Arrows against themselves and make all their Weapons they form against you unprosperous and cut off their expectation that seek your Ruin and Destruction And as Innocency is found in you and you preserved in a godly and peaceable life you will never envy them that oppress you nor chuse any of their ways but will mind Gods good old Way Truth and Life and will not walk in the way of the Wicked Ungodly men nor sit in the seat of the Scornful Proud and Arogant which leads to Death and Destruction if you see many in that way let not that be an occasion for you to stumble at or to forsake the way of the Lord which is narrow and leads to Life Peace and Rest that is Everlasting wherein you have learned to trust in the Lord to stand resign'd up to his will in the most perilous times when they come and wherein you have learned to love the Lord and one another with that love which is shed abroad from God in your hearts and is unfeigned in which dear Friends forever dwell and shut out all Deceit Hypocrisie and Dissimulation which doth render them black amongst us that have not put away or are not purged from such things and so doth Envy Wrath or Malice where-ever it is which is all for the fire and to be purged away that you may pray in the Spirit of the living God by which you were all quickened quench it not neither grieve it nor rebel against it for that hinders the heavenly joy and comforts of the Spirit when Tribulation ariseth because of the Word Let not any of you be found without true joy and comfort when you may have need enough of it and behold many weeping and wailing for want of it for certainly it will be woful and miserable for that man or woman that is without the comfort and joy of the holy Spirit when no comfort and lasting joy will be found in any visible created thing which this World can afford mens hearts already begin to be astonished and to fail them for fear because of the things that are coming to pass for not only the Powers of the Earth but the Powers of the Heavens shall be shaken Friends let not any of you be found an evil or sloathful Servant that shall say in his Heart My Lord delays his coming and so put his Day afar off to let Night again over you You may remember what Sorrow and Heaviness we endured when we were Children of the Night and covered with thick Darkness and what Joy came in the Morning of God's glorious Day as it dawned in our Hearts did not many then sing for Joy of Heart and experimentally could say The singing of Birds was come But the evil and sloathful Servant that saith in his Heart My Lord delays his coming cannot sing out of any sence of heavenly Joy in his Heart and therefore frets and smites his fellow Servant and eats and drinks with the Drunken such become the Companions of the evil and sloathful Servant he delights not to be a Companion to them that fear the Lord and are diligent in his Work nor will not say to the workers of Iniquity Depart from me I will keep the Commandments of my God but rather joyns with the workers of Iniquity and is one with them in breaking the Commands of God and rebelling against him and its just with the Lord to suffer Night to come over such again that have been called to serve the Lord in his House but are evil and sloathful Servants not good not diligent nor watchful but are found bad negligent and unwatchful and unsensible of God's presence and the coming of the Lord which draweth nigh Oh! keep in the Spirit and Power of the Lord God and that will preserve you all fervent in love to him and one another and diligent in the Lord's work whereunto you are all called with a holy calling to watch war against the Devil and whatsoever is of him let it have no place in you nor let not the Devil ever enter your Hearts any more and if he do not to dwell there but feel you the Arm and Power of the Lord to cast him out keep him out that he may never work in you any more nor have any Lordship or Rule in you or over you then I am sure you will be ready in Heart and Mind to follow that which is good and resist the Devil and all his badness which is so beloved of the World and then you will be prepared to avoid every appearance of Evil and will give no place to it but will keep faithful to God over it and then you will be made capable in the Spirit of Love and a sound Mind to reprove such as are light vain and of a loose behaviour and shun the Cross of Christ not indulge that Nature Spirit that keeps some high and unsubjected and in disobedience to the Lord God and for this cause some are weak and sick amongst us and some fallen asleep had they but taken up the daily Cross and kept therein there would never have appeared that Self love Weakness Sickness and Sleepiness that is in some that are amongst us that would be accounted wise Virgins and indeed have come long enough among us to have been found such at this day but are not but are weak as in the time of their first Convincement and as if they had not waited upon the Lord with us they so faint and have so little strength to stand in the day of Tryal or hour of Temptation that it appears their strength is but small I say in the Lord if they that now faint in the time of Adversity had waited upon the Lord in diligence and sincerity of Heart doubtless they would have had more strength and received more Power from God than they enjoy or feel and would have grown more in the Grace and Knowledge of God than they have done and would not have been so sick at their Stomachs as some are that they cannot digest wholsom Food but slight and dis-esteem it whereby some Members suffer and indeed it hurts the whole Body when any of the Members thereof suffer especially as the Apostle said then when many were Weak and Sick amongst them and some fallen asleep for want of subjecting themselves to that Spirit and Power which would give all strength if they kept in it and preserve all in God's saving health and with a good Stomach to that which is good and for Food if they did wait for it and keep in the Spirit and Power of the Lord God this would rouze up and awaken all careless and sleepy Virgins that want Oyl in their Vessels and Lamps who have not their Lamps trimed nor are ready when the Bridegroom comes Beware ye sleepy foolish Virgins lest Mid-night Sleep come quite upon you so that the Cry of the Bride-groom's coming be before you are prepared for him or the
