , or after our own wills and affections . they were bowed and brought into subjection , in so much that it was visible to them that knew us , we did not think our selves at our own dispose , to go where we list , or say or do what we list , or when we list . our liberty stood in the liberty of the spirit of truth , and no pleasure , no profit , no fear no favour could draw us from this retired , strict and watchful frame . we were so far from seeking occasions of company , that we avoided them what we could ; persuing our own business with moderation , instead of medling with other peoples unnecessarily . our words were few and savoury , our looks composed and weighty , and our whole deportment very observable . true it is , that this retired and strict sort of life from the liberty of the conversation of the world , exposed us to the censures of many , as humourists , conceited and self-righteous persons , &c. but it was our preservation from many snares , to which others were continually exposed by the prevalency of the lust of the eye , the lust of the flesh , and the pride of life , that wanted no occasions or temptations to excite them abroad in the converse of the world. i cannot forget the humility and chast zeal of that day . oh! how constant at meetings , how retired in them , how firm to truth 's life , as well as truth 's principles ; and how entire and united in our communion , as indeed became those that profess one head , even christ jesus the lord. this being the testimony and example the man of god , before mentioned , was sent to declare and leave amongst us , and we having embraced the same as the merciful visitation of god to us , the word of exhortation at this time is , that we continue to be found in the way of this testimony with all zeal and integrity , and so much the more , by how much the day draweth near . and first , as to you , my beloved and much honoured brethren in christ , that are in the exercise of the ministry : oh , feel life in the ministry ! let life be your commission , your well-spring and treasury , in all such occasions , else you well know , there can be no begetting to god , since nothing can quicken or make people alive to god , but the life of god : and it must be a ministry in and from life , that enlivens any people to god. we have seen the fruit of all other ministrys by the few that are turned from the evil of their ways . it is not our parts , or memory , the repetition of former openings in our own will and time , that will do god's work. a dry doctrinal ministry , however sound in words , can reach but the ear , and is but a dream at the best : there is another soundness , that is soundest of all , viz. christ the power of god. this is the key of david , that opens and none shuts , and shuts , and none can open ; as the oil to the lamp , and the soul to the body , so is that to the best of words . which made christ to say , my words they are spirit , and they are life ; that is , they are from life , and therefore they make you alive , that receive them . if the disciples that had lived with jesus , were to stay at jerusalem till they received it ; so must we wait to receive , before we minister , if we will turn people from darkness to light , and from satan's power to god. i fervently bow my knees to the god and father of our lord jesus christ , that you may always be like minded , that you may ever wait reverently for the coming and opening of the word of life , and tend upon it in your ministry and service , that you may serve god in his spirit . and be it little , or be it much , it is well ; for much is not too much , and the least is enough , if from the motion of god's spirit ; and without it , verily , never so little is too much , because to no profit . for it is the spirit of the lord immediately , or through the ministry of his servants , that teacheth his people to profit ; and to be sure , so far as we take him along with us in our services , so far we are profitable and no farther . for if it be the lord that must work all things in us and for our selves ; much more is it the lord , that must work in us for the conversion of others . if therefore it was once a cross to us to speak , though the lord required it at our hands ; let it never be so to be silent , when he does not . it is one of the most dreadful sayings in the book of god , that he that adds to the words of the prophency of this book , god will add the plagues written in this book . to keep back the counsel of god , is as terrible ; for he that takes away from the words of the prophecy of this book , god shall take away his part out of the book of life . and truly , it has great caution in it to those , that use the name of the lord , to be well assured , the lord speaks , that they may not be found of the number of those , that add to the words of the testimony of prophecy , which the lord giveth them to bear ; nor yet to mince or diminish the same , both being so very offensive to god. wherefore , brethren , let us be careful neither to out-go our guide , nor yet loiter behind him ; since he that makes haste , may miss his way , and he that stays behind , loose his guide : for even those , that have received the word of the lord , had need wait for wisdom , that they may see how to divide the word aright ; which plainly implieth that it is possible for one , that hath received the word of the lord , to miss in the division and application of it , which must come from an impatiency of spirit , and a self-working , which makes an unsound and dangerous mixture ; and will hardly beget a right minded living people to god. i am earnest in this , above all other considerations , as to publick brethren , well knowing how much it concerns the present and future state , and preservation of the church of christ jesus , that has been gathered and built up by a living and powerful ministry , that the ministry be held , preserved and continued in the manifestations , motions and supplies of the same life and power from time to time . and where ever it is observed , that any one does minister more from gifts and parts , than life and power , though they have an inlightned and doctrinal understanding ; let them in time be advised and admonished for their preservation , because insensibly such will come to depend upon a self-sufficiency ; to forsake christ the living fountain , and to hew out unto themselves cisterns that will hold no living waters ; and by degrees draw others from waiting upon the gift of god in themselves , and to feel it in others , in order to their strength and refreshment to wait upon them , and to turn from god to man again , and so to make shipwrack of the faith once delivered to the saints , and of a good conscience towards god ; which are only kept by that divine gift of life , that begat the one and awaken'd and sanctified the other in the beginning . nor is it enough that we have known the divine gift , and in it have reached to the spirits in prison , and been the instruments of the convincing of others of the way of god , if we keep not as low and poor in our selves , and as depending upon the lord as ever ; since no memory , no repetitions of former openings , revelations or enjoyments will bring a soul to god , or afford bread to the hungry , or water to the thirsty , unless life go , with what we say , and that must be waited for . o that we may have no other fountain , treasury or dependence ! that none may presume at any rate to act of themselves for god! because they have long acted from god , that we may not supply want of waiting with our own wisdom , or think that we may take less care , and more liberty in speaking , than formerly ; and that where we do not feel the lord by his power to open us and enlarge us , whatever be the expectation of the people , or has been our customary supply and character , we may not exceed or fill up the time with our own . i hope , we shall ever remember , who it was that said , of your selves you can do nothing , our sufficiency is in him : and if we are not to speak our own words , or take thought what we should say to men in our defence , when exposed for our testimony , surely , we ought to speak none of our own words , or take thought what we shall say in our testimony and ministry in the name of the lord to the souls of the people ; for then of all times , and of all other occasions should it be fulfilled in us ; for it is not you that speak , but the spirit of my father that speaketh in you . and indeed , the ministry of the spirit must and does keep its analogy and agreement with the birth of the spirit ; that as no man can inherit the kingdom of god , unless he be born of the spirit ; so no ministery can beget a soul to god , but that which is from the spirit . for this , as i said before , the disciples waited before they went forth ; and in this our elder brethren , and messengers of god in our day , waited , visited and reached to us . and having begun in the spirit , let none ever hope or seek to be made perfect in the flesh : for what is the flesh to the spirit , or the chaff to the wheat ? and if we keep in the spirit , we shall keep in the unity of it , which is the ground of true fellowship . for by drinking into that one spirit , we are made one people to god , and by it we are continued in the unity of the faith , and the bond of peace . no envying , no bitterness , no strife can have place with us . we shall watch always for good , and not for evil over one another , and rejoice exceedingly , and not begrudge at one anothers increase in the riches of the grace , with which god replenisheth his faithful servants . and , brethren , as to you is committed the dispensation of the oracles of god , which give you frequent opportunities , and great place with the people among whom you travail , i beseech you that you would not think it sufficient to declare the word of life in their assemblies , however edifying and comfortable such opportunities may be to you and them : but as was the practice of the man of god before mentioned , in great measure , when among us , inquire the state of the several churches you visit ; who among them are afflicted or sick , who are tempted ; if any are unfaithful or obstinate , and endeavour to issue those things in the wisdom and power of god , which will be a glorious crown upon your ministry . as that prepares your way in the hearts of the people to receive you as men of god , so it gives you credit with them to do them good by your advice in other respects . the afflicted will be comforted by you , the tempted strengthened , the sick refreshed , the unfaithful convicted and restored , and such as are obstinate softned and fitted for reconciliation , which is clenching the nail , and applying and fastning the general testimony by that particular care of the several branches of it , in reference to them more immediately concerned in it . for though good and wise men and elders too , may reside in such places , who are of worth and importance in the general , and in other places ; yet it does not always follow , that they may have the room they deserve in the hearts of the people they live among ; or some particular occasion may make it unfit for him or them to use that authority . but you that travail as god's messengers , if they receive you in the greater , shall they refuse you in the less ? and if they own the general testimony , can they withstand the particular application of it in their own cases ? thus , ye will shew your selves workmen indeed , and carry your business before you , to the praise of his name that hath called you from darkness to light , that you might turn others from satan's power unto god and his kingdom , which is within . and oh that there were more of such faithful labourers in the vineyard of the lord ! never more need since the day of god! wherefore i cannot but cry and call aloud to you , that have been long professors of the truth , and know the truth in the convincing power of it , and have had a sober conversation among men , yet content your selves only to know truth for your selves ; to go to meetings , and exercise an ordinary charity in the church , and an honest behaviour in the world , and limit your selves within those bounds , feeling little or no concern upon your spirits for the glory of the lord in the prospirity of his truth in the earth , more than to be glad that others succeed in such service ; arise ye in the name and power of the lord jesus ! behold , how white the fields are unto harvest in this and other nations , and how few able and faithful labourers there are to work therein ! your country folks , neighbours and kindred want to know the lord and his truth , and to walk in it . does nothing lie at your door upon their account ? search and see , and loose no time , i beseech you , for the lord is at hand . i do not judge you , there is one that judgeth all men , and his judgment is true : you have mightily increased in your outward substance ; may you equally increase in your inward riches , and do good with both , while you have a day to do good. your enemies would once have taken what you had from you , for his names sake , in whom you have believed ; wherefore he has given you much of the world in the face of your enemies . but oh let it be your servant and not your master , your diversion rather than your business ! let the lord be chiefly in your eye , and ponder your ways , and see if god has nothing more for you to do ; and if you find your selves short in your account with him , then wait for his preparation , and be ready to receive the word of command , and be not weary of well doing , when you have put your hand to the plow ; and assuredly you shall reap ( if you faint not ) the fruit of your heavenly labour in god's everlasting kingdom . and you , young convinced ones , be you entreated and exhorted to a diligent and chast waiting upon god , in the way of his blessed manifestation and appearance of himself to you . look not out , but within : let not anothers liberty be your snare . neither act by imitation , but sense and feeling of god's power in your selves : crush not the tender buddings of it in your souls , nor over run in your desires , and your warmness of affections the holy and gentle motions of it. remember it is a still voice that speaks to us in this day , and that it is not to be heard in the noises and hurries of the mind ; but is distinctly understood in a retired frame . jesus loved and chose out solitudes ; often going to mountains , to gardens and sea-sides to avoid crowds and hurries , to shew his disciples it was good to be solitary , and sit loose to the world. two enemies lie near your states , imagination and liberty , but the plain , practical , living , holy truth , that has convinced you will preserve you , if you mind it in your selves , and bring all thoughts , imaginations and affections to the test of it , to see if they are wrought in god , or of the enemy , or your own selves : so will a true tast , discerning and judgment , be preserved to you , of what you should do and leave undone : and in your diligence and faithfulness in this way you will come to inherit substance ; and christ , the eternal wisdom , will fill your treasury . and when you are converted , as well as convinced , then confirm your brethren , and be ready to every good word and work , that the lord shall call you to ; that you may be to his praise , who has chosen you to be partakers with the saints in light of a kingdom that cannot be shaken , an inheritance incorruptible , in eternal habitations . and now , as for you that are the children of god's people , a great concern is upon my spirit for your good ; and often are my knees bowed to the god of your fathers for you , that you may come to be partakers of the same divine life and power , that has been the glory of this day ; that a generation you may be to god , an holy nation and a peculiar people , zealous of good works , when all our heads are laid in the dust . oh you young men and women , let it not suffice you , that you are the children of the people of the lord ! you must also be born again , if you will inherit the kingdom of god. your fathers are but such after the flesh , and could but beget you into the likeness of the first adam ; but you must be begotten into the likeness of the second adam by a spiritual generation . and therefore look carefully about you , oh ye children of the children of god , consider your standing , and see what you are in relation to this divine kindred , family and birth ! have you obeyed the light , and received and walked in the spirit , that is the incorruptible seed of the word and kingdom of god , of which you must be born again : god is no respecter of persons . the father cannot save or answer for the child , the child for the father , but in the sin thou sinnest , thou shalt die ; and in the righteousness thou doest , through christ jesus , thou shalt live ; for it is the willing and obedient that shall eat the good of the land. be not deceived , god is not mocked , such as all nations and people sow , such they shall reap at the hand of the just god. and then your many and great priviledges , above the children of other people , will add weight in the scale against you , if you choose not the way of the lord. for you have had line upon line , and precept upon precept , and not only good doctrine , but good example ; and which is more , you have been turned to and acquainted with a principle in your selves , which others have been ignorant of ; and you know , you may be as good as you please , without the fear of frowns and blows , or being turned out of doors and forsaken of father and mother for god's sake , and his holy religion , as has been the case of some of your fathers in the day they first entred into this holy path : and if you , after hearing and seeing the wonders that god has wrought in the deliverance and perservation of them , through a sea of troubles , and the manifold temporal , as well as spiritual blessings , that he has filled them with in the sight of their enemies , you should neglect and turn your backs upon so great and so near a salvation , you would not only be most ungreatful children to god and them , but must expect that god will call the children of those that knew him not , to take the crown out of your hands , and that your lot will be a dreadful judgment at the hand of the lord. but oh that it may never be so with any of you ! the lord forbid , saith my soul. wherefore , oh ye young men and women , look to the rock of your fathers ! chuse the god of your fathers : there is no other god but him ; no other light but his ; no other grace but his , nor spirit , but his to convince you , quicken and comfort you ; to lead , guide and preserve you to god's everlasting kingdom : so will you be possessors , as well as professors of the truth ; embracing it not only by education but judgment and conviction , from a sense begotten in your souls , through the operation of the eternal spirit and power of god in your hearts , by which you may come to be the seed of abraham through faith , and the circumcision not made with hands , and so heirs of the promise made to the fathers of an incorruptible crown : that ( as i said before ) a generation you may be to god , holding up the profession of the blessed truth in the life and power of it . for formality in religion is nauseous to god and good men ; and the more so , where any form or appearance has been new and peculiar , and begun and practised upon a principle , with an uncommon zeal and strictness . therefore i say , for you to fall flat and formal , and continue the profession without that salt and savour , by which it is come to obtain a good report among men , is not to answer god's love , nor your parents care , nor the mind of truth in your selves , nor in those that are without ; who tho' they will not obey the truth , have sight and sense enough to see if they do that make a profession of it . for where the divine virtue of it is not felt in the soul , and waited for , and lived in , imperfections will quickly break out , and shew themselves , and detect the unfaithfulness of such persons , and that their insides are not seasoned with the nature of that holy principle which they profess . wherefore , dear children , let met intreat you to shut your eyes at the temptations and allurements of this low and perishing world , and not suffer your affections to be captivated by those lusts and vanities that your fathers , for truths sake , long since turned their backs upon : but as you believe it to be the truth , receive it into your hearts , that you may become the children of god : so that it may never be said of you , as the evangelist writes of the jews of his time , that christ , the true light , came to his own , but his own received him not ; but to as many as received him , to them he gave power to become the children of god ; which were born , not of blood , nor of the will of the flesh , nor of the will of man , but of god. a most close and comprehensive passage to this occasion : you exactly and peculiarly answer to those professing jews , in that you bear the name of god's people , by being the children and wearing of the form of god's people : so that he by his light in you , may be said to come to his own , and if you obey it not , but turn your back upon it , and walk after the vanities of your minds , you will be of those that receive him not , which , i pray god , may never be your case and judgment ; but that you may be throughly sensible of the many and great obligations you lie under to the lord for his love , and your parents for their care : and with all your heart and all your soul , and all your strength turn to the lord , to his gift and spirit in you , and hear his voice and obey it , that you may seal to the testimony of your fathers , by the truth and evidence of your own experience ; that your childrens children may bless you , and the lord for you , as those that delivered a faithful example , as well as record of the truth of god unto them . so will the gray hairs of your dear parents yet alive , go down to the grave with joy , to see you the posterity of truth , as well as theirs , and that not only their natures but spirit shall live in you when they are gone . i shall conclude this preface with a few words to those that are not of our communion , into whose hands this may come , especially those of our own nation . friends , as you are the sons and daughters of adam , and my brethren after the flesh , often and earnest have been my desires and prayers to god on your behalf , that you may come to know him that has made you to be your redeemer and restorer to the image that , through sin , you have lost , by the power and spirit of his son jesus christ , whom he hath given for the light and life of the world. and oh that you , who are called christians , would receive him into your heart ! for there it is you want him , and at that door he stands knocking , that you should let him in , but you do not open to him ; you are full of other guests , so that a manger is his lot among you now , as well as of old : yet you are full of profession , as were the jews when he came among them , who knew him not , but rejected and evilly intreated him . so that if you come not to the possession and experience of what you profess , all your formality in religion will stand you in no stead in the day of god's judgment . i beseech you ponder with your selves your eternal condition , and see what title , what ground and foundation you have for your christianity : if more than a profession , and an historical belief of the gospel . have you known the baptism of fire , and the holy ghost , and the fan of christ that winnows away the chaff ; the carnal lusts and affections ? that divine leven of the kingdom , that being received , levens the whole lump of man , sanctifying him throughout in body , soul and spirit ? if this be not the ground of your confidence , you are in a miserable estate . you will say perhaps , that though you are sinners , and live in the daily commission of sin , and are not santified , as i have been speaking , yet you have faith in christ , who has borne the curse for you , and in him you are compleat by faith ; his righteousness being imputed to you . but my friends , let me intreat you not to deceive your selves , in so important a point , as is that of your immortal souls . if you have true faith in christ , your faith will make you clean , it will sanctifie you ; for the saints faith was their victory : by this they over came sin within , and sinful men without . and if thou art in christ thou walkest not after the flesh , but after the spirit , whose fruits are manifest . yea , thou art a new creature , new made , new fashioned after god's will and mold : old things are done away , and behold , all things are become new : new love , desires , will , affections and practices . it is not any longer thou that livest , thou disobedient , carnal , worldly one ; but it is christ that liveth in thee , and to live is christ and to die is thy eternal gain ; because thou art assured , that thy corruptible shall put on incorruption , and thy mortal , immortality ; and that thou hast a glorious house eternal in the heavens that will never wax old or pass away . all this follows being in christ , as heat follows fire and light the sun. therefore have a care how you presume to rely upon such a notion , as that you are in christ , whilst in your old fallen nature . for what communion hath light with darkness , or christ with belial ? hear what the beloved disciple tells you : if we say we have fellowship with god , and walk in darkness , we lie , and do not the truth . that is , if we go on in a sinful way , are captivated by our carnal affections , and are not converted to god , we walk in darkness , and cannot possibly have any fellowship with god. christ cloths them with his righteousness that receive his grace in their hearts , and deny themselves , and take up his cross daily , and follow him . christ's righteousness makes men inwardly holy , of holy minds , wills and practices . it is nevertheless christs , because we have it ; for it is ours , not by nature , but by faith and adoption : it is the gift of god : but still tho' not ours , as of or from our selves , for in that sense it is christ's , for it is of and from him , yet it is ours ; and must be ours in possession , efficacy and enjoyment to do us any good , or christ's righteousness will profit us nothing . it was after this manner , that he was made to the primitive christians , righteousness , sanctification , justification and redemption ; and if ever you will have the comfort , kernel and marrow of the christian religion , thus you must come to learn and obtain it . now , my friends , by what you have read , and will read in what follows , you may perceive , that god has visited a poor people among you with this saving knowledge and testimony ; whom he has upheld and encreased to this day , notwithstanding the fierce opposition they have met withal . despise not the meanness of this appearance : it was , and yet is ( we know ) a day of small things , and of small account with too many ; and many hard and ill names are given to it ; but it is of god , it came from him because it leads to him . this we know , but we cannot make another know it , as we know it , unless he will take the same way to know it , that we took . the world talks of god ; but what do they do ? they pray for power , but reject the principle in which it is . if you would know god and worship and serve god , as you should do , you must come to the means he has ordained and given for that purpose . some seek it in books , some in learned men , but what they look for , is in themselves , but they overlook it . the voice is too still , the seed too small , and the light shineth in darkness . they are abroad , and so cannot divide the spoil ; but the woman , that lost her silver found it at home , after she had light her candle and swept her house . do you so too , and you shall find what pilate wanted to know , viz. truth . the light of christ within , who is the light of the world , ( and so a light to you , that tells you the truth of your condition ) leads all , that take heed unto it , out of darkness into god's marvellous light ; for light grows upon the obedient . it is sown for the righteous , and their way is a shining light , that shines forth more and more to the perfect day . wherefore , o friends , turn in , turn in , i beseech you ! where is the poison , there is the antidote : there you want christ , and there you must find him ; and blessed be god , there you may find him . seek and you shall find , i testifie for god : but then you must seek aright , with your whole heart , as men that seek for their lives , yea , for their eternal lives : diligently , humbly , patiently , as those that can taste no pleasure , comfort or satisfaction in any thing else , unless you find him whom your souls want , and desire to know and love above all . o it is a travail , a spiritual travail ! let the carnal , profane world think and say as it will. and through this path you must walk to the city of god , that has eternal foundations , if ever you will come there . well! and what does this blessed light do for you ? why , 1. it sets all your sins in order before you : it detects the spirit of this world in all its bates and allurements , and shews how man came to fall from god , and the fallen estate he is in . 2. it begets a sense and sorrow , in such as believe in it , for this fearful laps . you will then see him distinctly , whom you have pierced him , and all the blows and wounds you have given him by your disobedience ; and how you have made him to serve with your sins , and you will weep and mourn for it , and your sorrow will be a godly sorrow . 3. after this it will bring you to the holy watch , to take care that you do so no more , that the enemy surprise you not again : then thoughts , as well as words and works , will come to judgment , which is the way of holiness , in which the redeemed of the lord do walk . here you will come to love god above all , and your neighbours as your selves . nothing hurts , nothing harms , nothing makes afraid on this holy mountain : now you come to be christ's indeed , for you are his in nature and spirit , and not your own . and when you are thus christ's , then christ is yours , and not before : and here communion with the father and with the son you will know , and the efficacy of the blood of cleansing , even the blood of jesus christ , that immaculate lamb , which speaketh better things than the blood of abel , and which cleanseth from all sin the consciences of those that , through the living faith , come to be sprinkled with it from dead works to serve the living god. to conclude , behold the testimony and doctrine of the people called quakers ! behold their practice and discipline ! and behold the blessed man and men that were sent of god in this excellent work and service ! all which will be more particularly expressed in the ensuing annals of the man of god ; which i do heartily recommend to my readers most serious perusal , and beseech almighty god , that his blessing may go along with it , to the convincing of many , as yet strangers to this holy dispensation , and also to the edification of the church of god in general : who , for his manifold and repeated mercies and blessings to his people in this day of his great love , is worthy ever to have the glory , honour , thanksgiving and renown ; and be it rendred and ascribed , with fear and reverence , through him in whom he is well pleased , his bloved son and lamb , our light and life , that sits with him upon the throne , world without end. amen , says one that god has long since mercifully favoured with his fatherly visitation , and who was not disobedient to the heavenly vision and call , to whom the way of truth is more lovely and precious than ever , and that knowing the beauty and benefit of it above all worldly treasure , has chosen it for his chiefest joy , and therefore recommends it to thy love and choice , because he is with great sincerity and affection thy souls friend . william penn. london , printed and sold by t. sowle , at the crooked billet in holly-well-lane , shoreditch , and near the meeting-house in white-hart-court in grace-church-street , 1694. good counsel and advice rejected by disobedient men and the dayes of oliver cromwells visitation passed over, and also of richard cromwel his son ... burrough, edward, 1634-1662. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a30526 of text r14571 in the english short title catalog (wing b6006). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 143 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 33 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a30526 wing b6006 estc r14571 12034016 ocm 12034016 52859 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a30526) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 52859) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 861:15) good counsel and advice rejected by disobedient men and the dayes of oliver cromwells visitation passed over, and also of richard cromwel his son ... burrough, edward, 1634-1662. fox, george, 1624-1691. 61, 60-68 p. printed for thomas simmons ..., london : 1659. reproduction of original in huntington library. a collection of letters signed: edward burrough, george fox, g.f., or e.b. attributed to edward burrough. cf. bm. eng cromwell, oliver, 1599-1658. cromwell, richard, 1626-1712. great britain -history -commonwealth and protectorate, 1649-1660. a30526 r14571 (wing b6006). civilwar no good counsel and advice, rejected by disobedient men. and the dayes of oliver cromwells visitation passed over; and also of richard cromwel burrough, edward 1659 29514 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 b the rate of 2 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2004-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-02 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-04 olivia bottum sampled and proofread 2004-04 olivia bottum text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-07 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion good counsel and advice , reiected ; by disobedient men . and the dayes of oliver cromwells visitation passed over ; and also of richard cromwel his son , late protectors of these nations . and the many precious warnings neglected by them , and set at naught , which from time to time the servants of the lord gave unto them , as declared in these following letters ; whereby all may see the kindness of the lord towards them , by his faithful invitations to them , and their own apostacy and carelesness , who rejected warning 〈◊〉 the time and day of their visitation is shut up with the vale of darkness and reproach , which lies over them , and their precious day of love is spent , and cannot be re-called . 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 view , by one that wished well to them in their day , and is a friend unto all that love righteousness , and hates oppression . london , printed for thomas simmons , at the bull and mouth near aldersgate , 1659. to the reader . friend , out of the same love from whence these were written , do i put them to publick view , and it was not without much doubtings and questioning in my own spirit , but at last having found perfect freedom and strength from the lord , knowing that i am clear and free altogether of other ends , saving then for the honour of the truth , and that all may see that the downfalls of these men were not before sufficient warnings , which makes the lord free , and his servants free from what is come to pass upon them , and even their fall lies upon their own heads that despised the lords warnings , and would none of his counsel , but suffered the innocent to be oppressed under their power , and relieved not the heritage of the lord from her cruel enemies , though they had power to do it , but sought their own glory , and how to be established in greatness in the earth , till that the lord hath cast them out , and made them as a reproach . and these things that have come to pass upon them , may be as warnings to all other rulers that doth succeed them , and they may know that the lord is iust and his iudgements righteous , and whosoever shall follow their steps , and be oppressors of the lords heritage , as they were , the lord shall extend his iudgments unto them also , and their destruction shall come , even like as upon these before them ; therefore let all the earth be warned . i am a lover of sion . for the hands of the protector . friend , many warnings hast thou had from the mouth of the lord , his love hath been towards thee , and the glorious day of his visitation hath shined over thy head , wherein he hath called unto thee to hear and obey his voice , and would have instructed thee in the way that thou shouldst walk , that thy soul might live for ever in peace and rest , when this world is passed away ; and that in this present world he might have made thee a blessing to thy self and posterity and people , and a praise in thy dominions , and unto ages after thee , if thou hadst hearkned and obeyed his voice , and chosen his way and counsel , and not thine own ; and then would he have made thine enemies to have bowed under thee , and the force of their policy and arm should never have prevailed against thee , and thou shalt be delivered from the will of all that hate thee , if thou yet will hearken unto him , and receive his instruction , and set thy heart to seek his honour more then thine own , and will let his counsel be thy guide & ruler , & not vain man , which must be brought to naught ; even now , before the day of thy visitation bespent , never more to be recalled , and the time come when god will cease to strive with thee , & will not call unto thee , but will leave thee to thy own hearts false judgment , and the counsels of treacherous men ; and friend i as one that hath obtained mercy from the lord , unto whom his word is committed , being moved of him , do hereby in his presence yet once more warn thee , that thou fear before him , and diligently hearken to him , and seek him with all thy heart , that thou maist know his will and counsel concerning thee , and may do it , and find favour in his sight , and live ; and now is the day that his hand is stretched forth unto thee , to make thee a blessing , or to leave thee a curse for ever ; and the dayes of thy visitation is near an end , when god will no more call unto thee , nor hear thee , when in the day of thy trouble thou cals to him , neither will answer thee by vision nor dream , nor prophet , but will leave thee to the counsels of treacherous men , who will seek after thy life , and wait for thy overthrow , and watch for evil against thee , that they may glory in thy desolation ; and such there is , of whom thou hast need to beware ; and if thou reject the counsel of the lord , and follow the desires of thine own heart , and the wills of men , and will not have the light of the world , christ jesus onely , to rule thee and to teach thee , which condemns all evil , then shall evil surely fall upon thee , if thou lovest not the light in thee , which condemns it , and the judgments of god , nor the day of his last visitation with vengeance , thou mayest not escape ; therefore consider , and mark my words , and let this counsel be acceptable unto thee , that thy dayes may be many , and blessed upon earth ; and first consider , and let it move upon thee to meekness , to humbleness and to fear before the lord , assuredly knowing , that it is he that changeth times and things , and that bringeth down and setteth up whomsoever he will ; and how that thou was raised from a low estate , and set over all , thine enemies , and thy horn was exalted above them all and he gave thee the necks of princes to tread upon , and more honourable ; and their dominions to inherit , and thou was set a ruler in much dominion , and had favour in his sight , and in the sight of many people who wished well unto thee for a blessing ; many victories honourable and remarkable was given unto thee , over them who had exalted themselves against god ; and ruled in tyranny over his people ; whom the lord pittied , and thou an instrument in his hand , was ordained by him , to lead forth a people , whom he blessed with thee , against a cruel people , and generation of oppressors , who exercised tyrannie over the lords heritage , till they were taken away and cast out , and is a reproach unto the lord and his people unto this day ; and even so shall all be that followes their example and are oppressors and tyrants over the seed of god ; as they were ; and this thou knowest , that not by might , nor multitude , but by the arm of the lord , were they subdued and made a prey unto thee , and their treasures a spoil unto thy hands ; and so it was , that thou mightest have glorified him for ever ; and exalted him in the great congregation , and gone on in faithfulness to the end , and in that day when thou was raised up , when the fear of the lord was before thy face , and thy heart was towards him ; and thou was but little in thine own eyes , then was it well with thee , and the lord blessed thee , and made thee honourable , and his people had love towards thee , and desires for thee , that thou might have been as a helper to the poor and a father to the faithful , and a preserver of the upright from unreasonable men , and an easer of the oppressed , & a taker away of every oppressive bond ; and it was not once thought concerning thee , that the hands of the ungodly would have been strengthened against the righteous under thee ; or that such grievous and cruel burthens and oppressions would ever have been laid upon the just , and acted against them , in thy name , and under thy dominion , as unrighteously have come to passe in these three years , as a large testimony might be given ; and this thy suffering of such things is thy transgression , and thou hast not requited the lord well for his goodness unto thee ; nor fulfilled his will in suffering that to be done under thee , and in thy name , which the lord raised thee against to break down , hadst thou been faithful to the end . again consider and let it move on thy heart not to exalt thy self , nor to be high minded , but to fear continally , knowing that thou standest not by thy self but by another , and that he is able to abase thee , and give thee into the will of thy enemies ; when soever he will , and how the lord hath preserved thee sometimes wonderfully , and doth unto this day , from the murderous plots and crafty policie of evil men , who seeks thy evil , and would rejoyce in thy fall , and in the desolation of thy family and countries ; how have they and do they lay snares for thy feet , that thou may be cut off from amongst men , and die unhappily , and be accounted a curse ; and yet to this day he hath preserved thee and been near thee to keep thee , though thou hast hardly known it ; and the lords end is love to thee in all these things , and yet a little longer to try thee , and that thou might give him the glory ; o that thy heart were opened to see his hand , that thou mayst live unto him , and die in him in peace ; and beware least hardness of heart possesse thee ; if thou slight his love , and so be shut up in darkness , and given to the desires of thine enemies , and left to the counsels of treacherous men , who may seek to exalt thee by flattery that they might the better cast thee down , and destroy thee , and blot out thy name in reproach , and make thy posterity a people miserable ; but now o consider and let it enter into thy heart , for thou hast not answered the lord , but been wanting to him for all this ; and hast chosen thy own way and glory rather then his , and not fulfilled his counsel in raising thee , for the bonds of crueltie are not loosed by thee , and the oppressed is not altogether set free , neither is oppression taken off from the back of the poor , nor the laws regulated , nor liberty of pure conscience altogether allowed ; but these dominions are filled with cruel oppressors , and the poor groans every where under their heavy hand of injustice , the needy are troden down under foot , and the oppressed cries for deliverance , and are ready to faint for true justice , and judgement ; the proud exalts himself against the poor , and the high minded and rebellious contemns the meek of the earth ; the horn of the ungodly is exalted over the lords heritage , and they that are departed from iniquity are become a prey to oppressors , and the cruel hearted deals cruelly with the innocent in these nations ; and such whom the lord hath freed in their consciences from false worships and teachers , and from the wayes of sin and death , are made slaves , and greedily preyed upon by unjust men , through casting into prisons , and dungeons , and unjust fines , and illegal proceedings , and beatings and abusings , and woundings and bruisings , hard to be expressed and large to be declared ; even the hands of many of the people over whom thou art set to rule , are full of blood , merciless and cruel ; and neither fears god , nor are subject to the just rule and government of men ; and the mouth of many of thy subservant rulers and governours that have their power from thee are as the teeth of young lions , and the upright and harmless , are devoured and made a spoil by them , through policy and oppression , both in their persons and estates ; if i perish i must speak the truth ; my life is not dear to me for the truth sake ; many who should have judged in true justice and righteousness the cause of the poor , have been as bryars and thorns to insnare and pierce the just man ; and have perverted judgement , and turned it backward , & equity have hardly had place to enter ; most of the prisons this day in all thy juridictions have and doth testifie the unjust judgement , and the great oppressions and cruelties of some in authority who have used , or rather abused thy name , and made it a cloak for their hard-heartedness ; o my heart is troubled , and my bowels pained at the remembrance of this ; how doth the poor cry under the heavy hand of oppession , and the needy lament for want of true judgement , and the oppressed groan for want of deliverance ? and these things are thought upon by the lord , though not considered by thee as they ought to be ; and because of this will he arise to plead the cause of the innocent against him that is too strong for him ; and will dash to pieces his enemies , and break the jawes of the devourers , and the righteous shall not alwayes be a prey to the teeth of the ungodly . o friend when wilt thou consider the oppression of the poor , and hearken to the cry of the oppressed within thee , and without thee , when shall it enter into thy heart , this cause of the unjust sufferings of the lords people , from which thou canst not altogether be excused ? for it is acted in thy name , though not by thee . o let thy ear be opened unto the cryes of the oppressed in the prisons ; and let the cause of the innocent come before thee , and let thy heart be pierced at the consideration of these things which are come to pass in thy dayes , contrary to the expectation of many , and see if it be , not contrary to thy own promises sometimes vowed by thee ; let the light of christ in thy own conscience answer , and some of the multitude of the grievous oppressions of which the land is full , hath been laid at thy door and brought unto thee , but scarcely found an entrance upon thee ; and this aggravates the crime of thy transgression , in that thou knowest of these things ; & wonderful is it to consider , that even thou with whom the power of the lord hath sometimes been , should now suffer that people with whom the power of the lord is to be persecuted , and thy name to be a cloak for it ; how many in all parts of this nation have been and are at this day grievous sufferers under cruel bondage concerning tythes , that great abomination and idol , and cause of heavy groanings ? the bodies of many just men violently surprized , and cast into goals and prisons unjustly , and some illegally ; their cruelly suffering the loss of their liberties and the enjoyments of their families , and honest assemblies ; and others have their goods spoiled and made havock upon , almost to the ruine of families by unreasonable men , through unjust judgement and cruel dealings of some in authority for so much unjustly , challenged by the priest or impropriator , it may be ; they distress five times so much , to the great shame of the government of a christian nation ; as may appear in a book called the cry of the oppressed ; and how many are ready even to faint under the hard oppression of maintaining hireling teachers , and idol temples ; many for that cause also being unjust sufferers in bodies and estates , by cruel imprisonment and spoiling of goods ; the very cry of this oppression reaches unto heaven against thee , who suffers it , and against the idol shepherds who are the ground of it , who makes a prey upon gods heritage ; and the lord god will be avenged upon them , and they and their staff shall utterly perish ; wo unto them , and to the idol worships of which the land is full , which they uphold , which causes the hearts of the righteous to mourn , because of the seed of god which is in captivity under them ; again many are unjust and woful sufferers because they cannot swear on this or that occasion , though in all causes they speak the truth , and do obey christs commands , even such are trodden upon by unjust fines charged upon them , and imposed oppressions ; the example of which never went before ; many parts of this land is witness of this ; and this is by the corruptness of some that bear rule under thee , who rules not for god as they ought , but turns the sword of justice , and doth unjustly thereby , and grieves the lord , and dishonours thee ; again some suffer long and tedious imprisonments , and others cruel stripes and abuses , and danger of life many times from wicked men , for reproving sin and crying against the abomination of the times , which the scriptures also testifie against , in streets or temples , or other places ; some having been sent to prison , taken on the high way , and no evil charged against them , and others committed , being taken out of peaceable meetings , and whipped and sent to prison without transgression of any law , just or unjust , wholly through the rage and envy of the devil , and such who have perverted judgement and justice , and some in prisons have suffered superaboundantly from the hands of the cruel gaolers , and their servants , by beatings and threatnings , and putting irons on them , and not suffering any of their friends to visit them with necessaries ; and some have died in the prisons , whose lives was not dear to them , whose blood will be reckoned on account against thee , one day ; and many more other wayes have suffered grievous things , as banishments out of towns , and whipping and stocking , and grievous unjust abuses , and none of these for evil doing , but for good ; even because they cannot bow to the devil , but are redeemed out of the world and therefore the world hates them , and some have suffered hard cruelties because they could not respect persons and bow with hat , or knee ; and from these cruelties canst thou not altogether be excused in the sight of god ; being brought forth in thy name and under thy power ; consider friend , and be awakened to true judgement , let the lord search thy heart , and lay these things to mind , that thou may be an instrument to remove every burthen , and may at last fulfill the will of god , are they nothing to thee ; that such things should be brought forth under thee ? o , be awakened , be awakened , and now seek the lords glory and not thine own , least thou perish before the lord and men ; nay if men would give thee * honour and high titles and princely thrones take it not , for that which would exalt and honour thee in the world , would betray thee to the world and cast thee down in the sight of the world , and this is gods word to thee ; what ? shall the whole nation be perjured men , and thou the cause of it ? and wilt thou transgresse by building again that which thou hast destroyed ? then shall the lord and his light in every conscience bear witness against thee , let it not be , but deny thy self and thou wilt find the lord honouring thee , give heed unto my words and understand my speech , be not exalted by man least man betray thee ; the lord give thee an understanding in this and guide thee in his councel , and the rather above all things , let thy heart be stirred up in thee for the lord , for now is he setting up the dominion of his son , which never shall have an end , and thy dominion must bow under it , and all the dominions of the earth , or else be confounded and broken to pieces , the glory of the lord is revealing , and thine shall be vailed before it , and the glory of all flesh shall fall ; therefore strive not openly nor secretly against his way , for it shall prosper , there is no enchantment against us nor any formed weapon that can prosper ; knowest thou not that the king of righteousnesse might command thousands of his saints to avenge him of his adversaries , and to plead his cause against the rebellious ? all power is in his hand , yea and the authority and dominion shall be in the hands of his saints , and every one that exalts himself against them shall be brought down , not by an outward sword or might of man , but by his out-stretched arm , and all crowns that are mortal shall be troden down , by him whose crown is immortal and never fades away ; therefore be wise and learned , this is thy day , as thou dealest or sufferest to be done with the lords people , so to thee it shall be done in that day , when their government shall outreach thine and be set a top of it , as thou hopes for mercy from the lord , when his kingdom conquers thee and thine ; now deal favourably and relieve the oppressed ; boast not thy self though the lord hath used thee in his hand , but know that when he will he can cast thee , a rod , out of his hand into the fire ; for in his hand thou art , if thou honour him he will honour thee , otherwise he can , yea , and will confound thee and break thee , and make thee weak as water before him ; his love , through my heart , breaths unto thee ; he would thy happinesse if thou wilfully contemn it not , by exalting thy self and seeking thine own glory , and hardening thy heart against the cry of the poor ; and this i was moved in the bowels of pitty to lay before thee , who am thy friend , not in flattery , but in an upright heart , who wisheth well unto thee in the lord . a friend to the kingdom of christ and not of this world , but an heir of immortality with the son of god , called edward burrough . the original of this was given to the hands of oliver cromwell then protector , in the third moneth of the year , 1657. for the hands of oliver cromwell called protector . friend , i am moved to write to thee , from the occasion of being with thee yesterday , and i take liberty from the true love and pitty stired up in my hart towards thee , who am thy friend and wisheth well unto thee in the lord , even that salvation thou mayest receive , and that thy way may be blessed upon earth , and the fruits of the knowledge of god might more abound in thee , and the fruits of ignorance lesse , which doth appear , which i wish might be cut off before they wholly over-grow thee , and remove the blessing far from thee in this life and in the life to come , and bring upon thee destruction ; for the fruits of all unrighteousnesse , brings death , sorrow , and misery , and the light of christ in thee shall answer in all things to the justnesse of the judgements of the lord . thou sayest in effect , that thou wouldest not , or thou desirest not our persecution , or that we should be persecuted by cruelty or unjust imprisonment ; now consider what the cause is , that what thou desirest not to be done , yet is done , thou having power in thy hand onely to prevent what thou wouldest not have done , is it not thine own unfaithfulnesse to the principle of god in thee , which beareth witnesse against the persecution of the innocent ? or is it that thou mayest please men and therefore rather suffers wickednesse to abound , and injustice and oppression to be acted against the poor , ( making it appear thou art willing to do the false teachers of this nation and wicked men a pleasure ) then to own the people of god in relieving them , and easing their cruel burthens and oppressions laid upon them by unjust men , for a word of thy mouth , or the shew of thy countenance in dislike of these many cruel and unjust persecutions , would bind the hands of many blood-thirsty men , and stop the mouths of many devourers ; and therefore because of thine own unfaithfulnesse doth that come to passe which thou desirest not ? and so i must needs say this appears to be evil in thee , to say in effect thou approvest not , or thou desirest not our persecution , and yet it is done , when the power is in thy hand to remove it , and this in much love and great pains , i declare unto thee in the fear and councel of god . further thou sayest , thou art not guilty of these persecutions acted unjustly upon us . again consider , i say thou canst not be cleared in the sight of the lord god from them , being acted under thee , and in thy name , in the day of the lord the light of christ in thee shall answer this ; for there seemes to be rather a favouring of them in thee , and by forbearance of the actors of cruelty , by which their hands are strengthened , then any dislike shewed by thee in bearing thy witnesse as thou oughtest to do against them ; for thou knowest of some in this city and elsewhere , whom we know to be just men , who suffers imprisonment and the losse of their liberties , because for conscience sake they cannot , swear , and many others in this nation furthering cruel things upon the like or same ground , even for well doing , and not for evil , which oppression might be removed , and their unjust sufferings taken off by thee , by a word from thy mouth or pen , and this makes it to appear that thou canst not be clear in the sight of god in these things , because not helped by thee who hath the power to help it , and this is true love ; i give thee to understand in the day of recompence shalt thou know the lord will not clear thee , except thou repent and ease the oppressed ; other things thou speakest about the light of christ , which lighteneth every man that cometh into the world with the light of life , or with the light of condemnation , and about the ministry of this nation , with some other things which i had a desire to have answered if time had been seasonable , and thou willing to have heard , but thou shouldest not have appeared in such lightnesse , especially when speaking of the things of god which did grieve the spirit of the lord , and vex the righteous soul , which behaviour with some words which thou utteredst with the light of christ , is to be condemned , and which i do judge with the life of god , and yet doth tender and preserve the measure of justnesse and honesty which is in thee , but thou art high above the principle of god , and cannot receive the teachings of the father into that mind which is light and unstable , for the councel of god is manifest to the meek and to the lowly , but there is much in thee to be judged when thou comest to the witnesse of god in thee ; and as concerning the light of christ at which thou stumblest , by which every man that comes into the world is enlightened ; in short this i say , the light to thee is given of god , and it must thou own to be thy onely teacher , to receive by it from the father , and to be guided by it in all things if ever thou inherit gods kingdom of righteousnesse and peace , and this is the word of the lord to thee ; and as concerning the ministry of england for which in part thou seems to plead , thus i say in plainnesse , generally it is not of god but of anti-christ , and the lord is against it , for it is the ground of the greatest oppression of the poor in its maintenance , as any one particular abomination which this day is in the nation , and this is the truth from the lord , and if thou set thy self to uphold them by any law made , or to make against such whom god hath raised to bear witnes against them their wayes and idolatries , thou shalt fall with them into perdition , and be overthrown amongst them in the just and righteous judgements , and this is the word of the lord to thee ; for god is risen of a truth to make war against the beast which long hath reigned , and against the false prophets which hath long deceived the world , and i warn thee with hold thy hand from helping them , if thou mean to be preserved or blessed in thy person , in thy family and in thy armies ; for as i said to thee , the kingdom of christ is setting up by his own power , and all must bow and become subject thereunto , he needs none of thy policie , nor the strength of thy arm to advance him , yet would he have thee nor to prove thy self an open enemy thereof , by doing or suffering to be done cruelty and injustice against them whom the lord is redeeming out of this world into subjection unto that kingdom , least thou be such a one as will not enter thy self nor suffer others to enter , and & so destruction come upon thee ; wherfore arise as out of sleep and slumber not in this worlds glory and honour , come away and appear for the lord rather then against him , be not overcome by the pleasures of this world , nor the flattering titles of men , wink not at the cruelty and oppression acted by some who shelters under thee , and makes thy name a cloak for mischief against the upright , but let the testimony of god in thee answer for his people ; this law is not just by which many suffers because they cannot swear , and because they cannot cease to declare against sin and iniquity , let that of god in thee bear witnesse , and thou and thy name being chief in the execution of this law , what will thy account be to the lord in his day ? consider i say consider , and be thou changed in thy mind and heart , least thou having forgotten god and his many deliverances , be shut up and numbered for destruction , and i say and desire the lord give thee a more perfect understanding of his wayes and judgements , and that the crown immortal thou mayest strive for , by meeknesse and righteousnesse through relieving the oppressed , and shewing mercy to the poor , and removing every burthen which lies upon the innocent , and this is the desire of him who is thy friend and would not have thee crowned with dishonour , through suffering the people of god to be oppressed in thy name , which will be thy overthrow absolutely if thou remove it not by returning and easing the oppressed . edward burrough . this was delivered to his hands about the begining of the 4th . moneth , 1657. for the hands of the protector . friend , thou oughtest to stand in the coucel of god in all things , and not to follow the councel of thy own heart , nor to act things in thine own will , neither shouldest thou suffer others to act under thee , and in thy name that which is unjust , and unrighteous ; much unrighteousnesse , and great oppression is acted in thy name , by which the good name ( protector ) is abused and subverted , and instead of protection by it , great unjustice is acted under it and covered with it ; and this one thing i am moved to lay before thee , which hath been acted by thee or under thee , not without thy knowledge , in which thou hast done evil in the sight of the lord , and one day thou wilt know it ; several in these nations justices of the peace and other officers who have been in trust under thee , when they have owned the people of god in scorn called quakers , have been cast out of their places though they have not denied to serve thee and the common-wealth , neither hath unfaithfulnesse to their trust been proved against them , and also several souldiers now of late in scotland and elsewhere , have been turned out of their places because of the same thing , ( viz. ) for owning the people of god , and these things are not right in the sight of the lord , that such who have been for many years faithful in the service and in their trust , and hazzarded life and liberty for conscience sake , to injoy liberty of conscience , which they cannot now possess because of thee , but are cast out for the exercise of their pure conscience , this thing the lord is grieved with , and with thee because of it , for thou didest not obtain this victory of peace and freedom by thy own sword , then why should it be thus improved to thy own ends ? consider of it , for this makes the nations more unhappie and lesse blessed , when such who delight in true justice and judgement are cast out of their places , and so deprived of giving their judgement among men , and absolutely this will make thy army lesse prosperous and more unblessed , when such who feareth the lord , and against whom thou cannot justly charge evil , are cast out and despised , and this in time thou mayest see to thy sorrow , and as thy friend i lay this before thee , and do in plainnes tell thee , if thou thus utterly deny the people of god in the day of thy prosperity , and thus wholy cast them out of thy service , they cannot stand by thee nor own thee in the day of thy trouble , and such as thou cleavest unto may be a broken staffe in thy time of need ; ah friend , these things do shew that thy heart is not right in the sight of the lord , and that justice and true judgement , righteousnesse and truth is even despised in this land , and not encerely owned by thee , when as such who feareth the lord , are thus cast out of judicatories in thy government , and out of defence in thy armies ; what , is this the end of that long travel in wars , and of so many fair promises of liberty of conscience , that just men should thus be dealt withal , the heathen kingdoms may mock at this , that while some have pretended liberty of conscience , are become persecutors of such whose consciences are justly exercised , and as i have some time said to thee , much injustice and great oppressions and cruel persecutions continues daily to be acted in thy name , which is numbred up against thee upon account , because of hiding thy face from the cry of the poor , as one without bowels of compassion unto such who have truely served with thee in a faithful service for the common-wealth , who many of them now are grievious sufferers under thee . consider of these things , and search what will be the end of them , the lord open thy understanding , that more of the wisdom of god may guide thee , and lesse of the policie and wisdom of man , which will betray thee of gods kingdom , and may in the end cast thee down in this world also edward burrough . the original of this was delivered to his hands in the fifth moneth , 1657. friend , it is upon me , and also i am pressed in spirit thereunto , to give unto thee , even unto thee oliver protector , the perfect measure of thy dominions , and how they stand in relation to thee as concerning the affections of the people towards thee , whereby thou mayest understand thy own condition , and the state of thy government as i have viewed it in true judgment , and marked it upon serious consideration , and what i writ is in perfect love unto thee , how ever thou mayest judge of it , and of these things it will be well for thee to consider , now while it is time ere it be too late . many enemies thou hast which watches over thee for evil and not for good , who would rejoyce in thy overthrow ; and first there is a people scattered through all these nations who is full of wrath and ravening envy towards thee , even of those known by the name of malignants party , in whose hearts to this day there is continual hatred , and evil surmising lodgeth against thee and all thy off-spring ; and i believe ( without any further knowledge ) that daily advantage they seek against thee , by subtil conspiracies and secret plottings , of maliciousnesse in their evil hearts , seeking by all means if it be possible how to be avenged , and not sliping any advantage how to revenge themselves , and the cause of their king , and of these scattered under thy government is not a few but rather the greater number , who thus stands in affections to thee , with no better purpose of good towards thee , then to destroy thee by any means if it were in their power , and to take away thy name in reproach , such is the cruelty and desperatenesse of some of them , their own lives are not dear unto them , to take away thine ; i have felt the strength of their rage against thee , which carries them above sence , or fear to forego any danger that they might see their desired end of thee ; their malice towards thee is so seated in their wrathful hearts , that it cannot easily be quenched , i know the lord hath cursed them and their endeavours to this day , and thou hast had dominion and power given thee of god to bruise them , and to break them to pieces ; and what thou hast done unto their king should not be reckoned against thee by the lord , if now thou wert faithful to what he requireth of thee ; for because of the wickednesse of that generation which was grown to the full , did the lord raise thee up as a plague upon them , because of their unrighteousnesse , oppression and tyranny , and they were made as slaves and bondmen under thy power , and without the lord can they not at any time do any thing against thee , but what and if for thy wickednesse in the sight of god , he should make them instruments in his hand to accomplish his wrath upon thee , even like as he made thee once his instrument to overthrow them , and such hath been the lords doings , even to overthrow his enemies one by the other , and to use the wicked as a rod in his hand , to break them one against another like potsherds ; and by that which comes to passe in these nations , thou seems no lesse then to tread in their steps , and in a measure already goes on in their way in oppressing ( through tyranny , or suffering it ) the people of god whose cause the lord will assuredly plead against thee one day , who now suffers under thee in patience , and who can tell the purpose of the lord , or what he may bring to passe concerning this thing , in raising up the wicked to be a plague to wickednesse , and in suffering the oppressors to overthrow oppressions ? this is by me in love to thee in sencerity declared , and by thee with soberness and in the fear of god it is to be considered . again there is another people scattered through all these dominions , who is not thy friends nor wishers well unto thee or thy government , who secretly murmures against thee , and envies thee , and even seekes god against thee and thy government , which they judge to be not according to god , and bowes not to it in love ; though they are forced to submit for a time , hoping continually if not hatching other wayes of rule and government to the overthrow of thee and thine ; and these are more honest , and upright , and just in the sight of the lord then the former ; and indeed they are not nor their purposes accursed of the lord , for many of them have been sufferers , and faithfully served their nation with perfect purpose of freedom to the lords people , and they have at this day perfect zeal for god and for his wayes , though not altogether according to knowledge , yet some of them are not far from the kingdom of god ; though they seek it not wholly in the right way , nor looks onely with a single eye ; yet doth not the lord hate them altogether because of their integrity towards him and zeal for him ; who some of them have suffered imprisonment for truth and righousness sake , as they have wholly thought ; and their suffering hath not been altogether slighted by the lord ; and these are they known by name of the fifth monarchy , of whom there is more then a few , with them that wishes well unto them , who will rise up for them rather then for thee , many of whom propounds well in their minds , though they have not power to effect it , because their intent is not altogether according to the lord , yet are many of them free from that whereof thy self is guilty , and some of them are cast out and wholly rejected without any just cause , as they suppose , and these things have grieved their spirits , and not onely kindled their rage and envy , but moved their sincerity and honesty against thee ; wherefore they are not thy friends but rather thy enemies ; and would not stand by thee or with thee in thy need , but rather i suppose would arm themselves against thee and thy power , who highly charges thee ( as they suppose justly too ) with unfaithfulness and such like , for they see that is not accomplished which hath been promised by thee , but the contrary , even one finger is become as heavy as was once the loynes ; and their spirits are grieved against thee for such causes , and who knowes but that the lord may take the occasion to trie thee and prove thee by them , for their hearts are high against thee and thy government , and that upon good ground , as they sincerely think . again , there is through thy dominions a people gathered and gathering dayly by multitudes , who are called and chosen of him and faithful to him , who hath owned him above all things , and whom he hath owned and will own in the sight of the whole world , and will encrease them to a numberless number , according to his promise ; and even those the lord is making many who are redeeming out of the world , into the government and kingdom of jesus christ , and these thou knowest are great and grievous sufferers ; by many hard and cruel oppressions , from those who are in authority in thy government , even unjust imprisonment and fines and burthensome taxations , in many things hard to be expressed ; and they undergo grievous persecutions under thy government , and wholly unjustly in the sight of god , and also are cast out of all power and place in it , and almost out of all subjects priviledge too ; many of them being counted as vile amongst men , though they are not so in the sight of the lord , justice , and righteousness and true judgement they cannot have in all these nations , not from thy self nor subservant judges , of whom hardly can their cause be heard : but are deprived of their proper right , and of subjects freedom in judicatories , and exposed to all wrong that may be by unjust men through unjust judgement , and these things are not unknown to thee , and therefore art thou inexcusable in the sight of the lord , and guiltie of their sufferings in his presence , who hath power to prevent it but doth it not , and these thus suffering in thy government and under it , how can they stand for thee and thy government , or out of pure love be subject thereunto , though be it known to thee that we ( the people of god ) doth not envy thy person or government in the least , neither hath purpose of seeking advantage against thee , or it to hurt or betray you by secret plotting or turbulent arising , as others may , yet friend the want of our prayers to god for thee , is worse to thee then the secret plotting of all wicked men . and how can we mention thee in our prayers to god except it be to be delivered from thee , who are dayly cruel and unjust sufferers by thee or because of thee , as i have said , or how can we be friends to that government , or subject to obey that power under which we dayly suffer such hard and cruel things , as the loss of our liberty and estates , and danger of life also ? let that light in thy own conscience judge , though for all these things , we do rather pitty thee , and desires thy repentance , then conspires against thee , or wisheth thy destruction , yet oughtest thou to consider of these things with a humble heart , and what a condition thou art in , who is hated of the wicked with deadly hatred , and not loved of the saints because thou lovest not the lord ; also it might make thy heart to tremble to consider how that thy dominions are thus devided , and the affections of the people thus dis-united , and few of them thy real friends , some having real offence given by thee ; wherefore they are forced to loath that government which is unjust ; and others verily supposing of great wrong sustained from thee , wherefore they are turned against thee . moreover & besides all this , greatly it may be suspected that even they in whom thou dost repose confidence , who seems to cleave unto thee , may not be altogether true unto thee , though in appearance subject , yet may have secret hypocrisie and hatching of evil in their minds , if it were possible , to uncover thy nakedness , and some others also there may be , who may make use of places under thee , which may have no more affection to thee nor service for thee , then while their own ends of great advantage are served under thee , by their subjection to thy government ; and now friend , these things being justly considered and viewed by thee in righteousness , how is thy dominions as a broken vessel , that cannot easily be bound up , and as a bruised reed not to be confided in by thee ? and these several sorts of people being substracted out of the whole , how few is it that thou wilt find that are thy real and faithful friends , who may stand by thee in a needful time ; some out of envy cannot be subject to thee , and others for the fear of the lords sake cannot own thee in such a government , whereby the just suffers , even all men are ready to stand afar off from thee , and because thou hast denyed the people of god , therefore cannot he be thy trust ; and verily thy state and the state of thy dominions are truly to be lamented , thou hast so much sought thy self , that thou hast lost almost all people and their affections , every one judging themselves to be the greatest sufferers under thee ; ah consider , for thou art but the head of a disjoynted body , which may not easily be bound up to thee ; and thou art lost for lack of true knowledge , for the lord hath done many things for thee though thou hast not known it altogether , and much less then knowest thou of those things which are eternal , which belongs to thy peace , it shewes thou ownes not the lord who cannot own his people , but rather counts them thy enemies and suffers all evil to be inflicted upon them ; and this is the greatest of thy misery , in that the lord hath been so good unto thee , and thy promises so large towards him for the freedom of his people , and yet all forgot and the lords goodness not answered , and his people made as slaves and bondmen under thee , suffering the loss of liberty , and even their birth-right priviledge in many parts of these nations ; wherefore be awakened o man , and sleep not totally in carelesness , but remember thy self , either to perform the good , or at least to escape the evil which may suddenly come upon thee . and this i have written to thee out of perfect love in the fear of god , without the fear of any man , or without any secret or open envying of thee , couldst thou but own the lord , he would be thy strength to forgive all thy iniquities and blot out thy sin , and to defend thee from all thy enemies ; and above all things love judgement , mercy and truth , and fear before the lord , and let not his people be thy bond-slaves , who is more dear unto the lord then all earthly glory is unto thee , and if thou couldst own them , they would own thee in the face of all thine enemies , many times hast thou been warned , and that from the lord , and thou shalt confess it , when the lords hand is upon thee and thou delivered into the will of thy enemies , remember that i have told thee what the lord hath shewed me , happy art thou if thou canst receive it , that peace may be unto thee and not war , salvation and not condemnation , renown and not dishonour , which waits for thee , except thou turn to the lord . edward burrough . the original of this was delivered to him in the seventh moneth , 1657. to the protector and counsel . a servant of the lord , and to you a friend wisheth grace and wisdom , the spirit of sound judgement , and the knowledge of god unto you , that in all things true justice and righteous judgement may be brought forth , and abound unto all people , that you may be more honourable , and may be made a blessing to your selves and this nation , and to generations after you ; but alas my friends , how long shall justice and true judgement be neglected , and the innocent deeply groan for want thereof ? how long shall it be ere the distressed cry of the unjustly afflicted enter into your hearts , i say when shall your ear be bowed down to hearken to , and consider of the guiltless cause of many of the faithful subjects , who lies deeply afflicted through this nation , some under one cruel bond of oppression and some under another , being most unjustly and wickedly imposed upon them by cruel men , who perverts justice and turneth true judgement backwards , and neither fears god nor regards men , but contrary to justice and the good lawes of this land , as men without reason and natural affections to mankind , doth act most illegally , to the grievous oppression of many approved & faithful subjects , and the true knowledge and consideration hereof is enough to pierce the hardest heart , and to vex the most patient mind , and undoubtedly the fierce anger of the lord is greatly kindled because of these things , and even against your forbearance , who seems to take little notice of such cruelties and in justice when they are layed before you ; for you do not relieve the oppressed , neither doth remove oppressors as you ought to do , and as the lord requireth of you ; what , hath the abundance of this worlds glory and its treasure quite overcome and stollen away your hearts wholly from all sence and feeling of the unjust sufferings of your brethren , who have in times past as faithfully as your selves served their nation with their lives and estates , to the purchasing of this peace and freedom out of the hands of tyrants , and such may now justly claim the benefit of this peace and freedom , and to have a part with you therein , even by birth-right , and by purchase , and also by promise from some of your selves ? but alas , while they have waited for it and thought peaceably to enjoy the same under you , are many of them entrapped into as great bondage as ever , if not more woful and unjust , and they are unjustly imprisoned and unreasonably fined , and every way oppressively dealt withall , and are even spoiled in their persons and estates , & their lives often in danger , being through great injustice become a prey to their very enemies , who now takes occasion to revenge their former cause because of their faithfulness for the commonwealth against them , and all this is done while you look on , and no way shewing your dislike to these things , wch strengtheneth greatly the hands of evil doers , to add to the bonds of the afflicted , yet are you without excuse , for you are not wholly ignorant of these things , for the knowledge of them hath often been layed at your doors , yea and the very cry of these oppressions and cruelties reacheth through the whole land , to the wounding deeply of all people that fears god , to know so great injustice and oppression brought forth upon the innocent and faithful people , by some so far entrusted as having the law committed to them ; which they pervert and turns judgement backwards , and the greater is the wound because you who have power to stop and prevent these things , should no more regard to set at liberty the unjust sufferers , and to render judgement upon those as thus perverts true justice , by whom the land is filled with violence , whereby the name of the lord is greatly dishonoured , and the government greatly reproached in many parts of the world , why , because the faithful subjects cannot enjoy their birth-right priviledge , as they ought , according to the law of god and man ; for their equals , yea their inferiours have exalted themselves above and are become oppressors of the free born people , & divers ways doth these hainous oppressions & cruelties abound upon the innocent , and not for evil doing but for the exercise of their pure consciences towards god ; for many hath been taken travelling on the high way , and some out of peaceable meetings , and some out of their innes and friends houses , and by some wicked men in authority , without shewing just cause therefore , have just innocent men been whipped , or stocked , or imprisoned , or other cruelties done unto them , and yet the transgression of no just law truely charged against them , neither have been convicted of any evil doing , but they have suffered wholly innocently , onely through the malice and will and pleasure of their enemies , who have taken occasion without any just offence at all to stock and whip and imprison many of the true and faithful subjects , and this hath not been done in secret but openly in many parts of this nation , and you have had information of these things , that you should have been awakened to true justice & judgment , and this the lord requireth of you , though the guiltless sufferers have born all these things without complaining , yet ought you to have judged justly , according to their deeds , such as caused such cruelty and unjust sufferings , that for time to come the like might not have been brought forth , but the free subjects might live in peace , and rejoice under the government , and all perverters of judgment and justice might stand in awe and be afraid , so should you be a praise to ages after you , and likewise many who are at this present remaining in prisons in divers parts of this land , some upon one false accusation and evil surmizing , and some upon another , for a good conscience sake ; the cause of whom hath often bin laid before you , which seemed for the present to have some entrance upon you , yet little is brought forth by you as ought to be in that cause , for though none of any such doth complain unto you , who have and doth unjustly suffer , yet the lord doth require you to set the oppressed and falsely imprisoned at liberty , and to bring true judgment forth upon their persecutors ; also there is another suffering great and grievous growing upon many , if it be not prevented , many faithful and approved men are dispossessed of their freedom , which truly belongeth to them by the law of god and man in divers cities and corporations , because for conscience sake they cannot swear , by kissing the book and laying the hand upon it , according to the vain tradition in such causes formerly used ; though to deal justly towards god and man in their craft and science they are bound by the law of god , yet because they will not swear , and so break christs commands , are they threatned , and their windows shut up , and dis-priviledged of their trading , whereby they should maintain themselves and families in the creation ; and this one thing tendeth to the destruction of many , as in this world , and no little hurt will thereby grow to the whole nation in a generation of time , and it is required of you by the lord to prevent these sufferings , though many can forgo their own freedom in this world , and their lives also , rather then break the least command of christ , and thus are many faithful people made a very prey to their enemies , and in divers manners it is brought forth upon them ; for many also suffers deeply in the house of correction , for reproving sin , and others are grievously spoil'd in their estates , because for conscience sake they cannot pay to maintain a professed minister , or uphold a steeple-house , for it is a common thing for a priest to take ( or have it done ) four or five times so much by distress as any way he can prove a pretended due ; and many other sufferings there are , which are only for conscience sake , as because some cannot put off a hat to a magistrate , or the like ; which gives an ill savour to the government in which they are acted without reproof . ah my friends ! be awakened to justice and true judgment , to relieve such unjust sufferers , and to throw down all such hainous oppressions and oppressors , that the lord may yet make you and your government blessed , after his long suffering to you which hath been great ; for justice and true judgement in a government is the happiness thereof , and the foundation for a long continuance ; and on the contrary , cruelty , and injustice , and oppression being brought forth , the more is the government unhappy and accursed , and the sooner will the lord overthrow it , and bring it to a desolate end ; and therefore my friends , let this great enemy to your persons , government and whole nation , to wit , persecution for conscience sake , be speedily removed , least the anger of the lord break forth against you , and repentance be too late , for this know , in all ages the lord stretched forth his hand , and in his time he quickly avenged himself for his peoples sake , after their innocent sufferings born by them for a season , and he is the same and changeth not , and the same will he bring to pass ; therefore i say again , be awakned , and let that deadly enemy be removed out of the land , as you tender your own safety and honour , and the glory of the name of the lord , and his peoples peace , even this very enemy , to wit , persecution for conscience sake , for it doth and will obstruct all your good purposes at home and abroad ; it eats away the affections of all good people from you , and it eats out your strength and valour , and it consumes the weakness of all your enemies ; verily , it is an enemy that will work your destruction speedily , both in this world and in the world to come , that of god in ye all shall witness me in the day of the lord ; i am your friend , and these things do i write as a friend unto you , as to warn you of that secret enemy , so much reigning and rebelling in this nation , which indeed may work a greater distruction upon you then any forreign invader , and this in time you may witness to your grief and sorrow , if something by you be not done to suppress it ; all health and peace i wish unto you in the lord , and thus far am i clear from the blood of you and all men , come life or death . edward burrough . the several copies of this was delivered to oliver and his counsel , in the 12th month , in the year 1657 : oh! oliver , hadst thou been faithful , and thundred down the deceipt , the hollander had been thy subject , and tributers ; and germany had given up to have done thy will ; and the spaniard had quivered like a dry leaf , wanting the vertue of god ; the king of france should have bowed under thee his neck ; the pope should have withered as in winter ; the turk in all his fatness should have smoaked ; thou shouldst not a stood trifling about small things , but minded the work of the lord , as he began with thee at first ; sober men and true hearts took part with thee . oh! take heed , and do not slight such , least thou weaken thy self , and not disown such as the lord hath owned , thy dread is not yet all gone , nor thy amazement ; arise and come out , for hadst thou been faithful , thou shouldst have crumbled nations to dust , for that had been thy place ; now is thy day of trial , take heed of joining hands with the wicked against the innocent , but hear the voice of god , and that will keep thee from hardness of heart , and mind the law of god , with which thou maist answer that of god in every one , and his fear and his dread to be in thy family , and that thou maist come to break the jawes of the wicked , that rends the innocent ; and that thou maist be eyes to the blind , and legs to the lame , and an help to them that cannot help themselves ; and take heed that any of thy servants that be under thy dominion of quenching the spirit , or limiting the holy one , but wait for the wisdom of god , that with it thou maist order all to gods glory , and all his creatures , by which wisdom they were created and made , and that thou maist find the blessing of the lord god with thee ; and take heed of flatterers , and take heed of wild light spirits , that will speak thee fair , but mind sober men , for there is mischief in many minds ; but if thou be kept in the power of god , and live in it , thou wilt live over all , and stop and cross and tread under the intents of wicked men ; and take heed in any thing they be not thy executioners , for now thou hast time , prize it . a lover of thy soul , and thy eternal good , and for establishing peace and righteousness amongst the people . g. fox . the original copy of this was delivered to him the 11th month , in the year 1657. dear friend , be still , and in the counsel of god stand , and that will give thee wisdom , that thou maist frustrate mens end , and calm mens spirits , and crumbel men under , and arise and stand up in the power of the lord god , the lambs authority , and fear not the face of man , but fear and dread the lord god , then his presence and wisdom and counsel thou shalt have to throw down the rubbish , and quell all the bad spirits under thy dominion , and fear them about thee ; live in the lords power and life , then to thee he will give wisdom , and the pure feeling thou wilt come into , whereby thy soul will be refreshed , and it will be thy delight to do the will of god , and thy meat and drink , as thou in the pure eternal power , counsel , will and wisdom of god dwells , things all will be made plain before thee , and to thee from the lord god , in what thou doest for the lord god thou shalt have peace and the blessing , and in that so doing , all the sober true hearted people will be one with thee in travels , sorrows and pains , and then in that a blessing from the lord will come upon thee , will abound to thee and cover thee , as thou lives and art kept in the power and dread of the lord god of heaven and earth , where wisdom is not wanting , nor peace lacking , but peace enjoyed , and counsel and instruction from the lord god given , and the helping arm and hand that stretcheth over all the nations in the world , thou wilt feel it , and with that thou wilt come to break down all mens ends that they have to themselves , and the worships that men invent , and images they have set up , for the arm of the lord helps the righteous , by his hand he carries the lambs , which arm is turned against the wicked stretched over them , and the hand of the lord is against them that do evil , in which hand the soul is , and brings it into peace ; therefore live in the power of the lord god , and feel his hand that is stretched out over the nations , for a mighty work hath the lord to do in other nations , and their quakings and shakings is but entering . so this is the word of the lord god to thee , and a charge to thee from the lord god , in the presence of the lord god , live in the power of the lord god of heaven and earth , that will make all nations to tremble and quake , for those be gods enemies that be out of his power and counsel , and be thou faithful to god singlely , without respecting any mans person , but respect the lord and his work , and be obedient to his will singlely , without any end to thy self , living in the pure wisdom , counsel and instruction from god , then wilt thou see gods enemies that live out of gods wisdom , power and counsel , fall in their pits , snare themselves , fear where there is no fear , slaying themselves with their envy , and the power of the lord will clear all the wicked off of thee , as thou lives in it , and art kept in it , and this is the word of the lord god to thee , and live in the wisdom and life of god , that with it thou maist be ordered to his glory , and order his creatures to his glory , and be still and silent from thy own wisdom , wit , craft , subtilty or policy that would arise in thee , but stand single to the lord , without any end to thy self , then god will bless thee , and prosper thee in his wayes , thou wilt feel his blessing in thy generation , and thy mind stayed upon the lord , thou wilt be kept in perfect peace , without any intent to thy self , to the glory of the lord god , and there wilt thou feel no want , nor a failing nor forsaking , but the presence of the lord god of life with thee ; for now the state of this present age is , the lord is a bringing his people into the life which the scriptures were given forth from , in which his people shall come to have unity with god , with the scriptures , and one with another , for their establishing is in righteousnes , truth and peace , in which is the kindom of god . from a lover of thy soul , and eternal good . g. f. for the protector . friend , the salutation of my life wisheth well unto thee in the lord , and most especially that thy precious soul may be reedeemed out of death to god , and live , that thou mayest have a rest and habitation in him , when this world is no more . now whereas it is a general out-cry among the teachers and people of this nation , and also is doubted and hath been sometime objected by thy self , that the people called quakers are deluded and deceived , and in errour , and such like ; and now if it be possible that thy self and and others may be resolved concerning us ; put therefore all thy objections and doubtings into plain positions , or let the wisest of thy teachers do it for thee , and whatsoever thy self or any for thee can object against us , or what thou doubtest of , or stumblest at , either in respect of our doctrines or practice , let the matter be stated in plain words , in positions or queries , and if god permit , a sufficient answer thou maist receive , to remove all conscienceous scruples , and to confound all subtile alleadgments and evasions , whereby hereafter for ever thou maist be altogether inexcusable of all doubting or speaking against us , or suffering evil to be done or spoken against us upon that account ; and this am i moved to give forth and send to thee , that thou maist be satisfied , and all things tried and made manifest in the sight of all men , and that all rash judgement and false supposition , which lodgeth in the hearts of many , may be confounded and brought to nought , and let it be left off , to cry out deceivers and heresie , &c. and causing any to suffer upon suspition thereupon , but bring all things to light and true judgement , that what is proved to be the truth may be owned , and not persecuted any more , for we are willing to be made manifest to all men , and if any thing be objected against us , which may not be sufficiently answered and resolved to sober men , then our enemies are more free , and hath whereof to glory in against us ; but and if all occasions of stumbling be removed by answers according to the scriptures , and our principles , practices and doctrines thereby vindicated , then let all the teachers and all our adversaries shut their mouths from biting at us , and railing against us , and accusing of us to thee , and let thy ear be shut from believing lyes against the innocent , and let none suffer in thy dominion under the cruelty of men upon such a ground ; and hereof i should be glad to receive an answer , and to joyn issue in this cause , and in the mean time alwayes am a lover of thy soul , but a witness against all oppression ; e. burrough . this was delivered to his hands at hampton court , in the 4th month 1658. for the protector . friend , know that there is a god that doth whatsoever he will , all power is in his hand , and he bringeth to pass the counsel of his own heart , and he rules in the kingdoms of men , & bringeth down & setteth up , he killeth & maketh alive , & he changeth times & seasons & governments , & bringeth to nought the counsels of men , for all power in earth and in heaven is in him ; and all his doings are right , and his wayes are equal ; and thou and all mankind are as clay in the hand of the potter , he can honour and exalt as he pleaseth , and he can mar and break to pieces and dishonour whensoever he will , wherefore be humble and low in heart before him , for he is the highest power that subdueth all things under his feet ; if he wound who can heal ? and if he kill there is none can make alive ; and know thou it is the lord god almighty that doth this ; in whose hands are the issues of life and death , and he it is who can break thee down and build thee up , who can wound thee and restore thee , and bring thee to destruction , and say unto thee return , and to know him that doth this , belongs to thy eternal peace . wherefore hearken thou to the word of the lord , that thy soul may come out of death and live ; and fear the lord god , before whom thy heart is naked and bare ; who can mould thee and change thee , and fulfill his pleasure upon thee , even according to his own will , and who shall say what doth he ? and now come to consideration , and let thy heart be more upright before him , & chuse his way and counsel , that he may blesse thee , and seek his face to behold his countenance , that thy soul may be satisfied by his word , and the milk of the word may nourish thee unto life immortal , and mind his pure presence which is life , even god with thee ; christ the immanuel to dwell with and walk in thee ; which is the promise of the father ; and first come to the principle of god , and feel the word of god in thy heart , that will beat down the nature into which temptations enters , and the word will bring thee to war against and to overcome all thy enemies , which would defile thee or betray thee ; and it will bring thee to know a birth immortal born in thee , and a crown immortal received from god that dies not nor fades not away , and then he that rules over heaven and earth will be thy shepherd to feed thee , and thy teacher to guide thee , and thy counsellour to direct thee in all things ; and thy immortal soul will be satisfied with the bread that cometh down from heaven which the father giveth , and the covenant of god and the mercies of david that are sure will be revealed , and his promise fulfilled in thee ; and life and immortality brought to light through the gospel which is the power of god , which destroyes and puts off , and confounds the first man and his knowledge ; and wisdom , and his sin and righteousness , all which is in transgression against the life of god , and the gospel the power of god being received , it will raise up the seed of god in thee , and bring thee to know the second adam , the image of the father which the devil hath nothing in , but he overcomes the devil who hath been the lamb slain by transgression , since the foundation of the world ; and he it is that comes out of death that must take away thy sin and destroy it , and cover thy nakedness , and create thee a new , and give thee acceptance in the father whereby thy soul in him may be refreshed , and a habitation in him thou maist have when this world is no more , and for this thou oughtest to wait above all things . and friend , thou hast need of the wisdom of god , which is from heaven to guide thee in all thy affairs , that by it thou may be preserved from the will of thine enemies , and from all that hate thee , that their eye may be blinded that watch for evil , and their wisdom and policy confounded and brought to nought that hatches mischief against thee ; so feel a measure of the wisdom of god in thee to guide thee in dread and authority , and thy enemies will be afraid ; for to walk in the fear of the lord and in his wisdom and authority , in justice , truth and righteousness , that will make thee a greater terrour unto thy enemies then all worldly policy and craft ; the nations will over reach thee , if thy strength be there , and if judgement , justice and righteousness be neglected by thee , how should the lord honour thee and defend thee ; nay he will bring dishonour , and give thee into the will of thy enemies ; for want of truth and just judgement causeth a land to mourn , and her people to sit as a widow comfortless , wherefore love judgement , truth and righteousness , and walk therein , and thou wilt leave a praise behind thee and a witness to other ages that thou hast served the lord in thy generation , and then thy memorial shall never die , nor thy name come into reproach among the heathen ; wherefore let all oppression be removed , and let the just go free , and let judgement and righteousness run down , and be thou a praise and a blessing to all that do well , and a rerrour and a dread to all the contrary ; arise and stand up for the lord , and he will give thee strength and victory , and will make thy horn as iron and thy hoof as brass to push down down and tread under the high places of idolatry , in all the apostatized churches both papists and others out of the life of the apostles , and as thou comes into the life the apostles were in , then thou wilt see and fathome over all this profession of christ , and all these churches that are without the life of christ which is come up in the apostacy , and as the life of god ariseth in thee thou wilt see who the false prophets are and deceivers which christ prophesied of should come , and iohn saw were come in his dayes , which hath over-spread the nations , and these are they which hath the sheeps cloathing upon them ; but inwardly they are ravening wolves , and such are they that will flatter thee for great benefits and places , and large maintenance , they have christs words and the apostles words , the sheeps cloathing , but they that put not into their mouthes they will prepare war against them , and raven upon them , cast their bodies into prison or spoil their goods ; and wilt thou bring thy name into dishonour to all the saints upon earth , by defending of these in their evil wayes , thou oughtest not to do it , nor to suffer the innocent to be troden down and destroyed for denying such , and witnessing against them that are out of the life of christ , and a great overthrow will the lord make among those teachers , and such a ministry that need to be defended by carnal weapons , and by stockes and prisons ; for such teachers and ministry is not of christ , as is manifest ; and as people have been scattered after them for ages , so they shall again be gathered from them by the spirit , to follow the lamb whethersoever he goes . and take heed these teachers come not too near thee , neither put confidence in them , for their hearts are not right before the lord ; and they will flatter thee while they hatch evil against thee , but stand over them in the dominion of god ; and if they sow spiritual things , let them reap carnal by a free gift , and if they have flocks let them eat of the milk freely given them , and if they have planted any thing let them eat the fruit , as it comes freely , and be not thou combered about maintaining ministers , but free thy self of that burthen , neither suffer innocent men to be troden down and destroyed in their persons and estates about the maintaining of such teachers , which is become the grievousest oppression in the nation . and as concerning thy family , thou hast need of gods wisdom to guide thee , that thou mayest rule in gods authority over all light , loose , proud , wanton , ungodly , and deceitful persons ; take heed of such spirits , for they will be a temptation to thee to draw thee into evil , and into the world out from god , let no such be thy companions , nor remain in thy house , lest they betray thee with flatteries and honour which perisheth , and such professe much love and great duty in words , yet they being out of the fear of the lord , cannot be blessed unto thee in their service ; wherefore love such men and let them be thy companions that fear the lord ; and that are solid and sober and upright , such as may be good examples before thee , which will quench evil and not increase it in thee ; and though such appear not in flatteries towards thee nor with a double minde , yet they will be faithful to thee , and such will the lord blesse unto thee ; and let no drunkards nor covetous , evil minded persons that seeks themselves and not the lord have place with thee , for they will be a dishonour to thee , and bring the curse into thy family : and love such as makes conscience of their words & ways , and be not an oppressor of the tender conscience of any , but let the lord be ruler there both in thy self & in all thy family ; and be of a pittiful , tender mind and spirit towards strangers and all people ; and be kind and long suffering towards all , yet let justice reach to all transgressors , and be an example to all in authority under thee ; and let not evil and cruel hearted men bear any place , for such renders thee and thy government dishonourable , and by such the land is filled with violence , and the just mourns , whereby the blessing is kept far away , & the curse near , ready to devour : now friend , if thou come to be guided by the spirit , and with the wisdom of the father , then thou wilt bring the nations into good order , whereby the inhabitants may live in peace and perfect freedom from all oppressions and vexations that now is a bondage upon the just and upright , for there is great corruption entered into all places , and sorts of men , and when the lord toucheth thy heart and makes thee rightly sencible of all things as now they stand , then thou wilt see the ministry as now it stands to be quite degenerated from what the ministry of christ was in the dayes of the apostles , before the apostacie ; and as it now stands there is much of it which is to be thrown down to the ground , and crushed to pieces ; for it s corrupted altogether , even in the way of its setting up and of its call ; and in the way of its maintenance and practice , in all these things it is corrupted and degenerated from what the ministry of christ was before the apostacy ; and this may be proved by the scriptures , and so it is not to be upholden by thee , but to be corrected and thrown down the rather . and likewise in magistracy , thou wilt see great corruption entered , and abundance to be purged out , for it is much degenerated from the state as it was ordained of god , and in the lawes there is much to regulate and correct , when thou comes to the principle of god in thee ; if ever that arise in thee , it will bring thee to thresh down and trample down all unjust men that handles the law , and all such that judge for gifts and rewards ; and all such lawyers that devours the innocent for gifts , that will not plead the cause of the poor without great fees ; and all the priests that preach for hire , and the teachers that teach for filthy lucere and to get gain , all such men will be counted as bryers and thorns by thee , to be plucked up by the roots , and to be cut up as evil trees which cumbers the ground , for such doth corrupt the land and cumbers it ; and if ever the lord doth arise in thee he will reward them by thee according to their wayes , whose wayes are corrupt before the lord . and as concerning thy war and armies abroad in spain , something there is in it known to the lord , seek not thy own honour in it , but be faithful , and leave the issue of all things to the lord ; make no covenant with idolators , but tread down their idol gods that they have set up , and hew down their mountains in which their confidence stands , and plow up their ground that the seed may be sowen after thee : its honour enough to be the lords plowman , be thou faithful in what the lord calls thee to , and thou shalt have thy reward , and seek his honour and he will honour thee ; and let thy mind be to the lord in all things , and feel his word and power and presence in thee , to quench all that which is contrary , and then thou wilt be blessed in this life and in the life to come ; but if thou continue in thy oppression , the lord will suddenly smite thee . by a friend unto thee in the lord , e. burrough . this was given to oliver cromwel his hands at hampton court in the 6 mon. 1658. about a moneth before his death . for oliver cromwel . friend , the lord hath visited thy house , because thou hast suffered thy servants , to smite the servants of the lord , and lambs of christ , and prisoned his lambs , and sons , and daughters , some until death ; therefore thy sons , and daughters , and servants will i take away with death , and visit thee and and thy house with sicknesse saith the lord , and thou shalt know that i am the lord who reigns ; therefore spare my sons and daughters , that i may spare thee and thy house , and that thou mayest know that i am the lord ; oh! how art thou fallen under men ? and thy house will suffer as long as my sons and daughters and servants suffers by thee and thy servants , and die in prison , and you not visiting them , nor suffer their own friends to visit them ; therefore take heed least thou become as weak as water . and friend , thou shouldest have invited all the christians upon earth in all nations that are against popery to thee , to come in and joyn with thee against popery , for thou hast had authority , stand to it , loose it not , nor abuse it , nor let any other take thy crown , and do not stand cumbering thy self about dirty priests that flatter thee for means , for thou hast had fair warnings , and thou hast had power over nations , for nations begins to be upon heaps , and nations and tongues , and multitudes are waters , and the beast hath power over them who hath long reigned , and they begin to swell , and the whore sits upon them ; neverthelesse , do not thou heed nor fear them , nor be of a doubtful mind , neither fear their amazements , but let thy heart be single to god , and wait , that the seed of god in thee may come until the top stone be layed , and invite all them that professe against the pope in all nations to joyn with thee against him , and do not loose thy dominion nor authority , nor the wisdom of god , but with that thou may order all , that will keep thee single in heart and mind to the lord , and let thy souldiers go forth with a free willing heart , that thou may rock nations as a cradle , and keep thou in the fear of the lord , and all thy souldiers , and them that be under thee , this is a charge to thee in the presence of the lord god , that thou nor them may lose the dread of the lord , for that is it that strikes terror in the hearts of all people , and set all the prison doors open for them to come forth that are imprisoned for churches and ministers maintenance , and worship , and learn the pacience , for the lords work is begun already in other nations , and the patient spirit remaines in the lords work , for that is it that tries , stands and abides , which gets the victory , and obtains the crown ; if any hurt come to thee , it will be through thy disobedience to the lord . i am a lover of thy soul and eternal good , an establisher of righteousnesse . g. fox . written the tenth of the 6th month , 1657. this is for the protectors kindred , his wife and children , to be read soberly by them in the fear of god . friends , remember , that by the lord you were raised from a low state , and when he will , he can abase you and bring you down , he gave you the palace of princes , and threw out the high and mighty before you , because of their wickednesse , which was great in the sight of the lord . oh , remember this every one of you , and come to the witnesse of god in you , and be humble , and meek , and lowly , and let the lords fear be in your hearts , and be of a tender spirit , having your mindes exercised in purity , in holinesse , and in righteousnesse , and exalt not your selves , nor be lifted up in your hearts in the pride and vain glories and honours of this world , least the lord cast you down , and make your name and posterity a reproach , as he hath done many before you , even for that cause was the generations of the stewarts cast out , and if you walk in the same steps , and do the same things , and become guilty of the same abominations , and suffer the children and servants of the lord to be persecuted ( as many are at this day , some until death ) shall the lord spare you ? nay , he will cause you to feel his hand of judgement , and bring you down with sorrow , and he will vex you in his wrath , and smite you with his rod more and more , till you learn his fear , and depart from all your iniquities , and the lord will deface your glory , and pull down your crown , and he will make you know that he is the lord that doth whatsoever he will ; wherefore humble your selves under the hand of god , and search your own hearts , and cast out the abhominations that vexeth the spirit of the lord , and suffer not the people of the lords pretious flock to be devoured , and made a prey to the wicked , for because of this , the rod of affliction cometh upon you , and may suddenly break you to pieces ; but mind the seed of god in you , which is oppressed , and wait to know the power of the lord which will redeem you out of sin and death , and reconcile you to god , and bring you into fellowship with himself , to enjoy peace and rest for your soules , that you may be made heires of the inheritance of an endlesse life , and this would make you truly honourable , and will be more satisfaction to you , and joy and content , and true