were not to regard they abusing it and when Oliver Cromwel wincked at you both I well remember your carriage and was an eye-witness of much of it with many hundreds how many Protestations were made in your Synods south and north and when the one party or faction would depose such a man or men from the so called Ministerial function the other party would bid him or them preach and maintain uphold and defend him and now the Churches authority not being backed with the Magistrates sword ye could break through it as Cobweb and some of you whom your Parishes would not receive yet yee urged your selves upon them whither they would hear or forbear All this and much more is fresh in the memory of thousands and this day hath abundantly discovered you And oh that yee could take shame and confusion of face to your selves and read the language of the Lords work in this day which would be answered with his witness in your Consciences saying with these Ier. 8.14 let us be silent for the Lord hath put us to silence for a more excellent Ministry the Lord hath brought forth in this day even that of his own spirit whereto yee have been and are great strangers and yee have need to learn the first principle of the Oracles of God which is the light of Christ shining in the dark heart although yee have been so long teachers of others and the Christ whom yee have preached so many years yee have him yet to learn and if ever yee receive a part of the true Ministry yee must come to know him revealed within you which for the time is a parable to you and yee call it delusion And now oh yee people of Scotland know that the Lord in his great mercy to your souls hath brought this day over your Teachers to let you see they were but broken â—â—sterns and their fair profession and many good words whereby they made merchandize of you hath much opposed and withstood the appearance of Jesus Christ and that which letted is much removed out of the way now and the Lord is come to teach his people himself and to gather them into his unchangable truth which is not subject to the windings and turnings of your teachers and the pure fountain of the water of life hath been opened unto us and we drunk thereof to our unspeakable refreshment and satisfaction and we cannot any more come at your pudled waters 14. And your fathers the Primitive Protestants acknowledge no head in the Church but Christ Jesus and they maintained the power and authority of the Church to be altogether independent from and not subordinate to the Magistrates power and Iohn Welshe and others of his brethren bore a testimony to this in his day for which together with their testimony against Prelacy they were imprisoned at Blaknes as appears by a letter of his with several that 's extant at this day and now how far have ye shrunk from this testimony of your predecessor judge ye your selves who call him in your Church-prayers supream Judge in all cases and over all causes Civil and Ecclesiastical There is also two other weighty particulars which is well known to have been maintained by many primitive Protestants both denyed by you viz. That Christians ought neither to swear nor fight with any carnal weapon both which were asserted by those called the Lollards of Kyle as ye may read in the book of the Reformation of the Church in Scotland but the setter forth of the aforesaid book hath added to their words to the first Article which is according to their assertion as it was found in the Records of Glasgow That in no case it is lawful to swear he hath added to wit Idely rashly or in vain and to the other That Christians should not fight for the Faith is added if not driven thereto by necessity which two additions manifestly appears to be put to by the publisher of the book and that they are not these mens words for that they are printed in another character and he alleadges their enemies to have depraved them for he sayes These Articles together with several others were found in their Records but his alleadgance is not so fair being he had no sufficient ground therefore and the Articles are true and sound without his additions and it 's a perfect contradiction which neither the Lollards of Kyle or any rational man could affirm to say we must not swear at all or in no case it is lawful to swear which is universal and exclusive and then to put a limitation thereto but in such cases viz. idely rashly and in vain I say these two propositions It is lawful in no case to swear It is lawful in some case to swear are a perfect contradiction and no rational man can affirm both for either the one or the other must be false and so the Lollards saying in no case it is lawful to swear it is clear that they were not only against swearing idely rashly or in vain which neither their adversaries denyed so that it needed not be a point of Dittay against them but against swearing in any case or at all So by these 14. or 16. Articles let all in whom there is any measure of ingenuity or simplicity try your present Church constitution and with the Light wherewith Christ hath enlightned you examine and ye will find that though ye call your selves the reformed Church ye are far from the first Reformers and that the whole Protestant Church in Europe hath much degenerated from the primitive Christians and Protestants both in principles and practices and is become quite another thing retaining the name like an old rotten Ship that hath been so often clamped and clouted that all the former timbers are worn out and others put in their place yet keeping the name and somewhat of the form and shape and ye have sailed long up and down in this old rotten Ship which is just upon the splitting and suffering shipwrack and it were happy for you if ye would swim forth out of her for your lives and the greatest loss of all is of the Spirit and Life of your first Reformers as appears by your fruits and conversations at this day Is not that fidelity honesty and simplicity much lost and quite decayed that some yet living remember was in the Land and treachery falshood guile and deceit come in the room thereof and one brother cannot trust another and love is waxen cold and much selfishness crept in and the profession or Religion made a meer cloak of maliciousness and that temperance and sobriety in words diet and apparel that was among many is quite gone and wantonness gluttony and drunkenness whoredom cursing and swearing and prophaning of the name of God and fearful oaths come in stead thereof and tyranny and oppression more then among savages and yet people given to such wickedness are accounted your Church-members and partake of all the Church-priviledges