Religion neither do believe that God ever required those Forcers to force any into their Church nor require them whom the Compellors summons to come amongst them These methods will not do to convince Conscientious Persons of any differing Religion to come to that House of Wood and Stone Now dear Friends you may perceive the Beast would have all small and great to worship him how doth he seek to compel People to worship him and receive his Mark either on their foreheads or in their hands and the cry is Who is like unto the Beast and who is able to make war with him And none will be able to deny his worship and refuse his mark but the faithful tribulated Saints of the most High that abide with Michael our Prince of Peace who will stand with and by the Children of his People the sealed Ones that have his mark on their foreheads and utterly reject the Mark of the Beast and deny it whatsoever they may suffer for so doing So beware of the Mark of the Beast freely reject and deny the worshipping of the Beast and the receiving of his Antichristian Mark for if any man worship the Beast or receive his Mark on their forehads or in their hands they shall drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God and be judged and condemned of him and the Cup of the Lords Fury shall be poured forth for them to drink without any mixture of his mercy or favour Therefore you Children of Light and of Gods day who have known that â—ay so far to dawn in your hearts as to have a discovery of the Whore Beast false Prophet and false Church and have warred in the Lambs warfare against the Beast in any measure and in the Light of the Lamb have seen and denyed the Whore and her golden Cup still maintain your War in the Lambs Spirit and Power against the Beast and let your hatred be against the Whore her Cup as much as ever for the whore and her cup is no better now than when you first saw her and began to hate her and burn her flesh with fire and her cup is the very same now however she may guild it I know God hath shewed and will more manifest to you the My stery of the great Whore that sits upon many Waters Nations Kindreds Tongues and People and he is willing to preserve you and will keep you from adhering to her or the beast on which she rides and that carries her if you will hearken still unto the Lord and obey him he will defend you from the cruelty of the great red Dragon Whore Beast and false Prophet and will take the Beast and with him the false Prophet and give them to the burning slame He that hath an Ear to hear let him hear And remember how freely the Lord hath made you to drink of the Waters of Life and how that water hath been in you as a Well springing up to Life eternal and how can any of you that have known the waters of a full Cup from God given unto you and to your great satisfaction have drunk thereof return again to the foul and muddy Waters that have no clearness nor life in them Such as keep in the sence of that Life and Waters of it which Christ hath given us I know will never again meddle with the corrupt foul muddy Waters which the Whore and false Church gives to her Children but the Bread and Water of Life which you have fed upon and drunk of at the Table of the Lord the Children of the great Whore know not and therefore their cry hath been Come to the Church receive the Sacrament if you do you must pay for it and if you do not you must pay the more and be cited to appear at Courts which they call Courts Spiritual but how carnally they act in keeping of them and in proceeding against them that for Conscience sake towards God cannot pertake with them let all that fear God judge Oh! dear Friends fear not the Wrath of man though his heart be lifted up never so much in manifest Oppression and threaten to act it upon you but still know you and believe that the remainder of mans wrath God will restrain and disappoint the Wicked cast not away your Confidence but wait patiently upon God and he will restrain the Wrath of the Wicked Persecutors that they will be confounded in their ungodly Proceedings and not be able to effect their vile purposes Depart not from the Faith which God hath given you the Mystery of which is held in a pure Conscience stand fast in it then I doubt not but such will quit themselves in this day through the Lords aid and assistance from all the Snares that now are or hereafter may be laid to catch and hurt the innocent and betray the simple So in the peaceable pure wisdom and power of the Lord keep over all the treacherous dealers who set a trap to catch men and who are full of deceit and flattery and will speak you fair sometimes as well as at other times shew their Teeth ready to devour you or eat you up with the wisdom and power of the Lord God keep out of them and over them for their delight is in Mischief to oppress a man and his house but the Lord seeth and knoweth all the intents and purposes of the Wicked with all their wicked works and will reward them accordingly Do you see Clouds to appear and arise remember it is said of Christ That he cometh with the Clouds and then should be a time of great Trouble and how it should be a day of Darkness and Clouds and thick Darkness and that covereth the Earth and Nations for so is the day of the Lord to the Wicked it s a day of gloominess and darkness but not light Now to behold Christ in the Clouds how comfortable and glorious is it but more glorious comfortable to see him expelling of them and causing the shadows of Death and Darkness to vanish away which they do and must do as the Son Christ Jesus the Substance comes into Peoples hearts and is revealed in them You that witness Christ so come see him in the clouds and how he breaks thorow the clouds driveth all away that he may cause his day to dawn more in clearness And Christ said Behold I come as a Thief in the night blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked men see his shame it is not safe in a storm for men to be naked without their garments that should cover them when distress cometh And now a stormy Wind bloweth dear Friends be ye all watchful and clothed with the garments of Praise which God promised to give his People instead of the spirit of Heaviness and it will be a great Wo upon all them that have not the Spirit of the Lord to câ—ver them with in this present Storm and when distress of Nations