rejoycing , then all worldly crowns and worldly glories , which will waste and consume away , and leave you miserable ; and remember that you are now warned from the lord god , by whom i am moved to write this unto you in dear and tender love to you all , and one day you shall witnesse it : and as concerning the quakers ( so called ) who are accounted as vile in the sight of men , and are cast out of all power and place in the nation , being despised of all , and also are reproached , persecuted , and imprisoned , and all manner of evil and injustice unrighteously done and spoken against them ( by wicked and corrupt men in authority ) yet are they the children and servants of the living god , and greatly beloved of him , and are as dear to him as the apple of his eye , and his power and presence is with them , and the time is at hand that the lord will make their persecutors fall , and their enemies bow and tremble , though now they suffer unjustly , and are troden down , as not deserving a place on the earth , yet it is for righteousnesse sake , and because they shew forth the image of the father , and not for evil doing ; and will not their sufferings lie upon you ? for many hundred have suffered cruel and great things , and some the losse of life , though not by , ( yet in the name of the protector ) and about a hundred at this present day lies in holes and dungeons , and prisons up and down the nation , and some at this time are sick nigh unto death , whose sufferings cries for vengeance , and the lord heareth the cry ; wherefore save your selves , and let the innocent be delivered , and the cruel bonds of oppression broken , and the exercise of a pure conscience go free without persecution , and then the lord will turn away his anger , and cease to smite you with his rod which hath been upon you , and he will give you peace , and make you blessed if you come to be lead by his spirit into all truth ▪ and though these innocent lambs of christ suffer thus under this present power , yet are they not enemies to you , but are friends to your persons and families , and pitties you , and loves you , and desires well for you in the lord , that you may repent and be healed , and even that your hearts may be opened , to receive refreshments to your souls , and that you may be established in righteousness and truth over all your enemies , and may not be confounded , nor your posterity brought into reproach , which is hastening upon you , and though our love be disputed & we accounted hateful in your sight ; and looked upon with derision ; yet we bare all things in patience , truly desiring your returning and repentance , and not your destruction , but if these doleful sufferings of the lords poor lambs be continued by this present power , it will destroy you and undo you , and break you , and confound you ; and the lord will not cease to smite you with his rod of sharp rebukes , and he will make you know his peoples cause shall not be unpunished , oh did you but know how hundreds have and do suffer , how the bodies of some have been tortured by stocks and cruel whippings , and how some lies sick in stinking holes and dungeons on the ground , or a little straw at best ; ten or often more in a prison together ; and sometimes their own friends not suffered to come to visit them with necessaries ; oh did but your eyes behold , or your hearts perceive the greatness of the cruelty which some of the lords dear servants and your faithful friends undergo , it would make your hearts ake , and your spirits to tremble , and all this is done in the name and under the authorty of ( protector ) therefore how should the lord but lay it to your charge and afflict him and his family ; he will make you know there is a god , that can do whatsoever he will , and that life and death are in his hand , and all creatures are as clay in the hand of a potter , and he rules in the kingdoms of men , and pulleth down one , and setteth up another according to his pleasure , but if the love of god be with-holden from you , it is because of disobedience to him , and your transgression ; wherefore be obedient to him , and love his wayes and judgements , that he may make you more happy , with a crown immortal that never fades away ; and remember once more the lord hath warned you , by a friend unto you in the lord , e. burrough . written the 1. day of the 7. month , called sept. 1658. copies of this were delivered to divers of his children and kindred the day before he died . to thee , richard cromwel ( called ) protector of these nations , is this moved of the lord god of heaven and earth , to be written for thy instruction from him . there is a great & mighty & innumerable people come & coming up out of aegypts land , travelling towards the land of rest , promised of the lord to them , to be obtained and enjoyed by them , and they do and have sojourned strangers in these nations ( over whom thou art called to rule , and appointed chief governour ) this 7 years , and greatly are and have they been afflicted and oppressed , and even trodden down through unjust judgment and unrighteous dealing , by the rulers and inhabitants of the land ; and all the dayes of thy father the late protector , they were held in great captivity and bondage , and unrighteous men made them a prey , and layed heavy yoaks of cruel sufferings upon them , and daily increased their task ; and something thy father did for them in their journey of great distress , yet but a little of what the lord required of him , and what the lord looked for that he might have done , for power was in his hands given him of the lord , but he was not fully obedient ; and therefore was the lords hand stretched out somewhat against him and his family , and he was smitten of the lord , and suddenly taken away in judgment , for he hearkened not to the counsel of the lord concerning that people , neither did fully relieve them from oppression , but slighted many warnings from the lord , & the day of his visitation passed over , and death took him away in disobedience , while this people were yet under great oppressions , for he left above a hundred of them in prisons , unjustly suffering for ●●righteousness sake , and not for evil-doing ; and in this he fulfilled not the will of god , but left his name and glory somewhat stained , because of these things ; and though the lord chose him , and shewed love unto him , and gave him power over his enemies , and made him an instrument in his hand to break down great oppressions , yet he was not obedient to the end , to do my will saith the lord , but left something undone which he was truly called unto . now this innumerable people that is come and coming up , as aforesaid , are them called quakers , and this aegypts land , is that great darkness , ignorance , and wickedness , and false ways and worships in the apostacy , and fleshly bondage to sin and death , which all the world , and kindreds , and multitudes that are unconverted to god lives and walks in ; and that land of rest promised , to which they travel , is , the peaceable and quiet dwelling with the lord , free from the heavy oppression of sin and iniquity and cruelties of men , and free in the exercise of their pure consciences by the spirit of the lord , as it shall move and lead them into all truth ; and their sojourning as strangers , is , their denying and despising the world , and all its glories , and walking in the daily cross of christ , whereby they are crucified to the love , and respect , and renown and honours of the world , and are come out of kindreds , tongues and people , counting the reproach for christ great riches , not respecting men , but the lord altogether in all things , and also their suffering unrighteusly , false imprisonment , and spoiling of their goods for righteousness sake , this is their sojourning as strangers ; and that something , that thy father did for them , is , he released many of them divers times out of prisons , where they were unjustly cast , and he signified sometimes his displeasure against them that made them suffer , and shewed love to them in hearing their innocent cause , with some respect thereunto ; and that which he did not , which he might have done , is , he took not away tithes , that cause of great oppression to many , nor the unrighteous laws wholly as he ought to have done , and as the lord required of him : and know thou from the lord , that this same people are the people of the lord , and beloved of him , and as dear to him , as the apple of his eye , and his presence is with them , and he leads them as a flock by his spirit into all truth , and who shall bless them shall be blessed , but he that acts against them shall not prosper , but be smitten of the lord , for their cause will the lord plead in his judgments , and avenge them of their enemies , and the dread of the lord god shall fall heavy upon the heads of their persecutors , and though they are hated of all men , and are under great afflictions , yet are they a just people , and innocent , seeking the good of all men , and are peaceable towards all , and receiving all manner of wrongs and evil , and speakings against them by ungodly men ; but they render to no man evil for evil , but bless them that curse , and do good to their enemies , and bears all things from all men in long suffering and patience for they are learned in the practices ( of doing and suffering ) of the holy apostles and prophets , and are of the seed of abraham , who was the friend of god , and they were thy fathers friends , and are not enemies to thee , nor to righteous government , but wishes well unto thee in the lord , and that thou may not be destroyed in wickedness , but be established in righteousness and peace in thy government , to rule in gods authority over all wicked men that may seek thy hurt ; and we desire for thee , that the lord may give thee wisdom & a perfect understanding , and the spirit of just and sound judgment , to judge righteously in all things , and to settle the government in true judgment , that the principle of god in every man may answer to it , in defending and preserving and protecting all that walk in truth and righteousness , and being a terrour to all evil-doers ; for , for that end is rule and government ordained of god amongst men , to be a praise to all that do well , and a terrour to all that do evil ; and now the lord having suffered it to be brought to pass , that thou art set up in thy fathers stead to be chief ruler amongst men , this the lord god almighty requires of thee , as thou hopes to prosper and be blessed in this life , and to enjoy life eternal when this world is passed away ; and this is the word of the lord god unto thee , be humble , meek and lowly in heart , and exalt not thy own horn , nor seek not this worlds honour , but seek the lord with thy whole heart , and let justice and true judgment and righteous government ( which is according to the law of god ) be set up and exalted in the nations , and come to know in thy self the dominion and authority of the lord god over sin and transgression , and to keep down and condemn all that which is contrary to god in thy own heart , and that will make thee a dread and a terrour to men and nations , and then the lord will be thy crown , and his people will rejoice in thee , and lift up their hearts to god for thee ; if thou throw down and abolish all unrighteous lawes and decrees , which have been set up in the days of ignorance , and yet stands , wherereby the lords dear children are afflicted and oppressed at this day , and establish such a government which is justly according to god , in which righteousness and truth , justice and true judgement may run down , and all the contrary may be stopped and chained , and limited and confounded ; and then that which thy father left undone , the lord will fulfil through thee , and doing these things , the lord would make thee truly honourable and happy , and blessed in this life and in the life to come ; but in doing the contrary , the lord will make thee a curse , and take thee away in his judgements , and thy name shall be left a reproach to ages for ever ; and if thou do rule in oppression and cruelty , and suffer the innocent to be destroyed for want of true judgement ; then shall thy dayes be fewer then thy fathers ; if thou be disobedient to him , the lord shall cut thee off , and thy memorial shall rot ; and this is the word of the lord god to thee . and as for this afflicted & sojourning people , they desire nothing to thee but truth & peace & righteousness , & no more of thee but justice , justice and true judgement , and that they and their little ones , which to them are brought forth , may sojourn in peace , and quietly pass through the nations , till they come up to the land of promise , and they may not carry away of the glory , nor riches of this world with them , nor seek great places of honour from thee , nor be hurtful to thee , nor the people , nor to mankind in their sojourning , only what the lord commands them , that they must do , and what he forbids , that they must not do , for they have chosen the lord to be their leader , and to give him their obedience in all things , and thy government so far as it is according to god , they will not destroy nor rebel against , but are true friends thereunto , & subject in all things ; and if thou walk with the lord , and chuse him for thy counsellor , and abase thy self , and altogether exalt him , and preserve his people that fear him , then shalt thou prosper , and thy name shall be greater then was thy fathers & the numberless number of this ( now ) distressed people will be unto thee a strength , and stand by thee in thy day of trouble , and defend thee and thy just government , and their hearts shall cleave to thee , and thou shalt prosper for their sakes , and none of thy enemies shall shall have power over thee to destroy thee , though many may seek for thy life ; wherefore my friend awake , awake , and now consider the day of thy visitation is present , and thy fathers is past , and now thou hast a time to gain unto thy self everlasting honour and renown , or otherwise to leave thy name a curse and a reproach for evermore ; do thou hearken to the voice of the lord , and fear his dreadful name , and bow before our god that made heaven and earth , who rules in the kingdoms of men , and pulleth down one , and setteth up another at his pleasure , and as he will , and he will make thee know that he lives and reigns over all , and doth whatsoever he will , and if he smite thee , none shall heal thee , and if he wound thee , none shall comfort thee ; therefore take him for thy counsellor , and beware of the wicked counsels of men , for thou hast many enemies , and they would rejoice to see thy fall , and if the lord be not on thy side , thou cannot long stand , but if thou be obedient to him , and preserve his people , and break down all oppression , then thy enemies shall fall , and thy foot shall tread them down , and the terrour of the lord shall be upon all that hate thee ; but thus shall it be done unto thee , if thou be disobedient to him , and reject his counsel by his servant . i am thy friend , and a lover of thy soul , and seeks thy happiness in this world , and in the world to come , known to many by of the name of edward burrough . the original of this was delivered to him , a few days after he was proclaimed protector . to richard cromwel , protector ( so called . ) friend , thou being chief magistrate of these nations , and dominions belonging thereunto , carry thy self wisely in the fear of god , and take heed of being lifted up , but be low , and grave and temperate , then thou wilt foresee dangers that would happen to thee , and come upon thee , and not a plot or act against thee , but wisdom foresees ; live in that ; mind the humility of moses , the meekness of moses , and the humility that solomon the king speaks of , who sayes , that before honour was the humility , prov. 15. and keep on thy own leggs , in the power and strength of the lord , waiting for his wisdom from above , by which all things were made and created , with which wisdom thou mayest be ordered to gods glory , and all thou hast under thy hand to his glory , that with it thou maist feel the blessing of the lord god of glory and life with thee , whereby thou maist come to see the law of god , and counsel and wisdom and strength from him , and understanding and knowledge , that with the law of god received of him , thou maist come to answer the principle of god in every man , which law of god , the higher power , goes over all transgressors , and with that order the creation , which will let thee see as it did moses that meek man , before any transgression was , the first transgression upon the earth ; this law the higher power to which the soul must be subject , the which is a terrour to the evil-doers , a praise to them that do well , is higher then all the transgressors & evil-doers upon the earth , and a terrour to them that do evil , which law and higher power answers the principle of god in every one that do evil , which goes from that of god in them . now this is for the praise of them that do well , for them that do well are led by the spirit of god , and such lives in the power , and this law was not made for the righteous , but for sinners and transgressors ; now there is no sinner nor transgressor upon the earth , but first goes from the principle of god in his own particular , then he goes out of the fear of god , and loses his wisdom and counsel , and such will turn the sword backward against the righteous , which the law was not made for , and by such hath all the righteous upon earth suffered , and such hath been all the persecutors upon the earth from the foundation of the world , that is first gone from the principle of god in their own selves , and have been in authority , they have persecuted the just , and turned it against the just , and made a prey of such as reproves in the gate ; yea , they that departs from sin and evil , comes to be their scorn , and these were they that made men offenders for a word , and compelled others to do such things which they could not , but sin against their own consciences , and against the lord , and such the lord soon cut down , and cut off , and swept away ; and often when things are young , they are tender , but when they grow up into prosperity , they grow wanton , and forget the lord ; therefore friend , live in gods wisdom , if thou wilt reign in his power and strength , then none shall touch thee , and all them that fear god , will be on thy side , and take thy part , and be one with thee in all thy sufferings , yea , till death . and friend , let no wilde raw flatterers that will be lifted up by gifts , rewards or high places bear any offices , for such to thee will be a burthen at last , and will clog thee , and flatter thee for their own ends ; shake off such spirits from thee , and let no judges or justices or priest be authorized that will persecute men for religion , for such are not in the mind of christ not the apostles , for they wrestled not with flesh and blood , nor watred with it , but with the principalities and powers and rulers of darkness , and spiritual wickedness in high places , eph. 6. 2. that they struck down , which caused the enmity amongst people , and they did not strike at the creatures , nor wrestle with them with flesh and blood , with such they did not war withal concerning religion ; and christ , when they would have had fire come down from heaven to consume them that opposed him and them , christ rebuked them , and told them , they knew not what spirit they were of , and he said , he did not come to destroy mens lives , but to save them ; so all judges and justices and priests , that will have mens lives destroyed , and war with flesh and blood , and wrestle with that about religion , they are not of the mind of christ and his apostles the true ministers , for abundance of prisonment to death and blood-shed hath been in these nations , by the blind zeal of magistrates , judges , justices & priests ; therefore that 's the cause the lord hath turned them upside down , that they stand not long , because they fight against the righteous and the just , and wrestle with creatures , and flesh and blood , such are not worthy to have the names of magistrates nor teachers , as thou maist read . and friend , take heed of letting any goaler bear office that 's a drunkard , prophane swearers , as many of them is , or letting people lye long in goales , twenty or thirty together , for such they learn badness together one of another , and goalers be bad examples to them , that they are worse when they come out , then when they went in . and friend , take heed of letting any judges exact upon the people in the poor countries where they come , and their courts by tricks , but keep them all to so saying and so doing , not saying one thing and doing another , for they have made many people come up to them 200 miles , and when they have come , they have said , they do not mean as they speak , and this be their tricks , as by their writs they must appear personally , and then when they come , they must appear by attorneys or counsellers , when the poor man knows his cause well enough himself . and friend , take heed of holding up the priests , and them called ministers , and giving them means and maintenance , for which they do not work , least in thy name they sue the people , and cast in prison till the death , and so make thy name to become a cloak for their persecution ; for who sets them on work let them pay them their wages , and whom they work for , let them give them their meat , and that will be like the ministers of the gospel ; and now thou being free of these things , keep thy self so . and friend , here is a great talk of religion and ministry , and profession and christianity , but if thou did but feel that which we feel and see , it would grieve thy heart , so much pride and haughtiness , and loftiness amongst people , and hard heartedness , that there is so many beggers , cripples , blind , lame men and women and children on their knees , women lying with children in their lapps up and down every corner , in the streets and high wayes and steeple , house doors , throughout this great rich city , that never knew want , and do not know many of them what to eat and drink and put on ; now if these things enter into thy ears , and tenderness strike thee , and thou consider , thou wilt feel it . now there hath been a cry of the jewes hard-heartedness , that turned against christ ; now friend consider , the jewes that took tithes had a store-house to put it in , and the tenths were enough for to relieve the strangers , fatherless and widowes , that there need not be a begger amongst them ; now i say , the tithes of this nation would give strangers , fatherless and widowes and priests enough both , if they had store-houses to put it in , that there need not be a begger amongst them , as there was not amongst the jewes , but then you must own christ is not come in the flesh ; for these tithes were set up since the dayes of the apostles , for they preached them not up , but down , as heb. 7. but they have been preached up since the apostacy , when all the want hath been , and before the apostacy among the true christians ▪ there was no want among them , every one had for his necessity ; now look amongst all the magistrates and ministery hear , and see how things are out of order , though there should be never such true lawes given forth , yet putting them into such corrupt magistrates hands ; they will never act them , but wrest them and pervert them and turn them against the righteous , and by that the just suffers . and friend , let none bear the office of judge , sheriff , justice or minister , that 's headdy , perverse and peevish , for such often slay themselves by their envy , and it eats out the good in them , and they will be a burthen to thee and a grief both , thou living in the power and wisdom of god , the simplicity in thee will be burthened as it is in us , and thou dealing in truth , it will stand by thee , and answer the principle of god in every man ; for such causes many poor men to go away with sorrow and grief . and let no man bear office , whatsoever his office may be , that would have honour before he have humility , for such will more mind honours below , earthly , and favours of men , then justice , and are out of solomons steps , who said , before honour is humility . and friend , take heed of giving titles to men , nor do not learn to do it , but mind elihu that young mans counsel that spake to iob that great rich man the judge , who said , if i give titles to man , which he had not learned to give titles to men , his maker would soon take him away , as thou may est read iob 3d. and the last . and friend , it is a just thing for thee to make all those ministers that have cast into prison abundance of the servants of the lord god , because they could not put into their mouths that for which they did not work for , nor never hired , and yet like ravenous wolves cast them into prison , for bidding them repent and fear god , and lay away their pride and their rings points , and superfluities , and tell them of their costly apparel , wearing gold rings and costly apparel , as said the apostle , it was not the wearing of gold or costly apparel , and such it may be for speaking to them have been cast into prison , and for telling them they be out of the doctrine of christ ; now to make all these put them out of prison again and all those justices likewise as have cast friends in prison for biding people fear god ; it may be moved of god to cry repentance through a town , or reprove sin in the gate , they cast them into prison as sturdy beggars , though men or women of sufficient estates ; now this gives an evil savour , now to make them put them out again , that will be for the convincing of people , and be a sweet savour , and the bringing and shewing the wisdom of the lord god to thee . and friend , take heed of having any to compell another to maintain his meeting house , or his clark to say amen , but that every one maintain his own meeting house , and if he will have a clark to say amen , let him pay him his wages , and every one if he will have a minister , to maintain his minister , for ther 's many thousands in the nations that they need not to say unto them know the lord , that hath the law of the lord written in their hearts , and put in their minds , and are come under his government , and knowes christ to be their teacher , and hears him , as god said , this is my beloved son hear ye him , and the apostle said to the hebrewes , god spake to our fathers by the prophets and visions , but now in these last dayes he hath spoken to us by his son , whom he hath made heir of all things , and upholdeth all things by the word of his power . and friend , let no drunkard nor swearer or prophane man keep innes , taverns or alehouses ; but such as fears god , whose houses are wholsom to lodge travellers , that no young nor old people may be nursed up in such idle places to act wickedness , and to keep games and sports , and things to play in their houses on purpose for people to spend and passe away their time in vanity , now this is an ill savour to a christian life , and which is common in the nations . and friend , let none that is called a minister that comes and creepes under thee for maintenance , tythes , and augmentations , let him first go plant , and plough , and thresh , and get a flock , and then let him reap and eat , for that is the apostles counsel , take it to thy side ; and then thou wilt not be cumbered with ministers , then thou wilt come to know the publick service that belongs to thy place , which is to do justice . and friend , let no officer whatsoever that is covetous after gifts or sums of mony , rewards or bribes , let no man that is such bear office ; for the gifts , rewards and bribes blindes his eye , and make him he cannot do justice , for because of such the helpless is not helped , and the jawes of the wicked is not broken , and for that cause the lord brings judgement upon a land ; and men are blinded with earthly honours , gifts , rewards and high places , and puffed up with honours , and do not see it how the lord brings judgement upon them and overturns them with his hand , & yet they take not notice who are crying peace , peace , but sudden destruction comes upon them ; so thy time is now , consider as thou stands in the wisdom of god , and lives in his fear , counsel and dread , and feels his hand and arm , and stands in his wisdom and power , thou wilt prosper and reign , but if any earthly honour blind thee , the lord will come upon thee when thou dost not see it , and turn thee into the earth , which the earthly honour comes to , and where god layes it down in the dust ; but whose honour is from him that 's from above , and hath his wisdom and power by which he made all the creatures , they shall reign with the lord god in his power , strength and arm . and friend , take heed how thou let any perverse , peevish , crosse , malicious justice or magistrate whatsoever bear any office , that will not do justice except they have earthly honour , but are in strife and peevish against them that cannot give it them , such magistrates have left the counsel of solomon ; but its honour for men to do justice , and it will be an honour for thee to do justice , and see that justice be done , and the greatest comfort in the world to thee , in that thou wilt have peace with god everlastingly , and happiness for ever , and his blessing , and know a world that hath no end ; so the lord god almighty preserve thee in his wisdom , counsel and strength over the heads of his enemies in thy self , and in the world both , that thou maist come to live in that which comprehends the world , which was before the world was made , in that , and with that thou maist come to order the creatures , by which wisdom of god they was made and created to his glory ; and friend take heed of putting of honest , godly men out of the army , or putting them out of place , being justices , and such as fears god , in so doing thou wilt blame thy self , and weaken thy authority , and remove thy self out of the hearts of them that fears god . from a lover of thy soul and thy eternal good and establishing of righteousness . g. f. from the church of christ and elect assembly , called of the lord and gathered by his spirit , and redeemed by his power from amongst men , & out of all the many false sects upon earth into fellowship with the father , and with the son , to follow the lamb whithersoever he goes , and we are named in scorn , and known in the nations by the name of quakers . to thee richard cromwel chosen to be protector , and chief magistrate governour of these nations of england scotland , and ireland , a faithful presentation and salutation by a servant of the church . we are rightly and truly sencible in all things of the mighty hand of the lord god who brings all things to pass by his own power , and according to his will , and in heaven and earth , and over the kingdoms of men he ruleth and reigneth , he buildeth and breaketh down , and planteth and plucketh up , and he pulleth down one and setteth up another , and who may say what doest thou ? or why dost thou it ? for he is a great god and a mighty , and his majesty is terrible , and all things in heaven and earth , and all the sons of men , are at his disposure , whose dominion is from everlasting to everlasting , and he may be feared and had in reverence by all creatures that hath life and breath . and in particular we are sencible of his great and mighty power , who hath of late years in these nations once and again overturned and overthrowed and changed at his pleasure , times , and powers and authorities , and dominions , and he hath brought down the mighty from their seats , and stained the crowns and glories of the honourable , and broken the stout-hearted , and the oppressors and their governments , as potsheards one against another , and made the highest of men of no respect before him ; for he hath pulled down and set up whom he would according to his will , and in all these things hath his hand been , the very doer and accomplisher thereof , that he might be known and feared amongst all people through the whole earth , who is the dread and terrour of men and nations . and as for thy father the late protector , great things and honourable did the lord do for him , in raising him up and casting out his enemies before him ; and giving him victory and power and renown through nations ; and we know the lord shewed favour to him , and gave him strength , wisdom , and valour , and a right spirit ; and he was called of god into that great work , to subdue the grievous tyranies once ruling over tender consciences , and to break down the great oppressions which for ages had caused the just to groan , and the lord was with him in victory and went before him , and was his defence and preserved him from great dangers , and from the wills of all his enemies , and made him prosperous against them all ; but yet we know ( to say no more of him ) he did not wholly fulfill the will of the lord , nor ▪ the work which he begun , but became disobedient , and abused his great deliverances and authority , and did not set free the oppressed altogether , but left mountains of oppressions , and grievous yokes of bondage unbroken down , and unsubdued ; and the lord smote him and took him away in judgement because thereof . and as for thee , who art now set up in his stead , we certainly believe that the hand of the lord is in this matter , if but to try thee , and it is he that hath brought it to passe , not expected by any , nor much sought after by thy self ; but it s come to passe , a thing out of and contrary to the thoughts and expectations of the whole nations art thou attained to this place of government ; & therefore we must acknowledge something of the great hand of god in it , being come to pass as out of due season , yet may the lord make it seasonable , and we patiently wait to receive what the lord brings to passe thereby , knowing that thou art in the hand of the lord to do whatsoever he will with thee and concerning thee ; and if thou fear him and walk with him , and chuse him for thy counsellour , and be obedient to him , and seek his glory alone , and not thy own honour and greatness , then the lord will do great things for thee , and by thee , and accomplish his own work through thee , which fell in thy father hand , and thou wilt be blessed and renowned and honoured for ever , and thy name shall be had in respect in generations to come , and hereby the present thoughts of many shall be confounded ; but if thou do harden thy heart against god , & live carelesly , and neglect his cause , and despise his name and honour , & seek thy own renown , and oppresse the just in thee , and without thee , and suffer the poor to groan under the cruelty and burthen of oppressing men and lawes in thy government , without relief from thee , and go on in usurped authority , as some evil men before thee , then shalt thou not prosper , but the lord shall bring thee down , and lay his hand of judgement upon thee , and thy name shall be a reproach to the saints for ever , and the heavy hand of vengeance shall be upon thee , and pursue thee more then any before thee , and the lord will deliver his people by another way ; and this is not in flattery and fainedness to thee , but as the lord lives , our god shall bring it to pass in his day , and thou shalt be the witness . wherefore o man , seek the face of the lord , and inquire diligently of him , and hear his word that thy soul may live , and feel a measure of his spirit in thee to lead thee into all truth , and set his presence before thy eye alwayes to direct thy steps , that he may bless thee with power , wisdom , authority and dominion , to perform the duty of thy place faithfully towards the lord and all men , as he requires of thee ; and if thou first seek the kingdom of god and its righteousness , and the reconciliation between the lord and thee , and come to feel the elect seed of god raised up over all the contrary in thee , and transgression , and thy own will and affections , and that which is of the flesh in thee judged and condemned by the word in the heart , which makes the immortal soul to live and be refreshed in god , and the heir of the promise of god born in thee , and hereby shalt thou have an assurance and hope of life eternal , to rest in perfect peace with god , when this world is no more , but passed away with thee , and also in this present time , wisdom and valour , and true nobility shall be added to thee , and the spirit of power and dominion to make men and nations be afraid and fear , and all evil men , and such as seeks the hurt of thee and thy government , shall be blasted and confounded , and all good men be encouraged and made strong , and the whole nations kept in peace and unity , and the truth and peace of god shall hereby flourish amongst us , to the honour of the eternal god , and to thy renown , if thou rule and govern for him , and by his spirit and authority . and we are truly sensible of the great charge of this place , & also of the multitude of perplexities and dangers to thy self occurring and happening thereby , dangers from open enemies by their malice and cruel plots , and dangers from thy pretended friends , and they of thy own house by secret surmisings , dangers in martial and civil affairs in this nation and abroad , so that we certainly , believe nothing save onely the wisdom of god and his power can preserve thee & carry thee to go through , & faithfully fulfil so great a place , and to discharge it truly in the sight of god and just men , neither maist thou be defended and preserved by any other means , from the wills and plots and envy of evil men , who may watch for evil against thee , to destroy thee and blot out thy name , and thy fathers posterity out of the land ; wherefore take heed to thy self , and fear god , that he may bless thee , for this is a subtil and crafty generation , and the nations are politick , and the inhabitants thereof wise and deceitful over whom thou art set , and with whom thou hast to deal ; therefore beware of men , for many may seek after thy hurt , and some may flatter thee , and shew seeming great respect unto thee , and profess great service of love to thee in the nations and in thy family for a season , till their own ends of advantage be accomplished , and may in the very time hatch evil against thee , and secretly invent to uncover thy nakedness and betray thee , for many men are treacherous ; but thou receiving a measure of the wisdom of god , it will guide thee over all such , and thou wilt see into the hearts and spirits of men , and to discern between love unfained , which will seek thy good & not self , & that love which is fained , which will flatter thee and blind thy judgement , and lead thee into snares , and such as will the least flatter thee , will be the most true to thee ; so beware , and let not vain flatterers , and proud ambitious and ungodly , self-seeking men , nor drunkards , nor covetous , nor politick and deceitful men and spirits have any place in thy heart , nor in thy house , nor in places of authority and trust in thy government , for such men will be a snare unto thee , and a dishonour to thee , and the cause of gods wrath & curse against thy person , family and whole nations , for such men god will not bless , nor thee nor the government for their sakes , & this thou wilt find true one day ; therefore chuse unto thee such men as fears god , who are just and humble , and upright-hearted , who are sincere and faithful to the lord , who hath the wisdom of god , and true nobility of spirit , in righteousness and simplicity , free from the prophanness of this evil world , let such be thy companions to wait upon thy person , and to govern and rule in thy family and nations , and let such be put in trust , who will not be treacherous , for such are blessed , and will be a blessing to thee and the whole government , and we know that the lord gives respect and regard to the upright that fears his name , and such he will accomplish his work by , to thy renown , and the peace and happiness of the nations , more then to craft and policy , and the wisdom and subtilty of this world , for thereby the lord will never fulfil his work , nor prosper a ruler nor his people ; and if thy strength and defence be there , and not in the lord and his pure wisdom only , thou canst not prosper , but the nations & men will over-reach thee , & beguile thee , and thou cannot be happy , nor thy government be kept in peace , but a little measure of the fear & power and wisdom of the lord god from heaven in thy heart , & amongst such as are thy counsellors , to guide you & govern you , will be of more value and worth unto thee in thy place and condition , then all worldly policy and wisdom and craft , which with god is not regarded , nor of him ever blessed ; and if thou deny the lord and righteous men , and chuse thy own way and this worlds wisdom that 's from below , then thy trust and strength shall pierce thee and make thee feeble , and of all others thy state will be the most miserable , if thou be given into the policy and deceipts of treacherous men ; so be wise and seek the lord , that he may be thy trust , and put not confidence in vain man , whose heart is deceitful , and desperately wicked . and as concerning the condition of these nations , they are in a broken state , much devided and divers in judgements , and far out of good order , for there is much corruption and abuse in all orders and places of men , and much to be purged out and judged , both in magistracy and ministry , before righteousness , peace and truth , union , joy and faithfulness , can embrace one another amongst the inhabitants of the nations , for both are in a diversion & degeneration from what they were at the first ordained of god , and this i could clearly manifest unto thee , for the nations are but newly come out of popery , having put off but part of the dress of that polluted whore , and the garments of professions in religion , yet smell thereof , as not being throughly purged from her abominable idolatries and superstitions , as thou maist see when the lord opens thy eye , to view the present state of all things . as for magistracy , it was ordained of god to be a dread and terrour , & limit to all evil-doers , & to be a defence & praise to all that do well , to condemn the guilty , & to justifie the guiltless ; but the exercise thereof at this day inthese nations is degenerated , and some that are in authority are greatly corrupted , and regards not the just and pure law of god to judge onely thereby , but oppresseth the poor by injustice , and subverts the good laws of god and men to a wrong end and use , abusing authority , and turning the sword against the just , whereby true judgement is turned backward , & the innocent made unjustly to suffer for righteousness sake , through the corruption of men in authority , and didst thou but know what we know in this particular , it would pierce thy heart ; why ? it is frequent amongst some of the judges & magistrates to commit a just man to prison , & impose some great fine up on him , and to cast him into a dungeon or hole among thieves and murtherers for a long season , for no other offence or breach of any law , but because he cannot put off his hat to them , and respect their persons by bowing the hat or knee ; and many others that fears god , and for conscience sake cannot swear upon a book by kissing it & laying hand upon it , because christ saith , swear not at all , though they deny not to do and speak the truth in all things , as in the presence of god and all men ; and many others , that because they are moved to cry against sin , and declare against the iniquities of the times in teachers , rulers and people , that highly abounds , perhaps in a market , or steeple-house , or high-way , or other place , as they are moved of god ; and many others because for conscience sake they cannot pay tythes nor give mony and wages to a maintain a priest , or false teacher that they receive no profit by , or to maintain a steeplehouse , where the world worships in vain traditions , and not in the spirit and power of god ; and many have been taken out of peaceable meetings where they were waiting upon the lord , and some out of their innes , and friends houses , and many have been taken on the way , travelling about their lawful occasions , and some from their callings , and labours , and for these causes , through the envy of wicked men , and without any just conviction of the breach of any law , or any lawful tryal , or examination , have hundreds of just men being wholly innocent , been sent to prison and layed many moneths , and some for years , or whipt , and put in the stockes , and grievously abused by cruel executioners of wicked mens envy and injustice , and upon such grounds onely , and for such causes mentioned , and without the transgression of any just law have and do at this day many hundreds of faithful subjects suffer hard and cruel things , long and sore imprisonment , and cruel and sharp whipping , and stocking , and unjust banishment out of towns and cities , yea , friends its hard to be expressed and large to be declared how many of the lords servants , do and have suffered great injustice in these nations , through the abuse of good government , and degeneration of magistracy from its perfect state and place whereunto it was ordained of god in the beginning ; and moreover , great have been the abuses , by stricking , and beating and halling , and kickings , and revilings , and reproaching , whereby many have suffered unrighteously , and not relieved nor defended by such in authority as ought to have done it , neither the evil doers at all corrected and punished as ought to have been , though known to men in power , and thus it is happened to us in our age , well doers are punished as transgressors , and evil doers go free , and thus its manifest , magistracy and government , rulers and lawes are greatly degenerated and subverted from what they ought to be according as the lord ordained them ; for all this may be proved particularly , so that the nations are out of good order , and the state of government and rule degenerated , and men in authority and places of trust corrupted , not being in their own hearts ruled by the spirit of the lord , and therefore they cannot rule for him among men , justly , and righteously , as the lord requires ; and also so great hath been the degeneration in government in these nations of late years , that many faithful and just men that have been in great places of trust , both in martial and civil affairs , through the envy , and evil surmising of others , have been turned out of all place and power , and not suffered to give their judgement amongst men , but been cast off as unprofitable , though no evil could be charged against them , whereby the lord hath been offended ; but all things and places of men must be new moulded and corrected , and purged , and regenerated , that true judgement may flourish , and righteousness and truth prosper , as in the beginning , and this will the lord suddenly bring to pass by his own power ; and if thou oppose it , thou shalt not prosper , but be cut off , and taken out of the way ; for the spirit of the lord hath been provoked to wrath because of these things , and his anger is kindled against the nations , and he hath overthrown and will once more overthrow till he come whose right it is to rule , whose shall be the government and kingdoms , and all his enemies shall be slain . and as for the publick ministry as now it is in its present estate , we certainly know and testifie from the lord unto thee , and to the whole nations , that it is not the same ministry of christ which the apostles had , nor by the same power and spirit , but is wholly degenerated , in call , in practice , and in maintenance , and in all things from what the ministry of christ was in the dayes of the true churches , before the apostacy ; and it is as now it stands in degeneration , not of god , nor in the power and spirit of christ jesus , nor hath it the same end and effects as the ministry of christ once had , but it s tasted , and tainted with the spirit of antichrist , which long hath ruled in the world , and it s become a grievous oppression in the nations , and people are not converted nor turned to god from their evil wayes , but remains unprofited ; and to say no more of it , though much i might say , what i affirm of it i may prove by the scriptures against the wisest of them before thee if thou please , viz. that as now the ministry stands , it is not perfectly the same ministry the apostles had , but is degenerated from what the ministry of christ was in the dayes of the apostles , and true churches , before the apostacy , and if ever god touch thy heart thou wilt see it so , when the spirit of christ is chief judge in thee , thou wilt witness this to be true ; and then may not thy power uphold any thing which is contrary to god , when government is purged and made pure from all its present degeneration . again , there are many and divers sorts of sects , and gatherings of people , and professions in religion of several contrary judgements and opinions , and worships in these nations , and these people over whom thou art set to rule are divers , and devided in their wayes and minds , and professions of religion , some looking for , and seeking after christ , in such a manner , and others after another manner , all crying loe here is christ , and thus he will come , and loe he is there , and so will he appear , and some are inventing , and supposing such a government the best , and others contrary to that , and many are ( as ) distracted in their thoughts , not knowing what to seek , or what to look after ; some are for such a government , and religion , and others for another , and peradventure each one of all these may seek to thee for protection against such as opposeth them , commending and justifying their own way , and sect , and form , and religion , against all others , and craving lawes to maintain themselves , and their sect , and to stop and limit all other wayes as heresie , because differing from them , and they will each of them turn and wrest the scriptures , from the mind of the spirit that gave them forth , to prove their own opinions and professions to be right against all others , but now thou maist know that the scriptures were given forth by the one spirit of god , and is the testimony of one truth , of one favour , of one true worship , and one onely true religion , and not many , and divers wayes , and them that are of divers judgements and worships , and religions , and yet all pleads proof from the scriptures for what they professe and practice ; all such perverts the scriptures , and wrests them , who are thus divided and unsetled in religion , and they shew that none of them hath the spirit that gave forth the scriptures , which spirit leads into all truth , and in it is the true worship of god , and the true profession and practice of true religion , and that spirit onely understands its own words in scripture , but all these divers sects and heaps of people that are divided in worship , and about religion , hath not the spirit of god that gave forth scriptures to lead them into all truth ▪ and guide them in the perfect way and pure religion which the apostles and churches of christ were in in their dayes ; but all these many sects that are thus devided are risen up since the dayes of the apostles , and are of another spirit , and of a false religion ; and as for such called ministers , they will be hurrying about thee , and flattering thee with fair and crafty words , and smooth petitions , and requests for protection and establishment from thee , and for large maintenance , and stipends and tythes ; and possibly they may complain to thee against such as cannot give them hire , and tythes , but may reprove their evil and covetousness , and wickedness , begging for lawes against such , and crying out against error and herefie , because some may be moved to cry against their deceits and oppressions , and for the like causes they will run about thee , and seck their own advantage , and this we know their nature and spirit is such ; and hath been for many ages . but now friend , do thou stand in gods authority , out of , and over all such teachers and sects , and come not under any of them that have the form of godliness but want the power , who are in the apostacy , from the life and pure religion that the apostles were in , nor believe them not that shall say , loe christ is here , or loe he is there ; or who shall ascend to fetch him from without , or when shall he come from far to save his people ? go not thou after any of all these , but hearken to the word of god in thy heart , and know that christ is within thee , else thou art reprobate , neither do thou take in hand to exalt any one of these sects , or some of them above others , neither defend and maintain any of them against others of them , nor tollerate not one of them above another , for if thou do , it will betray thee and the nations peace , and set all spirits on fire about thee , and while one is pleased and may pray for thee , others will be vexed against thee and curse thee ; wherefore be not troubled about these things , nor cumber not thy self about religion how to establish it for it is in gods hand onely to establish his worship and religion , it belongs to him , as he will , and not as man by his policy and wisdom ; but stand free from them all , and neither establish any , nor persecute any sect whatsoever , but let them all have their course and season , they will fall and perish of themselves , and the good old way , and truth , and the pure religion only will remain , and let them cry one against another , ; and rebuke one another , and meddle not thou with that , but onely let thy lawes and authority preserve mens persons and estates , from the wrong one of another , that all men may live peaceably under thee , and no man wrong his neighbours person or estate ; and that 's only thy place to rule in outward affairs , but not to rule over any mans conscience , to compell him to such a worship , or to limit from such a worship in religion , that belongs not to thee , but to the lord , who alone will be the ruler and guide and exerciser of his peoples consciences , and if thou do medle therein , thou shalt not prosper , nor be blessed in thy deed ; so leave the establishing of religion to the lord , and let all these sects manifest if any of them have the spirit & power of god in them , & with them , & let them shew their weapons of the spirit , for onely such as hath the power and spirit of god in them will overcome , and such will be increased and grow , and thou nor none can hinder , and such that wants the power and spirit of god , in and with them , may flourish in their form for a while , but they will be blasted and wither , and it is vain for thee or any to uphold such , or endeavour to establish them , but if thou meddle on these accounts , it will undo thee , and confound thee ; therefore be wise , and know what the lord requires of thee perfectly , for if thou leave that undone which god requires , then shalt thou be condemned , and if thou do that which he requires not , then shalt thou not be free ; and this is written in love to thee , to inform thy mind , how to walk towards the lord , and the people over whom he hath set thee ; and as for the maintaining of ministers , let that aloue also , and be not troubled about it , for it was ever the false prophets and deceivers that preached for hire , and went after gifts and rewards , and sought money and gifts of people , and they that do the same now were never sent of god , nor are they such as shall convert people to god ; for who are true ministers of christ , will not seek to thee nor to men for wages , and tithes , and money , but live of the gospel , and not compel great sums of money from people to maintain them in their families in pride , in fulness and idleness , such things are great oppressions in this nation , and a horrible filthy thing in the sight of god , and because thereof will the lords judgements come upon the land ; if thou were but rightly sensible what casting into goals , and what suing at law of poor people , and what spoiling peoples goods by destraint , and all for and about tithes and priests wages , it would make thee admire the wickedness of that generation ; but do thou let them alone , for they do shame themselves , and undo themselves , and loose the hearts of all good people by their own doings , and stand over them all in gods authority , and know a measure of the spirit of god in thy own heart , and thereby thou wilt discern and try and judge of the spirits of all men , and their religion , and the spirit will lead thee in the pure religion , to worship god in spirit and in truth , so let not thy mind be cumbered at all about establishing religion , nor about maintaining the ministers , but be faithful to what the lord requires of thee , and learn his will , and do it , and then thou wilt be blessed and honoured in this world , & in the world to come . and friend , know thou that the lord is doing of a great work in these nations , he is raising up a seed to serve him and to worship him aright , and the god of heaven is setting up a kingdom over the kingdoms of the world , and he hath a controversy with all sorts of people , in as much as corruption and degeneration is entered amongst all , and all must be purged of all orders of men , and the evil cast out , the work of the lord is great and mighty , and he requires no help from thee , nor any man whatsoever , for his own arm will bring it to pass , yet he would not have thee to gain-say his work , and strive against it , and seek to quench what the lord is bringing forth , if thou do it , then shalt thou be condemned , and the lord will speedily execute his judgements , and remove thee , and overthrow thy power and authority into destruction ; wherefore be passive in this matter , and look thou at the lord , and protect and desend mens persons and estates from wrong , but meddle not with their opinions and professions in religions , to exalt any of them , nor yet to persecute them ; and as concerning the armies abroad , let faithful and just men that will not seek themselves be put in trust , for the army is of great concernment to thee , to stand or fall through them as to mans account , and the war against spain be faithful to god in it , and let trusty men have authority , the lord may accomplish something by it to his honour and to thine , if thou be meek and humble , and walk with the lord ; and to say no more about it , there is something in it known to the lord , and he may bring it to pass in his season . and thus friend , according as it lay upon me from the lord , i have written this unto thee in dear and pure love , god is witness , and i have cleared my conscience to thee thus far , and if thou fall by thy own transgression , it will lie upon thy self , i have warned thee , and i am clear ; and if thy fall comes , remember thou wast advised . who am a lover of iustice and true iudgement , and a friend of this common-wealth , and to thee wisheth well in the lord , edw. burrough . london , the 18th of of the 8th month , 1658. this was delivered to him the 8th month , 1658. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a30526e-200 * this was meant that he should deny to be made king that was in agitation when this letter was written . the papists strength, principles, and doctrines (which they are sworn to preach, from the councel of trent, by the popes authority, and after confirmed by the last general assembly at rouen, 1571, all which they have sworn to perform) answered and confuted furthermore their principles and doctrines answered and confuted, as they were laid down in two or three severall papers, by r.w. papist, lately sent from holland : also a challenge to the pope and all his adherents to choose out of all his dominions some cardinals, fryers, or jesuits to try their bread and wine, after consecration (by watching on their side and on our side) to prove that if afterward they have consecrated it, whether the bread and wine doth not loose its taste and savour, and so not the body and blood of christ : also a paper to all them that fast and afflict themselves who are in the will-worship and voluntary humility : also some quæries to all the papists upon earth to be answered in writing and sent to them, which all sects upon the earth call quakers / by george fox. fox, george, 1624-1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a40227 of text r3577 in the english short title catalog (wing f1877). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 234 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 53 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a40227 wing f1877 estc r3577 12131661 ocm 12131661 54752 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40227) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 54752) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 594:19) the papists strength, principles, and doctrines (which they are sworn to preach, from the councel of trent, by the popes authority, and after confirmed by the last general assembly at rouen, 1571, all which they have sworn to perform) answered and confuted furthermore their principles and doctrines answered and confuted, as they were laid down in two or three severall papers, by r.w. papist, lately sent from holland : also a challenge to the pope and all his adherents to choose out of all his dominions some cardinals, fryers, or jesuits to try their bread and wine, after consecration (by watching on their side and on our side) to prove that if afterward they have consecrated it, whether the bread and wine doth not loose its taste and savour, and so not the body and blood of christ : also a paper to all them that fast and afflict themselves who are in the will-worship and voluntary humility : also some quæries to all the papists upon earth to be answered in writing and sent to them, which all sects upon the earth call quakers / by george fox. fox, george, 1624-1691. howgill, francis, 1618-1669. [2], 99, [1] p. printed for t. simmons ..., london : 1658. the answer to r.w. his paper wherein he vindicates the doctrine and practise of the romane church so called, to be the church of christ, signed f.h. [f. howgill], p. 33-47. reproduction of original in huntington library. eng catholic church -controversial literature. society of friends -sources. a40227 r3577 (wing f1877). civilwar no the papists strength, principles, and doctrines (which they are sworn to preach, from the conncel [sic] of trent, by the popes authority, an fox, george 1658 47793 190 0 0 0 0 0 40 d the rate of 40 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the d category of texts with between 35 and 100 defects per 10,000 words. 2004-12 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-01 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-02 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-02 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the papists strength , principles , and doctrines ( which they are sworn to preach , from the councel of trent , by the popes authority , and after confirmed by the last general assembly at roven , 1571. all which they have sworn to perform ) answered and confuted . furthermore their principles and doctrines answered and confuted , as they were laid down in two or three severall papers , by r. w. papist , lately sent from holland . also a challenge to the pope and all his adherents to choose out of all his dominions some cardinals , fryers , or jesuits to try their bread and wine , after consecration ( by watching on their side and on our side ) to prove that if afterward they have consecrated it , whether the bread and wine doth not loose its taste and savour , and so not the body and blood of christ . also a paper to all them that fast and afflict themselves who are in the will-worship and voluntary humility . also some quaeries to all the papists upon earth to be answered in writing and sent to them , which all sects upon the earth call quakers . by george fox . london , printed for thomas simmons , at the bull and mouth neer aldersgate , 1658. the papists principles as followeth , whose name subscribed thereunto , is r. w. priest . he saith , he cannot but admire to see what a power satan hath over the sons of adam , and especially ●ver schismaticks , and apostates , from the union of the roman catholique church . answ. the● that be in the true light chr●●● jesus , that fathoms the world , 〈◊〉 not admire to see the great power of satan over the sons of adam in the fall , and over all the schismaticks and apostates ; for schismaticks and apostates , and the sons of adam in the transgression be all ●n the devils power , where he is in the transgression out of the truth , in one power murderers ; for the devil a murthe●er , sons of adam m●r●herers , in the fall out of the truth , schismaticks and apostates out of the truth , murtherers , and will all murther , and no●●dmired at with the children of light , who has tryed their spirits : so devil , sons of adam in the fall , and papists , and protestants , that will all murther ; for religion and worship be all in the devils power , murtherers , out of the truth , that christ and the apostles was in : so the roman catholique church which will murther , is satans synagogue , for he is the murtherer , and there he hath his seat : and all the protestants that be murtherers about religion and worship , are satans synagogue , are apostates and schismat●cks as well as you ; they were the first great synagogue of satan , and the first apostates and schismaticks from the life of the apostles , and christ , though since the dayes of the apostles you have apostatized from the life , others has professed against you , and so are broken into heaps , and names ; satan has got up many synagogues in many parts of the world , and gotten the sheeps cloathing , and cryed up himself to be the name of ch●●stian , which is meer antichrist quite against him , compelling all by sword , or faggot , or prison , or stocks , or whips , or houses of correction , or gaols , or inquisitions , to worship him . this is quite against christ & the apostles spirit ; in the apostasie from them apostatized : so you may strange to see the devils power over the sons of adam , apostates and schismaticks , and not see your selves swallowed up in the devils power , doing his work ; thus judging others , not seeing your selves , for the devill , sons of adam in the fall from the truth , and you who are apostatized from christ and the apostles doctrine , and the schismaticks that be from you in words , and sects , and names , that be called protestants , that will murther for religion and worship , they be all in the same power which the devil is in ; for the devil is out of the truth , the sons of adam out of the truth , and the church of rome out of the truth , apostatized protestants and all others that be out of the spirit , that gave forth the scriptures , be out of the truth , such are murthering one another about words , and are satans synagogues wre●●ling against flesh and blood . striking at creatures , in stead of striking at the power that captivates creatures , to the intent that creatures might come into the liberty of the sons of god , which was the work of the apostles and christ . pr. no man can discern head or foot of the quakers method , or order ; yet there is some shew of reason in their quaeries . answ. thus he confounds himself , babylon : and we do believe that neither the papists , apostates , protestants , nor sons of adam , nor d●vill out of the truth , can know either head or foot of the quakers principles , with all their thinkings ; for the quakers is come into that which the devil is out of , sons of adam is out of , the papists are out of , and the protestants , that which overwhelmes them all , devill , sons of adam , papists , protestants out of the life of god , with it are they all judged , which life the quakers are in . pr. he saith , not one papist that he knows doth call himselfe a defender of the faith : yet he saith in a sense , in writing against our principles , he might call himself a defender of the catholique church and faith , and yet notwithstanding he could not defend himselfe from the devill . answ. in this thou hast shewed thy faith , and the faith of the catholique church , which will not defend you from the d●vill ; so ye are the reprobates from the faith of the elect , that quenches the fiery darts of the devill , and gives victory over the world and the devill , and is their shield , and with that faith is his kingdom subdued : and we do believe that the faith will not defend you from the devill ; and if thou knowest never a papist that is a defender of the catholique faith , what have you done with all the fires and faggots , and inquisitions and killings and slayings , and writing of your great volumns against them that have protested against you all this time ? but now your faith fails , and your wheel is gone off , and the confusion of babylon is confounded , and the faith of gods elect contended for , witnessed amongst them called quakers , whose weapons are not carnall , but spirituall . and your wicked priests , and such as be in the reprobate sence like judas , betraying the just , have been the preachers and teachers which has gotten the form of godlinesse , but are out of the power , and the life , and these are them that have risen against the saints and overcome them , which are now warring against the lamb and the saints , but the lamb and the saints shall have the victory . pr. and whereas you say you give the title of holinesse to the pope after the same manner as was given to the high priest in the old testament , and wicked magistrates was called gods , and the priests wear their titles upon their breasts , and jacob called his wicked brother esau lord , and there is scriptures enough to give honourable titles to wicked men . answ. these are sutable proofs for the pope , and sutable examples . first , the priest-hood is ended ; they were never in that latitude , neither are you to be measured with them , neither do any true christians . as for esau and wicked magistrates , the fruits of this amongst you has appeared , and the wicked must bow before the just , and esau the elder must be a seruant to the younger ; and salvation is come out of sion , who judges the mount of esau , and is gathering the elect jacob , who rides over the high places of the earth , which have set up your images ; but you have shewed the fruits of esau , who are slaying and killing the just ; but who be in the power of christ , who hath all power in heaven and earth given unto him , be out of esau's , and be o' th top on his mount , and answers the elect. pr. he saith that purgatory is a temporall punishment to faithfull persons after death , who have not done due pennance for their sins in their life time , so must do pennance after death . answ. the faithful persons that be in the true faith of gods elect , which is the mistery held in a pure conscience , which gives victory over the world , purifies the heart , by which men are justified , and please god . this gives them victory over death , sin , hell , and all that which you do pennance for . now they that be reprobate concerning this faith , are doing pennance all their lifetime , and say they must have a purgatory to do pennance , when their life is ended ; and so all poor people you have a pittiful thing to passe through , a fire , before you be purified : and as for christs , and the apostles , and saints sufferings , you are found in that nature that caused the just always to suffer ; and as for your doctrine of purgatory , it is come up since the days of the apostles amongst the apostates , the devill has set it up , who is out of the truth , by his power , since he set up his synagogue ; but who be in the faith , be over his purgatory and synagogues , and the doctrine of it which is come up since the dayes of the apostles , for which there is no scripture ; for the saints which believed had passed from death to life , and so from the purgatory . for purgatory is in the death , he that passeth from it comes over purgatory and death both , to reigne with christ ; here you shew your selves , you are not believers . pr. the receiving of the sacrament thou saist is not for the cleansing of you from sin , but for the nourishment of your souls , the body and blood of christ being in it . answ. why do you and the protestants kill one another about such things , seeing that you say the body and blood of christ is in the sacrament , the bread and wine : and the protestants say , in it is the spirit of christ , as you may look in a book called the scotch principles , and in their catechisms , and is it not the same blood that cleanseth , which nourishes ? how are you confused in this , and put to your shifts . i have heard talk of papists and jesuites were witty men ; but i see it is at an end , and that which nourishes the immortall soule is not the mortal creatures , ye are deceived in thinking so , and the protestants both ; that which nourishes the soul is christ the power of god , who is the bishop of it , the life , the truth , the power of god , which is the immortall souls food , and not the bread that will perish , and things that will perish , which those looked after that followed christ for a time , which was in the perishing minde , which laboured after the perishing things , and laboured not for the bread which comes downe from above , which indures to eternall life , which who eats of it hungers no more . and so that is the devils doctrine and the apostates , which is got up since the days of the apostles , which tels people , after they have consecrated the bread and wine , it is the body and blood of christ ; which christ said bread would perish , for his flesh saw no corruption . nor his body would not perish , nor his blood that cleanseth from the dead works , through which blood they overcome death : and the word and power gives every creature its being without the consecration ; but that which nourishes the immortal soul is the mortal ; and man lives not by bread alone , but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of god ; and this is christs doctrine , and the others is the devils , and apostates out of the life and power of christ , that saith , men must live by bread alone . pr. christ useth the priest in the hands of a workman to make the sacrament , which is the body and bloud of christ , he saith , that the formes of bread and wine which will corrupt cannot take away sin , and after consecration it is not bread and wine , but the very body and bloud of christ . answ. in this you have shewed your confusion and unestablished state , was it the very body and bloud of christ that made the corinthians drunk ? and in this thou hast confounded thy self in saying , that the formes of bread and wine which is the very body and bloud of christ will corrupt after consecration , then the ministers work in this thou hast spoyled , who are the consecraters , for the body and bloud of christ will not corrupt , nor perish , which bread and wine will , but that which gives bread and wine their being , will never corrupt ; for bread and wine is a thing that is seen , and though the apostle said what he had received of the lord , that did he deliver to the corinthians , how that the same night the lord jesus was betrayed , he took the cup and the bread when he had given thanks , saying , as oft as they did eate that bread and drink that cup they shewed the lords death till he came , and the apostles delivered this to the corinthians ; then in the second epistle he brings them off from the things that are seen , to the things vvhich are not seene which were eternal ; for bread and wine were things seen , and temporal , and bids them prove and examin themselves whether or no christ was come , know you not your own selves how that jesus christ is in you except you be reprobates ? and he is the living bread that came down from above , who gives life unto the world , and he that eates of this bread lives and abides for ever . and as for thy word sacrament , we do not find that word expressed in scripture , nor where the apostles spoke by mary , as you do , who adore your own words , that are apostatized from the life & them that witness christ the substance in them , they see the end of all things is come , christ jesus , him by whom all things was made , who is the end of all things , him is possest , such are not reprobates , but reprobates and judas may stick in the outward things , as the jewes did , whose table was a trap , and eyes blinded , as you do , who are inwardly ravened from the spirit of god , and are the wolves in sheeps clothing worrying the lambs that comes to witness christ in them the substance , and hath proved and examined themselves and found him , and so there people sticking in that they call the sign , and keeping people from the substance , receiving christ jesus in them , for these things was to be done in remembrance of christ until he came , now if bread and wine be the body of christ and his bloud , then he is come , how do you that in remembrance of him untill he come , was they to eate his body and drink his bloud till he come ? did he go away in the spirit , and leave his body behind , answer this , whether or no his body did not rise , and whether his body be elementary ? there was a protestant against you that said the body of christ was corruptible , and you said the bread and wine is the body and bloud of christ , and that will corrupt , and so we see you all in the error . pr. he saith the bare form of bread and wine doth change , and though the light lead up to christ , they see nothing but that which doth change , namely bread and wine . answ. hear thou hast confounded thy self , and all the papists , the whole body of them , and confounded your own wisdom and knowledge , and your own faith in things you do professe ; fo● the body of christ , and his bloud doth not change , and yet you say that bread and wine after consecration is the very body and bloud of christ , and hear you say doth change , which is not comparable to the body and bloud of christ that corrupts not nor changes not ; in this you have confounded your selves and blinded your souls in looking at things which are seen , which the divel and wicked ones out of the light do run into , which you poor creatures are captivated under his power ▪ things that are not seen are invisible , but things that are seen , as bread and wine , are visible . pr. our faith and doctrine is that jesus christ hath but one body , and that the same body which is in that sacrament shall come at last to judge us all . answ. the body of christ which you call the bread after consecration , which thou hast confessed is a changeable thing , the ●orm of bread , that which is changeable is not a judge , christ and his body is not changeable , so therefore to judge , and shall remain his body when bread and wine ceases ; so in this thou hast overthrown your own doctrine , and faith and foundation , and proved your selves to be stones of babylon , who with them builds up and throwes down again . pr. whereas thou queriest whether god is able to make one body to be in two , or two thousand places at once . answ. the body of christ is his flesh which he gives for the life of the world , which they that eat it , and feed upon it , are of his flesh and lives for ever , and are in more places then one , & comes to be of his flesh and of his bone , and at this the jewes stumbled that followed him for temporal bread , and if temporal bread had been the body of christ , why would he bid them labour not for the meat that perisheth ? and that he said well in saying this is may body , this is my bloud , and except ye eat my flesh and drink my b●●ud ye have no life in you , but he did not tell the people after they had consecrated bread and wine that it was his body and bloud , and he would drink with them in the kingdom , and did christ eate his own body and drink his own bloud ? answer these queries , we see that the body of christ is hid from you all papists and protestants , and his flesh and his bloud , and his word● are spirit and life , and that remains , and bread and wine it is the elements ; did it come down from above , from heaven ? after you have consecrated it , is it not the wine that came of the grapes , and the bread which was baked ? christs body which is the bread is above the manna which is given from heaven , much more far above the bread of man ; christ the true bread , far above angles-food , is the body of christ , which who eates it lives for ever ; they that eated the manna the angels-food perished in the wildernesse , many of them , and far above mans bread that 's temporal , and drink , which they may eate and drink and hunger and thurst again , and perish , and which will perish . which they that decernes the lords body decernes him that gives every creature its being , the word of god by which all things was made , and none of the figures nor shadowes nor types are the body of christ ; but that which ends them all ; to you that is the word of the lord , which body was before they were , which body is the church , the piller and ground of truth , and bread is not the church after consecration , for the apostles never told us of that doctrine no vvhere in the scriptures , but you that of the body of christ be ignorant , the top-stone is laid on your heads , and the body of christ makes us free from the lavv . pr. we do not teach that bread after the consecration is the flesh of christ but we say that after christ had uttered these words , this is my body , or after the priests according to christs command , do this in remembrance of me , do utter the same words which we call consecration , then the substance of bread vanisheth and is no more there , but the body of christ commeth in its place . answ. this again is confusion , and you are confused and confounded in your own principles , if the bread and wine , which you say is not the flesh of christ after consecration , how is his body there , and how can you say it is his body ? and thus you confound your selves . pr. thou saist thou dost not find any expresse command of the apostle in scripture for observing of dayes , nor meats , nor none of these things , as meats , or crosses , but what the church shall command , and saith , but the church hath commanded us to observe dayes and meats , and that a crosse should be made in remembrance of christs passion , and the images of christ and his saints may be set up and honored , and that we should invoke the saints , &c. and whatsoever the church commandeth us ; and this is the sure and unmoveable ground upon which our catholique faith even to the very least circumstance and ceremony is built , &c. and the contrary ground is the ground of all hereticks . answ. we do believe you that all these observing of meats , dayes and crosses is set up by your churches command , and all your tythes , priests , pulpits and temples , amongst you and the protestants which hath been set up by your church command , which is offended if they be not observed , which is set up since the dayes of the apostles , which is apostatized from the apostles and the true church , in the apostacy , and are fallen into schisms and heresies and lying signes , which is your crosse , who are gone from the power of god , which is the cross of christ , who are them which the spirit spoke of expresly before the apostles decease that should depart from the faith , forbidding eating of meats , and marriage , which is the divels doctrin , who has given heed to seducing spirits , now you may see it is your mother which you call the church which is the mother of harlots , which your mother harlotted from the true church , the apostles doctrin , for the true church of the apostles did never command that men should abstayn from meats , or set up a crosse of wood or stone , or worship images , or saints , or names , or bow down to them , but worship god , and worship not the angels . now these things hath been sett up since the dayes of the apostles , in the apostacy from the true church , which has made war against the saints and over-come them , but now is the saints and the lamb come to have victory , and now the lamb and saints will have victory , who is come to reign and the holy prophets and the saints shall rejoyce over you : sing and rejoyce ye heavens , and rejoyce ye saints and holy prophets over her that 's your church which is inwardly ravened from the spirit of god , and has reigned over the kings of the earth , and all other that hath had the name of christianity , & out of the life of christ , found in your skirts ; the lamb will tread you together in the press without the city of the living god , & the church which is the pillar and ground of truth , against which the gates of hell cannot prevail , though they may fall all on heaps one among another about their worships : and we say that your mother the church , so called , hath commanded and laid the foundation of tythes amongst the protestants , and all their observing of saints dayes , holy dayes , and you have been them that has taught them to give the names , yea to their schooles , colleges , steeple-houses , which were your mass-houses , which the protestants has made their churches of them , you were the first root and layer of the ground and author of them , you and they are all judged with the spirit , which is not apostacy , which was before apostacy was . pr. i say again , that christ is not without a body , and the same body which is in the sacrament , is that which was born of the virgin mary , which dyed for us , and now sitteth at the right hand of god , and none other . answ. heaven is above , and earth is beneath , there is an earthly body , and there is a heavenly body , a naturall and a spirituall ; and if that which was born of the virgin mary be your bread after consecration , which body saw no corruption , though put in the grave . now see if your bread which you call the body of christ , will not corrupt after it lye a while , though you have consecrated it ; then how can you say that is the body of christ at the right hand of god ? and outward bread which will corrupt , which the body of christ saw none , which was born of the virgin , the lamb slain from the foundation of the world ; yet he did not corrupt , nor saw no corruption . pr. and to say , is christ to be looked for in the saints , is so profound that he cannot reach the depth of the meaning , the roman catholiques use no such manner of speech . answ. i do believe you ; since the dayes of the apostles amongst you that are got up in your likenesses and images , that sayes its so profound you cannot reach the meaning of it to ask you whether christ be in the saints , and amongst the roman catholiques , you have no such manner of speech , i do believe you ; and so you put him in the sacrament without you , and call the bread and wine his body and blood ; so this is to prove your selves to be reprobates , so are judged by the apostles doctrine , and the scripture . know you not in your own selves , how that jesus christ is in you except ye be reprobates ? priest . the more honour we give to saints , the more honour we give to christ . indeed to give godly honour to saints , is to commit idolatry . answ. if that you do not give godly honour to the saints , it is ungodly ; and here in this you have again confounded your selves , and that honour which belongs to the saints is of god , and godly , and not idolatry ; but that honour which you give , which is not godly , is given to such which are not saints , which is idolatry ; and so that honour which you should give to god , you give to images , in kneeling to them ; and so in that you are as the heathen , and are found idolaters , which never did any of the apostles kneel before an image ; but you that inwardly ravened from the spirit of god , and so lost the image of god , and fallen down to images . pr. a crosse , a crucifix , or an image of christ or any saint , whether they be made of silver , stone , or wood , are according to our doctrine but dead creatures ; neverthelesse are profitable and honourable memorials of them , and do much help our devotion , and demonstrate our love and affection to them , and they are not idols , but they represent unto us christ and his saints . answ. so then they being but dead things , and you bowing to dead things , is to idols ; for bowing to a dead stock or a stone is a bowing to idols , as saith the prophet , and dead images . now you having them as you say , to represent unto you christ , and to put you in minde of him and the saints , shews that you have not christs spirit in you , nor him in you , nor his mind in you , so are reprobates , and are none of his ; for those that have christ in them , and his minde in them , need no such representations as to put them in minde of christ , or to fall down before crosses , crucifixes , images , dead things , to stir up the love towards ch●ist ; which the blood of christ purgeth the conscience from dead workes , and not to bow down to dead images ; but thi● shews the love of god is not in you . dead things do not stirre up the love of god in people , but the faith which works by love , this stirs up the love towards christ who is the author of it , and the saints , to make images of the saints , and observing of dayes , shews that you are not come to just mens spirits ; which who are , need no other thing to put them in mind , nor observe dayes ; for they see over dayes , and so in these principles , i see ye are reprobates concerning the faith which works by love ; for the love of god is not in you , you are not come to the j●st mens spirits , so not to the church of the living god , the mind of christ you have not , his spirit ye have not , and christ is not in you , and so in the reprobation in the apostacy , and are fain to have dead images and pictures , and crosses , dead representations to put you in mind of christ , and to stir up your love , otherwise it would grow cold ; and that is the nature that will murther , and all those things , images , crosses , are held up by the spirit of murther , and not by the power of god , the cross of christ . pr. in some particulars he saith , there is no difference between them and the heathens ; as first i confesse their idols are made of silver , wood , and stone , and so are our images ; their idols were but dead creatures which had eyes and see not , and so are our images ; they bow to their idols , and we bow to our images : so far the resemblance is good , and the heathens do believe that their idols were able to help them , and we say our images and idols stirs up our love to christ . answ. so therein the images helps you as the heathens do , and you may see that all those things are got up since the dayes of the apostles , & you that be inwardly ravened from the spiri of god , and gotten the sheeps cloathing as the jews and the gentiles which was astray from the spirit of god , worshipping images & idols , which when the jews was in the spirit of god they kept above them all : so you being gone from the spirit of the lord , are fallen under images and dead idols since the days of the apostles , and bows down to them as the heathens , & they are dead a● the heathens , and so you are aposta●ized from the spirit of god , in which god is worshipped , and apostatized from the true church , who said , keep your selves from idols , for there was never any talk of worshipping of images , and bowing to images amongst them ; but the jewes while they lived in the law of god , they broke down the images of the heathens : so all that be in the life of god will break down the founder of the images amongst you apostates , which sees not and hears not : and jeremiah saying to them that worshipped images , who said unto a stone , thou art my father , and to the wood thou hast brought me forth . so say you to your images , pictures , and crosses , thou putst us in minde , thou art our similitude , and puts us in minde of christ , of mary , and shewing that you have not the minde of christ in you ; but dead stocks and stones must put you in minde , so this ( of yours ) is a higher mystery of iniquity then that of the heathen . pr. you say you account of the pictures no more then we account of any picture or pictures in our houses . answ. that is not so , thou dost not speak with the bit in thy mouth , we do not fall down to them , but deny them . pr. and the heathens did all kinde of godly honour directly to their idols ; but the small honour which we do to the images or pictures of the saints , is no more then an outward complement as i may say , just as it was the fashion in england to put off ones hat , or bow to the kings throne in honour of the king : neither do we this honour to the pictures simply considered as pictures , but as they are representations of christ and his saints . answ. that honour which the heathen did to their idols , was not godly honour ; for that which gave the honour to the idols , might be confounded before that came up that gave the godly honour ( to god ) though they worshipped the creatures and served idols , who should have worshipped the creator , who is god blessed for ever , and served him ; and your bowing and kneeling down to images , and before them , it is the worship of the beast , and that is more then a complement to kneel down and bow down to images which you call representations , and this is come up and got up amongst you since the power of god hath been lost , which should have brought you to have bowed down to the lord , and to have prayed in the spirit , and to have had him in your mindes , and not an idoll to put him in your minds : and the bowing before the kings throne in the kings absence ; and the hat in england , that is but the dead minde that bows the dead hat to the dead throne , and a dead honour , and so all the honour that is given to images is but a dead honour given from the dead principle , and not from the living principle of god within , which brings to worship god who never accepts the other ; and that bowing the hat before the kings throne in the kings absence is denyed by all that fears god , and judged , and worships him , and bows to him , for that is sup●rstition ( your bowing before images , and pictures , and crosses ) as bad & worse ( then that prof●sse christ and have him not in your minds ) then the heathens bowing to molock , baal , jupiter , bac●hus , venus , &c ▪ whose spirits are as unclean as theirs , who have set up images and crosses to bow down to them . you are the unclean spirits as the heathen , and a higher mystery of iniquity then the heathen ; but now is discovered by that which hath long been hid by the light christ jesus , and the seed of god which hath discovered the mystery of iniquity , which is the mistery of godlin●sse , and all these pictures , & crosses , and bowings is come up since the days of the apostles , for amongst them there was no such things . amongst you who have lost the power of god , the crosse of christ , and the image of god , and has not the mind of christ in you , so are fain to have dead images , crosses , and pictures , which you call representations , to put your dead minds in remembrance of christ , and to stir it up which kills and slayes the just , all that be contrary to it ; and the heathen and you do not differ , for they bow to images , and so do you ; but yours ( as i have said ) is a greater mistery of iniquity , who has fled from the true foundation of the true church , which is the pillar and ground of truth , and so since have got up your images and idols . pr. now because the main thing which you do carp at is at our bowing before images or pictures of the saints , to the end that all your mouths may eternally be stopt , i will shew you out of the scripture , that notwithstanding the bowing down to idols is most strictly forbidden in the second command●ment and other places of scripture ; yet was it lawfull both to make , honour and bow down to other images , and other representations , although they were but dead creatures , and the worke of mens hands . the arke of the covenant you must confess was but a dead creature made of wood and other materials , by the hands of men ; and upon this arke were placed two images , or representations of cherubims , read the 7 of joshua , vers. 6. and you will finde that he and all israel did worship and fall down before this ark and these images , after the same manner that we fall down before a crosse or a crucifix , or the images of the saints . answ. joshua and israel falling down before the ark , which was in prayer to the lord , and the lord heard him , and spoke to him , and answered him . now he doth not say that he fell down to the ark or to the images , or bowed down to them ; for the law was contrary , which saith , thou shalt not bow down , &c. but he and israel fell down before the ark to the lord ; and this is nothing to the bowing now to images , and pictures , and crosses , for that was the time of the figure , there was a temple made , and many things , tabernacle and sanctuary , which was all in the types and figures , before the substance was come ; but now the substance is come , christ jesus , who ends all types and figures , and similitudes , and the patterns , for he is the substance of those things that figured him forth , who hath opened their mouths . so now your crosses , and your images , and your pictures , and your bowings before them wch you have made and set up is antichristian , without any command of god , against christ who is the substance . and if joshua had bowed to the outward arke , or altar , or temple , or any of the figures , &c. but it was not so , and the command of god was the contrary ; and we say christ is come , the everlasting covenant , the everlasting priesthood ; for in the first covenant and priesthood was the figures , and there was singings , &c. but now they that sing must sing in the spirit , and they that pray must pray in the spirit , and they that worship must worship in the spirit ; so it was the work of the apostles to bring people off the shadows and changeable things , to christ the substance , where there was no shadow not change , nor variablenesse , and to keep them from idols , and so all your idols , images , crosses , crucifixes , representations , are set up since the apostacy , from the apostles , and so our mouths are eternally opened ; and that scripture in joshua the 7. brings nothing for you , for the jewes ark is gone , and down now , and their altar and temple is down and gone , and denyed by them that be true christians in the life ; but them that have a name , but be dead , are setting up imitations and likenesses that has lost the life of christ , and his minde , and the image of god , are falling down before dead idols ; but christ is risen , and those that be risen with him are seeking those things that be above ; for crosses , crucifixes , images , idols , be below among the dirty mud where the devill is , in the earth , the murtherer , and murthering one another about their idols and these dead things which are all out of the truth . pr. and even as joshua and the israelites made their prayers to god after this manner and ceremony , so do we make our prayer unto christ and the blessed trinity ; and because we have , or at least ought to have a sense of our own basenesse , and of the just indignation of christ against us , we turne our selves to his saints and blessed mother , who are likewise represented unto us by these pictures , and do humbly beseech them to mediate between us and christ . answ. joshua his falling down before the arke to pray to the lord ; your falling down & praying before your images and idols , and crosses , to put you in minde of christ is not measurable nor comparable with joshua's ; but for the ark which joshua fell down before , it is ended , which arke was a command of god , but yours god never commanded , but have been invented by you that have apostatized from the apostles , who saith , little children , keep your selves from idols ; so that which god commanded being denyed which they fell before , much more ought yours to be denyed which god never commanded , and both are judged with the spirit of truth in which the saints pray to god the father of spirits , who can pray without images , or representations , or idols ; and the saints , and the apostles , christ bade them pray in his name , not in the name of mary , & not in the name of the saints , nor in the name of his mother , but ask in his own name ; for saith he , who is my mother , sister , and brother , but those that do the will of my father : so this i say , though people be never so vile , they are not to ask in the name of the apostles , nor of the saints , nor in the name of mary , but in the name of christ ; and he hears such who asks in his name , for there is no other name under heaven given by which any can be saved , then by the name of jesus . pr. he saith , when ye shall see the signe of the son of man , which is the signe of the cross in the ayre , &c. then shall all the mockers of this signe of the cross seeke to hide themselves in the clifts of the rocks . answ. who be in the crosse of christ which is the power of god , they are in christ , and are made free from the wrath that is to come , and are in christ , which was before the hills , rocks , and mountains was setled ; but your rocks , and your mountains , and hills in the apostacy hath covered you , and to them you have cryed , and under them you have sheltered , who has drunk the blood of the martyrs , and prophets , and saints since the days of the apostles ; and your crosse is in the ayr set up by the prince thereof ( who have inwardly ravened from the spirit of god ) which is the lying signe and the wonder , and not the signe of the son of man ; so spirituall sodome and spirituall aegypt , which is darknesse , mystery babylon the great mother of harlots which inwardly ravened from the spirit of god , which has reigned over the kings of the earth , which have set up her inventions , and turned against them that was in the spirit of god , who be in the lying signes and wonders : and the son of man is coming upon you like a thief in the night , the same to day , yesterday , and for ever . and all schisms and heresies in the whole christendome ( so called ) is amongst you and such that professe the scriptures , but be out of the life that gave it forth , which with it , the life , we comprehend you all , which life was before the scriptures was given forth , and who be in it be of the church . pr. he saith , if you will look upon others , then draw your eyes from the bad and worser sort , and look upon the better sort , whose lives and conversations are without reproof , whose godlinesse , innocency , love and charity to all men , &c. more then any other sort , and the very best amongst you in true reall worth and weight may no more compare then lead or dirt may be compared with gold . answ. your works and fruits should praise you ( that is the counsell of a wise man ) and not thy own tongue , and your own tongues ; but how can you speak of innocency , or godlinesse , or humility , when that fires , inquisitions , and gaols , and killing of such as be contrary to your minds , which was not the work of the apostles , nor of them that kept the faith of gods elect , that gives victory over the world ; and so those whom you call bad , and those whom you call good , are all found one here , having drank the whores cup , found in the fornication , without husband , out of the true humility , which is christ the seed that bears the sin and iniquity . pr. you take offence because the roman faith doth teach it lawfull to punish schismaticks and hereticks with the sword ; but if you will be mad , and say that those which seduce mens souls , & cause schisms and heresies in the church , and disturb the peace thereof , must be let alone , and may in no wise be punished , who can help it . answ. the faith of the true church did not teach any such doctrine to punish schismaticks and hereticks , or seducers with an outward sword , but said on the contrary , their weapons was not carnall , but spirituall . now the carnall weapons who punish them you call hereticks and schismaticks , whose church is disturbed by such . you shew you have not the power to convince gainsayers , & stop the mouths of them and make them to confess that god is in you of a truth ; and this doth shew that you are reprobated from the true faith which the apostles were in , and of christ , who said love your enemies , and if any one smite thee on the one cheek , turn the other , novv the beast and false prophets and the anti-christs , mother of harlots , should drink the bloud of the saints , martyrs and prophets , and kill them , which the faith and patience of the saints did not rise against ; now again the lamb and the saints should have the victory which should slay with the sword , which are the words of his mouth , not vvrestle against flesh and bloud , killing creatures , but over-comming with the bloud of the lamb , and here is the faith and patience of the saints whose kingdom is not of this world , but you that are killing with the sword , fire and fagots , and inquisition , bowing before images , idols , pictures & crosses , these be all of this world and kingdomes of it , carnal weapons and carnal things , held up by the carnal and not spiritual . now of your speaking of the magistrates , of the higher power , which is higher then all image-makers , and idols , which gave them to see before transgression was , which transgresser set up idols and images which they in the higher power broke down , that was the work of the magistrates , and they had the wisdom to make the true figure , and shadow , which christ came to put an end to . and they that set up images , idols , since the dayes of the apostles , and pictures , and crosses , and holds them up by an outward power , and magistrates , and compels others to bow down to them , is the worship of the beast , and not the worship of god , and this i declare , in the presence of the lord god , and all the magistrates that be in gods fear , they will break down your idols and images , and cross●s and crucifixes , and masse-houses , schooles and colledges , which you make priests and ministers in , which they that know the ministers made by the will of god will do this ; and the exposition of the scriptures by your church we cannot own , which is apostatized from the true church , which bid the saints keep from idols , which all that be of the true church are so to do ; and your church which is run into idols , pictures , and likenesses , is run into error , and is not infallible , and so you are gone from the life which gave forth the scriptures , which peter was in , and so run into idols , and must have images and likenesses to put you in mind of christ and the saints , and you are gon from the spirit & the holy ghost which they was in , which over-saw the churches , who watched for the souls and had the rule over the saints , so from this church are you apostatized & its peace , which church is the pillar and ground of truth , the divel is out of the pillar and ground of truth , he abode not in it , and all schismes & heresies they cannot disturb the peace of this church , here comes no sword-men here ▪ nor carnal weapons , nor inquisitions , fire nor fagget , stockes and prisons , nor idols , all such are w●thout that deceives nations , and tells them they are a church , which slayes the s●ints , p●ophets and martyrs , the same nature slew christ and his a●ostles , and abel with their carnall weapons , for all are one out of the life and power of god , striking at creatures , wrestling against flesh and bloud in stead of striking at the power that captivates the creatures , to the intent that creatures might come to the liberty of the sons of god , now you h●ving not continued in the apos●l●s faith , mind and spirit , but apostatized from them , you have all lost the guide and rule as they were in , both protestants and your selves that be out of the life and faith that the apostles was in that led them to give forth the scriptures , so you have been the wolves in the sheeps clothing , destroying one another about outward things and powers , but with the power of god , and life of god , by them that are in the wisdom of god are you all judged to be out of the kingdom of peace , which is the kingdom of christ fighting with carnal weapons hailing to the goals inquisitions , whips , stocks , houses , of correction , faggots , fires , either protestants or papists are you here like the kingdom of christ his subjects , but like pharisees , jewes , and cain , apostatized from the apostles , lost the faith , lost the unity , lost the spirit of god which the saints was in , which led them to give forth the scriptures , in which is the unity which is the bond of peace , into which all that is called christendome must come before they be one , and all the names blotted out that is amongst them given to them in the apostacy , since the dayes of the apostles , and all their prayers is abomination that be out of that unity ; and to you that is the word of the lord , and the quaeries thou hast not answered , and your prayers is denyed and your peace also , for you have not abided in that which the apostles and the saints was in , which did oversee the churches , but you are turned strikers , which the apostle saith they should not be so , and the apostle saw the comming in of the man of sin , and christ speaks of anti-christ and the false prophets coming in , with their signs and lying wonders , which if it were possible , would deceive the very elect , which john saw was come and went forth from them , and bid the saints keep themselves from idols , for they were them that got up idols which went forth from the apostles , which apostles bid the saints keep to the anointing in them , and they need not that any man should teach them , but as the same anointing teacheth them which is truth and no lye , and even as it had taught them , so they should continue in the father and in the son , and they that went forth from the apostles , went forth from this ; and in the revelations it is declared that all the world went after them who had the lying signes , wonders and the miracles and deceived them that dwelt upon the earth , and that has been the worship of the beast , and this has been since the dayes of the apostles , who said some should depart from the faith which is the shield , and so made war against the saints which was in the faith and over-came them ; but now the devill shall be taken , and with him the beast and the false prophets , and cast alive into the lake of fire , and babylon the great whore confounded , and the lamb and the saints shall have the victory ; and the everlasting gospel shall be preached to them that dwell upon the face of the earth , which is the power of god , and strike down all those that has got the words but not the power , and reach to the life and immortality , that that may come to light through the gospel which is the power of god , and to you that is the word of god . the profession of the catholique faith , of the last councell of roüen , holden in the year 1571. according to the councell of trent , holden the year 1360. which they have taken upon oath and sworn to perform . answ. which faith and profession , and catholique , which is held up and performed by an oath ; a company of swearers , which are sworn to perform the catholique faith and profession , is got up since the dayes of the apostles , and since the dayes of jesus christ in the flesh , and separate from them : for christ saith swear not at all , though they had sworn in the old time , christ who was the oath of god , and the apostle saith , above all things my brethren swear not ( who was in the covenant of god the oath of god , ) not by heaven nor by earth , nor any other oath , least ye fall into condemnation ; so all swearers whatsoever papists or other that are called christians , are fallen under the condemnation ; and the apostles contended for the faith , and was in the faith till death , and true brethren , vvhich vvas held up vvithout an oath ; so all that hold up , or perform their profession of faith , vvith an oath , are apostatized from the true church , faith and profession , from it reprobated , and are under condemnation , from the apostles , saints and christ , vvhich vvas never svvorn to perform the profession of their church , though the first priest-hood svvore , and the angel , and men in strife , and abraham , and solomon , and moses and the prophets , yet christ the second priest-hood , the covenant of god , and the oath of god , is that vvhich ends all o●ths and denyed svvearing ; and the apostl●s that vvere in the faith of him denyed swearing , and these was of the true church , and pure religion : and though the angell swore , the angels must bow down to the son of god , that saith , swear not at all ; who is the end of the prophets , greater then solomon , the end of moses , reigns over the houshold of jacob and joseph , and before abraham , who said , swear not . christ jesus , him by whom all things was made before it was made , the master of the family of heaven and earth , who is the author of the true faith , which is held without an oath ; which author of faith denies oaths and swearing , and ends them , and they deny swearing that be in his faith . 1. and 2. prin●iples . in . n. believe of firme faith , and professe all and every of the things contained in the symball of the faith , which the holy roman church uses , viz. 1 i believe in god the father all powerful , creator of heaven , and of the earth , and of all things visible and invisible . 2 and in one lord jesus christ the onely son of god , and begotten of the father before all the worlds , god of god , light of light , true god of true god , begotten and not made , consubstantial with the father , by whom all things have been made , who for all men , for our salvation is descended from heaven , and hath been incarnated by the holy spirit , of the virgin mary , and hath been made man , hath been also crucified for us under pontius pilate ; hath suffered , and hath been entombed , and is risen again the third day according to the scriptures , and is ascended into heaven , is set at the right hand of the father , and again shall come in his glory to judge the living and the dead , the kingdome of whom shall have no end . answ. you are not in the true faith of the son of god , nor know him not to be come in the flesh that be swearers ; and you that be not in the faith of the son of god , you know not god ; but swearers are under the condemnation , and knows not him that was crucified , that said , swear not at all . and knows not him that dyed , and rose again , and him that is the light of the world , and the judge of the world , christ jesus the saviour , by whom all things was made ; made of a woman , born of a virgin , who is one with the father , him ye know not , that be out of the faith of him ( and the apostles ) who said , swear not at all , whose profession , church , faith , and religion is held up by swearing and oaths , with all your stuffe and invented words , apostatized from christ and the apostles church , profession , and faith , and religion , under the condemnation ; and all professions besides upon the earth , which is held up by oaths and swearing , are under the condemnation , in the reprobacy concerning the faith which is in christ jesus , which gives the victory , and is the shield , and in which men please god without an oath ; you cannot please men , nor worship without an oath . 3 prin. and in the holy spirit , lord and quickning power , who proceeds from the father and the son ▪ who with the father and the son is worshipped and glorified , who hath spoken by the prophets . ans. you talk of believing in the spirit that proceeds from the father and the son , or god that spoke by his prophets , which christ is the end of the prophets ; and you talk of true worship , as speaks in spirit and truth , which the devil and enmity is out of ; you talk of these things , who holds up your church , profession , and religion with oaths , a company of apostates from the true faith , which the apostles were in , which christ is the author of ; which faith hearing , the spirit is received , which denies oaths , and then in that spirit is god worshipped , and the scripture known , given forth from it , and the son and the father known , the spirit received , and the spirit of the prophets , and the end of their words christ jesus , these are all known by the hearing of faith , wherein the spirit is received . 4 prin. and one holy church catholique and apostolique . 