for God in their Professions p. 163. 17. A True Relation of the cause of his Imprisonment by the Magistrates at Harwich p. 193. 18. His Faith touching 4. Particulars Demonstrated 1. Concerning Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World 2. Concerning Justification 3. Concerning the Resurrection 4. Concerning Everlasting Glory and Eternal Misery p. 208. 19. Englands sad Estate and condition lamented p. 212. Several Epistles to Friends who are gathered into the Light of Life 1. A General Epistle and tender Greeting sent unto the Flock of Christ Pag. 230. 2. An Epistle to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity p. 241. 3. To the Called of God who believe in the Light of the Lamb. p. 245. 4. The Breathings of true Love from the Immortal Seed in the Prisoner for the Lord unto his People p. 250. 5. To the Tribulated Fock of Christ in Bonds or elsewhere Salutation p. 263. 6. Touching compelling of Engagements p. 267. 7. That none can hinder the Determined Will of God p. 269. 8. Concerning his laying down the Body p. 270. 9. For the Common-wealths men both in the Parliament and Army p. 272. COMPASSION TO THE CAPTIVES WHEREIN Is shewn unto them the Way of God Which is but one which is not known in the many Sects and Opinions that are in the dark World but in the Light which comes from Christ which condemns the World with its deeds So they that live in the many Sects and Opinions their wayes are seen and denied by the Children of Light who dwell in Him who is the Way the Truth and the Life With something in plainness to the Officers and Souldiers of the Armies in General in England Scotland and Ireland Also a strong and terrible Alarm sounded out of the Holy Mountain against the Inhabitants of the Earth Given forth for the Innocent Seeds sake which is scattered abroad in the dark World By me who suffers for the Testimony of Jesus and keeps the word of his Patience in the common Goal of Edmonds Bury in the County of Suffolk where I have suffered above forty nine weeks through the envy and cruelty of Sions Oppressors I am known to the world by the name George Fox the Younger London Printed for Robert VVilson at the Black-spread-Eagle and VVind-Mill in Martins le Grand 1662. Compassion to the Captives Wherein is shewn unto them the Way of God which is but one which is not known in the many Sects and Opinions which are in the dark World But in the Light which comes from Christ c. THerefore this is unto you in whom there is any desires to know the way of the pure God who are scattered abroad in the dark World and are yet groping in the dark in the many Sects and Opinions Jam. 4.3 You ask and receive not because you ask amisse you have been wandring from Mountain to Mountain and from Hill to Hill but yet you have found no resting place for you have sought in your own wills and have run in your own imaginations and have not at all considered what it was that guided you but in darkness ye have walked and ye know not whither 1 John 2.11 and ye have joyned some with one Sect and some with another and in your own wills have contended each of you for your Opinions and yet ye have not been satisfied in your minds many of you whither that was the Truth that ye contended for or not for doubtings have oftentimes arose in your minds and you have been many times struck with fear and then you have sometimes in tenderness desired that you might know the way of God aright and ye have been some of you brought somewhat down and then you have been afraid to run into those evil Practises which formerly you have acted and delighted in Yet this hath been but for a time for ye knew not what that was that struck you but in your Imaginations you have consulted and then in your own wills you have sate down and said within your selves that you would never act such wickedness again but this being in your wills you have not found Power to resist the Temptations of the wicked one Neither have you found any Power over your lusts for by them you have been drawn away Jam. 1.14 and so have run into the same wickedness again and then some of you have been ready to despair and other times you have accounted God an hard Master as the slothful servant did Mat. 25.18 24 25. for you are yet in the same Nature and Practice that he was in for your Talent also is hid in the Earth and your earthly minds are above and rule and you are subiected by the Powers of the Earth so that those weak desires that yet remain in you towards â—he lâ—â—ing God are greatly oppressed by the Earth and kept in Bondage and Captivity by the Powers thereof and Leanness and Barrenness is in your Souls now while you continue thus striving in your own wills or imaginations profess what you will you cannot have any true Peace nor rest in your minds neither can you receive any satisfaction to those desires which are real after God I say while you thus act Therefore consider your wayes speedily and hate not the Covenant of God nor contemn his Promise any longer Now this is the Promise of the Lord speaking of his servant whom he hath chosen even the Son of his Love saying I will give him for a Covenant to the People and for a Light to the Gentiles that he may be my Salvation to the ends of the Earth Isa 42.6 49.6 And Christ Jesus the Son of God saith I am the Light of the World John 8.12 And John who was a true Minister of Christ and bore witness of him saith He lighteth every man that cometh into the world John 1. chap. 9 v So you have all received a Light from Christ and this Light shineth in Darkness but the Darkness cannot comprehend it And this is the Condemnation of the World that Light is come into the World and men loved Darkness rather than Light because their deeds were Evil And he that doth Evil hateth the Light neither will he bring his Deeds to the Light lest it should reprove them John 3.19 Therefore you that desire to know the Way of the Pure God be not high-minded but repent and come down to the Light of Christ in your Consciences that is the Light which shews you Sin and Evil and this the Way Christ Jesus the Light he is the Way to the Father and no man cometh to the Father but by him Joh. 14.6 Therefore as the Light appears in you to shew you the Evil of your doings take heed to the Light and wait in it that you may see Condemnation pass upon that which hath led you into the Evil of the World and that you may come to be sensible of a guide to your minds to guide you out of the Evil that so the Cross
things that is of this world for the Tryal will be great unto such Dear hearts I know that some of you have suffered the losse of much for his Name sake already oh faint not neither be weary for all your Sufferings are known unto the Lord and he will not alwayes so try you but he will sufficiently recompence you if ye abide to the end Therefore watch unto Prayer and Pray in the Spirit as it moves you thereunto that you may be kept through Faith unto the end of the Tryal that you may be prepared and made fit for the deliverance which must come by an outstretched Arm and when you are tryed deeply either in Prisons or otherwise oh Friends murmur not but feel the Lord's strength to support you that you may not bow to the Enemy in any wise whose day is but short and therefore he is wroth and rages for such as bow to any thing but the Name of our King verily their torment and perplextty will be exceeding miserable when the Lord shall deliver his chosen who kept their integrity and loved not their estates nor lives but gave up all for his Name sake Therefore dear Friends hearken you to the voice of the Lord and keep you to the leadings of his Eternal Spirit and let his Dread fill you hearts And you that feel but little Sufferings and Tryals take heed of a wrong security and of a false ease and Liberty least the day of the Lord come upon you at unawares and a violent storm unlookt for and you that are in deep Sufferings and Tryals be not you cast down but know that the Tryal of your Faith is exceeding precious and if you keep your minds stayed upon the Lord then will you learn much in such a time and you will feel the presence of God and the virtue of his Power inwardly refreshing you and you will feel the Power of his Majesty giving you Authority sutable to the Condition you are in So as all Friends are kept in that which gives you the sence and feeling of your conditions that Principle of Life will work your minds and hearts into contendedness with the Will of God which is your Sanctification So let the bond of Peace be minded in all things for it is comely amongst Brethren And now the God of Life and endless Virtue and Power watch over you and Minister unto every one of you that which is sutable to your present conditions and the Lord God Almighty preserve and keep you Low Humble Meek Tender Innocent upright Faithful and valiant out of the Snares of the