in Christ Jesus that the Lord may be with you and bless your Undertakings is sincerely the desire of my Soul And my dear Friends in general that love and fear the Lord whatsoever things are good pure honest that are of a good Report or which have any virtue in them think of heartily put in practice without being offended at the least thing or things that really are of God and which he appears in and blesseth his People in the Practice of Oh! be of one accord and one mind therein avoid all corrupt Reasoning and needless Questions about such things as becometh Saints and avoid all Evil Speakers Whisperers Back-biters and Tale-bearers who thereby would cool Brotherly Love or make Discord divide the Body of Christ Member from Member to lay waste Gods Heritage and trample upon his pleasant portion In the fear and wisdom of God keep that you may be made capable Instruments to stop such evil Instruments and whatsoever is â—ad impure dishonest and of a bad Report And in the Life of Righteousness and pure Judgment thereof stand up for God as faithful Witnesses against that which would defile and work Abomination when and where-ever it would enter to hurt and spoil the Vines for our Vines have tender Grapes and the Lord of the Vineyard looks for Grapes from his Vineyard but will be displeased with sower Grapes whosoever bringeth them forth And shut out all self-Interest that which would lead you to respect Persons in Judgment that nothing which is Evil may escape Judgment within in the particular nor in such amongst us that do profess the Truth of God whoever they be rich or poor and that the Righteous may be justified in Judgment that an equal hand of true Judgment and Justice may still be born and flow forth towards all of the Houshould of Faith without respect to Persons God Almighty be with you all and keep you in your strong Tower of safety the name power of the Lord now the winds blow hard and the sea swells if any of you go out of the name of the Lord into which you are gathered and seek to save your selves without the Lord and his counsel you cannot be safe what course beside soever you take Therefore keep with the Lord in his name light life he will be with you to save deliver you out of the hands of all your Enemies but do not prescribe the Lord a way how to work deliverance or bring salvation leave that to him that it belongs unto the time and manner of his saving and making bare and stretching forth of his hand but stand fast in believing be still and know continually that God is God and by Faith in his power you will see such things brought to pass as your Eyes yet never beheld done by Gods almighty Power Manifest your selves still peaceable and quietly wait upon the Lord who for the cry of the oppressed will arise and his Arm will put on strength he will help the poor and needy and will have mercy upon Zion and favour his People who eye him and cost not away their confidence which you have had in his Power and Gods everlasting Covenant of Light Life and Power feel made with you even the sure Mercies of David and the bright and morning Sear to direct you and guide you in all your ways that none of you may err or go astray any more And remember Gods Covenant and Promise which is sure that he made with David and his seed which greatly comforted David in his afflictions and troubles that his House was not with God as it ought to have been be thought upon Gods everlasting Covenant he regarded that and believed God would perform it in a time when be made it not to grow and God said As my Covenant is wiâ—h the day and night that there shall be day and night in their proper seasons so is my Covenant with David and with his seed forever David shall not want a man to sit upon his Throne from henceforth forever And the Lord said If I break my Covenant with the day and the night that there shall not be day night then will I break my Covenant with David But we see God continues his Covenant with the day night in their season as in his eternal wisdom counsel be appointed in the beginning set all thing in order which he had made the day night ever since according to Gods Covenant hath remained and kept their order even so God made his Covenant with David and his Seed Therefore dear Friends feel that you are all of the Seed and Off-spring of David the bright and morning Star and feel and be sensible of his sure Mercies and Covenant with you and extended towards you continually and having received such Mercies and precious Promises faint not whatever may become of your outward Man or Estates in this world freelâ— give up all to the Lord from whom you have obtained many favours and peculiar deliverances when you were in great straits and have been sorely beset with the Enemy within and without how did the Lord then appear to stand by you and strengthen you when you had no other helper nor looked for Salvation or strength in the day of trouble from any other certainly then was Gods time to appear who then did confound your Foes and stop and drive back the Powers of Darkness that withâ—â—ood the Lords work by his Power in you â—nd which he hath also begun in the Nations of the Earth which he will carry on and prosper for his Names sake and Covenants sake which in all things is well ordered and sure in which God Almighty keep you and establish you all for evermore Your Friend Brother who forever desires to be found one with the faithful in every good word and work JAMES PARKE Alton in Hampshire â—he latter end of the 11th Mon. 1682.