5 prin. i confess one baptism for the remission of sins , and wait for the resurrection of the dead , and for the life of the world to come . 6 prin. i admit and embrace most firmely the traditions apostolique and ecclesiastick , and all the other observations and ordinances of the same church . answ. your traditions , your word catholique , your sprinkling infants , which you call your baptisme , does not remit your sins , for there is no scripture for it ; so church , traditions , sprinkling infants , all have got up since the dayes of the apostles ; and so the unholy catholique and apostolique church , traditions , is got up since the dayes of the apostles , and your fruits declare it in the apostacy , from the true church of the saints and apostles , and the resurrection christ , you be ignorant of , and the power of the world to come , that be gone out of the faith that the apostles were in . 7 prin. i admit also the holy scripture , according to the sense that hath been given by the holy mother church , to the which it appertaineth , to judge of the true sense and interpretations of the holy scripture , and shall never take in hand to interpret them , then according to the common consent of the fathers . answ. your mother which you call the holy church , which gives the sense , is the whore , from the spirit of god , which the apostles was in , and christ and the prophets ; for that is it that knows the scripture , and that was in the saints that gave it forth , and all must have it in them before they know the words again , and come into unity with god again , of whom they learned that gave it forth ; and unity with the scripture , and one with another , and this both papists and protestants are out of ; the spirit , and falling out about the sense of scripture , and your father and mother , sons which ravened from the spirit of god , and so thou and you all teachers from others inventions ; and your teaching is traditions for doctrine , which are the commands of men ; but now to the lord be glory , ye are all discovered by his life . 8 prin. more i professe that there is seven ( truly and properly said ) sacraments of the new law , instituted by our lord jesus christ , and necessary for the salvation of humane people , but not all to every one , viz. baptism , confirmation , eucharist , penitence , the extream unction , the order and marriage , and that they confirme the grace , and that among them the baptisme , the confirmation , and the order cannot be rejected without sacriledge . answ. in this you have shewed your apostacy again , from the apostles and christs doctrine , which sayes , go preach the gospell to all nations , baptizing them , without any limit ; and marriage they that forbid , that is the doctrine of devils , which is honourable , the bed undefiled in all ; and the apostles doth not call them sacraments , neither baptisme nor marriage , nor the visiting of the sick , nor the lords supper : your confirmation and order , and your penitence , whipping and beating your selves for your sins , is your own invention , a sacrament of your owne making , which the apostle does not call repentance , a sacrament , or confessing of sin , or sorrowing for sin , the nature within should be afflicted , and circumcised in the spirit , which puts off the body of sin , and that brought down ; and not to strike the creature , and beat the creature , that is as you wrestle with flesh and blood ; the power of darknesse causes you to do that which guides you within , that strikes at the creature ; which power of darknesse should be struck at , that the creature might come into the liberty of the sons of god . 9 prin. i receive also and admit the ceremonies of the church catholique , receive and approve in the administration solemnly , of all the abovesaid sacraments . 10 prin. i embrace and receive all and every of the things which hath been defined and declared by the sacred holy councel of trent , touching the sin originall , and the justification . 11 prin. i protest likewise , that in the masse is offered to god true , proper , and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and for the dead , and that in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist is truly , really , and substantially the body , the blood , with the soule , and the divinity of our lord jesus christ ; and that there is made a conversion of all the substance of the bread into the body , and of all the substance of the wine into the blood , and the which conversion the church catholique calls transubstantiation . 12 prin. i confess also , that under one of these , one receiveth jesus christ all entire , and one true sacrament . answ. in these four principles which ye teach for doctrine , is but your owne traditions and commandements which are learned of one another , of men at the council of t●ent , and at your fathers , which is your sin , in the apostacy from the apostles , who was not of man nor by man : and as concerning justification , ye are ignorant of ; for where that is known , the sin is done away which came by the first adam ; and they that believe are passed from death to life . and there are some children of believers which is holy , yet all by nature children of wrath in the unbelief ; and your church is held up by tradition , and traditions , and vows , and oaths , which is all in the apostacy , from the spirit where it seems the root of the word protesting is come from your selves who are apostates , and not ftom the scriptures ; but you have thrust it in , & your offering and mass it is but a dead thing , it is neither good for the dead nor the living , the living do not accept of it but as cains sacrifice ; for are not you murtherers and destroyers of one another about religion , sacrifice and traditions , as cain did , whom god did not accept his sacrifice ? and as the jewes did ( without the life which gave forth the scriptures ) turn against the just , and all the apostates since the dayes of the apostles , which are inwardly ravened from the spirit of god , who set up all your lying signes and wonders , and traditions , and deceive people with them that dwell upon the earth , who be from the spirit of god , inwardly ravened from it , in which spirit god is worshipped , which spirit brings to offer living sacrifice : and the bread and wine after they have consecrated it , which you say is the very body and blood of christ , and soule , and it 's divine , and that ye call transubstantiation ; and he that receives either bread or wine , receives christ . now seeing that this doctrine and principle is laid down by you the council of trent , and tollerated by the great bishop of rome , the pope , and taught by the jesuites , i shall demand one thing of you out of every nation , and from every dominion and island belonging to the bishop of rome , the pope . let there come forth a bishop and a jesuite , and consecrate bread and wine , and after consecration and conversion , which you call transubstantiation , which you say then is the very body , blood , and soul of christ , which is divine : let that then be set by and kept ; and let us take of the same bread and the same wine , of the which you have consecrated part , and set them both together , and let us have a watch over them , seven of our side , and seven of your side , and see if that bread and wine do not corrupt and perish which ye have consecrated , as well as the other which is not consecrated , and prove not divine , and prove not immortall , but mortall as the other ; and if the bread and wine change not its taste , then we will say it 's the body of christ , if it do not ; and ye will not prove deceivers : but if it prove bread and wine , and loose its taste , and alter its property , then acknowledg your selves to be deceivers ; but if it corrupt not , but prove the body of christ , then the protestants may acknowledge they have wronged you , and be of your religion , but if that prove to be bread , and prove to be wine ; and mortall , and not divine , then shall you deny all your religion and acknowledge that you have wronged the protestants , and turn to the truth : so if you dare adventure to try your christ openly , and bring him out to the light , and see whether he will stand , and whether he will not corrupt , for the flesh of christ ( which the scripture speaks of ) saw no corruption . so now if you will take a publique consideration , and give a publique meeting after , send to any of them in england called quakers , and let there be a publique tryall ; and his word that comes to passe shall be the true prophet , and his word that doth not shall be the false prophet ; which ye are if the bread and wine corrupt , and prove not divine and immortall . these things have been taught for doctrines , about which there hath been fightings , slaying and killing , and much blood spilt : so that your weapons are but carnall and not spi●ituall , and there hath beene a great deale of profession of these things , and a great denyall . now if you will try them publiquely , if they stand , you will come off with honour , and give over fighting and killing one another about religion ; but in patience and meeknesse let it be tryed , and this will bring truth to light , and honour to god . if you dare not come to the light , to a publique tryall , and ye being so many nations and dominions , acknowledge your selves to be apostates , and deceivers , and so fall under the truth , and let the white horse go over you . 13 prin. i hold most constantly that there is one purgatory , and that the souls that are therein retained are helped by the supplications of the faithful . 14 prin. likewise that one ought to honour and invoke ( or pray to ) the saints which reigne with jesus christ , and that they offer to god their supplication for us , and that one ought to honour their reliques . answ. the scripture speaks of no purgatory ; and he that believes hath passed from death unto life , and shall never dye , nor come into condemnation . and the wicked shall be turned into hell , and all that forget god ; and death and hell must go into the lake of fire , and god who breathed the breath of life into man , by which man became a living soul ; he hath all souls in his hand , and the honour which the scripture speaks of it is owned ; but the honour which is given to the saints , from that are you apostatized ; and so your praying to saints and for the dead is in the purgatory already , your souls in the death ; so your soules are lean , who feeds your fleshly minds with similitudes , images , crosses , crucifixes , old reliques , pieces of cloath , or old bones , which you call reliques of saints , so are full of dead mens bones ; a generation of murderers , whose souls stands lean , and bound and captivated , and wants the vertue of the immortall food . 15 prin. i assure most firmely that one ought to have and to hold the image of jesus christ , and of the mother of god , alwayes virgin and of the other saints , and render to them the honour and the veneration which appertains to them . 16 prin. i affirm yet that jesus christ hath left in the church the power of indulgences , and that the use thereof is extreamly healing unto the people christian . answ. the power which ye have set up in your church , which gives the honour to the image of mary , the image of christ , and the other saints ; that i do believe you , that which you should give to christ , you give to images ; but this doth but shew and make you manifest to be apostatiz●d from the apostles , who had the minde of christ , and the image of the son of god in them ; so this church and its power is apostatized from the true church and its power , who are giving honour to the image of christ , mary , and the saints , which was not the work of the apostles ; and mary their saying ever a virgin , had not she children after to joseph ? and when they said , behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee ? &c. is this the rise and ground of this word , god-father and god-mother , when your children are sprinkled papists and protestants ? 17 prin. i know the holy church catholique , apostolique , and romane , to be the mother and mistris of all the churches , and promise and swear true obedience to the bishop of rome , successor of st. peter , prince of the apostles , and vicar of jesus christ . answ. i do believe you , your church as you call it catholique , is the mistress , and hath been the mother of all churches false of babylon , and the mother of the harlots ; from the true church the apostles and saints was in ; in the apostacy , which hath been held up by the sword , fires , faggots , inquisitions of the popes , and quite out of the faith of peter , who said , render to no man evill for evill ; but if any man offend you , ye will render evill again . and for saying peter was the prince , will ye give paul the lye , who said , he came behinde none of the apostles ? and christ said , he that would be greatest , should be least ; and that there should be no lordship exercised amongst them one over another : and every man should have but his penny that went into the vineyard . 18 prin. i receive also and professe without any doubt , all other things which have been taught , defined and declared , by the sacred canons , and councels universall , and principally by the sacred holy councel of trent ; & together , all things contrary , and all the heresies condemned , rejected , and anathematized by the church , i them condemn , reject , and anathematize likewise . answ. i do believe you , who are bound up in the apostacy from the true church of the apostles , to that which your councell hath set up without doubt ; but your tryall is not yet come , and your selves you do not know , as for that , because your councell , pope , and bishop , their traditions of their own inventions , and profession and church , and all things belonging to it hath been held up by an outward sword , fires , faggots , inquisitions , and this hath been held up by the same nature , and the same weapons , by which the heathens held up their idol gods , and the apostate jews , as the apostate christians , from the true faith , and from the true christians of the true church , whose weapons were not carnall , but spirituall , by whose faith they overcame the world , the kingdomes , and subdued mountains , and quenched the fiery darts of satan . so your overcoming , and all other apostates , hath been with outward weapons , gaols , inquisitions , and death , bound with oaths , out of the covenant of god , whose religion is built upon that , who are all the wolves ravening , devourers , and so doubts ; the ground of them in your selves you feel not yet , your pasture and fields hath been so large for the beast to raven up and down in ; but now the lord god almighty with his power will hedg you up , and bring you into a narrower compasse : and anathematized and hereticks are ye all , from the apostles , as the gentiles from the jewes ; but jewes and gentiles all come to be one out of the life which gave forth the scriptures : so christians that be apostatized , and anathematized from the life that the apostles were in , be as the jewes and gentiles from the life of god , and with the life all comprehended , amongst the jewes and gentiles from the life of the apostles , and true christians , and with the life of god are all judged , who be out of the life of the saints . so it is not the professors of the words of the saints , but they that be in the life that are justified ; they are they who have unity with god , and one with another . 19 prin. and this faith catholique , out of which any cannot be saved , the which presently i professe of my good minde , and hold truly . i say , promise , vow , and swear for to retain and confesse , god helping , most constantly , intirely , and inviolately untill the last , teach and preach as much as shall be possible for me , through them that shall be subject to me , or shall be in my charge ; so god me help , and these holy evangelists of god . answ. all swearers are out of the faith of christ jesus , who said , swear not at all ; and the faith the ministers of christ , and the apostles were in , who said , swear not at all ; and the ministers of christ was not made by oaths , nor sworn to preach ; but you are apostatized from their faith and life that gives victory : and the evangelists all of them was against swearing , there is not one example among them all , not among the apostles , that they broke the doctrine of christ in swearing , and was made ministers by oaths , but by the will of god , which you all are apostatized from them , and are held under with the life , and from their faith reprobated ; and your faith and catholique is out of that which saves , and church , and so come under the condemnation , which was the false brethren went out from the apostles , and since the world have gone after them , which have had the scripture , and your own traditions and ceremonies , the sheeps cloathing , which have been fain to binde one another , and tye one another by oaths to uphold what you professe , which is all out of the covenant of god ; and the saving faith you are ignorant of ▪ and from it apostatized , wch gives victory over the world : and your teaching and preaching hath been out of the true faith , who multitudes hath gathered after you , and so deceived the souls of people , telling of a purgatory , and your souls be in it ; and this is all judged with the true judge of the world , the bishop of the soul . 20 prin. ye say that ye ought to honour the reliques of saints , and that god hath not forbidden images , and that ye ought to honour images of saints , because their bodies hath been the organs and temple of the holy spirit , and that god doth by vertue of their holy reliques many miracles : and because that the honour redounds to themselves , that they represent unto us : and when one worships the crosse , the honour of the worship redounds to jesus christ . but the idols ye say are forbidded , which doth represent the false gods which the heathen worship . answ. god hath forbidden to make representations and images of saints and reliques ; and the images of christ and the crosse is set up by you who are apostatized from the spirit of god , in which spirit god is to be worshpiped , and not the images of christ nor the saints , nor crosses , for those be all out of the power of god ; and the crosse of christ which is the power of god , which all must bend to ; and the crosses and images of male and female whatsoever , they that worship and honour them are as the heathen ; for reliques , images , and crosses are set up since the days of the apostles , by you who are inwardly ravened from the spirit of god by the same nature which went astray from the life in the jews and gentiles ; which wh●n they went astray from the spirit of god , they set up images which displeased god , as you that w●nt forth from the spirit of god since the dayes of the apostles , inwardly ravened from that ; who say that after bread and wine is consecrated i●'s christ , so are the antichrist that hath set up the false christ , who cries , loe here , loe there , and so put him in your chambers , deserts , and secrets , and yet you say he was crucified , and rose again , and at the right hand o● god , and say he was before all time , and that by him all things was made ; and yet ye likewise say , after ye have consecrated bread and wine , which you call transubstantiation , it is christ , and thus you confound your selves : and the lying signes and wonders which ye call miracles , which ye say are wrought by the reliques of the saints , is that which john speaks of in his revelation : the beast shall deceive because of his miracles : and the apostle speaks of , concerning the man of sin , which shall deceive with his lying signes and wonders ; and to the reliques ye have given the honour and worship , and not to god , and so lives in the outward . now jannes and jambres could do miracles by the power of witchcraft , by the same power the beast and the false prophets , the mother of harlots , babylon , and man of sin , acted to deceive the nations , since the dayes of the apostles , with all which is the mystery of iniquity ; she hath sate as a queen , lady of kingdomes , and hath seen no sorrow , but now she will come to l●sse of children ; for the lord god of heaven and earth will be honoured and worshipped , who will not give his glory to any other , and not to images , reliques , nor crosses : and the apostles , you are all got up since , from them apostatized ; for when they was adoring of paul , or adoring of apollo , the corinthians came under rebuke by the apostles , who said , who is paul , or who is apollo ? it 's christ that dyed and was crucified ; and bid them prove and examine themselves if christ were not in them . know ye not that jesus christ is in you except ye be reprobates ? and all these things are got up since the days of the apostles ; representations , images , crosses , and reliques , amongst you that are apostatized fr●m them , that bid the saints keep from idols , that had a sight of your coming up before their decease , which you papists and professors hath since reigned and drunk the blood of the saints , and the saints blood drunk , and hath been satans synagogue , and out from the saints . this should be , that the word of god might be fulfilled , and are fulfilling . but now the lamb and the saints , the top-stone is over your heads , and christ is come to reign , glory to the highest for ever , who kils with the sword , which are the words of his mouth , conquering and to conquer . and the seed is risen and rising in males and females , the sons and daughters of men . from them that be of the seed which the beast makes war against . the answer to r.w. his paper , wherein he vindicates the doctrine and practise of the romane church so called , to be the church of christ . in the dark night of ignorance when men hath been as in a deep sleep , & their eyes closed in security , & a spirit of slumber hath seased upon many nations , the god of this world having blinded their eyes , then the ravinous beasts , have come out of their dens , and hath ranged abroad in the earth , seeking to destroy and to devour the sheep of the lords pasture , and to kill them that the shepherd hath fed , and to lead them astray as into a great wildernesse from the fold , that they might worry them and destroy them , and make a prey upon them , and that which christ prophesied of which math. hath recorded chapter the 7. vers. 15. and in the 24. of math. 9.10 . and the 11. the false prophets , the wolves , which should come and devour , and to the intent , that they may not be so easily descovered by the sheep , they shall come in the sheeps clothing , but inwardly are ravining wolves , and these john and peter and paul saw come in their dayes , and fortold that they should more increase after , and should not spare to make havock of the church of christ , & this was long before the general apostacy , and they fortold that there should be a departure from the faith , and likewise that many should make ship wrack of faith and a good conscience , and the spirit spoke expresly , that in the latter time some should depart from the faith , and should give head to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils that should speak lyes in hypocricy , forbidding to mary , and commanding to abstain from meats which god hath created , 1 tim. 4.1 , 2 , 3. and this doctrine of devills is found in the church of rome , with many more which hereafter may be mentioned which clearly demonstrates , that the wolves the false prophets , the deceivers the anti-christs , the seducers , & them that taught the doctrines o● devils , & them that were seduced & believed this doctrine , which was apostatized from the doctrine of christ , and the apostles , here is your beginning , here is the corner-stone of your foundation , the dead-stones of which your visible church was made up of , which is none of gods temple ; but the synagogue of satan , and a residence for the devill , from whence all these devillish doctrines have proceeded , that hath corrupted all nations , & hath unsetteled them that they are become like a sea , casting out all this mire and dirt , swelling , raging , tossing , unstable , the nations are waters , tongues , languages , kindred , out of these waters , rose the beast with his heads and hornes that hath prevailed and hath over-come the saints , and hath shed their blood , and filled them , and hath made war against the lamb ( and yet doth ) & his followers , so that none hath escaped the rage of the beast ; who had not his mark , and upon these waters , kinreds , tongues nations , and peoples ; the whore sits which is none of the lambs wife , and she hath made all drunk with the wine of her fornication , so that all nations have been intoxicated , and inflamed , and have reeled , and staggered , and fallen from the faith vvhich stands in the power of god , and so being erred from the faith that works by love ; you have set up another fained faith which works by ▪ wrath and envie , murther and cruelty , witness your bloodly mas●acring , torturing , racking , tearing , rending , burning , destroying , killing and murdering many thousands since the dayes of the apostles ; so that your faith is manifest to be reprobate by the fruits you have brought forth before mentioned ; i challenge all the body of your visible church ( so called ) to prove , that ever christ , or his apostles , or the churches which beleeved and received the everlasting gospel , and were in the faith that wrought by love , where they taught , or practised any such things , as burning , kiliing , destroying , racking , them that were hereticks , or there was heresy at jerusalem among the jewish church , some that held that their was neither angel , nor spirit , nor resurrection which was heresy , and yet their is no mention of burning , or killing of such , and ( their was heresy in the primitive times , before ever your ruinous heap of visible dead stones were brought together , of which now so great a babell is builded , or before you had the name of a church , and yet no mention is made of their burning , or racking , or killing of them ; for the faith which wrought by love endured all things , in which the apostle was in the charity that suffered long and endured all things ; but your fruits have made your reprobate faith manifest unto many , blessed be the lord . but now the night is far spent , and the day is at hand , and is dawned upon many , and the anti-christs is seen , and the deceivers and false prophets , and the wolves that hath the sheeps clothing the saints words , and now the table of devills is seen , and the doctrine of devills , and they will not be partaked of , nor harkened unto as they have been in yeares past ; for now the heritage of god that hath laid wast , is coming to be tilled , and the threshing-instrument that hath teeth , is put into the hands of the lambs followers , and now wo to the hills they shall be threshed to dust , and shall be levelled , and wo to the beast his hornes shall be broken , which hath risen out of the sea , the sea sh●ll be dried up out of which he had his rise , and the mother of harlots shall become desolate and her flesh burnt with fire , and wo to her merchants , that have traded by sea , for it will be dried , the lamentation is heard which shall speedly come when they shall cry alas ! alas ! and wo to the kings of the earth that have drunk of the whores cup , and wo to them that have admired the beast , and have said who is able to make war with the beast : he is come who is able to make war in righteousness , and hath showed himself and hath put on strength who treads the wine press of the wrath ; who travels in the greatness of his strength , out of whose mouth goes a sharp two-eged sword which shall dash all to pieces . consuming fire is before him , ten thousands of his saints , is vvith him , and he in them ; they go on in his strength , conquering and to conquer , arme your selves , cast up your batteries , come all to the battel of the great day of god . and see if you be able to stand against the lord ; for he hath manifest his wisdome from above , which will confound all your deceit . for we esteem no more of your arguments then straw , nor of your devised fables no more then rotten wood : for you are all rounded as with a hoop , and measured as with a line ; your beginning is in the apostacy , your rise in the night of darkness , your strength lies in ignorance , and your end will be utter darkn●sse : and this shall stand true , when your place shall be no more found , nor one stone left upon another which shall not be thrown down . and now i come to the answer of the substance of thy arguments and principles . first , thou says , this is good catholique doctrine , that a man may have the true faith , and yet lead a sinfull life : and further , that a wicked man and a godly hath true faith , and it doth not differ a whit in matter or substance in the godly and ungodly . now to say one hath faith , and not the other , is against all sence and reason thou saith . answ. i do believe thee that this is thy catholique doctrine , but i cannot call it good , for then i should erre like thy selfe ; for this doctrine is contrary to the doctrine of the gospel , for true faith is that which the just lives by , hab. 2.4 . and that which the just lives by is pure ; the matter of it , by it he is cleansed , and the faith of the godly stands in the power of god , and that is a pure thing : and he that hath the true faith , hath the faith of christ , who is truth from whence it comes , and it leads out of sin , and a sinfull life ; gives victory over sin . this is the victory even your faith . by faith the godly stands , 2 cor. 1.24 . and by faith the godly walks , 2 cor. 5.7 . but on the contrary , a wicked mans faith , if thou call it faith , is called a feigned faith , and a dead faith , and is centred in him who hath the power of death which is the d●vill ; and this is another thing for matter and substance , and is a distinct thing ; and by the fruits and effects the true faith is ●nown from the reprobates in the different operations ; and so this is a devillish doctrine thou hast laid down , to wit , that they are one in matter ; for this is contrary to scripture sense and reason , and is an unreasonable position laid downe and ●●●firmed , from thy unreasonable minde which is erred from the true faith . and again , the faith of the godly and ungodly differs in effe●ts , but not in regard of the faith it self ( thou saith ; ) and here is thy confusion manifest , and thou saist all the five senses will teach you ; that a man may be chaste in his minde , and yet be angry ; and he may be temperate , and yet want patience . thou that hath no other thing to teach thee but the five s●nses , art sensual , and knows not the spirit : for a man to be chaste , and yet angry , is a false thing ; he that is angry and intemperate , is not chast , but joyned to that which adulterates , for these are the devils conceptions and works ; they and in whom these are brought forth is not chast , but is in cains way , and in dives way : and thou saist , if you can conceive this , that a man may have true faith , and yet want godlinesse of life and conversation , thy conception is false : for he that is temperate and chaste , and lives in that which makes him so , wants not charity nor patience ; for the true faith of gods elect purges from all sin , and that faith is reprobate where ungodlinesse is brought forth , and contrariwise thou saith , a man may be of an honest and godly conversation , and yet want faith ; utter darknesse is thy dwelling place , and thou speaks out of thick darknesse ; is there a conversation godly , or like god lived in where there is no faith or honesty ? where there is no faith , that 's utterly false , for these are the fruits of faith , of a lively faith ; for honesty and a godly conversation is the works which proceeds from a true and living faith , as the scriptures witnesse , and these things thou saith thou thought good to commend to consideration . thou that thought these things good , cals evill good , and good evill , and art in blindnesse , and i have considered of the things , and i never heard of so much blindnesse uttered by one who would seem to be a teacher of others : and now i come to that which follows . 2 p●●n . that the people or church of christ hath been alwayes visible , not only in the beginning , or in the apostles dayes , but also since the apostles dayes , even untill now , and shall be to the end of the world : and for this thou saist , christ hath promised , that the gates 〈…〉 shall not prevail against it , but that he will be with them till 〈◊〉 end of the world : and for this end thou saist the apostle said , ephes. 4. that he hath given some to be apostles , some evangelists , for the worke of the ministry , till we all come to the unity of faith , and unto the stature , and fulnesse of christ . answ. the church of god in the beginning , in the prophets dayes , christs dayes , the apostles dayes , and since the apostles hath always been in god , and hath always been invisible , as to the eye of the world , which could never discern them , nor wherein their communion stood with god ; yet notwithstanding there hath always been men , and people , who feared god , and believed in the invisible god , whom the world never knew to be such , but always did persecute : and they that did persecute , have named themselves to be the church of god . yet notwithstanding all this , there hath been in all ages some that hath born a visible testimony against the world , that lyes in wickedness , and against the false prophets , seducers , deceivers , and antichrists ; and these that bore their testimony against all these before mentioned , they were in the faith of our lord jesus christ , and declared against their idolatry in all ages , and these christ promised , that the gates of hell should not prevail against them . and although the gates of hell did not prevail against their bodies , or outward man , yet never prevailed against the rock christ upon which they were builded , but hath always been with them in the deepest suffering ▪ and greatest ffli●ction , and hath preserved them faithfull unto death , so that they have not denyed his testimony , nor the word of his patience ; for they have not loved their lives unto the death : and sometimes they have been more visible , and sometimes lesse , yet two or three that know the name of christ , and live in the power of christ , christ is in the midst of them , and they may be truly said to be a church of christ ; and these god hath promised to be with , who believeth in christ the power of god , to the end of the world , and against these the gates of hell shall never prevail . and whereas thou saist , he gave some apostles , and some evangelists , pastors and teachers , for the worke of the ministry , for the perfecting of the saints . this is granted , and it did , and doth effect the same end for which he gave it : but when ordained he the popes , the cardinals , the fryars , the monks , the jesuites , & the nun● , for the work of the ministry ? or whether have any of all these effected the same things which the apostles did by their gifts : but rather on the contrary , they have perverted the straight way of the lord , and have made the word of god of none effect by their traditions , and hath introduced and brought in those things to be observed amongst people , which god hath neither commanded nor commended , but on the contrary forbidden and condemned . 3 prin. that all those people or congregations , or meetings , or churches , which have not been constantly visible from christs time till now , are not , nor cannot be the church of christ ; and then thou makes this conclusion , that the roman church can shew its constant and successive visibility from christs time till now ; therefore the roman church must needs be the church of christ . answ. by thy own words thou hast proved your church to be no church of christ , neither your officers and ministers to be ministers of christ ; for matthew , mark , luke and john , peter , paul , and the rest of the apostles , makes no mention of any such officers , as po●es , cardinals , fryars , monks , nor jesuites , neither of any such doctrine did they allow of as you preach , to wit , the doct●ine of devils , in forbidding to marry , and commanding to abstain from meats wch god hath created ; and also teac●ing to make images , and set up images and idols , and also teaching to burn and kill , and destroy them whom you call hereticks , which christ nor none of the apostles ever did : so that it is manifest from the scripture of truth , that your visible church was not always since christs day ; for peter , paul , and many of the apostles lived after christs day , and they make no mention of any such ministry , doctrine , or practice , as is found amongst you , onely foretels of you , and prophesies of you , that antichrist should come , deceivers should come , and false prophets should come ; and peter , whose successors you say you are , he foretold of you , and hath left his testimony against you , & against them who preach for filthy lucre , those things the apostles taught not . ( amongst many things this is one ) in teaching and making people believe a purgatory after they be dead , and this was invented by you to get filthy lucre , and to get dishonest gain . another thing to give pardons , that you may get money , and filthy lucre , so that it is manifest you are none of peters successors , but are apostatized from the faith , from the doctrine , from the practice of christ , of the churches of christ in the dayes of the apostles , and were not visible then , nor counted the church of christ by any , in many years a●ter the decease of the apostles . but the false prophets that christ spake should come , which john , and paul , and peter saw creeping in then , who erred from the faith , and apostatized from the truth , who subverted whole housholds from the faith ; there 's your originall , they that did subvert , and they that were subverted , and held part of the form of godlinesse , & denyed the power , there is the beginning of your visible church , antichrists , false prophets , seducers , and seduced , you are their successors , and from thence your visibility came to be seen in the world . so in that which i have said doth clearly evidence , that you have not constantly & visibly had the name of a church since christs time , although you call your selves the ancient church : and i say unto thee in thine owne words , except thou be bewitched and possessed with a spirit of blindnesse , here is enough to convince thee , and all thy visible members , that your roman church is not so ancient as christ nor the apostles . but you are quite another thing , which hath sprung up since , and are apostatized from the doctrine and from the faith , which the churches which were before you were in , as the church at jerusalem , at antioch , and the rest of the churches , which had received the faith of our lord jesus christ without respect of persons , from which faith you are now reprobated . 4 principle . thou saist , that luther , calvin , memno , beza , and others were first popish priests , and those that followed them was first of the church of rome , and these thou saist fell from the faith , and were accounted by you hereticks , and sayes they ought to produce more evidence , for their faith which they professed being separated from you , then you need to do from whom they separated . answ. they are hereticks who denies the true foundation , and who erre from the true faith which the saints possessed , and and lived in : but your visible church have left the true foundation , and have erred from the faith which christ and the apostles declared and lived in ; therefore you are the hereticks . therefore luther , calvin , memno and beza , and the rest , seeing your doctrine , principles , and faith to be contrary to the doctrine of christ , and the primitive churches , god opening their eyes , and let them see that you had innovated and brought in another doctrine and other practices then had been taught or practised amongst the apostles , therefore they denyed yo● in many things , although they were not clearly come off your principles , nor did not see clearly thorow your deceit ; yet so far as they saw by the light of the lord , they bore testimony against you , and gave a clearer demonstration that you were out of the faith then you ever did ( or can do ) that you were in the faith : but that is made manifest in this the day of the lords power , which sees over you , and beyond you , and comprehends your ground , and all the body of your religion which stands in imitations , imaginations , inventions , and traditions . and further thou saith ; that you can bring more scripture for your catholique doctrin then they that are separated from you ; and thou brings two scriptures to prove some of your doctrine , and sayest , that the church of rome teaches , that christs body is reall in the sacrament , for which thou brings the 11 cor. 23 , 24. verses , which proves nothing to the purpose ; for the body of christ is incorruptible , and saw no corruption : but bread corrupt● , and will corrupt , notwithstand●ng all your consecration ; but as concerning this , i shall refer the reader to that which is written in answer to the former pap●r . again , thou saith , that the apostles and their successors had power to remit sins , according to john 20.23 . the apostles who believed in the son of god , unto whom all power is committed , and had received power from god , could do nothing against the power , which was their life , and what they said and did from that power , st●ndeth for the same power that christ received of the father , the same he gave unto them ; and the same that they did remit was remitted . but what is this to the pope , who is out of the power of god , who follows his successors , the antichrists , deceivers , apostates and vagabond jewes , and exorsists , who would have cast out devils in the name that paul preached , but could not . when did christ or any of his apostles say to the pope , or any of the cardinals , fryars , monks , jesuites , whose sins ever you remit are remitted . or when did he give the pope , or any of his cardinals , fryars , jesuites , monks , power to sell pardons for money ; is not this a doctrine of the devill , which peter , whose successors you say you are , who declared against you , and such as you , who said concerning you ; that you taught those things for filthy lucre , which you ought not to teach . and further thou saiest , thou conf●sses that there are other points of popish doctrine which you teach ; that there is not such evident scripture for ; as for those before mentioned , if thou hadst said there had bin none at all , thou had spoke truth & this is the popish doctrine , which thou sayest you have not clear scriptures for ; for purgatory , & praying to saints , and baptizing of infants , &c. i say there is no scripture at all , except it be your own devised fables , for the blood of christ cleanseth from all sinne them that do believe ; and there is no need of any other thing to cleanse , and so your purgatory is a feigned fiction , and a lying invented thing , invented by the pope to get money by . and as for praying to the saints , there is no scripture for , but against it : for it is written , th●u shalt worship the lord thy god , and him only shalt thou serve ; and cal upon me in the day of trouble . it doth not say , call upon the saints . and farthermore christ said , whatsoever ●e aske in my name , it shall be given you . and farthermore christ said to his disciples , whatsoever you aske my father in my name , it shall be granted unto you . he exhorteth them not as the pope doth , to ask in the name of st. mary , and st. peter , and st. dominick . and as for baptizing of infants , that is an invention of your own , framed and formed since the dayes of the apostles . for the apostles were commanded to teach and preach before they baptized any ; but you baptize those that are unt●ught , and unlearned , and these they call members of you● visible church , and so all this f●igned doctrine before mentioned is denyed and and condemned by the spirit o● the lord , which you are erred from . 5 prin. that the scripture doth no where clearly teach , that we must do nothing , nor believe no●hing whi●h is not written in the scripture , so thou saith even by our own rule , the whole foundation of all our n●w faith falls to pieces : for if i am bound to believe nothing but what stands in scripture , then thou sayest , thou art not bound to believe this maxime of heretickes , because it stands not in scripture . answ. paul was no heretick , and he said ; if i or an angell from heaven preach any other gospel , let him be accurst . and moses he was no h●retick ; and he said to the church of the jewes concerning the book of the law given unto them , thou shall not adde thereto , nor take therefrom . and john he was no h●retick , and he said ; if any man shall add unto these things written in the book , god shall add unto him the plagues that are written in the book . ( and yet all these were h●reticks in thy account ) & their faith stood in the power of god ; and this the scripture bears witness of , and those things were written in the scripture , that they might be believed , and from the spirit of truth they were written : and so if thou professe thou have the spirit of truth , thou art bound not to believe any thing contrary to the scripture ; and here your foundation and doctrine is dashed to pieces by the spirit of god who spoke for the scripture . and farther thou goes on in thy blindness and ignorance , and sayes , thou art not bound to believe that the bible is the word of god ; because it stands not in scripture , is not the scripture that which is written in the bible ? and dost thou not call the scriptures the word of god ? and yet foolishly saith , the bible stands not in the scripture . thou goes on and says it is most clear , that we are bound to believe and receive some things that are not written in the scripture ; they who know the bond of the spirit are not bound by i● , to beli●ve any thing which is contrary to the spirit , which speak forth the scripture . further thou brings 2 thes. 2. and 15. & 21 john & 25. to prove that we are bound to believe something that is not ●ritten in the scripture , because the apostle exhorts the thess●lonians to stand fast , and to hold the traditions which they had been taught , whether by word or writing . now if thou can produce thou may , the words that he taught to the thessalonians , which was spoken by the same spirit which he wrote the epistle● by : and that which he spake , doubtlesse is not contrary to that which he wrote , and so this proves nothing that every one is to believe your vain traditions which you have invented in your carnal minds , being erred from the faith , and having lost the spirit . and although john say , that there were many other things that christ did , which are not written : yet what doth this prove , that your innovated stories and devised fables ought to be believed ? and i say unto thee , and unto all you , it is meer madnesse to aver , or to believe that which is contrary to that which is written : and then thou says , if any man ask thee what those things be which christ and the apostles taught , and have not written , thou gives an answer thy selfe , that they taught to baptize infants , and that we must sanctifie the sundays , and other holy days , and to fast in lent , and acknowledge sr. peters successors for the governours of christ-church , and to say masse , and with all other points of catholique doctrine ; all which pack of lyes , and foolish fopperies , and invented imaginations , which is all contrary to that which christ spake , and the apostles wrote of him . for these are all invented stuffe , some from the heathens you have by traditions , and the rest has been invented , both the words and the things themselves since the apostles dayes , wherein there hath been a great apostacy , and all the world hath wondred after the beast . and thou saith , if any ask thee upon what ground thou believes that christ and the apostl●s taught all these things before mentioned . thy answer is , upon the same ground thou believes they wrote the new testament , even the testimony of all christians in all ages . here thou hast shewed thy faith , that it is but reprobate , & is but by hearsay , and is builded upon hear-say and tradition . and for your testimony of christians in all ages , let us have your testimony from the christians of jerusalem , from antioch , from thessalonica , colossia , and corinth , philippia , and the rest of the churches and christians , which lived in the age of the apostles : and likewise let us have the testimony of the churches of asia , which if thou dost bring to prove these fore-mentioned things , then thou brings a testimony against christ and the apostles , to make them transgressors , to build those things which they have destroyed : and thou saith , by that which thou hast written , we may see the firmnesse of the roman faith : by that which thou hast written , i see the blindnesse , and the ignorance , and the rottennesse , and the foundation of the roman church to be but rubbish , and sandy , for it stands upon inventions , mens traditions , and devised fables , and lying stories , and is not founded upon the rock of ages , and stands in the waters , which are moveable and unstable upon which the whore sits , which has made all nations drunk , which the great kings thou speaks of , which hath been converted , have drunk of , and so came to be protectors of the pope , & defenders of your religion by carnall swords , by fires , murthers , and inquisitions , and killing them who keep the word of gods patience , and deny all your idolatry , and this has been acted amongst you since the apostles dayes , in the apostacy . but the lord in his power hath appeared , and hath dryed up some of the waters out of which the b●ast had his rise , and hath broken some of his horns with which he hath pushed ; and all the kings which have given their power to the beast , have made war against the lamb and his followers : but the time is coming when the beast , and the whore , and the false prophets and antichrists shall be taken , and cast into the lake , and the lamb , and the saints shall have the victory . 6 prin. your church , thou sayest , is proved to be the true church , by the great sanctity and power of godlinesse , and mortification , as hath appeared in the roman church in all ages , and how they have lived in pure and perfect chastity , and how they have left their pride , and thou challenges to shew thee such among all those thou calls hereticks . answ. more ungodliness hath not appeared , neither hath been acted by any heathens in the world , then hath been acted amongst you , as blood shed , murther , killing , burning , destroying them that would not worship your idol ; and you have made the name of christ which you professe in words , and christianity to stink among heathens by your barbarous cruel●y , and your unhumane usage of them in many places of the world ; and as for sanctity and holinesse you are altogether strangers unto . is there not tolleration for whoredome in the principal cities of the popes dominions , and cruelty , the like is not to be found in the whole world ? witnesse your devill●sh inquisition , and hellish devices , to torture , and kill , and destroy them which will not submit , and follow your foolish imaginations , and deny the living god ; and for pride , he which you call your holy father , hath exceeded , many kings hath been made to kisse his feet ; and in most of the nations where the roman faith is professed , no such pride appears in any nation except them . and furthermore thou saith , the mighty power of god hath appeared in converting whole kingdomes into the christian faith ; your conversion we know , and your converts have been made manifest by their fruits , that they are two-fold more the children of the devil , and have but only turned them from one sort of images to set up another ; and that which you call conversion , more hath been turned for fear of your swords , faggots , and fires , being afraid of death , then hath been by any of your doctrine which hath been taught . and as for your fasting , thou boasts of , we know what it is , denying one sort of meat , and taking another ; and fasting one day , and riotous another : and as for your voluntary humility and poverty which stands in your own wills , which is onely to deceive people , that thereby your cloysters and your cels might be enriched , that your fryars and your monks might live in pride , and idlen●sse . and thou saith by this doctrine which austin the monk taught , that is to say , to fast from lawful meats , and to confess their odious and secret sins unto him , have converted whole nations by this doctrine from the vanities and pleasures of the world , as i said before , they are but turned to outward shews , and images , and the pleasures and vanities of the world are still standing in their hearts , and shews themselves forth in their actions . and as for thy saints , boniface , wil●road , and saint patrick , their work is yet to be seen ; they which professe the same doctrine in ireland , the fruits hath made patricks doctrine , and their conversion manifest ( which was rebellion ) treachery , murther , and blood-shed , and many thousand men , women and children have been destroyed in that nation within lesse then this twenty yeares , which is manifested , that patrick and his converts was cains successors , and not the successors of the apostles of christ . and as for the lying wonders and miracles thou speaks of , and of a jesuite raising twenty dead bodies to life again . it is like thou will prove this , as well as thou proved that christ taught to say masse , and to fast in lent , and keep holy days : but all thy lyes are seen , and your deceit found out , and with the life of god you are all judged . and though you have deceived the nations long , and kept people in ignorance and blindnesse , and have maintained your deceit by cains weapons , and have upholden the kingdome of antichrist by your bloody cruelty ; yet he is come , and coming to be revealed in the nations , whose dominion is everlasting , who will subdue all his enemies under his feet , & take the wicked in their own craftiness ; and he himselfe alone rule , whose right it is , who will confound you with all your idols for ever , that his glory over all may be advanced . f. h. this is the word of the lord god to you that fast and afflict your selves , and observe days , & meats , which the kingdom of god stands not in . you that fast , you want the bridegroom , you want christ , and the bond of iniquity is amongst you ; and this fasting and afflicting of your selves for a day , & days , is not the fast that the lord requires , which breaks the bond of iniquity ; which fast being known , that the lord requires , the foundation of many generations is raised up . you may fast from meats and drinks for dayes , and observe meats , and afflict your selves ; the envious man , the man-slayers do thus , which would kill and murther , and slay in the heart . now this is not the fast which is required of god , but of men , while the bond of iniquity is standing , whilst strife and debate is , do you not make vowes from the marriage ? is not then the cause you so do in the doctrine of the devils , and the forbidding of meats , which ought to be used with praise and thanksgiving ? the fast of the lord is coming to be known that he requires , which break● the bond of iniquity , which is the foundation of many generations , and the marriage of the lamb many are come to know , and enjoy the presence of the bridegroom , where they do not fast ; where they come into the wisdome of god , by which all the creatures were created , with which they come to use and order the creatures of god to his glory , and sees the kingdome out of meats , out of drinks , out of the observation of dayes , above meats and drinks . your leaders have caused you to erre , envy and wickedness hath been in them strong , which is by the power of the lord god comprehended and judged , whose sacrifices god hath no respect to , who be in envy in cains way , man-slayer● ; therefore haste out of the old life , and come to witnesse the chast virgin , which follows the lamb , that to him you may be married and joyned all ye poor captivated ones ; for the lord is come , and coming to exalt the kingdome of his son , whose standard shall stand over all the earth , and nations shall be ruled by his rod of iron ; come to know strife ceased , and envy ceased , and selfishnesse ceased , and pride ceased , and wickednesse and wilfulness ceased ; and envy , and plots , and murther ceased , and the bond of iniquity ; for this is that which will and doth deceive the simple-hearted , for the lord god with his power is come to redeem , who inlightneth every one that cometh into the world , that all men through the light might believe , whose day is appearing , and glory is revealed . so now every one of you that be come into the world , having a light from christ the saviour of your souls , from whence it comes . now this , you that be enlightned withal , it lets you see your sins you have done , as thoughts you think , and words you speak , and actions you act , and wayes you walk , with the same light that lets you see this ( which comes from christ the saviour of your souls , who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him ) the same will give you power to come out of your sins : and there you come to receive the covenant of god , christ jesus , who hath given you the light to see sin , he it is that takes away sin , and blots out sinne and transgression . and now every one of you , this is the word of the lord god to you , all heed the light that you are enlightned withall , with that you will feel your saviour , for the light lets you see sin , the same blots it out , the same is the covenant of god , the same gives power , for all power in heaven and in earth is given to the son , who is to rule and subdue to himselfe all the powers of darknesse and wickednesse . the light which you be enlightned withal lets you see your deeds you have done , your words you have spoke , your ways you have walked in , your actions you have acted , the same will give you power to stand against your sin ; and there is the teacher , and the same will condemn all of you hating the light , which is christ which hath enlightned you withal ; and if you go on still in wickednesse , the same will become your condemnation at the last . remember , when you are in your wickednesse , and upon your death beds , you were warned in your life-time , and this light will let you see when evill thoughts get up in you , and evill affections , and evill desires , and check you , and reprove you , if you love it , and heed it ; when you are walking up and down , when you are fitting still by your selves , secretly it will bring you to think upon god , and when you are walking up and down abroad , yet it is present with you , there will be your teacher , there will be your condemnation if you hate it : the light of christ , who saith , learn of me , i am the way , the truth and the life . this is my beloved son heare you him : and there is no way to the father but by him , who doth enlighten every man that comes into the world , him by whom it was made , all the sons of adam drove from god in transgression , christ the second adam , the way to god , who is the way and the life . but man being drove from god , from life , and from truth , so christ is the truth , man being drove from god , from gods righteousness ; so christ is gods righteousnesse , drove from god , from his wisdome : so in a wisdome that is below , earthly , sensuall , and devillish , drove from god , from his glory , there is the first adams state in the disobedience ; but christ the second adam , the obedience , the lord from heaven , who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world . the light that shineth in his heart which christ enlightneth him withall , it must give him the knowledge of the glory of god ; and this brings him from things that are seen , that are temporall , the light that shineth in his heart , that gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of god , with it brings to know all things that be eternall : and the lord is coming to teach his people himself , and to bring them of all the worlds teachers and ways to christ the way : and the lord is coming to break all in pieces that are gathered , and are a gathering ▪ but not with the power of his son , and with the life of his prophets and his apostles , such will he break to pieces , and dismiss the assemblies , who is come and will gather his people with his spirit into the life , the prophets were in , christ and the apostles were in , they shall come to live in the power of an endlesse life , and the world where there is no end is known , where there is the hungring no more , and the thirsting no more ; the government of him is manifest where there is no end , and the kingdome and the throne of christ is exalted : so all that afflict your selves , and torment your selves , and fast and observe days and meats by the commandement of men , and not by the commands of god , and doctrines of men ; and wills of men . consider the power of the creator , and come to the witnesse of god in you , to the light which christ lighteth you withall , which is the covenant with you , a god which breaks all other covenants when you come to the light , all the covenants you have made with men , with death , must be broken , and will be broken , that is contrary to the light . then you must know a shame , which is to be despised in the sight of all the world in breaking covenants , who with them hath made covenants , and bound your selves in vowes . therefore come to feel the witnesse of god in you , which gives you to feel and see that all the covenants upon earth must be broken that is made from the light , the minde that is from it ; which if you come into the light , you will know the marriage of the lamb , your fast shall cease , for god doth not accept your extreams , your passions , your fast , your afflicting your selves for a day , while there is prejudice and envy seated among you , the man-sl●yer which shews that you be out of the light and life of the prophets , and of christ and his apostles , both magistrates and ministers and teachers . and the pope which sits now on high , whose arms , fingers , legs and head is brancht out ; but with the power of the lord is compassed and seen , the end that he is in , and all is but earth , and the worshippers but earth , and in the earthly things the threshing instruments must thresh ; for you lie like a wildernesse , for the lord god of power is coming to plow up , and so seed it ; and that the truth over may passe , and christ in power come to reign , who is law-giver and judge , and to break your wills , and bow down your thoughts , who will subdue all things to himself . who will reign , and to exalt his kingdome , whose dread and terror is gone out into the earth : all what is done in mans will which he pretends to god , he will be judged for it , and all your observances , and fasts , and circumstances , and worships , who hath required this at your hands saith the lord ? come to truth , and singlenesse , and innocency , then you will see cain is a vagabond , the envious man , the man-slayer , a murtherer , from god a vagabond and fugitive , though he built a city : and he observed outward things , but comes not to witness the spirituall sacrifice ; but it shewed that you be in envy , and slayes men concerning religion , being another spirit then christ and the apostles , wherein as i● is declared in scripture , with it ye are judged ; and your reading over prayers , cumbers and wearies the just with reading over prayers , and praying to names , your observing of images , and your earthly crosses ; and this keeps you from the life and power of god , which is the crosse of christ , and the spirit in which you should pray , which the lord knows the mind of . g. f. this is to go abroad among the papists in all the earth . friend , as thou hast spoke of giving a reason , which reason is fathomed and comprehended to be earthly . now there is a reason which flows from the faithful that makes reasonable , and that gives dominion over the earthly ; but this reason is but earthly , and stands in the earthly , as hereafter will be made appear , as thou art brought before the judgement , and weighed in the ballance : and as for the church in the days of the porphet , that was in the days of baal , that would not bow to him nor serve him . now it seems there was some that did bow to baal , that had been of the jewes , and remained as in the outward name . but those were of the church that bowed not to baal , to the earthly ( mark that ) and those stood in the truth , and bowed to the lord , and kissed not baal ; and there 's a distinction between the holy kisse , and the contrary . now that was invisible that kep● them from bowing to baal , and that was invisible that they were gone from , viz. these jews that did bow to baal . as for the seven churches of asia , that 's agreeable to these words ; for many got the words of the church , but the life they fell from . then as for the church of rome , as for the dissolution of the roman catholique faith , which was before luther and calvin , which is as a dark puddle , the smoak of the bottomlesse pit , that hath not a foundation , but from the foundation christ fled : and luther and calvin , something there was stirring in them . luther was true in his place , but it was but a little , but so much as comprehended you ; and as for their falling from you before , luther and calvin , they were but in your outward ceremonies ; for neither you , the church of rome , nor those you beget , nor luther , nor calvin , was in the very life , that is infallible , the apostles were in , and christ , that the scriptures were given forth from . therefore kill you , and slay you that be contrary to you in your religion , and it is the cause of all people running into sects and heaps upon earth ; calvinists and lutherans , because they are not in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures , that hath been lost among you all since the dayes of the apostles , which is now found among them that are called quakers , whom all the sects upon earth are against , that are got up since the dayes of the apostles ; and with the spirit that the apostles were in , you are all fathomed as a span . you that are the church of rome , came to be made up of all these rotten members that fell away from the apostles , before the apostles deceased , that got the forme of godlinesse , but denied the power ; that forbid meats and marriage , that minde earthly things : so you have been the ancientest apostates , and all that have apostatized from you , you call sectaries , which you apostates was the mother of all ; and so i tell you , you are the most ancient in the form of godlinesse , and that have denyed the power , as your gaols and inquisitions declares your fruits : and you lye like a barren field unplowed up ; but now the plough of the lord is going , the servants of the lord are driving on the horses , which will tear your ground . and the publique worship that the apostles were in , who were led by the spirit of god , hath been lost since the dayes of the apostles amongst you ; for christ said , false prophets should come , that were inwardly ravened , that were wolves , that had the sheeps cloathing , which john saw was come , and that the whole world were gone after them ; and so there you lost the infallible spirit , and have held up part of the visible form , and run into some inventions of your own making ; and so is become the mother of harlots , and have brought them forth that are harlots . now that which christ said should come , which false prophets john saw was come , and the whole world was gone after them ; they made war with the saints that kept the testimony of jesus , them that had the forme , the sheeps cloathing , and were ravened from the spirit , and so overcame the saints , then power was given to the beast over all kindreds , tongues , and nations , and all that dwell upon the earth should worship him . then the beast and his names , and his images , and his mark , and horns , then the vials and thunders should come again to be poured upon him and his seat : so the author of all these sects and names hath been from you that first ravened from the spirit of god , all sects upon the earth would kill one another about their worship , which shews the spirit of the devil , and not the spirit of the apostles : so when the beast had overcome the saints , and killed them , and got power over all kindreds , tongues , and nations : and the woman fled into the wildernesse , and the man-childe caught up to god ; and the dragon made war with the ●emnant of her seed that kept the commands of god ; and here by this you may see where the church hath been : and the great whore which went forth from the apostles , and ravened from the spirit of god , yet hath had the sheeps cloathing , which all nations hath drank her cup . she hath corrupted the earth , and made the inhabitants of the earth drunk , and the kings of the earth hath committed fornication with her , and all nations have drunk her cup of fornication . she sits upon the waters , and the waters are peoples , ( not a people ) and the waters are nations where the whore sits , and multitudes , and tongues . now mark , if nations be waters , and peoples be waters , and multitude waters , and tongues waters : and the earth is corrupted , and the inhabitants of the earth drunke , and all nations have drunk the cup of fornication , and the kings of the earth hath committed fornication with her . now where is the church and the rock all this time ? when nations , peoples , multitudes and tongues are waters , and the inhabitants of the earth drunk , and the earth corrupted , and all nations have drunk the whores cup . and the whore cannot be said to be the heathen ; for the whore goes from something , and there is the ancient visible church ; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her , and all nations have drank the cup of fornication , and fornication is before you be married : and these are them that have drank the blood of the prophets , saints , and martyrs that have kept the testimony of jesus . but now again , the lamb is brought forth to rule the nations with a rod of iron , though the beast , and false prophet , and kings of the earth , and the old dragon make war against the lamb and the saints , yet the lamb and the saints shall get the victory , and the everlasting gospel shall be preached to all nations , kindreds , tongues and people , and life and immortality shall come to light through the gospel , which your old great grand-father went from in the dayes of the apostles ; and so to that that they went from , is people now come and coming , and the lambs wife is making her selfe ready ; and the saints do sing , the lord god omnipotent reigns ; and you are all too immoderate spirits , you and all other sects , then to be like the apostles and christ , or to be like the church of christ , your fallibility and your idols , inquisitions and cruelties makes it appear . two queries being propounded to thee ; in thy answer to the first query thou saist , that all churches or meetings of all sorts of men which have not the spirit of god , they may erre . in thy answer to the second query thou saist , that the church of christ , or the meetings of those christians that follow the rule and law of christ , and are always guided by them , cannot erre in any truth . reply . your church , the church of rome have erred from the spirit of truth , and the truth in which there is no errour . as instance , you have set up idols ; and the spirit of truth in the true church said , keep your selves from idols , as in johns epistle : and you have made ministers by men , and by the will of man , and so gone into your own wills , which the scripture came not by , nor which christs ministers were not made by ; and you and all apostates since are of men , and made by men , and so you are erred ●rom the spirit of truth , that leads into all truth . you are erred from the crosse of christ , the power of god , and have set up outward crosses , and falls down to that instead of falling down to the power of god . you have erred from the true image of god the saints were in , and have set up outward images of wood and stone : you have erred from the saints life and spirit , and from the spirits of just men , and so from the true church , and so set up the reliques , as pieces of cloath , and old bones : so you know after the flesh , which the apostles did not : and you are erred from the rock , and falln into the waters , as in revelations : and your idols , pictures , and images have corrupted the earth ; so you are erred from the true church , and the true spirit , which cryed against idols in all ages , as moses said in his command to the people , and the apostles . your church is commanded to make images and idols , and the church in moses time , and the apostles churches were commanded to keep from them . so no true church you are , but apostates , but fallible , and erred in matter of faith and doctrine , and praised be the lord who hath brought you to the light . and multitudes of instances may be shewed , who compares the church with what the churches of christians were in the dayes of the apostles . and thou saist , the difficulty is where the church of christ is to be found ; for papists , lutherans , calvinists , anabaptists , arminians , and all schismatical meetings , they do claim the title of christs church to themselves , &c. answ. all these the roman church being the mother of the apostates , and all these before-mentioned are started from her , her sturdy sons , and severall names still in the forme , for the light within they are all against ; and christ within to reigne and teach ; and the law within in the heart , and in the mind , whereby all comes to know the lord , and the word in the heart and in the mouth to obey and do ; and the spirit of truth to lead into all truth , whereby the saints have unity one with another , and with the scriptures , and with god . this the pap●sts are run from into images and idols , and this the baptists , lutherans , and all other sects are run from into other images within , but with the spirit of truth which leads the saints into all truth are these comprehended , and out of all these sects and sorts are people coming . i 'le break your names , and marr your images with the spirit of truth , fence your selves never so wisely : and so none of these nor you neither are of the true church , but the beast and his names ; but some of these you cal● s●cts are neerer the true church then you ; for the world who lives in images and idols wonder after you , who lives in images and idols , who are apostatized from them ; keep your selves from idols . as for the quakers who are risen in the ancient of dayes , in the end of the night of apostacy , among whom that's appeared that cannot be shaken , against whom you and all the sects upon ea●th appears that are come up since the dayes of the apostles , whom they comprehend , and will tread to dust and to powder : the seed of god is risen , and the top-stone is laid , glory to god in t●e highest . come out all sects and s●ctaries to the battel , and you are all in the vanity contenders and pretendeders , got up since the days of the apostles ; the marks are appeared not to be the marks o● the s●ints , who hath the fathers name written in their foreheads ; but you have the mark of the beast upon you , and without the true ground and the true reason of the apostl●s ●re you out of : for inst●nce , the true church taught not to persecute , and the true reasonable men that was in the faith ; for faith gives victory over that nature in particular that would persecute , and so doth not lead to kill the creature for the sake of the nature in it in general : and fafth teaches not this d●ct●ine , but denies it , and brings to suffer all things , through which mountains are subdued . thou further saist , they that are of a wicked life may have a right faith , and reproves others that cannot believe it . answ. a wicked man he hath not faith of the el●ct of god for faith gives victory over wickednesse ; and faith purifies , and faith makes reasonable ; and who are of the faith , are of abraham , and come out of all these adulterous generations , the mystery of fai●h is h●ld in a pure conscience . now , here you are in the errour you papists , and all apostates from the apostles , like the jewes and the devil that hath a belief , but is out of the truth , yet may get a belief in the letter ; as the jewes held a belief long in the letter , but kill'd the son : and you have had the letter and form of godlinesse long , but killed the saints and martyrs ; who are reprobated , devils , jewes , apostates , papists , from the elect of god , for who are of faith , ●re of abraham ; and who are of abraham , are of the elect of christ , which doth not pertain to idols . and here is the mystery of the church known , the body of christ , which is a top of your flesh and idols , both which is not of the fl●sh of abraham , nor of the church . all you are but the pretenders of the spirit of christ in the apostacy from it since the dayes of the apostles , as your fruits declare , your names and images : so i confesse to you it is the ancientest form that hath been since the dayes of the apostles ; but had i never known the papists nor none of these sectaries , we had know● truth : we came not through the popes channels , but are come to that which all apostates ravened from , and so you your selves must be put to silence , and your mouths stopped , which are the evill beasts that tears one another , worse then the common beasts which the apostles speak of , which was coming up before his decease . how are you learning one another about your meat , and husks , and worships , and images , and helps , and teachers , and scriptures , which was not the work of them that gave it forth , with your horns : and how many images have you upon you , and names , and marks , and what are all these images and marks , but the marks and images of the beast which is risen since the days of the apostles ? whereas thou queriest , what be all these but sect , ? as independents , anabaptists , and other sectaries , which sayest , thou was first of the church of rome : and thou s●yest , the church of rome cannot be said to be sectaries , because it hath been constant since the dayes of the apostles , and all sectaries springed from it , and not you from them : answ. the roman church was the first made up of hereticks , schismaticks , and apostates , and reprobates , and antichrists , and false prophets , which christ said should come , matth. 7. and john said was come ; and as you may read in timothy and titus , reprobate from the faith , and erred from the faith , and had the form of godlinesse , and denyed the power , and kept the form , and as john said was come , and they went after idols before his decease ; and he writ to the little children to keep themselves from idols . and jude saw them crept up before they were aware , which went in corah's , balaams , and cains way , that were murtherers : and are not you murtherers , that murther one another , as cain about his sacrifice ? and jude saw they turned the grace of god into wantonnesse , which should be their teacher and salvation : so all these self-separations , apostates , reprobates , which went after the doctrine of devils , and forbid meats and marriages ; and the spirit spoke expresly , should depart from the faith , and ●ll these have made up the church of rome , and there 's your visible church held up by cains weapons . then as for all these sectaries springed from you , you were like to beget no other children but bastards , which is but a false conception brought forth by the will of man ; which is applyed that god got it , and fathers it upon god . and as for all these sects which are sprung of you , are like no other wayes but like to a sea , and burst into names , which went from the spirit of god ; you are not like to be kept in unity , who ravened from the spirit of god , the life of christ , and the apostles was in ; and to that which you ravened from , are people come and coming , which stands a-top of you all . they that worship god must worship him in spirit , which mortifies all sin and corruptions ; and they that worship god , must worship him in truth , in that the devill abode not in . to all the papists upon the earth to come out and try their faith and strength , without cains weapons ; for there was two that did sacrifice , and the one killed the other about the sacrifice , and whether of these two was excepted can you read your selves ? and which was the vagabond ? it 's said , that the pope and the church of rome hath the key , and it 's left to them , and ye are the keepers of the key . now if you be keepers of the key , ye are to open to nations about you , and to render a reason of the hope that is in you ; if the lord be sanctified in your hearts , you will . are you according to the scriptures ? is the practice of your church according to the scriptures ? is the spirit of the lord powred upon you , and all flesh ? doth your sons and your daughters prophesie ? and if any thing be revealed to another that sits by you , and bids another hold his peace that is speaking , for you may all prophesie one by one . or are you not like others , and the rest of the sects , that will put them in prison , and say they have disturbed you , and so shew your selves both reprobates and hereticks from the church and the spirit that the apostles were in ? and can you say , christ is in you male and female ? or are you not reprobates , and say you have no such speech among you catholicks ? but is without , which is your bread and wine ; and are not all murtherers , persecutors , prisoners , whippers , burners , inquisitioners , sectaries and apostates , from the apostles , and sacrificers from that nature cain was in , and not from the divine natu●e , and the faith of the son of god , and the apostles , and abel ? have you the spirit of christ ? is any of the church , but who are of abraham ? is any of the church of christ , but who are of the flesh of christ ? is any of faith but who are of abraham ? and is not faith a myst●ry , a perfect gift of god ? and is not this faith held in a pure conscience ? and can any ones conscience which is not pure hold this faith of gods elect ( wch is the mystery ) and doth not this faith give victory over the nature in man and woman that doth p●rtain to idols an● images made with mans hands , and in the wills of men , in jewes , gentiles , apostates from the apostles , since their dayes come up ? and doth not the faith give victory over all the jewes changeable types , offerings , temples , tythes , priests , covenant ? hath the lord put his law into your minds , that you need not say unto your neighbour , and writ it in your heart , that you need not say unto one another , know the lord ; for from the greatest of you to the least of you , ye all know the lord ? hath god commanded the light to shine out of darknesse , and doth it shine in your hearts ? and then ( mark ) dot● that li●ht that shines in your heart ( mark again ) give you the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ ? cor. 2.4 . are you them that doth take heed to the light that shines in the dark place ? is the day-star risen in your hearts that peter speaks of ? is the ingrafted word which is able to save the soule felt in you ? and the hidden man of the heart , which is with the lord a great price ? are you them that are no wearers of gold , or costly array ? are you them that exercise lordship one over another like unto the gentiles ? or are you like unto the apostles which christ said it should not be so amongst them . are you like to the pharisees , called of men m●ster ? laying heavy burdens upon the people , and go in long robes , chiefest seats in the assemblies , and loves salutations , and uppermost rooms at feasts , which christ said unto his , be ye not so . and where do you read mr. paul , mr. titus , and mr. timothy , &c. are you the ●rue believers that are ceased from their own works , as god did from his ? are you come out of the law of works to the law of faith ? is your consciences purged from dead works to serve the living god ? are you those children that needs no man to teach you , but as the same an●inting abides in you , and as it doth teach ye shall continue in the son of god , and the father ? or are you the seducers , sects , and hereticks ( that draws people from the anointing within ) and so men teachers ? are you them that keep your selves from idols that john speaks of ? are you of the seed of the woman that keeps the commands of god ? are you the children of the lord that are taught of him , that are farre from oppression ? are you ceased from men whose breath is in their nostrils , that the prophet speaks of ? are ye them that tremble at the word of god ? are you them that obey the word of faith in your hearts , in your mouths ; and that saith , the righteousnesse of faith speaks on this wise ? you need not say , you need not fetch it from above , or from beneath ; but what saith it ? the word is nigh thee , in thy heart , and in thy mouth , to obey it and do it . is this a sectary , or out of sectaries ? are ye of them that make images or likenesses of males and females , things in heaven above , and earth beneath , and bows down unto them , wch corrupts themselves with them , and corrupts the earth ? are you of them that saith , the kingdome of heaven is within you ? have you found it in you ? or are you like unto the pharisees , gazing for it abroad without you ? is god the author of your faith ? and is it in your hearts , and doth it purifie you ? are the professors the greater persecutors , that hath the form out of the faith , out of the life of them that be of the faith and life , then the gentiles ? whether have been greater in all ages , judge ye . have you found the pearl hid in the field ? are you the merchant man that hath made an exchange , and purchased it ? do you speak only as the holy ghost moves you ? as they that gave forth scriptures ? are you led by the same spirit and power that the a●ostles were ? do you speak but as the spirit gives you utterance ? and are you them that do not quench the spirit ? are you them that owns prophesies immediately as the apostles ? and revelation , and inspiration from god as they had ? have you heard gods voyce , and christs voyce immediately from heaven as the prophets and a●ostles did ? what is the tree of knowledge ? and what is the flaming sword that keeps the tree of life ? and what are the inwardly raveners ? and what is it they ravened from ? and what are the false prophets and antichrists that have got the sheeps cloathing , which christ said should come , and john saw they were come ? and in the revelation , the world went after them ? and what is the sea the beast rose out of ? and what is the beast ? and what is the second beast that rose out of the earth ? and what is the earth he should deceive with his miracles ? and what are his miracles ? and all that dwell upon the earth should worship him because of his miracles ? and what are his names , marks , horns , and heads , crowns and images ? and what is the woman that fled into the wildernesse ? and what is the whore that hath corrupted the earth ? and what did she whore from , which hath made the inhabitants of the earth drunk ? and what are these kings that have committed fornication with her ? and what is the cup of fornication that all nations have drunk of ? and what is mystery-babylon , that reigns over the kings of the earth ? and what is the whore , the false prophets weapons , antichrists , the dragons that fight against the saints withal ? and what are the lambs weapons , and the saints that they fight withal ? and what peoples , nations , multitudes , tongues are those that john says are waters that the whore sits upon ? and what are those saints that the beast overcame ? and who are they which then the beast had the power over all kindreds , tongues , and nations ? and are not these things got up since the dayes of the apostles ? and whether or no the lamb and the saints shall not have the victory over them all again ? and whether or no the saints must not come to that which they ravened from , before they have victory over all that which hath reigned since the days of the apostles ? and whether or no the spirits of people hath not separated from , since the dayes of the apostles , which they were in ? and is not that the cause that all nations are brought into sects and heaps , and lost their unity with god and the scriptures ? ( with which spirit they learned of god the father of spirits that gave forth scripture ) are you come unto the spirits of just men made perfect , to the church in god the father the judge of all ? what scripture have you for taking tythes ? and where did the apostles take tythes so , that denyed the first priest-hood , and witnessed christ the ( sum ) the change of the law by which the priesthood was made : and the disannulling of the commandement that gave tythes ? and are not you transgressors , and made your selves transgressors that have set up these things the apostles threw down . and where did the apostle take tythes ? and what is the first principle of pure religion ? and what is the soul of man ? and have you not lost the crosse of christ , which the scripture saith is the power of god ? and hath set up crosse● of wood and stone on the end of your steeple-houses ; and do take bread and wine on the day-time , which christ took at night . what is the light ? what is the word ? what is the gospel ? what scripture have you for sprinkling infants ? are you them that have heard , and learned of god , which christ saith , them that have heard and learned of god comes to the son : have you seen the shape of god ? are you them that god speaks to by his son , who is heir of all things , upholding all things by his word and power ? is your church the church that is in god ? have you heard of the father , seeing it is written ye shall all be taught of god ? are you not them that looks at things that are seen ; for things that are seen are temporall , the things that are not seen are eternall . are not images , idols , pictures , reliques , bones , pieces of cloath , things that are ●een , and temporall ? answer these queries in writing , and send them to the people who are scornfully called quakers in england , by all the sects of the earth . shall a man whiles he is upon the earth be made free from sin , and be made perfect , and the body of sin put off ? and what scripture have you for consecrating bread and wine ? and where did the apostles so ? will you try your church by the scripture of truth , and measure your selves by the apostles declaration , and venture your selves to be tryed and judged by them that the spirit of truth led them to speak forth ? and what is the wine-presse that was troden without the city ? and whether you bid every man examine himselfe , whether christ be in him , except he be a reprobate ? and whether or no you are as the apostles , who preached christ in them the hope of glory , warning every man , that you may present every man perfect in him in christ jesus ? to prove the papists church to be a false church , contrary to the apostles ; and that they are wolves , which christ said should come , which are inwardly ravening : ye have the sheeps cloathing , and are the false prophets that should arise , according to christs words ; that should shew lying signes & wonders , which if it were possible should deceive the very elect ; and should say , loe christ is here , and loe christ is there . do not you tell people that he is in the bread , and that he is in the wine ; and tell them that he is in the chamber , and that he is in the desert ; where you put the bread and the wine is not there christ ? cannot you put him in the cup-board , and in the chamber , and in the desert ? cannot you put , and tell people he is there ? and have you not the sheeps cloathing , but are you not ravening wolves , inwardly ravening from the spirit of god ? so doth not your fruits appear contrary to the church of god ? for have not you fulfilled the scriptures , having the sheeps cloathing , but inwardly are the ravening wolves ? have not you ravened , wearied , and destroyed and killed many hundreds ? and have you not your holes and gaols , which you call inquisitions , which you put them in ? are you like the church in this ? did ever lambs and the sheep weary and tear them to pieces , and then carry them into dens , and make wracks and tortures for poor creatures , or for the wolves either ? did ever the sheep destroy the wolves ? now which doth your fruits make you appear to be , the sheep or the wolves , judge your selves by the scriptures ? now let all people judge you all that be in the wolvish nature , that are not sheep no more then you : so christ calls them wolves , inwardly ravening from the spirit of god , these christ said should come ; and they have come up since the dayes that christ said they should come . and the apostle saith in acts 20. that after his departure grievous wolves should enter in among them , not sparing the flocke , which should arise from among themselves , speaking perverse things , drawing many disciples after them . now have not you papists risen since the dayes of the apostles : and you know the apostles did not prison , persecute , devour any , but the wolves should do it . now these rise among the saints that should not spare the flock ( mark ) make havock of the flock , to devour and destroy the flock . now we remember that christ told of you and of these things ; and the apostle tells of these things , 1 john 2. said it was the last time then . whereas they had heard that antichrist should come , even now there are many antichrists and false prophets come into the world , 2 cor. 11.13 , 14 , 15. paul speaking there of cutting off occasion ; for as much as false prophets , deceitful workers , transforming themselves into the apostles of christ ; no marvel , for satan himself transformed himselfe , and his ministers transforming as the ministers of righteousness . now this the apostle saw come up among the corinthians before his decease : so now again you may see satans ministers they are murtherers , and his angels they are murtherers . now the apostle said , he out off the occasion ; he did not cut off the outward bodies of people as you do ; and the apostles were persecuted , whipped and beat ; now you see that you are whippers , persecutors , and beaters ; and though you persecute one another which have the name of christians , yet are not the sheep , nor the ministers , or true apostles , nor the true church : and when the true ministers and apostles saw that these false apostles should come , and ministers of satan should tran●form themselves into angels of light , he brings them to the light that shined in their hearts & them that would give them the knowledge of god in the face of jesus christ , 2 cor. 4. and are not you as bad as the jews , who killed the lord jesus christ , and their own prophets , who kill the prophets that are sent among you , 2 thes. 2. and are you not in the fornication . and set up places for fornication among you ? and no fornicator or idolater must enter into the kingdome of god . for are you not worshipping of images ? and do you not trust in them ? and doth not the lord say , cursed be all them that trust in graven images ? now the apostle faith , the mystery of iniquity doth already worke , and there should be a falling away before the man of sin should be revealed , who exalts himselfe above all that is called god , or is worshipped , and sits in the temple of god , and shews himselfe that he is god . the apostle bid remember that he told these things , and that he might be revealed in due time ; and now he is revealed , is not the man of sin a devourer ? and was the apostles so ? and are not you devourers , who worships the names of saints , and images , and reliques ; and so contrary to john , who was not to worship the angell , but god . how are you fallen from the truth , and from the state of john , how are you revealed , 2 thes. 2. and this man of sin , whose coming is after the workings of satan , destroying with his power . now have not you a great power , and lying signes and wonders ? have you not your lying signes and great wonders among you , and the deceiveableness of unrighteousness ; who have not believed the truth , but are given up to believe the lying signs and wonders ? so god hath sent strong delusions among you . and was it not the apostles charge to timothy , that he should teach no other doctrine , neither give heed to fables ? now are not you run into the fables , run into images , and reliques , and purgatory , and idols , beads , and jewels , and so puts them in your inquisitions that denies your fables , and witnesseth the contrary , that which is the sound doctrine ? so are you not contrary to the sound church here , and given up to them that believe fables ? 1 tim. 1. & are not your ministers made of men , and by men , so gone forth from the power the apostles was in , which was not of man , nor by man , so no true ministers . and did not the apostle say in his charge , tim. 3. to prove ministers and bishops , they might not be brawlers , they must not be given to filthy lucre , they must not be given to wine , they must not be covetous , they must not be strikers . are not you strikers , killing and slaying in cains way them that be contrary minded to you ? so not of the true faith , not of the true church , not of the true stock● nor of the true ministry . this i have proved by the apostles , separated from them out of their way ; are not you covetous ? would you not sell pardons for money ? are you not ashamed of your christianity , to the very heathen about you ? hath not god here brought the very man of sin to light , and revealed him ? now the apostle said , the spirit spoke expresly ; at the latter times some should depart from the faith , giving heed to seducing spirits , and doctrines of devils , speaking lyes in hypocrisie , having their consciences seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry , and commanding to abstain from meats . are you not departed from the faith that purifies , and the word that sanctifies ? and so the church made up of such as the spirit spoke should come ; that forbids to marry commands to abstain from meats ; and so your church made up with the seducing spirits , and doctrines of devils . doth not the fruits declare this to all the nations about you ? so are not you gone from the example of the apostles , who bids , follow us , as you have us for an example , both church and ministers . you have forsaken the example of the apostle , both your church & ministers . the apostle commanded timothy to keep his commandement without spot , unrebukeable untill the appearing of our lord jesus christ . and do not your fruits make you manifest that you are fallen into all these things that the apostle saw should come , and the spirit said should come ? and moreover the apostle said ; if you be dead with christ from the rudiments of the world , as living in the world , why are you subject to ordinances ? and if you be risen with christ , seek those things which are above ; set your affections on things that be above , and not on things that be on the earth ; as your images , reliques , idols , pictures , beads , jewels , earthly crosses , crucifixes ; are not all these things below ? and doth not these make up your church ? and is not this the voluntary humility that beguiles people ? such doth not hold the head , which are in the outward shews , which are not to be tasted , and handled ; which things perish with the using , after the commandements and doctrines o● men , which shews you are not risen with christ , not seeking the things that are above , but your affections are on things on the earth , col. 2. again , the apostle saith , in the last dayes perillous times should come , that men should be lovers of themselves , blasphemers , covetous , proud , boasters , heady , traitors , high minded , despisers of them that are good ; of this sort are them that creep into houses , leading silly women captive , laden with divers sins and lusts , always learning , and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth ; like jannes and jambres which with-stood the faith , to keep people in aegypt , keeping people in bondage and spiritual aegypt , having the form , but denying the power . and hath not the church been made up of such since the days of the apostles ? and evill men & seducers should wax worse and worse , deceiving and being deceived ; and the time will come , saith the apostles , that they would not endure sound doctrine ; they heap to themselves teachers that would not endure the truth , running into fables . now these things being come up before the apostles decease , of which your church is is made up of , which are turned from the truth , that have itching ears , and seducers , are reprobate concerning the faith , that keep to the fables : and this to the view of all people may be seen hath made up your church , for these things hath come up since the days of the apostles , which were coming up before their decease ; and the apostle speaks to titus of the unruly talkers , whose mouths must be stopped , who taught for filthy lucre , which were evill beasts , slow bellies , which followed fables made by the will of men ; and of these your church is made up of , which to every good work are reprobates , being reprobate to the good , and disobedient , tit. 1. and the grace of god which brings salvation hath appeared to all men , teaching us to live righteously , sob●rly , and godly . are not you run into the worlds lusts , and from the soberness , and from the grace of god which brings salvation , by which people are saved ? into the foolish questions and strivings about the law , unprofitable and vain , which are the hereticks which went forth from among the apostles , tit. 3. and so from the grace by which men are justified : are not you gone into the lusts , and so into the wars that brought forth sin , and so death , and fighting , and wars , that hath brought forth among you , and so out of that which takes away the occasion of wars ; and out of the faith that works by love , and so in the dead faith which is cains , which will murder and kill them that sacrifices , that are contrary to you , so are not you stepped into cains way from the true church ? moreover , are not you those that hold the faith of our lord jesus christ with respect of persons , and so are transgressors ? committers of sin , who breaks in that point as respecting of persons , is guilty of all ; and drawing before your judgment-seats , and killing . you great and rich men , whose time of weeping and howling is come , and so are turned to be the blasphemers , your church is made up of blasphemers , respecters of persons , transgressors , committers of sin , & convicted by the law that goes out of sion now the fruit of your faith is not the works of charity ; for you 'l kill and murther like cain , so that faith is without the true works , and the true charity ; but the belief is like the devils and cains , who is not justified by that faith , though you pretend faith and works to people ; but the ●ruits thereof declares you to be wolves , and so erred from the truth . are not you swearers ? which james saith , above all things my brethren swear not at all , lest ye fall into condemnation . so are not you the false brethren , the false church , the false ministers , fallen into the condemnation , contrary to james , who taught in the true church , and the true brethren , that above all things they should not swear , neither by heaven , nor by earth , nor by any other oath ? so is not your church made up of hereticks , & apostates , that are given to fables and rudiments of the world , and things below , forbidding meats and marriages , and reprobates concerning the true faith , and belief , which are found in the dead , without the works ; but in the works of cain and the devill , murtherers , doing his works , as the jews did against christ , and the apostles and prophets . again , the apostle peter bids beware of false teachers , who said there are false prophets among the people , even so there shall be false teachers among you , who should bring in the damnable heresies , which should bring upon themselves swift destruction even denying the lord jesus that bought them ; which are like to sodome , which are in their filthiness & fulness , and like unto core , turning away from the truth , and balaam and cain . now is not corah's , cains , and balaams marks found among you ? and h●●h not these made up your church , these which went forth from the apostles ? doth not your inquisitions ▪ your gaols , and dens , and persecutions , and murthers of the saints shew cains marks before mentioned ? so let corah's , cains , and balaams marks in your forheads testifi● , which had the high words , and spoke them in hypocrisie , and beguiled the unstable souls ; who are the cursed children ( and contrary to the apostles , and just lot , and noah , the 8th person ) who are the wells without the water , trees without the fruit ; who having escaped the pollutions of the world , by whom many is again overcome , is brought in●o bondage by you : so ●r●th hath been lost , troden under your feet , who ha●h born corah's , cains , balaams image , 2 pet. 2. but your damnation slumbers not , for you have denied the lord in turning from the light which he hath lightned you withal , going from the spirit , as cain , core , & balaam did . and then john wrote to little children , said , it was the last time , whereof antichrist should come ; even now there are many antichrists come into the world , whereby we know it is the last time which christ said should come , matth. 7. and told them again , mat. 24. and said , he had told them before concerning false prophets and antichrists should come , inwardly ravening wolves , devourers , which john saw should come , and went forth from them into the world ; and in the revelation , the whole world that dwelt upon the earth went after them . so these that christ said should come , john saw was come , inwardly ravening wolves , false prophets , false teachers , which the world is gone after , hath made up your church , which went forth from the apostles ; and christ he said , they should come , bid them they should not go● after them ; and john who saw they was come , bids them keep to the anointing in them ; they need no man to teach them , but as the same anointing teacheth them , and as they continue in this , they continue in the son , and in the father . and from this are you all gone : so that which christ said should come , john saw was come , even the antichrist and the false prophets , and how they should try the spirits that was gone forth into the world . again , they should love one another , and not as cain slew his brother . why did he slay him ? because his sacrifice was accepted , & his was not ; cains was not . now doth not the fruits of your church shew you to be cains , & your love , which the apostle saith not as cains ; so are you not apostatized from the true church ? the true love into cains love ? so no true brethren : and your love stands but in the word , not in the deed ; and iohn saith , little children keep your selves from idols . he saw the false prophets & antichrists then come wch should run into those things . now here are not you apostatized again from the true church , and run into idols , who profess your selves to be men and teachers , and so run in that , that john bids the elect keep from , 1 john . so have proved your selves to be the false apostles , that run after idols , which christ said should come , and the apostle saw was come , that should if it we●e possible deceive the very elect with your idols , which the elect before the foundation of the world was made keeps from , wch idols your church is full of . again , jude saw it crept up before his decease at unawares ; and he bids the saints contend for the faith once delivered to them , the common salvation . so these that crept up in the days of jude , hath made up your church again , and separated themselves from the apostle● sensual , not having the spirit , speaking the great high swelling words , admiring the persons of men for advantage , which are as sodom and gomorah and corah offering strange fire , you are offering the strange sacrifice who are like clouds , winds , raging waves of the sea , speaking great swelling words , having mens persons in admiration , going in the way of cain , corah , balaam : now the marks of all these are found in your church , and found in your foreheads ; cains sword is among you , do not you rage , do not you fome , do not you kill , do not you speak , the high swelling words ? but enochs prophecy is come to passe ; in ten thousands of his saints is the lord come to judgement , and to convince you of your ungodly deeds , and of your hard speeches against him , who be the filthy dreamers , defiling the flesh , speaking evill of the dignities , of the dominions ; that goes over all transgression ( which lets see the first transgression ) that was befo●● transgression was ; this is dignity and the higher power . now are you not in cains way , and lost the patience , that kills , slays , and murthers , let all the world bear witness that be in the fear of god ? are not you fallen into the deeds of the nicholaitans ; and so like them which said , they were jewes , and were not , but synagogues of satan ; and so do●h not your fruit declare you , that you are synagogues of satan , murdering , killing ? and was there not such before johns decease , which said they were jews , and were not ? which john told should cast into prison , and try , and many of the faithful martyrs were slain . have not you held the doctrine of balaam ? your idols , and do you not here commit fornication with them ? and is not this the stumbling-block you here lay for all people , balaam-like ? and is not the fruits of your church made up of such ? and was not the woman jezebel beginning to teach before johns decease ; & teaching to seduce the servants of god , and to commit fornication , and to eat things sacrificed to idols ? and was not all this separated from the true church , these idols , balaam , this prophetess ? and hath not these made up your church , which hath the stumbling block ? the word of the lord doth try all this ; hath not he promised , and the church doth know that he was the lord that tryeth the reigns , and searcheth the heart ? for is not jezebels mark upon your fore-heads , and your idols ? your church is full of them which defiles the land ; and do you not kill and slay , jezebel-like , and betray , and after fast , your hands full of blood , your heart full of deceit , strife and murther ? is not this jezebels teachings ? jezebels fast ? and your idols balaams stumbling block ? and was not this coming up before johns decease , creeping up among the true church ? if a true church fall into these things , god removes his candlestick from them ; so are you them the candlestick is not among : therefore you set up great outward candlesticks among all your idols , and so you have a name of christians , but are dead . thou hast a name of a christian to live , but art dead , and so deceives nations by your name ; but now you are proved , your church , your ministers all , jezebels mark , balaams stumbling block , your idols , you have not repented of your fornications , all your idols , god will cast you into your bed of sorrows . and now your day of tryal is come ; and he that overcomes shall be a pillar in the house of god : and so you have lost the key , and are shut up in darknesse ; for was not jezebel a murtherer , a slayer ? and yet did she not fast ? did not the apostles fast , and yet were no murtherers , nor slayers ? and at the opening of the 5th seal , was not the cry of the souls heard ; how long lord , how long wilt not thou be avenged on them that are put to death for the testimony of jesus ; and dost not thou avenge our cause o lord ? and was not the answer again , they should rest a season till the rest of their brethren were killed ? now who are the killers ? who are the murtherers ? have you not been the killers and murtherers one of another ? and so out of the true church , and all along apostatized from the true church , revel. 6. and so are not you them that are brought to poverty among all the earth for want of the vertue of god among all people , and choaks them with your idols ? and so the bottomless pit hath been opened which hath no foundation ; & your smoak and your locusts hath swarmed abroad ; so are you not them that fell ? the star that fell ? that fell from the apostles , that fell from the truth ? is not your church made up of locust ? and have not you worshipped devils & idols , and gold and silver , brass , wood , iron , and stone , that can neither see nor hear ? and doth not iohn speak of this in the revelations , which was distinct from the true church ? and is not your church here found your idols of brasse , of silver , of stone , and can neither see nor walk , revel. 