foundation which is not of my building to pluck up root and branch and all which is not of my planting I have said to my Messengers and servants go ye up upon her walls break down her battlements bull-works for they are not mine level all to the ground and let them not be built for ever and ever Amen saith my soul. And it is God's rich mercy love and compassion that he hath brought this day over you could ye but open your eyes to see it and some shall see that ye may suffer loss in these things which have been and are a loss and snare unto you The 10 th Month 1664. from the Tolbouth of Aberdein George Keith The word of commandement from the Lord which filled me with heavenly joy and comfort came unto me the 30. day of the 10 th Month called December saying Shew unto the people of Scotland my true and righteous judgement concerning the particulars above-mentioned And now however these be received by you I have peace in my God The blessed long looked for day of God broke up amongst us the Lords people called Quakers with a declaration of the Lords loving kindness to us and what he hath done for our Souls in causing the light of his countenance to shine on us And a brief description of our Church Ministry Word Worship order and Government And a Proclamation of the foresaid day of the Lord to the People of Scotland in judgment and mercy With a loving Exhortation unto them and dear and tender counsel concerning what the Lord requires of them in order to a perfect and thorow reformation which they have often assayed but never as yet come at Also a few words to such who expect the breaking up of the day of God and yet deny it broke up among us Written in the fear and will of the Lord and in bowels of love and compassion to the people of my native Country THe day of God is the Revelation of his living and eternal arm in and among the children of men to put an end to transgression and recover lost man to the blessed holy pure innocent state wherein he was created by God who breathed in him the breath of life and he became a living soul it 's the setting up the Kingdom of Jesus Christ the eternal King of righteousness in the hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Adam and the pulling down the Kingdom of Satan who hath ruled over the sons of men as God and swayed his Scepter as an absolute Monarch in the earth It 's the arising of the Son of righteousness with healing under his wings in the shinings forth of his pure Light for the dispelling the the thick Egiptian darkness that hath long covered the earth and brought upon the Inhabitants a sad sore and dismal night wherein the blessed sweet and amiable countenance of God hath been eclipsed and vailed from men whereby they could not live to God for that life is in the light which by the power and prevalency of darkness hath been much shut up so that it hath not shined forth in its glorious brightness upon mankind It 's the pouring forth of the Spirit of the Lord upon all flesh and the breathing of life upon the dead bones that they may stand up and live with flesh and sinews in strength beauty and comeliness of proportion It 's the manifestation and discovery of that great and glorious mystery hid from ages and generations Christ within the hope of glory Jesus Christ in his powerful spiritual glorious heavenly appearance in his Saints triumphing victoriously over death and hell and all the powers of darkness giving to his Saints to sit down with him upon his throne and making them partakers of that glory he had with the Father before the world began It 's the bringing of many from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South to sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdom of God and the gathering of his elect seed from the four winds of the earth which hath been long scattered and pended up in the holes and caves thereof lying in death bondage and captivity The day of God is the redemption of his beloved seed and raising it up out of the grave to live in the blessed and glorious presence of its God It 's the marriage day of the Spouse with the Lamb and the bringing of her into the Chamber of Presence and the Banquetting-house where she is entertained with the sweet fellowship and communion of the noble plant of renown the beloved of her souls and under his shadow she sitteth down with great delight and his fruit is pleasant to her taste where she gets access to him in the bed of love and sees his sweet comely soul-ravishing countenance and hears the sweet melodious voice which pierceth the heart with darts of love so that she is constrained to cry Stay me with apples comfort me with flagons for I am sick of love turn away thy face from me for it hath ravished me being filled with the glory of his Majesty that the sight of it is scarce tollerable in the house of clay which often trembles at the Revelation of the weight of glory The day of the Lord is the tabernacling and habitation of himself with men the Immanuel God in us bringing them up out of all visible and corruptible perishing things into fellowship with him and his Son through the eternal Spirit It 's the dispensation of the new Covenant taking place in the earth the tenour whereof is I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my People and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto che greatest saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more Jer. 31. And again I will sprinkle clean water upon you and yee shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and yee shall keep my Iudgements and do them and yee shall dwell in the Land that I gave to your Fathers and yee shall be my People and I will be your God Ezek. 36. It 's the coming down of the new Ierusalem from above out of Heaven upon the Earth cloathed with the Garments of Salvation the Lambs Glory which is her Light so that She needeth not Sun nor Moon nor Candle and the pure white linnen which is the Righteousness of the Saints It 's the causing the old Heavens and the old Earth to pass away and the