Enemy and give you Peace in all your Tryals and let the Patience of his Lamb be increased in you that you may stand unmoveable upon the Rock of Ages and retain the Life which quickens in your understandings And the Lord God open and keep open your discernings that by no meanes the subtilty may beguile the similicity in this the day of Tryal Eternal Father unto thee I commend all thy Flock that thou Father may fill them with Wisdom Strength and Courage that to thy Glory they may be preserved in their several places and measures to whom be Dominion and Glory everlasting for thy endless riches for thou Lord art worthy to Reign over all Even so come Lord God and take thy Kingdom I the Prisoner for the Lord salutes all you who loves the appearance of Christ in that love which abides for ever GEORGE FOX the Younger Lambeth House the 14th of the 5th Month 1660. SUrely it was thee O Lord that gave bounds unto the Sea that the floods thereof could not overwhelm thy chosen thou canst let forth the winds and suffer a storm and thou canst make a Calm when thou pleasest have thou the Glory of all Thou King of Saints thou Saviour of Israel thou canst do whatsoever thou pleasest therefore will we trust in thy Name neither will we fear what man can do unto us because thou wilt not forsake us but thou wilt plead our Cause in the sight of our adversaries and they shall know that thou art our God who art able to save to the uttermost O Lord our Righteousness we will praise thy Name for thy Mercies indure for ever our eyes O God are unto thee for we have no other helper our Faith O Lord standeth in thee who canst not forget thy People Thou hast revealed and brought up Jacob who wrestleth with thee and prevails as a Prince therefore must the Blessing come O Lord the Birth the Birth cryeth unto thee thine own Elect which long hath been Oppresseâ— â—hou canst not deny thy self therefore have we Faith and Hope which maketh not ashamed Oh Lord 〈◊〉 unsearchable are thy wayes Thou hast even amazed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the depth of thy Wisdom thou onâ—ly wiâ—l have the Glory of their deliverance and therefore 〈◊〉 thou suffered these things to come to pass 〈…〉 Righteous in all thy Judgements onely preserâ—e thy People which thou hast gathered and will gather unto thy self in the day of Tryal that so they may sing of thy Power and Magnifie thy Name in the Land of the Living George Fox the Younger The Breathings of true Love from the Immortal Seed in the Prisoner for the Lord unto his People DEear Friends Brethren and Sisters in the Light called to be a People loved of God the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ Grace Love and Peace be multiplied amongst you through the abundant manifestation of the Spirit of Life proceeding from the Father and the Son My Children and beloved Friends the God of all Truth hath appeared unto you in the Everlasting Covenant of Light and Life visiting you in an acceptable Day and Time making known unto you his Eternal Truth by the Revelation of his Mighty Power in your Mortal Bodies whereby he brought you indeed to feel and know the miserable Estate and Condition that ye were in and he hath also given you to see him upon whom help is laid and you have received him who is the Salvation of God through the drawings of his Mighty Power and you are brought to know and believe That Salvation is not to be had in another yea many of you have received the Covenant of God and do indeed know that your sins are washed away in the blood thereof for you have the witness in your selves and the word of reconciliation is felt and known in your hearts whereby abundance of Peace and Joy unspeakable is witnessed and the Kingdom is come of which there is no end and some of you are placed together therein in Christ Jesus and many others of you the called of the Lord are travelling thitherwards through the Righteous Judgements of the Lord in the Spiritual Warfare and in the Faith and Patience of the Lamb. Now my Friends Be you stedfast in the Truth of God received you have been a suffering People most of the time since the Lord hath brought you in any measure into the obedience
come to witness a particular satisfaction and that you may come to feel the pure Image of the Holy God restored in you even his everlasting Righteousness his Power his Wisdom his Life and Glory raised up in you to have Dominion and to rule over all the earth and to subdue it that so the pure God of Life and Virtue might be glorified in your mortal Bodies and that you might all come to feel and witness an everlasting habitation of Rest and Peace in him who is worthy of all Honour and Praise and Thanksgiving and Dominion for evermore Amen Now some of you who have been antient Professors will say to us If we should joyn to you we must lay down all then that ever we have professed and what have we been Professors so many years and yet have to begin all a-again Have we known nothing of God all this time this is hard To this I answer Friends if you come to joyn to the Truth you must then lay down and leave and forsake all that which you have held up and practised in your own wills which you were never led or required to hold up or practice by the Spirit of Truth but I do know and own that there was a pure living Principle of God oft stirring in you in your Professions by which Principle of God you oft saw that you were wrong and that you did that which was not well-pleasing the sight of God in your Profession for that Principle of God in you the Light judged and condemned you for many of your actions which you acted and sometimes the Lord's Witness brought you into a tender low condition and then opened things unto the Seed in you but you not taking heed to the Light to be the guide and stay of your minds you continued not long in that condition but you consulted with the Subtilty which drew you from God's Witness what you should do and so waited not in that which brought you into tenderness to receive God's Counsel in that but you took Counsel of the Serpent and your own Hearts and so ran into things which God never required at your hands and therefore God had no regard unto your Worship because it was not in the Spirit and in the Truth you not being guided therein by the Spirit of Truth So unto that which was in the Beginning you must all come which is Christ the true Light who hath enlightned you and you must learn of Him who is the Light of Life the VVord and the Power by which all things were made and are upheld and you must be subject unto the measure of Him in you and this his Measure if you submit to it that will bring you to cease from your own wills and works and to wait in silence and patience to see and feel Christ the Power of God to work all your works in you and for you and if you own the Light that will plainly shew unto you how God formerly appeared unto you and how you went from his appearance so the Light will own that which God opened unto you at any time but it will deny and condemn your own imaginations which you mixed with that which God opened unto you and so unto this Witness of the Lord you must all come and believe and wait in that which will separate the precious from the vile before that can be satisfied in you which breaths after God So my tender love and compassion is unto that in you which is not yet satisfied but doth truly hunger and thirst after the Life and Power of Truth and my Soul doth travel for freedom and satisfaction of that Seed and I suffer with it and bear many things for its sake for I have true Unity and Fellowship with that in you and I know it and am known of it but I cannot have Unity with many of your Practices which ye have been in because they have caused the Seed in you with which I have Unity exceedingly to suffer you not being guided and led into them by the Spirit of Truth and so against all such Practices I do bear witness in the Spirit of Meekness and I labour in the Spirit of Love to turn Peoples minds unto the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth which is given to every man wherewith to profit So all People feel that and mind that and hearken unto that which oft riseth in your hearts against Lust against Covetousness against Pride against vain and needless words and thoughts and against all evil in its appearance and as you all mind this Principle which moves and stirs in you against all evil you will feel it divide your good words from your bad words and good thoughts from bad thoughts and good deeds from bad deeds and that which divides betwixt these and shews you the difference of them this is the Word which Moses and Paul wrote of which is nigh in the mouth and in the heart Yea this is the Word of Reconciliation which reconciles to God this is the ingrafted Word which is able to save the Soul Now you being turned to this Word even