9. and hath not the two witnesses been killed which was called the two olive trees , and candlesticks ; the olive trees fruits is the oyl , and what doth oyl do ? hath not this been killed , and the candlestick which stands before the god of the earth ? and the great city sodome and gomorrha where christ was crucified , and them that crucified him was the professors of scriptures , and you the professors of scriptures , where is the olive tree now ? where is the candlestick ? how is spiritual sodom full of your idols and images now ? there is none turnes from the olive tree and the candlestick ; but who are become spiritual sodome and aegypt in themselves ; and consider was not the dragon cast from heaven to the earth ? and did not he persecute the wom●n ? and is not all persecutors of him ? did not the woman flee into the wilderness ? where hath she been all this time of idols ? where hath been the church ? was not the man-child caught up to god ? did not the dragon make war with the seed which keep the commands of god ? did not the beast rise out of the sea , which had his power and authority from the dragon ? who have been like bears and lions and leopards ? and all the world wondered after the beast , and they wondered after the dragon which had power from the beast : ( now mark ) where hath the church been now ? who is like to the beast which rose out of the sea , which all the world worshipped , which ravened from the spirit of god ; which went out from the apostles , in corahs , cains , balaams way , erred from the spirit of god , they like a sea , out of truth ; so here came in the dragons power which gave the beast his authority , which all the world worshipped , which dragon had made war , was that which persecuted the woman ; and the beast made war with the saints , and had his power from the dragon which all that dwelt upon the earth should worship and over-come the saints , then power was given to the beast over all tongues , kindreds and nations ; over all kindreds , your tongues , your teachers , which saith tongues is the originall , orthodox men which have their learning from tongues hath the beast power over , and all that dwelt upon the earth should worship him , and he should deceive them that dwelt upon the earth by reason of his miracles ; he should make images to the beast , and they should worship the beast ; and they should neither buy nor sell ; but who had the mark of the beast and his image ; now it is the beast that sets up the image ; now here is the image , the beast , here is your church , and here is the beast that hath his power over all kindreds , tongues and nations , and the woman fled into the wilderness , and the man-child caught up to god , and the dragon made war with the seed , and the beast hath power from the dragon which kills the saints ; now where is your church ? where hath the true church been ? now where is the faith and patience of the saints ? he which kills with the sword , must be killed with the sword ; him that hath an ear let him hear ; the dragon the beast , out of the sea ; out of the earth ; these are scriptures , the beast out of the earth ; his miracles , his images ; now here is your church apostatized from the apostles , from john , from the woman , from the saints , from the man-child caught up to god ; so the beast hath had his authority and power that killed the saints , from the dragon and the man-child caught up to god , the woman fled into the wilderness , and hath had his power and authority over all tongues , people and nations , who hath deceived the nations because of your miracles , and yet the tongues , & your orthodox men , wch you call the original , which the beast hath power over , will tell the people that the false prophets are come but now , the 7. mathew , but now is the seven vials coming upon the beast , and his names , and them that vvorship him , for all these names in the vvhole christendom is the beasts names , not the saints but by reproach , and now are the reapers going forth vvith their sickle , and are calling people from the vvorship of the beast and his image , vvho had his seal to deceive them that dvvell upon the earth , & the spirits of devils vvorking miracles , vvhich goes forth to the kings of the earth in the vvhole earth to gather them to battel against the great day of the lord god almighty , and blessed is he that keepeth his garment clean : and the great whore , ( mistery babylon ) sits upon the beast , vvhose povver vvas from the dragon , vvhich all the world should vvorship , but vvho hath their names vvritten in the book of life , and so she sits upon the beast in his several colours vvhich all nations of the earth hath drunk of her cup & committed fornication with her , there the woman is called the church , now here is your church , and she sits upon the waters , and the waters are people , nations , multitudes and tongues , and she hath corrupted the earth , and made the inhabitants of the earth drunk , and the kings of the earth hath drunk of her cup , and committed fornication with her ; but where hath been your church all this time ? when the multitude are waters , and nations and tongues are waters , and the whore hath sat upon them all , and the inhabitans of the earth is drunk , and she hath drunk the blood of the martyrs , and the blood of the prophets and of the saints ; now if prophets blood be drunk , and the saints and martyrs blood be drunk , where is the true church now ? and if the prophets and saints blood be drunk , and the woman fled into the wilderness , now where hath the true church been ? now again the lamb and the saints shall have victory , the fall of babylon shall be known , the judgements of the great whore is come , and she shall be rewarded double as she hath rewarded : the beast , the false prophets , the kings of the earth shall make war with the saints ; but again the lamb and the saints shall get victory who shall kill with the sword , slay with the sword , which is the words of his mouth , & the beast shall be taken with him , the false prophet the old dragon , and be cast alive into the lake of fire . now here was the lambs weapons and saints , killing and slaying with the sword , which is the word of his mouth ; but their weapons is fire , faggot , inquisition , torturing , hanging , drawing , and quartering , about your religion , about your worship , that which your faith stands in which is proved to be cains and not abels , the keeper of sheep ; for the lamb and the saints shall have the victory , and the holy prophets shall have power over you , whom the beast hath had power over , whom you have worshipped , and the whore hath set upon all tongues , and kindreds , and nations , and the everlasting gospel shall be preached to them that dwell upon the earth , to all tongues , people and nations that dwell upon the earth , and so your church hath been made up of false prophets inwardly ravening wolves , and the grievous wolves , not sparing the flock , and that come in after the apostles departure , that rose up among them , that had the sheeps clothing , math. 7. and 24. acts 20. and your church is made up of hereticks which the apostle speaks of that served not the lord jesus christ , but their own bellies , which caused devisions , which had the good words and fair speeches which deceived the hearts of the simple , romans 16. and your church is made up of false apostles , satans ministers , satans messengers , transforming themselves as the true messengers , ministers and apostles , your church is made up of such who forbids marriages and meats , which the apostle said should come , and so in the devils doctrines ( as 1 timoth. 4. and 2 corinth . 11. and so are not built upon the true foundation of the prophets and apostles and christ jesus , ) who being past feeling , who are gone after the vanities of your own minds like gentiles into idols , ephes. 5.4 . who are the injurious persons , as paul was in his first estate , before conversion , when he persecuted , who never after conversion did persecute , for then he came into the life and substance of what he professed in words before , and so your fruits do shew your church to be made up of injurious persons , persecuting like saul , not converted , and yet you he doting about law and gosple which you do not know what you affirm and speak of ; so your church many of them through philosophie , and rudements below are held up by the commandments and doctrines of men , and feigned and voluntary humility which is your own , and usurped authority jezabel-like , so hath forsaken the command of the lord jesus christ and the true church , who said keep from idols , you have made idols and images that can neither hear , nor see , nor go , so your church is to be confounded , which trusteth in idols and images , so not in the true church of god , and your church is made up of them that kill the lord jesus christ , and kill the prophets , and kills the saints , and so fills up the wrath to the utmost which is to come upon you , and your church is made up of such who for the love of money hath erred from the faith , and are covetous , and will sell pardons for money ; your church is made up of such who be given to blaspheme , and so hath lost the godliness in which the saints increase ; but you have cankered the people with your images and pictures & idols of things below , so out of the sober state , in the malice , hatefull , out of the fruits of the true church , but made up of such which peter speakes of to be in corahs , cains , balaams way ; so your fruits declares , and thus you are contrary to christ and the apostles , and true church separated from them , and such as the apostle declares against hath made up your church . have not you been the first birth of the devil since the dayes of the apostles , murderers , and killers about formes and traditions , and images , and outward churches and ministers made by mens wills ? is not cains fruits the vagabond from god appeared among you , murderers , destroyers ? did the apostles kill , slay and burn ? had they their inquisitions like you ? and do not you all wear cains mark and balaams mark on your foreheads , and the devils colours the murderer that is out of truth ? has not his flagge been hung out among you ? all that denies your religion and worshipping your images , crosses , and all your ministers made by the will of men , and temples made with mens hands , its death , by fire , inquisition or wracks , and the devil is he that destroyes the creatures , but the power of god destroyes him , lets up the soul , and brings the creature into liberty . christ saith , my body i will give for the life of the world . and christ saith , he is from above , and he is not earthly ; the first man is of the earth earthly . so after you have consecrated your bread and wine , if you will come to an open tryall and proof , that may openly bee proved and seen whether or no your bread and wine is not below after consecration , and will waste and consume , which christ his flesh sees no corruption , his body is the church ; and is bread and wine after you have consecrated it the church ? or do you call your selves the church at rome ? or do you call your selves the body of christ ? do you call the very bread and wine the very body and blood of christ after you have consecrated i● , and so the very church ? and then where are you the church ? and have you not set bread and wine over you ? and you s●y christs body was humane , that 's the first adam earthly , the second is the lord from heaven ; and after you have consecrated bread and wine , if it be humane , that signifies earthly , & that shews the creatures as they were before your consecration , and so not the body of christ , and as oft as you do eat this bread , and drink this cup , y● do shew forth the lords death till he come : that signifies that he and his body was not present , for where his body is , there needs no representation , for it was in the night in which he was betrayed , that he gave them the cup for remembrance , and do you take it in the night , and follow the practise of christ and his disciples ? which is in remembrance of him , which is the cup of the new testament in his blood , this do as oft as ye do it in remembrance of me . this was in the night . now the apostle bid the corinthians ( that the end of the world was come to ) examine themselves , and prove their own selves , that they might know their own selves , how that jesus christ was in them except they were reprobates , and if christ was in them what need they to have bread and wine to put them in remembrance of him ? friend , 1 who was the first author or setter forth of all your pictures , your crosses , your crucifixes , your images ? and what was their names , seeing that the apostles and teachers and ministers did not set forth such things in the church ▪ but witnessed against idols , and that they might keep themselves from idols , and that they were not to look at things that were seen , as in the epistles of john , and to the corinthians ; and are not images , pictures , crucifixes , crosses , things that be seen ? and the things that are seen are temporall , but the things that are not seen are eternall ; and is not it which set up these things , that which denyed the power of god ? 2 how is it that you set up tythes , seeing that the apostle witnessed against the priest-hood that took tythes , and said , the law was changed , and the commandement disannulled that gave them ? and though abraham gave tythes to melchisedeck , the similitude , the son of god is come , the end of the similitude and likenesse ; and who was the first beginner of them amongst you ? 3 who was the first author that gave ye the commands for the observing of dayes , holy dayes , saints dayes , seeing the apopostle and the saints which were in the true church , brought the saints off days , yea the days which god had commanded to christ the substance , and said , there was not any name under heaven by which a man should be saved , but his name ; and what they were to do , they were to do in the name of christ . and when they cryed paul , apollo , or cephas , he rebuked them ; are not all you come under rebuke now , that are crying up names , days , meats , drinks , which the kingdom of heaven stands not in , and so has lost the power and the substance ? 4 where did christ or the apostles command in the scripture , or the church practiced , that such things forementioned should be done , or come after them , shew me by scripture . now if you say that solomon had a temple , and there were images and an ark , and an altar , those were but figures , they were not the substance ; and when the substance came , they ceased . now what does all your dayes , crosses , crucifixes , tythes type forth ? and who commanded them ? shew by scripture where ever christ or the apostles commanded any such thing as a crucifix , as a crosse , as tythes , as a temple , as an altar outward , or to pray by beads , shew by the scriptures , where ever the true apostles , true church or christians practised any such things , or that any such things were amongst them , or said that any such things should come after them ; answer me by plain scriptures ? 5 may not a man give all his goods away to the poor , and his body to be burned ? and what will that profit him if he have not love ? yea , love to enemies ? and how can you love them when you bring them to your inquisitions , or burn or imprison them , kill or banish them ? now mark ; are not you of that sect that the apostle speaks of , that may give all your goods away to the poor , and your bodies to be burned , and yet nothing , not having love : and what differs your love from that love , that may give your goods away , and bodies to be burned , and yet not have true love ? and do not you think that you gain by that now , and do inherit some righteousness for it ; and is not that all out of the true righteousnesse , which is out of the true love ? now the love of god and christ which was in the apostles , was to love enemies . now if you love your sect , and them that be of your worship , and observes your customes , and burn , and prison , and kill others that be not of your sect and judgement , and observes your customes ? is this the love of christ ? is this the love of god ? is this the love that was in the apostles ? did the apostles do so ? did christ do so , that had all power , &c. to all that were not of their minde , yea or nay , answer ? 6 what differs your works from the works of the pharisees ? for that which they did , they did to be seen of men . and the young man boasted of his works ; yet when it came that he should have sold all , and followed jesus , the beloved of god , there was the hard thing , whereby he might have had treasure in heaven : and how differs your giving almes from the pharisees , seeing the pharisees were in your state to murther , and murthered the just ? and you give almes , and are found in the same nature , that will and do murther them that be contrary minded to you , wherein do you here differ from the pharisees ? and ch●ist saith , love enemies ; and you have your inquisitions and fagots , here his love differed from the pharisees and yours . and saith john , let us love in deed , not in word , not as cain the wicked one who slew his brother , because his works were righteous , & the others were evill : and saith john , he that killeth with the sword must perish with the sword , here is the faith and patience of the saints now where is your patience , that are killing and prisonin● ? and we wrestle not against flesh and blood , saith the apostle , but against principalities and powers , and spiritual wickednesses in high places . how do you wrestle against principalities and powers , and spiritual wickednesses in high places ? does it not shew that your weapons are carnall , and not spiritual , while you are prisoning , burning , making inquisitions for the bodies of people that are contrary to your minde ? do not you wrestle against flesh and blood ? is not this to wrestle against flesh and blood to prison , to burn , to kill creatures ? are not you apostatized from the true apostles , and true church , which is the pillar and ground of truth , who said , we wrestle not against flesh and blood ? answer these things by scripture . 7 do you own the law and prophets , which is to do as you would be done by ? would you have all that be contrary to your minde do unto you , as you do unto others , to make inquisition● , and to burn and to kill them that be contrary to their minde , as you have your inquisitions , fagots , fires , for such that be contrary to your minde , not observing your customes ? would you have others do so unto you , and serve you so , that will not observe your customes ? is not to do as you would be done by , the law and the prophets ? 8 did ever christ or the apostles give any command that any should be put to death touching worship , touching religion ? shew me a command in scripture from christs or the apostles mouths ? are not they that murther , slay , and make war the beast and the false prophets , under the dominion of the mother of harlots , and in the steps of cain and jezebel , out of the steps of christ and the apostles ? 9 what is will-worship ? does any worship god in the spirit & truth , but who be in that , which the devil is out of ? can any being in the spirit and in the truth which the devil is out of the murtherer , slay any concerning religion or worship ? but on the cōtrary ; if they be in the evil overcome it with good ; now if you kill , murther , slay , make inquisitions & burn , where is patience , where is long suffering , where is stopping the mouths of gain-sayers , concerning gain saying ? if you cannot , you have a fagot for them , or a prison , or an inquisition , are you not here like unto them , that rose against stephen , that were not able to resist his spirit , but stoned him to death ? wherein differs your nature and spirits from these ? did stephen do so to others ? the apostles were stoned , did they do so to others ? now this is christs command , he sent them forth as sheep amongst wolves , he sent out prophets and wisemen , and said some they should kill , and some they should thrust out of their synagogues & some they should persecute from city to city , and said , they should be hated of all men for his names sake , and they should speak all manner of evil of them ; and were these to do so again to others , kill , hate , hale out of synagogues , persecute ? nay did not christ say , love enemies , blesse them that curse , now are not they that are contrary to this , out of this , anti-christs , and false apostles ? 10. has not the true ministery , true spirit , true power , true church , & the true crosse , been lost since the dayes of the apostles ? and the false ministery , false prophets , false apostles , antichrists , synagogues of satan has appeared , since which all your crosses , your names , your pictures , your images , your praying by beads , has come up ? have not you lost the true spirit , the image of the father , and his name , by which men are saved ; and so since run into other names ; run into images , lost the true image ; run into crosses , lost the true cross the power of god ; run into praying by beads , and lost the true praying in the spirit , and is not the candle put out within , and so ye have set up your lights burning without ? you defiled the temple of god within ; and so set up temples without ; are they not set up by that which defiles the inward temple ? and is not that it which will murther , slay , prison , and bring before inquisitions , which defiles the temple of god ? seeing they that witnessed the temple of god , said love enemies , and does not it shew , that the love of god was there ? if love enemies , which was a command of christ , who are them that are to be persecuted and hated , and who are they that you are to slay and kill ? answer . 11 have you heard the voyce of god immediately from heaven , as the prophets & apostles did , have you the same spirit wch christ and the apostles had , which gave forth the scriptures , which was before they were given forth , yea or nay ? 12. is that the blood of christ that is your wine , which was shed upon the cross when christ was crucified , alter you have consecrated it ? 13. is that the body of christ that is your bread , after you have consecrated , that said , lo a body hast thou prepared me to do the will of god ? and will not your bread corrupt , and let it lye after you have consecrated it ? and does the body , the flesh of christ see corruption ? answer . 14. what is the ground and cause of all the destractions amongst the called christians ? is it not because they have the words of christ , the prophets and apostles , but be cut of the life of them ? 15. what is that thing wch four men do carry on staves , that all men must bow before it , when you carry it in the streets ? and what do you do it for ? and where did christ or the apostels do any such thing ? 16. why do you when you sprinkle your children , put salt in their mouths , spit in their eares , dip their heads in the water , and crosse them over the faces ? 17. what is the death that hath passed over all men ? 18. what is the tree of knowledge of good and evill ? 19. what is anti-christ ? is not it he , which sets up things which christ has not commanded ? 20. what is the beast , the first and second ? 21. what is the dragon ? 22. what is the mother of harlots , and her cup which all nations and the kings of the earth has drunk of ? 23 what is the bottomlesse pit ? 24 what are the locusts ? 25 what is the first principle of the pure religion ? 26 doth christ jesus enlighten every man that comes into the world , yea or nay ? 27 what is it that gives the knowledge of the glory of god , and where is it ? 28 what is the word ? 29 what is the gospel ? 30 what is the record ? 31 what is the original ? 32 what is the law and the testimony ? 33 what is self-righteousnesse ? 34 shall a man while he is upon earth have the body of sin put off , and be perfect , and come to that which is perfect , and have his transgressions and sins blotted out , yea or nay ? 35 what is conscience ? and what is the soul ? 36. would you not destroy them that would break down your pictures , your images , your crosses , your crucifixes , and throw away your beads ? would not that lov● in you destroy them that should destroy your pictures , crosses ▪ crucifixes , images , & beads ? would not the heathen have done the same to the jews , that had destroyed their images , groves , pictures set up which god never commanded ? would not the jews have destroyed the apostles for denying the temple , the altar , sanctuary , tabernacle , dayes , priests , offerings , the outward things which god had formerly commanded , but denyed by them that came to witnesse , and preach up the body that god had prepared to put an end to them ? and was not that the love of god in the apostles , and was not that the sel●ish love that held up pictures , temples , images , idols , which god never commanded , and was not that the selfish love in the jews , that held up temple , tythes , priests , images , similitudes , and are not you in the selfish love , and is not this selfish love that holds up temples , tythes , priests , images , crucifixes , pulpits , and is not all this in one nature , jews , gentiles , and you since the dayes of the apostles , and out of the love that the apostles were in , who witnesse against jewes , priests , tythes , and gentiles and idols and bad the saints keep themselves from idols , 1 john 5.21 . 37. are not they the false apostles , ministers and teachers & antichrist , beast and false prophets who comes with lying signs wonders and miracles , since the dayes of the apostles and john ? and who are these describe them that should come with the lying signs and wonders , and the beast should work miracles since the dayes of the apostles ? 38. are not they the false apostles , ministers and teachers , and in the night , out of the true day , & have lost it since the dayes of the apostles ( the true christians , which were children of the day ) that now observes dayes ? is not this a figure and sign to be in the night ? was not the true apostle afraid of some , that observed dayes , that he had bestowed his labour in vain amongst them , and was not this observing of dayes coming up amongst some before the apostles decease which the true apostles rebuked , and since the dayes of the apostles , have they not spread over nations , observers of dayes , and are they not gone into the night and lost the true day ? 39. why do you whip your selves , with cords or ropes , or whips , where did the christians or apostles do so ? or did christ or the apostles give any such command ? will you be tryed and have your practises tryed by the scriptures of christ and the apostles ? 40. do you own the practice of the church of the saints and christians which the apostle was amongst , that if any thing be revealed to another that sits by , let the first hold his peace , for ye may all prophecy one by one , that all may learne , and be edified and comforted , the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets , and god is the god of order , and not of confusion ? 41. do you own that sons and daughters shall prophecy in this age , and that the spirit will be poured out upon them , yea or nay ? 42. do you own revelation and immediate inspiration as the apostles had , the same now in these dayes as was amongst them , yea or nay ? 43. do you own trembling and quaking as was amongst the saints which the scriptures speak of , and the salvation which is to be wrought out with fear and trembling , and doth not this work out that nature , that beats and striks the creature ? 44. what are all your names that you give to your fryers monks , jesuits given to them for ? where did christ and the prophets and apostles do so , or give any such names to any , as white fryers , black fryers , jesuits , abbots , monks ? has not this been set up since the fall●ng away from the power and life that the saints were in , who were of one mind and heart and spirit and soul , and the number of these names got up since ? 45. from whence was the rise of your pope , cardin●ls , abbots , monkes , pryors , arch bishops , covents , canons , nunns , jesuites , franciscans , dominicans , carth●sians , capuchins , benedictines , mendicants , carmelits , gray fryers , black fryers , white fryers ; your regulers and seculers ; our altar , rayles , organs , candlesticks , tapers , lights , torches , holy water , myters , vestments , fonts , surplisses , bendings before images , bowings before the altar ; where do ye find these names or things amongst the apostles or the saints and churches which the apostles were amongst ? or where did they do so , ( shew a proof of it ) before their decease , in all their epistles , or in all the declaration of christ or the apostles , for your practise to act or practise any such thing , or to give any such names , or set up such orders ? 46. where had the apostles and saints any inquisition-houses , to put them in that were contrary to their minds ? 47. where had the apostles and saints any houses to put men and women into , such as ye call abbies , monasteries , nunneries ? 48. where did the apostles or saints , set up a form , that some of them should beg all their life times ? is it not said , i have not seen the righteous forsaken , nor his seed beging his bread ? 49. where did ever any in the scriptures , wear sack-cloth or hair-cloth , except such as of the lord god were commanded to wear them as a sign ? 50. where is it amongst the apostles and true churches that were amongst them , that they should be distinguished one from another , by their habits , as every name hath their severall habits amongst you ? prove me this by scripture , have not you lost the true knowing one another in the spirit , and so know one another by habits and names ? 51. where did the apostles and saints that were amongst them , the true church , give any such commands that there should be any dayes set apart for fish , to be observed as you do , answer me these things out of the doctrines of christ or the apostles , or disciples of the apostles and the true church ? 52. where was there any amongst the apostles and disciples which was the true church amongst the true christians , that had the name of pope before their decease , or fryeries , or abbies , or nunneries or monkes , or any such names amongst them , answer me by the scriptures out of the practice of the true apostles , and true christians , which the apostles were amongst before their decease ? 53. where did the apostles and disciples take a vow of any christians , or make them to give them a vow , that they should never possesse any thing of their own , or never marry , but put them into houses , where they should never come out again , and is not that the doctrine of devils , which was coming in before the apostles decease , forbidding the eating of meats , and forbidding of marriage , 1 tim. 4. and from what ground and root has this had its rise ? 54. what were the false prophets and anti christ , that christ said should come in the 7. and 24. of math. to his disciples , & which the disciples ●aw was come , as in 1 joh. 2. and 4. which went forth from them wch he saith in his revelations , all that dwelt upon the earth went after , and all nations drunk the cup of the fornication , and the kings of the earth and all that dwelt upon the earth worshipped the beast , what kings of the earth , were th●y that drunk this cup of fornication ? and all nations , and what nations were they ? that cup was this ? was not it them that ravined from the life , which went forth from the apostles , which made war against the saints , and should overcome them for a season , that kept the testimony of jesus the spirit of prophesy , whose names were written in the lambs book of life , slain from the foundation of the world ? 55. where did the apostles and the church , that they were amongst before their decease , set up crosses , and did they fill their windowes full of pictures and images of males and females ? answer me this by scripture , out of the apostles practice : now if you say that joshua bowed before the arke , and solomon made images , joshua bowed to the lord before the arke , and christ is come the substance of all tipes , and figures and shadowes , and to him must every knee bow , who is a greater then solomon that built the temple , and stephen that was stoned to death for witnesing the substance and denying the figure ? 56. and where did the apostles and disciples , or the ministers of christ jesus which was amongst the apostles , before their decease , consecrate bread and wine , or christ give them any such comm●nd to consecrate it ? tell me out of the commands of christ , or the commands of the apostles before their decease , that they practised any such thing amongst the saints ; and what scripture have you , or command from christ or the apostles , or the church that was amongst them , that speaks of seven sacraments , or any such names that they had amongst them , or give forth any such thing to be practised after them ; let the practice of christ and his apostles and the saints then speak for it , or declare it , or else you must acknowledge your selves to be besides them , and acknowledge it to be , but an invention , and your own words ? 57. if your church be the pillar and ground of truth , the gates of hell cannot pervail against it , but if the gates of hell have prevailed , and you swallowed up in darkness and in inventions , and are fain to hold up your selves , with prisons and inq●isitions and goales , and outward carnal weapons , does not this shew that your weapons are carnal and not spiritual , and that you are out of the power of truth , which the apostles were in ; i am none of those that you cal your sects , separated from you and drove you out of your houses , and taken them and call them the church , nor any of them that holds up tythes , or temple outward which has your crosses on the end of them , nor any of them that holds up priests , which have been made by schooles and colledges , and has their temples and pulpits imitating ezra or solomon , & not christ who came to put an end to them , nor any of them that are taught to call the dayes by the saints names , nor any of them that are taught to call the colledges , by jesus , by christ , by immanuel , by trinity , none of them that ever was learned to call them by these names , nor any of them taught by the heathen to call moneths by the names of january , february , march , april , may , &c. and to name dayes , and to call them , by such a saint , or such a god , or sun , or moon , or starres ; but am a witnesse against all the priests made by schooles and colledges by mans will , and tythes , and temples , set up since the dayes of the apostles in the apostacy , and a witnesse against all the jews , temples , tythes , pulpits , priests and offerings , one of them that are the elect ; that witness the everlasting priest-hood and everlasting covenant . 58. are not all these pulpits , temples , tythes , priests , schooles , colledges made by the will of man , and set up by the will of man in the apostacy since the dayes of the apostles ? and are not you all in the apostacy from christ and the apostles , who said when they curse blesse ye , and the apostle sayes , my brethren bless and curse not , now you that do curse by your bell , by your book , and by your candle , are not you apostatized from the apostles doctrine here , who saith , bless and curse not ; and ye curse ; did not the apostle peter see the cursers , cursed speakers , come up before his decease ? 59. did the apostles give the names as whitsontyde , or easter , or christmas , the names of holy dayes , are not all these set up since the apostles ? seeing the apostle said he was afraid of them that observed dayes ; did not the jews dote upon the shadow more then the substance , dote upon the day more then they did upon christ ? but shew what your observing of whitsontyde , easter , or other holy dayes does signify forth , and who was the first author of your church , or where the apostles or the church before their decease practised or commanded any such thing ? if not , grant your selves apostates . 60. where did the apostles or ministers of christ or the beleivers before their decease , build great abbies , monasteries , and set crosses on the ends of them , nunneries , cloysters , build walkes in the ground ? shew it by scripture , by that prove your practice , else acknowledge your selves to have set up these things who be in the apostacy ? 61 where had the apostles or the saints , bells jangling to call them together like a company of heathen , or like they that have a horn to call their hounds together , or the swine-heard for people to put forth swine , or hower-glasses to preach by the hower ? prove it by scripture , else acknowledge your are in the apostacy , and have set up ●hese things by your own inventions , and are them that limit the spirit . 62. where did ever the apostles consecrate any thing , or the scripture speak of sacraments , or where did the apostles use that which you call holy water , to sprinkle people withal ? if you cannot shew it by scripture , where the apostles or christ di● practise any such thing , acknowledge your selves that you be in the apostacy that have set up such things since the dayes of the apostles , and erred from the true church in your inventions . 63. where did the apostles when they went to preach or to pray , put on white hoods , copes , tippets , white surplisses and cornered caps , are not all these things got up since the dayes of the apostles amongst such as are apostat●z●d from them ? 64. who are the inwardly raveners that christ said should come , which was the false prophets , which should have the sheeps clothing , but inwardly ravening wolves , an inwardly ravening wolf , worse then a dog , which got the sheeps clothing , is not this it that has made war against the saints , that kept the testimony of jesus the spirit of prophesy , and has not the wolf been covered with the sheeps clothing long , such as ravined from the spirit , such as has inwardly ravened , and would ravine and destroy all that be contrary minded ? 65. have not men fallen into the flesh since the dayes of the apostacy , and ravined from the spirit , that went forth from the apostles , are not they them that has set up all these outward things , as temples , tythes , priests , crosses , crucifixes , schooles , colledges , to make them ministers , images , idols , abbies , nunneries , candels , altars , holy waters , praying by beads , sprinkling children with the sign of the crosse , and have not you gone back who are ravened from the spirit , and so lost the substance , and so imitating aaron and his sons , and imitating altars ▪ and outward things that stood in moses , which the apostle sayes , while moses was read , the veil was over their hearts ? 66. was not the first priest-hood a true tipe , and the temple a true tipe of the inward , and the sanctuary and altar a tipe , and the outward things in the law , shadowing forth the good things that were to come , which were but to have their times and seasons ? and did not the apostle witnesse the substance of all tipes , figures and shadows , and signs and similitudes and likenesses , and witnessed that which gave him to see where there was no shadow nor changing ? now are not all your tythes , temples , priests , altars , crosses , crucifixes , images , similitudes , beads , cloysters , abbies , nunneries , set up by your own inventions , which men and people has been compelled to worship , are not all these lying signs and wonders , and the worship of the beast , that which they that inwardly ravened , set up , and is not this to give worship to them that inwardly ravined from the spirit of god , who are the wolves , that ●an make a profession of christs and the apostles words , the beast and false prophets which the world has wondred after , and should deceive them with their lying signes and wonders : did not the apostles give hints of such things before their decease ? did not john see such come as the whole world went after , and all that dwelt upon the earth worshipped the beast ? now answer me these things , and clear me them by scripture , where the apostles did practise or act any such things before mentioned : and if ye be not such that john and the apostles speaks of , and christ , that should be the inward ravening wolves , and go forth from the apostles , which john saw all that dwelt upon the earth worshipped and went after ; and all that dwelt upon the earth drunk the cup of fornication , and should deceive them that dwell upon the earth with their lying signes and wonders , and miracles ; and if you be not them , tell me who they are ? 67 what is the beast , and the number of his names ? and what are his names , and what is his marke , that they that would not receive should be persecuted ? and what is his image ? and what are his heads ? and what are his crowns ? and what is the mother of the harlots ? and what is the great whore which hath corrupted the earth ? and what is the cup of fornication that all nations has drunk of ? and who are the beast and false prophets ? & what are they that are come up since the dayes of the apostles ? how to say you believe as the church believes , and you will not trouble your selves about the scriptures , because they are hard to ●e understood ; you are to see that you be of the church that the apostles were of , which was the pillar and ground of truth , which was without spot or wrinkle , or blemish , and so their belief stood in christ and god : and when any did wrong , yea peter , peter was withstood , and not believed as he believed . and as for saying the scriptures are hard to be understood , that is to shew you want the spi●it as was in them that gave them forth , in which is the unity and the bond of peace . and none comes to be a member of the church in god the pillar and ground of truth without spot or wrinkle , or blemish , but who comes into the spirit that they were in that gave forth the scriptures , with which spirit every one in particular hath his particular satisfaction in the scripture , it opens it to them , with which spirit he hath unity with god , unity with the scriptures , of whom they learned that gave them forth , and there is the bond of peace now to tye up men to believe as others believe , and to compell them by a law , or a prison , or an inquisition , this was not in the true church , but this is a marke of the apostacy from it , and is a marke , that they that do so , are the wresters of the scriptures , and err'd , ravened from the spirit that they were in that gave them forth . for it was not their worke to compell people by a law , by a prison , by an inquisition to obey their faith , and to bring them into their worship and doctrine , that was not the worke of them that had the spirit that gave forth the scriptures ; but this shews and signifies , and declares it selfe forth , that you would have power over mens faith , which saith the apostles , we have not , but bade them look at jesus the author of the faith . and again , to believe as others believe , which do call themselves a church : is not this different from the apostles doctrine , who saith , he that believes hath the witnesse in himself ; and hast thou faith , have it to thy self ? 68 is your church the body of christ , and is your bread the body of christ after consecration ? and is that bread after you have consecrated it , the church ? is that the body of christ the church ? for the apostle saith , the body of christ which is the church . 69 is god worshipped in truth , but in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures , and in that which the devil is out of ? now can any of you worship god in the truth , unlesse you be in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures ? then being in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures , how can you say that the scripture is hard to be understood , or any that be in the church , seeing the true church is made up of living stones ; and the scripture was given forth from the spirit . 70 and whereas it is a generall word to say you believe as the church believes , and the scriptures are hard to be understood . doth not this shew that you be all afraid of your standing ? and shew that your church is in the state of apostacy , from the apostles and disciples of the lord jesus , that there is a cry amongst you , the scripture is hard to be understood ? and we must believe as the church believes , and the church is the pope and his councel . now if he or his councel dare not venture to try their standing to meet the spirit of god , and to answer these q●eries , or all his train that be under him ; then shall we know , and then shall it be seen who is the true church , and who are the apostates , and set up a likenesse , an image : and if you do shelter your selves in the darkness , and not come forth to the light , and dare not venture your principles , and is afraid of the heat , and for fear that your heads should be cut or slashed , and your principles dasht to pieces ; and see that your weapons will not carry you out , and that your righteousnesse is but as rags , and you have been but wolves covered with the sheeps cloathing , and have been devourers of the lambs , and can do nothing without your swords and carnall weapons , and your inquisitions , then may the whole world see you : therefore come out , i challenge you all , and give an answer either in print or in writing , and bring your deeds to light , that they may be manifested to the whole earth , and declared on the house-top ; our weapons are not carnall with which we shall handle you ; neither need you fear your persons ; neither need you be afraid that we will wrestle with flesh and blood ; for that which was amongst the apostles , is come to , that which hath been since the apostles is seen : the arm of flesh is not our weapons , but the lord of hosts . come thou pope , with all thy jesuites and cardinals , and see if thou can stand this day before the truth , for these queries be to the whole body and thee , scattered up and down the face of the whole earth , and the power of the lord god of life , of heaven and earth is gone over you , and hath fathomed you . 71 was it the work of the christians to be beating d●ums up and down , fighting , destroying one another ? where has been loving enemies ? where has been overcoming evill with good , and rendring to no man evill for evill ? 72 doth not christ say , it hath been said of old time , thou shalt perform thy oath unto the lord ? but doth not he say , swear not at all ? now ye swearers , have not you b●oken christs command , and have apostatized from his doctrine ? but if ye say the prophets swore , or abraham swore , or david swore , or solomon swore , or moses swore , or the priests swore ; christ is the end of the prophets and priesthood , a greater then solomon , then joseph or jacob . before abraham was i am , who saith , swear not at all . now if you say , did not the apostles say , an oath was an end of controversie and strife amongst men , that men swore by the greater , which the apostle brings as an example , shewing how god could not finde a greater , and therefore swore by himselfe concerning his covenant that doth not change betwixt god and man , in which covenant man comes to have peace with god . now if ye say , did not the angel swear in the revelations ; i bring forth my first begotten into the world , and let all the angels worship him ; and this is the beloved son , heare ye him saith god . and above all things my brethren , saith the apostle , swear not at all , neither by heaven nor by earth , lest ye fall into condemnation : so are not all you swearers fallen under condemnation , and out of the apostles doctrine , and apostatized from it ? nay , is not the power which you call your supream , under the condemnation ? and magistrates that are swearers , and giving oaths , no christian magistrates , but they and their power is all under condemnation , all swearers upon the earth ; for saith the apostle , above all things my brethren swear not at all left ye fall into condemnation . so are not ye swearers , who calls your selves a church , pope , magistrates , all upon the earth under condemnation , and out of the doctrine of the apostles , false brethren , and out of the power of christ , who has all power in heaven and e●rth given unto him , who saith , let your yea be yea , and your nay nay , in all your communications , who is the end of oaths , whose doctrine the apostles preached and abode in . now are not all churches , teachers , powers , magistrates under condemnation that be the swearers , and not the help-government to christ , out of the higher power , all magistrates from under the higher power that be swearers , and out of christs power , and help magistracy and government for him , who has all power in heaven & earth given unto him , and out of the apostles doctrine , and christs doctrine , who saith , let all your communication be yea , yea , and nay , nay ; for whatsoever is more is evill . and so how can a company of swearers be a church , or the supream power , which are the beasts and false prophets apostatized from the apostles , and christs doctrine , and them that inwardly ravened from it , and has had the sh●eps cloathing , that tear and rend all in pieces , that will not come into the wolves way , and bow down to that which he has set up ; and so therefore is the cry amongst you , the scripture is hard to be understood ; and you are tyed to believe as yo●● church believes ; so by that means you have held the out-side , the sheeps cloathing , and pretend to be saved by your works and merit● , when the wolfe has been in your hearts tearing to pieces , and rend and devour them that will not believe as you believe : i cannot gainsay you in this , as for your saying the scriptures are hard to be understood , when you are all ravened from the spirit that gave them forth . 73 where did ever any of the saints change their names , unlesse they had a command for it , as ye do when ye are made popes ? did peter change his name ? 74 where was it amongst the apostles that some might not marry , and they might not at some times of the yeare marry ; but at those times they might have a licence to marry for money , as it hath been by them who be of you . 75 where did the apostles bear about candles for the purification of mary as you do ? where was this practice in the church ? or how do you as the church did ? or believe as the church believes , when you fordid to marry ? did not the church say it was the doctrine of devils ? and how do you as the church did , when you forbid the eating of meats , when the church said it was the doctrine of devils . 76 where did the apostles consecrate swords , and send them to one another to fight with their enemies ? how do you here believe as the church believes , who said , we wrestle not against flesh and blood ; and their weapons were not carnall but spiritual . 77 where did the apostles sell pardons and indulgences for money ; who said , they were not redeemed with corruptible things ? and how do you believe as the church believes , when you are redeeming one another with corruptible things ? 78 how do you forgive one another freely as christ hath forgiven , when by your pardons , indulgencies , and buls you get great sums of money of poor ignorant people ? are not you in this the covetous , that makes merchandize of the people , that peter saw coming in , who has the wages of unrighteousnesse , whose reward must be according to your works ; for every man must receive a reward according to his deeds ? and the apostles said , they were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold : and how are you apostatized from the apostles doctrine , that are selling pardons for silver and gold corruptible ? how do you here undervalue the blood of christ which does cleanse from all sin ; and believe as the church believes , who said , by no other name under heaven shall we be saved , but by him ? and how is it that yee have set up another name to pardon , the pope , and sell pardons ? do not you in this shew and discover you to be in the apostacy from the apostles and true church , and not to do as they did ? 79 where did the apostles set up stews amongst them , the christians before their decease , give your example ? but bade them flee fornication ; and said , no unrighteousnesse must enter into the kingdome of god ; and he that defiled the temple of god , god would destroy . and do not you in this set up that which is naught , and tollerate that which is wicked ? 80 where did ever the apostles or the saints say prayers by beads to the saints , or to saint mary , as you do , or compell any so to do , or set forth such an order that should be after them . where was any such things practised among the apostles before their decease , that they must say so many prayers , numbred by so many beads , before they had a pardon ? 81 where did the apostles or saints run up and down for reliques , or bones of dead men as you do ? and why do you gather up the chips of wood and stone and dust that flyes from the door that you break open , after you have chosen a pope , and keep them as precious reliques ? where did ever any of the saints do such things ; and has not all these things come up since the dayes of the apostles amongst you who from them are apostatized ? the protestant and papist are fighting and striving about works . now because the apostle said , they were justified by faith without the works of the law : and james saith , that faith without works is dead . and these are the scriptures they fight about , being both protestant and papist found out of the faith the apostle spoke of , and are found out of the works of the law both , so neither in the works of the faith , nor in the works of the law , nor in seeing the intent of the apostles paul and james , when they was speaking of justifying by faith without the works of the law , and faith without the works was dead ; now the apostle when he speaks to the romans of being justified by the faith without the works of the law for the faith in the heart takes away the nature that hath the shadowes , and tipes and figures which causeth the obedience of the law , and which the fruits goes from that the law takes hold upon , and through this faith and by it , that 's removed , whereby man hath access to god ; now the law , the works of the law and the obedience to that , made such a provision for a command , being according to the law , for the tenth to be offered up for the widdows , fatherlesse and levite ; that there might not be a begger among them ; now who comes into the faith of christ jesus , in which the law ends ; the nature is removed that pertaines to the shadows , and figures which the fruits goes from , which the occasion of the law comes upon them which the faith purifies , and gives power and victory over the world , which hath access to god , which is justified in the sight of god , and pleaseth him ; now who are of this faith are of abraham over all the idolatrous nations , adulterers and fornicators and all such ; now this faith nourisheth and cherisheth and saves ; which works doth not ; but follows this , and they are wrought in god , and such cease from their own , as god did from his , so if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of dayly food , he feeds him and cloaths him ; so this faith is in the wisedome of god , preserver of the creation , which is the son of gods faith , and the faith of the elect ; but then the devils faith that believes there is a god and trembles , but are out of truth , that cloathes not the naked brethren , and doth not give them victory , and sees them destitute of dayly food , and doth not feed them , but lets them cry up and down for bread & cloa●hes about the streets , this is like the papist and protestant , and sectaries faith , and they are not the preservers of the creation , but out of the living faith , and in the dead ; and when they have done all this , cloathed and fed , and not a beggar among them , it is not by their works that they are saved , but by their faith which these works followes , which works by love ; which is a preserver of the creation , for it was a great work of the apostle to bring them to the faith , and to be justified by that alone , without the deeds of the law , that the seed of god might come up in them , the wisdome of the creation , with it to be ordered and spread over it ; for who are of faith , are of abraham : christ according to the flesh was of abraham , so who are of abraham , are of the flesh of christ ; now when many had gotten the faith in a form , being justified by it without the deeds of the law , so they which had gotten the form of the law , without the life , saw not christ the substance and there rested ; but when these had gotten the form of being justified without the works , and their brothers and their sisters were destitute of dayly food , and was naked ; these were like unto your christians , and papists that hath the name and talkes of a faith , but it is dead , therefore so many of their brethren and sisters goes beging up and down the streets , destitute of dayly food ; for mark , they all say , they are christians , and that they are baptized into the church , and into the faith , and so then they are all brethren , and yet here is their brethren up and down the streets , destitute and naked , and yet they will say , depart in peace , and be you warmed and filled , and yet give them not these things which is good for them ; but may be make houses of correction to whip them and beat them ; is this like unto christians that was amongst the apostles , or like unto the law , who had the tythes for the service , that there need not be a begger among them ? is not this the faith which james rebukes , which is dead ; and all these are the christians that hath a name but are dead from the life ; and doth not this dead faith , carry you to beleeve that there is a god and a christ ? and so the devil doth , that is the murderer , and you will murder one another about religion and faith , church and profession , and idols and ministery , like the heathen , who will destroy one another about their images , & often envied the jews , because they broke down their images , and that faith which leads to murther the creatures about religion , ministry , and church , the same faith will no● preserve the creation , as to cloath the naked , & feed the hungry . now though the apostle brought them out of the works of the law , being justified by them , into the faith of christ jesus , who brought them into the wisdome of the creation ; and the love of the creation , the love of god which faith works by , which faith god is the author of it , and this faith leads people to be preservers of the creation ; feed the hungry , and cloath the naked , and these be the least things ye can do ; for these are but things that pertain to this life , who are of faith ( as i said before ) are of abraham , christ according to the flesh , heirs of salvation of the world that hath no end . he that believes hath entered into his rest , and ceased from his owne works as god did from his , and shall not come into condemnation , but is passed from death to life , and so loves the brethren : and he it is that abides in the house of god for ever , the son of god ; the son of god abides in the house for ever . cains faith , and cains sacrifice is now made manifest out of the faith of abraham and abel , and gods elect , and the son of god . the end . errors . page 5. l. 20. for mortall r. immortall , p. 14. l. 10. for then that , r. then you that . p. 34. l. 20. for filled r. killed . p. 38. l. 20. for did not r , did . p. 43. l. 19. for for r. forth . p. 50. l. 20. for a god , r. and god . p. 57. l. 33. for learning , r. worrying . p. 62. l. 27 ▪ r. from that . p. 65. l. 18. for them r. then . p. 82. l. 34. for cut , r. out . p. 85 , l. 28. for our r. your . p. 87. l. 10. for that , r. what . p. 91. l. 21. for toe , r. to be . some principles of the elect people of god in scorn called quakers penington, isaac, 1616-1679. 1671 approx. 293 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 64 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-01 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a54059 wing p1198 estc r33049 12852042 ocm 12852042 94552 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a54059) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 94552) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1038:34) some principles of the elect people of god in scorn called quakers penington, isaac, 1616-1679. fox, george, 1624-1691. [4], 122 p. s.n.], [london? : 1671. variously attributed to george fox and isaac penington. "conclusion" signed on p. 122: isaak penington. place of publication suggested by wing. imperfect: some pages faded with loss of print. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng society of friends -doctrines. theology, doctrinal -early works to 1800. 2005-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-11 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-07 ali jakobson sampled and proofread 2006-07 ali jakobson text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion some principles of the elect people of god in scorn called quakers . o send forth thy light and thy truth , let them lead me , let them bring me to thy holy hill , and to thy tabernacles , psal . 43.3 . for the commandement is a lamp , and the law is light , and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life . printed in the year , 1671. the contents . concerning first , a breif account of what we are , and what our work is in the world : by i. pennington . page 1 secondly , grounds and reasons why we deny the worlds teachers , pag. 5 some principles of the elect people of god called quakers , p. 16 worship . p. 20 the church . ibid. the way . ibid. the cross . p. 21 true communion . p. 22 the gospel . ibid. faith. ibid. baptisme . p. 23 persecution . ibid. scriptures . p. 26 tyths . p. 27 the higher power . p. 28 the kingdom of christ , how held up , and how not . p. 29 teachers , prophets , pastors , bishops , presbiters . ibid. an exhortation to all christendom , to mind the grace of god , to wit , the light. p. 30 perfection . p. 33 resurrection . p. 34 election and reprobation . ibid. fear and trembling . p. 36 the body of death . p. 37 the word thou to a single person . p. 39 putting off the hat , bowing the knee , cringings and complements . ibid. good manniers . p. 40 objections of the world against the preaching of christ , p. 41 bread , water and wine . p. 42 the sabbath day . p. 43 god-fathers god-mothers and sprinkling of infants , ibid. the word trinity , ibid. the ministry . p. 44 dayes , times , meats and drinks . ibid. marriages . ibid. false prophets and antichrists . p. 45 a generall objection of people . p. 48 the jew inward and outward . p. 49 christ the covenant of god. ibid. plots and conspiracies . p. 50 original sin . p. 51 oaths . p. 52 the word of god and original sin , what it is . p. 54 heathen idolaters naming dayes and moneth . p. 63 singing psalms . p. 65 a warning to all to keep out of the fashons of the world. p. 66 some queries given forth to priests ahd people to answer if they can . by g. f. p. 68 the scriptures . p. 72 baptism . p. 75 the lords supper . p. 76 prayer . p. 77 ministry . p. 79 magistracy and government . p. 80 superiority , honour , breeding , manners , and the word thee and thou to a single person . p. 84 the word thou and thee . p. 89 putting off the hat. p. 90 perfection . by j. parnel . p. 92 womens speaking in the church . by w. d. p. 94 the sum or substance of our religion p. 97 christ . coming to the father by him , &c. p. 103 the gospel ministration . p. 107 christ manifested without , and within , and how both are owned by them that know the truth , p. 108 the principle of truth , what it is , and how in may be discerned , and how it may be purchased , and possessed . p. 111 an invitation to professors seriously to consider , &c. p. 114 a brief testimony for truth : by t. taylor , &c. p. 119 the conclusion ; by i. penington . a brief account of what we are , and what our work is in the world . we are a people whom god hath converted to himself ; a people in whom god hath raised up the seed of his own life , and caused it to reign over the eartly part in our selves ; a people whom god hath divorced from the spirit of whordom , and joyned to his own spirit . we , many of us , sought truly and onely after god from our childhood ( our consciences bearing us witness in the sight of god ) but the honesty of our hearts was still betrayed , and we led aside by the whorish spirit , and knew not how to turn to that of god in us , which inclined us toward god. by this means we came to great distress and misery beyond all men , not but that all men were in as great a want of god ( his life , power and presence ) as we ; but the sence therof was not so quickened in others , as in us . now it pleased the lord at length to pitty us , and to inform our minds towards himself , to shew us where life lay , and where death lay , and how to turn from the one , and to the other ; and he gave us his helping hand to turn us . and by being turned to h●m , we have tasted of the truth , of the true wisdom , of the true power , of the true life , of the true righteousness , of the true redemption : and by receiving of this from god , and tasting and handling of it ; we come to know that that which the world hath set up in the stead of it , is not the thing it selfe . now mark , we are not persons that have shot up out of the old root into another appearance , as one sect hath done out of another till many are come up one after another , the ground still remaining the same out of which they all grew : but that ground hath been shaken & shaking , destroyed & destroying , removed and removing in us , and the old root of jesse hath been made manifest in us , and we have been transplanted by the everlasting power of life , and a real change brought forth in us out of that spirit , wherin the world lives and worships , into another spirit , into which no thing which is of the world can enter . and hear we have met with the call of god , the conversion to god , the regeneration in god , the justification , the sanctification , the wisdom , the redemption , the true life and power of god , which the world cannot so much as bear the name of . and what we are made of god in christ , we know to be truth and no lye : and when we testifie of this to the world , in the measure of the life of god in us , we speak truth and no lye ; though the world which knoweth not the truth , cannot hear our voice . now our work in the world is , to hold forth the virtues of him that hath called us to live like god ; not to own any thing in the world which god doth not own : to forget our country , our kindred , our fathers house ; and to live like persons of another country , of another kindred , of another family : not to do any thing of our selves , and which is pleasing to the old nature , but all our words , all our conversation , yea every thought in us to become new . whatever comes from us , is to come from the new principle of life in us , and to answer that in others , but we must not please the old nature at all in our selves , nor in any else . and walking faithfully thus with god , we have a reward at present , and a crown in the end , which doth and will countervaile all the reproches and hardships , we do or can meet with in the world. we are also to be witnesses for god , and to propagate his life in the world ; to be instruments in his hand , to bring others out of death and captivity unto true life and liberty : we are to fight against the powers of darkness every where , as the lord calleth us forth . and this we are to do in his wisdom , according to his will , in his power , and in his love , sweetness , and meakness . we are not to take wayes according to our own wisdom ( but there must be a strict watch , set in the life , least that get up again : ) nor must we speak such words , as mans wisdom would call wise : nor may we go in our own will to seek any , but the lord must go before : nor may we make use of our own strength , but feel his arm in our weakness : nor may we go forth in that love , sweetness , or meakness which is pleasing to the fleshly mind : but we must be true to god handling the sword skilfully and faithfully , judging and cutting down the transgressor in the power and authority of god ▪ and when the meek , the lowly , the humble thing is reached and raised , then the true love , the sweetness , the tenderness , the meekness must go forth to that . the lord god is rough with the transgressor , and all along the scripture heweth and judgeth him : and if we come forth in the same spirit , we shall find the same leadings , where we meet with the same thing : for the lord god will never be tender there ; nor can that which comes from him , lives in him , is lead by him , be tender there whe●e he is not . now the very root of this severity is good , and of god , and hath love and sweetness at the bottom of it : yea in pitty , love , and bowels do we use the sword . it is in pitty to the poor captived creature , that that might be cut down , which keeps it in bonds and captivity . and though we seem enemies to all sorts of men , for the lords sake : yet we are not enemies , nor could do the least hurt to them any way , but are true freinds to their soules and bodies also : and our only controversie is with that which captives and maks them miserable : for we fight not at all with flesh and bloud , but with the principallity and power which led from god , and rules in it against god , to the poor creatures ruine and distruction . yea if we had all the powers of the earth in our hands , we could not set up our own way , ( if , after the manner , of men i may so call it ) or so much as disturb others in their way thereby , but should wait in patience , till god gave us an entrance by his power . now let not men run on in heats against us , but let them seriously consider , whether we be of god or no : and let them consider ; not with the reason and understanding which is alienated from god , but with the witness which lies hid in the heart . there is one great palpable argument that we are of god , which , is this , all the world is against us , the worldly part every where lights with us , the worldly part in every sort and sect of men opposeth us , the rage of man every where riseth up against us ; but those that are so hot against us , if at any time they become but meek and calm , patiently considering our cause , and consulting there upon with the testimony that they , find in their own hearts concerning us , they soon become pacified , and see that we are no mans enemies , against no righteous law , not against relations , not against governments , not against any thing in the world that is good , but only against that which is evil and corrupt . and of a truth , the corruption of things god hath shewed unto us , and daily cals us forth after an immediate manner to witness against . therfore let men be sober , and take heed what they do , least they be found fighters against god : for the reproaches the scoffs , with other persecutions , which seem to be cast at us , light on him . it is not as we are men , but as we are obedient to him , as we stand witnesses for him , that we meet with these things . now , as it is not we our selves that do these things , but the life and power of god in us ; so it is not we that are struck at , but the life and power : if it were not for that , we might be as acceptable as other men . it is because we are not of the world , but god hath called us out of the world , that we are so hated of the world . this is the true cause , though the world will no more now acknowledge it , then it would in former ages . yet i do not speak this for my own sake , to avoid my share in the cross : for the reproach of christ is our riches , yea far greater treasure then is to be found in the pallace of egypt : yea the presence of god , the sweet power of life makes up all our losses , so that we have no cause to complain . it is very sweet , pleasant , and profitable for us to be found sufferers for god ; but we know it will not be profitable for you to be found persecutors : and this is told you in true love and good will , by one who wishes no evil to you , for all the evil that ye have exercised towards the dear and pretious people of god for these many years . o that god would open your eyes , that ye might see whom ye have opposed , and against whom ye have hardened and strengthened your selves , that ye might bow to him , and receive life from him , and not perish in your gainsaying and opposition . isaack penington . grounds and reasons why we deny the worlds teachers first , they are such shepheards that seek for their gain from their quart●rs , and can never have enough , which the lord sent isaiah to cry out against , who bid all come freely , without money and without price , and , was not hired , but spake freely ; and these make marchandise and a trade of his words ; and therfore we cry out against them , and deny them , isa . 56.11 . and 54.1 . they are such shepherds that seek after the fleece , and cloath with the wooll , and feed on the fat , which the lord sent ezekiel to cry wo against ; who made a prey upon us ; and the lord said , he would gather his sheep from their mouths , and that we should be a prey to them no longer ; and we do witness the promise of the lord fulfilled ; and therfore we deny them , ezek 54.34 . they are such priests as bear rule by their means , which was a horrible and filthy thing commited in the land , which the lord sent jeremiah to cry out against ; while we had eyes and did not see , we held up such priests , but the lord hath opened our eyes , and we see them now in the same estate that they were in , which jeremiah cryed out against , who did not bear rule by his means ; and therfore we deny them , jer. 5.31 . they are such prophets & priests that divine for money , and preach for hire , which the lord sent micah to cry against ; and whilst we put into their mouths , they preached peace to us , but now w● do not put into their mouths , they prepare war against us ; and therfore we deny them , micah 3.11 . they are such as are called of men masters , & call men masters , and have the chiefest place in the assemblies , and stand praying in the synagogues , and lay heavy burdens upon the people which jesus christ cryed wo against , and bid his disciples not to be so ; be ye not called of men mast●rs , for one is your master , even christ , and ye are all brethren ; so we do witness je●us christ our master , and see them to be in the steps of the pharisees ; and therfore we deny them , mat. 3.10 . mat. 20.3 . they are such teachers , that with fained words and th●ough covetousness , made merchandize of us , and do upon the people ; who by oppression maintain themselves and wives in pride and idleness , in hoods , veils , and changable suits of apparrel ; who go in the way of cain , to envy , murder , and persecute , and after the e●ror of balaam , who loved the wages of unrighteousness , following after gifts and rewards , which the apostles cryed against ; and therfo●e we deny them , 2 pet. 2. jude . 11. they are such teachers as have told us , the steeple-house hath been the church , when as the scripture saith , the church is in god ; and the●fore we deny them . 1 thes . 1.1 . they are such teachers that have told us , the letter was the word , when as the letter saith , god is the word ; therfore we deny th●m , joh. 1.1 . they are such teachers as have told us , the letter was the light , when as the letter saith , christ is the light ; therfore we deny them , joh. 1.1.19 . and 8 . 1● . they are such teachers as sp●inkle infants , calling it an ordinance of christ , and baptizing into the faith , into the church , when as the scripture saith no such thing ; and therfore we deny them : but the baptism by one spirit , into one body we own , 1 cor. 12.13 . they are such teachers as tell people of a sacrament , for which there is not one scripture , and so feed the people with their own inventions ; and therfore we deny them ; but the table and supper of the lord we own , 1 cor. 10. they are such teachers as tell people , that mathew , mark , luke , and john , is the gospel , which are but the letter . the lamb of god which takes away the sins of the world , is glad tydings to poor captives : glad tidings we●e promised before the letter was written , the seed of the woman shall bruise the serp●nts head , and h● shall be a light unto the gentiles : the letter is a declaration of the gospel , and many have the letter , but not christ ; but we having received the gospel , know them to be no ministers of it ; and therfore we deny them , gen. 3.15 . luke . 1.1 . they are such ministers as go to oxford and cambridge , and call them the well-heads of divinity , and so deny the fountain of living mercies , and there they study , and read books , and old authors , and furnish themselves with philosophy , and fine words , and other mens matter ; and when they come again , they sell it to poor people ; when as the apostle saith , he was not made a minister by the will of man , and that the gospel which he preached was not of man , nor had he received it from man , neither was he taught it ; and denyed all his learning which he had got by the will of man at the feet of gamaliel ; and so finding them in the will of man , preaching by the will of man ; we cannot but deny them , gal. 1. they are such teachers , that tell people that hebrew and greek is the o●iginal , when as the apostle spake in the hebrew tongue to the hebrews , who heard him in their own language , and yet persecuted him ; and the greeks , who had the gospel in their own tongues , said , the cross of christ was foolishn●ss ; these who had the scripture , in their own language , were as ignorant of the life of them , as our naturall priests , who spend so much time in learning a natural language , to find out what those meant that spake forth the scripture ; who make poor people beleive that to know a natural tongue is the means to understand the original ; the vvord which is the original was before all languages were , the vvord was in the begining which vvord was made manifest in all the children of god , who spake forth the scriptures ; holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost . now all ye learned ones , where is your original ? he●e you and your original is razed out f●om the word , which is the original which the apostles preached amongst the hebrews and greeks , which was before tongues were and your original , which will break all your tongues and original to peices . pilate had your original of hebrew greek , and latine , who crucified christ ; he that draws back into many languages , as into hebrew , and greek , draws back into the naturals , and so draws into confusion ; but the ministers of god , who preach the everlasting gospel which endures for ever draw up into one language , and so the priests , and all that trade in natural languages we utterly deny ; act. 22. 1 cor. 1.13 . john. ●9 . 2● . they are such teachers as have told us , that the steeple-house is the temple , when as the apostle said , your bodies are the temples of the holy ghost ; and stephen was stoned to death for witnessing against the temple , who said , god that made the world dwells not in temples made with hands ; and here finding them in the generation that hold up the figu●es , and deny the substance , and to be ignorant of that spirit that gave forth the scriptures ; we cannot but deny them , 1 cor. 6.19 . acts. 7. they are such priests that take tythes , the tenth of mens labours and estates ; and those that will not give them , they sue at law and hale before cou●ts and sessions , yea even those they call their own people , their own parishon●rs . levy according to the law receiv●d tythes , and he had a command to set open his gates that the st●angers and the fatherless should come within his gat●s , and be satisfied and filled ; but we find none more pittiless of the fatherless and widdows then they ; and the strangers they complain against to justices , and persecute , ( though they neither seek to them nor others for any outward thing ) as wanderers ; and he●e they walk contrary to the old law : and the apostle in his epistle to the hebrews said , the preisthood being changed , there must of necessity also be a change of the law , and we witness both the priesthood and the law changed ; but they that take tythes , and they that pay tythes , according to the old covenant , deny jesus christ the everlasting preist to be come in the flesh ; and he●e these priests sh●w themselves to be antichrist , that are entered into the world , and opp●ess the creation , when as jesus christ said , freely ye have received , freely give ; and the apostle said , was there a wise man amongst them that went to law one with another ? here they are evil examples to the people , to sue , w●angle and cont●●d , and walk out of the steps of christ , and all the holy men of god ; yea they exceed all the false prophets in wickedn●●s , for we do not read that ever any of them sued men at the law ; and therfore we cannot but utterly deny them , deut. 14.29 . heb. 7.12 . they ar● such priests as beside their tythe of corn , hay , beast , sheep , hens , pigs , geese , eggs , cherries , plumbs ; take ten shillings for preaching a funeral sermon , more or less , as they can get it , and ten shillings for the death of a man ; and money out of servants wages , and money for smoke passing up the chimneys , and easter reckonings , and midsummer dues , and money for churching of women , and thus by every device get money , ( and burthen poor people that labour very hard and can scarse get food and raiment , ) to maintain them in idleness and pride : these are they that have hearts exercised with covetousness , burthening the truth , and making the free gospel chargable : if the apostle was here , he would be ashamed of them , and so are we , and therefore turn from them , and deny them , 2 pet. 2.3 . they are such priests as not only take tyths and money for many other things of their own hearers , and sue them at law for it ; but they take money of them they do no work for ; but only raile against them , and say , they that wayt at the alter , are pertakers with the alter , but live of them who are not of the alter , and say , the labourer is worthy of his hire ; but take wages of them that have not hired them , and if they will not give it them , cast them into prison , or take their goods by justices warrants ; these are they that christ cryed wo against , who lay heavy burthens upon the people , who oppress tender consciences , that own the everlasting high priest ; where do they find any of the ministers of christ bargaining for so much a year ? here they abide not in the doctrine of christ , but are hirelings , and therefore we deny them . mat. 23.2 . they are such preachers as have told us , they have been gifted men , and we find in the scriptures , that the gift of god is free , and not to be bought and sold for money ; and job said wisdom is not to be purchased for money nor gold ; but they will not sell their gift under 200 l. 100 l. 80 l. or 50 l. a year , more or less , as they can get it , here we find they have not received the gift of god , but are like simon magus , and therefore we deny them . acts 8.20 . job 28. they are babylons merchants that make a trade of scriptures , and the saints conditions , which the prophets and apostles spoke forth freely , without money , and without price , and bad all come freely . how many hundred thousand pounds in england is gained by the scripture , and humane authors joyned to it ? where is there a more profitable trade ? here they make scriptures their cloak and colour to get mnoey by , and so make an idol of it ; and if any come to witness it fulfiled , as it was in them that gave it forth , they cry out to the magistrates against them as blasphemers and deceivers : and if they answer , he that administers spiritual things ought to reap carnal , let him consider , the apostle wrote not that to the the world , but to those that they had gathered out of the world , to whom the ends of the world were come ; and let them gather people out of the world , and then they shall not need to bargain with them for things of the world ; but their trading is with the world , and therefore we deny them , isa . 55.1 . they are such teachers as take a text out of the saints conditions , and take a weeks time to study what they can raise out of it , adding to it their own wisdom , inventions , imaginations , and heathenish authors , and then on the first day of the week go amongst the people , having an hour glass to limit themselves by , and say , hear the word of the lord , and for money tell people what they have scraped together . these are they that speak a divination of their own heart , and not from the mouth of the lord , which the lord sent jeremiah to cry out against , jer. 23. these are they that use their tongues , and say , the lord saith , when as the scriptures say so , and the lord never spake to them , jer , 23.30 . these are they of whom the lord speaks , i am against all such as steal my word every one from his neighbour : and so we are against all such as jeremiah was sent to cry wo against , the pastors that now steal the words of the prophets , of christ , and the apostles ; the lord hath shaken his hand at their dishonest gain , and to them belong the plagues that are written in the book they make a trade on , for adding to it their own inventions , therefore do we come out from amongst them , and deny them . jer. 23.31 . these are they of whom the apostle speaks : that creep into houses leading silly women captive , which are led away with divers lusts , which be ever learning , and never able to come to the knowledg of the truth , though some have learned 50 , 60 , or 70 years , covetous , proud , high-minded , self-willed , lovers of pleasures more then lovers of god , who have gotten a form of godliness , but deny the power thereof , from which the apostle bad turn away , and so do we , 2 tim. 3.6 . they are such teachers as gave us , and give people , davids conditions in meeter , and when we had no understanding we sung after them , as ignorant people do now , his tremblings , his quakings , his weepings , fastings , prayers , prophesies ; and when we sung we put of our hats , and when they read them , we kept them on , and so they caused us to worship the works of their own hands ; here they shew the spirit of error , making wicked people to sing , o lord i am not puft in mind , i have no scornful eye , i do not exercise my self in things that are to high , when they are puft in mind , and have scornful eyes , and do exercise themselves in things that are to high , and are full of filth , pride and loftiness , and can scarce look at one another : here they make poor people to offer a sacrifice of lyes , and make them hypocrites , deceiving themselves , saying what they are not : but the singing with the spirit and with understanding we own , and therefore the priests that sing without understanding we deny , 1 cor. 14.15 . they are such teachers as deny the conditions that the saints witnessed , viz. trembling and quaking : when as we find the holy men of god that gave forth the scriptures witnessed such things . moses who was judge over all israel , feared , quaked , and trembled exceedingly : and the son of man was to eat his bread with quaking ; and daniel the man of god trembled , and was sore astonished : and jeremiah the prophet of the lord reeled to and fro like a drunken man , and all his bones did shake ; and david who was a king trembled and quaked ; and ephraim when he trembled was exalted in israel ; and habakkuk who was a prophet trembled , and his belly shook , his lips quivered : and isaac in whom the seed was called , trembled exceedingly ; and paul a minister of christ trembled ; but they make a scorn of trembling and quaking , and shew themselves ignorant and strangers to the life and power of god , as their generation ever was , who still made a scorn and reproach of the holy men of god that trembled and quaked ; but the seed of god , and the prophets , and the servants of the lord we own , and their conditions we witness ; and therefore all the priests , and them that deny the holy men of god , we utterly deny , heb. 12.21 . ezek. 12.18 . dan. 10.10 . jer. 23.9 . psalm . 119.120 . hos . 13. ● habbak . 3.16 . acts 9.6 . gen. 27.23 . they are such teachers as tell the people that christ hath not enlightened every one that comes into the world , when as christ saith ; he doth enlighten every one that comes into the world : and hear they go about to make christ a lyer , and john baptist a false prophet , and deny the scriptures ; and they say , god hath not given every one a measure according to his ability when at christ saith , he hath done it , christ is the light of the world , and by him the world was made , and he came into the world , and the world received him not ; it is so now , light shines in darkness , and the darkness comprehends it not ; and this is the condemnation , that light is come into the world , the one he loves the light , and brings his deeds to it , that they may be made manifest , and walk in it , there is no occasion of stumbling in him ; the other , he hates the light because his deeds are evil , and this is his condemnation ; and we witness the light wherewith christ hath enlightened every one that comes into the world , and by obedience to the light , he is become our master , our teacher : and all who stumble at the light , and deny it are ignorant of the foundation stone , and know not the first principle , but are shut out from knowing any thing of god ; and therefore the priests and all their followers we deny , joh. 1.9 . and 3.19 , 20. mat. 25.15 . they are such teachers as walk out of the doctrine of the apostles , and practise of all the churches ▪ paul saith , if any thing be revealed to him that sits by , let the first hold his peace , for all may prophesie one by one , that god in all things may be glorified , and you edified : and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets : and god is the author of peace , and not of confusion : and this was in all the churches of the saints : but now if any man come among them , while they are speaking , or when they haue done , and be moved to speak any thing , them of their church , the rude multitude , fall upon him with staves , fists , and punches and knocks him down with stones , shewing themselves to be of that generation that stoned stephen to death , and the priests call to the officers to take him to the stocks , and to carry him before the magistrate , and from thence he is sent to prison , and called a disturber of the peace : here they shew themselves to be no ministers of christ , and their assembly to be no church , but in confusion , for that which was order among the saints , is disorder amongst them ; the church of christ was never fighters , nor quarrellers , nor scorners ; such churches are the fruits of the ministry of england , who were made by the will of man , and never sent of christ , and therefore they do not profit the people at all , but are persecutors of the messengers of christ , and therefore we deny them , 1 cor. 14 , 32.33 . acts 7. ver. 23.32 . they are such teachers as have told us , we should never be made free from sin while we are upon earth ; when as the apostle saith , they were made free from sin , he thanks god , and had put of th● body of sin ; so we find they had told us lyes contrary to the scripture , and the apostle saith , while we were servants of sin we were free from righteousness ; so in that state we find them ; and therefore we deny them , and they have told us , none shall ever be sanctified , nor the body of sin destroyed , nor cleansed from sin while they are upon earth , when as the apostle said , they were sanctified , and the blood of jesus christ cleanseth from all sin ; and the ministers of god said , they reigned as kings ; and here they deny the scriptures , and therefore we deny them . and they deny the begotten son of god , which sinneth not , and calleth it blasphemy for any to witness that born which sins not , when the scripture saith , he that is born of god sinneth not , neither can he sin , because he is born of god , and the seed of god remaines in him ; and he that commits sin is of the devil , and hereby are the children of god made manifest , and the children of the devil ; and as he is , so are we in this present world , and a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit ; if the root be holy so are the branches , and one fountain cannot send forth sweet water , and bitter : he that can receive it , let him ; but the cheif priests , and elders , and pharisees , and sadduces , and rulers , at this stumbled then , and so they stumble now at the light , from whence these words were given forth , which doth enlighten every one that comes into the world , and therefore we deny them , rom. 6.18 . and 6.6 . rom. 8.10 . 1 cor. 6.11 . 1 joh. 1.7 . 1 joh. 3.6 , 9 ; 10. 1 joh. 4.17 . and they a●e such teachers that have told us , none shall ever be perfect while they are upon the earth , when as christ saith , be ye perfect as your father which is in heaven is perfect ; and the apostle saith , by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified . and the ministry of christ is for the perfecting of the saints , till they all come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of christ , to a perfect man. here we find them to deny the scriptures , and the everlasting offering , and all such we cannot but deny ; and we witness the everlasting offering , which perfects for ever them that are sanctified . praises to the lord for ever , who hath sent forth his son in the likeness of sinful flesh , to condemn sin in the flesh , that in him we might be made the righteousness of god ; and all that deny perfection and sanctification , deny this offering , and the gift of god , which is perfect , and the ministry of god , which is for perfecting the body ; and such ministers are not members of the body , nor can present any man perfect in christ jesus , and therefore we deny them , mar. 5.10 . heb. 10.14 . eph. 4.12 , 13. 2 cor. 5.21 . james 1.17 . they are such teachers as deny the everlasting covenant , and the anointing , for if any come to witness that they are taught of god , and that he hath written his law in their hearts , and put his spirit within them , and that none need say to them , know the lord ; then they cry out to the magistrates , and ignorant people , these are the deceivers and false prophets that shall come in the last times , they deny the means ; and when any witness they have received an unction from the holy one , and need not that any man teach them , but as the anoynting teacheth them of all things ; then they cry out , these are seducers and seduced : and so here they deny the covenant of god , and the promise of god , and shew themselves to be the great seducers , that draw from the anointing , and finding their spirits contrary to the scriptures , we cannot but deny them , jer. 31.33 . heb 11.8 . 1 joh. 2 , 20 , 27. they are such teachers , that say , revelations are ceased , and deny revelations and so deny the son , for , no man knows the father , but he to whom the son reveals him , and no man knows the things of god , but the spirit of god , and he to whom the spirit reveals them : and the apostle said , it pleased the father to reveale his son in him : and so he that denies revelations , denies both the father , and the son , and the spirit ; these are the priests who talk of religion , and have gotten a form to trade with , and have received things by traditon , but are ignorant of god , and of the spirit , by which all saints were ever guided ; and therefore we deny them , mat. 11.27 . 1 cor. 2.11 . gal. 1.16 . phil. 3.15 . therefore all people , consider what you do , and hold up , and worship , for the worship is but one , and the word is but one , and the baptism is but one , and the church is but one , and the way is but one , and the light is but one , and the power is but one ; but they that are without have many teachers , many ways , many opinions and judgments , and many sects ; but we have but one priest , which is over the houshold of god , and therefore are all of one heart and soul . moved of the lord , written from the spirit of the lord for the cleansing of the land of all false teachers , seducers and deceivers , and witches , who beguile the people , and inchanters , and diviners , and sorcerers , and hirelings , and which is for the good of all people , that fear the lord , and own jesus christ to be their teacher . from them whom the world scornfully calls quakers ; but quaking and trembling we own , else we should deny the scriptures , and the holy men of god ; but the scriptures we own , and the holy men of god ; therefore we deny all them who deny quaking . if you say these things are frivolous things , which you have taught us , then we have been taught frivolous things all this while ; but we find all these things frivolous things , wind and air , and therefore we deny them . all people that read these things , never come ye more at the steeple-house nor pay your priests more tythes , till they have answered them , for if ye do ye uphold them in their sins , and must partake of their plagues , some principles of the elect people of god , scornfully called , quakers . by g. f. a salutation of salvation to all people throughout the christian world , that they may enter in by the door which is christ the light , by which every man is enlightened that cometh into the world , by christ the light , which is the way to god , and the door by which they must enter into the father , from the world , from darkness and death , and its power , into covenant with god , by christ the door . and this is the light , by which ye see all the evil actions which ye have evilly acted , and all the ungodly works which ye have ungodlyly commited , and all the ungodly thoughts which ye ungodlyly have thought , and all the hard speaches and ungodly words which ye have spoken . the light wherewith christ hath enlightened you ; is that which maketh manifest all that is contrary to it . the same light maketh manifest the saviour , from whence it comes : and it maketh manifest that christ is the covenant of light and life , by which you come to have peace with god. the same light maketh manifest to you ( if you love it ) that christ is the mediator between you and god. the same light maketh manifest that christ is the offering for your sins , and the sins of the whole world. the same light doth manifest that christ is the way , the truth and the life , and the word of god by which all things were made and created . and the same light manifests that christ is the wisdom of god , and power of god , and sanctification , and justification , and redemption . to sanctifie , justifie and redeem from that which the light manifests to be evil ; and that which lets , and keeps in the seperation from god. and this light is within , by which all these things are seen ; and you that love this light you will se all these things love mentioned : christ the mediator , christ the way , the life , the wisdom , the sanctifier , the redeemer , the offering for your sins , and the sins of the whole world. in this light ye will have his testimony ; and so he that believes shall have the testimony and witness in himself , and so ye all being enlightened with this light , receiving it , you receive christ , then you do not receive darkness , nor the prince of darkness . and as many of you as receive christ , he will give you power to become sons of god ( mark ) ye shall have power by which you shall know son-ship to stand against sin and evil , and become the sons of god. now if you hate this light , and go on in sin , and in evil thoughts , and evil words , works and actions , and do not come to the light which reproves you , but love darkness rather then light , it will be your condemnation . and this is the light which maketh manifest to every one of you what you have done , spoke , thought and acted amiss , and reproves you for it : and if you love the light , you love christ , and you love your saviour , redeemer , sanctifier and offering for sin. and you see him who puts an end to sin , and destroyes the devil who brought it in , and his works ; he that destroyeth ; and brings in everlasting righteousness in you . but ( as above mentioned ) if you hate this light , and go on in sin and evil , it will be your condemnation . this light is with you in your labours , and in your beds , and when you are about your business , trades and occupations ; shewing to you all your words , and all your thoughts , works and actions . which light ( if you love it ) will lead you from the old into the new life , and from the alienation and degeneration from god , his life and image . and with this light you will see christ a king to govern you , who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him ; and with the light you will see him a prophet to open to you , and a priest to offer for you to the father ; and in this light you will see more light , the same shining in your hearts , it will give you the knowledge of the glory of god , in the face of christ jesus your saviour : and with the light you will see the kingdom of heaven within , which never gave consent to sin and evil , like to a grain of mustard-seed , and to a leaven which leaveneth into a new lump . and with the light you will see the field , which is the world , placed in your hearts , where the pearl is hid , and with what you must dig to find the pearl , the power of god ; and what you must sell for its sake , to purchase the field , and waiting in this light , you will receive the spirit of truth , the comforter , to to lead you into all truth , and to bring the words which christ hath spoken to your remembrance ; and it will shew you things to come ; and it shall receive of those which are christs , and give it unto you . so loving the light you love christ , and receiving it you receive christ , the first and the last ; for in the light christ is seen and handled , his voyce is heard and he is followed . so in the light you will see christ to be your teacher , who saith , learn of me , i am the way , the truth and the life ; by whom life eternal is given . and you are brought again to christ the shepherd , who draws you out of the fall to god , into his image , where the green pastures of life are known and fed upon . and no man commeth to the father ( saith christ ) but by me : who enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world , that by the light all may believe . and , saith christ , believe in the light whilst ye have the light , that you may be children of the light. so you being enlightned with the light , which if you believe in it , you come to be children of the light , and heirs of promise , and mercy , and of the power of a life that hath no end. and believing in the light , you pass from death to life , from darkness to light ; and you come to know a translation from darkness to light , and from satans power to the power of god ; and to know the begotten of god , into his own image , by his power , as you have been degenerated from god , and have lost his image , by the prince of darkness , and so translated from the image of god , into the image of satan , from the power of christ , into the power of darkness ; so you must come to the light , that ye may have another conversion , from satans power to god , from darkness to light , to be renewed into the image of god ; and this is felt within , and as you feel this within , you will know the word of god within in your hearts , which is the word of faith , which the apostles preached to the romans ; which they were to hear , obey , and do : and that is the word which seperates the pretious from the vile ; your pretious thoughts , affections , motions and words from your vile : so the word is in your hearts , and mouthes , to obey it , and to do it ; and it is quick and powerful , sharper than a two-edged sword : and you shall not need to say , who shall bring it from heaven , or who shall fetch it from beneath ? but it is in the heart and mouth ; and this is the word of faith which the apostles preached . and the same word is called a hammer , a sword , and a fire to beat down , to cut down , and to burn up whatsoever is contrary to it . so it is the same word which sanctifieth , and purifieth , and reconcileth to god , as beats down , and cuts down , that which is contrary to god and which seperates betwixt you and god. so you may hear , obey and do the word , for it is with you in all places , and in all your occasions , dividing good thoughts from bad , good words and motions from bad : for if all christendom would hear and obey the word in their hearts , which is pure , and lives , and remaines , and endures for ever , by which they would come to be born again of the immortal seed , this word would keep them from evil actions and words which are spoken and acted by them : and so by the word every one should be taught , and should know the engrafted word , which is able to save the soul , which beats down , and cuts down , and burns up that which wars against it , and keeps the soul from the enjoyment of god. and so in this word they should know the annointing in themselves to teach them , so that they should not need any man to teach them , but as the same annointing teacheth them , which teacheth truth in all things . and in this light and word , which is in the heart , they should know the new covenant of god , the law written in the heart , and put in their mindes , by which they should not have need to say one to another , know the lord ; for all should know him from the least even to the greatest . and those are true christians who come to witness this , as thousands in england do witness it in this his day ; among whom the pretious pearl is found , and the field is bought , among whom the law of the spirit of life , sets free from the law of sin and death : who witness the ages to come , of which the apostle spoke , in which the kindness and exceeding riches of the grace of god should be manifested again , which the lord in the primitive times made manifest amongst the apostles , who sat together in heavenly places in christ jesus . in which places ▪ thousands are now come to sit ; glory be to him for ever . i. concerning worship . the promise of redemption is from that state in which adam and eve , their sons and daughters are in the fall driven from god , into a state in which they were before they were driven from god , to the church in god. now they that sit down in a state driven from god , are people far off from the church in god. our worship is in spirit and in truth , in which the devil abode not , but is out of it , who is the author of strife and unrighteousness amongst people , which truth maketh the devil to bow , and cringe , yea , and destroys him ; and it is the spirit that mortifies sin , which makes the separation from god. now we say , that if all christendom had worshipped god in spirit and in truth , they had all been in him , out of which the devil is , and had been in the holy mountain , and had felt the spirit ruling them in their own particulars , and had felt the spirit of truth guiding and teaching them in them , in their own hearts . ii. concerning the church . our church is in god the father of our lord jesus christ , which he redeems with his own blood , without spot , or wrinkle , or deformity , or any such thing , which blood we feel in our hearts , purging us from all sin ; with which blood we feel our consciences cleansed from dead works to serve the living god. so this blood is witnessed in us , and the excellency thereof , by which we come to know the price of redemption . iii. concerning the way . we say that christ is our way , which is light , which enlighteneth you and every man that cometh into the world , that with this light you may see him , the way , and may come to walk in the way of peace and life , which is the way to god , and which is the new and living-way , in which the apostles were , out of which christendom is gone , erring from the light in their own particulars , into their own inventions and imaginations , which is the cause that there are set up so many wayes among them , changable wayes , and changable worships , among them ( i say ) who have erred from the new and living way . so whosoever comes to the light in themselves , they come to christ , they come to the new and living way , out of the old and dead wayes which are in the fall from god , out of his image and power ; so whosoever comes to his image and power , they must come to the light , wherewith christ the way hath enlightened them all in their own particulars , and hear his voyce and doctrine . so there is not another way to the father but christ the light , which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world , which is the way , yea , the new and living way . so , who love the light , they love the way , and they love christ ; but they who hate the light , they hate christ the way . iv. of the crosse . the cross of christ is the power of god , which is contrary to the world ; which cross of christ , the power of god , was among the apostles , which crucified them from all outward figures , types , shadows and inventions of men. so they who are gone from the power of god , since the dayes of the apostles , have set up many crosses , who have lost the true cross , which is the power of god. the cross of christ , which is the power of god , crucifies that state in which adam and eve , and all their posterity were in , in the degeneration , in which cross is the power of god ; by which cross they come to a state in which they were in before their fall. and in this power of god , the cross is the fellowship , which is a mystery , which brings to the beginning , in which is endless life ; and this mystery is in it . v. of the true communion . the true communion is in the gospel , which is among us , as it was among the apostles , in the spirit and light , by which we have fellowship with the father and with the son. vi. of the gospel . the gospel is the power of god to salvation ; for he that believeth receiveth power , receiveth the gospel , by which life and immortality is brought to light ; and the power of god expels that which keeps life and immortality from people , and captivates their soules spirits and mindes , and keeps them in bondage ; which power of god expells it all and sets them free , and gives them dominion over that , which burdens them and gives them to feel and to see before that was which hides life and immortality from them . and by this power of god , life and immortality comes to reign , in which is the saints fellowship , and church-fellowship , in which they come to be heires of the power of god , heirs of the gospel , heirs of the fellowship , membrs of the church , and membrs of one another ; in the power of god , the gospel wich was before the power of darkness was . and now the gospel must be preached again to all nations , kindreds , tongues and people , who dwell upon the earth ; that by this gospel , life and immortallity may be brought to light among them , and expel away that which hides it from them , by which power , the gospel , which is salvation , which frees the soules , spirits , and consciences from that which burdens them , and to them this is glad tydings . vii . of faith . the faith is one which purifieth the heart , which giveth victory , and which brings to have access to god , and which giveth victory over that which seperates from god ; in which faith was the unity of the saints in the primitive times , in which also stands our unity ; which faith is the gift of god. viii . of baptisme . there is one baptism , by one spirit , into one body , which plungeth under all the corruption which got up since transgression , which hath made the separation between man and god ; which spirit leads into one body from the many bodies , and into one head from the many heads of those many bodies , which are in the fall from god. so baptized with one spirit , into one body , which plungeth under all that which makes a separation from god. we are made to drink into one spirit , and this spirit is within , plunging under all the corruptions which are within ; and the cross of christ , which is the power of god , is within , crucifying the mind which did walk in those things which hides from god , and which keeps in the world , in the lust of the eyes , the pride of life , and the lust of the flesh which are not of the father . now they that mind earthly things , they go from the power of god within , and are enemies to his cross , which is the power of god ( as paul saith ) and so , many heads , many bodies , many baptisms , are among them , who are out of the power of god , the cross of christ , and out of the one baptisme with the spirit , into one body , into one head , christ jesus , the first and the last , the beginning and the end , and the head of his church , which is his body , and he is the saviour of it ; of which church we are . ix . of persecution . now concerning the divers faiths , and divers worships , which are in the world , and the persecution about them , such believers and worshipers are out of the one faith which giveth victory , and have lost the spiritual weapons and are run into the carnal , and so are out of the true worship which is in spirit and truth ; out of which ( as i said before ) the devil is . and here are all the carnall weaponed men , fighting for their worship , and for trifles . when as the spiritual weaponed men , who have the word of god , and the sword of the spirit , they strive not with flesh and blood , destroy not creatures by calling to the powers of the earth to help them . when as carnal minded men , who are out of the church , which was in the begining , and its weapon and spirit : who deform , kill and slay creatures about their invented worships , faiths , baptisms , churches , croses , and such like ; which were not the fruits , neither the works of the apostles , nor of the spiritual weaponed men . so all ye that persecute and kill about religion , church and worship , are not worshipers of god in spirit and truth : they are not in the fellowship of the gospel , the power of god , which was before the power of sathan was , and they are not in the true faith which giveth victory over that which seperates from god , neither are they in the cross of christ , the power of god , which was before sathan was , which crucifies the flesh , and the world , and their carnal weapons . so all ye who persecute and kill about religion , you are out of the new and living way , christ jesus , which saith , love enemies ; and commands to give the check● , back and hairs to the smiters : ye are in cains way who persecute and kill your brother christians , as cain did , and so in this you do not well , neither doth god respect your sacrifice for if you and cain had done well , neither you nor cain had killd your brothers about worship , church , sacrifice and religion , and then god would have had respect unto you , but you doing not well , sin lyeth at your door , as it did at cains , and it s gotten in your house ; so that now , neither his nor your sacrifice god accepts or regards , neither stand you in an acceptable state , where now you are , but in a way , in which together with cain you walk , which is not the new , nor the living way . for adam neglected to hear the voice of god , and cain neglected to hear the voice of god , and the jews they neglected to hear the voice of god , and you neglect to hear his voice , and the devil who went from the truth , lyeth at the door of such who neglect the voyce of god , and so sin entreth into the house and defiles them , and so their hearts are hardned , for which cause they turned against their brethren . so they neither do well , neither doth god accept their sacrifice , for they go from the path and the way where god respects and accepts people , and so becomes fugitives and vagabonds in the earth , and hath not an habitation in god , and in this fugitive state , those baptised nations are worse than the nations not baptized ; and many of them are much more children of the devil than before , like the jews proselites , killing and persecuting , doing the devils work , who is out of the truth . for both christ , his ministers and apostles came to save mens lives ; but the devils policy was to cloath his ministers , apostles and messengers with the sheeps cloathing , and keeps people always under them , that they may alwayes pay them , but destroys and persecutes such as refuse . and this is not according to christ the way , who destroyes the devil and his works , who led man from god , and maketh man unclean ; and christ , who destroyes the devil , maketh man clean again , and brings man to god , who is the justifier , sanctifier , redeemer , and the captain of their salvation ; and persecution is alwayes blind . so every religion , church , worship , ministry , maintenance , which is set up by carnal weapons , clubs and swords is from cain and judas , and from the jews , and from anti-christ , and is anti-christianism , and not from christ , neither in the way which is the way to life . for he is the life which saveth mens lives , but he is of the prince of death that destroyeth mens lives , and of the prince of darkness , out of the light , and out of christ the way , who was before he was , and his workes , and who lives and remaines when he is gone ( to wit , the devil ) and all his instruments and works : let the glory be to god alone for ever . and all the vain jangles and contentions , and disputes concerning the scriptures of truth , with the divers meanings and interpretations thereof , from whence they arise , because they are not in the power and spirit in which they were that gave them forth ; so they are not in fellowship with god , from whence they came , neither with the spirits of just men , who gave them forth , neither are in vnity one with another , for they are out of the spirit , in which spirit we are , by which spirit we know god , we know the spirits of just men , we know the scriptures , with which we have vnity one with another , and the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets ; and this is witnessed amongst us which god said , viz. that he would pour out of his spirit upon all flesh , and sons and daughters should prophesie . and now both sons and daughters do prophesie in our age , as formerly among the apostles . and now there are women-helpers and labourers in the gospel , and such who for its sake can lay down their lives . x. of the scriptures . now concerning the scriptures we say , that they were not given for this end that men should make a trade of them for a maintenance , neither to keep people alwayes learning , and alwayes teaching of them to get their money , this proceeds from the earthly wisdom , knowledge and vnderstanding , which shall perish , and be confounded , and brought to nothing ; and not in that wisdom which cometh down from above , which is pure and peaceable ; but in that wisdom which is from beneath , which is earthly , sensual and devilish , which will destroy them who are not of their opinions and judgments ; such are not in the spiritual understanding , which giveth dominion over sin , and which giveth a discerning by which they can discern one thing from another , and are out of that knowledge by which god is known , which is life eternal . so they who make a trade of the scriptures , and serve themselves by them , they are such as are out of the life , neither can they bring people to it , and so they keep people learning all their life time ; and this is the state of the merchants of babylon , who are building up and plucking down . now this is the end and right use of scripture , viz. for