might of the power with which you are endued and by which you are armed who can declare Oh! go on therefore you mighty men of warre you valiant Champions of the Lords Host lay wast the heritage of the wicked that the heritage of God may flourish Let the Nations feel the stroak of the hand of the God of David who is with you who smote the Philistine that defied the Armies of the living God that he dyed Let the enemies of Gods truth be smitten in the hinder parts that they may fall and never rise again For Gog and Magog have set themselves in battel against the Lord and the bryars and the thornes shall set themselves in array but Oh how will he dash them to pieces like a potters vessel of clay and how will he burn them up and consume them with the fire of his jealousie and fierce indignation and wrath how will he consume and lay wast until the spoyler be utterly spoyled and the devourer laid waste for the cryes of the oppressed and distressed suffering seed is entered into the ears of the Lord God of Sabbath and he hath assuredly regard thereunto and he hath awakened and made bare his arm that cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon in the dayes of old and he hath roused up himself as a man out of sleep and hath put on the Garments of Vengeance for cloathing and is clad with zeal as with a Cloak and fury to his Adversaries he will repay and he will certainly plead the cause of his own Elect who have no other helper in the Earth Wherefore all you suffering Lambs of the true Shepherds fold be of good chear and of good comfort and suffer patiently whatsoever the enemy shall be suffered or permitted to inflict upon you for the tryal of your faith and eternally I say unto you it wil be your Crown for ever an everlasting reward shall you receive from the hand of the Almighty when you have been tried throughly then shall you appear in the beauty of holiness and your sorrow shall be â—urned into rejoycing and for your afflictions you shall have the everlasting comfâ—rt of Gods good Spirit which shall abide with you for ever and the wicked and those that hate you shall be cloathed with shâ—me and everlasting contempt and confusion shall cover them for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Wherefore put on courage and strength in the name of the Lord and lift up your heads above all sufferings for these things last but for a moment and will pass away and be forgotten as they had not been and are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed in them who abide faithful for their reward will be everlasting and will endure for ever wherefore above aâ—l have an eye unto the Lord and have respect unto the recompence of reward this will carry you through with chearfulness so that nothing will be dear unto you for his sake who shed abroad his rich love in your hearts the aboundings thereof I question not but the upright in heart feels daily For the Lord is not slack towards any of his faithful ones but is free large in his love rich in his mercies freely extends it even as a River into the hearts of his chosen Wherefore be replenished therevvith you suffering Plants or this I testifie unto you in the name of the Lord that the vertue of the life of holinesse issues forth freely tovvards you so that none needs faint under the Oppressor but may receive renevvedness of strength to bear yet a season And behold he in whom you have believed will be avenged on your Adversaries and will smite your enemies in the hinder parts and they shall fall and none shall help them neither shall they rise again If you walk humbly with the Lord and reverence him above all vvho is the God of your life then shall you have rest from all your enemies and your portion shall be the Lord your Kingdom shall be that vvhich is not of this World vvhich is an everlasting Kingdom and shall never have end So the Lord God of my life keep you all in lovvliness and faithfulness and true humility before him for he vvho is the Holy one of Israel dwels vvith such and unto them his goodnesse extends but especially to them of a clean heart Farevvel Written at the movings of the spirit of the Lord the Eighth day of the third Month 1662 as I was travelling in the Wilderness as without on Long Island in America and pondering in my heart the things of God and his dealings in times past and also present then the spirit of the Lord and the power of the Highest overshadowed me and his glory filled his temple and he shewed me things not now lawfull to be declared J. C. To all who desire to know the way to the Kingdom of Peace and Righteousness this to you is the Visitation of God THat which was in the beginning before the World was and is now made manifest which we have seen and which we have tasted of and which our hands have handled of the Word of Life and that which is revealed to us in secret by the Spirit of the Lord that do we declare openly even that which we are eye-witnesses of for the Word hath took flesh and dwells among us and we have beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth And this is he who is now appeared in the Spirit and made manifest for this end that the Works of the Devil might be destroyed and that by and through him the God of the spirits of all flesh might be revealed for want of whose knowledge the people perish and many in divers parts of the World as I have observed are in great perplexity and some even at their wits end because of the destractions and many cries that are in the World some crying This is the way and othersome That is the way and all of them from the Light of the Son of God in their own hearts and Conscience which leads in the way of Life and Peace all who are guided by it and out of all confusion and destractions about Religion and Church-Ordinances and Worship and such things about which the World is in heaps and confusion and are prescribing ways of Worship in their own fallen Wisdom and would compel all to conform thereunto and so would bind the Consciences of people to their wills which ought to be left unto the Lord to be exercised by his power in matters of Worship and obedience towards him and his prerogative is to rule there So that people must either disobey God or the Laws of corrupt fallen man and whether is better judge ye And this is sad to see and consider because there hath been for so many years by-past so much preaching and so much profession of Liberty of Conscience and the like