to that which discerns the thoughts and intents of your hearts as ye wait in this let the Subtilty appear never so subtilly to draw your hearts after any thing or into any Practice which the Lord requireth not of you then this Word which is the Power it will make it manifest unto you and it will stop you from entring into any such Practices if you wilfully resist it not and believing and waiting in this Word it will not suffer you to speak any hasty unsavoury words or word and then ye will come to be truly sensible of a bridle to the tongue without which all Religion is vain and this Word ye taking it to be your guide it will bring you into savoury sound words seasoned with the Grace of God and so as your words and actions and lives come to be ordered by this Word Christ the Power of God they will reach unto the Witness of God in every one where ye come and if ye will hear this Word and regard it and not resist it it will work true Faith in you by which you will feel your hearts purified from sin and ye will feel it giving you Victory over the World within and without and if ye keep in this Faith ye will not make haste for ye will feel the Eternal Light which is the Life of the Word calling and drawing you out of the hasty nature into soberness stilness and quietness and meekness of Spirit and so ye will feel your strength renewed in the Lord as ye all wait upon him in his Light and all believing in the Light ye will not come into condemnation and as ye all wait in that which discerns and reveals the thoughts and the intents of your hearts which is the Word of Power this also will divide between your good thoughts and your bad thoughts and the good
bring ye to know and remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth and it will reveal God's Power and Wisdom in ye whereby ye will be kept in true order So suffer not your minds to follow vanity neither walk in stubbornness towards your Parents nor others I warn ye in God's fear lest he shorten your dayes and cut ye off by his righteous Judgements but mind his fear and wait therein that ye may feel his Grace and be taught by it and be obedient unto it and then ye will feel the Mercy and Blessing of the Lord. And all ye that are Masters and Dames wait in the true Light that ye may feel Christ the Power and Wisdom of God to be your Master that so ye may rule in your Places in his Fear and Wisdom and lay no more upon your Servants than ye would be willing should be laid upon you if ye were in their places and conditions Mark that and forbear threatning them and be not hasty to turn them away if they be willing to abide with you but in Patience and Meekness shew them their Place and Service and therein teach them if they know it not and let them have for their Service that which is convenient just and reasonable that they may have no just cause to murmur or complain and keep out of covetousness lest that hinder you from giving them sufficient liberty who desire it for going to the Meetings of the People of the Lord and if in the Wisdom of God ye see freedom to turn any away give them sufficient warning that they may provide themselves other wayes for this is just and reasonable and be not hasty nor rash with them nor run into jangling with them but if ye have cause to reprove them let it be in the Fear and Wisdom of God in the Freedom and Authority of the Truth and that will reach unto the Witness of God in them so be not High-minded but fear and be patterns unto them in the lowly meek and quiet spirit and bear with the weak and forgive them that trespass against you and render not evil for evil to any but overcome evil with that which is good and live in that which overcomes evil that so the Truth of God may be exalted over all And all ye that are Servants live in the Fear of the Lord and wait in his Light and be obedient thereunto and also be obedient in your places unto those that are your Masters and Dames according to the Flesh not onely to the good and gentle but also to the froward serving them in Faithfulness and Uprightness of Heart doing what ye do for them as diligently faithfully and willingly as ye should do any thing to the Lord for this right in the sight of God and take heed that none of God's Creatures be lost or wasted under your hands through your neglecting them or slothfulness in your places do not falsly accuse any or speak evil behind any one's back thereby thinking to get the favour or love of any or upon any other account for that is evil and be as diligent in your places when your Masters or Dames are absent as when they are present for this is just and right and be not stubborn nor wilful neither use many words to your Masters or Dames and if you know not well how to perform your service aright then in true humility be willing to learn and take heed of High-mindedness and Pride or of being wise in your own eyes and when you have any spare time allowed ye being free from outward imployment see that ye spend it in the fear of the Lord in waiting upon him in his Light that so all vain talking corrupt Communication foolish jeasting and all vanity may be kept out of and give ye not way to that mind which is unstable which would be oft shifting and going from place to place for this is not right in the sight of God but wait in the Light that ye may be staid and setled in your minds and if ye see freedom in the fear of God mark that to go to another place then give your Masters or Dames sufficient notice of it and if any of you who know the Truth come to be moved of the Lord to go to any place in his service be faithful to the Lord and when your service which he required of you is done then return to your places again except it be otherwayes ordered in the Fear and Wisdom of God and be diligent in your places doing the same that ye would others should do unto you in the like condition and mind the Lord in all things and above all things and be faithful unto him and he will be your reward And all ye Fathers and Mothers and Children and Masters and Dames and Servants who have the Creatures of God to buy or sell or to Exchange live in the fear of the Lord that ye may feel his Wisdom to guide you in your trading and do not speak better or worse of the Creatures then you know them to be thereby to get the greater gain for that is Idolatry it arising from Covetousness but wait to feel God's Spirit to bridle your tongues and use but few words in your trading and if ye ask a question therein do it in simplicity and keep in the Light which is equal that when ye offer or ask a price for the Creatures it may be in equality and let that be your rule and not the price of the Market except that be equal that so ye may reach the equal principle one in another and then stand to your word and here your yea will be yea and your nay will be nay and so you will be kept in the Doctrine of Christ with his Light out of all Evil and ye abiding in the Light it will bring ye to do to every one as ye would be done unto and take heed that ye stir not up the impatient crooked disorderly Nature one in another with your words or actions but bear one with another and forgive one another and when ye tell each other of a fault do it in the Fear and Wisdom and Meek Spirit of God's Lamb that so ye may restore each other therein and when ye have any convenient time assemble your selves together in the Name and Fear of the Lord and wait every particular in the Measure and Gift of God in you which is given ye to profit withal and all wait together in the Light and believe in it that ye may be Children of the Light and therein watch unto Prayer and one over another and this will beget ye into unfeigned love and walking in the Light ye will have true unity and fellowship one with another and the blood which is the Life of Jesus Christ you will feel cleansing you from all Sin and so ye will come into the unity with God Also to feel his Word his Power and Wisdom in you by