all to read them , and believe them , and to wait in the light , to feel the power and spirit which was in them , who gave them forth , by which they may know them , and have the revelation of them in themselves , and so feel christ who is the voyce and the corner-stone , by which they are fulfilled , and so to receive him , and live in him , who fulfills them , who is the end of the prophets , and of all types , figures and shadows . so ( i say ) the scriptures of truth were given forth to be believed , read , fulfilled , performed , and that people might enjoy that of which they spoke , to wit , christ jesus the substance . the scriptures of truth are the words of god , which comes from god the father of truth , and cannot be broken , but must be fulfilled , and he who fulfills them is christ , by whom all things were made and created ; who is called , the word of god. xi . concerning tythes . tythes have been held up among christians ( so called ) by force and violence since the dayes of the apostles , and christs incarnation , by whom not any example was given about tythes , for among them all things were done freely in charity and love. tythes before the law , by abraham , and tythes , &c. offerings , &c. under the law , were for the priests , widows , fatherless , and the poor ; which law of god commanded tythes by reason of the encrease to be offered for his service , but christ in gospel-times , redeems from the ninths , and puts an end to the law that gave the tenths , and to the priesthood that took them , and to the commandment that gave them , and puts an end to the offerings . and although abraham paid tythes to melchisedeck in time of war , those were only tythes of the spoil , and not by a command ; and christ was according to the order of melchisedeck , who puts an end to war , and destroyes the devil its author , and redeems out of the earth . and although we are many thousands , yet there is not a beggar among us , neither do we read there were any beggars in the primitive-times , which church denyed tythes , and said , the priesthood was changed that took them , together with the law by which they were set up , and also the commandment which gave them . so they who take tythes , and they who pay them , are both anti-christs , and deny christ to be come in the flesh . xii . of the higher power . moses , who had the law , saw over all transgression , and before it was ; he saw the state which adam had in the garden before he fell , he saw his state in the fall , and how death reigned from adam to moses , who received the law , which law passed over all transgression ; which law did answer to the witness of god in all , which was a command to people that they might not sin , and that they might be kept from sin , and so from death , which raigns from adam to moses , which law passeth over both sin and death . and this was the higher power ( higher than the transgression ) which answereth to the witness of god against the rebellions , which witness is true , holy , righteous , and equal , which law is just , holy , and good ; a true measure , and just weight ; this is called the higher power ; this was added untill the seed came , which is christ ; and this law they were to hear , even moses : to whom wisdom was given to make the pattern , and to set forth figures and shaddows under the law till christ should come . of which moses said , the lord will raise up a prophet like unto me , him shall ye hear in all things . and when christ himself came , he put an end to all those types , figures , and shaddows , and changable things ; for in him there is no shaddow , who is called gods righteousness . so the law was in use untill the seed came ; and moses who had it said , god shall raise up a prophet like unto him , and now he is come , which we hear , ( to wit , the seed ) who is the end of all the prophets , who prophesied of him ; and so he is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believe . so believers are members of the true church , of which christ is the head. so christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth . which christ purgeth his floor , and burneth up the chaffe , commeth with his fan , baptizeth with his holy spirit and fire , and bringeth his wheat into his garner . and christ is the end of all oaths which were under the law , and which was before the law , viz. of oaths which put an end to strife among men. xiii . of the kingdom of christ , how it is held up , and how not . the kingdom of christ is not held up by carnal weapons , for saith christ , my kingdom is not of this world , therefore his servants fight not . now all you that profess your selves to be christians , and bringers of glad tydings , yet ye are fighthers with clubs and swords about religion , you are not the servants of christ , who are fighting for an earthly kingdom ; for in christs kingdom we must fight with spiritual weapons in patience and long-suffering ; and christ said to his disciples , ( who would have had fire to come down from heaven to consume those that were contrary to them , as it was in the dayes of the prophet elias ) that they knew not what spirit they were of . so they who destroy mens lives , and doth not save them , they are not according to the mind of christ , nor the way of christ , but are under the condemnation of it , neither do they know what spirit they are of . and so they who are spiritually wise cannot commit their souls , bodies nor spirits into the hands of such . xiv . concerning teachers , prophets , pastors , bishops , presbyters , &c. teachers , prophets , pastors , presbyters and bishops , ought not to be such as are given to filthy lucre , nor covetous , nor given to wine , nor strikers , nor brawlers , nor covetous of earthly things , nor to teach for filthy lucre , nor to contend about words and fables , and vain phylosophy , and beggarly rudiments , and traditions and doctrines of men , nor their commandements , neither ought they to compel people to observe dayes , meats , and drinks , nor such like things , nor to bear rule by their means , nor they ought not to be such who seek their gain from their quarter , such were forbidden ; and such as teach for money and handfulls of barly , and pieces of bread , and such as teach for lucre , were forbidden and opposed by the true prophets , teachers and apostles , and such as wore long robes , and were called of men master , and followed and loved salutations in mark●ts , and the uppermost roomes at feasts , and such like , all such are out of christ , and against such christ himself cryed , woe , woe , who said , ye have one master , even christ , and ye are all brethren : and that it should not be so among them , as it was among the gentiles . and so all they who have the scriptures of christ , of the apostles and prophets , and not in the power and spirit that gave them forth , and do not obey it , which reproves them that they may come into it , but stop their ears , and shut their eyes against it , such are like the pharisees , these cannot worship god in the spirit , neither can they pray in the spirit , nor sing in the spirit , but quench it , and burthen it , and vex it . these are out of the fellowship of the spirit , and out of the fellowship of god the father of spirits . those erre , not knowing the scriptures nor the power of god. and such go hither and thither to change their way , and go from the spirit of god in their hearts , which would lead them to christ , the way , the truth , and the life . so all such who have the form of godliness , and are not in the power and spirit in which they were in who gave forth the words ; such are to be denyed . and the true praying is in the spirit , and the true worship , true praysing , and true singing must be in the spirit : so they who grieve and vex the spirit , and quench it , they cannot worship god in the spirit . xv. an exhortation to all christendom , to mind the grace of god , to wit , the light. all ye people in that part of the world which is called christendom , come to the light wherewith christ hath enlightned you , that with it you may see your salvation , and may know christ you teacher , the captain of your salvation , and the grace which comes by him , which brings your salvation ; which grace teacheth us , which grace is sufficient in weakness and temptations , which brings the salvation , and by it we are saved . and this grace teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts , and to live soberly and righteously ; and this is our teacher that brings salvation . so you may have all the loynes of your mind girded up , to wait for the grace which is to be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ , according to peters exhortation . now they who turn from the grace , and walkes despightfully against the spirit of god , they set up teachers according to their own hearts lusts , and such makes merchandize of them , alwayes learning of them , but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth , but still remains in earthly mindedness , covetousness , and temptations , and weaknesses , where is mournings and complaints , and where there are very many mourners and complainers , among such as turn from the grace of god into wantonness , and set up teachers ( as aforementioned ) according to their own hearts lusts , &c. therefore come ye to the grace of god , and it will give you to see your ungodliness , your unrighteousness , and your worldly lusts and intemperance . this grace is your teacher continually , who brings salvation ; if you take heed , and have regard to it , and love it , but if you turn it into wantonness , the sudden judgement of god will come upon you . so take heed to the grace of god , your constant teacher , which brings salvation , by which grace you will see your salvation brought in ; for , the mighty day of the lord is coming upon all unrighteousness of men . the son of the lord god will appear against you , he who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him , who is king of kings , and lord of lords . so take heed to the light and receive it , wherewith he hath enlightned , so you receive the lord himself . open ye your gates , that the king of glory may enter in , who stands at the door and knocketh , turn ye to the light , and then you open the door where the coming in of the king of glory is discerned . and come from all the barren mountains , who are in the fall , alienated from the image of god , life and power . come from all those wells without water , and clouds without rain , who are as vagabonds tossed up and down like a tempest . come to the light , and receive the light , that in the light ye may receive christ , and be his children , that by the same you may see the day-star appearing , where the sons of god sing together . for , woe is to the world that lyeth in iniquity , for the lord is coming to judge it , and to render to every one according to their works , whether they be good or evil . and with the light every one of you knows whether your works are good or evil , for what is to be known of god is manifest in you , ( for god hath manifested it to you ) when you do any thing that is naught , or unjust , or worthy of death , by that which is of god in you , you know it . and when you go from this , which is of god in you , you do not glorify god as god , but are alienated from his life , and strangers from the covenant of life and peace which is in christ , and so your foolish hearts are darkned , and filled with unrighteousness , and upon such comes the judgments and displeasure of god. now they who are delivered from the wrath to come , they come to that which is of god in themselves ( viz. ) to the light , and so they see christ the covenant of god ; so man is brought into peace with god , and saved from the wrath to come , and from all false wayes , false doctrines , false worships , and false churches , commandments , traditions , rudimenus , will-worships , inventions , and from hand-worship , and lip-service . so come to the light and spirit of god in your selves that by it you may be converted to god , and may worship him in spirit , and walk in the spirit , in christ jesus , who was before sin was . for since man fell from god , from his power and image , all the false wayes , false worships , false churches , have been set up ; and by that spirit , and power , and wisdom which is out of truth , from below , which leads men to kill one another about them . so the light is the way by which life is to be found , and this is the light which enlighteneth you . so come to the light and you come to the way , which was before the power of death was . and christ is called the way , and he is called the light , and who are out of the light they are out of him , the way , in the wayes of death , and darkness , and bondage . for as the jews outward were in bondage and captivity under pharaoh in egypt , so the jews inward in the spirit , are captivated in spiritual sodom and egypt . they who do not take to the directions of the spirit , and heareth what it saith , for every man ought to hearken and hear what the spirit saith to the churches , and not to mind nor hear any visible thing . and in it , ( viz. the spirit ) they edifie , build , and gather together , and meet together in vnity and fellowship . xvi . of perfection . he who leads man into imperfection is the devil , and his work who leads from god , for man was perfect before he fell , for all his works were perfect ; so christ who d●stroyeth the devil and his works , makes man perfect again ( destroying him who made him imperfect ) which the law could not do ; so by his blood he cleanseth from all sin , and by the one offering he perfecteth for ever them that are sanctified . and they who do not believe in the light which cometh from christ ( by which they see the offering , and receive the blood ) they are in unbeliefs concernig it . and the apostles who were in the light , christ jesus , who destroyes the devil and his works , they spoke wisdom among them that were perfect , although they could not do it among them that were carnal . and their work was to perfect the saints ( and for this end they had their ministry given them ) until they all came to the knowledge of the son of god , who destroyeth the devil and all his works , and who put an end to the prophets , and to the first covenant , types , figures and saddows . and the apostles work was to bring people to the vnity of the faith , which purified their hearts , which gave them victory over that which seperates them from god , in which they have access to god , by which faith they please him , by which they are justified , and so at last they come to a perfect man , to the measure of the statrue of the fulness of christ . and so the apostle saith , we preach christ in you , the hope of glory ; warning every man , that we may present every man perfect in christ jesus . xvii . of the resurrection . we say that christ is the resurrection and the life , to raise up that which adam lost , ( who hath all power in heaven and in earth given to him ) and to destroy him who deceived him ( viz. adam ) so christ is the resurrestion unto life , of body , soul , and spirit , and so renews man into the image of god , and brings man into an higher condition than that in which adam stood before the fall , even to himself , who never changed , and never fell , nor never will fall . and so they who forget god and do wickedly , they are to be turned into hell ; for they who forget god and do wickedly , they go from the life and power of god , into the seperation from him , and out of his acceptance ; for in the life is the acceptance ; and so the power , light and life , goeth over them , who go into sin and iniquity , which leades from god , who was before transgression was . xviii . concerning election and reprobation . reprobation is an alienation from the life , and from that which is of god within , and from his voice and command , as adam and the jews did ; and such who despise that which is of god within , they despise their birth-right ; such are concluded to be out of true vnderstanding , and true knowledge , and the witness of god within is grieved , and such are dead in their sences from the life and covenant of peace with god , and from the seed which is called the elect , in which the elect , and the election is known , in the seed christ , before the foundation of the world , which world slew him , and they who slew him , and now slayes him , they were and are reprobated from the life , who go from the command of god , and they have lost his image , they have lost his power , which keeps over , and above , and out of the reprobation . and so they who come into the election , the seed , they come out of the state in which adam was , in the fall , into the state in which he was in before he fell , and into an higher state than that , into christ , the seed , the elect. and so they in the seed , in the elect , in christ , the wisdom of god , they comprehend and see the state of election before the world was laid , and the state of adam before the fall , and the state of adam in the fall , in the reprobation , and the state of adam restored again out of the fall , and a state which is higher than that in which adam was in before he fell , into the election ( which is a thing beyond that ) and the state of the beloved of god is seen in the seed , the wisdom of god. cain was the first birth , esau was the first birth , ishmael was the first birth ; cain killed his brother about religion , ishmael was a scoffer , esau bore the sword , he despised his birth-right , he fought against his brother jacob. so christendom , read your reprobation , the first birth , which is born of the elesh , for the first birth will persecute him who is born of the spirit ; so the most part of christians are seen to be of the first birth , and to remain in the reprobation from god. cain departed from the voyce of god , and esau from his birth-right , and ishmael in his scoffing nature , they went from the good , and so from faithful abraham , who was in the election . and so they who are in cains , ishmaels and esaus nature , are in the first birth , which is not elected . now as to the love of god towards one , and his hatred to another , before either had done good or evil , all this consists in the first birth , who despised his birth-right , which god foresaw , which was not the seed , unto which the love of god is to for ever . therefore know thy self ( o christendom ) and thy birth , that that which hates the principle of god and his voice , is reprobated , he that rebells against gods command and his voyce , god turneth against such , neither doth he hear such who hates the election , and are in the reprobation from the seed , yea , even from the law it self , for the law keeps a man from sin ; but the law it self doth not say that it destroys the devil , but the seed , viz. christ , who is higher than the law , who is the election , and destroys the devil . so who knows the election , they must know the seed , they must know the birth born of the spirit . now if all christendom , know the election , they must know the birth born of the spirit , which will not persecute . for the nature of cain , ishmael , and esau , is one ( of which the apostle spoke in the primitive times ) which we now also say is one , and the election is one which standeth in the seed , which was before the foundation of the wicked world was . and the reprobation is one , which standeth in the unjust world , out of the truth and the life in disobedience to the command of god. therefore know the one reprobation , and the one election , then ye shall know the seed , in which is the wisdom of god , and ye shall know that which goes from his voyce , power and command , out of the wisdom of god ; so whom god loves , he loves for ever : know jacob , and know esau . esau , cain and ishmael were the first-born ; and is not christendom of the first-birth , who persecutes , who departs from the good , and despises the pure , and persecutes the birth born of the spirit , which god hates . and such act out of his life in the reprobation , out of his power and wisdom , and out of the election , christ , the seed , the second birth , who was before the carnal birth was , and remains when he will be gone , unto which the love of god is for ever , and unto whom is the promise , which goeth over the outward birth , and destroyes the devil and his works , who went from truth , and led man from god , by which the curse , wrath and woe came upon man , which christ the seed , brings the blessing , and gives man to see the blessed state of all things , how they were in the beginning , and how they were blessed in the beginning ; and through christ , man comes up into the power , which is his throne , where there 's blessing and no curse at all . xix . concerning fear and trembling . the strong man hath kept the house long , and his goods have been at peace , but now he is come who is stronger than he , christ jesus the stronger , who doth dis-inherit and cast him out , and spoil his goods , and makes man the temple of god ; that ●e himself may dwell in him , an holy temple , and an habitation for himself to dwell in ; who maketh the keepers of the house to tremble ; by which power of christ the salvation is wrought out with fear and trembling . and so we can say , that it is god that worke●h in us both to will and to do , according to his will and good pleasure . in the dayes of the prophets , the prophet he trembled and staggered like a drunkard , for the iniquity of the times , and because of the holiness of the word of the lord ; he trembled when he heard his voyce , and when the lord spake to him he feared grea●ly . this is the man whom god regards ( saith the prophet isayas ) who is of a broken and contr●ie spirit , and trembleth at his word : who have been cast out by their brethren , who said , let the lord be glorified : who will appear for those that tremble at his word , and for those that are of a contrite heart ; who were for signes and wonders to both the houses of israel , when they shall be confounded , ashamed and astonished . and before you know sin rooted out , and wasted out of your flesh , and the earth shaken and removed out of its place , and ye brought into that state which man was in before he fell , you must know the trembling and shaking of that which is to be shaken , and the removing of that which is to be removed , before christ the seed will appear , who is the foundation of many generations , and the rock of ages , who is the first and the last ; who cannot be shaken , neither can be changed . so that the whole unjust wicked world hath much to suffer before they come to this , they must know the devils to tremble , the heavens to be shaken , and the earth also , before he who cannot be shaken will appear ; by whom the world was made . xx. concerning the body of death . it s evident that they who plead for a body of death and sin , about which the world so earnestly jangle , and which they plead for as long as they live upon the earth , that they also plead for its author , viz : the divel , and this is not to plead for christ who destroyes him who is the author of sin , and the body of it . object . now if you object , that john hath said , if we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves , and the truth is not in us ▪ answ . john saith , if we say we have not sinned , we make him a lyar : ( mark ) but if we confess and forsake our sins , the blood of jesus christ , the son of god , cleanseth us from all sin . further he saith , he that is born of god sinneth not , neither can he : because the seed of god remains in him . because of which seed he cannot sin , for that seed keeps the holy ; so that the evill one cannot touch him : in this the children of god and the children of the divel are manifest : whose children of both kinds contends and pleads for his own ; so there is a time in which men may say that they have sinned , and have sin , and a time to confess and to forsake sin ; and then a time to know the blood which cleanseth from all sin ; and then the birth born , which doth not commit sin ; and the seed which remaines in him ; so that he cannot sin , for , ( as i said before ) it keeps the holy that the evil cannot touch him . and though paul cryed out of a body of death , and of a warfare , yet afterwards he gave thanks to god , that he had gotten victory , through jesus christ , over the body of death , and that the law of the spirit of life , had freed him from the law of sin and death . and afterwards the apostle never complained of a body of death , but he thanked god , that he had obtained victory through christ , who destroyes the devil the author of it , who destroys death and its body , and said that he was freed , and that there was no condemnation to them who were in christ jesus : and that the life that he now lived , was by the faith of the son of god ; which faith gives victory over sin , death and the devil ; which sin separates from god , by which man hath displeased him , by which faith man is purified , and hath victory , and pleaseth god , and hath access to him , and is justified and saved , amen . xxi . concerning the word thou to a single person . it is the manner among us to use the word [ thou ] to a single person , and [ you ] to more than one , as in the primitive times among the saints , according to scripture and the principle of god placed in every man , which distinguisheth many from one , and hath the proper word both to singular and plural ; to wit , the singular word to a single person , and the plural word to more than one , according to the true understanding and spirit of god in every man , and the testimony of all the prophets . but they are degenerated from the spirit of god , they are degenerated from the scriptures , and from their own translations , calling this manner of speaking ( thou , to one , and you , to many ) nonsence , and improper ; when they themselves are gone from the true understanding , which whosoever are in it , comprehends them who are degenerated from it . xxii . concerning putting of the hat , and bowing the knee , and cringings , and complements . to put off hatts , bowing knees , cringing and complements , are from below , and customes and manners of the world , which shall pass away , and never came from god , neither is that honour wherewith men ought to honour one another ; for if all men had honoured and esteemed one another , they had been of an higher spirit than the spirit of the world , and of a more noble and generous spirit : then neither man nor woman throughout all christendom had received wrong or injury if they had esteemed and honoured one another ; for he that honours men , will in no wise hurt them , in this consists breeding and civillity . and every knee shall bow to me ( saith the lord. ) for this is the cry , worship god , and fear him , and reverence him . and if you object , that some in times past bowed them-themselves to an angel , but in the time of the gospel , which is the power of god , which was before the fall , in the state of reformation and restauration , john was forbidden to bow to the angel , and the apostels reproved them that bowed to them . and although jacob bowed for a time to his brother esau ; yet it is not said , that he bowed to him all his life time . for it is written , the elder shall serve the younger ; so the elder shall bow among the cringers and knee-bowers , one to another , who will kill and envy one another ; and to them this is a mystery . xxiii . concerning good manners . evil words , and evil communications corrupts good manners ; and if christendom would learn good manners , they must all come to the light of christ jesus , to the spirit of god in themselves , and to the word of god in their hearts and months which will teach them to leave off evil words , and will lead them from them , and to deny them , and this is the way to come to good manners ; but they who live in high expressions and complements , and full of evil words , and flatteries , and dissimulations , and call such good manners ; their words and works testify and manifest that they are evil and corrupt , and such whose manners are evil and corrupt , they quench , grieve and vex the spirit of god in themselves , and hate the light , and will not come to it , because it reproves them of their evil words . such do love envy , wrath , vanity , pride , rashness , hastiness , and yet they are found in flattering expressions , and bowings one to another ; and they call it good manners , and honour , when all such things are altogether out of that honour that comes from above ; and are those things which the witness of god in themselves testifieth against , and testified in the name of the lord , that he will bring such honour in the dust , and that which he will condemn as unjust . the apostle saith , that women ought not to adorne themselves , with gould , silver , pearls , costly attire , platting of the hair , but to be adorned with a meek and a quiet spirit , which is in the sight of god of great price ; and the hidden man of the heart , &c. and if christendom had minded this , it had been more virtuous , and more sober , and less envious towards one about their manners . xxiv . concerning objections of the world against the preaching of christ . object . the world objests , and saith , that some preach christ of envy , and some of good-will , and some of strife and contention ; and that christ commanded to hear the pharisees : so we may hear ( say they ) our teachers although they be wicked . answ . he that hath the form of godliness and denyes the power , from such turn away . the apostle bid turn away from envious men , and contentious men , and men of strife : although there was a time when the name of christ was first spread abroad , in which time he permitted envious men to spread his name abroad . but when his name was spread abroad , then he forbad such envious and contentious men to preach , and exhorted timothy to withdraw from , and avoid such , for they could not bring people into the power . for envious and contentious men may preach the form , and have it , but they cannot bring people into the power . and so there came a time ( before the decease of the apostles ) to turn away from such . now as to the hearing of the pharisees , this was before christ was offered up , and before the fulfilling of the law ; for they were ministers of the law ; and so people ought to do as they said , but not as they did , but when christ was offered up , he commanded them to preach the gospel , and not to hear the pharisees , and it was the work of the apostles to bring people to the end of the law , to the seed , into gospel-fellowship , into the power of god , which was before the power of darkness was . xxv . concerning bread , water and wine . bread , water , and wine are earthly and perishing things ; for the bread and wine which christ gave at supper in the evening , which the world takes at noon , those things christ and the apostle gave for a shewing forth and a remembrance of his death until he should come . and after some of the disciples had receiv'd it , they doubted , whether he was the christ or not . and after the apostle had given the supper to the corinthians , in his first epistle , he bad then examine themselves , and so to eat in the remembrance of christ . but in the second epistle he bad them examine themselves , and try themselves , whether christ [ except they were reprobates ] were in them or not . now they may be reprobates , who have taken the bread and wine , and have had the water ; they were reprobates if christ was not in them ; for bread and wine is not the flesh and blood of christ , which came down from heaven , which flesh , whosoever eates , lives for ever . for people may eat of bread made of grain , and may drink wine make of grapes , and yet may dye reprobates . now they were to take it in remembrance of his death , this was one state , and than they were to come to dye with him and this was a nearer state than the taking of bread and wine in remembrance of his death , and then they were to arise with him , and then to seek those things which were above where christ sitteth at the right hand of god , but bread water and wine are all earthly things , and they are not christ , and they who have him , they are not reprobates , neither do they need outward things to put them in mind of his death ; whenas they are dead with him , and risen with him , to live with him . but they who will not dye , and suffer with him , such live in the old nature , and desire to have outward things , continually to put them in mind of his death , and such live in strife and contention about outward things and shaddows and do not come to christ the substance , who was before the world was made in whom there is no strife at all , but only life and peace . xxvi . of the sabbath day . the jews they kept the sabbath-day , a type and sign of rest , that both the man-servant , and maid-servant , and strangers , and all cattel should rest within their gates ; a sign of christ , who destroys the devil the author of oppression , and gives rest to man and beast , and to the whole creation , and brings it again into that blessed condition which it was in in the beginning before the fall. now as to the saints meeting together on the first day of the week , this practice is not denyed , but owned by us , for who are come to the first day , as they jews on the last day . but there is more in the word . xxvii . concerning god-fathers , and god-mothers and sprinkling of infants . concerning god-fathers , and god-mothers , and sprinkling of infants , and such like things , the scriptures make no mention , yet the scripture saith , repent , teach and baptize . xxviii . concerning the word trinity . of this word [ trinitas ] there is no mention made in scripture ; yet the scripture speaks of father , son and holy spirit , and of water , blood and spirit , and all these are , one among us , as in the primitive time among the apostles , who gave no such outward names to them as trinity , as the world now doth . xxix . concerning the ministry . they that receive from christ , they receive freely , and they give freely , they pray freely , and preach freely ; and the ministry is the gift of god , and is to be exercised freely ; and of a free people of their earthly things it is to be administred freely . heavenly men and bringers of glad tydings of a kingdom of which they are heirs , must minister to the eternal condition of people . and this is the highest love in the life . xxx . concerning dayes , and times , and meats and drinks . the kingdom of god consists not in dayes , times , meats and drinks , and such like things , but in power , righteousness faith and joy in the holy ghost ; and people ought not contend and persecute one another about such things , for the apostles gave not any commandment or example that any should do so , but on the contrary reproved them who did so , and keep people in such things . xxxi . concerning marriages . whom god hath joyned together let no man put asunder ; and those which he joynes he joynes with his power , even by his immortal power , with a band over and above the state which is in the fall , where men joyn and put asunder , about outward and earthly things , and jangle and fight about them , but this is all in the defiled bed , out of the honourable state which was in the beginning , where there was no hardness of heart . and marriage in it self is not condemned but owned , and among all them who are in the power , i say it is honourable . so forsake and come out of all vain words , and all vain customs , and all unprofitable and idle communications and talkings , for which you are judged and condemned with the light , viz. the light in your consciences which reproves you , and come into the the new life , in which god is served , that your words may be seasoned with grace , that by it your hearts may be established , that no corrupt communication may proceed out of your mouthes , for whatsoever is corrupt is contrary to the witness of god in your consciences , to christ the light which reproves you . therefore away with all the customes and fashions of the world which grieve and quench the spirit of god , and repent while ye have time , and spend not your time like a tale ; come to the light , and sleep not in sin , in darkness , in seperation from god ; but prize the time while you have it , lest in the end ye come to say , we have had time but now it is past ; but so mind the power of god , the light of christ jesus , by which you may redeem it . xxxii . concerning false prophets and antichrists . false prophets and antichrists are much condemned in this part of the world called christendom , and they bring the 7th , chapter , and the 24th chapter of matthew , and say , that they are but now come . to which i answer , that christ said , they should come , viz. antichrists , and false apostles ; he said to his disciples , that they shall come , i. e. to his disciples , and he gave them markes how they should know them ; a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit : nor a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit . — and if it were possible they should deceive the very elect , for they have the sheeps-cloathing . and he commanded his disciples that they should not follow them , for they were inwardly ravening wolves , having the sheeps cloathing . and those were antichrists and false prophets , false christs and deceivers who were inwardly ravend from the light , and so from the seed , viz. the true christ . and christ told his disciples those should come , and before the decease of his disciples they came ; as we may read in the first epistle of john , the second chapter , and fourth chapters , he saith , little children , ye have heard that antichrist should come , and even now there are many antichrists , and false prophets come into the world. so christ had spoken before that they should come , and his disciples said that they were already come ; who went out from them , inwardly ravend from the spirit ; and this was above sixteen hundred years since . and john who saw them already come , he directed the saints to this annointing in themselves , and said to them , that they had not need that any one should teach them , but as this annointing taught them , they should abide in the father and in the son. and so those anti-christs , false prophets , wolves , false christs , inwardly ravend , they bear pryars , thornes and thistles , which christ said , shall come , and his disciples said they were come , and who went out from them into the world. and in the revelations it is said , the whole world went after them . so they went out from the church , fellowship , gospel ; they went out from the fellowship of the spirit within , being ravend from it ; they went from the annointing within , which should teach them ; they went from the law in the heart , to wit , from the new covenant ; and they went from the kingdom within , and they went from the word which is in the the heart to obey it , and to do it ; they went out from the light in the heart , which gives the knowledge of god in the face of jesus christ , and so they lost the pearl hid in the field , viz. the world in their hearts . and so the false prophets went out from the disciples , and , as was said before in the revelations , it s said , the whole world went after them . so john wrote to the seven churches which erred , by permitting jezabel to teach , and to set up idols , and such who said they were jews , and were not , but were the synagogues of satan . so he goes on in the revelation till he comes to the eleventh chapter , where the witnesses are slain ; the two olives which carried the oyl to the annointing of the nations , the two candlesticks which holds the light. and in the 12th chapter , the woman , viz. the true church , fled into the wilderness , prepared for her of god , that there she should be nourished , for a time , times , and half a time . and in the 13th chapter , the dragon gives his power to the beast , and the beast with the dragons power makes war against the saints ▪ and killed them who were l●ft of that seed who kept the testimony of jesus , the spirit of prophesie ; who were in him , from whom the ravening wolves had departed . then all that dwelt upon the earth worshipped the beast , and worshipped the dragon , and both caused and compelled all , both small and great to fall down and worship . and from hence arose this compelling power to worship : then the false prophet and the whore , through the dragons power , got upon the beast , and caused all nations to drink of her cup. so thus the whore arose , which went from the apostles , and from their life , power and spirit , and committed fornication ; before the nations were married to christ , they took the cup of fornication of this whore. and she drank the blood of the saints and martyrs , who were not inwardly ravend , and who could not drink of her cup. yea , she drank the blood of the saints and prophets who kept the testimony of jesus , who were not inwardly ravend . and so such doings and works they have set up for the space of fifteen hundred years , viz. killing and murdering ; and they have dispersed themselves into all nations , as the apostles they were to go into all nations . and such works the wolves have wrought in the sheeps cloathing , yea those who are inwardly ravend from the spirit of god , whose fruits are brambles , bryars and thorns , and such like works those raveners have done since the dayes of the apostles , being ravend from their life and power ; having the words of the sheep , the scriptures , but not in the power and life which gave them forth ; therefore bryars and thorns appear : who devour and kill the lambs , and compels them to worship and use violence upon them and their outward things about religion , which was not the work of the apostles . and so john saith , again the beast and the dragon , and the false prophets ( which hath deceived the nations which christ said should come , and john said was come ; who went out from them ; from which time the world hath gone after them , for the space of fifteen hundred years ) is to be taken : which beast and false prophet shall be taken and cast into the lake of fire , and the nations shall be deceived no more , and the whore the great whore , which hath compelled the nations to drink the blood of the saints , is to be taken , and her flesh burnt with fire , and babylon shall be confounded , and all merchants which have merchandized with her , shall howle , and lament , and cry , alas , alas , how is this great city fallen ! for there hath been a merchandizing in this great city , which must be thrown down ; and all the merchants of this great city , have been those that inwardly ravend from the spirit of god , who have built up and plucked down . so unto this from which they have apostatized , you must all come before the sheeps life be known , and so the witnesses are raised , and shall be raised , who hold the light , and carries the oyl to enlighten the nations , and to annoint them ; yea , the spirit , and power , and fellowship , and worship in which the apostles were formerly in . and the cry is begun , fear god and give glory to him . — come out of her , my people , lest you be pertaker of her plagues . — and the mourners shall go forth , and the prophets prophesie . who witness the spirit of god fallen upon them , as formerly among the apostles . and the everlasting gospel shall be preached to all nations , kindreds and people . xxxiii . concerning an objection of people . objection . but many people speak after this manner . have not we had the gospel all this time till now ? answer . we say , no , you have had the sheeps-cloathing , while you are alienated from the spirit , and so not living in the power , which is the gospel ; and the bride , the lambs wife , is coming out of the wilderness , which hath been nourished of god for a time , and times , and dividing of times , preparing for her husband ; and the man-child is risen to rule all nations with a rod of iron . and the lamb and the saints shall have the victory , ( glory to the highest ) and people shall come into gospel-fellowship , and to the church of god , and church-fellowship in the gospel , the power of god , which was before the power of satan was ; which gospel was among the apostles , in which their fellowship was , and this is gospel-fellowship ; and in the power of god they are over all false prophets , false worshippers , over the dragon , over the false church and his worship , ( which are begotten betwixt us and the apostles ) and are gotten beyond them , and see their rise , who are inwardly ravend from the spirit , and are gone from the truth , as the devil and the whore heretofore , who set themselves against them who are in the truth , but here is the faith and patience of the saints , who seeth the destruction of the whore , the beast , the dragon , and the false prophet , by the hand and power of god , who know the seed of god to raign over all , viz. he who is the first and the last . xxxiv . of the jew inward and outward , and of a christian in the power and out of the power . the uncircumcised gentiles , which have not the law , and yet do those things contained in the law , are better than the circumcised jews which have the law , and are more sober and moderate ; and so the jew within in the spirit , is more excellent than the jew without in the flesh . and so a christan in the light , and power , and seed of god , is more excellent than a christan in the form of godliness , and yet out of the power ; and more moderate and patient . xxxv . concerning christ the covenant of god. christ , the covenant of god , was foretold by the prophet , who said , i will give him for a light and for a covenant to the gentiles , and he shall be my salvation to the ends of the earth : yea , the new covenant to the house of israel , and to the house of judah . so this covenant is made to all people , to them who were called the people of god , and to the gentiles also . and this is that covenant of light unto which john came to bear witnesse , which enlighteneth every one that cometh into the world ; which giveth power to all , who receive it , to become the sons of god , from him who hath all power in heaven and earth given to him , and this is the light in which people must believe , by which they become children of god , and this is the light which shineth in darkness , and out of the darkness , which is in the heart which giveth the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ jesus , from whence it comes ; and this is that light , which they who love darkness hate , and will not come to it , because it reproves them . and by this covenant of light to the gentiles , which is salvation to the ends of the earth . now we who are gentiles , are become christians , and we obtain salvation , and by faith in this covenant we become children of the light , and by receiving it , we receive power to become the sons of god : but they who hate this light and love darkness rather than the light , and do not come to it because it condemns them , even this light is their condemnation . xxxvi . concerning plots and conspiracies . plots , conspiracies , insurrections , tumultuous meetings , we utterly abhorre , who live peaceably , and seek the peace and good of all people upon earth . there were about thirty of the fifth monarchy men who made an insurrection in england , which insurrection was wickedly laid to the charge of the people of god called quakers , from which insurrection , the monarchy men themselves declared when they were to dye , that we were innocent ; yet nevertheless , the diurnals and news-books have joyned us together with the monarchy men , in that plot and insurrection , and have published us to the nations as plotters , though we are innocent . and we say , the lord forgive them for wronging of us . the lying priests and professors say , that we deny the scriptures , and that we deny the resurrestion , and christ and his body , and that we foame at the mouth , and that we bewitch men , and bind ribband about their armos ; which are altogether false and lies , and from their father the devil , the author of them , who is out of the truth , in which truth we are however scandalized by them , who are of the father of lyes . and what evil soever they may bring against us , yet we are in the truth , and can rejoyce ; praised be the lord , who lives for ever . xxxvii . concerning original sin. the devil is the original of sin , which christ destroyes ; god is the original of righteousness , and christ is gods righteousness , which endures for ever ; but the worlds original is the many languages ( whose original is babel ) which makes divines ( as they call them ) with many languages set a top of christ : and the whore sits upon the waters , ( as it s spoken in the revelation ) and john saith , the waters are nations , multitudes , people and tongues : which tongues they call their original . to which waters the gospel must be preached before they can be established . and ye are to be redeemed from tongues , and tongues shall cease , ( saith the apostle ) and so from this worlds original , the beginning of which is babel , and which keeps in babylon , the saints are redeemed . and this hath been set up as an original among them who are alienated from the spirit of god , in babel , where the original of tongues was in the dayes of nimrod , that heretick , who began to build babel . so tongues do not make any man a divine , neither a minister of christ , for that which makes a man divine ( as they say ) is the word ( which redeems out of tongues ) which was before babel was , and in the beginning before the fall , which knocks down all that which corrupts mans nature , and renews again into the divine nature . and whosoever are ministers of the word , and preachers of the gospel , they are in the power and in the word which was before tongues were ; this word brings into the church-felowship , which is in god , into which they are not brought by the worlds original , which they call the tongues , which shall cease , and out of whom we are redeemed ; neither do they bring into fellowship with god , neither into his worship , nor further than babel , where the tongues stop . but who comes to the word of god and the gospel , they come to that which was before many tongues were , and shall remain when they shall all pass away . xxxviii . concerning oathes . the spirit of christ , the spirit of the apostles , of the martyrs is risen again , which gives testimony against swearing and oathes . there were no oaths at all imposed upon man before the fall , but only since the fall , for under the law after the fall ; and among the jews ; oaths and commandments were given . to which christ ( by whom the world was made , which was before the fall , which is the oath of god , which oathes in the fall were types ) who put an end to strife , and brings into quietness and peace , and bindes to god without oathes , which christ put an end to . and , christ himself , the oath of god , puts an end to all oaths , and brings into the land of quietness and rest , the spiritaul canaan , and puts and end to strife , and destroyes the devil the author of strife , he who is the rest , the way , truth and the life , who brings again to god , and is the covenant of god in man , hath peace with god , which destroyes that which led from god and from christ ; and he himself said , swear not at all , neither by heaven , nor by the earth , nor by any other oath . he who restores man into that state in which he was in the beginning before the fall , who restores into the image of god. and so in the restauration there are no oathes to be used , nor swearing , according to his own doctrine ; but yea , yea , nay , nay , was to be used among men in all their communications , and what is more then this , is evil ; so that swearing now is evil . and this is the doctrine of him who restores people into that state in which man was in in the beginning ; who is the substance , who put an end to figures . and his disciple jeams in the 5th chapter of his epistle , who followed his counsel ( who is an everlasting counsellor ) saith , above all things , my brethren , swear not , neither by heaven , nor by earth , nor by any other oath , lest you fall into condemnation : but let your yea , be yea , and your nay , be nay . and this was the manner among them who followed the doctrine and command of christ in the restauration , who were built upon the true foundation , which was first laid in the primitive times among the true brethren ; and was publickly held forth which manner and custome , doctrine and command of christ jesus and the apostles in the primitive times , many of the martyrs followed , held forth , and practised among those who were degenerated and apostatized from the life and power of christ and the apostles , although they profess the words . and now the spirit of christ is risen again , and of the apostles , and saints as in the primitive times , and the spirit of the martyrs , who bear witness against all oathes and all sort of swearing whatsoevever , that were used among the heathens , jews , and apostatized christians , both privately and publickly , and bindes to yea , and nay , in all manner of communication , as christ and the apostles taught , and and the saints and martyrs practised , knowing , that whatsoever is more than yea , and nay , is evil ; and such who swear , are condemned according to christ and the apostles doctrine . so we say again , that the spirit of christ , the apostles , and martyrs is risen again , who hath been dead , and is dead , in and among the apostates , who have the form , but deny the power , from whom we have turned away . but now its ri●en again , and lives amongst us : glory and honour be given to god through jesus christ , who hath restored to the beginning , into the image of god in which man was in before he fell , before oathes were . for example . read the book of genesis , and there you may see that there was no command given to adam and eve before the fall , concerning swearing , neither from christ , who restores man again , and who puts an end to oathes , before the law , and under the law , and prophets both , whom the angels ( which sware ) worship , for christ saith , swear not at all , who is lord and master , so it is better to obey him than man , and in all your communication let your yea , be yea , and your nay , be nay ; for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil , saith he who restores , even christ . and in the second example , consider the apostles , who did according to the command and doctrine of christ , who said , above all things , my brethren , swear not at all , lest ye fall into condemnation , jam. 5. but let your yea , be yea , and your nay , nay , in all your communication . and although there was swearing among the jews , and other nations and heathens , before the apostatized christians used to swear , nevertheless the apostles and the brethren obeyed , and they must obey the doctrine and the command of christ , for if christ command one thing , and man another , it is better to obey the lord jesus christ , the life , who is the restorer , saviour , and redeemer , than men . this is the word of the lord god to you all . concerning the word of god , and the original , what it is . blessed are all those whose mindes are staid upon the lord , for they shall be kept in perfect peace ; so where the mind is staid upon the lord , there is a perfect peace , for it is a whole peace which cannot be broken : so here is not only a perfect peace , but a blessing ; a perfect peace which comes from the god of all peace , that bruiseth the serpents head under your feet , ( the troubler ) and the blessings which comes from the blessed god. so all imperfect peace may be broken , that is when the mind is staid upon any creature , or in any creature ( and not upon the creator ) or in any outward things . goods , houses , lands or inventions of the vanities , in the foolish vain fashions , which the lust of the eye , and the pride of life go into , which will defile it and corrupt it , when any of these things fail , and are not according to your mind , it being in them , then your peace is broken , and you are cross , and brickle , and envy gets up ; so this is not a perfect peace , but is a broken peace , and then you have the trouble and not the blessing ; and the reason is , because your minds are in the creatures , and the outward things , and are not staid upon the creator , where the perfect peace is , and the blessing , where nothing can get betwixt you and the lord. and this is below job to have the mind in the creatures , and visible things , for when you are tried , and creatures fail you , you are crost , and troubled , that shews an imperfect state ; for god said , that job was a perfect man : and when that the lord suffered him to be tried , and when that his goods and houses were thrown down , and driven a way , and servents killed , he said , blessed be the name of the lord , for the lord gave and the lord taketh ; here his mind was stayed upon the lord , and he retained his peace . and when that his children were destroyed , and his wife said to him , what , dost thou continue in thy integrity still ? curse god and dye ; he rebukes her , and calls her , a foolish woman : and said unto her , shall i receive good of the lord and not evil ? naked came i out of my mothers womb , and naked i must return again . here job kept his integrity still , and did not all this while offend with his lips. now many of you who think your selves high , and above job , if that your goods and children should be after the same manner taken away ( whose mind is in them ) you would be found in a troubled brickle state , far below job . and when that jobs friends came to reason with him , who kept his integrity , and would no way yeeld to them , they called him an hypocrite , and said , he denyed prayer , and filled his belly with east-wind , and said , what shall mortal man be more pure than his maker ? shall man that is born of a woman be just ? god chargeth his angls with folly , and the heavens are not clear in his sight . and these are the scriptures the priests use to bring against friends ( who keep there integrity ) as jobs friends did against him ; but at the last the lord commanded job to offer a sacrifice for his friends , because they had sinned , and spoken not right , as job had , who was perfect and kept his integrity . and the apostle said to the saints , that he had learned in all conditions to be content . mark , in all conditions , but this was when he was paul , not when he was saul , running up and down with his packet of letters , halling the saints before the rulers like a paritor ; then he was not content , neither with his own condition , nor others : but when he came to learn of christ , which destroys the devil and his works , which teacheth to know all things , then in all things he learned to be content ; so that you know that there is learning , learneth , and learned ; as a child when he is learning , learneth , and learned is three stats ; so paul he had learned in all conditions to be content ; and who was his school-master but christ , by whom all things were made , not of man , nor by man ( out of the truth ; ) so while he learned of men , and by men , he was not content , neither are any others . therefore all are to learn of christ the light , the life , and the truth , that you may come to that condition , to have learned in all conditions to be content , and not to trust in uncertain riches , for they have wings and will flee away ; and so he is never counted a wise man that will put any confidence in that which will flee away from him : for those are the heirs of the earth and the world that l●ad themselves with thick clay , that they may set their nests on high ; but they that be heirs of christ , and of the power of an endless life , trust in the living god , and come to possess an everlasting inheritance of the power of an endless life , and come to increse in the riches of the everlasting inheritance , and there lay up riches that are everlasting , which will abide for ever . and so therefore mind every one gods word in your hearts , and in your mouthes , and obey it and do it ; and be not of them that are saying in their hearts , who shall ascend or descend to fetch him from above ? keep down that sayer under reproof , and then your eares will be open to that which the righteousness of faith saith , the word is nigh thee , in thy heart , and in thy mouth , so thou needest not to say , who shall ascend or descend , and that was the word which the messengers of god preached , and do preach , and rebuke the gainsayer . and so all people seeing the devil hath made the world like a wilderness , and there is so many wayes in it , that they do not know which way to come out , nor which to follow : therefore this is my answer to you all , take davids lanthorn and candle ; you may say , what is that , and where is it ? i say it is within you , the word of god : you may say , people do not use to carry lanthorns and candles in the day time , but in the night . i say , you be in the night of darkness , and therefore the word is called a lanthorn and candle to you , by which you may see the way of the lord which is perfect , from all mens wayes which are imperfect ; by which ye may see the path of the just to be a shining light , from all the unjust paths that be in the darkness ; for by this word did david come to outstrip his teachers , who was made wiser then them all , so it will you , if you obey it ; for by this word he saw christ , and called him lord : therefore he loved the word and hid it in his heart ; for by it he spake so many glorious expressions , which the world since hath turned into meeter , and made songs or ballads of them ; and this was the word that came to abraham , which made him forsake his national religion and worship , and obey the lord ; and this was the word that came to jacob the shepherd ; by which he saw christ , and prophesied of him to his sons on his death-bed , when he said to judah , the law should not depart from betwixt his feet till shilo came , ( meaning christ ) and the gathering of all nations should be to him , as it is at this day , the gathering is to christ , and this was the word that came to moses the shepherd , when he was keeping sheep , which he obeyed , and went to egypt , and brought the children of israel out of egypt ; by which word he was made a minister ; and when the children of israel were come out of egypt into the wilderness , told them , they need not go for the word beyond the seas , &c. for it was nigh them , in their hearts and mouths , to obey it and do it . and this was , the word that made moses a prophet , who prephesied of christ , and said , like unto him god would raise up a prophet , him should they hear in all things : mark , ( in all things ) we are to be ordered both inward and outward , for hearing christ , by whom all things were made ; and every one that would not hear this prophet ( christ ) should be cut off ; for how should they continue or reign ? and this was the word that came to samuel , and made him a prophet , who spake to ely the priest , and reproved his sons , and the children of israel : and this was the word that made saul to prophesie , and balaam , though they erred from it : and this was the word that made all the prophets to prophesie , and to reprove the kings of israel , and their priests , of their superstition and idolatrous ways , in seting up groves , and images in high places ; and reproved all their monthly prognostications , who spoke and acted from them , and not from the lord. and this was the word that came to isaiah , by which he prophesied of christ , and of his preaching , and of his sufferings , and by which word he reproved the shepherds , which were as greedy dumb dogs , could never have enough , seeking their gain from their quarter : and by this word he saw , that all the children of god should be taught of god , and established in righteousness and peace ; and though many tongues should rise up in judgment against them , yet those that were taught of god should condemn them all , this power should be given to his children . and many weapons formed against them should not prosper , god would restrain them : and also he saw them that were cast out , that trembled at gods word , to whom god would appear to their glory , and to the shame and to the confounding of them that cast them out for his names sake , as it is at this day . and this was the word of god that made jeremiah a prophet , by which he saw the new covenant , by which word he was said to reprove the people and princes , of the filthy and horrible thing commited in the land , that the priests preached for hire , and the prophets prophesied falsly : and for reproving them for their superstition and idollatry , they struck him , and put him in the stocks , and prison , and persecuted him in the dungeon , till his persecutors were carried into captivity . and by the word jeremiah saw the number of seventy yeares of his persecutors being in babylons captivity . elijah by the word was made a prophet , and by the word reproved ahab and jezebel for their idolatry , and worshiping of images . for which words sake they persecuted him , and the rest of the prophets ; and was not he fed of the ravens by the river ; and did not they seek to take away his life ; and did not he think all the lords prophets had been killed , and he left alone ? yet did not the lord say to him , he had reserved so many thousands that had not bowed the knee to baal ? and elisha the plowman by the word was made a prophet , and forsook his plough ; and by the word reproved the idollatry in his age of priests and people . and by the word was ezekiel made a prophet , by which word he reproved the shepherds of israel , that made a prey upon the people , and taught them for the fleece ; and by the word he saw that god would bring the people from them , that they should be made a pray upon no longer ; and would gather them from their mouths , and set one shepherd over them , christ , which is witnessed ; and by the word he reproved false prophets , that taught for handfuls of barly , and peices of bread , and daubed with untempered morter , and sewed pillows under the armholes ; and by the word he saw the patern of the temple , and the return of the jews . and by the word daniel was made a prophet , and saw christ and his kingdom , and how the saints should take his kingdom ; and by the word he saw such that should rise up against the people of god ; and by the word he numbred the yeares of christ to his time 499 yeares , and of his , death and how he should end the sacrifices ; and how that christ should bring up everlasting righteousness , and put an end to sin and end the prophets , and seal up their visions . and by the word micah was made a prophet , by which he cryed against the priests that preached for hire , and the prophets that prophesied for money , and the judges that judged for rewards , and such as preached peace to the people , that put in their mouths , ( like the priests in these times ) and when they did not , they prepared war against them , and chopt their flesh and , gnawed their bones , ( as the priests in this day and time have done ) but micah saw by the word that the sun was gon down upon such prophets and priests , and they should have no vision nor answer from god ; therefore such are against revelations and visions , on whom the sun is set , and gon down upon , and then the night comes upon them . and by the word was amos the herdsman made a prophet , who was a gatherer of fruits , and likewise all the rest of the prophets , who spoke forth divine things and reproved the superstition and idolatry in their time and day . and by the word did all the prophets speak forth divine things , which word brought them into the divine nature and mind , which word hammered and cut down that which corrupted their natures ; and this was the word that made so many fisher-men preachers of the gospel , which is the power of god. and this was the word which made matthew the toll-gatherer , luke the physitian , and paul the tent-maker , ministers and preachers of the gospel and power of god. and this was the word which made peter to see joels prophesie , how that god would power out his spirit upon all flesh , and sons and daughters should prophesie , and young men should see visions , and old men dream dreams , and the powering forth of the spirit upon servants and hand-maids , that every one should have somthing to speak to the glory of god. and now the priests and proud prelates , and bishops , and popes , though you have made a trade of the saints words , and the apostles and prophets words , and gotten a deal of money by them , ( which were fishermen and shepherds words , from the word ) yet nevertheless if a company of shepherds , herdsmen , fishermen , tent-makers , and toll-gatherers should come amongst you to preach , you would say , away with these mechanick fellows , they have not served seaven yeares apprentiship at the colledges , which we have set up to make ministers ; therefore they are not to set up , because they have not served their apprentiships . what say the shepherds , tentmakers , physitians and tolegatheres ? do you make a trade of our friends words , who were of our occupation , that never served apprentiships in colledges , before they spake forth the words you make a trade of ? what , will you make a trade of our friends words , who were of our occupation ! away with you to work , and away with your colledges : for our brother paul the tent-maker said , if you will not work you must not eat . for , would you own christ if he had come in your day ? who was called , a carpenters son. you popes with your triple crowns , and you lord bishops with your coaches and fat horses , and gorgeous aparrel , with your black coats , and white coats , and girdles ; are you like to entertain him who is called , a carpenters son ? or to cast him and his mother into the manger in your stables ? this was the word by which john the evangelist saw christ , which did enlighten every man that came into the world , and saw how he became flesh , and came to his own , and his own did not receive him : but to as many as received christ the light , to them he gave power to become the sons of god ; which all they that are ministers of the letter , made by the seven years colledges , and not the word , hate the light. and by this word , the minister of the word preacheth christs word , life , death and resurrection : and therefore as john saith in his epistle , that which our eyes have seen , our hands have handled , and our ears have heard of the word of life , do we preach unto you ; that which was from the beginning , in the beginning was the word , though since the beginning were the words and letters : for the scriptures of truth are the words of god , and the words of christ ; and he that adds to these words ( saith john in the revelations ) god shall add unto him the plagues , that are written in this book . so the word was in the beginning , and christs name is called , the word of god , but christ is neither called scriptures nor writings , for scriptures signify writings . so , in the beginning was the word , since the beginning were writings and scriptures . in the beginning was the word , since the beginning were all false wayes , false churches , false teachers ; and in the word ye comprehend them all . the priest saith , that hebrew , greek and latine were the original , the many languages , and the many languages began at babel , which nimrod the hunter before the lord , ( began to build ) after god had destroyed the old world with water : then would he go build a tower which should reach to heaven ; then god came down and confounded them into many languages : so he hunted before the lord , but the lord followed him , and confounded him in all his work , as he will do all the builders that run before him ; and so all the priest that have gotten the many languages , which began at babel , they tell simple ignorant people , that they have the original , and are the orthodox men , and get in a different habit from them , and say the quakers are a simple people , and despise the learned orthodox men who have the original . give ear o people , if these languages which came up at the confounding of babel are the priests original that makes them orthodox and divine , then pilate that crucified christ was as good an orthodox divine as they : for when he crucified christ he writ a paper in hebrew , greek and latine , and set a top of him , he was as ignorant of scripture and of orthodox and divine matters as you , and you as he ; and the apostle saith , that tongues must cease , then that which makes orthodox men and divine , as you say , must cease , according to the apostles doctrine ; and so then tongues neither are the original , nor make orthodox nor divine : and john that gave forth the revelations saith , that the whore and the beast are set upon tongues , and the everlasting gospel must be preached again to all kindreds and tongues ; which were before babel was , who was the first beginner of tongues . now it is clear that the gospel must be preached to all nations and tongues , and that tongues are not the original , neither do they make divines or orthodox men ; but it is clear that it is the word which was in the beginning which makes divines ; yea , tradesmen , which are base and contemptible in the eyes of the proud , and them that have gotten babels tongues , who are confounded by the ministers of the word , which was in the beginning before babel was ; for all the earth was of one language and speech before babel . and you that call your selves orthodox men made by tongues , and say that is your original , who are so blind and cannot see that there was an original before babel was ; for did not enoch the prophet , the seventh from adam , who prophesied in the old world before it was destroyed , and long before babel was , concerning the coming of christ in ten thousand of his saints , as in jude ; and lamech prophesied in the old world concerning noah , and adam and others might be instanced , before your tongues which you call your original were : and so we say that the word of god is the original , which doth fulfil the scriptures , and the word is it which makes divines , which is called a hammer , but it is a living hammer , and a sword and fire , but a living sword and a fire , to hammer , cut , and burn up that which separated and kept man from god , by which word man is reconciled again to god , which is called the word of reconciliation ; by this word are men and women sanctified and made clean , and this is the word that makes both men and woman divines , and brings them into the divine nature , which hammers and cuts down that which corrupted their nature ; and by this word a●e they brought into a divine wisdom , understanding , knowledg , spirit and power . and this is the word that lives , and abides , and endures for ever , by which the saints are born again of the immortal seed and word of god , who feed upon the milk of the word , up into a divine life , wisdom and understanding , and divine nature ; and by this word they do see all flesh to be as grass , and as the flower of the field that fadeth ; and the word of god that lives , and abides , and endures for ever , which is christ , whose name is called , the word of god. and so to keep the word of patience , which is over all the impatient spirits , and then you will know the word of life , the word of patience and word of wisdom is everlasting , and abides and endures for ever ; which all they that be in the letter , out of the life and word , have neither patience to themselves nor others ; for the word of patience , and the word of life , which is to be kept in all tribulations was before death and impatient spirits were . concerning the heathen idolaters naming their dayes and moneths . the old pagan saxons in their idolatry , were the first that brought in the names of the days , which those called christians , have retained to this day ; for they adored idols , and unto them offered sacrifices , and worshipped the planets . see vestigans antiq. and cambdens brit. as touching the idols which these saxons adored they were divers ; and though they had many , yet seven among the rest , they especially appropriated unto the seven dayes of the week . that day which is the first day of the week , they worshiped the idol of the sun , which was placed in a temple , and there sacrificed unto , and to the special adoration of which idol they gave the name of sunday . the second day of the week , they dedicated to the idol of the moon , and from whence , these called christians retain the name of monday instead of moonday . the next was the idol of the planets , was the idol of tuisco , who was the first and chiefest man of name among the germans , unto whom the name of tuesday was especially dedicated . the next was the idol woden , whom the saxons honoured for their god of battel ; and after this idol , these called christians do yet call the fourth day of the week . wednesday , instead of woddensday , the next was the idol thor , from whence the name thursday , is retained , instead of the fifth day of the week . the next idol was the goddess friga , to which idol they dedicated the sixth day of the week , and called it fryday ; which is retained to this day . the last was the idol seater , from whence is called the seventh day , satureay . and as these called christians , have followed the heathens examples in naming their days , so they follow them in nameing their months ; for the heathen they called mars the god of battel , and from thence they called the first month march. and venus they called the goddess of love and beauty , and from thence they called the second month april . and maja a heathen goddess called flora and cloris , were called the goddesses of flowers , unto maja the heathen idolaters used to sacifice ; from thence was the third month called may : and upon the first day of the same month , they used to keep floralia feasts to the two goddesses of flowers ( viz. ) flora and cloris ; and flora was a strumpet in rome , that used on the first day of that month , to set up a may-pole before her door to intice her lovers ; from whence came may-poles and may-day to be since observed , by these called christians . and juno whom the heathen called the gooddess of kingdoms and wealth , from this juno , the forth month was called june . and julius cesar a roman emperor , in honour to him , was the fifth month called july . and in honour to augustus cesar , an emperor , was the sixth month called august . and four of the other months are called after the latine names , as september for the seventh month , october for the eighth , november for the ninth , december for the tenth . and one janus a king of italy , was for his wisdom pictured with two faces , whom they honoured as god ; and from this name janus , was the elventh month called january . and saturnus , pluto , februs , were called the gods of hell , who the heathen said , had the rule of evil spirits there ; and from pluto februs , was the twelfth month called february . and by all these idolatrous names , do these called christians , call their days and months , to this day , which is contrary to the scriptures , the prophets and the apostles . the saxons also had a goddess , ( whom they sacrificed to in the month of april ) called eoster ; hence they called april , eoster month , and hence in process of time came easter . page 135. camb. brit. concerning singing of psalmes . psalms began to be sung about three hundred eighty three years after christ , brought in by damasins bishop , though not turned into meeter . benedistus an abbot of the monastery of peter and paul at wirr , brought with him from rome one john the arch-chanter , who first taught in england how to sing in the quire , after the manner of rome . act. & mon. vol. 1. page 164. anno , 724. laws made by the saxon kings in england , concerning singing psalms . in the year seven hundred forty seven , at the beginning of king edgberts reign , the synod of bishops disputed the profit of singing of psalms in the church , and made a decree , that with a modest voice , they should sing in the church so called . in the year nine hundred twenty four , king ethelston , alias , atelston , made a law that fifty psalms should be daily sung in the church , as he called it , for the king. beza being much diverted with poetry , made his pastime to become a part of the vulgar devotion ; hence they have been stiled by some geneva-jigs . these are the express words of the injunction , given to the clergy and laity by queen elizabeth . item , because in divers collegiate , and also some parish-churches heretofore , there hath been livings appointed for the maintenance of men and children , to use singing in the church , by means whereof , the laudable science of musick hath been had in estimation , and preserved in knowledge ; the queen willeth & commandeth , that first no alteration be made of such assignments of living , as heretofore hath been appointed to the use of singing or musick in the church , but that the same so remain , and that there be a modest and distinct song so used in all parts of the common prayer in the church , that the same may be as plainly understood , as if it were read without singing : and yet nevertheless , for the comforting of such as delight in musick , it may be permitted that in the begining or end of common prayers , either at morning or evening , there may be sung an hymn , or such like song , to the praise of almighty god , in the best sort of melody or musick , that may be conveniently devised . a warning to all to keep out of the fashions of the world , which lead them below the serious life ; and not to fashion themselves according to the world. friends keep out of the fashions of the world , let not your eyes , and minds , and spirits run after every fashion ( in apparel of the nations ) for that will lead you from the solid life , into a full stomack , with that spirit that leads to follow the fashions of the nations , every fashions of apparel that gets up ; but mind that which is sober and modest , and keep your fashions ; therein you may judge the world , whose minds and eyes are in that , what they shall put on , and what they shall eat ; and friends that see the world so often alter their fashions , and follow them , and run into them , in that they cannot judge the world , but the world , will rather judge them : therfore keep all in the modesty , and plainness , and fervency , and sincerity , and be circumspect ; for they that follow those things the worlds spirit invents daily , cannot be solid ; and many fashions might be instanced , both of hats and clothes of men and women , that daily are invented , which they that run into them , are near unto the worlds spirit , and their eyes are gazing after them , when they should be upon the lord , from whom they should receive judgment : therefore all keep down that spirit of the world that runs into so many fashions to please the lust of the eye , the lust of the flesh , and the pride of life : and fashion not your selves according to your former lust of ignorance ; and let the time past be sufficient , which you have lived according to the lusts of men and the course of the world , that the rest of your time you may live to the will of god , taking no though what you shall eat , what you shall drink or what you shall put on ; therein your lives may judge the heathens and that you may be as the lillies ; for nothing you brought into the world , neither any thing shall you take out : and therefore , while the eye is gazing after every new fashion , and the mind and desire is thirsting to get it , when it has it , it lifts up its mind , and so brings himself under the judgment of them that be in the sober life , and of the world also , and to be like one of them : therefore take heed of the worlds fashions , lest ye be moulded up into their spirit , and that will bring you to slight truth , and lift up the wrong eye , and wrong mind , and wrong spirit , and hurt and blind the pure eye , and pure mind , and quench the holy spirit ; and through such foolish toyes , and fashions , and fading things , you may lose your conditions : and therefore take heed of the world , and trust not in uncertain riches , neither covet the riches of this world , but seek the kingdom of god , and the righteousness thereof and all outward things will follow ; and let your minds be above the costly and vain fashions of attire , but mind the hidden man of the heart , which is a meek and quiet spirit , which is of great price with the lord , and keep to justice and truth in all your dealings , and tradings ; at a word , and the form of sound words , in the power of the lord , and equity in yea and nay in all your dealings , that your lives and conversations may be in heaven , and above the earth , that they may preach to all that you have to deal withal ; so that you may be as a city set on a hill that cannot be hid , and as lights of the world , answering the equal principle in all , that god in all things may be glorified ; so that you may pass your time here with fear , as pilgrims and strangers , and sojourners , as having an eye over all things that be uncertain , as cities , houses , lands , goods , so , as things below , they that possess , as if they did not ; and they tha● marry ▪ as if they did not ; yet as having a city whose maker and builder is god , and a possession of an inheritance that will never fade away , in which you have riches that will abide with you eternally . some queries given forth to the priests or people to answer if they can . 1. have any of you the same spirit and power as the prophets and apostles had ? 2. or have you the same revelation and inspiration , and spirit of prophesie , and pouring forth of the holy ghost ; or do you own the pouring forth of the spirit upon sons and daughters , and is not this the last time in which it should be poured out , and the sons and daughters should prophesie , and old men dream dreams , and young men see visions ? 3. or have you heard gods voice , and christs voice immediately fro● heaven , or are you some of them the lord never sent , nor spake unto ? answer me these queries . 4. do you own that christ that died at jerusalem to be the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world ; and are not all enlightened by him either to their salvation or condemnation ? 5. what and where is that which must give the knowledge of god , is it within people or without them ? answer me according to plain scripture . 6. do you teach or preach , that whilst a man is upon the earth , he may be freed from sin , and the body of death , and imperfection , and shall be perfect whilst he be upon earth ; or do you keep people in the state of your father adam and mother eve in the fall , or do you bring them to the state before they fell , and so to christ that shall never fall , which of these states do you bring them to , and keep your flock in , in adam and eve in the fall , or adam and eve before they fell , or in christ that shall never fall ; you must keep your flock in one of these three states , and which of them is it ? have you brought any of your flock whom you have driven to that condition and state , they need no man to teach them , that is to the anointing in them , the law in their hearts , whereby they need not say one to another , know the lord , that is to the light of christ that shines in their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of christ jesus , and how many have you brought hither ? 7. what is the mother of harlots , and what is the beast she rides upon , and what are the people , nations , and multitudes , and tongues the whore sits upon , and what is mystery babylon , and what is the woman that went into the wilderness , what was her time she was to be there , and what is the beast and dragons worship , and what is a will-worship , and what is it to worship angels , and what is that which leads nature into its course , and so to the glory of the first body , and what is the glory of the second body , and what is that which leads nature out of its course , and so sets the whole course of nature on fire ? 8. what is the ground of that which keeps in good manners , and what is that which corrupts them , and what is the righteousness the world is reproved off , and what are the judgments , and what is that which leads the saints into all truth , and hath every one the spirit of god ; and whether bowing , bending , dossing hats , scraping , cringing , saying you to one , be the honour that comes from above , or what is it , and whence comes it , and whether this before mentioned do not stand in that nature , part and principle , which is on fire , if it hath not these things , and therefore whether or no these things do proceed from that which leads nature into its course , or out of its course , and what is it that defaces the glory of the first body ? 9. whether or no you own trembling and quaking at the word of god ? 10. seeing you look upon your selves to differ from many , and to be above them , let us see wherein , and in what it is manifest ? 11. what is self-righteousness , and what is man's righteousness , and the righteousness that is as filthy rags , distinguish these one from another , or whether they be all one , for our righteousness is that which was before adam was , whom ye in scorn calls quakers ? 12. whether ever any came to see so far as balaams ass , who saw the angel of the lord ? 13. what are the graves , and the tombes , and the sepulchres , and the fowls of the air , and the nests they sit in , which christ spake of ? answer . 14. whether or no to pay tythes or receive tythes , is not to deny christ jesus to be come in the flesh , and to deny christ to be offered up , the offering once for all ; and was not theirs of the tythes a heave-offering , and was not that offering to be ended by christ offering up himself , and had not the priests a commandment to take tythes of the people , of their brethren , and do not you transgress the law of god which take them of those you do not call brethren ; and was not the widows , fatherless , and strangers to have a part of the tythes , and was every priest and levite , and them that was to have a part of them , to have a particular tythe-barn , and was tythes to be sold , and was there any impropriators , and whether they do not hold up the priests of the jews , and their law and commandments , that take tythes and give tythes , and so denyes christ the priest , in holding up the jews priests . 15. and whether or no melchisedeck did ta●e tythes of all other nations that were under him , or any other spoil , but once of abraham , and whether he had a command for doing it , or whether it was an example ? 16. and whether the jews did take tythes of the canaanites , or any of those nations that lived among them , or of any people where ever they came , that they had the power over , that was not of them ? 17. you that speak so much of christs reigning , whether or no your swords are beat into plowshares , and your spears into pruning-hooks , that you do not learn war any more ; that nation shall not lift up a sword against nation ; and whether or no this ministration should be amongst christians , seeing that it was christs doctrine , that they should love one another , and love enemies ; and he bad peter put up his sword : and the apostle said , their weapons were spiritual . secondly , doth not peter say , that the heavens must receive christ jesus until the time of restitution of all things , which god hath spoken by the mouth of his prophets since the world began , act. 3. now do you look at restoring of things , then by what doth christ restore , whether by his light and power within people or without them , seeing the sin is within them , and whether or no christ doth not remain in the heavens untill all things be restored ; and whether or no christ doth not now reign ; and whether or no he is not restoring ; and then by what ( as i said before ) doth he restore seeing he is in the heavens , and must remain in the heavens until all things be restored , and whether or no some was not restored , when they sate in the heavenly places in christ jesus , ephes . 2. and whether or no he that remaines in the heavens , be not also manifest in man , that is restored and lives , and walks , and reigns in him ? answer this you that talk of a personal reign . 18. what is that voice of christ which his sheep hears and knows from all false voices , and all that hear cannot endure any more to hear the voice of a stranger , hireling or thief ? 19. what or where is the word that people shall hear behind them , saying , this is the way , walk in it , when they turn to the right hand or the left ; or what the word of faith that none needs to say , who shall ascend to heaven , or into the depth to seek christ f●om above or below , but was nigh in their hearts ; and is not the same now ? answer in writing the thing queried . g. f. concerning the scriptures . we witness the life thereof , and by the same do we witness the scriptures to be truth , and serviceable in its place , and was written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world is come , 1 cor. 10.11 . and to us it is given to know , but to the world in parables , luke 8.10 . and he that would go about to unfold the parables to the dark mindes , by the serpentine wit and imagination , he must be kept out of the scripture , and he who takes the scriptures and makes a trade of them , professing to interpret them , and so gets a living by them , which was spoken forth freely , he is a deceiver and must be shut out of the scripture ; and who reads or takes the scripture to talk or d●sco●rse of , and is ignorant of the life , must be kept out of the scripture ; for all those runs in with their scripture wit and imaginations , wresting them for their own ends , adding and diminishing to their own destruction , and so he must be shut out of the scripture ; for hence arises all these sects and opinions in the world , running into the scripture , with their wit , imaginations , and dark mindes , one imagining one way , and another , another way , and one of this opinion , and another of that opinion , but opinion , are no assurance , but are fallible , and every one out of the way , because they want the life which is the mystery ; and this is the difference between all sects and opinions , and the infallible truth ; and so they come not in by the door but are climbing up another way , and so are shut out of the kingdom ; but the same which gave them forth , the same can open them , and to it they are no mystery nor parable ; nor needs any meaning ; for they are of no private interpretation , nor came they in the old time by the will of man , but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost , neither can the will of man open them , but the same which spake them forth , the same can open them , and speak them forth freely , so let him that hath a dream tell a dream , and he that hath my word , let him speak my word faithfully . what is the chaffe to the wheat saith the lord ? so he that hath the letter , let him speak the letter , and he that hath the life , let him speak the life : what is the husk to the kernel ? and what should swine do with pearls , whose life is in husks , and there they feed ? he that can receive , let him ; the same which gave it forth , the same can open it : and he who saith the letter is the word , is a deceiver , and erres , not knowing the scripture ; for the scripture saith , in the beginning was the word , and the word was god , john 1.1 . and the word of the lord came to the prophets , and they spake from the word of the lord , jer. 2.1 . and the word became flesh , and dwelt among the apostles , and they saw the glory thereof , as the glory of the only begotten son of the father , full of grace and truth : and the word is quick and powerfull , sharper than a two-edged sword ; and the word is immortal , and this , the apostles , in whom the word dwelt , bore witness of , and hath left it upon record and we witness the same the word is the same which was , is , and is to be for ever , and who putteth the letter for the word is blind , and putteth the shadow for the substance , and must be shut out of the scripture . and he who saith the letter is the light , is in darkness , and erres , not knowing the scripture , which declareth of the light , which john came to bear witness off , who was not the light , but testified of the light , which was the true light which enlighteneth every one that cometh into the world. he was in the world , and the world was made by him , and the world knew him not , nor knows him not ; and he came unto his own , and his own received him not , but as many as received him , to them he gives power to become the sons of god , john 1.6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12. and this we witness , and by the same light do we discern and testifie against him to be in darkness and blindness , and is a deceiver , who putteth the letter for the light , and so draws peoples minds off from the light within them , to the letter without them , seeking the living among the dead , thinking to find life in the letter without them , as the pharisees did , and will not come unto christ that they might have life , john 5.39 , 40. and so they must be shut out of the scripture as the pharisees were ; and he also that saith the letter is the rule and guide of the people of god , is without , feeding upon the husk , and is ignorant of the true light which was before the letter was , which all the children of god were and are guided by , and spoke and speakes the letter from , which was before the letter was , and with this the letter witnesseth ; and who is guided by this cannot walk contrary to the letter , nor deny it , but they know how to use it in its place , and see in what condition it was spoken , and it witnesseth with them both in words and actions , and they that have this , have and need the mystery within , though they cannot read the letter without , nor ever learned , as it was with christ , which confounded the scribes and pharisees ; and they who are never so learned without , and can read and understand all tongues and languages without , and doth not read the scripture within , only feed upon the husk , and are ignorant of the life which is the mystery , which is hid from the wise and prudent , and revealed unto the ignorant , as it was from the scribes and pharisees , and high priests , and was revealed to those whom they counted ignorant , and cursed , and knew not the law , john 7.48 , 49 ▪ and they who take the letter to be their rule , cannot walk according to it , because they are ignorant of the light , which opens and leads into the life which they who spake them forth lived in , but drunkards , and swearers , and proud , and wantonesse , and covetoues lustfull enveons ones , and all manner of unrighteous persons will take the letter to talk of and say it is their rule and guide , but are out of the life thereof , and so by it are condemned ; and those are the swine that are feeding upon the husk without , luke 15.15 , 16. and have gotten the form but are out of the life and power , and put the shadow for the substance , and so lives in darknesse , and knowes not whether he goeth , but they that read with the single-eye may understand , for the scripture is within , and was read within before it was read without . now , silence all the study and wisdom of man. concerning baptism . the baptism we own , which is the baptism of christ , with the holy ghost and with fire , but we deny all other , for there is but one lord , one faith , one baptism , one god and father of all , and they who would have one baptism outward , and another inward , would have two baptisms , when the scripture saith the baptism is but one , and whosoever hath the baptism outward , are the same they were before ; but the baptism of christ makes a new creature , and this i witness , for i received water upon my face , as my parents told me , which they called baptism , but i grew up an heathen , as all other children do , and no new creature , though my parents were counted believers among the world and their priests ; but now i wittess the baptism of christ , by one spirit , into on● body ; and now i witness a new creature , old things are past away , and all things become new. and now i see the other to be formal imitation , and the invention of man , and so a meer delusion , and all are heathens and no christians who cannot witness this baptism ; mat. 15.4 . who can witness this denies all other ; for the scripture saith , the baptism is but one , and who can witnesse this are believers , but who cannot witnesse this are no believers and so it is that water or no water availeth nothing but a new creature ; for all by nature are the children of wrath , and except they be born again they cannot enter ; and as for the baptism of water which the apostles used it being a figure for its time , the power went along with it , and the disciples received the holy ghost when they were baptized , but none can witness this , who sets themselves of acting or imitating the apostles , and so takes it up by imitation , and their ground is the letter , and are not guided to it by the same spirit which guided the apostles , and so they are the same after water as before , and so now wa●er or no water availeth any thing , but a new cereature ; for water was but for its time , though many in darkness have now got the form , and are groping in it for life , but wants the life and power , and so from such turn away . concerning the lords supper . the supper of the lord we own , which is the body and blood of christ , which the saints fed upon , and this is eternal food and life , and here they all feed upon one and are of one heart and one mind ; and here is pure and eternal union and communion , and this is not carnal but spiritual for saints are spiritual , and their communion is spiritual and eternall ; and this we witnesse , who are of one heart and one mind , who are in the new covenant , and herein we discern the lords body , and here all drunkards are shut out , and all lyars , adulterers , proud , covetous , lustfull , and envious ones , and all back-biters , revilers , extortioners , and all deceitfull and unrighteous persons are shut out of the new covenant , 1 cor. 6.9 , 10. and are with-out feeding upon the husk and shadow , which is carnall , for the br●ad which the world breaks is carnall and naturall , and only feeds the outward carnall body , and goeth into the belly , and so passeth out into the dunghill ; and so likewise the cup which they drink , and so the communion and fellowship of the world passeth away ; but this is no nourishment to the soul , but still the soul lies in death , and here is no communion , but natural , outward and carnal , of several minds and hearts , full of filthiness , and uncleanness , which is the table of devils , eating and drinking their own damnation , not discerning the lords body , which is spiritual , which the natural man discerns not . and here stands the worlds communion and fellowship , which is carnal ; and cross but their carnal wills , and it is turned into envy , and for earthly triflles they will go to law , and cozen and cheat , and defraud one another for earthly trifles , and like people like priest ; but if they lye in wait for revenge of one another , then they will not take their sacrament , as they call it : and here the devil hath a great hold , for he that envies is a murderer ; and here is the difference betwixt the worlds communion , and the saints communion ; life and death . for to be carnally minded is death , but to be spiritually minded is life . and here they are without , feeding upon the husk and shadow without , and would destroy the life and substance , where it appears , both priest , people and rulers , and so have a form of godliness , and denies the life and power , from such turn away ; for it is meer delusion , to take the shadow for the substance . concerning prayer . the prayers of the wicked we deny , and god denies , for it is abominable , prov. 15.8 , for cain the wicked one , who was out of the comands of god , gen 4.3 , 4 , 5. who was the first-birth , he offered up a sacrifice of the earth , but god had no respect to it ; but abel the second-birth , who was the righteous , his sacrifice god had respect to ; so the prayers of the faithful and righteous god doth accept , and they avail ; and what comes from his own , which is the second-birth , his own is pure , and what comes from it is pure , and god who is pure , doth receive that which is pure , but he receives nothing which is polluted or unclean , for he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity . for his sacrifice must be without spot and blemish , and that which comes from an unclean heart is spotted and defiled and unclean , for nothing that is pure can come forth of an unclean vessel ; but who can witness the second-birth , and that the seed of the woman hath bruised the serpents head , which is the first promise , and faith which purifieth the heart , then that which comes out is pure , proceeding from a pure single heart , and this prayer god receives , and he hath respect to it , and this we owne and witnesse and this comes from the second birth , which is pure , for the first birth is unclean , and out of the command of god in the fall , in the wrath , in the peevishnesse , and perversenesse , cain-like , and the seed of the serpent is first in every one , and rules the head , but the promise is , the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head , so you who are not come to this are still in the fall , and are not come to the first promise ; so all your self-acting and imitating , thinking to merit with your prayers and praises , singings , and duties , and worships , and traditions , which are all in vain and you are sacrificing to an unknown god , a sacrifice of the earth from the first nature , which god hath no respect to , and the flaming sword is set against that to keep from the tree of life , for both drunkards , and swearers , lyars , proud , covetous , and all manner of unrighteous persons are offering up sacrifices , and are in their formal worships and duties , thinking that is sufficient to pascifie for their sins , and yet doth not repent , but saith the lord , bring no more vain oblations , away with your new moons and sabbaths , th●y are an abomination , and my soul loathes them . when you spread forth your hands i will hide mine eyes from you , yea when you make many prayers , i will not hearken ; your hands are full of blood : wash you , make you clean , put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes , cease to do evil learn to do well . so it is the heart the lord requireth , prov. 23.16 . jer. 29.12 , 13. and , where your treasure is , there your heart will be also , mat. 6.21 . and saith the apostle , we know not how to pray as we ought , but as the spirit maketh intercession with sighes and groans , rom. 8.26 . and this is more acceptable to god from an honest single heart , than the long prayer of the pharisees . concerning the ministry . the true ministry of christ we own and witness , and the ministers and messengers of christ we own and witness , but those who have gotten the letter and form to trade with , which was spoken forth freely , and denyes the life and power , those we deny , their ministry , and all those who go to get humane learning , and are certain years as it were serving a prentiship , pretending to study divinity , and when their time is expired , they go among ignorant blind people , and gets a certain place , and certain wages , and so sells that which they studied and got into the brain , and those which receive it , gets it into the brain , and ●o they live upon dust which is the serpents meat , feeding upon the tree of knowledge both priest and people , mic. 3.10 . death feeding death , and with the notion begets into the notion , and feeding the carnal mind with the carnal letter ; and this is the cause why drunkards , swearers , lyars , proud , covetous , envious , wrathful and contentious ones , and all unrighteous persons , hath gotten the letter to talk of , or discourse of , though in the ale-house , or tipling-house ; but this ministry works no reformation , only hath the form , and leads into the form , and denies the life and power , which is neither to be bought nor sould for money ; so from such we turn away , who come by the will of man , are approved by the will of man , and are upheld by the will of man , and not by the will of god : and their call and ministry we deny , which is mediate , and formal imitation , and the invention of man , and so meer delusion , and this is the cause why the land so overflowes with iniquity , and all manner of ungodliness , and no better reformation wrought amongst them , their ministry is so dark , and dead , and cold , and yet the land full of teachers , and yet the people lost for want of teaching , jer. 23.29 , 30 , 31 , 32. and so they spend their money for that which is not bread , and their labour for that which profiteth not , isa . 35.2 . but who can witness an immediate call by god , from their outward callings and countries , lands , livings and possessions , into several countries , to preach the free gospel as they had received it , by the immediate inspiration of the spirit , and speakes it forth as they are moved by the holy ghost , and as the spirit gives them utterance freely , as they have received it freely , by which ministry many are convinced , and as they abide in it are converted , as many in the nation can witness to the honour and glory of god , who are now new creatures ; and this call we own and witness , and this ministry we own and witness , which is immediate , and stands in the will of god , and such covets no mans silver nor gold , neither could be hired to a certain place , but travels from place to place , and hath no certain dwelling place ; and such are the true ministers of jesus christ , who make the gospel free and without charge ; and this we own and witness , and for the testimony of this true ministry , some of us are imprisoned , some stoned , some stocked , whipped and shamefully entreated , as vagabonds , and deluders , and wanderers , and raisers of sedition , and pestilent fellows , and esteemed not worthy to live in the nation , both by priest , and people , and rulers , who are out of the commands of god , and are vagabonds and fugitives from god , who go in the way of cain , to envy and murder the innocent ; and because we declare against all who come not in by the door , but see●s to climb up another way , by their study , inventions , and serpentine wisdom and knowledge , and so are thieves and robbers ; and those are they which are now so set up and extoll'd in england , with great augmentations and benefices , by the arm and will of flesh , now heads of england , and such ministers and their ministry we deny , for the hand of the lord is against such , john 10.1 . but this which we own is no new call , nor new ministry , but the same which was with the prophets and apostles : and all who god sent witnessed , and here is the difference of the ministers of the world and the ministers of christ , the one comes by the will of man , the other by the will of god ; and the one is upheld by the will of man , the other by the will of god , contrary to the will of man ; and the one of the letter , the other of the spirit ; the one hath the form and shadow , and the other the life and substance ; and the effects and fruits of their ministry makes them manifest ; but from such turn away , 2 tim. 3.5 . who have the form , but not the life and power , for they are meer deceivers , and witches , bewitch people from the truth , holding forth the shadow instead of the substance ; and what is the shadow to the substance ? or what is the chaffe to the wheat ? he that hath an ear to hear , let him hear and understand . concerning magistracy and government . magistracy and government we own in its place , for while there is transgression there must be a law , 1 john 3.4 . and while the devil hath power over man , there will be transgression , so the law was added , because of transgression , gal. 3.29 . and the devil was the cause of it ; so there must be a law without , to keep those who are without the fear of god in subjection , else they would destroy one another , and cain would destroy abel , for this is the devils work ; and so for this end was the law given forth , to curb evil doers , and to preserve and encourage them that do well , 1 pet. 2.14 . and it was according to that in the conscience , just , holy , and good , according to the will of god , and serviceable in its place . and true government , according to the law of god , is serviceable in its place : and all magistrates who fear god , and hate covetousness , and are guided by the light of god in the conscience , and executes the law in its place , place , without partiallity or respect of persons , and such are serviceable in their place , and this we own , and honour , and are subject to for conscience sake ; but the righteous are from under the outward law , for they are a law unto themselves , neither is there need of any law amongst them who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit ; for against such there is no law : but he that walkes after the flesh cannot please god , neither know how to rule nor govern , who cannot witness his own will , subjected by the law of god in the heart , but is guided by his own will , and stands in his own will , and such wink at deceit , and rule with partiality and respect of persons , and so transgresseth the law of god , which respects no mans person , and also gives forth lawes in his own will , which takes hold of the righteous , persecutes the righteous , and countenances and encourages the heathen , who know not god , so cain slayes abel within them , and they suffer cain to slay abel without them ; and the wicked and ungodly have more liberty in the nation than the righteous , and so the land abounds with iniquity , oppression and treachery , because such corrupt magistrates wink at deceits for carnal ends , and upholds iniquity and oppression , and tread truth under foot ; and this is the cause why the land so abounds with all manner of ungodliness , and deceit , falshood , tyranny , oppression and persecution , and yet full of magistrates and officers ; and corrupt magistrates put corrupt magistrates in office , and so they bear with , and wink at one another , and feeds and nourishes up deceit amongst them , unless they cross one anothers will , and then they are as much in deceit on the other side , seeking and perverting the law for revenge , and such as these upholds these corrupt ministers , and false prophets which the nation swarmes of ; and they can have a law to maintain their deceit , and uphold them in oppression , and so the beast upholds the false prophet , and they combine together against the simple ; and so the law is made a stalking-horse to deceive the simple , and they will pervert and wrest the law out of its place , and act contrary to their own law against the righteous ; and such magistrates and such government we honour not , but deny , and testifie against it as the prophet of god alwayes did , for by such magistrates and government did the righteous ever suffer , and for the same testimony of a pure conscience , i have and do suffer by such corrupt magistrates , and hundreds more in the nation , who are redeemed out of transgression , who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit : and haman who stood in the corrupt will , would have destroyed mordecay , because he crossed his will , and could not bow to him ; and also pharaoh and nebuchadonozer , and herod who headed john who stood in their own wills , but the hands of the lord they did not escape . and so corrupt magistrates say we deny all magistracy and government , as haman did , but christ comes to fulfill and end all outward lawes and government of man , and he himself will reign ; for as truth and righteousness growes , the law is fulfilled , and passeth away , and the lyon and the lamb lye down together , and this is the cause why corrupt magistrates beat down the truth as much as they can , and so to uphold themselves ; but god will deliver his own , and pharaoh will he plague and confound ; but such magistrates as are guided by the light of god in the conscience , and rules and governs by it without partiality , or respect of persons , in singleness of heart , discharging their consciences before the lord , and executing the law in its place , and such magistrates , and such government , we own and honour in our hearts , for such are a terror to evil-doers , and for the praise and encouragement of those that do well : and such bear not the sword in vain , but stand in the will of god , which is cross to their own wills , and they rule for god and not for themselves ; and this government is of god and not of man , nor after the will of man , neither takes hold of any tender conscience , nor oppresses it , but stands in the place where it is set ; and some such magistrates there hath been in the northern parts of this nation , who witness the law of god set up in their hearts , and feared god and hated covetousness , and testified against those who did not ; and so corrupt magistrates sought to put them out , so let all who are single-hearted judge who are destructive to true magistracy and government . concerning superiority , and honour , breeding and manners , also of the word thou to any single person . in the beginning when god made , man , he made him to be lord over all creatures , gen. 1.26 , 27 , 28. but not man to be lord over man : yet he was to be servant of god , and when he had disobeyed the command of god , god , spoke to adam , and adam spoke to him , and god thoued adam and adam thoued him , and here was the plain language betwixt god and adam . and when god appeared to moses in the bush , god thoued moses , and moses thoued him ; and this was the plain language which ever passed betwixt god and his people in all ages : and thou that disdains to be thoued , would exalt thy self above god , who thous god in thy formall prayers , and scornes to take it thy self ; therefore thou must come down as lucifer did : but it is lucifer in thee that is exalted , who must not be honoured , but must be cast down into the pit , and it is he who is head in man , who would be honoured , and would be superior , and would be above god , and calls this manners and breeding to bow to him and honour him , and he hath vented wayes whereby he is honoured and exalted a●d worshipped , and he calls this manners and breeding , and who can honour him the most , and exalt him the highest , those he saith is the best bred , and of the best breeding , and those he calls noblemen and gentilmen , and the other he calls yeomen and common people , and inferio●rs , though they all honour him , but they observe it not so much as the other ; but their mindes is more set upon the earth and ear●hly things , to get wealth and riches , and those he calls providen● carefull people ; but he that seeks preferment in the world , and would be exalted and set up , seek to get his breeding in as excellent manner as he can that so he may get in favour with lucifer that sits in the courts and high places ; and so long as he pleases lucifer he will set him up , but both he and lucifer must be cast down into the pit together obad. 3 , 4. and here is the ground of the worlds superiority , nobility , gentility , honour , breeding and manners ; and here they lord over one another by their corrupt wills ; and here is the ground of all tyranny and oppression , rackings and taxings , and wars , and imprisonments , and envy , and murder , and the persecutions of the righteous ; all arises from proud lucifer , the lust in man , who would be honoured ; and all this is in the fall and under the curse ; but mordechai could not bow to him in haman , and therefore he sought to destroy him , and informed the king against him , and all the jewes in the nation , and said they were a scattered people , and ●heir lawes were diverse from all people , neither did they observe the law of the king ; then he set up a paire of gallows for mordechai , esth . 