A SONG OF THE Judgments and Mercies OF THE LORD Wherein the things seen in secret are declared openly Being a brief Demonstration of the Secret Work of the Almighty in me his Servant given forth at the Movings of the Spirit of the Lord and is to go throughout the World With a hearty Salutation of pure and unfeigned Love flovving from the Innocent Life in a fevv vvords to all the Souldiers of the Lambs Army throughout the Nations and also to the suffering seed every where With a few Words by way of information unto such who may have desires in them to know the way to the Kingdom of Peace and Righteousness which we possess and are heirs of through Christ Jesus our Lord which to them is the visitation of God By One who labours and travels for the redemption of the suffering Seed in every Region and quarter of the earth called Josiah Coale We have not cunningly used devised fables in making known the power and coming of the Lord Iesus but having been eye-witnesses of his majesty and glory vve declare the things vvhich we have seen Printed in the 〈…〉 A Song of the Judgments and Mercies of the Lord. I Will sing of the Judgments and Mercies of the Lord and declare his wondrous Works unto all people that the Inhabitants of the Earth may hear and fear and reverence the Lord who is holy When I walked in the way of the Wicked and knew not the path of the Just when I lived in transgression against God and knew not his holy Law to walk therein then oft times did fear surprise me and terrour seized upon my heart For I saw that the way in which I walked was the way that led to destruction then as I considered the way of the World I saw they were all gone astray and though they had a Profession of God yet Acquaintance with him they had not neither was he to be found in their Assemblies Then my soul languished after the knowledge of him and after the Knowledge of the way of life yet still was I captivated with vanity and the deceitfulness of sin stole away my heart But the good Spirit of God still strived in me to come out of the wayes of the world whose Worships I had long seen to be but as the offering of Swines blood and in my heart I could not joyn with them but had a testimony in me against their wayes and that which they called their Ordinances I saw there was nothing of God in it for they were but as a shadow vanity and nothing but how to come into the way of life to this I was still a stranger untill the Lord in his eternal power sent the Ministers of the Word of Life who were annointed of the Lord and endued with power from on high to preach the glad tydings of the Gospel to the captivated seed and to minister to the spirits that were in prison whose voice I rejoyced to hear and whose Testimony I gladly received For they declared the way of life that it was in the midst of the path of judgment and the witness of God in my heart did seal to the truth of their Testimony and this I saw was the way that the Workers of Iniquity knew not For there is no judgment in their goings Then my soul cryed unto God for the pourings forth of the Spirit of judgment that I might walk in the paths thereof and that the filth thereby might be purged away for I saw that my heart was polluted and that there was no habitation for God which causeth me to mourn in desolation and to wander in solitary places So as I waited in the light of his Son which shined in my heart and conscience there he revealed his righteous judgments and the just rejoyced therein yea he brought me into the valley thereof and there did he plead with me even by sword and by fire c. He poured the cup of his fury upon me and made me drink of the dregs thereof yea the cup of trembling he put into my hand and gladly did I receive it though it was in my belly bitter he oft-times sorely afflicted me and caused deep sorrow to compass me about and poured his indignation upon me Then said J I will bear it with patience because I have sinned against thee Yet many times I was strongly assaulted with the violent rage of the wicked one for he shot his fiery darts at me which often wounded my soul Then J cried unto the Lord in my distress and he comforted me with his precious Promises which begot a secret hope in me or else I had fainted in the tribulation when his vials of wrath were poured upon me and the enemy came in like a flood then was J ready to say in my heart J shall one day fall by the hand of mine enemy yet J was still sustained by a secret hope so that J cried unto the Lord That he would never let his judgments depart untill the Prince of this world was judged and cast out So he followed me with his righteous Judgment until J was near ready to faint Then J cried again saying Jf thou wilt indeed bring me through thy Judgments and grant me thy everlasting Peace if thou wilt destroy the enemy of my soul and give me rest from those that oppress me Then will J teach sinners thy wayes and transgressours shall be converted unto thee yea J made many promises unto hâ—m that my life J would give up unto his service and that J would follow him whithersoever he would lead me yet oft-times J enquired of the Lord why J should be so afflicted more than others For J said in my heart Never mans sorrow was like my sorrow Then he answered me and said How shouldst thou declare my wonderous works unless thou see and know them So when J had born the indignation long even the time of his good pleasure when J had been long tossed with tempests even as a ship upon the Sea and had been long as a Pelican in the wilderness and as an owl in the desert yea as a silly Dove without a Mate then he remembred Jacob his servant and was pleased to speak comfortably unto me saying Oh thou tossed with tempests afflicted and not comforted Behold J will lay thy stones with fair coloures and though for a moment J have afflicted thee yet with everlasting loving kindness have J visited thee and with many sweet and precious Promises he compassed me about which at this time is unutterable and he put the cup of consolation into my hand yea he caused it to overflow for which my soul did magnifie his Name and gave praise unto him in the land of the living unto which by the arm of his power I was brought through the long and terrible vvilderness for he had regard unto his own seed and brought it forth by an out stretched arm for he plagued Pharoah with his judgments and destroyed