through Him might believe Mark through Him who lighteth every man that cometh into the World John 1.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. and God is Light 1 Joh. 1.5 and God and Christ are One Joh. 10.30 1 Joh. 5.7 So you that be turned from the Light which shews you sin and evil mark what you are turned from you are turned from the Way and from the Truth and from the Life and from the Covenant of God and from the Power of God and from the Word of God and so from God and Christ from whence the Light doth come and into the Darkness you are turned and gone and the Prince of Darkness ruleth in you Eph. 2.2 that so you cannot find any power over your own perverse Wills nor over your Lusts nor over any Sin there being gone from the Light in your own particulars in which Light if you believed and waited in it you would receive power to overcome sin but you not believing in the Light you believe in him who leads you from the Power of God into sin and there he perswades you that you must live in sin so long as you live upon the Earth and you have believed and received this Doctrin of him and you teach it to others and so are become the Devils Ministers and so you deny the end for which the Son of God was made manifest which was to destroy the Works of the Devil and to take away sin 1 Joh. 3.8 Mat. 1.21 and yet many of you feed your selves with hopes of Life and Salvation but your hopes are vain and will perish be not deceived God will not be mocked for such as you sow such shall you reap Gal. 6.7 8. Ye that live after the flesh fulfilling the lusts thereof you shall surely dye if ye repent not speedily Rom. 8.13 and you that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap Corruption The day of the Lord hasteth greatly wherein you must give an account unto him who will judge you righteously and reward you according to your deeds done in the Body and all you who have been slothful and have hid that in the Earth which the Lord gave you to profit withal you will be turned into utter darkness Mat. 25.30 John 12.35 Therefore while you have the Light believe and walk in it lest thick darkness come upon you even such darkness as may be felt the day of your Visitation prize lest the things that belong to your peace be wholly hid from your eyes Consider there is a time when the Candle is lighted and when you may see if you search with it what is in the house but mark this time will not alwayes continue with the wicked for the Candle of the wicked shall be put out Prov. 24.20 Yea the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with man Gen. 6.3 Therefore cease from your dark imaginations which several of you have got into for whosoever followeth the imaginations and thoughts of his own heart which all who believe not in the Light do they run on in darkness and know not whether they go and such are under the wo putting darkness for Light Light for darkness calling the Spirit of Truth the Spirit of Error and the Spirit of Error the Spirit of Truth Isa 5.20 as all the world do who lye in wickedness and hate the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the Word which Light reproveth you for your wickednes and this Light you call a Spirit of Delusion and Error and you say that those who are guided by it are deluded and led into Error Oh! take heed of Blasphemy against the pure God who is Light Mark the Spirit of Error what it is and what it leads into it is that which abode not in the Truth and it is a Murderer and was so from the Beginning and they who walk not in the true Light they walk and are guided by this Spirit and some by it are led to murder some to steal some to be drunk to swear to lye to cheat and cozen one another to fight to game and some it leads into vain laughter foolish jesting corrupt communication cursed speaking wantonness lust whoredom fornication and into covetousness which is Idolatry into pride variance strife railing back-biting envy wrath and malice false accusing the Innocent and into all manner of ungodliness into feigned love self-seeking dissimulation hypocrisie and feigned flattery and to hate the very appearance of Truth Eph. 4.29 and 5. Gal. 5.19 20. Now examine with that which reproves you for sin in secret and it will let you see that you bring forth many of these cursed Fruits before-mentioned and so are deluded and guided by the Spirit of Error now the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World comes from the Spirit of Truth and that is the Truth and it witnesseth against all these evil deeds before-mentioned which are out of the Truth and they who believe in the Light which makes manifest sin and evil and wait in it they receive power from him from whence the Light came John 1.12 to abstain from evil and to overcome sin and evil and this I witness and that Spirit which tempts the Creature to evil is the Spirit of Error So we who believe in the true Light which is the manifestation of the Spirit of Truth which is given to every man to profit withal 1 Cor. 12.7 we by it are led out of Error and Delusion into the perfect Truth of God and to act those things which are well-pleasing in his sight Mat. 11.29 they being learned and wrought in the Light which comes from the Son in whom the Father is well pleased Joh. 3.21 and this true Light in us is our Guide and Teacher and this brings us who wait in it to understand the Scriptures of Truth which was given forth from the Spirit of Truth and it brings us into that which the Scriptures speaks of into the Life and Power of God and to witness that which the World talks of for they will talk of Faith in Christ Jesus though they witness not what they speak but we who believe in the Light are made by the power of God Children of the Light and we witness Faith in Christ which Faith purifies our hearts and gives us victory over the World Act. 15.9 1 Joh. 5.4 and the Light leads us into meekness into soberness and love unfeigned into holiness and uprightness into sound and pure Judgement into Mercy into Patience when we are reviled and persecuted and at all times into long-suffering and Truth in the inward parts to do unto all men as we would they should do unto us yea it leads us who abide in it into all Truth Joh. 16.13 and this is not of our selves for it is the free Gift of God who freely gave his Son for a Covenant of Light which ligheth every man that cometh into the World and we who have received the Gift
sorrow doubtings and fears filled your hearts Now as there are several conditions among you so also here are several things spoken unto each condition therefore you must mind the VVitness of God in your selves which makes manifest unto you your several conditions and that will let you see what of these things that are here written properly belongeth to each of you which is my desire that you may receive for my tender love in the Lord Jesus Christ is unto all your souls who truly breath after the Lord desiring your eternal good and that you may be brought into the enjoyment of that Life and Power and Presence which only can give satisfaction unto your immortal Souls Therefore as you tender the good of your own souls eternal Peace Cease hunting abroad in your imaginations and leave off wandring from Mountain to Hill and from Hill to Mountain where several of you have even wearied your selves for very vanity have not found a resting place and return Home Retire your minds inward unto that which oft springeth in you giving you the sensible knowledge and feeling of your particular conditions and putting you in remembrance of the dealings of God with you in times past for that which thus springeth in you is the Gift of God which is given you to profit withal Oh Friends turn not from this Gift in your selves as you have done for by your turning from this pure Life when it hath visited you by its oft putting you in remembrance wherein you went wrong you have come to loose the sensibleness of your condition and the enemy of your Souls thereby hath gotten great advantage against you and then you have been drawn and led by him into that which could not profit you Therefore all mind that Gift of God in your selves which maketh you sensible of your present conditions and which oft begetteth true desires in you to do the Will of God and which hath brought some of you into lowliness of mind and to walk humbly with the Lord in his pure Fear for some time For if ever you come to witness the true desires of your souls satisfied and you established in true Peace you must receive the living Principle of God in your own particular Vessels which Principle I call the Light it being a proper name for it because it maketh manifest all things that are justly reproved and whatsoever doth make manifest the same is Light But I shall not desire to tye up any of you to give this Principle of Truth only the name of Light for if you come to believe in it and receive it in the love of it and walk in obedience to its drawings leadings and requirings I shall not matter if you call it the Truth or the Gift of God or the manifestation of the Spirit of God or the Grace of God or the ingrafted Word or the manifestation of God or Christ or a measure of the Eternal Being or Fulness or Divine Nature or any other name which may truly be given unto it But this is that which I desire That you all may receive the thing it self which hath so oft made manifest your conditions unto you and sometimes brought you into brokenness of Spirit Object But some may say When we have had our conditions made manifest unto us and when we have been brought into brokenness of spirit and have had tender desires begotten in us towards God to do his VVill it hath oft been either when we have been reading the Scriptures or hearing them Preached or read by others