6.1 , 2. but haman was hanged on his own gallows , and is cast down to nothing , and mordechai is exalted in his stead : so there is a time that mordechai is despised and haman exalted ; and there is a time that haman is cast down and mordehcai exalted : and there is a time that esau reignes over jacob ; and there is a time that the elder serves the younger : gen 25.3 . and there is a time that pharoah rules and oppresses the israelites ; but there is a time of israels deliverance , and pharoah drowned in the sea , exod. 11.9 . so there is a time that antichrist sits in the temple of god as god and saith he is god , 2 thes . 2.4 . and christ lyeth low in the manger : but there is a time that he must be cast into the pit , rev. 19. and christ alone exalted . he that can receive it let him . but in all ages the children of god could not bow to lucifer nor his image ; and this was the cause why shadrach , mesech , and abednego , was cast into the fiery furnace ; dan. 6. and this was the cause why daniel was cast into the lyons den , but by the hand of his god , whom he alone worshipped and honoured , he was delivered and exalted , and his adversaries cast down in his place : and this was the cause why the prophets were alwayes persecuted and imprisoned , and the apostles , acts 7. vers . 6. who came to turn the world upside down ; and this is the cause now why the ministers and messengers of jesus christ are imprisoned , stoned , stocked , whipped , and shamefully entreated , whom the lord is pleased immediately to call from their outward callings , and countries , and sends them abroad into seve●al countries to preach his name , no more after the flesh , but after the spirit ; and who knows him , must know him no more after the flesh , but after the spirit : and those come to turn the world upside down , being crucified to the world , and the world to them ; and these cannot honor lucifer , nor bow to lucifer , nor worship his image , though there was a time when they did , but that was done in egypt , when they knew not god , but now lucifer and his image is cast down , and christ alone exalted , and the pure and perfect law is witnessed , which respects no mans person , but god alone honoured and exalted , and this we witness : for amongst us there are no superiours after the flesh , but christ is the head , and all the rest fellow-servants : and he that would be the greatest should be the least , and he that respects persons commits sin : and the angel would not suffer john to bow to him , but said , he was his fellow-servant ; and this we witness , who are redeemed out of the kingdom of the devil , from amongst the children of this world into the kingdom of the son , who are crucified to the world , and the world to us , by the spiritual cross of christ in which we joy and glory , amongst whom there is no partiallity , nor respect of persons , but all in union in one , though ten thousand ; and here god alone is king , and he alone is honoured , exalted , and worshipped , no more after the flesh , but after the spirit ; for we have no other god in whom our hearts delight ; and here proud lucifer , and his image is cast out , and here all his honour is thrown down , and his breeding , and manners , and fashions , and customs , and words , and wayes , and worships , which are after the flesh , and not after the spirit , whereby he sets up himself , and causeth his image to be worshipped ; and this is the cause he rages in his kingdom , wheresoever we come , and saith we are destructive to all superiority , and magistracy , and ministry , and honour , and breeding , and manners , and turn the world upside down ; for he knowes where christ comes , he comes to take his kingdom from him , and cast him down into the pit , and there he must be tormented quick , and all who bears his image or his mark ; and these are some of his marks , which he calls nobility , gentility honour , breeding , manners , and civility . but true nobility we own , the seed of god is noble wheresoever it is born up , and who can witness to the head of the serpent bruised , and the seed of god born up to reign and rule , there is true nobility , there is true gentillity , no more after the flesh , but after the spirit : and this is to be honoured , for honour is due to this both in magistrate or minister , fisherman or plow-man , heards-man or shepherd , wheresoever it rules without respect of persons , and hear fear to whom fear , and honour to whom honour ; and this is no more after the flesh but after the spirit : and here all the true prophets of god were noblemen , and gentlemen , sprung of the noble seed , though of the nobles and great ones of the earth , they were disdaind and reproached , because according to the world , they were of lower degree , some of them plow-men , some heards-men , some shepherds , and therefore they persecuted them , and destroyed them , yet they were gentile and bore all . christ was noble , sprang of the noble seed , though of the great ones and nobles of the earth he was disdained , reproached , and scorned to be the king of the jewes , because , according to the world , he was of low degree , and supposed to be a carpenters son , so they spit upon him and disdained him , and crucified him , yet he was gentile and bore all . the apostles were noble , sprung of the noble seed , though of the nobles and great ones of the earth they were despised , and disdained , and reproached , because , according to the world , they were of low degree , some of them fisher-men , and the like , and came to turn the world upside down , so they were despised p●asecuted , and killed , yet they were gentile and bore all : but those were all noble , sprung of the noble seed , and so is all now who are of the same seed : and those were all gentile , sprung of the gentile seed , and those have the nature but not the name , and to those belong the true honour , not after the flesh but after the spirit : acts 7 for they denyed the honour of the world ; and therefore christ said , i receive not honour from men ; and said to his apostles , be yee not called masters , neither call any master upon the earth ; and though the princes of this world exercise dominion one over another , yet it shall not be so amongst you , but he that would be the greatest amongst you , let him be your servant ; mat. 23.8 , 9 , 10 , 11. and said he , how can ye believe which receive honour one of another and seek not the honour that cometh from god onely ? john 5.44 . and here the true honour is no more after the flesh but after the spirit : and here you who are giving and receiving outside earthly honour , you are in the unbelief , out of the doctrine of christ , cringing , and bowing , and honouring , and exalting the devil , and worshipping the beast and his image , which all the world wonders after and worships , rev. 13. and as for manners and breeding , courtesie and civility , learn to do us you would have all to do to you , and speak every one truth to his neighbour : and let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth , but such us is good for the use of edifying : for evil communication corrupts good manners , but let your yea be yea , and nay be nay , for whatsoever is more is evil : mat. 7.12 . ezek. 8.16 . and breed your children so , and here is good manners and breeding , curtesie and civility : and who are of the right noble seed , hath this manners and this breeding , but the nobles and great ones of the earth want this manners and this breeding , and both priest and people of all sorts according to the world : and here is the ground of all true nobility gentility , majesty , honour , breeding , manners , courtesie , and civility , no more after the flesh but after the spirit ; for the natural man mindes natural things , and the spiritual man , spiritual things ; but the natural man receives not the things of god : and this we own and witness , and the time is coming , and now is , that before this seed every knee shall bow , and every tongue confess , and the kings and nobles of the earth shall be bound in chaines , and fetters of iron : and here is also the ground of the nobility , gentility , superiority , honour , breeding and manners of the world , which is after the flesh but not after the spirit , sprung from proud lucifer , the lust that reigns in man , and are not yea and nay , but calls it manners to say nay and take it , or do it : and so they have the name , but not the nature , and so are bastards and no sons , who are not sprung from the noble gentile seed ; and to those honour is not due , neither can we bow unto them , for if we should , we should set the devil in the room of god , and give unto him that which is due to god , which when we were in blindnesse through ignorance we did , and so worship the beast and his image , which all the world worships and wonders after ; for they that are proud and lofty , which is the image of the devil , for the devil is the father of pride , and in gay attire , those the world worships and wonders after , and extols and exalts into high places : but since the lord hath opened our eyes , this we cannot do , but testifies against it wheresoever we come both in words and actions , and so we are destructive to the worlds superiority , nobility , gentility , honour , breeding and manners , which is after the flesh , and not after the spirit , therefore the devil hates us in the nobles and great ones of the world , but we give unto caesar the things that are caesar and unto god that which is gods ; mat. 22.21 . but we cannot give unto caesar that which is gods , but fear to whom fear , honour to whom honour is due : he that hath an eare to hear , let him hear and understand : for , saith the lord , if i be a master , where is my fear ? if i be a father , where is my honor ? mal. 1.6 concerning the word thou or thee . first , concerning the word thou or thee , which all those which are their priests and teachers knows , that thou is the proper word to one particular person , and is so all along the scripture throughout to any one , without respect of persons ; yea to god himself : and the word you is the proper word to more then one , but not to one ; and it so is all along the scriptures throughout . as for example , at all times when the apostles spake to christ they used the word thou or thee unto him , and when he spoke to more then one of them , he used the word you or ye ; but if he spoke but to one , he used the word thou or thee , as in mat. 16.14 , 15 , 16 , 17. verses : and also paul thoued king agrippa , and king agrippa thoued him , as in acts 26.27 , 28. verses , and so all along the scripture : and so it is plain , that now it is an invention of proud lucifer in man to exalt himself , as it will plainly appear ; for amongst the great and rich ones of the earth , they will either thou or you one another if they be eqall in degree , as they call it ; but if a man of low degree in the earth come to speak to any of them , then he must you the rich man , but the rich man will thou him ; nay you shall find it so betwixt priest and people , if a poor labouring man come before one that you call a minister , though he be one of his hearers , and one who helps to maintaine him according to his ability , yet he must you the priest , and the priest thou him ; and here the heathen lord over one another by their corrupt wills : but this is contrary to the apostles and ministers of christ , who made themselves servants to all , and yet those will call themselves the ministers of christ ; and the word minister signifies a servant , and they are masters , and so they have gotten the name but not the nature , and so are bastards and no heires , who are not sprung from the gentle seed and yet they are hired as servants of men , and yet bears rule by their means as masters over those that maintaines them , so that he that hath an eye to see let him see the deceits of the professed ministers of england , jer. 5.30 , 31. concerning putting off the hat. this is another invention of proud lucifer , whereby he is honoured and worshipped , and exalted in man ; but the scripture doth not speak of any such fashon used in any age , but man hath found out many inventions since the scripture was recorded : and now it is so , that it is a fashon throughout the land , whereby one man is exalted above another ; for if a poor man come before a rich man , it may be the rich man will move his hat , that is called courtesie and humility ; but the poor man must stand with his hat off before him , and that is called honour and manners and due respect unto him ; but if the rich man doe bid him put it on , it is counted a great courtesie , and he gets honour to himself , there to be counted a courteous man. but this difference or respect of persons was never ordained by god but by the devil , whereby he exalts himself in man ; but james the apostle of jesus christ witnessed against it ; as in james . 2.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. and so on , and said , he that respects persons committs sin , for there is no respest of persons with god : acts. 10.3 , 4 , and therefore saith james , howl ye rich men : and here your professed ministers abide not in the doctrine of christ , and so hath not god but the devil , and his ministers they are whom they exalt , 2 john 5. and now you shall see the partiality of the names in this your breeding and manners . first , from a poor man to a rich man it is called honour , and due respect , and manners ; from a rich man to a poor man it is called courtesie and humility ; but amongst the rich and nobles of the earth it is called court-like breeding , but of those of the lower degree it is called country breeding , and amongst the lower sort of the world it is called neighbourhood and civil respect one to another : and so the devil hath covers for all his deceit , and so he is honoured and exalted both in court and country , but the highest in the court , and therefore they have the highest title : but wo unto them that hides their sin , and covers with a covering , and not of the spirit of the lord : isa . 30.1 , but this is the riches of the world , and the devil that makes so many degrees , as between dives and lazarus , and haman and mordecai , for the lord hath made all the nations of the earth of one mold and one blood , but we who are redeemed out of his kingdome , he calls us clowns and fools , and saith our religon is built upon such small and frivilous things , and stumble at strawes , and leaps over blockes , this saith his wisdome , but it is even death to him to b●ar these strawes , especially where he is the highest exalted ; for it puls down all his honour , and therefore do rich men and great ones of the earth , and rulers , and priests , and pharisees , persecute and oppresse us , and draw us before judgement seats , and would root us out of the nation , as haman would have done by mordecai and the rest of the scattered jews , because they cannot bear those strawes : but i say , whatsoever it is that comes to be forbidd●n in the conscience , it becomes a weight and a burden , though it be never so small a thing in the eye of a pharisee , so let none despise the day of small things , ezek. 4.10 . but some will call it stubbornness , obstinacy , pride , and presumption , but the same nature would have called it so in mordechai , who could not bow to haman as the rest did that sate by ; and so let every one take heed of speaking evill of that you know not , least you call good evill and evill good ; for the woe is pronounced against such , but they that were after the flesh , alwayes , in all ages persecuted them that were after the spirit ; and so it is , not many mighty , nor many noble , nor many wise after the flesh are called , but god hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise , and the weak to confound those that are mighty , that no flesh should glory in his presence , 1 cor. 1.26 , 27 , 29. concerning perfection . man was perfect without sin before the fall , or else he could not have been the image of god ; for god is pure and perfect , and he made man after his own image pure and perfect without sin , but when he sinned he defaced his image , and lost his pure estate , and was drove out of paradice , and became the image of the devil , for sin is the image of the devil , and here all sin is in the fall , and who are in the fall are in the devils kingdome , which is impure and impefect , and unclean ; but god promised the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head , gen. 3.15 . and christ the seed said , he was come to preach deliverance to the captive , and to heal the broken hearted , and to seek that which was lost , and to bring again that which was driven away , and this was his work ▪ to redeem to man that which man had lost . now consider what man hath lost , and i shall leave this as querie with all both priests and people , who deny perfection from sin here , whether christ is but a part of redeemer , or a perfect and full redeemer , and which is the place betwixt heaven and earth , where man shall be made free or cleansed from sin , if not upon the earth , seeing that no unholy , nor unclean thing can enter the kingdom of god ? but who can witness this , hath passed through death , and that hath none who plead for sin , neither can they witnesse christ come ; but for some simple ones sake i shall speak more clearly of this for it is a great delusion of the devil , to keep people in sin to tell them , they shall never be made free from sin so long as they are upon the earth , and brings this scripture to maintaine it , he that saith he hath no sin deceiveth himselfe , and is a lyar ; but he tells them christ dyed for all , and if they can but lay hold on him by faith , he will not impute their sins unto them , though they sin dayly ; for the righteous man sins seven times a day , and all the holy men of god sinned ; and so he takes scripture to maintain his kingdome , and this he delivers by the mouth of his ministers , which he sends abroad to deceive the nations , leading people in blindnesse , full of sin and corruption , ever learning , and never comes to the knowledge of the truth , nor never shall doe for them , and here he carries them on an easie delight some way to the flesh , but the end is death , and so heals them up in their sin with a feigned formed faith which perisheth ; and here they settle upon the lees , and set up a rest in the devils kingdom , which is sin ; and here many are meerly blinded and hardened and all tendernesse of conscience is done away : but you shall finde that he that sooths you up in this faith is the greatest enemy of your souls and whosoever witnesseth christ their redeemer , shall witnesse that he is come to destroy the works of the devil , which is sin , and to redeem out of the fall , out of sin , and out of the devils kingdome , which is sin , and all sins in the devils kingdome , which is in the fall ; but for this end christ is manifested , to destroy the works of the devil , and to redeem out of the fall , out of the devils kingdome into his own kingdome , and no unclean thing can enter therein , rev. 21.27 . but none can witness this redemption but through the death , and through the cross which paul rejoyced in , by which he was crucified to the world and the world to him , rom. 6.6 . and had put off the body of sin , and was mad● free from the law of sin , which once warred against his mind , which once he complained of , which scripture the unlearned , which are strangers from his conditions , who reads them with the carnal eye , now wrest them to their own destruction . j. parnel . concerning womens speaking in the church . what woman is it that is not permitted to speak in in the church ? is it she that is come to have christ head in her ? or is it she that is not come that length , but is learning , and so is to learn in silence ? or , may not christ speak through the woman , when he is head over all ? if not , then why did paul ( that said , i suffer not a woman to speak in the church ) allow of women as his fellow-labourers and helpers in the gospel ? it appears that she was on her travel and he commended her to the church . what did they travel about , or help him in ? what was that labour and help ? rom. 16.1 , 2.3 . why did paul suffer phillips daughters to prophesie ? were not they prophetesses ? and had not they the spirit of prophesie ? and wherefore is the spirit of prophesie given but to edefie the church ? it is commended by paul above many other gifts , see 1 cor. 14.1 . follow after charity , and desire after spiritual gifts , but rather that ye may prophesie . and see the 3d. verse , but he that prophesieth , speaketh unto men to edification , to exhortation and comfort . now seeing he that prophesieth hath the spirit of prophesie , and seeing it is through the spirit of prophesie that he speaketh to man to edification , exhortation and comfort ; why may not the same spirit of prophesie , being head in the woman , as in philips daughters , seeing women are made prophetesses thereby ; i say , why may not the same spirit of prophesie put forth the female to speak to men to edification , exhortation and comfort ? or else were not the gift received in vain , if it were not to be used ? and if it be to be used , then must it not be for the service of the church , for edification , exhortation and comfort ? is not the widdow without an husband ? was not israel that went from her spiritual husband , called an harlot , or a whorish woman ? and were not there many males and females to make up this woman that had forsaken her husband ? is not christ the husband ? is not his church the spouse of christ ? is not he as well the husband of the males as of the females , and of the females as of the males ? and are not the priests and bishops of that whorish woman , that is gon● from the husband christ , who are to be silent ? and also the woman that is in the church , which may be said to be in the church , and yet but in learning , and is not learned ; she is not fit to teach , but is to be silent , and learn in silence until she be learned ; and then christ the husband , in the male and female , the head in the male and female , is one ; and it is he the one in all , both in the male and female , that speakes ; and the male as well as the female , is that woman that is not to speak , who hath not learned christ , and is not made subject to him ; but such who have learned him , whether male or female , he may speak in them ; and then it is not the woman , but christ the man that speaketh in the male and in the female . and whoso denies this , disprove it if he can . and what will ye do with that in joel 2.28 ? if you will not suffer christ to speak in the females , then you will contradict joel's prophesie , and so will judge him a lying prophet , who spake in the name of the lord , saying , i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ? yea , it is said that daughters shall prophesie as well as sons , no distinction made : vpon the hand-maids in those dayes will i pour out my spirit . and when was this fulfilled , if it was not among the apostles ? if paul had stopt women and maids that had learned christ , would not that have been against joel's prophesie ? but paul did not so ; for he cites the law and saith , as also saith the law. but the priests are blind , and cannot see what the woman is that was not permitted under the law , nor under the gospel to speak . for , the law did not forbid miriam , and those women that prophesied and were prophetesses , judg. 4.3 , 4 , 5 , 6. luke 2.36 . and was it not a woman that was sent by christ that first did preach his resurrection to his disciples ? they that would stop christ from sending women now , who are witnesses of his resurrection , they be of another spirit ; and also they are of another spirit then moses was of , who said , he would that all the lord's people were prophets ; and were all the lords people men and no women amongst them ? it appears that moses would not stop any , either male or female , among the lords people : but the priests and many more are of another mind : but that mind is not the mind of christ , and therefore we matter it not what it either leads to say or affirm , seeing they will be wilfull . and seeing it is written in the first language of greek ( out of which the english was translated ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which word signifies both man and woman ; and in latine , hic & haec homo , which doth signifie both man and woman : and in john 1.1 , 9. where it is said , the word which was with god , was the true light , which lighteth every man that cometh into the world ; which word man signifieth both man and woman and as it maketh no difference in the enlightening , neither doth it in their speaking . but that the simple may not be deceived by them , many things have been and are written for their sakes , more then for the sakes of such opposers , who go after their own deceived heart , and will not be warned , and so the lord lets many of them alone , to whose righteous judgments i leave them , who will plead with them for what they have done against him , who by their sophistry and subtil insinuations have turned aside the simple out of the way of truth . w. d. concerning the sum or substance of our religion , who are called quakers , and the exercise & travels of our spirits therein . this is the sum or substance of our religion , to wit , to feel and discern the two seeds : the seed of enmity , the seed of love ; the seed of the flesh , the seed of the spirit : the seed of hagar , the seed of sarah ; the seed of the egyptian womb , the holy seed of israel : and to feel the judgments of god administred to the one of these , till it be brought into bondage and death ; and the other raised up in the love and mercy of the lord to live in us , and our souls gathered into it , to live to god in it . now when the light of gods holy spirit breaketh in upon man , and his quickning vertue is felt ; then life enters into that which was slain , and there is a desire begotten in the heart to travel out of the egyptian state , into the good land ; that the soul which came from god , might return back again to him ( out of the sinfull , wandring , miserable , lost estate ) and might live and walk with him , in the purity , vertue and power of his own life and spirit . but then the other birth strives for its life , and pharoaoh ( the king of egypt ) takes part with his egyptians against israel ; and there is no help to the poor soul , but as god pours out his judgments upon that hard nature and spirit in man , which is of the birth of the flesh , and receives the influences and strength of its father , which harden it against the true seed . and now what a condition is this poor soul in ! the light of gods spirit giveth it the sence of its state , and the quicknings of life make it sensible of its bondage , there are also some desires and longings after deliverance : but this doth but provoke the enemy , and the soul being yet in his territories , and under his power , he dealeth the more hardly with it , increasing its burdens and oppressions daly . and o the out-cries of the soul in this state ! how is its spirit pained , anguished and vexed within it , so that it could almost many times chuse rather to lie still in egypt then undergo the heavy burdens , oppressions , fears and dangers , that it daily meets with in this state . yet there is a secret hope , springing up in the heart from the true seed , which often encourageth it to trust him , and wait upon him who hath visited , in his pure ministration of judgment . for this is felt many times ( as the soul is made truly sensible by the lord ) that the judgment is not to the seed , not to israel ; but to pharaoh and his egyptians : and by every stroke of gods wrath upon them , the seed is eased , and its deliverance working out . and so at last when the judment is finished in the land of egypt , the strength of pharaoh and his egyptians broken , their first-born slain , out comes israel , out of the dark land , out of the house of bondage , to travel towards its resting place . then the paschal lamb is known and fed on ; yea it is because of the blood of the lamb , sprinkled upon the door-posts , that israel is passed over and saved , in the day of egypts visitation . o who can read this truly , that hath not felt and been a living witness thereof ! but now , when the seed is come out of egypt , there is not the end , but rather the beginning of its travels . pharaoh and his egyptians ( with their horses a●d chariots ) may pursue again and even overtake ; and there may seem no way of escape or help to the soul but only to stand still , hope in the ●ord , and wait to see his salvation . then shall the sea be divided , which stopped israels course , and pharaoh with his egyptians , the enemies of the soul in this appearance of dreadful opprssieng power be destroyed and seen no more . yet in the willdernes in the passage through the entangelements to the holy land , there are many straits , trials and sore enemies to be met with , who will strive by open force and also with enchantements to betray israel : ye● there is a part yet unbrought down , yet unwrought out , at which they will be striving to enter the mind . and as israel forgets his god , walking out of his counsel , hearkning to that which his ear should be shut against , and so joyning to the contrary seed ; the plagues , the judgments , the indignation and wo will be felt by him , and many carkases may fall there . so that there may be a great outcry in the heart , who can stand before this holy lord god ? shall we be consuming with dying ? yes there is somewhat must be consumed with dying . yea , if a man came so far , as to witness dominion and victory over his souls enemies , the evil seed brought into death in him , and a possession and inheritance in the pure rest of life : yet if that part be not kept in the death , if there be not a praying and watching to the preserver of israel ( in the pure fear and humility ) the enemy will be sowing to the flesh again ; he will be getting some of his corrupt seed into the heart again ( if the soul do but sleep and become negligent ) and so corruption will take root again , and the contrary birth grow up again , and the foxes break into the vineyard and spoil the tender grapes . so that this is our religion , to witness the two seeds , with the power of the lord bringing down the one , and bringing up the other : and then to witness and experience daily the same power , keeping the one in death and the other in life , by the holy ministration of gods pure living covenant . and so , to know god in this covenant ( in this covenant which lives , gives life and keeps in life ) and to walk with god and worship and serve him therein , even in his son , in the light of his son , in the life of his son , in the vertue and ability which flows from his son into our spirits , this is our religion , which the lord our god in his tender mercy hath bestowed upon us : and indeed we find this to be a pure , living and undefiled religion before god , daily witnessing his acceptance of it in and through his son , whose name is here known and confessed , worshipped and honoured , according to the very heart of the father . this may be further illustrated , and perhaps made more manifest to some , by a scripture or two . the flesh lusteth against the spirit , and the spirit against the flesh , and these are contrary one to the other , saith the apostle , gal. 5.17 . here are the two seeds ( the seed of the serpent , the seed of the woman ) whose striving and fight is in man , when god awakens the soul , the one whereof hath a nature , a desire or lust contrary to the other . now as the one of these prevails in any heart ; so the other goes down . as the one gains life and power : so the other is brought into death and captivity : so that this is it every one is to wait for , after they once come to the sensible knowledge and experience of these two , to feel the flesh brought down , the lusts of it denied , the judgments of the lord administred to it ; that so the other may come up to live , thrive and prevail in the soul , and so the soul witness salvation and redemption under its shadow . thus sion is redeemed with judgment , and her converts with righteousness . isa . 1.27 . what is sion ? is it not the holy hill of god , whereon his son is set king to reign , whereon the holy city is to be built , and god to be worshipped in spirit . what condition is sion in , when god visits her to redeem her ? is she not laid wast , desolate , lying in the dust : ( as psal . 102.13 , 14. ) well : how will god redeem her ? zion shall be redeemed with judgement and her converts with righteousness . by bringing judgements upon that which keeps her under , upon her enemies the contrary seed , god redeems her : and by bringing forth righteousness , ( the righteous life and spirit of his own son ) in those whose minds are turned to her , whose faces are set sion-ward , thus god redeems her converts . yes , yes , it is truly felt and witnessed . the living righteousness of christ revealed in the heart , and having power there , sets free from all unrighteousness which was there before . and then , when the unrighteous one is cast out , and the righteous one is revealed , and the soul united to him , and receives virtue and power from him ; then he becomes a servant of righteousness , and doth not commit sin , but doth righteousness ; and he that doth righteousness is righteous , even as he is righteous , 1 john. 3.7 . for how can it be otherwise , when the righteous life is revealed and brought up into dominion in him ? how can the same righteous spirit and life ( revealed in the members , as was in the head ) but live and act after the same manner in the members , as it did in the head ? ( o that men were turned to that , which would give them the certain knowledge and sensible experience of this ! ) now this is exceeding comfortable and precious to them that are in the true travel towards it : much more to them that enjoy it . this is the sum of all , even to know and experience what is to be brought down into death , and kept in death , what to be brought up out of the grave , to live to god and reign in his dominion , and what to be kept in subjection and obedience to him who is to reign . now to experience it thus done in the heart ; the flesh brought down , the seed of life raised , and the soul subject to the pure heavenly power , whose right it is to reign in the heart in and by the seed , this is a blessed state indeed , for here the work is done : here the throne of god is exalted , and his king reigns in righteousness and peace , and all his enemies are under his feet ; and this soul , this true israelite this redeemed one may wear the white robe , and serve god in righteousness and holiness without fear of his enemies ( keeping in and to the covenant , which ministers life and power abundantly ) all the dayes of his life . for that was to be the outward state of the outward israel , keeping to god in the outward covenant and it is to be the inward state of the inward israel , keeping to god in the inward covenant , which is a pure covenant of life and peace , of all inward and spiritual blessings and mercies in christ , wherewith the souls are blessed that are obedient to god , and walk humbly with him in this covenant . and i beseech you to consider ( o tender people , who are grieved because of sin and corruption in your hearts , and would fain witness victory and dominion over it , in the name and strength of the lord jesus christ ) whom did that prophesie of zachary ( luke 1.71 , 72 , 74 , 75. ) concern ? what was that holy covenant ? who were to be so redeemed ? who were the israel that was to inherit this promise ? all the promises are yea and amen in christ to the israel of god. why should not the israel of god hope to enjoy this ? even so to be acquainted with gods holy spirit , and to wait upon him , that they may witness it granted to them , that they being delivered out of the hands of their enemies , might serve him without fear , in holiness and righteousness before him ( whose eyes are piercing , and behold no iniquity ) all the dayes of their lives ? surely they who witness that promise ( mentioned isa . 35.8 . ) fulfilled to them , cannot fall short of this . and truly , the children of the new covenant can never come throughly to live to god , till they witness the inward circumcision of the heart , so as to love the lord with all the heart and soul , deut. 30.6 . now , where it is so , the devil or lust can find no place of entrance : and how then should they be able to sow their seed and bring forth sin ? out of the evil heart proceeds all evil : but out of that heart which is throughly circumcised , to love the lord god wholly , evil cannot proceed . if lust be not conceived , it cannot bring forth sin : and where the womb , which conceived it , is kept dry and barren , it cannot conceive again . and is not this the promise of the gospel , that the womb which was once barren , shall be very fruitful and bear abundantly ; but the other grow feeble , and be able to bear no more ? oh that people had experience of gods power , and did believe therein ! what should stand in the way of it ? it was israels sin of old , when they looked at their enemies , and saw their footing and strength in the land , which god had promised to abrahams seed for an inheritance , they could not believe that they should be overcome . o take heed of the same unbelief now . concerning christ , coming to the father by him , receiving him , walking in him ( not in the oldness of the letter , but in the newness of the spirit ) and concerning reading the scriptures aright . i am the way , the truth , and the life : no man cometh unto the father but by me , saith christ , john 14.6 . man in the corrupt degenerate estate is fallen from god , hath lost his image ( the holy , heavenly image of the father of spirits ) is driven out from his presence , dwels in the land of darkness and confusion , under the government of the prince of the power of the air , who rules in , and hath power over , all the children of disobedience . now this should be mans work , even to return to the father : to come back out of the prodigal lost state , to the fathers house , where there is sufficiency and fulness of true bread and water of life , to satisfie every hungry and thirsty soul. the way whereby a man must come , the truth wherein he must be renewed , and the life wherewith a man must be quickned , is christ , the son of the living god : and he must know him as the son of the living god , and feel him revealed in him , and received by him , and so walk in him the way , in him the truth , in him the life , if ever he come to the father . he must not rest in the description of things ; but feel and know , receive and walk in the thing , which by the spirit of the lord hath been often formerly , and is still described , in what words , and by what means the spirit pleaseth but to receive all the descriptions of him that were formerly given forth , or all the descriptions that are now given forth , that will not do ; but the soul that will live by him , must receive him and feel the ingrafting into him , the holy root , the living word of gods eternal power , and must feel this word ingrafted into his heart , so that there be a real becoming one in nature and spirit with him . and then he is truly in the vine , in the olive-tree , and partakes of the vertue and sap thereof , he abiding therein and walking in the spirit , life and power thereof . now hear a man walks not , nor cannot walk in the oldness of the letter ; but in the newness of the spirit only , paul , notwithstanding all his knowledge of the scriptures , walked but in the oldness of the letter , before christ was revealed in him . and those in the apostles dayes , who had got the form of godliness , but turned from and denied the power , they walked but in the oldness of the letter . yea , the church of sardis ( for the most part ) and the church of laodicea , who had received the right order and ordinances , and the true descriptions of things , and though they were full and rich and wanted nothing , they walked but according to the oldness of the letter , and not in the newness and power of the spirit of life , but alas , how far are many ( who pretend to christ in this day ) from this state ! who never came so far as to walk in the oldness of the letter , from a true understanding thereof ; but have only learned and continued to walk in the oldness of their own apprehensions and conceivings upon the letter . can these , in this state , possibly understand truth , or know the inward spiritual , precious appearances thereof , either in their own hearts or others ? surely no. why so ? why this is the reason ; because the measure the appearances of truth ( either in themselves or others ) by their own old apprehension and conceivings upon scriptures concerning truth , which is not the proper measure of it . now all such are yet in darkness , let them pretend what they will , and grow never so high in knowlerg , exercises and experiences after this manner : and so the best , zealousest and most knowing of them in this state , are but blind leaders of the blind , and ( thus going on ) shall most certainly fall into the ditch of perdition . o that men could feel that which makes rightly sensible , and might lay it to heart ! for no man can confess christ ( how then can he receive him and walk in him ? ) but by the holy spirit . and he that knoweth not the spirit rightly , knoweth not christ rightly : and he that doth not know him rightly , doth not confess him rightly : and none can know him rightly , but by the revelation of the father inwardly . the mistery must be opened within , or there is no true knowing . the mistery of deceit is discovered within ; and the mistery of life is discovered within also . and though the heart of man ( in the unregenerate estate ) is deceitfull above all things , and despeartely wicked , and no man of himself can search or know it : yet that is not the state of the true jsraelites whom god hath cleansed , and taught to deny themselves daily ; but they have boldness before that god who hath searched them , and removed from them the iniquities which he found therein . yea , whoever witnesseth christ revealed within , shall find him revealed within for this very end , to destroy the works of the devil there : and he is a powerfull saviour of the soul from sin , and a powerfull destroyer of the works of the devil within . now concerning reading the scriptures , mind this . it is said of the jews , that when they read moses ( or in reading the old testament ) the vail was upon their heart , which vail is done away in christ , 2 cor. 3.14 , 15. o consider seriously , is the vail done away from thee ? dost thou read the scriptures with the unvailed eye ? dost thou read in the anointing , in christs spirit , in the pure heavenly wisdom of the divine birth ? it was promised of old , that god would take away the face of the covering cast over all people , and the vail spread over all nations . dost thou witness this promise fulfilled to thee ? dost thou know the difference between reading the scriptures with the vail on thee , and with the vail off ? are the scriptures opened and unlocked to thee by the key of david , so that thou readest and understandest them in the light and demonstration of gods holy spirit ; or is thy own understanding and will at work of it self , in searching into the scriptures ? if the wrong birth , the wrong wisdom , the wrong understanding be at work ; it can gather but that which will feed and strengthen it self : and if thou beest not in christ , and dost not read in christ , the vail is not taken away from thee : ( for the vail is only done away in him : ) but thou readest and walkest in the oldness of thy apprehensions upon the letter , and not in the newness of the spirit ; and so knowest neither the scriptures nor the power of god , what ever thou professest to men , or dreamest concernning thy self . for it is no other indeed : thy knowledge , thy apprehensions , thy faith , thy hope , thy peace , thy joy ( being out of the compass of the pure living truth , in which the substance , the vertue , the kernel of all is comprised and comprehended for ever ) are but as so many dreams . o that men that are any whit tender , and have any sincere desires in them towards the lord , could read that one scripture ( psal . 43.3 , 4. ) sensible and experimentally . o send out thy light and thy truth ; let them lead me , let them bring me unto thy holy hill , and to thy tabernacles . ( what , did not david know how to go to the hi●l and tabernacles of god , without a particular sending forth of light and truth from god to lead him thither ? ) then may men go unto the altar of god unto god their exceeding joy , and witness his hill and house their dwelling-place , when god by his light and truth , sent forth from him into them , leads them thither . the scriptures are words , whose chief end drift , and service is , to bring men to the word from which the scriptures came . and when men are there ; then they are in the life of the scriptures , and witness the fulfilling of the scriptures , even the executing of the righteous judgments of god upon that spirit , mind and nature in them , which is contrary to his image ; and the fulfilling of the promises and sure mercies , which belong to christ the seed , and to them who are gathered into , and abide in christ the seed . here 's the covenant , the new covenant , that which is said , or those things which are said concerning the covenant in the scriptures , are but descriptions of the new covenant : but christ within , the hope of glory , the spirit within , the fear within , the power of life within , breaking down and reigning over the power of sin and death ( so that the lord is served in the dominion and power of his own life , in righteousness and holiness before him , out of the fear of sin and death , all the dayes of our lives ; so that captivity can lead captive nor break the souls peace no more , nay not so much as make afraid those , that keep their habitation on gods holy mountain ) here is the covenant indeed : the strength and vertue whereof is witnessed in the soul , as the soul feels the power of life revealed in it , and is made subject by the power to christ who reigns in righteousness , love , mercy and peace , in the hearts of those whom he redeems out of the earthly nature and spirit , up to the mind and spirit of his father . and here the psalms , hymns and spiritual songs , the pure songs , ( the song of moses , the song of the lamb ) are sung to the father of spirits , to the redeemer of israel , which never were sung , nor can be sung in any part of babylon : but all those songs are but dreames of the night , which will be turned into howling and bitter lamentation , when the whore ( that which hath whored from god , and is not in the wisdom of his spirit , what ever she may pretend ) is stripped , and the nakedness of her profession and religion ( with all her duties and ordinances , as she calls them ) made manifest . concerning the gospel ministration . if the gospel be not a ministration of words or letters : but of the spirit , life and power ; and if it was the intent of god , that men should not stick in word , or testimonies concerning the things , but come to the thing it self , and live in the sons life and power , and feel the son living in them : then they are greatly mistaken , who think to gather a rule to themselves out of the testimonies and declarations of things in the scriptures , and do not wait upon the lord to receive the spirit it self to become their rule , guide and way . for these are all one ; the truth is the way , the truth , which lives and abides in the heart ( where it is received and entertained ) is the way : the rule is the guide . for god is one . there are many names , but the thing is one . the life , the power , the wisdom in the father , son and spirit , is all one : yea they themselves are one , perfectly one , not at all devided or separated but where the father is , the son is ; and where the son is , the spirit is ; and where the spirit is , there is both the father and the son , who tabernacle in man in the day of the gospel . and where these are , there that is which is to be preferred before all words , which was afore them , and is in nature , spirit and glory above them . he that hath the son , hath life , even the life eternal , which the words testifie of . he that hath the son , hath him which is true : and he that is in the son , is in him that is true ; and abiding there , cannot be deceived : but he that is not there , is deceived , let him apprehend and gather out of the scriptures what he can . o how is god glorified , and how is redemption and real salvation of the soul witnessed in this dispised dispensation of truth , which god hath held forth in these latter dayes ! blessed be the name of the lord , who hath hid this pure dispensation of life from the eye of the prudent , worldly wise part in every man , revealing it only to the babish simplicity which is of his son , and which lives in him and by him . concerning christs being manifested without , and his being also manifested within , and how both are owned by them that know the truth . it is objected against us , who are called quakers , that we deny christ ( and look not to be saved by him ) as he was manifested without us , but look only to be saved by christ in us . to which this is in my heart to answer to such as singly desire satisfaction therein . we do indeed expect to be saved ( yea and not only so , but do already in our several measures witness salvation ) by the revelation and operation of the life of christ , within us ; yet not without relation to what he did without us . for all that he did in that body of flesh , was of the father , and had its place and service in the will and according to the counsel of the father . but the knowledg and beliefe of that , since the dayes of the apostles , hath been very much held in the unrighteousness , and in the separation from the inward work of the power and life of christ in the heart : which , as so held , cannot save any . but whoever feels the light and life of christ revealed in him , and comes into union with god there-through ; he feels the work of regeneration , of sanctification , of justification , of life and redemption ; and so comes to reap benefit inwardly , and to partake of the blessed fruits of all that christ did outwardly . yea , he that is thus one with christ in the spirit , cannot exclude himself , nor is excluded by god from the advantage of any thing , nor every thing christ did in that body of flesh . this indeed is the main thing , to witness salvation wrought out in the heart : to witness the eternal power and arm of the lord , laying hold on the soul to save it ; and not only laying hold on it to save it , but to witness the working out and the effecting of the salvation , as really in the substance , as israel of old did in the shadow . for as they witnessed moses and joshua outwardly : so the true israelite ( the inward israelite , the spiritual israelite ) is to witness that which is the substance of these , even the son of god revealed inwardly . now they were not saved outwardly by a ba●e outward believing , that moses and joshua were sent of god to save them : but by following them , in faith and obedience to what from god they required . so to the inward israel christ is given for a leader and commander , who appears to the distressed , embondaged soul in egypt , brings out of egypt , and so leads on towards the good land and into it . now , as the soul followes ; as the soul believes in his appearances , and obeys his voice in the holy pure covenant of life ; so he works out the redemption thereof . but as unbelief and disobedience gets up , and the heart is heardened at any time against his voice and counsel , and the ear open to the temtaptions of the enemy ; the redemption thereby goes backward , and the distress and captivity returns again . this is witnessed , known and experienced by ever , true traveller towards sion . therefore the main thing requisite is to abide in the sence of the redeemers power , as also in waiting for his motions and apperances , and in the faith and obedince thereof . for sin gathers strength and is brought forth by letting in and giving way to the motions thereof : and so also holiness and righteousness is brought forth and getteth ground in the mind , by harkening and giving up to the stirrings and movings of gods holy spirit . therefore it is of great necessity to every true traveller , to come to a right understanding and distinguishing of these : and then that the heart be kept with all diligence , because out of it are the issues both of life and and death . and most happy is he , who knows the issues of death stopped and the issues of life opened , and whose spirit is naked and open before the lord , for life to spring up in him and issue forth through him at its pleasure . o it is a precious state to witness captivity led captive by life , and the power of life reigning over it . and truly , there is as real deliverance witnessed inwardly , by those that wait upon the lord and are faithfull to the leadings of his holy spirit , as ever there was by the jews outwardly , in their faithfull following moses and joshua : and christ is as truly an healer of his people , in this ministration of life to them by his holy spirit , as ever he was an healer of persons out wardly in the dayes of his fesh . that ( with the other miracles which he wrought then ) was but a shadow of what he would work and perform inwardly in the day of his spirit and holy power : and shall he or can he ( to those that faithfully wait upon him ) fall short in the one , of what he shadowed out in the other ? nay surely , it was the intent of his heart , and he will not fail to perform it , to save to the very utmost all that come to god by him and abide in his holy , pure , righteous , living covenant . here is the skill of christianity , to abide in him : and here the living virtue and pure power is felt , which overcometh all , but nothing can overcome it ; but victory , dominion , glory , majesty and power is sung unto him , who is king of saints , who reigns in righteousness , and who establisheth peace and truth within his borders . a few words concerning the the principle of truth , what it is , how it may be discerned , and how it may be purchased and possessed . quest . 1. what is the principle of truth ? answ . it is the light which reproves and makes sin manifest . whatsoever doth make manifest is light : wherefore he saith , awake thou that sleepest , arise from the dead , &c. eph. 5.13.14 . there is no other way of awaking out of sleep and arising from the the dead , but by the light which makes sin manifest . and , o how pretious is that light ! quest . 2. how may the principle of truth be discerned ? answ . by its piercing , quickning nature , which discovereth it self in its appearances and operations . for it appears and works , not like mans reason , or like motions of his mind which he takes into his understanding part : but it appears and works livingly , powerfully and effectually in the heart . mans reason is corrupt , dark , impure since the fall ; and in the hand and under the power of the wicked one . it s nature is to hide and cover sin , not to discover it . now the light of the law which discovers sin , ariseth not hence . who can bring the clean pure light of the law , out of the unclean , impure reason of man ? the light indeed may shine in the darkness ; but it is no part of it , but of another nature and descent . it is from gods spirit , and given to man in his love unto him , to lead him out of his dark wayes and spirit , into the pure spirit and way of holiness . for the light which discovers sin , is all holy and pure , like the fountain from whence it comes . now a man that is acquainted both with reason and with this light , he can distenguish the nature and operations of both . for there is a great difference between truth held in the reasoning part , and truth held in its own principle . it is very powerful in the one : it effecteth little in the other . in the pure quickenings of life this distinction is perceived and also held . therefore our advice is to all men , to retire from all mortality , that they may come to feel the spring of life in themselves ( and something springing therefrom into them to quicken them ) and to wait to have their understandings opened and kept open by that ; that so they may receive , retain , and not again lose the capacity of understanding the things of gods kingdom . quest . 3 how may this principle ( seed or pearl ) be purchased and possessed ? answ . by dying to a mans own wisdom and will. there is not another way . for the light is wholly contrary to man , as he stands , in the alienation from god. it crosseth his spirit , his thoughts , his desires , his knowledge , his reason , his understanding ; even all that is of himself . he must therefore con●ult with none of these , but prefer the little , pure demonstration of the light of christs spirit above all these , and stand in the parting with and loss of them all for ever . o this is an hard saying , who can bear it ? surely none but those that are taught and learn of the father , can thus come to give up to and follow the light of the son. the law of the lord is perfest , converting ( or restoring ) the soul ( psal . 19.7 . ) what law was this , or what law is this ? was it the law of workes in the hand of moses ? or is it the law of faith in the hand of christ ? doth not christ enlighten every man that cometh into the world ? would not god have all men to be saved ? and doth he not give to all , a proportion of the true light whereby they may be saved ? and it is not the property of this light to convert to god ? can any man receive this and be united to this , and it not change his nature : so that he must needs have a new nature , and from that new nature do that naturally , which the jews by all their endeavours with-out this , could never do ? can any thing convert fallen man to god , but christ ? hath any thing power to convert to god , but his pure law of life ? can christ and his light be seprated ? can any man receive his light and be united thereto , and not receive him ? o that mens hearts and understandings were opened by the spirit and power of the lord ! for this is a direct riddle to all men , who have not gods heifer to plow with , to understand it by . and so for want of a true understanding , it is despised and rejected among the builders : but with us it is elect and precious , chosen of god , and precious in the eye of our souls . now this doth not exclude or make void any thing , that christ did in his body of flesh here on earth , or that he doth in heaven for his : but this brings unto a right , and into a possession and enjoyment of his purchase . for all that are in the darkness , and walk in the darkness , have nothing to do with christ in truth and reallity , what ever they may profess , and what hopes soever they may feed themselves with : but all that are in any measure of his light , and walk therein , they are so far of him , and have a right to and share in all that he did in and from the same light and spirit . and this i dare positively hold forth as a standing truth , which hath been sealed unto me by constant experience : that no man can fall in with , and obey the light wherewith he is enlightened , but he must deny himself , and take up a cross to his own wisdom and will , which cross is the cross of christ , which is the power of god to the salvation of the soul. and he that takes it up daily and waits upon the lord therein , shall witness the power of the lord jesus christ to the redemption of his soul : ye then he shall be able in true understanding to say , this is light indeed , life indeed , power indeed . that powerfull arm which hath saved me from sin , and breaks the snares , devices and strength of the enemy before me ( delivering me daily when none else can , and when my own strength and wisdom is as nothing ) i cannot but call christ , the living power and wisdom of god revealed in me , who will not give his glory to another . for he is the lord god of pure power and life for evermore ; and beside him there is no such saviour . yea , blessed be the name of the lord for ever , the dayes of mourning after salvation are over with many , and the dayes of reaping and enjoying salvation are come , which shall endure with the israel of god for evermore , amen . isaac penington . an incitation to professors seriously to consider , whether they or we fail , in the true acknowledgment and owning of the christ which died at jerusalem . we , who are commonly called quakers , being a people whom the lord hath gathered ( out of the wandrings , out of the many professions , out of the several scattered estates and conditions , wherein his eye pittied us , and his love found us out ) into a measure of the eternal rest ; where we have found that life , that power , that manifestation of the eternal spirits and that redeeming virtue , which we never were before distinctly acquainted with ; i say , having tasted of this , haveing known this , having felt this , and come to a real enjoyment of it , in some degree , in our several measures ; we could not possibly conceal this treasure , but in bowels of love ( and in the movings of the life and power of the spirit ) have been drawn to testifie of it to them who were left behind , groveling under the burthen of corruption , and crying out because of the sin and bondage from the powers of darkness , who hath in a mist withheld their eyes from beholding that living virtue , which is able to save ( and doth save , blessed be his name ) therefrom . now this we have often found that this our testimony hath not been received in the same spirit and love , wherein it hath gone forth ; but the enemy ( by his subtilty ) hath raised up jealosies concerning us , and prejudices against us , as if we denyed the scriptures and ordinances of god , and that christ that died at jerusalem , professing him only in words ( to win upon others by ) but denying him in reallity and substance . to cleare this latter , ( for my heart is only at this present drawn out concerning that ) we have solemnly professed in the sight of the lord god ( who hath given us the knowledge of his ●on in life and power ) these two things . first , that we do really in our hearts own that christ , who came in the fulness of time , in that prepared body to do the fathers will ( his coming into the world , doctrine , miracles , sufferings , death , resurrection , &c. ) in plainness and simplicity of heart , according as it is expressed in the letter of the scriptures . secondly , that we own no other christ then that , nor hold forth no other-thing for christ , but him who then appeared and was made manifest in flesh . now it would be nakedly inquired into by professors , what is the reason that their jealousies still remain concerning us , and why they are still so ready to cast this upon us ? certainly if they did know and own the same thing with us , ( in the spirit , and in the power , in the life , and in the love which is of the truth ) this prejudice , and these hard thoughts could not remain . but if they themselves do not know christ in the spirit ( but only according to a relation of the letter ) no marvel though they miss both of the spirit , and of the true intent and meaning of the letter , and likewise be liable to clash against the truth , as it is made manifest in others . and indeed the lord hath shewen me in spirit several times , that they themselves are guilty of that very charge ( and that he will so implead them at his judgment seat ) which they cast upon us , even of denying that christ which died at jerusalem , to be the christ . for he that owneth the words of scripture , as he apprehends or conceives them in the reasonings of his mind , and doth not wait to have them revealed in the spirit , keeping out of his own reasonings and conceivings , and waiting patiently till the lord open the thing in the spirit ; he setteth up his own conceivings , or an image in his mind of the mind of the spirit , but misseth of the thing it self , which alone is known in the spirit , by them who wait upon the spirit there to receive it , and are not hasty to set up their own reasonings and imaginations concerning the thing in the mean time . no man can in truth call jesus the lord , but by the spirit . but any man , that is any thing serious , and weighs the scriptures in the natural part , may so learn to acknowledge his coming into the world , and that he is lord and king , &c. and may thus call him lord , yea , and kindle a great heat in his affections towards him ; but all this ( out of the life , out of the spirit ) is but mans image , which he forms in his mind , in his reading the scriptures , and observing things therefrom . but the true calling jesus lord , is from the feeling of his eternal virtue in the spirit , and finding the scriptures opened to him by the spirit , in a principle which is above the reason , comprehends the reason , and confounds and brings it to nothing . again , there is no true knowledge of christ , no living knowledge , no saving knowledge which hath the eternal virtue in it ; but that which is received and retained in a measure of light given by god to the creature , in the faith which is the gift , in the grace which is supernatural and spiritual , whereas the resoning part is but natural . and such as have received the spiritual understanding , know it to be distinct from the natural ; and we experimentally find a very clear distincttion , between scriptures searched out by the reasonings of the mind , ( and so practises drawn therefrom ) and scriptures opened by the spirit , and felt in the life . now that professors generally have not received their knowledge of christ from the spirit , or from scriptures opened it the spirit ( and so know not the thing , but only such a relation of the thing , as mans reasoning part may drink in from the letter of the scriptures ) is manifest by this , in that they are not able in spirit and understandind to distinguish the thing it self , from the garment wherewith it was cloathed , though the scriptures be very express therein . speak of christ according to a relation of the letter , there they can say somewhat : but come to the substance , come to the spirit of the thing , come to the thing it self ; there they stutter and stammer , and shew plainly that they know not what it is . now the scriptures do expresly distinguish between christ and the garment which he wore ; between him that came , and the body in which he came ; between the substance which was vailed , and the vail which vailed it . lo i come ; a body hast thou prepared me . there is plainly he , and the body in which he came . there was the outward vessel , and the inward life . this we certainly know , and can never call the bodily garment christ , but that which appeared and dwelt in the body . now if ye indeed know the christ of god , tell us plainly what that is which appeared in the body ? whether that was not the christ before it took up the body , after it took up the body , and for ever ? and then their confining of christ to that body , plainly manifesteth that they want the knowledge of him in spirit . for christ is the son of the father , he is the infinite eternal being , one with the father , and with the spirit , and cannot be divided from either ; cannot be any where , where they are not ; nor can be excluded from any place where they are . he may take up a body and appear in it , but cannot be confined to be no where else but there , no not at the very time while he is there . christ , while he was here on earth , yet was not excluded from being in heaven with the father at the very same time , as he himself said concerning himself , the son of man which is in heaven , john 3.13 . nor was the father excluded from being with him in the body , but the father was in him , and he in the father , whereupon he said to philip , he that hath seen me , hath seen the father . what , did every one that saw that body , see the father also ? nay not so , but he that saw christ the son of the living god , whom flesh and blood revealed not , but the father only ( mat , 16.16 , 17. ) he saw the father also . o frinds , look to your knowledge of christ , and to your faith and knowledge of the scriptures , and to your prayers also ; for it is easie missing of the living substance in all these , and meeting with a shaddow , which may please and make a great shew in the earthly part , in the natural understanding and affections , but satisfieth not the soul , or that which is born after the spirit , but still the cry there goes out ( where the soul is awakned ) after truth , substance , life , virtue , from gods spirit in the spirit , which it alone can feed upon . these four things following , i am certain of , which he that cometh into the true light , shall infallibly experience them there . first . that nothing can save but the knowledge of christ , even of that very christ and no other , who took upon him the prepared body , and offered it up at jerusalem . secondly , that no knowledge of christ can save , but the living knowledge , not a knowledge of him after , the letter , ( which the carnal part may get much of , and value it self much by ) but a knowledge of him in the spirit ; which is only given to that which is begotten and born of the spirit , and only retained by that which abides and remains in the spirit , and runs not out into the fleshly reasonings , imaginings and concevings , about the things mentioned in the scriptures . thirdly , that that man who knoweth not christ in spirit , nor keepeth close to him in spirit ; but ( through darkness and misguidance of the spirit of deceit ) called the shinings of his light ( his reproofs , his checks for that which is evil , and his secret motions to that which is good ) natural ; this man , though he seem to own christ never so much according to the letter , yet in truth denies him . fourthly , he that denies christ , ( in his knocking 's and visitations of him in his own heart , and before men in the truths which he holds forth by his servants and ministers of his spirit him will he deny before his father in heaven . o , i beseech you , do not trifle about these things ( for they are exceeding weighty ) lest ye perish from the way ; for missing of the saviour , ye must needs also miss of the salvation . o that ye knew your state , as god knows it to be , and as it is certainly known and felt in the measure of his life and holy spirit , by those whom god hath gathered together , and whose eyes he hath opened , and preserveth open there , glory be to his name therefore : yea , glory , glory , glory , and everlasting praises be sung to him throughout all the holy land , ye in the very heights of sion , by the souls of the redeemed , from henceforth , and for evermore , amen : whose mercy , love , grace , wisdom , power and rich goodness remaineth and endureth for ever ; by and in which the redeemed live to his praise , who have overcome by the blood of the lamb , whose blood they know what it is ; and none else knoweth it , but they who feel the sprinkling and virtue of it . lo this is our god , we have waited for him ; and how can we but be glad , and rejoyce in his salvation ! o let all that live by the breath of thy power , and drink of thy streams , sing praise unto thee , and exalt thy great and wonderful name for ever and ever . a brief testimony for truth , by tho. tayler . i shall add somewhat of the testimony which is written in my heart , by the finger of gods spirit , concerning the people called quakers . indeed they have met with many reproaches , and sore oppositions many wayes , since they were a people : but notwithstanding all , their bow abides in strength , and the hands of their arms have been made strong against the wicked one , with all his devices in his several kinds of instruments : and their light is still the same and their god the same , who blesseth them from day to day , even in the midst of all the revilings , slanders , persecutions and curses , which they have met with from men without , and in the midst of all the temptations , inward trials and afflictions also , which are often met with inwardly . yea we know him to be our god and cannot but trust him , having found him to be faithfull to us hitherto , and knowing his nature to be such , that he cannot but continue his loving-kindness and faithfulness , to all who are gathered by him in to his holy , inward , spiritual covenant of life and peace , and who dwells with him therein . and truly we are fully satisfied and at rest in him , and cannot desire another , then he who hath redeemed our souls from death , given us life , brought us out of the pit wherein was no water , into a large place , set our feet upon a rock ( a rock indeed ) and establisheth our goings in the path of holyness , working all our works in us and for us , by his spirit and power . yea , we have the witness in our hearts , even the witness which never erred nor can deceive , which testifieth to and with our spirits , our sonship : so that we do not imagine our selves sons from apprehensions upon scriptures , but we feel our selves sons in the true sensibleness , and know who david is , and reap and inherit the sure mercies of david daily , o blessed be our father , o blessed for ever be the father of life , who feeds , who nourishes , who waters , who refreshes ( with the bread of life and with the pure living water ) his lambs , his babes , his plants , his tender ones , of whom he is daily tender , and who are daily tender of his name and honour . and if any man preach another god , then he who creates anew in the true light , and therein puts forth his arm of salvation ; death , and destruction and the curse , are his portion from the hand of the lord. the conclusion . glorious was the estate of the church , before the apostacy , for purity of doctrine , for holy order and discipline , for love to god , one to another , and to all men ( even of enemies ) for faith in god , for the presence and power of his spirit among them ( insomuch as the unbeliever coming among them , might find his heart and state reached to , and be forced to confess and report that god was in them of a truth ) for singleness and uprightnesse of heart , meekness and innocency of spirit and conversation , for zeal for god and his truth , suffering the spoiling of their goods , imprisonments , stripes , and many other wayes , both from the heathen , and also from the professing jews , who had been the church once . o what shall i say concerning the beauty and loveliness of that state ! ye that would know it , o wait to feel it in that , which giveth the true sence of it . but over this glorious state , came a dark , thick , corrupt night , wherein the kernel was lost , and the shell defaced ; wherein the house , which had been swept and garnished , became again recovered and possessed by the wicked spirit . and how great hath this darkness been ! o what a kind of church hath appeared in the world , wherein the spirit of enmity hath dwelt and acted in men , under the name of christianity ! so that instead of loving and seeking the good of enemies , they are ready to rend and tear one another for every little difference , and will be lords over mens faith , requiring men to practice things in religeon , before the spirit of the lord teacheth them so to do , which the apostles did not . for though they had from god the express knowledge of what was truth , and could certainly instruct and build men up therein ; yet they were not lords over mens faith ; but if men were otherwise minded then according to what they knew and taught , they could wait and bear with them , bidding them walk so far as they had attained , and god in his due time would reveal the rest also . o that men were come to this spirit again ! then they would be christians indeed , and then they might be known to be christs disciples , by their loving the brethren and fellow-disciples . but without this love , mens religion is but as a tinkling cimbal , making a noise and sound of somewhat , but not having the true nature or virtue of religion in it . now will it not be a glorious day , when the spirit of the lord cleanseth away this thick darkness , and causeth the light of his pure truth to arise and appear again ? why there is such a day to be , wherein the true church ( which was reproached and driven into the wilderness ) is to come out of the wilderness again , and her witnesses stand on their feet again , and her seed to spring up in the power of life , following the lamb , who marcheth on fighting with the sword of the spirit ( the words of his mouth ) conquering and to conqeur thereby the corrupted antichristian world , even as he did at first the corrupt heathenish world. the lord will purifie his temple , and cleanse the world , by the plagues of his angels which he hath prepared , making way for the beauty of his truth , and the church of his gathering ; wherein he will bring forth his righteousness , wherein his power shall appear , wherein his presence shall be made manifest , wherein that which shined before in the primitive church , shall shine again in this new-reared building of his , insomuch as men shall be forced to say , this is the church of christ indeed , god is here of a truth ; this is the gosple-jerusalem indeed , which is built upon the holy hill of sion , in which innocency , righteousnesse , truth , love , sweetnesse , peaceablenesse , and the gentle nature and spirit of the lamb lives and reigns ; and the lord bless thee , o habitation of justice , and mountain of holiness . now of a truth this work is begun . the times of refreshment are come from the presence of the lord. the lord hath heard from heaven , pitiying the cries of his seed , and hath visited their souls , causing the light of life ( even the pure light of the everlasting covenant ) to shine upon their tabernacles . but whoever would know these things , and partake of them , must come in at the door , by the guidance of the spirit , through the light which is with him . and he that would enjoy the full light ( even the shinings forth of the sun at noon day ) must begin with its glimmerings , even that in the heart , which discovereth and draweth out of the corrupt state of the world , towards the father . o hear and live . do not dispute about it , but wait to feel it ; upon the feeling of it , despising the shame , and taking up , and enduring the cross , and so bearing the reproach and sufferings of christ in thy age and generation . and as thou obeyest , thou shalt know of its doctrine ; but out of the pure faith and obedience , there is no true , sound , deep-rooted knowledge ; but all of that kind must be parted with , for the knowledge which is of the faith , and which is made manifest and increased in the obedience ; which knowledge is of a far more excellent kind and nature . then that which thou art to part with for it . the lord guide thy mind , and stretch forth his hand to help thee , who from the least touch of a true nature and spirit , desirest after the pure truth and way of eternal life . amen . this testimony ( here held forth ) is faithful and true , and ( i know ) the witness of god in many hearts will answer to it ; and happy is he that maketh a right use of it . for , so doing , his soul will not fall short of the pure living truth , nor set up any thing else for truth which is not . isaack penington . the end . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a54059-e20310 john 10.1 . 2 pet. 1.20 , 21. jer. 23.28 . john 1.1 . jer. 2.4 , 8. ezek. 1.3 . john 1.14 . rev. 19.13 . heb. 4.12 , 13 luke 1.73 , & 19.15 . john 16.13 . rom. 18.14 . mat. 11.15 . mat. 13.11 . mat. 3.11 . ephes . 4.5 , 6. rom. 6.3 . 1 cor. 12.13 . 2 cor. 5 , 17. john 6.54 , 55 , 56 , 57. acts 4.32 . 1 cor. 10.16 . 1 cor. 10 21. 1 cor. 11.29 . 1 cor. 2.14 . 1 john 3.17 . rom. 8.6 . 2 tim. 3.5 . 1 pet. 3.12 . jam. 5.5 , 6. pro. 15.8 , 29. ex. 40.12 , 13. luke 1.3 . hab. 1.13 . mat. 12.34 job 14.4 . gen. 3.15 . 2 sam. 2.22 . 1 sam. 5.22 . isa . 1.13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17. mark 16.25 . amos 3 7 , 8. am 7.14 , 15. gal. 1.11 , 12. 1 cor. 1.17 , 18 , 19 , &c. chap. 2. 2 pet. 1.21 . act. 2.4 . &c. acts 20.33 . 1 thes . 9.6 . as in act. act. 24 5.6 . act. 22.22 . witness the town of cambridge , the wel-head . rom. 7.14 . rom. 4.15 . rom. 8.1 . gal. 5.23 . rom. 8.8 . 2 sam. 23.3 . pro. 28.15 , 16. pro. 25.28 . pro. 29.10 . isa . 14.15 . james 2.9 . hos . 4.18 . hester 3. dan. 1.3 . isa . 23. isa . 5.27 , 28. psal . 82.1 , 3. zeph. 3.3 . hos . 4.18 . mar. 6.17 , &c hest . 3.8 . rom. 13.3 , 4. exod. 4.10 , 11 , 12 , 13. acts 9.5 , 6. 2 thes . 2.4 . jam. 4.1 , 2 , 3. 2 cor. 5.16 , 17. gal. 6.14 . col. 1.18 . mat. 20.25 , 26 , 27. 1 cor. 12.12 , 13. acts 4.32 . rom. 6.4 , 5. rev. 19 rom. 13.7 . 1 kings 19.9 . am. 7.24 , 25 deut. 32.3 . deut. 37.5 . mat. 13.55 , 56 , 57. rom. 8.5 . phil. 2.9 , 10 , 11. psal . 149.8 . rev. 13. rev. 14 , 5. rev. 18.6 . mat. 20.25 . prov. 22.7 . 1 cor. 9.19 . prov. 1.23 . prov. 16.4 . luke . 16 10 20. acts. 17.25 . james . 2.6 . esth . 3. 2 pet. 2.12 . jude . 10. gen. 1.27 . gen. 5.24 . lvke . 4.18 . mat. 10.11 . rev. 21.27 . 1 cor. 15.5 . john. 8.13 . truth's defence against the refined subtilty of the serpent held forth in divers answers to severall queries made by men (called ministers) in the north. given forth by the light and power of god appearing in george fox and richard hubberthorn fox, george, 1624-1691. 1653 approx. 294 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 56 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a84830) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 118603) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 111:e724[12]) truth's defence against the refined subtilty of the serpent held forth in divers answers to severall queries made by men (called ministers) in the north. given forth by the light and power of god appearing in george fox and richard hubberthorn fox, george, 1624-1691. hubberthorn, richard, 1628-1662. [4], 107, [1] p. printed for tho: wayt at his house in the pavement in york., [s.l.] : 1653. annotation on thomason copy: "decemb: th. 19:". reproduction of the original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng hubberthorn, richard, 1628-1662 -early works to 1800. quakers -early works to 1800. 2007-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2009-01 emma (leeson) huber sampled and proofread 2009-01 emma (leeson) huber text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion truth 's defence against the refined subtilty of the serpent held forth in divers answers to severall queries made by men ( called ministers ) in the north. given forth by the light and power of god appearing in george fox and richard hubberthorn and they watched him , and sent forth spies , which should feign themselves just men , that they might take hold of his words , that so they might deliver him into the power and authority of the governours . luke 20. 20. printed for tho : wayt at his house in the pavement in york . 1653. to all general professors of christ in the vvorld . what think ●e ! is it not yet time to cease from strife , but ye must be still beating your fellow servants , even when your master is at the door ! have ye not yet understood the parable of the tares and wheat , that they should grow together till the harvest , and now is not the harvest almost ripe ! hath not the wisdom of man had a long day of judging the righteous seed , but now that seed i● rising up to judg it : be silent then , and ceas● from man ● while , and thou shalt see his highest wisdom declared to be his greatest folly : what will it profit thee to resist the breathings forth of the spirit of righteousness in any ? will it not add fuel to that unquenchable fier , which already burns as an oven , tho it may be thou see it not yet . but as it was of old sayd , in the last days shall come scoffers , men which onely have a form of godliness , but deny and oppose the power where ever it appears ; 't is well if it happen not to this generation as it did in the days of noah , the preacher of righteousness , the world then being drowned in the sensual life , they could not hear nor understand , therefore the flood came and swept them away . he not high-minded but fear , for though ye have heaped to your selves many teachers , and clothed your selves with many forms of worship , yet these will not abide the ●ier , nor defend you from the iudgment that is coming upon you ; consider what a night of confusion is already upon you how are ye shattered and rent asunder , that you cannot give a tru account what ye are , or where you are ; this is the lords doing , that will spoil you of all your idols , and make you ashamed of your hard speeches against the innocent . cannot you be content to suck what sweet you can as long as you can out of the pride and vanityes of this world , but you must push with you horns the low and contemptibl● servants of christ , who through his mighty power is now raising up those valleys whereon himself will sit , in them , & with them , to judg that spirit in you , both quick and dead . divers queries of great importance , propounded by thomas atkinson of cartmall in lancashire , to gabriel camelford parson of stafley-chappel : with his answers to them . also , replies to the ansvvers , wherein is layd open the subtilty and deceit of the priest , and his invencions , snares , and baits , and false imaginations : discovered by the pure light of god , which hath shined in our hearts , and hath given us to see the darkness which he and the world live in , hating this light which hath appeared and enlightned every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. and all who are guided by this light , and have a pure eye opened in them , which is the light of the body , may see and discern the darkness , blindness , and ignorance of the priest . i have received many confused queries , which came from a dark minde , which would know the condicions of the apostles , or have another meaning to the scriptures , and that minde i do deny , for if thou have the spirit , that gave them forth , then thou wouldst witness us ; but as a serpént full of venom , hast thou shewed forth thy self , spuing forth thy venom , which must be turned into hell , who errest not knowing the scriptures , and the power of god. friend , in thy queries , thou askest thou dost not know what ; for some queries were sent to thee , and thou lookedst upon them to be frivelous and absurd things , so thou mayst look upon that which christ spoke , and the apostles , and the prophets , and say that is frivolous and absurd ; for they were given forth all by one spirit according to measure , as they ever did in that generation , they are so with thy frivolous and absurd minde , though thy frivolous and absurd minde ●●serve such things for thy ends . thou sayst they were condemned to the fier to be burned , which if they had , it would have been a figure to thy self , which nature could do no other , for they came to torment him and thee , who are for the fier , as it is written , the beast and the false prophet shall be turned into the fier : you might as well have condemned the scriptures to the fier . and i have received certain papers , in which there is confusion , which thou callest thy answers , and many confused queries , which hath come from a babylonian merchant , which hath sent some of his stuff to me , who art the scarlet-coloured beast , and the well-favoured harlot , proceeding from a confused minde , which art confused and come out of egypt , from a dark understanding in whom the prince of the ayer lodgeth , who maintainst the devils kingdom with all thy force and might , and power , as it doth appear , which would be satisfied , who art in the unreasonable nature , thy satisfaction must be death ; therefore for the simple ones sake have i freely let forth my self in a few answers and replies to thy unlearned and confused queries , questions and answers , that thy deceit might be discovered , and the power of truth known , and the simple ones directed , and god alone glorified . to all professed ministers , who have taken the title of ministers of the gospel of christ , who is the end of the law and the prophets , and shadows , which shadow him forth , a few questions to you who have taken this office upon you . querie 1. whether thou hast that light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world ( which light is christ ) yea or no. pr. answ . through grace and love displayed and shed abroad in my soul , i am able to say , that my beloved is mine , and i am his ; and therefore all he has is mine , at least for my advantage , his light as a prophet , and his love as a saviour is mine , and all to teach me and lead me to my fathers house , but thy inference thereon is absurd and foolish : thine do i say ? i mistook , the inference of thy master or scribe , for it is not thy hand-writing ; and in that i wonder , but that it is usual with you , how you can be so contradictory to your own principles ; for you generally charge others with speaking that which is not their own , and yet thou comest in the face of the congregation and givest that which is not thy own , thy self : for shame either deny your principles , or act and speak according to them . but to let that pass , thou proceedest with this inference ; if so , why dost thou deny and say that every one hath not that light to teach them and guide them to god ; is this a sufficient inference , that bececause i have it , therefore it must not be denied but that all have it ? let any , that god hath given an understanding to , judg ; surely god hath left you , you have even lost your common reason among you . a reply to the pr : an. thou sayst thou art able to say through grace , that thy beloved is thine , and thou art his ; so do the false prophets say , he saith it , jer. 23. 31. but thou knowest nothing of the beloved nor of jesus christ which is the beloved , nor through grace . thou sayst all that christ hath is thine , his light for thy prophet , his love as a saviour to guide thee to thy fathers house ; as a thief thou hast gotten the letter , jer. 23. 30. and a form which christ spoke , and that thou callest thine ; but ( thou enemy of christ ) thou neither knowest the light which is christ , that enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , john 1. 9. that thou canst not witness according as the query was put to thee , nor the prophet , nor the fathers house , nor the saviour which the scripture speaks of ; but thy fathers house thou knowest , and thy beloved which is the god of the world , and thy imagined light which leads thee to thy fathers house , which we utterly deny , thee and thy fathers house , and thy beloved thou hast shewed , thy beloved is thine , which is thy lust for thy gift . qu. 2. whether your gospel be the same that the apostles preached ? and if it be , why go you to oxford and cambridg , when the apostle said the gospel he preached was not after man ▪ neither was he taught it by man , neither received he it from man , but by the revelation of jesus christ . priests answer . i shall speak as to my own particular , and this through grace i have to say , god hath carryed forth my spirit to preach and to declare christ , and him crucified , as the apostles preached , 1 c●r . 22. and to declare the manner of gods giving this gift to sinners , as the apostles did , and that freely through grace rom. 3. 24. the doctrine of grace appears to be the doctrine of the gospel , gal. 1. 5 , 6. compared with the 9. & 10. verses . and he that preacheth another gospel than this , is a perverter of the gospel of christ , and under the curse , though he seem to an angel from heaven , 7 , 8. v. thy inference is , if it be so , why do you not live on the gospel ? i do live on the gospel , and that is thy trouble and grief it seems : but thou addest , when as it is said , freely ye have received , freely give , matth. 10. 8. if thou examinest well what is cited by thee , thou wouldst finde that this is principally spoken of healing the sick , cleansing the lepers , raising the dead , and casting out devils , which were things at that time more likely to get them money than preaching the gospel : but again , if thou wilt take no notice of that , but apply it wholly to the gift of preaching , this i say , that christ did even there approve that the labourer was worthy of his hire , luke ●● . 7 , 8. a reply to the priests answer . thou sayst , that god hath carryed forth thy spirit to preach and declare christ , and him crucified , as the apostles preached ; i utterly deny thee to be any preacher of christ , or to know god or christ , or the word of god : and the apostles condicion thou knowest not , and the grace of god thou art an enemy to , and thou art one of them that crucisies christ ; matth. ●7 . ●● . wheresoever he is rising thou wouldst know him and crucifie him , who art giving thy exposicions upon the doctrine of christ , and wresting the scriptures to thy own destruction , gal. 1. 8. being unlearned ; and thou art he that preaches another gospel , which art a perverter of the gospel , which art cursed , as thou hast made it openly appear in thy queries : and thou speakest of angels from heaven , them thou knowest not . friend , thou sayst thou livest upon the gospel , but it is upon that which the apostles spoke ( the letter ) a declaracion , that is thy gospel , which was made manifest to the apostles , which is not to thee , and that thou livest on and tradest withall , as a thief and a robber , ier. 32. 30. and so deceivest poor people , who art a minister of the letter and not of the gospel : and thou sayst , that the labourer is worthy of his hier , but what pay did christ give to his labourers that he sent into his vineyard ? did not he say , they might have but a penny ? wilt thou be content with his wages ? o thou enemy to him , who art without god in the world , and thou h●st shewed that christ never sent thee to preach , therefore tho● knowest not his wages that he gives , but the devil he leads thee , and thou takest his hier , and he is thy master , for thou receivest the wages of unrighteousness , shewing thy self worse than balaam , who loves the wages of unrighteousness , iude 11. which wo was upon , who art without , perverting christs words , and wresting the scriptures , and like a thief wouldst be like one of them in thy words , but like the devil in thy practice ; and thou sayst , the doing of miracles , and the casting out devils , and raising the dead , were things at that time more like to get money than preaching the gospel ; o thou enemy of god! where dost thou finde any of the ministers of god that took money for working miracles ? simon magus would have bought the spirit to have wrought miracles withall ▪ but the gifts of god is not to be bought and sold for money , thou sellest thy carnal gifts , but thou & they must perish that do so , for it is your perishing minde , for thou canst not witness one of the gifts of god , nor of the miracles of christ , neither the dumb to speak nor the blinde to see , nor the deaf to hear , but art a silthy beast , wich art spued out from god , dead in thy sins and trespasses , ephes . ● . 1. and whereof thou wouldst have the scripture answer thee , thou art dead from hearing of them . query 3. whether you can give another meaning to the scriptures than they are , and whether the apostles did not give the right meaning to them , when they spoke them forth , or no , and if they did , what need learned men to give another meaning to them . priests answer . what a man can do is one thing , and what he doth or desires to do is another , if no man can give an exposition , besides the meaning of the scriptures , me thinks you should be quiet in that particular , and not spend your breath so vainly ; the same spirit of god that gave out the scriptures , being in the hearts of his chosen ones , doth instruct them to compare one scripture with another , and to give out the meaning of one scripture by another , and so it is not another meaning to the scripture , but their own meaning though covered and veyled , till cleared and opened : and yet thou goest on , and sayst , we give another meaning to them , which if thou canst charge me with , and make it good , spare me not , if not , this in the paper is of no validity , for it was given to me , but that the apostle's meaning was often dark to a weak eye , before expounded , thou must needs confess , if thou shalt but view two or three for a trial , and clear up the meaning of the apostle in rom. 5. 14. a reply to the priests answer . thou sayest , what a man can doe is one thing , and what hee doth or desires to doe , is another thing : here thou shewest thy selfe to bee compleat in thy selfe . and thou sayest , that no man can give an exposicion besides the meaning of the scriptures ; and thou thinkest we should be quiet : we cannot let thee be quiet , who livest in thy thinkings , and deceivest peeple with thy imaginacions , whom god is come to scatter , and god is against thee , who art giving exposicions upon the scriptures , and wouldst have them who live in the power of the scriptures , to let thee alone ; but thou art hee who wrests the scriptures , 2 pet. 3. 16. who ever was denyed ; therefore thou art discovered to them who live in the power of them ; all scripture is vayled and covered from thee , and so thou wouldst give a meaning to them , and so under a colour make peeple beleeve it is the same meaning ; but thou art discovered , who sayst i charge thee , i can ; dost thou not say , the scriptures are dark , i charge thee to have spoken a ly , and art a lyar , and dost not see the scriptures at all , and all thy imaginacions of them are lies : thou sayst the scriptures are dark to a weak ey , here i charge thee to be a lyar before the living god ; the darknesse is in thy selfe , and not in the scriptures , luke 11. 33. 34. therefore thou dost wrest the scriptures , and dost make a ly upon them , and turnest them into a ly , ier. 5. 22. o thou enemy of god , tremble before him , thou hast nothing to doe with the scriptures . friend , thou wouldst have mee to vieu one scripture or two for a tryall ; the scriptures we know , but thou sayst they are dark , thou art full of darknesse , and they are as they speak ; he that can receive it , let him , he that hath an ear may heare what the spirit sayth : thou wouldest have me to give exposicions upon the scriptures as thou dost , whom the plagues are aded to , for as it is written , the plagues are added to ●h●m that addeth to the prophecy of this book , rev. 22. 18. and there is thy porcion ; but wee know the scriptures , and own them as they speak , but all thy expositions of them wee do deny , for with them thou dost bewitch the peeple , but the plagues of god will be poured upon thee , for thou dost neither know the scripture nor god , but art a lyar and of thy father the devil , iohn 8. 44. thou dost also bid me clear up the meaning of the apostle in the fift chapter to the romans , verse 14. so heer i charge thee again that thou dost wrest this scripture , for men of corrupt mindes do wrest them , and so thou art , but the scriptures are clear ; it is thy corrupt mind and heart that must be cleared : let the scriptures alone , thou hast nothing to do with them ; thou vayn man , dost thou talk of clearing up the scriptures who art full of filth and corrupcion ! woulst thou have that cleared which was spoken from the spirit of the lord ! thou blind hypocrit and pharisy , all peeple who walk in the light , may see how thou hast uttered forth thy folly , and record against thee . 4 query . shew me by the scriptures where the ministers of christ ever took tythes , or augmentacions of the world . pr. answer . i shall answer but for my selfe , seeing the paper was sent to mee in particular : and my answer is , that i take no tythes , no nor augmentacions , from the world ; and that thou knowest well enough , but that thy kainish nature in thee , to use thy own expressions , hath made thee blind : it is not any augmentacion unlesse it have somthing added to what i had before : now thou knowst i have nothing besides it , nor before it , from any of you all : all i have is a gift from the state , and why may not i take a gift from the state ( call them the world or what thou wilt ) as well as george fox and james nayler take a gift from the world among you , i know not , but i would willingly be resolved in this . a reply to the priests answer , thou sayst , thou takest no tythes nor augmentations of the world , but thou confessest thou takest a gift , who goest in the way or balaam , for gifts and rewards , iude 11. and art in his generation , so art one of these filthy dreamers , which iude speaks of , therefore wo unto thee who shall perish in the gaynsaying of core. 1 pet. 3. 16. o thou false accuser , where canst accuse either george fox or iames nailer of taking gifts of the world , as thou dost here , thou wouldst make them like thy self , and a colour for thy own filthiness , by accusing george fox and iames nailer , because they bear testimony unto the truth , and testifie against thee , and thy gift , that thy deeds are evil , and wouldst fetch up the apostles to maintain thee in thy filthiness , acts 20. 33. he did eat no mans bread for nought , and so coloured beast wouldst colour thy self with the apostles words , to maintain thy self in the generation of balaam , which the apostle cried wo against , and wo is thy portion , therefore own it , and there is thy resolve . priests second answer to the fourth query . besides , god hath said , the earth shall help the woman , and did the woman reject that help , because t is from the earth ? answer me . he hath said , kings shall be nursing fathers , and queens nursing mothers to his people , shall gods people then refuse to take their fatherly and motherly kindness ? answer me , are we not to be thankfull , and take their refreshing as from gods hands , for , he stirs up their hearts to it , whosoever they be that do it ; paul did not run away and refuse kindness when it was offered him by the barbarians , acts 28. 7 , 10. neither did he refuse a lodging from them , which no question was of some value . a reply to the priests answ . thou wouldst be answered whether the earth helpeth the woman yea or no. answ . yea , the earth doth help the woman against all such dragons as thou art ; the scripture we do witness is fulfilled , and kings and queens which are nursing fathers and mothers , thou art an enemy to , isai 49. 23. and knowest not , but as a thief hast gotten the words of the apostles , and so with them wouldst maintain thy gift : o thou blinde pharisee ! are these thy meanings that thou wilt give to the scripture with thy carnal minde to maintain thee , and to hold up thy carnal gift , and these things which christ forbids his to do so , who said , freely you have received , freely give , but here thou art not , and it shews that thou hast not received it freely , therefore thou sellest that which thou callest thy gift , which the apostles never did , 1 cor. 9. 18. paul was not hired , when he was refreshed with the necessaries of the barbarians ; o thou enemy ! why dost thou accuse paul , and would make him like thy self ? let him alone , for thou knowest him not , nor his ministery , for he was a prisoner of the lord , a traveller of the sea , when the barbarians lodged him ; what is that to thee , to maintain thee to bear rule by thy means , which ieremy cryed against , ier. 23. 14. & holdest up the horrible filthy thing that is committed in the land , to justifie thee , to be a hierling , and to receive thy gift , and here thou hast openly shewed thy self to be an accuser of the apostle , and wouldst make him like balaam , like thy self : and would have the woman to help thee , and those are thy nursing fathers , kings and queens which hold up thy gift , which the prophet cryed wo against , but it is that fools may utter forth their folly , and be taken in their own snare , prov. 13. 16. here thou art answered , the beast that hath held up the false prophet , and the false prophet shall both into the fier : and thou sayst , thou dost not take gifts of the world , but if any prophet of the lord come among you , son or daughter , you shew your selves to be of the world , you shew your selves to be strikers , and of the devil , halling them out of the synagogues , matth. 10. 17. and to be no saints ▪ nor no church of god , nor no ministers of christ ; and here thou shewest thou takest of the world , and thy self to be a lyar , for thou never readest of any of the churches of god , if any of the world came in among them , that they halled them out and beat them , but it shews the effect of thy ministery and blasphemy , which sayth , ye are iews , and are not , but are synagogues of satan , rev. 2. 9. & 3. 9. we have found thee out and tryed thee . query 5. whether the plagues be not added to him , that adds to the prophecy of the things written in this book . priests answer . 't is tru , the spirit of god sayth so , rev. 22. 18 , 19. i do believe it , yet again , the expounding and opening of it , by the light of the spirit of god given in , comparing it with other scriptures , is not that which brings the curse , for then the apostle himself would have been under it ▪ 1 cor. 9. 9 , 10. rom. 4. 3 , 6. rom. 11. 3 , 4 , 5. for expounding it , wherein i have added or taken away is not yet discovered by any of you , and that is the waight of the business when thou didst write to me or any other ; the lord judg , and let all the lords people judg , whether he be not more apt by far to add to the prophecy of this book , who by his doctrine begetsi● slight esteem of the prophecy of this book , and perswades his hearers , that his words are as true as any scripture , and he cannot err , and therefore all is to be believed that he speaks , and not to be questioned , though many things are contrary to this prophecy ; than they that are so much blamed by them , and reproached dayly . a reply to the priests answer . thou sayst it is tru , that the spirit of god sayth , that the plagues are added to him that adds to the prophece of this book ; here thou speakest a lye ; thou sayst it is tru , the spirit of god sayth , he that adds or diminishes to the prophecy of the book , which hadst thou not seen the letter , then hadst known no spirit ; and because the letter sayth so , that is thy spirit , but as i finde thee adding , wresting and lying , i do see that the plagues are added to thee , by the same spirit that gave forth the scriptures , and of them thou knowest nothing , in that thou speakest a lye , in that thou sayst thou dost know it , for thou knowest it not to be a truth , though the letter speak it , as they swore the lord lived ▪ and swore falsly , jer. 3. ● . if thou didst , thou durst not add nor diminish : thou sayst comparing one scripture with another is not that which brings the curse , for then the apostle would have been under it , and so with thy corrupt minde dost accuse the apostle falsly , and wouldst make him like thy self : and who speaks of the scriptures fulfilling , which thou canst not witness , but makest a trade of them without thee , and wouldst have points and reasons of them , as thou wouldst have made a poynt of the resurrection in thy former writing , and here the plague of god is due to thee , and here i charge thee again , and here the fool is out of the truth , and the rod is for the back of the fool , prov. 10. 13. prov. 18. 28. and here is the scripture fulfilled upon thee , and thou sayst it is not discovered by any of us , whether thou addest or diminishest , here thou hast shewed thy self to be a lyar , thou hast been told both publickly and privately of it , and of thy deceit : and now seeing thou hast openly shewed thy self to be a lyar , here openly do i make thee manifest as a lyar , who wouldst justifie thy self in thy deceit , but thou harlot art made bare and discovered , nah. 3. 4 , 5 , 6. who hast sitten long under a colour , and here is the scripture is fulfilled upon thee , and the prophets words tru , we finde them fulfilled , prayses , prayses , be to the lord god of heaven and earth for ever , who gives his servants victory over the beast , and the false prophet , rev. 15. 2 , 3 , 4. such as thou art , who have been ensnared by thee , therefore we see that plagues are thy porcion ; thou sayst that plagues are the waight that we give thee , it is so , 't is thy due and porcion : thou sayst , the lord judg , and let all the lords people judg , 1 cor. 6. 2. the lord doth judg , and the lord hath judged , and the lords people doth judg all such as thou art ; him that thou dost accuse , as to add to the prophecy in the book , he doth not , but witnesses it , thou having not the same witness canst not believe , and neither sees him nor the prophecy of the book , thou seest the outside of the letter with thy visible eye , as they did which saw the outside of the vision of daniel , dan. 10. 7. but we that do believe him , do believe his doctrine , not an outward testimony , but we have the witness in our selves which are one with him , and it doth witness that he hath the spirit of truth , which cannot err , but we do know thy spirit by the same spirit to be the spirit of error , and here thou wouldst not have the spirit of god to be believed on ; but here thou shewest thy self , that would question truth , for there is nothing in thee born up in thy understanding to receive truth withall ; here thou shewest thy self to be an open lyar , to say he acts contrary to the prophecy who is one with it , and bears testimony to it , and the truth of it , against all such false accusers , 2 tim. 3. 3. as thou art , for false accusers should arise , tit. 2. 3. and here thou shewest thy self to be one , who accusest the spirit of the living god , to be more false than those that have the spirit of antichrist , who shall be consumed , and turned into the lake , by the brightness of his coming , 2 thess . 2. 8. the mouth of the lord of hosts hath spoken it . query 6. what scripture have you that speaks of the word two sacraments , which you tell the people of , and what scripture have you to act such things . priests answer . certainly satan hath blinded your mindes , you would never have put forth such a question else , for the substancial word the lord iesus , that we preach , of him the scripture speaks every where ; and for the word , as the declaracion of the minde of god , in and by christ to poor sinners , the scriptures are plentifull , take two or three , iohn 5. 24. iohn 8. 31. iohn 12. 48. iohn 15. 3. iohn 17. 20. ephes . 1. 13. many more i might add , but that i have a check on my spirit , for gratifying your folly so far as i have done in this particular . a reply to the priests answer . in thy answer thou sayst that christ is the substancial word , thou sayst so , because the letter declares he is the word , but no other knowledg hast thou ; but this is no answer to the word two sacraments , for christ we know who is the word , but the word two sacraments , which there is no scripture for , which you tell people of , which is an addicion to the scripture , and a thing that never was practised among the saints , as thou being one with thy fellows that holdest up those things , the query was , what scripture you have to act such things ? but satan hath blinded your eys , 2 cor. 4. 4. 1 iohn ● . 11. which will not let you justifie those things which you act , which shews that you serve but an ill master , that will not bear you out , neither can you own the scriptures as they are , but you must give exposicions upon them , and poynts , and your imaginacions and conceivings , who would have the scripture cleared , but it is thy evil eye and minde that must be cleared , matth. 6. 23. for the scriptures are as they speak ; thou sayst the word you preach , ( alack for thee ! ) thou never knewst the word , if thou didst thou wouldst not speak of clearing up the scriptures , as in thy other queryes thou speakest of . query 7. what scripture hast thou to stand praying in the synagogues , before sermon and after , and where the apostles did so , or ever took a text to treat upon . priests answer . observe that place , matth. 6. 5. and thou shalt see that the thing christ ayms at is not so much the posture nor the place , but their end of praying in the synagogue , and that was to be seen of men , for he did not before nor after condemn the dutyes of fasting , praying , alms-deeds , but taught his disciples how to do the same things , though to avoyd the hypocrisie of others in doing of them ; and though another may be in the same place and posture as they were ▪ yet he may have other ends than they had , which thou canst not lightly judg of , as christ did , for christians in prayer with upright hearts are not bound up to any place , 1 tim. 2. 8. and for praying in the publick meeting place , and among the assembly it was so common and usual , that the place even had its name from it , it was called the house of prayer , matth. 21. 13. isai 56. 7. and the hours of prayer were known by the apostles , acts 3. 1. and that it was so in the times of the gospel may be seen by pauls doctrine about it in the 1 cor. 11. from the 9. to the 18. verse . and in 1 cor. 14. 