narrow difficult for passage so that many times sore doubtings and fears arise in us lest we should never get thereinto and many temptations have we indured from the suggestions of the great enemy of our salvation saying to us it is in vain to attempt an entrance but now blessed be the God of our salvation an entrance yea an abundant entrance is ministred to us thereinto and the path is becoming more and more easie and spacious and delectable the way of pleasantness and the path of peace is opened and opening wherein the wayfaring man though a fool cannot erre or stray and the Light hath brought us to Iacob's Well where we have found an eternal never fading spring of living water streaming forth into our souls and hearts to our unspeakable joy comfort and satisfaction and it hath brought us into Bethel the house of God the house of prayer and we have been made joyful therein according to the Lord's promise and in this house and Temple of God we have seen the glory of the Lord and had Isaiah's Vision beholding him sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and his train filling the Temple and we have heard the voice Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory and we have been made to cry woe is us for we are undone because of uncleanness and fear and trembling hath taken hold of us so that the posts of the door lyes moved and shaken at the voice of him that cryed and the Angel hath flown unto us having a live coal in his hand taken in the tongs from off the Altar and therewith hath touched our lips saying unto us your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged and in his Temple we have talked of the glory of the Lord and of his loving kindness one unto another and we have blessed and praised the Name of the Lord for his mercy and goodness to the children of men and we have eat and drunk in the house of our God in the mountain of his holiness have we been entertained with the feast of fat things full of marrow of wines on the lees well refined and we have seen the King in his beauty and bread hath been given to us and our water made sure and it faileth not which we drink every one out of our own Cestern and the glorious Lord hath become unto us a place of broad Rivers and we have been brought to the Shepherds tents and seen where he feedeth the flock and causeth it to rest at noon and we have loved the Pasture dearly and intreated the Shepherd that he would make us partake with the flock and lead us to the green field and Paradice of his pleasure and to the streams of that river which is full of water and floweth richly forth to the continual gladning of the City of God and we have desired it of him with the earnest of our souls that we might see the good of his chosen and be remembred with the favour he bears to his people and gladned with the joy of his Nation that we might have whereby to glory with his inheritance and the Lord hath heard and granted the breathings of our souls we asked life of him and he hath given it us and put a crown of pure gold upon our heads even a crown of righteousness and eternal life and he hath put a new song of praise to him who lives for ever and ever in our mouths which none can sing no nor understand but such as are redeemed from off the earth and Palms of Victory in our hands are given to us and Harps wherewith to harp and make melody to the God of our life who hath created us anew in Jesus Christ unto good works and Censers full of incense which are the prayers of the Saints and the Lord hath not suffered does not suffer us to want any good thing he openeth his hands plentifully and filleth us with his blessing and giveth us to drink of the River of his pleasure and the wine which groweth in our fathers Kingdom and how great is his goodness how great is his beauty for Corn hath made the young-men glad and new wine the Maids as it is written and the mountains have dropped down the wine and the Fatts and Wine-presses have overflowed and the Heavens have opened and poured down everlasting righteousness and rained the showers of blessing upon the tender herbs of the Lords planting in the earth and loe the Winter is past the rain is over and gone and the Spring is come wherein the birds do sweetly sing and the voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land and the Fig-tree putteth forth its blossoms and green figs and others are come and coming to perfection and maturity and the Vines with the grapes give a good and pleasant smell and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits new and old laid up for our beloved And the fruit of the Tree of Life which beareth twelve manner of fruits and yieldeth it every month hath been manifested unto us the leaves whereof are for the healing of the Nations And we have seen the Bride the Lamb's Wife adorned and trimmed for the approach of her Husband and the new Ierusalem descending from above the Holy City coming down from God out of heaven having the glory of her God and her light is like unto a stone most precious like a Jasper clear as Cristal and we have seen the frame and proportion of this City with the walls and gates of it within which our feet have stood whose builder and maker is God and there is nothing of mans work in it but all purely of him and we have seen to its foundation the Light the Life the Power the Wisdom of God revealed in the hearts of the Sons and Daughters of men the chief corner the foundation stone which the builders among all the Sects and Professions of the whole earth have rejected in this night of darkness whereby instead of building a house or City for God they have reared up a Babylon which must fall and is a falling and shall sink as a mill-stone into the bottom of the Sea and never rise again Amen Hallelujah glory to the Lamb whose work it is And now the Lord hath made us Citizens of this City and stones of this building even living stones polished by the power of God and glewed and knit together by the same power and Spirit of Life where is the pure perfect unity and in the unity the fellowship and communion with God and his dear Son Jesus Christ and one with another is witnessed and the builders are wise builders standing in the wisdom and power of God whereby they are taught to lay every stone and how to polish and square it and they are but tools and instruments in the hand of God for the work is his alone and the Ministry is spiritual and so are the Ministers men taught by