and therefore we believe the Scriptures have done these things to us rather than any thing within us Answ Friends I shall not deny but that your conditions have been made manifest unto you and that you have been brought into brokenness of Spirit and have had true desires begotten in you to do the Will of God sometimes when you have read or heard the Scriptures read or Preached unto you But this I say unto you It was not the Scriptures that did these things but it was the Gift of God in your own hearts at that time as I shall plainly declare unto you Mark Thus it was when you have read or heard others read or speak such words of the Scriptures of Truth as were suitable to that condition you were then in or which did declare against such things as you were guilty of mark then hath the Witness of God arose in you sometimes and plainly spoke to your understanding part and convinced you that you were guilty of such things as were spoken against in such a Scripture as you read or heard yea it was the measure of God's Truth in your own Vessels that hath so made manifest your particular conditions unto you and hath perswaded and overpowered you and made you believe and sometimes confess particularly that thou wert the man or woman or child that was guilty of that or hadst need of that which thou then didst read or hear that the Scripture declared against or of And when the Power of God hath thus wrought in you at that time when you have heard or read the Scriptures you have sometimes indeed been brought into brokenness of Spirit and render desires have been begotten in you towards the Lord And the Lord hath also appeared unto some of you sometimes in the Night season or as you have been about your labour or otherwise and some of you have felt his pure Power working in you whereby your understandings in some measure have been opened and your conditions plainly made manifest unto you and much tenderness hath been begotten in you even when you have neither heard nor read any thing outwardly but the pure operation of the Spirit and Power of Truth in some of you hath done these things and wrought your minds into lowliness meekness and quietness And then hath the pure love of God been felt in some measure whereby your souls have been refreshed So Friends the Holy One is neither by you to be limited to the Scriptures nor yet from the Scriptures in any wise as to his appearance to his Creatures but you are to learn to wait in the measure of his Grace which hath appeared unto you and you are to watch in the Light for his further appearance unto you And as you come to wait upon the Lord in his pure Fear and Dread you will feel your minds wrought into stilness and so you will come to hear the pure Voice of God and Christ who are one and become acquainted therewithal and his love you will feel arising in you whereby you will be constrained to obey it when or where-ever you come to hear it and then you will see the Lord is not to be limited either to time or place or means outward but you will see that he manifesteth himself to his Creatures even when and where and howsoever he pleaseth And truly Friends As concerning these things which the Lord hath suffered to come
to pass of late it is exceeding righteous and just with him to suffer those things to be effected for truly as you know he was much provoked thereunto and his patience towards many of you was very great yea he spared you long and yet many of you whom I now hope are brought to see your brck-slidings regarded not his goodness but walked very carelesly and some of you wantonly before him yea many of your minds ran into the earth and its pomps and vanities again after a tenderness had been begotten in you towards the Lord and a loathing of such things and Covetousness and Pride encreased among you and so lusts and fulness and ease was then delighted in and the honour of this World sought and received one of another and not that which cometh of God onely and those that could not give you that honour that perisheth such by some of you were hated and mocked at and yet you professed much of Religion in words But alas the hearts of many of you were removed far from the Life of Truth in which the Lord is worshipped and so the Sincerity and Zeal which once appeared in some of you for God and the love which had sprung in you to him and one to another in the day when you were low and tender grew cold and died in you as you departed from the measure of the Life of God And thus the Lord became grieved and pressed with your back-slidings and his Soul loathed your Sacrifices and he then saw that a day of Tryal would be better for you than a day of Prosperity So in Righteousness as from the Lord is this day brought upon you and also in love to your Souls and so it shall prove unto you if ye will now turn unto the Lord with all your hearts and humble your selves under his Mighty Hand Yea some of you who lately have had the enjoyment of great Estates and outward Liberty and Honour and Companions and have now lost them or part of them I do believe that you will be made to confesse to the Glory of God that it is his love to you in suffering them to be taken from you yea some of you will come to see that the Lord is just and merciful unto you in suffering your Idols to be stript off taken away For you will see how some of you have Idolized men the World and its honour and glory and Forms without the Power of an endless Life Oh Friends I have a secret hope for a Remnant of you that the Lord by this kind of dealing with you will bring you near unto himself and that a day shall come wherein you shall be made to say that It was good for us that we were Afflicted But Friends you that come this to witness you must mind the free Grace of God that bringeth Salvation which to all men hath appeared yea ye must own and receive it in its pure Teachings and wait in the Virtue of it to receive Power to deny and forsake the Ungodliness and Worldly lusts which it will make manifest unto you that you have been addicted unto and must wait to feel it drawing you into Godliness Righteousness and Soberness and into Patience and Contentedness with the Will of God which is a precious thing Truly they they that do not wait to come into and to be kept in Patience in this day of Tryal their sufferings will be great And if the fretting impatient murmuring Nature be given way and leaned unto that will aggravate the Sufferings exceedingly and beget Torment in the mind Therefore you who desire to come into and to be kept in true Obedience unto the Lord in this the day of Tryal be watchful in the Light and abide in the pure Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of Wisdom and take heed of the subtilry of the Serpent who will seek more and more to beguile you and to lead you aside from the way of God Verily Friends if you do not retire your minds inwards unto the Life of Jesus which is the light of men you will be deceived yea if you do not receive the spirit of Truth to be your guide and Leader and obey the same you will still run into those things which cannot profit you and the renewed desires in you towards the Lord will be strangled Now I know some of you have formerly found the Lord's Leadings and Teachings in some measure in the day when he drew you out of Episcopacy so called and raised up a zeal in you against the Lording spirits in the Bishops and against the dark way of their imaginary Worship and if you had kept low in the pure Fear of the Lord I know he would have further appeared unto you But here was the loss of many of those that the Lord had appeared unto Mark they did not abide in his Tender Fear neither did they continue waiting upon him for Teaching in the measure of Life in which he had appeared unto them but many of them going from his Witness in themselves they soon began to imagin another Form of Worship which is called Presbitery and many sate down and setled in that and did not mind the Leadings of the Life which had appeared and in some measure quickened them and so much Deadness and Barrenness came upon such as would not be subject to the drawings of the pure Life of God But those that kept their integrity in any measure and waited upon the Lord the pure Life opened things further unto them as they were able to bear and they were drawn a little further and a fine Freshness and Tenderness and Love appeared in them for a time But so soon as they had settled themselves in another Form which is called Independency then many of them not willing to follow the Leadings of the Life any further then the Articles which they had drawn up and agreed upon would admit of whereby the freshness that had appeared in some of them began to wither Yet some who still desired to go on according to the Leadings of the Life the Life opened things further unto them and they left the other but they not continuing in the true waiting upon the Lord to be led by him several of them also ran into another Form called Anabaptism wherein many began to settle But some of them I do believe took up that far more simply than others for they being pressed outwardly to it by their Teachers and also finding in the Scriptures that the Saints of Old Practised such things they letting in reasonings and not waiting in the pure Life that had stirred in them to be led by that in all things their eye became vailed whereby they could see no further but looked upon that to be their duty to wit to go in the water and so durst not omit it But the pure Life which had visited them sprang up afresh and wrought mightily in some of them and shewed them the