13 , 14 , 15. for the times of prayer before sermon and after , the apostle gives a general rule , 1 cor. 14. 26. let all things be done to edifying : now what way is more edifying and building than for the servants of god to way● on the great builder god in christ , for help in the beginning of their work , and in the close after mercyes received , in speaking or hearing , to speak good of the name of our god in blessing ▪ and prayses ; the thankfull heart shall not want goodness from god ; but more fully the apostle is clear in it ; 1 tim. ● . 1. that first of all prayers must be made , to begin with that , and that the thing is no● without example , to conclude our speech with prayer ; see that in acts 20. 36. this was likewise his manner in the close of his epistles , as may be seen in seven of his epistles , which i could never see in any of your letters , you like not prayer so well it seems . and after that comes in thy frivolous and simple question , this is all i see thy hand to , and therefore i call it thine . [ or ever took a text to treat on . ] i may well answer thee as christ did the saduces , thou errest , not knowing the scriptures ; for look acts 8. 35. whether philip took not a text to treat on to the eunuch out of isai 53 ▪ 7. acts 10. 34. where peter took a text out of deut. 10. 7. & acts 13. 17. out of ex●d . 3. 14. and above all we have the example of christ in this , in his sermon luke 4. 17 , 18. who took his text out of isai 61. 1. in the synagogue , and he took a book to reade it too , though i believe he had the scripture more in his heart than any of your teachers : thus having answered this query , i have one word to say to thee , or the inditer of it , before i go on , ▪ and that is this , you have in this to me discovered a profane spirit , that findes fault with our often seeking and calling on god , and blessing his name ; i am jealous that you are acted by the spirit of satan amongst you , ▪ you are so like those spoken of in the 3 of mal. 7. 14 , 15. reade , and god give you to understand it well , for to me it appears , that the spirit of god is quite of another nature , that says pray continually , and without ceasing , in every thing give thanks , ephes . 6. 18. 1 thess . 5. 17 , 18. it calls and encourages to the thing , psal . 50. 15. a reply to the priests answer . a scripture thou wrests to maintain the answer of it , in matth. 6. 5. christ bids his disciples pray not as the pharises did , for they prayed standing in the synagogues , but [ when thou prayest , enter into thy closet , and shut the door ; ] and here thou art a lyar of jesus christ , and pervertst his words , who took his disciples off from the customary praying of the pharises , and bade them not pray as they did , but thou goest about to maintain the pharises kingdom , which iesus christ cryed wo against , and wrests several scriptures to hold it up withall , which is nothing to thy purpose : and another scripture thou bringest , 1 tim. 2. 8. [ he would that men pray every where , lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting : ] thou nor the world canst not witness this , nor your hands to be holy to lift up to god , therefore they are abomination , and is to be denyed ; the apostle to timothy did not bid him go stand praying in the synagogues , but thou wrests his words , to maintain thee in the chiefest place of the assembly , pharise like . another scripture thou bringest out of acts 3. 1. now peter and john went up together into the temple , at the hour of prayer , being the ninth hour . they were commanded to pray not as the pharises did , who went to shew forth christ iesus the substance , of all those types and figures which they lived in , ( all these scriptures will not maintain thee to hold up thy pharises seat ) they went to cry wo against them , and so do we now cry against thee , and thy beastical worship ; and here i charge thee in the presence of the lord to be an adder to the scripture , psal . 56. 5. and a wrester and a perverter of it , 2 pe● . 3. 16. for thou canst not finde any of these scriptures thou bringest to hold thee up in thy pharise like worship , but ar● a rod for thy own back , and openly thou shewest thy self to be antichrist , and one that doth maintain the kingdom of the pharises : another scripture thou bringest , 1 cor. 14. 26. and here i charge thee again to be a wrester of the scripture , let all people look upon the scripture , and see if it will maintain thee to have the chiefest place in ▪ the assemblies , and to stand praying before and after sermon ; here thou shewest thy self to be out of the commands of christ , and art disobedient to him , and he that doth pervert his words , and wrests the scripture ; o thou subtil twining serpent ! how fain wouldst thou have a place in the earthly letter , but there is no place nor corner for thee , but thou art found out and discovered , obad. 6. for the apostle which spoke to the corinthians spoke to them , to whom the end of the world was come , which were brethren , one had a psalm , another a doctrine , another a tongue , another a revelation , and another an interpretacion , that all things might be done to the edifying , 1 cor. 14. 26. and they might speak one by one , and if any thing were revealed to him that stood by , the other should ●old his peace , that all things might be done to edifying , that god in all things might be glorified : but let all people consider how this scripture doth confirm thee , to have the chiefest place in the assemblyes , and to stand praying in the synagogues before and after sermon ; let all people see if thou be not a wrester of the scripture , and a perverter of the apostles words , and the condicions that the saints were in ; thou openly shewest thy self not to be in , and thy church not to be in the condicion as the corinthians were in , for they were a gathered people out of the world , but thou art without in the world , in the church of the pharises , who had the chiefest places in the assemblyes , matth. 23. 6. and so art an enemy to christ , here openly thou shewest it : thou speakest of wayting on the great builder god in christ ; dost thou speak of wayting upon god , who justifiest the seat of the pharises , who were enemies to christ , and teachest people to do so ? acts 13. 10. o thou enemy of righteousness , and full of subtilty , a childe of the devil ! i cannot but deal plainly with thee : thou speakest of the great builder , and wayting upon god in christ , and art a maintainer of the scribes and pharises kingdom , and art justifying them in their ways , and so doth teach babylon which is confusion : thou speakest of concluding thy speech with prayer , psal . 28. 9. thy prayers are abominacion , and so are thy conclusions of them , so long as thou walkest in the steps of the pharises , all thy blessings are cursed , and thy seed is corrupted , ●s mal. 2. and as he saw them then , so we see thee now in the same generacion by the same spirit as he did , the lord hath spoken it , and thou canst not hide thy self from him , prayses be to the lord god for ever , who hath discovered your abominacions : and friend , another scripture thou bringest , [ acts 20. 36. he kneeled down and prayed with them all , and they all wept sore , and fell upon his neck , and kissed him , sorrowing that they should see his face no more : ] o thou filthy beast ! what hast thou to do with this scripture , that art an hierling and takest the worlds gift , and without god in the world ? and this scripture , dost thou take him as an example to pray after thy beastly worship , which jesus christ forbad to stand praying in the synagogues ? and here again i charge thee before all the world to be a perverter of the scripture to thy own destruction , to whom the plagues of god are added , revel . 22. 18. thou speakest of the seven epistles of the apostle , which thou hast nothing to do withall , but as a busie fellow makest a trade upon them ; neither dost thou know the letters that are given forth by us now , which are given forth by the same spirit , which cannot be divided ; and thou art an accuser ; for if thou didst see our letters , thou mightst see the same as was in the apostles , but in the letters that are sent to thee , judgment is thy porcion , and that is given thee , shewing thy filthiness and abomination which thou livest in : the testimony of love to thy soul is plainess of speech : as for accusing us that we do not love prayer so well , here thou art an open blasphemer , but thy prayers we do deny , for they are abominacion to the lord , the prayers of the wicked are abominacion , psalm 28. 9. no prayers can we send to thee , but for thy destruction , thou man of sin , and enemy of christ ; whereas thou dost accuse us of erring , not knowing the scriptures , here thou hast taken christs words not knowing him nor the scripture , and wrests them all along , as thou hast discovered it , so thou makest thy self a lyar and a thief , taking christs words and accusing others with them who live in the life of them , for christ spoke that scripture as touching the resurrection , which thou wouldst have turned into a poynt , therefore to thee that scripture belongs , that thou errest not knowing them , nor the power of god , matth. 22. 29. as thou hast made it plainly appear : and thou bringest another scripture as concerning philip , thou sayst he took a text to treat upon , and here i charge thee to add to his words , philip did shew forth christ which was the substance , he finding him riding in his chariot ; and thou beast dost wrest this scripture and pervert it , and so takest a place of scripture and rais●st doctrines , poynts and uses , as thou callest them , and what thou conceivest and imaginest of it , and so sellest it for money , and so makest an hours talk of it , and art in one of these text a moneth , or more , and speakest thine own inventions of it . did they do so ? o thou blasphemer ! philip had not a set wages of him , but he was moved of the lord to go to the eunuch , when he was going to jerusalem to worship ; so if any were moved of the lord to come unto any of you , who are going to worship , and reading of the scripture , and should shew you the substance of it , such as thou art , would fall a raging , for it takes away your trade ; we do witness that which philip did , but we deny thee to be in philips place ▪ but onely antichrist like hath gotten his form , o thou enemy of all righteousness ! who hath wrested many scriptures , and perverted them to thine own way , acts 23. 6. to maintain thee in thy filthiness , and to make a cover for thee , but thou art discovered with all who are uncovered and stand naked before the lord god almighty : prayses be to him for him . and above all , thou sayst thou hast christ for an example , for taking a text , the words which christ spoke , he said it was fulfilled , luke 4. 17. isai 61. 1. and if thou take his words for an example , is thy text which thou speakest fulfilled ? then why dost thou ▪ ly so long in a text , christ said his was fulfilled that day , who said the lord had anoynted ▪ him to preach , luke 4. 21. which thou art not , nor ●anst witness ; and christ did not take it and raise doctrines , reasons , uses , tryals and motives , and have a set time , and a set wages , and preach out of it a moneth or more , as thou dost , but sayd it was fulfilled that day , which thou couldst never witness nor yet say : o thou impudent and brazen-faced ! how darest thou take christ for an example to maintain thee in thy silthiness ? christs words we own to be tru , and to be fulfilled , pray●ed be the lord for ever , which thou hast nothing to do with , but wrests them with thy corrupt carnal minde to thy own destruction , 2 pet. 3. 16. but as the prophet did speak of the merchants of babylon , as thou art one of them in the mystery of witchcraft , and so with thy craft dost deceive simple ones , and the scriptures i know cannot err from that which gave it forth ▪ and thy spirit i know to be the spirit of errour , which is the same that ever deceived the nations , and we witness the scripture in our hearts as christ did . and as touching thy belief , we deny it , for thou neither believest christ nor us , for if thou wert of god tou would own us , as they sayd , who needed no man to teach them , but the anoynting , 1 john 2. 27. but that thou art without , and in the world , an antithrist , and there i leave thee . whereas thou dost accuse us of a profane spirit , it is the profane minde and spirit in thee which judgest the spirit of truth so , because it doth shew that which the profane nature cannot bear : and whereas thou dost accuse , that we finde fault with your often calling and seeking to god , that is false , for we would have all to call upon the lord , while he is near , and to seek him while he may be found , isai 55. 6. and that is the intent of all our writing and printing , or coming to your steeple-houses , or coming abroad for your souls good , which you shall eternally witness , though ▪ your corrupt filthy mindes do reject it ; but thou hypocrite and pharise , and enemy of all righteousness ! all thy prayers we utterly deny , for they are abominacion to the lord , and all thy blessings are cursed , as in mal. 2. your praying in the synagogues as the pharises did , christ did deny , and we also do deny the same , and so will every one where christ is risen deny thee , and such as thou art , for he is but one , the same to day , yesterday , and for ever , whom thou art an enemy to , and in the generacion of them that ever were so : friend , thou sayst , thou art jealous that we are acted by a spirit of satan , and dost accuse us to be like those spoken of in mal. 3. these are thy companions eternally ; i witness it , and there thou art present now among them in the same nature , and one that walks out of the commands of god , as i have proved before , and out of the commands of christ , following thine imaginacions , and therefore are we all witnesses against thee , that thou art in the sorcery ▪ in the witchcraft , and in the adultery , and in the corrupt seed , whose blessings are cursed , the same light sees it now , and sees thee in the same generation : and whereas thou dost accuse us concerning prayer , thou gatherest many scriptures in thine imaginacions ; the saints prayed continually , and from them scriptures thou imitatest a form , and accusest us who live in the praying continually ; and to thee it cannot appear in thy carnal form , neither dost thou know our spirit , for it terrifies thee , nor the spirit of the apostle , and we do witness the condicion that the apostle speaks of praying continually , and in every thing giving thanks , 1 thess . 5. 17. 1 tim. 2. 8. but this thou canst not witness to be fulfilled , to that which should exercise thy conscience do i speak , which shall eternally witness we , for thou art dead , and the dead cannot prayse god , and that which should prayse god in thee is in the grave , and none in the grave can prayse him , isai 38. 18. and thy carnal minde in thee is limiting god in thy carnal form and custom , and with a pretence of thy prayers pharise like , which is but mocking god , and hatefull , and abominacion to him , and all who are of him , thy prayers and spirit will be denyed by them ; and thou accuser art without , in the world among the false accusers , 2 tim. 3. 3. and thou must deny all thy prayers , and all thy customs , and all thy worship , and all thy imitated churches ▪ as thou callest them , and all thy praysings , and all the worlds ways before ever thou knowest god or us . qu. 8. shew me by the scriptures where the apostles went into the world , and gave the world david's psalms to sing in meeter ? these things that ye practis● , answer them by the scripture , or the apostles practise , without consequence and imaginacions . priests answer . that the apostles went into the world , that is , up and down in several parts of it , is clear by all their epistles . that the apostles commission from iesus christ in their going forth to preach to all nations , was this , [ teaching them to observe all whatsoever i have commanded you ] is as clear , matth. 28. 20. that the apostles were men that were under the same commands that were generally commanded of all men , cannot be denyed , and if so , then they were to teach this very lesson of singing psalms to the world where they went , see psal . 100. 1. & 96. 1. & 117. 1. & 61. 32. & 148. 11 , 12 , 13. & 145. 21. & 150. 6. now because you generally keep such work about this particular , but further least you should evade this , the new testament is not altogether silent in this case , for we reade of christ , that he sung a hymn with his disciples after supper , according to the manner of the iews at their feasts , which say some , was a part of the 116 psalm , paul and silas sung in prison , and besides this paul observed the command of god in this particular , for he taught the churches this very thing , ephes . 5. 19 , 20. ●ol . 3. 16. yea and the apostle iames declares the very extent of the command , iames 5. 13. holding it forth as a general duty without exception , he sayth , is any merry , let him sing psalms . for singing them in meeter , i would ask thee such a question , whether a truth in meeter holding forth the goodness , greatness , majesty , or mercy of god , do not remain a truth , instructing , comforting , edifying , as well as the same in prose . if so , the devil hath befooled you exceedingly , to make you so busie without cause as you are in this thing , and while you pretend for truth of one hand , you are beating down truth on the other hand publickly and visibly ; but besides this , the psalms were penned by the spirit of god , so no question they were directed to be sung in the temple , to that end david sent the psalms to the chief musician or master of the musick , to put them in meeter for singing , and gave them grave tunes to sing them forth in , for the hebrew psalms were sung in meeter in the temple , and in tunes invented , and what makes it worse now than it was heretofore ? god hath required the singing of psalms even of english men , as they are a part of the world , then to that end scripture-psalms which were themes and verses are translated into english psalms , which themes and verses in like sort that we might sing them : besides all this i would have thee to know , that we are not to live onely by examples , but by precepts , also now i have discovered general precepts for the practise of this ; and as we are to do it , so we are to do it spiritually , orderly , and most to edificacion , and so the general rule is 1 cor. 14. 26 , 40. the apostle in the 26 verse specifies this particular of a psalm , now what can be more for edificacion , and decency , and order , than to follow that order that had been used so long before , with the approbacion of god himself ; hezekiah set the house of god in order , and this was one thing he did , he put the singing of davids psalms in order , as in the 2 chron. 29. 30. and in chapter 7. 30. 26. god blames him not for it , but saith he , there is none like him from the days of solomon , and to this day the order is not contradicted by god , that i know , if thou knowest more discover it . last of all exception is taken , because they are given forth to the world ; any assembly of christians coming together to worship god are not bound up so close , but a company of the world may come in amongst them , and joyn with them in those things which are required of all men , as hearing the word , praying , or singing of psalms ; and christians are not to refrain because they are there , for this see that place 1 cor. 14. 23 , 24. now whatsoever thou judgest , i dare not , but judg that god hath some of his people in our meetings , that are christians indeed , and though there may be more of the world , i know not that this should be a ground to forbear that which all in the congregation are required to do ▪ viz ▪ to speak good of god. a reply to the priests answer . whereas thou goest about to maintain the singing of davids psalms in a meeter , and that the apostles did so , and went into the world to give to the world davids psalms to sing in a meeter , which david sayth , the dead cannot prayse the lord ; here i charge thee in the presence of the almighty god to be a perverter of scriptures and of the apostles words , and davids words ; and dost bring in a consequence to bring them into the same carnal invencion that thou art in , and wouldst make them like thy self : and thou bringest a scripture matth. 28. 20. that the apostles went into the world to give to the world davids psalms to sing in a meeter ; there is not a word in the scripture that christ sent his apostles into the world to give them davids psalms to sing in meeter , here thou accusest christ , and wouldst make him like thy self , and wouldst make the apostles like thy self ; here again i charge thee to be a wrester and a perverter of the scriptures : thou speakest of paul and silas singing , and them thou dost bring to confirm thy going into the world to give to the world davids psalms in a meeter ; here thou hast shewed forth thy blindness , sottishness , and ignorance ; paul and silas when they sung prayses to god they were in prison , which condicion thou never knewest ▪ and another scripture thou bringest concerning christ and his disciples , when they did sing an hymn , which thou art ignorant of , but art in the generacion of the pharises and priests that ●ought to put him to death , who hath gotten the form of his words , therefore as amos sayth , the songs of the temple shall be turned into houling , amos 8. thy songs and all your songs : another scripture thou bringest in the ephesians and colossians , to maintain thy beastly end , of going into the world , who are ignorant , and live in darkness , and giving them davids psalms in a meeter contrary to all the scripture , and the practise of all the saints , and wouldst compare the church who are gathered out of the world , the saints , to be like the world , and thy beastly worship , who sung with the spirit , and with understanding , and with grace , making melody to the lord in their hearts , 1 cor. 14. 15. heb. 2. 12. but the world turns the grace of god into wantonness ; and how darest thou compare them with those that lives and dwels in the grace of god , and sings with grace and with the spirit ; but here thou hast shewed forth thy ignorance and blindness , and it is that fools may utter forth their folly , and that blinde guides might appear openly ; and here i charge thee again to wrest the scriptures : and david thou bringest for the justifying of thy going into the world , and giving them his psalms to sing in meeter , who sayd , sing unto the lord a new song , and none can sing a new song , but who are rede●med from the earth , rev. 14. 3. and who are not of the world ; and here thou art an adder , and the plagues are added to thee , therefore all thy consequence and songs we utterly deny , and thy vain imitacions : thou wouldst fain get a colour out of the apostles words to maintain thee in thy filthiness , but thy shelter is taken away , and thy coverings , and thou art discovered to be without , and not in the practise of the saints : friend , the singing with the spirit as they did we own , that singing in grace we own , and making melody to the lord in the heart we own , and the singing of a new song we own , and witness , as the saints did , but thy singing we do deny , and witness against it , glory , glory to the highest ! another scripture thou bringest to maintain the singing of davids psalms in meeter , that the apostle gave them to the ignorant world , which is iames 5. 13. where there is not a word in the scriptures for it , but he sayd . if any be merry , let him sing psalms , which he spoke to the saints , scattered abroad , and not to the world ; and there thou art a lyar of him , and a false accuser of him , the apostles sayd , they would sing with understanding , and here thou shewest that thou hast no understanding , nor no grace that thou livest in , it s not to be given to people that turn the grace of god into wantonness , and have no understanding in things that be eternal , nor of the saints condicions , that were gathered out of the world , here thou hast made thy self voyd of the knowledg of god , and of christ , and of the apostles , and all the saints ; thy meeter we do deny , and they who turned them into meeter are like thy self , therefore do we witness the beating down of all thy strong holds , and singing in meeter ; thou hast got another mans condicion into meeter , and all people i take to record , if thou shouldst see david roaring , quaking , and trembling , and water his bed with his tears ; psal . 32. 3. & ● . 11. & ● . ● . & 42. 3. and have this turned into a meeter , and get up into a pulpit among ignorant people , of beastical mindes , and then say , let us sing to the prayse and glory of god : let all people judg what thou justifiest ; and this is thy imitated singing , which is altogether to his dishonor , and this is thy psalm : but who are moved to sing with understanding , and making melody to the lord in their hearts , we own ; if it be in meeter we own it . o thou blinde hypocrite ! was david of the world when he did sing prayses ? and did david send his psalms to the chief musician to havo them put in meeter , and so to give them to the world ? thou neither knowest the example , nor the precept , which thou wouldst have us to know , nor david ; and all thy precepts we do deny , and that minde in thee which doth discover them , as thou sayst , which is thy own practise , and not the practise of the saints , for there is nothing proceeds out of thee , but what comes out of thy imaginacions and invencions ; but the precept which the scripture speaks of we know and witness , which thou art ignorant of , as thou makest it to appear ; and all those psalms which you have turned into an english meeter we deny , and such as thou art , who keep people in blinde forms and customs ; but the singing prayses to god as david did we own , and witness , psal. 104. 33. & 144. 9. which thou art without , and ignorant of , and an enemy to , and to them who witness the same condicion as he was in : and friend , another scripture thou bringest 1 cor. 14. 26 , 40. to maintain thee , that the apostle went into the world and gave them davids psalms in a meeter to sing ; and here i charge thee in the presence of the lord to wrest the scripture , and to add to the scripture , for the apostle spoke this not to the world , but he spoke to the brethren ; if thou wert not blinde thou mightst see it , the very letter declares it : o thou slanderous beast ! why dost thou slander the church of god , and would make them like the rude world , strikers & fighters ? ps . 33. 2. & 89. 5. but it is that thou mightst shew forth thy folly , blindness , sortishness , and ignorance ; thou hypocrite , if thou wouldst sing now as david did then , where is thy harp , lute , and thy loud symball ? here thou shewest thy self that thou art neither in davids condicion , nor the apostles , nor in the saints condicion , but art without , following thy own filthy imaginacions , living in the cursed nature , which holds up all these abominacions , and the abominable invencions of men , which god forbids : thou sayst , god hath required the singing of these psalms of english men , in this thou art a lyar ; o thou lyar ! god never commanded these psalms to be sung of english men which you have turned into a meeter , but they are your own invencions , and when you reade them hats you keep on , and when you sing them hats you put off , and here you worship the works of your own hands : thou sayst , you ought to do it spiritually , which is thy own invencion and applicacion , and thee and thy application we do deny , and there is nothing of the spirit born up in thy understanding to guide thee ; now here thou shewest to be in the same nature that the world is in , they say they ought to do such things , and doth not ; here thou shewest thy self to be one of them without , and not in the same minde the apostle was in , who sayd , we will sing with the spirit , and we will sing with understanding , and with grace ; but we do deny all thy imitacions : and ●riend , another scripture thou bringest to hold up giving to the world davids psalms to sing in meeter , 2 chron. 29. 30. and here i charge thee in this scripture to be a lyar in the presence of the lord god almighty , and an adder to the scriptures , for they sang prayses to the lord who were brethren , that came to the house of the lord , as the scripture sayth , and hezekiah did not give them davids psalms to sing in meeter , which were enemies to god , but these did sing when the house was cleansed ; and this is nothing to thee to hold up thine abominacions , and to give the world davids psalms in meeter , but openly to all people hast thou shewed thy self ; thou sayst god blamed him not , there was none like him ; therefore thou mayst see thy self , he was not of the world , and here thou shewest thou dost not know the old covenant , and hastraced thy self out of them both , and hast made thy self stark blinde : thou sayst , to this day the order is not contradicted by god , did not steven witness and say , god doth not dwell in temples made with hands , acts 7. 48. and for witnessing forth the substance was stoned to death ; and the apostle paul witnessed against all the figures , types , and shadows , and all their customs , and outside observances , and all their offering , and contradicted that which god had commanded , when the everlasting offering was come , and against the outward temple ; but thou art blinde and canst not see it , pharise like , but thy minde is seen to be contradictory , who wouldst contradict the truth , and doth not see the end of god , in fulfilling his types and figures , and when they are fulfilled , he doth contradict them , and therefore do we contradict thee , which actest these things god never commanded ; that which god had commanded was contradicted , as circumcision , and the outward temple , and the sabboth , and all the priests were denyed , with them who had received iesus christ ; and here thou hast shewed thy self to be a blinde pharise , which knowest not the precepts nor commands of god , but followest thy own imaginacions and thy own invencions , which i have charged thee withall formerly : and here i charge thee to be a blinde guide , matth. 23. 16. and therefore came the apostle to contradict all the jews , who held up the figures after the substance was come , but thou art blinde as the pharises were , and worse , for when the apostles had received the substance they contradicted the pharises , which held up the types and shadows , which god had commanded , and killed them that did witness the substance come ; but thou natural brute beast , who knowest nothing of god nor his truth , must be consumed by unquenchable sier : thou speakest of an assembly of christians coming together to worship god , but a company of the world may come and thou joynest with them , here thou shewest plainly that thy worship is no tru worship of god , for they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth , iohn 4. 23 , 24. for such are they which he seeks to worship him , but not in the steeple-house ; the mighty day of the lord is coming , and god that made the world doth not dwell in temples made with hands , therefore come down thou painted beast which deceivest the people , god will overturn thee and thy worship , and all such as thou art ; and them who are of god god is sending them forth to give you the cup double that ye have given to them : thou sayst , an assembly of christians coming together to worship god are not bound up so close but a company of the world may come in and joyn with them ; here thou shewest that thy assembly are all of one spirit , and here thou shewest plainly that thy spirit and their spirit is the spirit of the world , and not the spirit that was in the apostles and saints , which sayd , what concord hath christ with belial , and what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? 2 cor ▪ 6. 14. and here thou hast raced thy self out of the tru worship of god ; and i know thy spirit is not bound up , but it is at liberty in the world , in the broad way , and therefore with them it can joyn , and so here thou shewest thy self to be of a contrary spirit to them that preached the word ; the ministers of the word are not ministers of the letter , wherein it doth appear that thou art a minister of the letter , & a wrester of it ; those who are the ministers of the word speak forth freely , and testifie against such hierlings as thou art , ( who art bound up in thy form and set place ) and against all thy customary praying and singing , for the preaching of the word is to declare freely to all , it is not bound up , but such as thou wouldst limit it , who doth keep poor simple people in bondage under thee : i do believe god hath a people which is in captivity under thy dark imitated forms , and such as thine , and who are misled by such as thou art , for we were all under such blinde guides as thou art , until god of his infinite love did shew us his way , and his light , and your ways , therefore in the presence of the lord god do we testifie against all such practises as thine , and for the simple ones sakes , ( who are under such blinde guides as thou art ) do we let forth our selves , that they may see how such as thou bewitchest them , and keepest them from worshipping the living god , by thy imaginacions , gal. 3. 1. thou bringest a place 1 cor. 14. 23 , 24. to maintain singing of davids psalms in a meeter , but in that scripture there is no such thing in it : here again thou openly shewest thy self to be a perverter of the scriptures , and a wrester of it , what communion hath the believer with the unbeliever ? here thou shewest thy self to be one of babylon , full of confusion , and confused in thy words , contrary to the scripture , and a wrester of it , for the world knows not god by all its wisdom : thou sayst , that your congregacion is required to speak good of god ; o you generacion of vipers ! how can you being evil speak good things ? mat. 3. 7. here thou crossest christs words , thou wouldst have the generacion of vipers to speak good things , an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit , how can you speak good of god , that speak nor good of his people ? the pharises when they met together , did they speak good of god , when they sayd christ was a devil , and gathered together with the chief priests , and sought to put him to death ? iohn 11. 53. and in this generacion thou art taking counsel against christ , and against his anoynted , incensing the rude multitude against them , and is this speaking good of god ? query 9. whether a man shall overcome the body of sin , while he ●● on the earth , yea or no ? priests answer . there are divers and several victories over sin , as first a victory over the dominion , and reigning power of sin , rom. 6. 14. this is not given by the power of man , but by the power of grace : there is a victory over the condemning presence of sin , sin cannot so hurt any elect vessel , as to throw him into ●ell , and eternal wrath and condemna●ion , rom. 8. 1. there is a victory over the being of sin in the flesh , and whatsoever curse thou sayest on me for the same , i must profess that i am of the minde , that victory ●s not fully enjoyed while we are on the earth , for then and not before , when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption , death is swallowed up in victory , 1 cor. 15. 54. and the apostle cals the body of sin the body of death , rom. 7. 24. a reply to the priests answer . friend , thou bringest so many scriptures , which is to the throwing down of thy own self , as rom. 6 14. and thou desirest to be satisfied to the contrary to thy belief , for thou believest that man shall not be made free from sin as long as he is here , and here i will shew thee that thou hast a lying spirit , for in rom. 6. they sayd , they were made free from sin , for while they were servants of sin , they were made free from righteousness , and here thou shewest a contrary spirit to that which was in the apostle ; and thou desirest to be fully satisfied in those scriptures , in rom. 7. 18. 25. paul spoke his condicion that he was in to the saints , and what he had passed through , which yet thou art alive in the flesh , and not come to know the law of god ▪ therefore thy carnal minde rules and reigns in thee , and so thou art making a distinction in the apostles words , and wresting of them , who witnessed that there was no condemnacion to him that was in christ iesus , and witnessed the condicion under the law , and without the law , and was made free from the law through the law , which thou knowest not , so thou being a dead man canst not hear ; thou speakest of a victory and reigning power of sin , and yet in the conclusion of thy words thou speakest to the contrary again , and that thou art of that minde , that victory is not fully enjoyed while we are on the earth , and here thou speakest contrary to the scriptures , and there is a confusion in thy words ; for first thou sayst there is a victory and dominion ●ver the reigning power of sin , and then again thou denyest it , and here thou shewest babylon , for the apostle sayd , we are more than conq●●rours through him that loved us , and there is no condemnacion to them who are in christ iesus : another scripture thou wouldst be satisfied in , 1 cor. 15. 54. the apostle did speak what he saw in this chapter which thou hast taken a word or two of , and we witness and see the same , yet death reigns in thee , and corruption reigns in thee , and the natural minde which doth despise the glory of god , therefore is this scripture hid from thine eys , but it is as it speaks , we witness it to be fulfilled ; and the apostle was in the condicion that he spoke of , for he witnessed the victory , and sayd , thanks be to god , who hath given us the victory through our lord iesus christ , 1 cor. 15. 55 , 56. and sayd , o death ! where is thy sting ? o grave ! where is thy victory ? rom. 5. 9. and thou hast raced out thy self from the apostles and from the saints condicions , and shewest that death yet hath dominion over thee , and that sin hath dominion over thee , and that the mortal hath dominion over the , and that corrupcions have dominion over thee , and that that thou art in the grave , and that victory cannot be witnessed , and art an enemy to it , and hast not so much as a belief in thee of overcoming of sin ; and here thou hast shewed thy hypocrites hope , as thou sayst , and so keepest poor people in death , in corruption , and in the mortal and carnal minde , and in the grave , and in unbelief , as thou art in thy self , and shewest that thou art damned openly , he that believeth not is condemned already , he that believeth is born of god , and doth not commit sin , but is passed from death to life . query 10. whether any natural man can preach the gospel , yea or no ? priests answer . i do believe they may preach the historical part of the gospel , i believe iudas did preach and was not behinde in his gift , to outward vie● of the eleven apostles , for the apostles had no ground to have any ill conceits of him , for had they , they would soon have reflected on him , when christ sayd , one of you shall betray me , but they questioned themselves and not him , matth. 26. 21 , 22. and god gives great gifts many times to wicked men , rom 2. 18 , 19 , 20. 2 cor. 11. 13 , 14 , 15. ministers of satan may be transformed into ministers of righteousness , gal. ● . 8. they cannot preach the mystery of the gospel nor christ , from their own experience or enjoyment , for this they know not , 't is folly to them , 1 cor. 2. 14. a reply to the priests answer . here thou art pleading for the natural man , for iudas and the false apostles , and it is true , in that generacion thou art among them , and therefore thou must needs love thy own , and stand up for them , for no other generacion thou knowest , i am a witness against thee , and i know thee , and have tryed thy spirit , to be one of these false teachers , which wouldst transform thy self into an angel of light , and which dost intrude into these things thou never knewst , and so thou puffest up thy fleshly minde , there thou art , i witness thee there eternally by the eternal spirit : thou sayst , ministers of satan may be transformed into ministers of righteousness , 2 cor. 11. 15. here thou wouldst make satan and righteousness one , and shewest forth thy error , not knowing the words as the apostle speaks ; and if they cannot preach the mystery of the gospel , how can they be transformed into righteousness ? for the ministers of satan transform themselves as the ministers of righteousness , but he doth not say , he transforms into it ▪ here thou shewest thy self to be a lyar , and thy self to be one of those who are no ministers of the gospel , getting the form , but denying the power , 2 tim. 3. 5. which ever was to be turned away from , whose end is destruction according to their works , and so thou shewest all along that thou hast but onely the form of the apostles words , for thou pleadest for them who are without , and against those who are within , who are in the power and life of the truth , thou pleadest against the truth and the life which the apostles were in , and the life of the apostles , for the apostles did discern the false apostles , and those who did transform themselves , so with the same spirit we discern thee to be in the same generation among them , and there thou must own thy porcion , and own the scriptures to be tru , and thy porcion in it , which it speaks of to the false prophets and false apostles : another scripture thou bringest 1 cor. ● . 14. thou bringest a scripture which sayth , the natural man receiveth not the things that be of the spirit of god , they are foolishness to him , that is thy own condi●ion , own that scripture for a truth to thy self , for the preaching of christ , and the cross is foolishness to thee , as it was to them that held up the iewish synagogues which yet thou holdest up ; another in imitation from the carnal letter , being carnal , and blinde , and ignorant of the mystery and of christ , and of the gospel ; but the mystery , and christ , and the gospel we witness and own , but we have not re●●ived it of man , neither were we taught it of man , but by the revelacion of iesus christ , gal. 1. 12. and we do witness forth the substance as the apostle did , and therefore we do deny all such as thou art , who art not so much as a minister of the letter , and hast not yet got the form of it to speak it tru as the form is , but thou hast shewed forth thy ignorance and foolishness of the form of the letter . query 11. whether the tree be not known by its fruits , yea or no ? priests answer . no question but it is , christ himself says so , but i pray thee tell me , did ever a good tree bring forth despe●a●ion for its fruit , it was cain that despaired , achitophel and iudas that went and hanged themselves : is that a good tree that brings forth wrath , strife , sedicion , heresie , cursings , and such like ? is that a good tree that brings forth fruits of disobedience , and slighting of those whom god hath commanded us to honour ? is that a good tree that hath for his fruits a casting by of the ordinances of god , and a slighting of , and reviling and reproaching the servants of god ? is that a good tree that hath apparant fruit on it , of justifying themselves , and condemning all that are not of their minde , how precious soever in the eys of god ? is that a good tree whose fruit is brought forth in satans dress , very like him , for if they once believe your opinions , the thing they look for is to tremble , iames 2. 19. a reply to the priests answer . here thou desirest to know whether a good tree brings forth desperation , as iudas , here thou accusest christ , for iudas denyed christ when he did despair , and christ found him out , so he doth thee , and all who deny the good tree , christ findes out now ; and all who do despair , deny the good ●ree as thou dost , who accusest christ now , as they did then , and cain when he slew his brother abel , then he despaired , when he slew the righteous seed , gen. 4. 5. and so are all you now in the generacion of cain , and god doth no more accept your sacrifice , than he did cains , who live in envy , and you are in the same desperacion who slay the righteous , as dayly may appear ; and in answer to this query , in that evil tree thou art , and bringst forth wrath and strife , for in this very answer thou hast shewed it , and shewed forth cain , and malice , and false accusacions , and ignorance : and in thy former query thou canst not witness the overcoming of sin , and is not sin of the devil ? and is not sin the cause of despair ? and is this the good tree ? and christ sayth , be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect , matth. 5. 48. and here thou shewest openly , that thou art that evil tree , which cannot bring forth good fruit , for he sayth , an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit , nor a good tree bring forth evil fruit ; and this i witness fulfilled ; therefore i see thee , and discover thee , to be that fruitless tree , which art cursed , and for the fier : and again , thou pleadest for the honor of man , jesus christ sayth , how can ye believe that receive honor one of another , john 5. 44. and thou shewest thy self to be that evil tree , that casteth the ordinances of christ behinde thy back , and shewest thy self to be the reviler , and the reproacher of the servants of god ; for doth not christ say , they are called of men master , and have the chiefest places in the assemblies ▪ matth. ●3 . and art not thou there ? and he bids his ministers not to be as they were , and here thou shewest thy self to disobey the commands of christ , and to be the evil tree : because we deal plainly with thee , this thou callest reviling and reproaching ; we speak the words that christ himself spoke , which testifie against thee , who livest in thy filthiness , and with all thy might and main , wouldst hold it up against christ and his servants , and wouldst pervert his words , but the lamb hath got the victory ; prayses , prayses , be to the lord god almighty for ever , rev. 17. 14. thou askest if this be the good tree that justifies it self , thou hypocrite ! can a good tree condemn it self ? here thou wouldst not own it to be a righteous tree to bring forth good fruit , wouldst thou make a good tree to accuse it self ? here thou blasphemest and accusest christ , and he that doth witness this good tree doth witness against all who are not of the same minde , for all who are this good tree are of one minde , and of one soul , and of one heart ; and here thou hast showd forth thy ignorance , and thou art a false accuser , that a good tree can condemn that which is precious in the eys of god , here thou art an accuser and an enemy of righteousness , and knowest not what thou speakest , did ever christ condemn that which was precious in the eys of god , but nourished and cherished it ? but such a false hypocrite as thou art he condemns , and cryes wo against thee , who art got up into the chiefest place of the assemblyes , standst praying in the synagogues devouring widows houses , and painting thy self with other mens words , and so serpent l●ke , and here thou art a serpent , and the evil tree , blaspheming against christ which is the good tree , here thou shewest thy self to stand in the same place which christ cryed wo against , which called him a devil , as thou dost now , where he is made manifest ; thou believest there is a god , and here thou shewest thou art not come to the saith of devils , for the devils believe and tremble , iames 2. 19. and they condemn thee and thy faith ; and the power of god which makes to tremble thou knowest not , as the apostle when he came among the corinthians , he was with them in much trembling , 1 cor. 2. 3. and thou mightst say the apostle was in the devils dress , when he trembled , for the same po●er of god that made him to tremble , the same power of god we witness now which makes us to tremble ; and here thou hast openly shewed thy self that thou dost not know the scriptures , but makest thy self manifest to be in the devils dress , and a blasphemer . and as touching opinions they are thy own , for opinions we do deny ; and here thou hast shewed that the power of god thou knowest not , nor never heardst his voyce , whose voyce shakes the earth ▪ psalm 46. 6. and shewest that thy wisdom is of the earth and earthly , and all thy gospel notions to be earthly , and all thy knowledg to be earthly , and all thy manifestacions and gifts ( as thou calst them ) to be earthly , for thou denyest the power of god which shakes the earth , psal . 2. 18. and so hast here shewed thy self to be in the natural state , and in the first birth , and as a fool hast uttered forth thy folly , shewing thy minde to be full of iniquity , and being the tree which beareth no fruit , which is cursed , hebr. 6. 8. query 12. whether a man shall grow up to that condicion under your ministry that he shall need none to teach him but the lord , yea or no ? priests answer . truly i do believe that god hath given so far many of his servants to grow up amongst us , as they see god alone the onely teacher of himself in all that is discovered by his servants , they know him to be the worker of all their works in them , that christ is all , and in all , the alpha and omega , the teacher of his fathers minde to us ; and yet notwithstanding i believe few are grown up to that desperate folly and madness , as when god hath afforded means of discovering his will & mind , to cast them all by , and ty god up to work immediatly without means , to humor their fancy , this is to tempt him , mat. 4. 6 , 7. to confine him , which god cannot like , he will not take it long from proud flesh : i am perswaded the scripture you bring in , isai 2. ult . cease from man , will not serve your turn , for many prophets , and apostles , and men of god , taught after that , even by the command of god and christ ; besides you cry , cease from man , but you practise quite contrary , witness the running of many of you many miles to hear george fox ; and you use writings , and printings , which are outward means of teaching . a reply to the priests answer . here thou hast shewed forth presumption and lying , to say that many are grown up under your teaching to see god alone the onely teacher , and that christ is all in all , the alpha and omega , and thou thy self not to know the first principle , nor they whom thou teachest , heb. 5. 12. for if it were so , that they knew the second covenant , and the law of god written in their hearts , they would all deny thee , for it teacheth them to know god , and need not to say , know the lord , and needed not any man to teach them , who witnessed the anoynting , and need not any of thy carnal means , as thou talkest of , for the means that god doth teach his people , is by his spirit , gal. 3. 5. for they that did draw them from the spirit within them , bewitched them , and so dost thou , and they that drew them from the anoynting within them , bewitched them , and so dost thou , which tellest people of a carnal means ; so that scripture which thou bringest matth. 4. 6 , 7. it is for thy self , for thou temptest christ , and wouldst have him to bow down to thy false worship , to thy carnal means , as the devil did christ , then own it and witness it , for it is thy condicion , herein thou hast shewed thy self to be a false prophet , sowing pillows under the peoples arm-holes , and flattering and keeping them in carnal security , and tellest them that christ is their teacher , when thou who art blinde and carnal art set up for a teacher , who makest a trade with the scriptures , and neither knowest christ nor the spirit , nor the teaching of christ , ( as thou speakest of ) and so keepest all people in blindness and ignorance from waiting upon christ : and friend , whereas thou dost accuse us of tying god up to work immediately , herein thou shewest that all that thou hast is but fancy , and lying in thy carnal state , who tempts god , and draws all others to tempt him , and shewest thy self void of all them that spoke forth the scriptures ; for all scriptures being given forth by the inspiracion of the spirit , and holy men spoke as they were moved by the holy ghost , was not all this immediate and eternal ; and here thou hast openly shewed thy self to be carnal , and not knowing them that gave forth the scriptures , and wouldst draw all others into the same carnal state with thee , and it is thou that wouldst ty up and dost ty up with thy carnal minde , and limit the holy one , as may appear by thy blindness and ignorance , and the people that thou teachest , who drawest them under the carnal form , and here thou hast denyed the immediate teaching of god , isai 54. 13 , 14. which all the saints of god witnessed and followed the ways of , and all that ever know the lord , and here thou hast shewed that thou dost not know the lord , but livest in high blasphemyes , and in the state of the scribes and pharises , who professed god and abraham , but were of their father the devil , and there thou art in the same generacion doing the lusts of thy father the devil , who was ever an enemy to christ , as thou mayst reade thy self in the generacion of all them teachers , as thou hast openly shewed thy self : friend , it is thy own proud fleshly minde , that doth confine god , but thou art discoverd , and it shall not be long but thou shalt be more manifest to thy open shame , thou hast walked long enough under a cover , but now thy skirts are uncovered , and thy nakedness appears ; and a scripture thou bringst isai ▪ 2. 22. cease from man , which thou sayst will not serve our turn , but it doth serve our turn , for we own it , and witness it fulfilled , therefore do we cease from all men , which hold up the carnal means , which thou speakest of , and all hierlings , and all them that bear rule by their means , and all them that seek for their gain from their quarter , and all them that are called of men master , and hath the chief place in assemblyes , and all they that paynt themselves with other mens words , and all them that go in the way of cain and balaam for gifts and rewards , jude 11. and all those that have the form of godliness and not the power , and all those that wrest scripture to their own destruction , and give meanings and carnal senses upon it , and all such as lead ●illy women captive , ( which thou hast sayd to be us ) ever learning and never able to come to the knowledg of the truth , 2 tim. 3. 7. for thou sayst , they shall never overcome as long as they are here ; and thou believest here ; but thou art one that livest in thy lust ; here thou hast shewed that thou art one that the prophets and servants of god cryed against , who were taught immediately by the spirit of god , and this was not after man , neither according to man ; the apostle sayd , the gospel that he preached was not after men , for he had not received it of man that taught it , all such we own , but all such as are in the way of man , as thou art , we utterly deny them , which holds up these abominacions , which all the prophets of god cryed against ; and here thou hast raced thy self out from among them all ; those that god sent and commanded , as thou sayst , since the prophet bade them cease from man , isai 2. 22. those were not made by the will of man , neither was their teaching according to man , but it was immediate & eternal , which thou knowst nothing of , as thou makest it appear ; and such we own ▪ but thee we do deny , for thou art blinde and knowst it not : and as touching the books , and writings , and printings , which thou accusest us of , and running so many miles ; the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of solomon , and the prophets of the lord somtimes they were moved to speak against such as thou art , ( who livest in the abominacions ) and somtimes were moved to write , as one of the prophets did ; and here thou shewest thy self ●gnorant of the scripture , and envious against the same power , and the same eternal word which is now discovering your abominacions , as the word did then , so the eternal word doth now ; and thy minde being carnal and outward , looking up at things outward , and so thou shewest thou hast nothing eternal born up in thy understanding , and so thou lookest upon the same which we speak or give forth in writing , to be the same carnal minde that thou art in , and so thou judgest all the prophets , and christ , and the apostles , to be in the same carnal state as thou art , judging scripture according to thy carnal minde , 2 cor. 3. 6. & 3. 4. and so to thee , truth is a savour unto death , as it was ever ; but wee are moved of the lord to write forth or to speak ; it is not an outward means as thou lookest upon , but it is to the conscience of every man , from that which is eternal to that which shall eternally witness it ; but thou art high up in thy hypocrisie , and hast mens persons in admiracion , because of advantage ( for the gift ; ) therefore it grieves thee to see the immediate and eternal teaching of the lord alone , who is teaching of his people , and guiding them up to himself by his spirit , whose sacrifice god doth accept , gen. 4. 5 , who are in the second birth ; but thou art cain , and because thou seest the works of god , and god accepts not thy sacrifice , therefore thou shewest forth thy envy against the righteous seed in all thy words . query 13. whether they be not antichrists and do disobey christ , that have the chiefest place in the assemblyes , stand praying in the synagogues , called of men master , which things christ did forbid his to act , and cryed wo against them that acted such things ? priests answer . no question , what is against christ in the flesh is a part of antichrist , and to be destroyed , but as yet none of you all that i know have proved , that the uppermost seats in the synagogues were pulpits , there seats were more for honor than for service , that christ forbids and reproves , and these places were taken out of love to them : and for the title of master , i would to take off the offence , if that would do it , that all would agree to call me by my name , i take not the title in love of it , nor to have dominion by it , and the wo is against this , yet i know there were masters of the assemblyes , so called by as wise a man as any amongst you , for ought i know , eccles . 12. 11. a reply to the priests answer . in thy answer to this query , thou canst not justifie the chiefest place in the assemblyes , therefore thou must own the wo upon thee : and friend , thou bringst a scripture in eccles . 12. 11. to cross christs words , herein thou shewest to be a fighter against ●hrist for to maintain thy mastership , that thou mayst be a master of an assembly ; and here openly thou shewest thy self to be a pharise , and in the pharises state ; sayth christ , a greater than solomon is here : now thou hast shewed forth thy venom and ignorance indeed , and openly to act against christ , and openly to be an antichrist , and a pleader for the state of the pharises , and to contradict christ . thou sayst , no question but that which is against christ in the flesh is a part of antichrist , thou hast shewed thy self to be an actor against christ in the flesh , and an antichrist , and shewest that thou never knewst him in the flesh nor in the spirit , for he that walks in the spirit doth not fulfill the lusts of the flesh , but hath crucified them , and all things are become new , rom. 8. 13. but as thou sayst and dost believe , that a man shall never overcome as long as he is here , so shewing forth the old bottle , and what is within thee , matth. 9. 17. here is poured out , which neither knows god nor christ in the flesh nor in the spirit , but hast poured forth thy blasphemy against christ and his doctrine , and all who hold up his doctrine , and live in it , and love christ . query 13. whether those be not antichrists , and of the devil , and no ministers of christ , which do not abide in the doctrine of christ , yea or no , and which hold up those things christ forbad ? priests answer . thou strainest at a gnat , and swallowest a camel ; thou takest great care of mint and annis , and neglectest the weighty things of the law , who preachest up that which crist for bad , prove what thou speakest ; if thou darest trust god , as i desire to do , wait with me for the time that god shall discover , who abides with him and in his doctrine , and who doth not , so far as it is revealed and open . a reply to the priests answer . in thy answer to this query , thou sayst we strain at a gnat and swallow a camel , because we deny that which christ denyed ; who were called of men masters , as the pharises were , who strained at a gnat , and swallowed a camel ; matth. 23. 7. and thou mayst say that christ did so , for christ spoke against them who were called of men masters , and taught his not to be so , nor to call any man master , and here thou hast justified that which christ forbids : and thou dost accuse us that we do take care of mint and annis , because we say , whosoever abides not in the doctrine of christ is a devil ; and here thou hast shewed thy self that it is thou that takest care for those things that pass away , which christ did forbid : thou bidst me prove thee to preach that which christ did forbid ; here in thy very words thou preachest up that christ forbids and cryes wo against , and here i chargethee in the presence of the living god , who will render vengeance in flames of fie● ▪ jer. 51. 6. nah. 1. 2. and here thou hast shewed thy self to be in the doctrine of the pharises and of the devil , and accusest us with tything mint and annis , who art a lyar , for all those things you hold up , and we deny , and it is thou that dost justifie them ; dost thou not hold up these frivolous things ? the chiefest place in the assembly , and to be called of men master , laying heavy burdens upon the people , and stand praying in the synagogue , this thou strivest to hold up , which we deny ; the commands of christ thou callest them mint and annis , which is a ly ; and here thou wrests the scripture to thy own destruction ; i charge thee here , and have proved thee to preach that which christ forbad , and shut thee forth to be any minister of jesus christ eternally , or knowing any thing of him : thou wouldst have me to wait with thee , if i dare trust god ; i waited with thee too long , but thou art now revealed and discovered thou man of sin and son of perdicion , 2 thess . 2. 3. who art exalted above all that called god , and thy doctrine is discovered , and the end of it , for it leades to perdicion , for out of the bottomless pit it came , and thither it must go : and in thy queryes thou desirest to know which is most like antichrist , and here thou shewest that thou dost not know antichrist , but we know thee to be antichrist , 1 john 4. 3. and acting in those things which christ never commanded , contrary to christ , and yet thou professest thy self to be a minister of christ , and yet knowest not antichrist . query 15. whether they be not seducers that draw people from the anoynting within them , and tells them they must have a teacher without them , when as he who was a minister of the gospel sayd , you need no man teach you but as the same anoynting teacheth , and the promise is to him that abideth in it , eternal life . priests answer . if thou canst prove and make good thy charge , that i draw people to look from the anoynting within them , to the teachers without them , spare me not , god hath taught me to instruct those whom i speak to , not to look on , or rest on the outward teacher , but to look unto the spirit of christ , the teacher even within them , where he is , to have that made out to them by his light and power that they here speak of , the ministers without , and that thy own conscience must needs convince thee of to be tru , unless thou art wilfully blind , which is , i fear , a judgment upon many of you : the lord make out & discover more & more , let it fall where it will , who are seducers of the people , and whether they be not so that teach & perswade people , that every man hath the anoynting in them , and a light that will lead them to heaven without any more ado : i am much mistaken if the preacher of the gospel that thou speakest of prove not the very thing in 1 john 2. 18 , 19 , 20 , 26. reade and consider , and god give thee to understand ; note what john sayth in that place cited by thee , 1 john 2. 27. and you need not that any man teach you , but as , &c. in this to me , not quite taking off men from speaking and hearing , but onely from speaking and hearing what is not agreeable to the anoynting , men are to speak as the anoynting speaks , and then they are as the oracles of god , 1 pet. 4. 11. a reply to the priests answer . thou wouldst have it proved , & have the charge made good , that thou drawest people from the anoynting within them to the teacher without them . i answer , thou dost openly shew that thou dost draw people from the anoynting within them , for he that is taught of the anoynting need not any man to teach him but as the anoynting , and he that sayd so did not bear rule by his means , as thou dost , and hast got the form of words , and mayst speak those words , but if any come to witness that they need not any man to teach them , heb. 8. 10 , 11. as the saints did them , thou sayst , he denyes the means which god hath afforded , because they will not hold up thee , and justifie thee in thy beastly and carnal worship , and callest that tempting of god , and fancy , and desperate folly , when we come to witness the anoynting that they need no man to teach them ; herein thou hast shewed forth thy folly , and fancy , and desperate wickedness , foolishness , and madness , as balaam did when the dumb ass rebuked him : thou sayst , god hath taught thee , but thou art a thief and a lyar , and hast stollen the word , for thou denyest that which should teach thee , the light which god teacheth by , the light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. yet thou denyest the immediate teaching of god ; i charge thee , for if any witness to be taught alone with the anoynting , and deny all mens teaching but onely the immediate spirit , which all the men of god were taught by , that thou sayst is a tying up of god , and herein thou hast shewed forth thy self , that thou dost not know the immediat teaching , nor the anoynting , for those who are taught with the anoynting , do deny thee and all such as thou art . thou sayst , god hath taught thee to instruct others ; thou hast nothing from god to instruct others withall , but keepest them in thy immitated forms , and customs , dead and husky prayers , and what thou dost get with studying and devising of thy own brain , that thou feedest poor ignorant people withall , and sayst god instructeth thee ; here i charge thee to bee a lyar , and the wo was denounced against such as thou art : therfore we deny thee as the prophets of god denied them , for the same is made manifest to us now , which lets us see thee , as it did them then : prayses be to god for ever . friend , the light and power of god thou deniest , and art ignorant of , and that which should exercise thy conscience , for thou deniest the light that enlightneth every one that cometh into the world : and why dost thou talk of the light and of the power of god , who art ignorant of the light , and disobedient to it ? but the god of this world hath blinded thy eyes , 2 cor. 4. 4. and therfore thou endeavourest to keep others in the same heathenish nature thy selfe art in : wherfore to my conscience thou speakest nothing , nor canst speak to the conscience , for thou deniest the immediat teaching , and callest that a tying up of god , o thou blasphemer ! thou desirest to let the plagues and judgments fall where they will , upon them who are seducers ; thou needest not desire the plagues , for they are thy porcion , and here thou hast shewed thy selfe to be blind and ignorant indeed ; for thou dost not know a seducer , nor thy own condicion ; therfore thou art not fit to teach others . a question thou askest , whether they be not seducers , that teach and perswade peeple , that every one hath the anointing in them , a light that will lead them to heaven without any more ado ? answ . here thou shewest forth thy foolishness indeed ; for thou wouldst bring peeple forth into the doing the works of the flesh , into the broad way , which work is death , and the end of all thy ministry is to draw peeple from the anoynting , and from the light within them , and to draw them to thy teaching , wherby thou makest thy selfe manifest to be a seducer : all who do witness the anoynting , and walk in the light , 1 iohn 2. 8. such thou lookest upon to be seducers , with thy dark mind , who canst not see them who draw peeple from thy dark ministry , to mind the light of god within them , as the apostle sayd , take heed to the light of god within you : and this thou dost look upon to be seducing , & that it is not sufficient for to guide them to heaven , but ▪ that they must come out from the light within them , to thy doing , which we deny , and all thy preaching practise , and invencion , which is witchcraft ; and here i charge thee to be a witch , and to bewitch the people . thou dost bring a place of scripture 1 iohn 2. 18 , 19 , 20. which thou exhortest to read , which is a rod for thy own back , concerning you need no man to teach you but the anoynting : for many came out with us , but it is manifest they were not of us , because they did not continnue with us : but thou art uncome-forth , and thou knowest not this condicion , but art in the world among antichrists false prophets , and beasts ; and yet thou wouldst be busy among the saints condicions : but this i say to thee , all who are come out from among such as thou art , need not any man to teach them , but as the annoynting . but they who do not continu , they turn from the annoynting : and he that denieth the father and the son , is a lyar and an antichrist ; he that hath the son , hath the father also : therfore we do know thee to be antichrist , who should come . friend thou speakest of speaking and hearing what is not agreeable to the anoynting ; be silent , o flesh , for thou knowest nothing of the anoynting ; thou art one of those whose mouth must be stopt , thou art one of those dumb prophets , who hast nothing from the anoynting , but denyest it , but onely thou hast got the form of words to make a trade of it , and denyest the thing it self . query 16. whether they do not bewitch people , that draw them from the spirit within , to observe the ordinances of the world ? when as the apostle sayd , they did bewiteh you , that drew you to observe circumcision , which was the command of god , when he who was the substance of those types and figures was come . priests answer . the lord rebuke this lying spirit that is amongst you ; who is that which goeth to draw people from the spirit within to observe the ordinances of the world name them , and blame them : those that are lead by that spirit of god , and have him in good earnest , do make use of the ordinance of christ , in a more spiritual manner , not to draw them from the spirit , but but to draw them into the spirits likeness , possession and enjoyment , the lord rebuke that prophane spirit among you that dares to call the ordinances of christ the ordinances of the world , that cares not what dishonour you put on christ , his truth , his waies , his servants : the lord judg , and let all the lords people judg whose eyes are open , whether they do not bewitch poor creatures that carries them from beginning in the spirit to end in the flesh , gal. 3. 1. 3. from the gospell to the law , from justificacion by faith , to justificacion by works , from loving the appearance of god , to strife , malice , hatred , and to the appearance of sathan ; from peace , to a constant restlesnesse either in their own spirits , or outwardly troubling others , by writing , printing , bra●en-faced-rayling , and reproaching , without heeding whether they speak truth or a lye. a reply to the preists answer , thou art he that goes about to draw people from the spirit within them , to observe thy carnall tradicion , and imitacion , and to observe the ordinances of the world , and it is thy spirit which is that lying spirit which thou mencionest , which the lord will rebuke and must rebuke ; for thy lord and god i do deny , for the living lord god of heaven and earth , thou knowest not , no more than a naturall bruit beast jude 10. for thy god is the god of the world , and he is thy lord , and the lying spirit rules in thee , as thou hast made it to apear ; thou art he , therefore i name thee , and blame thee camelford , and the lord will blame thee and rebuke thee . freind , none of the ordinances of christ dost thou know , for all thy preaching is of thy selfe , christ never commanded it , nor never commanded thee , nor thy praying , nor thy singing , christ never conmanded it , but it is the invencion of thy brain , and the invencion of man , and to the ordinances of christ thou art an enimy : thou dost openly show thy selfe to be a witnesse against them who are the ministers of christ , and who abides in the ordinance of christ , that witnesse against such as thou art , but all the ordinances of christ iesus we witnesse and own , but thou to them art an enimy ▪ therfore thee and all thy ordinances do we deny , and all that which thou calst spirituall manners for this is but thy gloss and colour , that thou mayst appear beutifull with thy spirituall nocion , but thou art discovered ! praises be to the glorious lord god almighty for ever . thou sayst thou dost not draw them from the spirit , but drawst them into the spirits likenesse ; here thou hast made a graven immage , and the likenesse of a thing , and the lord forbids that thou shouldst make to thy self any graven immage , or the likenesse of any thing that is in heaven or in the earth , and here thou hast showed thy spirit to be a contrary spirit ; in this thou showest thy self to be a lyar , for thy worship is not so much as the likenesse of a spirit , for the spirit is one , and it we own , but thy likenesse of spirit we deny . thou sayest again , the lord rebuke that lying-spirit , and i say to thee , thy lord we deny , and the lord god of heaven and earth , doth now rebuke thee thou lying-spirit , for him thou knowest not , and calest it a lying-spirit , for thou prayest to thy lord to rebuke the spirit of truth , which shall confound thee and thy lord ; here thou hast shewed forth thy prophanesse , and blasphemy , and it is made manifest what god thou servest , even the god of the world . thou sayst , let the lord judg and all whose eyes are opened : the lord doth judg , and hath judged , and all the lords people doth judg whose eyes are opened , they judg thee and all such as thou art , in righteousnesse , and see thee clearly ; prayses be to the glorious lord god. the day from on high d●th spring . a question thou askest , whether they do not bewitch poor creatures , that turn them from beginning in the spirit , to end in the flesh ? ans : yea i say they do , and thou art one , for as thou saydst before in thy query , when thou askedst whether the light was sufficient to lead people to heaven without any more adoe , thou shewest all thy doings tend to draw people from the light , into the works of the flesh and from waiting to be justified in the spirit , and to lead them into condemnacion , and there thou art , one that bewitches the people , who know not the spirit , but those who are led and guided by the spirit and walk in it , deny thy freedom in the flesh , and thy liberty , and all thy carnall ordinances and tradicions , and it is thou that drawest people from the apostles doctrin , and from the law of god within , and from justificacion to the law of works , into thy carnal imitated way : but the law of faith , and the law of god , and the teachings of the spirit , this we witnesse and own , as that which the apostles was taught by , and by this we seek to bring all people from under thy carnall teaching , and we deny it all , and thee both . and whereas thou dost accuse us for drawing people from the appearance of god , to strife , mallice , envy , and hatred , and to the appearance of sathan ; herein thou hast shewed thy selfe to be a false accuser , 2 tim. 3 , ● . and a lyar , in saying we draw people from the appearances of god ; we draw people up to god , from wrath , and malice , and the appearace of sathan , for in wrath , malice , and envy , and strife thou livest in ; for who are drawn from thee , and the appearance ▪ of wrath , malice , and strife , lives in joy , and love , and unity onewith another : and as for what thou speakest of constant restlessenesse it is thy own , for all who are drawn from you are drawn into stedfastnesse , and the spirit of them that are drawn from you thou knowest not : thou who art restlesse and keepest all other in restlesnesse , ever learning and never able to come to the knowledg of the truth , 2 tim. 3 , 7. and therefore thou judgest them like thy self : and it seems our papers , and writings , and speakings do torment and trouble thee as ever the power of truth did the pharises ; for the prophet who was moved to write the roul , when he sent it to him unto whom it was directed , he burned it ; so doth writing now torment and trouble thee : and whereas thou accufest us of brazen-faced rayling , and reproaching , without heeding whether we speak truth or a lye : ans : all this state and condicion thou art in : brazen-faced thou art , for thou art a beast , and brazen-faced in uttering forth thy lyes , and thy railing , and thy venomous filthy speeches , and thou it is that dost not heed whether thou speakst truth or a lye ; for truth thou canst not speak , for thou canst do no otherwise , for thou art of thy father the devill who was a lyar from the begining , for the truth yet thou know●st not , but we speak the truth as it is in jesus , and lye not , and testifie to that which should excercise thy conscience 2 cor. 4. 2. and eternally shall all you witnesse us ● cor 5 11 though the lyng-spirit in you now judg the power of truth to be a lye , which ever the lying-spirit did , but thy spirit is tryed , and we know what thou art , an enimy to the truth , and without god in the world query 17. whether you have the same spirit as was in the apostles , and christ , and the prophets , which gave forth the scriptures , seeing you act contrary to the scriptures , and follow your own invencions and tradicions , and so have erred from them all . priests answer . the same spirit that christ had , the prophets , and apostles had , and the same have all that are christs ; there is but one spirit of light , truth , and peace in the body of christ , 1 cor. 9 14. and all dispensacions are given forth by this one spirit . yer i do beleive this spirit is given forth in severall measures , and degrees , to the body of christ , ephes : 4 , 7. 1 cor : 12. from the 4 verse to the 12. yea i do also beleive ; no man to this day , in the world , hath so full a measure of the spirit , as the penners of the scriptures had : they had the gift of toungs , and were by the spirit enabled to preach to any part of the world ; i do not know any that hath such a gift by the spirit ; they had a gift of healing the sick , and curing the lame in their bodily infirmities : i know non such , no not the perfectest among you ; they had by the spirit a gift of prophesie , which was tru , and came to passe : and though you have had those among you that have pretended to this , yet all that hath been , is but a discovery of that lying-spirit they were led by , enough to make you blush , but that you are brazen-faced : they erred not in discovering the minde of god to us ; i know none that can rightly boast of such a measure . i have taken the pains to answer thy queries particularly ; excuse it not , but answer me . i have propounded so again , that is particularly . the lord open your eyes , that what is of god , and truth , may fix on many of you , that you may escape out where the snare of satan is broken , and i shall rejoyce in my pains ▪ farewell . a reply to the priests ans : freind , here thou hast confessed that all hath the same spirit that are christs , and here is confusion in thy words , and thou shewest that thou canst not witness it thy self , but sayest others hath it thou dost beleive , and yet after , thou comest to deny it , and sayst no man in all the world , hath so full a measure of the spirit , as the penners of the scripture had ; and freind , here thou shewest thou hast not the same spirit that was in iesus , and he that hath not the same spirit is none of his , rom. 89. and it doth show , that thou readst the scripture with thy carnall minde ; and sayst , thou dost beleiv the spirit is given forth in severall measures , and degrees ; thou sayst it because the scripture sayth it , but thou knowest not christ , neither art thou a minester of him ; and the working , and operacion of the sp●rit , thou knowest not , as thou showedst it before , neither dost thou know the gift of god , but art querying the condicions of them that had received the gift , and afterward fell away , after they were made pertakers of the heavenly gift , which showes that thou knowest not the gift of god , nor art not made pertaker of it ( but art in the fall , and so showest forth thy ignorance ) for if thou wert made a pertaker of the heavenly gift thou wouldst leave of buying and selling the letter , and making merchandize of it rev. 18 , 11. thou sayst , thou dost not know any one , that hath such a gift to preach in any part of the world , nor the gift of tongues , here thou shamest thy own profession in the natural state , and the natural preaching , and all thy fellows who profess tongues ▪ and your carnal original ; thou sayst thou knowest not any that are so gifted , to speak in all parts of the world ▪ here thou shewest thy self that christ never sent thee , for whom christ sent to preach , he sayd , go preach to all nations , to every creature , matth ▪ 16. 15. but he did not send them for gifts and rewards , for it was balaam that looked after such things , and in that generacion thou art , envying the righteous : thou sayst thou dost not know the same gift amongst us ; neither dost thou see it among the apostles ; for the same that was in the apostles , we witness , the blinde see , the deaf hear , the lame walk , and them that have layd long under such false physicians as thou art are cured , the dumb speak , and therefore thou ragest ( as thy example the pharises did ) and sons and daughrers prophecy , ioel 2. 28. but such were called mad men and fools by such as thou art in their genera●ion , who art out of the truth ; and whereas thou dost accuse that we have had such amongst us , as pretend to this prophecy , thou art a lyar , there is none pretends prophecy , and the lying spirit speaks in thee , and thou neither art ashamed , neither canst thou blush ; thou sayst thou dost not know such amongst us , therefore thou discoverest thy self , that thou knowst nothing ; thou deaf adder and serpent , who art full of cockatrices , psal . 8. 4. for if thou couldst see , but thou art blinde , thou mightst see the same gift amongst us as was among the apostles , for we witness the same by the same spirit , according to the operacion , but the lying spirit in thee can judg no otherways of truth it self but to be a lying spirit , for it is in the generacion of them that know nothing of the truth , for that spirit that we are led by thou knowest not ; for if thou wert led by the same spirit we should be one with thee : but friend , thy spirit is tryed and known to be the spirit of error ; thou sayst , the prophets erred not in declaring the minde of god to you ; thou knowest not the spirit that the prophets were guided by , nor thou knowest not the minde of god , though thou hast the outside , a declaracion which is to the visible eye without thee , but ▪ art in the generacion of them that could tell by the prophets words where christ should be born , yet they sought to put him to death , mark 14. 64. the chief priests , and so thou art one of them which is an enemy to christ , where he is born now , as they were them , and as iannes and iambres witstood moses , so dost thou resist the truth , out of a corrupt minde , in the state of iannes and iambres , out of the faith , a reprobate , as thou hast openly shewed it , but thou shalt proceed no farther , for thy folly is and shall be made manifest , 2 tim. 3. 9. thou sayst , thou hast taken pains to answer these queries , thou hast wrested many scriptures , as it is made manifest , to maintain thee in the state of the pharises , and to maintain thee an enemy against christ , and to maintain thee to be one of balaams prophets , and to maintain thee to be one of the hierlings , and to justifie that which christ forbids , and to maintain thee to hold up that horrible filty thing that is committed in the land , and to bear rule by thy means , ier. 5. 30 , 31. which the prophets cryed against , and with the prophets words , and christs words ; and with the apostles words thou wouldst shelter thy self , and make thy self a cover to maintain thee in thy filthiness ; but the lord god of power is coming to uncover thee , and lay thee more and more open , and make thee bare , that thy filthyness may appear , to the end that the simple ones who are in captivity under thy subtlety , and snare of iniquity , may be delivered , and peoples mindes directed unto god , that ●e alone may ▪ be exalted to whom be all prayse , honor , and glory for ever . and friend , thou sayst , that thou desirest that the lord would open our eys ; thou tempter of the lord , thy lord we deny , and thy prayers we deny , the lord hath opened our eys , prayse and glory be to him for ever , the lord hath opened our eys without thy prayers , matth. 20. 34. ( therefore we deny them , they are abominacion ) and contrary to thy means hath the lord opened our eys ? 1 iohn 1. 1. neither is there any thing of god in thy answers , but thou and thy imaginacions are raced out for ever ; and all thy pains thou speakest of , are the works of thy own hands , which were ever cryed out against . thou desirest we may escape out of the snare of satan ▪ where it is broken , we have escaped out of thy snares where they are broken , psal . ●24 . 7. and therefore out of thy dominion , and from under thy power are we come , and see thee to be one that the devil ensnares , who art one of his souldiers , and not of christs , fighting for the devils kingdom , and fighting against the saints with thy carnal weapons , and against ●he lamb , but the lamb hath got the victory over the beast ; prayses , prayses be to the lord god ▪ almighty for every . amen . finis . queries sent by gabriel camelford , to the people who out of reproach and envy of the blinde and dark world are called quakers . answered by the spirit of the lord , which doth enlighten and shine in our hearts : and those that live in the pure light of god , and can reade with the spirit , may see him taken in his own snare , and condemned out of own mouth , and his deceits layd open . query 1. what is a reprobate ? 2 cor. 13. 5. answer . whereas thou wouldst know what a reprobate is , thou art out of the truth , hated of god , a childe of the devil , an enemy of righteousness , the son of perdicion , in whom christ rules not , but the works of the flesh , who knows not the light that enlightneth every one that cometh into world , but denyes it and hates it . query 2. whether christ be in a reprobate to lead him to god ? answ . thou askest thou knowest not what , shall ever a reprobate enter to god ? jacob have i loved , esau have i hated ; and christ condemns the reprobate , and the reprobate hates the light , iohn 3. 19 , 20. as thou dost , which shews forth the works of darkness , and there thou art a reprobate , and one that knows not the light that enlightneth every one that comes into the world , and this light shall condemn thee who keepest others in the same nature with thy fair glosses and colours which thou settest upon the scriptures , which must go into the lake , and into perdicion , who livest in thy filthy and fleshly imaginacions , which ever was cursed from god , psal . 101. 5. an enemy of righteousness , whom the lord according to his promise will scatter , who livest in thy imaginacious and conceivings , rom. 1. 21. and there thou art . query 3. if so , why are not all men brought to god ? answ . because they hate the light as thou dost , and lovest the darkness tather than the light , because thy deeds are evil ; dost thou profess thy self to be a minister of iesus christ , and queriest why all men are not brought to god ? here openly thou hast shewed thy self to be a hater of the light , for shame give over and blush . christ sayth , i am the light which enlightneth every one which cometh into the world , ioh. 1. 9. which thou art ignorant of ; he that loves the light , and walks in the light , there is no occasion of stumbling , but thou that hatest the light , thy deeds are evil , and therefore thou stumblest , iohn 11. 9 , 10. and there is thy condemnacion , which is the light , and with such blinde guides as thou art are poor people lead from the light within them which should guide them to god , to hearken to thy imaginacions , and to fall down to thy images , but the plagues of god will be poured down upon ▪ the beast and the false prophet , deut. 28. 59. and thou art one which keepest people from god. query 4. whether any man hath power to resist in the day when he comes to draw the soul to himself ? a●sw . here thou shewest that thou dost not know the power of god , neither hast tasted of it , but standst in the power of satan , and dost resist and deny , but a day of power and vengeance , ier. 51. 6. will come upon thee , which thou shalt not be able to resist , though now thou art querying , and canst not tell whether man can resist or no : by thy query thou hast shewed forth thy subtlety serpent like ; the children of israel which had tasted of the mighty power of the lord , when they murmured they were destroyed , numb . 14. 28 , 29. but this thou knewest not , but art shutting up the kingdom of heaven against men as these did , who were called of men masters , which stood praying in the synagogues , which christ cryed wo against , in matth. 23. reade thy porcion there , who hated christ , and there thou art ; for shame give over professing thy self to be a minister of god , who knowst not the power of god , but art querying whether any man can resist it , yea or no. query 1. who were they the apostle spake this word to ? ephes . 2. 12. answ . they were they that were made nigh by the bloud of christ , whom thou art an enemy to , and without god in the world , in the generacion of the pharises , and a childe of disobedience , light shines , and darkness doth not comprehend it : the god of the world hath blinded thy eys , rom. 11. 8. and thou hast shewed thy self to be a tempter . query 2. whether you dare own this as a truth , made out by the spirit of god in the apostle ? answ . we do witness in us what the apostle speaks , by the same spirit that was in the apostle , therefore we witness against thee , who hast nothing but the letter and the lying spirit to be thy witness , and we do witness what the apostle sayth , he that believeth hath the witness in himself , 1 iohn 5. 9 , 10. and this do we own , therefore tremble before the lord thou childe of the devil , psal . 99. 1. and blasphemer , and enemy of righteousness ; who art querying without . query 3. if so , whether your opinion is not contrary to truth , and so a ly ? answ . opinions we do deny , and here thou hast shewed forth thy dark minde , thou canst not witness that ever thou wert in the light , for darkness cannot comprehend it , iohn 1. 5. and there thou art , for thy minde is full of confusion and frivolousuess , and the lye speaks in thee , and there is nothing of truth born up in thy understanding , and that which should exercise thy conscience thou art an enemy to , and to the apostles life thou art an enemy , and knowst it not , though thou canst and dost make a trade of his words , and christs words , and the prophets words ; o thou false-hearted dissembling hypocrite ! the plagues of god are due to thee , and that is thy porcion , rev. 18. 8. query 1. whether there be not a time that men are darkness ? ephes . 5. 8. answ . thou art in darkness , and the man of sin is darkness , and the light shines in darkness , and thou dost not comprehend it , iohn 1. 5. thou hatest the light thou childe of darkness , and therefore thou art in darkness , which light shall condemn thee , iohn 3. 19. the righteousness of god is revealed upon thee in flames of fier , thou childe of disobedience . query 2. whether there be a possibility to hide christ the son of righteousness quite under a cloud , where he really is ? answ . thou enemy of god , thou dost hide the talent in thee under the clod of earth in thee , if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear , 1 pet. 3. 19. the ministers of god they speak to the spirits in prison , and the prisoners shall come out of prison ; art thou a teacher and shewest thy self to be so sottish , and to be ignorant of the form , and must be taught the letter ? therefore thou shewest thy ignorance , because the son of perdicion is above all that is called god in thee , 2 thess . 2. 3. thou blinde hypocrite ! was not he in egypt while herod was king , and out of egypt have i called my son , sayth the lord : who hast thou preached all this while ? or who hath sent thee to preach ? here thou hast shewed that thou never knewst christ , nor christ never sent thee ; o thou dark dumb prophet ! thou wert speaking of the prophet , and of grace , which hath appeared to all men , tit. 2. 11 , 12. which thou turnest into wantonness , for this grace is the saints teacher , those who are taught of it deny thee , and thou art one that keeps the light in prison in thee , and the devil is exalted above all that is called god in thee , who art for condemnacion and destruction , as it is written . query 3. whether the devil be stronger than christ , the flesh than the spirit ? or where dost thou finde he was ever a prisoner in satans chains ? answ . we witness that he was in satans chains , and is in thee , else how could they crucifie him afresh ? thou enemy of righteousness , who hast shewed forth thy ignorance , and thou art he that keeps him in them ; here thou shewest thy self to be ignorant of the letter , but art one of them that imprisons the truth ; christ sayth , i was in prison , and is kept in prison by thee , and ye visited me not , matth. 25. 43. the devil shall cast some of you into prison , rev. 2. 10. and christ sayth , saul why persecutest thou me ? and in that generacion thou art persecuting , but in all these things thou shewest thy self to be ignorant of the life and power within , but art querying without with thy busie minde , looking with the eye that cannot see , and hearkning with that ear which cannot hear , which shews that thou never knewst christ , but dost imprison him ; the same which discended did ascend , which sayd , he had overcome the world , iohn 16. 33. if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear , but thou art he that quenches the spirit , and despisest prophecying , who lives in the lusts of the flesh , who art for destruction and the fier , doth not the letter say , he was taken from prison , from judgment , and was he not in prison when barnabas was delivered , when a company of rude fellows came from the high priests ( such as thou art ) to take him and lead him to prison , and he it is which is imprisoned still , the cause of it is , thou and such high priests as thou art , mark 15. 1. which stir up the rude company to bring him to the magistrate , and to the prison still , matth. 26. 59. o thou enemy of righteousness ! dost thou inquire whether christ was in prison , thou art born after the flesh , and persecutest him who is born after the spirit , here thou art answered . query 1. whether it be not a needless expression to speak of drawing the soul to christ , if christ be so near us as in us a teacher and leader already , iohn 6. 44. answ . thou enemy , the tempter and serpent , christ hath called thee to repentance , and thou hast been convinced with the light which is christ , but thou livest in the flesh and in the filthiness , in the mystery of iniquity , who wouldst have the scripture to be answered without thee , who art an enemy to the life that gave it forth , mark 15. 1. therefore to such as thou , and to thy generacion the wo was ever preached , for thou art one of them which was in the generacion of the pharises , who tempted christ , who were enemyes to him , though they professed the prophets words , and moses words , but thou art for destruction , and misery will be thy end . query 2 ▪ whether it be not an improper speech of christ , to say , you will not come to me , when he is in them , and they in him before ? according to what you affirm . answ . thou blinde hypocrite and pharise , here thou hast shewed thy self to be a blinde guide indeed , that neither knows christ , nor the drawing of christ ; how darest thou say there is improperness in his speech , but it is that thou being an enemy of him mightst utter forth thy folly , who art one of them that will not come to him , that thou mightst have life , iohn 5. 40. but thou art seeking the outward letter , which is a testificacion of him , standing up in thy own imaginacions , and wouldst have the scripture answer thee ; so thou serpent wouldst have dust , but with imaginacions i will not feed thee ▪ but with judgment ( as it is written ) but thy minde i do deny , and to the spirit that is in prison i speak , 1 pet. 3. 19. whom thou art an enemy to , and to thee the plagues of god are due . query 1. whether the time of dark natures power be not a night to the soul ? iohn 11. 10. answ . this is thy own condicion , thou needest not to have asked it , for thy soul thou knowest not , but the dark power reigns and rules in thee , therefore thou stumblest , because there is no light in thy understanding , john 12. 10. thou art in the night , and there is stumbling , and knowst not whither ▪ thou goost , one that hates the light , a childe of disobedience . query 2. whence it is that they that walk in the light stumble , if they have such a pure leading light in them . answ . thou stumblest in these queries , because thou art disobedient to the light , and hatest it , as others do , and these are frivolous queries that proceed from a frivolous minde , who bringest scriptures , and art ignorant , as a natural bruit beast made to be taken and destroyed ▪ ( as peter sayth ) now the evil nature in thee at this may rage , but in that generacion thou art , one that hateth the light , and stumbles and walks in darkness , and knowest not whither thou goest , john ● . 11. and here again thou hast shewed thy self ignorant of the letter , and of christs words . query ● . whether the reason given by christ be a tru and solid reason , yea or no ? answ . thou with thy damnable doctrine wouldst compare christ like thy self , with thy filthy reason , who art one of the false prophets , who denyest the lord , therefore thou art questioning christs words , which shews thee a pharise , who did question christ ; thou enemy of god , where canst then accuse christ that he spoke unsolidly or unsoundly , or spoke a ly ? o thou busiminded fellow ! what hast thou to do to question christs words ? mark ● . ● . but thou shewest forth thy busie filthy minde , luke 23. 2. that thou mightst accuse him where he is made manifest ; thou pharise and hypocrite . query 4. if so , whether they that say every man hath a sufficient light , be not lyars and deceivers of the people , yea or no ? ans . here thou shewest thy self to be a deceiver openly , and all thou speakest is deceit , & from thy dark minde , that comprehends not the light that enlightens every one that comes into the world , who hates it stumbles at noon-day , john. 5. and there thou art , who hast put forth so many stumbling queries , and in that generacion thou art ; the same spirit is made manifest as was in the apostles which doth comprehend thee , who shalt eternally witness me , who cannot flatter thee ; and hast shewed thy self openly to be without the light of god in darkness , yet art pleading for it ▪ therefore thou makest christ a lyar and a deceiver , and art in that generacion that ever called him so ; iesus christ sayd , i am the light of the world which enlightens every one that comes into the world , iohn ● . 9. one he loves the light and walks in it , and there is no occasion of stumbling ; the other hates the light because his deeds are evil , and because it will reprove them , and this is the cond●mnacion of the world , and of thee . query 1. whether all men are lead by the spirit of god ? rom. 8 , 9 , 14. answ . no thou art not lead by the spirit of god , but art lead by the prince of darkness who rules in the children of disobedience , ephes . 2. ● . so thou art one that hatest the light , and quenchest the spirit , 2 thess . 5. 19. crucifiest christ , and shewest thy self openly blinde ; dost thou profess thy self to be a minister of god , and queriest whether all be lead by the spirit ? here thou makest thy nakedness and foolishness appear . query 2. whether all men without exceptions are the sons of god ? answ . no , thou art not , nor none of thy flock , we know thee so to be , except ye be born again , iohn 3. 3. ye must first be born again , but thou art a childe of wrath and disobedience ; and here thou hast shewed forth thy natural birth , and as a bruit beast which iude speaks of , iude 10. and this must thou own before thou knowst what it is to be a son or servant , which yet thou art an enemy to . query 1. whether the preaching of the gospel be not a spiritual husbandry and warfare ? 1 cor. ● . 9 , 13 , 14. answ . we do witness the preaching of the gospel to be a spiritual warfare and husbandry , to pluck up such fruitless trees and briars and thorns as thou art which cumber the ground , 1 cor. 3. 9. and to war against such pharises as thou art , which hath long stood in the vineyard cumbring the ground , whose fruit stinks , as it is written , every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen down and cast into the fier , matth. 3. 10. which thou art one , and the cursed fig-tree , so the warfare is against such as thou art , who livest in spiritual wickedness , which christ cryed wo against , matth. 11. 21. that had the chiefest places in the assemblyes , matth. 23 , and there is the war that wars against such as thou art . query 2. whether men go to war at their own cost . 1 cor. 7. 9 13 14. answ : a query out of the scripture thou bringest , who goeth a warfare at his own charge , but the same apostle sayd , he did use none of these things , neither have i written these things , that it should be so done unto me , i preach the gospel , i have nothing to glory of ; wo is unto me if i preach not the gospel , cor. 19. 15 61. thou wrestest his words , to maintain thy gifts , and thou hast planted no vineyard , nor never wast in the warfare , and art not come to know it , and the flock the apostle speaks of , thou knowest not , but art an enimy to it ; neither knowest thou the milk that was given to the flock , but thou art one of them that fayl with thy feet , ezek : 34. 18. that hast nothing but the husk , which is fit for nothing but the swine , but as a theif wouldst be up in the apostles condicion . the apostl spoke the truth , which thou art out of , and to the flock he spoke of it , and the vineyard thou art an enimy to , and that with all thy power and might , wouldst wrest the scripture : but thou art thrust out , and discovered , with them who are within and seen by us , and so , i bid thee farewell ; unto perdicion thou must go . query 3. whether the apostles did not give a tru exposicion , of the 9 ▪ verse in the forecited ●hapter , and in the 10 verse ; and if so , then he that plougheth , and thresheth , may do it in hope , and expectacion of outward preservacion in his labour ; not to have his mouth muzelled . answ : thou wouldst not have thy mouth muzeled , the mouth of the false prophets must be stopped , as the apostle saith , evil beasts , slow-b●llies , whose mouths must be stopped , tit. 1. 11 12. and thou art one of them who takes the apostles words for thy carnal ends , and wouldst have exposicions upon his words , who perverts his words , and sayst , he gave exposicions , who spoke plainly , and thou showest thy self to be one of them that the apostle spoke unto query 4. whether there be not the same equity that those that wait on the gospell should have maintenance , as well as those that wayted on the temple , and on the altar . aensw : they that waited on the altar , lived upon the altar , and they that preached the gospel , lived on the gospel , 1 cor. 9 ▪ 13. but repent , thou knowest neither , but art a deceiver , and makest a trade upon the scripture , but praised be the lord god , who hath given a light to discover thee , and to draw from under thy bands , for thou neither waitest upon the altar , nor canst not witness the gospel , but only that scripture thou bringest to maintain thy gift , which thou confessest thou receivest : worse then balaam , 2 pet. 2. 15. query 5. whether the ordinances of christ in this be out of date , yea or no ? answ : christ is the same he was , where he is made manifest , and his ordinances the same , but thou art one that dost deny them , and disobey them ; did not christ command his whom he made teachers , mat. 23. 8. 10. that they should not be called of men masters ? and that they would not have the cheifest place in the assemblies ? for they were all brethren . come down thou painted beast , and proud pharisy , who ever wast an enimy of christ . wo is thy porcion , for thou art out of date with them , for thou dost not observe them . query 6. whether simply taking of wages make a hierling yea ▪ ●r no ? answ : thou robest the world , whereas the apostle saith , he robed the churches , 2 cor. 11 8. and thou robst the world , for the church of god is the ground and pillar of truth ▪ 1 tim. 3. 15. thou blind sot , and coloured beast , doth not wages make a hyerling ; thou canst not deny but thou art an hyerling : thou receivest a gift , balaams wages of unrighteousness , therefore wo is thy porcion . vvhat hast thou to do with the apostles ? who spoke against gifts . query 7 if so , how could paul be excused from being a hierling , he taking wages as well as others ? answ : art thou as paul was ? or wouldst thou make him like thy self ? who robest the world , and he took of other churches . o thou filthy beast ! who slanderest the church of christ , and the apostles with thy filthy minde , who wouldst make the apostle an hyerling , like thy self , who hast nothing to do with the apostle , nor the church of christ ▪ but as a filthy fellow , thou makest a trade upon the letter , and other mens condicions , to deceive withall ; but thou art discovered to be worse than balaam , who denyed the gift of baalack , though he loved it , num. 22. 18. but all thy pleading , and querying , is for the gift , showing thy self to be worse than balaam . query 8. whether the worlds wages doth not imply some kinde of contract between them yea , or no ? because he had wages of other churches , for preaching to those of corinth , phil. 4. 17 18. answ : thou askest , whether paul did well or no , in receiving a gift of the phillipians ; thou wrestest his words in saying he received a gift , for saith he , in the scripture , not because i desire a gift , but i desire fruit that may abound to your account : but i have all , phil. 4. 17 18. how fain wouldst thou make the apostle like thy self , an offender , so thy eye is blinded with a gift , ( as it is written ) and here i charge thee to accuse the apostle falsly , query 9. whether if paul received a gift , why may not others supply their necessaries ? answ : paul sayd , not because i desire a gift , in the same verse , which words thou pervertest , but that fruit might abound , for he denyed balaams gifts . thou enimy of righteousness , how darest thou slander the apostle who was a tru minister of god ; all thy end in thy querying is for thy gift , to maintain thee in balaams seat ; here i charge thee by the lord to be a perverter of the scripture , who art in the way of kain , iude 11. i can scarce compare thee to balaam , for he denyed the gift which thou pleadest for , and wrestest the scripture to maintain it , and therefore wo is to thee , who lovest the wages of unrighteousness ; but thou art one who servest not the lord iesus christ , but thy own belly , and by good words , and fayr speeches deceivest the hearts of the simple , rom : 16 18. phil : 3 19. query 10 whether david was not in a heavenly condicion , while on the earth , as well as any of you , being a man after gods own heart ? acts 2 34. answ : he was in that heavenly condicion , which thou shalt never see : david we witness and his condicion , whom thou art an enimy to , and with thy aspiring mind wouldst know ; but it is the subtle serpent which is shut forth , which christ cryed , wo unto you serpents , which paint your selves with the prophets words , math 23 33 and so thou art painted , and wouldst be painted , and wo is thy porcion , as t was theirs , math : ●3 . 33. query 11 what heaven is this , that he is not ascended into ? answ : ●hou wouldst know what heaven david is not ascended into : thou never kn●west davids condicion that he was in , that minde of thine must first know hell , where the wicked are turned into psal : 9 17. thou hast nothing to do to know where david is ascended , for thou never knewest his first estate , nor thou art not brought into his condicion , but he that knowes the heaven of heavens , knows what heaven it is ; he that hath an eare let him hear , but thou art in the generacion of them that hated david . query 3. if not ascended into heaven , where was he all that time , being dead long before ? discover this by scripture any of you all , if cleared to any of you . answ . here thou beast art got up , and shewest forth thy pride , when thou knowest the heavens thou shalt know where david is , wouldst thou have a meaning to that which the apostle spoke , another meaning to his words ? he sayd it was so plainly , and we witness the same ; david is not yet ascended , what sayst thou to that ? we witness it is as the apostle spoke , acts 12. 34. wouldst thou pervert his words ? here thou hast shewed forth thy dark minde ; davids sepulcher we know and see , and it is with us as the apostle sayd , acts 2. 29. if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear ; but thou art blinde , and therefore dost thou rage and cavil , and there thou wouldst have another meaning to the scripture , in this query , which shews that thou hast not the same spirit that gave them forth , and plainly hast shewed forth thy blindness and ignorance ; wouldst thou have the scripture cleared up to thy dark minde and carnal eye ? as job sayd , it is hid from thee ; the scriptures are as they speak , we witness them ; here i charge thee again , thou wouldst have another meaning to scriptures than they are , and thou wouldst have us to clear them to thy covetous eye , but thou must have thy eye cleared , for darkness cannot comprehend the light , john 1. 5. ( as the scriptures sayth ) for the natural man knows not the things of god , 1 cor. 2. 14. thou knowest them not , nor no serpent , nor scribes and pharises , who are in thy nature ; but god is light , in him is no darkness at all , who hath made himself manifest unto us , & we do witness that they are of no private interpretacion , 2 pet. 1. 20. and we deny all thy clearing which thou wouldst have us to give of them , for we own them with that spirit which gave them forth . and in the same query thou speakest of george fox , who as thou sayst , is our cunning and subtle leader ; the name of george fox is carnal , and thou with thy carnal eye , and by thy carnal imaginacions lookst and imaginest our leader to be carnal , such as thine is , the carnal letter , but herein thou art under the power of witchcraft , and the deceit hath blinded thy eye , for our leader is not carnal , but eternal and spiritual , rom. 8. 14. which leading yet thou never knewst nor canst not witness , therefore dost thou blaspheme ▪ but art lead by thy imaginacions , as in this thing thou makest plainly appear , and art guided and lead by him who is the subtlest of any beast of the field , the cunning serpent , under whose dominion and government thou art , and that which all the tru servants of god in all generacions were guided by do we witness to be our leader , who was before time , when as george fox is in time , and so not the leader of the saints , but him we own as one with us in the eternal unity . query 1. what they were that had not sinned after the similitude of adams transgressions , he being the publick head of mankinde in the first creation . answ . thou wouldst know what they were that had not sinned after the similitude of adams transgressions , but thy knowledg is bruitish , and they are hid from thee , without thy understanding eternally ; and here thou hast shewed forth thy self not to have the same spirit that gave forth the scriptures , for if thou hadst thou mightst see them , and if thou knewst adam as he was in the beginning , as he was in the head , ( as thou sayst ) thou mightst see them , but thou dost not see thy self in the fall , and the death passed over thee , which hath passed over all men , rom. 5. 12. and art in the trangression of adam in the fall , eating of the tree of knowledg which god forbad , but those we do know , which thou with that eye shalt never see , who art a busi-body . query 2. wherein was adam a figure of him that was to come ? answ . wouldst thou have the figure cleared to thy dark minde , he was the figure of him that was to come ; here thou shewest thou neither knowest the figure nor the substance , if thou hadst known the figure or the substance thou wouldst have known the apostles meaning , we witness as it is ; and here i charge thee again that thou wouldst have another meaning than the apostle spoke , who wouldst have the scripture cleared , shewing that thou hast not the same spirit that the apostles had , r●m . 5. 14. here thou makest thy self manifest to be a stranger to the life of god , death reigns in thee , and thou neither knowest adam ▪ nor moses , and there is the scripture cleared up to thee , it is thou that must be cleared ; and there is thy meaning to it . query 1. who were they that were baptised for the dead ? 1 cor. 15. 29. answ . wouldst thou have another meaning of them , who are baptised for the dead ? it seems that the dead is not risen in thee ; and here th●n standst in thy imaginacions , and that dead minde in thee shall never know any thing of the scripture , nor any thing of god , but art dead from the truth , 1 cor. 15. 29. but we witness it to be fulfilled . query 2. what his meaning is in being baptised for the dead ? answ . here is the evil minde in thee , that would be aspiring to know the baptisme of the dead ; here thou shewest thou never knewst christ , nor the apostles , nor baptisme , nor death in thy self , rom. 6. 3. but makest thy ignorance and foolishness to appear , when ever thou knowest death to that which is alive in thee , and that thou must before ever thou comest to know the scriptures , that which would have a meaning to it , we do deny , for we witness it through the death of that nature which is alive in thee , who art blinde and canst not see , which never shall know the meaning of that scripture ( but death ) with thy carnal eye , rom. 8. 6. query 3. how this makes to the proving of the point of the resurrection , the apostle instancing it to this end ? answ . when thou knowest the baptisme , thou shalt know the resurrection , but to make a point of resurrection i utterly deny ; here thou hast shewed thy witchcraft , i charge thee in the presence of the lord god almighty to make an image for thy dead minde , as touching the point of the resurrection ; psalm 73. ●0 . the resurrection thou wouldst have a point made of it , and the proof of this point to thy dead carnal minde : i utterly deny thy points with thy dead minde , raised out of the dead letter , which was given forth from a living and an eternal spirit , but thy dead minde is an enemy to the resurrection ; and here thou shewest thy self plainly unlearned , 2 pet. 3. 