the Egyptians in the Red Sea of his wrath Wherefore J magnifie the God of heaven who is light extoll him above all Gods for the Proud he is able to abase with his Judgements to exalt the meek with his tender mercies Thus have I dâ—unk the bitter Cup of Gods fierce Indignation The miniâ—â—ration of the Law and of the condemnation Which in its time was glorious the just rejoyced therein Untill the Prophets Ministry came by which the hope came in Of a Redeemer from all sin the Law and curse thereof And of the deliverance from the Judgement and the wrath Which stayed me in the patience to bear the indignation Under which I long had travelled through many tribulations Until Johns Ministry I came to see which was the great'st of all The Prophets which had gone before frrm the great'st unto the small For then the way was made so straight the path was made so plain That th' Coming of Gods Son I saw in his great power to raign Whose kingdom now is Come with power the Lâ—mb is sets on 's throne The least that in this kingdom is be greater is then John So here the mystery of the work of Regeneration is He that can read me herein may know where my dwelling is So when he had thus exercised me with his judgements and filled my heart with his tender mercies enlarged it with his loving kindness so that the way of his Commandments was delightful unto me my life was not deare unto me for his sake then he spake unto me saying Thou must be my servant to bring again the dispersed of Israel c. with much more which I judg is not expedient here to be expressed So to his service I gave up my life truly whatsoever I had I accounted not dear for his sake for he gave me the promise of his good presence that it should never leave me nor forsake me but that he would accompany me therwith And he a faithful and keepeth Covenant and performes his word unto his servnt For he hath carried me through many Countries in which I was a stranger from one Nation to another People he hath led me some times through many people of divers strange Languages and his good presence never departed from me since I left the Land of my nativity but he is a constant Companâ—on on unto me and his Almighty power it with me through which I am able to do all thingâ— nothing is hard unto me though bonds travels attend me yet the comfort of his spirit is with me all places are alike unto me both the roaring Sea and the dry Land because of his omnipresence who created them all And this is the Mighty God of Abraham â—saac and Jacob vvho is vvith me vvho filâ— my heart dayly vvith his love and causeth his blessing and living vertue to abound so that my cup doth overflovv for vvhich I blesse and magnifie his name and sound forth his praises through the horn of his ovvn annointed And this the God vvhom David served vvho is now with me even he that made him wiser then his Teachers and gave him more understanding then the Ancients and delivered him out of the mouth of the Lyon and from the paw of the devouring Bear and gave the life of the uncircumcised Philistine into his hand even he it is that doth accompany me and carry me through all my travels who spake to Moses out of the bush when it was on fire and was not consumed at whose voice Moses feared and trembled exceedingly this is he of whom I make my boast who leads me whithersoever he pleaseth And who shall withstand him in his way and not fall before him for the lofty City he bringeth it down he layeth it low even with the dust Wherefore howl ye Inhabitants thereof For behold your desolation commeth swiftly and none shall be able to hinder it for the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way and who is he that can withstand him or be able to deliver you out of the just hand of the Almighty for he is greater and stronger then all whose Controversie is certainly great with you and will assuredly plead with you in his jealousie and in his fierce indignation and you shall not escape his hand for he will find you out whatsoever covering you hide your selves under and he will recompence every one according to their doings for all things are naked and bare before him with whom we have to do And his Kingdom of Righteousness shall be exalted over all the Kingdomes of the earth and the Lord God Omnipotent shall raign and the Powers of Darkness must bow before him that sits upon the throne and rides upon the white horse whose name is called Faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judg and make war wherefore let the Armies that are in Heaven rejoyce that follow him upon white Horses for your enemies shall be given into your hands for a prey and by their spol shall you be enriched He that hath an ear to hear let him hear what the spirit saith which now speaketh expresly and signifieth the things that must shortly come to passe Wherefore put on valour and courage you Heads of the Army of the Lords heavenly Host vvho are in the front of the battle and are oft-times deeply engaged in vvar vvith the beast and false Prophet who must be taken alive and cast into the lake J say unto you my beloved Biethren and fellovv Souldiers vvhose weapons are not carnal but spiritual and mighty through God J am not unsensible of your Travels Combates and oppositions and hardships which daily you meet vvithal but in my measure partakes vvith you do truly travel in your strength I speak to the vvise in heart and J also partake with you of the everlasting Consolation which daily abounds so that we need not faint in our minds nor in our hearts though our enemies seem many in number and great in strength for the Lord the mighty God of Jacob is with us even the Mighty Jehovah is on our side and this you fully know and it is not because you know not these things that I write thus unto you but because you know it and can seal to this Testimony and that you may be refreshed hereby and he it is that fights all our battels for us and all Nations are but as a drop of a bucket before him and the hearts of Kings are in his hand and he can turn them as the Rivers of waters who turns a fruitful Land into Barreness for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein Oh my beloved Brethren how doth my soul love you and cleave unto you how oft are you in my remembrance and sweet pleasant and delightful is the remembrance of you unto me your beauty oft-times even ravisheth my heart and at this time even overcomes me your Crown is glorious which I behold and the