emptiness of the water outward and let them see that it is the Baptism inward with the holy Spirit and with Fire which saves and brings to the answer of a good Conscience And that no Form is to be minded any further then the Power is felt to lead into it or then the presence of the Lord is witnessed in it And thus the Lord by his pure Life hath gathered Thousands out of the Forms before mentioned and I do believe that he will yet dayly gather more and more into the Power which is endless Therefore all you who are yet left in any of those forms before mentioned or any other or out of Forms who have retained any thing of the former Tenderness and Smiplicity which was begotten in you by the appearance of the Lord And all you who are brought to see your backslidings and are now brought to feel any true desires and thirsting after God renewed in you my tender love reacheth forth unto you all in the Life Power and love of God wherewith I am loved and in which I am preserved Oh! that I could feel you bound up and established with me in the unchangable Truth of God where satisfaction and Peace is received and where nothing can make afraid Oh! that ye would freely yield your selves obedient servants unto the Righteousness of God which is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness of men Mark that is the thing which you must become obedient unto God's Righteousness which appeareth in you against all unrighteousness And all wait in that which moves against Sin for that is the Power of God which you must be turned unto and receive before you can receive the remission of Sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by the Faith which Christ Jesus the Righteousness of God is the Author and finisher of And Friends you must all mind the present manifestation of the Power of God and what it now draweth and leadeth unto For if you should now run into those things wherein you have formerly enjoyed something of the presence and Life of God yet if you feel not the pure Power of the Lord God now drawing you into them deadness will come upon you more and more and the tender desires that are renewed in you towards the Lord will be destroyed Oh! consider this the day of the Lord is far broke forth in Light and Knowledge and he is yet making it brighter and brighter unto them that truly wait upon him yea he is leading them by the hand of his love from one degree of Grace and Faith and Knowledge unto another and changing them from glory to glory And he is powring from vessel to vessel that the dregs may be left by themselves Yea he is sifting and winowing that the Chaff and the dross may be taken away and so the Seed which standeth approved may be made manifest And he is bringing thorow the fire and thorow the fire because the day hasteneth and draweth nigh in which he will make up his Jewels and consume the chaff and the dross Therefore look not back neither be afraid of the rage of man seek not to save your selves by bowing to his Will but look to the Lord who declareth unto you what your thoughts are and gird up the loins oF your minds and watch and be sober and hope to the end all you who through patience and experience are come to know any thing of the true hope which maketh not ashamed And Friends concerning Faith and the Promises of God there hath been much Profession and talk of those things amongst you But now the day is appearing which will try all Professions and every one's work must come to Tryal Therefore consider your Faith and the Ground Author and effects of it For there is a dead Faith and a living Faith and a ground for both Now the living Faith hath Jesus for its Author and the power of God for its Ground and its effects declare it to be the living Faith for it works in them that have it by love unto the purifying of their hearts and it is their victory over the world These were the effects of the living Faith in the Saints of old and it hath the same now as they can witness who have received it Now there is a Faith which stands but in Words not in the Power and this is a dead Faith it cannot work it purifies not the heart it gives not victory over the world nor access to God as the living Faith doth Oh Friends Labour not to content your selves with a dead Faith but wait that you may hear the leaving Word by which the living Faith comes Now a man may declare of the Word of Life as the Scriptures do and many may believe the words to be true and profess the same and yet if they receive not the living Word or VVitness in their own hearts their Faith will prove but a dead Faith and they will have but words for its ground but they that hear the VVords of Truth declared or read them and then feel the living VVord arising in themselves witnessing to the words that they have read or heard that they are true over-powering them to believe the same or if the VVord of Life speaketh to any ones understanding when words outwardly are not spoken and they be over-powered by the Word to believe the same such come indeed to feel and know how the living Faith cometh and is wrought And they come also to see that this Faith stands in the Power of God and not in words and that Jesus who saveth from sin is the Author of it And all that come into this state if they wilfully turn not from the Power they will feel their Faith increased in and by the Power and the effects of it will daily come to be manifest which will be an evidence unto them to prove that it is the living Faith for they will feel it giving them access to God Oh ye Professors I speak what I know and witness and without this Faith you cannot please God And concerning the Promises of God this know The Promises are unto the Seed Not unto Seeds as of many but unto the Seed which is One which is Christ So all that come to have right unto the Promises of God they must come to be of the Seed unto which the Promises are Now it is the Word of Life which begetteth unto God and brings to be of the Seed which is the Heir of the Promises of God Therefore wait in the appearance of the Word of Life that by it you may be begotten into the nature of the incorruptible Seed and become born of it that so you may be made meet to be partakers of the precious Promises Oh that ye would hearken diligently and obey and your Souls should live The Lord's hand of tender love and pitty is stretched forth towards you Oh! be not rebellious any longer lest he cease striving with you
with you and give you up wholly to follow the deceit of your own hearts for the Lord will not alwayes strive with man But the day shall come wherein the Lord will withdraw himself from the Rebellious and he that is filthy let him be filthy still Oh Friends I see a day which will be terrible unto the Disobedient For when the Lord hath tryed his People and gathered the sincere hearted out of all Forms unto himself he will then sweep away the refuge that will not be gathered in the day of their Visitation with a mighty Destruction And the day hastens in which this shall be accomplisht by the mighty Arm and Power of the Lord which is now working in secret Therefore wait to be led and taught of him and heed not the Rage and Cruelty of man neither bow to his Perverse will but know that the Lord hath given bounds to the Sea that although it roar Rage and swell and cast up mire and dirt yet it cannot go beyond its bounds Therefore be Patient and commit your Cause unto the Lord and seek not to avenge your selves but leave it unto him who will avenge the Cause of his People And wait in the feeling of the Truth in your selves that so you may feel the pure Life of Christ to be a stay to your minds in all your Tryals and Temptations Oh poor hearts this is a precious thing to come to be sensible of the true stay and guide to the mind O keep to that which maketh your Temptations and thoughts manifest and believe and wait in that and then you will feel that to be a stay to your minds and you will feel the Lord's secret strength revealed in you enabling you to stand in whatsoever Tryal or Temptation he shall suffer to come upon you or to be presented unto you yea as you are faithful to the