16. and untaught of god , for before thou know the resurrection , thou must deny all thy dead points and proofs ; and openly hast thou declared it in these queryes , that thou neither knewst life nor resurrection . query 4. what guile and craft was it he taught them by ? 2 cor. 12. 1● . answ . o thou vain man ! thou wouldst know what guile and craft the saints were taught by , not thy guile , and witchcraft , and sorcery , which thou livest in , ier. 27. 9. which thou drawest people from the truth withall , by thy fair colours and imaginacions , and so feedest them with thy corrupt stuff● and it is that which thou art an enemy to , and never knewst , for thou art in the gall of bitterness , buying and selling the letter , catching with thy witchcraft , and this is thy guile , giving thy imaginacions upon the scriptures which paul gave forth , rom. ● . 21. shewing forth thy spiritual whoredom from the life of them that gave it forth ; thou art not come so far as simon magus , who would have bought the gift of god for money , but the wisdom of god takes the wise in their own craftiness ; and here thou hast shewed thy self to be ignorant of the ministers of god , and thy self to be full of subtilty and a fool . query 1. what enlightning this is ? heb. 6 , 4 , 5 , 6. answ . it is the enlightning which thou knowest not of , which is not born up in thy understanding , which thou art an enemy to , which is the light of god , which light thou hatest , iohn 3. 20. query ● . what heavenly gift it is they tasted ? answ . if thou knewst the gift of god , iohn 4. 10. thou wouldst not buy and sell the letter , for the gift of god is not to be bought and sold , and that gift shalt thou never know , which is the gift of god , rom. 6. 23. query 3. how or in what sense they were made pertakers of the holy ghost . answ . wouldst thou draw the holy ghost to thy sense , and to thy carnal reason ? with which thou shalt never know it , but art blind , without god in the world , & wouldst intrude into the saints condicions , ephes . 2. 12. query . what world to come is this they tasted of ? answ . not of the dark world which thou art in : that world which thou shalt never see , for that world and the holy ghost we witness , therefore we see thee in the dark world without god , rom. 5. 13. query 5. whether such as these did fall away ? answ . thou hast shewed forth thy ignorance of the form of the letter , many did taste of the power of god , and did eat of the spiritual meat , and did drink of the spiritual drink , and were destroyed , 1 cor. 10. ● , 4. this meat and drink thou knowest not , nor art not come to eat of it . query 6. how or in what sense they cruci●ied the son of god afresh ▪ and put him to open shame ? answ . thou wouldst know in what sense they crucified the son of god afresh , and thou art he that crucifiest him where he is risen and made manifest , and they are they which crucifie him afresh , who have tasted of the heavenly gift , and draw back from it , which gift yet thou art not come to know , hadst thou an ear thou mightst hear , rev. 2. 11. but thou art in the estate of the chief priests and pharises , who could tell by the letter where he should be born , but were they that put him to death . in these six questions thou hast shewed forth thy self that thou dost not know the light which the saints were and are enlightned by , nor thou dost not know the heavenly gift ; now here thou hast shewed thy self openly to be a blinde minister of the letter , and what dost thou speak to people but the carnal letter , which dost not know the gift of god , and thou hast shewed that thou dost not know the holy ghost , but wouldst have a carnal sense upon that which is eternal ; and here thou hast shewed thy self to be a natural man indeed ; for shame blush and give over thy trade , and prating about other mens matters ; thou busi-body , thou hast openly shewed thou dost not know the world which is to come , heb. 6. 5. but hast shewed thy self to be one that keeps people in the dark world ; and here thou makest it manifest that thou never tastedst of the world to come ; and here thou hast raced out thy self , and shut thy self up in the dark world ; and here thou art taken in thy craftiness , and catched in thy subtle guile , because thou hast shewed thy self that thou never wert in the way ; therefore thou dost not see them ; and here it is that makes it manifest , thou art in the fall , and in the by-path , and in the dark , and in the broad way , and there thou keepst poor people ; and thou hast shewed that thou art he that crucifies christ , mark 15. 13 , 14. and bringst all others to crucifie him , and dost not know that condicion of them that crucified him afresh , but art spending all thy strength to keep people from him , which eternally thou and they and all people shall witness us to speak the truth ; wheras thou hast sayd thou hast given me a taste , least thou shouldst tyer me ; but friend , thy spirit i did taste before i did see thy queryes , which is the spirit of antichrist , and knowing nothing of the tru christ , which thou hast openly shewed , that spirit of thine cannot weary us , for it is for destruction . thou blinde sot , how darest thou speak to people , that neither knowst the enlightning nor the holy ghost , nor the gift of god , nor the world which is to come , therefore what dost thou lead them out of ? nor what is it to crucifie christ afresh , nor the condicion of them that fall away , which shews that thou art not out of the fall ; therefore all people who hear this fellow , take notice of this blinde guide , how ignorant he hath shewed himself of the doctrine of christ , 2 john 1. 9. and raced himself out to be no minister of christ , as not knowing the apostles condicions ; all these things we witness fulfilled , acts 13. 33. the holy ghost , the enlightning , the world to come , and the heavenly gift , but not by any such teacher as thou art , prayses be to the lord alone for ever ▪ the lord alone is our teacher , therefore do we deny and testifie against all such as thou art , all these things hath god fulfilled in us , rom. 8. 4. therefore we witness them , prayses be to the lord god for ever . query 1. whether the old testament discovering the minde of god to man , be of any esteem with you ? yea or no. answ . we witness the new testament and old both , and thee to be without both , but onely to make a trade of them , and there they are in esteem to thee , for thou hast never come out of egypt yet , for when he lead them out of egypt he gave them a covenant , judges 1. 2. but thou neither knowest moses , nor the prophets nor christ , but they are in esteem with us , and we witness against thee . query 2. whether thou canst or dare deny the generality of the precepts given in this particular before cited ? answ . the precepts of god we own all , but thou neither ownest prcepts , law , nor command , nor statutes , nor ordinances ; therefore a busie fellow thou art , querying whether we own them or no , that thou mightst accuse ; for if thou didst own them , thou wouldst own us and christ , but thy precepts and commands we deny , and doctrines , and ordinances , for they are not to be tasted , touched , nor handled , for they are to perish with the using of them , col. 2. 21 , 22. query 3. whether it be not the work of satan on your spirits , to endeavour to stop the greatest part in the world from giving that to god which he calls for ? answ . it is the work of god to stop the mouths of the world , that we witness ; and it is the work of satan to open the mouths of the world , and he opens their mouths , who keeps open thy mouth , whose mouth must be stopped , tit. 1. 11. and that which the world gives to the living god is abominacion , for the whole world lyes in wickedness , and thou wouldst have the worlds mouth kept open , and that which is abominacion to the lord god set up ; but the lord is coming in power to throw down the abominacion , and to stop the mouths of the world , which thou wouldst justifie and set open , shewing thy self to be a freind of the god of this world : it is the work of god to stop the mouths of the world . freind thou wouldst have an answer to these scriptures and queries , ro● : 7. 18 , 25. 1 iohn 19. query 1 whether thou dost own the scripture for a truth ? answ : we witness the scripture to be a truth , and thee to be a lyar , not knowing any thing of them . query 2 do you not deceive your selves in saying you have no sin ? answ : here thou errest in not knowing that epistle which thou bringest to accuse us withall , for the same that gave it forth , sayd , if ye confess your sins , he is faithfull and just to forgive and to cleanse you from all uncleanesse 1 iohn , 1. 9. here thou hast shewed thy selfe that thou art not come yet to the confession of thy sinns , therefore farre short from cleansing from all thy filthinesse of flesh and spirit ; but blessed be god the father of our lord jesus christ , who is making manifest himself to destroy the works of the devill , 1 iohn 3 8. and here thou shewest that iesus christ is not made manifest to thee , and that the works of the devill are yet standing in thee . o thou enimy of god and righteousness ! what hast thou preached all this while to poor ignorant blind people ? now thou hast shewed here that thy faith is vain , and that thou art yet in thy sins , ( as the scripture shews plainly ) he that beleives is born of god , and cannot commit sin , 1 iohn 3 9 query 3 : how canst thou justifie thy self to be in the truth , and the truth in thee , when thy words make it a very token and signe that the truth is not in thee ? answ : thy token and thy signe is without thee , and here thou shewest thy self to be in the generacion of the pharises , looking for outward signes , and outward tokens , and sayst , how can we justifie our selves , thou dark sot , did ever truth come to justifie selfe ? truth ever comes to condemn selfe ; here thou hast showed forth thy confusion in this query , and in thy dark minde : if we say we have not sinned , we deceive our selves , and make him a lyar , and the truth is not in us , 1 iohn 1. 10. but where iesus christ is made manifest , he is made manifest to destroy the works of the devill , and he that sinneth is of the devil , 1 iohn 3. 8. here are the children of god made manifest , and the children of the devil , for he that commiteth sin never knew god ; if we had not sined , we had needed no saviour , and here thou showest thy self to be a child of the devil , and never knewest god , but standest for the devils kingdom , making thy self manifest , not to be in that condicion as they were that spoke forth the scriptures , but art without god in the world , ephes . 2. 12. hating those now who have the life of them made manifest , and jesus christ , who is come and made manifest to destroy the works of the devil ; this i witness to be fulfilled , and the taking away of sin , and the cleansing from all unrighteousness , therefore i clear my conscience . prayse to the glorious god for ever , who is coming to lead poor simple people from their blinde guides , for to the children of god ye are discovered to be the children of the devil . query 1. are the scriptures owned for a truth ? yea or no. james 3. 2. answ . here thou hast shewed forth thy busie minde , one question had been enough to have asked , whether the scriptures be tru yea or no ? we witness the scriptures to be tru , and we witness thee to be a lyar , and erring from the scripture not knowing them , matth. 22. 29. many scriptures thou hast stollen to maintain thee in thy sin , and to uphold the devils kingdom , who livest wholly in offences , and bringst them into the same offences like thy self , and wouldst make the apostles offenders like thy self , for the apostle sayth , whosoever offends not in words , the same is a perfect man , and able to bridle the whole body , and whosoever hath not power over his own tongue , his religion is vain , james 3 , 2. and here thou shewest thy religion to be vain . query 2 : is there a greater priviledg or freedom now for christians , than there was for the apostles or brethren in those times ? if so , discover it by scripture . answ . here thou hast shewed thou knowst nothing , for thou art desiring to know their priviledg , which minde in thee never shall , for the same priviledg the apostles did enjoy we enjoy , and the unity is but one , ephes . ● . 13. and the same word they did enjoy we do enjoy , and the same christ we enjoy , and the same god they did enjoy we do enjoy ; here thou wouldst make two , which shews thou art in the con●●sion ; there is a greater priviledg and freedom now than there was then , yet the same ; and in thy query thou hast shewed , thou knowest nothing of scripture : and again thou sayst that as for what any of us say , besides , or above it , or against it , thou weighest it not , and all scripture is for the perfecting of the man of god , ephes . 4. 1● . which we witness , but thou shewest thou knowst nothing of the scriptures , but hast spoken besides it , and against it , as oft i have shewed thee in thy former writings and queries , and added to it ▪ and perverted it , therefore are the plagues du to thee , and are thy porcion . clear thy self if thou canst , let that in thy conscience clear thee , but it cannot i know : thou wouldst be satisfied ( if we can ) what are the reasons that so many questions should never be answered till our days , though god had still a people in the world ; and where didst thou see such questions put forth before , for the darkness has reigned long , and gods people did ever stand against such things ; thou mayst reade of many martyrs that suffered death , who witnessed the truth against the pretended truth , for the dark time and power of babylon hath long reigned , and the works of the beast ; but now god is raising up light in peoples hearts , 2 cor. 4. 6. by which ye are descended that profess the scripture to be your rule and touch-stone to try withall , for the queries are put forth to you that ye might see your selves , 1 cor. 4. 5. that there is no scripture for what you act , and that you might shew forth your filthiness ; and here in thy queryes and writings thou hast made it appear openly , the dark power that hath reigned in thee hath been an upholder of this babylon , that never knew any thing of the life of the scripture come to be opened to thee , but now thy torment is but beginning , and so fare thee well , and if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear , rev. 2. 11. but thy carnal filthy blinde minde in this will not be satisfied , nor never must , but must first know destruction , and is for desruction , which is an enemy to god ; therefore do we not flatter thee , nor few pillows under thy arm-holes , that thou maystly soft . query . a question thou askest , which is most likely to be antichrist , and of the devil , he that ▪ preaches a power in all men to obey . answ . now here thou shewest thy self openly to be antichrist , and of the devil , and knows not the first principle , for jesus christ sayth , i am the light of the world that enlightens every one that comes into the world , he that loves the light brings his deeds to the light , that the light might prove them , and he that walks in the light there is no occasion of stumb●ing , and the other he hates the light ▪ because his deeds are evil , and the light will reprove them , iohn 3. ●● . the light is the condemnacion of the world , which light is christ , who sayth ▪ he is the light ; here thou hast made thy self openly to be blinde , and one of the children of disobedience , who disobey the light , and wouldst have all others to disobey it , and to follow thy imaginacions , and so thou dost not onely deny it thy self , but thou wouldst have all others to deny it ; for the grace of god which bringeth salvacion , hath appeared to all , and teacheth us ( the saints ) to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts , tit. 2. 11 , 12. this is the saints teacher , but thou shewest thy self to be blinde and ignorant of the letter : this grace hath appeared to all freely , and this grace of god is the free teacher , but such as thou art in the world , turns this grace into wantonness , and sets up teachers without you , and so denyes the grace of god to teach , and so lives in ungodliness and unrighteousness , and tempts god for grace when the grace of god hath appeared to all ; and here thou shewest thy self to be a tempter of god , iames 5. 5. and void of grace and understanding , turning it into wantonness , which should teach thee , and drawst ot hers from it . query . another question thou ask●st : who is more likely to be antichrist and of the devil , he that sayth he is christ and the light of the world , or he that preaches that false christs should come ? answ . the same that sayd false christs should come , the same christ sayd he was christ , and the light of the world , this christ and this light we witness ; here thou callest iesus christ antichrist , and hast shewed forth thy blasphemy , iames 2. 7. thou blasphemer , how darest thou profess thy self to be a minister of christ , and blasphemest christ ? 2 tim. 3. 2. and questionest whether he that sayth he is christ , be not of the devil or no ; and here thou hast shewed thy self to be in the generacion of the iews that blasphemed christ , and called him devil , iohn 10. 33 , 36. for the same christ we witness made as manifest as ever , and thee to be a reprobate without christ , and thou hast made thy self openly to appear to be a reprobate without god and christ in the world , ephes . 2. 12. query . another question thou askest ▪ who is like to be the man thou speakest of , he that sayth he is equal with god and christ , or he that preached christ the head ? ans . here in this question thou hast openly shewed thy self not to have the same minde the apostle had , for sayth he , i would the same minde were in you that was also in christ iesus , who thought it no robbery to be equal with god , and yet made himself of no reputa●ion ▪ phil. 2. 5. and here thou hast shewed thy self that thou hast neither the minde of christ , nor his apostles , but art an antichrist , and an enemy against them that witness these things , which the apostle said , i would that ye were of the same minde ; and again the apostle sayth , our fellowship is with the father and the son , 1 iohn 1. 3. and he did write to others that their fellowship might be with them , and he that hath the father hath the son also , and he that is joyned to the lord is one spirit , and he that is joyned to an harlot is one flesh , and there thou art , harloted from all the saints , christ and the apostles , and hast shewed thy self to be an enemy against them who are in the same minde and condicion as the apostles and saints were ; here be thou a witness against thy self , that thou art witnessing against the life of the saints , he that preached christ witnessed the head and the members , and wished the same minde to be in them as was in christ , who thought it no robbery to be equal with god , phil. 2. 6 , 7. which thou art ignorant of , but thou hast shewed thy self that thou neither knowest the head nor the members , nor the body , but wouldst seek to take the preheminence from christ , who hast got the chief place in the assembly , and art called of men master , but christ sayd , call no man master on earth , for you have one master even christ , matth. 23. 7. and there thou hast taken the preheminence which christ sayth , he that will be greatest must be servant to all , matth. 23. 8 , 11. but thou art got above all , in the place of them that the wo was preached to , and there is thy porcion , own it . finis . certain queries occasioned by a printed paper of richard farnsworth , sent to be answered , and no name subscribed : from dark mindes which be full of subtlety , not knowing the first principle . 1 query . whether that light within unto which thou exhortest all to attend , be in unbelievers , as well as in believers ? yea or no. answ . friend , in this first query thou wouldst know , whether the light be in others , which shews forth thy dark minde , which cannot comprehend the light , neither hast thou the light which the scripture speak of ? iesus christ sayth , i am the light that enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. the one he loves the light , and brings his works to the light , and walks in the light , and there is no occasion of stumbling , iohn 11. 9. the other he hates this light , because his deeds are evil , and this is his condemnacion , the light ; be silent all flesh ! friend , thou art one that hates this light , thy spirit is tryed , for if thou wert in the light , there would be no occasion of stumbling , but thou art antichrist , without this light , iohn 4. 3. therefore thou dost not see the light which hath enlightned every one , the believer and the unbeliever , which is his condemnacion that believes not . 2 query . if in unbelievers as well as in believers , whether is it one and the same light , with that anoynting thou speakest of ? yea or no. answ . it is one with the anoynting , and if it were not one with the anoynting , it were one against the anoynting , an imagined light , wherein thou hast shewed thy blindness , and thy ignorance thou makest appear , which neither knowest the light nor the anoynting , for thy dark minde cannot comprehend it , light shines in darkness and darkness comprehends it not , iohn 1. 5. and there thou art exalted in the foolish wisdom which is of the world , which is foolishness to the wisdom of god , swelling in the lying vanityes , one of them that are disobedient to the light , without god in the world , the son of perdicion , which is exalted above all that is called god. 3 query . whether it be not the new law of righteousness written in the heart to condemn sin in the flesh , which thou sayst a man may say he is above the law by the gospel , be not the pure and true gospel manifested by iesus christ ? yea or no. answ . that is thy own condicion , for thou art got above professing the gospel , or the new law of righteousness , which knowest neither in the power of truth through the death , for if thou didst , there would not be such a confusion in thy queryes , and in thy words , for thou professest the gospel , with thy busie minde , and wouldst be informed as touching those things , and wouldst be up in the highest place professing the gospel , but thou must come down to the first principle , heb. 5. 12. and see thy self a childe of disobedience , in whom the prince of the ayer yet lodgeth , for hence it is so many do profess the gospel and the new law of righteousness , and are not come through the law , for the law hath power over a man as long as he lives , and who are made free from the law are made free from sin through the law , 1 iohn 3. 4. i am dead to the law , where this is witnessed , and the gospel known and the new law of righteousness ; but friend , this is out of thy dark minde , for thou art drunk yet with the earthly spirit , and appearest something in thy comprehension , which is gathered in with imaginacions and conceivings , but the promise is , thou must be scattered , and if ever thou witness that fulfilled , thou wilt witness what i say , but thy dark minde comprehends me not . 4. query . whether thou makest any distinction between the new law of righteousness , written in the heart , by the life of jesus , and the law administred by moses , which sayth , do this and live ; and if thou make any , wherein lyes it ? answ . thou wouldst be comprehending with thy reason , to know a difference without thee , which shews forth thy blindness , death reigned from adam till moses , and that it doth in thee yet , for that which should see is in the death : the law and the prophets they were untill iohn , and iohn untill christ , he that can receive it let him , if thou canst receive it thou mayst , and when thou comest to go through moses , and through the prophets , and through iohn to come to christ , then shalt thou see the light is but one , but thou art making a difference betwixt christ and moses as the pharises did , who knew not moses , nor the prophets , nor iohn , nor christ , and in that generacion of the pharises thou art ; i must deal plainly with thee , thy spirit is known and tryed , which is not the spirit that raised up iesus ; therefore thou who wouldst be comprehending with thy reason , thou and thy reason are comprehended , which shall never search into the things of god , the pure wisdom of god is shut up from that vulterous eye , iob 28. 7. and venomous beast , who art come out of the bottomless pit , and thither must return again , and in the viperous generacion thou art : and as touching the outward commands and observances , where the life of iesus is made manifest , the substance of all types and ●igures is come , rom. 10. 4. there is no more observing them , being made free from all them by him who was under the law , made under the law to fulfill the law , and the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us , who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit , rom. 8. 2. and who are here denyes all the carnal outward observances & tradicions , as the temple outwardly which god had commanded , and circumcision outwardly , and the priests outwardly , for they had received iesus christ the high priest who is the end of the law , rom. 10. 4. so the carnal minde had carnal types and figures and shadows of heavenly things , but he that is made free from the law , is made free from the curse , which thou art not , which gave forth these queries , if thou hadst thou wouldst not have shewed forth thy busie minde ; but it is now as the apostle sayd , it was then , there was some doting about questions , and the law , which thou shewest thy self to be one of them who hast uttered forth thy folly , therefore be ashamed and lay thy hand upon thy mouth . 5 query . whether new jerusalem and the holy temple therein be but newly come down from heaven , as in this our age , or the like , wherein the tru worshipers worshiped the father in spirit and truth , or hath it always been the place and temple , wherein the saints of god have worshiped the father in spirit and truth , iohn 4. 23. from the beginning of the world , seeing our saviour speaks that abraham saw his day and rejoyced , and that the time is coming , yea now is , that neither at samaria nor at jerusalem ? answ . thou wouldst know whether new ierusalem be newly come down in this our age , and it is that which ever was , and ever did come down to the saints , they witnessed this ; but friend , to thee in thy age and generacion where thou art in , it is not come , ( but thou art a stranger querying without ) nor never did , nor never shall come , in that generacion thou art among the serpents which the wo was ever preached to , matth. 23. even that generacion which got the form to speak of ierusalem , and the temple , but are the synagogues of satan , and full of dead mens bones , and who are whited outsides , and beautifull outwardly , but full of corruption within ; and in that generacion wherein was and is all the righteous bloud shed , and in that nature which thou wouldst know these things in , it was ever hid from , who have the chiefest places in the assemblyes , and called of men master , matth. 23. 7. and in that generacion thou art , which the wo was ever preached to , try thy self , for to that in thy conscience which should exercise it do i speak , 2 cor. 4. 2. and when it doth appear , it will witness me , 2 cor. 5. 11. the time is coming , and now is , that not at ierusalem in your highest profession of christ , nor your highest glorious nocions of him , which you live in , nor none of your steeple-houses , nor none of your exercises , as you call them , nor the daintiest dish you have will be meat for the tru worshipers of god , for they have run to this steeple-house and that steeple-house , and to this mountain and that mountain , and here is a dainty dish , and there is a dainty dish , sayth the harlot , which hath long deceived the simple ones , but now all you harlots are discovered , which have deceived the nations , and now abraham shall arise , who is the friend of god , whom thou knowest not , but art in the generacion of them who professed abraham and freedom , and god to be their father , but were of their father the devil , iohn 8. 44 , 4● . doing his work , who was a murderer , crucifying the just , who are in the fall , and not come to the beginning , for thy father was a murderer since the beginning , and dives must be turned into hell , and the dives with your dainty dishes must be layd low , and you who profess the new ierusalem , will be found to be in the old ierusalem , where the lord iesus christ was and is crucified in your ierusalem now , in the highest place of worship , the tru worshipers of the father in spirit and truth , witness it to be so , and the time is come that the scripture is fulfilled , and the words of christ , iohn 4. 23. praises , praises , to the eternall glorious god of heaven , and earth , for ever , and ever , who now hath made his power known , by which we see the deceits of you all . 6 query whether it be not gods ordinance that the inward , living , spiritual , powerful word of god , whereby all the saints of god are taught , and the tru inward spirituall worship of the saints , should in the outward appearance of them be held forth in earthen vessels , as under a form of speech , or word , yea or no ? ans : freind , in this query thou hast uttered forth thy weakness , and thy ignorance in the form of the letter doth appeare , yet serpent-like thou art full of subtilty ; but thy nakedness doth appeare openly . the word of god is as a fire , and cannot be limited , no not with thy carnal reason : it is as a hammer to beat thee to peices , and as a sword to cut thee asunder , whensoever thou comest to know this powerfull word of god. and this is the word which the prophets spoke from , who cryed wo against all them that sayd the lord sayth , and he never spoke to them , and cryed against all them that bear rule by their meanes , ier. 5 30 31. the horible filthy thing is committed in the land , which is and was held up with preist and people , but now the same living , spirituall , eternall word , is made manifest , and is preached abroad , against all you hyerlings and greedy dumb dogs , which have not a word from the lord , but seek for your gain from your quarters , and get up into the cheifest place of the assemblies , and are called of men masters , and stand praying in the synagogues ; he that is the word cryed wo against all such , and them that had this word , he bade them not to be as they were , math. 23. 8 9 10. and this word is made manifest in the saints , which is declared abroad : but thou who livest in appearance , and wouldst see things in appearance , in thy carnall wisdom and reason , ●hou art shut out from this knowledg , for to thee it is death to thy carnall minde ; therefore freely do i publish the eternall truth abroad , and as knowing you that you have not a word from the ●ord , but are in that generacion of those that did shut up the kingdom of heaven against men , neither go in your selves , nor suffer others , laying heavy burthens upon the people , and will not toutch them with one of your fingers , but what you do , you do it to be seen of men , making broad your philacteries , and devouring widdows houses , math. 23. 45. who art desolate from christ , who hast got the form of christs words , but art in the steps of the scribes and pharises , who had got the form of moses and the prophets , and were enemies and strangers to the life of god. moses and the prophets , and their form you have got in your comprehension , in the earthly vessel , and that 's your heavenly treasure , but now you are tryed , with what you hold forth in a form of words ( but the word of god is powerfull ) and in him is no form , but thou art a theif and a robber , who stealest the prophets words , ier. 23. 30. who art without , who knowest not the word , nor the lord , nor the tru ministers of the word , shutting out thy self in the dark world , and querying whether the word should be held forth in earthen vessels , if thou hadst an eye , or if thou hadst an eare thou mightst hear and see it preached dayly ; but as i said to thy first query , thou knowst not the light , whith enlightneth every one that commeth into the world , but art ignorant , deaf , and blinde , one that hates the light , that makes thee let forth so many stumbling queries , for hadst thou the light , thou wouldst not stumble , but be as a citty set upon a hill ; but thou art without , who hast shewed forth such a dark minde , but that minde is for destrukcion , for if thou didst walk in the light , and love it , it would lead thee to the day , which would let thee see all things , and there would be no ocasion of stumbling , but thou art him that hates the light , so all thy preaching as thou callest it leads from god , being blinde and leads the blinde , and must both go into the ditch together ; but we who are ministers of the eternal word , see it , and dwell in the light , and declare freely without a bag or a staffe : without brass , and silver , or two coats , for the workman is worthy of his meat , freely you have received , freely give , math. 10. 8. therefore we do deny your preaching , and for the simple ones sake who are in the simplicity , who have been ensnared by you who are in the subtilty , and such as you are , who have let forth these queries , for we know your spirits , though you have not let forth your names : so who are in the simplicity , seeking after the truth , for their sakes have i let forth my self , and shewed forth your folly . query 7. whether the idols temple , and the worship that 's done therein , be onely visible things , as a house of wood , and stone , and outward appearances , as forms , and rites , and customes that were observed therein ? or the idols temple , and the worship that 's done therein , be not also in mans spirit , and mysticall , inward , and invisible , as to sence according as it is begotten of the spirituall prince of darkness , yea or no ? answ : whereas thou wouldst be informed , who art querying without , in whom lodgeth the mystery of iniquity , which minde holds up the forms , and the rites , and the customs , and the idols temple of lime , and stone , which is the mysticall spirit , which thou speakst of , for if thou own the light which enlighteneth every one that comes into the world ( which is christ ) it would bring thee into the cross , which is to thy carnall minde , and let thee see the prince of the ayer rule in thee , who art a childe of disobedience , where the mystery of iniquity lodgeth , and this light would let thee see the carnall minde in whom all the images lodge , and the idols temple , and the carnall part being wrought out within , and the devils tremble , and the earth shaken , isay . 2. 19. and thrown down there , which is the foundacion of all images ; for that within holds up these without , the carnal part within holds up the carnal temple without , and that looks at all these rites , customs , forms , and tradicions thou speakst of , and the minde that is perishing is that that holds up all these perishing things , in whom the mystery of iniquity lodgeth , 2 thes . 2. 7. but if thou wert obedient to the light , and loved it , it would bring thee to know god , and to escape the prince of the ayer , which holds up all these things without thee ; for israel when he had forgotten his maker , builded temples , so thy carnal minde ruleing , and disobeying the light which would guide thee to god , that carnal mind within , brings thee to hold up temples without thee , and so thou art in the pride and the highness of minde , for out of pride ( whose dominion is satan ) came these queries , but who are made the temples of god are holy , and deny all your outward temples of the preists , and and all your carnal observances , which you live in , who profess the new-covenant , or the gospel , or christ , or the word : but i will deal plainly with you : you are not come to know the old covenant , for from the inward doth all idols , and images arise , and there is many idols and images which thou bowest down to , with out thee , then look within thee , and thou art full of imaginacions and images both within and without , pro. 6. 18. for as the spirituall prince of darkness , as thou speakst , they have their idols and images without , as ever it was in all that generacion , which thou livest in ; and when thou hast denied the outward idols all of them by the light of god , which thou hatest , then thou shalt see them within thee , thou that stumblest at the light art he that holdst up all these images , ezek. 7. 20. in whom the mystery of iniquity lodgeth , for the light of the body is the eye , which shews all these things , and that it is which i sayd to thee before , thou knowest not , ( for thou art full of images within ) thou knowest it not , born up in thy understanding to guide thee , for it is the light that enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. which thou art an enemy and a stranger to , and stumblest at , which light shall be thy condemnacion , iohn 3. 19. 8 query . if the inward living invisible word of god , which is the teacher , in no way held forth under a form , as to outward appearance to men , in earthen vessels , why do i see thy expressions and exhortations come forth in print ? answ . to the eighth query ; thou full of subtlety , spuing forth thy venom , and askest in the query before , whe●her the word should be held forth or no , and now thou dost hear something that is published abroad , which is a cross to thee , and which makes manifest you are stirred up , and doth torment you , therefore dost thou push with thy ten horns , nevertheless thou sendest not the queryes to him whom thou dost accuse , and sayst , why see i thy expressions in print , and sendest them to another , but such is thy rage and fury , and now it doth appear to all men , though it hath layn close , the eternal word hath stirred him up ; but friend , i declare plainly to thee , god almighty of heaven and earth , hath raised up a light in the hearts of people , 1 pet. 2. 9. ( and he is coming to teach them himself ) whereby your abominacion and filthiness is discovered to the sons and daughters of the lord god almighty , and according to his promise he hath poured forth his spirit that his sons and daughters begin to prophecy , ioel 2. 28 , 29. prayses be to the lord god almighty , who now is setting up his kingdom , who sends his sons and daughters abroad , some to prophecy , and some to preach , and to declare his name , freely ye have received , freely give , matth. 10. 8. and some write , and some speak face to face , so you shall see it nearer you ere long , and as the prophets of the lord who spake his word , somtimes spoke , and when they were moved to write they writ ●nd published it abroad , so do we the same , being absent in body , sending forth writings or printed books to declare to the simple mindes the deceits that ye who are blinde guides have led them in ; but iesus christ the light now shines , by which ye are seen and discovered , therefore stop your mouths & be ashamed , who have never had word from god , micah 3. 7. for the lord god is coming to stop your mouths , ye dumb prophets , and dogs , thieves , and robbers , who have stollen the words of others , whom ye know not , jer. 23. 30. but the earth hath got the declaracion , which is earth , and so speaks the earth for the earth , but o earth ! hear the word of the lord , for wo is to ye that inhabit the earth ; and now the devil begins to rage , because the word of god is sounding abroad , and the trumpet is blowing , which makes the inhabitants of the earth to tremble : but all your preaching we do deny , and all your blessings ; for as it is written , as the prophet sayd , their blessings were cursed , and their seed were corrupt , mal. 2. 2 , 3. and in their generacion you are , the light which is christ is made manifest , which lets me see you to be in that generacion , which hath gathered us up to god , and lets us see thee without god. 9 query . whether to exhort a man to attend to that light which is within , which his eye can see , and which his ear can hear , and which his understanding can comprehend , and of which ●e can give a reason , be not to draw men to attend to visible things , and to worship in the idols temple , and to bow down to the image of things , which he hath seen in heaven and earth , yea or no ? answ . to the ninth query ; in it thou art compleat , if thou didst see thy self in the mystery of iniquity , fencing with thy weapons , which are spiritual wickednesses , which lodgeth in the highest place , and with thy thoughts and imaginacions as it doth openly appear to him that obeys the light , so thou drawest people to look after visible things , and to worship in the idols temple , 1 cor. 8. 10. to that which thy reason can understand , and thy carnal eye can see , and thy carnal ear can hear , so thou worshipest the host of heaven , and that is thy heaven , and thy earth ; but heaven is gods throne , and thou with thy carnal eye canst never see that , but drawst all under to thy worship , and that thou bowest down to , to thy own imaginacions within , and then thou settest up somthing without thee , and bringest others to bow down to thy images and idols without thee , which thou ●ast set up , which flows from the spiritual wickedness within thee , in the highest place , and there thou dost climb up to the highest pinnacle , and he that will bow down and worship thee , thou givest thy glory to him , if he will not thou drawest out thy carnal weapons to murder him , for all the ministers of the letter are persecutors of the spirit , where thou shewest thy self to be one ; but friend , the ▪ light which is exhorted to take heed unto , 2 pet. 1. 19. thy dark ▪ minde cannot comprehend , thy ear cannot hear , thy eye cannot see , therefore dost thou stumble , as he who was the light sayd , and he that waits in the light ( which light is christ ) it guides him up to god , and to the church in god , and to bow down to nothing bu● god , 1 thess . 1. 1. and it teacheth to know things that be eternal and invisible , by which light we deny all thy images , forms rites , and customs , all thy images within thee , and the idols without thee , for thou art full of them ▪ praysed be the lord god almighty , who is come to teach his children , and hath gathered us from your mouths , who made a prey upon us , who wandred from mountain to mountain , but now the lord hath fulfilled his promise , and is fulfilling it ; for thou art full of images , and art the well-coloured beast , and hast the well-coloured robes , and art the harlot out of the truth , nah. 3. 4. who deceives with thy evil eye to draw people to visible things . 10 query . whether to say , obey the light that is within , and that is life , and disobey it , that 's death , be not to speak according to the tenour of the old covenant , which sayth , do this and live , yea or no ? answ . to the tenth query : in the observance of outward things and tradicions there is a difference , in the obeying of the light within , and observing things without , as the apostle sayd , take heed to the light within you , untill the day dawn , and the day-star arise in your hearts , 2 pet. 1. 19. who witnessed the new ▪ covenant , and they that did obey the light within , saw through the old , and saw christ , so a new command i give unto you , yet not a new but an old , if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear , but as i sayd to thee before , it is that which thy reason cannot comprehend , nor never shall , and ye are sanctified through the obedience of the spirit , john 17. 19. 1 pet. 1. 22. and thy intent in these queryes is to draw into disobedience from the light of god within them , to follow the imaginacions of such as thou art , but who doth obey the light , thou art discovered to them , and thou and all who hate this light , it is thine and their condemnacion , and eternally shalt thou witness me , for to the light i speak , which thy dark minde cannot comprehend , and all who disobeys the light , holds the truth in an unrighteous minde , rom. 10. 16. but the lord jesus christ is coming , who will render vengeance in flames of fier , upon all them who know not god , and that obeys not the gospel of our lord jesus christ , 2 thess . 1. 8. now thou mayst call this the old covenant , and the covenant of works , who livest in the mystery of iniquity , and art disobedient , who art one in that generacion that is disobedient to the gospel of our lord iesus christ , and seekest to keep others in the same generacion from obeying the gospel of our lord iesus christ , with all thy beastical power in these ten queryes , who hast uttered forth thy ten horns , that pusheth with them , against the lamb and against the saints , dan. 7. 7. but the lamb hath got the victory over the beast , and over the false prophets , the light that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world , this light he dwelleth in which sees thee , which hath answered these queryes , who art without , yet so as not to the feeding of that minde and reason which must die in thee , for plagues , and wo , and judgment , and vengeance , and flames of fier , will the lord render upon thee , who doth not obey the gospel , 2 thess . 1. 8. and so fare thee well , for in the pit and fall thou art , one that doth disobey the light , and hatest the light , and stumblest at it , and there thou standest condemned , for to that in thy conscience do i speak , 2 cor. 4. 2. which shall eternally witness me , 2 cor. 5. 11. finis . certain queries given forth by a sort of high professors that dwell in farnez fels in lancashire , and sent to george fox , which are answered by him , and their subtlety and deceits discovered and layd open . 1 query . whether jesus christ have a body in heaven , if he hath , whether it is the same that appeared among men in the flesh , or what manner of body hath he ? is he a particular man or person , incompassed with a body , to live in for ever ? or is it the body which the saints shall have , when all flesh shall be raised to the last judgment ? answ . thou wouldst know , whether iesus christ have a body in heaven : he remains in the heavens ; if thou hast an eare thou mayst hear : and whereas thou wouldst know whether it be the same that appeared amongst men , it is the same that did descend , the same did ascend , ephes . 4. 10. he that hath an eare to hear let him hear : and whereas thou wouldst know , what manner of body he hath ; here thou art disputing as the devil was about the body of moses , with michael the archangel , who sayd , the lord rebuke thee , so say i now , the lord rebuke thee , who art disputing about the body of christ , for the body of christ is but one , which makes free from the law and sin , and he is the head of the body , which is the church ; but this to thee is a mystery , and he liveth in his body , rom. 7. 4. and whereas thou wouldst know whether it be the body , which the saints shall have , col. 1. 18. when all flesh shall be raised to the last judgment ; here thou hast shewed forth thy ignorance , not to discern the lords body , and to be of them that would make a division in the body that is spoken of in the scripture , for the body of christ is but one , as it is written , being many members , yet one body , 1 cor. 12. 20. and christ is the head and members of this body , and liveth in it , i in thee , and thou in me , that they may be one , as thou father art in me , and i in thee , iohn 27. he that can receive it , let him , but thou art he who doth not discern the lords body , therefore thou eatest and drinkest damnacion to thy self , 1 cor. 11. 29. and to thee it is a mystery , and damnacion thou must know , and with that eye thou shalt never see it , for it is evill as herods was , who sought after the child to worship him , but would have slain him matth. 2. 13. he that raiseth the body he is the judg of the world : in flames of fier , and in flaming fier , and in vengeance shalt thou know , and in judgment , 2 thes . 1. 7. 8. who art without , in the world , querying about his body who is the resurrection , john. 11. 25. and in this query thou hast shewed forth thy dark mind , which is full of confusion , and thy self to be ignorant of the body of christ , and with thy fleshly understanding , which is for destrukcion , thou wouldst know it , and this minde which hath asked this question ; but the righteousness of faith speaks on this wise , not to say to fetch christ from above , or descnd into the deep , that is , to bring up christ again from the dead : but what sayth it , the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth , and in thy heart , that is the word of faith which wee preach , rom. 10. 6. 7. 8. wherein thou hast showed thy self that gavest forth these queries , that you never heard this word of faith preached to you , and he is the head , and the saints are the body , eph. 4. 15. and in him we live , who sit with christ in heavenly places , eph. 2. 6. and his body is but one , and he lives in it for ever , whom the heavens must receive untill the time of restitucion of all things acts 3. 21. but you dark sots , this is a mystery to you , as christ is who is the head of the body ; and this body of christ which thou desirest to know , thou shalt never know , nor see , for thou art for judgment , and condemnacion ▪ ordained of old , iude 13. and in darkness thou livest , who art dead in sins and trespasses , eph. 2. 1. and who art querying after christ , whether he be a particular person , showing forth the same minde that was in the iewes , who knew not christ , but queried whether he was the carpenters son or no , math. 13. 55. who was not born by the will of man , and is born now but not by the will of man , him you know not , nor cannot se iohn 1 ▪ 13. nor believe where he is made manifest , and he is but one in all his saints , who is their head , rom. 7 4. and their life , who comes into the world from above , and redeemes and makes free from sin and the law , with the body of christ ; he that hath an eare may hear ; to us it is plainness , who are in the gate and fold , but to you it is a mystery , who live in the mystery a● iniquity , who are without the gate , and christ is the resurrection , and the judg , iohn 11. 25. that shalt thou finde when he comes upon thee to render vengance in flames of fier , iohn 5 22. who art a childe of disobedience . 2 query . with what bodies shall the saints arise with , and dwell , and live in for ever , shall there be given to every particular saint , a particular body . answ . whereas thou wouldst know with what body the saints shall arise , in that body which christ doth live in , for he is the saviour of the body , he is the head of the body , he is the resurrection and the life of the body , and his body is but one , so wee are many members , yet one body , cor. 12. 20. and here thou hast showed thou dost not discern the lords body , but art under the damnacion : thou fool , whereas thou wouldst know whether there shall be given to every particular saint a particular body , and with what bodies they shall arise , as they said in the corinthians , with what bodies shall they come , and how should the dead be raysed . paul makes answer , thou fool , that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die , and that which thou sowest , thou sowest not that body that shall be , but bare grain , it may chance of whear , or of some other grain , but god giveth it a body as it hath pleased him , and to every seed his own body : all flesh is not the same flesh , but there is one kind of flesh of men , another flesh of beasts , another of fishes , and another of birds : there are also celestiall bodyes , and bodies terrestiall , but the glory of the celestial is one , and the glory of the terrestiall is another . there is one glory of the sun , another glory of the moon , and another glory of the , stars , for one star differeth from another star in glory , so also is it in the resurrection of the dead ; if thou hast an eare thou mayst hear ; but thou fool art never the wiser here , but thou art a conjurer , and livest in conjuracion , ier. 27. 9. zach. 10. 2. 3 query with what bodies shall the wicked arise , with natural , or spirituall ? answ . with thy corrupt naturall spirituall wickedness , to condemnacion ; with that body doth the wicked arise that thou livest in ; thou enimy of god shalt finde it , and the eye in thee shall see destruction , and eternall condemnacion , who queriest with what bodies the wicked shall arise : thou art risen high in thy spirituall wickedness , ephes . 6. 12. who livest in the corrupt nature , and high art thou risen in it , whose judgment is appearing , and judg stands at the door , and lingers not , whose damnacion slumbers not , 2 pet. ● . 3. if thou hast an eare thou mayst hear , and there read thy porcion , and thy answer to the query . 4 query . whether is there , or shall there be a locall place of heaven and hell , to be inhabited and dwelt in , for the saints to enjoy , and the wicked to suffer in , with their bodyes ? and how shall they be tormented , with materiall fier and brimston , or how ? and if every saint and devil , have a particular body , must there not be a particular locall place ? can bodies be ▪ no where ? must they not rest and stand upon some place , the saints singing hallelujah , to the highest for evermore ? answ . in thy query thou hast uttered forth thy confusion , who hast joyned heaven and hell together ; and whereas thou wouldst know , whether there is , or there shall be a locall place of heaven and hell : here thou shewest forth thy blindness , in that thou knowest neither heaven nor hell , and in the locall place , as thou calst it , thou art , and there 's a hell , thou shalt finde it , and there thy sinfull body shall suffer , who art seperated from god. heaven is gods throne , which the saints do enjoy ( he that can receive it , let him ) but thou art shut out of it , and that which asketh the question shall never know it , for thou art without the gate , as i said to thee before . and whereas thou wouldst know how the wicked should be tormented ; here thou wouldst learn thy porcion , rev. 20. 131 , 4. with that fier that cannot be quenched ; look upon fier and brimston and it may teach thee , and thou mayst read thy figure daily . whereas thou wouldst know , if every saint and devil have a particular body , thou art of the particular body of the mystery of iniquity ▪ 2 thess . 2. 7. who art to be tormented from the presence of the lord god almighty , and the lamb , and all his saints and angels , rev. 20. 10. and if thou call that a locall place , take it . the saints shall stand upon mount sion , who are redeemed from the earth by the blood of iesus christ , who sings hallelujah for evermore . rev. 14. 1. rev. 21. 10. whose body is but one , and christ is the head of the body , col. 1. 18. if thou hast an eare thou mayst hear , for without this body thou art kept , from making any division , 2 thess . 2. 3. thou enemy of god , and man of sin , for destruction thou art ordained , to go therein , thy fear of it doth begin , and the lake that burneth , and the pit thou art for to be turned into eternally : thou shalt know me that i speak the truth , for whosoever thou art called by name , thy spirit i know ▪ 5 query . whether iesus christ be the eternall father , and fullest fountain of bliss , and that besides him , and above him there is no god ? was he the first contriver , determiner , and former of all things ; the creator of every thing , the giver of every good gift ? or was he the begotten of the father ▪ so not the father , and fountain , but set apart from him , being by him when he gave to the sea his decree ; so christ is not truly god in the originall , but a son , being alwaies by the father , to see what works he doth , the son may do likewise ? is he but the gift , and dispensator , or maker-out of the fathers love to sinners , as a mediator and advocate betwixt the father and them ; so not the substance , and fountain in the bult and dignity . therefore what is christ ? hath he a body and the father none ? how may he be distinguished from the father ? so not the father : so no god , unless there be two or three distinct gods , and no more one god ? answ . whereas thou wouldst know , whether iesus christ be the eternall father , and fullest fountain of bliss ; thou serpent , thou askest a question , and art giving an answer thy self , as the serpent did , mich. 7. 17. 2 cor. 11. 3. he is not thy eternall father that pu●st forth this query , nor fountain , for of another fountain thou drinkest , and bliss ( us thou calst it ) which is one of thy conjured words ; and thou sayst , besides him , and above him , there is no god : god was in christ reconciling the world to himself , 2. cor. 15. 19. he that hath an eare to hear let him hear . whereas thou wouldst know , whether christ was the first contriver , determiner , and former of all things ; him who is the first , and the last , shalt thou never know , but death and destruction , for thou art the contriver , determiner , and former ; who wouldst poynt out god a way , and who art contriving with thy serpentine wisdom , to intrude into the things of god , and to know god , and christ , col. 2. 18. who art cursed above all the beasts of the field , from god and christ , gen 3. 14. in the world thou mayst make a division , but betwixt god and christ , thou canst make none , as it is written , a virgin shall have a childe whose name shall be emmanuel , which is by interpretacion , god with us , math. ● 23. luke 1 31 32 he that hath an eare to hear let him hear , but thou hast none , who art making divisions : he that is the father , is the giver of every good gift , and the creator of all things , and he that was in the father , and the father in him , by him were all things made , and by him doth all things consist , visible and invisible , col. 1. 16 , 17. whereas thou askest if christ was the begotten of the father , which shews thou neither knowest the father nor the son , for he that knoweth him that did beget , knoweth him that is begotten of him , for the son is in the father , iohn 5. 1. who is not born by the will of man , and thou in thy will shalt never know him , iohn 14. 10 , 11. for thou art herod that seekest to know , but it is to destroy , matth. 2. 13. if thou knewst the son thou wouldst know the father , who cannot be divided , for the father and the son are one , from whence all good and perfect gifts flow ; and as he sayd to the disciple , hast thou seen me and not seen the father , i am in the father , and the father in me , iohn 14. 9 , 10. and he that hath the father hath the son , and if there come any among you , and bring any other doctrine , receive him not into your houses , neither bid him god speed . friend , thou art the subtle serpent , the tempter , who shewest forth thy presumptuous blasphemy ; thou sayst , christ is not truly god ; in that original thou hast no more knowledg of him than the outward original , for through thy subtlety thou hast conjured up these many queryes , which must go into perdicion again , who art making a differen● and distance betwixt god and christ ; for as i sayd to thee before , god was in christ reconciling the world to himself , and he that sees the son sees the father also , the mover of all things , and maker of all things ; but here with thy busie minde thy blindness and ignorance doth appear , who art scraping in hell to gather up your conjured stuff , who neither knowest god nor christ , and it is christ that you crucifie : friend , here thou sittest as a judg of the father and of christ ; thou enemy of god , who sayst , christ is not the father and fountain , but set apart from him , being by him when he gave to the sea his decree ; god was in christ who is both father and fountain , reconciling the world to himself , and it was he that gave to the sea its decree , and he that sees the son sees the father also , for the son is in him ; but thou that makest a difference to set god in one place and christ in another , art in the same nature that the iews had , that could not discern the father that spoke in him , as he sayd , it is not you , but the spirit of the father that speaketh in you , matth. 10. 20. but thou livest in philosophy and logick , which are of the devil , col. 2. 8. who art storming with thy reason , but truth hath comprehended thee , who art for destruction , thou high blasphemer and lucifer like : vvhereas thou askest whether is he but the gift , and dispensator and maker out of the fathers love to sinners ▪ as a mediator and advocate betwixt the fater and them ; he is him whom the father loveth , who is the mediator , who is thy destruction , god so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten son into the world , that whosoever believed on him should not perish but have everlasting life , iohn 3. 16. friend , thou art but querying to seed thy fleshly minde , who art one of them that crucifiest him , high in thy presumption , so to thee he is no mediator , and to thee he is no gift , nor made manifest , but art querying without of him , and one of them that say , lo here , and lo there , matth. 24. 23. and thy knowledg is the letter , and that is the original , and gift , and manifestacion , which is dust , which ●eeds thee serpent , which the curse is upon , and it is the seed of the woman that must bruise thy head , as god who hath promised and sayd , gen. 3. 15. and this must every one witness who witness christ , thou with thy evil eye lookest at christ and god at a distance , and the father and the son at a distance , as thou saydst before , he set him at a distance , which crosseth the life of christ , who sayd , i in thee , and thou in me , father as thou and i are one , iohn 17. 21. and he that hath the father hath the son , and the son is in the father , and in the fountain , but thou to this art ignorant , who art scraping with thy carnal reason , to get up to the highest pinnacle to tempt christ , who sittest as a judg upon the father and christ , and who crucifiest him , and knowest not god , but thou must be judged with him , even the spiritual man , and as it is written , the first man is of the earth , earthly , and the second is the lord from heaven , 1 cor. 15. 47. but thou sayst , christ is not truly god ; o thou false judg ▪ who knowest neither god nor christ ▪ who art making a separacion betwixt the son and god , and who art setting christ at a distance , who sayth , he is in the father , and who makest a ly upon the scriptures , and speakest contrary to them , which thou callest the original , for it sayth , in the beginning was the word , and the word was god , and became flesh and dwelt amongst us , iohn 1. and they knew him not , no more do ye know him now , who dwels amongst us , but seek to crucifie him where ever he is made manifest , who hath his being in the father ; thou enemy of god and of all righteousness , who sayth so , not the substance ▪ and fountain in the bult and dignity , in thy bult and dignity he is not ; here thou hast shewed forth thy self , thou lyar , who sayst , christ is not in the bult ( as thou callest it ) and dignity , who presumptuously wouldst sit as a judg upon him to whom all power in heaven and earth is given , to the son , matth. 28. 18. who is in the fountain , and the fountain in him , who is in power and dignity , who shall overthrow thee and thy dignity , thou who art raced out from god and the son : and again thou queryest what is christ ▪ it is him thou crucifiest , and seekest to crucifie and slay ; and here thou tempter , who art without , art querying whether christ hath a body , and the father none , shewing thy self not to know the lords body , for the son is in the father , and they are one ; and with thy carnal eye lookest upon him to be like thy self ; if thou knowest his body thou knowest the fathers , for they are both one ; thou full of subtlety , who art querying how the son may be distinguished from the father , he that knows the son knows the father , and he that sees the son sees the father , for he is in the father , and they are not to be distinguished , but it is thou who art without , in the world , who art making many gods , as the world doth , 1 cor. 5. 8. ier. ● . 28. and art distinguishing , who art distinguished from the father and the son , who art making and makest three gods , and knowst none , nor hast none but the god of the world to rule thee ; and here thou twining serpent , who art ensnaring art ensnared , who art full of subtlety , and catcht in thy wile , who hast been rabbling upon thou knowst not what with thy filthy minde , and talkest of thou dost not know what , so thou art turned and must be turned into that which to thee will be hot ; and the son and the father are one , i and my father are one , iohn 10 30. and not two , but to thee ; he that hath an ear let him hear , but here thou hast none , who hast a busie minde , medling with that which doth not concern thee , and so thou shewest thy self where thou art ▪ 6 query . whether there be a pure and an eternal light in every male and female , if a true and saving light , in and to every one , how is it that there shall so many perish ? is satan stronger than god ? shall or can flesh and bloud quench and extenuate the spirit in his operacion , and so the arm of the almighty shortned , frustrated , and made void by the disobedience of flesh ? is there a power in every man as he is man , to be saved if he will ? answ . christ sayth , i am the light of the world that enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. the one he loves the light , and brings his works to the light , and walks in the light , and to him there is no occasion of stumbling , iohn 3. 20 , 21. and you that hate the light , you stumble , and know not whither you go , who hast put forth so many stumbling queryes , and with thy dark minde thou canst not comprehend the light , but light comprehends thee , and sees thy end and intent , which light shall be thy condemnacion , john 1. 5. and thou sayst , how is it that there shall so many perish ? that which asketh the question must perish ; who hates the light as thou dost , and gayusays the truth , shall perish as core did , iude 11. and the eternal pure light shall be thy condemnacion , in thy own mouth shalt thou be judged , who livest in the disobedience of the pure light , and slightest his mercyes , and turnest the free grace of god into wantonness ; the mouth of the lord of hosts hath spoken it , who is the lord god of heaven and earth , and my arm is not shortned , sayth the lord ; and satan is exalted above all that is called god in thee ▪ 2 thess . 2. 4. thou son of perdicion , and that which is of god in thee is imprisoned , and thou with thy fleshly minde crucifiest the just , and quenchest the spirit , as the iews did who crucified christ , as thou readest in the letter , iohn 19. and in that generacion thou art , if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear , thou enemy of god hast none , who crucifiest christ now , who art he that frustratest ▪ and quenchest the spirit , who must be consumed with the breath of his mouth , and destroyed by the brightness of his coming : thou queryest whether there be a power in every man as to be saved if he will ; here thou subtlety who art ditted full of eearth hast shewed forth thy ignorance of the power of god , 2 tim. 3. 4 , 5. man in his will would be saved , as thou wouldst , but the power of god is contrary to thy will and destroys it , which saves , and as many as receives christ , to them he gives power to become the sons of god , iohn 1. 12. but here thou son of perdicion hast made manifest thy self , not to love christ , nor receive him , therefore thou wantst power , and there thou hast shewed thy self to be that wicked and slothfull servant which hidest thy talent in the earth , matth. 25. 26. and there is that light and power in every man , which if he take heed to it , and wait within , there he shall finde his saviour , 2 pet. 1. 19. but if he hate this pure eternal light , it shall condem him eternally whose deeds are evil , iohn 3. 19. as thine is , and so all stumbling is by being disobedient to the light , as the iews who stumbled at christ ▪ who sayd , he was the light that enlightneth every one that cometh into world , so thou dost now at the same light , which shall be thy condemnacion , eternally thou shalt witness me ; it is the same light as ever was : to that which should exercise your consciences do i speak , which will witness me , and condemn you , though god is greater than conscience . 7 query . whether there shall be a general resurrection of all flesh , all summoned to one place , and to what place , to receive a tru and du sentence of iudgment , yea or no ? answ . christ iesus is the resurrection of the just and unjust , some to salvacion , and some to condemnacion , the same that saves the same condemns , matth. 25. 31 , 32 , 33 , 34. and thou desirest to know the place , it is the day that god will judg thee and the world in righteousness , whom he hath ordained ; thou busie fellow who art querying of others condicions of the world without thee , but it is that thou fool mightst utter forth thy folly , and here thou hast made it appear , and in thy queryes thou art little wiser , and there is a place where thou shalt finde a judg , and his trumpet is sounding , but thou art deaf yet , and canst not hear it , and the sumpter-horse is gone forth . 8 query . whether may the scriptures by the spirit of god be opened , and unfolded , and expounded to the people , yea or no ? ans . here thou serpent art full of subtlety , high-priest like , under a colour comest and wouldst be taught , but in thy other queryes thou art teaching and judging , and thou didst shew thy selfe to be one that didst not know the light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , and what dost thou talk of opening the scripture , who hates the light and stumblest at it , and art disobedient to the spirit , col. 3. 6. to it thou art an enemy , ephes . 5. 6. but it is that thou mayest be kept in the high place of wickedness , ephes . 2. 2. but by them who dwell in the light thou art comprehended and taken in the snare , and art without the truth of god , and an enemy to that which should guide thee , and to be a cloud without water , iude 12. and the same spirit where it is made manifest , and lived in , and walked in , and not the lusts of the flesh , it opens the scriptures in the people , and fulfils them , for it is the same that gave them forth , and where this is witnessed it needs not be queryed , whether it opens the scripture to the people or no , for it doth open them in the people and to the people , but thou art without the gate of truth , what is this to thee , one that art without , stumblest at the light , a childe of disobedience , whom the wrath of god abides upon , iohn 3. 36. but it is the serpent that would be wise , and wouldst paint thy self with other mens words , who pretendest to have the spirit , but art a deceiver in the world , in thy fathers kingdom , and dominion , and this shalt thou see when thou ownest the light , which is thy condemnacion , and witnessest me to speak the truth . george fox . finis . certain queries given forth from one robert lucas , of kellet in lancashire , who is wise in his own conceit , professing in words that he knows something , but i● here found out to know nothing but what he knows naturally , as a bruit beast , and in those things hath corrupted himself , as iude 10 ▪ and that through his wrath , bitterness , envy , and malice ▪ against the wonderfull and mighty power of god , which he hath manifested in his people , which now makes the devil to rage , persecute ▪ and blaspheme , and to set all his servants a work , to tempt , to minister questions , to despise , falsly accuse , and to slander , and contemn all those who are redeemed from the earth , and are servants to the living god , and walk in the truth ; judging , and condemning , and overturning all those who profess the truth in words but walk contrary : which questions were propounded to one who is despised of the despisers for the truths sake , whose name among men is richard hubberthorn , but are answered by the spirit of the lord , from the mouth of the lord , as followeth : i have here received a paper , whose name subscribed to it is robert lucas , in which are many unlearned queryes , proceeding from the subtle minde , serpent-like ▪ which minde is full of mischief , and dark , about questions and strife of words , 2 tim. 2. 23. being full of darkness , and in them are many temptations ; yet because thou fool shouldst not be exalted in thy pride and foolery , a few things in answer i have given forth to the uttering forth of thy foolery , thou that hast been a professor so ▪ long , and art querying what faith is , and whether faith be attained by hearing the word preached , and whether all men have not faith , and whether it is possible to please god without faith ; and thou queryest how christ is in man , and whether any be elected to salvacion , and whether all men be conceived in sin ▪ and queryest how it is done away : after thou hast shewed forth thy foolishness , thy blindness , and thy ignorance , as not knowing any thing , thou hast made a profession of christ , and here thou shewest thou knowst him not : for shame give over thy profession , and lay thy hand upon thy mouth and be silent ; but to us the uttering forth thy folly is serviceable , as it is written , fools are uttering forth their folly , and thou hast shewed thy self to be one , prov. 13. 16. 1 query . what faith is ? answ . faith is the gift of god , and that which asks the question is without , and shall never know it , for thou art a reprobate concerning it , the faith , and art one of them that art ever learning , and led away with divers lusts , never able to come to the knowledg of the truth , 2 tim. 3. 7. faith is that which leads out of the world , up to god , from all the worlds teachers , 1 john 5. 4. and denyes all them as christ did , and doth , who are called of men master , and stand praying in the synagogue , and which lay heavy burdens upon the people , which wo was pronounced upon , matth. 23. and is upon all such now , he that hath an ear to hear let him hear the mystery of faith , 1 tim. 3. 8. 2 query . whether is faith obtained by hearing the word preached ? answ . hast thou been a hearer so long , and art querying whether faith cometh by hearing of the word preached , rom. 10. 17. it shews forth thy subtlety , serpent like thou feedest upon dust , which is the letter , and the word thou never heardst , the word which is god , and faith is the gift of god , and comes by the hearing of the word , and the word became flesh , john 1. 14. but thou art in the generacion of them that ever persecuted them that heard this word , where it spoke forth , and as for thee , thy faith is vain , thou art yet in thy sins , 1 cor. 15. 14. 3 query . whether have all men faith ? answ . no , thou hast none , but art vain in thy imaginacions , but as i sayd before , thou art a reprobate concerning the faith , 2. tim. 3. 8. and thou art one of them that art unreasonable , 2 thess . 3. ● . which have not faith , which the apostle prayed to be delivered from , and thou that doubts art damned already , rom. 14. 23. 4 query . whether is it possible for any man to please god without faith ? answ . thou canst not please god , for thou hast not faith , for whatsoever is not of faith is sin , rom. 14. 23. and all that ever thou dost is sin , all thy profession , all thy reading , all thy hearing , and all thy praying is abominacion to the lord , for they are not offered up from the pure heart , but thy heart is rotten , filthy , and corrupt , and all thy hearing , and all thy pratling of that thou callest the word , by it thou shalt never get faith , which is the gift of god , but it is all the serpents meat which feeds thee ; thou serpent which art cursed above all the beasts of the field , who in these queryes hast shewed forth thy subtlety and temptations , matth. 22. 35. who wouldst have us to deny the scripture , but it is ours , we own it , heb. 4. 15. and thee we do deny , for thou art without the life of it , as the subtle serpents were which tempted christ , canst thou deny it ? but thou holdest up such as have the chiefest place in the assemblyes , and stand praying there , and with pretence make long prayers , and lays heavy burdens upon the people , and called of men master , which christ forbids ; and these are thy teachers of the word , and ministers of the gospel , as thou callest them , but ye are antichrists and enemies to all the commands of christ ; o thou blinde hypocrite , and dark beast , why dost thou question things contrary to the scripture ? but thou wouldst make a lye of it as ever thou and thy fathers did , john 8. 44. 5 query . how is christ in man ? answ . o thou carnal man , and enemy of christ ! dost thou query how christ is in man ? thou art of the same minde with the jews which doubted whether that was the christ yea or no : light shines in darkness and darkness doth not comprehend it , iohn 1. 5. i am the light which enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. and that light shall condemn thee , who stumblest at it , being without god in the world , it shall be thy condemnacion , the light , for thou walkst in darkness , and knowst not whither thou goest , but art led with thy blinde guides , and both shall fall into the ditch together , matth. 15. 14. 6 query . whether christ as christ be in all men ? answ . no , in thee and thy dark understanding there is no room for christ , for thou art one of them that hates the light , which light is christ , which hath enlightned every one that comes into the world , which is the condemnacion of thee and all the world , and thou art one of the builders , mark 12. 10. that buildeth and stumbleth , and rejecteth the corner-stone , acts 4. 11. 1 pet. 2. 7 , 8. who livest above the light in thee , in thy vain imaginacions , which light should guide thee to the father , which light thou stumblest at , and hatest , and dost not obey , so in flames of fier will he render vengeance upon , all such as thou art , who do not obey the gospel of our lord jesus christ , 2 thess . 1. 8. and do not wait for his appearance . 7 query . whether hath god elected any to salvation ? answ . we are elected to salvation , we have the witness within us , prayses be to the glorious lord god for ever , who hath elected and chosen us , before the foundacion of the world ; but thou art ordained of old for condemnacion and for perdicion among the ungodly ones , and art a reprobate , one that hates christ , and art blinde , doting about questions and strife of words , 1 tim. 6. 4. in that untoward generacion which the apostle prayed that the saints might be kept from . i know thy spirit , it is tryed to be the spirit of antichrist , and the spirit of error , which is in the world , which the wo is to , and that is thy porcion , read iude 11. 8 query . whether hath any man , or but onely he that is elected to salvacion , a sufficient light in himself , to lead him to christ ? answ . here thou stumblest again at the light , asking whether every man have a sufficient light to lead them to christ , when christ sayth , i am the light of the world , iohn 8. 12. and enlightneth every one that cometh into the world , iohn 1. 9. one he loves the light , and walks in it , and is a childe of light , and there is no occasion at all of stumbling , iohn 11. 9. the other he hates the light , because his deeds are evil , and will not come to the light , lest the light should reprove him , iohn 3. 19 , 20 , 21. which light would lead to the father of light , living in it , and taking heed to it , which light shall condemn thee , and all who hate it , whose deeds are evil ; there thou art to be condemned by the light , which would teach thee , and draw thee out of the world , and from all the teachers of the world , and would lead thee up to salvacion , but thou hatest it , therefore it is thy condemnacion , that lovest darkness more than light , following thy own imaginacions , which are raced out from god for ever , and which light shall be thy condemnacion from god , iohn 3. 19. 9 query . what is original sin ? answ . that which thou livest in is the root and author of all sin , so if thou canst read thy self thou mayst know what originall sin is , as thou calst it , which is cast out from god , and shall never enter into god , where thou , and all you are , who are disobedient to the commands of god , and stumble at the light , because it will overthrow thy pride and high-mindedness , who art lucifer-like , tempting with thy queries , as the serpent did eve , gen. 3. 5. so here thou art cursed , and cast out eternally . 10 query . whether all men are conceived in sin. ? thou art conceived in all sin , and livest in iniquity . what hast thou to do to meddle with other men ? stop thy mouth with that , thou evil-beast , and slow-belly , whose mouth must now be stopt , tit. 1. 10. 11. 12 11 query . how is it done away ? it is done away in destroying of thee , thou man of sin , and enemy unto all righteonsness , and son of perdicion , whom iesus christ shall consume with the spirit of his mouth , and destroy with the brightness of his comming , 2 thes . 2. 8. but this thou man of sin putst far from thee , verse 3. but this shalt thou know , before thou know thy sin taken away , and witness thy queries to be vain : thou dost not yet know sin taken away , but livest in iniquity and sin , which thou wast brought forth in ; and as a theif thou hast named christ , but not departed from iniquity , 2 tim. 2. 19. and christ comes to destroy the work 's of the devil , 1 iohn . 3. 8. 12 query . whether is it a righteousness in christ imputed unto us by faith ? or a righteousness of works in our selves , by which wee are justified before god ? answ . here thou hast tempted to thy own destruction , for thou art not yet come to know the righteousness of the law of works in thy selfe , nor the state of the first covenant , and the faith of god thou art a reprobate to , which justifies alone without imputacion , rom. 3. 28. and thy imputed faith we utterly deny , which faith is dead without works , and thou art dead both to faith and works , and thy imputacion to thy dead works without thee , we do deny , rom. 4. 5. 6. for that is your cloak for your sin and filthyness : abraham , to whom the imputacion was spoken , he was come from his fathers house , which thou art not , and he was a freind of god , which thou art an enimy to , rom. 4. ●2 . and god will wound the head of all his enemies , psal . 68. 21. for thou hast not faith , we are witnesses against thee ; the righteousness of god , which is by faith of jesus christ , rom. 3. 22. this we own , which was witnessed of , by the law and prophets , therefore we are witnesses against thee , and all thy blinde guides , to be without the faith of jesus , and the prophets , the law , and not yet come to see the death reign in thee , which hath passed over all men , and there thou art , as it is written , death reigned from adam till moses , and death and destruction saith , wee have heard of the fame thereof with our eares , and this is thee , iob 28. 22. and thou mayst read the chapter through it is serv●cable to thee 13 query . whether a man may keep the whole law ? answ . thou askest a question , whether a man may keep the whole law , as though thou wast affraid , and durst not keep the law ; if i should say yea , thy master would be angry with thee , for thou and thy master sayth nay : our master christ iesus is the end of the law , and fulfileth the law in us who walk not after the flesh , but after the spirit , which makes us free from the law of sin and death , rom. 8. 12. and we love god because we keep his commandements , 1 iohn 5. 23. and to us they are not greevious ; and god saith , if yee love me , keep my commandements , 2 iohn 1. 6. 1 iohn 3. 14. and thou askest a question , whether a man may keep his law , here thou hast shewed thy self to be one that hath cast his law behinde thy back , for god cals for the walking in , and keeping of his law : and thou queriest whether a man may keep it or no , therefore thou hast cast away the law of god , and despisest the word of the holy one of israel , esay . 5. 24 14 query . whether christ is an advocate for all beleevers , if some be without sin ? answ . thou full of all subtilty , and full of sin , and tempter , christ is the advocate for all beleevers , and doth take away their sins , and destroyes the works of the devil , which are yet standing in thee , therfore dost thou stumble at the scriptures ; and here hast thou shown forth thy envy , kain-like : i know the intent of thy queries , and the mischeif of thy minde , who art in the generacion of kain , seeking to slay the righteous seed which cannot sin , but thou that sinnest art of the devil , 1 iohn 3. 8. 9. and ther is no mediator for thee , but thou art for destruction , for thou that sinnest art of the devil , and never kn●wst god , but art a transgressor of the law , 1 iohn 3. 4. to that in thy conscience do i speak 15 query . whether is the blood of iesus christ , that was shed upon the cross at ierusalem , the price that bought us ? answ . in the query thou pervertest the scripture , and the same minde thou hast there that the pharises had . the blood of christ is but one , as ever t was , by which we are redeemed from our vain conversacion , and by which all are redeemed , ephes . 1. 7. which thou makest light of , who livest in thy vain minde and conversacion , for this blood is our witness , and seal , by which we are redeemed , but not at ierusalem only , but made manifest in us ; glory glory , to the lord god for ever , who hath begotten us from the dead , and brought us again by the resurrection of jesus ; and the same dost thou seek to crucifie now , math. 3. 34. the same minde being in thee as was in them that crucified him at ierusalem : and the saviour thou lookest for at ierusalem , his blood is upon thee , as it was upon the jewes , and the price of blood thou knowest not no not in the first covenant , nor the blood of lambs and of the goat● , which was a figure of the everlasting covenant , which makes perfect ; but thou art one of the filthy swine , wallowing in the mire , and without are dogs , rev. ●2 . 15. 16 query . whether is faith counted for righteousness to him that beleiveth ? answ . faith is righteousness , and was counted to abraham for righteousness , rom. 4. 9. and is so still with them who are of abraham : and the righteousnesse of faith speaks on this wise , not to say in thy heart , who shall ascend into heaven , that is , to bring christ down from above ; or who shall descend into the deep , that is , to bring up christ from the dead : but what saith it , the word is nigh thee , even in thy mouth , and in thy heart : this is the word of faith which we preach , rom. 10. 6 7 , 8. and this we witness , and are witnesses against thee , and all thy train , who are reprobates concerning the faith , 2 tim. 3. 8. and know not abraham , but draw out from the word within , for where faith is , it is walked in , and it purifies the heart , and brings to walk in the steps of abraham ; but thou as a busie fellow art querying whether faith be counted for righteousness to him that beleiveth , wherby thou wouldst have an addicion to the scripture , or wouldst have it wrested , or wouldst thou have us to speak contrary to the scriptures ? for it we witness , and the righteousness of faith we witness , rom. 4. 11. 12. 13. 16. and if thou shouldest say the same , we know thee to be a lyar , as they that did swear god lived , and swore falsly , because we know thee to know nothing of it , but as the history speaks , who hast showed thy self here to be an antichrist , one of them that hath the form but not the power which ever is to be turned away from , 2 tim. 3. iohn 4. 17 query whether hath not christ ordained a ministry in his church ? answ . christ is the minister to the church , heb. 8. 2. he is the head of the body , and saviour , he is the members and the head of the body the church , col. 1 18 19. he hath ordained a ministry , but it is that which thou art an enemy to ; what is it to thee what is in the church of christ , for thou art an enemy to the church of christ , for thou art in the worlds assemblies , and among the hyerlings , going in the way of cain , and after the error of balaam , iude 11. which the wo was to , and among them which are called of men masters , which are pearkt up into the cheifest place of the assemblies , which were enemies to christ , which bee cryed wo against , math 23 read thy porcion , and thy church there 18 query , whether did the apostle paul command timothy to ordain ministers , by laying on of hands ? and whether timothy himselfe , was not so ordained ? anws , whereas thou wouldst know whether timothy ordained ministers by laying on of hands ; the same that made him a minister , the same ordained other ministers , by laying on of the same hand ; if thou hast an eare thou mayst heare , for it is one word of life which the same hand layd on : what their eyes saw , what was from the beginning , 1 iohn 1. 1 2 3 which was made manifest , which was the word of life , which was made manifest even from the begining , which they did declare ▪ but freind , what is this to thee for the maintaining of thy imitacion , and the likeness of it , and thy laying on of hands , which thy ministers imitate , who walk out of the steps of christ , and of the apostles , and are made ministers by the w●ll of man , and your laying on of hands is by the will of man , and your ordinacion stands cut by the will of man , which is all carnall , and we do deny it all , as the apostles did , who denyed the carnall commandements , col 2 22 23 19 query , whether hath not chrst ordained a maintenance for that ministry ? answ , they that preach the gospel , live of the gospel , 1 cor 9 14 and freely they have received , freely do they give , ma● 10 8 and he that ministers spirituall things to the brethren , they minister unto him carnall things , rom 15. 27. but freind what is this to thee to maintain thy church , and thy ministers , who bear rule by their means , and who goest in the error of balaam , receiving the wages of unrighteousness , jude 11. and who su men at the law that will not pay them . a horrible filthy thing is committed in the land , jer. 5. 30 , 31. by those who profess themselves to be ministers of the gospel , which it is slandred by you all , and iesus christ his worthy name is dishonoured and blasphemed by you all , and these are the ministers of thy church who are ordained by laying on of your hands , who walk contrary to christ and the apostles , for they did never su men at the law ; here under a colour thou askest whether christ hath not ordained a maintainance for that ministery , whereby thou wouldst have a cloak to maintain the ministers of the world , which seek for their gain from their quarter , ier. 5. which the lords prophets cryed against , and seek for the fliece which ezekiel cryed against , ezek. 24. 2 , 3. and hierlings which micah cryed against , micah 3. 11. and them that loves the wages of unrighteousness , which the apostle cryed wo against , iude 11. and the wo is upon thee now , which standest up for balaam with a colour . 20 query . whether were tithes payd before the levitical priesthood , and when ? and how dost thou prove by scripture they were taken away ? answ . abraham payd tithes , and the levites received tithes , and they that are the sons of levi , who receive the offices of the priesthood have a commandment to take tithes of the people , according to the law , that is , of their brethren ; but the priesthood being changed , there is also a necessity of changing the law , heb. 7. 12. and here is a proof for thee , and here i prove thee to be under the curse , and to stand up for the law , and to be a deceiver , and an antichrist , because thou deniest christ come in the ●lesh , 1 iohn 4. 3. and there thou art holding up that which christ came to put an end to ; and here i will prove all your teachers ( as y●u call them ) to be without christ , and that christ never sent them ▪ for whom he sent forth he sayd unto them , freely ye have received , freely give : and what a stir is here for your tithes , and gifts , and augmentacions , you make it manifest where your heart is ; for you are wrangling for these things which are earthly , and su men at the law , contrary to christs command , and the apostles practise , who coveted no mans gold nor silver , god was their witness ; and here you are raced out from christ , and from all the servants of god , for they that are such serve not our lord jesus christ but their own belly , rom. 16. 18. whose glory is their shame , who minde earthly things , phil. 3. 19. evil beasts , and slow-belleys , whose end is destruction . 21 query . whether did christ command his disciples to baptize with water ? and whether did they baptize with water ? answ . here thou hast shewed forth thy subtlety , that thou art ignorant of the letter , what dost thou reade in the letter , christ sent them forth and bade them go teach all nacions , baptising them in the name of the father , and of the son , and of the holy ghost , matth. 28. 19. the baptism and water we witness , iohn 3. 5. for the water is a witness which the apostles baptized withall , 1 iohn 5. 8. he that hath an ear let him hear , but thou hast none , neither didst thou ever come to this baptism , christ did not send forth his disciples to sprinkle a little durty water upon childrens faces , as your filthy dreamers do , and tell them it is an ordinance of christ , who are lyars of him , for christ did not mencion any water to his disciples when he sent them forth , but bade them teach the people all things whatsoever he had commanded them , and sayd ▪ he was with them to the end of the world : in this query i see thy intent , thou wouldst have a cloak to hold up thy beastical tradicions which never were commanded , thou eenemy of god ; and with thy carnal tradicions and beggerly rudiments thou art full of earth , pleading for the earthly tradicions and commandments , and keepest poor people in ignorance and blindness in those things god never commanded ; and here the plagues of god are added to thee , who addest to the prophecy written in this book , rev. 2● . 19. 22 query . when christ commanded his apostles to baptize all naci●●s , where do you finde children excepted ? answ . in thy query before thou askedst , whether christ did command his disciples to baptize with water , now thou sayst in thy next query , when christ commanded his apostles to baptise all nacions ; here thou full of all subtlety , who layest snares , and art taken in thy snare ▪ what hast thou to do to talk of christs baptism , or the apostles ? seeing thou walkest contrary to them all ▪ and with them wouldst make a cloak to hold up another thing which christ never commanded , as to sprinkle infants , for sayth he , believe and be baptized , to the washing away of sin , which thou art full of , and livest in ; first they were to be preached to , and to come to repentance , and to believe and be baptized ; but thou dark sot , what is this to thee in maintaining of the sprinkling of infants with a little water , who understand nothing ? all thy baptism i do utterly deny , they are excepted , thou and all are excepted , but the seed ; and the promise is to the seed not of seeds as of many , but one , gal : 3. 16 he that hath an ear to hear let him hear ; but thou art dead in thy sins , and uncircumcised in heart , and knowest no baptism but the sprinkliug of infants , which christ never commanded , and livest in the lust of thy ignorance , having thy understanding darkned , being alienated from the life of god , & art a stranger from the covenant of promise , a child of disobedience , who the wrath of god abides upon , eph. 2. 12 23 query . whether was not christ baptied with water , who was above both faith and repentance ? answ . thou hypocrite , what is this to thee ? to the sprinkling of infants with water , who are neither come to faith nor repentance , who thirty or forty years after dost tell them of faith and repentance , who knowest neither thy self ; and what hast thou to do to talk of jesus who went out of the water , matth. 3. 16. and so the heavens were opened , and he saw the spirit of god , mark 1. 9 , 10. but this makes thee never the wiser in thy fleshly understanding , for thy curious minde and fleshly understanding is to be destroyed before thou come to know this baptism , for thou art in the nature of herod , that queryed for the childe to see him that he might worship him , but would have destroyed him : but for the simple ones sakes have i discovered thee and made thee bare and naked . 24 query . whether did not christ institute his last supper with bread and wine ? answ . christ doth not speak of bread and wine , but he took bread , and brake it , and sayd , it was his body ; and he took the cup when he had given thanks he gave it to them , and they did drink all of it , and he sayd unto them , this is my bloud of the new testament which is shed for many , mark 14. ●3 . and this i have witnessed , and we witness the breaking of the bread , which is his body , and drinking the cup which is his bloud , luke 22. 17 , 20. for weare many members and but one body , but the cup which thou drinkest we do deny , for thy cup is the cup of devils , and thy table is the table of devils , 1 cor. 10. 16 , 17 , 21. which is an idol and imitacion , and thy sacrifice is to devils , and not to god ; and as the apostle sayd , i would not you have fellowship with devils , 1 cor. 10. 20. for do not drunkards meet at thy table , and swearers , cursed speakers , and fighters , and who follow all manner of filthy pleasures , and idolaters , and covetous , who live in all manner of pride and filthiness , and these are thy companions , and thy fellowship at thy table ; and what hast thou to do to talk of the cup of christ , who sits at the table of devils , and drinks the cup of devils , 1 cor. 10. 21. 25 query . whether did not paul administer the lords supper to the corinthians with bread and wine ? answ . thou carnal sot , where did the apostle give to the corinthians bread and wine ? did not the apostle say , the cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the bloud of christ , the bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of christ ? ● cor. 10. 16 , 17. for we being many are one bread , and one body , for we are all partakers of that one bread ; we witness this , who cannot drink the cup of devils , nor sit at their table , where thou dost , for it is forbidden , 1 cor. 10. 21. 26 qu. of what concernment is it to others , and how long to continu in the church , seeing the apostle sayth , [ as oft as you eat of this bread ▪ and drink of this cup , you shew forth the lords death till he come ? ] answ . thou desi●est to know of what concernment it is to others , he that eateth and drinketh , not discerning the lords body , eateth and drinketh domnacion to himself , untill the lord come , 1 cor : 11. 29. thou askest how long it shall continu in the church , this bread and this cup doth continu for ever in the church ; it is so , as oft as they eat of this bread and drink of this cup , they shew forth the lords death till he come , 1 cor. 11. 26. but friend , what hast thou to do to talk of this who art in the generacion of them that were enemies to christ , holding up the chief priests which sought to put him to death , who perswaded the multitude against him , matth : 26 : 59 and who perswaded the rulers against him , iohn 11 : 53 so do all thy priests now , where he is made manifest , and in that church thou art , as thou callest it , and of the same nature of them who ever sought to destroy the just : this cup thou never tastedst of , nor of the bread , but they were them that were gathered off from the priests , and from the temple , whom this was spoken to , for these were figures of the substance : but friend , all thy imitacions , and priests , and suppers , and bread , and wine , is an imitacion , & an image , which is the likeness of a thing which the lord forbids , thou shalt not make to thy self any graven image , nor the likeness of any thing , and thou that eatest and drinkest not discerning the lords body , eatest and drinkest damnacion to thy self 1 cor. 11. 29. and there thou art 27 query whether the scripture beeing carnall , and the letter killing , as you say , wee may read them without danger ? answ . the letter which killeth , 2 cor. 3. 6. is dangerous , for thou takest it here to warr withall against the saints , with thy carnall minde , giving out thy carnall exposicions upon it , and the ministers of the letter are the ministers of death , which is to condemnacion , and you take it to make a trade with it , and with what the prophets , christ , and apostles sayd ; and again you take it to make a trade upon it , so that some have 30 , some 40 , some 50 , some 60 , some a 100 pounds a year : where was ever such things practised , or heard of , amongst all your fathers the false prophets ! you do exceed them all in wickedness , and paint your selves , and are hyerlings , and get up in the room of christ : you seem like christ in words , having painted your selves with christs words , and the apostles words , but christ cryed wo unto such whited wals : and here you read with danger , who speak of them and speak a lye , ier 5 2. because you speak not what is in you , because you speak of your selves ; and it is dangerous to read that , and to make a trade of that which the prophets , christ , and the apostles spoke forth freely , and to give meanings to it contrary then it is , and to raise poynts , tryalls , and motives , and uses ; here is adding , and the curses and plagues , are added to him that adds to the prophesie written in this book , and there you are , for destruction is your porcion , rev. 22. 18. but i say , blessed is he that doth read , and doth understand , and he that doth neither add , nor diminish , for he walks in the paths of the prophets , of christ , and the apostles , and in the steps of abraham ; and the apostle said , i charge you by the lord , that this epistle be read among all the holy brethren , but you are ignorant and unlearned , 2 pet : 3 : 16 : and you wrest the scriptures to your own destruction ▪ psal : 56 : 5 : and to you it is dangerous to read or speak of it , who know not the life of it , even as the pharises , who were learned in the letter , but knew not christ ; and some of the apostles who were not learned men in the letter , did not wrest the scriptures , as the same peter , was learned in the life , though not in the letter : but you are in the state of the hypocrits and serpents , which garnish the sepulchers of the righteous : fill yee up the measure of your fathers : yee serpents , yee generacion of vipers , how can you escape the damnacion of hell , matth : 23 : 2● : 23 ▪ and the letter is carnall , and killeth , and dust is the serpents meat , gen : 3 : 14 : and that is thy meat ; and cursed is the serpent which beguiles , and thou art he : look not for him without thee , for he is in the letter , and you get the letter into your mouths , and come and say , the lord saith , when he never spoke to you : wo is unto you , and the harlot which is dect with so many colours , and there you are , read your own porcion , destruction : he that hath the same spirit that gave the scriptures forth , reads them without conceivings , or imaginacions ▪ and witnesses them fulfilled , but thou art proud , and livest in thy imaginacions and conceivings , and thou conceivest of the letter , and whatsoever thou buildest must be scattered , luke 1 : 51 , 52 : so to thee it is dangerous . 28 query . whether they were written for our instruction , and are profitable , that we may be throughly furnished ? answ . they are for the perfecting of the man of god , for the furnishing of him through faith in christ jesus ; and they were written to instruct them whom they were written to , which had an eye to see them , and an eare to hear them , and an heart to understand ; whom the apostles spoke to for instruction , till the ends of the world was come ; and they are for instruction , to instruct & to admonish , but not to make a trade of : but freind to thee i speak in this query , thou art a tempter , and that minde in thee knowes nothing of them , that they were not spoken forth to instruct , for that is for destruction , for look within thy self , and thou wilt see thou art full of corrupcion , and the man of sin , and he it is that talks and prattles of the scripture , who must be consumed , but wee witness that they are for the perfecting of the man of god , through faith in christ iesus , for to convince , and to reprove , and to instruct , but not thee thou man of sin , and son of perdicion , who sitest in the temple of god , above all that is called god , and gattest the form of words , and deceivest the simple , as a coloured beast , and the plagues of god are thy due and porcion : for thy instruction they were not written , who walkest contrary to the commands of god who art exalted above all that which is called god in thee , in whom the mystery of iniquity , lodgeth , and the son of perdicion , which shall be destroyed 2 thess . ● . 29 query . wherefore doth christ command iohn to write to the angell of the churches , in the revelacions , and not teach immediatly himself , seeing you tell us that god immediatly teacheth his people , and that all men have this teacher within them ? answ : thou enemy of christ , and of all righteousness , what hast thou to do to question christs commanding iohn ? thou full of all subtlety , and busie fellow , what hast thou to do to question christ , who art exalted above all that is called god ; here thou shewest thou would not have him to reign : the same that spoke to iohn was immediate , and that which iohn spoke was immediate ; if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear what iohn spoke to the church ; but i see thy intent in thy query , to me thou art discovered , for in thy query thou wouldst have a cloak to keep up the teachers of the world , and your imitated churches , who walkest in the path contrary to christ and all his apostles : god immediatly doth teach his people by his spirit , by which he draws them up to himself into the everlasting covenant , heb. 8. 11 by which they need no man to teach them , 1 iohn 2. 27 and every one is enlightned with the light , which is christ ; but all such blinde guides as your teachers are , who draw people from this light within them , to hearken to their imaginacions of the letter without you ; such i say do bewitch them , and draw them into the uncleanness , and into the flesh that the fruits of it shews it self , gal : 5. 21 drunkenness , fighting , wrangling , quarrelling , railing , disputing , and slandering , envying , persecuting , lying , swearing , and taking the name of god in vain , idle talking , and foolish jesting , scoffing , scorning , and mocking , and all manner of filthiness and uncleaness ; and these are they that are led from their teacher within them , which is the light , by you blinde watchmen , isai 56. 10 , 11 , 12 from the light which is christ , which he hath enlightned them withall , and he that loves the light brings his works to the light , and there is no occasion of stumbling to him that walks in it , and loves it , and this light is not a chapter without , which the teachers of the world read , thou that hatest this light , thou hast it , it lets thee see that all thy deeds are evil , if thou bringst thy works to it , it will reprove thee , iohn 3. ●0 and this is the condemnacion of the world ; and here every one hath a teacher , whose mindes are informed : iohn 8. 12 to that in every mans conscience do i speak , which should exercise it , which shall eternally witness me , and eternally condemn thee , and you all who are haters of light ; and what hast thou to do to talk of iohn , and of christ , and of the churches , and of the angels , and knowest not the first principle yet ? heb : 5. 12 which should guide thee out of the world , and bring thee to repentance , but to this thou art an enemy to , and among the antichrists , which say , lo here , and lo there , matthew 24. 23 30 query . why do you teach , exhort , write papers , and print books ? answ : in thy query before thou askest whether the scriptures were written for our instruction ; and now thou askest , why do we exhort and teach ; here thou shewest forth that thou art tormented , and thy terror begins : for our giving forth papers or printed books , it is from the immediate eternal spirit of god , to the shewing forth the filthy practises of the worlds teachers , and thine , who with a pretence and fair colours and glosses , and with a seeming religion deceives the simple , and thy own soul too ; we have bin long under captivity by you , and such as you , following your imaginacions , but god hath raised up a light within us , by which we see you deceivers without us , and all the blinde guides , matth : 23 : 16. so for the simple ones sakes , who are led by the blinde , as we are moved by the immediat spirit of christ , to write , to teach , or to exhort , or to put in print , and this is it which doth torment thee , but it is but the beginning of thy sorrow , and this is from the immediat spirit of christ , which thou art offended withall , as ever the pharises were ; but thou shalt see more papers and more printings , and as the immediat spirit grows , there will be more abominacions , and filthiness layd open , and all deceit will be discovered , and the truth spread abroad and cherished , which will and doth trouble thee , as herod was when christ was born , matth : 2 : 3 31 query . what is conscience ? where is it seated in man ? and what is its office and duty ? answ : thou hard-hearted pharaoh , hast thou been a professor so long , and yet askest what is conscience ! thou full of subtlety , and tempter , it is that which thou makest shipwrack of , 1 tim : 1 : 19 shut up from thy dark understanding , and thy dark reason ; it is seated below the hypocrisie in thee , thou art a tyrant to it , and rulest over it , yet in thy carnal knowledg thou wouldst know it to talk of it ; but plagues and curses are du to that nature , which thou must know before thou know the office or duty of it , as thou speakest , for yet thou art in the hardness of thy heart ; and here thou hast overturned thy self : thou hast before asked many queryes , but the intent is to maintain thy carnal state , which seares the conscience , the tender part in man : but friend , if thou hearken to the light , to that in thy conscience do i speak , 2 cor. 5. 2. it will let thee see what conscience is , thou hard bea rt , and it will exercise thy conscience towards god and towards man , acts 24. 16 and here shalt thou see its duty and office , and where it is seated , and by it how thy understanding is enlightned , and by it how thy heart is cleansed ; if thou hast an ear thou mayst hear ▪ thou that wouldst be taught what conscience is , and where it is seated ; for shame lay away thy filthy profession , who wouldst know where conscience is , it is under thy hypocrisie , who art comprehending conscience with thy carnal wisdom and reason , but thou must be confounded and condemned with that which should exercise thy conscience , 2 cor : 5 : 11 and here thou hast shewed forth thou dost not know the first principle , but art without ▪ and one of them whose conscience is seared , 1 tim : 4 : 2 32 query . if thou have the spirit of christ , and in a large measure , as some give out of thee , taking upon thee to be a teacher , as also sending many queryes to others ; i require of thee an answer to these queryes not in ambiguous and doubtfull terms , as the devil in his oracles , but in plain language affirmatively or negatively , full and clear according to the spirit in the gospel-times , that he that runs may reade it ; or else confess thou art led with a spirit of deceit and darkness which would not willingly descover it self ? answ : thou sayst , if i have the spirit of christ , which i have and witness it , but as taking upon me in the will to be a teacher as you are made teachers , that i do deny ; i do deny the will , and you both , 1 cor : 2 : 17 and all who are made ministers by the will of man : but the sending forth queryes which grieve thee ▪ to others , is that you may shew forth your folly as you have done in answering them , by your dark minde which cannot comprehend the light , in which they are given forth , but shews forth your darkness , blindness , ignorance , and folly , and despight against the spirit of grace , being enemies to jesus christ which is the light in us , and hath discovered and layd open your deceits and blindness , and to all who have their eys in their head your folly is made manifest . 2 tim : 3. 9 and thou hast here discovered thy ignorance , and shewed forth thy folly in these queryes , thou dost require an answer to these queryes in plain language which thou hast sent . i have spoken plainly to thee , and not flattered thee ; and as touching ambiguous terms they are thy own , as the devil in his oracles , thou art guarded with them ; i comprehend thee , and see thy cloathing , and thy affirmative , and thy negative proceeds from thy cursed minde , but sound and clear i have answered thee , according to the spirit that is in the gospel , but to thy dark minde they will be dark , for thou neither knowest the spirit nor the gospel , for i have answered thee in the gospel-time , and he that hath the spirit may run and reade it , and reade thy spirit to be the spirit of error ▪ erred from all them that did preach the gospel , which ever were : we are not led by a spirit of error , but it we do deny , therefore we do deny thee ; therefore openly , and freely , and nakedly do i declare my self to the discovering of the spirit of error , which is in thee , and all thy blinde guides : who is led by the spirit of truth hath discovered you to be in the deceit , and in darkness , without god in the world , the plagues of god are to be poured upon the beast and the false prophet , and the beast and false prophet are to be cast into the fier , rev : 20. 10 there is thy porcion ; now do not call this railing and rash judgment , for thou knowest the letter thunders , and speaks forth such words to such as thou art , who livest in that nature ; friend , this is thy day of visitacion , 2 cor : 5. 11 to that which is in thy conscience i have spoken , which shall eternally witness me , and condemn thee , 1 cor : 4. 2 the mouth of the lord of hosts hath spoken it . the preparacion of the heart in man , and the answer of the tongue ●● from the lord , prov : 16. 1 finis . now all you who are doting about questions , and are ministers of questions , and not ministers of grace , nor edificacion , but are busi-bodyes , tempting , and laying snares , and digging pits , lye are now fallen into the pits which ye have digged for others , and you who are wise are taken in your own craftiness ▪ and you are now answered from the mouth of the lord , and discovered , and to every one is rendred his du and porcion ; but you sollowing the steps of your fathers the iews , you ( as they did marvel at his answers , though he was the son of god , luke 20. 26 ) now you are answered , own your porcion , for i have kept back nothing , what i received freely from the lord , freely i have declared unto you without parciality , or having mens persons in admiracion , because of advantage , not favouring deceit , nor giving liberty to sin , for the lord hath given us a mouth , and wisdom , which all our gain-sayers are not able to resist , and we walk in the pure wisdom of god , and wisely towards you that are without , redeeming the time , and our speech is with grace , seasoned with salt , and we know how to answer every man , col : 4. 5 , 6 prayses , prayses to the lord for ever , who takes the wise in their craftiness , and confounds , and brings to shame all his enemyes , and discovers all serpents , with their twistings , and twinings , and subtle and cunning temptacions , and hath fulfilled his apostles words in his sons and daughters , in making their folly manifest to all men , and they shall proceed no further , 2 tim : 3. 9 and now the painted serpents , the well-favoured harlots , the divers coloured beasts , and the wily foxes , are discovered to his sons and daughters , that they cannot spoyl the tender plants which the lord himself hath planted in his peoples hearts , the plants of his renoun grows and flourisheth ; prayses , prayses to the eternal , powerfull god for ever . let all the sons and daughter of the lord prayse the lord ▪ let all the fathers and young men , children and servants bless and prayse the lord for ever , who reigns for evermore . richard hubberthorn .