which is of the Lord's Spirit perswading the hearts of people to be one with us in principle and practice and to stand up with us living witnesses for the name and truth of the living God which he is revealing and we assuredly know all the weapons that are formed either against the truth or the witnesses of it shall not prosper and the Lord shall make to himself a glorious name in the earth and we the people of the Lord whom he hath formed for himself shall shew forth his praise and the Lord will make it manifest that we are his and that he hath raised us up and put his Spirit in us and that he dwells in and among us to all the Kindreds and Nations of the Earth and they who will not see shall see and be ashamed and confounded for their envy at the people whom God hath blessed and will bless for ever and ever and no deceit nor violence shall prevail against them And therefore now O ye people of Scotland know ye that the day of God is broke up among us the people of the Lord called by you in derision Quakers but who indeed tremble at the Word of his power when it is sounded forth from the Throne of Majesty yea and the mighty dreadful terrible God of strength power and Majesty Victory and Dominion hath determined to shake the Heavens and the Earth and all the powers thereof to the utter confusion and fall of whatsoever standeth up in opposition against the seting up of his eternal Kingdom of Righteousness in the hearts of the Children of Men and the little stone cut out of the Mountain without hands shall grow and fill the earth and become a Mountain and it shall dash to pieces the Image of Clay and Iron Brass Silver and Gold and the Land of graven Images shall be smitten and all the Gods of the Heathen famished and all the Idols shall be broken and cast into the holes of the rock and Dagon shall not be able to stand before the Ark nor Babylon before the spouse of Christ which is coming forth to face all their enemies fair as the Sun and terrible as an Army with banners yea cloathed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet And the Lord is making a work in this day which shall make all ears to tingle and every heart to faint and fail that will not bow at the arm of his power stretched forth The day of the Lord is come and he is preparing himself to battle as a strong man as one awakned of out sleep who hath long suffered the reign and Kingdom of darkness and as one that cryeth out in the dread of his strength by reason of Wine and he is making bare his arme and covering himself with zeal as with a cloak now will I arise now will I lift up my self saith the Lord and who is able to stand up and make war with him whereof prepare to meet thy God O Scotland in the way of his judgments and repent repent repent of your iniquities from the highest to the lowest for the controversie of the dreadful God of power the zealous angry God who will not acquit the guilty is against the one and the other of you without respect of persons because of your abominations whereby his pure holy Spirit hath been grieved and provoked against you Oh Scotland Scotland the cry of thine iniquities hath come up before God into his throne and he is weary with forbearing to execute the fierceness of his wrath upon you though ye be not weary with sining but are drawing iniquity as with Cart-ropes and filling up the measure even to the brime Wherefore a Cup of trembling trembling saith the Lord God shall be put into thy hands if thou speedily repent not thou shall drink shall not escape and it shall be more tollerable for Sodom and Gomorab in the day of judgment then for you forasmuch as you have sinned against more Light and have had more warnings from the Lord one way and another and he hath borne with you long and strived much with you by his Spirit to reclaim you and would have healed you but ye will not be healed and oh how have your hearts turned back as a deceitful bow and shrunk from that measure of simplicity tenderness and zeal for the Lord that was once among you and because yee took up a profession of God above all the Nations of the Earth and have so treacherously backslidden therefrom in the day of tryal therefore is your sin exceedingly aggravated before the Lord and he will punish you above all the Nations of the earth if ye break not off from your sins by speedy and unfeigned repentance And now ye who mock at the quakings and tremblings of the people of God who feel the load of wrath ready to break out upon you and sink you down to the bottome of Hell and would faine stand in the gapes and hold off the wrath and are in great travel because of the dreadful day they see coming upon you and many times are crying unto God for mercy unto you when ye are adding drunkness to thirst and persecuting them and saying tush tush no evil shall befall us where is the promise of his coming ye shall be made to tremble and your loyns to shake and the joynts of your knees with Belshazar reading the hand writing against you to smite one against another and paleness shall come up upon your faces and pangs as of a woman in travel take hold of you and the Lord will roar out of Zion against you and tear in pieces as a Lyon and who will then be able to deliver you out of his hand and that comfort and peace will be far from you which we the Lords people do witness after all our fears and tremblings for the cup we have drunk at his hands is sweetly tempered with mercy and judgment and in measure he debateth with us and stayeth his rough wind in the day of his East and our hearts which once trembled for fear and dread and sorrow are now made to rejoyce with trembling at the powerful and glorious appearance of him in our souls so that we have been made to sing unto him that song we will praise thee O Lord for though thou wast angry with us thy anger is turned away and we are comforted And yet now O Scotland the Lord hath bowels of tender pitty and compassion towards thee which many times I have felt and do feel with many others and he is much put to it so to speak concerning thee what to do with thee and his mercy and judgement are at a kind of holy contest and wrestling about thee How shall I give thee up how shall I deliver thee O people of Scotland how shall I make thee as Admah and set thee as Zeboim my heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together which word hath often sounded through me towards