Power that he commits unto you you shall not be tryed beyond your strength but you shall feel the Lord supporting you and by his Power he will work your minds into contentedness with his will in all things And if you will follow the Power of the Lamb which is that which moves against Sin and taketh it away you will come to feel your hearts and minds drawn and Redeemed out of the Earth thereby and you will be made willing to give up and to part with all and to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth Now if your spirits come to be brought into this frame then whatsoever man can do unto you it will not be able to move you Oh! that you would wholly give up your selves to wait upon the Lord in the pure manifestation of his Spirit and cease contending and pleading for those things which the Spirit of the Lord requireth not at your hands Oh! that you would now mind to obey the pure requirings of the Life of Jesus in your selves and that would bring you into lowliness of mind and meekness of spirit into true love to God and one towards another and not only to love your friends but even to love your enemies also and to forgive and pray for them that despightfuly use you and then you would indeed bear the Image of the Lamb and witness his Kingdom set up in you and this would bring you in patience to wait until he arise to plead the cause of his People and to avenge himself on his and their enemies and to make the Kingdoms of this world his and the People subject to his Government which shall certainly be aceomplished in its Season and the day draweth nigh So the Lord God Almighty manifest himself more and more unto you all in whose hearts there are any true sincere honest desires to know and do his Will and who are willing to follow him as he appears to lead and draw you and the Lord of Life manifest his strength unto you and gather you by the Power of his Christ into the everlasting Covenant of Life Rest and Peace This is the sincere desire of my Soul whose bowels yearn towards you whose souls are breathing and thirsting after the endless Life of Righteousness And this is Message of true love unto you in which it is sent forth among you according to the instructions of the Almighty yea for your sakes is this written whose Souls are panting after the Lord in what form or society soever you be in who are willing to follow the leadings of his Life and to submit to his will as it comes to be made manifest unto you and many of you in whom there be such honest desires I see are now in a bewildred condition in this cloudy and dark day which seems to approach not knowing well what to do or which way to take or where to find rest or safety by reason of the want of the knowledge of a true guide to your minds I say for the informing of your understandings and for the strengthening of those desires in you which are sincere towards the Lord was I drawn forth in much tenderness and bowels of unfained love to write unto you that you might be brought to be sensible of the gift of God in your selves and to know what that is that is to guide your minds and in what you are to wait to receive the true Teachings that so your minds may come to be stayed upon the Lord and that may be gathered into his Name wherein the true help and safety is and that you may avoid whatsoever would be a hinderance unto your growth in the simplicity of the Truth Therefore I exhort and warn you to take heed of following your own thoughts and imaginations any longer but freely give up to be led by that Principle of Life which cannot consent to Sin but appears to call and draw you out of the same You need not fear that that will deceive you but whatsoever would draw you from that Life that is the Deceiver And hearken not any longer to such Teachers as are greedy of filthy lucre for such make a prey of you and cannot profit you at all And take heed of hearkening or joyning to such Teachers or People as will turn to and comply with any worship or thing that may be for their advantage as they account and that they may save themselves from sufferings for such are Luke-warm and the Lord will spue them out and their shame and filthiness shall appear and they shall become loathsom both in the sight of God and man Therefore avoid them And as there are few Teachers amongst the Professors whom I believe for Conscience sake dare not turn back and lick up that which they formerly were made to vomit out and deny so also there are many that would willingly turn to any thing for their bellies if they might be received that will not now be accepted of and these that see they cannot keep their places by their turning they will appear zealous especially in secret against those things that they
not for Conscience sake satisfie his covetous and unrighteous desire but chose rather to suffer than to come forth by yielding to such a horrid oppression yet were we willing to have given him to the full value of all the things we made use of in the Chamber and it being the highest room in a lofty Tower and all the Windowes open it was not fit for men to Lodge in by reason of the Wind and Rain beating in until we had gotten them Glassed without any charge to the Sergeant and we had so little of his in our Chamber that we offered this to wit that if two reasonable men would prise the things we would pay him for them and give him the Things also or if he would not stand to that then we would give him two shillings and six pence a week for the time we had been there We also told our Keepers that if we denyed to give them any thing that they could recover by Law the Law was open but they ought not according to their own Law to keep us upon that account but to tutn us out and then take their course at Law And so we demanded our Liberty several times but notwithstanding all this the Sergeant detained us still And the day before the PARLIAMENT Adjourned our Names in a List with other Prisoners in his Custody was given in to the Parliament who notwithstanding their Act of Indempnity and Oblivion and their former Order for our being forthwith Released and set at Liberty they made another Order That it should be Referred to the Kings Privy Counsel to consider of us and to give such Order touching us as to our Liberty or to continue under constraint as they should find Consistent with the Publick Peace and the mean time we are to remain in the Sergeants Custody so by this Order we are still detained and nothing is yet done by the Privy Council touching us Now let the Reader consider how unreasonably and contrary to Law we have been used who have been kept seventeen Weeks in this Prison and never brought to any examination Besides the time that I was kept in Harwich Now if the PARLIAMENT had rightly weighed and considered the matter when they Ordered the thanks of the House to be given to the Mayor and Magistrate of Harwich for their care in that business touching us truly they might have found more cause to have reproved them for their folly than to have given them thanks For if it had been true that we had made some Disturbance at Harwich as it is said in the Order for our Release yet if the Magistrates of Harwich had rightly understood their duty and if they had not been blinded with the mad zeal of Persecution they might have seen that it belonged to their place to have ended the matter of a disturbance and not to have troubled a Parliament with such a frivilous thing But it is certain that Persecutors in all Ages were blind And what a thing is this cannot three Justices of the Peace so called nor a Parliament determine in the matter of a Disturbance if it had been so that we had made one which we did not but that such a thing â—s that must be turned over to the Kings Privy Council to be considered of or is it because they would keep the innocent in Prison and are ashamed to bring them to an examination having nothing justly to charge them withal I leave this to be answered by that of God in all who shall read this And seeing there have been many false Reports touching the cause of our imprisonment and also that some of our enemies have reported that we may come out of Prison if we will it was upon me to publish the manner of our Imprisonment and of our being kept and by whom that the truth of the matter may plainly be seen which being truly considered People may see that it is even now as it was in the Prophets dayes of old For Judgement is now turned backward and Justice standeth afar off Truth is fallen into the Streets and Equity cannot enter yea Truth faileth and he that departeth from Evil maketh himself a prey and the Lord hath seen it and it displeaseth him because there is no true Judgement Isaiah 59.14 15. and as they did in the dayes of Amos even so do this Generation yea They now turn Judgement into Wormwood and leave off Righteousness in the Earth they hate him that rebuketh in the Gate and abhor him that speaketh uprightly Therefore will the Lord break forth like fire Amos 5. Lambeth-house the 21st of the 7th Month 1660. G. F. HIS FAITH Touching Four Particulars DEMONSTRATED I. Concerning Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World II. Concerning Justification III. Concerning the Resurrection IV. Concerning Everlasting Glory and Eternal Misery Written for the satisfaction of some tender consciencious Persons who had heard false Reports of Him and others of his Judgement touching the things above Written First AS concerning Iesus Christ that was supposed to be Joseph the Carpenter's Son who as concerning the Flesh was Crucified and put to Death at Jerusalem between two Thieves upon the Cross at Mount Calvary I do believe he was the Son of God and that that very Body that the Souldier pierced was the very Body that was prepared by the Father for Christ the true Saviour to come in to do the Will of the Father that sent Him And I do believe that by the Grace of God he tasted Death for every man that as many as believe in and obey him whose Soul was made an Offering for sin might have Eternal Life through him who gave his precious Life a Ransom for many Secondly I do believe that no man can be Iustified by the Works of the Law nor by any VVork of his own but He or She that is Iustified in the sight of God it is freely by his Grace through Faith in Christ Iesus who creates such unto Good VVorks which God hath ordained that they that are justified should walk in Now God through his Free Love hath made Me a Witness of true Iustification And I testifie in the Lord That it is not my Works that Iustifie me but it is the LORD alone who worketh my Works in me and for me according to his own good pleasure who loved me before I loved him and manifested his Love to me in the Covenant of Light whereby he drew me after himself and gave me strength to obey and follow him in the manifestation and drawings of his Love which whilst I did reject I was justly condemned of the Lord and could not witness Iustification in that State although I sought it and talked much of it as many Professors now do but GOD who is rich in Mercy and Love shewed me how he had given me Power and Ability to receive his Truth in the Love of it through which I am now Saved and Iustified Thirdly Touching the Resurrection It is a
in your Forms without Power neither Flee the Cross any longer but wait in the True Simplicity to feel God's hand of Tender Love which he reacheth sorth to and manifesteth in you to lead and guide your minds into his Pure Worship which is in the Spirit and in the Truth Oh People This is the Worship that he will set up He will be LORD and LAW-GIVER in the Consciences of his People and those that will not be content that EMANUEL should Reign over them he will Slay them with the Sword of the Spirit The words of his Mouth Oh! Hearken hearken a little and stand still that you may hear the voice of the True Shepherd in your own hearts who calleth for Truth in the Inward Parts he will discover what lodgeth Within and He will shew you the Way wherein you should walk and he will let you see what the Cross is unto and He will teach you when you are alone in your Beds or where-ever you are if you will receive Him who giveth you Life and Breath whose gentle Reproofs and Instructions are the Way of Life Therefore you in whom the Breathings and Desires after the Lord are Consult not with Flesh and Blood neither reason against the Cross but submit to every Appearance of God's Power in you which appeareth to Crucifie the Fleshly Birth and Nature which hath stood and doth stand in Rebellion and Emnity against the Pure and Precious Life and Requirings of the Lamb of God that so that Mind which is at enmity against God and that Nature in you which is Disobedient to his Commands in Spirit may come to be Crucified that so there may be a Change Inwardly felt and witnessed by the working of the might Power of Christ in your Inward Parts and then the Desires and Breathings which are Begotten in you after Righteousness they will be strengthned and the Teachings of the Almighty will be truly known and you believing in the Power you will receive Power to obey and Practice whatsoever the Lord shall make known unto you by his Spirit to be his Will and Requirings Oh People Let the Dread of the Lord Seize upon your Spirits in this the Day of his Power wherein he is Trying Sifting and Winnowing the Nations and wait to feel that Life arise within you which beareth Testimony against all evil within and without that so ye may become more and more acquainted with the Teachings Drawings and Leadings thereof that thereby you may be drawn and led out of those things which have kept your Souls in the Death hindred you from enjoying the Pure Peace of God And this know and consider that all that come to witness their Souls raised out of Death and brought to enjoy the Peace of God they must Believe in the Life of the Quickning Spirit which is the Second Adam the Lord from Heaven who for Sin Condemneth Sin in the Flesh and appeareth in the Inward Parts of man to work out Sin and Transgression which hath Separated from God and so to make clean the heart and inside of Male and Female Oh People This is the Work of Christ the Son of God even to make manifest and destroy the Works of the Devil and so to reconcile man unto God by the Virtue of his own Life which he gave a Ransom for many and blessed are all those that believe in the Life of the Son of God and feel and know it manifested in their mortal flesh for they shall witness the Power of it to make all things new and so their Souls will come up in the hand of God and his Peace will be Received and Enjoyed Oh People Wait to know and feel this Work of Christ within you that so you may be made able to Stand in the Judgement and to Endure the Tryal and that you may be Hid from the Wrath of the Lamb which is nigh to come upon the Rebellious Oh! Consider this Those that are his Followers they come thorow many Tribulations and their overcoming their Enemies is by His Blood not by a talk of it but by the Virtue and Power of it sprinkled in their Hearts which washeth and maketh them White Clean and without Fault before God Oh People my Bowels yearn my Bowels yearn towards you whose Desires in any measure are after the Lord O that you would now Return with all your hearts unto Him and obey the Voice of his Power in you then should you be made able to stand and endure the fiery Tryal which is come and coming Oh! the Day hastens wherein all Profession that is not grounded in the Life and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ whatever the shew of it be it will be so shaken that an utter Blasting and withering shall come upon it and for that cause the Lord doth and will yet suffer great Tryals to come both upon the Professors and Possessors of his Name that so his Children the Possessors may be manifested unto all and discerned from all that are but Professors though never so fair and seemingly Covered For all Coverings but what is of the Power and Spirit it self shall be too Narrow and all that are not Covered with the Spirit and Power of Emanuel their Shame and Nakedness shall appear more and more This is the Testimony which the Spirit and Word of Truth giveth therefore He that hath an ear to hear let him hear before the day of his Visitation be wholly past and the things belonging to his Peace he hid from his Eyes For yet a little while and the Voice shall be He that is filthy let him be filthy still For the Spirit of the Lord shall not alwayes strive with Flesh but his Plagues and Indignation shall be poured out upon such as will be gathered in the Day of his Patience long Forbearance and free-Free-Love and He or She that Loveth Father Mother Husband Wife Children House or Land Liberty Honour or any Thing more than the Life of the Lamb shall be counted not worthy of him and plainly manifested so to be Read this who can and he that can receive it let him For the Time draweth nigh that these Sayings must be fulfilled Printed the 13th of the Second Month 1661. GEORGE FOX the Younger SEVERAL EPISTLES To FRIENDS Who are GATHERED into the Light of Life A General EPISTLE and a tender Greeting sent unto the Flock of Christ who meet together to Worship the Father and the Son in the Spirit of Truth to be read in the Fear and Wisdom of God amongst them DEAR and tenderly beloved Friends and â—hildren of the most High God who have felt and tasted of his eternal Word of Life and have been acquainted with the workings and operations thereof whereby you are begotten again unto a lively Hope and are brought to know that Life which you were alienated from and that Covenant of Promise which ye were strangers unto Oh Friends unto you is my Love in the Lord Jesus Christ exceeding great